After talking, Twilight and Megan parted ways, leaving the school for the evening. Megan went to take care of a few things. It was getting late, but she had some tasks to accomplish before she slept. Her line of work was successful proportionate to the amount of time she invested. Fortunately, hatred was great for motivation.
She’d mislead Twilight earlier. The Dazzlings’ control had probably gotten to Megan after all. Megan realized that. And it pissed her off.
Before leaving the school, she’d crossed a few wires in the gym’s electrical box. Double the juice would go through the wires when they opened the place up in the morning. Perhaps the lights would blow out in a spectacular bloom of glass. Even if that didn’t happen, the damage would hopefully force the initial day of the band competition to be moved to the outdoor amphitheater. The Dazzlings might have a plan of their own, but they wouldn’t see hers coming.
Sure enough, the next day, Megan was not surprised by the news of the venue change. She spent some time out there in the morning, surveying the ground, picturing how it would change as the day wore on and the crowds filled in. The new schedule would have the bands playing through the afternoon and the finale would occur near sundown.
The crowd and the bands began to arrive, filling into the rows of seating. Megan watched them from the top of the hill. As the beginning of the competition grew near, she finished her business and strode down through the aisles to her seat with the teachers in the front row. At the very least, there might be some decent music. However, as the event got underway, the first bands to be eliminated deserved it. Fortunately, at a few minutes per performance, the competition advanced quickly.
Despite not being on the official roster, the Rainbooms were allowed to perform with a guest lead singer, Princess Twilight Sparkle. A murmur went through the crowd as she took the stage. The last time she’d been present at a Canterlot High function, it had been a night to remember.
However, the crowd had an even bigger response to the Dazzlings. Their magic was spreading. Anger went through Megan as she glowered at them from her seat. They would get what was coming to them.
As the day went on, bands were eliminated. Megan usually agreed with the decisions, but as the competition grew more heated, the eliminated contestants started to protest more and more loudly.
The drama was infectious and the crowd was booing or cheering in turn for their favorite or most detested band. The Dazzlings ate it up - literally. Maybe Megan was imagining it, but she could swear that they were looking progressively more predatory. Her eyes narrowed and her fists clenched as she stared at them waiting for their next set.
It was no surprise to most that the final two bands were the Rainbooms and the Dazzlings, although the elimination of Trixie and the Illusions nearly sparked a riot. The student body was in a slowly simmering rage by the time the Rainbooms took the stage for the final battle.
Despite not being a strong singer, the princess seemed energetic with her friends. The musical talents and backup vocals of the rest made up for any shortcomings. In fact, one could literally say that it was magic. As the band went into their final verse, sparkles of light began to shine from their bodies. Ears, tails, manes, and in some cases wings sprouted from the six girls.
Astonishment - and due to the Dazzling’s magic, intense jealousy - shot through the crowd. This final showdown was exactly what the Dazzlings had been waiting for. They took the stage.
The Rainbooms were too busy receiving their accolades to notice they had company before it was too late. The Dazzlings had already sprouted ears and tails of their own, as well as batlike wings. Their eyes glowed red as their feet hovered over the stage.
Megan was out of her seat and vaulting the edge of the stage by the time the Rainbooms realized what they were up against. Megan slid to a stop between the two groups in her skirt and modest shoes, still clutching her purse. She didn’t cut an impressive appearance with her outfit, but her glare made up for it.
“Out of our way,” ordered Adagio, sneering at the intrusion.
Fluttershy leaned out from behind Megan. “We were kind of hoping that you’d gotten your fill and would go away.”
Everyone turned to look at her in surprise. Aria scoffed. “Who do you think we are?”
“I think you were just leaving,” said Megan. “Or else.”
“And who are you?” Adagio said. “You don’t even have Equestrian magic that we can take. You’re worthless to us. You should scurry away like a good little cockroach.”
The princess saw Megan’s eyes narrow to slits and tension flow into her shoulders. She quickly put up a cautious hand to the Dazzlings. “You might want to reconsider what you say to Ms. Williams.”
Adagio let out a cackle and floated a little higher off the floor. She leaned forward, hands on her hips. “Why?” What is some human going to do to us?”
“I’m going to do whatever I have to,” Megan said. “This is our home, and we don’t take threats to it lightly.”
Megan flung her purse away, keeping a grip on the blade that had been inside it. She brought her hands up in front of her and ready, legs tensing.
“That’s a knife!” shouted Sonata.
Adagio’s eyes went wide at the threat of violence and at the unhelpfulness of her associate. She threw out a hand. “Stop!”
Megan charged.
The two of them collided before Adagio could get out of the way. Megan got a hand into the siren’s mane and hauled her to the floor. Driving a knee into Adagio’s chest, Megan held the edge of the blade at her throat, torquing her head back with a tight grip on her hair.
The maddened crowd had gone silent, but now roared in approval.
Megan had locked eyes with her captive. She wanted to be absolutely sure that her words would carry over the noise of people calling for blood. “If you move, you die.”
The other two Dazzlings started to advance, but Megan shot them a glare. “That applies to you, too.”
Aria hesitated, but whipped up the microphone she held. Her mouth opened, but before she could amplify any siren spells, there was a report and the microphone shattered in her hands. She jumped back in shock.
Up on the hill, Twilight lay prone, wearing earphones and protective glasses. She jacked another round into her rifle and resumed covering the Dazzlings. Down near the stage, Vinyl Scratch angrily shook her fist at the destruction of expensive audio equipment.
“How is this possible?” Adagio managed to wheeze without moving her throat too much. Megan still stared at her impassively.
“Well,” said the princess in reply, “this is what happens when you make humans even more aggressive and prone to spite than they already were. Your plan worked too well.”
“Humans,” Adagio muttered. She would have hissed it if she’d been able. She glared at Megan. “So what are you going to do? Kill us?”
“For you, a worse punishment than that,” Megan told her. With a quick flick of the knife, she cut off the gemstone necklace that Adagio wore around her neck. It tumbled across the stage.
Applejack looked around, shrugged, and then crushed the gem beneath her boot.
“Ooh, that looks like fun!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Me next!”
“You heard her,” Megan said to the other two Dazzlings. “Drop them.”
Glaring daggers at her but believing completely their fate if they resisted, Aria and Sonata removed their necklaces and surrendered them.
“I can’t believe this,” spat Adagio. “Do you know what you’ve done? You’ve robbed us of our powers, our immortality. We’ve been reduced to merely human!”
“Oh?” said Megan. “What a tragedy.”