Kingdom Hearts: The World's Reluctant Heroes

by Blackdrag-rose

First published

Sombra, Fluttershy, and Radiant find themselves in a strange world and join Sora, Donald, and Goofy in their quest to find their missing friends, unaware of the true evil lurking in the darkness.

Sombra was defeated, his body shattered, but his soul persisted and found a path to a new world, at the same time as Fluttershy and Radiant Hope, causing them to arrive in a brand new world. They must join Sora, Donald, and Goofy in their quest to find their missing friends, and their fight to save the worlds from the Heartless, while unaware of the true evil that's lurking in the darkness.

(Kingdom Hearts/MLP Crossover)
(Part of the Demon War series, but reading the others isn't required)

Prelude: Piercing the Veil

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Sombra's day had been a mixed bag of events, as he had been fighting to get back inside the Crystal Empire for a time, despite the magical barrier that was keeping his shadowy form outside, and the princess who was powering it had been in the process of getting weaker, as she wasn't as powerful as Celestia and Luna. He discovered that this particular alicorn, Cadance, was supposedly the Princess of Love and his quick glances of her made him realize just how much she reminded him of the last ruler of the Crystal Empire, based on her appearance anyway. Her husband, a unicorn called Shining Armor, had done his best to stall him, helping his wife power the barrier while they sought a way to be rid of him, and occasionally coming out to do break down some of the dark crystals that Sombra called forth to distract him. His plan had been to just distract and wear down the unicorn, cutting down on Cadance's ability to protect the city, though as he did that Sombra found that a train had arrived near the border and six mares, plus a baby dragon, had shown up to aid the city.

Out of all of them only one peaked his interest, the unicorn mare called Twilight Sparkle, as her intelligence was above and beyond everyone else that was there, though her arrival allowed him to cripple Shining's magic by implanting black crystals in his horn, thanks to his own dark magic striking his horn.

The benefit to that was that his own horn was cut off and landed on the other side of the barrier, allowing him to do more damage to it in the grand scheme of things, though it was still a long process since that piece of him was cut off from most of the main body, which was fine since his distractions meant they wouldn't see this coming. Sombra found that the mares who came from the train, which likely came from whatever kingdom Celestia and Luna ruled over, used the library to discover a festival that the crystal ponies used to do before he took over, but they were missing the Crystal Heart. It was an important artifact for the empire that he had hidden, at least so it couldn't be used against him and until he found a way to corrupt it to suit his needs, but that didn't stop them from making a stone replica before realizing that it was a real artifact, as someone had to tell them about what Sombra had done to it. He had laughed as he watched them run around like maniacs, trying to figure out where in the world he had hidden the artifact, while showing great interest in Twilight as she figured out that the artifact was hidden inside the castle, locked away behind a number of locks and traps that would detain anyone looking for it.

What he wasn't expecting was for her to eventually figure out how to get to the heart of his containment area, despite the fact that it might be due to her dragon pet helping her out at times, and even as she triggered the final trap her dragon was able to carry off the heart. At the same time Sombra finally broke through the barrier and surrounded the city in his darkness as he rushed towards the center of the city, only stopping as he found his prize falling through the air, which was around the time that his physical form was allowed to reform in all it's dark glory. It was an amazing turn of events for him, as it installed so much fear into the crystal ponies that realized he was back, before his joy turned to sorrow as Shining did the unthinkable, he lifted his wife with his bare hooves and hurled Cadance into the air, where she sailed towards the now falling Crystal Heart. Sombra had attempted to claim the artifact before it fell, to complete his goals, only for the alicorn to catch the artifact and insert it into the center of the area below the palace, something that caused the ponies of the city to cheer and bow their heads towards it, empowering an ancient magic that had been sleeping for some time.

Sombra had been unable to flee or do anything as the power of love, that which powered the empire, poured out of the Crystal Heart, driving back his darkness and shattering his physical form until the only thing that remained of him was his curved red horn, which flew off into the distance of the Frozen North.

From there time lost all meaning to him, as it was impossible to do so in his dark spirit state, especially with his soul on the fringes of death, causing Sombra to spend what he assumed were his days slowly drawing together enough of his power to stitch himself back together, which was a painful process that took some time to accomplish. Fortunately in this state he didn't have to worry about being attacked, though at the same time he also had to be careful, as he knew that both Celestia and Luna knew a bit about how to use dark magic, which he was an expect in, hence his title as the 'King of Darkness'. While he did all that Sombra also felt what seemed to be a number of magical influxes coming from somewhere down to the south, though the number of them allowed him to pinpoint where they were coming from, so when he finished putting himself together he could leave without having to worry about anything. Another thing he had discovered was that no one from the empire bothered to come looking for any signs of him, which made sense when he considered that they didn't want to big up the past again, though Sombra also knew that it would come back to bite them when he regained his full power.

What surprised him was that one pony did come out into the wilderness multiple times, actively forcing him to move so he could remain undetected, and he found that it was none other than Radiant Hope, he recognized her anywhere, even in the icy region of the Frozen North. Before his 'fall to darkness', as some no doubt called it, he and Radiant had been close, a friend despite how his early life had gone, even though he couldn't recall exactly when it was that he had seen her last, but Sombra had to assume that, for her to be here, a thousand years after his banishment, she must have found her way into the empire when it was sealed. It was either that or the realm of the Umbrum, the species that Sombra came from, though in the end he determined that it didn't matter, rather he remained in hiding as he mended his soul, because she knew him better than most and might turn the tables on him if she had her way. To that end he kept an eye out for her or her scarf she wore, which might be more like a cloak when he focused on it, and whenever he spotted any signs of Radiant he got out of the area before finding a new place to resume his healing.

When the time came for him to move, and his soul was fully intact, Sombra departed from the Frozen North and made his way to the south, tracking down whatever he had felt previously, and found that it eventually brought him to an odd town that was right outside the Everfree Forest, a place that didn't follow the rules all of the other provinces followed.

The signature he had been feeling happened to be coming from the odd crystal castle that looked like it was part of a tree, a structure that reminded him of his time in the Crystal Empire, as odd as it sounded, which made him wonder where it might have come from, as he didn't recall one existing this far south during his reign. As he thought about that he found that one of the ponies of the town happened to be heading to the same structure he was heading towards, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane and tail, whose Cutie Mark was three butterflies, who he recognized as one of the mares who had joined Twilight on her journey to his domain. While he could just pass through the wall and see what was inside the structure for himself, all without drawing suspicion, he suspected that he could gain more information if he posed as the shyest pony around, who might go unnoticed until she spoke up, causing him to make his move. In the next few moments he lined his soul up with her body and sunk himself into her very being, effectively covering her bright soul with the dark mass that was his own, where she was able to gasp for just a second before her body was fully under his control.

The moment he was done possessing Fluttershy's body, as that was the mare's name, Sombra let out a sigh as he took a deep breath, taking in the fact that he could feel everything again, especially since there was a gentle breeze in the area that he hadn't known about in his soul form. He found that it was nice to take in the night air for a time, where he quickly realized that he had missed this during the unknown length of time he had been trapped in his soul form, despite the fact that he was currently using another's body to feel the breeze as he calmed his host's heart down. Fluttershy had been terrified for a few seconds, that much he could tell thanks to the sensations he was feeling, but soon her body returned to normal, almost as if nothing had happened in the last couple of moments, and her soul was too terrified to speak out against his, effectively allowing him to settle in with too much of a fight. Sombra honestly couldn't remember the last time he had possessed the body of a mare, especially since there was a key difference between them and a stallion, but right how he wasn't picky and knew that Fluttershy's body would help him out in his personal quest.

For the next couple of moments Sombra made sure he remembered how to move a body that was made of flesh and blood, instead of a spectral form that could touch nothing and pass through walls, which involved raising and lowering his hooves to make sure he could walk, and potentially run, with ease.

Once he was satisfied with how the body moved, while ignoring the wings since he'd have to learn something he had no idea how to use, Sombra quickly approached the front door and pushed it open, quickly finding a couple of corridors and passages to head down as he entered the structure. What he discovered was that the castle was bare, as if it had been freshly made and the owner had spent no time in personalizing it, though the shocking thing about what he was seeing right now was the lack of something that was a must for all castles, namely he found that there were no guards in the castle. It was as if whoever owned this structure, most likely Twilight Sparkle since her power had been above everyone else's during his last defeat, was asking for someone to rob them of everything they had, though with the lack of anything he suspected that if a thief dared to come here they'd be walking away with a frown and a sack full of nothing. With this discovery made he closed the door he had entered through and started to explore, rooms that had nothing in them, and an odd table with a number of seats around it, likely signifying Fluttershy's group since her mark was on one of the chairs, before he stopped in the hallway that was outside that room.

The reason he stopped was because there was a window in front of him and he could see Radiant rushing towards the very castle that he was currently exploring, in fact it looked like she glanced right up at him, or Fluttershy, as she neared the structure, meaning she had tracked him to this place. Sombra wasn't sure how she had tracked him down, other than through sheer determination, but this meant that his exploration had to be cut short, causing him to head down the rest of the hallway as he sought out whatever it was that had drawn him to this place. He passed by the ballroom for a moment and paused as he found a slumbering chimera creature that was inside it, who looked like he was sleeping on a bed made from a pink cloud, though in the next moment he resumed moving, deciding that there would be time to question why Discord was in the castle later. He figured that getting away from Radiant was more important than dealing with the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, even though it was impressive that the slumbering creature had remained undisturbed, as he figured that the sound of his hooves would have caused him to stir, but he was fine with this since it meant he wouldn't have to deal with the creature at all.

After a few more minutes of searching the castle, during which he knew Radiant had entered the structure as well, Sombra finally found the section he had been looking for, the library, and he entered it without delay, closing the door behind him in the hopes that Radiant wouldn't search this room. Once the door was shut he quickly glanced around for a few moments and found what appeared to be a board with a list of names on it, and descriptions of places he didn't recognize, though in the next instant he smiled as he found what had to be the source of some of the energy signatures. The source appeared to be a tall mirror like object that had what appeared to be a magical amplifier attached to it, likely to boost the power that the artifact contained, which only made him more interested in what he was seeing, before an idea sprung to mind as he quickly glanced back at the board. He realized that he had missed something in his haste, as there was also a diagram of worlds on it, ones he didn't recognize, causing Sombra to grin as he stared at the mirror for a moment, because he had found the key to obtaining even greater and terrible power.

"Sombra." a voice said, where he turned his host's head for a moment and found that Radiant had followed him all the way to this room, in fact she was huffing quite a lot, as if she had realized that she would lose him if she didn't pick up the pace, and now here they were, staring at each other as he understood that she must have seen him possess his host before entering the castle.

"I'm leaving, Radiant. You cannot stop me!" Sombra stated, finding that he spoke in Fluttershy's voice, which made sense since she was his host, though at the same time he turned and approached the mirror that seemed to be a portal to all sorts of worlds, as he could only wonder what sort of world he'd be sent to and what sort of powers he'd gain.

Radiant rushed towards Sombra and his host without delay, though as she did so she tripped on herself and tumbled forward like she was rolling, the sound of which caused Sombra to stop and turn towards her, just in time for Radiant to hit him and his host, sending all three of them into the portal as the magic latched onto them and sent them to whatever world was resting on the other side.


Sombra found that the other side of the portal, for that was what the magical tunnel had to be based on his observations, dropped him into what appeared to be the middle of a sea or ocean, based on all of the water that was around him, but in the next moment he discovered that it was actually all around him. He was underwater, why he had no idea and he wasn't about to start questioning things, especially when he found that something was fulling him backwards, down into the dark depths, only for him to discover that he was no longer possessing Fluttershy, as he was a soul once more, plus he found that neither her or Radiant were with him. He barely had time to think about that as he discovered that he had no power to fight whatever had latched onto him, so all Sombra could do right now was relax and let the current take him, only to be caught off guard as he burst through the water's surface and landed on a beach. It appeared that he was on a small island, with what he guessed were coconut trees since a few of them had several fruits resting around their bases, though he found that he was alone, as there was no one on the beach he had appeared on, meaning he was left to his thoughts once more.

As he started to think about things, however, he noticed what appeared to be a shooting star streak through the air, then a second and soon a third, causing him to glance back towards the sky as he noticed that it was a shower of shooting stars, a scene he had never seen back on the planet he called home, before noticing a dark spec falling towards the water.

The World acknowledges your existence. a voice said, something that caused Sombra to turn his head, as he realized that it wasn't like an actual speaker, like one would assume upon hearing it, but he wasn't sure what the source really was, it was stranger than anything he had felt or heard before this point in time.

As Sombra thought about what was going on he discovered that he suddenly fell backwards, as if something had pulled him back while he wasn't looking, and that he was suddenly up in the air, meaning he was actually the dark spec he had spotted, though at the same time he found that a surge of strange energy, made up of equal parts light and darkness, wrapped around his soul for a time.

The World realizes that you don't have a body, and apologizes. the unknown entity added, where Sombra realized that part of it's power had to be the energy that was all around him, meaning the portal must have brought him to the domain of a powerful being, who had clearly taken an interest in the odd newcomer that had entered it's realm, and he was surprised to learn that he didn't have a physical form still, The World would like to offer you your own physical form. Do you accept it's offer?

Yes. Sombra replied, figuring that since he didn't have a mouth he would need to speak with his mind, since that had to be how the Entity, for lack of a better term, was communicating with him right now, so this would allow him to speak like a normal being again and let him focus on his own goals.

In the following moments a surge of energy pulsed through his soul, unlike anything he had felt in the past, and he felt like he was slipping into unconsciousness, though he did close his eyes for a time as the Entity's magic washed over him, since it was too late to turn back now. Sombra could feel something happening to him as new appendages became known to him, because he could feel four limbs, similar to his front and hind legs before his physical body had been shattered, and it wasn't long before he felt his tail start to grow out, along with his mane. What he found to be weird was that his new form was stretched to match a bipedal stance, instead of the quadrupedal form he, like all ponies, was used to, meaning that this had to be the common form of the residents of wherever he had been teleported to, something he would have to get used to. Other than that there were a few other things that caught him off guard, such as the fact that he felt his chest swell in two spots, his frame felt smaller than what he was expecting, and his mane felt longer than what he was used to, all things he would have to check out when he opened his eyes.

In the next moment his new form smashed into the ocean he had seen from the beach and it was like a surge of life pulsed through his body, because it felt like his bodily functions just sprung to life all of a sudden, before he noticed that he wasn't wet from hitting the water, rather it felt like he was sinking into the darkness again.

Eventually he found himself turning around and his hooves touched down on a flat surface, which was followed by a surge of doves as the dark floor transformed into a large flock of the birds as they flew off into the great darkness that was around him, confirming that, while he had hit the ocean earlier, it was more like a portal to a new area. As the flock disappeared he noticed that he was now standing on a large flat circular surface that seemed like the top of a tower of some kind, though it looked like everything was made out of stained glass, depicting who he assumed was a princess of some kingdom that was unknown to him. In the next moment he found a floating mirror nearby, allowing him to see his new form, which appeared to be like a small minotaur, as he stood on two legs, which ended in his hooves, while what had been his front legs were now arms and ended in what he assumed were hands, both having five fingers, plus he had his curved horn and both his hair and his tail had black hairs. As he looked at his reflection he quickly noticed that something was off about him, the first being the large mounds on his chest and the slim frame he had, plus the long hair that came to a stop just below his shoulders, before discovering that he was wearing a red shirt and shorts, though he was stunned by his young reflection being of the opposite gender for some reason.

He really wasn't sure what was going on right now, or what this meant for him, but he had the feeling that part of his wish to gain more power had been granted, he just had to figure out where he was, what was going on, and if there was a way to fix his current form before he actually started his grand quest.

Interlude: New Information

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Sombra stared at the image that was in front of him, observing his form as he thought about a few things, such as the fact that he was definitely alive now, his body was made out of flesh and blood, instead of magic and smoke or even the bits of his soul that he had been lasted into after his defeat. The problem with his body, however, was that it was the wrong body, and not because of the bipedal form he had been given, rather it was due to the fact that he happened to be the opposite gender of what he had been born with, which confused him as he stared at his brand new reflection. There was no reason for whatever had given him this body to give him something that wasn't his, though it did make him wonder for a moment if he had been merged with the mare he had possessed, since he didn't see her anywhere, before wondering if he had merged with Radiant, since she had been there as well. After thinking about that Sombra quickly determined that this wasn't due to him being joined with either mare, otherwise he would have felt either of them inside his new form or heard either of them inside his head, which told him that Fluttershy and Radiant were elsewhere and that their paths were likely to cross again at some point.

After looking at himself some more Sombra turned away from the mirror, as it was odd looking at the wrong body he had been given, and focused on the space that was around him as he focused his attention on the now silent figure that was watching him in the void he was standing in.

"Mysterious entity, or whoever I'm talking to, you would have had my thanks for the body, but... well, you actually gave me the wrong body." Sombra stated, though as he said that he discovered that his voice was more feminine than what he was expecting, plus he was definitely younger than his old form, even though it was hard to gauge just how young he was right now, since he had no experience with this type of body.

The World is confused, as it assumed that you would be happy with your new body, the Entity replied, because that was the temporary name that Sombra was giving whatever was talking to him right now, as he was unable to pinpoint the direction that it was coming from, though he wasn't too surprised that 'The World' was surprised by his remark, and it is curious as to why you would say it gave you the 'wrong body'. The World says that when it discovered you, after appearing out of thin air with two other hearts, your heart was possessing another's form... it made the assumption that you, too, were female and created your new body based on that assumption.

"I can see that." Sombra said, to which he raised a hand towards his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, because this wasn't what he was expecting when he decided to use the portal to travel to a place to gain the power to conquer the rest of Equestria, not to mention all of Equus, before he thought of something that might improve his situation as he lowered his hand, "Since the World gave me this form, wrong as it is, it can restore me to my original gender right?"

...Yes... the World says that it can fix this mistake, but, since it doesn't have any material of a male from your race, it will take some time before it can do anything. the Entity answered, which didn't fill Sombra with confidence, as it made him question the power of the being that was currently watching over him, especially since it seemed like the World like how he looked like now and didn't want to undo what it had done, despite his personal feelings on the matter, For the moment the World is suggesting that you think of yourself as female and address yourself as such, as it is sure that it will save you from having to answer some awkward questions when you speak with other individuals.

"Really?" Sombra remarked, as he couldn't believe what he was hearing, that the force that gave him his incorrect body was essentially telling him that he should suck it up and just get used to being female, though it could be him overthinking what was going on right now, causing him to sigh as he resigned himself to his fate, as he was sure that using feminine terms was going to drive 'her' insane at some point, all while she lowered her voice so only she could hear herself, "This is starting to feel more like a punishment with every passing moment."

However, do not despair, as the World is going to grant you the knowledge on how to move your new body, so you can walk as the humans do. the Entity continued, which was either due to the World telling it that there was more it was giving Sombra, or it had heard her personal remark and wanted to correct part of what was going on right now, and this time she really had no idea which option was correct.

Sombra raised an eyebrow as she heard that, because everything the Entity said just made her that much more confused and interested in where the portal had brought her, before she paused as she felt a surge of information filter into her head, basic knowledge on how to move around. She stood still for a few seconds, going over the new knowledge that had been given to her, before she found something interesting, some of the movements were more oriented towards combat, as if the World was expecting her to head out on some sort of quest. In the following moment she decided to follow what her brand new memories were telling her, where Sombra raised her left leg for a moment and took a step, then a second and a third, before breaking out into a jog and then a run around the area to get used to her new body. The way she was able to move at the moment made it look like she had been born in this form and that she hadn't been gained it from another power, which she found to be a good thing in the long run, since it meant no one would stop her and ask questions.

Even with that newfound knowledge in her mind Sombra found that there were still some kinks to be worked out, because she was used to having a male body to run around and fight in, despite the fact that most of the time she used her magic to deal with her foes or those who displeased her. There were a few instances where she actually had to fight in melee combat, and she had trained herself to do so to the best of her ability, though there was a difference between being able to move in armor, with a powerful frame, to moving with her new body. She was certain that the mounds on her chest weren't very helpful and might get in the way of combat, if she was lucky to see any after suffering under the World's changes, but she decided to keep her mouth shut on the matter, least she annoy the World. Such a thing made her go over the new memories she had been given, to see if there was something she might have missed that would get rid of some of her annoyance with this situation, as it almost felt like this might be a punishment for her lust for power.

Such a thing caused her to stop for a time as she considered the pieces of information she had gleamed from just the new memories she had been given, as it really seemed like there was a grand plan in mind and that her arrival, not to mention the arrival of Fluttershy and Radiant, might have changed the World's grand plans.

"Let me guess: there's a price for this body and the memories?" Sombra inquired, which made sense to her, because she had gained something in this exchange and the World had gained nothing, save for attitude from her since this was the wrong body, meaning there was more that the Speaker, as that was what she had decided to call the entity, needed to tell her and she wanted to know what the pair would ask of her.

The World says that there is no price for your gifts... especially in the face of it's error... rather, it would ask you for a favor: to find the Kingdom Key's chosen wielder. the Speaker replied, which was interesting to Sombra, as the silent observer had revealed what she had been expecting, that it wanted her to do something for it, while also finding that it did make sure she knew that it had acknowledged that it made an error with her body, However, if you agree to this favor, you will need power to defend yourself and information about the foes you will no doubt encounter on the way.

Sombra raised a hand to her chin for a moment as she considered the information, as her main interest was the power that might be offered to her, especially since it had caused her to possess Fluttershy and pass through the portal, even though that plan had sort of failed given the fact that Radiant had knocked herself into the possessed mare and brought all three of them to this place, causing her to grin for a few seconds.

"Very well then, I'll play ball. What is this power you speak of? What enemies will I face?" Sombra asked, which might be seen as a bad thing to some, her asking questions in a rapid manner while focusing purely on the power she might gain, but right now this seemed less like a punishment, like she assumed a few moments ago, and more like a pause in her life, before she thought about a few other things that needed to be asked before she left this place, "And what's this about the 'Kingdom Key' and it's 'Chosen One'? Also, where's the pony I took control of and the one who came with us?"

For a moment nothing happened, like the Speaker was conversing with the World, before she felt a surge of energy that was in the area he was in and found that two orbs had appeared near her, one possessing a golden color with a simple looking crown icon on it, while the other was a deep red, almost crimson or blood red, though as she raised a hand towards the first one it shocked her before disappearing, giving her nothing.

The World has studied your heart and has offered you a unique power. the Speaker stated, where Sombra studied it for a time and found that it didn't react like the golden orb, the crimson one just floated there, as if waiting for her to absorb it into her being, though by 'heart' Sombra guessed that the World and the Speaker meant her actual soul, but decided not to bother asking more questions, The World calls this power 'Boundless Necromancy', the ability to capture the hearts of your enemies and absorb them, adding their power to your own.

Sombra paused as she heard that, as it was basically a cheat power, something that would eventually give the user a bunch of ridiculous powers, especially since some people might have skills that this one could copy and give to him, causing a grin to appear on her face as he touched the crimson orb and let the power surge into her body.

The enemies you will face are known as the 'Heartless', physical manifestations of the darkness in one's heart who have no emotions and seek to swallow the planets of the World in darkness. the Speaker continued, where Sombra found that a few shadowy specs appeared near her position, transforming into small humanoid creatures that had rounded heads and a pair of antennae on their heads, though their bodies seemed to be made out of pure darkness or shadows, Only one type of weapon can permanently defeat the Heartless and free their captive hearts, special weapons called the 'Keyblades', while all other types merely displace the hearts until they reform into their Heartless forms... but...

"I cannot wield a Keyblade, right?" Sombra remarked, as it made sense when she thought about the other sphere that had been presented to her, as it seemed like the World had intended to give her the means to protect herself and also give her the power to grow to face the greater Heartless that no doubt existed in another part of the universe, even though it had to be disappointed in her not gaining a Keyblade, where she held a hand out and the darkness vibrated for a moment, "Let's correct that, shall we?"

Back when she was the ruler of the Crystal Empire, and even before that, she had utilized several weapons to help her with her conquest and Sombra knew she had the perfect one for the job, where a lone pole, as tall as she was, rushed out of the vast darkness before coming to a stop in her hand. It wasn't a staff or even a lance, as there was a crescent bladed head resting at the top, a dark silver colored blade that had instilled fear into those who saw it in the past, save for Celestia and Luna, and once it was in her hand she spun it and shifted her stance. She found that a few new memories quickly joined the ones she had been given a few moments ago, as in the World had realized what weapon she had picked and wanted to make sure she knew how to use it while in this form, something she wasn't about to argue with since it was clear to her that the World wanted her to succeed. Once she had a greater understanding of how to move with the weapon in this body, all so she didn't hurt himself while she was lashing out at his foes, she looked at the Heartless that were in front of her and found that they had been watching her the entire time, mostly waiting until the World and the Speaker were done giving Sombra the keys to her success.

Sombra found that the little Heartless only scurried around the ground and jumped at her when she was a certain distance away from them, though as her scythe sliced through one of her foes she found that it was cut in half, reduced to a puff of smoke as nothing emerged from it. As Sombra thought about that she turned on the other three shadows and let her scythe cut through all of them, leaving nothing but puffs of smoke, something that caused the Speaker to speak up as she wondered what was going on right now, since the Heartless weren't releasing hearts. What she discovered was that her current foes had been of the pureblood type, as in they were just beings of darkness who didn't have hearts, meaning the ones she wanted to target were the 'emblem' type, which had an interesting chained heart icon on them. The World then summoned a few of those foes for her to fight, cracked egg looking foes that seemed passive, but she realized that it was a measure to lure their foes into a false sense of security so they could claim the hearts of their targets, and all four of them had the emblem on their bodies.

This time around when she slashed through the first foe, splitting the Heartless in half, Sombra found that a pink orb was released from her defeated foe, which had to be a heart she realized, before finding that the others were coming at her and she attacked them without delay. Such a thing allowed her to free three more hearts, where they floated in the air for a time as Sombra made sure that the area was clear, just to confirm that her training was over, as she had confirmed that she could fight well with her new body. After that she paused for a couple of seconds as she stared at the strange orbs, which she guessed were about the size of her head, before tapping into the power she had been given as an eerie dark mist surrounded the orbs and quickly devoured all four of them without missing a beat. The coloration of the mist was familiar to her, because it was the same color as the darkness that seeped out of her eyes when she used her dark magic, something she would have to test to see if she could still use her old powers, before discovering that her new skill had given her an internal storage area of sorts for her to store all of the captured hearts in.

In that moment she focused her mind on what she wanted to do as she absorbed the four hearts, where she felt a surge of power a few seconds later, a rush that died down rather quickly, only to find a blue transparent window appeared in front of her, something that had a lot of words on it that interested her greatly as she carefully studied it.

"Let's see, I have strength, stamina, magical power... I'm guessing that means intelligence... agility, natural defenses... feels like a game." Sombra commented, because during her time in Ponyville she had passed by several stores and one of them had what it called a 'board game' inside it, something about a campaign against monsters and other evils, where she quickly recalled seeing something like this on the box before she resumed her journey to the odd crystal castle.

Based on what she could tell each heart she absorbed, or soul to be more exact, gave her a boost in power by adding what seemed to be points to each of her 'stats', meaning that each foe likely had a particular attribute they would boost if she captured and absorbed their soul. The little egg Heartless, for example, seemed to lean more towards the luck stat, as it had a plus with the number four next to it, something that caused her to close the odd window and open it again, all to find that the addition was gone, meaning it would only show up when she was absorbing new souls, a temporary sign of sorts she guessed. With the number of stats she could add power to Sombra assumed that there were a significant amount of Heartless scattered around the universe, no doubt in different forms and shapes to justify what she was seeing right now, meaning it would take some time for her to boost some of the more specific stats. She was slightly annoyed of the fact that the pureblood Heartless didn't have hearts for her to take, as it was power that couldn't be added to her own, but decided that the emblems would be more than sufficient for her needs.

While she had been expecting this to be easy, as in she would come in with her own powers and decimate everything in her path to get the power she had been after, Sombra was now understanding that this wouldn't be as easy as she had originally assumed, something that caused her to smile, as a challenge was far better than going after really easy prey, causing her to think about the other topics they had to discuss.

"Okay, so I've proven that my weapon can liberate the hearts from the Heartless, that my new power can capture those newly freed hearts, and that I can absorb them." Sombra stated, speaking into the darkness once more, as she assumed the Speaker was silently watching as she familiarized herself with the skills that would allow her to survive her encounters with the Heartless, though she did dismiss her scythe, which she could summon whenever she wanted, since there were no foes around her right now, "So tell me: what's this about the 'Kingdom Key' and it's 'Chosen Wielder'?"

The Kingdom Key is an important weapon of the Realm of Light, the physical plane of the World, and it has chosen a very special individual to wield it. the Speaker replied, where Sombra found that the air in front of her shifted for a moment before discovering an image long weapon that looked like a key that had been turned into a blade, with a protective area of sorts that rested around the handle, no doubt to make sure the user's hands were safe, I know this weapon doesn't look like much, but it is incredibly special and the Heartless will do everything in their power to take down the one chosen to wield it.

"I think I see where this is going: this favor involves me tracking down the wielder and ensuring that they survive whatever journey they embark on... right?" Sombra inquired, though she did note that the Speaker wasn't giving her a lot to work with, as while she was being given great information she was also being left in the dark about certain things, meaning either the World had no idea how to give her what she wanted or she was meant to figure everything else out on her own.

The World wishes for you to find the Kingdom Key's wielder, that is true, but you are free to do whatever you want after you accomplish your goal. the Speaker answered, which was an interesting thing for Sombra to hear, since she had been of the opinion that the World would have preferred that she ensure the wielder completed whatever quest or journey that they would be embarking on in the near future, The World does not wish to dictate how you live your life: if you wish to join the wielder on their quest, you can do so... if you want to leave them to pursue your own goals, that is fine... if you wish to be lazy, and have a slow life, that is acceptable as well. The World does say that they hope you'll join the wielder on their quest, as you would be facing countless Heartless until they reached their final goal, but the choice is up to you.

Sombra had to resist the urge to chuckle, as the World made it seem like they didn't care what she picked, but in reality the mysterious figure wanted her to join the unknown wielder on their journey and even made sure that she knew about all of the Heartless she would face, as if hoping that her lust for power would entice her to go with the wielder.

"And what about Fluttershy? She passed through the portal with me, so shouldn't she be here?" Sombra inquired, not that she cared what happened to the mare all that much, she was just curious as to why the shy pony had been missing during the various short training sessions she had been given since gaining her new body, and thinking of her caused her to think about Radiant as well, "Also, where is Radiant Hope?"

The World decided that it would be best to have you three train in separate areas, before sending all of you to the place that all wayward travelers end up in. the Speaker replied, causing Sombra to raise an eyebrow in interest, because if the World had given her this broken power, and was almost encouraging her to go out and use it, it only made her all the more interested in what sort of skills Fluttershy and Radiant might have been given, As it stands the ones called 'Fluttershy' and 'Radiant Hope' have already finished their training and have been sent ahead of you... you are free to find them, if that is what you wish.

Sombra thought that was odd, as she had assumed that the World would want her to find the other hearts that had come from her world, like a punishment for bringing them here in the first place, but decided that it might be best to not speak on the matter, since she might run into either of them later on, since it seemed like they were going to be dropped off in the same location.

"Very well. Send me to the place that wayward travelers end up in and I'll see what I can do." Sombra stated, because she already knew what she was going to do, she was going to find this wielder and use them to gain unlimited power, because a Keyblade meant more chances to free the hearts from the grasp of the Heartless and more chances for her to capture all the more power for herself.

Sombra heard nothing else from the Speaker as a surge of energy wrapped around her and suddenly a large black circle just opened below her hooves, where she fell into what appeared to be a dark passage, though she could only grin as she wondered what might be on the other side and what sort of powers she would gain in the near future.