Hearts of Harmony

by Legrio

Chapter 9: Gearing Up

The group bid good-bye to Cid as Donald lead them downstairs. “My uncle’s shop is down here,” he explained, “If we’re lucky, my nephews will be working today.”

“And if we’re not?” Applejack asked, cleaning off her hat before tossing it back on.

“Uh, well...” he reluctantly opened the door.

“There you are, nephew! I’ve been waiting for you! I don’t appreciate you dumping your charges on me just so you can go gallivanting about, playing royal wizard! And now you’ll be wanting more supplies, at your usual castle discount rate no doubt!” The voice of an irate old duck shouted at Donald as they walked inside. “And another thing- Oh, customers!” the duck’s tone completely changed as he caught sight of the new arrivals. “Welcome to the McDuck Item Emporium! I am Scrooge McDuck, owner and proprietor of this fine establishment. What can I do for you?”

“We were looking for some saddlebags,” Twilight said. She considered some potions but remembered that she’d already gotten some from the puppies they’d rescued earlier. She looked to her two friends questioningly. Spike shook his head but Applejack spoke up.

“Ah was wonderin’ if ya might have some good strong rope?”

“Rope, eh? And what would you be needing that for, lass?” The duck wearing the blue coat and top hat asked, already bustling around the shop as he got together Donald and Goofy’s usual order.

“Well, Ah use it for all sorts of things, but mostly fer fightin’ Heartless lately.”

“Hm, I see. Yes, I think these might do nicely,” Scrooge said, putting down a bundle of rope with a sharp bronze tip on one end on the counter, along with two plain saddlebags. “Now you’ll see here, this has a nice hook on the end. Just toss it up and get a good grip, and you can climb up just about anywhere. Why I remember one time when I was searching for haunted treasure when I used one much like this to-”

“Er, Uncle?” Donald coughed.

“Yes, well, suffice to say, this makes for quite the fine tool, not to mention a weapon! A good whip from this and those Heartless won’t be getting up anytime soon!”

“Ah don’t know,” Applejack said, “Seems awful dangerous to me. Ah usually use a lasso just to hold ‘em in place so one of mah friends can zap ‘em!”

“Applejack, I can’t always be ready to blast whatever you catch,” Twilight explained. “I know you don’t like it, but it would be better if you could take out Heartless without having to buck them over the horizon.”

The earth pony sighed. “Well, alright, if ya really think so, Twi’.” She turned to the old shopkeeper. “Ah’ll take it!”

“Excellent. Now, if you don’t mind I also took the liberty of putting together some basic supplies, food, water, and the like, free of charge for a first time customer! Together, this will all be,” he rang up their items on his register, “Two hundred munny even!”

Twilight floated off her munny bag and and counted the small orbs out. She looked up. “Um, I only have a hundred fifty three.”

Scrooge sighed. “I’m sorry, lass, but I don’t run a charity. You’ll have to put something back.”

“It’s OK Twi’, we can get that rope later,” Applejack said.

“Hey, wait!” Sora spoke up. “We’ve got plenty of munny!” He took out the rest they needed. “Here, we’ll pay for it.”

“Are you sure?” the unicorn asked. “I don’t want it if you really need it.”

The boy just grinned. “Hey, it’s a gift from one keyblade wielder to another!”

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Twilight nearly facehoofed as she watched Sora fight a group of lesser Heartless. “He acts like he’s swinging around a club!” After finishing up at the shop, they’d decided to take the long way around through the Second District so Twilight could get a feel for Sora’s fighting style. She hadn’t known what to expect, but she didn’t think it’d be this bad! “No, don’t use huge slashes like that! You’ll leave yourself wide open!” A punch from a Shadow knocked him back.

Applejack quietly laughed beside her. “That bad, huh?”

“I don’t know,” the unicorn mare sighed. “Most of the time it’s like he’s just swinging his keyblade around without any thought, but then he does something amazing that makes me think he’s been doing this for years. There, look!”

The boy jumped out of the way of a slashing claw before kicking off the wall behind him. He flipped in mid-air, landing behind a Soldier in just the perfect position to dispatch it.

“See that? That was great, but now he’s just back to flailing. And there’s the fact that, well, he’s a human and I’m a pony. Of course our styles are going to be different, I’m a quadruped and he’s a biped!”

“Er, a what now?”

“We’ve got four feet, he’s got two feet and two arms, like Spike,” she clarified.

Sora finished off the last of the group of Heartless before shouting back, “So, what do you think?”

“Um...” the mare stalled, trying to think of a way to put it nicely. “Well, Sora, first off I want to say that our styles are very, very different. I’m more of a spellcaster, I usually try to blast enemies from range. You’re a melee fighter, you like to get up close with enemies. So, I’m not an expert when it comes to fighting up close, alright?”

“Er, okay?” The boy confusedly scratched his head.

“Alright, here’s what I see as your problems,” Twilight finally said, “First, you don’t have any control over your keyblade. Don’t just swing around wildly, think! And don’t use big, overhand strikes all the time. Sure, it gives you a lot of power but it also leaves you wide open for a counterattack as you recover. Try to use smaller slashes, to knock your opponent off balance. Save your bigger, stronger moves for when your enemy is open.”

“I guess that makes sense,” the young keyblade wielder replied, thinking it over. “A lot of the time I just kinda charge in without thinking, sorry!”

“Well, that works against these weaker Heartless, but what happens if you fight something bigger? And another thing, why don’t you hardly ever use any magic? I think I saw you use just one fire spell, and that was pretty weak.”

“Hey! I’m doing the best I can, I only started using magic a couple days ago!” Sora exclaimed, “And I already beat a bunch of big Heartless, like that big armored guy!”

“Oh yeah, well I-” Twilight started to shout before Applejack intervened.

“Sorry, Ah just need to talk to mah friend here a sec.” The earth pony pulled her friend aside. “Twi’, you ever dealt with foals much?”

“No, but what does that have to do with anything?!”

“Look, ya can’t just come out and tell ‘im everything he did wrong. Ya have to mix in a little praise too. Just be patient with him.”

Twilight sighed and nodded before walking back over to Sora. “Look, I’m sorry, I’ve never taught anyone like this before. You’re actually doing very well, especially since you’ve had no one to show you anything.”

“I’m sorry too, I know I was the one who asked for help in the first place.”

The unicorn mare nodded before continuing. “Well, what spells do you know?”

“Um, just Fire and Ice right now.”

As they began to walk along, the mare continued, “Just Fire and Ice? Did you know any spells before you awoke your keyblade?” The boy shook his head as they began walking towards the Third District. “Well, let me explain. The keyblade acts as both magical amplifier and focus, however, even without the keyblade you can still use your spells, they just won’t be as strong. Maybe once we get to Merlin’s house I’ll show you some of the other ones I’ve learned.” Twilight thought for a moment before continuing. “Have you ever tried controlling your keyblade without touching it?”

“Well, I can make it appear in my hands from a distance,” the young boy replied as he opened the alley door.

“That’s good!” She praised, “That’s a big part of how I fight. Controlling my keyblade telekinetically.” A puzzled look crossed Sora’s face. “Er, magically,” she clarified, “Comes naturally to me because as a unicorn I’m already good at that sort of magic.” A group of small red flying heartless appeared on the other side of the door as they passed through. Twilight’s keyblade appeared beside her as she trotted forward to meet them. “Here, watch.” She took note of their positions before tossing her weapon forward. It flitted through the air from Heartless to Heartless, systematically destroying each one before reappearing at her side. “See?”

“Woah! Let me try!” Sora exclaimed, spotting another group of Heartless in the small courtyard. He arcing the weapon around, he let it fly. It spun end over end, directly striking the Soldier he was aiming at, obliterating it. The shining keyblade seemed to lean towards another before starting to wobble slightly. Then it fell to the ground and reappeared in the boy’s hands. “Aw.”

“Hey, that was very good for a first try!” Twilight praised. “Now why don’t you take out the rest of them? Remember, keep control of the keyblade! Think!” She called as the boy charged into battle.

“Gawrsh, do ya think we should help?” Goofy asked. The unicorn mare hesitated.

“Your friends should always there to see you through,” she replied after a moment, “But he won’t learn if everyone’s out there destroying Heartless for him. What if you get separated? Sora needs to be able to defend himself.” She watched as the keybearer carefully parried a leaping kick from a Soldier, then vanquished it with a quick slash. Soon, it was all over.

“So, how was that?” Sora asked as he leaned on his keyblade.

“Good! Very good! See, you destroyed them all by yourself without getting hit at all!”

“Eh, it was okay,” Donald dismissively said, though there was a gleam of approval in his eye.

“Hey, I thought it was great!” the boy exclaimed as they walked down a small side street. Soon they at the door with the flame sigil Leon had pointed out earlier. “So, this is Merlin’s house, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s what Leon said.” Twilight opened the door with her magic. Inside, it was decidedly odd. A small passage lead to a cave of all things in the middle of a city, with a huge pool of water covering most of it. Small platforms of rock drifted back and forth, with an island with a dilapidated tower standing on it.

“Huh, so this that Merlin’s place? Doesn’t look so great to me,” Spike said, looking around.

“Spike, don’t insult a wizard’s house!” the mare chastised her assistant before continuing. “Why, I bet it’s filled with enchanted spellbooks and scrolls inside!” A dreamy look came over Twilight’s face.

“Oh boy, here we go,” the little drake sighed.

“What? Don’t tell me Twi’s a bookworm,” Applejack quietly said, edging away from the daydreaming unicorn.

“Uh, bookworm? I think that’s putting it lightly. Here, let me snap her out of it. Twilight, Heartless threatening the books!” Spike shouted.

“What? Where!?” Twilight looked around frantically as her keyblade flashed. “Spike, you know I hate it when you do that,” she sighed after realizing there was no threat.

“Hey, it works! Now come on, the others are already on the other side!”

“Right!” And with that, the unicorn and her friends began carefully leaping across the drifting stones...

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“Well, this is disappointing,” Twilight thought, looking around. The tower was completely empty! Where were the scrolls, the books, the magical knickknacks?! She sighed. “Well, this looks like it was a waste of time. How about I show you some of my spells then, Sora?” Getting no response, she turned to look at the boy. “Sora?”

The younger keyblade wielder didn’t seem to hear her, instead letting out a whisper of “Kairi”.

“Hey Sora, are you alright?” Goofy asked, nudging the boy.

He shook his head, rapidly coming out of his little trance. “Huh?” Sora stretched his arms. “Yeah, I’m fine!”

Twilight frowned. “You don’t look fine to me. You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”

Before she could voice her concerns, someone else spoke. “Well, well, you came sooner than I expected. And...” The unicorn turned to see the speaker, an old man clad in a wizard’s hat and robes, carrying a large bag. His jaw hung open with the most surprised expression on his face! “Equestrians?! What are you doing outside of the veil?!”

“Veil? What’re ya talkin’ about?” Applejack asked.

The wizard sighed. “Your world, Equestria, has long been cut off from the other worlds by a veil of powerful magic. The fact that you three are standing here means that either the veil itself has fallen to the Heartless, which is unlikely, or one of its makers withdrew her power. Either possibility is most troubling.”

Twilight raised a hoof. “Um, excuse me, but who are you? And how do you know about Equestria? No one else around here does!”

“Oh my, excuse my manners! I am Merlin, the sorcerer.” The old man held up a wand and tapped his bag. “Presto!” Books, scrolls, desks, and furnishings of all kinds began floating out and settling into their places, transforming the bare tower into a home worthy of a powerful, if untidy, wizard. Twilight had to resist jumping in to read and organize. “And I might have snuck into Equestria once or twice. What was the name I took there?” He pulled his beard in thought. “Star-something? Eh, in any case, his majesty, the King, requested that I come back here.”

“Star-something? Nah, it couldn’t be...” Twilight wondered.

“You’ve met King Mickey?” Donald butted in.

“Yes indeed, Donald, Goofy, he was most insistent. It’s a good thing I came back early, or I might have missed you altogether! Now, who might the rest of you be?”

“I’m Sora!”

“Twilight Sparkle, apprentice to her majesty, Princess Celestia, and these are my friends, Applejack and Spike.” The earth pony and the drake waved.

“Hm, I sense a great power about you two. Keyblade wielders?” The boy and unicorn nodded. “Most unexpected and intriguing. Well, the King requested that I train the new keyblade wielder in the ways of magic, yet he never said anything about there being two of you. Eh, no matter.” He began digging a few more items out of his bag. “Just let me know when you’re ready to begin your training.”

“Oh, um, I already know a lot about magic,” Twilight said, looking longingly at the books piled around, “I was actually looking for a transformation spell. Of course, I’d be happy to learn anything else you could teach!” She hastened to add.

“Transformation, eh?” Merlin asked, preparing another spell. “You’re in luck then! Transformation is something of a specialty of mine! Oh, one more thing.” He waved his wand at a small pumpkin sitting in a corner. A trail of sparks shot out, as it began to glow, growing larger. A moment later, it had transformed into a woman! “Allow me to introduce you to the-”

“I can introduce myself!” She exclaimed before bowing. “I am the Fairy Godmother. I will do all I can to help in your journeys.”

“D’oh, I almost forgot!” Goofy exclaimed, getting out the book Cid had given them. “Here, Cid wanted us to deliver this to you.”

“Hm? Oh, yes, I remember. This book just appeared in my library one day in such poor condition. Cid was repairing it for me, though I see some of the pages are missing. Well, you have my thanks! If you should find any of the missing pages, do let me know,” Merlin said, putting the book on a nearby pedestal. “So, Twilight Sparkle, was it?” The mare nodded. “What has happened in Equestria?”

Twilight quickly explained everything that had happened.

“This is most troubling. Whatever has become of dear Luna?”

“Luna? Who’s she?” Spike asked.

“Why, Celestia’s co-ruler and sister, of course!” Merlin exclaimed to the utter confusion of the Equestrians.

“So, Nightmare Moon was telling the truth then. Is she really this ‘Luna’?” Twilight asked.

Merlin shrugged. “It sounds plausible to me, but I cannot be sure. Now, let us proceed with the training!” A part of the ceiling floated down. “Everyone onboard please, my training room is up here!”

“This is so cool!” Sora shouted as the platform slowly lifted them up. Soon they were in a wide room that was mostly bare save for a set of old furniture in the middle.

“So, which of you shall go first?” The sorcerer asked.

The boy waved his hand wildly. “Me! Me!”

The old man chuckled. “Alright Sora, show me what you can do.” He waved his wand and the chairs began to float and move around. “Don’t worry about damaging them, they’re specially enchanted to absorb magic.”

“Right!” Sora shouted, summoning his keyblade. “Fire! Ice!” Volleys of small fireballs and ice shot forth until he began to pant tiredly. “So, how was that?”

“Not bad, not bad. Do you know any other spells though?” Sora shook his head. “Oh dear. Well, you sit there and rest. Twilight, you’re up!”

The unicorn hesitated. “Um, what exactly did you want me to do? I know a lot of spells,” she said, placing emphasis on the ‘lot’.

“Well, first I wanted to get a sense for how good with magic you are. So, show me.”

“Um, okay!” The mare began to concentrate. The chairs were suddenly enveloped in a field of energy that locked them in place, before bolts of lightning, fireballs, and shards of ice rained down. As she channeled her power she felt the darkness creeping up on her once more, teasing her with its power. “I can use this!” she thought. A beam of pure darkness shot from the tip of her keyblade, destroying one of the chairs altogether. A moment later, she realised someone was shouting at her and stopped, forcing the darkness back after some struggle.

“That’s quite enough of that, young lady!” Merlin said, his voice stern. He sighed. “Well, I see you have very good control, even over the darkness. But, you shouldn’t channel that power so lightly. Dark magic such as that is very powerful, yet handled recklessly can be corruptive to the heart. I fear that this is what happened to your Nightmare Moon.”

“I know, but I need it! I can’t just do nothing when my friends are in danger and I have the power to save them!” Twilight exclaimed.

“And I’m not telling you to sit back and do nothing,” Merlin replied, his voice conciliatory. “Just use caution, the darkness is not something to be used lightly.”

“Hey Merlin, I’m ready for more!” Sora exclaimed.

“Excellent. Donald, come over here, would you?” The duck mage nodded. “Now, I remember teaching young Donald here a bit of transformation magic. Demonstrate for me, would you?” Donald nodded and cast a spell, transforming his clothes into various styles, even transforming himself into a small bird and back. “This spell allows you to change yourself and others into various other forms suitable for the various worlds you’ll visit. Now, this spell is not to be used lightly, a botched transformation could leave you crippled or worse. Do you understand?” The two of them nodded seriously before he continued. “Now Sora, I’m sorry but this spell is rather advanced. I don’t quite think you’re ready for it yet, but don’t worry, I have some others I’m sure you’ll like.”

The boy sighed. “Well, I guess.”

“Alright. Twilight, here’s the incantation.” The sorcerer told Twilight the words. “Now, something simple to start with. Concentrate on the human form as you cast the spell and the magic will change you into that which you would look like if you had been born as a human.”

“Er, this spell is reversible, right?” The mare asked with some trepidation.

“Why, of course!” the old man laughed, “Of course! Now go on, try!”

Twilight closed her eyes and began to concentrate hard as she chanted the magical words. A glow of purple magic enveloped her before filling the room, blinding everyone...

Comments

[FurryBrony]

Is she going to have her own set of clothes right away, or will she need someone to get some for her?

[Aki_Iokua]

Just a thought, does the spell include clothes?

[BronyPonyMan]

yeah, is she gonna be clothed? OH! how about include a picture in the story of what she looks like! i'm sure you could find one online.

[Legrio]

2318864

Unfortunately, none of the human!Twilight pics I've found online have the same, or a close enough, design as the one I've come up with for this story, plus I think having a pic in the middle of a fic is kinda tacky. Anyways, I'd change my design for Twilight's clothes, but, well... nah.

And wow, so many people worried about Twilight transforming naked. Just remember...

Naked People Are Funny!

[sonicfan21]

It just brings a sort of warm feeling in my heart thinking about the possibility of the ponies visiting Pooh with Sora.