Disclaimer: Well, Eggman did it again. Another of his plans backfiring and going wrong, but this time is seems to have transported Sonic and his friends somewhere and with how many times Eggman breached the barriers between worlds, who knows what kind of repercussions it will have for Sonic and friends and how it will affect the course of the other half of the adventure. Goes to show you, don't mess around with things you don't fully understand, unless you want to cause a world ending apocalypse to happen. All rights are for My Little Pony, Sonic the Hedgehog, Kingdom Hearts, Legend of Spyro are reserved to the original creators and companies as I do not own any of them, the use of names, locations and items used in this story is used for entertainment purposes. Thank you all for your continued support and hope you enjoy.
Chapter 119: Heart of the Hero Part 1: The Coliseum
On Mobius, Overlord was at the computer, wires and jacks in the computers downloading all information relative to the world he was in and about the kinds of threats there were, finding that the only known threats on the world was Eggman and his robots, downloading all their designs before making modifications and alterations to the designs as he downloaded everything. A while later, one of the Conquerers walked in and stopped just in front of the table, plugging in as it uploaded information to the Overlord as it was reporting everything it had observed.
"Unknown entities are classified as Heartless." The Conquerer said. "Creatures creates from darkness and destroying any and all organic individual with a heart, taking the heart to create more of its own."
"Confirmed." The Overlord said. "Entities are after pieces of a powerful individual heart to bring back for their masters and to use. Must not be allowed to acquire any Heart Pieces. We must acquire them and use them for our own purpose."
"What is the purpose of acquire the Heart Pieces?" The Conquerers asked.
"Eggman was a fool, his plans for the pieces meager and of no use to anyone." Overlord replied. "He never saw the big picture, which is to take over all the worlds and squash any and all opposition." He then turned to the Conquerer and levitated over to him, stopping just short of the war machine. "I have analyzed and discovered the needed frequencies to traverse across all the worlds without damaging the barriers between worlds, but to traverse to other worlds beyond what we know, we need more of the Heart Pieces."
"Shall I prepare the invasion forces and acquire all the pieces?" The Conquerer asked.
"Negative." Overlord replied. "There are three other parties out there trying to acquire the pieces as well. We will bid our time and wait. Let them come to us with all the pieces. In the mean time, terminate all resistance on this world, robots, Heartless, all resistance. What is the status of Dr. Robotnick, does he still function?"
"Affirmative." The Conquerer replied. "He still functions, however, he will not last long without medical supervision as his assistants have indicated he will need."
"Confirmed, give him any and all medical care he requires." Overlord said. "And what is the status of this 'meddlesome' hedgehog? What is his location?"
"Unknown." The Conquerer replied. "He along with three others are currently missing. Scans indicate that he is no longer within this world."
"Error, he must be found immediately!" Overlord said. "He is a focal point, meaning without him, this world will freeze, time will stop and everything will go dark, the world collapsing into nothingness. Locate and return Sonic the Hedgehog to this world. The others are not necessary."
"Confirmed." The Conquerer replied. "I shall prepare several scouting parties to locate and capture Sonic the Hedgehog immediately."
The Conquerer turned and walked out of the room, the Overlord returning to the console and plugged himself back into it, observing the world to see it's status while also scanning beyond their world and into other worlds to locate the missing hedgehog. However, in the rifts between worlds, Sonic and his friends were falling through a wormhole created by the Heart Piece from the machine, the container falling with them as they held onto the massive capsule as they fell through the wormhole.
"Well this is a fine mess you got us in this time Sonic!" Knuckled shouted. "How are we getting out of this one!?"
"Hey, don't put this on me!" Sonic replied. "All I did was destroy that machine and then we ended up here! And what the heck are these glowing lights?"
"The Heart Pieces." Psyrox replied. "They hold incredible power if used correctly, but deviating power if used incorrectly."
"So what do we do with them?" Tails asked. "And how do we get out of this?"
"Relax, I can get us back." Psyrox said, holding his hand up as a corridor opened. Once we go through that corridor, we'll be back at your home and-"
They then heard someone yelling as they fell through the wormhole, looking to see who it was that was falling through and seeing something purple flying towards them, landing on the pod and holding on for dear life, looking over and seeing the group as they got a look at him, seeing he was a baby purple dragon with no wings and green spikes.
"Who the heck are all of you!?" The dragon asked.
"That's what we wanted to ask you." Sonic said. "Who are you and what's going on!?"
"How should I know what's going on!?" The dragon replied. "I was just minding my own business when I got sucked into this portal and-"
"Look!" Tails shouted. They all looked to see what he saw and found that there was four separate paths ahead of them, including the rift Psyrox opened, making five separate pathways for them. "What will we do now!?"
"We don't panic." Psyrox replied. "As long as we're all on this container, we should be ok. We should steer it towards the rift and-"
Before he could finish his sentence, the container glowed red as it shook violently, causing them all to hold onto it as best as they could before a bolt of lightning hit the container, throwing everyone into a random wormhole and falling through it, Knuckled going into the one on the far left and he was still holding onto the container, falling through as a bright light forced him to cover his eyes, opening them again when the light died down and saw he was in a new world, finding himself at the gates of a massive coliseum, statures of heroes next to the door crossing swords as white marble and golden decorations, starring at it in wonder and surprise as he looked around to see where he was at.
"Where in the world am I?" Knuckles asked.
Back on the Harmony, the ship had just come out of warp space and was now approaching the Olympus Coliseum, the large Greek structure on top of the world with the Underdrome underneath the Coliseum, everyone fascinated by how it looked as they made their way towards the world.
"Wow, awesome!" Rainbow Dash said. "Which world is this?"
"This is the Olympus Coliseum." May replied. "It;s where warriors from all the worlds come together to compete and see who's the strongest, bravest, and most heroic person in the all the worlds. Sora and Spyro come here from time to time to practice and train, heck they even face off against Hades one time in the underworld and beat him."
"You mean the god of the underworld?" Twilight asked. "I actually met him before when Spyro and I were returning Cerberus to Tartarus."
"Well you got lucky then." May said. "Cerberus doesn't like anyone but Hades and Persephone, Hade's wife and the goddess of nature."
"Yeah, yeah, thanks for the lesson, now let's get down there and find that Heart Piece!" Rainbow Dash said. "Twilight, what does the book say?"
Twilight took the book out and immediately turned it to the end of the sixth chapter, the chapter title appearing before the image of the world appeared.
"Chapter seven: Heart of the Hero." Twilight said, the next riddle appearing. "A difficult choice between what you seek, or the life of a friend, for you must choose the path you will take in the end. At the pit of death, where all the dying souls will gather and flow, it is there you will choose what you must let go. Pieces of the heart gather in a single spot like a hive for it is here you will either acquire one or... five!?"
"Wait, there are five Heart Pieces here!?" Scootaloo exclaimed, everyone shocked and surprised.
"It appears so." Twilight replied, rereading the riddle.
"So... that means... if we find where the Heart Pieces are hiding, then that means instead of one we can get five?" Luna asked, which Twilight nodded her head. "Huzzah! The let us make haste and gather the pieces of Spyro's Heart!"
"Hold on princess, it's not going to be that simple." Twilight replied. "The riddle says there is a choice that must be made between a friend and our objective, which one we choose to save or to get."
"But what does it mean by a pit of death?" Shining Armor asked. "Surely it can't mean someone's actually going to die, right?"
"Let's hope not." Fluttershy replied. "We already lost a couple of friends and Spyro, I can't bear to loose another one."
"Don't worry Fluttershy, that won't happen." Twilight replied, hugging her. "So who's going down this time?"
"Actually, we're all going down." May replied, surprising them. "I might be the pilot, but I'm also a warrior. Plus I know everyone down there, so I think I should be present for this mission."
She flipped a few switches and then a second later, turned her seat and walked over to the ponies, who all gathered in the center of the cockpit before she raised her Keyblade and multiple orbs of light shot out of her blade, circling around them as a single massive golden ball of light enveloped them, shooting towards the world. On the surface, Knuckles was looking around, trying to get a feel for the new environment he was in when he saw the doors open, hiding behind a pillar as he saw a satyr and a human wearing brown leather armor, a head band, and had a sword strapped to his side walk out, doing his best to stay out of sight.
"I'm telling you Herc, this is going to be one of the greatest events ever!" The satyr said. "I mean, we got lucky to have found that thing in the middle of the arena."
"You mean it fell from the sky Phil?" The man asked, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Hercules." Phil replied. "Anyway, we're going to need more contestants if we're going to get this tournament underway. And from what I'm seeing, we're going to need some more muscle, otherwise we're going to have to postpone the fight."
A moment later, they looked up and saw the massive ball of light coming from the sky, both Hercules and Phil watching as it landed before the light disappeared, revealing the ponies and May in the middle of the entryway, which Phil didn't look too pleased about.
"Hey, hey, hey, what do you think you're doing!?" Phil exclaimed, getting the Ponies attention. "You can't just fly in here without-"
He then stoped talking when he saw May, the Keyblade bearer turning to look at them as she gave them a half-hearted smile, Phil's and Hercules jaws dropping when they saw her.
"Hey Phil, long time no see." May said, smiling at him.
"MAY!" Phill shouted, running to her and jumping up, which May caught and hugged him. "I can't believe my eyes! You're alive!"
"May!" Hercules said, running over and hugging her, lifting them both up. "By the gods of Olympus, you're back!"
"Good to be back." May said, Hercules putting her down and she put Phil down. "How have you two been doing? Keeping Hades in line?"
"You know it." Hercules replied. "I also heard that Spyro paid him a visit a while ago returning Cerberus back to the Underworld."
"That's right, we did do that." Twilight said, seeing how calm they were. "You don't seem surprised to see a talking unicorn."
"Believe me, I've seen stranger." Hercules replied. "I'm Hercules. Herc for short and this is Philip. He trains hero's like myself, Sora, and Spyro."
"Spyro trained with this guy?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Of course he did!" Philip replied, walking up to her. "I trained all greats, including Spyro, and believe me, that guy knows how to fight. So tell me May, what brings you here to the Coliseum?"
"Well, it's Spyro." May replied, making Phil worry. "His heart's been scattered."
"What?" Phil asked. "How? I thought nothing could take him down."
"Well almost nothing." Cadence replied. "He sacrificed himself to save me from loosing my heart on my wedding day. His heart is scattered and we're trying to find the pieces."
"Gee, that's awful." Phil said. "How can we help?"
"Well, we're trying to find the Heart Pieces." Rainbow Dash replied. "And you're not going to believe it, but five of them are here in this place!"
"Five!?" Phil asked. "Yeesh, that's a lot. Do you know where exactly they are at?"
"No idea partner." Applejack replied. "All we know is they're here and they appear as lights with a dragons head and a triangle behind it."
"Wait, did you just say dragon's head with a triangle?" Phil asked, Applejack nodding her head. "Well shoot, you came to the right place. We got them already."
"You do!?" Pinkie asked excitedly. "Where!? Where!?"
"They're in the Coliseum right now in a big glass container." Phil replied. "We found it in the middle of the Coliseum this morning."
"Well let's go get it then!" Rarity said. "Surely, you can allow us in for a moment to get the pieces, couldn't you?"
"Sorry lady, no can do." Phil replied, shocking her. "You see, we found it and it's going to be the first prize for the Hero's Cup tournament coming up in a little while."
"Well, is there a chance for us to participate?" Twilight asked. "It's important we get the Heart Pieces."
"Well, I might be able to squeeze a few of you in with May, make you guys a team." Phil replied. "But only four, no more than that."
"I'll do it." Twilight said.
"Twilight, no!" Shining Armor said.
"Shining, it's the only way to get the pieces." Twilight replied.
"I'll also join." Rainbow Dash said. "Nothing is going to stop me from bringing Spyro back."
"Got room for one more?" Knuckles asked, coming out from behind the pillar.
As soon as he walked out from behind the pillar, Fluttershy's eyes lit up as she saw the Echidna, wanting to hug him, but he crossed his arms, a warning for her not to even think about it.
"Geez where did you come from?" Phil asked. "And who the heck are you?"
"I'm Knuckles." He replied. "Knuckles the Echidna."
"Well, it's nice to meet you Knuckles." Twilight said. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. And these are my friends Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, my big brother Shining Armor, and the fillies, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Oh and this is May."
"Hi new friend!" Pinkie exclaimed.
Knuckles looked between everyone, finding that most of them were only ponies before looking to the satyr and the human.
"So, how does this competition work exactly?" Knuckles asked.
"Not very social is he?" Rarity whispered to everyone.
"Well, the tournament consists of ten teams, with you guys starting at the bottom." Phil answered. "All you got to do is defeat the enemy in each round to advance. At the final round, you will face the strongest enemy there and if you win, you'll be crowned champions."
"Well what are we waiting for!?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Let's do it!"
"Not so fast there short stuff!" Phil said. "Before I let you go and fight in the arena, I need to see what you got and if you can handle yourselves as this is not some little kids playground you're going to, this is serious."
"Seriously!?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We've taken on dozens to hundreds of Heartless and Nobodies, we are serious."
"Yeah, I'll be the judge of that." Phil replied. "Come on."
Phil turned and started walking to the stadium, Hercules following close behind while, Rainbow Dash looking annoyed before flying over to the stadium while everyone else walked, following the satyr and the hero into the stadium to show Phil they have what it takes to participate in the tournament. Meanwhile, in the Underworld, Hades was going over all the prisoners in Tartarus, marking down who was there and making sure no one escaped and had reached the final corridor, pausing where he was before rubbing the space between his eyes.
"If you wanted a tour of the prison, you could have called ahead." Hades said, turning to see Maleficent.
"Hades, it's been a long time." Maleficent said.
"Not long enough." Hades retorted. "What do you want now?"
"Why I just wanted to have a friendly chat." Maleficent replied. "And to employ the services of one of your prisoners."
"Saw that coming." Hades replied, walking down the corridor and checking the cells. "Sorry Maleficent, I can't help you. I'm can't allow any of these prisoners out."
"You allowed Auron out to destroy Hercules, why not do the same with another prisoner?" Maleficent asked.
"You just answered your own question toots." Hades replied. "Auron was a mistake, unpredictable, and very, very ill mannered. Learn that lesson long ago. Not making that mistake again."
"What if I were to tell you that the first prize for the upcoming tournament had a certain princes heart?" Maleficent asked, peaking Hades attention.
"Say what now?" Hades asked.
"Spyro was defeated some time ago, but his heart was never claimed by the Heartless." Maleficent replied. "It's been scattered into twelve pieces, five of which are here."
"Five you say?" Hades asked. "Hmm, now you got my attention sister. What is it you want exactly?"
"I need one of your most deadliest prisoners to win the competition and claim the prize." Maleficent replied. "If he succeeds, I will give you one of the Heart pieces, which should be more than enough to defeat the fool Hercules and your high and mighty brother all together. So, do we have a deal?"
Hades scratched his chin a bit, thinking over a bit as he cracked a smile, having an idea for what he could do with the Heart Piece as he started laughing, his laughter echoing through the entire hallway they were standing in, turning to Maleficent.
"My dear Maleficent, you got yourself a deal." Hades replied. "And I think I have the perfect man for the job. One who's vile and evil enough to get the job done!" He waved his hand and a dark portal opened in front of them, hearing heavy footsteps as a shadowy hand reached out, grabbing them rim of the portal before pulling himself out, a massive figure wearing black armor with gold rims, long horns and glowing yellow and red eyes, looking down at Hades and Maleficent, the dark fairy gazing up at him in awe and surprise. "Meet Raogrimm, a.k.a, The Shadow Lord."
"Why am I here?" The Shadow Lord asked. "Where am I? And who dares to summon me?"
"Why you have me to thank for your release." Hades replied. "You see, the last fight you were in destroyed your body, causing permanent death. However, I, Hades, Lord of the Underworld, have revived you for one simple task."
"And what task is that, little god?" The Shadow Lord asked.
"Well, your past deeds indicate you hate all humans and human-like creatures, so I need you to participate in a little tournament, one in which has a special little prize that I believe we could benefit from. All you need to do is do what you're good at, killing! And if you can destroy wonderboy, known by everyone else as Hercules. You destroy him and I'll send you back to your home where you can rebuild your tomb and you can destroy and kill to your little black hearts contempt."
The Shadow Lord looked down at Hades and then to Maleficent, a dark smile appearing on his face as he heard the offer, laughing like how Hades did as his laughter echoed throughout the entire prison, many of the prisoners there backing away in fear or cowering in a corner to try and put distance between them and the Shadow Lord. Up in the stadium, Phil had set up a small challenge for the four of them to destroy some pots within a given amount of time, though May was rusty, she managed to pass using her water magic, summoning tendrils of flowing water and using her Keyblade to smack some of the pots into more, destroying them. Twilight however used her magic by teleporting around the arena, striking some barrels and knocking them into more barrels it smash them, charging up the magic in her horn to blast a six stack before hopping down. Knuckles however had no issue with smashing some barrels, lifting them and throwing them into a pile of barrels before leaping up and smashing the ground and more of the barrels.
Rainbow Dash was also having no issue with smashing pots and barrels, zipping around the entire field and slashing through the barrels, tiny wood fragments flying everywhere along with terracotta lying on the ground as she flew, going high into the sky before turning around and flying down, going as fast as she could before she shot forward, creating a ring of color as she used her Sonic Rainboom, going down quickly and slamming into the ground, creating a mushroom cloud that sent a shockwave of energy outward that pushed all of the barrels and pots into the wall, smashing them all at once as she got up, seeing stars but she shook her head, clearing it.
"Wow, won't be doing that again." Rainbow Dash said.
"Wow, that was totally amazing!" Pinkie shouted.
"I must say, I never knew the Sonic Rainboom had that much power." Luna said.
"Well however she did it, it was awesome!" Scootaloo said.
"Well I gotta say, you're all not half bad." Phil said. "Though you've gotten a little sloppy there May and knuckles here's got some promise. As for you and Twilight, you also got some promise. Tell me, who trained you to use that thing?"
"Spyro did." Twilight replied. "He taught us enough to stand a fighting chance against the Heartless."
"Well now that's something I didn't expect to hear." Phil said. "Though, you can never really tell with that guy what's going to happen now can ya?"
"So, do we get to participate in the tournament?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well, it's meant for heroes only." Phil replied. "But in this case I can make an exception. After all, if it means bringing our friend back, then I'll do whatever I can to help."
"Alright!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Then let's get in there and do some damage!"
"Not so fast there Pegasus." Phil replied, making her fall to the ground. "You might be in, but that doesn't mean that the tournament will be easy. This tournament has some real nasty opponents, and one of them looks pretty mean by the looks of it."
"What do you mean by mean?" May asked.
"I mean he looks like a real baddie to me." Phil replied. "And he's huge. Not like giant-sized huge, but he's definitely big enough to give you some problems."
"What's his name?" Twilight asked.
"He didn't give me one." Phil replied. "All he told me was he wanted to join and that it wasn't request. Said he wanted a chance to fight Hercules."
"Well do we get to meet him?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yeah, sure." Phil replied. "If you all get that far in the tournament. And the guy's packing some serious magic, like he incinerated the practice courses in record time and I do mean incinerated."
"Is there anything you can tell us about this guy?" Knuckles asked.
"Yeah, guys got horns, has a giant sword, and he is producing so much darkness, it ain't even funny." Phil replied. "My advice, be quick on your feet and don't let this guy hit you, no matter what. His sword looks like it could split you in two." A moment later, the horn sounded to let them know the match was about to begin. "Ah, that's the horn. Good luck guys. I'll be rooting for you."
Everyone on the practice field left to give Phil time to clean the place up and remove all the obstacles with Hercules help, making sure everything was perfect for the tournament. Meanwhile in Equestria, in the deepest part of the Everfree, Midnight was trying to get her master to appear in the mirror, but was having little luck as there was something interfering with the signal while Aphara was sitting there, drawing images in the dirt before looking up at Midnight, grumbling before getting up.
"You need help with that thing?" Aphara asked. "Do you need me to go find a magic mirror for you to talk to?"
"No thanks, got one of those already." Midnight replied, confusing the dragoness. "Aha, got it!"
A moment later, the mirror started to glow as the magic in it activated, revealing the Dark Overlord was looking at them, though the image was faint and the signal was weak, but from what they were seeing, they could tell he was worried.
"Midnight, we have a serious problem." The Dark Overlord said.
"My lord, what is the problem?" Midnight asked.
"The Prince lost his heart, the Timeline is falling apart, everything is changing." The Dark Overlord replied. "The prince must be resurrected and the timeline restored to its original state. May must fall, so I need you to go after her."
"But my lord, we do not know where she is at." Midnight pointed out. "Even if I did know, I have no means of traveling to her location."
"But I know where she is at." The Dark Overlord replied. "A majority of the Heart Pieces are all gathered in a single world; The Olympus Coliseum. As for travel, there is a passage into the Olympus Coliseum through Tartarus, for it connects to all of the worlds."
"Wow, convenient." Aphara said.
"Midnight, go to the Olympus Coliseum and destroy May, collect the Heart Pieces, and resurrect the prince." The Dark Overlord said. "And do not fail me Midnight, otherwise I will replace you with another."
The signal to the Overlord was lost, the message ending as Midnight walked out of the cave followed by Aphara as they looked out into the dark forest.
"Seems your master isn't too pleased with you." Aphara said.
"He's never pleased." Midnight replied. "Especially with me. He took me in when I was ten, taught me everything I know, he's basically my father. And when his new wife came along, it all changed when he got his wife pregnant, now I constantly prove myself to show him I'm worthy of being within his inner circle."
"So what will happen if you fail?" Aphara asked.
"I will be punished by my master and possibly replaced." Midnight replied. "Which is why I must not fail. I am going to the Olympus Coliseum to and destroy May while you keep Rosy Hearts busy as I don't want her to find out what I'm up to."
Midnight walked out of the cave, leaving Aphara behind to fly off, but a second later, the mirror activated, which got Aphara's attention as she turned around to see the Dark Overlord reactivating the mirror.
"Aphara, wait." The Dark Overlord said. "I have something else in mind for you."
"What do you mean?" Aphara asked. "Midnight needs me to keep Rosy Hearts busy."
"Well I have need of you elsewhere." The Dark Overlord replied. "I need you to go to a very special world, one in which has many dragons, and help a certain dragon where one of his former follower failed."
Back at the Olympus Coliseum, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Knuckles and May were waiting in their main foyer waiting to go out to face their opponents, Twilight going over the roster to see who they were fighting first while Knuckles busied himself with punching the wall, keeping himself fired up for when they were called to fight, but was secretly worried about his friends, wondering where they were and if they were ok. May however was calm and collected, her blade out and sharpening it to make sure it was ready for the enemy while Rainbow Dash was cheering for herself, boosting up her confidence while they waited.
"Hey, mind cutting the chatter a bit?" Knuckles asked. "Trying to focus here."
"Oh yeah, sure, like punching a walls going to help you win." Rainbow Dash replied.
"I'm trying to keep myself fired up for when we fight." Knuckles said, punching the wall. "Unlike you, who seems to have just as big of an ego as a certain blue hedgehog I know."
"Hey, I'm doing this for somepony we care about!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, sounding like a shout. "The main prize is five pieces of his heart, so we're going to compete and claim those pieces!"
"Wait, what do you mean pieces of a heart?" Knuckles asked.
"Spyro's heart was scattered into twelve pieces back in our home." Twilight replied. "Princess Cadence was marrying my brother, but she was trapped in a crystal mine and nearly married an imposter. When it was over, Spyro saved my soon to be sister-in-law from loosing her heart, loosing his."
"And to prevent it from being taken by the Heartless, Rosy Hearts scattered it." May added.
"Why scatter it?" Knuckles asked. "Wouldn't it be easier to just get it while it was whole?"
"Well, it was Spyro's request." Twilight answered, confusing the Echidna. "He warned Rosy Hearts to scatter his heart as a plan to become stronger, which we believe didn't work, so now we're going to other worlds to collect the pieces and bring him back."
"And since this world has five of them, if we get them, we're even closer to bringing him back!" Rainbow Dash replied, looking at her ring. "We're so close now, we can taste it."
A moment later, there was a gong and the group looked to the door, finding that Phil was walking in with a smile on his face.
"Alright you guys, you're up next." Phil said. "Be ready because these guys won't go easy on you."
"So who are we up against?" May asked.
"You're up against the Dark Knights." Phil replied. "And don't get me wrong, they're going to be the easiest ones you're going to be fighting."
"I should say so." Twilight replied. "They consist of five Soldiers and five Armored Knights."
"Pfft, those guys?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We've taken on lots of those guys, this will be cake."
"Yeah, you say that now, but just wait, it's only going to get tougher." Phil replied. "As I said, these guys are the easiest, so that means you're going to need to save your strength for the tougher matches."
"Phils right." Twilight said. "The next match after this, we're facing another team who call themselves the Big Boys. They're composed of three Large Bodies and a few Green Requiems."
"Oh boy, that's going to be a difficult fight." Rainbow Dash said. "Best save your magic for those guys."
"So you faced these things before?" Knuckles asked.
"Oh, we faced them many times." Rainbow Dash replied. "The Soldiers are pretty easy. Armored Knights, that's another story."
"It won't be an issue." May said, getting up. "You've handled worse, you can handle this. For Spyro."
"For Spyro." Twilight replied.
"For Spyro." Rainbow Dash said.
Knuckles looked to all of them, seeing how determined they were to get their friend back and smiled, reminding him of Sonic and how he would fight for his friends. They followed the satyr outside onto the battlefield arena, a barrier rising up around them right as the Soldiers and Knights appeared from the void, all of them glaring at the group right as Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and May called their Keyblades as the Soldiers leapt at them. Twilight blocked a couple of them before throwing them back, deflecting a third before slashing through it, destroying it in a single slash. Rainbow Dash flew up into the air to gain altitude and dove down, diving into a group of three Armored Knights and spinning around, slicing through them before taking off again, flying up right as Knuckles punch clean through an Armored Knight, causing it to disintegrate into black dust before grabbing the blade of another knight, struggling to stay on both feet as the Heartless pushed down on the Echidna, forcing him to take a knee to avoid being harmed.
May saw Knuckles was struggling and raised her Keyblade and a moment later, a torrent of water shot out and slammed into the Armored Knight, knocking it into the barrier and destroying it before using Strike Raid and cutting through three of the Soldiers, leaving only one of each, Which Rainbow Dash cut through them both, ending the fight and landing on the ground.
"Ha, that wasn't so difficult!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"You say that now, but here comes the next match." May replied.
The horns sounded and from the void, three Large Bodies appeared and above them, six Green Requiems appeared, which they already began healing the Large Bodies while Rainbow Dash flew up and struck one in the back, but the injury was healed immediately frustrating the rainbow maned Pegasus.
"Rainbow Dash, focus on the Requiems!" May called out. "Get rid of them!"
"On it!" Rainbow Dash replied.
She then flew around and struck each of the Requiems one at a time, cutting through them without any kind of issue before flying up, watching as Twilight teleported around the Large Body and using a combination of spells and slashed, getting it to glow and activate rage mode, charging at Twilight, but she used the Blizzard spell and took it out, causing it to release it's heart. May however wasn't having that issue as she faced them before, so she knew what to do, waiting for the Large Body she was facing to charge her, so she jumped out of the way and caused it to run into the barrier, knocking it down before dashing straight through it, cutting right through it. Knuckles however tried to punch the last Large Body head on, but he bounced off the large Heartless, falling to the ground while the Large Body looked pleased with itself, towering over the Echidna, but Rainbow Dash flew down and slashed it's back, causing it to stagger before May finished it with a single Thunder spell, destroying it.
"You ok there pal?" Rainbow Dash asked, extending a hoof.
"Yeah, I am." Knuckles replied, taking the hoof and allowing Rainbow Dash to help him up. "Thanks for the save."
"No problem." Rainbow Dash said. "Guess they weren't so tough."
"Maybe, but it's only going to get harder." May said. "Be ready, the next rounds about to begin."
They looked to the opposite side and there appeared to be to be several Air Soldiers along with some Sky Pirates flew from the air, attempting to take Rainbow Dash down, but she just smiled, flying around them while slashing through the Pirates, out maneuvering them while May and Twilight used their magic to launch projectiles at the airborne enemies, knocking a few of them down before leaping up and slicing through them, finishing the fight quickly as the Heartless fell as fast as they came in. On the other side of the arena, behind the bars, Hades and Maleficent were watching the fight and the lord of the underworld was scratching his chin, observing the team as the Shadow Lord watched.
"Those ponies aren't half bad." Hades said. "Decent teamwork. Guess the prince wasn't kidding when he said there were more of those key wielding misfits."
"They're nothing more than a nuisance." Maleficent said. "They are still new to using a Keyblade, so they aren't too much trouble to fight."
"I was not summoned to fight a bunch of animals." The Shadow Lord said. "I was called to fight Hercules. Where is he?"
"Don't worry, he's your match in the middle of the tournament." Hades replied. "And believe me, he's much tougher than these kids. He's strong and he's tough. He has this godly aura that makes him invulnerable while active, but he has two weaknesses. Megara, his little girlfriend, and his arrogance. He prides himself on being the perfect hero, with a little bit of showing off to go with it. When he's flexing, hit him hard, that will cause his invulnerability to disappear for a short time, but make sure to hit him really, really hard. I want him dead! Do this, and win the tournament, and you have a one way ticket back home."
"You better hold true to your promise hothead." The Shadow Lord replied, turning from him. "Because if you don't, not even your immortality can save you."
The Shadow lord then walked away from the god of the dead, leaving the two of them alone while Hades picked his ear, tossing a burning coal away.
"Geez, what a stiff." Hades said. "And what a rap sheet too. Almost feel bad for wonder boy. Almost."
"He had better win, otherwise I'll take matters into my own hands." Maleficent said.
"Don't worry, this guys good for it." Hades said. "Just make sure you uphold your end of the bargain when this is over."
"Don't worry, you'll get your Piece of the princes heart." Maleficent said. "Once this is over and if your warrior can deliver on his word."
Hades smiled to himself, laughing as well as he walked away, but as he walked away, he looked back at Maleficent and then to the Keyblade warriors, a dark smile appearing on his face as he walked away. In the ring, May and her allies were prepared for another fight, this time it was against a Battleship supported by Red Nocturnes and Search Ghosts, which the Nocturnes were more annoying than the Search Ghosts, though the ghosts were equally as annoying whenever they disappeared and reappeared in a random spot, usually behind someone to get a sneak attack in, but May's use of water magic limited the Nocturnes fire abilities, blocking the attacks and sending out tendrils of water, drenching the Nocturnes before they exploded, disappearing to dust right as the ghosts tried to attack May, but Knuckles and Twilight punched and cut through them, keeping them away from May while Rainbow Dash handled the Battleship, taking out it's mass to cripple it before cutting off it's cannons to weaken it's ability to fight back, cutting clean through the hull of the ship and destroying it before flying down and striking one of the ghosts and destroying it before twilight used a large pulse of magic to destroy the last of the ghosts that reappeared, winning the round.
"Well, that was a little tougher than the last three rounds." Rainbow Dash said.
"Thankfully, we can take a break now." May said. "The next match is Hercules against..."
She then froze when she saw the title of Hercules opponent, her entire body turning pale as she recognized the on the scroll that Twilight had, staggering into the wall and sliding down it.
"Hey, hey, don't wig out on us now May." Rainbow Dash said.
"May, what's wrong?" Twilight asked. "Is something the matter?"
"The Shadow Lord." May said, her voice sounding like a whisper as they heard fear mixed in it. "It can't be."
"Well, wish me luck guys." Hercules said. "I'm up against this Shadow Lord."
"Hercules, wait!" May said, grabbing his arm. "The Shadow Lord, you can't take him on your own."
"Relax May, I can handle this." Hercules said. "Besides, one guy is no match for me."
"He's not a man or a beast." May replied, Hercules finally seeing the fear in her eyes. "He's the bitter spirit of a Galka warrior, his name is Raogrimm and he rallied the Beastmen, creating a massive army to attack the forces on Vana'diel, bringing forth the Crystal War. He's nothing but pure evil. Please... be careful."
Hercules turned to the opposing side and saw a massive horn being wearing black armor with gold trimming carrying a massive blade, glaring down at the demigod as he cracked his neck as he got ready for a fight.
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind." Hercules said, walking onto the ring.
As the barrier rose up in the ring, Hercules approached the massive being, which he was about three times Hercules size with glowing red eyes and a blade big enough and sharp enough o cut straight through several tons of sheet metal.
"So, you're Hercules?" The Shadow Lord asked. "Huh, not so impressive up close. Wonder why they call you wonder boy?"
"Probably because I'm the greatest hero in all of Thebes." Hercules replied. "I've taken down many monsters before facing you, this will be easy."
"I wouldn't be so sure, little hero." The Shadow Lord replied.
Hercules threw the first punch, hitting the leg and knocking the Shadow Lord to his knees, which a golden aura surrounded the demigod as he yanked the Shadow Lord down and punched him in the head, knocking him down as he covered himself, blocking access to his head as Hercules flexed.
"That all you got?" Hercules asked.
He got his answer when the Shadow Lord backhanded Hercules, nocking him into the air and hitting the pillar holding the barrier hard, sliding down in a daze as he looked to be out cold, shocking everyone as he got up, walking over to the hero as he tried to get up, but he was then grabbed by the neck, picking him up as Hercules choked to get air, clawing at the evil spirit as he tried to free himself right as the Shadow Lord raised his blade to plunge into him to end the fight.
"Pity." The Shadow lord said. "I was hoping for a challenge."
"HERC!" Phil shouted.
"Phil, lower the barrier!" May shouted.
Phil did so, the barrier lowering as May leapt into the arena, catching the Shadow Lord by surprise as he let go of Hercules, but failed to block Mays attack as she slashed him across the chest, making him yell in pain and surprise as he staggered backwards, holding his chest before looking at the damage, looking back to May as she stood in front of her friend, her Keyblade raised as she glared at the dark warrior.
"Intriguing." The Shadow Lord said, the damage to his armor repairing. "A weapon that can cut through my armor? Now you, my dear, hold promise. What's your name?"
"May." She replied. "May Springwell."
"Well then, May Springwell, you've peaked my interest." The Shadow Lord said, standing back up. "You seem to have a power inside of you. One that you seem too afraid to use. Tell me, how did it feel to use the darkness?"
"Stay away from her!" Twilight shouted, she, Rainbow Dash, and Knuckles standing before him.
"The way you talk, how you stand, and your look, you're from Vana'diel, aren't you?" The Shadow Lord asked.
"Radiant Garden." May replied.
"Ah, the royal palace." He replied. "Should have guessed. Your combat style is that of the elite guard. Now this, my dear, is what I've been seeking for in a challenge. When are we able to face one another in combat?"
"Once we reached the finals." May replied.
"Good." The Shadow Lord replied. "I expect to see you then. Take your wounded comrade and go. I expect you to be in the finals when we face each other."
The Shadow Lord laughed as he turned around and left, leaving the group standing in front of Hercules, making sure he was gone before turning and helping him up, getting him off the arena and to a place to fix him up, but on the other side, Hades looked completely horrified, looking at The Shadow Lord as the flames turned red.
"You complete, idiotic, backstabbing moron!" Hades shouted. "I told you to kill Hercules and you spare him!? WHY DID YOU SPARE HIM!?"
"Because he was no challenge to me... alone." The Shadow Lord replied, turning back. "But make no mistake, he'll want to even the score. And when he does, he'll have them help, this way I can fight them all at once and destroy them."
"FIGHT THEM ALL AT ONCE!?" Hades shouted. "WHY YOU SIMPLE MINDED..." He then stopped shouted, turned back to blue as he realized what he was doing. "Actually, that's not a half bad idea. I mean, you took wonder boy down in one hit, they should be cake."
"Precisely." The Shadow Lord replied. "Fear not, I shall keep my end of the bargain, but it'll be on my terms."
The Shadow Lord walked away, leaving Hades alone as he looked back to the group carrying Hercules back into the main foyer, smiling as he felt satisfied that his plan would work. Back in Equestria, Midnight Skies had reached the gates to Tartarus, seeing the massive steel doors in the side of a mountain, ready to go in when she heard someone come up behind her, turning her head to see Rosy Hearts, her new Keyblade out as she glared at Midnight.
"Hello Midnight." Rosy said.
"Rosy." Midngiht said, turning to face her as she called her blade. "What took you so long?"