//------------------------------// // 10. Reunion // Story: Guitar Hero: Equestria Girls // by ThePegaKris //------------------------------// "Hello?" as Heiru talked into his phone outside. "We need you three tomorrow as soon as possible. Be on time, though. What time you said? The finals. Yes, you can have as much fun with the Rainbooms all you want! Okay? Good, we'll talk soon." Heiru hanged up. "Are you sure they're coming?" Stone grew curious. "Yes, my friend." Heiru put a hand Stone's shoulder. "The Rainbooms will pay for beating us at our own game! Cherry Blossom, my dear?" "Yes sir?" A girl with hair that's colored according to her name asked. "Make sure you block off all the exits tomorrow when it's time." Heiru instructed. "We don't want the world to miss the real show!" "You got it, chief!" Cherry obeyed. "Excellent." Heiru menaced. "And Rina, baby?" "Yeah babe?" His girlfriend, Rina Ice, approached. "Stick close by Stone and I tomorrow. We're going to need all the help we can get!" "What makes you so sure that your other friends are actually going to show up, Heiru?" Stone raised peculiarly. "I've got something that they've been looking for. Next stop: Canterlot City!" Back inside, Rarity was dealing with her second guitar duel. She wasn't backing off easily this time. "Pow! You don't mess with someone fabulous like me!" She ranted at the screen. "Watch out, Rarity!" Sci-Twi called out. "Bah!" James Hetfield yawned. "What is wrong with you?" Rara immediately smacked him with her microphone. "You can't be yawning in the middle of an exciting match!" "That wasn't on purpose, I've been holding it in for quite a bit!" James kidded. "Is this a new Battle Power-Up?" Rarity's jaws dropped. "Whatever it is, I will be delighted to use it! Eat 'Fret Shrink!'" She jumped up and activated it. "Woah, the boss's fret is really small!" Sunset noticed. "This is the first time I've ever seen that Battle-Power Up. It seems to be helping Rarity, though!" "Rarity, Rarity, Rarity!" The crowd continued to be amazed. "I don't remember that being in the game!" James scratched his head. "Ah well, Rarity's about to win! Her attacks are super effective!" "Good going, girl!" Spike solaced as he stood up in Princess Twilight's lap. "GO AHEAD AND WALLOW...in whatever it is that video game characters wallow in!" Rarity continued to bash the opponent. "What is it that you want? Tonight, I'm serving up 'Lefty Flips' for the main course and for dessert, I will shrink your fretboard even more! TAKE THIS!!!" She held up the guitar as that of a real rockstar and delivered more attacks to the boss. "Maybe I'm enjoying this as much as I should be!" Sunset imagined. "Now see, what did I tell ya, Sunset?" A.J. alluded to her. "She's just having fun, that's all!" "I'll remember that forever in my dreams!" Sunset laughed. "According to me, having no fun is illegal!" Pinkie comprised. "My Fun Meter is telling me that the amount Rarity's having is over 9000!" "Ah, so you're the police officer of fun now, huh?" Sunset tried to hold her giggling in. "You're going to arrest us now for fun-ception, Pinkie?" "Nope!" Starlight Glimmer then enters by herself and meets the Rainbooms for the first time in a while. "Hi girls!" "Hey Starlight!" The Rainbooms exchanged greetings. "So, both of our bands have made it very far, huh? You girls are so lucky because Countess Coloratura gives your band stronger opponents and she gives us Enforcers ones that are too much of a breeze!" I'm still happy for you, though!" "Thanks Starlight!" Sunset appreciated. "The finals are about to get closer and hopefully we see you there!" "We'll see about that!" The Enforcers' guitarist smirked. "Don't lose before we face you later! Sorry, I'm just kidding! Seriously, it'd be cool to play against my best friends in the finals, and we're always up for a friendly competition! You four would love that too, right?" "Sure thing, Starlight, but we hate to break this to you." A.J. took off her hat. "You know the Neighon Warriors, the ones that Rarity beat earlier, right?" "Yes, I do. As a matter of fact, I used to roll with them before I met you girls, but they've decided to abandon me just because I was too sympathetic, and seeing how all of your friends have changed my life, I'm really glad I got to make friends with you!" "Really?" Pinkie asked. "We're always glad to be your friends, too! Back on topic, the Neighon Warriors acted like a bunch of meanies!" "Let me guess, they want to prove that they're better than you, right?" Starlight predicted. "How did you know that, Starlight?" Sunset wondered. "Like I've said, I used to roll with them, and their bragging was another reason why I hated them. I may have indulged in it from time to time, but I dropped their pride entirely. Heiru, luckily, wasn't too harsh with his words for leaving me alone, but Stone was even more arrogant with me!" "Of course he is!" A.J. figured out. "You know what else that lousy Stone did? When Rarity's turn was finished, he just shoved her out of the blue right before she left the stage!" "That's terrible!" Starlight lamented. "Great, now the more we mention Stone and Heiru, the more annoying they get!" "What's up, players?" Rarity popped out of nowhere. "Gah!" The rest got startled. "Rarity?" "Hi! I just won the match! Is something wrong?" "Ehh, no, we're fine." Sunset assured. " Good job Rarity! Starlight's here, by the way!" She waved to her. "Hey Rare!" "Hello Starlight, dear! Where's the rest of your band?" "I'd say that they're all enjoying themselves!" Starlight replied. "I think I have an idea of the member patterns that Countess Coloratura, or Rara as you call her, has been laying out. They may be computer-generated, but she probably input some codes to save the full band battles for later. In other words, she's giving my band a lot of relaxation time!" "Hmm, that's odd, but let's go with it!" Pinkie bought. "Maybe that's why Babs was hanging out with her fellow Crusaders." "Maybe." A.J. thought. "So Rarity, you won for us again? That's darn impressive of ya!" "I sure did and I couldn't have done it without all your support! Huuah, I'm feeling drowsy, though!" "Ain't that the truth?" as Rara came and put on a coat. "So am I!" "Rara, hey!" A.J. gave her a hug. "Ya leaving already?" "Hehe, of course! James will be taking over for me whenever each day is about to end, so there's that. You all are leaving as well?" "Yes ma'am!" The Rainbooms and Starlight answered. "Alright, very nice runs from all of you today, by the way!" Rara complimented. "Rainbooms, I hope you make Canterlot City proud, and same goes for you, Starlight, with our hometown of Manehattan! Have a good night!" The pop star left the theater. "Night Rara!" They yawned and waved. "C'mon let's go home, girls!" Sunset directed. "I'll text one of the Twilights and tell her to bring our friends to the station, okay?" "Got it!" The others huddled up. "Hello?" Sci-Twi picked up her phone. "Sunset, what's up? Okay, we're coming now, bye!" She ended the call. "Girls, it's time to go home!" "Okay, I might as well head back to my apartment!" Coco gleamed. "Have a good night!" Coco turned around and proceeded to the main entrance. "Bye Coco!" The girls bid their farewell. Sci-Twi, Princess Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy then went upstage and through the back to meet Sunset and the others. It was almost pitch black outside as most stores and businesses were closed, but the rain kept on pouring. "The station's only a short walk away from here!" Sunset said. "Yeah, but how are we supposed to cover ourselves up from the rain?" as Fluttershy protected her head. "Allow me, ladies!" Rarity put on her geode and created a hovering gem roof over the girls' heads. "Uhh, Rarity, don't ya think people will look at us funny?" A.J. blurted. "Everyone's got an umbrella on their head, Applejack! They can barely see a thing, so let's just breeze to the station!" "If you say so!" Pinkie didn't mind and skipped merrily. "Lalalala!" "Starlight, where are you going?" as Sci-Twi saw her going in the opposite direction of the train station. "She lives here in Manehattan, remember?" Princess Twilight assumed. "Canterlot High even saved her the trouble of commuting with costs." "Oh." Sci-Twi harmonized. "Hold up, look who's by the train!" Fluttershy pointed at it. "It's Heiru and Stone...with two other girls?" Rarity scratched her head. "Why are they getting on the train going to Canterlot City instead of their home?" A.J. raised her eyebrow. "I don't like it one bit, but we should get in a different car and ignore what they're doing!" Pinkie suggested. "Why?" Sunset crossed her arms. "I could just read what they're thinking about, it's not a big deal!" "You saw how Heiru dragged Stone off, right?" A.J. recapped. "I bet those two are so damaged in the head after no longer being undefeated that they ain't got anything better to do!" "Uh-huh." The rhythm guitarist still felt something fishy going on. "Come on Rarity, hurry up with the roof!" "Uhh, Sunset? We're already inside the train. You probably didn't see the light of my, or our, diamond roof in the dark outside." "All aboard the express train to Canterlot City!" The conductor shouted. The girls & Spike boarded the train and the tracks were all lined up, ready for the train to depart from Manehattan. The rain, luckily enough for them, seemed to have died down into nothing but short drizzles. "It's getting cold." Fluttershy shivered. "Let me see what I can do, Fluttershy." Sci-Twi then used a tiny heating spell to keep her warm. "How's that?" "Toasty! Thanks Twilight!" "No problem!" She winked at Fluttershy. "I figured you girls also might want to join in on this as well, huh?" "Ahh, I can't wait for Rainbow Dash to come back to the tournament!" A.J. squealed. "Anyone else with me?" "Mm-hmm!" The others joyfully nodded. "So Rarity?" Sunset nervously pulled her shirt. "Yes Sunset, dear?" "I don't remember you...acting that crazy at Guitar Hero! Do you purposefully do that or what?" Her mouth closed. "You saw me during each round I played, haven't you?" Rarity brought up. "Sorry, I can't help myself, but I don't think I've ever had that much fun with a game at all! Applejack might agree with me on this!" "I told ya, Sunset!" A.J. smirked. "Haha, you got me, okay! I literally freaked out every time we saw you shred, Rarity! I should've listened to A.J. more often about relaxing." "I almost died laughing because of that, it was darn too funny, even for me!" A.J. began to laugh again. "Are you okay, Applejack?" Princess Twilight checked up on her. "Hehe, now your laughter is starting to get contagious!" The princess let out a chuckle. "Great, we're all going to laugh now!" Pinkie joined in. As she got on the floor, so did the other Rainbooms, and their laughing at this point had officially attracted the other passengers. "Sorry, sorry, heh, we're good!" Everyone sat back down. "This is interesting." Spike snickered. "Hehe, oh..." A.J. calmed down. "Hmm, who's calling me this late?" She picked up her phone. "Hello?" "What up, sis?" Apple Bloom said on the other line. "Apple Bloom? What in the hay are you doing up this late?" A.J. scolded. "Duh, it's still the weekend! Besides, Big Mac ain't minding me at all!" "Eeyup." Her brother confirmed while passing by. "Okay then." as Applejack shook her head. "What can I do for you?" "Is Cousin Braeburn going to be alright, Applejack?" Apple Bloom worried. "What makes you say that? I forgot that the tournament was being put on television, did I? Anyways, I'm honestly sure about him getting his head out of the gutter. Braeburn ain't one to be messed with if you say something mean about his feelings!" "So is that a yes, sis?" Apple Bloom went over. "Yes, he'll be fine. Look, I'll be home soon, so take care of yourself, Apple Bloom! I love ya! Don't eat Granny Smith's last piece of the pie from yesterday by the way, that's mine!" "I love ya, too, Applejack." Apple Bloom worded with a smile. "Don't worry, I won't eat the pie...yet!" She hanged up. "Haha, darn, I knew she'd use that tomfoolery on me!" as A.J. turned off her phone. "That little rascal..." "Ahem." Rarity coughed. "What are you thinking about right now, Sunset?" "I'm not sure, Rarity. Are you actually fine about switching back to normal with Rainbow Dash? What if she changes her mind and lets you continue to take her spot?" "Of course I'll be fine, Sunset! This swap was only temporary and yes, I still feel a bit sad about dropping out, but you said it yourself: Rainbow Dash is the original lead guitarist of the Rainbooms. I have no problem with either continuing to play along with you, Applejack, and Pinkie, or Rainbow Dash coming back tomorrow." "Just making sure, thanks." Sunset closed her mouth. "I just can't wait to go to bed!" Sci-Twi stretched her arms up. "You all want to sleep over at my house?" "Would Shining Armor allow it?" Princess Twilight wondered. "My brother, your brother, or technically our brother, is always happy to let our friends sleep over, so yeah!" Sci-Twi factored. "So you girls are in?" "Yeah!" The others agreed. "Thanks Twilight!" "You're all welcome!" Later at Sci-Twi's house, the girls were all in their pajamas and slippers in Twilight's bedroom. Sunset and both Twilights were pillow fighting, Applejack was brushing her teeth, Pinkie was making s'mores, Rarity was watching TV, and Fluttershy was spending more time with Spike. "Come here you!" as Sunset chased the princess. "I regret nothing!" She retaliated and threw another pillow. "Eat this!" Sci-Twi then hauled one across the room. "Woah, easy!" Fluttershy ducked as she watched the three girls have fun with the pillows. "Uh-oh, I'm hungry again!" "You want Twilight to poof up a smorgasbord of food?" Spike looked up at the shy girl. "I think she can only use her magic to make things disappear, but let's see if you're right! Twilight?" "Which one: me or my royal self?" Sci-Twi asked. "You." Fluttershy pointed to her. "If you can, Twilight, do you mind if you can make food appear using your magic? I'd really appreciate it!" "Hmm, I never tried that before, but it's always fun to seek an opportunity like this!" Sci-Twi daydreamed. "What do you want to eat, Fluttershy?" "A chicken salad, perhaps?" Her mouth was watering already. "Here goes nothing!" Sci-Twi closed her eyes. "Umm, girls, do you mind if you could all back up a bit? I need to focus all my energy into this." "Mm-hmm!" as the other girls and Spike moved away to a corner. "Ggrnnngh!" With full concentration, Sci-Twi's magical aura came out of her forehead and in just a flash, she actually managed to make the food that Fluttershy wanted appear right before everyone's eyes. "I DID IT!" "YAY!" Without hesitation, Fluttershy dug in her salad and munched away. "Thanks Twilight!" "Hehe, you're welcome, Fluttershy! Now if you would all excuse me..." "Why is she sticking her head out the window?" A.J. minded. "HAHAHA!" The glassed girl laughed. "HEAR ME WORLD, FOR I SAY THAT MAGIC EXISTS! WOOOOO! MY FRIENDS AND I ARE GOING TO RULE THE WORLD!" "Should I pull her back in?" Pinkie attempted to do so, only to be stopped by Rarity. "Shh, let her have this, darling!" "Zzzz..." Princess Twilight walked and began to sleep in her sleeping bag. "My goodness, is it time for bed already?" Fluttershy said as she dropped her fork. "You can still eat, Fluttershy." A.J. reminded her. "Just...try not to watch us sleep! It's kinda creepy, if ya ask me!" "I'm turning off the lights now, so good night girls!" Sunset flicked the switch and proceeded to sleep next to Sci-Twi. "Night!" as the rest all jumped into their sleeping bags. "Fluttershy, sweetie, can you please not chew so loudly?" Rarity's head stood up just before she could lay it on her pillow. "Sorry!" And so, she chewed away again, except with less force of her teeth. The next morning, the sun was shining so bright that it woke up and almost blinded Sunset Shimmer's eyes. After closing the blinds, she woke up her friends and they all took turns showering and changing in the bathroom. They walked downstairs to the kitchen to eat breakfast before they could leave for the tournament. "So, what did we all dream of last night?" as Pinkie took a bite of her toast. "You're asking that like we're acting dirty or something, Pinkie?" Rarity giggled while in disbelief. "No! I even Pinkie Promised myself that I'd never dream of something dirty!" "Okay then!" Princess Twilight put aside. "Someone's knocking!" Sci-Twi speculated. "I'll get it!" Sunset then partook in getting the door and upon opening it, she freaked out. "AAAAHHHH!" "Did you miss me, Sunset?" Rainbow Dash awkwardly asked. "Wha-what?? Rainbow, wh-what're you doing here? I mean, it's great to see you again, but...how do you know that the girls and I are here?" "First off, you and I are hawk buddies, and that means we can also hear like one! Secondly, I overheard Twilight joyfully screaming last night all the way from my house. You need to fix your hair, by the way, it's looking like bacon!" "IT'S. NOT. BACON!" Sunset yelled. "...Sorry, you may come in, Rainbow Dash. I thought you might've heard her scream last night." "Exactly!" Rainbow nodded happily. "Thank you!" "Rainbow Dash!" Everyone else left the kitchen and gave her big hugs. "I'm so glad to see you girls again!" "We're all glad to see ya, too." Her bestie, A.J., acknowledged. "What happened to you?" "You and Sunset were both right." Rainbow got to her point. "About what?" They both butted heads. "About you having my back. I really let that incident with Lightning Dust get to my head and I was so scared that something like that might happen again, but no! I promised myself I wouldn't let any of my best friends be in danger and I know that they'll look out for me, too!" "Thank you so much, Rainbow Dash." Sunset took a deep breath. "You want to know something else, too? We'll always have each other's backs, by the way!" "Thank you too, Sunset! What is it?" "You deserve to be the Element of Loyalty." This made Rainbow Dash speechless. "I...have something that I want to tell you all as well." "Huh?" The other Rainbooms grew curious. "I love you girls so much, and it will always be an honor to be with you all!" Rainbow cried. "I may not be super emotional, but now, I feel like it's a good time to express myself. I can't wait for us to win the Guitar Hero tournament!" "We love you too, Rainbow Dash!" The girls and Spike all circled in and hugged tightly. "Rarity?" Rainbow pulled her shirt. "Yes Rainbow Dash?" "You were awesome in the tournament, and I really wish that you could shred some more, but I'm afraid to say that I have to step in and carry our band now again. I hope you understand!" "I'm not sad, I understand!" Rarity accepted. "You are destined to be the Rainbooms' lead guitarist! You even said it the very first day that you started this band with us! I'm never going to object your membership." "Thanks Rarity!" Rainbow replied. "You're also destined to be my best friend, just like all of you, girls!" "Thanks Rainbow Dash!" After finishing breakfast and traveling by the train to get back to Manehattan, they've arrived faster than expected. They went to go to the Manehattan Theater and saw it filling up again. "Hey, over here!" Countess Coloratura whispered out the back door. "There's Rara, and just in time, too!" A.J. fist pumped. "Let's go, gals!" "I'm really glad you all made it again! I see you have Rainbow Dash again on your side!" "I'm glad to be back too, Rara!" She winked at her. "Where's James right now?" "He's inside, just him being himself." Rara said. "Okay, Rara, there's something wrong with one of the other teams!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Those Neighon Warriors weren't so friendly to us and they're probably going to get back at us somehow for beating them!" "Good thing you girls all told me about them on the train!" Rainbow remembered. "If I see them, we're going to kick their butts!" "How do you know that they're going to get payback?" Rara interrogated. "We don't know much, except the fact that after we left here yesterday, we saw them get on the same train as ours, instead of theirs." Sunset gathered. "I wanted to check them out, but my friends found risks for doing that." "Hmm, I see." Rara rubbed her chin. "In that case, should I up the security detail in case the Warriors get back in here and cause trouble?" "We'd really appreciate that, Rara!" Princess Twilight smiled. "Thank you! Anyways, you all should get inside while I am going to call for backup. You can count on me, A.J.!" She assured her friend and pulled out her cell phone. "And I can count on you too, sugarcube!" A.J. then walked in with her friends. "Hello?" Rara called. "Can you please send some extra security down here? We've got a possible threat coming sooner or later! Really? I'm really grateful to have you as my assistant, thanks! Okay, bye!" She hanged up and walked in. "YEAH!" as James Hetfield was warming up his vocals. "Well, who do we have here? Our future champs: the Rainbooms!" "Hi James!" The band greeted. "I assume that you all know why you're here earlier than usual, right?" "Is it because that you and Miss Coloratura wanted to fit the finals in today?" Rarity guessed. "Correct!" James dinged. "I would also ask you why she went out for a bit, but I don't want you all to miss one bit of the tournament, so I'll just ask Countess Coloratura myself later, alright?" "Alright!" The Rainbooms didn't mind. "Great." James sighed. "So who's got the guitar now: Rarity or Rainbow Dash?" "I've got this!" Rainbow raised her hand up high. "Ooh, it's time to start!" James realized. "You four know the deal, right?" He asked and rushed to the top of the stage. "We're always the first ones up." Sunset noted. "Ladies and gentlemen!" James announced. "You're probably all wondering where Countess Coloratura is at the moment, but don't worry! I see a full house already this morning and it's going to get crazy! You feel me?" "YEAH!" The crowd chanted. "Rainbooms, Rainbooms, Rainbooms!" "That's what I like to hear!" James replied. "Let's see who they'll go up against this early. Hit the first monitor!" It began to rotate. "From the Hive Suburbs, the Rainbooms will be facing the Changelings!" "Changelings?" Spike theorized while being seated on Fluttershy's lap. "Thorax must be here! That guy's so cool!" "Who EXACTLY is up?" James exaggerated. "Number Two, please?" The second screen fastly activated and as it stopped, 'Full Band' was in effect. "Alright, we're together now!" Rainbow fist bumped her friends. "It has been a while since it's been like that in this tournament!" Pinkie lectured. "Changelings?" James poked around. "Come on out and everyone, give them some big hands!" The audience clapped. "The lead singer is Thorax, who's famously nicknamed 'The King,' the guitar player is Rover, the bassist is Steve, and their fellow drummer is Bob! Are you guys ready?" "We're ready, sir!" as the Changelings looked at the big screen. "I bet Spike's happy to see these guys again!" Starlight said in a waiting room. "Aww, I can't tell who Spike will root for now!" Sunset frowned. "He knows the answer to that: both of our bands." A.J. stabilized her. "Let's get the song ready!" James checked the last screen. "Folks, this time, you're going to help them count it in, alright? 1, 2, 3, 4!" "1, 2, 3, 4!" The crowd countered. "Begin!" as James started the game. As James Hetfield played the song, the Changelings were already rocking. "That's what I call a riff!" Sunset commented. "Now who's dropping the bass?" A.J. grinned. "Wow, that guy might be as fast as I am!" Rainbow gasped. "I've never seen anyone hit the bass pedal that hard before!" Pinkie amused herself. "Look at them go!" Fluttershy squeaked. "Fabulous posture, indeed!" Rarity allured. "Wow..." Both Twilights tempted. "Guys, go!" Spike cheered. "Now I see why Thorax's nicknamed, 'The King!'" James bowed. "All hail 'The King!'" "All hail 'The King,' all hail 'The King,' all hail 'The King!'" The crowd hailed. "We're not really in a kingdom, are we?" Princess Twilight shrugged. "Back in Equestria, I have a friend who's also a Changeling, and he's also named Thorax! Instead of him being 'The King,' ponies simply call him King Thorax." "Oh." Fluttershy put a hand on her mouth. "Is it almost over already?" Rainbow scratched her head. "This is definitely a speed metal track!" "I'll say!" Applejack mumbled. "They ain't even breaking a sweat!" "Focus, girls!" Sunset snapped them out of it. "We have to win this, remember? I'm impressed by Thorax and his band as well, but we can't get distracted!" "That's true..." as Pinkie Pie continued to watch their opponents.