Keys of Harmony

by BioQuillFiction

I...I Get A Break? Nope.

It was afternoon by the time all the chaos had died down and I decided no training today.....A army of heartless was training enough for now. I quickly found a tree to lay under, unsummoned the blades, and took a well deserved, non medically induced nap. God, it felt good to lay on the soft grass and just....look at the sky. all was quiet and calm.....to quiet for my tastes. I keep expecting another problem to appear. after all.....it's still Saturday. But back to the nap.....calm, soft, and best of all nopony that needs me right now...

Well this was unexpected. I've taken plenty of naps in my time in Equestria but this is the first time I've had a Deep Dive. I looked down and saw...well, it was faded but I saw the glass platform. It had two images, one of my new human form holding Oblivion, one of my pony form holding Oathkeeper. All around were the different people I have meet, even a few I don't recognize and finally, the four main circles had Twilight, Luna, Zeke and God. I slowly landed and notice I was in my human form in blue jeans, short sleeved button up dark gray shirt and black sneakers. So, what am I going to have to fight? That's generally how these things work right?

Don't worry _____ oh sorry I mean Eclipse. Don't worry, no fighting in your Station of awakening.

Unless you want to fight that is. I'll have no objections, but I'm not sure how your heart would handle it or what would appear.

I shake my head "I've had enough fighting for one day. So why am I here?"

Well, you see....The thing is....

You haven't proven yourself to be our true wielder.

".....What?"

What he was trying to say, if bluntly, was that we were given to you. We are a part of you as you are of us, but you haven't been like any other wielder that has truly wielded us.

"What....what were the other's like?"

It...that's a....sensitive topic.....

Look, I know you mean well, but both of our original owners were killed in the Keyblade war. It's not something we like to bring up you know? I'll say this though, my last wielder...She was so forgetful. She was bullied and broken to the point where she was mostly darkness, but she held onto hope, and used her darkness to help others. That was the kind of person she was.

"I'm sorry..."

It's okay, don't let sis fool you, I may be action crazed and blunt, but I care.

"So, how do I prove myself to you two?"

That's simple really. Keep true to yourself, and follow your heart. If it says to act, act. If not, don't.

"I think I can do that" I say smiling. I walk around and notice a face I don't recognize, but it feels like I should "Who is this?" I ask, staring down at the picture.

That is your father...he and the rest of his family are why you have a sizable amount of darkness, however as he didn't raise you it's not as much as it could be.

"My sperm donor huh?....Honestly my only regret of leaving earth is that I never met him...even if mom said if I did, I would wish I hadn't. At the very least I wanted to show him that the son he never wanted is alive and well, if just in spite of him."

Trust me kid, you don't want to meet that guy...but knowing of the bitch called destiny, all I can say is be careful what you wish for.

"Trust me. I'm happy with life now. Hell I was thinking on exploring worlds soon if not for the heartless suddenly attacking like that. But I get your point." I say walking back to the center of the platform. "Before I wake up...I have to ask something. How can I get stronger? My heart....it's so weak. I'm not good at magic. Hell unless I let the Keyblades fight for themselves I don't even hit hard, and that's more tiring than just hitting them myself."

That is not for us to say sadly.

Yeah, sadly me and sis can't help you on that, but you'll figure it out.

It is sis and I, for the last hundredth time!

I start laughing, knowing the feeling and soon, the two join in before a door appears "Well, that's my que."

Hey Eclipse, one last thing

"What?"

Just ask Luna out already you spineless pathetic motherfu-

Oblivion, brother, I'm shutting you up now before I hurt you.

I shake my head as I open the door to be Onslaughted by both darkness and light. I open my eyes to find it is now night, and man was it lovely tonight. The stars were shining, the moon was bright, but not too bright to outshine the stars. "Man, Luna really did good work tonight"

"I'm glad you think so, I worked hard to make it nice tonight"

I look up the hill to see Princess Luna and I couldn't stop the smile from landing on my face "Hey Luna, come down here, lay down. Take a load off, you look like you need it." She hesitates for a second before walking down and laying next to me.

"I must admit, I have been stressed. Adapting to this new society, new politics, even new catering. Then finding out that my sister had blocked all knowledge about Keyblades or other worlds...I could use a bit of rest." She said with a sigh.

We lay there for a good thirty minutes, staring at the sky, enjoying each other's company before another word is even spoken. I looked over to Luna to see she has scooted closer to me while I wasn't paying attention, letting me get a good look at her face. Now before anyone says the term 'horse fucker!' two things. One, they are ponies, not horses. Second, I am one right now, so it is not a problem at all. Now, back to Luna. The show doesn't do her justice. Her fur is well groomed with a slight shine from reflected moonlight, her starry mane moving slowly and deliberately as a few strands somehow cover part of her face. Hey eyes look like the stars themselves are in them as she turns to look at me. We stare at each other for a good thirty seconds before we both turn away, blushing.

"So Luna...have you heard of video games yet?" I say after recovering from the blush. Damn she's cute.

"No...I don't think I have yet." She responded, only with a blush still on her face. Did I mention the cuteness?

"I'll show you sometime. I have a feeling you'll like it."

"I'd like that..." She looked thoughtful for a second. "Eclipse, I must ask, Why didn't you decide to be a royal guard? You could have easily made captain, or even higher with your skill in combat. Instead, you settled for no job, instead using the allowance you get for being a student of the day...well now the night but the point still stands. Why do you settle for so little?"

"Because Luna, I don't see the point." I said shortly after she was finished. "I never had the ambition for greatness, nor did I have the want for responsibility. Hell, I wouldn't even care if I disappeared, never to be seen or remembered for all eternity. What I do care about however is family. Family and friends are the only things I care about. You could say they keep me going, that they are my power and you wouldn't be wrong." I turn to Luna with a serious look. "I only fight to defend those I care about. God have mercy on the sod who takes them away from me, because I sure as hell won't show any."

She looked at me and slowly put a hoof to my shoulder "Do....do you count me in that group you'd protect?"

I look at her and smile at her worried face "Yes I do Luna...Yes I do..."

About three hours later I bid Luna farewell and promise to see her again soon and go into the library where the guests are sleeping down stairs. I smile softly before going to my room and laying down, immediately falling asleep due to ...... strenuous activity. I didn't even know ponies could bend like that.....

I woke up to hear Twilight making her rounds. And by that I mean she was chatting up a storm with the people Zeke sent to train them I looked at the clock noticing it was about nine and got out of bed. It's about time for studious Twi to be up and about.... Now for training.

Let's hope that letting Zeke hand out those Keyblades wasn't a mistake.

“So you come from another world?! What's it like! What do you eat, what are you wearing, I want to know everything!”

The man she was questioning was slightly startled from the rapid rate of the questions, but collected his thoughts. “Yes, most of us come from many other worlds, but Daybreak Empire is the name of our current world/city. It’s nice, the Crystal Heart keeps Heartless out of the world. We are largely omnivorous, don’t worry, consuming intelligent life is cannibalism and very much illegal in most every world. I’m wearing my standard soldier uniform, the metal sleeve on my arm is basically an armor I just push a button and it’s on, and I’m sure you’ll learn what you want with time.” He replied.

“That’s enough Twilight, you will have them tired out from answering your questions before they even start to training you girls.” I said as the other nine walked down/walk in through the door “Speak of the devil.”

After a brief introduction the rest of the Soldiers walk in from wherever they were.

“Commander Justin, we’ve set up the base.” One of the soldiers said.

“Good,” The man Twilight was questioning replied. “Everything operational?”

“Yes sir.”

“Then rest.” He said, and the other soldiers left. “So, anything else you all wanna know?”

“Uh...uhm…. W-what will we be learning?” Spoke a nervous Fluttershy. I’m proud of her, she spoke first for once!

“Combat, spellcasting, and glider/armor usage. Though the armor may be an issue…”

“Not as much as you think Darling, Why I have been working on a outfit for Eclipse to enhance him ever since I saw him in action. It was meant to be a surprise but with some work I’m sure I can have some for all of us here!” Spoke Rarity in her ever posh voice. I really hate her voice, but you learn to deal with it.

“Can you configure the spell matrixes in the armor and modify them for… pony physique and do it without risk of armor failure in the lanes between… aka space? Cause if the oxygen generation spell fails… you die…”

“I can help her. I am the element of magic after all. With the two of us working together I don’t see why we can't safeguard them for travel” Twilight stated proudly.

“Well you did make them on our world.”

“Wait...I made your armor on your- oh right….Multiverse theory. Until now the only pony who took it seriously was Eclipse, But I think he just wanted something to one up me when it came to books.”

“You caught me Twi.” I say...rather unconvincingly.

“Well it’s a fact, and we refer to parallel dimensions as ‘reflections’. Your reflection in Daybreak along with another scientist managed to reverse engineer a working prototype of Keyblade armor from Council member Zeke’s original.” Justin said.

“Thats-”

“I’m cutting you off there Twi, you're wastin’ daylight chatting techno babble when we could be learning to fight these Heartless vermin.” Said Applejack, putting a hoof to Twilight's mouth

“Sorry.”

“So, where are we training!” Said an excited Spike. Little guy was probably thinking on being a knight in shining armor or something at this point.

“We can start whenever you are all ready.” Justin said.

“Let's get started. Field training is good for basics, but that’s all they really know. I want to make sure we know how to properly handle an attack like that again.” I said

“Yeah! Next time, I’m gonna show those Heatless what happens when you mess with Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash!” Rainbow said, flying up and puffing out her chest

We followed Justin out to an empty field. He selected Rainbow and I to demonstrate basic attacking and blocking. “So, I know Eclipse here knows how to hit, so I will be testing Rainbow here. You try and block my attack, alright?”

“Pff, peace of cake!” She said summoning her Keyblade

Justin took a rather interesting stance… almost like a samurai… Oh wait… In a sudden flash, he was behind Rainbow and she fell over. “You failed miserably.” He said as he kneeled down to her.

“H-How the buck did you do that! I didn’t even see you move!” She shouted.

“It’s called Zantetsuken, fast, powerful… and easy to block as it takes time for the one attacking to charge it.”

“Wow...I thought only Terra could do that.” I whispered to myself as I watched.

“I still say you cheated..” said a disappointed RD

“In a fight, there’s no cheating, only those who live, and those who die. It’s my job to make sure you are the one who lives to fight the next battle.”

The prospect of his words hit home as the Mane six and others remember the feeling yesterday of fighting all those heartless...the feeling of panic whenever they were hit so suddenly, Rainbow looks like she is done joking. “Let’s go again.”

Justin jumped back a few feet in one go. “Alright. Block this.” He charged up Zantetsuken again, and in a flash, he was in front of Rainbow, who looked like she managed to block it. “Good, now, try and attack me.” He said, jumping back a few more feet.

Rainbow closed her eyes and focused on the rainboom she did all those years ago. When she opened them she shot off so fast the sound barrier broke as she went in for a attack.

Justin blocked it, then suddenly hit her seconds after she attacked, sending Rainbow flying across the ground. “Counterblock or counterhammer works for attacking those that get too close when blocking.”

Rainbow groaned as the others were stopped from helping by me. “Stop. She needs to learn this just as you need to. I don’t agree with the method but it is apparently effective. So we will follow it to a T. That means leaving rainbow to look after herself, understand?” I say to the others as Rainbow gets up.

“That was cheap…”

“You still have yet to hit me.” Justin stated, weilding his Keyblade at her. “I was sent to teach you all for a reason, guess why.”

I kept quiet. I knew….That bastard Core. Knowing those sadistic fucks, they probably sent the Heartless in the first place. But this is for the others to learn. They all shook their heads as they looked to me for the answer.

“Core.” I said in a emotionless tone.

“Precisely.” Justin said. “I’m the fifth highest ranked fighter in Daybreak, I was sent to keep you all safe from things you are not ready for, and prepare you to kill it… Core and those Heartless… his allies… They will not hesitate to kill you, or take you to suffer a fate worse than death.”

Rainbow turned to him, strengthening her grip on her Blade. She thought of her friends being experimented on and looked at Justin with cold eyes. The eyes of a warrior, as she charged straight toward him, slower, but with more control to get past his defense.

Justin and Rainbow crossed blades, and a small shockwave of energy pulsed from their impact. “Better.” Justin was gone in a haze, and reappeared behind Rainbow. “But… to slow.” His Keyblade struck her upward, he jumped to her thrown high, hit her upwards again, then repeated, only to slam his Keyblade down on her hard, sending her crashing into a small crater on the ground.

Fluttershy was about to cast cure before I held the blade down. “Fluttershy, I know this is hardest on you, but you can’t, not yet okay?” She nodded, if hesitantly as Rainbow slowly got up. My Scan ability told me that she couldn’t take much more, one more hit maybe, but she sure didn’t look it.

“Heh...Is that all you got?”

“You’re stronger than I expected. Fine then, one last attack…” Justin looked focused as he closed his eyes… when he opened them, he rushed forward in a haze of electricity, and hit Rainbow once as she fell over, out cold. “Shotlocks will be saved for tomorrow.”

Fluttershy pushed passed me and cast cure on Rainbow before sighing, relieved “It’s okay, she’s just knocked out.”

“I wasn’t worried Flutters” I said. More and more surprises….damn Zeke, you are one clever bastard.

“Attacks with Keyblades are different than attacking with swords or guns… intent means everything. Only an intent to kill will let a Keyblade kill, I had no such intent, so she’s just out cold.” Justin explained. “Be careful when you become enraged in combat.”

“So...Who’s next on the list?” I ask in a laid back fashion.

“Applejack.” Justin said, pointing at her. “Same lessons, I expect better since you’ve watched a match.”

AJ walked forward and summoned her keyblade, taking a much more defencive stance than Rainbow as she looked calm. “Ready when you are partner.” she said.

Justin pointed his Keyblade at her. “Alright… Fire.” He said as a fireball shot out the tip of his Keyblade.

Applejack waited until the last moment to bring the keyblade up to block as smoke clouded her vision, obscuring Justin from her sight. She ran forward slowly in comparison to Rainbow to close the gap while playing defencive.

Justin threw his Keyblade into what looked like a Strike Raid, but when it hit her, she was frozen in a hunk of ice. “Ice Raid, part spell, part attack.” Justin said as his Keyblade returned to him and he delivered a Zantetsuken to Applejack while she was frozen. The impact broke her out of the ice, and she flew back a few feet.

When she landed she immediately got up, apparently shaking off the attack, but I knew better. It took a quarter of her stamina from just two attack. At this rate I think only two of us would stand a chance. Me because I know more than the rest, and Pinkie because she is unpredictable to even the best minds. “It’ll take more than some fancy magic to keep me down.” Applejack said as she started again. Her leg muscles gave away that she was hesitant and prepared to dodge out of the way, and if I saw it, I would bet Twilight to a slaver that Justin saw it.

“Stopra.” Justin said as Applejack froze with a small clock counting down over her head. Justin took lots of attacks on her, and when Applejack unfroze, she collapsed.

“That was over quickly.” I said while Fluttershy played medic again, setting Applejack next to Rainbow Dash to the side. “Done in record time. Next?”

“This is going nowhere… Eclipse, Twilight, and Spike, you three are next.”

I chuckle, knowing Spike’s magic is not magic in the normal sense. “Okay then. Be careful what you wish for. You might just get it” I said as Oblivion and Oathkeeper appear around me.

“I know, that’s why I wanna see how the tree of you handle this attack.” He said as we all got into position. He pointed his Keyblade at me. “Mega Flare!”

“Oh shit.”

It hit, and there was a blinding light as I was thrown for a loop. “Not as well as I had hoped…” I heard Justin say.

You know, I think it’s time to stop holding back and be serious. Oblivion and Oathkeeper worked together in Tandem, one using magic to slow my fall, causing me to hover in mid air for a second while the other I held in front of me “Stopga! Thunderga!” I shouted “Spike Dragon raid lesson three! Twilight, use your ice spells!” As Spike started to surround himself in fire. As Spike charged, a green flaming dragon followed his blade while Twilight focused, charging up her spell as the air around her was frigid.

Our attacks hit all at once, there was dust after the impact. When it settled and we saw Justin still standing… Scan showed we only did a quarter of his HP. “Not bad, not bad at all.”

I tried to hide my shock. Spike's Dragon Raid alone should have been overkill, but he barely took a quarter damage...and he was only the fifth strongest…..damn I’m weak. “Spike, up it up if you can. Twilight, full bast-”

Before I could finish, he was somehow behind all of us. “Time Break.” He said, taking a hard swing at all of us, sending Spike flying, Twilight collapsing unconscious, and me with what felt like a broken rib… and ego.. “Get your attack patterns down to simple words, saves time and lives.”

I grunt as I cast a Quick cure on myself, wincing as my rib repairs and I stand up. “I may be not all that strong, but rule number one of any fight, don't underestimate your opponent.” I say.

“Duh, this training was all about learning your limits.”

“Yeah, that and thinking. With Rainbow, she needed to stop being so hard headed and think tactically. Applejack needs to stop hesitating and act. Twilight needs to have more defensive and melee skill, Spike...well, he’s pretty good where he is, just needs to improve from here. And me? I need to stop stalling and let Spike have the glory.” I say as Spike tries to hit him from behind with a lesson four attack.

Justin reacted faster than I expected. One blur and he was holding Spike by his head. “I agree, Spike here is good for his abilities, he just needs to grow up a bit is all.” He tossed Spike across the ground. “As for you, you so far have passed already.”

“Really now? Nope sorry, you're stuck with me. You see, we may be different ponies...and griffin...and dragon...but we are a team. What kind of team member would I be if I up and ditched them?”

“Fair enough. This was gonna mark this as a break for you all, but you can enjoy a nap.” He raised his Keyblade into the air. “Armageddon!” I looked up and a massive meteor was falling right over me… oh shit. Was my last thought before the darkness of unconsciousness took hold.