Kingdom Hearts: Adventures in Equestria and Beyondby snivygamer97ChaptersArrival in EquestriaThe Start of the ErrandsThe PartyArrival in Equestria"Okay, Kairi. You can do this. Axel may have tried to kidnap you before, but as Riku and Mickey said he has become a better person. Besides, that was his Nobody. Lea should be a much better person. Just trust everyone, Kairi. Sora and the others are counting on you," Kairi was saying to herself as she paced back and forth as she waited for Lea to show up. She wanted to be nice and trust him, especially given that he helped save the others on more than one occasion. But a part of her was still conflicted. After all, she couldn't just forget what he did to her. Still she knew she shouldn't be petty and hold that against him forever. Besides, when Lea was Axel, he just wanted to get Roxas, his friend that helped him to reclaim his heart, back so she couldn't completely blame him for what he did as Axel. "So, are you just going to stand there talking to yourself or are you going to say hello?" Lea joked as Kairi turned to see him, blushing and looking awkward as she did so. "So, Lea, how are you doing?" Kairi politely asked the red haired assassin. "I told everyone that the name isn't Axel! It's Lea! Wait. You got it memorized?" Lea asked, surprised and happy to see that someone remembered his true name. As Kairi nodded, Lea smiled. "So, I guess from what you said earlier you don't completely trust me. I get it. I did some pretty bad things when I was Axel. I wasn't the best Nobody or even friend. But I'm willing to try once more if you'll give me that chance." Kairi looked surprised to see the sincerity in Lea's voice as he said this. She could see that he was trying to make an effort to be a better person and perhaps could even be a friend. Her earlier reluctance forgotten, she held out her hand for a handshake and Lea returned the gesture. "So, let's see where Merlin and Yen Sid want us to go," Kairi said as the two entered Yen Sid's room. "So, I take it Merlin told you two the change in plans then?" Yen Sid asked, to which the duo nodded. "You see, while we are expected to keep the world order and keep the truth of other worlds safe from outsiders, there is one being who was able to find out the truth. Her name is Princess Celestia." "So, what do you want us to do? Make sure she keeps this a secret?" Kairi asked curiously. "I'm worried if she'll be a threat or not. After all, queens and princesses aren't always the best people from the worlds I've seen," Lea sarcastically said. "Lea...," Kairi teasingly said. "Actually, she has become a close friend that I've shared many a conversation with. However, she believes that there will be many threats that will come to this world and she wants some help with protecting her subjects from them. Hopefully you'll both learn more from practical use of your abilities. You'll find her in the city of Canterlot. Meet up with her there in order to get your first briefing," Yen Sid explained. "Got it. But what about our training? We may not have as much time to get ready for the Keyblade War if we go there," Kairi was concerned. "I wouldn't worry about that. You see, the world has time that flows similarly to the world I originally planned on sending you both to. So, while weeks or even months will pass for you two, the outside world won't have changed at all. And if you leave the world, you will be returned to the time in which you left it," Yen Sid explained. "Sounds convenient. So, what is the deal with this world? Like, who are the inhabitants?" Lea asked. "You see, the world is populated by a variety of strange magical creatures, but the main creatures you will be dealing with are ponies with magical abilities. And, to maintain world order, you two will have to take their form," Yen Sid revealed. "Really?! We get to meet and become magical ponies?! Thank you Master Yen Sid!" Kairi cheered on excitedly. "Um, can I just train in the world originally picked please? I don't know how much cuteness I can stomach," Lea asked. "Don't worry. From what I've learned about this world, you'll see plenty of action. Now, I'll just give you two some time to finish preparing before Merlin and I will teleport you there," Yen Sid said as he finished speaking, though unbeknownst to them, he whispered, "May your heart be your guiding key." After the two were ready, they entered the portal created by their master, Merlin, and got ready to face whatever the new world had in store for them. As soon as they made it to the other side, the two immediately fell onto their faces as they realized that they had been turned into ponies themselves. Not only that, but they noticed that it was nighttime and that the moon had the image of a mare on it. “Wow! Can you believe it, Lea? We’re in a world filled with magical talking ponies!” Kairi gleefully yelled. Kairi found a nearby pool of water and looked at her reflection in it. She noticed that her coat was pink, her hair auburn, and she was wearing a version of the pink dress she was wearing, except it exposed her flank, which had a strange mark on it which turned out to be her Keyblade Destiny’s Embrace. She also noticed that she had a unicorn horn on her forehead. “Looks like I’m a unicorn. What about you, Lea? What are you?” “Well, let’s see. Hooves. Wings. Looks like I’m a pegasus. Great. I couldn’t have been turned into something cool like a dragon, could I?” Lea, the red pegasus, snarked, not exactly happy with what he had turned into. His hair was also red, he was wearing a black coat, and he had his signature charkarms on his flank. “So, where do we go first?” “If I remember correctly, we are supposed to try and meet up with Princess Celestia in the city of Canterlot. She will be able to instruct us from there,” Kairi remembered. “Well, okay. Right now we are in the middle of nowhere, far away from any civilization. I guess Merlin must have made a mistake. I elect that we look for civilization and ask for where Canterlot is from there,” Lea suggested. “Well, okay! It would be nice to meet some of the inhabitants of this world. I hope they are friendly,” Kairi said. “From what Yen Sid said, I bet they are. Let’s get going,” Lea said as he walked toward what appeared to be an apple orchard. “Well, looks like someone here is into apples.” “It must be some sort of farm,” Kairi brought up the possibility. “Maybe there are other ponies nearby. After all, someone has to be growing these apples, right?” “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get moving,” Lea said as the pair began walking through the orchard. If they were being honest, the apples were looking to be very delicious and they were tempted to eat some as they were hungry. However, not wanting to steal, Kairi stopped Lea from trying to grab any of the apples until they knew for a fact if they belonged to someone or not. “I really hope that we can find civilization and be able to eat soon. After all, we can’t exactly train on an empty stomach.” “Don’t worry, Lea. It shouldn’t be that long now,” Kairi reassured. After a few minutes of walking, which felt like an eternity, the two found a barn that seemed to have lights on. “Well, looks like we’re on a farm. And it looks like there are ponies in the barn. Maybe these ponies will know where we can find Canterlot.” “I just hope they’ll let us take some of these apples to go,” Lea hungrilly muttered. Suddenly, Lea noticed a black Shadow Heartless appear right behind Kairi ready to strike. “Kairi, look out!” Lea warned the teenager as he got out his Keyblade. Kairi noticed the Heartless and was able to strike it down fast with her Keyblade. “Of course the Heartless would follow us here,” Lea angrily muttered. “I know. From what Yen Sid told us, this is a peaceful world. It’s sad to see that this place would be overrun by Heartless,” Kairi looked sad. “Hey, it’s no big deal. We can always deal with the Heartless before they hurt the civilians, right?” Lea reminded Kairi. “Right,” Kairi responded with a smile. Before the duo could approach the front door of the barn, more Heartless appeared to try and steal the hearts of both Lea and Kairi. With Keyblades in hoof, they prepared to battle the darkness dwellers. Meanwhile, inside of the barn, Applejack was trying to get Applebloom to go to bed. “Applebloom! I know that it’s the weekend, but you still have chores to get done tomorrow,” Applejack sternly reminded her younger sister. “But Applejack, I’m not even tired. Why can’t I stay up?” Applebloom countered. “Besides the fact that you have chores, you’re also a growing filly in need of sleep. You may not understand it now, but any growing filly needs to sleep.” “But-.” “No buts Applebloom. It’s bedtime,” Applejack said as she led her younger sister to her bedroom and shut the door behind her. “I’ll see you in the morning. Good night, Applebloom.” “Goodnight, Applejack,” Applebloom said through the door. She got into bed ready to fall asleep in order to avoid getting into trouble before she heard the noise of fighting outside. “Huh? What’s going on out there?” Applebloom wondered as she looked outside and saw two ponies with red hair fighting against some strange creatures outside. “Applejack! Big MacIntosh! There’s some fight going on out front! Monsters are trying to attack these ponies!” After a moment, the two siblings entered the young filly’s bedroom. “What is this about monsters?” Applejack asked as Applebloom led her to the window. “This better not be a trick to get out of sleeping, Applebloom.” She looked out the window, seeing the sight of Kairi and Lea fighting Heartless, mostly Shadow and Soldier Heartless. “Whoa! What are those creatures, and why are they at our home?” “I don’t know! I just heard noises from outside and saw the ponies fighting with these strange weapons,” Applebloom explained. “Well, if those creatures think they can pick a fight with us they have another thing comin’. Big Mac, I’m heading’ out to help. You stay here with Applebloom to make sure that she remains safe.” “Eyup,” Big Mac agreed as his younger sister left to help fight the Heartless. Kairi and Lea were fighting off wave after wave of Heartless, their numbers thinning as time went on. However, the Heartless still kept on coming, much to the frustration of the exhausted Keyblade wielders. Just as one of the Shadows was about to lunge at the duo from behind, Applejack kicked the Heartless with her hind legs. “Alright, can one of you explain to me why there are shadow monsters outside of our home?” Kairi was a bit hesitant to answer that, not wanting to break the secret that there were other worlds. However, Lea was much less hesitant and answered, “We just got here and these creatures, called Heartless, appeared and started attacking.” “Well, do you have room for one more to fight?” Applejack offered her help. “Are you sure? The Heartless are very dangerous,” Kairi was uncertain. “Trust me. I can fight just fine,” Applejack said as she kicked another Heartless. “Well, okay. Just make sure you leave the finishing blows to us. Our weapons are the only thing that can get rid of them,” Lea and Kairi both agreed. And so the trio worked together to try and fight off the remaining Heartless. Kairi and Lea both sliced at the Heartless with their Keyblades while Applejack used her hind legs to kick at the darkness dwellers. Eventually, the last of the Heartless fell and the trio could finally relax. “Well, that was some battle. So, what’re you two doing near Sweet Apple Acres, anyway? You’re a pretty fair distance away from Ponyville.” “Oh, we got lost and found your apple orchard. Don’t worry. We didn’t eat any of your apples. Speaking of which, do you know where Canterlot is? We have to get there and talk with someone,” Kairi explained. “Well, if you’re lookin’ for Canterlot, it’s all the way up there,” Applejack said as she pointed towards a castle located on the side of a mountain. “However, most trains don’t run at night, so you’re gonna be in for a bit of a wait before you can head to Canterlot.” “Well, we’ll just get going then. Thanks again for helping us fight the Heartless, what was your name?” Kairi kindly said goodbye. “My name is Applejack, and don’t be runnin’ off just yet. If you need somewhere to stay for the night, you can stay in our guest room,” Applejack offered. “Sure thing! How can we help you in return? We don’t want to be freeloaders,” Kairi asked. “Well, I did need to go out and do a few things tomorrow. If you can just do that for me, that’d be swell,” Applejack offered. “Alright, fine. We’ll help you,” Lea reluctantly accepted, not wanting to waste time on menial chores. “My name is Lea by the way. Got it memorized?” “And mine is Kairi,” Kairi introduced herself. The Start of the ErrandsThe next morning, Kairi and Lea woke up in the guest bedroom at Sweet Apple Acres. Kairi had slept in the bed while Lea slept next to her, trying his best to keep his distance. When it was only 6:00 a.m., the duo were woken up by the sound of a spoon hitting a pan. “It’s time to wake up, you two! C’mon! You don’t want to miss breakfast!” A young filly wearing a bow in her red hair yelled out over the banging. At this, both Kairi and Lea woke up groggily due to not getting a full night’s sleep. “Man, that was one rough night. Do these people rise with the sun or something?” Lea was annoyed. “Now, Lea. Remember that we’re staying with them for free in exchange for helping them with a few errands,” Kairi reminded Lea. “Yeah, I remember. Let’s just hope that we don’t run into any trouble along the way,” Lea responded. All of a sudden, Kairi’s stomach growled very loudly. “Well, let’s go ahead and eat. We’re going to need it after going to bed without food last night,” Kairi said as she left the room. Before Lea went downstairs, he muttered, “I hope those apples taste good.” Once they got downstairs, Lea and Kairi both saw that the family had prepared two chairs for the visitors. At the table was Applejack, the pony from last night, a large red stallion, the small yellow filly from a few minutes ago that had no mark on her flank, and an elderly green mare with a pie mark on her flank. “I’d like y’all to meet my family since we didn’t get to meet last night. The red stallion here is my brother Big MacIntosh. He doesn’t talk much. Right Big Mac?” Applejack introduced. “Eeyup,” the stallion simply said. “The older mare over here is Granny Smith. She’s in charge of everything here at Sweet Apple Acres. Right, Granny?” Applejack asked the old mare. “Yer darn tootin’! I must say though, Applejack. You did find some strange folk in our orchard last night. Still, I guess I did somethin’ right in raisin’ you since you offered them a place to stay for the night when they needed it,” Granny Smith said. “Lastly, the young filly here is our younger sister Applebloom,” Applejack introduced. “Applejack said y'all have business in Canterlot. Is that true?” Applebloom asked. “Yes, it is. We’re going to talk with someone named Princess Celestia,” Kairi said, much to the shock of the rest of the family. “Princess Celestia? You’re meeting with the princess herself?” Applejack asked in shock. “Yes. Yes we are. I'm guessing she really is a big deal judging by the shock,” Lea commented. “Of course it is! Princess Celestia is the ruler of Equestria! She raises the sun and moon every day!” Applebloom explained. “Wow! We’re going to meet the big fish then. Hear that, Kairi?” Lea noted. After this, the family and guests proceeded to eat the toast, pancakes, and other food set out for them to eat. Partway through the meal, Kairi decided to ask, “So, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s with the marks on your behinds?” “Wait, you don’t know what a cutie mark is?” Applejack was confused. “Well… you see-,” Kairi tried to think of an explanation only for Lea to come up with an answer. “We hit our heads shortly before entering your orchard. We may have trouble with remembering certain things. Like cutie marks and what role Princess Celestia plays in Equestria,” Lea explained. The family looked a little suspicious, but ultimately they decided to trust the strangers as they didn’t have any reason to lie. “Well, you see a cutie mark appears on a ponies’ flank when they discover the thing that makes them special. For me, I found out my mark means bein’ here in Sweet Apple Acres and helpin’ my family keep it in business,” Applejack explained. “I don’t have a mark yet. In fact, a lot of my class has theirs,” Applebloom sadly noted. Before the duo could ask Applebloom if she was alright, she then changed the subject. “So, what do your marks mean?” “Well, actually, we don’t know what they mean. Guess we also forgot what they mean,” Kairi responded. “Oh,” Applebloom responded, a bit disappointed. As everyone was starting to get back to eating she decided to drop the subject. After breakfast, which was delicious, Applejack gave Lea and Kairi a list of errands that they were to run while the rest of the family worked on chores. The errands were to obtain a weather schedule from a pegasus named Rainbow Dash, drop off Big Mac’s tux to be repaired by Rarity, and buy some dog food for their dog Winona from a pony named Fluttershy. After obtaining and looking over the list, the Keyblade wielding duo left to finish the Apple family’s errands. As the duo left to head towards town, Lea finally realized something. “Um, Kairi? Do we even know where to find these ponies?” Kairi stopped for a moment before saying, “Well, we can just ask the civilians for help. Applejack said that the people of Ponyville are friendly.” “Well, alright. Let’s go find this Rainbow Dash,” Lea decided to do the tasks in order. For the next half hour, Kairi and Lea looked around town to try and find Rainbow Dash. However, in spite of their best efforts, they had difficulty finding her. Every pony that they asked said that she was at one place only for her not to turn up at the place that they went to. Either this Rainbow Dash was very fast or everyone they were talking to was lying. Eventually, they ran into an orange filly, who was sitting right under a cloud excitedly. “So, young filly, what are you doing sitting in the middle of town like this?” Lea asked out of curiosity. The filly turned towards Lea and Kairi with a huge smile on her face. “Oh, I’m in the presence of the greatest pony ever, Rainbow Dash!” She then proceeded to point up at the cloud above them. After backing up, the pair could see a blue pony with a rainbow colored mane lying down on the cloud. Snoring could be heard from the pony on top of the cloud. “Hate to break it to ya, kid, but she’s sound asleep.” “Oh, I know. I’ve wanted to introduce myself to her for the longest time, but I never have the nerve to do so,” the orange filly said. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m pretty sure once you introduce yourself to her she’ll be more than willing to spend time with you,” Kairi comforted the filly. “You really think so? I-I mean, yes. Of course she’ll be willing to spend time with me! I just need to go and get my scooter and we’ll be able to race throughout Ponyville for sure! Bye, you two!” The young filly said as she began to run off. “Bye! Wait! What was your name?” Kairi called out to the young filly. “I’m Scootaloo! What’s yours?” Scootaloo answered. “I’m Kairi and this is my friend Lea!” Kairi yelled out as Scootaloo disappeared from view. “So, how do you suppose we wake her up?” Lea asked Kairi. “Well, why don’t you try flying up and nudging her awake?” Kairi suggested. “Wait! Why can’t we just call for her and see if she wakes up?” Lea asked, not wanting to fly when his only experience was in Neverland. After all, flying by pixie dust was different from flying by wings. “Just give it a try, please,” Kairi asked. “Fine. But don’t blame me if it doesn’t work out,” Lea began to try and flap his wings. It took a minute for his wings to be able to flap at the same time, but he eventually started to get it down. He slowly began to rise into the sky, only for him to suddenly fall to the ground. “Seriously?” Kairi started to snicker, holding back her laughter at what just happened. “Sorry, Lea. I’ll call up to her. Hey, Rainbow Dash! Wake up! We need to talk to you!” After a few moments, the duo noticed that Rainbow Dash was starting to move up on the cloud. “Alright, fine! I’m up! I’m up! I was just having the best dream!” Rainbow Dash complained as she flew down to see Kairi and Lea. “Who are you guys, and what do you want?” Rainbow asked, genuinely confused as to who the pair was. “Well, this is Lea and my name is Kairi. We’re here in order to obtain the weather schedule for Applejack,” Kairi explained to the sleepy pegasus. “Oh, that. Give me a second,” Rainbow said as she zoomed off to obtain the schedule for them. In no time flat, she returned with a scroll that had a seal on it. “Well, I hope you have a good day, you two.” “Yeah, and sometime you’ll have to explain to me how you were able to sleep on that cloud,” Lea said, somewhat impressed, wanting to be able to nod off like the mare could. “Wait. You don’t know how clouds work?” Rainbow Dash was confused. “All pegasi should know that we can interact with clouds! How do you not know that?!” She demanded, frustrated. All of a sudden, many nearby ponies turned to the conversation. “Oh, well our memories were partly messed up due to being hit on the head. We don’t remember everything,” Kairi explained, not wanting to break the world order. “Are you sure?” Rainbow suspiciously asked. “Very certain. In fact, we should get going,” Lea said as he dragged Kairi away. Everypony was quick to turn away and leave as Kairi and Lea left. However, Rainbow Dash looked over at them suspiciously. Meanwhile, a pink pony with three balloons on her flank was also watching from a distance and also wanted to follow the duo. Kairi was feeling awkward after the two’s encounter with Rainbow Dash. After all, it being made public that they didn’t know something that was common knowledge in this word was embarrassing. “So, Lea, do you think that we should find a book about how this world is different from other worlds? We may be able to avoid another scene if we do so,” Kairi suggested. “I guess. So, what is the next errand, anyway?” Lea asked. “Oh, it’s to drop off Big Mac’s tux at Carousel Boutique. Someone-er-pony named Rarity will fix it,” Kairi answered. “Now we just need to find the place.” After asking the ponies in town where Carousel Boutique was, they were quickly able to find the building. It had a carousel on the top of a fancy looking building. “Wow. Everything in this world looks like it’s from a child’s storybook,” Lea muttered under his breath. “Hey! Don’t be rude! I think this place looks vibrant and beautiful,” Kairi countered. “Well, we might as well knock on the door.” Kairi proceeded to knock on the door three times. At first no one responded. However, after a minute, the door opened to show a white pony with purple hair on the other side. “Oh, hello there. My name is Rarity. It’s so nice to meet you two. Of course, I am very happy to be in the presence of a couple as nice looking as the two of you,” Rarity complemented the duo, much to their embarrassment. “Wait! Hold on!” Lea tried to counter. “We aren’t a couple,” Kairi tried to say. “Oh. I thought for sure you two would be together,” Rarity said. “Well, to be fair, the red haired young stallion does seem to be older than you. By the way, what are your names?” “My name is Lea. Got it memorized? And the pink unicorn is my friend Kairi. We’re here in order to drop off a tux for Applejack. It belongs to her brother,” Lea got out the tux and handed it over to the unicorn, whose horn proceeded to glow blue. The tux proceeded to be covered in a blue aura and was levitated over to Rarity. Both Lea and Kairi were surprised to see that Rarity was able to levitate the tux and Kairi knew what she would “Oh, thanks you two. You know, Big Mac has torn up his tux in the past with his rugged muscles. I don’t know if it will only be a short time or not until I finally have to fix it again,” Rarity noted. “Well, at least you’ll have a repeat customer,” Kairi pointed out before she realized something. “Oh, I’m sorry, but I don’t believe we have the Munny to pay for the tux.” “Munny? What is that?” Rarity asked in confusion, much to the nervousness of Kairi. “Oh, never mind. Don’t worry about the payment. Applejack has already paid the necessary bits for the tux. It should be ready in a few days.” Just as Kairi and Lea were about to leave, Rarity interrupted to say, “Hey! Why don’t I make outfits for the both of you?” “Really? Are you sure?” Kairi was amazed. “Hold on, Kairi. How much will these outfits cost?” Lea cynically asked the white unicorn. “Oh, they will be no charge at all. I pride myself on my generosity, so I allow new customers to have one free outfit,” Rarity explained. “Really? That sounds great! We’ll be sure to return here once they are done,” Kairi said. “Well, we need to get going. Thanks again for the outfits!” “You’re welcome,” Rarity said as the duo left her store. However, as it would turn out, there was also a pink pony spying on them and was watching them leave the boutique. She excitedly hopped after them, preparing to welcome them to Ponyville. Author's Note Hello. Thanks for all support and comments. For those that worry that Riku won't be in the story, don't worry he will. It may be some time, though. The Party“So, it looks like we’re down to our last errand, Kairi. If I remember correctly, we need to get some dog food from a yellow pegasus named Fluttershy,” Lea said. “I guess the name Flutterbold was taken by someone else.” “Well, we better get going, Lea. We need to finish up and head to Canterlot to meet with the princess,” Kairi reminded Lea. “From what we were told, this looks like the place,” Lea said as the duo approached a small yet beautiful cottage with what looked like plenty of little abodes for a variety of different creatures from birds to ferrets to bunnies. “It’s beautiful! Well, one thing I can say about this Fluttershy is that she really knows and loves her animals!” Kairi said in awe. “Remember, we’re here to get the dog food and go. We don’t have all day to chat,” Lea snarked. “Right. We’ll try to keep it short,” Kairi said as she blushed. As she made it to the front door and knocked, she could hear noise on the other side of the door but after a minute or two of waiting still couldn’t see the pony in question. “Um, Lea? Where do you think Fluttershy is?” “I don’t know, but it looks like she really lives up to her name. I mean, seriously? We’ve been waiting for quite a while now and still nothing!” Lea yelled in frustration. Suddenly, the door opened to the sight of a white fluffy bunny. Kairi was quick to react. “Hey little fella. Do you know where Fluttershy is?” At this, the bunny started to frown with a bitter scowl. “So much for being a sweetie pie, huh Kairi?” Lea whispered snarkily. “Now, come on, Lea! Just try and be a little patient. Sorry about Lea here. You see, we’re here because we need to get some dog food from Fluttershy here. If you can just get her out here, we’ll be out of here and you can calm down and smile,” Kairi said. At this, the rabbit went back inside, closing the door behind him. Soon, the duo could hear the sound of much movement from inside the cabin. After a minute or so, a yellow pegasus was pushed outside along with some dog food and the door was slammed shut behind her due to said rabbit. “Finally. So, Fluttershy was it? It’s nice to meet you. The name’s Lea. Got it memorized?” Lea introduced himself. “And my name’s Kairi. So, how are things going today?” Kairi curiously asked. For some reason that neither Lea or Kairi could tell, the pegasus didn’t give a response right away. Or a minute later. Or two. “Um, look, if you don’t wanna talk then we can just grab the food and go,” Lea suggested, trying to be patient. “Lea’s right. We’re just here to get the dog food that Applejack ordered. You can just give it to us and we’ll be out of your beautiful hair,” Kairi complemented. “O-Okay,” The timid pegasus whispered as she handed over the food bag and turned to head back inside. “Angel? Can you please let me back in? I-I know you want me to talk to these two, and they do seem nice, but I’d rather not today.” Fluttershy was in luck as the door opened as Angel, the bunny from earlier, opened up the door. In response, Fluttershy darted back in as Angel rolled his eyes, annoyed by his owner’s lack of backbone. “Well, that was interesting…,” Lea commented. “Sometimes people-er-ponies don’t want to be social. We should respect that. Though I do hope that she’ll come out of her shell one of these days. Come on. We should head back to Sweet Apple Acres,” Kairi said. “At long last. It’ll be great to get some more food to eat before we head off for Canterlot,” Lea said back. “It’ll also be great to see the Apple family one more time before we leave,” Kairi commented. “Yeah, as for Canterlot, maybe it’ll be a party up there,” Lea joked. “Did someone say party?!” A voice suddenly yelled out. As the duo turned, they saw a pink pony with a cutie mark consisting of three balloons. “I’m so excited to finally meet you two! I saw you both earlier and I’ve been trying to learn more about you so that I could throw you both a party! After all, you’re both new to Ponyville and you’re likely to become new friends with me and the rest of Ponyville when the time comes! So, would you both like to have a free cupcake from Sugarcube Corner or some other confectionery treat?!” “Um, I suppose so?” Lea awkwardly agreed. “Yeah. It would be nice to get a treat before we leave for Canterlot,” Kairi said. “You mean you’re leaving? Well, I guess we can throw that party for you both tonight before you leave Applejack’s! Oh, the name’s Pinkie Pie by the way! And your names are… Lea and Kairi, right?” Pinkie Pie asked. Both red heads were confused as to how she knew both their names already. “Um, sure. I guess we can have a party before we leave. So, I take it that you love treats?” Kairi asked, trying to be nice to this weird but well-meaning pony. “Love them?! Of course! Anyone can be made happier with the right treat! In fact, I believe that any pony can be made friends with! You just need to find the right things about them and the path to friendship will surely be made present! So, what are your favorite treats anyway?!” Pinkie Pie asked. “Uh, well, my favorite treat is sea-salt ice cream. I didn’t like it at first, but my friend Roxas helped me to enjoy them. Though, aside from that, I’d say that my favorite treat would be a strawberry tart,” Lea answered a bit awkwardly, still not entirely on board with this strange pony. “As for me, my favorite treat is peanut butter fudge. I don’t get to have it often, but I can tell you that it is indeed tasty,” Kairi explained. “Great! I’ll be sure to have it done in a jiffy! I’ll see you both at the party tonight!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she bounced away from the confused duo. “So, we both agree that she is weird, right?” Lea asked. “Come on, Lea! You gotta admit she was very nice. I mean, throwing a party for two ponies she just met isn’t something just anyone would do,” Kairi reminded. “True. Still, while I plan to enjoy myself at the party, I also hope to not have to talk to too many of these ponies. While they do seem nice enough, they also are very weird.” “Can you at least give them a chance? After all, we should be nice to the denizens of this world.” “Okay, fine. I’ll give them a chance. Just don’t expect me to be buddy buddy with everyone,” Lea agreed. “Good. Now, let’s head back to Sweet Apple Acres. We need to help prepare for a party,” Kairi said as Lea followed after her. When Kairi and Lea returned to Sweet Apple Acres, they returned to see that Applejack and her family were hard at work bucking trees and collecting the apples into buckets. They also noticed that Pinkie Pie was nearby starting to prepare a party. “Well, looks like everyone is hard at work. So, should I go rest for the party or should we give them a hand?” Lea asked curiously. “I’d say we help out Pinkie after we tell Applejack that we finished the chores,” Kairi said. At this, Applejack noticed that Lea and Kairi had returned and walked over to them. “So, I take it that you’ve finished the errands?” “Yep. Sure did. Here is the dog food and weather schedule,” Lea said as he handed over both items. “So, I notice that Pinkie Pie is starting work on a party for us. Does she do this for everyone or are we just a special case?” Kairi asked curiously. “Pinkie Pie loves to throw parties for just about everyone and everything. She loves making others smile and be happy from what I can tell. She is one of the nicest folks you’ll ever meet. She can be a bit much at times though,” Applejack explained. “Good to know. So, should Lea and I help her set up the party?” Kairi asked, wanting to be helpful. “No thanks! I just want you two to enjoy yourselves and make some new friends here in Ponyville! I just hope you two will come by and visit sometime once you both are situated back in Canterlot,” Pinkie Pie answered with a cupcake in her hoof, which she devoured in one bite. “Okay then. So, what should we do in the meantime then?” Lea asked. “How about we head over to the local library and read up on what we can’t remember?” Kairi suggested. “I guess you can do that. I’ll go and get some rest so that I’ll be ready for the party. After all, I still need to catch some Z’s after being woken up so early,” Lea decided. “Well, at Sweet Apple Acres, we think it’s best to be early to bed and early to rise,” Applejack said. “Well, I’ll see you all later, okay?” Kairi said as she left Sweet Apple Acres in order to read up on the land of Equestria. It took Kairi some time, but she eventually found the town library, which was a cozy looking treehouse located in the middle of town. When Kairi got there, she found that the library was empty. She was confused as to why there was no librarian, but seeing as there was a sign saying to come right on in, she decided not to think about it too much for the time being. Throughout the afternoon, Kairi read up on the history of Equestria and also on some of the more common knowledge of this strange world. This included that weather was controlled by pegasi, that there was a princess that was the niece of Celestia named Cadence, and even some of the holidays such as Hearts and Hooves Day, which was like Valentine’s Day. Kairi was amazed by what she read, finding all of this new information to be enchanting and intriguing to figure out. Eventually, she found a book that detailed that there were originally two princesses that ruled Equestria. However, after the younger sister grew envious of the older sister for their daytime being loved and cherished while the younger sister’s night was slept through, she became corrupted into a being known as Nightmare Moon who wished to make nighttime eternal. The older sister, however, used these special gems known as the Elements of Harmony in order to stop Nightmare Moon and seal her into the moon. “Whoa! This is just… overwhelming! I wonder if this story is true. If so, then I kinda feel bad for the younger sister. After all, maybe if things were different then she wouldn’t have been corrupted by darkness,” Kairi muttered to herself. In the early evening, Kairi decided to return to Sweet Apple Acres after learning a fair amount about the land of Equestria. She couldn’t wait to inform Lea about all that she learned about this strange land. Upon reaching Sweet Apple Acres, she saw a group of ponies partying around the barn. Upon noticing Kairi, the many ponies cheered with thunderous applause for the unicorn. Kairi was happy to be greeted by the many partygoers. However, wanting to talk to ponies that she knew, decided to look for Applejack and Lea. It took some searching, but she eventually found Lea standing near Applejack, who was competing with Rainbow Dash in bobbing for apples. “So, it took you long enough to get back from reading. The party has been going on for nearly an hour,” Lea jokes. “Sorry, I just was so engrossed in the history of this land! Did you know that there were originally three different pony tribes that learned to finally get along when they were nearly frozen solid by windigos?” Kairi asked. “No, I did not. I have to say, from the sounds of it this world is incredibly strange sounding,” Lea commented. “Maybe, but this world is still incredible! I wouldn’t mind finding myself a home here to stay part-time,” Kairi gushed. “Hold on. You guys don’t live anywhere here? What is wrong with you two? Do you live on the road or something?” Rainbow Dash asked, suspicious as to why Lea and Kairi were talking about history that was common knowledge like they were just learning it. “Oh, we were looking to move into either Canterlot or Ponyville. Nothing strange going on here,” Lea lied. “Look you two. I don’t know what is going on with you both, but just know that I don’t trust you. After all, why would you only lose some memories rather than all of them?” Rainbow Dash warned. “I don’t want the ponies of Ponyville to be hurt, so just make sure that you don’t try anything funny. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to fight you!” “Rainbow Dash! Don’t accuse them of being bad! They helped defend Sweet Apple Acres from these dark creatures called Heartless,” Applejack defended the duo. “How do you know they didn’t summon them to look like heroes?” Rainbow Dash countered. “I doubt they did that! Besides, they were willing to help set up the party but Pinkie Pie said they didn’t have to,” Applejack pointed out. “Well, um-,” Rainbow Dash stuttered. “Look. I know we just met them and we don’t have much reason to trust them yet, but they seem to be genuinely nice ponies. I think we should give them a chance,” Applejack pleaded. After a moment of thinking, Rainbow Dash decided, “F-Fine. I’ll be nice. For now. But if they do anything to hurt anypony I will stop them, understand?” “Trust me, that won’t happen, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said. Just as Rainbow was about to stand down, many ponies started to run away from the party. One of the ponies was Pinkie Pie, who looked scared. “Whoa! Pinkie Pie? What is the problem?” Kairi asked. “There are these strange shadow creatures looking like they are going to attack everypony! Run!” Pinkie Pie screamed as she began to run away. “Come on, Lea! Looks like the Heartless are attacking. We should defeat them before somepony gets hurt,” Kairi said as she summoned her Keyblade. “Alright then,” Lea agreed as he also summoned his Keyblade. “Wait! Are those-,” Rainbow was shocked to see the Keyblades. In an instant, the duo ran to start attacking the Heartless, cutting through them one by one with their Keyblades. Lea started to generate flames in order to burn the Heartless, being mindful not to burn down anything. Kairi also began to use her magic to attack the Heartless. Thankfully, the duo were able to fight off most of the Heartless without much trouble. However, just as they were about to finish off the last of them, a Heartless snuck up behind them and was ready to strike. However, before it did, Rainbow rushed the Heartless while holding a cloud and rainbow lightning covered Keyblade, much to the duo's shock. Author's Note Hello everyone. Sorry it took so long to update. I've been interested in other things and stories. However, I do plan to work on this story and many others in the future. Please comment. Constructive criticism is encouraged.
Arrival in Equestria"Okay, Kairi. You can do this. Axel may have tried to kidnap you before, but as Riku and Mickey said he has become a better person. Besides, that was his Nobody. Lea should be a much better person. Just trust everyone, Kairi. Sora and the others are counting on you," Kairi was saying to herself as she paced back and forth as she waited for Lea to show up. She wanted to be nice and trust him, especially given that he helped save the others on more than one occasion. But a part of her was still conflicted. After all, she couldn't just forget what he did to her. Still she knew she shouldn't be petty and hold that against him forever. Besides, when Lea was Axel, he just wanted to get Roxas, his friend that helped him to reclaim his heart, back so she couldn't completely blame him for what he did as Axel. "So, are you just going to stand there talking to yourself or are you going to say hello?" Lea joked as Kairi turned to see him, blushing and looking awkward as she did so. "So, Lea, how are you doing?" Kairi politely asked the red haired assassin. "I told everyone that the name isn't Axel! It's Lea! Wait. You got it memorized?" Lea asked, surprised and happy to see that someone remembered his true name. As Kairi nodded, Lea smiled. "So, I guess from what you said earlier you don't completely trust me. I get it. I did some pretty bad things when I was Axel. I wasn't the best Nobody or even friend. But I'm willing to try once more if you'll give me that chance." Kairi looked surprised to see the sincerity in Lea's voice as he said this. She could see that he was trying to make an effort to be a better person and perhaps could even be a friend. Her earlier reluctance forgotten, she held out her hand for a handshake and Lea returned the gesture. "So, let's see where Merlin and Yen Sid want us to go," Kairi said as the two entered Yen Sid's room. "So, I take it Merlin told you two the change in plans then?" Yen Sid asked, to which the duo nodded. "You see, while we are expected to keep the world order and keep the truth of other worlds safe from outsiders, there is one being who was able to find out the truth. Her name is Princess Celestia." "So, what do you want us to do? Make sure she keeps this a secret?" Kairi asked curiously. "I'm worried if she'll be a threat or not. After all, queens and princesses aren't always the best people from the worlds I've seen," Lea sarcastically said. "Lea...," Kairi teasingly said. "Actually, she has become a close friend that I've shared many a conversation with. However, she believes that there will be many threats that will come to this world and she wants some help with protecting her subjects from them. Hopefully you'll both learn more from practical use of your abilities. You'll find her in the city of Canterlot. Meet up with her there in order to get your first briefing," Yen Sid explained. "Got it. But what about our training? We may not have as much time to get ready for the Keyblade War if we go there," Kairi was concerned. "I wouldn't worry about that. You see, the world has time that flows similarly to the world I originally planned on sending you both to. So, while weeks or even months will pass for you two, the outside world won't have changed at all. And if you leave the world, you will be returned to the time in which you left it," Yen Sid explained. "Sounds convenient. So, what is the deal with this world? Like, who are the inhabitants?" Lea asked. "You see, the world is populated by a variety of strange magical creatures, but the main creatures you will be dealing with are ponies with magical abilities. And, to maintain world order, you two will have to take their form," Yen Sid revealed. "Really?! We get to meet and become magical ponies?! Thank you Master Yen Sid!" Kairi cheered on excitedly. "Um, can I just train in the world originally picked please? I don't know how much cuteness I can stomach," Lea asked. "Don't worry. From what I've learned about this world, you'll see plenty of action. Now, I'll just give you two some time to finish preparing before Merlin and I will teleport you there," Yen Sid said as he finished speaking, though unbeknownst to them, he whispered, "May your heart be your guiding key." After the two were ready, they entered the portal created by their master, Merlin, and got ready to face whatever the new world had in store for them. As soon as they made it to the other side, the two immediately fell onto their faces as they realized that they had been turned into ponies themselves. Not only that, but they noticed that it was nighttime and that the moon had the image of a mare on it. “Wow! Can you believe it, Lea? We’re in a world filled with magical talking ponies!” Kairi gleefully yelled. Kairi found a nearby pool of water and looked at her reflection in it. She noticed that her coat was pink, her hair auburn, and she was wearing a version of the pink dress she was wearing, except it exposed her flank, which had a strange mark on it which turned out to be her Keyblade Destiny’s Embrace. She also noticed that she had a unicorn horn on her forehead. “Looks like I’m a unicorn. What about you, Lea? What are you?” “Well, let’s see. Hooves. Wings. Looks like I’m a pegasus. Great. I couldn’t have been turned into something cool like a dragon, could I?” Lea, the red pegasus, snarked, not exactly happy with what he had turned into. His hair was also red, he was wearing a black coat, and he had his signature charkarms on his flank. “So, where do we go first?” “If I remember correctly, we are supposed to try and meet up with Princess Celestia in the city of Canterlot. She will be able to instruct us from there,” Kairi remembered. “Well, okay. Right now we are in the middle of nowhere, far away from any civilization. I guess Merlin must have made a mistake. I elect that we look for civilization and ask for where Canterlot is from there,” Lea suggested. “Well, okay! It would be nice to meet some of the inhabitants of this world. I hope they are friendly,” Kairi said. “From what Yen Sid said, I bet they are. Let’s get going,” Lea said as he walked toward what appeared to be an apple orchard. “Well, looks like someone here is into apples.” “It must be some sort of farm,” Kairi brought up the possibility. “Maybe there are other ponies nearby. After all, someone has to be growing these apples, right?” “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get moving,” Lea said as the pair began walking through the orchard. If they were being honest, the apples were looking to be very delicious and they were tempted to eat some as they were hungry. However, not wanting to steal, Kairi stopped Lea from trying to grab any of the apples until they knew for a fact if they belonged to someone or not. “I really hope that we can find civilization and be able to eat soon. After all, we can’t exactly train on an empty stomach.” “Don’t worry, Lea. It shouldn’t be that long now,” Kairi reassured. After a few minutes of walking, which felt like an eternity, the two found a barn that seemed to have lights on. “Well, looks like we’re on a farm. And it looks like there are ponies in the barn. Maybe these ponies will know where we can find Canterlot.” “I just hope they’ll let us take some of these apples to go,” Lea hungrilly muttered. Suddenly, Lea noticed a black Shadow Heartless appear right behind Kairi ready to strike. “Kairi, look out!” Lea warned the teenager as he got out his Keyblade. Kairi noticed the Heartless and was able to strike it down fast with her Keyblade. “Of course the Heartless would follow us here,” Lea angrily muttered. “I know. From what Yen Sid told us, this is a peaceful world. It’s sad to see that this place would be overrun by Heartless,” Kairi looked sad. “Hey, it’s no big deal. We can always deal with the Heartless before they hurt the civilians, right?” Lea reminded Kairi. “Right,” Kairi responded with a smile. Before the duo could approach the front door of the barn, more Heartless appeared to try and steal the hearts of both Lea and Kairi. With Keyblades in hoof, they prepared to battle the darkness dwellers. Meanwhile, inside of the barn, Applejack was trying to get Applebloom to go to bed. “Applebloom! I know that it’s the weekend, but you still have chores to get done tomorrow,” Applejack sternly reminded her younger sister. “But Applejack, I’m not even tired. Why can’t I stay up?” Applebloom countered. “Besides the fact that you have chores, you’re also a growing filly in need of sleep. You may not understand it now, but any growing filly needs to sleep.” “But-.” “No buts Applebloom. It’s bedtime,” Applejack said as she led her younger sister to her bedroom and shut the door behind her. “I’ll see you in the morning. Good night, Applebloom.” “Goodnight, Applejack,” Applebloom said through the door. She got into bed ready to fall asleep in order to avoid getting into trouble before she heard the noise of fighting outside. “Huh? What’s going on out there?” Applebloom wondered as she looked outside and saw two ponies with red hair fighting against some strange creatures outside. “Applejack! Big MacIntosh! There’s some fight going on out front! Monsters are trying to attack these ponies!” After a moment, the two siblings entered the young filly’s bedroom. “What is this about monsters?” Applejack asked as Applebloom led her to the window. “This better not be a trick to get out of sleeping, Applebloom.” She looked out the window, seeing the sight of Kairi and Lea fighting Heartless, mostly Shadow and Soldier Heartless. “Whoa! What are those creatures, and why are they at our home?” “I don’t know! I just heard noises from outside and saw the ponies fighting with these strange weapons,” Applebloom explained. “Well, if those creatures think they can pick a fight with us they have another thing comin’. Big Mac, I’m heading’ out to help. You stay here with Applebloom to make sure that she remains safe.” “Eyup,” Big Mac agreed as his younger sister left to help fight the Heartless. Kairi and Lea were fighting off wave after wave of Heartless, their numbers thinning as time went on. However, the Heartless still kept on coming, much to the frustration of the exhausted Keyblade wielders. Just as one of the Shadows was about to lunge at the duo from behind, Applejack kicked the Heartless with her hind legs. “Alright, can one of you explain to me why there are shadow monsters outside of our home?” Kairi was a bit hesitant to answer that, not wanting to break the secret that there were other worlds. However, Lea was much less hesitant and answered, “We just got here and these creatures, called Heartless, appeared and started attacking.” “Well, do you have room for one more to fight?” Applejack offered her help. “Are you sure? The Heartless are very dangerous,” Kairi was uncertain. “Trust me. I can fight just fine,” Applejack said as she kicked another Heartless. “Well, okay. Just make sure you leave the finishing blows to us. Our weapons are the only thing that can get rid of them,” Lea and Kairi both agreed. And so the trio worked together to try and fight off the remaining Heartless. Kairi and Lea both sliced at the Heartless with their Keyblades while Applejack used her hind legs to kick at the darkness dwellers. Eventually, the last of the Heartless fell and the trio could finally relax. “Well, that was some battle. So, what’re you two doing near Sweet Apple Acres, anyway? You’re a pretty fair distance away from Ponyville.” “Oh, we got lost and found your apple orchard. Don’t worry. We didn’t eat any of your apples. Speaking of which, do you know where Canterlot is? We have to get there and talk with someone,” Kairi explained. “Well, if you’re lookin’ for Canterlot, it’s all the way up there,” Applejack said as she pointed towards a castle located on the side of a mountain. “However, most trains don’t run at night, so you’re gonna be in for a bit of a wait before you can head to Canterlot.” “Well, we’ll just get going then. Thanks again for helping us fight the Heartless, what was your name?” Kairi kindly said goodbye. “My name is Applejack, and don’t be runnin’ off just yet. If you need somewhere to stay for the night, you can stay in our guest room,” Applejack offered. “Sure thing! How can we help you in return? We don’t want to be freeloaders,” Kairi asked. “Well, I did need to go out and do a few things tomorrow. If you can just do that for me, that’d be swell,” Applejack offered. “Alright, fine. We’ll help you,” Lea reluctantly accepted, not wanting to waste time on menial chores. “My name is Lea by the way. Got it memorized?” “And mine is Kairi,” Kairi introduced herself.
The Start of the ErrandsThe next morning, Kairi and Lea woke up in the guest bedroom at Sweet Apple Acres. Kairi had slept in the bed while Lea slept next to her, trying his best to keep his distance. When it was only 6:00 a.m., the duo were woken up by the sound of a spoon hitting a pan. “It’s time to wake up, you two! C’mon! You don’t want to miss breakfast!” A young filly wearing a bow in her red hair yelled out over the banging. At this, both Kairi and Lea woke up groggily due to not getting a full night’s sleep. “Man, that was one rough night. Do these people rise with the sun or something?” Lea was annoyed. “Now, Lea. Remember that we’re staying with them for free in exchange for helping them with a few errands,” Kairi reminded Lea. “Yeah, I remember. Let’s just hope that we don’t run into any trouble along the way,” Lea responded. All of a sudden, Kairi’s stomach growled very loudly. “Well, let’s go ahead and eat. We’re going to need it after going to bed without food last night,” Kairi said as she left the room. Before Lea went downstairs, he muttered, “I hope those apples taste good.” Once they got downstairs, Lea and Kairi both saw that the family had prepared two chairs for the visitors. At the table was Applejack, the pony from last night, a large red stallion, the small yellow filly from a few minutes ago that had no mark on her flank, and an elderly green mare with a pie mark on her flank. “I’d like y’all to meet my family since we didn’t get to meet last night. The red stallion here is my brother Big MacIntosh. He doesn’t talk much. Right Big Mac?” Applejack introduced. “Eeyup,” the stallion simply said. “The older mare over here is Granny Smith. She’s in charge of everything here at Sweet Apple Acres. Right, Granny?” Applejack asked the old mare. “Yer darn tootin’! I must say though, Applejack. You did find some strange folk in our orchard last night. Still, I guess I did somethin’ right in raisin’ you since you offered them a place to stay for the night when they needed it,” Granny Smith said. “Lastly, the young filly here is our younger sister Applebloom,” Applejack introduced. “Applejack said y'all have business in Canterlot. Is that true?” Applebloom asked. “Yes, it is. We’re going to talk with someone named Princess Celestia,” Kairi said, much to the shock of the rest of the family. “Princess Celestia? You’re meeting with the princess herself?” Applejack asked in shock. “Yes. Yes we are. I'm guessing she really is a big deal judging by the shock,” Lea commented. “Of course it is! Princess Celestia is the ruler of Equestria! She raises the sun and moon every day!” Applebloom explained. “Wow! We’re going to meet the big fish then. Hear that, Kairi?” Lea noted. After this, the family and guests proceeded to eat the toast, pancakes, and other food set out for them to eat. Partway through the meal, Kairi decided to ask, “So, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s with the marks on your behinds?” “Wait, you don’t know what a cutie mark is?” Applejack was confused. “Well… you see-,” Kairi tried to think of an explanation only for Lea to come up with an answer. “We hit our heads shortly before entering your orchard. We may have trouble with remembering certain things. Like cutie marks and what role Princess Celestia plays in Equestria,” Lea explained. The family looked a little suspicious, but ultimately they decided to trust the strangers as they didn’t have any reason to lie. “Well, you see a cutie mark appears on a ponies’ flank when they discover the thing that makes them special. For me, I found out my mark means bein’ here in Sweet Apple Acres and helpin’ my family keep it in business,” Applejack explained. “I don’t have a mark yet. In fact, a lot of my class has theirs,” Applebloom sadly noted. Before the duo could ask Applebloom if she was alright, she then changed the subject. “So, what do your marks mean?” “Well, actually, we don’t know what they mean. Guess we also forgot what they mean,” Kairi responded. “Oh,” Applebloom responded, a bit disappointed. As everyone was starting to get back to eating she decided to drop the subject. After breakfast, which was delicious, Applejack gave Lea and Kairi a list of errands that they were to run while the rest of the family worked on chores. The errands were to obtain a weather schedule from a pegasus named Rainbow Dash, drop off Big Mac’s tux to be repaired by Rarity, and buy some dog food for their dog Winona from a pony named Fluttershy. After obtaining and looking over the list, the Keyblade wielding duo left to finish the Apple family’s errands. As the duo left to head towards town, Lea finally realized something. “Um, Kairi? Do we even know where to find these ponies?” Kairi stopped for a moment before saying, “Well, we can just ask the civilians for help. Applejack said that the people of Ponyville are friendly.” “Well, alright. Let’s go find this Rainbow Dash,” Lea decided to do the tasks in order. For the next half hour, Kairi and Lea looked around town to try and find Rainbow Dash. However, in spite of their best efforts, they had difficulty finding her. Every pony that they asked said that she was at one place only for her not to turn up at the place that they went to. Either this Rainbow Dash was very fast or everyone they were talking to was lying. Eventually, they ran into an orange filly, who was sitting right under a cloud excitedly. “So, young filly, what are you doing sitting in the middle of town like this?” Lea asked out of curiosity. The filly turned towards Lea and Kairi with a huge smile on her face. “Oh, I’m in the presence of the greatest pony ever, Rainbow Dash!” She then proceeded to point up at the cloud above them. After backing up, the pair could see a blue pony with a rainbow colored mane lying down on the cloud. Snoring could be heard from the pony on top of the cloud. “Hate to break it to ya, kid, but she’s sound asleep.” “Oh, I know. I’ve wanted to introduce myself to her for the longest time, but I never have the nerve to do so,” the orange filly said. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m pretty sure once you introduce yourself to her she’ll be more than willing to spend time with you,” Kairi comforted the filly. “You really think so? I-I mean, yes. Of course she’ll be willing to spend time with me! I just need to go and get my scooter and we’ll be able to race throughout Ponyville for sure! Bye, you two!” The young filly said as she began to run off. “Bye! Wait! What was your name?” Kairi called out to the young filly. “I’m Scootaloo! What’s yours?” Scootaloo answered. “I’m Kairi and this is my friend Lea!” Kairi yelled out as Scootaloo disappeared from view. “So, how do you suppose we wake her up?” Lea asked Kairi. “Well, why don’t you try flying up and nudging her awake?” Kairi suggested. “Wait! Why can’t we just call for her and see if she wakes up?” Lea asked, not wanting to fly when his only experience was in Neverland. After all, flying by pixie dust was different from flying by wings. “Just give it a try, please,” Kairi asked. “Fine. But don’t blame me if it doesn’t work out,” Lea began to try and flap his wings. It took a minute for his wings to be able to flap at the same time, but he eventually started to get it down. He slowly began to rise into the sky, only for him to suddenly fall to the ground. “Seriously?” Kairi started to snicker, holding back her laughter at what just happened. “Sorry, Lea. I’ll call up to her. Hey, Rainbow Dash! Wake up! We need to talk to you!” After a few moments, the duo noticed that Rainbow Dash was starting to move up on the cloud. “Alright, fine! I’m up! I’m up! I was just having the best dream!” Rainbow Dash complained as she flew down to see Kairi and Lea. “Who are you guys, and what do you want?” Rainbow asked, genuinely confused as to who the pair was. “Well, this is Lea and my name is Kairi. We’re here in order to obtain the weather schedule for Applejack,” Kairi explained to the sleepy pegasus. “Oh, that. Give me a second,” Rainbow said as she zoomed off to obtain the schedule for them. In no time flat, she returned with a scroll that had a seal on it. “Well, I hope you have a good day, you two.” “Yeah, and sometime you’ll have to explain to me how you were able to sleep on that cloud,” Lea said, somewhat impressed, wanting to be able to nod off like the mare could. “Wait. You don’t know how clouds work?” Rainbow Dash was confused. “All pegasi should know that we can interact with clouds! How do you not know that?!” She demanded, frustrated. All of a sudden, many nearby ponies turned to the conversation. “Oh, well our memories were partly messed up due to being hit on the head. We don’t remember everything,” Kairi explained, not wanting to break the world order. “Are you sure?” Rainbow suspiciously asked. “Very certain. In fact, we should get going,” Lea said as he dragged Kairi away. Everypony was quick to turn away and leave as Kairi and Lea left. However, Rainbow Dash looked over at them suspiciously. Meanwhile, a pink pony with three balloons on her flank was also watching from a distance and also wanted to follow the duo. Kairi was feeling awkward after the two’s encounter with Rainbow Dash. After all, it being made public that they didn’t know something that was common knowledge in this word was embarrassing. “So, Lea, do you think that we should find a book about how this world is different from other worlds? We may be able to avoid another scene if we do so,” Kairi suggested. “I guess. So, what is the next errand, anyway?” Lea asked. “Oh, it’s to drop off Big Mac’s tux at Carousel Boutique. Someone-er-pony named Rarity will fix it,” Kairi answered. “Now we just need to find the place.” After asking the ponies in town where Carousel Boutique was, they were quickly able to find the building. It had a carousel on the top of a fancy looking building. “Wow. Everything in this world looks like it’s from a child’s storybook,” Lea muttered under his breath. “Hey! Don’t be rude! I think this place looks vibrant and beautiful,” Kairi countered. “Well, we might as well knock on the door.” Kairi proceeded to knock on the door three times. At first no one responded. However, after a minute, the door opened to show a white pony with purple hair on the other side. “Oh, hello there. My name is Rarity. It’s so nice to meet you two. Of course, I am very happy to be in the presence of a couple as nice looking as the two of you,” Rarity complemented the duo, much to their embarrassment. “Wait! Hold on!” Lea tried to counter. “We aren’t a couple,” Kairi tried to say. “Oh. I thought for sure you two would be together,” Rarity said. “Well, to be fair, the red haired young stallion does seem to be older than you. By the way, what are your names?” “My name is Lea. Got it memorized? And the pink unicorn is my friend Kairi. We’re here in order to drop off a tux for Applejack. It belongs to her brother,” Lea got out the tux and handed it over to the unicorn, whose horn proceeded to glow blue. The tux proceeded to be covered in a blue aura and was levitated over to Rarity. Both Lea and Kairi were surprised to see that Rarity was able to levitate the tux and Kairi knew what she would “Oh, thanks you two. You know, Big Mac has torn up his tux in the past with his rugged muscles. I don’t know if it will only be a short time or not until I finally have to fix it again,” Rarity noted. “Well, at least you’ll have a repeat customer,” Kairi pointed out before she realized something. “Oh, I’m sorry, but I don’t believe we have the Munny to pay for the tux.” “Munny? What is that?” Rarity asked in confusion, much to the nervousness of Kairi. “Oh, never mind. Don’t worry about the payment. Applejack has already paid the necessary bits for the tux. It should be ready in a few days.” Just as Kairi and Lea were about to leave, Rarity interrupted to say, “Hey! Why don’t I make outfits for the both of you?” “Really? Are you sure?” Kairi was amazed. “Hold on, Kairi. How much will these outfits cost?” Lea cynically asked the white unicorn. “Oh, they will be no charge at all. I pride myself on my generosity, so I allow new customers to have one free outfit,” Rarity explained. “Really? That sounds great! We’ll be sure to return here once they are done,” Kairi said. “Well, we need to get going. Thanks again for the outfits!” “You’re welcome,” Rarity said as the duo left her store. However, as it would turn out, there was also a pink pony spying on them and was watching them leave the boutique. She excitedly hopped after them, preparing to welcome them to Ponyville. Author's Note Hello. Thanks for all support and comments. For those that worry that Riku won't be in the story, don't worry he will. It may be some time, though.
The Party“So, it looks like we’re down to our last errand, Kairi. If I remember correctly, we need to get some dog food from a yellow pegasus named Fluttershy,” Lea said. “I guess the name Flutterbold was taken by someone else.” “Well, we better get going, Lea. We need to finish up and head to Canterlot to meet with the princess,” Kairi reminded Lea. “From what we were told, this looks like the place,” Lea said as the duo approached a small yet beautiful cottage with what looked like plenty of little abodes for a variety of different creatures from birds to ferrets to bunnies. “It’s beautiful! Well, one thing I can say about this Fluttershy is that she really knows and loves her animals!” Kairi said in awe. “Remember, we’re here to get the dog food and go. We don’t have all day to chat,” Lea snarked. “Right. We’ll try to keep it short,” Kairi said as she blushed. As she made it to the front door and knocked, she could hear noise on the other side of the door but after a minute or two of waiting still couldn’t see the pony in question. “Um, Lea? Where do you think Fluttershy is?” “I don’t know, but it looks like she really lives up to her name. I mean, seriously? We’ve been waiting for quite a while now and still nothing!” Lea yelled in frustration. Suddenly, the door opened to the sight of a white fluffy bunny. Kairi was quick to react. “Hey little fella. Do you know where Fluttershy is?” At this, the bunny started to frown with a bitter scowl. “So much for being a sweetie pie, huh Kairi?” Lea whispered snarkily. “Now, come on, Lea! Just try and be a little patient. Sorry about Lea here. You see, we’re here because we need to get some dog food from Fluttershy here. If you can just get her out here, we’ll be out of here and you can calm down and smile,” Kairi said. At this, the rabbit went back inside, closing the door behind him. Soon, the duo could hear the sound of much movement from inside the cabin. After a minute or so, a yellow pegasus was pushed outside along with some dog food and the door was slammed shut behind her due to said rabbit. “Finally. So, Fluttershy was it? It’s nice to meet you. The name’s Lea. Got it memorized?” Lea introduced himself. “And my name’s Kairi. So, how are things going today?” Kairi curiously asked. For some reason that neither Lea or Kairi could tell, the pegasus didn’t give a response right away. Or a minute later. Or two. “Um, look, if you don’t wanna talk then we can just grab the food and go,” Lea suggested, trying to be patient. “Lea’s right. We’re just here to get the dog food that Applejack ordered. You can just give it to us and we’ll be out of your beautiful hair,” Kairi complemented. “O-Okay,” The timid pegasus whispered as she handed over the food bag and turned to head back inside. “Angel? Can you please let me back in? I-I know you want me to talk to these two, and they do seem nice, but I’d rather not today.” Fluttershy was in luck as the door opened as Angel, the bunny from earlier, opened up the door. In response, Fluttershy darted back in as Angel rolled his eyes, annoyed by his owner’s lack of backbone. “Well, that was interesting…,” Lea commented. “Sometimes people-er-ponies don’t want to be social. We should respect that. Though I do hope that she’ll come out of her shell one of these days. Come on. We should head back to Sweet Apple Acres,” Kairi said. “At long last. It’ll be great to get some more food to eat before we head off for Canterlot,” Lea said back. “It’ll also be great to see the Apple family one more time before we leave,” Kairi commented. “Yeah, as for Canterlot, maybe it’ll be a party up there,” Lea joked. “Did someone say party?!” A voice suddenly yelled out. As the duo turned, they saw a pink pony with a cutie mark consisting of three balloons. “I’m so excited to finally meet you two! I saw you both earlier and I’ve been trying to learn more about you so that I could throw you both a party! After all, you’re both new to Ponyville and you’re likely to become new friends with me and the rest of Ponyville when the time comes! So, would you both like to have a free cupcake from Sugarcube Corner or some other confectionery treat?!” “Um, I suppose so?” Lea awkwardly agreed. “Yeah. It would be nice to get a treat before we leave for Canterlot,” Kairi said. “You mean you’re leaving? Well, I guess we can throw that party for you both tonight before you leave Applejack’s! Oh, the name’s Pinkie Pie by the way! And your names are… Lea and Kairi, right?” Pinkie Pie asked. Both red heads were confused as to how she knew both their names already. “Um, sure. I guess we can have a party before we leave. So, I take it that you love treats?” Kairi asked, trying to be nice to this weird but well-meaning pony. “Love them?! Of course! Anyone can be made happier with the right treat! In fact, I believe that any pony can be made friends with! You just need to find the right things about them and the path to friendship will surely be made present! So, what are your favorite treats anyway?!” Pinkie Pie asked. “Uh, well, my favorite treat is sea-salt ice cream. I didn’t like it at first, but my friend Roxas helped me to enjoy them. Though, aside from that, I’d say that my favorite treat would be a strawberry tart,” Lea answered a bit awkwardly, still not entirely on board with this strange pony. “As for me, my favorite treat is peanut butter fudge. I don’t get to have it often, but I can tell you that it is indeed tasty,” Kairi explained. “Great! I’ll be sure to have it done in a jiffy! I’ll see you both at the party tonight!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she bounced away from the confused duo. “So, we both agree that she is weird, right?” Lea asked. “Come on, Lea! You gotta admit she was very nice. I mean, throwing a party for two ponies she just met isn’t something just anyone would do,” Kairi reminded. “True. Still, while I plan to enjoy myself at the party, I also hope to not have to talk to too many of these ponies. While they do seem nice enough, they also are very weird.” “Can you at least give them a chance? After all, we should be nice to the denizens of this world.” “Okay, fine. I’ll give them a chance. Just don’t expect me to be buddy buddy with everyone,” Lea agreed. “Good. Now, let’s head back to Sweet Apple Acres. We need to help prepare for a party,” Kairi said as Lea followed after her. When Kairi and Lea returned to Sweet Apple Acres, they returned to see that Applejack and her family were hard at work bucking trees and collecting the apples into buckets. They also noticed that Pinkie Pie was nearby starting to prepare a party. “Well, looks like everyone is hard at work. So, should I go rest for the party or should we give them a hand?” Lea asked curiously. “I’d say we help out Pinkie after we tell Applejack that we finished the chores,” Kairi said. At this, Applejack noticed that Lea and Kairi had returned and walked over to them. “So, I take it that you’ve finished the errands?” “Yep. Sure did. Here is the dog food and weather schedule,” Lea said as he handed over both items. “So, I notice that Pinkie Pie is starting work on a party for us. Does she do this for everyone or are we just a special case?” Kairi asked curiously. “Pinkie Pie loves to throw parties for just about everyone and everything. She loves making others smile and be happy from what I can tell. She is one of the nicest folks you’ll ever meet. She can be a bit much at times though,” Applejack explained. “Good to know. So, should Lea and I help her set up the party?” Kairi asked, wanting to be helpful. “No thanks! I just want you two to enjoy yourselves and make some new friends here in Ponyville! I just hope you two will come by and visit sometime once you both are situated back in Canterlot,” Pinkie Pie answered with a cupcake in her hoof, which she devoured in one bite. “Okay then. So, what should we do in the meantime then?” Lea asked. “How about we head over to the local library and read up on what we can’t remember?” Kairi suggested. “I guess you can do that. I’ll go and get some rest so that I’ll be ready for the party. After all, I still need to catch some Z’s after being woken up so early,” Lea decided. “Well, at Sweet Apple Acres, we think it’s best to be early to bed and early to rise,” Applejack said. “Well, I’ll see you all later, okay?” Kairi said as she left Sweet Apple Acres in order to read up on the land of Equestria. It took Kairi some time, but she eventually found the town library, which was a cozy looking treehouse located in the middle of town. When Kairi got there, she found that the library was empty. She was confused as to why there was no librarian, but seeing as there was a sign saying to come right on in, she decided not to think about it too much for the time being. Throughout the afternoon, Kairi read up on the history of Equestria and also on some of the more common knowledge of this strange world. This included that weather was controlled by pegasi, that there was a princess that was the niece of Celestia named Cadence, and even some of the holidays such as Hearts and Hooves Day, which was like Valentine’s Day. Kairi was amazed by what she read, finding all of this new information to be enchanting and intriguing to figure out. Eventually, she found a book that detailed that there were originally two princesses that ruled Equestria. However, after the younger sister grew envious of the older sister for their daytime being loved and cherished while the younger sister’s night was slept through, she became corrupted into a being known as Nightmare Moon who wished to make nighttime eternal. The older sister, however, used these special gems known as the Elements of Harmony in order to stop Nightmare Moon and seal her into the moon. “Whoa! This is just… overwhelming! I wonder if this story is true. If so, then I kinda feel bad for the younger sister. After all, maybe if things were different then she wouldn’t have been corrupted by darkness,” Kairi muttered to herself. In the early evening, Kairi decided to return to Sweet Apple Acres after learning a fair amount about the land of Equestria. She couldn’t wait to inform Lea about all that she learned about this strange land. Upon reaching Sweet Apple Acres, she saw a group of ponies partying around the barn. Upon noticing Kairi, the many ponies cheered with thunderous applause for the unicorn. Kairi was happy to be greeted by the many partygoers. However, wanting to talk to ponies that she knew, decided to look for Applejack and Lea. It took some searching, but she eventually found Lea standing near Applejack, who was competing with Rainbow Dash in bobbing for apples. “So, it took you long enough to get back from reading. The party has been going on for nearly an hour,” Lea jokes. “Sorry, I just was so engrossed in the history of this land! Did you know that there were originally three different pony tribes that learned to finally get along when they were nearly frozen solid by windigos?” Kairi asked. “No, I did not. I have to say, from the sounds of it this world is incredibly strange sounding,” Lea commented. “Maybe, but this world is still incredible! I wouldn’t mind finding myself a home here to stay part-time,” Kairi gushed. “Hold on. You guys don’t live anywhere here? What is wrong with you two? Do you live on the road or something?” Rainbow Dash asked, suspicious as to why Lea and Kairi were talking about history that was common knowledge like they were just learning it. “Oh, we were looking to move into either Canterlot or Ponyville. Nothing strange going on here,” Lea lied. “Look you two. I don’t know what is going on with you both, but just know that I don’t trust you. After all, why would you only lose some memories rather than all of them?” Rainbow Dash warned. “I don’t want the ponies of Ponyville to be hurt, so just make sure that you don’t try anything funny. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to fight you!” “Rainbow Dash! Don’t accuse them of being bad! They helped defend Sweet Apple Acres from these dark creatures called Heartless,” Applejack defended the duo. “How do you know they didn’t summon them to look like heroes?” Rainbow Dash countered. “I doubt they did that! Besides, they were willing to help set up the party but Pinkie Pie said they didn’t have to,” Applejack pointed out. “Well, um-,” Rainbow Dash stuttered. “Look. I know we just met them and we don’t have much reason to trust them yet, but they seem to be genuinely nice ponies. I think we should give them a chance,” Applejack pleaded. After a moment of thinking, Rainbow Dash decided, “F-Fine. I’ll be nice. For now. But if they do anything to hurt anypony I will stop them, understand?” “Trust me, that won’t happen, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said. Just as Rainbow was about to stand down, many ponies started to run away from the party. One of the ponies was Pinkie Pie, who looked scared. “Whoa! Pinkie Pie? What is the problem?” Kairi asked. “There are these strange shadow creatures looking like they are going to attack everypony! Run!” Pinkie Pie screamed as she began to run away. “Come on, Lea! Looks like the Heartless are attacking. We should defeat them before somepony gets hurt,” Kairi said as she summoned her Keyblade. “Alright then,” Lea agreed as he also summoned his Keyblade. “Wait! Are those-,” Rainbow was shocked to see the Keyblades. In an instant, the duo ran to start attacking the Heartless, cutting through them one by one with their Keyblades. Lea started to generate flames in order to burn the Heartless, being mindful not to burn down anything. Kairi also began to use her magic to attack the Heartless. Thankfully, the duo were able to fight off most of the Heartless without much trouble. However, just as they were about to finish off the last of them, a Heartless snuck up behind them and was ready to strike. However, before it did, Rainbow rushed the Heartless while holding a cloud and rainbow lightning covered Keyblade, much to the duo's shock. Author's Note Hello everyone. Sorry it took so long to update. I've been interested in other things and stories. However, I do plan to work on this story and many others in the future. Please comment. Constructive criticism is encouraged.
