//------------------------------//
// Episode 5: The Great and Powerful Spotlight Stealer 
// Story: My Little Appledash: Singing is Magic 
// by roseprincess 
//------------------------------//


14th of March, Friday, lunchtime, 12:30, Canterlot High’s inside auditorium


        “Everyone ready?” Rainbow Dash asked as she hooked her guitar strap over her shoulder. 
        “I, um, think so. What are we playing again?” Fluttershy asked. 
        Rainbow facepalmed. “We told you five times before we got here, ‘shy! ‘Awesome as I wanna be’. And it’s totally gonna be awesome!” she exclaimed. “Because—”
“It’s written by you,” Applejack finished.
“We know, darling. But, you couldn’t have chosen a more… well… together song?” Rarity asked.
“Hey, I can write other songs aside from those ones. Besides, I never said you guys couldn’t come up with your own songs and tell us to play them,” Rainbow said.
“Oh really?” Fluttershy said quietly, lighting up a little.
“Anyway, we gotta get this show underway!” Rainbow Dash continued. “Curtains, rise!” 
The curtains rose up, but since they were indoors, it was still hard to see the girls on stage. Still, it was all part of the plan.
Pinkie started off on the drums, but after a few ‘hey’s’, they all noticed something was off. 
Rainbow blinked and looked up at the guys above them. “Um, guys! Spotlight cue!”
The two guys looked at each other, then turned to her and shrugged. “They’re not up here!” 
“What?” Rainbow asked, frowning in confusion. “Who would take spotlights?” 
“I would, that’s who!” A loud voice yelled from the other side of the room. The whole crowd turned to see who the mysterious person was. 
“The Great and Powerful Trixie will not be defeated by the likes of you, Rainbrooms!” Trixie remarked, pointing at them as she did so.
The Rainbooms looked around at each other in confusion, then turned back to Trixie, who smirked.
“Let Trixie show you what true music is!” she called, as the spotlights lit up her area. 

You think you got what it takes to defeat me?
Well Trixie’s gonna make you see it her way. 
I’ve got tricks you can’t deny, and a power you’ll never beat. 
So get your ass out of line, unless you're signing up to make my day.

        “Ha, I doubt it.”

It’s hard to believe it, but I’m better than you. 
It may be hard to receive it, but I read it in the news.
I know I’m doing great, but you’re just doing ‘fine’.
Just give up! Find your own place, and get out of mine. 

My guitar playing rocks, and my voice gives you thrills.
You can try all you like, but you’re no match for my skills.
Awesome isn't always enough, when it’s compared to divine
I told you to find your own place, and get out of mine! 

Annoyingly, the crowd cheered. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, shoving her guitar at Fluttershy, who stumbled back slightly when she grabbed it. Rainbow marched off the stage and through the crowd, heading up to Trixie. 
        “You think you’re better than us, huh?” Rainbow said, pointing a finger at her. 
        Trixie chuckled. “Oh, Trixie doesn’t think. Trixie knows!” 
        “Yeah, yeah, cut the third person crap. I challenge you to a battle! The person who loses never plays on stage again!” Rainbow yelled. 
        A series of “ooh’s” came from the gathered crowd. Applejack groaned and shoved her guitar at Pinkie, and walked out to Rainbow. 
        “Just what the hell are you doing?” Applejack asked, frowning. “Do you want to be history?” 
        “Of course not!” Rainbow replied. “So that’s why we’re gonna beat this sucker! We have one week. The battle will take place right here, at this exact time! The band that gets the most votes by the audience wins!” 
        The crowd cheered loudly, while Applejack smacked her forehead with her hand. 


15th of March, Saturday, 10:00 am, Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack’s room


        “Seriously, Rainbow? What the heck was that all about?” Applejack complained through the phone.
        “I couldn’t just let her show off like that!” Yes, you could’ve. 
“And did you see the way the crowd was cheering for her?” Yes, that’s because she was good. 
“I totally had to do something about it!” No, you didn’t. 
“I mean, she totally stole the spotlight. Literally!”
        Applejack sighed, realizing she didn’t have a counter for that sentence. “Well, whatever. That doesn’t give you a good excuse to go ahead and do something like that, especially without talking to us first!”
        “Come on, it wasn’t that bad…” Rainbow said. 
        Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Ya made Fluttershy cry.” 
        “But Fluttershy always cries! Anyway, we still have to do this! We can’t back down now!” Rainbow said.
        Applejack bit her lip. She couldn’t think of a counter for that either. “Fine. But when this whole thing is over, ahm kicking your ass for it. Do ya think you can meet up tomorrow? Ah’ll tell the—” 
        “Uh, sorry, AJ, I gotta go. My, uh, dad’s calling me. I’ll send you a text later about the details. See ya!” Rainbow replied and quickly hung up.
        “Alright then,” Applejack said, frowning in confusion, before shrugging it off. She entered her messages and sent a text to the others about whether or not they could meet up tomorrow, before closing her phone and placing it down on her chest of drawers.
        “Applejack!” Apple Bloom said, knocking on her bedroom door. “Big Mac’s waiting for you outside to start picking apples!”
        Applejack opened the door. “Sure, ah’ll be down there in a bit. Just lemme get ready first.”
        “Alrighty then!” Apple Bloom said and raced down the stairs. Applejack smiled and shut the door again.


16th of March, Sunday, 1;00 pm, Sweet Apple Acres, the barn


        “Really, Rainbow Dash, I understand how you felt — this “Great and Powerful Trixie” was getting on my nerves too — but there was no need to go ahead and do something like that,” Rarity said, swinging her keytar over her shoulder.
        “We totally have to! You never know when we’ll have to battle like this in the future, so this is our chance to practice!” Rainbow explained as she plugged her guitar into the amp.
        “Ah hate to break it to you, but this is a real battle,” Applejack said, tuning her bass. 
        “Oh, lighten up, everyone!” Pinkie said happily. “It’s just a bit of fun!” 
        “It won’t be so much fun if we lose,” Fluttershy murmured.
        “Well, we won’t lose!” Rainbow replied. “But we won’t be able to pull it off if we keep going off about.”
        “Dash is right. What’s done is done,” Applejack said. “Best get some practice in now.” 
        Pinkie grinned and held up her drumsticks. “1, 2, 3, 4!”


17th of March, Monday, 6:50am, Canterlot High School, outdoor stage


“It worked perfectly. That stupid rainbow-haired one fell for it, and now, the Great and Powerful Trixie will crush her!” Trixie called out, assuming she was alone.
“Oh, cut the third person crap,” Sunset Shimmer said bluntly, walking up behind her. 
Trixie frowned. She swore she’d heard that line before…
“Look, I hate confiding in others. Just make sure you don’t stuff this up,” Sunset said, “or you’ll have me to deal with.”
“Trixie will not fail,” she replied, walking away. 
Sunset scoffed. “Yeah. Sure.” She turned away to the girl hiding away behind her.
“Get out. I have something I want you to take care of.”


17th of March, Monday, 7:30am, Canterlot High School, hallway


Fluttershy gripped the handles of her bag as she walked down the hallway, eyes on the ground. She let out a long sigh and stopped at her locker, bending down and pulling it open. 
“...and so I totally got her back that day! She wasn’t even expecting it!” Rainbow said to Cloudy with a laugh. “Oh, hey Fluttershy!”
“Hey Rainbow,” she said quietly, a tinge of sadness in her voice.
Rainbow Dash frowned. “You alright?”
Cloudy Kicks, who felt out of place, stepped back. “So, I guess I’ll see you later then?” 
“Yeah, see you in practice.” Rainbow waved at her, then turned back to Fluttershy as Cloudy disappeared down the hall.
“I’m fine, really,” Fluttershy lied, rummaging around in her locker.
“Well, if you say so…” Rainbow trailed off and continued down the hall.
“Um, Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked as she put her books in her bag. 
Rainbow Dash stopped and turned back. “Yeah?” 
“What would you do if… if, um…” Fluttershy shook her head and stood up. “Never mind.”
“Oh, okay.” Rainbow turned back around. “You coming to class then?”
Fluttershy’s heart sank, but she shook her head again. “I just have something I need to take care of first. I’ll be there in a bit.”
“Got it. Don’t be late then,” Rainbow said and raced off to class.
Fluttershy smiled a little, but it quickly faded as she closed her locker and made her way towards the music room.


17th of March, Monday, 12: 40, Canterlot High School, Music Room


“What do ya mean they’re gone?” Applejack asked as she paced herself to keep up with Rainbow.
“Just that! They’re gone!” Rainbow Dash shoved open the door of the music room. “See? All of our instruments, the music, everything!”
Applejack walked in and looked around. “Well, ah’ll be… they even took the drums and the amps! Ya don’t think this was Sunset Shimmer and her stooges, do ya?”
Rainbow shook her head. “I’m willing to be it’s miss ‘slack and boastful’.”
“Well, that’s just great. What happened to fair play?” Applejack sighed. “Now we have to spend as long as it takes to find our instruments and get the song ready before Wednesday!” 
“Then what are we waiting for?” Rainbow walked towards the open door and almost walked straight into Fluttershy. She stepped back.
“Fluttershy?”
“So they really are gone,” Fluttershy said. “I, um, found my tambourine in one of the cubicles in the girls bathroom.”
“Ew,” Rainbow said, a disgusted look on her face. “Oh, please tell me my guitar isn't somewhere like that!”


17th of March, Monday, 12:45 pm, Canterlot High School, Soccer field


“Hey, Cloudy?” One of the team members called, looking up at the flagpole.
“Yeah?” Cloudy Kicks said, walking over. “What is it?”
He pointed, and Cloudy looked up. “Isn’t that Rainbow’s guitar?” he asked. 
Cloudy blinked and stepped back, eyes wide, staring up at the green guitar that was tied to the pole. There was silence on the field, and everyone gathered around.
“Well… that’s gonna be hard to get down.”


17th of March, Monday, 12:45 pm, Canterlot High School, Cafeteria


Rarity made her way through the cafeteria line, selecting one of everything as she went by.
Halfway through, Pinkie raced up to her, arms flailing widely. “Rarity, Rarity!” she called. “I got a text from Applejack that said all of our instruments are missing and— oh, hey, you found your keytar!”
Rarity blinked, then looked back towards the food. Laid out on top of the piles of food was her instrument.
“Well, that was convenient!” Pinkie said and covered her ears.
Rarity screamed and yanked it out.


17th of March, Monday, 12:50pm, Canterlot High School, Music Room


All the Rainbooms — minus Applejack — looked around at the pile of instruments in the room.
“Okay, so we have Fluttershy’s and Rarity’s back at least,” Rainbow Dash said, “but we’re still missing three instruments! Not to mention the amps and the sheet music! Ugh, this sucks.” 
Everyone was quiet, until a ding came from Pinkie’s pocket and she pulled out her phone. “Oh, it’s Applejack!” She grinned and unlocked it and viewed the text. “Hey, Rainbow, they found your guitar! It’s… oh, no,” she said, her smile fading.
“What? What is it?!” Rainbow pressed. Pinkie gulped and held out her phone, and Rainbow snatched it from her and skimmed her eyes over the text.
“W-What?!”


17th of March, Monday, 12:52pm, Canterlot High School, Soccer field


Rainbow pushed through the huge crowd and stared up at her guitar. She gulped. If it fell, there really wouldn’t be much of a chance to save it, and she certainly didn’t have enough to buy another one.
Applejack came up from behind. “Ah think we’re gonna have to get a damn crane to get that down. But how did Trixie even manage that?”
Fluttershy squeaked and hid. Oh… my…
“Unless she has wings,” Rarity said, looking up with disbelief. 
Fluttershy squeaked again and hid even further.
“Or she could’ve used a crane!” Pinkie said, grinning. Everyone stared at her, and she shrugged. “It’s possible!”
“So, anyway, how are we getting it down?” Rainbow asked, staring up and squinting to block out the sun. 
“Attention students!” A loud voice boomed over the crowd, who immediately fell silent. Vice Principal Luna.
“I understand you are all curious about the guitar, but we ask that you please head to your next class, and we will deal with it momentarily!” 
Most of the crowd shrugged and shuffled off. Applejack folded her arms and nodded. “Ya see Rainbow? It’s being taken care of.” She turned around to where the sports girl had been standing. “Uh… Rainbow?” Applejack looked around. “Where are ya?”
Fluttershy screamed as quietly as she could and pointed towards the pole. Applejack peered up, just spotting the rainbow hair against the yellow sun.
“What the- Rainbow!” She ran up to underneath the pole. “What do you think you’re doing? Get down here now!”
“Uh, hello? I’m getting my guitar!” Rainbow yelled, and pulled herself up further.
“Surprisingly, she’s doing quite well,” Rarity whispered to Pinkie. 
“You’re gonna hurt yourself! Get down!” Applejack yelled again. Rainbow ignored her. 
“Just a little further…” She strained, reaching up to the top of the pole. Her foot slipped out from under her and she hung there, using only one hand to hold herself up. Not looking down, she pushed her foot up against the pole again and grabbed the top with her other hand, pulling herself up. She lifted herself up and sat on the top. 
“Ha! What did I tell ya?” Rainbow exclaimed, poking her tongue out.
Fluttershy sighed in relief and Applejack rolled her eyes. “Show off.” she said, folding her arms.
Rainbow Dash moved over across the flag pole and reached out and untied her guitar. She grinned, but then it dawned on her: how was she going to get down?
Sweat formed on her forehead as she peered down to the ground. She didn’t want to fall or drop the guitar. Gulping, Rainbow moved herself back towards the pole, and, holding the guitar in one arm, very slowly inched her way down. But the moment she let go of the top of the pole, her foot slipped again, and this time she failed in getting a grip before she fell backwards towards the ground.
Fluttershy quietly screamed again and Rarity covered her eyes. Pinkie gasped. Applejack looked up, confused, but in a flash, she held out her arms and felt the weight of Rainbow and her guitar. Heh, all those years of heavy lifting were worth something else after all. 
“Uh, hehehe.” Rainbow blushed sheepishly. “Sorry about that.” She jumped out of Applejack’s arms, holding the guitar close to her chest.
Applejack placed a hand on her hip and raised her eyebrows, clearly not amused. “Seriously, Rainbow… out of all the most stupid things ya could’ve done—”
A loud cheer rang out, interrupting Applejack. The Rainbooms all turned to face the unwanted crowd, blinked.
“W–Where’d they come from?” Applejack asked no-one in particular.
“Oh, they just pop up whenever the author demands it!” Pinkie said with a grin and winked.


19th of March, Wednesday, 12;30pm, Canterlot High School, indoor theatre. 


…
And all of the kids running down the street,
they’re shouting “Make way for Trixie, the Great and Powerful”!

        Trixie came off the stage, a smirk on her face. “Just you try to top that, Raindooms!”
“This is it, girls! The moment we’ve all been waiting for,” Rainbow said, grinning. “Let’s give it our all!”
        “Yeah, this isn’t really the most excitin’ thing,” Applejack responded. “But we might as well enjoy it, it might very well be our last performance.”
        “Oh, well, I certainly hope not,” Fluttershy said. 
        “It’ll be fine! We can do this!” Rainbow cheered. 
        “Oh, I’d think twice about that,” Trixie said, walking up behind them.
        “Ha! When you lose, no-one’s even going to remember you,” Rainbow barked.
        “Oh yeah?” Trixie smirked. “Well, when you lose, no-one will let you forget it,” she said and turned around, walking away. 
        “She’s right about that,” Applejack said sadly. Everyone except Rainbow agreed. 
        “Oh, come on. Don’t worry about her,” Rainbow said. “Let’s just do our best!” 
        Everyone nodded, smiling a little.
        “Again, Rainbow’s right. Let’s get out there and show that Trixie what we’re made of!” Applejack exclaimed.
The five of them stepped up onto the stage, staring forward at Trixie.

Fluttershy:

I might be shy,
‘Fraid to look you in the eye.
I might be quiet,
But I’m going to start a riot.

Rainbow Dash:

Gonna go far
When I play on my guitar.
Stand back, take caution
Because I’m so awesome.

Rainbooms:

Standing alone, yes we sometimes fall,
But united we can do it all.
We’re friends and we’re better together.
True friends, going to be there forever.

Rarity:

I’ll get no sleep
Working on the perfect pleats.
It must be right
Or I’ll work throughout the night.

Applejack:

I can’t go out
With you and hang about
Or a movie
Cos I’m with my family

Rainbooms:

Standing alone, yes we sometimes fall,
But united we can do it all.
We’re friends and we’re better together.
True friends, going to be there forever.

Pinkie Pie:

When I’m not planning a party
I’m always acting mysteriously.
Do I ever stop to wonder why
People won’t take me seriously?

Rainbooms:

Standing alone, yes we sometimes fall,
But united we can do it all.
We’re friends and we’re better together.
True friends, going to be there forever.

We’re friends and we’re better together.
True friends, going to be there forever.

        The crowd erupted into a massive cheer, and the Rainbooms grinned, waving happily. Except for Fluttershy, who hid behind Rainbow Dash.
        Trixie groaned; she wasn’t about to let them have all the attention. “Everyone, praise the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
        Silence. Rainbow snickered. 
        “Shut up!” Trixie snapped.
        “Give it up, Trixie. You’ve lost,” Rainbow remarked, grinning. “Sure, you may be good, but you’ve got a seriously annoying attitude, and catchphrase. Work on it, and we’ll get back to you.”
        Trixie frowned and marched off the stage, but not before slamming her foot down and screaming in frustration. “Trixie will win next time!”
        Rarity raised an eyebrow. “What a drama queen.” 
        “Yeah, like you can talk,” Applejack said.
Rarity scoffed.
        “Anyway! I told you we’d win!” Rainbow said happily. “It’s because—”
        “Because we did it together,” Fluttershy spoke up. Everyone stared at her. “Um, right?”
        Rainbow nodded. “Exactly right!” Well, I was going to say because I’m awesome, but that works too.
        “Heh, you’re lucky ah changed ma mind about pummeling ya,” Applejack said, crossing her arms. 
Rainbow froze. “What, you were being serious?” 
Applejack and the rest of the group laughed, indicating that she had been tricked yet again.         
“Argh!” Rainbow Dash stormed out, blushing again, as the rest of the group
continued laughing.


19th of March, Wednesday, 4:00pm, Trixie’s family caravan


Trixie stormed into her ‘house’ and past her family, straight out the back to where she slept. She pulled open her draw and snatched out her diary, but the moment she held it in her hands, she calmed down a little, turned to the next clean page and began to write. 

Dear Great and Powerful Diary,
Trixie tried to beat the Rainbooms, but lost. Trixie wonders why. She knows she is just as good, if not, better. Though, that rainbow-haired one did say something about ‘getting a new attitude’. Trixie is not sure she knows what that one meant. She has noticed that no-one really seems to like her very much now, compared to when she first performed. Maybe “The Great and Powerful Trixie” is lacking something that no-one seemed to care about before. But what is it?
From, the Annoyed and Confused Trixie.