My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria

by Codex92

The Beginning of the End (Part 1)

As a portal of darkness appeared at the foot of the clocktower within the dark realm the Organization has made their base, Demyx walked through, grunting irritably with a sack carried on his back. "Stupid Vexen. Making me do stupid errands for his stupid books," the musician grumbled to himself. He trudged his way inside, hoping to find him where he usually hung out every day with the old man the group's held hostage for their plans. Thankfully, Vexen was in their private study, both he and Ansem the Wise busy with the pony vessel they've been working on for some time. Dropping the sack on a nearby table, he let out an exhausted sigh, getting the two scientists' attention. "Here. More dumb books from pony world."

"Hopefully you've gotten what I requested," Vexen scowled. Leaving the vessel, he opened the bag and looked at the books, satisfied with the titles on the covers. "Good. As intriguing as novels may have been, I prefer to understand the science revolving the magic of the world."

"I really don't get why it's so interesting," Demyx mumbled.

"Maybe you haven't realized it, but our magical capabilities are more enhanced in Equestria," Vexen stated, smacking the lackadaisical man on top of his head with one of the books. Demyx yelped, clutching his head as he glowered at Vexen. "Even you must have felt something when playing your obnoxious tunes as an earth pony. Music also has magical prowess in that world, though you seem to have neglected testing them against Sora like I had."

"Why do we even bother?" Demyx whined. "We're both on the bench, and they haven't been able to find two other members who are supposed to replace us."

"It will be one soon once we find the perfect specimen to possess our Equestrian vessel. It is now fully complete!" Demyx grew curious and looked at the pony vessel.

"...Uhh, cool? So, who exactly's going to jump in that thing?" he asked. "And as cool as it is walking on four legs, I'm not being your guinea pig for that."

Vexen rolled his eyes and let out a huff. "Neither of us. Through all the tomes that have kept Equestria up to date on locations beyond the kingdom, there is one specific equine who would be perfect." Going through the different books he and Demyx acquired while in Equestria on the shelves, he found the book he was looking for. Holding it out to Demyx and opening it to the exact page, he pointed to an illustration of the unicorn tyrant, King Sombra. "Sombra, the evil tyrant of the Crystal Empire. His iron hoof and dark powers made him a dangerous threat to the land, and after being banished for a millennia in the shadows, his darkness has only grown stronger and has made him more powerful than anything in existence. He could even take down all of us in the Organization in one fell swoop."

"Ok, and, in your crazy genius brain, you think he's a perfect fit to be used for that thing and join us?" Demyx questioned, unable to find any logic in Vexen's idea.

"I can already tell you're anxious about the idea, which is why I made extra precautions in case we revive him and he goes rogue." He walked back over to the vessel, grabbing a little remote that sat next to the head of the puppet. "Though sentient, as a Heartless, he is partially a beast that can be tamed. This device is meant to pacify him and restrain his darkness from overpowering us. Simply push this red button-" Ansem the Wise backed away as Vexen pushed the button with his thumb. The vessel suddenly emitted a powerful shock, causing it to jitter and convulse for a few seconds. Startled, Demyx yelped and backed away, watching the vessel shake violently before the electrocution finally ceased, letting the body flop back onto the table. "-and the body will be given a very painful shock that will leave him completely immobile for a short moment. Plus, adding a little bit of unicorn magic while I worked on this in Equestria, there's a little spell imbued inside that prevents Sombra from trying to steal it from the device's holder. He will be a loyal servant to Master Xehanort's cause, whether he wants to or not."

Demyx giggled nervously, lucky to not be considered a candidate to try out the new body. "Oh. Ok. That's...neat," he said. Vexen put the device back down next to the vessel while Ansem only sighed and shook his head. "So...how are we gonna get Sombra to be in that thing? Find his heart or something?"

"Sadly, when the Crystal Empire returned, he was destroyed by the kingdom's artifact called the Crystal Hearts," Vexen said. "Take a wild guess who managed to defeat him." Demyx blinked, stammering a little as he actually tried to think of who could have defeated a powerful Heartless like Sombra. Vexen growled, his statement more rhetorical and despising how hard Demyx was really thinking about the answer when it was clearly obvious. "Sora, you blithering oaf! It was Sora and his friends!" Opening the book again, Vexen showed a picture of the statues outside the castle depicting the kingdom's two greatest heroes: Sora and Spike. "The crystal ponies who reside in the empire call Sora 'The Warrior of Light'. And...there was also a...tiny dragon named 'Spike, the Brave and Glorious'. Why give him honorable recognition when all he did was deliver the Crystal Heart to its place underneath the crystal palace?"

"Because this Crystal Heart gem was important to the Crystal Empire?" Demyx guessed.

Vexen opened his mouth to scold Demyx, but he was shocked to hear the right answer, it left him stupefied. "...Err...Actually, yes. It was important," he agreed, which almost made him vomit after having to deal with the lazy and cowering Nobody. Clearing his throat, Vexen continued his lecture. "The Crystal Heart is a very powerful artifact in the Crystal Empire. The crystal ponies worship it and share their love and light to strengthen it. It creates the barrier surrounding the entire kingdom, protecting it from not only the cold northern climate, but also from threats of darkness beyond its walls."

"Wait, that thing's made of light?" Demyx asked.

"Precisely. When the Crystal Heart was returned, it unleashed a powerful wave of light that spread throughout the world, and it was powerful enough to actually kill Sombra, leaving nary a trace of him after his defeat." Vexen closed the book and set it back on his shelf.

"So then how exactly do we find Sombra if there's nothing left of him?" Demyx questioned.

"It may be possible a fragment of his body may have survived the blast, though I doubt it would be easy to find out in the frozen tundra," Vexen muttered. "Luckily, there is Young Xehanort. He is a master of time travel, and if we cannot find any physical trace of him in the present, he could bring Sombra from the past and transfer his darkened heart into our vessel. And, should our light-bearing opponents attempt to destroy him with light, they'll need much more than that to destroy him again."

"This is a horrible idea," Ansem spoke, finally saying something as he remained quiet. "A monster like him running amok could spell doom to multiple worlds if he is given the power to do so."

"That's why my little shock device is a perfect contingency plan," Vexen remarked with a sadistic grin. "Let us inform Master Xehanort our project is ready to be unleashed."

Ansem grunted in disdain, but he knew he had no power to stop it or change one of his smartest apprentices' minds. Vexen led the way as Ansem and Demyx followed him, leaving the room unattended. Leaving the door opened a crack, they disappeared down the hall, unaware they were being watched from the shadows. The door opened by a mysterious force, the sound of hooves stepping along the hard tile floor echoing in the room. The intruder approached the table where the vessel lay as a pair of red eyes stared at the soulless pony vessel.

Moments later, Vexen, Demyx, and Ansem came back down the hall, the former disgruntled as Xehanort allowed Xigbar to see the vessel in action for him. "So, it really is finished?" Xigbar asked curiously.

"Well, I was hoping Master Xehanort would take the time to see it for himself," Vexen grumbled.

"He's focusing on the bigger picture right now, so deal with it," Xigbar said. "But bringing back this Sombra guy really would be a piece of work. Let's just hope your buzzer can really subdue him if he gets too tough to handle."

Vexen opened the door, but as they walked in, Vexen and Ansem were astonished to find their pony vessel was no longer on the table it was laying on. Panicking, Vexen ran up to the table, finding no sign of it or the shock device anywhere.

"W-Where is it!?" Vexen shrieked. "It was right here!"

"Did it walk off on its own?" Demyx asked.

Snarling, Vexen summoned his ice shield and flung it at Demyx, smacking him hard in the face. "IDIOT! It was nothing but a puppet!" he exclaimed. "It couldn't have walked out without a heart or soul to give it life! My equine vessel has been stolen!"

Demyx groaned, rubbing his sore face. "There's someone who intruded here?" Ansem asked, surprised, but unsure who it could have been if Sora or any of his friends still don't know the Organization's current location.

"Dagh! If there was anyone else in the Organization pulling some sort of sick prank, I am NOT happy!" Vexen exclaimed. "All that hard work, all that research! It'll take just as long to try to build another one!"

Xigbar eyed the empty table, but instead of being disappointed, the one-eyed recon specialist began to laugh. Confused, Ansem and Demyx looked at him while Vexen sneered, disturbed by his lack of concern that their empty vessel was snatched by someone other than someone in the Organization.

"I don't think you'll need to bother making a pony body again," Xigbar said, ruffling Vexen's nerves.

"I don't need to bother!? After all we did to make this contingency possible with our lacking two seeds Xehanort is still searching for!?" Vexen questioned. "Demyx and I are still considered backups! And from what I've heard, no one has been able to beat or kidnap any of these new bearers Luxord's made into a guessing game!"

"Does that mean...we're gonna have to take over as the missing seeds after all?" Demyx asked, mostly concerned as he didn't want to risk losing his life again in combat.

"As if. You two are still warming that bench," Xigbar said. While Demyx was relieved, Vexen was still baffled. "To be fair, we did have ourselves our twelfth seed of darkness for quite a while, but we didn't want the rest of you to know until it was the best time."

"...What?" Vexen uttered, his eye twitching in irritation. "W-Who!?"

A portal of darkness suddenly appeared in the room. Demyx, Vexen, and Ansem looked at the portal, where a hoof stepped out, covered in a black coat similar to their own. Fully stepping through with every feature of them veiled by the Organization's uniform was an equine figure standing nearly half as tall as the men. Shocked to see an Equestrian had joined their ranks, they couldn't tell who it was under the hood, nor their tail as it hid beneath the coat along with its fur. Underneath the veil of their hood, the pony smirked as it looked up to see the astonishment on their faces.

"Say hello to our twelfth seed," Xigbar introduced, giving the mysterious equine a rub on the head, making them scowl in annoyance. "Adorable little thing, ain't it?"

"...That's not Sombra, is it?" Demyx asked cautiously.

The pony snorted at the name, but remained mute. "Nah. We don't need some Heartless tyrant taking up space among us. But, I think you'll see this little pony is capable of pulling off some incredible skills for their size."

Vexen wilted, disgruntled and annoyed that his genius idea of including Sombra was all for nothing. "Now all you need is one more," Ansem muttered. "...Is it Sora?"

"As if I'm gonna go through the trouble of trying to get him again after last time," Xigbar said. "No...I got someone else in mind who may fit the bill to finally begin our new Keyblade War. Just need to do a little bit of...bargaining to get them to comply."

---

Three months have passed since Sora unleashed his wrath on Cozy Glow, not only stopping her plot to destroy Equestria's magic, but also take over the world and rule it as the new queen. Things hadn't been the same after Sora's emotional distress from that night, especially after Discord attempted to cheer him up with a hero's appreciation party. He made the mistake of choosing Cozy Glow over all of his friends, even his wife Kairi, and his selfish actions have waned on his mental health when he could have thrown their lives out for the villain responsible for destroying the world.

The School of Friendship is currently in the middle of summer vacation. All the students took their exams, and many have passed, including the Young Six. Though their schooling was done for the year and will be back in Ponyville for next year, Aqua had advised them that they return to their homes to enjoy their vacation. Though they had refused and wanted to keep training, she heavily insisted, letting them enjoy the time they have as teens before they were old enough to truly take on the responsibilities as Key bearers. That, and if Sora had another meltdown, she didn't want them to see Sora go on another self-loathing tirade. Even though Sora has never left his room since that day, she and the others feared that he may never be the same again.

Throughout the last couple months, Twilight had followed through with her promise to get stronger as a Keyblade wielder. With Starlight in charge of the school for the last month, she had constantly put herself on a training schedule, pushing her limits in case she needed to take Sora's place in the coming war. Xehanort plans to forge the X-blade and control Kingdom Hearts to destroy the worlds, and that world included Equestria. She won't sit idly by and let him destroy her home or any other world beyond theirs.

Along with warm-ups to keep her body in shape, Twilight had made many trips to the Mirage Arena, testing her strength against the many simulations of enemies they've encountered or were already programmed within the coliseum's system. Riku accompanied her just so she didn't exhaust herself and helped set some new waves of foes to battle; Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed, anyone and anything they could think of. He suggested fighting alongside her so she didn't collapse, but the alicorn insisted she trained on her own. Even if she fails, the simulated opponents wouldn't kill her and transport her back to the central hub overlooking the arena.

Now, Riku watched as Twilight took on round after round of Unversed that they've never seen before. They were incredibly tough, but with all of Twilight's training, she was able to get by them without tiring. She took down three phases of the Iron Imprisoner already, which was by far the toughest Unversed they had ever encountered, but the first phase really did seem to be the easiest at a glance. The first phase was bound up in chains with its lower half contained in a cylindrical cage. The second freed its arms as it wielded a deadly hammer while its lower half was still caged. Its third phase completely freed its body and was far more erratic and tougher to beat back than its latter two forms. There were also a pumpkin carriage Unversed, a giant spinning wheel, a living tree, and a trio of Unversed that formed into a giant mech, though they paled in comparison to the intense rage of the Iron Imprisoner.

Twilight defeated the third phase after it tried to slam its fiery hammer down on her with a fury like no other. She was on the last round of this tough gauntlet, progressing quite well going in it solo, though it was an exhausting several rounds in a row. The last one for Twilight to battle was yet another upgraded version of the Iron Imprisoner, but instead of the usual gray helm and black color scheme was replaced with dark red and black. By appearance, it looked just like phase three's, but Riku could tell this version is going to be much more powerful than its incarnation. Twilight was ready, her Harmony Keyblade hovering in her magic aura as she held a determined leer underneath her visor.

The Iron Imprisoner began to rush forward while spinning rapidly, swinging its hammer while cloaked in blue flames. Twilight quickly flew out of the way, staying on the defensive as she watched it dash right back to where she last stood. Using the same moves as phase three, she wasn't going to take it lightly if it had something else up its sleeves. After dodging another couple passes, the Unversed released a powerful swing, scattering the flames and just barely hitting Twilight as she timed her own lung and began slashing at its legs.

After a few hits, Twilight was startled when the Unversed burst into flames, sending her flying back as her body was coated in blue fire. While trying to put it out, the Unversed had changed into a wisp of blue and began flying over to the edge of the arena. It reappeared, then began to suck Twilight toward it with an incredible amount of gravitational force, catching her just as she patted out the flames covering her armor. Yelping in surprise, she tried to fight back the gravitational pull, barely getting blasted by another explosion of blue fire the Iron Imprisoner unleashed. As she landed on her hooves, she kept an eye on the wisp as it flew off to the opposite end of the arena, watching it return and repeat the same suction attack. Keeping to the other side, she was able to avoid getting sucked toward it, watching it erupt into flames, then try the move one more time, making its new location try to feint the alicorn into going one direction or another.

Once it reappeared again, Twilight began launching a salvo of spells from a distance to hit it, managing to succeed before its explosive flames cancelled out her orange Firaga spells. Turning back into its wisp form, Twilight expected another similar attempt, but as it reappeared, it let out a soundless roar, then the room flashed white for a brief moment. Suddenly, the arena turned a bright red, and the Unversed was nowhere to be seen. Thinking it was another underground trick, she began to look down when she caught something off at the corner of her eye. Around the arena were bits of solid matter, most likely emphasizing the protective barrier used if this arena used to have an audience. However, one of those pieces began to glow blue, and it suddenly lunged into the arena, straight toward Twilight.

Diving out of the way, Twilight narrowly avoided the incoming section of possessed debris. She turned and watched it fly back and forth before returning to its former position and disappeared. Behind her, a smaller triangular piece glowed blue, then flew toward her. She got struck, letting out a yell as she was sent flying forward, quickly getting back on her hooves and jumping out of the way of its trajectory. Being cautious, she stayed out of the middle, timing how many times each piece flew forward and back before the next possessed piece tried to hit her, then dove to the side in case she didn't see the next one appear behind her. Two more pieces repeated the same motion until a brief pause, followed by three pieces simultaneously rushed to the center, releasing another bright flash that reset the lighting, the barrier pieces, and brought the Iron Imprisoner back in the center of the arena.

"Oh man, that's a nasty trick," Riku uttered nervously.

The Unversed floated toward Twilight, swinging its hammer at her while imbued with deadly blue flames. Twilight jumped over the low swipes, then dashed into the Unversed as it tried to slam its hammer down on her three times, releasing a shockwave of blue flames as it struck the ground. These Iron Imprisoners were hard to stun, which makes getting in for close hits while repeatedly trying to slam its weapon on its smaller foes leaves them wide open. It then summoned a cage like the last three forms, however, this was shrouded in blue flames, meant to imprison and burn anyone caught inside. It warped away from Twilight erratically as the cage circled around it, then sunk into the ground. Before, Twilight tried to keep in the air to avoid getting caught, but as long as it reached her, it was able to pull her down and contain her. Waiting for it to crawl toward her from underground, she teleported away just as it shot up to snatch her, missing her.

The Iron Imprisoner then sank down into the ground, silently homing in on her position to jump at her. Waiting patiently, Twilight timed the slight quake signaling its attack, then flapped her wings and soared high into the sky. Its spiraling return and cyclone of flames just missed her by an inch, the heat from the fire helping her rise higher. Flipping around, she's seen enough of what this version can do, accessing her H-Links to enhance her power. With a swift flap of her wings, she sped off in a lavender streak, slamming her Keyblade down on the Iron Imprisoner's head. The speed of her descent and the increased strength managed to stun and daze the Unversed, leaving it wide open. Twilight then smacked its hammer out of its hands, grabbing it in her own and began to use its own rapid cyclone spin on it. Though the hammer was incredibly heavy, Twilight managed as she caught the Iron Imprisoner within her own deadly tornado of blue fire.

With one last swing, knocking the Unversed back, Twilight leapt up and yelled, slamming the blunt head of the hammer down on it. Its body glowed a dark and ominous shroud of black and red, a sign of a large Unversed's rage as it disappeared in a wisp of fire just as Twilight was about to slam its own hammer down on it. It appeared behind her, thrusting its hand out to grab the smaller opponent, then flung her across the arena, taking back its weapon and intent on killing the alicorn for using its weapon against it. She managed to right herself mid-flight, watching it glowing dark black and red again, and it began to rush her. In a blind rage, it began to swing its hammer wildly at her, far faster than phase three had, smashing the smaller opponent to get back at her for humiliating it.

Twilight erected her pink barrier to protect herself, each attack releasing an ethereal wolf head to counter and bite at the Unversed's ankles, barely flinching with each harsh slam. With one final smash, Twilight slid behind it, then jumped up while stabbing her way up its back, planting magical mines that blew up, staggering the Iron Imprisoner forward. It began to teleport away via its wisp form and flew off to a section of the arena, planning to use its explosive blast after pulling her in. It would be its undoing as it did catch her, but Twilight flew into the Unversed, releasing a small shockwave less powerful than a sonic rainboom, but it was enough to make it double over as she rammed into its torso hard. With it stunned, Twilight grabbed its arm, flung it up the air, then aimed her Keyblade up and unleashed a Megaflare. The mass of magical energy struck the Unversed and blew up, blinding the arena in a wave of red flames for a moment. It then fell back down, and to finish it off, Twilight sped off, slicing it multiple times in a blur before sliding to a halt on the ground with her back facing it.

The Iron Imprisoner hit the ground, its body twitching before it began to fade away, defeated. Riku was astonished by how easily Twilight managed to beat the fourth phase Iron Imprisoner after exhausting herself from an insane gauntlet of other tougher Unversed. She was warped from the arena and back to the central hub, panting slightly as she nearly collapsed.

"Ok...Far worse than I expected," she said.

"And yet you managed surprisingly well," Riku complimented. "You really have been improving."

"I was slacking the last couple years with my duties as a princess, and now running my very own school to teach others about friendship," Twilight said. "And...with Sora in the state he's in..."

"...Right," Riku grumbled. Twilight could tell Riku was getting tense as he crossed his arms. "...I really don't want you to get involved in this. Even if it means taking Sora's place."

"Well, like it or not, I'm involved," Twilight said. "I may be a princess in my world, but as a Keyblade wielder, I must protect it from the threat of darkness. Every creature in Equestria is involved in this. I'm sure if we stand together, we'll keep our world and every other one beyond ours safe."

Riku grunted, disapproving the idea, but he knew she was right. He just didn't want her to get hurt or worse when the time comes.

"Riku, Twilight, we've got an emergency," Aqua called in. "The princesses demand our attention in Canterlot right away."

"Alright. We'll be on our way," Riku reported.

"I wonder what else is going to threaten our world this time," Twilight uttered.

The couple hurried to the transporter, exiting the central hub, and summoned their gliders. They sped off back to Equestria, making a beeline for Canterlot as they breached the atmosphere. Soaring down to the earth with the mountain capital of the pony kingdom in sight, the two hopped off their gliders and dove down, flaring their wings to drop their descent as they weaved around the clouds. On the ground, they could see the rest of their friends already on their way, racing down the streets to reach the castle. Donald and Goofy were also in attendance with the rest of the Mane Six, Spike, and all but one of the Keyblade wielders.

Swooping down to join them, Twilight wasn't surprised to see Sora wasn't with them. "Anypony know what the princesses request of us?"

"Spike received a letter from them, but she was a bit vague on the details," Aqua said.

"Whatever it is, it must have sprouted up last second," Ventus said.

"Or maybe it was someone from the Organization," Lea guessed. "They don't tend to stick around long after causing trouble, so my Munny's on that."

Racing past the gates, the guards letting them through as they recognized the heroes, they hurried through the entrance and down the halls. Reaching the throne room, they found both Celestia and Luna at their thrones waiting for them. They stopped at the foot of the stairs leading up to the dais, uncertain what may befall Equestria again.

"Thank you all so much for coming," Celestia greeted. She did notice one member of the group missing. "...Where is Sora?"

The dour expressions on their faces seemed to explain it all to the alicorn sisters. "...He's still holed up in our room," Kairi said.

"Oh...I see," Celestia mumbled. Understanding why, even after a few months, what he said to her still brought her grief over her mistakes over a thousand years ago. "Well, I hope he will at least hear out the news."

"What's happening?" Twilight asked. "Heartless? Some other villain?"

"Actually, there was no threat to be discussed," Luna elaborated, startling everyone.

"No...threat?" Goofy asked. "But you didn't give much in your letter to tell all of us."

"There is news, but thankfully nothing negative," Celestia said. "Everything is fine."

"Ya called us up here to tell us that?" Applejack questioned.

"For goodness sake, we actually thought something terrible was happening while Twilight and I were training at the Mirage Arena," Riku grumbled.

"I thought you said you were going to watch Twilight so she doesn't hurt herself," Aqua pondered.

"Well...I did...one or two matches," Riku stated.

"After he butt in when I said I wanted to do them solo," Twilight corrected, making Riku flinch.

"You said you wanted a sparring buddy?" the stallion reasoned, but Twilight shook her head.

"Teasing Riku's overprotectiveness of his girlfriend aside, what exactly is it you wanted to tell us that was supposed to be urgent?" Terra asked.

"We believe what we have to tell you all is urgent," Luna said. "Equestria is currently enjoying its longest period of harmony in recent years."

"Besides the Heartless and Nobodies?" Donald questioned.

"I believe what Luna is implying is the harmony with relations among not just Equestria, but the other nations as well," Celestia explained. "And it's all thanks to all of you...Including Sora." It was a shame Celestia couldn't thank him personally for everything he had done for their world. Ever since his first arrival, she could see why Yen Sid picked him, but as he is now, Sora truly deserved so much more for his sacrifices, his dedication to all his friends. Everything. Shaking her head, she composed herself and continued. "Because of all your efforts, there has been less and less for Luna or I to do. After much consideration, we have decided it is time for us...to retire."

Collective gasps rang from the invited group, shocking them with the incredible, yet insane news. Discord suddenly popped in with Dizzy, the colt appearing on Fluttershy's back while the older draconequus was dressed like a journalist, holding a pencil and a notepad while seeming very eager about the news.

"Breaking news! The royal princesses retiring!" he announced, warping up to the two alicorns as he jotted down random notes. "Who will take over Equestria? Someone tall, dark, and handsome? Or perhaps the Lord of Chaos?" Celestia and Luna shook their heads, giving Discord a blank stare as they pointed to Twilight. Surprised, everyone looked at the lavender alicorn, now given so much more responsibility over her head than ever before. First, Celestia's protégé, then a newly crowned and ascended alicorn princess and a Keyblade wielder in less than a week, given the title of Princess of Friendship, currently running her new School of Friendship a year ago, and NOW she was going to be named both Celestia and Luna's successor to their throne as the new ruler of Equestria. Discord frowned, tossing his notepad and let the papers scatter. "Of course it's not me. Should have seen that coming."

"You're retiring!?" Twilight exclaimed, still in shock.

"Uhh, can they retire?" Xion asked.

"Of course we can," Luna answered. "I know my sister does, having ruled Equestria for over one thousand years by herself."

"Then why doesn't she retire and you just take over instead?" Rainbow asked curiously. "You've only been back a few years."

"Try fighting back creatures of the dream realm to keep the dreams of our subjects calm every night," Luna said, shutting Rainbow's curiosity down with an exhausted glower toward the pegasus. "And having to deal with important meetings in the day...Starlight helped us see just how difficult both our jobs were when she swapped our cutie marks around, which also included our magic."

That reminder didn't help calm Twilight down with the weight of her responsibility now feeling like ten Iron Imprisoners slamming their hammers down on her head. "And you two want ME to take your place!?"

"Not alone," Luna reiterated. "You and your friends are more than capable of running Equestria in our stead."

"Aw, sweet! We get to rule a kingdom!" Lea cheered.

"I think Luna meant just Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Rarity," Xion said.

Dejected, Lea gawked at Xion, then slumped his shoulder with a sigh. "Aww, man...Seriously? Would have been nice to sit on a throne and give orders for a day."

"We have our thrones back at the Castle of Friendship," Riku reminded the red unicorn.

"Yeah, but it's not as cushy," Lea mumbled, pouting like a child as he scuffed his front hoof against floor.

"And we couldn't think of anypony else more worthy than you, Twilight," Celestia said. "You faced task after task, challenge after challenge-"

"Countless adversities, blah, blah, blah," Discord interrupted, floating above the the others out of boredom. "We get the picture already. Even though Sora did most of the challenging bits of fighting."

"But, despite all that, I don't think I'm - WE'RE ready to do what YOU do!" Twilight exclaimed.

"We understand if this is a lot to take in, but I am positive you're able to succeed where we officially end our rule together," Celestia said.

Despite the worry on Twilight's face, her other friends and Spike didn't need much convincing as they all seemed excited to co-rule Equestria together. "Well, I am totally in!" Rainbow spoke first. "Does that mean we get your powers!? I call dibs on the dream traveling stuff!"

"Ah don't think they're gonna let us just take their magic that easily, Dash," Applejack said.

"Does this mean we all ascend like Twilight!?" Rarity asked with glee. "Oh, I would look wonderful with a pair of wings at my sides!"

"Oh no. I'm thinking back to the Best Young Fliers competition years ago," Ventus groaned. "Rarity, you should just keep your hooves on the ground after getting your magic wings burnt out that day when you flew too close to the sun."

"Well, at least they'd be feathery and all muscle so something like that would never happen again," Rarity insisted.

"How are you all this eager to just jump in on this!?" Twilight asked her friends, baffled by their positive outlook on the job they'll be tasked with. "You can't be ready to step into their horseshoes just like that!"

"Twilight, I think you all might be perfect for this." Twilight turned her head to stare at Riku. She was shocked to hear him say that, mostly due to his overprotective nature toward her and thinks being here and running Equestria would keep her safe from harm. He knows how hard she's been training the last couple months, and she wasn't going to be left behind and watch from the sidelines if it meant protecting her home and her friends and family. She was about to argue with him, but he wrapped a wing around her withers. "I'll even help alongside you. Assuming Equestria is fine to have a male ruler alongside his princess."

"...Y-You...want to help?" Twilight asked, baffled as he didn't expect a response like that.

"Of course," he said, then planted a kiss on the alicorn's lips. "There may be harmony in the world, but darkness could still linger to take it away. I'm sure as the new princess and a Key bearer, you're tasked with protecting the light of the world as well as keeping order and peace. And I'll offer a little extra muscle if you're busy with dignitaries, treaties, business deals, all that boring nonsense."

"I don't suppose Equestria wouldn't mind after witnessing Twilight's coronation as a new princess with her personal guard as more than just that," Celestia assured with a smirk.

Twilight glanced back at her mentor, blushing slightly, then looked back at Riku and her friends. "...I...I suppose we can...do this," she said. "But we should take this into consideration when we have a round table discussion-"

"Well, I'm in!" Rarity squealed. "We are going to need a complete wardrobe update! And, if Riku is going to be Twilight's ruling prince, he will need some more regal garments as well!"

"And if I have to fight Heartless in whatever you dress me in, don't get mad when I get my new duds torn up," Riku mentioned to the fashionista.

"As long as we're together, I'm sure we can do it," Fluttershy said.

"I think we're all definitely in!" Pinkie cheered. "'Protectors of Equestria' on three!"

"And considering our Galactic Map is down in Ponyville, we'll offer our own assistance in any way we can," Aqua added.

The other outworlders nodded, joining up with Pinkie as everyone aside from Kairi joined respective hooves and hands in the middle. Twilight couldn't help but sigh, assured by all her friends that they were capable of running Equestria in place of Celestia and Luna. They let out their little cheer as Equestria's protectors, though to Kairi, it didn't seem fair to leave Sora out of this if he thought Twilight and her friends can lead Equestria to everlasting peace and harmony.

"It'll be a bit of an adjustment, but I imagine the transfer of power will be a lengthy process," Twilight said.

"Actually, we just need a few days to prepare a little ceremony," Celestia interjected, spiking Twilight's anxiety back up to maximum as she wheeled around to gawk at her.

"A-A few days!?" she repeated. "But that's too soon! Isn't there supposed to be a training program that lasts weeks? Months? Years!?"

"Everything you've gone through over the years has been the training program," Celestia assured.

"Ok, but there has to be some kind of guide or a rulebook!" Twilight said, trying to make up an excuse to delay such a swift rite of passage.

"There is, and I have it right here," Discord said, floating down in front of Twilight and Riku with a random book in his hands. "'How to Rule Equestria' by Nopony McPretendsmith."

He flipped through the thousands of pages, luring the desperate alicorn to eye the passages that flipped by her. Riku frowned, knocking the book out of Discord's hooves, which deflated like a popped rubber ball.

"Stop trying to freak her out even more, Discord," Riku warned.

"The friendship journal you and your friends had written for yourselves is a much better guide than Luna or I could provide you," Celestia said as she pulled out a copy of the journal that was sold to the public, which was the cause of the world completely overlooking the lessons and thought it was either fiction or elaborated stories about their characterizations.

As confident as the princesses were, Twilight lost every bit of it she had. She began hyperventilating, reverting back to the old, panicky Twilight, though she did have every right to with the sudden swiftness of her next coronation as the new ruler of Equestria in a few days. Riku patted Twilight's back, digging into his pockets and pulled out a paper bag, giving it to her, which she immediately took and breathed heavily in and out of it.

"Breathe, Twilight," he assured. "Everything will be fine. We know you can pull through."

"Oh, she most certainly can," Discord agreed, though his tone sounded a bit ominous with his sly grin.

"Discord, knock it off," Riku warned again.

---

Twilight was still panicking as they all returned to Ponyville, gathering in the Castle of Friendship's throne room. Even Discord and Dizzy followed them, the former barely bothered by Twilight's panic attack as he was grooming his beard with a fork.

"I am NOT confident about all of this!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Well, that's what we thought," Discord said.

"Who do you mean 'we'!?" Dizzy exclaimed.

"You and I are one and the same, so yes, I said we," Discord argued.

"I didn't say a single word, nor am I trying to make it worse for Twilight," Dizzy countered.

"And the situation is predictable when she does get all wheezy and choking on her own lungs over something so minor," Discord countered back.

"I'd say this isn't something that's considered minor as taking up the mantel of running an entire nation," Aqua scolded the draconequus.

"Regardless, all of you will tell Twilight she's fine, then not listen to you, the same old song and dance told several times in prior seasons." Discord dismissed his "beard comb", blowing a raspberry. "I don't need to be here for this. Waste of a good Sunday with the princesses retiring and not announcing me as the new ruler."

He teleported away, leaving Dizzy shaking his head with a heavy sigh. "And he thinks I'm the immature one for being his youthful side," he mumbled.

"I mean, I know I said yes, but...I didn't think Celestia would mention it would just take a few days right off the bat!" Twilight exclaimed. "It's all happening way too fast, and there's still so much to figure out!" She began to panic again, taking her paper bag again and breathed heavily in and out of it. Riku sat beside her as she hyperventilated at her throne, rubbing her back while the other mares and Spike were prepared for her constant freakouts. "I-I think I need some-!" Rarity was already in the process of pouring the alicorn some water, which she took as it hovered over to her. Taking a drink, she panted, slowly trying to get back to being the calm and rational scholar she was. "Ok, now I'll feel better-"

"Once you make a plan?" Rarity answered, guessing Twilight's statement spot on.

"...You all knew-" Twilight tried to say, but Spike hovered up on the table in front of her as the rest of her friends gathered around her.

"That you were going to react the way you did? Obviously, we did," Spike said. "Why do you think Riku had a paper bag on hoof when you began hyperventilating?"

"Classic 'Twilight-ing'," Pinkie said, poking her head up around the corner of Twilight's throne.

Startled, she glanced up at Pinkie, then back at everyone else, who all seemed to agree with the style of panicking she named for Twilight. "...You made me a verb?"

"It does make sense," Riku said.

"There's even one for Aqua when she's gone into a full-blown rage; Aqua-Furious," Lea said.

"What!? Since when was my name given a verb like that!?" Aqua questioned.

"Just came up with it now," Lea said with an impish grin.

Aqua growled, ignoring him and knowing full well that 'Aqua-Furious' wasn't going to catch on with the others. "Shouldn't it be something ice related since she freezes everything when she gets mad?" Ventus asked.

"Ven, please don't give Lea any ideas," Aqua groaned.

"Raging Blizzard!" Lea exclaimed proudly.

Aqua lit up her horn, flinging Lea over the table in her aura. He rolled as he landed, giggling impishly as he hid behind one of their thrones, poking his head around the side to stick his tongue out at her.

"I'll show you a raging blizzard if you make up another random nickname," Aqua warned.

"Can we all focus on me running an entire kingdom!?" Twilight shrieked, startling everyone. "I had an exhaustive experience putting together the Grand Equestria Pony Summit by myself, but that doesn't even come close to ruling Equestria and every single city and town within its borders to this degree! What if something happens and the princesses aren't there to help us!?"

"Um, if you think about it Twilight, the princesses have rarely helped us when the worst hits Equestria," Rainbow said.

The room was silent as they mulled over what the pegasus just said. It really was a rare occurrence for Celestia and Luna to help Equestria, or their world, when it came to the much more dire threats that didn't involve the Heartless. Though the only time they ever did help was that one year during Nightmare Night. Celestia left Nightmare Moon to Twilight and her new friends, she and Luna couldn't do anything to Discord, Chrysalis overpowered Celestia, Luna couldn't bear to face the monster Sombra became again, they thought hiding their magic from Tirek was a good idea, they weren't aware of Starlight's plans for her town of equality or her attempts to change history, Chrysalis took them by surprise yet again, they were too astonished by who M really was after being with him for years over a millennia ago, and they were unable to help stop Cozy Glow because of Sora's refusal to be offered any help. They did have tremendous power, but instead of offering their assistance and lending their power, they entrusted all of them to save Equestria more often than not.

"...I hate to say it, but...Rainbow has a point," Ventus said.

"About the princesses being lazy and not getting off their butts to come down and kick butts?" Lea asked.

"No!" Ventus exclaimed, pausing as he had to overthink the real reason. "Well, maybe they weren't lazy, but Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow were able to save the day without their help."

"Exactly!" Rainbow agreed. "We've done almost everything without the princesses help at all! And only Twilight has a Keyblade, so us helping out makes us super awesome!"

"Except you're forgettin' that we weren't able to do most of the savin' without Sora," Applejack reminded the excited Wonderbolt.

Again, the room fell quiet. Slowly, they all glanced at Sora's throne. It was still present with his Keyblade still firmly lodged within the base of the crystalline throne. For the Mane Six, their first heroic act couldn't have been done without him. Discovering he was an outsider who came to help their world, how he was able to assist the girls and brave through the Everfree Forest to reach the Castle of the Two Sisters, where the Elements of Harmony were said to be held. If he wasn't with them and able to free Luna from the darkness that would have completely consumed her heart, they would have lost her to Nightmare Moon forever. Without him crashing in Ponyville, things would have been very different. The impact he's had on all of them, on everyone who knew him in their world, would never be the same.

Kairi silently excused herself, leaving the room and headed for the kitchen. She needed to check in on Sora, making sure he was eating and he was doing ok. Making a few sandwiches, she hovered the plate in her telekinesis and walked through the halls to their room. She knocked on the door a couple times, not getting a response, but she opened the door and walked inside. He was laying on his side in their bed, finding him like this or looking at himself in the mirror with a blank stare. He still refused to wear his clothes, sitting on the dresser where she last saw them, though he occasionally picked up his necklace and stared at it for hours, silently contemplating what he could have done differently with Cozy Glow. His hair grew out and was more unkempt than spiky, even sporting some shaggy facial hair that made him look even more depressed than he seemed.

"Sora?" Kairi called out. He barely spoke since he let out everything that was bothering him three months ago, not even mumbling a grunt in acknowledgement. She walked around the bed, noticing the other plate she left for him earlier this morning before leaving to hear the princesses' news. It was empty, which showed her he was still eating. Replacing the empty plate with the newly replenished one, she sat down beside him, his eyes slowly listing to her as she sat in his peripheral vision. "...Celestia and Luna are going to be stepping down from the throne. They want Twilight to take their place with the other girls." Sora barely showed any other emotion, though his ears twitched as he processed the news. "...They were upset you weren't there with us to hear it yourself.

"Twilight's...taking it as she usually does, but I think they'd be perfect for the job together..." She tried to smile, but seeing him still not showing any response made her frown. She wished she could do more to help heal him, but he already seemed lost in his despair. Kairi leaned forward, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. "I love you. No matter what happens."

She knows Sora loves her, too, but that guilt from what could have cost him everything still hit him hard. No one had even told his mother about the state he was in, neither knowing if Sora would wind up going into another burst of untoward rage and spouting all his transgressions to her and push her away to avoid losing someone else he loves. But, maybe a mother's touch was needed to help snap him out of his funk. Kairi nuzzled Sora's face, ignoring the tickling sensation of his growing beard against her cheek, giving him one more kiss before she walked out of the room. Sora's ear twitched as he heard the door close shut, finally moving as he let out a depressed sigh. His hoof subconsciously reached for a sandwich slice, not caring what was in it as he took a bite.

Kairi began to leave the castle, opening the doors and bumping into Starlight Glimmer. "Oh. Hi, Kairi," Starlight greeted. "Did you solve the troublesome news the princesses have?"

"The others can tell you," she said. "I'm going to get Manami."

"Oh. Maybe she could help him," Starlight said. "...Is he...doing alright?"

"...For the most part. I'll be back soon." Kairi walked past Starlight, leaving the unicorn wondering if Sora would ever be the same.

Kairi flew off to their Gummi ships, entering her own and started the engines. She didn't waste any time, blasting off as she left the atmosphere to return home and let her stepmother know of the terrible news that befell her son three months ago.

---

Deep in the middle of the woods far from civilization, some trees were coated in disturbingly green webbing, far bigger than any normal spider would make. Splayed about along the branches, in between a few trees, they sat as either a makeshift home or a perimeter to ward or lure in prey. Stomping around their little home was none other than the former queen of the changelings, muttering to herself as she blasted magic beams into some of the stumps she cut down.

"One day, those fools will see," Chrysalis growled. "I will defeat Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, all of their friends! Including that runt who dared to strike me down after offering his assistance to take over Equestria!" Losing her mind in her solace, Chrysalis let out a crazed cackle as her eyes crossed with madness. "I will have my revenge for what they took from me!" In front of her was the stump she was crafting on, which was a carved image of one of her old followers, though it wasn't a normal drone. It was like her, but younger with a webbed mane similar to hers, but lacking the black crown Chrysalis always bore atop her head. "So many of my backup plans failed, especially those failed clones who planned to betray me.

I thought for sure that one egg in my clutch after my wedding crash was botched by 'the power of love' would have been special, but despite its shell bearing similar marks of HIM, it was nothing but a dud." She leered at the carving she made, stomping up to it and poking its face with her hoof. "I swear, if you still obeyed my orders to watch after it and refused to leave it and help me take back my hive, I am going to strangle you when I find-!"

Her insane rambling was cut off when she began to see black smoke swiftly rising up beneath her, teleporting her away from her temporary hideout.

---

Deep within Tartarus, Cerberus continued guarding the realm, or if his master wanted him to attack Hercules and the city of Thebes, he would do as he was told. It was a little dull not having Fluttershy around. She didn't yell at him or bark orders to do something. Part of him wanted to try to escape again and see her just to get some positive attention, though he got in a bit of trouble running into Sora in Equestria, and threatened by Kairi to be neutered.

One of the heads glanced at the two biggest threats of Equestria in their cages. Since Cozy Glow was brought in, they did not like the little filly just by her scent; she practically smelled of sinister, cruel, unadulterated evil. That and she also had Sora's scent all over her. The trio of heads didn't know what kind of despicable evil crime she committed in the other world, but whatever it was, they knew she was definitely going to stay confined in her cage. Cozy Glow looked over at the leering guard dog, scowling back at him.

"What are you looking at?" Cozy questioned. Cerberus responded with a low growl. "I can't break out of my cage. So stop your growling. If I could, you'd be seeing all three of your necks tied up in knots by the time I'm finished with you."

"With all that hot air, I'm sure you could bust through the bars in no time," Tirek grumbled, scratching his nail against the floor of his cage. Several hundred tally marks were left, counting the number of days, months, years, decades of time he had been imprisoned. "In fact, if you had decided to flee rather than stay and fight from your ego, you could have broken me out and we could have tried again."

"Hey! I had Sora right where I wanted him!" Cozy argued. "I expected to win and beat him, but I didn't know he had the power of darkness on his side! Did you see what he did to me!?"

"He should have killed you for your betrayal," Tirek said.

"But he didn't, because he's still weak," Cozy snarled. Looking down at her broken halves of her Keyblade, it only reminded her of the humiliation she faced and the dreams she sought were now shattered just like her weapon. "We aren't supposed to use the power of darkness. And even though the rest of them looked stupefied, they had to have known he could do that, and yet he's still got his Keyblade. They aren't as lenient as my masters where I grew up. They thought I couldn't do any of this because of my 'condition', but they're scared that I was able to surpass them. I learned every spell, every ability, every technique that was taught, acing them flawlessly, but they kept holding me back!"

"...You have issues," Tirek remarked.

"Says the old half-breed who can't get over the younger brother who betrayed you and sided with Equestria to stop you," Cozy shot back.

Tirek growled, but as he was about to argue with his cellmate, dark smoke appeared around his feet and suddenly whisked him away. Cozy gasped, only to look down when the same smoke appeared around her, taking her as well, along with the two halves of her Keyblade. The Cerberus head eyeing them gawked with his jaw hanging open in shock, quickly barking to the other heads. The other two looked back, bearing the same startled and shocked expressions. They jumped up to the hill, looking around for any trace of them, but they couldn't find anything. Not even their scent. Panicking, they didn't know whether to inform their master that Tirek had escaped with his little pegasus partner or try to pretend they didn't escape and risk getting into trouble. Again.

---

Inside of a cavern somewhere in Equestria, Tirek and Cozy Glow appeared from the wisps of smoke that transported them. There wasn't much in this cave, though there was a stone table that held a large crystal ball filled with a mystical orange energy within, jagged lines of blackness around the delicate sphere with a black rectangular iris in the center. Confused, the duo looked around, spotting another wisp appear beside them and Chrysalis appearing as it transported her here as well.

"What is going on!?" Chrysalis demanded. She turned around, finding the confused centaur and stunted pegasus. "Lord Tirek?"

"A changeling?" Tirek uttered. "And I appreciate calling me by my full title, unlike a certain little runt."

"I am no worthless drone; I am Chrysalis, queen of the changelings!" Chrysalis stated.

"Not much of a queen when your subjects bumped you out and turned into butterflies," Cozy commented, making the changeling snarl at her.

"Don't you dare condescend me, you little-!" Chrysalis paused when she saw the two halves of Cozy's Keyblade. "...You have a Keyblade?"

"'Had' is the correct verb," Cozy grumbled. "Sora broke it when I thought I had him beaten, and he turned the tables on me."

"...A child like you?" Chrysalis questioned, already feeling skeptical of the "filly".

"I'm nineteen; I have a stunted medical issue, but with my size and cuteness, I was able to fool Sora and all his friends, and almost destroyed all of Equestria's magic and those meddling bearers," Cozy said, giving Chrysalis a convincing, adorable grin while her big eyes blinked innocently.

"Oh. That is quite despicable," Chrysalis commented, impressed. "If you weren't a pony, I would have showed you how a REAL deceiver tricks his victims."

"Oh, great. She's already made a new friend," Tirek grumbled. "Please take her off my hands. She wouldn't have gotten the idea to destroy all the Equestrian magic without my help. I couldn't stand her loud mouth while she was stuck in Tartarus with me the last couple months."

"Tartarus?" Chrysalis asked in surprise. "Whoever broke you out of that prison must be powerful."

"You mean you didn't do it?" Cozy asked.

"It was I who gathered you here." From one of the cavernous halls, the trio of villains looked to where the voice came from. They heard hoofsteps echo throughout the cave as the silhouette of a creature stepped closer, revealing themselves in the lighting within the mystery hideout. Making their way to the stone table was a large, sentient ram with blue fur, his hooves and long, curled horns a darker shade, grayish-white mane and short tail, glowing red eyes, two bottom fangs jutting out from his muzzle, and around his neck was a red collar with four golden studs on the sides of a golden hook for a bell to rest on. Tirek's eyes grew wide when he recognized the ram as he stood behind the table, staring out at the three villains. "You may call me...Grogar."

"Wait, THE Grogar!?" Chrysalis exclaimed in surprise.

"I thought you were a legend!" Tirek exclaimed as well, stunned to see the legendary cloven-hooved ram in the flesh.

"Who in the hay is 'Grofar'?" Cozy questioned.

"It's Gro-gar!" Grogar corrected, leaning over the table and leered daggers at the pegasus. "I have been away for far too long if I cannot strike fear in the hearts of foals." Cozy shrugged, barely concerned with the old ram or his acclaimed infamy if Tirek and Chrysalis have heard of him. "And I have gathered all of you as part of MY plan to rid Equestria of Twilight Sparkle and her friends once and for all."

Confused, Tirek, Cozy Glow, and Chrysalis looked at each other. "You can't be serious," Chrysalis grumbled.

"I don't know if it's even possible at this point," Tirek added.

"Oh, it will be possible," Grogar reassured. "And even with Sora and his other friends with their power wielding those infernal Keyblades, they will never be able to foil my plan this time."

"Hey, how do you even know about the Keyblade?" Cozy questioned.

"How do you think Gusty the Great managed to weaken me and take my bell so they could banish me?" Tirek and Chrysalis let out a surprised gasp, but Cozy had no idea what Grogar was talking about. "But, considering you don't know who I am, you must be an outsider just like Sora and his friends as well." Cozy winced, baffled by the ram's incredibly accurate guess. His collar's studs began to glow, levitating Cozy's broken Keyblade over to him. "And one so young with much more power to rival that of Sora's. You have the makings of being a master over all of them. But not with a shattered blade." The studs glowed brighter as he merged the broken blade together with its other half. In a bright flash, making Grogar wince as he looked away as well as the others, then looked back as it died down. With a smirk, he watched Cozy's expression turn from confusion to astonishment; her Kingdom Queen Keyblade was repaired, like nothing ever happened, but the chain at the end of her Keyblade vanished. "There. Good as new. Though the chain had to be sacrificed, it's like it never broke. And to the others, it shall remain broken so they do not catch wind of you on their little map of theirs."

Grogar hovered the Keyblade back to Cozy. When she grabbed it in her hooves, all the power she had lost had just been restored. She didn't care much about the chain, but she still needed to know how Grogar knew about the Keyblade, who Gusty the Great was, and how he knew about the Cutie Map back in Ponyville.

"You could repair that?" Tirek uttered, still in disbelief that this was really the evil Grogar of legend. To dissuade his doubts, Grogar tapped into his magic again, creating an orb of yellow magical energy in his hoof. Casually blowing it over to the centaur, Tirek caught it, able to feel the ram's power. Salivating, he brought it to his mouth and consumed the magic. His body flashed, and his form began to change, growing taller and muscular, standing twice as tall as the ram. Though it wasn't enough to give him his full strength, it was enough to give back Tirek's youthful figure and bulging muscles, flexing his biceps after being out of this form for so long. "Yes! I've missed this feeling!"

"Eww. Go back to being old," Cozy jeered.

"Maybe you should show some respect to Grogar," Tirek warned Cozy Glow. "He was known as the 'Father of Monsters' in his time as the first true emperor of the land of Equestria before the ponies founded it. I loved hearing stories about him when I was little."

"I don't want to know what you looked like when you were 'little'," Cozy jabbed.

"He'd still dwarf you by yards," Chrysalis commented.

"SILENCE!" Grogar ordered, startling the trio. "There is one more among us who still needs to hear of my plan." Moving his crystal ball away, Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis didn't know there was a fourth villain he was going to recruit. From one of the halls, his magic carried what looked like a pony mannequin, setting it down on the stone table before them. The trio were baffled seeing one like this as it seemed to have some movement as it was laid down rather than being stock still. "Stand back. He is known to be a ruthless, notorious tyrant in his day. With the power of darkness at his command."

"Darkness?" Cozy mumbled.

In a satchel he carried along with the life-size display figure, he pulled out a fragmented piece of a blood-red horn. "Now, to add the piece of his dark heart to bring this vessel to life."

Carefully, the ram aimed the horn directly on the vessel's forehead where it would go on a unicorn. He slammed it in, causing the vessel to jolt as darkness began to spread around its body. Tirek, Cozy, and Chrysalis backed away in shock, Cozy Glow keeping her Keyblade bared, never in her life feeling such a powerful darkness radiating from the horn that rivaled that of Sora's Anti-Form. The table was shrouded with a dark smoke, darker than what transported them, and they heard an eerie laugh come from inside. They soon saw a pair of glowing green eyes open in the smoke with a purple mist flowing from them before the darkness dissipated, revealing who Grogar had revived; the dreaded King Sombra.

The unicorn Heartless grinned, baring his sharp fangs as he looked upon the four miniscule villains who had brought him back from death. "King Sombra?" Chrysalis uttered. "You're bringing him along on your plan, Grogar?"

Hearing the name, Sombra turned to face the ram, recognizing the legendary Father of Monsters. "Ah. Grogar. For a legend, I thought you would have been dead after you were banished," he mocked. "I don't know whether to thank you for bringing me back from my unwanted demise by the hooves of that foolish pegasus, or laugh at you for thinking I owe you a life debt. At least I am free from the weakest part of me, and he's long since deceased."

"Pegasus? Who are you talking about?" Tirek questioned.

"I'm talking of the welp with the spiky mane; Sora," Sombra said to the centaur. "He and his comrades tried to stop me and take the Crystal Heart from me. Despite his all, Sora distracted me long enough for that irritating little dragon who brought the Crystal Heart back to its place beneath the castle, and its barrier of pure light destroyed myself and my weaker light!"

"We were just talking about planning to get rid of him along with the Elements of Harmony and their friends," Grogar said. "And I am well aware of all of your humiliating defeats at the hooves of those ponies and outsiders." Sombra snarled at the reminder. Cozy Glow, Tirek, and Chrysalis even had their grievances, but the way Sombra was crouched, he was looking to start a fight with Grogar. "I have spent millennia gathering power without my bell, biding my time, and waiting for the perfect opportunity to finally put an end to these so-called heroes from stopping us. Do either of you know why they were able to best us so easily?"

"It's because they cheat!" Chrysalis exclaimed.

"Because they got lucky," Tirek guessed.

"Definitely lucky," Cozy agreed. "Especially Sora. He's obviously been lucky ever since he got his Keyblade!"

"NO!" Grogar interjected loudly. "It's because they work TOGETHER! Even Sora wins his battles with his friends by his side. One may be weak, but others that are stronger unite, and they succeed. And Sora shows his strength by fighting for his friends, thus giving him the power he needs to beat his foes."

"Pth. Well, he'll be a cakewalk after I managed to break his spirit," Cozy proudly proclaimed.

"After he went into a fit of rage from your betrayal and nearly killed you," Tirek reminded the pegasus, making her scowl bitterly.

"What are you suggesting?" Chrysalis questioned, making the other villains wonder just where Grogar was going with his explanation.

"I am suggesting nothing; I DEMAND that you join me, and together, we will take Equestria as ours!" Grogar proclaimed.

Chrysalis frowned, clearly against the idea. Cozy and Tirek silently shared the same sentiment, but since they got on each other's nerves, they don't believe Grogar's plan would work. Sombra, however, scoffed, stepping down from the table as he continued to eye Grogar.

"You think you can revive me and order me around like a slave?" Sombra questioned. "I follow nopony's orders; everypony obeys MINE." Stomping the ground, Sombra summoned a pillar of dark crystals before him, clasping the top with his hoof before the crystal shattered, forming a long crystal blade imbued with darkness. Taking his weapon in his dark aura, he flicked it and aimed it at the ram. "And you will do the same, or perish by my power!"

"I warn you not to test me, Sombra," Grogar growled. Sombra roared and slammed his sword down, sending a shockwave of crystal shards forward. Grogar leapt back, avoiding the shards, then glanced up as Sombra leapt into the air and prepared to drop and run his blade through him. From the same satchel where Sombra's horn was held, Grogar quickly used his magic around it, pressing something hidden away. Barely a few inches from stabbing Grogar, Sombra's body suddenly seized up as he was jolted with hundreds of volts of electricity. Yelling, he crashed to the ground, unable to control his limbs as he writhed out of control. "I gave you enough warning, you fool."

"GRRAAAAGH! W-W-WHAT-ARGH!" Sombra could barely speak as he tried to fight back, but his nerves refused to obey him as he continued to writhe about in sudden agony.

Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis were surprised Sombra tried to attack Grogar, but what was happening to him was a mystery. Grogar pulled out what else was hidden away, which was an electrical device that had a button firmly held down, the cause for Sombra's non-lethal electrocution.

"Your old body was destroyed by the Crystal Heart and its light. As a Heartless, you have such low tolerance to it that the light given by the crystal ponies during the Crystal Faire was what truly destroyed you," Grogar explained. "The new body you're in is nothing but a puppet to store a soul inside. Considering your power, it was built with this device in mind to incapacitate you should you try anything stupid, just like what you tried to pull." Releasing the button, Sombra's pained yelling finally ceased as the stallion panted and grunted, his limbs and body twitching from the small aftershocks lingering in his muscles. "If you try that again, you will be shocked repeatedly until you learn to cooperate, which is what we need to do to beat our enemies." Slowly, Sombra finally got control over his limbs, his body still shaking as he struggled to stand himself up, still glaring defiantly at Grogar. "Despite the precautions to keep you in check, your new body is also much tougher when it comes to your opposing element.

"You are a creature called a Heartless, a creature of darkness with only one mindless goal; desolation of the world. Light is meant to be your enemy, but with this new body you possess, you won't need to worry about getting blasted to pieces. The Crystal Heart's power may weaken you if you were to attempt an invasion, but it will not kill you. You can still be severely injured by the Key bearers and their light." Sombra growled, still refusing to consider Grogar's plan despite he was at a disadvantage. He smirked, then tried to use his magic to swipe the device, but his magic failed to grasp it by some unknown force. "And don't even try to wrench yourself free by taking what is meant to pacify you. Your power cannot swipe this away from whoever holds it. Now, is there anything else you'd like to try to infuriate me with your arrogance?"

"I will not be your pawn," Sombra snarled. "I do not need you, nor those other impudent foals! I can take back my empire by myself, even if you've given me a body to withstand my Crystal Heart's light!"

Growling, Grogar gave up on trying to convince Sombra. "Fine. Go ahead and take back your empire," he said, surprising the other three watching as he gave in so easily. "If you somehow manage to prevail, I will let you do whatever you wish in your kingdom. But when you fail, then you will submit to me."

"And if I refuse?" Sombra asked.

"Then I won't hesitate to kill you and send you back to the shadows from whence you came," Grogar assured, fully serious with his promise.

"I would love to see you try if you didn't hide behind such a flimsy little contraption meant to subdue me!" Sombra exclaimed. "You failed to defeat Gusty the Great, but I have not yielded to that colt's might, nor backed down by his power! Neither of you will live once I turn this world into my-!"

Grogar teleported Sombra away, letting him do as he pleases and take back his kingdom. "An ego like that will only get him killed," Grogar sighed. "Just like the mindless creature of the dark realm that he is." He walked back to his table, placing his crystal ball back in its place, keeping the electrocution device next to him on the table as well. "I advise the rest of you to prepare to work together, otherwise you will meet the same fate as Sombra when he fails."

"Mph. This sounds far too much like trying to be friends," Cozy grumbled. She looked down at her Keyblade, rubbing the part of the blade where Sora had stabbed through and broke it. "...I may have to tolerate them if this really does work. They better not hold me back, though..."

---

When Starlight heard of the shocking news about Celestia and Luna's retirement AND Twilight being chosen as their successor to the throne, she was just as surprised as the rest of them. But seeing just how panicked Twilight was about the situation, she also knew just how big of a responsibility it was for the Princess of Friendship, along with her other responsibilities as a Key bearer. Twilight wouldn't be able to look over the school at that point as headmare, which she "Twilight-ed" even more and teleported off to the school. As much as everyone tried to console the alicorn, their efforts were all in vain.

Starlight headed for the school and found Twilight in her office, flicking through papers and scrolls all over her desk with scrolls rolling several yards across the floor. Spike was nearby, trying to help mediate the mess of scrolls Twilight was making.

"So much to do, not enough time!" Twilight worried. "No! I already did that! Wait, no, I did, but-AGH! NOT ENOUGH TIME!"

Spike gave up trying to fix up the scrolls she did look over when she snatched them back, getting herself more flustered. "And here she goes, spiraling into a 'my plan needs a plan' phase in her 'Twilight-ing'," he said.

"Will you all stop saying that!?" Twilight exclaimed. "Excuse me for freaking out and 'Twilight-ing' because I'm going to be running an entire kingdom in a few days!" While magically tossing around a few papers, she noticed Starlight watching her panic. "Starlight! Perfect timing! I need to talk to you!"

"I was just in the throne room and heard the news from everyone else," Starlight said. "You could have just-"

"I know I 'talk to Starlight' written down on one of these! Where did I put it!?" More papers were flung around until Twilight found what she was looking for. "Aha! There you are! I knew I wrote it down!" Clearing her throat, Twilight began to read what she wrote down for Starlight to hear, though she read through each sentence nonstop, barely slowing down to calm herself down. "'Starlight, you have blossomed into one of the strongest, smartest, most caring ponies I know, and I can't think of anypony better to leave in charge of my castle and the School of Friendship!' So what do you think!?"

Despite Twilight giving Starlight an awkwardly frantic grin, Starlight was actually surprised to be given this role after only substituting as headmare a few times. "Uhh...I-I can't! I don't think I'm ready for this!" Starlight said, sounding just as panicked as Twilight. "Remember what happened the last time you left me in charge!? And now you want me to do it permanently!? What if I don't do the right things!?"

Starlight hyperventilated, baffling Spike seeing her acting just like Twilight right now. Twilight snapped out of her panic and hopped over her desk to comfort the unicorn.

"Starlight, get a hold of yourself!" Twilight said. "You've risen to every challenge you've ever faced. You can do anything you put your mind to. You've got this."

Starlight smirked, having faked her own anxiety attack. "Hah! And so do you," she said as she gently prodded the alicorn's chest with her hoof. "See what I did there? You just said everything YOU needed to hear."

Twilight blinked, then began to laugh sarcastically. "Nice try, Starlight. Running a school and running a country are two very different things. Now, if you don't mind, I have seven thousand, four hundred, and thirty-two things to take care of before I become the new ruler of Equestria!"

She began to hyperventilate again, rapidly breathing in and out of her paper bag. Spike gave up, letting her run her panic attack through until she finally tires herself out.

"Eh. It was a valiant effort," Spike said to Starlight. "Riku did his best, too."

"And she keeps forgetting that she's going to be running the kingdom with him at her side along with the other girls," Starlight said. They both left the office and headed back to the castle. "Even when the other girls have their own tasks to do outside of saving the world and teaching at the school, they're in the same boat as her."

"Not to mention her Keyblade training," Spike added. "She's been training nonstop for the last three months."

"Right. Because of Sora." Starlight sighed, frowning irritably. "He did not deserve this. Cozy really pushed him to his breaking point. Hopefully his mom can break through to him."

---

Kairi arrived at Destiny Islands and walked through the familiar streets, leaving her Gummi ship in a clearing away from the town. She didn't know Manami will react to find out about Cozy Glow, but if it had anything to do with Sora, she would be at his side in a heartbeat. Reaching Sora's home, she knocked on the door, where she was greeted by one of the Swashbucklers, startling her. She almost expected Kaito, but not one of his Nobodies. The Swashbuckler recognized her, then let her inside as it went to the kitchen, tapping Manami's shoulder while she was busy cleaning the floor.

"What is it?" she asked, then noticed Kairi as she smiled, leaving her cleaning supplies and approached her daughter-in-law. "Kairi! So good to see you!" Manami hugged Kairi, which she returned, though not as enthusiastic as the mother. "So how was your honeymoon? Did you run Sora ragged? And please, please please please please tell me I'm going to be a grandmother in another few months."

"Uhh...I'm not pregnant," Kairi said, disappointing Manami when she released her. "It was...relaxing, though."

"Hmph. Well, I know I can't force you, but still, I'd like to at least have one grandchild before my hair starts turning gray," Manami grumbled. Her mopey attitude flipped to concern when she realized Sora wasn't with her. "Speaking of, where is Sora? Did he go and chat with his friends?"

"...He's...back in Equestria," Kairi said. "...Something...awful almost happened a few months ago...You probably wouldn't believe me."

Manami thought something horrible happened to Sora, but Kairi ran her through what had happened back in Equestria, from the magic being stolen to who was really responsible and the aftermath the event left on everyone. Especially Sora. Manami was dumbstruck to learn that Cozy Glow, the adorable pegasus filly Sora took in and tried to raise was actually a little monster in disguise. Even she was fooled by the cute demeanor she wore when she actually saw her personally at the wedding. She was upset for Sora and how his heart must have been broken to millions of pieces by now, but she held no sympathy for Cozy when she took his kindness for granted and used him like that.

"...That...That little runt did that...to my baby?" Manami growled, clenching her fists tightly. "I'm glad Sora finally restrained himself before he did something that horrible, but I don't think she deserved any mercy from him. She's lucky she didn't have to deal with me! I hope that heartless little witch rots in Equestria's hell for the rest of her life." She calmed herself before she lost her own temper, the Swashbuckler from earlier coming over to the two with a couple cups of tea for the two ladies. Manami silently thanked the helpful Nobody, taking a small sip and let out a sigh. "...I don't think I need to ask if Sora's emotionally well if this happened months ago."

"No," Kairi said with a shake of her head. "He blames himself for what happened...For ignoring us and trying to save Cozy Glow from the dark path she willingly decided to go down."

"Of course he would," Manami mumbled. "It's bad enough for him to nearly end someone's life to protect his loved ones, but having his heart twisted by someone he desperately cared for and trying to show his compassion to them...It's hard for him to let go of someone. He was so upset when we heard his father died, I thought he was going to grow up bitter and angry for the rest of his life." She looked at Kairi, reaching her hand out to take hers and gave her a small smile. "Sora's lucky to have met someone like you to be his light on his darkest days. I didn't condone how he hit you when you came to visit that day, but I believe that snapped him out of it and made him realize he wasn't alone."

"...Thanks," Kairi mumbled. "But I've tried everything I could. He's shut himself down, and he won't talk to me."

"Then I guess I need to take over and snap him back to his senses, dangers in the worlds be damned." Finishing her tea, Manami stood up, ready for another interstellar trip back to Equestria. "My son is much stronger than that, and I'm not going to let him give up on all of us."

Kairi nodded, leaving her cup untouched as she stood up and led Manami to her ship, the Nobody taking their cups and carrying them to the sink. "Where's Kaito?"

"He's off training," Manami said. "After what he told me about a dragon who pretended to be Spike's father turning into a monstrous Heartless, he felt a bit helpless trying to stop it on his own. Just like my Kaito, he thinks he can handle something on his own and refuse to ask for help."

The two made their way to the clearing and entered Kairi's Gummi ship, preparing themselves for takeoff. Manami wished they could just instantly teleport to Equestria right away than spend what feels like a fifteen minute ride to get to their destination. They breached the atmosphere, getting far enough away for Kairi to activate the Warp-G.

"Kairi! Come in!" Aqua said through her communicator, startling Kairi just as she was finishing inputting the coordinates for Equestria.

"Aqua, what's going on?" she asked, making Manami wonder if there was another emergency.

"The Crystal Empire is being attacked!" Kairi gasped in surprise, baffling her if the Crystal Heart was able to protect the kingdom from a majority of threats.

"Nobodies?" Kairi asked.

"...Worse. There's a powerful darkness that somehow managed to breach through the Crystal Heart's barrier," Aqua said, dread filling her voice. "And Cadence sent us a letter, and it's urgent; Sombra's back."

Kairi's stomach dropped. Confused, she thought that the Sombra Aqua named was the same Sombra who was Luna's lover, but with darkness present, she was clearly meaning the Heartless who possessed the real Sombra's heart. Sora said there wasn't any physical trace of him left, and a piece of his light was secure within the engagement ring he made for Luna. If there was a piece of King Sombra that survived the Crystal Heart's expanding barrier, there wasn't any sign of its presence anywhere near the frozen north and he was biding his time until he was strong enough to attempt another hostile takeover.

"I'll be back soon," Kairi said. Finishing inputting the coordinates, Kairi activated the Warp-G. "This is not good..."

"Kairi, what's happening in Equestria?" Manami asked. "Is it Sora?"

"No. Something that I think is worse than Cozy Glow," Kairi said, focusing on getting back to Equestria.

---

The Crystal Empire was shimmering brightly under the warmth of the sunlight. The barrier protected the kingdom from the harsh cold and any Heartless that appeared to endanger them. Sunburst was enjoying the perfect day reading through some books on a bench with a clear view of the snowy landscape beyond the barrier. With Cadence and Shining Armor less busy than usual today, they didn't need him to watch over Flurry Heart for them.

After finishing another of his books, he took off his glasses and wiped the lens with his cloak. When he put them back on, he noticed a dark cloud beginning to roll up to the barrier. Blinking, he squinted his eyes, thinking he was seeing things, but his eyes weren't deceiving him as that dark cloud grew closer to the barrier, a pair of glowing green eyes appearing within.

"W-What in Equestria? Is that a Heartless?" he uttered in fear. The smoke began to form into a physical shape, turning equine as it took the form of the former unicorn tyrant of the Crystal Empire, Sombra. The Heartless stallion stomped through the snow as he approached the barrier, his dark presence gathering the other crystal ponies' attention and instilling fear into their hearts. They all began to scream and panic as he got closer, crying out the dreaded unicorn's name and fled for safety. "I-It can't be. That's really Sombra!?"

Sunburst didn't know whether to flee or stay. The barrier was meant to keep Heartless out, and the stallion approaching the perimeter was clearly filled with darkness. He heard about Sombra's defeat, but how he returned was a mystery. He watched Sombra approach the barrier, then stop as the dark unicorn frowned slightly. Growling irritably at the light radiating from the protective shield, he looked down at his hoof, wondering if what Grogar claimed about his new body being true.

"You'd better not have lied to me, Grogar," he muttered to himself. Being cautious, he reached his hoof out to touch the barrier. Slightly flinching on contact, he didn't feel any pain, pushing his hoof a couple inches further. He felt his power weakened slightly as his hoof was able to successfully breach through, but it was more than enough to take over the kingdom on his own. Grinning, Sombra chuckled, stepping through the barrier, startling Sunburst as he watched the Heartless easily pass through without getting destroyed or pushed back. "I suppose he hasn't. This is way too simple. As if I needed those fools' aid to help take back what is mine."

Sunburst panicked, quickly fleeing to alert Cadence and Shining Armor. They were already well aware when screams from the other crystal ponies in the distance alerted the royal family. The Crystal Guard sprinted down to Sombra as he casually walked toward the crystal palace, each stallion bearing spears in their mouths. They surrounded Sombra, who wasn't even phased by their bravado as he eyed each soldier.

"You are not welcome here, monster!" one of the guards said. "How did you breach the barrier!?"

"Is this really the best defense they could have?" Sombra mocked, chuckling darkly. "My kingdom wouldn't need welps as frail as a deerling to defend it."

"Defend this!" a guard behind him shouted and threw his spear at Sombra. Without looking, Sombra caught the spear with his magic, glancing over his shoulder at the hasty stallion with a toothy grin. Dark crystals began to form on the spear, transforming it into a darkened version as the crystal shattered. "...Oh..."

"That's right. Fear my power." Sombra thrust the spear down into the ground, sending several shards of dark crystal scattered around him and toward the guards. They exploded as they reached the guards, unable to escape in time as they were knocked back by the concussive force. "Hmph. I don't think I even need those creatures who appeared around me before."

Using what darkness he could summon, he created several helmets meant to mind control the wearer to do his bidding. His own magic could easily do so, but within the barrier, his power was limited. He slammed the helmets down on the stunned guards heads, the thin eye slits turning green as they were now under his control. His temporary army will do, continuing his trek to the castle to take back his throne with his slowly growing army.

From the balcony, Shining Armor was donned in his royal guard armor, watching with a grimace as Sombra was getting closer to the castle. "Guards, do not let Sombra get any closer!" he ordered his pair of guards, each of them saluting and hurrying down to stop Sombra as best as they could. Shining quickly ran to the throne room, Cadence rushing to write a letter to Twilight for help. "Cadence, we don't have much time!"

"Please, Twilight, Sora, hurry," Cadence uttered, finishing her letter, rolled and sealed it, and sent it off with her magic, hoping they get it soon. "Do you have Flurry Heart?"

"I thought you had her." They heard a loud thud as the doors to their castle were breached, both Shining and Cadence panicking.

Together, they quickly rushed to Flurry Heart's room to protect their daughter. Breaching through the doors, they gasped when they saw Sombra was already inside, grabbing Flurry Heart by her tail with his dark aura as the baby alicorn tried to squirm away from the monster.

"Mama!" Flurry cried out.

"Flurry!" Cadence shrieked.

"Release our daughter, Sombra!" Shining yelled as he raised a crystal spear toward the evil unicorn.

Before Shining Armor charged at him, Sombra snatched Flurry in his hoof, then held his dark spear, pointing it at the filly's face. "If you value your child's life, then I suggest you stand down," Sombra warned. Cadence growled at the disgustingly deplorable tactic, wanting nothing more than to charge Sombra and run her horn through his black heart. Shining wanted to do the same, but fearing for Flurry Heart's safety, he held his wife back. "Toss your weapon. Now."

Shining grimaced, but he obeyed, tossing his weapon forward. "You're not going to get away with this," Shining growled.

"I already have." Sombra took Shining Armor's weapon, transforming it into another dark spear for his use. Flurry squirmed under his grasp, whining and grunting to get away. "How the mighty falls protecting and cherishing their loved ones," he mocked, poking Flurry's muzzle with his hoof. She didn't like that and got mad, her horn lighting up and shooting a beam of light at the stallion's hoof. Sombra roared in pain, dropping Flurry as she quickly flew to the safety of her parents. Snarling, Sombra leered at the baby, then to his hoof as it singed slightly. "...Light? This infant has light!?"

Taking a chance, Shining charged Sombra while he was distracted by Flurry's latent powers of light. He tackled Sombra, but the stallion was furious. Aiming one of the spears, he unleashed a volt of dark magic on Shining Armor, making him yell as his body was struck with lightning. He was then kicked off, then pinned down by Sombra with both spears aimed at his head.

"Dada!" Flurry cried out, charging her horn for another beam of light to strike the evil tyrant.

"If that brat strikes me again, I will end his life very painfully!" Sombra warned. Flurry whimpered, held tightly in Cadence's hooves. Her aura died down, not wanting to lose her daddy because of her. "That's better." Moving the spears away, he kicked Shining Armor back to Cadence, making Flurry whimper and hide her face in her mother's chest. Shining let out a groan, slowly getting back up, defending his family despite how outmatched he was. "Before you push anymore of my buttons, bring the Crystal Heart to MY throne. If you value your lives, then you will obey my orders."

"...I'll get it for you," Cadence muttered.

"Good." Cadence gently gave Flurry to Shining, the stallion lowering his head in defeat as he held Flurry to his chest. Cadence flew out to retrieve the Crystal Heart for Sombra while he forcefully guided Shining Armor to HIS throne room. The barrier outside disappeared as Sombra glanced outside, smirking as he felt his dark powers return to full strength. Cadence met with them in the throne room, giving Sombra his precious relic. He stripped Shining Armor of his armor, then connected the royal family together with dark chains that were attached to muzzles on their faces. Two of their hypnotized guards flanked them, forced to watch Sombra place the Crystal Heart between a pair of dark crystal pillars rising up between the throne, arching up to implant the sharp points into the sides of the relic, holding it in place over his throne. Taking his seat in his throne, he smirked triumphantly at the defeated royals. "Kneel before me," he ordered, Cadence and Shining left no choice but to lower themselves, bowing their heads to the tyrant. Chuckling, Sombra leaned back, having re-conquered his kingdom back without Grogar, Tirek, Chrysalis, or Cozy Glow's help. "Long live the king."

---

As soon as Kairi landed her ship, she changed Manami into a pegasus, then the two sprinted off to the castle. Upon entering and making their way to the throne room, they found Terra and Lea trying to hold Riku back with the rest of the group growing concerned with the current events unfolding. Aside from Riku struggling to break free, Manami noticed her son's Kingdom Keyblade jutting out from the base of his throne.

"Let me go!" Riku shouted, clearly not fond of the bad news in the Crystal Empire. "We need to stop him!"

"Riku, chill out!" Lea grunted.

"We can't just rush in there without a plan!" Terra added.

"I'm not gonna let him go after my niece!" Riku yelled angrily. "If he finds out she's a Princess of Heart, he could kill her!"

"We know what's at stake, Riku, but when he appeared, only Sora was able to take a stand at him in his Harmony Form!" Ventus tried to reason. "Neither of us are strong enough to fight him on our own!"

"How is it possible that he even returned?" Kairi asked. "I thought the Crystal Heart destroyed him."

"It shouldn't be possible if his heart and body shattered," Aqua mulled.

Suddenly popping in, Discord had accidentally knocked the Mane Six over, snatching the emergency letter Cadence sent to Twilight. "You know, Princess Twilight, if you are to be the new ruler of this land, you must work on your penmanship."

"Because it's Cadence's writing," Dizzy said, content with sitting on Fluttershy's head as he still stuck around with the pegasus. "You already know the news because we're both connected."

"Really? Must I spoil my fun?" Discord questioned his younger half.

"Maybe we should tell Celestia and Luna about this?" Fluttershy suggested.

"Ooh! A brilliant idea, my dear," Discord complimented. "Let the REAL rulers handle this."

"Discord, that's not a good idea," Twilight said. "Luna was in love with Sombra. If she fought his Heartless, she stands no chance."

"Then does mean you finally have the confidence to ascend to the throne like the princesses believe you can?" Discord asked the alicorn.

Twilight winced, shifting her eyes nervously. "Er, or...perhaps you can handle Sombra instead?" she suggested.

Frowning, Discord quickly shook his head. "Oh, no. I don't think I'm capable of such a responsible task," he said. "You heard Sora. I'm all powerful and I COULD stop any villain I wanted. You know, being Equestria's 'tool' for peace and harmony? And you know what? I wholeheartedly believe he is right."

Everyone gasped sans Dizzy, knowing Discord right now was the only powerful person in this castle who could pull it off. "W-What!? Discord, you could just...snap him away right now!"

"I could, but then how would you be able to handle things on your own without your own personal power crutch?" Discord questioned.

"The only other person who could is Sora, and he's not in the right state of mind to combat Sombra right now!" Aqua exclaimed.

"That monster is going to hurt everyone in the Crystal Empire, including Twilight's family!" Riku exclaimed. He broke out of Lea and Terra's grip, flying up in the draconequus's face. "If something so much as happens to Flurry Heart and YOU refuse to do anything to help, I'll make sure you stay frozen in stone permanently with my own power!"

Twilight gasped, getting an idea from the mention of Discord's stone imprisonment. "The Elements of Harmony! We can use those to defeat Sombra!"

Balking, Discord slithered around Riku and grabbed Twilight's shoulders. "Oh, no-no-no. That's not 'handling things on your own'. You never needed the Elements of Harmony to defeat Sombra before."

"Uhh, Sora had the Keyblades of Harmony," Ventus reminded the draconequus.

"I studied everything about Sora, thank you very much, Venty," Discord scoffed, snapping his fingers and pulling out Sora's memory book. Several bookmarks were set between the pages, listing all the important details in his life that he glanced over, at least in Sora's point of view. "Yes, he used his Harmony Form and all six Keyblades of Harmony derived from the Elements of Harmony, but even then, that wasn't enough to actually stop him. But still, you don't need them."

"Discord, my family is in danger, and I am not taking any chances," Twilight said, not backing down with his refusals.

"...Fine. Have it your way." Discord disappeared, leaving everyone confused with his opinions and behavior.

"...Dizzy, what is going on with Discord?" Pinkie asked.

"I don't even know myself anymore," the colt said with a shrug. "Probably still miffed with Sora calling us out for not being any better after being reformed."

"'Handle it ourselves'," Riku grumbled. "If we can't, then we need his power. He'd probably be useful taking down the Organization, but even then, he's going to force us to fight until we all drop dead or from exhaustion."

"It's the only thing we can do for now," Twilight said. "We need to use the Elements without Sora. The Tree of Harmony can handle being apart from them for a moment until it's back to full strength."

"Then let's get going," Aqua said.

Everyone began to gather around, Manami, Starlight, and Dizzy stood back and watched Twilight and Aqua teleport them to the Tree of Harmony to take back the Elements of Harmony. Manami had no idea why Discord was so crass when he should do the job instead. She's seen enough of his reality-bending chaos powers to know he can deal with anything that crosses his path. As she looked at the map, she could see the Crystal Empire had a powerful black dot within the castle, the darkness belonging to the unicorn king who was attacking the place. And hearing the little alicorn infant Flurry Heart was also a Princess of Heart like Kairi, she was scared to death for the poor thing after seeing how adorably sweet she was at the wedding.

"Well, let's hope the Elements of Harmony can beat Sombra," Starlight said.

"Sora's really the only one who can stop him," Dizzy said.

"...Then I should have a word with him." Manami left the throne room, making her way through the winding halls to find her son's room. They needed his help if Sombra was as dangerous as they claimed he was. Knocking on the door, she didn't hear anything. "Sora? It's me. Can I come in?" she asked. No answer. She entered regardless if he wanted her to or not. Though the room wasn't a mess with Kairi sharing it with Sora, Sora himself was definitely a mess as he still laid in bed. She saw how long his hair had gotten, and when she walked around to get a look at him, she was surprised to see him with a full beard and mustache. It may not have been as bad as her former husband's bushy facial hair when he decided to go a few weeks without shaving, but it was like she was looking at a completely different pony. "...Sora?"

His ears twitched and his eyes lazily looked up, a small spark of surprise lighting them when he saw his mother standing before him. From the look on her face, he figured she must have known about what happened a few months ago. Sighing, he sat himself up, keeping his gaze glued to the floor.

"...Why are you here?" he mumbled.

"You know why," Manami said. "Kairi brought me here. And she told me what happened that's...brought you to this state." She brought her hooves to his face, lifting his head up so he looked directly at her. He looked defeated, emotionally drained, heartbroken. "Oh, honey. It's not your fault."

Sora closed his eyes, moving his mother's hooves off his cheeks. "It is," he said. "You don't understand."

"Sora, do not push your mother out of your life," Manami gently scolded. "Not while you're like this."

"Mom, you don't get it," Sora argued. "I almost lost my friends over Cozy Glow. I trusted her over them, over the truth that was staring me straight in the face...I almost lost Kairi. I trusted Cozy Glow over Kairi. Do you have any idea how guilty I feel right now?"

"She's told me you are, but you cannot blame yourself for trying to do the right thing for Cozy Glow," Manami said. "Believe me, I was fuming mad when she told me that filly you took in turned out to be a little demon under that faux angel disguise she put on. She took advantage of what made you special."

"Even then, I still tried to help her! I turned into a Heartless again, far worse than what you all saw last time!" Sora exclaimed. "I hated her. I wanted her to suffer. And when I still seeing red, I was going to bowl through all my friends when they tried to stop me after I pummeled her to an inch of her life!" Manami backed away as Sora breathed heavily, his body shaking from the pent up rage still within his heart. Fresh tears built in his eyes, hanging his head in shame. "...I still care about her...even after all she did to me..."

Manami nodded her head, approaching Sora, gently holding his head to her chest and hugged him. "...I know, Sora...I know," she said. She rubbed his head, feeling his forelegs wrap around her and held her tightly. "It's hard for you to let go of someone...whether what they did to you was good or bad...I know...but it wasn't your fault."

"B-But I-" Manami quickly shushed Sora, refusing to hear anymore excuses and forcing the blame to be on him.

"She tricked all of you...She doesn't deserve your love, your kindness, your compassion, or your mercy," she said. Cupping his cheeks again, she lifted his head up. "But despite what she was supposed to get in return for playing with your heart, I'm glad you didn't resort to taking her life in retaliation...That's not the Sora I raised."

Sora choked back a sob, shutting his eyes as his tears rolled down his cheeks. "...I wanted to, though...I was...so mad at her...at myself..."

Manami wiped Sora's tears away, planting a kiss on his forehead. "I know how emotional you can get. The day we heard about what happened to your father...I knew it hurt you just as much as it hurt me," she said. "But I couldn't just sit idly by and wallow in my own grief when you were suffering, too. As heartbroken as I was, I had to tell myself, over and over, that I needed to be there for you. And making sure you grow up happy and healthy, that was what pushed me to stay strong for you. After all these years, you've turned into a brave, strong, and loving young man who will do anything to protect his loved ones.

"And you've done so much for everyone you've met in these last few; ever since you were pulled from our home when it was being destroyed and fought back against the darkness with your Keyblade. You are someone who inspires hope in others to fight for what's right." Her own tears began to shed as she gently squeezed her son's face, prompting him to open his eyes and look back at her. "You were my hope when we lost your father. You were your friends' hope for saving their worlds, their lives, and their families. Even when your enemies bring you down, you don't let your hope falter, and you rise back up and keep fighting no matter what. Your enemies don't deserve your mercy, but you are much stronger than them by doing so...I think that's why your heart is that special; you are their hope, Sora. You made one mistake trusting Cozy Glow...Don't let her manipulation take away that hope as well."

She was right. Sora was so lost in his own despair, he only brought everyone else down around him. He still felt guilty for what he did and believing Cozy Glow over his friends, but despite that, none of them gave up on him. He didn't give up on everyone else; he gave up on himself. To hear his mother say that she was inspired by him to continue pushing through her own heartache and pain to raise him as who he is today made him choke up. He was pushing everyone away again for his mistakes, failing to save the ones who he couldn't let down, hurting them and himself in the process.

Everyone looked up to him; his friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the Young Six, all of Ponyville, Canterlot, the Crystal Empire, every city and town throughout Equestria, all the worlds beyond. Despite all odds, he pushed himself through the worst case scenario, defending his friends from all manner of threats, and though his enemies may mock and degrade him for his weak-willed heart, that was also a strength that could never be destroyed. Granted, he still blamed himself for trusting in his heart with Cozy Glow, but in the end, all that truly mattered to him was his friends' safety. Everyone's hearts were all connected to his; he was meant to be their hope.

For the first time in so long, Sora gave his mother a small smile, pulling her close as they both hugged each other tightly. "...Why do you always know what to say?" he asked.

"Because I know you too much to know exactly what to say to you," Manami said with a small laugh. "And none of it ever exaggerates the truth."

"I believe you," he said. The two parted, Sora's smile slowly wilting as he looked away. "...I still let everyone down, though...Everything I said, I don't think-"

"No. None of that," Manami chided. She wiped away her tears, brushing some of Sora's long bangs out of his face. "You have a right to be upset. Maybe you did say some horrible things and went too far, but they all understood how much Cozy hurt you. Apologize, and they'll forgive you."

"...Alright," Sora mumbled.

"Though, you might not be able to right now," she said, confusing Sora. "Something horrible is happening in the Crystal Empire, and your friends are all off to save it."

"Huh? The Crystal Empire's in danger?" Sora asked.

"Someone you faced before, named Sombra?" Sora's eyes shot open, looking at Manami like she'd grown a second head.

"Sombra? You mean...his Heartless?" Sora questioned. Manami nodded her head, seeing her son's eyes slowly steeling with the confident determination he always had in him. He wanted to know how King Sombra came back when there shouldn't be any trace of him, he didn't want to waste time when the Crystal Empire needed their Warrior of Light. "They went to get the Elements of Harmony...There's no way they can face him."

"Then what are you gonna do about it?" Manami asked. He didn't answer, but his expression said it all. Leaping off the bed, Sora grabbed his gear, putting on his clothes and item pouch. When he grabbed his necklace, he hesitated slightly before sighing, placing it back around his neck. Fully suited up in his attire, he opened the balcony window, raised his hoof, and called his Kingdom Key to him. It appeared in a flash of light, hoping his throne wasn't too badly damaged after flinging it. He hopped onto the railing, looking back at his mother with a grin, then flung his Keyblade and dove off the edge. Manami rushed over to the edge, watching his glider swoop down, catching Sora, then sped off to the north. "That's my Sora."

---

Back in the Crystal Empire's throne room, Sombra had placed Shining Armor, Cadence, and Flurry Heart in a cell of dark crystals near his throne. He was generous enough to free their muzzles, doubting they had any power to stop him, though Flurry Heart's angry babbling and her magic beams managing to shatter some the dark crystals began to infuriate him. Though he continued reforming the broken spikes, Flurry continued her angry magic onslaught despite Shining and Cadence trying to get her to stop and upset Sombra further.

"What kind of power does your foal possess?" Sombra questioned the parents. "I know unicorn infants can have uncontrollable magic bursts because they have no control over their magic. Alicorns are the same, yet they're more powerful. This one's, however, is no ordinary magic."

"We don't know what you're talking about," Shining said.

"Do not lie to me!" Sombra roared. He launched himself out of his throne, landing in front of them with a snarl. "That is not ordinary alicorn magic; that is pure light she unleashed upon me! No magic can shatter my dark crystals, but an infant foal like her can!?"

"It's probably the light from the Crystal Heart as the first alicorn born in the empire, and was given the Crystalling," Cadence explained, hoping the explanation would suit Sombra over the real reason they discovered when they had Twilight and Riku foalsit Flurry Heart.

Growling, Sombra eyed Flurry Heart, who only blew a raspberry at him in defiance. "...That is not similar to the light of the Crystal Heart. It's PURE light from another source...and it singed me." He leaned closer to the opening, making Shining and Cadence protect Flurry from his glare. "What is that power?"

The doors to the throne room slammed open as the Crystal Empire's royal family's saviors arrived. Twilight and her friends wore their respective Elements of Harmony, her tiara and the other mares necklaces, flanked by the Keyblade wielders, Donald, and Goofy, and Spike hiding behind them.

"Cavalry's here!" Pinkie announced.

"Wikoo!" Flurry cheered as she saw her favorite uncle coming to save the day.

"Sombra, let them go this instant!" Riku demanded.

Even with the addition of other wielders joining Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and the bearers of the Elements, Sombra chuckled in amusement. "More weaklings to try to stop me. Good luck trying if you can't even face your own fears." His eyes began glowing green, his horn lighting up and casting a spell. Launching an illusion of his menacing leer, the heroes weren't able to escape as it expanded, preventing them from avoiding it. They all flinched, the oncoming gaze phasing through them as their eyes glowed similar to Sombra's, trapped in his spell. Sombra relished in the looks of fear and dread on their faces, but when he glanced at Kairi, he was stunned to see the alicorn was perfectly fine, unaffected by his curse. "...How are you not trapped?"

Kairi realized she was ok, glancing back slightly to see Spike had thankfully stayed far enough away from Sombra's spell. He began to sneak around everyone, hoping the Elements of Harmony will free them, keeping out of sight from Sombra to try to reach the Crystal Heart. She looked back at Sombra, wondering if her own pure heart was able to protect her from Sombra's darkness.

"...I guess you missed me," Kairi said.

"No. Something is...different about you between your friends," Sombra growled. "Nopony can avoid my spell." He eyed the ring around her horn, sensing a powerful light within it. But that same light came from within the mare, just like what was inside Flurry Heart. "...You are just like the infant."

"I'm not as helpless as one," Kairi said, moving away from her friends, keeping Sombra's gaze focused on her while Spike snuck behind the crystal cell containing Shining, Cadence, and Flurry Heart. "I can be more than a match for you."

"You believe you can destroy me?" Sombra questioned.

"No. Not alone," Kairi admitted. The Elements of Harmony began to shine, catching Sombra's attention as the harmonious light radiating from the gems began to break his spell. The Mane Six's eyes flashed white and began to float, a rainbow light connecting each other as a shockwave washed over the rest of their trapped friends, freeing them from the psychological torment of Sombra's curse. "Just needed a little time to distract you long enough."

Sombra snarled at them, but his ears perked up when he heard Spike grunting, trying to pull the Crystal Heart out from between the crystals locking it in place. With his dark crystals attached to it, the relic wasn't able to grant Spike any power of light. With a roar, Sombra forged his dark crystal broadsword, slamming it down to create a wall of crystals, blocking the Elements of Harmony as they unleashed its rainbow beam on him. Kairi flew over the barrier, the others still recovering from their forced nightmares, slashing her Keyblade down on the stallion. He blocked her Keyblade and shoved her hard into the crystal wall, knocking the wind out of her, then focused his attention on Spike. Using his telekinesis, he forcefully yanked the baby dragon away from the Crystal Heart, dragging him toward him.

"You think you can fool me with a stunt like that!?" Sombra roared.

"It was worth a shot," Kairi said. Unleashing her light, her horn and ring shimmered brilliantly, getting Sombra's attention again. Spinning her Keyblade, she thrust it into the crystal wall, shattering it to pieces with a burst of light. Sombra glowered at the pure light radiating from Kairi, his dark instincts telling him to snuff it out. The others had enough time to recover as Twilight and her friends prepared to unleash another beam of harmony at Sombra. "We don't know how you managed to take over this kingdom, but you will not succeed again!"

"...Pure light," Sombra grunted. He yelled, throwing Spike at the group. Lea quickly caught the baby dragon with his magic, letting him down as he summoned his chakrams. The others readied themselves, needing to hold Sombra long enough for the girls to unleash the Elements' power and finally put an end to him. "I will not allow this!"

"Try us, you monster!" Aqua exclaimed.

Sombra yelled, turning himself into mist as he rushed through them. Twilight gasped, trying to focus her aim, but Sombra reappeared between the others, unleashing a roar, causing a shockwave to push them all back. Riku recovered first, lunging forward, slashing his Keyblade and clashing with Sombra's sword. Terra and Ventus rushed Sombra from behind, but he anticipated their pincer attack. Morphing back into mist, he phased behind the two stallions, then swung his blade, slicing the ground and sending lines of crystals into the three stallions. They yelled as they were struck and pushed back, slamming them into the wall of the throne room and pinning them in place.

Goofy threw his shield at Sombra, clonking him in the back of the head. The stallion snarled and leered at the guard captain, distracting him long enough for Lea, Aqua, and Donald to channel enough mana to hit Sombra with a triple elemental blast; Lea using Firaga, Aqua using Blizzaga, and Donald using Thundaga. Goofy blocked Sombra's heavy swings, pushing the heavy crystal blade back while keeping him focused on him.

"Now, Goofy!" Donald called out.

The diamond dog leapt back, tossing his shield at Sombra again. Sombra roared and smacked the shield back, surprising Goofy when it was deflected back at him at an incredible velocity. He let out a yelp as it struck him and sent him tumbling back, leaving Sombra open to be struck by the triple elemental blast. Lea, Aqua, and Donald cast their spells together, striking Sombra before he could realize what hit him. Dust rose up around him from the impact, but his eyes glowed through the dust, his sword suddenly flying out and headed straight toward Twilight.

"Twilight!" Riku called out, grunting desperately at the crystal bonds.

Twilight lost her focus and saw the blade coming straight for her. Dropping the Elements' power, she dropped her friends as well, quickly summoning her Keyblade to parry and deflect the sword. It nearly struck her face as it continued flying toward the back of the throne room, just missing the Crystal Heart by an inch. Just as Lea, Aqua, and Donald prepared to blast Sombra again, dark crystals shot up from the ground around everyone, binding their legs to the floor. Beams of darkness shot out from the still lingering dust cloud, striking Lea, Aqua, Twilight, and Rarity's horns, ensnaring them with dark crystals that nullified their magic capabilities. Kairi was able to dodge the one aimed straight for her, her and Xion combining their magic to create a powerful Aeroga spell.

Sombra was caught in the strong gusts as the dust cleared away, shifting back to his mist form to avoid getting trapped in the whirling vortex. Twilight tried to use the Elements again, but Sombra teleported to her, quickly punching the Princess of Friendship hard in the chest.

"Twilight!" the other mares cried out.

"Can't focus on using those accursed Elements if you can't breathe," Sombra snarled.

"Get away from her!" Xion yelled, dashing into Sombra and tackled him away from the girls.

The two tumbled across the floor before they kicked each other off, Sombra summoning a new crystal broadsword while Xion grunted and took her stance. "Stubborn runt," Sombra growled. He noticed something oddly familiar with the Nobody, yet he'd never seen her until today. It was only by her eyes and how she wielded her Keyblade in her mouth did he see a familiar stallion who defied him a few years ago. "Why do I see that pegasus's face in your place?"

"It's weird how I get that quite often," Xion grumbled.

Sombra began to laugh, glancing at Kairi as she hurried to check on Twilight. "So it seems Sora has not come with you all on this suicide mission," he said. "I had a score to settle with that colt, and he instead sends all of you to your deaths instead of him!"

"You won't get the chance!" Xion said.

She stepped forward, but Sombra thrust his blade into the ground. Beneath Xion, sharp crystals shot up from beneath her, then slammed down on her, keeping her pinned to the floor. She struggled to break free, her Keyblade clattering to the ground as it fell from her mouth. Kairi looked back, only to get sucker punched by Sombra, sending her sprawling away from Twilight and the other girls.

"K-Kairi," Twilight wheezed.

Sombra grunted, stomping his hoof and popping up more sharp crystals of darkness around Twilight, splitting her from her other friends. Spike panicked and ran up to Twilight, pounding his fists into the crystal and using his fire breath to try to free her, to no avail. Everyone else tried to break free from their bonds, Goofy slowly snapping out of his daze as he watched Sombra approach Kairi. He got up and ran over to save her, only to be launched by a crystal pillar right below him, sending him flying up to the ceiling as remnants of the dark crystal attached to his clothing expanded, pinning him in place.

"You fools never stood a chance against me," Sombra mocked. Kairi shook her head, looking up at Sombra and swung her Keyblade. He blocked it and knocked the blade out of her grasp, stomping his hoof against her chest, knocking the wind out of her. His aura wrapped around her neck, lifting her up in the air. Her hooves grasped at the powerful grip, unable to break free. "The Crystal Empire is mine, and soon, all of this pathetic world. Before I conquer Equestria, I shall start by eradicating this light of yours, then the child's." He grinned, raising his blade, aiming it right at Kairi's heart. "I will render this land with everlasting darkness, and nothing will stand in my way!"

"Kairi!" everyone cried out, trying to break free to save her or couldn't bear to watch.

Sombra reared his blade back, but his ears twitched when he heard what sounded like shattered glass far in the distance. Confused, he looked out the window, seeing a small spark of light on the horizon. He thought he heard a sound like that before, but didn't have a second to think when a rainbow blur suddenly shot toward the castle, rammed inside the throne room, and a tan hoof landed square in Sombra's face. He was sent flying, crashing painfully into Shining, Cadence, and Flurry's crystal cage, his magic failing and dropping Kairi.

"Keep your grimy hooves off my wife." Kairi looked up, gasping in surprise. To the rest of their friends' shock, Sora stood in between Kairi and Sombra, the dark stallion groaning as he stood up and shook his head. The Keyblade wielder was in his Harmony Form, his clothes shifting to every color of the rainbow, a white and black streak in his mane and tail, his Ultima Keyblade in his right hoof, and the Keyblades of Harmony floating behind him in their six-pointed formation. While Sombra was still shaking cobwebs out of his head, Sora looked back at Kairi, helping the alicorn back on her hooves. "You ok?"

"Y-Yeah...I...didn't think you would be here," she uttered. "Are...are you feeling ok?"

"...A little," Sora admitted. "But I wouldn't forgive myself if I lost either of you guys." Kairi smiled, overjoyed to at least see a part of Sora back. She could tell he was still upset with himself, but whatever his mother told him, it was enough to snap him out of his despair to rescue them. Sora focused back on Sombra, letting the six Keyblades floating around him release a bright flash of light, destroying the dark crystals trapping his friends. Goofy let out a yell as he was freed, saved by a gust of wind created by the Keyblade of Loyalty. He didn't give Sombra a second wind, rushing at the stallion and slammed him back into the crystal cage. "Miss me, Sombra? Because I sure as hell didn't."

"Sora's back! Yay!" Pinkie cheered.

"Talk about a close shave," Lea commented.

Sombra leered at Sora, shifting back into his mist form and phased right through the stallion. The Keyblades of Harmony quickly returned to him, blocking Sombra's blade as he reformed and slashed at the pegasus. Confused, Sombra struggled to push back, not remembering Sora being this strong from their last encounter.

"I'm far stronger since last time," Sora said, as if reading the Heartless's mind. "Maybe the Organization didn't remind you before you decided to go solo."

"W-What are you talking about!?" Sombra demanded.

Sora didn't answer, letting the Keyblades of Harmony swiftly slash at Sombra. As he staggered back, unable to block the incoming blades attacking on all sides, Sora focused back on the trapped royal family with Flurry giggling happily seeing her favorite silly uncle help them, too.

"Duck," he advised. They did so as Sora slashed at the crystals repeatedly, the final slash causing them to collapse and free them. "Get the Crystal Heart back in place."

"No need to tell us twice." Cadence flew up to the throne, grabbing the Crystal Heart and pulled it hard with all her might.

Sombra leapt back, snarling in frustration, only to gawk in surprise when he saw Cadence trying to take back the Crystal Heart. "No! That relic belongs to me!" Sombra roared. With some help from Sora, he sliced the ends of the pillars, finally freeing the pure artifact. Sliding through the Keyblades of Harmony in a veil of mist, he reformed and charged at Cadence as she flew toward the nearest window. "You will not take this victory from me!"

Blindsided by Sora, Sombra grunted as he was slammed to the ground. "Why can't you be like every other evil bad guy and just stay down?" Sora questioned snidely. Sombra's eyes flashed green, baring his fangs, then roared, summoning dark crystals between them. He tried to slam Sora between them, but he flapped his wings and soared into the air, narrowly avoiding the crushing pillars. Sombra yelled and punched through them, getting back up, only to be blasted in the face by a tiny beam of light from Flurry Heart. Roaring in pain, he grabbed his cheek and glared at the baby alicorn, who scolded him angrily in baby talk with a raspberry thrown in for good measure. "Yeah! You tell him, Flurry!"

Enraged, Sombra's body began emitting an aura of darkness. "You little brat...How DARE YOU!?"

His horn billowed with darkness, startling everyone as the energy built up began to double in size. Flurry Heart whimpered, flying back in Shining's hooves as he shielded her from whatever spell he would unleash. With a low, demonic roar, Sombra fired a beam of darkness at the two. Sora quickly dove down, creating a barrier around them with the Keyblades of Harmony increasing its defense. The beam struck, pushing Sora back slightly, but he was able to protect Shining and Flurry from harm. Having a villain go so far as to harm or threaten a toddler made Sora snap. The moment Sombra stopped firing, he launched himself forward, ramming into Sombra and sending them crashing into the wall.

"You have a lot of nerve," Sora growled. Sombra tried to retaliate, but Sora slammed the guard of his Ultima Keyblade into the dark unicorn's abdomen. Gagging, he wasn't given a chance to breath before Sora grabbed Sombra by his horn, then repeatedly bashed his face and neck repeatedly with his Keyblade's guard. "You! Don't! Ever! Attack! A Baby! You! Bastard!"

Despite rearranging his face, Sora's new body was much more resilient, not a single bruise formed on his features. Sora then flung Sombra across the room, sending him tumbling across the ground to the steps leading to the throne. Down below, Cadence finally placed the Crystal Heart back in its place, activating it as it released the stored love and light of its citizens, expanding its protective barrier. The barrier washed over everyone, erasing any trace of darkness from Sombra's summoned crystals, even destroying the hypnosis helmets he slapped onto the Crystal Guard. The crystal ponies rejoiced as their barrier returned, praising their two heroes for coming to their rescue.

While most of Sombra's influence was destroyed, the Heartless was still alive. Despite the Crystal Heart's power, Sombra's body wasn't destroyed. It was baffling to witness when those who encountered Sombra before knew he shouldn't survive being within the Crystal Heart's protective barrier. Sora had a hunch the Organization must have made this new body for the Heartless Sombra to provide him more defense against the power of light, but he didn't know why they chose him if he could unleash total darkness and destroy everything with the power he possessed.

Sombra growled, having failed, but he wasn't beaten just yet. "You may have won the battle...but this war is far from over," he promised.

"This war IS over," Sora said. With a flick of his Ultima Keyblade, he unleashed a barrage of Thundaga spells on Sombra, imbued with rainbow light as they struck him. Sombra let out a yell as he was struck repeatedly, his body paralyzed by the harmonious light to keep him from escaping. "Girls, form up. It's over for him."

"Right!" the Mane Six said.

Getting back in formation, the six mares tapped into their Elements. Sora twirled his Keyblade in both hooves, the Keyblades of Harmony doing the same over the respective mare their Element represented, then thrust it forward and turned it. Light began to build up in all seven Keyblades, the mares eyes glowing again, both sets of harmony charging up to destroy Sombra. Sombra squirmed, his body refusing to move as he grunted, unable to even turn into dark mist to avoid it. The Keyblades fired colorful beams toward the center in front of Sora, and together with the gems, they unleashed a double rainbow beam toward the paralyzed Heartless.

Sombra winced, turning his head as he waited for the light to disintegrate him into nothingness. However, just before the beams could strike, his body disappeared in a wisp of black smoke. Sora's eyes widened, his focus lost as the Keyblades of Harmony ceased, but the Elements continued and blasted where the dark unicorn stallion once stood. The rainbow light faded as the girls hovered back to the ground, the whole room erupting into cheers, but Sora was dumbstruck, looking around as he reverted back to normal, but finding no sign of Sombra.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy ran over to the stallion, tackling him into a group hug as the mage and guard captain laughed. "You saved the day again!"

"Like always!" Goofy agreed.

Cadence flew back inside, looking around angrily. "Alright, where is that monster!?" she exclaimed. "When I get my hooves on him for threatening to hurt my baby, I'm going to tear his horn off and shove it up his-!"

"He's toast, Cadence," Shining reassured his enraged wife. "Sora, Twily, and the girls finished him off."

"Oh...Well, they could have at least given me one good hit on him," Cadence mumbled.

Flurry squealed and flew out of Shining's hooves, flying straight toward Riku. He caught her and held her tightly, glad to see her safe and sound, and impressed with her comeback against Sombra. He felt like he didn't do much and was one of the first few who got thwarted by Sombra, but Riku was glad to see Sora back in fighting shape, even with the rough beating he gave Sombra after what he almost did to Flurry and Shining Armor. It was still deserved, but he thought Sora still went a little too far.

Shining Armor and Cadence joined up with Twilight as they thanked her and the others for the save. While everyone had been celebrating their victory, Sora felt like it wasn't really over. Kairi rushed over, helping him stand up after Donald and Goofy clambered off of him, then hugged Sora tightly.

"You did it," she praised. As she was about to reward him with a kiss, she noticed the anxiety etched in his face. "...Sora?"

"...We missed," he uttered. Gently releasing Kairi's hooves from him, he hovered to one of the windows, looking around the town for any sign of Sombra. Confused, Kairi walked over to him, the positive atmosphere dropping when everyone else saw how paranoid Sora was acting. "He couldn't have escaped. That bolt was meant to keep him stunned. But he...How did he...?"

"Sora, it's alright," Kairi assured, gently taking his hoof in hers. "He's gone. We can't sense his dark presence. The Elements destroyed him."

"But then how was he still alive if the Crystal Heart was powerful enough to destroy him before?" Sora questioned. "It's impossible for him to survive unless his body was created by Organization XIII. And we missed, Kairi. He vanished before the light even reached him by a few inches."

Though they weren't sure if Sora was right, his thoughts on Sombra residing within an altered vessel unlike those in the Organization did make a valid argument for his survivability slipping through the barrier. "That explains how Sombra was able to step through without being destroyed," Aqua muttered to herself.

"Or Nobodies might have helped," Ventus pointed out.

"But there were no other Nobodies on the map," Terra stated. "Nor other Heartless. It was just Sombra."

"Well, alone or with backup, he didn't stand a chance against two super rainbow lasers," Lea commented. "Pretty cool finishing blow...I guess it's too bad I'm only gonna see that once since the Tree of Harmony still needs those gems, huh?"

"Unfortunately," Twilight agreed.

"You alright, Twilight?" Applejack asked, her friends concerned after they watched Sombra practically gut check the alicorn.

"I'm fine. I've toughened my body a bit, but Sombra really was stronger than he seemed," Twilight giggled, rubbing her chest slightly.

"So does this mean you're confident enough to rule Equestria?" Spike asked.

"'Rule Equestria'?" Cadence asked curiously. "What are we missing?"

"Celestia and Luna are going to retire and they want Twilight to take charge with us alongside her," Pinkie explained.

"...Uhh, can they retire?" Shining asked.

"I suppose they can," Cadence giggled. "That's incredible news, Twilight!"

"I'm still not ready for that!" Twilight exclaimed. Sighing, she shook her head, taking off the Element of Magic. "Not exactly one hundred percent ready...But I suppose I never will, huh?"

"Knowing you long enough, I don't think you ever will," Rainbow chuckled.

Twilight rolled her eyes, clearly not knowing her friends as well as they know her. "I at least have you guys, and we have both sets of Elements. And together, we've never failed."

The other mares agreed, then they looked at Sora. Despite his concerns that they didn't truly defeat Sombra, Sora let out a sigh, running his hoof through his lengthened mane. He might be a little too paranoid, but he also wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. He gave up, hoping he was only imagining things. Kairi hugged him, nuzzling his neck, helping to calm his unsettled nerves.

---

Upon their return to Ponyville, the wielders and the Mane Six returned to the Everfree Forest to return the Elements of Harmony to the Tree. Donald, Goofy, and Spike headed back to town to tell Starlight, Dizzy, and Manami the good news. Twilight returned the Elements back to their proper places in its branches, then the Element of Magic back in the center.

"Once again, Equestria is safe," Twilight said.

"More thanks to Sora and the last minute save, but I think we're all glad he made it before it got worse," Xion said.

"So, does this mean we can really throw a party for Sora to congratulate and cheer him up for real?" Pinkie asked.

Everyone began to leave the cave, but Sora lingered behind, staring at the crystal tree. His eyes lingered on each gem within its branches and bark, having been a part of the Tree of Harmony's chosen bearers since the Pillars of Equestria and M planted it. Though there was no seventh gem, he felt like his heart was linked to the Tree's. Raising his hoof, he summoned each of the Keyblades of Harmony, watching the gems sparkle with each respective Keyblade. He still recalled the voice that reached out to him when Cozy Glow had almost succeeded in her plan.

Placing his hoof on the crystal bark, he lowered his head and gently placed his forehead against it. "...Was that voice I heard...you?" he mumbled. Closing his eyes, hoping for some kind of sign, there was a small flicker of light that appeared from beneath him. Snapping his eyes open when he saw the flash through his eyelids, he glanced around, wondering what happened. Seeing nothing different around him, he let out a small sigh. "Maybe I wasn't meant to truly be your warrior of light if you waited for me for a thousand years..."

He turned around and began to follow his friends with his head hanging low. When he glanced up at them, he stopped as they were all waiting for him, looks of concern among all of them.

"Are you sure you're alright, Sora?" Twilight asked.

"...I'm not so sure anymore," he answered. "...I'm a mess."

"Yeah. We can tell by that hideous beard of yours," Riku teased. Sora pouted as he leered at his best friend. He laughed, getting a reaction out of him at least, but he knew Sora was going to need a bit more time to recover from the emotional wreck he crashed into. "But, seriously, I don't know what we would do without you. We all could have been turned to Heartless if you didn't make it."

Hearing that didn't make Sora feel any better. He lowered his head, being reminded of his failures that cost him or could have cost him the ones he cared about. He didn't want to keep making those mistakes, but at the same time, he had no idea what to do to prevent them from happening again. The worst he ever did was throw his friends away for one person, the wrong person to try to save, and shoved them away when he can't bear the guilt of what he had done.

"...I'm sorry," Sora apologized. "I let all of you down..."

Applejack approached Sora, taking her honorary brother in a loving embrace. "Ya never let us down, sugarcube," she assured. "You were just lost and couldn't find your way. We're not mad at ya. You're mah brother, and you're mah family."

Surprised by the heartfelt, honest words, Sora began to tear up. "We're all family," Fluttershy agreed as she and Rarity joined in.

"Group hug!" Pinkie squealed as she hopped in.

Twilight and Rainbow joined the rest of their friends, showing Sora that he had no reason to apologize for trying to do the right thing. Sora shook, his muzzle quivering before he broke down in happy tears, embracing the six mares while they all crowded and hugged him. It was a big hurdle for Sora, but the others knew he was well enough assured that he had their support, no matter what happens.

Sadly, the moment was ruined when all the wielders felt their blood run cold, sensing a powerful dark presence nearby, and what's worse, they thought it was gone forever. "...N-No way," Ventus uttered.

"There's...There's no way that's...him, is it?" Lea questioned.

Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow were confused as they broke their group hug with Sora, he and Twilight staring with wide-eyed shock. "W-What is it?" Rarity asked.

Though Sora's cheeks were matted with tears, his eyes quickly turned to anger. "I knew it," he growled. He summoned his Keyblade, looking around frantically. "Sombra WAS still alive!"

"What!?" all the Mane Six sans Twilight shrieked.

Above them, dark crystals began to appear, startling everyone as they turned back to the Tree of Harmony. The cavern ceiling grew dark as a cloud of darkness appeared above the Tree, a pair of glowing green eyes with purple mist seeping from the sides and a curved red horn appearing within. Sora was about to fly toward Sombra, but dark crystals suddenly shot out, striking the branches near where the Elements were set. One last spire struck the trunk, shattering the Tree to pieces, sending the gems flying forward.

"No!" Twilight cried out as everyone watched the gems fall to the ground, landing with a crash as they all broke to pieces.

Everyone gasped, unable to believe what just happened as Sombra reappeared where the Tree of Harmony once stood with a triumphant smirk. Sora leered at Sombra, but as he was about to shift into his Harmony Form, he felt his heart thump, paralyzing him as it echoed in his ears. A wave of pain shot through him, which began intensifying, feeling like his heart was going to explode right out of his chest. He clutched his chest, dropping his Keyblade while letting out a strained grunt before collapsing to the ground with a shout in agony.

Confused, everyone looked at Sora, even Sombra. "Sora, what's wrong!?" Kairi asked worriedly. "What's happening!?"

"M-My...chest...I-It's..." Sora yelled as another wave of pain struck and he began to writhe about while Kairi kneeled beside him to figure out what was wrong.

"Wait, the Keyblades of Harmony are part of the Elements," Aqua mulled over. "If they just broke, then..." She gasped as the realization began to hit everyone. "No. That means that-!"

Sora screamed as his chest began to glow, which then shot out of him, leaving him limp and gasping for breath. It split into six colorful lights, flashing brightly to reveal the Keyblades of Harmony, but the six weapons trembled and shook before they all shattered into fragments of light. The wielders and mares gawked in horror, both sets of weapons to preserve harmony in Equestria destroyed. The only remains of the Keyblades were their chains, dropping down with light clatters around him. Sora could barely move, even turning his head felt like a climb up a mountain as his body felt incredibly weakened by the loss of the six Keyblades. He eyed the star-shaped charm of the Keyblade of Magic's keychain, straining to move his hoof to reach out to it.

"...N-No," Sora mumbled, hearing Sombra's uproarious laughter echo in the cave.

He regretted not hunting down Sombra when he knew something was wrong. He failed everyone again; he lost the power to put an end to Sombra, and losing the Keyblades sapped away all of his strength, leaving Equestria defenseless and every single living being in this world in peril from the most dangerous Heartless ever born.

Comments

[Vakama95096]

Oh, this is not looking good at all.

[rwatson]

So we start with the 9th and Final season of MLP.
Man what a journey this has been!
I have an idea of when you get to The Ending of The End, when the final battle with The Legion of Doom, you should have Sora say, what Captain America says in Avengers: Endgame. “EQUESTRIA… ASSEMBLE.”
If you do decide to do The Point of No Return, you should have Riku pull out a phrase of Uncle Phil with the Meathead pony. The episode in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air where he gets Will and Carlton out of jail.
Also, I hope you do Daring Doubt, because any chapter involving Daring Do gets me really excited!
Keep up the great work!

[Princespeedywhooves]

Oooh noooo this is not good😣

[Andersonsharp]

Oh boy, here we go the ultima weapon may get its upgrade here if it hasn’t already

[The Dragon Warlock]

Well, if things are going to go the route they are with season 9, then by the end of it Discord will be turned to stone or worse because of his stupidity at the hands of Sora and the others. Sora won't be so forgiving toward him at all like the Mane 6 were unwisely did.

[Postwarmonkey50]

Whoa...did not see that coming.

[BenictheHedgehog]

Ouch!! I get the feeling he lost a huge amount of his strength from loosing his Harmony form. I can imagine the others will want to help him get it back.

But I swear if the organization go after Kaito, I am gonna be upset since Sora has had enough of people using his feelings against him or using others to harm him.

[Mother3Forever]

Wait...I thought Sombra became a dream eater....

[Jlan]

11721775
The remains of his light side did. This thing they're fighting now is his heartless that was brought back from the dead, so this is only a part of the original whole.

[karmathewriter]

Wait a minute, I just realized something, since this sombra is using a replica, is it actually possible to put the real sombra into the replica and have luna's and sombra's wedding in the physical world? That would be such a wholesome moment for our moon goddess

[SoraFan23]

I really wish Sora would realize that this isn't is fault and I wish he would stop blamming himself for everything that goes wrong. Despite his Mom's support he's going to need much more than that to help him get through the pain he suffered.

[MLPFanForever]

Oh man! What's happening!?

[Ashtorn]

To be honest, I thought I we were gonna see the sirens make a return as a part of the Legion of Doom, either replacing Sombra as the one who tries to take control of all of Equestria on their own, given where Sombra was in this story, or as an actual part. Guess my thinking was way too far off the mark.

Oh well.

[Moonlight_Mist]

"...We missed," he uttered. Gently releasing Kairi's hooves from him, he hovered to one of the windows, looking around the town for any sign of Sombra. Confused, Kairi walked over to him, the positive atmosphere dropping when everyone else saw how paranoid Sora was acting. "He couldn't have escaped. That bolt was meant to keep him stunned. But he...How did he...?"

"Sora, it's alright," Kairi assured, gently taking his hoof in hers. "He's gone. We can't sense his dark presence. The Elements destroyed him."

"But then how was he still alive if the Crystal Heart was powerful enough to destroy him before?" Sora questioned. "It's impossible for him to survive unless his body was created by Organization XIII. And we missed, Kairi. He vanished before the light even reached him by a few inches."

Though they weren't sure if Sora was right, his thoughts on Sombra residing within an altered vessel unlike those in the Organization did make a valid argument for his survivability slipping through the barrier. "That explains how Sombra was able to step through without being destroyed," Aqua muttered to herself.

"Or Nobodies might have helped," Ventus pointed out.

"But there were no other Nobodies on the map," Terra stated. "Nor other Heartless. It was just Sombra."

"Well, alone or with backup, he didn't stand a chance against two super rainbow lasers," Lea commented. "Pretty cool finishing blow...I guess it's too bad I'm only gonna see that once since the Tree of Harmony still needs those gems, huh?"

Why wasn't anyone listening to the most important part of what Sora was saying?