Several weeks have passed since the Fall Formal and Canterlot High is back to normal, well...almost. But as the school prepares for a music festival, three strange girls appear with dark aspirations. Can our high school heroes save the day?
Several weeks have passed since the Fall Formal and Canterlot High is back to normal, well...almost. But as the school prepares for a music festival, three strange girls appear with dark aspirations. Can our high school heroes find out what they're planning and save the day, or will Canterlot High fall to these girls' dark melody?
In a restaurant on the far side of the city of Canterlot, the entire establishment was filled with the sounds of anger and hatred. The employees of the restaurant had never seen this before. Each and every booth was filled with people arguing, humans screaming at the top of their lungs in pure anger and fury.
Well...almost every booth.
Within the farthest booth sat three young girls, all wearing purple hoodies that shielded their hair and facial features. The three were each clutching a necklace with the red gem while softly singing a gentle song. As they did this, a green mist began to surround the arguing patrons, the fog slowly going back to the girls. Once it reached them, the mist floated up into the girl's necklaces, absorbing inside the trinkets as one of the girls removed her hood. They stopped singing at this, the unhooded girl now showing she was pink skinned with purple and mint hair. A long sigh followed this, "That was barely worth the effort, Adagio. I'm tired of fast food. I need a meal!"
The second girl lowered her hood, showing she had yellow skin and a large bushy load of hair. She scowled at the pink skinned girl, "The energy in this world isn't the same as in Equestria. We can only gain so much power here."
"Ugh!" She moaned before leaning back while crossing his arms, "I wish we'd never been banished to this awful place!"
"Really?" Adagio replied sarcastically, "I love it here!"
"For realizes?!" The last girl, who had blue skin and slightly darker blue hair, asked, "Because I think this place is the worst."
"I think you're the worst, Sonata," the first girl barked back.
"Oh, yeah?! Well, Aria, I think you're-"
Adagio's moan interrupted Sonata as she pointed at the two with clenched teeth, "I'll tell you one thing, being stuck here with you two isn't making this world any more...bearable." She growled that last part, but then-
Kaboom!
The three let out a gasp, hopping in place as they heard the sudden explosion sound. Adagio turned to the window, gasping again before running out of the restaurant, the other following. And as soon as she was outside, she saw a rainbow tornado shoot up into the sky, the sight making her go slack-jawed before looking down at her gem, then seeing it glow for a second.
"Incredible..." she whispered before turning to Aria and Sonata, "Did you feel that?! Do you know what that is?!" The two blinked at this, only to both shrug. Adagio rolled her eyes at this, then grabbed Aria's hoodie and pulled her face close, "It's Equestrian magic!"
"But this world doesn't have Equestrian magic," Aria reminded her.
Adagio just smirked as she let her go. "It does now," she turned back to the magic rainbow, the other two smiling as they stepped up beside her. "And we're going to use it to make everyone in this pathetic little world adore us!"
Several weeks later...
Canterlot High was abuzz with activity. With everything that had happened at the Fall Formal, the students were glad to have things back the way they usually were.
Well, that's not exactly true. Unlike before the dance, the students were all mingling with those of different clicks. Rockers hanging with fashionistas, ECO kids with techies, dramas with athletes, and so on. The place really had become the embodiment of friendship and cooperation thanks to the guidance of a pair of special students that unfortunately no longer attended the school.
Today, the students were working on preparations for a school music festival fundraiser. Many of them were in the gym, making banners and other advertisements to get as many patrons as possible to come to the event. Close to the stage was Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, who were busy painting one of their banners when they noticed someone walk up to them. As that person took a paint brush out of the pot Sweetie was holding, they looked up and went wide eyed when they saw who it was.
"Want some help?" Sunset Shimmer eagerly asked.
"Uh...no thanks. We're good." Applebloom replied while looking away, the other two nodding in agreement.
"Oh..." she placed the brush back in the pot, "Okay."
"Sunset Shimmer!" She looked up to see her friends: Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie, standing by one of the doors. Pinkie, the one who had yelled her name, was wildly waving her arms around. "OVER HERE!
Sunset gave a small but quickly vanishing smile as she heard the students around her whispering. She could see the quick glares they were all giving her as she let out a sigh before reaching the others, Fluttershy placing a supportive hand on her shoulder, "I had no idea the whole school would be here."
Pinkie and Rarity then picked up the poster they had designed, the fashionista grinning, "Quite the eye-catching advertisement, if I do say so myself."
"And it smells like cake!" Pinkie cheered.
"It does?" Fluttershy asked, only to have the poster thrusted into her face as she took a sniff. When Pinkie pulled it back, the others saw Fluttershy's face was covered in frosting and glitter.
Pinkie giggled at the sight, "I used frosting instead of paste!"
The others chuckled at this as Applejack pointed to Fluttershy's face. "Uh, Fluttershy, you've got a little somethin', uh..."
Fluttershy wiped her cheek, only managing to get one bit of glitter off of her, "Did I get it?"
"Heh...not exactly."
As Sunset pulled out a hanky to clean the girl's face, Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna walked into the gym. "Good afternoon students. I just wanted to tell you all how pleased I am that so many of you are going to participate in the first ever 'Canterlot High School Musical Showcase'!" This announcement was met with many cheers as she continued, "This is a wonderful opportunity to raise money for all of our after-school programs here at CHS, so keep working on those signs and posters. I think it's going to be one of the most exciting events we've had at CHS since the Fall Formal."
As soon as those words filled the air, the gyms went deadly silent as the students all turned to Sunset. The bacon haired girls went as red as her hair as she saw all the death glares being sent her way. She slid down the wall, hiding her face behind her hands until she was sure no one was looking at her. Once that happened, she carefully got back up and snuck out of the gym, her friends following after her. They all headed into the music room, where their instruments were waiting.
Since the event was announced, Sunset's friends had all decided to form a band for the showcase. Rainbow had been the one to suggest it with her guitar, followed by Fluttershy and her tambourine, then Pinkie who had recently learnt to pay drums, Applejack with her bass and Rarity with her keytar. Together, they were the Rainbooms.
After sticking their poster up in the music room, they headed inside. "Ugh!" Sunset moaned as the others prepared to practice, "I am never gonna live that down."
"You were pretty bad at the Fall Formal," Fluttershy added.
Sunset gave her a deadpan glare, "A demon. I turned into a raging she-demon."
"And tried to turn everyone here into teenage zombies for your own personal army!" Pinkie chimed in.
Rarity tugged Pinkie back, "Oh, darling. You have us, and we've forgiven you for your past...ahem...booboos."
"To be honest," Applejack added as she finished tuning her instrument. "I'd say the whole experience brought everyone at Canterlot High closer than ever before!"
Everyone nodded as Pinkie grabbed her drum sticks and tapped them together. "One, two, three!"
(The Rainbooms) There was a time we were apart But that's behind us now See how we've made a brand new start And the future's lookin' up, ah-oh, ah-oh And when you walk these halls You feel it everywhere Yeah, we're the Wondercolts forever, ah-oh, yeah!
As they continued to play, something unusual happened. The group started to change, all of them transforming into the forms they took during the Fall Formal, the hair, ears and, in Rainbow and Fluttershy's case, wings of their Equestrian counterparts now appearing. Each of them had previously 'ponied up' when playing their instruments and had done so every time they had played since the dance. At first, the five teens had been freaked out by this, but now they had just accepted it was a thing.
(Rainbooms) We are all together (Ah, ah, oh-oh-oh-oh) Now it's better than ever (Ah, ah, oh-oh-oh-oh) You can feel it, we are back (You...can...feel...it...) And I'm so glad that we're better Better than ever Whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Oh yeah, we're better than ever Whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh
(Rainbow Dash) There was a time we couldn't see Past the differences
(Applejack) That separated you and me And it left us on our own
(Pinkie Pie) But now you walk these halls And friends are everywhere
(The Rainbooms) Yeah, we're the Wondercolts forever, ah-oh, yeah!
We are all together (Ah, ah, oh-oh-oh-oh) Now it's better than ever (Ah, ah, oh-oh-oh-oh) Now that we are back on track (Now... that... we... are...) Yes, I'm so glad that we're better Better than ever
Whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Oh yeah, we're better than ever Whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Oh yeah, we're better than ever Whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Oh yeah, we're better than ever!
As soon as they were finished, the five turned back to their normal forms. While Sunset gave them a round of applause, Rarity let out a laugh and took off her keytar. "I still can't believe that happens when we play! Ooh! I've got to look into some new accessories! Something that looks good in a longer ponytail, or maybe some clip-on earrings for when I get those adorable pony ears!"
"I just wonder why it keeps happening," Applejack thought aloud. "Princess Twilight took her crown back to Equestria. Shouldn't that mean she took all the magic back with her?"
"Who cares why it happens?" Rainbow scoffed, "It makes my band totally awesome!"
"Oh?!" Rarity let out before turning to give her a quizzical look, "Your band?!"
"Duh! It was my idea to start the Rainbooms so we could be in the showcase! Plus, I'm the lead singer and guitarist."
Before anyone could voice their opinions, there was a knock at the door. Turning to the frame, it opened and Grand stepped inside. "Sorry to interrupt. Need to empty the trash bins."
"You're not interrupting," Fluttershy replied back.
"Good," he grunted out as he walked over to the bin. As he did this, three other students appeared at the door.
"Hey!" Heather waved as she, First and Iron walked in. "We heard you outside. You guys are sounding really tight."
Rainbow shrugged, "Uh, we're getting there. Rarity's still coming in a little late on the second verse, and Applejack's bass solo could use a little work. They'll get it together in time for the showcase." The two criticized musicians gave the back of the prism haired teen's head a severe scowling, Fluttershy seeing this and trying to hid behind her tambourine.
"You could use a little work yourself kiddo," Grand told her as he pulled out a trash bag. "If those burns on your fingers are anything to go by, you're forcing the beat more than letting it flow naturally. Remember, the instrument isn't a tool, but an extension of your own musical soul. You need to be one with it, or else the music will lack depth."
Everyone except Rainbow seemed to understand this, the girl just blinking at the janitor, "Ooookay." she said in a slightly snarky reply.
Deciding to save Rainbow from any further confusion, Rarity turned to the Royal Knights. "So, you guys ready to strut your stuff at the showcase? I'm sure after you performance at the-" she quickly stopped herself as she glanced over at Sunset. "Anyways, I'm sure you'll do great."
However, the Royal Knights all sighed as Iron leaned against the back wall. "That depends on whether or not we can actually play," First told them. "Given our lack of a lead guitarist, and considering our last one was a pony from another dimension...along with our first-" he stopped as all eyes once again fell on Sunset. The girl let out a sigh, now hiding behind her hair.
"Anyways," Iron barked out, "Unless we can find another guitarist, we're up a creek where the showcase is concerned."
Heather turned to the Rainbooms, "I don't suppose...with it being a special charity event and all-"
"Sorry ya'll," Applejack told the trio. "But I don't think Flash is gonna be back at Canterlot High any time soon."
The three all sighed as Grand patted Iron on the shoulder. "You'll find something. Remember, you're carrying the proud name of the Royal Knights, and the knights don't give up when they hit a road block." The three nodded as Grand placed the now empty trash bin back in its place. "Well, I'd better get going. Places to be, floors to clean." With that, he left the room.
"We should get going too. See you all later." Heather added while the boys just waved. The Rainbooms all waved back as the three headed out, and once they were gone, Sunset let out another sigh.
"Great...one more thing I messed up. Thanks to me, the best band in the school is out of the biggest musical event the school's ever had."
"It's not all your fault," Rarity told her. "Sure you caused Lightning to be expelled, but with the way he acted off the music stage, he would have been kicked out eventually anyways."
The others all nodded as Fluttershy spoke up. "And don't forget, Lightning could have come back if he really wanted to." This was true. After the Fall Formal, Sunset had publicly admitted to framing Grand's grandson and getting him expelled. While she had expected to be expelled herself, she was surprised when Celestia and Luna had only given her a very long detention span. Another surprise was Lightning's refusal to return to CHS, having grown accustomed to his new school.
Sunset just looked away. "You all know the only reason Lightning acted like that was because of his dad's arrest. And that he was actually starting to turn his life around after he dumped me and started the band...until I went and ruined everything for him." She face palmed, "Ugh! The old me was really awful, wasn't she?"
This question was met with a general murmur of embarrassed agreement as Applejack walked over to her. "But the important thing is that you've turned yourself around."
Sunset just shook her head. "Thanks Applejack, but I'm not sure everyone else at CHS feels the same way." As she said that, the PA system beeped before Vice Principal Luna's voice echoed through it.
"Sunset Shimmer, please report to the main foyer."
"Gotta run," Sunset headed to the door. "I volunteered to show some new students around the school. Thought it'd be good for them to get to know the new me before they heard all the stuff about the old me." That statement started with her smiling, only to frown again as she walked out.
Once she was gone, Rainbow turned to the others. "We've still got a few minutes before lunch starts. What do you say we do: 'Awesome As I Wanna Be'?"
Almost everyone nodded at this, with only Fluttershy not nodding as she reached into her bag and pulled out a notepad. "Um, Rainbow Dash? I was wondering if we could maybe play the song I wrote?"
"We'll get to it," Rainbow said with a roll of her eyes, causing Fluttershy to sigh.
"Oh...okay."
When Sunset arrived at the schools' entrance, she spotted three shadows standing there. "Hi," she waved at them, "are you the girls I'm supposed to show around?"
The trio stepped into the light, showing Adagio, Aria and Sonata now dressed in fashionable rock outfits. "We are."
Sunset nodded before turning to walk down the halls. "Canterlot High is a great school. You're really gonna love it."
"Oh yes," Adagio replied as they began to follow her. "We really sense there's something...magical about this place."
And so, Sunset started showing them around, pointing out the rooms and so on. "That's the science lab, computer lab is in there..." she then spotted a poster that made her stop and smile. "Oh, that's right! We're having a big musical showcase this weekend! The whole school is pretty much rallying around it."
Adagio gasped as light bulbs went off in her head, making her smile while glancing back at the other two. "A musical showcase?" Aria and Sonata mirrored her smirk as they stared back at Sunset.
"I'm sure since you're new, Principal Celestia would let you sign up late if you're interested."
"Well, we have been known to sing from time to time," Aria commented.
"Hello?!" Sonata chimed in, "We sing, like, all the time! It's how we get people to do what we want." Adagio turned to growl at the blue girl, slicing her hand across her neck to try and tell her to shut up. "Wha-what did I say?"
Adagio took this moment to cut her off. "What you meant to say was that being in a musical showcase sounds like a great way to meet other students." She turned back to Sunset, seeing a raised eyebrow from the bacon-haired girl.
"Ohhhh," Sonata finally caught on, "Yeah! Th-What she said I meant to say. That's what I meant...to say."
Aria scoffed at this, "And what you would have said if you weren't the worst."
"I am not the worst! You are!" Sonata cried at the girl.
Sunset kept a raised eyebrow at the trio's behavior, only for Adagio to jump in front of her, "You'll have to excuse them. They're idiots." This made Aria growl while Sonata just showed a vacant smile.
It was here that the corridor grew deathly silent, Sunset and the three staring awkwardly at each other while Sunset let out a nervous laugh. She then noticed the gemstone necklaces each of the girls were wearing. "Those are pretty," she reached out to touch one. "Where did you-" She didn't get to finish her question, as Adagio grabbed her wrist.
Sunset's eyes went wide before looking up at Adagio, the rocker girl seeming to panic at her mistake before laughing and releasing her arm. "Sorry," they all reached up and touched them. "These pendants mean an awful lot to us, and we'd just hate for anything to happen to them." With that, Adagio and Aria began to walk off, Sonata just blankly standing there before Adagio reached back and dragged her by the arm.
And as Sunset watched them walk down the hallway, Adagio shot her one final smirk before they turned a corner. "Strange...very strange." Sunset commented as she crossed her arms. "Why do I get a bad feeling about this?"
With her tour over and done with, Sunset decided to head to the cafeteria just as lunch was half way through. Spotting her friends on the far side of the room, she carefully walked over as to not get as many stares. Once there, she sat down before Applejack asked, "So, how was the tour?"
"I don't know," Sunset replied as she crossed her arms. "I mean, these girls, they were...there was something off about them."
Hearing this, Pinkie grabbed her hair and reshaped it to mimic a beard. "Like, off like this?" She then grabbed some carrots and lettuce and shoved them onto her hair to mimic a monster look. "Or off like this? Or...oh, oh! Like-"
"Maybe we should just let her tell us," Rainbow suggested, making Pinkie pout as the carrots fell out of her mouth.
"That's just it, I can't put my finger on it. They just acted sort of...strange around me." She leaned back slightly as she let out a small sigh, "you don't think...someone may have already talked to them. Told them about what I did." Another sigh followed this. "So much for making a good first impression." She placed her head into her arms on the table, while Fluttershy mistakenly made an, "Uh-huh."
The others turned to give her a look, making her grimace, "Oh, that's probably not it." Sunset looked back up, only to see nothing but frowns. This made her shrink back, a small whimper following.
As this was going on, the Dazzlings stood outside the cafeteria. Adagio looked inside with a huge smile at the crowd of people. "This is it girls, the moment we've been waiting for."
"Lunch?" Sonata asked with a naïve grin, making Adagio groan as she facepalmed.
"The chance to get our true Equestrian magic back!"
Sonata let out a "Ohhh...right." while Aria rolled her eyes.
Adagio looked back through the door windows. "Our voices are just strong enough to make them want something so badly, they'll fight to get it."
"So we're just gonna do what we always do?" Aria asked in a low bored tone. "Stir up some trouble and then feed off the negative energy? That's some plan Adagio."
"It won't be the same as the times before." The Dazzling leader pointed into the cafeteria, "There's Equestrian magic in there. Their negative energy will give us the power we need to get this entire world to do our bidding."
"But we can get lunch after though, right?" Adagio turned back to glare at Sonata, seeing she was looking at a poster while practically drooling. "It's Taco Tuesday!"
This was met with Adagio flicking her on the forehead. "Just follow my lead."
"Or my lead," Aria suggested, only for Adagio to grab her jacket with a snarl.
"My lead!" She growled, Aria backpedaling as Adagio let her go, motioning them to follow her. And as the yellowed haired girl walked inside, Sonata giggled into her hands while Aria pouted with crossed arms.
Back inside the cafeteria...
"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about this." Sunset said as she tapped her chin in thought.
"Maybe you're just overthinking things Sunset." Applejack replied, "Ah mean, nothing wrong being new to school."
It was here that everyone heard the sounds of doors banging open. The group of friends turned to the sound, only to see the Dazzlings step into the room. Then, they did something no one was expecting.
As their song started, the rest of the student body looked up from their lunch to stare the source of the music. And as their attention was now obtained, the real song began.
(Adagio) We heard you want to get together We heard you want to rock this school We've thought of something that is better Something that changes all the rules
The students couldn't help but be intrigued by what they suggested, the music they were hearing making them feel like they had to listen. Even the Royal Knights were listening, Iron not even caring when Sonata brushed her fingers through his hair.
(Adagio) Why pretend we're all the same When some of us shine brighter?
(Aria and Sonata) Shine brighter
(Adagio) Here's a chance to find your flame Are you a loser or a fighter?
(The Dazzlings) Me and you, you and me Why don't we see who is better? We don't have to be one and the same thing Oh, what's so wrong with a little competition? Are you afraid of failing the audition?
(Adagio) You're a star and you should know it Yeah, you rise above the rest It doesn't matter who you hurt If you're just proving you're the best
(The Dazzlings) Ah, ahh-ahh-ahhh
Battle! You wanna win it Let's have a battle, battle of the bands Let's have a battle, we'll go all in it Let's have a battle, battle, battle Battle of the bands!
As the Dazzlings continued to sing, the students all turned to glare at those they previously saw as friends.
(The Dazzlings and students) Battle!
"I can beat you!" A fashionista named Blueberry Cake told Cherry Crash.
(The Dazzlings and students) Battle!
"Ha!" The rocker girl replied, "You wish!"
(The Dazzlings and students) Battle!
"I so want this!" Trixie screamed.
(The Dazzlings and students) Battle!
"Not if I get it first!" An ECO kid named Captain Planet yelled as he jumped up out of his seat. And as this happened, the Dazzlings regrouped into the center of the room as the now entranced students sung along.
(The Dazzlings and students) Me and you, you and me Why don't we see who is better? We don't have to be one and the same thing Oh, what's so wrong with a little competition?
Even the Royal Knights, the schools image of harmony and friendship during Sunset's reign of terror, turned to another group and glared.
(Students) I'm going out and winning the audition
(The Dazzlings and students) Battle! We wanna win it Let's have a battle, battle of the bands Let's have a battle, we'll go all in it Let's have a battle, battle, battle Battle of the bands!
Despite the Dazzlings finishing their song, the cafeteria was still filled with noise. This time, the source was the students all arguing over the winner of this new battle of the bands. Screaming and threats consumed the area, the Dazzlings all smiling at the sight.
However, one group of students weren't arguing. They were just very, very confused. "Ohhhh," Pinkie said as she turned to Sunset and the Rainbooms, "They're that kind of 'off'."
Sunset didn't respond, to focused on the Dazzlings as they watched the havoc they had created. She stared at how everyone in the cafeteria was now acting, making her think. "This is...how is this possible?" She turned to her friends, "Come on, we better get out of here for now."
One wade through the arguing crowd, the Rainbooms escaped the lunch room as Sunset commented, "I don't know how, but those three are definitely in possession of some kind of dark magic. How else could you explain what happened back there?"
Applejack nodded but placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, y'all. We'll let Principal Celestia know all about this and those girls will be kicked to the curb in no time. Last thing she needs is another CHS event almost ruined by some power-crazed lunatic. Er...no offense."
Sunset let out a long sigh, "None taken."
And as they reached the office, Pinkie knocked on the door, opening it up to show both Celestia and Luna were inside. They quickly explained what had happened in the cafeteria and what Sunset was suspecting, but what Celestia said next wasn't what they were expecting.
"Dark magic?" She asked while looking through her blinds, "I find that very hard to believe. Those girls came into my office earlier and were absolutely delightful."
"Perhaps Sunset Shimmer is just eager to make someone else out to be a bad element so that her actions at the Fall Formal will become old news." Luna added as she rested on a chair.
Sunset rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to reply, "I could see why you might think that, but-"
"That's not what's happening!" Rainbow interrupted. "We saw all this go down in the cafeteria! Its real!"
Celestia just gave a robotic nod, "Yes, but isn't your band supposed to be part of the Musical Showcase?"
Rainbow raised an eyebrow at this, "Er...yes?"
"Then perhaps you're all just worried that the Dazzlings will steal your spotlight," Luna accused.
"The Dazzlings?"
"It's the name of their musical group," Celestia explained with a big grin. "That's why they came by my office earlier-to sign up for the showcase. Even sang a little song to Vice Principal Luna and I."
The six teens all shared a worried glance, all starting to realize what was happening as Applejack asked, "They did?"
"Yes," Celestia replied as both her and Luna's eyes flashed green. "And we think having a Battle of the Bands instead is a marvelous idea."
Sunset and the Rainbooms all shared worried glances, Sunset then giving them a glum frown, "I see...if that's what you think, then fine. Come on girls."
They turned to walk out of the office, only to hear Celestia call out after them. "Do yourselves a favor and don't hassle the Dazzlings. Don't want to make them think our school is filled with jealous, egocentric mad women."
They nodded and left the office, walking through the corridors with no real idea where they were going. And as they did, the atmosphere in the place was a complete one eighty to what it had been before lunch. Now, everyone was back in their own little groups, all shooting death glares at others. It was like a battlefield before the fight began, everyone against each other, all filled with anger and fury.
It was here that the six arrived at the school's front door and pushed their way through it. There, they saw the Wondercolt statue, the portal to Equestria. With nowhere better to go, they decided to hang around there, Pinkie jumping up on top of the statue while the others scattered around, Rainbow doing keep-me-ups with her soccerball.
There, Fluttershy broke the silence as she let a ladybug crawl onto her finger. "I can't believe they got to Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna too."
"They've gotten to everybody," Rainbow pointed out while trying to balance her ball on her head.
"Not everybody!" Pinkie yelped, making the rainbow headed girl drop her ball.
"Pinkie Pie's right," Applejack added while tipping her hat. "We were there when the Dazzlings were singin', and we weren't affected. It was like we were protected somehow."
Rainbow smirked as she bounced the ball onto her head again. "So let's take them down! It's not like we haven't tangled with dark magic before and totally whooped its sorry butt!" She knocked the ball up and caught it in hand, only to turn to Sunset, "Uh, no offense."
The bacon haired girl sighed for the billionth time that day. "None taken...again."
"But that was when Twilight ad Flash were here," Fluttershy pointed out as the ladybug flew away. "There may be some kind of magic inside us, but it only comes out when we play music. I sure don't know how to use it to...whoop anybody's butt."
Rarity sighed while working on her nails. "If only we could get a message to Flash and Twilight. Maybe they could tell us how to break the spell the Dazzlings have cast on our friends."
"Well, that's not gonna happen. The portal's closed." Rainbow tossed the ball at the statue, the sphere bouncing off where the interdimensional door should have been. "And I get the feeling they don't exactly have cell phones where they're from."
Saying this caused a spark of memory to flash within Sunset's brain, making her smile as she turned to the others. "Wait a minute! I may have an idea on how we can get in touch with Flash and Princess Twilight!"
"You can? How?"
"It's a long shot, but right now, it's all we've got. Follow me!" She ran back into the school, the Rainbooms following until they reached Sunset's locker. She opened it and looked down at a cardboard box, which she began rummaging through before pulling out a brown hardback book. "When I was Princess Celestia's student back in Equestria, she gave me this." She wiped her hand over it, brushing away the dust to reveal it had the same sun symbol Sunset wore on her top. Her cutie mark. "Even after I abandoned my studies, I held onto it." She held the book close to her heart. "Deep down, I guess I knew I was making a big mistake, and I wanted to still have a way to reach out to her." She opened the book and flipped through it, "Maybe it still works."
"That's a book, darling." Sunset looked up at Rarity, now seeing an expression of confusion, "What do you mean, 'maybe it still works'?"
Sunset smiled as she tapped the book's side, "It used to be that if I wrote something here, it would appear in the pages of a book back in Princess Celestia's library." The others all went wide eyed at this, "That means that if I can get a message to her, then she can get a message to Princess Twilight."
Everyone smiled as Rainbow pulled a pen out of Pinkie's hair and gave it to her, "So what are you waiting for? Get to writing!"
Sunset nodded and took the pen, only to sigh, "Been a long time since I've written these words." She put pen to paper and began to write, "Dear Princess Celestia..."
As she continued to write, the magic of the book carried the words across the dimensional barrier into the magical land of ponies. In that magical world, a book that mirrored the one Sunset held began to glow and vibrate. The pony in possession of it didn't notice, as he was carrying it and a whole stack of other books towards Equestria's newest landmark: The Castle of Friendship.
Inside the castle, we find the Mane Seven, Spike and Springer in the castle's throne room. Flash was sitting on his throne, softly playing his guitar after getting it back from Lightning. Thankfully, him 'borrowing' it had saved it from Tirek's destruction of the library. While this happened, Fluttershy and Applejack were pushing a crate of items around while Rarity was polishing her throne, Twilight was reading at the middle of the circle, and Pinkie was blowing a balloon up. Spike and Springer were both reading comics in their chairs, happy that Springer had stored some in the old training ground since most of theirs had been destroyed in the library's destruction as well. (Along with the journals/fanfictions Springer had written in)
It had only been a week since the defeat of Tirek and creation of Twilight's castle. In that time, they had been exploring the place and learning the layout while helping its new occupants move in. Flash had lost count of the number of times he had to go looking for Scootaloo after she got lost, happy that her new room was only a few doors down from his.
While exploring the castle, they discovered it had a library, a massive kitchen and even a room full of crystal ramps, which Scootaloo fell in love with. But Flash's favorite room had to be the training room. At first, he thought it was just a square room, but had been amazed when the place suddenly transformed into the weight lifting room he had been imagining it could be. Turns out, the room would lock onto the user's mental image and create solid illusions of whatever you wanted. He, Iron, Springer and Lightning had been having fun testing out its capabilities, happy the place appeared to be indestructible, so they didn't have to worry about damaging it.
And now that the move-in was almost completely finished, Flash had opted to simply relax and play a soft tune on his guitar. That is, till a voice called out, "Excuse me, princess." They all turned to see a slim delivery pony trot in, pulling a wagon of books. "Where do you want all these books from Princess Celestia?"
"The library," Twilight replied as she put her book dwn. "Third door on the left."
The pony nodded as was about to head in there, only for his ears to spike up and look up at the pile, "Uh...even this one that's glowin' and vibratin'?"
Twilight raised an eyebrow at this before using her magic to bring it over to her, the others beginning to crowd around her. "What is it, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked as Twilight opened the book and flipped through it.
Twilight's eyes went wide as she started to read, "It...it looks like a message to Princess Celestia from my friends at Canterlot High!"
"In the human world?" Flash asked, blinking.
"Humans?" Springer scratched the top of his head, "Aren't those the weird monkey things you said you turned into when you went through that magic mirror?"
"But how is that even possible?" Rarity asked next.
"I have no idea, but-" She looked up at them, her face teeming with worry. "It sounds like they need my help." With that, she walked out of the room and went to the castle's library. There, she found a book she was looking for and presented it to the others. "Sunset Shimmer says there's three girls suddenly causing trouble in that world. The way Sunset Shimmer described them, I think these new girls sound an awful lot like...the sirens."
Pinkie gasped upon hearing this, "NOT THE SIRENS!"
"You have no idea what a Siren is, do you?" Flash asked her, raising an eyebrow. Pinkie just giggled before nodding her head.
Twilight rolled her eyes at this before opening the book, flipping to a page showing the image of three seahorse-like creatures of differing colors. Each one had a gem like stone embedded in their chest. "The sirens were three beautiful but dangerous creatures who had the power to charm ponies with their music. But to maintain this power, they had to feed on the negativity and distrust of others. The more of this negative energy they consumed, the stronger their voices became and the farther they could spread their dark magic."
"I don't think I like this story very much," Fluttershy whimpered out.
"Why didn't the princesses or the Royal Knights stop them?" Springer asked Twilight next.
"This was long before either of their times," Twilight explained as she flipped the pages, "I think its before Tirek, Discord or Sombra. They're probably one of the oldest foes known to Equestria."
"That explains it," Flash added.
"If the sirens had their way, they would have divided and conquered all of Equestria. But a certain Star Swirl the Bearded wasn't having it. Rumor has it that he found a way to banish them to another world, one where he believed their magic power would be lost. That world must have been the one where my Canterlot High friends live."
"It would make sense since we couldn't use magic there last time." Flash continued, only for another question to come out of his mouth, "Say...why is it that great evils get locked away instead of actually being dealt with?" The others raised an eyebrow at this, "Don't say I'm not right. This keeps happening. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sombra, the Omni Sphere, Tirek, and now these girls. I'm just saying, the ancient forces of good in Equestria had a nasty habit of shoving evil inside of a box, writing 'do not open' on it, and expecting that to be the end of it. I just wanna know why."
The others all just stared at him, Twilight giving him a deadpan glare, "You finished?"
Flash nodded and shrugged, "I'm good."
Applejack then turned back to Twilight. "But Starswirl must have sent them there ages ago. How come they're just surfacin' now?"
"I don't know," Twilight flipped the page back to the one showing the Sirens. "But if my hunch is right and it is the sirens who have come to Canterlot High, this spell they've cast is just the beginning." She shut the book and turned away from the table, "Mine and Flash's friends need us. We have to get back to them."
Rainbow took this moment to fly in front of Twilight. "I hate to burst your bubble Twilight, but the connection between their world and Equestria will still be totally cut off for a super long time. Didn't Princess Luna say its every thirty moons?"
"She's right. That's a long time from now Twilight." Flash admitted with a small sigh, "That's a burst of bubble like no other."
"Okay..." Pinkie suddenly hopped between the three. "First of all, if there was bubble-blowing going on, why wasn't I told about it?! And secondly, if the connection is totally cut off, how was Sunset Shimmer able to get a message to Twilight?"
She pointed to the alicorn in question, who gasped as a bulb went off in her head. Flash saw this and smirked, "Got an idea Twi?"
"Pinkie, you're a genius!" Twilight exclaimed as she gave the pink pony a hug.
"Yeah, I get that a lot." She then grabbed Rainbow and pulled her close, "Now, about those bubbles."
But before she could say anything else, Twilight left the room and with several machine parts floating behind her. And as she began to get to work, she told Spike to write to Princess Cadance and ask her to send the magic mirror to them. The dragon nodded and got to work writing while Twilight started putting a machine together.
"What the heck is she doing?" Springer asked while pointing at the alicorn.
Flash let out a long glum sigh. "If I know Twilight, its probably some high tech science mumbo jumbo that she's gonna try to explain to us by talking a mile a minute in a language only she understands."
A lot of work and several hours of complicated explanations later...
"And the interval between the two points is defined as the square root of the sum of the squares of the separation between the points along three spatial dimensions."
As she finished her lecture, she turned to her friends to see their reactions. Everypony just stared at her as they looked up at the machine she had built. When the mirror had arrived, she'd strapped it into whatever she had built, which was too complicated to describe.
And after a painfully awkward pause, Spike broke the silence. "Say what now?"
Springer then spoke up. "You lost me somewhere between Starswirl's third and eighteenth principal."
"Note to self..." Flash commented as he pulled out a notebook. "Ask Time Turner to build me a nerd translator."
Twilight glared at him, but before she could start pulling his ears, Pinkie spoke up. "Duh!" She moved over to the book. "She's gonna take the magic in here and put it in there." She then warped behind the mirror and peeked out from behind. "That'll make the portal open up so that whenever she wants to, she can go from here to there." She kept repeating those lines, making the group look like they were watching a tennis match until Applejack interrupted her.
"We get the idea!"
"I could probably do with another explanation," Flash said as he wanted to see Pinkie do that again, only for Twilight to put the book on the machine.
"Now to see if it actually works." She placed the book into a slot as the machine powered up and connected with its magic. Everypony watched as the book was consumed by a purple aura, which then shot out of the cover and into a pair of metal prongs. They 'oohed' as more parts of the machine started, reformatting the book's magic to a form that was compatible with the portal until the glass of the mirror began to spin and warp.
"Ahhhhh," Everypony whispered as Flash walked over to the mirror and touched it with his hoof. When it phased through the portal, he smiled. "I'd say it worked."
Twilight nodded as Applejack moved over to her. "Don't suppose we could join you this time around?"
Twilight shook her head. "Better not. It could make things pretty confusing if Canterlot High all of a sudden had two of all of you."
Everypony turned to one another, seeming to have a small mental conversation before turning back and nodding. Spike then stepped up. "But I still get to go, right? There isn't another one of me at Canterlot High, and you never know if you might need your trusty assistant."
"Mm-hmm," Twilight nodded, making Spike pump his arms while Springer went over to Flash.
"What about me? You didn't mention seeing another version of me in that world."
Flash gave him a glum frown, shaking his head. "I'm not sure that's a good idea buddy. Who knows what you'll turn into on the other side."
Twilight nodded in agreement. "And we've seen what bringing Equestrian Magic did. Who knows what effects your aura abilities might have in this world."
Springer sighed but nodded anyway. "Alright, I'll stay. But you be careful Flash."
Flash just waved his hoof, "Please, this is me we're talking about."
"EXACTLY!" Everypony replied in unison, making Flash pout.
"I appreciate your confidence in me."
"We won't be gone long," Twilight told the others as they pulled each other into a hug and gave the three their best wishes.
"Ready boys?" Spike cricked his neck and got into a joggers pose while Flash said goodbye to his wings before the two replied with a 'ready'. With that, the three leapt through the portal, all ready to return to the other world.
Back at Canterlot High, everyone waited patiently at the portal. As this happened, Rainbow let out another sigh, "I'm starting to think they're not coming."
But no sooner had she said that, the portal flashed before three figures shot out of the stone. The trio moaned as they looked up, Flash trying to flex his wings. That is, till he felt nothing. "I can't fly anymore. We're here."
"Flash/Twilight!" Their friends exclaimed as Flash tried to get up.
"We're back," Twilight said as a familiar yellow hand was held out to her. She looked up at Sunset and was about to give her hand, only to flinch as she stared at the girl. But as she saw Sunset give her a smile, Twilight gripped her hand. Sunset pulled Twilight up to her feet, Twilight taking a second to gain her balance on two legs while Flash jumped up with enough ease that you would mistake him from never being away from this human form. The Rainbooms then pulled them into a hug, all happily laughing before ending the embrace. There, Twilight did a slight gulp. "Its good to see you all again...but I'm afraid we've got some bad news about those new girls."
"Yeah...like end of the world bad. And I get the feeling that unlike our last threat," Flash shot a glance at Sunset. "This one could be a serious doozy."
The Rainbooms all didn't like the sound of that, all remembering how close Sunset had come to actually winning. But now that Flash and Twilight were there, things would turn out alright...hopefully.
As soon as school had ended for the day, the Rainbooms took Flash and Twilight to Sugarcube Corner. Once there, they ordered themselves some drinks before sitting down in the same spot they had used in their last human adventure. The only ones not sitting down were Flash and Pinkie, Pinkie being the one getting her and Twilight's drinks and Flash because he's Flash, deciding to lean against a wall to look 'cool'.
"Oh, I do hate that you had to return at a time of crisis." Rarity started as Pinkie sat down and handed Twilight her drink, "we have so much catching up to do."
They all nodded as Applejack turned to Flash. "For starters, a certain rock trio was just askin' about you."
"Seriously?" Flash asked with a raised eyebrow before glancing at Twilight, "Think we'll have time to hang out once this is all done?"
Twilight did a small shrug, "I don't see why not," she replied before slurping up her milkshake.
Rarity finished stirring her tea as she turned to the two transformed ponies. "Perhaps you two would give us just the slightest bit of gossip from your world?"
"Twilight's got an official title now," Spike chimed in from Fluttershy's lap. Taking a dog biscuit in his paw, he started imitating a fanfare, "The Princess of Friendship!"
"Wow, that's impressive!" Sunset said with a painful smile on her face. "Guess you really were Princess Celestia's prized pupil."
"She's even got her own castle!" Spike added as he gulped down the treat.
"A CASTLE?!" Rarity almost screamed as she grabbed Twilight's shoulders, "You have your own castle?!?" The terrified Twilight just nodded, Rarity then realizing her mistake as she saw Twilight's milkshake spill onto the princess's blouse, "Oh...sorry." she cleared her throat before reaching into her bag and pulling out a cloth. "That sounds...lovely."
Flash chuckled at the sight. "You know, you've all technically got your own thrones in the castle."
The others all went wide-eyed at this, Rainbow turning to the defender, "What about you dude? You finally get knighted?"
Flash let out a long sigh, "Nope. Still just an apprentice."
"But he's got this cool superpower now." Spike chimed in again, "You should see it! He gets wrapped up in this weird tornado of light, and then armor appears around him. After that, he's so fast and strong that he can break a massive boulders with a single punch, or look like he's in a hundred places at once! It's awesome!"
The others all glanced at each other, all trying to imagine what Flash looked like in that form, while the apprentice knight just sighed again. "Yeah...still not enough to accomplish my dreams though."
Seeing her best friend looking down, Twilight spoke up, "So...what's new here? I mean, besides your school becoming the target of dangerous magical creatures from Equestria."
Rainbow pulled out her phone in response, "Yeah, so...that isn't exactly the only strange thing that's happened since you left." She then played a recording of her ponying up, Twilight's eyes going wide at this. "Pretty sweet, huh? It happens to all of us when we play."
Twilight hummed at the sight. "Hmmm...I know my crown was returned to Equestria, but it looks like some of its magic must have remained here at Canterlot High. Though now that we're all back together, we can use that magic on the Sirens. Just like when we were able to use it on Sunset Shimmer when she turned into that horrifyingly awful winged monster!" She went slightly wide-eyed at her own remark, soon turning to the bacon-haired girl in response, "No offense."
Sunset crossed her arms before saying in a disgruntled tone, "None taken. I'm used to it."
Flash blinked at the comment, a glum frown on his face. He could see pain on her face, but his own memories of his encounters of her, especially a certain....painful moment, made him look away.
It was here that Rainbow stood up, looking pumped as she did, "Alright! They'll never even know what hit 'em!" She started mimicking karate moves while yelling. That is, until Applejack gabbed her fist.
"After all, we've got nothin' to worry bout now that Flash and Twilight are back."
"Oh, I'm pretty sure I could find something to worry about." Fluttershy chimed in before smiling at the two pony heroes, "But it won't be the sirens."
"The sooner we do this, the better," Twilight told them before turning to Rarity and Sunset. "Any idea where the Dazzlings might be?" The two shook their heads before Twilight felt a tap on her shoulder, making her turn to Pinkie.
The party loving girl took a long sip of her milkshake, then sighed in relief before speaking, "There's a big party tonight for all the bands who signed up to be in the showcase! That would include the Dazzlings."
Everyone smiled at this while Flash pushed off against the wall. "Looks like we've got a party to crash." The others nodded, Pinkie squealing as the Rainbooms and transformed ponies finished their drinks before heading back to school, Pinkie leading them into the gym. When they stepped inside, they felt a wave of tension roll over the group. They looked around and saw all the competing bands, now seeing them huddled away from each other while all shooting death glares.
Flash gulped at the sight. "Wow...this is worst than when Sunset was running the show."
Sunset nodded in agreement. "Because unlike me, the causes actually have magic." She let out another sigh, "Can't believe this is how I liked things back then."
Flash glanced at her, "But you've changed now."
"I guess..." Sunset turned and walked over to the snack table, all while ignoring the rest.
While this happened, Flash started walking through the gym. Looking around, he saw the students glance at him, only to go wide-eyed at the sight. Before he could say anything else, he felt a weight appear on his back as a pair of arms wrapped around him. "FLASH!" he turned around and saw it was Heather.
"Hey Heather..." He replied as he shrugged her off, now spinning one eighty to see Iron and First walking over to him.
"Look who decided to show up," Iron commented with a smirk.
"It is good to see you," First added.
"Yeah," Flash laughed back, "great to see you too."
Heather hopped in front of the two, "So what are you doing here?! The Rainbooms said you couldn't make it."
"Well, Twilight and I have...business here. Hopefully, it'll be fixed pretty soon."
Hearing this made Heather's eyes sparkle as she put her hands into a prayer from. "So does that mean you'll be free to help us compete in the battle of the bands?!"
"We could really use our lead singer," First added.
"Well..." Flash muttered out, now finding himself staring at three expectant faces. It was here that he remembered Twilight saying he could hang out with them after taking down the Dazzlings. A small nod happened after this, "Sure, you can count on me."
"Really?!" Heather squeaked out.
"You have my word as a Knight of Equestria."
Iron guffawed before patting Flash on the back so hard, he almost knocked the teen off his feet. "Knew you weren't useless. With you, the rest of these weaklings won't last two seconds." As he said this, Flash felt the chill of a hundred eyes turn to him. The trio shot their own death glares back, Flash gulping at the sudden chilly sight.
But as this happened, Flash then felt something hit him in the back of the head. Reaching around, he felt something melt against his skin, soon pulling it back to find a chocolate chip. Looking around for the source, he saw Rainbow pointing at the doors of the gym. He followed her gaze and for the first time, saw the Dazzlings as they walked through the gym. He turned back and locked eyes with Twilight, who motioned for him to come over.
"Listen you three...I gotta do something real quick."
"Alright," First replied with crossed arms, "But do not be long. We should start practising as soon as possible."
"Right...sure." he muttered out before rushing over to the others.
Meanwhile, the Dazzlings looked around and saw everyone arguing. Small hidden smiles were on their faces as Adagio started to talk, "Oh, no! No one's mingling!" Adagio faked while rubbing her forehead, "It's like there's some kind of underlying tension that could bubble to the surface at any minute!"
"It's the fruit punch, isn't it?" Adagio raised an eyebrow at this before turning to Sonata, seeing the blue Dazzling holding a cup of said liquid. "I knew I used too much grape juice!"
Adagio face-palmed at the sight, "It's not the fruit punch, moron! It's us!"
Sonata sighed in relief, only for Aria to lean over. "But the punch is awful too."
Sonata glared back at her, "What do you know about good fruit punch?"
"More than you!" Aria replied before Sonata flicked her forehead.
"Do not!"
"Do too!" She flicked back, making Sonata growl before Adagio stepped between them.
"This is just the kickoff party, girls. Imagine what a tizzy they'll be in by the time the Battle of the Bands starts."
"There isn't going to be a Battle of the Bands!" The three turned towards the source of the voice, seeing Twilight, Flash and the Rainbooms. "We're gonna make sure of that!" They all grabbed hands, "Alright, team, let's do this! FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC!"
Her voice echoed through the halls, making everyone turn to them...but nothing happened. The seven just stood there holding hands, all eyes staring at the group. The Dazzlings were looking at them like they were crazy, and after about thirty seconds of nothing happening, the seven were all sharing embarrassed glances.
"Awkward," Flash said.
Rainbow turned to Twilight. "Uh, weren't there rainbows and lasers and stuff last time?"
Twilight just blinked in response, "I don't understand. We're all together again. Why isn't this working?"
Spike popped his head out of the backpack. "You, uh...really need to go ahead and do that whole "magic of friendship" thing now."
"I'm trying, Spike. I thought the seven of us standing together against the sirens would bring out the magic we needed to defeat them. That's what happened before."
Flash chimed in next. "Didn't you say magic works differently here?"
Before Twilight could reply, Adagio spoke up. "Talk about throwing down the gauntlet! This group is obviously serious about winning! A little cocky though, aren't they? Claiming there won't really be a battle...seems they think they've already got this thing all locked up."
"Not if the Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie has anything to do with it!"
"Whatever, Trixie!" Heather yelled while Iron and First glared at Flash, "We're the best band at CHS!"
"No! The Crusaders are gonna win!" Applebloom screeched next, more arguing following this. A mass of anger, louder and meaner than before soon embraced the entire place. And as this happened, a green mist began to float off of them, which flew over to the Dazzlings, their necklaces absorbing it.
Once the three had gotten their fill, Adagio turned to the Rainbooms. "I think we may have found what we're looking for. Or rather, it found us." She turned to look at the other two, Aria seeming to get it while Sonata just shrugged. As Aria facepalmed, Adagio pointed at the group. "Magic! Don't you see?! Everyone else has fallen under our spell." They looked back and saw that the group had now snuck out of the gym. "But not those girls. Those girls are special."
"And don't forget about the hunky boy in the group," Sonata added, a tiny bit of drool coming out of her mouth. "Did you see his shape? He looked-mmph!"
Adagio rolled her eyes as she used her finger to shut Sonata's mouth. "Focus!" She barked, Sonata yelping as she accidently bite her tongue. "We need find a way to get them all arguing. Then, when we absorb their negative emotions, we'll be able to absorb their Equestrian Magic as well."
"Okay....how we gonna do that?" Aria asked next, only to get a simple laugh from Adagio.
"Leave that to me."
When our heroes finally arrived out at the front of the school, everyone except Twilight collapsed on the steps.
"Well, that didn't work," Flash commented with a groan.
"Oh dear," Fluttershy quivered as she hid behind her hair, "That was so humiliating."
"It doesn't make any sense," Twilight muttered as she started pacing in front of them. "I should have been able to create the spark that would help us break their spell. That's how it worked before."
"You think we might be missing something?" Flash asked next. "I mean, you said that magic works differently in this world. Maybe it needs a different trigger."
"But what could that be?" Rarity chimed in. "What don't we have now that we did during the fall formal?"
The others shared glances, all looks of uncertainty on their faces. It was here that Flash glanced at Sunset, a new thought hopping into his head. "Wait a minute...you're a pony too, right Sunset?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Sunset asked back.
"Do you transform?"
Sunset hopped in place at the question, "Huh?!"
"When you play music, do you get ears and a tail?"
Sunset started to twiddle her thumbs as she tried to reply, "Um..."
"Hang on!" Rainbow barked in, "You think Sunset's what we're missing?!"
"It's possible," Twilight added while rubbing her chin. "I mean, its not a bad thought. She was using the crown's magic the first time we transformed. It's possible a scrap of its power is also still within her. Maybe if we try again with Sunset-"
"I don't have any magic," Sunset interrupted. "It was all taken out of me at the Fall Formal. I...I can't help." She looked away, making everyone sigh. But as this happened, another thought suddenly entered her brain. "Wait...maybe that's it though!"
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it Twilight!" Sunset responded as she pointed to herself, "When you defeated me, you drew magic from the crown I was wearing. The sirens' magic comes from their music, so maybe you have to use the same kind of magic to defeat them."
"Like fighting fire with fire?" Flash asked, making Sunset blush.
"I know...it's stupid. I shouldn't have suggested it."
Twilight shook her head, "No, I think you're onto something."
Sunset went wide-eyed, "Really?!"
Twilight nodded before turning to the others. "It's when you play music that you transform now, right?"
"Yup," Applejack replied while tilting her hat. "Ears, tails, the whole shebang."
"So maybe the way to use that magic to defeat the sirens is by playing a musical counter-spell!"
"You mean like a song?"
Twilight nodded again, "Uh-huh. And in order to free everyone who's been exposed to the sirens' spell, we'll need them all to hear it. But...how do we get them all together?"
Everyone tried to think of the best way to do that, until Rarity finally gasped. "The band competition! That's the next time we can be certain everyone will be in the same place at the same time."
The others all smiled at hearing this, standing up as Applejack spoke up. "Guess the Rainbooms know what to do next."
Rarity then pointed at Flash and Twilight, "And I believe you two just became the Rainbooms' newest members."
"Oh, no you don't!" Everyone turned around to see the Royal Knights stepping outside, the trio frowning at them. "Flash was our bandmate long before he was any of yours," Heather said as Iron grabbed Flash by the hood of his jacket and hoisted him up.
"HEY! What the heck?!" He yelped as he was dragged away, "What the-where are we going?!"
"My place. You gave us your word you'd play with us, and we've only got a day to get our songs right." Iron grumbled as he tugged Flash, a small yelp coming out of his breath.
"Wait! We need Flash!" Twilight called out, only to meet a glaring First.
"You have more than enough members in your group. And if you need a guitarist..." his gaze slowly shifted over to Sunset. "I believe Lightning taught you a lot back when you two were dating." With that, Flash was thrown into to Iron's car, the others quickly hopping inside.
"WAIT!" Twilight cried as the car pulled away, disappearing in a blur. She sighed at the sight, face-palming before turning to the others. "This...might complicate things."
Sunset placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You'll think of something. But for now, we need to get you ready to sing that musical counter spell."
Pinkie took this moment to jump in. "So what do you wanna play? Triangle?" She pulled out said instrument, giving it a ding before replacing it with another. "Sousaphone?" She gave it a pump right into Twilight's face, before replacing it with another instrument. "Theremin?" She started waving her hands over it, creating a weird sound that made her look almost euphoric. "Soooo magical."
"It might take me a little too long to learn how to play something with these," Twilight gestured to her hands. "I'll just sing."
Rainbow then wrapped an arm around Twilight's neck. "Like, as in, lead singer? Cuz that's usually my gig. This being my band and all."
"It's our band!" Applejack reminded her before patting Twilight on the shoulder. "And, of course she's lead singer. She's the one with the magical know-how to help us pull this thing off."
Rainbow held her hands up defensively. "Okay, yeah, that's cool. I'll just use this as a chance to hone my already insanely good lead guitar skills."
"It's only temporary," Twilight assured her. "And we don't have to win the Battle of the Bands. We just have to perform during the first round of the competition."
"Maybe second," Sunset reminded her. "That way, Flash can lose the first round and join you. Thanks to that, you'll have everything you need to take the Sirens down."
Fluttershy did a small gulp, "Oh, um...wouldn't the Royal Knights be upset?"
"It's for a good cause," Twilight told her as she shrugged Rainbow's arm off. "And once they're free from the spell, they'll relieve it was for the greater good."
"The greater good," Pinkie repeated in a monotone voice, the others turning to her and saw she was wearing a hooded cloak. "What?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes as she turned to Twilight. "Alright, let's get to learning that musical counter-spell!"
Twilight's eyes shrunk at the statement, making her squeak out, "Well...that's just it. I don't know any." This caused the others to all 'awwww' in unison. "But I'm sure I could figure out how to write one."
"Totally!" Spike added as he walked over to her, "Twilight can write a spell like it's nopony's business!" He patted her leg with his paw, "That's pretty much how she got to become a princess in Equestria."
"Technically, I helped finish a spell. And there was a little more to it than that, Spike."
"Yeah, whatever," Spike commented as the others looked at her with hope in their eyes.
"I've got this," Twilight assured them before picking Spike up. "C'mon!" With that, she spun back around to the school doors.
"Where're you goin'?" Applejack asked next.
"Well, last time we were here, Spike and I spent the night in the library."
"Are you crazy?!" Pinkie yelped before wrapping her arms around the two and lifting them off the ground. "We're besties now! Slumber party at my house!" The others all cheered hearing that.
As the girls headed off to Pinkie's house, Flash found himself back at Iron's place. There, the Royal Knights gave him an electric guitar before they started practicing. Despite knowing he needed to get out of this situation, he couldn't help but enjoy jamming with the trio again. Currently, they were running through a Royal Knight original, a song that Grand had written in his band days, which Flash picked up easily.
(Flash, others) Our will never ever waver Cause you can't possibly win Yeah So do us all a favor And count...up...your...sins YEAH
With that, they cut the music. "Not bad," Heather commented as she glanced at Flash. "But you're still sounding a little off Flash. Like your heart's not in it."
"Sorry," Flash replied with a sigh, glumly staring at the guitar, "Guess this thing's not doing it for me."
First then spoke up. "Maybe we should try and get you the guitar you used at the Fall formal. You were doing pretty well with it back then."
"Maybe..." Flash muttered as his brain started to turn, "Hmm...actually, I think I've got a better idea. But I'm gonna need to talk to Sunset before school tomorrow."
Hearing that name made the three all frown. "How's she gonna help you?"
"You want her to turn into a demon and destroy half the school again?!" Heather added in the meanest, lowest voice Flash had ever heard from her.
"Of course not," Flash instantly replied, turning to the trio as they showed an obvious change in their eyes. "Guys, listen. Don't you see you're being used? The Dazzlings have hexed you."
The trio just blinked at him. "Do not be silly Flash," First told him. "If we were hexed, we would probably know about it."
"No, you wouldn't. That's the whole point of being hexed." Flash growled as he pointed at the three, "Oh, come on! Is this really what the Royal Knights stand for?! Competing to be the best?! What about the love of spreading music?"
"It's still there," Heather calmly replied as she tuned her bass. "But the best way to spread that love is to prove we're the best. That way, everyone will come listen to us."
Iron nodded in agreement. "We've been a band long before anyone else at CHS. We haven't put in the hours of practice just to lose to a bunch of wannabes looking for fifteen minutes of fame."
"We have the name of the Royal Knights to uphold," First finished. "Canterlot's first band cannot be overshadowed by anyone else. That is why we will win the battle of the bands, I assure you."
Flash let out another sigh, now seeing there was no way of breaking this spell with words. As he did this, Heather spoke up, "Flash, I hope you're taking this seriously. It might not be some world destroying entity, but it's still important. If we're gonna win this, we need everyone to give a hundred and ten percent."
"You gave us your word you'd help us win," Iron pointed his sticks at Flash. "Don't go breaking that promise just because your girlfriend's in a competing band."
"GIRLFRIEND?!" Flash barked back, his eyes going wide.
"He means Twilight, Flash. For now, put your feelings aside and focus on the music." First then pressed a note on his keyboard, "Now, shall we give Celestic Force a go?" Heather and Iron both nodded before turning to Flash, who felt himself being pulled in two directions.
It was here that he gave one final sigh before putting his fingers on the strings. "Let's do this."
Iron then tapped his sticks. "A one, two, a one two three four!"
Later that night, at Pinkie's house...
The sleepover at Pinkie's house had been a fun event, filled with video games, selfies and tons of pizza. All the while, Twilight had been busy working on trying to write the musical counter-spell.
Now it was past midnight, and the girls were all fast asleep, except for one. Twilight opened her eyes and listened to the snores each of the girls were giving off. Hearing this, she carefully tiptoed around her friends and grabbed the notebook Fluttershy had given her to work in. With this and a pencil, she headed out of the room and down into the kitchen. Once there, she got back to work, the pencil now twisting in her mouth, "Hmmm...no." she commented after spitting the pencil out, "That's not gonna work."
She then tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes, only to hear a familiar voice call out. "Hey Twilight." She looked up to see Sunset leaning against a wall. "You're up late."
Twilight hid the unfinished spell below her arms, "Just looking over the counter-spell. We only get one shot at this, so it has to be perfect."
Sunset nodded as she walked over to the refrigerator. "We really are lucky you're here."
Twilight did a small sigh as she crossed her arms. "That's what everyone keeps telling me."
"Who could possibly need this much whipped cream?" She heard Sunset ask, making her glance back and see that the fridge was filled to the brim with cans. Sunset took out one and turned back to her. "Must be nice to have everyone always looking to you for answers to their problems," she squirted some of the cream onto her finger. "Instead of waiting for you to cause a problem."
Twilight looked down at the jumbled words that were her attempts to write a spell, making her sigh. "Just because everyone expects something from you, doesn't mean it's guaranteed to happen."
"Well, that doesn't stop them from expecting it."
"Which only makes things harder, because the last thing you want to do is-"
"Let everybody down," they both said in unison. Hearing this made both smile at each other, Sunset then putting the can in the fridge. But as she shut it, she turned to find herself face to face with a gray skinned girl with grayish blue hair. "Whoa!"
The girl held up a pebble, "Boulder was hungry." She opened a cupboard and pulled out a box of crackles, which she started sprinkling onto the pebble. Sunset back away until her back was against the table Twilight was sitting at, the two just staring at the girl until she turned to walk out of the room.
Once she was gone, Sunset whispered to Twilight. "I still can't get over the fact that she's related to Pinkie Pie."
"You and me both. When I first met her pony version, Flash joked about her leaving all her craziness behind when she was born so Pinkie ended up getting the whole lot."
The two laughed at the joke, Sunset then raising a cocky eyebrow, "So...speaking of Flash, you two are a thing, right?"
SNAP!
Sunset looked down, now seeing that Twilight had pressed down too hard on the book, snapping her pencil. her eyes drifted back up to see Twilight with wide eyes, "What?! No! We're just friends."
"Oh, come on," Sunset took Twilight's pencil and put it in a nearby sharpener, "I've seen the way you two are together. You have got to be a couple."
"No, serious." She crossed her hands as she stressed her next word, "Friends."
Sunset rolled her eyes at this as she gave Twilight her pencil back before looking away. "You know...he's kinda cute, don't you think?" She looked back and saw Twilight was slightly blushing.
"I guess. If you like that...unassuming...heroic...knightly type."
"Which I'm betting you do," Sunset teased as Twilight just stared at the notebook, a small red tint still on her face. Seeing this, Sunset tapped the book, getting the princess's attention, "Twilight, take some advice from a girl who has made more than enough mistakes. Life is short, so don't let fear stop you from going after something you really want. If you don't do it, you'll wake up one day full of regrets. Trust me, I know."
Twilight looked back down at the book, no response exiting her mouth. Seeing this, Sunset let out a yawn before heading for the stairs. "I better get some sleep. Good luck with the counter-spell, not that you'll need it. This must be nothing compared with the stuff you're expected to deal with as a princess in Equestria."
Twilight just stared at her spell attempts, sighing at the sight. She then looked back up, "Sunset Shimmer?" the girl turned to her as Twilight was about to ask for help, only to come to a stop. "Nevermind. Its not important." Sunset nodded and gave one final forced smile, and headed upstairs. Once she was gone, Twilight let out another sigh. "No, I have to be able to do this. I have to."
And with that, she got back to work. The first round of the battle of the bands was tomorrow. She had to get the spell right before the Sirens could gain too much power, but with Flash stuck in another band, would it even work?
The next morning, Flash left Iron's house early with directions to Applejack's house in hand. Heather had gotten a text telling him the Rainbooms were gonna be there, so once he had breakfast, he was out the door. Luckily, Applejack didn't live that far from Iron, glad that it was similar to the distance of the acres back in Ponyville. But as he got there, his ears suddenly twitched.
"What the heck?!" he grumbled as he put his hands to his ears, his pace slowly following a piercing, painful sound. And as he traced it, he found an acre of apple trees along with a barn-like garage.
Gonna stomp our feet, clap our hands With the magic of friendship Gonna stop your evil plan
As the music thankfully came to an end, Flash leaned in to see the Rainbooms were the ones who'd been playing. Off to the side, Spike and Sunset were sitting by an amp, both showing looks of horror. "Uh..." the dog mumbled, "That sounded...way better than the last...five times you've played it. Heh heh..."
"Nope," Mac added as he walked by a an open window, making Spike let out a whimper.
"I agree with Mac. That was pretty bad," Flash finished as he walked in, catching everyone's attention.
Twilight shined a half-smile, "Oh good, you're here! Grab a guitar and let's get practicing this counter-spell."
Flash just shook his head. "I doubt me joining in right now would make the song any better. I don't know much about spells, but I'm pretty sure that one's not gonna work."
"I think it's pretty obvious what's going wrong with this counter-spell," Rainbow added with a confident smirk.
"You mean you turnin' what should be the chorus into a five-minute guitar solo?" Applejack asked sarcastically.
"I have to pick up the slack somehow!" Rainbow barked back, "Heck, are you girls even trying?!"
"I'm trying..." Fluttershy whispered.
"It's fine," Twilight interrupted, her tone being one that Flash recognized as her 'everything's a total disaster and I can't find a way to fix it' panic voice. She then let out nervous laugh, gripping the microphone again, "It'll be fine. One more time from the top!"
Everyone just glared at her, Rarity now speaking up, "Perhaps we could take a short break." She then reached behind some boxes and pulled out a rack of clothes, "Maybe we could try on some of the wardrobe choices I've put together?" She jumped behind it for a second, "I'm particularly fond of this one." She pushed the rack away to show she was now wearing a sparkling marching band costume before looking down at herself, "Hmm...of course, we could always go with something a bit more modern."
Applejack just face palmed at this, "We're tryin' to save our school here. Enough with the costumes!"
Flash nodded at this, only to here Rarity speak in a robotic voice. "Oh darling," he glanced back to see Rarity now in some kind of gold robot suit, "You can never have enough costumes!"
Flash gave a small nod. "If you have that in blue, I'm game for wearing it." Rarity turned to him with what Flash guessed was a smile on her face.
Applejack rolled her eyes again as Pinkie spoke up. "She just wants to make things fun!" Flash turned to her and saw she was leaning against her drums with a pout on her face. "Isn't that what being in a band supposed to be?!" She then played an angry rim-shot.
"You don't have time for any of this!" Sunset called out before the argument could go any further. "You're supposed to check in at the Battle of the Bands in fifteen minutes!"
Everyone, including Flash, gasped at this. "Oh no!" They all cried before everyone except Twilight started packing up their instruments.
"What?!" Twilight asked in shock, "But it's not ready! I was hoping we could get it done and practice between the first and second rounds so Flash could get out of his band and learn to play the song!"
"We got bigger things ta worry bout right now," Applejack told her. "If we don't get to the second round, havin' the counter-spell'll mean squat!"
"And Twilight doesn't know any of the other songs!" Rarity gasped in realization. "This is going to be a disaster!"
As everyone went wide-eyed at this, Flash walked in between them, "Everypon-er, everyone calm down! Panicking isn't gonna help us right now."
"So what do we do?" Fluttershy asked as she started twiddling her thumbs. "Twilight needs more time to work on the counter-spell, you need to get out of your band, and Twilight can't play any of our other songs!"
Before Flash could say anything, Rainbow spoke up, "Simple! We compete in the Battle of the Bands for real!" Everyone turned to her in shock, "I'll take over lead vocals again, and we stay alive until the finals! We unleash the counter-spell then!" She turned to Flash and Twilight, "You'll have figured it out by finals, right?"
Twilight gave her a half frown, only for Spike to suddenly walk up with a giant grin, "Of course she will! Twilight Sparkle's never met a problem she couldn't solve!" he looked back up at her. "Right, Twilight?"
"Right..." Twilight muttered out, Flash almost ready to facepalm at Spike's actions.
"Then let's go win us a Battle of the Bands!" Rainbow yelled before they all rushed out the garage.
As they did, Flash grabbed Sunset's shoulder. "Hey, can I borrow your journal? I need to send a message to Equestria." Sunset blinked in confusion at this, only to nod and reach into her bag before pulling out the book.
"Here...but why do you need to send a message?"
Flash just smiled as he opened his book. "If I want to be any help in stopping the Dazzlings, I'm gonna need a weapon I know how to use."
They arrived outside the school with only minutes to spare, the Royal Knights on the steps waiting for them.
"Took you long enough," Iron said before tossing Flash the guitar he had used at the Fall Formal.
Flash managed to catch it by the neck, but just smirked before tossing it back. "Give me a minute," he turned to the Rainbooms. "You girls head in." They nodded and walked in while Flash moved over to the portal. "Alright Sunset, showtime."
The bacon haired girl nodded before opening her journal and writing a single word. The Royal Knights all stared at him, only to notice the stone surface of the portal begin to wobble. Flash stared at it, a huge grin on his face. And as it continued to ripple, a blast of light shone out next, causing something to fly out of the portal.
One quick reflex of the wrist later, Flash caught the item, revealing it to be a certain red guitar. "Voilà," he said as he put the strap over his head, his fingers instantly playing a stream of notes on the strings. "Now that's more like it."
Sunset and the Royal Knights all gasped as they heard the sound come out of it, acknowledging it was like magic to their ears. The sight alone made Heather smirk, "This contest is as good as ours. Let's go boys!"
"Heck yeah!" Iron replied while pumping his fists.
With that, they went inside. And as they made their way through the first corridor, they spotted a dazed looking Grand Hoof walking around a corner. He quickly noticed Flash, making him smile, "Flash!" He then rushed over to them, "Thank the stars you're here! I saw Twilight walk into the gym and I figured you were around here somewhere..."
"Sorry Grand Hoof," First walked up and literally pushed him out of the way. "No time to talk. We have a battle to win!"
Grand stumbled back, his eyes wide as he was about to let out a yell...only for Flash to place a hand on his shoulder. Feeling this, he looked up and saw Flash glare at his bandmates. "You all go on ahead. I doubt we'll be first, so I'll be there once I'm done."
Iron grumbled, "you better be. Get done soon! We're gonna win this, and you better not make us lose!"
"I won't!" Flash yell back, only to get three glares back. "I'm serious!"
"Whatever..." Iron hissed as they quickly restarted their sprint through the school.
Once they were gone, Grand gave Flash a 100-yard stare. "What the heck is going on? I come here this morning and find that not only are we having a battle of the bands, but everyone's at each other's throats!"
"Wait...you're acting normal?" Sunset asked in response, causing Grand to glare at her.
"Did you do this?! I knew-"
"Hold it!" Flash raised his palm into Grand's face. "It's not Sunset. It's the three new students causing this whole problem. They're actually evil monsters from Equestria, and that's why me and Twilight are back. We've got to stop them before its too late."
Grand just raised his eyebrow at this, only for Sunset to walk in front of Flash. "Please, let me explain. I promise, its not me." Grand opened his mouth to reply, but then saw Flash shake his head. That alone made him close his mouth, sighing as he gave Sunset a nod. "Thank you. Now, it all started when those three girls came to our school..."
One quick rundown later...
"So now Flash and the Rainbooms need to use their magic in a song to counter them, which is why they're competing."
"I see...I think. Honestly, this magic stuff is too crazy for an old-timer like me." Grand grumbled as he crossed his arms. "I have never been so thrilled for a dentist appointment. I'm guessing I'd be under their spell too if I hadn't left before lunch. Is that right?"
Sunset replied with a nod. "Yes, but you need to be careful. I doubt the Siren's power is permanent, so they'll likely keep recasting it during the battle."
"So don't listen to it. At all." Flash added.
"Understood," the old man pulled out two small felt balls. "I have some earplugs that I use when I'm fixing the bells. They should keep me safe."
The two nodded as the overhead speakers called out. "Next up are the Rainbooms."
"We should get going," Flash told Sunset as Grand gave them a small nod. Seeing this, Flash and Sunset rushed to the gym, their ears picking up a song. But as their ears gathered the soundwaves, the duo grimaced as they walked inside, now seeing the song was halfway done. That, and looks of horror appeared on their faces as they stared at the gym's stage. "What the buck?!"
Rarity, who was dressed in an Indian vest with metal spikes poking out, seemed to be dancing around the stage while Fluttershy was trying to escape from a spotlight. Flash then looked up at the rafters above the stage, only for his face to switch to a glare as he spotted several students up there messing with them.
"What do we do?" Sunset asked with a low gulp.
"Not sure," Flash replied as he started to walk up to the stage. However, a large crowd was before him, causing him to slowly squeeze through like a worm, barely able to get up there as the song ended. That is, till he saw the sleeves of Rarity's costume start to rip off. "Oh no...that's not good."
It was here that the band turned to walk backstage, the principals being the only one to applaud. Flash and Sunset ran backstage as well to meet them, just in time to see a crying Rarity wail out. "Ruined! Absolutely ruined!"
Applejack just rolled her eyes, "Rarity, were ya tryin' to make us lose out there?!"
"Wh-" The fashionista turned to her, letting out a loud exaggerated gasp, "Oh, this was NOT my fault! This was an act of sabotage!"
Applejack continued to roll her eyes. "Yeah, well, whoever did this couldn't have done this if ya didn't insist on dressin' like...like...this!" She pointed at the destroyed costume, "We need to sound good, not play dress up! Is there some reason that concept seems to escape you?!"
Flash, Twilight, Sunset and Spike all shared a worried glance. Flash rubbed his head in slight frustration, knowing what would probably happen next. Walking between the bandmates, he raised his hands, "Come on girls," Flash spoke up to try and stop the argument. "We've got bigger things to worry about then-"
"And what was with all the confetti, Pinkie Pie?!" Flash turned to glare at Rainbow Dash as she interrupted him, her hands now pulling out the party material out of her guitar, "How am I supposed to shred if there's paper stuck in my frets?!"
"It was pretty distracting," Fluttershy added as she barely tapped her instrument.
"WHAT?!" Pinkie shrieked in horror before turning to glare at the shy teen. "Says the girl who was running from a light the whole time! A LIGHT!"
"Well, that may be true, but-"
Flash waved his hand between the two, "Stop it. Please. This is no time to argue."
"Yeah! Its time to make me look awesome!" Rainbow chimed in, only to glares from the others.
"Wrong thing to say right now Rainbow." Flash deadpanned as he stared at now glaring Rainbow Dash.
While this happened, Sunset walked over to Twilight, "You all did sound much better than most of the other bands, so I'm sure you'll make it to the next round...." She started twiddling her thumbs, "But it won't matter if you don't have that counter-spell ready."
"I know." Twilight replied as she let out a small sigh. "I'm still trying to figure it out. This counter-spell isn't...well, it isn't something that can just be conjured in a few seconds."
"Even if that's the case, we need to figure out something to stop them."
"Yeah..." Twilight stared at the floor, "I just need a little more time."
The statement made Sunset blink, a small idea forming in her head. "Okay. If you need that, you all need to find a place to practice where the sirens can't hear you. Flash and I'll keep an eye on things around here."
Flash heard this and turned to her, "Wait...I thought I'm supposed to lose."
Sunset shook her head. "I've been thinking about that. I saw the bracket and realised your band will end up facing the sirens before the Rainbooms. With everyone under their spell, I doubt you'll beat them no matter how well you play."
Twilight snapped her fingers at the statement. "Oh! I get it! As long as Flash is divided from us, the Dazzlings won't see us as a threat."
Sunset nodded in agreement. "So Flash should keep playing with the Royal Knights until you face the Dazzlings. That way, you can help keep an eye on them."
Flash put his hands behind his head, "Huh. Okay, that works for me."
"But won't Flash need to learn the counter-spell?" Rainbow asked Twilight, only to get a shake of her head in response.
"If we keep Flash's parts small, he'll be able to learn them quickly. Trust me on this, Flash is more musically inclined compared to me."
"She's right. I constantly play my guitar back home. I can learn by ear quickly." Flash added as he pointed at the group, "You girls go ahead and get going. Sunset and I will keep an eye on things here."
The Rainbooms nodded before leaving the gym, going into the hallway. There, Rainbow commented, "I don't think we should use a classroom."
"SPARKLE!" The group hopped in place at the sudden voice, making them turn to see the Royal Knights marching up to them. Iron, the one who had called out her name, stepped right in front of her, glaring daggers into her eyes. "Do us all a favor a go back to your world. Stop cheating and let Sentry focus on what's important!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Twilight replied as she slightly backpedaled.
"Don't play dumb with us," Heather hissed out next. "It's clear why you came back. The Rainbooms knew they couldn't handle us, so they brought you here to use your magic to make them sound better. Well, it's not gonna work."
"Our music will outshine your magic," First added as he gripped Flash's shoulder. "And you will not be taking Flash from our band."
"That's not what we're trying to do," Twilight interrupted. "We're trying to solve the problem happening to this school."
"The only problem is you and-"
Applejack took this moment to grab Twilight's shoulder and push her past the Royal Knights. "Come on, Twilight. Ignore those three, as we've got things to do."
As they walked off, Iron yelled back at them. "You really think you're gonna help them?! Ha! I bet you have no idea what you're even doing!"
And as they continued to walk, Applejack let go of the girl as they kept moving. Seeing this, Twilight's head slumped down, a small tear appearing in her eyes, "All I want to do is help..." She looked back up, now seeing her friends walk away, not even noticing her despair as they continued to bicker with each other. More water began to flow down her face as she whimpered out, "And I keep failing...why can't I get this?"
Her feet started to pick up again as she followed her angry friends, not noticing a trio watching her. The first of the three was Adagio, who was chuckling at the sight, "Tears already?" She turned to her sisters, "This is only the first round and we already have it in the bag."
Aria and Sonata laughed at this while an overhead speaker called out. "The next band to take the stage will be Trixie and the Illusions."
"Better head back," Adagio began to lead the two to the gym. "We're supposed to go on after Trixie."
But as they stepped around the corner, they came face to face with Sunset Shimmer. The former villain was glaring at them, her form leaning against a wall, "You're never gonna get away with this."
"Oh? Why not?" Adagio asked with fake curiosity, "Is it because you didn't?" Sunset's glare faltered for a moment at this, making Adagio giggle, "Surprised? You really shouldn't be. We know all about you Sunset Shimmer. You've got quite the reputation at Canterlot High."
Sunset's glare returned, only for the trio to start circling around her. "I'm nothing like that any more. I've changed! I'm in a much better place now!"
"Waiting in the wings while your friends have all the fun?" Aria pointed out as she leaned up to Sunset's face with a giant smirk.
Adagio nodded in agreement. "Oh yes, you girls are so...tight. And yet, they didn't ask you to be in the band."
Aria giggled at this, "HA! They're probably afraid no one would want to see them play if you were in the group."
Sunset opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Doubt now consumed her reflexes as she tried to think up a reply. That is, till another voice spoke up, "Too bad!" Sonata yelled as she popped up next to her,"So sad!"
"If it's any consolation," the Dazzlings stepped past her with Adagio and Sonata bumping her. "No one is going to remember you at all by the time we're done." With that, the trio walked into the gym, only to see Flash now glaring at them. But as this happened, Adagio just smirked, "Hey hot stuff. Once we're done, wanna hang out? My sister might have a thing for you."
Flash raised an eyebrow, only to see Sonata now giving him very suggestive looks. "Thanks, but I'll tell you the same thing I once told Sunset. My mother taught me to never date a girl who wears leather. Or is...well, a total nutcase." He then shifted his guitar downwards, making Adagio raise an eyebrow while Sonata pouted.
"Too bad for you," Adagio said as they walked by.
Aria then started pushing Sonata, Sonata pointing at him. "You...missed...out." She performed a Z-snap before they headed up on stage, Trixie now finishing her performance.
As they left, Flash turned back to Sunset. "You alright?"
Sunset just rubbed her arm as she leaned against a nearby wall, "I'm...not sure."
Flash glanced back at the stage, seeing his bandmates all yelling at another band for the moment. Seeing this opportunity, he walked up to the wall next to Sunset, "Wanna talk about it? We got a tiny amount of time."
Sunset let out another sight, "Do...do you really think the others didn't ask me to join because they were scared I'd make no one want to see them?"
Flash just started leaning against the wall, shrugging in response, "Hate to say it, but I don't know." This made Sunset grimace, but Flash continued, "I haven't been around these girls long enough to know that about them. But I do know they've forgiven you for what you did."
Sunset slowly looked up at him, "How...how can you be so sure?"
"Because even though they've lived very different lives, they're still just like the friends me and Twilight have in Equestria. Granted, I don't think I've seen them be this uncooperative, but...if there's one thing I know about them, it's that they're willing to forgive those if they show they're willing to change." He turned to give her a small smile, "And I think you're really trying to change. At least, of what I've seen. They can see that too, so they've definitely forgiven you."
Sunset wanted to smile, but her frown stayed on her face, "Well...what about you? Have you forgiven me...for the...um..." She pointed at her lips, then...downwards. This made Flash cross his legs a little.
"I admit, that was a dirty move." Flash looked away as he did a tiny gulp, "But...I've forgiven a both a unicorn and draconequus that have tried to kill me, so I think I can let it slide." He did a small shudder, "But please don't do that ever again. That was more pain that I've ever had before."
Sunset breathed a sigh of relief, slightly giggling at his honesty. It was here that they started to listen to the music the Dazzlings were playing. "Wish the rest of the school was as forgiving as you."
"Forgiveness isn't something you get for just saying you're sorry. You have to earn it. I should know."
Sunset raised an eyebrow at this. "What do you mean?"
Flash stared at the floor at this, "When I was a colt, before I met Twilight, I...I was nothing more than a thief. I spent all my days running through the Canterlot streets, stealing from everyplace I could."
"Why?" Sunset gasped, "Why were you...a thief? Aren't you a knight?"
Flash shook his head. "No, I wasn't always that. Back then, I thought it was the only way to survive." A small smile started to show itself on his face, "But...then I met Twilight. Her family...her family took me in, and I saw the truth. I saw....well, that thieving would've got me nowhere. And so, after her family took me in, I went to each and every place I stole from and apologized. Some of them accepted my apology, but others didn't...at first."
"So how did you make them forgive you?"
Flash laughed at her question, shaking his head, "I didn't 'make' them. I showed them I was worthy of being forgiven...mainly by working for them without pay. I didn't even have to be told this, I did it on my own. Whenever one of those places found themselves short staffed, I'd go and help out. I'd wash dishes, clean tables and even act as a waiter...which I did not do well in. Mainly because reading was...difficult for me. Thankfully, they eventually decided I had worked off my debt and they forgave me." He turned to Sunset with a big grin, "You need to earn their forgiveness through your actions. Even if it looks like everyone's against you, you need to keep pushing until you've shown them how you've changed."
"That sounds...hard."
"Nothing worth having comes easy," Flash replied, shrugging.
It was here that Heather walked over to him, "Flash! Come on, we're on next! We need to win!"
"Right..." Flash pushed off the wall and started to follow her. That is, till he came to a halt and glanced back at Sunset. "Just remember, your can't change the past...but that doesn't mean it defines you. Just leave the past in the past and focus on today."
"Who told you that one?"
Flash's face showed a small pink tint. "Twilight. She always teaches me the most important things."
With that, Flash walked away, Sunset slowly following him, "Wow...he really is lucky." She then whispered to herself, "My past does not define me? My past...is not today."
The hours passed as the battle continued.
The Rainbooms, Royal Knights, and Dazzlings all got through the first round, along with a bunch of lesser bands that were a little...less worse than their opponents. Round after round continued to pass, the Rainbooms having no issues of sabotage thanks to Flash heading up to the rafters while Sunset and Spike kept the stage clear of issues. Grand also helped out, patrolling the hallways and listening to the conversations of the bands that planned on sabotaging the Rainbooms. With his help, they managed to keep the rest of the girl's performances undisturbed.
Not everything was great though. Twilight was still having trouble finishing the spell while the rest of the band kept arguing over every minor thing. What's more, with each passing round, the Dazzling's influence increased along with the arguing.
And this was nowhere more apparent than when the Royal Knights faced off against them in the semifinals.
"NO!" Heather cried as Luna crossed out their band's emblem and moved the Dazzlings into the finals slot.
"How did this happen?!" First roared.
"I knew we shouldn't have played 'Count Up Yours Sins' twice!" Iron growled before turning to Flash. "And you, what the heck we you thinking when you missed that opening to the chorus?!"
"I didn't miss the opening," Flash barked back as he took off his guitar. "I played just as much as the rest of you, so don't get angry at me. We did our best."
"No we didn't Flash! We lost!" Heather screeched as she pointed at him, "The rest of us were fine, unlike you! Maybe if you didn't waste your time climbing up rafters to stare down your girlfriend's shirt, you could have practiced more and not cost us the whole thing, you-"
"Oh, that is it!" Flash turned around, his hand now severely gripping his guitar's neck. "I've been working tooth and nail for you guys and all you do is bark like a bunch of angry mules! We're all pulling our weight here, including me!"
"No, you're not! We lost Flash!" Iron yelled as he grabbed Flash's collar, "We're supposed to win, not be a bunch of losers! I'm not a loser!"
"Well too bad Iron, that's how it worked out!" Flash barked back as he swatted Iron's arm away, "We're done here, and I'm leaving!"
With that, he started to walk away, First then asking, "Where are you going?"
"To check on my friends!" Flash turned back with a glare, "You know what those are, right?! Even if you guys are under a spell, I never thought you'd let it turn you into monsters!"
The three said nothing back as he marched off, Grand quickly walking up to him as he pulled out his ear plugs. "A little harsh, don't you think?"
"I know, I know...I just..." Flash let out a long, angry sigh. "I figured maybe talking 'em down will help them snap out of it..." He looked back at his band-mates, only to see nothing but glares. "But it looks like I was wrong."
"Don't worry my boy," Grand patted him on the shoulder. "We have bigger issues to deal with."
"Right..." Flash gave him a nod as they headed backstage, both now spotting the Rainbooms talking.
"This is it!" Sunset cheered as she saw Flash walk in. "Last round and you're in the finals!" She then turned to Twilight, "Unless you think the counter-spell is ready to be played. Flash can play with you girls now."
"Strange that there isn't a rule stating only one band per person," Flash quoted as he glanced at Twilight, still seeing the look of uncertainty on her face. "Though I'm glad that's not a problem here..."
"Don't worry, Twilight." Applejack added while patting the princess's shoulder, "Finals aren't until tonight. We'll get in a little more practice before we're supposed to hit the stage. We won't let you down!"
The others all nodded in agreement, making Twilight smile...but as they turned away, her face morphed back into a frown. Seeing this, Flash tried to walk over to her, only to suddenly pushed away.
"Out of Trixie's way!" yelled a blue skinned girl as she ran past him, making Flash shake his head.
"Whoa...my world's Trixie's is definitely nicer," he commented as he got back up. "What the heck was that?!"
"Um..." he turned to the voice to see Fluttershy step up to Rainbow, "I was just wondering....we haven't played any of my songs yet, and-"
"It's the semifinals," Rainbow interrupted her. "We gotta do Awesome As I Wanna Be! Let's go girls!"
Rainbow and the others quickly rushed out, Fluttershy sighing as she followed them, "Don't know why I even asked."
Grand shook his head at the sight. "That girl doesn't realize the problems she's causing. They'll never be able to win unless they're all in sync."
"I know..." Flash grumbled in agreement. "But these kinds of issues are stuff we can't solve. I'm guessing they're gonna take time...time we don't have."
Grand nodded in agreement. "I'll go keep an eye on things in the hallway. You'd better get up to the rafters."
"Got it." Flash added as he went over to the ladder for the rafters, Grand turning to leave the gym. But as soon as he left, his ears picked up on something.
Grand spun around to see the Dazzlings smiling at him, causing him to gasp as he realized he had forgotten to put his earplugs back in. But as he reached into his pocket, his whole body went stiff as the music took root.
Back in the Gym, Flash was up in the rafters watching Trixie and her band finish their song. He had to admit, beating them after that performance wasn't gonna be easy.
And as Trixie ended her performance, she and her band mates posing as Celestia and Luna started clapping. "Fantastic!" Celestia exclaimed after giving a hardy laugh, Trixie bowing before stepping off stage. Flash moved over to the side and listened as Trixie began to trash talk his friends.
"Hmph. You're never gonna top that performance, 'Rain-goons'. You shouldn't be allowed to when you have such a big advantage over the rest of us."
"My superior guitar playing and off-the-charts awesome singing voice?" Rainbow asked confidently.
Trixie just rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't be ridiculous. I mean her!" She pointed at Twilight, who suddenly started blushing. "If you were really all that Rainbow Dash, you wouldn't have needed to bring in some magical ringer to have half a chance! Everyone's talking about it!"
Rainbow released a quick laugh, "Puh-leeze! I could win this thing as a solo act and everybody knows it!" Flash face palmed at this as he watched the rest of the Rainbooms glare at Rainbow.
"Sure you could," Trixie said before she pulled something out of her pocket and threw it to the ground. A large puff of smoke filled the room before fading, soon showing that Trixie had vanished.
Pinkie gasped at the sight, "She's gone!" But then she noticed the girl hiding behind the stage her drums were on. "Oh, wait...there she is!"
Trixie quickly ran away as Principal Celestia spoke up, "Next up, the Rainbooms." The girls all nodded as they headed to the stage.
"Knock 'em dead, Rainbooms!" Spike cheered as they took their places.
"I'll be here," Sunset added with a sigh. "Just...watching.
As they took position, Twilight glanced up at Flash before he gave her a nod. Nodding back, the two started playing. And as the music began to rock the gym, the lights came on to illuminate each of the girls.
(The Rainbooms) Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
(Rainbow) Awesome as I wanna be
(The Rainbooms) Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
(Rainbow) Awesome as I wanna be
As Rainbow began dancing all over the stage, Flash spotted Fluttershy glaring at her. He sighed at the sight, knowing he couldn't do anything as the song had already started.
(Rainbow) First you see me riding on a sonic boom Got my guitar shreddin' up my latest tune There is nothin' you can do to beat me I'm so good that you can't defeat me
Rainbow continued to dance around the stage, much to the others irritation, while the spotlights began to move over to her. Flash sighed again at her showboating, only to gasp when he noticed Rainbow's ears were beginning to grow.
"Oh no! Think, think, think..." he whispered as he looked up and noticed ropes that could close the stage curtains. "That'll do." He then started his climb up the ropes, only for the rafters to shake. The defender blinked at the shudder, causing him to spin around and see-"WHOA!" Flash ducked down in time to miss a broom swing to the head. He jumped back, only to gasp, "What the-Grand?!"
Grand Hoof, holding the broom like his counterpart would his hammer, just let out a low growl. "Grand! What's wrong with you?!" His question was answered when he noticed Grand's dead eyes. "Oh no...not you too!?! Darn it!"
Flash raised his arms, blocking the next broom swing before grabbing the end, both now pulling the wooden stick. "Grand, you're stronger than this. Fight it!" But Grand didn't respond, instead pulling the broom back before thrusting it into Flash's stomach. "Oof!"
With the wind knocked out of him, Flash could only stagger back and almost lose his balance as he reached the end of the rafters. Grabbing onto the railing, he tried to pull himself up but found the end of Grand's broom hitting his chest. "Ow! Grand! Stop-ow!"
Down below, Sunset's eyes flickered between Flash's dilemma and the one of stage. "Oh no....I gotta do something! If I don't-I...I..."
Before she could say another word, her body began to move on its own as she ran onto stage. Rainbow was seconds from growing ears, wings and a literal ponytail when she was suddenly tackled by a blur of red and yellow. The tackle then knocked her into Twilight, who accidently tripped Rarity, whose leg crashed into Applejack and made her throw her bass into Pinkie's drum set. Seconds later, the gym lights came back on, making Fluttershy cry out and run off stage.
The students all began whispering about Sunset's little interruption as Rainbow let out a roar before glaring at Sunset, Rainbow's ears now vanishing. Up in the rafters, Flash stared down at everything as he felt the pressure from the broom relieve from his chest. He looked back at Grand, only to see the janitor now walking away.
Back on the stage, before Sunset could explain herself, Iron stood up and yelled out, "Now that's the bad girl we love to hate!" The rest of the crowd began to yell in agreement.
"No..." she tried to say, "It isn't like that."
But no one was listening, as she and the Rainbooms walked off stage. And as they reached backstage, Rainbow growled at Sunset while the others glared at her, "What was that?!"
"You were showing them your magic," Sunset squeaked out. "I-I didn't know what else to do."
"Ugh, you have got to be-you should have let Flash handle it! Have him close the curtains or unplug the amp!"
"Hey! Lay off her!" Flash said as he jumped down beside her. "Sunset didn't have time to think up another plan."
"Well, why didn't you do something?" Twilight barked next. "And why do you...look out of breath."
"I was trying. I was gonna close the curtain but..." He let out a long sigh, "Grand Hoof."
"Grand Hoof? What's he got to do with this?"
"The Dazzlings got to him," Flash said with now crossed arms, "And unlike everyone else, he's completely under their control."
Everyone gasped at this, Twilight gulping, "That's bad. We need to play that counter-spell soon before they get any stronger."
"Well, playing it in the finals is out of the question," Rainbow added as she continued to glare at Sunset.
"I'm sorry," Sunset whimpered out as she stared at the floor. "I just...wanted to help."
"Yeah, well, you didn't."
Before Rainbow could say anything else, Applejack grabbed her by the shoulder. "Stop it Rainbow! None of this would've happened if you weren't tryin' to show off!" She and Rainbow then both glared at one another before a new voice spoke up.
"Good show, Rain-brooms." They turned to see Trixie. "I especially liked the part where Sunset Shimmer, in a fit of jealous rage, knocked out Rainbow Dash mid-guitar solo!"
Sunset, who suddenly seemed to have hit her breaking point, turned to glare at Trixie. "IT WASN'T A FIT OF JEALOUS RAGE!" She screamed, then turned to the rest of her friends and frowned as they didn't come to her aid. That is, til-
"Just leave her alone Trixie," Flash added as she put a hand on Sunset's shoulder. "She made a mistake, but can you say you've never done the same? Besides, how is it any worse than how you and your band-mates cheated in the first round?!"
Trixie went red in anger, only to huff and turn away, "I don't know what you're talking about." She then noticed Celestia and Luna stepping up on stage. "Ooh! Looks like they've already decided who'll be moving on to the finals! I'm guessing it wasn't too difficult a decision."
Flash let out a loud groan. "Ugh, this Trixie is like when we first met ours'! I'll need to have some words with her when this is over..."
It was here that the doors behind the principals opened to show the Dazzlings. There, they stared vocalizing the same way Sunset had seen them do in the cafeteria. Celestia and Luna seemed to notice the sound at first, only to forget about it and continue talking.
"What the?" Flash asked as he and Sunset watched.
"What can we do?" Rarity asked while this was happening. "There isn't gonna be another opportunity for us to play. And I had the most gorgeous outfit for the finals!"
Applejack rolled her eyes at this. "Yup, 'cause that's the real tragedy here, Rarity. That you won't get to play dress-up!"
She and Rarity leaned in to glare at one another, "You know perfectly well that is not what I meant!"
Rainbow took this moment to get between and push the two away. "You two wanna keep it down? They're about to announce who's moving on."
"Who are you kidding?" Fluttershy hissed, "You know it isn't gonna be us."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Flash added as he stared to the principals.
Celestia and Luna stepped on stage as Celestia help up a microphone. "The band that will be joining the Dazzlings in tonight's finals...the Rainbooms!"
"WHAT!?" Trixie asked in shock and horror while everyone aside from Flash and Sunset looked just as confused.
"Did they just say...the Rainbooms?" Pinkie gasped.
"Thought so," Flash grumbled as he turned to the others. "The Dazzlings must have made them change their minds, just like how they made Grand attack me."
Before anyone else could say anything, Trixie turned to glare them. "This isn't over!" With that, she marched past them while the Rainbooms stepped onto the stage.
Pinkie opened her mouth to respond, but remembered what Flash had said. As they began to wonder why the Dazzlings had helped them, Adagio spoke up. "See you at tonight's big show, Rainbooms. We're really looking forward to it." With that, they walked back off stage while Rainbow just glared at them.
"Yeah, well...not as much as we are!"
But the sudden jeering from the crowd took their attention away from the three.
"Zis never should haf been you, Rainbooms!" A girls with a french accent said.
"You don't deserve it!" Iron yelled next.
"BOO! BOO! You stink!" Heather added.
The Rainbooms all sighed before walking away, Sunset, Spike and Flash following them. As they left, the rest of the crowd let out more boos and cries of outrage, Flash now frowning at the sight of three glaring Royal Knights. Once outside, they headed to the park where the finals would be held. No one spoke, all too upset about what had happened before.
That is, till Sunset broke the silence. "Hey Flash? Um...thank you for before."
Flash did a small shrug. "No problem. It's not like you didn't do anything me, Rainbow or Pinkie wouldn't have done in the moment." The two girls then looked away from Sunset, knowing Flash was right about that. "What matters now is playing that counter-spell and taking those three down." He turned to Twilight, "So...how's it going with that?"
Once again, Twilight clutched her notebook to her chest. "It's going...fine."
Flash raised an eyebrow, "Twilight..."
"I said it's fine!" Twilight screeched before running away, leaving the others to stare at the fleeing figure.
"Welp, we're doomed." Flash sighed. "She's nowhere near completing that counter-spell."
"What do you mean?" Rainbow asked, "She said it was fine."
"You don't know Twilight like I do. The way she's acting means she's having trouble with a problem, but feels she can't ask for help. Classic Twilighting."
"Twilighting?" The girls repeated.
"You made her a verb?" Pinkie added.
Flash scratched the back of his head. "Well...technically you did Pinkie, or your counterpart did. Anyways, Twilight needs help but she feels like she has to do it alone or she'll be letting everyone down. What she needs is help and motivation."
"Then we'd be happy to give it too her," Applejack replied.
Flash shook his head. "Not supportive help, though that would come in handy. I mean magical help. Someone who knows about magic that can help her work on the counter-spell," his gaze slowly shifted over to Sunset.
The girl looked from left to right in a hopes of seeing some other magical alumni standing beside her, but alas there wasn't. "Me?! I can't help!"
"Sure you can," Flash moved behind her and started pushing her in the direction Twilight went. "Even if its only a few tips, that's fine. Twilight needs help and you're the only one that can give it to her. And before you're asking, no I'm not going back to Equestria to go find another unicorn, cuz the only one I can think of is our Trixie. For obvious reasons, that's a no, and besides, you were Celestia's student once too."
"But...but I flunked out!"
Flash shook his head again, "But you still got into the school, so you must have some knowledge about this stuff."
"I...guess?" Sunset said while continuing to be pushed along. "But I doubt Twilight will want to hear my ideas."
"Just ask to take a look at the counter-spell. Twilight loves showing off her work. Then if you have any ideas, tell her."
Sunset let out a long sigh, knowing this wasn't going to end. A slow nod later, she replied, "Alright, I'll do my best." With that, they got to the park and found Twilight already on the stage. Much to their surprise, their instruments were also there, but decided to question it. And as the others prepared their equipment, Sunset moved over to Twilight. "Hey, mind if I take a look at that? I'd love to see what you've come up with so far."
"Well, um..." Twilight looked like she was beginning to panic, pulling the open notebook close to her heart. "It's not finished yet, so you won't be able to understand the full...effect it's suppose to have." Sunset did a small frown, now glancing back at Flash as he helped Rainbow set up the acoustics.
Seeing no help there, she looked back at Twilight, "Please. I know you're having trouble, so I want to help. I know you're probably worried about what I might do after the fall formal, and I might not know as much about magic as you, but I promise...I only want to help."
Twilight stared up at her, the sincerity in her words pulling her heart strings. Sighing, she gave the book to the former unicorn, "Here, I'd love to know what you think." Sunset smiled back at her before taking the book in hand and looking it over.
"Check, one, two. Testing, testing." Rainbow tapped her microphone as Flash pushed the dial up to the max. "TESTING!" Rainbow yelled into the microphone, only for the feedback to rock the entire stage.
Flash quickly pushed the dial down about half way before turning to the others. "Sorry."
"I still don't get it," Fluttershy commented as she worked on tuning her instrument. "Why would the Dazzlings help us get into the finals? It's just...strange."
"Very strange." They all spun around to see Trixie and her bandmates standing on the edge of the stage.
Rainbow rolled her eyes at the sight. "What are you doing here, Trixie?" She pointed to the seating area. "Pretty sure the losers are supposed to be up there in the cheap seats."
"The Great and Powerful Trixie is the most talented girl at Canterlot High. It is I who deserves to be in the finals, and I will not-" She snapped her fingers, "be denied!" In that moment, one of her bandmates pulled a lever.
Before anyone could do anything, they suddenly felt the ground beneath their feet disappear. The group let out a cry of shock as gravity took effect, dragging them down into a pit. The only one who had escaped was Spike, who at this time had been playing with one of Fluttershy's rope toys behind a speaker. But when he jumped out, he saw the open trapdoor and gasped before hiding back behind the speaker.
Under the stage, everyone was groaning as they recovered. They then looked up when they heard Trixie's almost evil laugh. "See you never!" Before they could do anything, trapdoors retracted before slamming shut.
"No!" Flash yelled as he stood up and tried to pry the doors open, "Come on....no!"
Meanwhile...
From between the seats, the Dazzlings had watched Trixie's little stunt, Adagio chuckling at the sight, "Told you someone would give them a shove."
"She didn't shove them," the two older siblings turned to give the younger one a glare. "She pulled a lever."
Adagio couldn't help but face palm as Aria groaned. "Go back to sleep, Sonata."
"Come on you two, we have work to do." Adagio added as she snapped her fingers, "Tonight's the night this world will fall under our rule." Aria and Sonata both smiled back at this, all three nodding as their pendants started to glow again.
Back under the stage, the heroes were still trying to escape. Unfortunately, they couldn't see, the sunlight unable to show itself anywhere inside the room. As such, they were all stuck wandering through the darkness.
"Find anything?"
"No...wait. I think I found something." Rainbow replied before everyone heard a rattling sound, "Nevermind. It's locked." This was followed by a loud thumping noise. "Ow."
"Can anyone find the light switch?" Flash asked next, "I noticed a light when we fell in. If you can turn it on-"
"Found it," Sunset announced as she flipped it. Soon the room was bathed in light, allowing them to see nothing but themselves and their instruments. They started looking around, but found that the door Rainbow had hit was the only way out.
"Now what do we do?" Fluttershy squeaked out, shaking like a leaf. Her answer came when Flash walked past her and Rarity before taking their hair clips out. "What are you-"
"Move aside," Flash told Rainbow. The girl raised an eyebrow, but did as requested, where she saw Flash crouch down and poke the metal pines into the lock.
"You can pick locks?" Pinkie asked.
"Knight training," Flash responded without looking away from his work. "If it's not enchanted, I can unlock it no problem. Mainly trained so we don't destroy doors, which we usually are forced to pay for later. Knights have budgets after all. Just give me a few minutes..." He went silent after this, the others remaining quiet in fear of breaking his concentration. Eventually, the sound of the bolts moving signalled their imminent escape. "And...got it!" Flash turned the handle and pulled the door open, "Free-OW!" Something suddenly thrusted itself into Flash's chest, knocking him flying back. The girls all gasped at the sight, only to look up and see the culprit.
It was Grand, now standing in the doorway with broom in hand. With one swoop, he slammed the doors shut. "NO!" Flash yelled as he jumped back up, only to hear a clicking sound. "Dang it!"
"Unlock it again!" Rainbow told him. "This time, we'll all rush Grand before he can close it." Flash nodded and started picking the lock again, quickly getting it this time. But as he did this, he tried to open the door...only for nothing. "What the?" He tried pulling as hard as he could, but the door wouldn't budge. Another clicking sound showed the door was once again locked.
"He must have jammed the door," Applejack commented.
"So we really are stuck here," Rarity added.
Flash sighed as he leaned against a nearby wall and slid down. "Looks that way."
The others sighed before beginning to get comfortable, knowing that they may be there for a while. The only one who didn't was Rainbow, who once again began body checking the door, trying to open it. She did this for a few minutes, which quickly turned to an hour...then several hours.
During the last hour, the sounds of people's voices and stage crews filled the air. It seemed the finals were about to begin, making the eight start trying to call out for help. But their cries for help reached no one.
"Greetings Canterlot High!" They heard Trixie's voice from onstage. "I'm afraid the Rainbooms couldn't make it here tonight, so they graciously handed their spot in the finals to me! Now, see the Great and Powerful Trixie, and her band-mates, dazzle you with the power of magic and music!" With that, Trixie and the Illusions began to play while Rainbow renewed her efforts to bust down the doors.
Applejack let out a long moan. "Give it up, Rainbow Dash. Ya'll been tryin' at this for hours. It's not gonna open."
Flash nodded in agreement. "Even if she could, Grand would probably knock her back in and find another way to trap us."
"Maybe it doesn't even matter that we're trapped down here," Twilight added as she stood up while continuing to stare at the ground. "I don't think the counter-spell would have worked anyway." She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Applejack smiling at her.
"Of course it would have worked, Twilight." Applejack then glared at Rainbow, "Assumin' a certain band member didn't try to hog the spotlight the whole time we were tryin' to play it!"
"Hey!" Rainbow barked back, "If you wanna tell Twilight she's getting a little too caught up trying to be the new leader of this band, you don't have to be all cryptic about it!"
"Seriously?!" Flash chimed in next. "Come on Rainbow, you can't be serious!"
"I am serious!"
Rarity then stepped in, Twilight backpedaling before huddling against a wall, firing off her own death glare. "She was talking about you, Rainbow Dash!"
"Me?! I'm just trying to make sure my band rocks as hard as it needs to!"
"OUR BAND!!" The other Rainbooms all screamed, the tension they'd been bottling up finally coming to the surface.
Flash and Sunset, not wanting to listen to this argument, turned to Twilight as she went into full on Twilighting freak-out. "But why wasn't it working? I should know what to do. How could I not know what to do? How could I have failed like this?!"
Flash and Sunset shared a worried glance, only to hear Applejack continue to yell at Rainbow. "It might've been your idea to start a band, but it's not just your band, Rainbow Dash!"
"I'm the one who writes all the songs!" Rainbow barked back, only for Fluttershy to step in.
"I write songs!" She crossed her arms and turned away, "You just never let us play any of them!"
"I had the most perfect outfits for us to wear!" Rarity moaned, making Applejack roll her eyes.
"Again with the costumes! No one cares what we're wearin'!"
Rarity shot the farm girl a heated look. "I CARE APPLEJACK! So sorry if I enjoy trying to make a creative contribution to the band!"
"Hey!" Pinkie jumped in, her own tension hitting its breaking point. "Anybody here remember fun?! I'll give you a hint. It's THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF BEING IN THE RAINBOOMS!"
Rainbow let out a long groan, "I wish I never asked any of you to be in my band!"
"I WISH I'D NEVER AGREED TO BE IN IT!" Rarity screamed as Applejack and Fluttershy walked up to her.
"ME NEITHER!" And with that, the five non-pony humans began flat out arguing while screaming at the top of their lungs.
"This is really bad. Why didn't I try and get them to sort out these problems before?" Flash muttered as he started hitting his head, only to feel a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Sunset with a frown, "What?" She didn't reply, instead pointing to the girls. He then turned his head, only to go wide-eyed. It was the Rainbooms, who were all now somehow emitting some kind of mist, which flew up and through the gaps in the ceiling. "What is that?"
"I think I know," Sunset said as she continued to stare at the ceiling while Trixie's song ended.
The Dazzlings watched as Trixie bowed before heading off stage, the girl smirking as the three of them passed her. "Try to top that!"
"Oh, gosh!" Adagio said in sarcastic worry, "I don't know if we can!" She and her sisters shared a knowing look before all letting out an evil laugh. There, they hopped on stage and stared at the mist covering the area. The grinned at the sight, now seeing the magic they had craved for over a thousand years now lace everything. And while the students of Canterlot High were all talking about Trixie's performance, wondering how the Dazzlings intended to top it, a green light caught their attention, making them look at the stage as the music began.
Back down below, Flash and Sunset both put the pieces together. "We've been played," Flash added as Sunset stood up and took a deep breath. "Sunset? What are you-"
"STOP!" She screeched, "You have to stop!" They all turned to her, all hopping in place at her outburst, "This is what they've been after all along! They're feeding off of the magic inside you!"
This new fact caught everyone, even Twilight's, attention. "How can they be using our magic?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's the magic of friendship."
Sunset turned back to Twilight, who also didn't seem to understand, then back at the girls. "Ever since you started this band, you've been letting little things get to you. I never said anything 'cause I didn't feel like it was my place. Not when I was so new to this whole...friendship thing." She let out a low sigh, "I still have a lot to learn, but I do know that if you don't work out even the smallest problems right at the start, the magic of friendship can be turned into something else."
Everyone looked down in shame, Twilight picking herself up and walking over to Sunset. "I can't believe all this tension was happening right under my nose and I didn't realize it. I'm supposed to be the one with all the answers...and all I've done since I got here is let you down."
"I realized it," Flash chimed in as he looked away. "But I thought we had more important things to worry about before dealing with it." He turned back to the girls, "I'm sorry. Nothing is more important than issues between friends. If I had said something, maybe we could have sorted everything you were just arguing about out. The Dazzlings feed on negative emotions, that's probably how they're siphoning off your magic."
Sunset placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright Flash. It's okay to make mistakes about these things. I'm guessing you've never had a falling out with your friends during a dangerous threat?"
"Well...there was one, but it was caused by mind control."
"Exactly," Sunset then turned to Twilight and placed a hand on her shoulder. "And I don't think anyone is supposed to have all the answers." She gestured to their friends, "But you can count on your friends to help you find them."
Flash and the Rainbooms all smiled at one another before Twilight glanced at Sunset, "I think you already have." She then turned to the locked door, "C'mon! We need to get out of here!"
"How?" Flash asked as they grabbed their instruments. "With Grand out there, it'll be impossible." But no sooner had he said that, a struggling sound could be heard coming from the other side. "What the?" Flash placed his ear to the door and listened as the sounds of two people grunting could be heard. They then heard another sound, a clattering sound, before a voice spoke up.
"Rainboom!"
"Spike?!" Twilight yelped.
"Hurry! You gotta get out of there!" The eight quickly caught on, Rarity and Fluttershy handing Flash their hair pins. Flash got to work, managing to open the door in just under a minute. When they all rushed out, they saw Grand fighting a girl that looked like Vinyl Scratch over his broom weapon. Thinking fast, Flash ran up and snagged the broom as the girl let go, Flash thrust the broom into Grand's chest.
"Sorry Grand!" Flash yelled as he pushed his mentor's counterpart towards the room they had just escaped from, "But you'll thank me for this later." With all his strength, Flash bum-rushed the janitor, knocking him into the room. And as soon as the old man hit the floor, Flash raced past the doors while Rarity shut them, Rainbow jamming it with the chair that had been used on them.
Everyone shared a smile at their escape as Spike licked Twilight's cheek. "Sorry I took so long. I had to find somebody who wasn't under the Sirens' spell to help me get you out." They all turned to Vinyl, who smiled and waved back at them.
Twilight raised an eyebrow at this. "Why isn't she under their spell?"
Spike just smirked. "Never takes off her headphones." Vinyl shot them a thumbs up, which Flash mirrored as Applejack turned to the others.
"Come on, y'all! Time to prove we've still got the magic of friendship inside us!"
They all nodded as Twilight spoke up. "And there's only one way to do it!"
"We're getting the band back together?" Pinkie asked with a huge grin.
"We're getting our band back together!" Rainbow replied, making Pinkie let out a happy cheer.
"Ooh!" Rarity spoke up, "Which version of the counter-spell are we going to play?!"
Twilight opened her mouth, only to close it. She then glanced at Sunset, "Hmm...honestly, I don't think it matters what song we play, as long as we play it together as friends."
"I know just the song!" Rainbow chimed in, making everyone grimace until she pointed at a certain animal lover. "Fluttershy's written a really great one." Tears started to appear in Fluttershy's eyes as she let out a cry of joy.
It was here that Applejack turned to Rarity, "We're about to save the world here. Personally, I think we should do it in style. Rarity?"
Rarity gasped before pulling a rack of clothes out of nowhere, "I thought you'd never ask!"
Flash smirked at the sight, placing a hand on Sunset's shoulder. "Nice work. If it wasn't for you, we'd probably still be wallowing our own misery." Sunset smiled back as he grabbed his guitar and played a quick riff. "Now come on! Let's go show those sirens what real music sounds like!"
"RIGHT!"
The Rainbooms were free and ready to take the Dazzlings down. But would their music be enough to overcome the dark melody those three were singing? Who knows, but with the Rainbooms as they were now, they wouldn't be going down without a fight.
Back onstage, the sirens continued to sing their hypnotic song over the crowd. Now that they had taken some of the Rainboom's magic, they could unleash their full power instead of just one person at a time.
(Adagio with Sonata and Aria in brackets) Welcome to the show (Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah) We're here to let you know (Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah) Our time is now (Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah)
With each note, their music dug deeper into the minds of their victims. No matter what, the students of CHS couldn't pull their eyes away from the trio. All their bodies would let them do was stand, watch and listen to the Dazzlings as they sang.
(The Dazzlings with Sonata and Aria in brackets) Your time is running out (Ah, ah, ah) Ah-ha, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah...
Meanwhile, up on the back hill overlooking the concert, the Rainbooms stood ready for action. All but two of them were dressed in the outfits Rarity had made for them, the ones left out being Flash and Sunset. Sunset didn't need a costume while Flash had one, but had actually grown a few inches since he was last here. so it no longer fit him. The six girls and one boy stared down at their opponents, hearing their music, only for a strong wind to blow past them. There was no way their counter-spell would be heard at the volume they were making.
"How are we supposed to play over those three from up here?" Rainbow asked.
Flash turned to his party loving friend, "Pinkie, you got anything for musical emergencies?"
Pinkie put her hand in her hair and pulled out a list. Reading it, she let out a long sigh. "Shoot. My usual list of hidden stuff isn't showing anything like that...except a few extra triangles and three hidden drum sets. I knew I should have hid an amp somewhere around here."
"So we're stuck?" Fluttershy whimpered out.
Flash nodded. "Unless someone has a way to transport a massive sound system to here in the next minute." This statement was met by the honking sound of a car horn. They all turned to see Vinyl drive up the hill in a white and blue convertible, which sat next to Sunset before its driver held out a remote. With one click of a button, the entire thing started to transform, the vehicle morphing into a fully functioning DJ sound rig complete with tire amps and most important of all...cup holders.
The Rainbooms all marveled at the device before they all plugged their instruments in. Once complete, they turned back to the stage, ready to take the Dazzlings down. And it seemed they're weren't a minute too soon, as in that moment, the Siren's power over the crowd had hit its apex.
(The Dazzlings) Feel the wave of sound As it crashes down You can't turn away We'll make you wanna sta-a-a-ay
The three unleashed a soundwave of magic, striking the crowd with ease. The spell put them one hundred percent under the trio's control, the negative emotions now coming in droves into the Siren's pendants. There, the thousand year old teenagers slowly began to hover off the stage and into the air, their gems now shining. That light wrapped around the girls like a cocoon, showing they were about to pony up.
(The Dazzlings) We will be adored Tell us that you want us We won't be ignored It's time for our reward
Their ears morphed and shifted to the top of their heads while a pair of ribbons grew out of their backs. Then, the cocoon exploded off of them to reveal their new forms as the ribbons morphed into a pair of fish fin shaped wings.
(The Dazzlings) Now you need us Come and heed us Nothing can stop us now
Finally, after a thousand years, their power was back, and nothing was going to take it away from them.
(The Rainbooms) Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh I've got the music in me Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh
The Dazzlings stopped singing and started looking around, trying to find the source of the interrupting music. Aria then pointed up at the hill, Adagio and Sonata following her gaze as they now all saw the Rainbooms. Gasping at this, the three then noticed their control on the students start to weaken as the new music kicked in.
(Twilight Sparkle) Don't need to hear a crowd Cheering out my name I didn't come here seeking Infamy or fame
(The Rainbooms) The one and only thing That I am here to bring Is music, is the music Is the music in my soul
As they continued singing, the six girls and one boy then found their bodies exploding with light. One by one, each transformed into their human pony hybrid forms as their vocal chords continued to ring.
Gonna break out (Out!) Set myself free, yeah Let it all go (Go!) Just let it be, yeah
Applejack hair developed a long red streak while Rarity's got twin streaks of pink and blue. Fluttershy gained a purple and yellow streak, while Pinkie gained a light blue and purple streak. Though if Rainbow received streaks, they didn't seem to show up in her prism hair. Twilight gained a dark pink and blue streak, while Flash got orange tips along with an orange streak running down his newly grown ponytail.
Find the music in your heart Let the music make you start To set yourself apart
The Dazzlings watched their now powered up opponents continue to play. "So the Rainbooms want to turn this into a real Battle of the Bands?" Adagio asked before smirking. "Then let's battle!" The other two nodded before continuing to sing.
(The Dazzlings with Aria and Sonata in brackets) What we have in store (ah-ah) All we want and more (ah-ah)
Their voices once again drew the crowd's attention, bringing them back under their sway.
We will break on through (ah-ah) Now it's time to FINISH YOU!
As soon as they said those words, their eyes went completely red as the gems around their necks shined like stars. The light exploded around the trio, flying up before molding into the shape of a trio of horse fish hybrids. The top half was horse like, coupled with a fish like fin on its back and hooves while its waist morphed into a mermaid tail. Each one was its own color, either yellow, purple or blue. The Rainbooms all went wide eyed at the sight as the fish horse monsters began flying through the air like it was water.
"Are they allowed to do that?" Flash asked as the monsters circled them.
Twilight did a loud gulp. "Even if they weren't, I doubt they would let that stop them." Her face then started to show panic as the monsters flew right up to her face.
But as they did this, Pinkie started banging on her drums, channeling her magic the best she could. Vinyl turned up her rig's amplifier as loud as it could go, the drum beats exploding out the tires. The Sirens saw this and split up, the beats flying past them.
Rarity then struck several keys on her keytar and created an explosion of magical diamonds, which struck the purple siren and pushed her back. Fluttershy followed by rattling her tambourine, creating a flurry of energy butterflies that flew into the blue siren. Flash, Rainbow and Applejack then strummed their guitars, the three firing bursts of energy that raced after the last siren. But as the attacks flew, the yellow fish dodged the blows as Twilight started vocalizing. This unleashed an explosion of star shape projectiles, all now following the monster.
Adagio, seeing this through the eyes of her monster, growled before vocalizing herself. The monstrosity then unleashed several red soundwaves, which struck Twilight's as the two began pushing at one another. But as the struggle began, she quickly overpowered Twilight's before the other two flew up beside her. Together, the three Sirens harmonized their voices, unleashing a combined sound attack that assaulted the Rainbooms. The seven tried to stay strong, but the force suddenly knocked all but one off their feet.
"AAAAHHH!" they all yelled as their backs hit the dirt.
"Girls!" Flash yelped, only to feel the ground shake as he now stood alone. The music was now rattling the earth around them, making him turn back to the Sirens.
"Let's get him girls!" Adagio ordered as the trio took a deep breath.
"Aw crap." Flash muttered as he started strumming his guitar to try and push back the Sirens' next attack. But as he continued to shred, the sirens keep firing soundwave after soundwave. "Rrrghhh…" he moaned as he felt another blast, "Can't...give up...have to....AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" A scream echoed out of his mouth as Flash's eyes started showing a shining gold color. A light then shot out of his eyes, the glow now wrapping his body into a shining tornado.
The Rainbooms, Sunset and Spike all gasped at the sight, the light immediately pushing the Sirens' sound waves back as the armor began to appear on Flash's body. It was basically the same as his pony form's armor, only his hoof armor was slightly different. Now they were shaped like metal boots and gauntlets that covered his wrists and arms, but left his hands free. Another thing that changed was his guitar. The red, white and black instrument glowed with the magic, the white section now becoming Flash's mane blue, with lightning bolts patterns appearing on it while several things of Flash's cutie mark began appearing in a line up the neck.
The Dazzlings had to admit, they were intrigued. Even back in Equestria, they had never seen magic like this before...and they wanted it. The Sirens once again began harmonizing as they unleashed their dark melody, but Flash channeled all his power into his guitar and fired a blast of energy out of his guitar's neck. That power flew out the tornado and formed a shield above them, the Siren's soundwaves bouncing off the barrier and back into their faces. The horse fish monsters all cried out as their own attacks struck them, pushing them back while the Dazzlings flinched.
Flash's friends all cheered at the hit, only for the light coming off Flash to suddenly disappear along with the energy shield. They all gasped as they saw the light explode off him as his armor vanished, Flash falling to his knees, panting heavily.
"Flash!" Twilight ran over and knelt at his side, "What's wrong?! What happened?!"
"That's...a lot...harder...to do here."
This made Twilight go wide-eyed, only to hear the Dazzlings and their monster forms appear again. Turning, they saw the creatures tower over them, making her gulp. One thought went through her mind: They need more power. The Dazzling's stolen power, coupled with their own, was just enough to overpower them. They needed a way to tip the magical scale in their favor.
And as this thought went through her head, Twilight remembered what Flash had said before. She then turned her eyes to Sunset, now seeing she was carrying the microphone Twilight had dropped when they fell. Maybe Flash had been right about having her help?
No. There was no maybe about it. "Sunset Shimmer...we need you!"
Sunset hopped in place at the words, her face saying she didn't believe she could be of any help. But as her vision shifted from one friend to the next, she saw nothing but looks of absolute confidence. They truly believed in her...something she never thought she would see.
And as her gaze fell on Flash, he gave her a small nod. That motion alone made her remember what he had told her before. Her past does not define her, her past is not today.
The Rainbooms then watched as Sunset stepped in front of them, taking off her jacket as she stared the sirens down. Sunset held up the microphone while Vinyl began playing Pinkie's drum solo.
(Sunset) You're never gonna bring me down You're never gonna break this part of me My friends are here to bring me 'round Not singing just for popularity
She turned around and held out a hand, which Twilight took with no hesitation. Sunset pulled her back to her feet while the rest of the group stood up and began to play as well.
(Sunset and Twilight) We're here to let you know That we won't let it go
(The Rainbooms) Our music is a bomb and it's about to blow
(Sunset and Twilight) And you can try to fight But we have got the light of-
(The Rainbooms) Friendship on our side!
As they began to sing the chorus, the Rainbooms all started glowing their respective colours. The Sirens saw this and once again tried to counter, but it was too late.
Got the music in our hearts We're here to blow this thing apart And together, we will never Be afraid of the dark
The light shot off the Rainbooms, forming a rainbow colored wave of music that struck the Sirens, blasting them back. It then flew over the crowd, completely wipping out all traces of the Dazzlings' magic. The Dazzlings were next to be struck, their monster form freezing in place as the girl's spirits were forced out of them. The three gasped as their eyes returned to normal, all feeling their gathered magic disappearing.
Back on the hill, the Rainbooms continued to sing. And as they did, Sunset suddenly started glowing as she began to hover off the ground. Her friends all smiled as they watched her glow like the sun, those grins increasing when Sunset's ears and hair morphed to be like theirs, the girl now ponied up.
Here to sing our song out loud Get you dancing with the crowd As the music of our friendship Survives, survives!
As soon as Sunset's transformation was complete, the rest of the Rainbooms found themselves glowing and floating up beside her. And as this happened, the newly freed students of CHS began singing along with them as the eight all held hands.
Got the music in our hearts We're here to blow this thing apart And together, we will never Be afraid of the dark
The light that surrounded the eight now formed a rainbow of blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, violet and purple. Finally, Sunset's light of red shot out and struck the rainbow. The eight colors then began to spiral around before merging into a sphere of pure white light. And from out of that sphere folded out a pair of majestic blue wings.
Here to sing our song out loud Get you dancing with the crowd As the music of our friendship Survives, survives, survives!
The Dazzlings watched as the students of CHS continued singing along with the Rainbooms, then looked up and gasped when they saw the sphere fade to reveal something new. It was a giant blue alicorn with a mane and tail of a rainbow, staring down at them as its horn began to glow. Before they could do anything, it unleashed a rainbow blast that struck the Sirens' avatars, making the trio crack up before being completely vaporized.
The Dazzlings were next, finding themselves bathed in the light that ripped away the last of their magic. The light was so bright, it stopped them from noticing their pendants were beginning to crack. Then, they could no longer take the force of the magic, the light now exploding around them. And as the light disappeared, so did the alicorn and the storm clouds that had been surrounding it. The Rainbooms all floated back down next, reverting to their normal forms and turned back to the stage to see what had become of the Dazzlings.
The three were all laying on the ground, rubbing their heads before staring at the floor below them. There, they saw the remains of their pendant gems, all shattered to pieces. Adagio picked hers up as the three got back on their feet, looking out at the crowd before beginning to once again sing. But this time, their song had no music, and was horribly off key. The Dazzlings quickly heard this and looked at each other in panic, only to hear a volley of boos from the crowd as they started throwing whatever they could get their hands on.
And as the Rainbooms ran around the crowd and up to the stage, they watched as the Dazzlings ran away while being pelted by fruit and over stain making projectiles. "That's right!" Flash yelled after them, "You'd better run!"
Sunset chuckled at the sight before noticing the remains of the other gems, which she picked up to examine. "Guess that explains why these were so special to them."
Twilight nodded at this. "Without those pendants and the magic you brought here from Equestria, they're just three harmless teenage girls."
"I wouldn't say harmless," Flash replied as he rubbed his ears. "You heard them singing. That was more painful than anything I've had to experience here yet....mostly." The others all laughed at this, Flash included until he felt something jump on his back.
"FLASH!" Heather screamed as she hugged him piggyback style, "That was amazing!"
"Thanks Heather," Flash replied as Heather jumped down. Iron and First also walking up to them.
"I have to admit, that was some spectacle." First added.
"It was alright," Iron finished while looking slightly away. "Especially for you."
"Thanks guys," Flash told them, only for a certain magician to suddenly pop up and point at the Rainbooms.
"You may have vanquished the Dazzlings, but you will never have the amazing, show-stopping ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" With that, she tossed out a smoke bomb, creating a puff that blinded everyone.
Once they finished coughing and the smoke faded, they all saw Trixie had vanished. "She's gone!" Pinkie screamed, only to then point at the back of the stage, "Oh wait, there she is." The others followed her finger and saw Trixie trying to climb over the back of the bleachers, only to lose her balance and fall off.
Everyone laughed at this, only to hear a knocking sound coming from beneath their feet. Everyone looked down, Flash raising an eyebrow, "Is someone down there?" As soon as he asked that question, he remembered what happened earlier and went wide eyed. "Oh yeah!" He ran over to the lever while the others moved to the side of the stage.
One lever pull later, they found the stage's trapdoor fall to reveal Grand looking up at them. "Someone mind telling me what I'm doing down here?" The others all smirked as they helped the janitor climb out, explaining the situation to him as they did. "That's a relief," he replied before turning to Sunset. "Thank you."
Heather slung her arm around Sunset, "Yeah! You were awesome too."
First nodded in agreement. "No doubt in my mind, you truly have changed for the better."
Iron looked away again, "Sorry about what I said before."
"It's alright," Sunset replied as a huge smile appeared on her face, "Thank you."
Then, she felt a tug on her shoulder. It was Rainbow Dash, smirking at the reformed unicorn, "You know, Twilight and Flash are going back to Equestria soon. The Rainbooms could really use someone to help Fluttershy on backup vocals." Sunset gasped at this, then smiled before walking over to where a guitar was left.
Everyone watched as she played an awesome riff, only to stop and sheepishly blush at them. "I also play guitar."
Everyone turned to Rainbow in worry, fearing she might change her mind...but the smile on her face said otherwise. "We'll see." Everyone laughed at this as they ran over to Sunset and pulled her into a hug.
This hug was only broken when the crowd started chanting for the Rainbooms to keep playing. Not wanting to deny them, the Rainbooms rushed to grab their instruments and began playing another of Fluttershy's songs. Sunset took Flash's spot, the teen wanting the chance to play with the Royal Knights for real. The two bands played into the night, the battle of the bands returning back to the musical showcase it had always been meant to be. They didn't stop playing until their hands and voices were sore, which didn't happen until three AM.
The next morning...
And thus, the moment everyone had been dreading had arrived. With the threat to this world gone, Twilight, Flash and Spike had no reason to be there anymore. They had to return to Equestria, which the Rainbooms, Royal Knights and Grand were all obviously not happy with. Well, except Pinkie, who was about to put her face into the portal.
"Sure wish ya'll could stay longer," Applejack told the trio as they stood in front of the portal.
"Me too," Twilight replied while Flash nodded. "But we have responsibilities in Equestria that we have to get back to. Its citizens need us."
"Besides..." Flash added as he pulled Pinkie before she could look inside the portal. "It's not like we won't see each other again. Now that we can go through the portal whenever we want, it's practically like being in the next room." The others all nodded back, Flash smirking at the sight, "That and maybe I can get some of this world's ideas back in Equestria."
"Yeah yeah meathead, try to change the subject." Twilight grumbled as she gave him a glare before looking back at her friends, "Everyone...this isn't goodbye. It's just goodbye till next time."
"Alright then," Grand walked up to Flash and held out a hand. "You be careful out there."
"I'll try," Flash shook his hand, Twilight giggling at the statement. "What?"
"Just trying to imagine you being careful."
"Oh, ha ha." Flash grumbled as he walked up to the portal. "Ready?"
"Yes." Twilight turned to Spike, "You ready?"
"Ready!" The dragon turned dog barked back before walking into the portal. Twilight followed suit, glancing back and smiling at her friends before stepping inside.
Then, Flash put his leg into the portal as he gave a salute to everyone. "See ya. Try not to blow the place up while we're gone." With that, his form phased into the stone and completely disappeared.
And thus, life went on as it had done before the Dazzlings arrived. Well, not exactly as it had been. Now, Sunset's actions at the fall formal seemed to have been forgiven by everyone in school. After the Rainbooms explained how she had helped tip the scales of the battle in their favor, everyone came to the decision that she deserved a second chance.
Now, several days after the battle of the bands, the Rainbooms were back at the concert stage, ready to practice again. And as the others readied their instruments, Sunset had her journal out. She had chosen to keep it on her like she did back in Equestria, now sending messages to Twilight whenever she could.
Dear Princess Twilight,
Missing you already, and I hope you'll be back soon. Things are definitely looking up for me here at Canterlot High. But I know I still have a lot to learn about friendship. Hope you don't mind if I write to you for advice when I need it.
Your friend, Sunset Shimmer.
And as she finished and closed the book, she heard Rainbow call out to her. "You ready or what?"
Sunset nodded before putting the book back in her bag and picking up her guitar. "Ready!"
The others all shined a grin before Pinkie tapped her drum sticks together. "One! Two! Three! Four!"
(Applejack) Once upon a time You came into my world and made the stars align
(Rarity) Now I can see the signs You pick me up when I get down so I can shine
(The Rainbooms) Shine like rainbows Shine like rainbows
(Rainbow) Friends, you are in my life And you can count on me to be there by your side
(Sunset) And when the music comes alive We sing our songs to lift us up so we can shine
(The Rainbooms) And the sound that we hear in our hearts Makes a crescendo And the light that ignites in the dark It makes us all glow
And shine like rainbows We shine like rainbows
Together we stand As the rain begins to fall And holdin' our heads up high As the sun shines through it all
And the sound that we hear in our hearts Makes a crescendo And the light that ignites in the dark It makes us all glow
And shine like rainbows We shine like rainbows Shine like rainbows We shine like rainbows
We shine like rainbows
Yes, CHS truly had reached a point where everything was perfect. With the Rainbooms finally a true team along with Flash and Twilight just a few worlds away, nothing seemed capable of overcoming them.
Or was there?
In a dark shed like laboratory, the scratchy sound of pencil on paper filled the air. The source was a device one would mistake for a seismograph, which was currently moving side to side, the red pencil on its end drawing a wavy line on a long piece of paper. Once it stopped, a figure appeared and ripped it if off the machine. They then moved over to a board showing an image of CHS, which was surrounded by long red lines leaning to pieces of paper that had multiple confusing equations and such on it. They pinned the new piece of paper onto the board and stepped backwards, revealing themselves to be a very familiar purple skinned girl, though her hair was up in a ponytail, and she was wearing a lab coat with a pair of square glasses on her nose.
The girl continued to stare at the board, only to let out a long hum, "No doubt about it guys, there's definitely something strange going on at that school."
This statement was met by a bark, curtsy of a familiar purple dog that was eating out of a bowl. And as the girl continued to stare at the board, the sound of shuffling chairs caught her attention. She didn't look away from the board, knowing there was now three figures stepping up to her.
"Well, this is gonna be interesting." one of them said, soon walking into the light. He looked just like Flash, though he had longer hair and was wearing a black leather jacket and blue pants over a white shirt that had his Cutie Mark on it. The last two then revealed themselves, one being a teen boy that had yellow skin and spiky white hair with yellow tips. He was wearing a white hoodie, with yellow around the seams and hood over a black colored shirt and pants. Around his neck were a pair of silver headphones, each side displaying a yellow lightning bolt. The other person was a slightly older woman in her early twenties, who had blush red skin and dark scarlet hair. She was wearing a pink suit and had a pair of silver glasses hanging around her neck.
The yellow skinned boy smirked at the picture of CHS. "Looks like things are getting a little more interesting at my old stomping grounds."
The older woman just sighed at this. "Alright...but I need you all to be careful. If you get caught there, who knows how much trouble you'll get in. The Friendship Games are only a few weeks away, so they'll be expecting you to show up there."
The Flash lookalike smirked as he went up to the board and pulled the picture of the school down. "We'll be fine. Whatever happens, we can handle it."
Twilight then shook her head, "Just remember, we can't take too many risks."
"I know." he then tapped the picture with a growing smirk, "And they'll never know what hit them."