Kingdom Hearts of Harmony

Kingdom Hearts of Harmony

by steel soul

Keyblades and Butterflies

Green to start music and red to stop music

Within a cottage near the Everfree Forest...

Fluttershy fluttered about her cottage, feeding and tending to the various nighttime critters that she tasked herself to take care of while they healed from various wounds, all the while, a cute pout on her face. It was always such a chore for her to work around one of Pinkie’s impromptu parties, but she could never bring herself to really complain about it. At least not out loud. She always enjoyed the parties where it was just her friends and herself, but the ones where she had to interact with somepony new was always disorienting. Of course, she had told Pinkie she would be there anyway, just like always. She really didn’t want to see Pinkie sad. It was never fun to see Pinkie sad.

“There you go, mister fruit bat.” Her voice was gentle and loving. “So sorry for feeding you this early, but I have to go to the welcoming party Pinkie is throwing for the new pony in town.”

The fruit bat nibbled on a strawberry as he listened intently to Fluttershy, seeing how knowing that she needed to complain to someone. He wasn’t going to complain about it though. He got free food.

“I know I shouldn’t say this,” the yellow pegasus continued, “But I really don’t like meeting new ponies.” Fluttershy sighed softly as she watched the fruit bat enjoy its meal, her wings drooping slightly. "It's not that I don’t want to make new friends," she whispered, "it’s just... it’s so overwhelming sometimes." She fluttered over to the next critter, gently tending to a family of injured rabbits nestled in a cozy basket. Her gaze softened as she stroked their fur, finding comfort in the quiet routine.

"New ponies are always so eager to talk, to ask questions, and... what if I say something wrong? What if they don’t like me?" She paused, her heart giving a little flutter at the thought. "I know Pinkie means well, and I want to be there for her... and for the new pony too. It’s just... so hard.” The mare sighed softly, “But Pinkie really seemed to be happy about the new pony in town, seeing as they are the one Twilight said she found in White Tail Woods. What do I say to somepony like that?”

The fruit bat began chatting automatically, to which Fluttershy responded with wide eyes.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in alarm as the fruit bat squeaked back at her, his tiny wings flapping as if he were giving her some sort of pep talk. She shook her head quickly, her pink mane swaying with the motion. “Oh no, no, no… I could never just talk to somepony like that. What if I mess up? What if I say something embarrassing, and he laughs at me? Or... what if he gets angry because I’m being too shy? He might yell at me…”

Her voice trailed off into a soft squeak, her imagination running wild with worst-case scenarios. She could almost see herself stammering in front of the new pony, only to have him grow frustrated with her hesitation.

The fruit bat squeaked again, this time more insistent, as if to remind her that she had faced far scarier things than a new pony. Fluttershy bit her lip, her wings twitching nervously. "I know... you’re right. It’s just... different. Monsters are one thing, but new ponies... They’re so unpredictable. What if he’s like…"

The bat placed his wings on his hips, once again chatting in his own bat tongue. Fluttershy’s ears folded back when he finished.

“I know I help my little animals all the time and I’m not scared of them...but...that's different…”

The bat just opted to glare at the pony, not saying a word.

Fluttershy sighed. “I-I guess I could give it a try. If only to build my confidence.”

The fruit bat chattered approvingly, and Fluttershy couldn’t help but giggle at his encouragement. "Thank you," she said, her voice still soft but filled with gratitude. "I’ll do my best."

She nuzzled the cute bat warmly before floating down gently towards the floor below. Her eyes quickly glanced toward her clock, gasping lightly at what she saw. “Oh dear! It’s already nine twenty-five. I do hope Pinkie will forgive me for being so late.”

The shy pegasus double-checked her animal friends before heading out her cottage door. She slowly made her way down the dirt path leading to the farm that was Sweet Apple Acres, the gentle breeze playing with her soft yellow coat, almost tickling her. She had always liked the time between winter and spring. Everything was so fresh and new. She got to meet the next generation of bouncing baby animals, taking care of them and loving them. It always set her heart at ease to know that she was there for them. It always surprised her that she was able to get along with animals better than she could with other ponies. Animals were always true to their feelings and never wavering. What they thought was what they thought. Simple as that.

Ponies, on the other hoof, they could be your friend one second and your enemy the next. Of course, Rainbow was the exception, as well as the rest of her little group of friends. Other ponies, though- she could barely deal with them even on her best days.

"Sometimes I wish I could be more like Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy whispered to herself, her wings fluttering slightly as she imagined her bold friend, always so confident and brave. "She never seems to care what other ponies think of her. She just says what’s on her mind." Fluttershy sighed, shaking her head. "I wish I could be like that... but I’m just... me."

Still, as much as she felt nervous around new ponies, she knew she couldn’t let her friends down. Pinkie had worked so hard on this party, and Twilight had mentioned that the new pony had been through a lot. Maybe he’ll be kind... maybe he’ll understand.

In her silent rumination, she failed to notice that she had come within the vicinity of the apple farm, only realizing it after the scent of apples greeted her senses.

Fluttershy breathed in deeply, the sweet scent of apples filling her lungs and briefly calming her nerves. It was always so peaceful here at Sweet Apple Acres, a place where she could often find solace when things felt overwhelming. But as she took in her surroundings, something else caught her attention—a subtle movement in the shadows just ahead.

Her heart skipped a beat, her wings fluttering anxiously as her gaze darted toward the source of the movement. Was it an animal? she wondered. But no, the shape seemed too large, too defined. It wasn’t one of the farm animals, and it certainly wasn’t one of her woodland friends.

It was a black long shadow that slithered across the ground. Its movement resembled that of a snake, but she knew better. No snake would be this close to Applejack’s apple farm without good reason. She froze as she took notice of the strange obscurity. To her surprise, it responded as it too froze, realizing its cover had been blown.

Slowly, the shadow morphed from a flat surface to an object that was more three-dimensional. Its body was still pitch black, but more defined, almost pony-like. Long jagged ears came to a sharp point on its head, as well as a curved horn. Its body was skinny as well as its legs, giving it an almost malnourished look, making it creepier than before. Beady yellow eyes completed the creature's false-facsimile of a pony’s form, it’s gaze focused on the butter yellow pegasus. Fluttershy stared back at it, fear creeping throughout her being. It took a crooked step toward her. She turned to run on instinct, cursing the fact that she ever left the safety of her cottage. She did not get very far, however, as two more of the same pony shadows stood in her way.

She was surrounded now. With her wings too scared stiff to be used, she had nowhere to go. She was done for. She didn’t know how, she didn’t know why, but she just knew she was. She did the only reasonable option left to her.

She screamed.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, long and hard. She had felt that it was a useless gesture, but what else could she do? She watched as the scream only made the shadows falter for a second before they all lunged at her at once.

Just as the shadowy figures lunged at Fluttershy, her scream echoed across Sweet Apple Acres, cutting through the stillness of the night like a blade. She braced herself, her eyes squeezed shut in terror, waiting for the inevitable impact.

But it didn’t come.

Instead, a bright flash of light erupted in front of her, accompanied by a loud, metallic clang. Fluttershy opened her eyes just in time to see one of the shadowy figures thrown back as if it had hit an invisible wall. In the next second, something else zipped past her—a blur of tan and black.

“Back off!” A voice shouted.

Fluttershy’s wide eyes fell upon the figure standing protectively in front of her—a tan stallion with spiky brown hair and a determined look in his eyes. He held a strange, key-like weapon in his mouth, its metallic surface glinting under the moonlight.

He turned his head to face her, his intense expression softening with relief. He exhaled a sigh, and in a flash of light, the Keyblade vanished from his mouth, sparkling as it disappeared into thin air. “I thought I heard something,” he said, his voice gentle but still edged with concern. “Are you okay?”

Fluttershy, still trembling, tried to find her voice. “I-I... think so...” she whispered. “W-What are those…those things?”

Sora’s gaze snapped back to the shadowy figures as they slithered across the ground, regrouping for another attack. His eyes narrowed, his stance shifting into a defensive posture. "Heartless."

"H-Heartless?" Something about the word sent a cold shiver up the mare’s wingtips. Her gaze fell back to the one who saved her. “A-And…who are…you?”

Sora kept his gaze on the advancing Heartless, the creatures inching closer as their yellow eyes gleamed in the night. His stance was firm, ready for their next move, but he took a quick moment to glance back at Fluttershy. "I'm Sora," he said, his voice still calm despite the tension. "And don't worry, I'm here to help."

~~~

Sweetie Belle galloped as fast as her little legs would take her, eating up the distance towards the barn. With Applebloom busy prying Scootaloo from the tree and Sora’s incredible response to Fluttershy’s plight, it was up to her to find help.

Even in her panicked state, her mind raced with rising questions.

Just what were those things? Those shadows were moving. MOVING! They looked like something out of a bad science fiction movie. And that stallion. Just what the hay was he? How was he able to move that fast? Oh, and that weird looking sword! Where did that even come from?!

The barn came into focus and Sweetie Belle shook her head harshly. She didn’t have time to come up with any answers at the moment. She had to get help.

Just as she neared the giant barn doors, they would open, revealing a thoroughly distraught Applejack. She was dragging a bag of what Sweetie Bell could only assume was trash out with her teeth. Despite the loud music, the little filly could clearly hear her muttering something about this being the last time she let Pinkie anywhere near the barn with a potato canon.

The filly quickly made her way towards Applejack, which instantly made the farm mare’s eyes widen considerably at the sight of her. Dropping her charge, she turned to cast an accusing eye toward Sweetie Belle.

“And just what in tarnation are you doing here this late?!”

Sweetie Belle skidded to a halt in front of Applejack, panting heavily from her frantic run. Her eyes were wide with fear and worry, making it hard for her to form the words at first. “Applejack… it’s… it’s-!”

Applejack quickly reached out and gripped the little white unicorn by the hoof, dragging her to the open barn door. “Ya’ll was supposed to stay with Rarity’s parents this evening!”

Sweetie Belle tugged against Applejack's grip, her voice frantic as she tried to explain. "I know! I know! But, Applejack, you have to listen! We-”

“Just wait till ah get Rarity!” She looked back to the struggling filly, “Speaking of which, just where the hey is Applebloom? If’n you’re here, then she ain’t too far behind, right? And Scootaloo, too. Landsakes! You three are sure to get a good talking to when-“

Sweetie Belle forcibly slipped her hoof away from the orange mare. “Fluttershy is in trouble!!”

Applejack did a double take at that. “Wait. What?”

"Fluttershy! She’s in trouble, Applejack! These weird shadow creatures surrounded her, and they’re attacking her! We need to help, now!”

Applejack’s eyes widened in alarm as Sweetie Belle’s words sank in. "Shadow creatures? What in the hay are you talkin' about?"

“I don’t know what they are!” Sweetie Belle cried, her voice trembling. “But Sora’s trying to fight them off, and he needs help! Please, Applejack, we need to hurry!”

“Sora?” Isn’t that the pony this party was thrown for?”

Sweetie Belle nodded.

Applejack’s gaze wavered toward the barn as she spoke. “Sweetie Belle! Go find Twi and the others and tell ‘em what’s going on. She’ll be sure to get the rest together. I’m gonna go on ahead and see what’s goin’ on. Maybe help if I can.” Without waiting for a reply, she sped off, heading in the direction the white unicorn motioned to.

~~~

Fluttershy was at a loss for words. Though, to her credit, words probably wouldn’t have helped her either way. As she hid behind an apple tree, teary eyed teal eyes followed what she could only assume was impossible.

Her savior had twirled his body around in a horizontal slash, the key-like object swiping in an arc at one of the shadows, smacking it across the head without mercy and forcing it into a daze. In the same instance, the one to the left of him flew at him with hooves outstretched, jagged claws forming around the base of them. The stallion acted at the last second, jumping just over the attack and spinning once in the air as it passed under him. The result was the blade of the key relentlessly smacking the attacking shadow upon the back of the head. It added insult to injury when the resulting force caused it to collide into the dazed shadow.

With surprising grace, the stallion landed on the ground on all four hooves, then quickly ducked as another attempt was made to strike at him by the third creature. As the shadow landed and turned to face the boy, it was met with a series of slashes and side swipes across its face. After about the tenth strike, the stallion completely flipped over the shadow. He contorted until his body came out of the flip into a sideways twist. With a loud smack, the key connected to the flank of the shadow, sending it in the direction of the other recovering creatures.

Fluttershy could hardly believe that this random stallion was fighting against all three of those shadow monsters, and, despite the odds against him, he was the one that was on the winning side. With each slash that the monsters lashed out at him, he was quick to either deflect with that giant key or sidestep it completely, and though the monsters’ movements were indiscriminate at best, the stallion kept pace with them without even a blink of an eye.

For a moment, one of the Heartless managed to get a little too close, swiping at Sora with its sharp claws. Fluttershy gasped, thinking the attack had landed, but Sora effortlessly parried the blow, sending the creature reeling back with a swift, powerful strike to its chest. His expression remained focused but calm, as if this was a battle he had fought many times before.

With one final swing of his Keyblade, Sora slashed through the second to last of the Heartless, the creature disintegrating into shadowy mist as it let out a faint hiss. He turned to face the only dark creature there, his head lowering. “Knew I was brought here for a reason.” he frowned. “Just what are you doing here? Did someone send you?” He asked, though he knew it was useless. He knew for a fact that, unless it was an extremely strong heart, normal heartless could not even begin to speak to him.

So he was completely surprised by what happened next.

“K...Ke...y..."

Sora reared back slightly. “W-what…?”

Both monsters took a step back as a grating voice pierced his ears once more.

“B....Bla...deeee....”

He narrowed his eyes as noticed the pair’s slow retreat. “H-Hey...Wait!”

The monsters slowly began to seep into a puddle of darkness, and even then their voice was heard clear as day. "K...Key... Blade...”

By the time the stallion realized it, it was too late. They were trying to get away. Keyblade reappearing in his mouth, he rushed forward in an attempt to seize them. He jumped and aimed the tip of his blade toward the puddles of darkness. Just as he reached the ground, though, the shadows dissipated, causing him to strike at nothing but dirt road.

Sora stood there, staring at the spot where the Heartless had vanished, his mind racing. "They... could talk?" he muttered to himself, still processing what had just happened. He had fought Heartless countless times before, but never had he encountered any that could speak—even in the broken, raspy way those creatures had. It sent a chill down his spine. Talking Heartless meant something different, something bigger, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good sign.

Is it Xemnas? Ansem? Are the Organization here too? Who else could it be? But then… How did they get here? Are they still after me? How did they know I was even here?

He clicked his teeth in frustration at the thought of having to deal with the Organization once again. Riku was the Keyblade master now. Why didn’t they bother him instead?

Why don’t they just go after him and leave me-

His heart panged slightly, a slight pain erupting into its very depths. He reached a hoof toward his chest, gripping his shirt slightly. “No...Stop Sora...I...I don't mean...that...”

His silent ramblings were cut off at the sound of someone approaching. Just as he turned, he was barely able to register the warmth of the body as yellow wrapped around his neck as he was pulled into a tight hug. A neatly styled but slightly frazzled pink mane hid most of her face from his view. Despite that he could feel his neck fur dampening from heated water as the mare that held him cried on his shoulder. Sora could only hover his hooves over her, not really knowing what he should do or how he should do it. He had never dealt with a crying girl before. That was always Riku’s department.

“U-Uh…” he stammered, his hooves awkwardly hovering in the air as he tried to figure out how to respond. “I… uh… It’s okay?”

He winced at his own clumsy words. Riku always knew what to say, he thought. But he wasn’t Riku, and now he was stuck trying to comfort someone clearly shaken by the ordeal they had just gone through.

Tentatively, Sora placed one of his hooves on Fluttershy’s back, patting her gently. “Hey… it’s okay now. You’re safe.”

She pulled away from him for a bit so that he could see her face. Tears streamed down her delicate features, causing the stallion to become rigid at the sight.

“I… I’m so glad you’re alright…” she said in between sobs. “I was so scared and… and…” Her sobs returned, a bit stronger than before, and she buried her face into his chest. The young stallion scratched his cheek with a hoof as he looked off to the side, surprised to see two of the three fillies that had been with him earlier. The yellow one, red-faced with furrowed brow, and the orange one, her mane messed up slightly and her face contorted in a look of total amazement, were both watching the exchange between him and the mare. For some reason, that made the poor boy blush a deeper shade of red.

“Fluttershy!” A new voice rang out, her accent heavy with southern drawl. “What’s goin’ on? Is everything alright?”

All eyes turned to find an orange pony with a stetson standing a ways off, slightly out of breath. The yellow pegasus sniffed as she let Sora go, and, after mouthing thank you, she quickly turned to the new pony and rushed toward her, wrapping her hooves around her in a tight embrace. The freckled orange mare was surprised at first, but then placed a hoof on the back of the other’s head, patting it gently.

Sora smiled as well at the exchange before turning away. He placed a hoof on his keyblade and furrowed his brow slightly. At least he knew the reason he was here now.

~

This is not good… not good at all…

A pony, completely covered in a dark tattered cloak, stood behind a tree, completely out of sight from everypony present. Even under their hood, an aura of hate could be seen radiating off their body. A hoof stomped once; twice; three times in frustration at the turn of events. It was clear that nothing went according to plan, and, at the sight of four other ponies converging upon the little gathering, the cloaked pony felt that a counterattack would be ill-suited. It was time to take their leave. Before they did, however, the figure’s sharp eyes stared straight at the purple unicorn pony approaching with a few others not far behind and glared.

“Your friend got lucky, Twilight.” The voice, clearly female, was sharp and spiteful. “Very, very lucky…” Her gaze fell upon the stallion. “For an actual keybearer to be here… now of all times…” She spat on the ground. “Master will not like this. Not. One. Bit.”

A black portal opened behind her and she slowly entered into it, allowing it to swallow her up before disappearing completely.