Hello, fellow readers! Welcome to a little project that's my first midquel story! I know what you're thinking, what about the redux:

Honestly, I'm fine with what I've done in the original. Yeah it's not perfect, some details were misinterpreted and some scenes aren't as fleshed out, but I had fun writing it at the end of the day. Plus, I miss my boys.

So here we are with Magical Trinity, covering the events between Visit 4 and Visit 5. To clarify the timeline in this midquel, here's what I'm including:

1. The Magical Movie Night trilogy, which consist of Dance Magic, Movie Magic, and Mirror Magic.

2A. Excluding the music videos, I'll also do the shorts set before the 2017 MLP movie. I did my research on the timeline for them and I found it to be like this:

2B. The Summertime Shorts, the first half of Better Together (Ep. 1 to 12), and the Choose Your Own Ending shorts. And yes, I'll do all the endings.

3. For what I have planned for this series, I'm NOT including Forgotten Friendship here. Trust me, I have a VERY good idea for that special in particular.

4. To avoid any complications to the timeline of the previous story, Vanitas will be the only recurring KH character.

I understand that some aren't fans of midquels, but I want to try out this format for a change of pace. So much like before, take this as experimental. Also, Vanitas and Midnight already have their new designs here mentioned in Visit 5.

With ALL of that said, let's start the fun!

Special 1: A Not-So-Deadly Dance

"So, this is a mall..."

Vanitas mutters to himself as he walks with Levin. The former was looking around in intrigue as the latter summarizes it for him:

"The mall is great for many things. After-school hangouts, shopping, the food court, and more."

"This is also where most of the girls got one of those 'jobs', correct?" Vanitas recalls, "Cause I'm not getting one."

His bluntness made Levin smirk as he casually taunts his fellow spiky-haired friend, "Why? Don't think it's worth the effort?"

"I don't like people and they won't like me."

"...You know what, fair point. Visor has a couple of stories like that from dealing with customers."

Vanitas lets out a chuckle at that before seeing a familiar face in the nearby arcade, "Isn't that Ventus?"

"Your other half or Viva?" Levin asks for clarity.

"Viva."

The two enter said arcade as Viva was selecting a song at the dance machine. Upon hearing it, Levin lets out a sigh at what's gonna come next:

"Feeling energetic today, Viva?"

"Indeed I am." Viva answers, "Step back, I might go wild."

He soon readies himself for his routine as the two step back. Needless to say, he did indeed cut loose. Viva showed impressive footwork while mixing in his agility, yet still hitting the notes on time with the song. Vanitas was kinda familiar with the concept of dancing, but not the styles associated with it:

"What dance style involves this flexibility?"

"This is known as 'b-boy freestyle'." Levin answers, "You should watch him and Visor compete."

"...What does bees have to do with dancing?"

The only answer he got was laughter from Levin, "Hahaha! N-Not what I meant!"

Viva was finishing up on the short song he chose, ending it with a flip on the last two notes. The trio then hear a group of cheers, surprising them as they didn't even hear the crowd form. One of them then shouts out:

"Dude, you should enter the competition!"

"Competition?" Viva repeats, leaning on the railings.

"Yeah! The mall is doing this 'Dance to Prance' contest! Winner gets like a boatload of money!"

Viva was honestly not interested, "Eh, I don't want the money."

"Aw, come on!" The teen boy whines, with the crowd doing the same.

Viva wasn't fazed, but had a solution. "Besides, why make you wait when I can do an encore right now?"

The crowd changed their tune at that, wanting to see more. Levin and Vanitas watch as Viva selects another song to dance to, now kinda wanting to take a shot themselves.

Meanwhile, Midnight was hanging out with Shade at the food court. The two sat at a table while having smoothies from where Applejack worked at. Midnight was enjoying hers as she stops sipping for a moment:

"Who would think shredding fruits can give us tasty combinations?"

"I know, right?" He agrees, taking another sip of his smoothie. "This person was a genius."

"Yeah!" She then briefly senses something, "Oh, I guess Vanitas is here too."

"You can sense him?"

"Yep. I can sense you guys from a mile away. Though, it makes me curious."

"About what?"

"Do you guys use darkness?"

Shade almost spat out his drink, but manages to save it. He soon composes himself before continuing their conversation:

"No. We know now that every heart has a dark side, so why would we chance it?"

"Ever so cautious, unlike Levin. When that boy fights, it's clear that he has some serious anger."

"We're aware. Don't worry, he's working on them."

"Good, good. However, he isn't the one I'm curious about."

Shade was now focused on her right as she looks at him, "It's subtle. but your darkness feels... natural. Like you were born with it."

He couldn't help but be intrigued by her words. Though of course, a certain cliche cuts their talk short:

"Yo, Shade! Midnight!"

The two turn to see Levin, Viva, and Vanitas walk over and took seats at their table.

"Hey, guys. How's the mall been, Vanitas?" Shade asked.

"Eh. It's just places in a bigger place." Vanitas answers.

Viva chuckles at that description, "You're not wrong! But that is why people come here."

"AJ makes excellent smoothies." Levin chimes in, noticing the smoothies they have before going to said kiosk. "I'll go get some for us."

"Thanks, man!" Viva calls out before glancing at Shade, "So, what were ya talking about?"

"Just stuff." Shade answers before taking more sips of his smoothie.

The next day...

The Shadowolves met up with the Rainbooms at the school music room, where Rarity shares her newest plan with the girls:

"I have signed us up to compete in 'Dance to Prance'!" She announces.

"Really? Why's that?" Stylite wonders.

"I always wanted to try and direct a music video featuring clothing styles over the years. This just happened to be a great opportunity!"

"OK, have fun." Pixel casually said.

This made the Rainbooms curious as Sunset asked them, "I guess you're not competing?"

"Rich dad, remember?" Levin reminds them, "Don't need the money, much less want it honestly."

"That's fair." Rainbow said with a smirk, "Though you could just say you can't dance."

...Alright, bet.

"Pixel, if you may." Visor deadpans.

Pixel didn't speak as he takes the boombox and places it on the steps. The boys got into position as the girls watch on in intrigue, along with Vanitas and Midnight who stood there in confusion. Once Pixel presses play, he gets into position just in time as the song starts.

A funky jazz tune plays as the boys went off. In-sync from beginning to end, with their expressions clear on their faces:

Levin was smirking, Visor was smiling, Shade was in the zone, Stylite was on the verge of giggling, Pixel was smug, and Viva was giving it one hundred percent.

Once the song ended, Sty just started laughing his butt off. "Hahaha! Dude, you so wanted to prove her wrong!"

"Just proving a point, my man." Visor retorts.

Needless to say, the point was made as the others were surprised. Thankfully, Shade didn't mind to clarify:

"We learned how to dance back in middle school. The routine got us second place in a talent contest."

"Which I still call bull!" Visor rebukes, "Trixie got lucky!"

"You guys lost to Trixie?" Applejack wonders.

"I can imagine that she did some crazy magic trick to win!" Pinkie chimes in.

"More like her father was one of the judges..." Shade deadpans in response.

Rarity then clears her throat to get back on topic, "Before we could work on our music video, we're gonna need costumes and I need the materials to make them."

"Say no more, got you covered." Levin simply said.

"Thank you very much, darling! Now we can't waste time, to the mall!"

"Again?" Vanitas mutters, but knows he has nothing better to do.

Back at the Canterlot Mall, Vanitas stuck with Levin and Rarity as they shopped for clothing material. He didn't say much in their conversations, leaving him to observe the people around them. In a strange way, he kinda envies them. Not being forced to fight, not being treated as a weapon...

His thoughts came to a halt as they were heading towards the fountain area, seeing four girls in different outfits dancing to a song in front of a camera.

"Who are the performers?" Vanitas points out.

Levin and Rarity immediately recognizes the girls as the latter was baffled:

"The Shadowbolts! Wait... I-Is that a disco inspired look? And a street ballet tutu!?"

"I'm surprised you know what they're wearing." Levin comments, "Though, they look pretty good in those outfits."

"I suspect they're competing too?" Vanitas questioned.

"Yes they are! They were there when I signed us up!" Rarity answers before having an epiphany, "And where I told them my idea!"

"For the music video?"

"Yes! I can't believe I did that!"

"It's a classic trick. Coaxing someone into revealing a secret, villains do that all the time."

Rarity was on the verge of crying, shoving the box of material into Levin's arms before running off.

"Rarity, wait!" The latter runs off after her, with Vanitas following suit.

The trio ended up at Rarity's house, where Levin and Vanitas kept her company in her room as she bawls her eyes out. Levin texted the others what happened on the way, so they didn't have to wait long until they arrived. After hearing them greet Sweetie Belle, who opened the door, they soon hear knocking at the bedroom door.

"Come in." Levin call out.

The door open to reveal the others, who came on in. Some took their seats on the bed as the rest stayed standing, seeing Rarity eventually calm herself down:

"S-Sorry to worry you. I'm sure Levin has told you already."

"Yeah." Sunset answers, "I'm not that surprised, honestly. Old habits are hard to get rid of."

"So then if the Shadowbolts stole your idea, what are we gonna do?" Sci-Twi asked.

Rarity finishes wiping her eyes before blowing her nose, soon tossing the tissue into the nearby trash bin. She took a moment to think about the question, only to come up short:

"I-I don't know, darling. I've wanted to do that idea for a long time."

"Why can't you just take it back?" Midnight wonders.

"Take what back?"

"Your idea. They stole from you, so why not take back what's yours."

Vanitas understood what's she getting at, "She makes a good point..."

"You know what, you're right! That's OUR video concept!" Rarity agrees, "Those girls are gonna learn that they messed with the wrong girl!"

"Wait, you're not expecting to just walk in and demand them to do that?" Stylite questions.

"That's exactly what we're doing!"

Levin lets out a sigh before standing up, "Well since you're insistent about it, let's try and negotiate with them. Just in case though, the rest of you can try and come up with new video ideas."

"Just don't resort to violence. They don't have powers like us." Sunset reminds them.

"Yeah, yeah..." Vanitas mumbles.

With that said, he left with Levin and Rarity in tow to where the Shadowbolts likely might be.

On the school grounds of Crystal Prep, the trio managed to sneak into the building without getting detected. Once they did, Rarity looks to Levin for directions:

"Where's the dance studio?"

"If I remember the layout correctly, it should be nearby." Levin answers.

Vanitas then faintly hears music from a room down the hall, which has its door opened. "Is it that one?"

"Yes, actually."

"Bingo." Rarity mutters before heading over.

The three reach the doorway as they see the Shadowbolts doing their dance routine. They were finishing up as they entered the room, where Sour Sweet greets them:

"Hey there, Rarity! So, what do you think of our routine? Scared of losing?"

"Don't change the subject, Sour Sweet!" Rarity retorts, to everyone's confusion.

"...But you didn't bring up a subject." Sugarcoat points out.

"You either!"

The boys don't know how to follow up on that.

"OooK!" Sour Sweet said, getting back on track.

"You know why we're here." Rarity begins, "You stole our music video idea. Now, change your concept... or else!"

"Sorry, but we can't." Sour Sweet said, "We're just about to submit our video!"

"W-What!?"

"Geez, you girls work fast." Levin comments.

"We're always in to win." Sunny retorts.

"We still got to edit our video, but then we'll be ready to submit!" Lemon admits.

"It'd be unfortunate if you couldn't."

The others turn to see Vanitas near their recording equipment, looking over the setup. "Impressive. Looks like a lot of money."

"Back off, buster!" Lemon calls out, "Or you'll be sorry!"

Vanitas couldn't help but laugh at that, "Hahaha! The only sorry ones are you. Resorting to stealing all because you're desperate to win... pathetic."

SHING!

To Levin's and Rarity's surprise, he summons his keyblade. The former was quick to step in to try defusing the situation:

"Whoa, whoa! We're not fighting them!"

"You're right, we're not." Vanitas simply said before pointing his keyblade at the equipment, "We're negotiating."

He looks right at the Shadowbolts when he spoke again, "Now, I won't repeat myself. You will change your video concept... or you will lose your progress. You have three seconds to choose."

"L-Like you'll actually-" Sour Sweet immediately shut her mouth as she sees electricity course across his keyblade, "O-OK, OK, OK! You win! You win!"

"Good." Vanitas smirks as he ceases his thunder spell, "Don't make me come back."

Desummoning his keyblade, he then casually walks out with Levin and Rarity baffled at his actions. The latter was the first to recover:

"Uh... well, that settles that." She soon took her leave along with Levin.

The Shadowbolts were just dumbfounded by what just happened, with Sour letting out a sigh:

"Can't believe he called our bluff. Now what?"

"Simple. We're doomed." Sugarcoat bluntly answers.

The next day, again

Thanks to Vanitas, Rarity can get her music video idea underway. She made the outfits while the Shadowolves helped with the set before heading out for heartless patrol. The Rainbooms even had a song written down and everything. However, there was a small problem:

The choreography wasn't coming together. Turns out, combining different styles tend to clash more often than not.

"I don't understand. What is missing!?" Rarity questions this, stressed out at being so close to the finish line.

"Well, some of us aren't used to dancing." Sunset points out, "Not something I prioritized, at least."

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out." Applejack assures her, "Let's just take a small break for now."

Rarity wasn't sure about that, "The music video is due tomorrow! We can't afford-"

"Yes we can!" Midnight counters before pushing her from behind, "Come on!"

"Ugh, fine!"

The two girls exit stage left as Vanitas decides to follow them, since he can use some fresh air from the dense dancing environment. He followed them all the way out to one of the diners Rarity frequents, who had an immediate order of ice cream upon entering.

She sits in the closet booth to the entrance, with Midnight and Vanitas sitting on the other side, as she couldn't help but vent:

"Sorry for complaining, but I really want this to be a success! I came up with all the outfits, the style of the stage, and even getting a song Fluttershy wrote that's better than I imagined! I just- I just DON'T know what I'm missing in that choreography!"

She starts to cry at this oversight as the ice cream she ordered was placed on the table. She digs in with a spoon, making actual nom sounds with each bite. Vanitas just glance at Midnight, who glances back at him, before thinking of an attempt at a pep talk. Midnight in the meantime just started eating some ice cream herself.

Before Vanitas could utter a word, he notices a familiar group of girls in a booth a bit further down. Curiosity taking hold, he decides to sneak into the booth behind Sunny and Sugarcoat to listen in on their conversation:

"Ugh, it's no use! Why are we still trying?" Sunny Flare questions.

"Because the deadline hasn't passed yet." Sour Sweet answers, "We can still come up with an original song."

"We should have read the rules earlier." Sugarcoat states, "But even if we did, it'd still be unlikely."

"This wouldn't be as difficult if that 'Vanitas' didn't force us to give Rarity's concept back! She's creative, she could have made up anything else, but NO! Gotta have my bluff challenged by some dark Sora wannabe!"

It took a bit of restraint for Vanitas to not go and kick her butt, keeping himself seated as the girl sip their drinks.

"This sucks." Lemon Zest soon comments, "I can hear our classmates complain that it's our fault, that the spring dance isn't gonna be on a yacht this year like we promised."

This caught him off guard. From what he's heard, the Crystal Prep students were pretty competitive on top of some being outright self-centered and rude, as Rainbow put it. Guess their experience at the Friendship Games did have some impact.

"Doesn't help that the Rainbooms are an actual band." Sugarcoat mentions, "They most likely have a killer song for their music video."

"Just face it, Sour. Like Sugarcoat said, we're doomed." Sunny adds.

It was here that Vanitas gets an idea. From what he knows about the goody two-shoes Rainbooms, they would most likely offer to help in this situation. So he made himself known by getting up and standing next to their seat:

"Not entirely."

"V-Vanitas!" Sour was understandably surprised, as were the other girls. "H-How long have you been there?"

"Long enough." He casually answers, "If you're still mad after yesterday, that's fine. I have an offer to help you out."

"...We're listening." Sour relents, still cautious of what he's up to.

"You're right about the Rainbooms. They have a song and everything else, but their dance can use some work."

"They don't know how to dance?" Lemon asked.

"Some do, some don't." Vanitas recalls, "So how about helping them out with that? All I see from this is a win-win for both sides."

The Shadowbolts took a moment to think before agreeing to the terms:

"All right, we'll do it." Sour said.

Vanitas simply nods before walking over to Rarity and Midnight, who have finished their ice cream by now. "Yo, Rarity! I found what you need."

After explaining their side of the story to the Rainbooms, the Shadowbolts were welcomed in to help with the choreography. It took a bit as they had to adjust, but it managed to work out. Once the music video was complete and submitted, the group headed home on a job well done.

Vanitas and Midnight both stay at Levin's house, since he has enough room to have guests over no problem. Speaking of the boy, he soon arrives at the house right behind the two, slowing down to shake off any leftover static.

"Hey!" Levin greets the two as he leads the way, "How'd the music video go?"

"Good." Midnight answers, "Vanitas here convinced the Shadowbolts to help the Rainbooms out. No violence required."

"Really? I'm impressed." Levin said as he opens the door, letting them enter first before closing the door behind him. "Did they manage to finish it?"

"Yup. They already submitted it, so we're waiting to see who wins tomorrow."

"Nice! This calls for a little celebration. I'll cook up some dinner, I'm getting hungry."

"Sweet!"

Throughout that conversation, Vanitas couldn't help but think about what he's feeling right now. It wasn't anger, resentment, or any negative emotion he knew. It was something he hasn't experienced before...

And he didn't mind it.

"Any ideas you have in mind, Vanitas?" He hears Levin addresses him, "For dinner, I mean."

"Uh, no. Anything's fine."

The next day, again again

The Rainbooms, the Shadowbolts, and the Shadowolves gathered at the mall to see who wins the 'Dance to Prance' contest. Vanitas wasn't surprised to see their music video won, titled 'The Crystal Rainbooms: Dance Magic!', as they roll the clip. He'll admit, it was pretty good.

"Yeehoo, that was quite the show!" Applejack cheers.

"We're having a spring dance on a yacht!" Lemon cheers as the two high-five.

"Who's up for celebratory smoothies!?" Pinkie calls out, which the others gladly agree with.

As the group heads to the food court, Vanitas notices Rarity and Sour Sweet staying behind for a sec. The former suddenly got giddy as a light bulb went off over her head. figuratively speaking:

"Oh oh oh, I just thought of the most brilliant idea! Does Crystal Prep have any band in mind to play at your spring dance? It'll be the perfect way for you to show off those new dance moves!"

"That would be amazing!" Sour agrees before realizing something, "Though, that'll bring up another dilemma to deal with."

"Oh no, what?"

"Figuring out what we're all gonna wear, of course!"

"Oh! I have some ideas that I'm willing to share."

Vanitas couldn't help but groan at what this implies, "I told you before that I'm not wearing a tuxedo, Rarity!"

Rarity was rather offended, "Ah! Come on, darling! You would look dashing!"

"I don't like being stared at! Now do you two want smoothies or not?"

"Fine, fine. Though, I still wish you'd reconsider."

Vanitas sighs as the three go to catch up with the others. Though unbeknownst to him, this is just the start of his new life.

And done! So, quite a bit to unpack here for our prologue. Let's begin with the obvious:

1. Between the three specials, I found Dance Magic to be all right. It honestly felt like a pilot episode, at least to me, hence why I changed things up quite a bit.

2. Vanitas and Midnight have a lot to learn now that they are living normal lives. The former was raised to be a weapon and the latter was recently released into the world, so I hope their interactions are accurate to what I'm going for.

3. The Shadowolves weren't involved that much in this special, since I went with the idea of them being good dancers and I didn't want them to solve the 'conflict' so fast. Don't worry, I have ideas for them in the other specials and shorts.

4. I would like to include the Shadowbolts some more, at least in smaller roles or cameos. Don't know what for yet.

5. I had a couple of songs in mind for the Shadowolves to dance to in the third scene, but most would require me to improvise some choreography. Eventually, I chose a certain Persona song as their dance routine.

6. One of the first scenes I had for this story was Viva at the dance machine. I dug around some DDR and Pump it Up playlists, eventually finding a rather popular song that was made famous on the internet a long time ago. If you're curious about the routine, it's based off a video with a dancer who calls himself 'The Beast'. You can find it easy on YouTube.

And like I said before, this is my first time experimenting with a midquel format. I am looking back on the previous story to make sure I didn't miss any details, but you never know. I'd appreciate the feedback here, as this may help me consider this format for other stories.

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