> A Heart Eclipsed
>  by Show Stopper
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 1



Sora POV


Eight-million-four-hundred-sixteen-thousand-three-hundred-seventy-two bottles of cider on the wall. Eight-million-four-hundred-sixteen-thousand-three-hundred-seventy-two bottles of cider. Take one down, pass it around, Eight-million-four-hundred-sixteen... You know what, screw this!

There's not a lot to do when one is a statue in the Royal Canterlot Gardens. Pony watch? Repetitive. Bird watch? Boring. Watch grass grow. Oh yes, thrill me. Eventually, you start coming up with stupider and stupider ways to pass the time.

Like singing One-Billion Bottles of Cider in your head. Got down to seven digits before I finally got tired enough of it to stop. Besides, there was a field trip up from that small town down in the valley. Ponyville, wasn't it? The teacher, a mauve earth pony led her class around the gardens showing off the different statues, about half of which were actually stoned prisoners. But they don't teach that in class.

"That one," the teacher said, looking at a pony statue to my left, "represents Friendship." The class oohed and awed as I wished that I could roll my eyes.

Oh yes, Quicksilver represents friendship all right. The friendships she shattered when she stabbed Lulu in the back. Literally. I mean, come on. Did she really think that that would down an alicorn?

"What's this one, Miss Cheerilee?" I focused back on the class to see a yellow earth pony filly looking up at me, a hint of fear in her eye. Not that I really blame her.

"Ah, yes," said Cheerilee, stopping to show me off to her class. "This one is Aros, the Darkness. Legends tell that there was a hero long ago who fought side by side with Prince Solarus and Princess Luna against this great foe, who could control shadows and make them rise up and attack ponies."

Not quite, Cheerilee, but you're pretty darn close.

"One day, Aros came upon the hero while he was alone and took over his body."

Eh, technically true, in a sense.

"Solarus and Luna had no choice but to destroy the hero along with the dark Aros, therefore freeing Equestria forever from his dark clutches."

And there's where the story is just completely wrong. I would have told them that it was me, but stupid shadow form can't talk. Figures the one time I bleed off the dark energy while in the castle is the one night they decide to walk in without knocking. Oh look, those three fillies are arguing about something. Cue teacher crack-down in three. Two.

"Girls!" called Cheerilee, bringing an end to the argument. She pointed to the statue that I stood directly facing. "Now this is a very interesting statue. What do you notice about it?"

Yeah, interesting is right. If I could have lowered my eyebrows, I would have been giving that "statue" a death glare for the last thousand plus years. Discord. That twisted mockery of existence. He'd been a nightmare to seal away all those years ago, and a headache for the next decade before we finally found a way to seal off his telepathy.

Oh look, the class is leaving. Shame. Looks like I'm back to counting blades of grass between me and the path.

Well, that doesn't sound like much fun.

My blood froze. I didn't even have blood, and it still managed to freeze. No. It can't be.

Which, knowing me, means that it must be!

Discord! How? Luna placed those wards herself. Your mind should be as trapped as your body.

"Oh but it is."

I stared in horror as the statue before me crumbled, revealing a hollow interior. A sinuous figure wrapped around me, and a twisted pony head came into my field of view. "You, on the other paw, seem to still be stuck. How delightful! Solo and Lulu never did figure out that it was you in there, did they? Oh, they must still think that you're dead, or worse. How simply marvelous!"

My anger surged as he laughed that insane, grating laugh of his. I swear, Discord. When I get out of here, you're going to wish you'd never broken out of your prison.

"Oh, I'm so terrified," the fiend said, pretending to cower before me. "Oh wait," he said, looking up in contemplation. "No I'm not." He gave one final laugh before flying off towards the castle.


__________


Several hours later I was still struggling in vain against my stone prison. Well, mentally struggling anyway. Hard to physically strain against bonds when your entire body is the bond.

The sky was filled with pink clouds which seemed to be raining drops of mud. Zebras flew through the pink and green checkerboard sky while the sun and moon swapped places at random. The grass changed colors constantly, spelling out horrible slanders and, admitedlly hilarious, jokes almost constantly. It was chaos on a rampage, and Discord was just getting warmed up. Within twenty-four hours, the world would be his once again.

Wonder how Sol's handling this, I thought. Luna too. I bet they're out there trying to fight him right now. I hope the Elements are still working, or they don't stand a-

Not as wonderful as friendship!

That voice. It couldn't be.

That's right. You couldn't break apart our friendship for long.

There was no mistaking it. I recognized these voices. But, they're dead. They died years ago. How am I hearing them now?

I'll tell you what we've learned, Discord. We've learned that friendship isn't always easy, but it's no doubt it's worth fighting for!

Discord? No! Clover, run! He's not going to underestimate you!

Ah! Berry!

Consarnit, Discord! What'd you do to him?

Pansy! Cookie! No, get away from him!

But, we figured out your riddle. We won! You can't just-

HE CHEATS, CLOVER! NOW GET OUT OF THERE! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE'S CAPABLE OF!!!

What? No! Everypony! Discord, stop it! Change them back!

Just run, Clover. By this point I was just begging in my mind, hoping beyond hope that she'd somehow hear me. Just run. Get away. Far far away. Save yourself at least.

S-somepony. She sounded heartbroken. Anypony. My rage built inside. Unseen by me, cracks began to spread across the surface of my statue.

Help.


3rd-pony POV


Twilight stared helplessly as her friends were transformed and twisted one by one before her. Berry Bubble blew up like a balloon and began to drift up into the sky. Rainbow Blitz made to follow her only to find that her wings had been replaced with anvils. Elusive's mane had come to life and was doing it's level best to strangle her while Fluttershy wept as she was forced to watch her animals fight each other. Discord had just finished turning Applejack into a pear tree, and had now turned towards her. "Well well well," he said, slowly stalking closer. "Save the best for last, as they say."

Twilight's hind legs gave out and she fell to her haunches. "S-somepony," she whispered, looking around at her friends. "Anypony." A shadow loomed over her and she closed her eyes, afraid to look into that horrid face as he prepared her end.

"Help."

Discord reached down, cupping Twilight's chin in his paw and forcing her to look up at him. "Well now, Twilight Sparkle. It seems it's just you and me once again. Oh, we're going to have such a good time, you and I!

Tears streamed down Twilight's face as Discord's magic forced her eyes open. She saw his eyes begin to swirl, and she knew what was coming. He was going to brainwash her. He was going to make her enjoy his chaos. He was going to...

...let her go as he cried out in pain. Twilight fell backward and grunted as she landed on her rump. From where she lay, she could see Discord rearing up and staring at a large metal rod that pierced through his body. The rod was almost completely black, with a few strands of silver running along it. A large hilt was on the end sticking out of Discord's back, while the side sticking out his front had a large piece of metal jutting out near the end. It almost looked like a giant key mixed with a sword.

"No," said Discord, looking down at the sword in shock. "It can't be."

"And knowing you, that means that it must be." Twilight looked behind Discord to see a strange creature approaching. He stood on two legs, and was clothed from neck to foot in some of the strangest clothing Twilight had ever seen. From what she could see of his exposed arms and legs he was completely hairless, except for a very spikey brown mane. In one of his hands he held another key-sword, this one almost entirely white.

Discord slowly turned to face the new creature. "Sora," he said with a scowl. "Always coming along to ruin my fun. How did you even get out of your prison?"

The creature, Sora, looked at Twilight. As their eyes met, Twilight felt like he wasn't just looking at her. He was looking through her, looking at the very core of her being. It was a gaze that she'd seen a few times from Solaris, but never directed at her. After a moment, the creature looked back at Discord, matching his glare. "I heard a strong heart call out to me, and I answered the call."

Discord rolled his eyes. "Oh, this again? Come on, there has to be more to it then that. I refuse to believe that something so simple as a heart couyeaAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Discord screamed as the key vanished from his body in a flash of light, reappearing in Sora's hand a moment later. "You still underestimate the power contained in one's heart, Discord," he said, readying both of his keys. "And today, that will be your downfall."


Sora POV


I charged him straight on, bringing both keyblades to bear. Discord pulled out a pink umbrella from behind his back and pulled down one of his pink clouds to use as a shield. He parried my blows as I rained them down upon him, never giving him a moment to rest. I finally managed to knock the umbrella from his hand and land a solid blow across his chest.

"GAAHHH!" he screamed, vanishing in a flash of light and reappearing a stone's throw back. "You're going to pay for that one!"

I paid him no mind as my eye caught something interesting. A nearby pear tree had transformed into an orange earth pony. An earth pony with a gaudy golden necklace. I looked over at the purple unicorn and noticed her tiara, just as gaudy and obviously magical. Wait, are those-

I didn't have time to finish the thought as a cannon ball slammed into my chest. I flew back into a house, which collapsed on top of me. Looking out through the wreckage, I saw Discord holding a giant golf club, three more cannonballs at his feet. "Oh dear," he said as I pulled myself out, "was I supposed to yell 'fore' before I hit the ball?" He shrugged and swung back. "Oh well. FOUR!"

Three more cannonballs came hurtling my way. I threw both keyblades, knocking two of them out of the air, followed by a shout of, "Aeroga!" A large cyclone formed around me instantly. It barely buffeted my clothing, but it caught the cannonball and sent it hurtling back toward Discord's face.

I saw a rainbow maned pegasus stallion take off as the ball struck, another golden necklace around his neck. So, Sol and Lulu finally found mortal bearers, huh? Well, three free, three to go. I summoned my keyblades back to me and charged Discord again.

Pulling the cannonball off of his face, Discord summoned a chef's hat and a mixing bowl. He slammed the ball down on the edge of the bowl, cracking it open and unleashing a swarm of daggers at me from within.

"Reflega!" I shouted, summoning a protective barrier around me. Most of the daggers shot off in random directions, but enough of them flew back at Discord to make him duck and weave to avoid the projectiles. He was unable, however, to dodge the Firaga spell that I sent hurling into his face.

"Ahg! The face again!" he shouted as the white unicorn's mane snapped into a more manageable style. "Why do you always go for the face? That's the money maYOUCH!" He cried out again as I slashed him across the chest. He swiped at me with his talon, forcing me to jump back.

"One," I said as the rainbow maned pegasus flew down with an overly pink earth pony, "it makes you shut up. Two, if you're trying to make money with a face like that, all I can say is, don't quit your day job."

Discord snorted, steam jetting from his nostrils and condensing into a crossbow. Eww. He took aim, a giant red boxing glove appearing at the tip of the bolt. He fired, and I raised Oathkeeper to block.

Turns out, it's hard to block an explosion. I found myself once again careening backwards, this time rolling along the ground before I smashed into a wall. Seeing Discord ready another bolt, I cast a quick Cura to clear up some of my scrapes and bruises.

"Gah! You cheater!" Discord pointed accusingly at me, crossbow forgotten. "You know I can't use healing magic. Why do you get to?"

I raised an eyebrow, cautiously approaching. "Phenomenal cosmic power, immortality, and a natural specialization in chaos magic, and my cure spells make me the unfair combatant?"

Discord tapped his chin, looking upward in though. "Good point. And thanks for reminding me!" He suddenly grew to the size of a large dragon and smirked down at me. "Phenomenal cosmic power," he repeated, summoning a giant fireball into his paw, "wasn't it."

I grinned and pointed my keyblade straight up. "Thanks for the huge target. Thundaga!"

Discord looked up in shock, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks. "Oh, buy some appAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

As Discord writhed in pain, I ran over to the six ponies wearing the golden jewelry, the last one, a yellow pegasus mare, having stopped weeping as she hugged a small white rabbit close to her chest. The purple unicorn stepped forward protectively, crouching down and lighting her horn. "Who are you?"

"Let's save introductions until after the mad chaos god is defeated, shall we?" I asked. "Those are the Elements of Harmony, right? Please tell me you know how to use them."

The unicorn looked behind me at Discord and hesitated for only a second before nodding. I turned to find Discord back to normal size, covered in soot, and struggling to his many different feet. He glared up at me. "I generally make it a policy not to kill," he hissed, "but I will thoroughly enjoy making an exception in your case."

"Last chance, Discord," I said, watching the six ponies get into formation out the corner of my eye. "Surrender now, and we may go easy on you."

Discord chuckled and leapt up into the air. "Do your worst!" he exclaimed. "You know you can't do anything permanent to me."

I just shook my head. "You're right; I can't." I turned and gestured to the six ponies, who had begun to glow and float into the air. "But they can."

Discord's eyes grew wide. He held up his hands and backed away slowly. "O-okay. I-I give. I surrender. Th-there's really no need to go that far, is there?"

"Unfortunately for you," said the purple unicorn, opening her glowing white eyes, "there is." Twin beams of rainbow energy shot up from the group, twining around each other until they met far above their heads. A prismatic wave shot out, engulfing Discord completely. He writhed in agony and panic as he slowly began turning to stone. He looked desperately at me, and froze as he saw Oblivion pointed right at his heart.

"No," he whispered. "You wouldn't."

As soon as the petrification covered him completely, I fired a beam of light straight at Discord, striking directly at his heart. An ominous click was heard a moment later, and Discord fell to the ground, a statue once more.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 2



Sora POV


"Oh my gosh! That was so superly awesomely fantastically amazing! You were like, SLASH! And he was like, Yaaaaagh! And then he made that GIANT fireball, and you were like, oh no you don't! ZAP! And that was the coolest thing EVER! Who are you? What are you? What are those sword things? Do you like cake? Silly me, eveypony likes cake! Hm, but I guess you're not a pony, but-"

My ears were spared further assault as the rainbow maned stallion stuck his hoof over the pink one's mouth. "Um, are we sure that part of Discord's magic didn't break off and jump into him?" I asked, eyeing the muffled pony worriedly.

The tiara bearing unicorn who's heart looked remarkably like Clover's shook her head. "Don't worry. That's just Berry being Berry." She looked me up and down curiously, her eyes lingering on my keyblades. "But I have to agree with some of her questions. Who are you? And what are those?"

I shouldered Oathkeeper and Oblivion, allowing the latter to vanish. "Name's Sora, the Warrior of Light. And this," I held out Oathkeeper proudly, "is the legendary keyblade."

While the unicorn gasped, the other five just looked on in confusion. "You've heard of him, Twi?" asked the orange mare.

The unicorn nodded, her jaw still hanging loose. "The Prince told me about you. You were a warrior who fought beside him over a thousand years ago. But he said that you were destroyed."

"Yes, well," I chuckled, "let's just say that the rumors of my destruction were slightly exaggerated. So, you're the Elements' new bearers?"

The unicorn shook her head to clear out the last of her daze. "Sorry. Just, it's a lot to take in right after Discord." She cleared her throat and stood tall. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of the Element of Magic. These are my friends, Rainbow Blitz, Berry Bubble, Elusive, Fluttershy, and Applejack, Bearers of Loyalty, Laughter, Generosity, Kindness and Honesty, respectively."

Each of her friends nodded or waved as they were introduced. I nodded back and smiled. "Nice to meet you. Good to see that old Sun-Butt finally trusted someone else with them."

All o six of them gasped and Twilight shot me the the mother of all glares. "How dare you refer to Prince Solaris like that! Just who do you think you are?"

"Let's see," I said, counting off on my fingers. "The Warrior of Light. The Keyblade master. The Dragonbane. Personal friend and adviser to the royal sibs. Shall I go on? I can go on if you want. Trust me, I've known them longer than this town has existed."

"Oh yeah?" Rainbow Blitz challenged, flying up to my face. "Then why haven't we ever heard of you, huh? If you were such a big shot a thousand years ago, where have you been?"

"Trapped in stone in Everfree Castle's basement," I deadpanned. "For most of it, anyway. Sol came to visit all of us down there last year and teleported us up to the new castle's gardens. Been stuck staring at Discord's ugly mug ever since." I leaned to look around Rainbow at Twilight. "By the way, when did Sol move into that castle. I wasn't aware of that little construction project when I got stoned."

"A little less than a thousand years ago," she replied, using her magic to yang Rainbow out of my face. "He had it built after the old castle was damaged in his fight with Nightmare Moon."

Ice. No, hearing Discord's voice had turned my blood to ice. That name froze my very heart solid.

"...what did you just say?" I whispered.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Um, she built it after fighting Nightmare Moon? Apparently the battle did a lot of damage to the castle, making it unsafe and..."

I didn't hear the rest. My mind had gone nearly blank. That one name repeated itself over and over in my mind. Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon. NIGHTMARE Moon. NIGHTMARE MOON! NIGHTMARE MOON! NIGHTMARE MOON!!!

"Um, Sora?" asked Fluttershy, noticing as I started to shake. "A-are you alright?"

My fists were clenched. My teeth ground against each other. My entire body trembled as I tried to contain my rage.

It didn't work.

"SOLARIS!!!!!"


3rd-Pony POV


"...and send three chariots down to Ponyville to pick up Twilight and her friends. We certainly can't hold a celebration without the guests of honor."

"Yes, sir!" The guard dropped his salute and left to carry out his orders. Prince Solaris sighed and leaned back on his throne as soon as the doors were closed. It had been a long and exhausting day, a day filled with more stress and worry than any other in the past thousand years. Even Luna's return had been less tiring as he had simply had to wait for Twilight and her friends to succeed. He looked out a nearby window that offered a wonderful view of the Royal Gardens. He smirked as his eyes fell on Discord's empty pedestal. Not empty for long. Soon you'll be right back where you belong, along with all the others. He sighed sadly as he looked over the other statues, always standing under his watchful gaze. Cobalt Star. You had such promise. If only you'd never come across that accursed tome. And Quicksilver. I don't know where you got the notion that killing an alicorn would cause you to ascend. Hopefully we'll be able to heal your mind soon. And of course, Aros. I wish...

Prince Solaris's eyes grew wide as he beheld the pedestal that had once held the dark monstrosity. "No," he whispered, standing slowly. "It can't be..."

His attention was drawn away from the missing statue as the sound of a struggle reached his ears. He turned towards the large double doors that stood as the only entrance to his throne room. Guards could be heard shouting behind the doors, and the sound of metal striking against metal reached his ears.

Finally, the doors were slammed open as a guard was flung through them. He landed on the floor, dazed but not yet unconscious. Solaris glared up at the open doors, crouching down in preparation for a fight.

All thoughts of fighting fled his mind as he saw who stood in the doorway. All thoughts period flew from his mind. He could only stare in a rare moment of total shock as a spiky haired human walked into the throne room, a keyblade in each hand. His eyes were down, hidden in the shadow of his bangs. "Hello, Solaris."


Sora POV


I saw Solaris turn his gaze behind me, probably to check on the guards I'd just wiped the floor with. None of them were hurt too badly, though that one stubborn mare with the shield spells would probably be feeling sore for a few days. "Sora," Solaris finally said. "How? I thought you were-"

"I warned you," I said, interrupting him. It was the only chance he would get. If he didn't start explaining himself immediately...

"Wh-what? Warned me about what?"

That was it. My mind filled with rage. I felt energy coursing through me as an overpowering aura filled the room. It all came to a head in a flash of light, and I was left standing all in red, my strength doubled. I glared up at Solaris and darted forward, Fenrir and Oblivion in my hands. Solaris was too stunned to react as I swung both with all my might, sending him hurtling to the side, splintering the stone wall with his impact. "I WARNED YOU!" I shouted, charging at him again. He raised a shield, but a swipe from Fenrir tore it to shreds. "I WARNED YOU THAT SHE WAS FAILING! I TOLD YOU THAT THE DARKNESS IN HER HEART WAS GROWING!" Another double strike sent him hurtling through the air. I sped forward beneath him, striking upwards to send him hurtling up to the ceiling. "BUT YOU IGNORED ME! YOU LET HER BE CONSUMED! NIGHTMARE MOON? IS THAT WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS HER AS NOW?"

He fell from the ceiling, recovering before he reached the ground. He stared down at me in fear as he hovered, bleeding from a gash on his forehead. "S-Sora. I didn't... I couldn't have known that-"

"YOU COULD HAVE KNOWN IF YOU'D JUST LISTENED TO ME!!!" I flung Fenrir up at him, gritting my teeth as he managed to dodge. "I WARNED YOU THAT SHE WAS GOING TO FALL!" I shouted as I threw Oblivion, summoning Fenrir back to my hand and preparing to throw again. "AND NOW SHE'S GONE! SHE FELL INTO DARKNESS! SHE BECAME A HEARTLESS! AND IT'S ALL! YOUR! FAULT!!!"

Solaris continued to dodge keyblade after keyblade, each strike coming just a little closer to hitting. "Sora, please!" he shouted, ducking under Fenrir as it knocked his crown from his head. "Please, just listen to me!"

"WHY SHOULD I? WHY SHOULD I LISTEN WHEN YOU NEVER LISTENED TO ME? THUNDAGA!!!"

A mighty bolt of lightning struck Solaris. He screamed in agony as he fell to the ground, landing hard on his wing. He gasped in pain as his wing snapped beneath him.

"Cure," I muttered, pointing at him, releasing just enough power to heal the wing. I wanted him to pay, not die. "You never listened," I hissed. "I told you that darkness was growing in Luna's heart, but no. You insisted that she wouldn't fall. 'We're alicorns,' you said. 'We can't fall into darkness.' Well? What happened to that? What happened to Luna then? I TOLD you that she was in danger! YOU COULD HAVE SAVED HER!"

"Sol."

...that voice. I knew that voice. Slowly, not daring to believe what I was hearing, I turned towards the double doors. Both keyblades fell from my hands. There she was, a beautiful alicorn of dark blue, silhouetted by the night sky that formed her mane and tail. She stared open-mouthed at her older brother, tears gathering in her eyes. "You knew?" she whispered.

"Luna," said Solaris, reaching out a hoof. "Please. Let me explain. I-"

But Luna just closed her eyes, turning away and running back down the hall, tears streaming out behind her.

I continued to watch until she turned a corner, and stood still until the sounds of her hoofsteps faded into the distance. Finally, I turned back to Solaris, who was slowly getting to his hooves. "How?"

Solaris sighed, not able to meet my gaze. "The Elements of Harmony. They were somehow able to restore her last year."

I shook my head. "That's not possible. Nothing can bring someone back once they've fully become a heartless. I've told you this several times."

"So you have. Nevertheless, she's back."

Silence reigned for a few minutes. "Where's her room?" I finally asked.

Solaris looked up. "Gleaming Shield," he called, gesturing over the troublesome unicorn guard from before. "Please take Sora to Luna's chambers. They are not to be disturbed.

"Are you certain, your Highness?" asked the blue maned mare. Solaris nodded and she sighed before glaring at me. "This way."

She led me off down the hall, glaring straight ahead. After a while the silence became uncomfortable. "So," I said, scratching behind my head nervously, "sorry about the whole, you know, wiping the floor with you thing. Um, how's your horn?"

"It will recover," Gleaming Shield replied stiffly. After a moment she spared a glance in my direction. "You know the royal siblings?"

"Yeah," I said. "Been gone for a while. Only got back today. Solaris was kind of like a brother to me. When I found out that he let Luna become Nightmare Moon, I kind of, well..."

"...lost all control and flew into a bloody rage?"

"I was going to say flipped out, but I guess that works too."

Gleaming snorted, but her face softened. "I can understand that," she said. "I have a sister down in Ponyville. If anything ever happened to her, I don't know what I'd do."

I then noticed her cutie mark, a starburst superimposed over a shield. The starburst looked strangely familiar...

"Here we are," she said, stopping in front of a large, dark blue door carved with depictions of the moon. "I'll be waiting out here if you need anything." She looked at me, a hint of a plea in her face. "Try to comfort her."

I nodded and pulled the door open, slipping through and closing it behind me. The room was dark, decorated in blues and purples that made me feel like I was surrounded by the night sky. The ceiling was covered in constellations that cast a soft light over the room. A modest desk stood against one wall, and a door stood at the back, probably leading to a bathroom. The center of the room contained a giant circular bed, the sheets and covers as white as the moon. On this bed lay Luna, crying into one of several pillows. I slowly approached and sat on the edge of the bed, laying a hand on her back.

She flinched and looked up, her entire body tensing as her eyes met mine. "S-Sora?"

I smiled as I stroked her back between her wings. "Hey there, Lu. I'm back."

In a blink, her forelegs were around me and she was crying into my shoulder. I returned the hug, continuing to stroke her back soothingly.

"I-I always knew you would c-come back," she sobbed. "I-I never gave up. Even when I came back. E-even when Sol said that you never ch-changed."

I pulled away and looked her in the eyes. "That's right. I'm back. And I'm not going anywhere."

She smiled and closed her eyes, slowly leaning forward. 


3rd-Pony POV


The throne room's (recently repaired) double doors swung open, and six ponies began their walk up the crimson carpet. The room was packed with ponies, both from Canterlot and from nearby Ponyville. Prince Solaris stood before his throne, smiling down at his prized student and her friends as they approached. The doors closed, and Solaris cleared his throat.

"We are gathered here today to once again honor the heroism of these six friends, who stood up to the villain Discord, and saved Equestria from eternal chaos." Cheers erupted from the crowd, filling the room with a near deafening cacophony. Solaris allowed the cheers to continue for a moment before raising his hoof for silence. "However, they were not alone in this endeavor, for in the very hour when it seemed that victory was just beyond their grasp, a hero emerged. One who has not been seen in over a thousand years returned to aid in the fight against chaos, allowing these six friends the time they needed to activate the Elements of Harmony. Please welcome back to Equestria, the Warrior of Light, Sora!"

The doors swung open again, and the few cheers that had begun turned instantly to murmurs of confusion. Sora strode leisurely into the throne room, hands behind his head and grinning at the stares that he received. Whispers of "What is that?" and "Have you ever heard of this Sora?" spread throughout the room. A few of the Canterlot natives whispered a little more fearfully amongst themselves.

"Strange creature, isn't it?"

"Have you noticed how much it looks like that statue of Aros?"

"By Solaris, you're right! And didn't that statue go missing during the Discord fiasco?"

"Don't tell me Discord released it!"

"Maybe they're not the same creature? The Prince did refer to it as a warrior of light, not shadow."

"Just listen to the name! Sora is simply Aros backwards! I don't know what the Royal Siblings are trying to pull or cover up, but I don't like it!"

The whispers followed Sora all the way up to the throne, but he couldn't have cared less. He reached the steps leading up to Solaris and bowed respectfully. Solaris nodded back and lit his horn. A red curtain opened neerby, revealing an intricate stain-glass window. Sora and the Element Bearers were depicted firing beams of different colored energies at Discord. The crowd began cheering once again, bringing mixed reactions from the honored heros. Fluttershy blushed and ducked her head, hiding behind her bangs. Elusive, Twilight and Applejack simply smiled and stood proudly. Berry waved happily to anypony who made eye-contact. Sora and Rainbow smiled cockily over the crowd, drinking in their praise.

Throughout it all, no-one noticed a shadowy figure sneaking out the doors.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 3



3rd-Pony POV


"So Sora, why don't you tell us about yourself."

The six Bearers, Sora, and the Royal Siblings were sitting around a large dining table, enjoying a dinner provided by the castle chefs. The Ceremony honoring the defeat of Discord had lasted only half an hour, followed by an hour in which they were allowed to mingle with the ponies who wanted more detailed accounts of the battle. While most of them had been happy to describe the amazing fight between Sora and Discord, Sora himself had decided to stay off to the side and out of the way of the ponies who still seemed weary of him. After that, Prince Solaris had invited them to dine with himself and Princess Luna.

"Well," said Sora, skewering another forkful of salad, "what do you want to know?"

"Well first of all, where did you ever obtain such... interesting clothes?"

"Really, Elusive?" asked Rainbow, crumbs from his sandwich flying across the table. "He's a weird creature with weird swords and weird magic, and you ask about his weird clothes?"

Sora laughed as Elusive wrinkled his nose at the pegasus' manners. "Well, it's kind of a long story. Basically, this is what I was wearing when I first arrived in Equestria. It's all I had for a while, and I've kind of grown attached to it."

"And where did you arrive from?" asked Twilight. "I've never heard of a creature like you before."

Sora hummed as he crossed his arms, looking up towards the ceiling. "That's... really a long story. Guess there's really no better time, though. See, it all started at my first ever convention..."


Sora POV


3000 years ago


Shock and awe. Deer in the headlights. Jaw on the floor. If there was a phrase that described someone who's brain had totally shut down from sensory overload, it described me. Half a day I'd been here at this gaming convention and I finally had a break between panels to check out the vendor hall.

It was PACKED! At least a hundred stalls were sardine packed into the hall, with my fellow gamers shuffling around from vendor to vendor. Many were cosplaying, as I was, with weapons, armor and other accessories making it that much harder to maneuver. Thankfully, my Sora cosplay wasn't too awkward. The dorky clown shoes made walking a bit hard, but everything else fit well enough not to be a bother.

Kind of makes me glad I couldn't find any cheap keyblades, I thought. I'd searched online for weeks, but I'd been looking for full sized metal replicas; nothing made from cheap plastic or styrofoam would do. Alas, everything had been too expensive,as I should have expected. Well, might as well look around here. Doubt there's anything I haven't seen online, but... hello?

My eyes had fallen on a stall set up in the corner. In the over-packed hall, this one corner stood out in how empty it was. No-one around seemed to even glance at the stall as they passed. Which was strange, since there seemed to be some quality stuff here. Every video game gadget and symbol imaginable was laid out on the table, and weapons of all sorts hung on the back wall. Soul Calibur and Soul Edge. Leon's gunblade. Sephiroth's katana...

"See anything you like?" I jumped, not having even noticed the hooded man sitting at the stall. He, like many of the vendors, had gotten into the convention spirit by dressing up as well, him as the merchant from the Resident Evil games.

"No, not really," I replied. For all of his goods, I didn't see anything directly from Kingdom Hearts to fit my costume.

"I see. I see," he replied, not seeming phased in the least. "Well, why not tell me just what it is that you're looking for? I may yet be able to help."

I couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Not likely," I said as he began rummaging beneath his table. "Only thing I'm looking for would be a good keyblade. Metal, too, no plastic or foam crap. Unless you've got something like-"

"Like these?" he asked, pulling a large case out from beneath the table. He opened it and I felt my jaw hit the ground again. Resting inside were perfect, full-size replicas of both Oathkeeper and Oblivion, along with a ring of every keychain imaginable.

"Y-yeah," I stammered. "Like those."

I could feel the merchant smirking behind his mask. My eyes drifted over every detail of the blades and keychains, exactly as they apeared in the games. My eyes finally found the price tag on the case. I pointed at it, glaring at the merchant. "Is this some kind of sic joke?"

The merchant glanced at the price and chuckled. "$200. Not too shabby, eh?"

"It's a rip-off is what it is," I accused, crossing my arms as I frowned at him. "I could sell one of these for 500 easy. The whole set must be worth more than a thousand. What's the catch?"

The merchant shrugged. "What can I say? Money is no object for me. I just like to see my customers satisfied. I can assure you, these are the genuine article. Now, what do you say?"

$200 later, I was wandering the vendor hall again, looking over my new keyblades in greater detail. So engrossed was I that I didn't notice the crowds around me getting taller. By the time I realized what was happening, I was up to my waist in a pool of pure darkness. I tried calling out for help, but people just walked around me, not even noticing me. I continued to look around, trying to find anyone who could see me.

My eyes finally fell back on the merchant. He was selling the katana I'd seen earlier to an impressive Sephiroth cosplayer. He looked over and caught my eye. In that final moment I saw him nod and wave. Then, the darkness swallowed me.

And it spit me right back out. I landed hard on my face, feeling soft carpet beneath me and hearing nothing but a ringing in my ears. I rolled over and opened my eyes, seeing stars. Literally, stars. Wherever I was, I could see the night sky spread out above me, clearer than I'd ever seen it before. I slowly got to my feet and looked around. The room I was in was lavishly decorated in dark blues and purples, a giant bed taking up most of the floor-space. A desk sat off to one side and did I just say I was in a room? My eyes shot to where the ceiling should have been, only to be met again with an endless starscape. I slowly turned my gaze down, noticing how the star-filled sky slowly seemed to become more solid until it joined with the walls. I whistled, impressed. Whoever the architect had been, he must have been an absolute genius.

I was drawn from my musings by the sound of a door opening. I turned quickly to see a very strange figure standing in the doorway. It seemed to be a large horse with the most expressive face I'd ever seen on an animal. Its coat was a dark blue, its mane and tail an ethereal starscape that flowed on a non-existent breeze. It also sported a horn on its forehead, two wings on its back, and teal eyes filled with shock.

This shock quickly turned to anger and its horn began to glow. "Guards!" it, she called, "intruder in the royal bedchambers!"

I saw the bolt of energy flying toward me. I could have dodged. I could have done something. But no, I stood there like an idiot as the blast slammed me into the wall behind me. One last thought passed through my mind as my consciousness faded away. Her voice is cute.


3rd-Pony POV


Six jaws dropped as Solaris and Luna laughed. "Seriously?" Blitz asked. "You just got blasted into a wall, and all you can think about is hitting on the Princess?"

Sora shrugged. "To be fair, I didn't know that she was a princess at the time."

"Indeed," said Solaris, raising an eyebrow as he smirked at Sora. "In fact, as I recall, your first words after I came to you for interrogation were a request for a chance to apologize to 'the horse with the cute voice' for landing in her room."

"Aww," said Fluttershy, smiling sweetly. "That's so nice."

"That it was," said Luna, leaning over to give Sora a peck on the cheek. "Though I did shout at him for nearly half an hour before he was able to get it in."

"Not like I chose to land in your bedroom," Sora defended.

"So what happened next?" asked Applejack. "Prince Solaris said somethin' about an interrogation?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah, that was interesting, to say the least. Ever wake up in a dungeon?"


Sora POV


3000 years ago


Dark. Dank. Dreary. Damp. Must be a dungeon, I thought. I woke up on a bed of moldy hay in a room built out of gray stone. There was no window, and the only door was made of solid stone as well, with two metal slots, one at the bottom and the other about half-way up. A collar was around my neck, connected by a chain to the wall opposite the door. There was nothing else in the room apart from a large chamber pot that was, mercifully, empty.

"Well," I said aloud, "this is interesting." I looked down at my clothes to confirm that I was still wearing my cosplay outfit (I was) and looked around to see if I could find my keyblades (I couldn't).

"Well, there's 200 bucks down the drain," I muttered. "Heh, unless I can just hold out my hand and will one of them to-"

A small flash emanated from my hand, and I was left holding Oathkeeper. I stood there for a moment, frozen in shock.

"Okay," I muttered, pointing it at the keyhole in the cell door. "I wonder." I focused a bit, trying to will the lock open. Almost instantly, a small beam of light shot from the keyblade, striking the keyhole with a clearly audible click. "Huh, 'genuine article' indeed." I stepped forward and placed both hands on the door, pushing hard. The door swung surprisingly easily, and I was soon faced with a spear.

I blinked, looking past the spearhead ready to take my head off to see who was holding it. A small, blond maned white horse stood there, dressed in armor that looked in no way efficient for actual protection. He had a horn on his head which glowed with the same blue light that surrounded the shaft of the spear.

"Um, hi?"

He wasn't amused. "Back in thy cell, prisoner," he stated calmly, glaring at me all the while. "The Prince will be here to pass judgement on thee shortly."

"Right! Judgement." I rose my hands and backed up slowly. "Let me just head back in and not get myself killed by a miniature horse, eh? Good plan!"

He simply snorted as he slammed the door shut. A click was heard a moment later as he locked me back in. I sighed, laying back down on the hay bed. Might as well get comfortable, I thought. They'll come and get me eventually, whoever they are. I looked at my hand. Oathkeeper had vanished after I'd unlocked the door, but it probably wouldn't take much to...

Soon enough, I was twirling around the cell, slashing the twin keyblades through the air. I somehow knew just how to swing them, exactly how much force to apply, when to jump into a somersault, how to jump into a somersault. Basically, I could fight. Somehow I'd picked up Sora's ability to fight. I began to wonder if that meant I could use magic too. I was just about to try casting a Fire spell when the upper slot in the door opened. I looked over to see two blue eyes glaring in at me. "Sheathe thy weapons and stand against the back wall." I shrugged and dismissed my blades, leaning casually on the wall facing the door. The slot closed and I heard a key being inserted and turned. The door opened a moment later to reveal a VERY imposing figure.

The being who walked in was another winged horse, a little taller than the blue one who's room I'd landed in. His coat was pure white, and his mane and tail looked like two flames raging out behind him. His lavender eyes looked me up and down, his mouth curled up in a calm smile. "So," he said, his voice fatherly and commanding, "hast thou anything to say before we begin?"

"Um, yeah," I said nervously. "Is the mare with the cute voice with you? I want to apologize to her for landing in her room."

The horse blinked, his face going blank. Just as the silence was about to get uncomfortable, he belted out a hearty laugh. "Truth," he said, grinning at me, "We knew not what to expect from thee, strange creature. We thought that we had prepared for everything. It appears that we were mistaken." He looked down at the guard who stood beside him. "Release him, and return his weapons. We would meet with him someplace more hospitable."

The guard nodded, levitating a small key to the collar around my neck. "At once, your highness. Pardon the correction, but it would seem that he is already in possession of his weapons."

The horse raised an eyebrow, looking over me again. I quickly summoned Oathkeeper, causing his other eyebrow to join its brother. "Well that is surprising. How didst thou-"

He was interrupted as a high-pitched scream rang out from somewhere above-


3rd-Pony POV


"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

Everyone's attention jerked to the closed doors where they'd heard the shout come from. Sora gulped nervously, standing and summoning his keyblades.

"Yeah, just like that one."
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 4



3rd-pony POV


Confound this new castle! How does anypony navigate this maze? The further through Canterlot Castle Sora ran, the more frustrated he became. The layout was completely different from the Castle of the Royal Siblings, and he had only the occasional scream and a vague sense of darkness coming from deeper inside the castle to guide him.

"Sora! Wait up!"

The fact that he had to slow himself down so as not to loose the ponies that followed him just served to irk him further. Solaris and Luna could always keep up with him just fine, but everypony else struggled to keep the same pace.

"Remind me why they're tagging along?" asked Sora as he and the two alicorns stopped to wait once again for the Element bearers.

"They wield the Elements of Harmony," replied Luna, "the most powerful magical artifacts in Equestria. They may be of use."

"Not if this is what I think it is," muttered Sora. He turned to Solaris, who was staring with worry in the direction that they had been slowly making their way towards. "What's down that way, anyway?"

Solaris shook his head. "Not much. The kitchens, a few private libraries, and," he winced as another scream rang out, "the wing reserved for the nobility."

Sora swallowed nervously, turning to Luna with concern. "Good nobles? Representatives of the common pony's will? A standard to look up to?"

Luna's response was interrupted by a low hiss. The three of them turned to look down the corridor just as the Element bearers caught up.

"Wha- what is that?" asked Twilight, pointing a shaking hoof down the hallway. A creature stood there, similar in shape to Sora, but much thinner and lankier. Its skin was of the darkest black, and its eyes shone yellow as it stared at them all, crouched low to the ground.

"Neoshadow," muttered Sora, summoning Oblivion. "Thankfully, there's only one."

Suddenly, several portals of darkness opened up around the neoshadow. Out of them jumped five, ten, twenty more. A veritable wall of darkness now stood before them, hungry yellow eyes gleaming out of here and there.

"You were saying?" asked Solaris, charging his horn as he lowered his head.

"Sora," said Luna, crafting twin short-swords with her magic, "you asked about the nature of the nobility. With the exception of a select few," she spat to the side, "this is it."

Another scream rang out and Sora tightened his grip on Oblivion. "Sounds like those select few need our help."

"Wait!" shouted Twilight, panic building in her voice. "What are you talking about? What are these 'neoshadows'? What happened to the nobles? What's going on?"

"No. It can't be." The soft, scared whisper caused everyone to turn to Elusive. He pointed a shaking hoof at the mass of neoshadows, eyes wide and focused on a single point. "One of them," he shuddered, "one of them is wearing a tie." Sure enough, one of the neoshadows sported a blue bow-tie around its neck.

"Are you serious, Elusive?" shouted Rainbow. "There's a swarm of monsters over there about to charge, and you're looking at their fashion accessories?"

"No, he's right to notice it," said Solaris, a touch of sadness breaking through his battle mask. "Twilight, you should recognize it too. After all, he did make your time here in Canterlot rather difficult."

Confused, Twilight took another look at the bow-tie, gears turning in her head as she tried to place it. She soon remembered who usually wore that tie, and her blood turned to ice in her veins. "B-Blueblood?"

As if it had been a signal, the tie-wearing neoshadow hissed and charged, the other twenty following close behind.

"Don't worry," said Sora, twirling Oblivion confidently. "I'll handle them." He charged forward, ready to do combat with the darkness that charged him...

...and fell to the ground as something hit him in the face.

Everything froze in observance of this moment of awkwardness. Even the neoshadows stopped, confused at this turn of events. Solaris recovered first and shot a beam of sunlight from his horn at the mass of stunned shadow.

"Sora!" called Luna, rushing to his side. "Are you alright?"

"Did someone get the cutie mark on that pegasus?" Sora groaned. He sat up, looking around for whatever had smacked him in the face. He found it lying on the ground nearby, a small pink and yellow sea shell, one that Sora hadn't seen in thousands of years. "What the hay," he muttered, picking up the Thalassa shell. As he did, a voice echoed in his head.

Whoever finds this shell, if you ever find yourself assaulted by the light or the dark, call upon me, the one who walks the path between, and I will show your enemies the power of nothing.

"...seriously, what the hay?" He looked up just in time to see a neoshadow get torn to ribbons by Luna's blades. "Right. Fight first, question voices in my head later." He jumped to his feet, quickly joining the fray. Within minutes, the neoshadows were destroyed, leaving only wisps of darkness behind that slowly faded away.

"Ah, it's good to be fighting again," said Sora, cranking his arm in a circle. "I haven't had this much fun in more than a thousand years."

"Fun? FUN!" He turned to see Elusive standing nearby, holding up Blueblood's tie. "How can you call fighting these, these monsters fun? What did they do to Blueblood? How many others have they hurt or-" Elusive stopped short, unable to finish the thought.

Another scream, accompanied by the sound of galloping hooves, reminded all of them that the fight wasn't yet over. "Let's go," Sora said. "I'll explain on the way."


Sora POV


"They're called heartless," I said, slashing through another neoshadow as I ran.

"But I thought you called them neoshadows," said Berry, running just behind me, apparently unfazed by the fight.

"Neoshadows are a type of heartless, one of the more common ones." I threw Oblivion down the hall, slicing through five more. "Heartless are creatures of pure darkness. They're created when someone gives into the darkness in their heart and lets it take over them. Their heart is consumed, leaving only a heartless behind."

"They have but one goal," Luna chimed in, casually slicing through two more. "They seek to devour every heart, and plunge the world into darkness eternal."

"So, the ones that you killed back there," Elusive flinched as I threw out a fira spell, incinerating several neoshadows in one go, "the one's you're killing now, they're..."

"A vast majority of the nobility," Solaris finished, grabbing a heartless in his magic and hurling it into Luna's waiting blades. "Or what's left of them. Blueblood and the others are already dead. All that remain are shadows."

I wish they were just Shadows, I thought, stopping to combat three heartless that had dropped from the ceiling. Those little guys are much easier to handle.

My thoughts were interrupted by an aristocratic voice from around the corner. "Back, foul creatures! Back I say!"

"Fancy Pants!" Solaris shouted. "He's still all right!"

"We'd better make sure he stays that way," I said. "Stopga!" Every heartless in sight froze, allowing the royal siblings and I to get passing blows on them as we sprinted down the hall. Turning the corner, we were all taken aback by what we saw.

Five ponies cowered near the end of the hallway, and a dozen neoshadows filled the space directly before us. Standing between them, horn glowing, was a white coated unicorn, his mane and tail a light shade of blue. He wore a cracked monocle over one eye and a suit that was ripped and torn in various places. What was amazing, though, was what he held in his magic. A long rod of golden metal shimmered, pointed straight at the heartless. Attached to the end facing him was an ovular hilt guard, two waves spiraling around the edge and a crown capping the end. Out of the side of the rod facing the heartless flowed a series of blue plates, shaped like cresting waves.

"Is that a keyblade?" Applejack asked in shock.

"Oh, hello there," said the unicorn, smiling even as he kept his eyes trained on the mob of heartless. "Come to help out, have you? Shouldn't take too long. I figure I've got these buggers just about I said back!" He deftly swiped his keyblade through one of the neoshadows, who had tried to pounce on him in this moment of distraction. "Just about on the run, don't you think?" he finished jovially.

"Let's make this go a little faster, then," I said, pointing Oblivion straight up. "Magnega!" A swirling vortex appeared over my head, sucking all of the neoshadows up into it. One jump and three swipes of my blade later, and all that was left was a quickly dissipating haze of darkness.

The unicorn, Fancy Pants, blinked in shock before lowering his own keyblade. "Well, that's certainly one way to do it." He turned around, smiling gently at the ponies that still cowered behind him. "It's all right. The threat has passed."

"For now, anyway," I said, dismissing Oblivion as I looked over his keyblade. "So, where'd you get this?"

Fancy Pants looked over his blade as well, studying every detail. "I'm not completely certain," he admitted with a shrug. "When everypony started turning into those shadow monsters, I gathered those few who seemed unaffected and ran. When I saw that they were catching up to us, I turned about, drawing my blade." He gestured to the empty sheathe belted to his side. "I realize that it was only a ceremonial thing, of little use in actual combat, but I figured that I would at least be able to hold them off for long enough for everypony else to escape. Much to my surprise, my first swing at one of those creatures resulted in a great flash of light, and I was left holding Calming Sea."

"Holding what?" asked Twilight.

"His keyblade," I explained. "Every keyblade has a name, and a keyblade wielder seems to know their blade's name instinctively."

"So that's what this is!" exclaimed Fancy Pants happily. "I must say, it looks quite a bit different from yours."

"Yeah, Oblivion's a real powerhouse. May I?" I asked, reaching towards his blade. He hoofed it over and I gave it a few practice swings. "Hm. Good balance. Not too heavy or too light. Probably works best using a series of quick blows, rather than just force. And I'm getting that tingly feeling that comes from thunder spells." I held it back out and he took it in his magic. "I'll teach you more about it in a bit. For now, we should probably-"

A loud BOOM echoed throughout the castle, shaking it and sending several of us to the floor. "What the hay was that!" shouted Applejack.

"Nothing good, I'll bet," said Luna, hoisting me to my feet. We rushed down the hall the way we came, two more tremors shaking the castle before we finally found a window. We all looked out, and I felt my heart sink.

Darksides. Three of them. Along with at least five behemoths. The behemoths rampaged through Canterlot, sending ponies galloping and flying in every direction while the darksides picked up entire houses and hurled them at the castle. Thankfully, their aim was terrible, but it was a small blessing. Three so far had managed to strike the castle, and I was willing to bet that it was magic alone that kept the damage from being more severe.

Fancy Pants swallowed nervously beside me. "Well, something tells me that these are a little out of my depth."

I nodded, reaching into my pocket and pulling out the Thalassa shell. I looked at it, remembering the voice that I'd heard in my head when I'd first picked it up. Holding it up to my face, I focused on it, praying that I knew what I was doing.

"I don't know if you can hear this," I said, wincing as another house struck the castle, "but if you can, and if you have some way to get here, I could really use some help right now."


Alex 3rd-Person POV


Things had been going well for Alex since his displacement. He had a nice home, friends and someone to relate to in the form of Xemnas...who was currently kicking his ass.

"You need to pay attention," Xemnas scolded, getting into a stance, adjusting his keyblade grip.

"And you need a new haircut," Alex snapped, picking himself off the ground, glaring up at the taller nobody, "It would help if you stopped going all boss mode on me."

"How can you learn if I don't challenge you?" He shot back, raising his eyebrow.

Alex opened his mouth to respond when  portal opened behind him. "Uh..."

"I believe you have just been summoned," Xemnas said, dispelling his keyblade.

"Should I be worried?" Alex asked, looking at the portal with a frown.

"No, you can choose to ignore it but, the person who summoned you may need help."

"You uh...coming?" Alex asked, moving closer to the portal, peering in.

"Not this time but if you need me, just call." Xemnas said softly before pushing Alex into the portal.

"You dick!" Alex shouted as the portal shut behind him.
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 5



3rd Pony POV


“You dick!”

Sora turned around just in time to get bowled over. Everypony looked on in shock as the portal closed behind the human who had come flying through.

“Ask for help, get tackled,” muttered Sora. “Good to know. Could you get off of me please, whoever you are?”

"Names Alex," the human said standing up, brushing their hair out of their face.

Sora blinked, looking up at the familiar black-robed figure before him. “Noooooo, I’m pretty sure it’s ‘Xion’.”

"No asshat my name is Alex. I may be stuck looking like this but I AM not Xion." Alex snapped, glaring at the boy hard.

“Sora, who is this?” asked Solaris, eyeing the new human up and down.

“More importantly,” added Luna, glaring out at the rampaging heartless, “can she help us?”

"First off, I'm not a 'she'," Alex listed off, "I am a replica nobody, don't ask its a long story."

The castle shook as another Darkside found its mark. “Right,” said Sora, jumping to his feet. “Heartless first, exposition later. Can you fight?”

"Yes I can fight," Alex said, holding his hand out, summoning up his keyblade. "I've been training for weeks, let's see if Xem is as good a teacher as he thinks."

Sora nodded, summoning Oathkeeper and Oblivion. “Teams, then. Sol, you take Alex here and start taking out those behemoths. Luna and I will handle the Darksides.”

“Hey, what about us!” said Blitz. “You think we’re just going to sit on the sidelines while you kick flank? Think again!”

Sora was about to argue, but stopped when he saw Solaris nodding at him. “Of course you can help. But right now what we need from you isn’t more fighting power. We need to get the citizens to safety.” He turned to look over the rest of the gathered ponies. “We will rely on all of you to keep them safe while we deal with this threat.”

Twilight nodded. “Of course, Prince Solaris. Let’s go girls. You too, Fancy Pants. We might need that keyblade.”

Sora raised an eyebrow at Solaris as they ran off. “You do realize that almost everypony will have fled to the castle already, right?”

Solaris chuckled, summoning up a broadsword crafted from sunlight. “Well, how else was I going to keep them out of the fight?” He turned to Alex, kneeling kneeling down and nodding towards his back. “Need a lift down there?”

"Aren't you supposed to a woman?" Alex asked, raising his eyebrow.

Solaris for the first time in 500 years had no idea how to respond. “...what?”

"In my world, your Princess Celestia. Haven't met yet though." Alex explained, looking out the window.

Sora and Luna stared at Alex incredulously before turning to Solaris.

“You know,” said Luna, “I can see it.”

"Anyway, I'll see you guys later," Alex said with a salute before jumping out the window, his cloak billowing as he fell. Sora leapt onto Luna’s back, and she charged out the window herself, flying as fast as she could towards the nearest Darkside, and leaving Solaris staring dumbly off into space.

“...what?”


----------


Alex came down hard on a Behemoth, stabbing his keyblade into its horn. "Note to self, never do that again..." He mumbled, pulling the blade out, repeatedly slashing at the horn as hard as he could. The Behemoth roared in pain and began swinging its head back and forth, trying to shake him off. “You ain’t getting rid of me that easily!” He grinned, stabbing the blade in again. The behemoth roared again before collapsing and exploded into wisps of darkness. “Okay! Who's next!?”

A bellowing roar answered him. Alex turned to see two more behemoths barreling towards his, one each from the left and right. 

“Ok... I need to keep my mouth shut,” he grumbled, getting into a stance, bracing himself.

Alex suddenly felt a jerking sensation around his middle and was yanked into the air as the heartless collided beneath him. He looked up to see Solaris, horn glowing as he scowled down at the behemoths. “Need a hoof?”

“Sure why not, weird R63 Celestia,” Alex nodded, looking up at him.

Solaris glared, his horn lighting even brighter. Twin beams of concentrated sunlight shot forth, vaporizing the behemoths below. “My name is Solaris,” he said, dropping Alex to the pile of ash that had once been two massive heartless. “Got it?”

“I’ll just call you Sol...” he grumbled, looking around. “So, where do we go next?”

Sol smirked and hurled a ball of sunlight into the air, where it hovered above them. “I think that they will likely soon find us. In the meantime, perhaps you could tell me more about yourself and where you hail from? I’ve never seen or heard of any humans besides Sora.”

“Not much to tell really. I live in a village in the middle of nowhere that used to be a weird cultish version of communism. Something about sameness and stolen cutie marks.”

“I see,” said Sol, filing that away to investigate later. “But you mentioned that I was a mare in your world. You are from another universe then? Another Equestria?”

“Apparently...” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Life used to be so simple...”

“I find that life is rarely simple,” said Sol. “We simply do not see the complexity of life until it is thrust upon us.”

“Yeah, lets see you say that when your turned into nothing...” Alex grumbled, “Or in my case less than nothing.”

Sol looked at Alex for a moment before cuffing him in the head with his wing. “Hm,” he said, “strange. You feel quite existent to me. I’m not sure who told you that you are ‘less than nothing’, but I can honestly say that they were quite clearly mistaken.”

“Don’t start, “he growled, “I’ve already heard this speech. I’m a Replica. A copy. A copy of nothing. Don’t tell me what I am.”

“A copy of nothing, you say?” Sol chuckled. “I cannot claim to understand what you mean by that. I will say this; even if you are naught but a copy of something else, that does not dictate your choices. Whatever might have been, right here, right now, your decisions are yours.” Another roar drew their attention to a behemoth slowly approaching, surrounded by neoshadows. “Though I would suggest that your choice right now involves destroying these heartless.” He summoned his broadsword of sunfire, smiling at Alex. “What say you?”

“I need something to hit,” Alex said simply, gritting his teeth in anger.

Sol sighed. “Close enough.”


----------


“So let me get this straight,” said Luna. “She, or rather he, is the result of an experiment to replicate the abilities of your ‘nobody’ so that this Organization 13 would have more keyblade bearers at their disposal?”

“Pretty much,” said Sora. “Or at least that’s who he’s been turned into. If he goes by ‘Alex’, then he’s probably in about the same situation I am, trapped in another world and given strange powers and DUCK!” Luna dove, barely passing beneath a darkside’s fist. Sora raised his keyblade, dragging it up the underside of the arm as Luna flew towards its head. Sora and Luna fired a series of fire spells and blasts of moonlight, blasting the darkside’s head into oblivion.

“How many remain?” asked Luna as the heartless’s body dissolved.

“One more that I can see,” said Sora. “I think Sol and Alex have taken down most of the behemoths, too.”

“Well then, let’s not keep them waiting.” Luna charged straight for the remaining darkside, brandishing dual short-swords of moonlight. She flew straight through the center of the darkside, slashing at both sides of its chest as she went. The darkside let out a groan of pain, reaching down to snatch Luna out of the air.

“Firaga!” With a flick of Oblivion, Sora sent a fireball hurtling towards the darkside’s hand, blowing it clean off. A few more moonblasts and fira spells, and the final darkside fell.

“Alright, let’s head back to the others,” said Sora. Luna nodded and turned, flying to where the orb of sunlight hovered. “You know, I expected there to be more of the smaller heartless around. There’s usually a few swarms of shadows around a darkside.”

Luna looked over her shoulder at him, quirking an eyebrow. “You haven’t noticed? Look down at the streets as we fly.”

Curious, Sora leaned over to get a good view of the streets passing below. Soon enough, he saw what Luna meant. The shadows and neoshadows were there, along with a scattering of other heartless. However, they were being hunted and driven back by…

“Keybladers?” asked Sora in shock. There weren’t a lot of them, and the ones he saw seemed to have no idea how to use a sword beyond wildly swinging it back and forth, but they were there.

Luna chuckled at Sora’s dumbfounded expression. “Did you think that because all of the old wielders had passed away that the new generation would not be able to rise to the challenge? Have more faith in our kind than that.”

Sora nodded, a grin splitting his face. They weren’t masters. They weren’t anywhere close, and probably never would be. None of their keyblades were unique like Fancy Pants’s; they were all just the basic Kingdom Keys. But they were there, and they were fighting back.

“I think Sol’s going to have to set up a civilian sword-fighting class,” said Sora. “Maybe make keybladers an official part of the royal guard.”

“Perhaps,” said Luna. “I shall speak with him about it. Ah, here we are.” Luna landed a block away from Sol and Alex just as they finished off the last behemoth. “It would seem that the threat has passed, brother.”

“For now,” Sol agreed. He smiled at Alex. “Thank you for helping us in this hour of need.”

“You're welcome,” Alex said with a sigh, wiping some sweat from his forehead. “I wasn’t doing anything important.”

“Protecting our ponies is never unimportant,” said Luna. “If ever you are in need of help, call on us. We shall do our best to render aid.”

“Speaking of which,” said Sora, scratching his head, “how do we get in contact with you?”

“Call me through the shell,” Alex said, leaning on a wall. “It’s my token apparently.”

“Token?” asked Sora, taking the shell out of his pocket. “What do you mean?”

“Each one of us has a token we send out into the multiverse that others can use to call us... or at least that's what Xem tells me.”

“Each one of… wait.” Sora’s eyes got wide as the implication set in. “There are more of us? More people from Earth?”

“Versions of Earth,” Alex corrected, “Infinite multiverse.”

“Wow,” said Sora. He sat down hard, staring off into space for a moment. “Okay, that’s a lot to wrap my head around. So, um, how do I make one of these tokens?”

“Find something that represents you,” she explained, “I have the shell, Xem has this,” he pulled a Nobody emblem out of his sleeve, “And this guy named Jason has this thing.” He pulled out a strange green canister, tossing both to Sora.

Sora caught the tokens, hearing two voices echo in his head.

"I am the changer of shape, seeking to understand the many forms of life. Call for the man of many shapes during your hour of need and I will come, a one man army. Activate the cylinder and in a flash I’ll be ready to clash."

I am the ruler of the naught, that which does not exist. Should you find this need aid, hold it high and call upon me, Xemnas, Superior of The In-Between.

“Huh, well that’s interesting. Hm let’s see…” Sora summoned a keyblade, the basic Kingdom Key, and pulled off the keychain. “Okay,” he said, the keyblade disappearing. “So, now what?”

“Uh... focus on it and give it a phrase.”

Sora nodded, staring intently at the keychain in his hand as he thought. Finally he nodded. “I am the Warrior of Light, enemy of darkness and all who walk within. If you find yourself trapped by the shadows and cannot find the light, call on my name, the name of Sora, and I will answer.”

In a flash of light, the keychain vanished. “Huh,” said Sora curiously. “That felt… different than normal.” He shrugged and looked up at Alex. “Well, thanks again for the help. And like I said, if you need me, just give me a call.”

“Yup. Oh! Any of you bozos got a map? Of like the country?” Alex asked, snapping his fingers.

Luna quirked an eyebrow as Sol’s eyebrows lowered dangerously. “Bozos?”

“Just get a map!”

Sora rolled his eyes as Solaris flew up to the castle. “Wow. Wasn’t there a politer way you could have asked?”

“Probably,” Alex said with a shrug. “I’m not in the best of places right now, mentally wise that is.”

“Ah. ‘Fraid I can’t help you there. I deal with the heart, not the mind. The brain’s a much more complex organ.”

“Thanks for the concern,” Alex commented, brushing some hair out his face, crossing his arms. His cool demeanor was somewhat ruined by a furled up scroll bouncing off of his head.

“Your map,” said Solaris, landing beside him.

“Ass.”  

“Although there might be a few differences between this world and yours.”

Alex grumbled, unfurling the map, looking it over. “Here,” he said, pointing up in the mountains. “This is where Our Town is and yes its actually called that, that's how far the sameness cult went.”

“I see,” said Luna. She smiled deviously at her brother. “So, royal guard, Elements of Harmony, or shall I handle this myself?”

Solaris rolled his eyes. “We are not giving them increasingly horrifying nightmares until they surrender, Luna”

“Anyone you send is going to get their mark stolen. Apparently it happened to princess Twilight and her... what did Diamond call them... friendship council? Whatever point is, evil unicorn stealing marks and brainwashing people to be the same.” Alex said, tossing the map to Sora.

“Friendship Council?” asked Sora, examining the map. “I’ll have to start subtly suggesting better names for their group.” He rolled up the map and got up. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Alex,” he said, extending his hand. “I hope we see each other again soon. Preferably after you’ve seen a shrink.”

“I will beat your ass.”Alex said, with him an unamused glare.

“Looking forward to it.”

“Just say ‘Alex our contract is complete’ so I can go home.”

Sora smirked. “Alex, our contract is complete so I can go home.”

“Hahaha,” he said as a corridor of darkness opened behind him. “Seeya around Space Cowboy,” he said giving a two finger salute, stepping through it.

Sora chuckled as the corridor disappeared. “Good kid. Hope he gets some help soon.” He turned to Solaris and Luna to find both of their jaws dropped. “What?”

Solaris was the first to recover. “...Did he say, Princess Twilight?”


----------


NOOOOOOOO!

Oh Luna no! No, not Cookie!

DIE! DIE YOU MISERABLE MOCKERIES OF LIFE!

NO! Pansy, don't! You can't fight them all! We need to get back!

It should have been safe here. My wards were perfect. It should have been safe.

Clover, get up! We need to get going. Pans- PANSY!!!

Ahh!

Clover! Come on! We need to move!

Both gone now. Cookie gone. Pansy gone. All gone into darkness. All because we stayed. All because we let them find us.

No. No, it can't be that. It's not... No! No! Clover! Get up! Run! Ru- no... Oh Tartarus, no! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"-OOOOO!" Sora sat straight up in bed, sweat soaking every inch of him. He sat there for a while trying to get his breathing under control.

A flash of light, and a keyblade appeared in his hand. The silver shaft was curved in opposite directions at either end. Two feather-like shapes formed the slightly darker hilt which was studded with small emeralds. At the end of the dangling keychain was a four-leaf clover, an ugly crack running through the center. Sora stared at the keyblade, Ponderer, as he thought about his dream, and the ghosts of the past.

"Never again," he whispered to himself. "I'll never let something like that happen again.

"I promise."
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 6



Sora POV


"I have to leave Canterlot."

The dining hall was silent in the wake of my announcement. Everypony stared at me with confusion, Luna seeming slightly hurt as well. "What do you mean, 'leave Canterlot'?" asked Sol calmly.

"Just that," I replied, stabbing another bite of pancake. "I need to leave. You aren't safe as long as I'm here."

"Now wait just one minute!" exclaimed Applejack. "You're the one who saved us yesterday. Well, you, the princesses and that other human."

Elusive nodded. "I quite agree. How is Canterlot supposed to weather another such attack if you're gone? I hardly think that Fancy Pants can handle a threat of that magnitude."

"He won't have to," I explained. "Most of the heartless will follow me once I leave. I'm the one they want, the one who's a real threat to them. Some may stay behind, but Fancy should be able to handle them, especially if he can get the other keybladers trained up a bit. Failing that, I'm sure there are enough unicorns who know light-based magic to keep the city from falling into darkness. But if I stay here, more darksides and behemoths will follow. And those aren't even the worst heartless out there. I need to keep moving, keep them from getting a good enough bead on me to attack in mass again."

"But, where will you go then?" asked Twilight. "If you can't stay in Canterlot, then where in Equestria is safe for you?"

"Nowhere." Sol sighed as he shook his head. "That is the unfortunate truth of it. Even thousands of years ago, heartless would swarm wherever Sora went, attacking him at every turn. The only place that heartless didn't seem to manifest was the badlands, and there's no way for anyone to survive out there for long."

"Which is why I need to go," I finished. "I need to keep moving from city to city, training new keybladers a bit and moving on before the heartless can track me down."

"All by yourself?"

I made the mistake of looking Fluttershy in the eye. Seriously, a face that sad and cute should come with a warning label! If she isn't Pansy's descendant, I'll eat my clown shoes. I had to look away. "I'm afraid so. I used to have a team with me, some friends who had keyblades of their own, but..."

Luna draped a wing across my shoulders. "The consequences of immortality."

"And imprisonment," added Sol. "If we'd only known-"

"Stop!" He started as I glared at him. "Don't blame yourselves. Either of you. I'm the one who should have told you about my shadow form. You had no way to know that that was me. You did what you thought was right for Equestria."

"Equestria be damned," muttered Luna. "I was just seeking to punish the heartless who took you from me." Everypony laughed, even Solaris managing to crack a smile. "In any case," Luna continued, "you shall not travel alone. It is far too dangerous, especially as you know not the current maps of Equestria. Knowing your sense of direction, you'd get lost traveling to Ponyville."

I glared at Luna, shrugging her wing off. "I would not. My sense of direction is perfect, thank you. Besides, who would come with me? Fancy Pants has to stay here to keep Canterlot safe, at least until he can train the other keybladers. I don't want to take anypony who can use light magic away from Canterlot either, and it's not like you and Sol can just go touring across Equestria with me."

"Actually," said Luna, smirking at her brother, "that's not entirely true, is it?"

Sol chuckled heartily, a smirk mirrored upon his face. "I suppose we can move plans ahead by a few weeks." He turned to address the group at large. "It just so happens that Luna was about to begin a tour of Equestria. It's been a year since she returned, and she hasn't yet left Canterlot. She's been so busy learning about everything that's changed in her absence."

"As such, I was planning to take a few months to meet with the ponies of Equestria. Familiarize myself with the various cities and towns, meet with the sheriffs and mayors, things of that nature. I would have begun weeks ago, but security has proven to be... difficult." Luna blushed and turned away. "A number of guards seem to recall the shock I gave them in Ponyville upon my return, and they have been... less than helpful."

"Be frank, Luna," said Sol, scowling. "They've been spreading wild rumors that you are still Nightmare Moon and will 'reveal your true colors' any day now. If I could prove that they were the source-"

"You would severely reprimand them and warn them against all future slander lest they lose their desert privileges?" Twilight blushed as everypony turned to look at her. "Um, I may have gone around telling everypony that Prince Solaris had a cake addiction once when I was a filly."

Both Luna and I burst out laughing. "And he lectured you against slander?" I asked. "Twilight, the point of slander is that it isn't true. I can guarantee that I know exactly what happened to your deserts during your punishment."

"Verily," added Luna. "The fact of our brother's addiction is no falsehood. Thou shouldst see how he doth shovel cake down his throat ere he thinks none are watching!"

Solaris glared at us, focusing particularly on Luna. "At least I do not revert to more archaic speech when I lose my composure."

Luna glared back as I continued laughing, glad neither one had any good dirt on me. "Touché, brother. In any case, security is all that is lacking in the arrangements. Oh, if only there were some champion of old who would stand by my side as I traveled throughout the land. Would that such a hero would make himself known."

Luna had always been one for theatrics. "Fear not, fair Lady Luna. I, Sora, the Warrior of Light, shall escort thee 'cross Equestria, keeping the forces of darkness at bay that they may not touch thee." Okay, so I'm a bit theatrical too. Sue me.

"Oh, mighty warrior! I shall be honored to have thee to protect me."

"Nay. 'Tis I who am honored to guard such stunning beauty."

"Just kiss already!" shouted Blitz. He'd obviously forgotten that we were a couple as he flushed bright red when we began to do just that. "S-stupid sappy lovebirds."

"How do you think I feel?" asked Sol.

I kind of stopped paying attention to what they said after that. It's not my fault Luna's such a good kisser. It must have been five minutes at least before we finally pulled apart and turned back to the rest of them. Six massive blushes, two giant wingboners, and one glowering prince. With his horn glowing. "Oh, buy some ap-"


3rd-pony POV


"Brother, don't you think that that was a little uncalled for?"

Solaris smirked at the Sora sized hole in the wall. "If he's going to make out with my sister in front of me, he should be prepared for the consequences."

"Dude, medic," called Sora pathetically.

"Oh, I realize this," said Luna, waving him off. "However, I think that destruction of the castle is most inappropriate. What did that wall ever do to you?"

"A little help? I'm pretty sure I'm bleeding."

"To be fair," defended Solaris, "we've been meaning to add another door to the dining hall for twenty years. A much easier task now that we have the incentive to do something with the wall."

"I think one of my ribs is broken."

"Just use a cure spell, love. You'll be fine. And I thought you wanted the door on the east side of the dining hall, not the west."

"I did," Solaris confirmed, "but if the construction crews are here anyway, they might as well get started on the door."

"You two are cruel!"

"Um, shouldn't we make sure he's alright?" asked Fluttershy worriedly.

Applejack snorted and rolled her eyes. "If he's fine enough to whine and complain, he's fine enough to heal himself. He just wants the attention. Apple Buck does the same thing when he gets a scrape."

Elusive nodded, taking a sip of tea. "Indeed, Silver Bell does the same thing. Why just the other day he pricked himself with a pin while trying to help me around the boutique. He went on for hours about infections and what have you. It was most childish."

"Ah, a word that describes Sora rather well," said Solaris.

"You have no heart! And since I fight heartless, I should know!"

"Hush dear, the big ponies are talking." Luna placed a hoof to her chin as she pondered the next several weeks. "I suppose it would make sense to visit Ponyville first. I'd hoped to time my arrival with their Nightmare Night festivities, but I suppose that will have to wait for another time."

"We'd be honored to have you in Ponyville, Princess," said Twilight. "I'll send a letter to Spike so he can get let Mayor Mare know."

"And I'll send word to the other towns and cities," said Solaris. "With any luck, the tour will take at most a few months, more than enough time to figure out a more permanent solution for Sora."


----------


Raven was having a very busy day. First there was the usual mountain of paperwork. Then there were the three more mountains that came from the previous day's damages. Raven had been on a break to get some coffee when that human Sora had come flying through a wall. She'd then overheard the royal siblings talking about a new door for the dining hall, so that was another small pile of paperwork to add to the list. Finally, Princess Luna had announced that she would finally be leaving on that tour throughout the nation, with Prince Solaris promising to let the various mayors and sheriffs know. Which meant of course that Raven would be the one to actually prepare and send the missives. Yes, this day was very, very busy.

Which is why it may seem strange that Raven had wandered into the recently deserted Nobel wing of the castle. Looking around to make sure that nopony was around, she ducked into the late Prince Blueblood's quarters. She sneered at the opulent furnishings and ostentatious decorations. "Hmph, fitting rooms for a self-indulgent peacock. Good riddance." She looked around, drawing the drapes over the windows and locking the doors she had entered by. "You can come out now."

A dark shape fell from the ceiling, landing softly before Raven. It met her eyes with its own blue orbs. "What news of the keyblade master?" it hissed.

"He departs for Ponyville tomorrow, along with Luna," said Raven. "They will be touring around Equestria for the next two months or so." She smirked. "More if they happen to run into trouble. The keyblade master has an insatiable hero complex. If there are ponies in trouble, he'll go to the ends of the world to help them."

The dark figure hissed several times in a disturbing mockery of laughter. "An idiot then? Good. His Majesty will be pleased. What of the other human?"

"No need to worry," replied Raven. "He has gone back to where he came from. I doubt we'll see him again any time soon."

"Good. Continue to gather information here. The time for the foalnapping is fast approaching, and it must go perfectly."

Raven nodded, smiling darkly as her eyes flashed blue momentarily. "Don't worry. By the time his Majesty is ready, I will know Prince Bolero's patterns and habits better than he knows them himself. Capture and impersonation will be a breeze."

"Excellent," hissed the creature. "It will please his Majesty that his most trusted lieutenant has retained himself even as the darkness has taken him." It scowled, looking down in disgust. "Too many of our kind have forgotten themselves and been reduced to mindless shadows hungering after whatever hearts they can find."

Raven's smile fell at the news. "The hive is weakened then?"

"Quite the opposite." The creature grinned evilly, revealing sharp fangs. "His Majesty has discovered a certain talent for controlling lesser heartless since our fall into darkness. Although we have fewer drones to work with, the forces under hive control are greater than ever."

"Good to know," said Raven. "I should leave. Solaris will wonder where I've gone. I'll send further reports through the usual channels."

The creature nodded and a flash of green fire filled the room. Raven opened the door, peaking out to make sure nopony was around. Seeing that the coast was clear, she trotted out, a buck-toothed earth pony right behind her. "I suppose I'll see you around Canterlot, Hayseed."

"Hyuck hyuck. I guess so, Miz Raven. See ya later!"

Raven wrinkled her nose as 'Hayseed Turniptruck' walked off. "Ugh. Thank goodness he wasn't stationed here in the palace. He's a fine spy, but his disguise is just, ew." She shuddered as she turned the other way, making her way towards her office. She sighed at the thought of the mountains of paperwork waiting for her. 
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 7



3rd-pony POV


Sora lay across the bench, his eyes closed as the train rushed down Mount Canter. To anyone watching, he would appear to be asleep. But instead of resting, Sora's mind was going over his last conversation with Solaris.

"You don't have to do this."

"Sora, you've been the lonely hero for too long. Now that you have finally returned, I'm not going to lose you again just because you're a heartless magnet. I promise, by the time you and Luna return, I will have found a way to keep them off of you."

"Whatever you have in mind, Sol, it won't work. Even your best wide-area barriers can't keep them all out. Heck, from what I've seen, that Gleaming Shield is probably the only unicorn good enough with shields to cover a whole city and keep them out, and there's no way I could ask her to maintain something like that day after day for years on end."

"Nevertheless, I will find a way. And if you do not believe that I can do it, even for you, then believe that I can do it for Luna's sake."

For Luna's sake, huh? Sora sighed. Honestly. She could do so much better than me. But the heart wants what the heart wants. He smiled softly. And I'm one lucky son of a yay that I'm the one she wants.

The train jolted as the brakes were applied, and Sora opened his eyes and sat up. Outside the window he could see a town quickly approaching.

"Oh good! You're up." Sora turned to see Twilight standing next to his bench. "We'll be at Ponyville station in about five minutes. Better get ready."

As she walked off, I focused on the power of the keyblade. In a blink of my eyes, the world had gone gray. The only colors that were visible were glowing balls of light in everypony's chests. As Twilight approached Fluttershy and Applejack, I studied these lights: their hearts.

No doubt about it, those are Clover, Pansey and Cookie's hearts. These three must be their current reincarnations. My eyes drifted over to Rainbow Blitz, Berry Bubble and Elusive. And they're definitely Hurricane, Puddinghead and Platinum. Good ponies, even if they never could wield a keyblade. Too xenophobic, even after the unification. Looks like these three don't have that problem, though. It's a shame they're the Element Bearers. Those are six of the strongest hearts I've ever seen. He shook his head, blinking back to normal vision. Well, like Twilight said, better get-

"GREAT WARRIOR OF LIGHT! ENEMY OF DARKNESS AND CHAMPION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS! COME TO MY AID SO WE MAY WALK THE PATH TO DAWN!"

Sora blinked, staring off into space. Huh. Someone must have found my token. I wonder how I-


--------


There was a flash of light and Sora found himself in a strange room that looked like it was probably in Canterlot castle.

"Great... I summoned another one. Can't I enjoy my honeymoon in peace?" 

Sora blinked in confusion a few times, turning to see who had spoken. He slowly eyed the being before him up and down, fighting the urge to run, hide, or draw his keyblades. "Slenderman," he said slowly. "I just got summoned... by Slenderman." 

The unnaturally gaunt, tall, faceless figure sighed "I am a human with Slendy crammed in my soul, which has been amplified by chaos. I am also named Jeremy Farkness, have Cabadath's clothes and scythe, and I am married to Pinkie Pie." 

Sora glanced over to the bed, where a slightly human-like female Berry still slept. "...aaaaand she's anthro. Okay, this is easily the strangest world I've ever been to." Though it's also only my third, counting Earth and my Equestria. He shook his head, and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Jeremy. I am Sora, the Warrior of Light." 

He smiled and shook my hand. "Hey, at least you aren't a dick like my displacer. Nice to meet you too." 

"Displacer? You mean that Merchant guy?" 

He nodded, his face splitting open into a smile that showed far too many rows of black teeth as he laughed darkly. "Bloody bastard nearly killed me. I WOULD be dead if it weren't for some ancient being named Raphael. I guess he's a chaos God of some kind." 

He then looked to Pinkie and calmed down, "I am thankful, though... If it weren't for him, I'd still be alone in life... 

He then looked to a small, blue robot with yellow eyes and sighed "Hold on a moment, I need to grab that token too." He grabbed the it and shouted, "I CALL ON HARMONY'S BITCH!" 

In rainbow flash, a robot appeared in front of us, sounding annoyed. "She could have told me who instead of throwing me in a bloody portal!" He turned and noticed Jeremy and gave a shiver. "Oh crud, I thought I'd seen the last of the slenderman." Before he could explain, an anthro version of Hinata Hyuga from Naruto appeared beside the robot. "Oi, you could explain before tossing me into a portal!"  

"We didn't have enough time," she countered.

"Yes, you shouting 'meeting slendipie!', then tossing me into a god damn portal covers everything! I was practicing in restrict mode and is that a Pinkie?" He asked before his eyes turned pink and he fell to the ground.

"Oh boy, pink screen of death. Now he is out for awhile." I heard the woman muttered before turning to Jeremy. "Hi, my name is Sync Heart or as my friends calls me, Harmony."    

Jeremy nodded slowly. "Yeah... my honeymoon is going to be WEIRD," he said with a very annoyed face as he looked to Pinkie, who was snoring away completely oblivious.

Sora tuned out their conversation for a moment, slipping into his 'heart-sight' as he called it. Ignoring the robot and Harmony, he focused on Jeremy.

As he'd suspected, there was an extremely powerful darkness in his heart, but it seemed contained and shoved deep down into the depths and chained there. In fact, it almost seemed like another heart altogether. The rest of Jeremy, while not untainted, was generally good. His love for Pinkie was genuine, and a quick glance at Pinkie's heart showed that she reciprocated that love. There was another external taint on Jeremy, but thankfully this one wasn't a part of his heart. It seemed almost attached, though, as if something had tied it there. Nevertheless, it didn't seem to be influencing his heart in any way. Coming out of his heart-sight, Sora decided that he could probably trust this Jeremy.

"Good, then I won't have to dismantle you."

Okay, thought Sora, I need to stop zoning out of conversations. "So," he interjected, leaning forward, "have I been reduced to a wallflower now, or can I be introduced to these new people?"

"Oh crap I forgot that you were here!" The robot exclaimed as he rubbed his head sheepishly. "The names Emerl or my friends call me Alan. By the way, you're the second Sora displaced I have met."

"Really?" Sora asked surprised. "Huh, wonder if I'll ever run into him. What's he like?"

"He's a cheery guy who defends his friends, yet I think he maybe a little too protective," Emerl explained as he thought about something. "Do you have a Goofy and Donald like partners?"

Sora's face instantly went flat. "No. Donald and Goofy were placed into the games to add backup fighters. They would be absolutely useless in an actual fight against heartless." His face lifted as his thoughts turned to Fancy Pants, and older friends from years gone past. "I have found a few more keybladers amongst the ponies, though."

There was then a flash of red as a human appeared, looking at Jeremy anxiously "J-Jeremy? W-we've got a serious p-p-problem!"

Jeremy looked to him curiously "What's up, Carl?"

Harmony sent out a wave of energy, relaxing Carl. "Don't worry, Carl. We won't panic."  

Carl sighed "You remember Raphael right? Well, I just talked to Fluttershy about him on our first date... a-and... well... I think he is under the influence of a very powerful strengthening relic that is making him insane..."

Jeremy looked to him blankly "So.... should I get Jane again?" 

Carl shook his head "NO! The only reason she beat him was that he had just put on the artifact! He cannot be beat like he is now!"

"Out of curiosity, does this Raphael has a large primordial chaos signature?" the robot asked looking at a single direction.

Carl nodded "He IS primordial chaos. He is the beginning and the end of chaos. He was born when the first universe was sparked, and will only die when the last embers of creation die..."

"So can anything of order or harmony at least weaken him?" The robot asked with curiosity and worry.

Carl thought for a moment. "Well, if we could somehow focus an unbelievable amount of Harmony, Order, and Light into the Artifact, also known as the Anarchists Archive, it should split Raphael between his sane and insane self... but... I have no idea how we can do that..."

"Lucky for you Carl I'm a Harmonic entity and our Sora friend is filled with light," Harmony stated as she manifested a glowing, multi-colored aura. "Now we need order and this will be over before Pinkie can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

Carl looked at Sora a moment before sighing "Wait... if we split them apart, Sora's keyblade would turn Raphaels insanity into a Heartless... can Equestria HANDLE that kind of a fight?"

"Well how strong are these guys usually say compare to Beerus, or Dragonball Z characters?"  The robot named Emerl asked.

Carl gulped "Think of comparing an electron to an entire galaxy... hell, he can create and destroy realities at a whim..."

Sora swallowed nervously. What have I gotten myself into?

"B-but... if we split them up," Carl continued, "Raphael, the sane one, will help us fight his mad self... I know he will! He is a kind, caring god... not at all like what his mad self is like..."

"Okay Emmy do me a favor help stall while I chat with my sister," Harmony said.

Just then, a large hourglass filled with black sand appeared out of nowhere. Carl seemingly recognizing this item instantly "CAREFUL! That is one of Michael's artifacts! He is an elder brother to Raphael, and commands the concept of death!"

So of course, Jeremy reached forward and grabbed it. "MICHAEL! FATHER TO ROT AND FATE, I BESEECH YOU! COME TO THIS PITIFUL MORTAL REALM AND AID US IN OUR HOUR OF NEED!"

There was then a sound of hissing steam and a flash of light as a robotic bird-man hybrid with talons for hands and feet appeared. He wore a black robe and generated an aura of pure unadulterated power, as if just getting near him was to court death. "Greetings, mortals, I am the lord of death, Michael, for what purpose did you summon me?"

"Let''s see. A Primordial Chaos has sunk into insanity and we were wondering if you can help us?" Harmony asked with a puppy expression.

Michael nodded sagely, seemingly unfazed by the puppy dog eyes "I shall help my brother; he is dear to my heart. I thank you for informing me of this. I would have noticed in time, but many would have perished in the meanwhile." He then looked to Jeremy and nodded again. "I see you are a scythe user... interesting..." He then held out his hand, a blue crystal orb materializing in it. "I have made a trade with Uriel, most fortunately, and this orb will fulfill your need of an Order power source. Have you Light and Harmony?"

"Well I'm the Tree of Harmony back home and Sora is a keyblader of light. Will that cover it?" Harmony asked as looked at Emerl who respond with a nod.

Michael nodded "I shall need use of one of the keyblade user's key chains, specifically the one that goes to the Way to the Dawn keyblade."

Sora nodded, summoning Way to the Dawn before removing its heartless-symbol keychain. "Sure," he said, tossing it over. "I never use this one anyway."

"I don't need to ask, but say that if there were alternatives that I would need to speak privately with you," Emerl said.

Michael looked to Emerl, and a conversation seemed to pass between them. Psychics? thought Sora. Man, I really am in over my head. Primordial beings. Gods of the multiverse. Eldrich horrors. Almost makes me think that the heartless might not be so bad. Flashes of memory and long past screams echoed through Sora's mind. Almost.

Michael then spoke aloud "No, we have all we need here. No sacrifice is needed, and I would recommend you do not take your life so lightly. You are going to bring great change." He then took the aura of Harmony, the Order crystal, and the Way to the Dawn keychain. "Jeremy, I need you to create a token."

Jeremy nodded curiously and held out his hand, letting red blood like liquid flow from it and pool on the floor, forming a red metal slenderman mark combined with a strange eye-like symbol, which then floated into Michael's hands. The three items then began to orbit the new token as they turned into three orbs of light, one rainbow colored, one blue, one bright white. They all then flowed into the mark as Michael crushed it in his hand, the shards floating in mid air a moment before reforming into a keychain in the shape of four scythes crossing a heart.

Sora whistled, impressed. "Man, I'd love to see the bad-yay keyblade that comes with that chain." 

Michael handed the keychain to Jeremy, pointing to a newly formed hole in his scythe's handle, right at the bottom. Jeremy cautiously connected the chain to the scythe and gasped as it was overwhelmed by a black, blue and white flame, changing into a four sided scythe with a skull at the center, it's mouth the spawning point of the four scythe blades which glowed with the multicolored fire as the flames went down the handle, changing it into a metal spine. The fire then went to his hand and enveloped his body. Suddenly, he was bound in black shiny armor, his entire body covered in the spiky black plate-mail except his head, which was the same expressionless white screen.

Sora looked him up and down and smirked. "Okay, you've got to be the most ridiculously over the top metal Slender I've ever seen."

Michael laughed "Interesting. It seems that the power of your scythe is greater than I had anticipated, young mortal."

"I wonder if it has anything to do with the Master Emerald in me?" Harmony asked out loud as she touched the scythe with wonder.

Jeremy shrugged "I have no idea, all I know is that I am ready to face Raphael."

"Well I wish you luck," Emerl stated as he looked at the direction Raphael was apparently heading. "I'm sensing that he is coming right now!"

"Sweet," said Sora, summoning Oathkeeper and Oblivion. "I've been looking forward to fighting something other than the standard heartless." 

There was a bright flash of red light, and they found themselves to be no longer in Canterlot, or even Equestria. They were in a dark, foggy battleground, blood soaking the ground as a voice sounded from all around them. "Can you hear the screaming? I hear it... it calls out to me from across reality... I hear her cries just as I heard them that night..."

Everyone looked around, growing uneasy." Where are you?" shouted Jeremy. "SHOW YOURSELF!"

Raphael then appeared in front of him, his cane in one hand in a reverse grip, and a sword made of red metal in the other, his eyes were cold, dead, and cruel. "I tried to save her... but she was too weak... mortals, are too weak... they do not deserve our interventions, as they will eventually die anyway, the only SANE answer is to crush them under our heels like the insignificant insects they are..." He then laughed insanely before flashing behind Sora and clubbing him behind the head. "Sleep now..."

"Shit! Sora!" Emerl suddenly stopped as he questioned. "Are you sure? It's a primodial being you are facing?" The robot's eyes suddenly glowed red as he began a hollow laugh. "Finally, a worthy opponent to test out." He charged at Raphael with a third eye opening. Emerl's body color changed completely gold as the eye color had a red dot to the center.

Michael nodded as he held out his hand, the wound on Sora being inflicted on him, a large dent forming in his metal frame. Sora woke up right as Michael was attacked by Raphael, who easily deflected each attack from Emerl. Raphael took his sword and in a quick stroke beheaded Michael in a clean strike, straight through his scythe.

Sora pulled himself to his feet, glaring at Raphael. “Okay, maybe I need to go all out on this one.” In a flash of light, Sora began floating in the air, his clothes entirely white and black. He’d switched out keyblades, too. One was the Ultima Weapon. The other’s shaft was a deep, dark purple with black and green vines twining around it. The hilt was a light purple in another vine design, and the blade featured a wicked looking curve which was stained blood red. The keychain featured a cracked flower. “Going to need your help for this one, Pansy.” He pointed Ultima at Michael, calling out "Curaga!" A flurry of glowing green leaves surrounded Michael as his head floated back onto his neck, the dent disappearing and his eyes whirring back to life.

Michael nodded appreciatively to Sora before he turned to Raphael, letting out black sand from his wrists that went into the floor, raising what seemed to be three stone Ogres. "My servants shall detain him for a minute at most!"

Emerl suddenly appeared behind Raphael. "Oi dumbass! You never go easy on things like me!" He performed some rapid blows which Raphael was easily blocking with his cane. It took a few moments before the god found himself using more force as he gave a competitive grin. "Oi fools! I can only stall him for 2 mins!" Emerl shouted with rage.

Raphael, interested by the machines capabilities to adapt, changed to a completely different style as his sword disappeared and was replaced by a pair of daggers. "Do you really think you may harm me mortal? I am chaos, I am change, none may stop me!"

Emerl only grab the deities body as his body merged with it. "That's why Nth combining will weaken you. I'll have a good time fighting you!" The god felt his body mixing with forces of Harmony while his chaos energy was being drained and converted against him. It took a minute before a human was spat out of the metal covered god. The human only stared up and heard a maniacal laughter from the god as he blew up his prison. The insane god stared at the human.

"Well at least he remembered to spit me out before doing something stupid." The human sighed as he summoned a grey armor and a blade. It had what appeared to be the hilt of Excalibur, but the blade was different as it was longer and wider. "Well I told Micheal I wouldn't use Essence, but madness has taken over for the moment." The human now identified as Emerl charged at Raphael and he notice that the human's eyes glowed. He wisely dodged the attack as, with slash, a piece of his hair was cut off. He attempted to recover it, yet nothing happened. This made the insane god narrow his eyes as he quickly displaced the essence human by sending him into a black hole. "Oh shit!" Emerl yelled before he disappeared from sight as Raphael focused on everyone else.

Jeremy teleported behind Raphael and grabbed him, teleporting them both several hundred feet up into the air and hooking him on his scythe before using it to throw him at high speed unto the ground. He looked to Michael and Sora, who were fighting constructs made by Raphael and was about to teleport to the ground when a pair of daggers stabbed him in the shoulders. He screamed in pain as a burning sensation filled his body, only for it to stop as Michael again took on his pain, falling right as his stone Ogres finished off the constructs. Jeremy then looked to Raphael, who was laughing darkly before a Thundaga from Sora hit him square in the chest, doing little more than make his hair frizz up. 

Sora grinned. "Time for me to get in on this." He quickly flew behind Raphael, throwing the darker keyblade at him repeatedly as he used Ultima to spam Fira spells at his back. "Hey ugly! You call yourself a chaos god? I've seen ferrets more threatening than you!"

Raphael looked to Sora with a psychotic grin. "Let me help you hear the screaming... listen to its bitter lullaby..." He then changed his daggers into a pair of gauntlets and appeared right behind Sora, taking both keyblades and dispelling them as he grabbed him by the throat. "HEAR MY SORROW SONG, SORA!"

Raphael roared in a psychopathic rage as he struggled against his bonds, breaking free in mere seconds before Jeremy teleported behind him with his scythe in four pieces, each looking like a skull on a small metal spine with a flaming scythe blade coming out the mouth. He rammed one scythe right into Raphael's arm, freeing Sora right as a blast of red electricity ran between Raphaels hands.

Sora sighed in relief, summoning his keyblades once again as he nodded to Jeremy. "Thanks for that. Not sure what that attack was, but I don't think I would have liked it much."

Michael nodded "That is one of Raphael's cruelest executions, he makes you live through his entire life in mere moments, making your brain explode from data overload. Stay away from his hands."

Sora just smirked. "Got a better one for you. Aeroga!" A mini-cyclone formed around Sora, whirling around at high speeds. "Let's see him try to grab me now."

Raphael growled and flew straight at Sora, breaking through the winds with ease and punching him so hard that a painful crack was heard. Sora went flying back into a wall, the cyclone reforming just in time to cushion the blow. "Okay," he said, casting a quick Cura on his broken ribs, "cockiness gets you killed. Got it..."

Jeremy then Slenderwalked to Raphael and planted each of his four scythes in Raphaels joints, temporarily paralyzing him as he grabbed the Archive and ripped it from the god's neck. He tore out his scythes and reformed them as he crushed the crimson crystal heart. Raphael screamed in agony as the area turned back into Canterlot. Raphael slowly stood up, but... he seemed different. His eyes, once cold, dead and cruel, were now warm, alive and full of remorse as they filled with tears "What... what have I done?" He looked around him, seeing the various wounds on everyone.

Sora looked him up and down, his eyes flashing briefly to heart-sight before he relaxed, disbanding his keyblades and his Final Form. "Nothing that you could control. The madness has left your heart."

The whole group noted a portal forming in front of them. They were confused by the sudden appearance until a robot suited Emerl came out of the portal. "Phew, you guys can't believe the crazy things I saw when trying to find this place. So battle over? Did you guys split the madness out of him, yet?" he asked before being tackled by Harmony who started pounding on his chest. 

"You dummy I thought you were dead!" Harmony cried as she buried her face in his chest.

"Don't worry Harmony, I'm alright now, so cheer up," Emerl softly whispered while brushing her head.

Suddenly, a dark laughter rang out. Everyone turned to see the shards of the Archive releasing a dark miasma. Raphael quickly noticed and snapped his fingers, dispersing the amulet. "It seems that I have retained my boosted power. I assume that my mad self can only drive others insane now..." He then looked to us and bowed. "I apologize for my unforgivable behavior as of late; it was absolutely abhorrent."

"Don't sweat it, man! At least no one got killed," Emerl commented while sheepishly rubbing his back.

He then noticed Harmony and blushed. "M-madam... I know this is rather sudden, but may I treat you to a meal sometime?"

Harmony felt her cheeks grew warm as she looked back at Emerl sternly who sighed, yet nodded. "Sure Raphael, I would love to go on a date with you." She ended with a wink.

Raphael nodded shyly and offered her his arm, which she took it with little to no hesitation. As they walked off, Jeremy dispelled his scythe and armor before removing the charm and handing it to Sora "I think you should have it. I don't think this kind of power suits me that well..."

Sora nodded, taking the keychain in hand. A flash of light later, and he held a new blade. This keyblade had a long, thin, silver shaft that looked almost like a metal spine with red tendrils weaving together to form the handle, and 4 scythe blades on the end in the shape of key teeth. "Mysterious Stalker," he muttered, giving a few practice swings. "Good for quick, mid-range strikes, not much magic affinity, and, wait..." He suddenly vanished, reappearing on the other side of the room. "...short distance teleporting. Nice." 

Emerl quickly called Chaos on his Omochao. "Hey, I know you had that crush for Tikal, but she moved on." There was raging mumbling from the other end. "Apparently, it's a primordial Chaos god and, no offense, she kinda knew you as a brother/best friend." The raging conversation chatted loud enough to voice out "It's your fault this happened, asshole!" Emerl quickly hanged up before it grew worse as he said, "Well I pray this guy doesn't break her heart like the last guy."

Michael laughed "Do not be ridiculous; I have never seen Raphael this smitten before. Well... not since Alice... but this one is an immortal, so I do not think there should be any such problem."

Emerl was happy to hear that before he respond. "That's good because the last guy who dumped her did it because of Discord."

Michael shrugged "Raphael is basically the grand master of the draqoneqqui, so he'd probably just ground him if he became a pest."

Emerl shrugged at the commented. "That is true. Anyway, I worry about the mare/tree/woman like my second mom." He changed into a sly tone to Michael. "So any chance of blackmail on the couple in the near future?"

Michael shook his head amusedly as Jeremy slugged Emerl in the back of the head, producing a loud clang "Don't be an ass."

"Ok I won't do anything on their first date." Emerl suddenly straightened up. "Oh shit! Look at the time, need to babysit the colts. Jeremy make sure you don't open any of the boxes or Pinkie'll piranha them down her throat in seconds." The robot was about to head out when he remembered something. "Oh yeah, Sora if you find James, please don't blast his partner since she's Chrysalis. Anyway, could you guys give me a copies of your tokens?"

Jeremy generated my new token and gave it to him, smiling "Maybe I can enjoy my honeymoon now?" Emerl felt like laughing before he shut up by his glare. "I am absolutely serious."

Sora summoned a kingdom Key keychain and tossed it over. "Don't worry," he said. "I may be new to the multiverse, but I know better than to judge another based only on what mine is like. But, if I may ask, who is Chrysalis?"

"She is a changeling queen, or basically a bug pony with morphing abilities," Emerl commented while an Omochao went to Sora. "So goodbye you two, and Michael, I expect her back before midnight." The robot teleported back to his world.

"Changeling, huh?" muttered Sora. "I'm going to have to look out for that." He looked over to Jeremy and smiled. "Well, it's been interesting. If you ever need me again, call on my name and I'll be there." In a flash of light, he was gone.


--------


"...Her Royal Highness, Princess Luna!"

Luna stepped off the train, flanked on either side by her guards. Though she put forth an air of calm, she was inwardly panicking. Somehow, Sora had vanished from the train minutes before. Nopony had seen him leave, and there was no way he could have left the train safely at the speed it had been going.

What was more, their announcer hadn't gotten the memo yet, and would be announcing Sora in the next few seconds. Not only was Ponyville's mayor at the station to meet them, but it seemed like almost half of the town had crowded onto or around the platform to see their arrival. And now Sora was going to embarrass them with his absence on top of worrying them.

"And finally, announcing the Warrior of Light, friend to the crown, First Wielder of the Kayblade, Enemy of Darkness and Hero of Equestria, Sora!"

A flash of light went off, leaving Sora standing on the platform right outside the train doors. The Ponyvillians cheered and applauded, thinking that this had been planned. Sora's confusion quickly left his face and he smiled, placing his hands casually behind his head.

Oh, that's right Sora, thought Luna, maintaining her air of calm regality throughout. Just act like nothing happened. Just pretend you didn't have me worried sick. Oh, when we get to the inn, you are in soooo much trouble. You'd better have a wonderful explanation.
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 8



3rd-pony POV


The mayor of Ponyville, Ivory Scroll, had gone all out in preparing for Sora and Luna's visit, and somehow doubling that effort to welcome back Ponyville's own local heroes. Even without Berry to spearhead the party planning, the citizens of Ponyville had managed to put on quite the impressive display. The last remnants of Discord's chaos had been swept up, ribbons and bows hung from every tree, and every musician who could pluck a string or hum a tune was out and filling the streets with songs of welcome and celebration.

However, Sora couldn't help but notice a subtle undercurrent of melancholy as he walked through the town, shaking hooves and learning names. He could see it here and there: a gap in the crowds intentionally left open, furtive glances towards the ominous woods to the south, the way that some ponies would flinch at shadows. He knew the signs well; this town had been attacked by the heartless.

Thankfully, it seemed that the attack had been rather small, the only victims being those who had immediately fallen as the nobles in Canterlot had. A few keybladers could bee seen in the crowd, all of them carrying Kingdom Keys across their backs or in their magic. Sora looked around, trying to see if any of them had a more unique keyblade.

"Searching for something?" asked Luna as Sora's head swiveled around once again.

"Just seeing if we have any masters here," he replied. "I've seen about 10 or so wielders, but that's it."

"Give it time," said Luna. "You will find more as we travel, and more yet may come to find you once we get the word out about the nature of the keyblade."

Sora nodded, accepting that he would just have to wait. After all, it wasn't like a potential keyblade master was just going to come flying in and crash into-

"LOOK OUT!"

Sora turned just in time to be knocked to the ground by a gray blur. He groaned as he looked straight up at the sky. "Why me? Every time, why me?"

"Oops. My bad." A stallion leaned over Sora, looking down at him. "Are you okay, mister Sora?"

Sora opened his mouth to reply, but paused as he took in the pony looking at him. The pegasus stallion had a gray coat and a blond mane, nothing too out of the ordinary. However, his yellow eyes gave Sora pause. One of them looked down at him in concern while the other looked somewhere over his right shoulder. Noticing Sora's dumbstruck face, the stallion chuckled. "It's the eyes, isn't it? Don't worry, I get it all the time. My name's Klutzy Doo. Nice to meet you!"

Sora shook his head a bit, coming out of his stupor. "Nice to meet you, Klutzy," he said, accepting a hoof up. "Guess I can't blame you for knocking me over since, well..."

Klutzy just laughed and waved away Sora's awkwardness. "Like I said, don't worry about it. I know I mess up a lot, but hey, at least I keep on trying, right?" He closed his eyes, letting out a wide smile.

"Yeah, that's great Derpface, but we're kind of in the middle of something here." Sora and the others looked at Blitz in shock as he scowled at Klutzy.

Klutzy opened his eyes and scratched the back of his neck, his smile shrinking immediately. "O-oh right. Sorry. Guess I'll just, um, let you get back to it. Yeah. Um, see you at work tomorrow, Rainbow." With that he flew off, barely clearing a house as he balanced his bubble themed keyblade on his back.

Wait, bubble themed keyblade?

"Now why'd you have to go and say that, Blitzy?" asked Berry, crossing his fore-hooves. "You know that Klutzy didn't do it on purpose."

Blitz flinched a bit, looking down in shame. "Yeah, I know it's just, ugh! He's always doing stuff like this! Flying into everything, delivering mail to the wrong address, and he's a pain and a half on the weather team. Not to mention he's always falling asleep on the job. He just frustrates me, you know?"

"Well what do you expect?" asked Applejack. "After all, he has three jobs to hold down, not to mention takin' care of that little filly of his. It's no wonder he sleeps as much as you do, and at least he has an excuse."

"Hey, I like Klutzy, alright!" snapped Blitz. "Heck, I love the guy. He's the hardest worker on the team! But that doesn't mean he doesn't mess up more than the rest of us put together. Seriously, any other weather manager would have fired him a long time ago."

Fluttershy sighed, looking off in the direction Klutzy had flown. "Poor Klutzy. If only he could get his eye fixed, everything would be so much easier for him."

"Why can't he?" asked Luna. "Is there no cure?"

"There is," said Twilight, "but it's a very expensive procedure. Not to mention that it puts you out of commission for a few weeks. Klutzy can't afford the operation, and he definitely can't afford to go three weeks without a paycheck. Everypony in town has offered to help him, but..."

Sora nodded. "Everypony has their pride." He thought for a moment before turning to Luna, grinning. "Hey, Lulu. Didn't the crown use to pay my old team for their service? Including medical leave?"

Luna raised an eyebrow before nodding her head. "Indeed we did, but only for your immediate team. And Klutzy Doo doesn't seem the type to take such charity on a technicality."

"Then we don't make it a technicality," replied Sora. "Why not extend the full offer. He agrees to join, you pay for his operation and his expenses while he recovers. Heck, he can even bring his kid along if he wants. It's a win-win."

"Um, Sora," said Twilight, "not to interrupt, but what are you talking about?"

"I told you about how I used to have a team of keybladers who traveled with me long ago, right?" Seeing nods of confirmation, he continued. "Well, I'm trying to build it again, a new team to help me fight off the heartless wherever I go."

"And you think Klutzy has the potential to wield a keyblade?" asked Elusive incredulously.

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Of course. I mean he already has one." Everypony looked at each other in confusion. "You didn't see it? Big, thick blade? Gray? Lots of bubbles on it?" Blank stares. Sora sighed, shaking his head. "I swear, those keyblades are invisible to everyone who doesn't have one."

"Whoa whoa whoa!" said Blitz, shaking her head. "Let me get this straight. You're saying that Derpface, er," he flinched at the glares he received, "I mean, Klutzy Doo, the stallion who is as clumsy as his name, is going to be kicking heartless flank?"

"Once he gets that eye of his fixed, yes." Sora looked off into the distance, seeing Klutzy narrowly dodging a house only to crash into a tree. "Granted, he may need some training first."


-----


After the day-long tour of the town, the Element Bearers split up, promising to meet together with Sora and Luna the next day. The Ponyville Inn was unfortunately full, so Applejack invited Sora and Luna to stay the night in her barn. Her family was very welcoming of the princess, with mixed reactions toward the human. Granny Smith, the wrinkled green matriarch of the family, had examined Sora head to foot, declaring him to be too skinny before hobbling off to the kitchen to continue cooking dinner. Applejack's red-coated older sister, Orchid Blossom, had looked Sora up and down before nodding with a stoic "Eeyup" before going out to cut some more firewood. And then of course there was little Apple Buck, a yellow, blank-flanked colt with the endless energy that only children can claim.

"Is it true that you fight monsters and those shadow things all the time?" he asked, gazing up at Sora in awe.

"Not all of the time," Sora said. "I actually try to avoid them if I can. That's why I move around so much."

"Oh." Apple Buck seemed disappointed, but perked up almost immediately. "Oh! I heard that you have a weird weapon that shoots fire and lightning! Is that true? Can I see it?"

Sora chuckled, summoning Oathkeeper. "It can do a lot more magic then that, but yeah, I've got some fire and lightning in here."

"Wow!" Apple Buck was fascinated, looking over every inch of the blade. "Do you think I could hold it?"

Sora shrugged. "I don't know."

Apple Buck raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "What do you mean, you don't know. Can't you just hoof it over?"

"I could," said Sora, "but there's no guarantee that you'd be able to hold it for long. You see, the keyblade is a special weapon. Only those who are extremely strong of heart can wield it. Otherwise it just vanishes. But if you want to try it..." He trailed off as Apple Buck jumped to his hooves, grinning like a foal on Hearthswarming Day. Sora shrugged, holding out Oathkeeper and letting Apple Buck take it in his mouth.

For a minute, nothing happened. "Huh," said Sora. "I didn't think it would-" he was interrupted by a flash of light, which left Apple Buck holding a much shorter version of the Kingdom Key.

"Fey! I' canged!" Apple Buck exclaimed.

Sora chuckled as the colt spit the keyblade out, holding it in his hoof. "Yeah, it changed. Most keybladers can only wield the Kingdom Key, the most basic keyblade. Only true masters can use other forms. Still, I'm surprised that it took to you so easily. Most ponies can't use a keyblade until they're grown."

"You mean, this is unusual?" Apple Buck's eyes gained a strange glint. "You mean it's special? Like a special talent?" He turned his head to look at his flank, only to sigh in disappointment as he found it to still be blank. "Darn it, no cutie mark. I guess Cutie Mark Crusaders Keybladers is off the table."

"Speakin' of tables, this one's ready!" shouted Granny Smith from the next room over. "Hurry up and get yer keisters in here before I eat all o' this myself!" Sora and Apple Buck chuckled, walking into the kitchen. But as Apple Buck walked over and hopped up into his chair, Sora stood frozen in the doorway.

"Sorry 'tain't much, yer highness," said Granny Smith, setting a plate of fritters on the table. "If'n we'd known you was comin' I'd've whipped up somethin' real special."

"This is fine," said Luna, flinching at the low groan that the table made as Orchid placed down another pie. "Truthfully, I am not sure that we will be able to eat all of this."

The Apples chuckled as Sora dumbly nodded his head in agreement. The table was absolutely stuffed with various dishes, almost all of them apple based. "I don't think I could even eat a bite of everything before exploding."

"Heh, that's what y'all get for usin' those tiny portions up in Canterlot," said Applejack, already dishing up some fried apples. "Barely even a mouthful, and you call it a meal!"

"Eeyup," added Orchid.

"Don't worry, Princess," said Apple Buck, already digging into his food. "If you don't eat it all, we will. Us Apples can really pack it away. Especially after a hard day's work out in the orchards."

And pack it away they did. By the time Sora and Luna were going back for seconds, each of the Apples had finished off their thirds, or fifths in Orchid's case. Not one to back down from a perceived challenge, Sora loaded an entire apple pie onto his plate.

"Careful there, sonny," said Granny Smith. "You don't want to go blowin' up like a balloon, now do you?"

"He can handle it," said Luna, rolling her eyes. "If his stomach cannot, then his ego will more than make up for it."

Laughter spread around the table as Sora glared at Luna. The effect was somewhat ruined by his puffed out cheeks full of pie. He swallowed and pointed a warning finger at Luna. "Just you wait. One of these days, my stubbornness and ego will be what saves your life, and I'll be expecting a full apology."

"Yes, yes. Flying pigs and all of that." Luna waved Sora off, taking a sip of her cider. Her eyes widened and she tilted her head back, chugging the whole thing. "Sweet me, that is delicious!"

"Best cider in all o' Equestria," Granny Smith smirked. "Y' ain't gonna find a better mug of anythin' this century."

"I must agree," said Luna, nodding as she refilled her mug. "There was one drink a thousand years ago which might have been a contender, but Sol tells me that it has not been made in centuries. The brewer died before he could pass on his recipes."

"Well, that's why you write 'em down!" exclaimed Granny Smith. "Ain't never made sense to me to keep 'em all up in your noggin, 'specially once your mind starts runnin' away from you. Course, you don't got that problem, bein' an alicorn and all."

"Oh, don't be so sure," said Luna. "After all, no matter how good ones mind is, one-hundred years is one-hundred years. I could not hope to remember everything that I have ever experienced. And I'm sure that I have some old aches and pains that would make me sound far older that I look."

"Well, shoot!" said Granny Smith, rubbing her left shoulder. "If it's aches an' pains you want, I've got enough stories to last you all night. This dang shoulder of mine still feels out o' joint whenever it rains."

While the two old mares swapped stories and aches, Sora was talking with Applejack about his upcoming trip around Equestria.

"So yeah, Appleoosa will be our first stop. Anything I should know?"

"Don't mention Berry while you're down there." She shook her head at Sora's quirked eyebrow. "Trust me, just don't. He didn't leave the best impression on the buffalo."

"Buffalo?" asked Sora. "I thought they were nomadic. You know, always moving around."

"They are," said Applejack. "Well, most of them. See, they and Appleoosa got into a mighty big spat last year. The settlers planted their apple orchard right in the middle of the buffalo's stampedin' grounds. They wouldn't move the trees, and the buffalo wouldn't go around. It all got sorted out eventually but, well, Berry tried to get them to stop fightin' by putin' on a show." Applejack winced at the memory. "I ain't never seen a more awkward performance."

Sora nodded. "Got it. Don't mention the pink one. Well, it's a good thing they got it all settled. I'd hate to see how many would fall to the heartless if a war broke out now."

Applejack's response was cut off by a series of loud barks and scratches. Orchard raised an eyebrow, walking out into the family room. The sound of the front door opening was immediately followed by a cry of "What the-" as a small collie zipped into the kitchen and under the table.

"Winona?" yelled Applejack, getting down from her seat to glare under the table. "What's gotten into..." She trailed off as she noticed Winona holding her paws over her eyes, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. "Winona? Hey, what's wrong girl?"

Sora and Luna locked eyes, nodding once. "I'll take care of it," said Sora, standing up. "I haven't been here too long, so it's probably just some locals who noticed me." Without another word, he turned and walked out of the kitchen. A moment later they all heard the sound of the front door closing and Orchard walked back in, looking confused.

"What was that all about?" asked Apple Buck from under the table, having crawled down to comfort Winona.

"Just some heartless," said Luna, taking another sip of her cider. "He'll be back in a min-" An explosion from outside cut her off, and the sound of a body hitting the house made her wince. "Er, in a few minutes."

"Are ya sure?" asked Applejack. "Maybe I should go an' help him out."

Another explosion rang out, this one followed by the sound of Sora laughing. "I'm sure," replied Luna. "Trust me, this is standard fare for him. It's not unusual for heartless attacks to interrupt his meals. Or his sleep. Or his conversations. Why, they've even shown up in my room one time while we were, um," she paused, glancing down at Apple Buck, "wrestling."

Granny snorted into her cider while her two older grandchildren blushed. "Can't imagine that goin' over well."

Luna sniffed, glaring at the memory. "Indeed. Sora had not even drawn his Keyblade before I had blasted them through the wall. And several walls after that one."

"S-so they show up all the time?" asked Apple Buck, nervously climbing back into his chair.

Luna nodded. "At any time, at least. They hound Sora on a daily basis. Other Keyblade Masters are likely to encounter them every few days, and other keybladers still find themselves having to watch the shadows. The life of a keyblader is not a peaceful one."

Apple Buck looked down in thought, remembering how excited he'd been when Sora had shown him that he could use the keyblade. It suddenly didn't sound quite so fun anymore.

Before anything else could be said, Sora appeared in the room holding a vicious looking keyblade over one shoulder and a squirming shape under his other arm. "Hey Luna," he said, holding out the black shape. "Ever seen this type before?"

The Apples all sat back in their seats, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the strange creature as possible. It was shaped like a pony, but entirely black and with glowing yellow eyes. Its horn looked unusually sharp, and its wings were leathery like a bat's. Luna leaned in close, examining it. "I don't believe so," she said. "It appears to be a new species."

"Thought so," said Sora. "Found about ten of them with a swarm of Neoshadows and a few Fat Bandits." He dropped it on the ground, swinging his keyblade down and destroying it in a single swing. "Swatted them like flies with Mysterious Stalker here."

"Is that its name?" asked Luna, eyeing the decidedly deadly looking keyblade. "I don't believe I've seen it before. I am curious as to what sort of pony would have such a blade represent their heart."

"Actually, it wasn't a pony. But I'll explain later. For now..." He dismissed his blade, sitting back down and stuffing his face as if nothing had happened.


Sora Pony POV


"Another one?"

"Another two, actually." Dinner had finished up without further interruptions, but the Apple family had kept giving me odd looks for some reason. Luna and I had retired to the barn to sleep, but she'd first demanded an explanation for where I'd disappeared to on the train. "His name is Jeremy, and he also summoned someone named Alan. Apparently he needed help defeating a primordial chaos god or something." I shrugged. "Honestly, I didn't follow it too well. I just started hitting when the bad guy appeared."

Luna just sighed, shaking her head. "As is your usual tactic. And the new keyblade?"

"Well that's the interesting thing." I summoned Mysterious Stalker, looking over the scythe on heart keychain. "They needed a keychain from me to make some sort of anti-evil artifact. By the time they were done and Jeremy had added his token, it looked like this. I attached it to the keyblade and, BAM! New blade."

"Interesting," said Luna. "Do you think you could do that with the other tokens you've been given?"

Palm could not meat forehead quickly enough. "Why didn't I think of that?" I switched back to the Kingdom Key, pulling Alex, Xemnas and Jason's tokens out of my pockets. "Well, let's try the least compatible one first." I held up the green cylinder to the hilt of the blade. In a flash, the keyblade had changed. Black and green seemed to be the theme, with a simple circular hilt. The teeth were made with a simple green hourglass shape, reminding me of the omnitix from Ben 10.

"Huh," I said, looking it over. "Shifting Form. Fairly average in all respects. No specialization, but no weaknesses either. Very well balanced. I guess there's a Ben 10 displaced running around out there." Sure enough, the token had shrunk and now formed the end of the keychain. I quickly switched back to the Kingdom Key, eager to see what Xemnas's blade would look like.

The shaft was a glowing red rod, just like Xemnas's lightsaber ripoffs from Kingdom Hearts 2. Thorns and spikes gathered to form the teeth, and a circle of thorns formed the hilt. "Superior of the In-Between. Longer name than most. Longer shaft, too. Not really a blade for magic, but definitely one for speed. I might have use for this one later." Switching back to the Kingdom Key once more, I grabbed Alex's shell and held it to the hilt.

The result was... surprising. There was a flash of light and the keychain changed, but the rest of the keyblade looked and felt the same. It doesn't even have a name. Alex, just who are you?

"Sora?" I looked over to see Luna staring at me, her face full of concern. I guess I'd let something show on my face.

"It's nothing," I said, trying to convince myself as well as her. "Just... nothing. I'm fine." I dismissed the keyblade, lying back on the bed of hay we would be using for the night. "But yeah, not much to tell about the other Equestria. I only really got to see the inside of Canterlot Castle. The only major difference I saw was that Berry Bubble was a girl named Pinkie Pie." And she was anthro, but I doubt that that's even a word here. Better to just not mention it.

Luna chuckled. "A fitting name, I suppose. It is strange, though. First my brother, and now young Berry? Are you going to find a stallion version of me some day?"

"I hope not," I said, yawning. "You abuse me enough as it is. I can't imagine how violent a stallion version of you would be. OW!" I rubbed my arm where Luna had just hit me. "See, violent."

"Oh, hush," said Luna. "If a blow that light is enough to give you harm, perhaps you should retire from hero work."

"Not likely," I muttered. "Settling down isn't really an option. Tried it once. Didn't work." Got them killed, too.

"Sora, it wasn't your fault." I hate how easily Luna can read me. "You had no way to know that your defenses would not hold. I'm sure that they do not blame you."

"They don't blame anyone, Luna. The dead can't hold a grudge." Luna wanted to retort, but I turned away, shifting around to get comfortable. "It's been a long day, and we have a lot to do tomorrow. G'night."

Luna was silent for a moment, and I was almost sure that she would press the issue. Finally, she laid down as well, falling asleep soon afterwards. I, however, laid awake, my mind constantly going back to that fateful night. That one night where everything went wrong. Where I'd failed.

"I'm sorry, Pansy. Clover. Cookie. I won't let that happen again. I promise."
> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 9



3rd Pony POV


Klutzy Doo was happy with his life.

Sure his eyes were a bit off. Sure colts, fillies and even some adults made fun of him from time to time. Sure he'd had to raise his daughter, Dinky Doo, by himself. And sure, he was now having to deal with those annoying shadow things that tried to attack him all the time. But still, Klutzy enjoyed his life. He loved his daughter, he loved his jobs at the post office and the weather office, and he loved Ponyville, where exciting things never failed to happen.

But over the past few days, Klutzy had begun to feel restless. He began looking out to the horizon as he flew, wondering what was out there and, by consequence, crashing even more often than usual. He'd never felt wanderlust before, always content to remain in Ponyville. Sure he'd taken Dinky out on a vacation or two to Cloudsdale and Manehattan, but he'd always been happy to return to the home he knew. But now...

Klutzy was pulled from his morning thoughts when he heard a knock on his front door. Making his way quickly over, lest a second knocking should wake up Dinky, he opened the door with a cheerful smile on his face. "Good morning," he said, voice as bright and bubbly as ever. His smiling face fell to one of surprise when he saw who stood before him.

"Hey," said Sora, holding out his hand to the grey pegasus. "Klutzy Doo, right? We met yesterday."

Klutzy nodded, shaking his hoof and smiling nervously. "E-he-he. Yeah, that's me. Um, sorry again about that."

"No worries," said Sora. "I was just hoping I could talk with you for a moment. May I come in?"

Klutzy nodded and led Sora inside. Klutzy's house wasn't huge, but thankfully it didn't need to be. He led Sora to the dining room and gestured for him to sit. While he did, Klutzy darted into the kitchen, returning after a minute with two glasses of water. "Sorry I can't get you anything else," he said. "Water's all I've got right now."

"It's fine," said Sora, taking a sip. "I just wanted to stop by because I noticed something interesting yesterday as you were flying off."

Klutzy winced. "Oh. You saw me crash into that tree, huh? Don't worry, it wasn't too bad."

Sora struggled to hide a laugh, turning it into a cough. "N-no. Not that. No, it was your keyblade."

Klutzy's face brightened significantly. "Oh! You mean this thing?" He held out his hoof, his keyblade appearing a moment later. The shaft seemed to be made of a series of connected bubbles, with one large one at the end. The hilt was gray with a small muffin at the end to which the keychain connected. "His name is 'Bubbly Protector'. You want to see him?"

"Sure," said Sora, reaching for the strangest named keyblade he'd ever seen. He stood up, backing up and swinging it lightly. "Hm. Heavier than it looks. Good for defense, but brutal if it connects. Not a great magic blade, but better than average for cure spells. Have you had a lot of experience with it yet?"

"What, you mean fighting?" Sora nodded, the keyblade vanishing. "A bit. I'm the mail-stallion for Ponyville and I work on the weather team, too. I've seen those shadow things pop a lot, lately."

"I see. And when did you get your keyblade?"

Klutzy's face fell and he glowered a the floor. "They went after my Muffin. My daughter, Dinky," he explained, seeing Sora's confusion. "I was flying over to pick her up from school when I saw those shadows the first time. At first I thought they were just another strange creature from the Everfree, but" he shuddered. "No animal ever felt like that. They just felt... wrong. Evil.

"Anyway, I kept flying for the school, as fast as my wings could carry me. I found the doors shut and windows shuttered. A bunch of those shadows were scratching at the door and walls, but they weren't getting in. Then another one showed up, but it was different. This one stood up straight on two legs and had some sort of helmet on."

"A soldier."

Klutzy nodded. "That sounds about right. He started spinning on one of his feet which I thought was really funny at first. But then he started hitting the door over and over, and the door was starting to break. I did the only thing I could think to do to protect my Muffin and everypony else inside the school. I dove straight towards it, yelling at it to get away. And then..." Klutzy paused, looking questioningly up at Sora. "You have a keyblade too, right?" Sora nodded. "I guess you'll probably believe me then. You see, there was this great flash of light..."


Klutzy POV


a few days ago


I blinked furiously as the light cleared. I was surprised to find myself standing up rather than crashing into the schoolhouse. I looked around, searching for the creatures. The schoolhouse. My daughter.

Instead, I found something that I'd never sen before. I was standing on a giant stained-glass window. It showed the Royal Siblings circling each other, with a lot of suns and moons and other symbols. It was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. Surrounding the window was an endless black void. I walked over to the edge and looked over, seeing that the glass was on top of a column that went down and down until I couldn't see it any more. For some reason, the thought that I could fly away from the pillar never crossed my mind, not that I would have had anywhere to go.

"Wh-what is this place?" I asked.

A plane of preparation.

I nearly leaped out of my wings! I spun around, looking all over. "Who's there?" I asked, seeing no-one. "What's going on?"

This place will help you discover the desires that lie in your heart. It will equip you with the tools you will need to carry out these desires.

"My desires? You mean you'll help me protect Dinky?" Panic filled me as I realized I'd wasted minutes looking around and talking with a mysterious voice. "Oh my gosh! Muffin! You have to let me out! I have to save her!"

Time is meaningless in this place. That time from which you came, to that time you will return.

I calmed down a bit at that. For some reason I still don't understand, I trusted this voice completely. "Okay. So, what do I do now?"

Three pillars of light fell from above, three white pedestals forming where they hit the glass. Above these pedestals floated three items. One of them looked lie some sort of staff, with a blue orb at the top that had two smaller orbs on top of it. Another was a red and black shield with the same three-circle pattern on it. Finally, there was a dangerous looking sword, the strange symbol featured on the hilt.

Great power sleeps within you. If you give it form, it will give you strength. Choose well.

"You want me to choose one?" I looked over the three objects, considering my choices. I'd never liked fighting, and the staff looked like it was meant for some sort of magic. I walked over to the shield, fluttering up onto the pedestal and slipping my hoof into the grip.

The Power of the Guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the power you seek?

I nodded, and the shield vanished in a flash of light.

Your path is set. Now what will you give up in exchange?

I fluttered over to the staff without hesitating. I was never very good at pegasus magic. Heck, the only reason I was on the weather team was because I was so good at demolishing clouds.

The Power of the Mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. Do you give up this power?

I scrunched up my nose. "Ugh. Definitely. I ruin enough stuff already." The staff vanished just like the shield had.

Suddenly, the floor started shaking. The three pedestals sunk into the glass, cracks spreading out from them. I darted to the center, trying to avoid the cracks, but they began converging on me. The glass shattered beneath my hooves, falling into the darkness below. I opened my wings, trying to remain aloft, but the air vanished from beneath my wings and I fell.

I flailed through the darkness, trying to control my fall. I soon saw something below me, another stained-glass window. This one, however, filled me with dread. It showed Nightmare Moon, rearing back and laughing. As I drew closer, I found my wings catching on the air once again. I hovered down, landing surprisingly lightly on the platform. A flash of light brought the shield back onto my arm.

There will be times when you will have to fight.

Small patches of darkness began to form on the ground around me. They slowly grew larger before pealing themselves off of the floor. I soon found myself surrounded by those shadow creatures.

Keep your light burning strong.

I gripped my shield tightly as the shadows leaped at me. I shot into the air, slamming one with my shield on the way up. The rest collided into a pile beneath me, and I dove straight back down, shield first. Most of them scattered out of the way, the few who didn't vanishing into dark mist as I came down on them. I dove to the side, avoiding one of the shadows even as I swung my shield at another, blasting it into mist. I smashed shadow after shadow, not noticing as a few flattened themselves to the ground. Darkness started flowing out from them, reaching me just as I finished off the last ones still standing. I didn't notice until I started to sink. I spread my wings, trying to escape, but the darkness clung to me, pulling me under.

The darkness slowly faded from my sight, leaving me siting in Sugarcube Corner. But something looked... different. The door was closed and the windows showed only white outside. Three ponies sat at different tables. I walked up to the first one, a light purple unicorn with three gems for a cutie mark who often foal-sat for Dinky. She looked up at me as I approached, wearing the small smirk that seemed permanently attached to her face. "What are you so afraid of?"

I stopped, taken aback by the sudden question. "Um, I don't know. Being unable to help, I guess."

"Being unable to help?" she asked. "Is that really so scary?" She turned to stare straight ahead of her, paying me no further mind.

I frowned a bit at her question. This definitely wasn't the Sparkler that I knew. I walked over to one of the other ponies, a yellow earth pony with a curly orange mane. Her face bore the same slightly annoyed smile it always did. "What do you want out of life?"

"That's easy," I replied. "To make ponies happy."

"Making ponies happy, huh?" She turned away and said no more. I rolled my eyes at the fake Carrot Top and walked over to the last pony, a brown earth pony mare with a darker mane and an hourglass cutie mark.

"What's most important to you?" asked the fake Time Turner.

"Dinky." I didn't hesitate. How could I? She was family, and family is the most important thing to anypony.

Time Turner cocked her head to one side. "Is family such a big deal?"

The question was... strange. At any other time i would have gotten a little angry, but her question wasn't dismissive. She just seemed interested.

You're afraid of being unable to help. You want to make ponies happy. You want family. Is this what your heart tells you?

I thought about it for a bit, nodding at each point. "Yeah, it is."

The room began to grow brighter, the three ponies vanishing. I shielded my eyes, waiting for the light to die down. When it finally did, i found myself standing on another stained-glass window. This one depicted Discord, surrounded by random objects. A pillar of light shown on one end, and I walked over to it.

The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes.

I turned around, seeing that my shadow had indeed grown longer. Then it started moving. I stumbled backwards as it began to rise off of the ground, reshaping itself as it grew.

But don't be afraid. You hold the mightiest weapon of all.


3rd Pony POV


Klutzy stared at the ground for a while, shaking slightly. "But I was afraid," he whispered. "I was terrified. My shadow... that heartless..."

Sora nodded. "You don't need to say," he said. "Everypony goes through that. That heartless takes on the form of your deepest fear. Most ponies aren't even able to describe what they see. I'm glad that that particular breed only exists in that vision. I assume you defeated it? It then began to sink into the ground, pulling you down with it?"

Klutzy nodded, wiping some tears from his eyes. "Y-yeah. After that, I woke up inside the schoolhouse. Everypony there said i'd just appeared out of nowhere after they heard me yelling outside. The soldier broke down the door a few seconds later, and I rushed forward to attack. That's when he appeared." He held out his hoof, summoning Bubbly Protector once again. "He just appeared in my hoof, and I started swinging." He winced. "Broke a few windows when i sent them flying through them, but Cheerilee said not to worry about it. After that I grabbed Dinky and hurried home. After making sure that the shutters were closed and she'd locked the door behind me, I went out to look for more of them."

"You went looking for a fight?"

Klutzy glared at Sora. "I went looking for ponies who needed help. And there were a lot of them. A few other ponies had keyblades, but they all looked the same. We fought off the heartless, and set up a guard rotation. Well, Cloud Kicker set up the rotation. The rest of us just sort of followed her lead."

"I see," said Sora, making a mental note to talk with this Cloud Kicker later. It sounded like he'd found the new captain of the Ponyville branch of the Keyblade Guard. "And you've been fighting them ever since?"

Klutzy nodded. "Yeah. And since my job takes me all over Ponyville, Cloud left me out of the rotation as long as I fight them off whenever I see them. Then you showed up yesterday and, well, here we are!"

"Here you are indeed," said Sora. "Klutzy Doo, sorry for the abrupt change in topic, but I've got a deal to offer you."

"A deal?" asked Klutzy, tilting his head to one side. "What sort of deal?"

"You have a unique gift," said Sora, gesturing to Bubbly Protector. "You have a unique keyblade, the mark of a Keyblade Master. You already possess great power, and your potential is even greater. I had a team over a thousand years ago. A group of Keyblade Masters who helped me to fight the heartless wherever they arose. I'm building that team again, Klutzy, and I want you on it."

The house was silent as Sora's words hung in the air. Klutzy's eyes were wide, his mouth opening and closing as he sought for words.

"M-me?" he finally stammered out. "B-but I'm nothing special. I mean, I'm not smart. I'm not all too strong. I... my eyes, for Solaris's sake! How am I supposed to be some sort of hero if I can't even see right? And then there's my daughter. And my jobs with the post office and the weather team. I can't just leave them to go off all over Equestria!"

Sora nodded. "I understand your concerns. But we can help you out. This wouldn't be a volunteer thing." He smirked, thinking of the number Sol had told him when he'd asked about how much the twin crowns were willing to spend supporting the keybladers. "Equestria pays her heroes well. And we can keep you local too, just covering encounters within a day's travel. You'd never have to leave your daughter for more than a single night at a time. And as for strength..." Sora leaned forward, tapping Klutzy on the chest. "The strength in there is all that matters. Your heart is the mightiest weapon of all, remember?"

Klutzy looked down, placing his hoof over his heart. It did seem to make sense. More than that, it felt right, like this was what he was supposed to do. Only one doubt lingered on his mind. "But, my eyes..."

"Yes, those might pose a problem," said Sora, leaning back and placing his hands behind his head. "Thankfully, we have a great medical program. Paid time off for as long as you need to either recover form injuries or undergo surgery and recovery to make you a better fighter. The crowns pay for all of it too. Convenient, huh?"

Klutzy glared at him. "This isn't just another offer to get my eyes fixed for free, is it?"

Sora smirked. "Not 'just'. I really do want you on the team. I also want to help you out with getting that surgery. It just so happens that the two goals coincide. So what do you say," he asked, leaning forward. "Do you want to help protect other ponies?"

You're afraid of being unable to help. You want to make ponies happy.

There was only one way to answer.


-----


"So he agreed?"

Sora nodded as he and Luna walked towards Town Hall. "His surgery is scheduled for next week, and recovery should take about a month. I told him that he could wait for our tour to be finished before reporting for duty, but he insisted on joining up with us. Though he did insist that he be allowed to bring his daughter."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Luna agreed. "There will be others who can watch her if... when heartless show up. Other than that, it should be a good vacation for the both of them. It sounds like they could use it."

Sora nodded, stepping up and into Town Hall. "You said it. A single dad with two jobs? I bet they haven't gone on a vacation in years. Excuse me!" Sora stopped Ivory Scroll who was walking past. "I was told that the mare who was organizing the keybladers was here. I think her name was Cloud Kicker."

Ivory nodded. "Go upstairs, and it's the first door on the right. I must say, it's good to see her working so diligently on something besides, well, never mind. If you'll excuse me, I need to see Miss Sparkle about some books that she ordered." She gave a polite bow and walked off. Sora and Luna headed up the stairs, turning right and finding themselves in the Ponyville Weather Office. A light purple pegasus with a yellow mane sat behind the desk, going over some paperwork. Strangely, she was wearing a full set of red armor, armor that looked very familiar to both of them.

"That's why the name sounded familiar!" The mare jumped and looked up at Sora's shout. "The Kicker Clan! Aw, how could I have forgotten them? Some of my best keybladers came out of that clan."

The mare looked Sora up and down before noticing Luna and saluting. "Princess! I- um- I mean-" She quickly lowered her hoof and dropped into a bow. "S-sorry, your highness. Military family. Old habits. Sorry."

Luna just laughed, motioning for the mare to stand. "Don't worry," she said. "I remember well the Kicker Clan's traditions. Learning to fight as soon as you could fly, if times have not changed too much. You are Cloud Kicker, yes?"

Cloud rose to her hooves, standing ramrod straight. "Yes ma'am. Cloud Kicker, assistant manager of the Ponyville weather service."

"And unofficial manager of the local keybladers, if rumors are to be believed," added Sora.

Cloud nodded, relaxing slightly as she turned to regard Sora again. "Kind of, I guess. I mean, somepony had to do it, and I'm the only one in town with any sort of guard training, so..." She shrugged. "I guess I just did what was needed."

"I assume you can use a keyblade then?" asked Sora. Cloud nodded, summoning a Kingdom Key. "Then we've got an offer for you. How would you like to be the commander of the Ponyville branch of the Equestrian Keyblader's Army?"

Cloud's keyblade dropped as quickly as her jaw. "M-m-me?! A military commander? Are you crazy? I- I ran away from the military. I'm a failure. A dropout! Am I even qualified?"

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a keyblade?" Cloud nodded. "Are you willing to fight the heartless?" Another nod. "Do you have more military training than the average squirrel?" A third nod, and Sora shrugged. "You sound perfectly qualified to me. To be honest, the EKA's always been pretty loose when it comes to, well, everything. Heck, we don't even usually get armor, so you're already ahead of the curve on that one. If you can fight, you're in. If you can lead, you lead. It's as simple as that. Besides, you're pretty much doing the job anyway. All that's left is to get you on the payroll."

Cloud sat back, staring down at her desk for a few minutes. "Well, when you say it like that, it's not nearly so overwhelming." She looked up, her face full of confidence. "I think I can make it work."

"Glad to hear it," said Luna. "Captain Gleaming Shield will be in touch soon with the details of the position."

"Gleaming Shield, huh?" Cloud tapped her chin a few times, lost in thought. "Gleaming. Gleaming. I feel like I know that name... oh!" She grinned as the memory came to her. "She's the one who's banging the Prince, right?"

Luna snorted, trying to hold in her laughter as Sora's jaw dropped. "Wha- bu- what?! Sol is- but he- he never said- LUNA!" He turned on the alicorn, grabbing her shoulders. "Why didn't you tell me that your brother was finally seeing someone?!"

"Um, he isn't." Sora looked over to see Cloud giving him a strange look. "I was talking about the other one. You know, Bolero? Pink guy? Alicorn of love? Ascended a few years ago? Ringing any bells?"

Sora slowly turned his gaze back to the widely grinning alicorn. "And you were going to tell me about this, when?"

"When it came up," she replied, using her magic to brush his hands off of her shoulders and turning to Cloud. "If you'll excuse us, Commander Kicker."

Cloud straightened up, saluting proudly. "Ma'am! I won't let you down, ma'am!"

Luna nodded, grabbing the still stunned Sora in her magic and floating him out after her.
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 10



3rd Pony POV


"Prince of Love? Really?"

"Oh, give it a rest, Sora!"

"Sorry. Sorry. It's just... prince of love? I mean, you couldn't pay me to have that title!"

Sora and Luna sat on the train, heading south to Appleoosa. After finishing up a few things in Ponyville (and staying just long enough to stave off a Twilight freak-out), they had hopped on the train and resumed their journey. Conversation had been limited to a single topic since then.

"Let me guess," said Luna, not even bothering to look up from her novel. "More human sexism regarding how males aren't allowed to be soft, weak, or emotional?"

"...well when you put it like that." Sora sighed and leaned back in his seat, staring up at the ceiling. "I guess I'm not as used to it as I thought. More than a millennium of learning a new way, and a couple of encounters with humans - well, one human and a humanoid eldritch abomination - and I'm already back to that way of thinking." He sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Twelve hundred years trapped in stone certainly didn't help. Plenty of time to fall back into bad mental habits. Let's hope I don't meet any strong feminist displaced before I switch my mindset back, or I'm going to seriously tick someone off."

"About that," said Luna, looking up. "Have you received any more tokens?"

Sora nodded. "A few. Turned them into keychains before we got on the train. Haven't gotten the chance to try any of them out yet, though. And I don't think I'll be using them to summon anyone any time soon." He shuddered. "Those keyblades didn't feel right. Almost as bad as the Key to People's Hearts. The call-signs weren't too comforting, either."

"Probably for the best," said Luna, returning to her reading. "You humans are rather unpredictable creatures. I'd rather have just one of them around for the most part. Don't get me wrong, Alex was a stout ally and this Jeremy sounds friendly, if a little disconcerting, but I don't think I'd trust them with the safety of Equestria just yet."

"Agreed," said Sora. "They both seem really young. I'm willing to bet that they were just displaced recently. Wonder if anyone else got the bad luck to be stuck as a statue? Anyway, I think they need a bit more experience under their belts before I call on them again."

Luna nodded and silence filled the train once again.

"But yes, I agree that a Princess of Love would have made more sense."

"I know, right?!"


__________


The train station in Appleoosa was far more busy than usual, crowded with ponies who impatiently tapped their hooves and checked the nearby clock-tower. An air of impatience, fear and suspicion hung over the crowd, with only one pony not seeming to be affected. Chief Silverstar waited patiently for the train to arrive, ready to recieve the most distinguished guests that Appleoosa had ever hosted. He just wished that it had been under better circumstances.

The train was soon spotted on the horizon and quickly pulled into the station. Before the doors could open, however, the conductor stepped out and blew his whistle, demanding the attention of everypony on the platform. "Sorry for the delay, folks, but I'm afraid that we encountered a slight pest problem on the way down. Should be cleared out before too long, but I'm going to have to ask all of you to wait a few minutes."

Grumbles and groans filled the platform and a single voice was heard to cry out, "Oh, come on! What the hay sort o' pests could've got on board on the way?"

The conductor's response was cut off as a shadow was sent flying out one of the windows. The heartless landed on the platform, hissing back at the train before being blasted to nothing by a beam of silvery light. The conductor sighed, covering his eyes with his hoof. "That sort of pest."

There were no further complaints.

Five minutes later, Sora opened one of the doors, stretching his arms above his head as he stepped out. "Ah, good workout. The train's all yours, conductor. Sorry about the window. And the seats. And the dining car."

"Rest assured," said Luna, stepping out behind him, "the crown will pay to reimburse all damages."

"Yeah, yeah," muttered the conductor, waving them off. He took a deap breath before putting on a winning smile and calling out. "NEXT STOP, DODGE JUNCTION! TICKETS OUT, AND PREPARE TO BOARD!"

While most of the ponies picked up their baggage and started for the train doors, Sheriff Silverstar made his way over to the duo who had exited the train. "Princess Luna. Mister Sora." He sank into a bow. "I'm sheriff Silverstar. I'd like to welcome y'all here on behalf o' all of Appleoosa. I hope the trip was..." he looked up at the train, noting the smashed window and the torn up seats that could be seen through it. "Er, well I guess it weren't peaceful."

"Peaceful is boring," said Sora, stepping forward and holding out his hand. "And just Sora is fine. Calling me 'Mister' makes me feel my age."

Silverstar blinked in confusion before grinning widely and grasping Sora's hand in both of his hooves. "Well, nice to meet you, Sora. Got to say, I sure am glad you ain't like one of them stuffy Canterlot types that need everythin' just so. Was afraid I'd have to speak all careful and proper the whole time."

Sora laughed, massaging his now sore hand once Silverstar released it. "No worries there. I'm just about as casual as they come, and Luna's never been one for excessive formality, either." He looked around, noticing everypony shooting him suspicious glares as they hurriedly boarded the train. "Can't say much for your tourists, though. Can't see a single smile apart from yours."

Said smile faded as Silverstar released a sigh. "Oh, I wish those were just tourists. Nah, them's the sensible folk of Appleoosa who decided to get goin' while the gettin' was good."

Lunas eyes narrowed in concern. "Problems in Appleoosa?"

"You could say that." Silverstar turned and nodded for Sora and Luna to follow. He led them away from the train station and through the town, Sora and Luna feeling distrustful stares everywhere they went. "Used to be a nice little settlement here. Real friendly-like. Even made nice with the local buffalo tribe 'bout a year back."

"I remember that event," said Luna, thinking back. "I believe Twilight and her friends were involved in finding a solution to your disagreements about the land."

Silverstar snorted. "Yeah, 'involved'. I guess you could put it that way." He shook his head. "Anyway, everythin' was goin' just swell. Everypony and -buffalo got along just fine. Better than fine. Why, this here was the most friendly town you could ever hope to see!" He sighed. "Till now, that is. "Bout a week ago, things started changin'. Ponies started gettin' snippy with each other. Started gettin' especially snippy with the buffalo. Seems like the entire town's gone and dug up every gripe they've ever had against each other, and there's a lot of gripes to be had between ponies and buffalo. Almost everyone's been hit by it."

"Almost everyone?" asked Sora.

"Eeyup. Reckon there's only four of us here that ain't been brought down by this, and I think you can guess what those four've got in common."

Sora nodded. "Keyblades, right?"

Silverstar stopped and held out his hoof, a kingdom key appearing in his grasp. "Eeyup. Me and the buffalo chief got these, while another pony and buffalo got special ones. We've been hearin' about these keyblades and the heartless and all that for the past few days. Never expected any of it to make it out here." He sighed, dismissing his keyblade as he continued walking. "Thing is, that thing y'all threw out of the train's the first heartless we've ever seen."

"How can that be?" asked Luna. "The heartless spread quickly and without discrimination. I'd have thought that there would be heartless in every town, city and settlement."

Sora's eyes narrowed. "Just because you don't see a heartless doesn't mean it isn't there. Stealth Sneaks, Silent Sneaks and some others can turn invisible, and there are others who can affect ponies just by being nearby in the shadows. I'm guessing it's the second one?"

Silverstar nodded. "As far as we can figure. I've talked with a few ponies around town," he scowled and spit to the side, "the few who would talk at all civil-like, that is. All they could tell me was that they've been havin' a lot of dreams about the tiff with the buffalo last year, and those dreams don't go quite the way I remember it. I don't recall the buffalo sneakin' into town in the middle of the night to poison our water."

Luna scowled. "So, a somniomancer. There aren't very many of those, but none of them are easy to handle."

"Somethin' powerful?" asked Silverstar nervously.

Sora shook his head. "Probably not. Most of them are push-overs once you find them. Only one of them would even be able to give us a fight, and I haven't seen one in centuries, even before my imprisonment. Which means we just need to find the slippery little yay and put it down. Shouldn't be too hard with six of us on the job."

"Speaking of which," added Luna, "we should probably meet with these other keybladers. Would you be able to gather them together?"

Silverstar winced. "Probably not, Princess. Like I said, two of them are buffalo, one of them bein' their chief. He ain't exactly welcome in Appleoosa no more, and I ain't welcome at their camp, neither. Heck, Strongheart can barely walk through town without gettin' bothered by the townsfolk. I reckon she'd stay out altogether if it weren't for Jazz."

"The other keyblader?"

Silverstar chuckled. "Yeah, that too." Seeing the confusion on Sora and Luna's faces, he rolled his eyes. "Those two have been all but glued together since they met last year. I'm surprised they ain't got hitched yet."

Sora and Luna shared a look, both thinking the same thing. Two keyblade masters in love? Determined to protect each other and wielding both love and light? Yeah, that's make a good addition to the team. "Well then," Sora said, clapping his hands together, "let's go and meet these two lovebirds."


__________


*CRACK*

*THUD* *THUD* *THUD* *THUD*

"Nice one, Strongheart! Got four apples that time."

The young buffalo cow wiped the sweat from her forehead before turning to glare at the mare beside her. "How is that something to cheer about? You can get twice that many with a one-legged kick."

The yellow mare by her side chuckled, adjusting the stetson that sat on her two-toned golden mane. "Well, that's because I've been apple buckin' my whole life. Trust me, y'all're doin' much better than I did my first day."

Strongheart shot a level glare at the mare. "Jazz, your first day of apple bucking was when you were a calf half my height."

Jazz Apple shrugged, casually bucking a tree and relieving it of its entire load. "Which just goes to show you how long I've been doin' this for. Trust me, you'll be emptyin' trees in no time!"

Strongheart held her glare for a minute more before it broke into a small smile. She shook her head, chuckling a bit. "Why is it that I can never stay upset around you?"

Jazz blushed a bit, looking away and rubbing the back of her neck. "Aw shucks, don't say it like that. I just like seein' you smile, that's all." She pulled her stetson down, covering her eyes. "You're beautiful when you smile."

It was Strongheart's turn to blush as she looked down and scuffed the ground with her forehoof. "Y- you really think so?"

Strongheart felt a hoof under her chin, which pulled her up until she was staring into Jazz's emerald eyes. "I really do."

They stood there for a while, lost in each others' eyes, neither of them willing or wanting to break the connection. Standing there, sharing this moment with the one they loved, they wished that the moment would never end.

"Oh would you just kiss already?"

Jazz and Strongheart both jumped and turned to where the voice had come from, just in time to see the Princess of the Night buck a strangely shaped diamond dog into a tree. A torrent of apples cascaded down, several of them landing on the creature's head. "Okay," he said, voice sounding shaky and week. "I deserved that."

"Yay right, you did," Princess Luna muttered, turning away from the creature and bowing slightly to the pair. "I apologize for Sora's behavior. He never learned tact as a child, and three thousand years has done nothing to improve him. You two must be Jazz Apple and Little Strongheart."

Jazz jumped as she realized that one of Equestria's princesses was addressing her and she sank into a deep bow, Strongheart following her lead. "Y-yes, Princess. That's us. I mean, we are! I mean, um, that is-"

"It is an honor," interrupted Strongheart, saving Jazz from further fumbling, "to meet the Moon-Bearer and Dream-Keeper. Many a time have I found comfort in my tribe's stories of your gentleness and watchful eye. I am indeed the one known as Little Strongheart, and this is Jazz Apple."

Luna's eyes widened, misting over a bit as she thought back to times long past. "Moon-Bearer and Dream-Keeper," she whispered. She looked down at Strongheart, smiling softly. "It has been many moons since I last heard those names. Rise, Daughter of the Prairie. It is I who am honored to be so remembered." Strongheart rose from her bow, Jazz hesitantly following soon afterwards. 

"And I thought I gave her a fancy greetin'," muttered Silverstar.

"Oh! Sheriff!" exclaimed Jazz, happy to see the familiar face. "You and the princess wanted to see us for somethin'?"

"All three of us did, actually." Jazz and Strongheart looked over to see the diamond dog-like creature walking over, rubbing his head and wincing. "Yeah, that's going to hurt in the morning. Sora, Warrior of Light. Nice to meet you."

Strongheart's jaw dropped and she stepped back slightly. "Th-the Light-Bearer! I- I thought you were supposed to be a minotaur!"

Luna snorted into her hoof, trying to hold in a laugh as Sora glared at her. "Wait, so you got remembered as a grand hero and protector, and I became a muscle-head?"

"Do not blame me that oral tradition favors the familiar," said Luna between giggles. Calming herself after a moment, Luna nodded to Strongheart and Jazz. "And yes, we came to see the two of you. The sheriff tells us that you both posses keyblades?"

"Oh! Ah, yes Princess," said Jazz. "Would you like to see them?"

Luna nodded. "If that would not be too much trouble."

"It is no trouble at all, honored Moon-Bearer," replied Strongheart. She and Jazz held out their right hooves, two keyblades appearing in twin flashes of light. Jazz's keyblade had a guard shaped like an apple, colored like red leather. The shaft was a darker brown leather with a tiny stetson on the tip. The teeth were formed by a bronze-gold spur that jut out from the side near the tip. Strongheart's blade also had an apple-shaped guard, this time of deep, hardwood red. The relatively short shaft was a slightly lighter brown than her body, with three painted feathers sticking out near the tip to form the teeth and a single feather at the end of the keychain in lieu of a cutie mark.

"Very nice," said Sora. "I assume they have names?"

Jazz nodded. "Mine's Rodeo. Strongheart's is Pact. We got 'em a few days ago when the mists started appearin'."

"The mists?"

Jazz nodded, scowling deeper into the orchard. "Yeah. That's what we've been callin' it, anyway. See, I was out here with Strongheart a few nights ago, showing her how we buck apples. We stayed out later than we meant to, and we didn't notice until the sun went down. We started makin' our way out when..." She shuddered, looking away.

"We sensed that something was wrong," continued Strongheart, "but we foolishly decided to stay and investigate. Mist began rising around us as we wandered, and we began to see dark shadows moving through the trees. We were just about to turn back when... something leapt out at us. It was a patch of shadow given form, tall and thin and with sharp claws. We tried to run, but more of them appeared. We were surrounded. They leapt at us from all sides and..." She exchanged a nervous glance with Jazz. "Well, next thing we knew, the sun was rising and we were waking up where we'd been attacked."

Sora nodded, deciding not to bring up the vision that they had surely had. "And then you had these keyblades?" he asked. "May I see them?" Jazz and Strongheart handed them over, and Sora took a few swings with them. Hm. Rodeo's a more sturdy than he looks, and Pact a lot lighter. Don't feel a lot of magic from either of them, though it feels like Rodeo might be able to work wind a bit better than usual. Pact seems to go for speed over power, and a lot of speed at that. "Let me guess," he said, coming to a stop and looking back at the two. "Jazz chose the way of the guardian, Strongheart chose the way of the warrior, and you both gave up the way of the mystic, right?"

Strongheart and Jazz sighed in relief. "Whew. We were worried we'd gone a bit crazy when we seen that vision." Jazz nodded. "Yeah, y'all've got us pegged. Strongheart's never been one to sit on the sidelines when there's somethin' to be done, and I don't much fancy others gettin' hurt because I couldn't protect 'em."

Sora nodded, dismissing both keyblades. "Well then," he said, crossing his arms, "I've got an offer to make you. What do you know of the Keyblader's Army?"

Jazz and Strongheart looked at each other, eyebrows raised in confusion, before Strongheart's eyes widened in recognition. "The Light Bringers?" she asked, turning back to Sora.

Sora nodded. "That was another name for us, yes. Didn't think it would have survived until now, though."

"It is not a well known tale, even amongst the tribes," said Strongheart. "However, there are a few stories of a group of warriors who traveled with the Light Bearer to combat the darkness that filled the land in those days. Is that what you are referring to?"

"Sort of," said Sora. "The Equestrian Keyblader's Army was an organization that fought the heartless all across Equestria. It organized the keybladers in each town and settlement to be able to fight off heartless when they popped up. What you're talking about would be my personal team of Keyblade Masters. We traveled around from town to town, fighting off larger threats and seeking out powerful heartless to put down before they could gather larger numbers to themselves. Jazz, Strongheart, I would like to ask you both to join this team."

"Now wait just a doggone minute!" All eyes turned to Silverstar as he glared at Sora. "Y'all can't just be takin' two of our only fighters from us! How're we supposed to fight off heartless without 'em?"

"It should not be a problem," said Luna. "Large and dangerous heartless are no doubt coming out of the shadows all across Equestria now that they sense the return of the Warrior of Light, but that is one of the goals of our tour: to find these threats and destroy them, sending a message to the heartless that he has returned with full power." She shrugged. "Once those threats are dealt with, their numbers should rapidly decrease. Heartless attacks will be fewer and further between, especially in more rural areas such as this. You and Chief Thunderhooves should be able to handle the day-to-day heartless just fine."

"She's right," said Sora. "Heartless are drawn to the darkness in ponies' hearts, and their numbers tend to increase with the population. There are some cities that will require a large keyblade presence, but for small settlements like this they'll be more like pests than anything else. As long as someone in town has a keyblade, you should be fine."

"So, Appleoosa will be alright?" asked Jazz. "Y'all're sure?"

Silverstar's eyebrows shot up, his ears straightening as his stetson gave a little jump. "Now hold on! You can't seriously be thinkin' about this. Strongheart! Talk some sense into her!"

"Hm." Strongheart was rubbing her chin nervously, seemingly deep in thought. "No, you're right, Sheriff." Silverstar breathed a sigh of relief, which turned into a gasp as Strongheart continued. "We need some time to tell everyone. Settle our affairs here. Pack for the journey."

"Y-you can't be serious! Just like that? Y'all're goin' to leave Appleoosa, leave you families behind, just like that?"

But his words fell on deaf ears as Jazz and Strongheart began to discuss the details of their arrangement with Sora. Luna stepped over and laid a reassuring hoof on Silverstar's shoulder. "Worry not. This is how it always is. Keyblade Masters are naturally filled with a sense of wanderlust. It is unclear whether the keyblade gives them this desire or if it simply chooses those who desire to wander and brings those desires to the surface."

"I'd place my money on the former," Silverstar muttered. "Ain't never heard nothin' from Jazz about leavin' Appleoosa. She loves it here." He sighed before giving her and Strongheart a wistful smile. "Still, if it's what they want, who am I to stand in their way. Appleoosa'll be a much less lively place without 'em, though."

"True, but their travels shall make Equestria shine all the brighter."

"Maybe so, Princess. Maybe so."


________


"This is the place?"

Jazz nodded. "Yeah, this is where we were the first time." They stood in the orchards, about half a mile in. Jazz and Strongheart looked around nervously as the sun began to set, remembering the heartless that had attacked. Sora and Luna stood more easily, the former switching between a few different keyblades while Luna prepared to lower the moon.

"Are you sure we should be here?" asked Strongheart. "The mists arose very quickly last time. Those creatures will be upon us mere moments after the sun has set."

"Exactly," said Sora confidently. "And as soon as we see which direction they're coming from, we'll take them out and get going. The heartless that attacked you were Neoshadows, and there's only a couple of heartless that create smoke, work with Neos, and mess with dreams. If we charge for where the smoke is the thickest, we'll find the little bugger and thrash him like a bully gunning for a poor nerd's lunch money." Three sets of eyes stared at him and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Um, drew that analogy from my own past. I wasn't always a fighter."

"The Light Bearer was once a bullied nerd?" Strongheart whispered. "No-one in my tribe will believe this."

"You'd best prepare yourselves," said Luna, lighting her horn as she looked to the East. "The moon shall claim the sky in five minutes, and the battle begins soon afterwards."

Jazz and Strongheart nodded, summoning Rodeo and Pact. Sora finally settled on Superior of the In-Between, muttering about a trial run. They watched as the sun set and the moon rose, the sky and the orchards slowly darkening. All that was left was to wait for the mists.

They didn't have to wait long. Just as Strongheart and Jazz had described, a feeling of unease, of wrongness fell over them. Jazz and Strongheart shuddered, but Sora and Luna merely shrugged it off, long familiar with the feel of darkness. Dark mists of smoke began to rise around them, Luna summoning her twin blades of moonlight to keep the darkness somewhat at bay.

"Sh-shouldn't be too long now," whispered Jazz. "They attacked just a bit after the mist came in. I reckon-"

Jazz's reckonings were cut off by an ear-piercing screech. A neoshadow leapt from the trees, latching onto Luna's back and rearing up to strike.

Luna calmly ducked, swinging her blades over her body and decapitating the heartless. "Really," she said as it dissipated, "it's sad how predictable they can be."

"The part where it leapt onto your back, or the part where it attacked immediately before any of the others could get here?" asked Sora.

"Can I not be saddened by both?" Luna turned and began walking further into the orchard, the rest of them following suit. "So, any further clue as to which heartless we are facing?"

Sora nodded, his face now set and serious. "Got it narrowed down to two," he said. "One of them's a pushover like I described, but one of them... no." He shook his head. "It's just been Neoshadows so far. As long as Neoshadows and Shadows are all that we find, it can't be that. Besides, why would one of them even be here?"

"O-one of what?" asked Jazz nervously.

"It doesn't matter," said Sora, almost sounding like he was trying to convince himself. "It's not that. There's no way one of them would pop up out here in the middle of nowhere. It's got to be the little guy. Otherwise we'd be seeing..."

Sora and Luna stopped dead in their tracks, Strongheart and Jazz almost stumbling into them. "What? What is it?" Strongheart, frustrated at Sora's lack of an answer, leaned over to look around him.

A figure hovered in the darkness, tall and thin and holding something that looked like a sword. Giant orbs of darker smoke hovered around it, slowly approaching.

"Sora..." said Luna nervously. "Are those-"

"Get back to Appleoosa."

Luna flinched and immediately spread her wings. That tone of voice had not been heard in Equestria in over a thousand years. "What do you need me to do?" she asked crouching down.

"Patrol their dreams," said Sora, summoning Oblivion in his other hand as he continued to stare down the figures through the mists before them. "This is the big one, and if we can't stop it from attacking their dreams, they're going to wake up and start killing each other."

Strongheart and Jazz paled as Luna nodded and leapt into the sky, turning quickly and flying back to Appleoosa, horn glowing all the while.

"Strongheart. Jazz." The two jumped to attention as Sora addressed them. "Are we surrounded?"

Strongheart looked around, seeing flashes of dark figures moving through the trees around them, but only a few signs of movement directly behind. "Not quite. But they will cut off our retreat fairly soon."

Sora nodded. "Both of you, get going. I'll deal with these guys and draw their attention. Only a few of the little guys should get to you. I'll catch up soon."

Strongheart and Jazz nodded, both too scared to argue with Sora. They turned and galloped off, the dark figures and Sora slowly fading from sight.

A few minutes in, a screech was heard from the right. Strongheart turned her head and her eyes widened as she saw a Neoshadow charging on a course to intercept her. Before she could bring Pact to bear, however, she felt something fly over her back and saw it strike the heartless in the chest.

"Yee-haw! Take that you varmint!" Strongheart looked over to see Jazz smiling proudly, Rodeo appearing in her tail a moment later. "Keep runnin', Strongheart. We'll get out of this yet!"

Strongheart nodded, but her eyes widened again as she saw three more Neoshadows charging from Jazz's other side. Not one to be outdone, she leapt over Jazz's back, landing hooves first one one of the Neoshadows before leaping up and catching the other two in a cross-swing. She landed on the ground, smoothly bringing Pact sweeping down to slice the grounded Neoshadow in two.

Jazz gave an appreciative whistle. "Thanks for the save, pardner. Guess there's a reason you picked warrior."

Strongheart smiled. "Well, you weren't so bad yourself, throwing your keyblade to protect me. My little guardian."

"Aw, shucks," muttered Jazz, rubbing the back of her neck. "'Tweren't nothin'. Just saw him comin' and thought I'd lend a hoof."

Strongheart giggled. "It was sweet." She looked Jazz in the eyes, slowly leaning in closer.

*SCREECH*

Jazz and Strongheart flinched, running once again for the edge of the orchard. "Right. Less talking. More running and fighting."

Jazz grinned. "I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you!"

Strongheart blushed, barely even noticing as she sliced through a few shadows while she ran. "I, um, I love you too."

Jazz blushed as well, realizing what she'd just said out loud even as she drove Rodeo through a Neoshadow's chest. "Oh! Um, well, yeah."

"Okay, this is just getting painful." Both girls turned in shock to see Sora flying towards them, clothed all in blue. "I mean seriously? Flirting in the middle of a battlefield? Is that what you two are going to become known for?"

"We weren't flirting!" Strongheart shouted, her entire face going red.

"U-huh. Sure you weren't. DUCK!" Strongheart and Jazz hit the ground as Sora leapt over them, pointing Superior of the In-Between at a group of shadows in front of them and firing bolts of blue magic at them, blasting them into wisps of smoke. "Yay it all. Looks like this one's a lot more powerful than I though, to gather this many heartless around. How far are we from the edge?"

Jazz got up and looked around, quickly reorienting herself. "Not far. Shouldn't even be half a minute before we're out of here. What were those things that stopped us?"

"An Invisible," replied Sora as they began running - or in his case, gliding - again. "One of the strongest common heartless out there. Bunch of Darkballs, too. With those guys around, there's only one thing that could be causing all of this."

"I'm guessin' it's that thing you were mutterin' about before?" asked Jazz as the mists began to thin around them.

"Yeah," said Sora, glancing behind them as they cleared the edge of the orchard and continued on towards town. "And we're going to need some help to take it down."
> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 11



3rd Pony POV


“It’s called a Dark Cloud,” said Sora.

They had gathered in the orchards, helping with the apple harvest as they talked about the previous night. Though Luna had been able to keep the settlement free of war-torn nightmares, it had not been an easy task. She lay exhausted under a nearby tree, taking a nap to replenish her strength for the next confrontation.

“A Dark Cloud?” asked Strongheart, freeing a tree of all of its apples with a single buck.

Sora nodded. “It feeds on hatred, spreading it every night wherever it goes. Entire cities have torn themselves apart from its influence: street fighting against street, neighbor against neighbor, heck, even families shedding each other's blood. Even keybladers become more touchy and irritated.”

“Wait just one minute,” said Jazz, scratching her head. “If this here monster goes around dishin’ out hatred like it’s Thanksgivin’ gravy, how come Strongheart and I haven’t started fightin’?”

“Because it doesn’t give hatred out,” corrected Sora. “It increases the hatred that’s already there. The buffalo and the Appleoosans may have made up and found a compromise, but anger doesn’t fade easily. It would only take the smallest spark of animosity for the Dark Cloud to rile it up into a warmongering hatred.” Sora leaned back on a tree and smirked. “As for you two, well, heh, it should be rather obvious.”

Strongheart and Jazz looked at eachother before blushing and looking away.

Sora chuckled. “Exactly my point. You two couldn’t bring up any deep-seated animosity between you if you tried.”

Strongheart cleared her throat, fighting down her blush. “S-so, what’s the plan of attack then?”

At this, Sora sighed and pushed himself off the tree. “That’s just it,” he said, beginning to pace. “I don’t know. The three of us did a pretty good job of fighting off the heartless last night, but they’ll just keep coming back at this rate. Luna would give us the extra power we need, but she needs to focus her magic on staving off the Cloud’s influence.”

“You could always call Alex again,” said Luna, cracking an eye open.

Sora sighed, his pacing getting slightly more frantic. “Yeah, but I don’t want to be bothering him all of the time. From what he told us, he’s going through some major issues right now. Besides, he may be strong, but we’ll need a real powerhouse to make sure that this thing is taken care of once and for all. Jeremy would fit the bill, but I highly doubt that a Slenderman has anything close to light magic… AGH! If the multiverse is supposed to be infinite, then why do I only know three displaced?”

And that’s when the magic hourglass smacked him in the face.

“Seriously!?” he yelled, getting up and shaking his fists at the sky. “Why? Why the buysomeapples is that the delivery method?” He leaned down and picked up the hourglass, dusting the dust off of it.

“I am Draigo, a primordial dragon. To those who find this hourglass. Know that I'm here should you need help. I will give my protection to those I deem worthy. I will give my attention to those who need to talk. Finally, to those who misuse this item and others like it. You shall know my wrath.”

Primordial dragon, huh? Sora thought. Eh, why not. If nothing else, he’ll be able to hold it off while we wail on it. “Hey Draigo,” he said to the hourglass, “got any light based magic? Because if so, The Warrior of Light could sure use some help here.”

Jazz raised an eyebrow. “Um, Sora, not to state the obvious, but y’all’re talkin’ to an hourglass. Somethin’ we should know?”

A portal appeared before them as a dragon about the size of Princess Celestia walked through. His scales showed different colors as he stepped into the sunlight. “Greetings, are you the one who summoned me? I heard something about needing light based magic?” he said as he stepped up to the group before him.

Sora smirked at Jazz and Strongheart’s dropped jaws. “That would be me,” he said, stepping forward. “Sora, Warrior of Light and Wielder of the Keyblade. Nice to meet you.” He pointed at the buffalo and pony behind him. “These are Little Strongheart and Jazz Apple.”

“It’s nice to meet all of you. I am Draigo, a Primordial Dragon. Is this your entire group or are there others around?” Draigo asked as he looked Strongheart and Jazz over.

“Well, there’s me over here,” said Luna, not even bothering to open her eyes. “Princess Luna, Princess of the Night, all that Jazz.”

“Yes, Princess?”

“Not you, Jazz. We have one more potential combatant, but he’s training other keybladers up in Canterlot. Then of course there’s the Appleoosans, the buffalo herd, and the giant cloud of darkness and hatred that comes around every night.” She waved a hoof around flippantly. “We were hoping you could help out with that last one.”

“Of course, Luna. I’d be happy to help. Now, is it okay if I were to go to my full size? I wouldn’t want to accidentally destroy something.” Draigo said as he looked at the dozing princess of the night.

“Thought you were kind of short for a ‘primordial’ dragon,” Sora said to himself. “Sure, why not. Everyone else is catching up on the sleep that they haven’t been able to get this past week, so there shouldn’t be any concern about squishing anyone. Just try to leave the trees intact.”

“I’ll do my best,” Draigo said as he began to grow. It only took a few moments, but when he finished everyone was standing in the shade. Draigo was now about the size of a football field, including the end zone, long and his wingspan was about the same. His body had grown to thirty feet wide and he stood forty-four feet tall at the shoulder. “Does this fit the size you were thinking I’d be?”

“Land sakes,” whispered Jazz. “I ain’t never seen anythin’ that big.”

“Really?” asked Sora. “I have. Bigger, in fact. Those heartless took an army to take down. Each.” He nodded. “But yeah, I think this will do nicely. Ever had to fight a cloud?”

“No, I haven’t. Clouds tend to just break apart when I fly through them. Though, if it’s just like a cloud then I can definitely defeat it. Also, what did you see that’s bigger than I am right now?” Draigo laid down and brought his head down to Sora’s level. 

“An absolute monster of a heartless. Seven of them, in fact, about two and a half thousand years ago. As for fighting the Dark Cloud,” Sora shook his head, “I’m afraid that it’s not that simple. Heartless don’t take damage from anything but light. Swords, fire, dropped houses, all useless against them. The best you could do with normal methods would be to scatter it a bit, and it would just reform after a minute or two.”

“Ah, so ‘heartless’ is the name of a creature. Hmm, you’re older than you seem, but that amount of time is nothing. So, that’s why you asked about light magic. Okay, got it,” Draigo said as his entire body shined with light.

Sora looked him up and down before nodding in approval. “Light augmented physical attacks. Not quite as good as a keyblade, but a close second. And yeah, heartless are what all of those creatures are called. They’re formed when someone gives into the darkness in their heart. The darkness consumes them, transforming them into a mindless creature bent on devouring more hearts. The one that’s been giving us a headache is called a Dark Cloud. It feeds on hatred and awakens and amplifies the hatred already in ponies’ hearts. And since the ponies and buffalo here fought a minor war against each other just last year…” he shrugged. “Yeah, lots of old wounds opening up again.”

“Well, light augmented physical attacks is only one of the ways I can use it. Hmm, I remember hearing Applejack tell me about that incident. Makes sense that they’re back at it if their hatred has been rekindled and increased by these creatures,” Draigo told him as he looked toward the town in the distance.

Jazz sighed, looking towards town herself. “Yeah, it’s a right shame. Things were really good there for a while. Heck, Strongheart and I were even about to, well, you know.” She and Strongheart both blushed again before Jazz continued. “A-Anyway, I just hope we can be done with this monster by the end of the night. Wouldn’t be right to leave Appleoosa while that thing is still threatenin’.”

“Oh ho, I think I hear some wedding bells coming from somewhere,” Draigo said teasingly, “Did the creatures interrupt right before it was going to happen? Cause that would be classic.”

Strongheart glared at Draigo as Jazz pulled her hat low over her flushed face. “No,” the buffalo muttered. “But we were getting ready to announce it. We thought the town and my tribe might finally be ready for an official union, but…” She began to shake as she glared off into the distance. “Then that thing came, like a nightmare from our darkest legends.” she stomped her hooves in rage. “Why when that thing gets back tonight, I’m going to-”

“STRONGHEART!” Strongheart flinched and looked over to Sora, who stared her down sternly. “Check your hatred. Passion is a virtue, but it can turn into a vise when misplaced or channeled through the ways of darkness. Remember, we are not above corruption, chosen of the keyblade or not.”

“Well, all I know is that your ruined opportunity has given me great motivation to see this ‘cloud’ defeated. I know what loneliness is like and I won’t let something that feeds off of hatred bring loneliness, sadness, or despair. Wait, I just thought of something. If you need light magic to defeat these things then is Celestia holding it off back in Canterlot or is she somehow incapacitated? She does wield light magic, right?” Draigo tilted his head to the side and pondered on what his Celestia would do in this situation.

Luna and Sora burst out laughing while Jazz and Strongheart looked on in confusion. “Oh, oh yes,” giggled Luna. “That one is holding down the fort in Canterlot while Sora and I travel the nation. Hehe, my brother is quite adept at light magic.”

“Crap, rule 63, huh? Well, at least Luna is still the attractive mare she is,” Draigo muttered to himself.

“She sure is,” said Sora, walking over and leaning down to kiss the tip of her horn. “Well, I think it’s official. If he’s ‘Celestia’ in four other universes, then that’s probably the norm rather than the exception. He owes me twenty bits and a picture of himself in a skirt!”

“I did not need that kind of image in my head for all eternity!” Draigo said as he cringed from the mental image of a male Celestia in a skirt.

“Oh, don’t worry,” said Luna, grinning evilly. “We plan to send that picture throughout the multiverse. You won’t have to use just a mental one for long. Oh, I hope he wears the frilly pink one I saw in Elusive’s boutique! The one with the cute yellow bows.”

“Oh, if I weren’t attracted to my version of you I’d encase you in the earth you lay upon. Not that it would really do anything since you can teleport but it’s the principal of the thing. Also, I really hope that that photo is never seen by my Celestia. It’s really scary when she gets angry. She still can’t beat me by herself, but I’d rather not have a landlord that’s pissed off for an entire day or two,” Draigo said as he got a dreamy look in his eye when he first mentioned Celestia only to have that turn into a look of terror by the end.

“Heh, yeah, Solaris gets pretty wild when he’s angry. Thankfully, he just goes on a little trip to Tartarus to blow off his steam. I tell you, angry stallions are soooo much easier to handle than angry mares. Just give them something to hit enough times and they’re good.” He cocked his head for a moment and sighed. “Well, we’d better wrap this up. Sounds like the Appleoosans are awake.”

“Ah, right. How would you like to handle this? Cause they seem to be heading this way,” Draigo asked as he stood and turned toward the encroaching ponies.

“Angry mob with torches and pitchforks?” Jazz deadpanned. At Draigo’s nod she sighed and trotted off. “I’ll go and calm ‘em down. Bunch of stubborn, hypersensitive…” Her words faded to annoyed grumbling as she disappeared between the trees.

“I know she’s one of them, but will she be able to calm them down with those ‘heartless’ amplifying their hatred? They wouldn’t even be able to hurt me, but I don’t like messing with other’s worlds so I act differently than normal and ask instead of just letting it happen.” Draigo lifted his head up and was able to just make out Jazz talking to the mob of ponies.

“Trust me,” said Sora. “She’ll be fine. As stubborn as earth ponies are, Apples are more stubborn still, and Jazz has got it down to an art form.” Jazz’s shouts rang out across the acres and Sora winced. “She’s got a good set of pipes, too.”


________


Night was falling. The Appleoosans had been calmed (chastised) by Jazz and met with Draigo more or less peacefully. A missive had been sent to the buffalo tribe as well, explaining why they were able to see a giant figure on the horizon.

Now Luna stared eastward as she prepared to raise the moon and begin the night, Sora standing by her side. “Nervous?” she asked.

Sora nodded. “A bit,” he admitted. “Haven’t faced a titan class heartless in 300 years, even before I was stoned. I hope we’re up to it.”

“You are,” said Luna, nuzzling him tenderly. “You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for, and those two are no foals either.”

“I know, I know. I just…” he sighed. “I just wish I could somehow know that everything would be okay.”

“It will be,” reassured Luna. “The future may not be decided, but that only means that there is room for hope, as well as concern.” They stood in silence for a while before she chuckled. “And a primordial being does tip the scales in our favor.”

Sora smiled, nodding. “Yeah, I guess. Thank you, Luna. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Trip over your own shoes and make a fool of yourself at every turn, no doubt.”

Sora shook his head, opening his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by a voice from behind him. “Hurry it up, you lovebirds! The cloud’ll be here any minute!”

Luna looked back at Jazz’s retreating form, pouting. “That hypocrite. And just what does she call herself and young Strongheart?”

Sora chuckled, giving Luna one last kiss before he ran off into the orchard. The moon began to rise just as he reached the others. “So everyone, ready to kick some buysomeapples?”

“Sure, just point me in the right direction,” Draigo said as light enveloped him once more.

“Shouldn’t take too long,” said Strongheart. “The cloud always came from the orchard, so it must start out somewhere in here.”

Sora nodded. “Heartless like this usually have a central body that’s more solid than the rest. If we destroy that, the rest of the cloud will dissolve into mist. We just need to fight off the cloud and the swarms of smaller heartless until we can find the yay thing.”

“Okay, do we know what it usually looks like?” Draigo wondered if it would be easier than he thought to find this ‘central body’.

“Yeah,” said Sora, rubbing his temples. “The cloud will get thicker and thicker the closer we get, and the body will look just like the surrounding cloud except that it goes ‘thunk’ when you run into it.”

“Wow, like trying to find a certain piece of hay in a haystack. Well, that’s what fire is for. Would a wide area light magic attack help at all?” Draigo asked as the light enveloping him intensified.

Sora nodded. “Probably. A blast like that would probably blow most of the cloud away for a bit and leave the body behind. We’d have to get to the body quickly before the cloud reformed, but yeah, that could work.”

“Well then, two questions. How wide an area and how long do you want me to hold it?” Draigo grinned from ear to ear at the prospect of unleashing so much of his magical might.

“Wait, you’re serious?” Sora’s grin grew to match. “How long could you hold something like that covering the whole orchard?”

“How long would it take you to defeat the central body?” Draigo’s light intensified even further.

“Ten minutes?” Sora guessed. “Twenty tops. It really isn’t that strong; it relies mostly on being able to hide and summon swarms of Soldiers and Neoshadows from the cloud.”

“Well, prepare to see the might of a primordial dragon. Just tell me when you want it and you’ll have all the time you’d ever need.” Draigo showed his impressive set of teeth and let out a primal roar, challenging any and all in the area to try to stop him.

Sora chuckled. “We’ll probably wait until the cloud starts forming. Don’t want to wait too long though, we might run… into... “ He trailed off as he looked around, the others doing the same.

Thick clouds of darkness surrounded them, straining against the light given off by Draigo. It had risen subtly, wisp by wisp as they’d talked, and now blocked their view of even the closest trees.

“Oh, buysome-”

Sora was interrupted by a chorus of unholy shrieks as several Neoshadows lept from the cloud. Two latched onto Draigo’s wings, two more diving for Jazz and Strongheart. In a flash of light, the two summoned their keyblades, tearing through the attacking heartless.

“Draigo!” shouted Sora, fending off five more as they lept out of the cloud. “Get airborn and get that light-burst going!”

“On it!” Draigo brought the light up to the highest intensity he could before he took to the skies. The two Neoshadows on his wings were ignored as he let loose with his magical blast. The blast enveloped the entire orchard and then some and Draigo didn’t even seem to be straining to hold it or his altitude.

“Alright!” shouted Sora. “Here’s our chance! Let’s go find that…” he trailed off as he looked across the orchard.

They’d chosen their starting position well, a rather large hill that allowed them to see most of the orchard. They’d thought to look from the hilltop to see if they could spot the central mass of the cloud.

And spot it they did, along with thousands of heartless swarming throughout the trees between it and the keybladers.

Sora swallowed nervously, glancing up at Draigo. “We’re going to need more than twenty minutes.”


________


“How many of these yay-ing things are there!” Strongheart yelled, slashing Pact through the most recent swarm of shadows.

“I don’t know,” panted Jazz, throwing up a Reflect spell to block some spinning Soldiers. “Feels like we’ve been fightin’ for hours.”

“About three hours, yeah,” said Sora, glancing at the moon. He swung Oathkeeper and Oblivion around himself, slicing through heartless left and right as they carved their way toward the Dark Cloud.

A sudden roar shook the ground and a Behemoth lept out of the trees ahead of them, charging straight for them.

“Okay, that’s it!” Sora shouted, vanishing in a flash of light. He reappeared dressed all in yellow, Metal Chocabo in his right hand and Mysterious Stalker floating behind him. “Taste Master Form, you oversized piece of-”

A pillar of light rained down from above, engulfing the behemoth. It roared in agony before dissolving into wisps of darkness. Sora looked up to see Draigo circling above, grinning smugly. “OY!” shouted Sora. “THAT WAS MY KILL!”

“Saved your life! Oh, you’re going to have to be faster than that if you want to kill the bigger ones! I already see more and I think I’m gonna take them all for myself if you don’t hurry it up!” Draigo yelled down in challenge.

Sora grit his teeth as the dragon flew off. “Jerk. Okay, let’s go! Curaga!” Jazz and Strongheart sighed in relief, their wounds healing and strength returning to them. “Come on girls, we’re almost there,” Sora encouraged.

Strongheart and Jazz nodded, galloping off with Sora and swinging Pact and Rodeo at any heartless that dared to get too close. Not that many got that chance. Sora’s Master Form was a fighting machine, zipping from Shadow to Soldier to Neoshadow before springing into the air to combat some of the Air Pirates who had chosen to focus on the land-bound targets.

“Remind me why he didn’t do that in the first place?” asked Jazz as she bucked a Shadow that had tried to attack from behind.

“It only lasts for a few minutes, apparently,” said Strongheart, finishing it off. “Not to mention that it leaves barely anything for us to fight.”

“Heh, good point,” said Jazz. They ran through the orchard, slashing away at everything in their path. Finally, after clearing out a particularly nasty group of Darkballs, they found it.

The central mass of the Dark Cloud hovered a foot or so off of the ground, a solid mass of black and grey wisps 10 feet tall and wide. It seemed to shiver as the keybladers approached, and three black figures floated out of its depths. These heartless were humanoid, but with scythe-like tails and twin horns. There were holes in each of their chests in the shape of hearts, and each of them wielded a formidable blade.

“Invisibles,” muttered Sora. “Of course there would be Invisibles guarding it. Why not?”

The Invisibles were blind sided by a beam of light that strafed across all three of them. Draigo was then seen turning around for another shot at the three. “Come and get it you abominations! There’s plenty more where that came from.”

The three Invisibles, seeing a bigger threat than the three beings in front of them, took off to face the dragon. “Go destroy that body, I’ll take care of these uglies,” Draigo called out as he rose up and turned, leading the three Invisibles away from Sora and his allies.

The Dark Cloud trembled again, and fifty more Invisibles shot out, chasing after Draigo. Sora, Strongheart and Jazz stood at the ready, prepared to attack any more that came out to take them on.

Two minutes later, Sora facepalmed. “Seriously? Is he really that much more powerful than us that this thing sends its ENTIRE DEFENSE FORCE after him?!”

“I… I actually feel really insulted right now,” said Strongheart, glowering up at where Draigo battled the massive swarm of Invisibles.

“It’s simple allocation of resources.” Sora and Strongheart turned to glare at Jazz, who simply shrugged back. “It’s true. You put the most resources where they’re needed most, and right now he’s a bigger threat than we are.”

“BUT WE’RE RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF IT!!!” shouted Strongheart.

“Yes, yes we are.” Sora sighed. “Well, nopony ever accused heartless of being smart.” He hefted Metal Chocabo and Mysterious Stalker above his head. “Together then?”

The two others nodded and, on his signal, Pact and Rodeo joined in on slicing the Dark Cloud to ribbons. It gave out a cry of pain which slowly died down to a whimper as it vanished for good.

“Whew, glad that’s over with,” said Jazz, leaning up against a nearby tree.

“Yeah,” Strongheart deadpanned. “Now we just need to deal with the rest of the heartless in the orchard."

The trio looked around to see the ground-bound heartless advancing upon them once again. They looked up and could just make out Draigo’s glowing form amongst the mass of airborne heartless.

“BUUUUUUUUUUUYSOOOOOOOOOOMEAAAAAAAAAAPPLEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!!!!!”


________


Three weary keybladers and one annoyingly chipper dragon walked out of the Appleoosan orchards as the sun rose the next morning.

“You three look like you could use a pick me up. Would you like a ride back to town so you could at least rest a little bit?” Draigo asked as he looked down upon the three fighters.

“Not a chance,” said Jazz, supporting Strongheart as she half slept leaning against her. “Too stubborn.”

“And too proud here to admit that I could use some help,” Sora added, yawning widely. “Wow, we’re too tired to even deny it, aren’t we? That’s it. First thing when we get back, I’m snuggling up with my mare for a nice long nap.”

“Mmm. Nap sounds good. Nighty night.” Jazz sighed as Strongheart started lightly snoring into her side. She leaned down and hoisted her onto her back, continuing on towards town.

“Fine, I won’t give you a ride,” Draigo said as he manipulated the air around all three of them, “Ever heard the phrase ‘like sleeping on air’? Well, now you know what it’s like.” Draigo had the three of them in the air before any of them could say a word of protest.

“Hey, I could have done that myself,” Sora complained. He held up the Kingdom Key and slurred out, “Aeroga.” A small breeze kicked in, circling around them once before dying out. “Okay, maybe I’m a little too drained to manage that.”

“Exactly, besides I’m sure Luna will be pleased to know you got some rest instead of pushing yourself to the brink when you didn’t need to. Now, rest easy. We’ll be there in a little bit,” Draigo commented as he continued to walk to Appleloosa.

A loud snore was Sora’s only reply. Jazz shook her head and sighed before smiling at the dragon. “Thanks again for helpin’ us out. I honestly don’t know what we would have done if y’all hadn’t shown up.”

“You’re welcome. It has been an honor to help out in this endeavor. Also, it’s been forever since I’ve stretched my magical ‘muscles’ as well as my physical muscles in such an enjoyable battle. Now, I suggest you get some shut eye as well,” Draigo said as he smiled fondly down at the three exhausted beings.

“Yeah, I guess,” replied Jazz wearily. She got herself comfortable and was about to drift off when a thought occurred to her. “Hey, Draigo. Can I ask you a bit of a personal question?”

“Go right ahead.” Draigo tapped back into his powers once more, readying for one more use.

“What’s it like bein’, you know, immortal?”

“Ah, a good question. Well, for me at least, it’s been really lonesome. There were days when I had to dig really deep to keep looking for the right planet to settle down on. There are too many goodbyes to keep track of. Sure, I can’t die, I don’t age, and I’ve got powers that can literally kill gods. Those haven’t really made up for the fact that without a really powerful reason or goal to life, being immortal is no fun. Would I ever give up my immortality? Not anymore, I’ve found my reason and it took the form of two mares. They are two that I’ll never have to say ‘goodbye’ to. I’ll eventually have to pick one or the other, but for now I’m fine with the way things are,” Draigo replied while having a far away look that spoke of the loneliness and vastness that he’s borne witness to and experienced.

“Hm. Well that… that don’t sound no… no fun…”

Jazz drifted off to sleep, cradled in the magic of the powerful primordial dragon. Little did they know, there was another who had heard their conversation. Sora lay on the bed of air, clutching three cracked keychains to his chest as he fought back tears.

No, Jazz, he thought to himself. No fun at all.


________


The party was wild and ferocious. Not quite as fun as a Berry Bubble Party, perhaps, but that Cheese Sandwich had done a comparable job. Buffalo and ponies laughed, ate and danced together, hooting, hollering and having a grand old time. By far, the crowning moment of the party had been when Jazz had brought out a black jewelry box, kneeling before Little Strongheart as she opened it. The resounding “YES” could almost have been heard in Ponyville as she swept Jazz off her hooves in a bone crushing hug.

Two figures stood off to the side, simply enjoying being observers. “Well, I’m glad they finally got to make it official,” said Sora, smiling at the happy couple. “I’d feel guilty taking either of them away if it weren’t for the fact that I’m taking both.”

“Yes, I’d feel the same way. Have you thought about doing the same with Luna? I’ve seen how you look at her and how you two are together,” Draigo asked as he smiled and waved at the happy gathering of ponies and buffalo.

Sora’s smile grew sad as he saw Luna engaged in a drinking contest with Chief Thunderhooves. “Yeah,” he said as she downed her twelfth mug of hard cider. “I’ve thought about it a lot, actually. Even went and bought the perfect ring for her a few times. But...” he sighed. “She wants foals. She always has. She doesn’t talk about it anymore, not ever since we started dating. But I don’t need my heart-sight to see how she looks at fillies and colts. She wants one of her own, maybe more than one. And I, well, just look at me.”

“Have you done the research and found that you can’t give her foals as you are? If the answer is yes, as I think it is. Then, do you want to become a pony?” Draigo asked in a serious tone.

“Trust me,” Sora chuckled. “If I could give her foals, we’d have several generations of our kids running around. Well, would have pre-stoning, but you get what I mean. As for turning into a pony…” He sighed and shook his head. “Equestria needs me at full fighting capacity. I need to train the next generation of keybladers. And the generation after that. And the one after that. And I can’t do that if I’m having to learn how to walk all over again.

“Besides…” He held out his right hand, summoning the Kingdom Key. “Keyblades don’t mix well with Equestrian magic. Too much magic in you, and the keyblade won’t let you wield it. not sure why. Sol and Luna can’t hold one for more than a second before it vanishes. Same thing with powerful unicorns or anypony who has a deep connection to a powerful magical artifact. Heh, that’s the only reason why Twilight and her friends aren’t six of the most promising keybladers in history.”

He shook his head. “Sorry. Rambling. My point is, to become a pony and still retain my immortality, I’d have to become an alicorn, and then I would have far too much magic for the keyblade to accept me. And Faust knows that Luna won’t hear a word of me losing my immortality just to give her foals. She says if she can’t have me for eternity, no amount of children would be enough to fill the void left behind in her heart. I’d call her out on it if I hadn’t checked her heart myself.”

“Well, I think I can help with that. Would you like me to try?” Draigo turned his head toward his human companion and shifted his wings and tail so that nopony could see Sora.

Sora looked into the old dragon’s eyes. Then, in a blink, he looked into his heart. It was there, that certainty that he could do it. That assurance that it would work. Sora closed his heart-sight, a smile starting to form on his face. He stepped forward and opened his mouth, ready to accept.

His keyblade twitched.

He looked down at the Kingdom Key. It sat there in his hand, not moving, not doing anything. In that one moment, it just felt like a heavy piece of strangely shaped metal.

As suddenly as it had come on, the moment passed. He could feel the keyblade’s power again, as well as two trails of tears that flowed down his face. “No,” he whispered, stepping back. “Thank you for offering. Really, truly, what you’re offering is the greatest thing I could ever dream of but…” He turned away, trying desperately to hide his tears. “Why?” he whispered, clutching the Kingdom Key tightly in his hand. “Why wouldn’t it work? Why can’t you finally let me have this?”

“You can not hide an element from me and you underestimate my hearing, young man. This has something to do with your keyblade, doesn’t it. For whatever reason, it or its magic won’t let you get altered in any way from what you are right now. One question, would you mind me talking to Luna privately in a little bit? There’s something I’d like to run past her.” Draigo continued in the same serious tone as earlier.

Sora was silent for a moment. He reached down and tore the keychain from the Kingdom Key, perhaps with a little more force than had been necessary. The blade disappeared, and Sora held the chain tight, concentrating for a moment. He turned and offered it to Draigo. “Here. It’s my token. Just hold it and call for me, and I’ll be there as quickly as I can. As for Luna,” he shrugged. “Hey, she’s free to talk with whoever she wants. Though you might want to hurry if you want anything resembling an intelligent conversation out of her.” He nodded over towards the party where Luna had just finished drinking her third opponent in a row under the table.

“Oh, it won’t be a problem, but you’re right. I’ll go talk to her right now. Excuse me,” Draigo said as he grabbed Sora’s token then stood up and walked over to the drunken lunar mare. “Luna, I need to talk to you, in private.”

Luna slowly looked up at him, eyes not quite focusing right. “Waith… you meanth like theriouth talk?”

“Yes, serious talk. Here, allow me to sober you up.” Draigo felt around with his power and manipulated the alcohol out of Luna’s system. “There, ready?”

Luna blinked, her faculties once again entirely under her control. “Huh. You’ll have to teach that one to me.” She got up and waved to the still drunk buffalo before walking off and leading Draigo behind a large barn nearby. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Well, to be very, very blunt. Foals.” Draigo waited for her to recover from the exceeding bluntness he’d just used.

Luna stared at him for a moment before lighting her horn. An old dusty bottle appeared in her magical grasp. She pulled the cork out with her teeth before spitting it out to the side. “Nope,” she muttered. “Not having this conversation sober.” She lifted the bottle to her lips and tipped her head back, chugging down alcohol so potent that Draigo could smell it from where he stood. Luna finally came up for air, her magical grip only slightly shaky. “Okay, now I can have this conversation. I assume you talked to Sora already?”

“I can let you have his kids.” Draigo said before the alcohol had too much effect on the royal’s mind.

Luna rolled her eyes, taking another swig of alcohol. “Let me guess, you’ve thought of some brilliant loophole that nopony else has ever considered that’s sure to work. Been there. Done that. A hundred times over.”

“Have you had the ability to manipulate the very life-force of a pony, everything about them, to your will? I don’t think so,” Draigo said with a smirk.

“Hmph,” Luna said. “Wouldn’t use it if I did. That’s something that both Sora and I agreed on, one of the few times we talked about this. Natural conception, natural birth, or nothing. No magic involved in the process. We conceded on point of transforming one of us, but he can’t go pony without losing either his immortality or his keyblade, and I have no way to go human and stay immortal. Believe me, I’ve looked into it.” She took a sip of her drink, for once seaming to actually take the time to enjoy the taste. “I accepted it long ago. Children for us was never meant to be. Wish he’d put that aside and propose already.” That last part she added in a mutter before taking another long pull.

“Well, that’s another thing you both have in common. Underestimating my hearing. Do you want his kids? Do you want to be an immortal human by his side for the rest of eternity?” Draigo asked with a bit of irritation entering his voice.

Luna sighed. “And then what?” she asked. “Raise a bunch of most-likely immortal humans who then have to deal with the same problems when they grow up? And what kind of life is that anyway, a human in Equestria. I wouldn’t mind, and Sora says it’s worth it for him to be here, but he’s also said he wouldn’t with that sort of isolation on anyone.”

Draigo transformed into his armored human form. “Oh, believe me. I know what you mean. I’m human the same as him. I just happen to be able to transform back into a dragon. I’m able to do just about anything while I’m in other worlds like this. Making it so that you’re an immortal human that has mortal children is well within the realm of my power. Heck, I could change Sora into an immortal earth pony if it weren’t for that keyblade of his messing around with its magic. I’ve lived longer than you, your brother, and Sora combined. I know loneliness like the back of my hand. I don’t want anyone else to experience any kind of loneliness if I can help it. So, I’ll ask again. Do you love Sora enough to let me transform you into an immortal human that can only bear mortal children?” Draigo ranted as he walked back and forth in front of the princess while he gestured with his armored hands, finally ending up staring her in the eye from her height.

Luna looked him up and down as she took another drink. “Hm. Nope, not doing it for me. Guess it’s a Sora thing, not a human thing.” She drained the last of the bottle and threw it over her shoulder. “Three things wrong with your little rant there,” she said. “One, you say you know loneliness. You’re right! You’re better acquainted with loneliness than I could ever hope to be. Do you know why?” She pointed up to the moon hanging above them. “Because eventually, that will be gone. The sun will expand, this world will burn, and the moon will be gone. I don’t know how things work in your universe, but while immortals do not die naturally here, we can be killed.” She shrugged. “Everything dies, eventually, and Sora will be enough for me until that fateful day arrives.

“Number two. You suggested that I become an immortal human who bears mortal children for generation after generation, watching each and every one of them grow old and die, having to bury each and every one.” She shook her head. “No, thank you.

“And lucky number three. Yes, you could use your magic. Yes, you could use your powers. Yes, I’m sure you could find the perfect system that would make both of us and our children perfectly happy. But that’s why we agreed it had to be all natural. A natural conception, and a natural birth. Because if anyone else is significantly involved in either of those steps, it’s their child as well as ours.” She shrugged. “Old-fashioned thinking, perhaps, but we both thoroughly believe it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am still far too sober for these sorts of thoughts.” She turned and began to walk back towards the party. “Oh,” she said, pausing and looking over her shoulder. “By the way, you were wrong on one point. Sora can be transformed just fine. I’ve turned him into a pegasus, an earth pony, even a gryphon. A superficial transformation, but a transformation none the less. We just won’t risk anything that will give him magic. And since the only way for him to keep his immortality would be to go alicorn…” She shrugged and turned away, sauntering back to the party much to the cheers of the buffalo.

Draigo turned and walked back to Sora with heavy footsteps.

“Look, I know that you want to give her foals, but you both have just rejected my help. So, marry her before something happens to one of you.” Draigo said as he stood next to Sora in his crimson and gold armor.

“Nice transformation,” Sora idly commented. He’d grabbed a mug of cider while Draigo had been gone, and he took a sip. He sighed and looked up at the stars. “You know, we’ve considered both going mortal. Just live out the rest of our natural lives as ponies, me being a pegasus, her a unicorn. It was a nice fantasy. But of course, that wouldn’t work either. We couldn’t do that to Sol, leave him all alone like that. Really, it comes down to one of two things.” He summoned the Kingdom Key again, eyes still fixed on the stars. “Either this thing goes, or we all go mortal. Heh, we even considered that option before I got stoned and Luna… But now, there’s Prince Borello, and another displaced dropped a hint that Twilight Sparkle’s going to ascend later down the line. And once again, we can’t just leave them alone or ask them to give up immortality for something so selfish.”

He looked over at Draigo and smirked. “As for something happening to us, dude, I got blasted by the Elements of Harmony while in my shadow form, and all they did was stone me. Luna turned into a buysomeapples heartless, and even she got better, something that’s absolutely impossible. Trust me, nothing’s going to keep us down for long.”

“Really? I’m going to call major BS on that. If you hadn’t summoned me or some other immensely powerful displaced then you would have most likely died from that fight earlier. Luna already told me that even you immortals can be killed. You know, now that I think about it. You guys are lucky to have immortality like that. Me? You can destroy my body, but the only true way to kill me is to destroy anything and everything that is considered an ‘element’,” Draigo let out a sigh,”All I’m saying is propose to the mare before one of your adventures ends in a misadventure. She deserves to have as much happiness as possible and that involves being married to you.”

Sora sighed, looking back up at the stars. “I… I’ll think about it,” he conceded. “Oh, but you didn’t save our lives.” He gestured over to the party. “You saved their lives. We could have subbed Luna for you, but she was busy keeping everyone’s dreams safe from hatred corruption, and even then she barely managed it. If we’d had to, we’d have just gone in and destroyed the Dark Cloud as soon as possible, even though a lot of the ponies and buffalo would have woken up and gotten to fighting by the time we succeeded.” He looked back down at the party, his eyes hardened. “It would have hurt. It would have hurt a lot to lose innocent lives like that, but it would have been worth it to destroy that thing and save hundreds more.” Sora blinked and slapped his forehead. “Ah, and there I go again, an old general telling war stories. You don’t want to hear about all that.”

“Ha, join the club. I’ve had to fight the very dragons I created when they grew too greedy. I’ve said this to Luna, but I’m much older than probably all of you combined. I’ve seen my fair share of what you would consider ‘war’. Anyway, enough of this heavy stuff. We should be celebrating with them not talking about this stuff. The only reason I even brought it up in the first place was because it was another way I could help. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do with my powers when I’m not in my world, help. So far? I’ve just made it so those I’ve ‘helped’ have more awkward situations and explanations to give. So, how about we go join Luna in the celebration? I don’t think I can get drunk, but I’ll definitely enjoy cheering her on as she drinks every being here under a table.” Draigo gestured to Luna as she continued to drink.

Sora chuckled as he walked into the party. Dark thoughts of what could have been and wistful thoughts of what could never be still chased each other around the back of his mind, but tonight, for the rest of the night, that’s where they would stay.
> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 12



3rd Pony POV


It was a quiet morning in Appleoosa. Then again, what else could have been expected. The previous night's celebration had, in fact, continued until earlier that morning, and everypony and buffalo had drunk far more alcohol than was probably wise. By unconscious unanimous consent, nothing of significance would be done that day until at least noon to let everyone sleep of the worst of their hangovers.

"THOU BLITHERING IDIOT!!!"

Well, almost unanimous consent. Unfortunately for the now awakened inhabitants of Appleooza, Princess Luna's connection to the night included a magic that was the envy of late-night partiers everywhere: the ability to never get a hang-over. As such, she often forgot just how horrible the effects were for everyone else.

"HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!"

Adding to the unfortunate situation was the fact that Sora, though not equipped with the Royal Canterlot Voice, had not had more than a mug of hard cider to drink and was quite adept at shouting across battlefields. The still air of Appleoosa never stood a chance at muffling his voice as he competed to be heard over Luna's shouts.

"DO NOT DARE TO SPEAK TO US IN THAT MANNER, KNAVE!" Luna shouted, regressing to old ways of speaking now that her temper had flared. "THOU SHOULDST HAVE PURSUED EVERY AVAILABLE AVENUE REGARDING THIS ISSUE! THOU KNOWEST HOW WE GREATLY DESIRE CHILDREN OF OUR OWN, AND THOU HAST SENT ONE WHO COULD HAVE EASILY HELPED US AWAY!!!

"NATURAL CONCEPTION! NATURAL BIRTH!" shouted Sora back. "IF I RECALL, LUNA, YOU WERE EVEN MORE INSISTENT ON THAT POINT THAN I WAS!"

"THAT IS BECAUSE THE SPELLS INVOLVED IN THOSE DAYS INVOLVED A UNICORN SKEWERING THEIR HORN INTO OUR NETHER REGIONS!!! DID IT NOT OCCUR TO THEE THAT A PRIMORDIAL BEING WOULD HAVE LESS INVASIVE METHODS?! OR THAT THE SPELLS OF TODAY MIGHT BE MORE REFINED?!

"LIKE I KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT EQUESTRIAN MAGIC! HECK, THE ONLY THING I KNOW ABOUT KEYBLADE MAGIC IS POINT AND SHOUT! WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE?!"

"WE WERE DRUNK!!! DIDST THOU EXPECT US TO REASON COHERENTLY AND AT FULL JUDGEMENT WHIST SO IMPAIRED?!"

Before Sora could retort, their bedroom door was slammed open, revealing a very angry Jazz Apple. "NOW LISTEN UP, YOU SIDEWINDIN' PIG LOVIN' MULES!!! WE'VE GOT US AN ENTIRE TOWN O' PONIES AND BUFFALO TOO HUNG OVER TO SEE STRAIGHT, AND Y'ALL HAVE THE GALL TO START UP A SHOUTING MATCH AT SUNUP? IF Y'ALL DON'T QUIT THIS RACKET RIGHT NOW, I SWEAR I'LL TAN Y'ALL'S HIDES FASTER THAN YOU CAN SAY, GIDDY UP!!!" Her rant on the behalf of Appleoosa finished, she moaned, gripped her head, and stumbled off muttering about immortals and headaches.

Sora and Luna shared a glance before looking down sheepishly. "We- I mean, I suppose I was a bit out of line."

Sora sighed, shaking his head. "No, you're right. He gave me several options. I'm sure he had several more and just gave up because I was being stubborn."

"It wasn't stubbornness," said Luna, glaring at Sora's hand. "It was that damnable keyblade. I know!" She held up a hoof to forestall Sora's objection. "It does Equestria well, and preventing you from giving me foals is a small price to pay for that. Still, the blame lies with me as well. As you said, I am the one who should have considered other magics."

"You were drunk," countered Sora, chuckling. "I bet you pulled out that old bottle of dragon vodka as soon as the subject came up."

Luna blushed slightly, giggling. "It was the dragon beer, Sora. I'm not that irresponsible." She sighed and looked up, meeting his eyes. "Forgive me my foolishness?"

Sora walked over, cupping her face in his hands and pulling her closer, resting his forehead on hers, right below her horn. "There's nothing to forgive," he whispered, kissing her nose, causing her to giggle again. His next kiss met her lips, and she moaned as she leaned in closer to him, feeling his hands caress the back of her head.

It was then that an unfortunate Little Strongheart happened to pass the still open door. Her jaw dropped open, her entire face going red in an instant. "C-CLOSE THE DOOR, FIRST!" she screamed, slamming it shut a moment later. A low groan was heard form the other side as the buffalo's hangover punished her for causing a small racket.

Sora and Luna looked from the door to each other before bursting into laughter. "Besides," said Sora, stretching as he turned to get dressed for the day, "it's not like Draigo's gone for good. I still have his token, so we can summon him back at any time."

Luna nodded, slipping into her regalia and levitating her crown into place. "Just so. Now, let us go and see what there is for breakfast."


********


Unfortunately for Sora and Luna, Appleoosa had once again established its vow to sleep until noon now that the shouting was done, leaving Sora and Luna as two of the only beings awake. They wandered the town for a while before heading out to the apple orchards.

"Wow," said Sora, looking around at what last night had been a battlefield. "I'm always amazed at how much other stuff gets smashed when we go at it with the heartless."

Luna nodded as she looked around, seeing several damaged or even toppled trees, many of them bearing scratches or scorch marks. "It is truly a spectacle to watch, one which inspired a rather drastic change to the national budget." Seeing Sora's confused look, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Reconstruction and relief efforts had half the annual budget by the end of your first decade here. Apparently, my brother has not seen fit to change that in the last thousand years."

"And a good thing that is." Sora and Luna turned to see a massive buffalo surveying the area. "Many of these trees will need to be replanted, and a few of them replaced altogether." He turned and bowed to the two of them. "It is an honor to stand in your presence, Light-Bearer and Dream-Keeper. I am Chief Thunderhooves."

Luna nodded in return. "Well met, Chief." She cocked her head to the side. "Actually, I believe we met last night. You were one of those I drank under the table."

The Chief threw back his head, his deep laugh echoing throughout the orchard. "Well, as you ponies say, there is a first time for everything. I wanted to thank you on behalf of my tribe for destroying the Dream-Eater."

"You mean the Dark Cloud?" asked Sora.

Thunderhooves nodded grimly. "Yes, Strongheart told me that that is its true name. We have few tales of the shadow-born, the heartless, but there is one which speaks of those who interfere in the Dream-Keeper's sacred domain. I am happy to know that it is gone for good."

"Don't thank us just yet," said Sora, crossing his arms and glaring out into the orchard. "The Dark Cloud kept the rest of the heartless around here under its control. Now that it's gone, the small fry will come back and attack at random."

"So Silverstar has warned me," the Chief replied. "It matters not. He and I can defend our home well enough while Strongheart and Jazz travel with you. Worry not for our sakes."

"Thank you for understanding," said Sora. "I just hope that this doesn't happen in every city we visit. Visit a new place, fight a few heartless and a boss, and move on? Sounds too much like the game for my tastes." Ignoring the Chief's confused look, he continued. "So, next stop is Dodge Junction on the way to Baltimare. Anything you can tell us about it?"

Thunderhooves shook his head. "There is not much to tell. It is almost as young as Appleoosa, founded by cherry farmers. If I recall correctly, the owner of the cherry orchard is a wielder of the keyblade, and they have not had too great a cause for alarm."

"Good to know." Sora turned to Luna and nodded his head back towards town. "Let's head back and see if the others are ready to-"

"Sora!"

Sora, Luna and Thunderhooves looked up to see a pegasus-drawn chariot approaching, Fancy Pants riding in the back.

"Fancy?" said Sora as the chariot landed. "What are you doing here? Canterlot's EKA can't be organized already, can it?"

Fancy shook his head, his face stern. "Gleaming will have to make due without me, I'm afraid. There's trouble brewing. Prince Solaris sent me to find you and accompany you."

"And what of me?" asked Luna. "Am I to wait here while Sora rushes off into battle?"

"Of course not, Princess," said Fancy, taking a letter from his pocket and hoofing it over. "However, Prince Solaris does request that you continue your tour while Sora and I handle this. He says that we need to ensure that every city has the necessary keybladers, as well as continuing to search out more masters."

"He's right, Luna," said Sora. "After Dodge Junction, we've got three big cities back to back to back. The higher the population, the more the heartless swarm. I can't even imagine how they've been handling things."

Luna sighed, giving the letter a quick once-over and seeing Sora and Fancy's destination. "I suppose you're right. Both you and my brother. This trip is going to take you at least a week, maybe more. We cannot afford to have this tour delayed." She looked up, nuzzling Sora gently. "I will inform Jazz and Strongheart. Be safe." With that, she took off, flying quickly back to Appleoosa.

"So," said Thunderhooves curiously, looking at the letter that Luna had left behind, "where exactly is this trouble that requires your sudden departure?"

Sora picked up the letter, reading as far as the second line before he groaned.

"The Dragon Lands."


********


Two chariots flew eastward over Equestria, skirting the Badlands as they approached the hayseed swamps and the Celestial Sea beyond them. One chariot held Fancy Pants, who passed the hours with the latest Daring Doo novel. Sora rode in the other chariot, once again trying to calm his fellow passenger.

"You know," he said for the tenth time in the past hour, "itching your scales won't make the burning any less annoying."

"I can't help it!" cried Spike, scratching his left arm and right leg. "It's just so... so... gah!!! Don't you have a spell or something that can help?"

"I doubt it," Sora replied, gazing down at the passing landscape, shuddering at an unpleasant memory of the swamp below. "All of my magic is element based, and we already tried a cure spell. Unless you want me to cover you in a coat of ice, I don't think there's anything I can do. Just... try to focus on something else."

"Like what?"

"Well, I do have a few more novels, if you're interested," Fancy called over, nodding to his saddlebags. "Most of them are Daring Doo, but I do have a few lighter tales with me."

"Thanks," called Spike, "but I don't think a light novel is going to distract me enough, and I've read all of Daring Doo."

"Well, perhaps Sora has a tale or two that he could share," suggested Fancy. "After all he has been around for quite some time. He must have a tale or two of adventure and intrigue."

"I don't know about intrigue," said Sora, still staring down at the swamps below. "Secrets and politics were more of Luna's thing. But I do have a few adventurous tales to spin." He spotted what he'd been searching for and pointed down at a large lake. "Hey, Spike. You see that massive crater down there?"

Spike grabbed the edge of the chariot, hoisting himself up so he could see over the edge. "Um, Sora, there aren't any craters down there. All I see is a lake in the middle of a swamp."

"Eeyup," said Sora, glaring down at the murky waters. "And I'm willing to bet that it's one of the deepest lakes in Equestria. I should know. I fought the monster that made it almost three thousand years ago."

Spike turned to Sora, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "You fought a monster that made lakes?"

"I fought a monster that made a giant crater. The lake just filled it up over the centuries. See how the oldest trees are leaning away from it? Those guys are the few who survived the blast and managed to live all the way until now."

"My word," muttered Fancy, staring down at the lake and swamp below. "But that lake must be several miles across, and I see a couple of trees leaning back several miles past that. What sort of creature could do such massive amounts of damage?"

"I'll give you three guesses," said Sora, summoning Bond of Flame. "And the first two don't count. A Fire Elemental, a titanic heartless the size of the Flamcano and with a fiery disposition to match, had appeared in the San Palomino Desert and was making its way towards Everfree City. By the time we discovered it, it was about to enter the forest and set it ablaze. Every unicorn available pooled their magic together, forcing a teleport spell on it with the destination of 'somewhere else'. Fortunately for us, it worked. The titan was zapped over to this swamp, which at the time was suffering through a downpour. The rain and marshy environment helped to weaken and slow the thing until the closest branches of the EKA arrived. Our ice and lightning specialists led the attack while our fire and shield specialists kept the thing from moving too far. Still, it was all that they could do to hold it in place.

"And that's when we arrived." Sora grinned as his looked wistfully out across the sky. "The Keyblade Masters. The Light Bringers. Me and three of the best ponies I've ever met. We'd been returning from a visit to the Dragon Lands, actually, when we noticed the battle raging..."


3rd-Pony POV


2980 years ago


"Ice mages! Aim for it's feet! Lightningers! Give that thing a headache! And for Faust's sake, hot-heads! Stop giving it more buysomeaples ammunition!"

"Sir!" Full Charger turned to see a nearby unicorn peering through the rain, his horn and eyes glowing as he gazed into the distance. "It seems that reinforcements are coming in from the east!"

"Impossible," Full snapped. "We have no settlements east of here, and I doubt that the dragons are coming to our aid."

"Not dragons, Sir," replied Far Sight, grinning as he let his spell fade. "A single chariot, and far more power than any dragon could ever match."

"What do you-" Full Charger's question was cut off as a massive orb of purple and black energy surrounded the Fire Elemental, sinking towards the ground and pulling the bipedal heartless downward with it, forcing it onto its hands and knees. A chariot approached the heartless and a lone earth pony leapt out, swinging a huge blade down at the monster's shoulder. The heartless roared in agony as it's left arm was torn from it's body, the limb sizzling and dissipating in the rain now that it was severed form its source. The pony continued to fall until a small whirlwind caught her and delivered her gently to the marsh below. The chariot continued down to the hill where Full Charger stood, a unicorn and a strange biped stepping out as the lone pegasus unhitched herself.

"Captain Charger," said Sora, nodding to him before tuning to face the titan who's arm was slowly regrowing. "What's the situation?"

"Titan class fire-based heartless, General," Full replied, saluting. "We have one team up close blasting it with ice and lightning while a second line further back holds it in place as well as we can. I'm not sure how long we can keep this up, though. That single strike to its arm is more damage than the rest of us have managed this past hour."

"Right." In a flash of light, Sora was left hovering a foot above the ground, dressed in white and with Oathkeeper and Oblivion orbiting around him. "Stand down, Captain. I am assuming authority of this situation. Tell your soldiers to retreat to artillery distance and hold fire. The four of us are going in. Pansy, take Clover and drop her off halfway between the line and the titan, then join me and Cookie in melee. Clover, prepare a teleportation array. If this thing is anything like other fire heartless, it's going to go out with a bang rather than a whimper, and I don't want to be next to it when it blows. Captain, as soon as you see us booking it for Clover, have every soldier you have fire the most powerful ice magic they've got. That should slow it's big boom down until we can get our flanks out of there. Let's move!"


3rd-Pony POV


"Didn't take too long after that," said Sora as the lake faded from view. "Pansy, Cookie and I waled on it for about half an hour before it backed down and started convulsing and pulsing. We turned and ran back to where Clover had set up a teleportation circle that got us out of range right before the titan blew. Everything that wasn't vaporized by the fire was blown back by the force. By the time the rain put out the fire there were only a few dozen trees within twenty miles, and none of them standing straight. Thankfully, casualties were minimal and Equestria was safe from its second titan attack."

"Woah," said Spike, who was staring at Sora with rapt attention, all thoughts of his burning scales forgotten. "Wait, but what was first one then?"

"Oh yeah," said Sora, scratching his cheek. "I never did finish that story. See, it was after Sol had first met me in the dungeons of Everfree Castle. We heard a scream and ran up to investigate. We got up to the ground floor and saw heartless attacking everypony in sight. Apparently they'd come swarming out of the woods shortly after I'd summoned my keyblades in my cell. I helped fight them of and explained to Sol what they were. Next thing I know, I'm explaining my story to the entire nobility, along with Sol and Luna. A few soldiers and civis were discovered with keyblades, and I started training them a bit." Sora winced, staring off into the distance. "Should've moved out as soon as I could. My keyblade drew them there, and I could have prevented most of the deaths that day."

"D-deaths?"

Sora sighed, looking down at Spike. "That's the life of a keyblade master," he said. "We fight the heartless wherever we can find hem, tracking down the most dangerous ones and hopefully destroying them before they reach civilization. Unfortunately, this one attacked in the middle of the day and without warning. One minute I'm eating lunch with Sol and Luna as they question me about where I'm from, and he next thing we know there's a swarm of heartless attacking the city with a World's Shadow looming over us. Think Darkside, but ten times as tall and a hundred times more vicious.

"Anyway, that's when I started moving around. I blamed myself for the hundreds of deaths that day, and I still have a hard time not feeling like it was my fault. I worked with Sol and Luna through letters to organize and train the new keybladers that kept appearing, stopping by Everfree as often as I felt it was safe to do so. Eventually, I met Cookie, Pansy and Clover and discovered that they had their own unique keyblades. They started traveling with me all across Equestria, training keybladers and kicking flank everywhere we went."

"Wait a minute..." Spike's eyes grew wide. "You mean that Smart Cookie, Private Pansy and Clover the Clever were keyblade masters? And you knew them?"

Sora looked away, staring back down at the swamp and out towards the approaching coastline. "Yeah," he muttered. "Three of the best friends a guy could ask for, and the strongest mortal warriors I ever had the privilege of fighting beside."

"So, does that mean that you know what happened to them?" Spike asked. "Twilight's always going on about how little we actually know about them, and I'm sure she'd like to hear all about it."

Sora sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sure she would. Sorry, but it's not a happy tale. Most of their well-known accomplishments were already over and done with by the time I met them. The only great mystery I could solve is what happened to them in the end and... I prefer not to talk about it." Or think about it. Or mention it. Or wake up in tears after a nightmare about it.

Spike stared at Sora for a minute before shrugging and going back to trying to keep his mind off of his burning scales.


*****


They stopped to rest and eat lunch on the coast of the South Celestial Sea. While Spike and Fancy Pants took a short walk to stretch their legs, Sora stared out east, his mind wandering back to the last time he'd visited. Old Gray Scale was likely dead by now, and he wouldn't still be the Dragon Lord anyway. Tradition dictated that a new lord be chosen every hundred years, and never one who had served before. Though dragons were prideful by nature, even they had respected Sora and recognized his authority when it came to the heartless. Sora figured that, whoever Equestria's current Dragon Lord was, he'd allow Sora to do whatever needed to be done to insure the safety of the dragons of Equestria.

Unless of course it's some wyrmling with less than a millennia under his belt, thought Sora, glaring across the ocean. If it's someone who only knows me through stories, this could go badly.

"General Sora." Sora turned to regard the pegasus charioteer. "We are ready to move out at your command, sir."

Sora nodded, following him back to the chariot. "What's your name, soldier?"

"Sir, Gale Wing, Lieutenant 2nd class."

"And how long have you been serving, Lieutenant?"

"Five years, sir," Gale Wing replied, relaxing at Sora's casual tone. "Been stationed as a Canterlot charioteer for four."

"You seen combat?"

Only Gale's guard training kept his flinch minimal, but Sora had been around enough guards to notice it. "Just once, sir. When the heartless attacked Canterlot. I was off duty at home when a neoshadow broke down our door. I tried to fight it off but... Next thing I know, I'm waking up with my wife standing over me, holding a giant key in her mouth."

"Your wife's a keyblader?" asked Sora, intrigued. "What's her name?"

"Spear Point, sir. She's a professor at Solaris' school." Catching Sora's raised eyebrow, he chuckled. "Military family. Cursed with a bit of wishful thinking when they named her, but her mind is sharp enough to earn the name."

"Glad to hear it," said Sora, helping Gale harness himself when they reached the chariot. "You'll have to introduce me when I get back." He hopped into the chariot as Fancy and Spike climbed into theirs. "Alright, boys! Let's see if we can't make it across the ocean in time for dinner!"

With a chorus of cheers, the two chariots took off once again, flying across the open ocean and to the dragon lands beyond.
> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 13



3rd Pony POV


"DRAGONS OF EQUESTRIA! HEAR ME!!!"

Sora groaned, massaging the bridge of his nose to stave off a headache. "How in Tartarus did an idiotic lug like this get to be Dragon Lord?"

The flight across the ocean had been mostly uneventful. With nothing but open water to look at, Spike had quickly grown bored and gone back to scratching at his scales. Sora had spent the hours contemplating his past interactions with dragons and preparing for his re-introduction. He'd planned a variety of short speeches, discarding them one right after the other. In the end, he had given up, resigning himself to winging it once he knew who the current Dragon Lord was.

"I mean look at this guy," Sora whispered, peeking around the rocks that concealed their little group. "He can't be more than five hundred years old. Heck, none of these dragons here have even reached their first century. Where are all of the ancients? Heck, I'd settle for someone with a speck of maturity."

"Perhaps we should remain quiet and hear what he has to say?" suggested Fancy Pants, trying to conceal his trembling at being so close to the flight of carnivores. "No need to go and provoke a confrontation yet."

"AS MANY OF YOU KNOW," the blue behemoth of a dragon continued, "ANNOYING PESTS MADE OF SHADOWS HAVE RECENTLY BEGUN APPEARING IN THE DRAGON LANDS. OH, AND IN EQUESTRIA TOO."

"And he doesn't even know about the heartless," Sora muttered.

"Forget that," growled Gale Wing. "How does Equestria get relegated to an afterthought?"

"UNFORTUNATELY, INSIGNIFICANT AS THESE PESTS ARE, NO DRAGON HAS FOUND A WAY TO CRUSH THEM FOR LONG. THEY KEEP APPEARING LIKE COCKROACHES, SCUTTLING OUT OF THE SHADOWS TO IRRITATE US AGAIN AND AGAIN."

The surrounding dragons muttered in agreement, and Sora noted that many of them seemed rather more concerned than Torch. Many of them were looking around frantically as if searching the crowds for someone. There are some dragons missing, Sora realized. Fallen to the heartless, no doubt.

"SURPRISINGLY, THERE ARE SOME CREATURES WHO HAVE MANAGED TO COMBAT THESE PESTS. THERE ARE PONIES IN EQUESTRIA WHO HAVE WEAPONS THAT CAN SOMEHOW DESTROY THESE IRRITANTS ONCE AND FOR ALL."

"I've got a bad feeling about this," muttered Gale.

"Why is that?" asked Fancy Pants. "It sounds to me like they're going to send ambassadors to Equestria requesting aid. I know that Prince Sol has wanted to forge an alliance with the Dragon Lands for some time now. Perhaps this could-"

"THIS IS WHY I HAVE CALLED YOU HERE. I WILL SEND YOU TO EQUESTRIA TO TAKE THESE WEAPONS FROM THE PONIES SO THAT WE CAN DESTROY THESE PESTS ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

"OH, HECK NO!!!"

Sora strode out from behind the rocks, marching towards the Dragon Lord and ignoring the stares he was getting from the surrounding dragons. "You cannot seriously be that yaying stupid! Did you not listen to a single tale that your elders told you? I know for a FACT that any dragon from a millennium ago would never be so bone-headed as to come up with an idiotic plan like that!"

All was silent as the dragons standing near Sora slowly backed away. The Dragon Lord glared down at him, contemptuously sizing him up. "AND JUST WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE, LITTLE THING. HEH, YOU LOOK LIKE A SCRAWNY MINOTAUR WHO LOST HIS HORNS. HA HA!" He glared around at the surrounding dragons. "BE AMUSED!"

Sora just shook his head as the dragons around him began laughing. "So you are as much of an idiot as I thought. Allow me to introduce myself. Aerora!" A blast of wind shot from Sora's feet, catapulting him through the air until he landed on the Dragon Lord's snout. "Sora, Warrior of Light. I'm the one who kept those 'pests' in line a thousand years ago. And if you think I'm going to sit back and let you attack Equestria, think again."

The Dragon Lord glared at him for a moment more before bursting out laughing. "HAHAHA. YOU ARE QUITE AMUSING, LITTLE THING. DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO? I AM TORCH, LORD OF THE DRAGONS!!! WHAT I SAY, GOES! AND I SAY, IF THE DRAGON LANDS NEED THOSE WEAPONS TO FIGHT THESE PESTS, A RUNT LIKE YOU ISN'T GOING TO STAND IN OUR WAY."

"Yeah, see, that's where your plan is just stupid." Sora began to pace across Torch's nose, never taking his eyes from Torch's much bigger ones. "First of all, those pests are called heartless. They're born from the darkness in creatures' hearts, including the hearts of dragons. There are several dragons missing here today, aren't there?"

Sora waited for Torch's eyes to scan the crowds before continuing. "Second, those weapons are called keyblades,and you can't steal them. Literally, can't. They're bonded to their wielders' hearts. You take the blade, it will disappear and reappear with the wielder in a matter of seconds.

"Finally, there's the fact that you called the heartless 'pests' in the first place. You have no idea what they're capable of. The heartless come in many sizes and abilities, many of them even larger than you. How much of a 'pest' will you think they are when you have a living monstrosity bigger than the flamecano crushing you beneath its foot?"

"HEH, BIG WORDS FOR SUCH A LITTLE CREATURE," Torch taunted. "IF THE WEAPONS CANNOT BE TAKEN FROM THE PONIES AS YOU SAY, THEN THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE. WE WILL JUST HAVE TO TAKE THE PONIES THEMSELVES! I'VE ALWAYS WANTED A FEW PETS, AFTER ALL."

Sora stopped pacing, glaring Torch right in the eye. "Not happening, Torch. You so much as touch any of my keybladers, and I'll make sure that the heartless find you beaten and weak at the bottom of a crater."

Torch's eyes narrowed, all trace of amusement gone. "IS THAT A CHALLENGE?"

"It's a fact."

"IS IT NOW?"

Sora jumped, barely getting off of Torch's nose before his hand came crashing down. In a flash of light, Sora hovered before him in Final Form, Shifting Form and Superior of the In-Between hovering around him. "Oh, good. The 'giant dragon assumes that the puny creature before him can't possibly be a match' cliche. Just as well. I've been meaning to test these guys out." He dove forward, slashing across Torch's wrist. "Come on!" he shouted over Torch's roar of pain. "Let's see what you've got, wyrmling!"

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT, RUNT!" Torch took a deep breath and Sora cast Aeroga, readying himself to dodge or block the fire. Fire, however, was not on Torch's mind. His mouth opened wide as a green cloud spewed forth, enveloping Sora. His wind kept the gas at bay for a time, but Sora could see it slowly encroaching inward.

Not good, he thought. Could be acid, or it could be some sort of poison. "Aerora!" Sora slashed Shifting Form outward, a wave of air following it as it cut through the cloud and scattered the green gas.

"Analyzing energy sample."

"What?" Sora stared at Shifting Form as it glowed green, the keychain spinning wildly. It eventually came to a stop, blinking as is spoke again.

"Analysis complete. New spell acquired. Element: Acid. Command words: Acid, Acira, Acirga."

Sora's eyes widened as a grin spread across his face. He laughed as he looked back down at Torch. "Thanks for that," he shouted. "Looks like your attack gave me a new spell." He pointed Shifting form at the Dragon Lord, aiming right between his eyes. "Let's see how it performs. Acid!"

A sphere of green acid shot from the keyblade, impacting between Torch's eyes and splashing into them. He roared in agony, rubbing furiously at his eyes as Sora dove down to his feet. Two slashes from Superior send Torch tumbling off balance. The dragons below scattered as Torch fell from his makeshift throne to the ground below, kicking up a cloud of dust with his impact.

"Had enough?" asked Sora, hovering just outside the cloud. "Face it, Torch, you're outmatched. I've got more than a millennium of fighting on you, and my attacks hit harder than anything you've ever had to deal with, I'm sure. Give up."

"NEVER!" Torch's tail shot out from the dust, slamming into Sora and sending him flying backward into the mountain throne, his Aero dispersing as it cushioned the blow. "I AM THE DRAGON LORD!" he shouted, fanning the dust away with his wings, his eyes red and blood-shot. "I AM THE MIGHTIEST OF DRAGONS! THE UNCONQUERED FLAME! I WILL NOT BE BEATEN BY A TINY FREAK FROM MY FATHER'S AGE!!!"

"I was afraid of that," Sora sighed, getting to his feet. "Got no choice, then. Looks like I'll just have to beat some sense into-"

"ROOOOOOOAR!!!"

Sora, Torch, and every dragon and pony present turned to face the sky. A swarm of figures was approaching from the west, flying over the ocean.

"WHAT IS IT NOW?" demanded Torch. "MORE FREAKS TO HELP YOU FIGHT?"

Sora ignored him, shooting up into the sky to get a better look at the approaching swarm. As they flew closer, Sora felt the blood drain from his face. "Buysomeapples," he muttered. "This is going to suck."

"DON'T THINK THAT YOU CAN GET AWAY FROM ME THAT EASILY!" Sora rolled his eyes as he turned to see Torch flying straight for him. Well, lumbering straight for him through the sky. "I'LL BLAST YOU OUT OF THE SKY BEFORE YOUR REINFORCEMENTS CAN GET HERE!"

"That could work," shouted Sora back, "if they were reinforcements! Remember those 'pests' you so easily dismissed?"

Torch raised a suspicious eyebrow before looking out towards the cloud. "WAIT A MINUTE... THOSE ARE DRAGONS!" He scratched his head. "I THINK?"

"Not quite," said Sora. "Draconic heartless. Looks like a combination of Wyverns, Windstorms, and Wavecrests. I'm also seeing a few Dustflyers. And that big one on the back behind them all? I'll bet my keyblade that it's a Storm Rider, and that thing's about as big as you." He glared at Torch, who seemed to be having second thoughts about fighting the heartless. "Still think you can handle these 'pests' on your own?"

"I think you should listen to him, Dad." Torch and Sora turned to see a young, teal dragoness speeding towards them. "I've heard a lot of stories about these things from Grandma. We need his help."

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STAY PUT!" Torch shouted. "THIS FIGHT IS BETWEEN ME AND THE FREAK."

"Finally a voice of reason," cried Sora, drifting over and holding out his hand. "Sora, Warrior of Light. Nice to meet you."

"Ember Truefire, daughter of Dragon Lord Torch" the dragoness replied, shaking his hand and ignoring her father's continued shouts. "Grandma Cinder's told me a lot about you."

"Truefire?" Sora grinned eagerly. "You're Cinder Truefire's granddaughter? Wow! How is little Cindy these days?"

"Not so little anymore," Ember replied. "She's almost as big as Dad. She lives up in the frozen north."

"She always did like the cold," Sora said, looking out at the approaching heartless swarm. "I don't suppose she could get here in time to help?"

Ember shook her head. "Not likely. Like I said, she's up north. No way we could even get word to her before the battle was over."

"Thought not." Sora turned his eyes back on Ember, switching to his heart-sight. He grinned as he blinked back to normal. "So, have you realized your potential and inherited her blade?" Ember nodded. "Good. We'll need all the help we can get."

"I! AM! TALKING!!!" Torch shouted, bringing his claw slashing down towards Sora.

*SHING*

Torch stared in shock at his hand, his diamond-hard claws sheared off just above the quick. Sora glared up at him, the general of a millennium past. "And I'm not listening," he said. "But you should be. You didn't even realize that your own daughter has one of those weapons you want so much. Your heart is as hard and stubborn as the stone you sit upon, and if these heartless are not destroyed, your heart will soon be devoured like the gemstones your kind so savor."

"Y-YOU CAN'T SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT!" Torch roared, a tremor of fear now entering his voice. "I AM THE DRAGON LORD-"

"NO LONGER!" Torch and Ember flinched as Sora's voice rang out, louder than even Torch's had been. "YOU HAVE DISHONORED THE TITLE OF DRAGON LORD AND ARE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO DRAGONS! YOU HAVE SPURNED THE TALES OF YOUR FATHERS, INSULTED THE LEGENDS OF OLD, AND ENDANGERED THE DRAGONS THAT YOU ARE BOUND TO RULE!" He turned to the dragons below, addressing them. "AS AN HONORARY DRAGON ADOPTED BY THE TRUEFLAME FAMILY, I CALL FOR A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE IN DRAGON LORD TORCH!"
> Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 14



2200 years ago


3rd-Pony POV


Cinder Trueflame was a humble dragon. Of course, humble by dragon standards meant that she ate her hoard rather than sleeping upon it and showing it off. Still, she was good-hearted. She never drew unnecessary attention to herself, never picked a fight, and always told over-adventurous ponies that she had no hoard for them to steal rather than barbecue them on the spot as most dragons would. By all rights, she should have faded into history as the least memorable of the illustrious Trueflame line.

"EQUESTRIANS, FALL BACK! GRYPHONIANS! MINOTAURANS! PINCER MANEUVER AS THEY PURSUE! CUT THEM OFF, STRENGTHEN THE LINE, AND LET THE EQUESTRIANS HAVE AT THEM!"

Which made her appointment as head of the United Draconic Army rather surprising to those who did not know her well. A will of steel and a sharp mind made her the ideal leader for the recently formed army, but her strong heart was even more significant against this foe.

"VACATE THE FLAMCONO!" Cinder shouted, diving straight for the mountain's smoking mouth. The smoke camouflaged her black scales, only flashes of her purple highlights visible to the discerning eye. As soon as she saw her fellow dragons removed from around the flamecano, she thrust forward her arm, a gigantic stylized sword held in her grip. "FIRAGA!"

She turned her dive to the side as a massive fireball shot into the flamecano's mouth. She banked sharply, speeding away from the mountain just as it erupted. Great balls of fire and molten rock rained down on the veritable sea of black figures that surrounded the heart of the dragon lands, incinerating great swathes of foes. As soon as the fire stopped falling, the dragons returned with a vengeance, blasting and clawing and biting at any creatures that dared approach their mountain.

"This cannot last forever." Cinder turned to see Dragon Lord Hollow Fang hovering beside her, the old wyrm's green scales glistening in the sun. "The swarms return again and again, and every year one of our number falls. With only ten dragons born in the past millennium, I fear that these creatures will drive us to extinction."

"That cannot happen!" Cinder exclaimed, gripping her blade all the tighter. "We just need more time. I cannot be the only one blessed with this blade. Surely others will be able to summon the strength to destroy them permanently as well."

"Perhaps," Hollow Fang muttered, "but I fear for the dragons that will fall before such a time arrives. And if you should fall, we would be utterly doomed."

"Then petition Equestria for aid!" Both dragons turned to see the red-armored pegasus who hovered behind them, a constant thorn in their sides over the past two years. "We have the means to fight these monsters. We have knowledge of the blade that Cinder Trueflame carries. We can help you to put an end to this battle once and for all!"

"To what end!" snapped Hollow Fang. "So that we may be indebted to the Celestial Siblings?"

"The Warrior of Light answers to no crown," said the pegasus, his voice weary of repeated explanations. "True, he has befriended the Royal Siblings, but he swears allegiance to the world as a whole. You need only ask for help-"

"I WILL NOT BEG FOR AID LIKE SOME HELPLESS WYRMLING!!!"

"Grandfather." Hollow Fang froze as he heard Cinder's voice. "Please, grandfather. Our dragons are weary. You are weary. We all just want this war to end. Too many of us have lost brothers. Sisters. ...mothers."

Hollow Fang hung his head, refusing to face his granddaughter. "Do not ask me of this. I beg of you as I refuse to beg of anyone else. Do not ask this old wyrm to choose between his pride as a dragon and his pride as a grandfather. You know which path I will choose."

Cinder bowed her head. "Yes," she said sadly. "I do." She took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Which is why, as soon as this wave is repulsed, I shall call for a Vote of No Confidence in you." She almost broke as Hollow Fang flinched, but she powered on, refusing to let her emotions cloud her voice even as tears ran down her cheeks. "As the one to propose the vote, I shall replace you as Dragon Lord until this crisis is averted." She turned her gaze to the pegasus. "And my first task will be to call upon this Warrior of Light for aid."

The pegasus shuffled his hooves nervously, glancing between the two dragons. "I'm afraid I cannot relay that request until the vote has been cast..."

"And do you have any doubt as to which direction the vote shall swing?" Cinder looked down to the battle below where the swarms were retreating for the day. "Fly swiftly for Everfree. I will be Dragon Lord long before you even cross the Celestial Sea."


Modern Day


"REDS, FALL BACK!" Sora shouted, cleaving a Wavecrest in two before shooting a Thunder at a group of Wyverns. "GREENS AND BLUES, BLOW APART THAT FORMATION! DON'T LET THEM CUT OFF THE BROWNS!"

The small group of red dragons dove away from the Windstorms that surrounded a powerful Dustflyer, tearing into a few Wavecrests as they retreated flying just over the water. Two more groups of dragons plowed through the formation, dragging the Windstorms with them as they peppered the Dustflyer with shots of acid and water. The brown dragons that the formation had been advancing on veered away, joining the reds as they swooped in on a swarm of Wyverns.

"Thundaga!" A bolt of lightning jumped from heartless to heartless, terminating as it struck the Storm Rider. "I say!" Fancy Pants shouted, the pegasi pulling the chariot pulling up alongside Sora. "I think I'm starting to get the hang of these spells!"

"Glad to hear it," said Sora, smirking. "But just wait until you find opponents that require Fire or Blizzard. You got those down?"

Fancy cleared his throat, twirling Calming Sea in his magic. "Yes, well, perhaps I should get some more practice in once this is done, eh?"

"Probably for the best." Ember dove down between them, pulling a tight loop and coming to a hover before them. "We've managed to drive off a lot of them, but there's still two of the brown ones. Not to mention the big guy."

Sora looked around, taking in the lessened numbers as most of the remaining Wavecrests, Wyverns, and Windstorms fled. "Alright. Each of you take half of our dragons and take out the Dustflyers. I'll handle Big, Bad, and Stormy."

Ember nodded, diving once again. She whistled sharply, drawing half of the dragon forces after her as she pointed Heart of True Fire at the Dustflyer. "Fira!"

As rings of fire surrounded the Dustflyer, Fancy and his half of the forces took off to combat its brother. Sora cast a quick cure on himself before refreshing his Aerora and flying off. The Storm Rider roared at him as he approached, charging up the spines along its back. Sora juked and rolled as he advanced, dodging the bolts of lightning that the heartless summoned. Finally reaching the massive dragon, Sora lashed out with Oathkeeper and Oblivion, striking at its twin horns. The Storm Rider roared in agony, shooting upward and looping around a ways behind Sora. Four walls of lightning sprang up around Sora, forming a corridor between him and the heartless. "Buy some apples!" Sora cursed, charging away from the Storm Rider as its horns began to charge again. He barely cleared the corridor and juked to the side before a massive beam of lightning shot out, a deafening boom of thunder nearly knocking Sora out of the sky. He recovered just in time to see the Storm Rider barreling towards him.

"COME GET SOME!!!" Diving from above, Torch bodyslammed the Storm Rider. He grabbed it in his massive arms, flipping it belly-up and spewing a cloud of acid across its chest. The heartless shrieked in pain as he pushed it away, coming to an unsteady hover as the heartless crashed into the ocean below. "NO DRAGON BESTS THE MIGHTY TORCH! WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU, I'LL USE YOUR HORNS AS TOOTHPICKS!"

"Nice entrance," said Sora as the heartless lumbered back into the sky, "but how about you save the gloating for after the Rider is down and out?"

Torch's retort was cut off as the Storm Rider roared again, blasting upwards in a gale of its own making. It clapped the cymbals beneath its belly together, flying overhead and dropping several dozen glowing spheres.

"Bombs!" shouted Sora, darting out of its path. "Move it!"

But Torch was too slow, his size barely allowing him to turn his back to the assault before several bombs struck him. He howled in pain, plumeting to the ocean as the Storm Rider had a moment before.

Sora winced, darting a little lower to make sure he was still alive. Seeing Torch begin to swim for land, he let out a sigh of relief. His gaze returned to the Storm Rider, eying it nervously. This battle had taken longer than he'd anticipated, and his Final Form was close to wearing off. "All right," he muttered, switching out for Fenrir and Mysterious Stalker. "Don't want to get too dependent on this guy, but it looks like my hands are tied. Got to finnish this quick."

The Storm Rider glared down at the dragon in the ocean below, satisfied that it wouldn't rejoin the battle anytime soon. It turned tis gaze back to its true foe, the weilder of the balefull keyblade. It roared its fury, diving straight for Sora as it charged its horns.

Sora vanished without so much as a flash, appearing on the Storm Rider's forhead and bracing himself against the dive. He twirled his two keyblades overhead before sending them plunging into the heartless's eyes. He leapt free as the Storm Rider thrashed and spun, summoning Oathkeeper and Wishing Star. "Thundaga!" he cried, aiming for the two lodged blades. Twin bolts of lightning struck, channeled through the keyblades into the Storm Rider's vulnerable interior. It gave one final screach of agony before falling silent, disolving into darkness as it hit the surface of the ocean.

Sora sighed as he flew off to the chariot where Fancy Pants sat, having just finnished off his Dustflyer. "You all right?" he asked as he landed beside the stallion.

"Just a- a little winded," Fancy weazed, holding his hoof to his chest. "Bugger got me wi- with its tail on that last- last pass."

Sora winced in sympathy, his Final Form vanishing in a flash of light. "I hear you. Those guys are nasty. How's Ember doing?"

Fancy chuckled, pointing to where Gale was carrying them. "See for yourself."

Looking where Fancy pointed, Sora couldn't help but let out an impressed whistle. The rest of the dragons had backed off as Ember battled her Dustflyer solo. She ducked and weaved, dancing and spinning through the air around the comparatively awkward heartless. He keyblade lashed out almost constantly and from all sides, little more than a black and purple streak flying and circling around her poor, confused opponent. Ember finally put it out of its misery, slashing Heart of True Fire down and decapitating the Dustflyer. It wimpered pathetically as it fell, disolving into darkness.

"Well," called Sora, once they were in hearing range, "it's not your grandmother's brute-force method, but it works."

Ember laughed, twirling her blade. "Yeah, brute-force isn't really my thing. You did pretty well, too. Even better than Grandma Cynder's stories."

Sora shrugged, dismissing his blades. "Millennia of practice," he said. "Come on, let's get back to the mainland. Your father and the others are probably anxious to hear that the heartless are gone."

"That is it then?" asked Ember, flying alongside the chariot as the headed back. "Those heartless are gone for good?"

"Those ones, yes," Sora replied. "It's not really the end, though. There'll always be more so long as darkness continues to exist in a single heart. But they shouldn't swarm like that again for a long time so long as a keyblade destroys them when they start showing up again."

They flew on in silence for a while before Ember sighed. "I'm sorry about my father," she said. "He's always been proud and more than a little stubborn. I still can't believe that you took his throne, though."

"I did what had to be done," Sora replied. "He refused to listen to me as an advisor, so I took charge." He sighed, massaging his temples. "Only problem is, that makes me acting Dragon Lord until I can give the title to somedragon else. Know anydragon who might be interested?"

"Well," said Ember, smirking at him, "I was planning on taking on the Gauntlet of Fire my father's been preparing for when he would have stepped down in a few years."

Sora raised an eyebrow, staring at Ember incredulously. "A Trueflame as Dragon Lord? You think the Elders will go along with that?"

"Oh, let them complain," muttered Ember. "After all, they're the ones who left us alone after Torch took the the throne. If they've got a problem with a Trueflame wyrmling whipping this generation into shape, they can take it up with Grandma."

Sora winced, suddenly fealing a deap sympathy for any dragon that dared to contest Ember's qualification to be Dragon Lord. "Fair enough, I guess. Soon as we get back, I'll make Torch give you the Bloodstone Scepter. Guess that means you won't be joining my personal band of keyblade masters, huh?"

Ember shook her head. "Someone has to stay here and keep the heartless in check."

Sora just chuckled, facing the approaching land. Just like her grandmother.


2200 years ago


Cynder Trueflame shifted uncomfortably as she watched the battle unfold. "I must admit," she said, "I did not expect your aid to be so... overwhelming."

Sora shrugged as he leaned back against a large rock, hands behind his head as he watched the EKA slaughter the swarms of heartless. "We've really boosted our numbers over the last few centuries. We may be down to only a couple of masters in my little group, but the Army has been recruiting a lot. Most ponies are being tested by the time they start a trade or craft, and Pegaso- er, Cloudsdale tests all of their citizens anually. Apparently it's even more often in the Kicker clan. I swear, a solid twentieth of our pegasi are from that clan."

"I was wondering why so many were armored in red," Cynder mused. "I am sorry to hear that you have so few Masters as of late."

"Yeah, it's been rough," admited Sora. "We've barely got enough Masters to cover every region in Equestria, much less every city. And don't get me started on the minotaurs and gryphons. Their countries only have five keybladers each and they refuse to request aid!"

"And the zebra tribes?"

"Eh, they do alright," Sora replied. "They're nomadic, so that heartless aren't too much of an issue for them. Every tribe either has a keyblader or knows of a tribe nearby that has one. For the most part, they just avoid the heartless. There's one zebra Keyblade Master who wanders their country, living off of donations from the tribes that cross his path and taking out more dangerous heartless when they appear."

"Were that things were so easy for us," Cynder sighed. "I am the only dragon we know of who has earned a keyblade, and we are so scattered that individuals must rely on the local keybladers to keep them safe as well. Not to mention the problems we have here."

"So I guess that means you won't be joining my travling band of misfits?"

Cynder chuckled and shook her head. "Someone has to stay here and keep the heartless in check."

"Can't blame a guy for trying." Sora pushed off of the rock, stretching out his back as he watched the battle. The last few groups of heartless were being surrounded and destroyed by the pegasi of the Equestrian Keyblade Army. The disipating darkness of their slain bodies floated upward, joining the slowly dispersing haze of black that covered the sky.
> Chapter 15
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 15


3rd-Pony POV


"...so even though all dragons feel a small compulsion to obey the Dragon Lord generally, the full effect doesn't take hold unless the Dragon Lord gives an actual command. Even then, a relatively strong-willed dragon can resist the compulsion if they try."

"I see," said Spike, furiously taking notes. "So, is the compulsion magical in nature, or is it more along the lines of dragon instinct?"

"A little of both," Ember replied. "It's mostly dominance-submission instinct, but magic takes a major role when the scepter gets involved. If a Dragon Lord makes a command when channeling the scepter, not even the strongest willed of dragons can disobey."

Spike paused in his writing, looking over the edge of the chariot at Ember. "That's a little worrying," he said. "Doesn't that mean that if a bad Dragon Lord comes along that everydragon has to do what they say?"

Ember shrugged. "Unfortunately, yeah. But we do have checks in place. If a dragon feels that the current Dragon Lord is abusing their power or failing to lead well, he can call for a vote of no confidence, like Sora did." Ember tapped her chin as she flew, staring off into space. "I think there's only been... five times that the vote's gone through, and the Bloodstone Scepter and Dragon Lord have been around longer than ponies have existed."

Spike nodded in understanding and resumed taking notes. The trip north out of the Dragon Lands had continued this way for a few hours. Spike, knowing what Twilight would say if he didn't find out everything he could about dragons when he had the chance, and he himself being curious about his scaled brethren, had been peppering Ember with question after question about draconic history, culture, and magic. Ember had been more than happy to answer Spike's questions, relieved to find another dragon in her generation that actually cared about any of it. Sora and Fancy rode in the other carriage as Sora asked about the situation in Canterlot.

"The number of daily applicants had dwindled by the time I left," admitted Fancy, "but we've already got a good two-hundred keybladers now in training, with another hundred unicorns who specialize in light-based magic. I rather think that the capital is well protected."

"That's good to hear," Sora replied. "It looked like Ponyville had a few keybladers and a Master who will be joining our team as soon as his eye gets fixed. Appleoosa also has a couple bladers and two more Masters for our team. At this rate, Equestria should be even safer than it was two-and-a-half thousand years ago."

"Pardon, but did you mention that the Ponyville Master has problems with one of his eyes? This wouldn't be mister Clutzy Doo, would it?"

"Yeah, that's him," Soar said. "You know him?"

"Know him?" Fancy laughed. "I rather think that everypony as far out as Dodge City knows him. Friendliest courier and mail-stallion central Equestria has ever had. I shouldn't be surprised that he was chosen by the keyblade. I've been telling him for years to get that eye looked at."

"Yeah, but he's a stubborn one." Sora shook his head, but couldn't keep a small smile off his face. "He has his pride; he didn't want to feel like a charity case. Fortunately, the Crown has a terrific medical package for my little band of troubleshooters."

They shared a laugh and Sora noticed that they were approaching their destination. "Hey, Ember!"

"...so to avoid that Greed Growth, focus on the value of your possessions rather than the number of them. That should keep you from wanting to hoard everything you see." Ember gave a mighty flap of her wings, spinning above Spike's carriage and settling in between it and Sora's. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to thank you again for this," Sora said. "I have no idea what Gryphonstone's like these days. The gryphons never took as well to the keyblade as ponies did, and I'm worried they might not have any bladers of their own right now, let alone Masters."

Ember just waved him off. "No problem. If they don't have anyone, I can keep an eye on them. Besides, the Dragon Lands are usually pretty empty. Most dragons live all over the world and only gather for the migration or when the Dragon Lord calls. I'll probably be roosting somewhere up here anyway."

"I appreciate that," Sora said. "I can't imagine that the entire Empire doesn't have any keybladers, but Gryphonstone was always a particularly troublesome place. Lots of old vices there, greed most prevalent among them."

"Well, no-one knows how to handle greed like a dragon. Don't worry, I've got this."

They landed in Gryphonstone a few minutes later. Ember, Spike, and Fancy looked around, obviously unimpressed. Sora just looked sad.

The once great city of the gryphons was a dump. Crooked housed leaned against single walls that were all that remained of the buildings that had once stood there. Trash littered the streets and rats and cockroaches scurried around unchecked. The few fully intact buildings were heavily graffitied. The several gryphons that roamed the streets or sat by the wayside seemed apathetic, going about their business as if on auto-pilot or lazing around uncaring for the squalor of their city.

"Geeze," muttered Spike. "And I thought Twilight's bird nest last Winter Wrap-Up was bad. This entire place needs to be condemned."

"Agreed." A flash of light saw Fenrir and Ultima appearing in his hands. "I had a conversation with the Gryphon Empire about two thousand years ago. We agreed that if Gyphonstone ever reached the point where the inhabitants stopped trying, the city would have to be razed to the ground. A place like this is a breeding ground for heartless." He flashed into heart-sight looking around and sighing. "Yeah, the only reason these feather-heads aren't heartless already is that they're too apathetic for even darkness to take root." His eyes returned to normal as he raised his keyblades to his shoulders. "Guess it's time to-"

"OH MY GOSH!!! You have one too?"

Sora blinked and looked up to see a young gryphoness gaping down at him, a huge smile nearly consuming her face. A keyblade rested across her back, the teeth shaped like an eagle's talons. The shaft and guard were the same bluish-grey as her coat, the keychain a purple trophy. "Um... hi?"

"Hi there!" the gryphoness called, waving energetically. "Nice to meet you! I'm Gabriella, but you can call me Gabby. Everygryphon does."

"I wonder why?" Spike muttered, causing Ember to giggle.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Gabby," said Sora, grinning almost as widely, though it seemed a bit strained. "I'm Sora, Warrior of Light and Master of the Keyblade. These are Spike, Fancy Pants, Gale Wing, and Swift Blade of Equestria, and this is Dragon Lord Ember. We're just here to check on the heartless situation here in Gryphonstone. Are you, er, just here visiting by any chance?"

"Nope!" Gabby called happily, diving to the ground and breaking at the last minute to land softly on her mismatched feet. "I'm a Gryphonstone gal, born and raised! Sure, being a courier means I'm only here about half the time, but hey! Home is home, right?"

"Right." Sora dismissed his keyblades, his left eye twitching slightly. "Resident. Great. Well, anyway, the heartless. Seen any around?"

"You mean those scary black things?" Gabby shuddered. "Yeah, they've been popping up for a while now. No worries, though! Me and a tallonfull of other gryphons have been putting the hurt on them with these!" She pulled her blade from her back, swinging it around a few times. "All the other gryphons' swords look the same, though. The Emperor said something about Masters being different, but I was kind of distracted. See, there was this really important letter that I had to get delivered, and I was just waiting for him to finish explaining so that I could get going. Not that it's not an honor to talk with the Emperor, but hey, duty called!"

"I can understand that," Sora muttered. Shaking his head he spoke up again. "Well, glad to hear that everything's alright in the Gryphon Empire. I hope you didn't suffer too many losses when the heartless first showed up."

Gabby's smile fell, replaced with a somber frown that looked wrong on her face. "A few. Mostly just a gryphon here and there across the Empire, but I knew one of the gryphons here that... well, that fell, I guess. I mean, I didn't know Gilda too well, and she was a lot more mean than the other gryphons here, but she still didn't deserve..."

Sora nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I know. No-one deserves that."

Gabby sniffed a couple of times, wiping away a few tears before they could fall. "Anyway, that's in the past." Her grin returned, though it was a little more subdued. "All I can do now is make sure it doesn't happen again, right?"

"That's all anyone can hope for," Sora replied. He backed up a bit, looking around once again. "Well, it looks like Gryphonstone and the Gryphon Empire are in good claws. If you ever need any help, just send word to Equestria. The Equestrian Keyblade Army has joint jurisdiction over Gryphonstone, and me and my keybladers have jurisdiction everywhere. Just send us a letter, and we'll be here as fast as we can be."

Gabby grinned and leapt forward, grabbing Sora in a hug. "Will do! And if you ever need help in Equestria, just call for Gabby the Gryphon. See you all later!" With that, she leapt off of Sora's chest, bounding into the sky.

Everyone stared silently after her for a moment before Spike broke the silence. "No matter what, we can never let her meet Berry. I don't think Equestria could handle it."

"Well, that's our job done," said Sora, turning to Ember. "We're heading back to Equestria. Thanks for coming this far with us. Sorry it was for nothing."

"It's fine," Ember replied. "Like I said, I'm planning to roost somewhere nearby anyway. You need any help, just let me know." She gave a small salute before leaping into the air, quickly turning eastward and deeper into the Empire.

"So, back to Equestria, Sir?" asked Gale, already hitched to his chariot once again.

"Yeah," said Sora, climbing in along with Fancy Pants. "Luna and the others were planning to meet us in Trottingham once they finished with Baltimare and Phillydelphia." He nodded over to Spike and Swift Blade. "You two'd better get back home. Twilight will be worried, and Sol will want a report on the situation so far.

The two pegasi nodded and took off, Swift flying west as Gale took Sora and Fancy further northward.

"Anything you can tell me about Trottingham?" Sora asked Fancy.

"Nothing much to tell," the unicorn replied. "It's a small town, populated mostly by earth ponies and pegasi. Their economy is mostly sea-dependent with an emphasis on fishing and trade with the Gryphon Empire. I had the opportunity to visit their island last year. Good, decent folk. I expect they'll have a keyblader or two there already."

"Let's hope so," Sora said. "I'd hate to relocate a keyblader away from the mainland if we don't have to."

They traveled in silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts. After about an hour, Fancy cleared his throat. "I don't mean to pry," he started cautiously, "but you seemed rather... irked when Gabby said that she was from Gryphonstone."

Sora sighed, sitting down and leaning his back against the side of the carriage. "That obvious, huh? It's like I said, the old Gryphon Emperor and I had an agreement a long time ago. Gryphonstone's always been a problem city. It doesn't look like it, but that's the main trading hub between the Empire and Equestria. Trade's been scarce for a while now, for obvious reasons. The gryphons there got wealthy off of trade and it went to their heads. Now their greed is almost as pervasive as that of dragons. They won't lift a claw if them. You'll occasionally get a charismatic ruler who manages to bring them around for a generation or two, but it never lasts. The generation that Gryphonstone doesn't have a keyblader is the generation when they fall into darkness."

"Hence you razing the city if it ever came to that. You want to force all of the gryphons to move somewhere with a keyblader to protect them before the heartless can take them out."

"Exactly." Sora sighed again, looking out at the ocean passing behind them. "I've been to Gryphonstone about a dozen times, and each time there was only a single keyblader there making sure that it didn't all go to Tartarus. Personally, I think we should raze the city regardless and be done with it, but Luna still has hope for them and the Emperor is always too proud and stubborn." He settled into a more comfortable position, sighing once again as he closed his eyes. "Sure hope Gabby can handle it."

It only took Sora a minute to doze off, leaving Fancy to contemplate his words as the trip continued. To destroy an entire city just to prevent the heartless from gaining victory? I knew that this conflict was serious, but I never could have imagined. What would happen if he lost faith in an Equestrian city or town? Would he even hesitate? Recalling Sora's fight against the Darksides and all of Prince Sol's tales about him, Fancy shuddered. I do hope I never have to find out.
> Chapter 16
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 16


3rd-Pony POV


Trottingham had been just as Fancy had described it, small, simple, and with a pervasive ocean theme to everything. The townsponies had welcomed Sora and Fancy whole-heartedly, Luna and the others having arrived the previous evening. There were three keybladers in town, along with one Keyblade Master. He was a crotchety old pegasus who lived in a hut on a rock about half a mile off the coast, but he had a heart of gold and an especially soft spot for foals. Assured that they would be able to continue their journey without his aid, Gale Force took off that evening for Canterlot. After a good night's rest and a hearty breakfast, Sora and his entourage boarded a boat headed for the mainland.

"You sure about this?" asked the Captain, looking over the map with Sora. "There ain't any ports north o' Manehattan. I'm only goin' to be able to get so close to the shore."

"We'll be fine. Most of us can swim, and Luna can fly the one who can't over. My friend was sure that that," Sora pointed to a blank spot on the map northwest of Manehattan, "was the place."

"If you're sure."

They reached the coast that evening, Sora, Fancy, and Jazz swimming to shore while Luna flew across carrying Strongheart on her back. They slept out under the stars before continuing on hoof the next day.

Two days later, they climbed the final ridge before their destination. "Is that it?" asked Jazz, pointing down at the collection of houses below. There were two rows of perfectly straight and identical houses running parallel to each other, with another house sitting at the far end.

"Looks like it," Sora confirmed. "Alex said that it was some sort of equality cult. The houses forming an equal sign was a pretty good sign."

"Didn't he also say that they were taking ponies' cutie marks?" Fancy asked.

Sora nodded, scanning the town for any signs of life and growing more and more unnerved as he could see none. "Yeah, which means it'll just be me and Strongheart at first. Don't want to risk any of you if I don't have to."

"Come now Sora," said Luna. "I am one of the Royal Siblings. The alicorn who moves the moon and rules the night. What could I have to fear from them?" Sora looked over and raised an eyebrow. Luna reviewed her words and sighed. "And now fate would conspire against me."

"Yeah, way to jinx it, your majesty," joked Jazz, elbowing her in the side. The last few days on the road with her had significantly lowered Jazz's fear and formality with Luna as she'd grown more familiar with her. "No way we're lettin' you anywhere near that town, now."

"Besides," Sora added, "remember what Alex said happened to the princess who investigated in his world?"

"...point."


Sora's POV


"Okay, this is just eerie."

The town was deserted. Worse than that, it was clean and deserted. There was no damage, no trash, no signs of a fight or a panic. There weren't even any tracks leading out of town to suggest where everypony had gone, assuming there had ever been anypony here in the first place. Even my heartsight only revealed one heart in the building at the edge of town, and something was... off about that one. Not only that, but there seemed to be strange gaps in the heartsight. In each house was one of these gaps, almost like a hole where my sight was just sucked in. Not particularly wanting to investigate this phenomenon, I led Strongheart past the houses without investigating.

"This place is wrong," Stongheart whispered, Pact already out and laying across her back.

"You sense it too?" I asked.

She nodded. "It feels like... like there are things watching us from the buildings. Not ponies, and not heartless either. Just... things." She shuddered, walking a little closer to me. "Things that are just wrong."

I hesitated for a moment before deciding not to tell her. Whatever those voids in my heartsight were, they were probably the same "things" that Strongheart sensed. "It looks like there's somepony in the house at the end," I told her. "Let's see if she knows anything."

As we continued down the street, I began to notice something else. The shadows between the houses were beginning to move, small swarms of heartless gathering all around. But they were behaving oddly. None of them attacked us, for one thing, and they seemed determined to stay right between the houses, as far from the walls as possible. They were shuddering as I passed, and I saw their yellow eyes darting from us to the houses and back. It wasn't until we passed the last two houses that I realized just what I'd seen, and it caused my blood to freeze.

The heartless were afraid.

Heartless are never afraid.

"Watch our backs," I muttered to Strongheart, before turning and knocking on the door. For a while all was silent before the door's handle was enveloped in a light-blue aura. It turned slowly, and the door started creaking inward. Strongheart tensed, keeping one eye on me and the other on the street behind us. I readied myself to draw my keyblade as the door finally opened enough for us to see inside.

"Welcome!"

I hadn't known what to expect, but a Smiling purple unicorn wasn't it. Her mane was a darker purple with a teal streak running through it, her cutie mark an equal sign. However, a second look revealed some disturbing features. There were heavy bags under her eyes, eyes that were wide and wild and a little unfocused. Her mane, tail, and coat were dusty and tussled, and a quick sniff revealed that she probably hadn't bathed in a while. What was strangest though was her Smile. Now, there are smiles. And then there are Smiles. The first is a sign of happiness, a cheerful greeting. The second, well, the second was what this unicorn had on her face. Far too wide, far too many teeth showing, and strained as if it were stapled in place. Combined with everything else, that smile told me just what was so strange about this pony's heart.

"Um, hi," I said, backing off of the front porch. "Is this Our Town, by any chance?"

The unicorn giggled, a strangled sound that made the hair on the back of my head stand up straight. "Yes yes it is," she sang. "Or it will be soon. Just as soon as you become like the others, yes in deedy!"

"Others?"

"Oh, but where are my manners? Come in!" She grabbed us with her magic, pulling us inside and slamming the door shut before we could react. She slammed us down in front of a table before walking into another room. "Let me make you some tea!" she called. "It's been AGES since anypony wanted any tea. None of the ones in town seem to care for it since they got here."

Strongheart and I looked around the room, we were in as the mad unicorn kept rambling. "She's insane," I whispered, noticing the barred windows and the numerous locks on the front door. "Literally insane. Her mind and her heart are both shattered beyond repair."

"Let's get out of here then," whispered Strongheart, staring around at the various pictures of ponies on the walls. All of them appeared to be caught in the unicorn's aura and absolutely terrified. "I'd rather not discover what she did to all of these poor ponies."

"That's exactly why we can't leave." I examined the pictures as well, noticing a few dark shapes in the background of each one. "You see how powerful she is. We can't let a mad powerhouse like that stay here. Or worse, leave while we get reinforcements. And I still don't want to risk the others." I flinched away from one picture which featured a pony screaming as his cutie mark was stretched half-way off his flank as several heartless in the background leaned forward almost expectantly. "Whatever ripping off a cutie mark does here, I don't want to find out by it happening to Fancy or Jazz."

"And so I said to myself," Strangheart and I quickly schooled our faces as the unicorn returned, carrying a large tea tray in her magic, "Starlight Glimmer, I said, if nopony's coming to Our Town, you'll just have to go out and find ponies to come here! Once you bring them here and show them the joys of living a life of equality, they'll NEVER want to leave! And sure enough, none of them have. Here you go!" She levitated over a pair of teacups and filled them with hot water from the kettle. "Sorry the tea's a bit thin, but we haven't had any merchants stop by recently. The last one came by a month ago, and after he was equalized, he decided to stay FOREVER!"

"I... see." I stared sadly into my cup of hot water. I'd been hoping that I could at least get some actual tea to calm my nerves. "And, um, how exactly do you equalize someone?"

"Not someone, silly," said Starlight, giggling madly. "SomePONY! It only works on ponies, after all. All I do is cast a tiny little spell that RIPS AWAY THEIR CUTIE MARK AND CRUSHES IT TO SMITHERINES!!!" Starlight panted heavily for a few seconds, her face twisted into a mask of rage and veins visibly throbbing in her neck. She quickly drained her still steaming cup of water and poured herself a new one, her Smile back in place. "And then they're equalized. Simple as that."

"And, um, what happens to the ponies that are equalized?" I asked, leaning back from the table. Strongheart was already up and across the room, cowering by the door with Pact in her mouth and ready to either flee or attack.

"Why, they change of course!" Starlight replied. "It's a glorious metamorphosis where they become absolutely equal to one another. Most ponies don't survive the process, unfortunately, and they just turn into little shadows and run away, but that's why I started going down to Manehattan and recruiting! After all, there are so many homeless ponies in that city who are just desperate for a place to call home. Or," she giggled again, her eyes unfocusing even more, "there were." Her eyes snapped back to attention, drilling straight into mine. "Would you like to see them?"

Despite Strongheart's pleading looks and violently shaking head, I had to know what had happened to the ponies who survived Starlight's spell. It was obvious that things had gone differently in this world than they had in Alex's, but I needed to see if those who were "changed" could be saved. More than that, I had to make sure that they weren't a threat. "Of course," I replied, Strongheart facehoofing behind me. "I'd love to see them."

"Great!" Starlight stood and trotted over to the door, flinging it open and marching out into the street. I followed cautiously, summoning Shifting Form just in case. Strongheart followed close behind, her eyes never focusing on anything for more than a second.

"Come on out, every... one!" Starlight shouted, grinning around at the surrounding houses. "We have new guests in Our Town who want to see you!" The houses were silent, and Starlight's mane became a bit more frazzled as she nervously rubbed a hoof through it. "Eh-he-he, no need to be shy, every... one! Come on out!" Catching movement out the corner of her eye, she lit her horn and turned to the house on her left, her face contorted into a snarl. "I said, COME OUT!!!" She jerked her head to the right and a figure came flying through the window. It landed on the ground before her, writhing and contorting in her magic. As soon as she released it, it sprang to its feet, hissing at me and Strongheart.

I stared in shock at the creature before me. No, I though. It can't be. They aren't real! They don't buysomeapples exist here! Try as I did to deny it, the creature continued to stand before me, hissing angrily. The bipedal creature was almost entirely white, with two strips of blue running down its sides. Its mouth stretched unnaturally far back, threaded with a zipper and reaching almost to its neck. It had no eyes or nose, but the flat top of its head bore a crest, one that I hadn't seen since Earth.

"Wh-what is that thing?" Strongheart asked, pointing Pact at it as fire began to build around its tip.

"Oh, this?" asked Starlight, her Smile once again back on her face. "This is a perfectly equal being. Everypony that is equalized becomes one of these. Why, when I'm done, everypony in Equestria will be-"

"Firaga!"

Starlight and the creature screamed in agony as the ball of fire struck them. Strongheart jumped back in shock, staring at me in horror. I'm not sure exactly what she saw in my eyes, but whatever it was made her hold her tongue.

The fire quickly consumed the creature, but Starlight remained standing when it faded. Her mane and tail were seared away, her coat replaced with angry blisters. "What have you done?!" she screamed. "YOU JUST DESTROYED A PERFECTLY EQUALIZED BEING! I HAD TO EQUALIZE TEN PONIES BEFORE I FOUND THAT ONE!!!"

TEN!? I schooled my rage as best I could and fell back on the few times I'd come up against non-heartless criminals in the past. "Starlight Glimmer," I said, "as General of the Equestrian Keyblade Army, I place you under arrest for the murder of several ponies. Recognizing your state of insanity, I offer you a certain amount of grace in your trial should you surrender now. Otherwise you will be taken in by any means necessary. Dead or alive."

Starlight's eyes grew wide, a manic gleam overtaking them. "Ooh, dead. Now that sounds like a great idea! Citizens of Our Town, ATTACK! KILL THEM! TEAR THEM TO SHREDS!!!"

Hisses and roars echoed throughout the town as doors and windows slammed open. Several more of the creatures slithered out before standing upright and leaping toward us. I quickly switched to Mysterious Stalker and grabbed Strongheart, slenderwalking to the other side of town. "Go get the others," I commanded. "Take out these creatures, but leave Starlight to me. And be careful. There may be more lurking about of different types." Seeing a gleam of light, I rose my keyblade just in time to parry a bolt of red energy. "Strike that, there are definitely several types. Get going."

Strongheart nodded and sped off as I switched out for Oathkeeper and Oblivion, diving into the swarm of Nobodies.


3rd-Pony POV


"So... do we help?" asked Jazz as she watched Sora charge into the swarm of strange creatures.

"If he asks for it," Luna replied, studying the creatures intently. They seemed unnervingly familiar to her, though she couldn't for the life of her determine why. She frowned, lighting her horn. "I will prepare a mass teleport in case that is what Strongheart is coming here to tell us."

Strongheart arrived a moment later, barely breathing hard after scaling the ridge. "Sora needs help! He wants us to take out those creatures, but leave the unicorn alone."

Luna nodded, her horn glowing even brighter. A flash of light landed them at the entrance to Our Town. Before the creatures could turn back from where Sora was fighting, Luan and Fancy struck out with their keyblades.

"Take that, you curs!" Fancy shouted, dodging back and forth as the creatures attacked, his fencing style remarkably well matched by the nimble creatures. Every thrust met the chest or head of an opponent while every strike and counter was easily parried.

Strongheart and Jazz fought side by side, Rodeo and Pact swinging one right after the other. Every opening was guarded by the other, every parry followed up by the other's counter. They moved as a single body, anticipating each other's attacks and defenses perfectly.

Luna was a powerful force in her own right. Twin blades of moonlight struck out at the surrounding creatures, decapitating them with each strike and causing them to vanish into nothing. Her ears picked up a piercing note sounding from one of the houses and she raised a blade just in time to intercept a bolt of red energy. She teleported into the house, catching the bipedal crossbow wielder off guard. A single slash of her blade took it out before she leaped back into the battle outside. She parried three more shots and noticed a pair of bulkier creatures gliding towards her, their arms covered in spikes.

They look strong, Luna thought, twirling her blades as she grinned. But let's see if they're strong enough to handle me.


Sora's POV


Yay it all! I can't believe I let those Assassins slip past! I berated myself while I fought, taking out every Dusk and Creeper I could as I continued forward. At least I was able to take out those Dancers before they became a headache. The Snipers are annoying, but it looks like there are only four of them. They should be able to handle them. I leapt over an Assassin, slicing it to ribbons from above before landing and continuing onward. All the rest are Dusks and Creepers, and there's no way they can't handle those losers. All that leaves is that Samurai guarding Starlight, and if he fights anything like he does in the game...

I finally broke through the final ranks, running towards Starlight and the Samurai that stood before her. A chill went up my spine and something in my gut told me to freeze. I did, and so did everything around me. Everything else faded to black as the Samurai and I stared each other down. It was a familiar standoff, and one that I had taken every opportunity to seize back in Kingdom Hearts II. Only one of us would strike, and it all depended on the right timing. I knew that one wrong move could prove to be a painful mistake.

The Samurai twitched.

*SHING*

I twirled my keyblades, turning to Starlight as the Samurai vanished into nothingness. "You've lost, Starlight Glimmer," I said, pointing Oblivion at her. "Call off your minions and I will spare your life."

Starlight just cackled madly. "You say that as if it is yours to take!" Her horn lit up and she fired a beam of magic at me. I dove to the side, throwing Oblivion at her even as I pointed with Oathkeeper. "Graviga!"

The gravity spell held her in place and her eyes widened right before Oblivion struck her. She went flying out of the spell's range and I darted forward, catching Oblivion and bringing Oathkeeper around to strike her as she fell.

Unfortunately, she'd seen me coming. My blade slashed through open air and I looked up to see her hovering above me, held aloft in her own telekinesis. She darted over to a nearby rooftop, landing and firing another beam of magic at me. I dodged as I raced for the building, pointing Oathkeeper at its base. "Aciga!"

A geyser of acid gushed from the tip of my blade, striking the foundation of the house and quickly dissolving it. The front half of the building sagged, Starlight lifting herself from it just before it collapsed. She cried out in rage, charging straight for me, horn first. I dismissed Oblivion, pointing Oathkeeper straight up. "Thundaga!"

Starlight shrieked in pain as lightning struck from above, her magic giving out as she convulsed violently. Her momentum carried her forward into my waiting arm. I clotheslined her, taking a knee and grabbing her horn as she fell before slamming it into the ground. "It's over!" I shouted. "Surrender!"

"NEVER!" she screamed, spitting blood. "If I can't win like this, I'll just have to take away whatever it is that makes you special!" I was caught off guard as her horn lit up despite what should have been debilitating pain. A wave of magic enveloped my body. I braced myself, not knowing what she was doing. The magic was invasive, searching over my entire body from the tip of my hair to the ends of my dorky clown shoes. Finally, the spell ended, Starlight staring up at me confused. "But, but that should have worked." She started squirming in my grip, ignoring the pain it caused in her horn. "Why didn't it work? It always works! You should be dead now! Or mindless like them! Why didn't the spell take your cutie mark?!"

"Humans don't have cutie marks," I answered, tightening my grip on her horn. "Your spell is useless against me."

Starlight glared up at me before her eyes turned to the battle behind me. A manic grin spread across her face as her horn lit again. "But I know somepony against whom it isn't," she cried. A dome of shield magic burst from her horn, breaking my grip and sending me flying backwards. I quickly got to my feet and saw Starlight staring out at the hoards of Nobodies. Turning to look myself, I froze as I saw Luna engaged in battle with the two Assassins. She'd somehow managed to break through the lines to try to assist me. Starlight lit her horn, aiming right for Luna's flank. There was no time to think. No time to block her. There was only one way to stop her. I dashed forward, summoning a new keyblade to my hand.

Luna looked over right as Reaper sliced through Starlight's neck.


3rd-Pony POV


Luna's blades sunk into the chests of the twin creatures she had been battling. She turned to see if Sora needed aid and froze as she saw him cleanly decapitate the unicorn mare he had been fighting. Luna stared in shock, unable to move as she saw the unicorn's corpse fall. She had seen Sora kill before, but it had always been at an official execution, and even then only a hooffull of times. Her eyes met his and he flinched, looking away.

A bolt of energy struck Luna from behind, causing her to stagger as she remembered that there was a battle waging around her. She turned back to the fray, wielding her twin blades once more as she sensed Sora running up to join her. Together they made short work of the creatures, soon reaching Fancy, Strongheart, and Jazz as they finished up the ones on their side. A few well places Thunder spells from Sora and Fancy finished off the crossbow wielders, and all was still once again in the ghost town.

"Whewee!" cried Jazz. "Glad that's over and done with. Just what were those things, anyway?"

"And what happened to Starlight?" added Strongheart.

"I'll tell you later," muttered Sora. "For now, we should get out of here. Starlight..."

"Shall threaten Equestria no longer," Luna finished. "But Sora is correct; we should be off. The heartless have 'til now been kept at bay through fear of those creatures, but I doubt whether they should have any restraint in doing battle with us now that they are slain."

The others looked around, nodding in agreement as they noticed the heartless staring out from the shadows. Sora paused as they reached the edge of town, turning back and gazing at the barely discernable form at the far end. He raised Oathkeeper once more, muttering, "Fira."


********


Sora stood on top of the ridge as the sun began to set, looking down at the still-burning town below. The heartless had fled the magical fire long ago and the only movement to be seen was a wall or ceiling collapsing as the fires engulfed them. Even from where he stood, Sora could see that Starlight's body had long since burnt to ash. He sighed as Starlight's house collapsed all at once, turning back and walking down the ridge to where they'd made camp, none of them having felt much up to traveling after their fight.

Strongheart and Jazz lay together by the campfire, talking with each other as they snuggled together. Fancy sat nearby, reading one of his many novels. Luna stood a ways off, watching the sun as it descended and preparing to bring on the night. Sora sat across the fire from Fancy, staring into the flames as he thought about Our Town. About the creatures. About Starlight. About what he'd had to do...

So absorbed in his own thoughts was he that he didn't notice that day had turned to night until Luna sat down beside him. "A bit for thy thoughts?"

Sora chuckled. "Methinks thou shouldst drop thy use of the ancient tongue. Verily, thy subjects must think it most strange to hear thee speak in so arcane a fashion."

Luna rolled her eyes, hitting him in the back of the head with her wing. She followed up with a sigh, laying down and resting her head on her crossed hooves. "I always seem to slip back into that when I'm distracted. Or confused, angry, ecstatic, or riding high or low on any emotion."

"And what emotion has you low tonight?"

Luna shrugged. "Mostly confusion about those creatures we fought. But also a twinge of concern." Her eye turned to him. "That's the only time I've ever seen you kill in the field," she said, her voice soft enough that the others couldn't hear her but loud enough that it didn't cause suspicion. "I know you've executed before, but..."

Sora sighed, his gaze still on the depths of the fire. "Yeah, it's different. I'm... conflicted. I keep going over that fight in my mind, trying to figure out what else I could have done. But it always comes back to two things. One, she wasn't going to give up. She was insanely focused on her goals, and nothing could have convinced her to stop. Two, she was impossible to contain or capture. She was powerful enough to break out of any restraint we put her in short of a high-power anti-magic ring."

"Would have been nice to have one with us," Luna muttered.

Sora nodded, sighing again. "Yeah, but we didn't. And pain didn't seem to stick. She was able to cast powerful spells even covered in fresh blisters and with me squeezing her horn and forcing her head to the ground with it. Even if I'd torn it off, the pain probably would have killed her anyway. Even if it didn't, there's no way she would have stopped. She would have continued to try to cast, building up more and more magic in her broken horn until..."

Luna flinched. "That would have been a much messier way to go."

"Which is all that wards off the guilt," Sora finished. "I know I had no choice. She wasn't going to surrender, no matter what. Even if she had, there's no way she wouldn't have gotten the death sentence. You know how Sol feels about murder, even if the murderer is insane."

Luna nodded. "If it had only been one or two, he might have just imprisoned her. But if she confessed to ten right in front of you, and that was only to create one of those creatures..."

"She needed to die," Sora agreed. "I just wish there'd been some other way."

"And what about those creatures?" Luna asked, raising her voice so the others could hear. "You seemed to know about them."

Strongheart and Jazz looked up and Fancy flicked an ear in our direction. Realizing that all attention was on him, Sora sighed. "They were... nothing."
> Chapter 17
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 17


3rd-Pony POV


Grumpy Kat shuffled drunkenly down the streets of Manehattan. Another day gone. Another day the same as the last, the same as the past week, the past month, going on a year. Every day, working the same boring job with the same irritating ponies in this same noisy city. Every night getting drunk at some tavern or another before making his way home to collapse on his bed and repeat the cycle come morning.

“Yup, livin’ the dream,” he muttered, turning down into an ally, a regular shortcut of his. Most ponies would hesitate to enter a narrow, unlit alley after dark, but Grumpy was unhindered as both the familiarity of the route and his own drunkenness kept him from caring. So what if the streetlights at either end were out? So what if the air had gone unnaturally still and he could no longer hear the sounds of the streets before and behind him. So what if pairs of yellow eyes were beginning to emerge from the darkness…

Grumpy blinked, trying to focus on the strange eyes through his drunken stupor. “Wha- who’s there?” he slurred. He began to back away nervously as more sets of eyes appeared. “J- just my imagination,” he muttered to himself. “I’m drunk and I’m seeing things. Yeah, that’s it. It’s just-”

A loud hiss from behind Grumpy made him jump and spin around, coming face to face with a creature that all of Equestria had come to fear in recent weeks. The heartless crept towards him, forcing him back toward the swarm behind him. Grumpy looked back and forth, fear finally taking over entirely. He whimpered, curling into a ball and covering his head. “P-please,” he begged. “J- just leave me alone. I d- don’t want to die.”

He was answered by a series of hisses, sounding almost like laughter. Grumpy whimpered again and curled up even tighter, sensing them coming even closer, preparing to strike. This was it. This was how he was going to die, alone, afraid, with no-one around to care.

“H- help.”

ROOOOOOAR

The loud roar startled Grumpy to his hooves, making him and all of the heartless turn to the mouth of the alley. There stood a sight that Grumpy never would have expected, and he wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or even more terrified.

There, strong and proud, stood a great lion. Grumpy had never seen a lion before - few ponies had - but he had heard stories of these mighty beasts of Zebrica, giant cats who could rend a pony in two with a single swipe of its mighty claws. Thankfully for Grumpy, the lion’s glare seemed to be focussed on the heartless rather than on him, though he wasn’t sure how long that would last.

The lion gave another roar before leaping at the nearest heartless, shredding through it with one swipe. The remaining heartless hissed and fled, melding back into the shadows. The lion sniffed around as if expecting them to return. When none did, he turned his attention to the still quivering Grumpy. As he began walking closer, Grumpy curled up once again, hiding behind his hooves. One death for another, he thought. At least this one will be quick.

“Are you alright?”

Grumpy slowly rose a hoof and peered out to see who had spoken to him. A cream coated mare stood before him, her mane and tail tones of light blue and a cute collar around her neck. She stood next to the lion, holding out her hoof to Grumpy, eyes filled with concern. Grumpy’s eyes darted back and forth between this mare and the giant cat beside her, unsure of whether or not to trust her. The mare saw where his eyes were darting and she smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry. Simba’s a friend. He won’t hurt you.” Still trembling a bit, Grumpy took the offered hoof and allowed the mare to help him up.

“Th- thanks,” he muttered, still warily eyeing the lion. “Um, you saved my hide back there.”

The mare just shook her head. “Oh no, it was Simba who really saved you. I really didn’t do much. Now, we should get you home before any more of those creatures come out.”

Grumpy nodded and began walking towards his house, Simba and the mare following close behind. Looking over the mare, he noticed something strapped to her back. It looked almost like a sword until he got a closer look. What he’d taken to be a blade was simply a straight, light blue rod tipped with a red feather. The “hilt” was in the shape of a light purple heart. All in all, it looked more like a piece of art than a weapon.

They arrived at Grumpy’s home after a few minutes. “Well, thank again for, you know, everything,” said Grumpy, fumbling a bit with his keys.

“Oh, it was no trouble,” said the mare. “Like I said, it was more Simba’s work than mine.”

Grumpy shrugged and turned back. “Well, thanks then, Sim…” He trailed off as he saw that the lion was gone. “Um, where’d he go?”

The mare sighed and looked sadly at where the lion had stood. “He never can stay for very long.” She shrugged and smiled at Grumpy as she turned away. “Well, I should be heading home myself. It was nice to meet you.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you too,” Grumpy mumbled. He watched the stranger leave, wondering who she was and how the hay her lion friend had managed to sneak off without him hearing it. He sighed and turned back into his house.

“Not like I’ll remember any of this tomorrow anyway.”


********


“Fillies and gentlecolts, we’ll be arriving in Manehattan in about 5 minutes. Those of you stopping here, please gather your luggage and be ready to disembark.”

Sora yawned loudly from where he lay on one of the benches. He’d always liked traveling by train; it was the perfect opportunity to get in a good nap.

“I don’t get how you can sleep on one of these things,” said Strongheart, pacing up and down the aisle.

“The bench?”

“This train!” Strongheart stomped her forehooves, followed by a nervous glance around as if afraid the train would come off the rails. “There’s no way that anything this big should be able to go this fast. It just isn’t natural! And do you feel how much we’re shaking? It feels like we’re going to fly right off the tracks!”

Sora blinked and glanced around at his fellow passengers. “Has she been like this the whole way?”

“Indeed,” said Luna, not bothering to look up from her book. “To her credit, I was much worse my first few times traveling by train. I’m surprised that you were in no way concerned.”

“Nah, I’ve been on a few trains before back where I’m from.” He sat up and stretched. “Well, we’d better get ready to get off. What’s the itinerary like here?”

Fancy levitated a schedule up and cleared his throat. “First will be a brief tour of the city given by the mayor-”

“Which will most likely be interrupted by a heartless attack,” said Jazz.

“-followed by dinner at the famous Balthazar Bakery where we are to meet with several local celebrities-”

“Several of whom are almost definitely heartless,” added Luna.

“-and ending with our checking into the Royal Plaza Suite at the luxurious Plaza Hotel.”

“Where a small swarm of heartless will be waiting to ambush us,” finished Sora. “You know, it’s nice how predictable my life is.”

“So what’s the plan for finding keybladers?” asked Jazz. “After all, this ain’t no Ponyville or Appleooza. We can’t just go around testin’ everypony in the city to see if they can use one. It’d take weeks!”

“We don’t need to get every potential keyblader,” said Sora, standing up. “Just enough to keep the city safe once we leave.”

Jazz looked out the window and snorted as they rolled towards the center of Manehattan. “Like I said, weeks. Manehattan folk ain’t the friendliest of ponies. Tryin’ to find keybladers here is goin’ to be like lookin’ for a needle in a haystack.”

“Nevertheless, ‘tis our duty.” Luna stood as the train began to slow, closing her book and placing it in her saddlebags. “Perhaps we should enlist the aid of the locals. They know their neighbors better than we; if anyone can tell us who would be worthy of a keyblade, it would be them.”

Strongheart cocked an eyebrow. “So we just go around asking complete strangers if they know anyone good enough for the keyblade after telling them that they aren’t? I’d rather keep riding this deathtrap.”

“Downtown Manehattan! If this is your final destination, please exit the train quickly. Next stop, Hollow Shades.”

The doors flew open as Sora shrugged. “Unfortunately, that might well be our best plan. If we can’t find a local keyblader who can point us to the right ponies, we may be here for a while.”

They filed off of the train and immediately spotted their welcoming party. A group of city guards stood arrayed behind a portly tan earth pony stallion with a gray mane and tail. He wore a smart blue suit, which cut off to reveal his slice-of-pizza cutie mark. “Princess,” he said, grinning as he stepped forward, “and esteemed guests, welcome to Manehattan! I’m Mayor Deep Dish, and it’ll be my 'onor to show you around our beautiful city!”

“The pleasure is ours,” replied Luna graciously. “I do hope that our short notice visit was not too much of an imposition.”

“Don’t even worry about it!” said Deep Dish, waving them off. “Trust me, nothin’ is more important to me than makin' sure that yous is happy with your stay 'ere.”

“If you don’t mind,” said Sora, stepping forward, “what’s the situation with the heartless here. I heard that they’ve been a big problem in a lot of cities.”

Deep Dish eyed Sora up and down, his grin widening even further. “So yous must be dat Sora character we’ve been 'earing so much about! Well let me tell ya, dem heartless was a real problem for a few days.” He immediately grew more somber, looking down and shaking his head. “Two-'undred and sixty-eight ponies gone in three days, and dat’s just the ones we know about. I tells ya, it was 'ard.” His grin returned as he looked back up. “But den wouldn’t ya know it, somepony started fightin’ those monsters back! Reports started comin’ in like crazy about a mare dat would show up out of nowheres and rescue ponies, fightin’ off swarms of the little monsters! I tells ya, we’d all be swimming in 'eartless if it weren’t for her!”

Fancy chuckled and nudged Jazz. “Well, it looks like we have found our needle.”

“Any idea who this mystery mare is?” asked Sora.

“Wouldn’t be much of a mystery if I did,” said Deep Dish. “She keeps a low profile. Shows up, mugs a few dozen 'eartless, and then vamoose! She’s gone. We ain’t got much of a description of 'er, either. Cream coat. Blue mane. ‘Bout a 'undred ponies in this city that fit dat profile, and I got no clue which one it could be. But hey, I’m sure she’ll turn up again while you’re 'ere. Maybe you’ll have better luck trackin’ her than us. Now, hows about that tour?”

Luna nodded, waving her hoof. “By all means, lead the way.”


********


Eeyup, this is Manhattan all right. Sora looked around the towering skyscrapers, his memories flashing back millennia to brief glimpses of the Big Apple back on Earth. The dizzyingly high buildings, the huge and packed crowds, the constant movement of everypony having somewhere to go. Even the presence of Princess Luna, twenty city guards, and a strange bipedal ape didn’t warrant any more than a second glance as everypony pushed and shoved their way through the streets.

“How can anyone stand this?” Sora looked down to see Strongheart pressed right up against Jazz, half by the crowd, and half out of fear of being separated.

“I know what you mean,” said Jazz, nuzzling her reassuringly. “Never did like big cities myself. We Apples’ve got some family up here, but they mostly work administration and contracts and such. Heck, it was a cousin up here who arranged Bloomberg’s travel down from Ponyville. Nice mare, but you won’t never get her to do farm work. She was out of Appleoosa faster than a mouse runnin’ from a cat.”

“Yeah, we’re a lot less fancy than what yous got up in Canterlot.” Sora looked over to see Deep Dish chatting with Luna and Fancy. “Oh sure, we gots the highfalutin types who think they’re nobles, but most of us are a lot more down to earth. No offense.”

“None taken,” replied Fancy amicably. “To be completely honest, most of the nobility bored me to tears. But, appearances are everything in Canterlot. Or they were, at least.” His tone became softer as his eyes hardened. “That’s changing now. After all, the heartless don’t much care how much money you have, or how big your yacht is.”

“A good change then,” Deep Dish pointed out, “if it weren’t for such terrible reasons. I swear, these monsters have forced us to become better ponies. Do you know dat crime rates have dropped lower than they’ve been in years? Everypony’s too scared dat it’ll paint a target on their backs for the 'eartless.”

“A familiar pattern,” said Luna. “Crime disappeared almost overnight when the heartless first arrived several millennia ago. However, I would much rather have a lively city with an undercurrent of crime than a crimeless city gripped in fear.”

“You saw it too, huh?” I asked, looking around. Ponies shoved and shuffled about as much as you would expect in a big city, but an oppressive air hung over the streets. Ponies kept their heads down, eyes forward. Bumps and collisions that would have normally sparked short shouting matches were settled with angry glances and dark mutters. The skies, which one would expect to be full of darting and dodging pegasi, were strangely empty. They trudged along the ground alongside unicorns and earth ponies, almost as if they didn’t want to give anyone, or anything, another angle to attack them from.

“'ow could you not?” Deep Dish demanded. “Most days you can’t walk down the street without hearin’ somepony threatenin’ to kill somepony else, but now? The streets are way too quiet.” Strongheart paled at the thought of the city usually being even louder. “Tourism’s died on us, too. Nopony wants to travel when you don’t know if somethin’s gonna to come burstin’ out of the alley at ya. Don’t matter that the 'eartless stick mostly to the night time, enough attacks have happened in broad daylight to have everypony spooked. Not to mention what we heard about what 'appened in Canterlot!”

The tour continued, with Deep Dish pointing out various famous buildings and monuments. They eventually arrived at Balthazar's Bakery as the sun was beginning to set. Deep Dish led them to a table near the back where several other ponies sat, all of them looking important. Or self-important, Sora thought, eyeing the ponies warily. Dinner was ordered and Sora and his entourage were introduced to the several celebrities. Surprisingly, no heartless attacked during or after the meal, and Sora was actually able to have a pleasant conversation with a young mare named Coloratura.

"So, your manager turned into a heartless, huh?"

Coloratura, or Rara as she preferred to be called, sighed and nodded. "I mean, Svengallop seemed nice enough, but I guess there must have been another side to him. Heh, I still can't believe he almost got me to call myself 'Countess Coloratura.' Bit of a mouthful, if you ask me."

"Oh sugar, I could have told you from the get-go that Sven was no good." Sora and Rara turned to the blue-maned earth pony on Sora's left. "I've seen him backstage before talking to the people running his clients' shindigs, and he is the most deMANding of ponies, let me tell you. Personally, I'm not at ALL surprised he turned out to have a pitch-black heart. Trust me filly, you're better off without him."

"I guess," Rara muttered, staring into her salad. "It's just, at least he was putting me out there. I might have a bit of fame here in Manehattan, but fame is a fickle mistress in this city. I don't know how I can make it on my own."

"Now hold on just a minute!" The blue-maned pony slammed her hooves on the table, grinning across at Rara. "Who says you have to go it alone? Filly, I've heard you sing and trust me, agents will be FIGHTIN' over the chance to represent a voice like yours. All you need is a little endorsement. Maybe from somepony already deep in the industry?"

Rara's jaw dropped. "W-wait! Are you saying-"

"Oh absoLUTEly! Why, I haven't seen talent like yours since I was a filly. With my endorsement, you'll be passing even ME on the charts in no time, or my name isn't Saphire Shores. Trust me filly, you're going to be se-ensationAL! OW!!!"

Sora shuffled nervously in his seat as the two mares began talking music and famous singers. He didn't know any of the names they were tossing around or even who this "Saphire Shores" was, though given Rara's reaction he could tell that she was a pretty big deal.

Fancy was having a much easier time chatting with a gray earth pony whose dark glasses completely concealed his eyes. "Oh, I know!" Hoity Toity exclaimed. "I had the chance to see some of his work in Ponyville last year. I'm keeping a very close eye on Elusive. So glad I listened to Spike on that one. The little guy certainly has good taste."

"Oh! You know Spike then?" Fancy asked. "Good fellow, very much a gentledrake. I dare say, it was good seeing him when we went to the Dragon Lands together just a few days ago. The boy's really grown. Heh, in maturity if not in size."

"Indeed, 'twill be a long time before he begins to grow physically," Luna chimed in. "I worry for him sometimes. By the time he truly leaves adolescence, his friends will all be old and weathered. Solaris and I will do what we can for him, but..."

"Ah, the curse of immortality," Hoity agreed. "I can empathize, if only a little. Everypony who creates has a certain fear of outliving our fame. We strive for our works to shine bright enough to eclipse our own short lives, living beyond us and granting us a form of longevity."

Luna met Sora's eyes across the table and they rolled them in sync. Finding a slight cause in Rara and Saphire's conversation, Sora cleared his throat. "So, Rara, do you know of any keybladers here in Manehattan?"

Rara blushed lightly, scratching the back of her head. "Um, I actually have one," she said. "Got it just yesterday while I was walking home. I saw a guy getting attacked in an empty lot by those heartless and..." she shrugged. "I don't know why, but I charged in there, bucking and biting the whole way. Somewhere in there I picked up a branch or a pipe or something and started swinging. Didn't realize what I had in my mouth until they were gone."

"Now that is something amazing," Saphire said. "I tell you, not everypony is brave enough to rush into danger like that. Wish I had that kind of courage. I just keep my bodyguard nearby to do any fighting for me."

"Have you hooked up with the EKA yet?" Sora asked. "Have they started establishing a branch here yet?"

Rara nodded. "A pegasus named Cirus Kicker is captaining it here. I checked in this morning, let them know where I live and that I have a keyblade."

"Any sign of a Keyblade Master?"

Rara shook her head. "Not yet. We've heard about one running around Manehattan, but nopony seems to know who she is. All you hear is more of the same. Cream coat, blue mane. Although one pony did come in as I was leaving who said that she'd saved him last night. He said she was wearing a purple collar."

"Are you talking about Miss Pommel?" Sora and Rara looked across at Hoity. "She's an amateur seamstress, but she has good instincts. I'm making sure to keep an eye on her progress, and I have high hopes. Apparently she was getting ready to apprentice under Suri Polomare, but she ended up as a heartless." Even with his glasses, Sora and Rara could still see his eyes roll. "Not surprising, really. Her style seemed to change every time she got a new apprentice. I'm positive she was stealing their work and calling it her own, though of course I had no way to prove it."

"Yous talkin' about Coco?" asked Deep Dish? "Yeah, she's a good kid. Real sweet'eart. Too bad her apprenticeship fell through, but I hear she's got another one lined up for her in Philly. It'll be a shame to loose her, though." His eyes lit up as he made a connection. "Say, you don't think she could be our Mystery Master, do you?"

"Miss Pommel? I shouldn't think so. Don't get me wrong, her heart is certainly of the greatest caliber, but I doubt she has it in her to get into a fight."

"Actually, that's something else interesting that the pony said this morning," Rara said. "He mentioned that she had a lion with her and that it was the lion that fought off the heartless! He said its name was Soma or Sima or something like that."

"Simba," Sora corrected, grinning across at Luna. "Looks like we've found our mystery mare, and she's a Summoner to boot!"

"A summoner?" asked Strongheart.

Sora nodded. "Summoning is a unique branch of keyblade magic. Instead of creating or bending elements to your will, you summon creatures to fight on your behalf or alongside you. Simba, a lion, is one of the easiest to summon. Strong heart, always ready to answer the call. Any keyblader can learn to summon, but it comes much more naturally to some ponies."

"The last Summoner Equestria had was a stallion named Menagerie," Luna added. "At the height of his fighting career, he could summon entire forests of creatures. He even learned how to summon his fellow keybladers from across the world!"

"An' since we've already confirmed a Keyblade Master in Phillydelphia," Jazz said, "and she'll be able to cover all three of the eastern cities, I guess we've got us a new member for the team."

Sora nodded, turning to Deep Dish. "Could you tell us where we can find Miss Pommel?"

"Not tonight," Deep Dish replied. "It's been a long day, and you's gotta get some sleep. Tell you what? I'll send somepony by first thing tomorrow mornin' to take you to her. I'd join you myself but I got a lot of work to do to keep this city runnin'."

"That will be acceptable," Luna replied. "I apologize if our arrival has kept you from your work."

"Are you kiddin'?! I've been lookin' for an excuse to ditch the office for weeks now! Besides, I'm real happy to have you here." His jovial expression dropped to one of sorrow as he turned to stare out a window. "This city ain't doin' so hot right now, but yous bein' here sure helps ponies feel like things're gonna get better. You give us hope, ya know?"

Sora nodded, staring out at the street as well. Ponies still hurried to and fro with their heads down, but one or two would occasionally glance up and see him and the others sitting there. Those that did seemed to perk up a bit, managing small smiles and holding their heads a little higher. He turned back to see Luna smiling softly at him.

"Yeah," he said, returning her smile. "Hope."
> Chapter 18
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 18


3rd-Pony POV


Morning dawned on the streets of Manehattan, the city just as busy in the early hours as it was in the heat of the day. The rising sun had yet to warm the streets, causing Coco Pommel to shiver as she walked home after another long night. Autumn was in full swing, with temperatures dropping as Equestria prepared for Nightmare Night and the Running of the Leaves.

"I'll have to start wearing a scarf out before long," Coco said to herself. "It sure gets cold early here." She sighed as her ears folded back, head drooping to match her mood. "At least it'll be warmer in Phillydelphia. That's... good I guess."

She turned down an alley, counting the windows on the apartment building on her right. Reaching window number eight, she shrugged her keyblade off her back and into her right forehoof, pointing it straight up. "A bit of help, Dumbo?" she whispered, twisting the keyblade.

A beam of light shot up from her blade, summoning a ball of energy. A young elephant burst from the ball, ears flapping as it fluttered down beside Coco. She hopped on his back and they flew straight up the side of the building, quickly reaching the fifth floor. Coco tapped the window with her keyblade and, hearing a soft click, pulled it open before slipping inside.

"Thank you again, Dumbo," whispered Coco, waving back at the elephant before it vanished in a flash of light. Coco let out a sigh which turned into a yawn as she closed the window. Another long night of fighting heartless had left her exhausted once again, and she turned around to collapse on her bed, groaning softly.

"These all-nighters are going to be the death of me."


*****


"These all-nighters are going to be the death of me."

Luna opened a lazy eye as Sora collapsed onto the bed beside her. "This is why I suggested that you leave the heartless of this city to the native keybladers."

"I was hoping to run into our mysterious Master," Sora defended, his voice muffled by the pillow that he was face-down in.

"In a city of this size?" Luna chuckled, closing her eye again. "You knew that we were going to see miss Pommel this morning. Truly, you have no patience."

"But it's a summoner!" cried Sora, bolting upright in a spurt of renewed energy. "A summoner! You know how rarely they come along. And if she's got any natural talent at all, she could revolutionize the organization of the EKA. Imagine being able to summon a small army of keybladers wherever they were needed!"

"Assuming she's willing." Luna's rejoinder sapped Sora of his newfound energy as she rose to her hooves, stretching out her back. "After all, the Phillydelphia Master insisted on remaining in her city. Not every Master has the wanderlust that is typical of your kind."

Sora groaned, falling onto his face again. "I'm too tired to think about it not going our way. Wake me up when it's time to go."

"Why do you think I'm getting up?"

"...I hate life so much right now."

"Oh don't say that," Luna purred. Sora glanced up to see Luna giving his a smoldering look. "Now, I need to take a shower." She turned and sauntered over to the bathroom, tail swaying suggestively. "Care to join me?"

"...I love life so much right now."


*****


Half an hour later, Sora and Luna descended to the ground floor of the hotel. Jazz and Strongheart were chatting away over bowls of oatmeal while Fancy munched a slice of toast as he read the morning paper. "Everyone sleep well?" Luna asked, taking an apple from the bowl of fruit on the table.

"Thanks to you, Dream-Keeper," Strongheart replied. "I'd never been so far off the ground before." She shuddered, shooting a glance upwards. "Much less slept there. Your presence in my dreams helped a lot."

"My sleep was fine, once I cast a few privacy spells." Fancy shook his head as he turned the page. "I swear, the ponies who live here must be half deaf from the constant noise. I don't see how else they could manage to fall asleep, what with the constant racket on the streets."

"Really?" asked Sora, snatching a couple of bananas. "I didn't think it was that bad."

"You come from a city of millions, Sora," Luna reminded. "It may have been several millennia, but you haven't lost your immunity to the irritants of city life."

"Fair point." Sora peeled his first banana and took a bite before continuing. "So, are we all ready to head out?"

"Eeyup," Jazz replied, standing up and stretching. "Be good to be out an' movin' again. Don't know how you city folk can stand sleepin' and stayin' in so late."

"Give it a year."

The four ponies and single human stepped out onto the morning streets of Manehattan. Despite the early hour, the streets were already crowded with ponies going about their business. A few glanced curiously at their group, but they were for the most part ignored. A Canterlot nobel, a buffalo cow, a country gal, the Princess of the Night, and a strange biped walked through the streets, and nopony batted an eye. After all, it was Manehattan.

"It's a good thing Miss Pommel don't live too far away," Jazz muttered, glancing around nervously. "I still don't see how y'all can be so comfortable in these crowds. The sooner we're out of this city, the better."

"It's not as bad as all that," Sora said, waving her off. The rest of us seem to be doing just fine."

Little Strongheart chuckled, raising an eyebrow at Sora. "Fancy is a socialite who's been to Manehattan many times before, I'm used to running in a large herd where I'm the smallest in a massive stampede, and you and the Princess tower over everypony else."

Luna chuckled as Sora rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Good point."


*****


"COCO! GET UP!!!"

Coco started awake, jumping up and toppling out of bed as she lost her balance. "Oof!" She rubbed her head as she slowly stood again, glaring at her bedroom door. "One moment, Mother!" she called before sighing. "This is why we get noise complaints." She turned to check herself in the mirror, taking a moment to straighten out her mane and collar. Nodding in satisfaction, she opened her door and stepped out.

The Pommel family's apartment was small, even by Manehattan standards. Two bedrooms and a single bathroom opened up into a combined sitting area/kitchen. Coco's father, a portly tan earth pony who's black mane was beginning to show a few gray streaks, stood at the small stove, watching a pan of scrambled eggs sizzle away. Coco's Mother sat at the table, a mug of coffee held in the amber glow of her magic. She sipped it as she read the newspaper before her, her blond mane pulled back in a complex braid and her orange coat practically shining in the early morning sunlight. Though a few years older than her husband, no sign of age was allowed to mar her appearance. She glanced up at Coco as she walked in before turning her eyes back to the paper. "You were out late again."

Coco winced at the not-question. "Yes, Mother."

"You're going to destroy your looks doing that." She took another sip. "From now on, I want you home by 8. Since you are no longer working for Miss Polomare, you should have no excuse."

"...yes Mother."

"Good." She stood suddenly, folding her paper and placing it on the table, her coffee mug on top. "I'm off to work. Remember, 8 o'clock sharp." She was out the door before Coco could reply.

Mr. Pommel sighed as he tilted the pan of eggs onto a couple of plates. "Sorry, Coco," he said. "Your mother's been under a lot of stress lately." He placed the two plates on his back before walking to the table and sliding them off. "A couple more of her workers got keyblades the other day, and they ran off to Canterlot to 'enlist in the main branch.'"

Coco nodded as she took her seat. "So I guess telling her about Lightest Touch and your blade..."

He sighed, nodding. "Worse time than ever. I'm sure the right moment will pop up soon, but until then..."

"Not like it's going to matter in a few days," Coco muttered, digging into her breakfast. "Phillydelphia already has lots of keybladers, even another with a unique blade. We'll probably just be able to blend in and forget all about it."

Mr. Pommel stared at his daughter for a moment before sighing heavily. "I might be able to, true. But not you." When Coco didn't look up or reply, he continued. "You wouldn't be staying out 'till 5 in the morning every night if you didn't think it was important to fight those things."

"It doesn't matter," Coco muttered, still avoiding eye contact. "Mother's forbidden it, now. And once we get to Philly, I'll be too busy with my apprenticeship to fight them anyway."

Silence reigned for a few minutes as father and daughter ate. Just as Coco finished her breakfast and picked up her plate, her father cleared his throat. "Well, what if you didn't, well..."

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

Whatever Mr. Pommel had been about to say was interrupted by a knock on their front door. He sighed and stood from his own, mostly clean, plate and walked over to answer it. "Yes? Can I help... you?"

Coco looked over and nearly dropped her plate out of shock. A strange bipedal creature stood in the doorway, one that she recognized from the papers. And beside him stood a figure just as surprising: Princess Luna herself!

"Indeed," Luna replied to Coco's father. "Would this be the home of Coco Pommel?"

Mr. Pommel's eyes widened even further, and Coco almost fainted on the spot. "It... it is, Your Majesty. Would, um, there isn't much room, but would you like to come in?"

"We would, thank you." Luna and the biped ducked under the doorway, the latter keeping his head bowed to avoid hitting the ceiling once inside. Princess Luna turned to address someone behind her. "Sora and I will handle this. Please wait in the lobby." With that, she closed the door and turned to face Coco. "You must be Miss Pommel, then."

Coco instantly dropped into a bow, her father following an instant later. "Y-y-y-y-y-yes, Y-Your Majesty!" she squeaked.

Luna sighed, waving a hoof. "Please rise, both of you. It has been a breath of fresh air to walk down the streets of a city without every pony along the way bowing and scraping. I see no reason to ruin that now."

Warily, still unsure if it was appropriate, Coco rose from her bow. "Y-y-y-yes, Y-Your-"

"Princess," Luna interrupted. "Or Princess Luna, if you must. I would ask you to call me Luna, but I'm not sure your nerves could handle it."

"Oh! I-I'm so sorry P-Princess. I, I'll try harder to, to..." Coco trailed off as she saw Luna's smirk, blushing and looking down.

"Come on, Lu. Don't tease the poor mare." Coco saw the biped kneel down in front of her and looked up to meet his eyes. "Hey there," he said, holding out his hand. "Name's Sora. I've been looking forward to meeting you."

"C-Coco," Coco replied, giving his hand a shake. "Oh, but you already knew that. Um, what, why did you want to meet me, exactly?"

A flash of light drew Coco's attention to her hoof and Sora's hand, and to the Kingdom Key that now rested between them. Sora drew his hand away, Coco catching the blade on reflex. "Because I heard that you were a Keyblade Master." Coco dropped the blade in shock, but it was too late. The blade flashed again, changing into an entirely different form. The shorter shaft was light blue, the same color as most of her mane. The heart-shaped guard was a light purple while a sweet red feather sprouted from the other end. Coco's feathered hat cutie mark was attached by a short chain to the hilt, identifying her as the owner beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Coco's father glared at Sora as he picked up the blade and stood again. "That was a dirty trick."

"A little," Sora admitted, "but it was the fastest way to see it." He examined the blade, forgoing his usual swinging considering the crowded space. "Hm. Very light and short. Good balance and an affinity for healing and wind magic, but not much else. Other than summoning, of course. And as far as that goes..." He held out his other hand, summoning another keyblade. This one was gold from teeth to chain, its guard resembling a lion's mane. The lion-head keychain was cracked. Sora crossed the blades, closing his eyes and concentrating.

"Well, Sora?" Luna asked after a moment.

Sora opened his eyes, smiling as he nodded. "No question," he said, dismissing the second keyblade and holding out the first to Coco. "Lightest Touch is the strongest Summoning blade I've ever encountered."

Coco took back the blade, blushing once again. "Um, thank you. I mean, I know I'm not very strong, a-and the little magic I have isn't very good for fighting..."

"Miss Pommel," Luna said, causing the mare to straighten at once. "Sora and I have seen much of strength and much of powerful magic. Both of us are, in fact, possessed of those two traits. Frankly, the Equestrian Keyblade Army more overpowered than anything." She smiled at Coco, a gleam in her eye that almost seemed hungry. "But you, Miss Pommel, possess a very rare gift. Summoning is no small thing. Sora himself is possibly the only other keyblade wielder in Equestria who can do it, and even then he isn't very good at it."

"Gee, thanks." Sora rolled his eyes before smiling down at Coco. "Point is, you have a gift, Coco, and I'd be honored to have you join my team of Keyblade Masters."

Silence reigned for a time before Mr. Pommel burst out laughing. Luna raised an unamused eyebrow while Sora and Coco looked at him in confusion.

"Well," he said, pulling himself together, "that's not what I had in mind, but I suppose it'll do."

"What do you mean, Dad?" Coco asked.

Mr. Pommel looked Coco in the eye, his own overflowing with love. "Coco, my beautiful, sweet, good-natured little girl. Don't you see? This is your chance to go. To avoid the path you so dread." Coco gasped and started to object, but her father held up his hoof. "I know, I know. You still love fashion, and you still want to be a seamstress, but Coco, you really don't want to move to Philly, do you?" Coco's mouth snapped shut, and she looked down, biting her bottom lip.

"Understand, Coco. I don't want you to leave your mother and me, but I do want you to be happy. And I can tell that you won't be until you've had your chance to make a difference against those monsters." He stepped forward, placing his hoof under Coco's chin and tilting her face up to meet his eyes again, his own brimming with tears. "Coco, moving to Phillydelphia and putting away your keyblade forever would tear your precious heart to pieces. Go. Be free and happy. Your old father will be alright knowing that you're out there making this darkened world a little brighter."

"B-but..." Coco's eyes began to water as well, "what about Mother?"

Mr. Pommel's ears flattened, his eyes going distant as he broke eye contact. "She... we'll be alright. I'll talk to her. Help her to see why you had to go."

"Daddy... we talked about this." Coco whimpered. "Mother hasn't always been the best of ponies. If I'm not here, and if you get in a fight with her, she might, she might..."

Sora shared a glance with Luna, an understanding passing between them. "You're afraid she'll turn into a heartless, aren't you?" Sora asked.

"...the thought had crossed our minds," Mr. Pommel admitted. "I don't claim to know how that works, but... she didn't keep very good company, and she's the only one who hasn't been changed. We'd hoped that meant that she was only playing the part to fit in with them but..."

"She didn't get better," Coco murmured. "If anything, she just got colder. And every time she hears or reads about keyblades," Coco shivered, "she gets this look in her eye. Like she's terrified and disgusted and angry all at once."

Sora sighed, sitting down and crossing his legs. "Yeah, that sounds familiar all right. I really don't know what to tell you. If she's right on the edge, you leaving and joining us might be enough to set her off. I can't check either because seeing me would definitely set her off. If you stay with her and keep her appeased, you might be able to put off her fall for a while. But," he looked up, meeting Coco's eyes, "what about you two? Do you think you could keep living like that, making yourselves miserable in the slim hope that maybe she'll make it another year or two?"

"Although, it may not be as bleak as you make it out to be," Luna interjected. "If she has not fallen as far as you fear, then we may be able to bring her around."

Coco and Mr. Pommel shared a look before sighing. "No," Coco said. "I... Mother is close. We've both been able to tell for a while. She's been glaring at both of us a lot lately, even though I don't think she knows why. The only thing I can think of is that she senses, well..." She shrugged and nodded down at Lightest Touch.

Sora and Luna's eyes turned to Mr. Pommel and he nodded. "Yup. Got one too. Nothing fancy like Coco's, but from what I hear, you don't need a fancy one for the monsters to hate you."

"Nothing for it, then." Sora sighed, standing again and cursing as his head hit the ceiling. "Yay, that smarts. If your mother's going to turn, then I guess we should be ready to-"

"No." Everyone looked to Mr. Pommel in shock. "You should take Coco and go. As soon as possible."

"W-what?" Coco stammered. "B-but Daddy, what about when Mother..."

Mr. Pommel gave Coco a sad smile, holding out his right hoof. A flash of light revealed a Kingdom Key, which he leaned against his shoulder. "I've got a buddy with a blade from work who owes me a huge favor. I'll bring him over tonight, have him wait in the hall while I talk with your mother. If we're overreacting, he'll just be a coworker dropping off something I forgot at the office. If not... I'm not good enough with this thing to go in without backup, but it should be me who lays her to rest."


*****


The moon was rising over Manehattan as Mr. Pommel made his way home from work. It had been another long day at the office, not the least of which was because of what he'd been dreading he'd have to do that night. Beside him walked Short Stack, a light tan pegasus with a bright red mane and a cutie mark of a stack of pancakes. Neither of them spoke, Mr. Pommel already having told his friend what they needed to do that night.

He looked up as he passed a watchmaker's store, the many clock-faces inside showing the same time. 8:30, huh? he thought. Coco should be half way to Hollow Shades by now. He shook his head as he continued on. The streets were strangely empty for Manehattan, but he welcomed the peace.

It wouldn't last long.

The two stallions soon arrived at the apartment complex where the Pommels lived. Mr. Pommel led them up four flights of stairs and over to apartment 508. He took a deep breath, steeling his nerves before stepping inside.

"Coco's late."

He sighed. He hadn't even made it through the door before she'd started. That wasn't a good sign. "I know. She won't be coming home tonight." He looked up, resigned to what he'd have to do.

There she sat at the table, her face as beautiful as ever, even half shadowed by darkness. No lights were on, the light of the moon barely illuminating the room enough for him to see her eyes narrow dangerously. "I see. And where exactly is she? Did she forget that I ordered her home by 8?"

"She's gone, dear," Mr. Pommel said, stepping inside. Short Stack followed behind him, but neither he nor his wife noticed. "Gone with Sora and his Keybladers."

Mrs. Pommel hissed, standing from her chair. "I knew it. I knew she had one of those accursed blades! I could smell it on her, but I hesitated. I thought she'd never defy me. That I could snuff it out!" She was pacing frantically, not noticing the dark miasma swirling around her hooves, or her husband and his friend summoning Kingdom Keys. "But no! She's too stubborn for that! Too mud pony to realize that I'm right! That I've always been right! That the only way for a half-breed like her to make it in this world is if she has someone like me supporting her!"

She whirled on her husband, eyes glowing yellow and darkness flowing up her legs, not even noticing his keyblade. "Where did she go? TELL ME WHERE THE BUYSOMEAPPLES MY YAYING DAUGHTER WENT SO I CAN GO POUND SOME SENSE INTO HER!!! I'LL DRAG HER BACK BROCKEN AND BLEEDING IF I HAVE TO!!!"

Tears were flowing down Mr. Pommel's cheaks as he leveled his blade at her. He'd always suspected. "Goodbye, my dear."
> Chapter 19
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 19
3rd-Pony POV


"So? How is she?"

Luna sighed as her horn powered down, gazing sadly at the pony curled up to her side. "She will recover. It seems that she and her father have known of her mother's nature for quite some time, long before the heartless reemerged. They were resigned, and her heart was ready to take the blow." She shook her head. "Though the blow was not one easily taken, even for a heart so strong and prepared. She has many nightmares and many tears ahead of her. I shudder to think of what her state would be if her father were gone as well."

"Let's hope it never comes to that." Sora sighed as he stared out the window of the train. Manehattan was long behind them as they traveled through the dense forest that surrounded Hollow Shades. "Some tour, huh? First we see the death of almost the entire Canterlot nobility. Next we have a town about to tear itself to pieces. Then the usurping of a Dragon Lord, and the less said about Our Town the better. Now we've got a traumatized Keyblade Master whose father just had to kill her mother. At this rate, we'll be facing an army by the time we return to Canterlot."

"Knock on wood," Luna muttered. "At least this next stop should be peaceful. Hollow Shades has always been a quaint little town. There should not be too much excitement there."

"Hmph."

Luna cocked an eyebrow at Sora. "You still have feelings against Hollow Shades? I thought you had come to terms with their ways."

"Just because I've accepted it doesn't mean I like it." Sora groaned, massaging his temples. "They're too close to the darkness. Too open to it. Too... comfortable with it."

"Did you not once say that another human from Kingdom Hearts was similarly attuned to the darkness? Riku, wasn't it?"

Sora nodded. "Which is the only reason I haven't tried to interfere there. Riku walked a delicate line between light and darkness, a line that the ponies in the Shades seem to have mastered. But," Sora's face fell into a scowl, "Riku had to fall into darkness before he could find that balance. It... unnerves me that these ponies have found that balance so easily. Especially since their hearts are so strong. If one of them were to become a heartless..."

"And yet there have been no reports of them falling into darkness in the past three thousand years," Luna countered. "Relax, Sora. All shall be well. The ponies of Hollow Shades know how to live with the darkness without succumbing to it."

Sora sighed, staring out at the dark woods as the train chugged along. "Let's hope you're right."


*****


"So, what can y'all tell us about this town?"

The train was scheduled to stop in Hollow Shades in a few minutes, arriving just before midnight. Everyone stood ready to disembark, though Strongheart and Fancy seemed irritated at being up in the middle of the night, the latter nursing a mug of coffee.

"Not much to tell," Sora answered. "It's a small, out of the way town that has very little interaction with the rest of Equestria. They've always had a bunch of keybladers, but the woods around here are also so full of heartless that they've never been able to send any our way. They mostly live off the surrounding forest, which is part of why they've always stayed so small." He hesitated before adding, "They're also a little bit... odd."

"Odd how?" asked Coco, still rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

Luna rolled her eyes. "They are not odd just because they have a certain affinity for darkness. After all, would that not make me odd as well?"

"You said it, not me. Ow!"

Returning her forehoof to the ground, Luna continued. "Through some tradition or another, the ponies of Hollow Shades have adopted a nocturnal sleep pattern. We'll actually be arriving in the middle of their 'day,' so to speak. 'Tis also the only town which hosts a large population of thestrals."

"Thestrals? Really?" asked Fancy, the word perking him up more than the coffee had. "Well, that explains the midnight hour of our arrival. I met a thestral once who was visiting Canterlot. Poor fellow kept complaining about how bright it was."

"Um, what exactly is a thestral?" Coco asked. "I don't think I've ever heard of them before."

"Bat-ponies," Sora replied, earning a scowl from Luna. "They're like pegasi, but their wings look like bat wings rather than bird wings. Darker coats and manes, cat-like eyes, fangs."

"F-fangs?"

"Of course," Sora replied, grinning evilly. "How else are they going to suck your blood?"

Coco eeped as Strongheart and Jazz paled. "S-s-s-s-s-s-suck our b-b-b-b-"

Sora held his expression for a moment before bursting out laughing. "Oh, oh stars! You, hahaha, you should have seen the looks on your faces! Hahahahaha-"

*ZAP*

"YOUCH!!!"

Luna rolled her eyes again as her horn powered down. "They are not vampires, they are omnivores. Most of the Hollow Shades ponies have adopted an omnivorous diet over the centuries, mostly for fish and small mammals such as rabbits, similar to Gryphons. 'Tis neither sinister nor unnatural. Really, Sora, you were once more of a meat-eater than they are."

"Yeah," muttered Sora, rubbing his still smoking arm, "but that was in my world where the cows didn't talk back." Seeing Coco and Jazz's worried faces, Sora held up his hands. "Relax. I'm mostly vegetarian now. I only eat meat these days if it happens to be on the menu."

"If you say so," Jazz said, still eyeing him warily. An uncomfortable silence filled the train car, no-one quite sure how to break it.

The screeching of brakes and a small jerk from the train came as a welcome distraction. "Hollow Shades," the conductor's voice called out, magically carried through the whole train. "Now arriving in Hollow Shades. All passengers departing here, please gather your luggage and prepare to disembark."

"Well, that's our cue," said Sora as Fancy and Coco slipped on their saddlebags. They headed for the door of the car, the train coming to a halt right after they reached it. As Sora reached for the door, Luna reached up, grabbing his arm. Sora looked over, his curiosity turning to concern when he saw Luna's glare. "What is it?"

"I hear voices," she said, her ears twitching. "Soft, but many. A large crowd trying as one to be quiet."

Sora frowned, Oblivion flashing into being in his other hand. "Trouble?"

"I cannot be sure."

Sora nodded, facing the door again as he called upon his Heartsight. Physical barriers limited its effects, but he could still get a decent feel for the emotions outside. "They're mostly... anticipatory. Excited. They're waiting to do something as soon as they receive some sort of signal. I... don't think they're hostile; I don't sense any dark intent." He blinked back to normal, turning to face his keybladers. "Blades out," he said, "but at rest. Best case scenario: it's an impressive display of my new team. Worst case scenario..."

Strongheart smirked, summoning Pact and resting it across her back. "It will be an even more impressive display."

Sora returned the smirk before taking a deep breath and shouldering his keyblade. "Well," he said, grabbing the handle of the door, "here goes nothing." With that, he threw the door open.

*PHEW* *BANG* *POP*

"WELCOME BACK, PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!!!!"

Cheers erupted from the waiting crowd, nearly blowing Sora off his feet. Luna stared in shock and wonder as fireworks exploded overhead. The town square before them was packed beyond capacity with cheering and stamping ponies, pegasi and thestrals hovering and clapping their hooves. The square was lit and decorated like a festival or fair, strings of lanterns providing plenty of light by which to see the various food and game stalls. Ponies wore festive masks of owls, bats, or other night-time creatures, while others - especially younger fillies and colts - wore costumes that resembled the armor of the Lunar Guard. Two rows of actual Lunar Guards stood at attention, lining the path from the train to the square.

"Wh- what is all of this?" Luna asked in wonder.

"Princess Luna." Luna's attention was drawn to an elderly thestral mare who had approached. The mare dropped into a deep bow, her dark purple robes with black trim billowing around her, replicas of Luna's cutie mark adorning each flank. "My name is Midnight Dance, Mayor of Hollow Shades and High Priestess of the Cult Lunarius. On behalf of this town, on behalf of the thousand years of ponies who waited for your return, welcome back." She looked up, meeting Luna's stunned gaze with eyes that were filled with tears. "Welcome home."

"The cult survives," Luna whispered, a hoof coming to her mouth as tears filled her eyes as well. She leapt forward, pulling Midnight into a crushing embrace as she looked over the crowd. "They... they remember me. Even after everything I did."

"We never forgot, Princess!" shouted a pony from the crowd.

"Our mothers and fathers told us your story," another cried. "The true story. All of it."

"They never blamed you, Luna! They understood!"

"The town mourned for years after your fall, Luna! They swore to remember. To make sure we would be ready to receive you again in their stead!"

"We always knew you would return." Luna looked down at the mare in her arms, who stared back with eyes full of love and admiration, without the slightest trace of fear. "Our ancestors knew, and they knew how the rest of Equestria would see you. They wanted to make sure that you would have a place of refuge, should you need it." Tears streamed down her cheeks as she nuzzled into Luna's chest. "It's so wonderful to finally meet you, honored grandmother."

"G-grandmother?" Fancy gasped, looking up at Sora.

Sora shrugged in reply, wiping away a few tears of his own. "Well, I never claimed to be Luna's first love. She had a few mortal husbands and consorts before I came along, before seeing them pass away became too painful. Her decendents are the ones who founded Hollow Shades. I'd imagine everypony here has a bit of her blood in them."

"And you didn't think to tell us that before?" Jazz asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Didn't want to get Luna's hopes up. I had no idea what happened to Hollow Shades after Luna fell. Frankly, I was surprised to learn that it was still around. I'm even more surprised to see that they still see her this way." He smiled as a small herd of foals ran up to Luna, dog-piling on her and hugging and nuzzling any part of her they could reach, Luna laughing and crying all the while. "I'm glad they do, though. She deserves this."

"You must be Sora, then." Sora looked down to see that Midnight had pulled herself away from Luna and approached them. She gave the rest of the keybladers a brief nod. "Along with your new entourage, I see. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The honor is mine," Sora replied, nodding to her. "How's the heartless situation been since I was last here?"

"Straight to business then," Midnight said, a wry smile creeping onto her face. "Just like they said. I don't expect you'll be having much to do with us going forward?"

"If you've kept yourselves to your love of Luna and your traditions, then you've probably kept your connection to the darkness, right?" Midnight nodded, unashamed. "In that case, you're spot on. As far as I've always been concerned, Hollow Shades is one bad apple away from falling into darkness." Sora shrugged, looking back up at Luna, his face softening slightly. "Until then, Luna will be my representative to this town, and I'll count on her to represent it to me."

"Just like the old days, then?" Midnight nodded to herself. "That's about what we were expecting when we learned of your return." She turned and began walking away from the train, gesturing for Sora to follow. "In any case," she said, once Sora had waved his team off to enjoy the festivities, "the heartless have been under control since they started returning. A massive swarm invaded the day you returned. They probably thought that we'd be an easy conquer."

Sora nodded, switching to Heartsight briefly to take a look around. "And you would have been," he said, smirking, "if a solid fifth of your town hadn't become keybladers. How many Masters do you have here?"

"Eight," Midnight replied. "And no, you can't have them. They're the only reason we survived the Titan attack last week."

Sora let out a low whistle. "Impressive, especially if there were no casualties. What kind was it?"

"One of those giant ones that look like a heartless version of you," she replied, "along with ten or so of its smaller kin."

"A World's Shadow and several Darksides." Sora let out another whistle. "Lots of power, but very basic tactics. You got lucky."

"We got ready," Midnight countered. "We figured the heartless weren't gone for good either. The darkness never really faded after you were imprisoned. It just... slept. We've kept ourselves prepared to face the heartless should they return."

"One of these days, I've got to get some historians out here," Sora muttered. "The rest of Equestria seems to forget things so quickly. Luna's still basically unknown, even after a year of being back, but here your town is still passing along the tales of the past."

"We do make it a point to remember those who have come before," Midnight said, nodding to a statue of Luna as they passed it. The statue featured her in full armor, swords half-way out of their sheaths as she glared calmly at some unseen foe. "It helps that we share a rather important ancestor."

"Yeah, I guess." Sora looked around again, smiling at the festivities and the ponies enjoying them. Despite the town's close association with the darkness, or perhaps because of it, the ponies here seemed to almost glow with a powerful inner light. Sora chuckled as he spotted a young couple enter an alley, giggling and blushing furiously. "I don't suppose you happen to know a gray unicorn filly with a gold mane or a silver pegasus colt with a blue one, do you?"

Midnight raised an eyebrow. "My granddaughter and her coltfriend," she answered, her eyes narrowing. "Why?"

Sora simply pointed down the alley where the tails of the two ponies were vanishing.

Midnight grit her teeth, spreading her wings and taking to the air. "Excuse me for a moment," she said, speeding off.

Sora chuckled as he began wandering the outskirts of the party, talking to a pony here and there but generally staying out of the way. After all, this was Luna's night; he wasn't going to draw attention away from her if he could avoid it.

However, it seemed that Luna herself had other plans. "Sora!" she called as she cantered over, a wreath of black roses and moon lilies around her neck and a massive grin splitting her face. Sora smiled; she had never seemed so radiant.

"What is is, beautiful?" he asked, stepping forward and pulling her into a kiss.

Luna hummed appreciatively, leaning into the kiss for a moment before breaking off and giggling. "There will be time aplenty for that later," she said. "But for now," she let out a squee, doing a little dance in place. "Sora, they have dueling circles! Not just symbolic ones or fencing rings. Fully enchanted dueling circles!"

Sora sighed, rolling his eyes and smiling indulgently. "Let me guess, you want to test their limits?"

"Oh please oh please oh please!!!" Luna pleaded, placing her forehooves together. "It has been far too long ere we tested ourselves against one another.

Sora scratched the back of his neck, looking away and trying to hide the grin on his face. Dang it, Luna! Stop being so cute! "I don't know," he hedged. "I was kind of hoping to take it easy tonight. Besides, I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of your family."

"Is that so," Luna asked, a playful scowl crossing her features. "In that case, I, Luna Starlight of Equestria, do hereby issue a formal challenge to you, Sora. Should I be victorious, you shall grant me a single boon of my choosing."

"And if I should win?"

Luna's face went from scowling to sultry in an instant. "If you win," she whispered, running a forehoof down his chest, "then as soon as we get back to Canterlot, we can do that thing you love with the whip and the hoofcuffs."


*****


Word of the upcoming duel spread quickly through the party. Of particular note was the eagerness of the two participants, though very few knew that they were each eager for entirely different reasons. Five minutes after Luna issued her challenge, she and Sora stood at opposite ends of a concrete circle. The circle was fifty feet in diameter, the edges carved with powerful runes of containment and protection. These runes would create a cylindrical shield as soon as two beings stepped into the ring, falling again only when one had surrendered or sustained serious injury. Luna and Sora stared across the ring at each other, sizing each other up.

"Last chance to bow out, Luna!" Sora called, Oathkeeper and Oblivion resting across his shoulders. "You have no idea how motivated I am to win this duel. I won't go easy on you."

"You had best not," Luna replied, examining a pair of longswords that the Lunar Guard had provided for her. Giving them a few test swings, she nodded in satisfaction and turned her gaze back to Sora. "I have every intention of emerging victorious from this contest. I refuse to lose face before my children."

Cheering erupted from the crowd and Sora shook his head, chuckling as he stepped into the circle. "Guess I'll just have to disappoint them, then, because Momma's big bad boyfriend is about to get really mean."

Luna stepped forward as well, the shield rising around them as she fell into a battle stance. "Our standard duel, then?"

Sora nodded, hoisting the keyblades from his shoulders and entering a stance of his own. "First minute, blades only. Second minute, projectile magic added. After that, anything goes." Luna nodded, taking a stone from the center of the arena in her magic and tossing it high. a few seconds passed in silence before it hit the ground.

A streak of light and a burst of shadow were all the surrounding ponies could see before Sora and Luna met in the center of the arena, blades locked together as they pushed against each other. Sora disengaged quickly, jumping back and throwing Oblivion at Luna's legs.

Luna leapt over the blade, throwing one of her own straight as an arrow for Sora's chest. He deflected it with Oathkeeper, summoning Oblivion back to his hand as he charged forward again. He swung both blades at Luna, one of which she ducked under and the other of which she blocked with her remaining blade. Sora heard a faint whistling behind him and stepped to the side, pulling the unengaged Oathkeeper down to block Luna's other blade once again.

Taking advantage of this momentary distraction, Luna surged her strength and bull-rushed Sora, forcing him to stumble backward to keep from being trampled. He dropped Oblivion and grabbed Luna's mane as they approached the edge of the arena, jumping back a bit and kicking off of the shield, using Luna's mane to hold her still as he guided himself onto her back. He let go of her mane, summoning Oblivion again, bringing both of his blades down at Luna's neck, only to be blasted away by a shot of moonlight from her horn.

"One minute," said Luna as Sora flipped back onto his feet. She turned towards him, firing a few more shots as she charged forward. Sora blocked each shot until Luna was only a few feet away. "Reflect!" he shouted, summoning a sphere of light around him which deflected Luna's last shot back at her. Luna's eyes grew wide before the spell hit her dead in the face.

"HEY!" shouted a pony from the crowd. "It hasn't been two minutes yet! You can't do that!"

"Actually, I can!" Sora shouted back, leaping backward as Luna slashed blindly at him, blinking the spots out of her eyes. "Luna and I established long ago that barriers that deflect projectiles count as projectiles themselves."

"Indeed," Luna said, glaring up at him even as a small smirk tugged at her lips. "But now the two minutes have passed. I think we're both properly warmed up." The area around Luna seemed to grow darker, her shadow creeping up her legs and chest to form dangerous looking armor. "Time to take this to the next level."

"If you insist," Sora replied, focusing the energy in his heart. He pictured his Final Form, three of his most powerful keyblades orbiting around him. He released the energy in a great burst-

-and everything went black.
> Chapter 20
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 20


*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

Sora groaned as he awoke, eyes still closed and brow furrowed. He knew that beeping noise; everyone in the multiverse knew that beeping noise. Sora's eyes fluttered open and he sighed, wondering just what had landed him in the hospital. We were in Hollow Shades, he thought. Luna challenged me to a fight. We got through the warm-up mostly unscathed. Then I activated Final Form and...

Sora bolted upright and regretted it immediately as the room began to spin. He leaned forward, holding his head in his hands as he tried to keep down his last meal. He felt bandages wrapped around his forehead, which at least explained the dizziness and nausea.

Luna must have whacked me pretty hard to have gotten through Shadow Form's defenses. He lifted his head and looked around, finding himself in a nearly deserted hospital room. He was a little surprised not to see Luna sitting or sleeping at his bedside, and even more surprised when he found her in the hospital bed across to him.

Sora threw off the covers, getting shakily to his feet and walking over to Luna's bed. He picked up the medical chart that hung at the foot of her bed and began to read it.

Wow. Sora winced. I really did a number on her. Bruised back. Two fractured legs. Lacerations across her chest. Wonder how they finally pulled me off of her? He shook his head, replacing the chart before summoning the Kingdom Key. "Curaga," he muttered, twin spirals of green magic forming around him and Luna. Sora's headache and dizziness cleared instantly as Luna's injuries healed. He dismissed his keyblade, taking a seat in the chair next to Luna's bed. "Some great defender," he muttered. "Put myself and the mare I love in the hospital over a sparring match. And things were going so well here, too."

He tenderly began to unwrap Luna's bandaged forelegs, trying to let her sleep. "You must have been terrified," he whispered, placing the bandages to the side. "We still haven't talked about what really happened that day. That form you saw." He leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. "It's called Shadow Form. It happens sometimes when I try to go into one of my other forms. The more I go into them, the greater chance that it'll go Shadow."

"Why risk it, then?" He imagined Luna asking him.

"One, it's powerful," he explained. "More raw power and ferocity than even my Final Form usually has. That, and there's the issue of time. If I go too long without going into any form, Shadow Form will be the default when I do eventually need to transform."

"But why?" he imagined. "Why would a being of light have such a dark form?"

"Because even I have darkness in my heart," Sora admitted. "And the closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes. That shadow needs an outlet, but the light of the keyblade generally suppresses it." He chuckled, looking back to Luna, meeting her eyes. "At least, that's how it works for me. In the game it was just a mechanic to keep you from relying on Sora's Forms too much."

"I see," Luna said, sitting up. "And why did you never tell us?"

Sora shrugged, looking away. "Thought it was just too complicated. Plus..." he hesitated before continuing, "the Darkness has caused all of us so much pain. I didn't want you to know that I had it at my disposal to use."

"...you feared our reaction?"

Sora sighed, nodding. "Verily," he replied, recognizing the "our" that Luna had meant. "We thought it wise to keep it from you and your brother. E'en when we believed you would not turn on us... we had been hiding it for so long. 'Twas not an easy subject to broach. And I did not desire to speak of it 'pon my return, for fear of laying the guilt of my imprisonment upon you."

Luna was silent for a moment before Sora heard the rustling of fabric and the creaking of springs. Luna's hooves hit the floor, clopping loudly as she made her way around the bed to Sora's side. "Old habits do not break easily," she said, laying a wing across Sora's shoulders and pulling him close. "We cannot blame you - blame thee - for not giving us thy trust at the first, nor can we condemn thee for keeping this secret. We spoke for some time with our brother on this matter before we left. We do not blame ourselves for acting on the information that we possessed at the time. Twas no more than an accident. As for these days..." she sighed, squeezing Sora tighter, "the blame lies equally on our shoulders. We should have brought it up before the issue reared its head once more."

Sora looked up, taking Luna's face in his hands and pulling her gaze down to meet his. "I still should have told you."

Luna smiled sadly. "I should have asked."

"Oh, will you two just kiss already!"

Sora and Luna's heads jerked back as they turned to face the now open doors. Strongheart and Coco were glaring at Jazz as Fancy gave a brief chuckle. Jazz looked between the angry mare and cow. "What? We were all thinkin' it."

Sora chuckled, giving Luna a quick peck on the cheek before he stood up to face them fully. "I hope I didn't ruin the festivities for you."

"Quite the contrary," Fancy said, waving him off. "After your and the princess's match, the four of us became minor celebrities. Everypony wanted to ask us about you and that dark form of yours."

"Shadow Form," Sora corrected. "What happened after I transformed?"

"You don't remember?" Coco asked.

Sora shook his head. "I never do. The last thing I remember is facing Luna as I was about to go into my Final Form. Then, black. Must have been pretty bad, judging from Luna's injuries."

"Y'all could say that," Jazz muttered. "Ya see, when you started to transform..."


The previous day


Beams of light shot out in every direction, forcing everyone to look away. Luna frowned, holding a hoof over her eyes. "Something is wrong," she muttered. "The light is usually gone in an instant."

No sooner had she spoken than a few beams of light began to darken, turning from white to gray. Luna lowered her hoof,
staring in astonishment as more and more of the light darkened, the rays turning one by one into rays of darkness. Once all of the light had turned, the darkness began to wrap around Sora, forming bands of darkness that layered over each other, obscuring Sora's form from view.

"I do not like this," Luna muttered, holding her blades out defensively. The sphere of dark energy pulsed once. Twice. Shattered! Shards of darkness shot out, dissipating harmlessly as they struck the shield and Luna's armor. A figure stood where Sora had previously, its skin and clothes as black as the space between the stars. The only color to be found was in its eyes, yellow eyes that stared blankly at Luna. The creature cocked its head to one side, observing her curiously.

"Sora?" Luna asked, taking a step forward. "Sora, is that-"

CLASH!

Luna barely got her blades up in time to block against the attack, the creature's claws grating against her weapons. It leapt backwards, flattening into a pool of darkness as it landed. Luna charged her horn as the shadow darted forward, firing several rays of energy. The shadow juked left and right before rushing between Luna's legs. Luna gave a single mighty flap,
propelling herself upwards. She winced as she felt two sets of claws tear through her armor and slice into her chest. She quickly came in for a landing, not wanting to aggravate the wounds further, and lashed out in a buck.

The blow struck the creature in the head as it leapt at her again, sending it hurtling backwards into the barrier. It fell to the ground and shook its head before charging at Luna again, who turned to face it. She brought up her forelegs, crossing them in front of her chest and pooling her magic into shielding them, confident she could withstand the strikes.

Unfortunately, the creature didn't attack with its claws. It slammed bodily through the shield, hitting Luna's legs with little force lost. Luna's scream almost covered the twin snaps that came from her legs, her shout cut off as her back hit the barrier. She looked up and her eyes went wide as she saw the figure flying through the air towards her. Desperate and injured, she cried out, "I yield!"

As if a switch had been flipped, the creature stopped its aggressions. It landed beside Luna, turning to regard her curiously as the barrier around them fell. Several ponies charged forward, only to pause as they saw that the creature was no longer attacking. Luna stared up into the creature's featureless face and empty yellow eyes. "S-Sora?" she croaked out. "That... is you in there, isn't it?"

The creature regarded her curiously before tensing, looking up and around. It dashed off, several ponies crying out as it passed by them. It ran into the forest and out of sight.

"Wh-what the hay just happened?" Jazz shouted.

"I-i-is Sora a h-h-heart-" Coco whimpered, unable to finish the thought.

"I... do not believe so," Luna said, staring off in the direction that the creature had run. "This has happened to Sora before,
at least once. When my brother and I first saw it, however, we did not realize that it was him. We used the Elements to seal him in stone for over a thousand years."

"Aros!" Fancy exclaimed, stomping his hoof. "That's what that was! And that's why its statue disappeared from the gardens at the same time as Discord's! It seems the nobility was on to something for once."

Luna nodded, trying to get to her hooves. She gasped in pain, collapsing again and hissing as she glared at her legs. "And unfortunately, I have no idea how to turn him back. I've been meaning to ask him about it, but-"

Ann alarm went off, a wailing siren that interrupted Luna and sent the entire town scurrying. Several flashes of light heralded the summoning of an equal number of keyblades as the keybladers of Hollow Shades rushed for the Eastern edge of the woods, the edge where Sora had run off.

Strongheart grabbed a passing pony, forcing them to stop. "What's going on?" she asked. "What's that alarm?"

The pony, a dark green unicorn, shrugged her off before summoning a Kingdom Key. "Heartless swarm," he said, twirling his blade in his magic. "That siren means they're East of town and approaching. If you can fight, we'd appreciate the help."

"Of course," Luna said, nodding. "Strongheart. Jazz. Coco. Go with them and help. I have a feeling Sora will be there fighting as well. Fancy," she winced, lying down, "get to me to the hospital, if you would? It seems my legs will not support me."


Today


"We got to the edge of the forest lickety-split," Jazz said, "but the fightin' was mostly done already. Your Shadow Form was leapin' from heartless to heartless, tearin' them to shreds." She shivered, looking away. "It was actually kind of scary."

"You drove them off almost by yourself," Strongheart added, "but as soon as they were gone, you turned back to normal and fell unconscious."

"But they said you only had a minor concussion," Coco finished.

Sora nodded, rubbing his head. "Yeah, that sounds about right. If Luna bucked me full force, not even Shadow Form would take it without injury." He sighed, shaking his head. "I guess my objective was to win the match against Luna."

"Objective?" Fancy asked.

Sora nodded. "Whenever I go into my forms, I need to focus on an objective, a single task that I need the power of the form to accomplish. Usually that amounts to, 'fight off all of the heartless,' but in this case it was to beat Luna. I'm just glad it was able to recognize a surrender."

"So, you're sayin' that your shadow form will keep goin' after that 'objective' until it gets it?" Jazz asked. "And you can't do anythin' to stop it?"

"Pretty much," Sora said. "I always have to be careful when going into my forms, just in case my Shadow Form comes out. By the way, how'd the town react?"

"Not very well," Strongheart replied, looking down. "They seemed really angry at you for some reason."

"I overheard a few of them calling you a hypocrite," Coco muttered, glaring to the side.

"I see." Sora sighed, sitting down and resting his head in his hand. "I guess that makes sense. Not only did I viciously attack Luna, but I used darkness to do so. I've always preached staying away from the darkness; there's always been an enmity between me and Hollow Shades because of that. They enjoy a close association with the darkness, drawing upon its power almost as much as they draw upon the light."

"Wh-what?!" Fancy shook his head before staring out a nearby window towards the town. "But, how in Equestria do they manage not to become heartless?"

"Because we know how to keep ourselves in line." Everyone turned to see Midnight Dance standing in the doorway, glaring at Sora. "Unlike some people who apparently just hold it in until it bursts out of their control."

"It's more complicated than that," Sora said glaring back at her. "Even my heart isn't void of darkness, and that darkness tends to accumulate rather quickly in contrast to my forms."

"We have had this discussion already," Luna interjected, placing a hoof on Sora's shoulder. She met Midnight's eyes, her face patient but unwavering. "He has explained the nature of his Shadow Form to me. It will be no further trouble. It would have been none whatsoever had it not been for a slight error in judgement on his part." She sighed before adding, "And that error is one that I share."

"Wh-what?!" Midnight took a step back, her eyes wide with shock. "What do you mean, Honored Grandmother?"

"I challenged Sora to the duel," Luna answered. "I knew that we would be fighting at full force, and that that may well result in injury. It was also I who failed to confront Sora earlier about the nature of Aros. As I said," she held up a hoof to halt Sora's protest, "the blame is shared. Both of us foalishly avoided the discussion."

"I... see." Midnight was far from convinced, but didn't dare to confront Luna about the matter. "And what is that 'true nature?'"

"That is none of your concern." Sora stood, crossing his arms as he glared down at the mayor. "The High General of the EKA does not need to excuse himself to everypony he meets. Know that your Princess is content with how things stand and be done with it."

"Oh, I see how it is," Midnight sneered. "Our ancestors spoke of this as well. We lowly peasants are expected to trust your orders when you clearly despise us, but the great and holy Warrior of Light doesn't need to-"

*SLAM*

Fenrir embedded itself point-first in the ground, the floor cratering around it and cracking to the edges of the room. Sora's eyes glowed with baleful light as Biter, Ponderer, and Reaper hovered around him like a deadly halo. Midnight fell to the ground, cowering before the display as Sora hovered before her, clothed all in white.

"DO NOT QUESTION THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN GENERATIONS PASS IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE!" Sora roared, the whole building trembling and groaning as if his presence and power were all that kept it from collapsing all around them. "THE WARRIOR OF LIGHT AND THE PHANTOM OF THE NIGHT HAVE GIVEN THEIR WORD ON THIS MATTER! IS THIS NOT SUFFICIENT? DO YOU REQUIRE THE TITAN OF THE SUN TO GIVE HIS WORD AS WELL? WOULD YOU COMMAND LAND AND SEA TO BEAR TESTAMENT TO YOU OF OUR NATURE? WHAT RIGHT HAVE YOU TO QUESTION THE ASSURANCES OF TWO BEINGS WHO REPRESENT THE VERY FORCES OF THE COSMOS?!"

Midnight didn't dare respond. She trembled before him, belly to the floor and legs trembling, her eyes filled with terror. The others in the room fared little better. Strongheart and Jazz held each other tight as Fancy slowly backed away. Coco had drawn Lightest Touch and was one snapped nerve away from summoning help. Only Luna seemed untroubled, her face a neutral mask as she watched the scene unfolding.

Sora slowly lowered to the ground, the orbiting blades vanishing. "LEAVE US!"

Midnight had never flown so fast. Sora heard her crash into several walls as she fled the hospital. He sighed, allowing his power to fade as Fenrir vanished. "Well, that's that then. I really hoped we could avoid it this time."

"It seems your clashes with them are inevitable," Luna agreed. She walked over and draped a wing across his shoulders. "At least this one ended relatively peacefully."

"If that is a 'peaceful ending,' I shudder to think of what you'd term a conflicted one."

Sora winced as he looked back at Fancy and the others. "Sorry about that, everyone. Every generation here in Hollow Shades seems to rebel and chafe against my authority and, in their eyes, hypocrisy. I consider it to be a good omen when they only attack me with words, rather than blades."

Jazz swallowed nervously. "Don't sound like the sort of town we should be stayin' long in."

"Indeed not." Luna sighed, nuzzling Sora before walking back to her bed. "Trains do not arrive during the day here," she said, climbing into bed and lying down. "It would be best if we rested until nightfall. We shall take the first train of the evening and continue on to Neighagra Falls. I assume you have been given a place to stay?"

Jazz nodded. "Eeyup. Got a few hotel rooms set up for us." She trotted over to the window and glanced up at the sky. "Reckon it's about 3 o' clock now. After all the excitement last night, I think we should all be able to manage a few winks."

"A few winks? Ha!" Fancy trotted to the doors, a smug grin on his face. "It seems that my Canterlot breeding will finally show its superiority. You see, unicorn nobles possess the rare and astounding gift to be able to fall asleep whenever it suits them. The better to attend every meeting and party that could possibly bolster our reputation."

"Funny," Jazz muttered as she, Strongheart, and Coco followed him out. "I thought that trait belonged to cats."

"And where do you think cats learned to be so opportunistically lazy?"

Sora chuckled, walking back too his bed and lying down. "Amateur. Who does he think taught the nobles?"


*****


"So, they have returned. After a thousand years."

Sora frowned, staring around at the void. All was black in every direction, yet he found himself able to see himself perfectly. He knelt down and rapped on the ground a few times, the shallow tapping revealing a thin floor and the lack of an echo betraying the enormity of the void. He stood back up, holding out his hand and frowning in frustration when his keyblade failed to materialize. "Obviously a dream," he muttered, "but I'm always able to control my lucid dreams. So why can't I now?"

"That would be my doing." The voice sounded again from every direction, female and light, but hollow. "Forgive the obscuring nature of your surroundings, but I would rather you not see me at this time. Though I sense that my presence shall soon be required for the good of Equestria."

Sora sighed, crossing his arms as he closed his eyes. "If you have a message for me, spit it out. My mare won't like it if she discovers you mucking around in her domain."

A hollow chuckle sounded from around him, sounding almost forced. "No fear of that," the voice replied. "My claim and skill are at least equal to hers. Possibly more so now, seeing as she has been absent for a millennium." A slight tremor passed through the void. "I must take my leave. We shall meat again."

"Wait!" Sora's eyes flew open, this time latching onto a figure moving through the darkness. "Who are you?"

The figure paused as the darkness began to fade, a light growing behind Sora. As the light reached the figure, Sora froze. A tall equine stood before him, draped in a black cloak with a silver chain hanging low across the neck. The tip of a light blue horn was barely visible beneath the hood, a flash of teal eyes shining beneath.

"I am nobody."
> Chapter 21
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 20


"You're keeping something from me."

Sora sighed as he stared out the window at the rising sun. "I'm still not sure what it is yet. At least, I'm trying to come up with something else it could be."

Luna hummed in response as she turned another page of her book. They sat across from each other in a booth in the passenger car, alone save for each other. The rest of their team was still asleep, Strongheart and Jazz sharing a room while Coco and Fancy each had a single.

"I don't suppose I'd be of any use in figuring it out?" Luna asked.

"If I thought you would be, I'd have told you about it." Sora shook his head as he sighed again. "All I can say is, I don't think it's a threat to Equestria."

"Good enough for me." Luna looked up, meeting Sora's eyes. "Would it have anything to do with why I couldn't find your dream last night?" A sly smile worked its way onto her face. "Building a dream about another mare?"

"You wish," Sora muttered, looking back out the window. "I still don't see the appeal of ponies. I mean, sure, you're a cute lot, but you're the only one who's ever been able to make me think, 'Yay, she's sexy.' I'm afraid your threesome fantasies will just have to remain fantasies."

"Shame," Luna replied, looking back down at her book. "That Coco is adorable."

Coco Pommel's face turned red as she passed by the room, the last few lines audible through the closed door.


*****


Strongheart took a deep breath of the mist filled air, sighing contentedly as she leaned into Jazz's side. "Okay," she said, "I'll admit it. This place is beautiful."

Jazz nodded before leaning down and nuzzling her love. "Sure is. I can see why folks call this the most romantic spot in Equestria." She looked back up at the roaring water before them, thousands of tons falling every second. Jazz and Strongheart stood on a platform a few dozen meters from the bottom of the falls, surrounded by other amorous couples.

"I'm a might surprised Sora and Luna ain't joined us," Jazz said, sparing a moment to look around. "Any idea where they wandered off to?"

"I think I heard Fancy say that they were all going to the top of the falls," Strongheart replied. "Though it sounded like they'd be joining us down here soon."


*****


"Do you have to do this every time?"

"Of course!" Sora grinned from ear to ear as he hopped into the large, empty barrel on the edge of the platform. "I haven't gotten to do this in over a thousand years!"

"There are many things you have not done in over a thousand years," Luna deadpanned. "Most of those things do not involve going over the edge of a waterfall."

"Oh, come now Your Majesty," Fancy said from his own barrel, looking strangely average without his suit-coat and monocle. "It's good fun! Why even Miss Pommel is coming along!" He looked into the barrel beside him where a trembling Coco lay curled in a quivering ball. "Isn't that right, my dear?"

Coco looked up with a strained smile before going back to her ball. "It's perfectly safe. It's perfectly safe. It's perfectly safe."

"She'll be fine," Sora assured. "Soon as it's done, she'll be wanting to go again."

Luna sighed, rolling her eyes. "If you say so."

Soon enough, all three of their barrels were sealed tight and they were floating down the river towards Neighara Falls. Luna sighed and shook her head, watching the barrels as they neared the edge. "Three. Two. One."

CRACK

"WOOHOO!" Ponies on the platform turned to stare in open-mouthed shock as Sora stood up in his barrel. The remains of the lid floated past him, smashed to pieces. "BRING IT ON, NEIGHARA! BRING! IT! ON!"

Luna sighed and took wing as the barrels went over the edge. "He's going to get himself killed doing that," she muttered as she glid down to the lower platform. She landed near Strongheart and Jazz who were staring in awe at the bottom of the falls. "Before you ask," she said, "yes. He does that every time."

"I'm just surprised he managed five flips on the way down," Strongheart said, shaking her head. "Our legends say that the Light-Bearer thrives on danger, but this seems..."

"Needlessly excessive?" Luna prompted.

"I would've said 'nuttier than a pecan pie,' but yeah, that works." Jazz squinted into the mist as three barrels came bobbing towards them, one of which had a dazed human draped over the side. "Least it looks like they made it through in one piece."

"Indeed." Luna levitated the three over, setting them down in front of her. "One of these times, you could at least try to stay in the barrel."

"NEVER!" Sora shouted, waving a fist drunkenly above his head. "Tha-that's the outer's way to quit!"

Luna rolled her eyes and cracked the seals on Fancy and Coco's barrels, levitating the lids off. "And I suppose a concussion is a small price to... um..." Luna cleared her throat, looking away awkwardly. "It would seem that I may have placed Fancy's barrel upside down."

"Well, at least your view is pleasant," Fancy's muffled voice called.

Coco gasped as she leapt out of her barrel, soaked from head to hoof and shivering like a chihuahua. "thththththththat w-w-w-was..." A massive grin split her face. "AWESOME!!!" She rushed to Fancy's barrel and tipped it over, sending the waterlogged stallion tumbling out. She grabbed him and threw him over her haunches, grinning manically as she ran for the stairway that led back to the top of the falls. "WE'RE GOING AGAIN! WOOHOO!!!"

Luna sighed as the adrenaline-high mare and the flummoxed stallion disappeared. "Well, at least she is not traumatized."

"Ah, I knew she could take it," Sora said, standing up and only wobbling slightly. "She's stronger than that. And as socially shy as she can be, she's no coward."

Jazz raised an eyebrow at him. "Heartsight?"

"Didn't need it." Sora crossed his arms and smiled down at her. "After three thousand years, I've gotten pretty good at reading ponies even without it."

"And yet he misses every hint that Sol drops that he's forgotten his Birthday," Luna countered.

"That's deliberate. I just like messing with him."

"And the hints I drop about my Birthday?"

"...Oh look!" Sora suddenly pointed up and to the west at a distant shape in the sky. "I'll bet that's our airship! I'll go and collect our baggage!"