Chapter 4 ~Meeting Once More~

September 13
9:32 am
Sweet Apple Acres
Steady Aim

"HYAAAAA!" I screamed, bucking both my hind legs out at the apple tree near me. After a satisfying *thump,* I looked up to see how many apples I knocked loose. It was about half the tree's yield, and another three bucks knocked down the stubborn ones.

I was working for Applejack, since she and her family were letting me stay at the farm until I got on my own hooves. "Nice bucking there, partner." The mare in question said as she observed my work. "Not too much longer and you'll be bucking like me."

"I hope to." I said, panting between each word. "I mean, I also hope I'll get a different ob and move out; I don't want to intrude upon you."

"Nonsense, you ain't intruding none. Now, Ah'm going to town to meet up with mah friends, and I don't want you workin' while Ah'm gone. So ya'll gonna come with me; it'll be good for you to socialize, anyways. Try to jog that memory of yours." Applejack said.

"I'll keep on working 'til then." I said. I kept on bucking apples, and I once knocked all of them free from the tree in one buck… Until I saw one stubborn apple that required five more. Eventually, Applejack returned, and we left the farm for town.

~Xion~

I woke up this morning to the smell of waffles. It pleased my senses, and I had enjoyed a well-liked breakfast courtesy of Spike. The rest of the morning was spent talking to Twilight about my travels, and that's when I brought it up.

"So, you mentioned before that you and Zack were… Knights?" Twilight asked.

{He's a knight. Officially, I'm still an acolyte. But yes, Keyblade wielders all the same. It's our job to protect the worlds from the threat of the Heartless.} I wrote.

"Heartless? What are they?"

{Beings of pure darkness. Here, it'll be easier to explain with pictures…} I drew a crude sketch of a pony in my notepad. {Here is your average pony. She has three things- a body, a mind, and a heart. These three things are found in anypony sentient.}

"I see." Twilight mused. I drew a small, shadowy blob next to the mare.

{This is a Heartless, and when it attacks,} I drew a slash on the mare, {It attacks the heart, the spiritual center of the pony.} I drew a heart above the mare. {This heart then either is consumed by the Heartless, or turns into one itself if it has enough darkness in it.}

"But… you told me you don't have a heart, so how's that possible?"

{Like this.} I drew the same mare again. {Let's say this mare was attacked by the heartless, and she lost her heart. In most cases, the body and mind fail without the heart to bind them, and she dies.}

"Oh…"

{However, if a pony has a strong will, then the mind and body begin to act on their own as an emotionless husk. This is called a "Nobody." Kind of ironic, seeing as though they are little more than just bodies.}

"Emotionless? So wait, that means…"

{I can't feel, Twilight.} I wrote. {Happy, sad, angry, scared… all of those concepts are completely foreign to me. I can only act the part because I live with ponies who have hearts. I simply examine how they react, and react similarly in similar situations. But I don't actually feel anything.}

"I'm so sorry you live like this… That's why you're trying to find the shards of your heart? To… recomplete yourself?"

{Exactly, Twilight. I want to be whole again, so I can feel emotion. So I can feel at all, Twilight. Do you know how it is to feel nothing at all?}

"No… could you tell me?"

{I can't. I could never tell you how I feel, Twilight. I can't.}

"Is that what your cutie mark is for? Being a… Nobody?"

{Yes. It's the insignia all Nobodies share.} I wrote down some more. {Back on topic, though, it's my job as a Keyblade Wielder to seal your world's keyhole and stop the Heartless from consuming it.}

"What happens if they do?" The lavender mare said.

{Your world would then be consumed by darkness, and everyone on it will perish. No exceptions.} I wrote. I noticed Twilight's glum look. {Hey, why don't we put a stopper on this for now, okay? You said you were taking me and your friends out to lunch, right?}

Twilight nodded. "Yeah… let's go." She led me out of Golden Oaks Library, and into Ponyville proper. We met up with some of her friends around a table at the local café, "Hay and Horseshoes." The only mare missing was Applejack. Meanwhile, I took the time to properly introduce myself to the others.

"Ah'd hope y'all haven't started without me." A voice said. It belonged to Applejack, who had a brown pegasus stallion behind her. Rarity took notice immediately.

"Applejack dear, you never told us you had a coltfriend! Who is the lucky stallion?" She said, lifting her head to get a better look.

Applejack blushed a deep red. The stallion walked forward, and I choked on my hay fries when he spoke. "My name is Steady Aim, and Applejack and I are not going out. I'm simply doing work for her to pay for rent." I stood up and circled around him, trying to find something else about him. "Uhh, is she always like this?"

Twilight answered. "No, not at all. Xion, what are you doing?"

I stopped when I saw his Cutie mark. It was Zack's Keyblade! That, combined with his voice, this has to be him! {Twilight, this is Zack!} I wrote quickly.

"This handsome colt is your partner?" Rarity said. After I nodded, she looked downtrodden.

"I'm sorry, uh… Xion, right? I don't think I know you…" He said. I looked at him dumbfounded. "You see, I've apparently had a severe case of amnesia. So, if I do know you, I just can't remember you at all."

~End of Chapter~