//------------------------------// // Chapter 58: Battle of the Bands // Story: Scars of Our Past // by JWolfSilver //------------------------------// “Sunset?” Twilight asked, as they climbed the hill. “Yeah, Twilight?” She stopped to face her. “I just wanted to say thank you.” She said, “If it weren’t for you speaking up, we would never have been able to come together again.” Sunset smiled and shrugged, “That’s what friends are for, I guess.” Twilight shook her head, “And you are a great one.” She gave Sunset a hug, “Don’t worry, we’ll get your family back.” Sunset nodded with a smile, “Can I ask you a question?” “Sure.” Twilight smiled, “But make it quick, we don’t have a lot of time left.” She met the purple girl’s eyes, “Do I deserve this?” The question took Twilight by surprise. The girl always seemed so strong in her eyes and never even considered that she would have conflicted feelings about it. Twilight just gave Sunset a warm smile, “When I left after the formal, I realized how alone you were, not to mention misunderstood. You’ve come a long way and I can see that all the darkness you acquired, is gone. You have embraced the magic of friendship and I am so proud of you.” She paused, “I know both Celestia’s are too.” Sunset smiled as they reached the top of the hill looking down on to the stage. “How are we going to play over them from up here?” Rainbow asked. As if on cue, Vinyl drove up to the top of the hill and honked the horn. Then, much to their surprise, it turned into a turntable and speakers. Vinyl smiled and nodded. They watched as the Sirens grew Pony ears and moth- like wings, the crowd hypnotized with their singing. They then started to sing. [The Rainbooms] Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh I've got the music in me Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh [Twilight Sparkle] Don't need to hear a crowd Cheering out my name I didn't come here seeking Infamy or fame The crowd turned to look at the Rainbooms, confused, but coming out of their hypnotization They sang the next verse together Then, the girl’s started to glow. After another couple pf lines, they began to don their pony ears, wings and tails. Now though, multi-colored streaks appeared in their hair. Sunset’s smile fell to a glare as the Sirens fought back against them. [The Dazzlings] What we have in store (ah-ah) All we want and more (ah-ah) We will break on through (ah-ah) Now it's time to finish you! Along with getting back the attention of the crowd, their eyes glowed a brilliant crimson and big, dragon-like creature came out of their amulets in a flash of light. The Sirens flew towards them and circled around the hill. There was a certain level of fear they emitted, sending an eerie chill down Sunset’s spine. It made her feel helpless. They dove towards the girls but they just gave determined looks and pinkie pounded on her drums and Vinyl turned up the volume. The wave that emitted seemed to push the sirens back. Then, rarity on her keytar, played a solo and shot diamonds out from the keys, hitting Aria head on. Fluttershy did the same with her tambourine and a wave of pink butterflies caused Sonata to wail out. Twilight sang a few cords and shot stars towards Adagio. However, Adagio sang in a higher note and held it off, sending a wave down towards Twilight that seemed to push her back. Sunset could even see her trying to stay in place. The Sirens came together and sent waves of sound toward the band and they all struggled under the power. Sunset’s eyes widened as she recalled her demon’s words, “They will fail.” Finally, they lost their grip and fell to the ground, the microphone landed just at Sunset’s feet. She picked it up and frowned, What do I do? Twilight stared at Sunset then, a spark of realization passed across her face, “Sunset Shimmer!” Twilight called, “We need you!” Sunset bit her cheek. “They need you.” Her demon had said. She looked into the crowd and managed to spot Celestia and Luna in the Sirens hypnotic trance. That was all the encouragement she needed. Sunset stepped forward and threw her Jacket to the wind. Vinyl restarted the music and Sunset brought the mic up to her mouth, glaring at the Sirens true forms. I can do this. [Sunset Shimmer] 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 Sunset crouched down and, with a smile, helped Twilight, her friend, to her feet and together, they sang. Sunset could feel the magic she’d lost when she came to this world running through her, no longer trying to suppress it. She never realized until now how warm the feeling was, how she felt that she could do anything but the only thing she wanted to do was have her friends by her side and her family back. [Rainbooms] We’re here to blow this thing apart Sunset and Twilight, together, sent a wave of magic into the crowd and Sunset relished in the feeling, taking notice how different this magic was opposed to the dark magic she feared might take over. The Sirens froze in shock and the crowd came out of their trance Sunset had to stop as a sudden sensation came over her, one she could only really describe as small flame that had died years ago somehow burst to life inside her and she didn’t suppress it. She embraced it. She was lifted into the air and saw all the good she’d done since the night of the formal, how hard she tried to be better. How much she grew to care about the people that she had wronged. As she grew her ears and tail it almost felt as if the universe somehow forgave her and she grew as bright as a small sun. The girls were soon lifted into the air with her, glowing as a giant rainbow shot into the sky above them. Sunset now adding her own crimson color to it. A rainbow ball of light formed above them then sprouted wings. [All] Here to sing our song out loud The crowd sang along with smiling faces. Get you dancing with the crowd As the music of our friendship Survives, survives, survives! A giant Alicorn was born from the rainbow ball of light and the Sirens faces were filled with fear. It reared, then, much like what happened to Sunset at the formal, they were hit with the rainbow ray. With a flash of bright light, the song ended. After the light cleared, the sirens stood and tried to fight back but the damage was done, their singing voices were nothing short of terrible. The crowd booed them off the stage and Sunset smiled to her friends as they made it down the hill, Twilight handing Sunset back her jacket as she grabbed it from the ground. Sunset walked on to the stage and picked up a shard of the rubies the Sirens had worn around their necks, “I guess that explains why these were so special to them.” Twilight smiled, “Without those pendants and the magic you brought here from Equestria, they’re just three harmless teenage girls. “Rainbooms rule!” A voice shouted just as Flash Sentry ran on stage and enveloped Twilight in a hug, “That was amazing!” Sunset and the others giggled as Flash and Twilight turned a deep shade of red. Trixie then popped up between them, effectively killing the mood, “You may have vanquished the Dazzlings but you will never have the amazing, show-stopping ability of the ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’!” They all hacked and coughed as Trixie’s smoke bomb dissipated. They looked around and pinkie gasped, “She’s gone!” With one more glance, Pinkie Pointed towards the stands, “Oh wait. There she is.” Trixie fell off the railing and Sunset cringed at the sound of impact. “Trixie’s OK!” she called. Sunset and the girls smiled. “You know…” Rainbow said, “Twilight is going back to Equestria soon. The Rainbooms could really use someone to help Fluttershy on back-up vocals.” Sunset raised her brow and grinned, walking over to Trixie’s guitar and played an expert guitar riff then smiled sheepishly, “I also play guitar.” They all gave the most astonished looked Sunset had ever seen, and glanced at Rainbow, knowing full well that they were not expecting a former pony to rival Rainbow in guitar. “We’ll see.” Rainbow relented and Twilight grinned. Before she knew it, Sunset was enveloped in a group hug. When they broke apart, Sunset glanced over to the side of the stage, seeing Chrysalis walk up to the stage. “Sunset!” Chrysalis said as she walked up to the group, “Are you alright?” Sunset nodded, “Thanks for coming. I didn’t know who else to talk to. My friends were smart enough to keep me away from the house after I kind of blew up at Celestia.” Chrysalis gave her a quick hug, “It’s ok, kid. I’m sure everything is fine now. Besides, I just discovered that magic is real.” Everyone chuckled. “Yeah it was weird for us at first too.” Rainbow said. Chrysalis smiled then turned her attention back to the situation at hand, “Where are Celestia and Luna anyway?” Sunset sighed, “Well, they do need to stop everyone from trampling each other and then they need to get through the crowds.” “Yeah it was a pretty wild song.” Chrysalis admitted. After a few minutes of silence, the group was drawn to footsteps crossing the stage. Celestia and Luna came into view and stood a few paces from Chrysalis and the teenagers. They both had concerned, yet guilty expressions on their faces. Chrysalis was the first to speak to the two administrators, “You guys OK?” “No.” Celestia and Luna said in sync. “Not yet anyway.” Luna said as they both directed their gazes to Sunset. The teen was hesitant at first which made the pit in Celestia’s stomach even deeper. She knew how hard it was for Sunset to get close to someone and to trust. It only took two days for her and Luna to make the girl feel like she wasn’t cared about again and that guilt was something Celestia couldn’t live with herself for. Sunset, cautious at first, took a step past Chrysalis. She stared both women right in the eyes, searching for any sort of lingering negativity. Looking at Chrysalis fidgeting behind her and Luna, darting her eyes between her and Chrys, Sunset rolled her eyes. With a small smile, Sunset locked eyes with Luna and jerked her head towards Chrysalis. Sunset knew Luna cared about her but not quite as much as she loved Chrysalis and she was A-OK with that. Celestia however, looked just as nervous to approach Sunset as she was. It could only be described as a look from a concerned parent whose kid had run away. Sunset was the first to step in front of celestia, holding her elbow, “Before you say anything, I’m sorry for yelling at you the other day, I-” she didn’t get to finish as Celestia enveloped her in a hug. “I’m so sorry, Sunset.” Celestia said tearfully, “I’m glad you’re alright. I feel horrible for doing that to you. Please forgive me.” Sunset too felt tears falling down her face as she wrapped her arms around Celestia as well. She felt like a small child after being away from their mother for a long period of time. Neither of them cared though. “You were under a spell, it wasn’t your fault.” Sunset said, unable to keep the tears at bay, “When I yelled at you, I-I was just f-frustrated.” Celestia pulled back and held Sunsets arms, “I don’t want you to apologize for anything, Sunset. Not even for sneaking out. At the time, it was probably healthier for you to be away from us.” She spoke sternly, “I saw what you did up there and I am so proud of you.” “We both are.” Luna said, doing a way better job of holding back the tears than Sunset and Celestia. Sunset hugged Celestia again, “I missed you.” “We missed you too.” Celestia smiled as Luna joined in the hug. “That’s adorable.” Chrysalis said just before she was pulled into the hug. “So,” Luna spoke, “What is wrong with Twilight?” They looked towards the pony-turned-human who had a very, horrified, screwed up expression, eyes trained on Chrysalis. Sunset looked at Twilight, “Uh, yeah, I’m guessing you aren’t a very nice person where she’s from.” “I see.” Chrysalis smiled. Sunset grinned, “It’s OK, Twilight, she’s not whoever the other Chrysalis is.” Twilight shook her head, “Right, right. Sorry. It’s nice to meet you.” Chrysalis smiled, “Pleasure.” Celestia gave Sunset another squeeze, “Now, I’m pretty sure everyone is exhausted and I think I need to have a talk with Sunset.” Sunset furrowed her brows in worry. “Don’t worry,” Celestia assured her, “It’s not anything bad.” The others took that as a cue and said their goodbyes and it was decided that Twilight would be spending the night at Pinkie Pie’s. Soon, everyone had exited the area to go home and attempt to figure out what had happened. However, they heard many of the civilians commenting on the amazing ‘special effects’, most of the CHS students though, knew exactly what had happened, some even thanking Sunset as they left.