Kingdom Hearts of Harmony

Kingdom Hearts of Harmony

by steel soul

"Awakening" (Edited)

Green to start music and red to stop music

Sora slowly regained awareness, only to be overwhelmed by a concoction of strange sensations to every one of his senses. After a long time of trying to regain composer, he opened his eyes to find nothing but darkness surrounding him. The odd feeling of falling filling his being.

Or was it sinking? He really couldn’t tell the difference.

He closed his eyes once again and allowed himself to be pulled by the strange sensation. It wasn't long before his body gently landed against a hard surface, the feeling of the warm floor welcoming him despite the emptiness of his surroundings. It almost felt like an embrace, like someone had been waiting for him all this time.

Sora...

Sora's eyes instantly snapped open at the sound of someone calling out to him. Was it the same voice from before, the one that had led him here? He could not tell.

He slowly stood up on his four legs and took stock of his surroundings. He was surprised to find that what he stood upon was like a glass window of some kind. Displayed upon it was something akin to that of a purple star. Surrounding said star, were five different pictures. Diamonds and Butterflies...apples and balloons. And last one was a lighting bolt.

Sora stared at the strange glass platform beneath him, feeling a mix of awe and confusion. The vibrant colors of the star and the symbols around it seemed to pulse with a quiet energy, as if they were alive, waiting for him to understand their significance. The intricate patterns and designs felt familiar, yet he couldn’t quite place why. The symbols—diamonds, butterflies, apples, balloons, and a lightning bolt—each held a certain weight, a power that resonated with something deep within him.

Taking his eyes off the ground, he inspected the rest of the world he was in, finding nothing but the darkness surrounding him on all sides. The contrast between the vibrant, almost glowing, images beneath his hooves and the void surrounding him was stark, and it filled him with a sense of isolation.

Sora raised a hoof and ran it through his spiky brown mane in confusion.

He froze mid-motion at what he had just did hit him like a lightning bolt. Pushing both hooves in front of him he stared wide-eyed at his new limbs. Instead of the familiar sight of his hand, with its fingers and palm, he saw a hoof—a solid, rounded, distinctly not a hand, hoof.

"Wha—?!" Sora gasped, his voice filled with shock. He quickly glanced down at the rest of his body, noticing the light tan coat covering him, the four legs where his arms and legs used to be, and the tail that swished behind him. Panic started to set in as he stumbled backward, nearly losing his balance on his new, unfamiliar limbs.

"This... this can't be real," Sora muttered to himself, his heart racing. He tried to flex his fingers—except there were no fingers to flex. The hoof in front of him remained just that: a hoof. He turned it over, as if expecting it to change back into a hand if he looked at it from a different angle, but nothing happened.

Sora took a few shaky steps, his mind struggling to comprehend the change. The sensation of walking on all fours was strange. Everything about this new form felt alien, yet there was an odd sense of familiarity, as if some part of him knew how to move in this body. He chalked it to his time spent in the pride lands.

The thing that really weirded him out was the picture on the side of his butt. It looked like a tattoo of a crown, yellow in color and neatly created. He frowned, gave the underside of his hoof a quick lick, and began rubbing at one of the marks harshly. To his surprise, the crown symbol didn’t smudge or fade, no matter how much he rubbed at it though. It was as if it was a part of him.

Giving up of his new body art, the human turned horse creature folded his forehooves across his chest and closed his eyes in deep thought.

Sora took a deep breath, trying to calm the whirlwind of thoughts racing through his mind. Folding his forehooves across his chest—a gesture that felt strange but somehow natural—he closed his eyes and focused on sorting through the chaos in his head.

"Okay, let's think this through," he muttered to himself, trying to approach the situation logically, despite the absurdity of it all. "I’ve been in different forms before. I was a lion cub in the Pride Lands, a vampire in Halloween Town, even a merman in Atlantica. This is just another one of those times... right? But Why am i here? Who brought me here?"

Sora paused at the last inquiry.

No. He knew who brought him here.

That voice that came out of the Secret Place on Destiny Islands.

But to what end?

Sooora…

He raised an eyebrow as the voice sounded again, but for some reason it was distorted, and fading fast.

Sooooooraaa…

He stood on all four hooves and looked around, trying to ascertain where it was coming from. In his quest to do so, he found something else. Something familiar.

Some kind of puddle of darkness was slowly inching its way towards him. The fact that he failed to see it was not lost on him, the keyblade wielder inwardly cursing to himself.

Run!

Sora turned to do just that, but found his way impeded by more of the inky blackness. To his horror, the puddle seemed to double its efforts to capture him when it saw that he had taken notice of it, eating up the inches faster and faster.

Sora tried to call out for the Keyblade, but found his efforts were in vain when it did not, or could not, heed his call.

Feeling fear at being so vulnerable the stallion flailed at the darkness encroaching on his position, though as soon as he touched it, the darkness would start to drag him into the abyss, slowly but surely coving every inch of his body.

A small whimper could be heard coming from the trapped keyblade wielder as his space diminished under the form of the shadows. As they closed in, a chilling voice filled Sora’s every sense, shaking every fiber of his being. He looked up in time to see a set of piercing red eyes fill the once-void darkness. Eyes he was familiar with. He had seen a pair like them on nearly every world he had visited.

Eyes of everlasting evil.

Black tentacles could be seen coming from the black ooze that surrounded him, each one pointed threateningly at him.

Sora’s ears folded to the back of his head as maniacal laughter filled the air around him and the tentacles came crashing down onto him without remorse.

~

A loud thump filled the air as Sora fell out of the bed with a yelp. Blue blankets falling on top of him from above and obscuring his view of his surroundings completely. He wrestled and fought with the offending clovers, grunting in frustration as he tried to rid himself of the entrapment he had found himself in. Footsteps could be heard coming from somewhere close by, followed by the opening of a door, more than likely to the room he was held within.

“What’s going…? Oh my gosh! Are you okay? Here, let me help you.”

That voice. Have I heard that voice before?

Before he could think any further on it, the blanket that had him within its submission grasp was tugged from around his being. Freed from the dark clutches of the cloth, Sora found his vision obscured by the sudden onslaught of sun beams pouring in through an open window nearby. His eyes closed tight in defiance at the light raising a arm the help in his defense.

“Are you OK? Did you hurt yourself?” The one who had came to his aid asked in concern and, if he was correct, slight amusement.

“Yes...I mean no! I’m fine. It’ll take a lot more then a heavy blanket to take me down.” he answered. His eyes slowly started to adjust to the light as he turned to face his savior. “But thanks for the...ah...help?”

Sora blinked in surprise, his eyes now fully adjusted to the light. The figure before him was definitely not what he had expected. Instead of a human, he found himself looking at a lavender-colored horse like creature with a horn on her head, a mane with deep purple and pink streaks, and those bright, vibrant purple eyes that seemed to radiate warmth and kindness. Her smile was gentle, and there was a curious, almost friendly, energy about her, despite her caution he could clearly see.

Sora's heart raced as he stared down at his own body, taking in the undeniable truth that his dream—or rather, his strange experience—had become reality. The tan coat, the four legs, the tail that swished with each subtle movement—it was all real. And there, on his flank, was the same crown symbol he had seen earlier, clear as day.

He glanced back up at the lavender horse in front of him, her kind eyes watching him with a mixture of concern and curiosity. The reality of his situation began to fully sink in, and despite all the strange things he had encountered in his journeys, this felt particularly surreal.

Keeping his tone light despite his slight unease at the situation he rubbed the back of his head. “I guess you’re the one who brought me,” he gestured around the room he was in,” here, Ah...” He paused. "Sorry...Don't think I know your name."

The horse girl giggled softly in embarrassment. “I guess I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? Of course, that’s a given since you did just wake up. Hello. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and you are?” She held a hoof out, offering it to the stallion to help him up.

Sora hesitated for just a moment, still getting used to his new form and the strangeness of the situation, but then he smiled warmly and extended his hoof to meet Twilight's. "I'm Sora," he replied, taking her offered hoof and letting her help him up. The gesture was surprisingly natural, and it put him at ease. "Nice to meet you, Twilight Sparkle."

When he released her hoof, he tilted his head as he actually started to really examined the one before him.

As Sora looked more closely at Twilight Sparkle, he took in the finer details of her appearance. Her lavender coat was smooth and well-groomed, and her mane, with its deep purple and pink streaks, flowed neatly down her neck. The horn on her head was slightly longer than he had initially noticed, giving her an air of mysticism. Her bright, vibrant purple eyes were filled with warmth, curiosity, and a gentle kindness that seemed to put him at ease, despite the oddity of the situation.

Sora couldn't help but notice that she had an aura of calm confidence, and yet, there was a clear curiosity in her eyes, as if she was just as eager to understand him as he was to figure out where he was and what was happening.

He couldn’t help but think that this was the most adorable creature he had ever seen in all of his travels, and that includes the Dream Eaters back during the mark of mastery exam.

Kairi would be so jealous.

Seeing both this new creature and himself, of course he couldn't help but think they were the same. He must have changed to match the environment of these creatures. Since Donald was nowhere to be seen, he could only surmise that it was his clothes own power that-

Sora’s face flushed a deep shade of red as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He looked down at his tan-coated body, and the absence of his usual outfit sent a wave of embarrassment crashing over him. His clothes—the ones that had always adapted to fit the world he was in—were completely gone. He was utterly, unmistakably, naked.

Without thinking, he let out a yelp and scrambled across the bed, trying to hide behind whatever he could find. His actions were frantic as he attempted to cover himself, despite the fact that the one form he now inhabited didn’t seem to share the same concerns about clothing as he did in his human form.

"My—My clothes!!" Sora stammered, his voice laced with panic and embarrassment. He peeked over the edge of the bed, his wide eyes searching for something to cover himself with, even though it didn’t seem necessary in this new world.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the brown stallion’s strange actions before answering. “Hey calm down, Sora. They’re at Rarity’s. They had gotten pretty messed up when we had found you and I took them to her to fix. If you are worried about them then don't be. I promise they are in good hooves. But enough about that.”

Sora’s heart was still racing from the sudden embarrassment, but as he peeked over the edge of the bed and saw Twilight’s calm demeanor, he slowly began to relax. He couldn’t help but notice that Twilight herself wasn’t wearing anything either, which seemed to be completely normal for her. The realization helped ease his worries, though it still felt strange to him.

Slowly, he climbed back onto the bed, settling down beside her. He couldn’t help but feel a little silly for his earlier panic, especially when it was clear that clothing—or the lack thereof—wasn’t a concern in this world. Just as he sat down beside her, however, his panic began to spike once more when he felt hot fur press lightly against his body, her head pressing firmly against his chest.

A gentle “hmmm” vibrated against his being, followed by the words “Only one.” She removed her head from his body, and he released a breath he had no idea he had been holding up until now. The girl gently placed a hoof to her chin and gave Sora a thoughtful expression. A moment or two had passed before she moved again, raising the same hoof to tap the top of his head none too pleasantly.

“Ow.” He raised a hoof of his own to rub at the spot she hit. It didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t welcomed at least. “Hey, Twilight, mind telling me why I’m getting checked up like I’m at the doctor’s office?” He paused for a second before adding, “And where am I, anyway?”

"Oh, sorry about that, Sora," Twilight apologized. its not every day someone comes falling out of the sky like star. Wanted to make sure you were okay..." She paused and looked away. "Also...I was just checking something." She shook her head and waved a hoof in front of her, “As to where you are, you are currently in Golden Oak Library, which is in Ponyville.”

“Pony… ville?” Sora’s eyes widened. “So...does that make you a...pony?”

Twilight blinked, slightly confused at the question. “Well… yeah.”

“Then if that’s the case, that makes me a pony as well… right?”

“Yeeeees? Sora? Are you okay? did you hit your head?”

Ignoring her questions for the moment, Sora went about folding his forelimbs about his chest and closing his eyes in deep thought.

He was a pony now. OK, he could live with that. He would have much rather been a lion like before but it could be worst. He could have been a ghost. Not sure if he would have liked that very much.

“Hello? Equestira to Sora?”

The human-turned-pony blushed, finding he had completely forgotten that Twilight was still there with him in the room. He rubbed the back of his head apologetically as he responded. “Hehe...yeah. Sorry about that. Just thinking.” Then a question hit him. “Wait...Are you the one who found me… wherever I was. You never did tell me.” When she nodded, he continued. "Do you remember seeing anything strange around before you found me? Like anything odd? For that matter, where was I when you did find me?”

It was Twilight’s turn to be surprised, slightly overwhelmed by the onslaught of questions for the young stallion. It didn’t deter her long, however, as she recovered quickly and gave the stallion a glare that could melt ice.

“Now hold on a minute; I’m the one that should be asking you questions here."

Sora blinked, taken aback by the sudden shift in Twilight's demeanor. Her glare was intense, and it was clear that she wasn’t going to let his questions go unanswered without getting some of her own in return.

He chuckled nervously, raising his hooves in a placating gesture. "Whoa, whoa, okay, I get it. You’ve got a lot of questions too."

Twilight’s expression softened slightly, though her eyes still held a firm resolve. "Yes, I do. You showed up out of nowhere, falling from the sky like a shooting star, and then there’s the matter of that giant key you were holding when we found you. I need to know what’s going on, Sora."

“Giant key?”

Twilight sighed, exasperated but still nodding at his question. “The key that was lying beside you. Yellow and silver. Little circles on the end of it. Ring any bells?”

Sora's mind raced as he tried to piece together why his Keyblade had been out when he was found. The Keyblade usually only appeared when he summoned it, or when there was a threat nearby. But if it had been lying next to him, that meant it must have been active when he arrived in this world.

The keyblade wielder frowned as before holding out his hoof towards her, which Twilight flinched from. She would have said something in response to his actions, but a yelp from downstairs caused her to look toward the door in surprise. She turned to face Sora just in time to see that very same giant key that she had been looking over down in her study, appearing instantly in his mouth.

“What the!? How did you do that?! Where did it come from?! Is that magic?! That’s impossible!” The poor mare stuttered as her eyes nearly bugged out of her eye sockets at Sora's sudden display of magic.

The sound of thumping on the stairs caused both Twilight and Sora to turn just in time to see Spike bursting through the open door, a frantic look in his eyes.

"Twilight! That key thing just up and disappeared!” And for good measure, he added, “Also, I wasn’t touching it! I swear!” Spike’s well thought-out and planned explanation stopped as his eyes took in the scene in front of him.

In reality, Sora had his hoof held out due to his belief that the giant key would appear there. This was not the case, however, as said key instead appeared in his maw, and if he was being honest with himself, quite comfortably.

Spike-o-Vision held a different scene. What he saw was his friend/sister about to be ravaged by a malicious and strange stallion they had not too long ago taken in out the kindness of their hearts.

Needless to say, Spike-o-Vision is a great anger inducer.

“Twilight! Watch out! I got ‘im!” Spike leapt forward, claws stretched out and ready to defend his sister to the bitter death.

So unprepared was the poor stallion that an easily dodged attack of this magnitude was, instead, just looked upon by the one getting attacked. With wide eyes and pinprick pupils, only one thought crossed Sora’s mind.

This was going to hurt… a lot.

~

“I’m sooo sorry, Sora,” Spike said for the tenth time tears brimming in his eyes as he begged on his knees for the young stallion to forgive him

“I said it's alright Spike. Geeze.” Sora replied for the tenth time, though he couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him.

Twilight, Spike and Sora had taken up residence in the downstairs library, the former dabbing the latter with a cotton ball soaked with alcohol as she tended to the scratches the former had acquired. He had received one good scratch across his forehead before Twilight used her magic to pry the raging dragon off of the flailing stallion.

Explanations were made and apologies ensued.

Twilight, now more composed then before, looked at Sora with a mix of curiosity and lingering concern. The events that had just unfolded left her with many unanswered questions, and she knew she needed to get to the bottom of it. As she dabbed a cotton ball on one of Sora's scratches, she finally asked, "Sora, how did you summon that key... your Keyblade? You just held out your hoof, and it appeared. Is that something you can do at will?"

Sora winced slightly as the alcohol stung his cut, but he nodded, his expression thoughtful. "Yeah, the Keyblade is connected to me. I can summon it whenever I need it, no matter where I am. It’s... well, it’s kind of a part of me."

“A key… blade?” both Twilight and Spike said in unison.

Sora nodded. “It’s a weapon I use to… well… fight monsters, basically.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, her analytical mind already dissecting the concept. "A key... as a weapon? That seems a bit impractical, doesn’t it? I mean, keys are usually used for unlocking things, not fighting."

Spike, on the other hand, couldn’t contain his excitement. His eyes lit up as he imagined the possibilities. "Impractical? Are you kidding? That sounds awesome! It’s like something straight out of a comic book! You’re like a royal guard or something, but with a magic key instead of a spear or sword!"

Sora chuckled at Spike's enthusiasm, finding the young dragon's excitement contagious. "A royal guard? That’s pretty cool, but I guess I see myself more as an adventurer."

Twilight tilted her head as she looked the stallion up and down in contemplation. “I don’t think that's the case anyway, Spike. He doesn't look any older then Rainbow Dash.” Her brow furrowed. “And I don’t think Celestia allowed ponies into the royal guard that young. You have to be at least seventeen. Maybe eighteen at the very least.”

Sora raised an eyebrow at the new name she had said. “Ce-les-tia? Is she some kind of leader of those royal guard guys?”

The lavender unicorn gasped, “You do know who Celestia is, right? The monarch of Equestria. Princess to all of ponykind."

Sora opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it as he remembered the rule about maintaining world order. He couldn’t just blurt out that he was from another world—doing so could cause all kinds of problems. He had to be careful about what he revealed.

Twilight noticed his hesitation and tilted her head in confusion. "Sora? You look like you were about to say something. Do you... not know who Princess Celestia is?"

Sora thought quickly, trying to come up with a plausible explanation. "Uh, well... where I’m from, things are a little different. So I might not be as familiar with some of the, uh, important figures here."

Twilight’s eyes widened slightly in realization. "Oh, I see! You must be from a very far-off place if you don’t know about Princess Celestia. But that’s okay! I can fill you in on everything you need to know."

Spike, still excited, chimed in. "Yeah! Celestia’s like, the most important pony in all of Equestria. She raises the sun every morning and keeps the whole kingdom running smoothly."

Twilight nodded, her tone turning more formal as she explained. "Princess Celestia is the co-ruler of Equestria, alongside her sister, Princess Luna, who raises the moon. They’ve been guiding and protecting Equestria for over a thousand years. They’re both incredibly powerful and wise, and they care deeply about everypony in Equestria."

Sora's eyes widened at that. "A thousand years...Wow...But...how can she lived that long?"

Twilight had to reframe her eye from twitching wildly at the pony’s lack of understanding of basic pony knowledge. Sensing the oncoming storm that was "Lecturelight", it was then that Spike decided it was his job to save Sora, if only because he still felt guilty about attacking the poor stallion. “So, Sora. How did you make that key thingy teleport? From what I’m told, pegasi can only use wind magic, and that’s only to fly and move clouds. Teleportation is something that only unicorns can learn.”

Sora, grateful for the change in topic, smiled at Spike’s curiosity. "Well, the Keyblade is special. It's not exactly magic, least I don't think so, but it's connected to me in a way that lets me summon it whenever I need it, no matter where it is. Almost like its apart of my heart." He rubbed the back of his head, blushing a bit. "Sorry. Thats the best way I can explian it. Not the best when it comes to all that technical stuff."

Twilight processed the information carefully before picking up the conversation. “That is...weird...But I have seen magic do strange things before. Going off that topic though, do you remember anything about last night? You just fell from the sky without so much as a warning.”

Sora’s expression grew more serious as he thought back to the previous night. He tried to piece together the fragments of his memory, but everything was still hazy. "I remember... there was a lot of darkness. It felt like I was falling through it, like it was pulling me down. But before that, I heard a voice. I couldn’t make out what it was saying, but it felt like it was calling out to me, guiding me here. Then everything went black, and the next thing I knew, I woke up here."

A loud gurgling sound interrupted the conversation after that, and a tan hoof was placed on a tan belly, causing everyone to look towards Sora.

He blushed, his ears folding back slightly in embarrassment as his stomach loudly protested its emptiness. "Heh, sorry about that. I guess with everything going on, I kind of forgot how hungry I was."

Twilight was the first to recover as she gave Sora a smile once again. “How about we can continue this later. You must be famished, and I too could use a bite to eat. Plus telling the other girls you are awake would be a good idea too.” She made her way to her saddlebags, levitating them onto her back along with a book and a bag of what he believed to be coins. Once ready, she turned to the baby dragon. “Spike, do you want to join us?”

Spike perked up at the suggestion, his eyes lighting up. "You bet! I’m always up for a good meal." He quickly scurried over to join Twilight, eager to be part of the outing.

"Thanks, Twilight. I really appreciate it. I guess I could use a good meal after everything." Sora replied, giving her a grin.

"It's no trouble at all, Sora," Twilight said aloud, keeping her tone light and friendly. "I’m always happy to help out. Plus, it’ll be good to get some fresh air and introduce you to everypony. They’ve all been worried about you, especially after last night."

Inwardly, Twilight added another thought. And it’ll give me a chance to keep an eye on you, just in case. You seem nice enough, but we still don’t know much about you or why you’re here. I need to be cautious, for everypony’s sake.

~

Sora was very apprehensive about walking… no… trotting in public with no clothes. This, to him at least was strange due to the fact that he did it all the time back in the Pride Lands with Simba. It wasn’t until he saw that most of the town folk, if not all of them, were indeed naked as well. It made him feel a little better about being so too.

He still wished he had his jacket, though.

The tan colored stallion could see more than a few ponies looking toward their little group, though he felt that most of the looks were directed toward him. They all bore curious but friendly smiles every time he caught their eyes, which he returned with one of his own. Ponies of every color and size filled the dirt road of Ponyville, each one seemingly as friendly as the last. He could see that quite a few of them, if not all, had a butt tattoo that was different from Twilight’s and his own, and others, mostly the little ponies, didn’t.

This realization led to a question.

“Hey, Twilight, what’s with the butt tattoos?”

Twilight, who had been walking slightly ahead of Sora, almost tripped over her own hooves at his blunt question. She quickly regained her balance, her cheeks flushing slightly as she turned to face him. "What? Oh! You mean their cutie marks!"

“Cutie Mark? That’s what you call it?”

Twilight nodded, still slightly flustered by Sora's phrasing. "Yes, we call them cutie marks. They appear on a pony’s flank when they discover their special talent—something that makes them unique and represents who they are. I mean you have one too, you know."

Before he could respond, his answer was interrupted as the stallion’s gaze would catch sight of a trio of little ponies on the other side of the road. Two of them, one being an orange-coated pegasus with a magenta mane and the other being an off-white unicorn with a two-tone purple mane, were talking animatedly with each other. It was the third, however, that had given him pause.

A sun-yellow regular pony, with a mane as red as an apple and a bright pink bow tied expertly behind her head, had been looking in his direction. Her amber eyes were wide, and, he could have sworn, sparkling. He tilted his head to the side which caused the yellow filly’s cheeks to flush bright red. She quickly turned away from him, busying herself with listening to the other conversation.

“Sora? Hey, you okay?”

Sora nodded as he looked forward, finding Twilight waiting for him a bit of a ways off. “Yeah. Let's get going. Food is waiting right?” He trotted up to Twilight, following after her. He took a quick look back over his shoulder to see the gaggle of fillies once more, huddling close together.

~

Applebloom’s heart was fluttering faster than a hummingbird in spring as she watched the stallion follow Twilight and Spike. The poor filly could not stop the blush that had hit her freckled face as her gaze never left his retreating form. And when she saw his face, she couldn’t even explain the feelings that she had gotten.

No…

That's not true…

She knew exactly what it was.

“Girls…” she said, barely above a whisper, but they stopped talking all the same, giving her their full attention. “Ah… Ah think I’m in love.”