Friendship and Keys

An alicorn walked through the forest, but she looked wrong. Bones were showing, and her skin wasn't like it was living. Her eyes glanced around in fear as she walked, her hooves cracked and old.
She started to sing, in a soft voice that was jarring from her unnatural appearance.

"My fears follow me where I go~
I hold a sorrow only I know~
So take my hand, my dear~
Nothing is as Simple and Clean as it should be~
Life is not my Sanctuary~
What was once sweet, now a sour cherry~

Oh, let me Face My Fears~
Like I've~, done~, be~, for~

But, don't~, let~, me~
Take~, too~, long~
Don't~, Think~, Twice~
Let~, me~, live~"

She sang, as she walked, stumbling, looking almost dead, and stumbled, and fell to the ground. As she laid there, darkness pooled onto her, giving her a healthy looking coat, for a Changeling.
The changeling stood, with shaky hole ridden legs, and her body changed into that of a young-

Well, it was hard to tell if it was a filly or a colt. They looked like they could be either. A warm brown main coat, with a darker more spiky brown for their mane. Their eyes a grey that one would see in a rain cloud that would only be a light drizzle. And, they were an Earth Pony.

Sora groaned, as he walked towards the sound of peo- ponies? He was a horse-like thing, but... He knew the face was weird, and the limbs did not move like a real pony's, so he's something from another world. Good to know that magic is still working.

As he walked, he tried summoning his Key, and it floated in front of him, before shimmering away, like he wasn't holding it. Ok, so Levitation wasn't working. He grabbed it with a hoof, and... It stayed? He had his hoof bend part, around the handle, and it acted as a hand... Should he use his mouth? He put it in his mouth, and it felt so much easier, and familiar. Kingdom Hearts, he needed to see if he can go Lion again. It was really fun to be a kitty!

UH, a ferocious beast with sharp claws and a fast running speed, he clarified to himself. And it was harder to hit. And his emotions seemed more animal than human and they were easier to deal with.

Where was he again? Oh yeah, almost in a town thingy. He looked at the hoodie he kept, and it was the second one. The one with all the Drive Forms. He felt that power was drained, so he could only hold Three charges at a time, so only Valour or Wisdom right now. But that's fine, both of those served him well in felling many a Nobody and Heartless!

Felling? Was he feeling fancy today? Fighting, or Ki- Defeating. They weren't Alive. He couldn’t think of them like that. He couldn’t, otherwise breakdown number eight would happen. He didn’t need another. He couldn’t afford another. Just a couple more steps. And then he would be in the town. Just a couple mo-

Rarity hummed along as she walked. Their town had the honour of hosting the Summer Sun festival this year! Oh, the mighty One Thousandth! How divine! And Celestia was going to make an appearance!

Rarity's Dau- Younger sister was going to love all the pretty decorations and yummy foods, Rarity could already tell. Sweetie Belle was such a sweet child, that Rarity loved like her own- Like her sister.

"She's your dearest sister, Rarity," she hissed to herself. "You cannot call her your-" She cut herself off before saying it out loud. Saying it makes it real. Saying it means there's a chance Sweetie would hate her for it.

Saying it means Rarity is a horrible pony. A selfish pony. A... She can't even tell you what else.

She stopped those thoughts when a young Mare, a yearling not much older than Sweetie Belle, caused her to trip, as she had been lying on the ground. Rarity looked at the little one in slight horror, as she looked oh so... Damaged.

"Urgh... Someone get the number of that building... I wanna file a lawsuit with the construction company for making it too damn strong." The yearling said with her face wincing. "... And the horse that kicked me?" She muttered, looking at the hoof print Rarity left on her.

"Well I never!" Rarity scoffed in rage. "Treat your elders with respect!" She scolded them, before blushing. She wasn’t that much older! This one seemed to be about... Sixteen? That was less than half! Rarity was only twenty-eight, not thirty-two!

"... I am so going to say so many faux pas aren't I?" the yearling muttered to themself. "Never mind. So, uh... Who are you? I've been calling you The Marshmallow in my head."

Rarity blushed, and spluttered. "Filly! You must have respect for those older than you!"

"I'm a boy." A blank look was all Rarity gave. "... Male? Colt? Stallion?" Rarity had wide, wide eyes.

"You're a colt!?" she hissed. "You look... You don't look like one! You could pull a dress off very, very well, darling."

"...Why is she British?" The colt apparently asked himself. Also, what's- "Don't worry ‘bout it. Look, where am I? I kinda stumbled out of the woods."

Rarity just stared at the young pony, and sighed. "... Yearling, I am close to Mane Slapping you. Wait, WHAT!?" she screeched. "YOU CAME OUT OF THE EVERFREE FOREST!?"

"...I'll go find whatever counts as your world leader," The Yearling muttered, her tail swishing. Rarity refused to let this young Mare consider herself a boy! They were simply too cute! "Maybe they'll know more about... Everything."

"Oh, you mean Princess Celestia? She's coming in two weeks! Why don't you stay, and help us out, then you can talk to her!" Rarity had a plan. Clearly, this mare had a bad experience with a colt, and wanted an out. She probably didn't think herself cute enough.

Rejection perhaps? In any case, she'd help the little mare out, and help them win that colt's heart!

Hi? Can Sora go back into that coma now please? He hated it here. And he wouldn't even mind Wonderland at this point!

Sora sighed, as the mare… a pony, God, what were these terms!? So, boy didn’t really exist here? But girl did, so did mare, stallion, colt, filly, foal, horse was apparently rude? As were a few other terms used for ponies and horses.

Sora asked if they hammocked, and the lady just laughed, and said a hammock would be pierced by her horn, until Sora mentioned sleeping up-right.

"Oh, what a lovely thing to call it. I do not, sadly. My leg's can't take much of that anymore, too much standing as my job anyhow," the lady stated. "I'm Rarity, by the way."

"Sora," Sora shrugged. Rarity looked at him blankly, before raising an eyebrow like a mother would. She must have a kid. "...That's not a common name here, is it?"

"No. We often have names like, Applejack, or Rainbow Dash, or Bon Bon, or Lyra Heartstrings." Rarity calmly explained. "Often relating to our Cutie Marks. You know what that is at least, right?"

Sora just blinked. A what now? "...So, um-"

Rarity moved so her flank was closer to Sora, and showed a tattoo with three blue gems on it, sparkling. "...What is that?"

"A Cutie Mark." All Sora could think was, he wanted to go back to Wonderland. "You have one."

SORA HAD A TATTOO!? He looked at his own flank and-

The yearling passed out again, this time in shock, Rarity noted. It wasn't that she had a Cutie Mark, but... What that Cutie Mark was.

It was odd. A black heart with a red outline, with two crossed silver keys, with golden squarish hilts. Odd, but pretty, and lovely. Perhaps her name was Love Key? Or Heart Key? Key Heart? Key Heart sounds divine. She would call her daughter that. Uhh... Moving on!

"...Still there?" The mare whimpered, her mane over her eyes. How unkempt! She needed a brush! But also...

"Yes, darling. The Cutie Mark is still there," she said gently. "You seem... Scared of it, darling. Why?"

"... Because this shouldn't be my mark. It's... I'm usually a Crown," the mare whimpered, curling up like Opal did when she was a kitten, and something had scared her badly. "... I'm a Crown... Not... Not..." they shivered.

Something had scared them badly. They were acting like when Fluttershy was asked to model a dress in front of others. Sora was terrified. And Rarity didn't know how to help the yearling.

Sweetie Belle walked downstairs, looking for mo- Rarity, wondering who she was talking to.

And then she saw a very... Normal, looking yearling, which made Sweetie blink. She gently walked up and... She couldn't tell the gender, but they were very cat-like. Kinda cute, but also kinda worrying. Cause ponies weren’t supposed to be like that.

Sweetie gently tapped the... Tapped their head with her hoof, and the tail moved slightly. "Knew she had a kid," was the soft reply. "So, what's your name, kiddo?"

"Sweetie Belle," she told the other pony. The yearling smiled at the name. "What's yours?"

"Sora." That sounded like a pegasus name, not an earth pony name. "So uh... Can you two tell me where I am?" Sora's tail swished like a cat's would, as it curled around their legs.

"Ponyville," Rarity said simply. Sora stared blankly, and then Sweetie realised what he meant.

"He meant what's the name of our world, mo-oi sister." Sweetie caught herself before she said something that would get her sent back to her parents. Sora just looked between the two, eyes now... Not silver, but gold, seeing something.

Kinda creepy, that blank stare that he had.

Their hearts were weird.

Oh, and Sora had a new power, apparently. Seeing hearts, if he focused.

Rarity had Sweetie Belle in her Circle that was closest to her, with the border being a simple feather design, signalling family. Sora hadn’t seen it that often, but now he knew what the symbol meant. Nice.

Sora slowly stood up, and sighed. "So uh... What... What is the name of this world?"

"Uh... Equestria..." Rarity said, confused. "Wait, you mean to tell m-"

"Yeah. You're a Unicorn, and so is your... Uh, Daughter?" Sora tried. "Which isn't uncommon where I'm from... It's that the world is very different, more... Alive, and vibrant, I guess." Ok, small lie, but... He couldn’t make them scared, or aware of... Everything. Him even being here, has a chance of... Them coming.

He felt his eyes dropping. "Can... Can I sleep on the couch or something?" He asked.

"Oh! Of course darling. Girls like us need our beauty sleep after all!" Rarity giggled.

"Sora is a boy," Sweetie corrected, and Sora sighed.

"I... I'm just tired. I'll deal with my gender in the morning," He said with a sigh as he lay down, curling up like a cat, and falling asleep.