//------------------------------// // 7. The Real Guitar Battle // Story: Guitar Hero: Equestria Girls // by ThePegaKris //------------------------------// As Applejack was working her way through each bassline, she was in deep thoughts while the crowd had adrenaline pumping through their veins. "I never thought I'd get this feeling again. I actually haven't been this engaged since Camp Everfree. When I win this for the people I care about the most, there's no doubt that I'll share the rewards that go with it. I shall sleep tonight, knowing that I've tried my best. Win or lose, that's what really matters to me. To Sunset, Rainbow, and Pinkie." "Woah, what is she doing?" as Sour Sweet was about to freak out. "She's not making any errors, that's for sure, but I think she's meditating!" Rarity replied. "How can you tell, Rarity?" Fluttershy put a finger on her chin. "I mean, she's not doing the kind of meditation where you cross your legs, but she's just standing there with her eyes closed, facing the big screen, and standing perfectly straight, all while holding the bass guitar! That's incredible, but weird, too!" "Now who do I know that is also into meditation?" Spike snickered. "SPIKE!" Both Twilights then slapped his paws. "I've never seen a bass player who is this focused and more determined to win than ever!" James Hetfield stated. "Almost as great as my other friend, Robert!" "You can say that again, James!" as Rara pointed at her co-host. "Just look at that fretting! She's not even breaking a sweat!" "Is it just me or does A.J. seem a bit odd right now?" Rainbow mumbled. "She's doing great out there, no doubt, but I don't think it's necessary for her to be THAT into it!" "Nonsense!" Sunset let out a chuckle. "Ever since we got our new magical powers, I can now sense every little thing we all do, including Applejack. She likes to focus on her inner self, which is how she's able to build up her strength whenever she needs it. In this case, she's doing that." "Hey, hey, can you please read my mind again, Sunset?" Pinkie begged. "I don't...want to go back in there." Her eye pupils have shrunken down. "Aww!" Suddenly, one of the waiting room doors opened and out came a fairly tall girl. "Hi Rainbow Dash!" "No way... Vapor Trail? It's so awesome to see you!" "It's awesome to see you as well, Rainbow Dash! How's Twilight?" "She's good, and in fact, she and our other friends are watching Sunset, A.J., Pinkie, and I compete here! Girls, this is Vapor Trail, by the way!" "I love meeting new people and becoming their friends!" Pinkie said. "It's nice to meet you!" "Ah, I see!" as Sunset quickly looked up and down. "So you must be the one that Rainbow and new Twilight helped out? I'm Sunset Shimmer and I'm glad Rainbow introduced us to you!" "Thanks you two!" Vapor replied. "You both are probably wondering how I met Vapor Trail, huh?" Rainbow asked. "Yeah, how?" "Shall I tell them, Vapor?" "Go ahead, Rainbow!" "Okay, so this all happened the following week after Camp Everfree." Dash explained. "I think you both remember the fact that I decided to show Twilight around Cloudsdale, where I was born and first lived before moving to Canterlot City. Anyways, we came across the Top Bolt Academy, a school for those who dreamed of flying high one day. Outside the front entrance was where we found Vapor Trail, alongside her best friend, Sky Stinger. We were able to fix their problems about fighting over their studying routines, thanks to Twilight's friendship mastery and my awesome knowledge of aviation! After that, the four of us started hanging out, up until we found out that Countess Coloratura was hosting a Guitar Hero tournament." "Wow, that story is amazing!" Sunset admitted. "I never thought that two of my best friends would go somewhere far and solve a friendship problem the very first minute! I'm proud of you, Rainbow, and the same goes for Twilight!" "Thanks Sunset!" as Rainbow snapped her fingers and pointed at her. "I hope you and this Sky Stinger guy are getting along as well!" Pinkie said. "Oh, of course, we are!" Vapor Trail smiled. "In fact, I...think I like him more than just as a friend! Don't tell him I said that, please!" "Oooh, where is he now?" Sunset blushed and wondered. "He's watching Applejack play right now, along with our lead vocalist, Lightning Dust, and our drummer, Angel Wings! Not only are they great friends with Sky and I, but they also play very well when it comes to Guitar Hero and actual band practice!" "Hmm, Lightning Dust?" Rainbow got curious. "I'm not so sure if I can fully trust her, though." "Why, what's wrong?" Vapor Trail asked. "Well, she almost got my friends into a major accident, but that was a long time ago. Now that you've mentioned her name and looking back, I think I'll let it slide now. But, I'm still going to watch her every move when I see her!" "Good to know!" as Sunset backed up with Pinkie. "What an astonishing and first solo run by Applejack!" Rara claimed. "Everyone give her some love!" The audience went wild. "Now let's see if Vapor Trail of the Cloudsdale Twisters can top 220K points! Come on up here, gal!" "Wish me luck, girls!" She then hugged the Rainbooms and went to the top of the stage. "Give it your best!" They all shouted. "Good luck, sugarcube!" A.J. complimented while leaving the stage. "A.J.!" Rainbow exclaimed. "That was awesome, but a bit strange, if I had to add." "Strange?" "Ehh, never mind her!" Sunset excused. "You did very well, though!" "Agreed!" Pinkie joined in. Upon leaving the waiting room was a guy with light sea green hair. "Oh no, I'm too late!" "Sky Stinger?" Rainbow turned around and noticed him. "How are you, buddy?" "Rainbow Dash? Nice to see you! Listen, have either you or your friends seen Vapor Trail? I forgot to wish her good luck one last time!" "She's already performing and don't worry, my friends and I have already given her all our support! I'm sure she'll do great!" "You must be Sky Stinger." Sunset recapped. "I'm Sunset Shimmer and these are my other best friends, Applejack and Pinkie Pie! We are thrilled to be competing with you!" "Howdy!" A.J. tipped off her hat. "Hello there, Sky!" Pinkie greeted. "What's up girls? Thank you for being positive to my friend, too! As for Applejack, our band wanted to give her lots of praise and support as well!" "Thanks partner!" "No problem!" Sky replied. "So, Rainbow, I assume that you told your band about Vapor and I?" "Eeyup, everything! I also told them how cool it was to hang out with you, Sky!" "Great! Angel, Lightning, you can come out now!" The two other Twisters have entered. "Oh my gosh!" Angel Wings dropped her jaws. "I'm not only here competing with some of most favorite people, but I'm also competing against more of my favorites! Good job making it this far, Rainbow Dash!" "Thank you!" She nodded back. "Hello, Lightning Dust." Rainbow's left eye twitched. "Rainbow Dash. I have to also agree with Angel over here by saying that I'm also impressed myself by how far you and your band have come!" "I don't need your opinions, Lightning Dust!" Rainbow groaned. "I didn't expect you to even show up at a place like this. Trying to drive someone else into danger?" "Woah, easy!" She frightened. "I'm just trying to be supportive, that's all!" "Come here, you!" as Dash attempted to hit her rival. "Alright, y'all both stop!" as Applejack got between them. "Lightning Dust, you almost tried to kill us with your driving, but I'm sure that's because you succumbed to your own ego. I know you didn't mean to actually do that, am I right?" "Yes, you're right, Applejack." Lightning admitted. "And Rainbow Dash, you have to forget about that as well!" A.J. turned her back to her bestie. "You don't have to actually murder her, now that you know she didn't mean to do it to us!" "What? But she tried to..." She got very low. "I'm just being truthful, you know." Applejack shrugged. "Accidents always happen." "Come on, Rainbow, don't be like that!" Sunset jumped in. "We're your best friends and we'll make sure you won't ever get hurt again!" "Dashie, we've been by your side all the time and we always will be!" Pinkie attempted to get her back on her feet. "I'm sorry, but I can't let go of it!" Rainbow began crying. "Wait, where are you going, Rainbow Dash?" A.J. saw her running out. "I'm going home! Find someone else to take my spot! You don't deserve to win with someone as pathetic as me!" "Rainbow, no!" Everyone else cried. "...She left us." Sunset sighed. "I'm sorry, Vapor Trail, but it looks like you've only managed to secure 190K points!" Rara announced on stage. "You were close, but not quite. The Rainbooms win the first match of Round Four! Everyone give them and the Cloudsdale Twisters a big round of applause for unbelievable performances!" The audience cheered loudly. "James, do you mind taking over for me for the rest of the night?" "Certainly!" He replied. "Let's move on to the next match!" Meanwhile, Rara and Vapor Trail tried to go home out the back, but found depressed Rainbooms and Twisters. "What happened here?" They both wondered. "Rainbow Dash left us." Pinkie's hair became deflated. "Left you?" Vapor asked. "As in her rushing home already? That's no surprise coming from Rainbow Dash!" "No, not like that!" Sunset snapped. "She decided to quit the tournament and because of a past accident, it has come back to haunt her and now she's very sad!" "My, I mean, our best friend...gone!" A.J. tried to cover up her tears. "WHAT?" Rara and Vapor got shocked. "That's terrible!" "I...I had no idea that it would come down to this!" Lightning Dust looked down. "Again, it's not your fault, but I think it's too late for Rainbow Dash to accept that now." A.J. said. "Well, what're you going to do now?" Sky Stinger pleaded. "Vapor and I can't believe that one of our best mentors has suddenly just decided to abandon a big competition!" "I'm going to miss her!" Angel Wings frowned. "There, there!" as Rara patted her shoulders. "A.J., what're you and your friends going to do now?" "I honestly have no idea! Whenever Rainbow Dash gets depressed, it takes a really long time for her to recover." "Why don't you get one of your other friends to take Rainbow's position as the guitarist?" Rara suggested. "We can do that?" Sunset scratched her head. "Of course! Just be sure you don't replace more than one band member!" "Replace Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie was still blown away. "She's going to be even more sad if we do that to her!" "No, she won't." Rara confirmed. "Earlier in my apartment, I saw the strong passion and determination from your entire band and by the looks of it, you four are all the best I've ever seen and victory will definitely mean a lot between you! You all want to make each other proud, don't you? That's what Rainbow Dash would want, even if she's not here, right?" "I guess you're right, Rara!" A.J. cheered up. "But I don't think I've seen our other friends play guitar!" "I have." Sunset smirked. "Who is it?" Everyone else butted heads together. "Rarity!" Sunset thought up. "Silly, there's no keytar in Guitar Hero!" Pinkie joked. "I know that, silly, but she's our only hope now!" Sunset worried. "I don't want Fluttershy to get scared in front of this huge crowd and also, both of our Twilights seem to only be into singing and no instruments! Besides, Rarity can kick some serious butt when it comes to a guitar battle!" "When was the last time she played Guitar Hero with a guitar, Sunset?" Pinkie asked. "The week after Rainbow Dash finally messed up on that one song? That's when, and she absolutely shredded!" "At least it's better than nothing!" Rara passed off. "Try to get her to play with the rest of you tomorrow. I believe there's a high chance of either Rainbow Dash cheering up and coming back or Rarity helping you three win! I really don't want you girls to be sad!" "It kills me to do this, but we have to do this for Rainbow Dash!" Sunset assured. "I'm calling Rarity!" "For Rainbow Dash." Pinkie and A.J. looked at each other. "Hello Sunset, dear!" Rarity spoke into her phone. "What can I do for our victorious friends tonight?" "Can you come back stage, Rare? It's...very important. Bring the rest of our friends, too, okay?" "Oh, sure, anything for you!" She laughed. "Thanks Rarity!" as Sunset hanged up her phone. "Spikey-Wikey? Twilights? Fluttershy? Coco? Do you mind if you come along with me backstage? It's a Rainboom conference!" "Yeah, okay!" They responded and yawned. Backstage, everyone except for Rainbow Dash is present. "So, what's the occasion, darling?" Rarity desired. "Rarity, can you...fill in for Rainbow Dash as our new guitarist for the tournament?" Sunset played with her hands. "Me? What happened to Rainbow Dash?" "It's a long story, but the point is that she went back home while still feeling sad, so now we need you to take her place in the meantime!" A.J. explained. "I mean, I could, but..." Rarity stopped. "But what?" Pinkie demanded. "It'd be absolutely rude to replace Rainbow Dash and she would never forgive me for that! Besides, I'm a bit...rusty at Guitar Hero, if you know what I mean." "Actually, I don't think so!" Fluttershy stepped up. "I've known Rainbow Dash since when we were kids and whenever she gets sad and can't go on to carry her tasks, she'd always count on her friends to do them! Now Rarity, you have to play with our friends so that not only they can win for us, but they can also make Rainbow Dash very proud! That's what she would want from us." "You're right, sweetie!" Rarity clinched a fist. "But like I said, I'm still rusty at this point!" "You'll be fine, Rare!" Pinkie turned her attention to her. "If you get separated or stick with us in Round Five tomorrow, we'll have your back either way!" "Okay, I'm in!" Rarity said. "Yeah!" Everyone else counted on her. "That's the spirit!" Rara said. "Now you should all probably get some shut eye for the next round tomorrow. It's getting late, so have a good night!" She waved to both bands and exited the theater. "Good night!" They responded. "C'mon let's go, guys!" Sky Stinger requested. "Right!" as Vapor Trail and Angel Wings left too. "Ooh, wait, you can go ahead, because I've got something to do first!" Sky changed his mind. "Sunset Shimmer?" "Yeah?" "Rainbow Dash told me all about you and said how beautiful, friendly, and strong you are!" "She did?" Sunset blushed at Sky. "Yeah, and she also gave me your phone number, in case something goes wrong. If you don't mind, I would like to show you some of my individual playing in a video!" He texted to her immediately. "Rainbow Dash gave me your number too, Sunset, so I thought I'd like to show you my playing!" as Vapor Trail overheard and came back inside. "Here you go!" "Same here!" Angel Wings also came back in and added. "I think we all play the best when we're together! Here's our full band video for you, Miss Shimmer!" The three Twisters all proceeded to text Sunset their gameplay videos. "Hehe, okay, okay! My friends and I will definitely watch these when we get a chance, but in the meantime, it's getting late! Good night to you all!" "Good night, Rainbooms!" The Cloudsdale Twisters headed out with Lightning Dust leading the way. "Let's go home too and come back tomorrow to win this for each other!" Sunset gained back her confidence. "For Rainbow Dash!" "For Rainbow Dash!" All the Rainbooms huddled up. "1, 2, 3, Rainbooms Forever!" The next day, the Rainbooms woke up to see the beautiful sun shining and have all raced to the train station to catch the train. "Should I try and cheer up Rainbow Dash quickly before we leave?" Sci-Twi asked. "I hate to see her like this!" "We can't take any more chances with her." Sunset let out. "She'll get better eventually, but for now, let her have some time alone." "All aboard the express train!" as the conductor came to a stop. "Poor Rainbow Dash." Princess Twilight shook her head. "Let's get on and try to think positively about her." The Rainbooms have entered the train, which was heading for its usual stops. Canterlot City has always been a bright and happy city, but today, it wasn't the same case for Rainbow Dash. "Ugh..." She was laying in bed with her eyes tightly shut. After the train finally approached Manehattan, the girls arrived at the theater just in time and waiting for them at the back entrance was James Hetfield. "Hey girls!" "Hi James!" "So... Ms. Coloratura told me everything last night and man, that was some heavy stuff! I'm sorry things turned out like that. I've been down that road before. Come inside!" They all walked in. "Rainbow Dash would never leave us, Mr. Hetfield." Pinkie said. "She's awesome in every way and deep down, she'd always find a way to stand by our side!" "Hmm, I see." He noted. "There's Countess Coloratura near the curtains!" "Rara!" A.J. rushed to her childhood friend. "A.J.!" They went to hug each other. "I'm glad you came back to continue playing with your friends! Are you sure this new setup will work?" "Trust me, sugarcube! Rarity's got both the looks and the skills of a real star, like you!" "Aww, thank you so much!" Rarity and Rara both blushed. "Oooh, it's time!" Rara then made her way to the top of the stage. "Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen!" She announced. "You all are well-rested out there?" "Yeah!" "I can't hear you!" "YEAH!" The audience raised their voices. "Alright, so without further ado, let's get to Round Five!" Rara turned her attention to the screens. "The Rainbooms, in this tournament, are set to go first each round, so let's see what we got here! However, I'm going to change things up a bit and go to the member selector screen, first!" "Umm, okay?" Rarity got confused. No surprises, it landed on 'Guitar Only' once again. "This is your time to shine, Rarity!" Sunset encouraged. "Go get 'em!" "You can do it, Rarity!" Pinkie and A.J. cheered. "You can count on me, ladies, because I've got this in the bag for all of us, mostly for Rainbow Dash!" She went to the top of the stage. "Folks, unfortunately, Rainbow Dash dropped out of the tournament due to personal circumstances, but taking her place as the Rainbooms' guitarist is Rarity!" Rara wooed. "Everyone put your hands together for this fabulous girl!" "Yeah!!!" "She's hot." Some random guy whispered. "I'm ready, Rara!" Rarity confirmed. "So which band's guitarist am I facing?" "Oh, you won't be facing a band! You'll be facing one of the in-game bosses as your opponent!" "What?" Rarity twitched. "I mean, let's get to it, shall we?" "Oooh!" The audience became even more interested. "You know how this works, Rarity?" Rara clarified. "Instead of Star Power, you must use Battle Power-Ups to disrupt your opponent's performance before he does it to you! If you get hit too many times or reach Death Drain, your band will be eliminated!" "...I'm ready!" Rarity restated. "Very well! Battle Start!" The game has begun.