Beyond the Door
“Come on, guys! Just a bit more!”
“Twilight, darling, they look like they’re about to faint! Can’t we give them a little break?”
Twilight, Rarity and the twins were in an isolated rocky area outside Ponyville, a location where Rarity often harvested gemstones. The two elder mares were using their magic to launch small boulders at the twins, who were using their newly learned Gravity and Reflect spells to protect themselves. They were both visibly exhausted.
“Twilight, please let us take a break,” Lucky groaned, casting Gravity on a boulder just before it hit her nose. It dropped to the ground. “I can’t keep this up anymore.”
“All right,” Twilight said. The rocks hovering in the air dropped to the ground. “That’s enough for today. Good job.” Fortune and Lucky both collapsed, panting.
“Twilight, I think you may have gone a little overboard,” Rarity chided under her breath. “Look at the poor things, they can’t even stand!”
“But I don’t understand,” Twilight whispered back. “I was able to do this longer than them.”
“Well, of course you were. Your special talent is magic, after all.”
“But their special talent is wielding the Keyblade, which includes battle magic! They should be just as good at it as me, if not better!”
Rarity looked down at her hooves, which were caked with a fine layer of dust and dirt.
“Well, look at this mess. It’s a good thing that I have my weekly spa date with Fluttershy this afternoon. Would you like to join us, Twilight?”
“Sure, Rarity. What about the twins?”
“Yoohoo!” Rarity called over to them. “Would the two of you care to join us for an afternoon at the spa? You can relax those poor, tired bodies of yours.”
“As long as nopony touches my hooves,” Lucky said.
“What about you, darling?” The white unicorn turned to Fortune.
“As long as I can get a massage.”
“Really?” Twilight giggled. “I thought you might be embarrassed to be seen in a spa, Fortune!”
“Why, just because I’m a boy?”
“Well, yes.” Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t care, as long as I get to relax.”
“Well then, enough talking about the spa, let’s go!” Rarity said enthusiastically, leading the way back to town.
O O O O
“Isn’t this absolutely divine?” Rarity said as one of the spa ponies filed her hooves.
“It’s great,” Fortune said. He lay on his stomach as a masseuse pressed his shoulders. Lucky, Twilight and Fluttershy were still in the sauna.
“Is something the matter?” Rarity asked, gingerly peeling a cucumber slice back from her face and peering at Fortune out of the corner of her eye. “You seem distracted.”
“It’s not a big deal,” he said. “It’s just… I was thinking about what Twilight said earlier.”
“Twilight says an awful lot of things, darling. You’re going to have to be more specific.”
“When she asked why Lucky and I aren’t as good as her at magic. She’s right, we should be better at this than we are.”
“Oh, you heard that?” Rarity replaced the cucumber. “You have to remember, Twilight has been working on these spells since a few months before you and your sister arrived here. She’s had much more practice with them.”
“But we’ve been here for almost three weeks, and we’re still struggling with some of the most basic spells! And we’ve been working on battle magic since way before Twilight even knew about it!”
“Hmm.” Rarity frowned. “That is puzzling.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I’m doing everything just the way Twilight says. If these methods worked for her, why aren’t they working for me?”
“Maybe you’re overthinking it, darling. When I used to try to learn new spells, I found that I did it the best when I just closed my eyes and let the magic flow through me.”
“I tried that. I’m just not getting it.”
“Maybe Twilight’s working you too hard. She can be very… gung ho about these things. Just try and relax for now. Enjoy your fabulous massage!”
“Yeah,” Fortune said, letting his body relax a little.
O O O O
As the five ponies left the spa, a rainbow-colored streak of light flew past them, leaving a strong gust in its wake. A second later, Rainbow Dash flew back up to them.
“Hey guys! What’s up?”
“Rainbow Dash! I just had my mane styled!” Rarity huffed, her impeccable curls now tangled and frizzy. She turned and trotted back into the spa, grumbling under her breath, as the other ponies stared after her.
“Anyway,” Rainbow Dash continued. “I’ve been looking all over for you, Twilight! I need you to help me with a new trick I’ve been working on.”
“Sorry, Rainbow, but we already made plans to go to Sugarcube Corner for a snack.”
“Would you like to join us?” Fluttershy asked.
“No thanks. I really wanted to get this trick down.”
“Hey, I can help,” Lucky offered. “I’m not hungry anyway.”
“Really?” Rainbow Dash’s eyes lit up. “Awesome! Let’s go!” Rainbow Dash flew off, Lucky following closely behind.
“Well, I guess it’s just the three of us,” Twilight said. “Let’s go.”
“Actually, I think I’m going to pass,” Fortune said. “You guys go ahead.”
“Really? Is something wrong?”
“I just want to go for a walk,” Fortune said. “Clear my head.”
“Well, all right then,” Twilight said. “If you need to talk, I’m here.”
“I know. Thanks.”
Twilight and Fluttershy trotted off toward Sugarcube Corner, while Fortune walked off aimlessly in the opposite direction, lost in his own thoughts.
“Ah, what is it my eyes see? It is the bearer of the key!”
Fortune snapped back to attention and looked up. He’d walked all the way to the edge of the Everfree Forest. He trotted up to the zebra waving at him.
“Hi Zecora.” Fortune noticed two wicker baskets at her hooves, filled to the brim with stones that were changing color. “What are these?”
“I came to find these Ores of Doubt. Up from the ground I dug them out. But as you now can plainly see, I have too many to carry.”
Fortune picked up a stone. It immediately changed from a light pink to a murky brown, and stayed that color.
“I see your heart is filled with doubt. Would you like to tell me what about?”
“Sure,” Fortune said, replacing the stone. “But first, let me help you carry these back to your hut, Zecora.”
“Much obliged, oh magic one. Let’s go, before we lose the sun.” Fortune levitated the two baskets onto his back and Zecora’s, and they began their walk through the forest.
They walked in silence through the forest until they reached Zecora’s hut. Multiple heart-shaped trinkets hung from the edges of the thatched roof.
“What are those, Zecora? I don’t remember seeing them the last time I was here.”
“The Eve of Darkness is nearly here. Its anniversary draws near. One thousand four hundred twenty three years back, the Heartless first came to attack.”
“The Heartless?” Fortune said in shock. “You know about them?”
“Only what has been passed down, through generations by word of mouth. And so, we hang these hearts to say, ‘Begone, Heartless! Not this day!’”
“I had no idea,” Fortune said as they entered the hut. “Nopony in town seemed to know about them until my sister and I got here.”
“We zebras have long memories. All history lies in our stories.” Zecora put her basket down next to the empty cauldron in the center of the room, and Fortune did the same. “Now tell me, my key bearing friend, what ails your soul that needs to mend?”
“Well, we’ve been working on some new classes of magic spells. But I just can’t seem to get the hang of them, even basic ones like Gravity and Reflect. I should be really good at these spells, seeing as they’re part of being a Keyblade bearer.” His shoulders slumped. “But I’m not.”
“Perhaps your magic stores are gone. Spent from practicing so long. But I know just the thing to brew. An Elixir I shall make for you!”
“What’s an Elixir?”
“An ancient, powerful healing brew. Your stamina and magic, it will refuel. But alas, I need one more component. Would you like to help me search for it?”
“Of course!” Fortune exclaimed. “Thanks so much!”
Zecora grabbed a wicker basket and beckoned Fortune outside, and they began their journey deep into the heart of the forest.
“Of this Poison Joke, be wary,” Zecora said, motioning to a cluster of vivid blue flowers. “The spores can have effects quite scary.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Fortune said, gingerly stepping around the flowers. “So what exactly are we looking for?”
“Some Mythril Stones, we need to find. Without them, we’ll be in a bind.”
They walked until they reached an opening in the side of a large rock face. It opened into a large cave.
“For reasons that are quite unclear, Mythril Stones are found only here.” There were huge clusters of ore in the walls and floor, of many different colors and opacities.
“Which ones are Mythril?”
“Mythril Ore is royal blue, so pick out stones that have that hue.”
After an hour of digging, they managed to half-fill the wicker basket.
“This should be more than enough. I will have extra of the stuff.”
As they were about to leave, Fortune noticed something, much deeper into the cave than they had ventured. It looked like a door made of wood, though it was missing a handle. A thin line of gold ran along the edge.
“Hey Zecora, what’s that door over there?”
“The forest holds many mysteries, that door right there is one of these. I know not where it opens to, for it lacks a handle for me to use.”
“Uh huh.” Fortune could look away from the door. Zecora smiled.
“I have an idea, oh key bearer. We’ll return home, brew the Elixir. After your problem is no more, we’ll return here to examine that door.”
“All right,” Fortune said, finally tearing his gaze from the mysterious door. He followed Zecora out of the cave, looking back over his shoulder as they left.
Once they returned to her hut, Zecora added three of the Mythril Stones to her cauldron, along with one stone of a much darker blue and a stone colored jet black. She added a dash of some sort of silver powder, then covered the cauldron before lighting a fire beneath it. Just minutes later, she removed the lid, and a bright orange-yellow liquid bubbled at the bottom of the cauldron.
“That was fast!”
Zecora ladled the liquid into a bowl and handed it to Fortune. “Now drink up, my little one. May all your problems now be gone!”
Fortune drank the concoction, gulping it down as his lips puckered from the unexpected sourness. He instantly felt a rush of energy coursing through his limbs and into his chest and horn.
“That feels amazing!”
“Now try to cast a spell again! Perhaps your problem this drink did mend!”
Fortune closed his eyes, concentrating. He tried to cast Reflect. A transparent shield appeared for an instant before flickering away.
“What? What’s wrong with me?” He tried again, with identical results.
“It seems Elixir was not the cure. There’s something deeper, to be sure.”
Fortune sank to the ground. “I guess I just don’t have what it takes.”
“Cheer up, Fortune, sulk no more. Perhaps we should go see that door?”
Fortune looked up. “Sure. Let’s go.”
They walked together back to the cave. Oddly enough, the spots where they had previously dug Mythril out of the ground were once again filled with the ore. Fortune ignored it, ascribing it to the mysterious ways of the forest. They reached the door, and Fortune inspected it. It looked like a regular wooden door, save for the lack of a handle.
“It looks like an ordinary door, but… I can feel something else. What do you think, Zecora?” He turned around. Zecora was frozen in place, her mouth half open, her eyes in the middle of a blink.
“Zecora?” Fortune waved a hoof in front of her face, eliciting no response.
“What’s going on?” he said, his heart beating faster in his chest. He turned back to face the door, jumping when he saw the figure now standing in front of it. The large pony wore a black robe that concealed its entire body.
“Who… who are you?”
He heard a deep male voice respond in his head, though the figure remained motionless.
This world has been connected. Tied to the darkness. Soon to be completely eclipsed.
“What? What are you talking about?” Fortune’s voice was panicked, his heart hammering against his ribcage.
There is very much to learn. You understand so little.
“Y… yeah? Then tell me!”
Fortune heard a deep, sinister laugh in his head. A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing.
“I know plenty!”
You cannot hide behind bluster. I can see your heart. You are nothing. The figure floated backward, passing through the door as though it wasn’t even there. Fortune leaned closer to the door, squinting. His head suddenly throbbed, and the door slowly began to open. Beyond the door was what seemed to be an infinite blackness. A torrent of wind suddenly erupted from the door, and Fortune screamed as he stood, rooted to the spot. His vision faded until he saw nothing but endless darkness.
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holy crap...... reminds me of the doors in Nightmare before Christmas.
I hope that near the end of this story someone or somepony would say this:
"The sister of Light and the brother of Darkness will meet again in a one final clash."
*reads door scene*
Oh snap...
Cannot wait to read more. 
24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljcrcxzPHY1qitf3lo1_400.jpg
I've read KH/MLP cross-overs before, but this one feels a lot more original. The decision to esentially not inculde anything Disney or Square related really pays off.
931159 Thanks! I felt that including characters from outside the ponyverse would make it too trite and predictable. It may seem counter-intuitive, but I feel like I have a lot more freedom when only working with characters from one universe and including the mythology of another.
So how will Fortune and Lucky learn to summon and get a gummi ship ?
934843 They're not going to do either of those things.
934545 Exactly, that's what's so brilliant with this story.
935215 Well I can live with that.
Was that Ansem?! Or perhaps... Someone else?