It was a beautiful day out today, perfect weather for hanging out on the beach and swimming in the ocean. Though it seemed like the perfect time to go on a vacation, for one sixteen-year-old boy, he couldn't afford to take a break. That boy's name was Sora, a goofy, laid back teen, but when push comes to shove, he will do anything to help those in need, especially when his friends are in danger. He had spiky brown hair, wearing his black traveling attire upgraded by the three good fairies to not only make his older clothes fit him, but give him more power to stop the Heartless and Nobodies. He has saved the entire universe several times from the Heartless, a group of Nobodies known as Organization XIII, and a few versions of the man who began seeking Kingdom Hearts several years ago, named Xehanort.

Unfortunately, just a couple months ago, he and his childhood friends, Riku and Kairi, took their mark of mastery exams to become full fledged Keyblade Masters, and he failed. While traveling through the dream realms, Sora was captured by Xehanort and was almost killed, his body to be used in order to create the X-blade the old man wanted in order to take full control of Kingdom Hearts, and all the worlds. Even after all of his feats saving the worlds from Xehanort's Heartless, Ansem, and his Nobody, Xemnas, none of it seemed to matter to immediately make him a Keyblade Master. He did understand, though, and resumed his training, honing his skills as a Keyblade wielder even further, promising to pass the next chance he gets.

Now, Sora spent every day on the island he and his friends played on training, swinging his Keyblade with powerful force on the sandy shore. Since he was by himself most of the time, he was able to go all out and exert himself to exhaustion, casting every spell he knew and every skill he could pull off. After spending hours practicing under the hot sun, the teen took a break, wiping away the sweat on his brow. As he sat down on the beach to rest, he heard footsteps come from behind him.

"Giving up on training so soon, Sora?" The teen lifted his head back until he saw the person from an upside down perspective. That person was his best friend and rival since they were kids; Riku. He wore a pair of blue jeans and a white and yellow t-shirt, his hair a light silver, cut short though slightly messy. His friend had two blue popsicles in his hand, giving his friend a smirk at the frown Sora gave him. "I thought you were supposed to be stronger than that."

"Ha ha, Riku. That's not going to affect me anymore." Riku sat down next to Sora, offering him one of the ice creams, a popular and favorite flavor with a weird name; sea-salt ice cream. He took a bite of his treat, tasting the salty, yet sweet, flavor as it hit his taste buds. "On a little vacation?"

"Sort of. Being a Keyblade Master's pretty hard, but that means we're going to need to find more wielders in order to protect the worlds." Riku took a bite of his ice cream as he looked out to the calm sea. "At least Kairi and I are keeping the worlds safe."

"I've been doing that before it was popular," Sora joked as he scarfed down the sea-salt ice cream, letting the brain freeze cool him down. "...Is Kairi doing ok?"

"You know, you can just tell her you love her, Sora. You two were made for each other." Sora blushed as he looked away. Riku chuckled at his reaction after constantly teasing him about his crush on Kairi. "Come on, Sora, it's obvious. You wanting to share the paopu fruit with her, her heart shared with yours, the charm she made for you...All those love letters you made yet you threw away out of fear."

"W-What!? Who told you about those!?" Riku laughed harder, nearly falling on his back as Sora's blush intensified. The embarrassed teen groaned as he was led into revealing that, hating how easily Riku could get under his skin when joking around. "I hate you."

"I know, but it's your fault for opening your big mouth." Riku finished up his ice cream, holding the stick in his teeth. "But I didn't come around to poke fun at you, as enjoyable as that is. I came to tell you personally that Master Yen Sid wanted to speak to you."

"Huh? Why?" Sora asked, curious as to what the wizard wanted with him. "Is it a retake on my mark of mastery exam?"

"He didn't say. He just told me to come and get you." Riku stood back up, twiddling around with his popsicle stick. "Better get going. I've got to go back to patrolling the north-eastern sector of the galaxy soon."

"Then that means I'm in more trouble..." Sora sighed as he stood up. "I really hope I didn't screw anything up."

"I know you feel disappointed for what happened back there, Sora...In fact, I think you should have been a Keyblade Master more than me." Riku looked down at his hand, clenching it into a fist as he knew the power he wielded inside him. "I have a worse track record than you...Letting Ansem take control of me, using the power of darkness...But, Master Yen Sid knows what's best."

"I guess...So, I'll be seeing you later then?" Sora scratched the back of his head as he asked.

"Yeah. Maybe not for a while." Riku headed back, taking the stick out of his mouth. He stopped and turned his head to his friend. "Also, man up and tell Kairi your true feelings before I do."

"Y-You don't even like her like that!" Sora shouted in jealousy as Riku laughed. The teen slapped himself in the face, always falling for Riku's teasing. "Stop messing with me!"

"That's never gonna happen." Riku waved his arm, saying goodbye as he approached the docks, stepping on a swirling light that transported him to his gummi ship.

Sora sighed, rummaging through his pockets and fishing out a charm in the shape of a star made out of seashells. "I can take on Heartless, faced a three-headed dog on my own, took down a Heartless and Nobody battleship without batting an eye...yet I can't tell a girl I love her." He continued looking at the charm in his gloved hand, Kairi letting him keep it for good luck, even though it was hers. Without Kairi, he wouldn't have gotten to where he was as a Keyblade wielder. And without her light, he would have been lost in a sea of darkness while he was a Heartless. "Guess I better get going and see what Master Yen Sid wants...and if Kairi's at the tower."

Sora navigated his custom made gummi ship through space, making his way toward the Mysterious Tower where Master Yen Sid lives. His space vessel is similar to the blueprints his friends, Donald and Goofy, had when he first began his adventure to the many worlds in his travels. Since he was rescued, he hadn't seen his best friends in a while, though he did receive letters from them from time to time. He understood they had important duties to uphold as King Mickey's royal wizard and captain of the guard. And with everything in the universe not suffering as much from the Heartless or any stray Nobodies, there really wasn't all that much excitement for either of them.

The teen finally reached the Mysterious Tower, exiting his gummi ship and began trekking up the long stairway to his master's study. As he reached the top, standing before the old wizard's door, Sora swallowed the big lump caught in his throat and knocked on the door.

"Enter," Master Yen Sid announced, the spikey-haired teen allowed access as he slowly walked in.

Sitting at his desk, reading through one of his many books, was the wizard he had met several times. He wore blue robes with a purple wizard's hat, littered with white stars. He also had a long gray beard, showing a look of wisdom and seriousness when it came to being an all powerful magician. Sora stood before his master's desk and bowed in respect to him.

"Master Yen Sid, Riku relayed his message from you to me," he said, feeling a little nervous.

"Good. Relax yourself, Sora. You are not in any trouble." Though he believed Yen Sid, he still couldn't help but feel a little intimidated, not knowing what the wizard had in store for him. "I know you have done a lot to help save the worlds, but your actions can be...careless when you grow too concerned about the safety of others. That led to you being captured by Xehanort, and it almost cost you your life." Sora winced, never going to live that down. "You should be lucky you have made many friends to aid you in your journey.

"But now, I believe I should issue you some more training before I decide on what should be your retake of the mark of mastery exam." Yen Sid snapped his fingers, making a small slip of paper appear out of thin air. He levitated it to Sora, the teen taking it as he looked at what was written on it. "Those are specific coordinates to a world far from this one and many others along that direction."

"...Is it infected by the Heartless?" Sora asked.

"No, but there are dangers in that world that you can easily overcome. You have saved the worlds from darkness several times, even keeping Kingdom Hearts from being taken control of." The wizard grinned as he praised Sora for his overwhelming feats. "It will be a long ride over to this location, so I suggest you pack enough for the journey through the cosmos."

"Alright." Sora was about to leave after bowing to Master Yen Sid, but a telekinetic grip on his shirt forced him to turn back to face the magician.

"I must warn you, Sora. You agreeing to take this training means you might be there for a long while. That means you won't see or hear any word from your friends." Sora's jaw dropped at the warning. "If you really wish to go, then you must understand the situation you will be faced in. Do you understand your mission?"

The teen was speechless. This "mission" felt more like a punishment than anything. He always relied on his friends to aide him in battle, and anytime he was alone, he triumphed knowing he friends would back him up, no matter where they are and how far they were split apart. Sora looked down at the note with the coordinates to this new world as if it was a pink slip of sorts, where he would be fired as a Keyblade wielder, though it was a job that non one could quit or get laid off from. Still, if what Master Yen Sid said is true, then it's possible that maybe this was what he needed to grow stronger in several ways.

Making his decision, he looked at his master with a determined look, nodding his head. "I understand, Master."

"Good. Now, prepare yourself for the long journey you will embark on." Sora bowed and made his way out of the study to pack what he needed to this new world. As the teenage hero exited his study, Yen Sid stood up from his chair and headed into the adjacent room filled with mirrors, some of them covered with sheets as they held magical properties. He uncovered one of them, the frame coated in a prismatic light that shimmered like an aurora, using his magic to activate the enchanted reflection. "Sorry for the long hold. I didn't want any of my pupils to know about this magical mirror."

"I didn't expect a sheet to cover our communication be considered 'on hold'," a feminine voice sounded through the mirror, sounding majestic and wise.

"Again, I apologize. But know that I have finally chosen a student of mine to come to your world," Yen Sid said. "I'm sure he will not only help you with any conflicts in the future, but also teach a student of yours a few lessons she needs in life."

"Indeed. Though, I must ask, Yen Sid; who are you sending?" the woman asked.

"You'll see. My pupil will arrive within a few days from my location in the universe. When you meet him, he may not seem like the type of warrior you may expect in attitude, but he has the skill to back up his aloofness." The woman chuckled on the other end.

"I'll believe your word, Yen Sid. Thank you for your assistance," the woman said.

"You are quite welcome, your highness," the wizard said as he bowed in respect to the supposed royal.

Outside of the tower, Sora was busy going through his inventory, making sure he had everything necessary for the long few days of travel he would embark on. While focused on his mental checklist, he didn't notice a gummi ship make a landing not too far from the Mysterious Tower. Stepping out from the vessel was a teenage girl, wearing a pink shirt and skirt that reached up to her knees, her hair long and colored auburn. Seeing Sora here, she approached him and tapped his shoulder.

"Hmm?" As he turned around, Sora stammered as he was staring at his other long-time friend, and crush, Kairi. "K-Kairi! H-Hey!"

"I was wondering what you were doing here," Kairi said, giggling at his surprise. "I thought you were busy training by yourself on the island."

"Uhh...Well, I was. But, Riku sought me out and said Master Yen Sid had some kind of job for me. So, here I am, packing up to go to some unknown world." As much as Sora tried to remain aloof and nonchalant about the whole thing, on the inside, he was a nervous wreck just staring at the girl who had literally dragged his heart out of the darkness, which he gave up to wake her up that day a couple years ago. Their hearts had literally been intertwined since their home was swallowed by the darkness, and he was going to be far away from Kairi, unable to see or talk to ever again for a long time. "It's gonna be a long drive there."

"Yeah." Kairi looked over Sora's shoulder, seeing the variety of supplies he had out of his ship to store. "I can see you've packed quite a bit there...And, Master Yen Sid said you had to do this on your own?"

"It's...more like training for me. Nothing really specific for an objective, really..." Sora scratched his head, unsure how to explain the unfortunate news to Kairi. He let out a huge sigh, deciding on just telling her. "...I'm probably gonna be gone for a long while...I don't know how long it'll be before I come back."

"Oh. I see." Kairi seemed a little upset, but she understood the situation. "Whatever happens, I believe you can pull through. I know you always do." Sora nodded and chuckled, blushing a little. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Kairi's charm, wanting to give it back to her since it was hers from the start. "Why don't you hold onto that for me just a while longer?"

"You sure? You told me to bring it back to you back in Traverse Town, yet you haven't bugged me about it for a long while," Sora said.

"Yeah, I know. I was just messing with you." Sora groaned as he lowered his head comically, hearing Kairi giggling at him. "Besides, if you're going to be gone for a while, I want you to have something to keep to remember us if you forget."

"How can I ever forget you?" Kairi tilted her head in confusion as Sora asked that question in a sort of lovestruck daze. Realizing he was acting more of a goof than normal, he shook his head to get rid of the growing blush on his face. "Uhh, I-I mean how can I forget having to save you from danger all the time!? Sure, I had a blast going to other worlds, but it's you're the princess who gets captured by the evil dragon and I'm the valiant knight who comes to save you!...Actually, that did happen in Radient Garden when it was originally called Hollow Bastion."

Kairi laughed at the ironic twist of their grand adventure. "That is true! But I'm not longer the damsel in distress anymore."

"Yeah. You can take care of yourself now. Oh, woe is me, for I am out of a job!" The two teens laughed as they joked around, spending as much time as possible before Sora wouldn't be seen for a long time. After they calmed down, they were quiet, almost waiting for the inevitable goodbye to just come. Sora sighed, not wanting to waste any time procrastinating and disappoint Master Yen Sid by loafing around. "...Well...I better move everything in the ship...and get going."

"Ok...I need to see Master Yen Sid and give him a briefing on the worlds I visited." Sora nodded, but before he was able to begin packing everything in his ship, Kairi suddenly hugged him tightly. "Take care of yourself."

"...Y-Yeah...Of course I will." He hugged her back, the two teens staying like that for a moment before Kairi let go. Sora wanted to tell her his feelings for her, but the words couldn't come out. When he finally did speak, he was going to chastise himself for the rest of his time gone. "Kairi?"

"Yes, Sora?" she asked.

"...If you see Donald, Goofy, Riku, the king...all my friends in the other worlds...can you tell them I'll be gone for a while?" Sora mentally smacked himself in the forehead as he was too afraid to speak his true feelings.

"Of course," Kairi nodded, though sounding a little disappointed. "Good luck, Sora."

She turned and hurried inside the tower, leaving Sora alone with his supplies and waiting gummi ship. "...Perfect, Sora. You chickened out..."

Sighing in defeat, the teen began loading up his gummi ship. He continued berating himself, even after he was ready to leave, taking one last look the tower where Kairi is speaking with Master Yen Sid.

During the few days of traveling through the galaxy, passing by several worlds Sora had visited in the past, the teen looked out at the vast emptiness of space in boredom, sitting in his seat as the ship had been on auto-pilot. The only thing he could do to pass the time was either do some warm-ups or do nothing, wondering if he should have said no to coming out here. He was already out this far now, so it was too late to turn back.

Before he decided on taking a nap to pass the time, he spotted something out in the distance the ship was headed toward. Looking down at his navigational unit on his controls, he was getting closer to his destination. As the world he was assigned to got closer, he could see what it would look like on the surface: there was a magnificent castle at the top of a mountain city on top, almost like King Mickey's, a small village at the bottom with an overgrown forest nearby, railroads connecting to the two major parts of the world and other smaller locations on the sides, though they were too small to distinguish what they were.

"Huh...This place doesn't look all that bad. It's pretty peaceful." As soon as he got closer and closer to this new world, his ship began blaring its alarms as his panels blinked "MALFUNCTION!" over and over in bold red. "W-What the heck's going on!?" While trying to figure out what was happening, the gummi ship shuddered violently as its flight grew shakey as it approached the world. Sora tired to check everything, but nothing was working. "Darn it! I didn't even touch anything!"

The teen fell out of his seat as an explosion from his ship shook the vessel, one of the engines having blown up on him. There was no way he could have screwed up with the gummi blocks while building his own ship, and somehow, it decides to break down on him. As he slowly got back up his feet, using the console for support, he looked down at the panels and saw that it was about to blow up from the heavy damage inflicted from the first engine's explosion.

He couldn't utter a word before the entire cockpit blew apart, his gummi ship blowing to pieces as he was flung toward the world. While Sora fell unconscious, he was lucky to have made it to the world's atmosphere as he fell down like a shooting star, the magic within him keeping him safe from burning up from the terminal velocity and glowing brightly as his body changed to fit the world's inhabitants.

It was the middle of the night down in Equestria, where the inhabitants of the world were just about getting ready to head to bed, the moon glowing brightly beneath them with a figure of a mare etched into the spherical mass that orbited the land. Down in a small town, called Ponyville, most of the lights in all the buildings were turned off as many of their inhabitants were sound asleep. In a small farmhouse with an apple orchard that stretches on for several hundred acres, the family living there was already in bed, except for one little filly.

"But Applejack, it's the weekend!" the yellow earth pony filly whined, her mane and tail a bright red with a big pink bow on her head. "Why can't Ah stay up later!? Ah'm not a baby!"

"Apple Bloom, ya got chores to do tomorrow," the orange earth pony mare said, being strict with the filly. Her blonde mane and tail were tied up to keep her hair from getting too messy when working on the fields. Getting irritated by her sister's fussing, she planted Apple Bloom in her bed as the filly pouted. "Once ya'll finish, ya can play. But now, ya need your rest."

"Ah can stay up all night if Ah wanna!" As the filly grunted, slamming her head down on her pillow, she looked out her window. Her mood shifted when she saw a shooting star out in the distance. "A fallin' star!"

"Huh?" Applejack looked out the window, staring at the burning star. "What in tarnation?"

The star was getting closer and closer, almost heading straight for her family's home. Luckily, it didn't get that far, but it crashed in the middle of their apple fields, the loud crash and small quake, alerting the rest of the family as the two siblings heard an elderly voice shouting randomly in shock. Finding this as a perfect excuse to stay up, the filly bounced out of bed.

"Ah get to make a wish! Ah call it!" she exclaimed, running out of her room.

"Apple Bloom, get back in bed! It could be dangerous!" As the earth pony ran out the room, she accidentally bumped into a taller red earth pony stallion, his mane an short and messy orange-brown color. "Sorry, Big Mac. Ya'll calm Granny Smith while Ah get Apple Bloom before she gets near whatever crashed near our orchard."

"Eyup," was all the stallion said as the two older siblings split up.

Out in the orchard, Apple Bloom ran toward the billowing smoke that rose from where the shooting star landed. There may have been some casualties with some trees completely destroyed, along with some of the land destroyed by the small crater up ahead, but the filly was too excited to make her wish on that falling star that decided to land near her home. As soon as she reached the crater, she was surprised to see that not much damage has been done to any of the trees nearby, and the crater was smaller than it should have been.

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack reached the filly and was about to drag her little sister back to the house, but froze as she looked at what had fallen. "What in Equestria?" Apple Bloom was about to carefully slide down to see what it was, only for the older sibling to grab her tail and drag her away from it. "Stay here."

"But that's mah shootin' star wish! Ah called it first!" the filly complained.

"Shush!" Applejack slowly made her way down the crater to get a closer look at what laid at the bottom.

Instead of a big chunk of space rock that made up the star, she instead saw the form of a pony, lying unconscious, and surprisingly not burnt or injured. From the lighting of the moon, she could see it was a stallion, his coat a light tan, his mane and tail both spikey and colored brown, and he wore a black shirt and jacket that was just as unharmed as the pony. A pair of pegasus wings rested on his sides outside his clothing, and around one of his hind legs was a small red pouch, though what was stored in there was a mystery, and the mare didn't want to snoop through his belongings.

Applejack was startled when she heard the stallion groan as he began to wake up, his eyes slowly opening. His vision was blurry, beginning to fade back into unconsciousness as he looked at the blurry orange mare staring at him. He passed out a second later, still knocked for a loop after whatever happened to him.

"Well, he doesn't look hurt. Ah better bring him back to the house." Applejack lifted the unconscious stallion on her back, his light and lanky body really easy to carry for any other pony.

As she began heading back to their farmhouse, Apple Bloom followed as she looked at the pegasus. "So, ya wished for a coltfriend? That ain't fair! That was mah wish!"

"Apple Bloom, first off, there was no shootin' star down in that crater, just him," Applejack said, chiding her sister. "And second, ya'll are in more trouble for not listenin' to me."

"Aww! That's not fair!" the filly whined.

"Well, ya didn't stop when Ah told ya to, so this weekend, ya'll are doin' your chores, with no playtime after." Apple Bloom groaned, grumbling at how unfair her life was when she clearly didn't listen to her sister to stay inside and stay in bed. After reaching the house, she told Big Mac to take care of Apple Bloom while she helped this mysterious stallion into the guest bedroom, removing his clothing to make sure he didn't have any hidden injuries, which she was thankful there were none. "Ah wonder what happened to him...And what was he doin' in our orchard?"

Applejack left the guest bedroom as she pondered who this stallion was. Whoever he was, she'll get her answers when he wakes up, if he does.

Just as a note, I do not know much about Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. All I know is that in the end, Sora failed his exam and Riku dealt with Young Xehanort. I do not want to spoil myself with how the game goes, so any errors I make about what happens in the game, I apologize in advance. But that isn't the major point of this story. It's Sora trapped in a world with the ponies.

Sora groaned as he stirred awake, his body feeling sore. He opened his eyes, squinting as the sun shone down on his face through the window he was facing. As his vision adjusted to the blinding light, he noticed he was inside someone's home, and he was alive. He remembered, before blacking out, his gummi ship began to fall apart and blew up. He must have landed in the new world, thankfully still alive, though he had taken worse falls in the past.

"Urgh...Note to self: make a pit stop and check your ship before going on a near-week endless journey through space." As Sora climbed out of the bed he was in, he ended up falling on his face from losing his balance on his legs. Grumbling in annoyance, the teen rolled over onto his side to pick himself back up. He finally noticed that his body had changed, not really surprised since this kind of transformation happened several times in the past. "...Ok...This is a new look for me."

Sitting up as best as he could, he moved his arms up to his line of sight, only to have hooves instead of hands and his arms were now forelegs. Getting a better look at his underbelly, he now had fur, a light tan in color, along with a brown tail sitting between his hind legs, similar in style to his own hair. Using his new front limbs, he felt around his head, feeling a pair of ears sticking up on his head through his hair, which thankfully was the only distinguishing feature about him that stayed the same. Moving his hooves lower to his face, it felt a bit longer, like a muzzle.

While pondering this new transformation, he stood up and practiced walking around on his four legs. At least it wasn't as difficult to learn like it was when he turned into a lion cub in Simba's world. The only difference was that he thankfully didn't have short legs, his body a bit skinny and lanky, almost like his svelte figure as a human. He may lack muscle, but he can be pretty strong and agile. Speaking of agility, he felt a strange ticklish feeling on his sides, looking over each side to find a pair of wings, the feathers similar to his coat's colors.

"Huh...I'm a pegasus." Sora unfurled his wings, surprised to feel they were easy to control, almost as if it was a hidden nature of his. He flared them out, checking the wingspan, feeling a little disappointed. "I'm actually a smaller version of Pegasus from Mount Olympus...I hope I don't make bird calls like he does."

Curling his wings back to his sides, he got a good look at the room he was in. It looked like a rustic building, every section of the building probably made out of wood. There wasn't much inside aside from the bed, a side table with a lamp for some illumination in the night, a small dresser for storing clothes, and, to his luck, a mirror. Deciding to get a better look from a reflective perspective, Sora approached the hanging mirror and got a better look at himself.

The first thing he noticed was the size of his eyes. They were pretty big, bigger than an average horse's, or anything else for that matter. He was glad he didn't poke his eye while getting feel of his muzzle. Along with his new facial features, he didn't have a scratch on him from the explosion, or the crash landing he must have had. He also noticed his clothing was gone too, whether they disappeared because of his new body needing to fit in with the rest of the inhabitants, or they burned up or were torn to shreds. Sighing, he felt guilty, having lost Kairi's charm.

"Perfect. I crash land here in this world, my enchanted gear is gone, and I lost Kairi's-" As Sora turned to his side while he began to mope, the moment he looked back at the mirror, his eyes widened as he caught sight of something on his flank; a tattoo of his Keyblade, and it was on both sides of his rear. "...Oooooook! What the heck is this!? I know I can remember never having gotten a tattoo...or two! And on my butt!"

Sora began spinning around in circles, getting a better look at the new marks that were on his flanks. He was warned never to tell anyone he was from another world, and most of the time, he failed to do that and keep the world's order in check. Now his Keyblade was on full display on his rump, meaning he would involuntarily show everyone he was abnormal. While fumbling around trying to look at his hindquarters, in the midst of his spinning, he froze when he saw someone was watching him from the open door.

He slowly turned his head toward the doorway, finding a small yellow pony with red hair staring at him awkwardly. He noticed the pink bow on her head, which made her more adorable than she would be without it, able to tell it was female by the eyelashes along with the bow. Sora slowly sat down, the filly's eyes glued on him.

"...Uhh...hi?" She didn't say anything, the teen highly unsure if she could speak, understand him, or had no clue what to say after seeing him spinning around like a dog trying to chase its tail. "...I'm not crazy or anything. I just kind of..."

"...Did ya hit your head?" she finally spoke, her accent resembling a country accent.

"...Well, that's a way to say hello," Sora mumbled to himself as the filly already thinks he's nuts. "Uhh...Is there anyway you know how I wound up here?"

"Mah big sister carried you here," she said. "Though why she wasted a wish on a stallion Ah'll never know. Ah saw that shootin' star first, and she stole it when Ah called dibs."

"Shooting star?" As Sora pondered what she meant, he realized she must have talked about him and his crash landing.

"Yeah...But there was no star down there. Ah checked while doin' mah chores, and there was nothin' except for you in there from last night." Hearing no sign of any debris from his descent, Sora groaned internally. His gummi ship was long gone, and it doesn't look like there might be any to find or create in this world. "Ah think we're all surprised to see ya'll aren't even hurt! Ya'll must be a lucky pony, mister!"

"...Sure. Lucky. Let's go with that," Sora said as he scratched his neck. "I guess I should introduce myself. My name's Sora."

"Ah'm Apple Bloom." Suddenly, Sora's stomach made a loud, gurgling noise that echoed in the room. Apple Bloom giggled while the teen groaned in hunger. "Well, ya have been out all mornin'. It's almost lunch time." The filly ran up to him and grabbed on of his hooves with hers. "Come on! Ya'll are gonna love Granny Smith's cookin'!"

Sora allowed Apple Bloom to drag him along, guiding him through the house for some lunch and to possible meet the rest of her family. As they walked down the stairs, Sora could smell the mouthwatering aroma coming from the kitchen, smelling like a variety of different apple recipes being baked or cooked. As they entered the living room, a pretty average space fit for those that live on a farm, they heard a barking noise as a brown collie ran at the teen, knocking him over and began licking his face.

"Ahh! Help! I'm being attacked by a cute dog!" Sora laughed, trying to get the excited dog off of him.

"Winona! Down, girl!" Apple Bloom commanded, though the collie didn't seem to listen.

Sora finally grabbed a hold of Winona, placing the happy puppy down on the ground and pet her head. "At least you're not as drooly as a certain little alien I can summon," he whispered, which got a yip out of the collie as she licked his hoof.

"Ah didn't think Winona took a likin' to ya so quickly," Apple Bloom said in surprise. "It usually takes a while for her to like somepony she didn't meet after a couple hours."

"Well, maybe it's a good thing I hang around animals all the time," Sora chuckled, an inside joke for him since many of his friends are animals.

"Really? Then why is your cutie mark a big key?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Uhh, 'cutie mark'?" The teen-turned-pegasus looked at his flanks, wondering if these tattoos were what she meant.

"Yeah. It's a giant key." She walked up next to him and prodded his flanks, finding it awkward for a filly who's probably a few years younger than him touching him somewhere around there. "Do ya even know what a cutie mark is?"

"...Well...No?" Sora said, unsure of how to answer that.

"Ya'll don't know what a cutie mark is, yet ya have one!?" Apple Bloom shouted, practically leaping onto his back. "What kind of pony are ya!?"

"A very confused one. I don't even know where I am, aside from being in your house." That response only made the filly gasp harder in shock.

"Somethin's wrong with your brain...Ah can fix it!" Apple Bloom leapt off Sora's back and ran into a nearby closet. He looked down at Winona as she looked at him, wondering if the collie might have some insight as to what she was up to. The filly came back, but with a hammer in her mouth. "Ah can get a cutie mark in memory fixin'! Ah'll get your memory joggin' real quick!"

Before she could jump back on his back and give him a concussion or a fractured skull with that heavy tool, Sora grabbed the hammer before she could hurt herself with it. "I don't have a memory problem, Apple Bloom. I'm asking because I have no clue what I don't know. Also, don't use dangerous objects like these without permission. You could hurt yourself more than me."

"Aww..." Sora put the hammer up somewhere Apple Bloom can't reach so she doesn't try anything that reckless again.

Before he could ask the filly everything he needed to know, Winona barked happily as she ran to the front door, someone walking in. "Easy, girl! Down! Ah've only been out for a few minutes!" Sora watched an orange equine walk in, the collie leaping up to give the mare affectionate licks, along with a burly red one who seemed far too big to even fit inside the doorway, let alone the house. The two older ponies spotted Sora in their living room, both of them surprised to see him up. "Ya'll are awake."

Apple Bloom ran up to the mare and stallion, then turned to face Sora. "Perfect timin'! Sora, this here's mah big sister, Applejack, and mah big brother, Big Macintosh! Applejack, Big Mac, that's Sora!"

"...Well, guess your sister's done the introductions for me," Sora said as he gave them a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his head. As he got a better look at Applejack, he noticed that she looked like the same blurry figure that must have found him when he fell unconscious. Only instead, she was wearing a brown stetson hat on her head. "...So, your little sister told me you brought me in when you found me."

"Ah did, yeah," Applejack said. "Are ya'll alright, sugarcube?"

"I'm fine. Just a little sore is all." Sora was being honest, though he had to be sure not to reveal his true identity to this family.

"Sora says he has some memory problems," Apple Bloom said. "He doesn't even know what a cutie mark is, but he clearly has one! Ah was tryin' to help him by hittin' him in the head with a hammer, but he took it away from me."

"What!? Apple Bloom!" The filly winced, about to get another scolding from her sister.

"It was my idea!" Sora exclaimed, not wanting to see Apple Bloom get punished for trying to help him, even though he clearly didn't. "I guess I have some amnesia about a few things, including where I am. I asked her to help jog my memory, and by that, I must have said 'Smash my noggin with a hammer,' instead. She was only trying to help."

Both older siblings looked at Sora, then back down at Apple Bloom. "...Well, at least ya weren't more hurt than ya already are. And Apple Bloom, don't take any tools without our permission again. Understand?"

"Yes, Applejack," Apple Bloom said, looking down at her hooves.

"Soup's on, everypony!" an elderly voice called out from the kitchen. Sora turned around, seeing an elderly green mare slowly walking into the living room, her limbs creaking with each step. Her grayed mane and tail were tied in a bun, and the teen spotted what looked like a pie as her, what Apple Bloom called the tattoos on their flanks, cutie mark. The mare squinted her eyes at him, her vision not as good as it used to be. "Big Mac, what in Equestria happened to ya?"

"...Uhh-" The mare, who must be Apple Bloom, Applejack, and Big Macintosh's grandmother, grabbed Sora's cheeks and stretched them to their limit.

"Macy, look at ya! How did ya get so skinny!?" she questioned, the siblings, stifling their giggles at Sora's misfortune. "For goodness sake, colt, did ya forget to eat again!? Ya need more muscle in them bones if'n ya'll are gonna work in them fields!"

"Granny, that ain't Big Mac. He's over here." The elder looked over at the sisters and brother, the red stallion waving to her as all three of them tried not to burst out laughing.

"Huh?" Granny Smith let go of Sora's cheeks, the teen rubbing his sore face, thankful for his constant smiling when around Donald and Goofy. She looked back at him, no longer concerned about which one of her grandchildren she was worrying about. "Well, whoever ya are, ya'll need food in ya. You're all skin and bones!" The mare grabbed his tail in her mouth, Sora's skin crawling as he didn't feel a pair of dentures in the grandmother's mouth, feeling her gums pulling him weakly to the kitchen. "Let's get some food in ya, sonny."

Just the disturbed look on Sora's face broke Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh, and Applejack, all three siblings laughing uproariously. His first few hours of being awake in this world, and he was greeted by a filly obsessed with cutie marks and an overprotective grandmother who seems more crazy than her youngest granddaughter. Not one of the weirdest beginnings of his venture in a new world, but it was the most awkward.

After the family, along with Sora invited to join them, settled around the kitchen table, they began eating some of the delectable apple meals laid out. As soon as the teen bit into any one of them, his taste buds were on cloud 9, never having tasted anything so delicious in all his life. He grabbed one of everything on his plate and dug in, filling his empty stomach and showing his appetite was more than his skinny frame showed.

While eating lunch, Sora had his questions answered by Applejack about what he didn't know about this world, all of them believing he had amnesia. The world he was in was called Equestria, the town they were currently in was Ponyville, and he was a guest of the Apple family on their farm, Sweet Apple Acres. The cutie marks Apple Bloom mentioned earlier, yet failed to explain, were what the ponies in this world get once they figure out what their special talent in life is. They somehow appeared out of thin air when they discover what it is, though his would have probably appeared a couple years ago when he first began wielded the Keyblade. It was odd to see that Apple Bloom, out of all her family, was the only one without one, now understanding the reason why she was that obsessed with his and wanting one for herself.

As the other Apples were finished with their lunches, Sora chomped down on an apple tart, wanting to know a little bit more about them. "So, the strange thing I noticed about your family, Applejack, is that all of you are named by something related to apples. Is it some kind of tradition?"

"In a way, ya could say that. Though, Ah gotta say. Your name, 'Sora', doesn't sound like any name Ah've heard of in Ponyville. Ya must have lived in another kingdom or somethin' to get that name, right?" Sora chuckled as the farm mare's guess was pretty close.

"Yeah...I think so. Can't really remember all that well." He finished up his last piece of dessert, licking his hoof clean. "Oh. Applejack, was I by any chance wearing anything when you found me last night?"

"Sure did. Ya'll were wearin' a strange lookin' shirt and jacket, and a small red bag that was tied to one of your hind legs. Ah washed your clothes, since they were pretty dirty, and that little bag is up in the guest room in one of the dresser drawers," Applejack said, making Sora breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness," he said. "I thought they got ruined." Sora sat up in his seat as Big Mac took the dishes and began cleaning them. With his clothing still intact, he began to fear Kairi's charm might have gotten ruined when Applejack was doing laundry. "Uhh...was there something that looked like a star in one of the pockets? Made out of seashells?"

"...Sorry. Ah didn't find anythin' in any of them before Ah washed them." Sora felt his heart sink as Applejack told him there wasn't any sign of Kairi's charm.

He promised to keep it safe. He promised he would give it back to Kairi. He promised her he would use it to remember her and his friends if he ever forgot about them or missed them. Was it destroyed when he fell or when his ship exploded? Did it fall out of his pockets and shatter to the ground after he was blown out?

"Wait! Ah think Ah saw somethin' like that!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, quickly running out of the kitchen, her little hoofsteps climbing up the stairs, the floorboards creaking above them.

A moment later, the filly came back down, and to Sora's relief, she had the charm in her mouth. "That's it!" Sora scooped Apple Bloom in his hooves and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He took the charm and carefully examined it, finding no cracks in the shells or any part of it out of place. "I don't want to lose this. Where'd you find it?"

"Ah found it near that crater ya'll were in. It probably fell out when Applejack was carryin' ya," the filly beamed as she was glad to have found it. "Ooh! Maybe Ah got a cutie mark in findin' lost stuff for other ponies!" She eagerly looked down at her flanks, spinning around to see if she got a cutie mark, but it was still bare. "Darn it. No cutie mark."

Applejack and Big Macintosh shook their heads at their sister's impatience. "It'll come when ya find out what your special talent is." Apple Bloom ignored her big sister's advice as she got back in her seat at the table. "Might Ah ask what's special about that charm of yours, Sora?"

"...Well...Someone really special to me gave it for me to hold onto." He held the star-shaped charm up for Applejack to see. "Where I'm from, it has a very special legend to it, involving a star shaped fruit called a paopu fruit. They say if you share this fruit with someone you care about, your hearts are intertwined. No matter how far you are, or whatever happens, you'll never be apart from them..."

"Sounds like a romantic thing," Applejack commented, noting the tinge of red on Sora's cheeks as he was lost in thought, staring at the charm. "Does it really work, lover colt?"

"Huh?" The teen saw the smirk on Applejack's face, realizing he was lost in a daydream involving him and Kairi. "N-No! It's just a silly rumor!" he nervously chuckled. "I mean, how can a piece of fruit bring two people-er, ponies together!?"

"Well, by that blush on your face, it seems to have worked." Sora's blush deepened, groaning in embarrassment as he couldn't hide the legend's story come true for him and Kairi.

"...M-Maybe..." The teen sighed as he looked at the charm. "Our hearts were intertwined...but we aren't exactly...in a relationship."

"...That don't make any sense," Apple Bloom said. "Don't ya care about your special somepony?"

"Of course I do. It's just..." Sora sighed again, slumping over the table in misery. "I've known her ever since we were little. We were best friends, and as we grew older, I had a crush on her...I was afraid if I actually came out and told her I love her, I didn't want our friendship to be awkward if she said no." Applejack stared at Sora as she had realized that the pegasus didn't seem to be forgetful of all his memories. She didn't want to pry if he did remember some things with his past while forgetting others, like where he was. "I'm brave enough to face danger head on and laugh at its face, but I'm too scared to tell her how I feel about her..."

"...Maybe when ya meet her again, ya'll can just tell her." The depressed pegasus looked up at Applejack as he lowered the charm on the table. "It's better to be honest with her than hide what you think is gonna ruin your friendship. Even if it ain't meant to be, ya'll can still be friends."

"...I guess...Though, if you knew me well enough, you'll know just how crazy my life was." He grinned as he stood up and stretched. "I'll take your advice though. Next time I see her again, I'm just gonna let it out."

"That's the spirit," Applejack said, getting up as well. "Well, Ah gotta get on back to work. Ya'll are welcome to stay here in our home if ya got nowhere else to go. Maybe ya'll can get a look around Ponyville, see the sights, maybe get some more of them memories joggin' in your head."

"Thanks, Applejack." Sora approached the mare and shook her hoof. "But if I'm going to be a resident here in your home, I don't want to be some kind of slacker. If there's anything I can do around here or on your orchard to repay your hospitality, then I'll gladly do it without any complaints."

"Ah'll take your word for it. In fact, since Big Mac and Ah are gonna be workin' all day today, ya think ya'll can run a few errands for me?" Sora nodded his head as Applejack pulled out a list. "Ah was gonna have Apple Bloom do this, but seein' as last night she chose to run off on me and check on where ya laid unconscious, she's in a lot of trouble."

"Ya stole mah wish!" the filly complained, still sitting at the table.

"Let me guess; you wanted to wish for a cutie mark?" Sora questioned, which the filly immediately nodded in response. "Of course. Well, I'll see what I can do for my first job, boss."

He gave a mock salute as if Applejack was running a military base, the mare rolling her eyes at his goofiness. "If ya need any directions to anywhere on the list, just ask the locals. Ponyville's a pretty friendly town, and you'll find the shops pretty easily."

"Cool. Oh, and, my clothes?" Sora asked.

"They're still dryin'. They should be dry enough when ya get back." The pegasus sighed, though it shouldn't bother him too much to wander around in the buff since he was a pony like the rest of Equestria's inhabitants.

Before he left the farmhouse, Sora gave Apple Bloom a light noogie, messing up her mane, and pat the energetic Winona on the head. Exiting the front door, he could see an old barn not too far from the house to his right, and on the left was the orchard, and it was bigger than any other farm he had ever seen in his youth. With the list Applejack gave him, Sora set out to explore Ponyville and complete her list of errands. Little did the teen know he was being watched as something pink and poofy shot out from a bush near the entrance to the farm, the bushy mass pointing at it as if it had an eye inside of it, watching the stallion head toward town.

As Sora wandered around Ponyville, he was surprised to see just how bright and colorful the world was. Many other worlds in the past he had visited before were unique in their own way, but Equestria seemed to pop out more. It was almost like the 100 Acre Wood in Winnie the Pooh's storybook, only instead of his animal friends, they were replaced with many uniquely colored ponies. Aside from the regular ponies and pegasi flying around, he also noticed some unicorns wandering around. As much as he wanted to learn more about this world, he had a job to do for Applejack.

"Ok, let's see here..." Sora looked down at the list, reading the locations and what he needed to get for Applejack. "From Carousel Boutique, I need to pick up...Big Mac's suit?" He snorted, imagining the elder sibling in any clothing. "Might be for business deals, but I don't think anything would fit him. Uhh...a weather schedule from Rainbow Dash. Medicine for Winona from Fluttershy. And an order from Sugarcube Corner under her name. Doesn't seem that hard...Now, to find out where the heck I'm going."

Sora began asking around to find out where the first location on his list was, and though he was pointed in the direction, they all said he would find it pretty easily. Taking their word for it, he walked along the path until he finally made it to the boutique. The instant he saw it around the corner, his jaw dropped at what it looked like, clearly something anyone could easily find.

On the roof of the clothing store was, obviously, a carousel, making it look like an amusement park ride sitting on top of a house. It looked so out of place, and it made the teen question if this place was really supposed to be a boutique or a ride. He's seen stranger things before, especially in Wonderland, not going to question the aesthetics of the owner's store. He knocked on the door, unsure if it was a store or a house, not wanting to be rude and barge in.

"Just a minute!" he heard a feminine voice from inside, though it sounded pretty young to sound like an adult. A moment later, the door opened, revealing a white unicorn filly, her mane and tail a swirl of light pink and fuchsia. "How can I...help...you...?"

As she looked up at him, she began to blush. "Hi there...Is the owner of the...Carousel Boutique here?"

She didn't respond, still staring at him with those big eyes of hers. If Sora thought that Apple Bloom looked adorable, this filly was far more cuter than anything he had ever seen. He had no idea why she was blushing, though. Before he could ask her if she was feeling ok, she shut the door, leaving him outside. He scratched his cheek in confusion, but he didn't wait long for another pair of hooves approach the door.

"Sweetie Belle, you know it's rude to slam the door on somepony like that!" an older female voice scolded the filly as she opened the door to greet Sora. The mare was a unicorn like the filly with a white coat, but her mane was a dark purple and styled in an elegant curl. Her cutie mark were three blue diamonds that seemed to have a bright gleam to the gems. "I am so sorry about that, sir. I have no idea what got into my sister."

"No problem. I've met stranger peo- uh, ponies." It was difficult to try and blend in with this world when Equestria had only ponies, at least so far. "This is the Carousel Boutique, right?"

"Indeed it is, darling. And this is also my home, though my shop is on the ground floor. My name is Rarity, owner of the Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique, and magnifique," the unicorn proudly announced, flipping her mane with style.

"I'm Sora." The teen pulled out the list Applejack gave him. "I'm doing a few errands for Applejack while she's busy on the farm. I need to pick up her brother's suit...though I don't think any bit of clothing will fit him."

"Hmmm...Applejack has actually hired somepony to help on her farm?" Rarity questioned.

"Actually, I'm more of a guest working for her hospitality," Sora explained. "I...kinda got knocked for a loop last night, and until then, she's allowing me to stay with her and her family."

"Oh. I see. I'm sorry for your inconvenience, Sora. Come on in and make yourself comfortable." Rarity allowed Sora inside, where he got a better look at the inside of the boutique.

Like any boring clothing store Sora always hated to go to back home, it was as he expected it to have: mannequins shaped like ponies, some of them wearing some very fashionable dresses, a variety of designs hanging on some display racks, a couple dressing rooms for customers to try on the clothes, a catwalk for possible fashion shows, and in the back, he could see her workroom, spotting a few designs on sketch paper next to a sewing machine. Along with the hundreds of dresses, there were a few suits meant for stallions, though there didn't seem to be that many stallions in Ponyville from the ponies he saw through town.

Sora took a look at some of the dresses, all of them meant to be worn by ponies. His mind began to wander as he imagined what his friends would look like as ponies. First he thought about what Riku would look like. Maybe his coat would be a pale white, a silver tail to match his hair, though what kind of pony he would be was a mystery, either being a pegasus like he was now or an earth pony. Or his coat would actually be black, since he had used the power of darkness, though that would have made him a little threatening.

His thoughts lingered on Kairi's new look, his cheeks glowing brightly at his imagination. She would be a pink unicorn, since she was more magical than him and Riku combined. He began to imagine Pony Kairi in all these dresses, posing for Sora, winking at him, giggling at his stunned awe. Before his thoughts could go any further, Sora shook his head, staying focused on taking care of the errands assigned to him.

"Here we are!" Rarity finally came out from her workroom downstairs, carrying the large suit in a blue aura, her horn glowing the same hue. "I just hope that stallion doesn't rip it up again with his hulking frame. A pony his size with muscles that big can be hard to make something fashionably flexible."

"Well, you got yourself a repeat customer, at least," Sora chuckled as Rarity levitated the business attire over his back. It was then that he realized that he forgot about his small pouch back at the farmhouse, all of his Munny hidden in there, though he had no idea if Equestria excepted the yellow blocks as currency. "Oh shoot! Applejack didn't give me any money to pay for the orders."

"Don't worry about that, Sora. Applejack already paid for the outfit." Rarity placed a hoof to her chin, examining the pegasus. "Although, with your svelte body..." She then hovered some measuring tape and a notepad and pen over, moving it around Sora. She got his measurements and wrote down his waist size, leg length, wingspan, everything she needed as she seemed intended on making something for him. "Hmm...I think that's everything."

"Wait, you're going to make me something? When I don't have any money on me?" Sora questioned.

"Well, for first time customers, my first outfit for them is always free." Rarity's business practice seemed a bit off to Sora. This was the first time the two have met, and she was just going to make something for him for free, without payment. But seeing as she hasn't gone out of business, her customers must always come back for anything new she creates. He was snapped out of his shock when the fashion designer giggled at his dumbstruck silence. "Yes, I know. A bit strange, but my generosity the first time around brings ponies back to my business. And if they like what I make, they'll come around for more."

"...Huh...It's odd, but I do like the different designs I see right now...I actually can't wait to see what you'll make for me, Rarity." Sora was a bit curious to know what she kind of outfit the unicorn would make for him, but he was going to stick with his usual attire most of the time.

"Perfect! It'll be ready within a couple weeks. It would have been sooner, but with the Summer Sun Celebration coming up, I've got so many orders to fill out," Rarity said with an apologetic look.

"I can wait. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon," Sora chuckled, though he knew he wasn't going to be leaving at all with his gummi ship destroyed. "Well, better finish up the rest of Applejack's errands before the sun goes down. It was nice meeting you and your adorable little sister, Rarity."

As Sora left the boutique, he and Rarity didn't notice that the unicorn's little sister, Sweetie Belle, was hiding around the corner, her cheeks an even brighter red as she heard him compliment her. The teen made his way down the road to his next stop, unaware of someone else spying on him, a pair of binoculars slowly poking themselves out of the branches of a tree next to the boutique.

While asking around to look for Rainbow Dash, it felt more like an annoying chore as the ponies kept telling him she was in some random location with each area he thinks she was at. As he looked back down at the list, he was wondering why Applejack needed a weather schedule for her farm. He understood the trees need water to stay alive and grow their crops, but as he looked up, it was a clear and cloudless day today.

"Hmm...I thought there would have been some clouds." Sora pondered why today seemed like a perfect day, expecting at least a few clouds to be floating around in the sky. "There's no way the skies can be this clear for a whole day."

His ears perked up from underneath his spikey hair, hearing someone shouting in distress. As it got closer, he looked over to the open road clear of any ponies as a rainbow blur nearly crashed into the ground, making a swift ninety degree turn and flying parallel to the ground. Whatever it was, it was headed straight for him, seeing the blur was coming from a cyan pony screaming her head off as she tried to swerve away. Thinking quickly to help her, as soon as she got closer, Sora tossed the suit up high into the air and readied himself to catch her.

Though she was zooming at incredible speed, Sora's reaction timing was far quicker, leaping up over her and spun around, clutching her waist tightly from behind. With a tight hold the pegasus, being mindful of her rapidly beating wings, he flipped over on his hind legs with his spinning momentum and planted them to the ground, skidding across the dirt road as they slowly came to a stop. The ponies that had watched the incredible save were amazed by the new stallion's feats, having stopped the rainbow-maned mare from crashing into a nearby store that Sora managed to stop mere inches away from the wall.

The mare in the teen's grasp squinted her eyes open, thinking she must have crashed, only to have been rescued. "...Whoa..."

"Whoa is right. That was close, huh?" Sora let go of the pegasus, getting a better look at the unfortunate victim of a freefall. What was unique about the blue pegasus mare was her mane and tail the colors of the rainbow, her cutie mark a white cloud shooting out a red, yellow, and blue lightning bolt. "You ok?"

"Yeah. Thanks for the save," she said. "I kinda misjudged my trick and lost control of my flight...But, how did you move so fast? I thought I was going to ram into you."

"I'm a lot more skilled than you might think," Sora said as he held out his hoof, catching Big Macintosh's suit as it floated down to where they were. The pegasus's jaw dropped as this new stallion nonchalantly caught the outfit, as if he knew how to toss it up and have it gently fall down to him. He laid the clothes back on his back and held out a hoof to the mare. "I'm Sora."

"...R-Rainbow Dash," she nervously introduced herself as she shook the teen's hoof.

"Oh, so you're the Rainbow Dash I'm looking for. I'm running an errand for Applejack, and she needs this...weather schedule you have," Sora explained as he pulled out the list.

"Oh...The weather schedule. Forgot about that. Hang on a sec." Rainbow sped off into the sky, nearly knocking him over with her instant takeoff. A few seconds later, she came flying back, though thankfully not as recklessly, carrying the weather schedule. "Here you go."

"...Wow, that was fast." He took the schedule and read it over, seeing the forecast for the next month. "This is...some impressive weather forecasting."

"Weather forecasting? No, that's the schedule for the whole month. That's what Applejack wanted." Sora stared in shock, finding it impossible to have something like the weather being planned out.

"That's impossible!" he exclaimed. "You can't control the weather and make all of these days on here perfect and sunny!" Rainbow Dash gave him an odd look, along with anyone else who heard him. He felt like there was something he was missing, but he had no clue why they were judging him. "...What? That's true, right?"

"...And I thought everypony else thought I slacked off," Rainbow muttered. "Don't you know anything about what we pegasi can do? We control the weather! Manipulate clouds into shapes, move them around in the sky, and even make the clouds themselves for rain, lightning storms, snow, even hail!"

"...Uhh...really?" The mare facehooved, speeding off again and returning back to him with a white and fluffy cloud.

"Touch it," she said in annoyance.

Sora looked around as he was gaining an audience, many of the ponies staring at him suspiciously. It would be impossible for him to touch a condensed liquid turned into a gaseous form, but everyone waited for him to be proven wrong. He reached a hoof out and pressed it down on the cloud, finding it somehow solid; light and fluffy like the softest pillow in all the world. Curious, he leapt up onto it, surprised to feel it able to hold his weight, bouncing on it and making it rain a little bit over the ground it floated over.

As he looked up at the majority of the town watching him, including Rainbow Dash, Sora giggled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Uhh...pretty cool...?"

Rainbow kicked the cloud, making it disappear and causing the teen to fall on his rump. "Where the hay did your brain go when this is all basic stuff pegasi HAVE to know, especially when flying around in the sky!?"

"...W-Well, I kinda hit my head hard the other night, and I don't really know everything that I'm supposed to know," Sora lied. "So, whatever I think seems right is actually wrong, and all I need is a refresher in order to fully understand how things really work."

"Yeah. Sure." Rainbow didn't seem to believe him, but at least Sora kept his mouth shut about being from another world as the reason he didn't know how things worked in Equestria. "Next time you blab about something, try not to humiliate us pegasi with what we do for a living every day."

The mare sped off in a huff, obviously pretty mad at Sora for acting like an ignorant child about what a pegasus can do. He looked around at the ponies still staring at him, giving a toothy grin as he slowly shuffled away, then ran down the road to continue his errands as he fled in embarrassment. From behind the group of ponies that were watching him, a pink pony wearing the goofiest of glasses poked their head up over the crowd, slowly blowing into a party noise blower as they watched the stallion go.

"Ok, before I end up saying stuff that won't make sense in this world, I should have gone to a library and looked up what I needed to before embarrassing myself...And I hate studying." Sora looked over the list as he walked down the dirt road outside of the town. "Next is medicine for Applejack's pet collie, and somepony said Fluttershy lived in a cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville...Must be a hermit or something."

As he walked up to the top of the hill, he spotted the cottage up ahead, not too far away from what looked like an overgrown forest, the foliage in that area wild and unkempt. The cottage was more in tune with nature, a bridge crossing over a small river, with several different animals roaming around the peaceful environment. Birds of all species, squirrels, rabbits, weasels, mice, even chickens in a coop in the backyard of the nature home. It's like this whole area is a nature reserve, or maybe a free roaming zoo with no fences keeping the tame animals contained.

Approaching the door, Sora knocked, hearing someone yelping in surprise from inside. "Hello!? Is there a Fluttershy living here!?"

"C-Coming." Sora could barely hear the quiet voice as he waited.

Slowly, the door opened up a crack, a timid blue eye peeking through. "Hi." The pony squealed in fright and retreated back inside. "...Oh boy. I don't look that intimidating, do I?" Sora messed around with his hair, unable to make it look normal since he liked how it was styled. Before he could knock again, he heard a small door open up from the front door, a small white rabbit walking out and looking up at him. "Aww, what a cute bunny."

The "cute" bunny suddenly glared at him, not looking all cute anymore. It bounded up to him and began thumping its foot against one of his legs, as if it was trying to hurt him or something. Sighing, Sora grabbed the disgruntled rabbit and lifted him up to his eye level.

"I take it back. You're not that cute anymore." The bunny tried to kick his snout, having no clue why he was mad at him. "Look, is there a Fluttershy that lives here or not?" It stopped its flailing and nodded its head. "Ok. So, is this Fluttershy afraid to come out? I kinda need some medicine for Applejack's dog, Winona. Maybe for when she really gets sick, cause that puppy's got energy to spare."

The rabbit sighed, almost as if it was annoyed at something. He pointed his paw down, wanting to be let down, which Sora gladly obliged. It seemed like the animals in this world were pretty smart if a rabbit understood him. He heard some commotion going on inside, wondering what the heck was happening. He got his answer as the front door swung open and the rabbit pushed a yellow pegasus mare outside, her mane a long pink that covered part of her face and almost reached the ground. As she tried to retreat back inside, the rabbit shut the door on her, the sound of a lock clicking as the critter locked its owner out of her own home, Sora saw her cutie mark, being a trio of blue butterflies with pink wings.

"What a rude little rabbit," Sora muttered. The shy mare slowly turned around, her back against the door, trying to hide behind her long mane. If he thought cuteness could kill with Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle, Sora's heart could explode, turn him into a Heartless, and change him back to normal within a minute with this mare. "Uhh, don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you or anything. I just came by to pick up something for Applejack while she's busy working in her orchard.

"Anyway, awkward meetings aside, my name's Sora," he introduced himself, holding a hoof out to the pegasus. She didn't move or look at him, too shy to do anything. "...What's your name?"

"...Umm...M-My name's Fluttershy..." Sora could barely hear her.

"Umm, say again?" he asked, cleaning out his equine ear with his hoof to hear her better.

"...My...my name's...Fluttershy..." Again she whispered, though a lot more quieter.

"Still couldn't hear you." She began to whimper as Sora continued trying to get her name, making him stop pressing before he made her cry. This must have been Fluttershy, since she seems to be the only pony around, and, just like her name states, she's really shy. From the door, the same white rabbit walked out, carrying a bottle in its paws and set it down in front of Sora. "...You know, you shouldn't bite the hand-uhh, hoof that feeds you. And how the heck did you lock her out?" The rabbit began thumping its foot against him again, the teen groaning in irritation as he got his message. "Alright, alright. I'm leaving. It was nice meeting you, miss...Not you, you little demon."

Taking the small bottle under his wing, Sora left Fluttershy and the bratty bunny rabbit alone as he headed back down to Ponyville for the last thing to grab on the list. As the rabbit headed back inside, unlocked the door, and let the pegasus back inside, where she ran in faster than Rainbow Dash took off, from one of the birdhouses, a blue eyeball poked out from the small hole meant for birds. It watched Sora leave until he disappeared over the hill, popping back inside, scaring one of the birds that were currently inside with it.

For the last thing on the list, it was pretty easy to find Sugarcube Corner. Just like Rarity's Carousel Boutique, it was a pretty unique building to find in this town, the locals telling him the bakery is a giant house of sweets. And as he found the bakery, it looked like a massive building that looked like a realistically baked gingerbread house, littered with sprinkles and icing. At least he had the common knowledge not to try and eat it, since it was a REAL building.

Entering the bakery, Sora's senses were struck with the smell of baked goods brought out fresh from the oven and set in the display case. His stomach was already rumbling again after eating a smorgasbord of apple foods for lunch earlier. Unfortunately, since he didn't have his Munny with him, he couldn't buy anything, to his disappointment. Maybe next time, he'll stop by and buy one of the delectable pastries to munch on.

He approached the counter after a customer grabbed their order, watching a gray pegasus mare with blonde hair flutter to an empty table, snacking on a muffin. On the other side, he could see a yellow earth pony stallion with an orange mane in the kitchen area, busy making some more goods to bake, while ringing up the orders was a blue earth pony mare with a pink mane.

"Hello! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner!" the chubby mare greeted. "How can I help you, dearie?"

"I'm picking up an order for Applejack," he said.

"Oh. I guess she must be pretty busy on the farm. Wait just a moment." The mare headed into the back of the house to pick up the order, hoping Applejack paid in advance like with her brother's suit. The mare came back with a box that contained Applejack's order. "Here you go. Applejack already paid for it earlier this morning."

"Phew. Good. I forgot my wallet when I left to do my boss's chores. Not exactly smart to send her errand boy out to get stuff that might need to be paid for without money." Sora placed the box on his back as he joked around. "I'll be back at some later date to buy some of these delicious pastries when I have my money on me."

As he turned around to leave, he immediately bumped into someone, though he didn't even hear the pony behind him. "Hi!"

"...Uhh...hello?" Sora backed away, his face mere inches away from the mare's.

He got a better look at her, a pink earth pony with hair as poofy as a cloud, also pink, giving him the biggest grin. "You must be new around Ponyville, right? Huh? Huh? Huh!?"

She began bouncing in place, Sora's eyes following her jumping form. "...I guess so?"

"I knew it!" she shouted, though it didn't seem like the patrons or even the two ponies working in the establishment were bothered by her outburst. She grabbed one of his forehooves and shook it hard, causing his entire body to move up and down along with his shaken limb. "I'm Pinkie Pie, and I'm here to be your new friend!"

She finally stopped shaking his hoof, his body shuddering on its own as if caught in a miniature earthquake. "Y-Y-Yeah...C-C-C-Cool..." After he finally felt control in his body, he managed to get a look at Pinkie's cutie mark; three balloons, one yellow and two blue. "Uhh, my name's Sora."

"Sora? That's a weird name," Pinkie said. "Though, I have heard stranger names before! I mean, my name, Pinkie Pie, that's a strange name, but it's mine, so I like it! But Sora doesn't sound like a pony name, and it kinda sounds like a girl's name too!" The mare kept babbling on about names, some of them having meanings or sounding like food, until her tangent ended up leading her to talking about parties, locations in Equestria, and something about oatmeal. The teen looked over at the blue mare behind the counter, only shrugging her shoulders, giving him no answer for Pinkie's energetic rambling. And he thought he and his friends were goofier than anyone else they met. "And then, there was this one time-"

"Ok! Nice to meet you and all that, Pinkie Pie, but I kinda need to deliver this stuff to Applejack down at Sweet Apple Acres before it gets late," Sora quickly said, interrupting Pinkie before he blabbed his ears off.

"But I need to throw you a party!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Every new pony I meet in Ponyville deserves a party, that way you can make more friends, and have fun, and eat food and drink punch!"

"...How about a rain check on that party?" Sora asked, hoping the mare wouldn't insist on throwing a party for someone she had just met. "I kinda just got here...so, I want to get my bearings in Ponyville before actually having fun."

"...Ohhhhhh...Okie dokie lokie! A rain check it is!" Pinkie bounded over the counter, and somehow appeared in the kitchen next to the stallion, wearing a baker's cap and an apron.

Completely dumbfounded, he looked over to the mare at the counter, shaking her head. "Dearie, it's better not to question Pinkie Pie."

"...I somehow want to...yet I'm afraid of the answers I want to find..." Looking back in the window to the kitchen, Pinkie was busy making something, which was now hidden behind a curtain that wasn't there before. "...Uhh...is she allowed to be back there?"

"Of course! She works here," the mare laughed as Sora scratched his head in confusion. "She may be a bit wild, but she can make some pretty good pastries. Just be prepared for one of her 'Welcome to Ponyville' parties."

"...Duly noted...Uhh, I guess I'll be going now." Sora quickly left the bakery before Pinkie could suddenly appear behind her and give him a headache with her random antics.

With the list completed and the items he got for Applejack, Sora headed back to Sweet Apple Acres. He kept occasionally looking over his shoulders as he passed the other houses and bushes. He was expecting Pinkie Pie to just randomly pop out without warning, though it didn't seem like she was going to surprise him, too busy making something in the kitchen in Sugarcube Corner to do so. Whatever it is she's going to bake for him, he hoped it would be as delicious as all the pastries he saw in the bakery.