• Published 21st Apr 2019
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KINGDOM HEARTS: Fractured Friendship - KHXhero



An epilogue to Kingdom Hearts III, Sora and friends journey to find Twilight Sparkle and restore the magic of friendship, while also facing against his inner turnmoil.

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Chapter 26: Dream Walker

Chapter 26: Dream Walker

She felt drowsy as she began to open her eyes, seeing nothing but pitch black. But then suddenly, she opened her eyes wide and saw that it was dark... very dark, and she couldn't see anything. Twilight Sparkle lifted her head up and tried to see by lightning up her horn. With it's magenta colored glow, Twilight looked left and right, but she still saw nothing except the magic from her horn. How did she end up here, she thought. She remembered being in the bedchambers of the Crystal Empire not too long ago, but now she's here?

"Hello?" Twilight asked. "Is anypony there?" Suddenly, she saw something far ahead of her. It looked like a bright light, except it was in the shape of a door. Wondering what it was, she galloped towards it, and jumped right into it. As she stumbled across the floor, she saw a familiar red carpet beneath her. Looking up, she saw familiar white pillars with purple details, flowers at the top, and of course the glass windows on each side.

"This is... Canterlot?" Twilight asked. "Why am I here?" She then looked forward, and saw a familiar majestic white alicorn with a flowing mane mixed with four streaks, light cerulean, turquoise, cobalt blue, and pale heliotrope. It was Princess Celestia!

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked. Hearing her name, the princess turned around to see the lavender unicorn, but she didn't look pleased.

"Twilight Sparkle, what are you doing here?" She asked, her voice sounding cold, much to Twilight's surprise.

"Well, I was wondering the same thing." Twilight said. "I found this door and then I-"

"I thought I made it perfectly clear that you were not welcomed here anymore." Celestia said, her voice still cold as venom. Twilight's ears perked.

"Wh... what?" Twilight asked.

"You heard me, little pony." Celestia said, her eyes showing spite. "You are no longer welcomed here. Not only are you no longer my student, but you are also hereby banished from Equestria!" Her sudden words made Twilight's eyes widen with shock. Princess Celestia was banishing her?!

"Wh... What?!" Twilight asked, very confused and scared. "Princess, I don't understand! Why?"

"Look for yourself..." Celestia said, pointing at the glass-stained window. To Twilight's pure horror, the glass-stained window depicted her, corrupted by darkness, and below her was Sora, who was slain and defeated.

"No... No!" Twilight said, not wanting it to be true! "It can't be!"

"But it is." Celestia spoke with even more spite. "You killed your friend, the one person who never gave up on you, and you killed him! You have walked the path of darkness, and now you are no longer welcomed here!" Twilight backed away as she saw the princess before her suddenly taking the shape... of herself. But it was her with darker fur, a flaming mane, and a glowing blue horn, with cyan sclera and purple irises. It was Midnight Sparkle!

"You are nothing anymore... but pure evil!" Midnight shouted with a smile and sharp teeth. Twilight screamed in horror as she galloped away, but the door she came from was closed shut, preventing her from escaping. Twilight turned around to see Midnight Sparkle approaching her, but it was now taking the form of Cosmos, the Deity of Malice. The monster opened it's mouth, ready to eat Twilight.

"NOOO!" Twilight screamed as she closed her eyes.

"Twilight...!"

Her eyes opened, just as a dark blue light pierced from the ceiling and blasted the spectre away, making it disappear completely. The lavender unicorn was greatly surprised. As the light faded away, there stood another familiar alicorn, a bit smaller than Celestia, and colored with different variations of blue. It was Celestia's younger sister, Luna!

"Princess Luna!" Twilight said, getting her attention.

"Good evening, Twilight Sparkle." Luna said. "It has certainly been a while, hasn't it."

"Wait, I don't understand." Twilight said as she approached the alicorn. "Why are you here?"

"Because, Twilight." Luna said. "As the Princess of the Night, it is my job to look after the dreams of all ponies, and that includes you, my dearest friend." Twilight's eyes widened with surprise. She had remembered when she snuck into the castle and destroyed the Elements of Harmony, as well as attacking her and Celestia when she was on that dark path. But even after all that, Luna still considers her a friend?

"You still see me as a friend?" Twilight asked. "But I attacked you."

"Yes, you have." Luna said. "But the fault is not entirely yours. It was the fragments of Nightmare Moon that made you do so."

"But it was me." Twilight said. "I made that decision on my own."

"That does not matter." Luna said. "You were still influenced by the very thing that I once was. If anything, I'd blame myself for that. Even after you freed me from the Nightmare, I did not expect that there would be pieces of her left. If I had not allowed myself to be consumed by darkness all those years ago, you wouldn't have to go through all this. And for that, I'm sorry."

"No, Princess." Twilight said. "Don't be so hard on yourself. What happened in the past happened, and Princess Celestia was willing to forgive you. We all were willing to forgive you." Hearing that made the Lunar Princess smile.

"You are a good friend, dear Twilight." Luna said. "Never forget that." She embraced Twilight with a hug, who hugged her right back. There was one thing that was still on her mind. Princess Celestia.

"Princess Luna, how is your sister?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I can't really say." Luna said. "She's been dealing with a lot since your vanished. Everything that happened at the wedding and your near descent to damnation was all because of a conspiracy by the Supreme Unicorn Movement and Chancellor Neighsay himself."

"I know." Twilight said. "We saw him in the north before we made it to the Crystal Empire, and that Shadow King was there too, along with a few others that Sora have fought against."

"So you have made it to the Empire." Luna said. "Do keep your guard up then. No doubt the Shadow King and those others will try to claim it. We cannot lose it again." Twilight then remembered something. She had heard tales of the Crystal Empire, and she has heard how the Princesses tried to stop King Sombra before he made the kingdom disappear.

"Princess Luna, do you know anything about the Crystal Empire?" Twilight asked.

"I'm afraid not." Luna said. "Me and my sister barely knew much about the Crystal Empire, so I'm not sure we'll be of much help."

"Then it's up to us then." Twilight said. "Well, don't worry. We'll take care of it."

"I know you will, Twilight." Luna said. "I believe in you." Twilight then glanced at the ground for a moment, her mind still on the nightmare she was having before the Lunar Princess showed up, of how Princess Celestia was so spiteful to her because of her actions. Would the real Princess Celestia be the same way with her?

"Princess... can you tell your sister that I'm sorry for everything that's happened?" Twilight asked.

"I believe it's best that you talk to her instead when all of this is over." Luna said. Twilight wasn't really hoping to hear that.

"But I..." Twilight said, and she looked away again. Being Princess Celestia's student, she has always worked hard to please her mentor, since she is the ruler of all of Equestria. Twilight admires her so much, but she was also scared of letting her down. Sure the Smarty Pants incident erased some of that fear away, but Twilight did betray Celestia and turned to darkness. It doesn't look like Celestia would be forgiving this time.

"You shouldn't be afraid of my sister, Twilight." Luna said. "She cares for you so much. She's even willing to let you leave this world should you wish to not forgive her." Twilight's ears perked up with surprise.

"What?" Twilight asked. Suddenly, Princess Luna closed her mouth, realizing what she just said.

"Oops, I wasn't suppose to tell you that!" She said. "Me and my damn mouth!"

"It's ok, Princess Luna." Twilight said. "It happens. But I'm actually surprised she thinks I'm not willing to forgive her."

"Well, she did leave you at the rehearsal hall." Luna said. "I'm still angry with her about that. But you should know something about that. After your little stunt during the rehearsal, she did wish to speak with you about your accusations, but she wasn't able to find you. She even searched the train station after she raised the sun, but she figured that you just went on home to Ponyville. She was considering cancelling everything, but the imposter urged her to continue on. She was going to fly there after she finished the ceremony to check on you until you showed up with the real Cadance, to ask if you wanted to come to the reception. I know you think it's just another excuse, but just know it's the truth." Twilight listened to everything carefully, and understood. Princess Celestia was considering cancelling everything to see if she was ok, if the fake bride hadn't begged her to continue it.

"I believe you, Princess Luna." Twilight said. "My friends and my brother were also fooled with too. The girls had their memories erased of learning that it was an imposter, and my brother was going to talk to me right when she sent me into the caverns. We were all fooled. But I don't care about that. I've done far worse than what everypony else did."

"But your friends forgave you, correct?" Luna asked.

"Of course they have." Twilight said.

"Then I'm sure my sister would show you mercy." Luna said.

"Or send me back to Magic Kindergarten." Twilight said.

"Don't be sure about that." Luna said. "You'll see. Just focus on protecting the Crystal Empire. But for now..." She ignited her horn, and suddenly, the hallway began to fade away, showing a beautiful ocean, and a beautiful sky with only a few clouds. Suddenly, Twilight found herself floating up in the air. She looked down at Luna, who smiled.

"May you have sweet dreams tonight." Luna said. "May you swim above the ocean and fly in the clouds, surrounded by your dear friends." Twilight tilted her head, but soon, she looked to her right, seeing Rainbow Dash flying next to her.

"Hey Twi!" She said happily.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked.

"Figured you might need some flying buddies!" Rainbow Dash said with a wink. Twilight then looked behind Rainbow Dash, seeing Fluttershy flying next to her, and Rarity, who was using magical butterfly wings. Turning to her left, she saw Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, with balloons tied to her back.

"Hi Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said. "I can fly like a Pegasus too!"

"Don't worry, sugarcube." Applejack said. "We're with ya." Suddenly, Twilight felt someone on her back. She turned her head and saw Spike, riding on.

"Me too!" The baby dragon said. Seeing her friends by her side brought a smile to her face. Being with them flying above the sea and in the sky gave her solace.

"Thanks everyone." Twilight said, as all of them continued flying forward, as Princess Luna watched.

"Sleep well, Twilight." She said as she took off and then disappeared while the girls continued flying in the peaceful sky.


Back in the bedchambers, Twilight was no longer whimpering or moving from her nightmare. As he dream turned into a happy one, she was sleeping peaceful, with a happy smile. What she didn't know was that Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike were resting next to her, sleeping in peace with her too. Perhaps they have heard her whimpering in her sleep and decided to sleep with her tonight, and it seemed to work. Some would think it's strange, but it was perfect.


The light was shining from a strange angle, almost straight in Sora's face. The softness of the bed was replaced by the sudden sandy surface below him. He opened his eyes slowly, seeing the clear sky above him. Wait, he was not in the bedchambers at the Crystal Empire?

"Where... am I?" Sora asked, seeing that he was looking at the red sky, showing that it was either dawn or the sun was setting. Sitting up and looking straight ahead, he saw the sun setting on the horizon. It was very beautiful, actually. Looking down, he saw that he was sitting on a beach, which explains why he felt sand beneath him. Looking to his right, he saw a wooden pier connected to the steep hill behind him. He then glanced to his left, seeing a small miniature island connected to the upper level of the island near the Seashore Shack by the bridge. Wait a minute. This is the islands! Their home.

DESTINY ISLANDS

The boy kept looking from where he was sitting, feeling the sandy beach with his fingers. Why was he here? Was he dreaming? Well, it was better than the nightmares he's had recently. It was nice, and calm. Very peaceful. Small, but perfect.

"This is strange." He said as he let out a yawn, laying back down on the ground, his head and hair feeling the sand, but he didn't mind. He liked it.

"Sora?" A girl's voice asked. That familiar voice made him open his eyes. To his surprise, he saw a girl knew so well. With blue eyes and dark red hair reaching her shoulders, glancing down at him.

"Kairi?" Sora asked.

"Who else?" She asked with a smile. The boy lifted himself up a bit and turned to look at her.

"Wait, what's going on?" Sora asked. "How am I here? Am I... dreaming?" The girl couldn't help but giggle.

"Of course you are, silly." She answered. "But I'm real, though."

"You... are?" Sora asked. "Wait, how are you real when I'm dreaming?"

"Actually, I've been wondering that too." Kairi said. "I was dreaming about my old life when I was little, but then I heard your voice, and I was brought here. It's like someone linked our dreams together."

"Linked our dreams together?" Sora thought. He then noticed something as he looked past her shoulder, someone far away from the two. It looked like... Princess Luna?

"Princess Luna?" Sora asked.

"Huh?" Kairi asked. The boy looked back at the girl, then noticed the Princess of the Moon gone, as if she wasn't there.

"Oh, nothing." Sora said.

"So... how's it been?" She asked.

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"You know, you're adventure." Kairi said. The boy then knew what she was talking about.

"Well, it's been really... interesting." Sora said, going over what had happened so far. "I guess it all started with me and the guys having to clean up Canterlot. Then we've been all over the place. First we went to a wildwest setting raising the town up, then we went to a bustling city, then we encountered a cult led by some crazed unicorn. And there was a lot of other stuff, like those black vines, the crystal tree, and we fought a crazed cosmic she-demon. We're already up north at the Crystal Kingdom, trying to figure out how to stop the Shadow King from taking it over again. Yeah, a lot of stuff happened." He didn't notice, but the girl placed her hand on his.

"I... I felt your light go out." Kairi said. "For a moment, I thought we lost you for good." The boy stared back at her with surprise. She sensed him almost dying?

"Oh, but it's ok." Sora said, reassuring her. "I'm alright. I heard you and Riku calling out to me. Everybody was." He then lowered his head, realizing that he must've made her worried sick.

"I'm sorry for scaring you like that." He said.

"Don't be." Kairi said with a smile, taking both his hands. "Just like you always told me. As long as we think of each other, we'll never be apart. Right?"

"Yeah, of course." Sora said.

"That's good." Kairi said. She then looked down, seeing his hands in hers.

"I really miss you." She said. "I wish I was there with you." The boy understood what she meant, and how she was feeling. He missed her too.

"It's ok." Sora said. "I miss you too." The two looked at each other for a long moment. The boy then noticed. All the times that he's been with her, he never realized how beautiful she was. Right now, she looked... amazing...

"I never realized... how beautiful you look." He said. He then froze, realizing what he just said. He just said how beautiful she looked. He blushed.

"Whoa, where did that come from?" He asked. Suddenly, Kairi laughed. "What?"

"That's so sweet." She said. She then leaned closer to him, resting her head near his chest, making him blush even more.

"Uh... eh..." He spoke.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Uh, nothing." Sora said looking away, but the redness on his cheeks grew stronger. She leaned in closer to his level.

"It's ok." She said. "You can tell me. I won't get mad." The boy stared at the girl, seeing her sincere smile. He had no idea what was going on, and why he was feeling like this. But one thing's for sure, whatever it was, it felt good. Having her here felt so right.

"I don't know what's going on." Sora began. "But I really like it."

"Do you?" She asked.

"Yeah." Sora said. "Maybe because you're here." He soon found his hand holding hers, and she smiled even more. Her hand caressed his face.

"It's ok, Sora." She said. "You're safe with me." He smiled. Just having her here did make him feel safe. He didn't know why he would feel safe around her. Maybe because of her wonderful personality, or her supporting nature. That's what he loved about her.

"Kairi… there's something that..." Sora said. "There's something I want to tell you."

"What is it?" She asked, tilting her head.

"I... um... I... Uhhhh…" Sora said, but he couldn't get it out. Why? Maybe because she wouldn't like it? Maybe because she would laugh at him.

"It's ok." She said. "Whatever it is, you can always tell me when you're ready." He glanced at her, more astonished to see her caring smile. Suddenly, they both found themselves leaning towards each other slowly, their heads moving closer, as if they were about to... Suddenly, everything went white.


The sun was just rising, piercing through her window, shining upon her face as she began to open her eyes. The girl with dark red hair stared at the ceiling, thinking about the dream she just woke up from. The dream where she was on the beach with Sora. It wasn't real... but it felt real. Really real.

Suddenly, she felt the presence of someone in the room. She turned her head, only to see the shelves and the table of the room she was in. For a moment, she could've sworn she saw a dark blue alicorn with a starry flowing mane. Maybe she was seeing things. Or maybe she wasn't.

Looking down at her arm, she noticed the bandage was gone, and the scratch that was once there was gone completely. It's almost as if it was never there. She remembered yesterday, where she felt Sora's spark dying out, but then coming back. He wasn't gone. He was ok. Looking up, she couldn't only think about him.

"Sora..."


"Kairi…"

He slowly began to open his eyes... beginning to wake up on this brand new day. Staring up, he saw that the ceiling was different. Very crystal-like. Oh, that's right. He wasn't back on the Islands or anything. He was still in Equestria, at the Crystal Empire.

Lifting himself up from the bed, he let out a stretch to get the stiffness out of him. Letting out a sigh, he just realized something. He didn't have any weird dreams, or that nightmare again. Actually, he slept through the whole night, finally having a good night's sleep. Looking up, a smile formed on his face. Thinking back at the dream he just had, where it was just of him and Kairi. That was the best dream he ever had. Was it because there wasn't any swarms of heartless coming in and sucking everybody up? No. It was because Kairi was there, and it made him happy.

He then remembered. Princess Luna. She was watching from the background. Was she the reason why Kairi was there? Did she connect Sora and Kairi's dreams together so they could talk. Well, she is the Princess of the Night, the watcher of dreams. Maybe it was a way of saying thank you for saving Twilight. But why put Kairi in all of this? Well, whatever the reason was, he knew that what he wanted to tell Kairi would have the wait.

Getting out of bed, and putting on his clothes, the boy stepped out into the hall, seeing the slight radiant colors of the castle.

"Wow." He said to himself.

"Hey, you're up!" A familiar quacky voice said. Turning around, he saw Donald and Goofy coming down the hall. He smiled.

"Hey, morning guys!" Sora said.

"Garsh, you seem to be very cheerful this morning." Goofy said.

"Yeah, I just realized that." Sora said.

"Sounds like you got a good night's rest." Donald said.

"I sure did." Sora said. "It was actually the best sleep that I've ever had."

"So, no bad dreams?" Goofy asked.

"No." Sora said. "Actually, I had probably one of the best dreams I've ever had."

"Really?" Goofy asked. "What was it about?" Sora was about to speak, but he decided not to say anything about it.

"Oh, just watching the sunset." Sora said as he turned away.

"You probably were dreaming about Kairi." Donald said, making Sora freeze in place.

"No, I wasn't!" He reacted quickly, but his blushing proved otherwise.

"Aha!" Donald said. "You were dreaming about her!"

"No, I wasn't!" Sora said. Donald only gave a sneaky smile, knowing that Sora was lying about that. The boy gave a defeated sigh.

"Ok, you got me." Sora said, and then he looked away for a moment, looking back on the dream. He was right. It was one of the best dreams he's ever had. He didn't know why, but he enjoyed it so much. Because Kairi was there.

"I don't know why, but it was... what's the word?" Sora asked.

"Magical?" Goofy asked.

"Something like that." Sora said.

"Say, you never did tell us how you met her." Goofy said.

"It's not for you guys to know." Sora said.

"Awww, c'mon!" Donald said. "We won't tell anybody." Sora only shook his head, but he let out another sigh. He knows that they're both gonna keep hounding him on it. So maybe it won't hurt to tell them.

"Well, you both probably already know, Kairi's actually from another world too, from what Aqua had told us." Sora said. "Kairi used to live in Radiant Garden, just like Leon and the others. I don't know how Kairi ended up on the islands, but it must've had something to do with Aqua, since she and the King helped her last time. But I do remember the day I first met Kairi, where I found her washed up on the shore..." As he explained to them how he met her, the boy remembered that night when the meteor shower happened, going back at least 11 years ago.

Towards the end of the meteor shower, the young boy, who was only five at the time, saw a shooting star crash close to the shore in the water near town. Curious, he went out there to investigate. To his surprise when he got there, he saw the young Kairi washing up onto the shoreline unconscious, but a mystical light was glowing from her necklace. It was actually very shocking that the girl and the shooting star was the same. He went over to see if she was ok. Luckily, the girl was slowly waking up. The two stared at each other face to face. He asked her who she was and where she came from. She only said her name; Kairi.

"She didn't have any memory of where she came." Sora continued. "The only thing she did remember was her name. Me and Riku would often visit her at her foster parents' house, and we would eventually spend time together on the islands. I still remember always competing with Riku for her affection. He must've known that I liked her a lot. Maybe that's why he would always tease me about it." Hearing that made Donald and Goofy smile.

"But who doesn't?" Sora asked. "Kairi's just amazing. She's caring, kindhearted, and she's not afraid to speak her mind. She's even willing to go against danger to help me. That's what I really like about her." He lowered his head, looking back on the precious memories of all the times he and Kairi spent together. He smiled, much to Donald and Goofy's notice. Sora then realized that he was talking to much.

"Um, yeah, and the rest you know." Sora said, trying to get himself on track.

"Awww, you do like her a lot." Donald said. The boy blushed and looked away.

"Don't rub it in." Sora said.

"It's ok, Sora." Goofy said. "It's normal to feel that way towards a girl. It's all part of growing up."

"Yeah, I guess so." Sora said. "It's funny, actually. I never had the chance to tell her how much she means to me."

"Then you should tell her." Donald said.

"But... what if she doesn't feel the same way?" Sora asked. "What if she doesn't want t be my friend anymore."

"Don't think that, Sora." Goofy said. "Kairi will always be your friend no matter what. And besides, we can tell that she seems to like you the same way."

"How would you guys know?" Sora asked.

"Remember when you turned into a heartless?" Donald asked.

"Yeah, I remember that." Sora said. "I even remember you clobbing me on the head with your wand and telling me to get lost." Donald nervously laughed.

"Well, she knew that you were that heartless." Goofy said, getting back to the point. "And when you both were surrounded, she refused to step aside and she protected you. That shows how much she cares about ya." Sora glanced back, and he remembered. She did recognize him when he was just a mere heartless. And when the other heartless surrounded them, she stood by his side and held him close. It was at that moment, she brought him back to his human self. The strong connection between them brought him back. He even heard her voice.

"Yeah, you're right." Sora said. "She saved me back there. She even refused to let me go when I was trying to save you guys."

"Huh?" Donald and Goofy asked.

"Oh, nothing." Sora said, not wanting to tell them about how he saved them from that Lich. But he did want to do one thing. To tell Kairi how much she mattered to him.

"You guys are right." Sora said. "When all of this is over, I'm gonna tell her how much she means to me. I'm going to tell her how I feel."

"Atta boy, Sora." Goofy said with a happy nod.

"But first, we have a Crystal Empire to save, remember?" Donald asked.

"Right." Sora said.

"Everybody's probably outside." Goofy said.

"Then we better go meet up with them." Sora said as they began to make their way towards the stairs.

"Just remember, we got a big day ahead of us." Donald said. "So, no meddling."

"Ok, so long as you keep your temper in check." Sora said as the three made their way down the hall, while the duck only sighed in annoyance.


The sun was out and about, shining so brightly on the Crystal Empire. It's kinda strange though, seeing how outside there was a total winter storm going on yesterday, but when they got through the shield and entrance, the storm wasn't piercing through. Perhaps it's because of the mysterious magic the kingdom possessed.

Speaking of which, the kingdom was indeed sparkling. Well, not much still. The reason why it's sparkling a bit now is because the sun was out, still rising from the east right towards the castle. At least that helps, but still, not much was giving a sparkling however.

Twilight stepped out from the Central Chamber of the castle to get a good look at the town, seeing the beautiful crystal buildings that was around her. She had seen the town as they came here yesterday, but seeing this now, without anything happening at the moment, she took the time to take it in. It was beautiful and peaceful. After nearly bringing Equestria to ruins, seeing this was enough to give Twilight some solace for her previous actions.

"Morning, Twilight!" Turning her head, she saw Sora, Donald, and Goofy coming out of the castle, giving a happy wave.

"Good morning, Sora." Twilight said with a smile. "You look like you've slept well."

"Actually, I have." Sora said. "Probably the best sleep I've ever had."

"That's because he had a good dream." Goofy said.

"A very good dream." Donald said in a sneaky way, with the boy staring at him sternly. But Donald laughed anyway.

"Good to hear." Twilight said. "Because we got a long day ahead of us." She was right. They needed to figure out how to protect the Crystal Empire, and stop King Sombra once and for all. Sora then turned his head, seeing Riku coming out of the castle too.

"Morning." Riku said.

"Morning to you too." Sora said.

"Twilight!" Twilight turned her head as she heard the voices of her friends. She saw the rest of the Mane Six, and Spike make their way towards them.

"Hey, gang." Twilight said, only to be hugged tightly by Pinkie Pie.

"Oh, Twilight, we've been looking all over for you!" She said as she began to weep. "We thought you left us again!"

"Pinkie, I just went outside." Twilight said. "Do you really have to do this every time I leave?"

"Sorry, it's just that we love you so much, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said as she nuzzled her closely.

"Our apologies, Twi." Applejack said. "We tried to stop her."

"Pinkie Pie." Rarity said as she used her magic to pull Pinkie Pie away from Twilight. "Don't suffocate her, please."

"Awww, but I missed her already." Pinkie Pie said.

"Don't worry, Pinkie." Twilight said, placing her hoof on the party pony's shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere." Hearing that made her smile.

"Hey, where's Discord?" Rainbow Dash whispered Fluttershy.

"Oh, don't worry, he's around." Fluttershy said, taking a quick glance at her lower mane, with a little draconequus giving a little wink and wave, making the butter Pegasus giggle.

"So, what's the status update?" Sora asked Riku. "Where's everyone else?"

"Well, Leon and the others are speaking with the locals, to see if they know anything about Sombra and the Empire." Riku said. "Terra, Aqua, and Ventus are with Shining Armor and Princess Cadance right now, to see if the Castle Guards are ok."

"And the King?" Donald asked.

"How's he feeling?" Goofy asked.

"Mickey's with them as well." Riku said. "He's feeling better, but I told him that he should refrain from casting that Shield spell again. Aqua said she would recast it if the shield starts failing." While Goofy was relieved, Donald sounded a bit annoyed.

"Again with the first name?" Donald asked, with Sora whacking him behind the head. "OW!"

"We better go check with them first." Goofy said.

"Yeah." Sora said. "Let's go." Then the group went off to check on Princess Cadance and the others to see how they were doing.

Author's Note:

This was gonna be posted a while ago, but some personal issues have been coming along that was beyond my control and is kinda putting me in a funk. All I ask is you guys pray for me and my family, please.

Well, I did something a little different this time, and decided to give you guys a little short chapter. At least I think it's short. This was originally gonna be part of the next chapter, but I split it in half.

We dive a little bit into some more dreams again, with a little nightmare at the beginning, and a nice calmer dream in the middle.

This chapter is also for you SoraXKairi fans out there. Yes, they're so cute together, and I adore them just as everyone else.
How they've met is not something that was completely explored in the games. We know that Kairi was sent from Radiant Garden to Destiny Islands thanks to the protection spell Aqua placed on her necklace. And Kairi arrived the night of the meteor shower, as mentioned by Sora in the first game.
In the Kingdom Hearts Manga series, in the very beginning, there's a scene of Kairi washing up to the shore and Sora finds her there, so I've added that part into this story, because it makes sense.
Do you think the dream is a foreshadow of what's to come in the story? ...maybe (smiles keenly)

If you're wondering where Discord is, he's still around. He's hiding in Fluttershy's mane most of the time. So if you think that I forgot him, don't worry.

Anyway, see you guys in the next chapter, and I will try to get it out asap! It's gonna have another musical number, and it's one of my favorites. I'll give you a hint: Ever heard of the works of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan?