“Talking”
“YELLING”
‘ Thinking ’
“Telepathic link”
Songs
Flashback
"Transformation Index”
Setting the stage
The next day, and people were competing to get to the top spot. About something was…strange. Although many students were still competing with one another, they weren’t going at each other’s throats.
During the whole time, The Web Surfers made their way past the Techies and Derpy's band while the Rainbooms had eliminated Octavia Melody from the competition, with Rainbow's guitar skills leading the way, of course. Eventually, more bands were eliminated one by one as Flash Sentry, Trixie and the Illusions, the Rainbooms, the Web Surfers, and the Dazzlings all inched closer to the finals. During all this Twilight was hurriedly rushing through the process of creating the counter-spell, obviously stressed as she wrote rapidly in the notebook.
Now, the Web Surfers were up against Flash Sentry's band in the quarterfinals and seemed to be on the ropes as his band's music was way too intense.
Dustin then decided to step it up as he tapped the Digitrix screen after selecting a transformation, transforming into Prime-8. He then grabs three other guitars and took out three other picks. Flash and his band mates gasped in shock.
“Is that a four-armed gorilla?” One of Flash’s teammates asked with confusion.
"Sorry Flash," Dustin apologized. And the moment he strummed the strings of those four guitars, he started to perform a giant guitar riff with tremendous power and powerful enough to knock Flash and his band members off the stage, officially ending their run in the competition.
“Whoa.” Sonata said in amazement and shock.
“Oops. You alright, dude?” Dustin asked Flash, but he got up and smiled.
“Yeah dude. That was killer though.” Flash said as he went to shake Dustin’s hand. Dustin returned the kind gesture. “Good luck in the finals, man.”
“Thanks, Flash.” Dustin said as Luna crossed off Flash’s band's sticker on the tournament chart, walking off frustrated.
“Hey, don’t you think that something’s a little…strange?” Sunset asked her teammates with confusion.
“Yeah”, Dustin said before turning to normal. “People aren’t as…aggressive as yesterday.”
“Weird right”, Rainbow Dash asked as the Rainbooms walked to the Web Surfers.
"This is it!" Sunset noted, "Last round and we're in the finals!" she said excitedly, "Unless you think the counter-spell is ready to be played now," she noted to Twilight, who only looked away in reply.
"Don't worry, Twilight," Applejack reassured, "Finals aren't until tonight," she noted, "We'll get in a little more practice before we're supposed to hit the stage," she added, "We won't let you down!" The rest of the girls agreed excitedly as they knew this was an important step.
“Damn right sister.” Dustin said as he and Applejack shared a bro fist.
"You won't let me down..." Twilight said worriedly, looking down as Sunset was worried for her.
"Quite a stunning victory you pulled there." a voice asked sarcastically. Both bands turned to see Adagio and Aria standing there.
"Oh great, what do you want Adagio?" Dustin asked with an angry look on his face.
"Oh nothing, just to wish you luck in the finals.” Adagio said with a hint of sarcasm and flashed flirtatious wink.
“Ok. One, your flirting ain’t gonna work for me. And two, I know you’re just being sarcastic.” Dustin said, his anger never fading. “Also, what are you planning this time? I noticed that nobody is as at each other’s throats like before.”
“Oh? Well, like you said earlier. If we’re going to have a competition, why not make it a friendly one?” Adagio said before she and Aria walked off, but Adagio then took the time to blow a kiss to Dustin as he still gave her s suspicious look.
“Those two are definitely up to something”. Dustin said, a bad feeling forming in his gut.
"Tell me something I don’t know.” Pinkie said with a nod.
"Um, I was just wondering," Fluttershy began to say as she nervously held her tambourine, "We haven't played any of my songs yet, and..."
"It's the semifinals," Rainbow interrupted, putting her hand on Fluttershy's shoulder, and then gave it a little jab with her fist, "We gotta do "Awesome As I Wanna Be"."
"Don't know why I even asked..." Fluttershy said quietly, but visibly frustrated.
"Oh god…" Pixel sighed as she and the Web Surfers saw this.
"...I got tricks up my sleeve," Trixie sang on stage as she played her guitar, wearing a magician's hat and cape over a dark blue dress, "See me dominate," she continued, "'Cause I'm powerful and grea-ea-eat!" The crowd cheered as Celestia and Luna clapped excitedly.
"Fantastic!" Celestia complimented after a laugh.
"Hmph," Trixie huffed as she went backstage to encounter the Rainbooms and the Web Surfers, "You're never gonna top that performance, "Rain-goons"," she mocked, "You shouldn't be allowed to when you have such a big advantage over the rest of us," she added.
‘’Oh, blow it out your ass witchy girl!” Pixel growled at Trixie, but Sonata held Pixel back, trying to calm her down.
"My superior guitar playing and off-the-charts awesome singing voice", Rainbow replied in a gloating tone.
"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Trixie said, "I mean her!" she said, pointing at Twilight, making her blush out of embarrassment, "If you were really all that, Rainbow Dash," she continued, "you wouldn't have needed to bring in some magical ringer to have half a chance," she explained, "Everyone's talking about it."
“Keep talking, and I’ll knock your block off, wicked bitch of the west!” Pixel growled angrily, making Trixie glare at her.
“What did you just call me, robo-harlot?” Trixie growled.
“You fucking heard me! Do yourself a big fat favor and make yourself disappear!” Pixel growled back as she struggled in Sonata’s grip.
“Ok, ok. Break it up.” Dustin said, trying to diffuse the situation.
"Ha! Puh-leeze!" Rainbow responded, "I could win this thing as a solo act and everybody knows it!" she stated, making the other girls glare at her angrily, except for Twilight, Sonata and Sunset.
“Dammit RD, you are not helping!” Dustin exclaimed.
"Sure you could," Trixie replied. She then threw something on the ground, creating a big puff of smoke that blinded everybody. Everyone coughed as the smoke cleared, with Trixie nowhere to be seen.
"She's gone!" Pinkie exclaimed with her hands in her hair, pausing for a dramatic effect, "Oh, wait," she said, noticing her behind the drum set on stage, "There she is," she said as Trixie ran off.
"That girl is just all kinds of overzealous." Allister said with a cocked eyebrow.
"Uh Dustin… You got a little something on your cheek." Pinkie said, pointing to Dustin's right cheek.
"Huh?" Dustin asked as Rarity brought out a makeup mirror and presented it to him. Dustin looks into it and sees a blue kiss mark on his cheek, "Dammit, Trixie!" Dustin groaned, wiping the kiss mark away.
"Next up, the Web Surfers," Celestia announced.
“Well, we better get ready.” Dustin said as he looked to the Rainbooms. “Wish us luck.” And with that, the Web Surfers went on the stage. Once the band was ready, they music began to play.
Dustin: I wanna be a mobile supercomputer
A vision of the future
Begin the cyber revolution
Mechanical fusion
The perfect evolution
With systematic harmony
I will run unto eternity
And although this metal's part of me
I shall not lose my sanity
As the song progressed, positive energy once again flowed from Sonata's pendant and began to travel through the audience. Evoking a very positive reaction from the crowd like yesterday.
“Wow. They never fail to impress.” Rarity said, nodding her head to the beat.
Sonata and Sunset: Shatter the flesh and reinforce the bone
Embrace this carbon mesh, this power's all my own
Dustin, Sunset and Sonata : These simple parts of mine are interchangeable
Unlimited connections when you're digital
Becoming one with wires is sensational
Go out with the old and in with the new
Dustin : Stomp the ground
Resonating sound surrounds me
A power best described as godly
At life's intersection, reaching for perfection
Requiring no more correction
Sunset : Rip away the obsolete
Clean format, update complete
Sonata : No more emotions
Such a novelty
The future key
That would be
So clear to me
“Admittedly, he’s got good taste in music. That’s a given.” Adagio said with a wicked smirk.
“Hmph. I’ve heard better.” Aria said, but she the unknowingly tapped her foot to the beat. Aria and Adagio noticed, and Aria stopped her foot while Adagio just gave a teasing smirk.
Dustin : Shatter the flesh and reinforce the bone
Embrace this carbon mesh, this power's all my own
“Yeah, man! Sing it!” Flash cheered on, as did his teammates.
“I like this song.” Snips said as he and Sails nodded to the beat.
Dustin, Sonata and Sunset: These simple parts of mine are interchangeable
Unlimited connections when you're digital
Becoming one with wires is sensational
Go out with the old and in with the new
My hunger for perfection is insatiable
A prototype that's fully operational
This armored alloy shell is unbreakable
My existence is irreplaceable
As the song progressed, Sunset did some killer riffs while Pixel was working her mixing board like a champ and Allister drummed with enough skill to make even Keith Moon green in jealousy.
“Wow. And I thought I had sick guitar skills.” Rainbow said to herself in amazement.
“Jeez! Al is working the drums like a champ!” Pinkie said with a wide smile.
Dustin, Sonata and Sunset: Shatter the flesh and reinforce the bone
Embrace this carbon mesh, this power's all my own
These simple parts of mine are interchangeable
Unlimited connections when you're digital
Becoming one with wires is sensational
Go out with the old and in with the new
My hunger for perfection is insatiable
A prototype that's fully operational
This armoured alloy shell is unbreakable
My existence is irreplaceable
Once the song ended, the audience went wild like before, roaring in applause.
“Amazing! Absolutely marvelous!” Celestia said as she and Luna clapped in applause.
Dustin and his teammates bowed before going backstage to meet up the Rainbooms.
“That. Was. So. COOL!” Pinkie said with a squeal.
“Never thought I’d say it Sunset, but you got some sick riff skills! Even I couldn’t do that!” Rainbow said, surprising the others.
“Oh uh…thanks.“ Sunset said a bit bashfully.
“Wait! Am I hearin’ that right? Did Rainbow just show humility for once?” Applejack asked in disbelief.
“I believe she did.” Rarity said, just as shocked.
“By the way Al, those drum skills were totally impressive.” Pinkie said to Allister, making him blush a bit from the praise.
“Oh stop.” Allister said bashfully.
“Hey. Where’d you learn to drum like that, anyway?” Rainbow asked.
"Oh, its a bit of a log story." Allister said a bit nervously for some reason. "I'm certain you kids wouldn't be interested."
“Up next the Rainbooms.” Celestia called out. The Rainbooms then began to walk onto the stage.
“Good luck girls.” Dustin said with a thumbs up.
"Knock 'em dead, Rainbooms!" Spike cheered excitedly, wagging his tail.
"Don't overdo it! Please!" Pixel added.
"Got it", Rainbow replied with a wink.
"She knows I'm being serious, right?" Pixel asked the others.
"Knowing her, I guarantee she’ll overdo it…" Sonata said as he and the other guys walked back to the stands.
"Let’s hope she doesn’t," Sunset sighed. Pinkie started banging on the drums as the spotlights went on upon the girls one by one, finishing with Rainbow running onto the stage.
"Oh. Porcelain throne calls me. Be right back." Allister said before walking off.
Rainbooms: Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Rainbow Dash : Awesome as I wanna be
Rainbooms: Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Rainbow Dash : Awesome as I wanna be
First you see me riding on a sonic boom
Got my guitar shreddin' up the latest tune
There is nothin' you can do to beat me
I'm so good that you can't defeat me
Rainbow & The Rainbooms: Yeah, I'm awesome, take caution
Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be
(Yeah!) I'm awesome, take caution
Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be
"This is a catchy song," Dustin admitted nervously, "But…"
"Rainbow's just taking control of the whole performance," Sonata noted as all the spotlights began to point at her, "It's supposed to be a team effort."
"Dammit! This is exactly what I told her not to do!" Pixel replied angrily.
"And it’s about to get worse! Look," Dustin said, pointing towards the stage. The others looked and saw that Rainbow's pony ears were beginning to form from her skillful playing of the guitar.
Rainbooms: Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
“Uh oh, we gotta stop this!” Sonata said in worry.
"We gotta stop her!" Sunset said worriedly.
“Way ahead of you”, Pixel said before she placed a hand onto the wall, sparkling electricity and sure enough, the power went out.
“Whoa! Who turned out the lights?” Rainbow asked in shock before she was yanked backstage by Pixel.
“Oh dear. It appears we have a power outage. We’ll have to…” Celestia said before the lights came back on. “Uh…ok then?”
“Hey. Where’s Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie asked, but Dustin whispered to them from behind the curtain.
“Guys. Backstage. Now.” Dustin whispered, and the other Rainbooms went backstage. When the girls were backstage, they see Pixel pinning Rainbow Dash to the wall.
“Goddammit Dash! Do you not heed a warning!?” Pixel growled, scaring Rainbow a bit.
"What are you talking about?" Rainbow asked.
"You were showing them your magic," Sunset replied.
"You were just fucking lucky that I caused that power outage!" Pixel growled.
“Wait! That was you?!” Rarity asked with a gasp.
"Guys, please. Let’s just cool down”, Dustin said trying to diffuse the situation.
"What the actual fuck happened to 'not overdoing it'?!" Pixel asked, "If it wasn't for me, the Dazzlings would've known all about your magic by now!" Pixel stated, releasing RD from her grip.
“Guys…come on…” Flutterhsy said, trying to help Dustin break up the fight.
"You know she’s right Dash!" Rarity said to Rainbow, making Rainbow Dash look to Rarity with a glare.
“What?” Rainbow Dash asked.
"None of this would've happened if you weren't trying to show off – as usual," Applejack said right in Rainbow's face, making her glare at the cowgirl while she glared back.
“What in God’s name is going on here!?” Allister asked, walking up to the two bands.
“Well, if you must know, we just saved Rainbow here from blowing their cover, while she was being a total show off!” Pixel said, pointing at Rainbow.
“Guys, please! Let’s just take a minute to calm down here.” Dustin said, but then Trixie walked back stage.
"Good show, "Rain-brooms"," Trixie mocked, getting their attention, "I especially liked the part where the brief power outage ruined your solo!" she said mockingly, making Pixel grit her teeth angrily.
"Piss off, witchy bitch! This doesn’t concern you!" Pixel growled in to Trixie. The others watched in shock.
“Pixel! Please just chill for a bit before you blow a gasket!” Dustin said, but his words met deaf ears.
“Care to repeat that?” Trixie growled.
“Did I stutter, or do I have to put it in a way you can actually understand?!” Pixel growled, her rage increasing.
While this whole scuffle was going on, Adagio and Aria were absorbing the negative energy from them.
"Wise guys like you should be sent straight to the dump!” Trixie said, and that was the final straw for Pixel!
“YOU BITCH!” Pixel yelled as her left arm morphed into a plasms blade before raising it up to strike. Trixie was wide-eyed in shock and fear as Pixel got ready to strike her. But before the blades could reach their mark, Dustin got in between the two.
“PIXEL PRADA, THAT’S ENOUGH!” Dustin yelled, making Pixel stop with a wide-eyed expression. Trixie was also stunned by this. Dustin then looks to Trixie, his glare never fading. “Trixie, if you wanna live to see another day, I suggest you get off the stage. Now.” Dustin said to Trixie, who just nodded rapidly in fear before running off.
"Oh boy. Look whats happening now." Allister said, grabbing everyone else's attention. They see that as Celestia and Luna were by the door, with Aria and Adagio vocalizing around them.
"Huh?" Sunset Shimmer said as she scratched her chin.
"What are they up to now?" Dustin asked as he and the other guys noticed this.
"What can we do?" Rarity asked, "There isn't gonna be another opportunity for us to play," she noted, "And I had the most gorgeous outfit for the finals!" she complained.
"Yup," Applejack said mockingly, "'cause that's the real tragedy, Rarity," she continued, "– is that you won't get to play dress-up!"
"You know perfectly well that is not what I meant!" Rarity shouted back.
"GODDAMMIT THAT’S ENOUGH!", Allister exclaimed, making Rarity and Applejack look to him.
"Either you two calm down, or so help me I will duct tape your mouths shut! Understand?" Allister said, making the two nod their heads rapidly in response.
(Later)
Everykne had gathered infront of both Celestia and Luna, the time to decide who runs in the finals has arrived.
“For the finals, we’ll be doing something a bit special. The finals will be a two parter.” Celestia said, surprising everybody present.
“We will select three bands for the finals. The first band to reign victorious in the first round will progress to the final event. Now, the first band to be in the finals,
is the Dazzlings.” Luna said as.
“Now that’s strange.” Allister said with a raised eyebrow.
“The second band that will be joining the Dazzlings in tonight's finals is the The Web Surfers." Celestia began to announce over the microphone, “And the final band to be in the finals is...The Rainbooms!" she exclaimed surprisingly.
"What?!" Trixie exclaimed in shock.
"Huh?" everyone else said in surprise.
"Did they just say, “the Web Surfers and the Rainbooms"?!" Pinkie asked in disbelief.
"YES!" Dustin exclaimed with a pump of his fist, "We still have another shot at it!" he stated happily.
"This isn't over!" Trixie said as she stomped off angrily. The Rainbooms then walked onto the stage.
"Congratulations, children," Celestia said, "You deserve it."
"Seriously?!" Pinkie asked, "We didn't even finish our—!" Pinkie's sentence was halted as Rainbow elbow jabbed her in the arm, trying to get her to keep quiet as they had caught a huge break.
"See you at tonight's big show," Adagio said as she and the Dazzlings walked onstage, "We are really looking forward to it," she said sinisterly before walking away.
"Yeah, well… not as much as we are!" Rainbow retorted.
"This never should have been you, Rainbooms!" Photo Finish yelled as the crowd continued to jeer the band as they all walked off stage.
“Something’s a little screwy here.” Dustin said with a raised eyebrow.
“Whatever they’re planning, it’s bound to be dreadful.” Allister said with a suspicious look
In his lair, Decibus was watching the events through a monitor screen with a smile on his visor.
“Excellent work, girls.” Decibus laughed maniacally before turning to face the Decimator.
“Well, best prep up for tonight.” Decibus said
"This is a travesty!" Trixie exclaimed as the crowd continued to jeer, "A travesty!" she exclaimed again.
"It really is!" Adagio agreed, putting her hand on Trixie's shoulder, "The Rainbooms don't deserve to be in the finals," she said, "Not when your band was so much better in the semis," she added with her eyes rolling.
"And wanted it so much more," Aria added beside Trixie, putting her hand on her other shoulder.
"But alas, this is the way it's going to be," Adagio said with her hand on her head and waving her hand.
"Unless, of course," Aria began to suggest, "the Rainbooms don't manage to make it to their set or held up for some reason," she said.
"Hmm..." Trixie said, chuckling sinisterly. “Wait. What about the Web Surfers?” Trixie asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You just let us deal with them.” Decibus voice said, making Trixie turn to face him.
“Who are you?” Trixie asked with slight shock.
“Allow us to introduce you to our boss, Decibus.” Adagio said with a sinister chuckle.