• Published 10th May 2016
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My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria - Codex92



After failing his mark of mastery exam to be a Keyblade Master, Sora must continue his training on his own. Unfortunately, he crashes into the world of Equestria, and his friends don't know he's stranded in this far off world.

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Bloom & Gloom

It was another sunny day out in the fields of Sweet Apple Acres. Sora was busy placing out buckets under the trees with ripe apples just about ready to be picked, ending up near the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse. Judging by the time, the three fillies must have been back from school by now and in the middle of a Crusaders meeting. He did finish laying the buckets out, so he decided to see what they were doing, as long as it wasn't planning something extremely dangerous. He hovered up to the window, just in time to see them begin their meeting with Apple Bloom at the podium.

"Hear ye, hear ye!" the young Apple announced. "This meetin' of the Cutie Mark Crusaders is now in session! Who wants to do roll-call?"

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were silent, being the only three members of their club. "Uhh, I'm pretty sure we're all here."

"You three sure everyone's here?" The fillies yelped as they heard Sora, the stallion grinning as he waved at them. "Not planning anything life-threatening, are you?"

"No, and get out of here!" Scootaloo said. "Crusaders only! No adults allowed!"

"Not even adults who are children at heart?" Sora asked. "Need I remind you girls who helped you come up with the name of your club in the first place?"

"...He does have a point," Sweetie Belle said. "So...is he the founder of the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

"But he has his cutie mark, so it doesn't count," Scootaloo said.

"Well, whether or not you say so, I'm staying because I say so." The stallion stuck his tongue out at Scootaloo, the filly doing the same to him.

"Ok, let's just have Sora stay since he's here," Sweetie Belle said. "What exactly did you want to to me and Scootaloo, Apple Bloom?"

"Oh, nothin'," the farm filly said coyly. She then pulled out a letter she had hidden behind the podium, marked with a pair of scissors by the signature. "Except this letter about Babs Seed sayin' she got her cutie mark!"

"Babs got her cutie mark!?" Sora exclaimed, slipping into the window as he looked a the letter closely. "Wow! That's great!" He then winced as he remembered Apple Bloom's cousin and what he had originally planned to do while he and the rest of his friends were in Manehattan. "Oh man...I completely forgot to see Babs that week during Rarity's fashion competition. No thanks to that cheater, Suri Polomare, stealing Rarity's designs and making her freak out and rush the girls to make a new one in less than a day."

"What did she get!?" Scootaloo asked excitedly.

"A pair of scissors!" Apple Bloom said, pointing at the scissors on the letter.

"I guess that would make sense," Sweetie Belle said. "She was always fussing around with her bangs. I bet she'll grow up to be a celebrity stylist!"

"But, if mah cousin spends all her time cuttin' hair, who's gonna run the Manehattan CMCs?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I'm sure she'll be able to keep running the Manehattan branch of your club," Sora assured.

"She can't, Sora," Scootaloo said. "Babs can't be a Cutie Mark Crusader if she already has her cutie mark."

"What!? Since when was that an established rule!?" Sora exclaimed in shock. "Someone gets their cutie mark, they're booted out of the club? That's not exactly fair. It's like me becoming a Keyblade Master and no longer being able to fight alongside my friends."

"...I-I didn't mean it like that," Scootaloo said, her ears drooping low as she realized the horrible statement she made. "It's just that she has her cutie mark now, so...somepony else takes her place as the leader?"

"Do I have to remind you that you don't give up on your friends like what happened during the flag waving competition for the Equestria Games?" he asked, the pegasus filly shaking her head, fully understanding what Sora was talking about.

"Well, I'm happy she got her cutie mark," Sweetie Belle said. "But I don't want to end up covered in mane hair every day. Can you guys imagine having a cutie mark you didn't like?"

"...No...or at least Ah hadn't," Apple Bloom mumbled, suddenly growing nervous about getting her cutie mark.

"Hey, Sora, what about your cutie mark?" Scootaloo asked. "Did you ever want to do something else?"

Sora hummed in thought as he crossed his forelegs over his chest. "...I never really thought about it that much. I always wanted to see other worlds, and I was able to do that when I obtained the Keyblade." Looking down at his flank, he stared at the Kingdom Key cutie mark. Aside from his destiny being a protector of light, he has done what he had always wanted as a kid: see the worlds, be a hero, and explore other places that wasn't the island he, Riku, and Kairi played at. "Although, it was a bit of a sudden surprise for it to appear before me when I was in a bit of trouble...Destiny has a weird way of finding you, whether you know it or not.

"But I'm sure you girls won't have to worry about that when your talents finally come to light." He looked at Apple Bloom, patting his little pseudo-sister on the head. "I'm sure you're going to get yourself an apple-related cutie mark just like your family, Apple Bloom. And you'll show off a talent that makes you special."

"And what's not to like about apples?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Well, there's the core, and sour apples, rotten apples, apples with worms in them-" Scootaloo's listing was interrupted as Sora tapped her head after seeing how freaked out Apple Bloom was getting with her friend's unintentional negative aspects of apples.

"Scoots, you're not helping," he said. "How about we not talk about cutie marks and go get us some ice cream?"

"Yay! Ice cream!" Sweetie cheered.

"I want to have one of those weird mouse head ice cream sundaes Pinkie had that other day!" Scootaloo said, making Sora groan as the sugar-crazed party pony managed to stash away extra ice cream from back in Disney Town. The pegasus filly climbed up on Sora's back, whispering to him out of Sweetie and Apple Bloom's hearing. "Was that ice cream from some other world? If it is, can you get me something awesome?"

The stallion chuckled, giving a small nod. "We'll see, Scootaloo." Scootaloo whooped and flipped off Sora's head, her and Sweetie Belle running out of the clubhouse to the ice cream parlor. He looked back at Apple Bloom, shaking a little in fear, still worried about what kind of cutie mark she could get that she might not like. "You ok, Apple Bloom?"

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "Ah've been so worried tryin' to get mah cutie mark, Ah didn't even think about what might happen if Ah got it. Or what it'll be!"

"Apple Bloom, you don't have to-" He was interrupted as the filly continued rambling.

"What if it's somethin' Ah don't like!?" Apple Bloom continued. "What if Ah get a cutie mark and nopony else will like me!?"

"Apple Bloom-" Sora spoke louder, but she didn't listen.

"What if it's not an apple!?" she questioned frantically. "Will mah family kick me out!? Where will Ah live!? Where would Ah go!?"

Sora calmly ceased Apple Bloom's panicked rambling, pressing his hoof to her lips. "Apple Bloom, relax. Don't start stressing out about it. Your family is practically all about family. They're not going to kick you out of your house."

"But-" The stallion silenced her again, this time squishing her cheeks with his hooves.

"No buts, little filly," he said. "You don't have to worry about the future that much. Whatever cutie mark you get, it's not going to change anything." Sora then lowered himself down to Apple Bloom's height, pointing a hoof at his head. "Got it memorized?" Reluctantly, she nodded her head, earning a boop on the nose. "Good. Now, let's get us a big ol' sundae with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Nothing like some soft-served ice cream to ease them worries away, right?"

"...Ah guess so...With lots of chocolate syrup?" Apple Bloom asked.

"And plenty of cherries on top!" Seeing her spirits lifted up a little, Sora and Apple Bloom hurried out of the clubhouse to catch up with the other two Crusaders to get themselves some ice cream.


Throughout the day, Sora spent time with the CMC, not only to keep them from doing anything dangerous, but also to steer their minds away from what their future will hold when they finally get their cutie marks. It was one thing for him to have to worry about everyone else's future against the darkness, and he didn't want three fillies to panic about what kind of cutie mark they'll get that everyone will see. He would also find the time to see Babs in Manehattan and congratulate her on her getting her cutie mark and hope she wasn't too disappointed he couldn't see her that week.

Along with the big sundaes he got for the fillies and himself, they also did a few fun, safe activities in the park to pass the time. Sora did see a little bit of trepidation with Apple Bloom, still worried about what her cutie mark might be. Hopefully she'll understand his words from earlier and not fret about what her cutie mark would do to her if it wasn't what she wanted or what anyone else would think of her. Then again, knowing how seriously any child can take certain situations, they could stress over problems worse than an adult can.

Once night fell and making sure Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom were back home safely, Sora sat on his throne as he looked around randomly on the Galactic Map. So far, there wasn't much Heartless activity that was deemed threatening, or if there were any, then the others could have dealt with them while he was with the fillies.

"Hey, Sora." Looking away from the map, he saw Applejack looking up at him by the Cutie Map. "Been wonderin' where ya went after doin' your chores. Apple Bloom told me y'all took the Crusaders out for some ice cream."

"And it was delicious," he said, licking his lips. "If you've come to punish me for giving my favorite trio of fillies a treat, then I regret nothing."

"Ah was, but after ya brought Apple Bloom back home, Ah could tell she was a little upset about somethin'." Sora sighed, knowing the young Apple filly was still troubled by her future cutie mark. "She began gettin' worried about what would happen to her if she got her cutie mark. And she had the gall to think we'd abandon her if it ain't apple related."

"I knew she was still freaking out about that..." Sora hopped down out of his throne and landed in front of Applejack. "I was trying to get her mind off of cutie marks, but I guess free ice cream from her honorary big brother didn't help distract her that much. She's got that thar Apple family stubbornness that runs in y'alls genes." Applejack stared blankly at Sora as he attempted to speak with a southern drawl. "...What? I can't talk like a country pony?"

"Nope," she said, making Sora sigh and wilt his head. Applejack gently placed a hoof on his shoulder, the stallion looking up to see the farm mare smile at him. "Ah do appreciate ya tryin' to help Apple Bloom, though. Ah thought she'd have been excited to hear Babs Seed gettin' her cutie mark, but all that fussin' over findin' her cutie mark's now got her a bit worried about silly things like her family tossin' her out."

"Heh. Well, kids can sometimes have the wildest of imaginations," Sora said.

"Ah sometimes wonder if ya ever had any siblin's yourself, but Ah think that's just you and your drive to protect everypony ya care about." Sora giggled and scratched his cheek with a hoof, knowing that statement was definitely true. "We're all glad ya wound up crashin' here, Sora. No idea how y'all can be that tough after fallin' from the sky and survivin' an explosion from your old Gummi Ship. Must be that big ol' heart of yours."

"Well, my friends give me the strength I need, so I guess I have all my friends to thank," he said with a wide grin.

"And Kairi for savin' your life when you gave up your heart for her," Applejack reminded.

"Yeah. Especially her." Sora pulled out Kairi's charm from his pocket. Ever since he first met her, he knew they had a great connection together. After their home was swallowed by darkness, Sora stopped at nothing to find Kairi, even at the cost of his own life. No matter what threats came for him or any of his friends, he would keep fighting to his last breath just to know he saved them. "I wouldn't be anywhere without my friends. Friendship really is magic, even before coming to Equestria where it actually is a kind of magic in this world."

"How right that truly is." Applejack hugged Sora, which he returned in kind. "Ah'm gonna head back home and make sure Apple Bloom's tucked in and ready for bed. Y'all are comin' by tomorrow for breakfast, right?"

"Darn tootin'!" he said mimicking her southern drawl, the mare rolling her eyes as Sora chuckled. "I'm just kidding. I'll be there."

"Good. See ya in the mornin'." Applejack turned around and headed out of the throne room. Before she reached the doorway, she had thought back to what she overheard between Sora and Kairi when they helped the Breezies return home. He had lost his father when he was young from what she heard, knowing he had lost family just like her made her feel awful after he asked curiously about her own parents. Even to this day, it hurt to have seen what had happened to her mother and father as a filly, and as much as she wanted to know what happened to Sora's father, she didn't want to bring up any bad memories, seeing how fragile his emotions can be after what happened when he turned into his Anti Form. She turned her head and looked at him, watching him mess around with the map, staring at his home: Destiny Islands. "Sora?"

"Yeah, Applejack?" Sora asked, diverting his attention away from the map.

She wanted to ask about his parents, but as she opened her mouth, she couldn't say the words. Granny Smith may have told him where her parents were after looking through previous pictures of the Apple Family Reunion, but only she knew what happened. She knew Sora cared a lot about his friends and valued family just like hers did. She felt horrible when she nearly acted out as he asked about her parents, just simple curiosity over something he didn't know about. As much as Applejack wanted to know more about Sora's family, she didn't want to upset him.

"...N-Nevermind," she said. "Forgot what Ah was gonna say. Good night."

"...Night." Applejack walked off, sighing miserably as she headed back home.

Sora wasn't fooled by her "forgotten" thought, knowing she wasn't that good of a liar with the pain of regret and sadness in her eyes. He decided not to question it, not wanting to upset her honorary pony sister before she went back to the farm to put Apple Bloom to bed.

"I wonder what's on your mind, Applejack," he said to himself. He switched the map over to Equestria, looking down at the landscape of the Cutie Map as he stared at Sweet Apple Acres. "You a little worried about Apple Bloom and her fear of getting the wrong cutie mark? I bet she's bound to have a nightmare about the whole ordeal..." His ears perked up, an idea popping into his head. "Duh. Dream traveling. I can keep reassuring Apple Bloom won't have anything to fear about a mark showing off who she is, inside and out."

Sora quickly made his way to his room in the castle, his throne and the Galactic Map disappearing upon his exit. Once inside his bedroom, he got himself ready to fall asleep early to meet with Apple Bloom in her dreams, unable to help but sing a little lullaby that came to him, though more for the filly than himself.

[Sora]
Hush now, little sister
You're loved by all you know
You'll never lose your friendships
No matter where you go

There ain't no call to worry
So don't you cry or fret
A cutie mark won't change you
No matter what you get


Sora opened his eyes, finding himself back in Equestria's dream world as he fell asleep. Landing on the starry pathway, he wandered around the many doors to find which one would be Apple Bloom's. He walked past Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo's doorways to their dreams, thinking they're having some fun dreams inside.

"Huh. Wish there were labels with everyone's names on these doors if none of them have their cutie marks," he said to himself as he scratched his head during his search.

"After getting to know which door belongs to which pony, it is not that difficult to find who you're searching for." Sora turned around, finding Luna hover down behind him as she sensed his presence. "So, what brings you here when I did not request assistance with more nightmares to quell?"

"Actually, I was kind of looking for Apple Bloom's dream," Sora said. "She's been a little worried about getting her cutie mark, afraid to know what she'll get and what'll happen when she gets it."

"Ah. I see. Those three fillies you are with always seem to be in some kind of trouble, whether they cause it or not." The Keyblade wielder giggled nervously, but he nodded in agreement. "If you are looking for young Apple Bloom's dream, it's over there."

Luna pointed to a yellow and red door not too far from where Sora was going. There were a couple other doors along the route that had the same colors as the other members of the Apple family, bearing the same cutie marks as Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith.

"Huh...I guess I wasn't that far away," Sora said. "Would it kill you to put names on these doors?"

"I do not create dreams, nor dream doorways, Sora," Luna said with a smirk. "They come and go when a pony sleeps and awakens. I just help my subjects with the doubts they have from their nightmares."

"...That makes sense after what happened to Scootaloo when we were camping...It's a bit hard to tell if there's someone who has the same hair and coat colors, or even the same cutie mark." Looking around at the endless dreamscape, all of the doorways Sora could see were just in Ponyville alone, which made him wonder how expansive all of Equestria would have been. He wondered if Luna ever slept or had dreams of her own, though the former was a dumb question as every living thing needs sleep. "...Hey, Luna? Do you ever have dreams?"

"...I do have dreams when there is not much for me to do for my subjects in the realm of sleep." The alicorn had hesitated for a moment, which bothered Sora a little as she had to think about her answer. She even looked a bit upset for a moment before tossing aside whatever thoughts were going through her head. "But, like everypony else's dreams, they can either be pleasant or nightmarish. One cannot decide what their subconscious wants to create when they sleep."

"...That is true..." Sora was a little concerned by Luna's behavior, wondering if there was anything she was hiding from everyone. "Are you ok, Luna?"

"I'm fine," she assured. "I never really have time to dream when my subjects are in need of my help as Princess of the Night."

"...Alright." Sora didn't want to pry too much out of Luna, waiting until she wants to discuss any issues she might have. He approached Apple Bloom's door, placing his hand on the door handle as he looked back at Luna. "Well, if you need a break, you can ask me or Riku. Both of us have experience traveling through sleeping worlds that had returned from the darkness."

"I shall keep that in mind." Sora was about to walk into Apple Bloom's dream, but Luna stopped him. "Before you go, Sora...I had noticed another dream realm had appeared in this section of this plane. Another Keyblade wielder among Ponyville like yourself, though bearing clothing nearly similar to Aqua's."

"Oh, that's Terra," he said. "He's friends with Aqua and Ven, and he also fought against Xehanort with them back then...And he was also possessed by Xehanort as well, his Heartless and Nobody taking his form when I fought against them. He's on our side, and is strangely a part of the Castle of Friendship, too. No idea why, though."

"...I see...It seems as though all six of you Keyblade bearers have fought a dangerous battle against this Xehanort." Sora nodded his head. "...I must tell my sister of another Keyblade wielder in our world, and figure out the strange phenomenon of Twilight's new castle.

"Make sure not to talk about Terra too much to anyone else," Sora warned. "He still thinks Xehanort could possess him again if he found out he was still alive. If he ever does show up, we'll all stop him."

"I shall keep his existence only between my sister and I," Luna promised before flying off to another part of the dream realm to help her other subjects.

As soon as she disappeared through the starry realm, Sora turned his head back to Apple Bloom's door. "Ok, Apple Bloom. Let's see if you're getting any sweet dreams tonight."

He opened the door and passed through the light, entering his honorary little sister's dream. Once the light had faded, Sora found himself on the outskirts of Ponyville. So far, it was peaceful: clear blue skies, no signs of trouble, even watching ponies from the distance going about their day as if it wasn't a dream. He walked around the town, the dream ponies not even noticing a human passing by them as if he was invisible. There was no telling what the filly was going to dream up, and if the dream was big enough, she could be anywhere in town.

"AH GOT MAH CUTIE MARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Apple Bloom's voice rang out, reaching several miles away from the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

Sora had to cover his ears as the filly shouted in excitement, now knowing where she was. "Ow...I wonder if Luna heard that from in here." Making sure he didn't go deaf from Apple Bloom's yell, he ran off to Sweet Apple Acres to find her. As he reached the farmhouse, he peeked inside the window of the kitchen, finding Apple Bloom happily cheering with her family, though her cutie mark was a little odd for her to have. It looked like a pesticide spray can, spraying out a cloud of white pesticide gas with a red apple in the cloud. "Pesticide???...Ok. This is a dream, but I don't think Apple Bloom has had any interest in getting rid of pests on the farm."

"Wait 'til Ah tell the others that mah cutie mark is a...uhhh..." Apple Bloom got a better look at her flank after her excitement dwindled down, staring at the pesticide can in confusion. "What is it?"

"Ah have no idea what it means," Dream Applejack said, which did make sense in this case for Sora since this was Apple Bloom's dream.

"I know what it means!" Surprised, the Apples in the house and Sora looked at the back door to see an elderly stallion wearing a gas mask and carried a strange looking vacuum on his back. He took off his mask and pointed at his flank, bearing the same kind of cutie mark Apple Bloom just got. "It means I can finally retire! You're a pest pony just like me, little missy! Follow me, and I'll show you the ropes!"

"...Uhh, ok?" Shrugging her shoulders, Apple Bloom followed the pest pony out the door and down the road.

Sora tailed behind them, keeping his distance while he too was curious how this dream would go. "As a pest pony, we make sure to stop infestations from little critters that can be dangerous for everypony, not just crops."

"Infestations?" Apple Bloom asked. "Like parasprites?"

"Hah! Please," the elderly stallion scoffed. "Anypony with a trombone can get rid of a swarm of parasprites. I'm talking about serious stuff." As they wandered through the orchard, Sora leapt up into the trees' branches to stay hidden as he watch Apple Bloom and this mysterious pest pony. "You ever hear of twittermites?"

"Twittermites?" Apple Bloom asked curiously, the stallion pulling out a glass capture case similar to the empty one on his back, holding several hundred little flies that sparked electricity.

"Pest ponies like you and me are the only things keeping these live wires from destroying half of Equestria. And it ain't no easy trade, too!" The stallion placed the glass canister on his back as he continued walking and explaining to the filly. "Even the best of us yearns for the day they can move on to greener pastures. But, now that you're here to take over, my day has finally come!"

"Take over?" the filly asked, annoying the stallion as he turned to leer at her blankly.

"You're gonna need to stop repeating everything I say and pay attention if you want to learn anything," he said.

"Oh. Sorry," Apple Bloom apologized. "Ah kind of wasn't expectin' all of this so suddenly."

"Well, this is your dream, Apple Bloom," Sora whispered to himself. "Anything can happen and never make much sense."

"Well, don't you worry," the pest pony assured. "With a cutie mark like that, I'm sure you've got the touch."

"The touch?" The filly's question was met with the stallion eyeing her as he repeated him again. "Sorry."

The two ponies approached a cart the pest pony seemed to have left, or it appeared out of nowhere as it was a dream. On top of the cart was a gold parasprite sign, a good description of an occupation as a pest pony, the cart holding a few empty cases and another special vacuum similar to the stallion's for Apple Bloom to wear. There was even a bug catching net attached to the side, though with those special bug-catching devices, there didn't seem to be a point to have a net unless they broke down in the middle of pest capturing. The stallion grabbed the container filled with twittermites and held it in his hooves.

"Now, you're gonna need to be quick," he warned. "Once these things get out, it can get pretty shocking."

He released the twittermites, sending the swarm flying out as their bodies jolted out electricity. "Wait, what do ya mean by-?"

Suddenly, the electric bugs shot out a bolt of lightning at her, making her yelp at the surprising shock. Some of them flew over to the tree Sora was hiding in, managing to get a shock on him as well as he stifled his own yelp.

"Shoo! Get away!" he said as he waved his hand at them, only to receive another shock.

The pest pony laughed at the shock Apple Bloom had, both from the twittermites and the expression on her face. "Told ya, kiddo! And the further they spread apart, the more powerful their jolts will get!"

"Wait, what!?" Sora noticed the small amount of the swarm began surrounding the tree, spreading out as the electricity began building up as the diameter of their circle increased.

He leapt out and into another tree just in time as a lightning bolt shot out from them, scorching the tree to a crisp. The rest of the swarm around Apple Bloom began spreading out as well, the filly quickly backflipping out of the way as she narrowly avoided getting a stronger zap from their electrical releases.

"What am Ah supposed to do!?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Call them back, of course," the stallion said.

Looking back at her bug-catching gear, Apple Bloom grabbed the vacuum nozzle and called out to the electric bugs. "Twittermites!"

They heard her call out to them and began to surround her. She activated the vacuum as a group got close, pulling down the lever and sucking up each and every one of the twittermites in the one of few clusters as she leapt toward them. After catching them, she looked back at the glass case they were held in, grinning proudly as she did pretty well for her first time catching twittermites. Apple Bloom continued calling them out, sucking the bugs in with style, making Sora chuckle a little as she seemed to mimic his athleticism. Eventually, she caught all except one, the poor insect utterly baffled before being sucked up into the glass case with its colony.

"Well, it looks like you're all set." Sora and Apple Bloom looked down the path, surprised to see the pest pony stallion out of his gear and packed up as if he was ready to go on vacation. "Drop me a note sometime at the Piney Shade Retirement Community."

"Hold on a second!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, taking off her pest pony gear. "Ah know this job's important and all, but Ah don't want to be callin' bugs for the rest of mah-" As she turned to look at the stallion, he had already disappeared. "...Where'd he go?"

"Well, well, well." Both Sora and Apple Bloom cringed as they heard the familiar, snooty brat of a filly, Diamond Tiara as she approached the young Apple filly with Silver Spoon by her side. "Take a look at the new bug pony!"

"It's pest pony," Apple Bloom corrected with a growl.

"It sure is!" Silver Spoon said, apparently still cruel in Apple Bloom's mind even though Sora knew the real Silver wasn't as bad as she seemed. "Ew!"

"I might've known you'd end up with the worst cutie mark ever!" Diamond Tiara mocked as she and Dream Silver laughed at Apple Bloom.

"Diamond Tiara even makes fun of Apple Bloom in her dreams." Sora groaned and shook his head. The two bullies continued making fun of Apple Bloom, upsetting her even further as she held the container of twittermites in her hooves. "One day, that little filly is going to get it...I wonder what'll happen if those twittermites were 'accidentally' released? Wouldn't be funny if karma got the best of you, even in a dream."

"Here, bug!" Silver Spoon mockingly called out as she approached a flower with a ladybug crawling on its leaf. "Here, bug! Will you be my friend, bug? Because nopony else will!"

Apple Bloom growled, having enough of the bullies' taunting. "Ya know what!? Mah cutie mark isn't the worst! You two are!"

She threw the canister of twittermites and ran away, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon laughing at her. Sora quickly chased after her, unaware of the crack that began growing in the case as it was tossed aside. He saw Apple Bloom begin running into a forest that appeared out of nowhere, looking just as creepy as the Everfree Forest. He immediately lost track of her in the thick foliage, brushing past the thick branches and leaves as he tried to find the yellow and red filly.

"Dang it. Stupid random dream forests popping up like cornstalks," Sora muttered to himself. "Apple Bloom!? Where are you!?"

"Why should you have to keep it then?" He froze as he heard the mysterious voice echo around the forest, unable to determine where it came from.

"What in the world...?" Looking around, all Sora could see was the dark forest and thick foliage. "Apple Bloom?"

"If your cutie mark bothers you so much, get rid of it," the voice spoke again, sounding like it was talking to Apple Bloom.

Growing worried, Sora frantically searched through the forest, not trusting the child-like voice talking to the filly. "Apple Bloom! Who's talking to you!? Say something!"

"As easily said as done." Suddenly, a strong gust of wind struck the forest, Sora grunting as he held his arms up to shield himself.

When it finally died down, he moved his arms down, finding himself in another part of the dream forest. He was now in a wide glade, the area still dark even with the lack of trees around him. There wasn't any sign of Apple Bloom anywhere, but if she had woken up, he would have been thrown out of her dream and back into the dream realm. Looking down, he was surprised to see the cutie mark she had a moment ago laying on the ground, almost like it was some kind of sticker she was able to pull off.

Sora kneeled down and picked it up, wondering where she could have gone off to if she was around here. "What is going on in this dream?"

"You shouldn't be here." Gasping in surprise, Sora looked up to see a small dark figure in the darkness, glowing red eyes staring at him through the foliage. "This is not your dream."

"Who are you!?" Sora asked, quickly standing up and summoning his Keyblade. "What did you do to Apple Bloom!?"

"I gave her what she wanted," the mysterious figure said with a giggle. "She didn't like her cutie mark, so I got rid of it for her."

The figure's voice eerily sounded like Apple Bloom, unnerving Sora as he clenched his fists. "You didn't answer my first question. Who are you?"

"You know who I am, Sora. Or should I say-" The figure slowly stepped forward into the clearing, revealing itself to be a pony. What startled the Keyblade wielder was what it looked like: its form looked just like Apple Bloom, only with her whole body black aside from dark and faded purple markings along its legs and abdomen, and the bow on its head was pointed and a mix of light and dark purple instead of red. "-big brother?"

"A Dream Eater!?" Sora was completely baffled by the appearance of Nightmare Apple Bloom. "I thought only Dream Eaters appeared in sleeping worlds, not dreams of sleeping people or ponies!" Snapping out of his shock, he bent low in his fighting stance to deal with the nightmare. "Where's Apple Bloom!?"

"She's back in town without her cutie mark," Nightmare Apple Bloom said coyly. "I was only helping her."

"By messing with her dreams!" Sora ran forward, ready to strike down the impostor filly. "You stay far away from-!" Suddenly ramming into him from the shadows, an equine Dream Eater tackled him with an aura of wind around its body. Rolling back onto his feet, he stared at a Pegaslick, a couple more flying down to join its fellow Nightmare along with teleporting Electricorns behind him. "What the hell is going on??? Why are Dream Eaters appearing in someone's dreams? And why are they showing up now?"

Nightmare Apple Bloom giggled and disappeared in the shadows, leaving Sora with the Thunder and Aero attributed equines. One of the Pegaslicks whinnied and charged forward, Sora quickly diving out of the way as he blocked an Electicorn's horn as it tried to charge into him. He found it a little ironic that he was fighting pegasi and unicorn Dream Eaters in a pony's dream, but if Apple Bloom's Dream Eater was planning on doing something to her, he needed to find his pseudo-sister fast. And if Dream Eaters were appearing now, maybe he could call in some backup of his own.

Leaping back away from the group of Nightmare Dream Eaters, Sora brought his free hand to his lips and let out a whistle. His call for help worked as he summoned a couple Spirit Dream Eaters from his previous adventure through the sleeping worlds, a small dog/cat-like Dream Eater known as Meow Wow and a large rounded bear known as a Kooma Panda. Sora and his Spirit teammates charged forward to take down the Nightmares: Sora and Kooma Panda dishing out damage to the equines while Meow Wow provided any backup healing for the other Spirit as he absorbed the attacks from the Pegaslicks' and Electricorns' attacks.

Sora took care of the Pegaslicks as they flew around the glade, being able to keep up with them and easily evade their swift tackles if he paid attention. He fired Blizzard spells to freeze them and send them crashing to the ground, where Kooma Panda wound up its arm to deliver a charging punch into the downed pegasus Dream Eaters, destroying them upon impact. The Electricorns were firing Thunder spells left and right, many of them hitting the bear Spirit due to his slow and heavy body. Meow Wow used Cure to heal away its partner's injuries while Sora ran toward the Nightmares, slashing through them while avoiding their horns, hooves, and lightning attacks.

Once they were quickly dealt with, he turned back to his Spirit friends, catching Meow Wow as it leapt up in his arms and licked his face while Kooma Panda gave him a bear hug. "Ahh! Hey, easy guys! I missed you and the others too! But now's not the time for a reunion!" Koompa Panda let go of Sora as he let go of Meow Wow. "We need to find Apple Bloom and save her from her Nightmare self! Come on!"

Sora made his way out of the forest with his Spirit Dream Eaters following behind, teleporting closer to the teen if they ended up too far away from him. He would have to remind himself to ask Master Yen Sid if it was possible for Dream Eaters to appear in dreams, but they weren't in Scootaloo's or Sweetie Belle's dreams when he helped them, unless fighting his nightmare pony self and Rarity were Dream Eaters as well. He ran out into Ponyville, no longer peaceful as the town was ravaged by a large swarm of twittermites, zapping everything and anything as ponies fled.

Many of the houses were burnt to ashes from the twittermites, the literal lightning bugs spreading out wider and wider, causing more collateral damage in the dream. Sora ran off to Sweet Apple Acres, where the dangerous pests were beginning to fly over to the barn. As soon as he ran up the hill, he heard a big lightning strike as a bolt struck the farmhouse, blasting it to nothing but charred beams. He spotted Apple Bloom a bit further down, wearing the bug-sucking device as she tried to gather the twittermites again, but failed due to pest control not as her talent.

He was about to call out to her, only for the twittermites to zap Apple Bloom, causing a powerful shockwave that sent him, Meow Wow, and Kooma Panda flying out of the filly's dream. Sora grunted as he landed on the starry walkway, followed by Kooma Panda landing on top of him, then Meow Wow as it rolled off the colorful bear's round belly. All the wind was knocked out of him as the bear sat up on his stomach.

"K-Kooma, you're...crushing me!" Sora wheezed. The Spirit grunted and looked down, quickly standing up to let the teen breathe. Sora coughed and got the air back in his lungs as he sat up. "Urgh...Forgot how heavy you were...Now we have to wait for Apple Bloom to-" As he looked up, he was surprised to see Apple Bloom's dream door was still there. "Huh? Wait, she woke up after getting zapped by those twittermites...right?" He looked to his Dream Eater companions for an answer, both of them tilting their heads in confusion. Sora stood up and approached the door, pressing his hand against it and felt it was real. "She's still dreaming?"

"Sora, I heard you get-" Luna flew over him, surprised to see the two Dream Eaters with him. The alicorn landed on the starry pathway, curious and a little worried about the new imaginary-looking animals standing beside Sora. "...Whaaaaaaa...?"

The Keyblade wielder saw who Luna was looking at, letting out a chuckle as he scratched his head. "Uhh, don't be alarmed, Luna, but these two are with me. They're creatures called Dream Eaters, and I thought they only existed in sleeping worlds, not sleeping creatures."

"...Dream Eaters...? This is the first I've heard of them..." Meow Wow waddled up to Luna and began nuzzling her foreleg, asking to be petted. "These are not Heartless, are they?"

"No, they're actually different compared to Heartless, though there are some that do attack us," Sora explained. "This is Kooma Panda, and the little fluffball is Meow Wow. They're Spirits; friendly Dream Eaters."

"I can see that..." Looking down at Meow Wow, Luna gave him a small pat, letting out an approved yip as its body sparkled a little. "...How interesting..."

"As much as I'd love to explain everything to you right now, Luna, I've got a big situation with a Nightmare Dream Eater in Apple Bloom's dream," Sora quickly said. "But I have no idea how her door is still here when I was just shoved out of her dream as she woke up."

"That can happen sometimes," Luna said. "One minute, I'm in a pony's dream, and the next, they wake up and kick me out, but they are still dreaming. Dreaming in a dream sounds like an impossibility, but most times, ponies might not be aware that they are dreaming to begin with."

"Oh. That explains it..." Sora was about to charge back in, only for Luna to stop him again.

"What did you mean by 'Nightmare Dream Eater'?" she asked. "Are those kinds of creatures dangerous?"

"Yes, at least Nightmares are," he said. "It...kind of happened to me when Riku and I took our Mark of Mastery Exam. Both of us were sent to the sleeping worlds and unlock seven keyholes to wake them up, but I wound up getting tricked by Xehanort and was almost used as one of his thirteen vessels of darkness...I ended up falling asleep in the dream world and almost had a Nightmare swallow me in darkness, but Riku thankfully came to my rescue before it was too late."

"Oh dear...At least you were saved by your friend," Luna said, both relieved and very worried over what would have happened to Sora if he had been consumed by the darkness of his dreams in a dream world.

"Kind of makes us even, I guess," Sora said, his playfulness quickly turning into fear as he looked at Apple Bloom's door. "I need to get back in there and get rid of that Nightmare. I think it's toying with her for now, but I don't want it to get Apple Bloom."

"Then hurry," Luna ushered. "I'll stay here in case you're flung out by another waking dream of hers."

Sora nodded, opening the door and heading right back in to Apple Bloom's dream with Kooma Panda and Meow Wow following him. They wound up back outside of Ponyville again, but knowing where the filly might be now, they headed straight for Sweet Apple Acres. As soon as they reached the farmhouse, the trio peeked into the kitchen window, seeing Applejack setting up breakfast, where there seemed to be a similar stack of pancakes made for the big pancake breakfast they had some time ago, along with a bowl of lemons, not apples, and muffins. Apple Bloom poked her head in the doorway after "waking up", finding things relatively normal.

"Applejack, you are not gonna believe the dream Ah just had," Apple Bloom said, not noticing Sora, Meow Wow, and Kooma Panda watching her from the window, sporting a new cutie mark. "Ah guess Ah needed more sleep than Ah thought."

"See, now what did Ah tell you? A good night's sleep'll fix just about-" Dream Applejack paused and noticed the filly's flank. "Well, no wonder you were so worked up! Looks like somepony got her cutie mark!"

"Huh? Again?" Apple Bloom looked down at her flank, this time it was a white potion bottle with an apple on it, a green mist seeping out from the mouth of the bottle. "Ah mean, Ah did!? Whoo hoo! Potion makin'! That's more like it!"

"Well, at least she does have a knack for making potions," Sora uttered. "I would have thought carpentry, but that does work...but for how long is the real question."

"Well, I'd expect ya to run off to the clubhouse and tell your friends all about your new cutie mark," Applejack said. "But before ya go, make sure ya do all your-"

Apple Bloom was already gone, making her way outside and to the orchards where the CMC clubhouse was. "And she's off. Let's hurry and-" As Sora looked to his two Spirit partners, he noticed Kooma Panda was missing. "Uhh, Kooma?" He heard munching inside the kitchen, spotting the Dream Eater munching on some of the pancakes. "Ugh! Kooma, now's not the time to eat! We have a Nightmare to hunt, remember!?"

The bear remembered, letting out an apologetic growl as he exited the house, following Sora and Meow Wow to the clubhouse. They made it just in time, Sora leaping up onto the roof as he peeked in through the window to see Apple Bloom showing her new cutie mark to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

"Wow! You got your cutie mark!" Scootaloo exclaimed as the trio of friends cheered.

"Ah don't suppose y'all got yours yet?" Apple Bloom asked, the other two fillies sadly shaking their heads. "Oh. Well, Ah know this might sound silly, but Ah was hopin' we'd all get our cutie marks together."

"Me too," Sweetie Belle said. "But we're still super excited for you."

"Yeah," Scootaloo agreed.

Apple Bloom walked up to the podium, stamping her hoof on the flat surface. "Let's call this meetin' to order! Ah'm sure the three of us can figure out how to get you two your cutie marks!" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at each other, feeling a little uneasy, which caught Apple Bloom's eye. "...What?"

"Well, you can't be a Cutie Mark Crusader if you already have your cutie mark," Scootaloo said.

"Oh no," Sora whispered. "She still thinks her friends are really going to abandon her if she gets her cutie mark? Apple Bloom, you know Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle better than that."

"Oh...right," Apple Bloom said dejectedly. "...Ah could just sit quietly in the corner until you two figure out what ya wanna do."

"Technically, this clubhouse is for Crusaders only, and you have your cutie mark now," Sweetie Belle pointed out, the dream fillies' words making Sora want to rip his hair out.

"Oh...Then, Ah'll come right back?" Apple Bloom asked.

"You can't. Rules are rules," Scootaloo said as she and Sweetie Belle pushed Apple Bloom out of the clubhouse, Kooma Panda and Meow Wow hiding behind a tree to avoid being caught. "In fact, I don't even think we're still supposed to be friends."

They slammed the door on her and locked her out. Before Sora could comfort Apple Bloom, he was suddenly shoved hard by an unknown force along with his Spirit Dream Eaters, the terrain around them turning back into that same dark forest. The Keyblade wielder flipped back and skid across the ground on his feet, Nightmare Apple Bloom appearing before them as they saw Apple Bloom look around the forest in frustration.

"Come on, girls, this isn't funny!" she shouted, getting irritated by her cutie mark dreams turning into a never-ending nightmare.

"Apple Bloom!" Sora called out, but as he ran forward, he rammed into an invisible barrier that kept him from moving any further.

Nightmare Apple Bloom giggled mischievously as she cast the barrier, trapping Sora and his Spirit Dream Eaters inside it. "More trouble with cutie marks?"

"No!" Apple Bloom answered. "Ah mean, yeah...Ah-Ah got mah cutie mark, but mah friends didn't get theirs, and everythin's gone and gotten worse!"

"Sounds to me like cutie marks and trouble are two peas in the same pod," Nightmare Apple Bloom responded, grinning sadistically as her voice echoed all around them, knowing Sora can hear everything they say and him being unable to be heard.

"Ah guess so," Apple Bloom said. "Ah mean, if Ah was a blank flank again, then there wouldn't be a problem!"

"Your wish is my command." The Dream Eater's eyes began glowing as wind picked up, transporting Apple Bloom elsewhere while the new potion cutie mark she had fell from where she disappeared. The dark filly giggled, levitating the cutie mark over to Sora, dropping the barrier as he, Meow Wow, and Kooma Panda stared her down. "I think her friends will appreciate that I took her cutie mark away...or will they accept her again after they just got theirs?"

"Your a sick, twisted little filly," Sora growled, summoning his Keyblade. "Your dwindling away her self-confidence by making these nightmares, and your feeding off her misery every time she thinks she's satisfied."

"You figured me out. What do you want for a prize? How about this useless little sticker?" Nightmare Apple Bloom cackled as she pressed the cutie mark against Sora's forehead. "Cutie marks can be so troublesome. She'll probably stay a blank flank forever."

Sora peeled the cutie mark off his face and tossed it aside. "Quit messing around with my little sister, Dream Eater! She knows she's got great friends who don't care about what her cutie mark is or when she gets it! All a cutie mark is is just a mark showing their talent, and no matter what it is, she won't be ridiculed by anyone because it shows what makes her unique!"

"Oh? Then what about her family?" Nightmare Apple Bloom questioned. "What will they think if they saw a mark that didn't have anything with an apple on it? Will they abandon her? Disown her? No longer see her as a pony?"

"Don't you dare!" Sora rushed forward, this time intending on ending the Dream Eater's nightmarish game once and for all, just as he was about to slash the filly, he heard the sound of a rooster crowing, another shockwave sending him and his Spirit companions flying out of the dream again. "NOT AGAAAAAAAAIN!"

He heard Nightmare Apple Bloom's laughter before ending up back out in the dreamscape, landing on something soft instead of the hard ground made of stars. As Sora got his bearings, he saw Luna holding a mattress made out of galaxies a good distance away from Apple Bloom's dream door, Kooma Panda and Meow Wow also caught safely and neither of them getting piled on top of each other.

"Twice in one dream," Luna said. "Pretty rare for that to happen."

"That Nightmare of Apple Bloom is craftier than I thought," Sora said, only to cringe as he could take a guess on what it was going to do next. "Now that Dream Eater's going to make Apple Bloom think her family will abandon her if she gets the wrong cutie mark! I need to get back in there!"

Sora quickly ran back inside Apple Bloom's dream, though Meow Wow and Kooma Panda stayed behind. They waited for a few minutes until the door flung Sora out, Luna catching him as he smacked into the galactic mattress upside down.

"That was fast. What happened?" Luna asked.

"She got a dolphin cutie mark, her family disowned her, Applejack and Big Mac switched voices while Big Mac talked more, she fell through the open door like it was an endless void, I tried to catch her, but then a rooster crowed, which meant she woke up again and I got flung back out here," Sora summarized in annoyance. Growling angrily, he flipped back on his feet. "That's all I can stands, and I can't stands no more! I'm taking that Nightmare out, but how can I do that when she can give Apple Bloom a fake wake-up call!?"

"Hmm...I can use a spell to keep the dream from being interrupted," Luna suggested. "I've used the spell once for Celestia when she requested to keep a dream of eating an endless supply of sugary sweets and pastries all day when she wanted a break from her duties. She ended up eating half of her pillow, thinking it was one of those pastries, which was kind of comical that next morning."

"Great idea, Luna! Make sure Apple Bloom doesn't have another dream wake-up until I finally get rid of that Dream Eater!" Sora turned to Meow Wow and Kooma Panda, planning to bring a couple other Spirits to take their place. "Meow Wow, Kooma, I'm gonna need some muscle for that filly..."


Apple Bloom fell out of her bed, tangled up in her sheets as she poked her head up. She looked out the window as she heard the rooster crow, finding Pinkie Pie fluttering by dressed in a chicken costume. Growling in frustration, she untangled herself, getting annoyed by the strange mornings she's been having.

"This is getting ridiculous!" she complained. "First Ah can't stop them twittermites, then mah friends suddenly get their cutie marks after Ah got rid of mine, and now mah family threw me out! What is happenin' to me!?" Apple Bloom spotted her full body mirror, dreading to see what she has on her flank now. She slowly moved into the mirror and looked at her flank, sighing in relief as it remained blank. "Thank goodness. Ah never thought Ah'd be happy to be a blank-" As soon as she turned around, she looked and saw an ice cream cutie mark. "What the hay!?"

She looked between both sides of her flanks to see the cutie marks suddenly begin to change: turning into a tooth, a bag of french fries, and then an image of her face, which then winked at her. Apple Bloom began to panic, having no idea what was happening to her. Illusions of the cutie marks she's had on her flank the past several fake dreams she had began floating around her, all of them mocking her and scaring her.

"Ah don't want to see another cutie mark as long as Ah live!" Apple Bloom shouted as she ran out of her room.

Instead of running out into the second floor hallway of her house, she ended up back in the creepy forest she had run into the last couple times when her cutie mark made her miserable. Her bedroom door closed and disappeared, leaving her trapped in the dark woods.

"Back so soon?" the voice she kept hearing asked.

"Alright, that's it!" Apple Bloom yelled. "Ah don't know what kind of spell ya cast on me, but Ah want it to stop right now!"

She began running through the woods, trying to find a way out, but no matter how far she ran, the forest seemed to go on for miles. "I didn't cast a spell, on you or anypony else. I only did what you wanted."

Apple Bloom stopped running, finding it pointless to try to flee. "Why would ya want to keep torturin' me with nightmares!?"

"You didn't want to catch bugs, and I helped," Nightmare Apple Bloom said. "You didn't want to lose friends, and I helped. If there's a problem with your family-" The Nightmare Dream Eater's eyes appeared in front of Apple Bloom, surprising her as she saw a dark version of herself begin walking toward her. "-I'm sure I can help with that, too."

"W-Wha!? What are ya!?" Apple Bloom stumbled backwards and began running away from her Nightmare double. "Get away from me! Ah don't want your help!"

"You can't run away from your shadow, Apple Bloom." Nightmare Apple Bloom suddenly appeared in front of the filly, skidding to a halt as she looked down at the ground. Her shadow connected with the dark filly, terrifying Apple Bloom as she backed away from the stalking Dream Eater. "I'm only trying to help make you happy. Cutie marks are always such a troubling thing, so why bother trying to find one if you or anypony else you care about isn't satisfied with what you have?"

"G-Get away," Apple Bloom whimpered, backing into a tree, trembling in fear as Nightmare Apple Bloom giggled at her fright. "S-Somepony...help me..."

The filly shut her eyes, wanting to be freed from this nightmare. Before the Dream Eater could torment her more, it was suddenly struck by an "X"-shaped wave of fire, sending the Nightmare sprawling across the ground. Apple Bloom opened her eyes when she heard her double scream out in pain, hearing the sound of a dragon roar as a brightly colorful green one jumped out from the dense foliage. She grew even more terrified as it approached her, only to be confused as it stood in front of her as if it was protecting her.

Nightmare Apple Bloom stood up and growled, leering at the Ryu Dragon Spirit. "Him again. He doesn't want to give up, does he?" The ground soon began to shake slightly as rapid thumping began growing louder, along with the sound of a monstrous roar getting closer. Breaking through the trees was a large red dinosaur Dream Eater, a Tyranto Rex, letting out another roar as it shot a fireball out of its gaping maw. The Nightmare ducked into the shadows and reappeared farther away from the two dangerous and aggressive Dream Eaters. The friendly dinosaur stood beside the Ryu Dragon, protecting Apple Bloom as well, which only confused the filly even more. "You three will not be able to stay in this dream forever!"

"Good luck trying to get Apple Bloom to wake up in another dream!" Apple Bloom's ears perked up as she heard Sora's voice, the Keyblade wielder suddenly gliding swiftly into the glade with a purplish-pink aura surrounding his body. He shot forward as he got closer to the Nightmare, pointing his Keyblade out in front of him as he spun rapidly like a drill, striking the dark filly as it let out a painful cry. He floated up and slammed down onto it, but the Nightmare sunk back in the shadows to avoid finishing Flowmotion attack, reappearing far from him as he landed in front of Apple Bloom with his stronger Spirit Dream Eater companions. "Stay away from my little sister!"

"Sora???" Apple Bloom rubbed her eyes as she got a better look at the real Sora, easily able to tell it was the pegasus stallion she knew with his hair, clothing, and Keyblade. "W-What is goin' on!? Ah'm so confused!"

Nightmare Apple Bloom growled as her eyes began glowing brightly, trying to force the earth pony filly to wake up from another dream, only to feel another presence blocking her from doing so. "Why isn't she waking up!? Who's stopping me!?"

"Someone else who can travel through dreams and stop nightmares, so there's no chance for you to kick me out and keep me from killing you!" The Dream Eater's growl deepened, letting out a frustrated, feral roar as it slammed its forehooves into the ground, causing a trail of dark spikes to flow toward them. The Tyranto Rex quickly moved in front of the spikes' path, taking the dark attack as it was the more bulky of the trio while Ryu Dragon flew up in the air and dove down onto the dark filly. "Apple Bloom, stay behind that tree! We'll get rid of this thing for good!"

"O-Ok." Apple Bloom didn't need to be told twice as she hid behind the tree, poking her head out as she watched Sora and the friendly monsters attack the evil duplicate of her.

Nightmare Apple Bloom sank back into the shadows as she avoided the Ryu Dragon, but as she reappeared elsewhere in the glade, Sora managed to catch it off guard as he spiraled through it twice in the air, emitting a dark aura from his Keyblade, then one of light. While it was stunned, he performed a Sliding Dash, knocking the dark filly up into the air, quickly grabbing its tail and tossing it over to the dinosaur Spirit. The Tyranto Rex snatched the Nightmare in its jaws, chomping onto it hard and shaking its head back and forth to cause more pain. It couldn't hold onto it for long as Nightmare Apple Bloom's body shot spikes out from, making the Tyranto Rex roar in pain and let go.

The Nightmare bucked the larger Dream Eater hard, sending it flying across the glade until it slammed into a tree. While distracted, the Ryu Dragon created a Time Bomb, dropping the orange ball of fire on top of the filly, surprising it as a countdown timer began counting down from five. Setting its sights on the dragon Spirit, Sora quickly ran to a nearby tree, kicking off from it to activate his Flowmotion, gliding off before leaping up high toward the canopy of branches above them. He slammed down on top of Nightmare Apple Bloom, unleashing a purplish-pink shockwave around him, smashing his Keyblade down on top of the Dream Eater pony.

He leapt back right as the counter hit zero, the Time Bomb blowing up from inside the Dream Eater, shrouding it in non-elemental flames and smoke. Red eyes glowed brightly through the smoke as Nightmare Apple Bloom let out a screech, stomping its hooves as if it were having a temper tantrum. Every stomp it made, it shot up spikes randomly around the glade, none of them thankfully nowhere near Apple Bloom. Unfortunately for the two Spirit Dream Eaters, they were bombarded by the dark spikes shooting up underneath them, neither of them unable to escape. Sora was quick to evade them, using his Cure spells to heal them even when they were far apart from his magic's radius of effect.

Sensing the maximized Links between his two partners, Sora summoned both Tyranto Rex's and Ryu Dragon's powers, the trio disappearing before the two fillies' eyes. Nightmare Apple Bloom searched around frantically, panting heavily with a low growl, not noticing the sky above them sparkle. The star began approaching dangerously close, revealing a meteor falling toward them, Sora, Tyranto Rex, and Ryu Dragon standing on top of it as they aimed it down toward the dark filly. Nightmare Apple Bloom looked up too late, screaming in surprise as it crashed to the ground, creating a large explosion that nearly knocked Apple Bloom off her hooves.

The Nightmare Dream Eater was sent soaring across the forest, slamming into the tree Apple Bloom hid behind. The black and purple filly groaned as it slid down the tree, suddenly gasping in pain as Sora rushed forward, thrusting his Keyblade straight through its chest. The Nightmare went limp as it let out its last breath, its body fading to black and purple mist that disappeared as it rose into the sky. The Keyblade wielder let out a sigh of relief, dismissing his Keyblade as the dark forest faded along with the Dream Eater filly.

"Thank goodness," Sora uttered. "That was too close..." Looking down, he saw Apple Bloom staring back at him, still lost and confused as to what she had been experiencing in what felt like an eternity in her dream. He knelt down and greeted her with a gentle smile. "You ok, Apple Bloom?"

"...I-Is that...really you, Sora?" she asked. He nodded his head, but after all the random waking nightmares she's had, she can't tell what's real and what's not. "Ah...What in Equestria is goin' on? Am Ah goin' crazy?"

"No, you're perfectly fine," Sora assured. "You're dreaming, and it turned out to be a never-ending nightmare." He held out his hand to the shocked filly. "Who you're looking at, the pegasus who crashed in your family's orchard and became your honorary big brother, this is what I really look like."

Apple Bloom felt a little intimidated from his real appearance when he came to her rescue, not even seeing the pegasus she knew as a second older brother in any part of her nightmares. Timidly, she shakily lifted a hoof to touch his hand, his fingers gently grasping her smaller limb. She looked up at him, staring at the same blue eyes the stallion she knew had, filled with the same gentle kindness he gave her when he was taken away by the Royal Guard after he saved her from the Heartless a long while back.

Tears welled up in her eyes, recognizing him now, even in his actual form. She had tried to brave through these nightmares without getting upset, but seeing her nightmare self being the cause of her tormenting dreams, she was desperate for someone to comfort her. Apple Bloom jumped on his lap and hugged him tightly, sobbing hysterically as the frightening moment caught up with her, now safe in the company of her honorary brother. Sora hugged her close to his chest, gently rubbing her back as he assured her she was no longer in any danger. The Tyranto Rex and Ryu Dragon sat in front of Sora, waiting patiently as Apple Bloom recovered from the traumatic Nightmare of herself almost taking her.

After Apple Bloom had calmed down enough, her dream now stable as they all sat in an empty field, she pulled her head away from his chest and looked up at Sora. "W-What was h-happenin' to me?"

"I think I have a good idea what was going on, but aside from that Dream Eater messing with your head, you were also creating some of those nightmares yourself," he explained.

"...Ah don't understand." Sora gently brushed his thumbs against Apple Bloom's cheeks, drying away her tears.

"That dark version of you was a Dream Eater; think of them like Heartless, only they invade the dreams of worlds, or someone's dream, to my surprise, and consume dreams," Sora said. "That Apple Bloom was called a Nightmare, and that thing relished in giving you all these nightmares to feed off and grow stronger. If a Nightmare Dream Eater got to you, you might not ever wake up again...That almost happened to me once."

"'Dream Eaters'?" Apple Bloom turned her head, huddling close to Sora as she saw the two Spirit Dream Eaters that helped him fight back her Nightmare. "A-Are they Dream Eaters, too?"

"Don't worry. They're actually nicer versions of Dream Eaters; Spirits." Sora called Tyranto Rex and Ryu Dragon closer, the two scary beasts letting out friendly rumbles, the dinosaur Spirit lowering its head to look at the filly. "It's kind of easy to tell these guys are friendly because their bodies are a bit brighter and colorful than the Nightmares'. Go on and pet Rex. He won't bite."

A little timid wanting to pet something that looked like an extinct creature from one of her history lessons in school, Apple Bloom wasn't sure if she wanted to trust Sora with the sharp-toothed Dream Eater that could gobble her up in one chomp. She tentatively held out her hoof, shakily moving it closer to gently touch Tyranto Rex's nose. The poke made the Dream Eater murmur in approval as its body glowed for a moment. She pulled her hoof back, a little fascinated, though still finding it strange to be close to a dangerous predator.

"...They ain't all bad?" she asked.

"No. And Rex is a big softie. Just be careful when you pet or poke them." Sora reached his hand out and bet the dinosaur's nose, making it glow again as it rumbled in happiness. Its eyes were purple for a moment, but when it closed and opened them, they were suddenly yellow. Apple Bloom gasped as she noticed the change, along with Tyranto Rex's attitude. "Their eyes change color and shape, which also changes their disposition.

"Whoa..." Her distracted curiosity dwindled as she looked back at Sora. "What did ya mean when ya said Ah was also givin' mahself nightmares? Wasn't that other me doin' it?"

"Yes, but don't think I didn't see the slight bit of worrying you had when I took you three out for some fun." The filly's ears dropped as she looked away, sighing sadly as she couldn't hide her fears all that well.

"Ah guess Ah was still worried about gettin' mah cutie mark, even after Applejack promised everythin' Ah feared wouldn't come true," Apple Bloom mumbled. "...Did ya see everythin' else Ah went through?"

"Getting a cutie mark you didn't want with a talent that you thought was humiliating, getting a cutie mark before Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo did that resulted in you getting kicked out of the CMCs, and being abandoned by your family for not having an apple-related cutie mark? Yeah. I saw them, but because of that Nightmare constantly waking you up in your endless dreaming, I couldn't even help you." The filly wilted, butting her head against Sora's chest as she groaned.

"No wonder Ah kept goin' through the same mornin' with a different cutie mark," she grumbled.

"I told you there was nothing you had to worry about getting your cutie mark," Sora reminded, scratching the filly behind the ears. "Everything nightmare you experienced was just a worst case scenario of something that wouldn't even come remotely close to what will really happen. Freaking out over what you're going to get is like being insecure with yourself." Apple Bloom looked up at him, even though the delightful scratching from his fingers nearly distracted her. "All a cutie mark is is just a picture showing your talent. If you think your talent isn't special, then you're saying you yourself aren't special. It doesn't matter what you get, because in the end, you'll still have your friends, and you will always have your family, and they will see you as you regardless of what your discovered talent is."

"...So, Ah was worryin' over nothin'?" Apple Bloom asked, earning a nod from the Keyblade wielder. "...Then it really doesn't matter what mah cutie mark is! Mrf!" She bumped her head against Sora's chest again. "Ah must be the only pony in all of Equestria who's makin' such a fuss over mah cutie mark..."

"Actually, you are not the only one." Apple Bloom lifted her head up and turned around, finding Princess Luna standing before the filly, Keyblade wielder, and Spirit Dream Eaters.

"Princess Luna?" Sora stood up, carrying Apple Bloom in his arms.

"Hopefully, holding back that Nightmare's power wasn't too much of a struggle for the Princess of the Night," Sora playfully mocked.

"It wasn't that difficult, but there are some ponies you know who are having the same problem as you, Apple Bloom," Luna said. Sora began to worry as more Nightmare Dream Eaters had appeared elsewhere in other ponies' dreams. "Calm yourself, Sora. There were none of those foul creatures in any of their dreams. Just regular nightmares."

"Oh, good," he said with a sigh. "Let's just hope none of them show up again."

"But who else has been havin' the same cutie mark nightmares as me?" Apple Bloom asked.

"You'll see." Using her magic, Luna made a doorway appear in Apple Bloom's dream, leading back out to the dreamscape.

Sora followed the alicorn out with his Spirit Dream Eaters following him, Apple Bloom held securely in his arms. The filly looked around the dream realm in awe, overwhelmed by the hundreds of doorways that lead to the dreams of everyone living in Ponyville. Luna lead them to a couple of doors on the path, two of which Sora recognized as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo's dream doors.

"Of course," he said. "I thought so."

"Thought what?" Apple Bloom asked.

Starting with Sweetie Belle's dream, Sora grabbed the handle and opened it. Instead of walking in, they watched through the doorway as the light faded away, showing the unicorn filly's dream. There was a stage where Sweetie walked on from the side of the set, a panel of judges in front judging a performance she was going to make, which consisted of Vinyl Scratch, her friend Octavia Melody, a gray earth pony mare Sora recalled seeing back at the Gala a couple years ago, Rarity, and himself, but as a pegasus and not a human.

The unicorn filly breathed to steady her nerves as she approached the mic, taking in a deep breath to begin singing. Before even letting out a single note, her flank shined as a cutie mark appeared, but instead of it involving music, it was a broom with a bucket of water used for mops. The microphone had changed into a broom, startling the filly and disappointing the two musical judges while Rarity and pony Sora cringed. Vinyl and Octavia lifted up a zero card while Sora and Rarity held up a one, feeling sorry for the filly.

"Hey, I would have given her at least a two," the real Sora complained.

He closed the door as a custodian had walked up on the stage to begin cleaning, moving on to Scootaloo's dream. In the pegasus filly's dream after the light faded from the opened door, they saw the little daredevil at the top of an incredibly high ramp, prepared to jump over a canyon on her scooter. She wore a purple helmet with a faintly tinted visor to protect her eyes, purple boots on her hooves, and a flashy cape, all of them designed with stars on her outfit. She kicked off and flapped her wings, gaining speed as she rolled down the ramp.

Unfortunately, her daredevil dream backfired as a cutie mark of a whisk stirring a bowl of batter appeared on her flank, her outfit disappearing as a chef's hat replaced her helmet and rode down on a large egg beater. Unable to control herself, she reached the end of the ramp, falling into the canyon, which was now filled with batter. Scootaloo panicked as she spun the baking instrument, which only made things worse as her struggles caused her to sink into the growing batter.

"Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are havin' nightmares too?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yeah, but they really didn't show how worried about their cutie marks than you," Sora said, giving the filly a boop on the nose. "You're practically obsessed with getting your cutie mark more than those two."

"Ah do not!" she argued, scrunching her face as she rubbed her nose.

"For being part of a family where honesty is the most important thing you were taught, you're a worse liar than Applejack." Sora lowered Apple Bloom down to the ground as Luna chuckled at their bantering.

"Well, I think you can handle this from here," the alicorn said. "I'll see you again whenever I need your assistance, Sora."

"And if you see any Dream Eaters, come get me or Riku. We'll take care of those kinds of Nightmares." Luna nodded her head and flew off. Sora looked down at Apple Bloom, now clueless as to what they should do now. "How about we get Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and end this whole cutie mark issue right in the bud?"

"How are we gonna do that?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Just watch." Sora summoned his Keyblade and pointed at an open space in the dream realm.

The filly watched as light began to build up at the end of his blade, which then fired a beam of light until it struck an invisible wall. A doorway appeared, which happened to look like the Cutie Mark Crusaders's clubhouse door. Sora aimed his Keyblade at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo's doors, firing a smaller light at them, the lights then flowing out and connecting with the newly created doorway. Apple Bloom watched Sora approach the door, following after him with the two Spirits right behind her. He opened the door, revealing the inside of the clubhouse, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looking around in confusion.

"What's going on?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"How the hay did I end up in the clubhouse?" Scootaloo asked in confusion. "At least I'm not drowning in cake batter that filled up that gorge."

"Hey, girls," Sora called out as he crawled through the small door, a bit too big to stand in the small, dream tree house as a human.

"Sora!" the two fillies greeted, only to look at each other in confusion, none of them knowing the other knew what he really looked like. "Wait, you've seen him like that?"

"And we've got someone else here, too." Apple Bloom walked in, surprising Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. "Now all three of you have gotten some help from me in a dream."

"They knew what ya looked like before me!?" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Since when!?"

"Uhh, well, remember when we went hiking up to Winsome Falls with Applejack and Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head as she giggled nervously. "I had those nightmares from those scary stories Rainbow told us, and Sora helped me with them when I was afraid to know what she'd think of me if I wasn't as brave as her."

"And after I got so mad at Rarity, I was attacked by a nightmare of her and Sora, realizing that my sister never meant to take all the attention with anything I did to get any, like our play," Sweetie Belle added. "What happened to you, Apple Bloom?"

"The same reason all of us are here: Ah was scared of what would happen if Ah got a cutie mark Ah didn't like, if y'all didn't get yours when Ah got mine first, and what mah family would do if Ah didn't get a cutie mark with somethin' to do with apples," Apple Bloom said. "...Ah also almost got attacked by a scary twin of mine that was somethin' Sora called a Dream Eater."

"A 'Dream Eater'?" Scootaloo asked, her and Sweetie Belle looking at each other before looking at Sora. "What's that?"

They soon heard a grunt come from the opened door, the Tyranto Rex squeezing his head in the door frame, but he couldn't get his whole body through. Ryu Dragon poked its head out from one of the windows, both Spirits startling the two fillies as they ran to Sora for protection.

"What are those things!?" Sweetie Belle asked fearfully.

"Those are Dream Eaters, but they're the nice ones called Spirits," Sora explained. "Rexy, just look through the other window! You're not going to fit, buddy!" The dinosaur let out a whine of disappointment before pulling its head out of the door, closing shut behind it as it looked in the other window on the other side. "The real dangerous Dream Eaters you girls need to look out for are the ones with darker colors."

"So, are we actually dreaming right now?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well, if you're seeing me as a human, does that immediately answer your question, Scoots?" Sora answered with his own question, the pegasus filly giggling sheepishly as she momentarily forgot. "So, seeing as we're all here, I think a little Crusader's meeting is in order."

"Yeah!" Apple Bloom agreed as she ran up to her podium. "Ah call this dream meetin' of the Cutie Mark Crusaders now in session!" She tapped her hoof on the flat surface, which sounded like a horn honking, Sora smirking as he intentionally made this dream realm silly. "Ah think all three of us got pretty anxious when we heard Babs got her cutie mark, but Ah don't want to have anymore of these nightmares every night until we get ours!"

"Or any Nightmare Dream Eaters," Sora added.

"Right. Or them things. But, even if we're a bit scared, Sora was right sayin' we don't have to worry about anythin' changin' about us no matter what we get." The other two fillies agreed while Sora rolled his eyes.

"And maybe if you listened to me, you probably wouldn't have spawned a Nightmare Apple Bloom," the teen said, making Apple Bloom giggle sheepishly as she fidgeted her hooves. "And like I said before, whatever cutie marks you get, it'll fit you girls perfectly."

"But what about Babs?" Scootaloo asked. "Is she worried about the same thing as us now that she has her cutie mark?"

The CMC thought of something they could do to ease the Manehattan filly's fears, Apple Bloom perking her head up as she had an idea. "Ah know! We'll send her a care package we can put together once we wake up!"

"That's a great idea!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed in agreement. "That way she'll know she's not alone!"

"Yeah!" Even though they had a plan, they couldn't really do much until they woke up and got together to make Babs's care package. "...So, what do we do until we wake up?"

As they now thought of something to do for the next few hours, Sora hummed in thought as he had a little idea. "Well, since you three know I'm not really a pony, or from Equestria...how about I show you where I lived growing up?"

"Really?" the Crusaders asked.

"Sure. But one question: any of you girls ever been to the beach?" The three fillies shook their heads no. Sora chuckled aimed his Keyblade at the door, his Spirit companions backing away from the windows as they moved out to the front. "Then you're going to enjoy what you'll see."

He fired another small beam at the door, light shimmering from outside as it seeped through the cracks. Curious to see what he's done, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo approached the door and opened it. They gasped in awe as they saw the island Sora had played on in his world, Destiny Island. The fillies stepped out onto the sands, practically feeling the tropical air hit them, the scent of the salty ocean lapping against the shore, feeling like they were actually at Sora's home in this dream world.

"Whoa! This place is awesome!" Scootaloo said, being the first to voice her opinion.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Sora said as he crawled out of the doorway, exiting out of the shack built for him and his friends on the island. "Welcome to Destiny Islands! More specifically, the island I always hang out at when I was little."

"It's beautiful," Sweetie Belle said. "I wished I lived out here."

"Me too!" Apple Bloom agreed. She then looked around, finding no sign of Tyanto Rex or Ryu Dragon anywhere. "Hey, where'd the Dream Eaters go?"

"Yeah. They went out to the front, right? Shouldn't they have been waiting for us?" Scootaloo asked.

"They should have..." A few seconds later, they heard several different animal noises come from around the corner leading to the other side of the island. Sora winced as he knew all those sounds, spotting all of the Spirit Dream Eaters he and Riku befriended during their times in the dream worlds, all of them ranging from all sorts of different creatures. "Uh oh! Dream Eater stampede!"

The Spirits all tackled Sora and caught him in a big dogpile, the CMC watching him as the bright and colorful dream creatures seemed to happily greet him. "Wow. That's a lot of Dream Eaters."

The only ones who weren't trying to suffocate the teen with nuzzles, licks, or hugs were the ones who he had already summoned to help Apple Bloom: Meow Wow, Kooma Panda, Tyranto Rex, and Ryu Dragon. These four Spirits approached the fillies, all but Meow Wow towering over them as the odd cat/dog Dream Eater nuzzled Apple Bloom.

"Aww! This one's adorable!" Sweetie Belle squealed, grabbing the Dream Eater and pulled it toward her to hug it. "It's a big cat!...Or dog?...I'm gonna call it a cat-dog!"

Scootaloo noticed Meow Wow had sparkled a little as Sweetie Belle cuddled with the Spirit. "Why did it glow like that? Do they do that?"

"Kind of when ya pet or poke them," Apple Bloom said, going by what Sora told her earlier. The Tyranto Rex lowered itself down next to the filly, swishing its tail like an excited dog as it begged to be petted. The filly gave his snout a pet, making it glow as it rumbled happily. "Their eyes also change too, which is kind of weird."

"I want one of these as a pet!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"Me too, especially this cool dragon!" Scootaloo gave the Ryu Dragon a pat on the head, but instead of a happy growl and a bright shine from its body, a dark glow appeared in place where the filly pet it as it growled and turned away. "Huh? Hey, you're supposed to glow and like it! What gives!?"

Sora finally separated himself from the large group of friendly Dream Eaters after their reunited pounce, his hair more of a mess as he straightened out and dusted his clothes. "That happens sometimes. Depending on their disposition, the color of their eyes, they might not like specific parts of them touched and would get a little grumpy. Some of them may look cute, but they can be very picky. And sadly, Sweetie Belle, Dream Eaters only exist in dreams."

"Awwww." Sweetie Belle pouted as she stopped hugging Meow Wow.

"Well, after I got tackled and said hello to everyone again, let's have ourselves a dream beach party!" Sora exclaimed as the Crusaders cheered, along with cheering noises coming from all the Dream Eaters as they all began enjoying the dream beach party until the teen and fillies woke up.


As the sun began to rise in the waking world, Sora woke up in his bed in the castle. He sat up and stretched, the dream party he had with the CMC still fresh in his mind. They had a blast with his Spirit Dream Eater companions as they played around in the water, the fillies exploring the island, even having a few races around the obstacle course on the other side. He didn't know if they would remember everything when they wake up, but he at least was able to ease their worries with getting their cutie marks. After getting himself dressed, he made his way out of the castle and to the farmhouse to meet up with the Apple family for breakfast.

He walked into the kitchen, where Applejack was making pancakes while Big Macintosh and Granny Smith set the table. "Mornin', Sora."

"What a morning it is," he said as he sat down at the table.

He didn't have to wait long as Apple Bloom finally woke up and came down the stairs, cautiously looking in the kitchen to see everything was normal, no longer stuck in her looping nightmares.

[Applejack]
There ain't no call to worry
So don't you cry or fret

[Apple Bloom]
A cutie mark won't change me
No matter what I get

Apple Bloom walked up to the table and sat down, looking a little tired, both from just waking up and the exhausting stress of her dreaming. "Well, looks like somepony's feelin' a lot better."

"You have no idea," the filly said.

"See? Now what did Ah tell ya?" Applejack said. "A good night's sleep cures just about anythin'."

Apple Bloom cringed, having heard that line said so many times as sleep really didn't help much at all. "...Ah guess so. Ah just wish it hadn't been so exhaustin'."

The rest of the Apples stared at the filly in confusion, who ignored the odd looks as she grabbed a pancake and began munching on it. "What in tarnation is that supposed to mean?"

"Hey, sleeping can be pretty tiring," Sora said as he grabbed himself a couple pancakes and an apple. "You know how wild a kid's dreams can be? They can get so crazy, it's almost like they never end."

He and Apple Bloom giggled as they only understood what happened, baffling the other ponies even more. "...Ah don't get it."

"It's a secret between us." The Keyblade wielder winked at Apple Bloom as he scarfed down on his breakfast.

The filly giggled again as the duo ate their breakfast, Applejack eyeing them for a moment before joining her family at the table. "Alright...As long as neither of y'all are plannin' on doin' somethin' dangerous today."

"Don't worry, AJ," Sora assured. "As if I'm going to let my little sister do something that'll get her or the other girls hurt."

"Let's hurry and finish eatin'!" Apple Bloom said. "Ah wanna get Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo so we can send Babs a care package!"

"A care package? For what?" Applejack questioned.

"Like I said, AJ; wild dreams." Applejack gave up wondering what was going on, shrugging her shoulders as she let Sora handle the CMCs plans for today.

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