• Published 25th Jul 2013
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Kingdom Hearts of Harmony - steel soul



The weight of Sora's failure at the keyblade exam slowly began to eat away at him. In his lonely despair a door appears in front of him, opening a way to a new world with creatures he would have never thought he would see.

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A King and a Princess...(Edited)

Kingdom Hearts of Harmony

By Steel Soul

A King and A Princess

Green to start music and red to stop music

Canterlot Castle: Throne Room…

“King Sombra?” Sora’s words cut through the silence that had followed the princess’s words.

“Yes, my little pony,” Celestia answered. “The dark king of the Crystal Empire and the master of powerful dark magic.”

“Excuse me, your highness,” Twilight spoke up. “But I’ve never heard of the Crystal Empire before, or of this King Sombra pony. None of the books I own even mentioned anything like this. N-Not that I am doubting you or anything...but...”

Celestia smiled reassuringly towards her student. “It is quite alright Twilight. I can understand your confusion. The reason that you have never found anything is because everything about Sombra and the Empire was all but forgotten. Every written word or text made mentioning the king or the Crystal Empire disappeared. Vanished as if it was a leaf on the wind.” The Princess closed her eyes. “Even my sister and I had lost almost all memory of the Empire.”

Luna stepped forward with a grim expression upon her face. “Its not just that. It felt as though our memories of that time were plucked from our consciousness as if they were a ripe apple from off a tree to be never seen again, only for them to return as if nothing were amiss. ‘Tis an unsettling feeling to be sure.”

Sora sat on his haunches, folded his arms about his chest and closed his eyes. Why does this sound so familiar? Like… It’s almost like… that time with the pictures of me and my-

A sharp pain rang through Sora’s head and he quickly clasped a hoof to his head, shaking it slightly.

Wait… d-did that really happen? No...I think...I think that was with…

The voice of Twilight had snapped him out of his own confused thoughts. “How can such magic even exist? And for it to affect even the two of you of all ponies.”

The midnight alicorn huffed. “The magic of the Heartless has always been strange and powerful, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna’s horn began to glow from the tip with a deep blue light. At the peak of its shine, she shot a beam towards the ground. The light was brighter than Sora could have imagined, having to hold a hoof in front of his eyes to shield them.

When the light subsided and he could see again, the blood in his veins ran as cold as ice. A strange little creature was standing there, one not unlike the ones that Sora had fought the other day, except this one was much smaller with a round head and body, and claw-like hands and feet. Bright yellow eyes glowed with un-pony like light, a light that shook everypony present to the core.

“A Heartless!” Sora jumped up in front of the girls and, in a quick flash of luminescence, summoned his keyblade. Every pony present, with the exception of Twilight and the princesses, all gasped as he did so. His eyes alight with the fire of battle, the young stallion stood ready to defend himself and everypony in the room until his last breath. The only thing stopping him from charging head first towards the creature was the sound of Luna’s voice.

“Be still, gallant Wielder of the Key, ‘tis only an illusion.” The midnight pony motioned towards the shadow of a heartless. “From what Twilight’s letter has told us, Sora has explained these creatures, but a first hoof look says more than words ever could.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed. “You mean these things are the Heartless? Pfft! I bet I can take it down in ten seconds flat.”

“Now hang on there, R.D.,” Applejack spoke in her country drawl. “Just cause they look harmless doesn’t mean they are. I mean, look at it. it does look a mite' devilish, doesn’t it?”

“And ghastly too,” Rarity added. “Black isn’t very slimming on them, is it?”

“Aww! Come on guys! I think it looks kinda cute in a creepy sort of way.” Everypony watched as Pinkie waved a hoof through the illusion, causing it to distort in odd ways. “Oooo! Wavy!”

Fluttershy had somehow made her way behind Sora, peering at the creature with both distaste and fear. “I-It wasn’t so cute when it tried to attack me last night.” She shuddered at the memory.

Rainbow and Pinkie Pie couldn’t help but fold their ears back at Fluttershy’s statement, remembering just what it was that they were dealing with.

Twilight, on the other hoof, was more intrigued by the look of it than anything else, opting to stay silent in contemplation; that is, until a thought occurred to her. “Wait!" She turned to the stallion. "Sora. Didn’t you say the heartless you fought looked kind of like ponies?”

Sora looked between the Heartless illusion and Twilight before letting his key dissipate in a flash of light. “Oh yeah! That’s right, Twilight.” He turned to the princesses. “I have fought these types before, but the ones from last night looked more…ah…equ…ekia…eu…”

“Equine, Sora,” Twilight finished.

Sora looked back at her and smiled broadly. “Yeah, that’s it!”

Celestia’s eyes widened at the new information. “Are you sure, Keyblade Wielder?” At his nod, her countenance seemed to take a slight nosedive into the negative territory. “That… is troubling,” she spoke under her breath. Before anypony could ask what she had said, she addressed the stallion. “Sora. I fear that we may be in more trouble than I had suspected.”

“Wait, why are you telling him, your highness?” Rainbow asked, looking at Sora with narrowed eyes.

“Because, my little pony, in the face of darkness only the key can light the way.” She motioned towards the stallion. “And Sora is the key we need to face this darkness.”

The rainbow maned pegasus gave the most confused of looks. “I… don’t get it.”

“Well duh, Dashie. She’s saying that only one who wields the keyblade can truly defeat the Heartless.” Pinkie smiled as all eyes turned to her once again, dumbfounded expressions accompanying all of their faces. The pink party pony looked between them before shrugging. "Well it's the truth."

Celestia was the first to recover, smiling softly at the pink mare. “Well… yes, that is exactly what I am saying. The only way to truly defeat a Heartless is if you were to wield a keyblade.”

Is that so?” Before anypony could blink, Rainbow had zoomed towards the stallion with a hoof held out. “Okay buddy, hand it over.”

Sora blinked before frowning at her. “What?”

“That key sword thingy, dummy. Why don’t you let real heroes take on this darkness stuff and you can go and have a cupcake somewhere.”

The caramel coated stallion blinked slowly before a smile graced his lips. “Heh. Okay, sure.” Summoning his keyblade once again, he tossed it towards the waiting pegasus, Rainbow catching it in her hoof in one swift motion. It was much heavier then she had anticipated, but she could make do.

That was until the blade vanished in a gentle glow of light, reappearing within Sora’s smirking mouth without hesitation before he made it vanish again.

Rainbow stared at the hoof that had once held Sora’s keyblade before frowning at its wielder. “Hey! What gives?”

Princess Celestia stifled the giggle that had tried to escape her before answering Rainbow’s question for Sora. “I am sorry, Rainbow, but only those made into a Keyblade Wielder can wield a Keyblade.” She held out a hoof to Sora. “If you would…”

Sora nodded and summoned the key once more, this time the blade appearing in his hoof instead of his mouth. He beamed at his little accomplishment before he placed the object into Celestia’s own outstretched hoof. In a quick flash of light, the blade disappeared from the regal hoof of the princess and reappeared in Sora’s mouth once again.

“The blade cannot be used by anypony except a Keyblade Wielder,” Celestia said after letting her hoof down. "Not even I, a princess, can force it to listen to my command."

Rainbow frowned before turning to scowl at the young stallion, who seemed to have the most shit-eattingest of grins upon his face. Turning away, the mare scoffed. I can’t believe that twirp! He got me good!

“You said that the power of light can defeat these heartless, right?” Twilight voiced, cutting through Rainbow’s internal struggle. “Then what about the Elements of Harmony?”

Luna shook her head. “As far as we know, the elements, while powerful, are just not enough, at least not after being in a dormant state so long. They need time to gather their original power.”

“Besides, my most faithful student,” Celestia continued. “Only a Keyblade can truly free a pony’s heart if they have been corrupted by the heartless.”

“If that's the truth,” Twilight began, “then that means that we really are going to need Sora’s help to defeat the heartless.”

Celestia nodded gently before looking back towards the stallion in question. “Sora. I am sorry for asking you to take on such a burden, especially without your consent. I can understand if you wish not to. But...I must plea, will you help us?“

You kidding, Princess? Of course I'll help.”

Celestia gazed towards the young stallion, a smile gracing her lips. “You accept our plea?”

Sora smiled brightly. “If the heartless are causing trouble, then of course I’ll be there to stop ‘em.” He puffed out his chest and pounded it lightly with his hoof. “That's what it means to be the wielder of the Keyblade.” He summoned his weapon into his hoof, raising it into the sky as he did so. “I promise to do everything in my power to get rid of all those Heartless. No matter what.”

Rarity giggled softly behind a hoof, a light blush appearing on her cheeks. She found that while he was childish in some aspects, his behavior was quite heroic, knightly even.

Fluttershy seemed to blush even brighter than when she first saw him, and her smile brightened quickly at his words. Her heart began to beat a little faster and her breath slightly quickened. To say that she had never felt this way towards a stallion before was quite the understatement.

Pinkie, as usual, was smiling, but it seemed to widen by degrees at his proclamation.

Applejack had tipped her hat to hide her face, a smile playing upon her features. She would have hated to admit it to him, but she was actually impressed.

Rainbow on the other hand just huffed and folded her arms, turning her head away from him, annoyed at the stallion and mad that he had played a rather devious prank on her.

Twilight eyed him inquisitively before lowering her head. So many unanswered questions just kept popping into her mind. She could understand why the princess would know about the Heartless since they seemed to be connected to their history, but how did a colt, barely older than herself, know anything at all? And the Keyblade. Where did he get it and how come the princess isn’t asking any questions about it? Did she already know about him?

While in Twilight's inner contemplation, an armored unicorn of black fur and golden armor approached Celestia’s side, snapping her out of it. The princess’s voice snapped her out of her internal questioning as she addressed her, her friends and Sora. “I am sorry to cut our time short, my little ponies, but I must converse with Captain Linth. If Sombra is reappearing, then we must find the Crystal Empire before he does.” She motioned towards the door. “For today, you may stay the night in the castle. I’m sure you are eager to get back home and will do so tomorrow. You have much to prepare for before I call you again.”

Twilight still had so many questions, but she knew better than to disrupt the princess, especially now. She and her friends bowed low before turning towards the doorway. Sora had given the princess one last look; a look that said ‘I hope you are free later. We need to talk’. Celestia smiled and nodded before turning away from the retreating ponies.

Outside of the throne room, Sora immediately found himself surrounded by the girls. All eyes were trained upon him, causing the poor stallion to rub the back of his head nervously.

“So…um…” He nodded his head toward the throne room. “They're really tall. And really nice, reminds me of a king I met once.” When he got no response, he smiled awkwardly. “I could really go for some grub right about now… anyone want to join me?”

Twilight stepped forward, her brow creasing a little. “Sora…do you mean it?”

The stallion raised an eyebrow. “Of course I do. I only had a hay and mayo sandwich before we left from Ponyville, so I'm kinda-“

“Not that!” Twilight said, rolling her eyes before adjusting her tone to that of a calmer level. “I’m talking about, are you really here to help us?”

Sora tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. “Well yeah, of course.”

“So what? Are you expecting to get something out of this?” Rainbow questioned. “Bits? Diamonds? A spot on the WonderBolts?”

The stallion blinked once before answering. “Well… I was hoping I could get a good night's sleep after I eat. Dealing with royalty is really stressful. Like… a lot.”

He smiled as he trotted past them. The pep in his step was heightened only by the sound of his hooves hitting the marble floor. The mares stared at him for a few seconds before Pinkie instantly ran after him.

“Hey Sora! Wait up! I didn’t get a chance to show you around Ponyville but I can at least show you around Canterlot to make up for it!”

“Oh!” Rarity followed the duo at a half trot, half strut. “We can go shopping as well. I do love your outfit, but I wonder what you would look like in a suit. Maybe something more sleek and form fitting?”

“Um…” Fluttershy’s gaze shifted from Applejack to Twilight, and then to Rainbow Dash before finally ending up on the ground. “S-Sorry. I’m just going to…” She trotted past them to catch up with Sora and the others.

Rainbow watched them go, her eye twitching slightly. “W-what’s wrong with those ponies?! How can they just… just trust some random and strange colt they’ve only known for less than a day!?”

“I know how you feel, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said. “But the princesses seem to trust him. Besides, if he was a bad pony then I’m sure he would have given himself away by now. He’s not the, well… most informed pony.”

“He does have a foalish quality to him,” Applejack mused. “It’s kinda-“

“GAH!” Rainbow groaned. “Not you too, AJ!!”

“Refreshing! Ah was gonna say refreshing!” AJ said with an angry scowl. “Not many stallions look right acting like a doofus! He just pulls it off well is all ah was saying.”

When Twilight and Rainbow failed to respond, Applejack tipped her hat over her face and trotted off, muttering something about needing some air.

The unicorn and the pegasus watched as their friend hastily retreated before turning to face each other.

“Now what?” Rainbow asked.

“Well,” Twilight began. “I was planning on going to the library to see if there was any information about Sombra, the Crystal Empire or the Heartless. I’m sure that Canterlot’s library has more information than Ponyville’s. Hey, would you like to-?”

“Pass!” The Pegasus zoomed off, leaving a rainbow trail behind her as she did so.

With a displeased huff, Twilight made her way down the hallway muttering quietly under her breath.

~

Canterlot Castle, Resident Quarters…

Sora opened the door to the room he was given and instantly made a beeline for the bed. He barely acknowledged the fine décor of the room he occupied as he flopped his body onto the bed spread, spreading both his wings and his forelegs out. The feel of the soft silk sheets taking his aches and cares of the day away.

And what a day it was.

After a quick bite at the store named Donut Joe’s, Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy took him around town showing him many of the sights and landmarks the city had to offer. After that the girls - mostly Rarity -, took him to the shopping district. It was then that his day went from kind of hectic to completely chaotic. The girls - mostly Rarity - dragged him to every store imaginable. From shoes to clothing, nothing was left untouched. His tiredness took on a new level when he was left to pull the cart full of shopping bags with him back to the castle. By the end of it he had bid the girls a sleepy goodnight before he made it to the room he was given.

He smiled as his eyes drooped ever so slightly. Tired as he was, he really enjoyed himself and-

“Good evening, Sora.”

Sora’s wings flapped wildly in surprise, causing him to do a half front flip off the bed and landing on the other side with a loud thud and a grunt.

Celestia trotted towards the stallion that now laid crumpled on the floor. “Oh dear. I am sorry, little Keyblade Wielder. I did not mean to startle you.”

Maybe it was Sora’s imagination, but he could have sworn he saw a smirk on the princess’s face. He shrugged the feeling off, believing he was overthinking things. There’s no way that that was possible.

“No, it's okay.” Sora smiled up at the princess from his downed position. “I was probably too tired to hear you knock or something.” He picked himself off the ground and dusted himself off. “Guessing you’re here to talk to me, right?”

Celestia smiled softly. “Right you are. I did promise you after all.” She motioned towards the balcony. “Shall we walk while we talk? The Gardens are lovely this time of night.”

The stallion looked back towards his bed. He had wanted to get some rest due to this morning’s tiring events, but the need to have at least some of his questions answered was just too much for him to ignore. With a tired sigh, Sora nodded and followed the princess out onto the balcony.

“Whoa…”

And gaped at the view that the outer part of his room provided. Even from his second story window the stallion had a magnificent view of the city of Canterlot. The lights of the night life filled the city, giving off a spectacular show of every hue of the rainbow.

His admiration turned to confusion, however, as a thought crossed his mind.

“Princess. Aren’t we going to the gardens? Why are we on the balcony?”

The princesses eyes shifted towards the stallion and a smirk appeared on her lips. She unfurled her wings to their full extent and with a flap launched herself into the air. With the grace of a leaf blowing in the wind, she glided down towards the gardens below.

Sora watched her for a second before looking back towards his own wings. He had almost forgotten that he had them. It took a second for realization to hit him. Hey, that means I can fly!

With giddy excitement, the stallion unfurled his wings as well and gave them a quick flap. He smiled as he felt the cool breeze they produced upon doing so. Smiling like a fool, he made his way towards the edge of the balcony.

I’ve flown before with fairy dust, so adding wings to the mix can only make it that much easier.

With such flawless reasoning as his steed, Sora geared himself up, stuck his tongue out to the side in concentration and leapt off the ledge, soaring into the open sky.

It wasn’t until the descent started that the stallion wished wholeheartedly that he could have taken back such an obviously flawed statement.

Just as Celestia landed with a gentle step on to the cool night time grass, Sora flailed his way towards the ground with the grace of a boulder. Thankfully, he had landed in a nearby bush, breaking his free-fall somewhat. With some degree of struggling, he tore his way out of the brush. Miraculously, he only came out of the ordeal with a few light scratches and leaves stuck in his mane.

“Oh my…” Celestia, despite her worry, was trying her best to suppress a giggle.

Sora shook himself free of the leaves before looking upwards towards his balcony, a frown appearing on his face. “It’s the long way up for me.”

The princess smirked at the poor stallion. “Looks like you might need some practice before you try that again.”

The Keyblade weirder gave her a deadpan look as Celestia started to trot off. With a huff, Sora followed right after her.

They moved in silence, neither saying anything at all. He did have questions for her - many, in fact - but he was thankful for the time he was given to collect his thoughts. As they walked, Sora’s eyes strayed to his surroundings in awe. The gardens were impressive to say the least. If he looked really hard he could see shapes of some animals hiding in the darker reaches.

“So, little pony, how are you enjoying your time here in Equestia so far?”

"Well, everyone seems to be pretty nice." His thoughts then turned to a certain cyan pegasus. "Well, almost everyone."

“Oh, I’m sure Rainbow Dash will warm up to you eventually. She is quite the stubborn mare when she wants to be. Plus that little joke you played was sure to liven her up at the very least.”

“Ha! I don’t think I won her over, but seeing her frustrated wasn’t too bad.”

Sora lapsed back into silence for a second before he spoke again. “Princess…”

“Please, while it is just us, call me Celestia, little Keyblade Wielder.”

Sora looked towards the princess of the sun and smiled. “Well… if that’s the case, Celestia, then just call me Sora.”

The princess returned his smile with one of her own. “Fair enough, Sora.” She sat in the grass, letting her legs rest to one side of her. “Come have a seat. We can talk here.”

Sora obliged, choosing to sit on his haunches in front of the princess. He had so many questions, but he felt that the obvious one needed to be got out of the way.

“So… you know what I am? Or...You know. What I use to be.”

Celestia smiled as she nodded. “Ever since I summoned you, Sora. Why do you ask?”

“Well when I woke up in Twilight's house, I noticed my clothes were gone. You see, it’s either through my clothes or through a friend of mine’s magic that I am able to change my shape to match a world. I was changed already without either, so… was that your doing?”

Something seemed to click within the princess’s mind as he said that, and a slow response followed soon after. “Well, you see, the spell that brought you here was a two part spell. The first being a transportation spell. Fairly simple once you know what to do. The second part was the hardest, though. Transformations are hard, especially if you’re trying to transform a two legged being into a four legged one. Being the clever princess that I am, I was able to create a prototype transformation spell, still, to this day, in its development stages.” She smiled with overly kind eyes. “To tell the truth, it's still so far in the development stages that you were my first test subject. Any number of things could have gone wrong, from you having two heads to you completely disappearing altogether into the darkness of the void. The possibilities were endless.”

The sheer normality of her tone of voice as she said such a horrifying statement made the stallion nearly topple over in surprise.

“W-What?! But then… what?!”

Before the young one could get another word in edgewise, the soft and melodic sound of a very hearty laugh filled his ears. It wasn’t long before Celestia spoke once again, controlling her laughter, at least to a degree. “I’m sorry, Sora. I couldn’t help myself. And I must say, you have the most adorable little pout when you’re flustered.”

Said pouty stallion huffed before smiling himself. “Okay. Gotta watch out for you from now on, huh? I got your number, Celestia.”

Celestia stifled a giggle before continuing, her tone becoming a bit more somber. “I am sorry, Sora, but in truth, we really were desperate. My sister and I sensed the coming darkness a little too late and we had little time to prepare. Had we known about your clothing’s abilities then we would have thought twice about making you into a purely pony form.”

“Well, it's okay, Celestia,” Sora told her. “Long as I can change back whenever, then I don’t mind at all.”

The princess cringing did not go unnoticed by Sora.

“Yes, um… about that, Sora. The magic we used to transform you wasn’t new, but adding the effects we added is… I mean.”

Sora blinked as her words slowly began to dawn on him. “Will… I be able to turn back?”

Looking him dead in the eyes, the princess said without an ounce of wavering, “I promise on my life, Sora, that I will find a way to change you back, no matter what. If you must place your hate on anypony, then place it on me and I will take it all. I did something selfish, something I had no right to do, but I…”

The keyblade wielder lowered his gaze as her words slowly sunk in. It was quite some time before he spoke again. “Its… It's fine, Celestia. I’m not… well, I’m not angry.”

“But I… what I did to you, just so that you could be here…”

Sora genlty grasped the princess's cheeks in both hooves turning her so that they were now face to face. When she looked into his eyes, there was not a hint of anger or judgement within them. “Celestia. I forgive you. And I know you will make it right. That better?”

The princess’s mouth moved wordlessly before slowly finding her words again, a smile slowly appearing on her lips. “Thank you, Sora. You are much too kind.”

At her words, Sora’s gaze wavered slightly. I wish...that was the truth. The young stallion sat back on his haunches, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind. ”I do have another question, though. Why me?”

Celestia tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Why you?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Why did you choose me?”

Catching on, the princess looked back towards the stars in the sky. “Well, you came recommended by a dear friend of mine," she said honestly. "Somepony who I respect with all of my heart.”

Sora’s eyes widened in surprise. “Recommended?” When Celestia nodded, he lowered his head again. “That means...If I came recommended, then you know about me, right?”

Celestia nodded.

“Then you gotta know about the Keyblade Exam...about how I...”

Celestia’s ears folded back. She had indeed been told all about him, including said ill fated exam. “I...do...And, I want you to know that I don't think that you are-”

“A failure?” Sora looked away from her with eyes closed. “Tell that to the Keyblade Exam.”

Celestia shook her head. “Sora, you have more than proven yourself in the face of adversity. From what I heard, you were the deciding factor in many of the key battles your group has faced.”

“And even after that,” Sora spat, “I still lost.” The caramel coated stallion lowered his head. “It was my friend Riku that became a true Keyblade Master.”

“Sora…” Her voice carried all of her sorrow as she called his name. “You are far from a failure. You must have realized that by now.”

The stallion’s eyes widened at the sound of her voice. It wasn’t like him to act like this; to act so...hurt. “I am sorry, princess.” The stallion lowered his head as he spoke. “I will do my best for you and your kingdom. I will fight the Heartless and drive them back as best as I can.” He moved to pick himself up and turned to make his way back to the castle. He looked back over his shoulder towards the princess of the sun, giving her the biggest smile he could muster. “I promise to try my best and not let you down.”

Celestia watched as the stallion retreated back to the castle, her eyes closing as she lowered her head. “Sora...”

She didn't know if he was saying that to her...or to himself.

~

The chill of the freezing air did little to affect the black cloaked pony as she slowly entered into a rather oversized, ice covered doorway. Spread across the archway were markings so complex that she didn’t even bother giving them a second thought; there was no point since they would soon become irrelevant, anyway. Upon entering, she found herself within an icy room that held only one item: a large, pure black crystal.

The object pulsed with power and energy as she made her way towards it, her hoofsteps echoing within the cold, dark caverns.

“Well, well, well,” she mused, her voice as cold as the ice that surrounded her. “You’re looking as cool as ever, you old colt.” The crystal seemed to respond to her, pulsing angrily at her comment. She only seemed to be amused by it. “I’ll be out of your fur to let you plan your big comeback in peace, but first there’s a little problem we need to take care of."

The dark crystal pulsed again in response, this time slower.

The cloaked pony smiled underneath her tattered robe. “Tell me, big black and icy… what’s the strongest Heartless you can muster right now? I think it's time we officially brought the Realm of Darkness to the world of Equestria once again.”

Author's Note:

Edited by NightmareKnight

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