Chapters Falling through the sky is the first thing I remember. My body had locked up, and the wind was basically assaulting my ears. I could barely remember what had happened to me beforehand. But, the clearest image in my mind was that of a merchant carrying a giant backpack with a small stand on the sidewalk. I paid him and took a necklace with a small crown dangling from it.
Suddenly, a loud noise echoed in my head as a small banner appeared on the right top-side of my vision.
Information! Use your wings to avoid hitting the ground!
The noise was the notification sound effect from the Kingdom Hearts series. It usually appeared during special events or when there were special conditions to winning a scenario. The sky was so blue and filled to the brim with stars. I've never seen anything like it before. I was used to seeing gray skies covered in clouds. It was a miracle to see the blue part of it. So, my mind started to process things.
"I'm falling," I mumbled as I started to look around. Suddenly, my mind clicked, and I understood my situation. "I'm falling!" I yelled as I rolled and opened my arms and legs to slow the fall.
Information! Use your wings to avoid hitting the ground.
"Wings?!" I exclaimed while looking back on my body.
I had Sora's vest, shirt, and his pockets from the third game on me. The pockets were attached to my hips. All of my limbs had turned into equid legs. But there were no wings on my back.
Information! The user's species has been wrongfully formed! The User's form is defective! Attempt to grab a cloud to avoid the fall!
Grab a cloud?! Fuck it! I concluded while frantically searching for a cloud beneath me. As soon as I saw one, a yellow reticle appeared on it. In the game, that's a sign of something being a breakable object. But it also indicates to be within range for one of the attacks. I tried to mimic how people navigate sky diving during action sequences in movies. However, I don't know how to do that. So, I missed my target. And then, I faceplanted on the next cloud. Which, from above, looked like a part of the cloud of my missed target.
I hugged the cloud with all my might while gritting my teeth.
Information! Call for help. Someone might hear you!
"HELP! SOMEBODY! HELP!" I screeched without an ounce of hesitation.
"Uh, what-?!" Someone exclaimed from above me.
"I'm down here! Someone help, please!" I yelled while grabbing the cloud tighter and shutting my eyes.
I heard the sound of wings flapping. I kept my eyes closed while grabbing the cloud as firmly as I could.
"I don't know who you are! Just, please! Get me to solid ground! I'll do anything!" I begged while holding the cloud as if it was a piece of wood in the sea.
"Just open your wings. You should be able to fly down easily," A raspy voice said as I trembled at the idea of having my body squashing on the ground.
"I can't! I don't have wings!" I argued while burying my face on the cloud.
"Well, of course, your wings wouldn't work if you had them tucked away inside clothing. Who makes clothes for pegasus without holes for the wings?" The voice said in an annoyed tone.
"I really don't have wings! Please, get me down!" I countered while keeping my eyes shut.
"Dude, you can't hold or walk on clouds if you aren't a pegasus pony. Of course, you have wings," The voice retorted.
"I beg you. I'll strip if I have to. Get me to solid ground, please! We can argue all you want when I'm not about to die!" I said while raising my head with my eyes closed.
There was a sudden stop in our argument. I could still hear the flapping of wings. Suddenly, I felt a breeze for a couple of seconds. And then, the breeze stopped.
"Just, just hop down the cloud. I don't want to see your scrawny body," The voice said as I slowly opened my eyes. I was still on a cloud. But I was near the ground.
I struggled to unlock my limbs. However, I managed to climb off to the ground. I turned to face the flapping sound. There was a cyan pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane flying near me. Their face was tinged red and she kept pouting while looking away from me.
"Thank you. I thought I was about to die," I said while feeling my legs trembling.
"Why are you standing on your hind legs?" The pegasus said while taking a glance at me before turning away.
I then realized I was balancing on my back legs. So, I decided to act as if I was crawling. This felt weird, but my back wasn't acting up because of my posture anymore.
"Sorry. My bad," I quickly quipped while hopping a couple of times to get a feel for these new limbs.
"Don't wear clothes that impede your wings from functioning," The pegasus said before taking the cloud and zipping away at high speed. It then rushed back to me just as quickly. "I'm Rainbow Dash. The town is that way," Rainbow said before zipping towards the direction they pointed out to me.
"Thanks," I said to no one as I stood there in the middle of the road. After a couple of seconds, I realized that I was alone. So, I decided to poke around my head to see if anything would happen.
I had the Information tab from the game. Maybe I have some sort of system to tell me what I have? I mused before another tab appeared, occupying all of my field of view. Ok. I have a menu too. No ailments detected? I guess this means I'm not sick? Statistics? It's comparing me to Sora? It says that I'm on par with Sora's starting condition at Kingdom Hearts one. He wasn't the strongest back then. Wait, we are never shown how strong Sora was before the dream sequence in the Station of Awakening. Defenses? It says that I have a bit of resistance to light, dark, and wind. But there are no numbers here. Skills? Oh, I can open this one. I have the scan skill. And Light & Dark? What the heck is this doing here? And that's about it. Damn it. How do I close it? And it's gone.
I looked around and started to walk towards the general direction Rainbow had pointed me.
"What the hell is going on?" I mumbled while walking down the road.
Upon reaching the store, which made me think of a botanical garden with fancy windows, Rarity wasted no time leading me to my room. It was a small back room with a simple bed, a window, and a little desk on the side. It was a tad cramped. But nothing I couldn't handle. As a matter of fact, I was grateful for having a piece of furniture. It made the place look like Judy's apartment in Zootopia. I decided to see it as a sign that I would face some hardships. But ultimately, I would come out on top of whatever madness was about to ensue in my life.
"Thank you for this," I said while entering the room.
"Don't mention it, deary," Rarity said while passing me a key with her magic. "This is the door's key. The window has a lock on it. You should lock both when you go to sleep. Just to be sure."
"Ok?" I replied with a hint of concern.
Are break-ins that common around here? And what good would locking my window do? It's glass! I mused as my stomach decided to make itself known.
"Sorry about that," I said while placing the key on the desk. "I guess I forgot about eating due to all that mess of a day!" I added with a chuckle.
"Worry not. I'll whip something quick for the two of us. Actually, I better make for three," Rarity said while raising her hoof to her chin.
"I'm grateful for the generosity," I said while making a slight bow.
"Don't even think about it! Let's just head to the kitchen!" Rarity replied quickly while trotting away. As soon as I turned around to close the door, I came to realize something. "I got no hands. Crap."
I ended up grabbing the doorknob with my teeth and closed it. Rarity had already left my line of sight, so I had to follow the sound of her steps and humming to figure out where she went. The shop was well decorated. Most of the furniture looked expensive. The place was saturated with different shades of purple as well as white. And there were plenty of mannequins as well as different designs displayed across the place.
I'm no fashion critique, but these look way more colorful and useable than anything back from my world. However, there are no price tags. Not to mention there isn't a balcony or a cashier. Maybe she makes designs on-demand? No, that is something you do when you have enough reputation to have clients coming to you. She called this a lovely little town. The only way for her to make things by request would be if her designs made their way out. But she looks too young for that. Wait, what the hell? How can I tell that she looks young? Never mind, just ask if the store is ready for business. That should provide enough information.
The humming led me to a neatly organized kitchen. But once again, saturated with different shades of purple and some white spots. I also found a cat, who was sitting on the window, staring at me.
It's judging me so hard right now. I mused while approaching a decently sized chair. Then, I turned away from it and walked towards the partially filled sink. I'm an idiot. If I can't close a door, I will end up destroying these plates. And considering that Rarity just walked away, she either is used to using her magic for everything, or she assumed I could do it on my own.
"You wanted to help with the dishes? How thoughtful," Rarity said from behind me as I stared blankly at the glasses and plates.
"I, uh, I don't know. I mean, I never," I stuttered while trying to phrase it in a way that didn't make me look like a rich kid that never had to do anything in their life, like Prince Naveen. "I seem to have forgotten how to use my hooves to hold things," I admitted while trying hard not to look at Rarity due to my shame.
"Oh, dear," I heard from behind me before Rarity sat beside me and grabbed one of my front hooves. "Here, let me show you," Rarity said before she started to poke the underside of my hoof. "You can probably feel it now. We usually do this for children when they are learning how to hold things for the first time. You should feel the spots where your hoof is folding. Ok. Give me your other hoof. Here, here, here, here, and here."
As soon as Rarity finished poking around my hooves, I sat on my flank and started to try and move the spots she had pointed out to me. Strangely enough, the underside of my hoof started to move and fold as she had told me. I reached for one of the forks in the sink and tried to grab it. The fork stuck to my hoof while I raised my hoof, which was shaking from the new exercise.
BONUS! You've become more dextrous!
"Thanks," I said while staring at the fork sticking to my hoof. The notification was basically white noise at that point due to how relieved I was to be able to interact with objects. "I promise I'll get good enough to help out," I added with a smile while looking at Rarity. She blushed for a brief second before the bell from the front door rang.
"I'm here!" A female voice said before the sound of hooves reached the kitchen. "Oh."
The one speaking to us was a filly.
She is smaller than us, but I wouldn't put pass beyond her getting taller than Rarity based on her current size. I'm taller than Rarity, not by much, but I'm bigger.
The filly wasted no time forming a sly grin as she covered her mouth with her hoof. With half-open eyes, she chuckled a couple of times before speaking again.
"Rarity, you could have just asked for some alone time," The filly said while slowly retreating from the kitchen. "But You should tell mother about your new special pony," She continued before darting off into the store.
Looking back on Rarity, I saw her change into three tones of red while making different faces. She then sucked up a bunch of air and put on a forced smile as her eyes watered up for a moment.
"That was my adorable little sister, Sweetie Belle. She adores pranking me and causing some mischief," Rarity explained while tilting her head. "Please, pay her no mind!"
"No problem," I replied in a chipper tone. Grinning at her, I turned my attention to the fork and tried to make it flip. Which came easier than I thought.
BONUS! You've learned object manipulation skill!
Say what? I mused while opening the skill tab. I then realized a few things that I had overlooked during my midnight stroll last night. First of all, I'm not tired. WHY?! I spend an entire night walking towards this town. It's bright outside. I walked the entire night! Second, there are no options to turn off skills. And no descriptions of any of them. Is this another defect? No, if that was the case, I wouldn't be able to access this. Unless this access is a defect too. I don't get any of this. I argued mentally while closing the menu.
"So, Rarity," I said while scratching my head. "How's the shop doing? I noticed all the mannequins and the outfits. But, it's closed, during the day."
"Of course it is, dear!" Rarity replied quickly as she waved dismissively. "I won't graduate until the end of the next year! I can't open a shop without completing my education!"
I blinked a couple of times while staring at Rarity. That didn't make much sense.
"I'm sorry if this is rude, but, how old are you?" I asked while raising an eyebrow.
"Probably as old as you, darling," Rarity said with a chuckle. "I mean, I know I just turned twenty. And that I take good care of my coat and mane. But I'm not that young! And I'm still growing I'll have you know!"
Twenty?! What the hell? That's a fully grown adult! Why is she still in school?! Idiot. I'm an idiot. She must mean college.
"Oh, are you on a fashion course in your college? Or is it something related to modeling?" I inquired while eluded by the bliss of ignorance.
"That would be a dream!" Rarity squealed. "But, to get to any of those I would need at least a letter of commendation. And to get those I would need to have my high school in either Canterlot or Manehattan. Which, unfortunately, I don't have. But that just means a little bit of extra work to get my works out in the world!" She explained with a fierce look in her eye confidence in her smile.
SHE IS IN HIGH SCHOOL!? THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?
"Um, this will probably be the stupidest question you'll ever hear from me," I said while preparing for the answer. "At what age are we considered adults?"
There was a moment of silence in the kitchen. Rarity kept looking at me as if I was about to deliver a punchline or tell her that I was joking. The only thing indicating the passage of time for us was the tick-tock of a wall clock. And as each sound echoed in that room, Rarity's face grew distraught with the possibility of my question being serious.
"Are you sure nothing was done to you?" Rarity inquired with concern plastered on her face. I nodded in response. "Dear Celestia, you're an adult at the age of nineteen. This is basic Equestrian law, Cael."
I don't think it's good that she called me by my name. And how long do we live? I mean, I had a classmate or two repeat a grade and end up finishing way older than they should have. But this is ridiculous!
"I'm sorry. I mean, I don't really know how things work here. So, I'm sorry if these questions are unsettling," I said with my head hanging low.
"No worries. I know just the pony for the job! You can get into our school. I'm sure Cheerlie won't mind. However, they will check how much you know before deciding which grade you should be on," Rarity proposed readily.
"Really? You think I can go there?" I asked while rapidly raising my head.
"I don't have any doubt in my mind about it!" Rarity replied with a smile.
"Thank you. That's reassuring," I replied with a sigh of relief escaping me as I raised my head to the ceiling. "When do we begin?"
"The testing can happen tomorrow. As for the classes, they should start two weeks from now," Rarity replied. I raised an eyebrow. "Sweetie had a few issues last year, now she is having special classes."
"Ok! Then tomorrow we see where I fit in!" I said with enthusiasm as I realized I had a chance to learn the basics of this world without the crash test method. "But, what about the rest of the day?"
"I can take you to meet some friends of mine. That way you won't go to school without knowing anyone," Rarity said before my stomach grumbled again. "Right after we fix that grumpy thing."
Author's Note
Ok. I hope you guys are enjoying this.
I've been wanting to do something with Kingdom Hearts for quite some time, but I wasn't ever able to do something that didn't feel like the other stories I read. So, I'm glad that this one, at least for me, feels different from the amazing stories I read.
Please let me know what you thought of it in the comments.
I kept walking on and on for hours. My legs didn't seem to tire out. Sora used to run on the white sand day in and day out, so, it made sense for him to have strong legs. Multiply that by two, and you have yourself a neat little combo. Step by step, I found myself at the signpost marking the entrance to Ponyville. I didn't notice at the time, but I had walked until the sun rose. And this might be a good time to mention it, but I knew that there existed a show about ponies and friendship. But I never went about watching it.
However, I could recall the appearance of one of the ponies in the show. They were white with a purple mane. My sister got it from a friend at a secret friend game. I couldn't recall her name, but I do remember she had diamond thingies on her butt. At any rate, the sign had HUGE letters marking the signboard.
"Ponyville, the friendliest place in Equestria," I muttered while reading the text. A bad habit that escaped my mind most of the time.
At least I know the name of the place. I concluded before taking a few steps into town. Which is when I started to notice something, EVERYONE was naked. For some reason, they didn't have their junk showing. But I still had to work around the idea of looking away whenever someone walked diagonally to me or passed in front of me. I didn't want to see any of that, but these ponies weren't helping much. Right. Where the hell am I going? I finally thought as I stood by a fountain with a winged unicorn sculpted on it.
"I should have thought of that before waltzing into town," I mumbled while staring at the reflection on the fountain water. My hair/mane was longer than it should, but it had a bit of a spiky aspect to it. It looked somewhat familiar.
Right. I saw this fan concept of Sora being in a horse shape at some point. But that one looked more like him than I do. I look older. And my hair is too big to be Sora's.
"Um, excuse me?" I heard from behind me. I turned to see the same pony as the toy my sister had. She was red as a tomato and kept glancing downwards before blinking back to look at my face. "I do believe you forgot something rather important."
Tilting my head, I looked around to see if there were any other ponies around. There were none. So, I pointed to myself.
"Yes, you. Did you forget to put it on?" She inquired while trying hard to keep her eyes locked with mine.
"Forget to put what on?" I asked in earnest.
"Do you seriously mean to ask that question?" She retorted with her face getting redder.
"Ms., with all due respect, I woke up a couple of hours ago while falling from the sky. I shouldn't be here. I don't know how I got from walking on a sidewalk to falling from the sky. So, I do apologize for my ignorance. But I don't have the faintest idea of what you're talking about," I replied as clearly as I could.
Wasn't I supposed to act like Sora? Sora isn't that formal. In these stories, my personality would have been overwritten by the character's mindset and habits. Maybe, did the defective form I took influenced it? I mused while the mare stared me down like I was some lost puppy.
"You poor thing! You mustn't know that you lost it then!" She exclaimed before her horn fired up, and I started to float. "Do you have anything you never take off?"
"I have this necklace," I said while pointing at the crown dangling from my neck.
"Perfect!" She said as a purple ribbon made of light left her horn and wrapped itself around the crown. Then, she put me down. "There, all better now. You're lucky none of the guards arrested you for sexual harassment."
"Wait, what?" I inquired while my mind sped through the information of that exchange and the naked detail I had noticed beforehand. As one plus one equals two, I concluded. "Oh. That's, I mean, oh. I, No. I want to disappear right now," I said as I fell on my flank and covered my face.
"Worry not, deary. You're just a victim here. So, now that's out of the way, where did you get those unique clothes?" She inquired with her eyes beaming.
"I woke up with them. Didn't have them before," I replied while keeping my face behind my hooves.
How do I identify myself now? Do I give the name Sora? Should I call myself through my actual name? Should I make up a new name? God damn it! I cursed while rubbing my hooves against my face.
"Oh, dear! Are you hurting anywhere? Do you feel like anything was done to you?" She inquired with worry as she placed her hoof on my shoulder.
"No. I don't feel anything different. Um, I'm Cael, short for Caelum. And you are?" I inquired while dragging my hooves down my face.
This has to be the most unimaginative answer I could have come up with for that conundrum. I fell back on the translation of Sora's name and changed it to Latin. I'm just glad I didn't lose my mind to Sora. I don't mind if I get his powers. But I prefer to be myself, thank you very much.
"Oh! Where are my manners?! I'm Rarity. A pleasure to meet you," Rarity replied while placing her hoof on her chest. "Now, Cael, was it? What brings you to our cozy little town?" Rarity continued with a friendlier voice.
"Rainbow Dash, who basically saved me from falling to my death, and told me that there was a town down the road," I answered promptly while getting up.
"If you don't mind me asking, what does your Cutie Mark stand for?" Rarity asked while leaning to the side and staring at my butt.
"My what?" I asked before looking back to my flank. There was a Keyblade splitting the game's signature heart logo in half. "That wasn't there when I fell from the sky."
"You just got your mark?" Rarity tossed before I felt someone poking my shoulder.
I looked to the side before getting a blast of confetti hitting my face. Luckily, my mouth was closed, otherwise, I would have swallowed at least a fistful of paper.
"WELCOME TO PONYVILLE! And Happy Cutieceañeara!" A pink pony whose mane looked like had just gotten out of a cotton candy machine said as I waited for the ringing in my ears to fade.
Information! You've been dazed! Reaction time reduced for the duration of the effect
Ok. So, that's an ailment.
"My what now?" I inquired while using one of my hooves to rub my right ear.
"You don't know about Cutieceañeara?!" The pink pony asked as she grabbed my face and pressed her forehead against mine. "And I'm Pinkie Pie!" She added after backing away.
"Cael, a pleasure. And what exactly is this Cutie thingie? Both the party and the thing on my flank," I replied while recomposing myself.
Information! You're healed. Reaction time has returned to normal.
"Darling, are you sure you are ok?" Rarity asked as Pinkie's jaw hit the floor.
"I think so? I mean, there were no marks like these back where I came from. Or rather, I never heard anyone naming them. Or celebrating getting one," I lied through my teeth.
"A foreigner then? Well, there are some kingdoms out there," Rarity said while rubbing her chin. "The short explanation goes like this, everyone has a unique talent that makes them special. The mark shows that talent. I can find gems. Pinkie throws parties that make ponies smile. And you?"
"Unlock hearts?" I mumbled while processing the information Rarity had just given me. "Or is it locking hearts? Can I even call it out?"
"That is a rather romantic and on-the-nose explanation, darling," Rarity replied while waving her hoof.
Lady, you don't know the half of it. I quipped while shaking my head.
"Well, nothing's been making much sense today. So, I doubt it would be simple as that," I replied while rubbing the back of my neck.
Little does she know. Right! I need a place to stay. I realized while searching for any signs pointing to an INN. Shit. I'm broke.
"Um, I hate to ask. Actually, I'm not sure if it is my place to just ask for this," I said while kicking a bit of dirt off the ground. "But, do you know of a place where I can spend the night? For free? No, that's stupid. Is there a place that accepts other methods of payment? Wait, that was weird. Ok, is there a place where I can spend the night and work to pay for it? Like, washing dishes or wiping the floors?"
"Oh, I don't think that's a good idea," Rarity said before biting her lip.
"I think I'll save the party for later," Pinkie said while sitting on her flank and rubbing her chin. "To when you're more oriented. Bye-bye, Caely!" She added before bouncing away as if she had springs on her hooves.
"Ok," I said slowly while watching her bounce away. "I think I'll ignore anything strange she does from now on."
"That's a wise decision," Rarity said before shaking her head a couple of times. "I have a spare room in my shop. It isn't anything fancy. But you could use it for now."
"Really?" I asked before getting a nod from Rarity. "Thank you! Is there anything I can do to repay you? Or anything I can help you with?" I added before sitting on my flank and taking her hoof to shake it up and down.
"We will think of something," Rarity replied with a warm smile.
"I'll do anything within my power!" I said while letting go of her hoof and standing up. "Should I follow you until you go back? Or are you on your way back already?"
"I just finished buying some threads and needles for my next line of clothes. So, we can head right back," Rarity replied while turning around and gesturing me to follow.
Ok! The first hurdle has been cleared! Next, I need to sustain myself. Goddamn it. Stay positive! I have a tattoo! And I got it without getting under a needle! I got myself a roof above my head! It's the small victories! Let's GO! I celebrated with a grin while gingerly trotting behind Rarity. Just a detail, I wasn't aware I had started to trot.