Kingdom of Friendship Part 2

by SkyFlare

Chapter 10 - Keyhole

“So Lost, who is this friend of a friend?” Spike asked as he let the pony into the library.

“That will be revealed in due time. But for now, just know that I am on your side and my only goal right now is assuring the survival of Equestria.” Lost answered as he followed the dragon inside.

“How do I know that I can trust you if you won’t tell me anything?” Spike was getting frustrated by the mix of no help from the books and no help from the stallion.

Lost took off his cloak and hung it over a chair. He revealed his dark brown coat and bright green eyes. Both his tail and mane were very short and they were colored a sky blue. There was something very similar about the stallion, but Spike couldn’t quite place his claw on it. Then he noticed Lost’s cutie mark, it was an inkbottle with a quill sticking out of it.

“Just trust me, especially if you want that mare of yours back. There is a way to access the worlds that she is trapped on.” Lost explained.

“And how do you know about that?” Spike snipped back.

“I know a lot of things that I probably shouldn’t. I know that you, Twilight Sparkle, and a bat pony by the name of Grey Cloud arrived in another world a short time ago. I know that you and Grey woke up in the Everfree Forest only a few hours ago.” Lost explained.

“That just makes me want to trust you less.” Spike rebutted.

Before Lost could respond to Spike’s answer, the door to the library was flung open. On the other side stood an angry looking bat pony, Grey, and a concerned yellow pegasus, Fluttershy. Grey’s expression soon changed from one of anger to one of fear as her eyes locked with Lost’s.

“No…” she said shakily. “It can’t be…”

“I tried to stop her, but she woke up faster than she should have.” Fluttershy explained. “I’m sorry Spike.”

“Grey, long time no see. What’s it been now, ten years?” Lost asked as he walked over to the bat pony. “I was just about to ask the dragon where you were so that I could possibly talk some sense into him.”

“You’re… you’re supposed to be dead… The Fissure…” Grey stuttered out.

“I was stuck there for a while. After the Overlord came here I tried to fix things back home. I found a few ponies that were still alive and they are rebuilding Canterlot, they call it New Canterlot, since not much was left of the old one.” Lost explained. “I’m sorry that it took so long to get back to you.”

“Inkwell…” Grey whispered before falling to her knees, tears streaming down her face. “You’re alive.”

“I thought that his name was Lost?” Spike looked at the two ponies.

“That’s the name of the main character in his stories. A pony who lost their memories and their way.” Grey explained.

“I had lost everything that I cared about, so I felt a connection with the character. The name just kind of stuck.” Inkwell continued. “Enough about me though, we need to find a way to get Twilight Sparkle back to this world before it is lost to the darkness. The Fissure are getting closer to the Keyhole and we’re running out of time.”’

“To get her back, we’d need to find a portal like the one that allowed for Grey and me to travel here. If it is in the same location in this Equestria as it was in ours, then we need to make our way to Vanhoover.” Ink stated as he approached the door. “We could use your Keyblade dragon; do you want to join us?”

“If Grey trusts you, and it means getting Twilight back, then yes. And my name is Spike!” Spike half shouted back.

“Very well. Pegasus, do you mind staying back here? We would need you to inform Princess Celestia if Twilight turns up like Grey and Spike did.” Ink requested.

“Um… Okay.” Fluttershy responded quietly.

“How are we getting to Vanhoover?” Spike asked.

“With style.” Inkwell smirked. “Get close.”

The trio teleported across Equestria and wound up in the outskirts of Vanhoover before Inkwell had used up all of his energy. From there, Grey helped the exhauster unicorn as they made their way through the city.

“Princess, I think that we’ve had a breakthrough with the spell!” Shimmer half shouted as she galloped into the throne room.

“Excellent. How long until we’re prepared to cast it?” Celestia asked the out of breath unicorn.

“That’s the bad news…” Shimmer panted out. “We can’t cast it, but there is a location in Equestria that would function the same as casting the spell. We would need a spell to locate Twilight on the other side and then we can open a gate straight to her.”

“Where is this gate?” Celestia asked, standing up.

“Vanhoover.” Shimmer answered. “I would suggest that we take four or five other unicorns in addition to myself that can cast a triangulation spell. The more ponies that are casting the spell, the more accurate it will become and the faster we’ll find her.”

“How long will it take for your team to arrive there?” Celestia asked.

“There is a train leaving Canterlot in half an hour. We should be able to arrive there by about six in the afternoon if there aren’t any delays.”

“There won’t be.” a stallion said as he entered the room.

“Captain Shining Armor?” Shimmer asked as she saw the stallion.

“I’m not a captain anymore. However, as a prince, the train conductor was more than willing to listen to what I had to say. The train is waiting for you and it will make no additional stops, seeing as it’s on royal business.” Shining smiled before turning to face Princess Celestia. “Thank you for keeping me in the loop while I was on my way down here.”

“You needed to know, she is your sister after all.” Celestia stated. “I will be taking my private chariot to Vanhoover in a few moments, if you would like to join me, Shining Armor.”

“Of course princess.” Shining nodded as he moved to the princess’s side.

“I have one matter to take care of first. I am going to need Luna to take care of Canterlot while I am away. I do not want her to worry about me and think that something bad has happened. Shining Armor, will you meet me by my chariot and get the guard ready?”

“Yes ma’am.” Shining Armor saluted, his guard instincts coming back to him in a rush.

Celestia walked away, retreating back to where Luna would be sleeping. As she entered her younger sister’s room, she was greeted with a tired yawn.

“Celestia?” Luna yawned.

“I am about to leave for Vanhoover. It is there that we might be able to save Twilight and bring her home.” Celestia explained, covering Luna with her wing. “Will you be all right while I am away?”

“Of course.” Luna smiled slightly. “Once I get some sleep I will be right back out there.”

“Okay.” Celestia smiled before turning around and starting toward the door.

“Oh, and sister, one last thing.” Luna stopped her. “Good luck, I hope that you bring her back safely.”

“Thank you, Luna.” Celestia smiled back at her sister once more before leaving the room.

Celestia made her way through the halls once again. This time when she reached the throne room, she kept going until she reached the castle courtyard. There, a group of four pegasus guards, Shining Armor, and her chariot were waiting for her. Without speaking a word, she climbed aboard her chariot and Shining followed suit. The pegasi lifted them from the ground and flew them through the morning sky. It had been a long time since Shining Armor had flown like this, and if it wasn’t for the possibility of his sister being in danger, he could have enjoyed it.

The trip was relatively quiet, neither Shining Armor, nor Princess Celestia speaking very much throughout it. The weather was nice on their trip, but that was insignificant to them at the time. They both worried for Twilight, wondering what kind of world she could be stranded in. If Haze was close to finding her there, or if it was already too late. With so many thoughts on each of their minds, neither of them could get their thoughts straight enough to speak.

When they finally arrive in Vanhoover, both Celestia and Shining are surprised to see a familiar face standing with a crowd outside of the town hall. Shining practically leapt off of the chariot and ran toward the crowd. Celestia’s position as a respectable princess stopped her from mimicking him, but she still climbed off in a regal manner and stepped into the crowd.

“Spike!” Shining shouted, capturing the dragon’s attention.

“Shining Armor! We’re about to get Twilight back!” Spike shouted cheerfully.

“How? The others couldn’t have gotten here yet.” Shining responded thinking of the unicorn team that had taken the train.

“A bat pony named Grey and a unicorn named Inkwell are in there right now, trying to bring a gate up from deep underground.” Spike explained. “Once it’s up, all they have to do is get Twilight to come through it and she’ll be home!”

“So you were trying to do the same thing as we were.” Princess Celestia stated, entering the conversation.

“You were trying this too? How’d you know about it?” Spike asked.

“An advisor of mine by the name of Shimmer, she discovered it.” Celestia answered.

There was a sudden flash of lightning accompanied by a clap of thunder loud enough that it shook the ground. Celestia looked up at the sky. Seconds earlier it had been peaceful, but now the sky couldn’t be seen through the thick layer of storm clouds that covered the city. There was no warning before the storm came in on them.

“Running is in everypony’s best interest.” mocked a voice from on top of the town hall.

Spike froze in place, horrified. He couldn’t bring himself to look up, not to that voice. He could hear the muffled sounds of Celestia and Shining yelling at the stallion. The words were inaudible to the dragon as the shock was still setting in.

“You’re dead!” Celestia shouted as Spike’s hearing returned.

“And I was dead after the Crystal Empire too.” the stallion remarked.

Spike looked up at the lone figure. It was a unicorn with a curved horn. Glowing green eyes and a dark smoke around his horn were visible. There wasn’t any other choice. Spike summoned his Keyblade an aimed it up at the roof, challenging the King of Shadows.

“Sombra!” Spike shouted. “Come down here and face me!” The dragon looked to the two ponies that had accompanied him as the other ponies ran away from the scene. “Go in there, help them find Twilight. I’ll take care of Sombra.”

“But you can’t fight him alone. Twilight was only able to beat him because Vim gave her li-” Celestia tried to argue.

“Watch me.” Spike glared at the king. “Third time’s the charm, right? This will be his third death.”

Before Celestia could argue any further, Shining Armor pulled her inside the town hall, leaving the dragon and the corrupted unicorn to face each other again. Sombra smiled as he lowered himself down to the streets of Vanhoover. His Keyblade formed in front of him and instantly clashed with Spike’s.

A Gummi Ship hovered over the lowest piece of ground in the Rising Falls. Twilight eventually made her way out, after giving up on making the flying monstrosity land; she had teleported to the ground. She quickly made her way back up to the castle gates and was immediately greeted by a Heartless that was carrying an enormous shield.

The shield had a face that was black and looked cat like. The Heartless stood perfectly still, blocking her way into the castle. The mouth on the Heartless’s shield opened and a large fireball launched out at Twilight. She projected a shield with her magic, stopping the attack before attacking the Heartless with her Keyblade.

She stumbled backwards as her attack clashed with its shield. The Heartless’s shield was too big for her to get around. She would have to find a way to get behind the Heartless, not really a big problem. Just as Twilight prepared to teleport, the Heartless fell down and she could see Cloud standing behind it with his sword out.

“Things are getting bad here. Leon saw your ship and he sent me to check it out.” Cloud stated, waving Twilight to the door.

“Master Yen Sid told me to find the Keyhole for this world. Do you know where it could be?” Twilight asked.

“It makes sense that you would be sent to seal the Keyhole, you are a Keyblade wielder after all. The Keyhole is through a portal in the grand hall of the castle.” Cloud explained as he led Twilight back into the castle library.

“Can you take me there?” Twilight asked.

“I can try.” Cloud nodded. “We’ll need to make our way to the high tower; from there we should be able to get into the chapel, assuming that there aren’t too many Heartless.”

“They won’t be a problem.” Twilight smiled. “Come on, if it’s as urgent as Master Yen Sid made it sound, then we need to get there soon.”

Cloud nodded and they started toward the lift stop that was hidden behind a bookshelf. Before they could reach it though, a light blue and red swirl formed in front of them. Twilight could almost make out a voice coming from it. Soon a figure started to take shape inside the portal.

“Tw… ight…” the voice was broken up. It was partially discernable, but it was fairly hard to make out what was said after Twilight’s name.

“Princess?” Twilight asked back, unsure as to if it was really Celestia’s voice.

“Twilight, it’s me.” Celestia replied.

“I can hear you.” Twilight smiled back. “How are you doing this?

Celestia turned her attention away from the portal. “It’s working Inkwell, keep it like this.” She turned back to face Twilight. “We’ve found a way to get you home, hurry.”

“I’m sorry princess, but if I don’t seal the Keyhole for this world, it will be destroyed by the Heartless. I have friends here; I can’t just abandon them like that.” Twilight shook her head. “It won’t take long; I’m being taken to the Keyhole now.”

“Spike is fighting Sombra, he’ll need your help.” Celestia explained.

“But Sombra’s dead… I beat him; I used the Keyblade to take his heart.” Twilight refused to believe what she was hearing.

“I can’t explain how, but he is back. I understand what you are trying to do there, but please, come back soon. We’ll reopen the portal as soon as we are able to.” Celestia said as the portal faded from existence.

“What was that?” Cloud asked staring over at Twilight.

“The portal?” Twilight looked over at Cloud with confusion.

“No, the thing inside the portal. Was that a talking horse? You know what, never mind, considering I used to work with Red, it doesn’t matter.” Cloud shrugged as he started leading Twilight through the lift stop once again.

“Who’s Red?” Twilight asked.

“A talking animal that helped me deal with Shinra. Come on, as you said, we’ve wasted enough time already.” Cloud said as he entered a bird cage lift.

“Yuffie, how’s it looking from that side?” Leon shouted to the ninja.

“Not good Squall, they just keep coming.” Yuffie answered, knowing that this is one of the only times that Leon wouldn’t have the time to argue about his name.

Leon held his gun blade in both hands as he channeled his magical energy into it, causing it to extend and produce a glow. He leapt down to the Heartless that were making their way up the stairs, swinging his sword into the horde. The extra range and power that he had would be just the thing for clearing a crowd like this one.

Yuffie saw what Leon had done, and followed suit, sending her energy into one of her shuriken, causing it to expand. She threw it down at the Heartless and took control of it, using it to clear out their numbers at a much faster rate.

“Leon! Wizards are heading your way!” Yuffie shouted, alerting the swordsman to a new wave of Heartless.

“Thanks for the heads up!” Leon called back, shooting a large ball of fire at one of the floating, cloaked Heartless.

The door at the bottom of the grand hall opened and the attention of the Heartless shifted from the ninja and the swordsman. There was a new target that had their interest; a certain Keyblade master’s scent had caught their noses.

“I’ve got them, go to the Keyhole!” Cloud shouted as his body lifted from the ground.

He flew over to the Heartless and started slashing at them from the air. Twilight wasn’t going to waste this opening, not when the fate of two worlds was on the line. She ran past the Heartless, managing not to get a scratch on her thanks to a couple of shuriken taking out some Heartless that got a little close for comfort.

“I’ve got to get to the Keyhole.” Twilight gasped as she reached Leon. “Where is it?”

“Through there.” Leon pointed to a large portal in the shape of the Heartless symbol. “Do you want me to go in there with you? Last time there was a dangerous Heartless in there.”

“No, I need you to keep them from getting to me. I can handle whatever’s in there.” Twilight shook her head as she started walking toward the portal.

The inside was like a tie-dye mess. It was constantly moving and it gave Twilight a feeling of nausea. She could see a keyhole shape on the opposite side from which she’d entered. She was so close; all she needed to do was cross the room.

“Hello there Poppet.” the same voice that had lured her into the portal.

“Who are you?” Twilight demanded.

“Whoa there, feisty. How’s about you just come with me, Haze wants to speak with you.” the man answered as he stepped out from a portal like the one that he’d gotten Twilight to go through.

“Who are you?” Twilight shouted that time.

“Name’s Braig.” the man answered, pulling down his hood and revealing his face. “And as I said, Haze wants you to-”

Before Braig could finish his statement Twilight short a beam of magic at him from her Keyblade. He narrowly dodged it at glared at her for a few seconds.

“Oopsy daisy.” he smirked. “You know, they used to give me that exact same look. What’d I do, kill your goldfish?”

“You’re keeping me from the Keyhole for starters.” Twilight snipped. “Just get out of my way!”

“No can do.” Braig laughed. “How about this though, I take you with me and this world and everyone on it dies.”

Twilight was so angry that she was shaking. This was the third time that she’d felt like this. The first was when she found out that the hydra wasn’t the doozey that Pinkie was talking about, and the second was when Vim tried to drop a boulder on her. A white glow surrounded Twilight as her hair became a fire. Her eyes turned red and she lost it for a second.

She blindly charged at Braig with her Keyblade. Braig vanished and reappeared upside down, standing on air. He pulled out his weapon and shot an energy bolt at her. A magic shield popped up just in time to block the shot though.

Twilight pulled out a second Keyblade; the Griffon’s Wing and jumped at Braig. He managed to block with his weapons and knocked her back to the ground. She landed hard on her back and found herself unable to move at first. As she slowly scrambled back to her feet, Braig reappeared in front of her with his guns aimed at her head.

“Say goodnight.” Braig taunted, but before he could pull the trigger, he was hit with a fireball, sending him flying away.

“Go! Now!” Leon shouted as he ran toward Braig.

“You came alone? Not very smart.” Braig laughed as he shot one bolt at Leon and another at Twilight.

“Who said that he was alone?” Yuffie entered the fight, hitting both shots with her shuriken, dismissing the attack.

“We’re a team.” Cloud smirked as he spun his sword in his hand confidently.

“Twilight, it’s up to you. Seal the Keyhole.” Leon stated as Twilight ran to the wall that the Keyhole was on.

When she reached the Keyhole, her Keyblade aimed itself at the opening and a small beam of light shot from the tip of the weapon. There was a soft clicking sound as the Keyhole faded away.

“No!” Braig shouted, teleporting to Twilight and wrapping an arm around her throat. “Try anything and I’ll kill her.”

Leon, Yuffie, and Cloud couldn’t afford to move. None of them were close enough to save Twilight, not without risking her life more in the process. They could only stand by and watch as Braig took her through a portal.

“Sombra!” Spike shouted as he climbed back up from the puddle that he’d been thrown into. “I won’t let you get inside this building.”

“You won’t… let me?” Sombra paused entertained by the word choice. “And how exactly… do you plan to stop me?”

“I’ll find a way. I’ve held you off this long, haven’t I?” Spike swung his Keyblade at the king.

Sombra slowly stepped to the side. The fight was taking its toll on the dragon and he knew it. He just had to keep up the appearance that it was having no effect on him. If he was lucky, the dragon would feel that he’d done nothing and he would give up. Sombra was still weak though from his revival, if he couldn’t end it soon, he would need some backup.

“Do you really think that you are the one stopping me? I’m simply toying with you, seeing how much you’ve grown since we last met.” Sombra mocked.

Spike managed to get a hit in on Sombra’s leg while he was distracted by talking. The king took a knee as he was hit. It was over; Sombra knew that he’d been found out. The worthless pony that was supposed to be coming to his aid was nowhere to be found either.

“Is that… all you’ve got?” Spike panted as he held his Keyblade to Sombra’s neck. “Some king… you turned out to be.”

“Insolent whelp!” Sombra boomed with a newfound strength in his voice. He climbed back to his hooves and blasted Spike back with his magic. “Do not speak down to me!”

“Come on Twilight…” Spike whispered as he blocked a powerful attack from Sombra.

The two Keyblades were locked as their wielders hearts battled. Whichever heart was the strongest would come out as the victor. Each heart was strong in its own way, one in the light, the other in darkness. A battle of light and dark, of love and hate.

Sombra’s hoofing gave slightly as Spike started to force him backwards. With all of his might, Spike flung his Keyblade, disarming Sombra and sending his Keyblade flying down the road.

“How…” Sombra started.

“Because I have somepony to fight for.” Spike bashed Sombra across the face with his Keyblade, knocking him to the ground.

Spike walked away with a heavy limp. He needed to see how the effort to bring back Twilight was going. Maybe she was already back, if he was lucky.

“Princess.” Spike nodded as he slowly entered the building.

“Spike! How badly are you hurt?” Celestia ran over to the dragon.

“I’ll be fine. Sombra on the other hoof, well, he’d out cold.” Spike smirked.

“You actually beat him?” Celestia gasped.

“Don’t sound so surprised.” Spike laughed.

Author's Note:

I can 100% guarantee that there will be a break after the next chapter comes out. I haven't gotten much of an opportunity to write on Part 3 in a while. To those who care, I'm very sorry, but college is proving to be more interesting this year than it was last year. I will start uploading it as soon as I finish it though and base the biweekly release on that release date.