My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria

by Codex92

Shadow Play (Part 2)

The Pony of Shadows laughed, freed from his imprisonment as he looked down at the ponies and baby dragon, some cowering under his power. "Your pitiful attempt to imprison me has failed, Star Swirl!" the Heartless mocked as he stared down the wizard.

Star Swirl growled, charging his horn to recast his spell, only for his aura to fizzle out. "N-No. I'm too drained from using this spell again," he uttered, then turned to Twilight. "You must return us to limbo. It's the only way to stop him."

"I only figured out how to bring you back!" Twilight said in a panic.

"Working on it!" Sunburst exclaimed, flipping through Star Swirl's journal to find the exact spell he used to seal the Pony of Shadows in limbo. "No table of contents!"

"Allow me to assist." The Pony of Shadows let out a roar, shooting out several tendrils out of his body. One pierced through Star Swirl's journal, missing Sunburst's face by inches as he yelped in terror. The others lunged out at the stone pillars of Ponehenge, everyone quickly leaping away to avoid getting impaled. The runic stones shattered to pieces, destroying the historical landscape. Twilight was distraught at the torn apart state of Star Swirl's journal, every spell and entry the stallion ever wrote in it was gone. "There! Without the power of Ponehenge, your banishing spell is useless!"

"You have studied my writings," Star Swirl said to Twilight. "Surely you have some other plan."

"No. I just wanted to save you," Twilight said, feeling ashamed for helping her historical idol, unaware of the Pony of Shadows returning along with the Pillars of Equestria. "I didn't think-"

"Don't fret," the Pony of Shadows interjected, his tendrils returning back to his body. "When I extinguish the light and hope of this miserable world, you won't remember any of this."

The Heartless reared his head back, then fired a beam of darkness at Star Swirl. The unicorn wizard lit up his horn to defend himself, but his magic failed him, even as he tried to strain out just an ounce more to protect himself. Twilight gasped, quickly diving in front of her idol.

"NO!" she screamed, lifting her Keyblade and blocked the powerful beam.

The alicorn grunted, then with a hard shove, she sent the beam straight back to the Pony of Shadows, smacking him right in the muzzle. "Agh! How-!?" The Pony of Shadows grunted in shock when he noticed the mare's Keyblade, a sense of fear beginning to well in his being. "Those swords...They even exist now...What are they?"

"They are the bane of a Heartless's existence: the Keyblade!" Star Swirl exclaimed.

"Keyblade...?" The Pony of Shadows growled angrily, clenching his teeth in fury. "She seems to have magic as powerful as you, Star Swirl. But even in my weakened state, and these infernal Keyblades, she cannot stop the might of shadows!"

He fired another beam, pouring more darkness into it as it headed toward Twilight. The alicorn quickly blocked it, feeling herself get pushed back as she struggled to hold her ground. Sora and Riku quickly flew in, their Keyblades flashing in their hooves, joining Twilight as they helped her block the Pony of Shadows' attack. Together, they yelled as they pushed the beam back together, the impact this time feeling like a punch to the Heartless's face as he let out a roar and staggered back.

"Good thing there's seven Keyblade wielders here to stop you!" Sora exclaimed, he and Riku getting in their fighting stance as they glared down the large Heartless stallion.

The Pony of Shadows shook his head, glowering at the Keyblade wielders, his ears twitching when he heard more Keyblades being summoned. Looking around, Terra, Kairi, Aqua, and Ven held their Keyblades out, surprising the Heartless, along with the Pillars.

"There's more of you!?" the Pony of Shadows shrieked.

"Lots of time passed since you were trapped in limbo, and there have been a whole lot of us out there keeping worlds safe from monsters like you!" Riku said.

Star Swirl was grateful to know they were in the presence of other Keyblade wielders in this generation aside from Twilight. "Know this, fiend! We will not rest until we find a way to be rid of you once and for all!"

"NEVER!" the Heartless growled menacingly. "Your days of glory are through, Star Swirl. Now my dark power will reign, and you all will bow to me!"

"Not a chance!" Aqua exclaimed. The Keyblade wielders quickly lunged forward, but the Pony of Shadows shot up in the air as a stream of darkness, teleporting away in a burst of darkness. The dark clouds disappeared as the Heartless did, the aura that dispersed fading away, leaving no trace of him behind. "Damn. He's gone."

"Where did he go?" Rainbow asked.

"That is a riddle we must unravel. And quickly," Somnambula said.

"How long have we been gone?" Meadowbrook asked.

"Over a thousand years," Fluttershy said.

"Then my spell worked-" Star Swirl then glanced at Twilight, giving her a disdainful leer. "-before it was meddled with-" The lavender alicorn winced, shamefully hiding her face with her wing as she slowly backed away toward Riku. "-and the realm has been at peace for a millennia."

"Hey, ease off her," Riku said. "None of us even knew you planned to keep the Pony of Shadows held in limbo with you, and were bound together in order to keep his power from being unleashed in Equestria."

"Well, Equestria really wasn't all THAT peaceful for a millennia," Pinkie chimed in, zipping over to Star Swirl, pulling out a book from her usual Pinkie hammerspace and flipped through random pages for the unicorn wizard to see. "We had to stop Nightmare moon and Discord and Chrysalis and King Sombra and Lord Tirek, and there was the one time when Starlight traveled through time and almost destroyed life as we know it!" She then tossed the book aside, dragging Starlight toward them when mentioning her, which she responded with a nervous smile and waved sheepishly at Star Swirl. Before she could get a word in and explain the reasons for her actions, Pinkie pushed the mare back. "But that's all in the past."

"If you all are truly this accomplished, we will stop the Pony of Shadows twice as fast together," Flash Magnus said.

"We shall see. It is an easy thing to SAY you have saved the world," Star Swirl stated. "It is quite another to do it."

"Oh, we've saved the world, Beardo," Rainbow said with confidence.

"So have we," Terra added. "Along with many other worlds from the threat of darkness."

"We are grateful for your assistance," Star Swirl said. "I wish to hear of all your accomplishments as wielders of the Keyblade in this generation, but we have a pressing matter with the Pony of Shadows. The land is vast, which means he could be anywhere, and exploring every inch of the world will waste our time if he regains his strength."

"Well, we have a map back at the castle," Ventus said.

"Then let us make haste," Star Swirl said. Joining together, Twilight, Aqua, Kairi, and Starlight teleported everyone back to Ponyville, directly in front of the entrance to Twilight's castle. The group led the Pillars through the halls to the throne room, the Pillars learning the names of the ponies, baby dragon, griffon, and diamond dog, and even surprising them as the Keyblade wielders' thrones appeared upon entering the room. Everyone gathered around the Cutie Map, impressed by the holographic map of their entire kingdom, along with the Galactic Map showing the world of Equestria from beyond their own. Star Swirl hummed curiously as he examined the table, even the crystal castle as they arrived in Ponyville. "Something about this magic seems familiar..."

Star Swirl's horn lit up, spreading his aura throughout the Cutie Map. The table shined brightly, replacing the map with an image of the Tree of Harmony, stunning everyone, Aqua especially as her jaw dropped.

"H-How did he do that?" she questioned, glancing at Twilight, who was awestruck as she watched her favorite hero use his magic. "...Twilight, did you know he can do this?"

"He's Star Swirl! He can do anything!" Twilight squealed, her wings fluttering in excitement.

"This map, and indeed this very castle, are grown from the seed we planted over a thousand years ago," Star Swirl stated, intrigued by the crystal tree's growth after all these years.

"Then it did work after all!" Rockhoof said, slamming his hoof on the Cutie Map while he and the rest of the Pillars were proud to see the Tree of Harmony.

"What worked?" Sunburst asked.

"Each of us infused a crystal seed with our magic in hopes that it would grow into a force for good," Somnambula explained.

"We wanted to leave something to protect the realm in our absence, but we never dreamed our gift would become so powerful," Mistmane added.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded as the origins of the Tree of Harmony actually came from the Pillars of Equestria. "No way," Sora uttered.

"Y'all mean the Elements came from you?" Applejack asked.

The Pillars looked at each other, unsure of what the farm mare meant. "You know, the sparkly crystal things that grow from the Tree of Harmony and represent each of us?" Pinkie mentioned, pointing to the colorful gems in the tree's branches and the star shaped one at the trunk, then went around the room to list the Elements of Harmony and the bearers who represented them. "Laughter, honesty, generosity, loyalty, kindness, and magic!" She then bounded over to Sora, mussing up his spiky hair. "And not to mention light, since Sora's just as important as we are!"

Somnambula grinned, seeming inspired with Pinkie's optimistic, yet random, attitude, seeing the mares of the present having similar "elements" that the Pillars represent. "They are reflections of our own elements of hope, strength, beauty, bravery, healing, and sorcery," she said as she pointed out the Pillars' elements while standing by the mares who held the same: herself and Pinkie as hope, Rockhoof and Applejack as strength, Mistmane and Rarity as beauty, Flash Magnus and Rainbow Dash as bravery, Mage Meadowbrook and Fluttershy as healing, and Star Swirl and Twilight as sorcery.

Where the other Pillars could see the similar reflections of the current Element bearers, Star Swirl didn't see eye to eye with Twilight. He even turned away from the alicorn, still miffed that she broke the seal and brought a dangerous threat back to Equestria, upsetting the mare, which began to concern Riku more and more.

"But there was someone else you're forgetting," Kairi said. "You had a seventh pony help you trap the Pony of Shadows in limbo with you; a Keyblade wielder named M."

Everyone expected Star Swirl or the Pillars to be surprised that they knew something that was secretive, but being in the presence of other wielders, Star Swirl nodded his head. "Yes. There was another among us, and all of us, including M, insured that nothing about him was written in Equestria's history. And before you ask, yes, he has informed us all about the Keyblade, even the Heartless as they once appeared in our world. He was also responsible for bringing the Pillars together, and even seek them out beforehoof to form the special guardians of our kingdom."

"So much for outsiders not being allowed to muffle in other worlds' affairs, even from way back when," Goofy said.

"Meddling!" Donald corrected. "How many times must I keep saying that when you can't even use the right word!?"

"He also seemed to be really close to Celestia and Luna," Terra added, the mentioning of the princesses making Aqua feel remorseful for her outburst the other night. "Along with your last battle that came from your journal, he gave all of us a final message to send to them, and explain a few things in very vague detail about some lost history of the Keyblade wielders a thousand years ago."

Star Swirl let out an annoyed sigh, rubbing his forehead with a disgruntled murmur. "Of course he would," he mumbled, then shook his head. "M was...an odd case, but despite his vague answers and a personality closely matching your pink, bubbly friend, he was a dear friend. He was also responsible for assisting us in planting the seed that grew the Tree of Harmony. A seventh member of our group, though kept in the dark to avoid anypony from suspecting his aid for our world when it was needed."

"Then...what about this mask?" Kairi pulled out the Heartless mask she and Fluttershy found in Meadowbrook's home.

The healer recognized the mask as she gasped. "Oh! Ah completely forgot about this!" she said, inspecting the mask after taking it from the pink alicorn. "When M visited me at mah home, he carved this mask and completely forgettin' about it after helpin' find the cure for Swamp Fever! Ah kept it hidden in case he ever came back, but Ah forgot about it after Ah left to join him and the other Pillars when he wrote me a letter!"

"But, inside the mask, it says, 'Property of Master of Masters'," Kairi mentioned. Star Swirl grumbled, facehooving in disbelief. "M is also this Master of Masters who made this?"

"And...he helped you find the cure for Swamp Fever?" Fluttershy asked. Mage Meadowbrook nodded her head, the realization slowly setting in as the other girls looked at their favorite legends. "...So...does that mean...Was M also there...in the stories of all your greatest feats?"

"Aye, lassie, he sure was," Rockhoof said.

"Some of us had the misfortune of encountering Heartless while he 'found' us to recruit us," Mistmane said.

"He would be quite skilled as a soldier, but he had his reasons for making sure we stayed away from them, even if I helped in distracting a Heartless that was a huge as a dragon," Flash Magnus added.

"Even the Sphinx in Somnambula's story!?" Sora exclaimed. "When we heard her legend, the Sphinx fled after she saved the prince, but it came back as a Heartless!"

Somnambula gasped in horror. "What!? The Sphinx returned as a creature of darkness!?"

"Yeah, but Kairi and I defeated it, so it's gone for good," Sora reassured, relieving the distressed pegasus mare as her home was still safe and at peace.

"M, were you this careless on purpose, or was there something else you kept hidden from me?" Star Swirl grumbled under his breath. "Getting back to the matter at hoof. Even without Ponehenge, we can used the stored magic in the Tree of Harmony to deal with the Pony of Shadows."

"But doesn't a banishing spell take a lot of power?" Twilight asked. "We'd have to sacrifice the Elements for that."

Without giving it a second thought, Star Swirl nodded his head. The Mane Six were shocked as they would have to lose the Elements of Harmony again, only this time for good. Sora was just as surprised, having gained the Keyblades of Harmony thanks to the Elements. Would losing them also cost him his strongest Keyblades and his Harmony Form?

"But the Elements of Harmony are keeping the tree alive after Discord's plunder vines tried to suffocate it not too long ago," Riku mentioned. "The tree's going to die without them."

"If the Pony of Shadows has his way, this world will no longer exist," Star Swirl stated. "Unless any of you have a better idea..."

"We can fight the Pony of Shadows," Ventus said. "Together, we might stand a chance more than M would have if all he could do was help seal him away in limbo with you."

"I will have to evaluate your skills, as I've seen M's with his Keyblade in the past," Star Swirl said, confusing the Keyblade wielders.

"Evaluate us? Four of us are masters," Aqua stated as she pointed out herself, Terra, Riku, and Kairi. "...Are you a Keyblade wielder as well?"

"No. I've learned much from M, and I had asked him that myself to help protect our world." Star Swirl let out a frustrated huff. "But, again, his vague and cryptic responses lead me no results to my questions. So I assume he means that I'm either not worthy to be a wielder, or he's believes I cannot handle myself in a battle."

"I don't think we'll need to convince you as much as you think you need," Sora confidently boasted, his forelegs placed behind his head with a toothy grin. "We've proved our worth as heroes all over the worlds. Even here in Equestria."

Star Swirl glanced up, seeing the ornaments hanging from the tree chandelier playing back memories at random from everyone present. "Hmm...I will have to see for myself. Actions do speak louder than words, Sora." The wielders didn't seem worried, knowing they were quite capable to be respected as warriors of light. Star Swirl used his magic to change the map back to normal, showing different locations he expects the Pony of Shadows to reside in with dark clouds hovering over different parts of Equestria. "Our foe will seek dark places from which to draw power. I will prepare my spell so that we may strike as soon as you find him."

"Then what are we waiting for!?" Rainbow cheered.

"I like your spirit!" Magnus complimented Rainbow, seeing the great amount of courage the rainbow-maned pegasus had within her.

While everyone planned out where they should go first, Twilight dejectedly walked away, saddened that the pony she looked up to all her life refused to see her as an equal after the blunder she made. Star Swirl asked for the wielders to stay behind to see their accomplishments as Keyblade wielders, but Riku hurried after Twilight, seeing how upset she was from accidentally bringing back the Pillars along with the Pony of Shadows. Starlight followed as well, hoping to help her as well. They found her in the library, already opening several different books and grabbing more to do some quick research.

"Twilight, are you ok?" Starlight asked.

"Oh, I just unleashed ultimate evil and DARKNESS that will doom Equestria because I was obsessed with meeting my idol! Why wouldn't I be ok!?" Twilight exclaimed anxiously.

"Twi, none of us knew that was going to happen," Riku said, trying to assuage Twilight's nerves and guilt.

"But I should have listened to Starlight!" Twilight cried out. "I should have just left things alone, and now the Elements of Harmony will be lost thanks to my mistake! And Sora's going to probably lose the Keyblades of Harmony, which has helped us far too much to be lost as well!"

"Twilight, relax," Riku tried to usher calmly, hugging the mare while she still desperately searched for another solution. "We'll find another way. If we have to, we can just slay the Pony of Shadows."

"Or maybe...no slaying or banishing?" Starlight suggested. Riku glanced at Starlight with a deadpanned glare, finding her idea ridiculous if a creature of darkness can be rid of in any other way. "Well, the pony who tried to take the Pillars' artifacts is the Pony of Shadows. If he helped them before, then there must have been something that happened to change him, like with what happened to Sombra?"

"Maybe, but there was nothing about this other pony assisting them," Riku said, growing curious about the colt that was from Star Swirl's illustrations who wasn't M.

"Portal gate...Portal keys...Portal spells..." Twilight mumbled to herself, stopping at a page and found the answer she was looking for. "YES!" she screamed, startling Riku and sent him falling over on his back, rubbing his ringing ears. "If the Pillars can hold open a gateway to limbo, a powerful pony can do the banishing spell herself! Do you know what this means!?"

"That I need to get hearing aids if you screech like that when I'm that close to you?" Riku asked as his hearing slowly returned to him.

"The Pillars don't have to leave Equestria!" Twilight explained. "Even though we'll lose the Elements, we'll have the ponies that created them. And the Pony of Shadows will be dealt with for good!"

"Ok, but what about the Keyblades of Harmony?" Starlight questioned. "Sora needs them just as much as you and the others needed to use the Elements in the past."

Twilight grimaced, almost forgetting about Sora's most powerful form had come from the Elements and the Tree of Harmony. "...W-Well...I'm sure he'll understand," Twilight answered sheepishly. "He's gotten this far without them...at least until Discord, but he's strong enough to face anything. Star Swirl will see that, and if Sora agrees to let the Keyblades of Harmony go, he can see I take magic as seriously as he does."

"So, you're going to cripple Sora's new powers just so you can get with your idol's good graces after screwing up an important spell of his?" Riku questioned, clearly not liking Twilight's idea. The alicorn winced, feeling unsure herself. Riku just sighed and shook his head. "...Well, Sora can be too nice for his own good. He might hesitate, but I know he'll agree to give those Keyblades and his Harmony Form up to keep Equestria safe." Twilight's ears drooped, feeling more shame for weakening Sora and forcing him to train harder to get back to where he is now. "Leave the research for now. Star Swirl's going to want to 'evaluate' our skills as Keyblade wielders."

"...Ok." Twilight could barely look Riku in the eye, getting up from her spot at her table of scattered books and followed him back to the throne room.

The Pillars, Twilight's friends, even Donald and Goofy were gone, everyone splitting up in groups to search around the locations Star Swirl mapped out for the Pony of Shadows' possible whereabouts. Star Swirl was pacing, waiting for Twilight and Riku while Sora, Kairi, Aqua, Ventus, and Terra stood around the table.

"Now that all of you are together, I must see what skills you each have with your Keyblades," Star Swirl said. Before anyone could start detailing their abilities, Star Swirl cast a spell on the ornaments, creating a large screen of white aura that wrapped in a circle around the Cutie Map for everyone to see. "I've noticed the enchantment in those ornaments hanging from the...unique chandelier. A simple memory spell, but imbued with enough mana to replay all known memories anypony can recall."

"Wow. You really do know your spells," Aqua said in awe. "I helped make those for Twilight when she felt homesick living in this castle." Star Swirl raised a brow in confusion at the unicorn's explanation, until she pointed at the tree roots hanging from the crystal ceiling. "When Tirek attack, he destroyed a library Twilight lived in that was built out of a tree. She had a lot of treasured memories since her time in Ponyville that were gone when it was destroyed."

"And he almost left her homeless if the Tree of Harmony didn't create this castle after unlocking a box it gifted us with when we gave it back the Elements of Harmony," Sora added.

"Hmm...I see," Star Swirl uttered. Twilight was hoping for him to offer her condolences for the loss of her old home, but he continued ignoring her, still miffed at her meddling with his spell. "Now, let us look into each of your memories and see what you are capable of. I shall start with Kairi, whom I never expected to be an alicorn."

"I was a unicorn before...well, this." Kairi pointed at her engagement ring with a small blush on her cheeks. "It has some...really powerful enchantments to strengthen my light, which helps me a lot, being a Princess of Heart."

"Princess...of Heart?" Star Swirl asked curiously.

"Kairi's one of seven princesses throughout the worlds who have hearts of pure light, and they're also protectors and guardians of sorts to a power called Kingdom Hearts," Riku explained. "But I'm sure you know about that from M, right?"

"...No. I've never heard of such a power," Star Swirl admitted, shocking everyone present in the throne room. "And if M did know, he would knowingly keep it a secret from anyone if evildoers try to use that power for the wrong reasons. Along with many others." The unicorn wizard grumbled a bit to himself, the focused on the screen and focused all the memories from Kairi to play before everyone. He was a bit surprised to see that Kairi, albeit a master, was more of a novice compared to the others, but she showed vast improvement in her skills. Even seeing who the six Keyblade wielders really were in their human forms. What really awestruck the stallion was Kairi's power of light, able to unleash it and eradicate, and even purge, the darkness from someone. It didn't help that he watched the battle where Twilight lost herself to her jealousy over Sora, using the power of darkness to get back at Kairi, and having her darkness of envy be purged and destroyed by Sora after the Heartless was pulled out from her. Twilight grimaced, looking down at the floor, reminded of the guilt of her actions back then. "...Well, Kairi, your power of light seems far more outstanding than M's. But that shows as a Princess of Heart."

"Thank you, Star Swirl," Kairi said, feeling proud and grateful for the stallion's compliment.

"Next, Aqua." Switching the memories to Aqua's, he at first seemed impressed by the mare's magical knowledge, both with the Keyblade and Equestrian, and her fighting skills were fluid and patient. However, his satisfied smile turned into a frown of concern when he saw her time being spent in the Realm of Darkness. It was the first he's ever seen such a realm, and with all the Heartless she was surrounded by, it was a miracle she didn't give up after all that time. He could see in her eyes she experienced such hardships, but his condolences were lost when he saw the magical surges she's had when she lost her cool and things got icy, both literally and figuratively. When Torrent took over, he was utterly disappointed to see the mare give in to the darkness within her heart, even if she managed to fight back when Ventus reached out to her from Sora's heart. Aqua didn't want to see those memories, but Star Swirl was in control of what he wanted to see from their lives. "...You let the darkness control you?"

"...I lost my sense of trusting everyone, and...I still wallow in my own despair, even now," Aqua said, hanging her head in shame.

Star Swirl grunted, then moved on to Ventus. The first memory that came up from the young wielder, Star Swirl's eyes grew wide when he saw Xehanort, though it was the Keyblade he was holding that really shocked him.

"That's...M's Keyblade," Star Swirl uttered.

"He mentioned in the flashback in Ponehenge that his Keyblade was passed on through apprentices for over a thousand years," Ventus said, noticing Aqua flinch while her head remained hanging in shame, though he wasn't sure if Aqua was enraged or distressed with her mane hanging over her face. "And...this guy, Xehanort, is responsible for all the trouble he's causing, and needs to be stopped before he gains control of Kingdom Hearts."

Star Swirl was not happy, unaware M was able to pass on his Keyblade to any apprentices, and it would keep going like it was a family tradition. Continuing watching the memory in the Keyblade Graveyard, he watched as Xehanort plunged M's Keyblade into Ventus' chest, pulling out the darkness from the young teen's heart to create Vanitas. Confused, wondering how this was possible, he glanced through both Aqua and Ventus' memories with this mysterious armored person who seemed to be a part of the young pegasus's heart. While witnessing Ventus and Vanitas's final confrontation in their heart, he also saw Aqua's battle with Ventus-Vanitas, the conflicts giving mixed messages as it seems like Ventus had lost control and attacked Aqua with the X-blade while he fought Vanitas from the inside with its incomplete form.

Without giving any comment, he moved on to Terra, and he was immediately disgusted, the earth pony stallion clearly not liking where this was going. Star Swirl watched Terra and Aqua's Mark of Mastery exam back then, shocked to see his free hand be surrounded in darkness during their match. He did dismiss it, but as he helped the villains of the other worlds he's visited, Star Swirl glowered at Terra as he tried to master the power of darkness so he can control it better. The straw that broke his back was when Xehanort took control of Terra's heart, turning his brown hair white and his eyes yellow, the same kind that the Heartless bear.

He had enough and moved on to Riku, which only got worse from there as the white pegasus had followed the same path Terra had: trusting villains, used the power of darkness, and even let another being of darkness enter his heart, control him, and cause harm to everyone, even as he turned into Ansem. Riku leered in disbelief at the judgmental glare coming the the unicorn wizard, only focusing on the horrible acts they did without even questioning them further on why they did it in the first place. Twilight didn't even vouch for him, still ashamed by Star Swirl's disappointment, feeling lost as to whether or not she should stick up for her boyfriend or side with an old-fashioned pony lost for a thousand years in limbo, dead set on old ways that had died out centuries ago.

Last was Sora, and his confidence began to waver when everyone only saw the terrible moments they had with the darkness along with their fighting styles. Despite seeing Sora's heroics and his incredible skills as a wielder throughout the worlds he's helped, when Star Swirl watched Sora's Drive Forms in action, he was appalled when his Anti-Form popped up instead, the dark form going around like a wild animal on a rampage while mowing down Heartless with incredible agility and deadly claws.

"WHAT IS THIS!?" Star Swirl shouted, frustrated and enraged by what he was witnessing. Sora stammered, trying to explain, but the unicorn stallion ignored him and viewed more and more times this form has appeared. He even ignored the shocked and terrified look on Sora's face whenever he shifted into any of his forms when it backfires and turns him into a Heartless. Not even the distress and depression he felt when he loses control almost hurts his friends, lover, even his own mother persuaded Star Swirl otherwise as he glanced over the aftermath when he returned back to normal. "You can turn into a Heartless!? AT WILL!?!?!?!?!?"

"B-But I couldn't-" Star Swirl slammed his hooves down on the table, silencing Sora before he could get a word in.

"I want to hear no excuses from you!" the wizard scolded, then pointed to Riku, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. "Nor the rest of you! Keyblade wielders who use the power of DARKNESS to protect the light!? That is NOT how you are supposed to do your jobs!"

"Excuse me!?" Aqua exclaimed, shocked by the accusation. "Star Swirl, we would NEVER use the power of darkness!"

"Then what did I just see!? Fabrications to get me mad!?" Star Swirl questioned. "M would get on my nerves, but he's quite clear when he explained to me that Keyblade wielders protect the light and eradicate the darkness!"

"I never used any darkness at all!" Ventus argued. "Xehanort pulled Vanitas out of my heart! He forced me, and whatever memories I had from before that moment, I don't know!"

"Riku and I made a huge mistake going down the roads we took, but that was because we didn't know what to do and kept making more mistakes like that," Terra reasoned while Riku crossed his hooves angrily over his chest, giving the stallion a dirty look. "We wanted to correct the errors of our ways, and we learned from that experience, which almost cost us our lives and the ones we care about."

"Then what about him!?" Star Swirl pointed at Sora, then glared at him. "You TURN into a creature of darkness! To fight them! What other dangerous skills can you wield that could endanger everypony!?"

"I couldn't control it before, but now I can!" Sora shouted, though it was a poor word choice as Star Swirl growled at the tan pegasus.

"That power will destroy you! You CAN'T control darkness!" he argued.

"Star Swirl, you have no idea how much pain Sora was in whenever that happened in the past!" Kairi tried to explain, hoping the wizard will listen to her since he hasn't given her any offense or disdain. "His Anti-Form appears by pure, unfortunate chance when he used his Drive Forms. He never wanted this to happen, and he can't revert back to normal because it's not him in full control. He's been so afraid to tell us about it because we'd think he'd be too dangerous to be around, and when I saw it for the first time, he was afraid I'd leave him!"

"Kairi, please don't defend him, or the others," Star Swirl argued. "They should have their Keyblades taken away, or lose their status if they do not abide by the Keyblade wielders' true path to light."

"Sora is my fiance!" Kairi stated, pointing at her ring again, getting frustrated with Star Swirl's matter-of-fact attitude and attacking her friends and lover without so much as understanding every single detail as to what made them turn to darkness. "He's saved my life several times, and I'm going to protect him just as much as he protects me!"

"Then I suggest finding another wielder much more suitable to not just your safety, but for the safety of all worlds," Star Swirl argued.

Offended, Kairi growled, marching over to Sora while glaring at Star Swirl, hugging her lover tightly. "Then I suggest you change your mind about me and judge me like the others, because I'm NOT leaving Sora. Not after all we've been through."

"Suit yourself, then, princess," Star Swirl scoffed, dismissing the screen as he left the throne room. "I've seen enough. We shall wait until the others return with any clues to the Pony of Shadows' whereabouts. If you wish to cooperate, I'd suggest NOT seeing you use any darkness if you are willing to regain my trust."

"B-But I wasn't-" Twilight uttered meekly, only to wince when her idol slammed the doors behind him with his magic.

"You've got to be kidding me," Riku growled. "He had a lot of faith in us when he saw our Keyblades, but instead of learning everything, he only skimmed through a bit of our memories and focused more on what we did WRONG than what we've done RIGHT! Some idol you worshiped your whole life for, Twilight."

"He's so stubborn and undermined us when he doesn't know what we've all been through," Ventus grumbled bitterly. "He's probably misjudged any ponies who littered, or never follows instructions."

"But he didn't see what I could do," Twilight said.

"He didn't seem happy when he watched from Kairi's memories. That day Maleficent unleashed your darkness when you had a crush on me?" Sora reminded the lavender alicorn.

Twilight frowned sadly and lowered her head again. "...Oh..."

"So, now what? We just do as that old windbag says so he can believe we don't have any evil intentions?" Riku questioned.

"Our main focus is stopping the Pony of Shadows," Aqua said, looking down at the map, both humiliated and upset by Star Swirl's style of evaluating their "abilities" when he was focused on their past histories where they temporarily lost their way. "He's ungrateful for bringing them back, and reminded us of our past failures or mistakes as wielders. Whatever M taught him, he seems to only focus on the light when, at times, we need both light and darkness."

"I wonder if he'll change his mind when he hears who Nightmare Moon really was when Pinkie mentioned the worst villains in the last few years," Ventus muttered.

"It's not worth it," Kairi said. "He's going to have to learn things are much different now than they were back then."

---

After a few hours, the rest of the Pillars and Mane Six returned from their explorations to deliver their findings. During the wait, Twilight went back to seeing if she could perfect the spell so she could keep the Pillars from returning to limbo with the Pony of Shadows, but didn't tell Sora that, regardless, the Elements of Harmony would still be lost, which could also affect the Keyblades of Harmony and destroy them, too. The others avoided Star Swirl until their friends got back, a majority of them clearly not trustworthy in the eyes of a stallion who only passes judgement by only their history involving malicious intent, whether on purpose or not.

Aqua remained in the throne room, tapping the crystal map, still fuming at Star Swirl's reactions to their past. It only made her feel like more of a failure, and that's coming from someone who's never so much as wielded a Keyblade. She heard the throne room doors open, but didn't bother looking up, thinking it was Star Swirl wanting to look at the map again. While lost in thought, she felt someone touch her shoulder, making her react as she grabbed the offending limb, and with a yell, flipped them over shoulder, smacking them onto the table.

"Ow! Is that any way to greet someone!?" Aqua's ears twitched, and when she saw who she flipped, she grimaced in shock when the offender was Lea. The red stallion groaned, sitting up while rubbing his sore back, and at the doorway, to her surprise, was Yen Sid and King Mickey, the gray unicorn shaking his head in exasperation. "Next time, we'll ring the doorbell."

"Lea? Your Majesty? Master Yen Sid?" While she was happy to see them come by for a visit, she realized she had hurt Lea, though it was his fault for not greeting her while she silently came up behind her. "Sorry."

"Now I know you're not into surprise parties if you do something like that," Lea grumbled, snapping his spine back in place with a crack and a relieved sigh.

"I would have said something, but I wanted Lea to learn a valuable lesson: not to sneak up on someone who is always on alert for sneak attacks," Yen Sid said.

Lea glared at the wizard as Mickey approached Aqua. "Jiminy left us a message on the Gummiphone about what's happened to you guys in the last few days," he said.

"Yeah. Something about some ponies as pillars who were legends, but were actually real, and the cricket overheard one of them badmouthing you guys," Lea summarized, letting out a yelp when Yen Sid yanked on his hair hard with his magic.

Aqua let out a disgruntled sigh, catching the other Keyblade wielders everything that happened to them, from discovering the Pillars, learning about a Keyblade Master named M who had passed his Keyblade down to others, the same one that Xehanort wields today, bringing back the Pillars and the Pony of Shadows, and being harshly criticized by Star Swirl after seeing their past and ONLY their mistakes with darkness. The last part stunned Mickey, Yen Sid, and Lea, the latter chuckling bashfully, regretting his poor choice of words about the leader of the Pillars of Equestria badmouthing them.

"Hmmm...I may need to have a word with Star Swirl the Bearded," Yen Sid grumbled. "Despite his wisdom, he seems to lack the knowledge of forgiveness when mistakes were made and the wrongdoers repent or feel remorse for their actions."

"He wouldn't let us explain, or even bother to see anything but our failures as Keyblade wielders," Aqua moped. "...And how miserable I am with my own turmoil...I even argued with Celestia and Luna, accusing them of hiding secrets when I never took account for their feelings toward M."

"So, you acted just like Star Swirl did to you and didn't bother learning all the facts?" Lea questioned, earning a stern glare from Yen Sid as he cleared his throat loudly toward him. "Well, it's true."

"We'll convince Star Swirl that you guys are trustworthy as Keyblade wielders," Mickey assured. "And, maybe you should apologize to the princesses for your outburst."

Aqua groaned, knowing she deserves no forgiveness after yelling at two royals in another world, and rightfully deserved some punishment for acting out like a kid throwing a tantrum. They didn't have to wait long for everyone to return, Donald and Goofy surprised by their king's presence along with Yen Sid and Lea. The disgruntled Keyblade wielders were the next to come back to cool down, just as surprised as their friends, the Pillars already getting to know the three extra Keyblade wielders joining in. All that was left was Star Swirl and Twilight, the princess arriving first, greeting their guests, followed by Star Swirl, who was too busy focusing on a map of Equestria he recalled from a thousand years ago.

"Confounded time gaps. Everything considered as history today is all jumbled up with speculation and-" Star Swirl looked up from his research, pausing when he saw the rest of his fellow Pillars had returned with the Element Bearers, Spike, Sunburst, and Starlight, the Keyblade wielders he had lost his trust in during his evaluation, and three newcomers he had never met before. The latter three gave the famed unicorn wizard stern glares, though he stared at Yen Sid, a bit disturbed by how much the two shared some similarities. "...Who are you?"

"We are Keyblade wielders," Yen Sid said. "I am actually retired, but I can still perform magic to defeat the darkness if I am needed."

To prove his claim, Mickey and Lea summoned their Keyblades, Mickey's taking a new change as it seemed to have upgraded: still in the shape it took, only the blade was now blue with white stars and the guard gold with similar stars dotting the corners, almost like it was a cross between his gold Kingdom Keyblade and his old Star Seeker. Star Swirl hummed with intrigue, setting his supplies down on the table as he approached the visitors.

"Hopefully, you three have less dangerous history than five of the six I've explored," Star Swirl said, holding his hoof out to shake Yen Sid's in greeting. "I am Star Swirl the Bearded."

"...Master Yen Sid," Yen Sid said, ignoring the other wizard's hoof as he gave Star Swirl a very unimpressed leer. "I have heard about your exploits with magic in your time, along with some personal history you've had with Princess Celestia."

"You've spoken with my student, have you?" Star Swirl asked. "I should see her and Luna some time, but after we deal with the Pony of Shadows. And the other two?"

"This is my own student, Mickey Mouse, a master as well." Mickey nodded, giving a similar look to Star Swirl that Yen Sid had. "And this is Lea, another student of mine, but still an apprentice."

"Yo," Lea greeted drolly, just as disappointed with the Equestrian wizard as the rest of them.

"Nice meeting you, and I hope you can add your own assistance to our world's current situation," Star Swirl said, ignorant of the harsh glares given to him.

"Uhh, what's with all the stink eyes?" Starlight asked Twilight.

"...Star Swirl...doesn't trust us," Twilight mumbled.

Before the unicorn wizard approached the table, Yen Sid stopped him. "Before we 'assist' you and your plight, I was informed by my other students-" Yen Sid waved a hoof to the six wielders Star Swirl had scolded and berated. "-that you insulted their talents and judged them poorly by certain events you were more focused on than any other accomplishments they excelled at."

Star Swirl's smile faded, giving Sora, Riku, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus glares before looking back to Yen Sid. "Yes. Keyblade wielders are meant to uphold the light and protect it. Not including Kairi, those students of yours had used the power of darkness, and misinformed you, their teacher, and lied to protect themselves so they don't lose their Keyblades."

When Star Swirl began to smirk, believing he was in the right, Yen Sid's leer grew harsher toward him. "...I am very well aware of them 'using' the power of darkness in the past." Star Swirl nodded, but before he could seat himself at the Cutie Map, Yen Sid yanked him back in front of him with his magic, far from done explaining. "How they used the darkness was by pure accident: naivety, trusting the wrong people, emotional duress, and even unleashing a power that is beyond their control. Some of their actions were their own fault, but they understood their mistakes and have paid heavily for their misdoings, so, as their master, they are pardoned of their crimes, and I trust them in keeping the worlds at peace."

Star Swirl's jaw hung in shock, quickly closing it to glare straight back at Yen Sid. "Is this a joke? They used the power of darkness! And this foal, Sora, has turned into a Heartless several times! He will kill somepony if he lets it consume him again!"

"He has the power to shift into battle forms to help him in dire needs against Heartless," Yen Sid explained. "His Anti-Form comes out by unfortunate chance. He was unable to control it when it comes out, and the chance of its appearance grew higher when he resorted to using his Drives more and more."

"Hmph! 'Unfortunate chance', my hoof!" Star Swirl scoffed. "And what of the rest!? Riku and Terra allowed darkness in their hearts, Aqua gave in to her own, and Ventus allowed to have his darkness become a living being and cause havoc!"

"Really, man?" Lea questioned. "You saw all of that happen to them, but you didn't bother to do your little research to understand what REALLY happened to them?"

"What happened to them were complete accidents," Mickey added. "Without either of them, no other worlds, or even Equestria, would survive and get swallowed by darkness."

The Pillars and Mane Six glanced at each other nervously, fearing a more dangerous confrontation would spark between the two unicorn wizards. Star Swirl was fuming, unable to admit he was wrong and his knowledge on the Keyblade and the Heartless was one hundred percent accurate. After an intense staredown, Star Swirl let out another huff, walking past Yen Sid and sat down in Twilight's throne.

"I have no time for this senseless argument," he grumbled. "Either help us find and defeat the Pony of Shadows, or leave our world."

Yen Sin sneered in disdain, seeing he won't listen to reason and won't give up unless he won the argument. "Fine. We shall help," he said, shocking the Keyblade wielders as their master gave in and let Star Swirl off with his accusations. "You'll learn the hard way one way or another."

"Hey, if anyone wants to make a bet on who would beat who in a duel, I'm putting five thousand Munny on our old timer," Lea whispered to the others.

Getting back to the Pony of Shadows, everyone gathered their findings to Star Swirl, which disappointed him as they came back with no clues. All the locations the Pillars recalled had changed greatly in a thousand years: big cities with bright lights shining each night, caverns turning into gorges after years of erosion of the earth, barely any dark corners in Equestria since their time.

"Looks like Equestria's actually quite alright when it's bathed in light, ain't it?" Riku questioned the baffled Star Swirl, openly mocking him while still bitter about his comments toward him and his friends.

Star Swirl glanced at Riku, but ignored him. "As much as that's considered good news, there's still no sign of the Pony of Shadows' whereabouts."

"But he will have a hard time regaining power," Flash Magnus said. "If he rears his head, we'll be ready for him."

"If only there weren't a way to banish him without us getting banished as well," Meadowbrook said. "But Ah'm willin' to for the sake of mah home."

Twilight perked up, hoping her idea will reach out to everyone, including Star Swirl as she placed a scroll on the Cutie Map in front of her idol. "I don't think you all have to. My spell isn't finished yet, but I think we can send the Pony of Shadows to limbo without all of you going to it as well!"

"While I appreciate the enthusiasm, Twilight, this is hardly the time to take risks on half-baked spells," Star Swirl chided, lowering Twilight's confidence while upsetting her friends with how little faith the stallion had in most of their group.

"Oh, for the love of Kingdom Hearts," Ventus growled.

"Twilight's amazing with magic, and nothing she creates and casts aren't 'half-baked', you old windbag!" Riku exclaimed angrily.

"Riku! Compose yourself!" Yen Sid scolded, making the pegasus stallion pout in his throne. "But he makes a point, 'old windbag'. Twilight Sparkle idolizes you, but you seem to be ignoring her opinions and ideas, clearly not satisfied with the answers that you seek out of your own stubbornness."

"And she finished a spell YOU created, which earned her her wings!" Rainbow added. "So if she could complete it when you couldn't, you're probably not as much of a genius as you think you are!"

Star Swirl growled, getting frustrated with all these personal attacks toward him, especially from the Keyblade wielders he DID respect. "You know they have a point, Star Swirl," Mistmane said. "We always go with your plans, or even M's."

"It may be an unconventional approach, but I believe it can work, too," Meadowbrook said.

The other Pillars voiced their agreements, overruling Star Swirl's decision. "Ooh! Burned by your own comrades!" Lea jeered.

"Lea, shut your mouth before I shut it for you," Aqua warned.

Since everyone was in agreement, Star Swirl gave in and read Twilight's spell, his opinion changing slightly as he read the magic formula. "...I suppose there is a chance, but we still have no idea where the villain is."

Suddenly, the Mane Six and the six Keyblade wielders' cutie marks began to glow, startling the Pillars, Sunburst, and Lea when an ethereal copy of their marks flew from their flanks and hovered toward the table. "Whoa, ok! What's with the glowing butts!?" Lea questioned. "Is that gonna happen to me!? Does it make a nice tingling sensation?"

Ignoring Lea's thoughts being wondered aloud, the twelve cutie marks circled over an area in Equestria with spiked, jagged mountains. "What is happening?" Sunburst asked.

"A friendship mission? At this time?" Kairi asked. "And...where are our cutie marks telling us to go to?"

"Hollow Shades," Applejack answered, rubbing her chin in thought. "Ah think a branch of the Apple family lives there."

"They'd have to be pretty distant if that's the case," Sunburst said. "The Hollow Shades were abandoned for eons."

"This is strange," Aqua noted. "The other time the map called all twelve of us in one place, it was Starlight's village."

"Like a super-villain tracker!" Rainbow guessed, making Starlight pout and leer at the pegasus. Rainbow noticed, letting out a sheepish giggle. "No offense."

"Do you think the map could be trying to tell us where the Pony of Shadows is?" Twilight asked.

"Hmm...The Tree of Harmony acting to protect the light of the realm," Star Swirl uttered. "Yes. A good thought, Twilight." Twilight gasped, then let out a small squeal with the biggest grin on her face, finally getting recognized by her idol. "I will make my notes on this spell. Ready yourselves for battle." He looked over at the Keyblade wielders, letting out a disgruntled sigh. "Even all of you."

"Deciding to trust us now?" Terra questioned.

"Just prepare yourselves," Star Swirl ordered.

He stood up and took Twilight's spell, but Starlight stopped him, still believing that banishing the Pony of Shadows might not be a necessity. "I know I'm not as experienced as all of you, but is banishment or destroying it really the only options?" she asked. "I mean, it has been a long time. Maybe the Pony of Shadows is ready to talk?"

"I doubt we can save our homeland with a conversation toward a Heartless," Star Swirl argued.

"But we could try," Starlight suggested.

"Umm, Starlight, I'm sure Star Swirl and the Pillars did try that," Twilight guessed.

"The Pony of Shadows was not interested in reconciliation. Once a villain, always a villain." Collective gasps rang out, the Keyblade wielder appalled and stared at Star Swirl in disbelief. Yen Sid and Mickey shook their heads at the Equestrian wizard's blindsided way of thinking, the harsh judgments toward Sora, Riku, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus making more sense and only increasing their ire toward him. "Twilight, Sunburst, would you accompany me? I wish to refine this spell for our use."

Star Swirl left with an excited Twilight following behind him, Sunburst and Spike taking the rear as they offered their assistance. The other Pillars went off to get themselves ready to fight as well, leaving the Keyblade wielders, Donald, Goofy, and Starlight in the throne room.

"...He did not just say that," Riku growled.

"He did," Sora said, still shocked hearing someone refusing to give anyone mercy without understanding their true intentions as villains.

"Unbelievable," Yen Sid grumbled.

"We're not going to help him, are we?" Kairi asked. "If he thinks Sora's a villain, he's got no idea how much he's sacrificed for everyone."

"I never used darkness at all, and he blames me because of Vanitas!" Ventus exclaimed angrily. "It was against my will! Does this mean he trusts XEHANORT like he does with that M guy!?"

"Everybody, calm down!" Mickey shouted, silencing his fellow wielders' complaints and any other arguments they wanted to vent out. "Look, we understand your frustrations. Star Swirl believes the way things work in his time still exist now. It's going to be a much needed wake-up call for him to start learning more about why villains became villains in the first place, and that there is a chance for them to be redeemed."

"Like telling him about Luna turning into Nightmare Moon?" Aqua asked. "That'll conflict him enough to snap him to being a more sensible person."

"That'll only get him more riled up," Yen Sid stated. "He's the type of genius who doesn't want to be proven wrong, and he would feel more ashamed to have taught someone who had turned to the darkness during their time of woe."

"If only we knew why the Pony of Shadows became who he is now," Starlight wondered. "The map only sends others to solve a friendship problem. I'd bet the Pony of Shadows a normal pony before, and there had to be more to his side of the story than Star Swirl believes about somepony and their actions. I'm just as sore about that comment he made, too."

"At least the other Pillars are more sensible," Sora uttered. He blinked, finding a solution to the possible motives of the Pony of Shadows' former self. "The Pillars...Maybe they can tell us."

"Then let's learn about who he was." Sora and Starlight went off to find the Pillars and ask them about the Pony of Shadows that stories couldn't fully explain.

"We might as well get ready, too," Aqua said. "I don't want to work with Star Swirl as much as the rest of you, but I'm willing to suck it up and take care of the major threat in Equestria right now." Terra, Ventus, and Kairi were reluctant, but they weren't going to let someone like Star Swirl keep them from doing their job because of regretful mistakes they all made or had no choice during them, and agreed. Riku, however, huffed, leaping down from his throne and began leaving as well. "Riku, where are you going?"

"Finding Twilight," he grumbled. "I need to have another 'talk' with her."

Everyone grimaced from the tone Riku had as he left, disappearing around the corner. "Gawrsh. This has become quite stressful," Goofy said.

"Who does Star Swirl think he is talking down to them like that!? Especially Sora!" Donald exclaimed. "He's made mistakes, but he's got more heart than that grumpy wizard!"

"Want me to give him a more intense kind of burning?" Lea asked with a sneer, summoning his chakrams in a burst of flames.

"Put your weapons away, Lea," Yen Sid warned, the red unicorn huffing as he obeyed. "Save your energy for the impending battle. Most lessons will be learned, and even old timers like us have missed out on lessons that the youth of our generation will sooner or later teach us in return."

"Fine...But if you two have another argument, can you end it with a magic duel?" Lea begged, clasping his hooves together. "That would be so awesome seeing two old wizards duke it out with spells flying around!" Yen Sid's horn flashed for a brief moment, followed by a lightning bolt striking the fiery-maned stallion. Lea flinched, her hair standing on end with his limbs twitching. "...K-Kidding," he uttered weakly before falling over.

---

In the main foyer, the Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie helped the other Pillars get themselves ready for the Pony of Shadows. Rainbow helped polish Flash's shield to look good as new, Fluttershy cleaned up Meadowbrook's mask, and Applejack helped sharpen Rockhoof's rusted spade. Sora and Starlight found them, at least grateful knowing the rest of the Pillars were far more understanding than Star Swirl.

"All set to face the creature of darkness once more," Flash Magnus said.

"So, you guys knew the Pony of Shadows before, right?" Sora asked.

"We have," Somnambula said. "And he was a dear friend before he let darkness in his heart."

"What happened to him?" Starlight asked.

"Ah. The tale of our rift is a sad one," Rockhoof said. "Stygian was a pony like the rest of us, though more scholar than hero."

"His name was Stygian?" Sora asked.

"Aye, and we were unsure if he truly was the seventh pony we needed during that time," the Mighty Helm stallion said.

"Wait, a seventh?" Rainbow asked curiously.

"M had mentioned there would be somepony else who would aid us, but his clues were always vague and left us little to go on," Flash said. "He said this stallion's name started with an S, and we thought Stygian was the one when he came to us one day, warning us of Sirens causing trouble in the village before his transformation."

"Sirens?...Whose voices cause others to turn on each other with anger and absorb their energy from them while they fought?" Sora asked.

His guess caused the Pillars to gape in surprise. "You've...seen them?" Mistmane asked. "But I thought Star Swirl banished them from our world."

"Well, we found out where they've been for the last millennia, and we fought them," Sora said, letting out a small laugh. "Boy, was that a crazy battle of the bands."

"And you beat them without being affected by their song?" Meadowbrook asked in awe.

"Nope. But Riku and Kairi did while myself and the alternate versions of the girls from that world didn't as well." The Pillars looked at Sora, completely clueless. "Ehh, long story, but we beat them. And we even destroyed the source of their singing power: those red gems they wore around their necks. And now they're behind bars in Canterlot's dungeons for life."

"Incredible," Flash uttered. "Sora, if you've managed to best those aquatic sea demons with your power, I believe you and the other wielders are more than capable of protecting any and all worlds."

"Even though Star Swirl saw our moments using the power of darkness?" Sora questioned. "He made it clear we're not worthy to wield a Keyblade, or even protect the light."

"We do not know your past history in whatever adventures you've had, but I can see you and your friends are still pure," Somnambula assured. "And you, Sora, I can tell you are a pony who is filled with hope, believing in your friends, and your heart is like gold."

Sora grinned at the compliment, giggling bashfully. "Those must be some pretty good eyes, Somnambula."

"So what happened after the Sirens?" Starlight asked.

"Stygian may have been our eyes for danger, but he was just an ordinary unicorn who soon grew jealous of our abilities," Flash Magnus said.

"He stole objects from us," Mistmane added, levitating her enchanted flower to emphasize what Stygian took from them. "These artifacts of ours, which he tried to use a spell on them."

"We searched for him in Ponehenge, where he tried to cast this spell, taking them back and outcasting him," Meadowbrook said.

"We always thought he would one day return and seek forgiveness." Somnambula let out a sigh, shaking her head in disappointment. "But when we saw him again, his heart was bent on revenge, and we saw him transform with darkness as his new power. Stygian dashed even MY hope of saving him."

"Did Stygian ever meet M?" Sora asked.

"No. M refrained from meeting with him, even when Stygian rushed to seek our help," Meadowbrook said.

Sora and Starlight looked at each other, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow silently wondering what brought Stygian to take the Pillars' artifacts. There was also the question as to how he discovered the power of darkness and transformed into the Pony of Shadows. Jealousy of their power and wanting to take it for himself? But if so, why didn't they ask Stygain why he did this in the first place instead of kicking him out and branding him as an outcast?

Starlight seemed to have gathered enough information and turned to leave, only to stop when she remembered Twilight's spell. "Sora, can I talk to you in private?"

"Sure." Sora followed Starlight, the two walking down the hall a bit of a ways before stopping. "What's up?"

"Do you think Stygian can be saved?" Starlight asked. "I just have this gut feeling that inside that stallion of darkness, Stygian might still be in there."

"Me too. And with all seven of them stuck in limbo for a thousand years, time was basically frozen for them," Sora pondered. "If we can purge him from the Pony of Shadows and hear him out, maybe Star Swirl will realize how wrong he was with judging everyone he meets just for one heinous act."

"But if they go with their initial plan of sending him back to limbo, with Twilight's spell, the Pillars can be saved, but..." Starlight winced, tapping her hooves nervously.

She tried to tell him the bad news, but Sora already knew from his hunch when Star Swirl suggested using the Elements of Harmony before. "The Elements of Harmony will be destroyed, right?" he asked. Starlight mumbled something, slowly nodding her head. Sora sighed, holding out his hoof as he summoned each of the Keyblades of Harmony in front of Starlight, pausing in each shifting blade every few seconds. "Which means...I could lose these...and my Harmony Form."

"...Will you still go through with it?" she asked.

"...For Equestria's sake, I'll give them all up," Sora said. He then summoned his Keyblade, holding the weapon in both hooves. "It's not the first time I had to start back over from the ground up to save everyone." He looked at Starlight with an assuring, but sad smile. "But no matter what, my heart will always be strong. Because my friends are my power, even if I lose everything."

Starlight was stunned with silence, still amazed how Sora can still be so optimistic, despite being shot down by someone like Star Swirl, and even knowing that he'll be losing a powerful form with six powerful Keyblades. She managed to crack a small smile and let out a small laugh, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You know, I think I won't ever understand how you can still be this optimistic, and yet it makes less sense than understanding Pinkie Pie," she said.

"Then don't tell Pinkie. She'll take that as a challenge." Sora and Starlight laughed a little, though it didn't last long as they both went silent, knowing that they'll either have to stick with what Star Swirl believes is right and banish the Heartless, or go with their gut to maybe rescue Stygian from his darkness and destroy the Pony of Shadows once and for all.

---

Riku stomped down the halls until he reached the library. He was struggling not to resort back to using the power of darkness just to scare Star Swirl straight, but he's already lost any trust he's had in them, and it would only prove his point he made moments ago that irked him to no end. Pushing the doors opened, he saw Star Swirl, Twilight, and Sunburst continuing their research to perfect Twilight's spell to the Pillar's standards. Star Swirl looked up from his notes, leering at the pegasus.

"What do you need?" Star Swirl questioned.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is my presence a threat to your life?" Riku asked sarcastically. "I live in this castle. With my girlfriend. I can come and go wherever I please. Unless my status as a villain is that bothersome to you."

Twilight winced, putting down her books and quickly ushered Riku out of the room. "Uhh, Riku, can we talk outside?"

"Sure. Let's." Riku glowered at the wizard, making Twilight desperate to take him outside.

She looked back to give her idol a nervous smile, quickly closing the door and turned to scold Riku, only to wince when he gave her the disgruntled, and highly disappointed look. "W-Why are you acting like this?"

"ME!? You have got to be kidding me, Twilight!" Riku exclaimed. "Did you completely forget what you heard him just say in the throne room earlier!? 'Once a villain, always a villain. Darkness bad, and you used darkness, so that automatically makes you bad. Blah, blah, blah, listen to me! I'm a genius, yet I've never even touched a Keyblade in my life!'" he mocked, using his wings as a makeshift beard to pretend to look and sound like Star Swirl in an insulting fashion. "He can't trust any of us because of one little mistake we regret doing I stupidly listened to a witch more than my best friend, because I was a stupid teenager who was lost and didn't know what to do!"

"H-He...probably didn't mean that," Twilight stammered, trying to defend her idol.

That was a big mistake. "...Really, Twilight? Really???" Riku questioned, hurt and more frustrated by her response. "So, you're telling me that old goat, who you practically worship the ground his hooves touch, is more important to you than me, your boyfriend who's been supportive of you, helped train you with a Keyblade, and is willing to do everything to make you happy?"

"No! That's not true!" Twilight reasoned.

"You were way too excited to bring him back, and you have a Nightmare Night costume of him you still keep in your closet!" Riku argued. "You say he's a great wizard, but the last spell in his personal spellbook Celestia gave you, which changed the girls' destinies around, you finished it and fixed the problem it caused, which gave you your wings and turned you into an alicorn! He's clearly not that bright if all he thinks about dealing with villains is by banishing them! I mean, you never even batted an eye after that claim he made!"

"B-But I...I was...mortified when he said that," Twilight uttered weakly.

"You sure didn't seem like it when you were all sparkly eyed and smiling when he finally noticed you!" Riku mimicked Twilight's joyous expression earlier, batting his eyes with the dumbest grin he could make before reverting back to scowling. Twilight whimpered, trying to come up with an excuse, but Riku continued with his tirade. "How do you think Luna will feel if we tell her that her old mentor thinks once someone's a villain, they stay that way without being redeemed? Or maybe if we tell him one of his two prized students turned into a Heartless because she suffered from loneliness and misery, and no one was there to help her? You think he's going to deny Luna was bad and keep blaming us, or is he going to stick with his mantra, disown Luna as his student, and risk having history repeat itself because he has the social skills of a tapeworm!?"

"N-No," the alicorn mumbled.

"'No' what, Twilight? That's not an answer I'm looking for." Twilight's eyes began to tear up, torn between her friends and her role model. Riku just sighed heavily, disappointed in her. "Make a choice, Twilight. It's either me or Star Swirl. Follow your heart or follow that stubborn unicorn who'll only cause more trouble because of his prejudice toward reformed villains."

"I think it's obvious who she'll trust." Riku snapped his head in the direction of the library's doorway, Star Swirl keeping his stern glare on the pegasus Keyblade wielder. "We can hear your shouting from outside, and it has become a distraction, Riku."

"This is a private conversation! Butt out!" Riku growled.

"Clearly it's not if you are slandering my name," Star Swirl argued. "I once trusted a young pony named Stygian, who is now the Pony of Shadows. He turned to darkness in his envy toward us, desiring a power he could not wield, and resorted to becoming a Heartless. Once you go down that path, you can never come back."

"Well, I did!" Riku countered. "Terra did, too! We both made one mistake in trusting someone who manipulated us when we were lost, and that haunts us for life! I almost killed my best friend because of my jealousy, and I should have trusted him more than anyone else I never even met!"

"And yet you still chose the path of darkness in the end." Riku had enough, summoning his Keyblade and glowered at the wizard, poised in his battle stance. "Now you're resorting to attacking me because you and your friends deny your faults, and continue serving the light when you don't deserve to have those Keyblades!"

"You have no idea what any of us went through, and I'm just about done hearing you badmouthing us when you know NOTHING about us!" Riku yelled and lunged forward.

Star Swirl prepared to teleport himself away, but Twilight jumped in front of him again, her own Keyblade out as she blocked her coltfriend's swing. Before Riku questioned what she was doing, the chain hanging from her weapon began glowing, the orange apple shimmering and enhancing her strength. She pushed back hard, harder than she meant to, sending Riku slamming into the wall with a painful smack on his side, followed by a loud grunt as he fell on his stomach. Twilight gasped, covering her mouth with her hooves in shock at what she did.

"Oh no...I-I didn't-" Riku hissed in pain as his back not only hurt, but he could barely move one of his wings, badly sprained from the impact. Twilight rushed over to help him, tears rolling down her face. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

As she helped him stand up, Riku smacked her hooves off of him, grimacing in pain. He cast Cure on himself to numb the pain, ignoring the apologetic, tearful expression on Twilight's face.

"...I get it," Riku muttered. "Why should I even bother at this rate? I see where your priorities with others lie now. I'm just another villain, right?" Twilight shook her head, her body shaking while holding back her sobs. "I should be lucky that 'villains' like me, Terra, Luna, even Starlight weren't around your idol. You would have banished us as well."

"Luna is one of my students in case you've forgotten, corrupted wielder," Star Swirl bitterly stated. "She is no villain."

"Look up 'Nightmare Moon' in the library. Do some research, then come back to me when you get the shock of a lifetime. Or better yet, 'research' our lives more before claiming us as delinquents or villains." Riku turned away and walked off. Twilight tried to apologize, but he pushed her away with his wing. "Don't talk to me. You made your choice, Twilight."

Twilight's heart broke, feeling just as hurt during Shining and Cadence's wedding when she saw through Chrysalis's ploy: her brother uninvites her, her friends don't believe her, and Celestia was greatly disappointed in her. Riku didn't believe she still trusts him or the others anymore, she fought back against him to protect her idol, and refused to hear her apologize, believing his words as a terrible sign of them breaking up. She broke down and cried, mumbling apologies in her hooves. Star Swirl didn't even try to comfort her, only letting out a scoff and returned to his research, which only made her decisions all the more conflicted and leading to poor results either way.

Starlight and Sora made their way to the library to ask Star Swirl about Stygian, but when they saw Twilight crying her eyes out, they quickly rushed over to her. "Twilight, what's wrong?" Starlight asked. Twilight looked at them and immediately clung onto Starlight, crying harder into her shoulder. While patting the alicorn's back to try to console her, Spike poked his head out of the door and walked out. "Spike, what happened just now?"

"I think Twilight and Riku had a fight," the baby dragon said, feeling sorry for her surrogate sister. "Riku was...pretty mad at her for not siding with you guys. And...I think Star Swirl made it worse."

"Of course he would," Sora grumbled.

"You want to try to talk to him?" Starlight asked.

"Yeah. And if he doesn't, I'll have to beat it out of him." Sora ran off in search for Riku while Starlight and Spike tried to calm Twilight down. He didn't have to look too far, going down a few halls until he spotted his friend walking away, head hanging low and shoulders slumped. "Riku!"

Riku stopped moving, barely turning his head to glance at him. "Leave me alone, Sora," he growled. "I'm not in the mood."

"What did you say to Twilight?" Sora questioned. Riku continued walking away, ignoring him. Sora ran up to him, quickly turning the stallion around. "Hey, what did you do!?"

"I said back off!" Riku threw a punch at Sora.

Sora ducked, avoiding the enraged pegasus' punches. He managed to grab one of Riku's hooves, gave him a swift kick in the stomach, then flipped him over while the wind was knocked out of him. Sora didn't give his friend a chance to recover, keeping his leg in his grasp and rolled him on his stomach, pinning him and painfully forcing his limb back to get him to stop.

"Riku, stop! Twilight's crying, and Spike told me you two were fighting!" Sora exclaimed. "I know you're mad, but don't take it out on her!"

"She's taking Star Swirl's side!" Riku shouted. "She didn't even try to defend us when he refused to trust us after seeing just one mistake we made in our lives! I didn't need to be reminded what I did!"

"That's no excuse to just yell at your girlfriend like that!" Sora scolded, pulling Riku's leg back harder, making the stallion wince. "All of us are ticked off at Star Swirl, but if he thinks we're not worthy of being Keyblade wielders, that's his opinion! He can't do anything to take away our Keyblades, so we just have to suck it up and let him fall flat on his face when he realizes not everyone's permanently evil and deserves a chance to redeem themselves!"

"He won't listen to any of us! Not even Master Yen Sid!" Riku said. "Star Swirl's NOT a Keyblade wielder! He can't dictate who's good or evil that simply!"

"We know, but he's going to learn the hard way!" Sora felt Riku slowly cease his struggling, tears rolling down his friend's face, though it didn't come from the painful foreleg lock. He let go of Riku's leg and got off him. "Twilight's not turning against us. You know that. You're more upset at Star Swirl than her, and you hurt her feelings because of it. She's just excited to meet a legendary pony whose footsteps she tried to follow, and tried getting back to his good graces after he got upset that his spell's seal was broken by her. She knows what's right and wrong, but she's too afraid to get let down by someone who's a genius, but no one's truly perfect. Not even Star Swirl."

Riku slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes, though was still bitter about what happened. "He didn't give us a chance," Riku complained.

"Then we'll force him to see we're still with the light, even if we use darkness," Sora said, then grabbed Riku's shoulders and lightly shook him. "So get a grip, or the next time you throw a punch at me, I'll give it back tenfold."

Riku lowered his head, part of him regretting yelling at Twilight like that as his ire toward Star Swirl made him overreact. "...Fine," he mumbled.

"Now, go and apologize to Twilight and make up with her," Sora demanded.

"Everyone get ready to head to Hollow Shades," Aqua said through their communicators. "We're gathering the Elements of Harmony for the girls...per Star Swirl's orders."

Sora huffed, but still gave Riku a stern glare, reminding him that he needs to apologize to Twilight for his behavior. "You'd better tell her if something goes wrong," he said, then turned and headed on his way to meet up with everyone.

"...Sora," Riku called out. Sora turned to look at him as the white stallion sighed. "...If...I ever went back to being the old me when our journey started...would you still consider me a friend?"

"Yes, and I'd help you find your way back to the light, just like last time," Sora answered, no hesitation and with dead seriousness. "Twilight would do the same thing. If you thought she lost faith in you, I think you actually lost your own faith with yourself."

Riku flinched at his best friend's words, watching him continue on while he was left to stew in more of his own mistakes. Reluctantly standing up, he slowly made his way through the hall, the pain in his foreleg making him wince with each step. He wasn't sure if Twilight would accept his apology after verbally attacking her like that, or even turning her away when she tried apologizing to him.

---

Once everyone was gathered, the powerful unicorns prepared to transport them all except Spike to Hollow Shades, the baby dragon staying behind if Heartless will show up with the Pony of Shadows. The Mane Six made sure their Elements were securely worn. Since the mares and Pillars each had a connection to those Elements, Star Swirl suggested the two groups join in pairs to increase the spell's power. With a combined flash of light, the unicorns/alicorns teleported them all to the outer limits of Hollow Shades, but when they arrived, the area was covered in dark clouds, not a sign of life anywhere as the land seemed desolate.

"Whoa...Kinda creepy," Lea commented. "Did the plague hit this place or something?"

"I don't think so," Sunburst said. "At least, not in anything I've read about Hollow Shades."

"The Pony of Shadows must have twisted it to his purposes," Mistmane guessed as they all looked at the crumbled ruins of what used to be homes, bleak cobblestone walkways, and drooping, dead flora that seemed to have their lives siphoned away.

"I just hope no one really lived here if the Pony of Shadows is hiding here," Kairi uttered. "Who knows how many ponies could have had their hearts taken..."

The group carefully made their way into the town proper, Yen Sid silently signalling his apprentices to split up in case there were Heartless lying in wait. Riku glanced over at Twilight before he split up from the others, the alicorn looking at him for a moment before turning away in sadness. Sighing, Riku flew off with his guilt weighing down his heart. The Equestrians stayed in the center of town, circling what was probably a large well, Yen Sid, Donald, and Goofy keeping close to them for a much closer ambush.

Suddenly, they heard the Pony of Shadows' sinister laughter echoing around them, everyone staying alert as they looked around for his presence. "He's here," Star Swirl said. "Stygian! Show yourself and face us!"

The laughter rang louder and harder. "He could be anywhere. Stay alert!" Yen Sid advised.

The ground beneath the ponies, diamond dog, and griffon began to shake, making them stagger in surprise as the earth started shifting and cracking. Before they could even get away, the ground broke away, causing the group to fall down the massive hole.

"Oh no!" Sora cried out as he and the other wielders ran over to the edge of the large hole. Down below wasn't just a simple pit meant to store water for the well; there was a hidden crypt of sorts, columns supporting the underground chasm, and on one of the walls was a stone carving that looked just like the Pony of Shadows. "Guys, are you ok!?"

"I've had...worse falls," Rainbow groaned, the fallen ponies clambering out of the pile they collapsed in.

"What's down there!?" Ventus called out.

"It appears to be...some sort of underground crypt," Sunburst said, eyeing the illustration that stood out in the room. "And I definitely would have remembered reading about this."

They heard the Pony of Shadows laugh again. While the Keyblade wielders above were distracted, several dark tendrils shot up from the ground, surprising them as they were swiftly smacked by them, slamming into each other and fell down into the hole. They managed to recover, quickly flapping, dashing, or teleporting away, avoiding falling on top of their friends/allies.

"Gah! Cheap shot!" Lea exclaimed. "Where's this Shadow Pony guy!? I'm gonna roast him on an open fire!" The Pony of Shadows made his appearance, dark mist flowing in the crypt and began to circle the heroes, his eyes glowing in the shadows as he stepped out and revealed himself. Lea's jaw dropped, his bravado receding as he laughed nervously. "Uhh, did I say roast him on an open fire? I meant...take him to a nice barbecue."

"Welcome to the Well of Shade!" the Heartless greeted. As he approached, Star Swirl and Yen Sid cast a barrier around everyone, the Keyblade wielders summoning their Keyblades and Donald and Goofy calling their weapons, prepared to attack when the Pony of Shadows did. "When you turned your backs on me, I discovered this place. The darkness spoke to me of a power beyond any I could imagine, and I listened."

"You heard the darkness speak?" Terra questioned.

"Yes, and the shadow and I became one," the Heartless gloated, circling the barrier as everyone kept a wary gaze on him. "Soon, all of the realm will be the same. Then ALL ponies will feel the despair I did when you cast me out!"

"We did what we had to do!" Star Swirl exclaimed. "You tried to steal our powers for yourself!"

"NO! It was YOU who were selfish!" In the mist, several glowing eyes began to appear. Everyone gasped as Pony Shadows crawled out, their limbs and heads twitching as they began to approach the two elder wizards' barrier. "And now you will pay!"

The Pony of Shadows roared, unleashing a beam of darkness on the barrier of light. The attack was much more powerful than last time, the Heartless already regaining his power, nearly making the two unicorn stallions buckle. The Pony Shadows attacked as its master did, charging together to cause the shield to crack with each slam.

"This is bad," Starlight uttered. "This has to be a friendship problem if the map called them..."

Another powerful beam, causing Star Swirl and Yen Sid to grunt, struggling to renew the barrier. "This is not good! I don't think I'll be able to cast the spell with these Heartless helping the Pony of Shadows drain our magic!"

"Wielders, handle the Heartless!" Yen Sid ordered. "Donald, Goofy, cover us from the inside!"

"RIGHT!" the warriors cried out.

Donald and Goofy were ready to defend while the others lunged out to fight off the Heartless: Sora, Riku, and Ventus swiftly slashing their way through the seemingly endless horde, Mickey, Kairi, Aqua, and Lea blasting groups away with magic, and Terra power slicing through clumped up groups while toughing out any who slip by and scratch at him. Twilight stayed in the barrier, her Keyblade out, unsure if she should stay to help cast her spell with Star Swirl or help the other wielders. She was afraid she'll make a mistake choosing one side over another again, but remaining neutral in such a dire situation is even more perilous if they need her.

While the Pony of Shadows struck the barrier, he also unleashed more of his tendrils, trying to swat away the Keyblade wielders while they were distracted with the weaker Heartless. "Oh, I don't think so!" Lea let out a roar, summoning his chakrams, making them spin and spark with fire, unleashing a wave of fire that burned away the tendrils, making the Pony of Shadows yell in pain, and eradicating the Pony Shadows around him within a few yards. "Ha ha! Burn, baby, burn!"

Terra slammed his Keyblade down, creating an earthquake as spires of earth shot up, sending Heartless launching in the air. They were quickly taken out by Sora, Riku, and Ventus, dashing through the air while slicing them to dust, mixing around magic spells to take care of other groups surrounding the earth pony. Aqua and Mickey worked together with their magic and agile fighting styles, freezing, shocking, burning, or blowing away Heartless with their most powerful spells. Kairi used the full power of her light to destroy the Heartless, making the Pony of Shadows hiss as he flinched from the blinding light and worse burning pain than Lea's fire attacks.

"There's so many of them, and they're still coming!" Flash said.

"No wonder M told us not to go anywhere near them; their numbers seem endless!" Meadowbrook exclaimed.

"If only we could help! I feel so useless if we cannae help them fend them off!" Rockhoof added in frustration.

"We need to seal him just like M had before!" Star Swirl grunted, wincing from another blast from the Pony of Shadows.

Aqua overheard Star Swirl, glancing at her Keyblade for a moment. "That's it! Guys, group up!" she called out. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Terra, Ventus, Mickey, and Lea quickly rushed over to Aqua, fighting their way through Pony Shadows in their way to regroup with her. She and Kairi formed a barrier around them once they were all gathered, giving them a slight reprieve from the Heartless stallion's minions, though the tendrils began smacking into it to bust them out. "These Heartless seem to be coming from this mist the Pony of Shadows is releasing. I bet it'll fade away if we seal his power with our Keyblades."

"Uhh, I'm kinda out of the loop on that," Lea commented. "I may got a few things memorized, but not this sealing ability I was unaware of."

"Then you worry about distracting," Aqua said to Lea. "We'll split up and tie him down."

"Got it," Sora said, but Aqua quickly stopped him before he began executing her plan.

"No, Sora, you're going to have to help the others," the unicorn mare said. "You're a part of the Elements of Harmony, too. They may need your power as well."

"But what about the Keyblades of Harmony?" Ventus asked. "Didn't they say the Elements would be destroyed if we try to use them to banish the Pony of Shadows?"

"And so will the Keyblades of Harmony," Terra added.

"It can't be helped if some sacrifices need to be made," Mickey said. "I don't agree with Star Swirl, but if this keeps up, not only will Equestria be devoured by darkness, but the Pony of Shadows could find ways to reach other worlds and do the same to them."

They all looked at Sora, wondering if he was ok with the outcome. "...I'm willing to take the risk, guys. Don't worry about me," Sora reassured.

Aqua and Kairi winced, feeling the tendrils slamming themselves harder into their barrier. "It's now or never. Break away now!"

The two dropped their shield, everyone splitting up as they avoided getting crushed by the dark tendrils. Lea ran ahead, taking his role as the distraction by throwing his chakrams at the Pony of Shadows. The Heartless growled in annoyance, unleashing a much more powerful beam to destroy one of the two other Keyblade wielders he didn't know existed as well. Unfortunately, Lea was bounding around in front of the others, the beam missing him and struck the wizards' barrier. The impact caused their shield to finally break, stunning Star Swirl and Yen Sid, leaving the Pillars and Twilight's friends defenseless.

"Uh oh. I don't think THAT was supposed to be part of the plan!" Lea said, giving the old wizards and apologetic grin.

"You oaf! Now we've got a migraine from the backlash!" Star Swirl exclaimed.

"I'm used to his antics," Yen Sid groaned while rubbing his head.

"I'm fed up with you hiding behind allies with these weapons! I will destroy you and get my revenge!" Star Swirl squinted toward the Pony of Shadows, letting out a gasp when he saw the Heartless rear back, his horn billowing a much more dangerous aura of darkness.

Donald and Goofy were busy keeping the Pony Shadows at bay, trying their best to protect the others, Twilight offering her help as well with her spells and smacking the Heartless away from her friends. As the Keyblade wielders tried to move closer, Sora rushing over to save Sunburst and Starlight from a small group, Riku glanced over at them, time seeming to slow down as the Pony of Shadows unleashed a large beam of darkness. His shot was aimed straight toward Star Swirl, but the unicorn fought through the magical backlash, teleporting out of harm's way. Riku's eyes widened in horror, the Heartless's trajectory missing where Star Swirl stood, and it was now heading toward Twilight. Skidding to a halt, Riku changed his course from the Pony of Shadows to Twilight, the alicorn letting out a gasp when she began noticing the beam too late and flinched.

"NOOO!" Riku shouted, diving in front of Twilight, taking the hit for her as it struck his side.

The attack blew up as it made contact, Riku's cry of pain echoing in the crypt as he was sent flying across the other side of the room. He let out a strangled grunt as he smacked into the wall, bouncing off it painfully and tumbled across the ground like a rag doll before sliding to a stop. His Keyblade was flung out of his grip, embedding itself into one of the columns before it disappeared in a flash of light. Twilight gasped when she heard Riku cry out in pain, mortified as tears streamed down her face. He saved her, even after their fight, and now he laid unconscious, gravely injured.

"RIKU!!!!!!!" Twilight cried out in anguish.

Everyone looked back in shock, hearing the Pony of Shadows cackle as he managed to defeat one of the Keyblade wielders when Riku sacrificed himself to save Twilight. "Seal him! NOW!!!!!!" Aqua yelled out, concerned about Riku, but they had to stop the Pony of Shadows before he hurt anyone else.

Aqua, Terra, Ventus, Mickey, and Kairi managed to surround the Pony of Shadows. Their Keyblades shined, and in perfect sync, they swung their blades and unleashed chains of light, each one spiraling around the Heartless and binding him down.

"What!? No! Not again!" he roared, forcibly lying down as the wielders tugged their Keyblades hard. The mist began to fade away, no more Pony Shadows crawling out as Sora, Lea, Donald, and Goofy destroyed the last of them. "You...will not...contain me again!"

"Riku! No!" Twilight ran toward Riku, only for Star Swirl to drag her back to him with his magic.

"Forget about him!" he shouted. "We need to seal the Pony of Shadows now!"

"My coltfriend is hurt! He could be dead!" Twilight screeched angrily, finally fed up with her idol's top priorities and his poor standards in what a hero was.

"That stallion is not worth it! We need to use the Elements now while they keep him held down!" the unicorn wizard argued.

"Then do it yourself!" Twilight took off her Element and threw it in Star Swirl's face, startling him. "I can't believe I ever wanted to be like you if you never cared about anypony else and only judge others without giving them the chance!"

It hurt her to say she was no longer interested in becoming like her favorite legend, but Riku's life was far more important. The others looked at Star Swirl with disgust, even his fellow Pillars were aghast with his lack of concern. Yen Sid leered at the Equestrian wizard in disappointment, but Star Swirl ignored the looks, picking up the Element of Magic.

"I have no time for this emotion drivel. Combine your Elements now!" Star Swirl commanded. "I'll have to make due with the Element of Magic on my own."

"As you deserve to, Star Swirl," Yen Sid scolded. "Riku just made a noble sacrifice, and you still lack any sympathy for Twilight. It's no wonder that spell of yours that Twilight finished for you was incomplete; you're just as Heartless as a creature of darkness."

"Are you going to keep berating me?" Star Swirl growled. "Or are you going to help, as you promised!?" Yen Sid said nothing, turning away and made his way over to Twilight to help Riku. "Fine! So much for being a retired protector of the realm of light!" Star Swirl turned to the Pillars and the mares they were partnered with. "Activate the Elements now!"

They all glared at him, but they did as they were ordered; not for Star Swirl, but for the fate of Equestria. The pairs joined together, the rest of the Mane Six tapping into the Elements while the Pillars held aloft their artifacts. Star Swirl used his magic on the Element of Magic to get it to work, growling in frustration as the five pairs behind him began floating and emitting a powerful light. Kairi, Mickey, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus struggled to contain the Pony of Shadows under their chains, the Heartless shifting around as he tried to break free. Sora saw this wasn't going to work; Star Swirl may be a great wizard, but he's not the Bearer of Magic.

He approached the wizard and stood beside him, replacing his Keyblade with the Keyblade of Magic. "I'll take over for Twilight," Sora said, shocking the wizard out of his concentration.

"You are not one of-" Star Swirl's argument faltered when he saw the starry Keyblade, sensing a power similar to the jewel in Twilight's crown. "...W-What is-?"

"A Keyblade of Harmony," Sora answered, aiming his blade at the Pony of Shadows. "I earned six of them, all of them bearing the same power the Elements have. And I can use all six of them in my Harmony Form, which you could have seen if you bothered to see more than just one of my many forms." Without looking at the perplexed unicorn, Sora held his free hoof out to him. "Let's just get this over with so you can feel accomplished."

Star Swirl glowered at Sora, but was willing to take anything they could. Dropping the Element of Magic, he grabbed Sora's hoof, lighting up his horn while the wielder's blade began charging a lavender-colored light at the end. All the Elements combined together at a point before them, unleashing a rainbow beam that went straight to the Pony of Shadows' chest. The Heartless roared out in agony as the light continued running through his body.

"Finally, somepony who's willing to make up for his mistakes," Star Swirl huffed, but Sora yanked his hoof away in disgust.

"If my best friend dies because you don't care, you'll see just what I can do with my Anti-Form now that I can control it," the pegasus growled.

"Is that a threat, foal!?" Star Swirl exclaimed. The two stared each other down, but the wizard huffed even louder, focusing back on the Pony of Shadows. "After this creature gets sucked into limbo, I'll be dealing with you next, Sora."

Sora rolled his eyes, wanting to see him try. As Star Swirl lit up his horn to use the new banishment spell Twilight came up with, when Sora looked back at the Pony of Shadows, he blinked, thinking he saw something moving in the Heartless's chest, just above the rainbow beam still pouring into him. Letting out a surprised gasp, from the Heartless's chest was what looked like a pony's head, struggling to break free. A gray face with two shades of cerulean for his mane, a similar color scheme from the same pony in the illustrations of Star Swirl's destroyed journal that turned into the Pony of Shadows: Stygian.

"...Is that...?" Sora uttered, watching Stygian sink back in the Pony of Shadows' body. "I knew he was still in there."

Star Swirl stored enough mana to perform his spell, but when Sora suddenly rushed forward, heading straight for the Pony of Shadows, he balked in shock. "Wait! What are you doing!?"

Sora ignored him, jumping toward the Heartless everyone exclaimed in shock, watching him dive into the stallion of darkness' chest after Stygian.

---

Sora peered through the darkness, pressing forward as he searched for Stygian. Up ahead, he saw a blue sigil letting off an eerie light, on the floor, something he found similar when he faced Ansem at the End of the World. In the center of the light was Stygian, his back turned, looking hopeless.

"Stygian?" Sora called out.

The stallion responded, turning his head to look at the Keyblade wielder. "Yes...Although, it was my name...Before I was betrayed."

Unbeknownst to Sora, everyone outside the Pony of Shadows was able to hear them talk, even as the Heartless continued struggling to break free from his friends' hold with their chains of light. "Betrayed you? But...from what I was told, they said you were the one who betrayed them."

Shocked, Stygian stood around and faced Sora. "No! I wanted their respect!" Stygian explained. "I came to Star Swirl when our village was under attack, and they welcomed me as a valuable ally in their endeavors. I planned strategies and read all I could on the beasts we faced. But I didn't have magic or strength, so nopony ever noticed me." Stygian sadly turned away, the feeling of neglect from who he once called his friends making Sora feel sympathy for him. "I went to Ponehenge to make copies of the artifacts. With them, I thought I could be a Pillar, too, and stand by their side in battle."

Outside, Star Swirl stared dumbfounded as he heard Stygian's reasoning for taking their artifacts away. The Pillars were horrified at what they had done, never giving the troubled stallion a chance to explain, which resulted in him seeking the power he attained in order to help them, and it backfired when it was the wrong source to choose from. Yen Sid stood beside Star Swirl, giving him a sideways leer as the Pony of Shadows' birth came from his misjudgement all those years ago.

"So they thought you were trying to steal their power...and you resorted to seeking out the power of darkness?" Sora questioned. "Didn't you realize how dangerous it was?"

"At first, I did," Stygian said, then slowly turned around and began to glare at Sora, his blue eyes turning white as he slowly approached the pegasus, his voice slowly changing as a dark aura swirled around his body, even shaping his unicorn horn to the dark, twisted form of the Pony of Shadows. "The darkness welcomed me when no pony could, and I am willing to do what I must to protect it!"

Sora began backing away, but he didn't flee, determined to help this pony who lost his way. "Stygian, this was all a misunderstanding," Sora tried to reason. "No one's perfect, and neither is Star Swirl. My friends and I are Keyblade wielders, and we've had our ups and downs in our journeys. But when he saw what we had done, he only focused on the bad in his old fashioned mindset. If the Pillars heard you now and understood how you really felt, they would have never turned their backs on you." Stygian's harsh leer lessened at Sora's words, but the darkness still surrounded him. "I can tell you're innocent, and you were judged harshly when you weren't able to explain. I know this isn't who you want to be. Let us help you break free from the darkness and back to the light."

"Even if they still care, what makes you think you have the power to help me?" Stygian questioned.

"Because he can." Sora's ears twitched, quickly turning around to see Starlight had entered the Pony of Shadows' body, her horn glowing to light up the dimly lit area.

"Starlight!?" Sora exclaimed.

"I know it's dangerous, but I want to help, too," Starlight argued. Sora frowned, but if she can vouch for him, then maybe Stygian will believe him. "I'm not so different from you, and Sora's one of the two ponies who helped me change. He always gives everypony he meets another chance, heroes or villains, and he'll remain stubborn until he understands your motivations and bring you back to the light. He's made friends across many different worlds, and he's willing to do everything he can to protect them."

Stygian's eyes went back to normal, though his horn and the aura remained. He stared at Sora as the stallion nodded his head, then held his hoof out to him with a confident grin.

"...I...I want to believe you..." Sora began to feel disappointed, but pulled his hoof away when Stygian began to growl, his eyes clenched shut before opening back up and turning yellow again. "But the darkness will not be stopped!"

The darkness around Stygian pulsed as he let out a roar, sending Sora and Starlight flying back from the shockwave. Starlight was sent flying out of the Pony of Shadows, dimming the core of the Heartless again, but Sora summoned his Keyblade and struck it into the ground, slowing him down to a stop. When he looked back at Stygian, the unicorn now had similar dark wings as his Heartless self had outside. Pulling his blade out, Sora grasped his Keyblade tightly and crouched in his stance.

"You might not think so, but I can stop it," Sora promised. "I'm getting you out of here, Stygian! Count on it!"

Stygian growled, then roared as he dashed straight toward Sora, an aura of darkness billowing around him in a cone like a ramming drill. Sora rolled out of the way, dodging the possessed unicorn as he warped around and tried to ram him. Stygian disappeared after the last dash he made, then reappeared behind Sora, unleashing a wave of dark feathers with a flap of his wings. Sora quickly turned around and slashed through the swift projectiles, then blocked Stygian's horn as he charged him again, dark sparks shooting from the unicorn's dark appendage as he tried to break through Sora's guard.

As Sora pushed Stygian back, he noticed something odd with the aura surrounding him. Though some of it was visible around Stygian's body and made up his horn and wings, it felt like there was another presence around them. Then it began to show itself behind Stygian: a pony face with pure yellow eyes that glowed faintly in the dim light, sharp fangs grinning menacingly, and a similar horn and wings that were attached ethereally to the unicorn. Sora gasped, finding this scenario incredibly familiar; it was like his battle against Ansem, where he fought alongside a Heartless that acted as a shield and a weapon for him, only this pony seemed to be the possessor and was controlling Stygian.

Suddenly, the figure disappeared, then reappeared behind Sora, bucking him hard in the back into Stygian, who then blasted him with magic at point blank range. Sora tumbled back, but quickly landed on his hooves, letting out a grunt from the cheap shot.

You who holds the bane of our existence, you and your allies shall perish. Sora growled, hearing the true Pony of Shadows hissing voice echo from within the main body.

"Over my dead body!" Sora exclaimed. "Get out of Stygian, or I'll have to make you!"

You are a fool. DESTROY HIM!!!! Stygian let out a roar of anguish, his wings flaring out and the ethereal feathers shooting out into the ground.

Several tendrils shot up around Sora, flailing around and trying to grab or smack him. Sora dove away, avoiding the tendrils popping up to trip him up while trying to get back to Stygian. The Pony of Shadows sank into the ground, following after Sora, and right as he lunged away from a tendril, the Heartless shot up and headbutted Sora's side. Not giving the Keyblade wielder a chance to recover, the Pony of Shadows phased into Sora, cursing him as he appeared behind, trapping the pegasus in the vice-like grip of his wings.

"Let...go of me!" Sora shouted, struggling to move, but the Heartless was just as strong as Ansem's Guardian was, keeping him held in place. He heard Stygian growl, his horn growing longer as he stomped his hooves, preparing to charge. "Stygian, you gotta fight back! Part of you is still in there! You still want to seek friendship! It's not too late for a second chance!"

Stygian grunted, shaking his head, but the Pony of Shadows hissed, controlling the unicorn and made him charge forward against his will. Sora growled, needing to up the ante and get rid of the true Heartless once and for all. Right as Stygian was about to impale Sora, he unleashed his Harmony Form, the shockwave knocking Stygian back while making the Pony of Shadows shriek from the light. It let go of the pegasus, retreating back into the unicorn and leered at the bright rainbow lights radiating from Sora's clothing. The Keyblades of Harmony appeared behind Sora as he raised his hoof up, followed by the Ultima Keyblade.

BAD LIGHT!!!!!!!!!!! the heartless screamed.

---

While Starlight recovered after getting ejected out of the Pony of Shadows, the Heartless shrieked and thrashed about wildly. Kairi, Aqua, Terra, Ventus, and Mickey yelped, nearly getting shaken around as they held onto their Keyblades for dear life to keep the Heartless contained.

"What is happening in there!?" Star Swirl questioned Starlight.

"Sora's trying to save Stygian!" Starlight said. "He isn't gone just yet! And now we know why he turned into this; because you refused to give him a chance and turned your backs on him when all he wanted to do was help and be a Pillar like you!"

"B-But he...Stygian stole-" Star Swirl stammered, still in shock.

He was the one who helped spark the Pony of Shadows' creation, and caused the pony who had helped him and his allies without M's help to saving their land from monsters invading their home. And because he had misjudged Stygian's intentions, that spiraled his mentality of discerning good and evil into learning nothing about their causes for what led them down the wrong path. He knew nothing about the wielders of today, and refused to look into them more, which understandably made them angry toward him, and their superior disgusted by blaming his pupils when he never fully saw the truth. Glancing behind him, Twilight still hovered over Riku, holding him and trying to wake him up while Yen Sid used his magic to heal the unconscious stallion's injuries, all while watching them as they overheard everything from within the Pony of Shadows.

"Star Swirl, we made a grave mistake," Somnambula said, forcing the wizard to look up at the Pillar of Hope. "I just knew Stygian wouldn't resort to turning to darkness without a cause when he took our artifacts."

"He just wanted to be like us and help save the day!" Flash added. "He may not have been the pony M mentioned after we cast him out, but we probably never gave him the same gratification for his hard work while we did our part in combat!"

"Aye! We leave no friends behind!" Rockhoof agreed. "If Stygian is still in that monster, we have to get him out and make amends!"

"Guys! Can you hear me!?" Everyone quickly looked at the Pony of Shadows, hearing Sora's voice coming from inside him.

"S-Sora?" Kairi called out.

"Don't banish the Pony of Shadows, or kill him! We can still save Stygian, but we're going to have to purge the darkness from within him AND out!" Sora said, along with grunts and the sound of blades clashing with something. "Twilight, I know you're upset, but we need you! With all six Pillars, both Keyblades and Elements of Harmony, and Kairi's light, we can free Stygian from this Heartless!"

"B-But...I-I can't-" Twilight nuzzled Riku, afraid to leave his side.

"Go, Twilight. They need the Element of Magic," Yen Sid said. "I'll look after Riku."

Twilight was reluctant to leave, but she wanted to help Sora rescue Stygian. She gave Riku one last nuzzle before gently laying him down, heading back to join her friends. She stood beside Star Swirl, placing her crown back on her head while avoiding eye contact with her idol, still upset with him for his lack of concern for the well-being of anypony else. He looked over at her, this time the one feeling ashamed.

"Whatever you want to say, Star Swirl, don't bother," Twilight muttered. "I always looked up to you, read every single spell you've ever written, and even learned everything I could about you as a hero. Without that unfinished spell, I would have never become an alicorn. You can hate me, or even my friends, but that only shows how horrible you are to others when you refuse to learn more about them, who they are, or why they do the things they did. So, if you want to argue about sending Stygian into limbo again, and destroy the Elements in the process, then go ahead. Because I don't care about what you have to say anymore."

"...I do not want to banish Stygian," Star Swirl said. Twilight glanced over at him, the wizard's head lowered with a look of sadness. He lifted his head back up, then gave the alicorn a serious, but determined gaze. "I want to save him, and destroy this Heartless once and for all." Twilight was a little surprised hearing this come from Star Swirl now, but his mistake had opened his eyes, realizing how selfish and short-sided he was toward trusting his allies. He held his hoof out to the alicorn, his eyes softening in apology. "Let us save our friend. Together."

Twilight nodded, taking her idol's hoof, and activated their Element. They joined the other five pairs as they combined their magic, powering the rainbow beam still piercing through the Pony of Shadows, which made him roar and squirm in his bindings. Kairi didn't want to leave the others to keep the Heartless bound, already getting exhausted from tying down the equivalent of a group of angry elephants.

"Kairi, use your power!" Terra said. "We can...hold him down!"

"Are you sure!?" Kairi asked.

"Hey, mind if I tag you out?" Lea asked. "I know this is the first time I'm doing this, but it doesn't look that hard. How do I...shoot magic chains from my Keyblade?"

"Just focus on sealing it, and keep a firm grip on your Keyblade," Kairi instructed.

"...Ok. Easier said than done." Lea twirled his Keyblade around, then took aim and focused as he was instructed to. He noticed light coming from the end of the fiery blade, then suddenly shoot out a chain around the section of the Pony of Shadows Kairi held down. "Whoa! Hey, this is awesome! Why don't we do this kind of stuff more of-TEN!?" Lea suddenly lurched forward as the Heartless struggled again, but he regained his balance and pulled his Keyblade back. "Ok, now I see what you mean!"

"Just keep him held down!" Kairi said, snapping her chains away, then flew over to the two generations of bearers, hovering beside them as she focused her light, her ring glowing brightly as it helped enhance her power.

---

The Pony of Shadows roared and hissed, warping himself and Stygian around to attack Sora around his blind spots. Each lunging dash, diving from above or shooting from below, Sora was always alert, his Keyblades hovering around to block and slash through tendrils that came up along with the Heartless. It was obvious the Pony of Shadows was terrified of the seven Keyblades in his form, making him desperate to destroy the pegasus before he's the one who gets slain. The Heartless sent Stygian after Sora again, the unicorn's dark wings increasing in size to slam Sora between them, but the Keyblades of Harmony gathered on both sides, blocking the wings while Sora's Ultima Keyblade blocked Stygian's horn.

"Come on, Stygian! I know you can beat this thing!" Sora persuaded.

"...I...can't! It's...too strong!" Stygian was trying, Sora could see, but the Pony of Shadows' influence was already starting to take full control.

The Heartless appeared behind Sora, attempting to curse him again and bound him tightly under its power. The Keyblades of Harmony reacted, surrounded Sora, and created a barrier that protected him, made the Heartless hiss, and quickly expanded to send the Pony of Shadows and Stygian back away from Sora.

"Well, it can't beat the light deep in your heart!" Sora quickly took aim, the Keyblades of Harmony pointing where he was, then began to glow brightly.

"Sora, we're all ready!" he heard Kairi say.

"Good. Time to rid the Pony of Shadows from existence for good." Lights began to form at the ends of each Keyblade, ready to unleash their power to purge out the darkness within Stygian.

The seven Keyblades fired, connecting at a point in front of Sora before creating a rainbow light beam, shooting right at Stygian's heart. Stygian gasped and let out a demonic roar, the Pony of Shadows' wailing shrieks piercing through the room in agony. The darkness was getting forcefully peeled away from the unicorn, slowly freeing him as his body started returning to normal. Sora quickly flew toward him, spotting the Pony of Shadows latch onto Stygian for dear life, letting the Keyblades of Harmony lunge themselves at it to keep it from connecting itself back to its host.

Grabbing his hoof, Sora pulled Stygian away, guiding him out of the Heartless shell, even as a small part of the Pony of Shadows struggled to keep a hold of his hind legs. "S-Sora-"

"We're almost there!" Sora exclaimed. "Guys, do it now!"

---

"Right! Everyone, together!" Kairi instructed, starting first as her Keyblade shined brilliantly. Flying in front of the floating Pillars and Element Bearers, Kairi dragged her blade through the air, creating a large heart of white light. After tracing it, she flew in the center of the Equestrian heroes of the past and present, then took aim, her eyes glowing as she began to unleash her power of light. "Now!"

They all released their power together, six conjoined beams of the Elements combining with the pure white light of Kairi's Keyblade, striking the heart and made it glow brighter to almost blinding levels. A beam of bright light and rainbows launched out of the ethereal heart, striking the Pony of Shadows' chest. The light made the Heartless roar and thrash about, straining the wielders' hold to keep him tied down, their chains starting to weaken from exhaustion.

"Come on, Sora!" Ventus shouted. "We can't hold it forever!"

Through the light, the others not focused on holding the Heartless or purging Stygian from inside, Sora flew through the beam of light, grasping Stygian's hoof and helped pull him out. The Pony of Shadows was persistent, his body struggling to keep his host all to himself.

"Guys, help me out!" Sora called out.

"Hang on, Sora!" Donald said.

"We're on our way!" Goofy added.

The griffon and diamond dog jumped into the purging beam, grabbing Sora and helped him pull Stygian. Starlight and Sunburst helped out, firing magic beams at the Heartless's face to disorient it and finally let go. All at once, bright lights and the sounds of shattered chains rang out in the crypt: Sora managed to pull Stygian free, the Heartless roaring in defeat as the unicorn and battle buddy trio launched away and tumbled across the ground, Aqua, Ventus, Terra, Mickey, and Lea were flung away as they lost their grip when the Heartless flailed about, and the blinding light created a shockwave, sending Kairi, the Pillars of Equestria, and the Mane Six flying back in a heap of their own. Yen Sid, Starlight, and Sunburst covered their eyes until the light faded.

Once the light dimmed down, the knocked back ponies all groaned as they sat up. Star Swirl rubbed his head, but when he spotted Stygian, he was relieved to see him finally freed from the darkness's curse.

"Stygian!" he called out, but just as he was about to approach him, the stallion grunted as he was struck by a dark form tackling him, pinned painfully against a column. Squinting his eyes through the pain, Star Swirl gasped as he stared at the face of the Pony of Shadows in its pure form: pure yellow eyes, a body completely black with a twisted horn and demonic wings, and a maw filled with fangs as its skin seemed to peel away to reveal its disturbing mouth. "I-It's...still alive?"

"Star Swirl!!!" the Pillars cried out.

Just as Twilight was about to help her idol, the Pony of Shadows was tackled away from him by Sora, sending it hurtling through one of the many columns as it crumbled and collapsed on the Heartless. Star Swirl grunted as he fell, looking up from his pain, only to gape in awe at the form Sora was in. His clothes shimmered the color of the rainbow, his mane and tail bore white and black streaks, one trailing down each side of his hair, but what really shocked the unicorn wizard was how much light came from the stallion in this form.

"It's not over yet," Sora said. The crumbled column shifted as the Pony of Shadows crawled out from the rubble, glaring angrily at Sora with a detested hiss. "Time to end this nightmare."

Standing on his hind legs with his wings outstretched, Sora swung his forelegs, starting from his right to his left, calling the Keyblades of Harmony. The six blades spun around as he then reached his hoof up, connecting together as his Ultima Keyblade appeared in his outstretched hoof with a spark of colorful lights. The Heartless shrieked and charged forward, only to get smacked away by the six floating Keyblades, sent slamming into the carving of itself on the wall.

While it was dazed, Sora flapped his wings and hovered in the center of the crypt. The Keyblades of Harmony slowly floated to stand beside him, three on the left and three on the right. Taking in a slow, deep breath, Sora closed his eyes, holding his left hoof over his heart, focusing his light as the Keyblades of Harmony began glowing a colorful aura: Magic's fuchsia, Generosity's purple, Honesty's orange, Laughter's blue, Loyalty's red, and Kindness' pink. The glowing lights began to take the shape of six ponies, mimicking the images of the Mane Six standing in the same pose as Sora was. The Pillars watched in awe, but grew curious, feeling something familiar about the glowing mares standing beside Sora.

"Those lights..." Star Swirl uttered.

Then, to everyone's surprise, the forms of the Mane Six began to change into different ponies; those ponies being the Pillars of Equestria. The Keyblades slowly floated down into each ethereal Pillars' hooves: Loyalty in Flash's, Kindness in Meadowbrook's, Honesty in Rockhoof's, Laughter in Somnambula's, Generosity in Mist Mane's, and Magic in Star Swirl's. Star Swirl's eyes grew wide, sensing the same exact feeling he felt when M took some of his and the Pillars' light to do his part with the Tree of Harmony; the auras of light were part of their hearts, and they helped give Sora these powers and the very Keyblades he possesses.

"By the gods," Somnambula uttered.

"That's...incredible," Flash commented.

"Is my flank really that huge?" Rockhoof asked as he stared quizzically at his ethereal form's rear end.

While everyone was dumbfounded, Star Swirl's jaw hung open, all the clues that lead him to finding their seventh Pillar was standing before them. It was never Stygian M hinted at; he was talking about Sora, a Keyblade wielder a thousand years before their time, and he wields the same light the Pillars possess. Star Swirl was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the Pony of Shadows roar, glancing back at the Heartless as it made one last charge toward Sora.

Sora quickly opened his eyes, glaring intensely at the Heartless, then gripped he hilt of the Ultima Keyblade in both hands, twirled it in front of him several times with the tip of the blade shimmering bright sparkles, then stopped and thrust it forward, twisting the teeth from facing down to up like he was unlocking something. The ethereal Pillars copied his movements fluidly, similar bright sparks matching their auras shining from the Keyblades of Harmony. After each silhouette turned their blades, all seven Keyblades gathered light at the end, then released them together in a bright rainbow beam. The Pony of Shadows faltered and skid to a halt, but was unable to flee as it struck the Heartless. It let out an ear-piercing shriek and flailed in the burning light, slowly fading away in a painful manner fitting for a creature of darkness until nothing remained.

Sora huffed, glad to be rid of a dangerous Heartless. He turned around, now noticing the ethereal ponies had changed into the Pillars, slightly baffling him. The colorful light forms receded back into the Keyblades, then floated back to Sora before disappearing as he reverted back to normal.

"...Uhh...That was new," Sora said. Thinking that the Pillars were around and the Elements of Harmony were created by them as well, Sora ignored the small change from his Harmony Form and walked over to Stygian. The unicorn groaned as he sat up, looking up at Sora, seeing him reach his hoof out to him. "You ok, Stygian?"

Stygian stared at Sora's hoof, then back at the Keyblade wielder, accepting it as he was helped back on his hooves. "Yes...I feel so much more free now," he said. "Thank you, Sora."

"What are friends for?" Sora chuckled and gave Stygian a wide grin.

Stygian was surprised to hear Sora call him his friend after they just met, but he was honored to be called one by his savior. While the rest of the group recovered from the long, exhausting battle, the Mane Six were surprised to still keep the Elements of Harmony. Instead of using them to banish the Pony of Shadows, healing spared them from being destroyed, even sparing the Keyblades of Harmony for Sora. Everyone soon began to make their climb out of the Well of Shade, pegasi lifting their flightless companions out of the large crater in the center of Hollow Shades while the stronger unicorns teleported back to the surface.

"Thank goodness this ended without losing anypony," Mistmane said.

"Well, Sora does have a way of saving those that matter, even in the darkest of circumstances," Rarity said.

"The laddie would be perfect as a member of the Mighty Helm!" Rockhoof cheered. "The hardest of ciders on me in honor for Sora!"

"I'll second that!" Flash agreed.

"Just try not to drink each other under the table again," Meadowbrook groaned. "Ah do not want to handle dealin' with two drunk stallions with one of ya bein' heavier than Ah can carry."

While the Pillars discussed treating Sora in celebration of his heroics and incredible powers, Star Swirl wilted, knowing he's made a lot of mistakes since then, but didn't want to admit it out of pride in his work and his own heroic deeds. He approached Stygian, who was talking to the Keyblade wielders about his experience with the Heartless who persuaded him and then began to take control. Riku, still unconscious, was carried by Terra, Twilight staying beside the white pegasus stallion, worrying for him as he was once again gravely injured. As soon as Star Swirl got closer, everyone gave him a wary gaze, still finding him untrustworthy as an ally after everything he said about Sora, Riku, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. Stygian turned around when he noticed the wielders looking the unicorn wizard's way.

"Long ago, you needed our help, Stygian," he said to the young unicorn. "But instead of listening, we...or rather, I turned my back on you. Pride had clouded my judgement, along with the fears of what the darkness would do to our world if wielders like M could not stay and protect it. I owe you an apology."

Stygian felt better hearing Star Swirl's apology, but he sighed and looked down in shame. "It was my fault I did not ask to borrow your treasured items. I always felt left out when you all save Equestria from foul beasts with my plans, and...I do not have the strength or magic to assist in any way while I sat and watched. I was so distraught, I actually allowed that monster to grant me its strength, and played with my anger to exact my revenge and do you all harm. I should have deserved an eternity in limbo as punishment, and I should not have been spared..."

Star Swirl's ears drooped, looking behind Stygian, where Terra stood. He grimaced as he recalled seeing him and Riku being possessed by darkness, and failed to see or hear the true cause for their choices to lead them in the wrong direction.

"...You did not deserve such a punishment," Star Swirl said after a moment of silence. "You were of great importance to us, and we did not know you felt like an outcast before I decided that fate for you that night. But, the blame was mine, thinking you were the one an old friend I knew long ago informed me of another Pillar, albeit vague." Stygian was surprised, a little hurt knowing he wasn't who Star Swirl truly sought to join the Pillars of Equestria, but he didn't know just how cryptic Star Swirl's friend was. The wizard approached Sora, placing his hoof on the stallion's shoulder. "He was never in our time at all; our seventh...was you, Sora."

"Huh? Me?" Sora asked.

"Uhhhh...How exactly does that work?" Lea questioned. "Didn't you make the Pillars of Equestria a thousand years ago?"

"M could see into the future, and he always left vague hints about what will happen, yet he knows not when they will occur," Star Swirl explained. "The moment I saw those lights appear during the final blow to end the Pony of Shadows, I believe myself and my friends had felt a small part of us standing there beside Sora. While we planted the Tree of Harmony, I enchanted our magic inside it, but M added something else to it, knowing that their power would be put to good use. That power was our own light, manifested into Keyblades that shared the light of the Elements today: Twilight Sparkle and her friends."

"Is that why they changed from the girls to you and the Pillars?" Sora asked curiously.

"If only M were here to explain himself, we might get more answers than questions." Star Swirl lowered his head in a small bow. "I apologize you everyone for my stubbornness, and lack of understanding all your true intentions. It was never my right to criticize your actions, with myself having no experience with a Keyblade, but because I refused to see more of your stories to better learn of your triumphs, falls from grace, and more."

The wielders Star Swirl bashed looked at each other, then back to Star Swirl before Aqua spoke up. "You're lucky we do have a heart and were willing to put up with you in order to save this world," she said. "If we followed the path of darkness, all of us could have just left you to handle this, and none of you would stand a chance."

"But we're not like that at all," Ventus added. "We have a lot of friends here, and it would make us feel guilty for running away without even trying."

"I see that now," Star Swirl said. "I know I don't expect forgiveness from you all, but...maybe if we start over and I see every moment of your memories through to the present day, we could start over as acquaintances?"

After a brief moment of contemplating, everyone began to look at Sora, some of them smirking knowingly. He noticed everyone was eyeing him, glancing around to make sure it wasn't someone else they were looking at.

"Umm...What?" he asked.

"Oh, come on, Sora!" Donald teased. "We all know what you're thinking!"

"You do it all the time to anyone who made the wrong choices," Goofy added with a chuckle.

Pinkie giggled and pounced Sora, wrapping her hooves around him in a tight hug. "Yeah! He should be he Element of Forgiveness if he can see the good in everypony, even if they did really bad things! He did trust Stygian after all!"

The other ponies voiced their agreements with Pinkie while the others nodded silently. "And sometimes a conversation CAN solve a deadly problem?" Starlight questioned.

"R-Right," Star Swirl mumbled sheepishly. "I believe I still have quite a lot to learn. M told me once that the children of a generation will lead us to a brighter future. They can teach us more than us 'old windbags' have ever known."

"And how," Yen Sid agreed. "Although, the next time you insult the credibility of my apprentices, I will show you just how powerless you are as a mere unicorn."

"...I'm sorry, but is that a challenge, old one?" Star Swirl questioned.

"Name the time and place, grandpa," Yen Sid mocked.

The two wizards leered at each other, ready to have themselves a magic duel right here and now, Lea slowly leaning over to the others with a big grin on his face. "I still say five hundred Munny on our old geezer," Lea said to them, though his hopes were dashed when he heard Yen Sid and Star Swirl chuckling. Despite the falling out, Star Swirl learned his lesson, and they let bygones be bygones. "Aww, come on! I wanted to see two old timers fight it out with magic!"

The two unicorn wizards glanced at Lea, then to each other, both of them smirking before turning back to Lea, blasting the rude stallion with a double helping of magic beams. Lea yelped as he got hit, tumbling across the ground before landing face first, hurt more from hitting the ground than the harmless beams that knocked him back.

"Satisfied, Lea?" Yen Sid asked.

"...Hate you...so much," Lea grunted.

"Well, you did deserve it for expecting them to fight," Aqua chided.

Everyone laughed at Lea's misfortune as he sat up and grumbled bitterly.

---

Celestia paced nervously in the throne room. Her royal duties for the day kept her distracted from checking in on Luna, and after she disappeared the other night, she had to cancel everything for night court. She wasn't even able to enter her room to check in on her. Luna looked so startled after a thought crossed her mind when they learned about who M really was, which was still a shock to her, and whatever Luna thought only concerned Celestia greatly. She did not want to lose her little sister again, and she didn't want to make the same mistakes she made a millennia ago.

The doors to the grand room opened, the alicorn trying to mask her irritation, not wanting to be bothered while worried about her sister's well-being right now. "I'm sorry, but I'm not available for an-" When she turned to see who her guests were, she gasped when she saw not just her former student, her friends, Yen Sid, Mickey, and their fellow wielders, but the Pillars of Equestria as well, especially her long-lost mentor. "...Star Swirl?"

"Celestia..." Star Swirl approached the shocked alicorn princess, just as much in awe as Celestia as he had to crane his neck up to look at her face. "...My goodness. I cannot believe how tall you've gotten."

"Y-You're back," Celestia uttered. She rubbed her eyes, thinking she was dreaming, but her mentor here standing before her, back from limbo after hearing of his final moments. Losing any sense of formalities as a princess, she briskly trotted toward him and hugged him. Star Swirl chuckled, slightly caught off guard, but returned the gesture, having missed her just as much as she did. "How...? What happened?"

"It is...quite the tale to tell," the wizard said. Celestia finally let go of Star Swirl, but where he expected a similar embrace from Luna, there was no sign of her. "Where is Luna?"

Celestia's smile quickly turned into a worried frown. "I...I think she's locked herself in her room," she said.

That worried everyone but the other Pillars. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"After Aqua and Terra informed us about what happened to you, they...showed us what they saw in your last moments against the Pony of Shadows," Celestia said. Aqua grimaced, lowering her head in shame. "...Even...Uncle M...and who he really was; a Keyblade wielder from another world."

Star Swirl was surprised hearing Celestia learn about M's true identity, but he couldn't blame her, knowing one day, she and Luna would figure it out. "...He had his reasons for keeping it a secret from you," he said. "One being he was never supposed to be involved in our affairs, but couldn't help himself when Heartless showed themselves. The other was to protect you and your sister. He cared too much for you, and didn't want you to get involved in something so dangerous despite how adventurous you two were as fillies."

Celestia nodded her head. "I understand...When I first met Yen Sid, he explained everything to me about the Keyblade wielders and the Heartless." Star Swirl looked back at Yen Sid, the other wizard nodded his head slowly. "I'm still in shock after learning who he was, but...it doesn't change anything. He will always be the uncle Luna and I never had, and we are grateful for meeting him and his services in protecting the realm of light."

Star Swirl sighed in relief with Celestia's praises toward the pony she and Luna looked up to as much as him. "I am glad to hear that, and so would M if he were here with us." Suddenly, the doors opened again. Stepping into the throne room, Celestia was relieved to see her sister finally come out, but the look on her sister's face only brought back her concern. Luna seemed completely out of it, staring blankly ahead with red, puffy eyes, looking like she barely slept at all. Even the others could see she definitely had a rough night, or a rough day considering she slept when the sun was out. She was too focused on Celestia until her eyes glanced at Star Swirl, her tired gaze turning into slight shock at the sight of her teacher. "Luna..."

The wizard smiled, awaiting a heartwarming welcome from Luna. Sadly, he was given a disappointed glare from the princess of the night, confusing him.

"Luna?" Celestia called out. "I...thought you'd be happy to see Star Swirl again...Are you ok?"

"...No...I am not 'ok'," Luna growled.

"Luna, what troubles you?" Star Swirl asked.

"Something I just discovered the other night...about our 'uncle'," Luna said, spitting venom at the mention of the pony she trusted as a filly.

"Oh...Celestia just mentioned him," Star Swirl uttered. "But, even as a Keyblade wielder and the secrets we both kept about him, I know you still admire M for his endeavors and-"

Luna snapped, stomping her hooves and cut her mentor off. "'Admire'!? After what he has done!?" Startled, Star Swirl stepped back, her reaction baffling him, Celestia, and everyone present. "And you have the audacity to call him your friend!?"

"Luna, what are you talking about?" Celestia asked.

"I spoke with Sombra the night Aqua accused M for being a villain AND spouting accusations from us that we knew he had a Keyblade all this time!" Luna exclaimed angrily.

Aqua stepped forward nervously, wishing to make up for how she acted that night. "Luna, I know what I said sounded harsh, but I-"

"WE DO NOT WANT TO HEAR YOUR BOASTING ABOUT HOW RIGHT YOU ARE!!!!!!" Luna roared in her Royal Canterlot Voice right in Aqua's face, nearly deafening her as she slid back from her booming voice.

"W-What do you mean?" Aqua asked with a wince. "I-I wasn't-"

"SILENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Luna shrieked again, making Aqua back away before she made things worse.

"Luna, please calm down!" Celestia came to her sister and held her, trying to get her to relax and tell everyone what's gotten her so riled up. "Please tell us why you're so upset. Why did you see Sombra?"

Luna struggled with tears running down her face, frustrated, enraged, and suffering in emotional anguish. "Sombra lost his life to a Keyblade wielder and turned into a monster...M was the only one who we never knew was one until now," she said.

"Who is Sombra?" Somnambula asked.

"Luna's lover," Kairi answered. "It's a long story, but he existed a thousand years ago in a kingdom called the Crystal Empire. They fell in love, but someone back then unlocked the darkness in his heart, turning him into a Heartless, and he was banished into the shadows by Celestia and Luna."

"But he came back along with the Crystal Empire when he took it with him," Sora added. "He wasn't trapped in limbo like you, and while trapped in darkness for a thousand years, he was an impossible Heartless I've ever had to fight. Thankfully, his heart's free with the help of the empire's artifact, the Crystal Heart, and destroyed the Heartless that took over. Now he's a Dream Eater in the dream realm, still alive, but can only live in that realm."

"Never heard of Dream Eaters," Flash Magnus mumbled.

"There's a lot more dangerous creatures than you think there were," Ventus said. "We'll show you what they look like when we return to Ponyville."

"Luna, don't be ridiculous," Celestia said, trying to reassure her sister. "M helped save our world. He would never dream of hurting us in any way."

Her words did nothing to calm Luna. "Really?" Luna questioned, breaking out of Celestia's comforting embrace. "Sombra may not have seen who it was, but he recognized what the Keyblade looked like! I showed him what it looked like, and he confirmed it; the very sword that took away his heart was the same one M used in that memory in Ponehenge!" Gasps rang out from everyone. Star Swirl and Celestia were utterly mortified, struck with disbelief that someone they knew committed such a heinous act. Aqua began to feel guilty, her suspicions right in some sense, but not in the way she thought when M had also granted Sora access to the Keyblades of Harmony. "He took away my love, turned him into a monster that nearly destroyed another kingdom, and we banished him to only further increase its power! He's responsible for taking away the last bit of hope I ever had when nopony else respected me back then! And my anguish and despair that turned me into Nightmare Moon was because of him! I almost killed you and destroyed all of Equestria because of him!"

Celestia was speechless, unable to believe this was true. Luna was now crying her eyes out, clearly not making this up, and now hates the wielder they loved and looked up to for years. Celestia slowly shook her head, refusing to believe M would be the one to hurt Luna like this.

"Luna, M is not that kind of pony," Star Swirl said, trying his hardest to defend his old friend as even he found it absurd to think of after all the trouble he went through to form the Pillars of Equestria and stop darkness from destroying their world.

"You were his friend!" Luna shouted, pointing at her teacher with a heartbroken gaze. "You must have known what would have happened to me if you knew he was a Keyblade wielder!"

"He's given me vague hints about his visions, but nothing like this," the wizard reassured the distraught princess. "If he did know, he would have prevented such a terrible fate for you and Sombra."

"But he didn't," Luna sobbed. "He disappeared not long after you had, and we never saw him again! If he cared, then why wasn't he there for me when everypony never once admired my nights!? When I cried alone in my room when the love of my life breaks up with me to save me from himself!? Where was he when my own sister didn't care about how I felt!?" Star Swirl couldn't provide an answer, even if he lied. Luna wept, her memories of M feeling like nothing but lies and made up stories. She despised him, and she will never know why he did all this except to lead her to a downward spiral of pain and misery. While everyone felt sorry for the poor alicorn, Aqua slowly approached Luna again, holding out an enchanted memory ornament. When Luna looked up, she glared at Aqua before turning her head away. "Leave me be...You've been right about him all along..."

"I don't want to gloat about how right I was," Aqua explained. "I shouldn't have argued with you about someone you knew that I didn't, and ignored your feelings because I only focused on his Keyblade and who owned it now, not who M really was."

"He took Sombra away from me," Luna growled.

"...Well, maybe, but Sombra's still alive, and...isn't your life much better now than what it was back then?" Aqua's question made Luna's harsh stare turn into contemplation, though she still felt bitter for what M had done to Sombra in the past. "Luna, I know what you're going through. I lost everything because of Xehanort, and I thought I would never escape the Realm of Darkness, or see Terra or Ven again. But now I'm free. I have the two people I thought I lost back in my life, and there are many more who I consider my friends. The problem is I have such a hard time letting go now, and I act out in fear and anger over the past repeating itself...And I shouldn't have attacked you or Celestia over something that didn't involve Xehanort."

"Aqua-" Terra tried to say, but Aqua quickly silenced him.

"No, Terra. Please, don't try to defend me," Aqua said as she looked back at him. "My problems and Luna's shouldn't be treated like a competition. What we each suffered through is irrelevant, along with how we handle the changes we struggle with in our lives. I needed that kick in the butt when I accused Starlight of being untrustworthy after what she did because I only focused on the negatives she's done, and refusing to believe the cause for her actions...just like Star Swirl criticized us after seeing our falls into darkness." Terra lowered his gaze, wishing he did scold Aqua, frowning slightly as a part of him just couldn't let go of feeling sympathetic toward her. Star Swirl bowed his head, ashamed of the misunderstandings he's made, glancing over to Stygian, one of the first ponies he's almost lost to the darkness because of his poor judgement. Aqua looked back at Luna, gently taking her hoof, and placing it in hers, letting her touch the ornament. "...What's important is the present, the ones who care about you and who you want to protect...and forgiveness.

"...I probably don't deserve any from you after the other night...but I want to help, and try to change back to who I was before losing all hope and faith in anyone." Aqua lit up her horn, sending casting her spell on the ornament to create a large window for everyone to see the memories that would be shown. "...Luna, show us the fond memories you've had with M...I think his last message to you and Celestia was truly genuine, and you should hear it from him."

Luna hesitated, but she wanted to get this over with so she would eventually forget about M. The ethereal screen began to fade in, showing the old village Celestia and Luna grew up in over a thousand years ago. Everyone but Star Swirl were surprised by how much the two had changed from normal ponies to alicorns. The two sisters were playing around the market, giggling as they played tag, weaving around other ponies as they went about their business. Luna was it and tried to tag Celestia, the older sister sneaking her way through the cloths hanging from the counters of the stalls to avoid her. Luna tried to follow, but as she ran through the cloth, she didn't see where she was going and bumped into someone, smacking herself against their leg and fell on her back with a groan.

That very pony she ran into was M, the wielder minding his own business before he looked down after getting bumped into. "Oh my." He helped Young Luna sit up as she rubbed her muzzle, then looked up shyly and bashfully at the stranger she accidentally bumped into. "You should watch where you're going."

"I-I'm...sorry," Luna mumbled, averting her gaze while holding her tail nervously.

Instead of being scolded for playing in the market, M smiled softly, examining her to make sure she didn't hurt herself too badly. "Well, no harm, no foul," he reassured the timid filly. "But I'd suggest playing where the streets aren't so busy. Vendors don't like it when you play around their stalls like a jungle gym. Believe me, I've tried."

"Luna, where'd you go!?" Young Celestia ran back to where she lost sight of her sister as she called out to her. "There you are! Sorry, mister. My sister's...not great at being 'it'."

"Ah, you two are sisters? Hard to tell around here," M said. "Maybe she wasn't doing well because she accidentally bumped into me, and I fell over, like-"

M let out a goofy yelping sound, scrambling his legs as he fell over on purpose, acting like he just got rammed into by a bulkier stallion than a little filly barely a third his height. The pratfall made Luna giggle, even as he continued letting out exaggerated painful noises, his limbs and position flailing in different poses.

"...You're weird, mister," Celestia said.

"And obnoxious, to say the least." The two fillies looked up to see Star Swirl approach them, leaning over the hooded stallion, who was playing dead with his tongue lolling out and letting out his "dying breath". "Are you done acting like an oaf in public, M?"

Slurping his tongue back in his mouth, M vaulted himself back on his hooves. "When am I not?" he asked back, teasing the bells on the wizard's hat by poking them with his hoof. "Jingle jingle jingle. What is with these bells anyway?"

Star Swirl rolled his eyes in annoyance, swatting his friend's hoof away. "Mister, you know Mr. Star Swirl?" Celestia asked.

"Why, of course! We're best buds, right, beardy!?" M asked, draping a foreleg around the wizard's shoulders.

"Pth! Beardy!?" Celestia and Luna giggled at the nickname M gave their teacher, making the unicorn stallion sigh.

"Yes, yes, that's what he keeps calling me," Star Swirl groaned. "Girls, this is M. And M, if you forgot, this is Celestia and Luna. The two fillies I told you I was tutoring the other day?"

"Oh! These two fillies are your students!? Well, aren't they just precious!" M squealed, making Star Swirl roll his eyes again. He hopped over to the two sisters, then plopped on his stomach to be at eye level with them. "What a coinkydink bumping into little Celestia!"

"Umm...M-My name is...Woona," Young Luna said shyly.

"'Woona'?" M let out a long, excited gasp, cupping his hooves against his cheeks. "Oh, I like that name a lot."

"It's 'Luna'," Celestia corrected. "She can't pronounce her 'L's right."

"Well, little miss perfect, I think Woona is a nice name," M argued, letting out a scoff and turned his nose up snootily. "And if I could, I'd give her an even better name. Like Moony. Ooh! Or maybe Lulu?" Luna giggled and nodded at the last nickname he gave her. "Then Lulu it is! Hi, Lulu, I'm M!"

He held his hoof out, Luna taking it and shook it with a big smile. "Uhh, what does your name mean, mister?" Celestia asked

"Oh. Well..." M glanced behind him at Star Swirl, ignoring another eye roll from the wizard, then looked everywhere else. He then ushered the two fillies to move in closer, both of them scooting closer as he cupped his hooves to his veiled muzzle. "It's a secret..." Both fillies' ears drooped in disappointment, pouting at the cop-out answer. "But I have another secret for you, Celly." Young Celestia's ears perked up curiously. M looked over at Luna, giving her a wink under his hood, then took the younger sister's hoof, tapped it against his foreleg, then looked at Celestia and gave her a boop on the muzzle with his hoof. "Tag, you're it!"

"Huh?" M quickly got up, snatched Luna away and placed her on his back, letting out a childish giggle as he pranced away. "H-Hey! No fair!"

Celestia chased after the black-coated stallion, Luna all the while giggling at the ride and the funny trick M managed to pull on her big sister. Memories continued as Luna thought back to every moment she had with M, making it that much harder to dislike him when the fun he expressed and the excitement and praise he gave her felt so real. There were more memories of them playing many different games, M relaying fun and adventurous stories he shared, even touching moments if either of the two alicorns were upset. The last of the many memories was the day Celestia and Luna became alicorns.

Star Swirl in the memory gathered in front of the crowd of ponies across the kingdom. "Mares and gentlecolts, ponies across the kingdom, today is a momentous occasion for our united tribes! This day will go down in history as Equestria will see it is properly ruled by two very special young mares, and be a symbol of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns untied together in harmony!"

Off on the sidelines, Celestia and Luna, both a bit more older, waiting for their cue. "Oh dear...I'm so nervous, Tia," Luna said.

"Me, too, but this is really exciting," Celestia said, fidgeting her hooves anxiously. "Star Swirl's going to let us rule Equestria...I hope we can do well like the other royals from the unicorns."

"And I have no doubt that you two are gonna do wonders for your kingdom." Both mares gasped in surprise, quickly turning around to see M standing behind them. The two sisters ran up and hugged the stallion, which he gladly returned. "Goodness, you girls need to stop growing up! Stay little and cute for me!"

Celestia and Luna both laughed at the wielder's complaint. "Sorry, but we have to grow up some day," Celestia said.

"I know. Don't remind me," M pouted.

"...And without further ado, please welcome my two personal students: Celestia and Luna!" Star Swirl announced, startling the two young mares as they turned around, hearing the crowd applaud and cheer.

"Well, go on, you two," M ushered, nudging both mares forward.

M stayed on the sidelines of the stage, watching both mares wave to the crowd as they walked over to Star Swirl. "Are you two ready?" Star Swirl asked.

They were both nervous, but nodded their heads with confidence. Star Swirl nodded back, the began to cast his spell on the future princesses. His aura began to surround Celestia and Luna, feeling something from within themselves come from their hearts and mix with their mentor's magic aura. The magic began to spiral around them, making them float in the air as the audience watched in awe. They were both scared, but when they glanced at M, they could see he was smiling with pride and confidence in Star Swirl's spell, calming them as the magical energy concealed them. The energy expanded in a blinding light, surprising the ponies witnessing this grand event as they covered their eyes, and when they could see, they saw Celestia and Luna floating back down to the ground, landing softly on their hooves.

They were slightly taller than they were before, their manes and tails waving in an invisible breeze, and both mares simultaneously spread out their new wings. Gasps in awe rang out in the crowd, followed by cheers, Celestia and Luna now ascended as alicorns. Star Swirl wiped his brow, panting slightly while proud to see his spell had worked.

"Citizens of Equestria, your new rulers of our united nation!" Star Swirl announced.

Celestia and Luna looked over themselves, smiling with joy as they stretched their new wings. They looked out to their subjects, a little scared, but knowing that, together, they can lead Equestria in harmony. After the crowd slowly began to die down, the two new alicorns returned to M, the stallion applauding them on their new status.

"Congratulations, you two," he said, then began to laugh. "And Star Swirl made you a bit taller. Seriously, stop growing! I'm feeling old!" The alicorns laughed at his overly dramatic comments. M sighed and shook his head, being serious as he looked at them and their new wings. "You two are incredible. I just know you're going to do a lot of good for Equestria."

"T-Thank you, Uncle M," Luna said.

She quickly gasped in shock, covering her mouth as she unintentionally called M her uncle. "...'Uncle'?" M asked, slowly tilting his head, though his tone almost sounded sad.

"...Err, I-I...W-Why did I say that?" Luna stammered sheepishly.

Celestia wasn't all too surprised as she let out a small laugh. "Well, if you think about it, M, you do love to play with us. Even entertain us, be there for us for anything," she listed. "It's like you're a long-lost uncle our parents never mentioned."

Luna in the present never noticed this in the past, but despite his face completely hidden under his hood, she noticed there was a look of happiness in M's eyes, along with...sorrow. M had tears well in his eyes, wearing a smile as he let out a small, warm laugh.

"...Luna...you two can call me whatever you like," he said. "If you want to call me Uncle M, then I'll gladly be called your uncle." The two alicorns began tear up as well, glad to hear M accepting them as his unrelated nieces. The stallion sniffled, rubbing his eyes as he struggled not to cry. "Gosh darn it. You two catch me with your cute, filly faces, and now you're getting me all sappy accepting me as your family! I need a group hug, STAT!" Celestia and Luna couldn't help but laugh as they hugged M again, and he held them tightly. The two alicorns nuzzled him, only making his hold on the two tighten, afraid to let them go. "You two are...the greatest ponies an old toad like me's ever known...I won't let anything hurt you..."

"We're so glad you came into our lives, as well," Luna said. Then, to M's shock, Celestia and Luna gave the stallion a peck on the cheek. "We love you, uncle."

More tears started running down M's face, his jaw quivering and hooves shaking, stifling a whimper as he pulled his two nieces closer and took in a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "...I love you girls, too...So, so much..."

Everyone in the throne room watching the heartbreaking scene either had tears in their eyes, openly sobbed, or bore a somber expression at the genuine sentiments M gave to Celestia and Luna. Luna's lips quivered as more tears rolled down her cheeks. She felt Celestia drape a wing around her, silently crying as well from the fond memories and accepting M as part of their family. But Luna was still hurt by what he did; he had promised them that he wouldn't let anything hurt them, and he broke it by taking away the only other stallion who loved her.

Aqua wiped away her tears, then used her magic to shift to a different memory. She played back what she and her friends witnessed at Ponehenge, skipping to M's final message he left for Celestia and Luna. M had grabbed Star Swirl's journal in the flashback, then turned around to make his leave while letting out a heavy sigh.

"Hey, if you guys see Celly and Lulu, tell them..." M paused, then looked up, his eyes under his hood seemingly staring right at Celestia and Luna, somehow forseeing them through the playback of the memory in Ponehenge. "...I'm sorry..."

The Keyblade wielder lowered his head, then walked away with the Pillars' belongings. Aqua ended it there, taking back the ornament and stepped back. Luna let this all sink in, still wishing they could talk to M one last time and learn why he left them alone. She still blamed him for what he did, but now that she saw her last memories with him from another perspective, along with his last message, M was more distraught with grief when he claimed his happiness for gaining two nieces, knowing that one day he would hurt them, fail to keep his promise, and go missing so he wouldn't have to hear their disappointment and anger. Luna embraced her sister, grateful to be reunited with her after their falling out, and even more so with all the new friends she has today and the subjects who truly admire her rule under the night sky.

"Luna." Star Swirl approached the princesses, wiping away a tear after seeing just how much M truly cared about them. "Whatever M had in his head, I always remain unsure what most of his intentions were. He's able to hide his emotions so well with his bumbling, immature behavior, but deep down, he's always kept a place for you in his heart. I am sorry for the loss of your special somepony back then, but if he had known all this time that he would hurt you two, he would do anything to make up for all the pain you suffered through."

Luna sniffed, nodding her head. "I-I know he would...I just want to know why..." She released Celestia, then hugged Star Swirl with a sad smile, finally showing her relief in seeing her old mentor again. "At least you have returned, teacher."

Star Swirl grinned, hugging the princess back, giving her a reassuring pat on the back. "I am grateful to be back, thanks to Twilight Sparkle, Sora, and their friends."

---

Riku groaned, squinting his eyes open. The last thing he recalled was fighting the Pony of Shadows, Star Swirl teleporting away from the Heartless' attack, and jumping in front of Twilight to protect her when it headed for her after the wizard dodged out of the way. His eyes shot open, quickly sitting up, only to wince in pain.

"Don't try to move too much." Riku grunted and looked at the speaker, surprised to see Star Swirl sitting beside him. Looking around, he noticed he was laying on a bed, but they weren't in Twilight's castle in Ponyville. The bedroom looked like one of the guest beds in Celestia and Luna's castle. "Relax. The Pony of Shadows is no more."

"...So, you banished it, then?" Riku questioned.

"No. The Heartless was slain, but Stygian has been rescued," Star Swirl explained. "The Elements of Harmony are safe, and no one was seriously injured." Riku glowered at the unicorn, where Star Swirl grimaced at his poor choice of words. "Well, you got hurt, but thanks to Twilight and your master, they recovered most of your injuries."

"Twilight?...Is she ok?" Riku asked.

"She's fine. Although, I'd suggest not disturbing her slumber." The unicorn pointed beside Riku, getting him to look at the other side of the bed. Fast asleep beside him was Twilight, letting out a murmur as she buried her head deeper in her pillow. "She's more emotionally drained than physically...After I ignored your injuries and focused on stopping the threat, she threw her Element in my face and ran to you when you saved her from the Heartless' most powerful beam he intended to use on me."

"She did?" While he was grateful for Twilight trying to help him, and irritated that he ended up getting his butt whupped and knocked unconscious again, he looked at Star Swirl in confusion. "Wait...Why aren't you scolding me?"

Star Swirl rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling nervously. "Well...I learned a really important lesson about hearing out somepony if they've done something wrong," he explained. "As much as you hurt others, you hurt yourself by making hurtful accusations without any proof. That included you and the other wielders, and I apologize for everything I said about you."

"...Did Sora accept your apology?" The unicorn nodded in response. Riku let out a sigh and shook his head. "Yeah. If he's forgiven you, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt."

"I understand. I had no right to judge your past, and if you will let me, I want to see the rest of your abilities as a Keyblade wielder without focusing on your moments where you 'used' the power of darkness." Riku offered no consent, silently leering at the wizard. "...I'll take your silence as a no...Fair enough. I'll...leave you to rest." Star Swirl stood up and took his leave, but as he opened the door, he looked back at Riku. "I...sincerely hope my actions did not truly deteriorate your relationship with Twilight. It's obvious she cares a lot about you. She had idolized me and my work, and she was going to toss me aside as her hero when I tried to force her to use her Element with our friends when she tried to see if you were ok."

Riku's eyes widened, glancing back at Twilight while feeling guilty for distrusting her when she kept taking Star Swirl's side. The unicorn exited the room and closed the door behind him, leaving the couple alone to rest. Riku slowly laid back down with a grunt, rolling over to his side, watching Twilight sleep. He reached a hoof out to her, gently caressing her cheek, slowly stirring her awake.

"Hmm?" Twilight squinted her eyes open, waking up fully when she saw Riku was up. "Riku..."

"...Hey," he uttered. Twilight wanted to hold him, but her ears drooped, looking away from him as she lowered her head back down on her pillow. Before she thought about turning away from him, Riku wrapped his forelegs around her, pulled her close to him, and kissed her. Twilight let out a surprised squeal, confused at first, but kissed her stallion back. When they pulled away, tears rolled down the alicorn's cheeks. "I'm sorry."

"W-What?" she asked.

"I didn't mean everything I said," he said. "I took it out on you when I was mad at Star Swirl. Sora already gave me a verbal lashing, and...I took another beating that knocked me out, so I guess karma struck me there." Riku laughed a little, giving the mare a small grin. "I must be losing my touch. Some Keyblade Master I am, huh?" His smile faded with a sigh, his lighthearted joke barely getting Twilight to crack a smile of her own. "I messed up again...Can you-?"

Twilight grabbed Riku's cheeks in her hooves, startling the stallion as he was pulled into a surprise kiss this time. Her hooves moved lower, wrapping them around his neck, pressing herself closer, no longer caring about their fight. He already made it up to her by taking a hit for her that could have killed him or gave him a very serious injury. She pulled away, then rubbed her snout against his.

"That's the third time in less than half a year you got severely hurt, and made me worried sick," she said. "Of course I forgive you, but I'm the one who should be apologizing. I was afraid to stand up to Star Swirl to defend you guys...He was already mad at me for ruining his spell, and I was desperate to get him to like me and see just how much I wanted to be like him. I couldn't believe what kind of pony he was toward others...At least he admitted his mistakes."

"You're going to have to tell me everything else that happened," Riku said. Twilight nodded, but when she opened her mouth to explain, he moved in for another kiss, eking a small squeak from the alicorn before returning the kiss with a moan. She cuddled closer to Riku, their lips letting out a light smack as they separated. "But I can wait until tomorrow."

"...Ok," Twilight uttered with a small smile.

The couple shared another small kiss, making up after the very stressful day with a rude idol and fell asleep in each other's hooves.

---

Sora sat on the roof of one of Canterlot Castle's towers, unable to sleep as he looked out at the city and the mountain landscape. Even though things ended well after this incredibly wild adventure, M was a mysterious wielder, his intentions scattered about as being a very helpful asset or untrustworthy after learning he was the one responsible for turning Sombra into the Heartless tyrant a thousand years ago. He's helped the Pillars of Equestria, helped create the Elements of Harmony, along with the Keyblades connected with them, was family to Celestia and Luna, and kept Equestria safe from Heartless. His ability to see into the future should have been reliable, but he tries to keep things secret to avoid paradoxes and be vague about his hints on certain events. But what really bothered Sora was what he said to him before the memory in Ponehenge from Star Swirl's journal ended.

---

After M gave his message, Sora watched as M began walking over toward him. He noticed the mysterious wielder was focused on him, warily eyeing him if he's able to somehow attack him from the past. Sora stood stock still when M leaned over to his ear.

"You're quite the Keyblade wielder, Sora," M said. "Saving worlds, making new friends, and even making some villains worthy of redemption to turn good. Quite a noble hero you are. But...if there's someone you do care about, and they refuse to hear your pleas and get another chance, what would you do?" Sora's ears perked up at M's question. "Do you try to keep going and risk everything to change the paths their hearts are set on, or will you finally be able to let go of them in order to save the ones who matter the most to you?"

"Huh?" Sora turned his head, catching a smirk from M under his hood as he moved away. Without another word, M turned and left Ponehenge, ending the memory as Star Swirl's book closed. "W-What...?"

---

"...What did he mean by that?" Sora asked himself. "Risk everything to change them or let them go?" He looked up at the night sky, wondering just what kind of riddle M gave him. "I think it's obvious for me; I'll never let my friends go." Sora lifted his hoof, placing it over his heart as he lowered his head and closed his eyes. "They'll always be in my heart. No matter what happens. Even if they side with the darkness, I'll find a way to bring them back to us."

Sora spent another few minutes gazing at the stars, wondering if M was able to foresee him giving him his answer if he had helped him from a thousand years ago. Getting up, he leapt off the tower, hovering around until he reached the guest room window he and Kairi were staying at while spending the night in Canterlot, quietly sneaking in to avoid waking his fiancee and get some rest. Though M's question still troubled him, almost as if there was going to be a moment where he would be tested, Sora was going to prove to the Keyblade Master of the past that he would never give up anyone dear to him.

Comments

[DGJabberwocky]

Finally someone acknowledges how much of an arrogant flankhole Starswirl was, and how Twilight was so blinded by her idol worship that she ignored reason!

[Prince Nightfire Grace]

Amazing work as always! Loved Lea’s moments with Star Swirl and Yen Sid. Keep up the awesome work.

[MLPFanForever]

Awesome! So what's next, the MLP movie?

[JesusG0987]

Okay now that was a good chapter. Star Swirl may have been a rude heartless pony but he learned his lesson. And man did he made Twilight and the other wielders mad, I mean the darkness and villain thing I understand but not caring for other ponies is not cool and man Twilight went dead serious when she threw her element and ran to Riku. And more about M is really sweet and made Celestia and Luna happy when they were fillies about having an uncle they never have and I’m also wonder what he meant to Sora, I guess another mystery to solve. I can’t wait for the next chapter that is going to be the movie parts. And I wonder if tempest finds out Kairi is a Alicorn and tries to stone her, I’m guessing Sora will be tick off and Riku protecting Twilight. Nice job with the story man. Keep up the great work. You did great.

[MagicLover2128]

10105595
To true, I always found Starswell to be a really stubborn, blind and cruel pony when we first properly meet him.

[Eeveeandmudkiplover]

10105638
Most likely. So far it's been following the events in chronological order.

[Paulli]

HORY SHEET!! This chapter had me at the edge pf my seat.

Next up, Season 8!

[Brony989]

So next up is Mlp movie?

[Master of Ice]

Wow awsome the question m said might be the event after kingdom hearts 3

[shining paladin]

great chapter cant wait for sora and kairi's wedding and the guardians of light turn into seaponies

[RainbowAnime]

TOP! TOP CHAPTER EVER!!!!!!!

[CJWar25]

Please do the mlp movie and rainbow roadtrip and sorry that you couldn’t put m in flesh this chapter

[Sky Lemonade]

Great chapter, I was looking forward to this episode ever since I started reading this story and it was handled really well. Will you be doing the MLP movie/an equestria girls chapter next or jump right into season 8?

[HarryBuilder]

Well from the looks of the new chapter the old Aqua might be coming back? will she every make a full recovery? And what ever you do Codex don't you dare use that Crummy ending from kingdom hearts 3 where sora disappears, PLEASE!!!!

[Torielfan2019]

I hope you'll be able to include the 2017 MLP Movie into this.

[JD2K]

Without a doubt, I applaud and congratulate your efforts. This is well on its way to becoming one of the longest stories in fimfiction. I sincerely hope you don't lose your creative flow towards this wonderful story as I have done...It's not easy to balance RL and your hobbies without one clashing severely with the other. I only worry you have so many stories in the backburner like the X-overs of PRC & TT, as well as continuing the PM sequel, that you might burn out. Please try not to.

Anyways, thoughts. You sure had all of us fooled. When MoM mentioned an unofficial 7th Pillar that starts with "S" I didn't think automatically of Stygian, but Sombra. Never did it cross my mind it was Sora. Though, I though the way you handled SS's little Pride problem well without making him too much of a Hate Sink (but he got there) and making Twilight lose faith in him. I thought other Heartless would join the PoS but that was probably too much. All in all, great chapter.

Now comes what I look forward to: the Movie adaptation. Makes me wonder if there will be more than 3 alicorns that will get petrified. As said by someone earlier, I imagine Kairi will also share a stony fate. Though whether other wielders or perhaps the Pillars is up in the air. I look forward to seeing what you'll do next.

[HB_DS2013]

IF the MLP movie is next, here's hoping Twilight won't have her ass handed to her by Tempest.

[shining paladin]

10106457
she wont she have her keyblade and riku to protect her

[BenictheHedgehog]

Well guess Riku just can't seem to keep himself from being Twilights shield and end up seriously hurt from the looks of it. But then again, he was doing what his heart commands and not using his head. So I think it is clear after seeing it three times Riku risk his life to save Twilight (twice) or a family member of hers (flurry Heart) from getting seriously injured or end up dead, Twilight is going to need to take Riku on more relax date days or drag his butt back to Destiny Islands for them alone to take a vacation. Especially after how badly she hurt him when she was just trying to stop Riku from hurting Star Swirl and accidentally hurt him badly instead, because of how bad of backlash Riku did on Twilight for choosing Star Swirl over him. Makes me glad Starlight is willing to help be there for Twilight while Sora went to talk to him, and that Twilight went to him in the end and wants make things right between them, no matter how many fights they get into.

[everydaygamer]

Great chapter and an excellent end to the season. Although the Star Swirl hate got a little too ridiculous towards the end with our heroes endangering the world because they were too angry to work with Star Swirl which honestly makes them look bad instead of him. I mean he may have been dick but even he didn't let personal feelings get in the way of protecting the world.

Now we can finally move onto the movie, personally I'm hoping we get to see Maleficent helping out the Storm King. It has been ages since she's actually done anything in this story and she is long overdue to make her grand return.

[Noctis Prism]

Talk about an emotional rollercoaster!

[Heavens_Angel]

You think we could get a chapter focusing on a very special type of heartless?
images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/c1e31f90-9de7-4038-b00c-e435a9431f29/d622snn-67ff841a-8384-410b-9344-85c324297446.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_640,q_80,strp/kingdom_hearts_shrooms_by_manostion_d622snn-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.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.0s5ym6A1pv8q34TCFtPp3jum5u4TQuMnlOetCud540o

A big focus on These guys:
khwiki.com/images/thumb/a/aa/Mushroom_XIII_%28Group%29_KHIIFM.png/300px-Mushroom_XIII_%28Group%29_KHIIFM.png

And finally introducing these literal Sweet hearts:
pbs.twimg.com/media/D0snWfpVAAAw0nY.jpg

I think it would be funny if Sora had to explain why only he new about these special Heartless.
Do you Agree?

[HB_DS2013]

10106503 But barely. Tempest will still kick Twilight's ass only because she has more combat experience. Twilight will most likely fight only when push comes to shove- when Riku is hurt. Speaking of which, does Spike even do anything in this fic aside from being Twilight's fax machine and butler?

[PhantomSage21098]

Now that was an ending. Wonder how he's gonna pull off the events of the movie.

[TheFVguy]

Well, that ended quite quickly.
Honestly, I expected this to be split into a third-part but was genuinely surprised the season finale ended in this chapter. Well, we have a lot to unpack:

---

First, we have our introduction to Star Swirl. He's pretty much the same as he's in the show, only with his ideology almost exaggerated from its original depiction. And honestly, I think its depicted well here. At first, I was getting the feeling I might hate it and this will be a complete "you-suck speech" to Star Swirl. But surprisingly no, it was handled quite well. The part where he goes through all of their memories and concentrates on their mistakes and past deeds was a very interesting decision for his character.
He strongly believes in a "black and white" way of thinking: Darkness is bad, and Light is good, and what I find interesting here is how much similar Star Swirl is to Eraqus.
He's a character who strongly believed in the forces of light and despised Darkness. Xehanort himself even stated that Eraqus seemed like he was consumed by light. Sure, he is manipulator, and we shouldn't trust his word, but Xehanort has known Eraqus better than anyone, so I do take his word for it. Terra, Aqua and Ventus' old master was very attracted to this ideology. He was ready to slay both Ventus and Terra for the sake of the safety of the Realm of Light and has shown great disdain towards the forces of darkness. I was expecting Terra to point how this way of thinking kind of reminded him of Eraqus before he died, since, spoilers, Eraqus' heart is inside of his. I know Eraqus regretted what he has done at the end, but it was too late and he was about to die anyway.
Aside from that, I'm quite satisfied with what you did with his character. He is someone who believes in the safety of Equestria above everything, and here it shows that ideology has flaws in a more dramatic way than it is depicted in the show. He was willing to shove Riku's safety aside for the sake of Equestria, and that's what finally drives Twilight to reject him, which leaves so much character drama in the future between those two. Some readers might find a problem with this, maybe being a bit too extreme for his character, but for me, I think it makes sense for his character, especially in this AU of the two franchises.
Speaking of which, I love this line right here:

"...Sora," Riku called out. Sora turned to look at him as the white stallion sighed. "...If...I ever went back to being the old me when our journey started...would you still consider me a friend?"

It shows that the wizard's words aren't just for the sake of the heroes to prove him wrong, but are affecting them and making them doubt their growth. His words got to them, it's a small character moment, but I love it. Kind of wished it happen to other characters, specifically Terra, but that might get in the way of the story's pacing, so I understand.
I love how he remorseful is at the end of his judgment, I wish the pillars would have gain more attention on how remorseful they also were, cause they are just as responsible as Star Swirl for Stygian's corruption, so I hope later in another chapter we see them showing how remorseful they truly are.
Another aspect to speak is his relationship with Twilight. Since this fic takes its story much more seriously, I love how their relationship is depicted here. Twilight believing his words a little more than Riku because of him being idol all along was great to see, and her outburst and "What The Hell Hero?" moment towards Star Swirl was a great moment for her, seeing that her idol isn't that great as she thought he was, and he also has so much to learn from friendship. I wonder what their future interactions will be since, at the end of the day, he is still her idol and was inspired by him. I hope to get to see him a lot more in the future. His interaction with Yen Sid is honestly my favorite, and I definitely would love to see more of him.
My only issue is that the hate for this character felt little too dragged, I mean:

"Riku just made a noble sacrifice, and you still lack any sympathy for Twilight. It's no wonder that spell of yours that Twilight finished for you was incomplete; you're just as Heartless as a creature of darkness."

Come on, of course, he isn't, he's still trying to banish the Pony of Shadows, for the sake of Equestria. He doesn't understand emotions, but he's nowhere near a heartless creature. Yen Sid is wiser than that.

---

Now we get to Riku and Twilight's relationship in this chapter. They both went through some serious development, and while I enjoyed it, it felt sort of repeated. Didn't we already have the two go through some conflict in Once Upon a Zeppelin? Don't get me wrong, the conflict between the two was gripping and written well, but it felt kind of odd to see them fight again, after just got through one a few chapters ago.
Also, this line kind of bothered me:

"...I get it," Riku muttered. "Why should I even bother at this rate? I see where your priorities with others lie now. I'm just another villain, right?" Twilight shook her head, her body shaking while holding back her sobs. "I should be lucky that 'villains' like me, Terra, Luna, even Starlight weren't around your idol. You would have banished us as well."

It feels strange for someone like Riku to say this to Twilight since she never experienced him being a villain. What made the original line from Starlight much stronger is that Twilight has met her as a villain and slowly see her grow into a better person. It makes more sense the line coming from her than Riku. I understand that it's best not to repeat the plot of the original episode, but it didn't work that much in this case, at least for me. I still enjoyed what they went through in this chapter though.

---

Now, in opinion, is the chapter's biggest flaw.
Before that, it's great seeing Starlight and Sora getting along so well, it's very refreshing.
My disappointment comes from Starlight's role in the story. Why is Sora the one to ultimately save Stygian?
I know he is the main protagonist of this story, but it feels that Starlight's character is wasted here. In the finale of season 7, we see Starlight failing in trying to make Chrysalis redeem herself, and she was even criticized for her reckless actions, shouldn't this be the moment where she finally accomplishes what she failed previously and redeem Stygian? It was her moment to shine, why take it away and give it to Sora? We have already seen Sora done this multiple times in the past, from the very start of the story with Nightmare Moon. Why repeat it again? It becomes formulaic overtime.
Wouldn't it have been great if Starlight was the first to venture in, Sora follows her and defends her from Stygian, while at the same time she helps him fight him off, and tries to speak with him. During the final stages of the battle, it is Starlight who ultimately saves him at the end. After she saves Stygian, and Sora defeats the Pony of Shadows, maybe something interesting could have come up, maybe Star Swirl sees who the truth seventh pillar is, it's, in a way, all three of them. They all start with the letter S and have defeated the Pony of Shadows. Stygian, with help, overcame it; Starlight saved the one corrupted, and Sora is the one who vanquishes the darkness in the end. It isn't just "Sora, you are always the chosen one," it would actually have other characters to shine and grow, playing their part in the story, and also reenforces the running theme of the power of friendship.
Sure, it sounds cheesy, but even if the story might be centered around Sora, it would have been great if other characters also gain closure and have moments to shine, otherwise why have them there in the first place, other "because they showed up in the original episode."
It's the biggest problem with this in an arc in my opinion, and honestly, pretty unsatisfying and a waste of potential.

---

"Nope. But Riku and Kairi did while myself and the alternate versions of the girls from that world didn't as well." The Pillars looked at Sora, completely clueless. "Ehh, long story, but we beat them. And we even destroyed the source of their singing power: those red gems they wore around their necks. And now they're behind bars in Canterlot's dungeons for life."

We also finally have the Sirens addressed after so many chapters (sorry, if I missed something in previous ones), I hope we see them come back one way or another. The only closure we received from them in the original series is them trying to live normal human lives. I'm curious what you will do with them now that they are ponies in Equestria. I feel like there's still some potential to use with them, maybe trying to live out normal lives in Equestria, of course under serious watch, and just wanting to move on from the whole fiasco with the heroes. Being imprisoned for life seems to be too harsh for them in my opinion, and I think a proper closure would be better.

---

We now come down to Aqua, oh boy, Aqua.
I've talked before how I felt towards her character and honestly, I'm glad that this chapter is slowly changing my opinion of her. Seeing Luna's distraught emotions on M is something I was excited about, and I wasn't disappointed. Seeing Aqua trying to help Luna, and feeling genuinely sorry for her breakdown towards them was surprisngly heartwarming.

"No, Terra. Please, don't try to defend me," Aqua said as she looked back at him. "My problems and Luna's shouldn't be treated like a competition. What we each suffered through is irrelevant, along with how we handle the changes we struggle with in our lives. I needed that kick in the butt when I accused Starlight of being untrustworthy after what she did because I only focused on the negatives she's done, and refusing to believe the cause for her actions...just like Star Swirl criticized us after seeing our falls into darkness." ... "...What's important is the present, the ones who care about you and who you want to protect...and forgiveness."

Yes, yes, YES! This what Aqua desperately needed, a reflection that she shouldn't let her backstory define her, and she needs to be reminded that her actions have consequences, and this is one of them.
While she still needs more growth, like that one time she made Starlight see all the horrible futures she has created all at once, which in turn should have given Starlight trauma and PTSD, causing Aqua to reflect and she has become someone so despicable, and give someone the same type of problem she has gone through, you know there was a lot of potential there,; ok I'm just rambaling now, going off-topic.
The point I'm trying to make is that Aqua still needs time to redeem herself, and I'm so glad that this is a step in the right direction.
My only issue with this, it might be a little forced, like she just all of the sudden realizes.
I figured after seeing discovering Stygian's true backstory, she realizes that no matter what kind of situation you are in, anybody can fall into darkness one way or another. Stygian fell into darkness because of becoming isolated and betrayed, while Aqua suffered alone a seemingly timeless living hell. One may be worse than the other, but they still fell towards the side of darkness. This could be the case where Aqua realizes this and learns to help Luna and understand her.
The chapter needed something like to this, so it doesn't come off as forced.
Still, I love what you did to Aqua this chapter, and I cannot wait to see what else you have in store for her.

---

To finish things off, because this analysis is longer than it is, we can end with one final thought on M.

"Then what did I just see!? Fabrications to get me mad!?" Star Swirl questioned. "M would get on my nerves, but he's quite clear when he explained to me that Keyblade wielders protect the light and eradicate the darkness!"

This quote right here left me thinking a lot about what M's ultimatre goal. In the main game series, he seems to be alluded to be the new Big Bad of the next saga, and in this story, judging by this quote, it leaves me to believe that something much more interesting might happen in the future. Xehanort's goal is to open Kingdom Hearts, gain its power, and recreate the universe in his own image, birth the proper balance of light and darkness. M, on the other hand, seems to be the complete opposite, in which he wishes to eradicate darkness itself. I'm loving what you are doing with his character, but we can only speculate for now, and I'm exicted to see more of him in the future.

"You two are...the greatest ponies an old toad like me's ever known...I won't let anything hurt you..."

"...I love you girls, too...So, so much..."

These lines are what makes M's character very fascinating. "I won't let anything hurt you" is one of the biggest lies M could have ever said. Because in the end, he did hurt them, and we know why, because he always goes by his book. M is a character I don't consider bad or good, his actions are based on his own motives. Travelling to the future, and ensuring all of his visions fall into place. If his two nieces were to suffer in the future, M wouldn't intervene. Even when he was responsible for Sombra to come back as a dream eater, he most likely did it because his vision says so, not by his good heart. I do believe he loves Celestia and Luna, but at the end of the day, his visions are more important than anything. Now that he has finally made his place in our heroes' journey, I can't wait to see what more they might uncover about one of Kingdom Heart's greatest mysteries.

---

So yeah, that's it for this. Gotta say, Lea was the best part of this chapter, in my opinion, loved his interactions with the wise old wizards and slowly seeing him grow as a keyblade wielder.
Kind of hoping we get to see another Equestria Girls episode, hoping it's Forgotten Friendship, cause honestly, we need a short break from all of this, the movie might way too much, lol. Speaking of which, I got a few theories on how I believe the movie might go down, but that'll be in another comment, cause this one is already long as it is. phew

[SpiritD3t3ctiv3]

And now, M's message is weighing on Sora's mind (Which will most likely lead to future events, cause well that's how foreboding messages work). But for now, at least Star Swirl has been opened up to a new way of thinking, and the Pony of Shadows, aka Stygian, has been purged of the darkness within. Wonder what'll happen next.

[Gaybagel]

By anychance are you gonna do the Magical Movie Night, Forgotten Friendship and Spring breakdown specials?

I can see a huge fight with Juniper Montage after being filled wigth the power of darkness at the end of Movie Magic.

Forgotten Friendship with sora losing his memories (again) would be killer

and Spring Breakdown would be cool if instead of going back to Equestria they go to somewhere else :D

[JesusG0987]

10105797
Uh, before season 8 we got the movie special first. Remember that. The Mlp movie comes up after season 7. And with Kairi as an Alicorn and with Riku being there for twilight and Sora and the other wielders there, it will be an interesting and awesome chapters to it.

[Animation Crusader]

I don't know much about Kingdom Hearts, only the basics of each character from there that is involved here. Even with my lack of familiarity with the series, I enjoyed reading this so far.

I like the little touches you've included to make this more than just the show with Kingdom Hearts characters included. Starlight got more of a punishment for messing with time, and Star Swirl rightfully got chewed out for his 'once a villain' philosophy. I like how these little additions improve the show's story on a greater whole.

I'm interested to see how the movie goes with all the extra action and characters added. Then it's onto Season 8. I know season 8 isn't the most well-received season, so hopefully you can make improvements. I'd especially like for Cozy Glow to be treated better and gain added depth that canon didn't give her. For example, it'd be nice to know if she's an orphan or if she has a neglectful family.

Great job!

[PonyofEntropy]

Great update!

[Kreotre]

I can't wait for you to do Mlp the movie, it's gonna be awesome

[Heavens_Angel]

10075785
I think we could use a break from all the seriousness. May i Suggest a fun light-hearted Chapter?

[XLR8 Fox]

Man, this series is full of amazement

So next I can assume will be the MLP Movie, it’s probably after some other stuff going on right? Like maybe Sora and Kairi’s wedding!

[Codex92]

10126231
The wedding's actually going to happen a little bit later. A lot of thought went to the location, but I think I figured out the best place for it.

[XLR8 Fox]

10126969
Huh, well that’s cool

So your still gonna do the MLP Movie right? I’m hoping to see the Storm King go Heartless, or perhaps the Storm King teaming up with Maleficent?

[Brony989]

10127078
Wow I can't wait for this moment

[RainbowAnime]

Is Xehanort will appeared, someday?

[XLR8 Fox]

So with all of the stuff in this story, which is catching up to stuff with Kingdom Hearts 3, I'm curious about something

with how the fandom wanted it to happen, would you consider making a chapter or some sort of side story in this involving Oswald the Lucky Rabbit? since I know some of the fandom would very much like the forgotten toon to have a keyblade

[Kreotre]

Hey Codex92, I'm not trying to rush or anything, But I just wanted to know that when are you gonna do the next story, just take your time and I'm not rushing you, thanks

[HarryBuilder]

10134451
I agree plus anyone else wondering what's gonna happen when Twilight says "Well maybe I would've been better off without friends like you?!"
and how are Sora, Riku, Kairi and the other Keyblade wielders gonna react?

also will sunset shimmer be making a come-back in the future?

and will Lea have a role in this?

[Brony989]

I'm so excited for this moment 😍

[The Pyropath]

10142782
It's literally called KINGDOM HEARTS TIMELINE - it's not a video, but an enormous playlist by an individual named Everglow. It really helped me understand everything canon that was available in the Kingdom Hearts story up to KH3, especially because they painstakingly put things in the right order. Everglow's also one of the channels that actively plays Kingdom Hearts Union χ, showing gameplay and story from both translated Japanese and North American versions of the game. I know there are other channels out there that try to make more compact videos, and there's an abundance of Let's Play channels that have gone through the Kingdom Hearts games and have shown all the gameplay available, but Everglow does a pretty great job of showing only what's needed or unique.

I really hope I don't get in trouble on FiMFiction for what could be seen as advertising, but considering how many people seem really lost when it comes to the Kingdom Hearts story even to this day, it's something I try to share with other Kingdom Hearts fans whenever I get the chance. Especially because of the 358/2 Days segments - a team helped Everglow create a simulation of what a modern remake could look like using the Kingdom Hearts II engine, and it's awesome. If you can spare at least a few hours each day, especially while Coronavirus is active and governments are beginning to enact Shelter in Place orders, I think you'll be able to complete it in a month or two. I reiterate: it's long, but it's such a great experience and it helped me understand so much that when I played Kingdom Hearts 3, I rarely found myself lost, and was excited at each story revelation. I still had my fair share of disappointment with KH3's story because I was disappointed with several missed opportunities (although I hope that'll be lessened when I'm finally able to play the ReMind DLC), but I had a mostly positive experience and am looking forward to the next game (aside from Dark Road, I'm not a fan of the mobile games aside from their story). Give the Timeline a shot!

[Ponyhearts]

When's the movie arc gonna start?

[TharsianBoreas]

"You're quite the Keyblade wielder, Sora," M said. "Saving worlds, making new friends, and even making some villains worthy of redemption to turn good. Quite a noble hero you are. But...if there's someone you do care about, and they refuse to hear your pleas and get another chance, what would you do?" Sora's ears perked up at M's question. "Do you try to keep going and risk everything to change the paths their hearts are set on, or will you finally be able to let go of them in order to save the ones who matter the most to you?"

Hmm...after reading the last published chapter set in season 8, could M mean Cozy Glow ? Sora did take Cozy into his wings

[jjb0420]

11035137

As much as I am a fan of stories that give a better explanation to Cozy Glow.............this might make the most sense. That, or the Legion of Doom, which would end up including Cozy Glow anyway.