* * *
It is from beyond which you seek
"What was that?"
Once brought together in the light
"Who are you?"
Now unwoven by darkness
Twilight Sparkle felt her body slowly lowering as if she was in water. Her descent was calm, like sleeping child being lowered by their caring mother.
By taking the journey
You will no longer see the horizon
"And embrace the unknown."
Twilight's decline came to an end as her hooves felt a sturdy surface. The floor light up as intense as the sun. It obstructed her vision. When Twilight opened her eyes, see saw she was on a tiled floor surrounded by a black void. It was similar to the blank emptiness where she and Princess Celestia talked about how she was ready to become an alicorn. The tiles spanned across a large circle. The glass island formed a large image. A figure of Twilight lay curved alongside the boundary off the glass. The outer ring was a dark purple with etches of her friends embedded into circles. In the opposite end of Glass Twilight's head were smaller circles with images of the Elements of Harmony. Though this was Twilight's first time here, she couldn't help but feel how familiar it was.
Black spots started appearing from the floor. From those spots, black ant-looking creatures with yellow eyes roughly her size emerged. Twilight backed away from the beasts. Her back right leg missed the floor and she realized how dangerously close she was to the edge. The shadows closed in on Twilight's hooves. The darkness turned into a quicksand Twilight couldn't get out of. She struggled to lift her legs as she sank in the black abyss.
Don’t be afraid.
You posses the strongest weapon of them all.
Twilight felt the warmth on her body replace the still darkness. She was able to move her limbs. As Twilight opened her eyes once again, she saw a strange object in front of her floating. It was a sword, decorated with colors from Twilight's fur and mane. The top of the weapon replicated Twilight's cutie mark. Twilight could have sworn she felt it too. At that moment, the object moved where she imagined it to move. 'Strange. I'm not using levitation magic. What is this thing?' "OW!"
One of the creatures broke Twilight's concentration as it scrapped her left wing. It wasn't entirely a physical pain. Twilight checked her side and saw no indication of any wound. The attack felt like it drained her. As if by instinct, Twilight crushed her attacker with a downward swing of the mysterious weapon. She sensed the impact of her blade onto the monster like she had developed a sixth sense with the floating sword. The damaged enemy simply stood still, then vaporized into thin air. Twilight realized now what she must do. 'I need to use the Keyblade to vanquish these mo-...wait.' Twilight's mind was rushing for reasons as to why she knew the sword's name. She quizzically gazed it. "Key...blade?"
Another monster jumped in the air to slash its target, but Twilight held the Keyblade in the way to block the attack. Twilight took the opportunity to counter the stunned creature as she slit its stomach open with a right-sided swing using the tip of the Keyblade. It vanished as quickly as its twin. One last enemy remained. Twilight took a quick downward hack at it, but it submerged in a puddle of darkness. Twilight put too much power into the swing as a sharp point of the Keyblade was now stuck in the cracked glass. The puddle moved behind Twilight and the beast started to emerge to strike its busy opponent. Twilight desperately tried to pull her Keyblade out of the glass. The now fully assembled demon pounced up. Twilight pulled the Keyblade free and built on that momentum to wave it upwards. A direct hit on the fiend's jaw sent it back to wherever it came from.
The sudden battle left Twilight yearning for air. She collapsed onto the floor, her Keyblade vanished. Each puff of air helped Twilight recollect what just happened. Her senses betrayed her. She willingly accepted the abnormal recent events like a dream. But, unlike a dream, she couldn't wake up from it. She felt the searing pain when that monster attacked her. She felt the force she put into each swing of the Keyblade. Even now, she felt each pant, recovering from exhaustion. Twilight saw a light emerge from across the room. She got up and walked towards it.
The closer you get to the light, the bigger your shadow becomes.
Twilight turned around. Though she was standing still, her shadow was still growing. It took its own form that spanned nearly half of the ground. The figure surfaced as a behemoth of pitch black. It was at least a good 30 feet tall. It stood on two squiggly legs, had two gigantic arms, wavy thick hair, and two yellow eyes. The most notable trait was that its chest had a large hole in the shape of a metaphorical heart. Twilight instinctively backed up again from such a massive creature.
Don't be afraid.
Twilight completely forgot about the Keyblade. Though she was able to conjure it through will, it hardly relieved any of her fear. 'How am I supposed to use this against such a giant? My Keyblade is practically a butter knife to something its size.' She remembered what the voice had said earlier. 'By taking the journey, you will no longer see the horizon, and' "embrace the unknown". With a deep sigh, the minuscule pony was ready to take on the colossal brute.
The monster drew out its beastly claws to conjure an orb of darkness. It placed the orb into the glass floor. Immediately, the ground around the monster's claw drew out a pool of darkness. 'It doesn't even care that I can now attack it.' Twilight obliged its opening. She continuously smacked her Keyblade at the submerged arm. If the monster was at all hurt, it did not acknowledge the pain. Sweat drew down the unicorn's face as she pounded each attack into him. "AH!"
Twilight turned around to see two ant-looking minions hitting her. While Twilight went smack happy, she completely ignored the lackeys summoned by the pool. She repositioned her stance and focused on taking out the little ones before dealing with the big guy. Twilight adjusted to a fighting pose and started to swat her foes with a rhythmic three hit combo: a left to right swing, an up to down lunge, followed by a more powerful finishing left to right swing. She was able to take them both out easily with only two strikes from her second attempt at the combo.
Twilight continued the seemingly useless bombardment of swings onto the monster's arm. The shadow pool slowly shrunk as the beast started pulling back its hand. Twilight glared at the creature's expressionless face and thought of the perfect opportunity of a lethal attack. 'I'll go for its head.' She jumped onto the monster's arm before it was completely lifted, cantered up the limb, and braced for a very powerful thrash across the head. *SHLANK*
The sluggish brute barely had time to react to the clean swipe. Its face had been reduced to two half ovals now loosely connected at the back of the head. The wound gushed out darkness. With a loud thud, it started decaying on the glass floor. Unfortunately, Twilight was right under the monster. Like before, she felt every muscle go numb as she sank through the floor and into the pitch-black nothingness.
* * *
"Are you paying attention to what I just said Twilight?"
"Huh?"
With special thanks to Pinkie Pie, the party following Twilight's Princess Coronation lasted long past midnight. Ponies with all different party tastes came to see their new princess. Of course, because of Pinkie's 'not-everypony-is-going-to-enjoy-my-party' Pinkie Sense, she made the adjustments to fit everypony's party needs. The result was a weird set of sub-parties all across Canterlot Castle. From the formal Grand Galloping Gala-like party inside the ballroom to the laser-light DJ party in the gardens. They all seemed to have nothing in common. Nothing, except the arrival of Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight was jumping from party to party to party. One moment, she'd be on stage jumping up and down to the techno beat in the Garden. The next moment, she'd be formally dancing with all the ponies that had a moment to greet her until the dance indicated a partner change. Her mind started lagging behind which setting she was in. Her gracious dancing continued even though the room she was in now was much more casual. In the end, the poor alicorn just shut down floor after her fifth trip through the celebrations.
After she lost consciousness, Twilight was brought back to her old home she hadn't used in years. The last time she was in it was the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, the day that forever changed her life.
Twilight couldn't stop thinking about last night's dream. 'I need to lay off of the cider.' In front of her was a very agitated baby dragon. Spike sighed knowing he had to repeat himself for the fortieth time.
"Princess Celestia sent a letter asking to go to meet her in the castle this afternoon."
Twilight couldn't help but feel how different it was now that all the books were taken from the shelves. The literary texts took up a good quarter of the house's mass. It was the life of her very home since she got accepted into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.
"Do I have to repeat what I just said AGAIN?"
Twilight realized she had paid too little attention to Spike. He seemed to have thought she lost focus.
"No Spike. I heard what you said. I'll leave and meet with the princess."
"Right. Don't forget to bring your friends."
"Why?"
'Wrong move'. Spike faceclawed now knowing she wasn't entirely focused.
"Princess Celestia said to bring them as well. It didn't seem urgent, but I think the princess is going to send you off to another quest."
"Right. And where can I find my friends?"
"They crashed the guest bedroom to keep you comfort. You should leave now. Its already noon."
* * *
Twilight creaked the door open to reveal the five missing mares. Every single one of them was asleep. "Come on girls. Princess Celestia wants us at the Castle in an hour."
A chorus of groans came from everypony.
"Hey Applejack. What in the horse feathers did you put in that cider last night?"
"I did nothin' Rainbow. Every single keg was made by honest Apple Family brewed cider."
"Then why do I feel so lightheaded, huh? That's some strong 'honest family' cider if you ask me."
"You've always been lightheaded Rainbow. I think you're just finally startin' to notice it."
"Why you-"
"Girls! Now is not the time to act like delinquent children. If you'll excuse me, I need to apply my afternoon makeup."
"Oh my. I hope Angel can watch over the other critters now that I’ve been gone for a while."
"Hey! Is anypony ready to have a morning cupcake-eating contest?! I baked a batch last night just in case we got all supertiredandhadtocrashsomepony'shousejusttofigureoutwe'regoingtodosomethingassoonaswegetup. As Mr. Cake always says, 'Morning sugar is sure to get you up and ready for a reaaaaally long energy burning day!' Or was that Mrs. Cake? Or maybe the twins? Wait. The twins don't speak yet. Well, kinda. They just don't say superdooperlooper long sentences. But they say sentences, just the teenytinyhardtounderstand kind. After all, they are just ch-"
Twilight telepathically stuffed Pinkie Pie's mouth with a pillow so that she wouldn't have to wait for her to finish talking. Even the pillow only suppressed Pinkie's noise as she continued to talk into it. "Meet me outside in an hour. Okay?" With a simple nod from the five, Twilight released the pillow and made her way out to the main hall. She slowly heard Pinkie's talking fade the further she walked away.
"*Plegh*. You would not believe how weird a pillow tastes when it's got all the swirly purple magic around it. I'm more of a fan of the red magic pillows. I mean, the feathers taste all nice at first but then the aftertaste is all soury. Red magic pillows have more of a..."
* * *
One hour was all they needed. With a final farewell to Spike, the ponies took their walking trip towards the castle. The walk would have been with awkward silence had it not been for Pinkie’s random and cheerful singing. But even that went to a halt as they approached the royal city of Canterlot. Though the high-class citizens normally went about their day, the presence of Twilight and her friends brought about murmurs and glares from some ponies. Nopony from Canterlot could forget the talk of the town last night. Every expression seemed a bit different. While some had the usual frown and tried to eyeball what was in front of them, most just waved. One of them even bowed.
“What are you doing? You look like a fool.”
“What? I’m just showing my appreciation for the new princess.”
“I know that. You see anypony else bowing?”
“Well, why aren’t they?”
“Just…just get back on your hooves. You look ridiculous.”
“Oh…” The now sheepish colt backed away to hide from of all the attention he drew. He looked and saw the Elements of Harmony, all staring at him with different expressions of embarrassment. Nopony knew how to act in front of Twilight Sparkle. The wide range of half-done gestures only gave the girls bigger blushes and increasingly larger unusual smiles.
The five-minute walk turned into fifteen due to all the attention they’ve been getting on the way there. Two still Royal Guards shouted to lower the drawbridge. As the gate lowered, Twilight noticed that even the guards couldn’t keep their eyes still. They slightly lost focus on where to gaze.
* * *
The six heard the doors close them inside and all let out a breath of air that might have been held since they got to Canterlot. Twilight couldn’t believe how mush more attention they’ve been getting. She said, “Maybe they just need to adjust to the new me. Yeah, that’s it.” Though she said it to her friends, it was really to assure her.
“Twilight, don’t kid yourself. We all know that that isn’t the way we’ll be treated from now on, “ Rainbow said.
“I’m not often one to pick sides but Rainbow Dash is right. We mustn't adjust to the way they see us. The ponies may look at us differently, but that won’t change who we are.”
“I agree with Rare. No matter how anypony views us, it’ll never change the fact that we’ll remain together. How ‘bout we walk this off as we talk? I need to keep my legs stretched after that terrible dream last night.”
With a nod, the six friends walked across the hall to the throne room.
“You know, I had a strange dream too last night", Fluttershy said. "Normally, any nightmares I have involve something from the back of my memory. Last night though, felt like a mix between a nightmare and dream. I can't exactly describe it. It's almost like i've been there many times before."
Though still walking, Twilight looked at her friend as if she was reading her mind. Fluttershy hardly took note of the glare. It wasn't only Twilight doing it either. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack were all intrigued as if they were hearing from a psychic.
"I was... in this room. No. Not exactly a room. I was following a voice, telling me obscure things. And then there were these terrible creatures. They were like, monsters. But their entire being was of pure darkness. They... they sunk me in. I felt the cold and abandonment of darkness. But then, something saved me. The voice called it...the... the voice called it-"
"-the Keyblade?" Rarity finished Fluttershy's sentence. Though they made it to the end of the hall, at the door to the throne room, they all stopped dead still with their mouths agape.
'How do my friends know.' Twilight Sparkle told herself. 'Unless.... Did we-'
“Did we all have the same dream?” Rainbow completed Twilight’s thought. Everypony just stared at each other in disbelief. Not only did the dream feel unusual, Twilight's friends experienced it as well.
One of the door's halves glowed in a golden aura. It dragged open, piercing the silence as it scrapped the marble floor. The tension broke as the ponies realized that they have left the Princess waiting.
"I'm glad you all could make it. We must discus a serious issue regarding the dreams you have all had recently."
Even more questions arose as Twilight and her friends neurotically walked toward the other end of the room. Both princess Luna and Celestia sat on their regal thrones. Twilight was specifically focused on the ones that she and her friends were on. Each window was an important part of her journey. 'Hard to believe this much has been accomplished in such little time.' Twilight took note of the most recent addition to the windows. She was in the center, wings spread, as a gracious alicorn. On top were Celestia and Luna in the same forward wing spread pose.
"It is nice to see you all again."
"We came as soon as you told us to be here. Why were we summoned?"
"I have brought you six here today to discus the threat of a great evil. He has been in slumber for 1000 years, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. That slumber came to an end when King Sombra was vanquished. Unfortunately, King Sombra wanted to be defeated. His death sparks the awakening of a new and more terrifying creature, one that intends to blanket our world in darkness. This type of fiend has never, until now, existed in Equestria. Its sole intentions are to take the light of worlds, something we all hold dear in our hearts."
Princess Celestia turned towards Twilight.
"I'm sure you remember the dark magic I cast on the crystal when I first discussed about the Crystal Empire."
Twilight nodded.
"That kind of power was not part of our land. Somepony, or should I say, someone came to Equestria 1000 years ago to teach King Sombra the otherworldly dark magic.
"King Sombra has now become a creature known as a heartless. Heartless are entities of the darkness. They are the evil that lies inside all of our hearts. You encountered the heartless in you dream. King Sombra came to Equestria 1000 years ago to find somepony with a strong heart. The pony's name was Kindle. He found Kindle and turned that pony against himself. With all that rage built up, he was able to take control of that pony's body. One thing King Sombra did overestimate was the power of the pony's heart. The darkness he created could not be contained. When the Crystal Heart defeated King Sombra, it did not kill him. Instead, he reemerged as a heartless.
"Luna and I both knew the threat of this creature from the unknown. You see Twilight Sparkle, we have both ventured there."
Then, out of nowhere, two swords appeared on front of both of the princesses. The lustrous yellow and white of the one in front of Celestia looked like it emitted light from the sun. The other had a blade of sleek ebony, dark with a spiraling purple.
"This, as you already know from your dreams, is a Keyblade. It is the tool that maintains the stability of all worlds. Like King Sombra's dark magic, it exists from beyond. Today, we know them as The Elements of Harmony."
The six ponies gasped. They all knew where the princess was going with this.
"That's right my little ponies. You have been chosen as the next Keyblade wielders."
* * *
The room was silent. Nopony could believe what was going on. Twilight noticed something off about Celestia's and Luna's Keyblades.
"Princess, why are you using teleportation magic?"
Celestia nodded. "You are very observant Twilight. The Keyblades Luna and I use are no longer sustained by the Elements of Harmony. Ever since you six have valiantly proven yourselves to be the next bearers of the Elements, ours do not work anymore. Now, they are nothing but metal and memories. The magic that once glistened in our blades now exists in yours."
"Wait a second", Pinkie blurted out. "Why haven't we gotten these cool key-thingies earlier? How long has it been, three years?"
"The Keyblades only emerge when there is an inequality in the harmony of not just Equestria, but also other worlds as well. Last night, you all had those dreams for a reason. The balance between light and darkness has been teetered. We believe that this is King Sombra's doing."
Suddenly, the walls started to fade to pitch black. Soon after, everything around everypony was dark. Still they could see themselves and each other.
"Congratulations, you were able to solve the little mystery. Whatever shall I do now?"
"Show yourself King Sombra", Princess Luna shouted to the darkness.
"*pssht* King. I never really liked that title. Besides, it seems that I have been relieved of my duties as King of the Crystal Empire. Something about exploding into a million pieces from the light of the Crystal Heart? The details never really matter. Just Sombra will do.
"I came here for a little chat. I just wanted to make myself at home and tune down the brightness a little. Got to say it looks a lot better with my redecorations. Don't you think so, Celestia?"
"Your cheap tricks won't win you over Equestria, Sombra", Luna said.
"Wait your turn Luna. I was talking to your sister. Besides, who said anything about taking over? No way I could just take over a place as bright as this. That's not me. I'm sure even you could even conjure up a little light and everything will look back to normal, Celestia. No, I plan on not touching a teeny little hair on anypony's mane. At least, not yet.
"I'll cut right to the chase. I'm vacationing from this world. It's too bright for my taste. But I'm sure you know what I'm going to do to once I get back, now don't you?"
"Yes. You'll gather the darkness from other worlds and come back to invade."
"Bingo. But who's going to stop me? Your Keyblades are starting to look rusty. We need some fresh blood in the game. Who...My my. Who do we have here? Celestia, you didn't even introduce me to your guests. How rude of you. Always jumping to the point."
“Spare the formalities Sombra. We all know you’re very well acquainted with the Elements of Harmony.”
“Elements of Harmony…Elements of Har-Oh that’s right. I have to say, they look really small from down there. We are in the presence of the next generation of Keyblade wielders. Oh and look at the Rainbow one. She’s got that angry look. Oh, I can see you want to smite me here right now.”
“Quit stalling.”
“Manners, manners Princess.” From the darkness emerged Sombra. He looked the same as his regular form, except his attire was gone, the cape, the armor, and the crown. His body was filled with the aura of dark powers. His eyes emitted an even brighter evil luminous green. "So yeah, we now need the final pawns to go on their little adventure. Make new friends, experience worlds and whatnot.”
“Hey! We aren’t your pawns!” Rainbow shouted. She pulled out her own Keyblade and jumped towards Sombra. He vanished before the swing could connect.
“Looks like somepony didn’t forget that Keyblade wielding from her dream. Good. Though that was just practice, merely a taste for what’s ahead.” Sombra reappeared from another side of the room. “Besides, I never said ‘my’ pawns.” He turned to eye Celestia.
“Don’t you dare deceive my little ponies, Sombra.” Princess Celestia looked angry yet somehow still maintained her royal complexion.
“Looks like I riled up everypony here. Man, I forget I can be such a party pooper. So let’s see if I’ve covered everything I wanted to talk to you all about today: 1. I’ve reemerged as a heartless, 2. Equestria is a dud, so I’m gonna come back with some darkness to spice the place up, 3. Your Elements of Harmony are going to try to stop me and we have an ultimate battle to determine the fate of the future stability of every world here. Hmm, seems like I didn't miss anything. So, I’ll let you all go about the rest of your prelude undisturbed. Don’t keep me waiting.”
With that, Sombra disappeared along with the rest of the darkness inhabiting the room. On the ground was a note titled: The Shrouded Angel.
* * *
"So, princess, what must we do now?" Twilight asked.
"Now, the six of you must team up to defeat Sombra. He is what activated the call of your Keyblades, and he will stop at nothing to turn you against each other. Unlike Discord, Sombra misleads his victims instead of hypnotizing. He tricks them into thinking they are doing the wrong thing. No matter what, you must always stay on your path.
"Furthermore, the worlds you'll be visiting will be similar to ours but still alien. They talk like us and act like us. Out there, worlds await in conflict. Do your best to aid them. The only way to stop the darkness is to help every world you visit. Take this." Celestia gave Twilight a small metal box.
"A lighter?"
"When it ignites, it will send you and your friends in the direction you need to go. Use it only when you have finished your job in the world you have visited."
"How will we know when we'll get back home?"
Celestia lowered her head. "You don't. Only the lighter knows. When you look up into the night sky, those are other worlds. And that is how the other worlds see us. When you succeed in bringing the other worlds to light, I am certain home will be waiting for you."
Tears started forming in Twilight's eyes. She felt like this would be her last time here. "But what if we fail, what if-"
"Shh." Celestia placed her wing above her student. "You won't fail. I saw you were ready ever since your adventure in Ponyville. I knew then that if you and your friends could wield the Elements of Harmony, you would be ready to handle the journey ahead. After all, the Keyblade chose you six as the next guardians of light. I'm certain that this path will end with your return."
"Should I at least say goodbye to all to the ponies I'm leaving?"
"Unfortunately, you all must leave very soon. We cannot keep a danger such as Sombra making his first move."
The hug remained for nearly two whole minutes. Everypony had tears in their eyes. They all didn't want to go, not now. Their friends, family, all would stay here without them.
"Girls. There are a few things that I must tell you before you depart", Luna said. "The lighter will bring you all to the same world, but likely in different places. This is because it chooses where the best location is for all of you. Another important thing, the Heartless are likely using pathways to link them together. It will emerge as a keyhole. Every world will have one. Find it, and seal it with your Keyblades. The Keyblade has a second purpose, it is a skeleton key. It can lock and unlock any door. Finally, you all share a special bond with your Keyblade. Throughout your journey, you will be learning and performing moves you never thought possible. Don't be frightened. Use them to your advantage. Good luck, and farewell Twilight Sparkle. We are all counting on you."
Twilight turned to her friends, who have been silent as of recently. 'I think the events that just happened gives them a good reason to be quiet.' "Are you ready to go?"
Despite their worried looks on their faces, they nodded. Twilight light the match, and their bodies evaporated with green ember.
