When a boy band lands in Equestria and bonds with magical musical gems, they must use the magic of song to protect the land from musical tyrants.
When Five special gems are bestowed upon five human boys. They are guided to the land of Equestria to help protect it from the lure of three sirens who like many of their kind wish to spread their disharmony throughout the land and make all pony kind do their bidding.
It was one night at a concert where five 13 year old boys were putting on a show with their singing and the fan were loving them. Especially the girls.
When they finished, the lead boy who had short blonde hair spoke up, "Thank you, Chicago! We are Accelerated Dash!" the fans cheered, as the five boys waved to them for coming out.
They walked back stage and were greeted by their record company producer Jerry Macintire, "Boys, another successful performance!" he looked to the lead blonde haired boy, "Zeck, loved those dance moves," he turned to the second boy who had short brown hair, "Tyler, voice was all over the place," he motioned to the third one who had long black hair, "Derek, loved that spin move," he looked at the fourth one who had short red hair, "Josh, you blew my mind with your flip," he then looked to number five who had spikey brown hair, "And Damien, loved the way you reached out to those girls up front."
Tyler spoke, "No prob, Jerry. If you'll need us we'll be in the dressing room." they walked on and opened the door of their dressing room. They plopped onto armchairs looking relieved.
Derek spoke, as he stretched his arms up, "What a night, hey, guys?"
"You said it." Josh agreed, as he kicked back.
"This calls for a celebration." Zeck said, as he opened a mini fridge and tossed them each a bottle of cola.
Damien spoke, while opening his drink up,"Thank God this is the last of our tour."
"You just want to see Lapis," Tyler began, "You send her a message everyday."
"I do not." Damien denied.
"So then if we'd look at your cellphone we won't find a single message?" Zeck tempted, while Damien said nothing.
"Can you blame the dude?" Derek asked, "He's super close to his little sister"
"Which makes me worried, do you?" Josh asked, only for Damien to speak up.
"No! I do not have a sister complex!" Damien cried.
"Take a chill pill, Damien." Zeck calmed him.
There was a knock at their door. Tyler got up and answered it seeing a delivery boy, "Accelerated Dash?" the delivery boy asked.
"That'd be us." Tyler confirmed.
"I got a package delivery for you all." the delivery boy said holding up the wrapped box.
"Package? All right." Tyler signed a form and the boy left. Tyler brought the package over to their dressing room's coffee table, "Mail!"
The other four came over and gathered around the package, "What is it?" Damien asked.
"Probably a gift from my adoring fans." Zeck answered with pride.
"I'll bet." Josh retorted.
"Its for all of us." Derek added.
"Who's it from?" Damien inquired.
"Hmm, no return address." Tyler noted.
"Hopefully its not from..." Josh said shuddering "Nora."
The boys shuddered at the possibility of their most crazy fangirl stalker, as Zeck spoke, "Well, this box ain't big enough for her to fit inside."
"Plus remember we mailed her to Iceland last time." Tyler reminded them.
"Sweet!" they high fived.
"Come on, let's open it." Josh said, as they opened the package.
They looked inside, and saw a case with five colored gemstones in it next to a label with each of their names next to a specific colored gem.
"Are these real gems?" Derek gasped as they reflected off his eyes.
"Wow," Josh gasped, "One for each of us."
Zeck picked up a red gem, "Awesome." he said while marveling at the gem.
Damien spoke, "Wicked." he held up the blue gemstone.
Josh picked up the black gemstone, "This will make for a great ring."
"Just my color." Derek said, as he held the green gemstone.
Tyler looked at the last gemstone being colored yellow before picking it up, "Who would've sent us these?"
"I don't know but whoever did must've paid a fortune for them." Zeck stated. He squinted at his, until suddenly the gem began glowing, "Uh, guys."
They noticed the red gem Zeck was holding was glowing, suddenly they saw each of the other gems started glowing as well.
They illuminated the room, and when it died down the boys looked around and saw the gems had turned into necklaces attached to collars around their necks.
"What just happened?" Derek asked in confusion.
"I have no idea." Zeck answered feeling freaked.
"They're stuck." Damien tried pulling his off.
Suddenly the gems glowed again and a mirror in their room started glowing as well, "Is this really happening?" Tyler asked as his body shook.
"Guy's, I'm scared." Josh trembled.
They walked over and looked at the mirror. Zeck put his finger to the mirror and saw it went through the glass, "Whoa!" he pulled his finger out.
"What the." Derek gasped.
"I think we got us a portal to wonderland or something." Tyler said.
Josh spoke, "Do we go through it?"
"What if we do and don't come back?" Damien asked.
Derek spoke, "I don't think I can look at this and walk away."
"Neither can I," Zeck admitted, "Guys, I think these gems want us to go in."
"The gems want us?" Damien asked rhetorically.
"I know it's crazy, but hear me out." Zeck pleaded. The boys listened, as he continued, "Whoever sent us these gems must have had a reason."
"Zeck, you're talking like we're in a comic book world." Josh said.
"I agree with Zeck," Tyler said, "I mean these things are stuck to us now. Whatever's on the other side of that mirror needs them, which means it needs us."
"I hate it when you make sense." Damien grumbled.
Zeck spoke, "I'm going in. How about you guys?"
Josh answered, "I'm going too."
"So am I." Tyler agreed.
"Count me in." Derek nodded.
"Damien?" Josh asked.
They all looked at Damien who was conflicted, before sighing, "Accelerated Dash never dashes on without the others. I'm in." he smiled.
Zeck nodded, as they gathered before the mirror, "Here goes." he stepped in.
Josh stepped in, followed by Tyler, Derek, and Damien stood before it, "I just know I'm gonna regret this." he dove in. All five boys were flying through a bright rainbow vortex screaming their heads off.
Meanwhile in the land of Equestria, inside Ponyville's castle, Twilight Sparkle, her friends, Spike, along with Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were gathered around a meeting table discussing the latest news in Equestria.
Luna spoke, "Everything in Ponyville seems calm as usual."
"And we hear Canterlot and the Crystal Empire is fine as well." Twilight added.
Celestia answered, "Yes. Though we still must be cautious. There had been recent reports of large fights breaking out among ponies and other creatures in the other lands."
"Fights?" Fluttershy asked in concern.
"Yes. From what we've learned these fights came up unprovoked between the sides." Cadence explained.
Spike spoke looking confused, "That doesn't make any sense."
"Yeah, ya can't start a fight without something to provoke it." Applejack agreed.
Suddenly Pinkie froze, "Girls, I think I'm getting a doozy."
Twilight looked concerned, "What is it? Where will it happen?" she looked around frantically hoping she wasn't going to get into another accident. Suddenly they heard a crash.
"Sounded like it came from the library." Cadence noted.
"Let's check it out." Rainbow said, as they hurried for the library.
When Twilight opened the doors, they halted upon seeing five bipedal creatures lying on the floor tangled up while close to the mirror that was meant to lead to Canterlot High.
"Ow! Josh, you're standing on my hand!" Tyler cried in pain.
"Who's got their foot in my face?" Damien demanded.
"Ouch! Who pinched me!?" Derek cried.
"Guys, guys!" Zeck announced, and they stopped struggling, "Let's get ourselves together."
"Ok let's get untangled," Derek began, "Tyler, I think if you move your arm there."
"And you retract your leg." Tyler added.
The five slowly untangled themselves, "All right let's get up." Zeck said, as they started descending to their feet.
"And I thought going through portals was supposed to be fun." Josh groaned, while rubbing his head.
"Where are we?" Tyler asked, as they looked around the room without even noticing the ponies standing in the doorway.
"Some kind of library." Derek answered.
"Uh, guys." Josh said in worry, as he finally noticed the ponies looking at them.
They looked at them and jumped a bit, "Guys, what are those?" Damien asked.
"Hi!" Pinkie greeted them with a raised hoof.
"Guys, I think that cola we drank had something in it. I think that pink one just spoke." Josh said.
"That's because I am speaking." Pinkie answered.
"I think I'm losing it too." Damien in disbelief.
"Guys, I don't think we're hallucinating this. I think it's real." Zeck feared.
"Real?" they asked.
"That can't be." Derek denied it.
"Actually he's right." Twilight confirmed.
"Oh..." the other four said and suddenly the five boys screamed in fright. The ponies were startled by their outburst, while Spike ended up slipping onto his back from shock.
"We gotta run!" Tyler cried, as the five started running down the hall of the library.
"Wow they're fast." Pinkie gasped.
"Don't let them escape." Luna said, as they went after them.
Rainbow spoke taking off, "I'm on it."
The five boys ran, as Derek spoke, "We got to get out of this place!"
"There's an exit up ahead!" Damien called.
They ran for it only for their path to get blocked by Rainbow, which made them skid , "Turn around! Turn around!" Zeck called, as they went another way.
"A.J, they're coming up by you!" Rainbow called.
Applejack took out her lasso, "I'll round 'em up."
She whirled her lasso and caught Josh's feet. He fell to the floor, "Guys, help me!" he cried in fright.
Tyler spoke, "Hang on, buddy!" they grabbed onto him and tried pulling him back.
"Oh, this like Nora all over again." Derek shivered.
Applejack tugged and tugged, until the boys lost hold of Josh, "Josh!" they called.
"Save yourselves!" he cried, as he was getting pulled over to Applejack.
"Oh, I don't think this is helping." Fluttershy voiced her disapprovement.
"I don't know what these things are, but they do know how to style." Rarity admitted, as she looked over at them.
Zeck spoke to the other three, "Split up!" they ran down different paths of the library.
"After them!" Rainbow called, as some of the ponies went off to catch them.
Josh looked at the ponies as he was tugged over, "Uh hi." he said nervously. When they still gave him questionable looks, he winced, "Please, I bruise easily!" he bawled.
Fluttershy not liking the sight of him quaking in fear, pat his head comfortingly, "There, there, no need to be scared." Josh looked up at her and looked flustered.
Derek was running down one hall and looked back seeing nothing behind him, "Ok, I'm in the clear," suddenly he bumped into something and fell on his back. He looked up seeing Celestia looking down at him, "I gotta stop saying stuff like that."
Celestia laughed in amusement, "Quite the funny one aren't you?"
Derek was confused, but answered, "Uh, I get that a lot." he smiled.
Tyler was ducking around the library shelves, "I gotta get to higher ground," he stopped and saw a ladder against one of the shelves, "There!" he climbed up it before standing on top of the shelf, "I should be safe up here."
Rainbow flew up, "Sup?"
"Then again maybe not," Tyler winced, before seeing another shelf, "Time to make like a frog and jump!" he jumped to the other shelf and began running across the others before jumping to another like an athlete.
"You're not getting away that easily." Rainbow flew after him.
Tyler saw another shelf looked farther ahead, so he ran as fast as he could and when he reached the edge he leaped with all his might, "GERONIMO!" he saw there was no way he could make it to the other shelf, and braced himself for the inevitable pain.
"Hold it!" Rainbow swooped in and caught him, "You gotta be crazy trying to make a jump like that!" she scolded him.
"I had to try." he winced.
" I mean who do you think you are Daring Do?" Rainbow asked rhetorically.
"If I knew who that was, I'd say I was at least attempting." Tyler answered sheepishly.
Back on the ground level, Damien was ducking around the shelves while trying to find a way out, "Come on, Damien. You can get yourself out of this," he saw another exit up ahead, "Home free!" he ran for the exit. He held his hand out planning to grab the door handle only to suddenly freeze and was levitating up, "Hey, what the!"
He looked down seeing Princess Luna was using her magic on him, "No creature can escape the Princess of the Night." he declared proudly.
"You better let me down or I'm gonna!" he froze, "Actually I don't know what I'll do, but I promise it'll be something bad!" Damien warned her.
"My-my, such a temper." Luna said, with a hoof to her chin.
Zeck being the only one left was hiding behind a shelf, "My poor buddies. I have to escape for their sakes," He peeked out from the shelf and looked both ways seeing the coast was clear, "Ok. Time to get out of here." he turned to go one way only to come face to face with Cadence as his nose touched her muzzle. He gasped.
"You know you actually look cute." Cadence admitted, while smiling.
Zeck cried in fright, as he spun around and tried to run but realized he was running in place. Twilight trotted up with her magic activated, "You may as well stop trying to run."
Zeck saw he was above the floor running in place, "What's happening here?!"
Twilight spoke, "Look if you calm down we can talk this out." she trotted along with Cadence as Zeck floated after them.
"Could you ease up with this? I'm starting to get air sick." Zeck warned them.
Meanwhile back with Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity. Josh was conversing with them comfortably and casually, "So she locks us in this audio booth her dad uses to make jingles and kept us in there for about a day." Josh told them.
"Oh, my." Fluttershy gasped, with a hoof to her mouth.
"How unfortunate for you." Rarity spoke in concern.
"Yeah. Luckily our bodyguard came and to get back at Nora, we shipped her to Antarctica when she tried to follow us again," Josh looked and saw Luna coming back with Damien, Rainbow came with Tyler, while Derek was walking at Celestia's side, "Hey, guys, what's up.?"
"Just floating around." Tyler answered dryly.
"I was just telling Flutters, A.J, Pinkie, and Rarity how we met Nora." Josh explained.
"You're associating with these things?" Damien asked in disbelief.
"Hey, Damien, it's not so bad. These ponies are actually really nice." Derek admitted, as he smiled at Celestia, who returned the gesture and answered.
"And you are very respectful."
"Hey, where's Zeck?" Josh asked, not seeing him.
"I'm over here." Came his voice. They saw Zeck flying by with Twilight and Cadence still keeping him airborne, until they lowered him, Tyler, and Damien down on the ground.
"Now then, let's start over calmly," Twilight suggested, "Who are you guys and how did you get here?" Twilight began, as Rainbow got into Tyler's face.
"And if you guys are spies, I'm gonna have to a number on ya." Rainbow warned them.
A.J grabbed Rainbow spoke to the boys, "Don't mind Rainbow here, fellas."
"Now then, your names." Twilight insisted.
Zeck spoke up, "Well, my name's Zeck Vangour."
"What kind of name is Zeck?" Pinkie asked the girls.
"Pinkie, don't be so rude." Rarity chided her.
"Just asking." Pinkie replied
Zeck hearing her question looked insulted, and spoke up, "I'll have you know I was named after my great-grandfather who was a war hero."
Josh spoke in boredom, "Zeck, could we not go into this again? Sorry about that. My name's Josh Gale." he introduced himself.
"Josh?" Rainbow asked never hearing a name like that before. The boy nodded in confirmation.
"I'm Tyler Flynn."
"Derek Cole."
"Damien Lazuli."
Celestia spoke, "A pleasure to meet you boys. I am Princess Celestia ruler of Equestria, and this is my sister Princess Luna."
"Charmed." Luna greeted them.
Zeck spoke to the guys looking surprised, "Guys, we're standing before royalty." he looked excited.
"Oh, this is England all over again." Tyler said dryly, while rolling his eyes.
Zeck bowed down before looking up at them, "Bow, idiots!" the four joined him in bowing to the two sisters.
Luna spoke to them, "Now, now, there's no need to bow." Hearing that, they got back to their feet.
"Oh, no harm done. I just was taken aback by your words." he answered feeling flustered.
Twilight spoke, "I am Twilight Sparkle. I'm also a princess."
Damien laughed, "Twilight Sparkle," he noticed his boys giving him a dry look, "Oh, come on. I can't be the only one who finds that funny."
"Dud,e that's an old joke" Tyler answered dryly.
"Seriously." Josh added.
Pinkie spoke up, "I'm Pinkie Pie, party thrower specialist. If there's a party to be thrown, I'm the pony to throw it!"
"I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria." Rainbow boasted.
"Not very modest are you?" Tyler asked.
"No place for modesty." Rainbow replied, still feeling proud of herself.
"Names Applejack, fellas. A pleasure to meetcha."
"Likewise." Derek replied.
Rarity went next, "I'm Rarity or Ms. Rarity if you prefer. I must say boys you certainly have style with your clothing and your hair."
"Well, thanks," Damien answered, "Our hair stylists and outfit designers make us look our best."
"Then they have natural talents, as do you boys for pulling off such looks."
"My name's Fluttershy." she said meekly.
"What did she say? I didn't quite catch that." Damien asked.
"Her name is Fluttershy." Josh replied.
"Ok, now that we're on a first name basis, can you tell us where we're at?" Zeck inquired out of the two royal sisters.
"You are in Twilight's Castle in the town of Ponyville in the land of Equestria." Celestia explained.
'Ponyville?' the boys thought.
"As to how you wound up here, you'll have to tell me." Twilight insisted.
Zeck answered "Well, it's like this. We just finished performing our last concert for our tour."
"Concert?" Fluttershy asked curiously.
"Yeah, we're a boy band. Accelerated Dash." Derek explained, as the boys stood together.
"Catchy title." Rarity admitted.
"Sounds like you're cashing in on my name," Rainbow said skeptically, "Not that I can blame you. It is an awesome name."
"I like it." Pinkie voiced her thoughts.
Zeck continued, "Anyway, after the concert we got this package containing these gems that stuck themselves to us, and activated some portal in a nearby mirror that brought us here."
Luna spoke up while motioning to the mirror, "Yes, the mirror right here was a gateway to another world that only Twilight and Spike have been through."
"I don't recognize them from that world though." Twilight said, as she studied their appearances.
"So then you know what we are?" Damien asked curiously.
Spike approached, and answered, "You're humans."
"Is that a dragon?" Josh asked, as the boys looked surprised.
Spike gave a sour look, "Well, unfortunately I'm a baby dragon, but don't think because I'm young I'm not a force to be reckoned with." he tried flexing whatever muscles he had in his small arms.
Twilight spoke recalling what Zeck said, "You said gems brought you here?"
"Yeah, these things." Zeck and his boys motioned to the gems around their necks.
"Wow. They look tasty." Spike started salivating.
"Why do you say that?" Derek asked curiously.
"Gems are a dragons favorite snack." Spike answered.
Rarity slid in to inspect the gems, "Such beautiful gems."
"Who gave them to you?" Twilight asked.
"There was no name." Josh answered, still feeling confused about it, "But each gem had our names to them."
"Whoever sent them to us must've wanted us to come here. But why?" Zeck wondered.
"Yeah, who would want to send us to a world of talking ponies and..." Damien noticed the unicorns, pegasi, and alicorns, "Whatever the rest are."
Twilight decided to educate them, "There are also unicorns and pegasi. Or in mine and the princess' case, alicorns."
"That's a new one for the mythology books." Derek said.
Celestia spoke to Luna, "We better look into this matter further." Luna nodded in agreement.
"Hey, why don't we give the guys a tour of Ponyville?" Pinkie suggested.
"Is that wise?" Zeck asked, as the boys felt that would lead to more problems for them.
AJ spoke to them, "This is Pinkie's way of welcoming newcomers. But I get why you're worried. We don't know how the folks in Ponyville will take to seeing you guys."
Pinkie ruffled Applejack's head through her hat, "Don't worry, A.J. Once everypony sees how nice these guys are they'll be happy to know them."
"In that case, lead on pony girl." Damien said.
"Yay!" Pinkie beamed as she bounced away, with the boys following her.
"Come on, we better go with," Twilight suggested, before looking back to the Princesses and Cadence, "Sorry to cut this meeting short."
"Don't worry, Twilight. We'll be needing to get back to Canterlot anyway." Celestia assured her. So Twilight and the others followed the boys leaving the three princesses to themselves.
Luna spoke up to her sister, "Those gems do look familiar."
"I know. We'll have to look through the archives." Celestia answered, as Cadence nodded in agreement.
The girls and Spike were showing the band around. As they walked many ponies were giving them questionable and awkward looks.
"I'm uncomfortable with this." Damien whispered to the boys.
"Suck it in, Damien," Zeck answered, "At least none of them have started screaming."
"And let's hope it doesn't lead to that." Josh added, while trying to ignore the looks directed at him.
Derek looked and saw a green unicorn eying them with hearts in her eyes, "O...K." he said feeling disturbed.
"You guys got to admit this town looks peaceful." Tyler said, as he looked around.
Damien nodded, "I know, it's so clean, fresh air. It's like paradise."
When they reached town, Zeck looked around seeing the ponies were still hesitant to wanting to go near them, "Guys, we gotta do something about this.'
"But what?" Tyler asked.
Zeck smirked, "We show them what we do best."
"Put on a show?" Josh asked.
"Put on a show." Zeck confirmed.
"But don't we need music for this?" Damien reminded him.
Zeck realizing that, felt sheepish, "Right."
"No problem." Pinkie said, as she pulled in Vinyl Scratch from out of nowhere with her turntable ready.
Zeck turned to his boys, "All right, guys. On my count, Tearing up my Heart." And so Vinyl started mixing music, and the boys started singing.
As they performed the ponies started listening and gathered around as if drawn to them, while the boys were unaware of the gemstones around their necks glowing.
The ponies started dancing and clapping along to the performance, while the girls saw this was looking good for the boys who no longer felt worried about being looked down upon. The five boys wrapped it up with a group pose. The ponies cheered with excitement, while Pinkie cheered the most.
The boys waved as Zeck spoke, "All it took was a song."
"That was very good." Twilight said feeling impressed..
"Not bad there, guys." Rainbow smirked.
"Your voices were so alluring." Rarity beamed
"It's our talent." Tyler answered.
Suddenly the ponies started surrounding them like a fan mob, asking questions and begging for autographs. The six and Spike watched as the boys were trying to get out of it, until Applejack spoke, "Shouldn't we help them?"
"Yes we should." Pinkie answered, as she just stood there watching the scene play out without doing anything to help.
Twilight sighed, "I got this." she used her magic to teleport the boys and themselves away from the mob of ponies. The ponies looked around in confusion as to what happened to them.
The group suddenly appeared outside Sugarcube Corner, with the boys looking scared out of their skin. Damien spoke up, "What the hell just happened to us?"
"I used my magic to teleport us away." Twilight explained.
"Teleport?" Josh asked.
"Yeah."
"That felt super weird." Tyler shook.
"My body feels all tingly from it." Derek added.
"So where are we now?" Zeck looked up seeing Sugarcube Corner.
Derek's eyes widened, "It's the house of the child eating witch!" he screamed.
Pinkie giggled, while ruffling Derek's hair, "No,silly! That's Sugarcube Corner."
"Sugarcube Corner?" Josh asked.
"It's Ponyville's sweets shop," Pinkie explained, "I work here for a living with Mr and Mrs. Cake."
"A sweets shop?" Zeck asked.
"Yeah. Why don't we show ya some of the stuff they make here?" Spike offered.
"Sounds good to me." Zeck answered.
"Me too." Tyler agreed.
"Then let's go in." Twilight said, as the group showed the boys inside.
Soon enough they were at a table, and the boys were indulging in milkshakes. Zeck after sipping his spoke up in joy, "This is good."
"Delicious." Derek added.
"This place is cool." Damien said, as he watched the Cakes take customer after customer.
"Best milkshake ever." Josh smiled
"You won't find it better anywhere else." Pinkie said.
Twilight decided it was best to get to know the boys some more, "So how long have you boys been a band?"
"About a year or so." Zeck answered.
Tyler explained, "We were just simple school boys, until we entered our talent show, and what luck a record company man was there and was intrigued by our talent."
"They offered us a deal and we took it. And here we are today." Josh concluded.
"Yeah, and one really wanted to be there with us." Damien added, while looking dismal.
The girls were confused, until Derek explained, "He's talking about his sister."
"Really, what's she like?" Applejack asked.
Damien answered, "She loves singing almost as much as I do."
"We've been trying to get her signed on to our label as well." Josh added.
"But our record man says she still too young." Tyler put in.
"I see." Twilight replied.
"But we promised we'd get her in once she came of age." Zeck assured them.
"Because she's really good." Derek spoke as he took out a mini cassette player that played a recording of a girl singing.
As the ponies listened, they started to enjoy it. Fluttershy spoke up, "So beautiful."
"That it is." Damien agreed.
"Since we went on tour, she's been sending messages to Damien every day." Zeck told the girls.
"Are they close?" Rarity inquired.
"Oh, yeah. We even wonder if he has a sister complex." Josh explained, only for Damien to grip his shoulder.
"Josh, don't make hurt you." Damien glared at him.
"Sorry. I'll shut up." Josh winced.
"He's a bit sensitive when we question about that." Derek told them.
"No kidding." Rainbow said.
Zeck was looking at his gemstone curiously, "I still wonder about these gems. What they're for, who sent them."
"I'm not sure, but they can't be ordinary gems if they brought you here." Rarity answered.
"Well, I want to know is where are we gonna stay tonight?" Damien asked, as the boys started wondering about that as well.
Twilight answered, "Don't worry. There's plenty of rooms at my castle."
"Really?" Josh asked hopefully.
"It'd be rude if we didn't help you." Twilight answered.
"Thank you." Tyler thanked her.
"And tomorrow, we'll show ya even more of the town." Applejack offered.
"We'll hold ya to it." Derek replied.
That night at Twilight's castle, each of the boys were being showed to their own rooms, as they each got comfortable.
Damien was the last to be escorted to a guest room by Twilight and Spike, "Just make yourself comfortable, Damien. And Spike and I will see ya in the morning."
"Thanks, Twilight. See you two tomorrow." Damien said, as the Princess and dragon left him to get some sleep.
The boy looked out the window of his guest room and up at the sky gazing at the moon and stars with only one thing on his mind, "Lapis. I'll find a way home somehow, little sister."
Meanwhile in another land by the sea three sirens were sitting atop a rock in the middle of the sea vocalizing as the gems embedded into their torsos glowed. Suddenly they felt a sharp spike in their gems magic.
One of the sirens who had red scales spoke, "Tempo! Presto! Did you feel that?"
A siren with pink scales, who was identified as Tempo answered, "Yes, Ballad. We did."
The white scaled siren identified as Presto spoke, "They've been activated."
"Then it seems our time is drawing closer." Ballad said.
"What do we do?" Tempo inquired.
"If those five have chosen theirs then we need ours." Ballad said, as she held up a gem that looked like the ones the boys acquired, only this one was colored in the shade of Lapis lazuli. The three sirens looked at the gemstone mischievously.
At Twilight's castle the very next morning, all five boys stepped out of their temporary bedrooms and rubbed the sleep out of their eyes.
"Man that bed was comfy." Josh yawned.
"I almost didn't wanna wake up." Tyler said, as he stretched.
Damien on the other hand still looked tired, "I wished I didn't."
"This ain't our world, Damien," Zeck reminded him, "We can't afford to sleep in when there's so much to see and learn." Damien couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"So what're we gonna do today?" Derek asked the boys, who didn't have an answer.
Twilight came over and gave them an answer, "Today you five have school."
The five did a double take and spoke in confusion, "Eh?"
"Come again?" Damien asked.
"As long as you five are here you'll need education about our world. Unfortunately I have bigger responsibilities." Twilight explained.
"What're you our mother now?" Tyler asked rhetorically.
"No, but as long as you're here you'll be my responsibility." The Princess of Friendship said like a responsible adult.
The boys thought in disappointment, 'So much for relaxing.'
"Now get yourselves cleaned up." Twilight instructed.
At the sound of the command, Derek called out, "Me first!" he ran to the nearest restroom.
"Oh, no ya don't!" Tyler called, as they raced after him.
Spike watched the boys race, "And I thought Rainbow was fast." Twilight giggled.
Eventually they all got cleaned up, and Twilight was escorting them through Ponyville. Zeck spoke up, "I can't believe we're going to school in a different world."
"Neither can I." Tyler replied.
"We're taking classes with young ponies. No doubt it's gonna be awkward." Damien voiced his discomfort.
"As long as we don't get anyone like Nora I'll be fine." Josh said.
"Heaven help us." Derek shuddered at the idea.
"This is it." Twilight said, as the boys saw the Ponyville school house.
"They make school that still look so old school?" Damien asked.
"I hope you informed someone here we would be attending?" Zeck asked Twilight.
"Don't worry about it. Ms. Cherilee will help you guys with anything you need to know," Twilight explained, "And I asked a couple of the students to show you the ropes."
"Who's that?" Zeck inquired.
"Trust me, you'll know when you see them." she promised.
Suddenly three fillies came out, "Cutie Mark Crusader Tour Guides at your service!" they declared loudly.
"And we found them.' the boys thought.
Twilight introduced them, "Guys, this is Applebloom, Applejack's sister. Sweetie Belle, Rarity's sister, and Scootaloo."
"And we are..." Applebloom began, before all three announced together, "THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!"
"Cutie mark?" Tyler asked curiously.
"Is that what those tattoos on the flank called?" Damien asked.
Twilight nodded, "That's right. When a pony finds their special talent they earn a cutie mark which symbolizes that talent."
"I see." Zeck said, thinking if humans had something like that finding a job would make things easier rather than constantly trying to find different calling cards right from left.
"Maybe we should've gotten tattoos of microphones or something when we became a band." Derek said.
"Derek, they'd never let us get tattoos," Josh replied, "Besides you have any idea how many diseases there are in the needles they use?" Derek shrugged his shoulders.
"Ok, girls, I'll leave them to you. You boys have a good day." Twilight headed off.
"Come on, guys. Class will be starting." Scootaloo said.
"Well, let's go." Damien said, as they walked into the school house.
Upon entering the classroom, they saw students were seated at little wooden desks with Cherilee up front. Tyler spoke, "I don't think we're gonna fit in those desk seats."
"Push two together and make them bigger." Derek suggested.
So they did so and sat in the far back behind the fillies and colts. Cherilee spoke up, "Now before we beging I'd like you all to welcome some new students who will be joining us. Boys, come on up," The five got up and went to the front, "Now then introduce yourselves to the class."
"Hello, everyone. My name's Zeck Vangour." Zeck introduced himself.
"Damien Lazuli."
"Derek Cole."
"Tyler Flynn."
"And I'm Josh Gale."
"Nice to meet you all." the said together.
"They're the ones who put on that show yesterday." a unicorn filly spoke up.
"Ah, you remember that, huh?" Tyler asked.
"You guys were good." a colt said.
Well, we have a reputation." Zeck admitted.
"We are Accelerated Dash; coolest band in our land." Damien explained, as the boys smiled.
"Thank you, boys. You may take your seats." Cherilee instructed.
The boys went back to their seats, as Sweetie Belle whispered to them, "Good introductions."
"Thanks." Josh replied with a smile.
"Hope the rest of the day goes by fast." Damien said, as Cherilee started the lesson.
So the boys listened in, despite it feeling like they were back in preschool they knew these lessons had to count. Each one of them noticed a few of the fillies would occasionally glance back at them just for the sake of looking at them. To the boys this was normal behavior having to deal with it from fans.
When recess came, the kids were let outside with the boys coming out last. Josh stretched, "Well, that wasn't bad for a first few lessons."
"Yeah, but now we got our break." Damien said, as they took the time to kick back by a tree.
The CMC trotted up to them, as Applebloom spoke, "So what do ya think of class?"
"It's good, actually," Zeck answered, "School for us back home isn't so bad either, although it can be a stretch balancing school and our career."
"Yeah. Lucky we have some private tutors while we're on the road." Josh said.
"So guys any of you feeling flustered by any of these fillies?" Derek asked curiously.
"Flustered?" Tyler asked in outrage, "Derek, are you insane?!"
"Just asking." he replied.
"These are ponies, Derek. How does it look if we look like we like them in that kind of way?" Damien asked.
"I don't know, maybe that kind of thing isn't a problem in this world." Derek retorted.
"Even so, we shouldn't try to develop those kinds of emotional attachments to any of the ponies here." Zeck warned him.
"Hey, you see how Spike looks at Rarity." Derek reminded him.
"Never the less." Damien replied.
"Come on, you guys. Let's go play." Sweetie Belle said, as the three fillies nudged them to join in their fun.
After school was out, the students were leaving with the boys coming out last, "Well, boys, what should we do now?" Zeck asked.
"Let's go grab a sundae at Sugarcube Corner." Damien suggested.
They were about to go, until Applebloom approached, "Hey, fellas. Um before ya go. Ya think ya could give us all a performance like yesterday?"
The five looked and saw most of the kids stuck around and giving them hopeful looks. Zeck spoke up, "Well, since you're all so interested. We can spare some time, right boys?" The group voiced their confirmation, as the kids gathered around, but made sure to give the boys enough space. So the five began to perform a song, and used one of their phones to play the music required for it.
Just like yesterday the young ponies were clapping their hooves to the performance. Damien, Josh, and Tyler brought the CMC over to dance with them, as they taught the three dance steps. As the five performed they were once again unaware of their gems glowing and energy pooling from the ponies and into the gems.
When the boys finished, the kids cheered. Josh smiled, "Even the ponies here enjoy our work."
"Well, I think you were way off key." came a snobby voice.
The boys gasped upon hearing the insult. Damien looked around, "All right who had the gall to say that?" he demanded, until they saw approaching was a tiara wearing filly accompanied by a gray filly wearing glasses. The boys recognized them from class, and recalled how they were taunting other students during recess and giving them the mean glare during classes.
The five looked at the pink filly, as Damien spoke again, "Oh, you."
"Take my advice boys, take better singing lessons." the tiara wearing pony smirked. The boys frowned at her insult.
"Hey, back off, Diamond Tiara!" Scootaloo called her out.
"We'll take your advice when you actually have adivce worth the taking." Tyler said.
"Yeah. They were amazing." Sweetie Belle put in.
"Yeah. Amazing for amateurs." Diamond continued, as she laughed.
The five continued to get irritated by the smart mouthed filly, until they noticed Diamond's cutie mark. They smirked having already devised a way to out insult her.
"Well what's so special about you?" Zeck asked, "Based on that cutie mark all I'm seeing is a talent for being stuck up."
"You probably won't even be able to make it in the real world like that." Damien added, as various fillies started laughing.
"Shut up!" Diamond ordered the ponies, and looked back at the boys, "And who asked you?"
"Hey, nobody asked your opinion on us, so gotcha there." Derek countered.
Zeck spoke up, "We have real talent that makes a difference in our world. Maybe more here."
"And to make it this far we had to work hard to get this far and make sacrifices." Damien put in, feeling very affected by his own words.
"So good luck in whatever you try to do in life." Tyler concluded, as Diamond backed off.
"Come on, guys, we've associated with this riffraff long enough." Josh said, as they started walking until Damien looked back at Silver Spoon.
"Hey, you with the spoon flank," Silver looked confused, "If I were you I'd start thinking very hard about what real friends are."
Silver looked at Damien feeling moved by what he said. Damien have a final nod, before following his boys, as the CMC went with. Silver felt a blush coming on, but was snapped out of it by Diamond Tiara.
Come on Silver Spoon." Diamond said, as Silver looked back at the band before following. As the two walked she looked back at the band and smiled.
'I thought they were good.' she thought.
As the boys and the CMC walked to Sugarcube Corner, the boys were being greeted by various ponies that were passing by.
"Wow, only a day here and you boys are already this popular." Sweetie Belle said.
"Surprised us too." Josh admitted.
"And nice to tell off Diamond Tiara like that." Scootaloo added with a smirk.
"Hey, you can't take a step back from creeps like that," Damien replied, "Even a girl."
"You said something about making sacrifices to get where you are. What do ya mean by that?" Applebloom wondered.
"Well, we're on the road traveling in tours for months." Zeck began.
"When you're dealing with something like that, one of the things ya don't get to see too much is family." Damien added.
"Really?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Uh-huh." Josh nodded.
"Which is why every opportunity we get when we can just go home, we take full advantage of it to be with our families." Derek said.
"Good plan." Applebloom said, as they arrived at Sugarcube Corner.
"Come on, I'm starving." Tyler said, as they went inside.
They walked in, and took a table. Mr. Cake came by, "Well, good afternoon, girls and boys. What can I get for ya?"
"Give us a line up of sundaes, this one's on me." Sweetie Belle said.
"Really, Sweetie Belle?" Josh asked.
"Hey, being the sister of the element of Generosity has rubbed off on me." the young unicorn answered.
"Well, thanks." Damien said, as they placed their orders.
Soon enough all eight of them were enjoying their sundaes, while talking about both their groups.
Zeck asked, "You girls have tried so many different kinds of stuff to earn your cutie marks."
"We know." Scootaloo replied.
"But there's still so much we haven't done." Applebloom added.
"But we're gonna keep trying until we earn our cutie marks." Sweetie Belle declared.
"Well, you girls keep at it and you'll find your true purposes in life." Tyler said.
"Thanks, Ty." Scootaloo said.
Pinkie Pie bounced over, "All of you enjoying your sundaes?"
"It's delicious." Derek said, as he took another spoonful of his.
"Made them myself." Pinkie explained with a smile.
"You did a fine job." Zeck added.
"Thank you very much."
Suddenly the doors opened and Twilight came in with Spike on her back, "Pinkie, have you seen... Oh, guys, you're here."
"What's up, Twilight?" Josh asked.
"Why're you out of breath?" Tyler asked.
"I've been looking for you. The Princesses are back at the castle." Twilight began.
"They said they found out something about those gems you're wearing." Spike added.
"Really?" Zeck asked, as the rest of the boys were shocked.
"Come on. Everypony's waiting for us back at the castle." Twilight instructed.
The boys saw they each had a bit more ice cream left and downed them, before they followed Twilight, Pinkie, and Spike.
They walked all the way back to the castle, and walked through the halls before reaching the library where the rest of the girls, Celestia, and Luna were waiting.
"Afternoon, everyone." Zeck greeted the ponies.
"And a good afternoon to you too, boys." Celestia greeted them.
"Twilight told us yall attended class today." Applejack began.
"Did you enjoy it?" Fluttershy asked.
"It wasn't so bad." Damien admitted.
"Actually, it was cool." Tyler added.
Zeck spoke up changing the subject, "So, Princesses, you said you found something out about these gems?" he motioned to his gem around his neck.
"What are they?" Tyler asked.
"Something we should've recognized the moment we saw them." Luna answered, as Celestia levitated a book over, and opened it up to a page showing them surrounding an old unicorn.
"They are the five power gems of Starswirl the Bearded." Celestia explained.
"Starswirl the Bearded?" Josh asked, as the boys were confused.
Twilight answered, "Starswirl was one of the greatest unicorns to have ever existed."
Celestia turned to her pupil, "Twilight, you did read the chapter on how Starswirl defeated the three sirens and banished them to another world?"
"That's right." She confirmed.
"Well, there were more than just those three in Equestria." Luna said.
"They were even more powerful than the other three. Not even Starswirl could banish them." Celestia added.
"He couldn't?" Fluttershy and Josh asked.
"I'm afraid not," Celestia continued, "But he found a way to combat them. He studied the magical properties of the gemstones embedded into them and created counter gems that could negate the hypnotic power of the sirens."
"So did he use them?" Rainbow asked.
Celestia shook her head, "He could not. For the gems themselves needed to choose ones to wield them."
"By then the sirens had went into hiding for they themselves needed to plan as well," Luna added, "Nopony had heard of them since then."
"And you think they're the reason we have these gems now?" Tyler inquired.
"It must be, for multiple fights have broken out in various towns. The same way Twilight said how things were in the other world." Luna explained.
"Well, now we know what we're up against." Twilight said recalling the three sirens.
"Hold up!" Damien called, "This doesn't make a lick of sense."
"Damien?" Zeck asked, as the rest were curious about his outburst.
"How is it that five gems Starswirl created about a thousand years ago ended up in our world and personally delivered to us with our own names given to each gem?" the boy asked.
Josh nodded, "I also find this very hard to grasp."
Zeck answered, "I won't deny it's all too big coincidental, but if we really are the ones these gems have chosen then our reason for being here is more important than I thought."
"So how can we use these gems to fight back against sirens?" Tyler asked, before realizing something, "I just said we're going to fight sirens."
"Does the book say how their gems can stop the sirens?" Rarity asked Celestia.
Celestia nodded, "Much like how the sirens use their voices to charm and divide the ponies, their gemstones assimilate the negative energies from them to get stronger. Starswirl however, created these five gems giving them the opposite power of sirens gems."
"So the gems the boys wear can assimilate positive energy to grow stronger?" Twilight guessed.
"Precisely." Luna answered.
The boys stood their looking shocked, before Damien spoke up, "Yeah, I'm stepping out on this one." he tried to walk away, only for Zeck to pull him back.
"Damien." he began.
"Zeck, you can't honestly believe we can combat sirens with just our voices. We're just teens."
"Believe me, I'm not so comfortable with the idea of us fighting mythological creatures with alluring voices, but what choice do we have?"
Josh spoke up, "I'm with Zeck. We came here without even knowing what to expect, and now that we know it's not like we can just go home."
Damien was shocked at their answers, before turning to Tyler and Derek, "Can you believe them, you guys?"
"Actually, I do." Tyler admitted.
"So do I." Derek added.
"What?" Damien asked in disbelief.
"Damien, you can't ignore this. It's obvious these ponies if not others are in potential danger from these sirens." Tyler said.
"And if these gems we're wearing are the only things that stand a chance against these sirens, then they must be used." Derek added.
"But they can only be used by us." Zeck reminded him.
Damien looked back and forth between his friends seeing he was once again outweighed by the argument. He sighed, "I hate it when you're right."
"So then are you with us?" Zeck asked, as he extended his hand to Damien.
Damien looked at him and clasped his hand with his own, "It's our motto. Accelerated Dash never dashes on without the others."
"Good motto." Pinkie said.
Twilight suddenly realized something, "Wait a minute. If their gems feed on positive energy, then maybe they've already assimilated some of it."
The boys hearing that thought back and remembered, "The performance we did yesterday in town." Zeck gasped.
"And after school we did a little number for the fillies." Josh added.
"You don't think..." Tyler began, but Twilight finished.
"Your gems had started assimilating the energy from the positive reactions from the ponies."
"So we got us power brewing in these things?" Derek asked, as he looked at his gemstone.
"It would appear so." Luna confirmed.
"And the more energy they assimilate the stronger your singing will be." Twilight added.
"The problem is you've only sung twice while wearing those gems," Celestia began, "The sirens however will be much stronger since they've been at this for a long time."
"So how can we juice their gems up fast enough to help face the sirens?" Rainbow asked.
They pondered on it, until Zeck spoke up, "I got it!" they turned to him, "If it's singing that our gems power us up with, then singing is what we have to do in order to gain more power."
"Zeck, are you thinking what we're thinking?" Tyler asked.
"Oh, yes I do," Zeck answered, "We're gonna do an Equestrian concert tour!" he declared.
"Ooh, a tour? Sounds like a wonderful idea!" Rarity beamed, "Oh, you'll need costumes of course. And I'm just your mare to do it."
"I can draw up some flyers and forms and mail them to other parts of Equestria." Twilight offered.
"And I can get some of the Pegasi in Cloudsdale to mail them as well." Rainbow added.
Celestia smiled at the boys, "Starswirl's gems have chosen wisely."
"Indeed." Luna agreed.
Zeck turned to his boys, "Well, guys. Hope you're ready for an extension on our tour."
"I was hoping to head back home afterward, but can't be helped can it?" Damien asked, the other three shook their heads.
Zeck looked up to the ceiling, "Look out, sirens. Accelerated Dash is gonna out sing you!" he threw a punch into the air.
The Sirens, Ballad, Tempo, and Presto were looking through a glowing section of water by the beach as the gemstone they were using was glowing brighter or dimming down.
Presto spoke in boredom, "Ballad, we've used the water mirror on just about every place in Equestria, and we haven't found even a faint hint of anypony powerful enough to harness the power of the gemstone."
Ballad looked at Presto feeling irritated by her pessimistic behavior, "Then we'll have to look further from Equestria."
"Further? You mean like in other worlds?" Tempo asked curiously.
"Precisely."
"If you say so." Presto said dryly.
Ballad vocalized a bit as the glowing water started showing visions of other places in another dimension. The other two sirens kept an eye on the gemstone waiting to see a stronger reaction to someone who can perfectly bond with it. Suddenly they started hearing some vocalizing through the viewing waters.
"That voice." Ballad gasped.
"Nice pipes." Tempo said feeling impressed.
"Who's doing it?" Presto wondered, as the waters revealed exactly who was doing it.
They saw a ten year old human girl with honey blonde hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in a dark blue dress with lighter roll-up sleeves under a pink short sleeve jacket and a magenta belt with a water drop buckle on the left side, and pink boots with magenta roll-ups. She was standing before a mirror practicing her vocals.
"It's a... It's..." Tempo stammered, "What is it?"
"I don't, but I like her voice." Ballad said smirking.
Presto noticed the gemstone was reacting to her voice, "And the gemstone agrees with you."
Ballad smirked, "Girls, we got us a winner. But before we summon her, let's find out more about her." they gathered around to watch what she was doing.
Meanwhile in the human world, the girl who was practicing before the mirror in her bedroom ceased her vocals, before looking over and saw a picture of herself with Damien, and sighed. She looked at her cellphone and saw no new messages, "It's been a whole day and he hasn't sent me one message," she sat down on her bed and closed her phone, "Don't worry, big brother, one day I will make it big like you. Just wait for me."
Suddenly a woman's voice called out, "Lapis, dinner!"
"Coming, mom!" the girl Lapis called back, before leaving the room. She she left she was unaware of her mirror glowing a bit before stopping.
At the dinner table, Lapis sat with hers and Damien's parents enjoying dinner, while watching TV seeing news footage that was taken place during Accelerated Dash's last concert.
"And there you have it, folks. Accelerated Dash has done it once again!" the news reporter called, "The fans can't get enough of these boys and their style. I'm sure the parents who raised these boys are mighty proud of them."
Lapis squinted as she looked at her parents seeing how they smiled at the news footage. They were really foster parents who took the two in after their real parents were in an accident. Lapis spoke up, "Damien and the boys are really doing well on their tour."
"They sure are." her father replied.
"They'd probably be even better if they had a girls voice to backup vocals." she added.
Her mother saw where this was headed and sighed, "Lapis, we've been through this, you're just not old enough to go traveling on tours for stuff like that."
"You let Damien do it." Lapis argued.
"Your brother is thirteen." her father reminded her.
"I'm only three years younger than him, how is that any different?!" she shot out of her seat.
"Lapis, do not raise your voice." her mother said.
"You just don't want me to be a success. You hold me back because you want me to stay here for the rest of my life."
"That's not true." her father answered.
"If it isn't then you would've allowed me to join them. You know I can sing great, Damien knows it, even their manager knows it."
"Young lady you are stepping out of line." her mother disciplined her. Lapis frowned, and sat back down and ate her dinner still shooting dirty looks at them. From a mirror in the dining room that was on an angle so it was facing the kitchen, the three sirens had watched the scene play out and Ballad knew exactly what to do.
Lapis returned to her bedroom and slammed the door. She grunted in frustration before dropping down on her bed, "How can I expect to express my own talent if nobody even gives me a chance or listens to me for that matter? Damien, at this rate I'll never catch up to you and the boys."
Suddenly her mirror began to glow which confused her, "Huh?"
She got up and looked at the mirror only to see a gem come out of it and land in her hand. She looked at the gem and asked, "What is this?"
Suddenly she heard a voice come from the mirror, "Come to us."
"What?" she gasped thinking she was imagining it.
"Come to us." the voice repeated.
"Who's there?"
"Lapis..."
She suddenly heard vocalizing, and Lapis felt moved, "That sound," she looked into the mirror and saw three sea serpent creatures with hoofs, "What are..."
"Lapis." Ballad said hypnotically.
"Who're you?" Lapis backed away in fright.
"We are the opens who can make your deepest desire come true." Ballad answered.
"Really?" Lapis asked, "What do you know about my desires?"
"It's true they hold you back from reaching your true potential as a star." Tempo began, as Lapis was surprised she was right.
"But if you come and join us, we can make you a star." Presto offered.
"You can really do that?"
Ballad nodded, 'But first you must trust us."
Lapis was torn between what to do. She knew not to trust strangers, especially ones who speak through a mirror, but her resentment towards her foster parents was too overwhelming, and answered, "All right. I will." she stepped into her mirror.
Lapis was flying through a vortex screaming in worry, until she headed towards a bright light up ahead. From the sirens point, the girl came flying out through the portal they created with their viewing water, and Lapis landed on the beach.
"Ugh," she groaned, before getting on her feet, "What, where am I?"
"You are in Equestria." Ballad began, as Lapis looked and saw the three up close.
"Who are you three? More like what are you three?"
"To answer your questions. I am Ballad, this is Tempo, and Presto. And we are known as sirens."
"Sirens?"
"Yes, and you are in the land of Equestria." Tempos said.
"Equestria? You mean I'm not even on earth anymore?" Lapis asked in shock.
"Afraid not." Presto answered.
"You three said you can help me reach my goal. How?"
Ballad answered, "That gem we have bestowed upon you will give you the power to make any creature here bend to your will with your voice as your power."
"My voice is power?" she asked as she looked at the gemstone.
"As long as you wear it around your neck, yes," Ballad confirmed, "And when your singing drives those apart you shall feed off that energy and become stronger."
"Stronger?" she asked.
"Correct. But you are not alone. We've felt there are others here with power that conflicts our own." Ballad warned her.
"They're song unites those around them." Tempo said.
"They must be terminated for our very sake." Presto added.
Lapis looked unsure, "I don't know about terminating."
"It is the only way to ensure our kind remains strong," Ballad reasoned, "And when we do, you will be adored by all just as you dreamed of."
"I still don't know..." Lapis said unsure, until the three sirens started vocalizing around her.
Lapis was confused until green wisps of energy seeped into her eyes making them glow green a bit before they faded. She stood there, as Ballad asked, "Now will you help us?"
Lapis answered, "Yes. I want to be adored and be the best pop star there is." her gemstone became a necklace that she wore.
Ballad smirked, "And so you shall, our sister." the three sirens gathered around her welcoming her to their group.
Meanwhile in Ponyville, at Twilight's castle the girls arrived for their afternoon get together. Twilight spoke up, "Hi, girls. Good to see you made it."
"Thanks, Twi." Applejack answered.
"So where are the boys?" Rarity inquired.
Spike answered, "Ever since they got back from school, they've been mapping out where they should perform for their first official concert in Equestria."
"Can't blame them. I mean they have to power up their gems by harnessing the positive reactions to their singing from other ponies." Rainbow said.
"And with a bunch of sirens out there causing trouble, they got a lot on their plate." Fluttershy put in.
"Well, they know they're not in this alone," Twilight said, "We all have to help them in anyway we can. For example I've already wrote up flyers to spread across Equestria for publicity."
"And once I get their measurements I can make outfits befitting for their shows." Rarity added.
"Let's see how they're doing." Pinkie said, as they went to see them.
They peaked in one room and saw the boys sitting at a round table looking at a map of Equestria. Josh spoke up, "Why not have our first concert in Manehattan? It's like Manhattan after all."
"Nah, too obvious." Zeck answered.
"Baltimare?" Derek asked.
"Meh, doesn't sound enough." Tyler answered.
"Why not Appleloosa?" Damien asked, "I hear those country folk can really get down to a little contryfied pop song."
"Seems good, but let's keep our options opened." Zeck said.
"Cloudsdale up in the sky. Maybe we can perform there if Twilight can use magic to make us walk on clouds." Josh said.
"That would be cool." Zeck admitted.
The doors opened, as the girls and Spike walked in, "Hey, guys. How's your choice coming along?" Spike asked.
"Well, we're still contemplating." Zeck answered.
"This place has a lot of cities and capitals it's hard to pick." Damien added.
"We want to make sure we pick a winner of a place." Tyler put in.
"One that's not too obvious, and one that's enough of an attention grabber." Josh said.
"Well, there's a simple solution." Pinkie said.
"There is?" the boys asked.
"Why not have it in Canterlot?"
"Canterlot?" Zeck asked.
"The capital of Equestria?" Damien asked.
"Righty-o." Pinkie confirmed.
"Hmm, it would be a good place to start." Zeck pondered.
"And the princesses live there, so maybe they can help us draw an audience." Josh added.
"And you know some of the other locals there, girls." Derek noted.
"So what's the word, boys?" Tyler asked.
"Canterlot?" Damien asked.
Zeck and the others looked at them smiling, and announced, "Canterlot!"
"Well, all right." Tyler smiled.
Twilight spoke, "I'll send a letter to Princess Celestia and see if she can help set things up."
"Thanks, Twi. You're a pal." Damien smiled.
"Well, then you boys should come along with me," Rarity said, "If you're going to be performing we need to get you measured up and fitted into new outfits to perform in."
"Lead on, Rarity." Zeck answered, as the unicorn showed the boys out.
When nighttime came, in a small town the three sirens were vocalizing and putting the ponies under a hypnotic trance and they began arguing with each other so the sirens could feed off the energy. Lapis was with them and using her own voice in conjuncture with the gem she was given to help hypnotize the ponies and assimilate their negative energy.
They stopped, and watched as the ponies argue and bicker. Ballad looked to Lapis, and spoke, "Not bad for your first run, Lapis."
"Thank you. It's nice to see they're starting to listen to my voice." she said in a trance.
"Soon all of Equestria will be hearing your voice." Tempo said laying a hoof on her shoulder.
"Stick with us and you'll be famous for sure." Presto added.
"That's what I want. To be famous like my brother and his friends." Lapis sighed.
Ballad went in front of her and lifted her chin up, "And we will help you reach your goal, Lapis. We promise you." Lapis smiled thinking she was where she belonged.
After the boys declared Canterlot would be the first stop on their Equestria tour, Twilight had sent word to the Princess about the idea. She eventually got a reply giving her the ok and would provide them with a stage and everything.
Soon they were brought to Canterlot where Celestia set them up in their own quarters. The princess of the sun showed the boys into a suite with a bed for each of them.
"Whoa! You're really letting us stay here?" Derek asked in shock.
"As guests in Canterlot and friends of my closest subjects I felt obligated to accommodate you." Celestia answered.
"Thank you very much, Princess." Josh thanked her.
"You're welcome, boys."
"So how're the preparations for the stage coming along?" Zeck inquired.
"Should be completed by tomorrow."
"That's good to hear." Damien replied.
"Well, boys, let's go to my Canterlot shop and we'll get you boys outfitted for your concert." Rarity suggested.
"Lead on, Rarity." Tyler said, as the girls showed the boys out.
Soon the ponies were leading the boys through Canterlot, as they band was taking in all the cool sites.
"What a city." Zeck said in awe.
"Everywhere you look ya see someone upper class." Damien added, while noticing all the well refined ponies.
"That's what Canterlot's loaded with." Applejack noted.
Josh's eyes darted around, while noticing all the ponies giving them looks, "Honestly this land of yours is filled with ponies, dragons, griffons, and just about every other type of mythological creature. You'd think they'd have a more open mind about this."
"Creatures that haven never even been seen or found in Equestria are very rare. You really can't blame them for their reactions." Twilight replied.
"Don't worry, once they listen to us perform they'll be welcoming us with open hooves." Zeck assured.
Damien noticed ponies such as Jet Set and Uppercrust glance at them before sticking their chins up acting like total snobs, "For our sakes, let's hope you're right."
"So where is this place you're taking us too?" Josh asked Rarity.
"My own boutique here in Canterlot. I call it Canterlot Carrousel. At first I was left to run it, until I passed management off to my manager Sassy Saddles after showing her the importance on the rules of Rarity." the unicorn smiled, much to the boys confusion.
"Well, Rarity and friends, a jolly good day to you all." came a voice that the boys recognized sounding similar to John Cleese.
They looked and saw walking over was Fancypants and Fleur, "Fancypants! Fleur! What a pleasant surprise." Rarity greeted them, along with the others.
"Indeed," Fleur agreed, "What brings you all to Canterlot on a day like this?"
"Well, we've come here to help outfit some new friends of ours for an event they'll be putting on right here in Canterlot." Rarity explained.
"New friends you say?" Fancypants inquired.
Twilight motioned the band forward as they presented themselves. Needless to say both ponies were astounded by their appearances.
"Oh, my. This is a surprise." Fleur said in amaze.
"Quite so." Fancypants agreed.
"Boys, let me introduce you to Fancypants and Fleur." Rarity introduced them.
"Charmed, my boys." Fancypants greeted them.
Rarity turned to the band, "Now, boys, be good gentlemen and say hello."
"Oh, right," Zeck nodded, as he spoke, "My name's Zeck Vangour. It's a pleasure to meet you two."
"I'm Damien Lazuli."
"Derek Cole."
"My name's Tyler Flynn."
"And I'm Josh Gale."
"Well, if you're all right by Rarity or Princess Twilight that's more than enough reason for you to be all right by us." Fancypants said.
"Indeed," Fleur agreed, as she walked circles around them, "I'm not sure what you boys are, but you're certainly quite handsome." she leaned in close to Josh who started looking flustered.
'It's like being flirted with by a supermodel.' Josh thought, while shaking.
Fancypants spoke up, "And did you say they were here because of an event they were putting on?"
"That's right," Twilight confirmed, "These boys here are a pop star group. Accelerated Dash."
"Very clever." the unicorn admitted.
"And we're having a concert tomorrow in the castle at eight." Tyler explained.
"Hmm, well, we might have to swing by and see it for ourselves." Fleur said as Fancypants nodded.
"Really?" Zeck asked.
"No offense, but we didn't know upper class ponies would be interested in our brand of music." Damien said.
"None taken," Fancypants answered, "And we're not like all of the upper class ponies you've might've noticed. We keep an open mind in what is all the rage in both our class and all other classes."
"Well, good to know." Josh said.
"So then we can be sure to see you both there?" Zeck asked.
"Wouldn't miss it." Fleur winked.
"Well, we look forward to seeing you." Tyler said.
"Yes. Well, sorry to cut this conversation short, but we must be going." Rarity spoke up.
"Of course. We'll see you all later." Fancypants said.
"Bye." the group bid farewell and pressed on.
Damien to the group, "Now those were some of the nicest rich ponies I'll probably ever meet here."
"Yes, I myself was quite surprised to find out they cared about all ponies regardless of their class." Rarity admitted.
"Well, we're here." Applejack said, as they stopped outside the boutique.
"Nice place." Josh admitted.
"Thank you," Rarity replied, "Well, let's go in."
They went inside, as Rarity called to her manager, "Oh, Sassy Saddles!"
The pony looked over, "Rarity, how wonderful to see you," she went over and embraced her, "How's business in Ponyville?"
"Couldn't be better."
"So what brings you and your friends here to Canterlot?"
"I've come in because I have new friends who're in need of outfits for their concert tomorrow."
"And who might these new friends of yours be?" Sassy wondered.
"That would be us," Zeck approached, "I'm Zeck. This is Damien, Josh, Derek, and Tyler. We are Accelerated Dash."
"Oh. Well, nice to meet you boys. I'm Sassy Saddles. Welcome to Canterlot Carrousel."
"These boys are in need of outfits best suited for them in their concert, and I feel the material and tools here would be best suited in making them." Rarity explained.
"Say no more. I'm way ahead of you." Sassy levitated some fabrics and tools.
"Excellent. Boys, we got work to do." Rarity stated.
"Bring it on." Zeck said, knowing they were used to this with their own fashion designers.
And so Rarity and Sassy were putting their minds together in designing the outfits for the boys to wear, while Twilight and the rest were assisting them. With the boys giving the fashion pony their own two bits on what they'd like to wear that gave them some helpful ideas.
About three hours later, Twilight and the girls were sitting down before a display stage. Rarity and Sassy stepped forward, as the pony of generosity spoke up, "Girls and Spike, may we introduce to you the band Accelerated Dash with their new threads!" the two unicorns used their magic to open the curtains to reveal the boys.
Their attires were all silver and white and had a reflective like surface on the silver parts. Though each of them had different upper clothing. Zeck had a silver sleeveless shirt and sunglasses, Josh had a white shirt with a silver opened short-sleeved shirt over it, Tyler had a short sleeved silver shirt, Derek wore a long sleeved white shirt with the sleeves being silver, and finally Damien wore a white shirt with a silver opened long sleeved jacket, and a white hat on his head.
The five posed for the girls and Spike, before Derek spoke, "What do ya think?"
"So silvery." Pinkie stated as the others approved on the look.
"Thanks. This is a great look." Josh said.
"You did great, Rarity, and you too, Sassy." Damien told the two.
"It was our pleasure, Damien." Rarity said.
"I'll make sure these outfits are delivered to the castle for you." Sassy added.
"See that you do." Zeck replied, as the boys went to change back into their regular clothes, "Well, this is done. Now we have time to check out the rest of Canterlot."
"We'd be happy to show you more." Twilight said.
"Then lead on." Tyler said.
So the group left the shop, and continued on with the girls showing the boys more of Canterlot. Twilight was currently showing them the school she attended while learning under Celestia.
"So you learned all you could about magic here?" Zeck asked.
"That's right. Though I didn't actually have many friends here." she admitted sheepishly.
"Because at the time she didn't know too much about it." Spike put in much to Twilight's ire.
"Makes sense," Josh admitted, as he looked in the school windows, "Seeing this makes me long for the old school days."
"I hear ya," Tyler admitted, "Phys Ed was my favorite period."
"But most of the time these days we get hired tutors." Damien explained.
"You actually miss school?" Rainbow asked in disbelief.
"Yes. Well, the homework and tests not so much." Derek admitted.
"But the to be with our friends and others regardless of how it is, that's something we can't do as much as before." Zeck explained.
"A sacrifice for this kind of life." Josh finished.
"Twilight!" came a voice.
The Princess and the others looked over and saw coming to them was Twilight's old school filly friends Minuette, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and Moon Dancer.
"Hi, girls. It's good to see you all." Twilight greeted them, as Minuette brought Moon Dancer over to the boys.
"See, Moon Dancer? This is them."
"Yeah. These are the boys we've told you about." Lemon Hearts added.
"Meet Accelerated Dash." Twinkleshine finished.
Moon Dancer studied them, as the boys looked at her as if they were seeing double of Twilight, "So you're the human band from Ponyville?"
"That'd be us," Zeck answered, "I'm Zeck. This is Josh, Damien, Derek, and Tyler."
"Well, it's nice to finally meet you boys. The girls have said so much about you."
"Have they?" Damien asked, while glancing at the three unicorns.
"Oh, yes. Said you guys have voices sent by the celestial ones."
"Well, that's one was of describing us." Josh admitted.
"Think you can do a number for us?" Minuette asked.
"Actually, you'll all have a chance to hear them." Applejack said.
"We will?" Twinkleshine asked.
"That's right. Tomorrow they're putting on a concert at the castle. And you're all invited." Twilight offered.
"This is great!" Lemon Hearts cheered.
"I can't wait to hear you boys." Moon Dancer told them.
"Trust us. Once you've heard our voices you'll have heard it all." Tyler replied.
"Hey, since we're all here let's go to Joe's for a doughnut?" Spike suggested.
"Great idea." Rainbow agreed.
"Sounds good." Moon Dancer approved.
"Let's go nuts for doughnuts!" Derek called, as they laughed.
When nighttime came, the boys were in their castle suite lying in their assigned beds. Josh spoke up, "Are you guys awake?"
"Yup." Damien answered.
"Uh-huh." Zeck replied.
"Me too." Tyler responded.
"So am I." Derek finished.
"You nervous like I am?" Josh inquired.
"How can we not be?" Tyler asked.
"Tomorrow night we're performing in front of large crowd of ponies. Not just some group like in Ponyville," Zeck explained, "But we have to do this. Our gems need to be powered in order for us to combat those sirens who're causing problems."
"Plus this will be a challenge," Josh put in, "I mean how often do we get the chance to perform for ponies?"
"Honestly, that's never crossed my mind." Damien answered.
"We better get some shut eye, guys." Derek suggested.
"Yeah. Tomorrow night's gonna be a real party." Tyler added.
"Uh-huh," Zeck nodded, "Well, night guys."
"Night, Zeck." they said, before turning in.
The very next night at the castle, guests were pouring in. They ranged from some of the normal class ponies in town to even the upper class ones who were also curious about the event to be held at the castle.
They gathered in the ballroom with Twilight, Spike, and the girls up front of the stage that was set up, while all the other guests gathered in.
"I sure hope the boys are ready." Twilight hoped.
"They did spend half the afternoon practicing." Rainbow reminded her.
"I'm sure they'll be fine, Twilight." Applejack assured her.
Twilight agreed and awaited for them to come out and perform. Walking over was Fancypants and Fleur, "Well, it certainly looks like all of Canterlot turned up for this event." Fancypants noticed.
"It sure looks that way." Rarity agreed.
"I can't wait to see the boys and how they'll do." Fleur said looking excited.
The lights started dimming, and stepping onto the stage was Celestia, "Welcome, ponies and friends. I'm glad to see how many of you could come and bare witness for the first time anywhere in Equestria, a group not of this world who've honored us by performing their choice in pop music. And now, I give you Accelerated Dash!"
The ponies applauded and cheered. Celestia stepped off stage as the curtains opened up revealing five silhouettes until lights flashed on them and the boys stepped out wearing their silver and white outfits.
"Hello, ponies of Canterlot!" Zeck began, "Here's a little song we're going to sing about our choice in music, regardless of what some ponies might feel about it!"
The ponies cheered once again, as music started playing. Soon the boys started singing to the crowd.
As they sang, they each performed dance steps be it in sync or their own choices. Josh got close to the left side of the stage seeing Moon Dancer and the other unicorns and leaned down while reaching out to Moon Dancer who blushed.
Tyler was in the center and reach down to Fleur who got close to the stage and put her hoof in his hand while smiling.
The ponies both middle and upper class appeared to be enjoying their concert which was good news to them. The boys themselves were so caught up in having fun they weren't even focusing on their gems assimilating the positive feelings from the crowd of ponies.
After the concert, the ponies were gathering around begging for autographs and pictures with the boys. The five decided to make their fans happy by giving them what they wanted.
Zeck spoke to the boys, "Not bad for our first concert in Equestria huh, boys?" he signed an autograph.
"This was awesome." Tyler admitted.
"And to think there's a lot more places for us to perform at." Damien added.
"For now let's just enjoy the night, huh?" Derek asked.
"Indeed. Let's live in the moment." Josh answered, after getting his picture with Moondancer.
Twilight came over, "You guys wanna head to Joe's?"
"If you can get us away from this mob." Damien replied.
"no problem." Twilight used her magic to teleport them all to Doughnut Joe's.
"I love magic." Josh said in amaze.
"You boys sure were something up there." Applejack said feeling impressed.
"I'll say." Pinkie agreed.
"You were all fabulous." Rarity smiled.
"Thanks, girls. And this is just the beginning for us." Zeck smiled, as the boys knew there was going to be a lot more concerts to put on.
One afternoon in Ponyville, at the spa Accelerated Dash was enjoying some much needed pampering. Zeck was currently relaxing in the hot tub, Damien was getting a massage by Aloe, Tyler was kicking back in a chair while getting his toe nails filed, Josh was getting his hair done by Lotus Blossom, and Derek was getting a facial.
"Ah, yes. This is the life ain't it, boys?" Zeck asked, while soaking.
"You said it," Damien agreed, "Ooh, yup, that's the spot. Aloe, you really know where to get a guy's spots."
"It's what we do best here, Mr. Lazuli." she replied.
"Please, call me Damien," he thought to himself, 'I'm glad I decided to just go with this massage instead of that extra-strength-hot-stone-deep-tissue massage.' he shuddered as he saw the bulky white pegasi who was doing it to some poor helpless customers.
"I have to admit, we did not expect to see you boys here." Lotus Blossom said.
"Well, Rarity did recommend this place for a little R&R." Josh answered.
"It is quite rare we get the chance to provide service to celebrities like yourselves." Aloe said.
"Well, we can't ultimately call ourselves celebrities yet." Derek replied.
"Yeah. Just because we've put on a few concerts so far doesn't mean we rank up with the real celebs in this world." Tyler added.
"Even so, you boys have proven to be quite popular among the locals in Ponyville." Lotus said, as she was finishing Josh's hair.
"Yeah. That is a good accomplishment." Zeck admitted, until Twilight and the girls came in.
"Zeck, guys. I'm glad we caught you." Twilight said.
"We're in the middle of some pampering, Twilight. Can it wait?" Derek asked.
Sorry, but here's something you're going to want to hear." the Princess began.
Zeck swam to the edge of the tub and leaned over to listen, "We're all ears."
"I got a letter from Cadence and my brother, and they would like you boys to perform at the Crystal Empire."
"Crystal Empire?" Tyler asked.
"That's the kingdom your bro and Cadence rule, correct?" Josh inquired.
"That's right. The Crystal Empire's having it's annual Crystal Fair, and they want you guys to perform."
"Hmm. The Crystal Empire was on our list of places to tour." Damien admitted.
"So you'll do it?" Twilight asked hopefully.
"Tell Princess Cadence, we'll be there." Zeck answered.
"Oh, this is so great! I'll message them right away. Come on, Spike!" Twilight dragged Spike along.
Applejack noticed Rarity was already in a robe getting ready for a little spa treatment, "Rarity."
"What? You think I'm going to walk into a spa and not get a treatment, I wouldn't hear of it." she answered, as the girls rolled their eyes.
Sometime later, the ponies and the boys were on the train bound for the Crystal Empire. Tyler spoke up, "So this empire was originally ruled by a tyrant pony named Sombra?"
"That's right." Twilight confirmed.
"But the princess banished him to the arctic while he made the empire vanish?" Derek asked.
"Correct. It was up until a year or so ago it resurfaced along with Sombra himself." the princess explained.
"But like all enemies we've dealt with he got the kibosh and is history." Rainbow boasted.
"Since then Cadence and Shining Armor have ruled over the empire." Twilight concluded.
"How lucky can ya get, ruling a whole kingdom?" Derek asked.
"Don't be so sure, Derek," Josh began, "You know ruling a kingdom, country, or anything is not an easy feat."
"Trust me, it isn't." Twilight agreed.
The train soon pulled into the station and the passengers were let off. When they got off, Twilight looked around, until a voice called out to her, "Twilight!"
Twilight looked over and saw her brother waiting, "Shining Armor!" she galloped over and met her brother in an embrace.
"It's great to see you," he greeted her, before turning to everyone else, "And the rest of you."
As the boys walked over, Twilight introduced them, "Shining Armor, this is Accelerated Dash. Zeck, Tyler, Derek, Damien, and Josh. Boys, this is my older brother Shining Armor."
"Nice to meet you, guys." Shining Armor greeted them.
"Likewise." Zeck replied, as the fist/hoof pounded.
"It's great to hear you agreed to perform at the Crystal Fair for us." the captain said gratefully.
"Well, who're we to deny a request from the brother and sister-in-law of Twilight here?" Derek asked.
"Come on, Cadence is waiting at the castle." Shining Armor said.
"Then it's time to get into my disguise." Spike said, before dawning a trench coat, fedora, and sunglasses.
"Why do you need a disguise?" Damien asked, "Does this place hate dragons?"
"No, but I'm kinda a major celebrity here."
"A celebrity?" Josh wondered.
"We'll explain on the way." Twilight said, as they headed off.
As they walked through the Crystal Empire, the boys were astounded by the layout looking like one big crystalized sanctuary, as well as the inhabitants themselves.
"How do they get there mane's to shine like that?" Josh asked in amaze.
"It's natural to them." Rarity explained.
Zeck was speaking with Spike as they walked, "So you not only got the Crystal Heart to Cadence, but you saved the Equestria Games that was held here as well?"
"That's right. As you can see I've developed quite a fan club." Spike answered, as he glanced over at a gift shop loaded with Spike merchandise.
"Bro, you are one popular dragon." Tyler nudged him.
"Way to go!" Derek slapped him on the shoulder a little too hard causing Spike to lose his fedora and sunglasses leaving him exposed.
One mare noticed this and let out a fan squeal, "It's Spike the Dragon!"
Suddenly a whole crowd of Crystal Ponies spotted him and let out a fan squeal as well, much to Spike's fright.
"Fan mob!" Pinkie screamed in fright, as Fluttershy cowered.
"I got to get out of here!" Spike cried.
"I gotcha!" Tyler called, as he picked him up, and started running with the others following him as the fan mob went after them.
"Tyler, don't let me go!" Spike pleaded.
"Don't worry, bud. You're in good hands." he replied before ducking around a corner.
The mob went back Shining Armor and the girls and went around the corner, "Tyler!" the boys cried as they came around the corner and saw no sign of him or Spike.
"Where'd they go?" Damien asked.
"Right here." a voice whispered.
They looked and saw Spike and Tyler standing around acting casual while holding newspapers up to hide their faces.
"Did they just run right past you two?" Zeck asked in disbelief.
"Sometimes, locals can be so gullible." Spike chuckled with Tyler.
"Come on, let's get to the castle before another mob shows up." Twilight suggested, as they continued on.
They arrived as the castle and saw the statue of Spike holding the crystal heart, "Wow. I want a statue erected of me." Derek gasped.
"Don't start posing for one." Zeck replied.
Damien looked at the rotating Crystal Heart, "So that's the Crystal Heart?"
"You betcha." Applejack confirmed.
"It's exquisite." Josh marveled.
"It certainly is." Rarity confirmed.
"Right this way, you guys." Shining Armor showed the boys in with the girls.
They walked into the castle while marveling at the crystal décor. They entered the throne room seeing Cadence who smiled and trotted over.
"It's so good to see you all. Thank you so much, boys, for agreeing to perform here for the Crystal Fair."
"It's our pleasure, Cadence." Zeck answered.
"So when does this fair begin?" Damien asked.
"Tomorrow morning. I hope that'll give you boys plenty of time to practice."
"That's more than enough for us." Zeck answered, "And I have a little extra surprise planned for the good ponies of the Crystal Empire."
"What're ya talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Accelerated Dash is going to be a six person band tonight." Zeck answered, as the rest of his pals were confused as well as the girls.
"Six?" Fluttershy asked curiously.
"Oh, oh, can it be me? Please? Please? Pretty please?!" Pinkie groveled.
"Actually, it's already been decided." Zeck answered, "Five boys... And one dragon."
At that moment, all eyes fell onto Spike who looked lost for words, "Me, really?" he asked.
"The Crystal Empire adores you, Spike. Why don't we give them what they want?" Zeck offered.
"You sure about this, Zeck?" Damien asked.
"Of course. I mean think about it, a dragon performing with us. If that won't bring in the audience I don't know what will."
"It would definitely be a challenge," Josh admitted, "And Spike, didn't you say you'd sing by yourself form time to time?"
"Well, yeah. But when I tried singing in front of a crowd I cracked." Spike answered, remembering his pitiful attempt to sing at the Equestria Games.
"Because you were under pressure caused by yourself." Twilight reminded him.
"Don't worry, Spike, we'll help ya through it. First thing's first, we need a place to practice." Zeck said.
"Follow me, I have just the place." Cadence said, as she showed them off with the others following.
Meanwhile outside the Crystal Empire, the sirens and Lapis looked out into it, "Gaze upon it, girls," Ballad began, "The Crystal Empire."
"About a thousand years ago it was one of the greatest kingdoms in all of Equestria." Tempo added.
"And here it is today looking just as glorious as ever." Presto finished.
"It's looks so beautiful from way up here." Lapis gasped.
"That it does." Ballad agreed, "And the ponies there are just loaded with energy for us to assimilate.
"And tomorrow's the Crystal Fair. A perfect opportunity." Tempo added.
"Come on, let's go scope the place out." Presto suggested, as the four took off.
After a tour of the Crystal Palace, Cadence had shown the boys into a ballroom with a stage set up, "Here we are." Cadence said.
"Cool stage." Tyler said.
"Perfect for practice." Zeck added.
"It'll do." Damien answered.
"We should get everything set up and get right to practice." Josh suggested.
"We can help set up." Twilight offered, as the girls stood by in agreement.
"Thanks, girls. All right Accelerated Dash, let's get to work." Zeck told his boys and Spike who announced.
"Yeah!"
Outside the castle around the empire, the sirens and Lapis explored while making sure to keep a low profile, by keeping their cloaks up. As they walked they noticed the crystal ponies were setting up for the Crystal Fair for tomorrow.
Lapis was more focused on the empire itself, 'It's even prettier up close.' she thought to herself.
"We should stock up on a bit of energy before tomorrow." Ballad suggested.
"Where should we start?" Presto inquired.
"We'll have to do it small so not to attract any unwanted attention." Tempo noted.
"Indeed." Ballad agreed, before speaking up to Lapis, "How about it, Lapis?" the three suddenly saw no sign of their fourth member.
"Lapis?!" they cried.
"Where'd she go?" Tempo panicked.
"She was here a second ago." Presto said.
"This is bad." Ballad shook, until they saw her looking at a poster hanging up.
They went over to her, "Lapis, you can't go off like that!" Ballad scolded her.
"If any of these ponies found you, who knows what they'd do." Tempo added.
"Sorry, girls. But look who's performing." Lapis motioned to the poster she was looking at.
The sirens looked and saw the picture of the boys, "Accelerated Dash?" Presto asked.
"Yes. It's the band my brother's in. Him and the guys are actually here," Lapis smiled, before realizing, "When did they get here?"
The sirens looked at the picture of the boys before spotting the gemstones around their necks and gasped, "It's them." Ballad said to her sisters.
"They're in possession of Starswirl's gems?" Tempo asked.
"Well, at least we know who we're trying to defeat." Presto said.
"Oh, this is great. I can't wait to tell my brother I'm here!" Lapis said with joy, until Ballad calmed her.
"Hold on, girl. Remember I told you about crushing our opponents?"
"Yes."
"Well, they are our opponents."
"My brother and his friends?" Lapis asked feeling heart shattered.
"Yes. In order for us to be the best we must defeat all competition." Tempo said.
"But my brother. I can't just do that to him."
"Then you're only allowing yourself to remain in his shadow." Presto warned her.
"Maybe, but..." Lapis was cut off as the trio vocalized to Lapis as her eyes started glowing green, "I want to show my brother I can sing just as good as him."
"That's right. And we'll show them all tomorrow," Ballad promised, "But now we must gather some energy to conserve us." they hurried off to stir up a bit of trouble.
As the day went on, the boys and Spike practiced both their dance steps and vocals with the girls and Cadence overseeing their performance.
The boys had the beat down, while Spike not being used to performing in such a singing group had difficulty with keeping up with them. But the boys made sure to walk him through it, and soon enough he was getting comfortable with it.
The group finished another practice number, as Zeck spoke, "Good play, guys. Take five." The boys sighed in relief that they could relax.
"That was great work." Cadence applauded.
"Thanks Cadence." Derek thanked her.
"And you were great too, Spike." Twilight added.
"Really? Ya think?" Spike asked hopefully.
"I didn't know you could sing so good." Fluttershy smiled.
"Well, I have my moments." Spike boasted.
"Save the boasting for the fans tomorrow, Spike," Damien rubbed his head, "After that I could use some rest."
"It is getting late," Twilight noticed the sun setting, "We should turn in for the night."
"I'll show the boys to their guest room." Cadence offered.
"See ya'll in the morning." Applejack told the boys, as they went their separate ways.
And so Cadence showed the five humans into a guest bedroom with a bed for each of them, "Here you go, boys. A complimentary suite courtesy of me and Shining Armor." Cadence said.
"Awesome." Tyler said, as he plopped onto the bed.
"Thanks again, Cadence." Josh said.
"You're welcome. You boys better get a good nights rest. Tomorrow's a big day."
"Don't we know it?" Zeck replied.
"Goodnight, boys." Cadence left the room.
The boys stretched before pulling off their shirts and kicking off their shoes, before plopping onto their beds, "Hope these Crystal Ponies are gonna be ready for a show tomorrow." Derek said.
"You and me both." Tyler agreed.
They were about to fall asleep until they saw their gems glowing, "Don't these things have an off switch?" Damien asked, as the brightness was annoying his eyes.
"Why're they doing this? We're not singing right now, and no ponies cheering for us." Zeck wondered.
"You'd think they're trying to warn us." Josh said.
"Warn us of what?" Derek asked.
"I don't know."
Suddenly the gems died down leaving them more confused, "Now they stopped." Zeck said.
"Guys, I'm scared." Derek said.
"What now?" Damien asked Zeck.
"Let's just go to sleep and we'll figure this out in the morning." Zeck suggested. Not knowing what else to do, the boys turned in and slept it off.
Unknown to them outside the castle, Lapis and the Sirens were vocalizing around some crystal ponies making them bicker, while assimilating their negative energy into their gems.
"Yes, this is perfect." Ballad said.
"A little late night snack to satisfy your craving." Presto added.
"How does it feel, Lapis?" Tempo inquired.
"Delish." she answered.
"Good. And tomorrow's gonna be an all you can eat buffet." Ballad promised, as the four smirked.
The next day every crystal pony was out and about partaking in the Crystal Fair activities. Twilight, the girls, Spike, and the boys were walking around checking the event out for themselves.
"Check this place out." Tyler said with amusement.
"Reminds me of the school carnivals we'd go to." Josh noted.
"Yeah or even Mega Mountain." Zeck added.
"What's Mega Mountain?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"An amusement park close to where we live. The coolest place around." Damien explained.
"Yeah they got some killer roller coasters that're guaranteed to give you a face lift." Derek said to Rarity and Pinkie Pie.
"Heavens. I definitely don't want one of those." Rarity shuddered.
Pinkie gave the boys some food, "Here, try some crystal corn on the cob."
The boys each took one and bit into it, "Not bad." Josh said.
"Delicious." Zeck added.
"Uh, dudes. Shouldn't we be somewhere right now?" Spike reminded them.
Zeck checked his watch, "Whoa. You're right. We better get to the sound stage and prepare for the concert."
"Well, come on Accelerated Dash. Let's Dash." Derek said, as the boys dashed off leaving Spike in the dust.
"Guys! Come on! I can't dash like you!" Spike ran after them. The girls decided to let the boys get their work done, while they continued to check out the fair.
As they walked past a booth, they didn't see peeking out from the other side was the trio and Lapis, "It's a full festival." Presto said.
"If we can absorb the energy from all these crystal ponies we'll be strong enough to manipulate even more of Equestria's inhabitants." Ballad said.
"And eventually the whole land itself." Tempo added.
They turned to Lapis, as Ballad spoke, "are you ready, Lapis?"
"Yes. I'm ready to make my debut with the stage name I picked out for myself."
"And we have your costume all ready." Tempo added, as they brought out something for her to wear.
Later that day the crystal ponies were gathering together outside the castle before a stage, eager to see the boys. Watching from behind the curtain was the boys and Spike, "It's a sell out." Zeck told them.
"No kidding." Tyler agreed.
"Guys, I'm getting nervous here." Spike said.
"Spike, this is no time to be getting cold feet." Damien replied.
"Sorry. It's just I'm about to perform in front of all those ponies."
"Hey, you're already a celebrity," Derek said, "Your reputation's about to jump up the scale now."
"And you're wondering why I'm getting nervous?" Spike asked in a bit of panic.
Zeck knelt down to Spike, "We're like that before every performance. Even we're feeling the way you are now."
"You don't seem like it."
"Because we're used to this thing." Josh replied.
"Just remember our practice, and just have fun." Tyler instructed.
Spike remembering the fun he had with them started getting his confidence back, "Yeah. Have fun!" he pumped a fist, "Well, I'm ready."
"That's the spirit." Damien smirked.
"Shh, Cadence is starting." Josh shushed them.
Cadence stood with Shining Armor on stage, along with the girls off to the side while the crystal ponies stood before the stage. Cadence announced to her subjects, "Welcome my subjects to the Crystal Fair's first ever musical concert. And now we're proud to introduce to you the boys of Accelerated Dash and joining them our very own Spike the Brave and Glorious!"
The crystal ponies and the girls cheered, as Cadence and Shining Armor stepped off stage. The curtains opened up as the boys and Spike walked on stage. Once they were in plain sight the ponies cheered and hollered for them. They were especially hollering Spike's name, in which he waved in response.
Zeck pulled out a mic and spoke, "Hey, there all you crystal ponies! I know you've had a lot to deal with what with being gone for a thousand years. But my crew and I are here to bring you up to this century's beats. Ready, Accel Dash?"
"Ready!" they announced.
As the music began cheering, the boys were ready to his their moment to sing. Unfortunately, before they could begin, they saw a part of the floor of the stage open up and released smokescreen."
As the girls watched Pinkie smiled, "Cool special affects."
Twilight was concerned, "I didn't put in any smokescreen from an opening in the stage." she checked her notes on special affects.
The boys and Spike were concerned as they saw something rising up from the stage. It was a short figure wearing a black dress lined in dark blue with ruffled sleeves and a short black, blue, and white skirt underneath with a gold water drop-shaped buckle with dark blue and black gems on it in the front. She also had on blue tights and black platform shoes with wings on them. Around her neck was a gem similar to the boys, blue and black earrings and short black arm warmers. on her face was gold and blue domino mask.
The audience were surprised wondering if this was part of the show, while the boys themselves were confused, "Guys, I don't think we're the only humans in Equestria anymore." Zeck told them.
"It's just a little girl." Derek noticed from her height and physical appearance.
The girl turned to the crowd and announced, "Behold, I am the Water Witch. And I have come to put on a show for you!" and with that she began vocalizing and singing in a hypnotic voice.
The boys and Mane six were shocked at her performance, but noticed the audience became hypnotized and started fighting each other. Twilight noticed their negative energy was being pooled into the gem around the girls neck.
"Oh, no. It's just like the sirens spell." Twilight gasped, "Guys, she's brainwashing the audience!" she called to the boys.
"What do we do?" Tyler asked his friends.
Zeck spoke up, "Let's use what magic in our gems we got to counter it."
"Will it be enough?" Derek inquired.
"We have to try." Josh answered.
Damien was watching the girl hypnotize the crowd while looking closely at her face. He squinted at her, until a look of worry grew on his face as he started recognizing her voice too, "No. It can't be," he envisioned the girl without her little face mask, 'Lapis?' he thought. He suddenly frowned and spoke to his pals, "Guys, let's do it!"
"Come on, guys. Let's sing!" Zeck announced.
Water Witch turned to the boys with a blank stare. Accelerated Dash's gemstones glowed as they vocalized releasing a powerful sound wave that pushed Water Witch back and off her feet. This disruption caused her spell to break on the ponies.
Water Witch got back up and frowned before utilizing her voice once again bringing the crystal ponies back under her hypnosis, "We can't let her win!" Tyler called, as they vocalized with all their might against Water Witch.
Water Witch felt like she had the upper hand, but suddenly the boys voices and the magic enhancing them once again knocked her off her feet, and she groaned, "Ow! Oh, did that hurt," she rubbed her head before looking around, "I'm on stage?"
"What's with her?" Derek asked the guys, who were just as confused.
"Guys, that girl's Lapis." Damien answered.
"Lapis?" Zeck asked in confusion.
"WHAT?!" Pinkie shrieked.
Rainbow spoke, while looking at Water Witch, "That's your sister?"
"Yes. No mistaking it," Damien confirmed, before calling to her, "Lapis! Lapis, it's me Damien!"
Lapis looked over and started seeing clearly, "Damien?" she gasped and removed her mask revealing herself to them, "Brother!"
"It is you!" Damien gasped in relief.
"How did she get here?" Derek asked flabbergasted.
Lapis looked seeing the hypnotized ponies, "Are they here to watch me?"
"Lapis, come over here." Damien called her over.
Lapis was about to only for Ballad, Tempos, and Presto to appear before them, "She's not going anywhere." Ballad said, as the three used their own voices to push the boys back into the mane six.
"Hey, don't hurt my brother!" Lapis pleaded, only for Presto to hush her.
The group got back up, as Ballad continued, "So you are the ones who wield the gemstones of Starswirl?"
Tempo noticed Twilight and the others, "And that's Princess Twilight and her friends who represent the elements of harmony."
"These are the sirens who've been causing trouble as of late." Twilight squinted at them.
"Those are sirens?" Josh gasped.
"Not as hot as our mythology makes them look." Derek said with disappointment.
Damien frowned at the sirens keeping his sister hostage, "What're you doing with my sister?!"
"We're helping her achieve her dream." Ballad answered.
"A dream nobody else would help her with." Tempo added.
"They only wanted to hold her back." Presto smirked.
"That's not true!" Damien called.
"Isn't it? Your parents held her back even though they knew she had what it takes. Oh, wait, they're not really your parents." Ballad snickered.
Damien growled at that fact, as Lapis managed to get her mouth free, "Damien, help!"
"Hang on, I'll save you!" Damien promised, as he tried to get to her, only for Ballad and Tempo to use their voices to knock him off his feet.
"At your power level, you don't stand a chance against us." Ballad mocked.
"If you hurt my sister!" Damien threatened, until Presto spoke.
"We wouldn't dream of it. After all she's going to help us in our conquest of Equestria."
"I won't let you!" Damien ran to them, only for Ballad to say.
"Catch you later." she smirked, as the four disappeared in green mist.
Damien growled at their escape, until Zeck held onto him and calmed him down, "Damien, get it together!" Damien slowly started calming down, "We'll find them again, but right now we need to snap these ponies out of it."
Damien looked at the brainwashed ponies, before sighing, "You're right." And so the boys using the magic stored in their gems vocalized and snapped the crystal ponies out of their trance. They looked around in confusion, until Shining Armor came on stage and spoke.
"Attention, everypony! This concert will be postponed until further notice!" the ponies sighed, until Cadence spoke up.
"Not to worry, the boys will perform. Just give them a little more time." the crowd felt much better afterward.
Backstage, the boys, Spike, and the girls were sitting down recalling the events in the last few minutes, "Thos sirens looked dangerous." Fluttershy feared.
"No kidding." Rainbow agreed.
"They looked even stronger than the Dazzlings." Twilight told Spike.
"If that's even possible."
"Remember, the energy isn't the same in the other world, until they found the magic inside my friends at CHS." Twilight recalled.
"And if those three had been absorbing stronger energy from here in Equestria, than of course they'd be stronger." Josh analyzed.
"How is it my sister ended up here in Equestria and was working for them?" Damien asked wanting answers.
"She must've been brought here like you guys," Twilight began, "As for how she wound up with them. I don't know."
"You noticed she had one of those gemstone thingies around her neck?" Applejack asked.
"Yeah. How did she gets that?" Tyler wondered.
"It couldn't have been from the sirens. They're born with those things." Cadence said.
Josh was pondering until he gasped, "Guys. Could it be possible that Starswirl made more than just our five gems?"
"What, you mean there's a sixth gemstone like ours?" Derek wondered.
"Yeah. What if the sirens got that gemstone and corrupted it?" Josh theorized.
"Sounds like a long shot, but it sounds logical enough." Twilight agreed.
"So what now?" Spike asked.
"There's only one thing now," Zeck spoke, "We have to stop these sirens now more than we thought. For Equestria and for Lapis' safety."
"Agreed," Cadence nodded, "Boys, if you don't feel like performing after this debacle I won't hold it against you. Even if only one of you doesn't wish to perform. Especially you, Damien."
Damien looked at Cadence and the others who knew he had to be more affected by this than them. But he wasn't about to let himself appear weak in this moment, "What? Me? Don't be silly. I may be in shock at what's happened to my sister. But you heard the sirens. They won't harm her. So I'm relieved they'll at least keep her in one piece for now. Besides as they say in show biz, the show must go on!"
"Spoken like a true pop star." Zeck smirked, as the boys got up with Spike joining, "Let's get this concert back on!" they cheered, as the ponies smiled at their spirit.
Meanwhile back at the siren's beach lair, far from the Crystal Empire. The sirens had released Lapis, as the little girl spoke, "Why did you take me from my brother?"
"Because he is an enemy." Ballad answered.
"He's not an enemy. He's family. Same with the guys."
"Our hold on her is weakening." Tempo warned Ballad.
"Then we'll just have to make it stronger." the ringleader replied.
"Forget it! I'm not doing business with you three. I'll become a star without your help." Lapis was about to walk off only for Presto to block her.
"We can't let you leave." Presto said.
Before Lapis could get away, the sirens vocalized around her with an increase in their power which they also absorbed from the ponies Lapis hypnotized. That in turn put Lapis back under control making her more obedient.
"Do you want to leave now, Lapis?" Ballad asked.
Lapis spoke once again in monotone, "No. I will stay. The Water Witch will return for another performance."
"That's right." Tempo smirked.
"And we'll all sing together." Presto added, as the four stood together.
Back at the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor stepped on stage and announced to the Crystal Pony, "Sorry for the delay, everypony. But let's give a big Crystal Empire welcome to Accelerated Dash and Spike the Brave and Glorious!" The ponies cheered, as music started playing.
Accelerated Dash and Spike walked back onto the stage and did a few dance moves, until it was time to sing.
The boys and Spike sang perfectly, along with Spike who was able to stay in sync with the others. While the Crystal Ponies couldn't get enough of them, Twilight and the others watched from the side feeling proud of the boys. Especially Spike.
"Isn't Spikey-Wikey, just wonderful?" Rarity asked, while watching.
"Little guy really does have it in him." Applejack admitted.
"I think he's great." Twilight smiled with pride.
The band wrapped up their song and posed together with Zeck and Damien carrying Spike on their shoulders for every pony to see. The crystal ponies cheered and applauded, as the boys waved to their fans while their gemstones were assimilating the positive energy from them.
Afterward, the group was signing autographs and taking pictures with the ponies. To the boys surprise, Spike was the one getting the most attention, but they didn't mind. As Twilight watched them enjoy their fame, she turned to Shining Armor and Cadence.
"We better make sure Princess Celestia is informed of these events."
"I'll be sure to send it personally." Cadence promised.
"I sure hope the boys will be ok." Shining Armor said, as he kept watch over them.
"Don't worry. They'll be fine, as long as they remember they're strongest when they're together." Twilight said, as she continued to watch them.
In the Siren's land, Lapis and the Siren trio were busy practicing vocals. When they finished, Ballad spoke, "Good job, girls. Our next performance will be a hit."
"Aren't they always?" Presto asked.
"True, but remember we sing as a quartet now. The ponies of Equestria stand even less of a chance now more than before."
"But what about the boy?" Tempo reminded Ballad.
"Please. They pose no threat to us. Besides, we have something they don't have... A bargaining chip." she motioned to Lapis who stood by them with no sense of free will.
Lapis turned to Ballad, "I'll do whatever you wish of me, Ballad. As long as I become a star."
"And you will, Lapis. Once your brother and his friends are out of the picture." she promised.
"Good. If you three don't mind, I think I'll take a walk." Lapis said.
"Don't wander far." Tempo warned her.
"It can be dangerous out there." Presto added.
"I'll be fine." Lapis said, as she left.
Lapis walked the beach while looking out into the water, and thought, 'My brother was always the one whose talent was noticed and respected. But not me. When this is over they'll see once and for all I truly deserved to be the star in the family." she began vocalizing as her gem glowed.
Meanwhile out in the ocean on top of a rock was a green siren that bore the appearance of a male. He was resting peacefully until the vocalizing of Lapis caught his ear. He lifted his head up and said to himself, "What an amazing voice. But it doesn't sound like one of my own," he looked in the direction of the shore and saw a figure standing on the beach, "That must be it." he dove into the water and swam for the shore.
As Lapis took a breath from her vocalizing she squinted her eyes seeing something in the water coming right towards her. Suddenly jumping out of the water like a whale was the siren who had been observing her. Lapis fell on her butt in shock, as the siren descended onto the beach. When he noticed the startled look on Lapis' face he spoke, "Oh, I'm so sorry for startling you, my dear. I've always been known for my grand entrances." he chuckled.
Lapis spoke up, "You're... a siren."
"Of course."
"But you're a boy."
The siren raised a brow in confusion, "So?"
"Sorry, it's just I haven't seen a male siren before."
"Well, the lady ones like to get out more so they can flaunt their voices more than we males do. My name's Allegro by the way."
"Lapis. Lapis Lazuli."
"Lapis, a very alluring name," Allegro began, "Forgive me, but I've never seen anything like you before."
"I'm a human."
"Human? We don't have those here in Equestria."
"Yes. I've heard that countless times."
"Forgive me for intruding but I couldn't help but overhear your charming voice. You've got quite a talent." Allegro said.
"Thank you, Ballad, Tempo, and Presto feel the same way."
Allegro suddenly bore a look of worry, "Ballad, Tempo, and Presto?"
"Yes. They're the three sirens who're helping me reach my goal."
"And what goal is that?" Allegro inquired.
"I want to be a famous pop star like my brother and his friends."
"I see. And your brother and his friends are pop stars here in Equestria?"
"Not really. They're mostly famous in our world as Accelerated Dash, but they were brought here and are slowly becoming infamous for their singing."
"Interesting. And your three siren friends are looking to help you be more like them?"
"Better than them. Because they've given me this." Lapis motioned to her gemstone.
Allegro looked at the stone and was in surprise, "You bear a gemstone pendant like we do?"
"Yes. And so do my brother and his friends. But I will show them. Damien, Zeck, Tyler, Josh, and Derek I deserve to be a pop star as much as they do." her eyes flickered green before returning to normal.
Allegro seeing Lapis under siren control spoke, "Lapis, you should take my words to heart. You don't wanna get mixed up with sirens like those three."
"Why not?"
"Because they only wish to make every pony of this land worship them so they can use them as their servants."
"Aren't you just the same?" Lapis questioned suspiciously.
"I am different. I do not use my voice to spread disharmony and conflict among the land's population. I use my voice to bring joy and happiness. Sirens may have fed off negative energy from before in the past, but I learned to feed off a different kind of sustenance. Something positive and happy."
"Like my brothers gemstones." Lapis realized.
"Yes. Theirs and yours are in fact products of my gemstone created thousands of years ago by Starswirl the Bearded. But yours fell under control of those three who've corrupted it making it more like theirs. I can help you, but you have to fight their hold on you." Allegro pleaded.
"Fight?" Lapis asked, as the sirens hold was starting to break, until the two were interrupted by the arrival of the three.
"Lapis, what's going on here?" Ballad demanded, until she looked ahead seeing the siren who was with her, "Allegro? You filthy treasonous siren!"
"Why're you here?" Presto demanded.
"I learned you three have once again been up to no good. It's bad enough you turn so many ponies on each other, but taking advantage of a child's pain?"
"We are helping her with her goal." Tempo answered.
"More like using her. But I will not allow this t go on. Starswirl may be gone, but his creations still exist. And I will make sure they put an end to you."
"We'll stop you!" Ballad warned him, as the three sirens let out screeching shock waves at Allegro, who countered with his own.
As the three tried overpowering the good siren, Allegro knew this wouldn't get them anywhere. He looked at the ground and got an idea. He shifted his voice downward to the sand causing it to blow around the trio blinding them, "Can't see!" Presto groaned.
Allegro quickly dove back into the water and swam for it. When the sand cleared, the trio saw no sign of him, "He's gone!" Tempo gasped.
"What do we do now? Presto asked Ballad.
"There's no way we can find him now. He's a fast swimmer. We'll just have to keep our guards up. And as long as we still have Lapis and her gem, we'll be worshiped by all of Equestria in no time." she smirked, while holding Lapis close. Lapis looked at Ballad looking like she was partially free of the siren's hold, but didn't have enough free will to try and escape.
Meanwhile, Allegro was swimming through the ocean as fast as he could with one thing on his mind, 'I can't let those three rule all of Equestria. I promised Starswirl I would make sure my kind never got out of hand. But my power alone won't be enough against all three. Which is why I think it's time I found this band Accelerated Dash.' he thought.
At Twilight's castle inside one of the rooms, the boys were practicing some new dance moves to use in their next act. They moved in perfect sync, and were ready for their big finale, until Twilight burst into the room carrying Spike, "Guys!" the boys were startled by Twilight's barging, and ended up falling over and onto each other.
"Ooh." Spike cringed.
Zeck groaned as he looked over at Twilight with irritation, "Twi, you threw off our groove!"
Twilight seeing the mishap she caused smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, Zeck. But there's something you have to listen to."
The band got up, as Josh asked, "What is it?"
Twilight levitated a message up, "I just received this letter from the Princess."
"What's it say?" Tyler inquired.
"She says she's coming by to Ponyville later with somepony who can help us stop the sirens and save Lapis."
"Really?" Damien asked with hope.
"That's what she wrote." Twilight answered.
"Well, that's good news," Derek began, "I mean we've all been stressed out trying to figure out how to rescue her."
"Yeah. Even Damien's been crying in his sleep about it." Tyler motioned to said boy who turned to him with a scowl.
"I did not cry in my sleep."
"Oh, then this isn't you?" Tyler pulled up his phone showing Damien an image of himself in bed looking sad as he slept.
"You took that while I was sleeping?!" Damien snapped.
"It's moments like these you have to capture for prosperity."
"Give me that!" Damien tried to grab Derek's phone, but the comedian of the boys wasn't giving him the chance.
Twilight sighed, "Will you boys get yourselves together for when Princess Celestia arrives?"
"Oh, come on, Twi, this is getting good." Spike replied, as he watched the two boys wrestle for Derek's phone. Twilight scowled at Spike not helping the situation, and used her magic to separate Damien and Derek.
"Twi's right, guys. We need to be ready when Celestia comes, and hope whoever she's bringing can be of some help to us."
"Agreed." Josh nodded.
"Well, Z, you're the boss, man." Derek admitted.
"I'm gonna go get the others, be back soon." Twilight said, as she galloped off. So the boys got themselves cleaned up and awaited for the Princess.
Soon Twilight returned with her friends, "We're here!" Pinkie cheered.
"Sup, guys?" Rainbow asked the boys.
"All good, R.D." Tyler answered.
"Did you see the Princess yet?" Rarity wondered.
"Not yet, Rarity." Josh replied.
"Well, she can't be long now, can she?" Applejack asked.
Suddenly the doors opened to reveal Celestia, "Hello, everypony." she greeted her subjects.
"Princess!" The group greeted, and bowed to her, before rising up.
"It's good to see you all today." Celestia looked over her subjects, before turning to the boys, "And how're your performances going, boys?"
Zeck answered, "All good. Been dosing up on as much positive feedback from our audiences."
"And yet it still doesn't feel enough." Josh admitted with a sigh.
"Well, you'll be happy to know I've found one who can help you with that." the princess smiled.
"Who, Princess?" Fluttershy wondered.
"May I present to all of you, Allegro." floating from behind the Princess was Allegro the siren.
"Greetings, ponies, and Accelerated Dash. I'm joyed to finally meet you." he greeted.
Needless to say the group was in shock at what Allegro was, "A siren!" Pinkie cried, as Rarity shrieked and hid behind Spike.
"Pardon me, Princess," Twilight began sweetly, "But why in the wide-wide world of Equestria WOULD YOU BRING A SIREN TO US?!"
Celestia remained calm upon their reactions, and answered, "I know it seems unorthodox, but Allegro is an allie."
"He is?" Applejack tilted her head.
"How do you figure?" Damien asked, while crossing his arms with skepticism.
"Because those gemstones you wear around your necks are products of my design." Allegro answered.
"Your design?" Josh asked in confusion.
Twilight spoke up, "But I thought Starswirl the Bearded was the one who created them."
"And who do you think helped him create them?" Allegro asked.
"That was you?" Rarity inquired.
"You guessed it."
"So you're a good siren?" Fluttershy hoped.
"I am."
"Well, that's a relief." Pinkie wiped her forehead.
"No kidding," Derek agreed, "Almost had a heart attack." he chuckled.
"Allegro, can you really help us saving my sister from those three sirens?" Damien asked.
"Yes. It isn't right what those three have done to a young girl with so much aspiration."
"You speak like you've met her." Rainbow noted.
"I have."
The group did a double take, as Zeck spoke, "You have?"
"Where?" Damien demanded.
"By a beach close to siren territory. I talked to her about leaving the three because they don't care about helping her. But their hold on her is strong, but it can be broken with the right amount of positivity in one's voice." Allegro answered.
"That's what we've been trying to juice our gems up with but despite all the performances small or big isn't enough." Zeck explained.
"Especially when our opponents have been assimilating energy before we were even born." Tyler added.
"Which is why I am here to help you." Allegro said.
"How can you help them?" Spike wondered.
"Like my fellow sirens, I have also been assimilating energy for a long time, except I have been absorbing positive energy as opposed to negative energy from others. So as you can see I have plenty of reserves which I am willing to share with all of you." he offered.
"Share with us?" Damien asked.
"You mean you can transfer some of the energy from your own gem into ours?" Josh inquired.
"I can. In fact all sirens can, some of us just prefer to hoard all energy to ourselves." Allegro answered.
"And you all say dragons are greedy." Spike told the girls.
Celestia spoke to the band, "Allegro can give each of you enough energy to match the power of the three sirens, giving you a fair fighting chance."
"It'll be the only way to set Lapis free from their control," Allegro assured, "All I ask is that you trust me on this."
"Why do you wanna personally help us though?" Zeck wondered.
"What's in it for you?" Damien asked.
"I can rest peacefully knowing I succeeded in what Starswirl was unable to do."
"Unable to do?" Twilight asked.
"Celestia informed me that you ran into three other sirens before this debacle. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata."
"I have." Twilight confirmed.
"Well, before Starswirl banished them, he himself tried fighting them at their own game by using music, but sadly magic was his true field. So he banished them to the other world in a last ditch effort hoping they would do no harm."
"A lot of good that did." Spike replied in sarcasm.
Allegro continued, "He truly believed that the sirens magic could've been used for good rather than evil, but he lacked the understanding of some kind of magic that you Princess Twilight know of."
"Friendship." Twilight realized.
Allegro nodded, "If he knew the true power of the magic of friendship the Dazzlings could've been changed, but that was his biggest failure. But he swore he would not fail again at trying to help the sirens. When Ballad, Tempo, and Presto emerged some time afterward, Starswirl and I created the gemstones the boys and Lapis wear to be given to other ponies to use to counter the sirens and hopefully show them how better it is to sing to make others happy rather than for selfish glory."
"And you think we can do that?" Josh asked.
"I do with the right help, at least. So please trust me and help me in succeeding where Starswirl could not." he pleaded.
The group thought about it, until Damien spoke up, "I say we do it."
"Damien?" his pals asked.
"If there's any chance of saving Lapis and stopping those three sirens, I'm all for it."
Zeck smiled and answered, "So am I."
"Same here." Josh agreed.
"You know it." Tyler added.
"Accelerated Dash never dashes without the rest." Derek concluded.
"Allegro, we accept your help." Zeck told the siren.
"Thank you. Now Accelerated Dash stand together, as I empower your gems with my own energy, with a little number I've been saving for such an occasion." So the band stood together, as Allegro flew up and began vocalizing to activate his gem which in turn caused the bands gems to glow as well. And then, Allegro began to sing.
As Allegro sang, the girls could feel the passion and sorrow in his voice knowing how guilty he felt being unable to help Starswirl reform his fellow sirens years ago. The boys however started feeling them gems being filled up with energy that was being pooled from Allegro's own gemstone. When the good siren finished the boys looked down at their gemstones that glowed for a bit before dying down.
Allegro floated back to the floor, and spoke, "It is done."
"How do you guys feel?" Applejack asked with concern.
"Felt a little twinge, actually." Tyler admitted.
"I didn't feel anything." Derek answered.
"Did it work?" Damien asked.
"Yes. The transfer was a success." Allegro smiled.
"Awesome!" Zeck cheered, as the boys high fived.
"Those sirens won't stand a chance against us now." Tyler smirked.
"Don't get too cocky, boys." Twilight warned them.
"Twilight is right," Celestia agreed, "Even if your power level has increased to match the sirens, they'll no doubt be prepared for anything, just as you should."
"She's right," Josh nodded, "We'll need all the help we can to get Lapis back."
"Well you can always count on us." Rainbow replied.
"Darn tootin'." Applejack agreed.
"Thanks, girls," Zeck smiled, before turning to Allegro, "What about, Allegro?"
"Me?" he asked.
"You weren't able to help Starswirl against the Dazzlings and only managed to create these gems as a contingency," Josh explained, "How about helping us in the field up close?"
Allegro liking the idea of a chance to make up for what he could not do in the past smiled, and replied, "You can count on me, my friends."
"Perfect," Zeck smirked, "All right, guys. It's safe Lapis or bust."
"Next time they strike, we'll strike harder!" Damien pumped a fist, as the boys got excited.
"We're gonna rock!" Tyler, Josh, and Derek cheered.
One morning at the Castle of Friendship inside the Cutie Map room, Accelerated Dash and the girls were seated with Twilight using magic to mark off certain points on the map, "Ok, these are the spots where the Sirens have been located."
"If we can get the drop on them before they arrive at their next target we can break their hold on Lapis." Zeck added.
"If my calculations are correct, the sirens next stop should be Manehattan." Josh deduced.
Rarity gasped, "Manehattan?! How wonderful!"
"So it's the Equestria equivalent to Manhattan." Damien said.
"This ought to be good." Derek added.
"You girls every been there before?" Tyler inquired.
"Oh, indeed we have," Rarity answered, "I've not only attended Fashion Week there, but also opened another boutique there as well."
"Plus it was where we saw the Hinny of the Hills, the most popular musical on Bridleway." Pinkie added.
"Most popular?" Damien asked.
"Guess you girls never heard of Phantom of the Opera." Zeck said.
"Or Hamilton." Derek added.
"Either way it's the perfect place to get enough positive energy from an audience that'll help boost the energy Allegro's given you." Twilight said.
"Then what's say we start packing and be on our way?" Tyler suggested.
"Agreed. I'll even get us some reservations," Rarity said, "I do know plenty of ponies there."
"Thanks, Rares." Zeck said, as the group left to get packed.
Meanwhile, the Siren Sisters and Lapis were resting at a hotel in another city. Ballad turned to the three, "We've done well, girls. Next we'll be going to Manehattan, and that's a whole treasure trove of misery and negativity."
"Especially since the ponies there can be very miserable already for living in such a busy city." Tempo added.
"Oh, I can't wait!" Presto cheered, "How about you, Lapis. You getting excited?"
Lapis looked and answered, "Manehattan? Sounds almost like the last place my brother was on his tour before ending up here."
"I see. Well, this time it'll be you who will get the audience and not him." Ballad tempted her.
"Yes. I will finally be recognized for my true talent." Lapis answered, still under their control.
"We'll rest a little bit more before heading out," Ballad instructed, "After all, who's going to know we're going to be there?" The group said nothing and kicked back a bit more.
Later on, the train pulled into the station of Manehattan, as the band, the girls, and Spike stepped out. Rarity looked around Manehattan in nostalgia, "Oh, Manehattan, I have returned!"
The boys looked around, as Josh spoke, "Wow. It does feel like we're back in NYC."
"No kidding." Damien agreed.
"Hey, there!" came a voice, as they saw Allegro the siren approach.
"Allegro, what're you doing here?" Twilight asked.
"I figured this would be the next stop on the sirens list, and how fortunate you all deduced it as well."
"Great minds think alike." Derek replied.
"And since we're here first we'll have the drop on the sirens before they have a chance to strike." Allegro put in.
"That's the plan." Twilight confirmed.
"But as long as we're here we might as well, show the boys around so they can adapt to their surroundings." Rarity suggested.
"I don't mind," Tyler said, "I mean, we could use a bit of relaxation to keep us from stressing out, right?"
"He has a point." Josh admitted.
"True," Zeck agreed, "Well, then shall we sight see?"
"Yeah!" the boys cheered.
And with that the group traveled all around Manehattan, with the boys seeing some places did look just like some spots in New York, like Time Square, Rockefeller Center, and even a ponified version of Lady Liberty. They were currently atop Manehattan's equivalent of the Empire State Building seeing the entire city from up top.
"Oh, yes, look at the view!" Zeck cheered.
"We really are on top of the world." Derek said.
"Feels like we haven't even left earth." Josh noted.
"Fabulous, isn't it?" Rarity asked, feeling the nostalgia.
"It's beautiful." Damien admitted.
"I'd really hate to think of those sirens trying to strike here." Fluttershy feared.
"You said it." Applejack agreed.
"Don't worry, when they show, our boys will blow them out of here," Rainbow said with her hooves around Zeck and Derek, "And if all else fails, we'll be there to help."
"Thanks, girls. Having you for support brings me much relief." Damien said.
"We should probably head over to the studio for you guys to practice." Twilight suggested.
"Good idea," Zeck turned to Allegro, "Allegro, keep us posted if you see signs of siren activity."
"You can count on me, Zeck." he saluted.
"Then let's get going." Zeck told the group as they headed off.
Meanwhile, the siren sisters and Lapis were already on their way to Manehattan, "Ah there it is, girls. Manehattan." Ballad began.
"If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. So they say." Tempo noted.
"And we'll be making it all right." Presto said.
"Indeed so," Ballad agreed, "Look alive, Lapis. For tonight, we make history once again."
"Perfect." Lapis smirked.
That night in Manehattan's park, many ponies were gathering once they heard the famous Accelerated Dash would be playing. The band and the girls were backstage of the stage set up for them, with the boys getting themselves ready, "Well, it's been a whole day and no sign of the sirens." Josh said with concern.
"I'm sorry. But I haven't sensed them all day." Allegro said with guilt.
"You did your best, Allegro." Fluttershy patted his back.
"But right now, that crowd out there is looking mighty excited." Applejack noted.
"Agreed," Zeck nodded, "So sirens or not, let's put on a show."
"Yeah." the boys agreed, as they headed out on stage whereas an announcer had just called them out.
The boys took the stage, as the ponies of Manehattan cheered. Zeck called out, "Good evening, Manehattan! How's everypony doing tonight? You all excited?!"
The ponies cheered in confirmation, as Derek spoke, "Great, because we are too!"
"We're glad to be performing here in Manehattan because it reminds me of another place where we're from." Josh explained.
"But what say we cut straight to the chase and party out?!" Damien called, as the ponies cheered.
"I got a better idea," Came Ballad's voice, as the ponies gasped. Appearing on stage via smokescreen were the sirens and Lapis in her Water Witch attire, "How about you boys take five and leave us to have the show?"
"Not happening!" Zeck answered with a frown, as the girls, Spike, and Allegro hurry on stage.
"Lapis!" Damien called to her.
"Good to see you, brother." she answered in monotone.
"You let Lapis go right now!" Tyler ordered.
"You heard what he said, let her go." Allegro said.
"Why don't you let her decide?" Tempo asked.
"Lapis do you wish to stay with us or go back with them?" Presto asked.
Damien and the boys looked at Lapis hoping she'll make the right decision, but became disappointed when she slung to Ballad, "I want to be here."
"Lapis." Damien gasped.
"She's made her choice." Ballad smirked.
"But her choice is not of her own accord." Allegro called her out.
"He's right," Twilight agreed, "Putting somepony under mind control is not free will!"
"We've never been one to care about others and free will." Presto replied.
"I'll bet that's why nobody really likes you." Josh said.
"Pwned!" Derek called.
"You dare accuse us of being hated?" Tempo growled.
"Because it's true," Tyler replied, "You're afraid of being hated so you use your charms not just to feed on negative energy, but because you don't wanna risk others not liking you."
"And that is so uncouth." Rarity finished.
"Silence!" Ballad shouted, "We will be taking you boys out so that nothing can stand in our way."
"Boys, vocalize!" Zeck instructed, as they began vocalizing in harmony to power up their gems, while the sirens and Lapis did the same.
Both sides emitted vocal shock waves trying to repel the other, while the ponies took cover. Allegro saw they were evenly matched, but knew it wouldn't last long, so he flew in to provide his own vocals which was enough to repel the sirens and Lapis, knocking them off their feet.
"Careful, we don't wanna hurt Lapis." Zeck warned the boys.
The sirens and Lapis got up with Lapis' mask falling off her face. Ballad frowned, "Now we're angry!"
"Boys, let's put on a show and prove to Lapis she doesn't belong with them." Damien suggested.
"Let's Dash!" the boys cheered, as they began singing.
As they sang with passion, their gems glowed empowering their voices. The sirens not wanting them to gain power from the ponies positive reaction vocalized to try drowning it out. As they clashed, Ballad thought, 'This can't be. They shouldn't have this much power compared to us, unless... Allegro you meddling imbecile!'
Lapis stepped forward and vocalized more wanting to upstage her brother and his friends, while Damien thought, 'Lapis, I know you're in there. This isn't the way you wanted to become a star. Do it for the right reasons!' suddenly his gemstone glowed brighter, as the rest of the boys gems reacted as well. Suddenly the five gems fired a beam at Lapis, and they were all assimilated into her gem.
The girls and sirens watched as Lapis eyes glowed and ceased her vocalizing. She began experiencing flashbacks of herself and Damien practicing together, with Damien instructing her how to improve her vocals. She then recalled their last moment before he left for a tour.
"When you come back, can we practice some more, Damien?" Lapis asked.
"I promise, Lapis. I promise." he embraced her.
Suddenly in the waking world Lapis gasped, as her eyes were no longer glazed. She looked around before seeing her brother and his friends, "Damien!" she ran to him.
"Lapis!" Damien embraced her and calmed her down, "It's ok, Lapis. I'm here. Big brother's here."
The sirens growled, as Ballad shouted, "Now you've made us angry!" they tried to fly at them, but the boys and Lapis stood together and vocalized releasing a powerful shockwave that repelled them back forcing them to fly off in retreat. They powered down after finishing their song, and heard the sound of applause from their audience.
Lapis looked out in surprise, as Damien spoke to her, "See, Lapis. They love you."
"They do?" she asked, before seeing her brother was right, "They really do!" she smiled happily.
"Give it up for our surprise guest, Lapis Lazuli!" Zeck cheered, as Josh and Tyler hoisted her up for everyone to see.
The Sirens after being repelled retreated into an alley of Manehattan, "NO! We lost our hold on Lapis!" Ballad vented.
"And without her all six of Starswirl's gems are under their control." Tempo added.
"Which is bad news for us." Presto noted.
"I know that!" Ballad snapped at her, "No matter. Let them celebrate their victory now. Because next we meet it will be the last." she promised while fire burned in her eyes.
Later on at the hotel they were staying in, Lapis was sitting on a bed taking a sip of water offered to her by Applejack, "I can't imagine how it must've been being under their control an all." Applejack said.
"It was a nightmare. Just Ballad's voice endlessly whispering all these things inside my head," Lapis sighed, "Telling me I didn't need my brother or anyone else but them. I'm just glad I'm finally free. Thank you, Allegro for helping my brother."
"Anytime little friend." he smiled.
"So now that we got Lapis back, can we go home now?" Derek asked.
"I don't think we're done here just yet." Zeck replied.
"Zeck's right," Josh agreed, "Unless those three sirens are quelled permanently, they'll never stop trying to feed on ponies negative feelings."
"Right. So it looks like you guys will be extending your stay here." Twilight said.
"It must be done." Tyler admitted.
"And now that we got Lapis and her gem on our side we stand an even bigger chance." Damien smiled at his sister.
"Uh-huh." she agreed.
"Oh, this is so touching!" Pinkie sniffled, while wiping a tear from her eye.
"Indeed so." Rarity agreed.
"Come on, yall, bring it in." Applejack said, as the whole group joined in a group hug, with Lapis feeling extra good for being back with her brother.
In Ponyville one morning, the boys were showing Lapis around Ponyville just as they were showed around by the Mane Six. Lapis walked around Ponyville, taking in the scenery, "Wow. You've all really been living in such a beautiful town?"
"Yeah. It's no New York or Chicago, but it's homey." Damien answered.
"But I feel jealous of where you've been Lapis." Derek admitted.
"Jealous of me? I was brainwashed by sirens." Lapis reminded him.
"Yeah, but at least you were hiding out by the beach." Derek noted.
"Yes, but I was too brainwashed to enjoy it." Lapis retorted.
"Well, that doesn't matter now." Josh said.
"He's right," Zeck agreed, "Lapis is with us and that's all that matters."
"Amen to that." Damien nodded.
Later, the humans were at Sugarcube Corner enjoying milkshakes, with Lapis drinking hers down, "Lapis, easy before you get brain freeze!" Damien stopped her.
"Yeah. It's not going anywhere." Tyler said.
"Sorry, guys," Lapis said sheepishly, "But it's been so long since I enjoyed one of these."
"How'd you even survive living out there with those sirens?" Josh inquired.
"One of them would sneak off into the closest towns and bring me back something they thought could be edible to my kind." she answered.
"Obviously they didn't want you straying too far from them." Josh noted.
"Yeah," Lapis agreed, "I'm glad I'm finally out of there."
Pinkie popped in, "You guys enjoying your shakes." she shook her tail.
"Delicious, Pinkie." Zeck answered.
"Very much." Lapis added.
"We should get back to the castle soon. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor will be there shortly." Josh suggested.
"So let's drink up and dash." Derek chuckled.
The rest of them laughed at his joke, until Lapis froze up, and started seeing and hearing the voices of the sirens. She could see them in their lair conducting a plan.
Ballad spoke, "Without Lapis, we'll need to put on the biggest performance ever. Big enough so that not even she or those boys can fight back against."
"Easy said than done, Ballad." Tempo replied.
"Yeah. You saw how strong they were last time." Presto added.
Ballad growled, "I'm aware of that. Which is why we need to dose up on some more negative energy before pulling off our next biggest strike in three days."
"And that would be where?" Tempo inquired.
"Las Pegasus." Ballad smirked.
"Ooh, perfect." Presto approved.
"Not bad." Tempo admitted.
"Yes. The tourist ponies there will provide us with enough energy to crush Accelerated Dash for good!" Ballad laughed.
Lapis started hearing her name called out in faint voices, before snapping out of her stupor. She looked seeing her brother, the boys, and Pinkie looking at her with concern, "You ok, Lapis?" Damien asked.
"Yeah. You looked out of it." Derek added.
"You all like..." Pinkie makes the same drone expression Lapis was making, "And then some."
"Guys, I saw them." Lapis answered.
"Saw who?" Josh asked.
"The sirens. And I heard them planning!" Lapis panicked.
"Say what?" Zeck asked.
"It's true." Lapis assured.
"But how?" Damien asked.
"I don't know." she replied.
"We better talk with over with Twilight." Zeck suggested, "Accelerated Dash, let's dash!" they got up and headed out followed by Pinkie who hung up her apron before following.
Meanwhile at Twilight's castle, Twilight, Spike, Allegro, and the rest of their friends were just greeting Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, and Cadence, "It's so good to see you all." Twilight greeted them.
"Like we'd miss it." Shining said, as the siblings embraced.
"Are the boys here?" Celestia inquired.
"They should be back soon." Spike answered.
"We have been wanting to see Damien's sister since you rescued her." Luna noted.
Suddenly the doors to the castle burst open, and the group rushed in, "Yo, look alive, girls!" Derek called.
"We got us a situation," Zeck began, before noticing the royal ponies, "Oh, greetings, your excellencies." the boys bowed their heads.
Lapis looked at the four ponies in awe, "So this is them?"
Twilight nodded, "Correct. Lapis Lazuli, meet Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and my brother Shining Armor."
Lapis presented herself, "An honor to meet you all. I'm Damien's sister, Lapis Lazuli."
"A pleasure to finally meet you, Lapis." Celestia greeted her.
"Damien and the boys have said nothing but good things about you." Cadence added.
"Thanks. But I'm afraid, there's trouble." Lapis said.
"We're aware of the sirens still being active." Luna assured her.
"We just need to know where they'll go next." Applejack said.
"That's just it. I know." Lapis answered.
"What?" the ponies gasped, "You do?" Fluttershy asked.
"How?" Rainbow wondered.
"I can't really explain it. But I could see them, and hear them in my mind." the girl explained.
"How's that possible?" Shining Armor asked.
"Any thoughts, Allegro?" Zeck asked the siren.
"Hmm," Allegro pondered, "It could be possible Lapis still has some magical residue left over when she shared that link with the other three until you removed the spell on her."
"It's about as good a theory as we got," Twilight admitted, before turning to the little girl, "Ok, Lapis, tell us where you heard they're going to strike."
"At a place called Las Pegasus." she answered.
"Oh, dear." Twilight said in worry.
"A place as big and lively as that will be crawling with tourists they can brainwash." Rarity noted.
"And if it's the Equestria counterpart of our world's Las Vegas, we can believe it." Josh said.
"And worse, they're going there in three days." Lapis put in.
"So we have three days to prepare to stop them." Applejack asked.
"It appears that way." Allegro confirmed.
"There's so much we have to do if we wanna stop them." Rarity began panicking.
"Relax, everyone," Zeck calmed them, "We can be certain that the sirens don't know that we know what they're planning. That's the advantage we have."
"Zeck is correct," Luna confirmed, "We must take advantage of this window of opportunity while the sirens remain naïve."
"So let's go out to Las Pegasus and set up before they get there. That way we can get the drop on them again just like in Manehattan." Rainbow mapped it out.
"Excellent." Zeck confirmed.
"And this time, Lapis can truly be part of our act." Damien said.
"Yeah. Her Water Witch persona would add a little extra hype." Derek added.
"I've been thinking about that." Lapis spoke up, "I think the Witch title is too dreadful, so I'm thinking of changing it up."
"To what?" Fluttershy wondered.
"I was thinking... The Water Sage," Lapis answered, "Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
"I think it's fabulous!" Rarity beamed.
"Me too." Damien agreed.
"I suggest every pony gets packing and get to Las Pegasus as soon as possible." Celestia suggested.
"You can count on us, Princess." Twilight promised.
"I better pack all the needed material to improve Lapis' outfit." Rarity said.
"Well, then. Let's get started." Zeck said, as the boys stood together ready for anything.
One morning the boys, the mane six, Spike, Allegro, and Lapis were on a train ride bound for the city of Las Pegasus. As they were approaching the city, they looked out the train windows and could see it straight ahead.
"Las Pegasus straight ahead!" Derek declared.
"I've never been to this city before," Allegro admitted, "But I always heard it's quite colorful at night."
"Yes, very colorful." Pinkie said in a dreamy daze.
"My Grandpa once went to our equivalent of Las Pegasus back in the 50s," Tyler began, "Told us he took the town by storm, when he won fifteen jackpots in a row. They flew him home first class just to get rid of him."
"Seriously?" Applejack asked in disbelief.
"No. Grandma pulled us aside and said he lost everything but his underpants and came back on a bus." Tyler answered, as he and the boys laughed.
"He always was good at making jokes." Derek chuckled.
"Well, this is it." Twilight said, as the train pulled into the station.
They got off and started walking for the hotel Princess Celestia reserved for them. As they walked the streets the boys and Lapis looked around in wonder, as Lapis spoke, "Vegas? Looks more like a whole amusement park."
"This is a pony world after all." Damien reminded her.
"Yeah, probably toned down on the more adult stuff in this universe." Josh suggested.
"Still gotta give it credit. It has that Vegas feel to it." Zeck admitted.
"You know what sucks about it though?" Tyler asked.
"What?" the boys asked.
"We probably still need a license if we want to gamble here."
"Darn it." Derek grumbled.
"We won't be doing any gambling here, guys," Twilight replied, "Those sirens will be coming here tomorrow."
"Yes, we know." Damien sighed.
"No need to keep reminding them, Twilight." Pinkie said.
"Yeah. They got that figured out." Spike added.
"I know, but what we don't know is where they will strike here." Twilight reminded them.
"That's right," Fluttershy nodded, "Las Pegasus is a big city, so who knows where they would strike first."
"It would have to be a place where you can find most tourists." Rarity replied.
"We should be able to find out the appropriate spot, through touring." Allegro said.
"Sounds awesome to me." Rainbow admitted, as they went inside the hotel.
After getting checked in, they went into their room seeing it was an entire villa with an amazing view of the city and wide space with multiple bedrooms, "Holy snap!" Derek gasped.
"This is so awesome!" Rainbow cheered.
"Lovely." Rarity marveled, as she looked around.
"Is this all one suite?" Fluttershy asked curiously.
"Oh, yeah. This is what I'm talking about." Damien plopped onto a couch.
"And to think this is the kinda place you guys are always set up in on tour." Lapis noted.
"We always get the best." Zeck replied.
"All right, let's unpack and get ready. We need to scope out the city for possible places the sirens will strike." Twilight instructed. The group agreed, and picked a room and started unpacking.
Later that day, the group was touring all around the city taking in the sites all while following Twilight's itinerary. The Princess of Friendship spoke, "As you can see Las Pegasus has plenty of hotels, theaters, and parks for many tourists to go to."
"We just need to determine the most popular among them." Josh stated.
"Well according to this tour guide, the top three places are Horseshoe Resort, Trotting Park, and Celestia's Palace." Twilight marked them off.
"They have a place named after Celestia here?" Tyler asked.
"Lucky." Derek sighed.
"Hey, buck up. Maybe one day we'll be so famous they'll name something after us." Zeck perked him up.
"So let's get started in scoping the spots out." Spike suggested.
"Agreed." Josh approved.
"Where to first?" Applejack asked Twilight.
"The Horseshoe Resort is closest, so let's start there."
"Then let's go!" Zeck ordered, as they hurried off.
As they headed towards the resort, they did stop to take some pictures in front of a fountain, pony versions of the neon light signs Vegas Vic and Cowgirl. They arrived at the Horseshoe resort and walked inside seeing it was booming with activity from tourists gambling at the casino portion, kids playing at the indoor amusement park section. The group looked around the whole place while admiring the shops and entertainment going on. The boys spotted some mares walking by dressed as show girls
When they met back up, Twilight spoke, "This place is quite big and holds plenty of entertainment every day."
"True, but if the three want to have a real audience, it should be more out in the open." Allegro noted.
"He's right," Rarity agreed, "The wider and more open a place is the bigger the audience."
"So let's check Trotting Park next." Applejack said.
"To the Park!" Tyler and Pinkie. Declared, as they hurried.
After a bit of a walk, they arrived at Trotting Park seeing it was a wide open place with vendors and outdoor shops set up. Many tourists were shopping around, while in another spot were many ponies picnicking. They walked around, as Pinkie spoke up, "Definitely lively here."
"Yes. And there's so much to do." Fluttershy noticed.
"I'll say," Applejack agreed, "And I thought my family reunions were big."
"And look, they got a stage set up over there." Josh noticed a big stage.
"Perfect for outdoor entertainment." Lapis said.
"And outdoor concerts always are the best." Zeck added.
"Yeah, I mean we've always had outdoor concerts." Damien recalled.
"True, but we should still check out Celestia's Palace and see how it holds up." Twilight suggested.
"Then it's off to Celestia's Palace!" Derek declared.
"But that's all the way back in Canterlot." Pinkie spoke up, as the group looked at her dryly, until she giggled, "I'm kidding." And so they pressed onto their next destination.
At Celestia's Palace, the group saw the whole place was like a shrine dedicated to Celestia. Tapestry's hung from the ceiling with the princess' image, statues of her were erected in every section of the place. The group even saw fillies running around either wearing fake horns, wigs, or fake wings that looked like Celestia's.
"My goodness." Fluttershy gasped.
"It's like we're walking in Princess Celestia's past." Rarity said, while marveling the Celestia paraphernalia.
"I'll say," Twilight agreed, as she looked at a bunch of stuff labeled as Celestia's possessions, "Makes me wonder how much of this stuff is real."
"If it is real then Princess Celestia must lend them on loan to this place." Josh said.
"They probably paid her a fortune just to sample some of this stuff." Damien said, while checking out the display.
"It's even bigger than the Daring Do convention." Rainbow said, as she flew around.
"Think this could be the perfect spot for the sirens to strike?" Zeck asked Allegro and Twilight.
"It's hard to tell. Sirens may be into large crowds, but sometimes even their choice in places are unpredictable." Allegro explained.
"Let's explore more of this place, and head back to the hotel and discuss notes." Twilight suggested. The group agreed and looked around some more, while trying not to get too caught up in the entertainment.
Later as nighttime was moving in, the group was back at their villa looking over their notes. Twilight was pacing around while levitating a sheet she was looking at, while everyone else was laying around trying to figure it out too. Twilight sighed, "I hate to say this, but all three spots sound perfect."
"So they could all be equally potential spots for the sirens to appear?" Josh asked in disbelief.
"I'm afraid so." The princess of Friendship answered.
"Oh, that's just great." Damien said in sarcasm.
"How're we going to be ready for the sirens in three places?" Rainbow asked.
"Especially if they'll be arriving tomorrow?" Lapis wondered.
Zeck spoke up, "We'll have to keep tabs on all three spots."
"How're we going to do that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"We'll pair off into teams," Twilight began, "Fluttershy, you and Rainbow Dash will scope out the park tomorrow. Rarity, you and Pinkie Pie got Celestia's Palace..." before she could continue, Allegro cut her off.
"Applejack and I will take Horseshoe Resort. If they're sighted there, I'll contact the boys and Lapis with my own gemstone."
"And if they're at the Park, I'll fly back here faster than you can count." Rainbow promised.
"And I can be back here no problem to inform you all." Pinkie grinned.
"And wherever they end up, I can teleport the boys and Lapis there before they can do much damage." Twilight said.
"And that's when we take them down and end their little power stealing." Zeck said confidently.
"I heard that." Derek said, as the two fist bumped.
"So tonight we better get plenty of sleep." Twilight said.
"Well, before that, Lapis and I have some touch ups to make to her costume." Rarity said, while looking at Lapis.
"Shouldn't take too long." Lapis promised.
"Good. Because you need your sleep." Damien told her.
"You don't have to treat me like I'm three, bro." Lapis grumbled.
"Don't worry, Damien. We'll be finished before sleep." Rarity promised.
"Well, then you two get to it." Zeck said, as the unicorn and girl went to Rarity's room to work on Lapis' costume.
The boys walked over and looked out the window seeing the whole city of Las Pegasus lit up, "Now this is definitely like Vegas back home." Tyler said.
"Uh-huh." Josh agreed.
"When this is over and we get home, we should suggest a show in Vegas." Zeck suggested.
"Assuming we're successful." Damien reminded him.
"We have to be," Zeck replied, "For the sake of the ponies and all species in Equestria." he looked out into the city knowing Ballad, Tempo, and Presto were on their way preparing for their biggest performance ever.
The next day around late afternoon, each of the girls were paired off and scoping out the spots in Las Pegasus where the Siren Trio would surely be spotted. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were at Trotting Park, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were at Celestia's Palace, while Applejack and Allegro were at the Horseshoe Resort. All three groups were keeping an eye out, while occasionally Rainbow Dash would get distracted by whatever game booths were going on, while Pinkie would be tempted to sneak off to the food court from time to time, and Rarity would occasionally get distracted by the various clothing shops. They could only hope the sirens would make their appearance soon before they'd die of boredom.
At the hotel, Twilight and Spike were waiting around with the boys who were kicking back or enjoying some food. Twilight turned to the humans, "Hear anything from Allegro?"
"Nada." Zeck answered.
"And we've got no word from the others either." Spike noted.
"Bummer." Derek replied, as he took a drink of water from a bottle.
Twilight looked at the boys and disbelief, "How can you guys look so calm when we got an inevitable fight closing in?"
"We understand that, Twilight." Zeck replied.
"But sometimes fretting over it only ends up distracting you." Josh added.
"Which is why we're making sure to keep cool heads about it." Damien put in.
"Wish I could be that calm." Twilight sighed.
"Don't we all." Spike replied.
"Hey, guys," Lapis' voice came. The group looked and looked amazed as Lapis stood in her new performance costume redone by Rarity and her.
Her outfit was now a dress with a mix of dark and light blue like the water, a black skirt with white water rippling patterns, blue tights, and her black platform shoes. She did a little spin and posed, "How do I look?" she asked.
Damien answered, "Like a true pop star."
"You and Rarity did some neat touch ups." Zeck admitted.
"Thanks. Hope I do good when we perform." Lapis hoped.
"You'll do fine." Damien assured her.
"Yeah, girl. With us at your side, you got nothing to fear." Tyler added.
"Thanks, you guys." Lapis smiled.
Suddenly zipping into the room was Rainbow Dash, "Guys!" her sudden appearance made the boys fall backwards, before picking themselves up.
"Rainbow, I told you I hate it when you do that." Damien warned her.
"What's up, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked.
"Big news," Rainbow began, "Fluttershy and I saw the sirens coming right towards the park. I told Fluttershy to lay low so she wouldn't get brainwashed."
"This is whack. We better get over there right away." Zeck said.
"I'll get the others and have them meet you there." Rainbow said, as she flew off.
"All right, guys. Gather around me." Twilight said, as Spike and the humans gathered around her. Twilight used her magic to teleport them to Trotting Park.
When they arrived, they looked around seeing many pony tourists were zombie walking to somewhere, "Where are they going?" Tyler asked.
"Where the sirens call is coming from." Josh answered.
"Where's Fluttershy?" Spike asked.
"Over here." came her voice.
They looked over seeing Fluttershy was disguised as a tree. Damien raised a brow, "Fluttershy, why're you dressed like a tree?"
"Rainbow told me to lay low, and I felt if I disguised myself as a tree the sirens wouldn't see me." she explained.
"Well, I think you make for a convincing tree." Derek admitted.
"Thank you." she smiled sheepishly.
"The others better get here soon." Zeck said in worry.
"Hold your horses, Zeck. We're here." Came Applejack's voice.
They saw their Honest friend, and the rest of the group hurry over, "We came as soon as Rainbow Dash found us." Rarity explained.
"We follow this trail of ponies we'll find them." Allegro said.
"Then let's end this." Zeck said, as the group followed the tourists.
Meanwhile, the trio were on the stage set up vocalizing making all the tourists fall under their spell. Ballad looked around seeing the huge crowd, "We got them in our grasps, girls. Let's keep this up." they continued vocalizing, until they were cut off by an even more power vocalization.
They three saw it was Accelerated Dash using the powers of their gemstones to break the spell on all the tourists. The boys and Lapis climbed onto the stage, as Zeck spoke to the trio, "We're not going to let you continue to do as you please."
"You're hurt enough ponies with your tricks, we won't let you hurt anymore." Damien added.
"You boys are really becoming an annoyance." Tempo voiced her irritation.
"We're the annoyance?" Derek asked with a laugh, "That's hilarious coming from you three."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Presto asked.
"You three have been annoying plenty of ponies by trying to brainwash them and feeding off their negative energy." Tyler replied.
"It's nothing personal," Ballad began innocently, "Ok, it is personal, but we can't help we were born to feed off negative energy."
"Allegro learned to feed off positive feelings like our gems do." Zeck noted.
"So why can't you three?" Lapis asked.
"Because negative energy is so delicious." Ballad licked her lips with delight.
"Well, we're still not going to let you use your voices for such evil." Josh warned them.
"None of us will." Twilight said, as she and her friends backed the boys up.
"Then let's settle things here and now." Ballad said, as they began vocalizing again and singing.
Zeck turned to his pals and Lapis, "Let's turn it up Loud, Accelerated Dash!" The boys and Lapis caught on and began to sing.
As the two sides clashed musically and vocally, the tourist ponies kept switching from being possessed to un-possessed. Pinkie spoke, "Boy their powers sure are clashing."
"Indeed," Allegro agreed, "This will truly prove once and for all if all sirens and not just myself can truly use our gift for good." he watched the boys and Lapis sing like they've never sang before.
The boys and Lapis continued to sing with all their heart and soul, while the trio were determined to win. When the boys started backing down feeling as if the sirens were overpowering them, Lapis knew her brother and his friends were in trouble. She took Damien's hand and smiled at him. Damien smiled back with his spirit restored, and took Zeck's hand to give him strength as well. Zeck took Josh's hand who took Derek's and then Tyler's. The six stood side by side and resumed singing.
Suddenly the sirens and the mane six watched as the six humans were surrounded by a light that matched the color of their gems. The trio were in shock, as the six gems emitted a beam of light that flew all around the audience before coming back and combined above the band. Suddenly appearing above them was what appeared to be Starswirl the Bearded made from magical energy.
Twilight and her friends gasped, as Allegro smiled, and thought, 'You left a piece of yourself in each of the gems, didn't you old friend?'
Needless to say, the siren trio were in shock, as Ballad gasped, "Starswirl?" The entity said nothing as it aimed its horn at them and started assimilating the energy from their gems as they screamed. The trio then fell to the ground, as Starswirl dispersed into magic that was assimilated back into the boys and Lapis' gemstones. They ceased their singing and looked down at the sirens victoriously.
The sirens got up and looked down at their gemstones seeing they've gone black, "What happened?" Presto asked in worry.
"The magic from your gems have been drained dry. And no amount of trying to steal negative energy will help you." Allegro spoke up.
"Don't you three see?" Twilight asked, "Stealing magic and feeding off ponies negative feelings only caused them pain and suffering. And now you three are the ones to suffer now that you can no longer feed off it."
"But what do we now?" Tempo asked feeling scared.
"Without our ability to feed off energy we'll starve." Ballad feared.
"It doesn't have to be this way." Zeck answered.
"It doesn't?" Tempo asked curiously.
The boys shook their heads, as Lapis spoke, "You can still learn to use your magic to spread kindness and happiness just as we can. And Allegro."
"But what if we're incapable of it?" Presto asked with doubt.
"Anypony is capable of changing." Twilight answered.
"Even you three." Damien added.
"Give it a try, and you may see a new light." Allegro encouraged them.
The trio looked at each other before sighing, and Ballad spoke, "Well, what've we got to lose?" they turned to face the crowd looking nervous. They pulled it together and began to sing.
As they sang with positive thoughts, those feelings of happiness made their gems glow again. The group watched in awe as the audience clearly felt empowered by their happiness. Allegro smiled, and thought to himself, 'Starswirl, if only you could see them now.'
When the trio finished, the audience cheered and applauded on the double performance between them and Accelerated Dash. Presto gasped and spoke to the two, "Do you hear that?"
"They love us." Tempo gasped.
"And we don't even have to brainwash them." Ballad said in disbelief.
"You see it now?" Zeck asked, "When me and my boys sing we do it to please the audience, not to gain attention."
"Hearing their cheers because of how pleased they are makes us feel good in return." Josh added.
"I admit it felt good to make them happy instead of thinking of ourselves." Ballad admitted.
"So does that mean you'll start using your magic for good now?" Lapis asked.
Ballad smiled, and answered on behalf of herself and her partners, "Yes. We'll start spreading happiness with our singing from now on. Just as Starswirl wanted us and our kind."
"Good to hear it." Allegro smiled, as he and the girls wet up to them.
Zeck and Ballad shook on it, as the audience applauded. Zeck turned to the audience and announced, "Goodnight, Las Pegasus!"
The next day after the events in Las Pegasus, the group returned to Ponyville where they informed the royal sisters of what happened. Needless to say the two were very proud of their subjects. And the siren trio would return to their lands with Allegro where he would supervise them from now on.
Then it was nighttime in Ponyville, and everyone was gathered in the town square to witness Accelerated Dash's goodbye concert. Many other guests had come from Canterlot and the Crystal Empire to see them perform for one last time. Such guests included Allegro, Ballad, Tempo, Presto, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor, Fancypants, Fleur, Moondancer, and the rest of Twilight's old clique back in Canterlot. Pinkie, Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy were currently wandering around making sure the guests were ready and excited.
From the makeshift stage, Twilight looked out to the crowd from behind the curtain before pulling her head back. She trotted over to the boys and Lapis, "It's a sell out, you guys."
"I can't believe so many ponies and such would turn up just for us." Josh said in disbelief.
"Well, this is the last night we're playing in Ponyville, Josh." Zeck reminded him.
"And tomorrow we return home." Damien added.
"So tonight let's make the most of our performance." Tyler said.
"Word up." Derek agreed.
"You're on in five, guys." Twilight told them.
Lapis got up, "Come on, boys. Let's put on a show." she smiled. The boys nodded as they got up and headed for their places.
Twilight walked onto the stage and addressed the crowd, "Welcome, everypony, to Ponyville. Tonight I promise is to be a momentous event. For tonight our beloved boy band Accelerated Dash will be performing for the last time until who knows when. So without further adieu, let's hear it for Accelerated Dash with Lapis Lazuli the Water Sage!" the ponies cheered, as the curtain opened up, as the boys and Lapis walked out on stage.
Zeck took a mic and spoke, "Good evening, Ponyville. I know you're all excited, and yet also sad that my friends and I will be taking our leave tomorrow. We don't know when or how we could ever return to Equestria, but if there's one thing we've learned while during our stay is this... There's always hope. And we hope one day we will all see you again. All right, Accelerated Dash, let's Dash!" And so the music began playing as the boys and Lapis took it away.
As the six humans performed, they began reminiscing about the fun times they had while in Equestria. Zeck recalled how many ponies had flocked to him the first time he and his friends performed in Equestria, and had gained a fan club dedicated to him. Derek remembered the times he had fun with Pinkie and Rainbow Dash ranging from relaxing to pulling pranks on several other ponies. Tyler recalled the sports he had done in Ponyville from Bowling with the three Bowler ponies and Hoofball with Spike, Big mac, and several other ponies. Josh remembered how they performed in the Crystal Empire, afterward he studied the Empire's history with both Twilight and Cadence to improve his knowledge of the kingdom. Damien recalled the time in Canterlot Moondancer had called him over to study him for research purposes, while also shuddering when she wanted him to remove his clothes for further speculation. Finally Lapis recalled how she finally got to perform for a wide audience be it while she was with the sirens or with her brother and his friends.
Out in the crowd, Twilight's friends watched as the band performed knowing they were really going to miss them when they were gone, as will all their friends in Ponyville and beyond. When the band finished the fans cheered and applauded, as Zeck announced, "Goodnight, Equestria!"
The very next morning at Twilight's castle, the band and their friends were in the library for their departure. Zeck spoke up, "Well, every pony, what else can we say but it's really been an awesome adventure."
"And it was great getting to know all of you." Damien added.
"Same to you guys." Twilight replied.
"We will certainly miss you all." Celestia said.
"So will we." Tyler admitted.
"So how are we going to get home now?" Derek wondered.
"Well, it was the gems that brought us here so maybe it's them that can send us home." Josh theorized.
"And how do we do that?" Lapis inquired.
"The gems respond to the will of their wielders," Allegro began, "If that is what you desire then it can be done."
The boys and Lapis turned to each other, as Zeck spoke, "Well, let's see what happens." the six closed their eyes and thought about home. Suddenly their gems began to glow much to the surprise of the others. Each gem emitted a beam at the mirror gateway which they came out of The portal in the mirror appeared and reflected the dressing room they were in before coming to Equestria.
The six opened their eyes and saw the mirror's reflection, "That's it." Josh gasped.
"Our dressing room from our last tour." Derek laughed in joy.
"We can go now!" Damien cheered, as he and Lapis danced around.
Suddenly to their surprise, their gemstones detached from their necks and fell to the floor. Tyler spoke up, "What just happened?"
"They just removed themselves from us?" Lapis wondered.
"The gems have served their purpose and now you no longer need them." Celestia explained.
Allegro picked them up and placed them in a brooch, "I will keep vigil over them should they ever be needed again." he said.
"Thanks for everything once again," Zeck began, "Twilight, you and your friends have shown us just how powerful friendship can really be."
"You're welcome, Zeck. To be honest, seeing how strong your friendship is within your boys reminds me of how lucky we all are to have such strong friendships. And now their stronger than ever with the bonds we've forged here."
"Ain't it the truth." Derek replied.
"We hope you'll one day find a way to come back, boys." Rarity hoped.
"Yeah. And when you do, I'll have a super duper amazing party to throw." Pinkie added.
"Sounds like a plan to me." Tyler said.
Damien turned to the siren trio, "Hey, you three behave yourselves, all right?"
"Of course." Presto answered.
"No more trying to make others adore us just for popularity." Tempo added.
"From this point on, we're reformed sirens." Ballad promised on behalf of herself and her partners.
The group walked up to the mirror, as Zeck spoke, "Farewell, little ponies. Accelerated Dash has gotta Dash!" the group went through the mirror that closed once they all went through. Twilight and all her friends smiled sadly, but knew one day they would meet again.
Sometime later back in the human world messages were popping up on the internet about Accelerated Dash returning after vanishing into thin air. The fans all across the world were rejoicing that their favorite group was back safe and sound.
Currently, the boys and Lapis were being interviewed by a news crew with a newsman speaking to the camera, "And in a shocking surprise, Accelerated Dash who has been missing for over a month has mysteriously returned. Their manager states this disappearing act was merely a publicity stunt so the boys could play hooky and have a little time to themselves before their tour officially ended. What matters to everyone is the boys are back in town!"
The scene panned out to reveal the boys were watching the report on TV in Damien's room back in Chicago that night. Damien kicked back and spoke, "Who would've thought we'd cause such a stir up just from disappearing?"
"I know. Everyone really does care about us." Derek answered.
The boys suddenly heard horns, whistles, and drums being played outside. They looked out Damien's bedroom window seeing a girl their age playing on a keyboard making all the different sounds. The girl had buck teeth, short brown hair, brown eyes, wore a yellow shirt, and a red skirt. She announced to them, "I love you boys!"
"Nora!" they screamed before closing the blinds.
"I did not miss her." Tyler said.
"Same here." Josh agreed.
"Damien!" Came his mother's voice.
"Be right back," Damien told his pals, as he left the room and saw his mom in the dining room, "What's up, mom?"
"This letter just came for you." she presented him with a letter unmarked.
"Mail at this hour?" Damien wondered, but took the letter back to his room.
"What was it?" Zeck asked.
"Mom said I got this letter in the mail just now." Damien held up the envelope.
"Mail at this hour?" Josh asked incredulously.
"I know." Damien agreed, as he opened the envelope and the boys looked at the letter.
Accelerated Dash, I want to thank you for all you've done for Equestria. Because your efforts you have done what I have failed to do. Show the sirens that their magic can be used for good. I was right to have entrusted the power of the gems to you, as well as Lapis. May you continue to spread the power of friendship through song just as you have in Equestria. Signed Starswirl the Bearded.
The boys looked at each other in shock, "What the..." Josh began.
"Fudge?" Derek finished.
"How the hell did Starswirl get a message to us in this world?" Zeck asked.
"Probably how he got those gems to us from before?" Tyler suggested.
"Even so, how did he even know where we'd be?" Josh wondered.
"You think Starswirl's been watching us this whole time?" Damien asked.
"If he has, then I think it's safe to say we've made him proud." Zeck replied.
"Guess we'll never know for sure how he found out about us." Tyler said, as the boys just decided to relax the night away.
Outside Damien and Lapis' place across the street was the same delivery boy who delivered them the gems back in New York. He smiled and spoke to himself, "The age of music has certainly changed in many ways." he walked off before vanishing into thin air.