Darkness is spreading in a new world known as Equestria, and one boy must help face it head on.
Sora has been on many adventures with his friends, after some heavy training to regain the abilities he lost from his keyblade, he is now tasked with a new mission. A mission that will test the light of his heart. Will he succeed, or will the darkness win him over.
It was another day at Master Yen Sid's place. Sora and his pals had just gotten back from some rigorous training at the Olympus Colosseum, and get some in touch with old friends from worlds they had seen before. Sora was back in action up to the full strength he remembered having, plus some upgrades. And the heartless and nobodies seemed to be quiet for the time being after Ventus, Terra and Aqua had been brought back to the team of light.
As the entered Master Yen Sid's office, they came to see Riku, Mickey, and Yen Sid all there. "Hey guys, been a while. what's with the gathering, is Kairi coming as well?" Sora asked.
"No, she was receiving some help from Aqua to learn some new skills with her own keyblade. But we are glad to see you have returned. There is something we must discuss," Master Yen Sid informed in quite a weary manner.
Sora raised an eye brow, "Okay."
He, Donald and Goofy all came to stand at attention to listen to what Yen Sid had to say. "Now Sora. While it is true that you have regained the skills you lost, along with some new abilities, I'm afraid I must invoke another task on you," Yen Sid sighed.
"So, me, Donald, and Goofy are heading on another mission together?" Sora pondered.
"Unfortunately, this time, Donald and Goofy will not be able to accompany you. This is a task you must venture out on your own with. There is another world that has surfaced. While there is no presence of Heartless or Nobodies in this particular realm, there is a darkness there, and if you do not go there to help soon, I fear that it will fall to that darkness, even more powerful than anything we've seen before. It is a land that possesses great magic, even more so then my own, or my dear friend Merlin. But that magic can fall to the wrong wielder and be used for dark purposes. While it is true that dark magic can be beneficial, it also must be handled with great care, and some in that world are not so careful with it. One being in particular is very powerful. They will use their dark magic to play tricks on you, and turn you. You must be vigilant Sora," Yen Sid warned.
"You got it. But One question I do have. Is there anyone there who will be able to help fight this darkness? I understand taking care of a world's personal problems all ourselves is not something we can just do whenever we wish, and that they do need to take on these challenges themselves'. I'll be sure to help them whatever way I can," Sora exclaimed.
"Yes, you make a fine point young Sora. There are beings in that realm whom you will have to help? And given time, they may start to grow on you, perhaps require your assistance more then you realize. But this venture, it will test you. You must be prepared to take on this darkness. I can not tell you what that darkness is, but do not let it win," Yen Sid urged.
"Alright. I'll be careful," Sora assured him.
"Sure wish I was going with you to make sure you don't become lazy," Riku joked.
"Hey, you were the one who took forever trying to wake me up," Sora fired back.
The two had a laugh before Sora turned his attention back to master Yen Sid. "I have prepared a Gummi Ship to take you to this new world by autopilot. Now I suggest you make haste," Master Yen Sid urged once more.
"Right. Onto the new world," Sora replied.
And with that, Sora was soon on board the gummi ship. "Alright, time for blast off," Sora told himself.
Just as the engines were revving up to full power, all of the sudden, he saw a down arrow. "Uh oh," Sora chuckled.
Soon the ship dropped downwards, making Sora scream. "Riku, was that really necessary?" Mickey grumbled.
"Oh, come on, it was for old time sake," Riku admitted.
Both could hear Donald and Goofy chuckling in behind them.
Back on board the gummi ship Sora sat in the pilot seat thinking, wondering what new adventures awaited him. What new friends would he meet. What dangers lurked in the new world. He wasn't thinking much about Master Yen Sid's warning about the darkness. He felt the wizard was being overbearing, and needed to let him sort things out on his own. Just then, the computer announced, "Approaching destination."
Sora looked out the window and saw the new world. It looked similar to a world he had seen before, but he couldn't think of which. Just then the computer began to blare it's alarm. Something was targeting the ship. Sora scanned the area, and soon saw a dark blue aura approaching fast. Sora took the ship off auto pilot, and just when he thought he had evaded the blast thrown at him, it was as if it had a mind of it's own and once again flew right towards his ship. It soon struck his port side wing and sent his ship spiraling. "WOOOOOOOW!!!" Sora screamed, as the ground of the new world was fast approaching. After that, he blacked out.
When he woke up, everything was blurry. All Sora could see were shapes, and shadows. But many of the voices he heard were feminine. And their tones sounded like ones of worry. And the shapes were of a variety of colors. One figure seemed to stand taller then the rest. One word that he could make out was "Princess". So he knew royals ruled this particular world.
As his eyes came into focus, and his ears were able to make out what was being said, he was in for a bit of a shock. There, all around him were talking ponies, of all different colors. And many of them appeared to be nurses and doctors. Two stood out however. A very tall, and very powerful looking mare, with a horn and wings. She donned a crown atop her head, which immediately told Sora that the mare was of royal status, and there was a lavender colored mare with a horn standing next to her. He knew these two to be unicorns, but one unicorn had wings. So was she also a pegasus? Granted he had only heard about creatures such as these through stories, but he never saw them in person before. But he also saw pegasus looking mares and stallions, along with normal looking ponies, with neither horns, nor wings.
"Oh look, he's up," the lavender mare said.
"Wow, take easy there young colt, your skull's taken a good knock," said a mare with a pure white coat and, if he didn't know better, she had a red cross painted on her flank.
"Wh-Where am I?" Sora asked as she laid him back down on the bed he was in.
"You are in a hospital in Canterlot my little pony. We found you after some sort of contraption fell out of the sky and into the lake near the city. You gave my faithful student, Twilight, and her little dragon, Spike a good fright. They pulled you out after you crashed. I don't recall seeing you around before dear. I am Princess Celestia. Do you have a name young one?" The tall mare inquired.
"My name is Sora, your highness. Um, please don't take this as an insult, but, are you a unicorn with wings?" Sora asked.
Celestia chuckled, "My my, I can tell you are not from the land of Equestria, young one. Here, I am what is known as an alicorn. I possess traits of all three of the pony tribes; unicorn, pegasi, and earth ponies. I suppose that bump on the head must have made you forget you are an alicorn as well my dear."
Sora was a bit surprised. He figured, due to the clothes the three good fairies had given him, he no doubt looked like them to not make the situation too awkward, but to be told he was an alicorn, like the princess herself, that was something he didn't expect. Maybe a unicorn like her student might make sense, since he himself possessed magic, or a pegasus, since he was fond of flying a lot, but an alicorn? That was a bit to take in.
"I can see you do still need a little while to recover from the crash landing, but once you are ready, I shall have a guard escort you to the throne room. Right now, I must attend to my subjects. They're all a little shocked to see another alicorn in the capital," Celestia said.
"If it is alright, I'd like to keep the colt company, your majesty," Twilight insisted.
"As you wish, my faithful student," Celestia nodded.
As Celestia trotted away, Twilight turned back to Sora. He knew she had questions on her mind. So did he. They would have a lot to talk about as the doctors made their way out to give the two some private time.
"So, do you want me to start first, or you?" Sora asked.
"Well, I do have a lot of questions as well, but how about this. First you ask a question, then I ask one, then you, then me, and.... well, you get the idea," Twilight giggled.
"Hey I have a few questions too," Spike butted in.
"Of course Spike, you get to ask too," Twilight said.
"Alright. Well, I'll start. I guess my first question is, is this whole land made up of ponies.... and um, dragons?" Sora asked, being sure to not leave out there was a tiny dragon in the room.
Twilight lifted an eyebrow, "Well, the pony population of this country Equestria are the dominant species of intelligent beings. There are other species that are intelligent enough to speak outside the lands of Equestria, like Dragons and Griffons, but I won't recite all of them, or that would take all day."
"Okay, well, let's hear your first question," Sora said.
"Okay, well, where exactly did you come from? I've never seen a vehicle like yours before," Twilight pondered.
"Well, I was sent here on an errand by one of my Mentors, and well, some dark aura of magic struck my gummi ship, and sent me spinning out of control, that's why I crashed," Sora explained.
"A Gummi Ship? Interesting name for a vehicle," Twilight's said, as she wrote in a book that seemed to be fore taking notes.
"Okay, my turn. How is it you are an alicorn like the Princess?" Spike glared as if he was suspicious of Sora's presence and was trying to look tough.
"Well, heh heh, see. It was just how I was born. I didn't necessarily ask to be an alicorn. To be honest. I wasn't aware there were any others outside my home, hence why I asked your princess if she was a winged unicorn. Thought one of her parents might have been a pegasus," Sora said, trying to cover the fact his clothes allowed him to transform into what he was now.
"Well, I suppose I could see where you're coming from, seeing as this is your first time here. And we're not sure ourselves if Celestia was naturally born an alicorn like you. Other alicorns, like Princess Cadence achieved their status by reaching a higher level of their unique talent, through a great deed they performed," Twilight stated.
"Okay my next question, do you know of anyone here that are able to fire a dark aura of magic that would have been powerful enough to damage my ship?" Sora asked.
"Hmmm. To be quite honest no. Only three ponies I am aware of are capable of such feats. Princess Celestia, Princess Cadence, and my brother Shining Armor, who's a Sargent in the Royal Gaurd, and none of their horns produce a dark aura. Perhaps Princess Celestia can clue you in on that one," Twilight stated.
Twilight thought for a bit, then remembered, "Oh, my next question is, was there any reason you came to see us?"
"Well, my mentor did send me here to, well, get to know your world better. See how you all interact," Sora stated.
"Well, I can find you some books one our nations history. I know some great stories that dive into our ponies best times, and their greatest struggles," Twilight said.
Spike sighed, "You and your books Twi. Okay, my next question. How long do you plan on staying?" Spike insisted.
"Well, I was going to take my leave and report back to my mentor once I was certain my task was complete, but seeing as how my ship has been damaged upon entry into land, I feel my stay will have to be extended," Sora admitted.
"Well, I suppose we could see if Princess Celestia can offer you a suite in the castle. After all, you are an alicorn, and the public would find it a little odd to see an alicorn not living at the castle. I believe some were wondering if you were Celestia's son or something. I don't know how she will relay things to the public. It's all a very peculiar situation," Twilight assured him.
"I wouldn't doubt it. I suppose I'll have to ask for names of importance as we walk," Sora said as he started to get out of bed onto all four hooves.
"Are you sure you're feeling up to it?" Twilight asked.
"No problem, watch this," Sora grinned as he his keyblade appeared in his mouth, and he cast a spell to heal himself.
"Wow.... what is that?" Spike inquired.
"It's what is called a keyblade. Only certain chosen ones can wield them. I am one such chosen one," Sora said before making the keyblade disappear.
"Well, that would explain your cutie mark. So.... you're a warrior?" Twilight asked, still in a state of shock to see such a weapon.
"Yes, but only for the side of good, never for evil," Sora assured her as he started making them walk, and thinking he should ask about his "cutie mark" later.
"Well, that's good to know. But I don't ever recall reading about those in any of Equestria's history books," Twilight exclaimed as a guard soon joined them and began to lead them towards the throne room.
"I doubt there would be. I'm sure before today, you probably knew little to nothing of what we discussed," Sora guessed.
"I suppose that's a fair deduction, but I still have so many questions," Twilight said as the doors to the throne room opened.
"Those questions will have to wait, my faithful student. Come in, there is much to discuss," Celestia interrupted as the two walked in.
As the doors closed behind them Sora took a deep breath and said, "Well, here we go."
As Sora was at the foot of the thrones, one seating Princess Celestia, another her nephew, whom Twilight informed him was Prince Blueblood as they had trotted towards the thrones. Another that sit higher then Celestia's nephew's throne, but lower then her own sat vacant, and donned a moon atop the throne. That struck Sora as curious. But he would look into it later. Right now, he knew the Princess was the one who needed to speak.
"Young Sora. It is good to see you are up and about. But there are things we must discuss. So I do apologize if this becomes all a bit overwhelming. Now to put things into perspective. We understand that you are not from the land of Equestria, but you are here none the less. Further more, you are an alicorn, like myself, and my niece, Princess Cadence. This in and of itself marks you as one of the highest levels of nobility, which is a prince in your particular case. I have address to my subjects that you are Prince Sora. It is true many asked where you are from, and who your parents were. I of course addressed that we were not certain at this point, since you were hurried so quickly to the palace. Another thing I did state to my subjects that you would be taken into my care til further notice, so see this as a form of temporary adoption, til we are able to learn more about your situation together," Celestia stated.
"I will admit myself, I was not exactly on board with this, but given the circumstances, and the fact that you are an alicorn like my Aunt, Princess Celestia, it would have been uncouth of myself to turn you away," Blueblood admitted.
"I appreciate the honsety your highness. And I'll be sure to let you know more as time passes. Twilight has told me that, you could provide me a place to stay, at least until I can get my ship repaired," Sora informed them.
"Ah, so it was a ship? That's interesting to know. And indeed, there are many suites you can use for you personal quarters til you have your ship repaired. But I must ask, is there a particular reason you have ventured into our land?" Celestia asked.
Sora saw a look in her eyes, that said she was already aware of his actual situation, and would request a private audience with her in a bit, but replied. "Yes, my mentor, Master Yen Sid sent me here to interact with you and your subjects. Be able to, learn more, about your culture for, social relations."
"Ah, Master Yen Sid. I am familiar with him. It's been a while since we have spoken, I'll admit. I'll be sure to send him word as soon as possible that you have arrived, and are safe and well, granted you have a bit of a rough entry into our land. Now, there is more I wish to discuss with you in private. Twilight, Nephew, Guards? Would you be so kind as to exit the throne room. I shall be along shortly to see to your training we need to conduct today Twilight," Celestia assured.
"Yes your majesty," they all replied.
Sora definitely knew that Celestia was aware of more then she was letting everyone else know. And she was already a, well, should we say, trot ahead of Sora. As everypony exited the room. Celestia cast a spell. What it was, Sora was not sure, but she soon turned her gaze back to Sora. "Sora. I will be honest with you. There's more I know about you than even my subjects are aware. Rest assured, I have cast a spell that will cancel any sound from seeping through the walls, doors and windows outside this room, so this conversation is strictly between you and me," Celestia alerted Sora.
"Alright, so what is it you want to discuss?" Sora inquired.
"I am a very good friend of Master Yen Sid. I've known him, even from his days of being an child and an apprentice himself. It is true, I have not spoken with him in a few moons. So I know that "you" have not been to this world for as long as you can remember. That ship of yours allows you to travel between realms in space among the stars. He sent you here for a reason. And I am fully aware of what that reason is, but like he has told you, you must find out why you are here on your own. I will tell you there's more about you that connects to this world then even you are aware of. And you will be tested. I understand that you are here to find a darkness and combat it, and you will, you have a role to play in what is coming. But it is not the main reason you were sent here. Anyways, a mare, known as Nightmare Moon, will be returning. She is the very element of all that is darkness. She was banished 1000 years ago, into our Moon. Most know here now as "The Mare in the Moon". When she escapes, she's going to bring the full might of darkness with her. Twilight will be accompanying you on your venture, that much is certain, but in the end, there's a challenge that will ultimately test your heart as you face Nightmare Moon on your own. I do hope you complete this challenge, for, not only is my world at stake, but all the worlds. Nightmare Moon's hold over darkness is more powerful then anything you can imagine. If she succeeds, all the worlds will be shrouded in darkness," Celestia stated.
"I won't let that happen. No matter how powerful this dark mare is, she will not win," Sora assured Celestia.
"I hope you are right Sora. I can not stress, how important it is she is defeated," Celestia warned.
"Now. There is another matter I wish to discuss. My student Twilight. Already I can see that she has formed a bit of a bond with you. But that is more out of interest of your situation rather than just regular socializing. For the time being, we must let them believe you are under my care because your land in this world is too hard to venture out to without the use of your ship, so you will stay with us til I have sent word to Master Yen Sid the crisis is averted and that you require a means to get home if you haven't repaired your ship by then. Eventually, Twilight will be able to be trusted with your secret, but for now, we will keep it hush hush. Anyways, getting back on the subject. Twilight's socializing skills need improvement. She needs to make friends. But she tends to stay focused on her work. She needs a push in the right direction. Help her to make friends. She needs them. More then she knows. Now I am not telling you to not become friends with her at all. By all means, that would be great, just remember, whatever affairs that must be dealt with personally in our world, you must not meddle with those affairs, but as far as making friends goes, give her a push in the right direction," Celestia pleaded.
"Count on me Princess, er, should I be saying mother for the time being?" Sora pondered.
"Hmhm, I suppose, since I did mention you would be temporarily adopted, it would probably be wise to address me as mother," Celestia stated.
"Alright, oh, one other thing I must ask. That throne that sits just a tad below your own. The one with the moon upon it. Who is the Prince or Princess that sits there?" Sora asked in curiosity.
Celestia looked at the throne, then said, "That is something you will have to learn later on young Sora. Now come, we must make haste to the south tower, where my student is waiting. It will help you learn a few more things while you are here," Celestia said.
"As you wish, um, mother," Sora said, following Celestia's lead as they trotted out of the throne room together to meet with Twilight Sparkle. Sora knew one thing. This was going to be a one bit of a ride he would thrust into.