//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Phoenix Magic: Rainbow Rocks // by Magic Kitsune Brony //------------------------------// The girls were all sitting around Pinkie’s room doing different things. Pinkie was currently on her laptop going through her social media. “Status update: ‘Okie-dokie-lokie’.” She said as she typed Fluttershy, Rarity and Sunset were taking selfies. After one of the selfies, the girls noticed Spike in the background making a funny face with his dog biscuit. Rarity turned to glare at him while Fluttershy and Sunset snickered Rainbow and Applejack were playing a video game. Applejack was winning before Rainbow slammed the console, causing the connection to the controllers to be lost. “Hey!” Applejack glared at her. “I was about to beat you!” “I doubt that,” Rainbow smirked before turning to Twilight sitting on the bed. “So, Twilight, how is that counter-spell comin’?” “Huh? Oh, uh, good. Great,” Twilight nervously holding the book she was using close to her chest. “Thanks for letting me use your notebook, Fluttershy. I really like the song you wrote for the Rainbooms” “Thanks,” Fluttershy said smiled, as she hugged Pinkie’s Gummy plushie. “We’ve almost got it perfect. I can’t wait to play it later this week” Rarity then sat next to Twilight. “Twilight, I think I speak for all of us when I say I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t come back to help us,” she said with the other girls nodding in agreement. They then heard the doorbell ring. “Pizza’s here!” Pinkie announced, causing all but Twilight to rush out the room. Twilight sighed as she looked down at the mess, she had made on the notebook page. She looked up when Pinkie came back in with a pizza slice in her mouth. “Don’t you want any pizza?” She asked around the pizza. Twilight nodded before placing the notebook in the bedside table drawer and following Pinkie out to the kitchen. After dinner and dessert, the girls headed back up to the bedroom, where Sunset brought out some games and DVDs. “No way,” Fluttershy said loudly in excitement, staring at the top two DVDs. “Is that Demon Slayer?” “Yep,” Sunset picked the two DVDs up for the other girls to see. “And they’re the dubbed ones, for those who don’t like to watch the subs” “Awesome!” Rainbow pumped her fist in the air. “I was going to suggest watching them tonight,” She held up the two DVDs. “But then I remembered that these sorts of things are not something that Equestrians would be about to handle” “What do you mean?” Twilight asked “Well,” Sunset answered. “There’s the fact that I was teased for eating meat as a pony, even ordered to stop, and last I checked, ponies don’t like the sight of blood” “Don’t be silly, Sunset,” Twilight waved her off. “Ponies bleed while in hospital, and griffons eat meat too, so I’m sure I can handle it” “If you’re sure,” Sunset raised an eyebrow, as she passed the two DVDs to Pinkie to put in the DVD player. “Positive,” Twilight nodded, confidently. “Besides if Fluttershy can handle it, so can I” “Just because Fluttershy seems shy and timid, doesn’t mean she is all the time,” Rainbow whispered to Rarity and Pinkie “Yes,” Rarity nodded in agreement. “It seems Twilight has not heard the phrase ‘it’s always the quiet ones’” “Ok, let us know if you change your mind,” Sunset shrugged as Pinkie pressed play. After the first few episodes Twilight regret thinking she could handle it, she did not like it. Spike liked it, but after seeing Twilight’s face, deciding against admitting it. After changing the DVDs and watching a couple of episodes of Ouran High School Host Club, all the innuendos going over Twilight’s head, making her confused when her human friends burst out laughing at certain things A couple of hours later saw Twilight still awake while her friends, including Spike, slept soundly. She quietly got up, took the notebook out of the draw and tip toed down to the kitchen. She sat the notebook on the countertop and placed her pen in her mouth so she could write like a pony. “No,” Twilight said after spitting the pen out. “That’s not gonna work” “Hey, Twilight,” Twilight looked over to the doorway to see Sunset leaning against the frame. “You’re up late. The Demon Slayer episodes give you nightmares or something?” “No,” Twilight shook her head, putting an arm over the notebook to hide the mess on the pages. “Just looking over the counter spell. We only get one shot at this. It has to be perfect” “We really are lucky you’re here,” Sunset commented as she opened the nearby fridge. “That’s what everyone keeps telling me,” Twilight said, not convinced “We really need to talk to Pinkie about her whipped cream addiction,” Sunset said to herself, looking at the shelves of the cream in the fridge, before shrugging and taking a can out. “But yeah, while I do know some about Equestrian magic, I’m still regaining my memories, while you have a whole library from Spike says. Must be handy when people come to you for answers to their problems” “Yeah, well,” Twilight said. “Just because everyone expects something from you doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to happen” “Fair enough,” Sunset said after placing the cream back into the fridge. “But as long as you have help, anything’s possible.” Sunset jumped back when she found Pinkie’s sister Maud stand behind the fridge door. “Oh, hey Maud” “Boulder was hungry,” Maud monotoned, sprinkling her pet rock with crackers before leaving the kitchen. “Maud just being Maud,” Sunset shrugged, heading to the doorway while yawning. “I better get some sleep. Good luck with the counter-spell. Just let us know if you need any help with it” “Sunset Shimmer?” Twilight called after her, Sunset turning to her in question. “Never mind. It’s not important” “Are you sure?” Sunset raised an eyebrow at her “Yep,” Twilight waved her off, turning back to the notebook. “No, I have to be able to do this by myself. I have to” The next morning saw the girls practicing in the music room. The plan was to have Twilight as reserve singer, so she could focus on the counter-spell. In the finals they would have Twilight stand in for Sunset, hoping by having just the human versions of the Elements of Harmony would be enough. They were currently letting twilight practice what she had so far, which wasn’t much and wasn’t sounding great. After another failed go they all decided to take a break. “Eh, that sounded…” Spike tried to cheer up Twilight. “Way better than the last… five times you’ve played it.” “How about we take a short break,” Rarity suggested, walking over to a rack of suit bags on it. “And maybe try some of the wardrobe choices I’ve put together. I’m particularly fond of this one.” She showed off the pink and gold jacket she had just put on, before pulling out a full body suit with electronic helmet. “Eh, of course we could always go with something a bit more modern.” “Um Rarity,” Fluttershy pointed at the jacket. “Didn’t you say you were going to save that jacket for when we eventually do our Friendship Through the Ages song” “I was, wasn’t I?” Rarity nodded, placing the jacket back on the rack. “Thanks for reminding me, Fluttershy” They heard a knock on the doors and watched as Zuko opened one of the doors and leaned against the opening. “Hey, girls,” he said, smiling at them in a ‘I know something you don’t’ way. “You would not believe who I bumped into on my way in.” “Who?” Pinkie asked, as she placed her drumsticks in her hair. “Is your boyfriend, Fluttershy,” Zuko answered, motioning to someone behind the other door. “What?! Fluttershy has a boyfriend!” Twilight exclaimed, as a boy of 16, with dark brown hair and green eyes. “Eren!” Fluttershy shouted excitedly, running over and hugging him tight. “I missed you so much” “Hey, Flutters, I missed you, too,” Eren greeted, before turning to the others. “Zuko has already filled me in one what’s going on. Let me know how I can help” “We will,” Sunset smiled at him as she went to give Zuko a hug, looking over at Twilight. “And that’s right, Eren’s been away for the last two months, so you didn’t get to meet him last time you were here. Wait, didn’t we tell you about him?” “No, you didn’t,” Twilight raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh, well, Twilight, this is Eren Yeager,” Sunset introduced him. “Hi,” Eren smiled at the princess, as he wrapped an arm around Fluttershy’s shoulder. “You’re Twilight Sparkle, right? Fluttershy told me about you.” “Eren here is like Zuko,” Rarity explained after introductions. “He’s from a different world.” “Really?” Twilight was intrigued. “Sure am,” Eren nodded, looking at his watch. “I’ve been back in my world the last couple of months doing different things. Things that I can explain in full later because it’s almost time for classes” “Shoot!” Applejack exclaimed, looking at her phone. “He’s right. We got to get going.” “Will you be fine by yourself Twilight, or would you like to join us for some of our classes?” Rarity asked her, while she put away her keytar “I think I will join you,” Twilight answered, picking up Spike and placing him in the backpack she was borrowing from Sunset. “I’m curious to see what sort of classes you have” “Cool,” Rainbow shrugged. “You can go with Sunset and Zuko and work off their timetable.” “Ok,” Twilight nodded, turning to the two mentioned. “So, where to first” “First, we have Potions followed by History,” Zuko answered, looking at his timetable. “I suggest we have lunch here,” Sunset suggested. “So, after we finished eating, we can have a quick practice of the songs for this afternoon.” “Sounds like a plan,” Rainbow said, walking out of the music room, followed by everyone else. Soon it was time for the Battle of the Bands. Eren managed to get help from some of the teachers that were not affected by the sirens’ spell to place invisible shields up around the stage. The teachers agreed it would be for the best, the spell might cause some of the students to perform sabotage that could cause injury. The teachers managed to put the shields up and leave before the Dazzlings to enter the auditorium. Out of sight of the Dazzlings, Sunset passed the potion vial to Zuko, who was in hidden away, ready to spell the potion into the principals’ drinks. He was also going to place a compulsion spell on the drinks, to ensure that they would drink both the water and potion After the students had taken their seats and the bands were ready, Principal Celestia took the microphone. “Welcome to the first ever CHS Battle of the Bands. I believe I speak for everyone when I say it is by far the greatest thing we have ever done here at this school!” Celestia announced cheerfully, causing a loud cheer from the students. “We are so glad our three newest students encouraged us to turn this event into something exciting!” She gestured towards where the Dazzlings were sitting, causing the three to smirk Luna took the microphone next. “But, as this is now a competition, we can only choose one winner. Who is it going to be?” This caused the students to start arguing amongst themselves, while in the corner the Dazzlings discussed how they were going to let the students indirectly help push the Rainbooms into being placed under their spell, not knowing that the Rainbooms had planned for it. After a badly sung rap from Snips and Snails, it was the Rainbooms’ turn. They first made sure Twilight was comfortable where she was sitting off stage, they then walked onto the stage and began to sing with Pinkie counting them in: “The Rainbooms: Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Rainbow Dash: Awesome as I wanna be The 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 my latest tune There is nothin’ you can do to beat me I’m so good that you can’t defeat me Rainbow and 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 Rainbooms: Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Rainbow Dash: Step aside now, you’re just getting’ in my way I got sick chops you could never hope to play When it comes to makin’ music, I’m the ruler You wish you could be twenty percent cooler Rainbow and 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!” As planned, while coming to the end of the song, the singing girls started to let off a soft glow, just enough to tempt the Dazzlings. It worked, as the crowd applauded their performance, they noticed the sirens’ eyeing them in greed and hunger. Just out of sight of the Dazzlings and everyone else, Zuko spelled most of the potion into the water in front of Celestia and Luna, including the compulsion spell. And while helping the teachers before, Eren had written on the top of the principals’ papers in front of them, telling them to place their occlumency shield up, in hopes that they would help stop the mind control and they can just pretend to still be under the sirens’ spell. After a small confrontation backstage with Flash that left Twilight in tears, the girls comforted the princess while they watched Trixie performed. While the Illusionist and her was performing, Sunset was happy to see the green magic tint in her mother and aunt’s eyes disappear and see the note Eren had written on the papers. As Trixie finished, Sunset breathed a sigh of relief as she noticed Celestia and Luna nod at each other for a second and turned back looking like they were still under the spell, but Sunset could just tell they had their occlumency barriers up. “Ok, looks like the potion is working,” Sunset turned to her friends. “And it seems the Dazzlings have taken the bait” “That’s good news,” Zuko walked over to them with Eren just behind him. “And there’s a little bit of potion left.” “Why did you keep some, Zuko?” Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow at him “Because the Dazzlings are about to sing,” Zuko explained, pouring the rest of the potion into a cup of water. “And we don’t know if their spell will effect Eren.” Eren nodded in agreement. “Good point,” Fluttershy said, walking over to stand next to Eren and Zuko, just in case. “Well, we’re about to find out,” Applejack pointed to the stage. “Because the Dazzlings are about to start.” They watched as the three girls walked on stage and started to sing: “The Dazzlings: Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh You didn’t know that you fell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Adagio: Now that you’re under our spell Blindsided by the beat Clapping your hands, stomping your feet You didn’t know that you fell Sonata and Aria: Oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh Adagio: Now you’ve fallen under our spell Sonata and Aria: Oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh The Dazzlings: We’ve got the music, makes you move it Got the song that makes you lose it We say ‘jump’, you say ‘how high?’ Put your hands up to the sky We’ve got the music, makes you move it Got the song that makes you lose it We say ‘jump’, you say ‘how high?’ Put your hands up to the sky Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh You didn’t know that you fell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Now that you’re under our spell” As the Dazzlings sang, Eren felt their magic trying to take control of his mind. Much to his relief, the magic retreated after coming up against something in the back of his mind that growled menacingly at it. He gave the others a thumbs up to let them know that he wasn’t under the Dazzlings’ spell before turning to watch the rest of the performance “Adagio: Listen to the sound of my voice Sonata and Aria: Oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh Adagio: Soon you’ll find you don’t have a choice Sonata and Aria: Oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh Adagio: Captured in the web of my song Sonata and Aria: Oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh Adagio: Soon you’ll all be singing along Sonata and Aria: Oh, whoa, oh The Dazzlings: We’ve got the music, makes you move it Got the song that makes you lose it We say ‘jump’, you say ‘how high?’ Put your hands up to the sky We’ve got the music, makes you move it Got the song that makes you lose it We say ‘jump’, you say ‘how high?’ Put your hands up to the sky Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh You didn’t know that you fell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Now that you’re under our spell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh You didn’t know that you fell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Now that you’re under our… Adagio: Spell” The Rainbooms, Eren and Zuko watched as the Dazzlings walked off stage wearing large smirks on their faces. They then looked over to see the other bands fighting with each other. The group turned to each other, it was going to be a long competition