Hello, fellow readers! Welcome back to Harmonic Hearts! What do we have:
johannvanguard: My usual reader, always good to see you!
gfr091702: Well here ya go!
Raximus: No story's perfect. Though, I'm curious on what you thought was odd.
Thanks for the feedback! With that said, let's continue!
Visit 1-2: The Bigger Picture
"Didn't used to be... who does he think he is?"
Sunset mumbles to herself before turning a corner, seeing a green flame appear and fade to reveal an interesting face:
"I see you have met the three buffoons already."
She was a rather interesting woman, dressed in a black cloak with a cowl that has devilish horns. She held a staff with a green orb on top, where her left hand rests as Sunset raises an eyebrow:
"And you are?"
"I am Maleficent, dear. I overheard you want this crown to reclaim what you've lost."
Sunset wasn't sure what to make of this yet, "And what does that have to do with those 'buffoons'?"
"Take this as a warning. Do NOT underestimate them, for they have foiled my plans before."
"...Well I appreciate the concern, but I know what I'm doing." Upon saying that, she takes her leave.
Maleficent uncovers the orb on her staff, seeing a great power hidden within that girl. All she has to do is wait for the right time.
Twilight was lost in her thoughts as the trio follows behind, Sora being the first to point it out:
"What's on your mind?"
"Huh? N-Nothing!"
"Is it about Sunset?" Goofy wonders.
"No, it's just... she said that the princess was why she decided to leave. I don't know if she's lying or..."
"It's possible for people to change." Donald chimes in.
"That's also true..."
"Sora!"
The group saw Fluttershy run towards them in a fit of panic, stopping to catch her breath:
"...Monster!... Outside!..."
"We're on it!" Sora assures her before turning to Twilight, "Be right back!"
The trio headed off towards the danger, leaving her and Spike as the latter pops out:
"Let's not focus on Sunset right now. Right now, we need to get your crown back."
"Right. Before we do, we need to do some research. Now where's-" She pauses upon looking into an open door to see her destination, "The library!"
She gladly enters, not knowing that a certain student was nearby, ready to record with her phone.
The trio follow Fluttershy to the soccer field, where another student was getting chased by said Heartless. She barely dodges its charging attack with a quick roll, which the creature simply changes course to charge her again.
"Rainbow!" Fluttershy calls out as the trio charge into battle.
Sora deflects the charge attack, allowing the student named Rainbow to escape her pursuer. Donald and Goofy group up with him soon after, realizing that a new type of Heartless has appeared.
While it still had the yellow eyes and black skin, its form resembles something of a winged unicorn where the 'feathers' were edged in dark red, the horn glowing an equally red wisp. Upon seeing the keyblade, it opens its maw to reveal sharp teeth and neighs aggressively.
Objective: Defeat the Dark Alius! (BGM: The Encounter)
A barrier surrounds the soccer field, beginning battle as the dark horse attacks first. It fires a swarm of icicles to force them to separate, where Donald retaliates with a barrage of thunderbolts. It briefly stuns the horse, but it shrugs off to fire right back.
Sora slides past one of the sweeping bolts, closing in with Fira followed by a combo. The horse pushes him back soon after with its wings, taking flight to soar across the field before summoning fiery pillars to scorch them. The trio kept on the move to avoid them as Donald tries to snipe the horse with Blizzard.
The heartless dives to dodge an icicle, charging for the duck horn-first. Goofy narrowly jumps in for the save, deflecting it via shield that left it open. Sora was a bit too far this time, deciding to fire Blizzards instead.
The horse recovers, channeling magic into its hooves before stomping the ground. The shockwave was rather fast, catching Donald and Goofy while Sora was just far enough to dodge with High Jump. It follows up by going after Sora first, forcing him on defense with a charge.
He quickly guards it, pushing him back quite a bit. Another charge came by much faster, making him guard again. A third charge bolts for him, forcing him to use Reflect this time that actually makes it recoil. The barrier bursts, dealing damage as Sora lands a quick combo.
Donald and Goofy recovers just as the horse retaliates, conjuring a barrier around itself before floating in the air. Recalling a similar move from a previous adventure, the court mage uses Thunder and Blizzard to try damaging it. To his surprise, it actually nullifies his spells!
"What!? No fair!" He hates it when that happens.
"I'm going in!" Sora calls out, charging towards the floating heartless.
It fires a barrage of lightning strikes, making him dodge to close the distance. Using Quick Run and High Jump, he land as many aerial hits he could before it warps away. It then fires a swarm of icicles, followed by fiery pillars emerging from where Sora was.
He uses Reflect to defend against the fast icicles, leaving him open to get hit by a pillar followed with two more. Using Retaliating Slash, he pushes himself away from more pillars and had to dodge more icicles. Goofy is trying to reach their target, but its spells was making it difficult.
It warps away again before absorbing the barrier into its horn, charging up a powerful beam and aims at Sora-
BOOM!
Only for the knight captain to come just in time, blocking said beam as the two hold their ground. Donald slides in behind them, adding to their combined might before they charge through the beam. The trio smash the shield upon impact, greatly stunning the horse as Sora activates a Limit!
"Goofy!"
The two team up as he smacks Goofy's shield like a baseball, repeating it three more times before throwing both to deal rapid damage. After two more times, it finishes with Sora launching his friend like a cartoony rocket. Like a balloon, Goofy flies around it before finishing with a slam to send it flying.
To their surprise, the heartless was still standing as it tries to attack. However, Sora still has one more trick to wrap this up:
"Give me strength!"
In a burst of light, his clothes change to red with black as he now holds two keyblades and charges in. He got quite the speed boost, sidestepping any spells coming his way until reaching the heartless.
He went to town on it, smacking it around with fast midair strikes before finishing with Sonic End. Landing on his feet, he zooms in with more slashes before wrapping up with Brave Shot. The narrow shockwave disappears, revealing what remained of the heartless as it fades to dark wisps.
The barrier around them disappears as Sora puts one keyblade on his shoulder, "And that's that."
Donald and Goofy walk over as they hear loud cheering, turning to see easily half the school who witnessed the fight. Some were obviously recording it while others just had their jaws dropped. Sora was just glad they were safe, just before seeing something on the roof. It was brief, but he recognized it:
A green flame.
"Hey."
His attention shifts as the trio saw Fluttershy and Rainbow walk over, getting a better look at the latter's appearance.
She had long hair that is a literal rainbow, cerise eyes and light gray skin. She wore a white shirt under an unzipped blue hoodie with white accents, black leggings with rainbow-colored thunderbolts on the sides, and blue boots with white laces.
"Thanks for the rescue. You three are the new guys around here, right?" She recalls, likely from the viral video.
"Yup. Are you hurt, by the way?" Goofy asks her.
"A bit dirty, but it couldn't touch me." She assures him, "Name's Rainbow Dash."
Sora returns in kind as his Valor Form dissipates with the keyblades, "I'm Sora, he's Donald and that's Goofy. Do you know where that Heartless come from?"
"Literally, from nowhere! I was practicing my soccer skills with Fluttershy watching, when she saw that thing come out of the ground!"
"It was like a horror movie..." Fluttershy was scared by such a thought.
"Don't worry, we'll protect you from the heartless!" Donald assures them.
"Come on, let's go back inside." Sora leads the way as they do just that.
Once they entered the hallway, another student was running towards them with a gleeful smile.
"Rarity?" Fluttershy watches her stop in front of Sora before bombarding him with questions:
"How did your clothes do that!? Who made them!? What material is it made of!?"
"Magic, Fairies, no idea." He lists his answers in return.
She was gonna continue before Rainbow puts her hand over her mouth, "Excuse her, she makes clothes and stuff."
Rarity moves her hand away, "The profession is 'Seamstress', thank you very much."
Now that she has calmed down, they were able to see her appearance better. She had azure blue eyes, long curly indigo hair and light gray skin with a darker shade for her eyeshadow. She wore a zipped-up indigo jacket with a fur collar over a white shirt, an indigo skirt with a trio of white diamonds on it, white leggings, and equally indigo buckled boots.
"It's all right, I'm still new to this outfit." Sora admits, "And you are?"
"Oh! Apologies for my forwardness earlier, I am Rarity."
"I'm Sora, he's Donald and that's Goofy."
"Hi." Donald simply said.
"Howdy." Goofy chimes in.
"I don't know how you three face those dreaded creatures. Are you even scared of them?" She wonders.
"We've had our fair share of battles." Donald proudly answers.
Sora then remembers something, "Oh, we have to get back to the library!"
"Why do you want to?" Rainbow questions.
"Our friend Twilight is there. We don't want to keep her waiting." Goofy answers.
"The library will be closed in five minutes." The voice on the speakers said before turning off.
Twilight spent that entire time studying what this new world has to offer, closing the current book before letting out a yawn. It was at this point that she realizes something:
"I forgot! Where are we gonna stay for the night?"
Spike puts down the book he was reading just as the doors open, where Sora and the others enter:
"Sorry we're late, it was a tough one."
"It sounded like it. Oh!" Twilight notices the extra faces they brought with them, "Hello there."
"Rainbow here was being chased by the Heartless when we got there. Rarity showed up afterwards, mainly for my clothes." Sora clarifies.
"So you're Twilight. You're running for Fall Formal Princess?" Rainbow recalls, "And have a talking dog?"
"Yes I am, and yes I do." Twilight admits as Spike walks out from under the table.
"I'm still processing the concept, then again..." Rarity glances at Donald and Goofy while trailing off.
"Fluttershy also mentioned you stood up against Sunset for her. That earns my respect."
"Speaking of which, we'll help you out in any way we can. It's about time someone dethroned that ruffian."
Twilight sees this chance for what she was wondering, "Actually, I'm still new around here and I don't have a place to stay right now-"
"Ah, say no more! You're welcome to stay with me."
She was kinda expecting Rainbow and Fluttershy to interject, but they had their reasons:
"After today, I need to just rest when I get home..." The former admits.
"I would, but I have no room." The latter admits.
"I do have room for you three, if you'd like." Rarity offers to the trio, which they gladly accepted.
Upon leaving the school, they made sure to get Rainbow and Fluttershy home first before going to Rarity's place. When they enter, they were shown a small tour of the layout before seeing what rooms they'll be staying in. After eating some dinner, they eventually had to rest for the night.
Twilight sat on the bed in her room, opening her backpack to pull out a book as Spike rolls around on the carpet. The pup soon notices said book:
"What's that you got there?"
"They call it a yearbook. It seems to be something they use to keep records of what happens at the school."
"Really? Like what?"
She stops turning pages upon seeing a certain picture, "Look, it's our friends!"
Spike hops up onto the bed to get a better look, "You're right, though they look younger in this."
"This was taken during freshman year, but..."
"But what?"
"They look like they're friends in this, yet they aren't now. I wonder what happened to drift them apart."
Spike ponders such a possibility, "Maybe Sunset might be behind it? I wouldn't be surprised, having stolen your crown and all."
Twilight closes the book and puts it back in her bag, "I'm getting that feeling too."
"Well, we can't focus on the past. Fluttershy said we need the whole school to be on our side, so you need to start making friends here too."
"How? I still don't know a lot about this place."
"Same for Sora, Donald, and Goofy. They said they're from another world, like you."
That made her curious, "And yet they make friends so easily. I wonder how..."
Spike lets out a yawn as he balls up next to the pillow, "We can ask them tomorrow, no worries."
Twilight lays down to sleep upon agreeing, "Yeah, no worries."
The next day arrives, signified by the morning sunrise as Twilight was up and ready with Spike in her bag. Rarity was also up by then, but the trio was a different story:
"Come on, guys! We have to go to school!" Twilight tries shaking them awake, to little effect.
"...Five more minutes, mom." Sora mutters.
Rarity then gets an idea, "AH! It's those creatures!"
"Heartless!?" The trio spring up to their feet, weapons ready to fight before realizing they were tricked.
"No, but there might be some at school if we don't hurry." Twilight mentions.
"Right, let's go!"
The group headed off to CHS, which wasn't that far from her place as they arrive to hear the morning announcements:
"Good morning students and happy Thursday. Just a reminder to pick up your ballots for Fall Formal Princess today, they are due tonight for the dance. Don't forget to vote so your voice will be heard."
This reminds Twilight of last night, "Oh, Sora! May I ask you something?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"I'm struggling on making friends here, do you have any pointers?"
The trio was kinda surprised to hear this as Sora answers, "Not really. We just do our thing, helping out friends and taking out heartless."
They aren't wrong. That was the thing they did when they met, even unintentionally getting famous from it.
"Maybe you can try doing something you're good at too." Goofy suggests.
"What I'm good at..." Twilight mutters before hearing giggling nearby.
They saw smaller groups of students hanging around looking at them, or more specifically Twilight.
"What are they laughing at?"
"I don't think it's something good." Rarity answers, "Come, I know a place."
She leads the way into the school, seeing every student they pass giggling to themselves upon seeing Twilight. Upon reaching an empty classroom, she closes the door before reaching into her bag:
"When this happens, I tend to wear a disguise until it blows over."
Twilight was confused, "I'm just wondering why it's happening."
"No time darling, I need your measurements!"
Rarity takes out some measuring tape to, well measure her before reaching into her bag. She pulls out a simple green dress and a blonde wig, swiftly putting them on Twilight:
"There we go. If you give me a moment, I can make Spike look like a rabbit."
"...What?" The pup was just as confused.
"I think we should just ask around, see what's up." Sora suggests before one of the class doors opened:
"There ya are, Twilight!"
"And there goes that..." Rarity mutters.
Applejack enters, along with Pinkie and Fluttershy close behind. "I've been looking all over for ya!"
"Me too." Fluttershy adds.
"Me three!" Pinkie hung from the top of the door before zooming inside, getting a closer look at said disguise. "I like the new look."
"I do have an eye for this, not that you seem to care." Rarity coldly replies, which was quite the contrast from before.
"What!?"
"Why do you think she doesn't..." Twilight stops, seeing Pinkie about to explode. "Nevermind, nevermind! Wait, why were you looking for me?"
"Is it about the students laughing at her?" Donald was right on the money:
"Yup, look!" Pinkie pulls out her laptop, opening it up before putting Twilight in the seat. "Don't worry, it's not too bad..."
The others gather around to watch a video that was posted online, one involving Twilight:
"Twilight Sparkle, the new girl in school, wants to be Fall Formal Princess." Sunset's voice was heard commentating on said video, showing her struggle with a computer.
"Though, what does it say when someone like THIS..." Another clip was shown, seeing Twilight pick up a book with her mouth.
"Is given such an important honor?" A third clip showed Twilight get surprised by a flashing printer.
Sora pauses it as Twilight was left stunned, "I... wha..."
"I take it back, it's very bad." Not helping, Pinkie.
"T-This happened yesterday at the library, I didn't see anyone there! Is THIS why the students are laughing at me!?"
The girls didn't answer, leaving her distraught as Goofy points out something:
"Wait, that was at the library? That was when that heartless showed up."
"True, it was." Sora then saw a link to said video and clicks on it, "This is it."
The others watch as they saw the trio took on something Twilight recognizes, "Wait, that's an Alicorn! THAT was a Heartless!?"
"Guess so, and it was really tough."
"Whoever filmed this is quite the cameraman." Rarity points out, seeing the video getting impressive angles.
It ends with Sora in Valor Form finishing off said heartless, the video getting drowned in cheering before stopping. This only made Twilight sadder as she closes the laptop:
"Now no one will vote for me now..."
"I know it's not much, but I'll still vote for you." Fluttershy reassures her, to no avail. "You were so nice to stand up against Sunset, when she was picking on me yesterday."
"If you still wanna run, maybe I can help with that!" Pinkie chimes in.
"Word of advice, don't listen to her." Twilight was taken back by Fluttershy of all people saying that.
"Why are you so mean!?"
Rarity walks over, doing a weird beatbox sound before retorting:
"Don't play innocent Pinkie, you're no better than she is!"
The trio was processing the sudden shift as Pinkie shouts back, "And what does THAT mean!?"
"Well, I'm happy to offer my assistance to someone who will APPRECIATE what I have to offer!"
"Hey!" Sora steps in at this point, "Aren't you friends? Why the hostility!?"
"He's right!" Applejack agrees, "Listen to ya'll prattle on, get over it and move on!"
"Ah, like you got over your scuffle with Rainbow!?" Rarity mentions.
"Hey, she said she'd bring the softball team to my bake sale! I tell everyone they're coming, and not ONE showed up! She made a liar out of me, that's different!"
"Is not!" The three girls retort.
"Is too!"
Now the four are shouting at each other, giving Twilight a headache as Sora and Goofy cover their ears for Donald:
"QUIIIEEETT!"
The duck shouts at the top of his lungs, silencing everyone in the room instantly. After straightening his ruffled feathers, Sora steps in again to try ease the tension:
"Look, I don't like it when friends fight. Can someone please explain the issue here?"
No one answered right away, allowing Twilight time to take out the yearbook and opens to the picture:
"I want you all to look at something." She shows their freshman picture, sparking a memory:
"The Freshman Fair, ya'll remember that?" AJ asks, which the others agree.
"But something happened, and I can't help but think Sunset had something to do with it." Twilight suggests.
"It's a nice theory darling, but it wasn't." Rarity denies.
"And why's that?" Sora wonders.
"She wasn't the one who ruined the silent auction for the animal shelter." Fluttershy mentions, "It was supposed to be a serious event, but Pinkie ruined it with fireworks and noise makers."
"What are you talking about!? You sent me a text about a big party!" Pinkie pulls out her phone to reveal said text, but Fluttershy doesn't recall:
"I never sent you a text."
"You didn't?"
"Then, you don't think she was the one sending me those emails?" Rarity questions.
"About what?" Goofy wonders.
"I try to volunteer for setting up party decorations, but Pinkie always said she had enough help. I find out later that she did them by herself!"
"I never sent you any emails..." Pinkie was rather confused by that.
The trio was getting the picture and so was Twilight as Applejack chimes in, "Maybe she's the reason why Rainbow never showed up for my bake sale!"
"Have you ever asked her about it?" Twilight asks, making AJ nervously chuckle:
"Ah uh... may have just stopped talking to her after that."
Sora shakes his head at this, "Come on, guys. You shouldn't end your friendship over small gripes. You work at it, until you find the problem and fix it."
"Sora's right." Goofy adds, "He and Donald fight from time to time, but they don't let that stop them from being friends."
"Yeah!" Sora and Donald agreed before realizing his teasing:
"Hey!"
The girls couldn't help but giggle at them, which helped lighten the mood as Twilight stood up:
"Come on, let's go find Rainbow."
Rainbow was finishing up her soccer practice, kicking the final ball into the goal before walking over to the bleachers. As she takes a swig of her water, Applejack walks over with Sora following as he calls out:
"Hey, Rainbow."
The athlete notices him first, "Sup, Sora..."
"Howdy." AJ simply said.
"AJ. What brings you over?" Rainbow turned neutral in her tone.
"Well, I needed to know something. Was there a reason why you didn't show for my bake sale?"
"That again..." Rainbow sighs before answering, "I was told that you moved the date to the day after."
"What? I never moved the date, it was the same one I told you!"
"Then why did Sunset-" You can hear the light bulb go off in Rainbow's head before facepalming, "Ugh, I can't believe I listened to her of all people."
"I don't blame ya. The rest of us just realized that earlier." AJ admits before offering a hug, "Friends?"
"Friends." The two hug, which Sora gives a thumbs-up to the others.
They walk over to the group, explaining what happened before Twilight confirms her theory:
"Sunset went out of her way to separate the five of you. Still, what would be her reason?"
"Either way, I meant it when I said I'd help ya out with the Fall Formal." Rainbow brings up, "But, there's a difference between saying that and actually doing it."
"Which means..." Twilight doesn't like where it's going.
"How about a little one-on-one? First to five goals win."
Twilight was rather nervous about that, which Sora notices:
"How about evening the odds with two-on-one?"
Rainbow looked as if she hit the jackpot, "Against you!? Bring it on!"
Twilight relaxes a bit, but knows this won't be easy. The three went onto the field, Sora taking goalie first as Twilight was the pointer. Rainbow immediately started, running past her with the ball and kicks it towards the goal.
Sora was quick, grabbing the ball mid-flight and kicks it out towards Twilight. Seeing how the game worked, she tries coordinating her feet to move the ball before Rainbow snatches it away. She kicks it at the goal again, actually catching him off guard as it curves under his arm into the net.
"1-0!" Pinkie calls out, now having a small scoreboard to keep track.
Twilight and Sora switch places, where Rainbow was more on edge. She saw the videos and wants to see his athleticism in person. The two had a standoff, staring each other down before they went for the ball. Sora proves to be faster of the two, sweeping the ball around his opponent before kicking it right into the goal.
"1-1!" Pinkie flips the number to their side.
The game itself was seriously impressive. Sora has proven to be quite flexible on his feet, yet Rainbow refuses to be outmatched at her own game. Twilight was struggling at first, but she was slowly adjusting to the basics. After a bit, both sides were now on match point as Rainbow decides to be goalie against Twilight.
The bookworm was pushing the ball kinda even across the field, getting the rhythm before winding up for a big kick-
SMACK!
Only to miss it and falls down, the ball only being pushed by the wind towards Rainbow. Seeing how far it was and feeling the wind blowing by, she makes the biggest kick yet to launch the ball across the field. Sora was flexible, but she doubts he can-
"Got it!"
The boy climbs on top of the goal's frame and literally leaps into the air, meeting the ball mid-flight while corkscrewing his body. Upon reaching it, he slams his large shoe into the ball with a Jecht Shot right at Rainbow's goal. It came so fast, she could barely see it until it already passed her:
"4-5!" Pinkie calls out, making the others cheer.
Sora quickly runs over to Twilight, who was breathing heavily from exhaustion, and pulls out his keyblade:
"Heal!"
A green aura washes over her, recovering her stamina as she felt said exhaustion fade away. The others headed on over as Rainbow eventually admits defeat:
"I knew what I was up against, but I'm glad to know I can keep up with someone like you."
"Yeah. It's been awhile since I played any sports." Sora admits, dismissing his keyblade before helping Twilight up:
"H-How did I do?" She asks them.
"You did good." He smiles at her attempt.
"Just need a LOT of practice." Rainbow adds, "But hey, you showed heart and determination during it. You proved that much."
"That reminds me..." AJ brings up, "Do you have a plan to win the Fall Formal yet?"
Twilight nervously chuckles, "Uh, not yet."
"In that case, I know a good place we can go to think. Follow me!" Rarity leads the way as they left the school.
Unbeknownst to them, Sunset was watching from behind the bleachers with a scowl:
"She's managing better than I thought..."
A green flame appears behind her, revealing itself to be Maleficent as it fades:
"I warned you. Those fools definitely had a hand in it."
"If that stupid horse earlier couldn't deal with them, what use are they?"
"You severely underestimate the Heartless. If they find the keyhole, your world WILL cease to be. That includes this 'Equestria' you're from."
Sunset was actually surprised at this, "What!?"
"But, why rule this world when you can rule something much greater?"
"...And that would be?"
"All the worlds you can imagine among the stars. All of them used to be one, only to be broken apart to what they now. Perhaps if they were reunited, under one great power..."
Sunset thought about such a possibility before answering, "...Nah."
It was Maleficent's turn to be surprised, "What!?"
"Don't take it the wrong way, your offer is tempting. I just have a personal reason to rule Equestria. Help me do that, and I'll return the favor."
"Very well then. What do you have in mind?"
Sunset thought of what to do about her opponent's growing progress. It was then she gets a rather devious idea:
"What better sight for naive fools to witness... than a cold betrayal."
And done! This was really fun to write.
I added Maleficent in here, mainly to give her something to do. Funny enough, this idea turned out better than I originally thought. You'll see what I mean.
The mini-boss for this visit is a Heartless named the 'Dark Alius':
This creature is more so a user of magic, specifically the second-tier elemental spells, along with the shockwave counting as an 'Earth' element. It's only physical attack is a simple charge, which you can block/dodge. When you enter the second phase, it conjures a barrier that absorbs said elemental spells to make its own spells stronger.
You can break the barrier with physical attacks or reflect. If you break it in time, it leaves it open for quite some time so don't waste it.
If you take too long, it activates its strongest attack 'Dark Cannon'. While it can be dodged and even blocked with proper timing, your best bet is the RC you get called 'Trinity Charge'. Time it right and not only you'd block the attack, you close the distance and stun it, leaving an opening to exploit.
Honestly, this fight came out really well. I even decided to throw in Valor Form for a flashy finish.
I also shifted around some events just to keep things fresh. I hope they came out good enough.
With all that said, thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter!