A Flurry of Emotions
Weeks passed after the incident with Starlight's anger nearly causing Ventus to accidentally harm Trixie and anyone else that got in the way of the magical-induced wrath he was under. Aqua was still unaware of what had happened to the Cutie Map at that time, barely noticing the hint of massage oils that got on the crystal table when she returned. Terra made sure to wipe it down thoroughly when he caught a hint of the aromatic scents while making sure Aqua was calm and relaxed after what had seemed to be a surprisingly stressful talk with Master Yen Sid. Along the revelation of Sora able to use the power of waking like Riku had, he tried to figure out how it worked. Riku was unsure of it as well, his only guess being he wanted to save his friend and bring him back, and it worked after falling into Sora's heart, gathering "pieces" of him, and destroying the Nightmare that infected the armor protecting him.
In the castle, Nurse Redheart paid Twilight Sparkle a visit, asking for her presence to see some foals who were sick and afflicted with the same illness. Of course, Twilight agreed to make a visit to entertain them while they were getting better, Riku and Spike walking along with the two mares as they overheard them talking about this plight on the schoolfoals.
"Oh, princess, everypony in the hospital's going to be so excited for your visit!" Nurse Redheart said.
"I'm never too busy to visit sick foals," Twilight said. "I can't believe a whole class just came down with the horsey hives!"
Riku couldn't but snort at the odd affliction's name. "The horsey hives?" he asked.
"And on school picture day, too," Nurse Redheart added, showing a picture of the small class under Cheerilee's tutelage. Riku cringed at the photo, Cheerliee slightly stepping away from the foals, all of them looking miserable while covered in red bumps, making it almost look like chicken pox to the stallion. "The poor dears do need some cheering up."
"We'll do our best," Twilight promised. "We'll bring snacks, read them stories, and get them gifts!"
"Food and presents always cheer me up," Spike said, adding in his two cents if he were ever sick.
Riku rolled his eyes, holding off on the presents for Spike, otherwise have a repeat of his greed running amuck again. They saw the nurse off, Twilight pulling out a scroll and quill as she already began making preparations for her visit to the hospital.
"Alright. So, if we want to make it by lunch, we've got three hours to buy get-well presents, borrow a book from the schoolhouse, and pick up treats from Sugarcube Corner," Twilight listed aloud.
"Isn't that a bit much in a short amount of time?" Spike asked with a heavy sigh.
"Not if we stick to the schedule~!" Twilight cheerfully sang out.
"When do you ever go off the schedule, Twi?" Riku asked, swiping the list from the alicorn teasingly. "How about we forget the list and wing it?"
"Not today, nor any day, you." Twilight snatched her list back, rolling it up and lightly bopping Riku on the snout playfully. Their playful banter was interrupted by a knock on the front doors. "Huh. Who could that be?"
Using her magic to open the doors, they were met with a surprise visit by Shining Armor, Cadence, and Flurry Heart, the new parents looking bedraggled and exhausted while the alicorn filly in the stroller squealed with glee. "Surprise!" Shining announced.
"Oh my gosh!" Twilight gasped, dropping her schedule and eagerly bounced over to the stroller, nuzzling her niece. "How's my favorite niece?"
"'I'm good!'" Shining said, his voice high-pitched as he pretended to speak for his infant daughter. "'I was hoping my favowite aunt and uncle could watch me for a few houwrs.'"
"And your brother has lost his mind again," Riku remarked, approaching Flurry as she held out her hooves to him.
"Hopefully you two aren't too busy," Cadence said.
"Actually, we kind of-" Spike said, only to get smacked by Twilight's wing, interrupting him.
"Busy?" she scoffed. "Would the best aunt ever be too busy to spend time with this adorable little one?" Spike picked up the scroll with their scheduled meeting for the foals at the hospital, waving it around to show she was indeed busy. Riku nearly forgot about that, though it was difficult when around a baby alicorn, and babies are always a big distraction for anyone. "No, Spike. I'm not THAT busy."
"Oh boy," Spike grumbled, being ignored as Twilight picked Flurry up from her stroller her in magic and began attacking her with kisses.
The infant giggled as she was lavished with attention by her aunt, laughing harder when Twilight gave her tickly raspberries on her chubby belly, her little hooves flailing helplessly. "Oh, Flurry, I've got a surprise for you!" The others watched as Twilight carried Flurry over to a nearby door, gently lowering her to the floor on her hooves. The baby fell on her stomach as her legs gave out on her, but she was back up, prancing excitedly in front of her favorite aunt. "Just a couple of toys that reminded me of Flurry."
Twilight opened the door, but instead of a couple presents, a whole stack of gifts came falling out of the closet stocked with them, Flurry caught under the mini-avalanche. Wincing, Twilight quickly pulled Flurry out, the alicorn infant fine as she giggled, wondering what kinds of toys her auntie got her.
"Yeah, Twilight kinda went a little nuts with shopping for Flurry Heart," Riku said.
"Oh, you're so sweet," Cadence said, though a bit nervous as she didn't want her daughter to be a bit too spoiled. "You didn't have to do all that, Twilight."
"I know, but I couldn't help myself! Best aunt ever!" While Flurry was busy holding one of the gifts, curious about what was inside, Twilight grabbing a red and white polka-dotted gift box from the pile, placing it down in front of the filly. "Open this one, Flurry." Flurry babbled excitedly, opening the lid, finding a pair of stuffed bears inside, one red and one green. She giggled joyously, grabbing the green bear, then growled like one playfully, loving her new toys. "That's right, they're bears! You're one smart cookie."
Twilight grabbed the other bear with her magic, animating it as it danced along a nearby bookshelf in an elegant dance over the books held on the wall. Flurry was inspired, using her own magic to try to copy her auntie, though it was not as graceful, mostly limping like a rag doll and smacking into the books. Even though most of her magic was sealed, she was only left with a little bit of it to keep her entertained when playing, and she was at least having fun as she played with her aunt and new bears.
"We'll just put Flurry's things over here, Twily!" Shining called out, Twilight responding with a mutter, too busy playing with Flurry Heart to pay attention.
"And she's too far gone," Riku joked. "By the way, what 'things' did you bring for Flurrie?"
"Mashed peas," Shining said, levitating a jar of baby food for Flurry if she gets hungry. "Her favorite."
"And diapers," Cadence added, giving Riku a full package of diapers. "Uh, extra diapers." The pink alicorn of love levitated a couple more full packages of diapers, startling Riku as he stared in bewilderment. "Oh, and backup extra diapers."
"More diapers???" Riku uttered, covered in a fort of diapers.
"Mashed peas, her favorite," Shining said, repeating himself as he levitated a couple more jars of mashed peas to the pegasus stallion. "...Wait, did I say that already?"
He gave the exhausted father a blank stare, dropping what diapers he was carrying. "Yeah. You did."
"Oops," Shining uttered apologetically.
"You guys are definitely out of it if Flurry's been that much of a handful in the last few weeks," Riku noted.
"Wait until you have your own kid," Shining said. "But not too soon with my sister, got it?"
Riku nodded, not planning on having any children for quite a while, at least until after they decide to officially tie the knot. "Oh, and this is the most important thing of all," Cadence said, almost forgetting something. She grabbed a stuffed snail, handing it to Riku. "Her Whammy."
"I'm gonna guess Flurry named that?" Spike asked.
"Yup. If she gets fussy, just give her the Whammy and she'll calm right down," Cadence explained.
"Ok. Simple enough," Riku said. "Twilight, you got that?"
"Whammy. Got it," Twilight said, finished playing with Flurry as she placed her niece on her back, putting the bears away as she walked over to them. "Where are you two headed, anyway?"
"You remember my friend from the royal guard, Spearhead?" Shining asked.
Twilight, Riku, and Spike looked at each other, neither of them knowing who this Spearhead stallion was. "Honestly, all of your friends' names are very similar."
"Gee, I wonder why, 'Shining Armor'?" Riku emphasized, making Cadence and Twilight giggle while Shining pouted, seeing his and Spike's point.
"...Right." The unicorn cleared his throat, getting back on topic. "Well, Spearhead has a pop-up art show at the Ponyville Cafe, and we decided to go at the last minute."
"We're not exactly art enthusiasts, but we could really use a night out," Cadence said.
"You mean 'day'?" Spike corrected.
"That's what I said!" Cadence quickly exclaimed. "Isn't that what I said?" Riku and Twilight looked at each other, definitely seeing the royal couple really needed some R&R from parenthood. "Either way, can you watch her for us?"
Spike shook his head at Twilight, reminding her of the hospital visit they just planned. Twilight wanted to spend some more time with Flurry, but she didn't want to disappoint the sick foals either. Plus, with Riku having nothing to do today, they could each take turns watching Flurry and get everything ready for their hospital visit.
"Have no fear!" Twilight said. "The best aunt and uncle ever have got this under control!"
Shining and Cadence smiled, knowing their daughter would be taken care of well by her aunt and future uncle-in-law. Cadence carried Flurry toward them in her magical aura, giving the filly a kiss on her cheeks, assuring her they would be back soon.
"Thanks again, you two," Shining said, handing Flurry to Riku as the couple left to the art show in town for their well-deserved break.
Spike closed the doors, but before he could get Twilight focused on what they originally planned to do, he lurched forward, his cheeks bulging as that all familiar feeling welled in his gut. He then belched, flames spewing out as a scroll appeared in the enchanted fire.
"Well, that hasn't happened in a while," Spike muttered to himself.
"A letter from Princess Celestia?" Twilight grabbed the scroll and opened it up. Her eyes scanned the letter, only to let an exasperated cry in anguish. "Aww, come on! NOW of all times!?"
"What is it?" Riku asked.
"Apparently, some of the nobles in Canterlot don't think it's a good idea to be friends with the changelings now that they're reformed," Twilight summarized. "Princess Celestia wants me to help settle these arguments in court, as the Princess of Friendship, and prove that the only evil changeling they all need to worry about now is Queen Chrysalis. Why did this have to happen now after we just settled with the treaty WEEKS prior to Thorax taking charge!?"
"Do you HAVE to go?" Riku asked, knowing just how stuffy the nobles in Canterlot can be, especially those who believe they're so high and mighty that the money they have can buy them the whole world.
"Yes, I have to, otherwise ponies aren't going to accept changelings as our allies," Twilight said.
She looked at Flurry, the baby alicorn having no idea what her aunt and uncle were talking about. Twilight didn't want to disappoint the sick foals, and she didn't want to leave Riku alone with the baby while letting down her brother and sister-in-law. And this meeting is really important to establish a more friendly relationship with the changelings so they don't feel alienated while making a change to their lifestyle to help sustain themselves. Seeing Twilight was struggling to come up with a solution, he looked down at Flurry, who was looking up at him curiously, coming up with an idea for her.
"I can handle Flurry and get everything for the foals in the hospital," he suggested.
"Really? By yourself?" Twilight asked.
"I've got Spike to help," Riku said, making the baby dragon groan.
"Even still, don't you think you guys are in over your heads?" Spike questioned.
"Can't be all that hard," Riku boasted. "Flurry's got barely any powerful magic in her thanks to that spell Sunburst found. And with Twilight's list, we can get everything for the foals and entertain them with a story. Flurry might like it too if I bring her along." Twilight whimpered worriedly, not wanting to break her promise she made to Nurse Redheart. "Don't worry, Twi. Best uncle ever's got this. You've got more important matters dealing with snooty jerks who don't like the idea of change...lings."
Riku's terrible pun made Twilight and Spike smack their foreheads, Flurry the only one giggling despite having no clue about his failed attempt trying to be funny. "Don't quit your day job, Riku," Twilight grumbled. She let out a sigh, putting her faith in her coltfriend to fulfill their promises to the foals and Shining Armor and Cadence. "Ok. I hope it won't take me long to try to convince them, but I'll try to return as soon as possible." She gave Flurry a kiss, making her coo as she got even more kisses from her aunt. "Auntie Twily's gotta leave, but Uncle Riku's gonna take real good care of you."
She the gave Riku a light peck on the lips goodbye, stepping back and teleporting herself to Canterlot, leaving Riku and Spike to look after Flurry Heart. "Well, shall we get started on getting this list done and over with?" Spike suggested.
Riku nodded, but Flurry had other plans in mind, flapping out of the stallion's hooves and grabbed one of her new bears, then hovered back and held it out to him. "You want to play more bears?" Riku asked, taking the toy, letting it face her, and let out a playful growl. Flurry, however, shook her head, raising her hooves up and growled, her idea of a game much different than he thought. "...Oh, you want US to pretend to be the bears?" Flurry nodded her head, surprising Riku seeing how smart she is for someone so young. "Ok. Then the little bear better run from the big bear. Grrrr."
Flurry squealed and flew off, laughing playfully as Riku began chasing her, letting out roars and growls. "Riku, you sure we even have the time to do this?" Spike questioned, waving the list around.
"I'll tire her out, and when she's exhausted, I'll put her down for a nap," Riku said, having come up with a plan once Twilight left. "If you're that worried about the other kids, why don't you get a head start on the snacks for them? Go to Sugarcube Corner and fill in the order with Pinkie, and when they're done, we'll pick them up after getting the toys and a storybook."
Spike sighed, shaking his head, even if Riku's plan sounded solid. "Alright. But don't yell at me if you get derailed by the baby. Sora had a hard time handling her with Pinkie Pie, and that was when she was just born with her strong magic."
"Stop being a worrywart, Spike." While distracted with Spike, Flurry flew down, roaring playfully as she landed on his head, then began nibbling his ear. "Ahh! Oh no! The baby bear got the big bear!" Riku began jumping around, trying to shake Flurry Heart off without accidentally flinging her. Spike rolled his eyes, taking Riku's advice and made his way to Sugarcube Corner to put down their order for the sick foals. Flurry finally unlatched herself from the stallion's head, giggling as she flew off down the hall. "Rawr! I'm gonna get you!"
The playful chase continued for a while, Flurry flying through the halls with Riku on her tail, acting like the big, "scary" bear hunting her down. He managed to sneak ahead of Flurry, flying overhead, making Flurry worry when she looked back and didn't find her Uncle Riku chasing her anymore. As she reached the corner of the hall, Riku jumped out, raising his hooves up and let out a terrifying roar, startling her as she hid behind her big wings, her horn lighting up on instinct as a yellow barrier surrounded the infant in fear. A bit surprised by the magic shield, Riku winced, putting a bit too much oomph in his bear roar and scared her.
"Oops. Too scary of a roar." He walked over to the cowering alicorn filly, tapping on the barrier. "Wow. That's a strong barrier. And...warm? Almost like it was made of light...Did the Crystal Heart grant her some kind of power of light like it did with Spike during the Crystalling?" As much as he wanted to mull over this oddly powerful shield when Flurry's more powerful, uncontrollable magic was temporarily sealed away, he had a baby to cheer up. "I didn't mean to scare you, Flurry. It's just silly Uncle Riku!"
Riku pressed his face into the magic barrier, taking a page from Sora's book and made some goofy faces with his face squished against the shield. Flurry peaked between her feathers, her barrier dropping as she began making silly faces a him, too. She leapt into his hooves and hugged him, forgiving him for scaring her.
"I guess you must really take after Auntie Twily with a spell that strong. Let's not have you act like her, though." He gave the filly a wink, Flurry trying to mimic him, which looked more like she was trying to squint with one eye. She gave up and just blinked, making Riku chuckle at the cute attempt. "Close enough. Now, let's see what else we can play, and then put you down for a little nappy time." Flurry's tummy started to rumble, her playtime leaving her hungry. "Or we could do lunchtime. A full belly works, too."
Carrying Flurry Heart, Riku grabbed the jars of mashed peas Shining left for him, then headed for the kitchen to grab a small spoon to feed her with. He took her into the dining room, sitting her down on one of the seats, then opened up one of the jars and scooped a spoonful of mashed peas.
"Alright, here comes the pegasus!" Riku playfully said, making whooshing noises while moving the spoon around, hoping to feed Flurry Heart while making lunchtime fun for her. "He's coming in for a landing!" Gently lowering it down to Flurry, he expected her to have her mouth opened for the "pegasus", but she turned away, not interested in what Shining said was her favorite food. "Come on, Flurry. Make a runway for the pegasus. He's tired and needs to land."
She kept turning away, blowing out a raspberry in disgust as the spoonful of mushy green peas kept trying to get in her mouth. Riku began to get a little frustrated, his tactic failing. Flurry then grasped the spoon with her magic, yanking it out of his hoof, then flicked the mushy peas at him. Riku ducked with a yelp, the wall behind him splattered in green. He looked back at the innocent filly, laughing nervously.
"Ok, sweetie, very funny," he said. "Now, give Uncle Riku the spoon back, please." Instead of obeying, Flurry swiped the jar of baby food from him, making him gulp as he watched her scoop up more mush. "...Uh oh..."
Down at the cafe, Shining Armor and Cadence were looking at all the art pieces in the showcase the prince's friend, Spearhead, created, along with several other curious ponies. They stared quizzically at a mishmash of different shields and bent spears in an odd sort of tower, tilting their heads to see it at a better angle. They both thought they got what it was supposed to be, but even then, it was still a confusing piece.
"Umm...is this art...or a mistake?" Shining asked Cadence.
"I have no idea," the alicorn admitted. "But who cares? We're not changing diapers."
"Shining Armor! Cadence!" The royal couple turned around as their names were called, a orangish-brown earth pony stallion with a light pale blue mane with a darker streak in the middle of his wilted mohawk manestyle approached them, wearing a red and white-striped ascot with faint patterns of snowflakes around his neck, though it could also pass as a tacky Hearth's Warming scarf. Shining recognized him, his old friend from the royal guard back in Canterlot stepping between him and his wife. "How are the new 'rents? Gimmie some hoof." Spearhead got a hoofbump from Shining, though Cadence gave him an awkward one, not really knowing him as much as her husband and sightly off put by his old school speech, something that should have died out as he turned into an adult. "It is so good to see you dudes!" he said, hugging the couple. "Thanks for coming."
"Of course! We're having a great time!" Shining said. "Loving all the...art!"
The unicorn pointed at a trash bin as a mare walked over and threw away an apple core. "...That's a trash can," Spearhead pointed out.
"...So it is!" Shining said, trying to recover himself from embarrassment with a nervous laugh. "I knew that."
"But hey, who's to say it's NOT art?" Spearhead asked. "Art can be anything that speaks to you. It changed my world." He lead Shining and Cadence to a black canvas hanging on the wall nearby. "This is my latest piece: 'A Thousand Nights in a Hallway'."
Shining and Cadence stared at the artwork, unable to see how covering the entire canvas in black paint is even considered artistic with a somewhat convincing title. "Wow, I guess nighttime in a hallway can be...pretty dark," Cadence said, not wanting to shoot her beloved's friend down, even if it didn't seem clever.
"There is none more dark," Spearhead said, his feelings about his work completely serious, as if he projected that same feeling from his overnight guard shifts.
"Yeah...Totally," Shining Armor said, unsure what to say instead of saying it was just a black wall.
"We're just happy to be here," Cadence quickly said, diverting the topic away from the bland art from the guard-turned-artist. "Usually, we're covered in mashed peas by now."
Spike returned to the castle, having finished ordering the sweets in no time, Pinkie gladly baking them herself once she heard it was for the sick schoolponies in the hospital. Seeing no sign of Riku or Flurry Heart in the lobby, he began searching around for them, hoping the baby didn't make too much of a mess. He didn't have to get far when he heard Flurry giggling in the throne room, wondering what Riku was doing when he said he was going to tire her out and get her down for a nap.
"Riku, I got the order in, and it'll be ready in about-" As soon as the baby dragon walked in, he paused, letting out a snort, holding back his laughter at what happened.
Riku stared blankly, his face, chest, and forelegs splattered with mashed peas, the wall behind him making some sort of mushy mural of his silhouette. All the while, Flurry Heart was giggling, finding it funny as she held the spoon he tried to feed her with in her magic aura and made a mess.
"...You know, when Shining Armor said mashed peas were her favorite-" Flurry flung another spoonful of peas at Riku's face, making him sputter and sigh miserably. "-he left out the part where it's her favorite food to decorate someone with." Flurry giggled when she hit a bullseye, and Spike joined in, unable to hold back as he laughed uproariously. Riku grumbled, wiping his face as he looked down at the innocent alicorn baby smiling happily at him. "Behind that cute little smile lies a devious little grin. I thought you were hungry." Flurry flung the last of the mashed peas, but Riku dodged it, the baby food wasted on the room. Flurry's belly began to rumble, making him groan even louder. "Well, now I need to find something else to feed her since she used her 'favorite food' as paint."
Wiping the baby food off his clothes, he picked up Flurry, now giving him back the spoon, taking her back to the kitchen to find something else she'll want to eat. Luckily, there was a jar of apple sauce, suitable for a baby to eat and is probably more delicious than mashed peas. Pouring some out in a small bowl, he tried again to feed Flurry, thankfully without much of a mess as she accepted the spoonfuls, humming in delight from the sweeter mashed apples from Sweet Apple Acres. After feeding her belly full, to Riku's relief, Spike came into the kitchen with a soiled towel, having cleaned up the mess Flurry made.
"You know this is going to set us back by about twenty minutes, right?" Spike said.
"Spike, I've got this," Riku said, gently wiping Flurry's cheeks with a warm cloth after her meal, only making a slight mess of herself instead of him. "I don't panic like Twilight does. We're going to make good time, and we can afford to arrive fashionably late."
"If you say so." With Flurry full and cleaned up, and Riku wiping off whatever mushy peas were left on him from the infant's playful food flinging, he and Spike grabbed a few things for Flurry, having no choice but to take her with them as they finished the rest of their to-do list for their hospital visit.
Their first stop was the store to pick up some toys for the sick colts and fillies. Riku didn't know how serious the horsey hives could be, but he thought a few things to entertain the kids would help them from getting bored while resting in bed. Placing Flurry in the seat of a cart, he walked down the aisles, wondering what toys or games the foals would like. Flurry was holding onto one of her new bears to keep her occupied, holding the toy up to him and let out a little roar, telling him she wanted to play some more.
"You still aren't tired of playing, huh?" he asked the infant. "I was hoping you'd be napping and I'd get this done quicker, but you flung your actual lunch at me, so you still have some energy to burn..." He stopped pushing the cart for a moment, coming up with an idea that can not only entertain Flurry, but also get his shopping done quicker. "I know. How about we play...race carts!? On your mark, get set, go!"
Riku zoomed off, making Flurry giggle as they raced through the aisles, avoiding other shoppers while Riku snatched a few toys and board games on the shelves. Spike chased after them, unable to keep up with the faster, agile stallion, even as he leapt over other ponies while Flurry in her cart whizzed by them without its driver controlling its motions. After gathering enough, he made his way to the counter and screeched to a stop, Spike wheezing along, catching his breath.
"I-I...think...I need...to work out," Spike uttered with heavy pants.
"But we managed to get shopping done at record speeds and Flurry had her fun. Best uncle ever!" Riku cheered. He began placing the items on the counter, but Flurry wanted to keep playing, tugging on his tail to get his attention. "Hang on a second, Flurry. The cart's gotta take a pit stop."
Flurry let out a whine, disappointed. She suddenly got an idea, scrunching her face as she tried using her magic, lighting up the cart's wheels. Riku had gotten all the items out of the cart before the alicorn baby made the cart move, playing more race carts by herself with giggles and cheers. She weaved around other customers, trying to go faster, but she was too busy having fun to pay attention where she was steering, causing the shopping cart to crash into a display stage of toys not too far from the checkout counter, making all the stuffed animals fall over. Riku winced, him and Spike running over to the pile of toys.
"I'm not a detective, but I think we've got a suspect," Spike commented, pulling out all the toys and finding Flurry, smiling innocently with her hooves out, trying to surprise them.
"Flurry Heart," Riku groaned, a little frustrated, but he tried not to get mad at the infant. He knew she doesn't know any better, but he knew he was going to have to clean up her mess. Picking the filly up and placing her on his back, he began picking up all the toys, piling them back up on the display. "Ok, that should do it."
"Thanks, but they were organized by color," the clerk said, apparently disliking her job with her annoyed tone.
Riku grit his teeth, letting out a heavy sigh as he painstakingly took down each toy, then reorganized them all by what type of animal and color. This chore took quite a while until he was sure the mare was satisfied with how it looked, muttering to himself over who would bother caring as long as they got a stuffed animal, despite how it was colored or designed. After paying for the toys he grabbed, he placed Flurry back in her stroller, borrowed a cart with all the toys, hitched himself, then ran off to their next destination.
Within record time, Riku reached the schoolhouse, a better spot to pick out a story book than at the castle's library with Twilight's ever expanding book collection. Spike managed to catch up, panting heavily, clutching his chest, almost about to have a heart attack.
"I...REALLY...need...to...get...in.......shape," Spike wheezed.
"No time to relax, Spike," Riku said. "It took me several minutes to finally get what the irate clerk wanted for that one display. I picked up the toys and put them back, but it's not my job to reorganize them how your boss is supposed to have them set up!" Growling in frustration, he unhitched himself from the cart of toys, composing himself before he scared Flurry. "But we still have some time. Just get a book from Cheerilee, then pick up the treats, and head down to the hospital."
Pushing the stroller inside the school, Riku entered Cheerilee's classroom while Spike waited outside with the cart, finishing up the lesson plan she had for the rest of her students today. "Oh, hello, Riku," Cheerliee greeted. "What brings you here?"
"I'm kinda hoping you can help me find a storybook to read for your class who caught the horsey hives," Riku said.
"Oh? Well, I would love to help, but I thought Twilight had plenty of books in her library at the castle," the schoolteacher said.
"Do you have any idea how many advanced books that princess has on her shelves?" Riku questioned. "I doubt they're gonna enjoy listening to some long-lost historical civilization or the biology of a common flower." Cheerliee saw Riku's point, walking over to her smaller shelf of children's books and pushed it over to them. Flurry leapt onto Riku's back, wanting to play some more. "Flurry, I'll play more in a little," he gently chided, putting the infant back in her stroller. She started to get fussy, insisting on playing while he was already running behind schedule. Riku remembered Flurry's favorite toy, pulling out the stuffed snail and gave it to her. "Here, play with your Wiggle Wurmple...Wambler...Your snail toy."
Thankfully, the baby pony grabbed it and held it tightly, content with her favorite snail while hopefully distracting her long enough to finish his errand here. "She must be quite the hooffull, taking care of an alicorn baby," Cheerliee commented.
"You have no idea," Riku uttered. "But, best uncle ever is going to keep his promise to his girlfriend and her brother and sister-in-law."
"Knowing how tough your job is along with Sora's, I doubt you have much of a chance to relax," Cheerliee said. She looked through her books, pulling out one to show Riku. "How about Pony Fables and Stables?"
"Uhh...sounds like a long book," Riku said.
"What about Alien Alicorns vs. Space Pirates?" Cheerilee suggested, showing the titled book.
"'Alien Alicorns'? I might want to take a look at that myself..." While the two adults continued looking for some more books the foals would like to hear, Flurry got bored of her Whammy, tossing the snail out of her stroller.
She wanted to play with her favorite uncle some more, but he was always too busy to keep playing. Flurry looked at the chalkboard, finding something to entertain herself and tell Uncle Riku she wanted more fun with him. Flying out of her stroller, she used her magic, grabbing the eraser and wiping off Cheerilee's lesson, giving her room to use the nearby chalk and make a drawing.
"How about Gusty the Great?" Cheerliee asked. "It's a classic foal's story, packed with adventure and thrills."
"Hmm...Sounds interesting. I guess I'll go with that." Cheerliee was about to hand Riku the book, but when she looked behind him, she gaped in shock, wincing at what she saw. "What? Should I go with something the kids know now?" Riku asked.
She pointed behind him, prompting him to turn around and see what distressed the teacher. He gasped, watching Flurry ruin Cheerilee's lesson and drew on the chalkboard. She finished drawing what looked like stick-figure ponies of him and herself with two bears.
"Ta-da!" Flurry adorably announced, hopefully impressing her uncle.
"Flurry Heart, no!" Riku flew over to the baby, who held her hooves out as she expected a hug, only for him to grab her and carry her back to her stroller. "Sorry, Cheerliee, I didn't even hear her leave." Picking up her Whammy, he placed it in her hooves, then went back to the chalkboard and erased her drawing. Flurry whined sadly, her drawing ruined and her uncle not even paying attention to it. "There. All cleaned."
"Great. Now I'll just write it up again," Cheerliee sarcastically said, letting out a groan as she picked up the piece of chalk in her mouth. "With my mouth."
Riku grimaced, running his hooves through his mane. Guilt tripped by Cheerliee, he caved in, grabbing another piece of chalk with his wing, hating himself for being too nice.
"What was the lesson?" he asked.
Back at the art display, Spearhead showed Shining Armor and Cadence another of his works. "Feast your eyes," he says, pointing to a barricaded piece of "art" laying on the floor. It was a white sheet that had several random horseshoe prints stepped all over as if the pony got paint on their hooves and wandered around aimlessly on it. "This one's called 'A Kitchen Guard's Journey'!"
"Oh," Cadence murmured, still unsure what to make of her husband's friend's idea for art when this could have been made by their baby by accident.
"This reminds me of the time Flurry got into the chocolate pudding, and we found little chocolate hoofprints all over the carpet," Shining said, making Cadence laugh, recalling that little incident.
"That took forever to clean up!" she said. "But remember how cute her face looked when we caught her?"
"Yeah. She was like, 'Uh oh!'" Shining said, making the same voice he made up for Flurry with a look of surprise, imitating what she looked like.
The couple laughed at the fond memory, albeit a messy one. As they reminisced and Spearhead amazed by the unexpected feeling he got from that piece alone, running past the cafe was Riku, pushing Flurry along with Spike following after him, the stallion beginning to get overly stressed as he made his way to Sugarcube Corner to pick up the snacks they ordered.
"Riku, do I need to remind you with how late we are after you helped Cheerliee?" Spike questioned. "Maybe we should just cancel our trip to the hospital."
"I am not cancelling!" Riku exclaimed. "Again, another minor setback, but I'm not going to let Twilight, Shining and Cadence, or those kids down! The B.U.E. isn't going to back down from being delayed!"
"Uhh, B.U.E.?" Spike asked.
"'Best Uncle Ever'. Duh," Riku responded.
"...You know, you're making weird anagrams like Twilight does, right?" Spike realized. "And you're starting to freak out like her."
Riku suddenly stopped, causing the baby dragon to smack into the cart the stallion pulled, blinking a few times when he realized what he just said. "...I think Twilight's odd habits are starting to rub off on me..." He shook his head, picking the dazed baby dragon up and put him on his back, continuing his run toward the sweet shop. "But, luckily, Sugarcube Corner shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Flurry can play with the Cake Twins, and I can ask Pinkie to see if she can make some sweets for Cheerilee...and probably that clerk, even though I still hate the fact I did her job for her."
Once at the bakery, Riku grabbed Flurry after leaving the cart behind, and walked in. Pound and Pumpkin were busy playing with their toys in a corner of the lobby. Even though the twins were a bit older than Flurry by a couple years, he hoped they would accept her and join her in as a new playmate. Setting the alicorn down near them, the twins stopped their playing and looked at Flurry, but thankfully, they took a liking to her as they showed their new friend their toys.
"Hey, Riku!" Pinkie greeted from the counter.
"Spike, keep an eye on Flurry," Riku said, the baby dragon nodding as he stayed with the toddlers and infant while Riku approached Pinkie. "I'm kinda in a rush, Pinkie, so are those cupcakes Spike ordered for us done, and do you also do apology treats?"
"Your order's all ready!" Pinkie said, pulling out a couple boxes with the foals' cupcakes, all looking good and ready to eat. "And of course I can do apology treats!"
"Great. Do you still have a list of everyone's favorite treat?" Riku asked.
"Duh! In my secret party planning cave!" Pinkie slammed her hoof down on the floor, causing a lever to pop up from the floorboards. "BRB!" she said, pulling the lever and dropping into a trap door. Riku was a bit wary, wondering what else Pinkie may have set up in Sugarcube Corner that could allow anyone access to her party planning cave. Within seconds, Pinkie shot right back up, a tall stack of papers in her hooves that she set down on the counter. "Viola!"
"...Pinkie, as random as you are, you're awesome," Riku said, the mare shrugging her shoulders at the comment. "What's Cheerilee's favorite treat?"
Pinkie went through her papers and pulled Cheerilee's, her odd assortment quite organized for someone so silly. "Cherry oatmeal cookies with yellow sprinkles," Pinkie read aloud.
"Great. Can you write 'sorry' on them for me?" he asked.
"I've got a stamp for that!" Pinkie ducked her head, pulling out a stamper, then bopped Riku in the forehead with it, leaving behind a red outline of a sad pony face.
Riku leered blankly at Pinkie after getting stamped. "...You could have used a napkin to show me," he grumbled.
"What's got you so moody? Twilight not giving you a hard time, is she? Or.. IS she?" Pinkie asked, wiggling her eyebrows as she emphasized her last statement.
"No, Pinkie," Riku said. "Shining and Cadence are actually here, and I'm watching Flurry Heart for them while also helping Twilight promise Nurse Redheart I would help visit the sick foals and entertain them while they got better."
"Then where's Twilight?" Pinkie asked.
"In Canterlot. Apparently, some nobles think that the changelings are making up a plot to take over Equestria again, even though Thorax now leads them," Riku explained.
While he chatted with Pinkie, Pound and Pumpkin started to fight over a hot air balloon toy. Flurry noticed her new friends fighting over a toy they should share, getting her Uncle Spike's attention, the baby dragon too busy looking over Twilight's list. With that failing, she tossed an alphabet block at him, finally snapping him from the scroll, waving her hooves at the fighting twins tugging on their toy.
"Hey, guys, no need to fight!" Spike said, looking around to see if there was another one or something else one of the twins would like playing with more. "Uh...hang on! I'm sure there's another one!"
Spike ran over to the toy chest to find something, the twins continued fighting, distressing Flurry Heart. She looked at Riku, knowing he could come up with something so they could have fun again, taking the mini hot air balloon away from the twins with her magic. They began to whine as their toy was being taken away, Flurry bumping it into Riku to get his attention.
"Hang on a second, Flurry, I'll play in a minute," Riku said, not even bothering to look back at them.
Flurry frowned, but she came up with an idea for herself. If they wanted to play with the same toy, why not share it? So that's what she did; she split the balloon and basket from the small ropes connecting them, then gave the crying twins half of the toy, the balloon for Pound and the basket for Pumpkin. Sadly, her idea didn't work, the twins giving her an angry glare, tossing aside their ruined toy and charged Flurry Heart. The alicorn squealed in shock, instinctively protecting herself in her magic bubble as she flew away from the angry twins, Spike, Riku, nor Pinkie even noticing the young foals' fighting escalating. Pound and Pumpkin began throwing pastries at Flurry, making a mess of the bakery as they missed the dodging baby.
When Pinkie went to read another pony's favorite treat, she looked up, spotting the mess as her eyes bulged out of her head in shock. "Pinkie, what is it?" Riku asked curiously. "You're making the same grimace Cheerilee made when-...Oh, please don't tell me..." He slowly turned around, his face dropping in horror at the mess in the room, the Cake Twins sitting on the floor after letting out their anger while Flurry hovered over to Riku, scared to get the twins mad again if she got near them. "...Pinkie, what's your favorite treat?"
"The sampler platter," Pinkie said.
"...Hah. Ironic," Riku weakly laughed. "I'll buy you three of those..."
"Ahah! I knew there would be another one!" Spike proclaimed, pulling out a second hot air balloon toy from the toy chest.
He gasped in surprise at the mess, his claws accidentally puncturing the balloon, causing the toy to fly around the room. Everyone stared at him, Riku's eye twitching on the verge of a mental breakdown, making Spike chuckle nervously, forgetting he was supposed to be keeping an eye on them. Adding karma to the mix, he was smacked in the head by the oncoming toy, then a cupcake to the face by Pound Cake for wrecking the other toy.
Again, Riku helped Pinkie clean up the mess, wasting more time that they didn't have until it was clean enough for Pinkie to handle the rest. In a hurry, Riku put Flurry in her stroller, stacked the cupcakes on the cart, got himself hitched up, and ran as fast as he could without losing any precious cargo, Spike hanging onto the stroller so he didn't have to run anymore.
"Everything's fine! We're just a few minutes late!" Riku exclaimed, laughing insanely as the stress was starting to get to him. "And by a few, I mean maybe AN HOUR!"
"Umm, Riku?" Spike called out.
"NO! I'm not cancelling!" Riku screamed. "Everything's ok! We got the toys, games, cupcakes, story, the baby, stuff for the baby! Am I forgetting something? Did I turn the stove off!? Is there a world in danger and I'm unaware of the situation!? Is Twilight seeing another stallion behind my back!?"
While Riku ranted madly, Spike noticed Flurry was a little antsy, grabbing her a bottle of milk in with all the baby stuff they packed. He accidentally squeezed the bottle after a rough bump, squirting milk in the pegasus's face, making him sputter, snapping him out of his tirade as he slowed down, panting heavily.
"Oops. Sorry," Spike apologized.
Riku shook his head, breathing out a heavy sigh. "No. I needed that," he said. "I thought this would be simple, but being responsible for a baby while doing other errands is tougher than facing an endless horde of Heartless." Finally coming to his senses, he looked up, stopping in front of the hospital. "Oh. We're finally here."
"And we're only four-and-a-half minutes late!" Spike noted, glaring at Spike before unhitching himself, hopefully for the last time.
After getting the room number of the horsey hive foals from Nurse Redheart, Riku and Spike carried the gathered toys and snacks, along with Flurry Heart and her own toys, surprising the foals in the room with the Keyblade Master's presence. They also expected Princess Twilight, but even though they were a little disappointed knowing she was in the middle of an important meeting in Canterlot, they were still excited to see Riku there, one of Equestria's greatest heroes with an epic-looking weapon in their eyes. With their gifted toys and delicious cupcakes, Riku read them all the story he borrowed from Cheerilee, getting into the story as he read it aloud, pretending to be the characters as he read their dialogue.
"'...and while nopony had ever tried to reach Cloudsdale on hoof, Gusty the Great was not deterred!'" Riku read, catching all the young ponies' attention, all except Flurry, who began to get a bit fussy. "'She and her unicorn warriors marched up the hill. But suddenly, they encountered...'"
His pause made the young ones gasp, making them curious as to what Gusty and her warriors ran into. "What!? What was it!?" Spike asked.
"'It was the treacherous Grogar, and Gusty could tell he was ready for battle. Gusty called out to the unicorn warriors-'" Flurry tugged on Riku's tail hard, interrupting him with a yelp, desperate for him to pay attention to her more. "Flurry, not now. I'll play with you when the story's over."
The alicorn baby scrunched her face, her whole head turning red as she fumed, being ignored when she wanted fun with her best uncle ever. She cried and threw a tantrum, flailing her legs around wildly. She ended up accidentally smacking her Whammy out of the room, sending it bouncing out of the room and onto a medical cart one of the staff was pushing. When the nurse set the cart beside a supply closet, walking inside to get more medical supplies for some of the patients residing in the hospital, a black-hooded figure walked around the corner, taking the snail doll before walking back down the hall.
Flurry whined, her tantrum barely getting Riku's attention as he continued reading. She reached for her favorite toy in comfort, only to realize it was missing. Panicking, she looked around desperately for it, teleporting around the room and searched in her stroller, under the sick ponies' pillows, then, with no luck, flew out and teleported throughout the hospital for her Whammy. She flew past hospital staff and patients, interrupted some doctors' examinations, but couldn't find her toy at all. As she zoomed past a hall while making worried whimpers, she paused she heard a squeak coming down the empty hall she passed, recognizing that sound had come from her whammy.
She looked down the hall, spotting someone in a black coat shrouding their body, holding her Whammy in their hoof, squeezing it gently and making it squeak. "Looking for this, little one?" the pony asked, his voice startling Flurry as it sounded familiar. She looked down the adjacent halls, confused as she babbled to herself in baby talk. "No? Well, maybe I should just take this for myself." Flurry whined, flying over to the stranger, wanting her toy back. "That's more like it..."
"'Grogar was strong, for fear gave him power, and he broke through the bonds!'" Riku read on, heavily engrossed in this classic story in Equestria.
Spike looked away to check on Flurry, not hearing her whining for a while, but when he saw no sign of the baby alicorn, he yelped in distress. "Uhh, Riku?"
"I know, this is actually a great story, right?" Riku asked. "Probably better than Alien Alicorns vs. Space Pirates."
"Riku, the baby's missing!" Spike exclaimed.
"Huh? What do you mean? She's right-" Riku looked away from the book and down by his side, but seeing no baby beside him or near her toys, his jaw hit the floor in shock. Putting the book down, he looked around the hospital room. "Flurry!? Flurry Heart!?...Are you playing hide and seek with Uncle Riku!?" Not hearing a baby giggling, Riku began to panic. "Did you kids see where the baby went?"
They all said no and shook their heads, too busy paying attention to the story to notice. If Riku's fur wasn't white, his face would have gone several shades paler.
"You don't think she ran away, do you?" Spike asked.
"I-I-I don't know. She couldn't have...could she?" Riku bit his hoof nervously, regretting not paying much attention to her. "Uhh...Keep the kids entertained. I'm gonna find her."
Quickly zooming out of the room, leaving Spike to keep the foals company, he zipped through the halls, asking patients and staff if they saw Flurry Heart, but only getting brief directions since they saw her one moment, then she disappeared in the next. And he didn't want to barge into the many rooms, not sure if there was a patient in need of rest or doctors giving one an examination, but he's tempted to doing so to make sure Flurry was safe and sound. With no luck in the hospital, he dreaded Spike's theory being a possibility, barging through the front doors and looked around helplessly.
"Oh no, this is bad!" he said to himself, flying around town to catch a glimpse of the runaway infant. "If Twilight finds out, she's gonna kill me!...No, wait, what am I saying!? CADENCE is gonna kill me for not keeping an eye on her baby!" As his thoughts raced over the immeasurable possibilities of his fate at the hands of the Princess of Love, he heard some ponies scream as they fled from something. Rising up from the ground were a few Shadows, though they weren't attacking the ponies, almost as if they were waiting for Riku to find them. "Ugh. Not now," he groaned, summoning his Keyblade and ran toward them.
Instead of focusing on him, the Shadows sunk into the ground, slithering away from him. Confused, Riku gave chase, wondering what they were up to if they didn't want to try to kill someone wielding their bane of existence. He was going to try calling the others to see if they know about the Heartless in town, but when the thought of contacting Twilight and telling her she lost Flurry Heart came to mind, he felt unsure whether he would take the brunt of her scolding now or later. He had to contact someone, and even though she was in the middle of an important meeting, he wanted to deal with Twilight now rather than let her or Cadence know later and die then.
"Twilight? Are you busy right now?" Riku asked, keeping an eye on the Shadows as they lead him out of town.
"Almost," Twilight responded after a moment, her tone hushed, telling him she was still in the presence of the nobles. "Is Flurry Heart giving you too much trouble? Or the foals?"
Riku swallowed the lump in his throat, taking in a deep breath to settle his rattled nerves. "...Twilight...I'm sorry...I screwed up," he said. "I was doing ok watching her, but I was also trying to get things ready for the sick foals, and I got stressed for time with Flurry Heart causing a distraction...I ignored her when she needed my attention, and...I-I think she..."
"She what?" Twilight asked. Riku didn't respond, his jaw clenching as he prepared himself for the inevitable screaming. "Riku, what happened to Flurry!?"
"...I...I..." When his attention was turned back to the Heartless he was tailing, taking him back out to the empty fields, which was odd considering how they love to come in droves to a civilization filled with hearts to steal. Out in the middle of the grass, he gasped in horror as he saw more Shadows around Flurry Heart, the ones he followed joining them in surrounding the filly, busy playing with her Whammy to even be scared of the Heartless about to kill her. "FLURRY!!!!"
She looked over at him, now more confused as she watched him charge forward, panicking for her safety. She heard a portal open behind her, Riku skidding to a halt and growling bitterly, watching a pony walk through the portal of darkness, their form concealed under the signature black cloak of the Organization. Riku held his Keyblade up, ready to strike as he watched the mysterious pony's hoof reach out, patting Flurry's head as she looked at him and the stranger.
"Back off," the stranger said, making Riku flinch in shock when he heard his voice. "You're interrupting her special play time with her new friends."
Riku grit his teeth, hearing his own voice come from the mysterious figure. "...No way," he uttered to himself. "...You're..."
The mystery stallion picked up Flurry Heart, the infant looking up at him questioningly. Using his other hoof, he grabbed the top of his hood and took it off, revealing his face to Riku and the alicorn baby. Riku's eyes widened, his heart stopping when he saw his own face underneath: the same white fur, similar silver hair, although a bit longer than Riku's length, but the only difference between them were the Organization member's yellow eyes.
"Surprised to see me again, Riku?" the doppelganger asked with a smirk.
Riku grunted, remembering the last time he saw his dark side back in the sleeping worlds. "You again," he growled. "Why are you here?"
"I think it should be obvious," Dark Riku said. "But, unlike the rest of the Organization, I'm not after Sora. At least not today."
Riku growled, rushing forward, slashing through the Shadows they tried to jump at him. "You're after Flurry Heart!?" he roared, but he stopped mere inches from his darker self as he held Flurry out like a shield, scaring the infant when she was already lost between which of these two Rikus were her real uncle.
"Ah ah ah," the double teased, making Riku back off, sweating nervously as his darkness played dirty. Dark Riku picked up Flurry's Whammy, shushing the whimpering filly gently with light squeaks from her snail to calm her down. "What a terrible caretaker you are. I don't know why she liked you if you were about to strike her with your own Keyblade."
"You dirty-" Riku stepped forward, but when he heard Flurry whimper, hiding her face against the Organization member's shoulder from him, he balked as she sought comfort in his dark clone.
"Now look what you've done; scaring a baby after neglecting her attention," Dark Riku teased. "And you killed her new Heartless friends. They were keeping her company while we waited for you, and you just had to go and make them poof out of existence."
"You so much as hurt her," Riku warned.
"Oh, who would want to hurt something so precious?" Dark Riku asked with a teasing pout. His lips curled back into a smirk, relishing watching the Keyblade wielder struggle to keep his cool. "No, Riku. I'm not after this little one, even if she was also blessed by that Crystal Heart in the Crystal Empire."
"How do you know about that?" Riku questioned.
"Take a wild guess," the dark copy responded. "The Crystal Heart has a light of its own that's unimaginable. Almost like it was Kingdom Hearts itself, but so much smaller. It may keep out the Heartless and any with darkness in their hearts, who use it for their own malicious gains, but it can't stop everything...Like, for example, creatures without a heart." Riku winced, recalling the Equestria Games and the sudden Nobody attack. They learned not too long ago that the Organization had been spying on them, using Snipers to scout the areas and gather intel. And with that number of Nobodies, it dawned on Riku that their sudden appearance wasn't just out of nowhere; it was a test. "I see you just got it."
"T-Those Nobodies...The Organization sicced them on the Crystal Empire," Riku uttered. "...And...you all knew-"
"Of this little princess's birth," Dark Riku finished, gently bouncing the scared filly up and down. "So special, but she's not what I'm after."
Riku grimaced, the look in his double's yellow eyes telling him exactly who he was interested in. "...Let her go," Riku demanded. "If you want to deal with me, keep her out of this. She's already frightened and confused, and you being around her's just going to confuse her more."
"...Very well," Dark Riku said with a shrug, baffling Riku. Dark Riku held out Flurry's Whammy in front of her, shaking it a little. "Want your toy?" She held her hooves out to grab it, but the evil stallion quickly moved it out of her reach, then tossed it far into the field. "Go fetch!"
Flurry let out a distressed cry, leaping out of Dark Riku's hoof and flew after her toy. Riku wondered what his darker self was up to, but when he looked out to where Flurry's Whammy landed, he gasped when he saw several more Shadows begin popping up from the ground, but these Shadows moved far faster than the usual ones. There were practically hundreds of them, Flurry slowing down and hovered as she looked at the black bodies all swarming past her and straight for her toy. They circled the snail like hungry sharks, making Riku gasp in horror when the Shadows began to form a tower, the sound of shredding fabric coming from the center as pieces of Flurry's favorite toy were flung by the skittering Heartless.
"A Demon Tower!?" Riku exclaimed, hearing Dark Riku chuckle at his distress. Flurry Heart whimpered, her eyes welling up with tears before she cried, mourning the loss of her favorite toy. The Demon Tower began to glow red, aiming its sights on the wailing infant as it reared itself back. "NO!!!"
Riku sped off toward Flurry Heart, making it in time as he clutched the crying alicorn baby tightly to his chest, facing his back toward the Demon Tower as it thrust forward. He let out a yell in pain, sent flying back from the impact. Despite the painful blow, Riku tucked himself as he hit the ground, protecting Flurry as he tumbled to a stop, wincing a little as he stood back up.
"Well, I didn't say something else would go after her, did I?" Dark Riku said.
Riku growled, gripping his Keyblade tightly in his mouth while protecting Flurry with both his forelegs. He was about to rush his darkness, only for the Demon Tower to sprint at him as the infinite Shadows it was made of. He leapt away as they began to circle him, nearly avoiding getting smacked in the air as the spiraling pillar shot up in the center of the twitching Shadows. He flew up high, out of the Demon Tower's reach, if there was a limit, concerned with Flurry's safety as he landed on a cloud high above the ground. She was still shaking, terrified of the black monsters trying to hurt them, and he couldn't protect her while fighting something that dangerous.
"It's ok, Flurry, it's ok," he said, trying to calm her down. "Uncle Riku's got you."
"Then she's got the wrong uncle!" Dark Riku suddenly shot up from the other side of the cloud, kicking Riku in the face and sent him flying back down to the Demon Tower. He thankfully dropped Flurry on the cloud, leaving the infant with the Organization member. "You'll join him soon, little one." Flurry whimpered, shielding herself with her wings as Dark Riku reached his hoof out to touch her. Her horn lit up and protected her in her safety bubble, the slight touch against the magic shield making the yellow-eyed stallion yell as the light from her aura burned him. "Damn...You really are blessed by light...Almost like one of the seven Princesses of Heart."
While pondering the possibility, or if Flurry's power is just incredibly gifted, Twilight ran out from town after returning from Canterlot. When she saw the number of Heartless in the fields from the Cutie Map, she alerted the others and made her way to them to hold them off until backup arrived. She gasped when she saw a Demon Tower as the latest intruder, wondering how something like that got out of the Realm of Darkness, and it got worse when she saw Riku getting smacked back by the lunging tower of Shadows.
"Riku!" she called out, watching him tumble toward her with a painful groan. Twilight tried to help him, but was distracted when she heard Flurry Heart above them, looking up to the sky. When she saw Dark Riku on the cloud with the traumatized infant, her jaw dropped in astonishment. "R-Riku? Another Riku!? What!?"
"Urgh...That's...not...me," Riku grunted, shakily getting back on his hooves. "It's...a replica of me."
"'Replica'? Who created a copy of you!?" Twilight questioned.
"I'll try to answer everything when Flurry and all of Ponyville aren't in any danger!" Riku shouted. He blocked another lunge from the tower, Twilight quickly flapping away as she watched him dash away from the Heartless. "Get Flurry Heart! I'll stop the Demon Tower!"
"Ok!" Twilight flew up to save her niece, hoping Riku can handle something like the Demon Tower. While the other stallion shook his hoof, still in slight pain from touching Flurry's shield, he looked down, grunting irritably as he saw the lavender alicorn zooming toward him. "Back away from my niece!"
Dark Riku called Riku's former blade, Soul Eater, blocking Twilight's Keyblade as she rammed into him. He shoved her back with a hard swing, the alicorn flipping back onto her hooves, both of them landing back on the cloud, Twilight protecting Flurry from the evil doppelganger. Flurry Heart peeked through her feathers, still scared, but happy to see her favorite auntie coming to her rescue from her uncle's evil twin.
"I guess Riku's gotten so pathetic that he needs his girlfriend to save his ass," Dark Riku snarked.
"He can take care of himself just fine," Twilight argued. "Nopony harms my niece and gets away with it."
Dark Riku chuckled darkly, scoffing at the mare's bravado as he stood in the same stance his other self uses. "Do you really have what it takes to face me, princess?" he questioned. Twilight widened her stance, the balloon on her weapon's chain glowing brightly. She swung her blade, aiming it at the stallion, letting out a small burst of light that did nothing. Dark Riku laughed even harder at the pathetic spell she tried to use against him. "That's it!? And yet you wield a Keyblade!?"
"I wouldn't move if I were you, buster," Twilight taunted with a smirk, the lightning bolt on the chain replacing the balloon's glow as the alicorn shifted her stance.
"I'm shaking in my boots," Dark Riku mocked. He took a step forward, only for a burst of smoke to suddenly explode around him, coughing uncontrollably as he set off one of Twilight's special hidden trap spells. His body suddenly felt heavy, his hooves slowly sinking into the cloud. "W-What the hell!?"
"Flurry, stay here, ok? Auntie Twily needs to take care of the bad pony who tried to kidnap you." Twilight zipped away at blinding speeds, leaving behind an afterimage of herself before she dashed through Dark Riku, swinging her sword in a crouched stance.
Dark Riku suddenly felt a flurry of strikes slashing him, his increased weight forcibly dropping him through the cloud and sent plummeting to the ground. Even as he shot his wings out from his coat to slow his descent, his flapping did nothing to help, smashing to the ground with a thud. Twilight dove down after him, letting out a yell, the apple on her chain glowing as she swung her blade down on Dark Riku. He raised his own sword to block the hammer swing, the powerful impact sending him falling on his back with a painful crash, struggling to keep the alicorn's blade back while pinned down.
While Twilight dealt with Dark Riku, the real pegasus stallion was having trouble against the Demon Tower. He swung at the difficult Heartless, but each Shadow he slayed with each swing kept coming back tenfold, slashing at his hooves when he got too close to the tower-like tornado. Even when it split itself apart, the Shadows moved fast and kept injuring Riku, some clinging onto him as he leapt away too late and scratching him before running back around, reforming its pillar-like structure. All the while, Flurry watched from the safety of her bubble in the sky, scared, wanting her Whammy and mommy and daddy, and get away from the bad monsters that almost hurt her. And that big monster was hurting her real uncle, not the bad one who fed her Whammy to it and said awful things to her Auntie Twily.
"Damn it. How did Sora manage to survive against this thing?" Riku uttered to himself, shielding himself in his own magic barrier, useful for protecting him from any kind of attack from all sides.
He grunted as he was bashed around, dropping his barrier as he flew away, but the Demon Tower lunged itself at him, its top gripping his back legs tightly while also making him yell out in agony. He was then flicked back harshly, smacked into the ground several times, unable to break free even as he tried to slash away the Shadows in the tower clutching at his hooves. One finally toss into the ground dazed Riku, making him groan, his body wincing as he struggled to move. Squinting his eyes as he grit his teeth through the pain, he gasped when he saw the Demon Tower curling around like a snake ready to lunge its fangs in its prey, the body glowing an ominous red. Riku quickly brought his Keyblade out to defend himself as the Demon Tower shot down at him. The block didn't last long, the impact crashing into his weapon hard enough to cause the blade to shatter, his eyes growing wide in shock for a second before his body was swallowed up by the tower, letting out an agonizing scream that echoed throughout the field.
Twilight kicked Dark Riku back, hearing Riku's scream as she distanced herself from the Organization member. She looked back at the Demon Tower, gasping in horror, finding no sign of him in the swarming Shadows. Sora, Kairi, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus soon arrived, returning from their own errands, shocked to see the dangerous Heartless, along with Dark Riku, the heavy weighted feeling finally dissipating as he moved around normally again.
"No! Riku!" Twilight cried out, running over to help him, only to have Dark Riku slam her down into the ground, stomping his hoof down on her back.
"Quite a bothersome little horse you are," Dark Riku growled. Sora, Kairi, and Ventus ran over to help Twilight while Terra and Aqua faced the Demon Tower, worried about Riku's well-being. Dark Riku aimed his blade at the alicorn's head as she looked at the deadly Heartless helplessly. "You're clever, but you're still lacking the strength you need to be one of the seven lights. Just a useless reserve, but with Riku gone, I'm sure you won't last long if you fill in for him."
Flurry whimpered, trying to find Riku under the bodies of Shadows that swarmed him. She had enough fun for one day and wanted to go home, wanting her favorite uncle back. She began crying again, wanting her parents, her Whammy, her Uncle Riku back.
Riku felt his body floating lifelessly in darkness, the pain from his injuries fading as he felt numb. "...It's over," he uttered to himself. "I failed...I'm sorry, everyone...I'm sorry...Flurry Heart..."
"Giving up already?" Riku grunted, squinting his eyes open. He saw a faint silhouette through the endless void of blackness he helplessly hovered in, unable to tell who it was, or what its voice sounded like from how faint it was. "I thought you were stronger than that." That same taunting quote he used against Sora being used against him had a bit of irony to it, but Riku was still baffled by who was talking to him. "You're just going to quit on everyone?"
"...What am I supposed to do?" Riku asked. "The Demon Tower...it's too strong..."
"Maybe, but if I were you, I wouldn't be sitting here brooding about your failures," the voice said. "You made some mistakes in the past, but you can make up for them now. Turning to darkness when you were lied to by Maleficent, running away from Ansem and your actions as it began to take control of you, you bounced right back and succeeded. Even when you used the power of darkness to almost change yourself permanently, you kept control of who you were and didn't let it take control. You're a master of both light and darkness, a feat no one has probably been able to accomplish."
The mysterious voice did have a point. Riku tried to steer clear of using darkness when Ansem the Wise's machine malfunctioned and turned him back to normal back the The World That Never Was, but even then, he had some power of darkness he was able to use. It may not have been as strong as before when he accepted it back then, but thanks to his struggles, he's able to resist it more. Even if he found a way to tap into that power again, he didn't want to risk getting corrupted again, even though Ansem is no longer in his heart.
Suddenly, a light began to shine above him, along with the sound of a baby crying. He recognized that cry; it was Flurry Heart, and she sounded really upset, scared, and alone. Gaining some feeling in his limbs, he looked up at the light, reaching out to it.
"Flurry," he uttered.
"She needs you, Riku," the voice said. As Riku righted himself, his muscles still sore, he looked at the figure, seeing a bit more of him thanks to the light, nearly startled as it appeared to look like him from his hairstyle to the outline of the tattered cloth around his waist in a form he hadn't used since his time in Castle Oblivion. The figure held out their hand, a small light shimmering between them, blinding Riku for a moment. When he could see, has gasped in awe at what appeared; a new Keyblade. "You'll need something much stronger than that old Keyblade of yours if you're going to beat that Demon Tower."
Riku remembered what happened to Way to the Dawn before blacking out here, giving the figure a nod before looking back up at the light, Flurry's crying echoing in the void of emptiness. "Hang on, Flurry. Uncle Riku's coming."
Sora, Kairi, and Ventus stared Dark Riku down as he held Twilight hostage. The Organization member smirked, watching them struggle with whether or not they should attack him and risk getting Twilight hurt. He was about to make a snide remark, but as he glanced over at the Demon Tower, he noticed something was odd as its body began to shudder and bulge oddly.
"What in the world is this thing doing?" Terra asked, getting the others' attention as they watched the mass of Shadows look like it's about to explode.
From inside the towering Heartless, they heard Riku let out a roar, bursting through the top of the Demon Tower, making the Shadows fly out around him, some disappearing while they moved away to reassemble themselves. Riku landed in front of Terra and Aqua, surprising them while also relieving the others, seeing him still alive, though his body was badly scraped from the endless claw slashing he received while dogpiled by the Heartless. Not only that, but his hair had been cut down while under the onslaught, shortened a little, but the back was more spiked up than down.
"Riku!" everyone called out, even Twilight as she laughed in relief.
"No! Impossible!" Dark Riku exclaimed.
Flurry Heart opened her eyes, sniffling and whimpering, letting out a small gasp when she saw her uncle freed from the black monsters. She wanted to fly down and hug him tightly, but with the Demon Tower and his evil twin still there, she didn't want to move until she was definitely safe. Riku panted heavily, still exhausted, but his adrenaline was pumping; he wasn't going to let this Heartless beat him so easily. Looking down at his hoof, he still gripped the broken Way to the Dawn, the others noticing in utter shock.
"...Won't need this anymore," Riku uttered, tossing aside the hilt and guard half of his old Keyblade, letting it clatter to the ground. "I've got myself a spare."
Getting into his stance, as he pulled his dominant foreleg back, a new Keyblade appeared in his hoof. Unlike any of the other Keyblades where most of them had teeth at the end of the blades, it was a simple flat blade like a real sword. The blade was silver, two parallel grooves down the center with several circular indents etched along the edges asymmetrically, the blade jutting out slightly before cutting back in near its connection to the black, blocky guard. The chain off the pommel was black as well, bearing the same mouse-shaped symbol that Sora's Kingdom Keyblade has, but just as black as the keychain it hung from. Despite how ordinary Riku's new Keyblade was, it was a suitable replacement after his old one was just recently broken.
The Demon Tower began glowing red as it reared itself for another lunge, but Riku didn't back away this time. He waited for his moment to strike, widening his stance with his grip around his new Keyblade held tight. The Heartless thrust itself forward like the battering ram it was, Riku letting out a yell as he jumped forward and swung his blade. Both sides clashed, the stallion's battle cry growing louder as he used all his strength, the blade glowing white with light, leaping past the Demon Tower as he cleaved its "body" in half, making the Shadows squirm as they were heavily wounded by the power of light he unleashed. He wasn't done yet, the blade now shifting to a dark aura as he turned around, went for another lunge, and slashed through the Heartless again.
Riku winced as he landed, still hurting, but he wasn't going to falter. Not now. The Demon Tower formed itself back together, then tried to slam the white pegasus into the ground. Riku dashed in a wave of darkness away from the hammer-like smash attack, then, gripping the hilt with both hooves, he spread out his wings and lifted his blade above him. His body hovered in the air as an aura of light surrounded him, and in a flash, he disappeared, only to dash rapidly and thrust his Keyblade through the Demon Tower repeatedly, moving at such blinding speeds that none of the hundreds of Shadows could see where he was coming from. Each dash began exposing something from the center of the tower, a yellow core of some sort that Aqua and Sora both recognized when they both ensnared these swarms with chains of light. He appeared above the Heartless, letting out a scream as he dove down, unleashing a stream of light that destroyed all the Shadows, leaving behind only the shaking, floating core with only a few Shadows on it to keep it safe.
Pulling his blade out from the ground, Riku yelled as he leapt toward it, thrusting his Keyblade straight through the core, then sliced it open, destroying the core as it and the remaining Shadows faded into black mist. Everyone was amazed, even Dark Riku, growling bitterly as his plan failed.
"Damn it," he muttered. He looked down, Twilight still under his hoof, and with the others distracted, he had a chance to destroy his heart in another way. "I'll still have the last laugh."
Riku looked over at them, zipping off in a flash of light, reappearing in front of Dark Riku and Twilight, rushing toward him with a yell. Caught off guard, Dark Riku grunted as he was clotheslined, sent flying away from the lavender alicorn and slammed down hard, Riku choking him as they slid across the grassy field until coming to a stop.
"Don't you EVER lay a hand on my girlfriend," Riku growled, aiming his blade at his dark self's face. "At least the Organization will be down a member when I kill you for what you tried to do to us."
Despite his threat, Dark Riku only chuckled, mocking the stallion with one hoof trying to push Riku's foreleg away from his windpipe. "...Dark...Firaga," Dark Riku gasped, shocking Riku when he turned his head, finding his former persona's Keyblade aiming not at his friends or Twilight, but up in the air, at Flurry Heart.
A giant ball of dark flames shot out from Dark Riku's blade, heading straight for the infant alicorn. "No!" Riku shouted, ignoring the sinister stallion and pushing off, dashing in a flash of darkness to get ahead of the dangerous spell.
Flurry watched the scary spell, too scared to move as she hid behind her wings, still in her bubble. Riku appeared in front of her right on time, using his whole body to shield her. He yelled as he was struck, sent flying back from the explosion, startling Flurry Heart out of her barrier and into her hurt uncle's hooves as they fell from the sky.
"Riku! Flurry!" Twilight cried out, forgetting Dark Riku and flew off to save them.
Dark Riku stood up, clutching his neck as he created a portal of darkness behind him, retreating for now. "This isn't the end," he said before stepping back into the portal.
"Get back here!" Sora shouted as he ran after Dark Riku. He was too late, though, the portal closing as Sora slashed at him. "Damn it! Xehanort brought back Riku possessed by Ansem as an Organization member now!? Who else is there!?"
"We'll worry about that later!" Kairi said, diverting his attention back to the falling stallion and alicorn baby.
Riku winced, his whole body feeling like it's on fire, even though he was just blasted by Dark Riku's Dark Firaga spell. He squinted his eyes, watching the ground get closer, holding onto Flurry Heart as she seemed dazed from the loud explosion. He couldn't move his wings, badly singed, and the last of his adrenaline was fading fast. With no choice, he braced himself and held Flurry tightly to his chest, preparing to make a rough landing.
He hit the ground hard, bouncing across the field, cushioning the impact for Flurry as he made sure he was the one getting hurt by the harsh tumble. What felt like hours of a painful landing lasted for about a minute, Riku finally skidding to a halt on his back, wheezing heavily as his forelegs weakly fell to his sides as the last of his strength was gone. He tilted his head up, feeling Flurry stir as she regained her senses, sort of happy to be on the ground, but when she looked down at her battered uncle, she fussed in worry, afraid she's going to lose him again. Even though he was in pain, Riku gave her a weak smile, using the last of his strength to lift one of his forelegs, resting it on her tiny hooves.
"...I...got you...Flurry," he uttered. "You're...safe...now..."
The last thing he heard before his head fell back was Flurry crying out in distress, feeling her hooves pressing against his chest in a panic as he passed out from exhaustion.
Riku groaned as he slowly regained consciousness, waking up in Twilight's bedroom in the castle. His body ached, the worst he's ever felt, rivaling taking a hit for Sora from Xemnas in their final clash with the leader of the old Organization XIII. At least he was able to move, even if his limbs begged him not to. He was worried about Flurry Heart, or at worse, if Shining Armor and Cadence found out what happened when they see their baby's been through a terrifyingly traumatic experience. He was definitely going to lose all rights to see her.
He climbed out of bed, his body bandaged where the wounds were worse, even his wings, limping out of the room to find the others. As soon as he opened the door to enter the hall, he bumped into Spike, who was carrying some medical supplies, possibly for him.
"Riku, you're awake!" he exclaimed. "Y-You shouldn't even be moving right now!"
"I'm fine, Spike," he grunted, grimacing as a wave of pain struck him, but he refused to crumble. "I...need to find Flurry."
Spike hissed nervously, his eyes shifting as he stammered nervously. "W-Well...kinda not a good idea now," he mumbled.
Riku let out a sigh, the worst case scenario he wished didn't happen actually did. "...Shining and Cadence know about what happened out there, didn't they?" Spike nodded, chuckling nervously before sighing himself. "...Better face the music now rather than later."
Spike whimpered, insisting Riku go back in the room and rest, but he refused. Spike let him know that they were in the throne room, slowly limping his way there. When he got to the doors, he could hear Shining Armor going off on Twilight for their irresponsibility taking care of Flurry. Riku understood he's concerned about his daughter's safety, but he's the one responsible, not Twilight. He opened the doors, summoning his Keyblade beforehand, laying it beside the opened door.
"Shining, will you calm down for a second!" Terra exclaimed as Riku entered the throne room, finding everyone, including the rest of the Mane 6, either watching the spectacle Shining Armor was making or holding him back from upsetting his little sister, Cadence holding Flurry Heart while the baby's ears pressed against her head from her daddy's scary yelling.
"How am I supposed to calm down when we trusted my sister and Riku with watching over Flurry Heart!?" Shining asked irately. "I mean, really!? Some twin of Riku's comes out of nowhere with Heartless, and almost KILLS her!?"
"He's not my twin," Riku said, getting everyone's attention, surprising a majority of them seeing him awake after the beating he took.
"Riku!" Twilight tried to meet him, but Shining beat her to it, marching over to him angrily.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do!" Shining berated, quickly held back by Terra before he gave Riku more serious injuries in the state he was in.
"Shining, he's already been hurt too much today!" Twilight scolded, teleporting in front of him to protect him from her brother's wrath. "Don't blame him for something none of us expected to happen!"
Riku gently placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, walking past her to face the upset father. "It is my fault," Riku admitted. "Don't blame Twilight. I was watching Flurry, so the responsibility falls on me alone."
"You were both supposed to watch her," Shining growled. "Twilight told us she had an important meeting to attend to in Canterlot about the treaty with the changelings, which she should have told us about when it came up at the last second!"
"Shining Armor, enough!" Cadence scolded, getting fed up with her husband's constant complaints as she tried to keep Flurry calm. "Can't you see Flurry's been through enough terror? You screaming at the top of your lungs isn't helping." Riku was glad Cadence was keeping herself under control, getting Shining Armor to back off with a dissatisfied grunt. She was just as mad, but she didn't show it since she was holding and comforting Flurry, and she was willing to hear him out before deciding whether to blast him into the wall or prevent him from seeing Flurry Heart ever again. He hoped it would be the first option. "What happened, Riku?"
Riku looked back at Twilight, also wanting to know what happened, especially when he contacted her when he was about to tell her he lost Flurry Heart back at the hospital. Taking in a deep breath, he was ready for the eventual pummeling from his girlfriend's relatives.
"...Before you two arrived and we agreed to watch Flurry for you while you had a day off from taking care of her, Twilight and I had plans to visit the sick foals at the hospital who caught the horsey hives," Riku began. Both Shining and Cadence winced as they heard the ailment the foals were afflicted with, which really is as bad as it sounded to Equestrians. "We were going to get them toys and games, some snacks, and read them a story to help pass the time for them until they got better; the whole day planned out with Twilight's organizational skills. Then, after you two left, Celestia sent a message to Twilight, requiring her presence in order to quell an argument the nobles in Canterlot had over the treaty with the changelings. Some of them still think they really haven't changed for the better, and she was needed to prove the only one we needed to worry about was Chrysalis.
"I thought it would be easy handling a baby while doing some errands for something else we had planned on my own...It wasn't, and so many things got derailed and stressed me more than I thought. Feeding Flurry mashed peas wasn't a smart idea when it's her favorite food to decorate someone with, I had to pick up a display of toys she accidentally ran to when she moved the cart around at the store, help Cheerilee rewrite her lesson on the chalkboard when Flurry drew a picture of the two of us playing bears, getting into a scuffle with the Cake Twins when I thought they could play together, and I neglected her whining when she wanted my attention in the hospital while I was reading the foals Gusty the Great!" Riku panted after giving the couple, along with everyone else present, a description of his stressful day in a nutshell. Cadence and Shining grimaced, leaving out that part about mashed peas being Flurry's favorite food. Riku sighed, running his hoof through his shorter mane. "...I should have just canceled the trip to the hospital and focused on Flurry more...I don't know how she wound up outside of Ponyville, but I guess she either ran away to look for someone else to play with, or she was looking for her Whammy when I heard her throw a tantrum."
"And...where is her Whammy?" Cadence asked.
Riku grimaced, lowering his head. "...Outside Ponyville...torn to shreds by the Demon Tower when the replica of me threw it away from her." Flurry whimpered as her favorite toy was mentioned, lost forever no thanks to her evil fake uncle and the monstrous tower of Shadows. Now the two parents were worried. That snail was the one thing that could help calm Flurry down, and even if they bought another one that looked just like it, she probably wouldn't take it because it's not the one she wants. "I should have known something was up when that Riku did that..."
"Why was he after Flurry Heart?" Aqua asked. "The new Organization is supposed to be after Sora. Why her?"
"He was trying to get rid of me," Riku said. "I don't know if he was taunting me, but when those Shadows lead me to her, they didn't attack her...But, when he did..." He growled, the grin on Dark Riku's face when he was held down was more toward him, not what he had planned to do behind his back. They knew what had been going on, knowing how close Flurry Heart was to Riku and what it would do to him if she so much as got a scratch. "...He knew I would get in the way and get hurt for Flurry if it meant keeping her safe...I don't know if he was being nice to her to get at me, or she's more important than we think..."
"Well, she does have super alicorn magic, but thanks to that Fledgling's Forbearance spell Sunburst found, we don't have to worry about her blowing stuff up," Pinkie said.
Riku looked at Flurry, a strange thought coming to mind about the baby alicorn's power. When she put up her barrier when he accidentally scared her earlier today, her magic seemed to radiate light, nearly similar to what Kairi has. It may have been weaker, but he did notice Dark Riku flinch away when he tried to touch her barrier while fighting the Demon Tower.
"...What if...?" Riku paused, finding the idea silly, but if it was a possibility, he couldn't help his curiosity when he discovered this, along with Dark Riku shockingly caring about the filly. "...Can Flurry Heart...be a new Princess of Heart?"
"You mean like an eighth princess?" Terra asked. "I don't think that's possible when it requires only seven princesses to protect Kingdom Hearts."
"What I mean is...can it be possible for a former Princess of Heart to subconsciously pass their light on to future princesses?" Riku elaborated.
None of the other Keyblade wielders made a response, their own curiosity on such a theory peaking their interest. "Well, I'm a Princess of Heart, and I haven't lost my power of light," Kairi said. "I don't even know how I could pass my light onto another, even unwillingly."
"Maybe you're a special kind of princess?" Sora guessed. "You have a Keyblade, so...Maybe you're a permanent Princess of Heart until you actually pass it down to someone else?"
Aqua pondered on the thought, approaching Cadence and Flurry Heart. "There wasn't much I knew of about the Princesses of Heart. Just like the events of the Keyblade War, we only know a little about them: they are important to keeping Kingdom Hearts safe, or keep the Door to Darkness sealed to prevent Heartless from swarming the worlds." Accessing the Galactic Map next, Aqua swiped over the different worlds where each of the princesses they know of with pure light in their hearts resided in. "Alice, Jasmine, Belle, Aurora, Snow White, and Cinderella...We should check in on them and see if they still hold the power of a Princess of Heart. If Flurry Heart really is one...she could be targeted by someone and used for their own personal gain."
"If Chrysalis found out..." Shining cringed, unable to imagine what Chrysalis would do with his daughter if she ever found out. Luckily, the former changeling queen is a wanted fugitive, and if she dares to show her face around his family again, he was going to deal with her himself. Looking at Cadence, they both knew Flurry was going to be under heavy watch in order to keep her safe from those in their world and out. The unicorn stallion looked back at Riku and Twilight, feeling guilty for judging the Keyblade Master before learning how their daughter was almost taken hostage by a copy of him. "...Riku, I'm sorry for snapping at you...I just-"
"I understand," Riku interrupted. "But this whole mess was my fault. It would have been better to cancel our plans, but my stubborn pride and refusal to let you two and Twilight down kept me from saying so." He limped over to Cadence, allowed to be near Flurry Heart now that the situation was settled. Flurry noticed him, holding her hooves out to him, wanting to be held by her favorite uncle. He didn't need permission from Cadence, holding the baby to him as he gently took her in his hooves. "I should thank you, though, Flurry. I heard you crying for me when that Heartless swarmed me. You sort of saved me and guided me out of the darkness I began to fall in.
"But I really am sorry I didn't pay attention to you. I tried to please everyone, but I can't do everything perfectly. Forgive me?" Flurry cooed, pressing herself against Riku's neck with her little hooves wrapped around him, nuzzling him affectionately. He took that as a yes, chuckling a little while the others watched the adorable scene. When she finally let go, letting out a small whine as she did, he got an idea to maybe help Flurry calm down if she accepts what he had in mind. He lowered the filly to the ground, letting out more whines as she feared being away from him again. "I'll be right back. I got a little surprise for you myself." He limped over to the doorway, grabbing the handles as he closed it shut. "No peeking," he said before closing them, leaving everyone baffled.
"What's he going to do?" Cadence asked Twilight.
"I...don't know," Twilight said, just as clueless as the rest of her friends.
Flurry began to fuss, waiting impatiently for her uncle to come back. After several minutes passed, Riku came back in, carrying a present on his back. He set it down next to Flurry, making her curious as she got more presents.
"Open it, Flurry," Riku said. Flurry opened her new present, and when she saw what was inside, she squealed excitedly and pulled out his gift. To everyone's surprise, it was a plush toy of Riku, complete with a mini outfit similar to his own with his old Keyblade, Way to the Dawn, on its back, made of the same material as the doll so Flurry didn't accidentally hurt herself with a plastic or foam one. She obviously loved it, hugging her new toy tightly. Riku crouched down beside her, glad to see she'll keep it close. "It might not be a bear, but if you ever get scared, just hold it tight, and it'll keep you safe."
"Riku, how did you make that so fast?" Twilight asked, finding it adorable seeing a plushie of him and Flurry really liking it.
"That Moogle's pretty quick with toys," he said, giving the alicorn a hint as to where it came from.
Flurry looked up at her uncle, holding her new plushie out to him. "...Wikoo."
A collective gasp echoed in the room, hearing Flurry say Riku's name. "Aww, she said your name," Cadence gushed. "Flurry's really attached to you, Riku."
Riku was a bit stunned hearing a baby call out his name. Twilight was a bit jealous, scooching next to Riku.
"How about 'Twily'? Can you say 'Twily', Flurry?" Twilight asked eagerly.
"Wikoo!" Flurry said again, making the lavender alicorn sigh and hang her head.
"Maybe next time," she mumbled.
Flurry then flew up, still holding her new favorite toy, hovering up to the dazed stallion and gave him a small kiss on the cheek, thanking him for her present. Everyone laughed as they saw the cute gesture Flurry made, Riku snapping out of his daze and gave the baby alicorn a smile.
"...You're welcome, Flurry," Riku said.
"I think next time we let you take care of Flurry Heart for us, we'll give you plenty of notice," Cadence said. "What are you and Twilight doing next Tuesday?" Riku and Twilight both blanched, set up for another day of babysitting. "For dinner, not to babysit," Cadence reiterated.
"Oh...Well, if I get better by then, maybe," Riku said.
"But we are free for next Tuesday," Twilight said.
"Perfect," Shining said.
"And there better not be any mashed peas for her on that dinner date," Riku warned.
Everyone laughed at his irritation, making the stallion sigh. If there was, he was hoping Flurry Heart would give Twilight a sample of her fun meal time when that day came.
After saying goodbye to Shining, Cadence, and Flurry Heart, the baby alicorn reluctant to leave her uncle after everything she went through, the Crystal Empire royal family headed back home via train. It was already sunset as Riku sat at the top of the castle, reflecting on the day's crazy, and almost disastrous, events. He was given a heads up on what happened after he passed out: Shining and Cadence had left the art show early when they started missing Flurry Heart, which was almost a catastrophe after finding out what happened outside Ponyville, Twilight had succeeded in winning over the nobles with their complaints on the changelings reformation, though she was sure someone's going to find something to bring up and spark this endless argument, and Spike had kept the foals in the hospital entertained when he went off to search for Flurry Heart. Even though he was stressed and nearly beaten to a pulp, it was quite an interesting day to say the least. Though encountering his darker self again and his vendetta toward him, there was no question the Organization members must have their own schemes behind Xehanort's back, depending on who else has returned from the past.
"The Organization is growing stronger." Riku's ear perked up, looking over to his right. Sitting beside him was himself, or rather, the Riku Replica he met back in Castle Oblivion as a pegasus like him. Unlike the Dark Riku who attacked him, this clone of him had blue eyes like his, in the muscular Dark Mode outfit he wore when transformed with the power of darkness. As unnerved as he should be, or going mad after being tossed for a loop against Dark Riku and the Demon Tower, Riku found this to be normal, figuring out that the voice that spoke to him was in fact this replica. "They're definitely going to stop at nothing to take Sora, or harm you all."
"No kidding," Riku responded, wincing a little as he tried to stretch his wings. "That Riku had to be you. I'm sure if it really was me possessed by Ansem, brought forward in time, there'd be a mind-blowing time paradox that could have erased me."
"Yes...It was me," Riku Replica said. "...But, it was the darkness of my heart that must have been enlisted; a part of me that was lost when you finally defeated your own darkness."
"And they say puppets don't have a heart. The old Organization really were Heartless lunatics," Riku uttered. "...Xion is like you, but you both have your own kind of personality, your own purpose for wanting to exist."
"Too bad Naminé is already back together with Kairi, and Sora's watching over both of them," the replica stated.
"Jealous?" Riku asked teasingly.
"Tsk. I vowed to protect Naminé. I don't feel that way toward her." Riku couldn't help but chuckle at the replica's response, though it was more funny when he picked on Sora and his crush on Kairi.
As the two Rikus sat in silence, contemplating what else Xehanort's new Organization XIII is up to, Twilight came up to look for him. "You should be in bed, mister," Twilight chided. "That Demon Tower and Dark Firaga could have killed you. I'm surprised you weren't unconscious for that long."
"Hey, you know we've been through far worse, right?" Riku stated.
"Even still, you had me worried sick." Twilight sat next to him, letting out a sigh. "What were you even doing up here?"
Riku looked over at where he saw the Riku Replica, but the double of him was gone. "...Talking to myself," he said, barely phased by the replica's disappearance.
"Uh huh..." Twilight pulled out Riku's old Keyblade, the handle and part of the blade still attached the only thing left of his weapon. "I picked up your Keyblade, or what was left of it...I didn't know if you wanted to keep it."
Riku grabbed the broken Keyblade, holding it out in front of him as he looked at the damage. He was surprised to see how much of the blade was still there, but with its shortened and jagged state, it wouldn't fit with his combat style if it's more like a dagger. He lowered the hilt beside him, then held his hoof out and summoned his new Keyblade.
"I kind of wanted to leave it behind, but...I don't think it'll hurt to keep it as a souvenir," Riku said. "This came to me when the Demon Tower swarmed me...I think I'll call it...Braveheart."
"At least it's a better name than 'The Keyblades of Harmony'," Twilight said, giggling a little at the strange name of the six blades crafted in the Elements of Harmony's images. "Sounds redundant having two sets of harmonic artifacts, and one of those sets being weapons...Oh! Speaking of,-" Twilight summoned her own Keyblade, holding her blade in both hooves. "-I never gave my Keyblade a name all this time! I mean, maybe some of them are named before coming up with one, but you'd think I should have made one by now!"
"Probably because you've been so busy training and everything else that happened." Twilight grinned sheepishly, her mind racing as she tried to think of a good name to give her Keyblade. Riku examined the design of the Keyblade, along with the abilities she's gained as a wielder. "...How about 'Harmony'?"
"Seriously?" Twilight asked skeptically. "Why that?"
"It makes much more sense than naming it something dumb like 'Friendship is Magic' or 'The Princess Blade'," Riku said. "What you can do with your harmony links, the six symbols of yours and the girls' cutie marks as the keychain, and how it represents your relationships with your friends, I think it suits your Keyblade perfectly."
"Hmmm...I didn't think naming it 'Friendship is Magic' sounded dumb...but shouting it out loud could be a bit embarrassing if I run out of mana in combat," Twilight said. She then nodded, accepting her Keyblade's new name. "Harmony it is." They dismissed their newly named Keyblades, then, with a gentle tug, Twilight lifted Riku up on his hooves. "Now, you are going straight back to bed, Riku. You'll need your rest."
"Yes, ma'am," Riku responded with a sigh, obeying his princess's orders before "getting thrown in the dungeon".
The couple headed back inside, so many thoughts about the Organization's alternate goals, future Princesses of Heart, and more serious threats running through their heads, where the answers lie in wait in the future or remain a mystery until discovered. Riku hoped he was wrong about Flurry being one of the next Princesses of Heart, because if it was true, then Equestria could be in far more trouble than it already has been.
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I like that you are adding more content and parts of the plot from KH3 now.
love this story keep it up
I really love this part that its one of my favorites Codex. Love how Twilight now knows of Dark Riku (aka Riku Replica's dark self) and how it all blends of Riku getting a new keyblade as well as a part of the Riku Replica being a part of him.
Though, I do think that since Dark Riku is after getting rid of Riku, & go so far as to even almost try to kill Twilight, it gives Twilight a motive to get stronger as well as after what happen to Flurry, Twilight now has her own Keyblade enemy among the real Organization in the form of Dark Riku. Plus, It builds Twilight & Rikus relationship of how important they are to each other. so much that I feel like Riku's theme fits more of their bond of not knowing what the future will hold for them.
9539011
Since you first mentioned it, I was looking through youtube for the music. That was when I stumbled upon a lyric video of the theme by Lizz Robinett. Amazingly the lyrics were true, so I just subscribed to check out more of those kh videos she made.
😊Just had an interesting thought that if possible at all those videos would be the songs our kh guys would sing.
Funny, huh?
Awesome!!!
9539105
I don't want that happening again, even if the video is still there after like 5 years.
I think the songs would be more like background music rather than sung by them...Sadly, I can't do that for this story after losing so many links from KH songs from a YouTuber that had their songs taken down.
9539903
Sorry, it was just a thought.
yay Go Riku
I see more KH3 content in this story owo. Remember that chapter when in the future, Sora dies? You called it.
9541941
Which chapter was that?
9542214
The Cutie Re-Mark Parts 1-5!
9540661
I do see all your points in all the comments you made with each chapter so far. Granted, these early chapters, I was pushing them out because I had so much free time and a lot of ideas, which resulted in several things I may have glanced over involving Heartless, the Keyblades, slaying the Heartless, etc. because most of that jargon is forgotten when the gist of it is mainly "Heartless bad, kill them, save the worlds". As much as the Ansem Reports detail how the Heartless function and their attraction to the worlds' light, the lore IS important, yes, but it's in the background in the journal when the whole story focuses on the true plot more than experimental reports. Not saying I'm right, because I know I'm going to get some things wrong or forget something I glanced over from the games, which is why I try to look up or replay the games as a refresher from what I recall.
There are a couple things I will point out in some of your comments I can try to reason out.
In a gaming perspective, a hero's clothes won't really get all that filthy, but when it comes to a realistic approach to a character's appearance in a story, depending on what happened to them, not everything's going to be squeaky clean 100% of the time. For example, the beginning chapter where he gets to know the Apple family; Applejack washed his clothes after he crash-landed in a small crater of dirt, and depending on the specific enchantments that WERE on Sora's clothes, keeping them in pristine condition might not be one of them.
If that were just his Kingdom Keyblade in that cutscene, he cleaved through all seven of those buildings without so much as breaking a sweat. And in a Death Battle with Sora vs. Pit, it showed just how strong he is using mathematics comparing his height to the weight of the rising buildings. So, he's definitely stronger than he looks.
Pegasi is the plural form of pegasus, and as I address a singular pegasus, I went with how it's supposed to be correctly done in English literature with an 's since there isn't really much of a correct way to do that.
Everything else, yeah, I see where you're going with how messed up I'm making some of the characters' behaviors or what they say, etc., but I'm just trying to make a story, flaws and all, and want to share it with everyone else. If you don't enjoy what you've read so far and point out a few errors, that's fine. I know I rushed a few things and miss out on some things I thought I researched, but I think it gets a bit better as the story progresses. But if you do like it, despite my crummy beginnings in storytelling a few years back, hope you enjoy the rest.
Excellent job and I’m loving it!
9544175
Well, this chapter was written before Parental Glidance, where we got a slight hint that Scootaloo may not have a family, or everyone thinks that since her parents aren't known, so my thoughts went with that if it was or wasn't really the headcannon for the show. She does have a place to live in Flight to the Finish, but whether its a room in an orphanage, a foster home, or if it is her real home and she has a family we still don't know about. we don't know. I am going to do Parental Glidance, because Rainbow Dash's parents are hilarious, and we learn more about Scoots and her vague history.
9544455
It was actually revealed in a chapter book that she lives with her Aunts Holiday and Lofty due to her parents being away most of the time. I remember hearing that one of them is her Father's sister so it's kind of left up to the imagination what their relationship is.
9551200
I don't think I've ever heard of any books including more backstory for the ponies, just comic issues that aren't exactly canon to the show. If I'm able to look up any online for free, I might take a glance at them, but for now, I'll stick with what I've got in my story, but reveal a bit more about Scootaloo when I get to Parental Glideance.
9552224
I don't really read the chapter books myself but they do sometimes expand on some minor details (such as S.M.I.L.E.) I believe her aunts were introduced in one of the CMC Mystery books and later made an appearance in CMC Mystery comics mini-series.
66.media.tumblr.com/7b209ed2fe32f12c286c9a9630bbf552/tumblr_pc2ou0ARPZ1vtwln5o1_1280.jpg
9552224
Hey Codex I really love this story u wrote and can't wait for more to come, I'm little curious as to what episodes u are going to summarize in short references like u have done with episodes like 28 pranks later?
Also, I'm also curious will riku and sora join fluttershy and applejack on the Kirin's tale adventure cause they would fit in that story?
Plus, I hope u do that episode stronger than fanfiction, it be cool for the keybladers to sing flawless with the mane 6.😁😆
9542579
I didn’t get notified of this comment and only just now read it.
You can’t really take Death Battles accurately, they often leave out details to make it easier for them to “accurately” play out the fight without really considering the full thing. I’ve often disagreed on their outcomes because of small details they’ve omitted or even how they showed their fights to play out.
They thing omitted here is Sora using magic. The Keyblades are magical by nature. You say it’s Sora’s strength that allowed him to break through those buildings without breaking a sweat, yet you say earlier in your response in regards to the clothing you can’t use the game as an example. As said, the keyblades are magical in nature, simply from the fact they’re semi-sentient and able to appear and disappear at will as well as allow the use of magic. It’s well within the kingdom key’s ability to allow Sora to cut through those buildings as if they were paper. Especially so given the enchanted clothing he wears. He’s done things before that’s make an ordinary person sweaty or tired and yet he’s not reacted in the slightest. Yet he’s also been shown to get tired easily from running up a flight of steps. It’s safe to assume the magic in the Keyblade allows him to fight with relative ease - within limits as he can in fact get tired from difficult battles as shown in some cutscenes - yet outside of battle he is unaided.
With that in mind, it’s not a case of him being strong in battle, but rather he has more stamina and endurance thanks to the magic in the Keyblade that allows him to do things others couldn’t, while out of battle he’s just an ordinary boy. He’s even been shown in-game at times carrying things and struggling. Both in cutscenes and not. Hell, the Colliseum, one of the challenges to enter the arena was to move something extremely heavy and he could not do it, yet in battle he’s been shown to throw large Heartless around like they’re toys.
You get what I’m saying?
More please
Sweet moment for Riku and Flurry!
9646115
A little out of character for him, but I agree. Guess he's not an edgelord after all.