Hello, fellow readers! Welcome back to Harmonic Hearts! Last time, a simple visit turns into a bad situation. Sora finds himself facing another keyblade wielder, who calls himself 'Vanitas', while the Rainbooms are dealing with a trio of evil singers. On top of that, the two threats soon join forces... but why exactly?

Before we dive in once more, what do we have:

johannvanguard: We'll see.

Nisha: Unfortunate how underutilized Vanitas was, especially considering his set of powers. I want to have Sora in such a situation, mainly to see how he reacts and handles it. Here's more for ya.

Raximus: You're about to see.

Kegeto: Thanks, here's more.

Thanks for the feedback! With that said, let's continue!

Visit 2-2: Knowing Your Enemy

"Dark magic? I find that hard to believe."

The Rainbooms and Sora explained to the principals the situation. Sora's side was fine, but the two were strangely not believing the Rainbooms.

"Those girls came here earlier to sign up and were absolutely delightful." Celestia finishes upon sitting in her chair.

"Well, perhaps this is Sunset's way of making someone else out to be a bad element. That's one way to make her actions old news." Luna adds.

"No way, she wouldn't do that!" Sora vouches for her, "Right, Sunset?"

"I-I can see why you'd think that, but-" Sunset was cut off as Rainbow steps in:

"That's not what happening! We were there in the cafeteria when it happened!"

"Yes, but isn't your band also participating in the musical showcase?" Celestia retorts, which Rainbow begrudgingly answers:

"Yes."

"Perhaps you're afraid that the Dazzlings will take your spotlight." Luna suggests.

"The Dazzlings?" AJ repeats.

"That's the name of their group. I saw why they chose it after they sang a song to us." Celestia clarifies.

The last part put them on edge as Sora realizes what happened, "That proves it! You two are under their spell too!"

To their surprise, the principals twitched a bit as Luna replies back:

"I think... you may have... a point..."

That surprise shifts to horror as their eyes glow green, "But that's not relevant to the subject. Besides, we very much like the idea of a 'Battle of the Bands' instead."

"Now if that's all, we have to return to setting up the event." Celestia leaves the conversation at that, making the group take their leave.

Now out in the courtyard, the group hanged around the statue as they try figuring out what to do:

"I can't believe they also got to the principals too." Fluttershy laments while letting a ladybug crawl onto her finger.

"They got to everybody!" Rainbow adds before Pinkie points out the obvious:

"Not everybody."

"Pinkie's right. We were there when it happened, yet we're not affected." AJ agrees, "It's like we're protected somehow."

"Maybe some of the magic from the portal stayed here with you guys." Sora brings up, "You mentioned that playing music makes you transform now?"

"Yes, but only when we play music." Fluttershy clarifies.

"Wait, you can stop them Sora!" Rainbow suggests, "With that keyblade of yours, you can easily take them down!"

"H-Hey! You may be immune to their singing, but the same can't be said for me." Sora warns them, "And right now, we can't risk fighting with each other."

"Especially with that 'Vanitas' fellow out and about." Rarity reminds them while painting her nails.

Rainbow groans at that, "Come on! They have to sing to use their magic! You can defeat them way faster than ten seconds flat!"

"We can't confirm that's the only way." Sunset disagrees, "Maybe it works in proximity or even at a glance, there's little we know on how the spell works."

"If only we can get a message to Twilight. She might have a solution we're seeking." Rarity suggests.

"That's not gonna happen. The portal's closed, remember?" Rainbow proves it by tossing the ball at the statue, bouncing it off the solid surface.

Unfortunately, it happened near Rarity who flinched and spilled nail polish on her arm. Rainbow didn't notice this as she continues:

"And I doubt she has cell phones where she's from."

That was when Sunset remembers something, "Actually, I may have something that can help with that. Come on."

The group follow her to her locker, opening it before she searches in a box. After a bit, she pulls out a book with her cutie mark on it and wipes the dust off it:

"When I was Princess Celestia's student back in Equestria, she gave me this. Even after abandoning my studies, I held onto it. Guess deep down, I felt that I made a big mistake and wanted to have a way to reach out to her."

She opens the book as Sora spoke, "So, that book can send messages to the princess?"

"Yeah, it's connected to a book she has so we can communicate from a distance." Sunset answers, "I hope it still works though."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Rainbow pulls out a pen and hands it to her, "Get to writing!"

Sunset takes it before letting out a breath, "It's been a long time since I've written these words..."

She moves the pen on the page to write a familiar sentence:

Dear Princess Celestia

Meanwhile, in Equestria

Princess Twilight resides in her new castle, one she earned through great hardship. She was reading one of many letters given to her, Spike reading a comic book as her friends were doing their own thing. Pretty ordinary stuff, up until Spike suddenly had his cheeks puffed up.

Quickly dropping his comic, he burps a green flame out that forms into a book. It has a familiar cutie mark on the cover, along with occasionally vibrating in a glow. Lifting it with her magic, she opens the book to the most recent entry as her friends were curious:

"What is it, Twilight?" Fluttershy asks her, the others taking a peek.

"It looks like a message for Princess Celestia, from Sunset Shimmer to me." Twilight summarizes, "And from what the message sounds like, the situation is rather dire."

"How did she manage to send one to you from that parallel world?" Rarity wonders.

"Not sure, but I'll help in however I can." Twilight then goes over to the library, the others following as she looks through the shelves:

"What she described sounds familiar. A trio that's able to hypnotize others... Ah!" She pulls out a book and puts it on the table, "I thought so. These girls are most likely related to these 'Sirens'."

"Oh NO, not the Sirens!" Pinkie shouts before whispering, "What are they?"

"The Sirens are three beautiful and deadly creatures, able to charm ponies with their music. To maintain such power, they needed to feed on the negativity of others to make their music stronger."

"I don't like this story..." Fluttershy mutters.

"They would have divided and conquered Equestria back then, but Starswirl the Bearded managed to intervene and banished them to another dimension. Sadly, the one they were sent to is the parallel world, by the sounds of it."

"Wait, if they were banished ages ago, why are they resurfacing now?" AJ questions.

"I don't know, but if my hunch is right, the spell they casted at CHS is just the beginning." Twilight then sighs, "And there's more."

"What!?" Rainbow exclaims, "What can be worse than that!?"

"She also mentions this 'Vanitas', a foe Sora encountered when he returned to their world. Whoever he is, he's also a keyblade wielder and can summon these 'Unversed' as his minions."

"Hold on, I thought there were just Heartless." Spike recalls from their last visit.

"There are, but from what Sora heard him describe them as..." Twilight looks back at the book for the recent entry, "Here. 'He describes him as a horde of fledgling emotions under his control'. That doesn't sounds good."

"Then let's get going!" He exclaims before Rainbow points out the obvious, "Sorry to burst your bubble dude, but the portal's still closed. How would you even get there?"

Twilight wonders how they can before AJ mentions something, "Wait, can't that 'keyblade' also act like a key? You mention that he locked the world's 'heart' over there."

"That's it!" With that said, she gets a quill and starts writing a message back to them.

The Rainbooms were back at the statue, Sora leaning on it with his arms over his head as he asks Sunset:

"Anything yet?"

She opens it to the recent entry, just in time to see a reply being written. "I got something!"

The others look over her shoulders as she starts reading it:

Sunset Shimmer,

I did some research on those girls you mentioned and it's not good news. I want to come over to help, but the portal's currently closed. Unless, Sora can use his keyblade to unlock it again.

"Got it." He summons his keyblade, the others backing away as he points it at the statue.

A beam of light was soon shot out of the tip, hitting the solid surface to reveal the portal. After a moment, an unlocking sound was heard in a brief flash of light:

"That should do it."

The mirror, which was given to Twilight for safekeeping, was brought out to the library to see if her idea was valid. They didn't have to wait long as a glow comes from inside the mirror, sheening on the glass to signal it was now open.

"He did it!" Twilight cheers, which impresses the others.

AJ then gets an idea, "Any chance we could join you this time? It sounds like you need all the help you can get."

"I understand that, but it's best not to risk it. As far as I'm aware, there's no second me or Spike at CHS. Things might get a bit... chaotic, if there were two of you in the same place at the same time."

"I thought that was time travel rules." Pinkie comments.

"No, I'm sure it applies to dimensions too." She then turns to Spike, "Spike, I have a special job for you. I need you to watch over the book on this side."

He was surprised at this, "This side? You don't want me to come?"

"If there's a danger that even Sora's struggling against, there's no guarantee you won't get hurt."

She can tell he's saddened by this, but understood her decision. "Just be careful, OK?"

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." With that said, Twilight hops into the mirror to CHS.

Upon arrival to the school, she shoots out past Sora onto the concrete. He and Sunset were the first ones to approach her as the Rainbooms cheer:

"Twilight!"

She sits up while shaking off the impact, "Ah, I'm back."

She then sees Sora and Sunset hold out a hand to her. A quick glance between the two, she accepts Sora's who helps her up to her feet. The Rainbooms then get her in a group hug, leaving him and Sunset out until Twilight breaks it up:

"I'm sure you got my message, but I needed to tell you what I found in person."

"Yeah. We better go somewhere else then, just in case." Sora points out.

"I know the place." Rarity leads the way as they left the school grounds, unknowing of a certain masked figure watching from the school roof.

They went to the same place as before, the Sweet Shoppe. Getting a table and some food, she tells them what she found out during this time. There was little questions for the new girls, but Vanitas was what Twilight's most curious about:

"Do you have any ideas of how to take him on, Sora?"

"Hmm... I usually just wing it. Don't worry though, I'll handle him. You guys focus on the Dazzlings."

Twilight nods in agreement before Rarity spoke, "I wish you didn't have to come over when there's danger. We have so much catching up to do!"

"Well, I recently got a castle." The former mentions.

"Whoa, so you have a kingdom now!?" Rainbow exclaims.

"N-Not exactly. It's on its own ground outside Ponyville."

"Do you have a title too?" Fluttershy wonders.

"I still find it rather vague, but I was appointed as the 'Princess of Friendship'."

"Is that right?" Sunset then lets out a chuckle, "Guess Princess Celestia chose right this time."

Rainbow then pulls out her phone, "By the way, this started happening after you left."

She plays a short video of her transforming while playing the guitar, making Twilight curious before Rainbow puts her phones away:

"It only happens when we play music. Pretty cool, right?"

"You said after I left?" Twilight repeats.

"I've been thinking about that myself." AJ brings up, "Should the magic have disappeared when you took your crown back through the portal?"

"You're right Applejack, it should have. But, it's possible that some of it remained in this world in some way."

"Maybe Sora unintentionally did it when he locked this world's 'heart'." Pinkie throws out there, which Sora wonders about:

"It was with Twilight's crown..."

Twilight shifts the topic back, "Thinking about it isn't important right now. We have to face the Dazzlings as soon as we could, any idea where they could be?"

Most of the group shrug their shoulders except for Pinkie, who was finishing up her milkshake:

"There's a party for the bands who signed up for the showcase at school, which is starting in a few minutes."

"Then we have a party to crash." Sora quips.

"So what you're saying is, that keyblade wielder is working with a group of girls that's not under our spell?"

Aria summarizes what Vanitas informed them of what he saw, all while approaching the gym for the school party.

"We don't need you as our parrot." The latter remarks, making Adagio laugh:

"You think that's annoying? Try her undermining your plans." She didn't notice Aria glaring at the back of her head, which Sonata tries not to burst out laughing.

Vanitas couldn't help but notice the tension, making a mental note of it as they enter the gym. As they expected, the bands were predictably arguing back and forward. Adagio was pleased to see this as they reach the food table:

"Aww, no one's mingling. It must be quite heated, ready to burst at any moment."

"It's the fruit punch, isn't it? I knew I used too much grape juice!" Sonata held a cup of punch in one hand, the other holding...

Even Vanitas knows that's apple juice.

"It's NOT the fruit punch, it's us." Adagio corrects her.

"But the punch is awful too." Aria comments, putting down her cup on the table.

"What do YOU know about good punch!?" Sonata questions.

"More than you."

"Do not!"

"Do too."

Vanitas rolls his eyes behind the glass helmet as Adagio keeps things on track:

"This is just the kickoff party, girls. Imagine what a tizzy it'll be when the competition starts."

"There won't be one!"

The four turn to see the Rainbooms, and Sora, in the middle of the gym. Sunset stood in the crowd watching, seeing the four look curious on what they're doing. Twilight leads as the girls link their hands together:

"All right girls, let's do this."

Once they did, Sora was ready with his keyblade as he raises it up:

"Friendship is MAGIC!"

...Nothing. The gym was silent as the bands weren't sure what's going on. Well except for one person, who was Vanitas. This man was laughing his butt off:

"Hahaha! Congrats, you've become the stupidest people I've met!"

Sunset and Sora notice the lack of magic from them, which Rainbow points out:

"Isn't there supposed to be rainbow lasers right now?"

The others were confused as Twilight tries to figure out why, "I don't understand. We're together again, and Sora should be able to use our power. Why isn't it working?"

Seeing an opportunity, Adagio gladly takes it:

"Talk about throwing down the gauntlet! This group is obviously serious about winning! A bit cocky though, claiming there won't be a battle. Guess they just got it locked down."

That definitely started a stir as one of the band leaders call them out, "Not if the Great and Powerful Trixie proves them wrong!"

"Whatever, Trixie!" Another band leader shouts back, "We're the best band at CHS!"

The bands got the arguments going again, causing more of the negative mist to surge. The Dazzlings were thriving though, their pendants absorbing it as Sora quickly does the first thing he thought of:

Attack.

He launches himself at the trio, wanting to stop their spell, only for Vanitas to step in. Literally, his foot stops his attack mid-swing:

"Settle down, boy!"

The latter flip kicks, knocking Sora back who quickly recovers and lands on his feet. Vanitas then realizes the gold his opponent just gave him:

"Was that an attack over a simple disagreement?"

The arguments cease, now focusing on Sora as Vanitas continues:

"It's obvious you support the Rainbooms. You wanted them to win, so you decide to try taking out their competition!"

"W-What!?" Sora was taken aback at the implication, "N-No, I-"

"And we've heard such good things about you."

The Rainbooms widen their eyes at what that meant, but Sora was frozen stiff as the masked boy recaps the story:

"You and your friends came here to this world to fight off the Heartless invading it, even assuring the principals that none of their students would be harmed. Yet you just contradicted that! The Dazzlings are students of the school, as they're allowed to compete in this event, yet you just willingly attacked them!"

"E-Everyone here is under their spell! I'm trying to free the other students!" Sora exclaims, despite what little ground he has.

"A spell? Do they look like they can cast spells?" Vanitas gestures to the Dazzlings, who just wave back. "I don't see any weapons on them, so how can they be dangerous?"

The Rainbooms started to hear muttering among the crowd, seeing his claims were starting to set in. Sora honestly has nothing to defend himself here as Vanitas just shakes his head:

"What a shame, keyblade wielder. But tell you what, considering how badly you want your friends to compete, I'll let you choose. Continue your assault, you get them disqualified and you'll never come back to this school again. Cease your assault, I won't mention this to the principals and you all can stay. So Sora, what will it be?"

Sora thinks hard on this. The only thing that's making him hesitate is Vanitas. Knowing how strong he is, and who was likely holding back during their fight, he isn't sure if even his Drive forms can match his full power. That's something he doesn't know at all, so can he really risk it?

The Rainbooms saw his hands start to shake before his keyblade vanishes, his arms falling back to his sides.

"You chose wisely." Vanitas comments as Sora didn't even respond back.

The latter just walks away, leaving the gym as the Rainbooms were quick to follow. The crowd continue their muttering after their departure as Adagio couldn't help but smile at such a play:

"What an underhanded tactic! I'm impressed."

"Told you asking the principals about him was handy." Vanitas mentions, "Now we just need to make sure he stays down in the dirt."

Back in the school halls, Sora walks ahead of the group as Twilight was trying to figure out what happened:

"It doesn't make any sense, there should have been some magic spark to break their spell. Isn't that how it worked before?"

"It was your crown that had the magic, which Sora used with his power to defeat me." Sunset reminds her, "But if the Dazzlings' magic come from their music, wouldn't it make sense to use our own music against them? Or something like that."

"No, I think you're onto something. The magic only comes out when you play music, right?"

"Yup. Ears, tails, the whole shebang." AJ answers.

"Then perhaps, what we actually need is a musical counter spell!"

"Like a song?" Fluttershy wonders.

"Uh-huh! And in order to save everyone, we need them all to hear it."

"Then it's a good thing we're still in the competition." Rarity points out, "It's certainly where everyone else will be."

Sora overhears this and now feels a bit of weight off his shoulders. His decision now turned out to benefit them in the long run. Relaxing a bit, they exit into the courtyard as he slows down to talk with them:

"That's also where Vanitas will be. Since he isn't competing, he might try something to stop you guys."

"And that's where you come in." Rainbow reassures him while getting ecstatic, "Ooo, our band is gonna rock this school!"

"Speaking of the band, I believe Twilight just became our newest member." Rarity mentions, surprising the princess:

"Huh!?"

The others were in agreement with this before Sora notices Sunset, who looks a bit down. Before asking her about it, Pinkie asks Twilight a question:

"So, what do you want to play?"

She helps by showing her each instrument, "Triangle? Sousaphone? Theremin?" On the last one, she plays a bit of it by actually using the air for sound.

Sora was fascinated by such an instrument as Pinkie puts it pretty well, "So magical..."

"I might take a bit too long to learn to play, since I'm still getting used to these." She gestures with her hands to prove that point, "I'll just sing."

"Whoa, like lead singer?" Rainbow asks for clarity, "Cause I already do that, being my band and all."

"Our band." AJ corrects her, "And of course as lead singer. She's the one with the magical know-how to pull this off."

"OK, it's cool. I'll just take this time to work on my sick guitar skills."

"It's just temporary." Twilight points out, "Besides, we just need to perform it at the first round to break that spell."

"Then let's work on that counter spell!" Sora chimes in.

"That's just it, I don't know any." That wasn't good to hear, but she quickly assures them. "B-But I'm sure I can figure out how to write one!"

Sora then notices the sun setting, "Best we find somewhere to stay. We need to keep our strength up to face them with all we got."

"I know just the place!" Pinkie calls out, hugging Twilight. "Slumber party at my house!"

The sun was crossing the horizon as the group were at Pinkie's house. The girls were wearing their pajamas, with Sora only having his shirt and chap trousers on as his 'pajamas', as they did various things to pass the time.

Pinkie is updating her social statue on her laptop, Twilight is trying to write a counter spell in Fluttershy's notebook, and Rainbow is playing a video game with Applejack. Rarity was taking some pictures with Fluttershy and Sunset, one of them having Sora sneak in the background with a silly face. He plays it off by watching the video game, but it didn't stop Rarity from looking annoyed.

Sora soon joins in on the digital fun as the two switches to a beat-em-up arcade game. The three decide to race to get the highest score. He proves to be quick to adapt, matching their skills only a couple of stages in. Rainbow finds herself falling behind on the penultimate stage, but barely manages to tie with Sora as AJ beats them by a hundred points:

"Yee-haw! Talk about the skin of our teeth!" AJ comments.

"You only won cause of that power-up in stage eight!" Rainbow undermines.

"Wasn't that how you won stage nine?" Sora points out with a chuckle.

"S-Shut up!" Putting her controller down, she turns to Twilight:

"So Twilight, how's the spell coming along?"

"Huh? Oh good, great!" She answers, "Thanks for leading me your notebook, Fluttershy. I like the song you wrote."

"Thanks. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to play it." Fluttershy comments, to no one in particular.

Twilight looks back at the notebook, only seeing chicken scratches due to her inexperienced hands. They then heard a vibrating sound, coming from Sunset's satchel:

"Is that your phone?" Rarity wonders.

"No." Sunset answers as she pulls out her diary, "It's my book, remember?"

"Hehe, it's a phonebook." Sora jokes, which made the others laugh a bit.

"It must be Spike." Twilight mentions, "Due to how dangerous our enemies are, I didn't want to risk him getting hurt. So instead, he has the other book over there to keep in contact with me."

Sunset opens her book to the recent entry, which was indeed a message from Spike:

"Is everything all right over there?"

She pulls out a pen, sitting on the bed as the others look to see what she's writing:

"Yeah, we're just setting up our plan for the competition." - Sunset

"So that he knows who is responding." She clarifies.

They got an immediate response back from the dragon:

"Oh hi, Sunset! How are you doing?"

"Fine. Just having a slumber party with the others. Don't worry about Twilight, we have Sora backing us up too."

"I'm glad to hear it. Honestly though, I finished up my chores so I'm a little bored."

"Mind if I try writing something?" Sora asks her, which she didn't mind as she hands him the book and pen.

He was quick to start writing, "Hey, Spike! Long time no see!" - Sora

"Sora, nice to hear from you! Which reminds me, do you think you can swing on by when the situation over there is resolved? The girls over here would love to meet you!"

He was surprisingly hesitant at first, which the others took notice of, before he answers back:

"Not immediately after, but I'll visit after I find my friends. Promise!"

"Great! You'll love Equestria, I just know it!"

"I can't wait to see it!"

The group then heard the doorbell ring, signaling food:

"Pizza's here!" Pinkie said before the girls zoom off, leaving Sora and Twilight.

The former closes the book, putting it on the bed with the pen on top when he notices the latter hasn't moved yet:

"Twilight? Did you hear?"

She was focused on the notebook when she looks up, "Huh? Oh, yeah!"

"You're really focused on that spell, huh?"

"Of course!" She gets off the bed, putting down the book and pen. "It has to be perfect when we sing it."

Pinkie zooms back into the room with a pizza slice in her mouth, "You want any pizza?"

"Yeah, be right there!" Sora answers back.

Upon her skipping away, he turns back to Twilight:

"Take a break. Can't get it right on an empty stomach."

"Good point." She agrees.

Night falls, the crescent moon emitting a gentle glow from the starry sky, as Twilight wakes up. Or more specifically, couldn't sleep. Getting up to her feet, she makes sure to avoid stepping on the others as they slept.

Reaching the dresser next to the bed, she pulls out Fluttershy's notebook and goes to exit the bedroom, when she notices Sora wasn't in his spot. Probably just went to the bathroom or something.

Going down the hall, she reaches the kitchen to see Sora holding the fridge open.

"Who stores this much whip cream?" He mutters before pulling out one of the leftover cookies.

Closing it, he takes a bite when he sees Twilight at the doorway:

"Geez! Kinda scared me there."

"Sorry, just didn't think anyone else would be up." She admits, walking over to the island counter.

"Speaking of which, why are you-" He cuts himself off upon seeing the notebook, "Ah."

He takes another bite as she spoke, "Yeah. Gotta make sure it's just right."

"Mind if I see it?" He asks through his stuffed mouth.

"U-Uh..."

He thought she didn't understand him, quickly swallowing his food before asking again:

"Mind if I see it?"

"Uh, yeah." She opens it to her scribbled page, which takes him aback:

"Whoa!"

"Yeah, I know it's bad."

"N-No, I can read it!" He tries to soften his reaction, "That's supposed to be... That says..."

She can tell he's lying, which he admits to:

"Yeah, it's bad. I like your drawing there though."

She sees the tiny drawing of her head singing at a Dazzling, which was humorous. He finishes his cookie as she then thought of something:

"Why couldn't you sleep?"

His face says it all as he answers, "I'm worried about Donald and Goofy."

"Oh. You three must be close."

"Yeah. Ever since I've started my journey, they were always by my side to help out. Guess now after sticking together for so long, being in a different world without them feels... kinda lonely."

Twilight wasn't used to him being down. He usually had some sort of smile on his face before, but guess even he has limits:

"Don't worry, at least it's a world where you're needed and have friends to look after you."

He kinda perks up at that, "Yeah. Besides, they're able to handle themselves. I'm sure they'll be back here soon."

That was a good start at least. Before they could continue, a new voice was heard:

"You two are up late."

The two saw Sunset enter, who walks over to the fridge.

"I couldn't sleep." Sora said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I was looking over the counter spell." Twilight adds, "We only have one shot at it, after all."

"True. We're really glad you two are here." Sunset assures them, opening the fridge to see the surplus cream:

"Who really needs this much whip cream?"

"I know, right?" He agrees with a small chuckle.

Sunset takes one of the cans out as she continues, "Yeah. Makes me wonder how she still has a sweet tooth."

"Pinkie's Pinkie. I try not to question it." Twilight warns her, "Trust me."

"I'll take your word for it. Must be nice for others to rely on you. For solutions, I mean."

"Why's that?" Sora wonders.

"Well, it's better than waiting for you to cause a problem."

Twilight gets what she means, "Just because they expect something from you, doesn't always mean it's gonna happen."

"Doesn't stop them from expecting it." Sunset simply said.

"That's what makes it harder. The last thing I ever want to do is-"

"Let everybody down." The two finish simultaneously, which caught them off guard.

Sora understands that feeling, "Good, I'm not the only one."

The three felt relief as Sunset closes the fridge, revealing an unexpected fourth guest:

"Wha!?" The person surprised her, along with Sora and Twilight.

"Boulder was hungry." It was Pinkie's sister Maud, who only came in to feed her pet.

She takes a box of crackers, pouring some into her hand that held Boulder as she left. Sunset turns to whisper to them:

"I still can't get over that she and Pinkie are related."

"You and me both." Twilight agrees.

"Yeah, but she's really nice." Sora adds before letting out a yawn, "Anyways, I'm going to bed."

Sunset also lets out a yawn, "Me too. Coming, Twilight?"

"Not yet, gotta work on the counter spell." She answers.

"Don't stay up too late." Sora said as he leaves the kitchen, with Sunset following soon after:

"Good luck with the counter spell."

Once the two left, she looks back at the notebook. Seeing one page with scribbles and the other with somewhat coherent words, one thought crosses her mind:

"I can do this, I have to."

And done! All right, this came out good! Starting with the changes:

Spike isn't gonna be in the EG world this time. Mainly since he doesn't really do much storywise and whatever he did do, Sora can easily do himself. However, I still wanted him in the story, hence the 'special task' for him to do.

Instead of the machine Twilight makes, I just had Sora unlock the portal. Simple solution.

That exchange between Vanitas and Sora was spur of the moment, but really shows the threat the former is here. Not only can he match him in combat, but can even take advantage of the current situation. It also shows an aspect of KH2's story that I recently discovered:

During the adventure, there were scenes where Sora shows vulnerability and self-doubt. It was brief during the early parts, but it shows more during the revisits. The reveal of the Organization's plan, Kairi's capture, and no leads on Riku's whereabouts is starting to wear on his optimism. The current situation here isn't helping that.

Sora joins in on the slumber party fun and the late-night conversation. The latter was gonna be a bit longer, but I didn't think it sounded natural.

With all that said, thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter!