‘It's just a school, with horse children. You've dealt with worse.’’ Alex thought to himself, blocking out the chatter from the three fillies walking besides him. ‘You got some new clothes, your coat, and three hyperactive guardian angels. You'll be fine.’

“Ya’ll should’a been clearer when ya told us about Alex. Ah thought ‘lesbian’ was his species or sumthin’.”

“Homo Sapien,” Alex offered, looking down at the yellow filly on his right. “Otherwise known as human.”

“Right, ya already told us. Ah’m just tellin Scootaloo that she should’a been clearer.” She responded right back while looking up. “Name’s Apple Bloom. You’ve met mah older sister.”

“Right, right, I should have guessed from the accent.” Alex reached down and gently scratched behind Apple Bloom’s ears for a few seconds. “Feel free to ask me questions, and I’ll try to answer honestly, okay?”

Apple Bloom smiled, leaning into Alex’s hands. “Oooh! That feels mighty nice!”

“I’ll ask the first one! If you don’t have hooves or paws, what do you have?” Sweetie Belle asked, eyeing Bloom enviously.

“Well, I’m walking on my feet, and I use my hands to grip things, or to interact with the world in general. Oh, and no, they do not look the same before you ask. Feet are much longer and generally less flexible than the palms of hands, and toes are much shorter than fingers, with fewer joints.”

“Huh, that’s interestin-”

“Can humans get cutie marks!?” Scootaloo asked, cutting off Sweetie Belle.

“Umm, not as far as I know. If humans have any marks on their skin they’re either minor coloration defects, which we call ‘birthmarks,’ or if it’s an intricate design those are usually artificial, and are called tattoos. Keep in mind that I don’t know how magic works here, so there’s a chance if other non-pony species can get them, but most likely no.”

“You know what that means girls?” Bloom asked, looking between Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo frantically.

“New crusader?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“New target for Diamond Tiara to pick on.”

“We could try and help Alex get his cutie mark!” Apple Bloom declared, dancing on her hooves. “He can be our newest recruit!”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Alex asked, pulling his hand away from Apple Bloom as what Scootaloo just said registered in his mind. “Wait, who’s Diamond Tiara?”

“Oh, she’s just a mean rich filly,” Apple Bloom explained with a huff. “Always pickin’ on us fer not having our cutie marks.”

“Oh, a bully.” Alex frowned while briefly clenching his hand into a fist and taking a deep breath. “Let me guess, no adult ever seems to care about what she says or does?”

“Well, it’s just, Miss Cheerilee can only do so much,” Sweetie Belle replied. “I know our sisters have talked with Diamond’s parents but, she just makes her folks think we’re the ones givin’ her a hard time.”

Alex pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long breath. “Okay, I’ll deal with her my own way if it comes to that.” Waving off their concern, he tensed up as they approached the school. “So, Miss Cheerilee. She cool, or...?”

“She’s a good teacher, and Ah ain’t never had no trouble passin’ the tests she gives us.”

Sweetie Belle stopped and stared at Apple Bloom for a moment. “Did you just use a triple-negative?”

“Dialects are weird,” Alex dismissed, waving the question off for Apple Bloom. Stepping up to the door, he hesitated for just a moment before stepping inside. The chatter of the classroom came to a stop, all of the foals inside turning to look at him.

“Oh, you must be Alex.” A kind voice came from a magenta mare behind the teacher’s desk. She smiled as she slipped out and walked over to the door. “Go on to your seats, girls, while I have a brief word with the new student, okay?”

“Yes, Miss Cheerilee!” the three responded in unison, moving to their seats.

“Thank you.” She sighed briefly before gesturing back out the door with a foreleg. “Let’s just step outside for a bit of privacy, shall we? I trust my students to not destroy the building in three minutes.”

“Right, okay.” Alex stepped back outside, turning back to her. “So, whatcha wanna talk about?”

“I just wanted to make sure I understood everything on your application correctly is all. Your medical examination lists you as female, and the school attendance application lists male.” She paused and shook her head slowly. “It’s simply not something I’ve encountered before and I wanted to make sure I was understanding everything since I genuinely care about all of my students. I did run into your mother at the market the other day, and she told me to just treat you like I would any other colt except where medical information might be relevant, is that correct?”

“Yeah, that’s the jist of it,” Alex confirmed, giving her a thumbs up. “It looks to me that your society hasn't had to dealt with gender dysphoria before.”

“It probably has something to do with magic.” Cheerilee giggled slightly. “Anyways, feel free to talk with me about anything, alright? I’m a teacher, so I’m used to answering questions that parents either don’t have time for or don’t feel comfortable answering.”

“Thanks.” Alex shared a smile with her. “Just know that if Discord ever shows up for PTA, he’s guaranteed to be on his best behavior. Otherwise, he’s on the couch.”

“Oh, right...Discord. I honestly hadn’t thought of that. Oh well, I’m sure he won’t be any more trouble than...nevermind. That’s everything I had questions about all straightened out, so let’s go back inside and get you introduced to the class. I know you’re only supposed to be attending for math and history, but you can stay for other lessons if you like.”

“I got nothing else going on,” Alex admitted, following her back inside. “Might as well give it a try for a day.”

Cheerilee nodded and headed back inside to stand in front of the blackboard. She motioned for Alex to step back inside and waited for him before she started speaking. “Alright students, as you might have noticed earlier, you have a new classmate. This young colt is Alex, and he will be attending for math and history lessons at the very least, having tested out of all other subjects in a placement exam. I hope you all welcome him warmly and treat him with the kindness you show any other student.” She then turned to Alex once more. “Did you want to say anything to your new classmates?”

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Alex greeted, giving a small wave. “Here’s to hoping we all get along.”

A few voices could be heard in a soft murmur from the students he hadn’t already met. With a nod from Cheerilee, he moved towards the largest desk in the room, obviously for him. He took it without a second thought, getting an overwhelming sense of deja vu.

“Miss Cheerilee, may I switch seats?” The pink filly directly in front of him spoke up almost immediately after he sat down.

“Why do you want to switch seats this time, Diamond Tiara? You were separated from Silver Spoon for a reason.”

“I just don’t think I’ll be comfortable with someone that big behind me, or safe.” Her muzzle wrinkled slightly. “And he smells like he eats meat.”

“Because I do,” Alex said, leaning back in his seat. “Just fish, though. Humans need more protein than ponies do.”

“No, Diamond Tiara, you may not change seats. Also, I could barely even smell anything, so I know you’re exaggerating.” Cheerilee quickly turned to the board and picked up a piece of chalk to begin marking a few multiplication problems on the board. “Alright, Alex, you’ll find a set of textbooks inside the desk. Everypony turn to page fifty-six and we’ll start with one of the simpler problems.”

It was like learning another language, Alex realized as he rubbed out an incorrect answer. He found himself defaulting back to base 10, only to catch himself after he had already finished the equation. “God, this sucks,” he grumbled, forcing himself to slowly go through the problem.

“What’re you having trouble with?” The voice came from the orange colt to his right, and it was a bit on the slow side, like he had to deliberately think about every word before saying it.

“Ah, see, I was taught base 10 math and you guys use base 4. I just keep defaulting to 10,” Alex explained, setting his pencil down. “It’s driving me up a wall.”

“Well, why not do the work the way you know, and show it, and then write the answer in the numbers we use?”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Alex said, nodding his head. “But a few too many steps to get the right answer. I need to make this second nature.”

“Oh. Sorry, thought I could help. Maybe you could show me the problem during lunch?”

“Snails! Please pay attention to the lesson, but thank you for trying to assist Alex.”

“Sorry Miss Cheerilee.” Snails sat back up straight in his seat and looked mostly straight ahead at the board.

Alex nodded at him with a slight smile before going back to his work.

Cheerilee quickly went back to the lesson on the four basic states of matter, and asked Snails a question that might have tripped up a high-school student back on Earth, only for the slow-voiced colt to respond correctly after a few seconds of thought.

“Oh, now I get it.” Snails stated as Alex wrote out the numbers for the base 10 system he was used to using. “Your species uses more than four different numbers to count, so you’d have to do a lot more work...but your extra numbers means math takes up much less space.”

“You know, you’re pretty smart,” Alex commented, letting his hands rest on his lap. “I’m surprised Ms. Cheerilee doesn’t have you doing harder stuff.”

“Oh, no, It’s not that she doesn’t have me do harder stuff, it’s that I don’t want to leave Snips behind. We’re best buddies.” He lifted his sandwich to take a bite, and then frowned as a thought seemed to finally surface. “You know, you don’t seem young enough to be here.”

“Yeah, but uh, it’s complicated,” Alex replied, tossing a berry into his mouth. “Laws and all. I only really need the history and math lessons. I just didn’t have any other plans for the day.”

“And history isn’t until after lunch…” Snails finally took a bite of his sandwich and closed his eyes as he chewed slowly.

“I’ll make do.” Turning his full attention to his meal, Alex looked off into town. “Grade school is very different after a few years of med-school.”

“You know, you have a pretty voice for a colt.”

“I uh...” Alex found himself at a loss for words. “W-what makes you say that?” he asked, feeling his face heat up ever so slightly.

Snails’ ears flicked and he looked away for a moment. “You just sound a bit more like a filly is all, like you could sing really nice or something. It’s...it’s smoother than mine, or Snips, or Rumble…”

“Well uh, the fact of the matter is, I have the body of a female,” Alex admitted, clearing his throat. “It’s not something I’m a fan of but that’s just how things are and I have to deal with it.”

“Oh, okay. I-uh, I’ll just try to ignore it when I’m helping you, okay? So, do you know the old names for four, eight, twelve, and sixteen? The one for sixteen is still used.”

“Uh, maybe. Math’s never been my thing.” Alex rubbed his neck, a little embarrassed. “Always got passing grades back in High School but never excelled.”

“Oh, no, I mean the names used here way back in the past.” Snails smiled again as he popped the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth. “See, ponies used to just count with their hooves and make marks in the dirt for every four, so four was one hoofcount, eight was two hoofcounts, twelve was three, and sixteen was one lot. You need to know what a lot is for some of the word problems on tests.”

“That's going to be a headache,” Alex groaned, slumping in his seat. “Why does the English language need fifty meanings for one damn word?”

“Well, maybe if you ask Miss Cheerilee she’d let you keep a reminder about something like that for tests until you get used to it? She lets me keep a reminder on some things unicorns grow up knowing from their parents, but both of mine are pegasi.”

Alex stared at him for a moment. “How does that work? Uh, if you don't mind me asking?”

Snails stared back for a bit, his face scrunched up in deep thought as he tried to pull up the memory from somewhere in the back of his mind. “We learned this a few months ago, it was an unofficial policy shortly after the first Hearthswarming to promote unity that as many ponies as possible should marry outside of their tribe, so almost everypony alive has all three basic types of pony somewhere in their heritage.” He paused for a second and smiled. “The Cakes are two earth ponies, and their twin foals are a pegasus and a unicorn.”

“Huh, the more you know.” Turning his head slightly, Alex spotted Diamond Tiara and another filly engaging in hushed whispers. “Humans don't have nearly that much variation. It's mostly down to things like hair and eye color, skin tone and facial features.”

“I think the only species like that here is the minotaurs. Supposedly most of them look pretty similar. Then there’s the griffons who are all some kind of cat and some kind of bird...our world must seem pretty weird to someone who didn’t grow up here.” Snails’ ears flicked for a moment, and one eye darted over to glance in the same direction Alex had turned his head. “I don’t think Diamond Tiara likes you.”

“Eh, let em talk,” Alex responded, returning his attention to Snails. “So, where's your buddy, Snips? He off doing something else?”

“Oh, uh, not really? He got lunchtime detention last week for something I told him not to do. Two weeks he has to stay inside during lunch and recess.”

“His stupid friend cut a wasp nest down off the side of the school, then dropped it and got a bunch of us stung.” A grey filly spoke as she walked over, her head turned just slightly upward as if to show off the little pearl necklace she wore. She sounded like a typical spoiled brat, and as if to prove that fact to the universe, her flank was graced by a spoon with fancy decorations. Somehow, despite being a marking on a coat of hair, the spoon looked like an actual, usable metal spoon. Diamond Tiara followed close behind with a sickeningly sweet smile on her face that had to be absolutely fake.

“Yeah, that sounds like a bad idea,” Alex replied, popping another berry into his mouth. “Just be glad they weren't tarantula hawks or Japanese giant hornets.”

“He thought he was doing a good thing by cutting it down to get it away from the school. I know he didn’t mean to drop it, or get anypony hurt, but I thought he should leave it just in case.” Snails spoke up in defense of his friend, but shrank back as Diamond Tiara turned her gaze towards him.

“Nopony asked what you thought, slowpoke.”

“Miss Cheerilee told you not to call me that anymo-”

“Miss Cheerilee is inside watching your friend to make sure he doesn’t do something else stupid and dangerous, and she can’t do anything if she doesn’t see or hear it herself, my mother says.” Diamond Tiara’s smile went from sweet to almost evil as she looked at Alex. “Now that the retard has been dealt with, I’m watching you. I’m going to find out what bothers you and I’m going to use it to drive you out of this school so we’ll be safe with just ponies again. No predators. If I can’t find something; I’m sure my parents will be convinced to do something about you, even if your mother’s some kind of hero.”

Alex let out a very long, heavy sigh. As much as he wanted to lay into her with the worst verbal lashing he could give, he didn't want to make trouble for Fluttershy. Choosing his words carefully, he spoke. “Ah, I see. You're one of those 'mean girls’ who doesn't get the validation they need from their family so they turn to mocking others. That's more than a little pathetic. Hey, Snails, can I ask you a question?”

Snails nodded, but didn’t say anything just yet.

Alex held his hands up and wriggled his fingers. “You see any claws?”

“N-no.” Snails’ voice is thick, and catches in his throat for a moment. This causes both of the fillies to snicker.

“And I obviously don't have fangs.” Alex opened his mouth and poked a tooth. “Which means the only thing you've got to go on is that I eat fish, which I remind you is something pegasi do.” Leaning down, he gestured to the fillies. “You wanna know a secret?”

“Some unicorns do too, like, the ones who cast powerful spells.”

“Quiet, slowpoke!” Diamond Tiara snapped at Snails, then glared at Alex. “What’s your point?”

“My point, Regina George, is that humans got to the top of the food chain because we're smart. Didya’ know we have ponies where I'm from?”

“So what? Ponies are everywhere. I’d be more surprised if you hadn’t run into ponies before one of us took pity on you and brought you somewhere civilized.” This time the comment came from the little grey filly.

“Oh no, you see, the ponies back on Earth are just dumb animals. All they do is neigh and whinny, without a thought in their head. They’re so small we don't even use them as beasts of burden like horses. We just put them in petting zoos and let little girls ride them. So please, don't waste your God-given sapience putting other people down because you have zero self esteem, you gaudy troglodyte.”

Two mouths gaped open slightly at this, and both fillies stammer for a bit before retreating without saying another word to Alex. Snails began to snicker a little, and then laugh as he watched the two bullies run away. “Wow. I don’t think anypony else has ever made her stop making fun of somepony before. Well, other than maybe her parents for a few minutes.”

Alex slumped in his chair again, rubbing his temples. “She's lucky she's a child. I know far, far too many ways to put her in her place. You okay man? Sounded like she got under your skin.”

“Y-yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m not good at magic and that word she used, it’s a bad one. She got detention for a month the first time Miss Cheerilee heard her say it.”

“You'll never hear me say it.” Reaching over, Alex scratched his ear. “I wish I could tell you there was a 'best way’ to deal with people like them, but there honestly isn't.” He physically bit his tongue, ending his thought before anything more cynical slipped out. A brief flash of phantom pain rushed over his eye, passing so quickly he wasn't sure if it happened at all.

“A-alex, c-could you s-stop please?” Snails blushed and ducked away from his hand after a couple seconds. “That feels weird.”

“Sorry. Sorry, I should have asked,” Alex pulled his hand away, letting it fall into his lap. “What makes you say you're bad at magic?”

“It just takes me twice as long to really get anything done if it’s more complicated than holding a pencil or quill, and I don’t learn most things very easily unless it’s related to bugs. That’s how I knew it was a wasp nest and not just bees like Snips thought.”

“Maybe you should be an entomologist?” Alex suggested, giving a warm smile. “No reason to let a talent go to waste. I know I'm going back to med school as soon as I can.” Whatever reply Snails had was cut off by the lunch bell. “Damn, didn't get to finish my food,” Alex grumbled, packing his leftovers into a bag.

“Hold on.” Snails hopped down and picked his own leftovers up to place them into his pack in a slow and methodical manner. “You’ve got five more minutes to eat, that was just to let anypony who was playing something know to wrap it up. All I have left is a few celery sticks, and I’ll nibble on those on the way home.”

“Ah, thanks,” Alex gave a thumbs up before proceeding to quickly devour the rest of his food. “When you’re a broke uni student, you learn to eat quickly,” He explained, giggling at Snails’ expression.

“Hmmm. Oh, I get it, because sometimes the stuff priced low at the market is gonna go bad in a couple days and doesn’t taste all that great. Only the Apples don’t do that, but they don’t sell bad stuff anyways.”

“Good to know.” Alex spent the last few minutes of lunch with Snails before the pair headed inside. It seemed Fluttershy was right, it was rather easy to make friends in Ponyville.

The air split open with a soft pop as Twilight appeared in front of the doors to Canterlot Palace. She took a few seconds to catch her breath while the guards scrambled to open them for her, having immediately recognized the youngest princess of Equestria. Within another few minutes, the panting purple princess presented herself to Celestia and Luna in the throne room, only to find a pitcher of water held out to her in a nebulous blue aura.

“Honestly, Twilight, you could have flown here instead of wearing yourself out by teleporting the entire way. It’s not like my sister told you to get here immediately in her letter.” Luna chided as Twilight took the opportunity to rehydrate herself.

“I suppose I shouldn’t have used the term ‘as soon as possible’ without stressing the point that a couple hours of delay wouldn’t be detrimental. Cadance’s Crystal Express is still an hour away, and our visitor did say he only wanted to have to go over this once.”

“There is no need to wait.” A black portal opened at the doors, allowing Xemnas to step out. “I have retrieved Princess Cadance myself.”

Cadance stumbled a little as she walked out of the portal behind Xemnas. She quickly shook her head and sat down with one hoof pressed against her stomach. “Oh good, the floor has stopped moving. That was a little unsettling for a bit.”

“Is that safe?” Twilight all but demanded. “I thought you needed one of those coats for protection?”

“Cadance's natural light was armor enough,” Xemnas countered, closing the portal. “I believe we are ready to begin.”

Celestia turned to her assistant, as calm as ever. “Why don't you take the rest of the day off, Raven? You can let Captain Max know we're going to be locking the throne room down for some time.”

“With means both magical and mundane.” Luna thought for a moment. “Sister, if we need to brief any guards on this matter, shall we use a geas to ensure they not spread the news to those who need not be concerned with matters they cannot influence?”

“I will defer to your judgement on the matter,” Celestia conceded, moving to her throne. She sat in silence, nodding at Luna to proceed.

Luna waited for Raven to make her exit, and then her horn lit up and a multitude of ancient and powerful runes began to trace themselves in the air and fly out to form multiple gridlike layers against the wall. It took a few minutes, and Twilight noticed that the second half was simply the the same series of spells with the spell energies oriented differently. “There we are, a mix of spell forms both ancient and modern, powered by runes so old that only somepony from our foalhood would be able to begin deciphering them. We are secure, unless Discord decides to pop over for a visit.”

“Excellent, thank you Luna.” Celestia fluffed her wings at the mention of Discord before nodding at Xemnas. “We have all arrived at your request. What is so dire it requires all of Equestria's alicorns?”

Cadance raised a wing for a moment, then held it out as if trying to relieve a cramp. “More to the point, am I the only one who has never met you until today? I trusted you because you had a sealed scroll from Celestia, but I don’t know who or what you are.”

“None of you truly know me, beyond a mere meeting,” Xemnas began, his voice never raising above a monotone. “You may refer to me by my true name; Lee. As for what I am, I am a nobody. That which does not exist.”

“I suspected as much,” Celestia spoke, bearing a critical eye. “I imagine you must have sensed something amiss as well, Cadance.”

“The utter lack of any emotional connections was a bit unsettling, yes. I will admit that I thought he was just a masterpiece golem of some kind at first, or an illusion.” She finally stood back up and walked over to Twilight’s side to give her a gentle hug in place of their usual greeting.

“And yet you clearly do exist...a walking paradox.” Luna closed her eyes in thought. “I apologise, that is rude of me to say.”

“It has been many a century since we have dealt with the likes of yourself,” Celestia said, looking at the younger alicorns. “I must apologize to the both of you, for my sister and I have kept secrets of the very fundamental nature of the world from you both.”

“Not to mention the very existence of our oldest non-pony ally, even if she did vanish without a trace long ago.”

“Everything in this world has a heart both physically and metaphysically,” Celestia began, weaving illusions with her magic, “Our metaphysical hearts guide and strengthen us, but, they are also our greatest weakness. Should a heart give in to darkness, willingly or not, it becomes a Heartless; beings of darkness whose only aim is to create more of their kind.”

The illusions took form, showing the various races of their world, a shining, translucent heart spinning in their chests. A pony’s heart floated out of its body, quickly becoming engulfed in a black haze. The haze solidified, becoming a new body, this one made of shadows.

“Sadly, some species are a bit more vulnerable to this than others. Dragons, diamond dogs, and griffons were formidable foes when this was a more common event. To this day dragons can actually derive power and even grow if they allow themselves to give in to their natural greedy tendencies, though this does tend to degrade their intellect and leave them little better than a common manticore in intelligence.” Luna added a touch of her own magic to the scene, replaying Spike’s own experience with this by recalling a nightmare Twilight had after the event.

“Do not, however, mistake this as death,” Celestia resumed. “When a heart is stolen, the mind, body and soul remain. The body to give physicality, the soul to provide life and the mind to give guidance. These are beings we call nobodies, as they lack hearts they also have no emotion, and thus do not truly exist.”

“That doesn’t really make any sense to me though.” Twilight couldn’t help interrupting. “If a nobody is everything except for the heart...shouldn’t that kind of being be called the heartless, and then the being that is nothing but the heart be the nobody?”

“I told you your student would have the same objection I did as a filly!” Luna stated almost gleefully, but her expression faltered quickly. “We use the names we use for the creatures out of respect for our old mentor who first taught us how to properly fight these creatures without draining our magic completely within a few hours. They were the names she used.”

“And those are the names we shall continue to use,” Celestia said, ending her illusions. “You know Twilight, I’m very interested in meeting this Alex. I wish to know if Aubade is in good hands.”

Twilight blinked in confusion, only for her eyes to pop wide open. “Wait, you used to wield Alex’s...I mean, the keyblade Alex has used to be yours?” She brought a hoof up to rub the side of her head. “And without a keyblade, trying to fight these creatures can drain all of a pony’s magic in a few hours?”

“Indeed. Though you might be able to last a little longer than that what with being the element of magic in addition to an alicorn; it would still behoove us to bestow the ability to use a keyblade upon you, and you as well, Cadance.”

“Oh, no, no I don’t think I should be doing any fighting for the time being Aunt Luna. I think you should do that for Shining Armor at least, and in a few months I’d be able to consider it.”

“Wait, why are we even talking about this like fighting will be necessary? Just because Xemnas is a nobody doesn’t mean we’re going to have to worry about monsters running rampant or anything. He saved our lives when Starlight Glimmer tried to kill us.”

“Because, regretfully, those monsters are already here.” Xemnas opened another portal, this one bringing a new, distinctively non-pony being into the room. “I found him in the jungles, wandering aimlessly.”

That being was a hunched-over monstrous primate with blue-tinged fur, eyes where his nostrils should be, and an additional hand at the end of his tail. Upon completely clearing the portal he dropped into as formal a bow as he could manage. “Your majesties of Equestria, though I do not deserve them, I humbly beg your forgiveness for my past offenses and misguided world domination attempts, and for my continued assaults against one Daring Do.” The voice, while as flat and emotionless as Xemnas, was unmistakable along with that body.

“Ahuizotl?”

Cadance shied away from the new arrival, moving quickly to the other side of Twilight. “No, not exactly, Twilight. He’s empty, just like Xemnas.”

Ahuizotl turned, baring his back to them. Burned into his coat just next to his spine was a silver mark that resembled a thorny, upside down heart. “I have become a nobody, it is true.”

Luna sighed heavily and shook her head. “So we not only have at least one new heartless, which can go on to create a swarm of them if left unchecked, but we likely already have more than one if they have already left behind a nobody that retained enough of its mind to remember who he was.”

“I suggest we begin giving Alex formal training,” Lee spoke, holding his hand up. A dark cloud formed around his hand before revealing a black keyblade. The guard was sculpted in the form of bat wings, the top of said guard bearing a leering goat face. A blue blue jewel was set into the blade, a black iris like line running through it.

“Alex is only fourteen. Under Equestrian law, he’s still a child. His adoptive mother would have to give permission for that...but I’ll talk to her.” Twilight recited the bit of law easily, but added that last bit as she noticed both Celestia and Luna staring at her incredulously.

“There isn’t a choice,” Xemnas spoke, lowering his keyblade. “The heartless fear the keyblade but it also acts as a beacon. They will come for him, eventually.”

“Well, if that’s true just give me one so there’s another pony in Ponyville that can fight back against them. You were planning to do that anyways, and this will give Alex some time to learn about his new body before he’s forced to fight in it.”

Celestia regarded her former pupil with a sad smile. “As much as I would like to perform the ceremony myself, I renounced Aubade long ago. Luna, the honor falls to you.”

Luna rose from her throne, trotting purposefully over to Twilight. “This is not a simple thing, Twilight Sparkle. You’ve only just begun to bear the burden of your crown in earnest. Are you sure you want to add another?”

Twilight took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ve had a target painted on my flank once before, granted with the best intentions, but it hasn’t been that long since I fought Tirek to a standstill. I don’t blame any of you for that, but this won’t be that different. It will help Alex, and it will help Fluttershy too for a while at least.”

“This ceremony was performed on both my sister and I long ago, passed on to us by our master.” Luna’s horn lit up and what almost could be called a nebula formed in front of her. “From one to the next, from the first so many eons ago.” The nebula collapsed, becoming another keyblade. Luna’s keyblade appeared to be primarily black and silver, with multiple starburst adornments that started out a light blue in color in their center, but faded and changed color to yellow or white at their points.

Twilight stiffened up, her muscles involuntarily tensing as she felt the gravity of the situation and tried to brace herself for whatever was to come. She couldn’t help but notice a vague similarity between Luna’s keyblade and what she recalled Alex’s looking like.

Luna held the keyblade in front of her, grasping the hilt in her magic. “In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me friend, no ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love.”

“As long as I champion the ones I love? Well, I do love my friends, so that won’t be too hard unless Discord turns evil again.” Twilight relaxed slightly before lighting her horn up and attempting to weave her magic together with Luna’s to take the offered keyblade. She did stop just as she started to tug on the hilt. “Wait, this won’t leave you helpless, will it?”

Luna released her hold, allowing Twilight to hold it unassisted. “No, Twilight, you will manifest your own blade, in time. A mere touch is all that is needed to grant one who is worthy of being a wielder. A gift Missing Ache seems willing to give you.” She then frowned, and briefly brushed her magic against Twilight’s own once more. “Strange, you aren’t faltering at all in your grip. Even Celestia and I had some difficulty keeping ours steady the first time we held one.”

“Oh, I... ummm” Twilight looked away for a moment and let out a nervous giggle. “I might have tried to take Aubade from Alex the first time he summoned it because children aren’t supposed to have weapons. It went right back to him after half a second, so this isn’t technically the first time I held one.”

Celestia couldn’t help but giggle a little. “It was still getting used to how Alex felt and you ripped it from his hands? No wonder it rejected you when I knew you were worthy.”

“Are keyblades sapient?” Cadance asked, her eyes going over Missing Ache’s every detail. “Are thinking weapons a thing?”

“Keyblades are intimately tied to the heart of their wielder...most of the time.” Celestia glanced pointedly at the keyblade held by Xemnas. “What Twilight did with Aubade and Alex was, effectively, little different from ripping a newborn away from its mother in the middle of nursing.”

“I uh...” Twilight blushed, her grip on Missing Ache faltering. “T-that’s horrible! I-I didn’t hurt it, did I?!”

Luna quickly swept her magic back in to mingle with Twilight’s and slowly take Missing Ache back. “No, Twilight, do not worry about that. Celestia’s old weapon is quite resilient, as are all keyblades. It wasn’t passed on directly, so it needed more time to form a fully stable connection before it could begin to create other new bonds. It’s not unheard-of, and our old master cautioned us against relying on such ‘accidental bondings’ to create new wielders. This way is safer in the long run.”

“Oh, okay then. So if they’re tied to our hearts, that means they’re somewhat unique to the user?”

“Most times, though some have been passed from master to apprentice,” Xemnas spoke up for the first time since the history lesson. “The one I hold is simply referred to as ‘No Name’, it is the most ancient keyblade of all.”

“Oh, so that means when I develop my own it will be different from Luna’s. I wonder what it will look like?”

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” Cadance commented, putting a wing around Twilight’s shoulders. “A lot shorter of a wait for me to get one.” Taking Twilight’s hoof, she placed it on her belly. “I’m not the only one it’d put in danger.”

“Wait, Cadance, am I going to be an Aunt?”

“Surprise!”

“Well, that does explain your hesitancy in being given a weapon of your own, perfectly reasonable I say.” Luna smiled and silently banished Missing Ache once more as she turned to face Celestia. “Sister dear, your niece is going to be having a foal. I think it’s finally time for you to attend your first baby shower!”

“Luna, I attended a few dozen over the last millennium, but this will be the first one I do so gladly, and within my family.”

Twilight tuned out the rest of the conversation, her eyes focused on Cadance’s belly. A new life was growing under her hoof; a new heart coming into the world. There was no way she was going to let anything harm it. ‘I promise you, your Aunt Twilight will keep you safe.’