Chapter 14: A Jealous Heart Part 1: Date Night
The next morning was far more peaceful than what it was for the last week as applebuck season had ended. Spyro was in the Gummi Garage checking on the ship and was pleased that it was finished, heading down to the hangar bay where the ships he makes are stored to check it out, finding the shiup waiting for him in the first hangar he came to. He marveled at how beautiful it was with the purple and yellow blocks shaping the dragons head and the cannons that were on top of the head, the back of it, and the front of the snout. He then entered the ship to see all the rooms inside it, finding the training room, storage bay, armory, and much more.
"Spyro! Ya'll in here!?" Applejack shouted. "Granny wants to speak with you!"
"Be up in a minute!" Spyro replied, walking it off the ship.
As he walked up the stairs and into the garages main room, he found Applejack looking refreshed and well rested after the whole apple season fiasco and all the trouble her insomnia caused. He saw her smile as she was feeling better after a good nights sleep, but he could also sense her excitement for their date tonight as she seemed most excited for it. The two of them walked towards the farm house where Granny Smith was waiting for them at the front door, rocking in her rocking chair as she waited for them to come, but when she did see the two of them walk up, she got up and went back into the house, her bones creaking as she walked.
"So, what does Granny Smith want to see me about?" Spyro asked.
"Got me." Applejack replied. "Said it was somethin' about tonight."
"Must be about our date tonight then." Spyro said. "Must want to threaten me again to take care of you again or she'll skin me alive."
"Maybe." Applejack said. "Anyway, ya'll should speak with her. Ah'm headin' into town as Granny Smith wants me to pick up the weather schedule for this week."
Applejack turned and left for town, heading to get the weather schedule while Spyro went in to talk with Granny Smith to see what she wants to talk to him about. As he walked in, he saw her flipping through an old photo album in the living room, smiling at some of the pictures in it, possibly remembering some of the good old times she had and some of the fun she had with her grand kids. She looked up from the photos and saw Spyro walking in, closing the book.
"AJ said you wanted to see me Granny Smith?" Spyro asked.
"Eh, yes Ah do sonny boy." Granny Smith said. "Ah wanted to talk to ya about tonight."
She got up from her chair and walked over to him, creaking as she went. She then pulled his head down so the two of them could see more eye to eye and he could see in her eyes joy, but also worry.
"Ya'll did a good job protecting my little Apple Fritter when ya'll went into the Everfree." She said, clearly not being told about Applejacks sacrifice. "That means Ah know ya'll protect her with yer life. But let me warn ya this once." She bit his head and pulled it down like a mother does to a very disrespectful child who doesn't listen or wants to drag them away. "If ya end up breaking her heart, Ah'll break yer legs, royalty or not, no pony will ever hurt may family. We clear on that?"
"Totally." Spyro said, feeling more scared than he did the first time he was threatened by the old farm mare.
She let him go and went back to her rocking chair, letting Spyro rub hit ear from the tug the old mare gave it. He then left the house and returned to the Gummi Garage, eager to test the ship out, but when he got there he found someone out Apple Bloom playing near it with a ball, playing catch with one of the mechanical arm sets. He walked past the filly, smiling at seeing how much fun she was having and returned to the hangers, walking back into the ship and into the cockpit. He sat in his seat and powered the ship up, letting the engines warm up before it was pulled from the hanger and up into the main garage, where Apple Bloom watched as the floor inside opened up and Spyro's ship was pushed up, starring in awe at the vessel itself.
"Engines online." AIVA said. "Power cores 1 through 5 online. Weapons online. Shields at full power. All systems online."
"Good to have you back AIVA." Spyro said, swiping the screen. "I'd like to take the new ship out for a test fly before Applejack gets back."
"ERROR." AIVA said. "Unable to identify 'Applejack.' Please clarify."
"Oh boy do I have a lot to tell you." Spyro said, taking the controls. "For now, let's get this bird into the air."
Back in town, Applejack was going through the market looking at the different stalls to see everything that was available while also looking for Rainbow Dash to get the weather schedule from her for next week. As she did, she looked up and saw something massive pass through the clouds and go higher into the sky, knowing it was probably Spyro as he just finished his ship. A minute later, Rainbow Dash came flying down and landed on the ground, seeing Applejack and walking over to her.
"Yo AJ." Rainbow Dash said. "Did you see that thing that flew into the air?"
"Sure did." Applejack said. "Ah believe it's Spyro's new ship."
"Ship?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Wait, what do you mean by ship?"
"Spyro has this Gummi Garage that allows him to build ships to go between worlds." Applejack replied. "He built himself a new ship to take me to dinner."
As soon as she said Spyro was taking her to dinner, Rainbow Dash was shocked to hear it, but also smirked a minute later as she was happy for her friend.
"So, where is he taking you?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Someplace called Twilight Town." Applejack replied. "Said it has the best restaurant out there."
"Well you certainly got lucky there farm girl!" Rainbow Dash said. "Anyway, going to get something fancy to wear?"
"Already got it." Applejack replied. "Spyro got it for me. Granny sent me to get the weather schedule for this up coming week."
"Oh yeah, sure thing." Rainbow Dash said, flying off to get it.
While Applejack waited for her to come back with the schedule, she saw somepony she never seen before at one of the stalls wearing a black trench coat, looking at some of the beautiful flowers at the flower stall. He was a red unicorn stallion with a pink mane and yellow eyes, which Applejack found unsettling after seeing Spyro get angry. He walked over with a bouquet of red roses, holding them in a red aura, and presented them to her, smiling as he did.
"A gift, from a friend." He said.
Applejack took them immediately and sniffed them, finding the aroma to be pleasant and refreshing to her.
"Aw, Spyro is just spoiling me at this point." Applejack said, admiring the flowers.
"I believe he said, nothing is too good for the mare I love." The stallion said, smiling. "He said that he can't wait for tonight."
"Nor can Ah." Applejack said, returning her attention to the new comer. "Ah haven't seen ya around town before. Ya'll new here?"
"Just arrived not too long ago." The mystery pony said. "I'm an old friend of his and I owed him a favor, so I wanted to do this for him."
He turned around and started walking away, leaving Applejack behind holding the roses. A moment later, Rainbow Dash returned with the weather schedule, but noticed the flowers she was holding and smiled.
"Man, he's a hopeless romantic." Rainbow Dash said, landing next to Applejack. "Dudes literally spoiling you at this point."
"Ah know Rainbow Dash." Applejack said, tasking another whiff of the roses. "Anyway, better get back to the farm."
"AJ wait." Rainbow Dash said, flying in front of Applejack. "You forgot the schedule."
"Oh yeah." Applejack said, taking the schedule. "Thanks."
As she walked away, Rainbow Dash smirked and shook her head, still not believing that her friend Applejack, a hard working mare who worked most of the time without even taking a day off, was in love with someone from another world, let alone it being a prince. A little while later, Applejack returned home and went to the living room, where Granny Smith was sitting and looking in the photo album. When she heard the door open, she looked up and saw Applejack with the schedule and with a large bouquet of roses.
"Aw Applejack, did Spyro give those to you?" Granny Smith asked.
"He sure did." Applejack replied. "Aren't they lovely?"
"They are indeed." Granny Smith replied. "Why don't ya go and put them in the flower vase over there and I'll get ya some water for them."
As Granny Smith walked into the kitchen to get water while Applejack put the flowers in the vase, happy for the night to come. A moment later, she heard something outside and rushed out to see what it was, not noticing a single black rose mixed in with the rest of the bouquet. Out in the planets Atmosphere, Spyro was piloting his new ship, getting a feel for the new and improved model of his old ship, The Dragons Heart, and could not believe how much faster it was compared to his old ship. He looked through the map data he had and he was relieved to still have it and was telling AIVA all about his adventure so far in the new world and about his dinner plans.
"It is currently unadvisable to remove a resident of this world to take her to Twilight Town." AIVA said. "The probability it will disrupt the world order is 78 % probable."
"Yeah, if you were anyone else," Spyro replied, swiping the screen. "Besides, Applejack and my other friends already know about the other worlds. So it should be ok."
he then marked a course for the nebula he passed through and flew to it, making sure everything was clear and found nothing to be concerned about as it was all clear. Satisfied, he flew back to Equestria so that he can pick Applejack up when she got back, flying through the planet's atmosphere towards Sweet Apple Acres and landing just outside of the farm house, where Applejack came running out to see his ship followed by the rest of the apple family. When they all saw his ship, they were surprised to see such a vehicle, marveling at it, even though some of them have already seen its holographic projection in his garage. As it landed, the ramp lowered and Spyro walked out of it, walking towards the Apple Family.
"What do you think?" Spyro asked. "Looks better in person than it did as a hologram, huh?"
"Spyro it's amazing!" Applejack replied, starring at the massive vessel.
"Wow, that's awesome!" Rainbow Dash said.
They looked behind Spyro to see the rest of their friends come over to the farm to see what they were doing, but were stunned when they saw Gummi Ship, but Twilight was the most taken aback by it as she never saw something so advanced, yet so simple in her life. She walked up to it to examine the vessel while everyone else walked up to the two love birds as they were walking towards them,
"Seems like you two are all set." Rainbow Dash said, crossing her forelegs. "When you guys planning on leaving?"
"Anytime Applejack is ready." Spyro replied. "I got my royal garments in the ship, so whenever AJ's good to go, we can leave."
"Really?" Applejack asked. "Ah'll go get ready then."
"Let me help you AJ darling." Rarity said. "I'm sure you'll need some help with make up and your hair."
"Why?" Spyro asked. "She's fine the way she is."
"Oh Spyro, if it's gonna be some place fancy, she needs to look her best." Rarity replied. "Besides, there is nothing wrong with getting cleaned up a bit."
"Rarity is right Spyro." Applejack said. "Don't worry, Ah won't be long." She and Rarity walked to the farm house, where they were going to get her ready, but she turned her head to Rarity and gave her a glare. "But Ah ain't wearing that war paint ya'll call makeup Rarity. Ah don't want to look like a porcelain doll!"
Everyone laughed as the two mares walked to the farm house, leaving Spyro with the rest of the girls, motioning for them to come and look at his ship. As the girls entered the house, Rarity looked over to the living room and saw the roses, instantly figuring that they came from Spyro and got jealous, her heart feeling like it was being torn apart from her emotions. She decided to just ignore the roses and help Applejack to get ready, failing to notice a purple glow coming from the center of the roses as the black rose bloomed. While Applejack was getting cleaned up, Rarity pulled out the dress that Spyro got her, instantly thinking of how lucky her friend is to be dating a prince first while she was waiting for hers.
"Ya know what Rarity, Ah think tonight might just be the best night ever." Applejack said, walking out of the bath. "Ah get to visit another world and Ah get to go with somepony Ah like."
"You're a very lucky mare Applejack darling." Rarity said, trying hard not to sound jealous. "I so wish we could switch places."
"Don't ya worry Rarity, ya'll find yer special somepony." Applejack said, drying herself off. "And Ah'm glad yer here. Who else is capable of helping me with mah mane?"
At the mention of that, Rarity's mood became joyous as she trotted over to fix her friend mane. Meanwhile in the Gummi Ship, Spyro was giving them the tour of the entire vessel, its functions, the rooms that are in it, even showing them the cockpit where he can control the whole ship. While everyone was looking around the ship, marveling at everything, Fluttershy was hanging back behind the group, watching as Spyro explained everything and where he was planning to go once Applejack was ready, but felt in her heart that she wanted to be with Spyro instead, wanting to got switch places with Applejack.
"Fluttershy, you ok?" Twilight asked, getting her attention. "You seem distracted about something?"
"Oh, um, yeah, I'm ok." Fluttershy said, hiding behind her mane. "Just, trying to figure something out."
"Hey, you aren't the only one who likes him." Twilight said, confusing Fluttershy. "I also like Spyro, but being jealous over the fortunes of another is only going to cause trouble. We might as well be happy for our friend and support her, even if we don't like it."
Fluttershy knew twilight was right, but it didn't make everything easier for her as she still felt her own heart break when she learned Spyro asked Applejack out, crushing any chance she had to be with him. Back in the farm house, the purple glow in the roses was growing brighter as it could sense the negative energy coming from the area, disappearing when Granny Smith walked in to water them. When she finished, she went back into the kitchen to prepare lunch as Applejack and rarity came down and out the door, heading straight for the ship as the others came out.
"Gotta say, everything looks awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, zooming out in front to look back at her friends. "And you can really go to other worlds in it?"
"You bet your mane on that." Spyro replied. "And when I have visited a world, the coordinates are saved and I can... warp..."
Rainbow Dash didn't;t understand why he was stalling until she turned around and saw what caught his attention. Walking towards them was Rarity and Applejack, who was wearing the dress Spyro got her and the apple shaped earrings and necklace he also got her, her mane styled into a neat and elegant fashion, long and silky with some blue and red flowers in it and in her tail. Eveyrone was stunned by how Applejack looked that there was total silence until Rarity cleared her throat, snapping everyone out of their shocked stupor.
"Yes, I have out done myself, haven't I" Rarity asked. "It was quite difficult to find the correct style that would complement the dress and would drive even Spyro crazy, but I managed to find something that would work. What do you think?"
Everyone looked to Spyro to hear what he had to say, but from the stunned look he had and his lack of words, it seemed like he was completely entranced. Rainbow Dash tried poking him in the face to get a reaction from him, but he didn't even move a muscle as he was so fixated on Applejack.
"Rarity, I think you broke him." Rainbow Dash said, this time clonking him in the head, but still no reaction. "Yep. He's gone. Gonna need something to snap him out of it guys."
A second later, Spyro shook his head, coming out of his silent shock and walked over to Applejack, who was waiting for him. When he walked up to Applejack, he lifted his hoof, waiting for Applejack to take it when a small red flame appeared and flew behind Applejacks ear, turning into a red carnation, blooming as the flame died.
"There." Spyro said. "Now you're perfect."
Applejack blushed, taking Spyro's hoof as they walked to the ship, everyone watching as the two got on and took off into the sky towards Twilight town. When they reached the world's atmosphere, Spyro put in the coordinates to twilight town while Applejack was looking out the large glass dome, amazed at the starry sky and the endless void of space.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Spyro asked, getting her attention as he walked in wearing his royal robes. "First time I was in a ship, I was the same way. Star struck and amazed. out here, we are as free as a shooting star." He walked over to his seat and sat down, the screens coming up and granting him controls of everything. "It'll take a few moments to lock in the coordinates. Once we're off, you will get to see the beauty of Twilight town. You will also love the sun set at Sunset Hill. From what I heard, it's the one place where you don't want to go to without the one you love."
A beeping noise rung out as the engines charged up, sending them through warp space on their way to Twilight Town, reaching their location within seconds. When Applejack saw the world, she was amazed as she saw a large clock tower with a town around it and a tram circling the entire planet, surprising the farm mare as they entered the planets atmosphere. But when they did, she felt something wrong with her body as she felt everything change as a bright light surrounded the two of them, blinding her until it stopped, seeing they were in a hangar.
"Looks like we're here." Spyro said, getting up.
When Applejack saw him, she freaked out as she didn't recognize him until she saw his coat and the circlet on his head, recognizing it. He reached out his head, waiting for her to take it and reached to do so, but when she saw her hoof was now an actual hand, she freaked out again, running to find a mirror. When she looked at herself, she was a human with orange skin with her styled hair and green eyes while the dress, which was a saddle with a short skirt at the time, turned into an actual dress with her back exposed instead of her underbelly, the skirt reaching the knees and wearing high heels, wondering how she even managed to even get to the mirror before falling down.
"Yeah, should have warned ya about that." Spyro said, helping Applejack to get up. "You see, there are some worlds in which your appearance and form will change to allow you to blend in with the inhabitants, keeping the World order from collapsing."
"And why am Ah looking like a hairless monkey?" Applejack asked, trying to keep her balance.
"That's how the you can blend in." Spyro replied, holding onto Applejack so she didn't fall down. "Appearing as a human, who seems to walk like a toddler."
"oh, hardy har-har." Applejack said, jabbing him in the side. "Ya'll a real comedian."
He chuckled a bit and helped Applejack to get the hang of walking on her two legs, escorting her into Twilight Town's Central square. When they reached it, there was lots of people who were out and about, some doing their jobs, some getting items from the markets, others going to the back alley where a movie was being shown. Applejack took in the sight, marveling at the town and at the different sights when they came up to a crowd of people who were watching something going down as people were cheering for something. When the two of them approached, they saw two blonde hairs boys with foam bats fighting each other as orbs fell from each of them.
The first was a guy wearing mostly white with blue jeans and a black hat while the other was wearing a tan vest with a black tank top with camouflage cargo shorts. Spyro recognized them and was about to call out when two more teens ran over to the two of them. One was a brown haired girl of about sixteen wearing an orange shirt with white flowers and yellow shorts while the other was a chubby guy wearing a white long sleeved shirt under a jersey, blue jeans and a workout band on his head with spiky dark brown hair.
"Spyro!" The girl called out, getting everyone's attention to look at Spyro.
"Hey Spyro!" The chubby boy said. "How you doing?"
"Pence, Olette." Spyro called out, greeting them. "How you two doing?"
"We're fine." Olette replied. "Everything here has been calm. What brings you here?"
"Probably here to get clobbered." The white coated teen said, walking up. "Haven't seen you in a while. Been too scared to face me?"
"Give it a rest Seifer." The other blonde teen said. "He's probably here not to deal with your hassle."
"Hayner." Spyro said. "You haven't changed a bit."
"Hey, don't ignore me." Seifer said, pointing his bat at him. "You and I are going to finally prove who the best Struggler is. Right here, right now."
"Struggler?" Applejack asked. "What in tarnation is he talking about?"
Seifer looked from Spyro to Applejack, wondering who she was, but more annoyed that the new comer doesn't know what they were talking about.
"You're joking right?" Seifer asked. "You don't know what Struggle is?"
"She's new here." Spyro said, getting in front of Applejack. "I brought her to this town for some dinner. Got a problem with that?"
"Only problem I have is you!" Seifer said. "You got lucky last time, but I'll beat you this time."
"Seifer, you lost the last seven times." Spyro pointed out. "Quit while you're behind."
That comment set Seifer off as he was about to charge at him, but his friends stopped him and pulled him to the other side of the square, trying to calm him down to talk reason with him. Hayner however walked up and took a look Applejack, smiling as he saw how she was dressed and then back to Spyro.
"So you finally got a date bud?" Hayner asked. "Looks like you nailed a keeper."
"Yeah, I did." Spyro replied, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "This is Applejack. This is her first time in Twilight Town."
"Nice to meet you Applejack." Olette said. "I'm Olette. this is Pence and Hayner. Welcome to Twilight Town."
"Why, thank ya kindly." Applejack said, reaching out her hand, but nearly tripping if Spyro hadn't caught her. "Sorry. Ah'm not use to high heels. More use to..."
She looked over to Spyro to see if it was safe to tell them, but he shook his head, letting her know they know nothing about the outside worlds.
"Hey, don't sweat it." Pence said, reaching his hands behind his head. "So, how is it you came to meet Spyro?'
"Well, let's just say he kinda stole mah heart when we met." Applejack said, blushing as she said it.
A moment later, Seifer walked over and pointed his bat at Spyro again, challenging him again, but Spyro and Applejack just turned around and walked away, annoying Seifer as he was still wanting that rematch.
"Hey, don't you walk away from me!" Seifer said. "I'm going to prove that I'm the better Struggler than you!"
"And I have nothing to prove from beating you." Spyro replied. "Besides, I have a reservation at the Bistro to attend."
"Oh, is that so?" Seifer said, crossing his arms. "Or is it because you lost your touch after finding that sorry excuse for a farm hand in the pig pen she crawled out of."
After he said that, Spyro took the first foam bat he could grab and walked straight to Seifer, thinking to himself he was going to kill Seifer for insulting his date. He got into the ring and raised his bat to a defensive position, Seifer pointing his bat at Spyro, both waiting for the referee to signal the start of the match. As soon as the ref blew his whistle, both the combatants charged at each other and locked bats, both pushing against them to try and knock each other over. Everyone cheered as the two of them fought while Applejack watched on the side lines with Olette and Pence, Hayner going to get some ice cream.
"So, what's the aim of this 'Struggle?'" Applejack asked.
"Each combatant starts with one hundred orbs." Olette said. "The aim of the match is to be the one with the most orbs at the end of sixty seconds. The way you get orbs is by hitting your opponent to make them drop the orbs."
"And Seifer was the best Struggle player." Pence said, leaning against the wall. "That is until Spyro came. Everytime Spyro visits, Seifer would always want a rematch to reclaim his title. But everytime, he lost.'
"So Seifer is pestering him about some title so he can get it back?" Applejack said, annoyed by the grown up mans behavior. "That's just pathetic."
The crowd cheered, drawing their attention to the match as Spyro had landed a hit and snagged the orbs. Seifer charged at him to hit him, but Spyro just dodged and deflected his every move, landing a few of his own to make Seifer drop more orbs, growing increasingly furious as he ran at him, yelling a battle cry as he jumped up to hit him from above. however, Spyro just side stepped, making Seifer hit the ground as he just leaped away from him, holding his bat like a fencer. Seifer got up and charged again, but Spyro just ducked his bat and hit him across the stomach, dropping the angry teen in one hit as the clock reached zero.
"The match is over!" The Referee said. "Spyro with 163 orbs, Seifer with 37 orbs!"
Everyone cheered as Spyro walked to his friends, putting the bat back into the rack he grabbed it from and looped his arm through Applejacks as they left in the direction of the Bistro. As they walked, Spyro pointed out all the different sites and attractions in the town while also explaining how he got to meet his friends in Twilight Town with his friends Sora, Donald, and Goofy. About a few hours later, they reached the Bistro after a very long tour, walking up to the guest book where a server was waiting.
"Table for two." Spyro said.
"Name on the reservation?" The server asked.
"Spyro VanVickle." He replied.
"Spyro me lad!" Came a voice behind them, finding a talking duck in a blue suit with a top hat, shocking Applejack as her mouth dropped, eyes wide. "Good to see ya lad! How ya been?"
"Uncle Scrooge." Spyro said. "Good seeing you ya old miser. I'm doing fine."
"Wait, uncle!" Applejack asked, trying to make sense of what she is seeing and hearing.
"Oh, don't worry AJ." Spyro said. "He's not my real uncle. We just call him Uncle Scrooge. He's the owner of this Bistro. Has a whole chain of businesses across all the worlds."
"Well, glad ya'll ain't related." Applejack said, calming down. "But why is he a talking duck!?"
"Spyro, who's this beautiful lass?" Uncle Scrooge asked. "She's quite lovely."
"This is Applejack." Spyro replied. "She's my date."
"Ah, about time ye find yerself a girl lad." Uncle Scrooge said. "Ye've been without a lass for far too long. Now, shall I escort you to yer table?"
"Thank you Uncle Scrooge." Spyro replied, following the business duck into the restaurant.
Outside on the nearby roof top, there were two men in black trench coats watching Spyro and Applejack as they walked into the restaurant, seemingly happy. The first man had grey spikes hair with yellowish orange eyes and tan skin, crossing his arms as he watched the two of them while the other was just as tan if not tanner with the same colored eyes and hair, but his hair was smoother and better kept than his companions. They turned around to fins another guy with white skin and pink spiky hair holding a bunch of roses, smiling as he took in the aroma.
"Is it done?" The first guy asked.
"Yes Xemnas, it is." The pink haired man spoke. "Everything is in place. There are currently two hearts with negative emotions and feelings in them while the third is trying to figure out how she feels. I think we can use them as they are very close to him."
"Excellent Marluxia." Xemnas said. "Use their dark emotions. Begin the experiment." Marluxia bowed, disappearing into a dark Corridor as the two other men turned around to return their focus to the restaurant. "It seems the prince has found himself some companionship. Too bad."
"Agreed." The other man said. "I pity him. It's just one more way we can hurt his heart."
He raised his hand and immediately, multiple Soldier Heartless appeared below them, getting ready to unleash them upon the Bistro, but Xemnas just snapped his fingers and the heartless disappeared, making the companion look at Xemnas, wanting an answer for why he would dismiss them.
"No Ansem." Xemnas said. "Not here. Now is not the right time. Let them have their fun for now. We'll wait for them to be alone. Then, we will crush them."
The two of them disappeared through the dark corridors, transporting them to another location before they were spotted. About a couple of hours later, Spyro and Applejack walked out of the Bistro, his arm around her shoulders as he walked out with a couple of bags full of take out food.
"Ah've never had food like that before in mah life!" Applejack said, delighted with her experience. "That food was out of this world!"
"Told ya." Spyro said, smiling at Applejack. "And we got us some take out to take back to the others so they don't feel left out."
"Ya'll got yerself a good heart." Applejack said, pressing her head against his chest while he hugged her.
"I know." Spyro replied, looking to the sky to see the sun was about to set. "Oh snap! We gotta go."
"Go?" Applejack asked, pulling away. "Go where?"
"To Sunset hill." Spyro replied, guiding Applejack to their destination.
At Sunset hill, Spyro and Applejack were standing at the railing, watching as the sun started to set across the waters surface. Their heads rested on each other's shoulders as they smiled, turning their heads to look into each other's eyes. The two of them watched the sun getting lower and lower as their hands connected, each of them feeling a spark between them come to life, turning their heads and inching closer to kiss, but a second later, Spyro heard two voids opening and turned to face it, summoning his Keyblade as he got in front of Applejack. Standing in front of Spyro was Ansem and Xemnas, both of them keeping their distance from Spyro while just close enough o allow him to hear what they wanted to say.
"You two again?" Spyro asked, annoyed and angered. "Do I need to hand out a pamphlet telling you two to stay down?"
"Still the comedian." Xemnas said. "And I see you found yourself some companionship. How disappointing."
"You leave her out of this Xemnas!" Spyro said, growling as he did. "You harm a single hair on her head and I'll build myself a RYNO!"
"A what?" Applejack said, confused, yet scared at the new guys in front of him.
"It's short for Rip You a New One." Spyro replied, returning his attention to Ansem and Xemnas. "But in all seriousness, what do you want?"
"Relax." Ansem said, smiling. "All we wanted to do is congratulate you for finding love. It is pretty rare for a Prince of Light and Darkness to find love."
"And a weakness." Xemnas said. "Something a prince never allowed himself to have previously. Something like love is nothing more than a distraction. Something your enemy can use against you."
Applejack looked at the two men, glaring daggers at them as she stepped out from behind Spyro, much to his horror and approach Xemnas, anger taking over.
"Listen here mister!" Applejack said. "Ah don't care about yer congratulations or your talk of love being a weakness! Love is something that allows the good guy to fight! It gives them a reason to fight and protect everything they care about. And if ya'll are going around saying that love is useless, then ya'll ain't got a heart.
"That's because he doesn't have one AJ." Spyro said, pulling her back behind him. "He's a Nobody. The shell of the being he use to be. He's the Nobody of Xehanort. The leader of Organization XIII."
"Wait, really?" Applejack asked, looking at Xemnas and then to Ansem. "Then who's the other feller?"
"That's Xehanort's Heartless, Ansem." Spyro replied. "They are both with Organization XIII and they aren't exactly friendly customers."
The two of them stood where they were,not budging an inch from where they were when Spyro heard a scream come from the clock tower, looking over to see what he could, but found nothing from where they were and where they stood.
"Let me be very clear, Spyro." Xemnas said, getting Spyro's attention back. "Loving someone like her, especially since she's from another world, will end with one or the other crushed. End this fruitless charade as it will only end in your demise."
The two organization members disappeared into two different dark bubbles, disappearing from the hill and from their sight. Spyro lowered his blade, but then another scream come from the clock tower again, letting him know someone was in danger. Without a moments hesitation, he scooped Applejack into his arms, making her yelp when he did, and the bag of food and force jumped onto the nearest building, jumping from building to building on his way to the clock tower. Once they got there, they saw Seifer and his gang unconscious in the Sandlot, surrounded by dozens of heartless closing in on them while Olette and her friends were being cornered by a few Shadows. Landing in the back alley, Spyro set Applejack down along with the food and ran around the corner, charging the Heartless surrounding Seifer.
The Heartless heard Spyro approached and dodged as he swung his blade, making an opening to get in between them and Seifer's gang, putting the focus on him. When he arrived, Seifer woke up and saw Spyro standing in front of them striking down the Heartless with little effort, grumbling about something, but getting back up to fight some more, but collapsed a moment later from his injuries.
"Stay down Seifer." Spyro said. "Leave them to me."
"Yeah right." Seifer said, still trying to get up. "There's too many of them. How are you gonna beat them?"
"Like this." Spyro replied.
A dome of light surrounded him and shattered a second later, this time his robes changed from black to green with a wind pattern all across it and two Keyblades in each hand, The Heroes Origin and the Happy Gear. As soon as he jumped, the wind around him blew, knocking all the Heartless into the walls as he zipped through them, dicing them without even having to put up a sweat. Everyone watched as he called tornadoes, sent groups of enemies into each other, even slicing the air and a green blade flew through, striking the Heartless like they were butter. Seifer couldn't believe what he was seeing as he watched the battle, not believing how easily he could strike down the Heartless like another person he met, same weapons, same attitude, different style. After the Heartless were all gone, Spyro called off his Drive and turned to face everyone, Seifer's gang getting up while Hayner and his friends ran to him, Applejack coming from out from behind the corner, running up to Spyro.
"Dude, that was amazing." Pence said. "You have the exact same powers as Sora."
"Well, not exactly the same." Spyro pointed out. "Sora's power and mine are on completely different levels."
"At least Sora has more fun with his power." Shouted a male voice.
Spyro turned around to face whoever was approaching, but found that it was only Axel, leaning against a chimney eating some ice cream. He jumped off the roof and landed just in front of Spyro, smiling at his friend.
"Spyro, good seeing you dude." Axel said, taking a bite of ice cream.
"Axel." Spyro said, shaking his head. "Still a sucker for sweets are we? Didn't occur to you to put the ice cream down and help?"
"Eh, you had it handled." Axel said, looking over to Applejack, starring at the farm girl. "And who's this? She's pretty cute."
"Pleasure to meet ya Axel." Applejack said. "Ah'm Applejack."
Axel then inhaled in surprise, starting to choke on his ice cream not from hearing the name, but recognizing the voice as the pony he saw with Spyro on that world. Spyro immediately patted Axel in the back to help him cough up the ice cream from his lungs, able to breathe again, but leered at Spyro, his look alone saying they needed to talk. He motioned his head, letting him know to follow him somewhere private and walked away, leaving everyone speechless at his action, making Spyro groan.
"I'll be right back AJ." Spyro said, walking to where Axel was and keeping his back to his friends.
"So, taking that farm mare for a date/" Axel asked, amused by the thought. "Looks like someone's desperate."
"Oh that's very funny." Spyro retorted. "At least I can get a date without acting like a fool."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Axel asked.
"You and Sora both like the same girl, but are too cowardly to ask her out." Spyro said, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, yeah.' Axel said, brushing him off. "You realize if Master yen Sid finds out, he's going to have an aneurism."
"Hey, my friends already know there are other worlds out there." Spyro replied, surprising Axel. "So, it's alright if I take her out to eat the best food in all the worlds."
As they Talked, Applejack was sitting with Hayner and his friends, reminiscing about Spyro and having a laugh about it while he spoke with Axel.
"Yer joking?" Applejack asked. "That actually happened!?"
"Oh trust me, it was the funniest thing to ever happen to him." Pence replied. "Spyro and our gang actually pulled it off. While Seifer was napping, we snuck up to him while in the sandlot and dyed his hair pink! He's been peeved at Spyro ever since!"
Everyone laughed at Seifer's embarrassment, making him leave before he heard anymore embarrassing stories about him and how he was the target of someone else's amusement. While they laughed, Applejack snuck a peek at Spyro, watching as he and his friend were having a conversation about something, smiling at him, even though he had his back turned.
"So, how long have you two know each other?" Olette asked. "The two of you seem very close."
"Actually, we've only known each other for almost a couple of weeks." Applejack answered, shocking the trio.
"No way!" Hayner said. "Only for two weeks? And you two are dating?"
"Oh my gosh!" Olette exclaimed, clapping and screeching. "Love at first sight! Like a fairy tale! How exciting!"
"Heh, yeah ya'll can say that." Applejack said, blushing. "When we first met, he and Ah didn't really think much about it. But during one adventure, that's where we discovered our feelings for each other."
"So what made the spark?" Pence asked. "What caused the two of you to start dating?"
"Well, that's kinda hard to explain." Applejack said, rubbing the back of her head. "Ah pushed him out of the way of a Heartless that was going to attack him, taking the hit. And from what he told me, he felt his feelings for me when Ah did that, actually fearing he'd loose me and sparking our feelings between us."
"Aw, how sweet." Olette said.
"Sounds awesome." Pence added.
"How boring." Hayner said, getting angry glares from them.
Spyro then walked up to the group, clearing his throat to get their attention and extending his hand out to Applejack. She took his hand and helped her up onto her feet, walking to the entrance of Twilight Town where their ship was. Before leaving, the couple turned to their friends and waved their hands, saying their good bye to their friends before getting onto the ship and leaving Twilight Town. As soon as they were out of the planets atmosphere, Applejack turned back into a pony, sighing in relief to be back to normal.
"So, how'd you like Twilight Town?" Spyro asked.
"Ah actually liked it." Applejack replied, turning her seat to look at the world as they left. "Wish we could've stayed a bit longer."
"And I wish dumb and dumber didn't show up and ruin the mood at Sunset Hill." Spyro said, referring to the organization. "Would have made our night even better if they didn't show up."
"Oh don't ya worry about that Sugarcube." Applejack said, getting up from her seat and walking to Spyro. "Ah still enjoyed our time there. And Ah enjoyed the food from that restaurant. Them was good eatin'!"
Not saying anything, he reached down and started scratching behind Applejacks ear, making her yelp in surprise at the odd yet enjoyable sensation. She looked up to Spyro, wanting to question what he was doing, but couldn't come up with he right words as she just enjoyed the scratches he was giving her.
"Enjoying the scratches there AJ?" Spyro asked.
"Oh, ya'll have no idea." Applejack said, closing her eyes and pushing her head into his hand.
"Oh I have an idea of how much you're enjoying it." Spyro said smiling. "You leg is bouncing like a dogs when their owner finds the sweet spot."
As soon as Spyro said that, Applejacks eyes shot open and looked to her leg, finding that her leg was bouncing like a dog's. She then grumbled about how she wasn't;t a dog and trying her best to play it off, wanting to move her head away from his hand as he scratched her, but couldn't help but move to it as she found it enjoyable. Spyro laughed at how Applejack was acting when the screen showed there was an incoming call, showing it to be an unknown caller. He removed his hand to swipe the red bar to the left to decline the call, but Applejack hopped her front half of her body up to see what he was looking at.
"The hay ya looking at Sugarcube?" Applejack asked.
"Oh, it's just an incoming call." Spyro responded. "It's an unknown caller. Probably a telemarketer or a scam call. Just going to decline it."
"Wait, why does it say the calls coming from Equestria?" Applejack asked, pointing to the caller location.
That caught Spyro's interest as he didn't show anyone how to contact him let alone what to use to contact him with. he swiped the green bar right to accept the call and a screen popped up, showing a panicking Twilight Sparkle pressing every button she could to try and get something to work.
"Come on, come on!" She said. "Spyro, pick up, pick up, pick up!"
"Twilight, is that you?" Spyro asked, getting her to look at the screen. "You ok? What's happening?"
"Spyro, is that you?" Twilight asked, not recognizing him until Applejack hopped up into the screen.
"It's him Twilight." Applejack said. "This is actually him. Surprised me too. Now what's wrong Twilight? Ya'll look like Apple Bloom after failing her math exam."
Spyro looked over to Applejack, shocked to hear Apple Bloom was failing math. Before he could pry into that, Twilight started breathing heavily, panicking about something that was going on.
"Rarity and Fluttershy... they... everything's going wrong!" Twilight said, panic in her voice. "Roses... pink maned pony... crystals... out of control!"
"Wow there Twilight wow, calm down." Spyro said. "Take a deep breath and relax. Start from the beginning. What happened?"
Twilight did as she was asked, taking in a few deep breaths to calm down and looked back at the screen, sheer terror in her eyes.
"It happened a little while after you guys left." Twilight said, talking about what had happened. "Rarity and Fluttershy, they're in trouble."
Both Applejack and Spyro looked at each other, wondering what had happened after they had left, returning their attention to Twilight as she told them what had happened.