A couple of hours passed, hours that Sora spent running from place to place, seeing to the needs of the castle and the citizens of Canterlot. Many ponies had fallen to the heartless’ assault, and many more were unaccounted for. The guard was quickly reorganized, the citizens who had found themselves in possession of keyblades promptly volunteering their aid. Sora and Luna set them to training while Sol inducted Fancy Pants into the guard at the rank of Sergeant. Patrols were organized, emergency repairs were begun, and Sora finally found himself standing in one of Canterlot Castle’s courtyards with Fancy, Alex, and Sonata.

“Right,” Sora said, looking over the people before him. “First things first. Any specific questions?”

Alex raised his hand. “Yeah, Sarge, how do I get out of this chicken shit outfit?”

Sonata giggled in response. “I saw that movie.”

“I didn’t.” Sora shook his head before turning to Fancy. “Did Sol explain everything to you?”

Fancy nodded. “More or less. Though he was a touch vague in describing how to use the keyblade for magic.” He held his blade aloft in his telekinesis, examining it closely. “He said it was similar to channeling through a horn, but with the horn detached.”

Sora facepalmed and groaned. “Right, first lesson: never accept keyblade advice from the Solar Idiot.”

“I know a few base level spells,” Alex began, petting Sonata’s head. “Poison, Confuse, Sleep, Balloon. Can’t wait to be OP as hell with Ballonra.”

“Those are some new ones on me,” Sora admitted, summoning Oathkeeper and pointing it skyward. “Sound useful, though. Still, I think I prefer the classics like firaga.” A massive ball of fire shot straight up from the tip of the blade, reaching the height of the castle’s spires before exploding.

“Nah dude, Balloon is the most broken spell in the damn series,” Alex argued, summoning Aubade. “You can cheese just about anything with nothing but Balloonra.”

Sora shrugged. “If you say so. But the fire series will always hold a special place in my heart.” He glared off to the side and mumbled under his breath. “Fight with Maleficent takes freaking hours otherwise.

“In any case,” he smiled up at Fancy, “your blade is specially tuned to Thunder magic, a series of spells - thunder, thundara, and thundaga - which rain down lightning around your targets. They’re pretty simple to use, too. Just point your blade straight up, call out the incantation, and imagine lighting striking down upon your foe. It helps if you fill your heart with excitement and anticipation; thunder reacts to those emotions the best.” He threw his arms wide, his grin growing even wider. “Now, hit me with your best shot!”

Fancy stared at Sora for a moment before turning to Alex. “He is jesting, isn’t he?”

“I don’t think so,” Alex said with a shrug. “He probably knows what he’s doing.”

“Make sure you hit him and not me.” Sonata subtly moved a little further away from Sora.

Fancy closed his eyes and hummed to himself, his humming turning from a thoughtful monotone to an upbeat ditty. “At the Gala,” he sang under his breath, his lips twitching upwards. He opened his eyes, grinning in anticipation, and thrust his blade skyward. “Thunder!”

A bolt of lighting shot down out of nowhere, striking Sora and setting him alight. Fancy’s grin faded as the spell did, the mirth in his eyes quickly being replaced by concern. “Oh dear,” he muttered. “Perhaps that was a touch too much anticipation.”

“Not at all,” Sora replied, barely fazed. “That was actually pretty good. Excellent form. The only reason I’m not a smoking piece of charcoal right now is because you didn’t have much power behind it. Give yourself a little bit of practice and you’ll be slinging lightning around with the best of the pegasi.” Sora turned his attention to Alex. “Alright, what’ve you got?”

“Like I said, a few basic spells,” Alex repeated, taking Aubade in both hands. “Just say when.”

Sora raised Oathkeeper defensively and nodded. “When.”

Alex thrust Aubade into the air, the tip swirling with energy. “Zero Gravity!” A pulsing ring appeared around the group, magic filling the space. Each one barring Alex was untethered from the ground, floating free in the air. “Balloon!” Magic weaved again, creating a circle of seven, pony sized, translucent orbs. When Zero Gravity ended, the balloons popped as Sora landed, each dealing a rather large amount of damage.

“I’ll have to learn that one,” Sora muttered, casting a quick Cura on himself and getting to his feet. “What else?”

“That spell would be so much more fun without the sudden stop at the end.” Sonata hummed softly to herself while sending out small tendrils of water that glowed with a soft green light to the rest of those that had gotten caught up in the effect. “Be cleansed of pain.”

“Hey, Sonata, put up a water barrier,” Alex instructed, holding up his keyblade again. “Poison!” A purple pulse radiated out from Alex, a sickly bubbling sound accompanying his cast.

That barrier went up quickly around herself and most of the others gathered, mostly due to those tendrils just expanding rapidly to surround the ponies with a bubble of air inside water. Sora meanwhile twitched his blade upwards, muttering “Aerora.” A small whirlwind formed around him, keeping the poison at bay. “I’m noting a pattern,” he said. “Area-of-Effect and multiple-target spells your specialization, then?”

“Being able to hurt more than one opponent at a time does help when you’re mobbed by the heartless equivalent of sardines.” Sonata offered as she retracted the various water constructs back into herself.

“Fair enough,” Sora admitted. “I believe you mentioned two others. Sleep and Confuse?”

“Yeah, Sleep and Confuse,” Alex confirmed, looking back at him. “I don’t think I need to demonstrate them, given the names.”

“Probably not,” Sora agreed, dismissing Oathkeeper. “Shall we move on to the forms?”

“Probably for the best,” Alex agreed, relaxing his stance. “How do we even start that?”

“Recall the emotions that you felt when I unlocked your heart,” Sora said. “Bring them to the forefront of your heart. Once they’re there,” Sora placed his hand over his chest and clenched it into a fist. “Grasp it. Grasp it with all your might and pull it into being. Let those emotions fill and consume you.”

“Ah, right. Do the thing to get the thing.” Alex closed his eyes, digging into his emotions to what Sora had uncovered. A frown grew across his face as the minutes wore on. Finally, he simply shook his head. “Yeah, I’m getting nothing over here.”

Sonata tilted her head to one side and looked at Alex, then walked over to his side and placed her finned foreleg against his shin. “Okay, I don’t like remembering old Queen Rondo all that much, but maybe one of her visualization methods might help?” She looked up towards Alex’s face and offered him a sad smile.

“Thanks, Sonata.” Alex smiled back, putting a hand on her head. “Teach away.”

“Close your eyes and picture the perfect beach lagoon, protected all around by a wall of rock so the only way in is a break on the ocean side. The waves break and batter themselves against this wall, trying to get in, but only a select few are able to disturb the placid waters. Your goal is a single strand of kelp, caught in this powerful current, and you need to find your way there safely. You could get it by climbing on the wet rocks and holding steady with all your might, or you could swim through and grab it with the right speed and timing to circle back before the next wave pounds against those same rocks, or do you jump outside the safety of the lagoon and use those waves to push you back in, snatching your prize after amazing every onlooker?” Sonata paused for a few seconds and cleared her throat. “Do you see your prize, Alex? If you do, take it, for you are as one with the waves, hear how they roar.”

“Yeah, I do. I see it,” Alex spoke, his voice low and calm. “I’m gonna take it.”

“Then take it!” Sonata cried, punctuating her statement by rearing up and gently shoving at Alex’s waist with both forelegs.

The two of them glowed, Sonata merging into Alex’s coat. A sound almost that of glass breaking exploded out from them with a wave of power. The figure left in their stead was clearly still Alex, though definitely not what was expected, as he was dressed in an elegant flowing gown the same blue color as Sonata’s coat, mostly. The skirt trailed on the ground, creating the illusion of a dolphin’s tail just barely too long for his height. A lacy frill spiraled up from the hem of the skirt to encircle his waist, and the top looked almost immaterial over his chest except for what was clearly a dark blue bikini top underneath the fabric of the gown. Long, opera-style gloves covered his arms up to the middle of his biceps, both with a distinctively fishlike fin from wrist to elbow, and his hair held a small crown of seashells and corals of various colors, with a veil down the back of his head that looked like silk made to imitate seaweed.

Sora raised an eyebrow, looking Alex up and down. “Or, you could go with how the games did things, which it looks like is standard fare for your world. Looking good, in any case.”

“Gah!” Alex shouted, taking in his new look. “Why couldn’t the cloak just change color?!” He blushed, finding himself twirling a bit.

Ohhh, that gown looks really pretty on us. I’m jealous. Sonata’s voice rang in his head briefly.

Sora shrugged, switching his eyes to heartsight. “More intricate a design than the forms from the games, too. You really landed the jackpot somehow. It’s amazing, really. Your heart and Sonata’s are overlapping in a way I’ve never seen before. It’s almost seamless. A little more practice, and it’ll be a flawless joining.”

“Yeah sure, the jackpot,” Alex agreed rather lukewarmly. “How the hell am I supposed to fight in a freaking ball gown?”

“That is a problem.” Sora grinned and summoned Oblivion. “Let’s find out!” He rushed forward, eyes still shining as he swung obviously at Alex’s chest.

Fade back one step, bring the blade up to block and deflect. Push with your front foot while keeping the rear one in place. Sonata’s thoughts rang clear again, and Alex saw a brief flash of her taking fencing lessons in human form at one point in time. Alex followed through with her instructions, knocking Oblivion to the side and lining Aubade up with Sora’s chest. “Blizzara!”

Sora stepped to the side, dodging the bolt of ice, but winced as shrapnel caught him in the side, not having expected the extra burst of frost for closer opponents in a shotgun spread. He quickly leapt back and aimed his own blade. “Fira!” Three bolts of fire shot from his blade, twisting through the air to come at Alex from three different angles.

Alex, I can’t use my water, and there was no magic defense in my old lessons for human bodies! Sonata’s thoughts held a tinge of panic as the flaming attack approached. I don’t wanna be baked tilapia!

“I don’t know what that is!” Alex gripped Aubade tightly before taking in a breath and pirouetting. A tower of water encircled him, shielding him from Sora’s spell. A name registered in his mind ‘Water Funnel’.

“Very nice.” Sora dismissed his blade and applauded as the water descended, his eyes back to normal. “Good instincts, and it looks like your movement isn’t quite as hampered as you’d feared. Which form is that?”

Hampered? This gown’s lighter than every single dress I ever wore during the Renaissance, and you didn’t misstep once. Pretty graceful for your first real time wearing something like this.

“Uh... I dunno. Grace, I guess?” Alex responded, sounding a lot more confident in his new form. “It’s not... too bad...”

Sora nodded. “Makes sense. Grace Form is tied to your more… feminine side. That just leaves Strength, Agility, and Triad for you to figure out.” He smirked and crossed his arms. “And since your world insists on being game-accurate, you’re on your own for the rest of them. Just be careful; if Shadow Form is as tied to these forms as it is to mine, your first experience in that form will be quite jarring.”

Alex huffed, giving Sora glare. “I’ll show you ‘feminine’ side, Shonen Jump.”

“Your references hold no power over me,” Sora replied, “for I understand them not.” He clapped his hands together, grinning from Alex to Fancy. “So, anything else to cover? Fancy? Sonalex?”

Sonata giggled a bit at the odd name Sora used. ’dere ‘dere Alex, we’ll get revenge on him tsun for that.

Alex’s eyes popped open wide. “I am not acting like a tsundere! Nope! Out of my head before you infect me with more of your girly thoughts, vile watery temptress!”

Fancy stared and backed away a step. “Is she… quite alright?”

Sora nodded. “Yeah, they’re fine. It looks like Sonata still has her own ego even when joined with Alex.”

“I see. Fascinating.” Fancy was silent for a moment before asking, “And what is a ‘tsundere?’”

“No idea.”

I, uh, I don’t know how to leave? Sonata admitted sheepishly. This is my first time.

“Do we just... wait for the timer to run out?” Alex asked, fishing his phone out of a pocket that was almost perfectly hidden behind the lacy spiral on his skirt. He took a picture of himself, slipping it back into his pocket. “That how it works or what?”

“Pretty much,” Sora said. “As you get a better feel for it, you’ll eventually be able to revert at will. Combat seems to speed it up a bit, but honestly? The forms are still the part of my powers that I understand the least, even after three millenia.”

“I’m surprised you never figured out how to turn your keyblade into a glider,” Alex commented, allowing Aubade to vanish. “I’m still trying to figure that one out.”

“I never thought to try,” Sora admitted. “I might give it a go, now that I know. So, was there anything else?”

Alex snapped his fingers, pointing at Sora. “Keyblade armor. Actual wielders, trained under a master, have keyblade armor. They can use their gliders to travel between worlds while their armor protects them from the darkness in the lanes between.”

“I see. And how do you activate that?”

“The armor? I think it’s custom made by the master.”

Sora smirked. “Got to admit, armor smithing isn't one of those skills I’ve picked up over the centuries.”

Alex shrugged, doing another twirl. “Can’t help you there. I know Xemnas has Xehanort’s. Don’t know about Luna or Celestia. And if Celestia does, I’m not sure if she has it anymore or if she lost it when she gave up Aubade.”

Sora blushed and looked away. “W-well, ask Xemnas about it when you get back. Sounds like it would be an interesting thing to have. Also, if you don’t want me commenting on your feminine side, you should stop twirling around like a ma- girl before the Gala.”

“Huh?” Alex asked, blinking owlishly. “Oh, huh. I didn’t even notice. Feels kinda nice.”

“Looks nice too,” Sora muttered under his breath.

Looks like somebody thinks you’re cuuuute. Sonata practically began to cackle with laughter inside Alex’s head, and after a brief flash of light ended up with the two of them finally separating, she continued to laugh while flopped over on her side like a fish out of water.

“That is not funny!” Alex hissed, glaring at Sonata. “Keep it up and I’ll let Spike turn you into a fish stick!”

“What’s not funny?” asked Sora quickly, his smile a little strained. At this point, I’d take anything to get out of this.

“N-nothing, just... siren ears. We could hear everything you said.” Sonata tried to get her laughter under control, and stood back up after a minute or so to look up at Alex with as serious an expression as she could manage. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t realize my teasing was getting that bad. It’s been so long since I was just able to cut loose and have fun. I think I’m in just the right mood to try teaching you water magic if you like? I’ll have to do it differently than just forcing the knowledge into your body like I did with Alex. That caused a couple problems for him, because I messed up.”

“Probably for the best we don’t use that method then,” Sora said, voice light even as he tried to fight down his blush. “So, how does magic work in your Equestria? Same as the games, or is it more versatile?”

“I don’t know what the games are like, but if your world uses anything like the rune grid construction method for spells it should be fairly easy for you to add versatility. The most basic spells on our world are made by focusing on a single word, but that can cause problems. How does magic work here?”

“It’s tied mostly to the words,” Sora explained, “but there’s some versatility involved in the second stage of the spell. ‘Fire’ will get you basic firebolts, and ‘Firaga’ far more powerful ones, and those are pretty straightforward. ‘Fira,’ however, is more piloted by the will of the caster. The more in tune with the element the caster is, the more she or he can do with it.” He pointed over to Fancy Pants. “He, for example, will someday be able to write his name in the sky with a well-controlled ‘Thundara,’ but ‘Gravira’ will only ever be a ‘Gravity’ of a higher strength.”

“I see...so it’s a little different than our world.” Sonata thought to herself for a while after hearing this, one forehoof tapping against the side of her head. “Single-word spells on our world are bad because they cause uncontrolled, directionless bursts, unless the one word acts as a focus for the whole spell. Someone just learning magic who just wants fire could burn the building they’re in down because they didn’t focus the element with a direction or a purpose.”

“Interesting,” Sora said. “Sounds more like what I’ve heard about unicorn magic. So, I’m guessing the incantations are ‘Water,’ ‘Watera,’ and ‘Waterga?’”

“Those and ‘Waterza’ are the basic ways to focus on a spell for beginners, yes. Someone who’s been working with magic longer might not even need to say it, and Alex actually has a talent for managing to cast just by thinking, even if Twilight doesn’t like that because it can be dangerous if your concentration drifts. Someone who’s really good with magic can fine-tune things even further, or create jets of steam by combining the runes for fire effects with the ones for water, if they know water.”

“Combining spells, huh?” Sora gave the idea some thought before shaking his head. “I’ll have to experiment with that idea later. Anyway, I’ve never heard of a ‘za’ series.” He turned to Alex. “Which game introduced that?”

“3, they got some leaks before I was sent to Equestria,” Alex explained. “Called the ‘Za’ tier grand magic.”

“Really?” Sora summoned Bond of Flame and pointed it straight up, frowning for a minute before nodding and grasping the blade in both hands. “Firaza!”

A massive gout of flame shot straight up, the kickback knocking the blade down into Sora’s chest and slamming him to the ground, creating a small crater from the impact. “...ow”

“And that, class, is the reason we do not teach foals how to cast the most powerful magic the first time they use a spell.” Sonata said in a solemn tone and with her nose held high in the air; clearly imitating an old teacher from some point in her past. She couldn’t stop herself from giggling after a few seconds, and slowly walked over to look down at Sora. “Need some healing? That looked like a nasty bit of kickback.”

“I’ll be fine,” Sora muttered, sitting up and glaring at his blade. “My pride was injured more than any-”

Further words were cut off by a large warhammer slamming into his chest and doubling the diameter of the crater. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING, SLINGING FIRE LIKE THAT AROUND?!” shouted the voice of an angry god. “IF LUNA SEES THAT SORT OF THING, SHE’S GOING TO ASSUME IT WAS ME!!!”

Sora grabbed the warhammer and got to his feet, glaring up at one of the castle’s towers. “I CHECKED FOR PEGASI FIRST! BESIDES, YOU JUST WISH YOU HAD THAT MUCH FIREPOWER!” He cocked his arm back. “AND WATCH OUT FOR CIVIS IN THE BLAST AREA NEXT TIME!!!” He flung the hammer with all his might, striking the top of the tower and leaving a large hole in the wall.

“Ow, ow, ow…” Sonata whimpered from the volume, clutching at her head and ears while her hooves glowed a soft green. “No more yelling please?”

Sora cleared his throat and nodded, twitching his blade upwards. “Cure. And sorry about that. Sol tends to forget that just because I can heal up minor injuries caused by our roughhousing, that doesn’t mean he can shoot before he thinks.”

“A-anyways,” Sonata stood back up and held one hoof in front of her. “Water is a spell that every siren on our world knows, almost from birth. Manipulating water is different, and that’s what can drain us. The spell creates a ball of water that flies at your target and explodes outward on impact, and also creates a shielding effect around the caster, so it can be used defensively as well as offensively. I’m not sure if it comes quite so easily for Alex, but I can give a quick demonstration if you like?”

Sora nodded. “A demonstration will probably help. One moment.” He blinked, activating his heartsight, and nodded. “Okay. Go ahead.”

Sonata nodded and closed her eyes for a moment, then took a deep breath. “Alex, think fast! Water!” She spun around, streams of water spiraling around her before launching forward as a large orb.

“Hey!” Alex shouted as he failed to bring Aubade up in time to deflect the orb back. “Oh come on, Sonata, that was dirty. You always gave me more warning before!”

“The water looked pretty clean to me,” Sora said, switching out for Wishing Star. “Now, let’s see if I’ve got this set of emotions right. He was silent for a moment before twitching the blade so it pointed at Sonata instead of Alex. “Water.” An orb, smaller than Sonata’s had been, flew from the tip of the blade.

Sonata ended up with a taste of her own medicine as the ball of water smacked into the back of her head and exploded with enough force to make her stagger a step forward as well as bring a hoof up to rub against the spot it hit. “Make sure to use more force than that when you use it in actual combat, but that’s a good place to start.”

Sora frowned down at his blade as he blinked out of heartsight. “I’ll work on it. Something tells me that new spells won’t come to me quite as easily as my original set but hey, when are things ever that easy?” He shrugged and dismissed the blade. “Something to work on during downtime, anyway. Was there anything else?”

Sonata looked at Alex and then back to Sora with a shrug. “I got a spell book if you want it,” Alex offered, reaching into his coat. “It’s a copy of Aqua’s original. It has all kinds of notes on how to make spells better in our world, but the originals should work for you.”

“That’d be great!” Sora grinned from ear to ear. “What a trade. A whole spellbook of new magic, and all I had to do was stab a girl in the chest!” He took the offered book, flipping through it.

The somewhat jovial mood in the courtyard was disrupted suddenly by the distinct pop of air that always accompanied someone teleporting. This was almost immediately followed up by a voice that was disturbingly familiar to Sora. “It’s eleven-thirty PM back home and Alex has a ten o’clock curfew on school nights. Next time you want to try taking him on an extended date, try doing it in a body that needs to wear a bra.”

Sora turned on his heel, three keyblades appearing in the air around him along with two in his hands. He looked around, preparing to strike Discord down, but the draconequus merely held up one talon as he moved over to examine Alex; a simple gesture to wait.

“His mother has been worried sick all evening, to the point where she even yelled at me to bring him back home or get out of her house. Fluttershy never yells, never mind at me.” Seeming satisfied that Alex hadn’t been hurt in any way that a day or so of rest wouldn’t fix, Discord turned back to Sora with a smile on his overly long face. “I’m not afraid of your keys, boy. Now if you don’t mind, care to explain your unwarranted aggression?”

Sora grit his teeth, his eyes blazing and his blades rattling in his shaking fists. “You never go in without recon,” he hissed. “You know exactly what we just went through. What could have happened to this world. And you call an instinct honed during the last war an unwarranted sign of aggression?!”

Discord stared at him for a moment. “Do I look like I follow military protocol? All I need to know is that you took my son to another Faust-damned world to fight a fight that wasn’t his!” Discord snarled, pulling Alex close to him again. “You even think of repeating this situation without permission and I promise you; I’ll redefine whatever word you have for suffering.”

Sora sneered at Discord, dismissing the blades that hovered around him and lowering the ones in his hands. “Well in case you hadn’t noticed, Daddy Dearest, your ‘son’ came of his own accord and fought of his own free will. In addition, whatever his physical state may be, mentally, and in his heart, he remains an adult. And even if he weren’t,” Sora’s eyes narrowed dangerously, “this wouldn’t be the first time a child has fought the heartless in this world. When you have a keyblade, the right to battle, if you so choose, is yours. We can’t afford to exclude any willing blade.”

“Yes, yes, mentally and spiritually an adult, but he’s legally under Fluttershy’s care in our world, adopted by her actually, and the only reason I haven’t done the same thing is that I’m trying to find the right way to pop the big question to her. I know this time it won’t end up in a keyblade chipping half my fang off like it did with Celestia.” A harsh growl built in his throat. “You disgust me, allowing children to become soldiers.”

Sora scoffed and dismissed his blades, turning his back on Discord. “What’s this? Discord, Lord of Chaos, Bringer of Strife, Divider of Families and Nations Alike, lecturing me about laws and decency? You really are an entirely different beast than the one I know. And I’ll have you know that any children remain in their home towns until they reach maturity. Local officers at the most.”

“Yes, well, we can all thank one wonderful mare for those differences, and our son here of course.” Discord squeezed Alex’s shoulder gently with one hand while the other snapped and caused a copy of the book Alex had handed over to Sora to appear in it. “Now, was there anything else you needed from him before the next interdimensional bolt bus arrives, or can I take him and Sonata home?”

Sora turned slightly, glaring over his shoulder at Discord. “...you know, that’s something I don’t get. You and me, we’re immortals. Immortals are, by nature, rather unchanging. How is it that one mare, however virtuous, was able to ‘reform’ you? Love might be a powerful force, but love takes time to build. It can’t be that simple.”

“Different worlds, different circumstances, young man. Celestia and I were quite close at one point in our world until I made a mistake that tore us apart. After that, Fluttershy was the first person to show me any form of kindness aside from occasionally cleaning off pigeon crap.” Discord suddenly sounded quite sad, and Alex could feel his paw trembling. “But that’s neither here nor there. We may be the same being, but your version of me is a different beast entirely.”

Sora turned to face Discord fully, his glare far softer. His eyes darted down to Discord’s chest as he considered something. Finally, he shook his head and sighed. “Well, that much is definitely true. It’d be nice if our Discord went bad from something so simple.” He met Discord’s eyes, his face more guarded than suspicious. “Alright, I’ll take your, Alex’s, and Sonata’s words for it that you’ve changed. Still, it’s up to Alex if he’s done here. Whatever the laws in your Equestria, he’d be considered a fully-fledged adult here.”

“Yeah, I’m done,” Alex said, stretching out. “I mean, I can stand here listening to you two engage in the time honored sport of dick measuring, but I’d rather not traumatize ‘Shy more than I already have.”

Sora nodded. “Good point.” He looked around and winced. “And since I don’t see Fancy anywhere around, we probably have about half a minute before Sol charges in here with his battleaxe.” He walked forward and held out his hand to Alex. “Thank you for your help, and for explaining what happened to me all those years ago. Look for my token when you get home. If you ever need me for anything, just give me a call.”

Discord waited for Alex’s response with his eagle claw held ready as if to snap while his tail pulled Sonata in close to make sure nobody was left behind.

“I’ll hold you to that.” Alex nodded, watching with no small amount of wonder as Discord unzipped a portal into existence. “I’ll see ya around, Sora.”

“I suppose we will see him at some point or another,” Discord grunted, moving into the portal. “Just so you don’t get any ideas of keeping Alex this long again.” He snapped his talons. “Enjoy the next two days, Sally.”

Sora looked down at himself, or rather, herself. “Huh,” she said, her voice higher and lighter. “I wonder if my forms will become dresses while I’m like… oh buysomeapples.” She facepalmed and groaned. “Luna’s going to get a kick out of this. I’ll have to steer clear of her bedroom until this wears off.” He looked up and smiled as the portal closed. “So long, Alex. May you always walk in the path of light.”

“Well, young stallion...man...whatever! Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Fluttershy stood in front of him, looking up but seeming no less imposing for being shorter. She had that heavy aura of ‘angry parent’ that called all eyes in the room over to her as the three travellers stepped out of a door that vanished behind them.

“O-kay, this is clearly a family thing so I’m just gonna...head back to the palace.” Sonata giggled nervously and backed away from the angry pegasus.

“I wasn’t going to ignore a request for help,” Alex responded, finding himself wilting under Fluttershy’s gaze. “I thought you guys were all about helping others. Aren’t you supposed to be Kindness or something?”

Fluttershy stared for a moment, her mouth open just enough. “Wait, you weren’t just wandering around in the forest somewhere?”

“You didn’t exactly give even me a chance to explain where I found him when I told you I’d found him, dear. You all-but bucked me in the tail and told me to bring him home immediately.” Discord snapped his fingers and handed Alex a bowl of ice cream. “Here, you go, Alex. I bought a pint of strawberries and some cheesecake the other day, then churned this out. You need to eat something before bed at least.”

“Thanks,” Alex said, finding a spoon in his hand. “I got called to another Equestria by a guy who got turned into Sora,” he explained, noting how quickly his confidence had come back now that Fluttershy wasn’t glaring at him.

“So you didn’t just wander away irresponsibly with a mare who...oh feathers, why didn’t I trust that you were at least doing something right?” Fluttershy deflated and stepped forward to give Alex a hug, ignoring that he had just been given something as she reared up and wrapped her forelegs around his waist.

“Hey, you’re a mom. Mom’s are supposed to assume their kids are doing something dumb,” Alex assured, scratching her ears. “I’d rather have you worry for the right reasons then...” he frowned, letting the thought hang.

“Wait, you thought that he and I were… Eww!” Sonata moved over to the door quickly. “I might tease Alex about it, but I was over in a human world long enough to know his body is all kinds of underage even if his mind is usually mature about things. I even told you I would leave things up to him and wait even if he said yes.”

Fluttershy’s ears flicked back as she nuzzled Alex’s stomach. “I’m sorry. I just get worried. I shouldn’t think like that but, I can’t help it. I remember doing a few things I’d promised my parents I wouldn’t, like standing on a tiny cloud by myself when I was barely able to fly.”

“Kids do dumb things, yeah, Rainbow reminded me of that the other day. Treadmills only at the gym, I should have remembered that.”

“We all make mistakes, Fluttershy. Your mistake is just being overprotective and worrying? If only I were so lucky.” Discord reached down and lifted Fluttershy’s head up only to poke her on the nose with the tip of a claw. “Let’s just...try to be a little less angry when we worry in the future, okay? Unless I say otherwise and tell you there’s a good reason to be angry, that is.”

“I think I’ll work on that, especially if this is going to be a regular thing.”