A young colt with a light brown coat and a dark brown mane is seen floating through a dark abyss like he is under water. He is wearing a jacket that is black and white with short sleeves and a chain with a small crown around his neck. "I've been having these weird thoughts lately..." His thoughts were heard. "Like, is any of this for real or not?"

This colt start to fall into the abyss before glowing bubbles came off him as he spiraled down. Soon this colt open his eyes and standing on a beach of a small island where a big tree sits behind and large ship wreck is seen. This colt covers his eyes from the rays of the sun before he sees a pegasus colt with a white mane looking out into the ocean.

The brown colt had a small smile on his face when he saw the pegasus colt. He was about to approach the other colt before he noticed the tide was receiving. He was confused by this before he looked up and saw that a big wave was coming in when the white colt turned around. This colt extended his hoof out to the other as the wave was coming in close.

Fearing for his friend, the brown colt charged forward towards the other as the wave arched over. The wave soon hit and the brown colt was under the water but his friend still stood tall with the water. The brown colt try to swim towards his friend but the current was too strong as he was pulled back. The colt soon resurfaced and somehow it became sunset as it was the middle of the day not that long ago.

The colt looked around for the white colt but he was nowhere to be found before he saw a pink unicorn filly with a red mane waving at him on the beach. The colt waved back as he made his way over to the filly. Treading through the water towards the filly was difficult, but he eventually made his me towards her. The colt gave a small smile as the filly giggle before she looked up into the sky and saw something falling.

The colt wondered what she was looking at before he looked up too. Not only did the two of them see shooting stars, but they saw a colt falling as well. What shocked the brown colt the most is the colt falling is himself. When he realized this, the tide rolled in and he started to fall as well. The filly saw this and they try to reach out to each other before she suddenly disappeared like a ripple of water.

The colt soon started to fall back into the dark abyss as glowing bubbles came often as he did. Soon he opened his eyes as he was set down on a solid surface. He looked around and wondered where he is before he took a step forward. That one step caused the ground glow beneath him before the shadowy floor turned into doves and fly off into the distance. He looked down and saw that the surface is a light green stained glass window with a mare with a pure white coat and a black mane.

The mare on the stained glass window surface is surrounded by seven Diamond Dogs while the outside of it are a bunch of little creatures you find in a forest. The colt looked around as he wondered where he is before he suddenly heard a voice coming from everywhere.

The colt carefully made his way forward towards the center of the stained glass floor before he a stone pedestal rising from the floor. A shield with a six-pointed star printed on it appeared and hovered above the pedestal when the colt heard the voice again.

A second pedestal rose up and a staff with a six pointed star at the end of it of the staff hovered above it.

A third pedestal appeared with a sword hovering above it and having a six-pointed star in the guard of it.

The colt went over to the pedestal with the sword and jumped on it before taking the sword.

"Yes." The colt thought before the sword suddenly vanished in a flash of light.

The colt looked between the staff and the shield on the other two pedestals before he hopped down. He thought for a moment before making his way over to the staff and jumped on top of the pedestal.

"Yes." The colt answered before the staff vanish in flash of light like the sword did.

"Yes, I guess..." The moment he thought that, pedestals started to sink down into the stained glass floor. He stumbled forward on the pedestal he was standing on when it sank before the stained glass started to break apart. When there was nothing left, he started to fall deeper into the darkness. He was falling gently until he saw another stained glass floor up ahead.

This one however is nighttime blue and light purple with a mare with a light blue coat while she also wore a beautiful white dress and her mane is a beautiful blonde color. He soon landed on that stained glass floor only to land on his back hooves. The sword from before reappeared in his front hoof in a flash of light when he heard the voice again.

The colt soon saw images in front of him of himself in a fighting stance with the sword. He soon follow each of the images as he swung the sword carefully to each movement. As soon as he did the last one, he heard the voice again.

The colt then noticed a few black smudges on the floor before they started to rise and take form as he heard the voice continue.

Three of these strange black creatures with yellow glowing eyes looked menacing as he took a defensive stance with the sword. As one of these creatures jump towards him, he swung the sword a few times before it was destroyed and a puff of smoke. After it was destroyed, the rest of the black creatures sink down back into the floor and vanished. He didn't let his guard down as he looked around for them with the sword in hoof.

As he looked around, one of the black creatures, still flat on the floor, crawled behind him before rising back up.

He quickly turned around and struck the black creature a few times before it was destroyed like the last one. He then locked on to another one when it rose up from the floor before striking it a few times. When him and the black creature struck at the same time, it pushed them both back before more of them rose up from the floor. He quickly destroyed the black creature before striking another.

He was able to block an attack from another when he struck a third. After destroying the third one, the rest of them started to sink into the floor before covering whole stained glass floor in darkness. The colt grew concern by this as he started to sink into this darkness while he struggled to get free of it. He struggled for a bit before he took in a deep breath and noticed he was on a different stained glass floor when the shadows went away. This one is in a pink shade with three big hearts on it and each of them has a mare in white.

The colt stood up before he saw a door with a light shining down on it. He walked over but saw that this door is intangible and to open the door. "I can't open it. How do I open?" He thought to himself before he heard something. He turned and looked up to see a light shining down before a chest appearing on the floor. He went over to the chest before he summoned the sword to tap the top of the chest. It popped open before a stream of light flowed out and a saddlebag appeared on his back.

A large crate than appeared before the colt went over to it. He wondered if there was something under the crate before he pushed the crate forward a bit. He then had this feeling to smash it open before he took the sword and did just that. After hitting it a few times, is smashed to pieces and an item dropped to the floor as a light flowed out before the frame of the door became solid.

He picked up the item, which is an healing potion before placing it in a saddlebag. A small barrel then appeared before he locked onto it and hit it a few times. He then sent it flying before it was smashed into pieces and another flow of light went over to the door and it all became solid. The colt went over to the door before giving a gentle tug on the handles. He backed up when he felt the door move on its own before a light shined through the crack as it opened.

The colt squint his eyes when he saw the light before he trotted through the door.

The colt soon found himself on the island from before, standing on a front part of a ship with a filly and two colts. He thought he was home before he heard the voice spoke up from everywhere yet again.

The colt was confused by this at first before the filly walked up to him. "What's most important to you?" She asked him. He thought for a moment before he smiled as he had an answer.

"Friendship is important to me." After telling her, she smiled before she pointed to the colt with the red stick and a yellow vest. He went over to him and wondered what he wants to know.

"What are you afraid of?" He asked as the brown colt thought it over.

"I guess I'm afraid of being indecisive..." He answered before turning to the tall colt with the ball.

"What do you want outta life?" The tall colt asked. The brown colt smile as he already had an answer.

"That's easy, I want to see rare sights." After answering, all three of them disappeared when he heard the voice again.

"Sounds good..."

The colt was then blinded by a bright light as he was being transported again.

The colt found himself standing on a red stained glass floor with a light purple unicorn mare, wearing a light purple dress, and has a yellow mane on it. He walked around for a bit before he got surrounded by the small black creatures from before. He quickly equipped his sword as one of them jumped towards him before he struck it as he swung the sword.

He struck another one of you times before one of them from behind swamped its claws and hit him. He quickly recovered before striking back and destroyed one of them before he jumped and swung his sword down. He manage to destroy a couple of them as some of them sink down and crawled along the ground.

When they rose up to try and attack him, he managed to swing a sword to block their attacks before striking three of them down. The colt struck down two more of them before destroying the last one. When they were all gone, a light shine down before healing all of his wounds when he stood on a green glowing pad. A light circle then moved across the ground and after it reached the edge, a stairwell made of stained glass shards appeared going up.

The colt started to go up the stairwell as you could see another stained glass floor up ahead. He soon reached a yellow stained glass floor with a yellow mare with a brown mane and wearing a golden yellow dress is on it with a beast with two horns behind her. He noticed that the light was shining brighter on this floor before he heard the voice spoke again.

The colt was confused by what the voice meant by that before he looked down at his own shadow. He saw how big it has become before he saw it starting to move on its own. His shadow then rose up from the floor before it started to grow in size. This frightened young colt as he started back up from the thing that is growing and transforming.

The colt turned to run away from the giant monster, only to find there is no way out as he came to the edge and only a dark abyss below. With nowhere to go, yeah no choice but to face the giant monster and fight. As he equipped the sword, the monster had its right claw glow before it slammed down on the ground. The colt hit its claw a few times as a dark circle that was created by the claw created more of the small black creatures.

The colt manage to take them down as the reacher lifted up its claw and stood tall. It then arched back as the giant heart shape hole in its chest glowed a dark orb before it hired at the colt. He ran to dodge each blast coming at him as he managed to make his way over to the claws and strike at them. The colt managed to climb up its arm before running towards its head and delivering the final blow.

As the colt jump down from the giant black creature and his sword vanished in a flash of light, the black creature slammed both its claws down into the stained glass floor. It then began to cover it with a black and purple essence as the colt was getting swallowed by it. The colt struggled to get free as he heard the voice speak to him yet again.

That was the last thing he heard the voice saying before everything went black.

The colt open his eyes and was staring up into a clear sky. He sat up and saw that he was on the beach of the island, safe and sound. He let out a yawn before he laid back down to rest. As he did, he saw the pink unicorn filly looking down and surprised him. "Whoa!" He exclaimed as he quickly set up before he turned to look at her while she was giggling. "Give me a break, Heart Shine."

"Key Light, you lazy bum." She spoke to him. "I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here."

"No! This huge black thing swallowed me up!" Key explained as he remembered what happened before. "I couldn't breathe, I couldn't--" Heat gave him a small bunk on the head. "Ow!"

"Are you still dreaming?"

"It wasn't a dream!" He told her before he looked down and wondered something. "Or was it? I don't know. What was that place and those things? So bizarre..."

"Yeah, sure." Heart commented before she walked past him and looked towards the ocean.

"Say Heart, what was your hometown like?" He asked. "You know, where you grew up."

"I've told you before, I don't remember." She reminded him before she frowned with her back towards him.

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing." She responded with a small smile.

"You ever want to go back?" Key asked with curiosity before he heard her hum.

"Well, I'm happy here."

"Really?" He asked with a raised brow.

"But you know..." Heart spoke up. "I wouldn't mind going to see it."

"I'd like to see it too." Key said with a smile. "Along with any other worlds out there! I want to see 'em all!"

"So what are we waiting for?"

"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?" They turned to see the white pegasus colt with a log on his back walking towards them. "So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft." He then tossed the log off his back and to Key as he made his way over to Heart. "And you're just as lazy as he is!"

Heart rubbed the back of her head as she giggled. "So you noticed, Dusk Wing? Okay, we'll finish it together! I'll race you!"

"Huh?" Key asked as Dusk sat down.

"What, are you kidding?" Dusk complained as Heart giggled.

"Ready? Go!" With that, both colts quickly got up and race to wherever they are building their raft with Heart following close behind. All three of them had a smile on their face as they're having fun together. This is just the start of a grand adventure and it all starts here on the world of the Destiny Islands.

The stained glass floors that are in the story are based on the ones that are in the game and here are some images to help understand them.

Also, I could use your help on figuring out which weapon each of the Young Six should use. I think Ocellus use use a staff, Smolder use fighting gloves, and Sandbar uses a shield. Plus if anyone wants to help me with this story, feel free to send me a private message.

Heart walks over to Key with a saddle bag levitating in her magic. She placed the saddlebag on his back before strapping the belt tight. "Hey, easy on the strap." He complained when he felt it it was too tight.

"Sorry, just didn't want a default off when you're getting the rest of the supplies for the raft." She explained. "We can't build a raft without materials, right? Here's where we're going to need: Two logs, one cloth, and one rope. Bring everything back here once you get them, got it?"

"I hear ya." Key responded with a smile.

"If you need any help, just ask. And most importantly, no more slacking." Heart added with a raised brow.

"Very funny." Key went off to find the items he was told to find along the beach. He found one log along the shore before he went into a small shack. He went up some stairs before going out and going along a bridge to me smaller island where Dusk is sitting on a tree and looking out across the ocean. "Hey Dusk, I see you're now being lazy."

"Very funny." Dusk commented as Key found another log and placed it in the saddlebag. "I already gave everything I found to Heart." He then pulled out a wooden sword as he jumped down from the tree. "Hey Key, how about a quick round?"

Key looked over and smiled before he held out his hoof. "Pass me a sword." Dusk smirked before passing Key another wooden sword. Both of them stood a good distance from each other as they both stood on their back legs while holding their wooden swords with their front legs.

"Ready or not." Dusk taunted before Key charged forward as a reeled his wooden sword back. Dusk quickly jumped high when Key swung right at him. Dusk then struck him before he could reached the ground. Key recovered before clashing wooden swords with Dusk. "You gotten pretty good since last time."

"Practice makes perfect." Key retorted before landing a couple of blows on Dusk. Dusk quickly jumped onto the tree he sat on before and taunted Key to come at him. Key falls for his taunt before he jump towards Dusk, only for him to miss when Dusk used his wings to fly up and he fell into the water. "Hey, no fair!"

"I told before that you need to think of a strategy when in combat." Dusk told Key. "By the way, you should check the ship and the treehouse for anything else you're looking for." Key went back to shore before shook his body to dry off. He then went over to the tree house and remembered the time when he and Dusk were little and their fathers brought them here. They remembered how many times they came by and built up this place.

Key went into a hollow spot in the tree where he found a cloth hanging on the wall. He carefully removed the nails before folding the cloth so it would fit perfectly in his saddlebag. Key remembered all those times he, Heart, and Dusk used to tell scary stories in the spot when they were little. After leaving the hollow spot, he made his way over to the shipwreck that the had a walkway connected to it. He remember all the times he and Dusk used to play pirates on this part of the ship.

Key soon found the rope they need for the raft laying on the deck. After placing it in his bag, Key went back to Heart now that he has all the items she asked for. "Hey Heart, got everything we need for the raft."

"Thanks Key." Heart said as she took the items from his bag. "Now let's get to work. Hey Dusk, let's work on the raft!" All three of them went to the cove and started working on their raft. Dusk took the rope and helped Key tied together the logs they gathered while Heart levitated the cloth up as they used it as a sail. Once they made sure everything was good and tight, they decided to watch the sunset before going home.

Both Key and Heart sat on the tree while Dusk was leaning against it. "So, Heart's home is out there somewhere, right?" Key wondered.

"Could be?" Dusk responded. "We'll never know by staying here."

"But how far could a raft take us?"

"Who knows?" Dusk shrugged. "If we have to, we'll think of something else."

"So, suppose you can get to another world." Heart spoke up before she let out a small giggle. "What would you do there?"

Dusk let out a hum as he thought about it. "Well I... I haven't really thought about it. It's just... I've always wondered why we're here on the island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?" He stopped for a moment to listen to the waves. "And suppose there are other worlds... Then ours is just a small piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"

"I don't know." Key responded as he laid back against the tree with his front hooves resting behind his head.

"Exactly." Dusk said before he stood on all four of his hooves and looked out towards the ocean. "That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff." Heart and Key look down to the ocean as they thought over what he was saying. "So let's go."

"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Heart asked him.

"Thanks to you." Dusk turned to her with a smile. "If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this. Heart, thanks."

Heart smiled at that thanks from Dusk. "You're welcome."

"Well I'm really excited to see what's out there." Key spoke up. "Who knows what we'll see out there. I bet we'll see dragons, hippogriffs, and griffins. It would be so cool to see a creature that can breathe fire, be part lion, and be so full of pride."

"Once we set sail, we'll probably see any of those creatures along the way." Dusk told him before Key and Heart hopped down from the tree before deciding it's time to go. The three of them walked across towards their boats with Heart ahead of the colts. "Key!" Key turned around before Dusk tossed a bright yellow star shape fruit to him. "You wanted one, didn't you?"

"A paopu fruit..."

"If two ponies share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain apart of each other's lives no matter what." Dusk recited as he walked past Key. "C'mon, I know you want to try it."

"What are you talking--" Key try to asked before Dusk let out a laugh. He looked at the paopu fruit before tossing it aside. He then raced to catch up to Dusk and Heart to the boats for home.

Meanwhile in another world known as Equestria, a small purple dragon with green scales, a orange dragon with light purple scales, and light blue changeling are making their way through the halls of Canterlot castle. These three are known as Spike, Smolder, and Ocellus as they passed by royal guards before they reached the doors to the throne room. Ocellus used her magic to open the doors before all three of them entered.

"It was so kind of you both to come in place of Thorax and Ember when they were too busy to come." Spike told Smolder and Ocellus.

"Hey, it's no big deal." Smolder said as she put her hands behind her head as they walked.

"Plus it would be so nice to see our old Headma-- What?!" Ocellus gasped when she looked ahead. The two dragons wondered why she gasped before they looked ahead and saw that the throne was empty. Spike quickly ran over as he was worried what happened to the one who is supposed to sit there before the owl with a letter in its beak flew around it. The three of them took a closer look at the letter and saw a purple six pointed star on the seal.

Spike took the letter from the owl and open it up. Smolder and Ocellus gather close to him as they read the letter. Their eyes went from one side to the other as they read down the letter before they blinked when they reach the end. All three of them quickly flew out of the castle and straight towards a small town known as Ponyville.

Sitting by a lake is Gallus the griffin, Sliverstream the hippogriff, Yona the yak, and Sandbar the earth pony studying together before Spike, Smolder, and Ocellus flying in. The three of them didn't have time for slowing down as they splash down into the lake. "Heh, now that's what I call a cannonball." Gallus commented before the three resurfaced.

"Hey guys!" Sliverstream called out as they swim over to them. "It's great to see you again, Spike."

"Guys, we have a serious problem!" Smolder told them in a worried tone.

"What's wrong?" Sandbar asked.

"Princess Twilight discovered something very bad!" Ocellus told them before she looked around. "But no one can find out about it, it's top secret."

"Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy?" Sandbar asked.

"Not even they can know." Spike told him.

"Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Headmare Starlight, Celestia and Luna?" Sliverstream added.

"No!" Smolder exclaimed. "They can't know that Princess Twilight is gone!"

"But ponies already know because ponies behind dragons and changeling." Yona told them which caused Spike, Smolder, and Ocellus to freeze up. They slowly turned around and saw them not too far and realized that they overheard everything they just said. Spike let out a nervous chuckle as he knows that he's going to have to tell them now.

The next day at the Destiny Islands, Key parked his boat by the docks before he hopped off. "Okay, time to see what else we need before we set sail." He said to himself before he heads to the cove where Dusk and Heart are waiting. "Hey Dusk."

"Hey, Key. Our raft still needs a name." Dusk told him. "Let's see... How about Highwind? What would you call it?"

"Me? Well...hmm..." Key took a moment to think about a name for the raft before he smiled as he came up with one. "Excalibur!"

"Hey, how 'bout..."

"The usual?" Key already got what Dusk had in mind to settle on what name to go on.

"Let's do it!" Dusk declared as Heart overheard them.

"You guys at it again?" She asked before she let out a amused giggle. "All right, I'll be the judge. The usual rules apply: Take any route you want... First one to tag the tree at the end of the cove and make it back here wins." Key and Dusk stood next to each other as they stretched before they start.

"If I win, not only will we call the raft Excalibur, but I'll be the captain." Key told Dusk. "And if you win...uh..."

"I get to share the paopu with Heart." Dusk quickly said, which surprised Key. "Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Heart."

"Wha... Wait a minute..."

"Okay." Heart spoke up as she raised her hoof up high. "On my count: 3...2...1...Go!" The moment she brought her hoof down, both colts took off across the broken walkway. They jumped over the gaps as they made their way past a tower with a zip line. They soon climbed their way up some cliffs before they tag a tree with the star on it. They soon jumped across the palm trees on their way back as they were neck and neck.

They made their way across the walkway before Key was the first to make it back. "Yes, I won!" He cheered. "Now we call the raft Excalibur!"

"Whatever, it's just a name anyway." Dusk shruged. "By the way, the paopu thing was just a joke. You should have seen looking your face." Key shot a glare at him while Heart giggled a little.

"Okay, let's just collect some provisions for the trip!" She told them. "Key, you go look for three mushrooms, two coconuts, three mangoes, and a bottle of fresh water." Heart levitated a bottle from her saddlebag over to Key. "Use this to fill up with fresh water. But don't get it from the ocean."

"I know." Key said as he placed the bottle in his saddlebag.

"We'll get the rest of the supplies." Heart continued. "Bring everything back here once you find them."

"Okay." Key responded before he will not define those items. He moved a folder out of the way to get a mushroom from behind it. He then went over to a coconut tree before hitting it with his wooden sword. This caused a coconut to fall from it before he placed it in his saddlebag. He tried to hit a few more around the cove, but none of them had the coconuts he needs.

He then went back to the beach to look for the items. He found another mushroom by the waterfall before he filled up the bottle with the water from it. Key climbed his way up a mango tree before picking three mangoes from the top. He then went over to another coconut tree before hitting it with his wooden sword to cause the coconut he needs to fall in his saddlebag.

"Now where'd to find that third mushroom?" He asked himself before he remembered seeing one in the secret place at the base of the tree. Key went over and crawled his way through before going down the tunnel. He then came to a cave filled with many drawings that was carved along the walls and a large wooden door with no handle. He remembered the first time he met Heart and she was drawing these when he found her here.

Overtime, the three of them carved these drawings along the walls and had fun together ever since. He found the final mushroom that he needed before he stopped to look at a drawing him and Heart made when they were little. The drawing was of himself and Heart as he remembered himself drawing Heart while drew him. Key would be lying if he said he didn't have feelings for her as he really liked her. Key then took a small rock and started carving into the wall to draw something.

It took about a few minutes before he drew a star on it as if he was giving Heart a paopu fruit. Key had a small smile on his face before he heard something from behind. "Who's there?!" He called out as he saw somepony wearing a large brown cloak with a hood covering his head. He couldn't see the face of this stranger and he could also see two straps on his chest in the shape of an X.

"I've come to see the door to this world." The stranger said in a deep voice.

"Huh?"

"This world has been connected." The stranger continued.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Key asked the stranger.

"Tied to the darkness..." The stranger said and completely ignored Key's question. "Soon to be completely eclipsed."

"Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this!" Key told the stranger before he realized something. "Wait, where did you come from?"

"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door." The stranger told Key.

"So, you're from another world!" Key assumed.

"They're so very much to learn. You understand so little."

"Oh, yeah? Well, you'll see. I'm gonna go out and learn what's out there!" Key declared with confidence.

"A meaningless effort." The stranger scoffed. "One who knows nothing can understand nothing." Key glared at the stranger before he turned his attention towards the door. Key wondered what the stranger was talking about before he looked back and was shocked to see no one there.

"What the...where'd he go and how did he get here?" Key asked as he was confused by the stranger. He decided to shrug it off before he head back to the cove with the supplies he gathered. Key student found Heart weaving together some seashells near the raft. "Hey, Heart, what's that?"

"This? I'm making a necklace of thalassa shells." Heart answered. "In the old days, sailors always wore thalassa shells. They were supposed to ensure a safe voyage. See this?" She showed him she connected one of the shells to a chain while the shells were in the shape of a star with one missing on the bottom right. "It's a charm to help us find each other if we ever get separated. The three of us will always be together."

"That's so cool." Key complimented before he noticed Dusk wasn't around. "Hey, where did dusk go?"

"After getting the rest of the supplies, he headed home early." Heart told him before she noticed the sun was going down. "Looks like it's getting late." She levitated the items from his saddlebag and into a box on the raft. "Let's go home and get some rest. Tomorrow's the big day." The two of them went back to the docks only for her to look out into the ocean as the sun was setting.

"What's up, Heart?" Key asked.

"You know, Dusk has changed." She told him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." She couldn't explain how which made him tilt his head a little.

"You okay?"

"Key, let's take the raft and go, just the two of us!" Heart asked, which really shocked him. "Just kidding."

"What's gotten into you?" He asked her with a slight chuckle. "You're the one that's changed, Heart."

"Maybe..." Heart spoke in a soft tone. "You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here. Right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, of course!" He answered while nodding his head.

"That's good." Heart said as they both watched the sunset. "Key, promise me you'll never change." That made him wonder why she asked him that as she looked at him with a smile. "I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great."

"Spike,

Sorry for rushing off without telling you or sayin' goodbye, but there's trouble brewin'.
Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one. And that means disaster is not far behind.

I hate leaving you all but I've gotta go check into it. There's somepony with a "key"--
the key to our survival. I need you and the six students from the school of friendship to find him, and stick with him. Got it?

We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find a griffin named Leon. He'll point you in the right direction.

P.S.
Say sorry to the girls for me.

Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle."

Spike finish reading the letter to everyone in the Headmare office. "I have noticed some stars were going out but I didn't know it was this serious." Luna spoke up in a worried tone.

"Oh my, what could this mean?" Fluttershy asked with concern.

"It means we'll just have to trust Twilight and her decision." Celestia answered.

"I sure hope she's okay." Rarity added.

"She trusted us with finding a key and save the world." Gallus recapped with his arms crossed. "No pressure or anything."

"Twilight trusted you six with this task because she believes in you." Starlight assured them. "After all, you six saved Equestria's magic and saved the harmony throughout the land. I would trust you with something like that."

"Don't worry. We'll find Princess Twilight and this key." Ocellus assured their teachers, headmare, and the two retired princesses.

"We're so proud of all of you for doing this, darlings." Rarity told them with a bright smile.

"I'm kind of little jealous that you guys get to go on a big adventure, but it's cool." Rainbow spoke up with a shrug.

"Just be safe while y'all are out there." Applejack asked of them.

"I have a feeling that Twilight will want a detailed report of our adventures." Spike said as he placed a few ink bottles, blank scrolls and a few writing quills. "I'm gonna be really busy."

"Don't fret, Spike." Celestia spoke up. "To help chronicle your travels, he will accompany you." She just turned over to a table only for Spike to look around as he saw no one there.

"Over here!" A voice called out before they saw a cricket wearing a tuxedo and a top hat jumping on said table. "Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket, at your service."

"Oh cool, a talking cricket." Sandbar said as Jiminy jumped his way over and hopped onto Spike's head.

"Yona ready to go to Traverse Town!" Yona declared. "What train will Yona and friends take?"

"Actually, you'll be taking something else to Traverse Town." Celestia told them. "Follow us and we'll explain." They followed both Celestia and Luna as Celestia explained about other worlds and that Traverse Town is one of them. The others couldn't believe it at first but then Jiminy started telling them about his world as they made their way down a spiral staircase in Canterlot castle.

"So Mr. Cricket, your world has vanished as well?" Luna asked after hearing what happened to his world.

"It was terrible. We were scattered." Jiminy told them as he got scared chills at the memory. "And as far as I can see, I'm the only one who made it to this world."

"Don't worry, Jiminy, we'll help you find your friends while we're out there." Sliverstream assured him.

"One more thing, while you're in other worlds, you mustn't let the inhabitants of that world know where you are from." Celestia told them. "You must protect the world order." They soon reach the end of the staircase before walking down a corridor. "Lucky for you, there is something that will help you blend in with other worlds."

They soon entered a big workshop with gears and machinery. But what really caught their attention is a big red ship with a yellow stripe on the nose and a glass dome. "This is known as a gummi ship, it will allow you to travel between worlds." Luna told them before she levitated a big box over to them. "In this box contains clothing that are infused with magic that will help you blend in to other worlds." She explained to Spike and the Young Six. "These also holds some weaponry in case you run into some trouble."

"Now we're talking." Smolder said as she pulled out a pair of fighting gloves from said box.

"We wish you the best of luck." Celestia told them as she used her magic to levitate Spike and the Young Six into the cockpit of the gummi ship, along with the box just when Owloysius flew down and joined them. The hanger doors opened up to reveal a runway as the ship faced in the direction of it. Spike gave a thumbs up as he winked at Twilight's friends, Starlight, Celestia and Luna as to let them know they have everything under control.

The gummi ship's boosters started to boost up as the passengers inside were ready to take off. "Blast off!!" Sliverstream shouted before they saw a big red arrow in the way pointing down. The ship then dropped down when a sudden shoot opened up and the passengers inside screaming as it fell. The ship soon came out of the other end of the shoot before it blasted off to its destination: Traverse Town.

Key lays awake in his bed as he was thinking about how Heart was excited to set sail to see other worlds. But he also remembered what that cloaked figure said which made him worried. He then notices something out the window in the corner of his eye hovering above the island. "A storm?" He asked before he quickly realized something. "Oh no, the raft!"

"Key, dinner's ready, come on down!" A mare's voice called out. "Key?" Key, however, was no longer in his room as his window was open.

Key was rowing his boat over to the island as to save the raft from the storm. As he got to the island, he saw that this was no ordinary storm as there was a big ball of darkness hovering above the island. "What's that?!" He wondered as he parked his boat on the docks before he saw two others he recognized parked there as well. "Dusk's boat. And Heart's!"

Key wondered why they were here before he saw little black creatures with yellow eyes emerged from the ground. He recognized these things from before as they waddled their way towards him. Key quickly equipped the wooden sword as to fight back, but his attacks had no effect on these creatures as he swung the wooden sword at them. He was shocked by this before one of them attacked him from the side and knocked him onto the beach.

Since he couldn't fight back against them, he need a run for it as more of them started to appear. He made his way towards the secret place at the base of the tree, only to find a large white door blocking his path. "Where did this door come from?" He wondered. "I better go find Dusk first." He quickly looked around before he saw Dusk on a small part of the island.

After running past and dodging the little black creatures, he made his way over to Dusk who was looking up at the orb the sky. "Where's Heart?!" He asked Dusk. "I thought she was with you!"

"The door is open..." Dusk spoke in a serious tone, which confused Key.

"What?"

"The door is open, Key." Dusk repeated as he turned to him. "Now we can go to the outside world!"

"What are you talking about?! We have to find Heart!"

"Heart's coming with us!" Dusk exclaimed before he looked up at the orb again. "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can let fear stop us now! I'm not afraid of the darkness!" He then looked back at Key before he extended his hoof out to him.

"Dusk..." Key spoke before he a pitch black and purple void underneath Dusk before the pitch black started to wrap around him. Key went to go save him, only for the darkness to try and swallow him up as well. He did his best to fight back against this as he reached for his friend. The darkness soon covered both of them as everything went black. Within the darkness, a light shined bright before the darkness around Key suddenly vanished and Dusk was gone.

Key looked around before he noticed something in his right of. It looked like a big key that felt like a sword. The key is depicted as a classic skeleton key approximately 3.5' long with a long silver Keychain and a six pointed star token on the end of the Keychain. The blade and teeth of the key are silver, the rainguard is blue, and the guard is bright gold. The teeth of the end of the key form the outline of a crown which matches the crown charm Key wears.

"Is this a key or a sword...?" He wondered before he heard a voice whisper.

"Keyblade?" He was then suddenly surrounded by the small black creatures again as he took a battle position with this 'Keyblade.' One of the black creatures jumped forward before Key swung the blade and this time, he was able to hit the black creature as it was destroyed in a puff of black smoke. After taking care of the others, he got a pretty good idea of where Heart could be at this moment.

After finding his way through the small black creatures, he made his way to the door to the secret place at the base of the tree. After opening and going through the door, Key made his way until he reached the end where he found Heart facing the wooden door. "Heart!" He called out to her. She slowly turned around before facing him with a sad look on her face.

"Key..." She spoke in both a sad and weak tone before the door behind her suddenly burst open. A big gust of wind and shadows blew before Key saw Heart being blown towards him. Key was about to catch her before she suddenly vanished when he was about to catch her in his hooves. Key was then blown back and back outside.

Key then crashed on the ground before he saw that the island was completely destroyed as there was only a big chunk of land left as it was being lifted up into the orb of darkness. "Whoa! What's happening?!" He exclaimed before he turned around and saw the big black creature he fought before rise up. As there was no way out, he equipped the Keyblade as he was prepared to fight.

Like before, the large creature was drawing energy into its claw before it slammed it down to the ground. Key then attacked its claw as much as it could before offending off a few of the small black creatures that risened from the ground. After it lift its claw up, it got on its knees and arched back as the large heart shape hole and it's just started to fire black orbs at Key. Key did as much damage as he could before he climbed up its arm and deliver the final blow to its head.

After it was defeated, it was then sucked right into the large orb of darkness in the sky. Said orb was then trying to draw Key in as he was holding on for dear life. He did the best he could to hold on to a chunk of wood in the ground before he lost his grip and was sucked right up into the orb just before he blacked out.

Spike and the Young Six soon arrived at a town with street lights lit up and a few large buildings around. The group is now wearing the clothes Celestia has instructed them to wear when they arrived in this world. Spike was now wearing a purple and black hoodie with matching pants with extra pockets. Smolder was wearing an orange and purple leather jacket with extra zippers down the sleeves and matching pants while she was wearing the fighting gloves on her claws as they had small metal plates on the knuckles of them.

Silverstream is seen wearing a bright pink hoodie with a black stripe down the back and pocket packs attached to the sleeves while she was wearing bright blue pants. Gallus was wearing a dark blue leather jacket with yellow lines around the sleeves and goggles on his head while he wore black pants with extra pockets on the sides. Yona was wearing a green sweater with a black leather vest while Sandbar was wearing a greenish yellow jacket with a dark green stripe down the sleeves and extra pockets on the sides.

Finally, Ocellus wears light blue hoodie with a red stripe down the back and up the sleeves. Extra green pockets seem to be placed on the shoulders of the jacket as they had red straps the shape of an X on them. "I gotta say, we look very cool right now." Smolder mentioned as she looked herself over in her new outfit.

"Yeah, but I kind of wish when we left our world, the exit would have been smoother." Gallus complained just as Silverstream stopped and looked up at the sky. She gasped in shock and got the others' attention.

"What's up?" Ocellus asked before Silverstream pointed up to what she gasped at. They all looked up and had the exact same shocked looks on their faces when they saw something in the sky.

"A star is going out!" Silverstream called out as a star in the sky blinked out.

"Just as Twilight said." Spike mentioned before he looked at the others. "Come on, we gotta hurry!" They all nodded in agreement as they ventured on.

"Where do we find key?" Yona asked her friends.

"Maybe we should be looking for this Leon guy first." Sandbar suggested as they walked up some steps in front of an accessory shop.

"Let's split up, so that we might be able to find both of them at the same time." Gallus suggested as Owloysius flew down an alley next to the shop. "Half of us will find Leon while the rest of us will find this key."

"Good idea." Silverstream agreed as she, him, and Spike went in one direction while the rest of them went into another. But with Owloysius, he found something of interest in the alley he flew down in. He found an unconscious Key laying on the ground before he landed in front of him and tapped his muzzle with his beak.

Key let out a groan when he felt something peck his face before he lifted up his head and opened his eyes. His vision was a little fuzzy as he could barely see Owloysius in front of him. "What a dream…" He groaned before he rested his head down again. Owloysius then jumped on his side, causing Key to jump and be fully awakened. "This isn't a dream!" Key then stood up and looked around as he was confused about his surroundings. "Where am I? Oh boy…" He wondered before he looked at Owloysius. "Do you know where we are?"

"Hoo." Owloysius said.

"You and me." Key answered.

"Hoo." Owloysius repeated before he heard something. Whatever he heard, it caused him to fly off.

"Hey…" Key called out. When he was too far away, Key decided to have a look around as he walked out of the alley and around the corner. He then saw that he was no longer on his Island, as he could see large buildings and street lights. "This is totally weird… I'm in another world! But where is Dusk and Heart?" He then started to ask around some of the locals as they said something about their own worlds being gone, which only confused him more. He then noticed an accessory shop and wondered if he could get answers there.

He entered the shop to find an earth pony stallion with a brown coat, yellow mane, and blue eyes behind the counter. This stallion wore goggles on his head while he had a toothpick in his mouth. "Hey there, how can I…" The stallion spoke with a country accent before he saw Key by the door. "Aw, it's only a kid."

"I'm not a kid!" Key told the stallion as he walked up to the counter. "And the name's Key!"

"Okay, okay, simmer down." The stallion told him. "So why the long face, Key? You lost or somethin'?"

"No! Well, maybe." Key replied in an unsure tone. "Where are we?"

"Huh?" The stallion then started to explain where he is and what world this is.

"Traverse Town…" Key repeated the name of the world they're in. "So, gramps, is this really another world?"

"Don't call me gramps! The name's Cid!" The stallion introduced himself. "Anyway… Not sure what you're talkin' about, but this sure ain't your island."

"Hmmm… Guess I'd better start looking for Dusk and Heart." Key mentioned.

"Well, good luck with whatever it is you're doing." Cid told Key. "If you ever run into trouble, you come to me. I'll look out for you." Key soon left the shop and wondered where to look next. He decided to head towards the second district of Traverse Town to look for his friends.

Key soon entered the second district before he saw a stallion running before he fell to the ground. What he saw next really shocked him as a glowing crystal heart came out of the stallion before his body disappeared. He then watched as that heart turned into some black creature with a helmet on its head and sharp claws as it stood on its two legs with a strange symbol on its chest. It soon did a front flip before it vanished.

"Was… Was that his heart?!" He asked in shock before he went over to where the stallion disappeared. As soon as he reached the center of where the stallion disappeared, multiple of the small black creatures appeared around him. "It's those creatures from the island!" He exclaimed before the Keyblade suddenly appeared in his hoof. As the small black creatures started to attack him, he used the Keyblade to defend himself as he took on the six of them. Once he took care of them when they were destroyed in a puff of black smoke, he looked around the second district to see where to start his search for his friends. "I think I'll start with that hotel over there."

As he walked over and entered the hotel, Gallus, Silverstream, and Ocellus entered the second district. "Doesn't look like he's here." Silverstream mentioned as she looked around.

"Keep looking." Gallus told her.

"Yeah, Leon has got to be around here somewhere." Ocellus said as they started to look around the second district.

Inside the hotel, Key looked around the hotel as he walked down the hall. The rooms however were locked as he searched and couldn't find anyone at the front counter either. After exiting the hotel, more of those small black creatures suddenly appeared as he took out the keyblade and destroyed them. After they were dealt with, Key walked up some steps and entered a Gizmo Shop just as Spike, Smolder, Yona, and Sandbar exited the hotel. "Well no sign of a key in there." Smolder complained.

"Do friends know what key we are looking for?" Yona questioned.

"I'm guessing we'll know it when we see it." Spike mentioned with a shrug.

"Anyone else think this might be like looking for a needle in a haystack?" Sandbar asked before they went to look for the key somewhere else.

Meanwhile in the Gizmo Shop, Key found himself fighting off more of the black creatures as they kept appearing from the floor. "Where are these things coming from?!" He asked himself as he took care of the last of them. He soon exited the shop and saw a ladder when he came out. "Looks kinda wobbly… Guess I can't climb it now." Even jumped off of the roof, and thanks to his years on his island, he landed safely on the ground before noticing a door. He went over and entered the house just as Gallus, Silverstream, and Ocellus exited the Gizmo Shop as they were looking for Leon.

"Not here either." Ocellus said as they looked around.

"I have a feeling this is going to take a while." Silverstream said as she scratched the back of her head.

"Let's hope the others are having better luck finding this key." Gallus said before they continued their search for Leon.

After searching a house filled with many dalmatians, Key left the house and decided to look somewhere else. He ran into more of those small black creatures from his Islands as he fought them off with the Keyblade. After taking care of them, Key noticed a doorway near the fountain before he walked over and entered an alleyway behind the hotel just as Spike, Smolder, Yona, and Sandbar exited the hotel. "Nothing in that Gizmo Shop, and nothing again in that hotel." Smolder mentioned with her arms crossed.

"I really wish that Twilight described what kind of key we're supposed to be looking for." Spike complained.

"Maybe we should search that house next to the shop." Sandbar suggested as he pointed ahead.

"It's worth a shot." Yona said before they went over to that house.

After he couldn't find anything in the back alley of the hotel, Key decided to head back to the first district to talk to Cid. He had a fight through more of those dark creatures along the way before he finally got to the first district and entered the accessory shop. "Still haven't found 'em, huh?" Cid asked Key, who nodded in response. "Keep your chin up. Take another look around town."

"Well okay." Key replied with a shrug. He then made his way out of the shop with the keyblade out.

"They'll come at you from nowhere." He heard a voice called out to him.

"Who's there?!" He quickly turned to see a griffin with a black coat and white feathers on his head. This griffin also wore a jacket with small sleeves and a symbol that looked like a lion's head.

"And they'll keep on coming at you, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade." The griffin told Key as he pointed towards the Keyblade. "But why? Why would it choose a colt like you?"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Key asked the griffin.

"Never mind." The griffin replied. "Now, let's see that Keyblade." He was about to approach Key before he saw him take an offensive stance with the Keyblade.

"What? There's no way you're getting this!" He told him before he saw the griffin pull out a sword with a gun barrel revolver in the guard of it.

"All right, then have it your way." The griffin said as he swung his sword down and took a battle sword stance. Key saw the griffin summoned a ball of fire in his left claw before launching it right at him. He had to quickly tuck and roll from the attack just before the griffin leaped towards him and swung his blade at him. Key quickly swung his Keyblade to clash blades with the griffin before pushing back and the two of them clashed blades a few times. "You're good, for a colt."

"You will be surprised how good I am!" Key told the griffin before he rushed in and got a few good hits in. The griffin jumped back and threw another fireball right at him. Key was ready for it this time as he hit the fireball back at him before giving a few more hits to him. After another hit, the griffin saw an opening and hit Key in the gut. This caused him to clutch his gut before he was hit right in the neck. This caused Key to feel dizzy before he saw the griffin double back and took a knee. "Now…you're…gonna…you're gonna…" He said before he felt dizzy and fell onto his back as he lost consciousness. With Key down, the griffin took a breath before standing up.

"Aw, you're slipping, Leon ." A mare's voice spoke. The griffin turns to see a unicorn mare with a light blue coat, black mane, and wearing a yellow scarf and a white bandana.

"I went easy on him. Still…" Leon spoke as he turned to look back at the unconscious Key. "It looks like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse."

In an unknown location, the sounds of waterfalls can be heard as Dusk was slowly coming to. Dusk opened his eyes and slowly picked himself off of the ground. His head still felt a little dizzy when he stood up before he looked around and saw he was surrounded by water with a few frozen platforms hovering in the air. "Where am I?" He asked before he looked around and noticed his friends weren't around. "Key! Heart!" He called out but got no response. He looked down with a sad look as he wondered where he's going to find his friends, completely unaware that something or someone was watching him from afar.

Back in Traverse Town, Spike and the Young Six regrouped in the alleyway behind the hotel to check up on one other's progress. "Any luck finding Leon?" Sandbar asked Gallus, Silverstream, and Ocellus.

"Nope, and I'm guessing you didn't have any luck finding this 'key' either?" Gallus asked the others.

"We found some keys, but I doubt that they're the key we're looking for." Smolder told him as she let out an annoyed sigh. "This would be a lot easier if the princess described what key we're supposed to be looking for."

"You know, during our time here, we haven't seen a single creature around." Ocellus pointed out nervously. "It kind of gives me the creeps."

"It's probably just because everyone is inside their homes." Silverstream guessed as they started to move.

"Still spooky." Yona mentioned.

"Come on, we faced scarier things than this." Gallus reminded them before he felt a tap on his shoulder. This caused him to scream in fear as he jumped on top of Yona, causing the others to scream as well.

"Excuse me, did the princess send you?" A soft female voice asked them before they turned to see a female griffin with a crimson red coat and bright red feathers on her head.

"Come on, lazy bum. Wake up." Key heard a familiar voice tell him. He sat up in a bed before he shook his head and saw Heart standing next to him. "You okay?"

"I guess…" Key replied as his head still felt a little dizzy.

"Those creatures that attacked you are after the Keyblade." Heart told him. "But it's your heart they really want, because you wield the Keyblade."

"I'm so glad that you're okay, Heart." Key mentioned with a smile.

"Heart? Who are you talking about?" Heart asked as her voice started to change. "I'm the great ninja Yuffie."

"Huh?" Key shook his head and saw he wasn't talking to Heart, but to Yuffie when his head was clear.

"I think you might've overdone it, Squall." Yuffie mentioned as she turned to the griffin.

"That's Leon." He corrected her before Key saw the keyblade resting on the wall.

"The Keyblade…" Key said when he saw it.

"Yeah, we had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures." Yuffie explained as she walked next to Leon. "It turns out that's how they were tracking you."

"It was the only way to conceal your heart from them." Leon added. "But it won't work for long. Still hard to believe that you of all creatures are the chosen one." He mentioned as he picked up the Keyblade. But the moment he held it up, it vanished out of his claws and reappeared in Key's hoof, which really surprised him. "Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers."

"Why don't you start making sense!" Key demanded. "What's going on here?"

In another room, Spike and the Young Six followed the female griffin to the hotel as she sat on the bed and looked towards them. "Okay, you know there are many worlds out there besides your world and this town, right?" She asked them.

"Yeah we do." Smolder answered.

"But I thought there's supposed to be a secret and no one is supposed to know about them." Ocellus said in a worried tone.

"They've been secret because they've never been connected." The griffin explained. "Until now. When the Heartless came, everything changed."

"The Heartless?" Key asked as he was having the same conversation with Leon and Yuffie.

"The ones who attacked you, you remember?" Yuffie asked him.

"Those without hearts." Leon spoke up.

"The darkness in creature's hearts, that's what attracts them." Yuffie told Key.

"And there is darkness within every heart." Leon added.

"Hey, have you heard of a pony named Ansem?" Yuffie asked Key.

"Ansem?" Yona repeated when the female griffin asked them the same question.

"He was studying the Heartless." She explained to them. "He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report."

"Then don't mind if we see it, do you?" Ocellus asked as the female griffin looked down with a sad look.

"Its pages are scattered everywhere."

"Scattered?!" Spike asked in shock.

"To many worlds."

"Then maybe Princess Twilight went to find them." Sandbar guessed.

"Yes, those were my thoughts exactly." The female griffin agreed.

"Then we've gotta find her quick!" Smolder quickly suggested.

"Wait a minute, aren't we forgetting something?" Gallus asked them. "We need to find that key first."

"That's right, the Keyblade." The female griffin told them.

"So…this is the key?" Key asked as he held up the Keyblade.

"Exactly!" Yuffie told him with a nod.

"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade." Leon told Key. "That's why they'll keep coming after you no matter what."

"Well, I didn't ask for this." Key mentioned before he looked at Yuffie as he held out the Keyblade to her. "Here, you can have it."

"Sorry, but the Keyblade chooses its master." She told him as she denied his offer. "And right now, it chose you."

"So tough luck." Leon said as he crossed his arms and leaned against a wall.

"How did all this happen?" Key asked with a confused expression on his face. "I remember being in my room before I saw a storm over my…" He then let out a gasp of shock as he stood up from the bed. "Wait a minute! What happened to my home?! My island?! Dusk! Heart!"

"You know what? I really don't know." Leon replied as Key looked down with a sad look.

"You know, I've heard that the Keyblade can open all sorts of locks." Yuffie told Key. "Give it a try next time you find a treasure chest or door lock! Plus don't worry, I'm sure that your friends are out there and you'll be able to find them."

"I hope so." Key said before Leon walked up to him.

"Sooner or later, the Heartless will find you." He told Key. "You'd best prepare yourself."

"Prepare myself?"

"To fight for your life." Leon explained. "Are you ready?"

"If it means to find my friends, then I'm ready!" Key declared as Leon looked over at Yuffie.

"Yuffie, let's go join Aerith." He said as he pointed to the door behind him. "She should be there by now with the other visitors."

"Leon!" Yuffie called out as a Soldier Heartless appeared in the room.

"Yuffie, go!" Leon ordered as she nodded in agreement. Spike and the others could hear the commotion coming from the other room before the door suddenly opened it and slammed right into Spike's face, as Yuffie ran past them.

"Yuffie!" The female griffin, Aerith, called out when she ran past her. Back in the room with Leon and Key, both of them readied their weapons as Leon swung his sword.

"Key, let's go!" Leon shouted before he knocked the Soldier Heartless out of the room. Leon followed it out before Key followed behind.

"Did you hear that?" Silverstream asked her friends. "Someone said 'key.'"

"Maybe it was Leon and he has the key!" Ocellus theorized.

"Then let's go!" Smolder declared before she opened the door and they all winced when they saw Spike smashed against the wall. Spike stumbled forward as he was dizzy before he fell face first on the floor. "Ouch…"

In the back alley both Key and Leon were surrounded by Soldier Heartless as they fought them off. Once they were destroyed Leon turned towards him. "Don't bother with a small fry." He told him. "Find the leader!"

"What leader?!" Key asked before more Heartless showed up. Him and Leon got separated as they fought them off. Key was then being chased by the Heartless as he fought them off before making his way to the Third District. He made his way down some stairs to a large area, the Young Six were up on a balcony in the Third District as they saw Key down from where they were.

"Who's that?" Silverstream asked before they turned to see a couple of Soldier Heartless appear.

"These things must be the Heartless Aerith told us about!" Sandbar said when they saw them.

"They don't look so tough!" Smolder challenged as she clenched her fist with her fighting gloves ready. The other five then summoned their own weapons as Sandbar held up a shield with a purple six point star on it while Ocellus was holding a magic staff with a six pointed star on the top of it. Yona held on to a large Warhammer with a six-pointed star on both sides of it, Gallus is seen wielding a sword with wings of the guard of the sword, and Silverstream and a blade bow at the Heartless. "Let's get 'em!"

"Let's try one of the magic spells I learned on the way here!" Ocellus suggested as she held up her staff. "Fire!" The end of the staff glowed right before it backfired, sending all six of them flying off of the balcony. Key saw them coming in as he tried to run for it right before they fell right on top of him. They all groaned in pain in the pile that they were in before the Young Six shook their heads and laid eyes on the Keyblade.

"The Key!" They exclaimed before they felt the ground shake. They all stood up and it's all a bunch of pillars blocking anyway out of the Third District before more Heartless showed up. They ready their weapons as the Heartless charged right at them. Yona swung her hammer as she destroyed at least four of them while Gallus flew up and whooped down as he swung his sword to take out five more. Ocellus concentrated this time as she launched fireballs at a few heartless while Silverstream pulled back on the string of her bow as arrows suddenly appeared before she fired them at the Heartless.

Sandbar used his shield to bash against a few Heartless while Key used the Keyblade to strike down some more. Smolder seemed to be holding her own as she used her fighting gloves to knock back a few heartless before breathing fire on them. After each of them took out the last of the Heartless, they thought they were in the clear before they jumped back when a giant suit of armor suddenly fell from the sky. Said armor started to rattle a bit before it hovered off of the ground and the arms and legs connected to the body of the armor before the helmet landed on top of it.

"So this thing must be the leader Leon told me about!" Key mentioned before he readied his Keyblade. He then charged right at the armor and swung it before the armor swung its claws and knocked him back into a wall. "O-Okay… that smarts…"

"Heal." Ocellus casted a healing spell as a green glow covered Key. Key then saw Sandbar use his shield to block another attack from the boss heartless as Yona and Gallus attacked the arms. Silverstream flew up and used the blade of her blade bow to slash the body of the armor while Smolder was attacking the feet of the armor. "Don't worry, we got your back!"

"Thanks!" Key replied as he stood up. He then charged in and joined the fight as he helped Smolder attack the feet. Soon the arms and legs of the armor were destroyed and only the body of the armor remained. The armor then started to spin around fast and knock each of them back.

"Oh man, this thing's tough without its arms and legs!" Gallus commented before Key noticed the end of the keyblade was glowing red. Then one word started echoing in his head before he looked at the spinning armor coming towards them and aimed the keyblade right at it.

"Fire!" He called out as a fireball was launched right at the armor. The impact caused the armor to be sent flying back and crashed onto the ground. "Quick, let's hit it while it's down!" The group nodded in agreement before they all charged in and started hitting it with all they got. When it started to rise up, Key jumped off of Yona and delivered the final blow as sparks flew off of the armor. They watched as the armor rattled a bit before the helmet fell to the ground and the rest of the armor fell with it. It glowed bright before a crystallized heart came out of the light and flew up into the sky. Once it was defeated, the pillars went down to let Leon, Yuffie, Spike, and Aerith through.

After a quick explanation of what happened, Key looked at the Young Six. "So you guys were looking for me?" He asked them as all six of them nodded in response.

"They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade." Leon spoke up as both Yuffie and Aerith nodded in agreement.

"Hey, why don't you come with us?" Sandbar offered Key. "We can go to other worlds on our vessel."

"I wonder if I could find Dusk and Heart…" Key said as he looked down with a sad look.

"Of course." Smolder told him before her friends pulled her aside.

"Are you sure about that?" Ocellus whispered. "They're too many worlds, so we don't know if we can find his friends."

"I know, but we need him to come with us to help us find Princess Twilight." Smolder whispered back.

"And who knows, maybe we will find his friends along the way." Silverstream whispered.

"If we have, then we will." Gallus whispered with a shrug.

"Key, go with them." Leon told him. "Especially if you want to find your friends."

"Yeah, I guess." Key sighed.

"But you can't come with us looking like that. Understand?" Ocellus told Key. "No frowning. No sad face. Our teacher, Professor Pinkie Pie, taught us that no matter what, always keep a smile on your face."

"Yeah, pony gotta be funny, like us!" Yona added.

"This boat runs on happy faces." Sandbar told him.

"Happy?" Key asked as he kept his head down. They all waited before Key pulled his head up and made a funny looking smile with his eyes looking up and his mouth had a wide grin. There was a bit of silence before the Young Six started laughing hard.

"That's one funny face!" Smolder said through her laugh.

"Okay, why not? I'll go with you guys." Key told them with a smile.

"I'm Smolder." She introduced herself as she put her claw in for a group stack before the others joined in.

"My name's Sandbar."

"Gallus."

"Silverstream, nice to meet you."

"I'm Ocellus."

"Yona."

"And I'm Key Light." Key finished as he joined his hoof with the others.

"All for one and one for all!" Sandbar declared.

In an unknown location, a magic circle showed the Young Six meeting Key as shadowy figures watched over a table. "That little squirt took down that Heartless!" One of the figures complained in a male voice. "Who'd have thought it?"

"Such is the power of the Keyblade." Another shadowy figure spoke with an accent. "The child's strength is not his own."

"Why don't return him into a Heartless?" Another shadowy figure suggested in a female tone before letting out a maniacal laugh. "That'll settle things quick enough."

"And the brat's friends are the students of the princess!" Another male voice pointed out with a pirate accent. "Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them."

"You're no prize yourself." Another figure said to the other with a slick tone before laughing.

"Shut up!" The pirate shouted as he held up a hook to the other figure.

"Enough." Another female voice told them before someone stepped out of the Shadows. This one was wearing a black cloak down her body with a purple pattern down the middle while she had horns on her head and she carried a staff in her right hand. "The Keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him? Either way, he could be quite useful…"

Back in Traverse Town, Key stood in front of Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith in the first district as he was about to head out with Spike and the Young Six. "Make sure you're prepared for the journey ahead of you." Leon told him. "We don't know how far the Heartless have spread."

"When you have time, check out the shops here." Yuffie advised Key. "They've got some pretty neat stuff!"

"Here, this is from all of us." Aerith said as she gave Key 500 munny. "Spend it as you see fit. And these are from Leon." She handed him some potions and elixirs. "I hope you find your friends."

"Good luck!" Yuffie told him.

"Look out for each other." Leon added. "Keep your spirits up."

"Thanks." Key told them before he turned to Spike and the Young Six.

"The gummi ship is outside the gate." Spike told Key as he pointed towards the gate ahead of them.

"The what?" Key asked.

"The gummi ship, it's how we travel to other worlds." Ocellus explained.

"Wait 'til you see it, it's awesome." Sandbar told him as Jimmy smiled at the group.

"Well, I see big adventures coming their way!" He said to himself. "Looks like it's up to me to keep track of all of it in my journal!" He then jumped into Key's hoodie as Key looked at the group.

"All right, let's get going!" Key declared as they made their way to the world exit and begin their big adventure.

Here is some images of the Heartless in this chapter besides the shadow ones:
The soldier

The Guard Armor

And if you're all wondering why I change the cover image of the story, it's because since this story is focusing on the Heartless I figured it would be simple to put their emblem as their cover.

By the way, which keyblade out of the Kingdom Hearts series is your favorite?

My favorite two is Dawn Till Dusk and Oathkeeper