The Youngest Wielder
Sora had no idea how long he'd been standing in absolute silence, but he couldn't fathom what he just saw. Cozy Glow, a filly who had just moved to Ponyville not too long ago to learn about friendship, has a Keyblade resting in her hooves. She was smiling at him sheepishly, revealing a deep-seated secret when a stray Heartless snuck up on her. Sora's lips flapped like a fish out of water, only able to utter nonsense as his brain tried to put an impossible puzzle together.
He walked up to Cozy Glow, finally finding his voice as he looked down at the nervous filly and her chess piece designed Keyblade. "...Huh!?" he squeaked.
"Umm...I-I did want to tell you...but, I didn't know how to," Cozy admitted. "So...ta da. I have a sword like...yours."
Sora's hooves shook as he reached them out to take Cozy's Keyblade. She let him hold it, part of him praying that it wasn't a real Keyblade, but it was a genuine Keyblade the moment his hoof made contact with the hilt. He had no idea how this little filly, who was younger than the Cutie Mark Crusaders and as sweet as cinnamon apple pie, was given something as dangerous as a blade of darkness's bane. While examining it, he looked back at Cozy Glow, slowly holding the weapon out, and waited. In seconds, the Keyblade disappeared in a flash of light from his hoof, then reappeared back in Cozy's hooves.
"...No way," Sora mumbled. "You...You have a...Keyblade?"
"Key...blade?" Cozy asked, looking at her blade curiously. "It does look like a key. Is that what you call your sword?"
Sora quickly grabbed the filly, picking her up with a surprised squeal. "How do you have a Keyblade!?" Sora exclaimed.
"I-I don't know," Cozy said nervously. "It just appeared in my hoof a couple months ago. And then those scary monsters with yellow eyes showed up whenever I hold it."
"And you know how to use it to slay Heartless?" Sora questioned skeptically.
"I...I had to learn by myself." Cozy frowned, her eyes glancing down as tears welled up in her eyes again. "...T-They...they..." She sniffled and let out a whimper, which concerned Sora as his shock about her Keyblade had faded from his mind. "T-They...attacked my family...They...took their...h-hearts, and..."
Cozy began to choke up as she tried to explain, but Sora put together the horrible tale she regaled to him. "The Heartless...took your family?" he asked. "But...you said you moved here with them."
Cozy let out a pitiful whine, then began to sob. She must have lied to hide this fact from everyone she met, not wanting to be a burden for anyone. That meant she was an orphan, had been wandering on her own for months, and had been attacked by Heartless before. Sora couldn't imagine what Cozy Glow went through, and with how lonely she must have been, she must have heard about the School of Friendship and wanted to make some friends to keep her company.
He pulled Cozy Glow to his chest and held her as she cried, letting her know he was there for her. Cozy dropped her Keyblade and held Sora tightly, letting out her bottled up pain and loneliness. There were a lot of questions Sora wanted to ask her, but being so young, it was best not to pressure her too much. She was already an orphan and survived by herself, it was amazing how she could keep her innocent optimism without the past haunting her.
When she managed to calm down enough, Sora kept holding her while he looked out to the peaceful valley. "I'm so sorry this happened to you, Cozy," he mumbled, feeling the filly nuzzle her face into his chest, finding comfort and protection with her idol. "We had a map that could point out Heartless that could appear in the world...but I guess we looked at the wrong place at the wrong time to prevent that from happening to you..." Cozy didn't respond, but she didn't shy away from him, understanding his reasoning. He looked down at her, curious to know something he was trying to uncover earlier. "I did notice something a few days ago. On the map, around this spot, I saw Heartless had appeared, and there was a white light on the map. The lights come from Keyblade wielders on the map, but when the Heartless disappeared, so did that wielder...Were you...out here that day, Cozy?"
"...Yeah," Cozy admitted. "I-I was trying to fight better, but they appeared and came after me...They're weren't scary like the ones you fought, though. They were smaller. And stood on two legs."
"Normal Shadows." Sora sighed in relief hearing that Shadows were what appeared that day. But with that wielder being Cozy Glow, the map wasn't experiencing another glitch, yet there was a bearer who was much younger than himself, Ventus, or any of the Young Six who had been chosen to protect the realm of light. He knew neither of them gave Cozy Glow the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony, nor had anyone ever met her several months ago to accidentally bequeath her the ability to become a wielder. If it was M who decided to pull a sick joke for whatever he had inside his complex mind, it wouldn't have made sense if the mysterious wielder of the past had a soft spot for filly Celestia and Luna. Shaking off the thoughts of that insane man who could see the future, he gently pat Cozy's back. "At least you're a bit of a quick learner with your Keyblade."
"I am?" Cozy asked.
"Yeah. You beat that Shadow Pony with one swing," Sora praised. "The first time it took me to take down a Heartless, I had to slash at one several times before they were slain. And I was only a few years older than you."
"Really?" Cozy Glow looked up at Sora, stunned with awe at his tale of slaying his first Heartless. "I...did better than you?"
"Well, I ended up running into what seemed like an endless horde of Heartless, but I was a bit overwhelmed with what was happening at the time," Sora admitted.
"...Can...Can you teach me how to be as strong as you?" the filly asked.
Sora balked at the request, stammering nervously at the crazy idea. "Uhh...W-Well, I'm not sure," he said. "You're...you're too young to get in such dangerous fights with Heartless. Not to mention there's also-"
"But what if they attack me again?" Cozy Glow interrupted, fear apparent in her big, tear-stricken eyes. "I-I don't want them to hurt me. O-Or even my new friends." She grabbed his jacket with her hooves, practically pleading for Sora to train her. "Please, Sora? I promise I'll work hard and be as brave and strong as you."
Sora desperately tried to shift his gaze elsewhere, but he couldn't look away from the wide, sad puppy dog eyes Cozy gave him. He wished he still wasn't holding the filly to stare at that face at such a close proximity. His morals told him no, she was just a kid, and she could get seriously hurt. However, his heart melted at that face, unable to say no to denying something asked by someone so precious and adorable. His heart eventually caved him into the cuteness overload coming from Cozy Glow, even more so than either of his surrogate little sisters combined.
"...I...I guess I can...teach you." Cozy gasped with a wide smile, but before she could hug Sora, he lowered the filly back on the ground. "But I need to tell the others about this. I only hope that they'll take this well."
"Absolutely not, Sora!" Aqua scolded.
Sora gathered his fellow wielders, including Twilight, meeting with them in the castle's throne room and told them about Cozy Glow and her Keyblade. They were just as dumbfounded as he was about the young filly's Keyblade, however, the moment he brought up the idea of training her along with their other apprentices, they didn't agree, which he understood entirely. Cozy Glow was left waiting outside the throne room, able to hear their conversation through the slightly ajar doorway, and he really didn't want to get her hopes up too high, knowing his friends would disagree to allowing a child her age to become an apprentice. Needless to say, Cozy Glow felt despondent as she heard the other wielders during their meeting.
"Are you crazy?" Riku questioned. "You want her to join us as another apprentice?"
"Well, she took down a Shadow Pony by herself," Sora sheepishly reasoned, earning a hard thwack upside the head by Aqua's magic aura.
"I don't care if she tore through an Invisible without breaking a sweat! She's a child!" Aqua harshly scolded the brown-haired pegasus stallion. "You know how dangerous it is for any of us to run into Heartless, and you're going to think this is fine and risk her life to the darkness if she gets cold feet!?"
Sora rubbed the back of his noggin, grimacing slightly from their conversation Cozy Glow was eavesdropping in than the smack to the head. "I can't believe that I even enrolled a filly in my school who has no adult supervision in Ponyville," Twilight said. "She's homeless, and an orphan. Where is she even staying? And who gave her a Keyblade? There's no way it just appeared out of thin air."
"She said it appeared to her a couple months ago, but none of us have ever met the filly until she started her first day," Kairi said.
Slowly, everyone glanced over at Terra, putting the earth pony stallion on the spot. "...What?" he asked.
"Well...You've been in hiding for a while until you reunited with us, Terra," Ventus pointed out. "So...maybe you-?"
"I kept my identity as a Keyblade wielder and an outsider of this world secret since I arrived here up until I knew you guys were here, too," Terra said. "I didn't enlist any new apprentices neither of you are aware of during that time."
"Was M responsible for giving her the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony?" Riku pondered. "I find it hard to believe a Keyblade would just appear out of nowhere for a wielder without another experienced wielder's influence."
Lea raised his hoof, letting out a whistle to get everyone's attention. "Uhh, yo? I was one of those unaware wielders," he reminded the group. "No wielder gave me this ceremony thing, nor did I even touch any other Keyblade as a Nobody or my real self. So, care to explain how I got one?"
The others looked at around, finding Lea's claim with how he obtained his Keyblade out of nowhere was perplexing. "...Perhaps your involvement with Roxas as Axel," Aqua guessed.
"Roxas? I don't think he even let me touch his Keyblade," Lea mumbled.
"Much like how Sora acquired his, he allowed Ven's heart inside his for safekeeping," Aqua explained. "I sensed potential in both Sora and Riku back when I first met them as little boys. However, I was afraid making them both future wielders would cause them to fight with each other over who was stronger." She briefly glanced at Terra with her forelegs crossed, then back to Sora and Riku. Both pegasi kept their gazes away from each other, grimacing slightly as Aqua's fears did manage to come true the day their journeys began. "Ven's light must have helped influence Sora's Keyblade to appear, even though his was originally supposed to be Riku's, as Terra gave him the ceremony."
"So, Lea earned his Keyblade by just being friends with Roxas?" Kairi asked.
"I also became friends with him back in Radiant Garden in the past," Ventus added. "I didn't let him touch my Keyblade, but does that count?"
"Maybe. Keyblades still have plenty of mysterious that not even those like Master Yen Sid can fully comprehend." Aqua shook her head, getting back to the real matter at hand. "Either way, Cozy Glow cannot keep her Keyblade. Maybe when she's old enough, I'll consider her to join as an apprentice."
Cozy Glow didn't like the sound of that. She walked inside the throne room, interrupting their meeting.
"What if I try really, really hard?" she asked, getting the group's attention. "I want to help if having this Keyblade is very important."
"I'm sorry, Cozy Glow, but you far too young to handle the responsibilities that come with being a Keyblade wielder," Aqua said. "It's really dangerous. And having a Keyblade makes you a target for Heartless to go after."
Sora was about to give Aqua a reason why she should at least learn to defend herself, but Cozy Glow beat him to it. "Then wouldn't it make sense if you taught me how to defend myself now if those monsters attack me again?"
Kairi approached the filly, hoping a much more sweeter approach would help drive their point across. "Listen, Cozy Glow. I know you want to learn, but it would be best if you let us protect you," she said, giving the filly a little pat on the head. "I don't know what Sora put in your head-" Kairi gave her fiancé a stern glare, making him wince and grin at her nervously, then looked back at Cozy with a much nicer expression. "-but those monsters can get much more dangerous when you least suspect it. Besides, it's a very big responsibility being a Keyblade wielder. You've already got your studies from the School of Friendship to worry about, and with all the training you'd have to do, you'd get much more exhausted and tire out too easily."
"I think I can balance learning friendship and learning how to fight," Cozy Glow said.
Kairi blinked, surprised how the filly didn't even back down while being reminded of her enrollment as a friendship student. She giggled a little, letting out a small sigh as she lowered herself down to the filly's level and pulled her closer.
"Cozy Glow, maybe I wasn't clear about what I meant." Her innocent grin slowly turned grim, giving the filly a harsh leer, making Sora's fur stand on end, and she wasn't even glaring at him. "If you try to fight at your age, you're going to be turned into a Heartless faster than you can say 'oops'."
Unfazed, Cozy Glow looked at the others, then Sora, then back to Kairi. "I managed to survive so far." Kairi's terrifying expression wavered, standing back up with a look of defeat. Cozy Glow fluttered onto the Cutie Map, turning to speak to all the wielders in the room. "I know I'm too young to learn these things, but when my family was attacked by those scary creatures, all I could do was try to smack them away without getting hurt. I...I wasn't able to save them, and I blame myself for not doing anything to try to save them. They appeared when I had my Keyblade in my hooves, but I wasn't brave enough.
"I heard all about Sora and his bravery, saving Equestria from many dangerous foes: Nightmare Moon, Discord, the changeling queen, Chrysalis, the evil unicorn king, Sombra, even the mean, nasty, magic-stealing centaur, Tirek." Riku scoffed slightly as Cozy Glow listed the villains Sora had "defeated". He may have stopped Nightmare Moon and Discord, but the other three weren't all his doing: Chrysalis had him mind controlled with her magic, Sombra was far stronger than all of them, even with his Harmony Form, and Tirek was stopped temporarily by Sora and himself, but the Tree of Harmony granting the Mane Six their rainbow powers helped stop him. "I want to be as brave and strong as Sora, a true hero of Equestria, and a powerful Keyblade wielder."
Ventus noticed Sora running his hoof through his mane, grinning sheepishly as the filly praised him. "And he's starting to get an ego," he mumbled, Terra and Aqua hearing the young teen as they both silently agreed.
Cozy Glow then faced Aqua, approaching her with a pleading look in her eyes. "Give me a chance to show everypony that I can do this. If I can't handle whatever training you put me through, then I'll give you my Keyblade and I'll only focus on friendship school. I might feel awful if I can't succeed, but I'll try to grin and bear it and wait until I'm a bit older."
Aqua stood silently, staring at Cozy Glow with her big, round eyes looking at her, glinting with an innocent determination and hope for being given a chance. She looked at the others, all but Sora seeming skeptical and unwilling to allow Cozy Glow this chance. Sora seemed unsure with his conflicted expression: he knew it was a dumb idea coming to them to inform them and ask to train Cozy Glow for self-defensive purposes, but a part of him in his gaze wanted to give Cozy that chance, though it was due to the cute pegasus filly laying on her adorable innocence to tug at his heartstrings. They all looked to Aqua to make the decision as she contemplated her response.
"...Sora, if Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, or Scootaloo were given Keyblades, would you want them to train and fight the Heartless alongside us?" Aqua asked Sora.
"No way," he answered with a shake of his head, showing no hesitation in his response. "I care about them too much to even think about getting them involved."
"And yet you would allow Cozy Glow, a filly just a couple years younger than them, to want to be our apprentice?" Aqua questioned. "Or, rather, YOUR apprentice?"
Sora flinched, clearly showing hesitance as he glanced at Cozy Glow, who looked back at him hopefully. "...Uhh...W-Well..." He saw Aqua's point clear as day, but neither of his friends or fiancée saw how quick Cozy moved and took care of the Shadow Pony with one swing. She had potential, even with what little self-taught training she had. Steeling his nerves, he took in a deep breath and gave Aqua a much more confident look. "Yes. I will take full responsibility for Cozy Glow and train her. I think she has what it takes, even if she is far younger than we all were when we started out as wielders."
Aqua hummed in thought, judging Sora's response and his hardened expression, the looked back at Cozy Glow, who gave her a somewhat convincing, confident smile. "...One week," she said.
"Huh?" Cozy asked as her smile turned into a confused frown.
"I'll give you one week of training, from Sora, to see if you have what it takes to become a Keyblade wielder," Aqua explained. The rest of the wielders stared at the blue unicorn in bewilderment, Sora staring in absolute shock, and Cozy Glow trembling with excitement with a wide grin. "I'll give you a test to see if you're able to at least match our apprentices' beginner level. If you pass, I'll allow you more training, but nothing too advanced until you're old enough to truly take on such an important role as a protector of the realm of light. Fail, your status as a wielder will be taken away, along with your Keyblade, and you will only resume your studies at the School of Friendship. Is that clear, Cozy Glow?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Cozy cheered, giving the Keyblade Master a cheerful salute.
"Good," Aqua said. She then glanced at Sora, who was dumbfounded by Aqua's decision, but quickly stood at attention when she leered at him. "Congratulations, Sora. You have your own personal apprentice. One week from now, starting tomorrow, you will begin your training with her. She needs to learn basic combat, a basic Fire spell for magic targets, and her stamina better be on par with the Young Six from their entry levels of training. Understood?"
"Yes, Master Aqua," Sora said.
Aqua nodded with a small grunt. "Set up a room for her in the castle," she added. "I have no idea where she's been sleeping, but she's going to need a lot of rest for your workout with her tomorrow." Sora nodded as Cozy Glow cheered, zipping off to her new master and nearly tackled his neck with a joyous hug. Aqua then looked at Twilight, who was still baffled by Aqua's choice. "Twilight, any chance you can omit Cozy from any friendship lessons or tests for the week until we see how she does?"
"A-A whole week? She still needs to do a retake of the test I gave her when she flunked it on purpose," Twilight argued.
"Just one week. If the filly's smarter than she looks, she can make up any assignments, quizzes, and so on without much trouble," Aqua said.
Twilight bit her hoof anxiously, glancing at Cozy Glow, who was dancing around Sora while the stallion seemed happy for her. "...Fine. I think...I can do that," she finally said with a defeated sigh.
"If nothing else needs to be said, then this meeting's over," Aqua said.
Sora bowed his head, Cozy Glow doing the same to the Keyblade Master, then the two made their way down the hall for the stallion to show his young charge's new bedroom. As soon as they left, everyone stared at Aqua, who remained stoic and firm with her decision for the youngest Keybalde wielder in written history.
"You really considered her plea?" Riku questioned.
"Do know that I am going to make her qualifying test be fair for a beginner apprentice," Aqua stated. "She has that determined youth, but I highly doubt she'd be able to be among the Young Six as our students."
"But what if she does pass?" Twilight questioned. "With all that responsibility she'll have to endure, she could be too tired to study in either school, and she'll fail because of her exhaustion! Do you know how terrible that would be for my school if there's enough failing grades tallied up between all my students!? Chancellor Neighsay will definitely shut down the school for good then!"
"Then we'll see when that time comes," Aqua said. "Besides, even if she does pass, I'm not allowing her to advance further until she's old enough. Just simple basics, simple spellcasting, and decent training regimens for someone her age so she doesn't get too fatigued." Aqua began to take her leave, walking around the crystal table to the double doors of the throne room. "I'd better set up her test and prepare to be amazed or disappointed."
Once she left, the others did the same, all of them completely unsure what Sora was thinking wanting Cozy to be like them and Aqua eventually cracking and giving the filly a chance.
"Wow. This castle's really big," Cozy said, taking a ride on Sora's back as she looked around the similar crystal halls of the Castle of Friendship. "How do you manage to find your way around?"
"You get used to it after a while, but we have maps for curious tourists who want to take a look around," Sora said. He finally stopped at a door in the halls, opening it up and entered the guest room. "This will be your room. It's just down the hall from mine and Kairi's, so if you need anything, don't hesitate to get us."
Cozy Glow hopped off of Sora's back and looked around her new room. There wasn't much suited for a filly, but Cozy was glad to have a bed to sleep in. She flew over to the bed and landed on the mattress, giggling a little as she hopped up and down to test its softness.
"Not as soft as a cloud, but now I don't have to worry about finding out if it's filled with rain or not," Cozy said.
Sora frowned, learning how Cozy Glow had sought comfortable sleeping arrangements, barely finding any decent shelter if there was a scheduled storm. "Well, you don't have to anymore. Friendship school or training, you're staying here until you're old enough to make it on your own."
Cozy flew up to Sora and hugged him again. "Thank you so much, Sora," she said. "Or...should I call you 'master' now?"
"You can call me whatever you like," Sora chuckled as he pat the filly's back. "Right now, you're going to need a lot of rest. We're waking up at dawn so we can begin your training."
"Ok." Cozy wriggled out from Sora's hoof and flew back to her new bed. She pulled back the covers and got herself comfortable while Sora watched from the doorway. "Good night, Sora."
"Good night, Cozy Glow," Sora said back, closing the bedroom door as the filly rested her head against her pillow, falling right to sleep. He backed away after quietly shutting the door, intending to get some rest as well for the following week. When he turned around, he yelped in surprise, finding Kairi standing in his way with a deadpanned expression. "K-Kairi! Can you stop that!? I swear, one of these days, you're going to give me a heart attack."
"Are you really serious about this?" she asked. "Putting Cozy Glow through training to join us in our battle against darkness?"
"W-Well...not really," Sora mumbled. "When she's older, maybe, but not right now. Just enough so, if anything happened to us after we take down Xehanort and the Organization, she's be able to properly defend herself."
"Are you sure that's what you're thinking about? Or is your heart doing the thinking for you?" Sora grinned sheepishly, his silence telling the Princess of Heart everything she needed to know. Sighing, she shook her head. "Sora, you're way too nice sometimes."
"Is that a bad thing?" Sora asked.
"Sometimes," Kairi answered, her response making Sora slump over with an exasperated groan. Kairi reached a hoof out to Sora's face, gently touching his cheek and tilting his head up to look back at her, giving him a small, reassuring smile. "We all understand you're doing something for Cozy Glow. She's an orphan who's in need, and knowing you having a soft spot for all the foals you care about, I think it was a nice thing you did to let her stay here in the castle."
"Heh. Well, at least I don't go as nuts as you or mom when you see something adorable," Sora teased.
"And I'm perfectly fine with that," Kairi said. "Although, seeing how much of a good big brother you are to all the kids, I think that's enough proof for me to know you'll make an amazing father."
As she brushed his cheek with her hoof and gave his snout a light, teasing tap, Sora balked as he stared at Kairi and her impish smile. She began to walk down the hall to their room, her tail softly flicking and dragging along his muzzle.
"Buhhhh? K-Kairi?" Sora squeaked, stumbling after her while his brain tried to piece together the implications of her thoughts on his interaction with the foals. "A-Are...Are you...?"
Kairi giggled as his shocked, dumbfounded expression when she looked back at him. "No, not yet," she assured the stallion. Sora let out a huge sigh of relief, even though part of him felt a bit disappointed. "I think we'll both be ready for a baby after we're officially married. And when we're done with Xehanort and the new Organization."
"R-Right. Of course," Sora chuckled nervously. "Not a smart idea now. But definitely later. Later is...much better."
"Good," Kairi said. As the couple entered their room, Kairi purposely swished her hips as she approached their bed. Sora stared at her rump like a hypnotic pendulum, but as soon as Kairi climbed onto the mattress, slowly stretching her hind legs to tease him further, she ended her sultry display, using her magic to yank Sora toward the bed, making him faceplant into the covers. "But, instead of focusing on me, focus on Cozy Glow's training. Aqua's putting her faith in you to have that filly show us if she can handle it."
Lifting his head up, Sora pouted, but he shook his head and climbed into bed with Kairi. "Yeah, I know. Not my fault if you tease me worse than Riku," he grumbled.
"I'm helping keep you on your toes," Kairi said. She stuck her tongue out at him playfully, the leaned forward and gave him a light peck on the lips, barely fazing the slightly annoyed pegasus stallion. "Good night, Grumpy."
"Night, you big tease," Sora grunted, making Kairi giggle as she got herself under the covers. Sora kept his eye on his lover, her back turned to him as he slipped under the sheets. As he laid his head down against his pillow, his lips curled to a smirk. Reaching his forehooves out, he wrapped them around Kairi's barrel, making her squeak as he pulled her into his chest. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the sly grin on his face. "I'm allowed to cuddle with you. Nothing else. So you have no say in that."
Kairi grumbled as she leered blankly at him. She was about to berate him, but he nuzzled her cheek with a cheeky giggle, then let out a sigh as he fell asleep. Kairi shook her head slightly, barely nudging her future husband awake as she smiled. She grasped his hooves with one of her own while the other reached up to cup Sora's cheek, pressing his cheek closer to hers with a content hum, falling asleep with her beloved hero.
Before the sun was up the next morning, Sora gathered Cozy Glow to begin her first day of training. The filly followed Sora, still trying to wake up as she yawned occasionally on their walk out to the fields outside Ponyville. He brought some snacks, apple juice, and plenty of and Ethers. While Sora set their stuff down, Cozy Glow tiredly watched him while trying not to nod off and fall back to sleep.
"Alright. Day one of training begins now," Sora said.
"Did we have to wake up so early?" she asked. "The sun's not even up yet."
"While working at Sweet Apple Acres, you get used to waking up before dawn," Sora said. "Early to bed, early to rise, as they say. And just like farm work, physical training is best done bright and early. We only have a few days until your big test, so we need all the time we can get."
"Ok," Cozy said. "So, what should we start with first?"
"We'll do some warmups, and then we're going to take a lap around Ponyville," Sora instructed. While he began to do some wing-ups, Cozy snapped awake as she looked out to the town. "And we're running on foot for the whole lap. No flying."
The filly gulped nervously, seeing how big the town was compared to her small size. "Uhh...C-Can we...take small breaks during the lap?"
"Nope. We're not going to stop until we make a full lap," Sora said, making Cozy Glow even more nervous. "This will help build up your stamina. When facing Heartless, you're going to get exhausted facing dozens of them when they appear at any given moment. So if we build that up, you won't get too tired and leave yourself open." When Sora looked up at Cozy, he paused his wing-ups, finally noticing Cozy's uncertain, timid expression. "Don't worry. Just pace yourself. You don't have to do full-on gallops. It's going to be tiring, but you'll get used to it more and more after a few runs."
"O-Ok," Cozy said. "If you know what's best, then I'll give it a try."
"Great!" Sora hopped back on his hooves, giving his legs a few stretches. Cozy Glow did the same, warming up her small limbs for the tiring lap around Ponyville. "We'll start with a light jog and come back here for a small snack break."
Cozy nodded and followed Sora as he led them on their "easy" lap of Ponyville. Sora had to force himself to slow his jogging a little bit so Cozy Glow could keep up, but the first length of their brisk jog went by fairly easy. It was when they reached around the halfway point, near Sweet Apple Acres, that Cozy Glow began to grow tired. She panted as she struggled to keep up her jog. Sora instructed her to take deep breaths through her nose and exhale from her mouth to steady her breathing while moving. It worked for a while until she had to slow down to a walking speed, panting a bit to get some air in her lungs, then tried jogging again when she got a second wind. This happened a few more times, but Cozy didn't give up, even as Sora encouraged her to keep going.
When they arrived back at their training spot, Cozy immediately collapsed on the grass, gasping for air. The morning sun had already risen, jogging by some ponies who were beginning their daily errands. Sora grabbed some daffodil and daisy sandwiches from his bag of goodies and some bottles of Sweet Apple Acres brand apple juice and sat beside his panting charge. The moment he offered her morning snack, Cozy swiftly snatched the apple juice and chugged down half of the sweet fruit beverage. Once she managed to take a breath after nearly downing her drink in one sitting, she began to nibble on her sandwich, enjoying the simple combination while relaxing in the calm fields.
After finishing their snack, Sora guided Cozy Glow further out from their resting spot to begin the next part of her training. "How are you feeling right now, Cozy?" Sora asked.
"My legs are a bit sore and wobbly," she said. "Are we going to run again?"
"Not until tomorrow. We're actually going to work on combat training right now." Sora pulled out a pair of Struggle bats from his red pouch, keeping one for himself and gave Cozy Glow the other. "But we're using these instead of Keyblades. Don't want to get either of us hurt if we accidentally whack each other." He emphasized the foam bat's softness by giving his a couple taps against his head. "Although, these can kinda hurt with enough force, but...you know. Safer option."
Cozy looked at the Struggle bat curiously, touching the soft blue foam, then picked it up to gauge its weight compared to her own Keyblade. Obviously, it would be lighter since it was more like a toy sword than a real one, but it was slightly longer than her Keyblade.
"Ok. What do you want me to do?" Cozy asked.
"Just give me a few good swings," Sora said. "I'll help with your stance and how you strike your opponents so you don't leave yourself open for a counter."
The filly nodded, taking her bat in her mouth and crouched down slightly. Sora readied his bat to block Cozy, surprised to see her stance wasn't all that bad for a beginner: legs crouched and ready to move in any direction, keeping a firm grip on her weapon in her mouth, and though her wings flared out, they would add to her dodges or rushes with a strong enough flap. Cozy grunted as she ran at Sora and swung her bat at him. He blocked each swing, noting how wide each swing was while trying to put as much power into each strike that her small body could give. Flicking his bat slightly on her next strike, he easily parried her bat, sending the filly stumbling back and falling over with a startled grunt.
"Hey, I thought I was the only one attacking," Cozy complained.
"Never let your guard down," Sora advised. He helped Cozy back up on her hooves, giving her a small pat on the head. "You weren't doing too bad, but you are trying to hit as hard as you can for your size. You leave yourself open for counters like that, and you'll get pushed around really easily." Sora helped Cozy get back in her fighting stance, helping move her Struggle bat in her maw to swing with shorter movements to show her an example of how she should fight. "Being so small, you have much more mobility and speed compared to bigger opponents. Try doing shorter swings and quick lunges and stabs. They might not be as strong, but you can catch them off guard by zipping around and giving them these little scratches while you spin their heads around."
"Oh. I see," Cozy said, listening very carefully to her master's instructions.
"Come at me again," Sora ordered as he stepped back a bit, readying his bat again.
Cozy nodded and tried again. Taking Sora's advice, she swung with a bit less power, but they were much faster, and she hopped around the stallion instead of standing directly in front of him while attacking. Sora was impressed how quickly Cozy caught on. He even tried to parry the filly again, but she learned this time, anticipating it and used her wings to keep her on her hooves as she continued swinging. Sora kept praising Cozy, giving her a few light swings for her to block or dodge, giving her a few warnings just to give her a heads-up.
Cozy Glow began to grow tired again, her movements sluggish and exhausted. Sora gave her another break before she collapsed on him again. They relaxed on the grass near their little picnic rest spot for half an hour, Cozy going through another bottle of apple juice to keep herself hydrated. He could see she was getting a bit more confident in herself after basic weapons training. She'd need to work on her stamina, and if she does well with her next training regimen, she might be more gifted in magic rather than power.
While the filly relaxed, Sora headed into town to pick up some targets. Cozy watched him set up the targets, bringing down some clouds so some of them could "float" in midair like a flying target. Each target was painted with a couple red rings and a bullseye, scattered about like a makeshift shooting range.
"There we go," Sora said as he marveled at his handiwork. "I would have gone with enchanted furniture or tea sets that floated around to make it more challenging, but I'm not sure if I can do it justice like Merlin had when he helped me a little with my own magic training years ago."
"Enchanted furniture?" Cozy Glow asked with a tilt of her head.
"Uhh, I'll tell you about that later," Sora said sheepishly, then cleared his throat and went back into instructor mode. "Next, we're going to do some magic training."
"But I'm not a unicorn," Cozy stated. "And you're not a unicorn either, but you made a magic whirlwind that caught those Heartless pegasi."
"Well, lucky for us as wielders, they grant us the ability to perform magic spells," Sora said. "Sometimes, brute force might not be the answer in a battle. Magic can really decimate groups of Heartless, but you can't go using it all at once. When you run out of mana, you'll need a moment to let it recharge so you can continue flinging spells, so only use it when you're in a really tight spot or if you're facing Heartless who are weak to certain elemental spells."
Cozy Glow listened in awe, her mouth hanging open. She looked down, summoning her Keyblade and stared at it, learning something that seemed impossible while being just as excited wanting to give it a try.
"What spell am I going to be learning?" Cozy asked.
"Since none of us are expecting you to do much serious fighting if you do pass Aqua's test, we taught the others Cure, a healing spell, to help them whenever they get too badly hurt," Sora said. He summoned his Keyblade, giving it a twirl as he sat beside Cozy Glow, then aimed it at the many targets. "But for you, I'm going to teach you an offensive magical spell: Fire." Cozy watched Sora take aim, holding his Keyblade with only one hoof as he locked onto one of the "floating" targets. "It might have a bit of a kick, so I'd hold onto your Keyblade with both hooves."
"Ok." Joining him, Cozy grasped her Keyblade in both of her hooves, closing one eye as she looked down the length of the blade while keeping her forelegs steady.
"To cast the spell, focus on the feeling of a roaring fire within you," Sora instructed. "That burning heat will turn into a projectile, gathered from inside to the end of your Keyblade. Take careful aim, focus on that flame, and then you release the spell. Like this." With his leg held steady, he aimed right for the bullseye of his target. "Fire!"
In less than a second, Cozy watched the tip of Sora's Keyblade build up a ball of fire, then shoot off toward the target. The small fireball flew through the air and struck the target dead center with a small explosion. The target was scorched, burning the wood, but the magical flames disappeared after a few seconds.
"Wow. That's...kind of dangerous," Cozy mumbled.
"Don't worry. As long as you use your spells on your enemies, the explosive radius won't burn anyone else you're fighting with," Sora explained with a wink. "Now, let's see you give it a try. And if you run out of mana-" Sora grabbed the bag with Ethers, taking one of the bottles filled with the magic refueling blue liquid. "-I'll give you some of these to help regenerate your mana much quicker."
"...Do I have to drink it?" Cozy asked nervously, sticking her tongue out in disgust as she hoped the blue coloring actually had a blueberry flavor to it.
"Not these kinds of curatives. These are special," Sora assured. "I'll tell you about those later." Taking his word for it, Cozy focused back on her target, starting with a lower sitting in the grass. Sora helped guide her aim, shifting her Keyblade slightly and assisting her stance to lessen the recoil of the magic spell. "Keep your grip steady and your body firm. You might get pushed back a bit with the amount of force from using Fire with your size."
"Ok. Steady grip. Body firm." Cozy focused, doing exactly what Sora instructed as she aimed at her target. "...Fire!" Fire energy built up into Cozy's Keyblade faster than she can blink, and fired before a single second passed. Cozy Glow was startled at first, falling on her back from the recoil when she misjudged how fast her spell launched. When she sat back up, she watched her magic fireball fly across the field toward the target she aimed for. It hit with a smaller explosion compared to Sora's, but it hit the upper right section of the bigger red ring on the target, just shy of missing the edge by about an inch. "Aww, shoot. I didn't hit the bullseye."
"But you still hit the target. That's a good shot for a beginner," Sora praised. He helped Cozy stand back up and ruffled her mane. "You'll get a bullseye with enough practice. Keep on shooting. We'll also see how many spells you can pull off before your mana runs dry."
Cozy Glow giggled and tried again. Now that she got a feel for how strong the recoil was, she grounded herself a bit more to avoid another push. The filly fired a few more spells, hitting a couple more targets while one or two of her shots missed. Sora counted down how many Fire spells Cozy launched until her magic completely ran out, which surprised him when she finally stopped at ten shots. When she couldn't cast Fire anymore, Sora showed her how their Ethers worked, giving the bottle of blue liquid a toss in the air, making the bottle disappear, and the regenerating blue energy appeared and rained down on Cozy Glow in a blue mist. Confused by the effect, she tried to use Fire again, able to do so again.
Cozy continued the rest of the afternoon with her magic training until she exhausted all of the Ethers Sora brought with them. Once her mana ran out for the last time today, Sora called it a day, taking them back to town to get them something to eat for dinner. They stopped at the café, Cozy Glow ordering herself a salad while Sora had a veggie pasta and a side of hay fries for the two of them to share, then headed back to the castle once they were done with their meals.
Cozy Glow was pretty sore from the workout she did today, but she enjoyed the magic training, even if it was pretty hard to get used to using magic spells like a unicorn wizard can. Before she headed to bed, Sora wanted to spend a little more relaxing time with the filly. Guiding them to the top of the castle, Cozy stared in awe as she looked out to the town below them. It might not have been astonishing for any pegasus who flies at this height while looking down at the ground, but it was a wonderful sight viewing Ponyville as the setting sun cast an orange glow over the friendliest town in Equestria.
Sora sat over by the edge, gesturing the filly to come sit beside him, which she immediately did so she can enjoy the view. "Wow. It's beautiful up here," she said.
"Sure is," Sora said, agreeing with his student. They looked out at the town for a moment before Sora pulled out a pair of ice cream treats for the two of them. He held out one in front of Cozy, snapping her out of her daze as she stared at the icy blue frozen treat. "Here you go, Cozy."
"Oh. Thank you." Cozy took the ice cream, staring at it curiously. She gave it a lick to taste it, her eyes growing wide in surprise at the odd flavor. "It's...salty? But also sweet?"
Sora snickered at the filly's reaction as he took a bite of his ice cream. "Yup. Sea-salt ice cream. Weird combination, but it works," he said. After getting over the odd combination for an ice cream flavor, Cozy took a liking to it and took a bite of her treat. They continued sitting in silence and enjoyed their sea-salt ice cream. Sora expected Cozy to munch through her ice cream like any excited kid with dessert, but she savored her treat while relaxing after working hard from her training. "You did pretty well today, Cozy. Once the week's up, I think you might be able to pass Aqua's test."
"You really think I can?" Cozy Glow asked.
"With enough practice, I'm certain you will. And with flying colors," Sora assured with a confident grin. "A week might not be enough time for proper training, but you're a quick learner. You'll get the hang of combat much faster than I did when I was your age."
"When did you start learning to use a Keyblade?" Cozy asked curiously.
"Well, my Keyblade appeared a few years ago, but as a kid, Riku and I played around with wooden swords," Sora explained. "Our pretend sword fighting went from playful to competitive, and we pushed each other to getting better against each other. That's technically our bit of experience before our real journey as wielders truly began."
"Golly. No wonder it's so important to be properly trained," Cozy murmured. "But you're so strong now. I wonder if I can ever get as strong as you when I'm really allowed to be an apprentice."
"You'll get there if you work hard enough," Sora said. "Just don't try to be a hero everywhere, otherwise you'll keep getting involved in situations you're not supposed to be a part of." He laughed sheepishly as he poked fun at himself, hoping Cozy doesn't follow too much in his footsteps when she ever goes out to save a world from the threat of darkness. Cozy seemed to understand what he meant, nodding silently as she took in that little tip for the future. The two eventually finished their ice cream, Sora looking at the wooden stick his frozen snack was connected to. "Ah. Nothing."
"Hmm? What's 'nothing'?" Cozy asked.
"Oh, Pinkie's made up a funny promotional thing with the sea-salt ice cream," Sora said. "I think Roxas mentioned this when he hung out with Axel and Xion while I was asleep for about a year." Cozy Glow tilted her head, wondering curiously about who these other people were. "If you finish the ice cream and see the word 'winner' on it, you can turn it in for another sea-salt ice cream at Sugarcube Corner for free."
"Really? Maybe I won." Cozy glanced at her stick, but didn't find any words. "Oh. I guess not."
"Maybe next time." Sora soon stood up and stretched his back with a grunt. "It's starting to get late. Gotta get up bright and early again for some more training tomorrow."
"Ok," Cozy said. She had a little trouble standing up from how tired her body felt, but she managed to trudge behind Sora as they walked back inside the castle. "Six more days until my test. I'm already nervous."
"Hey, you've got this," Sora said, giving the filly a wink as he glanced back at her. "Get ready to work even harder tomorrow."
Cozy nodded, knowing her master has all his faith in her. She was going to work even harder and not let him down.
The next few days, Sora kept Cozy Glow's training schedule exactly the same: wake up before the sun was up with some snacks, drinks, and Ethers to their training spot, a morning jog around Ponyville, then combat and magic training. Day by day, Cozy Glow was progressing, both physically and magically. Her stamina had greatly improved with their runs and swordplay. She kept up with Sora and didn't slow down after day three, even increasing her run a little bit to get to the armed combat training. She took Sora's advice for her combat style to heart by constantly moving and getting around him, keeping her swings quick while hitting with enough force to cause "damage", but never leave herself open. Sora actually got caught off guard when she actually landed a hit on his left hind leg; Cozy leapt to his right, but feinted him for a swing when he moved to block her and moved left with a flap of her wings, smacking his exposed side with the Struggle bat. Even her aim with her Fire spells went from missing and grazing the targets to more hits and some of them being perfect bullseyes. She still fired the same amount of spells before her mana ran dry, but it might take a while and some more magic training to improve her mana pool.
It has now been a whole week since Aqua's deal with Cozy Glow, and she had everything all ready for the filly's test in The Land of Departure. While the woman waited with the other wielders, even Donald and Goofy, the Young Six entered the world after their group study session for some more training. After walking through the portal, they gawked at what they saw throughout the mountain path from the small courtyard to the lookout point: wooden cutouts of different Heartless spread throughout the trail, some lying on the ground, attached to the side of the mountain, or on thin rails they were attached to to move back and forth along. It all looked like an obstacle course with some crates and barrels to weave around or jump over, where some of those cutouts were hiding to simulate a surprise attack coming from an opponent.
"Whoa. What's all this?" Sandbar asked.
"It looks like one of those fun carnival games I've heard about!" Silverstream exclaimed.
"Wouldn't those actually be...smaller?" Ocellus questioned.
"It's an obstacle course," Aqua said.
"Sweet," Gallus said, cracking his knuckles as he prepared to have a go at the obstacle course.
"It's not for either of you," Aqua added, disappointing the griffon as the Young Six gave their master an odd look.
"Then who's it for?" Smolder asked.
"You'll see soon enough. And you're all in for a big surprise." The Young Six glanced at each other, wondering what surprise Aqua had in store for them. They walked over and joined with the others, though they noticed that Sora wasn't among them. They didn't have to wait long as Sora came through the portal, along with Cozy Glow, who looked around the new world curiously and the true forms of the other Keyblade wielders, Donald, and Goofy. The Young Six panicked when they saw the little filly walk right on through, seeing her around the school last week and worried she was going to break the world order, but the calm expressions on the others baffled them as they remained silent. "Sora, I hope you prepared Cozy Glow with my little test today."
"Oh, I think she's more than ready," Sora said, brimming with confidence.
"We'll see about that." Aqua looked over to her students, all six of them quickly standing at attention as she glanced their way. "Guys, I'm sure you've met Cozy Glow at the School of Friendship." Cozy looked at the Young Six, giving them a friendly wave. "Not only was she enrolled as a new student, but we've also discovered that she is a Keyblade wielder; the youngest bearer among us."
The Young Six broke from their stance, gawking at Cozy Glow in shock. Cozy gave them a nod, then held up a hoof to show them her Keyblade. As soon as it appeared, the Young Six voiced their shock through loud gasps or strangled grunts.
"Whoa! No way!" Sandbar exclaimed.
"Another pony wielder!?" Yona exclaimed. "Yona...Yona confused! How!? Master Sora give tiny pony Keyblade!?"
"Umm...Nopony did," Cozy Glow admitted. "It...came to me a couple months ago."
"So...we're going to have another apprentice joining us?" Ocellus asked.
"Not exactly," Aqua chimed in. "Since Cozy Glow is a bit too young to do any proper training, she begged us to give her a chance because she wants to help. This obstacle course is meant for her as a test to see if she can handle it, and I gave her and Sora a week of basic training to judge her progress. Whether she does or doesn't pass, I won't let her go through the rougher training we give to you all. If she passes, I'll let her keep her Keyblade, but stick to the basics until she's old enough to handle this responsibility. If not, then I'll hold her Keyblade, and until she's ready, I'll give her another chance."
"Aww, so she gets to go try the obstacle carnival course thing first?" Silverstream whined.
Smolder gave the hippogriff a deadpanned leer as she looked at her. "Seriously? You're not freaking out that a kid has a Keyblade? Is your brain still waterlogged from living under the sea for too long?"
"I don't know." Silverstream tilted her head to the right and lightly smacked the left side, smacking out the figurative water out of her ear. She quickly shook her head, letting out a giggle despite the dragoness wearing a dumbfounded look as she took her insult seriously. "Nope! No water clogging up my noggin!"
Smolder slowly turned her head, staring specifically at Gallus, who raised a brow in confusion. "Please tell me you like her because you think she's cute," she begged.
Gallus stiffened, his cheeks burning red as he looked away, trying and failing to hide his blush. "S-Shut up, Smolder," he grumbled.
Cozy Glow noticed the small interaction going on with some of the Young Six, tugging at Sora's pant leg to get his attention. "Does that griffon like that hippogriff?" she asked.
"Oh, I think it's pretty obvious," Sora said with a grin. "Although, Silverstream's the only one who doesn't seem to notice Gallus's telltale signs of his crush for her."
Aqua turned back around to face Sora and Cozy Glow. "Alright, Cozy Glow, are you ready to begin?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am!" Cozy said.
"Then let's not waste any time." Aqua pointed over to the lookout point, where Twilight was waiting for the filly. "Your test will start from there, down the trail, and back here to the courtyard. Along the way, you'll find wooden cutouts of Heartless that'll pop up along the course. You have five minutes to race down the course and slash through the enemies that'll 'attack' you. There will also be some targets in the air, where you'll need to take them out with magic. You will be grounded during this test, so no flying unless you need to jump over some of the big hurdles."
"Ok. No flying and attack all the targets while racing to the finish line. Got it," Cozy said.
"There's a little bit more," Aqua interjected, stifling the pegasus filly's eagerness. "Down the path, there are two different checkpoint areas you'll be 'trapped' in." Summoning her Keyblade, Aqua created an orb of light, the same ones used for the Young Six's training for grouped up enemies that harmlessly ram into them to keep them on their toes. "When you reach these checkpoints, Twilight will summon these as she monitors your progress and activates the enemies down the path. You cannot progress from these checkpoints until you take out these orbs, whether you use your Keyblade or magic is all up to you."
"Oh. Ok," Cozy said with a nod, watching the orb before Aqua dismissed it.
"Depending on how well you do, you will be marked by how quickly you make it through and the targets during the run. Missing any targets will cost you points, and they could appear anywhere," Aqua warned, then glanced back to her own students. "You leave one Heartless alive, it could escape and try to create more Heartless from the creatures or people that live in each world, thus rebuilding its group." The Young Six nodded at the highly important bit of information, then Aqua turned back to the filly looking up at her. "Are the rules clear, Cozy Glow?"
"Yes, ma'am. Er, I mean, yes, master," Cozy corrected herself.
"Good. When you're ready, fly over to Twilight at the starting line," Aqua instructed, then placed a hand over her heart while still giving Cozy Glow a serious gaze. "May your heart be your guiding key."
"Huh?" Cozy mumbled with a tilt of her head.
Even the Young Six were confused by the phrase, hearing it for the first time as well. Sora knelt down beside Cozy Glow and ruffled her curly mane.
"It's a way of saying good luck, and follow your heart," Sora explained.
Cozy giggled, batting away Sora's hand and his fingers giving her head a light scratch. "Ok. May my heart be my guiding key," she repeated with a hoof over her heart.
Sora nodded and stood back up, watching the filly fly off to the lookout point to join with Twilight. Sora and Aqua joined the others to watch Cozy Glow run through the obstacle course. While the Young Six took the phrase to heart to themselves, Donald and Goofy gave Sora an odd look.
"Sora, are ya really sure trainin' a little girl to be a Keyblade wielder is a good idea?" Goofy asked. "If she has to fight to defend herself, she might get too scared."
"He probably gave in because he can't so no to a small, adorable face," Donald accused.
"H-Hey, if she asked you to teach her how to use magic, you wouldn't say no to someone that adorable and precious!" Sora argued.
"Oh, I would in a heartbeat!" Donald squawked.
"What heartbeat, you heartless mage?" Sora grumbled. Donald grumbled back while Goofy shook his head at the two friends always butting heads whenever they get into some verbal altercation. "Besides, I know she'll beat this test hands down. She's improved really quickly for a beginner. Almost like a natural-born prodigy."
"Then don't forget she's your pupil," Aqua reminded Sora. "If she does fail, it will fall on you as well."
Sora grimaced, but he was confident Cozy Glow would succeed after all the hard work she did. Up at the lookout, Twilight paced nervously, unable to believe the day was here. As much as she hated to see failure in academics or athletics, she loathed herself when she wanted Cozy Glow to fail this test so she didn't wind up getting hurt in the future. She snapped out of her deep-seated thoughts when she saw Cozy Glow fly toward and land in front of her.
"Ready to begin my trial, Headmare Twilight!" Cozy said. "Or, should I call you Master Twilight here? Master Headmare Princess Twilight?"
"Let's just get this over with," Twilight sighed, forcing herself to smile. Cozy shrugged her shoulders, then skipped over to the starting line. Twilight did not like the overconfidence the filly had. "Ugh. Sora, you better not have rubbed some of your personality off on her." With her magic and Keyblade at the ready, she levitated a stopwatch and a quill and piece of paper with a tally chart to count her struck and missed targets. She hovered by the starting line, watching Cozy Glow do some stretches to loosen her tiny limbs for her run. "Ready, Cozy Glow?"
Placing her Keyblade in her mouth, Cozy crouched down to prepare to sprint forward. "I was born ready."
Sighing again, Twilight shook her head. "Yup. He did," she groaned. The alicorn cleared her throat, ignoring Sora shouting and wishing Cozy Glow good luck as she readied the timer of her stopwatch. "On your mark. Get set. Go!"
Cozy ran forward as the timer began its countdown. Down the hill, there were barrels and crates creating a path for her to specifically take, making the run down to the front courtyard of the huge floating building slightly longer than it should for this test. As she rounded the first corner, Twilight's magic kicked in and popped a Shadow cutout to appear from the ground to lunge at the filly. Barely stopping, Cozy dashed forward, leapt, and spun into the cutout, spin-slashing the Heartless's head clean off. Twilight kept count while activating all the surprise targets hidden behind corners of the crates or barrels, amazed to see Cozy slash through them with such finesse, never slowing down once.
She reached the first checkpoint, which was marked with a taped circle at the bottom of the small hill to make a small arena. Twilight summoned the orbs of light Aqua showed her, creating four orbs that blocked the filly's path. Cozy watched them, being cautious to see what they would do. One of them lunged forward, barely missing Cozy as she sidestepped out of the way. With a flap of her wings, she shot forward and slashed away at the first orb until it faded away. The other three charged the filly simultaneously, but with another hard flap, she backed away from the training orbs into a backflip, then shot a Fire spell at them. Though the blast was small, it managed to blow up on all three of the remaining orbs, and she continued on the offensive, dashing up to the orbs, running around them, and giving them light smacks that eventually destroyed them.
Twilight's jaw hung open as she checked her stopwatch, four minutes remaining, and with a flawless first leg of the course. Cozy continued onward, running up to the training gears with the spinning targets. Cozy noticed multiple Heartless attached to the hanging metal targets, some of them attached to both sides to trick her. She struck one, causing the apparatus to swing its targets around, along with her "enemies" diving in from behind. Thanks to her small size, she avoided getting blindsided, but was aware of the swinging targets behind her. Timing her next few swings, she hit the remaining targets, causing the momentum of the spinning targets to change direction. Before moving on to the next section, Cozy Glow examined the area to make sure there weren't anymore targets she missed, slowly impressing Twilight as she didn't miss a single target so far.
The others weren't able to see Cozy's progress on the other side of the mountain peak, but they could see some smoke rising from her Fire spells she unleashed on her targets. They could finally see her at the second checkpoint at the top of the long path connecting the entrance to the small training area on the mountain. Twilight summoned more orbs, but made them a bit more aggressive than the last set. They all got to see her fight this time, and to all but Sora's surprise, they saw how fast she moved and how strategic she was against her opponents.
"Wow! She's really fast!" Silverstream exclaimed in awe.
"Of course she would be fast," Gallus said. "Pegasi are supposed to be agile and quick."
"But she's dodging those orbs better than we can," Ocellus stated. "And we're still getting used to how they move after several weeks of training."
"So does this mean we're getting upstaged by a little filly?" Smolder asked. "If we are, then this is embarrassing and humiliating."
Cozy Glow dove away from the endlessly charging orbs, then spun and gave an upward slash to one of them following up after the next one. Finishing that orb, her ears perked up as another came up from behind her. With a quick, hard flap of her wings, Cozy leapt into the air, her back and wings barely brushing the top of the light sphere as she flipped over it. As soon as she had it in her sights, she launched a couple Fire spells at it, hitting her mark as the flames blew up and eventually destroyed that orb. As soon as she landed, the remaining two orbs tried to sandwich her, but she ducked, hearing them smack into each other. Rolling onto her back, she fired another couple rounds of magical fire into the last two orbs, defeating them and giving her access to the final leg of the course.
"Wow. She's...actually really good," Riku uttered. He glanced at Sora, who was bouncing up and down excitedly as he watched her fight. "Sora, what did you teach her?"
"Everything she needed to and how to improve herself," he said. "Come on, Cozy Glow! Just a little more! Stay focused!"
"I'm surprised she doesn't even look all that tired," Terra said. "All that running and slashing should have burned her out halfway through."
"Maybe Sora was right about his claim after all," Ventus said. "She might actually be a prodigy."
"Assuming if her score is perfect," Aqua said. "Or perhaps...too perfect." She glanced at Sora, who stopped his cheering when he felt her eyes on him. "You didn't know how the course was going to look, right?"
"Of course not," Sora said. "You didn't tell any of us how it would look or where the fake Heartless would pop out. I spent every day training with her from sunup to sundown."
Aqua hummed curiously, continuing to observe Cozy Glow as she was halfway down the final leg of the course. Soon, Silverstream, Yona, and Sandbar joined Sora's cheering, encouraging Cozy to race to the finish. There were two minutes remaining at this point, plenty of time for the filly to slow down and take care of the rest of the targets before passing the entryway into the courtyard. Twilight hovered over to the finish line, keeping score and activating the remaining targets to pop out on Cozy. Cozy Glow gave it her all, slicing through the cutouts, and just as Twilight was about to mark one target the filly ran past, Cozy turned around, then blasted it with a Fire spell. Her first tally on the missed target nearly tore her paper as she almost ran her quill pen tip through it, correcting the mistake with a disgruntled whimper.
With no other targets Cozy Glow could see down along the path, the filly trotted the rest of the way with a chipper, triumphant skip, humming a little tune with her Keyblade gripped in her mouth. She passed the archway and Twilight stopped the timer, slowly fluttering down to the ground in astonishment.
Cozy Glow skipped up to her audience, hovered a few inches in the air, and in her success, she took her blade into her hoof and gave it a little victory twirl. "Ta da!"
Most of the group were speechless sans Sora, Sandbar, Yona, and Silverstream. Gallus and Smolder definitely felt humiliated watching Cozy Glow fight with such dexterity, and she only had a week of actual training rather than the several they had. Sora ran up to Cozy Glow, snatching her in his hands as he celebrated and praised her performance.
"You were incredible!" Sora said, squeezing the filly in a congratulatory hug while she laughed joyfully.
Twilight slowly flew up to Aqua, plopping down on her haunches with a stunned look, handing her tally list and the stopwatch to the Keyblade Master. Aqua glanced at the stopped time - one minute and seventeen seconds - then to the perfect tally mark of struck targets and not a single hit landed on Cozy Glow during the two checkpoint segments. She looked at the others, most of them still in awe while those like Riku, Gallus, and Smolder were dumbfounded. She then faced Cozy Glow, who was busy getting playful head rubs from Sora while held in his arms, feeling accomplished for passing with flying colors. She smirked and approached the two, prompting Sora and his apprentice to cease their playful banter and stand at attention.
"Well, I am quite impressed by the results," Aqua stated. "You beat the course with over a minute left and hit every single target. Much better than I expected." Cozy Glow beamed with pride, Sora joining her as he believed in her after all their training. Aqua's smile quickly faded as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Or, I would be impressed if Cozy didn't waste time during her 'victory trot'." Cozy and Sora both winced, giving Aqua a sheepish grin, but she wasn't done scolding them as she walked past the duo. "And...you managed to hit all the targets...except for the last one right at the finish line."
"Huh!? T-There was one more!?" Twilight exclaimed nervously.
The others were just as shocked, even Sora and Cozy Glow. "B-But I attacked every one that popped out at me," Cozy promised.
"You should have seen it when you were flying over to the starting line." Aqua walked up to the arch, leaping up to the top, and to everyone's surprise, she leaned down and picked up one last target. This one wasn't a Heartless, but it would still be a dangerous threat regardless: the cutout had an image of a person in a black coat, standing in a pose as if it was observing their surroundings, or rather, watching the young wielder go about the course to plot their next plan of action. "You were not only being watched by us from afar, but by your enemies as well. They don't need to be 'on the course' in order to gauge your skills and plot a new scheme to make your 'journey' much more difficult."
"You mean you hid a target in Cozy's test to set her up to fail!?" Sora argued. "That's not fair! We worked so hard, and she's improved so much in only a week!"
"Sometimes, Sora, battles can never be fair," Aqua said. She pushed the black-coated figure cutout off the arch, letting it fall to the ground with a clatter as she jumped down to the ground as well. She walked back over to Sora and Cozy Glow, the former upset at the cheap trick while the latter was highly disappointed that she didn't notice it at all. "This obstacle course might be set up like a game, but these fights are not. If this were a real situation, Cozy Glow could have been killed or kidnapped by the Organization if they saw how skilled she is. She may still need a lot more training, but they can mold her into becoming one of them. Her little victory dance at the end would have cost her more, and that lack of attention will leave her wide open to an ambush."
Cozy Glow lowered her head in shame, unable to help herself after showing everyone how far she had come with her training. "It's not like I was going to force her to go out and fight Heartless or the Organization with me!" Sora argued.
"I know you wouldn't, but that doesn't dismiss the fact that she's still just a child," Aqua reminded Sora, despite his protests. "I purposely set that target without anyone's knowledge, so of course I expected her to miss that to prove a point. Not just to her, or our apprentices; this was for all of us to remind everyone what's at stake."
Sora balked, stammering as he tried to find an excuse for Aqua's unfair test, but the message she made was definitely clear. He didn't need to be reminded, which was what really frustrated him, but when he glanced at Cozy Glow, the potential that she had really could lead her to being targeted by the Organization. And he was training her to be like them, giving in to her adorable optimism and allowing this while being oblivious to the fact that the Organization could be watching them any time, any place. Sora lowered his head, his anger no longer present, though he felt awful putting Cozy's hopes up and boosting her confidence too high.
"...I'm...I'm sorry," Sora mumbled.
Cozy looked at Sora, then back to Aqua as she knelt down to the disappointed filly with a much calmer expression. "I know you tried really hard, Cozy Glow, and I won't go back on my word. You do have promise, but it's not just Heartless you have to worry about out there. Some people can be just as bad as the Heartless, or even worse. This is why having a Keyblade is a very serious responsibility. You think you're ready, but none of us are. Even the most experienced wielder can lower their guard for one second, and everything comes crashing down when they make one fatal mistake." Cozy Glow glanced up at Aqua with big, wide, dejected eyes before staring back down at the ground. Aqua gently rubbed the filly's head apologetically. "Maybe when you're older, I'll keep the door open for you and we'll officially begin your real training. Ok?"
"Mhmm," Cozy mumbled with a sad nod.
"For all that it's worth, you improved much faster than our current students," Aqua complimented. "Though that's all thanks to Sora for being a great teacher. And he didn't want to give up on you." She stood up, then looked at Sora, who looked extremely troubled and disappointed toward himself. "If he didn't keep fighting for you, I would have continued to refuse and say no to you, Cozy. We all don't want to lose that pure, innocent light within the hearts of children. They could be our saving grace."
Cozy Glow looked back up at Aqua before giving a heavy sigh, slowly turning toward the direction of the portal back to Equestria and head toward it. She didn't even make eye contact with Sora, sadly trudging her way back to Equestria. Everyone could tell Sora realized how blind he'd been, but all he wanted to do was help Cozy Glow learn to protect herself, and she did so just moments ago through the course. He soon followed his charge through the portal as well, wanting to be alone to think as he left the others in silence.
"...So, does this mean we aren't doing the obstacle course now?" Silverstream asked.
Cozy Glow looked down at Ponyville from atop the Castle of Friendship, laying on her belly while peering down near the edge. She should have felt happy knowing she did manage to pass, but she wanted to beat the test flawlessly and get every single target. It didn't help that she learned that there were more than just Heartless Keyblade wielders had to be wary of. Cozy did know there were villains in Equestria who were dangerous, but evil creatures outside Equestria, she definitely didn't know at all. How could she have known? All she knew about were the Heartless, the very monsters that left her an orphan. She really was out of her league, even as she was given the chance to prove she was capable to be like one of them.
Her ears twitched as she heard hoofsteps coming up behind her. She turned her head to see who it was, only to quickly look away when she realized it was Sora, her mentor. Sora walked up to Cozy, sitting beside her near the edge of the roof. The two stared blankly at the town down below in silence. After what felt like an eternity, Sora took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, contemplating what to say to his student.
"...Well...that was...a harsh lesson to be reminded of," he said. "I guess learning about your Keyblade and training you completely distracted me from the current problems we're having...And, maybe it's my fault for getting your hopes up. After all that hard work."
"No. It was my fault," Cozy mumbled, startling the stallion. "I was having so much fun. I learned a lot, and I beat that obstacle course so easily. I shouldn't have celebrated so early at the end." She let out a sigh, feeling guilty for showboating after she got to show the other masters and her fellow classmates/apprentices what she could do. "I was happy you were proud of me, but I still have so, so much to learn."
Sora sighed, shaking his head in refusal. "You do, but it's not your fault for having fun during a serious test like that," he said. Cozy Glow was going to reply, but Sora grabbed the filly and set her in his lap, facing him. "I swore to Aqua that whatever you learn or what happens to you, it would be on me. I was focused more on teaching you self defense and showing your potential to the others that I neglected telling you about what real threats we're up against. I didn't think it would be all that important to you now, but if our other apprentices are going to be hunted down, then...they might find you as well."
"...Oh...So, they might...kill me?" Cozy asked nervously.
"Worse. They could kidnap you and brainwash you into working for them," Sora explained. He hated having to tell this to Cozy, but as scary as it was for a filly her age, she needed to know. She already lost her family to the Heartless. He didn't want to let her lose her new friends; her new family. Sora hugged Cozy Glow tightly, feeling her forelegs try to wrap around his barrel to hug him, too. "You have such an innocent, pure heart. It would hurt me to see a heart like yours become tainted with darkness."
Cozy Glow felt Sora's grip tighten a little around her tiny body, sensing the dread he felt if anything happened to her. She nuzzled his chest with a small smile, silently promising to never let darkness infect her heart. He slowly released his grip on her, freeing her from his many numerous hugs he gave her, but Cozy never once thought of complaining about free hugs from a lovable goofball of a stallion who was one of many of Equestria's greatest heroes.
"So, what do I do now?" Cozy asked.
"Uhh...I think what you should be focusing on now is your studies at the School of Friendship," Sora said. "Aqua allowed you to keep your Keyblade at least, but we won't do any real serious training until you're older."
"Can we still practice?" the filly asked.
Sora thought about it for a moment, and with a grin, he nodded and ruffled Cozy's mane. "Of course we can," he promised. "But I won't be able to teach you any advanced stuff until you're old enough. Just the basics so you don't get too rusty when the time comes."
"Hee hee! Ok." Cozy shook her head and fixed her mane once Sora was done mussing it up. "I promise to do my best, and I won't let you down when I'm really ready."
"I'll hold you to that, then," Sora said. "And if there are Heartless around, don't try to fight them all if they're tougher than a Shadow. Come straight to one of us. While avoiding other ponies and get them caught in their line of sight, but your Keyblade will draw them to you more, so hopefully that never happens."
"Got it, Master Sora," Cozy said with a playful salute.
"At ease, soldier," Sora ordered, making the filly giggle as she lowered her hoof. They soon heard her belly grumble in hunger. Cozy glanced down at her rumbly tummy, grinning sheepishly with a faint blush. "Sounds like lunchtime. Let's hunt for some grub in town."
"And then ice cream for dessert?" Cozy pleaded.
"Oh, definitely ice cream after," Sora promised. Cozy Glow cheered and hovered out of Sora's lap, then flew off and headed down to the town. Sora sighed to himself, feeling his heart clenching from the cuteness overload from Cozy Glow's youthful optimism and, to his chagrin, her cheerful face with those big scarlet eyes tugging at his heartstrings. "I guess I'm not immune to the cuteness of little creatures in this world anymore. I just hope the Crusaders don't get jealous if I hang out with Cozy Glow more."
He stood up and leapt off the castle roof, catching up with Cozy Glow to grab some lunch and some ice cream later. Maybe in time, Sora could teach Cozy Glow a little bit of what he knew. She did well by herself in a training course and she could be one of the best Keyblade wielders among them in the future. For now though, he was only going to do the basic warmups that they did throughout the week whenever she was available from her studies at the School of Friendship. Cozy Glow was just a little filly, as Sora reminded himself over and over, and he was going to make sure she grew up and enjoyed the time she had as a kid before growing up to be a warrior like himself and his friends.
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Hmm, Maybe Aqua knows something about Cozy. I mean, like Eraqus, she can see past people from within their hearts.
Oh no!! No NO NO!!! Don't tell me you're planning on redeeming Cozy Glow!!!
Not that I condone Cozy Glows possible reform, but y'know whatd be a good musical number for her and Sora? Who Better Than Me from the Tarzan Musical
Why do I get the feeling Cozy glow would want sora to be her new father, and she'll be jerlous when there's a hint of Kairi being pregnant will turn her heart into darkness
Ooo a possible Cozy Glow redemption arc? Or is her new motivation for stealing all the magic in Equestria gonna be so she can and prove herself to Aqua that she’s strong enough to be a Keyblade wielder only to fall into darkness as her greed for power consumes her.
Awesome job, keep up the good work 😎👍
Nice job, and man I get the feeling that Aqua knows something is up about Cozy, I mean even she knows that cozy learn to quick, and I gotta handed to Sora, he is a good teacher even though cozy was a quick learner, but awesome job there, keep up the great work
awesome chapter mate keep it up cant wait for the next chapter sora will make an awesome father one day
Here's a question that's been bugging me for awhile: Will the Sirens be coming back in your version of season 9? Because I personally feel like they should make a reappearance considering they were brought back to Equestria in your version of Rainbow Rocks.
10988916
Nah, she definitely still evil.
THE SUSPENSE IS REAL!
I love the foreshadowing taking place throughout this chapter. Cozy showing no fear towards Kairi's words, and seemingly having a response to every objection the group had against her, is very clever and subtle. This is a suspenseful and gripping experience and just makes me, even more, excited about wanting to come back for more.
This made-up backstory on her being an orphan, christ, is even worse than what she did in Season 8. Here, she's much more vicious and unyielding in her lies and manipulations. Cuddling up to Sora, trying to win him over, it's so evil, you made her such a despicable character and I love it.
Just seeing Cozy Glow becoming so close to Sora, knowing FULL WELL what her true plans are hurts, it will hurt so much what going to happen to Sora. You can absolutely tell how she takes her "cuteness" and "innocence to her advantage"
Sora, upon discovering the truth from Tirek would probably be in absolute denial. Maybe even accuse Tirek that she manipulated her or some kind, I cannot even describe what's going to happen, because I can only visualize it in my head, and not through words, how devastating Sora would be upon feeling that betrayal from Cozy Glow. So props to you my friends, this season is started to get GOOD.
I have no real thoughts on how she got a keyblade as I told all about what I think in the last chapter, but there are some hints displayed here on her history with it.
Here it's clearly showed that Cozy Glow has shown a lot of skill and talent with the blade, so much more than the Young Six by the looks of it. This means that she had far more experience with it. I'm not sure if it's with the Organization, Tirek, or maybe M. The idea of M handing her a keyblade seems to be slightly dismissed by the main crew, so it seems my theory on that was wrong. I doubt it would be Xehanort, so my only two guesses are Tirek or Xigbar. Or heck, maybe even both to some degree.
Whatever it is, I cannot wait till we get more answers, and the big reveal of Cozy Glow, the one and only MLP villain that managed to break Sora.
So that's all for now in this chapter, overall great setup chapter. It really felt like an episode that was made to set up future plotlines and I cannot wait when we get there and see them resolved.
Shine on dude, love your work as always.
Ohhhhhh! That was awesome! Looking forward to see where this is going!
i dont know whats gonna happen whether or not cozy is still evil or if she will be redeemed but im happy with either.(although redemption is much more preferable) XD
Aqua knew something was off about Cozy Glow, while Sora didn't seem to noticed. Now I remember what M said in that chapter where he whispered to him saying how "not everyone can be saved no matter how hard you try". I guess that was foreshadowing the challenges of what Sora was about to encounter. He's been too caught up on forgiving everyone for their mistakes that sometimes they are not wroth saving. I recall how he never forgave The Storm King in MLP Movie because all he cared about was Power and Greed. Now that I think about it Cozy Glow is the same way caring way too much about her self and wants the power all to herself.
Anyway Sora let his guard too down when trust Cozy Glow. I know he cares deeply, but he needs to learn that sometimes being too nice to someone can really backfire and use you to get power out of you.