Harmony Hearts

by GenerousGhibli

The Trial

She stared at the statue in disgust. This was how they saw her master; as a maniacal, laughing beast with a dragon-esque body and mismatched body parts? A monster? It made sense, when she thought about it.

Her master had said that the universe hadn’t been ready for his way. His students had said that the universe would never need his way. They were wrong. His was the true way; the only way.

His way was the future.

Raising her right hand to the side, a beam of crackling, violet chaos energy blasted out of her palm, rippling and cascading erratically for a moment until it settled down into a straight, blade-like form. Stepping forward onto the statue’s base, the figure leapt up, slashing across the beast’s torso. She planted her heels on the newly liberated top half and kicked forward, sending the mass of white granite flying into a nearby ice cream shop.

A shame… She’d wanted a treat from there. She was even going to pay for it! Oh well… She had more work to do, anyway.

Collecting her prize, a violet, diamond shaped gem roughly the size of her hand, from the remains of the statue’s core, she gave a wide smile. He was going to be so proud of her!

Now, on to part two… of the… plan?

As the figure started off towards the main palace, something on the ground near the ice cream shop wreckage caught her eyes. There, wrapped in clear plastic, were three blue bars of sea salt ice cream, all still perfectly intact. Beneath her hood, a glint flashed across her eyes as she approached the sweets. She dismissed her entropy blade and picked the ice cream up by the sticks, then delicately deposited them into her flared out sleeve. Because she had no pockets on her coat. Seriously, was that too much to ask?

As she walked away, she tossed a few bits over her shoulder onto what remained standing of the counter. She missed completely, sending the coins into the freezer, which was now missing the door.

“Chaos,” she whispered with a broad grin.

~H*H~

The eight apprentices were lined up in a row, each in front of their respective masters. All of them, save Pinkie Pie, wore serious expressions and seemed ready for any task ahead.

Grand Master Celestia stepped down from the thrones, followed by her comrades, and approached her students.

“Your first test,” she said loudly, “will be that of might. Each of you will be paired up with another whose style is similar to your own. After discussing the matter, we’ve selected the pairs carefully. You will be graded on skill, creativity, control, and strength. The only constraint is that you are not permitted to use any form of magic, including key shifts.”

Luna stepped forward. “The pairs are as follow: Rainbow Dash will duel with Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy with Trixie Lulamoon, Gilda Griffon with Applejack, and Rarity with Twilight Sparkle.”

Chrysalis chimed in. “The first to duel will be Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. The rest, please wait in the hall over there,” she said, pointing to the right.

Moments later, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were standing a few yards apart in the middle of the throne room, while the other six were situated off to the side behind a barrier set up by Celestia.

“Present keyblades!” Master Sombra shouted, prompting Rainbow and Pinkie to hold out their right hands. In a flash of light, they each summoned their weapons. Rainbow’s reverse-grip keyblade, Pride of Nation, was simple enough in spite of its unique design. The guard was a ring of clouds, while the rather short shaft looked like a broken white marble column leaning away from her hand. The teeth were comprised of a white cloud with a red, yellow and blue lightning bolt erupting towards the hilt. The keychain was a rainbow lightning bolt. Pinkie’s keyblade, Fun and Games, was of standard length, bearing a shaft made of a two-tone pink birthday candle with three balloons tied to it forming the teeth. The guard was made of a number of colorful rocks held together by a thin black string. The keychain was a small alligator.

“Ready?” Master Zecora asked, cursing her rhyming affliction. “Steady?” All of the other Masters smirked at her, causing her to blush. The combatants, however merely nodded, retaining their prior expressions, and took their stances. Rainbow widened her feet, putting her left foot forward, and then sweeping it back in a quarter-circle. She held her keyblade in front of her, with her left arm was held beside it as a secondary defense*. Pinkie Pie took more unique stance, pulling her keyblade up next to her head, parallel with her line of sight. Her left hand rose up, resting beside the tip of her blade. Her feet were no further apart than her shoulders, while her legs were bent*.

“Begin!” Granny Smith shouted, prompting Rainbow to dash forward, completely lifting off of the floor, and pull her keyblade back to strike. As she drew close to Pinkie, her opponent did nothing. She merely maintained her stance.

When Rainbow was only a few feet away, she swung her keyblade and missed completely. Suddenly, there was a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder prompting her to look up. She came face-to-face with the most disturbing smile she’d ever seen. No, it was a normal smile… but it seemed unnatural in the current situation. She should be scowling in concentration, not smiling like an idiot. She wasn’t taking this seriously at all!

And yet, she’d dodged Rainbow’s attack with very little difficulty.

As Pinkie flipped over her opponent, a collective gasp emanated from the other apprentices, who were not expecting such skill. Adjusting her balance, Pinkie twisted, let her body fall and planted her feet firmly between Rainbow’s shoulder blades.

Rainbow’s eyes widened. She knew why those feet were on her back. She felt the pressure start and quickly adjusted her stance to the left, causing Pinkie’s tennis shoes to glance painfully off her shoulder blade as she pushed forward. Rainbow continued her spin, swinging her keyblade out in a wide arc to slash at Pinkie. The hit landed, sending the smiling girl flying several feet away, which caused her to flip to regain her stance.

By the time Pinkie was back on her feet, Rainbow was already behind her, ready to strike. But Pinkie sensed her and dropped into a spilt, narrowly dodging Rainbow’s blade as it soared over her head. Swinging her left leg forward, she pulled herself up onto it, and then swung her right leg back to hook it around Rainbow’s right leg. She transitioned all of her weight to her hands and used her left leg to kick Rainbow right it the chin.

Suddenly, though, there was a sharp pain in the back of Pinkie’s head as Rainbow brought her keyblade into it.

The two fighters separated, Pinkie face planting on the floor, and Rainbow doing the exact opposite by landing on her back. They didn’t stay that way for long, as Rainbow rolled backwards onto her hands and toes, while Pinkie spun in a manner somewhat akin to break dancing, coming into a similar pose.

“Okay,” Pinkie said loudly, before she started running, her shoes screeching annoyingly against the floor. “It’s time to get real!”

Rainbow paled. “That wasn’t real?” she asked as she shot forward, matching Pinkie’s pace almost perfectly.

“No! I wasn’t even using my keyblade!” Pinkie shouted as her opponent leapt into the air, holding her keyblade back. Pinkie countered by jumping after her, holding her keyblade out beside her.

Rainbow swung her legs to shift her weight and start a flip. Her flip neared completion as Pinkie drew nearer and nearer. As Rainbow prepared to strike, though, Pinkie shot past her and planted her feet firmly on the ceiling. This prompted Rainbow to twist in the air to face Pinkie. As Pinkie pushed off, she swung her keyblade counterclockwise at her opponent. As the two came near each other and their weapons collided with a resounding crash, their momentum halted, and the two began falling to the floor.

Seeing an opportunity, Pinkie disengaged and executed a quick two-footed kick, accelerating her opponent’s descent and slowing her own. As Rainbow smashed into the ground with a scream and sickening thump, Pinkie landed neatly nearby and started to walk slowly towards her fallen opponent. To everyone’s shock, her hair had straightened out and her smile had been replaced with a vicious snarl. Slowly, she raised her keyblade over her head and a collective gasp spread throughout the Council of Masters. Thin tendrils of violet energy had begun swirling around her hand, and were inching their way along her keyblade.

Zecora was the first to react, leaping from her throne and landing only inches away from Pinkie, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Pinkie Pie, that is enough! You have proven that you are tough!”

Pinkie stopped for a moment, looking at her master in anger. That anger turned to shock, then disgust, then despair. Her face scrunched up and tears started pouring from her eyes. “I-I’m sorry, Master Zecora…” She buried her face in her master’s shoulder, dropped her keyblade in a flash of light, and gently put her hands around the woman’s waist. “I… You told me… d-don’t take it… But I thought… i-it’s a t-test… Right? I-I nee-need to f-focus...” Zecora wrapped her arms tightly around her apprentice and held her as she started bawling into her shoulder and the two slowly sank to the floor. Constant wails of ‘I’m sorry’ permeated the throne room as everyone watched on in shock.

~H*H~

After nearly half an hour of tears, Zecora was seated in her throne, while Pinkie Pie had curled up in a ball over with the other apprentices, most of whom had opted to stay away from her. Rainbow Dash, having taken a hi-potion to recover from her plummet, sat across from her, staring intently at her almost-killer.

“That was chaos energy, Master Zecora,” Celestia said evenly from her throne, not even looking at her fellow master. Despite her calm demeanor, not one of the masters failed to detect her anger. It emanated from the grand master in waves, almost as though it were a Harsh, suffocating heat.

“I am fully aware, Grand Master. It is my doing, this disaster.”

“You taught her that?” Luna asked, her eyes widening at the shaman.

“No, my dear friend Luna… It was an existing dilemma,” Zecora said softly, staring at a small blue pill in her hand. “I made this little remedy, intent on calming her energy. It is a depressant, whose power is quite incessant. When taken by most all beings, it has an effect most calming.” Zecora stopped and looked over to where her student sat. “But when taken only by her, it creates a monstrous terror. She was already prone to harsh depression, but this pill acts as a demon’s possession, failing in full repression, but unlocking her aggression. Had I not intervened just now, one apprentice we’d be without…”

“So,” Sombra chimed in, holding out his left hand, “she is like me. It comes easily to her.” A small tendril of violet energy arced between his fingertips to illustrate his point. “The appearance of such individuals as us marks only one event.”

“Agreed,” Chrysalis agreed bluntly, crossing her arms. “Gilda had a certain inclination to it when she started training, but it hasn’t shown itself since. If his return draws near, we need to hurry with these trials.”

A chorus of affirmations spread throughout the council as Celestia lowered the sound shield she had placed around the apprentices. “Trixie and Fluttershy, come forth!”

~H*H~

Fluttershy and Trixie faced off, staring each other down with keyblades held at an angle in front of them*. Fluttershy’s Gentle Wind was simple. The guard was comprised of a green leaf laurel, while the shaft was just that, a simple, yellow shaft. The teeth were comprised of a pink butterfly laid across the shaft, looking as though it’d been skewered. The keychain was a pink butterfly.

Trixie’s was equally simple and rather similar in design. The guard was made of a number of playing cards spread out like they had been laid down, while the shaft was a purple magic wand with a blue star at the end. The teeth were made of a stream of translucent blue ribbon flowing off the wand’s head and sweeping down in an arc. The keychain to her beloved Magician’s Delight was a simple blue gem, matching the one tied under her shirt collar.

“Begin!” Granny Smith shouted.

Trixie took a step left, intending to circle her opponent. She didn’t get the chance, as Fluttershy stepped forward, approaching Trixie. She wanted a head on battle? Fine.

Trixie changed direction, following Fluttershy’s example. Fluttershy’s face changed, slipping from determined, into slightly afraid. She switched her tactic, and began circling around Trixie. Trixie grimaced and changed her pace, moving closer to Fluttershy, who didn’t change her pace at all. This continued for some time, and a quick glance at the masters told Trixie that she was not the only one growing tired of this game.

“Perhaps… matching similar styles was a bad call,” Master Sombra said behind her, prompting Master Smith to chuckle.

Trixie clenched her teeth and pointed her keyblade at Fluttershy. “Would you stop running and fight Trixie already?!” she shouted, causing Fluttershy to jump and drop her keyblade, dismissing it in the process.

“Oh! Um, okay…” In an instant, Fluttershy had summoned her keyblade back into her hand and had taken a defensive stance. “C-come at me… whenever… you know, you’re rea–”

“Trixie is ready now!” Trixie lunged forward, thrusting at the timid girl, only to have her keyblade knocked away by a gentle tap from Fluttershy’s. Trixie’s balance was thrown off as her opponent side-stepped, letting her momentum carry her though into a stumble.

A lance of pain shot through Trixie's back as Fluttershy drove the pommel of her weapon between her shoulder blades. Trixie whirled counterclockwise, intending to slap the offending keyblade away, but she struck nothing but empty air. Fluttershy was several feet away, out of Trixie’s range, and she held her keyblade up parallel with her body with her left hand behind her back. She’d back-stepped and was preparing to strike!

In a blur of yellow, Fluttershy swung her keyblade out in a broad, horizontal arc. Trixie parried the blow, bouncing Fluttershy’s weapon over her head, which provide an excellent opening at the formerly meek girl’s waist. Trixie shifted her offensive hand’s wrist and swung her keyblade in a short arc, impacting Fluttershy’s torso perfectly.

As Fluttershy staggered to her right, Trixie wasted no time in striking again. Slashing up and to the right, she sent her keyblade straight at her opponent’s head. Fluttershy squeaked in surprise and knelt down, dodging Trixie's attack. Unfortunately, Fluttershy’s hair wasn’t fast enough to avoid a few strands getting sliced through by the star on the end of Trixie's keyblade.

Fluttershy took her chance to evade Trixie and pushed off, running awkwardly to Trixie’s right. Naturally, she was pursued. Spinning on the ball of her right foot, Fluttershy slapped away another attack from the right, sending the tip of Trixie’s keyblade slamming into the marble floor with a loud clang. Trixie recovered by stepping forward next to her keyblade, pivoting the weapon on its tip, and brought the pommel up in an attempt to bash Fluttershy’s chin. But again the blow was evaded as Trixie’s opponent took a quick step backwards.

Fluttershy brought the tip of her own blade up in a vertical cut, succeeding in slicing through the front of Trixie's shirt. Trixie was fast enough to avoid letting the blade cut her stomach. Fluttershy stopped her cut so that her keyblade was parallel with her gaze and continued her attack by thrusting at Trixie’s chest. Trixie parried the thrust to her left and slashed at Fluttershy, who countered by raising her keyblade into a static black position. Trixie’s keyblade clashed harshly against hers, sending sparks flying from the impact.

Trixie leapt back a few paces and quickly brought her keyblade back to bear against Fluttershy, who had taken the same stance.

“Enough!” the Grand Master called, startling the two combatants with her amplified voice. “This match has reached a stalemate. Neither of you are victors, and yet you both are. Both of you have shown admirable strength, stamina, and an astounding ability to think on your feet. Be aware, girls, that the goal of this was not to determine who is stronger. It was to showcase your ability in combat; abilities you should both be very proud of!”

“Besides,” Master Chrysalis cut in, “I don’t think it would be possible to pick a winner between you two.” A chorus of affirmations rang out from the council as the two girls beamed at each other.

Fluttershy, for her part, fell onto her backside and dismissed her keyblade. Leaning back on her hands, she sighed and looked up at Trixie. “That was hard…” she said sweetly with a smile.

“Indeed, it was,” Trixie replied, offering a hand to Fluttershy. It was gladly accepted, and she immediately hoisted the girl to her feet. “Trixie quite enjoyed our match.”

“Well, I… um… I don’t like fighting… but, yes, that was fun…”

As Trixie and Fluttershy made their way back to the other apprentices, Gilda and Applejack stepped out into the designated area.

“Good luck, you two!” Trixie said as the two duos passed by each other. Applejack and Gilda said nothing as they made their way to the center of the throne room.

~H*H~

I can’t just… leave her like that…

Rainbow Dash rose from where she sat, drawing the attention of everyone around her. She slowly walked over to where Pinkie Pie was curled up and knelt down in front of her.

“Hey,” she said quietly, prompting the sad girl to look up. “You okay?”

“N-no…”

“How come?” Rainbow asked, sitting down cross-legged. “You won the duel.”

“I disobeyed Master Zecora and I almost killed you…” Pinkie muttered, staring at her knees. “Why would anybody be okay after that?” She suddenly looked up at Rainbow with a scowl. “And why aren’t you m–” She was cut off by a gloved palm smacking against her forehead.

“Chill out, Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow said teasingly. She pulled back her hand back and made a fist, holding it just in front of Pinkie. “Put her there, and let’s be buds.”

“You… You wanna be my friend? After that?”

“I’ll tell you now, that was nothing compared to Master Chrysalis’s accelerated training. So yeah! I wanna be friends!” Rainbow said enthusiastically, grinning from ear to ear. “And you gotta teach me that shoulder flip thing! That was so cool!”

Pinkie giggled as her hair poofed back up, and she raised her fist to gently bump it against Rainbow’s. “Deal! But I’ll be honest; you’re kind of short to be grabbing people’s shoulders…”

Rainbow’s face promptly turned red as she took in her new friend’s words. She crossed her arms and looked away with a mock pout. “Aw, shut up, you!” Her pout was soon replaced with a grin as she looked back at Pinkie. “So, we’re cool? No more pouting, right?”

“Right!” Pinkie said happily. Before Rainbow could do anything to stop her, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the other girl’s shoulders. “We’re gonna be the bestest friends ever!”

“And I suddenly question why I made this decision!” Rainbow said playfully, half-heartedly pushing Pinkie Pie away. The weight was too much for Rainbow to bear, and the two toppled over in a laughing mess.

“The next match is starting!” Twilight said as Trixie and Fluttershy came back into the waiting area.

~H*H~

Gilda stared Applejack down like a vicious bird of prey. Without moving anything but her hand, she summoned her keyblade, Wings of Loyalty. It was an abstract design, with the guard consisting of a pair of blue wings spreading out at the base of the shaft with two rainbows trailing from their tips and connecting at the pommel. The shaft was comprised of a long rainbow, ending in a rainbow-haired, blue pegasus curled up with its wings spread out to form the teeth. The keychain was an eagle’s head. Gilda’s face turned a little red. A keyblade formed its shape based of the wielder’s personality and the contents of their heart.

And hers was based on Rainbow Dash. She hated that.

Applejack flicked her arm out to the side, summoning her Honest Apple. It was a very simple design. The guard was a pair of apple trees bending up around the grip, while the shaft was an orange slab of steel and the teeth were a trio of red apples. The keychain was an apple.

“Ready?” Chrysalis asked, prompting the two duelists to take their stances. Gilda bent her knees and held her keyblade’s elongated grip in both hands at an angle to her body, just in front of her waist*. Applejack took a similar stance, only she held her keyblade upright beside her*.

“Begin!” Master Granny Smith shouted.

Gilda leapt towards Applejack driving her blade’s tip towards the cowgirl. Applejack parried, sending her opponent’s weapon to the left of her. A.J. followed up by bringing her keyblade down towards Gilda’s shoulder. Gilda stepped back and smashed her keyblade up into Applejack's, sending sparks skittering across the floor. She quickly followed up by twisting her blade and slashing down. A.J. jumped back, narrowly avoiding the cyan wing that threatened to slice her face in two. She quickly stepped around her, swinging her keyblade at Gilda’s shoulder. It made contact, sending Gilda stumbling away.

Gilda grimaced, glaring at Applejack through her bangs. She was stronger than she looked… and she looked strong. Gilda removed her left hand from the keyblade and tightly clutched her scarf for a brief second. She was not going to let her best friend down. She took hold of her weapon again and swung at Applejack, aiming at her right arm. Her attack was deflected over the cowgirl’s head. As Applejack prepared to counter, Gilda pulled her keyblade back up and smashed the pommel into her opponent’s face, breaking her nose.

With a pained grunt, Applejack stumbled back with her hand over her nose. “Daggum! I reckon you ain’t gonna pull your punches either, huh?”

Gilda didn’t respond. She was focused on the duel. She wasn’t going to make idle chit-chat with her opponent, like the others had. She was a warrior above all else, and she intended to make that known.

“I’ll take that as a nope,” Applejack said with a sigh, before wiping her bloodied hand on her shirt and returning it to her keyblade. From the waiting area, a loud gasp sounded, followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor. “Well, good thing I got a few more o’ these…”

Gilda continued to glare at her opponent. “Come at me,” she said calmly. Applejack rushed at her, swinging her keyblade up in a broad arc. Gilda dodged backwards, then pulled her keyblade back and thrust forward, nearly impacting Applejack’s stomach.

“Enough!” Celestia called, causing the duelists to freeze. Gilda dismissed her keyblade, stood back up straight and bowed to her opponent. Applejack copied the bow, and then held out her hand for Gilda to shake. After a moment’s hesitation, she did just that, smirking at her former opponent. “You both did very well! I’m sure you’ve done your masters proud.”

As the two made their way back to the waiting area, Applejack pulled out a potion and quickly chugged it, then crossed her arms and leaned in close to Gilda. “So, uh… That there keyblade of yours sort of reminds me of your little friend over there. What’s the deal with that?”

Gilda’s face flushed red as her hand rose up to her scarf. “It’s… uh… kind of personal. I don’t really know you well enough to tell you…” she said quietly, a soft smile forming on her lips. “Sorry.”

“Ya’ll ain’t gotta apologize,” Applejack replied, holding up her hands. “Personal stuff’s personal. I’ll hear it when you’re ready.”

~H*H~

Back in the waiting area, Fluttershy and Trixie were both fanning Rarity’s face, while everyone else looked on with worried expressions.

“Is she gonna be okay?”

“For the tenth time, Pinkie, we don’t even know why she collapsed!” Twilight shouted, holding her two glowing hands over Rarity’s chest. “Cura isn’t even doing anything!”

“Are you sure it’s not just Cure? Trixie can cast a Curaga if you’d like?”

“Whoa, you can cast Curaga?” Pinkie said excitedly, her eyes wide with wonder. “I can’t even manage Cura!”

“Yes, Trixie, I’m certain it’s Cura. It’s just... Maybe an ether would work?” The glow on Twilight’s hands subsided, indicating that she had ended her spell.

“I got this,” Rainbow said as she pulled off her sneaker. “This always works on the squirt when she sleeps in.” She held the shoe in front of Rarity’s face, causing her to gag and sit up straight.

“What in the name of all that is glamorous was that dreadful odor?!” She demanded, putting a hand over her mouth.

“That would be four-year-old sneakers that have never been washed,” Rainbow explained, holding up the bright blue footwear. “It’s about a million times more effective than coffee.”

“That… that’s disgusting…” As Rarity got back to her feet, she spotted Applejack and Gilda making their way into the side hall, Gilda holding her scarf and blushing. Rarity pointed a finger at Applejack and strode forward. “You! How could you?!”

“Beg yer pardon?”

“That shirt!” Rarity screamed, thrusting her finger at the work shirt. “I mean, sure, orange is a bit outdated but it works for you! How could you just… bloody it up like that?!”

“We’re keyblade wielders,” Applejack said, her tone suddenly very stern. “If ye’re afraid to get yer clothes dirty, then maybe ye’re in the wrong place.”

“I’m not afraid of getting my clothes dirty,” Rarity countered, pulling a small phial out of her hip pouch, then tossed it to Applejack. “I just prefer not to. That’ll remove the stain, unless it sets. You’ve got twelve hours before it does.”

“How… can you tell how long it takes?” Applejack asked, uncorking the phial and taking a whiff of its blood red liquid contents. She promptly scrunched up her nose and corked the phial.

Rarity started walking past, but stopped for a moment to look sidelong at A.J. “Don’t think you’re the only apprentice that’s shed blood for their master.”

“I wasn't…”

“Come along, Twilight. Our duel is next,” Rarity said shortly, before exiting the waiting area, quickly followed by a shocked Twilight.

“Rarity… What was that?”

“That was me cementing in that brute’s mind that I am not as frail as she thinks,” she explained, scowling ahead of her.

“Oh…”

~H*H~

Twilight and Rarity stared each other down, keyblades held at the ready*, while Spike had been left in the waiting area until the duel ended. Rarity’s weapon, Dutiful Abandonment, was rather complex, and displayed a number of meanings. The guard consisted of two separate structures. The side closest to her forearm was comprised of a small white unicorn with a light pink and purple mane, while the other side was made of a grey unicorn with a black mane and a red horn. Both unicorns wore a scarlet cape, the white one’s flowing under the grip and the black one’s flowing over it, connecting the two. The shaft was a long roll of violet fabric, with a black crystal spire weaving through, ripping it to shreds. The teeth were comprised of three teal gems connected by the crystal spire, and the keychain was a spool of violet sewing thread.

She despised her keyblade.

Twilight’s keyblade was very simple and just as simply named. Broken Harmony’s guard consisted of two wings circling the grip, one resembling a violet bat’s wing, while the other was a blue feathered wing. The shaft resembled her master’s keyblade, but the blade had pieces broken out of the edge, causing it to resemble a modern key, rather than the classic skeleton key design. The keychain was a violet, six pointed star. She wasn’t really sure why her weapon had taken that form, but it had lent to her simple style of combat nicely.

“Begin!”

Before Rarity and Twilight could so much as raise their weapons, the throne room door burst open to reveal a woman in a black coat with her leg held up from kicking the door, and one hand held up to her hood.

“Shup,” she said simply, her voice muffled by something in her mouth. “Why’sh e’rebo’y shtaring at me?” The figure sighed and lowered both her leg and her arm. In her left hand was a blue ice cream bar. “Come on, did I miss the party?” she asked, holding her hands out to either side as she started walking forward.

In a blinding flash of golden light, Celestia appeared in front of the woman with her keyblade held at the interloper’s throat. “Why are you here, child?”

The woman gasped, holding her hands up in front of her hood. “How’d you know it was me?!”

“You still reek of your… malignant… brand of magic.”

“Oh, don’t be like that,” the woman said, a nearly luminescent smile forming under her hood. “I’d think you’d want to see your old pupil again…” she muttered venomously. Celestia pulled her keyblade back and drove it forward, only to meet with empty air. “Well, that’s not very nice!”

Everyone in the room looked up to see the woman standing on the ceiling, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Her coat hung around her legs as though the ceiling itself were exerting gravity against her, and she had resumed eating her ice cream.

“Cease your games, heathen!” Luna screamed, leaping up beside the woman and slashing at her, only to meet with the same results as her sister.

“Pfft… Games?” Heads turned towards Celestia’s throne, where the intruder had taken to laying across the arms of said furniture. “No, I’m not here for games,” she said calmly, twirling a clean ice cream stick in her between her fingers.

Chrysalis smashed her keyblade into the throne and destroyed the marble fixture, only to miss like the others had. “Then why have you come?!” she screamed, her eyes flashing emerald with raw magic.

“Oh, that’s simple!” The woman appeared between Twilight and Rarity, slinging her arms over both girls’ shoulders. “I already told you, I’m here to see my old master!” Rarity scowled and slashed at her, meeting with much the same results. The woman reappeared beside Sombra’s throne, receiving another failed slash from him. This prompted him to bare his sharp fangs and quickly swing his head, sweeping his gaze around the room. He spotted the woman walking across the wall to his left. “Well, that, and to kill you six.” She stopped walking a put a hand to her hood. “Oooh… Probably should’ve have kept that to myself…”

A soft shuffling sound drew everyone’s attention to Granny’s throne, only to see her robe drifting down the steps. “Ye should’ve kept away, is what ya should’ve done.” Everyone looked back to see a white-haired elderly woman in the air beside the intruder’s head. She was clad in a pair of blue jeans and a green work shirt, with a pair of brown boots and matching work gloves. Fast as lightning, she swung her keyblade and, much like the others, missed. Granny fell to the floor with a thump, landing on her feet with no difficulty at all. “If ye had any guts in ya, ye wouldn’t run away like that!” she said, shaking her fist in the air.

“Well, that’s just mean. And look!” Everyone turned to see the woman pointing at her shoulder, where a large piece of her coat had been torn away, revealing a patch of tan skin. She stood atop Zecora’s throne, the owner of which promptly appeared behind the intruder, slashing as she rose up. She as well missed. As a slab of the throne fell sideways, the intruder drew everyone’s attention to her with a simple complaint as she made her way towards the apprentices. “You messed up my coat!” she said, a trace of hurt in her voice, “I mean… I had to pay for this myself! It was really expensive!”

“Silence, you cur!” Celestia and Luna roared in tandem, bringing their keyblades down above the woman, who promptly vanished.

“Come on, Celestia, is that any way to treat an old student?” The woman said as she reappeared behind Trixie, her body mere inches from Trixie's. “By the way, I like the way these have turned out. This one is especially cute. I see you at least let them dress themselves now.” Trixie’s face burned a bright red as the woman’s shoulder shifted forward. “I approve…”

Spike leapt over Trixie's shoulder and blew a gust of emerald flame at the intruder. "Leave my sister alone!"

Trixie followed up by spinning and summoning her keyblade, then swinging it out as the interloper stumbled back in surprise. “Indeed! Do not touch Trixie, you cretin!” Magician’s Delight slammed into the side of the woman’s head, sending her reeling into the wall.

~H*H~

Granny’s eyes narrowed as opportunity presented itself to her. Sprinting towards the apprentices, she leapt up towards the side hall’s vaulted ceiling, planted her feet firmly on either side of the peak, then rocketed down toward the brat that dared to interrupt her grandbaby’s big day. She hit the ground with a hard thump, and grabbed the woman by the hood as she bounced off of the wall. With a labored grunt, she pulled her arm back and tossed the intruder into the air, then jumped up a few feet and gave an aerial roundhouse to her stomach that sent her flying back out into the throne room.

The other masters were quick to pick up on Granny’s play. Sombra suddenly appeared below her. Gripping the Crystal Conquest with both hands, he leapt up and slashed across the woman’s back, causing even more of her coat to tear away.

Chrysalis struck next, using a pair of sickly green ethereal wing to approach from the side. Using Shifting Loyalties’ teeth, which had folded out to form something akin to a pickaxe blade, she hook the woman by the armpit, then pulled up towards the ceiling and slammed her enemy into the solid marble, sending a spider web of cracks spreading beneath her. A strike from the master’s fist to the woman’s chest caused the cracks to spread even further. Chrysalis gripped the woman by her coat’s collar and hurled her back at the ground.

Zecora appeared beside her with Shaman’s Wisdom pulled back. She brought her keyblade down into the woman’s abdomen, hastening the intruder’s decent.

As the woman made contact with the ground, Luna and Celestia appeared on either side of her. Celestia slashed across the woman’s front, while Luna hit her back.

As the woman staggered to her feet, Sombra stepped up in front of her and raised his right leg, his knee coming to rest against his chest. The woman looked at him and her shoulders sank as his foot shot forward into her chest, sending her into the east wall.

Granny dashed forward, thrusting her keyblade forward, only to have the enemy stumble to the side. Instead of pulling out, she brought her keyblade down, cutting straight through the marble. Her cut continued, slicing into and through the floor in a wide, sweeping curve towards the woman.

The woman stepped back as the weapon emerged from the ground and flew at her face. She narrowly avoided her doom as the tip of a blue lightning bolt passed an inch from her nose. Granny stopped her swing and brought the keyblade down at her. The old master’s feet came off the ground as she flipped to give her strike more momentum. The woman stumbled sideways again as a shower of sparks erupted from the ground where she had been standing not even a second ago.

Chrysalis flew in again holding her keyblade out to the side, intending to slash this time. Sombra and Zecora were already lined up behind her…

She had no choice.

She had to.

She ran towards Chrysalis and, at the last moment, dropped to her knees and slid under the master’s keyblade. The wind from Chrysalis’s attack snatched her hood away from her face, causing her crimson and golden locks to fall out around her sun-kissed face adorned with beautiful cyan eyes.

As she stood back up, Celestia and Luna set up for another cross-slash attack, but she was ahead of them.

“Enough!” Sunset Shimmer screamed, holding her hand up over her head. “Stopza!” A black field of temporal magic and the sound of ticking clocks flooded the throne room and side hall, freezing every person present in their tracks. “I’ve had enough of this. It's time I finished up here...”

Author's Note:

Ass kicking. Ass kicking everywhere. I know, Pinkie and Dash's fight was a bit short, but it did what it needed to. Now, for the asterisks, cuz you know they're coming. These were meant as reference points, where you could scroll down to the A/N and get a bit more info on them. In this chapter, I used a lot of Historical stances, weapon disciplines, as well as techniques during the trials that might've intrigued some folks. Bear in mind these are their Primary fighting styles. Who knows what I'll come up with later on...

*Rainbow Dash's stance and style is based on a reverse grip knife fighting technique, in which you use your non-dominant arm to protect vital organs and the such. Particularly useful with a karambit knife.
*Pinkie Pie's stance and style (though we didn't get to see here actually dueling with her weapon discipline) are based on shaolin sword techniques. Very languid, fast and hard to track, much like Pinkie herself.
*Trixie and Fluttershy are trained in a variation of cutlass/saber disciplines. That's really all I can say about that. That's why their duel was particularly... duel-ish, compared to the others.
*Gilda's stance and style are based on kenjutsu (yes, that is a real thing... look it up on YouTube.) and general two-handed techniques.
*Applejack is similar to Gilda, though I tended to gravitate more towards European longsword techniques. Hence her stance is a bit different.
*Twilight Sparkle and Rarity are trained as arcane mages. Their disciplines and stances are very generic and simple, yet highly adaptable. I didn't really take much influence from any particular style when planning them out.

Keyblades:
Fluttershy: Gentle Wind, originally aniamalman, but altered by me.
Trixie: Magician’s Delight, me.
Pinkie: Fun and Game: me.
Rainbow: Pride of Nation, me.
Gilda: Wings of Loyalty, me.
Applejack: Honest Apple, originally aniamalman, but altered by me.
Rarity: Dutiful Abandonment, me.
Twilight: Broken Harmony, me.

If I alter any of aniamalman's M6 designs, it's typically going to be adding a bit more detail or removing the Element of Harmony from it.

Now, I have a challenge for all of you, reader. I want you to tell me what you think the meaning of their keyblades are. Specifically, Twilight, Gilda, and Rarity's keyblades. I won't tell you right away if you're right, but you'll eventually discover whether you were or not.

Jesus this is a long A/N...

Comments

[RTStephens]

Tons of Kingdom Hearts crossovers around but this one has got my attention. A nice writing style and good use of characters makes this one interesting. And the fight choreography is great!

The villaines better know what's she's doing, picking a fight with the most powerful creatures in the world.

[GenerousGhibli]

6591283 Sunset knows what she's doing, trust me. And it's really nice to see my effort towards fight choreography appreciated. Most people don't realize just how hard it is to plan these things out and make them feel natural.

And if you like the choreography so far... oh boy... You're gonna love it even later. Wait till these girls go all out, magic and all! It'll be like KHII in terms of fight intensity.

Also, I haven't seen many other KH crossovers around that aren't "Character-in-Equestria" type stories.