Embrace your Destinyby Ocelot the DevilChaptersChapter 1 - Definitely not in Kansas...Chapter 2 - The Savior Explains.Chapter 3 - Calm before the Storm!Chapter 4 - Everything is NOT okay!Chapter 5 - It's Party TIME!Chapter 6 - Mama Sun vs The DarknessChapter 7 - Interview with the Element of MagicChapter 8 - Source of the Problems!Chapter 9 - Don't mess with the Moon Mom!Chapter 10 - The Moon MomChapter 11 - We're gonna have to tough you up a bit, Kairi!Chapter 12 - Training, Training... and More Training! Also, Fluttershy is here again!Chapter 13 - The Dual KeysChapter 14 – An Investigation Begins…Chapter 15 - The Key to Origins: My RSmall Hiatus - Nothing to Serious.Chapter 1 - Definitely not in Kansas...Ugh… my damn head… what the hell happened last night? Weird… but for some reason I can’t remember anything… my memory feels like a big blur. And if that wasn’t bad enough… my eyes are closed and can’t open them. There were so many questions running through my mind right now – why can’t I remember anything? Where am I exactly and how did I get here? Also… WHY CAN’T I OPEN MY EYES!? Everything is complete darkness!!! Just then, I felt a huge gust wind crashing into my body… Ugh… someone turn on the radiator… I can’t stand the cold! God, I hope I haven’t ended up in a frozen wasteland somewhere… Huh…? My eyes… they’re opening slowly… I can feel the light pouring through them… now to find out where I am… ouch! Someone is giving me a hard-glowing glare… I blocked it in time with my hand. With a soft groan, I slowly sat up… my head still hurts but at least I can get up… unfortunately, my memory is still a bit fuzzy. After rubbing both the eyes and back of my head, I took a look around the place where I was: I was in a forest of some kind… no doubt filled with all kinds of dangerous creatures that could chomp or kill me. Also, before I came to… I realized that I was lying in grass. Just… where am I exactly? Better yet… who am I? Why can’t I remember anything… ugh, this is so damn stupid! With a frustrated sigh, I laid back onto ground and waited for… anything at this point. “This is so freaking stupid…” I immediately froze as my eyes widened in shock… sitting up quickly, I shook my head – that’s definitely not my normal voice! For some reason, it feels very familiar though… but how…? No, no… can’t stay here… have to find answers and fast… I got up and started to look arou- Wait… what are those things on my left hand? Bracelets… I don’t usually wear bracelets unless its for a special occasion. Where did they come from and why did they look familiar…? Another gust of wind crashed into my body and made me shake. “Brrgh… someone turn on the damn heat…” Ask and you shall receive as the sun heated my body up pretty quickly… guess that’s where the glaring came from when my eyes were blinded up. Anyways, back to searching for answer… I started to walk forward… anywhere better than this forest… maybe I can find a town and ask the locals where the hell I am. Just hope they’re friendly with me… Wait… what was that…? I stopped and turned around to see what that rustling noise is… the bushes are twitching… something is definitely hiding in there. Looking down at the ground, I tried my best to find some kind of weapon like a rock or stick but no such luck. Great, I’m doomed. The thing in question that came out of the rustling bushes was something that I didn’t expect at all: Wolves completely made out of wood!? I mean I expected dangerous animals like tigers or lions but wooden wolves? That definitely beats up my fanfiction… in a literal sense. In any event, there were two/three wooden wolves and they were growling at me – no doubt due to them seeing me as a threat. What was worst was I couldn’t find any weapons at all to defend myself. I’m definitely in trouble… The wolves charged at me as I immediately ran away… need to find civilization and fast! I don’t care who or what… just so long as I get away from those wolves! I ran and ran but the wolves were catching up to me… need to get out of this forest now… I have to- Oof! I was so busy telling myself to run that I didn’t see where I was going and accidentally tripped on a rock and crashed forward onto the grass. Raising my head, I flipped myself around and saw that I accidentally sprayed my lower left ankle. There was a small wound with blood pouring out of it… not gonna lie, it hurts very bad. Also, guess who arrived – the damn wooden wolves! I’m in big trouble and no doubt going to die. Screw my life completely… The wolves were growling and slowly approaching me while I was searching for any weapons to defend myself against their attacks. No such luck! Closing my eyes, I waited for the inevitable as I held my hands up. I just hope they are quick and merciful… “Stay away from her! You all should be ashamed of yourselves!” An unknown voice spoke. Who was that…? I didn’t recognize that voice at all… it’s female… but I don’t know who it is. Opening my eyes slowly and lowering my hands, I saw the most bizarre thing: A yellow Pegasus with pink hair and a tattoo of three butterflies on her butt was standing in front of me and yelling at the wooden wolves. I can’t believe that she was risking her life to protect me even though I’m just a stranger to her. The yelling didn’t seem to affect the wolves at all… in fact, from the looks of things they were getting angrier that they weren’t allowed to reach their pray (me). The pegasus didn’t care and remained where she was. “If you Timberwolves know what is good for you, you’ll leave the poor dear alone and go back from where you came from!” The pegasus demanded as I gave a mental chuckle to myself. Timberwolves? Seriously… that’s their name? What a weird name… then again, I guess its better than wooden wolves. Speaking of the wolves, they growled and prepared to charge as I closed my eyes in waiting for the fate that was to befall me… I also felt remorse for the little pegasus that was going to be killed simply because she wanted to stop the wolves from killing me. I just wish I had a chance to find out who or where I am exactly… And so I waited… and waited… but it never came. What…? Aren’t I supposed to be getting ripped to shreds by now along with the pegasus that was defending me? Where are the screams of pain and horror? Opening my eyes slowly, I couldn’t help but gasp in shock – the pegasus was leaning extremely close to the Timberwolves and giving them some kind of scary stare. They went from angry and growling to pathetic and cowardly. What the hell…? “Now you listen here! I told you to leave her alone! Why haven’t you fled yet? You three should be ashamed of yourselves! I want you to go away and never bother this young lady again! Do you hear me?” The pegasus asked but the wolves continued to shake in fear without giving an answer. She leaned a little closer to their face and asked once more. “Do… you… hear… me!?” All three Timberwolves nodded in fear before taking off in another direction as the pegasus yelled at them for what was probably the last time. “And don’t you ever do such a bad thing again!” I couldn’t believe what just happened – waking up in an unknown forest only to get threatened by a bunch of wooden wolves and then a pegasus comes to save my life. Funny how fate sometimes works… Getting up, I was about to go and thank my savior when my vision began to get blurry due to the blood loss from my ankle wound. The pegasus turned around and her eyes immediately widened when she saw my sprayed ankle. “Oh, my! You poor thing… we need to get you some medical- a-are you okay…?” The pegasus asked me as I began to waver for a little bit before I stumbled forward much to my savior’s shock. “Oh, no!” She screamed with tears in her eyes just as my eyes were beginning to close. The last thing that I saw with my blurry vision was her rushing forward to check up on me just as my eyes closed completely. My body shut down completely as I went into an unconscious state. Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. Chapter 2 - The Savior Explains.“I’ll be sure to pick you up at eight… stay out of trouble, kay? Love you, Mi--!” “My, my – I never thought that I would see a cosplay of Kairi at a Kingdom Hearts convention – it’s so rare to see one… usually we mostly see a Sora or Riku one… but you being Kairi is a first, young lady…” “Indeed it is – a complete replica of Destiny’s Embrace – I guarantee you that your eyes don’t lie… and the best part is very cheap – only for 5 dollars. Do you wish to wield it?” “Pleasure doing business, young miss! Enjoy your purchase… it definitely is worth it.” “Miss, are you alright?” “Someone get a doctor! We have a fallen girl!” “Miss!” “MISS! WAKE UP!” “MISS! MISS!” “WAKE UP!!!” “WAKE UP!!!” “WAKE UP!!!!!!” My eyes snapped opened completely as I sat up with sweat covering my entire face. Wiping it away, I took a look around and realized that I was in somekind of house – a cottage maybe? Weird… How did I get here and whose voices were those? Rubbing the back of my head, I wondered what the hell was- Now I remember… I woke up in somekind of forest, wooden-like wolf creatures attempted to attack only to be stopped by a mysterious yellow pegasus… and then I ended up being unconscious. Alright, so we’ve solved the mystery of what happened… yet more questions remain in my mind – where am I and whose voices were those? From the looks of things, the pegasus or anyone could have brought me to this house (might be hers) – who knows? Now for the voices… who exactly where they and why did they seem so familiar? I know I’ve heard them before but… I can’t really remember where… my memories are still on the fritz. Hmmm… I wonder if there’s anything around to make me remember even though it’s a one to a million chance. Standing up more and removing the blanket that was covering my body on a couch that I was resting (make a mental note to thank whoever cover me after bringing me), I got off and stretched myself… right, now let’s see where I am exactly. Walking around, I began to see that this placed look like something resembling a pet veterinarian or a zoo (mainly due to me seeing birdhouses and mouseholes) – what a strange way for someone to be living like this… must be an animal lover or something. Won’t complain though… From the looks of things, there was ordinary furniture like a fireplace or bookcase but like I said – no complains whatsoever. I had to admit – it was unique. Combining an animal-like habitat with an ordinary house-like was very interesting… wonder if I should do anything like that one day if I get my very own house. I continued to look around for anything out of the ordinary but there was nothing suspicious – books sitting on the cases and not being read; fireplace being calm without any fire whatsoever; pillows resting on different sofas; seeing somekind of red-head in the mirror in front of me; the blanket lying on- Wait… what did I just see!? I rushed over to the mirror and immediately gasped when I saw a reflection of a red-haired teen staring at me. Turning around, I tried searching for her but there was no sign… Weird. Staring at the mirror once again, I made some poses with my hand and to my surprise the reflection did the same… then I came to a shocking discovery: “T-that’s my reflection!” I stated with shock in my voice as I touched my hair and cheeks to confirm – my reflection in the mirror did the same! What was going exactly… and why do I look like someone that seems very familiar to me for some reason? I think I know this girl… but where have I seen her? Hmmm… from the looks of things, my hair was very long with bangs while the color was dark red (auburn, if I’m not mistaken) while my eyes were blue and skin was a pale complexion – honest truth, I feel like play doll yet I won’t judge. As for clothes, they were all pink… pink like a doll: A pink strapless mini-dress made up of three zippers as well as a white halter top underneath with a black hood. The three bracelets that I saw on my left wrist were still there along with a black belt reminiscent of suspenders with a notebook shaped bag attachment and lilac sneakers. Around my neck, I wore a simple necklace with a silver bead – I had to admit that it was a beautiful piece of jewelry… which looked familiar. Not just that, this entire person looked familiar to me. But where…? Is anyone even remotely gonna attempt to help me? “Oh, my! You’re awake, thank goodness!” A familiar voice startled as I jumped up in the air before hiding behind a sofa – when did someone get in here and why didn’t I sense them? “No, no, no! Don’t hide please! I wasn’t trying to scare you – I just wanted to check up and see how you were doing! Please don’t hide… I won’t hurt you.” The familiar voice reassured me yet I felt like not coming out – what if it did something that would hurt me? I stayed behind the sofa for a few more seconds as the voice spoke once more. “Please… I won’t hurt you. I just want to make sure you’re okay… can you come out please? I just need to see if you aren’t hurt or anything like that.” Although, I still had no idea who the voice belonged – it felt so sweet… and motherly. Against my better judgement, I decided to trust it… but was still on guard in case anything bad happened. Raising my head slowly, I spotted the source of the voice which turned out to be the exact same yellow-colored pegasus that saved me from those wooden-like wolves. I arose completely from behind the couch but remained on the offensive – just because the voice was that of a caring mother didn’t mean that I shouldn’t be suspicious. Like the old saying goes ‘never judge a book by its cover’… yet I shouldn’t act rude towards my savior: “H-hello.” I said with a shy tone as I walked away from the couch and closer to her. In the meantime, she just made a small gasp and flapped her wings – she then flew close to much to my surprise. How did she do that? “Oh, you poor thing! You are still scared after those bad mean Timberwolves attacked you for no reason… but don’t worry. I’m here and I’ll make sure you’re healed up to full health.” She assured before hugging me completely which made me feel somewhat embarrassed and weirded out. From her tone, it seems like she was acting like a ‘mom’ towards me even though at this point I kinda of felt embarrassed. A lot if I’m being honest right… I wasn’t that hurt… only just surprised at my situation and my savior especially. I pulled her gently away from me. “It’s alright, I’m not really in any danger or that heavily injured. I’m fine… don’t worry.” She was continuing to fly in the air due to her pegasus nature but still had a worried face. “O-oh… are you sure? I should still check up to make you are feeling okay.” She told me. This pegasus really has the personality of a caring mother – still if it will get her to drop this feeling of insecurity… “Well… alright. I guess it couldn’t hurt… ummm…?” I just realized that I haven’t gotten her name yet. Ugh, I’m such an idiot… “Oh… oh, my – I never got around to introduce… I can be so forgetful sometimes. My name is… F-fluttershy.” She introduced her with a hint of shyness in her tone. Guess she does live up to her name… so innocent yet shy. But close to a caring mother… in a way, it was cute to hear what Fluttershy’s name is. “Nice to meet you, Fluttershy… I’m… ummm… umm…” Great, I still can’t remember what my name is. “Oh, you don’t know what your name is?” Fluttershy asked me as I sighed heavily and responded. “Seems so… I can’t really remember anything before I woke up in that forest earlier.” “Oh, my! That’s terrible… I’m so sorry…” She apologized even though I didn’t blame her at all since it wasn’t her fault that I couldn’t remember my name. Looking down in sadness, I immediately panicked and grinned awkwardly. “No, no, no! It’s not your fault! Don’t be sad… please.” I pleaded but she still look sad. Poor thing… no wonder that Fluttershy has a name so related to shyness… plus she’s extremely caring in that mother-like way… reminds me a lot about my mother… if I can remember a damn thing before waking up in the forest… speaking of that… “Say, Fluttershy… if you don’t mind terribly, would you please answer a couple of my questions?” I asked her. Raising her head slowly, she nodded but with the look of worry still there. “Of course. I don’t mind – anything to help you in this situation. Please, have a seat on my couch.” She offered me as I nodded and sat down on one of the couches. Flapping her wings, she flew a little bit and sat right next to me. “So, what would you like to know?” She asked. First things first, a location. “Fluttershy, can you please tell me where am I and the name of the forest that you found me?” “Oh, course – it’s called the Everfree Forest. But the land you are in right now is called Equestria… we’re very close to Ponyville.” She explained. My mind immediately blocked as I began to process the words that were told to me… let’s see if I get this right: “So… basically I’m here in this ‘Equestria’ which has a town called ‘Ponyville’ and its population is…?” I didn’t need to finish since Fluttershy nodded her head immediately and answered instead of me. “Yes. The population is made of ponies – pegasus, unicorn and earth ponies.” Oh, boy… keeps getting better and better… hopefully the populace is just like dear sweet Fluttershy. At least I found myself in a land filled with ponies so I can count my blessings for that. Alright, let’s see what else we can learn about the ponies living here… “Alright, location and the name of the forest you found me are memorized in my head… now can you please explain more about the local populace?” I asked with a curious expression since I wanted to know more about the place I’m in right now. “Of course… let’s start with the pegasi…” She began to explain to me everything there was to know about the ponies and I immediately memorized the following details: Pegasi had the ability to control the weather, fly and walk on clouds. Some are considered to be very fast; Earth ponies can be considered as workers of sorts – mostly trading, farming, etc.; Unicorns are very important in the land of Equestria – they have the ability to use magic (manipulate objects and whatnot). “…and that covers everything there is to know about the local populace. Did you understand?” She asked me after explaining everything – one word could describe my entire being: impressed. “I think so… so to recap: This is Equestria and the forest you found me is called Everfree. The populace is made of three races which are pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies – all three have their special traits.” Upon explaining it yet again, Fluttershy nodded gently. “Yep. You’ve got it… of course, not everyone in our land cherishes peace and harmony… whenever a person with bad intentions attempts to disturb the ordinary lifestyle in Equestria it falls to myself and my friends to stop him/her – mainly with the Elements of Harmony.” She explained as my mind blocked once again. “Ummm… I’m sorry… the Elements of Harmony? What are those exact?” I asked with the curious trait still there inside me. “The Elements of Harmony are the very artifacts that keep Equestria safe and alive… without them, chaos would arise and who knows what kind of bad guys might threaten the ordinary lives of every pony. I’m one of the ponies that bears an Element of Harmony – Kindness.” She explained as I became impressed a lot. So, the Elements of Harmony are labeled as somekind of peacekeeping weapons that ensure that peace around these parts go on without any disturbing whatsoever… make a mental note to study more on these ‘Elements’ and keep them from falling into the wrong hands. “Memorized everything so far… but you mentioned other friends that also bear other elements, right? Who are they?” I asked as Fluttershy was ready to answer yet again: “My other friends Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity – they represent Magic, Loyalty, Generosity, Honestly and Laughter. Also, I forgot to mention that the Elements are non-lethal and the effects are temporary… but we only use them when someone with bad intentions attempt to disrupt the peace in Equestria. The result is banishment or imprisonment.” She explained. The end result is banishment or imprisonment, huh? Well, at least they aren’t non-lethal… plus only used on people that are bad guys or have chaotic intentions. I’ve memorized the details… everything about the elements. Might have to meet the ponies that embody the rest of the artifacts though… if Fluttershy introduces me sooner or later. “So far, I’ve memorized everything… by the way, about those wooden-like wolves that attempted to do me harm… you called them Timberwolves?” I asked as Fluttershy nodded. “Yes… you are extremely lucky that it was only Timberwolves… if it were any creatures such as a Manticore or Hydra… it would be very bad for you.” She told me but I was confused and a little scared at the creatures she mentioned – what the hell was a Manticore or Hydra? “Ummm… what’s a Hydra or a Manticore?” I asked even though the answer was going to be something that I didn’t want to hear. Fluttershy’s face turned into one of worry as she looked away. “Well, I don’t want to alarm or scare you… but let’s just say that you should really be careful when dealing with a manticore or hydra… both creatures are dangerous if you don’t have an expert to subdue them. In fact, the entire Everfree Forest is filled with creatures you don’t want to be dealing with. Trust me on this…” She told me as I slowly nodded with an uneasy look on my face. “I see… I haven’t really run into any other creatures besides those Timberwolves… but I’ll be extremely careful. Thanks for the warning…” I thanked her as she smiled gently. “Don’t mention it. So, any luck in recovering some of your memories? Anything at all…?” She asked me as I closed my eyes and attempted to think – yet there was nothing… I still couldn’t remember a damn thing. Along with my name and where I can from… The attempting was giving me a headache so I sighed in frustration and rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Nothing, Fluttershy… my memory state is as empty as finished cup.” I explained as Fluttershy rubbed her… hoof? Guess its understandable since she is a pegasus after all. “Hmmm…” The pegasus spoke as she no doubting starting thinking of any good idea for solving the memory situation. A good couple of seconds later along with being quiet and she spoke once more: “Before I came to check up on your, do you remember anything in particular? Like early memories or thoughts…?” Fluttershy had actually suggested a good idea – hmmm… now that she mentions it… “Hmm… I do remember that before I woke up a while ago – I heard a couple of voices in my head: a mysterious woman saying that she’ll pick me up later; a merchant complimenting a costume at some kind of convention; me buying a copy of a toy weapon or something called ‘Destiny’s Embrace’; people yelling at me to wake up…” I explained it to her as Fluttershy went ‘hmm’ once again and became silent. This silence went on for another couple of seconds until my yellow-colored friend spoke once more: “You mentioned buying a toy weapon or something called ‘Destiny’s Embrace’ along with a merchant… you no doubt bought it from him/her… this particular merchant also complimented a costume that you wore… what kind of costume was it exactly?” Fluttershy asked me as I scratched my head and tried to think – hmmm… what kind was it exactly? This form I’ve taken… it looks familiar… but where- “Oh, wait! I remember something else – when he complimented this costume, he told me that it was a well-made cosplay of a girl called… K-kai-something… Ummm…” I stopped speaking as I concentrated in order to guess the name. “Don’t rush, please… take your time.” She assured me as I thankfully nodded for her kind and patient nature. Hmm… Kai-something… Kaichi… nah… Kaity… nope… Kaizi… nada… Kairi? Yeah, that’s it! That’s the name! “Got it… he told me that my well-made cosplay was related to a girl called Kairi… strange thing is that the name feels very familiar to me. Can’t quite put my finger on it though…” I told Fluttershy who just sat there and nodded. “Hmmm… maybe this character that you ‘cosplayed’ as is related to something famous?” Fluttershy suggested as I nodded. “It’s a possibility…” I agreed her – now that I think about it, the name ‘Kairi’ is definitely related to something famous… but why can’t I remember? “Hmmm… say, if the name ‘Kairi’ is stored away in your memories… maybe that’s the name you were born with?” Fluttershy suggested as I crossed my arms and sighed once more. “Truth be told, I don’t have a clue as to why my memories are on the fritz… so in a sense you might have a point – maybe my name is Kairi.” I half-agreed with her theory. “Here’s my suggestion – until you get your memory back along with your true name, why not stick with Kairi? For some reason, the name fits you.” She complimented as I chuckled a little bit. “Dunno… with these clothes, I kind of look like a doll.” I told her but she shook her head and smiled gently. “That’s not true… you don’t like a doll. If anything, you are your own person.” “I guess… thanks Fluttershy.” I thanked her just as my stomach began to growl – when was the last time I had some food? Smiling sheepishly to Fluttershy, I apologized to her. “Sorry…” In response to that, she shook her head: “No need to apologize… I just realized that I never offered you anything to eat. I’m so sorry.” Fluttershy apologized but I raised a hand for her to hold her words. “Don’t worry about it… you don’t mind if I join you, right?” I asked her as she nodded with a smile. “I don’t mind the company. Although, I have to find something that’s safe and edible for you… say, Kairi – what exactly are you? You aren’t a pony… and definitely not a gorilla… No offense.” She apologized. “None taken… I’m a human. It’s very close to a gorilla – the correct term though is ape. Less hair on my body and a lack of craving for bugs. Fruit though… I like.” I explained to my savior who has a look of confusion on her face. “A… human? I’ve never heard or seen that kind of race on Equestria before… O-oh my! You’re like an alien!” She came to the realization before she gasped in shock. I was thinking that she might get scared and then have a heart attack or something so I had to act fast before it was too late. “Somewhat like an alien… but I’m not hostile though! Promise!” I assured her. Her shock was gone as she quickly calmed down and smiled gently. “I know you aren’t. So far you’ve been acting like a kind person… plus, as a close friend of mine said: Never judge a book by its cover.” Fluttershy replied. I nodded at the saying. “Yep… so, shall we-” I stopped speaking as I felt someone jumping up-and-down on my sneakers. Looking down, I saw a small white rabbit glaring at me. What exactly did I do to this little guy? “Angel!” Fluttershy who developed a stern look glared at the little rabbit who was sitting on my sneakers. “Don’t be rude! She’s our guest… can you please not act rude towards her?” She pleaded as the rabbit jumped off my sneaker and climbed onto the table. He examined very close with a serious expression on his face as I looked at Fluttershy with a confused look. “Is this normal for your rabbit?” I asked my savior who just shrugged. Said rabbit was finished examining me before jumping away to who-knows-where. “Was… he examining me to determine if I’m hostile or something?” I questioned my savior – wasn’t mad or anything. Just confused. “Somewhat… Angel is very protective towards me and has this amazing ability of detecting who has good or bad intentions… though at times it can be a little frustrating. Hope you aren’t that mad at him.” I shook my head in response to that sentence. “Nope… just confused.” I answered. At this time, my stomach growled and I sheepishly smiled once more. “Sorry…” “Oh, I never forgot! We should get something to eat – come on, the kitchen is close by.” She told me after getting off the couch. “Right behind you.” I replied as I got off and followed suit. Hopefully a nice meal would be able to help me remember where I came from and how I ended up in Equestria. Plus, who knows… Maybe this little journey won’t be so bad after all… I guess I should just ‘expect the unexpected’. Still, better keep a sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary… Fluttershy might be a kind and caring pony but it doesn’t mean that the rest of Equestria might not be hostile towards me or my future actions. Like the old saying goes: Never judge a book by its cover – We’ll see what happens… (Meanwhile…) “Oh, indeed you will ‘Kairi’ – we will definitely see what your actions in Equestria will be… I look forward to our first meeting Kairi or should I say… Mina.” The figure that spoke these words were a young female that was wearing a mysterious darkish red-purple bodysuit while their entire face was covered by a biker-like helmet with a black visor. The female was currently sitting on a throne somewhere hold up in cave deep within the mountains and was watching Fluttershy and Kairi on somekind of mirror projector. The masked female chuckled as she got from the throne and shut off the projector. Soon, she snapped her fingers as several ant-like creatures arose from the ground – its antennas on their heads twitched whilst their cold yellow eyes held nothing but a search for their preys. Said figure chuckled once more as she took another look at the deactivated mirror. “And now… let the games begins. Let’s see how precious little cosplayer Mina handles a bunch of familiar enemies from her favorite game as Kairi…” Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. Chapter 3 - Calm before the Storm!You know that old saying about ‘Kindness should never be picky’? Well, I’m thinking it inside my mind at this very moment due to the fact that I’m going to be eating a fresh salad with some tomato and cucumbers. Naturally I wanted to find something else to eat… only to realize that I was in a world in which ponies/horses only ate things like hay, grass and vegetables. However, this world was rather… different. In any case, I told myself that I shouldn’t be rude and refuse the gracious meal… plus, it was a salad and humans ate a lot… if I can remember. Actually, when was the last time I had a nice decent meal? Memory is still on the fritz, unfortunately… Right now, I’m currently sitting at the kitchen and waiting for my salad to arrive – it was being made at this very moment by Fluttershy. Though I had not clue if her skills as a chef were 5-star material… but like I said: Don’t judge books by their cover. I didn’t have to wait long from the looks of it since Fluttershy had just arrived holding a two-salad bowls in her hooves whilst flying. Reminds me of waitresses back from where I came from… if I could remember where that is to be honest. “Sorry for the wait, Kairi… had to check and see if the ingredients are fresh. Hope you didn’t mind the tardiness.” Fluttershy apologized but I shook my head and smiled. “Don’t worry about it…” I assured her. She placed the bowl in front me as I took a look inside – fresh salad leaves, tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, etc. - yep, definitely looks like a proper garden salad. Can’t wait to try it. Fluttershy placed hers on the opposite side of the table before realizing something. “Oh, I almost forgot – Kairi, would you like a beverage?” She asked and I nodded – some liquid would do my throat good. “Sure… do you have any peach or cherry juice? I love those flavors.” I told her as she nodded with a gentle smile. “Sure do. Fresh and new due to going out to the market yesterday. Hold on.” She told me before heading to fetch the juice box. Few seconds later, she returned with two cups and a box of cherry juice – surprisingly she was holding said box in her mouth. An amazing feat… there’s definitely more to these ponies than meets the eye. And thus the lunch rush had begun – despite my earlier comment about ‘picky kindness’ I had to admit that my salad was actually pretty good… my compliments to the chef which was Fluttershy. I especially savored my tomatoes and salad leaves… the best parts of any garden salad. Fluttershy was also eating hers with surprisingly a fork… how she was holding onto it, I’ll never know… and don’t get me started on the house… Oh, speaking of the house: After taking a small sip from my cheery-filled cup, I questioned Fluttershy about her house. “Say, Fluttershy… I have to ask since I’m curious on the interior of your house: why does it look like a cross between a zoo and an ordinary house – no offense.” Fluttershy was wrapping up her chewing and swallowing it before replying. “None taken… besides my role as an Element of Kindness, I also take care of any animals that live near me or in the whole of Equestria. In that way, you can think of me as a caretaker of sorts.” She smiled once more. “You definitely fit the role well.” I complimented before taking a bite from salad as Fluttershy sent a thankful nod to me. “Why, thank you. And you? Do you like animals as well?” She questioned me. “Mhm…” I sent out with a nod just as I finished swallowing my bite. “I do like animals… though I don’t really have a favorite ones. However, my weakness is huskies. I love them the most.” I admitted with a small blush and a sheepish smile. Huskies were particularly a favorite of mine since… well… still can’t remember a thing but I do believe I owned a husky named… ummm… damn it, still can’t remember a thing. “That’s nice… you know, my friend Applejack has a dog called Winona – although I don’t know what breed she is… I’ll have to ask.” She told me as I nodded before sipping on my juice once more. It was then that something else came up in my mind – mainly about this ‘Applejack’ and friends… “Say, Fluttershy… when your friends aren’t on duty as the Elements of Harmony, what do they do in their free time?” I questioned. “Well… As I told you: my role is a caretaker of animals and such. However, I also do cooking, sewing and doing music. As for my friends: Twilight is basically studying the art of Friendship and Magic while staying in Ponyville; Applejack is a worker on her farm (Sweet Apple Acres); Rarity works as a fashion designer and seamstress at Carousel Boutique; Pinkie Pie is an expert in partying and such (also, bit of a warning – she might throw you a party since you are new around here) and lastly – Rainbow Dash (my closest friend) has a job in the city of Cloudsdale at the Weather Factory along with training to be a member of the Wonderbolts.” Fluttershy finished explaining but my brain once more had stalled. So much info… I gotta process it – so let’s see what I’ve learned so far: · Twilight – Friendship/Magic learner; · Applejack – Farmer (An apple farmer); · Rarity – Fashion Designer/Seamstress); · Pinkie Pie – Party Planner/Thrower; · Rainbow Dash – Racer/Job at a Weather Factory; · Fluttershy – Animal caretaker. Whelp, got everything organized in case someone asks me a question and making sure that I don’t end making an ass out of myself. I gotta admit that those are interesting jobs… except for the party and friendship one. Strange occupations… but then again I am in a different world and no judging. “Sounds like a lot of hard work that you and your friends have.” I voiced my opinion as Fluttershy nodded. “It is… and don’t even get me started on our role as the Elements.” She told me as I just gave a nod. From the point on, we continued eating our meal until everything was devoured from the table – have to admit, everything was yummy and tasty. “My compliments to the chef.” I praised her as she smiled gently and replied. “I’m glad you liked it… not my best work… but I do aim to please.” She took the two bowls along with the cups inside and flew away into the kitchen with her flapping wings. In the meantime, I just stood at the table and remained silent – my memory was still on the fritz and so far had no idea what to do… maybe find a book to read or try to remember anything before I came to Equestria? The latter was definitely not a choice since I didn’t want a headache to come… Just at this very moment, Fluttershy came back from the other part of the kitchen. “That reminds me, Kairi… I’ve managed to cook up a nice apple pie. Would you like-” She never finished her question due to this: “AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” The screeching and scared voice of Angel Bunny screamed as he rushed into the kitchen and hid quickly behind Fluttershy. “Angel! What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked as she looked at the bunny that was hiding behind her as I got up with a worried expression on my face. “Your bunny normally doesn’t scream unless there’s an immediate danger around, right?” I asked as Fluttershy nodded and spoke once more. “Yes… but he doesn’t get scared easily unless it’s a big scary animal or villain. I wonder what scared him?” I was curious about that too and looked at Angel who was shaking in fear – despite our first meeting, I couldn’t help but sympathize with the poor thing. Wonder what scared him? “Angel… what exactly made you scared, you poor thing?” Fluttershy asked with a maternal caretaking tone as the scared stuttered rabbit raised his head and pointed slowly at the entrance door. “Outside?” I asked as the bunny nodded. “Something must have scared him but it doesn’t make any sense – my animals are usually very quiet and act peaceful especially whenever I’m around to take care of them.” She told me but I shook my head. “I don’t think its an animal you take care of Fluttershy… more like something else.” I told her before taking cautious steps towards the door. “Wait… where are you going?” Fluttershy asked as I responded immediately. “Going to investigate… you wanna come with me?” I asked as her face became one of worrying as she looked at Angel once again who was shivering in fear. “I’d love to… but I have to stay and try to calm Angel down. Although, are you going to be okay?” She asked me but I didn’t give an answer straight away. What was my plan exactly here? Charging out to investigate without even taking precautions such as find a suitable weapon? That was something that only a brave fool would do in a situation like this… “To be honest… no clue. But I should at least check things out and see who scared Angel… be back soon, hopefully.” I assured her. “W-well… okay… don’t act like the hero though. Come back to me safe and sound, Kairi. Please.” She pleaded as I turned and gave her a comforting smile. “I will. Don’t worry.” I assured her before opening the door and stepping outside her house. Once outside, I immediately took a look at my surroundings – so far everything was peaceful from the looks of it but it was all quiet – chicken coop, bird houses… everything. I don’t really understand it… Angel stated that something outside had scared him but I don’t really see anything – maybe it was a bear or something? But that wouldn’t make any sense since Fluttershy told me that she takes care of her animals very well… if that were the case, then what scared Angel and for that matter where are the other animals? “Hello? Anybody around here? Hello?” I called out to the animals but there was no response – also, I’m aware that animals can’t talk yet I was in a different world… After careful looking I was stumped – there was nothing out here besides the peace and quiet so what made Angel so scared that much? This question was never answered due to the ground beginning to shake – whoa! Was there an earthquake going on at this very moment or something? Looking forward, I saw a bunch of scared animals running towards my direction and my eyes widened. Jumping backwards quickly, I was able to avoid the large stampede that was to collide into me but dust filled the area everywhere – it covered my entire body and I think some of it got caught into my mouth. I began to cough very heavily… son of a- *COUGH-COUGH!* Bitch… Eventually, the dust storm blew itself away along with the rest of the animals. Shaking off the rest of the dust, I had to wonder what made the animals get all scared like that… a big monster or something like that? Timberwolves were out of the questions since they were just wolves made out of wood plus- Hey, wait a minute… who the heck blocked the sun? This was due to me seeing a huge shadow ground that was blocking out the sun – huh… it was getting bigger and bigger. As I turned around, I had to wonder who would just block out- (I immediately gasped when I saw a swarm of yellow-eyed black skinned ants that traveled in waves towards my location.) I took a few steps backwards and gulped as they got closer and closer – searching quickly for a weapon of any kind, I noticed a stick laying on the ground: though what good would it do for me? Ugh, never mind… Picking up quickly, I went into a defensive pose and held the stick with my two arms as the tide was getting closer-and-closer. I had to do this… I had to stop these ants before they did some serious damage… …which ultimately proved futile as the tide swept me in its inside – the stick was thrown away as the ant-like creatures began to spin me round-and-round inside this black tornado I think. It continued to sour through the air as I started to scream: “OMG… this is absolutely infuriating! Help! Someone help- Oh, crap!” I yelled as I was thrown away into the air by that tide. Oh… crap. I was about to fall… and probably break my bones or die. Something that I didn’t even want to happen. Closing my eyes, I screamed and immediately began to fall. Oh, god… I was gonna die… I was gonna… I’M GONNA DIE! SOMEONE HELP ME OR SOMETHING! HELP! Here it comes! Oh, god… I’m dead… so dead or in a coma! Someone saved- Wait a minute… I… didn’t feel dead or any broken bones just yet… what just happened? Did someone save me? Opening my eyes very slowly I saw that I was on the ground but not what you’d expect – I was in somekind of protective sphere from the looks of it and floating as well… also, my hands feel really heavy for some reason. What just happened…? When did this shield get here and who conjured it? It saved me from death or a coma but who summoned it… more importantly, what was making my hand feel so- *GASP* Staring down, my jaw was wide open when I saw a strange weapon that I’d never seen before – it was a cross between a sword and a key. Yet, it seemed familiar to me… especially its design: It was round and curvaceous and at first point appeared to be harmless. One side of the hilt was formed in the shape of a breaking ocean wave while the other was formed into a beige vine of sand that wrapped around the shaft which somehow resembled a sunset. The vine was connected to a bouquet of colorful flowers which formed the teeth of the weapon and somehow entwined to create an outline of a heart. Lastly, a red silken keychain was connected to a token which resembled a strange star-like fruit that I’d never seen before… Funny thing is that it looks familiar… yet I can’t quite place my finger on it. Maybe it belongs to the cosplaying outfit to the girl called Kairi… probably. Ugh, why can’t I remember a thing? My eyes widened as I just realized something – was this weapon the reason that this shield was up and how was it able to create it? It seems almost… magical for some reason. The shield began to disperse as I landed gently on my two feet onto the ground – taking a deep breath, I was grateful to be alive and not ending up with broken bones or dead… yet I feel like I’m forgetting something- Oh, shit! Those ants! Just as I thought of this, the ant-like tide came back as it stood still in the air and prepared for me to make the first move. Taking a deep breath, I glared at the tornado that was holding those little monsters with yellow eyes before I got into a defensive pose. “You little pricks picked the wrong day to mess with this human!” I declared with full confidence… …just as the tide began charging at me. (I… can do this… I CAN DO THIS!) Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. Chapter 4 - Everything is NOT okay!Deep breaths… five. Preparation… four. Hard glare at the tornado of evil yellow eyes… three. Approaching… two. LET’S DO THIS… ONE! (The tide charged at me as I jumped back a little bit but was safe for only for a minute… said monsters swung back into the air and once more prepared to clash straight into where I was.) Preparing myself with my weapon, I took a deep breath as the tide came crashing down onto me… …only to jump and swung my key-shaped sword at the monsters. I successfully managed to bust out of the death trap in time. Landing a couple of feet away, I grinned for a moment – not so tough now, are you evil vortex? Unfortunately, my moment of triumph was interrupted by a huge explosion that occurred behind me. Next thing I knew – hundreds of those shadowy monsters were falling from the sky. Crap, I hope Fluttershy or nobody else is around to see this. Using my weapon as an umbrella for defense, I managed to block *THUD!* several of the *THUD!* small buggers as they *THUD!* landed onto the ground! *THUD!* Phew… last of them. But now I had a new problem… the buggers were on the ground and they were alive – I still had to stop before they started to do some serious damage or worst-case scenario – hurt anyone! Said monsters began to surround me as I got into a defensive/assault position with my weapon still at hand – keep calm and try your best to stop them, Kairi… Two/three jumped up and charged forward only to meet the steel of my key-shaped weapon – with a vertical slice, I cut the buggers in half as they disintegrated into black smoke. Whoa… not gonna lie, I honestly didn’t expect that to work! Moment of triumph was unfortunately interrupted as I felt one of those ants jumped onto my back and scratching my exposed skin. Gritting my teeth in pain, I started to shake and the little monster landed on the ground before I destroyed it. I felt pain as blood began to pour out from my wound… ouch… that hurts like hell. No time to bandage it up though… monsters first and then heali- OH… shit… that hurts like hell. Ugh, never mind – combat had resumed as I took another pair of the shadowy ants with my weapon. There were some ups-and-downs: I managed to defeat a couple of them; But I gained a couple more wounds – on my legs, arms and even one of forehead and cheek. I hate to say it but I’m officially one step close to looking like an actual zombie – well, technically human but with these scars… actually, more like a torture doll… but never mind that now. More shadows were running towards my location as I got once more into a- AHHH! Everything… fucking… hurts! I fell to my knees almost immediately and began to breathe heavily – son of a bitch… these wounds aren’t really making my job in fighting the ants easier. Ugh, everything hurts so bad. I tried getting up to fight but it was no use. Seeing that this was going to be the end, I closed my eyes almost immediately as the end was about to come for me. “Get away from her right now, you ants!” An unknown voice yelled as I opened my eyes to see all of the monsters that were about to attack me being disintegrated into smoke by a mysterious source of purple light. What happened and where did it come from? (Trying my best to get up, I failed miserably due to all the blood that was leaking from my wounds… plus, I beginning to feel tired… Ugh, not now…) “Take it easy… you’ve been wounded pretty badly. Here, let me help.” The voice spoke once more as a green light engulfed my entire body for a moment or two. When it was gone, I didn’t feel any pain… my scars and the bleeding… they were gone! I couldn’t believe it… it was just like magic! I wonder who- “Phew… that was close. Thank goodness my spells still work… you okay?” The voice asked me as I looked up to see a purple unicorn with a lavender indigo-colored mane, violet eyes and a purple tail. Like with Fluttershy, there was a tattoo on her body that depicted a pink six-pointed star that was surrounded by five other small ones. There was a smile of relief on her face – no doubt due to saving me from those shadows. No point in being rude – she did save me after all… wait, another pony with her tattoos being related to stars… this must be Twilight – one of Fluttershy’s friends. “Y-yeah… I’m fine. Thanks for the assist.” I told her as I got up very easily and stretched myself to calm down after fighting all those little ants. “It’s no trouble… I saw the fight from a mile away and came to assist right away… plus I needed to check and see if one of my friends are alright – say, by chance: is a pegasus by the name of Fluttershy okay? I’m really scared that she might have gotten hurt due to those creatures attacking…” She questioned me and I couldn’t help but notice that she was very concerned about her friend… then again, I would be as well if any of my close ones were in danger. “She’s fine… don’t worry about it. I managed to protect her from those things… whatever they are.” I replied as Twilight looked at me with a confused look. “Wait… you don’t know who or what those things are… actually, wait – who are you? I’ve never seen someone like you before… in fact, you don’t really seem familiar at all. Who are you exactly?” Twilight questioned as a curious look was displaced on her face. Man, she certainly asks a lot of questions – kind of like a scholar or scientist. Strange world I’ve found myself on… Still, no shame in keeping quiet about myself – with a deep breath, I was prepared to answer… …only for a huge earthquake to occur at this very moment – what’s going on!? “Whoa! What’s happening!?” Twilight yelled as we began to look around for the cause of the quake – who or what is responsible for it? “I dunno!” I replied just as I saw several pieces of strange purple-like armor falling from the sky and heading straight for the town. Gasping immediately, I pointed at the pieces. “Look!” My scream alerted Twilight who turned around and her jaw dropped opened. (The pieces had eventually descended upon the town as I could honestly hope that it wasn’t related to the- Oh, this is just dandy…) Said pieces connected together to produce a strange robot-like armor that was very tall… and scary. Oh, boy… wait, that thing on his chest: it seemed like a reddish-black heart. And it was very familiar to me for some reason… Unfortunately, I couldn’t deal with my memory stare right now as it began to attack the entire town – fires were spawned and populace was beginning to scream. “Oh, no! That thing is gonna destroy Ponyville!” Twilight told me with a scared expression on her face. As for me, my face went from surprise to stern determination – I had to stop that thing before it destroyed the entire town. I don’t know why but I feel like I’m the reason that these creatures came… and as such its my duty to stop them. With my mind made, I began to run ahead towards the town much to Twilight’s surprise. “H-hey! Where are you going!?” She questioned me but I didn’t respond as I continued to run towards Ponyville. Gotta head there and save lives… ain’t nobody gonna die… not on my watch! With my weapon in tow, nothing was going to stop me! Not even- Wait, Twilight!? Said unicorn had caught up with me as I continued to run towards the town. “Listen, I don’t know what you’ve got planned but I’m telling you that it’s a bad one! What are you even planning to do – take that thing all by yourself!?” She questioned me. “Whatever it takes… I have to save those ponies from becoming food for those monsters or getting killed by them.” I replied while running as Twilight sighed heavily. “Look… ummm… what’s your name exactly?” She asked me. “Kairi. It’s Kairi.” I told her as both of us continued to run while holding our conversation. “Okay… Kari, was it?” She asked me but I shook my head and responded. “Kai-ri. Kai and ri. Understood?” I questioned. Twilight nodded after a few seconds of silence. “I think I’ve got it… but in any event, this is too dangerous for you! You are literally walking into your death!” She told me. “I can’t just sit by on the stands and let innocents die! I’m not that kind of person, Twilight!” I told her before realizing I accidentally blurted her name out much to her surprise. “W-wait… how did you know my name?” She asked me to which I responded immediately. “Your friend Fluttershy told me… in fact, she explained a couple of things to me… but that’s not important right now!” “Kairi! This is too dangerous for you – at least let me help you!” Twilight protested but I didn’t want to accept her offer at all. “No offense, Twi… but I don’t want to see you nor anyone else get hurt! Besides, we’ve just met… for all we know I might be a bad guy or something that could hurt you.” I told her as Twilight looked at me and sighed heavily. “Kairi, I’m going to help you… whether you want to or not… we’ve met just now, yes. But I feel like you are someone that can be trusted… if Fluttershy told you some very important things, that means that she hasn’t deemed you as a threat. So I’m asking you to let me help you… please.” Twilight pleaded but I shook my head. “Why, Twilight – we’ve just met and already you act like you trust me… so, why?” I asked as she looked at me and smiled. “Because… as a good friend of mine once told me: never judge a book by its cover. Kairi, let me do my best to assist… please.” She pleaded with me. Never judge a book by its cover… I used it a couple of times since arriving in Equestria and so far it hasn’t disappointed me. Prime examples are Fluttershy and her pet rabbit Angel… but Twilight? I had no clue… so, the question was – should I trust Twilight or handle this on own? My key-shaped weapon was still in my hand but would it be enough for me to defeat that robot-like armor that is still attacking the city? Maybe Twilight was right… maybe I do need some help with this. A second hand could be useful in diffusing the situation before some serious damage happened… screw it, might as well take the risk. With a heavy sigh, I responded. “Alright, Twi… just stay close to me. We’ve gotta take care of that thing before it destroys the entire town.” I just hope that I wasn’t going to regret it later when/if the body counts begin to rise up. “We have to… also, I’ve got a lot of questions for you when we are done. For now, let’s focus on this.” She told me as I nodded. “Right.” After which, I closed my mouth shut – she definitely deserved the answers to her questions… but they would be answered as soon as we took care of that giant robot-like armor. Upon reaching the center of Ponyville, to our horror the robot was destroying houses and unleashing more of those strange ant-like monsters with a slam of his fist and via a strange purple-like corridor that was formed onto the ground. Taking a close look at the robot-like armor, I began to make certain notes of its description for each part: Its head was diamond-shaped and white with purple eyes set in an angry expression. The front of its body was adorned with a large, yellow, U-shaped additive with white edges lined by four shirt spikes. Its "neck" was thin, white, and curls forward. The Heart-like symbol was printed on the end of the neck. On either side of the neck, it had two white "arms" that end in white, triangular blades, each with a red stripe on them; The torso was cone-shaped and white with red, spiked additives decorating it. The Heart-like emblem was also decorated there - on its front while its base was white with red lining. I saw a couple of armguards and two shoulder pauldrons – also thick, dark blue four-fingered hands as well. Lastly, its legs resembled a set of three, segmented, white legs with whitish-gray joints while each leg ends in triangular, blue feet. Overall, I hate to admit it… but this things… scares me… really interesting thing is that it looks familiar to me – this robot yet where have I seen it before…? Getting into a defensive pose, I took a look at Twilight who was ready for the fight of her life. “Okay, Twi… any idea on how we can take this thing down before it literally destroys the entire town?” I asked her as the unicorn was still in her attack pose. “No idea… I’ve never even seen this thing before let alone encountered one! I guess… try to avoid it as best we can and find a way to take it down before things get really messy?” She suggested as I sighed heavily. “Well, not the worst idea I’ve- Watch out! We’ve got company!” I yelled as shadows began to surround us. Twilight’s eyes widened in surprised but soon turned to seriousness as we both looked at each other and nodded. “Ready?” I asked her to which she nodded. “Let’s do this!” She replied and started shooting purple beams at the ants while I started slashing and disintegrating them. Fair easy challenge… although, I shouldn’t get cocky and let them start scratching me. Speaking of that, one managed to get up onto Twilight’s back much to my surprise. “Twi, look out!” I yelled and sliced that bugger in half as it disintegrated into dust. Said unicorn saw what I did and sighed in relief. “Thanks… I owe you one.” She told me as I nodded. “No prob… now let’s finish these little shadows once and for all!” I told her with a confident smile. With a nod, she replied back. “Right!” We both started to fight the shadows yet again. The battle continued on-and-on as I slashed some with my weapon while Twilight disintegrated them with her magic beams. I was very close to getting scratched once more yet Twilight was able to destroy the shadows via beams and vice versa with my weapon. A few destroyed ants later and this battle had ended in our favor. Breathing heavily, I was still holding onto my key-shaped weapon as I kneeled a little bit to catch my breath. Twilight was besides me as she used her hoof to wipe some sweat off her face. “The battle is half-way over… you *breathing* weren’t that bad Kairi… you fight well.” She complimented with a smile on her face. I smiled back at her. “Thanks Twi… although its not over yet. We’ve still got a large robot-like creature to take care though.” I reminded her as she nodded. “Right… and speaking of that, here it comes!” She warned as we both saw the robot landing in front of us. You know, I haven’t really admitted it – but that thing really scares me (its height particularly). It was very tall: more so than these homes and stores. The robot got into a fighting pose and so did we – let’s finish that thing once and for all! The first move that it performed was charging straight at us but I blocked it via my weapon just as Twilight launched a magic beam at the legs. The next thing we knew he clasped his hands as a large number of fireballs were sent towards – luckily, Twilight summoned a barrier to protect us. As its attacks had ended, we took our opportunity and started to attack its legs first. I applied some heavy hits while Twilight casted her own brand of fire as well as several other spells that I failed to notice. Unfortunately, our time was up as the robot kneeled on both its feet… …only to summon a huge laser beam from its torso which was spinning around and around. Luckily, Twi set up a barrier to protect us both until the laser stopped… which it did a few moments later. That allowed us to attack the legs yet again. Seconds later, we had destroyed the legs – so far so good… all that was left was the torso and head. Unfortunately, at this moment said robot began to jump and create shockwaves which hit us both back a few feet away. To our luck, we weren’t that injured only covered with dust. Getting up quickly, we ran over to the robot once again and began to attack the torso. More fire balls were conjured and were sent into the air in a strange rain-like attack. Luckily, Twi’s barrier spell was conjured to protect us from any falling projectiles – gotta make a note to ask her about that spell though… After the last fireball was conjured and landed onto the ground, we rush back towards the robot which disconnected immediately. What’s going on? Was it giving up? Unfortunately, my answer wasn’t the one that I was looking for as the torso appeared on the opposite side of the battlefield while the head on was staring at us. Suddenly, a magical surge arc was conjured as Twilight casted another barrier to protect us. The components began to spin around in a circle along with the surge in the hopes of hitting us… which they failed miserably due to Twilight’s protection barrier. Said surge eventually disappeared as we both agreed to attack the parts separately: I handled the head; Twi took the torso. Said battle continued on for a little while longer but we eventually destroyed the torso and focused on the head completely. After much slashing and spell casting, we had delivered a huge blow to the head which began to shake heavily. (Twi and I were curious if we had indeed defeated the robot completely as the shaking continued for quite a while longer. We got our answer as the robot’s head disintegrated into smoke completely and then it disappeared along with the rest of the fallen body parts.) With a deep breath released and a smile on my face, Twilight and I could rejoice… …we had won this battle. (Meanwhile…) “Well, well, well… seems like our precious cosplayer is one hell of a fighter. Yes, this will be most enjoyable indeed…” This voice belonged to no other than the mysterious masked individual who was responsible for sending the armor and the shadows to Ponyville. In the last hour, she was watching Kairi and Twilight battling the shadows along with the robot. Even though, the battle had been won by the heroes – the female with the bodysuit wasn’t mad. If anything, she was ecstatic and grinning with anticipation. Turning off her projector after the fight had ended, she got off her throne once more and pulled out her left hand as gust of darkness filled around it just as a key-shaped weapon was conjured: Its blade was a complete crystal while the teeth was a pink half-star. The handle was colored pink while and it bared two dark wings – lastly, the Keychain resembled a six-point pink star. The surprising thing about this weapon was that its form and shape resembled the one that ‘Kairi’ was wielding during the battle! Whatever this masked individual was planning for the ponies or Kairi… it wouldn’t good. “You aren’t the only one that is wielder, Kairi/Mina… enjoy what precious time you have left… because soon I’ll be the one to disrupt your little peace… along with that Keyblade of yours… best prepare, Princess…” The individual warned before she erupted in laughter once again. Her entire hilarity could be heard all around the cave that she was using as a temporary hideout… nobody else heard it. Things were definitely going to get interesting… not just for Kairi but for Equestria as well. The girl had better watch out… …and expect the unexpected! Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. Chapter 5 - It's Party TIME!Captain’s Log: year is currently unknown – status update: I want to die… from embarrassment. Reason – a party. Someone pierce my heart with an arrow or bullet please… So, news flash – I had defeated that dark shadowy robot and saved the town along with Twilight who was still eager to get her questions answered since we made a deal with one another. But that didn’t happen immediately – do you know why? Because at that very moment, the entire town (its Mayor included) came up to congratulate us… mainly me… for saving Ponyville from that robot. Also, Fluttershy came crying and scolding me for jumping into danger without thinking… lots of hugs were involved. Man, she’s like a mother who is worried for her child… reminds me a lot of my parents… if I can still remember who they are. The next few things were a blur – one of Twilight’s friends (Pinkie Pie, I think her name was) greeted me and started talking really fast… I couldn’t really catch most of what she said – but I think there was something along the lines of ‘so cool’; ‘We need to throw you a party’; ‘Oh my gosh, new potential friend’; ‘Lots of cakes…’ – I didn’t really get it. So, an hour or two later… I’m at a party that is being thrown in my honor with nearly almost all pony citizens in this town. Ironically though, I wasn’t interacting with them at all… not that I didn’t want to since I’m not the kind of person that is rude… more specifically, I’m embarrassed. What could I even say to them: ‘Thank you for the party but there was no need to throw one since all I did was do the right thing?’ – Ugh, I’m such an idiot… “Everything okay, Kairi?” The familiar voice of Twilight Sparkle spoke to me and interrupted my thoughts – she nearly made me drop my glass of punch with her startling… not that I was gonna say anything rude about that to her. “Y-yeah… just embarrassed at this very moment since a party was thrown in my honor… I’m not really sure why.” I admitted to Twilight who gave me a sympathetic smile. “Pinkie is always like this, Kairi… so don’t worry too much. Whenever an important event or a newcomer shows up, a party always has to be thrown… it’s part of her nature as an Element of Harmony.” She explained before I gave her a small nod. “Yeah… what Element is she again?” I asked with Twilight responding immediately. “Laughter – she is able to bring joy and happiness whenever she marches on… believe it or not, thanks to Pinkie we were able to avoid lots of unnecessary accidents. She saved on more than one occasion… I’m glad to have someone like her as a friend.” Friend… I wonder if these ponies consider me a friend… I still had no idea if they trusted me or not. While I did save their town from certain doom, I’m not really sure if I could be considered a ‘friend’ to them just yet… still keeping an open mind about all of this. “Say, Kairi… if its not too much trouble to ask… do you mind if I just quiz you a bit? We both agreed that questions should be answered, right?” She asked me. “I guess but… are you sure that you should quiz at the party? I was kinda of hoping that we could do it tomorrow or another time since someone might overhear us…” I told her as Twilight scratched the back of her head with her hoof. “Hmmmm… I guess I really didn’t think about that… alright then, we’ll save it for tomorrow. Right now, there’s a party going on so we should be enjoying ourselves.” Twilight told me with a smile on her face. Glad to see that she was being reasonable – there will be a time for answering questions later… right now, it was time to party… as much as I was embarrassed. “Hello Twilight, hi Kairi.” The familiar shy and soft voice of Mama Fluttershy spoke as she landed right in front of us. “Hi, Fluttershy. Enjoying yourself?” I inquired as Fluttershy gave us a nervous look. “Somewhat… Pinkie really doesn’t have any breaks on hers, does she?” She asked as Twilight giggled. “Nope… whenever something big happens, Pinkie Pie is always there to throw a party for that true, true friend in need.” Twilight explained as Fluttershy nodded. “Yeah… so, how are you both getting along?” Fluttershy asked as Twilight responded immediately. “So far, really well… I’m doing okay but Kairi is feeling… embarrassed about the party.” The unicorn admitted with me pulling out an embarrassed look and smile. “Guilty as charged…” I told both ponies. “Do you want to be left alone or go back to my house? We’ll understand if you don’t want to remain at the party…” Fluttershy assured me but I shook my head. “No, no, no! I like the party… I really do… it’s just… it happened so suddenly that I really don’t know how to feel about it.” I told them. It was the honest truth – let’s be real… I had no idea that a party would be thrown in my honor… I just saved the town and that was it. Was it natural that parties were thrown by Pinkie around these parts? “You get used to it, Kairi… Believe me, I myself was surprised when Pinkie threw a party at my house… I didn’t even know at first… just got back to my house with Spike and that’s it… Surprised indeed.” Twilight told me and I nodded. Huh… now who is Spike? A friend of Twilight’s…? “Woo-hoo! Awesome party, am I right girls?” A new voice spoke as a blue-colored pegasus with rainbow hair, mane and cerise eyes landed in front of us – her tattoo or cutie mark as Twilight explained it a little while ago was a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt on it. This was Rainbow Dash – the Element of Loyalty. “Yeah, it sure is Rainbow… in any event, you’ve met-” Twilight’s speech was interrupted as Rainbow flew up in front of my face and shook my hand. “Already did. So, you’re the one that saved Ponyville, right?” She asked me as I nodded. “Yes… pleased to meet you, Rainbow.” I told her before she gave me a cocky grin and replied. “Likewise, girl. I gotta say, you and Twilight were so awesome in defeating that robot… although, if you need some training with that key of yours… I’ll be more than happy to teach some of my cool moves. Gotta stay prepared after all.” My mind was just a blur on the things that Rainbow said… besides being the Loyalty Element, she really is a show-off… and cocky. I don’t want to be rude or anything but damn… where on Earth did the idea for training me come from? Is she jealous of me or something? Nah… it couldn’t be. In any case, I just remained friendly and responded. “Thanks for the offer, Rainbow. I’ll think about it.” “Anytime… also, next time you need help, never fear – Rainbow Dash will be there to defeat the monsters.” Rainbow assured me – her tone was one of cockiness and a complete show-off. “Awright, ya show-off… Leave the girl alone. No need to drag her into your crazy schemes.” A southern-like voice spoke next. Approaching us was another pony with an orange coat, green eyes and blonde hair that was covered by a Stetson hat. Her cutie mark were three red-colored apples. From the looks of things, she was glaring at Rainbow and having a disapproving look on her face. Rainbow on the other hand just rolled her eyes and took a cup of punch from the table. “Oh, come on AJ. Lighten up… I was just making conversation with our hero.” She told her and then drank up a little bit. The southern pony’s name was Applejack or AJ for short – her role was the Element of Honesty. No joke – Twilight explained that she could spot a dishonest action or person a mile away and make them confess the truth… in short, she was a perfect example of a lie detector. “Sure ya were…” Applejack said with a roll of her eyes before turning her attention to me. “Sorry abou’ her… Rainbow means well but at times it goes beyond the lines of personal space. Name’s Applejack, btw… pleased to meet ya, Kairi.” She introduced herself with a smile as I shook her hand. “Likewise. You are one of the Elements of Harmony, right?” I asked and AJ nodded with a proud look. “Yep. Element of Honesty… useful when you want to confront someone who is lying… works quite well all the time… especially wit’ Rainbow over here.” She admitted with a laugh as Rainbow choked on her drink before coughing. “Hey, just because I’m a… *cough* showoff, doesn’t mean I don’t know about personal space.” Rainbow told us but I wasn’t convinced – she definitely was a big showoff. Applejack and Twilight rolled their eyes. “Rainbow, you literally aren’t aware of the term ‘personal space’, are you?” The unicorn questioned but said pegasus just stretched her arms and gave us a lazy look. “Come on, Twi… I can be a good pony… whenever an opportunity is available.” She told us. “Sure… whatever ya say, Rainbow. Don’t let get you down, Kairi… she’s always like that. You enjoyin’ the party, sugarcube?” She asked me – in response to that, I scratched the back of my head. “Somewhat… feeling pretty embarrassed if I’m being honest.” I told her as she gave me a friendly chuckle. “Pinkie Pie’s parties will do that to ya. I think ya deserve one for what you did for Ponyville. Don’t look so nervous and enjoy yerself.” The southern pony advised me which made me smile a bit. “I’ll try to… thanks, Applejack.” I thanked her and then took another swig of my punch… only to have a familiar smiling face jumping up-and-down appear in front of me. “Kairi, so did you like my party? Did ya!? Did ya!? I mean, I wanted to organize more than just a party – maybe like a parade… or *gasp* A PARATY! A party and a parade combined! Isn’t that awesome!?” Pinkie Pie questioned whilst jumping up-and-down. “Y-yeah… that would be nice, Pinkie… thanks for the offer but… this party will do. Maybe next time you’ll have the opportunity to organize a paraty.” I assured her as she gasped in surprised and replied. “Yeah, you are right! Ohmygosh! Gotta get started on the plans for the paraty! LATER!” She zipped away to who-knows-where and I couldn’t help but be surprised – how on Earth does she do that? Speaking of Pinkie, her entire coat was completely pink while her mane was shaped like cotton candy – eyes on the other hand were completely blue. As for cutie mark… some balloons. “How does she do that…?” I inquired to myself as Twilight answered. “Kairi, trust me on this one… don’t ask… Pinkie Pie is the most random pony that you will ever meet in your life. She just has these weird abilities and powers inside her body… I nearly ended in a hospital bed had I not stopped in time. You just get used to it.” “I guess… she just seems so… so… random.” I admitted as the rest of the girls burst out laughing and then I did as well – goddamn it, didn’t even realize that it was a pun. “Hello, hello. Hope I’m not interrupting anything important?” Another voice spoke which belonged to another pony that was approaching us – a unicorn in particular. She was very beautiful and polite – kind of like how a princess or queen acts when addressing her subjects. Her coat was completely white while her mane was purple – as for eyes, they were crystal azure. The cutie mark that was displaced on her flank was three diamonds. Lastly, she had an accent that I couldn’t really place my finger on what it was… it’s definitely English but what kind? “Not at all, Rarity. We were just conversing with Kairi here about the party… turns out, she’s nervous about the whole thing.” Twilight explained as I gave her a small glare. “Twilight!” I scolded her as she looked away with an embarrassed look. “Sorry!” She apologized before I turned to look at Rarity who just gasped in shock. “Oh, my! Your outfit… it’s amazing! Why, darling – you’ve got to tell me who is the designer!” She pleaded as she examined it from top to bottom. Huh… Twilight wasn’t kidding when she said that Rarity definitely has love for clothes – a little bit too much if you ask me. Still, why would she be fascinated by my dress? I still feel like a doll if I’m being honest. “Well, I don’t really have a designer, to be honest… I woke up wearing this and I still don’t have a clue on where its from. Sorry Rarity…” Her face fell in response to that answer. It only continued for a second – her face lit up once more. “No harm done, dear. Say, if you want… I can design some other appropriate attire to use in the near future.” She suggested with a hint of generosity but I immediately became embarrassed yet again. “Oh… that would be lovely Rarity… but I don’t really have anything to give you in return…” In response to that, she raised her hoof and replied. “No need for anything, darling. I’m doing this out of the kindness of my heart… you definitely need the proper wardrobe should you wish to make it through the coming days. I’m more than happy to create something that will be to your liking… I am the element of generosity after all.” I’ll be honest… I kind of feel bad about Rarity making something for me without paying her back… yes, she is the Element of Generosity… but I can’t just ask her to make me a wardrobe without paying back… I wonder if I should do something to repay her for her kindness… I’ll ask her whenever I get the chance… for now, I shouldn’t be rude. “If you are certain, Rarity. I don’t want to be a bother…” I told her but she shook her head. “You aren’t, dear. Don’t worry about it.” She assured me. Just then, Pinkie came back jumping up-and-down to us with a smile on her face. “Kairi, Kairi! The mayor wants to have a quick word with you – come on!” Without warning, she grabbed my hand and took me away from the girls who just ran after Pinkie. Also, my cup fell to the ground and the punch was spread all over the floor. As Pinkie was dragging me straight to the mayor, I couldn’t help but look at the day’s events and smile a bit – first I save the town and then a party is thrown in my honor… ‘Maybe… this place won’t be that bad after all… Especially if Twilight or her friends are involved.’ (Meanwhile…) One word could describe Princess Celestia at this very moment… boredom. She didn’t admit it in reality, of course – if that happened, who knows what kind of consequences and chaos would occur? Being the ruler of Equestria had its positives and negatives – she loved her citizens every day and did her best to ensure that their lives were shrouded in peace and harmony… but at the same time though, she felt like it was a boring job. There were times when she wondered what it would be like if she was a regular pony and not a princess – probably go on wacky adventures just like her student’s and spend time with friends… or maybe fight wicked foes like Discord or Sombra. Who knows? An infinite number of possibilities and results… Celestia gave a small sigh and wondered if Lulu was up-and-about… was it time for her shift to commence? If Celestia was lucky, maybe she would catch up with her and they could chat for a bit… perhaps relieve some of this boredom that is on her mind. God, she was hoping- Just then, the doors to the throne room were blown wide with the guards readying their spears. A mysterious figure in a darkish red-purple bodysuit stepped inside with their entire face being covered by a biker-like helmet with a black visor. “Hello there, your majesty! Pleased to make your acquaintance.” She gave a mock bow with a small laugh. Celestia wasn’t amused and stepped forward. “State your business and identity… now.” She demanded. The figure made a fake gasp as she got up and gave another chuckle. “Oh, little old me…? I’m surprised you haven’t heard or seen me before… tell me, Princess – you learn to put up a decent fight yet?” She inquired. (“What do you mean by, ‘decent fight’?” Celestia asked and the figure responded immediately. “Hmph… I’ll be asking the questions… and why shouldn’t I?”) Just then, the figure pulled out her right hand as darkness covered it completely much to Celestia and her guards’ shock. Soon, a strange key-shaped weapon magically appeared in her hand. “Between the two of us… I’m the only one that will win this fight! Bow before your new master!” She demanded as she got into a fighting position. Celestia glared at her with gritting teeth and charged her horn. “Never!” She declared… (…before firing at the figure which signaled the beginning of their fight.) Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. Chapter 6 - Mama Sun vs The Darkness(“What do you mean by, ‘decent fight’?” Celestia asked and the figure responded immediately. “Hmph… I’ll be asking the questions… and why shouldn’t I?”) Just then, the figure pulled out her right hand as darkness covered it completely much to Celestia and her guards’ shock. Soon, a strange key-shaped weapon magically appeared in her hand. “Between the two of us… I’m the only one that will win this fight! Bow before your new master!” She demanded as she got into a fighting position. Celestia glared at her with gritting teeth and charged her horn. “Never!” She declared before firing at the figure which signaled the beginning of their fight. The mysterious figure dodged the attack with ease as the royal guards charged at her with their spears. Smiling behind her mask, she zoomed quickly and took them without any problems – Celestia was shocked but it soon turned into anger at the thought of this masked female hurting her subjects. “Ha, ha, ha! Is that all you’ve got, your ‘majesty’? To be honest, I was expecting more from the sun mother herself!” The masked figure mocked with laughter as Celestia gritted her teeth and replied immediately. “You want more, you’ve got it!” The princess conjured several sun-themed magic balls and sent them flying to the figure who performed acrobatics and dodged them with ease. Celestia was done just yet though – she launched a large beam of light that managed to hit the masked girl a little bit. “Arrgh! You bitch!” Said individual cursed as Celestia smiled a bit. The unknown figure casted a strange healing spell which cursed her wounds immediately and returned to fighting. What happened next was unexpected – she conjured up two more versions of herself much to Celestia’s surprise. What was this girl exactly? Did she even seem human? The three individuals teleported for a second and appeared in three different spots – one on the ceiling, the other on the windows and one of floor. All had their weapons pointed at her. “You lose, your ‘highness’! Bow before me or else!” She warned. Celestia gritted her teeth in anger before launching at beam of sun at two of the illusion clones. They immediately disintegrated into dust but that left the real one with the chance to assault her without ease. Knocked out to the ground, Celestia struggled to move but it was no use – her hooves were injured and she couldn’t get up without feeling the pain. “Man, is that all you’ve got? So weak and pathetic – guess the thousands of years that you ruled really made you soft… I could kill you right now… but I won’t. Instead, I’ll make you my personal maid. What do you say?” She asked as Celestia looked at her and glared. To be a slave to this personal – a MAID on top of all – would be the biggest embarrassment ever in her role as the guardian of Equestria. No… she wasn’t going to let that happen! Not now… or ever. “NEVER!” Celestia casted a healing spell of herself before launching a sun beam at the masked figure who was sent flying back and crashing onto the floor. Growling in anger and pain due to the wounds she received and flames covering several sides on her suit, she tried getting up but couldn’t. At that very moment, the princess was approaching her with a glare on her and her horn charged. “You will no longer threaten the peace that has endured for over a thousand years! May the Goddess be merciful to you… for I will not.” She stated clearly for the individual as she prepared to fire her spell at the figure who just growled in pain. “Go ahead… destroy me… erase me once more like you did before…” Said figure told Celestia as the glare from her face disappeared and it was replaced by a confusing look. “What are you talking about? We’ve never even met before yet you deny… who are you exactly?” Celestia asked the figure as she gave a small chuckle. “Wouldn’t you like to KNOW!” She yelled before teleporting behind and appearing on the throne. “Over here, your ‘highness’!” The figure called out to Celestia who turned and was surprised once more. “How are you doing this!? What exactly are you!?” Celestia demanded the answers but all she received was a laugh. “Oh, I’m just someone whom you took in and betrayed… in the PAST!” She admitted with anger before casting a healing spell once more. Celestia was baffled by her answer. “But we’ve never even met in the past! Why do you claim that I ‘betrayed’ you when I don’t even know who you are! Look, I don’t know why you are so mad at me but whatever it is causing it… I can help you! If you just surrender, we can-” The princess of the sun was cut off as a beam of darkness was launched at her. She was sent flying far away and crashes landed onto the cold white floor – her tiara came off and rolled a few feet away from where she was. (The princess struggled to move but couldn’t due to the injury that she received from the beams. Bad timing as the figure was approaching her.) At this very moment, the guards had awoken from their unconscious states and were horrified to see their beloved ruler being on the ground. All glared at the masked figure, go up and charged at her with their spears prepared. “Monster!” “You will pay!” “The princess shall be avenged!” “Don’t stop, my brothers!” As they approached her, the masked figure stopped and chuckled from behind her mask – they were all so weak and pathetic. Royal guards… Teleporting away much to their shock, she appeared behind them and stab her key-shaped weapon into their bodies. They all felt pain and shock as pink-like hearts came out from the inside and flew away – every guard disappeared in a vortex-like portal and soon black-like ants with antennas and yellow eyes appeared in their place. “Hold her down.” The figure ordered the shadows who twitched their bodies and held Celestia’s hooves down much to her shock. “L-let me go! Wha-what are you exactly? Let me go now!” She ordered the creatures but they didn’t move at all. Celestia struggled her best to move but didn’t – those black ant-like creatures were holding her down. What were they exactly and why were they eyes yellow? Unfortunately, no questions were answers as the figure stepped on her stomach and chuckled evilly behind her mask. (“So much strength… yet so disappointing… Oh, well.” The figure said before pointing her key-shaped weapon at her forehead. She twisted it as Celestia gasped in shock before her pupils deflated – throughout her entire body, she was feeling a strange source of power flowing.) She struggled to move and escape… but all of a sudden her guard started to die down. She didn’t feel like leaving anymore… she felt so… so… free and powerful. She felt like doing absolutely nothing but obeying her master… this masked girl… she must obey because she doesn’t know what else to do… Her course was made and she would follow it… no matter what. In the meantime, the girl dismissed her weapon and the black ant-like figures before looking at Celestia through her mask. “How do you feel?” She asked. The princess stood up and didn’t move at all for a couple of seconds but eventually she spoke. “I feel… perfect… very perfect, my master.” She opened her magenta-colored eyes to reveal that they were without pupils and lifeless which meant that girl’s scheme had worked perfectly. Princess Celestia was now her pawn to use for the foreseeable future… one that the masked girl already had drawn out. So many plans would be accomplished with the use of the ruler of Equestria… For now though, things would remain quiet. The masked girl would use Celestia as her spy for future operations yet today was not the opportunity since she still wanted to test out ‘Kairi’ some more. (In the meantime…) “Good… I have a task for you, my servant. As of today, you will remain the ruler of Equestria but with a minor difference – you will serve as my spy for anything that I say and order you to do. Is that clear?” Celestia nodded without hesitation to the figure’s question. “Excellent. If anyone asks you about suspicious things, you will pretend that you are ignorant. Throw them off the course if necessary but do not tell them a thing about me… especially to your student.” The figure told her with Celestia nodding once more. The figure chuckled – man, she was so easily to manipulate and use as a puppet… a princess for her plans… ah, brilliant. “Alright, my servant. Now return to your duties and pretend we never had this discussion along with the battle.” The figure ordered as Celestia nodded. “I obey, Master.” She replied in a monotone voice before using her magic to place the crown back on her head and heal herself from her wounds. “Very good… prepare yourself, my servant. We have a long road to walk ahead… I can’t wait to let out the fun. ‘Kairi’ or should I say Mina… you best watch out and expect the unexpected. We’ll see if you have what it takes to defeat the likes of me…” The figure declared with a laugh before disappearing into the darkness and leaving the manipulated Celestia alone and under her control. (Meanwhile…) “Are you comfortable, Kairi? I could get you some more blankets if you want.” Fluttershy suggested but I shook my head. “I’m fine, Fluttershy… don’t worry about me. The blanket you gave me is definitely warm and fuzzy. *YAWN* Well… its been a long day and I really need to get some sleep. Night, Fluttershy.” I wished her as my eyes closed and I feel into a deep slumber. But just then I felt a soft kiss on my head. “Night, Kairi. Sweet dreams.” She wished me with a smile before flying upstairs to her bedroom. Smiling gently, I let slumber take me in as I felt too tired and too lazy to think about anything else… tomorrow was an important day for me since Twilight and I had some stuff to discuss. For now… goodnight everyone… I’ll see you all tomorrow. Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. Chapter 7 - Interview with the Element of Magic*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and waits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the mysterious black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them, only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down a few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack used her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulls out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon in the night sky as the scene ends.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed. Only her evil lavender eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – the public mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Makin' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the public mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* “How do you feel this morning, Kairi?” Fluttershy inquired in a motherly tone while enjoying a nice healthy breakfast alongside me. After taking a bite from the freshly warm slice of apple pie that was displayed on my plate along with drinking a glass of milk, I answered her question. “Pretty good so far, Fluttershy. That party made me so tired last night. Glad that’s over…” Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, I agree... Did you find the party to your liking, by the way?” she asked me with a curious look. “In a way, but I still don’t feel like it was necessary. I mean, I saved the town and that’s a reward itself… no offense to Pinkie, though,” I told her the honest truth as she gave me another nod. “None taken.” She stopped for a minute to drink her milk before continuing with a smile on her face. “You should get used to it, Kairi. Pinkie Pie is the most random pony that you’ll ever meet in Equestria, but she means well and will always cheer you up, no matter how down you feel.” “Really?” I asked with a surprised yet curious look on my face and Fluttershy responded, “Yep. Though the parties can get… a bit repetitive at times. You’ll just have to get used to it. So, anything you’ve got planned for today?” She asked me as I took another bite from my pie and chewed it. Afterwards, I wiped the outside of my lips clean with the tissue and answered her question. “I plan to head over to Twilight’s so we can discuss some things about my appearance and whatnot. I did promise to answer some of her questions yesterday, but that party didn’t give me a chance.” “Ah, I understand. You aren’t in any sort of trouble, are you?” she asked me, but I shook my head. “Nah, I just have to tell her about myself – get some things off my chest - mainly about my apparel and whatnot. Plus, the Keyblade too… Remember that I’m not from Equestria, Fluttershy.” I reminded her as she just realized it. “Oh, yes… I forgot. I’m so sorry, Kairi… I hope you aren’t mad at me.” She felt really bad from the looks of it and I can’t help but sympathize with her. Fluttershy doesn’t do anything wrong, but she takes things way too seriously at times. I’m not mad or anything, though. If she was my mother, then she fit the role perfectly. In any case, I just sighed and smiled at my savior. “Relax, Fluttershy… I’m not mad at you. You’ve only forgotten. Won’t yell at you or anything like that. Promise.” I assured her as she replied immediately. “O-oh… okay.” Giving her a nod, we continued to enjoy our breakfast and drink our milk glasses. The talk didn’t continue onward since peace and quiet was on the agenda right now. It gave me time to think about what Twilight was going to ask me. We couldn’t really have our chat yesterday, but today was different. Oh, speaking of the party - the rest of the evening went rather well, though I had to hold a speech I was totally unprepared for. Had to adlib most of the things I said, though it seems it went well. The weirdest thing is, it feels like I’ve experienced it before… but how and when? Actually, speaking of that, I’ve got to make a mental note to ask Twilight if she can help me with recovering my lost memory if possible. Perhaps one of her spells would be useful since she is a unicorn? We’ll see… Meanwhile, I’ve got to finish this yummy slice of apple pie and then ask Fluttershy for a shower. I don’t want to show up smelling awful in front of Twilight. I am a hygienic person, after all… I think. Minutes later, we had finished up our morning meal as I felt my body recharging completely from the food I ate. “My compliments to the chef. Thanks, Fluttershy,” I told her with a satisfied look as I rubbed my belly. She smiled at me gratefully. “Anytime, Kairi. It’s the least I can do for you since you saved Ponyville from the monsters. Do you need something else?” the pegasus inquired and I gave her a nod. “Yeah… I don’t want to be rude or anything, but would it be possible for me to use your bathroom to take a shower? I don’t want to go and see Twilight while smelling badly.” I could use a cleaning after the fight yesterday… “You don’t smell that bad, but if you really need a shower, go ahead. My bathroom may be a bit small for you, however. Mind your head,” she warned me as I gave a nod. “I will. Upstairs, right?” I asked and she nodded before replying, “Give me a minute to put the dishes in the sink and I’ll lead you.” It didn’t take long – she placed the dirty dishes and glass cups in the sink before spreading her wings. Fluttershy ushered for me to follow and I did, going up the stairs until we eventually arrived at the bathroom. “I’ll get you a clean bath towel and leave it outside on the laundry basket over there. Also, I’ll have a look at your clothes and check to see if they are dirty as well,” Fluttershy told me. We both departed afterwards – she went downstairs while I entered the bathroom and took of my temporal pajamas. Time for me to take a shower. I have to be quick. My hair needs a good washing, too… Once I had finished cleaning myself up, Fluttershy offered me a temporary toothbrush and some paste to clean my teeth. The pegasus had managed to completely make my clothes sparkling clean, much to my surprise. When I asked how she did that, all she said was that it was a trade secret with a smile on her face. Being a pegasus, she dried up my hair rather quickly using her wings, and soon, I placed on my outfit that I arrived in Equestria with. Now I was ready for my meeting with Twilight. Saying my farewells to Fluttershy, I departed from her house and began making my way towards the place where I would be questioned - or interrogated, more like it. Also, as much as I owe Fluttershy for taking me and letting me bunk, I can’t just continue staying with her. I appreciate the company, but I don’t want to take up her valuable space and time. I wonder if I should get my own place to stay? Only problem is with money and whatnot… (An hour later…) (Walking down the streets of Ponyville towards Twilight’s home, I couldn’t help but give out an uneasy shudder at the fact that every pony that I’ve seen so far is wishing me a friendly ‘Hello’ or giving me a look like they’ve never seen a creature like me before.) The walk was awkward. I just wanted to get to Twilight’s and get on with the questioning. I could swear that I’m definitely being followed by someone, yet I don’t sense anyone at all. Ugh, I’m so lost, and - Okay, seriously! I know someone is stalking me! Whoever it is, it’s not funny anymore! Turning around, I looked in every direction for my stalker, yet I didn’t see anyone at all. Weird… I could swear that someone is tailing me. Oh, well. Back to heading straight for Twilight’s. Walking away, I still couldn’t shake the feeling of being followed. Sure hope there’s no more of those black creatures again. Not really eager to start another fight... “Hey, Kairi!” a familiar voice called out to me – it was Twilight Sparkle, who was currently approaching me. “Morning, Twilight,” I told her with a smile on my face and waved while she just nodded. “Morning to you as well, Kairi. Sleep well?” she asked. I nodded in return and answered, “Yep. Still feeling the effects from the party last night, but otherwise rested and ready. What are you doing here, by the way?” I inquired, tilting my head a bit. “Well, I was heading towards Fluttershy’s cottage to come and get you, but you managed to beat me to it first. How is she doing so far?” Twilight asked. I answered, “So far, she’s doing well – though, honest truth is, she acts way too much like a worrying mother.” Twilight giggled. “That’s our Fluttershy – always ready to help out those in need and eager to assist, so long as there aren’t any scary monsters like those black creatures from yesterday,” she told me as I looked back on the battle that took place yesterday. “Yeah, good point. Hopefully, we won’t be having a situation like that anytime soon... In any case, shall we get on with what I have to answer?” I asked and Twilight gave me a nod. “Already have things set up for us in my house. Let’s go!” “Right!” (With our mind and butts in gear, we proceed forward towards Twilight’s house which, surprisingly enough, was inside a tree! Interestingly, the unicorn also informed me that it was also a laboratory/library. I was in awe. A first time for everything, I suppose.) While walking, I still couldn’t help but feel like was being stalked by someone… definitely very closeby, yet I see no one. It’s getting on my nerves. Just a few more seconds, Kairi… Just hold on until we get to the library… Once we made it inside her room, Twilight grabbed a notebook using her magical horn along with a pencil for the interrogation. Both of us sat down and the questioning had begun. “Alright, this shouldn’t take long – nothing too personal. Some things to clear up and that’s all. I would be appreciative if you are truthful with me.” “Depends of the questions, Twilight.” “Yeah… right. Ready to get started?” “Yep. So, what do you want to know?” “Fluttershy already explained the situation to me a bit, yet I’m really curious about the whole story – how you came to Equestria and such. Actually, first off… what are you, exactly? You look kind of like a hairless ape, but at the same time, you’re different… Uh, no offense about the ‘ape’ thing.” “None taken… I’m actually a human. it’s kinda like how you described it - an ‘ape’ without hair, but one that can speak. Another term would be alien, I guess.” “Whoa! Amazing! I… I don’t know what to say! This is amazing! You are definitely fitting the role of an alien since you aren’t from Equestria! Oh, I’m so excited – An actual lifeform from another world! I’m so happy!” “You sure are easily excited, Twilight.” “Well… y-yeah… sorry… It’s just so intriguing to be talking to a new type of lifeform from another world! You don’t get that every day, mind you.” “I get it. Weird things happen at times.” “Oh, definitely right about that. So, how exactly did you find yourself in Equestria - or, rather, how did you end up in my world?” “Not gonna lie… I don’t have a clue. Honestly, Twilight – I can’t remember anything about how I found myself here. All I can remember is some voices calling me by my taken name, ‘Kairi’. When I came to, I found myself in the Everfree Forest with no clue on how I got there or why my memory is on the fritz.” “Oh, dear… that is serious. Memory loss, huh…? Hmmm… Nothing at all?” “Nothing… I was actually hoping that I could ask you if there are some types of spells that would be able to help me recover my memories or at least a small fragment of them.” “Hmmm, it is possible. It might take a while for me to find the spell and check if I’ve mastered it, though. I’ll get back to you about this in another time. For now, let’s continue. How did you come across Fluttershy?” “Well, it wasn’t me that met her. She actually saved me from becoming food for some Timberwolves, but I passed out after I injured my ankle. Once I woke, I found myself in Fluttershy’s house, where she and I briefly discussed where I was and the name of this world.” “I see… No doubt that she explained to you what kinds of ponies there are in Equestria, right?” “Yep. Unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies – all three races have separate abilities and jobs to do. She also explained about the Elements of Harmony and its wielders.” “Huh, good job, Fluttershy. Well, then it won’t be too hard at all to explain to you, Kairi. If my friend told you the most important details, then there shouldn’t be any repercussions in the near future.” “I hope you have a point, Twilight… Say, I was curious – since the Elements are used to protect your home, is it possible that they’re able to-” “Be used against those black creatures? I was actually thinking about that, yet I’m not sure if that theory is ruled off or not… I might have to test it out one of these days.” “Right. That’s basically all there is as to how I ended up in Equestria.” “Wow… I don’t know what to say, Kairi… I’m truly sorry that you got wrapped up in all of this. I promise I’ll do my best to help you with that memory loss of yours. If we’re lucky, we might be able to get some results. But as I said – it will take a while since I’m not sure if the spell is there somewhere or not.” “Understood. Thanks for this, Twilight. I appreciate it.” “Anytime. Another question that I have is about your key-shaped weapon. Never seen anything like it before… Do you know what it is, exactly?” “I don’t really know... Just before the battle started, it appeared in my hands and protected me from getting destroyed by those creatures. I’m not sure how and why, but it must be important for some reason. Interestingly, it looks… familiar. I can’t place my finger though.” “Hmmm… Maybe it’s part of the character?” “Maybe… Should I give it to you to examine?” “I would love to, but not now. Maybe later, once things quiet down. You never know when those mysterious creatures could come back.” “Good point. It’s a weird weapon, though – a cross between a blade and a key.” “Kind of like a Keyblade!” “A Keyblade…? Huh… That name is familiar, but where did I hear it from, exactly?” “Very interesting. Kairi, I noticed something: whenever you mentioned that you heard a familiar name and voice… I have a hunch - actually, call it a theory - someone possibly messed with your memories very badly, hence why you can’t remember much of your old life before you came to Equestria.” “You think so?” “Yeah. It’s just a theory, mind you. We’ll get to the bottom of this, don’t worry. I’ll check and see if there’s a spell to help with the short-term memory wipe.” “Right. Anything else you need to know?” “Hmmm… Nothing else for now… Actually, wait - it’s about the black creatures, but I doubt you know what they are.” “If I did, you’d be the first to know.” “Figured as much… Well, I chalked down most the things I asked and I’m satisfied. Anything you’d like to know?” “Not really… actually, is it possible for me to get a house of my own around Ponyville? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the company and gestures that Fluttershy has granted me, but I don’t want to be a bother to her…” “You aren’t actually a bother to anyone, Kairi. If anything, we owe you our gratitude. But if you do need a place of your own, I’ll see what I can do. Are you sure you don’t want to stay with Fluttershy, though? She’s one of the sweetest and most caring ponies around – plus, it doesn’t look like she minds your company.” “Yeah, I know that. Don’t get me wrong, Twilight – I’m grateful towards Fluttershy, yet I shouldn’t lounge in her house forever like a freeloader. I wanna see if I can take care of myself.” “Well, alright… I’m not really sure how much I’ll be able to help you out, but I’ll see if I can find some means of securing a place you can call your own while living in Ponyville.” “Right. Say, what are the rest of the citizens like besides your friends?” “Kairi… let me level with you – this place is the center of attention and fun, but there are some crazy ponies out there. You’ll have to learn to get used to it over time. Anyway, anything else?” “Nope, that’s everything. If I have any more questions, I’ll ask.” The questioning was finished as Twilight levitated her notepad and pencil onto a nearby stand while I got up and stretched my arms. “This was… an interesting round of questions, Twilight,” I commented. “Yeah, it was. Hope my questions weren’t considered too personal for you, Kairi.” In response to that sentence, I just shook my head. “Nah… I just hope they were to your satisfaction.” She gave me a nod with an exciting smile. “They definitely were! Oh, I can’t wait to do some research on your race! It’s so exciting! And the Keyblade as well - I’m excited!” she cheered. Man… She certainly takes research and learning to a serious level - not that there is anything wrong with that. It might be better that she slows down a bit, though. Never know who could be listening in. Just then, we both heard a shrill scream coming from the outside, much to our shock. What was that!? “Who in Equestria was that?” Twilight inquired, but I just shrugged. I had no idea who- A couple more screams came out. What’s going on, exactly!? “Kairi?” Twilight looked at me with a determined look as I gave her a nod back. Both of us rushed from Twilight’s room, speeding down the stairs towards the doorway. I had a feeling that this wasn’t a coincidence. Something is happening - something bad! Hold on, Ponyville! We’re coming to the rescue! *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil lavender eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. Chapter 8 - Source of the Problems!*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulled out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* So… here is the question of the century: What made the ponies scream in fear and terror after that interview of ours had wrapped up? Try and guess! No, it wasn’t a stampede of any kind or tall creatures from the forest. Still haven’t figured it out yet? I’ll give you a hint – small, black-colored with yellow eyes… That’s right! Those freaking black-colored ant creatures had returned with a vengeance, though we had no idea why they came back at that very moment. That didn’t matter since we had to defend the town before the situation got worse. So far, there were no casualties, yet one should never assume that it’s a good thing until you get confirmation. Beside, who knows if we may find- Sensing a purple light behind me, I turned around to see that a couple of creatures in the air were disintegrated – no doubt they were planning on using a sneak attack via jumping. Turns out, Twilight was the one who eliminated them. Thanks a bunch, Twi! Still, you could be a little more careful with the beam. It was very close to me. “Watch out, Kairi!” she warned me as I nodded with a cautious look. She looked ahead towards her own brand of enemies that were preparing to attack her. Using a mixture of fire and ice spells, she blasted them away before turning to look at me. “I’m gonna head on to see if there are any casualties, but I’ll try my best to come back and help you! Just stay safe and don’t get yourself killed!” she warned. I gave her a nod as I prepared to fight the creatures once more. “Got it! Stay safe as well, Twilight Sparkle! Don’t play the hardcore hero!” I warned her, but she didn’t answer and took off to search for casualties. In the meantime, the creatures had surrounded me with no way to escape. With the Keyblade by my side, I wasn’t worried. Taking a look at the creatures, I made a note of what some of them looked like: Small ant-like creatures Dressed like knights-in-armor and wielding swords Bluish-black bodysuits with red claws, black-silver trimmed shoes and a silver helm that was opened and exposed their yellow eyes The knights and those body-suited creatures definitely creeped me out a bit – mainly their claws and swords. Gotta watch out for them. The ants, though… not so much scary. (My targets were preparing themselves for an attack as I gripped my Keyblade tightly and wondered which would attack first – shadows, knights or body suited guys.) The first ones were the body suited guys, yet I swatted them away with my weapon just as the small ants jumped onto my back. Panicking quickly, I shook my body in an attempt to get them off me. “H-hey! Get off!” I demanded while continuing to shake them off. I managed to get two of them away, but one scratched the exposed part of my back. I shook him off, then sliced him in half along with the other two small ant-like creatures. They all disintegrated into smoke as I breathed a sigh of relief for a little bit before turning my attention towards the knights who raised their swords to slash me only for my Keyblade to connect with their steel. “Ugh… Nice… try!” I held back their steel swords with my Keyblade. They were increasing the pressure on their weapons, but I wasn’t backing down soon. Little did I know, the creatures in bodysuits and helmets came back to attack me for that swatting a few seconds ago. Just as they jumped in the air though, they didn’t crash down onto my body to injure me – instead, a rainbow-colored speed demon slammed itself into the monsters and sent them a few feet away. “You ain’t hurting anyone, ya punks!” the familiar voice of the cocky yet loyal Rainbow Dash warned as my eyes widened, still holding back the steel swords with all my strength. “R-Rainbow!? What are you doing here!?” I demanded to know, my eyes now focused on her. “Helping you out, duh! I’m the Element of Loyalty and I gotta protect my friends, even if they’re weird and not even 20 percent as cool as me,” she teased with a cocky tone while I just sent her a deadpan look. Seriously…? We’re in the middle of a fight against a mysterious race of evil creatures and she takes the time to judge me!? Okay, what the hell… “Okay, Rainbow… Is this really the time for this!? Right now, I’m trying my best to defend us all against creatures that want us dead and you are seriously going with this right now!?” I yelled, though she didn’t seem fazed by it. “Oh, cool your jets, Kai… I’m just joking, so relax. Hey, I’ve got an idea on what we can do!” she told me, yet I remained unconvinced. “Well… if you’ve got a plan, maybe you should - oh, I don’t know - APPLY IT RIGHT NOW BEFORE I- UGH!” Couldn’t finish my words due to the swords applying pressure on my Keyblade and attempting to slash me. Rainbow apparently got the message and flipped her wings. “Okay, okay! I got you. Step back right now! I’ve got an attack that will take them out without any trouble!” “Hope your plan is worth it!” I yelled back before jumping a few feet away and leaving Rainbow to do her attack. Flapping her wings, she flew around the knight-like monsters and began to form a small tornado, much to my surprise. Along the way, the bodysuit creatures got caught as well. It wasn’t a big tornado, so there wasn’t much danger of any houses or ponies get caught in it. Still, I wondered how this would solve our problem with the creatures… “Kairi! I’m gonna stop the tornado. The little creeps will no doubt be disoriented and crash on the ground! Then we can both take them out!” Rainbow called out. That is, without a doubt, the… huh… actually, that’s not a bad idea. Though I do have to wonder how many will crash onto the ground. “Alright, just make this attack count!” I told her, but I don’t know if she heard me or not. Let’s hope this works. Rainbow Dash, don’t let me down! As soon as Rainbow flew out of it, the tornado dispersed and the creatures crashed onto the ground, unable to continue to fight. I’m actually impressed! Her plan literally worked! Now I can take them out quickly without any trouble. Swish! One enemy goes down. Slash! Two more, including bodysuited ones. Stab! A couple more go down. (Few seconds later, I had finished off the little creatures and released a sigh before I cringed in pain due to the open wound that was still there on my back – it was bleeding a little bit.) Ugh, that hurts… I hope Twilight comes back soon cause I need a good healing spell on the double- OUCH! Who in the hell hit me in the back!? Ugh, Rainbow… I should have known. “Yahoo! Our plan worked! Good job, Kai!” she declared with a grin on her face. I just groaned in pain. “R-rainbow… not now… In case you haven’t noticed, there is an open wound on my back!” I yelled as her face morphed into confusion. “Huh? A wound? What are you- Oh my gosh! Kairi, you are bleeding!” she stated shockingly while I looked at her with a ‘You’re seriously seeing this now!?’ face. “Oh, boy… oh, boy… This is bad… Ummm… Wait, hold on! I’m going to go and fetch Twilight. Be right back!” she assured me before flying away. Ugh, my back hurts… I hope Rainbow returns quickly... At least I’m not being assaulted by the creatures anym- Just as I thought these words, more of the monsters showed up out of nowhere. Knights, ant-like creatures, and bodysuits - ugh, goddamn it! No time to waste now! I got back into a fighting pose and prepared for yet another fight which began with the bodysuits jumping in the air. Unlucky for them, I sliced them in half as they disintegrated into smoke immediately. Unfortunately, some of the ants scratched different parts of my body and more open wounds appeared – I felt the pain… OUCH! Shaking the little buggers off, I took care of them quickly before returning to focusing on the knights. Managing to block a sword that came crashing down was the good news. Bad news was that another knight assaulted me from behind. It left me a huge open scar and most of my back outfit ripped open. Dodging out of the way quickly, I attacked one of the knights and immediately destroyed it while another knight charged forward to slash me yet again. Moving sideways before it could strike, I used my Keyblade to slice it in half. The second round was quickly over, yet my body was feeling heavy over the blood loss. I was looking like a real mess, but wasn’t tired just yet. Ugh… can’t… stand… Goddamn it… Gotta stay awake… I fell to my knees and used my Keyblade to support myself. I can’t lose now… I just hope that no more creatures show up… I don’t know how much longer I can- To prove that God was being an ass to me, more of the monsters showed up. Here we go again! A third round begun with me slashing and stabbing all of my targets. Bodysuited guys fell easily while the shadows were a little tricky, as they sunk into the ground and appeared behind me. The knights were also complicated due to them moving around a lot. Unfortunately, I didn’t escape from this fight unscathed. Got some more injuries, though I was able to defeat the creatures. Ugh… everything hurts so bad. Most of my outfit is ripped up and my hair is a complete mess. Blood all around me… vision getting blurry… Wonder how long I’ve got before I pass out… Ugh… Gotta stay awake… gotta stay awake… can’t lose consciousness yet… ugh… gotta stay… just until Twilight comes, and then- *WHAM!* O-ouch… My mouth… ugh… Can’t stay… awake anymore… W-who punched my mouth… ugh… Vision is getting blurry… W-who is that… What’s with the visor and suit…? “Pleasant dreams, Kairi.” The mysterious person spoke these words with a chuckle as it became really hard to see. Ugh… gotta… stay… awak- Ugh… damn it. (Unknown time/Unknown location…) Ugh, my head… Where am I? My senses are coming to… I can feel my eyelids opening… A black void of some kind? Where am I, exactly? Is this the Death Realm or something? Oh, fuck… Don’t tell me I’m dead already… “Twilight, Rainbow! Please tell me I’m not dead! I can’t die yet. I haven’t even lived yet!” I called out to someone . No one responded. With a sigh released, I stood up and look around even though it was just a black void. Nobody around. Nothing. “This is the worst…” I sighed. “Oh, it’s about to get much worse for you, sister.” I froze in surprise as a voice responded to me. W-what? Who was that? Turning around, my eyes widened in surprise. Another human! What’s with the weird getup and the visor covering the face, though? “Who are you…?” I inquired as the figure released a small chuckle. From the sounds of it, they were female. “Oh, someone that knows you quite well, Kairi. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you face to face,” she declared while bowing in a mocking pose. Huh? She knows me…? But I’ve never met people like her before – especially wearing a darkish purple-red bodysuit and a biker-like helmet. “What do you mean, ‘you know me quite well’? I’ve never seen someone like you before,” I replied as she chuckled yet again. “Oh, you might think that, but the truth is far more than meets the eye. Oh, dear Kairi… I know you quite well – who you really are, what you are, the Keyblade that you wield… everything.” I had enough. “Alright! Enough is enough! Who the hell are you and how do you know so much about me!?” I shouted, but she simply laughed and took out her right hand. What happened was a surprise. As if by magic, a Keyblade appeared in her hands. Its blade was a complete crystal while the teeth was a pink half-star. The handle was colored pink while and it bared two dark wings. Lastly, the Keychain resembled a six-point pink star. “A Keyblade!?” I said in surprise. “Indeed. You aren’t the only one to wield the legendary weapon,” she said. I stood surprised for another couple of seconds before my face morphed into determination. Summoning my Keyblade, I got into a fighting pose. For some reason, it seemed to amuse the mysterious girl. “Tell me where you got the Keyblade!” I demanded. She giggled. “Good... Very good. Now, let’s see what you’re made of, Princess!” She prepared for a fight as well. I don’t know who she is, what her purpose is, or why she wields the Keyblade, but I’m not gonna let this mysterious figure take me down! Time to show this little bitch what I’m made off! Alright, you punk… Get ready to dance! *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. Chapter 9 - Don't mess with the Moon Mom!*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulled out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* (“Good… very good. Now… let’s see what you are made off, Princess!” She declared and the fight began with both our weapons clashing together.) I applied pressure in order to break the hold and assault the masked figure yet it wasn’t working – she was holding her ground. Just who is she exactly? Applying more pressure to break the hold but it didn’t budge at all… damn it. What to do, what to do? I gotta find a way to break the hold over her Keyblade or else I’ll tire out before she even lifts a finger to defeat me. But what she did next was unexpected – she teleported away much to my surprise! “Should have been paying more attention!” A familiar voice yelled out as I looked up only to be knocked forward by the Keyblade. The masked wielder caught me off guard by teleporting above me and assaulting my backside. I crashed forward onto the black ground yet immediately stood up and turned around just in time to block an attack from the masked figure. “Hmph… weak. No matter, I’ll finish you on in a second… such a shame since I thought that there was more to you than meets the eye.” The masked figure told me as she raised her Keyblade and was about to bring it down onto my head. I gasped in shock before holding my Keyblade up to block the attack as best it can. Closing my eyes, I waited for the inevitable end… waited… waited… yet it never came. Huh, what’s going on? Why aren’t I dead? Opening my eyes slowly, I gasped upon realizing that I was covered in a protective sphere – the same one that defended me from those monsters yesterday! What a stroke of luck but where was…? Hearing some groaning, I looked forward and noticed that the masked individual was laying on the black ground. She released a groan as she stood up and prepared herself for another fight. “You’ve got lucky that a barrier protected you… but it won’t save you from ME!” She declared before charging forward and raising her Keyblade. Soon, she brought it down and immediately destroy the barrier which disintegrated into millions of particles. Oh, crap! This ain’t good! Before she could attack, I blocked it once more with my Keyblade. She applied pressure to make me release my hold over her weapon yet I wasn’t budging. “Not… gonna… let… you take me… down!” I yelled through as she continued to apply more pressure. I was holding my ground as best I can but she continued to apply more and more pressure while growling at me. “Give… UP!” She demanded yet I shook my head. “Not gonna happ… happen!” I argued back as she continued to apply even more pressure yet I still held my ground. The figure soon released her hold and jumped away for a bit. “Let’s see how you deal with a little fire, PRINCESS!” She declared before channeling a couple of fireballs and launching them straight at me much to my shock. I blocked some of them but failed to notice the figure charging forward and preparing to strike me. It was too late since the minute I lowered my Keyblade I was struck a couple of times in different parts of my body before I was sent flying a few feet away. The figure just laughed at my state. “That the best you’ve got!? Man, you are more worthless the usual!” She declared as I got up and glared at her. I wasn’t down just yet but neither was she – the next move that she did was teleporting away once more. Alright, gotta keep an open eye and check to see where she will appear to attack me… “Too late!” I heard a voice from behind me and immediately turned around to block the assault. Needless to say, the masked figure wasn’t very satisfied with this outcome. “DAMN IT!” She admitted – there was a hint of anger in her tone which made me grin a bit. “Getting cocky, are we?” I asked while holding my ground. Needless to say, my words did nothing but anger her. “Shut up!” She demanded before jumping away from where I was. “Let’s see how you handle this!” She declared. What happened next was unexpected – she conjured two illusion clones of herself much to my surprise. How did she do that… who is this person exactly? “Not expecting that did you? Get HER!” She ordered her two illusion clones that nodded with their heads before charging forward to attack me. This move proved to be a fatal mistake for me since I had three opponents that I needed to take care of. I thought that I would be able to at least eliminate one of the illusionary clones yet no such luck. The moment I raised my Keyblade to protect myself I was immediately sent flying backwards and crashed a few feet away onto the black ground. “Ugh… not now… not now.” I told myself with groans coming out as I attempted to get up but no avail. My body was feeling too tired… too sour to move. Damn it all to hell. And just when you think things can’t get much worse, I’m hearing footsteps approaching my direction – the masked figure. “That all you had on you? Such a shame… you definitely proved to be quite the wielder – seems like I was right to take an interest in you. You’ve got skills but you are still just a weakling. A pity I have to dispose of you now but what the heck? I can live with it.” She declared before raising her Keyblade and preparing to stab me. (Closing my eyes, I couldn’t help but feel that this is it. I’m officially and royally fucked. Well, it was a nice ride… Fluttershy, Twilight, Rainbow, girls. I love you… I hope you all can stop this bitch – better you all than me anyways.) “Goodbye, Princess. It was nice knowing you.” The figure told me – plain and simple. This is it… my end. What a nice ride this has been… “STEP AWAY FROM THY CHILD, YOU MONSTER!” Whoa! Volume MUCH!? “What the he-” The figure was cut off by the booming voice before I heard a tremendous crash and some yelling in pain. “AHHHHH! YOU BITCH! YOU DARK EMO BITCH!” Suddenly, I felt showered by somekind of sparkling which for some reason made me feel better – huh, that’s weird. My body… it isn’t aching anymore. My pain is going away… I don’t feel a thing. Opening my eyes slowly, my vision came upon some dark-blue hooves and a moderate sapphire blue tail with a grayish Persian blue outline. Who is this…? “FOUL CREATURE! THY SHALL NOT HARM THIS CHILD ANYMORE! LEAVE THIS PLACE AND RETURN FROM WHENCE YOU CAME!” The owner of the booming voice demanded –my eyes looked up and saw that it was another pony but this time it had wings and a horn. Her mane was also colored sapphire blue with the outline being Persian blue as well. Just like with Twilight and her friends, there was a cutie mark that depicted a crescent moon covered in a dark purple background. As for the mysterious figure, she was lying onto the ground in pain – there were a couple of scratches onto her body as well as a crack on the visor. Needless to say, it wasn’t a good sight for her… shame that the skin or appearance wasn’t exposed. Would love to see who my attacker is and how exactly she knows who I am… Maybe she is the key to getting my missing memories back. The figure unfortunately didn’t leave and instead got up slowly before growling at us and casting what seemed to be a healing spell on herself. The scratches were gone while the visor crack was repaired – just who is this person and how powerful is she? (“Hmph… two against one, huh? It doesn’t matter – I’ll take care of you both in an instant. Prepare to die!” She declared and got into a fighting position.) The pony that healed me powered up her horn and prepared to fight. “Thy impudence shall prove to be your downfall, monster.” She stated calmly but with the hint of anger still there. Standing up quickly, I rushed forward and prepared my Keyblade for another fight. “I hope you don’t mind me joining in your party, Miss.” I told the pony who had healed me. She looked at me with a thankful look on her face. “Not at all. Now let us send this mysterious creature back from whence she came.” I couldn’t agree more with the pony’s words. The masked figure began by conjuring several fireballs and launching straight at us. I blocked some of them while the pony used a beam to disintegrate the fireballs which made the masked figure growl at us. She teleported away and reappeared above my head to strike me only to get beamed by the pony and sent flying back away. The figure used the healing spell on herself before standing up and conjuring two illusion clones to attack us. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the chance since the pony used a beam to disintegrate those clones of the mysterious wielder. She growled at us – mainly the pony. “No fair, you bitch!” She declared but it only made the pony smirk. “Those that fight dirty receive the fate that they deserve.” She stated clear as day which made me smile a bit. That burn is definitely deserving. The masked figure growled as she charged forward to attack only for me to block and clash with my Keyblade. Unfortunately for her, she left her back exposed for the pony to launch a dark beam at her. It sent her flying back to which she crashed onto the ground but only for a second. Getting up quickly, she growled at us before conjuring more fireballs and launching them at us. Unfortunately for her, the pony destroyed them with a couple of magic beams which made me sigh in relief. The masked figure growled as she launched herself at us only to get hit by another beam that sent her flying backwards onto the black ground. I wonder if its all over… is she beaten? (The figure sat up and healed herself with the spell just as we prepared to fight yet again but she dismissed her weapon much to our surprise.) “Hmph… you’ve got skills, Kairi. But you’re still underdeveloped… I’ll be keeping an eye on you. In the meantime, take care and improve on your skills. Until next time…” She wished us before she disappeared into the darkness much to our surprise. Damn it… she got away. And I didn’t even get to question her who she is… son of a bitch. Oh, well – there’s always next time… Speaking of that, I turned to look at the pony who protected me and gave her a thankful nod. “Thanks for having my back there. I appreciate it.” I told her just as my eyes fell upon a black-colored crown that rested atop her head. Was she royalty by chance? The royal pony returned the nod with her own. “It is I that owe thanks to you, Kairi – for standing by my side even in the face of danger. I am Luna – Princess of the Night. It is a pleasure to meet you, young Keybearer.” She told me with a smile on her face. … A princess… Who knows my name and the Keyblade… And I didn’t even bow in respect… Oh, you have gotta be shitting me! Fate… if you are hearing this now… I want you to know: You are a bitch! *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. Chapter 10 - The Moon Mom*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulled out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* Don’t panic, Kairi… it’s just a princess. Nothing wrong with that. Oh, god… I’m panicking! DAMN IT! I’M PANICKING! WHAT THE HELL DO I DO!? Umm… Oh, bow! NOW! Bowing quickly in front of Princess Luna, I hoped that my disrespectful ways didn’t make her mad since she was a person of royalty. Needless to say, her reaction was a simple giggle. Oh, shoot… I think I broke her. “No need to bow, young Kairi. As I stated before, I’m the one that should be grateful to you for standing in the face of danger instead of retreating. You have my thanks.” Luna assured me as I gave a small nod before standing up albeit reluctantly since I was still in the presence of royalty. “R-right. I have to say thanks as well for helping me out with that bodysuited girl… although, do you have any idea who she might be exactly?” I asked but Princess Luna’s answer was a simple shaking of her head. It seems like she had no clue. “Unfortunately, I do not know. I was planning to ask you the same question since she seems to be aware of who you are… but you don’t know as well from the looks of it. Before I came to your assistance, did she reveal anything of importance to you? The smallest hint of information?” Luna questioned me although I didn’t have all of the answers. “All she said was that ‘there’s more to you than meets the eye’ and ‘that she had taken an interest in me’. That’s all that was told to me yet you have to believe me that I have no clue on who she really is and what her interest in me is.” I explained as Luna raised her hoof to silence me. “Kairi, please be calm. I’m not accusing you of anything since this is indeed the first time that you are meeting the mysterious girl in the bodysuit. However, what worries me is how you fit into all of this along with your ability to wield the Keyblade.” Luna replied as I summoned my weapon. “You are aware of the Keyblade?” I asked as the princess nodded before replying in a serious tone. “Yes… well, the legends at least. I’ve never seen one in person before nor have I met a wielder. Yet, I’m aware of one thing – its purpose.” “Its’ purpose…?” I asked before Princess Luna continued speaking. “Yes… the Keyblade is described as a weapon of salvation or doom. It is often said that the legendary weapon will either protects those in a time of need or bring ruin and shatter the peace.” I cringed upon hearing that… the Keyblade can do that? Oh, man – I must have really pissed off someone in my past life so hard that he/she punished me by letting me wield this. Maybe I don’t really want it anymore… if it brings ruin, then I could get in big trouble with the local populace in Equestria. “At first glance, I thought it ludicrous that a legendary weapon like the Keyblade could exist and said to myself that it was just that: a legend. But after a while I changed my mind and started studying about the lore encircling this weapon and its abilities. Which is why I intended to make contact with you for a while now but could not the appropriate moment. Especially due to the masked wielder that assaulted you…” Luna explained as my eyes widen in surprise. The princess wanted to talk with me…? But why? Did I do something bad? And if so, I wondered what sort of apology would be needed in order to fix the unknown mess that I supposedly caused. “Seeing as the mystery wielder has fled from the battlefield, I have a chance to finally get an answer to some of my questions. Kairi, I must ask that you answer them honestly without a single lie. Not that I don’t have anything against you, it’s basically a formality to determine whether or not I can trust you.” The princess explained it. I guess it does make sense seeing as how we’ve just met and all that… although I’m not sure if my answers will be to her satisfaction mainly cause I don’t remember a damn thing on how I came to Equestria or why I gained a Keyblade as a weapon. Gotta go with the flow, I guess… “Well, alright Princess…” I told her. Despite being in a dark realm of somekind that we still had no clue where it was stationed, we sat down and surprisingly didn’t fall through the darkness. Weird but honest truth. “Now then… Kairi, I know that you aren’t from Equestria. Where are you from exactly?” Princess Luna asked her first question. Oh, dear… I’m in trouble with this one. How can I answer since I have no idea where I’m from or who I was before I came to Equestria? “Princess, you have to believe me on this one – I haven’t a clue. My memory is on the fritz right now and I can’t see to remember anything before I got here. Honest truth.” I answered as Luna’s eyebrows arose. “Nothing at all?” The princess asked me once again as I gave a simple nod which made stare at me for a moment before she continued onward. “This will be much harder than it first seems… I presume that your answer will be the same involving the Keyblade, correct?” She asked as I nodded once again. “Yep… I don’t even have a clue on how I gained the ability to wield the Keyblade nor do remember what my real name is.” I explained. “Your real name…? Do you mean to tell me that Kairi isn’t the name you were born with?” The princess asked as I nodded. “Hmm, interesting… very interesting. It seems that the masked figure was right about one thing – there is more to you than meets the eye. Severe loss of memory, the ability to wield the Keyblade, the figure knowing about you… Kairi, I have a theory although its plausible at this time.” She told me. “How so… if you don’t mind me asking.” I said while awaiting for the princess to answer. “That’s the thing – it’s still plausible and I need to be sure that I’m being correct on this. Your missing memories and your unknown connection to the masked wielder might be connected somehow but I’m not sure yet.” She explained as my eyes widened. Wait… so the person that attacked me with a Keyblade and left me cryptic messages is possibly the reason I’m in Equestria without my memories of my old life? If what Princess Luna is saying then my opponent definitely has a lot of explaining to do… next time I see her I’m gonna kick her ass so hard and make her tell me the truth of how I ended up in the pony world and why I can’t remember anything before coming here. “So… what happens now? Does that mean I’m in trouble for using the Keyblade to protect the weak and such?” I asked with Luna being silent on that one for a couple of seconds before she answered. “No… while I’m still unsure of what your goals and motivation are, I can easily deduce that you do not wish any harm upon mine and my sister’s subjects. Though I will keep an eye on you for the foreseeable future.” I became surprised at what she told me. “Huh… nobody has taken an interest in me before. Why the supported liking to me and my character? I’m just an ordinary person.” I stated but my words made Luna grin a bit. “You interest me. I can’t quite explain it but there is something about you that just peaks my curiosity. And no – it’s not the Keyblade. It’s something far deeper than your ability to wield the legendary weapon… though I’m not sure what yet exactly.” She explained. Huh… never imagined that someone would take an interest in my before. Although why is she telling me all of this? “Not that I don’t want to be rude or anything like that but again – why the interest in me?” I asked. At that, Luna smiled sadly. “In the books that I’ve read, I’ve learned that most Keyblade Wielders suffered a nasty fate… not just to the darkness but also the Heartless as well.” She explained. Wait… Heartless? The hell are- Wait, it couldn’t… “Princess, are these ‘Heartless’ by chance creatures that are black-colored and possess yellow eyes?” I asked and with a nod from Luna my quick suspicions were confirmed. “Indeed… the Heartless are basically the manifestation of one’s heart should it succumb to the darkness. They have many shapes and forms but almost all are extremely dangerous. Their own goal is to satisfy their hunger for hearts – the more hearts they obtain, the more their numbers increase… my sister and I have done everything in power to make sure that our subjects never have to fear the Heartless though I don’t under how they have returned. I’m sure that we locked the Keyhole a thousand years ago…” Luna explained. My mind immediately blocked as I had a multitude of questions running right now – sister? A thousand years ago? Heartless? Okay, I need some answers and I need them right now. “Okay, Princess… pardon me for being rude but I need some answers. How do you-” Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish as a bright light blinded me and I began to feel like I’m fading away. Nearby, I could hear Luna sighing. “It seems that our time is up. We’ll have to continue our conversation once you return.” She told me. No! NO! I can’t go back to waking up since I still had so many questions to ask Luna! “W-wait! This can’t be over yet! I have so much more to ask! Princess, please!” I pleaded but all I heard was a simple giggle. “Relax, Kairi. We have all the time in the world – when you return to the realm of dreams, I will be here once again to answer any questions that you might have. One thing before you go – please be… discrete in your conversation with Twilight Sparkle once you wake up. Don’t mention my presence and appearance in your dreams and instead explain only what you have learned. It’s very important.” Luna explained as the light grew brighter and brighter. “But!” I began only for the light to truly blind my eyes which couldn’t allow me to see anything including where the princess was. “Until we see again in each other’s dreams, Kairi… until then you must FACE YOUR FEARS!” AHHHH! Volume control much!? Soon, the light overtook me and I couldn’t see anything due to being blinded. (In the real world…) My eyes began to crack slowly open as I released a soft groan while getting up from the… couch? “Oh, my gosh… Kairi! You’re okay! Thank goodness!” The familiar worrying tone of Twilight yelled in relief as she appeared in my face and wrapped her hooves over my neck… tightly. “T-twilight… c-can’t… breathe!” I told her through c-choking… goddamn it! I c-can’t breathe! Twilight realized this and immediately removed her hooves which allowed me to catch my breath slowly as I coughed a bit. The purple unicorn chuckled sheepishly. “Oops… my bad. Sorry!” She apologized. “It’s… it’s fine.” I assured her as I finished coughing before laying back down and asking her a question. “Where am I?” “My home… I drag you inside and immediately got to work in patching you up. You were a mess when I brought you in.” Twilight explained. I noticed that I wasn’t wearing my usual clothes and instead I was wearing a gown of somekind and there were bandages all over my body. Wait, how did I get in this state? Oh, shit! I remember! The town and the Heartless! Fuck, I completely forgot about that! “Twilight! What about the town and the creatures? Is it safe? Did we win the battle?” I frantically demanded the answer as Twilight raised her hoofs to calm me down. “Kairi, Kairi! Please calm down! We did win the battle – however, you have no idea how extremely luck you are to walk away unscathed. Do you have any idea how close you were to death? You nearly scared me and Rainbow – don’t even get me started on Fluttershy. Kairi, don’t you dare scare us like that again! Got it?” Twilight told me – although her tone sounded like a threat of somekind. I rubbed the back of my head. “Sorry, Twi… it’s just – there were too many Heartless about and they didn’t stop coming no matter what we did.” I explained as Twilight sighed. “I know… you were trying your best to be the hero but you didn’t – Wait, Heartless? You mean those black-colored creatures have a name?” She asked. I nodded and it was time to get down to the business at hand. “Yeah… actually, two things: I know what the Heartless are and I do believe that we might have our culprit that is responsible for bringing them in the first place. I think you better fetch your notepad, Twilight. It seems we have a rather dangerous individual on our hands.” I told her as she went from surprised to a determined. “Right… first though – I wanna fetch something to eat. You’ve been unconscious since yesterday and you’ll need the extra meal. Then we’ll discuss the situation more clearly.” Twilight told me. As much as I hate to admit, I could use a little snack since I’m feeling a bit peckish. Also, I was unconscious since yesterday!? Damn… that bodysuited bitch is gonna pay when I see her again. Twilight left to go and get me something to eat while I just laid back down to think about the situation more clearly. I still had no clue on how this is going to end nor do I have any idea on what that bodysuited individual and the Heartless have planned for me… All I know is that ‘Mystery Mask’ is connected to me and up to something big involving the Heartless. With a sigh, I realized how much tougher my job was going to get with each passing minute. For some reason, it made me grin a bit… Hmph, I just love a challenge. Yep, this is going to be an interesting war between myself and the masked figure. All I had to do now… was wait until the next move was made. *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. Chapter 11 - We're gonna have to tough you up a bit, Kairi!*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulled out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* “There you go… not exactly a 5-star kitchen but Spike definitely knows how to whip up something tasty. I hope you enjoy it!” Twilight wished me before levitating the kitchen board with my meal gently onto my sheet-covered lap. It featured an omelet, some French toast and a glass of water. “That’s fine… should be enough for my stomach to handle. Say, besides Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy – what about the rest of the girls? How did they react to ‘you-know-what’?” I questioned while picking up my fork and beginning to eat my omelet. In response to that question, Twilight sighed heavily. “Very worried as well… you have no idea how lucky you were that I found you in the nick of time. Wounds everywhere, a couple of broken bones… you were on the verge of death. Luckily, my friends and I managed to nurse you back to health… well, mostly me but you get the idea.” She answered. I nodded and swallowed some of the chewed-up pieces before continuing to speak. “That bad huh… guess those Heartless and that bodysuited girl with the mask really did a good one on me and my body.” I answered while chewing on some toast. “A bodysuited girl with a mask?” Twilight questioned with me nodding. After swallowing the small toast pieces, I spoke once more. “Yeah… seems like she’s the one controlling the Heartless. I know you said we’d talk about that later but I feel like we should discuss it right now… it’s important.” “You sure you don’t want to wait? You need the extra energy right now, Kairi.” She told me but I shook my head. Twilight sighed before powering up her horn and levitating a notepad along with a pencil from out of nowhere. “Alright, Kairi… if you are certain, we’ll proceed. Start with from the beginning.” She told me. I nodded, ate another omelet piece and then began to retell my tale. “Alright… now after my little ‘accident’ I found myself in a dark void or realm… not really where. In any case, I started searching for a way out (even attempted to call either you or Rainbow) but sadly nothing… I was alone or at least I thought I was. At that exact moment, another human girl appeared dressed in the strange garb I’ve ever seen – a darkish purple-red bodysuit with her face covered by a biker-like helmet with a black visor.” I explained as Twilight’s eyes spelled ‘Amazing! Just amazing!’ before writing down what I told her. “Seems like you aren’t the only human in Equestria, Kairi. And that outfit she wore – a weird attire if you ask me.” Twilight answered and I agreed with her in the form of a nod. “Tell me about… Wait, your voice…” I spoke as Twilight looked at me with a confused look. “What about my voice?” She asked. Thinking back about the girl in the bodysuit… her voice pattern… I might be going crazy with this one but… “Twilight… if I say something, will you consider me crazy?” I asked only to gain a confused look from the unicorn. “No… I mean, lots of crazy things have happened during my stay in Ponyville but nothing fazes me anymore. Why would I think that you are crazy?” She asked. I placed a hand on my chin to think. “Well… it’s about her voice – the bodysuited girl.” I told her. “What about it, Kairi? Is there something wrong with it?” Twilight asked in a concerned tone. “Twilight… it was like – I was talking with you… it was your voice.” I answered truthfully as Twilight went into a shocked state. “W-what!? That’s… that’s impossible! The girl in the bodysuit had my voice!? That’s impossible!” She told me but I just shrugged worriedly. “I don’t know what to tell you, Twilight… also, get this – she claims to know who I am. The Keyblade, who I really am… everything.” I answered as Twilight went silent for a little bit and levitated the notepad and pencil down onto the bed. “I… I think I need a minute.” She told me before leaving the room and walking downstairs to get some clear room. At this moment, I couldn’t help but sympathize with my unicorn friend… it’s clear that’s she is going through a rough time right now. Especially after hearing more about the bodysuited girl with the mask. It’s best to just wait and give her some privacy until she comes back so we can resume our conversation. In the meantime, I plan to enjoy my meal in peace so as to gain some energy when answering Twilight’s questions… not that I’ve already recovered most of it. I took another bite of my omelet and drank some water while thinking of how else to be discreet in our conversation. No mention of Princess Luna whatsoever since she asked me to keep it a secret… I’m sure I can figure something out. Though what does that bodysuited girl want with me exactly? I’m the key to all of this but I don’t have a clue how. Next time when I see her, I’ll get my answers and what my past is and who I really am. With a little luck, I must take off the mask and see who the mystery figure really is and why she sounds like Twilight. Continuing to eat, I also thought about my conversation with Luna. Why shouldn’t I mention her appearance and assistance to Twilight? Maybe she wanted to keep the existence of the Keyblade a secret from the librarian and her friends? I don’t think they were aware of its existence at all prior to me arriving in Equestria along with the masked figure. It kinda of makes sense, I guess… Actually, the less they know about the Keyblade and such, the better since it avoids awkward questions that may or may not have answers. I can see why Luna wanted her involvement to be kept a secret. I’m sure that I’ll have no trouble of figuring out how not to mention her. After taking another sip of water, Twilight had returned – her face was… unreadable sadly. I couldn’t tell if she was still thinking about the revelation that I told her or if she is on something else. Either way, best not to pressure her and wait. “…Can we continue please? I apologize for that… I… I just needed a minute.” Twilight told me and I nodded while continuing to eat. Levitating her notebook and pencil, we resumed our conversation. “Tell me what happened after she appeared.” Swallowing the pieces of omelet, I continued. “After her appearance, she revealed that she was also a Keyblade Wielder as well.” Needless to say, Twilight was surprised yet again. “Another Keyblade Wielder? Wow… this just keeps getting better and better. So, what happened next?” She asked though I couldn’t help but wonder if the sentence beforehand was a sarcastic one or not. In any event, I continued to retell my story. “A fight had broken out between me and the mystery wielder. During our clash, I learned a couple of things about my opponent: 1. She’s very agile and fast; 2. She has a set of mysterious ability – transportation, darkness, a very powerful burst of magic and also conjuring copies of herself; 3. She’s prone to anger and easily provoked.” That explanation really amazed and somewhat scared Twilight. “Whoa! Just… just whoa. I don’t believe it… I just have to wonder who she is exactly and where did she gain such impressive strength and abilities. It’s certainly a good mystery to solve… provided we can track her down and ask her a couple of questions.” She explained to me. I nodded somewhat slowly. “Just… don’t get careless, alright? We still don’t have a clue on who she is or her motivation.” I replied and Twilight sighed while writing down. “I know, I know. Shouldn’t get careless since it could end being my end but if we could find out where the figure is maybe our questions could be answered.” Twilight told me. She had a point with that one… but we still shouldn’t be reckless. The mysterious figure definitely is a powerful one and she could be our end if we aren’t careful. “True to that… but we shouldn’t be reckless. Anyways, continuing on – the fight was a hard one… I won’t lie that it wasn’t easy. She was tough (both in strength and magic) but luckily, I held my ground for as long as I could. Unfortunately, she had beaten me.” I told her. Twilight gasped and immediately checked up on me. “Are you okay? No inside injuries involved?” She asked in a slightly worried tone. I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Twilight, it was all happening in the dream state… I’m fine.” Twilight backed off a bit after I assured her yet there was still a worried expression on her face. “Are you sure? Not feeling any pain or anything like that?” She asked and I nodded to make her calm down a bit. “Alright… if you are sure. So, you lost the fight?” She asked me while writing down the information. I nodded before continuing to speak. “Yes… I thought that I would have been destroyed from the inside in my dreams… The figure was approaching me and her plan was to eliminate me. I was inches away from death and just as the masked wielder was about to strike me down… I felt… a pure light. It had come to protect me and heal me along with my wounds. After that, the fight resumed and this time I had won the battle which really enraged the masked girl. She retreated soon afterwards and the rest is history.” My explanation had finished as I took another sip of water. Twilight wrote down the last bits of information in her notebook before placing it down gently on her bed. “Sounds like the battle was truly an interesting one indeed… you stood your ground well.” She told me. “You believe me – the masked figure and all of this?” I asked and she nodded slowly. “Under normal circumstances, I would think that you are really ‘crazy’ but after what you just told me, there’s no room for doubt. I believe that you fought against a masked figure who sounds like me and that she also has a Keyblade to assist her.” Twilight replied. “Good to know you believe me… so, what do we do now?” I asked her while finishing up the rest of my meal. Twilight placed a hoof on her chin to think of an idea. “Hmmm… if this masked figure is definitely the one who is ordering the Heartless to attack Equestria then she may return along with a new breed of those little monsters by her side. We need to prepare for that time when it comes.” She explained. Not a bad idea… preparation is the key. “Plus we have to make sure they don’t steal anyone’s hearts.” I told her. “Yeah, that as we- Wait… steal hearts?” She asked me in a confused tone as I slapped my forehead – nearly forgot about that. “I just remembered… before awakening, the pure light explained that the Heartless are attracted to the darkness in people’s hearts. Their main meal is basically a person or in your case a pony’s heart.” Twilight was horrified upon hearing that. “That’s… that’s amoral! What kind of creatures are these!? It’s sickening… wait, what happens if the Heartless steal a pony’s heart?” She questioned even though she didn’t really want to know the truth. In response to that, I sighed heavily and explained. “If a pony’s heart gets stolen by the Heartless, my guess is that another will be formed.” Twilight was horrified once more. Her horror soon turned into determination. “No… No! Absolutely not! We can’t let these creatures overrun Ponyville or for that matter Equestria! Kairi, you have to help us! My friends and I can try our best to handle some of them but your ‘Keyblade’ might be the only thing that can really help us… Please, Kairi.” She pleaded with me. I couldn’t help but let a smile form on my lips. “Twilight, I’m not going anywhere – not until the Heartless and masked figure are stopped. Just calm down, will you?” I told her. Twilight couldn’t help but feel relieved upon hearing my words and she embraced me in a hug. “Thanks, Kairi… we owe you a deep gratitude. Me and my friends.” She replied before removing her hooves. “So… what happens next – besides defending Equestria from the creatures which is our top priority?” I asked while Twilight levitated the kitchen board away from my lap to a nightstand nearby. “Besides that… I’m gonna help you get into shape a little bit and toughen you up in case the masked figure reappears and challenges you to another fight.” She explained. Training, huh? Not a bad idea… it could help with learning some new moves and abilities along the way. Though where are we going to have lessons? “Not that I don’t mind that since it sounds like a good idea but where are we going to train my body and mind exactly?” I questioned with a curious expression. “Leave that to me… my magic is powerful enough to conjure a simulation arena or teleport us to a place where we won’t be disturbed. If the situation demands it, I’ll bring some of my friends along to help us out. Fret not, Kairi… I’ll handle everything. The only thing you have to do is prepare and train in case our opponent shows up.” Twilight explained and I nodded. “Alright… seems like you’ve got everything worked out. When do I begin the first training session?” I questioned and Twilight’s lips twisted into an amused grin. “Tomorrow morning at the earliest.” Oh, fuck… wasn’t expecting that. (The next morning…) “Ready for your first training session, Kairi?” Twilight questioned me as we stood in the library section of her home. My expression right now was one of tiredness due to me getting up way too early… at 7:00 in the morning if you can believe it. Placing my hand on my mouth to stop an incoming yawn was my response to her question. Twilight frowned a bit. “Oh, come on… you can’t be that tired.” She told me while I rubbed my eyes. I made an unamused face. “Twilight… when you told me ‘at the earliest’ I was thinking that it would be at 8:30 or 9:00 at the least… not freaking 7:30. Ugh…” I told her in a frustrated tone. “I know, I know… its too early but the sooner we get started, the better. How do you like the outfit I gave you by the way?” She asked me as I stared at the temporary outfit I was issued or as Twilight put it ‘training clothes’. My upper attire consisted of a white top underneath a black t-shirt while my lower attire was a pair of black khaki Capri pants with a purple belt to hold them. As for footwear, there were purple sneakers with light purple and black accents. My necklace with the silver bead was still around my neck along with the bracelets on my left arm as well. “It’s… well, I’m not a fashion consultant but it’s a nice look – it’s like I’m in a gym glass or running for a marathon.” I replied with the tired look still on my face. Letting out another yawn, I blocked it with my hand before looking at Twilight. “When do we start on our first training session?” I asked her. Twilight was about to answer when we both felt our stomach growl. Oh, yeah… we didn’t have any breakfast yet. Twilight smiled sheepishly at that. “Well, I guess the session could wait… first things first, let’s get some energy into our bodies.” She told me. That made me grin a bit while replying. “Now you’re speaking my language!” *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. Chapter 12 - Training, Training... and More Training! Also, Fluttershy is here again!*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulled out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* Chapter 12 – Training, Training… and more Training! Also, Fluttershy is here again! So… fast-forwarding the events since most of you don’t want to hear my thoughts over the morning meal. Twilight and I had our breakfast which was pretzels with apple juice and some buttered toast. I won’t lie right now – the food was really good and I didn’t stop until I had cleared up the plates with my breakfast. Twilight was surprised by how I was really hungry… being honest right now, the omelet last night hadn’t filled my tummy to the full. After breakfast, we both cleaned up and were ready to head on for my first training session in the use of a Keyblade. The question that remained on my head since yesterday was still in my mind – where we would train exactly? When I asked Twilight, she already had the answer. “I picked out the ruins of my mentor’s old castle in the Everfree Forest. It’s very spacious and empty for the occasion – we shouldn’t be interrupted… for the time being at least.” I nodded before posing my own question. “What kind of methods will we handle exactly? I don’t know much about the Keyblade truth be told.” Twilight went silent and placed a hoof on her chin to think. “Hmmm… we’ll practice with training dummies. Plus, I want to try out a little method involving your Keyblade – magic.” She answered. Wait… what? “Magic… as in – actual magic spells or just in general?” I asked before summoning my Keyblade while Twilight nodded. “Exactly… I wish to see if your Keyblade can handle some basic spells such as fire, water, ice, etc. – You get the picture. If the masked figure can use magic in her attacks, whose to say we can up our arsenal and give you a much better fighting chance?” Twilight questioned – a slight grin on her face. A good point – though I do wonder if the Keyblade can handle magic that would be useful besides fancy heavy attacks and whatnot. I guess we’ll find out soon enough. “Right… are we ready to head onward towards the Castle?” “Just two things to gather and then we’re ready to get a move on. Be right back.” Twilight told me before heading back upstairs to her room. I wonder what she’s going to get – maybe a book to pass the time while I trained? Or a timer to count the hours of my training? I’m not sure exactly but we’re going to find out once she comes back down. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. A guest at this hour? I wonder if it was Rainbow Dash who wanted to come and check on me. Or Pinkie Pie with another party? Only one way to find out. Upon opening the door, I was immediately completely embraced in a hug by none other than a crying Fluttershy who was worried sick about me. “KAIRI! Oh, my gosh! Thank goodness you were alright!” She declared and held me closer… very close as I began to lose my oxygen supply fast. “F-fluttershy… I… c-can’t… br-breathe!” I told her in a hazy voice before she realized what was happening and immediately released me from her ‘motherly’ death hug. I breathed slowly and cackled my hazy throat before looking at her. “T-thanks… and I’m sorry for worrying you.” I apologized yet she just cried once again. “Do you have any idea how worried I was about you…? I nearly had a heart attack when I saw your state! Kairi, do you want me to kill myself with worry!? Do you!? Never… ever… again! Please… I don’t think I could handle having another panic attack like that… Please… don’t worry me like that.” Fluttershy pleaded and hugged me once more. Damn it… I made her worry a lot. I should have gone and visited her yesterday evening to tell her that I’m fine and well yet Twilight handle that. She told her that I would be staying in her library for the evening but I knew that I should have went to her house to explain. Oof, I’m such a bad roommate… or daughter-figure to her? Can’t really tell her age, if I’m being honest. None the less, I let go off her and placed a hand on her hoof. “I’m sorry Fluttershy… I should have gone to your house to tell you that I’m fine… yet I didn’t. I apologize for that. I guess I wasn’t thinking straight last night?” This question came with a sheepish sad grin on my face. Fluttershy frowned while wiping the tears away. “Clearly you weren’t…” She stopped, sighed and then continued. “Just… please be careful. I can’t handle it, Kairi… not now, not ever. You’re more than a friend and roommate to me – you’re like a daughter. If something were to happen to you, I’d be devastated. Promise me that you’ll be careful.” Her words surprised me – like a daughter to Fluttershy? I… don’t know what to say, to be honest. She did save me from those wolves in the forest, took me into her home, feeds and shelters me… I guess she really is like a mother to me. I wonder if my real mother is still alive somewhere on my world – probably. No doubt she’s grieving about her lost child who is on this world of ponies. I hope we can get a happy reunion soon… I miss her so much even if I can’t remember who she really is anymore. Damn this fate along with the guy who sent me to Equestria. Ugh, this is the worst! “Kairi… are you okay?” Fluttershy asked as she snapped me from my thoughts. “W-wha… Oh, y-yeah. Just thinking some things. Sorry for worrying you, Mo- I mean, Fluttershy… y-yeah, Fluttershy.” I quickly corrected myself before Fluttershy could notice the mistake I accidentally made. I can’t believe I nearly called her ‘Mom’. What an awkward situation that would have been if I had indeed said it. That was close – far too close if you ask me. Though Fluttershy is like a mother to me so… What I failed to notice was the surprised look on Fluttershy’s face before it resumed a normal one. “O-okay, Kairi… I’m glad to hear it. Please, just be more careful. Alright?” She asked me and I nodded. “Good… so, do you want to come and have breakfast with me? I could use the company.” She told me yet I shook my head. “Sorry but I have some plans for today – plus, I already had breakfast. Twilight and I plan to head onto the old castle in the Everfree Forest for some training with my Keyblade in case the masked figure comes back. Plus, our librarian also wants to test out something involving my weapon.” I explained to Fluttershy. “The old castle in the forest? Isn’t that… a little dangerous for you, Kairi? You’ve only just woken up last night from your little ‘encounter’ with those monsters and whoever is leading them. Maybe you should get some more rest?” She suggested. I could tell that she was still worried about me getting involved in another life-threatening situation and while I did appreciate the concerning advice from my mother-like pegasus, I had to prepare. No choice in the matter since the masked figure could come back and attack us again with her damned Heartless. That meant no rest for the wicked. “I appreciate the concern, Fluttershy. Yet I can’t afford to rest… this is a training day and I have to prepare in case the Heartless return to Ponyville.” I replied as Fluttershy felt a little sad at hearing me say that. “B-but, you could get hurt… again. I can’t let that happen… I’m sorry, Kairi – but as your caretaker I’m coming with you.” Fluttershy told me in a stern yet motherly voice. One. That… took a turn for the worse and Two. When on Earth did you consider yourself as my caretaker exactly, Fluttershy? Oh, wait… never mind that second thing. “Umm… Fluttershy, no offense by that sounds like a bad idea if I’m being honest. If you come with me, then… umm… then you would be… in danger?” I told her with a sheepish look but she pulled out an unamused face. “Really, Kairi? That’s the best you can do?” Fluttershy asked with a raised eyebrow. Damn it… seriously cannot lie to this pegasus no matter how much I try. She really is acting like a stern mother right now – overprotective as well. “Okay, okay… I admit it was dumb to say that. But Fluttershy, I really need to do this… only with Twilight. If you come then you things wouldn’t work out. I get injured or worse and you’ll demand that the training stops.” I explained as Fluttershy sighed. “Only because I’m worried about you, Kairi. You have to understand that since I’m taking care of you temporarily, I’m responsible for your needs and safety. I just don’t feel like training right now is such a good idea. I know that those creatures could come back… but you still need to rest.” Fluttershy said – her concern tone completely hearable. I sighed before replying. “I know, I know… but I’m the only one that can do this, Fluttershy. I have the Keyblade and only I can defeat those creatures.” Fluttershy nodded. “Hence why I have to watch over you so that you don’t do anything stupid. No exceptions, little missy.” She warned me with a stern tone. Her words made me chuckle a bit. “I don’t really have any say in the matter, don’t I?” Was my question while Fluttershy smiled gently and ruffled my hair. “Nope. None at all. Think of this as a sort of class – besides Twilight being your teacher, I’ll be there for moral support.” She said. Well, she does have a point there… Before I could answer, Twilight came back down with some saddle backs and… Spike on her back? Judging by his closed eyes and tired look, he was still asleep. Why was Twilight bringing along exactly? “Okay… I’m done. Sorry for the long wait, Kairi. Had to drag sleeping bones over here to chart down scores for your training sessions and- Oh, hi Fluttershy. Is there something I can help you with?” Twilight questioned upon noticing that Fluttershy was in the library as well. “Morning to you as well, Twilight. I’m here to join you both on your little ‘training’ session.” Fluttershy answered. Needless to say, Twilight was surprised. “Wait… are you serious? You realize that we’ll be in the Castle of the Royal Sisters in the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy? Why do you want to come?” She asked. “Well… it’s simply to give Kairi moral support. I am her caretaker after all – for the time being, of course.” Fluttershy answered. “Oh, yeah… I forgot about you being Kairi’s caretaker. Shoot, that reminds me – when we get back from the Everfree, we’ll ask Mayor Mare about that whole ‘house’ thing, Kairi.” Twilight answered but Fluttershy became confused upon hearing ‘house’. “House? What are you talking about, Twi?” Fluttershy questioned. Twilight opened her mouth and was about to speak when I took over to explain. “Oh… that’s all on me. I wanted to get my own house here in Ponyville since I feel like I’m invading your hospitality, Fluttershy… but I changed my mind on it.” “Ah, I understand… but Kairi – you aren’t invading my hospitality. I enjoy having company and plus you’re like a daughter to me. If there’s something that isn’t to your standards in my place, just tell me and I’ll do my best to change it.” She answered. I felt kind of bad about explaining that to Fluttershy – so far, she’s been a gracious host and I don’t really feel like moving into a new house in Ponyville. Oof, I should have never come up with that stupid idea of mine. Bet she is angry at me right now… don’t really blame her. “T-thanks. Sorry about my idea… it was kind of dumb, to be honest. Mad at me?” I asked her but she shook her head. “I’m confused and a little mad… but its all water under the bridge. Like I said if you need a change, then tell me and I’ll do my best. No more secrets, Kairi – alright?” She asked and I nodded. Twilight took over for me. “Glad we got that out of the way… Kairi, since you’re living with Fluttershy… permanently, right?” She stopped to see that my answer was a nod before continuing. “We’ll have to go down to Mayor Mare so we can get some adoption forms for Fluttershy to fill out. She is your legal guardian for the time being. Until we can find your real parents or information about them.” The librarian finished explaining. “Right… so, are we ready to get a move on?” I asked with Twilight nodding. Using one of her teleportation spells, we immediately zipped away from the library in the blink of an eye… (An hour later at the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters – Everfree Forest…) The Keyblade sliced another training dummy in half before it dissipated into black smoke. Turning my attention towards another one, I took care of it quickly before tackling yet a third one. So far, the training consisted of me taking down training dummies with different moves and abilities – using jumping attacks, sliding abilities, from behind, etc. It was fairly easy since the dummies were made out of wooden or straw – kind of a bummer that they weren’t alive but whatever. After finishing another one, Twilight yelled. “Stop! That’s enough!” She had turned off the timer with her magic as I breathed slowly while wiping the sweat off my face. “How’d I do this time?” I questioned her. This current lesson was to learn how fast I would be able to take down opponents in under 5 minutes. For the last hour, I was focused on movement and quick reflexes which were pretty easy. But for this one though… “Hmmm… 2 minutes and 15 seconds. It’s an improvement but not much… we’ll have to see if we can get you to take all targets out in under 2 minutes – if you can, of course.” Twilight answered. “Oh…” I slumped in disappointment. “But don’t feel bad! You’re quickly learning the ropes and taking out your opponents much faster than when we began in the last hour. Just a couple more and you’ll reach 2 minutes in no time.” Twilight said in an attempt to cheer me up. Fluttershy flew with her wings towards my location and placed a hoof on my shoulders. “You’re doing good so far, Kairi. I’m very proud of you.” She admitted with a smile. Despite me being in sweat and somewhat tiring, I couldn’t keep my lips from twisting into a gentle smile as well. “Thanks, Fluttershy… I appreciate it.” I told her. “Spike, how are we doing on the scores?” Twilight asked her assistant but he didn’t answer as his face was fulling covered by the notebook. “Spike? Are you listening to me? Spike!” Twilight went to shake up her assistant only for her to realize that he had fallen asleep again and was using the notebook as cover to avoid getting into trouble. Poor kid… I pity him since it's still too early for him to stay awake at this hour. Twilight did explain that he was a baby dragon after all and needed the extra sleep. Twilight groaned as she turned away from the sleeping Spike to where we were. “Guess we won’t be reading those scores anytime soon…” She told us. “Don’t feel too bad about him, Twilight. He needs the extra sleep since he is a baby dragon after all.” Fluttershy said. Twilight nodded. “Yeah… I guess that’s true. Well, we’ll just have to continue on without the scores. Now, I wanted to try out that theory about the Keyblade and magic. If we’re lucky, then Kairi will be on par with our little masked figure… if not, well… I don’t know.” She answered. “You… don’t know?” I questioned with a raised eyebrow before she responded. “It’s still just a theory… keep it in mind. We’ll start with a simple ‘Fire’ spell.” Twilight said before she concentrated and conjured an orb with fire in it. Alright, now that only question that remains is how do I use this- Whoa! The orb automatically got sucked by the tip of my Keyblade! Needless to say, Twilight and Fluttershy were both astonished and surprised. “Wow! That was… unexpected.” The librarian stated. “Y-yeah… so, does it work though?” I asked with a curious expression. Twilight was on the same mind as she conjured more dummies for me to practice. “Only one way to find out. See if you can cast fire at those dummies.” She ordered me and I nodded. Concentrating, I aimed the Keyblade at the dummies but nothing happened… well, except for smoke that filled the area. “Oof, damn… *cough* T-that didn’t go so w*cough*well.” I said while shaking my body and removing the smoke. Twilight and Fluttershy also shook their bodies and coughed as well. “Y-yeah… *cough-cough* That didn’t go so well. Are you alright though, Kairi?” Fluttershy asked in a motherly tone while flying up and examining me. I nodded and assured her that was alright. “It’s just a little smoke, Fluttershy… I’m fine.” “Well, that was a bust. *cough-cough*” Twilight told us while coughing yet I shrugged. “I’ll give it another shot – we’ve got all day after all.” It was true… the morning was still here and we were in no hurry to return back to the library. Plus, we wanted to see if the theory of using magic is true or not. Concentrating once again, I pointed my Keyblade at the dummies and waited… and waited… until I noticed some spark at the tip which made me grin… only for black smoke to happen once again. Damn it… there we go again. Ugh, this sucks… Fluttershy ended up in mother mode again and examined me yet I assured her that I was fine. It’s… kind of cute in a way. She really is like a mother to me… Third time's the charm and I concentrated once more. However, this time I had an idea on how the spell may or may not work. Let’s hope that I don’t screw the pooch on this one. Concentrating with all my might, I took a deep breath before yelling. “Fire!” A fireball was formed and it was launched at one of the dummies. Oh, my god! It worked! So I have to say the words in order to cast the spell properly? Sounds weird… but alright. Concentrating again and yelling the words, I casted two more fireballs at the dummies which destroyed them along with the first one. Needless to say, Twilight’s theory proved to be true. “K-kairi, that was amazing! So, magic can be used besides fighting techniques! Wow… so much to learn and study!” Twilight stated with a grin on her face while Fluttershy hugged me. I could tell that she was proud of me. Afterwards, we tried out the ‘Water’ and ‘Ice’ magic – needless to say, it was very easy since I had to yell the words for the magic to take effect. A few mistakes here-and-there but I had improved… The next hour was spent in trying out the spells yet again as to get a handle on things along with combining them with fighting techniques. Jumping in the air while casting either an ice or fire spell; sliding underneath and appearing behind my opponent… the training session was hard but it wasn’t anything back-breaking. By lunchtime, I was bent and completely exhausted as I laid on the ground and released deep breaths with sweat all over my body. Twilight walked over to me and had a happy look on her face. “You did a good job today, Kairi – the fighting techniques and magic are improved… there’s still some mistakes you need to fix but that’s enough for today. We’ll pick it up tomorrow or another time.” She told me and I gave her a thumbs up. Fluttershy hugged me and told me how proud she was of me. She showered me with hugs and kisses which made me a little embarrassed, not gonna lie… but I kept silent since it was nice of her. Mama Fluttershy is active… no one can escape her. After a little rest, we went to check up on Spike who was surprisingly still asleep… wow, he is such a lazy bum. No need to admit that in front of Twilight though. She levitated Spike with her horn onto her back just as we heard our stomachs growl. Huh, what time is it exactly and how long have we been training? Twilight pulled out a watch and looked at the time. “Oh, my! We’ve been here for 6 hours… ouch! Time flies a lot.” She said to us as we nodded. I can’t believe it's been over six hours since we started the training session. In a sense, Twilight has a point – time does fly a lot. Our stomachs growled once again. “Ooh, I could really use a bite or two… anyone up for lunch?” I asked with the two ponies nodding. “I could go for something.” Twilight agreed with Fluttershy nodding. Twilight packed all of the items in her saddle backs, levitated Spike to the ground before placing everything in a proper order. “Right… time to get back to the library." She declared before Fluttershy and I nodded. We took off as Fluttershy and Twilight were discussing some things that I didn't bother to listen or hear since my mind was on other things currently - like the other training sessions I'll be having in the near future. I'm eager to learn all I know about the Keyblade and its abilities. If we're lucky, next time the masked figure arrives to assault Ponyville or myself, we'll be ready and- Huh... did I just bump my foot into something? I looked down and saw... a star charm of sorts? Hmmm... interesting. "Something the matter, Kairi?" Fluttershy wondered as I kneeled to pick up the small charm and examine it more clearly. Brushing off the dust from it, it had a symbol of what looked like to be... a familiar Keyblade design - mine. This is a weird coincidence. Maybe Twilight knows something about this? "Hey, Twilight - you know what this is?" I asked and showed the charm to her but she was stunned and confused as well. Using her horn, she levitated it towards her face to examine it more clearly yet shook her head. "Truth be told, I'm just as confused as you are... The design on it - it looks like your Keyblade though. Wonder if there's a connection..." She told herself and gave me back the charm. I examined it again and wondered again if there was a clue on how to solve this little mystery- Just then, an interesting song begins to play in my head - kind of like a creed or something like that. It went as followed: This is my heart, my strength, full of color, full of life. If I am who you seek, speak 'light,' and I shall come. However, if your intent is evil... ash to ash, dust to dust, fade to black. Whoa! Trippy as hell - what the fuck was that all about!? "Kairi, are you okay? You kind of disappeared on us for a little bit." Twilight spoke - concern in her tone of voice. I shook my head and nodded. "Y-yeah... just fine. I'm not sure what happened though... It's probably someone playing a prank of us." I told them before throwing the medallion away a bit. Twilight looked surprised that I would throw that medallion away. "Why did you throw that charm away? It could be related to this mystery! Kairi, we don't throw suspicious stuff away - we examine them more clearly!" She scolded me. Just as I was about to open my mouth to retort, the charm in question dissolved and ripped open a portal to which too individuals came out much to our surprise... Not nearly surprised as when we saw their appearance and attire. The first one was... surprisingly resembling Princess Luna - albeit younger and smaller... almost shaped like a human. She wore a White top underneath her black one along with a pair of purple biker shorts that were hidden by a purple skirt while her footwear consisted of slip-on shoes. Lastly, two yellow wristbands resided on both her wrists as the only accessories that came with the outfit. As for the second one, it was truly a sight to behold – red auburn hair that was reaching slightly to her shoulders while the outfit was a unique hooded pink-and-black dress with two small black cat ears. There are black ruffles on one side of her skirt and plaid on the other. She wore thick belted black boots along with thin white bracelets on her left wrist and a thick wristband on her right wrist. There was a necklace with a bead as well. My face morphed into shock at the second figure… it was… it was… ME! – But my appearances and features were very different! Holy mother of god! Both figures were wondering where they were exactly when their eyes fell onto us. Upon looking more closely, they both gasped when they saw us – mainly me! “You’re… ME!?” The other Kairi yelled in shock. “You’re… ME!?” Now it was my turn to yell in shock. What the hell is going on here exactly!? *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. Also, just to clear something up - the next chapter will crossover with SoulboundAlchemist's fanfiction - May your Heart be your Guiding Key! Be sure to check it out! Chapter 13 - The Dual Keys*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulled out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* Chapter 13 - The Dual Keys (Kairi’s POV) “Big sis!” I looked up from my phone as I watched Luna come barreling out of the Ponyville schoolhouse to wrap me in a hug. I laughed as I returned the hug. “What’s got you so excited?” Luna looked up with a grin. “Weeellllll…” ***30 Minutes Ago*** “Alright class,” Cheerilee addressed the class with a smile. “As you all know, we’ve been studying biology for the past week.” The class nodded in understanding. “Well, due to the progress we’ve made in the subject, I’m assigning a new research project. You will all break into groups of four and give a presentation on the pony body.” The whole class started muttering to each other, some with smiles, and other with a groan. “Psst, hey Luna!” The young filly turned her head to the left where Applebloom was trying to get her attention. “Wanna work with us?” she asked, gesturing to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. The young filly nodded with a smile as she turned back to Cheerilee who was giving the instructions on the project. ***End Flashback*** “Ahh, I see now,” I chuckled. “You’re excited because you have friends who want to work with you.” “Mmhmm!” Luna replied, beaming. “But, I am a little worried. They seem a little TOO focused on finding their Cutie Marks to actually do the assignment.” I snickered. “Too true, but I think I can help you four with your project.” “Really? How?” “Simple,” I smirked. “I actually researched pony biology to make sure the food we’ve been eating wouldn’t be harmful to you, and learned that pony biology is practically identical to human biology, with the sole exception being diet.” My sister frowned. “Okaaay, and that helps us how?” My smirk broadened. “Well, I have this fantastic little show called Cells at Work, which goes and explains various bodily functions.” Luna’s eyes lit up. “OOOHHH! We could show that to the class!” “No,” I replied with a frown. “Not only would that not be your own work, it's created from a human standpoint. There are other ways that you could use it to your advantage.” Luna was about to reply, instead, however, we found ourselves stepping through a portal. Again. Why is it that whenever me and Luna get zapped through a portal, it’s always when we don’t expect it? My eyes widened in shock as we stepped out of the portal. Once again, we seemed to be in the Palace of the Two Sisters, but that wasn’t the shocking part. Oh no. The shocking part was who summoned us. It was… Well… “You’re… ME!?” we both shouted in shock, pointing at each other. My double summoned her Keyblade and aimed it at me with a glare. "Okay, sister! Time to pay the piper! Who the hell are you and why do you look like me? You've got ten seconds or else I'll beat you to a pulp!" she warned. “Woah, woah, woah,” I raised my hands, trying to placate her. “I know you’re confused, but I’m not your enemy here. Let’s just put the Keyblade down, and let’s talk about this.” My double snorted. "Not gonna happen! I warned you!" What happened next was her charging straight at me with a battle roar. I quickly waved in an upward motion, drawing on my Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic to create a weak defensive wall. Which probably wasn’t the best move on my part. Needless to say, my double was stunned by what I did before she concentrated and used Destiny's Embrace to shatter the barrier much to my surprise, though in hindsight, I probably should have expected. "That magic… smells like those Heartless and that masked figure… that's the darkness!" My double spoke in a surprised tone. “First of all, its shadows, not darkness,” I retorted, summoning my own Keyblade, this one being Way to Dawn. “Easy mistake to make. Second, I didn’t even know darkness HAD a smell. I didn’t think anyone had the same ability as Riku to “smell” darkness.” Upon my double seeing Way to Dawn, she was surprised. "Another Keyblade Wielder!? Are you the masked figure?" She questioned. “Masked figure?” Kairi asked with a raised eyebrow, before groaning. “Oh don’t tell me, you have a masked Vanitas wanna-be running around…” I quickly raise my Keyblade to block a strike from my double. "I bet you're just lying to get some sympathy! You're probably wearing a suit like this 'Vanitas' wanna-be!" She accused me. “Oh for heaven’s sake,” I mutter as I spy Luna scrambling out of the way. I quickly jump away, switching my Keyblade to Oathkeeper, before triggering the Transformation. “Promise Keeper!” My clothes took on a silvery sheen, as the Keyblade transformed into a Kusarigama. "Huh!? The hell!?" The double yelled in a surprise tone. “It's clear to me that you’re still new to all of this, especially if you don’t know a Keyblade Transformation when you see one,” I calmly explain, before throwing the weight on the end of my Kusarigama’s chain to wrap around her ankle. I then start to bounce off the surrounding trees, wrapping her up in a cocoon of chains. “Now then, are you ready to talk?” “H-hey, let me out of here you faker!” She demanded in an angry tone. “I will, don’t worry,” I replied. “But first we need to have a little conversation about jumping to conclusions. Have you ever heard the saying that assumptions make an ass out of you and me?” She glared at me but then we both heard an enraged “Are you kidding!? Another one!?”, behind us. We both looked to see… the Vanitas wanna-be! But in the form of a girl with a different color scheme. “Ahh, it seems the proof that I’m not your Vanitas wanna-be is standing right behind us,” I quipped. “If I let you out, are you willing to work with me to get rid of her?” “Definitely… but you owe me some answers when this is all done!” She warned me. “Of course,” I agreed, recalling the chains and releasing her. “Now then, let’s even the odds, shall we?” “I like that idea a lot!” She agreed with a grin as the Vanitas wanna-be summoned her Keyblade - it wasn’t Void Gear though. “Huh, that’s new,” I muttered, drawing on my music magic. “I’m about to do something that can give us both a boost. All I ask is that if you know the song, sing along, it’ll boost the effect.” “I would… but one problem - is an amnesiac allowed to sing?” My double joked with a soft smile as I looked at her in disbelief. Amnesia...? I shook my head, deciding to focus on that later. “Don’t worry if you can’t, just join in if you can.” And with the drums kicking in, I started running as I sang: “Hey, are you, ready to go? ‘Cause, you know, the way to go! I’ll, believe, the way we chose! So, let’s go, the brand new world!” I charge forward, switching Keyblades once again to Fairy’s Flow, coating it in shadows, and taking a swing at the Vanitas wanna-be. The Vanitas wanna-be was knocked back a bit before she could react. “H-hey, no fair!” She screamed in pain and anger. “Fair? HA!” I replied as the music played out. “That’s rich coming from you!” “Everybody try to keep it down, Got to breathe so quietly, and trace along the borderline” I quickly jumped into my shadow form as she growled and launched a few dark fireballs at me. I maneuvered behind her, and sent spikes of shadow out towards her back. “Past the voice that doesn’t make a sound, It’ll come to you, when you step right in and take the dive” The wanna-be glared at me and casted a Cure spell on herself before teleporting away much to my surprise. Who was she…? “I can’t even stop myself for just one second - dash across the world!” The Vanitas Wanna-be teleported above me and prepared to strike me down. “Playtime’s over, slut!” “Add some color, if you just stay yourself then you can Rediscover, and change yourself time and again Beyond this darkness that doesn’t seem to ever end So go embark, don’t you hesitate, now go ahead!” I nearly stopped singing to scream at the Vanitas wanna-be for the slut comment, but I simply narrowed my eyes, as I melted into my shadow again, to avoid the overhead strike. My eyes then widened as I realized my double had joined in with my song, as she made a strike on our enemy’s unprotected rear! “GAH! HEY, YOU CHEATER!” The Vanitas wanna-be accused my double as she landed gently next to me. “Mind if I join in on the singing?” She asked me. I grinned. “Not at all, go for it!” “I regret so much when I hesitate, I couldn’t protect them with these hands Every time you wipe away, all your tears, you’ll get even stronger where you stand” We both attacked her - one in the front and one in the back. I swung at her with both Keyblade strikes and strikes from my shadows, while she swung out with her Keyblade, although just a little bit clumsily. “Everybody’s claiming what they think is right while blocking out the sky expanding overhead As the streak is shining with its beam of light go reach your hands as far as they extend!” The wanna-be got mad and conjured two versions of herself before ordering them to attack us. “Let’s see how you handle two versions of me!” She told us and laughed. I grinned as I opened my mouth and inhaled. Slowly but surely, the darkness that they were made from was pulled into my gaping maw as I ate them. “Far beyond all the hope that I am holding onto Where the sun lies, the source of pride I’ve always wanted Don’t delay, keep on moving oh so carelessly, so Where’s the way to the future that we haven’t seen?” The wanna-be was shocked which soon turned into anger. “HOW DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS!? YOU IDIOTS ARE PISSING ME OFF!!!” My grin turned into a smirk, before I took a deep breath, a magic circle appearing in front of me. “SHADOW DRAGON ROAR!!” I screamed as I let loose a blast of pure shadow magic. “Shining oh so brightly, dazzling and sparkling Leap over all the values the world is throwing at you On this road I travel, no path to unravel In front of me I counted more sparks than I had ever seen!” My double landed beside me as we watched the wanna-be stagger back from my Shadow Dragon Roar. “I thought you had amnesia?” I asked with a grin. “I still do! I just… for some reason, the song that you’re singing seems catchy and I couldn’t help but try and remember how the lyrics went.” She replied with a soft smile. “Well, we’ve still got a chorus in the song, how about we beat this poser black and blue?” I asked with a feral grin. “Couldn’t agree more!” My double agreed with a nod. “Hey are you ready to go? ‘Cause you know the way to go What to do, it’s up to you I say you, it’s time to choose!” We both assaulted the Vanitas poser together and struck her from multiple directions. I also began drawing my magic to prepare for a final strike. “Add some color, if you just stay yourself then you can Rediscover, and change yourself time and again Beyond this darkness that doesn’t seem to ever end So go embark, don’t you hesitate, now go ahead!” “OH, YOU BITCHES! YOU’RE GOING TO-” We cut her off by continuing to strike her without slowing down. “Far beyond all the hope that I am holding onto Where the sun lies, the source of pride I’ve always wanted Don’t delay, keep on moving oh so carelessly, so Where’s the way to the future that we haven’t seen?” I grinned as I raised my hand, creating a pair of black doors with my Shadow Dragon Slayer magic. “Hey are you ready to go? ‘Cause you know the way to go I’ll believe the way we chose So let’s go, the brand new world!” As the song ended, I kicked the dazed wanna-be into my Doors of Hades spell. The doors closed and imploded, leaving a sprawled figure on the ground. “Ugh… my head…” She admitted with a groan. “Huh, so that’s what it looks like from this side…” I mused as I approached, pointing my Keyblade at the masked villain. “So, this creep has been causing you problems?” I asked my double. “Sadly… you mentioned she’s a Vanitas wanna-be?” My double asked a question back. “Yeah, long story, but Vanitas is a former member of Organization XIII,” I explained. “I say former, because both he, and Organization XIII are long dead.” I took my eyes off of her for just a second, but it was long enough for the wanna-be to get up and launch a dark fireball at Luna. It happened so fast, I wasn’t able to do anything about it. “LUNA!!” I screamed, but despite my worst fears, my little sister figure narrowed her eyes, reached her hand forward, and summoned her Keyblade to her, blocking the fireball. My eyes widened in shock. After all those weeks of trying to summon her Keyblade, she finally pulls it off, and just as we suspected, it was the Oblivion Keyblade. “ANOTHER FUCKING KEYBLADE WIELDER!? ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!?!?” The wanna-be screamed as my double glared at her. “Alright, THAT’S IT!” I screamed, forming a GIANT hammer with my shadow magic. I quickly took a swing, launching her off into the distance. “We’re blasting off again!!” Luna cheers with a laugh. “You’ve been watching my anime collection again, haven’t you?” I asked with a soft smile. “Maybe,” she grinned in reply. “That… was… amazing!” My double screamed with a grin on her face. Luna and I turned back to my double with a smirk as our Keyblades dispersed. “Well, comes from all the skills shoved sideways into my brain, along with a little help from friends. Honestly, I’m surprised you don’t know any of the basic spells yet.” My double lost her smile. “Hey! I have amnesia… give me some credit.” “Fair enough,” I nodded. “Now, I promised you answers, and answers you’ll get. Go ahead and ask your questions.” “First question - who are you? I doubt you are really called Kairi even though you kept using the name.” This was her first question. I grimaced. “Wow, you really had to go for the most awkward question first.” I shook my head. “Well, yes, you are correct that I wasn’t always Kairi. I was originally a 21 year-old man named Dmetri. Pretty awkward showing up in the magical land of ponies as the opposite gender. I continue to use Kairi’s name though, since my old name really doesn’t fit. I’m sure its much the same as what happened to you, but considering how naturally you act, I’d say you’ve been female your whole life.” “You’d be right about that… funnily enough, I do remember some bits of my memories where I was called ‘Mi-’ something…” She explained. I groaned. “Of course there’s a version of the Merchant out there that would screw around with people’s memories…” “Merchant…?” She raised a brow at that question. I shook my head again. “Alright, I guess its time I explained THAT as well. To put it simply, you and I are what are called ‘Displaced’. Those who have been sent to another world as a fictional character after buying something from the Merchant, usually at a convention of some sort. Although, I do know at least one Displaced who ordered something from the Merchant online, rather than buying it in person.” My double’s eyes widened. “Displaced? That’s what I’m called… and why I look like this Kairi. Who is Kairi though?” I smirked. “Kairi is a Princess of Heart, who is able to use the Keyblade. She’s the lead female character in a series of video games called Kingdom Hearts. Her specialty is light magic, if you’re having trouble learning magic.” “Ah, that explains it… she looks so… pink.” She commented. “Meh, it's better than her original outfit, in my opinion,” I shrugged. “If you want to see what she wore before, take a look to your left at my sister.” I pointed to Luna who gave a little wave. My double’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wow… cute attire.” She commented. “You’re not wrong,” I chuckled. “Any other questions?” “Yes, your Luna is so freaking cute! Can I adopt her?” She asked me. I barked out a laugh. “No, no. We need her in our world as well. Besides, your world is the usual ponies rather than anthroes, based on the appearance of your Fluttershy and Twilight. Speaking of which, why don’t you two come out, I know you’re there.” Fluttershy and Twilight came out albeit with looks of shock, amusement, suspicion and just plain weirdness. “I imagine the suspicion is from me looking like an older version of your Kairi?” I asked, noticing their expressions. “Y-yeah… also, the fact I’m seeing a human-like pony version of the Princess…” Twilight admitted. I nodded. “Kinda surprised you haven’t asked about her age yet.” “I was going to… how old is she?” “As old as your Luna, however, the story of Nightmare Moon is VERY different from what you’re familiar with,” I sighed. “Gah… how serious are we talking about?” I sighed as I closed my eyes. “Rather than become Nightmare Moon, she extracted her own heart due to paranoia. This resulted in a heartless that called itself Nightmare Moon, and if Celestia hadn’t cast a stasis spell on Luna’s body, it also would have created a Nobody as well. Luna is so young now, because in our world, when a pony loses their heart, their body ages rapidly backwards until it is literally nothing. Luna’s lucky that Celestia managed to cast her stasis spell when she did.” Twilight’s eyes lit up. “What!? Why would Celestia do that to Luna?” “As I said,” Kairi replied, opening her eyes to stare at Twilight. “Luna extracted her own heart. She was tricked into doing it by someone both her and Celestia trusted. Celestia cast a stasis spell on Luna’s body when she realized what she had done. She would have destroyed the heartless as well, but it escaped to the moon, somewhere she simply couldn’t go.” “I get that… but what was the sole motivation?” Twilight wondered. “What do you mean?” I questioned. “Who’s motivation?” “The person whom Celestia and Luna trusted.” Twilight asked. “We know him as the Master of Masters, but really, he meddles in the affairs of worlds, trying to rewrite their stories in a way that he approves of,” I explained. “Beyond that, even we don’t know his true motives or intentions.” “Oh…” Twilight sighed heavily. I nodded. “Any other question you guys have? Honestly, you had a few less questions than I did when I first arrived.” “Ooh! I had one! Is Fluttershy your Mama?” Luna asked my double. “Actually that’s a good question,” I agreed. “I noticed that Fluttershy moved to you pretty quickly after I pointed out she was there.” “Oh! Ummm…” My double looked at Fluttershy who was holding her hand gently. From the looks of things, Fluttershy was deeply protective of Kairi. I smiled softly. “If you don’t feel comfortable answering, I’ll let the question drop. But then, who knows, maybe my mind will go straight to the gutter, if you know what I mean.” “The… gutter?” Fluttershy raised a brow. “She means that she’ll have some pervy ideas,” Luna explained with a roll of her eyes. Both my double and Fluttershy’s eyes went wide. “I… I don’t love Kairi that way! I love her only as a daughter!” Fluttershy admitted. “HAHAHAH!!” I burst out laughing. “You should have seen your faces!!” Both my double and Fluttershy’s faces morphed into shocked ones. “Oh come on, you have to admit, that was funny!” I continued laughing, before getting a hold of myself. “But seriously though, do you have any other questions in terms of-” My question was interrupted by my Gummi Phone ringing, which I answered. “Excuse me for a sec… Yeah?... Wait, WHAT?!?!? OK, we’ll be there in a sec.” I hung up, quickly scrolling through the apps on my phone. “Umm, what are you doing? And what’s that thing supposed to be?” Twilight wondered with a brow. “This is a Gummi Phone, a way to communicate between worlds,” I explained. “A friend of mine just informed me that a heartless called the Ruler of the Sky is attacking Ponyville, so I’m trying to open the Stargate back to my world… AH! There it is!” A moment after activating the app, the large, water-like portal opened a couple feet away from me. “I really hate to leave you all in the middle of my explanation, but me and Luna really need to take care of this!” “Can I do anything to help out though?” My double asked. I paused before heading through. “If you want, you can come help us fight the thing. Honestly, I’m dreading having to fight this thing.” “Is it that serious though?” My double raised a brow. “Heartless that can fly are seriously a pain to deal with,” I explained with a groan. “And before you ask Luna, no, you can’t help fight this thing.” “Aww, but why not?” Luna whined. “Because you only JUST managed to summon your Keyblade. You need some SERIOUS training before you’re ready to fight anything stronger than a Shadow,” I retorted with a glare. “Majority rules, little sis.” The other Kairi cracked a grin at Luna and ruffled her hair. “Alright, let’s get going,” I sighed. “Knowing Melissa, she’ll be waiting for us with some tech to even the odds.” I quickly step through, followed by Luna. My double along with Fluttershy and Twilight came after us. We emerged into the Gate room, where we were met by Melissa. “About time you got back, I thought you were picking up Luna from school!” she yelled. “I was, we were summoned to her world,” I explained, waving to my double. “I got back as quickly as I could. In any case, if I remember correctly, the Ruler of the Sky is a flying boss. You have anything to even the odds?” “As a matter of fact, I do,” the techie nodded, pulling out some jetpacks. “I made these based off of the jetpacks in Fortnite. They run on the ambient magic of the world, so don’t worry about running out of fuel.” “Great! Would you mind teleporting us to town to deal with it then?” “Of course,” Melissa nodded. “Though I hope you don’t plan on taking Luna and Fluttershy with you. Neither of them can really fight.” “We won’t… Also, you are?” My double asked Melissa. “Melissa Shields, local tech expert and support from The Tower,” Melissa introduces herself, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Basically I make the tech, and make sure its all working, as well as monitor the world for Heartless attacks.” “Ah… Are you a Displaced as well?” My other half wondered. “Yep, though I’ve been here for over a thousand years,” the techie nodded. “But we can discuss this later. We have a Heartless to get rid of. The Element Bearers are holding it off for now, but they won’t be able to last much longer.” “Right, if you would do the honors?” And with that, me, my double, and Twilight found ourselves in the midst of a pitched battle. “Where have you BEEN?!?!?” a yell from my world’s Twilight got our attention. “I’m sorry! I got summoned!” I yelled back, leaping into the air with my jetpack. My double and pony Twilight also activated their jetpacks and leaped into the air to catch up with me. From our vantage point we were able to make out the heartless. It resembled a large, skeletal parrot, its body covered in violet plumage with a jeweled, gold collar around its neck. Its tail was comprised of several skulls linked together, while its wings were comprised of four gold cutlasses with alternating violet and red gems set in their guards. The topmost cutlass in each wing ended in a hook, and none of the cutlasses were actually connected to each other. The Ruler of the Sky's head sported yellow eyes and a jeweled, violet and gold crown with its mouth comprised of a brown treasure chest filled with gold coins with gold lining, and black spikes acting as teeth that the Heartless had clenched in its beak. Its Heartless emblem was on the top of its crown. “Yep, that’s what I thought it was,” I groaned. “This is gonna be a long and tedious fight. Alright, here's what we need to do. First, we need to corner it, and break off its tail, that’ll stun it for a few seconds. Then we need to immobilize it long enough to kill it, meaning we need to make sure it doesn’t move after it recovers from the stun. Rainbow, get some Thunder magic ready. Twilights, if you two can trap it in a shield bubble, we should be able to take it out quickly. Everyone else, take out the smaller heartless rampaging through town.” “You got it!” Rainbow called, electricity crackling along her Keyblade. “Another Keyblade Wielder!?” My double recoiled in shock. “Yeah, it turns out that the Elements of Harmony were Keyblades. So all six of the Element Bearers are Keyblade Wielders. Now less talky, more fighty!” “What’s the plan for me though?” Kairi asked me. “You’re coming with me to ruin this thing’s day!” I yelled as I pushed the throttle to catch up to the Ruler, slamming my Destiny’s Embrace into the tail, causing it to roar in pain. My double summoned her Destiny’s Embrace and slammed it into the other tail. “Now, what do I hit next?” She asked me. “Just keep hitting it until it breaks off,” I shout back. “Hopefully, the Twilights will be able to trap it in a bubble after it’s stunned!” We continued hammering the tails until the Ruler decided that it had had enough, turning and swiping at us with the cutlass wings. We dodged and continued attacking, until. *SHATTER* *ROAR* “Welp, there it goes,” I called, seeing the Ruler fall to the ground on the outskirts of town. “Twilights, NOW!” With that, two purple barriers snapped into existence, pinning the heartless in place, followed by Rainbow firing off numerous lightning projectiles, causing the Ruler to howl in pain. “Alright! Almost got it!” I cheered. “Kairi, would you care to do the honors of finishing it off?” “Hell yeah!” My double raised her Keyblade before slamming it down to the target area. With a final roar, the Ruler of the Skies faded into darkness, as a large crystalline heart floated away. “Phew, nice job, other me!” My double thanked me as we both fist-pumpted in regards to the victory. “Ugh, honestly, I’m surprised it was as easy as it was…” I sighed with a smile. “In any case, lets head back to The Tower.” “Agreed. Can I be honest though - I feel like I love your Kairi design better than mine… dunno why though.” My double admitted. “You and everyone else who played Kingdom Hearts III,” I laughed as we both started flying towards The Tower, followed by her Twilight. *** “Alright, so let me get this straight,” Melissa sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “This Kairi,” she points at my double, “is brand new to the whole Displaced deal, and on top of that, has amnesia. Am I missing anything?” “Other than the fact that I feel so insulted about the whole ‘Displaced’ explanation and being reminded I have amnesia doesn’t help out…” My double admitted and sighed. “OK then,” the techie nods. “Which means that you probably don’t have a Token yet.” “Token?” My double raised a brow. “Right, you should have picked up a star shaped charm made of seashells before summoning Kairi. Played a little message in your head?” My double went silent to think and then remembered. “Oh… oh, yeah! I do remember that.” “That is an example of a Token,” Melissa explained. “The message attached tells you about the person you’re summoning, and then tells you how to summon them. In the case of Kairi here, the method is to say the word ‘light’ while holding it. Make sense?” “I think so… So, I have to come up with my own sentence in order to summon the token?” Kairi asked. “No, no,” the techie shook her head. “You take an item that represents you. Then you attach a message to it while infusing it with magic. After that, it disappears into the Void, to spread itself out through the multiverse, while dropping a copy into your hand.” “Ooh… hmm, that’s going to be hard in creating the item.” “You don’t need to create an item. Anything from your world will do as long as it has some sort of sentimental value attached.” “That’s a problem since Kairi didn’t come with anything of value…” Twilight explained. “I’ve actually known at least one Displaced who used their own weapon as a Token,” I decided to butt into the conversation. “That being said, I wouldn’t use your Keyblade itself, but I would use the keychain attached to the end of your Keyblade.” My other self nodded before thinking. “Hmmm… I suppose the keychain would work out too.” “Alright then, you’ll want to do this in your home world then, otherwise the Token might summon me instead. Melissa, would you mind dialing the Gate back to my double’s world?” The techie narrowed her eyes. “Hang on a sec. I think we need to test her and train her a little before sending her back. We can use the Simulator to do that.” “Hmm, probably a good idea,” I mused. “What do you think, other me?” She shrugged. “Sure, sounds like a good idea. I could go for some more training.” “Alright then, follow me,” I led the group up the stairs to a control room with another door leading into the simulator. Upon entering I called out. “Computer, load simulation Tartarus.” “Acknowledged. Which floor do you wish to start on?” “Floor 1 please.” “Acknowledged. Simulation ready.” The door on the far side of the room opened, revealing the entrance hall of Tartarus. “You know… when you said Tartarus… I expected more of a hellish landscape with fires and demons.” Twilight joked a bit. “You’ve played Ogres and Oubliettes with Spike before, right Twilight?” I asked. Twilight giggled a bit. “We have… speaking of which, Kairi… I have to let you try it when we get back.” She said to my double. “As long as it's easy enough.” My double commented. I nodded. “Think of this like one of the dungeons in the game. It has 263 floors of increasing difficulty, which makes it an excellent training ground. Just be aware, I have already added barriers at certain points that require certain skills to pass. If you don’t have those skills, you’ll have to come back later with the right skill. I’ll set up a Stargate for you on your world so that you can continue later. Any questions?” “Just one - how tough will our opponents be exactly?” My double asked. “We’ll start with Shadows, Soldiers, and similar heartless in the first block, floors 1-16, and when we make it into the next block, they’ll get harder to deal with.” “Right… whelp, I don’t know about you but I’m eager to get started.” My double declared with a grin. I echoed her grin as we stepped into the entrance hall, and climbed the stairs to the first floor. *** 5th Floor “Welcome to the first Boss Floor of Tartarus,” I grinned. “The boss of this floor is the Guard Armor, very simple boss. Take out the limbs, and then target the torso for the kill.” “Gotcha. Should be easy enough to handle!” My double stated and prepared for a fight. *** 10th Floor “Alright, second boss floor. We’ve got the Trickmaster on this floor,” I explained. “You did very well with the Guard Armor, now let's see how you do against a boss that dwarfs you. The Trickmaster is IMMENSELY tall. Its legs are immune to all damage, which means you’ll have to hit the main body. Knock it over, and wreck its day to finish the fight.” “I never expected to learn about so many Heartless in all shapes and forms… So exciting!” Twilight admitted. “We’ll have one more boss before the end of the first block, so if you want to learn about all the big boss heartless, come back with Kairi when she gets the skill to move on.” I smiled at Twilight’s enthusiasm. “In regards to the Trickmaster there’s one more thing you need to watch out for. It periodically sets its weapons on fire, so watch out for that. Ready?” “Ooh, who is he?” Twilight wondered. “Who’s who?” “The Heartless.” Kairi asked. “Oh, I’ll tell you about the last Heartless when we get there,” I replied. “In any case, are you ready for the Trickmaster?” *** 14th Floor “Alright, last boss. The Stealth Sneak,” I explained. “The battle starts with it being invisible. You’ll be able to easily see it as a slight shimmer in the air. After we deal enough damage, it’ll reveal itself. It looks like a very large chameleon. Moves to watch out for are its eye beams, and wind attacks, both of which should be very easy to spot. Any questions?” “Nada. Though I feel like I have seen these bosses before… back before I became Kairi… my memories are on the fritz…” “I’m not surprised,” I nodded. “These are all bosses from the original Kingdom Hearts game. Welp, let's get started!” *** 16th Floor We finally climbed up the last flight of stairs to a floor with half of the room blocked by a wall of darkness. “Well done you two,” I grinned at them. “To get through this door, you need to have a light spell to dispel the wall.” “What sort of light spell exactly?” Kairi wondered. “A light orb spell,” I replied, conjuring an orb of light in my hand. “A simple enough spell to cast, but you need to figure out how to cast it yourself, since everyone casts it differently.” “Ah, okay.” My double nodded and concentrated yet was having a little trouble casting it. Must be trying too hard… “Don’t worry too much about figuring it out now, you’ll be able to come back,” I chuckled. “Computer, save progress and end program.” “Acknowledged.” Tartarus dissolved around us to reveal the door back into the control room. “That was fun. So, what do we do next?” My double wondered. I shrugged. “Well, we take you back home, set up a Stargate for you, and answer any other question you might have.” “Don’t forget about setting her up with a Gummi Phone of her own,” Mellisa chimed in. “Ahh, yes, can’t forget that,” I chuckled. My double’s brows arose. “I get my own… Gummi Phone?” I nodded. “Yep. Its the easiest way for us to keep in contact, not to mention a handy way to use the Stargate.” “Ah, I see… ooh, quick question - is it useful for picking up… chicks?” My double joked much to my surprise. I blinked a moment. “Um… well… I mean…” My spluttering was cut off by Melissa roaring with laughter. “Well played! Well played indeed! But in all seriousness, it can help if you’re trying to *snort* pick up a chick in another world.” “Hmm… do you have a girlfriend, beautiful? I seem to remember a memory in which I was either bisexual or a lesbian in my old life… I wouldn’t mind having a partner.” My double winked at Melissa. Melissa smirked. “Oh my, so shameless. Asking me if I have a girlfriend. Well, I appear to be married to my work, but I’m sure she won’t mind.” My double grinned. “Horny and kinky… I love that in women. Hmm… would you like to go out on a date sometimes?” “Hmm, I’ll have to think about it, call me later about it,” the techie smirked, a glint of light flashing off of her glasses. My double nodded and took her hand gently before kissing it. “I look forward to it, beautiful.” I rolled my eyes. “Yes, yes, shameless flirting aside, how about actually focusing on what we need to do? Hint hint, nudge nudge?” “Right, right, back on track,” Melissa smirked, hands flying over her terminal, before it spat a brand new, pink Gummi Phone into her hand. “There you go, brand new phone, though I think Kairi needs to hold onto it so she can calibrate the Stargate on your world.” “Good call,” I replied with a nod, taking the phone. “Well, everyone back to the Gate room!” We all trooped back down to the Gate room, where I suddenly realized something. “Oh bother, my dou- ugh, you know what, this is getting ridiculous, I’m just gonna call you Mina. Anyway, Mina doesn’t have a Token yet, how are we supposed to dial her world?” My double nodded before she froze. “M-mina…? That’s… My name… I remember my name now! It’s Mina!” I blinked. “You mean to tell me I just guessed your name at random? I just picked a name at random that started with ‘Mi’! Mina nodded. “I know… when you said the name, a small glint of my memory returned… including being called Mina. Sadly, that’s all…” “Huh, well stranger things have happened,” I shrugged. In anycase, how are we going to dial her world?” Melissa tilted her head in thought for a bit. “Well, there is the scanner, you could have her put her hand on it,” she then smirked. “She could certainly lend us… a hand!” I groaned at the bad pun, prompting both me and Luna to pull out a Pun-Gun and zap her with it. “Worth it!” she groaned out as she stopped convulsing from the electric shock. Mina’s jaw dropped and rushed forward to check on Melissa who was on the ground with a grin on her face. “My beloved! Noooooooooo!” “You really gotta, HAND it to me, that was at least a decent joke,” the techie punned again. I glared at her and zapped her again. “Listen up chump, you’ve got a real problem. And its me!” Mina got in front of Melissa. “This cutie will not be harmed!” She declared and summoned Destiny’s Embrace. “Oh don’t worry, I’m just being defi-ant!” she spoke up again with a grin. I narrowed my eyes and zapped her again, then once more for good measure. “I think that's enough pun-ishment,” I said with a grin and salute. Melissa’s eyes widened. “But… But… UGH!” Shortly after, a Melissa ghost floated up, only for me to zap it back into her body. I turned back to Mina. “Oh, put your Keyblade away, she’s not actually hurt. The Pun-Gun isn’t deady in the slightest.” Mina sent me a glare but dismissed her weapon. I rolled my eyes at the glare, pulling out my Gummi Phone, and pulling up a certain clip. “Here watch this. We’re only recreating this scene for fun.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a8Wz5C4fys&ab_channel=RogerRabbit Mina snorted at the video. “Wow… okay, that’s interesting.” Melissa nodded. “In any case, back to the matter at hand. WAIT! That wasn’t a pun! *sigh* Any way, we can scan Mina’s hand, and the Gate should register which coordinates to dial in.” I glared at her a moment, Pun-Gun poised, before putting it away. “OK, that sounds like it’ll work.” “This won’t hurt, right?” Mina asked. “Does putting your hand on a table hurt?” Melissa asked rhetorically. “In all seriousness though, if anything its a bit cold to the touch. Completely harmless.” She went and pressed a few buttons on the DHD, allowing the scanner to pop out on the side. “All ready, just place your hand here, and we can get this show on the road.” Mina nodded and placed her hand on the scanner. The Gate whired to life, the inner ring spinning to the various symbols that represented inter-universal coordinates, before the portal whooshed into existence. “Alright, this should put us right back where we were when we came through,” I nodded, gesturing for Mina, Twilight and Fluttershy to follow me through. They did but Twilight had a question. “How scary is the Gate?” I raised an eyebrow. “We used it earlier to get here. You tell me.” “Ooh… nevermind. I’m just yapping like an idiot.” Twilight apologized. “No worries,” I replied, stepping through the Gate, watching the familiar sight of stars and galaxies pass me as we traveled through the wormhole. “Wow… this is… wow.” Twilight admitted - awe was all over her face. I chuckled as I stepped onto the grass of Mina’s world. “It is rather amazing, isn’t it? I’ve traveled through so many times now, it's just part of the scenery.” Mina nodded. “Whelp, I guess we’re finally home. Oh, Kairi… can I ask you a question? A private one… it’s important.” She spoke. “Sure,” I shrugged. We both walked away from Twilight and Fluttershy so it would be getting some privacy. “So, what’s on your mind, other me?” I chuckled at the joke. “Kairi… I was wondering… about Kairi - what exactly is her affiliation? Devoted to the light or the darkness?” Her question caught me off guard. “Um, well, in the games she’s, as you put it, ‘devoted to the light’, but its a bit more complicated than that,” I explained. “I may have mentioned before that Kairi is a Princess of Heart. This essentially means that she has a heart of pure light. That doesn’t necessarily mean she’s devoted to the light, anymore than a heart of pure darkness is devoted to the darkness. It all comes down to the choices we make.” Mina nodded as she crossed her arms. “Well… since I’m playing the role of this ‘Kairi’; I feel like I’m gonna step up my game if I’m gonna defeat the Vanitas look alike… hmm, I could channel the light and darkness together to try and accomplish something. Say, is it… nah, it’s a taboo question and it will be ridiculous.” She admitted. “No, no, go ahead,” I shook my head. “I’m willing to answer any question, even the ones that seem taboo. Though I will say, you probably won’t be able to use darkness magic. As I said, Kairi is predisposed to light magic. The only reason I’m able to use it is because it's not darkness magic. Its called Shadow Dragon Slayer magic.” Mina sighed. “I see… hmm, basically the reason I’m asking this is because it might be a weird one… but - let me just pose a question - the figure wears a type of organic armor in the form of a bodysuit right?” “Yyeess…” I nodded, wondering where she was going with this. “Well… if she used a dark bodysuit as armor… what if… what if I made a light bodysuit as armor?” Mina asked. Now it clicked. “Ahh, I see. Well, you can, but it won’t come out as a bodysuit. What you’re describing is called Keyblade Armor. Every Keyblade wielder can summon it, though I will admit that I haven’t personally figured it out yet.” Mina nodded. “Gotcha… hmm, but what if it doesn’t turn out to be armor though?” I shrugged. “There’s nothing in the original lore of the game about it, so it could be anything. But from what I’ve seen, those of the dark have the bodysuit, while those of the light have proper armor. My personal headcanon is that the bodysuit is a corrupted version, therefore making them unable to fully manifest, whereas the armor is the complete, uncorrupted version.” I shook my head. “But we can discuss this more once I start getting your Stargate set up. Where do you want me to set it up? Just make sure its a place that’s easily defensible, and easily hidden. You don’t want someone stumbling on it by accident.” “Hmmm… any ideas on where to set it up though? I’m stumped.” Mina admitted. I nodded. “Well, a friend of mine has hers set up in the ruins of the Palace of the Two Sisters, specifically in a secret chamber she created. I’m sure we can do something similar.” “Hmmm… Ooh, well - what about a place where Kairi enjoys being around?” Mina suggested. “Uumm, that’s not gonna work,” I say slowly. “Kairi’s original world is the Destiny Islands, and is in a video game. This world is basically like the TV show My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, two very different entities from each other.” “Ah… hmmm, I guess somewhere big but quiet?” Mina suggested. “You know, I have plenty of big empty rooms in my castle,” Twilight chimed in as we got closer. “And you just want to study the Gate, don’t you?” I deadpanned. “Well, I mean, yes,” the purple unicorn admitted. “Anything else?” Mina wondered. Twilight nodded. “About that armor thing you mentioned, Kairi- I mean, Mina… this might be silly but I think I can do something like that.” She explained. I raised an eyebrow. “How so?” “I have extensive knowledge in building and one of the books can provide information. If we’re lucky we can have it built today. What do you think, Kairi?” Twilight asked my double. Mina shrugged. “Anything to up the battle with the Vanitas look alike.” I pursed my lips. “Most of the time, the armor is formed by magic, but this’ll be a good crutch until you can figure out how to summon your own. I’ll even add some spells that’ll improve its darkness resistance.” Mina nodded. “Alright. Let’s build ourselves an armor!” She declared with a grin. Kairi chuckled. “We can get to that after I start setting up the Gate. Twilight, would you please lead the way?” Twilight nodded and led us ahead to our destination. “I assume you have a particular room you want the Gate setup in?” I asked with a look around the large crystalline castle. “Remember, it needs to be rather large and easily hidden.” “Well… I have been experimenting with portal teleportation and in one such instance I created an arena of sorts based on a design somewhere… It’s called… ‘Mirage’ something.” Twilight explained. “Wait a moment, you’re telling me that you accidentally created the Mirage Arena?!?!?” I gasped, eyes widening. “If that’s the case, that would be the perfect place to set it up!” “Mirage Arena?” Mina raised a brow. I nodded. “Basically a large arena created to test Keyblade Wielders years ago. I doubt there’s anything programmed into the computer, if you accidentally created it, but it’ll still make a good sparring arena, or, in this case, a perfect place to set up a Stargate!” Mina nodded slowly. “Hopefully it should be a well suited place to set up the Stargate.” “Well, there’s only one way to find out, lead on Purple Smart!” I replied with a smirk. Twilight sent me a look that said ‘Oh, you are so dead!’ before leading us onward to an area where it was deemed safe to teleport to the Mirage Arena. We appeared in a large, mostly hollow, blue sphere floating in space. There were several small, flashing electrical towers on the outer surface, as well a very large version of the same type of tower and a thin, grey tower. At the bottom of the sphere was a grey, triangular shape, while at the top is a large, saucer-like structure with cables running underneath. The structure was surrounded by two concentric rings that constantly rotate about the sphere. The rings had circuitry running along the outer edge, and a pattern of triangles on the inner edge. There were also ghostly rings around the bottom of the sphere and another half-ring running around the center of the structure. “Well, it certainly looks like the Mirage Arena,” I mused as I looked around. Mina looked around the area as well. “Huh… interesting design. So, Key Bearers come here to train?” “Usually,” I nodded. “But like I said, since it was created accidentally, I doubt anything is programmed into the computer. In fact, we can use that computer as the DHD for the Stargate!” “Speaking of Stargate… could we use it to come here and train as well?” Mina wondered. “Bad idea, the Stargate is designed for travel between worlds, not travel between places on a world,” I explained. “Not only that, I’m not willing to mess with any of the settings, since the last time someone tampered with a Stargate, a planet blew up. Though, admittedly, that was a TV show.” Mina nodded slowly. “Oh… well, I guess we’ll just transport here via Twilight’s spell?” “Safest thing to do,” I nodded in agreement, before walking up to the computer terminal. “Well, it looks like I was right about the computer not having anything programmed in. I’ll just connect my phone, start the synthesis app, and we can leave it for an hour.” Mina and Twilight nodded. “So, what do we do in that time though?” Mina wondered. “Well, you said you wanted to get started on that armor, didn’t you?” “I do,” Mina nodded. “Then why don’t we head to a forge and get started?” I grinned. “I’ve never forged anything, but I can enchant things pretty well.” Mina nodded as well and grinned. “Ooh, my very own armor. I feel like… like if I was a red-head disciplinarian with a giant sword.” She joked. I blinked. “That’s… Oddly specific.” Mina raised a brow. “Really? What brought that on?” “Not sure,” I shrugged. “But I feel like that’s a reference to something, not sure what though.” Mina and Twilight shared a glance but both shrugged. It was then that I realized what my double was talking about… now I remembered - Erza Scarlet! I chuckled upon making that realization. “Now I remember. Remind me to show you some of my anime if we’re done with your armor before the Gate is done.” “Sure… any other series besides that anime?” Twilight asked curiously. “Plenty!” I replied, a glint in my eyes. “But right now, we need to start work on the armor. You do have a forge, right?” “Twilight?” Mina asked Twilight who nodded and teleported them to an area where a forging equipment was set up. Turns out we were still in the arena. “Huh, convenient.” I muttered. “Twilight, you’re the one who studied the books on forging, how about you take the lead?” Twilight nodded and used her magic to prepare the tools. “Kai- No. I’ll stick with Mina from now on - Mina, any color scheme in mind?” “Let’s start by focusing on the armor first… and then the color scheme.” Mina told us. “Not to mention, the spells I plan to use for enchanting the armor may or may not permanently color your armor,” I added. Mina nodded. “Exactly. Shall we get started?” *** “Well that took a bit less time than I expected,” I said in surprise, looking down at the armor we had created. My eyes were astonished - it was just like an exact copy of Aqua’s Keyblade Armor but for Kairi’s size… minus the shoes. Guess she will be using her sneakers. “Well now, time for the spells. Any questions before I get started?” “Nope.” Mina shook her head. I nodded, drawing on my magic. I focused on the armor as I began channeling the magic into the armor, imbuing it with both my natural Light magic, as well as my Shadow Dragon Slayer magic. The combination of magic allowed for a high defense against darkness, not to mention making it nigh indestructible. Finally, as the magic began to crest, the armor took on a distinct rose hue, with gold and brown highlights. “That ought to do it,” I said with a smile. Mina whistled. “I dig it… the color scheme and design.” She admitted with a grin. “In that case, we still have some time before the Stargate is done. Allow me to introduce you to the world of Fairy Tail.” I nodded, pulling out my laptop from… somewhere. Huh, never been able to do THAT before. “Wow! What’s that?” Twilight wondered. “A laptop,” I replied. “Basically a smaller, more portable version of what’s over there. It also happens to be able to connect to the internet of my old world, making it much easier to watch the show.” “Ooh! Sounds… futuristic!” Twilight was in awe. “Not really,” I shrugged. “You’re actually almost to that point technologically yourselves. Anyway, let's get to the show!” I quickly set up my laptop, pulling up the very first episode of Fairy Tail. ***Roughly 20 minutes later*** “You said you wanted to join the Fairy Tail guild, didn’t you?” Natsu asked Lucy on the laptop screen. “So let’s go!” Lucy grinned as the ending music began to play, and the Rune Knights chasing the trio. “Alright!” And that was the end of the episode. “...My god… this is… I’m just… wow.” Mina commented - from the sounds of her voice, she was impressed. “Yep,” I grinned. “That was pretty much my reaction to the show when I first saw it.” “I have to admit I’m impressed as well - a world filled with mages and unlimited magic! It’s a dream come true.” Twilight was in awe again. I chuckled again at her enthusiasm. “Well, I do believe the Stargate is complete. Before I go, do you want help making your Token, or can you handle it on your own?” “Some help would be appreciated.” Twilight told me and my double nodded. I nodded. “Alright, summon your Keyblade and remove the keychain that’s near the hilt.” Mina nodded and summoned Destiny’s Embrace before removing the keychain. “Now what?” “Hold it in your hand, and focus your magic into it,” I continued. “And while you do that, say the message you want attached to it out loud.” Mina nodded and held it as tight as she could before focusing. Then the following words came out from her mouth: Heed my call, hero or heroine! If you ever need a hand, just summon me using my token and conjure my following message! In a flash of light, I shall come to assist thee! I nodded with a grin as the charm vanished into a portal. “Very nice! Now give it a second, and it should reappear, about… now.” And as I predicted, the charm fell out of another portal right into her hand. What I didn’t predict was another portal appearing near me and dropping another charm into my hand. “Huh, convenient. Anyway, let me summon my Token from where we originally were so you don’t lose it.” I summoned my own Destiny’s Embrace as I pocketed the newly created Token, and used my magic to summon my Token from the grass before handing it to Mina. “Thanks. Just one more thing - actually, two more.” Mina told me. “Shoot.” “One - do you have a laptop with unlimited power and Two - Fairy Tail and other favorite animes if possible to watch whenever I’m bored.” Mina explained her demands. I burst out laughing. “HAHAHAH! W-well, yeah, I do, HAHAH, I wasn’t expecting that!” Twilight giggled a bit. “Me neither. But I do want to watch this ‘anime’ - it sounds interesting.” I quickly get a hold of myself, my grin of amusement never leaving my face. “Well, I do happen to have a secondary laptop that you can have. Just don’t look in the file marked MLP. Don’t want to give any foreknowledge after all.” Twilight raised a brow as did my double. Oops, too much information sharing… “Right, gonna have to delete that quick…” I muttered, pulling out my spare laptop. Seriously, how do I keep doing that? Ahh, something to puzzle out later, need to delete the MLP folder. After doing so, I handed the laptop to my counterpart. “Alright, it's all set.” Mina took it and nodded. “What animes did you install there besides Fairy Tail?” I grinned. “Nothing. I did mention that its connected to my world’s internet, right? Well you can go find whatever you want to watch through that. I also installed some firewalls, just in case.” “Roger… we just need some names though.” Mina told me. “I would recommend My Hero Academia, Dimension W, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Death Parade to get you started. I’d also recommend just browsing around to find something you like.” Mina nodded. “Alright… seems like everything is in order. Melissa’s number is in the Gummi Phone right?” She asked. My eyes widened. “I knew I was forgetting something. Yes, her number is programmed in. I just need to connect your phone to the Stargate to add the recall app.” I quickly strode over to the Gate, plugging it into the computer console to get the app before tossing it to Mina. “Now, I already gave you one warning about the Gate, but I’ll go over everything quick so you don’t so something you’re not supposed to.” I pointed at a small tray on the computer console. “To dial another Displaced’s world, place their Token on this tray, the Gate will do the rest. Do not stand directly in front of the Gate while dialing the Gate, believe me, you do not want to have the top half of your demolecularized. You’ll end up dead if that happens. If the Gate’s portal is kinda cloudy, don’t go through, you’ll end up lost in time somewhere. Finally, as I said before, DO NOT TAMPER with any of the Gate’s functions. There are fail-safes in place, but you could still accidentally destroy the planet if you ignore those failsafes.” Mina and Twilight froze. “Destroy the planet? As in actual destruction!?” Mina asked in a horrified tone. I nodded. “As soon as you can, look up the first episode of Stargate Universe to see what I mean.” Twilight and Mina nodded before Twilight came to a decision. “It’s best I do the whole ‘Stargate’ thing... “ I nodded, before gesturing to the Gate. “In that case, would you mind dialing my world? I’d like to go home now.” Twilight nodded, taking the Token from Mina in her magic and placing it on the tray, beginning the Gate’s dialing sequence. “Oh, Kairi… before you go - I had a check-in of Kairi… and well - two names made me curious: Who on Earth are the cute blonde in a dress and the spiky-haired boy with a Keyblade?” Mina smirked and showed me the pictures on the back-up laptop. I chuckled. “The blonde is Naminé, Kairi’s Nobody, and the spiky-haired boy is Sora. I’ll let you figure out exactly who they are.” The Gate’s wormhole finished forming as I said this. “And that’s my que. It's been fun Mina. Until next time, and May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key.” I finished with a deep oriental style bow. “Hmmm… cool quote. Same to you, Kairi - may your Heart be your Guiding Key.” Mina wished me. With a smile I turned and stepped back through the Gate. *** (Mina’s POV) After my double had returned back to her proper home, I stretched my arms a little bit before looking at Twilight. “That was… an educating experience.” Twilight nodded. “Agreed… on the plus side, we know a couple of things about you - your name is Mina. Your character is from a game series called Kingdom Hearts… and Dmetri called you a ‘Displaced’.” She told me and I nodded. “And we have some proper defense against the Vanitas wannabe now.” I pointed at the armor while Twi gave me a nod. Just then, our stomachs growled and we realised that thanks to my double popping up we couldn’t get anything to eat. “Well, I don’t know about you but I’m hungry. Back to the library, Mina?” Twilight asked and I nodded. Twilight powered up her horn and teleported us away. We were going to come back here a little later and explore but first some anime watching and that Stargate thing Kairi mentioned. Things were picking up very fast… and I couldn’t wait! *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. This chapter has a crossover with SoulboundAlchemist's fanfiction - May your Heart be your Guiding Key! Be sure to check it out! Song used in this chapter: Ready To by Studio Yuraki: https://youtu.be/HC3jMzYPHwE Chapter 14 – An Investigation Begins…*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulls out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* Chapter 14 – An Investigation Begins… I won’t bore you with the details of how the rest of my day went after we finished up with the whole ‘Adventure with Kairi 2.0’ – all I could tell you was that I wanted to get something to eat, watch the first episode of Stargate Universe and then head off to bed. In the dreamscape, I explained the situation to Princess Luna who was both amused and intrigued by the whole thing – but the attention was directed to the parallel version of Equestria. I reflected on my conversation with Luna in my dreamscape. “A parallel Equestria? Sounds interesting, young Kairi.” “It was a surprise to me as well. Were you aware of it…?” “Not really… though I don’t deny the multiverse theory. I presume you know what that is, correct?” “A theory in which there exist a number of parallel universes in our Solar System.” “Correct.” “Is it possible that there are more universes than ours and my double’s?” “It’s possible – not yet proven but possible. We’d best keep our eye out for any signs. So, what else did you discuss with your double?” “A lot of things but the good news is I’ve learned what my real name is – Mina. Nothing else comes to mind from my memories.” “I see… should I refer to you as Mina or Kairi from now on though?” “Whichever you decide, Princess. I won’t mind.” “Hmmm. I’ll keep calling you Kairi.” “Of course. Anyways, after the adventure ended – Twilight and I came back, watched an episode from my double’s spare laptop, tested out my Keyblade armor, ate and then headed off to bed. So, yeah… it’s been quite a ride.” “I’ll say. It sounds like you and Twilight Sparkle had a good time in the parallel Equestria. I hope I do get to meet your double and this alternate version of myself… and bonk Celestia in the head.” “I’ll see what I can do to introduce you… How are things on your end? Any luck with tracking down the Vanitas wannabe?” “The who?” “The masked figure. According to my double, she calls her a ‘Vanitas wannabe’.” “Weird name but I won’t question it. As for your answer, no luck so far. She moves around from one area to another. No matter how effective my tracking spells are, I just can’t seem to pinpoint her exact location.” “I see… so she did disappear again after we fought her off.” “Your double and you?” “Yep.” “I see. I’ll keep trying to track her down as best I can… no promises.” “Very well… What about your sister though? Can’t she help up out?” “I… To be honest, Kairi – something is very wrong with Celestia.” “How so?” “She is acting out of character and whenever I bring up the issue involving the Heartless and the masked figure, she just tells me that everything will be alright. It’s almost as if she’s being calm about this whole ordeal.” “Maybe she’s just being under a lot of stress?” “I’m not certain.” “What do we do?” “I’ll keep an eye on my sister and see what exactly is wrong with her behavior. In the meantime, keep this to yourself.” “But… Shouldn’t I tell Twilight this? She deserves to know.” “And she will know… but for now we need to know more about this. Keep fighting the Heartless if any appear on our land. I’ll start my own inquiry as to why my sister is acting the way she is now.” “I… But…” “Kairi… please trust me. We’ll explain everything to Twilight but once we have a better understanding of the situation. I’m still not entirely sure what is the matter with my sister.” “…Very well. I’ll do my best to keep my trap shut. I just hope you know what you’re doing, Princess.” And that was it. The question that remained for the rest of the night was – how was I going to keep everything that Luna requested a secret from Twilight? I wanted to tell my friend that there was something wrong with Celestia… It’s not that I didn’t trust Princess Luna but sometimes we have to come clean with the truth and live with the consequences. What am I supposed to do now… Tell Twilight the truth or keep my mouth shut until the princess figures things out? Ugh, this is going to give me a headache. Night had passed quickly into morning and soon I was at the table enjoying some breakfast alongside Fluttershy who was asking how I’m doing so far. “Still sleepy.” I answered and blocked out a yawn. My breakfast was scrambled eggs and some toast while Fluttershy ate some oatmeal. “You didn’t sleep well?” Fluttershy asked but I shook my head. “Nah, I slept well… just… having a lot on mind at the moment. About yesterday and my double.” I answered, half-lie and half-truth. “Ah, I see.” I nodded and continued to eat my eggs. My mind was still on what to do about Twilight and keeping the secret about her mentor. “What’s your plan for today, Flutters?” I asked. Fluttershy placed a hoof on her chin to think. “I plan to feed my animals and head into town to buy some food. What about you?” “I’ll be… training, I guess. Not sure yet.” I answered with a shrug. In truth, I had no plans for today. All except for training and whatnot… might give me a chance to see how tough my armor can be. And if the Heartless show up, I’ll be on stand-by to prevent the attack. Once breakfast was over, Fluttershy wished me goodbye and left the house. Whelp, time to get started on my training regiment. I think I’ll try with some trees in the backyard. Activating my armor, I stepped outside via the backdoor and walked to a nice secluded area where I wouldn’t be disturbed. Summoning my Keyblade, I began hitting a couple of trees in their weak spots. Besides training my physical attacks, I also used magic in my arsenal - fire and ice. I had gotten the hang of using the spells and was casting them without any problems whatsoever. Speaking of that, a new mental note was written in my head to ask Twilight for other types of spells. My small training regiment lasted for nearly an hour and soon I collapsed onto the ground while in my armor. I feel so tired all of a sudden… is it because of the armor or the fact I was wearing myself down due to attacking the trees? Dismissing the armor away, I wiped some sweat off my face and felt lighter - yep, it’s definitely my protective attire. It’s taking some of the energy out of my body… although it's nothing I can’t handle. Laying on the ground for the next couple of minutes, I contemplated my next course of action - continue with some training or find something else to do… As I slowly got up and stretched my arms, I started to walk away only to feel a familiar set of glowing eyes watching me from the bushes. Oh, fuck! Heartless! Summoning the Keyblade, I immediately blocked an attack from… a wolf Heartless? Several more came out of the bushes and started to incircle me. Not good… I better get back in my armor now! Donning it quickly, I got into position as the wolves prepared to scratch my arm or bite me. Luckily, the armor protected me. With the Keyblade in my hands, I easily eliminated the wolf-like Heartless yet wasn’t ready to dismiss my weapon yet. More Heartless would be showing up soon and I had to prepare for when they showed up. A quick check on the armor for any scratches or dents… so far, there were none. Good to know… guess my double really made this indestructible. Soon, the second wave of Heartless had arrived as I prepared my Keyblade. These ones were dressed like knights with swords. What an irony - knights were supposed to be chivalrous and brave… yet instead I’m facing off against monsters that were shaped like them. I’m sure there’s a silver lining to this somewhere. Nonetheless I pressed on and battled the knight-styled Heartless. Some of them slashed the armor but it didn’t cause any cracks… lucky me. After that I began casting Fire at a couple of them along with combining physical attacks. Eventually, the Heartless had been vanquished and I let out a sigh of relief. I was lucky that I had my armor to keep me safe otherwise I’d be back in the bed and waiting for someone to wake me up. Dismissing my armor, I let out a soft sigh before standing up. I think it’s high time I begin to track down the Vanitas wannabe… find out who she really is and what her connection is to me. For this mission though, I headed straight for the library to ask for Twilight’s help. Have to remember not to mention anything about her mentor since Luna’s still handing her own brand of investigation. (Few minutes later - Golden Oaks Library…) “Wait, wait, wait… you wanna do what?” Twilight asked me for what was probably the upteenth time. When I arrived, I found her going through some books on different worlds and alternative dimensions… possibly due to the arrival of my double. I didn’t question it and just moved onto the main topic at hand. “You heard me right, Twi. I’m heading off to investigate any possible signs of where the Vanitas wannabee might be located.” Twilight just blinked and stared at me as if I was crazy. “Pardon my yelling, Kairi… but are you crazy!?!?!?” I rubbed my ears due to how loud Twilight was. “I’m not crazy. I’m being serious… someone has to find out what her intentions are and get to the bottom of this mystery. Plus, I’m the one who has the Keyblade.” I reminded her. Twilight just shook her head. “It’s still too dangerous for you, Kairi. You can’t just go off on your own and explore. What if you run into the female Vanitas and get yourself killed? How will I explain that to Fluttershy?” “Okay… First of all, relax - I’ll be fine. I have the Keyblade with me and I trained with you yesterday. Second, I’ll just be investigating… nothing more. I won’t get into any trouble, Twi. Relax.” I assured her. But sadly she wasn’t having any of it. “No. Kairi, you aren’t going… not alone at least. I’ll come with you.” “Are you sure? It’s going to be dangerous.” I reminded her yet she was adamant in her decision, as told by the serious expression on her face. Having no energy in my brain left to argue and protest, I just resigned to her decision and nodded. “Very well.” Twilight was satisfied with my reply. “Good. We’ll leave in the morning. First though, we’ll have to think of a place where the female Vanitas could be hiding.” A good point with one minor complication - we don’t know where to look first. Might need a map for this… “Okay, two things - one, we need a map to determine all of the places in which she might strike next. The second is a location - where exactly could she be heading next?” I told Twilight who nodded and went to fetch a map. Let’s hope that Lady Luck will be with us once the investigation begins tomorrow… and help us find out where the Vanitas wannabe will be striking next. Here’s to hoping we’ll be victorious in the end! *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. Chapter 15 - The Key to Origins: My R*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulls out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* (TRIGGER WARNING! TRIGGER WARNING! MENTIONS OF RAPE AND SUICIDE! READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!) Chapter 15: The Key to Origins: My R “You know,” I mused as we stepped out of the Stargate. “Now that we’re back from the party, I’m gonna have to step up our training.” “Why’s that?” Haley asked. “Because you declined having your magic tested at the exam,” I retorted with a roll of my eyes. “Because you still haven’t figured out how to switch forms quickly, because your magic is still unstable. Take your pick.” “Well that’s not my fault,” the girl pouted. “Yes it is!” everyone in the room shouted. I would have gone on, but Melissa’s phone rang. “Excuse me for a moment,” the techie turned around, pulling out the phone. “Melissa here… Uh-huh… sure… Alright, go ahead and dial it up, we’ll see you in a minute.” After hanging up, she turned back to us. “Mina wants to come by to hang out, and maybe train a little more, so, let’s not stand in front of the Gate.” “Good call,” I nodded as the inner ring of the Gate began to turn. Stepping to the side, we watched as the portal opened, and Mina stepped through. “Kairi!” Mina yelled in joy. I smiled at the greeting. “Hey Mina, I take it you’re ready to continue up Tartarus? Or are you here to hang out?” “Continue up Tartarus and then hang out. Maybe both at the same time.” She joked. I nodded with an impish grin. “Alright then, I hope you’re ready to tell Twilight about the Heartless you encounter when you get back.” “Oh, definitely… in fact we planned to start an investigation soon.” “Vanitas wannabe?” I asked. She nodded. “Yep. The sooner we learn where she is, the better we can stop her. Also if I might inquire…?” I raised an eyebrow. “Go on,” She grinned. “How’s lovely Melissa doing? I sure hope she hasn’t been too upset about me returning back to my own Equestria.” “You know, you could always ask me directly,” a grinning techie stood behind my younger doppelganger. “Much more polite that way.” Mina’s grin didn’t fade. “Well, it's true. I can always ask the source… also, here’s a little gift from me.” She walked over to Melissa and kissed her cheek. The girl’s grin faded a bit, but didn’t disappear. “Heh, I guess you did miss me.” “Nope. Never. I can’t leave a cutie like you alone.” With a suspiciously sad smile, Melissa just shook her head. “Well, I probably shouldn’t keep you from your training, I’ll go get the sim set up.” Mina noticed the smile straight away. “Melissa… what’s wrong?” The techie shook her head. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” I frowned. “Melissa, this isn’t nothing, that much is obvious. Is this something to do with your past?” “No, really, it’s noth-” “Melissa, we’re your friends,” I cut her off. “Whatever it is, it’s hurting you, and we want to be there for you.” Melissa sighed. “Alright, follow me, but Haley, I want you to go set up the sim. I don’t know you as well as Kairi and Luna. Mina, you’re welcome to come along as well.” She then turned and led us deeper into the tower. We followed the techie to an elevator, where she pressed a button marked “TC”. We rode up to the very top of the tower and stepped out into a smaller version of the Simulator. “This is my Trauma Cell,” Melissa explained softly. “Trauma Cell?” Mina asked worriedly. She nodded. “Yes. That’s what I call it anyway. It contains memories… Painful memories…” She sighed, pressing one of the buttons on one of the consoles. Immediately, the room transformed into the rooftop of a Japanese style building. “I guess the best way to explain is to start here,” the techie sighed from where she stood, but it wasn’t the same girl. She stood a full head shorter, wearing a yellow cardigan, with her bright red hair up in twin braids. Her glasses, however, remained the same. “My old name was Hikari Kagami, a regular, Japanese, schoolgirl.” I nodded. “OK, two things. Actually, make it three things. Why have you gone to so much trouble hiding your past when I never met you before? Why are we on a roof, and most importantly, how are we on a roof?” With another sigh, Melissa turned away from us. “Believe it or not, I do actually have a tie to you. This is all a hologram, much like the Simulator, and as for why here…” She took in a deep, shuddering breath as another girl roughly the same height, with black, braided hair appeared by the railing as Melissa began to sing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX7kvYrL6lQ “Just as I was about to take my shoes, Off on the rooftop, there I see A girl with braided hair here before me, Despite myself, I go and scream ‘Hey, don’t do it please!’” The girl at the railing stiffened, then turned to face Melissa as the music picked up. Luna turned away from the scene, a tear trailing down her cheek as she remembered this same presentation from a thousand years ago. “Whoa, wait a minute what did I just say? I couldn’t care less either way To be honest, I was somewhat pissed This was an opportunity missed The girl with braided hair told me her woes You’ve probably heard it all before ‘I really thought that he might be the one But then he told me he was done.’” Melissa grit her teeth as she walked up to the girl and gripped her arms. “For God’s sake, please! Are you serious I just can’t believe That for some stupid reason you got here before me Are you upset ‘cause you can’t have what you wanted? You’re lucky that you’ve never gotten robbed of anything!” The girl smiled, before turning to the stairs. “’I’m feeling better thank you for listening’ The girl with braided hair then disappeared.” Time seemed to rapidly progress as Mina and I just stared in shock. Please don’t be going where I think its going was the thought running through both our heads. “’Alright, today’s the day!’ or so I thought Just as I took both of my shoes off There was but a girl short as can be Despite myself, I go and scream The petite girl told me her woes You’ve probably heard it all before ‘Everyone ignores me, everyone steals I don’t fit in with anyone here’” Melissa pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration before glaring at the petite girl. “For God’s sake, please! Are you serious I just can’t believe That for some stupid reason you got here before me ‘Cause even so, you’re still loved by everyone at home There’s always dinner waiting on the table, you know!” The girl looked down in shame as she turned to the stairs. “’I’m hungry’ said the girl as she shed a tear The girl short as can be then disappeared.” Melissa closed her eyes, bowing her head. “And like that, there was someone every day I listened to their tale I made them turn away And yet there was no one who would do this for me No way I could let out all this pain.” Mina and I were openly crying now, as we watched a series of images where Melissa, or rather, Hikari, managed to stop multiple suicides. But as we watched, she seemed to become more and more depressed. “For the very first time, there I see Someone with the same pains as me Having done this time and time again She wore a yellow cardigan ‘I just wanna stop the scars that grow Every time that I go home That’s why I came up here instead’ That’s what the girl in the cardigan said Whoa, wait a minute what did I just say? I couldn’t care less either way But in the moment I just screamed Something that I could not believe ‘Hey, don’t do it please!’” Melissa fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face as she screamed. “Agh what to do? I can’t stop this girl, oh this is new For once I think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew But even so please just go away so I can’t see Your pitiful expression is just too much for me!” The girl in the yellow cardigan seemed to sigh as she turned to the stairs. “’I guess today is just not my day’ She looked away from me and then she disappeared.” My eyes widened as another day dawned on the roof, this time no one there. “There’s no one here today, I guess it’s time It’s just me, myself, and I There’s no one who can interfere No one to get in my way here.” Melissa stepped to the edge of the roof, shoes discarded behind her, as it clicked in my mind “Taking off my yellow cardigan.” Every girl she talked down, “Watching my braids all come undone.” Was a version, “This petite girl, short as can be.” Of her. “Is gonna jump now and be free.” I stared in shock for a few seconds as the hologram faded away. Something was nagging me though. “Melissa…” I hesitated, before forging ahead. “When you said earlier that ‘you’re lucky that you’ve never gotten robbed of anything,’ you weren’t… well…” “Raped?” Melissa finished quietly. “Yes, I was.” Mina gasped and walked slowly towards her before letting her hand touch Melissa’s. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Melissa snorted, turning back to the console on the wall. “Why do you think? It was one of the things that led to my suicide. I didn’t plan to explain ANY of this!” I sighed as I walked up to her. “I don’t blame you for not telling us, but why did you decide to tell us? You didn’t have to after all.” The techie blushed. “Well, it's that time of the month. I’m not really thinking rationally right now.” Mina raised a brow. “Not thinking rationally?” Melissa’s blush deepened. “I’m being impulsive and moody, OK?” “Oh…” Now it was Mina’s turn to blush. I gave a light chuckle. “That explains your little ‘cello-off’ earlier.” “Hey! That was fun, and you know it!” Melissa retorted. Mina just whistled innocently. Melissa glanced over, before sighing. “I’m gonna need a bit of time to get my equilibrium back. Go do your training for a bit. I’ll come back down when I’m calm again.” “You sure?” I asked skeptically. “I personally find it very therapeutic to kill monsters when I need to calm down.” “Why do you think this room has holographic projectors?” Melissa replied with a snort. “I happen to agree with you. Now get!” Before leaving, Mina stopped for a moment and kissed Melissa’s cheek yet again. “For good luck.” Melissa gave a slight, yet sincere smile, before turning back to the console, prompting us to get back on the elevator, though not before Luna darted over and gave her a big hug. “We’ll talk about your comment about us having a link later,” I called out as the door closed. “She’s dreamy…” Mina commented. I raised an eyebrow. “Not the description I’d personally give, but whatever floats your boat I guess.” Mina pouted at me. “Hey!” [If you’re wondering, the way I do author’s notes sometimes, is by having a conversation with whoever I’m writing with at the time] Aaand, done. Whew, that was a tough chapter to write, wouldn’t you say Ocelot? Definitely! The best parts were Mina comforting Melissa as best she could… Hopefully there’s more romance between them soon! Well, we’ll see. I don’t know about you, but I SUCK at writing romance. In any case, more story coming soon! Thank you all for sticking with it, even when it takes almost a year to update. Hope you have fun reading, ya lot! This is Ocelot wishing you all a happy reading day! Indeed! See you all next chapter! *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author's Note: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. This chapter has a crossover with SoulboundAlchemist's fanfiction - May your Heart be your Guiding Key! Be sure to check it out! Song used in this chapter: My R | english cover (by KurageP): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX7kvYrL6lQ Small Hiatus - Nothing to Serious.Hey, guys... now this might seem a bit too extreme but I'm gonna put the story on hold for the moment since I'm not really certain where I'm going with this. Too much events and other stories have made me not focus on this as much... It's going to a little hard to where I am heading with this one. I'm thinking about rewriting it... and no, I don't want to hear 'But you should continue the story, it's great.' - I'm sorry but I want to rewrite it one of these days and I will. Hope you all understand. And thank you for the given time.
Chapter 1 - Definitely not in Kansas...Ugh… my damn head… what the hell happened last night? Weird… but for some reason I can’t remember anything… my memory feels like a big blur. And if that wasn’t bad enough… my eyes are closed and can’t open them. There were so many questions running through my mind right now – why can’t I remember anything? Where am I exactly and how did I get here? Also… WHY CAN’T I OPEN MY EYES!? Everything is complete darkness!!! Just then, I felt a huge gust wind crashing into my body… Ugh… someone turn on the radiator… I can’t stand the cold! God, I hope I haven’t ended up in a frozen wasteland somewhere… Huh…? My eyes… they’re opening slowly… I can feel the light pouring through them… now to find out where I am… ouch! Someone is giving me a hard-glowing glare… I blocked it in time with my hand. With a soft groan, I slowly sat up… my head still hurts but at least I can get up… unfortunately, my memory is still a bit fuzzy. After rubbing both the eyes and back of my head, I took a look around the place where I was: I was in a forest of some kind… no doubt filled with all kinds of dangerous creatures that could chomp or kill me. Also, before I came to… I realized that I was lying in grass. Just… where am I exactly? Better yet… who am I? Why can’t I remember anything… ugh, this is so damn stupid! With a frustrated sigh, I laid back onto ground and waited for… anything at this point. “This is so freaking stupid…” I immediately froze as my eyes widened in shock… sitting up quickly, I shook my head – that’s definitely not my normal voice! For some reason, it feels very familiar though… but how…? No, no… can’t stay here… have to find answers and fast… I got up and started to look arou- Wait… what are those things on my left hand? Bracelets… I don’t usually wear bracelets unless its for a special occasion. Where did they come from and why did they look familiar…? Another gust of wind crashed into my body and made me shake. “Brrgh… someone turn on the damn heat…” Ask and you shall receive as the sun heated my body up pretty quickly… guess that’s where the glaring came from when my eyes were blinded up. Anyways, back to searching for answer… I started to walk forward… anywhere better than this forest… maybe I can find a town and ask the locals where the hell I am. Just hope they’re friendly with me… Wait… what was that…? I stopped and turned around to see what that rustling noise is… the bushes are twitching… something is definitely hiding in there. Looking down at the ground, I tried my best to find some kind of weapon like a rock or stick but no such luck. Great, I’m doomed. The thing in question that came out of the rustling bushes was something that I didn’t expect at all: Wolves completely made out of wood!? I mean I expected dangerous animals like tigers or lions but wooden wolves? That definitely beats up my fanfiction… in a literal sense. In any event, there were two/three wooden wolves and they were growling at me – no doubt due to them seeing me as a threat. What was worst was I couldn’t find any weapons at all to defend myself. I’m definitely in trouble… The wolves charged at me as I immediately ran away… need to find civilization and fast! I don’t care who or what… just so long as I get away from those wolves! I ran and ran but the wolves were catching up to me… need to get out of this forest now… I have to- Oof! I was so busy telling myself to run that I didn’t see where I was going and accidentally tripped on a rock and crashed forward onto the grass. Raising my head, I flipped myself around and saw that I accidentally sprayed my lower left ankle. There was a small wound with blood pouring out of it… not gonna lie, it hurts very bad. Also, guess who arrived – the damn wooden wolves! I’m in big trouble and no doubt going to die. Screw my life completely… The wolves were growling and slowly approaching me while I was searching for any weapons to defend myself against their attacks. No such luck! Closing my eyes, I waited for the inevitable as I held my hands up. I just hope they are quick and merciful… “Stay away from her! You all should be ashamed of yourselves!” An unknown voice spoke. Who was that…? I didn’t recognize that voice at all… it’s female… but I don’t know who it is. Opening my eyes slowly and lowering my hands, I saw the most bizarre thing: A yellow Pegasus with pink hair and a tattoo of three butterflies on her butt was standing in front of me and yelling at the wooden wolves. I can’t believe that she was risking her life to protect me even though I’m just a stranger to her. The yelling didn’t seem to affect the wolves at all… in fact, from the looks of things they were getting angrier that they weren’t allowed to reach their pray (me). The pegasus didn’t care and remained where she was. “If you Timberwolves know what is good for you, you’ll leave the poor dear alone and go back from where you came from!” The pegasus demanded as I gave a mental chuckle to myself. Timberwolves? Seriously… that’s their name? What a weird name… then again, I guess its better than wooden wolves. Speaking of the wolves, they growled and prepared to charge as I closed my eyes in waiting for the fate that was to befall me… I also felt remorse for the little pegasus that was going to be killed simply because she wanted to stop the wolves from killing me. I just wish I had a chance to find out who or where I am exactly… And so I waited… and waited… but it never came. What…? Aren’t I supposed to be getting ripped to shreds by now along with the pegasus that was defending me? Where are the screams of pain and horror? Opening my eyes slowly, I couldn’t help but gasp in shock – the pegasus was leaning extremely close to the Timberwolves and giving them some kind of scary stare. They went from angry and growling to pathetic and cowardly. What the hell…? “Now you listen here! I told you to leave her alone! Why haven’t you fled yet? You three should be ashamed of yourselves! I want you to go away and never bother this young lady again! Do you hear me?” The pegasus asked but the wolves continued to shake in fear without giving an answer. She leaned a little closer to their face and asked once more. “Do… you… hear… me!?” All three Timberwolves nodded in fear before taking off in another direction as the pegasus yelled at them for what was probably the last time. “And don’t you ever do such a bad thing again!” I couldn’t believe what just happened – waking up in an unknown forest only to get threatened by a bunch of wooden wolves and then a pegasus comes to save my life. Funny how fate sometimes works… Getting up, I was about to go and thank my savior when my vision began to get blurry due to the blood loss from my ankle wound. The pegasus turned around and her eyes immediately widened when she saw my sprayed ankle. “Oh, my! You poor thing… we need to get you some medical- a-are you okay…?” The pegasus asked me as I began to waver for a little bit before I stumbled forward much to my savior’s shock. “Oh, no!” She screamed with tears in her eyes just as my eyes were beginning to close. The last thing that I saw with my blurry vision was her rushing forward to check up on me just as my eyes closed completely. My body shut down completely as I went into an unconscious state. Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story.
Chapter 2 - The Savior Explains.“I’ll be sure to pick you up at eight… stay out of trouble, kay? Love you, Mi--!” “My, my – I never thought that I would see a cosplay of Kairi at a Kingdom Hearts convention – it’s so rare to see one… usually we mostly see a Sora or Riku one… but you being Kairi is a first, young lady…” “Indeed it is – a complete replica of Destiny’s Embrace – I guarantee you that your eyes don’t lie… and the best part is very cheap – only for 5 dollars. Do you wish to wield it?” “Pleasure doing business, young miss! Enjoy your purchase… it definitely is worth it.” “Miss, are you alright?” “Someone get a doctor! We have a fallen girl!” “Miss!” “MISS! WAKE UP!” “MISS! MISS!” “WAKE UP!!!” “WAKE UP!!!” “WAKE UP!!!!!!” My eyes snapped opened completely as I sat up with sweat covering my entire face. Wiping it away, I took a look around and realized that I was in somekind of house – a cottage maybe? Weird… How did I get here and whose voices were those? Rubbing the back of my head, I wondered what the hell was- Now I remember… I woke up in somekind of forest, wooden-like wolf creatures attempted to attack only to be stopped by a mysterious yellow pegasus… and then I ended up being unconscious. Alright, so we’ve solved the mystery of what happened… yet more questions remain in my mind – where am I and whose voices were those? From the looks of things, the pegasus or anyone could have brought me to this house (might be hers) – who knows? Now for the voices… who exactly where they and why did they seem so familiar? I know I’ve heard them before but… I can’t really remember where… my memories are still on the fritz. Hmmm… I wonder if there’s anything around to make me remember even though it’s a one to a million chance. Standing up more and removing the blanket that was covering my body on a couch that I was resting (make a mental note to thank whoever cover me after bringing me), I got off and stretched myself… right, now let’s see where I am exactly. Walking around, I began to see that this placed look like something resembling a pet veterinarian or a zoo (mainly due to me seeing birdhouses and mouseholes) – what a strange way for someone to be living like this… must be an animal lover or something. Won’t complain though… From the looks of things, there was ordinary furniture like a fireplace or bookcase but like I said – no complains whatsoever. I had to admit – it was unique. Combining an animal-like habitat with an ordinary house-like was very interesting… wonder if I should do anything like that one day if I get my very own house. I continued to look around for anything out of the ordinary but there was nothing suspicious – books sitting on the cases and not being read; fireplace being calm without any fire whatsoever; pillows resting on different sofas; seeing somekind of red-head in the mirror in front of me; the blanket lying on- Wait… what did I just see!? I rushed over to the mirror and immediately gasped when I saw a reflection of a red-haired teen staring at me. Turning around, I tried searching for her but there was no sign… Weird. Staring at the mirror once again, I made some poses with my hand and to my surprise the reflection did the same… then I came to a shocking discovery: “T-that’s my reflection!” I stated with shock in my voice as I touched my hair and cheeks to confirm – my reflection in the mirror did the same! What was going exactly… and why do I look like someone that seems very familiar to me for some reason? I think I know this girl… but where have I seen her? Hmmm… from the looks of things, my hair was very long with bangs while the color was dark red (auburn, if I’m not mistaken) while my eyes were blue and skin was a pale complexion – honest truth, I feel like play doll yet I won’t judge. As for clothes, they were all pink… pink like a doll: A pink strapless mini-dress made up of three zippers as well as a white halter top underneath with a black hood. The three bracelets that I saw on my left wrist were still there along with a black belt reminiscent of suspenders with a notebook shaped bag attachment and lilac sneakers. Around my neck, I wore a simple necklace with a silver bead – I had to admit that it was a beautiful piece of jewelry… which looked familiar. Not just that, this entire person looked familiar to me. But where…? Is anyone even remotely gonna attempt to help me? “Oh, my! You’re awake, thank goodness!” A familiar voice startled as I jumped up in the air before hiding behind a sofa – when did someone get in here and why didn’t I sense them? “No, no, no! Don’t hide please! I wasn’t trying to scare you – I just wanted to check up and see how you were doing! Please don’t hide… I won’t hurt you.” The familiar voice reassured me yet I felt like not coming out – what if it did something that would hurt me? I stayed behind the sofa for a few more seconds as the voice spoke once more. “Please… I won’t hurt you. I just want to make sure you’re okay… can you come out please? I just need to see if you aren’t hurt or anything like that.” Although, I still had no idea who the voice belonged – it felt so sweet… and motherly. Against my better judgement, I decided to trust it… but was still on guard in case anything bad happened. Raising my head slowly, I spotted the source of the voice which turned out to be the exact same yellow-colored pegasus that saved me from those wooden-like wolves. I arose completely from behind the couch but remained on the offensive – just because the voice was that of a caring mother didn’t mean that I shouldn’t be suspicious. Like the old saying goes ‘never judge a book by its cover’… yet I shouldn’t act rude towards my savior: “H-hello.” I said with a shy tone as I walked away from the couch and closer to her. In the meantime, she just made a small gasp and flapped her wings – she then flew close to much to my surprise. How did she do that? “Oh, you poor thing! You are still scared after those bad mean Timberwolves attacked you for no reason… but don’t worry. I’m here and I’ll make sure you’re healed up to full health.” She assured before hugging me completely which made me feel somewhat embarrassed and weirded out. From her tone, it seems like she was acting like a ‘mom’ towards me even though at this point I kinda of felt embarrassed. A lot if I’m being honest right… I wasn’t that hurt… only just surprised at my situation and my savior especially. I pulled her gently away from me. “It’s alright, I’m not really in any danger or that heavily injured. I’m fine… don’t worry.” She was continuing to fly in the air due to her pegasus nature but still had a worried face. “O-oh… are you sure? I should still check up to make you are feeling okay.” She told me. This pegasus really has the personality of a caring mother – still if it will get her to drop this feeling of insecurity… “Well… alright. I guess it couldn’t hurt… ummm…?” I just realized that I haven’t gotten her name yet. Ugh, I’m such an idiot… “Oh… oh, my – I never got around to introduce… I can be so forgetful sometimes. My name is… F-fluttershy.” She introduced her with a hint of shyness in her tone. Guess she does live up to her name… so innocent yet shy. But close to a caring mother… in a way, it was cute to hear what Fluttershy’s name is. “Nice to meet you, Fluttershy… I’m… ummm… umm…” Great, I still can’t remember what my name is. “Oh, you don’t know what your name is?” Fluttershy asked me as I sighed heavily and responded. “Seems so… I can’t really remember anything before I woke up in that forest earlier.” “Oh, my! That’s terrible… I’m so sorry…” She apologized even though I didn’t blame her at all since it wasn’t her fault that I couldn’t remember my name. Looking down in sadness, I immediately panicked and grinned awkwardly. “No, no, no! It’s not your fault! Don’t be sad… please.” I pleaded but she still look sad. Poor thing… no wonder that Fluttershy has a name so related to shyness… plus she’s extremely caring in that mother-like way… reminds me a lot about my mother… if I can remember a damn thing before waking up in the forest… speaking of that… “Say, Fluttershy… if you don’t mind terribly, would you please answer a couple of my questions?” I asked her. Raising her head slowly, she nodded but with the look of worry still there. “Of course. I don’t mind – anything to help you in this situation. Please, have a seat on my couch.” She offered me as I nodded and sat down on one of the couches. Flapping her wings, she flew a little bit and sat right next to me. “So, what would you like to know?” She asked. First things first, a location. “Fluttershy, can you please tell me where am I and the name of the forest that you found me?” “Oh, course – it’s called the Everfree Forest. But the land you are in right now is called Equestria… we’re very close to Ponyville.” She explained. My mind immediately blocked as I began to process the words that were told to me… let’s see if I get this right: “So… basically I’m here in this ‘Equestria’ which has a town called ‘Ponyville’ and its population is…?” I didn’t need to finish since Fluttershy nodded her head immediately and answered instead of me. “Yes. The population is made of ponies – pegasus, unicorn and earth ponies.” Oh, boy… keeps getting better and better… hopefully the populace is just like dear sweet Fluttershy. At least I found myself in a land filled with ponies so I can count my blessings for that. Alright, let’s see what else we can learn about the ponies living here… “Alright, location and the name of the forest you found me are memorized in my head… now can you please explain more about the local populace?” I asked with a curious expression since I wanted to know more about the place I’m in right now. “Of course… let’s start with the pegasi…” She began to explain to me everything there was to know about the ponies and I immediately memorized the following details: Pegasi had the ability to control the weather, fly and walk on clouds. Some are considered to be very fast; Earth ponies can be considered as workers of sorts – mostly trading, farming, etc.; Unicorns are very important in the land of Equestria – they have the ability to use magic (manipulate objects and whatnot). “…and that covers everything there is to know about the local populace. Did you understand?” She asked me after explaining everything – one word could describe my entire being: impressed. “I think so… so to recap: This is Equestria and the forest you found me is called Everfree. The populace is made of three races which are pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies – all three have their special traits.” Upon explaining it yet again, Fluttershy nodded gently. “Yep. You’ve got it… of course, not everyone in our land cherishes peace and harmony… whenever a person with bad intentions attempts to disturb the ordinary lifestyle in Equestria it falls to myself and my friends to stop him/her – mainly with the Elements of Harmony.” She explained as my mind blocked once again. “Ummm… I’m sorry… the Elements of Harmony? What are those exact?” I asked with the curious trait still there inside me. “The Elements of Harmony are the very artifacts that keep Equestria safe and alive… without them, chaos would arise and who knows what kind of bad guys might threaten the ordinary lives of every pony. I’m one of the ponies that bears an Element of Harmony – Kindness.” She explained as I became impressed a lot. So, the Elements of Harmony are labeled as somekind of peacekeeping weapons that ensure that peace around these parts go on without any disturbing whatsoever… make a mental note to study more on these ‘Elements’ and keep them from falling into the wrong hands. “Memorized everything so far… but you mentioned other friends that also bear other elements, right? Who are they?” I asked as Fluttershy was ready to answer yet again: “My other friends Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity – they represent Magic, Loyalty, Generosity, Honestly and Laughter. Also, I forgot to mention that the Elements are non-lethal and the effects are temporary… but we only use them when someone with bad intentions attempt to disrupt the peace in Equestria. The result is banishment or imprisonment.” She explained. The end result is banishment or imprisonment, huh? Well, at least they aren’t non-lethal… plus only used on people that are bad guys or have chaotic intentions. I’ve memorized the details… everything about the elements. Might have to meet the ponies that embody the rest of the artifacts though… if Fluttershy introduces me sooner or later. “So far, I’ve memorized everything… by the way, about those wooden-like wolves that attempted to do me harm… you called them Timberwolves?” I asked as Fluttershy nodded. “Yes… you are extremely lucky that it was only Timberwolves… if it were any creatures such as a Manticore or Hydra… it would be very bad for you.” She told me but I was confused and a little scared at the creatures she mentioned – what the hell was a Manticore or Hydra? “Ummm… what’s a Hydra or a Manticore?” I asked even though the answer was going to be something that I didn’t want to hear. Fluttershy’s face turned into one of worry as she looked away. “Well, I don’t want to alarm or scare you… but let’s just say that you should really be careful when dealing with a manticore or hydra… both creatures are dangerous if you don’t have an expert to subdue them. In fact, the entire Everfree Forest is filled with creatures you don’t want to be dealing with. Trust me on this…” She told me as I slowly nodded with an uneasy look on my face. “I see… I haven’t really run into any other creatures besides those Timberwolves… but I’ll be extremely careful. Thanks for the warning…” I thanked her as she smiled gently. “Don’t mention it. So, any luck in recovering some of your memories? Anything at all…?” She asked me as I closed my eyes and attempted to think – yet there was nothing… I still couldn’t remember a damn thing. Along with my name and where I can from… The attempting was giving me a headache so I sighed in frustration and rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Nothing, Fluttershy… my memory state is as empty as finished cup.” I explained as Fluttershy rubbed her… hoof? Guess its understandable since she is a pegasus after all. “Hmmm…” The pegasus spoke as she no doubting starting thinking of any good idea for solving the memory situation. A good couple of seconds later along with being quiet and she spoke once more: “Before I came to check up on your, do you remember anything in particular? Like early memories or thoughts…?” Fluttershy had actually suggested a good idea – hmmm… now that she mentions it… “Hmm… I do remember that before I woke up a while ago – I heard a couple of voices in my head: a mysterious woman saying that she’ll pick me up later; a merchant complimenting a costume at some kind of convention; me buying a copy of a toy weapon or something called ‘Destiny’s Embrace’; people yelling at me to wake up…” I explained it to her as Fluttershy went ‘hmm’ once again and became silent. This silence went on for another couple of seconds until my yellow-colored friend spoke once more: “You mentioned buying a toy weapon or something called ‘Destiny’s Embrace’ along with a merchant… you no doubt bought it from him/her… this particular merchant also complimented a costume that you wore… what kind of costume was it exactly?” Fluttershy asked me as I scratched my head and tried to think – hmmm… what kind was it exactly? This form I’ve taken… it looks familiar… but where- “Oh, wait! I remember something else – when he complimented this costume, he told me that it was a well-made cosplay of a girl called… K-kai-something… Ummm…” I stopped speaking as I concentrated in order to guess the name. “Don’t rush, please… take your time.” She assured me as I thankfully nodded for her kind and patient nature. Hmm… Kai-something… Kaichi… nah… Kaity… nope… Kaizi… nada… Kairi? Yeah, that’s it! That’s the name! “Got it… he told me that my well-made cosplay was related to a girl called Kairi… strange thing is that the name feels very familiar to me. Can’t quite put my finger on it though…” I told Fluttershy who just sat there and nodded. “Hmmm… maybe this character that you ‘cosplayed’ as is related to something famous?” Fluttershy suggested as I nodded. “It’s a possibility…” I agreed her – now that I think about it, the name ‘Kairi’ is definitely related to something famous… but why can’t I remember? “Hmmm… say, if the name ‘Kairi’ is stored away in your memories… maybe that’s the name you were born with?” Fluttershy suggested as I crossed my arms and sighed once more. “Truth be told, I don’t have a clue as to why my memories are on the fritz… so in a sense you might have a point – maybe my name is Kairi.” I half-agreed with her theory. “Here’s my suggestion – until you get your memory back along with your true name, why not stick with Kairi? For some reason, the name fits you.” She complimented as I chuckled a little bit. “Dunno… with these clothes, I kind of look like a doll.” I told her but she shook her head and smiled gently. “That’s not true… you don’t like a doll. If anything, you are your own person.” “I guess… thanks Fluttershy.” I thanked her just as my stomach began to growl – when was the last time I had some food? Smiling sheepishly to Fluttershy, I apologized to her. “Sorry…” In response to that, she shook her head: “No need to apologize… I just realized that I never offered you anything to eat. I’m so sorry.” Fluttershy apologized but I raised a hand for her to hold her words. “Don’t worry about it… you don’t mind if I join you, right?” I asked her as she nodded with a smile. “I don’t mind the company. Although, I have to find something that’s safe and edible for you… say, Kairi – what exactly are you? You aren’t a pony… and definitely not a gorilla… No offense.” She apologized. “None taken… I’m a human. It’s very close to a gorilla – the correct term though is ape. Less hair on my body and a lack of craving for bugs. Fruit though… I like.” I explained to my savior who has a look of confusion on her face. “A… human? I’ve never heard or seen that kind of race on Equestria before… O-oh my! You’re like an alien!” She came to the realization before she gasped in shock. I was thinking that she might get scared and then have a heart attack or something so I had to act fast before it was too late. “Somewhat like an alien… but I’m not hostile though! Promise!” I assured her. Her shock was gone as she quickly calmed down and smiled gently. “I know you aren’t. So far you’ve been acting like a kind person… plus, as a close friend of mine said: Never judge a book by its cover.” Fluttershy replied. I nodded at the saying. “Yep… so, shall we-” I stopped speaking as I felt someone jumping up-and-down on my sneakers. Looking down, I saw a small white rabbit glaring at me. What exactly did I do to this little guy? “Angel!” Fluttershy who developed a stern look glared at the little rabbit who was sitting on my sneakers. “Don’t be rude! She’s our guest… can you please not act rude towards her?” She pleaded as the rabbit jumped off my sneaker and climbed onto the table. He examined very close with a serious expression on his face as I looked at Fluttershy with a confused look. “Is this normal for your rabbit?” I asked my savior who just shrugged. Said rabbit was finished examining me before jumping away to who-knows-where. “Was… he examining me to determine if I’m hostile or something?” I questioned my savior – wasn’t mad or anything. Just confused. “Somewhat… Angel is very protective towards me and has this amazing ability of detecting who has good or bad intentions… though at times it can be a little frustrating. Hope you aren’t that mad at him.” I shook my head in response to that sentence. “Nope… just confused.” I answered. At this time, my stomach growled and I sheepishly smiled once more. “Sorry…” “Oh, I never forgot! We should get something to eat – come on, the kitchen is close by.” She told me after getting off the couch. “Right behind you.” I replied as I got off and followed suit. Hopefully a nice meal would be able to help me remember where I came from and how I ended up in Equestria. Plus, who knows… Maybe this little journey won’t be so bad after all… I guess I should just ‘expect the unexpected’. Still, better keep a sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary… Fluttershy might be a kind and caring pony but it doesn’t mean that the rest of Equestria might not be hostile towards me or my future actions. Like the old saying goes: Never judge a book by its cover – We’ll see what happens… (Meanwhile…) “Oh, indeed you will ‘Kairi’ – we will definitely see what your actions in Equestria will be… I look forward to our first meeting Kairi or should I say… Mina.” The figure that spoke these words were a young female that was wearing a mysterious darkish red-purple bodysuit while their entire face was covered by a biker-like helmet with a black visor. The female was currently sitting on a throne somewhere hold up in cave deep within the mountains and was watching Fluttershy and Kairi on somekind of mirror projector. The masked female chuckled as she got from the throne and shut off the projector. Soon, she snapped her fingers as several ant-like creatures arose from the ground – its antennas on their heads twitched whilst their cold yellow eyes held nothing but a search for their preys. Said figure chuckled once more as she took another look at the deactivated mirror. “And now… let the games begins. Let’s see how precious little cosplayer Mina handles a bunch of familiar enemies from her favorite game as Kairi…” Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story.
Chapter 3 - Calm before the Storm!You know that old saying about ‘Kindness should never be picky’? Well, I’m thinking it inside my mind at this very moment due to the fact that I’m going to be eating a fresh salad with some tomato and cucumbers. Naturally I wanted to find something else to eat… only to realize that I was in a world in which ponies/horses only ate things like hay, grass and vegetables. However, this world was rather… different. In any case, I told myself that I shouldn’t be rude and refuse the gracious meal… plus, it was a salad and humans ate a lot… if I can remember. Actually, when was the last time I had a nice decent meal? Memory is still on the fritz, unfortunately… Right now, I’m currently sitting at the kitchen and waiting for my salad to arrive – it was being made at this very moment by Fluttershy. Though I had not clue if her skills as a chef were 5-star material… but like I said: Don’t judge books by their cover. I didn’t have to wait long from the looks of it since Fluttershy had just arrived holding a two-salad bowls in her hooves whilst flying. Reminds me of waitresses back from where I came from… if I could remember where that is to be honest. “Sorry for the wait, Kairi… had to check and see if the ingredients are fresh. Hope you didn’t mind the tardiness.” Fluttershy apologized but I shook my head and smiled. “Don’t worry about it…” I assured her. She placed the bowl in front me as I took a look inside – fresh salad leaves, tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, etc. - yep, definitely looks like a proper garden salad. Can’t wait to try it. Fluttershy placed hers on the opposite side of the table before realizing something. “Oh, I almost forgot – Kairi, would you like a beverage?” She asked and I nodded – some liquid would do my throat good. “Sure… do you have any peach or cherry juice? I love those flavors.” I told her as she nodded with a gentle smile. “Sure do. Fresh and new due to going out to the market yesterday. Hold on.” She told me before heading to fetch the juice box. Few seconds later, she returned with two cups and a box of cherry juice – surprisingly she was holding said box in her mouth. An amazing feat… there’s definitely more to these ponies than meets the eye. And thus the lunch rush had begun – despite my earlier comment about ‘picky kindness’ I had to admit that my salad was actually pretty good… my compliments to the chef which was Fluttershy. I especially savored my tomatoes and salad leaves… the best parts of any garden salad. Fluttershy was also eating hers with surprisingly a fork… how she was holding onto it, I’ll never know… and don’t get me started on the house… Oh, speaking of the house: After taking a small sip from my cheery-filled cup, I questioned Fluttershy about her house. “Say, Fluttershy… I have to ask since I’m curious on the interior of your house: why does it look like a cross between a zoo and an ordinary house – no offense.” Fluttershy was wrapping up her chewing and swallowing it before replying. “None taken… besides my role as an Element of Kindness, I also take care of any animals that live near me or in the whole of Equestria. In that way, you can think of me as a caretaker of sorts.” She smiled once more. “You definitely fit the role well.” I complimented before taking a bite from salad as Fluttershy sent a thankful nod to me. “Why, thank you. And you? Do you like animals as well?” She questioned me. “Mhm…” I sent out with a nod just as I finished swallowing my bite. “I do like animals… though I don’t really have a favorite ones. However, my weakness is huskies. I love them the most.” I admitted with a small blush and a sheepish smile. Huskies were particularly a favorite of mine since… well… still can’t remember a thing but I do believe I owned a husky named… ummm… damn it, still can’t remember a thing. “That’s nice… you know, my friend Applejack has a dog called Winona – although I don’t know what breed she is… I’ll have to ask.” She told me as I nodded before sipping on my juice once more. It was then that something else came up in my mind – mainly about this ‘Applejack’ and friends… “Say, Fluttershy… when your friends aren’t on duty as the Elements of Harmony, what do they do in their free time?” I questioned. “Well… As I told you: my role is a caretaker of animals and such. However, I also do cooking, sewing and doing music. As for my friends: Twilight is basically studying the art of Friendship and Magic while staying in Ponyville; Applejack is a worker on her farm (Sweet Apple Acres); Rarity works as a fashion designer and seamstress at Carousel Boutique; Pinkie Pie is an expert in partying and such (also, bit of a warning – she might throw you a party since you are new around here) and lastly – Rainbow Dash (my closest friend) has a job in the city of Cloudsdale at the Weather Factory along with training to be a member of the Wonderbolts.” Fluttershy finished explaining but my brain once more had stalled. So much info… I gotta process it – so let’s see what I’ve learned so far: · Twilight – Friendship/Magic learner; · Applejack – Farmer (An apple farmer); · Rarity – Fashion Designer/Seamstress); · Pinkie Pie – Party Planner/Thrower; · Rainbow Dash – Racer/Job at a Weather Factory; · Fluttershy – Animal caretaker. Whelp, got everything organized in case someone asks me a question and making sure that I don’t end making an ass out of myself. I gotta admit that those are interesting jobs… except for the party and friendship one. Strange occupations… but then again I am in a different world and no judging. “Sounds like a lot of hard work that you and your friends have.” I voiced my opinion as Fluttershy nodded. “It is… and don’t even get me started on our role as the Elements.” She told me as I just gave a nod. From the point on, we continued eating our meal until everything was devoured from the table – have to admit, everything was yummy and tasty. “My compliments to the chef.” I praised her as she smiled gently and replied. “I’m glad you liked it… not my best work… but I do aim to please.” She took the two bowls along with the cups inside and flew away into the kitchen with her flapping wings. In the meantime, I just stood at the table and remained silent – my memory was still on the fritz and so far had no idea what to do… maybe find a book to read or try to remember anything before I came to Equestria? The latter was definitely not a choice since I didn’t want a headache to come… Just at this very moment, Fluttershy came back from the other part of the kitchen. “That reminds me, Kairi… I’ve managed to cook up a nice apple pie. Would you like-” She never finished her question due to this: “AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” The screeching and scared voice of Angel Bunny screamed as he rushed into the kitchen and hid quickly behind Fluttershy. “Angel! What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked as she looked at the bunny that was hiding behind her as I got up with a worried expression on my face. “Your bunny normally doesn’t scream unless there’s an immediate danger around, right?” I asked as Fluttershy nodded and spoke once more. “Yes… but he doesn’t get scared easily unless it’s a big scary animal or villain. I wonder what scared him?” I was curious about that too and looked at Angel who was shaking in fear – despite our first meeting, I couldn’t help but sympathize with the poor thing. Wonder what scared him? “Angel… what exactly made you scared, you poor thing?” Fluttershy asked with a maternal caretaking tone as the scared stuttered rabbit raised his head and pointed slowly at the entrance door. “Outside?” I asked as the bunny nodded. “Something must have scared him but it doesn’t make any sense – my animals are usually very quiet and act peaceful especially whenever I’m around to take care of them.” She told me but I shook my head. “I don’t think its an animal you take care of Fluttershy… more like something else.” I told her before taking cautious steps towards the door. “Wait… where are you going?” Fluttershy asked as I responded immediately. “Going to investigate… you wanna come with me?” I asked as her face became one of worrying as she looked at Angel once again who was shivering in fear. “I’d love to… but I have to stay and try to calm Angel down. Although, are you going to be okay?” She asked me but I didn’t give an answer straight away. What was my plan exactly here? Charging out to investigate without even taking precautions such as find a suitable weapon? That was something that only a brave fool would do in a situation like this… “To be honest… no clue. But I should at least check things out and see who scared Angel… be back soon, hopefully.” I assured her. “W-well… okay… don’t act like the hero though. Come back to me safe and sound, Kairi. Please.” She pleaded as I turned and gave her a comforting smile. “I will. Don’t worry.” I assured her before opening the door and stepping outside her house. Once outside, I immediately took a look at my surroundings – so far everything was peaceful from the looks of it but it was all quiet – chicken coop, bird houses… everything. I don’t really understand it… Angel stated that something outside had scared him but I don’t really see anything – maybe it was a bear or something? But that wouldn’t make any sense since Fluttershy told me that she takes care of her animals very well… if that were the case, then what scared Angel and for that matter where are the other animals? “Hello? Anybody around here? Hello?” I called out to the animals but there was no response – also, I’m aware that animals can’t talk yet I was in a different world… After careful looking I was stumped – there was nothing out here besides the peace and quiet so what made Angel so scared that much? This question was never answered due to the ground beginning to shake – whoa! Was there an earthquake going on at this very moment or something? Looking forward, I saw a bunch of scared animals running towards my direction and my eyes widened. Jumping backwards quickly, I was able to avoid the large stampede that was to collide into me but dust filled the area everywhere – it covered my entire body and I think some of it got caught into my mouth. I began to cough very heavily… son of a- *COUGH-COUGH!* Bitch… Eventually, the dust storm blew itself away along with the rest of the animals. Shaking off the rest of the dust, I had to wonder what made the animals get all scared like that… a big monster or something like that? Timberwolves were out of the questions since they were just wolves made out of wood plus- Hey, wait a minute… who the heck blocked the sun? This was due to me seeing a huge shadow ground that was blocking out the sun – huh… it was getting bigger and bigger. As I turned around, I had to wonder who would just block out- (I immediately gasped when I saw a swarm of yellow-eyed black skinned ants that traveled in waves towards my location.) I took a few steps backwards and gulped as they got closer and closer – searching quickly for a weapon of any kind, I noticed a stick laying on the ground: though what good would it do for me? Ugh, never mind… Picking up quickly, I went into a defensive pose and held the stick with my two arms as the tide was getting closer-and-closer. I had to do this… I had to stop these ants before they did some serious damage… …which ultimately proved futile as the tide swept me in its inside – the stick was thrown away as the ant-like creatures began to spin me round-and-round inside this black tornado I think. It continued to sour through the air as I started to scream: “OMG… this is absolutely infuriating! Help! Someone help- Oh, crap!” I yelled as I was thrown away into the air by that tide. Oh… crap. I was about to fall… and probably break my bones or die. Something that I didn’t even want to happen. Closing my eyes, I screamed and immediately began to fall. Oh, god… I was gonna die… I was gonna… I’M GONNA DIE! SOMEONE HELP ME OR SOMETHING! HELP! Here it comes! Oh, god… I’m dead… so dead or in a coma! Someone saved- Wait a minute… I… didn’t feel dead or any broken bones just yet… what just happened? Did someone save me? Opening my eyes very slowly I saw that I was on the ground but not what you’d expect – I was in somekind of protective sphere from the looks of it and floating as well… also, my hands feel really heavy for some reason. What just happened…? When did this shield get here and who conjured it? It saved me from death or a coma but who summoned it… more importantly, what was making my hand feel so- *GASP* Staring down, my jaw was wide open when I saw a strange weapon that I’d never seen before – it was a cross between a sword and a key. Yet, it seemed familiar to me… especially its design: It was round and curvaceous and at first point appeared to be harmless. One side of the hilt was formed in the shape of a breaking ocean wave while the other was formed into a beige vine of sand that wrapped around the shaft which somehow resembled a sunset. The vine was connected to a bouquet of colorful flowers which formed the teeth of the weapon and somehow entwined to create an outline of a heart. Lastly, a red silken keychain was connected to a token which resembled a strange star-like fruit that I’d never seen before… Funny thing is that it looks familiar… yet I can’t quite place my finger on it. Maybe it belongs to the cosplaying outfit to the girl called Kairi… probably. Ugh, why can’t I remember a thing? My eyes widened as I just realized something – was this weapon the reason that this shield was up and how was it able to create it? It seems almost… magical for some reason. The shield began to disperse as I landed gently on my two feet onto the ground – taking a deep breath, I was grateful to be alive and not ending up with broken bones or dead… yet I feel like I’m forgetting something- Oh, shit! Those ants! Just as I thought of this, the ant-like tide came back as it stood still in the air and prepared for me to make the first move. Taking a deep breath, I glared at the tornado that was holding those little monsters with yellow eyes before I got into a defensive pose. “You little pricks picked the wrong day to mess with this human!” I declared with full confidence… …just as the tide began charging at me. (I… can do this… I CAN DO THIS!) Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story.
Chapter 4 - Everything is NOT okay!Deep breaths… five. Preparation… four. Hard glare at the tornado of evil yellow eyes… three. Approaching… two. LET’S DO THIS… ONE! (The tide charged at me as I jumped back a little bit but was safe for only for a minute… said monsters swung back into the air and once more prepared to clash straight into where I was.) Preparing myself with my weapon, I took a deep breath as the tide came crashing down onto me… …only to jump and swung my key-shaped sword at the monsters. I successfully managed to bust out of the death trap in time. Landing a couple of feet away, I grinned for a moment – not so tough now, are you evil vortex? Unfortunately, my moment of triumph was interrupted by a huge explosion that occurred behind me. Next thing I knew – hundreds of those shadowy monsters were falling from the sky. Crap, I hope Fluttershy or nobody else is around to see this. Using my weapon as an umbrella for defense, I managed to block *THUD!* several of the *THUD!* small buggers as they *THUD!* landed onto the ground! *THUD!* Phew… last of them. But now I had a new problem… the buggers were on the ground and they were alive – I still had to stop before they started to do some serious damage or worst-case scenario – hurt anyone! Said monsters began to surround me as I got into a defensive/assault position with my weapon still at hand – keep calm and try your best to stop them, Kairi… Two/three jumped up and charged forward only to meet the steel of my key-shaped weapon – with a vertical slice, I cut the buggers in half as they disintegrated into black smoke. Whoa… not gonna lie, I honestly didn’t expect that to work! Moment of triumph was unfortunately interrupted as I felt one of those ants jumped onto my back and scratching my exposed skin. Gritting my teeth in pain, I started to shake and the little monster landed on the ground before I destroyed it. I felt pain as blood began to pour out from my wound… ouch… that hurts like hell. No time to bandage it up though… monsters first and then heali- OH… shit… that hurts like hell. Ugh, never mind – combat had resumed as I took another pair of the shadowy ants with my weapon. There were some ups-and-downs: I managed to defeat a couple of them; But I gained a couple more wounds – on my legs, arms and even one of forehead and cheek. I hate to say it but I’m officially one step close to looking like an actual zombie – well, technically human but with these scars… actually, more like a torture doll… but never mind that now. More shadows were running towards my location as I got once more into a- AHHH! Everything… fucking… hurts! I fell to my knees almost immediately and began to breathe heavily – son of a bitch… these wounds aren’t really making my job in fighting the ants easier. Ugh, everything hurts so bad. I tried getting up to fight but it was no use. Seeing that this was going to be the end, I closed my eyes almost immediately as the end was about to come for me. “Get away from her right now, you ants!” An unknown voice yelled as I opened my eyes to see all of the monsters that were about to attack me being disintegrated into smoke by a mysterious source of purple light. What happened and where did it come from? (Trying my best to get up, I failed miserably due to all the blood that was leaking from my wounds… plus, I beginning to feel tired… Ugh, not now…) “Take it easy… you’ve been wounded pretty badly. Here, let me help.” The voice spoke once more as a green light engulfed my entire body for a moment or two. When it was gone, I didn’t feel any pain… my scars and the bleeding… they were gone! I couldn’t believe it… it was just like magic! I wonder who- “Phew… that was close. Thank goodness my spells still work… you okay?” The voice asked me as I looked up to see a purple unicorn with a lavender indigo-colored mane, violet eyes and a purple tail. Like with Fluttershy, there was a tattoo on her body that depicted a pink six-pointed star that was surrounded by five other small ones. There was a smile of relief on her face – no doubt due to saving me from those shadows. No point in being rude – she did save me after all… wait, another pony with her tattoos being related to stars… this must be Twilight – one of Fluttershy’s friends. “Y-yeah… I’m fine. Thanks for the assist.” I told her as I got up very easily and stretched myself to calm down after fighting all those little ants. “It’s no trouble… I saw the fight from a mile away and came to assist right away… plus I needed to check and see if one of my friends are alright – say, by chance: is a pegasus by the name of Fluttershy okay? I’m really scared that she might have gotten hurt due to those creatures attacking…” She questioned me and I couldn’t help but notice that she was very concerned about her friend… then again, I would be as well if any of my close ones were in danger. “She’s fine… don’t worry about it. I managed to protect her from those things… whatever they are.” I replied as Twilight looked at me with a confused look. “Wait… you don’t know who or what those things are… actually, wait – who are you? I’ve never seen someone like you before… in fact, you don’t really seem familiar at all. Who are you exactly?” Twilight questioned as a curious look was displaced on her face. Man, she certainly asks a lot of questions – kind of like a scholar or scientist. Strange world I’ve found myself on… Still, no shame in keeping quiet about myself – with a deep breath, I was prepared to answer… …only for a huge earthquake to occur at this very moment – what’s going on!? “Whoa! What’s happening!?” Twilight yelled as we began to look around for the cause of the quake – who or what is responsible for it? “I dunno!” I replied just as I saw several pieces of strange purple-like armor falling from the sky and heading straight for the town. Gasping immediately, I pointed at the pieces. “Look!” My scream alerted Twilight who turned around and her jaw dropped opened. (The pieces had eventually descended upon the town as I could honestly hope that it wasn’t related to the- Oh, this is just dandy…) Said pieces connected together to produce a strange robot-like armor that was very tall… and scary. Oh, boy… wait, that thing on his chest: it seemed like a reddish-black heart. And it was very familiar to me for some reason… Unfortunately, I couldn’t deal with my memory stare right now as it began to attack the entire town – fires were spawned and populace was beginning to scream. “Oh, no! That thing is gonna destroy Ponyville!” Twilight told me with a scared expression on her face. As for me, my face went from surprise to stern determination – I had to stop that thing before it destroyed the entire town. I don’t know why but I feel like I’m the reason that these creatures came… and as such its my duty to stop them. With my mind made, I began to run ahead towards the town much to Twilight’s surprise. “H-hey! Where are you going!?” She questioned me but I didn’t respond as I continued to run towards Ponyville. Gotta head there and save lives… ain’t nobody gonna die… not on my watch! With my weapon in tow, nothing was going to stop me! Not even- Wait, Twilight!? Said unicorn had caught up with me as I continued to run towards the town. “Listen, I don’t know what you’ve got planned but I’m telling you that it’s a bad one! What are you even planning to do – take that thing all by yourself!?” She questioned me. “Whatever it takes… I have to save those ponies from becoming food for those monsters or getting killed by them.” I replied while running as Twilight sighed heavily. “Look… ummm… what’s your name exactly?” She asked me. “Kairi. It’s Kairi.” I told her as both of us continued to run while holding our conversation. “Okay… Kari, was it?” She asked me but I shook my head and responded. “Kai-ri. Kai and ri. Understood?” I questioned. Twilight nodded after a few seconds of silence. “I think I’ve got it… but in any event, this is too dangerous for you! You are literally walking into your death!” She told me. “I can’t just sit by on the stands and let innocents die! I’m not that kind of person, Twilight!” I told her before realizing I accidentally blurted her name out much to her surprise. “W-wait… how did you know my name?” She asked me to which I responded immediately. “Your friend Fluttershy told me… in fact, she explained a couple of things to me… but that’s not important right now!” “Kairi! This is too dangerous for you – at least let me help you!” Twilight protested but I didn’t want to accept her offer at all. “No offense, Twi… but I don’t want to see you nor anyone else get hurt! Besides, we’ve just met… for all we know I might be a bad guy or something that could hurt you.” I told her as Twilight looked at me and sighed heavily. “Kairi, I’m going to help you… whether you want to or not… we’ve met just now, yes. But I feel like you are someone that can be trusted… if Fluttershy told you some very important things, that means that she hasn’t deemed you as a threat. So I’m asking you to let me help you… please.” Twilight pleaded but I shook my head. “Why, Twilight – we’ve just met and already you act like you trust me… so, why?” I asked as she looked at me and smiled. “Because… as a good friend of mine once told me: never judge a book by its cover. Kairi, let me do my best to assist… please.” She pleaded with me. Never judge a book by its cover… I used it a couple of times since arriving in Equestria and so far it hasn’t disappointed me. Prime examples are Fluttershy and her pet rabbit Angel… but Twilight? I had no clue… so, the question was – should I trust Twilight or handle this on own? My key-shaped weapon was still in my hand but would it be enough for me to defeat that robot-like armor that is still attacking the city? Maybe Twilight was right… maybe I do need some help with this. A second hand could be useful in diffusing the situation before some serious damage happened… screw it, might as well take the risk. With a heavy sigh, I responded. “Alright, Twi… just stay close to me. We’ve gotta take care of that thing before it destroys the entire town.” I just hope that I wasn’t going to regret it later when/if the body counts begin to rise up. “We have to… also, I’ve got a lot of questions for you when we are done. For now, let’s focus on this.” She told me as I nodded. “Right.” After which, I closed my mouth shut – she definitely deserved the answers to her questions… but they would be answered as soon as we took care of that giant robot-like armor. Upon reaching the center of Ponyville, to our horror the robot was destroying houses and unleashing more of those strange ant-like monsters with a slam of his fist and via a strange purple-like corridor that was formed onto the ground. Taking a close look at the robot-like armor, I began to make certain notes of its description for each part: Its head was diamond-shaped and white with purple eyes set in an angry expression. The front of its body was adorned with a large, yellow, U-shaped additive with white edges lined by four shirt spikes. Its "neck" was thin, white, and curls forward. The Heart-like symbol was printed on the end of the neck. On either side of the neck, it had two white "arms" that end in white, triangular blades, each with a red stripe on them; The torso was cone-shaped and white with red, spiked additives decorating it. The Heart-like emblem was also decorated there - on its front while its base was white with red lining. I saw a couple of armguards and two shoulder pauldrons – also thick, dark blue four-fingered hands as well. Lastly, its legs resembled a set of three, segmented, white legs with whitish-gray joints while each leg ends in triangular, blue feet. Overall, I hate to admit it… but this things… scares me… really interesting thing is that it looks familiar to me – this robot yet where have I seen it before…? Getting into a defensive pose, I took a look at Twilight who was ready for the fight of her life. “Okay, Twi… any idea on how we can take this thing down before it literally destroys the entire town?” I asked her as the unicorn was still in her attack pose. “No idea… I’ve never even seen this thing before let alone encountered one! I guess… try to avoid it as best we can and find a way to take it down before things get really messy?” She suggested as I sighed heavily. “Well, not the worst idea I’ve- Watch out! We’ve got company!” I yelled as shadows began to surround us. Twilight’s eyes widened in surprised but soon turned to seriousness as we both looked at each other and nodded. “Ready?” I asked her to which she nodded. “Let’s do this!” She replied and started shooting purple beams at the ants while I started slashing and disintegrating them. Fair easy challenge… although, I shouldn’t get cocky and let them start scratching me. Speaking of that, one managed to get up onto Twilight’s back much to my surprise. “Twi, look out!” I yelled and sliced that bugger in half as it disintegrated into dust. Said unicorn saw what I did and sighed in relief. “Thanks… I owe you one.” She told me as I nodded. “No prob… now let’s finish these little shadows once and for all!” I told her with a confident smile. With a nod, she replied back. “Right!” We both started to fight the shadows yet again. The battle continued on-and-on as I slashed some with my weapon while Twilight disintegrated them with her magic beams. I was very close to getting scratched once more yet Twilight was able to destroy the shadows via beams and vice versa with my weapon. A few destroyed ants later and this battle had ended in our favor. Breathing heavily, I was still holding onto my key-shaped weapon as I kneeled a little bit to catch my breath. Twilight was besides me as she used her hoof to wipe some sweat off her face. “The battle is half-way over… you *breathing* weren’t that bad Kairi… you fight well.” She complimented with a smile on her face. I smiled back at her. “Thanks Twi… although its not over yet. We’ve still got a large robot-like creature to take care though.” I reminded her as she nodded. “Right… and speaking of that, here it comes!” She warned as we both saw the robot landing in front of us. You know, I haven’t really admitted it – but that thing really scares me (its height particularly). It was very tall: more so than these homes and stores. The robot got into a fighting pose and so did we – let’s finish that thing once and for all! The first move that it performed was charging straight at us but I blocked it via my weapon just as Twilight launched a magic beam at the legs. The next thing we knew he clasped his hands as a large number of fireballs were sent towards – luckily, Twilight summoned a barrier to protect us. As its attacks had ended, we took our opportunity and started to attack its legs first. I applied some heavy hits while Twilight casted her own brand of fire as well as several other spells that I failed to notice. Unfortunately, our time was up as the robot kneeled on both its feet… …only to summon a huge laser beam from its torso which was spinning around and around. Luckily, Twi set up a barrier to protect us both until the laser stopped… which it did a few moments later. That allowed us to attack the legs yet again. Seconds later, we had destroyed the legs – so far so good… all that was left was the torso and head. Unfortunately, at this moment said robot began to jump and create shockwaves which hit us both back a few feet away. To our luck, we weren’t that injured only covered with dust. Getting up quickly, we ran over to the robot once again and began to attack the torso. More fire balls were conjured and were sent into the air in a strange rain-like attack. Luckily, Twi’s barrier spell was conjured to protect us from any falling projectiles – gotta make a note to ask her about that spell though… After the last fireball was conjured and landed onto the ground, we rush back towards the robot which disconnected immediately. What’s going on? Was it giving up? Unfortunately, my answer wasn’t the one that I was looking for as the torso appeared on the opposite side of the battlefield while the head on was staring at us. Suddenly, a magical surge arc was conjured as Twilight casted another barrier to protect us. The components began to spin around in a circle along with the surge in the hopes of hitting us… which they failed miserably due to Twilight’s protection barrier. Said surge eventually disappeared as we both agreed to attack the parts separately: I handled the head; Twi took the torso. Said battle continued on for a little while longer but we eventually destroyed the torso and focused on the head completely. After much slashing and spell casting, we had delivered a huge blow to the head which began to shake heavily. (Twi and I were curious if we had indeed defeated the robot completely as the shaking continued for quite a while longer. We got our answer as the robot’s head disintegrated into smoke completely and then it disappeared along with the rest of the fallen body parts.) With a deep breath released and a smile on my face, Twilight and I could rejoice… …we had won this battle. (Meanwhile…) “Well, well, well… seems like our precious cosplayer is one hell of a fighter. Yes, this will be most enjoyable indeed…” This voice belonged to no other than the mysterious masked individual who was responsible for sending the armor and the shadows to Ponyville. In the last hour, she was watching Kairi and Twilight battling the shadows along with the robot. Even though, the battle had been won by the heroes – the female with the bodysuit wasn’t mad. If anything, she was ecstatic and grinning with anticipation. Turning off her projector after the fight had ended, she got off her throne once more and pulled out her left hand as gust of darkness filled around it just as a key-shaped weapon was conjured: Its blade was a complete crystal while the teeth was a pink half-star. The handle was colored pink while and it bared two dark wings – lastly, the Keychain resembled a six-point pink star. The surprising thing about this weapon was that its form and shape resembled the one that ‘Kairi’ was wielding during the battle! Whatever this masked individual was planning for the ponies or Kairi… it wouldn’t good. “You aren’t the only one that is wielder, Kairi/Mina… enjoy what precious time you have left… because soon I’ll be the one to disrupt your little peace… along with that Keyblade of yours… best prepare, Princess…” The individual warned before she erupted in laughter once again. Her entire hilarity could be heard all around the cave that she was using as a temporary hideout… nobody else heard it. Things were definitely going to get interesting… not just for Kairi but for Equestria as well. The girl had better watch out… …and expect the unexpected! Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story.
Chapter 5 - It's Party TIME!Captain’s Log: year is currently unknown – status update: I want to die… from embarrassment. Reason – a party. Someone pierce my heart with an arrow or bullet please… So, news flash – I had defeated that dark shadowy robot and saved the town along with Twilight who was still eager to get her questions answered since we made a deal with one another. But that didn’t happen immediately – do you know why? Because at that very moment, the entire town (its Mayor included) came up to congratulate us… mainly me… for saving Ponyville from that robot. Also, Fluttershy came crying and scolding me for jumping into danger without thinking… lots of hugs were involved. Man, she’s like a mother who is worried for her child… reminds me a lot of my parents… if I can still remember who they are. The next few things were a blur – one of Twilight’s friends (Pinkie Pie, I think her name was) greeted me and started talking really fast… I couldn’t really catch most of what she said – but I think there was something along the lines of ‘so cool’; ‘We need to throw you a party’; ‘Oh my gosh, new potential friend’; ‘Lots of cakes…’ – I didn’t really get it. So, an hour or two later… I’m at a party that is being thrown in my honor with nearly almost all pony citizens in this town. Ironically though, I wasn’t interacting with them at all… not that I didn’t want to since I’m not the kind of person that is rude… more specifically, I’m embarrassed. What could I even say to them: ‘Thank you for the party but there was no need to throw one since all I did was do the right thing?’ – Ugh, I’m such an idiot… “Everything okay, Kairi?” The familiar voice of Twilight Sparkle spoke to me and interrupted my thoughts – she nearly made me drop my glass of punch with her startling… not that I was gonna say anything rude about that to her. “Y-yeah… just embarrassed at this very moment since a party was thrown in my honor… I’m not really sure why.” I admitted to Twilight who gave me a sympathetic smile. “Pinkie is always like this, Kairi… so don’t worry too much. Whenever an important event or a newcomer shows up, a party always has to be thrown… it’s part of her nature as an Element of Harmony.” She explained before I gave her a small nod. “Yeah… what Element is she again?” I asked with Twilight responding immediately. “Laughter – she is able to bring joy and happiness whenever she marches on… believe it or not, thanks to Pinkie we were able to avoid lots of unnecessary accidents. She saved on more than one occasion… I’m glad to have someone like her as a friend.” Friend… I wonder if these ponies consider me a friend… I still had no idea if they trusted me or not. While I did save their town from certain doom, I’m not really sure if I could be considered a ‘friend’ to them just yet… still keeping an open mind about all of this. “Say, Kairi… if its not too much trouble to ask… do you mind if I just quiz you a bit? We both agreed that questions should be answered, right?” She asked me. “I guess but… are you sure that you should quiz at the party? I was kinda of hoping that we could do it tomorrow or another time since someone might overhear us…” I told her as Twilight scratched the back of her head with her hoof. “Hmmmm… I guess I really didn’t think about that… alright then, we’ll save it for tomorrow. Right now, there’s a party going on so we should be enjoying ourselves.” Twilight told me with a smile on her face. Glad to see that she was being reasonable – there will be a time for answering questions later… right now, it was time to party… as much as I was embarrassed. “Hello Twilight, hi Kairi.” The familiar shy and soft voice of Mama Fluttershy spoke as she landed right in front of us. “Hi, Fluttershy. Enjoying yourself?” I inquired as Fluttershy gave us a nervous look. “Somewhat… Pinkie really doesn’t have any breaks on hers, does she?” She asked as Twilight giggled. “Nope… whenever something big happens, Pinkie Pie is always there to throw a party for that true, true friend in need.” Twilight explained as Fluttershy nodded. “Yeah… so, how are you both getting along?” Fluttershy asked as Twilight responded immediately. “So far, really well… I’m doing okay but Kairi is feeling… embarrassed about the party.” The unicorn admitted with me pulling out an embarrassed look and smile. “Guilty as charged…” I told both ponies. “Do you want to be left alone or go back to my house? We’ll understand if you don’t want to remain at the party…” Fluttershy assured me but I shook my head. “No, no, no! I like the party… I really do… it’s just… it happened so suddenly that I really don’t know how to feel about it.” I told them. It was the honest truth – let’s be real… I had no idea that a party would be thrown in my honor… I just saved the town and that was it. Was it natural that parties were thrown by Pinkie around these parts? “You get used to it, Kairi… Believe me, I myself was surprised when Pinkie threw a party at my house… I didn’t even know at first… just got back to my house with Spike and that’s it… Surprised indeed.” Twilight told me and I nodded. Huh… now who is Spike? A friend of Twilight’s…? “Woo-hoo! Awesome party, am I right girls?” A new voice spoke as a blue-colored pegasus with rainbow hair, mane and cerise eyes landed in front of us – her tattoo or cutie mark as Twilight explained it a little while ago was a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt on it. This was Rainbow Dash – the Element of Loyalty. “Yeah, it sure is Rainbow… in any event, you’ve met-” Twilight’s speech was interrupted as Rainbow flew up in front of my face and shook my hand. “Already did. So, you’re the one that saved Ponyville, right?” She asked me as I nodded. “Yes… pleased to meet you, Rainbow.” I told her before she gave me a cocky grin and replied. “Likewise, girl. I gotta say, you and Twilight were so awesome in defeating that robot… although, if you need some training with that key of yours… I’ll be more than happy to teach some of my cool moves. Gotta stay prepared after all.” My mind was just a blur on the things that Rainbow said… besides being the Loyalty Element, she really is a show-off… and cocky. I don’t want to be rude or anything but damn… where on Earth did the idea for training me come from? Is she jealous of me or something? Nah… it couldn’t be. In any case, I just remained friendly and responded. “Thanks for the offer, Rainbow. I’ll think about it.” “Anytime… also, next time you need help, never fear – Rainbow Dash will be there to defeat the monsters.” Rainbow assured me – her tone was one of cockiness and a complete show-off. “Awright, ya show-off… Leave the girl alone. No need to drag her into your crazy schemes.” A southern-like voice spoke next. Approaching us was another pony with an orange coat, green eyes and blonde hair that was covered by a Stetson hat. Her cutie mark were three red-colored apples. From the looks of things, she was glaring at Rainbow and having a disapproving look on her face. Rainbow on the other hand just rolled her eyes and took a cup of punch from the table. “Oh, come on AJ. Lighten up… I was just making conversation with our hero.” She told her and then drank up a little bit. The southern pony’s name was Applejack or AJ for short – her role was the Element of Honesty. No joke – Twilight explained that she could spot a dishonest action or person a mile away and make them confess the truth… in short, she was a perfect example of a lie detector. “Sure ya were…” Applejack said with a roll of her eyes before turning her attention to me. “Sorry abou’ her… Rainbow means well but at times it goes beyond the lines of personal space. Name’s Applejack, btw… pleased to meet ya, Kairi.” She introduced herself with a smile as I shook her hand. “Likewise. You are one of the Elements of Harmony, right?” I asked and AJ nodded with a proud look. “Yep. Element of Honesty… useful when you want to confront someone who is lying… works quite well all the time… especially wit’ Rainbow over here.” She admitted with a laugh as Rainbow choked on her drink before coughing. “Hey, just because I’m a… *cough* showoff, doesn’t mean I don’t know about personal space.” Rainbow told us but I wasn’t convinced – she definitely was a big showoff. Applejack and Twilight rolled their eyes. “Rainbow, you literally aren’t aware of the term ‘personal space’, are you?” The unicorn questioned but said pegasus just stretched her arms and gave us a lazy look. “Come on, Twi… I can be a good pony… whenever an opportunity is available.” She told us. “Sure… whatever ya say, Rainbow. Don’t let get you down, Kairi… she’s always like that. You enjoyin’ the party, sugarcube?” She asked me – in response to that, I scratched the back of my head. “Somewhat… feeling pretty embarrassed if I’m being honest.” I told her as she gave me a friendly chuckle. “Pinkie Pie’s parties will do that to ya. I think ya deserve one for what you did for Ponyville. Don’t look so nervous and enjoy yerself.” The southern pony advised me which made me smile a bit. “I’ll try to… thanks, Applejack.” I thanked her and then took another swig of my punch… only to have a familiar smiling face jumping up-and-down appear in front of me. “Kairi, so did you like my party? Did ya!? Did ya!? I mean, I wanted to organize more than just a party – maybe like a parade… or *gasp* A PARATY! A party and a parade combined! Isn’t that awesome!?” Pinkie Pie questioned whilst jumping up-and-down. “Y-yeah… that would be nice, Pinkie… thanks for the offer but… this party will do. Maybe next time you’ll have the opportunity to organize a paraty.” I assured her as she gasped in surprised and replied. “Yeah, you are right! Ohmygosh! Gotta get started on the plans for the paraty! LATER!” She zipped away to who-knows-where and I couldn’t help but be surprised – how on Earth does she do that? Speaking of Pinkie, her entire coat was completely pink while her mane was shaped like cotton candy – eyes on the other hand were completely blue. As for cutie mark… some balloons. “How does she do that…?” I inquired to myself as Twilight answered. “Kairi, trust me on this one… don’t ask… Pinkie Pie is the most random pony that you will ever meet in your life. She just has these weird abilities and powers inside her body… I nearly ended in a hospital bed had I not stopped in time. You just get used to it.” “I guess… she just seems so… so… random.” I admitted as the rest of the girls burst out laughing and then I did as well – goddamn it, didn’t even realize that it was a pun. “Hello, hello. Hope I’m not interrupting anything important?” Another voice spoke which belonged to another pony that was approaching us – a unicorn in particular. She was very beautiful and polite – kind of like how a princess or queen acts when addressing her subjects. Her coat was completely white while her mane was purple – as for eyes, they were crystal azure. The cutie mark that was displaced on her flank was three diamonds. Lastly, she had an accent that I couldn’t really place my finger on what it was… it’s definitely English but what kind? “Not at all, Rarity. We were just conversing with Kairi here about the party… turns out, she’s nervous about the whole thing.” Twilight explained as I gave her a small glare. “Twilight!” I scolded her as she looked away with an embarrassed look. “Sorry!” She apologized before I turned to look at Rarity who just gasped in shock. “Oh, my! Your outfit… it’s amazing! Why, darling – you’ve got to tell me who is the designer!” She pleaded as she examined it from top to bottom. Huh… Twilight wasn’t kidding when she said that Rarity definitely has love for clothes – a little bit too much if you ask me. Still, why would she be fascinated by my dress? I still feel like a doll if I’m being honest. “Well, I don’t really have a designer, to be honest… I woke up wearing this and I still don’t have a clue on where its from. Sorry Rarity…” Her face fell in response to that answer. It only continued for a second – her face lit up once more. “No harm done, dear. Say, if you want… I can design some other appropriate attire to use in the near future.” She suggested with a hint of generosity but I immediately became embarrassed yet again. “Oh… that would be lovely Rarity… but I don’t really have anything to give you in return…” In response to that, she raised her hoof and replied. “No need for anything, darling. I’m doing this out of the kindness of my heart… you definitely need the proper wardrobe should you wish to make it through the coming days. I’m more than happy to create something that will be to your liking… I am the element of generosity after all.” I’ll be honest… I kind of feel bad about Rarity making something for me without paying her back… yes, she is the Element of Generosity… but I can’t just ask her to make me a wardrobe without paying back… I wonder if I should do something to repay her for her kindness… I’ll ask her whenever I get the chance… for now, I shouldn’t be rude. “If you are certain, Rarity. I don’t want to be a bother…” I told her but she shook her head. “You aren’t, dear. Don’t worry about it.” She assured me. Just then, Pinkie came back jumping up-and-down to us with a smile on her face. “Kairi, Kairi! The mayor wants to have a quick word with you – come on!” Without warning, she grabbed my hand and took me away from the girls who just ran after Pinkie. Also, my cup fell to the ground and the punch was spread all over the floor. As Pinkie was dragging me straight to the mayor, I couldn’t help but look at the day’s events and smile a bit – first I save the town and then a party is thrown in my honor… ‘Maybe… this place won’t be that bad after all… Especially if Twilight or her friends are involved.’ (Meanwhile…) One word could describe Princess Celestia at this very moment… boredom. She didn’t admit it in reality, of course – if that happened, who knows what kind of consequences and chaos would occur? Being the ruler of Equestria had its positives and negatives – she loved her citizens every day and did her best to ensure that their lives were shrouded in peace and harmony… but at the same time though, she felt like it was a boring job. There were times when she wondered what it would be like if she was a regular pony and not a princess – probably go on wacky adventures just like her student’s and spend time with friends… or maybe fight wicked foes like Discord or Sombra. Who knows? An infinite number of possibilities and results… Celestia gave a small sigh and wondered if Lulu was up-and-about… was it time for her shift to commence? If Celestia was lucky, maybe she would catch up with her and they could chat for a bit… perhaps relieve some of this boredom that is on her mind. God, she was hoping- Just then, the doors to the throne room were blown wide with the guards readying their spears. A mysterious figure in a darkish red-purple bodysuit stepped inside with their entire face being covered by a biker-like helmet with a black visor. “Hello there, your majesty! Pleased to make your acquaintance.” She gave a mock bow with a small laugh. Celestia wasn’t amused and stepped forward. “State your business and identity… now.” She demanded. The figure made a fake gasp as she got up and gave another chuckle. “Oh, little old me…? I’m surprised you haven’t heard or seen me before… tell me, Princess – you learn to put up a decent fight yet?” She inquired. (“What do you mean by, ‘decent fight’?” Celestia asked and the figure responded immediately. “Hmph… I’ll be asking the questions… and why shouldn’t I?”) Just then, the figure pulled out her right hand as darkness covered it completely much to Celestia and her guards’ shock. Soon, a strange key-shaped weapon magically appeared in her hand. “Between the two of us… I’m the only one that will win this fight! Bow before your new master!” She demanded as she got into a fighting position. Celestia glared at her with gritting teeth and charged her horn. “Never!” She declared… (…before firing at the figure which signaled the beginning of their fight.) Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story.
Chapter 6 - Mama Sun vs The Darkness(“What do you mean by, ‘decent fight’?” Celestia asked and the figure responded immediately. “Hmph… I’ll be asking the questions… and why shouldn’t I?”) Just then, the figure pulled out her right hand as darkness covered it completely much to Celestia and her guards’ shock. Soon, a strange key-shaped weapon magically appeared in her hand. “Between the two of us… I’m the only one that will win this fight! Bow before your new master!” She demanded as she got into a fighting position. Celestia glared at her with gritting teeth and charged her horn. “Never!” She declared before firing at the figure which signaled the beginning of their fight. The mysterious figure dodged the attack with ease as the royal guards charged at her with their spears. Smiling behind her mask, she zoomed quickly and took them without any problems – Celestia was shocked but it soon turned into anger at the thought of this masked female hurting her subjects. “Ha, ha, ha! Is that all you’ve got, your ‘majesty’? To be honest, I was expecting more from the sun mother herself!” The masked figure mocked with laughter as Celestia gritted her teeth and replied immediately. “You want more, you’ve got it!” The princess conjured several sun-themed magic balls and sent them flying to the figure who performed acrobatics and dodged them with ease. Celestia was done just yet though – she launched a large beam of light that managed to hit the masked girl a little bit. “Arrgh! You bitch!” Said individual cursed as Celestia smiled a bit. The unknown figure casted a strange healing spell which cursed her wounds immediately and returned to fighting. What happened next was unexpected – she conjured up two more versions of herself much to Celestia’s surprise. What was this girl exactly? Did she even seem human? The three individuals teleported for a second and appeared in three different spots – one on the ceiling, the other on the windows and one of floor. All had their weapons pointed at her. “You lose, your ‘highness’! Bow before me or else!” She warned. Celestia gritted her teeth in anger before launching at beam of sun at two of the illusion clones. They immediately disintegrated into dust but that left the real one with the chance to assault her without ease. Knocked out to the ground, Celestia struggled to move but it was no use – her hooves were injured and she couldn’t get up without feeling the pain. “Man, is that all you’ve got? So weak and pathetic – guess the thousands of years that you ruled really made you soft… I could kill you right now… but I won’t. Instead, I’ll make you my personal maid. What do you say?” She asked as Celestia looked at her and glared. To be a slave to this personal – a MAID on top of all – would be the biggest embarrassment ever in her role as the guardian of Equestria. No… she wasn’t going to let that happen! Not now… or ever. “NEVER!” Celestia casted a healing spell of herself before launching a sun beam at the masked figure who was sent flying back and crashing onto the floor. Growling in anger and pain due to the wounds she received and flames covering several sides on her suit, she tried getting up but couldn’t. At that very moment, the princess was approaching her with a glare on her and her horn charged. “You will no longer threaten the peace that has endured for over a thousand years! May the Goddess be merciful to you… for I will not.” She stated clearly for the individual as she prepared to fire her spell at the figure who just growled in pain. “Go ahead… destroy me… erase me once more like you did before…” Said figure told Celestia as the glare from her face disappeared and it was replaced by a confusing look. “What are you talking about? We’ve never even met before yet you deny… who are you exactly?” Celestia asked the figure as she gave a small chuckle. “Wouldn’t you like to KNOW!” She yelled before teleporting behind and appearing on the throne. “Over here, your ‘highness’!” The figure called out to Celestia who turned and was surprised once more. “How are you doing this!? What exactly are you!?” Celestia demanded the answers but all she received was a laugh. “Oh, I’m just someone whom you took in and betrayed… in the PAST!” She admitted with anger before casting a healing spell once more. Celestia was baffled by her answer. “But we’ve never even met in the past! Why do you claim that I ‘betrayed’ you when I don’t even know who you are! Look, I don’t know why you are so mad at me but whatever it is causing it… I can help you! If you just surrender, we can-” The princess of the sun was cut off as a beam of darkness was launched at her. She was sent flying far away and crashes landed onto the cold white floor – her tiara came off and rolled a few feet away from where she was. (The princess struggled to move but couldn’t due to the injury that she received from the beams. Bad timing as the figure was approaching her.) At this very moment, the guards had awoken from their unconscious states and were horrified to see their beloved ruler being on the ground. All glared at the masked figure, go up and charged at her with their spears prepared. “Monster!” “You will pay!” “The princess shall be avenged!” “Don’t stop, my brothers!” As they approached her, the masked figure stopped and chuckled from behind her mask – they were all so weak and pathetic. Royal guards… Teleporting away much to their shock, she appeared behind them and stab her key-shaped weapon into their bodies. They all felt pain and shock as pink-like hearts came out from the inside and flew away – every guard disappeared in a vortex-like portal and soon black-like ants with antennas and yellow eyes appeared in their place. “Hold her down.” The figure ordered the shadows who twitched their bodies and held Celestia’s hooves down much to her shock. “L-let me go! Wha-what are you exactly? Let me go now!” She ordered the creatures but they didn’t move at all. Celestia struggled her best to move but didn’t – those black ant-like creatures were holding her down. What were they exactly and why were they eyes yellow? Unfortunately, no questions were answers as the figure stepped on her stomach and chuckled evilly behind her mask. (“So much strength… yet so disappointing… Oh, well.” The figure said before pointing her key-shaped weapon at her forehead. She twisted it as Celestia gasped in shock before her pupils deflated – throughout her entire body, she was feeling a strange source of power flowing.) She struggled to move and escape… but all of a sudden her guard started to die down. She didn’t feel like leaving anymore… she felt so… so… free and powerful. She felt like doing absolutely nothing but obeying her master… this masked girl… she must obey because she doesn’t know what else to do… Her course was made and she would follow it… no matter what. In the meantime, the girl dismissed her weapon and the black ant-like figures before looking at Celestia through her mask. “How do you feel?” She asked. The princess stood up and didn’t move at all for a couple of seconds but eventually she spoke. “I feel… perfect… very perfect, my master.” She opened her magenta-colored eyes to reveal that they were without pupils and lifeless which meant that girl’s scheme had worked perfectly. Princess Celestia was now her pawn to use for the foreseeable future… one that the masked girl already had drawn out. So many plans would be accomplished with the use of the ruler of Equestria… For now though, things would remain quiet. The masked girl would use Celestia as her spy for future operations yet today was not the opportunity since she still wanted to test out ‘Kairi’ some more. (In the meantime…) “Good… I have a task for you, my servant. As of today, you will remain the ruler of Equestria but with a minor difference – you will serve as my spy for anything that I say and order you to do. Is that clear?” Celestia nodded without hesitation to the figure’s question. “Excellent. If anyone asks you about suspicious things, you will pretend that you are ignorant. Throw them off the course if necessary but do not tell them a thing about me… especially to your student.” The figure told her with Celestia nodding once more. The figure chuckled – man, she was so easily to manipulate and use as a puppet… a princess for her plans… ah, brilliant. “Alright, my servant. Now return to your duties and pretend we never had this discussion along with the battle.” The figure ordered as Celestia nodded. “I obey, Master.” She replied in a monotone voice before using her magic to place the crown back on her head and heal herself from her wounds. “Very good… prepare yourself, my servant. We have a long road to walk ahead… I can’t wait to let out the fun. ‘Kairi’ or should I say Mina… you best watch out and expect the unexpected. We’ll see if you have what it takes to defeat the likes of me…” The figure declared with a laugh before disappearing into the darkness and leaving the manipulated Celestia alone and under her control. (Meanwhile…) “Are you comfortable, Kairi? I could get you some more blankets if you want.” Fluttershy suggested but I shook my head. “I’m fine, Fluttershy… don’t worry about me. The blanket you gave me is definitely warm and fuzzy. *YAWN* Well… its been a long day and I really need to get some sleep. Night, Fluttershy.” I wished her as my eyes closed and I feel into a deep slumber. But just then I felt a soft kiss on my head. “Night, Kairi. Sweet dreams.” She wished me with a smile before flying upstairs to her bedroom. Smiling gently, I let slumber take me in as I felt too tired and too lazy to think about anything else… tomorrow was an important day for me since Twilight and I had some stuff to discuss. For now… goodnight everyone… I’ll see you all tomorrow. Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story.
Chapter 7 - Interview with the Element of Magic*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and waits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the mysterious black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them, only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down a few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack used her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulls out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon in the night sky as the scene ends.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed. Only her evil lavender eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – the public mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Makin' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the public mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* “How do you feel this morning, Kairi?” Fluttershy inquired in a motherly tone while enjoying a nice healthy breakfast alongside me. After taking a bite from the freshly warm slice of apple pie that was displayed on my plate along with drinking a glass of milk, I answered her question. “Pretty good so far, Fluttershy. That party made me so tired last night. Glad that’s over…” Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, I agree... Did you find the party to your liking, by the way?” she asked me with a curious look. “In a way, but I still don’t feel like it was necessary. I mean, I saved the town and that’s a reward itself… no offense to Pinkie, though,” I told her the honest truth as she gave me another nod. “None taken.” She stopped for a minute to drink her milk before continuing with a smile on her face. “You should get used to it, Kairi. Pinkie Pie is the most random pony that you’ll ever meet in Equestria, but she means well and will always cheer you up, no matter how down you feel.” “Really?” I asked with a surprised yet curious look on my face and Fluttershy responded, “Yep. Though the parties can get… a bit repetitive at times. You’ll just have to get used to it. So, anything you’ve got planned for today?” She asked me as I took another bite from my pie and chewed it. Afterwards, I wiped the outside of my lips clean with the tissue and answered her question. “I plan to head over to Twilight’s so we can discuss some things about my appearance and whatnot. I did promise to answer some of her questions yesterday, but that party didn’t give me a chance.” “Ah, I understand. You aren’t in any sort of trouble, are you?” she asked me, but I shook my head. “Nah, I just have to tell her about myself – get some things off my chest - mainly about my apparel and whatnot. Plus, the Keyblade too… Remember that I’m not from Equestria, Fluttershy.” I reminded her as she just realized it. “Oh, yes… I forgot. I’m so sorry, Kairi… I hope you aren’t mad at me.” She felt really bad from the looks of it and I can’t help but sympathize with her. Fluttershy doesn’t do anything wrong, but she takes things way too seriously at times. I’m not mad or anything, though. If she was my mother, then she fit the role perfectly. In any case, I just sighed and smiled at my savior. “Relax, Fluttershy… I’m not mad at you. You’ve only forgotten. Won’t yell at you or anything like that. Promise.” I assured her as she replied immediately. “O-oh… okay.” Giving her a nod, we continued to enjoy our breakfast and drink our milk glasses. The talk didn’t continue onward since peace and quiet was on the agenda right now. It gave me time to think about what Twilight was going to ask me. We couldn’t really have our chat yesterday, but today was different. Oh, speaking of the party - the rest of the evening went rather well, though I had to hold a speech I was totally unprepared for. Had to adlib most of the things I said, though it seems it went well. The weirdest thing is, it feels like I’ve experienced it before… but how and when? Actually, speaking of that, I’ve got to make a mental note to ask Twilight if she can help me with recovering my lost memory if possible. Perhaps one of her spells would be useful since she is a unicorn? We’ll see… Meanwhile, I’ve got to finish this yummy slice of apple pie and then ask Fluttershy for a shower. I don’t want to show up smelling awful in front of Twilight. I am a hygienic person, after all… I think. Minutes later, we had finished up our morning meal as I felt my body recharging completely from the food I ate. “My compliments to the chef. Thanks, Fluttershy,” I told her with a satisfied look as I rubbed my belly. She smiled at me gratefully. “Anytime, Kairi. It’s the least I can do for you since you saved Ponyville from the monsters. Do you need something else?” the pegasus inquired and I gave her a nod. “Yeah… I don’t want to be rude or anything, but would it be possible for me to use your bathroom to take a shower? I don’t want to go and see Twilight while smelling badly.” I could use a cleaning after the fight yesterday… “You don’t smell that bad, but if you really need a shower, go ahead. My bathroom may be a bit small for you, however. Mind your head,” she warned me as I gave a nod. “I will. Upstairs, right?” I asked and she nodded before replying, “Give me a minute to put the dishes in the sink and I’ll lead you.” It didn’t take long – she placed the dirty dishes and glass cups in the sink before spreading her wings. Fluttershy ushered for me to follow and I did, going up the stairs until we eventually arrived at the bathroom. “I’ll get you a clean bath towel and leave it outside on the laundry basket over there. Also, I’ll have a look at your clothes and check to see if they are dirty as well,” Fluttershy told me. We both departed afterwards – she went downstairs while I entered the bathroom and took of my temporal pajamas. Time for me to take a shower. I have to be quick. My hair needs a good washing, too… Once I had finished cleaning myself up, Fluttershy offered me a temporary toothbrush and some paste to clean my teeth. The pegasus had managed to completely make my clothes sparkling clean, much to my surprise. When I asked how she did that, all she said was that it was a trade secret with a smile on her face. Being a pegasus, she dried up my hair rather quickly using her wings, and soon, I placed on my outfit that I arrived in Equestria with. Now I was ready for my meeting with Twilight. Saying my farewells to Fluttershy, I departed from her house and began making my way towards the place where I would be questioned - or interrogated, more like it. Also, as much as I owe Fluttershy for taking me and letting me bunk, I can’t just continue staying with her. I appreciate the company, but I don’t want to take up her valuable space and time. I wonder if I should get my own place to stay? Only problem is with money and whatnot… (An hour later…) (Walking down the streets of Ponyville towards Twilight’s home, I couldn’t help but give out an uneasy shudder at the fact that every pony that I’ve seen so far is wishing me a friendly ‘Hello’ or giving me a look like they’ve never seen a creature like me before.) The walk was awkward. I just wanted to get to Twilight’s and get on with the questioning. I could swear that I’m definitely being followed by someone, yet I don’t sense anyone at all. Ugh, I’m so lost, and - Okay, seriously! I know someone is stalking me! Whoever it is, it’s not funny anymore! Turning around, I looked in every direction for my stalker, yet I didn’t see anyone at all. Weird… I could swear that someone is tailing me. Oh, well. Back to heading straight for Twilight’s. Walking away, I still couldn’t shake the feeling of being followed. Sure hope there’s no more of those black creatures again. Not really eager to start another fight... “Hey, Kairi!” a familiar voice called out to me – it was Twilight Sparkle, who was currently approaching me. “Morning, Twilight,” I told her with a smile on my face and waved while she just nodded. “Morning to you as well, Kairi. Sleep well?” she asked. I nodded in return and answered, “Yep. Still feeling the effects from the party last night, but otherwise rested and ready. What are you doing here, by the way?” I inquired, tilting my head a bit. “Well, I was heading towards Fluttershy’s cottage to come and get you, but you managed to beat me to it first. How is she doing so far?” Twilight asked. I answered, “So far, she’s doing well – though, honest truth is, she acts way too much like a worrying mother.” Twilight giggled. “That’s our Fluttershy – always ready to help out those in need and eager to assist, so long as there aren’t any scary monsters like those black creatures from yesterday,” she told me as I looked back on the battle that took place yesterday. “Yeah, good point. Hopefully, we won’t be having a situation like that anytime soon... In any case, shall we get on with what I have to answer?” I asked and Twilight gave me a nod. “Already have things set up for us in my house. Let’s go!” “Right!” (With our mind and butts in gear, we proceed forward towards Twilight’s house which, surprisingly enough, was inside a tree! Interestingly, the unicorn also informed me that it was also a laboratory/library. I was in awe. A first time for everything, I suppose.) While walking, I still couldn’t help but feel like was being stalked by someone… definitely very closeby, yet I see no one. It’s getting on my nerves. Just a few more seconds, Kairi… Just hold on until we get to the library… Once we made it inside her room, Twilight grabbed a notebook using her magical horn along with a pencil for the interrogation. Both of us sat down and the questioning had begun. “Alright, this shouldn’t take long – nothing too personal. Some things to clear up and that’s all. I would be appreciative if you are truthful with me.” “Depends of the questions, Twilight.” “Yeah… right. Ready to get started?” “Yep. So, what do you want to know?” “Fluttershy already explained the situation to me a bit, yet I’m really curious about the whole story – how you came to Equestria and such. Actually, first off… what are you, exactly? You look kind of like a hairless ape, but at the same time, you’re different… Uh, no offense about the ‘ape’ thing.” “None taken… I’m actually a human. it’s kinda like how you described it - an ‘ape’ without hair, but one that can speak. Another term would be alien, I guess.” “Whoa! Amazing! I… I don’t know what to say! This is amazing! You are definitely fitting the role of an alien since you aren’t from Equestria! Oh, I’m so excited – An actual lifeform from another world! I’m so happy!” “You sure are easily excited, Twilight.” “Well… y-yeah… sorry… It’s just so intriguing to be talking to a new type of lifeform from another world! You don’t get that every day, mind you.” “I get it. Weird things happen at times.” “Oh, definitely right about that. So, how exactly did you find yourself in Equestria - or, rather, how did you end up in my world?” “Not gonna lie… I don’t have a clue. Honestly, Twilight – I can’t remember anything about how I found myself here. All I can remember is some voices calling me by my taken name, ‘Kairi’. When I came to, I found myself in the Everfree Forest with no clue on how I got there or why my memory is on the fritz.” “Oh, dear… that is serious. Memory loss, huh…? Hmmm… Nothing at all?” “Nothing… I was actually hoping that I could ask you if there are some types of spells that would be able to help me recover my memories or at least a small fragment of them.” “Hmmm, it is possible. It might take a while for me to find the spell and check if I’ve mastered it, though. I’ll get back to you about this in another time. For now, let’s continue. How did you come across Fluttershy?” “Well, it wasn’t me that met her. She actually saved me from becoming food for some Timberwolves, but I passed out after I injured my ankle. Once I woke, I found myself in Fluttershy’s house, where she and I briefly discussed where I was and the name of this world.” “I see… No doubt that she explained to you what kinds of ponies there are in Equestria, right?” “Yep. Unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies – all three races have separate abilities and jobs to do. She also explained about the Elements of Harmony and its wielders.” “Huh, good job, Fluttershy. Well, then it won’t be too hard at all to explain to you, Kairi. If my friend told you the most important details, then there shouldn’t be any repercussions in the near future.” “I hope you have a point, Twilight… Say, I was curious – since the Elements are used to protect your home, is it possible that they’re able to-” “Be used against those black creatures? I was actually thinking about that, yet I’m not sure if that theory is ruled off or not… I might have to test it out one of these days.” “Right. That’s basically all there is as to how I ended up in Equestria.” “Wow… I don’t know what to say, Kairi… I’m truly sorry that you got wrapped up in all of this. I promise I’ll do my best to help you with that memory loss of yours. If we’re lucky, we might be able to get some results. But as I said – it will take a while since I’m not sure if the spell is there somewhere or not.” “Understood. Thanks for this, Twilight. I appreciate it.” “Anytime. Another question that I have is about your key-shaped weapon. Never seen anything like it before… Do you know what it is, exactly?” “I don’t really know... Just before the battle started, it appeared in my hands and protected me from getting destroyed by those creatures. I’m not sure how and why, but it must be important for some reason. Interestingly, it looks… familiar. I can’t place my finger though.” “Hmmm… Maybe it’s part of the character?” “Maybe… Should I give it to you to examine?” “I would love to, but not now. Maybe later, once things quiet down. You never know when those mysterious creatures could come back.” “Good point. It’s a weird weapon, though – a cross between a blade and a key.” “Kind of like a Keyblade!” “A Keyblade…? Huh… That name is familiar, but where did I hear it from, exactly?” “Very interesting. Kairi, I noticed something: whenever you mentioned that you heard a familiar name and voice… I have a hunch - actually, call it a theory - someone possibly messed with your memories very badly, hence why you can’t remember much of your old life before you came to Equestria.” “You think so?” “Yeah. It’s just a theory, mind you. We’ll get to the bottom of this, don’t worry. I’ll check and see if there’s a spell to help with the short-term memory wipe.” “Right. Anything else you need to know?” “Hmmm… Nothing else for now… Actually, wait - it’s about the black creatures, but I doubt you know what they are.” “If I did, you’d be the first to know.” “Figured as much… Well, I chalked down most the things I asked and I’m satisfied. Anything you’d like to know?” “Not really… actually, is it possible for me to get a house of my own around Ponyville? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the company and gestures that Fluttershy has granted me, but I don’t want to be a bother to her…” “You aren’t actually a bother to anyone, Kairi. If anything, we owe you our gratitude. But if you do need a place of your own, I’ll see what I can do. Are you sure you don’t want to stay with Fluttershy, though? She’s one of the sweetest and most caring ponies around – plus, it doesn’t look like she minds your company.” “Yeah, I know that. Don’t get me wrong, Twilight – I’m grateful towards Fluttershy, yet I shouldn’t lounge in her house forever like a freeloader. I wanna see if I can take care of myself.” “Well, alright… I’m not really sure how much I’ll be able to help you out, but I’ll see if I can find some means of securing a place you can call your own while living in Ponyville.” “Right. Say, what are the rest of the citizens like besides your friends?” “Kairi… let me level with you – this place is the center of attention and fun, but there are some crazy ponies out there. You’ll have to learn to get used to it over time. Anyway, anything else?” “Nope, that’s everything. If I have any more questions, I’ll ask.” The questioning was finished as Twilight levitated her notepad and pencil onto a nearby stand while I got up and stretched my arms. “This was… an interesting round of questions, Twilight,” I commented. “Yeah, it was. Hope my questions weren’t considered too personal for you, Kairi.” In response to that sentence, I just shook my head. “Nah… I just hope they were to your satisfaction.” She gave me a nod with an exciting smile. “They definitely were! Oh, I can’t wait to do some research on your race! It’s so exciting! And the Keyblade as well - I’m excited!” she cheered. Man… She certainly takes research and learning to a serious level - not that there is anything wrong with that. It might be better that she slows down a bit, though. Never know who could be listening in. Just then, we both heard a shrill scream coming from the outside, much to our shock. What was that!? “Who in Equestria was that?” Twilight inquired, but I just shrugged. I had no idea who- A couple more screams came out. What’s going on, exactly!? “Kairi?” Twilight looked at me with a determined look as I gave her a nod back. Both of us rushed from Twilight’s room, speeding down the stairs towards the doorway. I had a feeling that this wasn’t a coincidence. Something is happening - something bad! Hold on, Ponyville! We’re coming to the rescue! *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil lavender eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story.
Chapter 8 - Source of the Problems!*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulled out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* So… here is the question of the century: What made the ponies scream in fear and terror after that interview of ours had wrapped up? Try and guess! No, it wasn’t a stampede of any kind or tall creatures from the forest. Still haven’t figured it out yet? I’ll give you a hint – small, black-colored with yellow eyes… That’s right! Those freaking black-colored ant creatures had returned with a vengeance, though we had no idea why they came back at that very moment. That didn’t matter since we had to defend the town before the situation got worse. So far, there were no casualties, yet one should never assume that it’s a good thing until you get confirmation. Beside, who knows if we may find- Sensing a purple light behind me, I turned around to see that a couple of creatures in the air were disintegrated – no doubt they were planning on using a sneak attack via jumping. Turns out, Twilight was the one who eliminated them. Thanks a bunch, Twi! Still, you could be a little more careful with the beam. It was very close to me. “Watch out, Kairi!” she warned me as I nodded with a cautious look. She looked ahead towards her own brand of enemies that were preparing to attack her. Using a mixture of fire and ice spells, she blasted them away before turning to look at me. “I’m gonna head on to see if there are any casualties, but I’ll try my best to come back and help you! Just stay safe and don’t get yourself killed!” she warned. I gave her a nod as I prepared to fight the creatures once more. “Got it! Stay safe as well, Twilight Sparkle! Don’t play the hardcore hero!” I warned her, but she didn’t answer and took off to search for casualties. In the meantime, the creatures had surrounded me with no way to escape. With the Keyblade by my side, I wasn’t worried. Taking a look at the creatures, I made a note of what some of them looked like: Small ant-like creatures Dressed like knights-in-armor and wielding swords Bluish-black bodysuits with red claws, black-silver trimmed shoes and a silver helm that was opened and exposed their yellow eyes The knights and those body-suited creatures definitely creeped me out a bit – mainly their claws and swords. Gotta watch out for them. The ants, though… not so much scary. (My targets were preparing themselves for an attack as I gripped my Keyblade tightly and wondered which would attack first – shadows, knights or body suited guys.) The first ones were the body suited guys, yet I swatted them away with my weapon just as the small ants jumped onto my back. Panicking quickly, I shook my body in an attempt to get them off me. “H-hey! Get off!” I demanded while continuing to shake them off. I managed to get two of them away, but one scratched the exposed part of my back. I shook him off, then sliced him in half along with the other two small ant-like creatures. They all disintegrated into smoke as I breathed a sigh of relief for a little bit before turning my attention towards the knights who raised their swords to slash me only for my Keyblade to connect with their steel. “Ugh… Nice… try!” I held back their steel swords with my Keyblade. They were increasing the pressure on their weapons, but I wasn’t backing down soon. Little did I know, the creatures in bodysuits and helmets came back to attack me for that swatting a few seconds ago. Just as they jumped in the air though, they didn’t crash down onto my body to injure me – instead, a rainbow-colored speed demon slammed itself into the monsters and sent them a few feet away. “You ain’t hurting anyone, ya punks!” the familiar voice of the cocky yet loyal Rainbow Dash warned as my eyes widened, still holding back the steel swords with all my strength. “R-Rainbow!? What are you doing here!?” I demanded to know, my eyes now focused on her. “Helping you out, duh! I’m the Element of Loyalty and I gotta protect my friends, even if they’re weird and not even 20 percent as cool as me,” she teased with a cocky tone while I just sent her a deadpan look. Seriously…? We’re in the middle of a fight against a mysterious race of evil creatures and she takes the time to judge me!? Okay, what the hell… “Okay, Rainbow… Is this really the time for this!? Right now, I’m trying my best to defend us all against creatures that want us dead and you are seriously going with this right now!?” I yelled, though she didn’t seem fazed by it. “Oh, cool your jets, Kai… I’m just joking, so relax. Hey, I’ve got an idea on what we can do!” she told me, yet I remained unconvinced. “Well… if you’ve got a plan, maybe you should - oh, I don’t know - APPLY IT RIGHT NOW BEFORE I- UGH!” Couldn’t finish my words due to the swords applying pressure on my Keyblade and attempting to slash me. Rainbow apparently got the message and flipped her wings. “Okay, okay! I got you. Step back right now! I’ve got an attack that will take them out without any trouble!” “Hope your plan is worth it!” I yelled back before jumping a few feet away and leaving Rainbow to do her attack. Flapping her wings, she flew around the knight-like monsters and began to form a small tornado, much to my surprise. Along the way, the bodysuit creatures got caught as well. It wasn’t a big tornado, so there wasn’t much danger of any houses or ponies get caught in it. Still, I wondered how this would solve our problem with the creatures… “Kairi! I’m gonna stop the tornado. The little creeps will no doubt be disoriented and crash on the ground! Then we can both take them out!” Rainbow called out. That is, without a doubt, the… huh… actually, that’s not a bad idea. Though I do have to wonder how many will crash onto the ground. “Alright, just make this attack count!” I told her, but I don’t know if she heard me or not. Let’s hope this works. Rainbow Dash, don’t let me down! As soon as Rainbow flew out of it, the tornado dispersed and the creatures crashed onto the ground, unable to continue to fight. I’m actually impressed! Her plan literally worked! Now I can take them out quickly without any trouble. Swish! One enemy goes down. Slash! Two more, including bodysuited ones. Stab! A couple more go down. (Few seconds later, I had finished off the little creatures and released a sigh before I cringed in pain due to the open wound that was still there on my back – it was bleeding a little bit.) Ugh, that hurts… I hope Twilight comes back soon cause I need a good healing spell on the double- OUCH! Who in the hell hit me in the back!? Ugh, Rainbow… I should have known. “Yahoo! Our plan worked! Good job, Kai!” she declared with a grin on her face. I just groaned in pain. “R-rainbow… not now… In case you haven’t noticed, there is an open wound on my back!” I yelled as her face morphed into confusion. “Huh? A wound? What are you- Oh my gosh! Kairi, you are bleeding!” she stated shockingly while I looked at her with a ‘You’re seriously seeing this now!?’ face. “Oh, boy… oh, boy… This is bad… Ummm… Wait, hold on! I’m going to go and fetch Twilight. Be right back!” she assured me before flying away. Ugh, my back hurts… I hope Rainbow returns quickly... At least I’m not being assaulted by the creatures anym- Just as I thought these words, more of the monsters showed up out of nowhere. Knights, ant-like creatures, and bodysuits - ugh, goddamn it! No time to waste now! I got back into a fighting pose and prepared for yet another fight which began with the bodysuits jumping in the air. Unlucky for them, I sliced them in half as they disintegrated into smoke immediately. Unfortunately, some of the ants scratched different parts of my body and more open wounds appeared – I felt the pain… OUCH! Shaking the little buggers off, I took care of them quickly before returning to focusing on the knights. Managing to block a sword that came crashing down was the good news. Bad news was that another knight assaulted me from behind. It left me a huge open scar and most of my back outfit ripped open. Dodging out of the way quickly, I attacked one of the knights and immediately destroyed it while another knight charged forward to slash me yet again. Moving sideways before it could strike, I used my Keyblade to slice it in half. The second round was quickly over, yet my body was feeling heavy over the blood loss. I was looking like a real mess, but wasn’t tired just yet. Ugh… can’t… stand… Goddamn it… Gotta stay awake… I fell to my knees and used my Keyblade to support myself. I can’t lose now… I just hope that no more creatures show up… I don’t know how much longer I can- To prove that God was being an ass to me, more of the monsters showed up. Here we go again! A third round begun with me slashing and stabbing all of my targets. Bodysuited guys fell easily while the shadows were a little tricky, as they sunk into the ground and appeared behind me. The knights were also complicated due to them moving around a lot. Unfortunately, I didn’t escape from this fight unscathed. Got some more injuries, though I was able to defeat the creatures. Ugh… everything hurts so bad. Most of my outfit is ripped up and my hair is a complete mess. Blood all around me… vision getting blurry… Wonder how long I’ve got before I pass out… Ugh… Gotta stay awake… gotta stay awake… can’t lose consciousness yet… ugh… gotta stay… just until Twilight comes, and then- *WHAM!* O-ouch… My mouth… ugh… Can’t stay… awake anymore… W-who punched my mouth… ugh… Vision is getting blurry… W-who is that… What’s with the visor and suit…? “Pleasant dreams, Kairi.” The mysterious person spoke these words with a chuckle as it became really hard to see. Ugh… gotta… stay… awak- Ugh… damn it. (Unknown time/Unknown location…) Ugh, my head… Where am I? My senses are coming to… I can feel my eyelids opening… A black void of some kind? Where am I, exactly? Is this the Death Realm or something? Oh, fuck… Don’t tell me I’m dead already… “Twilight, Rainbow! Please tell me I’m not dead! I can’t die yet. I haven’t even lived yet!” I called out to someone . No one responded. With a sigh released, I stood up and look around even though it was just a black void. Nobody around. Nothing. “This is the worst…” I sighed. “Oh, it’s about to get much worse for you, sister.” I froze in surprise as a voice responded to me. W-what? Who was that? Turning around, my eyes widened in surprise. Another human! What’s with the weird getup and the visor covering the face, though? “Who are you…?” I inquired as the figure released a small chuckle. From the sounds of it, they were female. “Oh, someone that knows you quite well, Kairi. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you face to face,” she declared while bowing in a mocking pose. Huh? She knows me…? But I’ve never met people like her before – especially wearing a darkish purple-red bodysuit and a biker-like helmet. “What do you mean, ‘you know me quite well’? I’ve never seen someone like you before,” I replied as she chuckled yet again. “Oh, you might think that, but the truth is far more than meets the eye. Oh, dear Kairi… I know you quite well – who you really are, what you are, the Keyblade that you wield… everything.” I had enough. “Alright! Enough is enough! Who the hell are you and how do you know so much about me!?” I shouted, but she simply laughed and took out her right hand. What happened was a surprise. As if by magic, a Keyblade appeared in her hands. Its blade was a complete crystal while the teeth was a pink half-star. The handle was colored pink while and it bared two dark wings. Lastly, the Keychain resembled a six-point pink star. “A Keyblade!?” I said in surprise. “Indeed. You aren’t the only one to wield the legendary weapon,” she said. I stood surprised for another couple of seconds before my face morphed into determination. Summoning my Keyblade, I got into a fighting pose. For some reason, it seemed to amuse the mysterious girl. “Tell me where you got the Keyblade!” I demanded. She giggled. “Good... Very good. Now, let’s see what you’re made of, Princess!” She prepared for a fight as well. I don’t know who she is, what her purpose is, or why she wields the Keyblade, but I’m not gonna let this mysterious figure take me down! Time to show this little bitch what I’m made off! Alright, you punk… Get ready to dance! *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story.
Chapter 9 - Don't mess with the Moon Mom!*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulled out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* (“Good… very good. Now… let’s see what you are made off, Princess!” She declared and the fight began with both our weapons clashing together.) I applied pressure in order to break the hold and assault the masked figure yet it wasn’t working – she was holding her ground. Just who is she exactly? Applying more pressure to break the hold but it didn’t budge at all… damn it. What to do, what to do? I gotta find a way to break the hold over her Keyblade or else I’ll tire out before she even lifts a finger to defeat me. But what she did next was unexpected – she teleported away much to my surprise! “Should have been paying more attention!” A familiar voice yelled out as I looked up only to be knocked forward by the Keyblade. The masked wielder caught me off guard by teleporting above me and assaulting my backside. I crashed forward onto the black ground yet immediately stood up and turned around just in time to block an attack from the masked figure. “Hmph… weak. No matter, I’ll finish you on in a second… such a shame since I thought that there was more to you than meets the eye.” The masked figure told me as she raised her Keyblade and was about to bring it down onto my head. I gasped in shock before holding my Keyblade up to block the attack as best it can. Closing my eyes, I waited for the inevitable end… waited… waited… yet it never came. Huh, what’s going on? Why aren’t I dead? Opening my eyes slowly, I gasped upon realizing that I was covered in a protective sphere – the same one that defended me from those monsters yesterday! What a stroke of luck but where was…? Hearing some groaning, I looked forward and noticed that the masked individual was laying on the black ground. She released a groan as she stood up and prepared herself for another fight. “You’ve got lucky that a barrier protected you… but it won’t save you from ME!” She declared before charging forward and raising her Keyblade. Soon, she brought it down and immediately destroy the barrier which disintegrated into millions of particles. Oh, crap! This ain’t good! Before she could attack, I blocked it once more with my Keyblade. She applied pressure to make me release my hold over her weapon yet I wasn’t budging. “Not… gonna… let… you take me… down!” I yelled through as she continued to apply more pressure. I was holding my ground as best I can but she continued to apply more and more pressure while growling at me. “Give… UP!” She demanded yet I shook my head. “Not gonna happ… happen!” I argued back as she continued to apply even more pressure yet I still held my ground. The figure soon released her hold and jumped away for a bit. “Let’s see how you deal with a little fire, PRINCESS!” She declared before channeling a couple of fireballs and launching them straight at me much to my shock. I blocked some of them but failed to notice the figure charging forward and preparing to strike me. It was too late since the minute I lowered my Keyblade I was struck a couple of times in different parts of my body before I was sent flying a few feet away. The figure just laughed at my state. “That the best you’ve got!? Man, you are more worthless the usual!” She declared as I got up and glared at her. I wasn’t down just yet but neither was she – the next move that she did was teleporting away once more. Alright, gotta keep an open eye and check to see where she will appear to attack me… “Too late!” I heard a voice from behind me and immediately turned around to block the assault. Needless to say, the masked figure wasn’t very satisfied with this outcome. “DAMN IT!” She admitted – there was a hint of anger in her tone which made me grin a bit. “Getting cocky, are we?” I asked while holding my ground. Needless to say, my words did nothing but anger her. “Shut up!” She demanded before jumping away from where I was. “Let’s see how you handle this!” She declared. What happened next was unexpected – she conjured two illusion clones of herself much to my surprise. How did she do that… who is this person exactly? “Not expecting that did you? Get HER!” She ordered her two illusion clones that nodded with their heads before charging forward to attack me. This move proved to be a fatal mistake for me since I had three opponents that I needed to take care of. I thought that I would be able to at least eliminate one of the illusionary clones yet no such luck. The moment I raised my Keyblade to protect myself I was immediately sent flying backwards and crashed a few feet away onto the black ground. “Ugh… not now… not now.” I told myself with groans coming out as I attempted to get up but no avail. My body was feeling too tired… too sour to move. Damn it all to hell. And just when you think things can’t get much worse, I’m hearing footsteps approaching my direction – the masked figure. “That all you had on you? Such a shame… you definitely proved to be quite the wielder – seems like I was right to take an interest in you. You’ve got skills but you are still just a weakling. A pity I have to dispose of you now but what the heck? I can live with it.” She declared before raising her Keyblade and preparing to stab me. (Closing my eyes, I couldn’t help but feel that this is it. I’m officially and royally fucked. Well, it was a nice ride… Fluttershy, Twilight, Rainbow, girls. I love you… I hope you all can stop this bitch – better you all than me anyways.) “Goodbye, Princess. It was nice knowing you.” The figure told me – plain and simple. This is it… my end. What a nice ride this has been… “STEP AWAY FROM THY CHILD, YOU MONSTER!” Whoa! Volume MUCH!? “What the he-” The figure was cut off by the booming voice before I heard a tremendous crash and some yelling in pain. “AHHHHH! YOU BITCH! YOU DARK EMO BITCH!” Suddenly, I felt showered by somekind of sparkling which for some reason made me feel better – huh, that’s weird. My body… it isn’t aching anymore. My pain is going away… I don’t feel a thing. Opening my eyes slowly, my vision came upon some dark-blue hooves and a moderate sapphire blue tail with a grayish Persian blue outline. Who is this…? “FOUL CREATURE! THY SHALL NOT HARM THIS CHILD ANYMORE! LEAVE THIS PLACE AND RETURN FROM WHENCE YOU CAME!” The owner of the booming voice demanded –my eyes looked up and saw that it was another pony but this time it had wings and a horn. Her mane was also colored sapphire blue with the outline being Persian blue as well. Just like with Twilight and her friends, there was a cutie mark that depicted a crescent moon covered in a dark purple background. As for the mysterious figure, she was lying onto the ground in pain – there were a couple of scratches onto her body as well as a crack on the visor. Needless to say, it wasn’t a good sight for her… shame that the skin or appearance wasn’t exposed. Would love to see who my attacker is and how exactly she knows who I am… Maybe she is the key to getting my missing memories back. The figure unfortunately didn’t leave and instead got up slowly before growling at us and casting what seemed to be a healing spell on herself. The scratches were gone while the visor crack was repaired – just who is this person and how powerful is she? (“Hmph… two against one, huh? It doesn’t matter – I’ll take care of you both in an instant. Prepare to die!” She declared and got into a fighting position.) The pony that healed me powered up her horn and prepared to fight. “Thy impudence shall prove to be your downfall, monster.” She stated calmly but with the hint of anger still there. Standing up quickly, I rushed forward and prepared my Keyblade for another fight. “I hope you don’t mind me joining in your party, Miss.” I told the pony who had healed me. She looked at me with a thankful look on her face. “Not at all. Now let us send this mysterious creature back from whence she came.” I couldn’t agree more with the pony’s words. The masked figure began by conjuring several fireballs and launching straight at us. I blocked some of them while the pony used a beam to disintegrate the fireballs which made the masked figure growl at us. She teleported away and reappeared above my head to strike me only to get beamed by the pony and sent flying back away. The figure used the healing spell on herself before standing up and conjuring two illusion clones to attack us. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the chance since the pony used a beam to disintegrate those clones of the mysterious wielder. She growled at us – mainly the pony. “No fair, you bitch!” She declared but it only made the pony smirk. “Those that fight dirty receive the fate that they deserve.” She stated clear as day which made me smile a bit. That burn is definitely deserving. The masked figure growled as she charged forward to attack only for me to block and clash with my Keyblade. Unfortunately for her, she left her back exposed for the pony to launch a dark beam at her. It sent her flying back to which she crashed onto the ground but only for a second. Getting up quickly, she growled at us before conjuring more fireballs and launching them at us. Unfortunately for her, the pony destroyed them with a couple of magic beams which made me sigh in relief. The masked figure growled as she launched herself at us only to get hit by another beam that sent her flying backwards onto the black ground. I wonder if its all over… is she beaten? (The figure sat up and healed herself with the spell just as we prepared to fight yet again but she dismissed her weapon much to our surprise.) “Hmph… you’ve got skills, Kairi. But you’re still underdeveloped… I’ll be keeping an eye on you. In the meantime, take care and improve on your skills. Until next time…” She wished us before she disappeared into the darkness much to our surprise. Damn it… she got away. And I didn’t even get to question her who she is… son of a bitch. Oh, well – there’s always next time… Speaking of that, I turned to look at the pony who protected me and gave her a thankful nod. “Thanks for having my back there. I appreciate it.” I told her just as my eyes fell upon a black-colored crown that rested atop her head. Was she royalty by chance? The royal pony returned the nod with her own. “It is I that owe thanks to you, Kairi – for standing by my side even in the face of danger. I am Luna – Princess of the Night. It is a pleasure to meet you, young Keybearer.” She told me with a smile on her face. … A princess… Who knows my name and the Keyblade… And I didn’t even bow in respect… Oh, you have gotta be shitting me! Fate… if you are hearing this now… I want you to know: You are a bitch! *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story.
Chapter 10 - The Moon Mom*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulled out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* Don’t panic, Kairi… it’s just a princess. Nothing wrong with that. Oh, god… I’m panicking! DAMN IT! I’M PANICKING! WHAT THE HELL DO I DO!? Umm… Oh, bow! NOW! Bowing quickly in front of Princess Luna, I hoped that my disrespectful ways didn’t make her mad since she was a person of royalty. Needless to say, her reaction was a simple giggle. Oh, shoot… I think I broke her. “No need to bow, young Kairi. As I stated before, I’m the one that should be grateful to you for standing in the face of danger instead of retreating. You have my thanks.” Luna assured me as I gave a small nod before standing up albeit reluctantly since I was still in the presence of royalty. “R-right. I have to say thanks as well for helping me out with that bodysuited girl… although, do you have any idea who she might be exactly?” I asked but Princess Luna’s answer was a simple shaking of her head. It seems like she had no clue. “Unfortunately, I do not know. I was planning to ask you the same question since she seems to be aware of who you are… but you don’t know as well from the looks of it. Before I came to your assistance, did she reveal anything of importance to you? The smallest hint of information?” Luna questioned me although I didn’t have all of the answers. “All she said was that ‘there’s more to you than meets the eye’ and ‘that she had taken an interest in me’. That’s all that was told to me yet you have to believe me that I have no clue on who she really is and what her interest in me is.” I explained as Luna raised her hoof to silence me. “Kairi, please be calm. I’m not accusing you of anything since this is indeed the first time that you are meeting the mysterious girl in the bodysuit. However, what worries me is how you fit into all of this along with your ability to wield the Keyblade.” Luna replied as I summoned my weapon. “You are aware of the Keyblade?” I asked as the princess nodded before replying in a serious tone. “Yes… well, the legends at least. I’ve never seen one in person before nor have I met a wielder. Yet, I’m aware of one thing – its purpose.” “Its’ purpose…?” I asked before Princess Luna continued speaking. “Yes… the Keyblade is described as a weapon of salvation or doom. It is often said that the legendary weapon will either protects those in a time of need or bring ruin and shatter the peace.” I cringed upon hearing that… the Keyblade can do that? Oh, man – I must have really pissed off someone in my past life so hard that he/she punished me by letting me wield this. Maybe I don’t really want it anymore… if it brings ruin, then I could get in big trouble with the local populace in Equestria. “At first glance, I thought it ludicrous that a legendary weapon like the Keyblade could exist and said to myself that it was just that: a legend. But after a while I changed my mind and started studying about the lore encircling this weapon and its abilities. Which is why I intended to make contact with you for a while now but could not the appropriate moment. Especially due to the masked wielder that assaulted you…” Luna explained as my eyes widen in surprise. The princess wanted to talk with me…? But why? Did I do something bad? And if so, I wondered what sort of apology would be needed in order to fix the unknown mess that I supposedly caused. “Seeing as the mystery wielder has fled from the battlefield, I have a chance to finally get an answer to some of my questions. Kairi, I must ask that you answer them honestly without a single lie. Not that I don’t have anything against you, it’s basically a formality to determine whether or not I can trust you.” The princess explained it. I guess it does make sense seeing as how we’ve just met and all that… although I’m not sure if my answers will be to her satisfaction mainly cause I don’t remember a damn thing on how I came to Equestria or why I gained a Keyblade as a weapon. Gotta go with the flow, I guess… “Well, alright Princess…” I told her. Despite being in a dark realm of somekind that we still had no clue where it was stationed, we sat down and surprisingly didn’t fall through the darkness. Weird but honest truth. “Now then… Kairi, I know that you aren’t from Equestria. Where are you from exactly?” Princess Luna asked her first question. Oh, dear… I’m in trouble with this one. How can I answer since I have no idea where I’m from or who I was before I came to Equestria? “Princess, you have to believe me on this one – I haven’t a clue. My memory is on the fritz right now and I can’t see to remember anything before I got here. Honest truth.” I answered as Luna’s eyebrows arose. “Nothing at all?” The princess asked me once again as I gave a simple nod which made stare at me for a moment before she continued onward. “This will be much harder than it first seems… I presume that your answer will be the same involving the Keyblade, correct?” She asked as I nodded once again. “Yep… I don’t even have a clue on how I gained the ability to wield the Keyblade nor do remember what my real name is.” I explained. “Your real name…? Do you mean to tell me that Kairi isn’t the name you were born with?” The princess asked as I nodded. “Hmm, interesting… very interesting. It seems that the masked figure was right about one thing – there is more to you than meets the eye. Severe loss of memory, the ability to wield the Keyblade, the figure knowing about you… Kairi, I have a theory although its plausible at this time.” She told me. “How so… if you don’t mind me asking.” I said while awaiting for the princess to answer. “That’s the thing – it’s still plausible and I need to be sure that I’m being correct on this. Your missing memories and your unknown connection to the masked wielder might be connected somehow but I’m not sure yet.” She explained as my eyes widened. Wait… so the person that attacked me with a Keyblade and left me cryptic messages is possibly the reason I’m in Equestria without my memories of my old life? If what Princess Luna is saying then my opponent definitely has a lot of explaining to do… next time I see her I’m gonna kick her ass so hard and make her tell me the truth of how I ended up in the pony world and why I can’t remember anything before coming here. “So… what happens now? Does that mean I’m in trouble for using the Keyblade to protect the weak and such?” I asked with Luna being silent on that one for a couple of seconds before she answered. “No… while I’m still unsure of what your goals and motivation are, I can easily deduce that you do not wish any harm upon mine and my sister’s subjects. Though I will keep an eye on you for the foreseeable future.” I became surprised at what she told me. “Huh… nobody has taken an interest in me before. Why the supported liking to me and my character? I’m just an ordinary person.” I stated but my words made Luna grin a bit. “You interest me. I can’t quite explain it but there is something about you that just peaks my curiosity. And no – it’s not the Keyblade. It’s something far deeper than your ability to wield the legendary weapon… though I’m not sure what yet exactly.” She explained. Huh… never imagined that someone would take an interest in my before. Although why is she telling me all of this? “Not that I don’t want to be rude or anything like that but again – why the interest in me?” I asked. At that, Luna smiled sadly. “In the books that I’ve read, I’ve learned that most Keyblade Wielders suffered a nasty fate… not just to the darkness but also the Heartless as well.” She explained. Wait… Heartless? The hell are- Wait, it couldn’t… “Princess, are these ‘Heartless’ by chance creatures that are black-colored and possess yellow eyes?” I asked and with a nod from Luna my quick suspicions were confirmed. “Indeed… the Heartless are basically the manifestation of one’s heart should it succumb to the darkness. They have many shapes and forms but almost all are extremely dangerous. Their own goal is to satisfy their hunger for hearts – the more hearts they obtain, the more their numbers increase… my sister and I have done everything in power to make sure that our subjects never have to fear the Heartless though I don’t under how they have returned. I’m sure that we locked the Keyhole a thousand years ago…” Luna explained. My mind immediately blocked as I had a multitude of questions running right now – sister? A thousand years ago? Heartless? Okay, I need some answers and I need them right now. “Okay, Princess… pardon me for being rude but I need some answers. How do you-” Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish as a bright light blinded me and I began to feel like I’m fading away. Nearby, I could hear Luna sighing. “It seems that our time is up. We’ll have to continue our conversation once you return.” She told me. No! NO! I can’t go back to waking up since I still had so many questions to ask Luna! “W-wait! This can’t be over yet! I have so much more to ask! Princess, please!” I pleaded but all I heard was a simple giggle. “Relax, Kairi. We have all the time in the world – when you return to the realm of dreams, I will be here once again to answer any questions that you might have. One thing before you go – please be… discrete in your conversation with Twilight Sparkle once you wake up. Don’t mention my presence and appearance in your dreams and instead explain only what you have learned. It’s very important.” Luna explained as the light grew brighter and brighter. “But!” I began only for the light to truly blind my eyes which couldn’t allow me to see anything including where the princess was. “Until we see again in each other’s dreams, Kairi… until then you must FACE YOUR FEARS!” AHHHH! Volume control much!? Soon, the light overtook me and I couldn’t see anything due to being blinded. (In the real world…) My eyes began to crack slowly open as I released a soft groan while getting up from the… couch? “Oh, my gosh… Kairi! You’re okay! Thank goodness!” The familiar worrying tone of Twilight yelled in relief as she appeared in my face and wrapped her hooves over my neck… tightly. “T-twilight… c-can’t… breathe!” I told her through c-choking… goddamn it! I c-can’t breathe! Twilight realized this and immediately removed her hooves which allowed me to catch my breath slowly as I coughed a bit. The purple unicorn chuckled sheepishly. “Oops… my bad. Sorry!” She apologized. “It’s… it’s fine.” I assured her as I finished coughing before laying back down and asking her a question. “Where am I?” “My home… I drag you inside and immediately got to work in patching you up. You were a mess when I brought you in.” Twilight explained. I noticed that I wasn’t wearing my usual clothes and instead I was wearing a gown of somekind and there were bandages all over my body. Wait, how did I get in this state? Oh, shit! I remember! The town and the Heartless! Fuck, I completely forgot about that! “Twilight! What about the town and the creatures? Is it safe? Did we win the battle?” I frantically demanded the answer as Twilight raised her hoofs to calm me down. “Kairi, Kairi! Please calm down! We did win the battle – however, you have no idea how extremely luck you are to walk away unscathed. Do you have any idea how close you were to death? You nearly scared me and Rainbow – don’t even get me started on Fluttershy. Kairi, don’t you dare scare us like that again! Got it?” Twilight told me – although her tone sounded like a threat of somekind. I rubbed the back of my head. “Sorry, Twi… it’s just – there were too many Heartless about and they didn’t stop coming no matter what we did.” I explained as Twilight sighed. “I know… you were trying your best to be the hero but you didn’t – Wait, Heartless? You mean those black-colored creatures have a name?” She asked. I nodded and it was time to get down to the business at hand. “Yeah… actually, two things: I know what the Heartless are and I do believe that we might have our culprit that is responsible for bringing them in the first place. I think you better fetch your notepad, Twilight. It seems we have a rather dangerous individual on our hands.” I told her as she went from surprised to a determined. “Right… first though – I wanna fetch something to eat. You’ve been unconscious since yesterday and you’ll need the extra meal. Then we’ll discuss the situation more clearly.” Twilight told me. As much as I hate to admit, I could use a little snack since I’m feeling a bit peckish. Also, I was unconscious since yesterday!? Damn… that bodysuited bitch is gonna pay when I see her again. Twilight left to go and get me something to eat while I just laid back down to think about the situation more clearly. I still had no clue on how this is going to end nor do I have any idea on what that bodysuited individual and the Heartless have planned for me… All I know is that ‘Mystery Mask’ is connected to me and up to something big involving the Heartless. With a sigh, I realized how much tougher my job was going to get with each passing minute. For some reason, it made me grin a bit… Hmph, I just love a challenge. Yep, this is going to be an interesting war between myself and the masked figure. All I had to do now… was wait until the next move was made. *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story.
Chapter 11 - We're gonna have to tough you up a bit, Kairi!*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulled out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* “There you go… not exactly a 5-star kitchen but Spike definitely knows how to whip up something tasty. I hope you enjoy it!” Twilight wished me before levitating the kitchen board with my meal gently onto my sheet-covered lap. It featured an omelet, some French toast and a glass of water. “That’s fine… should be enough for my stomach to handle. Say, besides Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy – what about the rest of the girls? How did they react to ‘you-know-what’?” I questioned while picking up my fork and beginning to eat my omelet. In response to that question, Twilight sighed heavily. “Very worried as well… you have no idea how lucky you were that I found you in the nick of time. Wounds everywhere, a couple of broken bones… you were on the verge of death. Luckily, my friends and I managed to nurse you back to health… well, mostly me but you get the idea.” She answered. I nodded and swallowed some of the chewed-up pieces before continuing to speak. “That bad huh… guess those Heartless and that bodysuited girl with the mask really did a good one on me and my body.” I answered while chewing on some toast. “A bodysuited girl with a mask?” Twilight questioned with me nodding. After swallowing the small toast pieces, I spoke once more. “Yeah… seems like she’s the one controlling the Heartless. I know you said we’d talk about that later but I feel like we should discuss it right now… it’s important.” “You sure you don’t want to wait? You need the extra energy right now, Kairi.” She told me but I shook my head. Twilight sighed before powering up her horn and levitating a notepad along with a pencil from out of nowhere. “Alright, Kairi… if you are certain, we’ll proceed. Start with from the beginning.” She told me. I nodded, ate another omelet piece and then began to retell my tale. “Alright… now after my little ‘accident’ I found myself in a dark void or realm… not really where. In any case, I started searching for a way out (even attempted to call either you or Rainbow) but sadly nothing… I was alone or at least I thought I was. At that exact moment, another human girl appeared dressed in the strange garb I’ve ever seen – a darkish purple-red bodysuit with her face covered by a biker-like helmet with a black visor.” I explained as Twilight’s eyes spelled ‘Amazing! Just amazing!’ before writing down what I told her. “Seems like you aren’t the only human in Equestria, Kairi. And that outfit she wore – a weird attire if you ask me.” Twilight answered and I agreed with her in the form of a nod. “Tell me about… Wait, your voice…” I spoke as Twilight looked at me with a confused look. “What about my voice?” She asked. Thinking back about the girl in the bodysuit… her voice pattern… I might be going crazy with this one but… “Twilight… if I say something, will you consider me crazy?” I asked only to gain a confused look from the unicorn. “No… I mean, lots of crazy things have happened during my stay in Ponyville but nothing fazes me anymore. Why would I think that you are crazy?” She asked. I placed a hand on my chin to think. “Well… it’s about her voice – the bodysuited girl.” I told her. “What about it, Kairi? Is there something wrong with it?” Twilight asked in a concerned tone. “Twilight… it was like – I was talking with you… it was your voice.” I answered truthfully as Twilight went into a shocked state. “W-what!? That’s… that’s impossible! The girl in the bodysuit had my voice!? That’s impossible!” She told me but I just shrugged worriedly. “I don’t know what to tell you, Twilight… also, get this – she claims to know who I am. The Keyblade, who I really am… everything.” I answered as Twilight went silent for a little bit and levitated the notepad and pencil down onto the bed. “I… I think I need a minute.” She told me before leaving the room and walking downstairs to get some clear room. At this moment, I couldn’t help but sympathize with my unicorn friend… it’s clear that’s she is going through a rough time right now. Especially after hearing more about the bodysuited girl with the mask. It’s best to just wait and give her some privacy until she comes back so we can resume our conversation. In the meantime, I plan to enjoy my meal in peace so as to gain some energy when answering Twilight’s questions… not that I’ve already recovered most of it. I took another bite of my omelet and drank some water while thinking of how else to be discreet in our conversation. No mention of Princess Luna whatsoever since she asked me to keep it a secret… I’m sure I can figure something out. Though what does that bodysuited girl want with me exactly? I’m the key to all of this but I don’t have a clue how. Next time when I see her, I’ll get my answers and what my past is and who I really am. With a little luck, I must take off the mask and see who the mystery figure really is and why she sounds like Twilight. Continuing to eat, I also thought about my conversation with Luna. Why shouldn’t I mention her appearance and assistance to Twilight? Maybe she wanted to keep the existence of the Keyblade a secret from the librarian and her friends? I don’t think they were aware of its existence at all prior to me arriving in Equestria along with the masked figure. It kinda of makes sense, I guess… Actually, the less they know about the Keyblade and such, the better since it avoids awkward questions that may or may not have answers. I can see why Luna wanted her involvement to be kept a secret. I’m sure that I’ll have no trouble of figuring out how not to mention her. After taking another sip of water, Twilight had returned – her face was… unreadable sadly. I couldn’t tell if she was still thinking about the revelation that I told her or if she is on something else. Either way, best not to pressure her and wait. “…Can we continue please? I apologize for that… I… I just needed a minute.” Twilight told me and I nodded while continuing to eat. Levitating her notebook and pencil, we resumed our conversation. “Tell me what happened after she appeared.” Swallowing the pieces of omelet, I continued. “After her appearance, she revealed that she was also a Keyblade Wielder as well.” Needless to say, Twilight was surprised yet again. “Another Keyblade Wielder? Wow… this just keeps getting better and better. So, what happened next?” She asked though I couldn’t help but wonder if the sentence beforehand was a sarcastic one or not. In any event, I continued to retell my story. “A fight had broken out between me and the mystery wielder. During our clash, I learned a couple of things about my opponent: 1. She’s very agile and fast; 2. She has a set of mysterious ability – transportation, darkness, a very powerful burst of magic and also conjuring copies of herself; 3. She’s prone to anger and easily provoked.” That explanation really amazed and somewhat scared Twilight. “Whoa! Just… just whoa. I don’t believe it… I just have to wonder who she is exactly and where did she gain such impressive strength and abilities. It’s certainly a good mystery to solve… provided we can track her down and ask her a couple of questions.” She explained to me. I nodded somewhat slowly. “Just… don’t get careless, alright? We still don’t have a clue on who she is or her motivation.” I replied and Twilight sighed while writing down. “I know, I know. Shouldn’t get careless since it could end being my end but if we could find out where the figure is maybe our questions could be answered.” Twilight told me. She had a point with that one… but we still shouldn’t be reckless. The mysterious figure definitely is a powerful one and she could be our end if we aren’t careful. “True to that… but we shouldn’t be reckless. Anyways, continuing on – the fight was a hard one… I won’t lie that it wasn’t easy. She was tough (both in strength and magic) but luckily, I held my ground for as long as I could. Unfortunately, she had beaten me.” I told her. Twilight gasped and immediately checked up on me. “Are you okay? No inside injuries involved?” She asked in a slightly worried tone. I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Twilight, it was all happening in the dream state… I’m fine.” Twilight backed off a bit after I assured her yet there was still a worried expression on her face. “Are you sure? Not feeling any pain or anything like that?” She asked and I nodded to make her calm down a bit. “Alright… if you are sure. So, you lost the fight?” She asked me while writing down the information. I nodded before continuing to speak. “Yes… I thought that I would have been destroyed from the inside in my dreams… The figure was approaching me and her plan was to eliminate me. I was inches away from death and just as the masked wielder was about to strike me down… I felt… a pure light. It had come to protect me and heal me along with my wounds. After that, the fight resumed and this time I had won the battle which really enraged the masked girl. She retreated soon afterwards and the rest is history.” My explanation had finished as I took another sip of water. Twilight wrote down the last bits of information in her notebook before placing it down gently on her bed. “Sounds like the battle was truly an interesting one indeed… you stood your ground well.” She told me. “You believe me – the masked figure and all of this?” I asked and she nodded slowly. “Under normal circumstances, I would think that you are really ‘crazy’ but after what you just told me, there’s no room for doubt. I believe that you fought against a masked figure who sounds like me and that she also has a Keyblade to assist her.” Twilight replied. “Good to know you believe me… so, what do we do now?” I asked her while finishing up the rest of my meal. Twilight placed a hoof on her chin to think of an idea. “Hmmm… if this masked figure is definitely the one who is ordering the Heartless to attack Equestria then she may return along with a new breed of those little monsters by her side. We need to prepare for that time when it comes.” She explained. Not a bad idea… preparation is the key. “Plus we have to make sure they don’t steal anyone’s hearts.” I told her. “Yeah, that as we- Wait… steal hearts?” She asked me in a confused tone as I slapped my forehead – nearly forgot about that. “I just remembered… before awakening, the pure light explained that the Heartless are attracted to the darkness in people’s hearts. Their main meal is basically a person or in your case a pony’s heart.” Twilight was horrified upon hearing that. “That’s… that’s amoral! What kind of creatures are these!? It’s sickening… wait, what happens if the Heartless steal a pony’s heart?” She questioned even though she didn’t really want to know the truth. In response to that, I sighed heavily and explained. “If a pony’s heart gets stolen by the Heartless, my guess is that another will be formed.” Twilight was horrified once more. Her horror soon turned into determination. “No… No! Absolutely not! We can’t let these creatures overrun Ponyville or for that matter Equestria! Kairi, you have to help us! My friends and I can try our best to handle some of them but your ‘Keyblade’ might be the only thing that can really help us… Please, Kairi.” She pleaded with me. I couldn’t help but let a smile form on my lips. “Twilight, I’m not going anywhere – not until the Heartless and masked figure are stopped. Just calm down, will you?” I told her. Twilight couldn’t help but feel relieved upon hearing my words and she embraced me in a hug. “Thanks, Kairi… we owe you a deep gratitude. Me and my friends.” She replied before removing her hooves. “So… what happens next – besides defending Equestria from the creatures which is our top priority?” I asked while Twilight levitated the kitchen board away from my lap to a nightstand nearby. “Besides that… I’m gonna help you get into shape a little bit and toughen you up in case the masked figure reappears and challenges you to another fight.” She explained. Training, huh? Not a bad idea… it could help with learning some new moves and abilities along the way. Though where are we going to have lessons? “Not that I don’t mind that since it sounds like a good idea but where are we going to train my body and mind exactly?” I questioned with a curious expression. “Leave that to me… my magic is powerful enough to conjure a simulation arena or teleport us to a place where we won’t be disturbed. If the situation demands it, I’ll bring some of my friends along to help us out. Fret not, Kairi… I’ll handle everything. The only thing you have to do is prepare and train in case our opponent shows up.” Twilight explained and I nodded. “Alright… seems like you’ve got everything worked out. When do I begin the first training session?” I questioned and Twilight’s lips twisted into an amused grin. “Tomorrow morning at the earliest.” Oh, fuck… wasn’t expecting that. (The next morning…) “Ready for your first training session, Kairi?” Twilight questioned me as we stood in the library section of her home. My expression right now was one of tiredness due to me getting up way too early… at 7:00 in the morning if you can believe it. Placing my hand on my mouth to stop an incoming yawn was my response to her question. Twilight frowned a bit. “Oh, come on… you can’t be that tired.” She told me while I rubbed my eyes. I made an unamused face. “Twilight… when you told me ‘at the earliest’ I was thinking that it would be at 8:30 or 9:00 at the least… not freaking 7:30. Ugh…” I told her in a frustrated tone. “I know, I know… its too early but the sooner we get started, the better. How do you like the outfit I gave you by the way?” She asked me as I stared at the temporary outfit I was issued or as Twilight put it ‘training clothes’. My upper attire consisted of a white top underneath a black t-shirt while my lower attire was a pair of black khaki Capri pants with a purple belt to hold them. As for footwear, there were purple sneakers with light purple and black accents. My necklace with the silver bead was still around my neck along with the bracelets on my left arm as well. “It’s… well, I’m not a fashion consultant but it’s a nice look – it’s like I’m in a gym glass or running for a marathon.” I replied with the tired look still on my face. Letting out another yawn, I blocked it with my hand before looking at Twilight. “When do we start on our first training session?” I asked her. Twilight was about to answer when we both felt our stomach growl. Oh, yeah… we didn’t have any breakfast yet. Twilight smiled sheepishly at that. “Well, I guess the session could wait… first things first, let’s get some energy into our bodies.” She told me. That made me grin a bit while replying. “Now you’re speaking my language!” *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story.
Chapter 12 - Training, Training... and More Training! Also, Fluttershy is here again!*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulled out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* Chapter 12 – Training, Training… and more Training! Also, Fluttershy is here again! So… fast-forwarding the events since most of you don’t want to hear my thoughts over the morning meal. Twilight and I had our breakfast which was pretzels with apple juice and some buttered toast. I won’t lie right now – the food was really good and I didn’t stop until I had cleared up the plates with my breakfast. Twilight was surprised by how I was really hungry… being honest right now, the omelet last night hadn’t filled my tummy to the full. After breakfast, we both cleaned up and were ready to head on for my first training session in the use of a Keyblade. The question that remained on my head since yesterday was still in my mind – where we would train exactly? When I asked Twilight, she already had the answer. “I picked out the ruins of my mentor’s old castle in the Everfree Forest. It’s very spacious and empty for the occasion – we shouldn’t be interrupted… for the time being at least.” I nodded before posing my own question. “What kind of methods will we handle exactly? I don’t know much about the Keyblade truth be told.” Twilight went silent and placed a hoof on her chin to think. “Hmmm… we’ll practice with training dummies. Plus, I want to try out a little method involving your Keyblade – magic.” She answered. Wait… what? “Magic… as in – actual magic spells or just in general?” I asked before summoning my Keyblade while Twilight nodded. “Exactly… I wish to see if your Keyblade can handle some basic spells such as fire, water, ice, etc. – You get the picture. If the masked figure can use magic in her attacks, whose to say we can up our arsenal and give you a much better fighting chance?” Twilight questioned – a slight grin on her face. A good point – though I do wonder if the Keyblade can handle magic that would be useful besides fancy heavy attacks and whatnot. I guess we’ll find out soon enough. “Right… are we ready to head onward towards the Castle?” “Just two things to gather and then we’re ready to get a move on. Be right back.” Twilight told me before heading back upstairs to her room. I wonder what she’s going to get – maybe a book to pass the time while I trained? Or a timer to count the hours of my training? I’m not sure exactly but we’re going to find out once she comes back down. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. A guest at this hour? I wonder if it was Rainbow Dash who wanted to come and check on me. Or Pinkie Pie with another party? Only one way to find out. Upon opening the door, I was immediately completely embraced in a hug by none other than a crying Fluttershy who was worried sick about me. “KAIRI! Oh, my gosh! Thank goodness you were alright!” She declared and held me closer… very close as I began to lose my oxygen supply fast. “F-fluttershy… I… c-can’t… br-breathe!” I told her in a hazy voice before she realized what was happening and immediately released me from her ‘motherly’ death hug. I breathed slowly and cackled my hazy throat before looking at her. “T-thanks… and I’m sorry for worrying you.” I apologized yet she just cried once again. “Do you have any idea how worried I was about you…? I nearly had a heart attack when I saw your state! Kairi, do you want me to kill myself with worry!? Do you!? Never… ever… again! Please… I don’t think I could handle having another panic attack like that… Please… don’t worry me like that.” Fluttershy pleaded and hugged me once more. Damn it… I made her worry a lot. I should have gone and visited her yesterday evening to tell her that I’m fine and well yet Twilight handle that. She told her that I would be staying in her library for the evening but I knew that I should have went to her house to explain. Oof, I’m such a bad roommate… or daughter-figure to her? Can’t really tell her age, if I’m being honest. None the less, I let go off her and placed a hand on her hoof. “I’m sorry Fluttershy… I should have gone to your house to tell you that I’m fine… yet I didn’t. I apologize for that. I guess I wasn’t thinking straight last night?” This question came with a sheepish sad grin on my face. Fluttershy frowned while wiping the tears away. “Clearly you weren’t…” She stopped, sighed and then continued. “Just… please be careful. I can’t handle it, Kairi… not now, not ever. You’re more than a friend and roommate to me – you’re like a daughter. If something were to happen to you, I’d be devastated. Promise me that you’ll be careful.” Her words surprised me – like a daughter to Fluttershy? I… don’t know what to say, to be honest. She did save me from those wolves in the forest, took me into her home, feeds and shelters me… I guess she really is like a mother to me. I wonder if my real mother is still alive somewhere on my world – probably. No doubt she’s grieving about her lost child who is on this world of ponies. I hope we can get a happy reunion soon… I miss her so much even if I can’t remember who she really is anymore. Damn this fate along with the guy who sent me to Equestria. Ugh, this is the worst! “Kairi… are you okay?” Fluttershy asked as she snapped me from my thoughts. “W-wha… Oh, y-yeah. Just thinking some things. Sorry for worrying you, Mo- I mean, Fluttershy… y-yeah, Fluttershy.” I quickly corrected myself before Fluttershy could notice the mistake I accidentally made. I can’t believe I nearly called her ‘Mom’. What an awkward situation that would have been if I had indeed said it. That was close – far too close if you ask me. Though Fluttershy is like a mother to me so… What I failed to notice was the surprised look on Fluttershy’s face before it resumed a normal one. “O-okay, Kairi… I’m glad to hear it. Please, just be more careful. Alright?” She asked me and I nodded. “Good… so, do you want to come and have breakfast with me? I could use the company.” She told me yet I shook my head. “Sorry but I have some plans for today – plus, I already had breakfast. Twilight and I plan to head onto the old castle in the Everfree Forest for some training with my Keyblade in case the masked figure comes back. Plus, our librarian also wants to test out something involving my weapon.” I explained to Fluttershy. “The old castle in the forest? Isn’t that… a little dangerous for you, Kairi? You’ve only just woken up last night from your little ‘encounter’ with those monsters and whoever is leading them. Maybe you should get some more rest?” She suggested. I could tell that she was still worried about me getting involved in another life-threatening situation and while I did appreciate the concerning advice from my mother-like pegasus, I had to prepare. No choice in the matter since the masked figure could come back and attack us again with her damned Heartless. That meant no rest for the wicked. “I appreciate the concern, Fluttershy. Yet I can’t afford to rest… this is a training day and I have to prepare in case the Heartless return to Ponyville.” I replied as Fluttershy felt a little sad at hearing me say that. “B-but, you could get hurt… again. I can’t let that happen… I’m sorry, Kairi – but as your caretaker I’m coming with you.” Fluttershy told me in a stern yet motherly voice. One. That… took a turn for the worse and Two. When on Earth did you consider yourself as my caretaker exactly, Fluttershy? Oh, wait… never mind that second thing. “Umm… Fluttershy, no offense by that sounds like a bad idea if I’m being honest. If you come with me, then… umm… then you would be… in danger?” I told her with a sheepish look but she pulled out an unamused face. “Really, Kairi? That’s the best you can do?” Fluttershy asked with a raised eyebrow. Damn it… seriously cannot lie to this pegasus no matter how much I try. She really is acting like a stern mother right now – overprotective as well. “Okay, okay… I admit it was dumb to say that. But Fluttershy, I really need to do this… only with Twilight. If you come then you things wouldn’t work out. I get injured or worse and you’ll demand that the training stops.” I explained as Fluttershy sighed. “Only because I’m worried about you, Kairi. You have to understand that since I’m taking care of you temporarily, I’m responsible for your needs and safety. I just don’t feel like training right now is such a good idea. I know that those creatures could come back… but you still need to rest.” Fluttershy said – her concern tone completely hearable. I sighed before replying. “I know, I know… but I’m the only one that can do this, Fluttershy. I have the Keyblade and only I can defeat those creatures.” Fluttershy nodded. “Hence why I have to watch over you so that you don’t do anything stupid. No exceptions, little missy.” She warned me with a stern tone. Her words made me chuckle a bit. “I don’t really have any say in the matter, don’t I?” Was my question while Fluttershy smiled gently and ruffled my hair. “Nope. None at all. Think of this as a sort of class – besides Twilight being your teacher, I’ll be there for moral support.” She said. Well, she does have a point there… Before I could answer, Twilight came back down with some saddle backs and… Spike on her back? Judging by his closed eyes and tired look, he was still asleep. Why was Twilight bringing along exactly? “Okay… I’m done. Sorry for the long wait, Kairi. Had to drag sleeping bones over here to chart down scores for your training sessions and- Oh, hi Fluttershy. Is there something I can help you with?” Twilight questioned upon noticing that Fluttershy was in the library as well. “Morning to you as well, Twilight. I’m here to join you both on your little ‘training’ session.” Fluttershy answered. Needless to say, Twilight was surprised. “Wait… are you serious? You realize that we’ll be in the Castle of the Royal Sisters in the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy? Why do you want to come?” She asked. “Well… it’s simply to give Kairi moral support. I am her caretaker after all – for the time being, of course.” Fluttershy answered. “Oh, yeah… I forgot about you being Kairi’s caretaker. Shoot, that reminds me – when we get back from the Everfree, we’ll ask Mayor Mare about that whole ‘house’ thing, Kairi.” Twilight answered but Fluttershy became confused upon hearing ‘house’. “House? What are you talking about, Twi?” Fluttershy questioned. Twilight opened her mouth and was about to speak when I took over to explain. “Oh… that’s all on me. I wanted to get my own house here in Ponyville since I feel like I’m invading your hospitality, Fluttershy… but I changed my mind on it.” “Ah, I understand… but Kairi – you aren’t invading my hospitality. I enjoy having company and plus you’re like a daughter to me. If there’s something that isn’t to your standards in my place, just tell me and I’ll do my best to change it.” She answered. I felt kind of bad about explaining that to Fluttershy – so far, she’s been a gracious host and I don’t really feel like moving into a new house in Ponyville. Oof, I should have never come up with that stupid idea of mine. Bet she is angry at me right now… don’t really blame her. “T-thanks. Sorry about my idea… it was kind of dumb, to be honest. Mad at me?” I asked her but she shook her head. “I’m confused and a little mad… but its all water under the bridge. Like I said if you need a change, then tell me and I’ll do my best. No more secrets, Kairi – alright?” She asked and I nodded. Twilight took over for me. “Glad we got that out of the way… Kairi, since you’re living with Fluttershy… permanently, right?” She stopped to see that my answer was a nod before continuing. “We’ll have to go down to Mayor Mare so we can get some adoption forms for Fluttershy to fill out. She is your legal guardian for the time being. Until we can find your real parents or information about them.” The librarian finished explaining. “Right… so, are we ready to get a move on?” I asked with Twilight nodding. Using one of her teleportation spells, we immediately zipped away from the library in the blink of an eye… (An hour later at the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters – Everfree Forest…) The Keyblade sliced another training dummy in half before it dissipated into black smoke. Turning my attention towards another one, I took care of it quickly before tackling yet a third one. So far, the training consisted of me taking down training dummies with different moves and abilities – using jumping attacks, sliding abilities, from behind, etc. It was fairly easy since the dummies were made out of wooden or straw – kind of a bummer that they weren’t alive but whatever. After finishing another one, Twilight yelled. “Stop! That’s enough!” She had turned off the timer with her magic as I breathed slowly while wiping the sweat off my face. “How’d I do this time?” I questioned her. This current lesson was to learn how fast I would be able to take down opponents in under 5 minutes. For the last hour, I was focused on movement and quick reflexes which were pretty easy. But for this one though… “Hmmm… 2 minutes and 15 seconds. It’s an improvement but not much… we’ll have to see if we can get you to take all targets out in under 2 minutes – if you can, of course.” Twilight answered. “Oh…” I slumped in disappointment. “But don’t feel bad! You’re quickly learning the ropes and taking out your opponents much faster than when we began in the last hour. Just a couple more and you’ll reach 2 minutes in no time.” Twilight said in an attempt to cheer me up. Fluttershy flew with her wings towards my location and placed a hoof on my shoulders. “You’re doing good so far, Kairi. I’m very proud of you.” She admitted with a smile. Despite me being in sweat and somewhat tiring, I couldn’t keep my lips from twisting into a gentle smile as well. “Thanks, Fluttershy… I appreciate it.” I told her. “Spike, how are we doing on the scores?” Twilight asked her assistant but he didn’t answer as his face was fulling covered by the notebook. “Spike? Are you listening to me? Spike!” Twilight went to shake up her assistant only for her to realize that he had fallen asleep again and was using the notebook as cover to avoid getting into trouble. Poor kid… I pity him since it's still too early for him to stay awake at this hour. Twilight did explain that he was a baby dragon after all and needed the extra sleep. Twilight groaned as she turned away from the sleeping Spike to where we were. “Guess we won’t be reading those scores anytime soon…” She told us. “Don’t feel too bad about him, Twilight. He needs the extra sleep since he is a baby dragon after all.” Fluttershy said. Twilight nodded. “Yeah… I guess that’s true. Well, we’ll just have to continue on without the scores. Now, I wanted to try out that theory about the Keyblade and magic. If we’re lucky, then Kairi will be on par with our little masked figure… if not, well… I don’t know.” She answered. “You… don’t know?” I questioned with a raised eyebrow before she responded. “It’s still just a theory… keep it in mind. We’ll start with a simple ‘Fire’ spell.” Twilight said before she concentrated and conjured an orb with fire in it. Alright, now that only question that remains is how do I use this- Whoa! The orb automatically got sucked by the tip of my Keyblade! Needless to say, Twilight and Fluttershy were both astonished and surprised. “Wow! That was… unexpected.” The librarian stated. “Y-yeah… so, does it work though?” I asked with a curious expression. Twilight was on the same mind as she conjured more dummies for me to practice. “Only one way to find out. See if you can cast fire at those dummies.” She ordered me and I nodded. Concentrating, I aimed the Keyblade at the dummies but nothing happened… well, except for smoke that filled the area. “Oof, damn… *cough* T-that didn’t go so w*cough*well.” I said while shaking my body and removing the smoke. Twilight and Fluttershy also shook their bodies and coughed as well. “Y-yeah… *cough-cough* That didn’t go so well. Are you alright though, Kairi?” Fluttershy asked in a motherly tone while flying up and examining me. I nodded and assured her that was alright. “It’s just a little smoke, Fluttershy… I’m fine.” “Well, that was a bust. *cough-cough*” Twilight told us while coughing yet I shrugged. “I’ll give it another shot – we’ve got all day after all.” It was true… the morning was still here and we were in no hurry to return back to the library. Plus, we wanted to see if the theory of using magic is true or not. Concentrating once again, I pointed my Keyblade at the dummies and waited… and waited… until I noticed some spark at the tip which made me grin… only for black smoke to happen once again. Damn it… there we go again. Ugh, this sucks… Fluttershy ended up in mother mode again and examined me yet I assured her that I was fine. It’s… kind of cute in a way. She really is like a mother to me… Third time's the charm and I concentrated once more. However, this time I had an idea on how the spell may or may not work. Let’s hope that I don’t screw the pooch on this one. Concentrating with all my might, I took a deep breath before yelling. “Fire!” A fireball was formed and it was launched at one of the dummies. Oh, my god! It worked! So I have to say the words in order to cast the spell properly? Sounds weird… but alright. Concentrating again and yelling the words, I casted two more fireballs at the dummies which destroyed them along with the first one. Needless to say, Twilight’s theory proved to be true. “K-kairi, that was amazing! So, magic can be used besides fighting techniques! Wow… so much to learn and study!” Twilight stated with a grin on her face while Fluttershy hugged me. I could tell that she was proud of me. Afterwards, we tried out the ‘Water’ and ‘Ice’ magic – needless to say, it was very easy since I had to yell the words for the magic to take effect. A few mistakes here-and-there but I had improved… The next hour was spent in trying out the spells yet again as to get a handle on things along with combining them with fighting techniques. Jumping in the air while casting either an ice or fire spell; sliding underneath and appearing behind my opponent… the training session was hard but it wasn’t anything back-breaking. By lunchtime, I was bent and completely exhausted as I laid on the ground and released deep breaths with sweat all over my body. Twilight walked over to me and had a happy look on her face. “You did a good job today, Kairi – the fighting techniques and magic are improved… there’s still some mistakes you need to fix but that’s enough for today. We’ll pick it up tomorrow or another time.” She told me and I gave her a thumbs up. Fluttershy hugged me and told me how proud she was of me. She showered me with hugs and kisses which made me a little embarrassed, not gonna lie… but I kept silent since it was nice of her. Mama Fluttershy is active… no one can escape her. After a little rest, we went to check up on Spike who was surprisingly still asleep… wow, he is such a lazy bum. No need to admit that in front of Twilight though. She levitated Spike with her horn onto her back just as we heard our stomachs growl. Huh, what time is it exactly and how long have we been training? Twilight pulled out a watch and looked at the time. “Oh, my! We’ve been here for 6 hours… ouch! Time flies a lot.” She said to us as we nodded. I can’t believe it's been over six hours since we started the training session. In a sense, Twilight has a point – time does fly a lot. Our stomachs growled once again. “Ooh, I could really use a bite or two… anyone up for lunch?” I asked with the two ponies nodding. “I could go for something.” Twilight agreed with Fluttershy nodding. Twilight packed all of the items in her saddle backs, levitated Spike to the ground before placing everything in a proper order. “Right… time to get back to the library." She declared before Fluttershy and I nodded. We took off as Fluttershy and Twilight were discussing some things that I didn't bother to listen or hear since my mind was on other things currently - like the other training sessions I'll be having in the near future. I'm eager to learn all I know about the Keyblade and its abilities. If we're lucky, next time the masked figure arrives to assault Ponyville or myself, we'll be ready and- Huh... did I just bump my foot into something? I looked down and saw... a star charm of sorts? Hmmm... interesting. "Something the matter, Kairi?" Fluttershy wondered as I kneeled to pick up the small charm and examine it more clearly. Brushing off the dust from it, it had a symbol of what looked like to be... a familiar Keyblade design - mine. This is a weird coincidence. Maybe Twilight knows something about this? "Hey, Twilight - you know what this is?" I asked and showed the charm to her but she was stunned and confused as well. Using her horn, she levitated it towards her face to examine it more clearly yet shook her head. "Truth be told, I'm just as confused as you are... The design on it - it looks like your Keyblade though. Wonder if there's a connection..." She told herself and gave me back the charm. I examined it again and wondered again if there was a clue on how to solve this little mystery- Just then, an interesting song begins to play in my head - kind of like a creed or something like that. It went as followed: This is my heart, my strength, full of color, full of life. If I am who you seek, speak 'light,' and I shall come. However, if your intent is evil... ash to ash, dust to dust, fade to black. Whoa! Trippy as hell - what the fuck was that all about!? "Kairi, are you okay? You kind of disappeared on us for a little bit." Twilight spoke - concern in her tone of voice. I shook my head and nodded. "Y-yeah... just fine. I'm not sure what happened though... It's probably someone playing a prank of us." I told them before throwing the medallion away a bit. Twilight looked surprised that I would throw that medallion away. "Why did you throw that charm away? It could be related to this mystery! Kairi, we don't throw suspicious stuff away - we examine them more clearly!" She scolded me. Just as I was about to open my mouth to retort, the charm in question dissolved and ripped open a portal to which too individuals came out much to our surprise... Not nearly surprised as when we saw their appearance and attire. The first one was... surprisingly resembling Princess Luna - albeit younger and smaller... almost shaped like a human. She wore a White top underneath her black one along with a pair of purple biker shorts that were hidden by a purple skirt while her footwear consisted of slip-on shoes. Lastly, two yellow wristbands resided on both her wrists as the only accessories that came with the outfit. As for the second one, it was truly a sight to behold – red auburn hair that was reaching slightly to her shoulders while the outfit was a unique hooded pink-and-black dress with two small black cat ears. There are black ruffles on one side of her skirt and plaid on the other. She wore thick belted black boots along with thin white bracelets on her left wrist and a thick wristband on her right wrist. There was a necklace with a bead as well. My face morphed into shock at the second figure… it was… it was… ME! – But my appearances and features were very different! Holy mother of god! Both figures were wondering where they were exactly when their eyes fell onto us. Upon looking more closely, they both gasped when they saw us – mainly me! “You’re… ME!?” The other Kairi yelled in shock. “You’re… ME!?” Now it was my turn to yell in shock. What the hell is going on here exactly!? *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. Also, just to clear something up - the next chapter will crossover with SoulboundAlchemist's fanfiction - May your Heart be your Guiding Key! Be sure to check it out!
Chapter 13 - The Dual Keys*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulled out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* Chapter 13 - The Dual Keys (Kairi’s POV) “Big sis!” I looked up from my phone as I watched Luna come barreling out of the Ponyville schoolhouse to wrap me in a hug. I laughed as I returned the hug. “What’s got you so excited?” Luna looked up with a grin. “Weeellllll…” ***30 Minutes Ago*** “Alright class,” Cheerilee addressed the class with a smile. “As you all know, we’ve been studying biology for the past week.” The class nodded in understanding. “Well, due to the progress we’ve made in the subject, I’m assigning a new research project. You will all break into groups of four and give a presentation on the pony body.” The whole class started muttering to each other, some with smiles, and other with a groan. “Psst, hey Luna!” The young filly turned her head to the left where Applebloom was trying to get her attention. “Wanna work with us?” she asked, gesturing to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. The young filly nodded with a smile as she turned back to Cheerilee who was giving the instructions on the project. ***End Flashback*** “Ahh, I see now,” I chuckled. “You’re excited because you have friends who want to work with you.” “Mmhmm!” Luna replied, beaming. “But, I am a little worried. They seem a little TOO focused on finding their Cutie Marks to actually do the assignment.” I snickered. “Too true, but I think I can help you four with your project.” “Really? How?” “Simple,” I smirked. “I actually researched pony biology to make sure the food we’ve been eating wouldn’t be harmful to you, and learned that pony biology is practically identical to human biology, with the sole exception being diet.” My sister frowned. “Okaaay, and that helps us how?” My smirk broadened. “Well, I have this fantastic little show called Cells at Work, which goes and explains various bodily functions.” Luna’s eyes lit up. “OOOHHH! We could show that to the class!” “No,” I replied with a frown. “Not only would that not be your own work, it's created from a human standpoint. There are other ways that you could use it to your advantage.” Luna was about to reply, instead, however, we found ourselves stepping through a portal. Again. Why is it that whenever me and Luna get zapped through a portal, it’s always when we don’t expect it? My eyes widened in shock as we stepped out of the portal. Once again, we seemed to be in the Palace of the Two Sisters, but that wasn’t the shocking part. Oh no. The shocking part was who summoned us. It was… Well… “You’re… ME!?” we both shouted in shock, pointing at each other. My double summoned her Keyblade and aimed it at me with a glare. "Okay, sister! Time to pay the piper! Who the hell are you and why do you look like me? You've got ten seconds or else I'll beat you to a pulp!" she warned. “Woah, woah, woah,” I raised my hands, trying to placate her. “I know you’re confused, but I’m not your enemy here. Let’s just put the Keyblade down, and let’s talk about this.” My double snorted. "Not gonna happen! I warned you!" What happened next was her charging straight at me with a battle roar. I quickly waved in an upward motion, drawing on my Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic to create a weak defensive wall. Which probably wasn’t the best move on my part. Needless to say, my double was stunned by what I did before she concentrated and used Destiny's Embrace to shatter the barrier much to my surprise, though in hindsight, I probably should have expected. "That magic… smells like those Heartless and that masked figure… that's the darkness!" My double spoke in a surprised tone. “First of all, its shadows, not darkness,” I retorted, summoning my own Keyblade, this one being Way to Dawn. “Easy mistake to make. Second, I didn’t even know darkness HAD a smell. I didn’t think anyone had the same ability as Riku to “smell” darkness.” Upon my double seeing Way to Dawn, she was surprised. "Another Keyblade Wielder!? Are you the masked figure?" She questioned. “Masked figure?” Kairi asked with a raised eyebrow, before groaning. “Oh don’t tell me, you have a masked Vanitas wanna-be running around…” I quickly raise my Keyblade to block a strike from my double. "I bet you're just lying to get some sympathy! You're probably wearing a suit like this 'Vanitas' wanna-be!" She accused me. “Oh for heaven’s sake,” I mutter as I spy Luna scrambling out of the way. I quickly jump away, switching my Keyblade to Oathkeeper, before triggering the Transformation. “Promise Keeper!” My clothes took on a silvery sheen, as the Keyblade transformed into a Kusarigama. "Huh!? The hell!?" The double yelled in a surprise tone. “It's clear to me that you’re still new to all of this, especially if you don’t know a Keyblade Transformation when you see one,” I calmly explain, before throwing the weight on the end of my Kusarigama’s chain to wrap around her ankle. I then start to bounce off the surrounding trees, wrapping her up in a cocoon of chains. “Now then, are you ready to talk?” “H-hey, let me out of here you faker!” She demanded in an angry tone. “I will, don’t worry,” I replied. “But first we need to have a little conversation about jumping to conclusions. Have you ever heard the saying that assumptions make an ass out of you and me?” She glared at me but then we both heard an enraged “Are you kidding!? Another one!?”, behind us. We both looked to see… the Vanitas wanna-be! But in the form of a girl with a different color scheme. “Ahh, it seems the proof that I’m not your Vanitas wanna-be is standing right behind us,” I quipped. “If I let you out, are you willing to work with me to get rid of her?” “Definitely… but you owe me some answers when this is all done!” She warned me. “Of course,” I agreed, recalling the chains and releasing her. “Now then, let’s even the odds, shall we?” “I like that idea a lot!” She agreed with a grin as the Vanitas wanna-be summoned her Keyblade - it wasn’t Void Gear though. “Huh, that’s new,” I muttered, drawing on my music magic. “I’m about to do something that can give us both a boost. All I ask is that if you know the song, sing along, it’ll boost the effect.” “I would… but one problem - is an amnesiac allowed to sing?” My double joked with a soft smile as I looked at her in disbelief. Amnesia...? I shook my head, deciding to focus on that later. “Don’t worry if you can’t, just join in if you can.” And with the drums kicking in, I started running as I sang: “Hey, are you, ready to go? ‘Cause, you know, the way to go! I’ll, believe, the way we chose! So, let’s go, the brand new world!” I charge forward, switching Keyblades once again to Fairy’s Flow, coating it in shadows, and taking a swing at the Vanitas wanna-be. The Vanitas wanna-be was knocked back a bit before she could react. “H-hey, no fair!” She screamed in pain and anger. “Fair? HA!” I replied as the music played out. “That’s rich coming from you!” “Everybody try to keep it down, Got to breathe so quietly, and trace along the borderline” I quickly jumped into my shadow form as she growled and launched a few dark fireballs at me. I maneuvered behind her, and sent spikes of shadow out towards her back. “Past the voice that doesn’t make a sound, It’ll come to you, when you step right in and take the dive” The wanna-be glared at me and casted a Cure spell on herself before teleporting away much to my surprise. Who was she…? “I can’t even stop myself for just one second - dash across the world!” The Vanitas Wanna-be teleported above me and prepared to strike me down. “Playtime’s over, slut!” “Add some color, if you just stay yourself then you can Rediscover, and change yourself time and again Beyond this darkness that doesn’t seem to ever end So go embark, don’t you hesitate, now go ahead!” I nearly stopped singing to scream at the Vanitas wanna-be for the slut comment, but I simply narrowed my eyes, as I melted into my shadow again, to avoid the overhead strike. My eyes then widened as I realized my double had joined in with my song, as she made a strike on our enemy’s unprotected rear! “GAH! HEY, YOU CHEATER!” The Vanitas wanna-be accused my double as she landed gently next to me. “Mind if I join in on the singing?” She asked me. I grinned. “Not at all, go for it!” “I regret so much when I hesitate, I couldn’t protect them with these hands Every time you wipe away, all your tears, you’ll get even stronger where you stand” We both attacked her - one in the front and one in the back. I swung at her with both Keyblade strikes and strikes from my shadows, while she swung out with her Keyblade, although just a little bit clumsily. “Everybody’s claiming what they think is right while blocking out the sky expanding overhead As the streak is shining with its beam of light go reach your hands as far as they extend!” The wanna-be got mad and conjured two versions of herself before ordering them to attack us. “Let’s see how you handle two versions of me!” She told us and laughed. I grinned as I opened my mouth and inhaled. Slowly but surely, the darkness that they were made from was pulled into my gaping maw as I ate them. “Far beyond all the hope that I am holding onto Where the sun lies, the source of pride I’ve always wanted Don’t delay, keep on moving oh so carelessly, so Where’s the way to the future that we haven’t seen?” The wanna-be was shocked which soon turned into anger. “HOW DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS!? YOU IDIOTS ARE PISSING ME OFF!!!” My grin turned into a smirk, before I took a deep breath, a magic circle appearing in front of me. “SHADOW DRAGON ROAR!!” I screamed as I let loose a blast of pure shadow magic. “Shining oh so brightly, dazzling and sparkling Leap over all the values the world is throwing at you On this road I travel, no path to unravel In front of me I counted more sparks than I had ever seen!” My double landed beside me as we watched the wanna-be stagger back from my Shadow Dragon Roar. “I thought you had amnesia?” I asked with a grin. “I still do! I just… for some reason, the song that you’re singing seems catchy and I couldn’t help but try and remember how the lyrics went.” She replied with a soft smile. “Well, we’ve still got a chorus in the song, how about we beat this poser black and blue?” I asked with a feral grin. “Couldn’t agree more!” My double agreed with a nod. “Hey are you ready to go? ‘Cause you know the way to go What to do, it’s up to you I say you, it’s time to choose!” We both assaulted the Vanitas poser together and struck her from multiple directions. I also began drawing my magic to prepare for a final strike. “Add some color, if you just stay yourself then you can Rediscover, and change yourself time and again Beyond this darkness that doesn’t seem to ever end So go embark, don’t you hesitate, now go ahead!” “OH, YOU BITCHES! YOU’RE GOING TO-” We cut her off by continuing to strike her without slowing down. “Far beyond all the hope that I am holding onto Where the sun lies, the source of pride I’ve always wanted Don’t delay, keep on moving oh so carelessly, so Where’s the way to the future that we haven’t seen?” I grinned as I raised my hand, creating a pair of black doors with my Shadow Dragon Slayer magic. “Hey are you ready to go? ‘Cause you know the way to go I’ll believe the way we chose So let’s go, the brand new world!” As the song ended, I kicked the dazed wanna-be into my Doors of Hades spell. The doors closed and imploded, leaving a sprawled figure on the ground. “Ugh… my head…” She admitted with a groan. “Huh, so that’s what it looks like from this side…” I mused as I approached, pointing my Keyblade at the masked villain. “So, this creep has been causing you problems?” I asked my double. “Sadly… you mentioned she’s a Vanitas wanna-be?” My double asked a question back. “Yeah, long story, but Vanitas is a former member of Organization XIII,” I explained. “I say former, because both he, and Organization XIII are long dead.” I took my eyes off of her for just a second, but it was long enough for the wanna-be to get up and launch a dark fireball at Luna. It happened so fast, I wasn’t able to do anything about it. “LUNA!!” I screamed, but despite my worst fears, my little sister figure narrowed her eyes, reached her hand forward, and summoned her Keyblade to her, blocking the fireball. My eyes widened in shock. After all those weeks of trying to summon her Keyblade, she finally pulls it off, and just as we suspected, it was the Oblivion Keyblade. “ANOTHER FUCKING KEYBLADE WIELDER!? ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!?!?” The wanna-be screamed as my double glared at her. “Alright, THAT’S IT!” I screamed, forming a GIANT hammer with my shadow magic. I quickly took a swing, launching her off into the distance. “We’re blasting off again!!” Luna cheers with a laugh. “You’ve been watching my anime collection again, haven’t you?” I asked with a soft smile. “Maybe,” she grinned in reply. “That… was… amazing!” My double screamed with a grin on her face. Luna and I turned back to my double with a smirk as our Keyblades dispersed. “Well, comes from all the skills shoved sideways into my brain, along with a little help from friends. Honestly, I’m surprised you don’t know any of the basic spells yet.” My double lost her smile. “Hey! I have amnesia… give me some credit.” “Fair enough,” I nodded. “Now, I promised you answers, and answers you’ll get. Go ahead and ask your questions.” “First question - who are you? I doubt you are really called Kairi even though you kept using the name.” This was her first question. I grimaced. “Wow, you really had to go for the most awkward question first.” I shook my head. “Well, yes, you are correct that I wasn’t always Kairi. I was originally a 21 year-old man named Dmetri. Pretty awkward showing up in the magical land of ponies as the opposite gender. I continue to use Kairi’s name though, since my old name really doesn’t fit. I’m sure its much the same as what happened to you, but considering how naturally you act, I’d say you’ve been female your whole life.” “You’d be right about that… funnily enough, I do remember some bits of my memories where I was called ‘Mi-’ something…” She explained. I groaned. “Of course there’s a version of the Merchant out there that would screw around with people’s memories…” “Merchant…?” She raised a brow at that question. I shook my head again. “Alright, I guess its time I explained THAT as well. To put it simply, you and I are what are called ‘Displaced’. Those who have been sent to another world as a fictional character after buying something from the Merchant, usually at a convention of some sort. Although, I do know at least one Displaced who ordered something from the Merchant online, rather than buying it in person.” My double’s eyes widened. “Displaced? That’s what I’m called… and why I look like this Kairi. Who is Kairi though?” I smirked. “Kairi is a Princess of Heart, who is able to use the Keyblade. She’s the lead female character in a series of video games called Kingdom Hearts. Her specialty is light magic, if you’re having trouble learning magic.” “Ah, that explains it… she looks so… pink.” She commented. “Meh, it's better than her original outfit, in my opinion,” I shrugged. “If you want to see what she wore before, take a look to your left at my sister.” I pointed to Luna who gave a little wave. My double’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wow… cute attire.” She commented. “You’re not wrong,” I chuckled. “Any other questions?” “Yes, your Luna is so freaking cute! Can I adopt her?” She asked me. I barked out a laugh. “No, no. We need her in our world as well. Besides, your world is the usual ponies rather than anthroes, based on the appearance of your Fluttershy and Twilight. Speaking of which, why don’t you two come out, I know you’re there.” Fluttershy and Twilight came out albeit with looks of shock, amusement, suspicion and just plain weirdness. “I imagine the suspicion is from me looking like an older version of your Kairi?” I asked, noticing their expressions. “Y-yeah… also, the fact I’m seeing a human-like pony version of the Princess…” Twilight admitted. I nodded. “Kinda surprised you haven’t asked about her age yet.” “I was going to… how old is she?” “As old as your Luna, however, the story of Nightmare Moon is VERY different from what you’re familiar with,” I sighed. “Gah… how serious are we talking about?” I sighed as I closed my eyes. “Rather than become Nightmare Moon, she extracted her own heart due to paranoia. This resulted in a heartless that called itself Nightmare Moon, and if Celestia hadn’t cast a stasis spell on Luna’s body, it also would have created a Nobody as well. Luna is so young now, because in our world, when a pony loses their heart, their body ages rapidly backwards until it is literally nothing. Luna’s lucky that Celestia managed to cast her stasis spell when she did.” Twilight’s eyes lit up. “What!? Why would Celestia do that to Luna?” “As I said,” Kairi replied, opening her eyes to stare at Twilight. “Luna extracted her own heart. She was tricked into doing it by someone both her and Celestia trusted. Celestia cast a stasis spell on Luna’s body when she realized what she had done. She would have destroyed the heartless as well, but it escaped to the moon, somewhere she simply couldn’t go.” “I get that… but what was the sole motivation?” Twilight wondered. “What do you mean?” I questioned. “Who’s motivation?” “The person whom Celestia and Luna trusted.” Twilight asked. “We know him as the Master of Masters, but really, he meddles in the affairs of worlds, trying to rewrite their stories in a way that he approves of,” I explained. “Beyond that, even we don’t know his true motives or intentions.” “Oh…” Twilight sighed heavily. I nodded. “Any other question you guys have? Honestly, you had a few less questions than I did when I first arrived.” “Ooh! I had one! Is Fluttershy your Mama?” Luna asked my double. “Actually that’s a good question,” I agreed. “I noticed that Fluttershy moved to you pretty quickly after I pointed out she was there.” “Oh! Ummm…” My double looked at Fluttershy who was holding her hand gently. From the looks of things, Fluttershy was deeply protective of Kairi. I smiled softly. “If you don’t feel comfortable answering, I’ll let the question drop. But then, who knows, maybe my mind will go straight to the gutter, if you know what I mean.” “The… gutter?” Fluttershy raised a brow. “She means that she’ll have some pervy ideas,” Luna explained with a roll of her eyes. Both my double and Fluttershy’s eyes went wide. “I… I don’t love Kairi that way! I love her only as a daughter!” Fluttershy admitted. “HAHAHAH!!” I burst out laughing. “You should have seen your faces!!” Both my double and Fluttershy’s faces morphed into shocked ones. “Oh come on, you have to admit, that was funny!” I continued laughing, before getting a hold of myself. “But seriously though, do you have any other questions in terms of-” My question was interrupted by my Gummi Phone ringing, which I answered. “Excuse me for a sec… Yeah?... Wait, WHAT?!?!? OK, we’ll be there in a sec.” I hung up, quickly scrolling through the apps on my phone. “Umm, what are you doing? And what’s that thing supposed to be?” Twilight wondered with a brow. “This is a Gummi Phone, a way to communicate between worlds,” I explained. “A friend of mine just informed me that a heartless called the Ruler of the Sky is attacking Ponyville, so I’m trying to open the Stargate back to my world… AH! There it is!” A moment after activating the app, the large, water-like portal opened a couple feet away from me. “I really hate to leave you all in the middle of my explanation, but me and Luna really need to take care of this!” “Can I do anything to help out though?” My double asked. I paused before heading through. “If you want, you can come help us fight the thing. Honestly, I’m dreading having to fight this thing.” “Is it that serious though?” My double raised a brow. “Heartless that can fly are seriously a pain to deal with,” I explained with a groan. “And before you ask Luna, no, you can’t help fight this thing.” “Aww, but why not?” Luna whined. “Because you only JUST managed to summon your Keyblade. You need some SERIOUS training before you’re ready to fight anything stronger than a Shadow,” I retorted with a glare. “Majority rules, little sis.” The other Kairi cracked a grin at Luna and ruffled her hair. “Alright, let’s get going,” I sighed. “Knowing Melissa, she’ll be waiting for us with some tech to even the odds.” I quickly step through, followed by Luna. My double along with Fluttershy and Twilight came after us. We emerged into the Gate room, where we were met by Melissa. “About time you got back, I thought you were picking up Luna from school!” she yelled. “I was, we were summoned to her world,” I explained, waving to my double. “I got back as quickly as I could. In any case, if I remember correctly, the Ruler of the Sky is a flying boss. You have anything to even the odds?” “As a matter of fact, I do,” the techie nodded, pulling out some jetpacks. “I made these based off of the jetpacks in Fortnite. They run on the ambient magic of the world, so don’t worry about running out of fuel.” “Great! Would you mind teleporting us to town to deal with it then?” “Of course,” Melissa nodded. “Though I hope you don’t plan on taking Luna and Fluttershy with you. Neither of them can really fight.” “We won’t… Also, you are?” My double asked Melissa. “Melissa Shields, local tech expert and support from The Tower,” Melissa introduces herself, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Basically I make the tech, and make sure its all working, as well as monitor the world for Heartless attacks.” “Ah… Are you a Displaced as well?” My other half wondered. “Yep, though I’ve been here for over a thousand years,” the techie nodded. “But we can discuss this later. We have a Heartless to get rid of. The Element Bearers are holding it off for now, but they won’t be able to last much longer.” “Right, if you would do the honors?” And with that, me, my double, and Twilight found ourselves in the midst of a pitched battle. “Where have you BEEN?!?!?” a yell from my world’s Twilight got our attention. “I’m sorry! I got summoned!” I yelled back, leaping into the air with my jetpack. My double and pony Twilight also activated their jetpacks and leaped into the air to catch up with me. From our vantage point we were able to make out the heartless. It resembled a large, skeletal parrot, its body covered in violet plumage with a jeweled, gold collar around its neck. Its tail was comprised of several skulls linked together, while its wings were comprised of four gold cutlasses with alternating violet and red gems set in their guards. The topmost cutlass in each wing ended in a hook, and none of the cutlasses were actually connected to each other. The Ruler of the Sky's head sported yellow eyes and a jeweled, violet and gold crown with its mouth comprised of a brown treasure chest filled with gold coins with gold lining, and black spikes acting as teeth that the Heartless had clenched in its beak. Its Heartless emblem was on the top of its crown. “Yep, that’s what I thought it was,” I groaned. “This is gonna be a long and tedious fight. Alright, here's what we need to do. First, we need to corner it, and break off its tail, that’ll stun it for a few seconds. Then we need to immobilize it long enough to kill it, meaning we need to make sure it doesn’t move after it recovers from the stun. Rainbow, get some Thunder magic ready. Twilights, if you two can trap it in a shield bubble, we should be able to take it out quickly. Everyone else, take out the smaller heartless rampaging through town.” “You got it!” Rainbow called, electricity crackling along her Keyblade. “Another Keyblade Wielder!?” My double recoiled in shock. “Yeah, it turns out that the Elements of Harmony were Keyblades. So all six of the Element Bearers are Keyblade Wielders. Now less talky, more fighty!” “What’s the plan for me though?” Kairi asked me. “You’re coming with me to ruin this thing’s day!” I yelled as I pushed the throttle to catch up to the Ruler, slamming my Destiny’s Embrace into the tail, causing it to roar in pain. My double summoned her Destiny’s Embrace and slammed it into the other tail. “Now, what do I hit next?” She asked me. “Just keep hitting it until it breaks off,” I shout back. “Hopefully, the Twilights will be able to trap it in a bubble after it’s stunned!” We continued hammering the tails until the Ruler decided that it had had enough, turning and swiping at us with the cutlass wings. We dodged and continued attacking, until. *SHATTER* *ROAR* “Welp, there it goes,” I called, seeing the Ruler fall to the ground on the outskirts of town. “Twilights, NOW!” With that, two purple barriers snapped into existence, pinning the heartless in place, followed by Rainbow firing off numerous lightning projectiles, causing the Ruler to howl in pain. “Alright! Almost got it!” I cheered. “Kairi, would you care to do the honors of finishing it off?” “Hell yeah!” My double raised her Keyblade before slamming it down to the target area. With a final roar, the Ruler of the Skies faded into darkness, as a large crystalline heart floated away. “Phew, nice job, other me!” My double thanked me as we both fist-pumpted in regards to the victory. “Ugh, honestly, I’m surprised it was as easy as it was…” I sighed with a smile. “In any case, lets head back to The Tower.” “Agreed. Can I be honest though - I feel like I love your Kairi design better than mine… dunno why though.” My double admitted. “You and everyone else who played Kingdom Hearts III,” I laughed as we both started flying towards The Tower, followed by her Twilight. *** “Alright, so let me get this straight,” Melissa sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “This Kairi,” she points at my double, “is brand new to the whole Displaced deal, and on top of that, has amnesia. Am I missing anything?” “Other than the fact that I feel so insulted about the whole ‘Displaced’ explanation and being reminded I have amnesia doesn’t help out…” My double admitted and sighed. “OK then,” the techie nods. “Which means that you probably don’t have a Token yet.” “Token?” My double raised a brow. “Right, you should have picked up a star shaped charm made of seashells before summoning Kairi. Played a little message in your head?” My double went silent to think and then remembered. “Oh… oh, yeah! I do remember that.” “That is an example of a Token,” Melissa explained. “The message attached tells you about the person you’re summoning, and then tells you how to summon them. In the case of Kairi here, the method is to say the word ‘light’ while holding it. Make sense?” “I think so… So, I have to come up with my own sentence in order to summon the token?” Kairi asked. “No, no,” the techie shook her head. “You take an item that represents you. Then you attach a message to it while infusing it with magic. After that, it disappears into the Void, to spread itself out through the multiverse, while dropping a copy into your hand.” “Ooh… hmm, that’s going to be hard in creating the item.” “You don’t need to create an item. Anything from your world will do as long as it has some sort of sentimental value attached.” “That’s a problem since Kairi didn’t come with anything of value…” Twilight explained. “I’ve actually known at least one Displaced who used their own weapon as a Token,” I decided to butt into the conversation. “That being said, I wouldn’t use your Keyblade itself, but I would use the keychain attached to the end of your Keyblade.” My other self nodded before thinking. “Hmmm… I suppose the keychain would work out too.” “Alright then, you’ll want to do this in your home world then, otherwise the Token might summon me instead. Melissa, would you mind dialing the Gate back to my double’s world?” The techie narrowed her eyes. “Hang on a sec. I think we need to test her and train her a little before sending her back. We can use the Simulator to do that.” “Hmm, probably a good idea,” I mused. “What do you think, other me?” She shrugged. “Sure, sounds like a good idea. I could go for some more training.” “Alright then, follow me,” I led the group up the stairs to a control room with another door leading into the simulator. Upon entering I called out. “Computer, load simulation Tartarus.” “Acknowledged. Which floor do you wish to start on?” “Floor 1 please.” “Acknowledged. Simulation ready.” The door on the far side of the room opened, revealing the entrance hall of Tartarus. “You know… when you said Tartarus… I expected more of a hellish landscape with fires and demons.” Twilight joked a bit. “You’ve played Ogres and Oubliettes with Spike before, right Twilight?” I asked. Twilight giggled a bit. “We have… speaking of which, Kairi… I have to let you try it when we get back.” She said to my double. “As long as it's easy enough.” My double commented. I nodded. “Think of this like one of the dungeons in the game. It has 263 floors of increasing difficulty, which makes it an excellent training ground. Just be aware, I have already added barriers at certain points that require certain skills to pass. If you don’t have those skills, you’ll have to come back later with the right skill. I’ll set up a Stargate for you on your world so that you can continue later. Any questions?” “Just one - how tough will our opponents be exactly?” My double asked. “We’ll start with Shadows, Soldiers, and similar heartless in the first block, floors 1-16, and when we make it into the next block, they’ll get harder to deal with.” “Right… whelp, I don’t know about you but I’m eager to get started.” My double declared with a grin. I echoed her grin as we stepped into the entrance hall, and climbed the stairs to the first floor. *** 5th Floor “Welcome to the first Boss Floor of Tartarus,” I grinned. “The boss of this floor is the Guard Armor, very simple boss. Take out the limbs, and then target the torso for the kill.” “Gotcha. Should be easy enough to handle!” My double stated and prepared for a fight. *** 10th Floor “Alright, second boss floor. We’ve got the Trickmaster on this floor,” I explained. “You did very well with the Guard Armor, now let's see how you do against a boss that dwarfs you. The Trickmaster is IMMENSELY tall. Its legs are immune to all damage, which means you’ll have to hit the main body. Knock it over, and wreck its day to finish the fight.” “I never expected to learn about so many Heartless in all shapes and forms… So exciting!” Twilight admitted. “We’ll have one more boss before the end of the first block, so if you want to learn about all the big boss heartless, come back with Kairi when she gets the skill to move on.” I smiled at Twilight’s enthusiasm. “In regards to the Trickmaster there’s one more thing you need to watch out for. It periodically sets its weapons on fire, so watch out for that. Ready?” “Ooh, who is he?” Twilight wondered. “Who’s who?” “The Heartless.” Kairi asked. “Oh, I’ll tell you about the last Heartless when we get there,” I replied. “In any case, are you ready for the Trickmaster?” *** 14th Floor “Alright, last boss. The Stealth Sneak,” I explained. “The battle starts with it being invisible. You’ll be able to easily see it as a slight shimmer in the air. After we deal enough damage, it’ll reveal itself. It looks like a very large chameleon. Moves to watch out for are its eye beams, and wind attacks, both of which should be very easy to spot. Any questions?” “Nada. Though I feel like I have seen these bosses before… back before I became Kairi… my memories are on the fritz…” “I’m not surprised,” I nodded. “These are all bosses from the original Kingdom Hearts game. Welp, let's get started!” *** 16th Floor We finally climbed up the last flight of stairs to a floor with half of the room blocked by a wall of darkness. “Well done you two,” I grinned at them. “To get through this door, you need to have a light spell to dispel the wall.” “What sort of light spell exactly?” Kairi wondered. “A light orb spell,” I replied, conjuring an orb of light in my hand. “A simple enough spell to cast, but you need to figure out how to cast it yourself, since everyone casts it differently.” “Ah, okay.” My double nodded and concentrated yet was having a little trouble casting it. Must be trying too hard… “Don’t worry too much about figuring it out now, you’ll be able to come back,” I chuckled. “Computer, save progress and end program.” “Acknowledged.” Tartarus dissolved around us to reveal the door back into the control room. “That was fun. So, what do we do next?” My double wondered. I shrugged. “Well, we take you back home, set up a Stargate for you, and answer any other question you might have.” “Don’t forget about setting her up with a Gummi Phone of her own,” Mellisa chimed in. “Ahh, yes, can’t forget that,” I chuckled. My double’s brows arose. “I get my own… Gummi Phone?” I nodded. “Yep. Its the easiest way for us to keep in contact, not to mention a handy way to use the Stargate.” “Ah, I see… ooh, quick question - is it useful for picking up… chicks?” My double joked much to my surprise. I blinked a moment. “Um… well… I mean…” My spluttering was cut off by Melissa roaring with laughter. “Well played! Well played indeed! But in all seriousness, it can help if you’re trying to *snort* pick up a chick in another world.” “Hmm… do you have a girlfriend, beautiful? I seem to remember a memory in which I was either bisexual or a lesbian in my old life… I wouldn’t mind having a partner.” My double winked at Melissa. Melissa smirked. “Oh my, so shameless. Asking me if I have a girlfriend. Well, I appear to be married to my work, but I’m sure she won’t mind.” My double grinned. “Horny and kinky… I love that in women. Hmm… would you like to go out on a date sometimes?” “Hmm, I’ll have to think about it, call me later about it,” the techie smirked, a glint of light flashing off of her glasses. My double nodded and took her hand gently before kissing it. “I look forward to it, beautiful.” I rolled my eyes. “Yes, yes, shameless flirting aside, how about actually focusing on what we need to do? Hint hint, nudge nudge?” “Right, right, back on track,” Melissa smirked, hands flying over her terminal, before it spat a brand new, pink Gummi Phone into her hand. “There you go, brand new phone, though I think Kairi needs to hold onto it so she can calibrate the Stargate on your world.” “Good call,” I replied with a nod, taking the phone. “Well, everyone back to the Gate room!” We all trooped back down to the Gate room, where I suddenly realized something. “Oh bother, my dou- ugh, you know what, this is getting ridiculous, I’m just gonna call you Mina. Anyway, Mina doesn’t have a Token yet, how are we supposed to dial her world?” My double nodded before she froze. “M-mina…? That’s… My name… I remember my name now! It’s Mina!” I blinked. “You mean to tell me I just guessed your name at random? I just picked a name at random that started with ‘Mi’! Mina nodded. “I know… when you said the name, a small glint of my memory returned… including being called Mina. Sadly, that’s all…” “Huh, well stranger things have happened,” I shrugged. In anycase, how are we going to dial her world?” Melissa tilted her head in thought for a bit. “Well, there is the scanner, you could have her put her hand on it,” she then smirked. “She could certainly lend us… a hand!” I groaned at the bad pun, prompting both me and Luna to pull out a Pun-Gun and zap her with it. “Worth it!” she groaned out as she stopped convulsing from the electric shock. Mina’s jaw dropped and rushed forward to check on Melissa who was on the ground with a grin on her face. “My beloved! Noooooooooo!” “You really gotta, HAND it to me, that was at least a decent joke,” the techie punned again. I glared at her and zapped her again. “Listen up chump, you’ve got a real problem. And its me!” Mina got in front of Melissa. “This cutie will not be harmed!” She declared and summoned Destiny’s Embrace. “Oh don’t worry, I’m just being defi-ant!” she spoke up again with a grin. I narrowed my eyes and zapped her again, then once more for good measure. “I think that's enough pun-ishment,” I said with a grin and salute. Melissa’s eyes widened. “But… But… UGH!” Shortly after, a Melissa ghost floated up, only for me to zap it back into her body. I turned back to Mina. “Oh, put your Keyblade away, she’s not actually hurt. The Pun-Gun isn’t deady in the slightest.” Mina sent me a glare but dismissed her weapon. I rolled my eyes at the glare, pulling out my Gummi Phone, and pulling up a certain clip. “Here watch this. We’re only recreating this scene for fun.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a8Wz5C4fys&ab_channel=RogerRabbit Mina snorted at the video. “Wow… okay, that’s interesting.” Melissa nodded. “In any case, back to the matter at hand. WAIT! That wasn’t a pun! *sigh* Any way, we can scan Mina’s hand, and the Gate should register which coordinates to dial in.” I glared at her a moment, Pun-Gun poised, before putting it away. “OK, that sounds like it’ll work.” “This won’t hurt, right?” Mina asked. “Does putting your hand on a table hurt?” Melissa asked rhetorically. “In all seriousness though, if anything its a bit cold to the touch. Completely harmless.” She went and pressed a few buttons on the DHD, allowing the scanner to pop out on the side. “All ready, just place your hand here, and we can get this show on the road.” Mina nodded and placed her hand on the scanner. The Gate whired to life, the inner ring spinning to the various symbols that represented inter-universal coordinates, before the portal whooshed into existence. “Alright, this should put us right back where we were when we came through,” I nodded, gesturing for Mina, Twilight and Fluttershy to follow me through. They did but Twilight had a question. “How scary is the Gate?” I raised an eyebrow. “We used it earlier to get here. You tell me.” “Ooh… nevermind. I’m just yapping like an idiot.” Twilight apologized. “No worries,” I replied, stepping through the Gate, watching the familiar sight of stars and galaxies pass me as we traveled through the wormhole. “Wow… this is… wow.” Twilight admitted - awe was all over her face. I chuckled as I stepped onto the grass of Mina’s world. “It is rather amazing, isn’t it? I’ve traveled through so many times now, it's just part of the scenery.” Mina nodded. “Whelp, I guess we’re finally home. Oh, Kairi… can I ask you a question? A private one… it’s important.” She spoke. “Sure,” I shrugged. We both walked away from Twilight and Fluttershy so it would be getting some privacy. “So, what’s on your mind, other me?” I chuckled at the joke. “Kairi… I was wondering… about Kairi - what exactly is her affiliation? Devoted to the light or the darkness?” Her question caught me off guard. “Um, well, in the games she’s, as you put it, ‘devoted to the light’, but its a bit more complicated than that,” I explained. “I may have mentioned before that Kairi is a Princess of Heart. This essentially means that she has a heart of pure light. That doesn’t necessarily mean she’s devoted to the light, anymore than a heart of pure darkness is devoted to the darkness. It all comes down to the choices we make.” Mina nodded as she crossed her arms. “Well… since I’m playing the role of this ‘Kairi’; I feel like I’m gonna step up my game if I’m gonna defeat the Vanitas look alike… hmm, I could channel the light and darkness together to try and accomplish something. Say, is it… nah, it’s a taboo question and it will be ridiculous.” She admitted. “No, no, go ahead,” I shook my head. “I’m willing to answer any question, even the ones that seem taboo. Though I will say, you probably won’t be able to use darkness magic. As I said, Kairi is predisposed to light magic. The only reason I’m able to use it is because it's not darkness magic. Its called Shadow Dragon Slayer magic.” Mina sighed. “I see… hmm, basically the reason I’m asking this is because it might be a weird one… but - let me just pose a question - the figure wears a type of organic armor in the form of a bodysuit right?” “Yyeess…” I nodded, wondering where she was going with this. “Well… if she used a dark bodysuit as armor… what if… what if I made a light bodysuit as armor?” Mina asked. Now it clicked. “Ahh, I see. Well, you can, but it won’t come out as a bodysuit. What you’re describing is called Keyblade Armor. Every Keyblade wielder can summon it, though I will admit that I haven’t personally figured it out yet.” Mina nodded. “Gotcha… hmm, but what if it doesn’t turn out to be armor though?” I shrugged. “There’s nothing in the original lore of the game about it, so it could be anything. But from what I’ve seen, those of the dark have the bodysuit, while those of the light have proper armor. My personal headcanon is that the bodysuit is a corrupted version, therefore making them unable to fully manifest, whereas the armor is the complete, uncorrupted version.” I shook my head. “But we can discuss this more once I start getting your Stargate set up. Where do you want me to set it up? Just make sure its a place that’s easily defensible, and easily hidden. You don’t want someone stumbling on it by accident.” “Hmmm… any ideas on where to set it up though? I’m stumped.” Mina admitted. I nodded. “Well, a friend of mine has hers set up in the ruins of the Palace of the Two Sisters, specifically in a secret chamber she created. I’m sure we can do something similar.” “Hmmm… Ooh, well - what about a place where Kairi enjoys being around?” Mina suggested. “Uumm, that’s not gonna work,” I say slowly. “Kairi’s original world is the Destiny Islands, and is in a video game. This world is basically like the TV show My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, two very different entities from each other.” “Ah… hmmm, I guess somewhere big but quiet?” Mina suggested. “You know, I have plenty of big empty rooms in my castle,” Twilight chimed in as we got closer. “And you just want to study the Gate, don’t you?” I deadpanned. “Well, I mean, yes,” the purple unicorn admitted. “Anything else?” Mina wondered. Twilight nodded. “About that armor thing you mentioned, Kairi- I mean, Mina… this might be silly but I think I can do something like that.” She explained. I raised an eyebrow. “How so?” “I have extensive knowledge in building and one of the books can provide information. If we’re lucky we can have it built today. What do you think, Kairi?” Twilight asked my double. Mina shrugged. “Anything to up the battle with the Vanitas look alike.” I pursed my lips. “Most of the time, the armor is formed by magic, but this’ll be a good crutch until you can figure out how to summon your own. I’ll even add some spells that’ll improve its darkness resistance.” Mina nodded. “Alright. Let’s build ourselves an armor!” She declared with a grin. Kairi chuckled. “We can get to that after I start setting up the Gate. Twilight, would you please lead the way?” Twilight nodded and led us ahead to our destination. “I assume you have a particular room you want the Gate setup in?” I asked with a look around the large crystalline castle. “Remember, it needs to be rather large and easily hidden.” “Well… I have been experimenting with portal teleportation and in one such instance I created an arena of sorts based on a design somewhere… It’s called… ‘Mirage’ something.” Twilight explained. “Wait a moment, you’re telling me that you accidentally created the Mirage Arena?!?!?” I gasped, eyes widening. “If that’s the case, that would be the perfect place to set it up!” “Mirage Arena?” Mina raised a brow. I nodded. “Basically a large arena created to test Keyblade Wielders years ago. I doubt there’s anything programmed into the computer, if you accidentally created it, but it’ll still make a good sparring arena, or, in this case, a perfect place to set up a Stargate!” Mina nodded slowly. “Hopefully it should be a well suited place to set up the Stargate.” “Well, there’s only one way to find out, lead on Purple Smart!” I replied with a smirk. Twilight sent me a look that said ‘Oh, you are so dead!’ before leading us onward to an area where it was deemed safe to teleport to the Mirage Arena. We appeared in a large, mostly hollow, blue sphere floating in space. There were several small, flashing electrical towers on the outer surface, as well a very large version of the same type of tower and a thin, grey tower. At the bottom of the sphere was a grey, triangular shape, while at the top is a large, saucer-like structure with cables running underneath. The structure was surrounded by two concentric rings that constantly rotate about the sphere. The rings had circuitry running along the outer edge, and a pattern of triangles on the inner edge. There were also ghostly rings around the bottom of the sphere and another half-ring running around the center of the structure. “Well, it certainly looks like the Mirage Arena,” I mused as I looked around. Mina looked around the area as well. “Huh… interesting design. So, Key Bearers come here to train?” “Usually,” I nodded. “But like I said, since it was created accidentally, I doubt anything is programmed into the computer. In fact, we can use that computer as the DHD for the Stargate!” “Speaking of Stargate… could we use it to come here and train as well?” Mina wondered. “Bad idea, the Stargate is designed for travel between worlds, not travel between places on a world,” I explained. “Not only that, I’m not willing to mess with any of the settings, since the last time someone tampered with a Stargate, a planet blew up. Though, admittedly, that was a TV show.” Mina nodded slowly. “Oh… well, I guess we’ll just transport here via Twilight’s spell?” “Safest thing to do,” I nodded in agreement, before walking up to the computer terminal. “Well, it looks like I was right about the computer not having anything programmed in. I’ll just connect my phone, start the synthesis app, and we can leave it for an hour.” Mina and Twilight nodded. “So, what do we do in that time though?” Mina wondered. “Well, you said you wanted to get started on that armor, didn’t you?” “I do,” Mina nodded. “Then why don’t we head to a forge and get started?” I grinned. “I’ve never forged anything, but I can enchant things pretty well.” Mina nodded as well and grinned. “Ooh, my very own armor. I feel like… like if I was a red-head disciplinarian with a giant sword.” She joked. I blinked. “That’s… Oddly specific.” Mina raised a brow. “Really? What brought that on?” “Not sure,” I shrugged. “But I feel like that’s a reference to something, not sure what though.” Mina and Twilight shared a glance but both shrugged. It was then that I realized what my double was talking about… now I remembered - Erza Scarlet! I chuckled upon making that realization. “Now I remember. Remind me to show you some of my anime if we’re done with your armor before the Gate is done.” “Sure… any other series besides that anime?” Twilight asked curiously. “Plenty!” I replied, a glint in my eyes. “But right now, we need to start work on the armor. You do have a forge, right?” “Twilight?” Mina asked Twilight who nodded and teleported them to an area where a forging equipment was set up. Turns out we were still in the arena. “Huh, convenient.” I muttered. “Twilight, you’re the one who studied the books on forging, how about you take the lead?” Twilight nodded and used her magic to prepare the tools. “Kai- No. I’ll stick with Mina from now on - Mina, any color scheme in mind?” “Let’s start by focusing on the armor first… and then the color scheme.” Mina told us. “Not to mention, the spells I plan to use for enchanting the armor may or may not permanently color your armor,” I added. Mina nodded. “Exactly. Shall we get started?” *** “Well that took a bit less time than I expected,” I said in surprise, looking down at the armor we had created. My eyes were astonished - it was just like an exact copy of Aqua’s Keyblade Armor but for Kairi’s size… minus the shoes. Guess she will be using her sneakers. “Well now, time for the spells. Any questions before I get started?” “Nope.” Mina shook her head. I nodded, drawing on my magic. I focused on the armor as I began channeling the magic into the armor, imbuing it with both my natural Light magic, as well as my Shadow Dragon Slayer magic. The combination of magic allowed for a high defense against darkness, not to mention making it nigh indestructible. Finally, as the magic began to crest, the armor took on a distinct rose hue, with gold and brown highlights. “That ought to do it,” I said with a smile. Mina whistled. “I dig it… the color scheme and design.” She admitted with a grin. “In that case, we still have some time before the Stargate is done. Allow me to introduce you to the world of Fairy Tail.” I nodded, pulling out my laptop from… somewhere. Huh, never been able to do THAT before. “Wow! What’s that?” Twilight wondered. “A laptop,” I replied. “Basically a smaller, more portable version of what’s over there. It also happens to be able to connect to the internet of my old world, making it much easier to watch the show.” “Ooh! Sounds… futuristic!” Twilight was in awe. “Not really,” I shrugged. “You’re actually almost to that point technologically yourselves. Anyway, let's get to the show!” I quickly set up my laptop, pulling up the very first episode of Fairy Tail. ***Roughly 20 minutes later*** “You said you wanted to join the Fairy Tail guild, didn’t you?” Natsu asked Lucy on the laptop screen. “So let’s go!” Lucy grinned as the ending music began to play, and the Rune Knights chasing the trio. “Alright!” And that was the end of the episode. “...My god… this is… I’m just… wow.” Mina commented - from the sounds of her voice, she was impressed. “Yep,” I grinned. “That was pretty much my reaction to the show when I first saw it.” “I have to admit I’m impressed as well - a world filled with mages and unlimited magic! It’s a dream come true.” Twilight was in awe again. I chuckled again at her enthusiasm. “Well, I do believe the Stargate is complete. Before I go, do you want help making your Token, or can you handle it on your own?” “Some help would be appreciated.” Twilight told me and my double nodded. I nodded. “Alright, summon your Keyblade and remove the keychain that’s near the hilt.” Mina nodded and summoned Destiny’s Embrace before removing the keychain. “Now what?” “Hold it in your hand, and focus your magic into it,” I continued. “And while you do that, say the message you want attached to it out loud.” Mina nodded and held it as tight as she could before focusing. Then the following words came out from her mouth: Heed my call, hero or heroine! If you ever need a hand, just summon me using my token and conjure my following message! In a flash of light, I shall come to assist thee! I nodded with a grin as the charm vanished into a portal. “Very nice! Now give it a second, and it should reappear, about… now.” And as I predicted, the charm fell out of another portal right into her hand. What I didn’t predict was another portal appearing near me and dropping another charm into my hand. “Huh, convenient. Anyway, let me summon my Token from where we originally were so you don’t lose it.” I summoned my own Destiny’s Embrace as I pocketed the newly created Token, and used my magic to summon my Token from the grass before handing it to Mina. “Thanks. Just one more thing - actually, two more.” Mina told me. “Shoot.” “One - do you have a laptop with unlimited power and Two - Fairy Tail and other favorite animes if possible to watch whenever I’m bored.” Mina explained her demands. I burst out laughing. “HAHAHAH! W-well, yeah, I do, HAHAH, I wasn’t expecting that!” Twilight giggled a bit. “Me neither. But I do want to watch this ‘anime’ - it sounds interesting.” I quickly get a hold of myself, my grin of amusement never leaving my face. “Well, I do happen to have a secondary laptop that you can have. Just don’t look in the file marked MLP. Don’t want to give any foreknowledge after all.” Twilight raised a brow as did my double. Oops, too much information sharing… “Right, gonna have to delete that quick…” I muttered, pulling out my spare laptop. Seriously, how do I keep doing that? Ahh, something to puzzle out later, need to delete the MLP folder. After doing so, I handed the laptop to my counterpart. “Alright, it's all set.” Mina took it and nodded. “What animes did you install there besides Fairy Tail?” I grinned. “Nothing. I did mention that its connected to my world’s internet, right? Well you can go find whatever you want to watch through that. I also installed some firewalls, just in case.” “Roger… we just need some names though.” Mina told me. “I would recommend My Hero Academia, Dimension W, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Death Parade to get you started. I’d also recommend just browsing around to find something you like.” Mina nodded. “Alright… seems like everything is in order. Melissa’s number is in the Gummi Phone right?” She asked. My eyes widened. “I knew I was forgetting something. Yes, her number is programmed in. I just need to connect your phone to the Stargate to add the recall app.” I quickly strode over to the Gate, plugging it into the computer console to get the app before tossing it to Mina. “Now, I already gave you one warning about the Gate, but I’ll go over everything quick so you don’t so something you’re not supposed to.” I pointed at a small tray on the computer console. “To dial another Displaced’s world, place their Token on this tray, the Gate will do the rest. Do not stand directly in front of the Gate while dialing the Gate, believe me, you do not want to have the top half of your demolecularized. You’ll end up dead if that happens. If the Gate’s portal is kinda cloudy, don’t go through, you’ll end up lost in time somewhere. Finally, as I said before, DO NOT TAMPER with any of the Gate’s functions. There are fail-safes in place, but you could still accidentally destroy the planet if you ignore those failsafes.” Mina and Twilight froze. “Destroy the planet? As in actual destruction!?” Mina asked in a horrified tone. I nodded. “As soon as you can, look up the first episode of Stargate Universe to see what I mean.” Twilight and Mina nodded before Twilight came to a decision. “It’s best I do the whole ‘Stargate’ thing... “ I nodded, before gesturing to the Gate. “In that case, would you mind dialing my world? I’d like to go home now.” Twilight nodded, taking the Token from Mina in her magic and placing it on the tray, beginning the Gate’s dialing sequence. “Oh, Kairi… before you go - I had a check-in of Kairi… and well - two names made me curious: Who on Earth are the cute blonde in a dress and the spiky-haired boy with a Keyblade?” Mina smirked and showed me the pictures on the back-up laptop. I chuckled. “The blonde is Naminé, Kairi’s Nobody, and the spiky-haired boy is Sora. I’ll let you figure out exactly who they are.” The Gate’s wormhole finished forming as I said this. “And that’s my que. It's been fun Mina. Until next time, and May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key.” I finished with a deep oriental style bow. “Hmmm… cool quote. Same to you, Kairi - may your Heart be your Guiding Key.” Mina wished me. With a smile I turned and stepped back through the Gate. *** (Mina’s POV) After my double had returned back to her proper home, I stretched my arms a little bit before looking at Twilight. “That was… an educating experience.” Twilight nodded. “Agreed… on the plus side, we know a couple of things about you - your name is Mina. Your character is from a game series called Kingdom Hearts… and Dmetri called you a ‘Displaced’.” She told me and I nodded. “And we have some proper defense against the Vanitas wannabe now.” I pointed at the armor while Twi gave me a nod. Just then, our stomachs growled and we realised that thanks to my double popping up we couldn’t get anything to eat. “Well, I don’t know about you but I’m hungry. Back to the library, Mina?” Twilight asked and I nodded. Twilight powered up her horn and teleported us away. We were going to come back here a little later and explore but first some anime watching and that Stargate thing Kairi mentioned. Things were picking up very fast… and I couldn’t wait! *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. This chapter has a crossover with SoulboundAlchemist's fanfiction - May your Heart be your Guiding Key! Be sure to check it out! Song used in this chapter: Ready To by Studio Yuraki: https://youtu.be/HC3jMzYPHwE
Chapter 14 – An Investigation Begins…*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulls out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* Chapter 14 – An Investigation Begins… I won’t bore you with the details of how the rest of my day went after we finished up with the whole ‘Adventure with Kairi 2.0’ – all I could tell you was that I wanted to get something to eat, watch the first episode of Stargate Universe and then head off to bed. In the dreamscape, I explained the situation to Princess Luna who was both amused and intrigued by the whole thing – but the attention was directed to the parallel version of Equestria. I reflected on my conversation with Luna in my dreamscape. “A parallel Equestria? Sounds interesting, young Kairi.” “It was a surprise to me as well. Were you aware of it…?” “Not really… though I don’t deny the multiverse theory. I presume you know what that is, correct?” “A theory in which there exist a number of parallel universes in our Solar System.” “Correct.” “Is it possible that there are more universes than ours and my double’s?” “It’s possible – not yet proven but possible. We’d best keep our eye out for any signs. So, what else did you discuss with your double?” “A lot of things but the good news is I’ve learned what my real name is – Mina. Nothing else comes to mind from my memories.” “I see… should I refer to you as Mina or Kairi from now on though?” “Whichever you decide, Princess. I won’t mind.” “Hmmm. I’ll keep calling you Kairi.” “Of course. Anyways, after the adventure ended – Twilight and I came back, watched an episode from my double’s spare laptop, tested out my Keyblade armor, ate and then headed off to bed. So, yeah… it’s been quite a ride.” “I’ll say. It sounds like you and Twilight Sparkle had a good time in the parallel Equestria. I hope I do get to meet your double and this alternate version of myself… and bonk Celestia in the head.” “I’ll see what I can do to introduce you… How are things on your end? Any luck with tracking down the Vanitas wannabe?” “The who?” “The masked figure. According to my double, she calls her a ‘Vanitas wannabe’.” “Weird name but I won’t question it. As for your answer, no luck so far. She moves around from one area to another. No matter how effective my tracking spells are, I just can’t seem to pinpoint her exact location.” “I see… so she did disappear again after we fought her off.” “Your double and you?” “Yep.” “I see. I’ll keep trying to track her down as best I can… no promises.” “Very well… What about your sister though? Can’t she help up out?” “I… To be honest, Kairi – something is very wrong with Celestia.” “How so?” “She is acting out of character and whenever I bring up the issue involving the Heartless and the masked figure, she just tells me that everything will be alright. It’s almost as if she’s being calm about this whole ordeal.” “Maybe she’s just being under a lot of stress?” “I’m not certain.” “What do we do?” “I’ll keep an eye on my sister and see what exactly is wrong with her behavior. In the meantime, keep this to yourself.” “But… Shouldn’t I tell Twilight this? She deserves to know.” “And she will know… but for now we need to know more about this. Keep fighting the Heartless if any appear on our land. I’ll start my own inquiry as to why my sister is acting the way she is now.” “I… But…” “Kairi… please trust me. We’ll explain everything to Twilight but once we have a better understanding of the situation. I’m still not entirely sure what is the matter with my sister.” “…Very well. I’ll do my best to keep my trap shut. I just hope you know what you’re doing, Princess.” And that was it. The question that remained for the rest of the night was – how was I going to keep everything that Luna requested a secret from Twilight? I wanted to tell my friend that there was something wrong with Celestia… It’s not that I didn’t trust Princess Luna but sometimes we have to come clean with the truth and live with the consequences. What am I supposed to do now… Tell Twilight the truth or keep my mouth shut until the princess figures things out? Ugh, this is going to give me a headache. Night had passed quickly into morning and soon I was at the table enjoying some breakfast alongside Fluttershy who was asking how I’m doing so far. “Still sleepy.” I answered and blocked out a yawn. My breakfast was scrambled eggs and some toast while Fluttershy ate some oatmeal. “You didn’t sleep well?” Fluttershy asked but I shook my head. “Nah, I slept well… just… having a lot on mind at the moment. About yesterday and my double.” I answered, half-lie and half-truth. “Ah, I see.” I nodded and continued to eat my eggs. My mind was still on what to do about Twilight and keeping the secret about her mentor. “What’s your plan for today, Flutters?” I asked. Fluttershy placed a hoof on her chin to think. “I plan to feed my animals and head into town to buy some food. What about you?” “I’ll be… training, I guess. Not sure yet.” I answered with a shrug. In truth, I had no plans for today. All except for training and whatnot… might give me a chance to see how tough my armor can be. And if the Heartless show up, I’ll be on stand-by to prevent the attack. Once breakfast was over, Fluttershy wished me goodbye and left the house. Whelp, time to get started on my training regiment. I think I’ll try with some trees in the backyard. Activating my armor, I stepped outside via the backdoor and walked to a nice secluded area where I wouldn’t be disturbed. Summoning my Keyblade, I began hitting a couple of trees in their weak spots. Besides training my physical attacks, I also used magic in my arsenal - fire and ice. I had gotten the hang of using the spells and was casting them without any problems whatsoever. Speaking of that, a new mental note was written in my head to ask Twilight for other types of spells. My small training regiment lasted for nearly an hour and soon I collapsed onto the ground while in my armor. I feel so tired all of a sudden… is it because of the armor or the fact I was wearing myself down due to attacking the trees? Dismissing the armor away, I wiped some sweat off my face and felt lighter - yep, it’s definitely my protective attire. It’s taking some of the energy out of my body… although it's nothing I can’t handle. Laying on the ground for the next couple of minutes, I contemplated my next course of action - continue with some training or find something else to do… As I slowly got up and stretched my arms, I started to walk away only to feel a familiar set of glowing eyes watching me from the bushes. Oh, fuck! Heartless! Summoning the Keyblade, I immediately blocked an attack from… a wolf Heartless? Several more came out of the bushes and started to incircle me. Not good… I better get back in my armor now! Donning it quickly, I got into position as the wolves prepared to scratch my arm or bite me. Luckily, the armor protected me. With the Keyblade in my hands, I easily eliminated the wolf-like Heartless yet wasn’t ready to dismiss my weapon yet. More Heartless would be showing up soon and I had to prepare for when they showed up. A quick check on the armor for any scratches or dents… so far, there were none. Good to know… guess my double really made this indestructible. Soon, the second wave of Heartless had arrived as I prepared my Keyblade. These ones were dressed like knights with swords. What an irony - knights were supposed to be chivalrous and brave… yet instead I’m facing off against monsters that were shaped like them. I’m sure there’s a silver lining to this somewhere. Nonetheless I pressed on and battled the knight-styled Heartless. Some of them slashed the armor but it didn’t cause any cracks… lucky me. After that I began casting Fire at a couple of them along with combining physical attacks. Eventually, the Heartless had been vanquished and I let out a sigh of relief. I was lucky that I had my armor to keep me safe otherwise I’d be back in the bed and waiting for someone to wake me up. Dismissing my armor, I let out a soft sigh before standing up. I think it’s high time I begin to track down the Vanitas wannabe… find out who she really is and what her connection is to me. For this mission though, I headed straight for the library to ask for Twilight’s help. Have to remember not to mention anything about her mentor since Luna’s still handing her own brand of investigation. (Few minutes later - Golden Oaks Library…) “Wait, wait, wait… you wanna do what?” Twilight asked me for what was probably the upteenth time. When I arrived, I found her going through some books on different worlds and alternative dimensions… possibly due to the arrival of my double. I didn’t question it and just moved onto the main topic at hand. “You heard me right, Twi. I’m heading off to investigate any possible signs of where the Vanitas wannabee might be located.” Twilight just blinked and stared at me as if I was crazy. “Pardon my yelling, Kairi… but are you crazy!?!?!?” I rubbed my ears due to how loud Twilight was. “I’m not crazy. I’m being serious… someone has to find out what her intentions are and get to the bottom of this mystery. Plus, I’m the one who has the Keyblade.” I reminded her. Twilight just shook her head. “It’s still too dangerous for you, Kairi. You can’t just go off on your own and explore. What if you run into the female Vanitas and get yourself killed? How will I explain that to Fluttershy?” “Okay… First of all, relax - I’ll be fine. I have the Keyblade with me and I trained with you yesterday. Second, I’ll just be investigating… nothing more. I won’t get into any trouble, Twi. Relax.” I assured her. But sadly she wasn’t having any of it. “No. Kairi, you aren’t going… not alone at least. I’ll come with you.” “Are you sure? It’s going to be dangerous.” I reminded her yet she was adamant in her decision, as told by the serious expression on her face. Having no energy in my brain left to argue and protest, I just resigned to her decision and nodded. “Very well.” Twilight was satisfied with my reply. “Good. We’ll leave in the morning. First though, we’ll have to think of a place where the female Vanitas could be hiding.” A good point with one minor complication - we don’t know where to look first. Might need a map for this… “Okay, two things - one, we need a map to determine all of the places in which she might strike next. The second is a location - where exactly could she be heading next?” I told Twilight who nodded and went to fetch a map. Let’s hope that Lady Luck will be with us once the investigation begins tomorrow… and help us find out where the Vanitas wannabe will be striking next. Here’s to hoping we’ll be victorious in the end! *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author’s Notes: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story.
Chapter 15 - The Key to Origins: My R*The opening intro begins as a shadowy figure watches the sunrise over the horizon with a key-shaped weapon in her hands.* *Boom goes the dynamite, Feels like I'm taking flight…* *The sun rises high in the air as it dissolves the shadow surrounding the mysterious figure.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *The shadowy figure is revealed to be Kairi who stands on a cliff and awaits for the day to begin. As the sun rises, she flicks her hair a bit and smiles before jumping down to start the day as the current scene ends.* *Everything is magical, Anything is possible…* *A new scene shows Kairi and her pony friends fighting against the unknown black creatures known as the Heartless.* *Alright, alright, alright…* *A couple of Heartless appear behind Fluttershy before jumping in the air to attack them only for Twilight Sparkle to use her horn to blast them away.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Oooh! I'm gonna get it…* *Rainbow Dash and Applejack both combine their skills and powers to take down as few Heartless – mainly Rainbow using her wings while Applejack her lasso.* *Oooh! Feels so electric, Alright, alright, alright…* *Rarity uses her horn on some of the creatures while Pinkie Pie pulls out her cannon to shoot some Heartless.* *I am who I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be!* *In the end, Kairi struck down the last of the creatures before staring at the moon at the night sky as the scene ended.* *I am moving to the beat! Moving to the beat! Moving to the beat!* *The next scene shows Midnight-Vanitas in her temporary hideout as she spies on Kairi and the ponies via a special kind of mirror projector.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *Midnight-Vanitas turns off the projection before taking off her masked helmet just as the scene is completely shadowed and only her evil light purple eyes are shown before closing.* *I am… Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be! Who, I wanna be… I am!* *A new scene shows Kairi in casual clothes and Twilight Sparkle exploring the city of Manehatten while Midnight-Vanitas spies on them via a rooftop.* *I'm a, I'm a go-getter, I'm on that trendsetter… Alright, alright, alright!* *Smiling underneath her masked helmet, she looked away from them before staring at the big building in the far distance – The Public Mall. A trap was set for them over there as the scene ended.* *See me in the headlines! I am one of a kind! Making' everything shine… Alright, alright!* *The next scene shows Kairi and Twilight taking on the Heartless inside the Public Mall while Midnight-Vanitas awaits in the shadows to make her move.* *I am who I wanna be, Who, I wanna be, Who, I wanna be!* *Once the Heartless are all gone, Midnight comes out of the shadows to challenge Kairi and Twilight.* *I am moving to the beat… Moving to the beat… Moving to the beat (oooh)!* *Kairi and Midnight’s Keyblades clash together while Twilight charges her horn to attack the masked female from behind. As the intro song nears to an end, the scene dissolves.* *I'm a strong individual, feelin' that power! I'm so original, you sing it louder!* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends getting ready to take a picture together with smiles on their faces. Photo Finish tells them to get into position before snapping the photo.* *I am… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be… Who, I wanna be…* *The song reaches its end as the words: Embrace your Destiny! – appear in yellowish-white. Leaning on them is a confident and smiling Kairi with her Keyblade at the ready!* *I AM!* (TRIGGER WARNING! TRIGGER WARNING! MENTIONS OF RAPE AND SUICIDE! READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!) Chapter 15: The Key to Origins: My R “You know,” I mused as we stepped out of the Stargate. “Now that we’re back from the party, I’m gonna have to step up our training.” “Why’s that?” Haley asked. “Because you declined having your magic tested at the exam,” I retorted with a roll of my eyes. “Because you still haven’t figured out how to switch forms quickly, because your magic is still unstable. Take your pick.” “Well that’s not my fault,” the girl pouted. “Yes it is!” everyone in the room shouted. I would have gone on, but Melissa’s phone rang. “Excuse me for a moment,” the techie turned around, pulling out the phone. “Melissa here… Uh-huh… sure… Alright, go ahead and dial it up, we’ll see you in a minute.” After hanging up, she turned back to us. “Mina wants to come by to hang out, and maybe train a little more, so, let’s not stand in front of the Gate.” “Good call,” I nodded as the inner ring of the Gate began to turn. Stepping to the side, we watched as the portal opened, and Mina stepped through. “Kairi!” Mina yelled in joy. I smiled at the greeting. “Hey Mina, I take it you’re ready to continue up Tartarus? Or are you here to hang out?” “Continue up Tartarus and then hang out. Maybe both at the same time.” She joked. I nodded with an impish grin. “Alright then, I hope you’re ready to tell Twilight about the Heartless you encounter when you get back.” “Oh, definitely… in fact we planned to start an investigation soon.” “Vanitas wannabe?” I asked. She nodded. “Yep. The sooner we learn where she is, the better we can stop her. Also if I might inquire…?” I raised an eyebrow. “Go on,” She grinned. “How’s lovely Melissa doing? I sure hope she hasn’t been too upset about me returning back to my own Equestria.” “You know, you could always ask me directly,” a grinning techie stood behind my younger doppelganger. “Much more polite that way.” Mina’s grin didn’t fade. “Well, it's true. I can always ask the source… also, here’s a little gift from me.” She walked over to Melissa and kissed her cheek. The girl’s grin faded a bit, but didn’t disappear. “Heh, I guess you did miss me.” “Nope. Never. I can’t leave a cutie like you alone.” With a suspiciously sad smile, Melissa just shook her head. “Well, I probably shouldn’t keep you from your training, I’ll go get the sim set up.” Mina noticed the smile straight away. “Melissa… what’s wrong?” The techie shook her head. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” I frowned. “Melissa, this isn’t nothing, that much is obvious. Is this something to do with your past?” “No, really, it’s noth-” “Melissa, we’re your friends,” I cut her off. “Whatever it is, it’s hurting you, and we want to be there for you.” Melissa sighed. “Alright, follow me, but Haley, I want you to go set up the sim. I don’t know you as well as Kairi and Luna. Mina, you’re welcome to come along as well.” She then turned and led us deeper into the tower. We followed the techie to an elevator, where she pressed a button marked “TC”. We rode up to the very top of the tower and stepped out into a smaller version of the Simulator. “This is my Trauma Cell,” Melissa explained softly. “Trauma Cell?” Mina asked worriedly. She nodded. “Yes. That’s what I call it anyway. It contains memories… Painful memories…” She sighed, pressing one of the buttons on one of the consoles. Immediately, the room transformed into the rooftop of a Japanese style building. “I guess the best way to explain is to start here,” the techie sighed from where she stood, but it wasn’t the same girl. She stood a full head shorter, wearing a yellow cardigan, with her bright red hair up in twin braids. Her glasses, however, remained the same. “My old name was Hikari Kagami, a regular, Japanese, schoolgirl.” I nodded. “OK, two things. Actually, make it three things. Why have you gone to so much trouble hiding your past when I never met you before? Why are we on a roof, and most importantly, how are we on a roof?” With another sigh, Melissa turned away from us. “Believe it or not, I do actually have a tie to you. This is all a hologram, much like the Simulator, and as for why here…” She took in a deep, shuddering breath as another girl roughly the same height, with black, braided hair appeared by the railing as Melissa began to sing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX7kvYrL6lQ “Just as I was about to take my shoes, Off on the rooftop, there I see A girl with braided hair here before me, Despite myself, I go and scream ‘Hey, don’t do it please!’” The girl at the railing stiffened, then turned to face Melissa as the music picked up. Luna turned away from the scene, a tear trailing down her cheek as she remembered this same presentation from a thousand years ago. “Whoa, wait a minute what did I just say? I couldn’t care less either way To be honest, I was somewhat pissed This was an opportunity missed The girl with braided hair told me her woes You’ve probably heard it all before ‘I really thought that he might be the one But then he told me he was done.’” Melissa grit her teeth as she walked up to the girl and gripped her arms. “For God’s sake, please! Are you serious I just can’t believe That for some stupid reason you got here before me Are you upset ‘cause you can’t have what you wanted? You’re lucky that you’ve never gotten robbed of anything!” The girl smiled, before turning to the stairs. “’I’m feeling better thank you for listening’ The girl with braided hair then disappeared.” Time seemed to rapidly progress as Mina and I just stared in shock. Please don’t be going where I think its going was the thought running through both our heads. “’Alright, today’s the day!’ or so I thought Just as I took both of my shoes off There was but a girl short as can be Despite myself, I go and scream The petite girl told me her woes You’ve probably heard it all before ‘Everyone ignores me, everyone steals I don’t fit in with anyone here’” Melissa pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration before glaring at the petite girl. “For God’s sake, please! Are you serious I just can’t believe That for some stupid reason you got here before me ‘Cause even so, you’re still loved by everyone at home There’s always dinner waiting on the table, you know!” The girl looked down in shame as she turned to the stairs. “’I’m hungry’ said the girl as she shed a tear The girl short as can be then disappeared.” Melissa closed her eyes, bowing her head. “And like that, there was someone every day I listened to their tale I made them turn away And yet there was no one who would do this for me No way I could let out all this pain.” Mina and I were openly crying now, as we watched a series of images where Melissa, or rather, Hikari, managed to stop multiple suicides. But as we watched, she seemed to become more and more depressed. “For the very first time, there I see Someone with the same pains as me Having done this time and time again She wore a yellow cardigan ‘I just wanna stop the scars that grow Every time that I go home That’s why I came up here instead’ That’s what the girl in the cardigan said Whoa, wait a minute what did I just say? I couldn’t care less either way But in the moment I just screamed Something that I could not believe ‘Hey, don’t do it please!’” Melissa fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face as she screamed. “Agh what to do? I can’t stop this girl, oh this is new For once I think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew But even so please just go away so I can’t see Your pitiful expression is just too much for me!” The girl in the yellow cardigan seemed to sigh as she turned to the stairs. “’I guess today is just not my day’ She looked away from me and then she disappeared.” My eyes widened as another day dawned on the roof, this time no one there. “There’s no one here today, I guess it’s time It’s just me, myself, and I There’s no one who can interfere No one to get in my way here.” Melissa stepped to the edge of the roof, shoes discarded behind her, as it clicked in my mind “Taking off my yellow cardigan.” Every girl she talked down, “Watching my braids all come undone.” Was a version, “This petite girl, short as can be.” Of her. “Is gonna jump now and be free.” I stared in shock for a few seconds as the hologram faded away. Something was nagging me though. “Melissa…” I hesitated, before forging ahead. “When you said earlier that ‘you’re lucky that you’ve never gotten robbed of anything,’ you weren’t… well…” “Raped?” Melissa finished quietly. “Yes, I was.” Mina gasped and walked slowly towards her before letting her hand touch Melissa’s. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Melissa snorted, turning back to the console on the wall. “Why do you think? It was one of the things that led to my suicide. I didn’t plan to explain ANY of this!” I sighed as I walked up to her. “I don’t blame you for not telling us, but why did you decide to tell us? You didn’t have to after all.” The techie blushed. “Well, it's that time of the month. I’m not really thinking rationally right now.” Mina raised a brow. “Not thinking rationally?” Melissa’s blush deepened. “I’m being impulsive and moody, OK?” “Oh…” Now it was Mina’s turn to blush. I gave a light chuckle. “That explains your little ‘cello-off’ earlier.” “Hey! That was fun, and you know it!” Melissa retorted. Mina just whistled innocently. Melissa glanced over, before sighing. “I’m gonna need a bit of time to get my equilibrium back. Go do your training for a bit. I’ll come back down when I’m calm again.” “You sure?” I asked skeptically. “I personally find it very therapeutic to kill monsters when I need to calm down.” “Why do you think this room has holographic projectors?” Melissa replied with a snort. “I happen to agree with you. Now get!” Before leaving, Mina stopped for a moment and kissed Melissa’s cheek yet again. “For good luck.” Melissa gave a slight, yet sincere smile, before turning back to the console, prompting us to get back on the elevator, though not before Luna darted over and gave her a big hug. “We’ll talk about your comment about us having a link later,” I called out as the door closed. “She’s dreamy…” Mina commented. I raised an eyebrow. “Not the description I’d personally give, but whatever floats your boat I guess.” Mina pouted at me. “Hey!” [If you’re wondering, the way I do author’s notes sometimes, is by having a conversation with whoever I’m writing with at the time] Aaand, done. Whew, that was a tough chapter to write, wouldn’t you say Ocelot? Definitely! The best parts were Mina comforting Melissa as best she could… Hopefully there’s more romance between them soon! Well, we’ll see. I don’t know about you, but I SUCK at writing romance. In any case, more story coming soon! Thank you all for sticking with it, even when it takes almost a year to update. Hope you have fun reading, ya lot! This is Ocelot wishing you all a happy reading day! Indeed! See you all next chapter! *The outro sequence opens with Kairi watching the night sky from her bedroom window while the song ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ plays in the background.* *Migite ni ai no muchi wo, Hidarite niwa hanataba wo…* *Yet another day has passed for the wielder here in Equestria – she spent the day fighting against another group of Heartless but she was tired completely soon afterwards.* *Kodama ni mimi wo tatete, Hayate no gotoku tondeku…* *With a sigh released, Kairi continues to stare at the night sky while wondering what other adventures she would be having in Equestria as this scene comes to an end.* *Kanashiki senjou de, Nani wo omoi nani wo omou…* *A new scene begins with Midnight-Vanitas inside her temporary hideout as she practices her skills on some training dummies that she conjured.* *Yamunaku hitoribocchi, Samui yoru ni kogoeru…* *Using her Keyblade, she slashed and destroyed a couple of them before channeling her inner darkness and growing stronger and stronger.* *Yami wo sasu Hikari, Yodomi ni ukabu ano hitomi…* *Midnight used a couple of spells to destroy the rest of the dummies in addition to using her Keyblade as a weapon as well. Once done, she dismissed the key-shaped item away before plotting her next move.* *Aa hito to yure no sadame wo iku, Rurou no Zakuro!* *With her mind made up, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into the darkness as the entire scene became black.* *Nanimo shiranu furi shite, Damasareta furi wo shite…* *The final scene shows Kairi and her pony friends having fun in the local park – playing and having a picnic. Soon, a local photographer asks for them to get into position as he prepares to take a picture.* *Kuroi eikou nowa nakatta, Nani wo au no wo kirashite…* *The photographer snaps the picture which depicts Kairi, Twilight and the rest of their friends making silly faces and posing for the camera. The song comes to a conclusion.* *Sono kage wo yurashite, Sorera yukusue wo monogataru!* *Everything goes black as the title ‘Embrace your Destiny!’ appears once again while a pair of evil eyes are watching before blinking. ‘Rurou no Zakuro’ ends completely as the episode comes to a close.* Author's Note Author's Note: Don’t own Kingdom Hearts nor My Little Pony – they belong to Hasbro and Tetsuya Nomura! I just own the idea for the story. This chapter has a crossover with SoulboundAlchemist's fanfiction - May your Heart be your Guiding Key! Be sure to check it out! Song used in this chapter: My R | english cover (by KurageP): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX7kvYrL6lQ
Small Hiatus - Nothing to Serious.Hey, guys... now this might seem a bit too extreme but I'm gonna put the story on hold for the moment since I'm not really certain where I'm going with this. Too much events and other stories have made me not focus on this as much... It's going to a little hard to where I am heading with this one. I'm thinking about rewriting it... and no, I don't want to hear 'But you should continue the story, it's great.' - I'm sorry but I want to rewrite it one of these days and I will. Hope you all understand. And thank you for the given time.
