Chapters 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.
"My fears follow me where I go~
Oh, let me Face My Fears~
But, don't~, let~, me~
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.
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.
Wait, what happened to your wings!?
Rainbow was having a really, really weird day. The reason it was so weird? She wanted to race someone. In the air.
She knew no one around here could keep up with her. At all. So when she landed near the Buti- Buti- Clothing store that Rarity owned and used a stupid fancy word for it! She was confused at the fact that Rarity seems to have adopted a yearling.
A pegasus yearling. "Hey, who's the kid?" She asked, looking at Rarity. She wondered why Rarity would adopt a pegasus.
"Oh, that... She says her name is Sora." Uh... "She isn't from around Equestria."
"Rarity, you know some ponies don't like having a gender, right?" she asked gently. "Maybe they don't want to be called a girl or boy?" Rainbow tried.
"I... I hadn't asked. Why the sudden interest, Rainbow Dash? Sora is an earth pony," Rarity said, confused. Which made Rainbow confused.
"Uh... Hey, kid? What kinda pony are ya?" Rainbow asked, and Sora looked away with a shrug. "Dunno? How can you not know? Let me take a look." Sora just nodded, and laid down. Why did this pony act like a cat?
Rainbow stopped, before she even got too close. three scars. Three. One over the heart, like someone stabbed it, but the angle seemed... Self done. And the two others.
"What in the name of Celestia's Scat, happened to your wings!?"
Twilight was having a weird dream again. She was in a weird Library with Spike, and she had wings! Oh, how she would love them!
"Hey mama," Spike said, waving. "Back again?"
"Yeah, I am sweetie." Twilight found this Dream Spike responded better when she was... more motherly. Hello subconscious, what are you telling Twi? "Why am I here?"
"Don't know mama. But it's peaceful here, isn't it?" Dream Spike smiled, eating a gem.
"Yeah... Yeah it is." Twi yawned, and curled up. Why was she tired in a dream? Can she fall asleep in a dream? What?
"Hello darling. Waking up?" Celestia's voice asked. Darling? "How lovely it is to see you again, my dream Twilight." WHAT!?
"Um..."
"Oh, do not worry. It was confusing the first time... But I understand that this old mare's dreams of Twilight calling me mommy, are... Something I honestly want." OK! WHAT!?
"Oh... Uh, thank you, mommy." Ok, just... Just pretend Twilight! Maybe this is your own subconscious, letting you live your dreams! Just, at a deeper level! "Uh... Mommy happy?" Twi nuzzled Celestia's leg, hoping that was right.
"Aww." Celestia nuzzled back with a soft sound. "Thank you, sweetheart." Oh... This... This is really, really nice!
And then Twilight woke up, with a start. Spike looked up from his basket, with a sleepy look. "Is it weird I prefer when you fall asleep in the Library? Less weird dreams then."
"... How did you-"
"Twi, you always wake up like that when you have the ones where I call you mama." Spike drawled. "Even horror and gore, and... Other bad types of books, never make you react like that, ma-i friend."
"Nice catch sweetheart," Twi giggled without thinking.
"Sw- Never mind. Don't you have a lesson today?" Spike reminded her, and pointed to the door.
Twilight nodded, and decided to head to Celestia's room. She's never said no to Twilight joining her in the mornings, even during Celestia's morning nap that she took after rising the sun.
She gently walked in, and saw Celestia slowly waking up, but breathing heavily like she was startled awake. "T- Twilight? Darling?" She asked, looking like she was still half asle- Wait...
"Mommy?" Twilight tried, wondering if...
"Oh, am I still dreaming? That's nice." Celestia muttered, and raised a wing. "Want some cuddles, my little Pony?" Twilight loved cuddles... So why not?
Sora groaned, as the yellow mare looked over his scars, and the blue one was muttering at a mile a second.
"Why do you have a scar over your heart, darling?" Rarity asked gently.
"Long story," Sora said, sighing.
"What happened to your wings!?" Blue mare asked with a loud and fast voice. Sora should learn her name. Her hair is Rainbow. He's gonna call her Rainbow.
"Dunno. Maybe one of my power resets. I've had the power of a god, like... Seven times now? I dunno, it's been a long five months." Sora yawned. "And one in a Coma... And like, a day or two in another Coma... And there was that week in hell... And time travel... Uh... You know what? It's gonna take too long to explain in one conversation," Sora said, as he noticed all the horrified looks.
"I... I..." Butter Yellow Mare stuttered, before breathing in, then out. "We don't have time to unpack this. At all." She sighed. "Can we see your forehead please?" She asked gently. "I... I have a feeling about something."
Sora nodded, and used a little magic to make a small gust of wind, pushing his hair up. All three stared at his forehead, and looked... Horrified? Scared? Rarity fainted.
Huh. What's? Oh, there's a broken horn there. Huh, weird. But cool. He tried to make Aero form around him, the original one that was more protection. He hissed, as he felt it struggle to even kick up around him. "Dang it," he sighed, having lost his magic yet again.
"I'm sorry, you... You have a broken horn... And... And missing wings." Fluttershy... Oh, that's her name? Wait, when did he hear that? Oh, she's dating Rainbow... She's got the Heart and Wings, surrounding the Rainbow on her heart, and Rainbow has her in that on her own. Cool.
"What does that mean?" Sora asked.
"It means, you're an alicorn, darling... I invited an alicorn into my home without cleaning up! Oh, I'm so sorry your highness, I should have cleaned it for you!"
"... I'm not... I'm not royalty," Sora corrected. "Uh... At least... I don't think so?" He thought about it. "... Maybe? It's complicated."
"Everything about you is," Rainbow Dash said with a dull look. She just sighed, and gently looked at the scars again. "Everything. Celestia's Wings."
Celestia yawned, waking up from her nap. It was such a nice dream. Twilight, despite not being an alicorn like the usual dreams, had snuggled into Celestia's side, as they both fell asleep.
When Celestia opened her eyes, and saw Twilight, still snuggled into her side, she blushed. Oh, that wasn't a dream, it seems. "Morning, sweetheart," she said, gently nuzzling the small unicorn.
"Mommy?" Twilight muttered, waking up slowly. "Weird dreams..." she muttered, nuzzling back down.
"And now you are awake, dear." Celestia said gently, nudging... Nudging her child awake.
"Oh... Ok..." Twilight blinked, waking up. "Did... Did I call you... Uh..."
"You did. I don't mind," Celestia said with a motherly tone. "I... Suppose, you are the closest thing to a daughter I've ever had."
"... Thanks, mommy." Twilight nuzzled into Celestia more. Celestia smiled gently. Perhaps this was... right.
Sora sighed, as he laid down, his legs sore from standing all day, as he was looked over by doctors, and the three mares that had decided to try and make sure he was fine.
"So, you're an Alicorn," Rarity said gently. "But, you're not a Princess?"
"I'm a colt," Sora sighed, "Not a filly." He was getting annoyed now. "Why do you think I'm a girl?"
"Well darling... Nothing about you seems like a colt," Rarity said, blushing slightly. "I... I honestly thought you were a filly that just wanted to look like a colt, because of a bad experience trying to get a coltfriend... Which might still be true, that last part?" Rarity tried, with a smile.
"I don't like anyone," Sora groaned. "Never have, never will. I don't... I don't feel like that. With anyone. I love my family, and I like my friends. But... I don't feel love like that," he explained, and curled up, snuggling into himself. "At all."
"Ah, sorry darling... It's just... You don't act... Uh..." Rarity looked away.
"Probably because my corpse and memories are female." Sora drawled. "Only my literal ghost and heart are male," he said, eyes half lidded.
"YOUR WHAT!?"
Fluttershy meekly poked her head in, wondering why Rarity was yelling.
"Hello, Fluttershy dear. Just found out, Sora has BUCKING DIED!" Rarity giggled in hysterics. Fluttershy looked at Sora with a confused look.
"Like, three times," Sora shrugged. Fluttershy's eyes fell to the scar over Sora's heart. "Yeah, that was the first time," Sora nodded. "The other two need a lot of context, and explanations on a lot of fu- buck-off magic." Sora said, correcting the swear to a pony based phrase.
"Language..." Rarity mumbled, before crawling onto her couch, and rocking back and forth in a ball. "My goddess, you've died three times... Three. And you're only Fourteen... God, who would kill an eleven year old?"
"... Why do you think I was eleven?" Sora asked.
"Well, darling... Killing someone three times in the span of a few mont-" Rarity cut off when Sora started nodding. "They tried to kill you, in the span of three months. And succeeded twice, with another time being yourself."
"Quite," Sora nodded, sounding bored. "Now, if you excuse me? I'm going to try and see what magic I ca-" Sora stopped, at both Fluttershy's and Rarity's saddened looks. "A broken horn means something here, doesn't it?"
"Well darling... Even just a small cut, scratch or scar, or heaven forbid, a crack, in a horn... It makes it so the Pony can't use magic quite the same... a broken horn... Well, they might as well have been an Earth Pony that doesn't even have Earth Pony magic," Rarity whispered, saddened.
"... Ear- Ok, next stop, find the library." Sora shivered, and looked ill. "Those are three words that I never thought I'd say again." he mumbled.
"Uh..." The two older mares looked at each other, confused.
"Long story. Like... Really long story." Sora sighed. "So much context needed..."
"Context...?" Fluttershy whisper asked Rarity. "Do you have... any? "
Author's Note
Thanks to Prism Shadow for beta reading this!
Sora sighed, and rubbed his eyes. So much reading, so little time.
"So... Darling..." Rarity said gently, sitting near him. Sora is like, 90% sure that this Library is abandoned. Like, there was dust on the counter, and on almost every book. "Can... Can you explain what you meant by your corpse and memories being female, but you being male?"
"Ah, right. Well... That was sorta a lie? My memories were turned into a physical manifestation because they wanted my power, and half of my body had control over memories herself. While my other half of my body, Roxas, was male, and was... My anger." Sora looked down. "I have a lot of that."
"... Anger? darling, I'd have asssumed you were sunshine and rainbows, if not a little more like Fluttershy, than Pinkie." Rarity said gently. "But, why do you have... Uh, three others, that came from you, but are also not you?"
"..." Sora just rubbed the scar over his heart. "It's... It's complicated, and relies on theories more than facts." He explained.
"Ah, so... Not a simple 'It's a long story', but a full blown, 'It's needing a full explanation, and I don't even know', hmm?" Rarity asked gently.
"Exactly... It's... I don't even have all the facts. It's a... A really, really long story." Sora sighed. "Enough for thirteen video games, or a series of thirty books."
"What's a video game?" Rarity asked. "And why do I suddenly dread you meeting Pinkie?"
"Doesn't matter. Anyway... Oh, here we are... Urgh, Filly Jargon." Sora groaned. "It's just got a bunch of things that parents would have taught when the Unicorn, Earth or Pegasus ponies are young... Like, foal kind of young." Sora said at Rarity's confused look. "
"Oh, like when I taught Sweetie Belle how to... Ah, I see. And you haven't been taught that." Rarity nodded.
"Nope. I learned Battle Magic first." Sora grinned. "Fire was my first."
"Fire...?" Rarity asked. "Most fire spells are... Peaceful." She said, confused.
Sora grinned, and sent a fireball at a candle, giggling as it lit, despite the size of it.
"... Oh." Rarity blinked. "How odd. Most Fire Magic is... Calmer." She said, gently lighting another, "or by making use of what's already there." She made the flame burn bright and harsh.
"Eh, it was eaasy for me to learn. Apparently I'm a magic Protégé." Sora looked over another book.
"... Hey, Sora... You really are a colt, aren't you?" Rarity asked gently.
"Yeah... I am." Sora nodded. "... I know I'm like this... And there's a reason, but..."
"No, no... I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. I thought you were a filly, and... And that was wrong of me. Gender might not be as important for some ponies... But I understand it means something for you." Rarity said, looking sorry.
"It's fine, really, Rarity. It's fine." Sora sighed. "It's... I mean, my body... Uh..." Sora curled up a little.
Rarity stared at him, before handing a book to him. "This might be a little more... Helpful." It was a History and Myth book. Soar grinned. He did love learning.
Rarity shivered, when Sora was saying it was fine. He started to say something about his Body... And remembered he said that he had died around three or four times...
"Sora?" She asked.
"Mhm?"
"... Have... How... How did you come back to life?" Sora blinked, and put all the books down.
"... Long, long story... And needing to explain a lot... Uh... Ok, so uh... There are four types of beings..." Sora started, with a focused look. He grabbed a chalk board, and some chalk. "I should... Show you the symbols."
Rarity nodded, kind of worried for the colt now. "Go on..."
He drew a odd looking cartoonish heart, with a cross on the main part. "This, is the Symbol of the Heartless." Sora explained. "They're what's left, when a Heart has been overtaken by darkness... Or hurt."
"Hurt?" Rarity asked. "I assume this is more metaphysical than the literal beating heart of a pony... So... Do you mean... Like, the soul? How does that get hurt?"
"... A friend of mine... He had his heart... It was almost shattered. A large chunk was missing... I had just been born, and I reached out... And healed it. I gave him a part of my light. And uh... Lost, part of my light. It was filled with the ambient darkness that flowed from the wo- island, I was on... There was a little shortcut to the Realm of Darkness." Sora shivered. "And later on, when I was four... His heart was actually shattered, and I took it, to heal it."
"So, you took in some darkness, that would have flown into other ponies?" Rarity asked gently.
"Yeah... I... I took all that I could." Sora laughed. "I've been more Heartless, than Hu- Pony, since I was born." Sora said bitterly.
"Wait... Why is being a Heartless a bad thing? It sounds like you're able to heal Hearts..." Rarity said confused. Was she wrong about that?
"Eh... I don't know why they were originally made, but... No. They take Hearts, to make more Heartless." Sora said bitter. "Leaving behind, either nothing... Or a Corpse. A Nobody."
"... I'm so-" Sora made an upside down heart, that was spikey at the top. "My word. It's the opposite, isn't it?"
"Yeppers." Sora sighed, curling up more. Rarity couldn't help but think of a little kitten. "The Nobody is left, after the Heart is gone... Most of the time. There are less Nobodies than Heartless." Sora shivered. "The Nobodies... They feel wrong. They look wrong... They're not normal. At least Heartless have structure, physical mass, a reason for their forms and movement... Nobodies are more rubber, than body."
Rarity felt ill. And she's only hearing of these things, not... Not seeing them. Goddess Celestia... "I... I am suddenly glad, you're not drawing them." She said, feeling queasy.
"Trust me. Try fighting one." Sora shivered. "And I'm able to use a long ranged weapon, or magic, instead of getting close."
Rarity shivered. Sounds horrid. "And the other two, you mentioned?"
"Ah, right. Dream Eaters. They're... Fragments of Hearts." Sora said. "One that were hurt so badly, they had to go to sleep, or move on... They exist in Dreams, and Sleeping Worlds." Sora laughed. "They're mostly friendly... If they're a Spirit... Nightmares, are more... Violent."
"Ah." Rarity blinked. "I... I am not going to touch on that... Because that sounds... Uh... Creepy." She said, looking away.
"They're actually kinda cute. Like animals, and pets." Sora explained with a small smile. "I love Necho Cat." Sora said, smiling adorably.
"I... Sounds... Nice?" Rarity has to remember, Sora is a Colt. Not a Filly. "Alright... So they're friendly, for the most part?"
"Yeah, actually. Even Nightmares aren't that bad, as they're more trying to protect their hearts, and can be reasoned with." Sora said smiling. "... Unlike Heartless, Nobodies or Unversed."
"Unversed? What are those?" They sound... Odd?
"They're negativity personified." Sora shivered. "I... They're made by one person... But now, anyone can make them, with a bad enough feeling." Sora said, and shivered. "I would suggest, making sure you have a healthy release of bad emotions."
"Ah right... I better get home. I need to make Sweetie some tea." Rarity said gently.
"Alright. I'll just be reading for a while. See ya." Sora waved.
As Rarity stepped out the door of the Golden Oaks Library... She realised that Sora never actually explained how he came back to life, or even anything of his adventure.