Kingdom Hearts: Keys of Equestria

Chapter XXII: The Beginning of The End, Part I

Perspective: Sora

"The name`s Axel. Got it memorized?"

Two Months Later

I was sitting at home reading a book, when a series of knocks erupted from my door. Still in pegasus form, I walked over to the door & opened it, revealing Twilight standing there with a look of shock on her face & a large book in her magic.

"Twilight?"

"No time! Is Riku here?"

Before I could answer, Riku came bolting down the stairs, Keyblade in hand.

"What`s going on!? I heard someone calling for me!"

Twilight looked at the two of us, her expression turning grim.

"Sora, Riku, Discord is back."

This shocked both of us, but Riku was the first to speak.

"Discord? I thought he was imprisioned!"

"Well, somehow the seal on him was broken, but it wasn`t done by a pony. It was done by some other being."

I finally realized what had happened.

"Xemnas! He wanted to find the most powerful Nobodies possible, & what could make a more powerful Nobody than the god of chaos?"

Twilight began to think about this quite a bit, coming to a conclusion.

"Looks like weve got a Nobody to stop! Ill gather the girls. You two find Trixie. We meet back at the library ASAP. Got it memorized?"

Did she just...

No, I never told her about Axel.

"Alright! Riku, let`s go!"

I drew my Keyblade, changed into alicorn form, & flew out the door, Riku running beside me.

Quite luckily, Trixie was right in the middle of the market, a bag of assorted vegetables draped over her flank. I shouted at the top of my lungs to catch her attention.

"Trixie!"

Trixie ran towards me, dropping her bags in the process.

"What`s going on here!?"

"Discord is back. So is Xemnas, & we need the Elements & our Keyblades."

"Alright."

I began to cast another spell, & we were back at the library. Twilight came galloping down the road, the Elements trailing behind her. The moment she stopped, me & the other three unicorns in the group combined our magic to teleport ourselves to Canterlot.

We arrived in the castle gardens, but it was very different. The usually bright, beautiful flowers were now displaying muted colorations, & looked as if they were on the verge of death. There were numerous storm clouds gathered overhead, completely blocking the sun. Lightning began to fall from the sky, & a devious laugh came with it. Finally, the source of the noise appeared to us; what looked like a mish-mosh of parts from various animals with the head of a pony. Standing next to him was an unusual sight. A pale grey unicorn with a light blue mane stood beside Discord, cloaked in black. A large X shaped scar covered the front of his face. I recognized the figure instantly, & made my discovery known.

"Sai`x! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, not much. Mainly, Xemnas sent me to keep an eye on Discord while he got rid of you all. But if you wish, I could play a more... active role."

Trixie, Riku & I summoned our Keyblades, preparing to fight Saix. He levitated his claymore into the air, taking on an aggressive stance. Twilight & the others stepped back, & the three of us charged. I knew the specific tactics for battling Saix, & so did Riku, so I decided to brief Trixie on the strategy.

"Trixie, remember that skill I taught you yesterday? Use it when I tell you to, & get out of his way when I say so. Got it?"

"Yes."

My Kingdom Key & Royal Commoner became wrapped in a familiar yellow aura as I brought them down on Saixs head. An cloud of lightning bolts exploded from my Keyblades as I jumped away, giving Riku a chance to attack. He dashed forward & began slashing wildly, causing a decent amount of damage. He back-flipped away, & finished the attack with a Dark Firagablitz, sending a cloud of dark fireballs into the air as they spread out, spinning around Saix like a tornado, & converging on his position, creating a massive explosion. Saix emerged from the explosion mostly intact, levitating his claymore in the air. His mane became extremely disheveled, & I could see a pair of fangs sticking out of his mouth.

"Trixie! Riku! Get out of the way!"

They ran, & Sai`x flew towards me, swinging his claymore at the ground, causing a large shockwave to erupt with each strike. I blocked one of his attacks with my Keyblades & spun, knocking him back.

"Trixie, now!"

Trixie ran forward, levitating her Keyblades & pierced Saixs chest with one as it erupted in flames, creating a blast of fire that knocked him away. She moved again, doing the exact same with her other Keyblade, except this time, it exploded into shards of ice. She began dashing after Sai`x repeatedly, performing the same two attacks over & over again. Trixie disappeared, teleporting behind him & swinging her Keyblades in a horizontal arc, knocking the Nobody right at me.

With one final shout, I finished the battle.

"Final Blitzaga!"

How I did it in alicorn form, I have no idea, but somehow I was able to go into Final Form without being in my human body. My coat had turned from its normal tan color to an almost blindingly bright white, & my mane was now flat black, but with the same style. I also noticed that my magic aura was now dark blue instead of green. My Keyblades disappeared, & I summoned two new ones: Ultima Weapon & Two Become One. I flew towards Saix & began slashing at him to no end, my Keyblades radiating pure rage. I wanted to destroy Organization XIII with a passion, & the hope that I could do it gave me a borderline primordial power, one that would triumph over all others, no matter what. For the final strike, I buried my Keyblades in Saixs chest, causing a gigantic wave of energy to wash over the area, bathing it in white light. I flew into the air, his body still attached to my Keyblades & spun, throwing Saix to the ground. The light began to drain from around me as it poured into my body. I dove straight at the ground with hundreds of light orbs spinning around me & landed right on top of Saix, lancing through him with my Keyblades & creating another explosion, except this one was less like a grenade & more like a miniature nuke. Before he disintegrated, Saix gave me his final words.

"You may have defeated me, but you will be quite surprised by Discord`s new... powers."

"What do you mean?"

"Xemnas has a plan to possess Discord & use his godly powers to destroy everything by destroying one."

"One what?"

"He will not just corrupt the heart of this world, but the heart of all worlds."

Sai`x disappeared, & I looked to Riku, both of us knowing what he meant. Before either of us could say anything, Twilight decided to make her confusion known.

"Sora, what did he mean by the heart of all worlds?"

"Remember when I told you about our first journey, & how we fought Ansem? Ansem wanted to use the power of Kingdom Hearts to gain supremity over everything. Xemnas, however, is going to destroy Kingdom Hearts, which will cause everything in existence to disappear. Including us."

A massive gasp erupted from the seven mares with this news. Twilight wasn`t done with her questioning, however.

"Now, how were you able to use your forms as a pony? Don`t you have to be human to do that?"

"I have absolutely no idea, but-"

Before I could finish talking, my body started glowing once again, & this time I didn`t have a new Keyblade, but a new companion lying in the grass in front of me: a light grey alicorn stallion with a golden mane that swept over part of his face. His cutie mark was the Oathkeeper & Oblivion Keyblades crossed over a Nobody sigil.

"Sora? By Yen Sid`s beard, what just happened?"

"Roxas!? What are you doing here!? More importantly, how are you here in the first place, & how are you a pony?"

"I can explain, but at the same time, I cant. You see, there was a Nobody that didnt look like any I had seen before. It looked like parts from a bunch of different animals mixed together in the form of a Nobody."

Twilight came to a conclusion, & decided to give us the information.

"That must have been Discords Nobody! I knew that he looked different just now. That wasnt Discord, it was his Heartless! Roxas, did you actually defeat it?"

"No. It was too powerful. It used some kind of magic that sent me through the very fabric of Sora`s heart & brought me here."

"So, where`s the Nobody now?"

"I dont know. It just popped up in the Dive To The Heart. I knew I shouldnt have been there, because I already went through the normal Dive once, & when Sora first got here, we both went through a modified Dive. Almost like the Equestrian equivalent of it. I went through the Equestrian Dive again, & instead of a Twilight Thorn, I fought Discord`s Nobody. This one could talk, though. It said something about his "master" corrupting "the grand heart". Sora, was he talking about Kingdom Hearts?"

"Yeah, & his master is Xemnas. I know whats going to happen. Theyre going to use a powerful dark magic to corrupt Kingdom Hearts & turn it into the center of the new Realm of Darkness. We need to stop them before they can get there, & its going to take a lot of magic, so well need every unicorn we can get to help us. Roxas, come with me. We`ve got a posse to round up!"

Rainbow Dash stepped forward, obviously not okay with this plan.

"& what are we going to do? Just sit here twiddling our hooves while you go & get every bit of magic in Equestria? I don`t think so!"

"You didnt let me finish, Rainbow. I have an idea. Everypony listen up. Each of you will be going somewhere specific in teams of two to get any unicorns you can find. Rarity & Riku, youll be checking out Ponyville & Fillysberg. Make sure you go together. Trixie & Fluttershy, you go to Manehattan & Fillydelphia. Applejack & Pinkie, you two go to Las Pegasus & Mexicolt. Rainbow & Twilight, you guys head to Canterlot. Roxas & I are going to the Crystal Empire. Got it memorized?"

The mares & Riku all gave a nod, while Roxas looked at me, very confused.

"Something wrong, Roxas?"

"Yeah. What`s the Crystal Empire?"

"Youll know it when you see it. Lets go!"

We all split into our groups, & headed to our destinations. I decided to teleport us both to the Empire & save plenty of time. We landed right in the middle of a courtyard, almost landing on top of a crystal pegasus stallion with an electric blue mane.

"Sora, why didn`t you tell me before you did that?"

"Sorry, I was trying to get here quickly. Either way, welcome to the Crystal Empire!"

As I spoke, I waved a hoof around the area, giving Roxas a good view.

"Now, lets go. Theres somepony I want you to meet."

The two of us walked off towards a massive structure in the distance.

We arrived at the castle in just a few minutes, since I had quickly taught Roxas about flight. A pair of crystal unicorns stood guard in front of the door, one mare & one stallion. The mare`s coat was a pale green, & her mane was of a color that was just between blue & purple. The stallion looked almost the same, but with a light blue mane. I assumed that they were related somehow. The mare stepped forward to address us, & I noticed that her cutie mark was a pair of spears crossed over a light purple star.

"State your names & business."

"My name is Sora. Im pretty sure youve heard of me. & this is Roxas. Hes... my brother. Were here for an audience with the prince & princess."

She moved over to the side, giving us an opportunity to go inside. We entered the castle, & I noticed that Roxas was absolutely shocked by the architecture, his jaw dropping to the floor.

"Close your mouth Roxas, you`ll swallow a fly."

"Oh, right. Is this all naturally forming? It`s amazing!"

"I have absolutely no idea. I guess I never thought to ask about it. You can get the information from the princess herself in a second, though."

"For real? This place has a princess too? I thought Celestia & Luna ruled all of Equestria."

"Yes, but technically the Crystal Empire isnt part of Equestria, so Celestias niece is the princess here. Even more unusual, Twilight`s brother is the prince!"

"Really? I don`t know why, but I kind of felt like I knew that already."

"Well, you are my Nobody, so naturally you have all of my memories."

"Makes sense."

We came to a door marked with a gigantic crystal heart, & I knocked at the door. A moment later, it was covered in an aura of magic & opened. At the end of the room, Cadance & Shining Armor stood talking to each other. Cadance noticed me, & came running. We had developed quite a friendship, one almost as strong as the one she shared with Twilight.

"Sora! I haven`t seen you in forever!"

"I just came here three weeks ago, Cay."

"First of all, you know I hate it when you call me that. Second of all, when youre immortal, time becomes irrelevant. Whos your friend?"

"Well, thats a bit of a long story. You remember when I told you about Nobodies & Heartless? Well, this is Roxas. Hes my Nobody."

"Oh. Wait, I thought Nobodies didn`t come into existence until after their original selves die."

"Roxas is kind of a special case. We`ve coexisted a couple times before, but this is the first time we knew that the other was still around."

Shining Armor trotted over leisurely, slightly confused by Roxas, but still happy to see me.

"Hey Sora! & you are?"

"Roxas."

"Shining Armor."

Roxas held out a hoof, which Shining bumped his against instead of shaking it. He seemed much more... casual than he was the first time I met him. I decided that we shouldn`t stay here any longer than we had to.

"Cadance, Shining, I have a request for you."

Cadance looked at me, her expression turning sincere.

"Sora, youre one of my best friends. Ill do anything for you."

"I need you to gather up every unicorn in the Crystal Empire. Theres some serious trouble, & we need every bit of magic we can possibly get. Ive got Riku & the girls all over Equestria looking for unicorns."

"Alright. I`ll see what I can do. Any certain place you want them to go?"

"Yeah. I need them right here. Not in the castle, of course."

"I know what you meant."

Cadance & Shining Armor walked out onto a balcony, & Shining Armors horn began to glow, obviously casting a voice amplication spell. An entire courtyard of crystal ponies stopped what they were doing as the listened to Cadances address.

"My citizens! I ask something extremely important of you!"

She motioned to me with a wave of her tail, & I came out to stand next to her.

"This is Sora. I`m sure that you have heard of him already. He requires your assistance."

Shining`s magic aura began to cover me as well, amplifying my speech too.

"Yes. I have a mission of the utmost importance. I need every, & I mean every unicorn in the crystal empire to gather right here in this courtyard. Upon your arrival, I will tell you what has to be done."

The citizens began to scatter, all of the unicorns moving into a tight group.

"Cadance, is that really every unicorn?"

"I`m sorry, but yes. The Crystal Empire is mainly populated by earth ponies."

"It`s fine. This should be just enough, especially with the other groups."

"What groups?"

"Ive got Riku & the girls scoping out every major city in Equestria: Canterlot, Las Pegasus, Mexicolt, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Ponyville & Fillysberg. Theyre going to get every unicorn in the cities gathered into one place."

Shining Armor stepped forward to question me.

"Sora, might I ask what you need this done for?"

"Alright Ill tell you. But please, dont let the citizens know just yet. Discord is back. So is Xemnas, & theyre working together to corrupt Kingdom Hearts from the inside out, destroying all of existence. Discord has no idea of whats going to happen, & Xemnas is planning to posess him & use his godly powers to finish the job. That`s why we need this much magic, so that we can open the door to Kingdom Hearts & get there first, giving us a chance to come up with a way to stop them once & for all."

"Oh. My. Goddesses. Is there any way we can help?"

"Maybe. We`ll have to see if we can even open the door period first."

"Wait, so youre not even sure if thisll work?"

"For the record, I know that we can make the door appear, but I dont know if we can open it. The last time, it took the combined power of three Keyblade Masters to open it. Here in Equestria, we have the Elements of Harmony & three Keyblade wielders, but only two of us are masters. Im not sure if we have enough power. We might with the Elements, but who knows if they even have an effect on Kingdom Hearts!"

Before I could say anything else, seven massive glows erupted in the distance.

"Looks like the other groups are ready. I`ll be back."

My horn began to glow with its familiar dark green aura, & in a second, I had used my magic to turn me & Roxas back into our human forms.

"Come on, Roxas. We`ve got a door to open!"

The two of us ran to the balcony & jumped. Before I could hit the ground, I activated my Superglide, flying towards the large platform in front of us. Roxas however, simply ran at an equal speed. We made it in a matter of seconds.

"Citizens of the Crystal Empire! I`m here to tell you exactly what I need you for!"

Roxas & I drew our Keyblades, him summoning Oathkeeper & Ultima Weapon, & me summoning Two Become One & Oblivion.

"Now, I need all of you to focus every bit of magic energy you can muster into our Keyblades! I`ll signal when you can stop!"

A massive number of different magic auras appeared in the crowd, each firing a beam of energy that connected with our Keyblades, which began to glow with every color of the rainbow & more, to the point that they became painful to look at & hold.

"STOP!"

The lights dissipated, & we both held our Keyblades to the sky as a massive orb of multicolored light formed at the tip of each one. An orb formed over top of the seven lights in the distance, & they all converged on each other, forming into the shape of a giant keyhole, which an even larger door materialized around.

"Alright Roxas, let`s-"

My sentence was interrupted when the door changed from its pristine white color to flat black. Two large arms reached through the keyhole, pulling their body out. I turned to the crowd, yelling at the top of my lungs.

"Everypony run! Get out of here!"

The crowd began to scatter, leaving nobody but us facing down a Darkside.

"Roxas! Can you hold this thing off for about thirty seconds?"

"Sora, I fought Discord`s Nobody for three days straight. Of course I can handle a Darkside for less than a minute!"

"Alright."

My Keyblades disappeared as I changed into alicorn form & flew at the highest speed possible, straight into the throne room. Cadance & Shining Armor were standing at the balcony, watching in fear as Roxas fought the Darkside.

"Cadance, Shining! I need you guys to help us!"

Shining Armor stepped forward, a look of borderline anger forming on his face.

"Oh yeah? & what use are we!? I thought you said that Heartless & Nobodies could only be harmed by the Keyblade! We`ll get slaughtered out there!"

"Thats the thing. You both have unimaginably strong hearts, & those with strong hearts are normally able to use the Keyblade. You see where Im going with this?"

"Okay. Cadance, let`s go!"

Cadance ran forward, & the three of us jumped off the balcony once again. I was a bit worried about what would happen to Shining Armor, but he simply made four large dents in the ground with his hooves, landing unscathed.

"Okay you two, Ive got a plan. Shining Armor, you try & see what you can do with your magic. Focus on elemental magic. Cadance, you come with me. Ill need your help with this part."

We all split, Cadance & I heading to Roxasposition. He was trying to hold back the Darksides hulking fist with his Oathkeeper. He swung his Ultima Weapon to the side, cutting right through the Heartlesswrist & causing the hand to disintegrate. I looked over, & noticed that Shining Armor was charging a powerful spell. A large fireball flew out of his horn, exploding against the Darksides head. He immediately began charging another spell, not giving the Heartless a chance to recover. Roxas was locked in combat once again, using his Keyblades to block a series of massive punches from the Darkside. He rolled to one side, causing the Heartless to bury its fist in the ground. He jumped on top of the Darksides arm, running up to its head & beginning his attack, which I wouldve missed if it werent for my quick-moving vision. I saw him jump into the air, burying his Oathkeeper in its head, & slashing wildly at its face with his Ultima Weapon. He finally released his Oathkeeper & fell onto the Darksides shoulder, then spun furiously, removing half of its neck. Roxas once again fell to the ground, landing right in front of us.

"Sora, you got a plan?"

"Yep. First, I need you to touch one of your Keyblades to Cadance`s horn. If everything goes right, she should be able to wield a Keyblade of her own."

"Alright."

Roxas lifted his Ultima Weapon, crossing it over her horn.

"Now, both of you pour your combined magic energy into the Keyblade."

RoxasKeyblade began to glow with an aura that was somewhere in between a combination of blue & turquoise, becoming extremely bright, but not comparable to the glow from the entire crowd of unicorns. The light spread, now covering Cadances body.

"Now, stop."

The light around the Keyblade dissipated, but Cadance was now emitting one of her own. Instead of her normal turquoise magic energy, this was an almost silverish color. In a flash, the light cut out, leaving Cadance laying on her stomach, a familiar weapon lodged in the ground beside her. Her Keyblade was an unusual design. The guard was shaped like half of a keyhole, & colored a light pink, just like her coat. The shaft was shaped almost like a lightning bolt, with a gold coloration. The 'teeth', if you could call it that, was a large heart perched at the top of the shaft, surrounded by three more; the center one was almost fiery red, & the ones on the left, right & top were entirely clear. The Keychain was half of her cutie mark. Roxas had gone back to fighting the Darkside, as well as a Behemoth that had found its way through the door. I knew that him & Shining Armor couldnt take on a pair of Heartless that powerful, but I couldnt leave Cadance here. She was too vulnerable where she was. I stepped forward, & nudged her slightly with a hoof.

"Cadance. Cadance."

Her eyelids fluttered open for a brief moment, & she began to stand up. She levitated her Keyblade into the air, moving into a combative stance.

"So, are we just going to sit here, or are we going to help them?"

To answer her question, I drew two different Keyblades, Fatal Crest & Bond of Flame, & changed into Master Form. I now had a yellow coat, a black mane, & a cutie mark of a black star. I turned to Cadance, nodded to her, & flew off. She followed me, her Keyblade still floating next to her.

"Cadance, listen. Me & you are going to take the Behemoth."

I motioned towards the massive quadrupedal Heartless to emphasize.

"This one is extremely powerful, but its attacks are pretty repetitive & easy to predict. Make sure you attack its horn & nowhere else. Lastly, when one of us deals the final blow, itll use one last attack. Its entire body will start to spark, then after a few seconds of charging, itll summon a massive storm of lightning bolts that follow their target until they either hit it or hit something else. Ill tell you when its about to happen, but the only one that can avoid it is you. Got it?"

"Yeah. Let`s go."

I began flapping my wings even harder, building up speed, & cut straight through the Behemoths horn with my Fatal Crest. It wasnt completely dislodged, but it almost was.

"Cadance! Attack now!"

Cadance flew past the Behemoth, slashing at its horn repeatedly, then spun around its head & fell downward like a rock, splitting the horn in half with her Keyblade. The Behemoth started to crouch, & thrust its head into the air, causing a series of lightning bolts to rain down in a circle about sixty feet around. Cadance was struck directly by three bolts, & began falling towards the ground. Luckily, Master Form gave me a large speed boost, so I was able to fly underneath her before she hit the ground. I levitated my Bond of Flame right above Cadance`s head, & shouted a single word.

"Heal!"

A set of bells rang above her head, signaling a successful Curaga spell.

"Sora? What happened?"

"You almost finished off the Behemoth, but you got hit by its lightning bolts. You almost hit the ground, but I caught you jst in time."

Cadance leaned down, wrapping her forelegs around my neck & nuzzling me affectionately.

"Sora, you saved my life! Thank you."

"Eh, it was nothing. I was trying to avoid them myself. Now let`s finish this!"

She began to fly beside me, & we prepared to deal the last blow. The two of us split, flying towards the Behemoths horn from different directions, & cut through it simultaneously, causing the Heartless to cry out in agony, summoning another swarm of lightning bolts. We were already out of its range though, so the attack was pointless. The Behemoth let out one final shriek before it exploded, leaving behind a giant multicolored heart that started to float into the air. I went back into normal form & turned to Roxas & Shining Armor, who had nearly defeated the Darkside, & noticed that Shining Armors magic reserves were nearly empty. I pulled an Ether out of Sid-knows-where, & tossed it to him. He fired one last ice shard at the Heartless` chest at the same time that Roxas jumped into the air & threw both of his Keyblades in a circular arc, decapitating it. The door turned back to its original white color, & I stepped forward.

"Roxas, Cadance, now."

The two of them stepped forward as we all raised our Keyblades to the door, & a large beam of light shot from each one & into the Keyhole. A large clank could be heard as the Keyhole was partially unlocked. I turned around, & gave the others the next stage of our plan.

"Alright guys, this is it. Were almost to Kingdom Hearts. Heres what we need to do. We all have to split up & find the girls & Riku. Ill go get Twilight & Rainbow Dash from Canterlot. Roxas, you get Applejack & Pinkie Pie in Las Pegasus & Mexicolt. Cadance, youre going to find Trixie & Fluttershy in Manehattan & Fillydelphia. Lastly, Shining Armor, you`ll be getting Rarity & Riku from Ponyville & Fillysberg. When you get them, come back here immediately."

Roxas asked me what was basically his only question.

"Do any of you have a map or something? I`ve only been in Equestria myself for about seven hours."

Cadance`s horn began to glow quite brightly, & a large piece of paper materialized in front of Roxas.

"Heres a detailed map of Equestria. You wont be able to miss where you`re going. The cities are marked more noticibly than the others."

"Thanks!"

Before we split, I turned to Shining Armor, stopping him.

"Wait!"

"Sora?"

"Before you go, there`s something I need to do. Step over here, & crouch down just a bit."

He walked forward, & I realized just how much taller than me he was. I placed my Oblivion against his horn, focusing a large amount of energy into it. Like before, the light emanating from the Keyblade flashed brightly before dissipating, leaving Shining Armor levitating his Keyblade in the air. The guard was shaped almost exactly like an upside-down keyhole, with a pristine white color. The deep purple shaft ended in a strange divot, with lines running across it, & the teeth were made from a sideways version of his cutie mark. The Keychain was designed identically to the teeth, only vertical.

"A Keyblade? Nice." His expression was one of both surprise & admiration.

"Well, looks like everythings fine. Lets get out of here."

The four of us all split up into different directions. I headed south on hoof, since Canterlot was only a few miles from here & flying would just be a waste of energy.