Chapter 20

“Rainbow Rocks Part 3”

“The Element of Courage”

` The next morning, they moved from Pinkie’s house to Applejack’s, to make use of the barn for rehearsal space. Pinkie’s parents insisted they move, because they weren’t exactly fond of rock music. They practiced several different songs trying to make sure they do them well enough to get past the initial phases of the Battle of the Bands. They didn’t know how long it would take them to figure out how to create a song of True Harmony to defeat the Sirens.

“Okay, so what should we play to start with?” Twilight asked, looking through the tome between play sessions.

“Well, we gotta really wow them to ensure we stay in the running.” Rainbow said. “I’m thinking we sing the most awesome song in our repertoire, Awesome As I Wanna Be!”

“Ya mean yer ego-strokin’ anthem ta yerself?” Applejack asked crossing her arms.

“Uh, you mean ‘best song we got’ don’t you Aj?” Rainbow said, narrowing her eyes at Applejack.

“Hmmm… Nope. Ah think Ah got it right tha first time,” Applejack said with a huff.

“Darlings!” Rarity said, coming in with a rack of clothing. “I’m almost done with our costumes for the competition!”

“We kinda need tah get the band settled first before we deal with lookin’ nice Rares,” Aj retorted.

“Well I never!” Rarity huffed. “I go to all this work and this is how you show appreciation?”

“I’d appreciate if Rainbow wouldn’t have us singing that joke of a song.” Aj said, glaring over at Rainbow.

“Hey! The band was my idea! I’d figure a little respect is in order!” Rainbow yelled.

“Uh...guys...this was supposed to be fun…” Pinkie said, laughing nervously.

“Rainbow, remember what I said about being a jerk?” Sunset said cautioningly. “You’re doing it again. Also, respect is a two-way street. You have to respect your bandmates for helping you make it happen, and not expect them to stroke your ego every other song. There’s no such thing as a one-part harmony.”

“You stay out of this! You aren’t even in this band!” Rainbow yelled, then stopped at Sunset’s hurt face. “Wait...don’t... I didn’t mean…”

Sunset just shook her head, and stormed out, fuming, before she said anything that she’d regret.

“I didn’t mean it like that I just…” Rainbow said, as Sunset stopped, and turned around.

“It’s, fine, we’re all just stressed about what’s going on,” She said with a sigh. “You can’t let little problems get in the way of what’s important. All of you working together is what makes you strong. You can’t let the little things get to you. Humans aren’t oysters. We don’t make pearls when irritated.”

“I get it,” Rainbow said, sighing. “Guys I know I was being a big jerk, and this whole thing was really to get back at Ray.”

“But what’s important right now is that we go to that competition, and kick Dazzling butt together,” Rainbow said firmly.

“Honestly though, it was pretty fun making this band.” Twilight admitted. “But let’s get to work, we got a lot of rehearsal time to get this song of harmony thing ready.”

The whole school seemed to have gathered in the gymnasium to either compete or to cheer on their favorite bands. Even so, the atmosphere was tense, with glares being exchanged around the room, and a lot of hostility being shown.

“Glad you guys made it,” Private said as the girls came in with their instruments. “So far nothing crazy is going on...aside from Ditzy’s idea of a band.” They looked over at the young woman with the lazy eye, and saw that she and her two friends had… a saw, a triangle and a cowbell.

“Anyways, we’ll be up after Snips and Snails.” Private said, looking over the schedule.

“Oh dear… They’re going to be rapping,” Rarity observed. “It’s obvious from the hoodies, sunglasses and backwards turned caps.”

“Heh. Only you could figure out a music genre by their outfits,” Applejack said with a chuckle.

“Ditzy will be up after us, after her though, is them,” Private said, gesturing to the Dazzlings who were sitting nearby. “Something tells me they aren’t going to make this fair.”

“Right,” Twilight said, “You and Sunny should stay backstage in case any sabotage comes around.”

“Good idea,” Sunset said nodding. “With everybody this antagonistic, they probably wouldn’t be above cheating. C’mon, handsome.”

Private just facepalmed and followed, trying to ignore Twilight’s laughter.
________________________________________________________

“Ya know, it’s official, rap is the easiest style of music to ruin.” Rainbow said as they watched Snips and Snails give their performance.

“Not that it takes much,” sniffed Rarity. “One would think a basic understanding of rhyming meter would be sufficient, but the subject matter that many rappers choose is deplorable.”

“I just know what I like,” Rarity replied. Twilight just facepalmed at the rhyming of “orange” with “orange”.

When the performance was over, Principal Celestia took the stage. “A very... memorable performance by Snips and Snails,” She said, trying to keep sarcasm out of her tone. “I would also like to remind everybody that dropping the mike is not permitted.”

“Okay gotta cross that out of the choreography…” Rainbow said, making notes.

“Up next, we have a band made of some of our school’s best and brightest!” Celestia said, “The Sonic Rainbooms!”

“How about… Shake Your Tails?” suggested Rarity. “It’s peppy, upbeat, and fun.”

“And guaranteed to get us a win…” Rainbow said as they all took the stage, picking up their instruments and getting ready for one epic song.

“So many people, I hope I don’t screw it up…” Fluttershy said nervously.

“WE’RE THE SONIC RAIN-BOOMS!!!” Pinkie yelled, smacking her sticks together before they all began playing.

”We’ve just got one day to get ready
And there’s only so much time to lose
Because tonight, yeah, we’re here to party
So let’s think of something fun to do.
We don’t know (we don’t know) what’s gonna happen
We just know (we just know) It’s gonna feel right
All our friends are here
And it’s time to ignite the lights!”

Private and Sunset smiled as they watched the performance together. That was until Private looked up, he elbowed Sunset. “Look!” he said, pointing up. On the catwalk was Photo Finish and a couple of her bandmates standing there. They then pulled out a large magnet, preparing to hold it up over Rarity, who’s outfit for the performance had a decorative metal fringe. It looked good under the lights, but that magnet could make it a liability.

“Oh great,” Sunset uttered, the pointed to the other end of the catwalk. There were Snips and Snails, getting ready to mess with one of the spotlights. “Looks like it’s time to buck RPG common sense and split the party.”

“I’ll deal with wingus and dingus.” Private said, preparing to sneak around the stage and go over to deal with Snips and Snails.

“This plan is brilliant Snips!” Snails said in his typical dimwitted-sounding manner.

“Somehow I don’t think you two could have the collective brains to solve first grade math…” Private said, standing behind them and cracking his knuckles. “Let’s talk…”

“Now to work da magiks, and get zhem out of ze competition!” Photo said as she started to lower the magnet.

“Don’t think you can win fair and square, huh?” Sunset observed, as she stood there tapping her foot.

“Yeah, yeah I’ve heard it all before. But if you really had faith in your own talent getting you to the finals, you wouldn’t be up here,” Sunset said with a sigh. “Now would you?”

Photo Finish growled a bit, pulling up the magnet, before heading back down to the floor, grumbling in German the whole way. Sunset nodded with a smile, and went to meet up with Private.

She found Private dusting his hands as he left the unconscious Snips and Snails hanging from a super wedgie on one of the lockers. He left a note on them saying ‘Sabotage Fail, nice try Dazzlings’.

“That should keep those two from causing trouble,” He said, walking back over to Sunset.

“I talked Photo out of her sabotage attempt. Told her point blank that if she didn’t have faith in her abilities, she wouldn’t be attempting to cheat,” Sunset said with a grin.

“Sadly these two thought it would be a good idea to fight a guy who knows how to do a police hold.” Private said, gesturing back to them. “Guess we make a pretty good team, backing up those girls.”

“We sure do,” Sunset said with a grin. “Can you imagine what would have happened if they had succeeded?”

“Poor Rarity…” Private said, “But yeah, we did good.” He said, holding up his hand for a high five. Sunset gleefully high-fived him, and stood with Private in the wings watching the Rainbooms finish their set.

“Wow… Performing on stage is kind of a rush,” Twilight said fanning herself. “I hope we made it…”

“Of course you did,” Sunset said, giving Twilight a noogie. “You were great!”

“Catch a break everybody, we still got a long way to go before we finish this.” Rainbow said, and everybody split up after that. Some spectating Ditzy’s...band. Others like Sunset, were heading into the bathroom.

Sunset came out of the bathroom, only to find Adagio and the other Dazzlings with her. Adagio smirks at the sight of Sunset. “Your friends are simply adorable Sunset…” She said.

“Ah…” Sunset uttered, blinking in surprise, then cleared her throat. “They’ve been pretty good to me. Helped me through a bad time…” she continued mentally berating herself for being unable to speak to Adagio properly.

“It’s a shame that they don’t stand a chance though.” Adagio said, smirking smugly.

“They may be immune to our song now, but not when our full power is unleashed…” Aria said, laughing a little.

“Yeah it’ll be so cool! Say hi to that pink one for me will ya? She’s a hoot!” Sonata said, smiling.

“You guys think you can stop us huh?” Sunset said, suddenly getting some courage. “You can’t stop all of us!”

“All?” Adagio said, raising an eyebrow. “Oh don’t tell me you consider yourself part of them.”

“They’re my friends,” Sunset said firmly. “And I stand by them, like they’ve stood by me. Also, for what it’s worth, I’m immune to your little song, too.”

“So what? You really think that you can just stroll on into this school and have everybody forget what you did?” Aria said cruelly.

“Kind of know what’cha did, pretty nasty even by our standards,” Sonata said, giggling.

“Course, we could use somebody like you on our side.” Adagio said, “Once those Rainbooms are battered and broken under our foot and the world is ours, I’m sure we can find a place for you.”

“As if I’d turn my back on them!” Sunset yelled, ignoring a rather sexy image in her head of her and Adagio. “The Fall Formal was my mistake, I’m willing to pay the price for it.”

"Oh that wasn't the mistake...the mistake was believing they will ever truly accept you back..." Adagio said, cruelly. "All you are is a walking liability, they coddle you like a broken bird who's broken it's own wing. You believe you can fly, but you can never escape what you truly are. May as well accept it, before you find yourself on the wrong side of our power…”

The Dazzlings laughed as they left Sunset behind. Sunset felt a deep pain in her heart, knowing that some of what they said was true… But not all of it. Velvet said she had been brave to face up to her Mother, and Sunset was sure that Velvet would say the same of her coming back to CHS. Never mind she had been chosen by a phoenix. A phoenix! That was a sure sign that she was turning herself around, because the phoenix was a symbol of rebirth and renewal. It took courage to face Glory, and it took courage to come back and face all of the ridicule and bad feelings. Now she would use that same courage to help her friends defeat the Dazzlings.

Sunset ran back into the gym, and saw her friends sitting down...as the curtains rose on the Dazzlings as they began their performance.

”Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh
You didn’t know that you fell
Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh” they harmonized.

“Now that you’re under our spell,” Adagio said, then sang, taking the lead. ”Blindsided by the beat. Clapping your hands, stomping your feet. You didn’t know that you fell...”

”Oh-whoa-oh-oh,” harmonized Aria and Sonata, before all three started to sing again.

”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”

After the initial performances, the brackets had been chosen, to have the head-to head competitions. The Rainbooms were quick to eliminate Octavia and her cello in their round. Surprisingly, though, Bulk Biceps and his violin playing eliminated Snips and Snails. Lyra and Bon Bon eliminated their competator as did Trixie and the Illusions. The Crusaders eliminated Ditzy’s rather unique band with their rather enthusiastic punk rock performance. The acoustic trio put together by the Eco Kids was eliminated by a rock band formed by the Music Dudes. Of course the Dazzlings eliminated the Dramatics handily. The eliminations continued until there was only the Dazzlings left on the right side of the bracket. On the left side was the semi-final round of the Rainbooms versus Trixie and the Illusions.

“That just leaves us to take down Trixie’s group,” Rainbow said as she adjusted the bracket, while Trixie and the Illusions got on stage.

“Yeah… Wow this has been grueling,” Twilight said leaning against a wall as the performance began.

Sunset watched the performance. “Ya know, she’s actually not that bad.” she said thoughtfully.

“But geez, her song is all about her big ego. I mean who could tolerate somebody so full of themselves?” Rainbow said with nary a hint of irony. Rarity and Applejack looked at each other, then at Rainbow.

“Ah mean it’s not like we don’t know anybody else like that.” Aj added, just as deadpan. “But Ah can imagine it could be annoyin’ tah most people.”

“All right. Private and I will watch for more shenanigans. Which song are you going to use, this round?” Sunset stated, privately amused by how dense Rainbow could be.

The band members began making their way towards the stage as Trixie’s song came to a close. “Guys, come on, we’ll mop the floor no matter what song we sing,” Rainbow said with confidence. “Liiike…”

“But it’s Trixie we’re going up against! We can totally phone this one in before we get to the real prize!” Rainbow said. “Just once is all I ask.”

“Fine. We’ll jus’ sing it once, ta get it outta yer system,” Applejack said with a huge sigh. “Jus’ remember don’ get so into it, ya show off yer ears an’ wings, okay?”

“Fine fine, let’s do this!” Rainbow said, leading the charge onto stage again.

“Ego versis ego… How appropriate,” Rarity observed, as they got into place.

Rainbow took charge in the song, as the other girls played along, most carrying rather sour looks at being talked into singing this one. Private and Sunset stood off to the side, so far nobody else was trying to sabotage, considering there were so few bands left it was understandable.

Rainbow kept playing, and got into it more and more. The crowd was roaring, the music was awesome! She just had to...she suddenly saw Raiden in the crowd, that awed look...he was totally floored by her….SHE HAD TO SHOW UP THAT JERK!! Rainbow started playing harder, faster, longer. Getting so into it that...part of Rainbow’s ear began to shimmer…

“Oh no… Geeze, Rainbow… I’ve got to get to her amp,” Sunset groaned facepalming. “You go for the curtains, Private.” She ran around behind the backdrop, trying to get to Rainbow’s side of the stage, to pull the plug on her amp, before she went into her full transformation.

Private tried to reach for the curtains, but in the process, snagged his leg on one of the ropes, pulling it taut enough that Sunset tripped over it. She yelled as she went barreling into Rainbow, knocking her over. Rainbow’s guitar went flying and landed head first in one of Pinkie’s drums, which brought an abrupt end to the performance.

“Oooow…” Sunset groaned. “What happened?” She stood alone on the stage, looking out to the stunned crowd as the ruins of the Rainbooms were behind her.

“There’s the Sunset Shimmer we love to hate!” came from the audience. Sunset just stood there, stunned for a moment, before fleeing backstage. Private got up, groaned and began to close the curtain quickly. He then got in Sunset’s way.

“Sunset it was all my fault! My foot got snagged and I…” Private tried to apologize.

“You were starting to show your magic!” Sunset yelled back. “I was going for your amp, when I tripped, and ended up on stage!”

“YOU COST US THE WIN!” Rainbow yelled at her. “Maybe I should toss you out to the crowd! Let everybody have their way with the school’s number one troublemaker!”

“I KNEW it!” Sunset growled. “Not only were you in this to stroke your own ego, you NEVER trusted me! Everybody but YOU thought I was worth taking a chance on, but not you! You took every chance you could to try and block me out!”

Both of them got quiet as Twilight got between them. “Now you are both going to calm down and act like civil human beings while I discuss whether or not we got out.” Twilight said firmly. “First of all it was an accident, and not worth yelling at Shimmer about Rainbow. Sunset, we don’t need you adding to the yelling either. Am I clear?”

Sunset took a deep breath, and let it out. “Okay. Yeah. Just… Look, I’m sorry, Rainbow. I was just trying to hel-”

“I think we’ve all had enough of your ‘help’ Shimmer…” Rainbow said, turning around to try and collect her guitar.

Private walked up to Twilight, “If anybody should be yelled at it’s me for making that cord taut…” He said sadly.

“Just, let’s go and hear Celestia knock us out of the running…” Twilight said, taking his hand and they both walked out from backstage.

Celestia and Luna were working on the score. Trixie was nearby looking smug. However the Dazzlings approached the two administrators. Then they started to sing in their three-part harmony.

Soon, Celestia walked up to the pair. “Congratulations you two.” She said with a smile.

“We’ve tallied the scores, and The Rainbooms will move on to the finals,” She said happily.

“Yes, but we decided that was a fluke, considering your performances in previous rounds. I am sure you’ll keep Sunset away from the stage, after this,” Celestia said with a nod. “The finals will be tonight, at the Saddledome.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Twilight said, still stunned by this, then looked at the Dazzlings. “You don’t think they saw Rainbow starting to transform, do you?” she asked Private

“Let’s just hope it’s them being cocky and not that.” Private said, worriedly. “Because it just seems like everything is going from bad-” Him and Twilight return to the Rainbooms to see that the bickering turned into full blown arguing. “...to worse.”

“No...we got into the finals.” Twilight said. This prompted exclamations of disbelief from the band.

“But our performance was a disaster! How in tarnation can we be goin’ to tha finals?” Applejack asked.

“We’d better pack up, and head to the Saddledome,” Twilight said. “We’ll need to be ready for tonight’s performance…”
____________________________________________________________

“Their performance wasn’t better than the GREAT and POWERFUL TR-R-R-RIXIE’S!” Trixie yelled in her usual bombastic fashion, stomping around the gym floor. “This is a TRAVESTY! A TRAVESTY!”

“It really is!” Adagio declared, laying a hand on Trixie’s shoulder. “The Rainbooms don’t deserve to be in the finals, when your band was so much better in the semis.”

“Alas! This is the way it’s going to be: Dazzlings versus Rainbooms,” Adagio said dramatically.

“Unless, of course, the Rainbooms don’t manage make it to their set, or are held up for some reason,” Sonata observed in her usual guileless fashion.

Trixie looked thoughtful, then chuckled evilly to herself.
__________________________________________________________________________

The Rainbooms had gathered onstage at the Saddledome. They were in the process of setting up for their performance, that night. Fluttershy was working on her tambourine, while Rainbow was doing a mic check, with Sunset accidently causing a lot of feedback on Rainbow’s microphone.

“This doesn’t make any sense. We were awful,” Fluttershy said as she checked the balance of the little cymbals on her tambourine. “Doesn’t anybody else think it’s strange that we’re the ones who made it to the finals?”

“Course it’s strange, question is why did the Dazzlings want us in the finals?” Twilight said thoughtfully.

“It just doesn’t make no sense,” Aj said, shaking her head. “Any luck on that whole ‘song of harmony’ business?”

“The best thing I could think of was have all you Elements singing your hearts out,” Sunset said with a shrug. “But even I’m not so sure about that anymore…”

“This whole thing has just been one disaster after another!” Rainbow groaned.

“Indeed it has! Especially you Rainbooms going on to the finals, when the GREAT and POWERFUL TR-R-R-R-RIXIE should be playing!” Everybody turned to see Trixie with her hand on a nearby lever. “Now Trixie will ensure VICTORY!!” She dramatically pulled the lever, and the seven girls realized they were all standing on the trap door leading to the storage room below. They all yelled as they fell down into it.

Adagio laughed as she watched the action from afar. “I told you that someone would give them a push.” She said with a grin.

“But she didn’t push them,” Sonata said in her usual ditzy way. “She pulled a lever.”

“Ugh, go back to la-la land Sonata,” Aria groaned.
_____________________________________________________________

Aj and Rainbow began pushing and shoving at the door. “1-2-3!” Rainbow shouted and both girls tried to tackle the door, only to bounce off it. “Damnit! It won’t budge!”

“Please tell me I got bars…” Twilight said, trying to get through to Private, then sighed with relief. 911! We’re trapped in the storage room beneath the stage! Please get us out!

“This is what they wanted,” Sunset said. “They knew Trixie would pull something like this if she lost unfairly.”

They waited for hours, trying the door, sending texts to Private and Spike, and generally fuming at the situation. It was becoming very tense, as the little irritations that had been getting to everybody over the course of these past few days were coming bubbling to the surface.

“I can’t believe this… all that work…” Rainbow said, pacing. “My band was going to rock the joint…”

“It might have been your idea to start the band, but it’s not just your band!” Applejack yelled.

“AGAIN with the costumes!” Applejack said, frustrated. “Nobody cares what we’re wearin’!”

“I care, Applejack! So sorry I was trying to make a creative contribution to the band!” Rarity yelled.

“HEY! Anybody, here, remember fun?! I’ll give you a hint! It’s the EXACT OPPOSITE OF BEING IN THE RAINBOOMS!” Pinkie yelled.

“You really shouldn’t be so pushy Pinkie Pie! I warned you all about me being in front of crowds!” Fluttershy added to the argueing.

Sunset watched the five friends devolve into petty bickering. She looked over at Twilight, she was seriously starting to panic. Everything was falling apart, and there was no….

Sunset blinked and saw the green mist from earlier rise up from the five friends. The negative energy was coming from them! The Dazzlings were getting an all-you-can-eat buffet from the arguing! And form the sound of it, they had just taken the stage after Trixie’s performance.

“STOP! You have to stop!” Sunset yelled. “This is what they have been after all along! They’re feeding off your magic!”

“How can they be feedin’ off our magic? It’s tha magic of friendship,” Applejack asked.

“Look, ever since you started this band, I’ve noticed that you all have been letting little things get to you. I’ve been trying to warn you, but… I guess you all still kind of mistrust me, and I haven’t really been trying that hard, because either I get yelled at, or most of the time I feel like it’s not really my place…” Sunset explained, rubbing the back of her head. “What I do know that if you don’t work out even the smallest problems right at the start, the magic of friendship can be turned into something else…”

The five stopped arguing, and when they did the mist slowly disappeared. “I can’t believe… it was us…” Rainbow said sadly.

“I can’t believe how much of an idiot I was…” Rainbow said, shaking her head.

“And... I was seeing this, but I didn’t do anything… I guess I was hoping everybody would just… work things out…” Twilight said shaking her head. “I should have helped with all of this, helped us work these things out, before they got so out-of-hand…”

“Ignoring a problem because you feel it isn’t important can hurt you in the long run…” Sunset said, and rolled up the sleeve of her jacket, revealing the remains of a nasty bruise. “For years I ignored mother’s...handiwork because I thought it would make me strong in the long run. But...now I know now you can’t just hide or run away from problems. You have to face them...otherwise everything will fall apart, from something as ordinary as a band to something greater like our magic.”

“I… owe you big time for what I said, Sunset.” Rainbow said, coming up to her.

“You were frustrated, we all were.” Sunset said, holding up a hand. “Only...no amount of apologies can help us with the door stuck as it is.”

Everybody suddenly stiffened as the door clicked, and it opened wide and they all saw Private standing there. “Huh, so this is where you guys were hiding,” He said with a smile.

“Private, where have you been! I sent you texts, hours ago!” Twilight said glomping him.

“Kept having students get in my way,” Private explained. “Adagio must’ve known I’d try to come and get you guys. Thankfully, I found somebody who knew a shortcut and had a key to this storage room.” He gestured behind her to show Vinyl standing there, giving the crew a thumbs up.

Vinyl lifted the headphones off of her ears. “Cuz of these, I couldn’t hear those weird girls singing the ‘make everybody a dick’ song,” She explained.

“Wow… Who knew your headphones would come in handy?” Twilight asked with a chuckle.

“Now ta show those Sirens we’ve still got tha magic of friendship inside of us,” Applejack said determinedly.

“We’re getting our band back together,” Rainbow said with a grin, causing Pinkie to squee.

“And Fluttershy’s latest song would be a good way to get the Dazzling’s attention,” Rainbow Dash added giving Shy a one-armed hug.

“We’re about ta go all musical Guardian on those sorry Sirens and save tha world,” Applejack said with a smile. “What say we do it in style, Rarity?”

“Oh! I thought you’d never ask!” Rarity said, pulling out clothes rack of five very stylish, yet rocking outfits.

“Let’s blast those Dazzlings!” Rainbow cheered as everyone went to work.
___________________________________________________________

The Dazzlings strutted out onto the stage, dressed to the nines, and harmonizing in an ethereal sounding chorus that caused their pendants to absorb the magic that had escaped from the Rainbooms while they had been arguing beneath the stage.

”Welcome to the show,” Adagio sang, as Aria and Sonata harmonized in the background. ”We’re here to let you know. That our time is now. Your time is running out.”

The trio then went into their vocalizations, again, seeming to make a cascade of musical sound with their “ah-ahs”. Apparently it was taking time for them to absorb the Elemental magic from the stage, and integrate it with their own. As they sang however, the Rainbooms all stood on the hill nearby, adorned in the costumes Rarity made for them.

“We’re way too far away!” Rainbow said. “How are we supposed to be heard from up here?”

*HONK HONK* They all turned to see Vinyl driving… a car over to them. It was white with blue trim, with a custom paint job of musical notes on the doors and a purple unicorn hood ornament. When Vinyl came to a stop, she… did something, and the car… transformed. A soundscreen flipped out from under the hood, as a row of lights came up behind it. The front wheels flipped under, revealing a pair of lava lamps. The doors folded down, and the the car just… transformed into an epic sound system.

“You know Octavia is going to be pissed when she found out you blew the Music Department’s budget on a...Wubmobile.” Private said.

“Celestia was totally down with it, strangely enough,” Vinyl said grinning. “Though proposing it while she was tryin’ to talk to that cool-lookin’ red-eyed dude may have helped.”

“We’ll worry about the financials of it all later!” Rainbow said, “Everybody! Hook up your instruments! Let’s hurry!”

Meanwhile on the stage, something was happening. The Dazzlings seemed to have gotten to the meat of their song.

”Feel the wave of sound
As it crashes down
You can't turn away
We'll make you want to sta-a-a-ay” They sang, as a red wave of their magic engulfed the audience, causing all their eyes to go vacant, as they stared up at the Dazzlings’ performance. The Dazzlings then began to float into the air, and were engulfed in a red glow as they sang:

”We will be adored.
Tell us that you want us
We won’t be ignored.
It’s time for our reward” The Dazzlings then transformed, gaining long ponytails and pony-like ears like the Elements did, but the wings that sprouted from their backs looked like fins.

Suddenly from the hilltop behind the cheap seats came the sound of music. Brighter, less ominous, and it brought the students, temporarily, out of the Siren-induced stupor.

”Oh-oh oh-whoa-oh
I’ve got the music in me
Oh-oh oh-whoa-oh” came the six-part harmony of the Rainbooms.

”I don’t need to hear a crowd
Cheering out my name
I didn’t come here seeking
Infamy or fame,” Twilight sang, taking the lead, but was quickly joined by the others.

”The one and only thing
That I’m here to bring
Is the music, is the music
Is the music in my soul,” They sang, and as they got into it, they all, one-by-one began to transform in tune to their song.

”Gonna break out (Out!)
Set myself free, yeah” First Applejack transformed, and then Rarity changed into her more pony-like form.

”Let it all go (Go!)
Just let it be, yeah” The next transformation was Fluttershy’s, which was quickly followed by Rainbow Dash’s, as they kept rocking out to the music.

”Find the music in your heart
Let the music make you start
To set yourself apart” Finally came Pinkie and Twilight’s transformations, they both growing the ponytails, and gaining the pony ears. Twilight would usually wonder why she, too, sprouted wings, but was too busy singing her heart out to care just now.

“So the Rainbooms want to turn this into a real battle of the bands?” Adagio asked, her voice amplified by both the dome’s acoustics and the sound system. “Then let’s battle.”

”What we have in store (ah-ah)
All we want and more (ah-ah)
We will break on through (ah-ah)
Now it’s time to FINISH YOU!”

As they sang, their eyes glowed blood red. Their power flowed into all three of their pendants in a spiky waveform and circles very reminiscent of Guardian Beast summoning circles appeared over them. A trio of hippocampuses came flying out of the circles, but they seemed less like Guardian Beasts and more like spectral projections of the Sirens’ Equestrian forms, controlled by the girls on stage. They were each colored similarly to the Dazzling that controlled them. Adagio’s was a golden orange, Aria’s was purple, and Sonata’s was a light blue. The trio of spirit animals glared at the Rainbooms and flew over to attack the other band.

“Push them back!” Pinkie yelled, going into a drum solo and sending a wave of magical sound at the Sirens, pushing back Sonata’s blue one. They all began playing, and Vinyl turned up the volume, and somehow rainbow colored shockwaves blasted from the speakers scattering the Sirens.

Rarity played a solo on her keytar, sending a blast of gems at Aria’s Siren form; as Fluttershy shook her tambourine, sending a wave of butterflies into Sonata’s. Twilight sang an impressive solo, sending a wave of stars to blast Adagio’s Siren form, but Adagio was quick to respond with a high note solo of her own. She sent red waves of sound to block Twilight’s stars and push Twilight herself back. Twilight glared up at the orange Siren, only to look a bit worried as the other two flew up. The Dazzlings, through their sirens, began a strong choral assault; their combined sound pushing the Rainbooms back, causing them to fall to their knees, and Twilight to drop the microphone.

The microphone rolled over to land by Sunset’s feet. She looked down at the mic, uncertain, as the Dazzlings grinned triumphantly.

Then Twilight felt… a spark as she looked at her adoptive sister. “Sunset Shimmer! We need you!” she said urgently. Sunset looked at Twilight startled then watched as Private reached down, picked up the mic and handed it to her.

“We’re backup for them right? Well it’s time we got on the front lines, Sunset,” He said with determination.

“What, you’re going to sing, too?” Sunset asked with a half-grin as she took the mic.

“Maybe not sing… but definitely empower,” He said, as a spark entered his eyes and in his hand formed a stylized conductor's baton.

Sunset smiled and took off her jacket, tossing it to the wind then stepping determinedly to the front of the band with her friends.

Private had no idea what power compelled him to move as he did, but magic seemed to flow with every turn and twist of the baton. As he conducted, Vinyl started up a drum solo as a lead-in to Sunset beginning to sing.

”You’re never gonna bring me down!
You’re never gonna break this part of me!
My friends are here to bring me ‘round
Not singing just for popularity!” Sunset belted out, defiantly, pointing a finger at the Sirens, then helped Twilight up, who joined her on the next refrain.

Private waved the baton, launching chords of light into the other Rainbooms, causing them to get the boost they needed to get back on their feet again.

”Our music is a bomb and it’s about to blow!” The Rainbooms all sang. Then Twilight and Sunset took the lead again.

”And you can try to fight
But we have got the light” The Rainbooms all sang the next part, stronger than ever.

”Of friendship on our side!” Twilight and Sunset formed a rainbow-colored wave, and sent it against the Sirens, pushing them back. It hit both the spirit creatures, and the Dazzlings, themselves, causing their demonic eye-glow to fade. This caused Adagio to look confused to say the least.

”Got the music in our hearts
We’re here to blow this thing apart
And together, we will never
Be afraid of the dark!” the Rainbooms all sang, together, their harmony stronger than ever before.

The crowd had just recovered from the spell the Dazzlings had put on them. They had no real idea of what was going on here. Just that an epic battle of the bands, unlike anything they had ever seen, was in full swing. They knew who to cheer for now, though, and it wasn’t the Dazzlings. They cheered their hearts out for the Rainbooms, who were fighting for everything this school should stand for. Their cheering was so intense that chords of light started coming out of everybody in the crowd, flying towards the Rainbooms in a glorious display.

Private’s eyes suddenly glowed white, and he raised his baton and the cords collected over to the tip of it becoming a ball of glowing light. Private then turned to the Rainbooms and with a flick of his wrist… sent the light into Sunset…

Sunset began to float into the air and glow with a golden light. Sunset transformed just as her friends had, gaining pony ears, and growing a long ponytail. Then something amazing happened. Around Sunset’s neck formed a beautiful golden necklace with a gemstone bearing Sunset’s red and yellow sun emblem. A comforting voice, almost sounding like Velvet’s, said in her mind…”Courage…” Sunset looked truly awed, then shook herself out of her stupor. She joined her voice to her friends’ again but she had tears in her eyes.

”Here to sing our song out loud
Get you dancing with the crowd
As the music of our friendship
Survives, survives!”

The girls sang so intensely, their power shot up into the sky in a rainbow of power. The magic formed a large magic circle, bigger than anything they have created before. Private held up his baton and said in an otherworldly voice that wasn’t his own: “GUARDIAN TITAN! ALICORN!”

All look up, including the Dazzlings, as a massive alicorn with a beautiful flowing mane, large horn and beautiful wings appeared out of the magic circle. It stood behind the Rainbooms, a towering figure that dwarfed the Dazzlings’ siren forms. From the auditorium came the sound of the entire audience singing along with the Rainbooms’ song in harmony and friendship. Their singing seemed to empower the titanic alicorn even more.

”Got the music in our hearts
We’re here to blow this thing apart
And together, we will never
Be afraid of the dark!

Here to sing our song out loud
Get you dancing with the crowd
As the music of our friendship
Survives, survives, survives!”

At the height of this glorious harmony, the Alicorn reared, and it’s horn glowed with a brilliant light. The Dazzlings in desperation launched another wave of sound at the beast. But the Alicorn then stamped down, unleashing the magic collected in it’s horn, first ploughing through the wave of sound like it was tissue paper, blasting apart the ethereal sirens, and then hitting the Dazzlings themselves. The trio screamed in pain at the assault, but the true horror came to their faces… as their pendants shattered into a thousand pieces. They fell to the stage, the pieces of their pendants on the floor, they and their spell forever broken.

The trio quickly grabbed the pieces of their pendants and attempted to sing, but their effort was so horribly off-key it prompted the audience to drive them off the stage with boos and thrown fruit. The Dazzlings ran off into the night, not to be seen for… a while at least.

The Rainboom’s magic faded away along with their elements after the Alicorn also faded as well. Private blinked, watching the conductor's baton fade away too. “What... was that?” He said to himself.

Sunset pinched herself, then looked down at her wrist. It was still there. A bracelet like all the others wore. “I have an Element… I have an…” she said, still sounding positively flabbergasted.

Twilight smiled, and took her adoptive sister’s hand. “You’ve earned it, you’re really one of us now.” She then gestured to the roaring crowd.

For the first time in her life, Sunset didn’t feel arrogant about this victory… just genuinely happy to finally be a part of something bigger than herself.

“I kind of wonder what’ll happen to the Dazzlings, now, though...” Fluttershy said.

“Who cares about them? Without those pendants they got as much singing talent as your average pop star,” Rainbow said, smiling in victory. She then walked over to Sunset. “So... heard there’s gonna be a position opening up in the Rainbooms for a rhythm guitarist. You interested?” She held out a hand to Sunset.

“Hm…” Sunset said, feigning thinking it over, then grinned. “Of course! I’d love to help make our band rock extra hard.” With that, she shook Rainbow’s hand.

The Dazzlings defeated, the crowd roaring, and the Rainbooms triumphant. CHS’ first (and possibly last) Battle of the Bands was a success, for the good guys at least. Most of the students would barely remember what happened during the battle. Many apologized to each other for the, as Vinyl put it oh so graciously, ‘Rise in Dickatude’. Nobody knew what happened to the Dazzlings, they just ran off into the city following their defeat. What happens to them, later, is a story for another day.

But, as they say, the battle was won but the war is far from over…
_____________________________________________________________

“Something is going on there…” A teenaged boy with well kept black hair and green eyes said as he looked at a bulletin board, Canterlot High right in the center. “I have no idea what’s causing all these recent happenings...but I’m going to find-”

“Spera! Come on we’ll be late!” A female voice yelled from outside the boy’s dorm.

“I’ll be right there Indigo!” The boy replied, going over and opening his desk drawer. Inside was a strange black book, with runes adorning it in some unknown language. He held it in his hands, as it gave off an acid green glow...

Equestria Guardians

by Jacoboby1

Chapter 20 "Rainbow Rocks Part 3"