I slept soundly on the comfy bed in the bedroom I was temporarily sleeping in within the Castle of Friendship. It was so soft, that I couldn’t get up or open my eyes.

But, that turned to dismay as a ray of sunlight shone my face. I groaned in annoyance as I grumpily awoke from my well-deserved slumber.

I yawned as soon as I woke up, and I stretched my arms before looking around. It was a crystallized room with some bookshelves at the walls, and there was a balcony to my right as I sighed before unwrapping myself from the blanket I had on in my sleep.

I stood on the crystal floor while the door opened with a purple aura on its doorknob. I saw Twilight stepping inside and looked at me with a warm smile.

“You’re awake,” she noted upon seeing me.

“I am,” I nodded and I saw her trot up to me with a floating plate of breakfast. “Thanks. I needed something to eat anyway.” I took the plate from her magic aura and sat down on the edge of my bed.

“How are you holding up?” she asked me after I took several bites on my meal.

“Better than after yesterday,” I replied. “I was exhausted when I was done with the party. I could barely stand, but with the rest I have gotten, I’m in better shape.”

“That’s good,” Twilight smiled pleasantly.

I sat there in silence while I ate my breakfast, and I was soon finished with the meal before Twilight and I were walking through the hallway to meet with the others. The hallway looked perfectly shining with the crystal walls, and I couldn’t help but notice my curiosity at how this castle was formed.

“This castle was made after me and my friends defeated Lord Tirek,” Twilight informed me as we made our way down the hallway to the throne room.

“Tirek?” I asked. “Who is that?”

“A powerful, evil magic-hungry creature who sought to conquer Equestria not so long ago, but I managed to send him back to Tartarus with my friends’ help,” Twilight explained.

“So, basically a demon from Hell,” I said as I jumped to the conclusion at the mention of Tartarus.

“You can say that,” the alicorn gave me a single nod.

We arrived at the throne room, and it was surprisingly big enough to be fitting with the crystals that lit the place up with their blue color. I could see six thrones at the round circle in the middle - reminds me a bit of the Camelot legend with the six knights.

“You’re here!” I heard Applejack speak as she trotted up to me. “How ya holdin’, partner?” she asked.

“Better,” I replied with a smile. “More than I could think of, actually.”

Applejack nodded, satisfied with my answer as we made our way to the other Mane Six.

“You need to inform us on how you know about those monsters you fought yesterday, Daniel,” Twilight told me with a ‘need-to-know’ look to me.

“Yeah,” Rainbow agreed with Twilight. “And don’t just make drama or tension while you’re at it, Dan.”

“Alright,” I nodded as they took their seats while I stood beside Twilight’s throne. “The monsters that I fought yesterday, is a dark creature that seeks to swallow the heart’s light,” I explained to the mares. “They thirst for power, and they want to conquer the Light with their Darkness. They are called Phantoms, a type of Heartless that want chaos and destruction throughout the worlds.”

“What’s a Heartless?” Rarity asked.

“Basically, a being without a heart,” I replied to her. “They also thirst for the Light in the hearts of every living thing, be them human or animal that is organic. There are variations of the Heartless that are stronger than the normal ones.”

“Alright,” Twilight said, looking down for a moment to think. “And, what’s with that strange Key that you’re holding?”

“Ah, the Keyblade,” I smiled as I began to think of if I should show it to them.

“What’s a Keyblade?” Rainbow asked, curious about my weapon.

Instead of answering, I summoned the Keyblade to my hand as they all marveled at the craftsmanship of the blade. I held it in the air. “This is the Keyblade,” I told them. “I am its wielder - which means that only I am able to summon it to my will and pure heart. It’s the weapon that I used to defeat those evil Phantom creatures back in town and in my old destroyed home.”

“Wow,” Twilight breathed, marveling at the sword-like weapon. “So, can you use magic with it?”

“I sure am able to,” I nodded as they looked at me in amazement. “The Magic from this Keyblade will be utilized whenever I speak of a word from Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, and last but not least, Aeroga. Those abilities are the main powers from the Keyblade; there’s also healing from Curaga, where I can heal wounds and the like if I take damage.”

“Whoa, dude!” Rainbow gasped. “You can do all of THAT?! Awesome! You’ve got to show us!”

“Sorry, but it’s limited,” I sighed, lowering the Keyblade. “I can only use it in defensive matters, such as when I am battling against the forces of evil and other beings with Dark Magic.”

“Hmm,” Twilight hummed, staring at my Keyblade before she asked, “And why is your old home destroyed?”

That gave me a sting to my body for some reason. I lowered my head in sadness while they looked worried.

“Phantoms,” I spat in disgust. “They killed off my entire species, AND they destroyed my home of Earth within the blink of an eye after I threatened them with my Light and the Keyblade. They said they were going into the millions as well when I was frozen during my fight against them. I was very afraid when I was pulled into a dark vortex after I destroyed the leader of that group of Phantoms and I was here. In Equestria, after that.”

Rainbow looked sympathetic to me while Twilight looked sad. “Wow, we didn’t know,” the pegasus breathed, while the alicorn’s ears fell.

Fluttershy, on one hoof - yeah, I get their ways of mentioning things by staying here - was deeply saddened by my explanation of how I got in their home.

“But,” They looked at me as I spoke again, “I’m happy.”

“You are?” Rarity asked.

“Yes,” I nodded. “I made a bunch of friends while I was here for only a single day. I was greatly surprised by this development, but at least there’s something to be happy about, isn’t there?”

“Of course,” Twilight agreed with my statement. “Making friends doesn’t hurt to have, especially if you’re skeptical of making such fast friends like us.”

“I wasn’t skeptical,” I protested. “I was just surprised, that’s all.”

“Well, anyway, we…” Twilight started until a letter appeared before her with a puff of white magic. “Oh! A letter from the Princess!”

She unwrapped the letter and began to read it to herself. I was curious; were there other princesses here? Not just one?

“Well? What’s it saying?” I asked the alicorn as she stopped reading the letter when she was finished.

“It seems that Princess Celestia wants to have a word with you, Daniel,” Twilight told me. “She is curious about how you were able to come here, and helped save Ponyville from those Phantoms.”

“Oh, alright,” I slowly nodded. “I’m not going to be sent away, am I?”

Twilight giggled. “Don’t worry; Princess Celestia is very understanding and wise, she won’t be sending you away from saving our town.”

That’s good enough for me, I guess.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Rainbow spoke up as she hovered in the air. “Let’s go to Canterlot!”

Canterlot? Yep, definitely a common name with Camelot from the Arthur legend. Sounds very similar, too.

After we were done with our conversation at the throne room in the castle, we and Spike - who I was surprised at was actually a dragon - made our way to the train station to get to Canterlot.

Twilight told the train’s conductor that I was with them and their Princess had personally requested my presence. The conductor nodded and we were on the train with a couple of ponies sitting in our ride.

We finally arrived at Canterlot after half an hour had passed. I was taken by surprise that the city was well constructed and organized on the side of a mountain. The city was white and it was something of a spectacular sight to behold.

When I walked with the girls to the castle in Canterlot, I got a couple of strange looks from the nobles in the city. I was shy by the way they were looking at me. But, as long as Twilight was with me, they didn’t say anything or try something I wouldn’t like.

We were at last at the castle gates, and there were two golden clad pegasus guards standing in front of the gates as they looked at me with suspicion in their eyes.

“He was requested by the Princess herself,” Twilight announced to the guards and they stepped aside to let us through.

Whew, I was glad she was quick on it.

The halls within the castle were big, and there was a red carpet on the floor that led directly to the room we needed to be at. There were pillars at the walls that stood high, and a couple of paintings were also on the walls displaying the princesses that were here.

I followed the girls to the double sized door that was, from what I presumed, that led to the throne room as two of the pegasus guards stepped aside to let us through like earlier.

The door opened with Twilight’s purple magic aura, and I blinked upon entering the room with them. There were six windows at both sides of the walls, and there were two thrones at the back of the room which had two marks of the sun and the moon on them. Standing from the thrones, were two alicorns that looked white and dark blue, respectively.

So, the white one must be Celestia, I can guess. And, who is the dark blue one?

“Ah, Twilight Sparkle, you’re here with our guest,” the white alicorn smiled at the purple alicorn with a kind expression.

“Yes,” Twilight nodded to her. “This is the one I wrote to you about.”

So, she wrote a letter to Princess Celestia? And told her about me?

“You’re just like the description she described,” the shorter alicorn noted upon seeing my appearance. “Although, I can say, that you’re unlike anything we’ve seen.”

“Not the first comment I got from my arrival,” I joked with a humored tone in my voice. “Anything else you expected me to be, Princess?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “A little more muscular.”

Huh, I guess she made a point. When I checked on my arms, I noticed they didn’t have a lot of muscle on them.

“Anyway,” Celestia spoke up, and I looked at her. “Can you explain your situation here? We would like to know what is chasing and fighting you.”

I then began to explain everything - well, almost everything - to Celestia and Luna, who was the dark blue alicorn I had spoken to. From how I was fighting for Earth, my home, against the Phantoms, how I was pulled from the face of the planet by a vortex in the sky, and how I was able to save Ponyville from them. I even showed them the Keyblade I was wielding, and explained my Magic powers, at which they were generally surprised to hear.

And then I explained my situation. Apparently, I am in a war between the Light and the Dark, with something called Kingdom Hearts in the midst of it. I tried to explain what Kingdom Hearts was in reality - from my view, not a game anymore - and they accepted my explanation. I also added that I needed to seal Keyholes in other worlds to prevent the Phantoms and Heartless from causing chaos in that specific world.

“And that is what is going on with me,” I finished as my long explanation was now done.

I needed to breathe; that sure was a long thing to explain.

“Well…” Celestia started to say. “I am not exactly sure how to proceed with this information…”

“Me neither,” Luna agreed with her sister. “That is a lot to take in, considering a child like you is in a war.”

“I’m not a child,” I huffed at her with irritation, folding my arms. “I’m almost a young adult.”

“I was just saying,” Luna smiled humoredly. “Don’t take it with offence, Daniel.”

I rolled my eyes in slight annoyance.

Celestia chuckled at me. “I thank you for explaining your situation, Daniel,” she thanked me. “We can prepare for anything should those Phantoms show up.”

Um...no, I don’t think so.

“Sorry, Princess,” I said firmly. “But, I can’t let any of you get involved in my affairs with the monsters.”

“Why not?” Twilight asked, and I looked at her with serious eyes.

“Because those Phantoms are likely going to kill all of you, like how they did with my species,” I told them. “They’re very dangerous, and I can be the judge of that since I saw it with my own eyes. So, no. You ponies cannot be involved in this war.”

“We understand your concern,” Celestia told me. “But, we’re capable of defending ourselves.”

“Sure you can,” I said with a serious tone in my voice. “I don’t want your world to be plunged into eternal darkness like it had done with mine. Your Light needs to be out of the violence in the battle.”

Luna wanted to say something, but she closed her mouth and sighed. “We get your point,” she said, with Celestia, the girls and dragon nodding along with her.

“Good,” I smiled at them. “Now, with that outta the way...anything I can do that doesn’t involve Phantoms?”

“You can stay in this castle for a bit,” Celestia smiled at the changed subject. “We’d love to have you around, Daniel. That way, you can get to know Canterlot better if you’re to accept this request.”

Eh, why not? I could use a little more acquaintances here.

“Sure, I don’t see why not,” I nodded, making her smile brighter.

“Splendid!” the princess exclaimed happily. “We would like for you all to join us for dinner. We can then talk about some other matters afterward, Daniel.”

“Alright,” I heard my stomach growl loudly, and I held it with my hands as the girls and dragon snickered at me. “I guess I’m a bit hungry, after all this explanation.”

Celestia giggled. “Well then, shall we get going?” she asked us.

We nodded as we made our way to the dinner hall.

I can only think of one thing on my mind: this is going to be a great time by staying in Canterlot and know more of their ways of how their magic is used.

It’ll be something to expect, I’m sure it will.

Author's Note

This was the third chapter. I will be taking a slow approach with the rest of the chapters in Act One of Phantom Monsters. I won't be rushing through the story; that's only making it a bad story with bad narrative.

If any of you have world suggestions (which I'm still open to), then don't be afraid to write it down in the comment section. I'm happy to know more worlds from games, cartoons, movies, and books.

With that, I bid you all a good weekend, and until we meet again next week. I'll be spending some time playing KH III during the weekend, to see if I can get world ideas to use in this story. We'll see what I can come up with, won't we?

See ya all!