"Alright, the positions have been set! Let's kickstart Battletone with the first match of the tournament! And it is..." Orchestral pointed at the TV once more when all of the band names had been positioned on the tree. He pointed towards the farthest position on the bottom section of the tree where half of the names were, as opposed to the other half of the names, who were on the top section of the tree. Once Orchestral got the first match up, the screen zoomed in on the two band names. "The Rainbooms VS Blazing Score!"
The crowd roared in euphoria as The Rainbooms and their opponents all climbed up onto the stage to perform.
Once they were up there, The Rainbooms had only had a short time to get used to the feel of their new instruments, especially since they'd be firing bolts of energy when they played them. The hardest one to get a good grip on her instrument was Pinkie Pie, as she was using a specially designed drum kit that was attached to her shoulders, enabling her to move and play.
"Oh... I hope we can still do this..." Fluttershy said nervously as she eyed up the band members from Blazing Score. She could see that their opponents were quite youthful, despite being in a mature state. "This band looks like they mean business..."
"We'll be alright, Fluttershy. Ya gotta remember that we've got friendship on our side. These other bands might look impressive, but we've got an ace up our sleeves." Rainbow Dash said as she looked up the different members of Blazing Score herself.
"Hey, Rainbooms," the lead of Blazing Score walked over to the group, looking quite satisfied with his opponents. "The name's Combustive Temper. It's truly a pleasure to finally duel you." he then shook hands with each of his opponents.
"You mean, you're not going to insult us, or claim that you're the better band?" Rarity asked, unaware as to what pitch Combustive was going for.
"Now why on earth would I do that?" he asked, raising his brows as he caught onto The Rainbooms' memories.
"Well, let's just say that in the last music tournament we were in, all of our opponents wanted our heads on a platter, especially mine..." Rainbow Dash ruminated on that nightmare when The Dazzlings were corrupted. "Everyone hated us so much that even the bands who weren't fighting us wanted to get a good shot at us..."
"My, oh my... That must have been a very rough experience for you all..." Combustive showed all of The Rainbooms some sympathy as he helped them set themselves up. "Rest assured, though, The Blasters have told all of the contestants of Battletone that brutish behaviour and being rude and unfriendly to other bands is strictly against the rules. So now you can play how you want to play, no-one's fighting against that..."
"I just hope so..." Sunset said as she looked at the other bands in Battletone. "The last few times we were on stage, things really didn't start off well for us, especially during the finals of last tournament we were in..."
"Anyways, you can forget about all of that. Now that you're in the safe haven of Battletone, you don't have to worry about any bands behaving badly..." he said, then looked back once he saw his band give him thumbs up. "As I've said before, it's such an honour to battle foes like you. I hope that both you and I have a earth-shaking battle that will kick this off with a bang..." he then walked off to regroup with his band.
"Alright, folks, the bands are in place, but before we see how they battle, we need to know a few things about our competing bands first," Fortissimo said as he stood in the middle of the two bands. "First of all, let's look at The Rainbooms!"
The screen suddenly changed drastically, to show pictures of each member of The Rainbooms. Next to each picture was a special list of important features that people could read if they wanted to know more about them.
Band Name: The Rainbooms
Members: 7 (All Female)
Style of Music: Various
The screen then zoomed in on Rainbow Dash, listing out many of her different traits, strengths and weaknesses.
Name: Rainbom Dash
Position: Lead Singer
Instrument of Choice: Electric Guitar
Age: 34
Likes: Winning, Friendship, Loyalty, Playing rock music
Dislikes: Losing, Villains, Darkness
"Well, at least they stay true to details..." Rainbow Dash said as she looked closely at the screen, showing off all of her traits and features.
Then, the screen changed, showing Rarity's portrait, along with her different facts and figures.
Name: Rarity
Position: Backup Singer
Instrument of Choice: Keytar
Age: 34
Likes: Fashion, VIP Treatments, Costumes, Generosity
Dislikes: Mess, Rain, Unacceptable Behaviour
The screen then changed after everyone had read it, showing the next member of The Rainbooms, along with their unique list of strengths and weaknesses.
Name: Fluttershy
Position: Percussionist
Instrument of Choice: Tambourine
Age: 33
Likes: Animals, Friends, Cute Things, Kindness
Dislikes: Darkness, Scary Things, Bullies
As everyone read up on Fluttershy's fact and figures, the butter yellow girl ended up blushing as she looked at all the information that had appeared on screen.
Name: Applejack
Position: Backup Singer
Instruemtn of Choice: Bass
Age: 35
Likes: Farming, Apples, Honesty, Heroes and Heroines
Dislikes: Thieves, Scammers, Liars
Once more, the screen changed, showing the next Rainboom and their unique features.
Name: Pinkamena Diane "Pinkie" Pie
Position: Drummer
Instrument of Choice: Drums
Age: 34
Likes: Parties, Cake, Laughing, Friends
Dislikes: Waiting, Exclusions, Boredom
"Who do you think's going to be shown next, Twilight?" Sunset asked Twilight as they both looked at each other. "You, or me?"
"It'll probably be you, since you have been more involved in the band after my departure..." Twilight said as the image once more transformed.
Name: Sunset Shimmer
Position: Guitarist
Instrument of Choice: Electric Guitar
Age: 35
Likes: Friends, The Rainbooms, Honest People, Being Accepted
Dislikes: Her Past, Darkness, Evil
"Well, that answers that." Twilight said as the image changed once more, showing her off, as well as her unique features.
Name: Twilight Sparkle
Position: Backup Singer
Instrument of Choice: None
Age: 35
Likes: Magic, Friendship, Science, Discovery
Dislikes: Tardiness, Hopelessness, Evil
"Looks like we have our Rainbooms, Ladies and Gentlemen," Allegro said as the screen then showed a split screen with The Rainbooms on one side, and Blazing Score on the other side. "Now before we get ready for the first battle in Battletone, let's get some facts and figures on the fighters from Blazing Score!"
"Well then, we've got a group who are going to start this show off with a rainBOOM! And a group that are meant to BLAZE the competition!" Orchestral joked, getting the crowd to let out little chuckles of their own.
"Now then, the music for Battletone is all composed by our lovely music team," Fortissimo pointed at the TV, which changed to show the pictures of a band with every instrument in the Human World, but their faces were pixellated for reasons to cover up their real identities. "There they are. Wave hello, musical team!" the group all waved to the rest of the crowd, getting them to cheer once again. "They'll be providing music to the groups in Battletone that are only restricted to using microphones only."
"Alright, with everything out of the way, let's get started with the first fight of Battletone: The Rainbooms VS Blazing Score!" Allegro said with enthusiasm as the lights around the audience dimmed so that the competing bands could get ready.
"Rainbooms, Blazing Score, you have until this instrumental piece of music ends to defeat your opponents," Fortissimo said to both of the bands when they were illuminated by bright spotlights. "If both bands are still standing by the end of the musical score, then it'll go down to our anonymous judges, who will judge their musical skills, lyrics, originality, fashion, and general rhythm."
"Alright then, the bands are set. It's time to end the debate on which of these bands is better," he said as the screen then changed to an empty bar with a time limit underneath said bar. "In Three... Two... One... GO!"
Both The Rainbooms and Blazing Score began playing their instruments in clever and unique ways, all of which fired different bolts of energy at their targets, most of them missing their targets. The determination in their eyes was a sign that they weren't about to be knocked out in the first round.
The bolts were deadly accurate from both groups, and almost made The Rainbooms break a sweat with how many of them that Blazing Score were firing at them, but they still kept their composure and met their fire with fire of their own, striking some of their marks and making them stumble.
Eternity is calling
The humble champions
A new era's rising
Made of the world's songs
Blazing Score sang whilst they fired bolt after bolt of energy at The Rainbooms, making them have to dance rather quickly to avoid being blasted by their fire.
Harmony and the many worlds
Can come together in unity
And when we win Battletone
Then you'll see, just what we mean
The Rainbooms sang back, shooting their own heavy volley of energy fire at Blazing Score. Each one of their shots only got more and more accurate, since they were starting to get a good feel on their weaponized instruments.
Eventually, Blazing Score began to falter and show signs of near-defeat. Seizing this opportunity, Rainbow Dash leapt up and strummed a powerful chord, firing a massive stream of energy at Blazing Score, knocking them to their backs, all except for Combustive.
I must admit, you are quite strong
But it's not over till the last song
Is sung for the crowd of this show
So I think it's time to let you all know
Combustive sang as his band rose to their feet in rapid succession, utilizing their instruments to blast Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy onto their butts
Friendship is the light that takes us through
The Rainbooms and Blazing Score were now locked in a power struggle with their beams of light.
The time's come for us to turn up the heat
Blazing Score sang back to The Rainbooms as they tried pushing the conjoined streams of energy back at their opposition.
So we can see who shall win
In the opening of this act, that we all sing
They both sang together, each one of them trying their hardest to battle against their opponents and come out the victor.
You are quite worthy opponents
But there can only be one winner each time
It's time for the final stand
With this blast we determine the better band!
The blast was so bright that all of the other bands had to cover up their eyes. However, they eagerly awaited for the light to die down so they could see the victors of the first round of Battletone.
When the light had returned to normal, both The Rainbooms and Blazing Score had many of their members down. It was only Twilight and Combustive still standing after all of that. The two of them panted heavily as they dropped their microphones, causing some feedback to occur, but not enough.
"Ooh... It looks like this is going to be a photo finish!" Orchestral said as both Twilight and Combustive lost consciousness and were about to hit the floor together. However, the screen showed Twilight and Combustive's axis, and followed them as they fell forward and backwards.
Eventually, Combustive hit the floor first, with Twilight being a few milliseconds behind him. However, the screen showed that Blazing Score had been knocked out, since Combustive was the first to hit the floor. The both of them then woke up when they heard the crowd cheering in glory.
"And the winners are: The Rainbooms!" Fortissimo announced as he and The Blasters threw their arms in the direction of The Rainbooms, lighting them up and showering them in confetti. "These brave fighters will be moving on to the next round of Battletone and Blazing Score will be getting a consolation prize for putting up a good fight as well."
Twilight got up from her position and walked over to Blazing Score, who were all looking rather worn out after that battle.
"I lost! Aww man! And I was so close to moving on as well..." Combustive said as he banged his fist against the stage in frustration as he ruminated on the fact that he'd been eliminated in the first round of Battletone.
"Hey, don't worry about that," Twilight said as she reached out to help him up from his position. "You put up a great fight out there, Combustive. You and your band should be proud of yourselves."
"Yeah, come on, Combustive. We're still the best band in Boarida, so there's that accomplishment." one of Blazing Score's band members said to Combustive as they helped him wipe the sweat off of his forehead.
"And we've still won something just for participating..." another member of Blazing Score said as well as he patted Combustive on the back.
"Yeah, I mean, we were going up against some of the best of the best from around the world. It was fairly obvious that it wasn't in our favour," Combustive said to his band, then looked at The Rainbooms, "But to get the chance to battle against such worthy opponents, that's what truly makes it all worthwhile for me..."
"Friends?" Sunset asked as she reached out for Combustive as a sign of both good sportsmanship and friendship.
"Yeah, friends," Combustive smiled and returned the favour by shaking hands with Sunset Shimmer and the rest of The Rainbooms. "Good luck in the next round tomorrow, Rainbooms."
"Well, what a start that was!" Orchestral announced as the screen returned to the tournament tree, which then animated itself to show The Rainbooms climbing up said tree into the next bracket. "The Rainbooms really blew the competition away with that performance. But let's not forget that Blazing Score did well as well, so we think it's only fair that they get just as good a reward as The Rainbooms, wouldn't you agree?"
"Blazing Score, for being a part of Battletone, we want to reward you with this luxury island five-star villa!" Fortissimo changed the screen, showing a rather impressive villa on a large island. He waited for the crowd to finish their noises of awe, then he described what was to be found in the villa. "This exclusive home away from home is yours to keep and it comes with a wide variety of features that will excite you, and get you ready to look forward to a brighter future."
"Such an amazing home like this comes with a luxury pool with multiple hot tubs. But that's not all," Allegro said as the screen showed a montage of all of the amazing things that now belonged to Blazing Score, "There's also tennis, badminton and basketball courts, a luxury spa, multiple sports vehicles with a road to drive them on, luxury kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms and many, many more! And all of it is yours, courtesy of being a participant of Battletone!"
The crowd cheered when Blazing Score stepped off of the stage with The Rainbooms so that The Blasters could announce the next bands to take to the stage.
"That was incredible, Rainbooms!" Sonata said as she came over to Twilight and the girls. "You really blew their socks off!"
"Thanks, Sonata. I guess even as we age, we've still got the music inside of us..." Sunset smiled as she ruminated on that last battle that she'd had. She felt a great sense of accomplishment from defeating Blazing Score, but that wasn't all that she could feel. She also felt some slight hints of worry, worry what the next band would be capable of.
"Don't get too caught up in glory for too long, Rainbooms," Bellicoso said, reminding them that they were still part of the tournament. "The next round is tomorrow, and either one of these next two bands could easily overpower and defeat you, given the chance..."
"Not to mention that there's the possibility that you'll have to duel us eventually," Adagio reminder them as she got them to turn their attention back to the tree. "We might be on the top half of the tourney tree, but we could still go all the way and meet you in the finals once again."
"And this time, we're pure as gold and can tap into the deepest reaches of our power now," Aria added on, telling The Rainbooms that they were no longer bound by a curse, like they were before. "So, if you and us make it to the final battle, then there's a chance that we might actually beat you this time..."
"Either way, at least it'll be a fun, clean Battle of the Bands this time. No going berserk due to Dark Magic like last time, alright?" Rainbow Dash asked once she reached out to shake Adagio's hand.
"Yeah," Adagio shook hands with Rainbow Dash. "Either way, don't expect me to show any mercy just because we're Sunset's children, okay?"
"We know, we won't be holding back either, Dazzlings. It'll be one heck of a show..." Rainbow Dash smiled in agreement as she set that decision in stone. The next time that The Rainbooms and The Dazzlings duelled, it would be a battle that would shape the history of the worlds forever...