Chapter 134: The Journey's End Part 1: Unstable Alliances
In the corridor of darkness, the Harmony was flying through the darkness, taking it as slow as possible as to not damage the ship as it flew through the darkness, everyone looking out the windows of the ship to have a look around and were actually amazed by how it looked, seeing some lights go by, but mostly it's dull and without much color. As they passed through, hey watched as some of the Heartless rushed by, running across some bridges and through some rifts to reach a new location, leaving them all stunned by what they were seeing.
"Wow, I thought this place was going to be dark, cold, and damp." Apple Bloom said.
"Believe me, it's anything but that." Scootaloo said. "I was transported using this same method when I was foal napped. But it was cold when I first went through it."
"The Corridors of Darkness are passage ways to other worlds, but to use them, you need to expose yourself to the darkness." Psyrox said. "It's the fastest way for us to get to Mobius before anymore worlds are lost."
"Well we're too late for that." Maya said, looking at a screen. "After the Land of Savages was destroyed, The Land of the Dead and the Living was destroyed."
"Oh no, Miguel!" Rarity said.
"We need to go faster!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Quick, punch it!"
"Rainbow Dash wait-!" Maya shouted. Rainbow Dash pressed some random buttons and immediately the ship started to shake as multiple alarms blared, the ship tipping and nearly hitting a bridge, but Maya managed to stabilize the ship, just missing the bridge and straightening the ship, glaring at Rainbow Dash who smiled nervously. "Never touch my buttons!"
"Heh, sorry." Rainbow Dash said.
"I'm afraid going fast through these corridors is not recommended." Psyrox said. "These corridors can tear you apart if you're going too fast and if you are too reckless. We need to go slow and steady."
"Look, straight ahead!" Pinkie exclaimed.
They all looked ahead of them and in front of them was another rift, one large enough for the ship to pass through, so Maya kept the ship steady as they made their way towards the exit, flying through it and out of the Corridor into Darkness, flying out and seeing Mobius, except it had massive purple cracks across it, pulsating with power as multiple orbs of light flew into the cracks, feeding Dark Gaia.
"Oh my." Rarity said.
"Mobius!" Sonic said, hopping onto the console. "It's breaking apart!"
"Dark Gaia is waking up." Psyrox said. "We're running out of time!"
"Quick, we need to get down there!" Applejack said.
"Right." Maya said, getting up. "Alright, Twilight, AJ, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, you're with me! Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, you're going home! Psyrox, get down there and try to slow him down!"
"Already on my way." Psyrox said.
He then opened another Corridor into Darkness and stepped through, making his way to the surface of Mobius to try and slow down Dark Gaia.
"The rest of you are staying up here where you'll be safe." Maya continued.
"Aw, but we want to go down there too!" Sweetie Belle said.
"No Sweetie Belle, you can't go down." Rarity said. "Look at this world! It's ghastly and it's falling apart!"
"Not to mention those dark tendrils." Twilight said. "Whoever they grab, they'll turn into some kind of sphere of light. We were lucky enough to escape them the first time."
"Well we need to be extra careful here in this world." Maya said. "Those tendrils will grab you the first chance they get."
"Hey, look." Scootaloo said.
Everyone looked out and saw a small section of the world that seemed unaffected by the tendrils, a floating island with a large gem in the center of it, sitting atop of some ruins.
"It's Angel Island!" Knuckles said. "It's still floating!"
"And it seems the dark tendrils can't touch it." Maya said. "Looks like we're heading to Angel Island."
"We're going too." Rosy said, she and Midnight walking up.
"You know how to fly a ship?" Maya asked Rosy.
"No, dad never taught me." Rosy replied.
"But I know how to fly one." Midnight said.
"Then I need you both up here in this ship." Maya said. "The two of you are the only Keyblade left if we don't make it, I need you both to protect Equestria. It's what Spyro would have wanted."
Rosy and Midnight looked at one another, returning their attention to Maya and nodding her head, understanding what she was saying before the group got up and walked to the center of the room, but before they could get down onto Angel Island, their ship suddenly started to shake, throwing everyone around before they looked out and saw that the tendrils were pulling the ship towards Mobius, everyone holding on as the ship was being pulled into the planet, ripping the ship apart as it was being pulled in.
"What the heck is going on!?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"The tendrils are ripping the ship apart!" Maya exclaimed. "We need to get off of the ship now! Everyone, to me!"
They all gathered in the center of there cockpit, where Maya raised her Keyblade and a moment later, she surrounded them in a massive ball of light before they shot out of the cockpit just as the ship exploded, chunks of Gummi Blocks flying everywhere as the light shot towards Mobius, heading straight through the worlds atmosphere before arriving on Angel Island, the light disappearing around them and they looked around, finding they were on the island before looking up, seeing the massive explosion in the sky.
"Our ship." Twilight said.
"How the heck will we get home now?" Applejack asked.
"We'll worry about that later." Maya replied. "Right now, we need to find out how to defeat Dark Gaia."
"Well Sonic and his friends seem to know about him." Fluttershy said. "Maybe they can help us."
"Well, it's more like Sonic beat Dark Gaia." Tails said. "Said he had help from Light Gaia and the power of the Seven Chaos Emeralds."
"Yeah and it was a tough fight too." Sonic added, rubbing his nose. "Dude was overpowered because he fed off the negative energy from everyone on the planet."
"And now he's feeding on the negative energy from all the worlds the Heart Pieces were in." Maya said. A moment later, a small device on her belt activated, pulling it out and looking at it, her face turning pale when she saw what was on it. "Oh no."
"What's up?" Sonic asked.
"The Olympus Coliseum has been destroyed." Maya replied. "Everyone there has been absorbed."
"Then we need to hurry!" Rainbow Dash said. "How do we get to Dark Gaia?"
"He's in the core of the planet." Sonic replied, scratching his ear. "Unless you got some kind of digging machine ghat can avoid being melted, I don't think it's a good idea to get him yet."
"I second that." A voice said.
They all turned to the opposite side of the island and approaching them was Celestial Dawn, approaching them as two flaming swords appeared from thin air, causing all the ponies with weapons from Keyblades to whatever they could get their hooves of to rush and get their weapons, Keyblades coming from light as Luna summoned her sword, ready for the fight while Shining Armor and Cadence charged their magic, ready for the fight.
"Who the heck are you!?" Rainbow Dash demanded.
"My name is none of your business." Dawn replied. "All I'm going to tell you is that the massive gem you have in that temple is key to the Overlords plan."
"Massive gem?" Rarity asked, instantly intrigued.
"She means the Master Emerald!" Knuckles exclaimed.
He then charged right for the pony, raising his hands to land a hit, but the pony just dodged his punch, swiping her burning blades and striking him in the arm, sending him flying into a nearby tree, Sonic rushing over to attack her, but Dawn just leaned and dodged his spin dash, sending him flying off the floating isle, which he stopped in midair and tried running back to land, but then started falling down. Tails saw and flew off to help him while the ponies rushed towards Dawn, swiping and slashing at her, but she just dodged their attacks, deflecting their sword swings and dodging their magic blasts, knocking several of the ponies away while raising her hoof and, shocking them all, Force Pushing Shining Armor, Cadence, and Luna away, catching them all into a nearby wall, back hoofing Rainbow Dash as she charged while Fluttershy got off lucky and was merely redirected, sending her into a bush full of thorns as she approached the temple, Twilight standing before the steps of the temple to block her path as the Master Emerald glowed, sensing a powerful warrior approaching.
"So, you're my donor." Dawn said, approaching her.
"I don't remember donating anything." Twilight replied. "And I don't even know you."
"I doubt you would." Dawn replied. "After all, you did run away from the Overlord when you were sleeping."
That was when her blood completely froze, remembering the dream she had and the mechanical claw reaching out to her, starting to shake at the thought as she remembered everything from that night.
"But... how?" Twilight asked.
"That night when you had your vision was the night the Overlord gave me life." Dawn replied. "Though it was difficult, he created me and now... now I serve his will. That includes acquiring the Master Emerald for him. Now Step aside or else I'll-"
"Enough." A voice said. They all turned in the direction of the voice and saw the Overlord and Metal Overlord, the both of them flying towards the island as Knuckles got back up, Eggman setting down as the Overlord hovered over the water just so his eyes could see them. "There is no more need for conflict. An alliance has been struck."
"Let's hope so." Psyrox said, walking up, looking badly injured. "Because we have a major problem."
Elsewhere over the world of Norte Dome, the world was cracking and breaking apart, exploding a moment later as many people screamed as millions of more orbs flew out of the destroyed world and into a rift, dark laughter echoing through the empty space while in the core of Mobius, Dark Gaia was absorbing all of the orbs of energy, shaking as he felt the power from the orbs making him stronger as he bathed in the magma of the planet's core.
"Such delicious power!" Dark Gaia said. "So much fear, despair, anguish! It is making me stronger!" He then lifted the Heart Piece and looked at it, reaching another to touch it, but the energy from the Heart Piece shot out, making it recoil, but it held onto the Heart Piece to prevent it from escaping. "But you... you hold so much power that I can't even fathom what you can do. But with your power, it would more than likely destroy me. But... I know another who could use it, but something is preventing me from getting to her. No matter, there are other ways of destroying one's will."
He lifted up two of his tentacles and using the power he acquired, several bolts of dark lightning shot out and hit the Heart Piece, which it started to fight back to protect itself, but it was then overwhelmed, turning purple as he laughed to himself, already setting his plan in motion. On the surface, night had come and everyone was sitting around the master emerald, Maya healing Knuckles wounds while everyone was starring up at the Overlord, feeling intimidated by his current form while Sonic was glaring at Eggman, not fully trusting him while Twilight was keeping her distance from Dawn, who was watching all of them, still not trusting them either.
"Celestial Dawn, there is no need to be ready for a fight that will not happen yet." Overlord said. "You may relax."
Dawn looked up at him and then back to the ponies, still unable to trust them, but relaxed enough to not pose a threat, but still ready for a fight. She then looked over to Shining Armor, who was starring at her with confusion and surprise, not feeling comfortable with how he was starring at her.
"What?" She asked.
"Oh, sorry." He replied. "It's just... you look so much like Twilight. Except for the coat and the mane and the lack of a Cutie Mark."
"The resemblance is remarkable, I'll give you that." Eggman said. "But she is after all just a clone of the original, nothing special."
"Nothing special!?" Rainbow Dash asked. "She can use the Force! Our Twilight can't do that. How can you use the Force? Does it mean Twilight can use it as well?"
"Hardly." Dawn replied, sitting there. "When I was approaching, I couldn't sense any connection to it. She's just a regular unicorn with a fancy key for a sword."
"So why were you here for the Master Emerald anyway?" Knuckles asked.
"I asked her to collect it." The Overlord replied. "I was hoping that once they felt the Master Emerald's call, the Seven Chaos Emeralds would come to it."
"Wait, Ah thought Spyro already had them fancy gems in his chest already." Applejack said.
"He what?" Knuckles asked.
"Spyro has these gems in his chest, which he calls the Master Emerald and the Chaos emeralds." Rarity replied. "They give him a lot of power when he needs it and give him golden hair."
"That's the power of Chaos control alright." Sonic said. "But... there have only ever been seven emeralds and one Master Emerald, not two. Right Knucks?"
"I wouldn't say that." Knuckles replied, crossing his arms. "Tikal, the spirit of the Master Emerald talked to me. Saying there were now two Master emeralds and another set of Chaos Emeralds, all of which with a single individual."
"Wait, hold on, seriously!?" Sonic asked, completely taken by surprise. "How is that possible!?"
"No idea." Knuckles replied. "But from what Tikal said, this Spyro was one of the most powerful beings to ever use them successfully. However, she warned me that the second set should never cross paths with the first. Otherwise, it would have some serious consequences."
"Consequences?" Fluttershy asked. "Like what?"
"I'm not sure." Knuckles replied. "All I know is that if they do cross paths, it could destroy our world."
"Well we got problems of our own." Luna said.
"Yeah, Dark Gaia's got one of Spyro's Heart Pieces and is destroying worlds as we speak." Scootaloo said. "He's already destroyed one and who knows which ones he'll destroy next."
"Actually, he's destroyed three already." The Overlord said.
"What!?" Rainbow Dash asked, flying up to him. "Which ones!?"
"The first was the Indian world, the second involved a church and a hunchback." Overlord replied.
"Norte Dome." Twilight said. "And the third?"
"It involved a bunch of bears." The Overlord replied.
"The North American Ice Age." Fluttershy said, wiping a tear away. "Kenai."
"We have to stop him before he destroys any more of them!" Apple Bloom said.
"Easier said than done." The Overlord said. "Dark Gaia is in the center of the world and is drawing his power from the life essence from the other worlds to make himself stronger. The Only way to get to him is to go to the core of the world, which you Keyblade users call the Worlds Heart. To get in, we would need to find the Keyhole, which is nearly impossible as the Keyholes are well hidden."
"Then how are we going to get to the core?" Twilight asked.
"I have one idea." Psyrox replied. "But you're not going to like it."
"What is it?" Maya asked.
"We can open a corridor into the core of the world." Psyrox replied. "It will allow for us to get in and take the fight to him."
"Well that doesn't seem so bad." Shining Armor said. "Why would you say we wouldn't like it?"
"Because I used up too much energy to open a corridor to this world." Psyrox replied. "And to go into the core of the world, that will be stretching it, even for me. We're going to need some help."
"Help?" Cadence asked. "Who can help us that can open these corridors?"
As she asked the question, an idea came to mind, everyone looking to Psyrox in surprise as they all hated the idea.
"No, no, absolutely not!" Rainbow Dash said. "We are not going to seek help from that witch or those monsters who killed Spyro!"
"It's too late." Psyrox replied. "I already called them."
A moment later, almost a dozen Corridors opened and from them, the remaining members of Organization XIII walking out of them as did Maleficent, the ponies all on high alert when they saw them all gathered their, but the moment they laid their eyes on Larxene, everyone called their Keyblades and charged their magic, which everyone else called their weapons to retaliate, but Psyrox appeared between everyone, raising his hand to stop them from fighting.
"No, no fighting." Psyrox said.
"You kidding, she killed Spyro!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"And I'd gladly do it again." Larxene replied. "I still have the Beskar dagger that I used on him."
"Why you-!" Rainbow Dash said.
"ENOUGH!" The Overlord shouted, firing his cannons and getting them to stop fighting. "The more time we waste squabbling among ourselves, the more time Dark Gaia has to gather more and more power! Put down your weapons and let us talk this out."
Everyone was hesitant to put their weapons away, not trusting one another for fear of being attacked, but after a moment, everyone dismissed their weapons at the same time, sitting down in front of the fire as Maleficent approached, looking to the ponies while staying close to Twilight to keep her safe, looking to the sky as another star disappeared.
"This Dark Gaia is certainly keeping busy." Maleficent said. "He's destroyed another world."
"Hence why I called you here." Psyrox replied. "If Dark Gaia continued to absorb the life essence of the worlds the Heart Pieces have been, then he'll be unstoppable. And if he finds a way to use the Heart Pieces power, then he'll become more than just a dark deity, he'll become a literal god."
"I too have felt the sudden change." Zeroing said, opening his book. "He has estrogen four worlds now and continues to grow stronger. However, he has not found a way to use the Heart Piece's power, which buys us a little time before he becomes a true dark god."
"So how the heck do we get to him and beat him?" Demyx asked. "You ask me, it's going to be a drag to get to him."
"That's where the Master Emerald comes in." The Overlord asked. "If I can figure out the correct frequencies, I can summon the Chaos emeralds and give them to Sonic. He defeated Dark Gaia once before, I calculate there is a 95% chance he will do so again. But we must do so quickly because otherwise he'll become too powerful for even Super or Hyper Sonic to defeat him."
"Then what are doing just sitting here?" Sonic asked. "Let's do this!"
"I can ask the Master Emerald to do this." Knuckles said. "As its guardian, I can commune with the Master Emerald to summon forth the Seven Chaos Emeralds, but it will take a little time."
"Time is not exactly on our side." The Overlord said. "We must move quickly before Dark Gaia grows even more powerful."
"I need the Organization's help along with Maleficent's help to open a corridor powerful enough to reach the core of the world." Psyrox said. "Once we have the needed energy, Sonic can use the seven emeralds to go into his super form and defeat Dark Gaia and pout him back to sleep, allowing us to reclaim the Heart Piece. And once we have it, we want the one you have Overlord." He then turned his head to the Overlord, who was looking down at him, who didn't seem thrilled about the idea. "The Prince of Light and Darkness is the only one powerful enough to restore all of the destroyed worlds and the only one who might be powerful enough to defeat Dark Gaia if things go south."
"I am weary about giving you my Heart Piece, which gives me life and strength." The Overlord said. "But if it means stopping Dark Gaia and restoring balance to the worlds, then so be it."
"Overlord, no!" Dawn said, getting up. "You can't do this! There has to be another way!"
"There is no other way Dawn." The Overlord replied. "The Nobody is right. The Prince of Light and Darkness is the only one powerful enough to restore all of the worlds and the inhabitants in them. If it is the only way, then I am willing to restore balance in this universe by sacrificing myself."
Celestial Dawn was shocked, her heart breaking from what she was hearing, so she ran away from the group, running into the forest as everyone watched, though the Nobodies didn't feel anything for her while Maleficent just smiled at her, liking the reaction, Twilight couldn't help but feel sorry for her, understanding how she was feeling. At the edge of the island, Dawn was sitting near the ledge, tears rolling down her face as she felt like her world was ending, looking to the sky and watching as another star disappeared, looking back down into the ocean and wondered if everything she fought for was for nothing, getting up to jump into the ocean when she heard something behind her, turning to see Twilight walking to her.
"What do you want?" She asked.
"I wanted to see how you were doing." Twilight replied. "I know that it can't be easy for you to loose someone that was like a father to you."
"When I was created, I first looked upon him and recognized him as my father." Dawn said, sitting down, which Twilight walked over and sat down next to her. "He might be a machine, but he's the closest thing I have to a father figure in my life, however short it has been. I don't get what's so special about this Prince they keep talking about."
"Spyro is the Prince of Light and Darkness." Twilight said, looking to the sky. "He can create and destroy worlds if he feels like it. Even restore them."
"And how does restoring them help?" Dawn asked. "They're destroyed, so what hope is there of bringing them back? The people... they're nothing more than fuel for Dark Gaia."
"They may not have their bodies, but they still have their hearts." Twilight replied. "When the body withers or is destroyed, the heart is still there, waiting for a new form for it to inhabit. The people aren't gone, they're just imprisoned in the body of another being. Spyro says that, even if darkness takes hold, every heart has an anchor that keeps their light shining bright. Spyro found that light in Princess Luna, bringing her back with our help. As long as there is still a spark of light left in the heart, they can be brought back."
Dawn was taken by surprise, looking at Twilight before looking back to the sky, watching as another star disappeared, both ponies realizing they were running out of time.
"What will happen to me then?" Dawn asked. "When the Overlord is gone... I'll have no one. Nothing to go back to."
"Well... you could come back to Equestria with us." Twilight suggested, Dawn looking at her. "Equestria is a magical place, full of happiness and friendship. You'd be more than welcome to come. Plus, I think my brother would enjoy having another sibling. He's a nice guy."
Dawn then started to laugh, which made twilight laugh as they started to enjoy one another's presence as they started to relax, looking at one another other and smiling, Dawn thinking about the offer.
"I think... I think I'd like that." Dawn said, smiling at her. "I guess it would be nice to have a couple of siblings and possibly some parents."
Without warning, Twilight reached over and hugged Dawn, catching her completely off guard as she didn't fully understand the gesture, but after a moment, she returned the hug, smiling to herself before the hug ended, Twilight running back to the rest of the group to get ready for the fight against Dark Gaia. As she left, Dawn looked back up to the sky, watching as another star disappeared right in front of her before looking around, seeing the Overlord was hovering over to her, looking down at her.
"She's right you know." The Overlord said. "You belong with your own kindred."
"But... you're my father." Dawn said. "I want to go, but-"
"But nothing." The Overlord said. "You are Equestrian, a pony who deserves a better life than what I can give her. In Equestria, you can be accepted, loved and make many friends there. You deserve better."
"But... I'll never see you again." Dawn said.
"Such is the way things need to be." The Overlord said, using one of his smaller arms to put on her shoulder. "We can;t have everything or be with everyone we love. But they are right, for the sake of the universe, the Prince of Light and Darkness must return. And when he does, I need you to be there, by his side, to stop the Dark Overlord from coming. Promise me you'll be there for him."
Dawn reached her hoof up and grabbed the mechanical hand, looking up to the Overlord and nodding her head, understanding what needed to be done, but a moment later, two more stars went out at the same time, spooking her before they heard dark laughter coming all around them, Dawn getting up and summoning her burning blades again while the Overlord got his cannons ready, everything activating and a moment later, the earth underneath then broke open and from it, Dark Gaia emerged, laughing as he rose up, his dark smile showing on his face as he looked to them.
"Equestria, huh?" Dark Gaia asked. "Interesting. So there is a world where more of these ponies exist? Maybe I should visit that world first after I destroy this one."
"Dark Gaia." The Overlord said. "How nice of you to drop by. We were coming to see you."
"I know you were." Dark Gaia said. "A desperate assault by a bunch of desperate enemies, who all have a very unstable alliance going on just to defeat little old me. How touching and yet revolting. So I'll give you two options. Fight by my side and we can conquer all the worlds together, destroying all those who do not submit."
"I'd rather take the second option and destroy you!" The Overlord replied.
He then aimed his cannons at Dark Gaia and unleashed a volley of cannon fire and unleashed a massive burst of energy, hitting Dark Gaia and making him fall backwards into the water, only to get up and eyelash a few of his own energy attacks, his tentacles firing multiple beams of energy towards the Overlord before creating a barrier around himself to block the attacks, both of the massive titans unleashing powerful attacks against one another to do any kind of damage, meanwhile Dawn was using her own powers to support her leader, friend, and father, using her magic to release massive bolts of magic at Dark Gaia, doing small amounts of damage to him, which he didn't seem to register as it felt like a mere tickle to him, knocking the Overlord down into the water before releasing several dark plasma missiles at Dawn, hitting the island and sending her backwards into the tree, knocking her out. Meanwhile in the forest, Twilight was rushing straight to the others to tell them the good news and that Dawn would join them on the return trip home, but then before she got any further, she suddenly stopped, feeling like the wind had suddenly changed around her, feeling cold before turning around, looking to the sky to watch another star disappear, fearing she was running out of time was about to keep going to see the progress of the emeralds.
"Hurry, you must." Yoda said, making Twilight look around. "In grave danger, your friends are."
"Yoda, where are you?" Twilight asked. "What danger are they in!?"
"Come, the enemy has." Yoda answered. "To the surface, he has risen from the darkness and come. Hurry, you must. To protect yourselves acquire what you seek and prepare. This fight will be like the rest not. Get the eight ready for when all twelve pieces are collected, find what remains for spyro to be made whole again, you must. Herh herh herh."
"The eight?" Twilight asked. "What are the eight!? And what do you mean by what remains of Spyro!?"
She didn't get an answer, looking around to see where Yoda was at or where his voice came from, but found nothing, thinking that something bad was about to happen, she turned to go warn Dawn about the incoming threat, but then remembered what Yoda said, to go warn her friends about the incoming threat, so she continued on her way back towards the rest of the group and let them know of what was happening. Back with Dawn and the Overlord, Dark Gaia was slowly approaching the Overlord, towering over him as his tentacles started to arc electricity between them, firing several stream of electricity, but the Overlord just dove underneath the water, avoiding the attack before launching himself into the air and biting down hard on Dark Gaia, actually causing some black blood to come out of the wound, pouring down his neck and into the water before knocking him down, unleashing a flurry of attacks on the metallic behemoth, reaching for the chest, which the Overlord blocked his access to them by covering his chest to keep Dark Gaia from getting to the crystal. However, a moment later, Dark Gaia knocked the Overlord into the air and unleashed a multitude of energy blasts, hitting the armor on the massive machine, doing considerable damage as multiple systems on it started to fail, but the Overlord got it's shoulder cannons ready to fire, releasing a barrage of energy blasts, hitting Dark Gaia and making him stagger backwards, taking serious damage to his own armor before one of the bolts hit his eye, making him scream out in agony before charging the Overlord again.
Dawn finally managed to wake up, shaking her head and looking around to see what was going on when she saw the Overlord and Dark Gaia continuing their little brawl, summoning her blades to help out, but Dark Gaia got the upper hand, uppercutting the Overlord before using two energy currents to cut hit head off, knocking it into the sky, which time seemed to slow down for her as she watched his head fly over her, bouncing on the ground and disappearing into the forest, looking back to his body as he fell into the ocean, the water claiming his heavily damaged body, watching as it started to sink into the blue ocean.
"NOOOOOOO!" Dawn shouted.
Enraged, she summoned all her anger and her rage, creating a massive pillar of fire that soon grew into a massive fire storm, unleashing all of her anger and her hatred at Dark Gaia, who turned right as the massive storm hit him, searing him and causing intense pain, but as Dawn was about to finish him when she started to loose strength, falling to the ground as Dark Gaia staggered backwards, shaking and looking up at Dawn as she tried to push herself up, drained of all her mana, but got up all the same, trying to reignite her blades, but they never appeared.
"You truly are powerful." Dark Gaia said, slowly approaching him. "You will make a wonderful vessel."
"Sorry you creepy snake, but you're not my type." Dawn said, getting up shakily. "I'd sooner die than let you into my body."
"Oh, I'm afraid you don't have any other choice." Dark Gaia said.
He then leapt towards her and turned into dark smoke, Dawn trying to run, but the smoke entered her mouth and into her body, trying her best to fight back as she writhed in pain and agony, feeling Dark Gaia taking control as she remembered the Overlord, how he helped her to learn about her abilities in a short time before her memories moved to Twilight and her friends, seeing the friendship they shared, thinking of the time they could have spent together had they gotten back to her home, falling into darkness and screaming as she fell into the abyss, loosing control. When Dark Gaia opened his eyes, he found he was now in Dawns body, examining it to see how it looked and smiling.
"Now this... this is more comfortable." Dark Gaia said, smiling as he walked over to the edge of the island. "Now to collect my prize." He lifted his new hoof into the air and felt the power of the Force, the metal suit of armor floating into the air, smiling to himself as he was ready to claim the Heart Piece, but as he got it to turn, he saw the chest and his smile turned into a look of shock and horror, finding that the red crystal wasn't there in the chest, confusing him. "No. Where is it?" The armor then started to get crushed, Dark Gaia's green eyes turning red and yellow as he crushed it like a tin can. "WHERE IS IT!?" He then tossed the armor into the sea, getting ready to dive in when he remembered something, how he covered his chest to prevent him from claiming the crystal, thinking of something. "The head."
He then rushed into the forest to get the Heart Piece, both angry and enraged that the Overlord had moved the crystal into the head, hoping that it didn't go too far. Back at the camp, everyone was ready to go as Knuckles was chanting to the Master Emerald to call the Chaos Emeralds, reaching the fire and breathing heavily as she arrived.
"Twilight darling, whatever is the matter?" Rarity asked. "Why are you out of breath?"
"Dark Gaia..." Twilight said, getting their attention. "He's... he's here."
"Wait, come again?" Applejack asked. "Did ya say Dark Gaia's here? How?"
"He must have accumulated enough power from the destroyed worlds to break free." Psyrox said, approaching them. "This means he'll be upon us shortly."
"Then we must prepare for a fight then." Xemnas said. "I shall have my Nobodies ready to assault the enemy. We'll-"
Before he could say anything else, something loud and heavy hit the ground behind them, looking back to see it was the Overlords head, everyone rushing towards it.
"Overlord!" Fluttershy said, putting her hoof on his head. "What happened?"
"Where's Celestial Dawn?" Twilight asked.
"D-d-d-d-d-d-danger." Overlord replied. "D-d-d-dark Gaia is h-h-h-here. Dawn is g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-gone. Gaia has p-p-p-p-possessed her."
"Oh no." Twilight said, feeling her heart break. "We have to save her."
"N-n-n-n-no time." The Overlord replied. "H-h-h-he's coming. He has the H-h-h-h-heart Piece. You must f-f-f-f-fight." A second later, a section of his forehead opened up and from it, the red crystal appeared, presenting it to the group as it levitated. "B-b-b-b-bring the p-p-p-prince back. R-r-r-r-r-restore the worlds, r-r-r-r-restore balance. Save... the... worlds."
His eyes then went dark, falling silent as they all starred at the massive hunk of metal, everyone silent for a moment before the crystal started to glow, the Heart Piece in it coming out and shattering the crystal as the dragons head appeared, the triangle spinning as it flew into the air, stopping on the Pegasi head, which Rainbow Dash's Keyblade appeared, making the Pegasus fly into the sky to do a few stunts before pointing it to the Keyhole, stars flying to the tip as a rainbow colored light shot out, flying straight for the Keyhole and entering it. Then the clicking sound came as the dragon's eyes glowed cyan, opening it's mouth and roaring out as a golden light shot out of the mouth and towards twilight, which she took the book out and the Heart Piece flew into the dragons head, the eyes glowing cyan for a brief moment before the crystal symbol on the book changed from gold to red, collecting the eleventh Heart Piece.
"One more." Twilight said. "We only need one more."
"Aw, so soon?" A voice said. They all turned to look at who it was, finding it was Dark Gaia, still possessing Celestial Dawn as he smiled at them. "And here I thought we could be friends."
"Dark Gaia." Twilight said, summoning her Keyblade. "Release Dawn immediately!"
"Hmm, I don't think so." Dark Gaia replied. "I actually like this body. Much more powerful than my old one. And with the Power of the Force, it's even more powerful than before."
"Why you creep!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flying into the air. "Give us the Heart Piece now and we'll make this as painless as possible!"
"Gladly." Dark Gaia said. He then released the Heart Piece from his chest, shocking them at how he willingly gave them the Heart Piece he took from them. "I only needed it to get myself released from the core, but now that I'm out, it should go back to its rightful owner."
They were confused as to why he would simply give them the Heart Piece, but decided to get it before Dark Gaia changed his mind, Fluttershy summoning her Keyblade and tapping it on the ground, flowers and grass growing around her as the stars flew to the tip of her blade, firing a beam of yellow and pink into the Keyhole where they heard it click, the dragons eyes glowing yellow before it opened it;'s mouth, releasing the golden light and letting it fly into the book, where the eyes glowed yellow and the headdress changed from gold to white and brown, having collected all twelve of the pieces, which the dragons eyes started to glow purple again as veins of power appeared from the symbols and moved towards the dragons head, everyone starring at it excitedly, but before they could do or say anything, the book was yanked out of Twilight's magic, a tendril of dark magic pulling it away and giving it to Dark Gaia, who was cackling at his triumph.
"He's got the book!" Twilight shouted.
"Finally, all twelve are now together." Dark Gaia said. "The power of the Prince of Light and Darkness will be mine! ALL MINE!" As he started laughing again, the symbols moved, expanding the circle as if to make room for something when twelve sections around the dragons head opened up, pushing up a disk with eight empty holes in it in various shapes, surprising him. "Wait, what? I don't understand."
"What's happening?" Rosy asked.
"The pieces are all together, but nothing happened." Midnight replied.
"Where is the Prince's heart!?" Dark Gaia shouted, throwing the book down as the pages glowed again, Twilight quickly pulling the book away and opening it to see what they were missing, finding the empty sections and then the riddle in the pages.
"The twelve assembled, but all is not done, return what was given before the journey begun." Twilight said. "When the eight together in the books embrace, the final piece will appear in a rapid pace."
"Wait, there are more things we need to get!?" Rainbow Dash asked, falling onto the ground as she groaned. "What else could there be!?"
"It doesn't matter now does it?" Dark Gaia asked, blades made of dark fire appearing. "Because you will never find the remaining pieces. I won't let you!"
He then threw his sword towards Twilight, which she managed to duck in time, but the blade cut her ring off her horn, narrowly missing her horn, but she watched as the ring fell to the ground, watching in slow motion as it fell, hitting the ground as it broke into multiple pieces, her heart breaking as she saw the ring destroyed, falling to her knees as she dropped the book, a tear rolling down her cheek as her eyes became foggy.
"Hey, that was her only reminder of Spyro you jerk!" Rainbow Dash shouted, flying towards Dark Gaia with her blade.
Before she could land a hit, Dark Gaia used his magic and threw her off the temple, turning his attention to the air as he saw the seven Chaos Emeralds flying towards the island, laughing as he felt his victory was within reach.
"It won;t be long now, will it!?" Dark Gaia asked. "Soon this world will collapse, the universe will be mine, and all of you will be destroyed! Starting with your friend there."
He then disappeared in a dark flame and reappeared behind Twilight, time slowing down again for everyone as they watched the blades fly down towards the traumatized unicorn, everyone trying to reach her while Dark Gaia had the biggest grin on his face, feeling like he was going to win, but before he could deal a killing blow, a barrier appeared around Twilight and bounced the attack away, surprising Dark Gaia and everyone else. Twilight then got up and turned, calling her Keyblade as she turned to face the possessed unicorn mare.
"That ring was made by Spyro." Twilight said, her voice cold and filled with rage. "He made that ring for me, an engagement ring he made especially for me!" She then lifted her head as she walked to Dark Gaia, but to his surprise, Twilight's eyes were not purple like they usually were, but instead they were yellow and red, the eyes of the Sith, giving him the death stare. "And you're going to pay for destroying my ring!"