Hello, fellow readers! Welcome back to Harmonic Hearts! Going right in, what do we have:
Nisha: Yeah, I find it weird that people forget Twilight was an introvert before finding friends. Especially Sci-Twi, due to her life being completely different. Sora and Ven are just that outgoing, always bringing life to the party. Yeah, prepare for some crazy stuff!
johannvanguard: We're about to see... right now!
Thanks for the feedback! Now let's continue!
Visit 3-3: Unexpected Turns
Sora and Ventus went to go patrolling once more, leaving the Rainbooms to use this time for a break. Sunset brings up what she saw earlier with Twilight, proving it by pressing her hand against the statue. Seeing the portal was now closed, the others are concerned:
"So if her device did drain the statue, then does that mean she's why Rarity and Pinkie were tired before?" AJ wonders.
"She was there when Pinkie transformed, but not when I did." Rarity recalls before Fluttershy points out:
"She did enter the band room soon after..."
"I don't get it. Why would her device drain us?" Rainbow questions before Sunset corrects her:
"The better question is, why would she do it?"
"Why not ask her yourself?"
The group turn to see Riku and Twilight approach them. The latter looks rather nervous as they overheard the conversation, not helped that the group was looking right at her. Standing there in silence for a moment, Sunset asks the first thing that came to her mind:
"How did you get your device to absorb magic? I was only able to figure out how to detect it."
"T-That's what I originally thought, but... I had some unexpected help to finish its construction." Twilight admits.
"Help in what way, exactly?"
"I don't know how he did it, but he gave my device a magical core."
"And he is..."
"...I never learned his name. Doesn't help that he wore this black hooded coat that hid his face."
The girls recall their conversation with Sora, Donald and Goofy back then upon hearing that. Seeing their faces, Riku clarifies on this:
"Me and my friends already dealt with the Organization. Whoever this is, probably a rogue member or someone else entirely."
"Then it could be that he rigged your device to serve his purposes?" Sunset sums up what Riku thought.
Twilight looks at her device in contempt, "I didn't want this..."
"But you did."
A strange voice spoke, getting the group's attention as they looked around. They didn't see anyone before Twilight's device was swiftly pulled up, floating away from the group. Soon after, the source reveals himself:
"You!" She shouts upon seeing the hooded man.
Riku summons his keyblade as he steps in front of the group, mainly to defend them in case of a fight. Sunset decides to join his side this time, summoning her rapier as Twilight continues:
"Give me back my device!"
"Why? Did you not just say you didn't want it?"
"I didn't want to steal magic! I just wanted to learn what made this school special!"
"Then I misconstrued your words before. While I'd like to stay and taunt you all, I have a task to complete. And it includes this." With those ominous words spoken, the man vanishes without a trace.
Riku and Sunset carefully scan the area in case he was lying, leaving the others to comfort Twilight who was on the verge of tears:
"I-I didn't mean for any of this to happen..."
Fluttershy then hears whimpering in her backpack, remembering that she was holding onto Spike. Unzipping her bag, she pulls out the pup and hands him to his owner. Twilight soon embraces her pup as she expresses her gratitude:
"T-Thank you for holding onto him for me."
"It's no bother. You taught him well." Fluttershy compliments, not noticing herself transforming.
She floats into the air, getting the others' attention as she sprouts her wings and extended hair. Sunset couldn't help but take note again:
"That's four..."
She then notices a magic trail leaving her aura, going to the top of the statue where the hooded man stood with the device. She quickly tries to stop him, casting Thundaga to strike him. He turns out to be quicker, warping just before the bolt struck him as Fluttershy floats back down. She reverts back to normal, but wasn't too tired like Rarity or Pinkie.
"He's gonna be a serious problem." Riku states, "Let's find Sora and Ven, they need to know this."
Sora was patrolling the empty school halls, as the students were escorted to the track field for the Games. He was finishing up said patrol when he hears screams from the first floor. Quickly running to investigate with keyblade in hand, he reaches the main foyer to find Heartless surrounding two students.
He recognizes them from the Shadowbolts team earlier, lying on the ground injured. He leaps down to reach them as another keyblade flies by, striking the heartless too close to the girls. It flies back to Ventus, who heard the screams as well:
"Don't worry, we got you!"
The Heartless surrounding them was the small spellcasters. Red Nocturne, Blue Rhapsody, Yellow Opera, and Silver Rock types floated about as the two jump into battle. It wasn't much of a challenge as the spells were easy to dodge and counter respectively.
Once the Heartless were dealt with, the duo quickly checked on the Shadowbolts. Turns out, both of them were partially paralyzed, likely from a thunderbolt spell.
"Can't... move..." Indigo said, trying to move to no avail.
"This hurts..." Lemon mutters.
"Heal!" Sora casts Curaga on the two, but they remained paralyzed.
"That won't work, this is a status ailment." Ven recalls from his adventures.
Sora then remembers fighting enemies that had a similar effect from his spells. Although, if healing spells don't work...
"There's a spell for this, but I forgot the name..." Ven adds, "Aqua might know it, but that's a long trip back."
"Is it permanent?"
"No no, it should wear off eventually. It varies depending on the spell's strength and the user's aura."
"Well, there's a silver lining."
The two then hear the entrance doors open, seeing Riku with the Rainbooms enter. He notices the situation and connects the dots:
"Hang on, I think I... Shoot, I'm out of Panaceas." He then snaps his fingers, "Maybe there's a Moogle shop around here."
"Well while ya go do that, we have to get to the field for the Games." AJ points out.
"Good point. You two manage without me for a bit, I gotta find the shop." Riku agrees.
"No problem." Ven assures him.
As Riku takes his leave, Applejack and Rainbow pick up the two girls onto their backs to carry.
"Why are you-" Indigo started to say before Rainbow answers:
"We're not leaving you two here, all right?"
"Thank you..." Lemon simply said before the group headed for the field.
On the way, Sora and Ven were informed on what recently happened. Good news, Twilight had no bad intentions with her magical device. Bad news, there's a hooded man that now has it for his own agenda. Now they have another threat to look out for.
Exiting the school, the Rainbooms were surprised at the overhaul. An archery course in the middle of the field, a roller-skating track replacing the running track, and even a motocross race course that uses the roller-skating course with it. After processing all this, Sunset points out the obvious:
"I can't be the only one that thinks this is overkill."
Sora then sees Principal Cinch with her team, who notices their missing members. The students look around until Levin sees the group, then the two members:
"Hey! Did something happen?"
Going over to them, Sora and Ven gave them the rundown of their condition. While thankful there wasn't permanent damage, Principal Cinch refuses to wait for the effects to wear off and turns to Levin:
"Levin, ask your group for any volunteers. We're down a roller-skater and a motocross rider."
"I know just the two." He assures her before running off.
Reaching the CPA side of the bleachers, he runs up the steps to the top where his group sat next to said steps.
"Stylite, Visor!" He calls out over the noise, getting their attention. "We're down a roller-skater and motocross rider, need ya to back us up!"
The two simply nod before leaving their seats, following Levin back as the others cheer them on:
"Ya'll got this!" Ventus shouts out.
After both teams got into their respective sports wear, they waited at their assigned sport as the principals sat in the announcer booth. Sora and Ven stood near the entrance to the school, standing guard near Indigo and Lemon who sat against the wall. They didn't have to wait too long before Riku came back:
"Found one making a small pit stop here. Likely didn't expect actual business from this world."
"Did you get those Panaceas?" Sora asks.
"Yup."
Pulling out two of them from his pockets, he tosses them in the air before they landed on Indigo and Lemon. They burst like bubbles, activating their effects to cure their paralysis. The two got back on their feet as the former smiles:
"Thanks, that's some serious... magic stuff you used!"
"Yeah! Still kinda sucks we got replaced before you showed up." Lemon adds.
"Sorry, the shop wasn't easy to find." Riku simply said.
"The better thing is you're still here. Others aren't so lucky around the Heartless." Sora assures the two.
"Anyways, it's best that you join up with your school now. We gotta keep guard for any threats." Ven reminds them.
As the two students headed to the bleachers, the Games were starting to get under way as Dean Cadance spoke over the speakers:
"Welcome to the tri-cross relay event! Our qualified students are about to participate in archery, speed skating, and motocross! In order for their team to advance, both members must pass their respective courses. Now if the competitors are ready..."
The archers ready themselves for the course before she shouts:
"GO!"
Sour Sweet and Fluttershy went first, climbing over the two haystacks to reach the quivers. The former reaches hers first, swiftly grabbing them before clearing the gap in one swing. As the latter grabs her set, Sour Sweet rolls into an aiming position by grabbing the bow and firing three arrows at once. All three hit one target, with one landing a bullseye to allow her partner to advance.
Speaking of Fluttershy, she manages to pass her course and reached the targets. Though, she's having a bit of difficulty aiming her arrows just right. Seeing their little headstart, Sour Sweet turns to see her partner Levin still adjusting his outfit, annoying her a bit.
Twilight stood near the keyblade boys as she watches the Games unfold, mainly to feel safer due to what just happened. Seeing Levin adjusting his gloves, she recalls his group cheering for her after she won the academic round. Feels right to return the favor:
"You got this, Levin!"
He looks right at her with a surprised look, which she returns with a nervous smile. After a moment, he smiles back before turning to run the course. They were surprised that he didn't vault over the haystacks, but leaps across them before grabbing his quiver. Also clearing the gap in one swing, he swiftly rolls to his feet before Sour Sweet tosses him the bow. Pulling out one arrow, he takes aim and fires:
Bullseye.
That was enough for him and the judges as Dean Cadance announces over the speakers:
"And Crystal Prep is off to an early lead!"
Stylite and Sunny Flare saw the green light for them, starting the second part of the relay for their team. Though as this was happening, Levin heard laughter from Sour Sweet:
"What, not confident enough to land more than one arrow on the target? I heard you're at the top of the class in archery."
Without saying a word, Levin pulls out another arrow and aims just right. Upon firing, she was silenced by the sight:
He landed his second arrow ON the back of his first arrow.
"Show off!" Visor playfully shouts over the motorbike engines, making Levin chuckle.
Fluttershy had already made her shot, allowing Applejack to go. The latter took only two attempts to make her shot, allowing her side to advance. While the Shadowbolts had the small advantage, the Wondercolts were catching up.
Sunny Flare kept her speed consistent as Stylite was darting ahead. The latter was smoothly making the turns, but notices their opponents were approaching fast. Rarity tries to past Sunny, but the latter was making sure she couldn't. To his surprise, Pinkie bumps shoulders with him to get his attention:
"Hello!"
"U-Uh, hi?"
"I can tell you go skating a lot. You do roller or ice?"
He couldn't help but smirk at her question, "Both, actually. Like so!"
He then darts ahead, taking the lead as Sunny manages to sneak by Pinkie. Rarity realizes they're nearing the finish line, but gets an interesting idea:
"Come on!"
She raises her leg out, which Pinkie grabs before flinging her ahead. Their opponents were understandably surprised, slowing them down enough for Pinkie to take the win.
"What a finish!" Dean Cadance calls out.
As the four go off to the side to rest, the signal for the motorbikes turn green before they were off. The four were around the same speed, but Sugarcoat was quick to speed ahead with Rainbow close behind. Sunset tries to get ahead of Visor as they turn into the various ramps.
Though, Visor couldn't help but show off a bit. With each jump, he added a small trick or even flip that he lands each time. Sunset admits she's impressed, but his showboating allowed her to go past him.
"Now who's showing off!?" Levin playfully shouts before laughing at the irony.
Stylite was seeing this and couldn't help but chuckle at such a show. He soon stops upon seeing something under the bleachers, where he sees moving shadows. Looking a bit closer, he sees yellow eyes open themselves:
"Heartless!"
Upon him calling out, the keyblade boys heard the call. Sora and Riku went ahead as Ven stood guard, just in case this was some sort of scheme. The two ready themselves for a fight, seeing numerous shadow heartless spill out towards them. Though the stranger thing was it reeling back like a wave soon after.
The two quickly sidestep as a large wave launches at them, looking like a sentient pillar. It practically flew around them before heading right for the motorbike course, with the two quickly giving chase. The students on the motorbikes soon notice the swarm as they start the last lap.
Rainbow reflexively slid under the swarm, narrowly dodging its attack before turning her bike to a halt. Sugarcoat wasn't as lucky as it slams into her bike, making her fly off towards the dirt. Sora saw her fly and slides in to catch her, leaving Riku to distract it as he takes her to safety. The latter fires off a swarm of dark fireballs, landing damage before it went underground.
Sunset was processing what she saw before suddenly getting hit off her bike. The heartless pillar landed a sneak attack, flying out from under her before going for Visor, who slid his own bike under to dodge it. Sunset notices her bike was out of commission, which means she's out of the race. In that case-
"Sunset!"
Rainbow comes zooming by with her bike, stopping next to her before reaching her hand out:
"Hop on quick!"
Sunset accepts this easily, hopping on the back as the two ride on ahead. Visor was more concerned of getting out alive at this point, seeing the swarm surround the track with Sora and Riku dealing various attacks upon it. He then sees Rainbow catching up with Sunset sitting behind her, where he realizes something:
"Sugarcoat!?" He looks around to find his partner, "Sugarcoat!?"
"She's fine!" Rainbow calls out, getting his attention. "Sora got her out when the swarm came in!"
That was enough to ease him, but they weren't out of danger yet. Hearing the battle taking place behind them, they look to see the swarm coming towards them. Both kicked their motorbikes into high gear, hoping to outrun it as Sunset summons her rapier. Sora and Riku were doing their best to keep it at bay, but in case it got too close, she's ready to fight.
Upon reaching the final jump, the swarm came right for them in the air. Right before Sunset fired off a spell, a blast of wind blows it off course, leaving it open for Sora and Riku to finish it off. Turns out, Ven aimed his keyblade just right to fire an Aeroga spell at it.
With the threat gone, the remaining players were left to finish the race. The two bikes turn one last time before reaching the finish line, where Rainbow was just a hair ahead of Visor. That was just enough as Dean Cadance announces the victor:
"Canterlot wins!"
The crowd were rather surprised at what has happened, but CHS still lets out a cheer for their school winning. The two bikes stop to a halt as Sora and Riku came over:
"You guys all right?" The former asks them.
"Yeah, more or less." Sunset answers, "Thanks for the help by the way, Rainbow."
"No problem! I ain't letting those heartless harm any of my friends!" With that declaration, Rainbow felt herself transform again. Pulling off her helmet to let her ears change, her wings sprout out once more.
Ven and Twilight were walking over to them, seeing said transformation before Spike started barking. Turns out, he sees the hooded man appear with the magic device, opening it to take Rainbow's magic. The pup jumps out of Twilight's arms, running right for the man to attack.
"Spike!" She calls out as Ven runs to get him.
Rainbow feels her energy get drained as the others saw the trail. Sunset was quick to try stopping it, launching a windy shockwave towards the hooded man. He casually disperses it with a wave of his hand, but it makes the magic trail distort. Its distortion happens as Spike jumps, allowing himself to get hit by the trail. It was rather brief as the hooded man closes the device soon after and reaches for the pup:
"Spike!" Ven calls out this time, throwing his keyblade to stop the man.
He misses as the hooded man warps away, Ven summoning his weapon back before checking on Spike. The pup was likely knocked out from the magic jolt.
"Ah!" The group heard Twilight yelp and turn to see her held hostage.
The hooded man had his arm around her neck, preventing her from escaping as they disappear into a portal. Sora and Riku uses their respective tech, Quick Run and Dark Aura, to reach it in time as it vanishes. At this moment, the others can only hope for her safety as Ven goes on to search the school.
The dark portal reappears on the rooftop of CHS, shooting out Sora and Riku before it vanishes. The hooded man still held Twilight as he stood near the edge:
"Best not do anything reckless, 'heroes'. I wanted to chat with your friend for a moment."
"Enough with the charade! What are you after?" Riku cuts straight to the chase.
"Isn't it obvious? This world is able to weaponize the very concept of friendship, that alone peaks my curiosity."
"That doesn't mean you can kidnap people!" Sora states.
"Of course, you all assume as such. Such a notion applies to the innocent, she is not."
"What are you getting at?" Riku questions.
"She's the one who made that special device, allowing me to harness the Elements' powers. Generosity, Laughter, Kindness, and Loyalty... all I need now is Honesty, and Magic."
The duo are now very concerned. For a man who Twilight said he came from a rift in time, he knows a lot more than they thought. Seeing their faces, he gladly reveals how:
"You really thought I left when you eavesdropped on our conversation? How naive of you."
"How long have you done this?"
"I couldn't walk among you without raising suspicion, so I hid in order to follow Twilight. Your knowledge was most helpful, especially for that parallel world. I planned to visit it after I obtain what I seek here."
"Like we'll let you do that!" Sora exclaims.
"Is that right?"
The hooded man releases his grip, but not before grabbing Twilight's shirt collar and held her over the edge. The two got anxious at the sudden shift as Twilight was understandably scared, letting out a scream before taking panicked breaths.
"I can't cross into that world without the portal. However, when she had the device, she allowed it to absorb its power. I know the keyblade can open anything, which brings us to now. So what will it be, keyblade wielders?"
Sora and Riku are in a bit of a predicament. They don't want to lose Twilight, but they can't allow this man to reach his goal. There has to be some way to-
The hooded man gets caught off guard by something taking Twilight out of his grip. Turns out, it was Ven who launched upwards from the courtyard on his glider. With her safe now, the duo went on the offensive.
They rush him on both sides and swung, only to get blocked by a barrier. Noticing the tide has changed, he took his leave:
"We'll meet again soon enough."
With that statement, he pushes them back before disappearing into a portal. It wasn't long before Ven came back to the rooftop, flying down on his glider before landing nearby. He held Twilight in his arms, who was clinging to him for dear life with her eyes shut.
"It's OK, you're safe now." Ven assures her.
Opening one of her eyes to see he was right, she goes back on her feet and lets out a deep sigh of relief.
"Thank you SO much!" She expresses her gratitude with a tight hug, catching Ven off guard a bit:
"N-No problem!"
Sora and Riku smirks at the small blush Ven had. The latter was kinda tempted to tease him, but Aqua would do that anyways. Before they can try and pursue the hooded man though, they had to get Twilight back to the others.
The Final Round...
Upon getting her back to safety, the trio told the others what had happened. Whoever this mystery man was, the Friendship Games would likely be stopped abruptly. Principal Celestia and Luna discussed ending the Games in a tie, which Dean Cadance agrees with the notion. Principal Cinch was a bit hesitant, but knew she's outvoted by the others.
However, she brings up a great point after what just happened:
"It seems that intruder has something against one of my students. It's likely due to her investigation, but I doubt ceasing the Games would make him leave."
"We thought that too." Riku agrees, "I think it's about time we lure him out."
"And how are we going to do that?" Sunset wonders.
"Simple, we give him what he seeks."
It took a bit of time to prepare their plan, as the sun was down when they set it in motion. Twilight heard she was the key to making it work, but still fears of it backfiring. The Rainbooms told her she didn't have to, but she knew she was responsible for this and wanted to help fix it.
The plan involves an ambush in the courtyard, where they feign the finale of the Games. Twilight will be placed back in for Crystal Prep's side as Sunset volunteers for CHS, where the two are tasked with finding their school's flag. Whoever finds their flag first and brings it back to the entrance wins.
Their schools watch from the bleachers as the two stood in the center, both subtly looking around for the hooded man. The keyblade boys hid in the nearby bushes, but they weren't the only ones waiting to attack.
While his group aren't sure how they could help, Levin didn't want to wait on the sidelines. He still wore the archery outfit, equipped with a bow and a full quiver of arrows as three of his friends did the same. Stylite, Visor and Shade got their sets of archery equipment in order to assist him in the coming battle.
"If the competitors are ready..." Luna announces before counting down:
"Three... two... one... G-"
Before she could finish, Twilight heard a familiar sound before she saw it. Time stood still around her, but she thankfully wasn't alone in this void.
"What's going on..." Sunset wonders as the Rainbooms thought the same thing.
"It's his power." Twilight answers before they saw the hooded man appear before them:
"I'm glad you remembered."
"You!" Sunset reflexively summons her rapier and swung, only for him to casually grab the blade:
"There's no need for hostility... not yet, at least."
He then uses a small Aero blast, pushing her back towards the others before turning to Twilight. The bookworm was scared, but stood firm as he spoke:
"I'll admit, I was hoping it didn't have to come to this. If it wasn't for the others making you fear the dark, you would have what you wanted by now. So tell me, what really made you change your mind?"
"...It's obvious. I can't trust someone who never shows their face, much less tell me their name."
The man lets out a small chuckle at that, "Fair enough. I have my reasons to not show my face, as for my name... I am Xehanort."
The others made sure to memorize that name as he continues, soon turning towards the Rainbooms:
"But, I'm still not convinced. Why change sides to those who don't really know you? Forever seeing you as a reminder of their real friend?"
"I don't care! As Sora said before, I'm not letting that stop me from accepting them!"
"Is that right? Do you not realize what they hold? Their magic is the key, what you seek to reach those stars in the sky."
"W-What?"
"I gave your device a core, one able to detect the strongest sources of magic in this world. Once you take them all, you'll have the power to explore the worlds to your heart's content... to finally be free."
Twilight finds herself silent in that moment, which Sunset catches and knew his game:
"Don't listen, Twilight! It's not worth it!"
"She's right!" Applejack chimes in, "Whatever he's offering is nothing but a bunch of nonsense! You may be this world's Twilight Sparkle, but you ARE our friend no matter what!"
Twilight couldn't help but smile at that, but it was shortly lived when she sees AJ glow with magical energy. Xehanort smirks under his hood as he pulls out the device, which Sunset realizes:
"No you don't-"
She was suddenly binded in an ethereal lasso, preventing her from attacking as he opens the device. It was swift as AJ's energy was drained, leaving one more Element to be found. He isn't too worried about it though:
"When the five Elements come together, the final one will appear. Now the question remains..."
He pulls the lasso, it dissipating as Sunset was pulled towards Twilight before stumbling onto her feet. Xehanort held the device up as he asks them:
"Who is the Element of Magic? Let's find out."
Despite time being still around them, the two girls felt like they were slowed down as he casually tosses the device towards them. It starts to glow and pulse before bursting open, unleashing a powerful blast that shatters the void.
The keyblade boys and everyone else in the vicinity didn't know what happened. All they saw was the announcer counting down, only for a blast to appear from out of nowhere. Twilight and Sunset got absorbed into the slowly expanding orb, floating up into the air as it grows to the size of a hot-air balloon.
Xehanort made himself known as he actually taunts his opponents:
"You really thought this plan would work? I'll show you how futile it is."
Objective: Defeat the Hooded Man! (BGM: Dark Impetus)
Levin's team took the first shots, firing arrows at their target. Obviously, those were dispatched with a swift slash from an ethereal blade. Those were a distraction as Ven attacks first, throwing his keyblade with wind energy. Xehanort deflects it as Ven slides in, calling back his weapon before unleashing Ars Arcanum.
Despite the flurry of slashes, Xehanort clashes with all of them with his dual blades. Knocking the boy away, a quartet of arrows came at him again, which he swiftly dodges. Ven recovers and advances before his foe charges with a lunge, making the boy dodge roll right before Riku appears to block it and counters hard.
Grabbing the man's arm, he slams the hilt of his keyblade into his hooded head twice. Spinning him around, he throws him up high towards the wall of the school. Despite the heavy damage, Xehanort recovers fast enough to land on the rooftop.
Sora jumps out, quickly running up the wall towards the man as he then dives down towards him. The two soon clash blades, where Xehanort tries getting the upper hand by swiping his second blade. Remembering what Xemnas did before, Sora swiftly blocks it and goes behind him to knock him off.
Seeing an opening, Levin's team open fire upon the hooded man to land any sort of damage. Despite this, Xehanort conjures a small barrier around himself, where the arrows hit and shatter upon impact. After landing on the ground, he lets out a sigh:
"How about we make this more personal?"
Sora lands on the ground before Xehanort summons a barrier wall around them, blocking the crowd from the dangers of the battle. The trio didn't mind it though, now they can go all out against him. Although, this also goes for their opponent who starts off first, firing ethereal orbs into the air that tracked the trio down.
They quickly maneuver around the battlefield as the orbs fire spears upon their respective targets. Ven rolls under the first set before conjuring Aeroga around himself, blocking the next two sets. Riku uses Dark Aura to outpace his sets before charging at their hooded foe. Sora uses High Jump, Aerial Dodge, and Glide to dodge his pursuers before flying in to help Riku.
The two kept up the pressure as Xehanort fends them off with his blades. This gave Ven time to charge up a Shotlock, focusing his energy into a powerful attack. Once Xehanort finally pushes the two back, Ven strikes with Multivortex.
Conjuring blades of energy around himself, a strong veil of wind follows as he unleashes a powerful barrage. After two more assaults, Ven finishes by spiraling in the air to create a gigantic whirlwind. Xehanort took advantage of the wind-up to activate his barrier, allowing the damage from said whirlwind to heal his wounds each hit. The trio group back up soon after, which he takes the chance to fire a Mega Flare.
Seeing the powerful blast come towards him, Riku was quick to react. He uses his Dark Barrier to try containing the blast, which Sora reinforces with Reflega before Ven uses Aeroga to blast the orb skyward. Despite their best efforts, the orb eventually blows up upon reaching the clouds above.
The ever-expanding fiery blast shines down like a sun, making the magic orb look like an eclipse to the people below. Xehanort stood in front of it all, his coat flowing around his figure as his yellow eyes can seen under his hood. The sun-like flare eventually faints in the night sky before a pulse was heard from the orb above.
"It's time..." Xehanort mutters.
The trio weren't sure what might happen and can only hope their friends are OK.
Meanwhile, inside the magic orb...
Sunset and Twilight open their eyes to see a black void around them. It wasn't entirely dark as there was a light source high above, illuminating the large glass pillar they stood on. Looking down at it, they saw a rather strange mural placed upon it:
It was Sunset's cutie mark placed in the center, outlined by Princess Twilight's cutie mark. Pictures that circled around the strange cutie mark contained one of the Elements of Harmony, representing her friends.
"Where are we?" Twilight wonders as Sunset wasn't really sure herself:
"I don't know, but it feels... familiar somehow."
Their wonder didn't last long as a pool of dark energy emerges at the center. It started small that soon grows bigger and bigger, making the two back away. Sunset tries to push it back with her magic, but it was unfazed no matter the elemental spell.
Eventually, it condenses into a large orb that looked like a black hole. It even seams sentient as they felt like it was looking at them. Seconds pass by before it suddenly moves right at Sunset:
"Look out!"
Miraculously faster than Sunset's reaction time, she was pushed out of the way by Twilight who gets hit by the orb. Before Sunset could call out her name, the dark mass explodes, blasting her out of the void.
Back outside
The orb suddenly gets cloaked in dark energy as Sunset was shot out, landing near the trio where they help her back onto her feet. The four could only watch as the orb shrinks, eventually revealing Twilight transforming inside. Her appearance became more like a demon, though not as much as Sunset's from before, sprouting a pair of feathered wings, a glowing horn and flames around her eyes. She looks upon herself in intrigue before letting out a cackle:
"I didn't understand magic before, but I do NOW!"
"Twilight?" Sora wonders before Xehanort answers:
"She's been corrupted by her own curiosity. How unfortunate."
"Because of you!" Riku shouts.
He warps in to attack the hooded man, only to hit air as he faded away. He couldn't linger on what happened as he sees Twilight charge up energy into her hands. She then fires a beam towards the ground, ripping a hole in reality to-
"That's Equestria!" Sunset exclaims before they see Twilight fly inside, "Wait, Twilight!"
"I got her!" Ven assures her, calling out his glider to fly in after her.
As he does, the barrier around them disappears as the Rainbooms run over to them:
"What just happened!?" Rainbow asks what the others were thinking, which Sunset answers:
"Xehanort used her magic device to try corrupting one of us. She pushed me away and... you saw what happened."
"Xehanort!?" Sora and Riku were surprised to hear that name again.
"Ya know the guy?" Applejack questions.
"Yeah, but we'll explain later." The latter answers, "We better follow Ven!"
"Got it!" Sora agrees before activating his Drive.
He reveals Final Form once more, casually floating from the ground with two keyblades, which floats behind him like a pair of wings.
"Ooo!" Rarity was fascinated by the look, which Sora doesn't notice as he moves his secondary keyblade to Riku.
His friend caught onto what he's thinking, hopping on said keyblade to use as a hoverboard before the two dive into the wormhole.
Sunset stood there as she wasn't sure if she can help this time, mainly since she can't fly. It wasn't until Pinkie pops up with a familiar device in her hand:
"Guess what I found lying around!"
"The device!" Rarity then notices something, "But uh, doesn't it look rather... dim?"
She was right, the device hung open as it was now lacking power. Sunset then recalls what Xehanort did and gets an idea. Hovering her hand over it, she focuses some magic to form a small sphere for its core. Fortunately, it manages to work as the device springs to life once more:
"What are you doing?" Fluttershy wonders.
"Twilight transformed into that from the contained magic this had. If we recreate that, I might gain a similar form to help stop her!"
The Rainbooms glance at each other in thought before nodding, agreeing with said idea.
"Let's do it!" Rainbow exclaims before holding her hand out.
The others did the same, giving their magic to the core to power it up. Once the device got enough, Sunset closes it before holding it up:
"Get back." They did just that before she throws the device to the ground, destroying it as it unleashes said magic.
It does a mini explosion, consuming her inside before transforming her. Unlike Twilight before, she becomes something more akin to an angel, sprouting angelic phoenix wings, a glowing horn and red markings around her eyes. The others, and everyone else in the crowd, were baffled on what was going on. Only one person said something to this sight:
"Whoa..." Stylite mutters.
Sunset looks upon herself and smiles warmly, mainly glad that her plan worked. Remembering the wormhole, she turns around before diving inside to catch up with the boys. Right now, it's up to them to stop their friend before it's too late.
And done! This one took a bit as there were several times I was stuck, so I had to erase idea after idea before getting to what is here. I'm not joking when I say, this movie is structured in such a way where if I tried adding more scenes, it'll drag on too long. So interactions I was thinking of doing wouldn't make it flow well. Now, what was changed this time?
For one thing, Xehanort decides to be much more direct. Frankly this was a better change, allowing Sci-Twi to interact with the others without the conflict. Another change was switching out two of the Shadowbolts for the Games. There was stuff surrounding this idea, but it wasn't clicking right due to a big mistake I didn't realize until now.
And frankly, this is why this visit falls apart. I wanted to do more with Principal Cinch, but the idea I came up with was AFTER I posted the previous two chapters. I thought about for awhile on either doubling down what I got or starting over before finally deciding:
This timeline is entirely experimental, so I'll finish up what I got to see how it works out. That way when I revisit this, I'll attempt the other idea and see how that pans out. Still though, I think this came out pretty well.
I kept the fight against Xehanort simple, mainly cause it's not the main event. It was gonna be a bit more, but it wasn't really working out.
EDIT: So ignore my 'headcanon' regarding Midnight Sparkle before, she's just the dark side of Sci-Twi's heart now. It makes MUCH more sense this way, as I'll explain in the next chapter.
With that said, that's for reading and I'll see you next chapter!