Taismo: The Equestria Games

by RockStarMLP

Passing Times: Part III

"Go on and take it all, go on and take it all, Fortress coming down. I know we can't save it all, I know we can't save it all. Everything is gone! Oh I have seen it all, oh I have seen it all. Fortress coming down. Go on and take it all, go on and take it all! Just take it all! Just take it all! Just take it all!"

A harmony of dual guitars and heavy rhythm echoed in a guest bedroom remade into a rehearsal hall towards the end of a corridor. It was a song of the hard rock and metal genre, the title track to the newest album by a band Equestria wasn't too familiar with called Alter Bridge. Performing this song was Jason, Ash, Gohan and Yugi: the core founders of the Team JAG Band. They were all well-rounded multi-instrumentalists as they've proven many times before, currently in the Jason lineup, where the mentioned would be the frontman as the others played in their respective roles. They played through the song to its very end, concluding it with each of their instruments' sounds fading into silence.

The way they were positioned was having Gohan on the drums with Ash on guitar to his right and Yugi on bass guitar to his left, with Jason on vocals and guitar across from him, and all facing into the circle their positions formed. They set up their equipment mostly in a space back behind the drums so they could all hear the sounds of their playing. After their speakers no longer emitted any musical notes, each person grabbed themselves a mug of Crystal Empire nectar that was provided by Princess Cadance's staff. Not exactly tasteful to them as ponies would like it, they couldn't turn down the hospitality of their hosts, and enjoyed it as a taste of their visit.

Finishing his drink, Yugi set his mug on a nearby table. "It isn't bad when you get used to the taste," he said, talking about the drink. "Just a little strong at first."

"Yeah I guess," Ash half-agreed. He then took another drink, with a small wince from his shut eyes as he did.

"I'm fine with it," Jason added, "and I think we got Fortress down. That middle makes a fun jam session, don't you think?"

Gohan nodded and then said "I'm thinking you want to make it a jam session with the others. Are we talking full band or just a few?"

Jason just laughed a little as the others eyed him, all knowing too well that he did indeed have that idea in mind. "Just a few, maybe Phineas, Ferb, Kim and Ron." After a drink of his nectar, he set his mug down and adjusted the les paul guitar he was wearing. "So did you guys want to go through 'Aesthetics,' or one of Yugi's next?"

Going over the setlist that was made for them, Yugi skimmed at what songs he would be the frontman for. "Nothing on the Anniversary set, but maybe we should go over the last song of this set." He then showed the paper he was reading and pointed a finger at a song listed towards the bottom of the main list.

"I'm good with that," Gohan said.

"So am I," agreed Ash. "Just let me get adjusted for my role."

"Go ahead. I'll do a quick refresher."

Without a second to breathe, Jason began to play a legendary guitar solo from a song simply called 'Eruption.' What he was playing was the latter half of the overall song, and he was showing his mastering of performing it note to note.

But little did the four know was the incoming visitors that bursted through the door into the room. When the door flew open, the Cutie Mark Crusaders rushed in and caught the guitar player at about three-quarters of the way into the solo. The guitar's volume shrouded any other to be heard that wasn't another instrument, so hearing the door slam open was not easily possible. It was only when Jason began to let the guitar have a fade-out outro when the Master Four noticed their newest visitors at the sound of a unison "Whoooaa..."

The four turned their focus towards the fillies with some slight surprise. A moment passed before Ash said "Looks like we have some unexpected visitors."

"We could hear you down the hall."

Cosmo and Fluttershy then walked in, followed by Tails and Twilight a couple seconds later. Cosmo then added "Was that one of the new songs that came out a few months ago?"

"One of them, yes," Jason replied, and left it at that.

"We wanted to see what you're practicin' for your concert," Apple Bloom said.

"Well what you heard wasn't one of those songs," Yugi replied. "It was one we plan to play for our big Anniversary Concert on Mobius a couple days after the Games. You came in just in time, though, because we were about to rehearse one of the songs we do plan to perform."

"Sweet!" Scootaloo said excitedly.

"But since you guys are here, maybe we can rehearse a particular song for our encore set," Gohan said to the fillies, and then turned his attention to their Mobian bandmate. "Tails, did you already ask them about-"

"Already done," Tails interrupted, with a small laugh. "They all agreed, even though Nyx wanted to make sure she could from Twilight first."

"Speaking of which," Jason said, and threw his guitar around his back to approach the alicorn filly. He kneeled down in front of her and her friends to be closer to eye level, even though he still towered them by over a foot. "Nyx, the four of us owe you an apology. It should have been you sitting up in the Royal Suite with Twilight instead of us. We wanted to make it that it was you, Tails and Cosmo instead, but we didn't wanted to cause any upset reactions from these other visitors and refuse. With that said, we want to make that up to you."

Nyx's eyes saddened and her ears dropped. "It's not your fault. The guests of the Princesses heard about me from this Prince Blueblood, and refused to let me up there. You guys were allowed there because there wasn't anything bad said about you. It's just me they don't want."

"Well they're wrong," Twilight said, stepping up to her daughter's side. "Once they get to know you - the real Nyx - they'll come around."

"And we'd like to spend some time aside from viewing the games to get to know you better. If you are Twilight's daughter, then I'm sure we'll become fast friends," Jason added. The filly looked up and gave a smile. "That's one of our ways of making things up to you, but there is something else."

"What is it?" Nyx asked.

"We have a couple idea for songs that we found recently and want to add to a certain setlist," Jason started to explain, but it was carried on by another.

"Then we thought it would be fair to have someone - or more specifically, somepony - else to help judge and decide on which songs to choose." Following Ash was Gohan.

"And during our practicing, we first thought of Twilight and her friends doing it, but then you came to mind. That's when we realized somepony new would make the choice more interesting." Yugi picked it up from there.

"This is where the most important factor is put in: Tails single-handedly chose every song in this entire set, so we would want you to pick the songs, show them to him, and see who he thinks should do what for each one." It then rounded back to Jason to conclude the explanation.

"Nyx, we want you to be a part of Team JAG history, and for what will be following the Equestria Games, this is the best opportunity we could offer. Would you like to do this?"

Two offers. Two offers to be a part of Team JAG's plans in what was probably a five minute time span. Nyx couldn't react to this as her mind was comprehending this, yet had an easier time doing so than with the first one. This would make trouble for no one in any way, reason or form; just helping friends with their mission of celebration and having fun. With that conclusion in mind, she smiled.

"I'd be happy to help," Nyx said.

Twilight put her head down next to Nyx's and said "Good call," and her daughter looked back happily.

"Wow Nyx, that's so awesome!" Scootaloo said, she and the other Crusaders standing around her.

"Yeah," added Sweetie Belle. "I wonder what songs they'll have you choose."

"We'll give her the songs to listen over later on," Ash said. He then played a quick little solo on the drums, a small warmup on his part. "Right now we'll practice another song and see how we're doing. Yugi, you ready to sing?" His friend nodded.

"Oh, what song are you going to try and play? A nice soft ballad, or even a romantic song?" Fluttershy asked, seeming quite a bit excited.

Tails and Cosmo couldn't help but have a small chuckle to themselves. "I'm sorry Fluttershy, but I'm afraid there aren't a lot of those we have picked out for our show here," the fox said to the yellow mare. "...Unless they're rehearsing for Mobius instead."

"Not this time," Yugi responded. "In fact, this is one of the newest songs by a band we only just started playing last winter." He then put one of his guitars over him, and gave it a quick tuning with a few chords, followed by a solo. "This one's become a new favorite to play, so I'm sure we'll nail it here and get it right during the show."

"Only one way to find out," Jason said. He then put his sights on the ponies and asked "Why don't you make yourselves comfortable around us and watch? Just as long as you don't mind the volume of course."

"Sure!" The four fillies bolted around the Master Four, two between the guitarists and two between the rhythm section. Their eyes were wide opened and ears pointing up as high as they could reach with much anticipation.

Twilight and Fluttershy made themselves comfortable sitting on ground over by the large window overlooking a portion of the bustling Crystal Empire. Cosmo sat with them as well, sitting right next to the alicorn princess. Tails, on the other hand, spent his time at one of the guitars leaning on one of the walls, looking it over before taking it and putting it on, adjusting it to fit on him better.

Gohan, as he and the others were all set to go, noticed this and smiled amusedly. "You want to join in on this, I take it?"

"Sure, why not?" Tails replied in a humorous tone. After getting his guitar set up to play, he looked over the set to try and find the song they were talking about. He pointed his finger at one towards the end of the list. "Is this the one here?"

"That's it," Yugi replied. "You ready?" The fox nodded, borrowing one of the available guitar picks. Yugi then spoke out the band itself. "Alright, we all set? Start us off, Ash."

"Alright guys. Brave This Storm! 1. 2. 3. 4!"

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(Click here to enjoy some heavy metal before continuing)

---

The song stopped, all five performers grinning. They managed to get the song down just as it needed to be with barely a note missed; Tails, not needed to play the song live, missed at a few points, but nothing that was jarring to hear. On occasion they would notice their audience's reaction to it, but after it had ended, they had turned their heads to see several different ones.

Twilight and Cosmo clapped their hands and hooves, impressed with the group's performance. Although the former wasn't exactly the biggest fan of songs that were, as described to her, 'thrashingly heavy,' she couldn't deny enjoying it just for watching how well the friends work together to create the 'symphonic' sounds of heavy metal. The latter, having been there since the last quarter of the infamous Revival show, applauded out of both enjoyment and pride.

Fluttershy, on the other hoof, became so timid when the song just started that she crouched herself down as low as physically possible against the floor. Metal music was more on the lines of Rainbow Dash's tastes in entertainment compared to her own. She was already well aware that the Band plays this kind of music the most, but not once said anything negative about, as it was not her place to judge musical taste. Still, it didn't change the fact that she would have much rather heard a calmer, gentler song for them to practice.

But the four Crusaders remained stiff like statues, their jaws dropped in what they just watched. The five played with a lot more animation than what they had come to expect from a rehearsal, as if they were not rehearsing at all and up on a stage in front of the crowd. Tails was perhaps the only one who was collected with his behavior, not moving around unless it was a little walking, nor any jumping or headbanging moments. This was the same energy they introduced themselves with in Ponyville a few months ago, with Nyx witnessing this for the very first time, and she was both astonished and confused at the same time.

"That was so awesome!" Scootaloo yelled out. "The ways went off on guitar solos, and the singing, and it felt so fast that the room was shaking, and-"

"No wonder you guys are big time performers! Y'all are just full of energy," added Apple Bloom.

"All part of being our tribute band," Ash laughed. He then got off his stool, setting the drumsticks on top of it, and filled his mug up with nectar to have a nice, big drink. "Some songs, though, still require getting used to."

"Why? Was that hard to play?" Sweetie Belle asked.

He shook his head and replied "Not really, just new to us." He took another drink of his nectar before continuing. "When it comes to the new songs we start playing, it takes a few times to fully get used to it. Some are easier than others, but practice makes perfect." He then put his notice on Nyx, who looked at him intriguingly and silent.

"Hey Nyx, what did you think of it?"

"It was... I think it was... I think it's just," Nyx tried to say. She couldn't find the right words to describe it so quickly. "You guys were... Great." She just settled for that description as she lacked a better one, her tone sounding unsure still.

"What's wrong, Nyx? Did you not like the song or something?" Tails asked her.

"No, it's not that," she said. "I guess... I guess I just don't get it. You're all basically superheroes from what my mom told me about you, but you're all known to be these rock stars here. How is it that you're not known to protect your worlds and others more than playing music?"

The members of Team JAG looked at each other for a couple moments with smirks on their faces. It wasn't a question they haven't heard before, as it had come up in almost every new dimension they've discovered since the band's formation. Gohan responded to Nyx's curiosity with "Well, your mom and her friends are national heroes, aren't they? Have you ever seen their actions praised by ponies, or are they known for being who they are?"

"Well," Nyx replied, thinking of any examples, "only when I heard about when they saved Equestria from evil forces." She left it at that, not wanting to make any referrals to what, or who, was involved.

"They do it for fun, Nyx," Twilight said, "to bring worlds together to have fun with them."

Nyx turned towards her mother to ask "Is that it; fun?"

"Well, there's a little more to it. Tell you what, we'll tell everypony about the band's full reasons at a time set aside during the Equestria Games," Cosmo offered the curious little alicorn. "Twilight, Fluttershy and their friends know most about it, but we'll also explain to you girls and the Princesses all at once."

"Is it a big story?" Nyx asked.

"A really big story," the Seedrian joked. "Now, let's let the others practice some more."

"Well, we have time for a couple more practices before we have to get ready for dinner," Jason said, pointing out how much free time was left. "Maybe we should open the doors for the others to try and hear. What do you guys think?"

"I agree. We can give the Crusaders a quick rundown of their part anyway," Yugi stated. "Which song should be lure them with?"

It was no secret that there were a certain few songs that, when played in a manner for the rest of the band to hear, they come down to join in as well. One of those songs included a newer version of a classic song by a heavy metal legend gone before his time, covered by a collection of inspired musicians. When the Master Four heard this song, it became a new favorite, and it had a special place in one of the two sets they had drafted out and would bring the others when played. Jason gave the idea to practice that one, and the others agreed, all positioning into his lineup formation.

When they were set to go, all without making as much of a sound that wasn't from their current instruments, Jason looked at each pony in the room. "Friends, I wanted to wait to tell you this, but I think it's safe to say that we'd like you to be in the front row for our shows with everyone in Team Sonic, especially with songs like this next one."

"What song is it?" Fluttershy asked, fear trembling in her voice for another song like the previous one.

Tails just smiled and answered the pegasus's question. "Don't worry, it's not too heavy. In fact, we know you'll love it..." He then turned to his 'band of brothers' and said "You guys ready?" The four nodded, and then he turned his attention to the fillies. "You four ready?"

"Play it!" Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo replied. Nyx, however, gave a calmer "Go ahead."

"Alright guys, Dio's 'Rainbow' by Corey in 1! 2! 3-"

And with that, they began to play the song, having the doors wide open for the entire castle to hear. As their playing went on, the sounds of the song reached the ears of the remaining Mane 6, Team Sonic and the rest of the band. They all began to follow the sounds of the music, some flying as most ran, making their way towards the source of the sound of heavy metal greatness that fueled the band to love. Nyx was given a small demonstration of the whole band's mission statement thanks to this...

/)∞(\

Cadance was resting nicely on an alicorn-sized floor pillow that sat in a brightly-decorated room. What made this room stand out was the fact that the castle's crystal walls didn't make the walls shine, but instead the covered colors of a bright pink with a small crystalluy trim. The room, adjacent to the royal couple's private quarters, was the Princess's favorite, because it was the castle's royal nursery.

She sat on her pillow with a little foal wrapped in her hooves, who had fallen asleep a little while ago after some much loved time with Mommy Cadance. Once the baby fell asleep, the Princess didn't want to move and chance disturbing her little one, so she took advantage of the opportunity to sit still and relax in a peaceful environment, unlike what she sensed at the Royal Suite earlier. To say these moments were rare would be a lie as her life was blessed with many rewards; being a princess, a wife, and now a mother, just to name her greastest blessings. Moments like this, the peaceful and silent, are among her favorites.

At the same time, she thought about how Twilight's life has progressed. The purple alicorn she once foalsat for so long has been going in a very different order, having become a mother before a princess, and yet to be a lucky pony's bride. It isn't the ideal life, at least compared to a progression perceived as normal, but Twilight has made it work beyond anypony's expectations. She proved to be a wonderful mother to Nyx, and she truly earned her ascension into an alicorn princess with her helpful studies of friendship. Twilight Sparkle was always a pony to beat the odds one way or another, no matter what the situation may be, and Cadance thought of how such actions can be influential towards others, as well as how it was something that ran in the family.

As she was expecting, the door into the nursery opened in, only so barely to allow Shining Armor to enter. He had in levitated magic a tray of items and drinks, and a small stuffed toy, as he walked inside and gently shutting the door behind him. The look on his face, however, showed a confused look that Cadance could see from her location.

"Something wrong, Shining Armor?" she asked.

"There's some noise coming from the lower corridor. Sounds like Twily's friends are enjoying their time before dinner, but I don't know exactly what it is," he replied. He took a seat next to his wife, setting the tray on the floor in front of him. Looking down at the slumbering foal, he chuckled a little and added "Looks like it's not loud enough to get in here."

"I guess not," Cadance said. She then took a look at what he had brought in, most notably the stuffed toy. From all her years foalsitting Twilight, and the occasional times with Nyx, she knew what that toy was. This one, however, looked brand new and right out of a store, but not one you'd find in the Crystal Empire. "Shining Armor, where did you find that Smarty Pants doll?"

The stallion had a small laugh, and then replied. "I had a letter mailed to Twilight just before the baby was born if I could have her old doll. Apparently I forgot that Nyx now owns it, and after some sisterly scolding, she told me that there's a store in Canterlot that still sells them. I put an order out last week, and the train from Canterlot with their competitors that arrived this morning brought it down."

He levitated the Smarty Pants doll down next to the cradled foal, causing some squirming on their part. Unintentionally, he woke the baby up as a big yawn came out and two little, marble-like eyes began to open. Turning over, the eyes opened wider as the sight of the doll came to vision, and the foal let out a big open smile towards it, and then towards the two parents.

"Look what daddy has for you," Shining said in a loving fatherly tone, and used his magic to pick up the doll again. "This is Smarty Pants, and she's your new little friend. Do you like her?"

The foal's little eyes widened as the smile worn grew bigger. Two forearms reached out for the doll, which was magically given and taken into a happy embrace. The doll was smothered with the foal's delight, making the two parents very much pleased, especially Shining Armor.

"Looks like she loves it," Cadance said, giving her husband a kiss on the lips. "Nice job, mister dad."

"Why thank you, misses mom," replied Shining Armor, returning her kiss with one from himself. "I think it's about time we got ready for dinner, don't you think?"

The pink alicorn turned to look out the window and judge the time by the sun's position. Dinner wasn't that close, but only for so long. "I think you're right. You go ahead and I'll watch her for a while longer."

"No, you go ahead. I'll watch over her until you're done," said the stallion. "Who knows, maybe I can get her all dressed and ready before you get back."

Upon hearing that, Cadance began to laugh to near uncontrollable levels. He had tried many times before to take care of the filly, but having nearly no experience with baby pegasi, he bit off more than he could chew at every attempt. After each attempt, it was always her to clean things up for him, which she didn't mind at all. Before she was an alicorn, she was a pegasus pony, thus having a more natural handle of the foal's unintended antics.

She controlled her laughing down to a minimum and said "Shining, I love you, but I'm not holding my breath to that." She stood up off her feet, leaving the filly on the pillow with her new doll, and added "Spend some fun, peaceful time with our daughter, and I'll get her ready when I'm done. Okay?"

The unicorn stallion would've taken aback to that if it was another pony saying that, making a joke about him being the best father he could be. Hearing that from his wife, however, was a different story, even if it would've been the truth either way. Without argument, he just wore a grin and flatly said "Alright."

Following a quick, loving glance at her husband, Cadance walked out of the nursery and into the master bedroom to get herself ready. Shining Armor watched her exit, and then focused on the filly playing with her new Smarty Pants doll as she giggled happily. That put a smile across his face again, and he laid down onto his chest to get down to her eye level.

"Do you like Smarty Pants?" he asked, and she just smiled the biggest smile possible to him. "Then come along now, Skyla. Let's have some fun until Mommy comes back."

He stood back up and used his magic to levitate the foal and doll up. One of his favorite games was once that his wife was not quite fond of, but it always make Skyla happy. Keeping her in a magical orb, he lifted her in the air, released her to fall, and caught her in his magic just at his eye level so he could say "hi" in a cute manner. He loved the time he had with his daughter; that is, until she went back up and did not come back down as quickly, all thanks to her little wings flapping.

Author's Note:

And with this the Passing Times trilogy comes to an end. This started out as a more fun-hearted duo of tales, but the more I rewrote certain parts, the more opportunity I found to guide the future of the story to my intended places. Here we have the story's debut of what to expect towards the final chapters, and the official introduction of little Skyla. (Before you start throwing torches and pitchforks at me, I AM aware of the minor spoilers regarding a new episode coming up and how Pen Stroke's story The Long Road presents an expecting Cadance, but this idea was conceived long before The Long Road premiered and I'll be sticking to this so it doesn't cause other parts of Taismo: Equestria Games to be thrown out of place.)

With that said and done, I'll be polishing the next chapter to be up sometime before Halloween Nightmare Night as I continue to work on a chapter that I've been writing since Bronycon. I hope you've enjoyed the Passing Times trilogy and leave your thoughts in the comments