That accursed mirror. Despite all of my best intentions, I should have never made that thing. I know I needed it to banish those three monsters a longtime ago but...it is as my master said. It is something that shouldn't be meddled with. Clover is always right. WHY?! Why is she always right?! Why is that my research over worlds, magic, and even 'The Key' always wrong?! Why...why does it all amount to nothing? Is that it? Is this research too dangerous to continue?!
No. I believe there is a purpose to this. I know there is something else at work here. If that is the case...I need to see if I can make other mirrors. Perhaps if I can make more portals...maybe that can get me the answers I seek.
-Starswirl, Report 34
"Okay...even I had trouble with what you just said Cadance. Could you say that again?" Twilight said as she glanced back at the glowing mirror. Her and her friends had just spent the last few minutes debating exactly what Shining and Cadance meant in terms of 'a mission of hunting Heartless'.
"Sure." Cadance then tapped the glowing mirror with a slight grin. "For starters, I was skeptical just like you Twilight but...this mirror leads to another world. When auntie first showed it to me, I didn't know what to think. But, she told me: 'I keep at least one guard always watching these mirrors to see if anypony interferes with other worlds and I think somepony is. That's why we need Twilight. It's a keybearer's duty to protect those worlds.' or something to that nature."
"Which Trixie thinks that to be kind of crazy."
"I agree with Trixie." Flash said as he let Spike sit on top of his head. "I'm all for going and fighting something, but even I got to admit that this sounds a little too out there."
"I know it is." Cadance gave a cheeky smile. "But it's the truth. This is one of the duties of a keybearer and Twilight is one of them."
"Yep." Shining continued as he stared at Twilight. "I myself was also skeptical. That and I didn't like the fact that my sister was the one going through this thing but...Princess Celestia has entrusted this task of showing you this to me and Cadance. I can't deny that."
Hearing these words, Twilight knew they were telling the truth. She had known her brother to being the most overprotective pony on the planet and even he was okay with this. Celestia must have shown him something truly different to make him agree. "Okay. I'm in. I just have to hunt Heartless over there, right?"
"Not quite." Cadance shook her head. She then pointed to the top of the mirror. "See that block?" Everypony nodded. "That's a gummi block. It's a special block that activates this mirror. It comes in a set of two."
"Two?"
"Yes." Cadance's horn began to shine as the block was slowly removed from the mirror, only for it to continue glowing. "It is needed to activate and summon the mirror."
"So...we're taking this block with us, aren't we?" Twilight said as Cadance confirmed her thoughts by handing her the block. "And I'm guessing when we cross over to this world, we use this block to summon a mirror back to Equestria."
"That's correct." Cadance nodded. "Don't worry, we can keep the mirror active over here as long as you need it to be active."
Trixie then walked up to Twilight and gave Cadance a deadpan stare, "Let Trixie guess. The enemy has a similar block to the world that this mirror goes to?"
"That's also correct. According to the Starswirl reports auntie gave me, he found that these four mirrors are the only ones that have counterpart mirrors. And..."
"She believes this 'Master' has the other blocks." Shining continued. "And thanks to a dark aura that surrounded this mirror earlier, we know that somepony is doing something with that world. It's why she always keeps a guard watching it."
Trixie scratched her chin in thought. She had an idea of what was really going on. "Trixie is gonna guess that The Master sent a minion to spread Heartless. Some weak pony that's just strong enough to spread a little Darkness but nothing else."
"Like when you were at Canterlot?" Shining replied with a angry scowl.
"No." Trixie shook her head, her expression fading into a slight depression. "Trixie was sent to eliminate the keybearer. The ponies they're using are much weaker. They probably only know basic dark spells so their hearts won't be consumed before they fulfill their duty."
"Huh." Shining tried to think up something else to say, but his marefriend quickly stopped him with a glare. Twilight could only chuckle at the exchange. She knew her brother was already whipped.
Seeing this as a chance to take the initiative, Cadance spoke up, "So...in conclusion, your mission is two things. One, hunt the Heartless and two, find this other block and bring it to us. If we have the other block, The Master can't send ponies to that world. Also, there's one more rule to this..."
"What's that?"
"You can't meddle with the other world. That means you can't tell anypony where you're from. You're only there to defeat the Heartless."
"Alright." Twilight gripped her saddlebag and put the gummi block inside. She adjusted the bag as she looked her companions, seeing if they were ready. Trixie tipped her hat and gave an approving nod. Flash gave a salute, showing he was ready for anything. Spike gave a small salute, mimicking Flash's. All four then faced the mirror in anticipation. "Guess we better start the mission, huh?"
Before they could took another step, Shining and Cadance approached the four and gave them two reassuring grins. Shining patted her sister on the back. "You'll be fine Twily. You're my sister after all."
"I know BBBFF. Thanks." Twilight gave her brother a hug back.
"Good." Shining looked at the others with a smirk. "You three take care of her, alright?"
"We will." Flash said with a nod. "Wish us luck."
"You'll do fine." Cadance said as she spread her wings. A shining smile radiated from her face as she gave them one last nod. "Be careful, Twily and her wonderful companions."
The four looked back at the mirror one last time and with four resounding gulps, leaped into the mirror. What followed was something akin to rollercoaster to the four. Their bodies felt like they were thrust through a tornado as they all screamed through the portal, start to finish.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
"KUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
One vomit-inducing portal jump later...
"Ow!" Twilight said as her body made a resounding thud on the ground. "Ooohhhh...that hurt. I feel funny..."
She wasn't wrong in that aspect as he eyes opened from the fall. Her head shook left and right as she slowly got up, her eyes adjusting from the impact. She blinked as she stared at the ground before lifting her head up. There, she saw one moogle she knew quite well, staring at her confused. Though, he was confused as well, as his usual green and purple coat was now a green and purple hued shirt on the moogle's body.
"Spike, what happened to your coat?"
"Kupo..." Spike replied, his voice slightly shaking.
"What's wrong Spike? What is..." But she couldn't finish her next question as her eyes drifted to her hoof. Except that it wasn't a hoof anymore. It was a hand. "What in the name of-"
Twilight fell backwards and stared at her hands, her mind in pure confusion. What is this?! Why do my hooves look like a hoof with five tiny long hooves on them?! She looked at her legs, only to see sneakers with white socks in the shoes. It was there that she felt the clothes on her, especially since she was used to going around without clothes except for saddlebags. Why am I fully dressed?! Why do my legs look that?! What am I?!
"Kupo?" Spike said, snapping Twilight back to reality before she could start having a panic attack.
"Yes Spike?" Twilight said as she looked back at the floating creature. It was then that a certain thing dawned on her. Trixie and Flash! They were supposed to be with me! Twilight began to glance around, looking for friends. Don't tell me they got separated when we- her thought was interrupted by the sight of two other individuals both shaking their heads, just a few feet away from her.
"Uh..." Twilight wasn't sure what to say at the sight in front of her. One of the two she was looking at had a light blue shirt and skirt on. The skirt showed a wand just like Trixie's cutie mark along with light blue sneakers and a big puffy blue and purple hat with stars all over the headwear. The other was a boy, equipped with a white t-shirt that a design of a shield with a lightning bolt on it. He had brown cargo shorts on and brown sneakers. She guessed it had to be Flash, who else would have that shirt? Well, that and the fact that on his back was his usual sword and shield.
"Trixie? Flash? Is that you?"
"Twilight? What is...huh?!" Flash gasped as her stared at her, his eyes squinting. "Is that you? You look...I don't know. What happened to you?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing." Twilight replied as she looked at the other, who was now waking up.
"Ooohhh...Trixie feels like Trixie's gonna hurl." she said as she shook her head in discomfort. "What happened?" Her eyes blinked several times as she began to look around, only to see Twilight and Flash in their new forms. "What the-who are you two?!"
"Hi Trixie." Twilight waved her hand. "It's me. Twilight."
Trixie squinted her eyes, trying to look Twilight up and down. "Twilight? Is that really you? What happened?!"
"Look at your hooves."
"Huh?"
"Just do it."
"Okay, but Trixie doesn't see how that's-what in the-AAAAAAaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!" she yelled as she began swatting her hands around. "What is this?! What is Trixie?! What happened to Trixie's hooves?!"
"Calm down." Flash replied with a bonk to her head. Twilight chuckled at the sight as Trixie yelled back at him.
Twilight continued to watch the banter until she noticed something else. The four had landed in a small but not dense forest. In fact, the trees quickly made her jump as she noticed they weren't regular pine trees or basic forest foliage. They were palm trees and plenty of them. She crawled to look over the nearby bush and saw a large beach in the distance. Oh wow, wherever we are, it sure is tropical looking. I've never been to the beach before. I've read about them though.
As she continued to look around, she saw another similar being to the ones they had become walk by, not noticing them. But what intrigued her was that the individual was bipedal. Wait a minute...does that mean I'm a biped now? She looked at her new feet and gave a shrug. Might as well find out.
Slowly ascending up, she quickly noticed her weight supported such a stance. Her arms flailed just a little but before she stood perfectly still on two legs. Guess I am. And looking at the other that passed by us, I'm guessing that I'm in a filly body version of...whatever species this is.
"Twilight? Why are you standing like that?" Flash commented as his argument with Trixie ended.
"Trixie agrees. Why are you doing that?"
"Um..." Twilight rubbed her chin. "I think whatever we turned into are bipedal."
"Bipedal?" Trixie asked with a raised eyebrow. "Trixie needs to stand on two legs now?"
Twilight shrugged. "I guess? Go ahead and try it."
A few minutes later, all three were on two feet instead of four. Flash began doing stretches while Twilight and Trixie just flexed their fingers. They were fascinated about how flexible they were. Flash then started to pat his back, only to let out a groan. "Girls?"
"Yes?" Twilight and Trixie responded in unison.
"I don't have my wings, do I?"
"Nope." Trixie bluntly replied.
"Sorry Flash."
"Figures. Just like you two don't have your horns."
"Yeah..." Twilight groaned as she felt the top of her head, only to feel nothing but hair. "I already miss my magic."
"You can still use the keyblade magic, correct? And you can use that dark blade, right?"
Twilight and Trixie both summoned their weapons, surprised they appeared in their hands instead of their mouths. After a few minutes, they both summoned a small blast of ice magic. (Fire and Thunder were too dangerous for a forest at the moment.)
"Guess that still works." Twilight said as she desummoned her keyblade. "So...what do you think we should do first? I honestly think we should find out where we are and what we are. I mean, I think we're somewhere tropical, but I honestly no idea where it would be or what it's called."
Flash pulled out his blade and tried to swing it, only for it fall out of his hand. He wasn't used to gripping it with fingers. He looked back up at the girls and asked them to try to swing their weapons around. They resummoned them and also had the same problems. Seeing this, he grimaced and said, "I think we better figure out how our bodies work with combat before we do anything else."
The girls looked at each other and thought about them trying to take on the Heartless while in this form. They looked back at Flash and said, "Agreed."
Meanwhile, thousands upon thousands of miles away...
A giant futuristic hallway that was painted a distinct shade of blue carried a great deal of beings inside it. These beings were alien in nature, resembling any manner of animal, creature or even machine. But that was not the focus of what was happening in this massive hallway. No, a select few stood before a medium-sized, four eyed being. The being in question had a long white lab coat on, his expression was that of slight curiosity and confusion to why he was there.
Though to be fair, he knew. He just honestly didn't want to admit he knew why he was there. As he continued to stare a small group of different sized aliens in front of him, a long, tall, and very slender green alien stepped forth. A strong authoritative voice expelled from her mouth as she began to speak.
"Read the charges."
A giant shark-like alien behind her pulled out a small sheet. His blue coated eyes skimmed the sheet as he spoke. "Doctor Jumba Jokeba, lead scientist of Galaxy Defense Industries. You stand before this council, accused of illegal genetic experimentation."
As his statement finished, a loud blaring noise turning every head in the room to look behind Jumba as a large ship floated into the room. As the ship slowly approached the center, the councilwoman spoke again.
"How do you plead?"
"Not guilty." Jumba responded, folding his arms. "My experiments are only theoretical and within completely legal boundaries."
The councilwoman leaned in, her expression unchanging. The large ship floated over Jumba as a claw with a small capsule slowly descended down. "We believe you actually created something."
"Created something?!" Jumba gasped, "Ha! But that would be irresponsible and unethical. I would never ever-"
The claw opened the capsule, showing a small blue creature in a red jumpsuit. A loud GASP!!! could be heard throughout the room as the capsule revealed the creature.
"-make more than one."
"Grrr...rawr! Rawr rawr!" The little creature yelled, it's mouth opening, showing all of it's teeth. It quickly hopped back, it's four arms pushing the side of the capsule as it headbutted the glass, only to fall over from the failed attempt. The giant shark-like alien behind the council leaned in with an expression of anger and rage.
"What is that monstrosity?!"
"MONSTROSITY?!?!?!" Jumba exclaimed, as if he were insulted. He quickly pointed back at the captured alien and began to explain. "What you see before you is a first of a new species. I call it, Experiment 626." A giant grin shined on his face. "He is bulletproof, fireproof, and can think faster than supercomputer. He can see in the dark and move objects three thousand times his size! His only instinct...to destroy everything he touches! Hahaha!" Jumba exclaimed as he fell over in fit of joy.
"So it is a monster." the councilwoman said, her expression showing a bit more anger.
"Just a little one." Jumba replied, his face still shining with happiness.
While the trial continued, one figure sat in the balcony, a jet black coat covering their body. As he watched the demonstration, the situation made him think about all the players. The mad scientist, the morally just councilwoman, the anger-filled fish alien and the illegal creature. All these sights intrigued him. Soon, the individual got up and began to leave the room. A few moments later, a dark flame appeared in his hand and he began to speak into it. "Servant, I am ready to report."
"Go ahead Party Favor."
"You asked me to find a being with evil in them for the Heartless, correct?"
"Yes. Evil hearts make great puppets for the darkness. Have you found one?"
Party Favor showed a small grin as a dark red mist covered his soulless, almost completely dead eyes. He gave a cold but still grinning stare into the flame. "I believe I have."
"Good." The Servant then shined a smile as the pony stared right into Party's eyes. Party's grin began to fade as his eyes slowly showed a little life, but not much. The Servant chuckled at the sight as another flame appeared in it's other hoof. "Now remember my pawn. You only exist to have other individuals spread Heartless, nothing else. I've given you a little freedom with your mind, but remember, your heart is mine. Now, what is your mission?"
"Spread Heartless to distract the keybearer and Celestia." Party replied in a deadpan tone.
"And if the keybearer appears?"
"Destroy her."