//------------------------------// // It’s Dance Magic! // Story: LEGO Equestria Girls 5 // by Chronicler06 //------------------------------// Chapter 3 It’s Dance Magic! It was evening over at the popular sweet shop known as Sugar Cube Corner. Among the few patrons inside was Rarity seated at a table and eating a giant ice cream sundae. In times of absolute despair, tons of ice cream was her comfort food of choice, and after the complete disaster of trying to win that contest, she was in desperate need of it. She was sobbing between every spoonful of ice cream, all but accepting the apparent defeat she was now suffering. “It’s no use, Sour Sweet. Why are we even still trying?” Rarity suddenly stopped eating and sobbing as she recognized the voice of Sunny Flare. She turned her head to look behind her seat and, sure enough, saw the four former Shadowbolt girls were seated at another table, sipping from various milkshakes and in the middle of a conversation. “Because the deadline hasn’t passed,” responded Sour Sweet with her sweet face, albeit expressing a little concern. “We can still come up with an original song to replace the Sapphire Shores one we’ve been practicing our choreography with.” “That’s highly unlikely,” stated Sugarcoat. “Darn shame that copyright laws won’t allow us to use that song.” Sour Sweet’s head spun around to her sour face and grumbled, “Not helping.” Lemon Zest finished a sip of her milkshake and grumbled, “Why did we tell Rarity that we already submitted our video?” Sour Sweet switched back to her sweet face and replied, “So that we can still use her concept. Rarity is very creative. She’ll come up with something else.” Rarity used a napkin to wipe away her makeup stained tears as she continued listening. “But if we don’t, we have nothing,” continued Sour Sweet worriedly. “We need to win that cash prize for Indigo Zap. She’s counting on us.” “And if we don’t win, what then?” asked Sunny Flare. Lemon Zest rested her chin on her hand as she sighed and mumbled, “By the time she recovers, she’ll blame us for letting such a huge opportunity slip out of our grasp. And we’ll be right back at square one, trying to figure out how to pay off all of her medical bills.” “That’s what happens when you don’t buy health insurance,” remarked Sugarcoat as she stared at her milkshake and stirred the straw around. “One bad accident and all of your finances go straight down the drain.” Rarity lightly gasped and quietly muttered to herself, “They were just trying to help a friend in dire financial need… just like us.” She turned back to the former Shadowbolts and smiled a little, then got up and began to walk over to their table. “Come on, girls,” insisted Sour Sweet. “We still have a chance at this. We just need an original song.” “Those other girls have their own band,” Sugarcoat pointed out. “They’ll surely have a killer original song, and we don’t.” “Yet,” added Sour Sweet, trying her best to stay optimistic. “Face it, Sour,” groaned Sunny Flare. “We’re doomed.” By this point, Rarity was standing slightly behind the seat occupied by Sunny Flare and Sugarcoat, so she cleared her throat and spoke up, “Excuse me, girls.” The four seated girls immediately turned to Rarity with surprised looks on their faces. “R-Rarity!” exclaimed Sour Sweet in shock. “Uh, how long have you been over there?” “Long enough to hear that you have no original song,” replied Rarity. “Like we said, doomed,” acknowledged Sugarcoat before taking a sip from her milkshake. Sour Sweet switched to her sour face, then glared at Sugarcoat and grumbled, “Really? Must you tell her everything?” Rarity giggled nervously, then cleared her throat and said, “Maybe you’re not,” She sat down beside Sunny Flare and explained, “Look, I know our teams haven’t been getting along too well lately, but I think I have a solution where everybody wins.” The four former Shadowbolts glanced at one another, then turned their attention back to Rarity. Sour Sweet switched back to her sweet face and smiled as she said, “We’re listening.” The next morning, Rarity had called her friends to come back to the old warehouse where they had been practicing for their music video. Once everyone had arrived, Rarity lead them all inside. “So what’s this big plan you were excited about?” asked Applejack as they walked through the doorway. Rarity simply smirked and stepped aside, allowing everyone see that the performance stage they had assembled the previous day had now received some significant improvements. In front of the stage was a dance floor that consisted of 2x2 tiles of many colors in a completely random arrangement. On either side of the stage was a pair of large crystalline structures that were of the color translucent purple. And of course, there were numerous flood lights attached to the framework of the building’s ceiling. All of Rarity’s friends stared in awe at the stunning improvements to the stage. After a moment of silence, Sunset spoke up and asked, “Aren’t the former Shadowbolt girls using this video idea now?” “They are, yes,” admitted Rarity. She then excitedly added, “But so are we! Girls, you can come out now!” The others were even more stunned as they saw the four former Shadowbolt girls walk out onto the stage. At the same time, the four girls were expressing various levels of nervousness as they stared back at the other group. Needless to say, it was a rather awkward meeting for both sides. “I know it’s hard to believe,” continued Rarity, “but these girls helped me to realize that competing against one another was getting us nowhere.” “And Rarity helped show us that winning was the only thing driving us,” explained Lemon Zest. She hanged her head in shame as she added, “We didn’t even care if we had to steal to accomplish it.” “But that’s not who we are,” finished Sour Sweet with her sweet face. After an awkward glance to her companions, she quickly added, “Anymore.” Rarity turned back to her friends and stated her proposal. “These girls have offered to help with dance moves if we’ll help them with an original song.” “Combining our talents is the most logical thing to do,” stated Sugarcoat with a smile. “We’ll make one epic music video together,” added Sunny Flare excitedly. “So, what do you girls think? Are you in?” asked Rarity, clasping her hands together with a hopeful expression on her face. Most of Rarity’s friends continued to stare at the former Shadowbolts with looks of uncertainty. The only exception was Pinkie Pie, who was barely able to contain her excitement. After a few seconds, Pinkie finally exclaimed, “Best! Music! Video! Idea! Ever!” As everyone looked at Pinkie after her outburst, Fluttershy quietly admitted, “It does kinda make sense, once you think about it.” “Fluttershy’s right,” agreed Twilight. “Both sides seem to lack a key element that the other possesses, so the most natural solution is indeed for us to work together. Not to mention, less competition for either side means a better chance for all of us to win the contest.” “There’s just one thing I’d like to know first,” Sunset spoke up as she turned to the former Shadowbolts. “Do you girls need any of the prize money for anything important?” “We need to cover Indigo Zap’s medical bills,” answered Sugarcoat. “The cash prize is more than double what we need to pay them all off.” “What a coincidence,” remarked Sunset. “That’s the same amount as what we need to pay off all of Camp Everfree’s debts. If the prize money is enough for both of us to get what we need, then I’d say that’s a win-win for all of us.” “In that case, y’all can count me in, too,” said Applejack with a smile. “What about you, Rainbow?” “I just have one thing to say about that,” replied Rainbow Dash. With an excited jump, she exclaimed, “Awesome! We’ve got the former Shadowbolts on our side!” “I’m just glad we now don’t have to resort to robbing a bank,” remarked Spike. He then pulled a crowbar out from behind his back and tossed it aside. As that crowbar clattered against the floor, everyone silently stared at Spike. He glanced around in confusion and asked, “What? I thought we were seriously considering that.” Sunset shook her head with an amused smile on her face, then turned to Rarity and said, “I guess this means we’re all in unanimous agreement.” “Wonderful!” exclaimed Rarity excitedly with her arms raised up. She then glanced back and forth between the two groups as she explained, “But let’s not celebrate just yet. The contest deadline is tonight, so let’s get changed into our costumes so that we may get started right away.” Everyone said various words of agreement as they headed for the makeshift changing rooms. Once everyone had changed into their costumes, the group of eleven girls got together in different groups to discuss ideas on how their combined music video would work, as well as offer helpful advice on how to improve either the dance aspects or the song aspects. Fluttershy handed over a sheet of paper to Sunny Flare and said, “We can start by teaching you the words to our song.” Sunny Flare skimmed through the lyrics, then glanced up at Fluttershy and pointed out, “But this is just about the Rainbooms. There’s nothing about us in the lyrics.” “Yet,” noted Fluttershy slyly. She held up a pen and asked, “Wanna help me make some changes?” “Sure,” agreed Sunny Flare as she took the offered pen. Before trying to write anything, she turned back to Fluttershy and said, “Though now that I think about it, I believe it might be better if my friends and I went by a different group title besides ‘former Shadowbolts’. After all, we’re trying to move on from that past, and this video is supposed to help prove it.” “Any ideas?” asked Fluttershy. “I haven’t yet talked about this with the others,” replied Sunny Flare, “but considering that we’re now residing in the Crystal Castle, I was thinking that we could go with the name of ‘Crystal Girls’.” “That sounds like a wonderful team name,” said Fluttershy with a smile. “And with the improvements you girls made to this stage, I think it’ll fit perfectly for the song.” As Fluttershy and Sunny Flare got to work writing new lyrics, Rarity — who had overheard their conversation — turned to the others and asked, “Anybody else care to work on some music?” Sour Sweet — with her sweet face exposed — stepped over to Rarity and responded, “We’ll get to it after I teach you some dance moves.” As Sour Sweet did a little dance move, Rarity placed a hand on her shoulder and argued, “Music first.” Sour Sweet shrugged Rarity off and argued, “Dance first.” “Music first!” Rarity argued back. Sour Sweet switched to her sour face and argued back, “Dance first!” “Music first!” Rarity shot back. “Dance first!” Sour Sweet shot back. “The order is irrelevant,” Sugarcoat suddenly point out. Once their little argument was broken up, Rarity and Sour Sweet glanced around and saw everyone staring at them. “Oh, yes, of course,” mumbled Rarity before she chuckled in embarrassment. Sour Sweet switched back to her sweet face and also chuckled in embarrassment. Rarity cleared her throat and spoke up, “Well, with that little gaffe out of the way, let’s agree to a plan so we can get started with filming the video as soon as possible.” After spending the rest of the morning finalizing their plan and then much of the afternoon rehearsing their moves and the song, it was finally time to film the video they would submit. The lights were in place, the cameras were rolling, and it was time for action. The video started off with various scene transitions as some of the girls put on the final touches of their costumes, with the first few notes of the song beginning to play. Due to the effects of Equestrian magic on the Canterlot City girls when they played music, they were currently “ponied up” with pony ears on their heads and longer hair to resemble a tail, with some of them also having either feathered wings on their back or a unicorn horn on their forehead. As the music began to pick up, Sunset Shimmer stepped out onto the stage and began dancing in flamenco style as she sang the first lyrics. I feel it stirrin’ deep down inside my soul The rhythm’s taking hold, and it’s about to roll Sunset gestured over to the dance floor, where Twilight Sparkle was dancing in a disco style as she sang the next lyrics. A million sparkles falling across the floor So, DJ, give it more, it’s what we’re looking for The spotlights focused on different places on the dance floor, where all of the girls were in certain groups. Fluttershy was partnered with Sugarcoat, Rainbow Dash was with Lemon Zest, Rarity with Sour Sweet, close by were Twilight with Sunny Flare, and the final group consisted of Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Sunset Shimmer. It was time for the chorus, so all eleven girls sang the next few lyrics. Dance the night away All our friends right by our side On the dance floor, all eleven girls stood side by side and clasped hands. They smiled at one another, raised their clasped hands, then let go as they all jumped up at once. The video then quickly flashed between each individual girl as they dropped back to the floor. It doesn’t matter what style you bring We’re about to go on that ride, hey! Pinkie Pie danced alone in her own style, while Applejack and Sunset danced together in a different style. It’s dance magic, once you have it Sugarcoat and Fluttershy danced together in a street ballet style. Let your body move, step into the music Rainbow Dash and Lemon Zest danced together in a hip-hop style. It’s dance magic, and it’s electric Sour Sweet and Rarity danced together in a disco style, with Twilight and Sunny Flare doing the same not far away. Let your body move to the music After a scene transition of gems, the setting was now a city alleyway with red brick walls on either side, with both walls having graffiti painted on them that consisted of the Creative Marks of all eleven girls. In addition, Pinkie Pie was now wearing a different costume, consisting of black on her torso and upper arms, green on her lower arms, tan on her legs, a white double zero printed on the front of her torso, a purple lowered hood around her neck, a purple baseball cap backwards on her head, and a white pair of sunglasses on her face. Pinkie immediately started dancing and singing the next few lyrics in a rap style. Doesn’t matter what style you got Just keep dancin’ on that spot Pinkie posed in front of a group shot of the other girls in front of one of the graffiti walls. Your friends like you for who you are As Pinkie sang the next lyric, the video showed a split-screen of Sour Sweet, Rarity, and Twilight. Dance queen, on the scene, superstar! The four Crystal Girls did a synchronized dance and then posed in front of the graffiti wall to the right. Crystal Girls, you got the moves In front of the graffiti wall to the left, Rainbow Dash did some break dancing while the rest of the Rainbooms watched. Rainbooms brinin’ all the grooves Pinkie Pie danced solo in front of a blank red brick wall as she sang the final part of her solo. Put it together and make it fit Crystal Rainbooms, dance magic Back on the stage — and with Pinkie back in her previous costume — the eleven girls posed around the two crystal structures on opposite sides of the stage. On the left structure were Sugarcoat, Sunny Flare, Sunset Shimmer, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. On the right structure were Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, and Lemon Zest. Finally, in the middle of the stage between the two structures, Rarity and Sour Sweet stood next to each other. As the video slowly moved across each group, all eleven girls sang the next few lyrics. Dance the night away All our friends right by our side The video then showed freeze-frames of each individual girl in a different mid-dance pose, with Sour Sweet finishing it off with a wink to the camera. It doesn’t matter what style you bring We’re about to go on that ride, hey! The reprise of the next verse also came with a repeat of the different styles that each of the girls had danced to earlier in the video. It’s dance magic, once you have it Let your body move, step into the music It’s dance magic, and it’s electric Let your body move to the music After another scene transition of gems, a disco ball was spinning over the dance floor, where all eleven girls danced together in all kinds of various styles. Crystal Rainbooms got a style that’s all our own Dancin’ nonstop, body movin’ in the zone Bring whatever style you got ‘Cause the party is goin’ on The verse finished with all eleven girls jumping up and raising their hands up all at the same time. For the final lyrics, Rarity and Sour Sweet sang and danced next to each other with smiles on their faces. It’s dance magic, and it’s electric Let your body move to the music As the song ended, the video zoomed out to reveal all eleven girls in a group pose. A few days later, the girls of Canterlot City’s LEGO Team and the Crystal Girls were in Sunshine Plaza, watching one of the numerous television screens that were showing their music video. They had submitted the completed video just hours before the deadline, and were very excited when they got word the following day that their video had won. After spending the last few days using the prize money to deal with their major issues, they had agreed to meet up again to celebrate their remarkable success. Once their video had ended, Applejack pleasantly remarked, “Ah still can’t believe we just completely payed off all of Camp Everfree’s debts! Now Gloriosa can keep the place in her family an’ worry only about payin’ the regular expenses.” Lemon Zest pleasantly added, “And once Indigo Zap is ready to leave the hospital, she won’t have to worry about paying anything out of her own pocket!” “And even after all of that,” Twilight pointed out with a smile, “the remainder of the cash prize is enough for all of us to share a small portion. I even counted it myself to make sure we all got a fair share.” Spike reached into a sack he was carrying and began passing out dollar bills as he playfully remarked, “Enjoy your bonuses, girls!” The girls all smiled as they each received their share of the remaining portion of the cash prize. Sunset was busy looking at her phone as she was handed her share of the money. As she pocketed the cash, she spoke up, “I’ve been reading some of the reviews online, and it looks like our song has become quite popular. ‘This one’s been in my head all day, and I love it.’ ‘Whoever these girls are, I wanna hear more from them.’ ‘Perfect party music.’ Oh! Look at this one; ‘Catchiest song since Everything is Awesome!’” “Wow,” remarked Rainbow Dash. “If that’s not high praise, I don’t know what is.” “Let’s celebrate!” declared Pinkie Pie excitedly. She held up her share of the prize money and cheerfully exclaimed, “Orange smoothies are on me, girls!” She immediately rushed over towards the Aunt Orange smoothie kiosk just a short distance down the street. The rest of the group said various words of agreement as they pocketed their shares of the money and followed after Pinkie. Rarity and Sour Sweet were about to follow, but then Rarity excitedly said, “Oh! Sour Sweet! I have just had the most brilliant idea! Once Indigo Zap has fully recovered and you girls are ready to return to the Crystal Castle, perhaps we could visit and have our band perform. It would be a wonderful occasion for you to show off your new dance moves.” “That would be amazing!” exclaimed Sour Sweet’s sweet face excitedly. She then spun her head around to expose her sour face and grumbled, “Of course, then we’d have a new dilemma to deal with.” “Oh no, what?” asked Rarity in concern. After a brief moment of silence, Sour Sweet spun her head back around to expose her sweet face and playfully replied, “Figuring out what we’re all gonna wear?” “Oh,” said Rarity, giggling in relief. “I already have some ideas that I’d be willing to share.” “Me, too,” said Sour Sweet. Both girls laughed together as they began to follow after the rest of their friends. After the remarkable success of their cooperation, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the friendships between the Equestria Girls and the Crystal Girls were sure to last.