Venoct, Kyubi, and the Main Six shot out of the other end of the portal towards the skies. All of them rolled forward and hurtled towards the ground, where the vortex vanished, leaving behind solid earth for them to stand on.

"Behold. The Yo-kai World." Venoct stretched out his arms, revealing a wide spread of nature, land, and clear teal skies, with purple clouds and a large village off in the distance over the nearby bridge. The air was very well-filtrated and smelled much like that of an air freshener to him and his entourage. "Take in the sights for as long as you want, but just remember that you get inside before King Void and the Dark Yo-kai make another attack."

"Wow..." Twilight's attention was focused more on the village than it was that of the rest of the world. She leaned in closer and saw Yo-kai of all different shapes and sizes, walking, talking, and flying around. "It's like Whisper's Yo-kai Pad sucked us all in. I've never seen so many in one place before..."

"The Yo-kai World is a safe haven for any and all Yo-kai. Be they unruly, annoying, helpful, or even just weird." Venoct crossed his arms. "Whether or not you wear the Yo-kai Watch, any human that comes into the Yo-kai World can see all of us perfectly. The watch is not required here."

"Behind you is the castle." Kyubi turned around and raised her claws to show the girls the structure. It was perfectly round with a plethora of different colours covering the walls in a ring-like fashion. "Inside lives the queen of the Yo-kai World, Queen Ephemer. Through these doors and down the hallway lie two gatekeepers. The strongest Yo-kai you'll ever see have devoted their lives to protecting the queen with their lives."

"The strongest Yo-kai?" Rarity parroted. "Who could ever warrant such a title, if I might ask?"

"Guess we'll find out once we're inside." Rainbow Dash flew over to the doors and pushed them open, straining and struggling as she barely managed to pry them apart. "C'mon, girls! Let's go introduce us to this queen Yo-kai."

The doors grazed against the ground as they slid open for the girls. The loud rumbling sound echoed throughout the dimly-lit hallway as Rainbow Dash stopped pushing them open. As the group all walked inside, the doors closed behind them automatically, making a loud bang as they closed shut.

"Ooh... Spooky!" Pinkie Pie's voice echoed through the darkness as she and her friends travelled down the cyan-tile road towards the end of the corridor.

As the girls walked through the corridor, a number of different murals and paintings on the walls caught their eyes. They depicted events that ranged from great battles against big and powerful Yo-kai, the creation of the Yo-kai Watch and the Model Zero, and even to the modern day times, where it showed Queen Ephemer ascending to her queen-like status and battling against Nurarihyon, Inumaro, and Nekokiyo.

"What you see here on the walls are some of the biggest moments for Yo-kai. Be they the actions of Yo-kai themselves, or that of the human friends that we've made over the years." Venoct continued, floating over to each different picture. "The defeats of such evil monsters like Mckraken and Dame Dedtime have been immortalised here on these walls, and many more different victories and steps forward accompany these pictures."

"So, I assume that when King Void falls, you're gonna make a mosaic of that, right?" Twilight asked.

"Yes. That, and we'll be celebrating at the Ghost's Eye Tavern afterwards." Kyubi smirked and nodded. "The place does some great grub. Whenever I go, I just can't get enough of their Seafood Smorgasbord. The stuff is to die for!"

"Pretty ironic, considering that all Yo-kai are ghosts." Whisper whispered into Twilight's ears.

"We're here." Venoct arrived at a massive door and threw out his arms. "The gatekeepers will arrive shortly. Act polite and don't try anything weird. I'm looking at you, candy-floss-haired horse." He glared at Pinkie Pie.

The door standing before Twilight and her friends was something that they had never seen before. The entire left side was all purple with depictions of a massive spider crawling down a web, while the right side showed a close-up shot of a lake with a toad standing on a lily pad, snatching a fly with its' tongue. There was a symbol on each of the doors that looked similar to each other, but was inverted on the other side.

Then, with two bursts of purple smoke, two humanoid Yo-kai appeared. The first one had brown and yellow hair that had been styled up to look like that of a live spider, while the other one had long brown hair that looked like a toad's tongue. The spider-haired Yo-kai was wearing red and purple robes while the toad-tongue-haired one had a bright green outfit with purple tufts of fur on his shoulders. They both had warpaint on their faces, with the one on the left having red around his eyes, while the one on the right had blue around his.

"Venoct? You've returned so soon?" The spider-haired Yo-kai asked, looking at Twilight's friends. "And you bring technicolour horses with you?"

"Master Arachnus." Venoct bowed and put his fist to his chest. "This is Twilight Sparkle and her friends. The very same that Queen Ephemer believes can save our world."

"Hold on. Did you just say master?" Twilight approached Venoct.

"Yes." The Yo-kai standing by the door stepped forward. "My name is Arachnus. I am the leader of the Bony Spirits faction of Yo-kai." He slammed his hands together and slid them apart, ready for combat. "In the days of old, I fought against the Yo-kai you see beside me. But now, in the time of Queen Ephemer, I stand as one of her loyal gatekeepers, striking down all those who are unworthy to—"

"Geez, chillax, Arachnus." The other Yo-kai tipped his hand and stepped forward. "Y'know, you get really into these things, don't ya?" He looked down at the others. "Sup. Name's Toadal Dude. I'm the leader of the Fleshy Souls factions of Yo-kai." He put his hands behind his head. "Sure, me and Arachnus had some beef back in Old Springdale, but we've moved on from that. We're both pretty chill now." He lowered his brows. "But he is right. Anyone who isn't worthy to see the queen should leave now. Trust me. It's better for your health if you do."

"So, you're the gatekeepers?" Fluttershy asked.

"Indeed. We are to ensure that the unworthy all get struck down and ejected from this place." Arachnus nodded and threw some punches at the air. "If you fall into that category, then my fighting prowess shall floor you in seconds!"

"Well, are we worthy?" Applejack asked, cocking a brow at the two Yo-kai.

"If you are this Twilight Sparkle that I've heard so much about, then you shall just have to let our lieutenants judge you." Arachnus pointed to Venoct.

"Alright, Kyubi. Be honest with me on this." Toadal Dude walked up to her. "Are these ponies really that strong? Do they have what it takes to beat King Void?"

"Venoct. Kyubi. The time for judgement is now." Arachnus walked towards Toadal Dude.

"And please, you two. Don't skimp on any of the details." Toadal Dude approached Arachnus.

"Evaluate! Who are Twilight Sparkle and her friends?" They both thrust their arms out, pointing their palms towards the group.

Venoct took a step forward and breathed deeply. "Twilight Sparkle is a mortal being, much like the rest of her pony friends." He looked back at them. "Despite this, they wield powers that I've never seen before. A combination of magic both from experience and that of another plane of strength. While strong on the creatures of their world, it doesn't do anything against Yo-kai or Dark Yo-kai."

"Their bond's pretty strong too." Kyubi crossed her arms and turned her head back at the ponies. "I've never seen a group of talking horses be friends before. And it's not just some cartoony friendship where they say that they'll be there for each other and do everything together, no, no." She wagged her finger. "These six have found some odd way to use their friendship and turn it into a super-weapon that they've used to save the world over and over again."

"Weaponising friendship?" Arachnus tilted his head and cracked his knuckles. "While I would consider them a jeopardy to the Yo-kai, you seem to claim that they used it to save their world." He looked down at Twilight Sparkle. "Do you think you could elaborate for me what you mean by that?"

"Well, the biggest threat we've ever had in Equestria was a centaur named Lord Tirek." Twilight stepped forward and looked Arachnus and Toadal Dude in the eyes. "He drained the very life essence from ponies, removing their abilities to fly, use magic, or even work the fields. If we didn't use the Magic of Friendship to defeat him, he would've left our world in ruins in days. What's worse is that the more he absorbed, the more powerful he became, to the point where he could destroy the very ground around himself with every strike." She looked back down the corridor. "I'm not sure whether or not it stacks up with the battles against Mckraken and Dame Dedtime, but he was the most powerful thing that we've ever had to fight."

"What is friendship to you?" Toadal Dude leaned in close and put his ear close to Twilight's mouth. "Is it really just you and your friends hanging out and talking to each other, because from the way you described that Tirek guy, I think that a little more than just regular friendship would stop a thing like him."

"Friendship to us isn't just ponies having fun, making memories, and just sharing things with each other." Twilight shook her head. "Friendship is the defining principle of the the things that make us so peaceful." She pointed to each of her friends. "Honestly, Loyalty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Magic all join in perfect harmony to create the Magic of Friendship: A force beyond anything we've ever seen." Twilight thought back to the times when she had saved the world with her friends by her side. "With its' power, even the biggest of villains like Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, and Lord Tirek have fallen. It's more than just a simple relationship. To us, friendship is magic."

"Friendship is magic?" Arachnus repeated, looking down at the group of friends, who all gave him smiles. "Well, you certainly don't seem like the average human like Nate and Inaho, and you certainly look like you have a strong bond, that's for sure..."

"But what is your experience with the Dark Yo-kai?" Toadal Dude asked, watching Twilight's eyes twitch at that. "King Void's troops really did a number on us when they first attacked. Nearly beat me and Arachnus into Yo-kai paste."

"The Dark Yo-kai have been..." Twilight gulped, shuddering and shaking as the memories of Lash and Maelstro flashed back into her mind. "A bit hard to deal with, but I've managed to beat two of King Void's Dark Ones."

"One of which is right here." Kyubi laid out the unconscious Maelstro before Arachnus and Toadal Dude. "I was just coming to lock her up in the dungeon. Maybe get some important answers out of her about King Void and his army."

"A prisoner?" Arachnus looked over at the slumbering Dark Yo-kai and cracked his knuckles above her. "Well, it's a bit unorthodox, but anything we can get that cripples King Void and his army is valuable." He clicked his fingers, wrapping the Dark Yo-kai in a spider's cocoon. He clenched his fist tightly, causing it to vanish in a column of purple light, sinking into the ground and out of everyone's sight.

"By the way, I noticed that Twilight's got a Yo-kai Watch." Toadal Dude jumped over and held Twilight's hoof out, looking at the Model Zero around it. "So, is it just the Model Zero, or does she have the other makes too?"

"We've got all of the versions of the Yo-kai Watch." Whisper pointed out, pulling the original Yo-kai Watch and Yo-kai Watch U out of his belly. "We should be well-equipped to handle King Void's Dark Yo-kai."

"It's not enough to just have the Yo-kai Watches." Arachnus crossed his arms and shook his head. "Without the proper experience in dealing with Yo-kai and the right team for the job, you may just find that the Dark Yo-kai are more hassle than they're worth. Even more so than the Wicked Yo-kai."

"Believe me, I know." Twilight rubbed the back of her head, envisioning Midnight Sparkle bursting out of her body and taking control of her once again. "King Void hit me with some kind of black fire when we first met, and ever since, I've been haunted by some demon named Midnight Sparkle. The Dark Yo-kai have been trying to make me lose control and pry her out of me ever since."

"Midnight Sparkle is a monstrous version of Twilight Sparkle, who only cares about death and destruction." Venoct stroked Orochi, who growled and roared at the name. "If King Void unleashes and takes control of her, it'll be one more being of the darkness to add to his army. And one less chance of us winning against him."

"I've heard enough." Arachnus walked towards the door. "Toadal Dude. It's time."

"Alright then." Toadal Dude walked over to the door, but still had his eyes on Twilight and her friends. "Guess they had this coming..."

The two Yo-kai posed and extended their arms out, punching and performing knife-hand strikes while grunting as if they were performing martial arts. Together, they leapt towards the door and pulsated with purple energy.

"SPIDER SMASH!" Arachnus grew a large pair of spider legs and slammed them against his side of the door.

"WARTS AND ALL!" Toadal Dude swung his hair around and whipped it against the wall, striking it with immense force in perfect timing with Arachnus's attack.

Both attacks were executed with perfect synchronicity and hit just as well-timed. The door flung open, slamming against the walls on the inside. Beyond it, lay a massive circular hall with large pillars and another corridor on the other side. Carpets led the way to the ring and to the area beyond, and light streaked down on it all.

"Looks like we're worthy." Rarity looked forward at the next part of the castle. "Guess we'd better get moving."

"But why?" Twilight asked Toadal Dude and Arachnus as they stepped away from the open doors. "What was it that convinced you?"

"The darkness must be tamed. If this Midnight Sparkle belongs to you, then you must make sure that King Void cannot reach it." Arachnus bowed. "Go. Through here is Queen Ephemer. I'm sure she will be looking forward to seeing you all."

"Listen. Don't let the Dark Yo-kai control you next time." Toadal Dude put his hand on Twilight's shoulders. "If someone tries to break you, just remember that Midnight Sparkle is yours alone. She's not going to destroy anything. She's not going to defect to King Void. Just keep her deep within you and be strong. Just be chill, y'know?"

"Chill?" Twilight's eyes opened slightly, but she nodded and smiled before leading the rest of her friends. "I'll keep that in mind."

"I hope that you do." Toadal Dude watched Twilight and her friends go through the hall and down the carpet towards the next set of doors. "Good luck, Twilight Sparkle. May Lord Enma watch over and protect you..."