There was loud knocking at the door of the studio. Maynard hid somewhere. Justin stood by the door while Adam stood on the other side. Danny opened the door. He saw Featherweight and two women on the other side. One was extremely tall and very pale white with pink and green hair, the other was short and thin with pale blue skin and dark blue hair.
When Maynard realized there wasn't a threat, he let down his guard. They all met in the middle of the studio. Justin shut the door after they entered.
"Feathers, what's up, buddy?" Danny greeted him.
"Hey, Danny, this is Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. They run Canterlot High School and they will be the judges of that Battle of the Bands thing," Featherweight introduced them.
"When I heard the four of you were from another world, I was intrigued enough to investigate for myself. I see you're bipedal like we are, but you're all the same color," Celestia observed.
"Yes, we're Humans from Earth. Earth is basically like this but people are not as colorful. We come in white, black, brown, and yellowish I guess. I don't know how to say that without sounding disrespectful," Maynard replied.
"Fascinating. We come in many different colors, including the ones you mentioned," Celestia replied.
"Featherweight here tells us you want in on the competition. We were planning on only allowing students, but we're a bit shorthanded and could use one more. I trust Featherweight, he says your intentions are good, so I'm willing to allow it. What say you, dear sister?" Luna approved.
Celestia thought for a moment, "We might as well. I'm approving just out of sheer curiosity. If you do anything to harm my students, I will personally massacre the 4 of you, that is a promise."
"Alright, message received," Maynard replied.
"We come in peace," Adam joked.
"You won't have to worry about us," Justin assured them.
"We're laid back, we won't do anything," Danny promised.
"Good, I will take you all at your word. Don't make me regret it. As of now, Tool is officially in the Battle of the Bands," Celestia laid down the law.
"Alright, when is this competition?" Justin asked.
"Either tonight or tomorrow night, we haven't decided yet," Celestia turned to Luna.
"Let's do it tonight. Classes are about to start, we need to hurry and make arrangements. Good day," Luna opened the door and exited. Celestia and Featherweight followed her out. Justin shut the door behind them.
"Okay, now we are in this band thing. That means we can hopefully stop those Sirens from being annoying little shits," Maynard said.
"Yeah, maybe it'll be fun, who knows?" Danny shrugged.
"We'll have to wait and see," Adam said.
"We can't practice because we don't have our instruments," Justin realized.
"Shit. Oh well, we don't need to. We got good enough memories to know what to do. We were not born yesterday," Maynard pointed out.
"Fair enough," Adam replied.
Another knock was heard at the door. Maynard decided to answer it this time. The Rainbooms were on the other side.
Twilight spoke first, "Hey. We heard you were going to compete in the Battle of the Bands, we wanted to wish you good luck."
"Thanks," Justin waved at them.
"We also brought you something," Rarity revealed a leather guitar case that the girls were hiding by standing in front of it.
"That's a guitar for Adam," Rainbow was excited to see what he thought of it.
"Really? You girls didn't have to do that, that was very thoughtful of you," Adam gratefully accepted the gift.
He opened the case to discover a Silverburst Gibson Les Paul. Adam laughed and said, "This looks just like the one I have back home. Great choice."
"We were hoping you'd like it," Rainbow punched the air triumphantly.
"Of course, thanks again," Adam sat, admiring the guitar.
Applejack pushed through them, "We ain't forgot about you, Justin. We got you a bass. Check it out."
She picked up another guitar case that they had sitting on the ground behind them. She gave it to Justin.
"That was thoughtful, you lot. Thank you," Justin sat the case on the floor and opened it. Inside the case was a blue Fender Precision bass guitar.
He stared in disbelief and then eyed the girls suspiciously, "Where did you get this?"
Pinkie laughed, "I know a guy."
Justin's expression remained serious, "This bass is from my personal collection. It's the 1963 model, I'd recognize it anywhere. Are you saying you went into our world to retrieve our instruments?"
Twilight sighed, "Caught red handed. Sunset and I are the only ones who can travel through that portal. I use it to go back to my home. I'm not from here either."
"So you withheld that information for what reason?" Maynard was visibly annoyed.
"Curiosity. I've only seem your kind once before and they were fascinating creatures. I wanted to study them," Twilight confessed.
"Were you the one who brought us here?" Danny inquired.
Twilight shook her head, "No. I still don't know how you got here, but I know how to get you back. You won't have to go out and get struck by lightning like Ozzy did, that guy was a madman."
"Sounds like something he would do," Maynard cracked a smile.
"It must have worked because he's still performing in concerts. I went to see him perform with his solo band a while back," Sunset spoke up. She had been silent throughout the whole exchange.
"Yeah, he's alive and well," Danny confirmed.
Pinkie snapped her fingers. "I almost forgot! Danny, we got your drumset too, we left it set up in the auditorium. Twilight put a protective ward on it. If anyone other than you touches that drumset, it'll static shock them."
"That's awesome," Danny laughed.
That gave Maynard an idea, but he decided to keep it to himself for now.
"Almost time for the show, we'll see you there. Good luck," Fluttershy murmured.
"You too, have fun out there," Adam waved.
"I take back everything negative I've said about them," Maynard laughed.
The time had come for the Battle of the Bands to commence. The members of Tool sat at a table in the cafeteria. They observed their surroundings.
One girl was sitting by herself carrying her Cello case. Two other girls were sitting together at another table. There were three younger girls eating snacks at a table near the windows. The wall eyed girl and a couple of her friends did in fact have a band, they sat with other students who were just spectating.
A magician girl had a band as well. Another guy and his friends were in a group. The Rainbooms had taken up a whole section of the cafeteria. The Dazzlings were nowhere to be found.
One of the younger girls looked around, "Did the Sirens quit? This was their idea, why would they do that?"
As if that was their cue, Adagio threw open the double doors. Her sisters were behind her. They were harmonizing their vocals and it sent nearly everyone into a trance like state. The only ones not affected were The Rainbooms and Tool.
The Sirens broke into song and it sounded like this:
"It's happening again, look," Adam pointed. What the other groups originally saw as a friendly competition had now turned into an all out grudge match.
They had begun arguing amongst themselves, but no physical altercations broke out this time. The Rainbooms and Tool just watched in total confusion as everything went South. The Dazzlings had erupted the cafeteria into utter pandemonium.
"Those kids are gonna be the death of me," Danny laughed.
"Preaching to the choir," Maynard dismissed the comment.
Eventually, the arguing died down and everyone returned to their seats. Shortly afterward, Celestia and Luna entered the Cafeteria.
"Welcome, everyone, thank you all for participating in this little talent show. We will have the first two bands play. We will decide which one stays and which one goes. The rest of you remain here. Students not participating can go sit in the auditorium," Celestia explained.
Luna chimed in, "First two bands will be Trixie's and Derpy's."
The blue girl with silver hair laughed. "The Great and Powerful TRIXIE will totally win this."
Derpy giggled, "This is gonna be fun."
Maynard couldn't help but laugh along with her, "I like that kid. She isn't an arrogant prick like the rest. I hope she beats that Trixie girl. Trixie seems like an asshole."
His bandmates erupted in laughter and expressed their agreement.
A little while later, Trixie returned. Derpy was nowhere to be found. Celestia and Luna came in behind Trixie.
"One down so far. The next competitors are Octavia's cello and Lyra's piano duet with Bon Bon," Luna announced. They got up and followed her out.
"This feels like a trip to the dentist, just waiting to get called for the checkup," Adam joked.
"Yeah, I know," Danny concurred.
A short time later, Lyra and Bon Bon returned to the cafeteria. Octavia had apparently been eliminated from the competition.
Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna entered the cafeteria once more, "Flash Sentry's band and the Crusaders, it's time for you all to compete."
The six people from two different bands dispersed.
"Crusaders, that's an interesting group name for 3 little girls," Maynard laughed.
"Maybe they'll win based on cuteness factor," Adam shrugged.
"Or perhaps they'll win because it's an all female group with female judges, we'll see what happens," Danny suggested.
"That's a possibility," Justin added.
After a few minutes, Danny was proven wrong as Flash Sentry's band returned to the cafeteria.
"I believe you owe pretty much every girl in here an apology," Adam joked.
"Oh, hush," Danny laughed.
"Are we not a part of this? They haven't called us up," Justin wondered aloud.
Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna entered the cafeteria. Celestia seemed to be annoyed. Luna had pretty much taken control of this thing and made it her own.
Vice Principal Luna addressed the remaining groups, "Now that we've eliminated the least talented groups, no offense to them, we'll be moving on to the real competition. Instead of having two bands at a time, we will now only have one and we will decide who stays and who leaves until the last band is standing, sort of like Equestria's Got Talent or Equestrian Idol except it's actually entertaining and not scripted garbage for TV. To the ones who haven't performed yet, don't get too cocky. We're just getting started."
Principal Celestia sighed, "Sister, I think you're taking this a little too seriously, it's a school talent show for Star Swirl's sake."
"Tia, don't be a buzzkill, this is fun," Luna giggled like a child.
"Sometimes I wonder why the superintendent hired us to run this place," Celestia laughed.
Luna decided to up the ante a little more, "I'll top what I already said, instead of eliminating just one, we'll be eliminating 2 at a time, so bring your best!"
"Why are you putting so much pressure on them?" Celestia raised an eyebrow.
"I dunno, I just think it'll be fun," something about Luna seemed off.
The Dazzlings were giggling in the corner, Celestia stared at them and they got quiet. This made her wonder, "You three, come here a second."
The sisters approached the Principal, Adagio spoke first, "Yes?"
"Are you putting spells on my sister to speed up the competition? I've seen what you three are capable of, that kind of foolishness will not be tolerated, is that understood?"
"No, we're not doing anything, we're just excited for the show," Adagio blatantly lied. Her necklace flashed a red beam of light in Celestia's face.
This confused her and her demeanor changed completely, "That's what I thought. Uh, go back over there."
The Dazzlings went back to their table. Luna spoke again, "First band up will be Trixie's."
Trixie got up, sauntering out the door, a smug grin on her face, "The Great and Powerful TRIXIE will survive another round."
Her bandmates followed her out.
A few minutes had passed and Trixie's band had not returned to the cafeteria. The other bands were confused, but remained silent and simply waited. The doors finally opened again, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna reentered the cafeteria.
"Quick word of advice to those who may also lack common sense, don't play the same song twice. That will just set you up for failure," Luna seethed.
Principal Celestia gave her sister a concerned look, "Why are you being so rude to them for? What has gotten into you? This competition's getting to your head, dear sister, you need to go home and get some rest. I'll take it from here."
Vice Principal Luna turned to Celestia, "No, I'm okay. Lyra and BonBon, you're up next, good luck!"
Celestia had the what-the-fuckingest look painted across her face, "Something's not right here. I intend to get to the bottom of it."
Luna giggled, "You worry too much, Tia, I'm really fine."
The two principals left, followed by Lyra and Bon Bon.
When they were out of earshot, Maynard spoke, "Dude, that blue girl is bipolar as fuck."
"She seemed nice when we met her this morning, I don't know what her deal is now," Danny shrugged.
"You think it's them over there?" Adam tilted his head toward the Dazzlings.
"Possibly, they can do that crazy magic stuff, I wouldn't rule it out," Justin agreed.
Roughly the same amount of time had passed as last round, but again, no one came back. The Rainbooms and Tool remained quiet.
Flash Sentry finally spoke after staying quiet the entire time as well, "Where do you think they go? I'm assuming they were eliminated, but this is just creepy."
One of his bandmates turned to him, "Remember when we eliminated the Crusaders? She just told them to find a seat in the audience, they're all still in the auditorium spectating. Nothing to worry about."
Flash sighed, "Why didn't you mentioned that sooner? The rest of us had figured they'd gone home or something."
"No, they're still here. They were all good sports about it, they looked like they had a blast," the same bandmate replied.
"That's good," Flash seemed to chill out a bit.
Not long after that conversation ended, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna came back into the cafeteria. Celestia spoke, "Sorry for the wait, Lyra and BonBon were feeling down that they didn't make it and we were consoling them."
Luna shrugged, "I don't know why they were so worked up over it, the other contestants were fine."
Celestia shot her sister a venomous look, "It's because you blatantly told them their song was terrible. Then you said 'Eliminated, know your place, trash.' I've had enough of your antics, you won't be judging anymore bands, I'll be the lone judge from here on out."
Luna had zoned out while Celestia was berating her, "Wait, I did what? Oh no, I didn't really say that did I? That's terrible, I need to go apologize."
Celestia watched in confusion as her sister took off down the hall.
"Glad she's finally come to her senses, I really don't know what's going on with her," she said aloud to no one in particular.
She turned to leave, but she stopped and about faced, "Oh, I almost forgot. Flash, your band's up next. Don't take what Luna says to heart, she's, um, not feeling well."
"Is she PMSing?" Flash blurted out like an idiot.
"I wish, she isn't nearly as bad as she is right now," Celestia stifled a laugh at the bizarre question.
Flash's band followed her down the hall.
Flash's band hadn't returned from the auditorium, which obviously meant they were eliminated as well. The three remaining groups were The Rainbooms, Tool, and the Dazzlings.
Rainbow Dash finally spoke loud enough to be heard, "Oh, that's too bad, Twilight, your boyfriend got eliminated."
Twilight's face turned red, "He's not my---oh, shut up."
Applejack nudged her, "Guilty as charged."
"I said stop," Twilight couldn't help but laugh.
"We're not blind, darling, we see the way you two look at each other," Rarity teased.
Pinkie jumped up and stood on her seat, "OH, when's the wedding? I want cake. Anyone else want some cake?"
"No one's getting m-," Twilight stopped midsentence. Pinkie had reached into her hair, pulled out a slice of cake, and proceeded to eat it as if nothing was wrong.
"What the---where'd you even get that?" Rainbow looked over, confused.
"You mean you don't carry emergency cake with you?" Pinkie was confused.
Everyone laughed. Their laughter was cut off by Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna entering the cafeteria again.
"We're down to the last 3 bands, we now call The Rainbooms to the stage," Celestia announced.
The Dazzlings started laughing. Their necklaces flashed again. It appeared as if there was a red glint in Celestia's and Luna's eyes.
It finally dawned on Maynard, "Dude, I know why they haven't been picking us."
"Why?" Adam asked.
"They're using those necklaces to hex the bands into making mistakes and to trick the judges into eliminating the other bands, that's why they haven't been called and we haven't been called. They want it to be just us in the end, competing for the win. This is personal for them," Maynard shared his theory.
"That actually explains a lot," Danny agreed.
"Speak of the devil," Justin said as the Dazzlings approached their table.
"I see you finally cracked the code, baldy. No worries, when we plunge this world into riot and chaos, we'll take charge and reign supreme over this filth," Adagio taunted.
"Yeah, can't wait to see the looks on your faces when you lose to a group of girly pop stars," Sonata smirked.
Aria looked around, "Hey, good luck though, fellas."
The members of Tool thanked her, Aria's other two sisters shot her venomous looks.
"What?" she asked.
Maynard stopped them, "Hey, uh, Aria right?"
Aria nodded, "Yeah?"
Maynard extended a hand, "I wanted to apologize for slamming your head into the concrete, I really didn't intend to do that."
Aria shook his hand, "No sweat, I'm still breathing, so it's whatever, I guess."
He turned to her sisters, "See? Why can't you be civilized like her?"
"Piss off, cue ball" Adagio grabbed Aria's hand and pulled her away. Sonata followed them back to the corner.
The other three members of Tool roared with laughter.
"Why was that so funny?" Adam regained his composure.
"I don't know, I just wasn't expecting this dimension to know what pool was," Danny shrugged.
Justin shook his head, "That orange girl's clearly the ringleader. She's using her sisters as puppets, it's kind of sad."
Maynard looked toward the door, "Wait a minute, where'd that big band go? The Rainshrooms or whatever they were called. Rainbrooms or was it Raintombs? What about Rainwombs? Shit, I can't remember."
"Rainbooms," Justin corrected.
"That's it, that's the one. Rainbooms," Maynard laughed.
"Did they really get eliminated? I honestly saw them as the only legitimate competition to us," Adam was confused.
Danny and Justin nodded in agreement.
The doors swung open again, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna entered again.
Luna spoke first, "You two are the finalists in this competition, so congratulations. Celestia has come up with the plan to decide tonight's winner."
Celestia gave them the rundown, "Here's the plan. Since one song is too short of a time and not really enough to decide actual talent or lack thereof," she paused and looked at Luna. Her sister hung her head in guilt.
"We will give each of you a 3 song setlist. You get 3 only, no more than that. Tool, you guys are up first," Celestia continued.
"Finally, Jesus Christ," Maynard let out a sigh of relief.
"Let's roll," Danny moved up to the front and his bandmates followed him to the door.
"Right this way," Celestia took up point and led them to the auditorium.
Adam and Justin were carrying their guitar cases. When they entered the auditorium, they saw Danny's drum kit and a microphone were already set up onstage. Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna sat at their little desk between the stage and the front row while the members of Tool ascended to the stage.
Maynard looked out at the crowd, "Wow, you guys are rude, I don't hear any applause."
The auditorium remained silent, aside from a couple coughs.
"Alright, we'll fix that," Maynard taunted.
Principal Celestia leaned up to the tiny microphone on the judging table, "You may begin when you're ready."
Maynard nodded, "Alright, this first song's called Intolerance. I dedicate it to the only other band that hasn't been on stage yet, you all know who they are. Those lowlife hacks."
There were laughs heard from people in the crowd. Maynard picked up the microphone from the stand and turned his back to the crowd, "Hit it, guys."
Adam tuned his guitar and Justin tuned his bass, Danny hit a few fills and kicks to get warmed up. When they were ready, the rapid fire riff kicked in almost immediately, Maynard's vocal kicked in soon after. This was the end result:
When they were done, the crowd erupted with applause. Maynard turned to face them, "I told you we'd fix that. That's how I want it to be the whole time we're up here. If there's even a remote bit of silence, I'll come down there. Don't make me do that."
Celestia leaned into the mic, "Okay, what will you be performing next?"
Maynard thought for a moment, "I've got it. Our next song is called Forty Six & 2. I dedicate it to ourselves getting stuck in this Equestria place somehow. It's gonna be fun, trust me."
Luna nodded, "Alright, fire when ready."
Justin started with his bass riff, Adam strummed a few notes in the background, Maynard's voice started in almost a whisper, but got gradually louder. Danny's drums kicked in as well. This was their end result:
After the second song, the students began cheering again.
"Thank you," Maynard said.
"Okay, Tool, you guys have one more song to do. Which one will it be?" Celestia asked
Maynard waited for the crowd to die down before answering, "Our last song for tonight will be called The Grudge. We also dedicate this one to the Sirens, because they don't know how to let things go."
Principal Celestia nodded, "Interesting, you may begin when you're ready."
"Alright," Maynard gave the signal.
Their last song started with Justin's bass in the foreground, Danny was supporting them with his drums in the background. Adam's guitar kicked in the background as well. Maynard began singing, right when it was starting to get loud, it mellowed out and then got loud again. It continued to fluctuate. This was the end result:
The final song came to an end, Maynard was a little winded after sustaining that scream for nearly 30 seconds. The crowd exploded with applause however, this appeared to be their favorite of the three songs.
Principal Celestia spoke after they settled down, "Okay, Tool, you may either return to the Cafeteria or join the students in the audience, we'll go get the Dazzlings and wrap this up."
"Alright, we'll stay here," Maynard turned to the others. They nodded in approval.
"It's unanimous then, good. We'll be back in a flash," Vice Principal Luna got up and followed her sister out. The members of Tool descended from the stage and joined the Rainbooms on the back row.
"You guys were good," Rainbow complimented.
"I'm glad you think so, I was worried we had overdid it with the last one," Maynard laughed.
"No, it was awesome, Danny was killing it" Pinkie Pie beamed.
Danny laughed, "Thanks, I appreciate it."
"No problem," Pinkie smiled.
"I honestly feel like Justin carried the team, that bass was groovy as hell the entire time," Applejack added.
"You only say that because you also play bass, Adam kicked major ass too, you know," Rainbow Dash rebutted.
"No, they all did good, if they don't win this, it'll be a miracle. But the Dazzlings got them fancy necklace doohickeys and they'll use some sorta spell to brainwash the others again," Applejack replied cynically.
"Either way, we appreciate the compliments," Adam chimed in.
"Yeah, thanks a lot. You know what, Ms. Applejack, I have a favor to ask of you," Justin began.
"What is it?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.
Justin handed her the guitar case with the blue 1963 Fender Precision inside, "Take good care of this. I want you to have it."
"Are you sure?" Applejack stared at the case.
"Yeah, I can get another one for around 5 grand, it's pocket change," Justin insisted.
"Much obliged, I'll guard it with my life," Applejack promised.
"Good," Justin turned his attention back to the stage.
The Dazzlings strolled in behind Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. The three sisters went up onto the stage while the Principals went back to their judge's table.
"Okay, Dazzlings, you have 3 songs to perform. I will warn you that Tool has set the bar incredibly high, the students were going crazy back behind me," Principal Celestia gave them the same rundown that she gave Tool.
Adagio smirked, "All we need is one."
Vice Principal Luna shook her head, "No, you need three. Begin the first one when you're ready."
Adagio gave the signal and Aria played the instrumental. It projected through two large speakers on each side of the stage. They synchronized their voices and then Adagio began to sing the same song they used to wreak havoc in the streets:
When they finished that song, pretty much everyone was either hypnotized by the Dazzlings or set off to arguing with each other again.
Adagio laughed maniacally, "Look how easily seduced these ingrates are."
Sonata chuckled, "Yeah, it's a breeze. Shall we do one more?"
Aria nodded, "Yeah, I got an idea, we can do Welcome To The Show."
Adagio paused then turned to Aria, "Finally, you make some sense, I knew you'd come around. You're a genius, sister."
"Thank you, thank you, I'll take my royalty check in the mail," Aria took a mock bow.
Principal Celestia snapped out of her daze, "Okay, that first song was interesting to say the least. Next song when you're ready."
"Of course, hit it girls," Adagio commanded.
Aria changed instrumentals and they began to harmonize again, Adagio started off alone, but then they began to sing in unison. This gave the Rainbooms an idea.
Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight, "I have a plan! Maybe if we play a song and we play it louder and drown out their sound, maybe we can break this spell and end this madness."
Twilight nodded, "That's a great idea, let's do it!"
The Dazzlings were focusing on the front of the crowd and paid no mind to the Rainbooms in the back. This gave the perfect opportunity to set up their own sound system. The power struggle between the two bands went a little something like this:
The Rainbooms emerged victorious. The Dazzlings had once again been averted. When the spell wore off, they fell back to the ground. They landed on their feet, but stumbled backwards. They fell backwards and hit Danny's drumset that had been sitting behind the curtain after it was done being used.
The protective ward was still active and they were static shocked. For whatever reason, that static shock carried enough strength to cause their necklaces to explode. They had now lost their ability to hypnotize. After the madness died down, everyone dispersed.
End of Chapter 4!