Hello, fellow readers! Welcome back to Harmonic Hearts! Before we dive right in, what do we have:
Nisha: Fair points, I forgot about that! Yeah, they had phones that reach across worlds and yet barely anyone communicates. Anyways, I'm glad you enjoy the little moments between the characters, so here's more!
Raximus: Well it's established in KH2 that they go to a school, so you can interpret it as seeing school life reminds them of their lives before their adventures.
johannvanguard: We shall see soon enough.
Thanks for the feedback! Now let's go!
Visit 3-1: New Stars Appear
A student's personal lab was quiet as she works on a project connected to her current investigation. She had a bulletin board on the wall in front of her, containing photos and readings connected by a thread to one source:
Canterlot High.
It wasn't until recently that strange things started happening there. There were sightings of a rainbow shining from its courtyard one night, as well as strange creatures appearing to harm the students. Deeper research reveals this 'key warrior' with two animal friends, who soon arrived to take care of the latter.
Now she finds that they had a 'Battle of the Bands', where much more magic reveals itself. Despite this though, most concluded that it was just some 'special effects' from the film club to promote their school. Still, why go through such effort for essentially school commercials?
Taking matters into her own hands, she begins work on a device that would detect such a frequency. After a couple of days, she's so close to completing it. All she needs now is-
She was startled by her puppy, who was asleep a moment ago, barking loudly at something. She turns to see what it was, only to gasp at the sight:
There stood a man, wearing a hooded black coat that hid his face. She didn't hear him come in, and her puppy should have barked as he approached her home. Where did he come from?
Speaking of the pup, he soon approaches the man and stiffs his boot. To her surprise, the hooded man crouches down to pet him, which the pup takes a liking to. Her fear shifts to confusion before she finally asks the obvious:
"Who are you?"
The man finishes petting the pup before standing back up, the hood turning to stare at her before he answers:
"A simple wanderer. Although, I have found a time rift that brought me here... to you."
"...Time?" She repeats, "How's that possible?"
"Such answers only come to those who are curious, and be willing to stare into the abyss."
Her curiosity grows as he tells her this. This man isn't ordinary by any means, but it can't be a coincidence that he appears after the events at CHS. In fact...
"Are you here because of the magic?"
The hooded man pauses briefly, like he didn't know about it, before his answer reveals something much bigger:
"It's how our worlds are connected. Many more worlds beyond your own."
So many questions start to flood her mind, making her unable to speak. This man, in a single conversation, baffled her with the idea of space traversal! Actually, she just remembered that he said something about time! Is he a time traveler!?
She snaps back to reality as he places a hand on her shoulder. Now closer than before, she barely makes out a face under his hood with one noticeable detail:
A pair of yellow eyes, staring at her with a hint of amusement.
"Clearly, you don't see the potential you have in your heart."
"...My heart?"
His eyes wandered to her bulletin board, which had pictures of CHS and printed images of the strange sightings. He sees one particular picture, which shows the 'keyblade wielder' with his animal friends. She couldn't see the smirk on his face as he spoke:
"Yes. In the past, I was in your position until someone came to me with an opportunity. Now, I extend that same opportunity to you. Trust me when I say, this path will reveal your true destiny."
She isn't sure what exactly all this 'destiny' stuff might be, but it seems that anything else is just microscopic to this bigger picture. She eventually looks back at her new device before saying aloud:
"I want to find out if there's real magic at Canterlot High. But in order to do that, I need to see if my device can read those certain frequencies."
Without saying a word, he conjures a tiny ball of energy before placing it inside the device. She watches in amazement as it springs to life, pulsing like a beating heart. Without realizing it, she gave him her answer as he simply said:
"You chose wisely."
Sora and Riku were running to CHS with Sunset, who remembered today was an important event. Or rather, Rainbow texted her about it earlier and wanted to meet up in the library. Upon arriving, they went up to the second floor where the girls were conversing:
"Why do we even have pep rallies before the Games? We're just gonna lose again." Rarity questions.
"Things are gonna be different this time!" Rainbow defends before noticing the trio, "There you are! Did you sleep in or something?"
"Yeah, we returned way later from our visit than I thought." Sunset admits before Sora wonders aloud:
"So, what are these 'Friendship Games'? They sound like fun."
They were strangely hesitant to answer before Applejack eventually did:
"They are a series of sporting events that happen every four years. We compete against our rival school Crystal Prep, who's been winning against us the past few Games."
"And they LOVE to rub it in!" Rainbow states, even showing a book with pictures of previous events to the boys.
Her point was clear as the pictures had Crystal Prep the winners, each one showing more arrogance than the last. Sora and Riku were confused by this as the former asks the obvious:
"Then, why name the Games that? I thought it'll be a way to strengthen the bonds between the schools."
"That may have been their intention." Fluttershy agrees, "Back then, at least."
"The events are fun though!" Pinkie chimes in with a silver lining.
"So basically, they got caught up in winning over everything." Riku summarizes, "Sound like a bunch of kids..."
"You can say that again!" Rainbow agrees before they heard the principal's voice over the speakers:
"All students, please come to the gymnasium for the Friendship Games pep rally."
Everyone did just that. On their way to the rally though, Riku finds himself wandering in thought as past memories pops into his mind:
"Giving up already? Come on, Sora."
"Too slow, Sora! See ya at the finish line!"
"Come on, Sora! I thought you were stronger than that!"
"So, this is called a keyblade?"
"But Sora, I thought you liked games! Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?"
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Sora, who pats his shoulder with a bit of concern:
"Hey, you good? You look out of it."
"...Just thinking about how we used to be. You know, racing on the beach and toy swords."
"Oh yeah." Sora smiles as he puts his hands behind his head, "Those were fun times."
The two soon enter the gym, where the duo were actually lead backstage by Rainbow. There they meet up with Principal Celestia again, along with Vice Principal Luna:
"You must be Riku. My sister mentioned you." The latter mentions.
"I figured. Nice to meet you." Riku casually said.
"I wanted to ask you two a favor. We're having an important event today and I have a feeling we'll need some... security, in case of any Heartless or Unversed attacks." Celestia brings up.
"The 'Friendship Games', right? We just got a history lesson from the Rainbooms."
"Then sure, we'll help out!" Sora gladly accepts before admitting, "I'm kinda curious to see these Games unfold."
Riku smirks at his friend before agreeing, "We'll keep watch."
"Thank you very much." Celestia said before realizing, "Oh! We're on!"
The principals walk on stage as the students give applause, soon dying down when Celestia grabs the mic:
"As I'm sure you all know, Canterlot High will be hosting this year's Friendship Games against our fellow school, Crystal Prep. We will compete to show fellow sportsmanship, excellence, and of course, friendship."
The students give a half-hearted applause on that, some groaning at the idea. Sunset was the only one not really showing interest, just looking around at the others. Celestia then continues:
"Since the event happens every four years, I'm sure some of you are curious on what goes on."
"You mean other than us losing!?" A student calls out, who Sora recognizes as Flash Sentry.
The principals just gave an annoyed expression before Celestia continues again, "And that's why I decided to allow Rainbow here to give you all a little... context."
Rainbow walks onto the stage before being given the mic, allowing the principals to return backstage:
"Thank you, Principal Celestia." She quickly clears her throat before beginning her speech:
"I know that most of you believe that we can't win against a school like Crystal Prep, not helped by the fact that we never won one of the Games."
"Oh dear, I hope this isn't trying to be motivational." Rarity comments, mainly to herself.
"The students at Crystal Prep are super athletic, super smart and super motivated. But there's one thing they aren't, they aren't Wondercolts!"
The curtains move away to reveal the marching band as she starts a song:
We've fought magic more than once
And come out on top (Oh, oh)
There's other schools, but none can make those claims
(Na, na-na-na-na, oh)
Together we are Canterlot
Come and cheer our name (Oh, oh)
This will be our year to win this Games
She hops off the stage, now leading the band as they walk through the crowd:
We'll always be Wondercolts forever
And now our time has finally arrived
Cause we believe in the magic of friendship
And you know, at the end of the day, it is we who will survive!
The speakers suddenly spring to life, adding an electric guitar to accompany the band's song. Rainbow now stood between two groups of students, each holding cue cards together to form a picture:
We're not the school we were before (before)
Yeah, we're different now (Oh, oh)
We overcame the obstacles we faced
(Overcame the obstacles we faced)
She gestures to each one during the verse, revealing large portraits of their previous foes. Sora recognize them as Demon Sunset and the Sirens respectively, with Riku now knowing what the foes did look like. At this point, the crowd was starting to get into the song:
We're Canterlot united! (Unite!)
We'll never bow! (Oh oh)
So get ready to see us in first place!
The band soon start passing out the ears and tails from before, encouraging the school spirit as the students join in on the chorus:
We'll always be Wondercolts forever!
(Three, two, one, go!)
And now our time has finally arrived!
(Our time is now!)
Cause we believe in the magic of friendship!
And you know, at the end of the day, it is we who will survive!
At the end of the day, it is we who will survive!
The principals, Sora and even Riku were getting into it as the crowd clap in sync with the song:
Na, na, na-na-na-na
Wondercolts united together!
Na, na, na-na-na-na
Wondercolts united forever!
Rainbow sings the chorus once more as they continue the bridge:
We'll always be Wondercolts forever!
And now our time has finally arrived!
Cause we believe in the magic of friendship!
And you know, at the end of the day, it is we who will survive!
At the end of the day, it is we who will SURVIVE!
To the Rainbooms' amazement, Rainbow activates her transformation during the last parts, flying upwards as the drum major throws her baton to the sky. Catching it, she strikes a pose as the crowd erupts in cheers. After seeing all that, Riku casually comments:
"Wish our school was this motivating."
After a bit, Rainbow returns backstage as the girls arrive there soon after with Sora and Riku:
"Rainbow, that was amazing!" Fluttershy congratulates her.
"It was, but how did she pony up without her guitar?" AJ points out.
"I know, right? Guess I'm just that awesome!" Rainbow gloats.
"I'm not so sure that's it." Sunset wonders, "If anything, it just raises more questions. If music isn't the only trigger to activate our magic, then..."
"Maybe it now works similar to Sora's Drives?" Riku brings up, "If anything, that works on friendship magic."
"Hmm, more like my bonds with others." Sora clarifies before listing what form is based on:
"Valor Form's Goofy, Wisdom Form's Donald, and Master Form's Mickey. Since Limit uses my old abilities, it's likely formed from everyone I've met before..."
"So... not like Drives?" Rainbow summarizes.
"Actually, you may be onto something." Sunset points out, "Our new trigger may be something related to a bond of sorts. But what?"
"If I may interject for a moment..."
The group turn to see Vice Principal Luna, who soon continues:
"It'd be good if you can figure out this new development. We want to keep magic from being used in the competition, we don't want to be accused of cheating."
"Ha! We don't need magic to defeat those 'hoity toity' Crystal Preppers!" Rarity declares, which the Rainbooms agree on.
"Still, it's best to look into it. Sunset, since you came here from a world of magic, I believe you can get to the bottom of this."
"I'll do my best." Sunset accepts.
The vice principal then took her leave as Sora puts his hand on Sunset's shoulder:
"We'll help you out! You know, since we deal with magic too."
"Plus it's our job to keep the Games from getting interrupted." Riku adds.
"Thanks." She then turns to the others, "We'll be at the library to solve this. See ya later!"
The rest of the Rainbooms understood as the trio left, soon overhearing Sora realize something:
"You changed your outfit? Looks nice."
"Thank you, it was Rarity's work."
At the CHS Library...
For the next couple of hours, the trio try reading various books for any magical evidence in this world. Sunset even tries to figure it out scientifically, to no results. Sora was reading one of said books as Riku was thinking of earlier:
"So if it is a bond that's the new trigger, then what was Rainbow's?"
"Well, we pony up when we play music. Maybe it's a delayed reaction since she wasn't playing her guitar?" Sunset guesses.
"If that's the case, it'll make fighting the Heartless and Unversed harder. You can't afford to waste time in battle." Sora knows from experience.
"Then, is it possible that our magic is evolving into something else..."
"I thought that was the case with your rapier..."
Sunset widens her eyes in surprise, she almost forgot about it! Summoning said rapier, she looks over it before eventually shaking her head:
"No, I don't think that's it." She debunks before putting her rapier away, "That was from my Unversed we defeated. This situation is different from that."
Riku then remembers something, "I never asked before but, what are the Elements of Harmony? Like I know they use friendship magic and all, but..."
"Well the Elements are formed from six artifacts that when connected, activate their powers." Sunset answers before listing said Elements:
"They represent Magic, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, and Honesty."
"And fun fact, the Rainbooms are also Twilight's friends in Equestria." Sora adds from what Twilight mentioned before.
"So, friends with your friends' human counterparts?" Riku summarizes before chuckling, "I heard of weirder stuff."
As he said that, Sunset connects the dots and shoots out of her seat:
"That's it!"
Her voice raised higher than it should, getting attention from nearby students. Upon realizing this, she sheepishly smiles before sitting back down.
"What's it?" Sora asks her.
"The Elements. Remember, Twilight's crown was the spark that brought magic to this world. Maybe now our friends are manifesting their respective Elements of Harmony!"
"Cool! Then that would mean, Rainbow's magic manifested from her Loyalty to CHS!" Sora adds.
"This is amazing! I have to tell Twilight!" Sunset pulls out her journal before writing a new entry:
Twilight, great news!
Remember when we used to pony up while playing music? Well, it's now evolved into the Elements of Harmony! With help from Sora and Riku, we figured out that Rainbow's magic manifested from her Loyalty to CHS during our pep rally!
No doubt the others are likely to have their Elements too! Although-
She then stops writing as a thought pops into her mind:
"Wait, that only makes five..."
"Five?" Riku repeats, "Like, five of the six?"
"Yeah. I know Twilight's crown sparked them, but they need all six Elements to activate their full power."
"Then we're missing someone." Sora puts his finger on his chin as he said this.
"That's just it. If we're going by the others getting their respective Elements, then who will be Magic in this world?"
"I thought that would be you." Sora points out, "You also have magic that manifests from music, and your other powers."
"Me?" Sunset wonders before debunking it, "Honestly, I doubt it. It wouldn't feel right, ya know?"
"OK, so." Riku steps in at this point to narrow their investigation down:
"The Elements are a total of six artifacts that are used by Twilight and her friends in Equestria. Since our friends here are becoming the Elements too, then it only makes sense that Twilight would have a counterpart in this world."
"But, she doesn't. At least not one that goes to CHS." Sunset points out.
"Then, where could she be?" Sora wonders, which the other two couldn't answer for him.
Yesterday, at Crystal Prep Academy...
A student was about to head home for today when she was stopped by someone:
"Twilight!"
She turns to see the dean approach her, but she was kinda in a hurry to get to her lab. Then again, she doesn't want to be rude:
"What is it, Dean Cadance?"
"Principal Cinch wants to see you before you left today."
"Oh, is it about my application to Everton?"
"She didn't say. Though considering the Games are coming up, she might mention them in the conversation."
Twilight didn't really care about the Games like the others, but the last thing she wants is detention or worse because she had more important things to attend to. She does, but they won't buy 'magic phenomenon' as an excuse.
"I'll be going then." She simply said before heading upstairs to the principal's office.
On the way up, she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched. Not like a camera, but... something else. It didn't help that the higher floors were rather empty, adding to the strange feeling. Upon reaching her destination, she opens the door before slowly entering inside.
The light above the room was the only source of any light, placed above the desk and the seat placed in front of it. Upon sitting down, the tall chair behind said desk turns around to reveal Principal Cinch:
"Twilight, I'm glad that Dean Cadance caught you before you left. I have an important matter to discuss with you."
"Is it about Everton, or the Games?"
"Actually, both." Principal Cinch answers before standing up to walk around:
"I'll be frank with you Twilight, you're among the best students this school has ever seen. At least, in the academics department. Your athletic grades are... decent at best, but I'm willing to look past that."
"...Thank you, but I don't see how's that relevant."
Cinch then stops near a trophy, seeing her reflection with Twilight's further behind her:
"It's quite simple, really. One of the students I had for our team has fallen ill. I make sure to have the best of the best represent what our reputation is about, therefore I narrowed down her replacement to you."
"Me? Out of every student here?"
"Yes." The principal then returns to her seat, "I understand that you're not interested in participating, but I'm running low on options. So I recommend you think hard before answering."
Twilight then notices the folder on the desk, "...Is that what I think it is?"
"This? It was given to me earlier, which made me decide asking you. You certainly qualify for a place like Everton, but it seems you're a bit short on credits. I can help you get a guaranteed approval, if..."
"If what?"
"If you participate in the Games, of course. However, if you don't... I can easily make it impossible to get in. Having a reputation has certain perks."
Twilight was surprised at such a proposition. She worked so hard at getting into Everton, the idea of it getting taken away just like that...
Before she even utter a word, she hears a strange sound and sees her surroundings briefly distort. She then looks at Principal Cinch, who looks to be frozen in place. She can't even tell if she's breathing, despite her face not changing.
"How petty of her."
A familiar voice startles her, turning around to see the hooded man from earlier. Honestly, considering the sheer luck of finding what she was looking for, she thought yesterday was a dream. Obviously, it wasn't.
The hooded man walks into the light before he clarifies:
"Blackmailing you just to win some 'special competition'. If you didn't know what you're truly capable of, that may have worked."
"...I'm not entirely sure. I was thinking of getting into Everton..."
The man smirks under his hood, "Then perhaps you should turn the tables."
"H-Huh?"
"If she is as desperate as she claims, you can have this work in your favor. You want to investigate CHS's magic, where the Games she wants to win are held. Decline, the rest will then fall into place."
Right after saying that, the man disappears as the sound appears again. It wasn't long before time resumes:
"What is your answer?" Principal Cinch asks her.
Twilight turns back around, her eyes briefly looking between her application and the principal, before eventually answering:
"I'm not participating."
That surprises the principal, "...Excuse me?"
"There's more than just Everton for me, and I'm not interested in the Games at all. If that's everything, I'd like to go home now."
Twilight gets up to take her leave, almost reaching the door before Principal Cinch calls out:
"Wait!"
She turns to see her standing up from her chair, her expression briefly showing worry before regaining her composure by clearing her throat:
"Perhaps I played my hand too early. I didn't expect that tactic to actually fail me, so let me do a different offer." She approaches Twilight as she continues, "I have no other options of potential candidates for the vacant spot. If possible... I'm willing to hear what you want in exchange for participating."
Twilight was surprised at the turnabout, one that the hooded man predicted. In that case, she knew exactly what it was:
"The Games are taking place at CHS this year. Recently, there have been strange things happening there that some claim to be connected to magic. I'm currently investigating into it, but I know the Games are gonna interfere with my work. If you want me to join, I want to be able to investigate the school and see if the rumors are true."
The principal listened as she states her proposal. Once she finishes, there was a pause before she spoke:
"Very well. All I ask from you to win us the academics, as there is a rule to allow two students to switch only once. That's why I'm not concerned with your athletics. You win us the round, you can do your work to your heart's content."
"Thank you very much."
Fast forward to the current day...
Twilight exits the school after packing up for her investigation, puppy included, as she walks over to the pair of buses. She reaches the end of the line to go onto one of said buses, walking down the aisle as they took every open seat. She eventually finds one at the very back, sitting on the right side.
She looks around to who she's sitting next to, seeing a familiar face:
"Hi, Sugarcoat." The girl had long pigtails, complemented by glasses as she looks over with indifference:
"Twilight Sparkle. I heard you joined our team for the Games this year."
"Yes, Principal Cinch was... rather insistent on me joining this year."
"...Drag us down, we'll leave you behind." With that bluntly said, Sugarcoat looks away as the bus departs from the parking lot.
Twilight was taken aback from that before hearing another voice next to her:
"That was rude."
She turns to the student sitting on her right at the window, who she didn't recognize. He had black hair with sapphire streaks, styled in a pulled-back spiky fashion to match his sapphire eyes and light tangelo skin. While he wore the school uniform, he had his sleeves neatly rolled up to show his forearms.
"You're the girl that joined last minute, right? Name's Levin Reed."
"T-Twilight Sparkle." She stumbles a bit on her words before clearing her throat, "You're on the team too?"
"Yep. Just heard about these Games after transferring last year, so this will prove to be an interesting experience."
"Dude, Levin's talking to a girl." Another voice was heard, this time from the seats in front of them.
The student who said that was looking over his seat, the most noticeable detail being the beanie he wore. The student next to him wasn't as subtle, raising his head higher to see the two. Levin then scoffs at the comment:
"Last time I checked, my cousin's the ladies man."
"Let's not twist the idea for her." The latter retorts.
Twilight was understandably confused by this, which Levin notices:
"Sorry, they're just messing around. Twilight, meet Visor and Shade."
The former has crimson red unkempt hair that reaches his ears, accompanied by orange highlights on the edges, both complementing his pale light amaranth skin. He stares back with silver eyes as she also notices his uniform was altered. His blazer was left open, the sleeves were pulled up a bit, topped off with having a pair of sunglasses hanging on his shirt collar.
"Pleasure to meet ya." He casually said.
The latter wore a beanie with white accents over dark green hair that reaches his ears too. It had distinctive bangs that looks to part around his right eye, which was one of two that were colored a magenta lilac shade. Top it off with pale light amber skin and you have his appearance, though his uniform was left unchanged unlike his two buddies.
"Oh yeah, I've seen you around. You sit by yourself at lunch a lot." He bluntly mentions.
She was a little taken aback by those words before Levin reassures her, "He's cool when you get to know him."
The short ride to CHS was now at least enjoyable, thanks to some unexpected friendly faces.
Back at CHS
Sora, Riku and Sunset met up with the Rainbooms in the band room to discuss what they found out. Needlessly to say, the girls were surprised at the news, with Rainbow being the most excited:
"Aw yeah! We're gonna be like those superheroes in the comics!"
"While that would be marvelous, it'd be so strenuous to fix our clothes after every battle." Rarity complains before she turns to Sora, "Actually, how does your clothes not get damaged at all?"
Sora takes a moment to recall the answer to such a question:
"Hmm, I think Merlin told me that even those who don't use magic have a passive aura protecting them. The strength of it depends on the person, but that's likely why our clothes don't get scratches or holes."
Sunset smirks as she summarizes, "So, magic."
"Honestly, I'm proud that he remembers such a detail." Riku playfully jabs, making Sora smirk back at him.
"There you are."
The group turn to see Vice Principal Luna at the doorway as she brings up what's happening:
"Crystal Prep will be here soon. We want to avoid any misunderstanding if anything magical happens, so please tell me you found something."
Sunset proceeds to give her the breakdown, "It's a working theory, but the new activation of our magic has evolved into our versions of the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow ponied up due to showing her loyalty to our school, so it makes sense that the others will pony up upon showing their respective traits."
"I see..." Luna got the gist of it at least before turning to Sora and Riku, "I also came to get you two to meet with Crystal Prep, that way they understand the current situation."
"Got it." Sora agrees with Riku simply nodding, "Be right back, guys."
Speaking of Crystal Prep, the buses turn into the open gates to the parking lot, soon stopping in the empty middle. The doors open to let the students out, Twilight exiting the second bus with the trio of new faces following right after:
"I didn't know the creek was going to be that deep!" Levin admits.
"Don't blame you, the water didn't look like it was." Shade casually adds.
"In hindsight though, it won't be that deep now." Visor playfully teases as he puts on his sunglasses, which makes Twilight giggle:
"That's quite the story." She comments before slowly backing away, "While I would like to stay, I have important-"
She suddenly bumps into someone, quickly turning around to apologize:
"Sorry, sorry!"
"You're all right, no harm done." The boy she bumped into assures her, "Just came over to say hi. You're Twilight Sparkle, right?"
"Yes she is!" Levin confirms as he and his friends walk over, "Twilight, meet my cousins and another friend of ours."
The boy she bumped into was one of said cousins, who is slightly taller than the others. He had long violet hair that reaches shoulder-length with white highlights on the edges, styled in a ponytail with loose bangs framing his face, complete with a black fitted cap on his head. His light gold skin compliments his royal blue eyes, soon noticing that he has a small scar on his right brow and a longer one on his right cheek. His school uniform also has the sleeves neatly rolled up and the blazer left open.
"Stylite Stream, nice to meet you."
The boy standing slightly behind him is the other cousin, who was the opposite by being slightly shorter than the rest. He has wavy unkempt golden blonde hair with the bangs reaching his eyebrows, vermilion red eyes behind a pair of thin rectangular-framed glasses, and pale amber skin. His school uniform wasn't altered, but she can't really tell since he was hiding behind Stylite, who grabs and gently pushes him into view:
"Sorry, my brother's rather shy. He's Pixel Stellar."
"...Hi." The short boy said just loud enough to hear, complete with a small wave.
The last boy stood on Stylite's right, his hands casually in his blazer's pockets. He has short silver hair in a faux-hawk hairstyle, orange amber eyes, and pale light gamboge skin. His school uniform wasn't altered either, but he doesn't look like he cares about it.
"Ventus Vivacity." He said before adding, "Call me Ven."
Twilight only shows a nervous smile in return, "N-Nice to meet all of you, but I-"
"Welcome, Crystal Prep!"
The students turn to the doors that lead into the school, seeing Principal Celestia walk over as Principal Cinch goes to meet her halfway:
"Good to see you again, Principal Cinch." The former greets.
"Yes, good to see you as well." The latter simply said in return, "I've heard that your school recently had its share of strange events."
"I was hoping to discuss with you on that. Vice Principal Luna will be here soon to explain more about-"
"I'm here, sister!"
Speaking of the vice principal, she comes out with the keyblade duo in tow. The Crystal Prep students and even Cinch were surprised to see the boy from the viral videos, who notices the attention he's getting:
"Hello." He greets with a small wave.
Riku couldn't help but smile at Sora's casual response, not noticing his own fair share of attention.
"We were tempted to postpone the Games, but luck seems to favor us today. These two have dealt with those creatures you saw, which are known as 'Heartless'. They will be our security to prevent any interruptions from them." Luna explains.
"I see." Cinch simply said before adjusting her glasses, "Well, I certainly hope there won't be any magic used IN the Games. I'd rather not win by technicality."
"I can assure you there won't be." Celestia states, "We wanna keep the Games as fair as possible."
As they were conversing, Sora was looking over the CPA students before his gaze stops on a familiar face:
"Twilight?" He said to himself, which Riku catches.
Before the latter could ask, one of the students points up to the top of the nearby buses:
"They're real!"
Sora and Riku see that the Heartless has appeared, lead by one standing between the buses. Sora recognizes the design of their leader, resembling that of a Neoshadow, but its colorations was mainly dark brown with red veins. The name 'Novashadow' popped into his head, which sounded familiar.
The Heartless it lead was mainly Neoshadows, fittingly enough. Riku summons his keyblade, diving into the fray to get the creatures' attention as the students were escorted to the school by the principals. Sora runs towards the fray soon after, keyblade in hand before stopping to see human Twilight standing in fear and awe near the bus.
"Twilight!" Turns out one of the CPA students noticed her absence as he came running out.
As he went past Sora, one of the Neoshadows caught sight of Twilight and went for her. Sora quickly went into action, leaping in to slash the heartless as the student protects Twilight.
"Go, I'll cover you!" He assures the two.
"Thanks, man! Big fan, by the way!" The spiky-haired student quickly said before grabbing Twilight's hand, escorting her to the school.
Once the two retreated to safety, Sora and Riku made short work of the Neoshadows. The Novashadow soon stood up tall, revealing its full height to barely tower the buses. Going on the offensive, it rushes in with a flurry of claw slashes.
The two swiftly dodge the assault, countering with their own magic attacks. Sora fires a Blizzard at its torso as Riku peppers the creature with Dark Firaga, dealing serious damage. It manages to recover before they can continue attacking, soon sinking into the ground for a sneak attack.
Following the shadow pool, they leap away just in time to avoid a shockwave upon its resurfacing. The momentum lifted it into the air, allowing it to follow up with a dive towards the duo. They brace for impact with their barrier spells before something knocks the creature out of the air.
The two were briefly confused before noticing it was a glider, though not the one they saw before. This glider was more like a hoverboard, designed kinda like a bird of sorts. The armored individual turns it to fly right back, smacking the Novashadow back into the air.
After a barrage of passing tackles, he launches into the sky before diving straight down into the shadow. He jumps off his glider as it slams the creature into the concrete, making it spin rapidly to create a tornado that soon bursts. The Novashadow was vanquished as it fades into mist, the armored individual soon landing on the ground before standing back up:
"Hey, guys!" The armor fades into light to reveal Ventus.
"Hey, Ven!" Sora greets back, "What brings you to Canterlot?"
"Just wanted to visit the Rainbooms, but I saw you fighting some heartless and decided to swoop in."
"Thanks for the help." Riku said, "Let's get inside first, we'll explain the situation there."
As the trio go inside, they were unaware of a certain hooded figure standing on the roof of the school. He watched the brief encounter and summarizes it in one sentence:
"This will be rather interesting..."
And done! OK, a couple of things to note for this visit in particular:
A. The most noticeable change is Sci-Twi interacting with a hooded figure, who should be obvious. That actually wasn't my idea, but was suggested by Raximus. I thought about how it would play out and it has serious potential. So once again, thank you Raximus for the suggestion!
B. Another noticeable change is Sunset's storyline here. Honestly the more I looked at it, I realized that they already did something similar with 'The Science of Magic' short, which is what I did in the third interlude. So I replaced that with the mystery of 'Who's the Element of Magic?'.
And in case you're wondering, I wanted to put 'What More is Out There' duet in somewhere, but the new narrative wouldn't make it natural.
C. Ventus was a last-minute inclusion, mainly to help out with security. Though, I do have an idea or two for him on this visit that I'll reveal later.
D. A couple of new faces has appeared that those who read my EG OC series would recognize. Honestly, at least during this visit, they're mainly there to round out the Shadowbolts team. I do have future plans for them, though.
Those are the main changes, so feel free to tell me what you think. With all that said, Happy New Year to all of you and I'll see you next chapter!