Chapter 7: A Princess is at the Door
At Canterlot, the princess was sitting at her thrown, looking over some papers that her advisors had brought her very financials, grievances, and about preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration as it was once of the most important events in Equestrian history. As she was looking over the documents, a unicorn guard came running up to the thrown, carrying a scroll that seemed to be very important if he was willing to run to her with it. The princess set the documents down and waited for the guard as he ran up, panting as he reached her.
"Y-your majesty." He said, breathing heavily. "I-I apologize for the intrusion, but this was marked important."
Without saying a word, she levitated the scroll to her and opened it to read the contents written in it. As her eyes went from line to line, her calm demeanor slowly turned serious after each line, but when she reached the end, her eyes widened and looked to the guard, surprised at what she just read.
"Captain Armor!" She shouted, putting the letter with the rest of the documents as the purple armored unicorn ran in and saluted. "Prepare my carriage. The Prince has finally arrived."
Back with Spyro, he opened his eyes, getting blinded by the sunlight as it shined into wherever he currently was. As soon as he raised his hoof to block the light, he felt pain like a thousand needles were pricking his leg, causing him to breathe in quickly, sounding like a snake. He tried to move slowly, but every move he made just made it more agonizing for him as he moved. He managed to sit up before looking to find he was back in his room at Sweet Apple Acres and heard the door into his room open as Applejack walked in with a tray on her back with a large bowl of what he guessed to be warm water with a towel on it, but when she saw him up, her face lit up in excitement and pure joy.
"Spyro!" She shouted, bolting towards him, not caring about the tray as it dropped. She hugged him, but he yelped in pain, making her jump back and worry. "Oh, Ah'm so sorry. Did Ah hurt ya?"
"No. No you didn't." Spyro said, trying to get up from the bed. "I'm just sore is all."
"Well gosh dang Spyro, ya'll went and made us worry." She said, worried and scared. "When Rainbow Dash brought ya here, ya'll weren't responding like ya'll were dead."
As soon as she said her name, Rainbow Dash walked to the door and looked in, saw Spyro was up and sped in, knocking Applejack away and on the floor like a rag doll.
"You're alive!" Rainbow Dash shouted, bear hugging him, which he didn't hiss in pain, he full on scream in pain. Rainbow Dash immediately let go and backed away, flying as she did and hooves held up. "Oh my gosh! I am so sorry. Are you hurt? Need me to get you anything?"
She was then pulled away from Spyro and over to Applejack, spitting her tail out and leering at her with murderous intent.
"Consarn it Rainbows!" Applejack shouted. "I know yer happy to see him up, but ya'll could've waited for me to come and get ya before ya'll come charging in like ya haven't seen yer family in years." As Applejack ran over, Rainbow Dash followed suit to check on their friend if anything was seriously damaged. "Ya'll ok? Anything broken? Anything ya need?"
"I just asked him if he needed anything." Rainbow Dash said, but before an argument could start, Spyro raised his hoof getting their attention. "Hey, you need something?"
"Yeah." Spyro replied. "In my bag, there is a bunch of bottles and flasks. Can one of you bring over a big bottle filled with a green liquid please?"
"I know where it's at. Be right back." Rainbow Dash ran out the hall and down the stairs as she remembers where it was at and wanted to help the pony who sacrificed his health and safety to protect her. As she found it, she looked up and her eyes shrunk to pin needles as she saw someone who she never thought she would see, immediately bowing to her. "Princess Celestia. Your highness, w-w-w-what are you-?"
"You may rise young pegasus." Princess Celestia said, smiling as she got up. "I am here because I heard of the attack against two ponies during a race yesterday. I heard one of them was currently living here."
"Yes he is your highness." Rainbow Dash replied. "He's upstairs in the guest room. I came down here to get his bag as he said there was a potion in it to heal him."
"He's injured!?" Princess Celestia asked, horrified to hear he was hurt.
"Well... not exactly." Rainbow Dash answered, rubbing the back of her head. "He doesn't have any physical injuries, but it seems like he's sore as touching him or even moving him seems to cause him some pain."
As Rainbow Dash was explaining how he was injured, Applejack walked out of the room and went to the living room to see what was taking her so long just to find a bag. But as she walked down the stairs, ready to give her a piece of her mind for taking so long, she saw the princess and her whole attitude had changed and she immediately ran down the stairs, kneeling before her.
"Yer highness." Applejack said in a surprised tone of voice. "It's a true honor to be in yer presence."
"No need to formalities right here and now." Princess Celestia said. "Please rise. I am here to find somepony that fought against some kind of creatures yesterday. Is he here?"
"Yes princess, he is." Applejack replied. "He's in our guest room right now. He arrived the night before last. He's been here ever since. We were getting his bag as he has something that will heal him."
The princess nodded her head and watched as they ran back up the steps to where their friend was currently at and followed behind them so as to meet the pony that protected one of her ponies, but as she reached his room, she looked in and saw Spyro, looking in awe at the hybrid and instantly recognizing that he's the prince sent by Master Yen Sid. She watched as Rainbow Dash searched through his bag and pulled out a large bottle of green liquid with a star on it, handing it to Spyro, but he pushed it away, which seemed to annoy Rainbow Dash.
"What the hay!" She shouted in annoyance. "You asked for this potion, now you don't want it! What's the gag here?!"
"No gag." Spyro replied. "You don't drink those kinds of potions. Just toss it into the air and say my name. It'll do the rest."
The two ponies looked at each other to see what the other was gonna do, but Applejack just shrugged her shoulders as she didn't know what to do. Without anything else to do, Rainbow Dash threw the potion above Spyro said his name as instructed and the bottle disappeared and green dusty powder was left in the air, landing on him and absorbing into his coat. Everyone who didn't know about the potion was surprised that the liquid had turned into tiny green particles and within seconds, Spyro leapt out of the bed and stretched his legs and his wings without even wincing in pain.
"Well gosh darn sugarcube." Applejack said. "That there is some fine healing. Ya'll got anymore of them?"
"I don't know." Spyro replied. He then took the bag from Rainbow Dash and reached in, but felt nothing, so he turned the bag upside down and shook it, only for a bunch of tomes, spell books, scrolls, and ink with quills to fall out before a few smaller bottles with the same liquid fell out with several blue potions and a golden one. "Hm. Looks like I got a few regular potions left and fewer ethers than I remembered. Looks like it's time to brew some more."
Before he could pick anything up, the princess walked into the room, making the girls instinctively bow again, but left Spyro confused as he never met her, but when he got a look at the princess, he was surprised at how tall she was.
"Holy smack, someone's been drinking their milk." Spyro said, immediately getting nailed in the head and forced to bow.
"Ya'll tryna get in trouble!" Applejack shouted. "This is Princess Celestia! Ruler of Equestria and the one who raises and lowers the sun!"
Spyro managed to get free from Applejacks sneak attack and scooped up everything that fell from the bag and put it back in as the bag holds limitless space, so he can store everything he needed. But as he finished picking everything up, Rainbow Dash zoomed up and into his face with a surprised look.
"Yeah, like for real pal!" She shouted. "Are you trying to get banished or something."
"Girls, please, it's alright. He doesn't need to bow to me." Princess Celestia said, making everyone look to her. But she walked up to Spyro as Rainbow Dash stepped back and knelt to Spyro, catching everyone off guard and getting back up. "Besides, I've been expecting him."
"Wait, you have?" Spyro asked, still a little confused by her bowing to him.
"Of course." She replied. "After all, your Master Yen Sid sent word that you would arrive."
Spyro's eyes widened in surprise and terror as the princess knew his mentors name and that Master Yen Sid sent word to the princess ahead of time of his arrival, but after a moment, his horrified look was gone and replaced with realization as he looked at the princess. She gave him a warm smile and nodded her head, letting him know that his guess was right. But Rainbow Dash and Applejack were confused because they didn't know what the princess was talking about, but the way Spyro was looking at her made them wonder what was going on in his mind.
"How do you know Master Yen Sid?" Spyro asked. "The order was not to be tampered with."
"Order?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.
"There is a mirror that he and I have, connected by magic." The princess replied. "We communicate with each other using it. He told me that you would be coming and I am pleased to finally meet you Spyro and am honored to help you complete your training."
Both of the girls jaws dropped in shock as they heard what they just heard and how Spyro was conversing with the princess as though they were old friends. They both knew he was training and came to Equestria to finish his training, but to be trained by the Princes of the Day was something they weren't expecting. They had so many questions for Spyro and didn't know which to ask, but before they could get a word out, Spyro bowed his head, showing respect to the princess a willingness to obey.
"You may count on me to aid you however I can." Spyro said. "I am ready to continue my training."
"I am pleased to hear this." She said, giving him a soft smile. "Your Master was right about one thing. You are eager to learn what you are given. You actually remind me of my star pupil as she is also eager to learn."
She then walked over to him and lowered her head down, whispering in his ear something that the girls couldn't heard. Spyro nodded his head and looked back to the two mares, wondering what the princess whispered to him, but got their answer when he took a step back and summoned his Keyblade, appearing in a flash of light. Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash backed up when it appeared, scared when it appeared out of no where, but calmed down after a moment.
"So that's a Keyblade?" Princess Celestia asked.
"Yes it is." Spyro replied. "A weapon of pure light against the darkness."
Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked closer to get a better look at the weapon, but princess Celestia used her magic to picket her weapon up by its handle to examine it. But as soon as she did, it disappeared and reappeared back at its master side.
"Apologies about that." Spyro said. "A Keyblade can only be handled by its chosen master."
"And you should have seen how awesome he was!" Rainbow Dash said with excitement in her voice. "He was slashing and dashing, taking out those monsters like the they were nothing! And even grabbing their fire balls without his magic, it was awesome!" But her excited demeanor soon changed when she realized that she was complimenting him too much and was loosing her cool. "I mean, yeah it was alright."
"But it sill doesn't explain why he come back unconscious." Applejack pointed out. "Ya'll said he was surrounded by a sphere of light and then it shattered. When it did, his coat was yellow with blue lightning bolts and gems with a lightning pattern on his wing. Could that have something to do with it?"
"That's correct Applejack." Spyro replied, answering her question. "It's called a Drive form. Usually when I use it, one of my friends gets absorbed and I share their strength. I learned to use it without my friends by tapping into some of my own magic to create unique Drives like what Rainbow Dash saw."
He then pulled out a small leather note book and, with the force, pushed it to Applejack and Rainbow Dash to look in. At first, they didn't understand how he could make something move without magic, but decided not to question it and look at what he is showing them. In it was a two legged figure with the same coat on and the same design and at the top of the page was a name of what it was called: 'Storming Wisdom.'
"Storming Wisdom?" Applejack said, questioning it.
"It's a combination of the original Wisdom Drive and my ability to use lightning and thunder." Spyro answered. "When using wisdom, I sacrifice some of my physical strength to become more adept to the use of magic, making my spells stronger." He then pulled the note book back to him and closed the pages, stashing it back into his bag. "In this case, Storming Wisdom allows my thunder and air magic to become stronger, conjuring up large thunderclouds and summoning powerful storms to assist in dispatching the Heartless."
"Heartless?" Rainbow Dash and Applejack said at the same time.
"Creatures born from the darkness in ponies hearts." Spyro replied. "Should someone fall into darkness and open their heart to it, they turn into one. And should somepony be killed by one, they take their hearts, turning them into one as well."
Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash swallowed some air, nervous about hearing how they are created, but were more frightened that they can kill someone and turn them into a Heartless. Spyro wanted to continue, but decided to hold back on some of the information as he didn't want to scare them any further than they already are.
"So you understand why I wanted you to run Rainbow." Spyro said. "If they killed you, you'd become one of them. And, depending on how strong your heart is, your Heartless would be just as strong, if not stronger."
"Well thanks for not telling me that before I come to save you!" Rainbow Dash said.
"You're welcome." Spyro replied, smiling.
"Oh a funny guy huh?" She asked. "Let's see how funny you really are?"
She then tackled him and started to try and tickle him, which he laughed profusely as she did, to which he retaliated and they got into a wrestling match. Applejack shook her head at the childish behavior, but Princess Celestia just giggled at how, even when being attacked, he still was able to have a good laugh.
"Alright both ya'll, that's enough." Applejack said, pulling Rainbow Dash off. "Spyro really needs to get some rest for tomorrow."
As Spyro got up, everyone left the house and went outside, where the princesses carriage was waiting for her with four Pegasi in royal armor. She got on and turned to look at Spyro again.
"I'm sorry your first day in Equestria didn't go very well." The princess said, turning her attention to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "I am leaving Spyro in your care Ms. Applejack. Keep him safe and I hope your stay here is better than it would be in Canterlot. I'll let you know when I need your help and I do expect to see you at the Summer Sun Celebration this week as I have a surprise for everypony."
She nodded her head and the guards ran a fair bit before taking off, flying back to Canterlot. As for Spyro, Rainbow Dash wrapped her foreleg around his neck, and smiled.
"Well, looks like you're stuck here with us lizard boy." Rainbow dash said playfully. "We might get finish that race, which I would probably still win."
"No way, I was way ahead of you." Spyro said, breaking free from her. "If it weren't for the Heartless taking a pot shot at you, you'd be out here fixing that pen."
"Yeah right! I'm way faster than you!" She shouted.
"Oh yeah?" Spyro replied.
"Yeah!" Rainbow said.
They then locked eyes as they glared at each other, waiting for either one of them to break first, but Applejack just shook her head and went to the barn, opening the doors and turning back to Spyro and Rainbow Dash. She saw that they were locking eyes again, getting ready for another race or something, but Applejack had something else in store.
"If you two are done trying to flirt with each other, can I have yer help here Spyro?" Applejack asked. "Granny Smith wants us to bring in some apples so she can get started on dinner."
"Oh sure thing." Spyro replied, walking towards the barn.
"You too Rainbow Dash, yer helping us." Applejack said, catching both of them off guard.
"Wha? What the hay for?" She asked, purely annoyed.
"Ya'll still owe me fer a new pig pen." Applejack answered. "And since yer here now, might as well have ya help."
"Aw come on AJ." Rainbow Dash complained. "The race was canceled, so the bet was called off."
"Might as well do it Rainbow." Spyro said, rubbing his head. "Something tells me that complaining about it won't get you out of doing it."
Spyro and Rainbow Dash approached Applejack and were getting ready to enter the barn, but Spyro felt something through the Force, letting him know that there was something in the barn, hiding. He got ready to leap into the fight, calling his Keyblade, which Applejack put her hoof in front of him, preventing him from attacking.
"Ya'll won't be needing that sugarcube." She said, walking into the barn, disappearing into the dark room.
Spyro didn't understand what she meant by that and just stayed outside, still sensing that something was wrong, but a second later Rainbow Dash flew in and disappeared into the dark room like Applejack. He could still send they were ok in there and sent his Keyblade away, cautiously walking into the room while using his Force abilities to warn him where the first attack will be coming from. As soon as he walked in however, the door tot he barn suddenly closed, causing Spyro to leap into the air and conjure two fireballs in his hooves, bringing them together to make a larger one.
"Pyro -" Spyro shouted, but before he could finish his attack the lights came on and everypony in Ponyville came out of hiding, shouting surprise to him. "What?"
The growing ball of fire disappeared as he touched back down onto the ground, looking at everyone who was in the room, shouting surprise at different times and either throwing or shooting confetti as they did. A second later, Pinkie Pie came out of no where and started dancing as music started, coming out of nowhere like it was supposed to happen.
[Pinkie Pie]
"Welcome, welcome, welcome, a fine welcome to you! Welcome, welcome, welcome, I say how do you do? Welcome, welcome, welcome, I say hip hip hurray! Welcome, welcome, welcome to Ponyville today!"
As Pinkie finished singing, she pulled a cyan colored cannon with pink wheels from behind her, which made Spyro do a back flip as she fired it, avoiding an overzealous amount of confetti that got wrapped into a ball as it flew below him. As Spyro landed on his hooves, the ball of confetti crashed through the door, landing in the pig pen, spooking the pigs and destroying it again. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both leered angrily at Pinkie as she just gave a nervous smile, knowing she was in trouble for destroying the newly restored pen that they worked on earlier before Spyro woke up.
"Whoops, sorry." She said, scooting away from the two angry ponies.
"What in the name of Kingdom hearts is this?" Spyro asked, mentally hoof smacking himself in the head for mentioning Kingdom Hearts.
"Why its your party silly." Pinkie said, bouncing happily. "I give all new ponies that come to Ponyville a party. Didn't I tell you that?"
"No you didn't." Spyro replied. "All you did was ask me what kind of cake and icing I liked while talking me like a quarterback during football."
He then physically hoof smacked himself in the face, calling himself an idiot mentally for saying football, a human sport when it would probably be called something else in this world. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice as they music turned on as he said football, dodging a bullet, but looked into the crowd, finding that Applejack give him a look like she needed to talk to him. The party began and everyone was having a great time dancing, chatting away, even some of them trying to play some party games Pinkie brought, which Spyro participated in all of the activities as he hasn't had this much fun since his birthday back on earth when he was twelve. After a while, Spyro left the party and went outside to watch the sun go down and the moon rise, seeing a pony outline in the moon itself, finding it to be beautiful.
"So, Kingdom Hearts? That's where ya'll are from?" Applejack asked.
Spyro turned around, seeing her walking towards him as she asked the question. He knew that at least one of them would ask about Kingdom Hearts and had to come up with a story on the spot or else he risked having to tell her the entire story. He came up with something that was a hail merry, but it was better than nothing at all and risk suspicion.
"Not exactly." Spyro answered. "I mean, I stayed there for a time when I moved, but I never did like being there."
"Why's that?" She asked. "If yer self and yer family moved there, it must have been a great place. So why say ya'll didn't like being there?"
"Because of the constant attacks." Spyro replied, shocking Applejack. He turned around and leaned back on a railing that was nearby and relaxed, trying to avoid eye contact as he knew Applejack was very homiest and could smell dishonesty a mile away. "The Heartless would launch attacks on Kingdom Hearts as it's the place where all the hearts the heartless release once defeated go to. Once there, the hearts can then return to the light and be brought back later so the owner can continue their life."
he then looked down at the ground, trying to mix lies with truth so as to make it believable, but knew that it was a long shot as he needed to hold back some information to at least keep the world order from shattering.
"And at the throne of Kingdom Hearts is the Prince." Spyro continued. "The one who can harness the light within Kingdom Hearts, using it to spread hope and happiness. But at the same time, can harness the darkness within hearts to spread destruction and terror. He is known as the Prince of Light and Darkness."
As he said it, he could sense Applejack was listening to every word he was saying, but could feel that she knew he was holding something back, but kept with the story to make sure he got out what he could without doing any damage.
"it's the princes duty to protect Kingdom Hearts from those who wish to open the door to it." Spyro went on. "As the door to Kingdom hearts is where an endless tide of Heartless wait, ready to sweep over everything, destroying all light in our world. Along with the prince, however, there are seven princesses, whose hearts are pure and filled with light. No darkness whatsoever. We call them 'The Princesses of Heart' and when the seven of them come together, the path to Kingdom hearts is revealed."
Applejack kept listening to his story, catching every word he was saying, but could tell he wasn't telling her something as he always kept looking away to hide his eyes. She wanted to know everything and for her friend to be honest with her, but couldn't force him as he is her friend, so she kept quiet, patiently listening to his story.
"Thankfully, my friends Sora and Mickey sealed the door." Spyro said, coming to the end of his story. "As only two key bearers can lock the door for good. One on the outside of the door, the other on the inside, locking it. When the two locks are on, it is impossible for anypony to open the door. Well, anypony but the prince as he is powerful enough to override the locks and open the door, allowing darkness to seep through."
"So what happens if the prince is evil?" Applejack asked. "If he's evil, then he'd open the door, and we'd be doomed."
Spyro smiled, laughing a bit and turned to face Applejack, looking her in the eye as he wrapped his wing around her, hoping this would trip her up as he could feel her feelings of excitement and happiness.
"That's the beauty of it." Spyro replied. "A prince is chosen at the age of seventeen by the old one. The Prince of Light and Darkness is immortal and chooses his heir when he grows tired of ruling. They choose a candidate whose heart is pure, with a small amount of darkness, passing on their knowledge and their duty to protect."
He removed his wing and then face her again, walking away from Applejack and looking back into the sky, looking at the beautiful night tonight.
"And that's the reason I left Kingdom hearts." Spyro said. "Because of the constant attacks, I didn't feel safe there. Besides, I like it here in Ponyville. It's a friendly environment and is a great place to live."
"Yeah. It is." Applejack replied, but could still sense he was hiding some stuff from her, but decided not to push it as it was something he would share when he was ready. "Plus, it's a great place to raise a family if ya like."
"Oh, you hinting at something their little lady?" Spyro asked, teasing Applejack as her muzzle turned bright red and tried to hide it by tipping her hat.
"Hey there." Pinkie said, popping out of nowhere and making Spyro jump and fall onto the ground. "Whatcha doing out here when the party is inside?"
"Where the heck did you come from?" Spyro asked, getting up.
"From the barn." Pinkie replied, confusing him as he looked to Applejack, but she hinted not to question it. "But why are you two not inside having fun?"
"Just came out for some air." Spyro replied. "Oh Pinkie, I need to ask you something."
"Ask away." Pinkie said, happily bouncing.
"The princess said she was expecting me to be at the Summer Sun Celebration sometime this week." Spyro said. "Do you have any clue as to where and when it will be?"
"Oh, that's easy." Pinkie replied. "It's being held here at Ponyville this Friday."
"Friday?" Spyro asked. "You mean the twenty-first? The start of the Summer Solstice?"
Pinkie nodded her head, confirming what he asked was correct.
"Well, that'll be easy to remember." Spyro said. "As the twenty-first is my birthday, so it'll be easy to remember when it will be at least"
As soon as he said that, Pinkie stopped bouncing and her eyes widened with joy at the small sentence he just said, but also felt horror as she had little time to plan his birthday. A moment later, she zoomed back into the barn and out the door, running straight to Sugarcube Corner at speed that would make Rainbow Dash proud.
"Was it something I said?" Spyro asked, making Applejack shake her head in disbelief.
"Ya told her yer birthday was the same day as the Summer Sun celebration." Applejack replied. "So, y'all gonna be having a second party this week as it's only a few days away. Better be ready because when Pinkie throws a birthday party, it makes this a cake walk."
"Oh boy." Spyro said, returning to the party.