After the events of the Fall Formal, something other than Equestrian Magic was brought to Canterlot High. Twelve teenagers from another world try to help Princess Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and the Rainbooms handle the Dazzlings.
After Sunset Shimmer's plans for the Fall Formal and Princess Twilight's crown backfire on her, Twilight and the Canterlot High versions of her friends stop the raging she-demon and turn her back to normal. Horrified by what happened, Sunset promises to change her ways.
But during her transformation into a demon, three girls saw the surges of magic that shot into the sky that night. Sensing a way to restore their own powers and rule the world they're trapped in, the girls make their way to Canterlot High School in time for the first ever Musical Showcase and start spreading negativity among the student body by suggesting that the event be turned into a Battle of the Bands.
However, something happened with the portal that brought Princess Twilight Sparkle to Canterlot High as she left. After she returned home, a group of teenagers ended up exiting the portal as it sealed itself. Trapped in a world that is similar to their own, the twelve visitors end up having to help the Rainbooms stop the Dazzlings. On the bright side for them, they know how to handle themselves against monsters.
Inspired by a conversation between myself and a friend on FanFiction.
This story is basically a crossover of Rainbow Rocks and my own RWBY OC Fanfic, "Sideline: Another Story". Check it out if you like RWBY or this story. The Original Characters featured are of my own creation and here is a link to most of them on my Tumblr.
Cover art is of my RWBY OC, Azalea Calla Holstein made by Evebun on Tumblr.
It was a quiet night through the town, but it wasn't as peaceful in one cafe. Numerous patrons were arguing with each other and an unusual green mist was swirling around their feet. As the customers kept shouting, three girls in the corner booth were vocalizing and the mist seemed to be absorbed into the red gems on their necklaces. Removing their hoods, they began to talk with each other. "That was barely worth the effort, Adagio. I'm tired of fast food. I need a meal," the girl with large purple pigtails complained.
The girl with poofy orange hair turned to her associate before replying. "The energy in this world isn't the same as in Equestria, Aria. We can only gain so much power here."
Aria only groaned at this. "I wish we'd never been banished to this awful place!"
"Really? Because I love it here," Adagio said sarcastically before she had an unamused stare.
"For realsies? Because I think this place is the worst," the third girl with a large blue ponytail said as she failed to pick up on Adagio's sarcasm.
Aria rolled her eyes at the third girl's words. "I think you're the worst, Sonata."
Sonata turned away from Aria before they started to argue. "Oh, yeah? Well, I think you're-"
Adagio growled at the two girls in front of her as dark clouds seemed to gather out in the distance if she looked through the window of their booth. "I'll tell you one thing, being stuck here with you two isn't making this world any more bearable," she said to Aria and Sonata with the last word through clenched teeth. After saying that, a pillar of cyan and black light appeared in the distance and shot into the sky. Seeing this, Adagio rushed outside to see what it was while Aria and Sonata followed at a more casual pace.
After the girls got outside to see what was happening, they soon saw rainbows spiral up into the air before shooting like a laser at something. When they hit their target, the rainbow shot up into the sky like a beacon before fading away. Adagio was shocked at what happened. "Did you feel that," she gasped before she looked at her necklace and gave a sinister grin. "Do you know what that is," she asked Sonata and Aria. However, the two girls were clueless as to what just happened and shrugged. "It's Equestrian magic," Adagio exclaimed as she grabbed Aria to spell it out for her.
"But, this world doesn't have Equestrian magic," Aria mentioned. "We've been here for months and nothing even remotely resembling it has shown up."
"It has now, Aria," Adagio said as she released her associate from her grasp. Stepping forward and swaying her hips, Adagio continued with what she was planning. "And we're going to use it to make everyone in this pathetic little world adore us!" The girls silently agreed with the plan and stood by each other's sides as they looked in the direction of where the mysterious light show appeared.
After the events of the Fall Formal came to a close, everyone at Canterlot High went of with their lives and were even getting ready for a Musical Showcase. While everyone was going about their day, nobody noticed something unusual happen to the statue in the courtyard that acted as a magic portal to the realm of Equestria. Rainbow colors shimmered on the surface of the base before it rippled like somebody threw a stone into a pond. After a few seconds, several bodies fell out of the portal and groaned in pain. "What happened," a girl with red hair and a leather jacket asked as she got up off the ground.
"I don't know, but one of you is sitting on my back," a girl with purplish-red hair in a spiky pixie cut mentioned. "So, GET OFF OF ME," she yelled at the culprit.
"Keep your hair clip on, Rua," a girl with wild orange hair replied. "I'm getting off of you," she said as she stood up.
"This is strange," a blue-haired girl said. "Where are we?"
Looking around, the twelve teenagers saw that they were in front of a school. "Reminds me of Garrison Academy," the leather-clad redhead remarked with her hand on her hip. "Maybe we can ask someone there for answers," she pondered aloud.
"Whatever the answer, I think it's not Remnant," a girl with reddish-brown hair and freckles on her cheeks mentioned. "Look at the people," she pointed out to a blue-skinned girl with rainbow-colored hair bouncing a soccer ball around before she headed inside the school.
Seeing a few other people with unusual skin tones and hair colors, the group was suspicious about where they were. "This is going to be one heck of an adventure, I can tell that," a boy with gray hair said before turning to the group. Suddenly, his eyes shot open as he saw something about his friends. "Guys... You might want to look in a mirror," he said looking at the redhead.
"What are you talking about, Silver," the girl asked before turning to see her reflection in the horse statue's base. Looking at what she saw, the girl was surprised at what her hair now looked like. "What happened to my highlights," she exclaimed as her red hair no longer had its gold highlights, but was ombre instead with her hair gradually changing from a fiery red to a golden yellow at the tips.
"You're not the only one who changed, Sunset," Azalea mentioned as she saw another friend looking at her reflection. A girl wearing amethyst-colored sunglasses and a pair of headphones saw that her hair had lost its neon blue coloration and turned into her natural blonde shade. "Vinyl's looking pretty upset about losing her favorite hair dye."
"This is getting spooky," a boy wearing a cowboy hat and a poncho noted. "Maybe we should find some answers ASAP."
"Yeah. Good call, Slate," a blonde girl with her hair held in a styled bun by a decorative pin agreed.
"Come on, let's go," a tall girl with red and blue heterochromatic eyes said. "The sooner we figure out what's going on, the sooner we can leave and return home."
"Hold on," a shorter girl with purple hair and an outfit that resembled a ninja's interrupted. "Something's off about this whole thing. Why would Sunset and Vinyl's hair colors change for no reason?"
"Maybe this world has different rules or something," a girl with a long purple ponytail suggested. "After all, we're seeing girls with blue and pink skin walking around. I'm sure that we won't stick out as much if it's like Vale."
"What about us? We're not really seeing any Faunus around here," Azalea mentioned as she pointed to herself, Silver, and the orange-haired girl. With the latter two having a wolf tail and fox tail respectively growing out of their spines and Azalea herself having small cow horns coming out of her skull, they seemed to stick out more than the others.
"I can solve my problem," the fox-tailed girl commented. Snapping her fingers, her tail seemingly vanished and she smirked. "Thank you, illusion abilities."
"Congrats, Vixen. You solved one problem with another problem," Rua commented. "What are you going to do when someone catches the illusion? Not only that, but isn't your Aura going to drain?"
"Not with something as simple as this," Vixen commented.
"Well, that just leaves more mundane solutions for us," Silver mentioned as he wrapped his tail around his waist like a belt. Meanwhile, Azalea took a bandanna and wrapped it around her head to hide her horns from view. "Okay. Let's go, Fragment Hunter," Silver said as he headed off into the building.
Entering the school, the twelve teenagers decided to separate in order to cover more ground. "Okay. We'll split up into pairs. Make sure to call on your Scrolls if you find something," Sunset instructed.
There was a time we were apart But that's behind us now See how we've made a brand new start And the future's lookin' up, ah-oh, ah-oh And when you walk these halls You feel it everywhere Yeah, we're the Wondercolts forever, ah-oh, yeah!
Investigating the source of the music and peeking into a music room, Sunset and Azalea found a few girls practicing for their band and they were doing a great job. However, what caught their attention was that during the song, the band members started to change physically. Their ears changed shape and position, their hair became long enough to resemble tails, and two of the girls sprouted feathery wings from their backs.
We are all together (Ah, ah, oh-oh-oh-oh) Now it's better than ever (Ah, ah, oh-oh-oh-oh) You can feel it, we are back (You... can... feel... it...) And I'm so glad that we're better Better than ever Whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Oh yeah, we're better than ever Whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh
There was a time we couldn't see Past the differences That separated you and me And it left us on our own But now you walk these halls And friends are everywhere
Yeah, we're the Wondercolts forever, ah-oh, yeah! We are all together (Ah, ah, oh-oh-oh-oh) Now it's better than ever (Ah, ah, oh-oh-oh-oh) Now that we are back on track (Now... that... we... are...) Yes, I'm so glad that we're better Better than ever Whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Oh yeah, we're better than ever Whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Oh yeah, we're better than ever Whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Oh yeah, we're better than ever!
After the song ended, the transformations ended and vanished. "Okay, that's weird," Sunset remarked as she and Azalea stared at what happened while another person applauded the performance.
"A few of them could pass as Faunus back home," Azalea mentioned. "Hold on, they're talking."
"I just wonder why it happens. Princess Twilight took her crown back to Equestria. Shouldn't that mean she took all the magic back with her," the blonde bass player asked.
"Magic," Azalea and Sunset asked before they leaned in closer to hear more of the conversation. However, it seemed to cycle to the lead guitarist boasting about the band being her idea. Unfortunately, Azalea leaned into the door a little too much and lost her balance. With the door bursting open, the two eavesdroppers fell into the music room and startled the six girls already in there.
"Hehehe... H-hi, we're new," Azalea nervously greeted from the floor. "We heard the song and it was great," she said.
Seeing a hand reach for her and her friend, Azalea saw a boy with blue hair offering some help. "Want some help," he asked.
"Thanks," Azalea said as she got helped to her feet. Pulling up Sunset off the ground, everyone started to stare at the other girl. "What are you all looking at," Azalea asked as she covered her chest with her arms and looked around the room herself. However, she seemed to realize what, or rather who, they were staring at. Seeing a girl that was very identical to her friend, Azalea looked back between the two and her eyes widened. "This just got a whole lot more confusing," she said to herself.
Azalea, Sunset, and the other teenagers stared at the second Sunset in front of the piano of the music room and back at the one by the door. "Does anybody want to tell us what's going on here," the blue-skinned guitarist asked out of confusion and impatience.
"I'm sure that these new girls will explain why one of them is a doppelganger of Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash," the elegant purple-haired keytar player declared.
"Sunset Shimmer," the two visitors asked together.
"Uh, yeah... I'm Sunset Shimmer," the redhead with highlights awkwardly introduced herself. "And this is Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy," she said as she gestured to the band members. Each of the five girls greeted Azalea and the Sunset doppelganger.
"I'm Flash Sentry," the blue-haired boy introduced himself.
"Oh, I'm Azalea Calla Holstein and this is my best friend, Sunset Blaze," Azalea politely responded.
"I get the feeling like we might get confused by a first name basis," Applejack said as she looked at both Sunset's.
"Everyone seems to go with my full name anyways, so just call her 'Blaze' or some other nickname," Sunset Shimmer suggested.
"I always liked 'Phoenix' for a stage name when performing," Sunset Blaze remarked.
"That sounds fun! But, so does 'Blaze'... Eh, either one works," Pinkie said as she spun her drumsticks around and tapped them on her cymbals.
"Anyways, me and Azalea are here with ten other friends from... out of town and we were wondering if we could hang around here until we go back," Sunset Blaze continued.
"You think she knows our other friends from 'out of town'," Flash asked with a hopeful tone.
"I don't think we would know anyone from here," Azalea apologetically said. "We just got here today and don't know anyone outside our little group."
"I wouldn't call twelve people a little group," Fluttershy mumbled.
Flash moaned in disappointment, "Well, I just thought that with the Musical Showcase being a special charity event and all, maybe Twilight would've decided to visit."
"Twilight," Azalea asked.
"Sorry, Flash," Applejack apologized. "I don't think Twilight is coming back to Canterlot High anytime soon."
"Who's Twilight? His girlfriend," Sunset Blaze asked in curiosity.
Flash blushed at this and began to stammer as he answered. "W-well, the thing is... Twilight's... s-she's just... M-maybe I should go. Need to practice for the showcase. I just, you know, thought I'd ask about Twilight. Uh, k-keep on rockin' it," he managed to get out as he started to leave. Bumping into the wall as he walked backwards, Flash sheepishly made his exit and the girls all started to giggle at what happened.
"Well," Rarity giggled. "Someone's quite the smitten kitten," she commented about Flash Sentry.
Azalea and Blaze saw Sunset Shimmer was apparently upset with herself. Putting two and two together, Blaze spoke up. "You two used to date, didn't you," she asked her body double.
"Oh, that's right," Rarity remembered. "Sorry. I always forget that you Flash used to be an item," she apologized to Shimmer.
"It's okay," Sunset Shimmer stated. "Flash is a great guy and all, but I never really liked-him liked him. I was just using him to become more popular. Ugh! The old me really was just awful, wasn't she," she said like she was disgusted at herself.
As the Rainbooms all confirmed Sunset Shimmer's question, Azalea and Sunset Blaze just stood there confused. "What do you mean by that," Azalea asked.
Sunset Shimmer looked down at her boots and grabbed her arm as she awkwardly explained. "Well... It's just that I was a bit... different in how I acted back during my last few years of school."
"That's putting it lightly," Rainbow Dash said and got elbowed in the ribs by Applejack.
"But, I'm changing for the better," Shimmer stated.
"Exactly," Applejack reassured. "The important thing is that you went and turned yourself around."
"Thanks, Applejack. But, I'm not sure that everyone else here at CHS feels the same way," Sunset Shimmer remarked.
"If Rua was here and heard this, they would," Blaze mentioned quietly to Azalea.
The P.A. system turned on and somebody spoke. "Sunset Shimmer, please report to the main foyer."
"Well, gotta run," Shimmer said as she approached the door. "I volunteered to show some new students around the school. Thought it'd be good for them to get to know the new me before they heard all the stuff about the old me," she said with downcast face.
"We'll come with you," Azalea said as she and Blaze walked alongside Sunset Shimmer. "You would need to give an actual tour to the rest of our friends, right?"
"Yeah, I guess," Shimmer responded.
"I'm just going to come out and say this. You used to be a bully, didn't you," Blaze suddenly asked. Sunset Shimmer was taken aback by this, but Blaze continued. "You said that you're changing for the better, you don't want these new students knowing about the old you, and you really regret your past," she listed.
"Yes. It's just that something went wrong back during the school's Fall Formal and Twilight helped me realize what I did wrong in my life," Sunset said as she grabbed the sleeves of her jacket. "Everyone still doesn't trust me because of what I did, though."
"These things take time. You can't change the world overnight or deal with criminal organizations in one day," Azalea mentioned.
"That second thing was oddly specific for an example," Sunset Shimmer remarked.
"Like in movies," Blaze quickly elaborated. "You can't just go all 'action hero' and play the role of the cop visiting their wife's workplace and deal with a gang of bad guys that took over the whole place."
"I actually liked that movie," Sunset Shimmer mentioned with a smile.
As they walked along to the foyer, Azalea and Blaze messaged the rest of their friends to head there as well. "Sunset Shimmer, these are our friends," Blaze said as she started introductions. "Silver Wuruhi is the gray-haired boy, the blue-haired girl is Lapis Ondine, the girl in the kimono-style outfit is Vixen Kosaku, and this is Rua Amaranth," she introduced the first four members of the group.
"This is kinda weird," Silver admitted as he saw the second version of Sunset.
"We've seen weirder," Lapis reminded.
"Like some of Vixen's pranks or the time Ruby Rose decided to eat a cookie through her nose," Rua asked with a blank face.
As Vixen laughed at the memory of some previous pranks she pulled off, Sunset Shimmer thought about that second thing Rua said. "I would actually expect Pinkie Pie to do that so that everyone would laugh," Shimmer mused. After thinking about the image, she began to chuckle at the idea. "Okay, okay, okay. Who else is there?"
"The girl with glasses and two different eye colors is Cereza Fujita, the belly dancer is Layla Carbuncle, and the cowboy is Slate Quartz," Azalea introduced. "They're all my roommates back at our school."
"Boarding school, huh? That's gotta be rough when you feel homesick," Sunset mentioned.
"It was," Azalea said before Slate wordlessly placed his hat on Azalea's head. The two smiled at each other and Sunset eyed them, wondering if they were together. "Back to the others," Azalea said in order to get back on track. "The blonde in the green dress is Celadon Flynn, the girl with the red scarf is Rebecca Haze, and the last one with the headphones is Vinyl Aurum."
Seeing how similar that Vinyl Aurum was dressed compared to another student at CHS, Sunset had a couple of questions before she gave the official tour. "I just want to ask a few things. First, what's with all the color-related names?"
"Who names their daughter 'Rainbow Dash', 'Rarity', or 'Fluttershy'? Ever think of that, Sunset Shimmer," Blaze retorted with deadpan tone.
Sunset Shimmer looked at her doppelganger and only replied with one word, "Touche."
"There's a few reasons why we're named the way we are," Azalea confessed. "But, let's just say that art is very important thing in each of our families. So, colors and names related to them mean a lot."
"That's... pretty neat," Shimmer admitted. "Second, why is it that several of you seem to have armor?"
"We don't make fun of your hobbies," Cereza calmly replied as she pulled a lollipop from her jacket pocket.
"Okay, then. Third, why is it that she looks like another student here only with blonde hair instead of blue," Shimmer asked as she pointed to Vinyl.
"Purely coincidence, Darling," Celadon answered. "Although, she does dye her hair neon blue. I almost ended up using that instead of my conditioner the first day we were at Beacon Academy," she remembered fondly. "Could you all imagine me with blue hair," she asked her friends. The twelve and even Sunset Shimmer began to chuckle at the idea.
"You guys are pretty fun to be with. I hope that we can see each other around after the tour," Sunset Shimmer said after catching her breath. "We just need to show the three new girls around the school."
Waiting in the foyer by the front doors, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata patiently stood as Sunset Shimmer approached them. "Hi. Are you the girls I'm supposed to show around," Shimmer asked as she and the teenagers she was talking with earlier showed up.
Stepping into their view, Adagio and her associates were seen in new outfits instead of the hooded disguises they wore when they saw the unusual rainbows and lights in the dead of night. "We are," Adagio confirmed. "I'm Adagio Dazzle and these are my friends, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk," she said gesturing to each of them.
"Another 'Blaze'? This'll get confusing," Sunset Blaze remarked.
"Just call her 'Aria'," Sonata said to try and help.
"That's a lot of hair," Rua commented as she saw Adagio's poofy haircut. "Did she buy a crate of hairspray for that look, or what?"
Ignoring Rua, Sunset Shimmer started the tour for everyone. "Canterlot High is a great school. You're really gonna love it here," Shimmer said as she lead the way.
"Oh, yes, we really sense there's something... magical about this place," Adagio said as she followed Sunset Shimmer. However, the way she spoke made Sunset Blaze suspicious.
As they were getting a better tour of the building, everyone made their way through another hallway as Sunset Shimmer explained which rooms were what. "That's the science lab. Computer lab is in there," she gestured to two different rooms before seeing a poster that was made earlier in the day. "Oh! We're having a big musical showcase this weekend! The whole school is pretty much rallying around it," she mentioned in hopes of getting more acts for the event.
Adagio gasped at the information and asked for confirmation. "A musical showcase," she inquired as she looked back at Aria and Sonata. All three of them smiled like they knew something that Sunset Shimmer didn't and this didn't go unnoticed by Sunset Blaze and a few others.
"Maybe we could join the showcase with our band," Vinyl suggested.
"Yeah! Fragment Hunter would be a great addition to this," Silver exclaimed as he punched his palm.
"I'm sure that since you're all new, Principal Celestia would let you sign up and join if you're interested," Sunset Shimmer said.
Aria inspected her nails as she spoke up. "We have been know to sing from time to time."
"Hello? We sing, like, all the time," Sonata stated. "It's how we get people to do what we want." Hearing this, Sunset Shimmer was confused, Fragment Hunter stared at Sonata in suspicion, and Adagio growled at her and signaled for her to stop talking. "Wha-What did I say," Sonata asked with a clueless tone.
"What you meant to say was that being in a musical showcase sounds like a great way to meet other students," Adagio answered for her blue-haired associate.
"That didn't sound like it," Rua said as she crossed her arms and glared at the three girls. Adagio glared back in turn, but Sonata tried to say that what Adagio said for her was what she meant.
Aria scoffed at Sonata's clueless behavior again and began to argue with her. "And what you would have said if you weren't the worst."
"You are," Sonata retorted weakly.
"You'll have to excuse Aria and Sonata. They're idiots," Adagio said about her friends as she began to fiddle with the gem on her necklace.
"They also have names that mean the complete opposite of each other," Lapis mentioned and laughed to herself.
As Sunset Shimmer and several members of Fragment Hunter were thoroughly confused by the girls, Azalea noticed the pendants that the girls wore were all the same red gem. "Those are pretty," she mentioned before reaching to get a better look. "Where did you-"
Azalea was cut off as Adagio grabbed at her wrist and squeezed to keep her away from her choker. "HEY! Let her go, Hairball," Rua said as she glared and snarled at Adagio. "Otherwise, you'll regret it," she said as she cracked her knuckles.
"Oh, please," Aria dismissed. "What could a pipsqueak like you do?" Aria regretted what she said as she felt an impact against her left cheek and was suddenly against the metal door of a nearby locker. Adagio, Sonata, and Sunset Shimmer were surprised at Rua's sudden attack on Aria, but Fragment Hunter just stared like it was a common occurrence.
Punching Aria in the face again, Rua quickly followed up with a shot to her throat and a palm strike aimed at her nose. After being dazed by the attacks, Aria was pulled away from the lockers and Rua kicked her in the ribs before pinning her to the ground. Looking back at Adagio, Rua spoke again to make her previous point clear. "Let. Go. Of. My friend."
Listening to Rua as she kept Aria in an armlock on the floor, Adagio released her grip from Azalea's wrist and Rua released Aria in return. Moaning in pain as Sonata helped her to her feet, Aria looked at the punk girl who gave her a beatdown. The two glared at each other with enough fury that Sunset Shimmer swore that somebody would die if they walked between the stares.
"Sorry about this whole thing," Adagio apologized. "These pendants are very important to us. We'd hate for anything to happen to them," she explained. "Come on, girls," Adagio said to Sonata and Aria. "We should get out of here before the punk tries to fight again." Leaving with Aria leaning against Sonata, the girls turned the corner and disappeared from sight.
Sunset Shimmer just kept staring at Rua and could only say one thing, "Wow."
"Yeah, Rua can get pretty... aggressive when she's protecting anyone. Or if she's called 'short'," Lapis said.
"This has happened before," Shimmer asked in disbelief.
Everyone nodded before Silver began to elaborate, "The first time we saw it, a bully in our history class back at Beacon made Azalea cry and run off because he insulted her. Rua ended up beating in the bully's face and knocking his cronies to floor because they all laughed at Lea crying like she did."
"Good thing that Rua wasn't here when you were like that. Right, Shimmer," Sunset Blaze mentioned. "You probably would have needed false teeth." Sunset Shimmer eyes widened and her irises narrowed at the idea of Rua breaking her teeth if she was around during her time as the power-hungry wannabe princess of Canterlot High School. Seeing Rua look at her in confusion, Shimmer gulped in fear.
"Don't worry, Blaze and Azalea messaged us about what you were like and how you're different now," Rua reassured. "The only way I would beat you up is if you were one of those dumb divas." Shimmer sighed in relief at at this and they continued the rest of their tour.
"Ouch... I can't believe that punk brat managed to do that to me," Aria complained as she leaned against a wall.
"Just focus," Adagio said. "With a musical showcase showing up, that means we have a chance to get the energy we need to help find that Equestrian magic. We just need to get the right audience."
"What about Aria," Sonata asked.
"Remember, Sonata," Adagio began to lecture. "We still have enough magic of our own. So, we can at least heal from some wounds by using the energy we already absorbed." To prove Adagio's point, Aria's necklace began to shine a dull red and her bruises began to fade away. "See? Now we have to get ready for the showcase."
In the school's cafeteria, everyone was enjoying their lunch break and catching up with each other. However, having twelve new faces show up was pretty attention-grabbing when all of them entered together. Several students were already commenting about each member of Fragment Hunter and how they looked, which made Azalea slightly uncomfortable until Slate placed his hat on her head again.
Finding an empty table near where Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms were, the group of twelve sat down with their food and started to talk about what happened earlier with the three girls during the tour. "That Adagio girl was pretty protective of her jewelry," Celadon said as she took a bite of a strawberry.
"And we aren't," Layla retorted as she pointed to her bracelets to prove a point.
"But, our jewelry is special," Lapis mentioned.
"Was there anything strange about those gems when you saw them, Lea," Sunset Blaze asked.
Azalea swallowed what she was eating and thought back to earlier. "Those rubies were different than what you would normally wear. They didn't feel like Dust, but there was something about them," Azalea described. "I swore I felt some kind of power in them... it felt strange... and even alluring to an extent but not enough to break me," she said as she thought of the right words.
"Something about those girls doesn't seem right," Sunset Blaze stated. "I think they're up to something."
Just outside the cafeteria, Adagio was talking with Aria and Sonata about what the next step of their plan was. "This is it, girls. The moment we've been waiting for," Adagio said as she faced her friends.
"Lunch," Sonata gasped in excitement.
Adagio facepalmed at Sonata forgetting about their plan. "The chance to get our true Equestrian magic back," Adagio groaned before explaining.
"Oh. Right," Sonata innocently remembered as Aria rolled her eyes.
Looking through the glass doors to the cafeteria, Adagio smirked as she explained what she wanted the others to do. "Our voices are just strong enough to make them want something so badly, they'll fight to get it."
"So we're just gonna do what we always do? Stir up some trouble and then feed off the negative energy," Aria said knowing that the three of them have been doing the same thing for months. "Some plan, Adagio," Aria snarked as she fiddled with her hair.
"It won't be the same as the times before," Adagio exclaimed. "There is Equestrian magic here. Their negative energy will give us the power we need to get this entire world to do our bidding," she said while grinning sinisterly at what she was scheming.
"But, we can still get lunch after, right," Sonata asked as she looked at a poster for what was happening for the school lunch menu. "It's Taco Tuesday! I'm hungry."
"Just follow my lead, girls," Adagio ordered as she poked Sonata in the collarbone.
"Or my lead," Aria suggested as she thought of what she could do for a change.
As Adagio, Aria, and Sonata vocalized, everyone turned to see who was randomly singing as they entered. Seeing the three girls walked through the cafeteria, they were swaying their hips sensually and subtly ran their fingers along whoever they passed by.
We heard you want to get together We heard you want to rock this school We've thought of something that is better Something that changes all the rules Why pretend we're all the same When some of us shine brighter?
Shine brighter
Here's a chance to find your flame Are you a loser or a fighter?
"Okay, they can sing pretty well," Lapis complimented. "But, where are the instruments coming from," she asked in confusion.
"Not from me," Vinyl said as she checked the braces she wore on her arms and legs.
Me and you, you and me Why don't we see who is better? We don't have to be one and the same thing Oh, what's so wrong with a little competition? Are you afraid of failing the audition?
You're a star and you should know it Yeah, you rise above the rest It doesn't matter who you hurt If you're just proving you're the best
Suddenly, the tone and tempo of the song picked up as the girls sang louder.
Ah, ahh-ahh-ahhh
Battle! You wanna win it Let's have a battle, battle of the bands Let's have a battle, we'll go all in it Let's have a battle, battle, battle Battle of the bands
As the girls began to chant the word 'battle', Fragment Hunter looked around to see that students were beginning to argue with each other over who would win in a contest against each other. As they looked at the singing girls, Sunset Blaze clutched at her head in pain like something was overwhelming her. Seeing their friend act like she was after seeing Adagio's eyes briefly flash green, Fragment Hunter glared at the girl and her bandmates as the arguing students began to sing along with them.
Me and you, you and me Why don't we see who is better? We don't have to be one and the same thing Oh, what's so wrong with a little competition?
I'm going out and winning the audition
Battle! We wanna win it Let's have a battle, battle of the bands Let's have a battle, we'll go all in it Let's have a battle, battle, battle Battle of the bands!
After everyone stopped singing, most of the students in the cafeteria began to argue with each other. "What the hell was with that," Rua asked.
"I don't know," Sunset Blaze said as she felt the pain subside a little. "But, I think those girls have some kind of power."
"Considering how you acted like your head was in a vice, I'd have to agree," Rebecca remarked.
Seeing that Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms weren't arguing like the other students, Azalea started to think of something. "You think that those divas and what we saw in the music room earlier is connected, Blaze," Azalea asked.
Remembering the wings, ears, and tail-like hair extensions suddenly appearing when they first looked around and met the Rainbooms, Sunset Blaze thought it was possible. "What are you talking about, Freckles," Layla asked in confusion.
"We'll need to talk with those girls if we all want answers," Blaze declared as she pointed to Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms leaving the cafeteria.
Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms were walking down the hall as they discussed what they saw in the cafeteria. "Those three are definitely in possession of some kind of dark magic. How else could you explain what happened back there," Shimmer theorized.
"A manifestation of their souls as a superpower," a voice said from next to Sunset Shimmer. Looking at the source, it was revealed that Cereza Fujita gave her opinion and the Rainbooms eyed her strangely.
"Yeah. Like that would happen," Rainbow Dash dismissed before she kicked her soccer ball. However, she hit it too hard and it bounced off the wall before heading straight for Cereza's head. Quickly leaning her head to the side, Cereza dodged the ball and the world around her became distorted in a pink and purple coloration. With everything moving so slow everything seemed to freeze in place, Cereza grabbed the soccer ball out of the air and walked over to the girl who kicked it. Placing the ball in Rainbow Dash's arms, Cereza continued to move through the distorted time by placing Applejack's hat on the soccer ball, placing Pinkie Pie back on the ground after she jumped in the air, and placing a lollipop in the mouths of each girl.
As time began to flow normally, the Rainbooms and Sunset Shimmer were surprised at what happened. With Applejack's hat on Rainbow's soccer ball, Pinkie suddenly on the ground despite jumping in the air, and everyone with candy in their mouths, they couldn't register what happened until Cereza spoke up. "If you want to know what happened, I suggest that we all find a nice quiet place to talk and get answers from each other."
As Fragment Hunter and the Rainbooms walked into an empty classroom, Rainbow Dash was the first to question Cereza over what happened just a minute ago. "WHAT HAPPENED BACK THERE?!?!
"Rainbow Dash, that is no way to act," Rarity scolded.
"You're not the least bit curious about how my soccer ball ended up back in my hands with AJ's hat on it?! Or how we all suddenly got candy in our mouths," Rainbow practically shouted. Sunset Shimmer and the other Rainbooms failed to give a proper response as they were all confused as well. "Who are you," Rainbow aggressively asked Cereza and prodded her chest with a finger.
"I said that we all need answers," Cereza said as she suddenly appeared behind Rainbow Dash. "So, it would be wise to listen to our story first. Vixen, we'll need some visuals." Vixen nodded and started to use her powers to show a small version of Beacon Academy. "This is our school, Beacon Academy, in the Kingdom of Vale," Cereza said as the six girls were transfixed by the illusion.
"Kingdom," Sunset Shimmer asked before Sunset Blaze took over.
"We're from another world called 'Remnant'. It's a big place filled with plenty of dangerous things, but life there is a little easier depending on where you live," Blaze stated as the illusion of Beacon Academy faded to reveal its emblem and three others. "Remnant consists of the four main Kingdoms. Vale, Mistral, Atlas, and Vacuo. There's also the nation of Menagerie, but it isn't considered a proper Kingdom."
"The twelve of us are all from different parts of Remnant," Azalea said as Vixen created a map of Remnant. "While Vinyl, our Sunset, Silver, Lapis, and Rua are from around Vale, the rest of us are more spread out. Vixen is from outside of the main Kingdoms. Cereza was born in a town to the east of Vale called 'Notremodo'. Celadon and Rebecca were born around Mistral. Layla and Slate are from the desert city of Vacuo and I'm from a farm to the west of Mistral's continent, Anima." As Azalea explained this, the faces of each member of Fragment Hunter and their own personal emblems appeared in the proper areas.
"How is it that these things keep showing up when you're explaining," Applejack asked as she tilted her hat up to get a better view.
"That brings us to some of the dangerous parts of Remnant," Silver said as the map vanished and a shadowy creature with burning red eyes glared at the girls. Its body was similar to that of a werewolf, but it was covered in bony armor and spikes. "This is a Creature of Grimm. Monsters that inhabit our world and are a constant threat to humanity. There are many different types, but all of them can kill you when they have the chance," Silver said.
Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms gulped at this while Fluttershy nearly fainted out of fear. Azalea helped Fluttershy to her feet and stood by her as the lecture continued. "Mankind has struggled against the Grimm for as long as history can tell us. One of the strange things is, they only attack people and their creations. They tend to leave regular animals alone unless they fight over territory," Lapis explained. "And a common theory is that they don't need to feed themselves, but they choose to. Makes them even more terrifying according to everyone." Fluttershy whimpered and nodded at the idea of monsters that chose to eat humans.
"One of the worst things about them though, is that they are attracted to negative emotions," Sunset Blaze continued. "Fear, anger, sorrow, jealousy, rage, loneliness, envy, hatred... All of them attract Grimm and panic from them attacking just brings more. If any lived here, this school would become a graveyard with what those girls are doing!" The new information had all of the Rainbooms shaking in fear.
"Fortunately, there are ways to handle Grimm and why the Kingdoms are the way they are now," Slate said as the illusion of Beacon appeared again and focused on the statue in the courtyard. "In each Kingdom, there is a special school that teaches students how to fight Grimm in order to protect the world from their demonic grasp. The Huntsman Academies of Beacon, Atlas, Haven, and Shade all train future generations of warriors like us to help defend the Kingdoms and other villages from threats such as Grimm, bandits, and other criminals."
Sunset Shimmer heard what Slate said and looked at each member of Fragment Hunter again. "So, that explains the armor," she mentioned.
"Yeah, I was wondering about that," Pinkie Pie said. "I thought that it was just for fun!"
"I must say that it does give off a sense of style now that I understand you're all fighters," Rarity mused.
"Back to the lesson," Celadon said as Vixen's illusion changed again to show a girl in a red hood slaying Grimm with a giant scythe. "Huntsmen and Huntresses are trained to fight with an assortment of weapons and, depending on your training before attending one of the four Academies, even somebody with two years left in a combat school can take on an entire pack of young Grimm by themselves."
"In order to accomplish this, Hunters have trained to unlock their own soul as a means of defense," Azalea continued. "Rua, punch me," she asked before Rua quickly punched Azalea in the cheek. A flash of green appeared when Rua's fist made contact and Azalea was shown to still be standing. "A Huntsman or Huntress' Aura can protect you and even be used to help sense incoming danger. Think of it as a force field that covers your skin and clothing. As long as you've unlocked your Aura, you can withstand deadly attacks while you're conscious. It can even be used for offensive purposes by channeling it through your weapons or your own body to injure Grimm. Because they lack a soul of their own, a clean attack can kill most monsters."
"Another offensive way of using your Aura is a Semblance. A manifestation of your Aura in a more tangible form that grants you a superpower of sorts," Sunset Blaze continued. "You've already seen Vixen's illusions and Cereza's Time Mirage that lets her slow down time around her to a certain degree. But, we all have our own special skills that can come in handy for fights."
"Like what," Pinkie Pie asked in excitement.
"Layla can move things with her mind, Rua can teleport, Lapis can scream loud enough to dent steel walls, Vinyl can shoot energy blasts, and a number of other powers," Rebecca listed.
"That... is... AWESOME," Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"You guys must be real heroes where you're from," Applejack said with a smile. "I bet everyone knows how great you are."
Azalea, Silver, and Vixen looked down at the floor before the freckled girl spoke up. "Not exactly everyone can agree," Azalea said as she started to untie her bandana. "You see, there are more than just humans, Grimm, and animals on Remnant," she began as she removed her headband to reveal her horns. As the Rainbooms saw them, they were surprised even further when Silver unwrapped his tail from his waist and Vixen ended the illusion on her own tail to reveal their identities. "There are also beings called 'Faunus' that look like humans, but have a single animal trait. Horns, tails, extra ears, claws, scales, and some even have color changing skin like a chameleon. Because of how we look, how we can see better in the dark than humans, and our status as a minority, humanity treats Faunus like lesser beings that were used as slave labor and other demeaning jobs. In the past, we were avoided like a plague and even hunted down as a threat," Azalea explained.
"After some events that lead to humanity learning that Faunus aren't monsters like the Grimm, tolerance of them as a species began to change a little," Silver stated. "One of the few places that isn't prejudiced against the Faunus is Vacuo. If you're living and surviving in a harsh desert city, why would people hate you for being able to live in a deadly climate?" The Rainbooms and Sunset Shimmer took the information in and waited for Silver to continue. "After a while, Menagerie was given to the Faunus people as a reward for helping in The Great War eighty years ago. While it wasn't the best place to live, it eventually became a safe haven for all Faunus and it was there that the White Fang activist group was formed," he explained as he removed his jacket to reveal his tattoo of the White Fang's original symbol, a peaceful beast's head in a circle.
"However, because of all the discrimination that kept continuing, the White Fang's new leader began a different approach," Azalea said as Silver put his jacket back on. "Rather than live in peace with humanity and be treated as respected equals, they began to attack shops that refused to serve Faunus and attack companies that used Faunus labor like the Schnee Dust Company after the founder's son-in-law took over. The new White Fang didn't want respect through peace, they were becoming known through fear and terror," Azalea stated as she began to grind her teeth and Silver growled in anger at the description.
"Wow... this is a lot for all of you, isn't it" Fluttershy managed to voice while the others were quiet.
"Yeah," Azalea said. "Silver's parents were killed in a White Fang attack when he was 12 or 13 and the founder of the White Fang was my father's best friend when they were growing up in Menagerie."
"It must have taken a lot of courage to go through what you did in life," Fluttershy guessed.
"It did, Fluttershy. I'll tell you this right now; you shouldn't stay locked up by your own insecurities. I've been bullied, mocked, and insulted for most of my life because of my heritage. I barely got along with kids my age growing up, I hid myself when I started to mature, and I would be nothing if I didn't try to step outside my comfort zone," Azalea said. "I'm tired of running away and hiding until somebody comes to help me. I can throw boulders at giant snakes that want to kill me and impale them with giant spikes made of ice and rock. I can withstand being beaten by a trio of thugs before slamming their faces into the ground. I can fight and I'll do it without letting fear control me! If people don't like you, show them that you are more than what they believe you to be," she declared as she listed how much she changed from the timid girl who first attended Beacon Academy. Sunset Shimmer and Fluttershy were entranced by Azalea's words and took them to heart.
Slate placed his hat on Azalea's head and the two smiled at each other before Sunset Blaze spoke up again. "Now that we've explained our side of things, how about you tell us why you gained ears, wings, and your hair grew longer," she asked and immediately caught the attention of the Rainbooms.
"You saw that," Shimmer asked.
"Kinda hard to when you've got good music like that and we show up wondering where it's coming from," Blaze replied.
"Well, I suppose we should explain what happened back when Sunset Shimmer was ruling the school with an iron fist," Rainbow Dash said without tact, getting glares from Rarity and Applejack for it.
"You see, Sunset Shimmer was kind of a meanie and kept everyone at CHS apart from each other because she didn't have friends of her own," Pinkie Pie began. "A few days before the Fall Formal, she went to a magical world called 'Equestria' that's filled with talking ponies and used to be her home. She stole a magic crown belonging to a princess there and planned on using the magic in it for her own bad guy plans. The princess followed her here and had to get her crown back by being voted the Princess of the Fall Formal. Sunset Shimmer wasn't going to let her get the crown back, so she tried a lot of dirty tricks to keep Princess Twilight from becoming popular enough to win. Eventually, Twilight won after getting the student body to be friends with each other and Sunset Shimmer puppy-napped her friend, Spike, to get the crown again. After we tried to keep the crown away from Sunset Shimmer, she managed to get it for herself and accidentally turned into a raging she-demon that tried to turn the whole school into her own personal zombie army to conquer the distant magic pony world. But, Twilight's crown still had some magic in it that gave us these cool magic powers that let us transform and defeat Demon Sunset Shimmer with a giant awesome rainbow laser whirlwind! After that, Sunset Shimmer learned that what she did was bad and we started to help her learn about friendship before Twilight went back home to Equestria."
The members of Fragment Hunter were speechless at the entire story that Pinkie told in one endless breath. "Come again," Slate asked in disbelief.
"Let me see," Sunset Blaze said before she grabbed Sunset Shimmer's head and used her Semblance to search through her doppelganger's memories. Seeing flashes of ponies talking and chasing her, attempts to sabotage a girl's attempts at becoming a winner in a popularity contest, and a sudden surge of pain before a flood of different emotions when a rainbow light enveloped what she saw, Blaze let go after seeing what she needed. "Wow... That's all true. Holy shit."
"What just happened," Shimmer asked in concern.
"That's my Semblance," Blaze said. "I'm basically able to see into someone's mind and even talk to others with my thoughts. Think of me as a comic book telepath."
"Ooo! Fancy! Try me," Pinkie said as she stood in front of Sunset.
"Absolutely not," Blaze refused. "You're as energetic as one friend of ours back at Beacon. I've seen the inside of her head before and I was freaked out by some of the things I saw," she said while staring off into the distance.
"I'm afraid to ask," Rainbow Dash said.
"Anyway, I think we should get back to the whole magic pony music thing," Azalea reminded.
"Oh yeah, even after Twilight left with her crown, we can still transform with magic whenever we play music," Rainbow Dash said as she pulled out her phone. Showing a video of herself shredding on her guitar to Fragment Hunter, the Hunters saw her gaining the physical attributes she did when Sunset Blaze and Azalea saw them practicing.
"That must be the craziest thing we've ever seen," Rua said as she saw Rainbow Dash growing wings in the video.
"What about the cafeteria," Cereza reminded.
"That's right," Sunset Shimmer said. "We think that those girls have some type of dark magic. You saw how everyone started to fight during their song," she mentioned. "If they're behind this whole thing, they might be more dangerous than a few teenage divas."
"Well," Applejack asked as the Faunus teenagers disguised themselves again. "What are we waiting for? Let's go see Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna about those girls!"
"Dark magic? I find that very hard to believe," Principal Celestia dismissed as she peered through the blinds in her office. "Those girls stopped by my office earlier and they were absolutely delightful."
"They're probably suck-ups who want to stay on your good side," Rua wryly said. "You should've seen that hairball grab at Azalea when she just wanted to look at her pendant."
"Perhaps Sunset Shimmer is just eager to make someone else out to be a bad element, so that her actions at the Fall Formal will become old news," Vice Principal Luna accused.
"BULLSHIT!!! SHE'S NOT DOING THAT," Azalea shouted at the two women as she slammed her hands on the desk in front of her and shocked everyone.
"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said. "We saw all this go down in the cafeteria, too."
"Those girls started singing and after that, everyone started to argue with each other," Silver stated.
"Yes, but aren't your bands supposed to be part of the Musical Showcase," Principal Celestia reminded.
Rainbow Dash looked worried as she and Silver answered. "Yes..."
"Perhaps you're all just worried that the Dazzlings will steal your spotlight," Luna said.
"The 'Dazzlings'," Applejack asked after a few silent seconds.
"I wonder who came up with that name," Rua asked sarcastically.
"It's the name of their musical group," Principal Celestia said to answer Applejack's question while she ignored Rua's comments. "That's why they came by my office earlier today. The three of them wanted to sign up for the Showcase. Even sang a little song to Vice Principal Luna and I."
"They did," Applejack and Lapis asked in concern.
"Yes," Celestia replied. "And we think having a Battle of the Bands instead is a marvelous idea," she said as her and Luna's eyes began to glow green like Adagio's when she was singing earlier.
As everyone looked worried or concerned, Sunset Blaze stepped forward. "I've got this," she said as she stopped in front of the sisters. "WAKE UP AND SMELL THE KOOL-AID," she yelled as she slapped both Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna across the face. As the Rainbooms gasped at the sudden attack, the principals' eyes returned to their normal colors after Sunset Blaze's hand made contact with their cheeks. "THEY ARE EVIL!!!! THEY BRAINWASHED YOU INTO AGREEING WITH THAT BATTLE OF THE BANDS!!!! The Musical Showcase was for charity! There's not even a prize for the winner! It's all some evil plot," Blaze shouted at the sisters as they came to.
"What just happened," Fluttershy asked in concern.
"Blaze's Semblance also has a few other abilities," Vinyl whispered. "She can snap someone out of a trance when she wants."
"Did you have to slap us," Luna asked as she rubbed her cheek.
"You two weren't thinking straight," Blaze stated.
"Fair enough," Celestia said as she held a palm to her sore cheek. "Those girls do have some type of dark magic if we were brainwashed. But, what do we do? They would become suspicious if we cancelled the contest."
"Which is why we're going to let it continue," Blaze said. Everyone was confused by what she meant until she spoke up again. "Right now, they think you're under their control like the students are. If we keep up the charade of having a Battle of the Bands, we can keep an eye on them during the competition and everything between."
"I get it," Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "We're going to string them along like balloon puppets," she compared as she pulled one of the balloon designs from her skirt. Blowing it up, Pinkie shaped it into a pony and began to play around with it while the others stared at her antics.
"Are we sure she doesn't have a Semblance that warps reality," Vixen asked. Fragment Hunter shrugged at the question because they didn't really know how to answer it.
"Well, we still don't know anything about those girls," Applejack mentioned. "Or why we weren't affected by their singing."
"Too bad we can't get help from Twilight," Rainbow Dash said. "But, the portal that she used to get here closed after the Fall Formal."
"If we could get a message to her, she could help us find a way to break the Dazzlings' hold on the school," Rarity mentioned.
"The princess," Rebecca asked.
"The statue out in the courtyard," Layla asked remembering how they got to the school. "We came through that, so shouldn't there still be magic in it," she guessed.
"Yeah, but we still can't talk with Twilight. I get the feeling that they don't have cell phones where she's from," Rainbow said.
"Personally, I'm surprised ours work here," Celadon noted as she pulled out her Scroll.
Sunset Shimmer was silent during the whole conversation, but was thinking of something that might help. Remembering something important, she gasped as she reached her epiphany. "I think I know a way to get a message to Twilight," she said as she ran out of the office. Curious, the group of teenagers followed her while the principals stayed behind to figure out the best way to continue the Battle of the Bands with the help from the Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter.
Digging through her locker, Sunset Shimmer found a dusty old journal that had a shimmering sun mark on the cover. "When I was Princess Celestia's student back in Equestria, she gave me this," she explained as she showed the book to everyone. "Even after I abandoned my studies, I held onto it. Deep down, I guess I knew I was making a big mistake, and I wanted to still have a way to reach out to her," she said as she flipped through the pages until she reached a blank page. "Maybe it still works."
"That's a book, darling," Rarity pointed out. "What do you mean by 'maybe still works'?"
"It used to be that if I wrote something here, it would appear in the pages of a book back in Princess Celestia's library," Sunset Shimmer elaborated. "I get a message to her, then she can get a message to Princess Twilight."
"I wish I had that kind of thing when I was at Beacon for the first few weeks," Azalea commented. "It would've been so much easier to write to my parents back home."
"So what are we waiting for," Rainbow Dash asked as she handed Sunset Shimmer a pen. "Get to writing, Shimmer!"
Looking intently at the pen in her hand, Sunset Shimmer sighed. "Well, it's been a long time since I've written these words. 'Dear Princess Celestia'," Sunset Shimmer said before she focused on writing her message to her original home. After writing down what she needed in the journal, Shimmer closed the book and sighed again. "Now, we wait," she said.
"Well, how about we talk outside," Applejack suggested. "If Twilight's coming, we should wait by the portal for her."
"Besides, I want to know what you guys can do when fighting those 'Creatures of Grimm'," Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed her soccer ball.
"It would be a delight to learn more about Remnant," Rarity mentioned as the 18 teenagers left to wait outside.
Waiting around the Canterlot High Wondercolt statue, Fragment Hunter and the Rainbooms got comfortable before the 'Q and A session' began. "What do you all want to know first," Lapis asked.
"You said that the journal would be easier than sending regular letters," Sunset Shimmer mentioned. "What's communication like in Remnant?"
"Technology is pretty diverse in Remnant, but communication has been a troubling thing in the past. Long range messages were originally delivered by hand, but with weather, terrain, and especially Grimm, it was a big risk for messengers," Lapis explained. "When the Kingdom of Atlas created the 'Cross Continental Transmit System', or 'CCT' for short, they were able to give the four Kingdoms a means of messaging each other through electronic transmissions."
"Basically, you got the internet," Rainbow Dash summarized. "My turn! What do you all fight with against Grimm?"
"To answer that, we need to explain what Dust is," Lapis said while everyone was confused and Rarity looked slightly disgusted. Vixen pulled out a fan from her outfit and gave it to Lapis. "See the crystal in Vixen's fan? That's a Dust Crystal. The name comes from stories of humanity being born from the dust of Remnant. Discovering these powerful crystals that allowed them to control nature's wrath and fight back against the Grimm," Lapis explained.
"They come in four natural forms," Slate explained. "Earth, Fire, Wind, Water."
"HEART," Pinkie Pie randomly exclaimed as everyone looked at her strangely for a second.
Slate just rolled his eyes in amusement and spoke again. "Those four types can be combined naturally or artificially to create several others like Lightning, Ice, Steam, and even Gravity."
"There are many was of using Dust in combat," Layla continued. "Some prefer using Dust in its raw crystal form, but that needs the user to have a certain degree of focus and control. The most common form is actually turning the crystals into a powered form and using them to create ammunition for firearms. The bullets have numerous effects and its easy to use by just pulling the trigger of your weapon."
"There are people who even weave Dust into clothing or fuse it into their own bodies," Sunset Blaze elaborated.
"Those sound inspiring and painful," Rarity voiced about Blaze's addition to the Dust lecture. "So, what weapons do you all use?"
"I think it'll be easier if we go by teams," Cereza suggested as she stepped up first and revealed her tonfa from her jacket. "I use Semi-Auto Tonfa Pistols. They let me block attacks, fire at distant enemies, and enhance the damage of my punches."
"I have a scimitar and this," Layla said as she revealed an ornate gun that resembled a genie's lamp. "I also use Fire Dust and Water Dust in my jewelry."
"I've got some custom revolvers," Slate said. "Nothing too special."
Azalea pulled out a collapsible baton that had a revolver-like chamber with several different colored substances that Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms concluded were Dust types. "This is my Multi-Action Dust Baton. I call it, 'Gladion'. It uses Fire, Ice, Earth, Wind, Lightning, and Gravity Dust for a variety of attacks. I'm thinking of getting a second one for an upgrade."
"That one's the coolest," Rainbow Dash said as she got a closer look at it. "Who's next?"
"You think that's cool, just wait," Silver said as he pulled out something from underneath the back of his jacket. Showing a small engine, the local girls were confused until a guide bar popped out of the engine and revealed that the weapon was a modified chainsaw. Silver smirked as he saw the girls' faces and activated his weapon's secondary form by changing the guide bar into an extended chain and effectively turning the saw into a chain whip.
Changing the whip back into a chainsaw, the girls were amazed at the Wolf Faunus' weapon. "Groovy," Pinkie declared as Silver put his weapon away.
"You already saw what Vixen uses, so here's mine," Lapis said as she showed off her trident. Seeing crystals in the prongs of the weapon, Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms immediately figured out they were Dust.
Rua stepped up and showed off her shield to everyone before revealing the blades in it. As the shield turned into a giant throwing star, Rua tossed it into the air before using her Semblance to teleport next to it and grab the weapon before it could fall. Teleporting again, Rua appeared next to Vinyl and changed her shield into twin blades that fit on her arms. "How about this," Rua asked with a small cocky smile.
"Pretty cool," Sunset Shimmer admitted.
"You've seen Team FCSA and Team SLVR's weapons," Celadon remarked. "But now, it's time for the lovely ladies of Team SAFR to reveal what they use," she announced as she gestured to Sunset Blaze.
"Okay, Celadon. Enough with the buildup," Blaze said as she revealed her weapon. "I use a sword that doubles as a sniper rifle. And aside from that, I also have Fire Dust in my jacket," she mentioned as she created a small dancing flame in her palm as her jacket's back and sleeves lit up.
Rebecca showed off her armguards that not only stored a number of Dust-filled shuriken, but also was capable of retrieving them with a magnetic field. After that, she revealed her wakizashi and demonstrated her ninja skills with speed that had the Rainbooms looking all over the place.
"I use a special spear that can split apart into a whip," Celadon stated. "It's a simple, but refined weapon in my own opinion. It gets the job done very effectively."
Vinyl Aurum started to play around with the braces she wore on her arms and legs before music began to sound off from them. With a dubstep beat playing, the girl began to show off her Hard Light Projection Braces by showing the three weapons she could make from them. "My 'Rhythm Scratch' can make a katana, hard light disks, and clawed gauntlets when I want them to," she stated as she showed off the weapons made from blue light. "And they can cut through what I want them to when they do this," Vinyl said as the katana she held began to change from blue to gold and seemed to vibrate a little in her grip.
"I take it back," Rainbow said. "That's the coolest one," she exclaimed as she saw the weapons made from light.
"Where did you get these," Applejack asked as she checked Azalea's Gladion baton for herself.
"Some combat schools like Signal Academy actually have you make the weapons you want to use," Silver stated. "Vinyl was a student there herself."
"You made that," Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms exclaimed in surprise at Vinyl. The girl only nodded with a smile on her face.
"Anything else," Azalea asked as she reclaimed Gladion from Applejack.
"Yes," Fluttershy gently said. "Um, why is it that you all have names that are related to colors?"
"I asked that same thing earlier," Sunset Shimmer mentioned.
"You see, The Great War was started because of territorial disputes and because the Kingdom of Atlas back when it was known as Mantle decided that in order to protect its people from Grimm attacks, they would abolish all forms of art and self-expressionism," Rebecca explained.
"No music," Rainbow Dash asked.
"No painting," Pinkie Pie asked.
"No fashion," Rarity asked with a look of dread on her face.
"None of it. Which was ironic because their ally for that whole thing was Mistral, a Kingdom known for its rich culture in fashion and theater," Celadon stated. "But, the Emperor of Mistral kept art and other things alive in the central powers of their Kingdom. I'll be honest, my home can be filled with unsavory people."
"To rebel against this, the next generations of humanity were named after the most important and fundamental aspect in all art: Color," Layla explained. "The act of rebellion became a tradition and it still lives to this day in Remnant. With so many different names, cultures, and people, Remnant achieved unity through diversity."
"That's just so beautiful," Rarity said as she wiped a tear from her eye.
After a few more questions were answered, everyone started to just do their own thing while waiting for something involving the portal or Sunset Shimmer's journal to happen. While Shimmer was checking the book for any sign of a message written back, Rainbow Dash was sitting next to her and messing around her soccer ball. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Slate, Rebecca, and Rua were playing cards with Pinkie somehow winning the most recent hand with four different jokers. "How is that possible," Rua asked in disbelief.
Rarity was painting Fluttershy's nails while Cereza, Celadon, and Lapis all checked their own makeup. Silver, Sunset Blaze, Layla, and Vixen were playing video games on their Scrolls. And Vinyl was listening to music with Azalea as Rainbow Dash spoke. "I don't think she's coming," the athletic guitar player said as she held her soccer ball in both hands. Suddenly, a girl with purple hair and a small purple dog came flying out of the portal.
"TWILIGHT!" Recognizing the girl, Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms immediately stood up and approached her. Fragment Hunter stayed behind as the newest arrival was helped to her feet.
"I've got some bad news about those new girls," Twilight said to Sunset Shimmer and the others until she saw the members of Fragment Hunter. "Um, hello," Twilight nervously greeted as she saw the twelve teenage warriors and that one of them looked exactly like Sunset Shimmer with different hair and a different skin tone. "Who are you guys?"
"This'll take a while," Sunset Blaze remarked.
Heading to the local Sweet Shoppe, Twilight and Spike were told who Fragment Hunter were and where they came from. In exchange, the princess explained about how the Dazzlings were creatures from Equestria called 'The Sirens' who used their voices to hypnotize other beings and had to feed on the negative energy from their victims. "That makes a lot of sense for what happened," Cereza said as she sat down with everyone.
"Anyways, I'm sure you have more to talk about than just these 'Sirens'," Sunset Blaze said as she looked at Twilight and the other girls.
"For starters, a certain blue-haired guitar player was just askin' about you, Twi," Applejack mentioned with a knowing smile.
Twilight blushed and started to play with her hair at the mention of who Applejack was talking about. "Flash Sentry was asking about me," she asked excitedly before she caught herself. "Isn't that nice," she said while sipping her milkshake to hide her embarrassment.
"Perhaps you would give us just the slightest bit of gossip from your world," Rarity asked Twilight.
"She's got an official title now," Spike mentioned before he imitated a fanfare. "The Princess of Friendship!"
"One, I'm still getting used to the fact that there is a talking dog right here in front of us," Rua said. "Two, what kind of a title is that?"
"I can talk in my second form," Silver stated to his teammate.
"Yes, but that's your Semblance. You can change back," Rua countered. "This is an animal that can naturally talk."
Interrupting the discussion, Sunset Shimmer spoke up to voice her opinion on what Spike said. "Wow, that's really impressive. Guess you really were Princess Celestia's prized pupil," she said as she rubbed her arm. Azalea and Sunset Blaze picked up on this body language and wondered if they could help Shimmer out a little.
"She's even got her own castle," Spike stated.
Hearing this, Rarity panicked and grabbed at Twilight. "A castle?! You have your own castle," she nearly yelled as she spilled Twilight's drink over her blouse. Embarrassed by what she did, Rarity cleaned up her friend's top and sheepishly complimented the princess.
"Eh, my old school is actually a remodeled castle itself," Sunset Blaze offhandedly mentioned.
"What's new here," Twilight asked. "I mean, besides your school becoming the target of dangerous magical creatures from Equestria? And the warriors from a third somewhat unrelated world," she mentioned as she eyed the two Sunsets and saw Vinyl resembling another girl that walked past the large group.
"Well, there's this," Rainbow Dash said as she showed Twilight the video of herself transforming while playing her guitar. "Sweet, right? Happens to all of us when we play."
Surprised by the fact that her friends still had magic from the Fall Formal, Twilight began to assess the situation. "Hmm. My crown was returned to Equestria, but some of its magic must have remained here at Canterlot High. Now that we're all back together, we can use that magic on the sirens. Just like when we were able to use it on Sunset Shimmer when she turned into that horrifyingly awful winged monster," she theorized and exclaimed before seeing that Sunset Shimmer was still next to her. "No offense," Twilight apologized.
"None taken," Sunset Shimmer sighed. Sunset Blaze however, could easily sense her troubles and knew that she was still haunted by what she did before.
"They'll never know what hit them," Rainbow Dash declared before she started preforming a few martial arts moves and shouts. As she threw one more punch, Applejack effortlessly caught Rainbow's fist before she spoke up.
"We've got nothin' to worry about now that Twilight's back."
"And a small army of trained warriors to back you up," Vixen said with a giggle.
"The sooner we do this, the better. Any idea where the Dazzlings might be," Twilight asked.
Pinkie frantically raised her hand while she was still enjoying her milkshake. Finishing it in one go, she sighed in content before explaining what she was going to say. "There's a big party tonight for all the bands who signed up to be in the showcase! That would include the Dazzlings."
Everyone turned to each other and smiled as they now had a plan. "Looks like we have a party to crash," Twilight, Rua, and Cereza all said as Twilight cleaned the chocolate off of Pinkie's face.
In Canterlot High School's gymnasium, there was a party set up for everyone to enjoy themselves before the Musical Showcase that was planned. However, the newly created tension and negativity spread by the Sirens made it more a gathering for bitter enemies to size up their opponents. Each group of students that originally got along with everyone else stayed with their own cliques and stared down at the others in silence. The Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter were the only two bands that seemed to get along with each other while they waited for the Dazzlings to arrive.
Flash Sentry was fed up with the glares he got from a few other students that were taking part in the contest. "I'm gonna get some more punch," he said to his bandmates as he headed off to the refreshment table. However, he didn't see Twilight walking by with her own drink while she was listening to Azalea and Lapis talk. Bumping into each other, Flash nearly knocked Twilight over, but he caught her by the waist on instinct. Seeing who he bumped into, Flash voiced his surprise at the girl he caught. "Twilight?"
"Eh, bumped, into, always, doing," Twilight awkwardly said as she blushed from being near Flash like she was. Azalea and Lapis only giggled at the way they acted with each other.
"What are you doing here? You came back for the big competition, right," Flash asked as Twilight regained her balance and stood up right.
"Something like that," Twilight, Azalea, and Lapis said together.
"Huh. Not that there's gonna be any real competition. No one here wants this as bad as my band does," Flash declared. Immediately knowing that it was because of the Dazzlings, Lapis and Azalea rolled their eyes at his bravado. Soon, the two members of Fragment Hunter saw the Dazzlings enter the gym and look around. Rainbow Dash also saw as she tossed a chocolate chip at Twilight to get her attention and gestured to the Sirens.
"Could you excuse me for just a minute," Twilight said to Flash and she and the Rainbooms started to regroup with each other. Azalea and Lapis joined up with Sunset Shimmer and the rest of Fragment Hunter to wait for Twilight's plan to start up.
The Dazzlings all looked around the gym to see students continuing to argue with each other. "Oh no! Nobody's mingling," Adagio said in false concern. "It's like there's some kind of underlying tension that could bubble to the surface at any minute!"
"It's the fruit punch, isn't it," Sonata asked as she looked at her cup. "I knew I used too much grape juice! Maybe if I mixed in some apple juice instead," the scatterbrained Siren ponder out loud as she held up a bottle she got from the drink table.
"It's not the fruit punch! It's us," Adagio reminded.
"But the punch is awful, too," Aria said to Sonata.
"What do you know about good fruit punch," Sonata huffed as she pointed her cup in Aria's face.
"More than you," Aria replied as she pushed it away.
While Aria and Sonata got into a small argument about it, they pushed each other or just messed with the other girl's hair until Adagio spoke up again. "This is just the kickoff party, girls. Imagine what a tizzy they'll be in by the time the Battle of the Bands starts," Adagio stated as all three girls gave sinister grins.
"There isn't going to be a Battle of the Bands," Twilight declared and surprised the Sirens. "We're here to make sure of that!" Seeing the Rainbooms standing against the Dazzlings, Sunset Shimmer and Fragment Hunter all smirked at them. Joining hands, Twilight and her friends stood against the Sirens with determined faces. "Alright, girls, let's do this! Friendship is magic," Twilight exclaimed.
However, there was only and awkward silence as nothing happened. The Dazzlings, Fragment Hunter and Sunset Shimmer were all confused by what happened and the latter two were feeling embarrassed by the sheer awkwardness of situation. "What are you doing," Rua loudly whispered to Twilight as she appeared next to the princess.
"Uh, weren't there rainbows and lasers and stuff last time," Rainbow Dash asked.
"I don't understand. We're all together again. Why isn't this working," Twilight asked with a worried tone as people continued to stare at them.
"You, uh... really need to go ahead and do that whole "magic of friendship" thing now," Spike whispered to Twilight as he saw everyone staring.
"I'm trying, Spike. I thought the six of us standing together against the sirens would bring out the magic we needed to defeat them," Twilight said remembering what happened back at the Fall Formal.
"Right," Rua said. "So, what the hell are you doing," she asked.
"Maybe if we try a different way," Azalea said as she started walking towards Rua and the Rainbooms.
Seeing a chance, Adagio spoke up about what Twilight declared before. "Talk about throwing down the gauntlet! This group is obviously serious about winning! A little cocky though, aren't they? Claiming there won't really be a battle. Seems they think they've already got this thing all locked up," she said for everyone to hear. After saying what she needed to, the students began to argue more about who would win the Battle of the Bands and more negative energy flowed from them in the form a green mist.
Absorbing it, the Dazzlings saw that Fragment Hunter, the Rainbooms, and Sunset Shimmer were the only students in the room not arguing and Adagio smirked before Azalea spoke up. "You aren't going to win. Me and my friends are going to make sure you go down," she said.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata only laughed at what Azalea had to say. "Oh, please. What's a dairy cow like you going to do," Adagio dismissed as the other Sirens laughed. Suddenly, their laughter and the arguments were silenced when the Sirens felt the cold touch of steel against their necks. Seeing Rua next to them with her arm blades drawn, they saw the dangerous looks in all of Fragment Hunter's eyes.
"Say that again," Slate said as he glared at the Sirens with his viridian eyes covered by the shadow of his hat.
"We dare you, Hairball," Rua threatened as she kept her stance strong against Sonata and Aria.
"One wrong word and you're history," Rebecca said coldly as she had the back of her wakizashi placed near Adagio's neck. Seeing how the ninja's wrist was positioned, Adagio noticed that she would immediately change it to a proper hold and the next move would be lethal.
"You won't get away with insulting my friend," Celadon said as she prepared to fight.
The Rainbooms and all the students were speechless at how fast Fragment Hunter appeared around the Dazzlings and had them at their mercy. However, Azalea just laughed to herself and everybody looked at the girl. "So, you made this personal? Okay," Azalea said and Fragment Hunter separated from the Sirens as the Cow Faunus turned to Vinyl Aurum. "How about something for a workout," Azalea asked as she started to remove her sweater and flannel shirt to reveal a white tank top underneath. For multiple reasons, everyone stared at Azalea while Vinyl searched through her weapon and found the perfect song to play as she hooked it up to the sound system of the gym.
As Azalea stood in the gym wearing a white tank top, her black choker, a pair of jeans, a pair of boots, and her red bandanna to cover her horns, Vinyl selected a song to play over the gym's sound system. As the music blasted through the gym, Azalea threw a few punches for warm up for a fight while the Dazzlings stared at her. Realizing that Azalea wanted an actual fight and the crowd around them, the three Sirens obliged and got into fighting stances. "If this is what you want, who are we to deny you," Adagio said. "Just don't get upset when you lose," she said with a smirk. Thinking that if Azalea lost, the negativity from the fight would give them even more power.
Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared between the Dazzlings and Azalea with a microphone in her hands and tapped on it to make sure it was working. "Welcome, one and all to the fight of a lifetime," she said like an announcer for a boxing match on TV. "We have a great match for you to see! Three against one! In this corner," she said as she gestured to the Dazzlings. "Three beautiful girls who already made an appearance when they sang for us in the cafeteria. They're pretty! They're alluring," Pinkie hyped up before turning to where nobody seemed to be looking and whispered something. "And a trio who want to take over the world with their hate induced influence," she muttered to nobody in particular, but felt like somebody heard it. "They're the sirens of singing; THE DAZZLINGS!!!"
Everyone began to cheer when Pinkie's antics and the music made everything seem like a real fighting match. The Dazzlings themselves basked in the adoration of the 'fans' before Pinkie spoke into the microphone again. "And in the other corner, we have the challenger! She's a cute girl who grew up on a simple farm, but was bullied as she got older. Getting through it all, she became tougher despite her shy personality. She's the daughter of a raging bull man! She's a huntress of monsters! SHE'S AZALEA CALLA HOLSTEIN!!!!" Fragment Hunter cheered loudly as Azalea stepped forward after Pinkie's introductions.
"You got this," Rainbow Dash cheered as she got hyped up by everything.
"BEAT 'EM DOWN," Rua shouted in encouragement.
"Let's go, Lea," Layla and Sunset Blaze exclaimed.
Adagio smirked at everything that was happening. "I suppose that we can amuse ourselves with this," she said as she shrugged her arms. "There's no way tha-" Adagio was cut off when Azalea rushed forward and threw a strong haymaker into Adagio's face. "OW!!!"
Seeing their leader get hurt, Aria laughed at the injured Siren. "Serves you right, Adagi-" Aria couldn't even finish saying Adagio's name before Azalea attacked her. With a few jabs that felt stronger than Rua's punches, Aria was disoriented by the blows. Azalea ended her combo attack by grabbing Aria by the arm and throwing her into Adagio to knock them both to the ground.
Sonata gulped at what she saw and raised her arms to block Azalea's next punches, but they didn't come. Instead, Azalea circled around the flinching Siren and grabbed her by the waist. Lifting her up, Azalea delivered a German suplex that sent Sonata on the ground in pain while she rolled onto her feet again.
Adagio and Aria lifted themselves off the ground and glared at Azalea, who looked like she hasn't broken a sweat. "You'll pay for that, Dairy Cow," Adagio said with a snarl.
"You shouldn't call me that," Azalea warned before she kicked Sonata hard enough to send her flying into Aria. After the two Sirens crashed to the floor, Azalea jumped in the air and flipped to build up momentum for an axe kick that hit Adagio in the shoulder. Following up with jabs, hooks, and uppercuts, Azalea knocked Adagio back to the ground. "I've put up with enough names like that in my life", Azalea said before she turned to see Aria rushing her.
Grabbing the Siren by the shoulders, Azalea headbutted Aria to daze her before stomping down on her foot. With Aria unable to move as well as she could, Azalea delivered a hook that lead into an elbow strike and knocked the Siren to the ground. "Ooh! A dirty move from Azalea," Pinkie said as an announcer again. "And the Dazzlings don't find that fun at all!"
"BITCH," Aria shouted while writhing in pain.
"Look in a mirror lately," Azalea retorted before seeing Sonata and Adagio trying to catch her off guard. Easily dodging their attacks with minimal movement, Azalea began to sing along to the music playing in order to taunt the Dazzlings. "Put em up, show me what you got! I wanna see how you rock, if you're great or not! Wanna take my spot, better train to box! I put the game on lock, and my reign won't stop," she sang before backhanding Sonata away and punching Adagio hard enough to send her flying backward.
"Forget someone," Aria taunted as she tried to throw a punch at Azalea from behind. Quickly turning around, Azalea was able to parry Aria's attack by punching the Siren's fist. "ARGH," Aria screamed in pain as she clutched her hand when Azalea countered. Taking advantage of this, Azalea grabbed Aria and hoisted the Siren above her head. Throwing Aria into Sonata, the two were injured further before Adagio managed to fight back.
With a swift kick to the chest, Adagio managed to actually land a hit on Azalea and watched the girl wince in pain. "Ha! How do you like that," Adagio taunted as she took satisfaction in being able to actually harm the girl that was handing their butts to them.
Everyone watching winced in pain as they saw Azalea get kicked in the breasts. Standing back up, Azalea looked mad and said two words to the Dazzlings. "Warmup's over." Heading to the refreshment tables, everyone but Fragment Hunter was thinking that it wasn't time for a drink. However, they were all shocked to see Azalea easily lift two heavy tables with one hand each. Chucking them at the Sirens, Adagio and Aria had to dodge while Sonata was still dazed from all the hits she took before and tripped.
Getting hit by the flying tables, Sonata groaned in pain as other two Dazzlings checked up on her. "Ow... I wanna go home now," Sonata muttered.
"You're the worst, Sonata," Aria said before Azalea tackled her to the ground and stomped on her chest hard. The impact from Azalea's boot had Aria coughing violently and a few specks of blood fell on her own cheeks.
With her bandmates down and Azalea glaring at Adagio for what she did earlier, the last Siren tried to keep fighting by throwing a punch at her opponent. Azalea easily dodged the attack and countered by punching Adagio's arm with a strong blow. The impact managed to break Adagio's arm and the Siren screamed in pain before Azalea went to finish the battle. With speeds that barely any of the regular teenagers could see without becoming a blur, Azalea delivered dozens of jabs and uppercuts before one final uppercut sent Adagio a few feet into the air and crashed down on her back.
Everyone was speechless at what they just saw. One girl managed to show off fighting skill on par with movies and TV shows, fought three girls that insulted her all at once, and injured all of them. "That... was... AWESOME," Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie exclaimed as Azalea retrieved her removed clothes. Everyone cheered at the amazing fight that they just witnessed, but only a few saw the damage done by Azalea.
Layla then stepped forward and used her Semblance to fix everything that was broken during the fight. Repairing the damaged tables, piecing broken bowls back together, and even helping with any dislocated or broken limbs that the Dazzlings sustained in the fight with Azalea. Layla finished fixing everything, but she wasn't as strong with her Semblance like Professor Glynda Goodwitch at Beacon Academy was, so managing to repair what was needed took a lot of effort on Layla's part and she gripped her head in pain when she was done.
The Dazzlings soon came to and felt the pain from Azalea's beatdown. Seeing everyone in a good mood, Adagio was mad at what happened at that the crowd was cheering for Azalea. "I'll give you credit for beating us like you did," Adagio admitted. "It takes a pretty strong fighter to take on three opponents at once. But, we'll see how you fare in the Battle of the Bands."
"You're lucky that we're singers and not soldiers," Aria said as she glared at Azalea. "We would've kicked your butt."
"Doubt it," Rainbow Dash and all of Fragment Hunter remarked as they knew the truth.
Sonata could only moan in pain and couldn't say anything to Azalea, so she just waved goodbye as she limped away with Aria. Adagio turned back to Azalea and Fragment Hunter to say one last thing before leaving. "You haven't seen the last of us." The Sirens left, but the crowd was too busy cheering for Azalea's victory to care.
"What was with that," Twilight and Sunset Shimmer asked.
The members of Fragment Hunter all had the same serious look in their eye as they answered simultaneously. "Never. Call Azalea. 'Dairy Cow'. Or else."
"Owwie," Sonata complained as she sat down in the library and healed herself with her magic.
"Don't be such a baby," Aria said as she kept her knuckles against a cold bottle of soda. Wiping off the dry blood from her cheeks, Aria turned to Adagio and saw her necklace glowing to show that she was healing her broken arm. "What was with that girl? All because we called her a dair-"
"NO," Sonata exclaimed as she briefly ignored her lingering pain to cover Aria's mouth. "Don't say the 'D' word! I think they'll know," Sonata warned.
"Regardless of what happened after, we found what we've been looking for," Adagio mentioned. "Or rather, it found us."
"Huh? All I remember is being thrown around like a ball," Sonata said as she rubbed her head. Aria Blaze facepalmed at Sonata's confusion, but instantly regretted it when she used the hand that Azalea punched.
"Magic," Adagio clarified. "Everyone else at the party had fallen under our spell. All except the Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter. Those girls and the two boys are special."
"And cute," Sonata said as she remembered Silver and Slate.
"Shut up, Sonata," Aria grumbled.
"We just have to figure out how to get those two bands to start fighting with each other," Adagio pondered before she winced in pain. "After my arm and face stop hurting so much."
Outside the school, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, the Rainbooms, and Fragment Hunter were all wondering what went wrong with Twilight's initial plan. "It doesn't make any sense. I should have been able to create the spark that would help us break their spell. That's how it worked before," the princess mused as she paced in front of the teenagers.
"But when you beat me, you drew power from the Element of Magic that I stole from you and used that," Sunset Shimmer mentioned. As Twilight started to chew on her finger in thought, Shimmer came up with a theory. "The Sirens magic comes from their voices and music. So maybe you have to use the same kind of magic to defeat them," she stated. Twilight stopped chewing on her finger and looked back at Sunset, who immediately tried to think of a better idea. "Or... maybe not."
"No. I think you're onto something," Twilight said as she faced Sunset Shimmer.
"Really," Shimmer asked with a spark of hope in her tone.
"It's when you play music that you transform now, right," Twilight asked the Rainbooms.
Applejack nodded as she answered. "Yup. Ears, tails, the whole shebang."
"So maybe the way to use that magic to defeat the sirens is by playing a musical counter-spell," Twilight theorized.
"You mean like a song," Fluttershy asked as she moved her hair out of her face.
"Fight fire with fire," Sunset Blaze and Lapis said as they realized the idea could work.
"Uh-huh," Twilight confirmed. "But in order for it to work and free everyone under the Dazzlings' spell, we need them all to hear it," she mentioned.
Thinking of how they can get everyone affected by the Sirens' magic in one place, Rarity gasped when she realized the perfect opportunity. "The band competition! That's the next time we can be certain everyone will be in the same place at the same time."
"And if that fails, we can just have Lapis scream at them, the rest of us cut them down to size, or have Azalea beat them into paste again," Rua remarked.
"The Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter are the bands to beat," Vinyl declared.
"And I believe you, Twilight, just became the Rainbooms' newest member," Rarity said as she inducted the princess into the band.
As the rest of the band cheered and laughed for Twilight, Sunset Shimmer looked discouraged and sad at their decision. While they decided on what Twilight should do in the band, Sunset Blaze, Vinyl, and Azalea all saw Sunset Shimmer's face and started to think of something. "What are we going to do about Shimmer," Azalea asked in a telepathic conversation with Sunset Blaze's Semblance allowing them to communicate with their minds.
"She looked like she really wanted to join the Rainbooms," Vinyl mentioned.
Thinking it over, Sunset Blaze realized what she could do and snapped her fingers as she came up with a solution. "I've got an idea," Blaze telepathically said before she saw Twilight heading to the front doors of the school.
"Where are you going," Applejack asked.
Turning to face them, Twilight explained what she did when she was at Canterlot High during the time before the Fall Formal. "Well, last time we were here, Spike and I spent the night in the library," she said.
"Are you kidding? We're besties now," Pinkie stated as she hugged Twilight tightly. "Slumber party at my house! Everyone's invited," the energetic girl declared as she lifted Twilight into the air.
"Can your place even hold more than twenty people," Cereza asked.
"I dunno, but it's going to be fun with everyone there," Pinkie said. "You'll all love my sisters! They're great!"
As Pinkie started to explain about what they were going to do, Blaze stopped Shimmer to talk with her. "I have an idea for you to help in the Battle of the Bands," the warrior said to the former unicorn. Confused by what Blaze meant, Shimmer listened to what the former whispered into her ear. Eyes widening at the plan, Shimmer stared at Blaze and thought it over on the walk to Pinkie's home.
After meeting Pinkie's family, who everyone agreed were nothing like her, they allowed to let Pinkie have a sleepover with all of her friends. Everyone eventually changed into sleepwear they brought or were provided and hung out in Pinkie's bedroom. It was pretty cramped with almost twenty people, but everyone made room and did their own things with each other. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were playing video games with Silver, Rua, and Slate while Pinkie typed away on her laptop. "Status update: 'Okie-dokie-lokie'," Pinkie said as she wrote down on some social media site and started to upload a few videos from her phone.
Vixen, Lapis, Rebecca, and Layla were reading some books and magazines Pinkie's family had let them borrow. A few of them were classic literature, science magazines, or books on geology and earth science. Pinkie explained that her older sister, Maud was in college for those courses and was doing remarkably well. The girls reading found the mentions of how certain crystals and gems could be used in this world to be fascinating as they kept reading. Meanwhile, Rarity was setting up her phone's camera to take pictures of herself, Fluttershy, Sunset Shimmer, Celadon, and Cereza. However, Spike managed to sneak his way into the background of the latest photo and when Rarity checked the result, she wasn't happy to see that the dragon-turned-puppy had photobombed them.
As Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rua, Silver, and Slate played their game, Rainbow Dash was starting to lose. As her expression kept showing worry, she kept trying to beat the others until she realized that she was outmatched. Before that somebody could secure the victory, Rainbow Dash quickly slammed her hand on the game console and disconnected the game. "Hey! I was about to beat you," Applejack complained as the other three groaned at how Rainbow was being a sore loser.
"I doubt it," Rainbow Dash said as she spun her controller on her finger. "So, Twilight, how's the counter-spell coming," Rainbow Dash asked as she looked at the princess on Pinkie's bed. Writing in a notebook Fluttershy gave her, Twilight spent the night writing down how they could beat the Dazzlings.
"Huh? Oh, uh, good. Great," Twilight said as she flipped through the pages of the notebook. Azalea was sitting next to the princess as she looked at her Scroll's photo gallery, but could hear the hesitation and nervousness in Twilight's voice. "Thanks for letting me use your notebook, Fluttershy. I really like the song you wrote for the Rainbooms," Twilight thanked her friend before Azalea silently asked to see the book for herself.
Azalea looked at the songs Fluttershy came up with and started to read the lyrics. "Got the music in our hearts. We're here to blow this thing apart. And together, we will never be afraid of the dark," Azalea recited for everyone to hear. "This is beautiful, Fluttershy," Azalea complimented as the rest of Fragment Hunter started to look at the song for themselves.
"Thanks, you two. That means a lot," Fluttershy said. "Hopefully one day, we'll get a chance to play it," she sighed as she hugged Pinkie's stuffed alligator plush. Azalea looked at Rainbow Dash as she started to play keep away with Applejack's controller.
"Twilight, I think I speak for all of us when I say I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't come back to help us," Rarity voiced as she sat down next to Twilight. Sunset Shimmer and the other Rainbooms agreed before Rarity noticed something. "Where are Sunset Blaze and Vinyl?"
"Blaze said she needed help with her hair after she and Vinyl stopped at a few places before coming here," Sunset Shimmer explained to the others.
Before anyone could ask why Blaze needed to get help with her hair, the doorbell rang and Pinkie stood up in excitement. "Pizza's here," she exclaimed and caught everyone's attention.
Before they could all head out of Pinkie's room, Azalea charged through everyone like they were made out of cardboard. "OUT OF MY WAY! I'M STARVING," she shouted as she knocked everyone down and was the first to leave the room.
"Wait for us, Freckles," the members of Fragment Hunter exclaimed as they bolted after her.
"Save some for us," Rainbow Dash exclaimed as the Rainbooms and Sunset Shimmer all followed them in the same way. Twilight was left alone in Pinkie's bedroom and started to contemplate about everything that was happening. Looking back in the notes she wrote, she was unable to come up with a proper counter-spell. Any attempt to make a song from scratch was scribbled out or incomplete. The only thing Twilight had was a doodle of herself spitting lightning at a figure of Adagio Dazzle.
Sighing sadly, Twilight was soon brought out of her thoughts as Pinkie popped in with a slice of pizza in her mouth. "Don't you want any pizza," she asked Twilight before heading back to the others. Before Twilight went to join her friends, she opened up Pinkie's dresser drawer. Ignoring the leftover junk food that was apparently in there, Twilight placed Fluttershy's notebook away and closed the drawer before she exited the bedroom herself.
"And when Azalea pinned the first head down, me and Layla blasted it with Dust to incinerate the Grimm," Slate said as he regaled the Rainbooms with the story of their initiation at Beacon Academy. "After that, Rebecca blinded the second head with her shuriken and it tried to coil around Team SAFR. But, Blaze was able to use her flames to get it away while they jumped to safety on Vinyl's platforms."
"After that, Sunset used her rifle to goad the King Taijitu into opening its mouth while Vinyl and I used our Semblances to attack," Celadon continued. "By sheer coincidence, my gems and Vinyl's energy blasts reacted to each other and they exploded. The explosion was beautiful and it took out the second snake head, leaving the Grimm dead and its body dissolving away."
"Man, I wish I could visit your world," Rainbow Dash said as she finished another slice of pizza. "But, I wouldn't want to get overrun by Grimm like that."
"Especially if you think you can take on something like a King Taijitu or an Ursa Major without any training by yourself," Rua remarked. "Although, there was this one guy who managed to decapitate an Ursa Major on his own after it beat the snot out of him."
"Hey. Jaune's been doing well with his swordsmanship since then," Silver reminded his teammate.
"Okay, okay," Rua said as she grabbed another slice of pizza for herself. As the Rainbooms saw that Rua was digging into her fifth slice, they also noted that the other Hunters were eating a lot of food themselves.
"Can I ask something? Why is it that you twelve seem to be eating enough food to feed an army," Twilight inquired. "And trust me, I know how much food an army can eat. My brother's in the Equestrian military."
Fragment Hunter stared at Twilight for a few seconds before Cereza answered. "We can match armies in combat by ourselves. We burn through a lot of energy on productive days. Takes a lot of food to satisfy us."
"Like the ramen at 'A Simple Wok'," Vixen stated before licking her lips. "Mmm, ramen bowls the size of Azalea's chest..."
"Did you have to say that as a comparison," Azalea asked with an irritated tone as she started to pour some soda to wash down all of the pizza she ate.
"I would've said your dad's chest, but he isn't here," Vixen giggled.
"That's the extra-large bowls at 'A Simple Wok' at most," Silver remarked. "Do you even remember how he looks? HE'S GIGANTIC!!!!"
"I think we're going to need some visual aids," Rarity mentioned as the Rainbooms had no reference for what Azalea's father looked like.
Azalea pulled out her Scroll and showed the girls the picture of her father standing next to a woman who looked very similar to Azalea. "My dad's 7 feet tall, just so you know," she mentioned as the girls saw a man with bull horns that added six inches to his already imposing height and muscular build.
"Would it be offensive if I said that I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley," Sunset Shimmer asked as she stared at the photo.
"As long as you don't mean because he's a Faunus," Azalea replied.
"Is that your sister in the picture with him," Rarity asked. "She's gorgeous! Just like a queen or a goddess!"
"That's my mom," Azalea said.
"And don't worry. Everyone has that reaction to her," a voice said as they walked into the kitchen. Everyone turned to see Sunset Blaze returned with her hair back to having highlights instead of being ombre, which made her look exactly like Sunset Shimmer. "My teacher from Garrison Academy is pretty much the same. She looks like she's royalty at first glance," Blaze said as she pulled out her own Scroll to show a picture of who she was talking about.
"Principal Celestia," the Rainbooms exclaimed as they mistook the photo for their principal.
"Hold on, she has pink hair only," Rainbow Dash noted.
"Looks like Fluttershy's a lot," Applejack remarked as she looked at her friend and the photo.
"She's absolutely divine! Just look at her ensemble," Rarity complimented.
Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle looked at the photo and took notice of the necklace she wore. "The necklace she has reminds me Princess Celestia back home," Twilight mused.
"Yeah. It kind of does," Sunset Shimmer agreed wistfully.
"Okay, enough with the photos," Slate said as he yawned. "I say we get some sleep. A few of us will crash in the living room to give you girls some space for yourself."
"I can agreed to that," Silver said as he left for the aforementioned room. Eventually, everyone decided to get some sleep before they prepared for the the Battle of the Bands tomorrow.
While most of Fragment Hunter slept in Pinkie's living room, a few girls and the Rainbooms stayed in the pink girl's bedroom. Twilight woke up in the middle of the night while everyone else seemed to be fast asleep. Clumsily maneuvering her way around her friends as they slumbered, she retrieved Fluttershy's notebook and headed back to the kitchen to continue writing the counter-spell.
Because she wasn't used to using her hands like Sunset Shimmer was, Twilight held her pen in her mouth and started to write up some lyrics for the song. However, she felt like they were bad and she spat the pen out of her mouth. "No. That's not going to work," Twilight said to herself. Rubbing her eyes, the young princess didn't see that there was somebody at the kitchen doorway.
"Hey, Twilight," Sunset Shimmer greeted as she stood in the doorway. "You're up late," she mentioned as Azalea and Sunset Blaze walked in with her. "Guess we all can't sleep much tonight."
Twilight was startled by the sudden appearance of the three girls and covered up the notebook with all her failed scribbles and doodles. "Just looking over the counter-spell. We only have one shot at this. So, we have to make it count. It has to be perfect," Twilight said as she picked up book.
"We really are lucky to have you," Shimmer said as she opened the fridge to get a snack.
"That's what everyone keeps telling me," Twilight sadly replied.
"Who could possibly need this much whipped cream," Shimmer and Blaze both asked as they saw that Pinkie's fridge was filled with cans of whipped cream.
"I dunno. But, I'm still hungry," Azalea said as she grabbed a can and shook it. Spraying a handful of whipped cream onto her palm, she started to eat away at the dairy product while Blaze only smiled and shook her head at Azalea's eating habits.
Sunset Shimmer grabbed the can of whipped cream from Azalea and placed a dollop on her finger as she spoke to Twilight again. "Must be nice to have everyone always looking to you for answers to their problems," Shimmer mused before her tone became sadder. "Instead of waiting for you to cause a problem."
"Just because everyone expects something from you doesn't mean it's guaranteed to happen," Twilight stated as she looked at her failed scribbles in the notebook.
"Well, that doesn't stop them from expecting it," Shimmer sadly mentioned.
"Which only makes things harder because the last thing you want to do is," Twilight continued.
"Let everybody down," Twilight and Sunset Shimmer said at the same time. The two girls looked at each other and gave sympathetic grins as they realized that they were more alike than they originally thought. As Sunset closed the fridge door, she was startled by the sudden appearance of Pinkie's sister, Maud.
"Boulder was hungry," Maud flatly said as she reached for a box of crackers and started to empty the contents over her pet rock, walking out of the kitchen while doing so. Despite her monotone inflections and stoic behavior, Azalea and Blaze couldn't help but picture Pinkie doing the same thing if she had a pet rock herself. The thought of it made the Huntresses-in-training giggle.
"I still can't get over the fact that she's related to Pinkie Pie," Sunset Shimmer said to Twilight and the others.
"You and me both," Twilight agreed as she met the version of Maud back in Equestria and noticed the similarities between the two versions.
All four girls were amused by what happened, but the fun was over as Sunset Shimmer yawned. "I better get some sleep. Good luck with the counter-spell," Shimmer said to Twilight. "Not that you'll need it. This must be nothing compared with the stuff you're expected to deal with as a princess in Equestria," she remarked.
Twilight looked back at the notebook and was unsure of herself and what Shimmer believed about her. "Sunset Shimmer," Twilight called out to the girl. Shimmer stopped at the doorway and waited for what Twilight was going to say. However, Twilight couldn't seem to find the words.
Sunset Blaze thought it was strange, so used her Semblance to hear Twilight's thoughts and emotions. "I... forgive... you... for what... happened between... us back at... the Fall Formal and... I want you to be... my... friend," Twilight tried to mentally say, but it was coming out haltingly.
"Never mind," Twilight dismissed. "It's nothing important," she said before Shimmer left the kitchen with an awkward smile.
"If that wasn't important, I don't know what is," Blaze thought to herself and her Semblance let Azalea know what Twilight was thinking as well.
As Sunset Blaze followed her doppelganger, Azalea silently stayed behind and saw Twilight pound her fists on the counter she stood at. "No, I have to be able to do this. I have to," Twilight said with a determined look, forgetting that Azalea was in the room with her.
"You can't do everything on your own," Azalea stated and scared Twilight. "Even veteran Huntsman, who are strong and skilled enough to wipe out monsters the size of buildings, need help. There's a reason that beginning Hunters are placed in teams of four. To work with each other, build themselves as a group, forge friendships, and learn from each other when they don't have the answers for a problem on missions. I would've never been where I am now without help from the rest of Fragment Hunter."
Twilight listened to what Azalea told her and was taken aback. "Azalea..."
"Even the strongest and smartest need help from somebody else," Azalea said to try and cheer Twilight up before they went back to bed.
After the two Sunsets left the kitchen, Blaze stopped Shimmer to talk with her again. "Listen, Shimmer. If you feel like people expect certain things from you, try and change what they would expect. Especially, since we have what we talked about earlier to do," Blaze explained.
"Do you really think it'll work," Shimmer asked uncertainly.
"It all depends on if you can remember what you need to know," Blaze answered. Shimmer nodded and started heading back to Pinkie's bedroom, but Blaze grabbed her shoulder for one last thing to say. "Twilight does want to be your friend. She just doesn't know how to say it. Everything will work out when it does."
Sunset Shimmer smiled at Blaze's words and went to go get some sleep. Seeing Azalea and Twilight return from the kitchen, Blaze turned to them and Azalea said only one thing. "We have a big day tomorrow."
After everyone left Pinkie's house in the morning, Fragment Hunter and the Rainbooms left for Applejack's home, Sweet Apple Acres, for rehearsing what Twilight could come up with for a counter-spell. However, it was going very badly for them. Everyone was out of sync, Twilight's singing was off-key, and the feedback from the amp was hurting everyone's hearing.
While the Rainbooms kept trying to play and transform, Spike, Sunset Shimmer, and Fragment Hunter tried to withstand the failed practice. Eventually, the song ended and everyone was confused or disappointed at what happened. "Eh, that sounded... way better than the last... five times you've played it," Spike said as he tried to lighten the mood.
"Nnope," Applejack's brother said as he walked past the window of garage.
"What he said," the majority of Fragment Hunter brutally admitted.
"Seriously, if Blake or Velvet were here and listened to that, they would've ripped all of their ears off," Rua stated.
Spike only whimpered at the answers while the Rainbooms started to discuss what happened. "Well, I think it's pretty obvious what's going wrong with the counter-spell," Rainbow Dash said.
"You're turnin' what should be the chorus into a five-minute guitar solo," Applejack criticized as she and Rarity glared at the guitarist.
"I have to pick up the slack somehow," Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Are you guys even trying?!"
"I'm trying," Fluttershy meekly stated as she tried to avoid further conflict.
Twilight nervously laughed as she tried to calm things down. "It's fine. It'll be fine. One more time from the top," she declared and began to sound a little unhinged from the stress. Everyone began to stare at Twilight because she was starting to worry them a little.
"Or, perhaps we can take a short break and try on some of the wardrobe choices I've put together," Rarity proposed as she pulled out a rack of clothes for everyone to check out. "I'm particular fond of this one," she said as she instantly changed into a sparkly band outfit that looked like it belonged to a rock band from fifty years ago. "Eh, of course we could always go with something a bit more modern," Rarity admitted as she modeled the outfit.
"It's really pretty," Azalea admitted as she and Celadon started looking through the costumes for themselves.
"We're tryin' to save our school here. Enough with the costumes," Applejack said as she was exasperated by Rarity's suggestions for wardrobe.
"Oh, you can never have enough costumes," Rarity said like she was insulted. Applejack just stared at Rarity as the latter was now wearing a gold jumpsuit with a futuristic helmet that filtered her voice to sound robotic.
"She's right. Bands tend to have style in order to show off and get the crowd excited," Celadon said as she was now wearing a green version of Rarity's first costume from the rack.
"She just wants to make things fun," Pinkie said as she slumped over her drum kit. "Isn't that what being in a band supposed to be," she muttered as she played a rimshot on her drums out of boredom.
"You don't have time for any of this," Sunset Shimmer exclaimed. "You're supposed to check in at the Battle of the Bands in fifteen minutes!" Gasping and panicking at the mention of the time limit, the Rainbooms began to quickly packed up their gear and get ready to head out to the school. However, Twilight was the most worried out of them all because of the unprepared counter-spell.
"What? But it's not ready! If we play our counter-spell in the first round and it doesn't work, the Sirens will know what we're up to and make sure we don't get a chance to play it again," Twilight stated. When everyone heard what she said, they screeched to a full stop. Looking at each other in worry, Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms were admittedly distressed about the whole thing.
"You'll just have to buy time until Twilight can figure out what to do," Rebecca voiced.
"How do you propose we do that," Rarity asked.
"We compete in the Battle of the Bands for real," Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "I take over lead vocals again and we stay alive until the finals! We unleash the counter-spell then," the lead guitarist explained before she turned to Twilight. "You'll have figured it out by finals, right?"
Azalea, Sunset Blaze, and a few other Fragment Hunter members saw that Twilight looked worried about what she had to do. "Of course she will. Twilight Sparkle's never met a problem she couldn't solve. Right, Twilight," Spike said with complete confidence in his friend.
Twilight, on the other hand, wasn't feeling so confident with all the pressure building. After answering Spike, the Rainbooms all grabbed their stuff and got ready to head off. "Let's go win us a Battle of the Bands," Rainbow Dash declared as the other girls in the band followed her. Twilight was nervously waving and stayed behind for a few seconds before giving a nervous smile to Spike.
As Fragment Hunter went off to Canterlot High School, Sunset Blaze went to talk with Sunset Shimmer and Azalea went to say something to Twilight. "Don't be afraid to ask for help. Even if you are a princess, nobody can do everything by themselves," Azalea said before she grabbed a spare pair of drumsticks that Pinkie Pie left behind in the rush. "Come on, Twi. We have some Sirens to beat," Azalea said as she twirled a stick in her fingers.
In the school gymnasium, students were sitting in the bleachers and were listening to Principal Celestia. "Welcome to the first ever Canterlot High School Battle of the Bands," Celestia greeted. "I believe I speak for everyone when I say it is by far the greatest thing we have ever done here at this school!" The students began to cheer in anticipation for the contest before Celestia continued. "We are so glad our three newest students encouraged us to turn this event into something exciting," she said as she gestured to the Dazzlings in the bleachers.
The three all basked in the praise of the students cheering when Principal Celestia mentioned them. However, Celestia seemed to notice that the three girls were bruised and had trouble sitting without wincing in pain. "Did something happen to you three? Where did you get those bruises," the principal asked as she raised an eyebrow at the girls.
"They fell down some stairs," all of Fragment Hunter collectively and simultaneously lied. "We all saw."
Celestia kept her eyebrow raised, but she didn't question any further as Fragment Hunter were able to snap her and Vice Principal Luna out of their trance. Vice Principal Luna then stepped forward to explain about the changes from the original plans for the Musical Showcase. "As this is now a competition, we can only choose one winner," Luna stated and caught everyone's attention. "Who is it going to be?"
As the students under the Dazzlings' influence began to argue, green mist from their negativity began to fill the room and the Sirens absorbed it into their necklaces. As this happened, their bruises faded completely and the lingering pain from Azalea beating them down disappeared. "You feel that, girls? Our true power is being restored," Adagio said to Aria and Sonata. The two giggled as they saw everyone arguing and giving them power. As the Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter walked inside, Adagio signaled for her bandmates to stop. "And that's before we've tapped into the strongest magic here," Adagio sinisterly continued as she eyed the large group.
"But the Rainblossoms, or whatever they're called, and those Hunter punks aren't under our spell. How exactly are we supposed to get to their magic," Aria questioned.
"The Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter are just as capable of falling apart as anyone else," Adagio explained. "They just need a little... push in the wrong direction. I have a feeling everyone here is going to be lining up to give them a shove."
After the first few performances, Fragment Hunter was preparing for their turn onstage. However, Blaze was talking to Shimmer about something backstage while the latter held a guitar in her hands. "Okay, did you remember the songs," Blaze asked.
"Yeah. I memorized the notes and the lyrics. But, that was just a few minutes ago. What if I can't do this," Shimmer asked.
"If you look nervous, let the others take over or I can give you a little mental help," Blaze said as she tapped her temple to indicate she would be using her Semblance to guide Shimmer if needed. "But, I'm sure that you can handle a three minute song for the first round. I have faith in you," Blaze said as she gently placed her hand on Shimmer's shoulder.
"One last thing," Shimmer stated. "Was it necessary that we swap our clothes for this to work? I know you wanted me to take your place in the band to give me a confidence boost, but I don't feel like the belt is me."
"I have a second reason for this 'Prince and Pauper' plan," Blaze explained. "Just trust me."
Sunset Shimmer looked hesitant, but nodded at Blaze's idea before joining Azalea, Silver, Slate, Celadon, Lapis, and Vinyl. Seeing Azalea on drums, Slate on bass, Silver with another guitar, Celadon with a keyboard, and Vinyl with a turntable borrowed from her own blue-haired doppelganger in the school, a girl by the alias of DJ Pon-3. "Ready, Sunset," Lapis asked with a wink as she stood next to a microphone.
Looking around, Sunset Shimmer saw that the other members of the current band lineup were showing that they knew of the switch. "Ready, guys," Sunset Shimmer said as she started to open the song. As Fragment Hunter joined in, the principals and audience started to enjoy the rock song they were playing. While Shimmer kept playing, she got into the lyrics and guitar work with a lot of passion and was enjoying herself.
"Wow. They're pretty good," Rainbow Dash admitted as she saw the members of Fragment Hunter playing their song. "But, not as much as me, though," she boasted.
"Don't you mean 'us'," Applejack asked in slight annoyance.
While the song was playing, a few students decided to try and sabotage Fragment Hunter from the catwalks. As they chuckled to themselves, they didn't notice that there were already three girls waiting for them. "Hey, come here often," Vixen asked as she leaned against the closest rail. Before the students could do anything, a few saw that Rebecca and Layla were behind them. Using their Semblances, the three rookie Huntresses managed to subdue the would-be saboteurs and place them back in the crowd without anyone knowing.
After the song ended, everyone applauded the band and the principals wrote down how well they did and began to consider them for the next round. As Fragment Hunter got off the stage, the Rainbooms approached them and gave their congratulations. "Least we know one group that might be getting to the finals," Applejack said as she tuned her bass.
"Yeah. So we should get ready to meet up with them," Rainbow Dash said as she got her guitar ready. "Let's get ready to rock!"
Before they took the stage for their number, Pinkie noticed that one of their group was missing. "Wait! Where's Rarity?"
At that moment, Rarity came into view wearing a heavy outfit. "Oh! Here! I'm here," she said as she panted from her rush. Everyone just stared at her in confusion after she fixed her hair. "We will be performing in front of an audience. I'm not going to wear something fabulous," Rarity said rhetorically as she showed off the metal fringes on her sleeves.
While the Rainbooms and several members of Fragment Hunter rolled their eyes or facepalmed at Rarity's insistence of wearing a costume for the song, some where more vocal with their opinion. "You look like a shiny hippie," Rua and Layla commented.
"I did base this ensemble off of outfits worn during music festivals decades ago," Rarity admitted. "But, modifying a retro look for the occasion just felt right to me."
"It doesn't matter. Let's just get onstage and play," Applejack said as she and the other Rainbooms walked away. But just as the farmer turned, she noticed Rebecca right next to her and panicked. "AHHH! You startled the livin' daylights outta me," Applejack exclaimed to the ninja.
"I need to test something," Rebecca said as she walked toward Rarity. As she activated her armguards, Rarity's sleeves suddenly got caught on Rebecca's arms. "Magnetic... Next time, be careful of what you use. When our band was playing, some students tried to sabotage us from the catwalks," Rebecca warned. "I'll head back up and keep watch in case anyone else tries the same with you. Any of you coming to help," she said to her friends. Rua and Azalea joined her as the three snuck their way back up into the catwalks.
"You think that they'll be able to handle it," Twilight asked in concern.
"Oh, they'll be able to handle it," Silver said with a smirk.
As the Rainbooms took the stage, the audience was a bit irritated at them for what the Dazzlings convinced them of what the Rainbooms meant at the party. "Remember, we have to be good enough to make it through but not so good we let the sirens see the magic within us. They could realize we plan to use it against them," Twilight reminded.
"Got it! Be cool enough to win, but not so cool that we end up showing off the whole ears and tails and rainbows thing. Sooo... about twenty percent less cool," Rainbow Dash summarized in her words. After Pinkie counted down, the Rainbooms began their song.
We've just got the day to get ready And there's only so much time to lose Because tonight, yeah, we're here to party So let's think of something fun to do
We don't know (we don't know) what's gonna happen We just know (we just know) it's gonna feel right All our friends are here And it's time to ignite the lights!
Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight Shake your tail, shake your tail Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight Shake your tail, shake your tail
While playing the Rainbooms continued, Rebecca, Azalea, and Rua saw that another band was on the catwalk with them. Positioned above Rarity, two girls held out magnets attached to marionettes for the their leader to make a fool out of the fashionista. "Told her not to go with a magnetic material for this very reason," Rebecca said as she snuck towards the band she recognized from the roster as 'The Snapshots'. As the magnets attached to Rarity's sleeves, Photo Finish tried to control how Rarity moved around the stage. Unfortunately for the saboteurs, Rebecca managed to knock out the other members of the Snapshots with some well-placed strikes to their necks. "Ready to give up," Rebecca asked Photo Finish as she prevented the the other two girls from falling off the catwalk.
"Nein," Photo Finish exclaimed as she started to jerk Rarity around the stage, which had her bump into her bandmates several times. Annoyed by the girl under the effects of the Dazzlings' songs, Rebecca grabbed a handful of shuriken and threw them precision to sever the strings from the marionettes. As Photo Finish looked at the ninja arming herself with more throwing stars, she dropped the control bars and started to run away from Rebecca.
So what you didn't get it right the first time Laugh it off, no one said it is a crime Do your thing, you know you're an original Your ideas are so funny that they're criminal Ohhh-ahh!
Meanwhile, the audience wasn't amused by the Rainbooms' performance like they were with Fragment Hunter. As they stared at band in boredom or with judgmental looks, Pinkie Pie thought that she could get everyone to enjoy the song when she kicked one of her floor toms. As the drum fired confetti, the Rainbooms were confused as they kept the song going. While Twilight sang before the chorus, a piece of confetti got caught in her throat and Fluttershy had to dislodge it by hitting Twilight's back with her tambourine.
We've just got the day to get ready And there's only so much time to lose Because tonight, yeah, we're here to party So let's think of something fun to do
We don't know (we don't know) what's gonna happen We just know (we just know) it's gonna feel right All our friends are here And it's time to ignite the lights!
Azalea looked down at Twilight and Fluttershy from the catwalk before seeing where Twilight was looking at. Seeing Flash Sentry with a judgmental look on his face, Azalea immediately knew that Twilight was worried about how he was acting because of the Sirens. "Hey, look," Rua said as shook Azalea's shoulder and pointed to Snips and Snails approaching a spotlight. Snickering to themselves, the two boys shined the light on Fluttershy and everyone turned their attention to her. Freezing up, Fluttershy saw the crowd looking at her and tried to slink away from the spotlight. However, the ones controlling the spotlight kept pointing it at her.
Azalea and Rua nodded at each other before they approached the boys. Catching their attention, Rua cracked her knuckles with an evil-looking smile to signify what she would do if they didn't back away from the light. The boys only shined the light in Rua's face before Azalea used her Semblance to counter it. By bending light around herself, she could normally turn invisible. But since she was using it with a light shining at her, it bounced off her body and blinded Snips and Snails. "AHHHH!!!! These sunglasses don't help at all," they exclaimed as they covered their eyes. Rua took her chance and grabbed the two before teleporting down to the audience. Releasing them from her grip, Rua warped back to the catwalk to keep watch for anything else while the song continued as Fluttershy came out of hiding.
Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight Shake your tail, shake your tail Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight Shake your tail, shake your tail Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight Shake your tail, shake your tail Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight Shake your tail, shake your tail
Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight!
As the song ended, the principals applauded for how well they performed despite all the distractions. As the Rainbooms went backstage, Fragment Hunter joined up with them. "Rarity, were you trying to make us lose out there? You kept bumping into us for the first half of the song," Applejack complained.
"Magnets got on on my sleeves and kept moving me around, Applejack! It wasn't my fault," Rarity defended herself as she gestured to the magnets still on her outfit. "Somebody was trying to sabotage us like Rebecca said."
"Yeah, well, whoever did this couldn't have done this if you didn't insist on dressin' like... like... this," Applejack complained as she gestured to Rarity's outfit. "We need to sound good! Is there some reason that concept seems to escape you?" While this was going on, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight, and Spike all looked concerned as their friends were arguing.
"And what was with the confetti, Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash asked as she snapped at the drummer. "How am I supposed to shred if there's paper stuck in my frets?!"
"It was pretty distracting. Twilight nearly choked," Fluttershy quietly said.
"Ugh! Says the girl who was running from a light the whole time," Pinkie exclaimed. "A light!"
"Being in a group is different than being in the spotlight," Fluttershy timidly tried to defend herself.
"Girls, just focus," Sunset Shimmer said as she tried to calm the Rainbooms down. "You still sounded much better than most of the other bands. I'm sure you'll make it to the next round. But it won't matter if you don't have that counter-spell ready," she reminded. Twilight looked nervous about making the counter-spell, but only the members of Fragment Hunter noticed. "You all find a place to practice where the sirens can't hear you. I'll keep an eye on things around here," Sunset explained as another band took the stage.
"Come on," Twilight said as she and the Rainbooms left for a new practice spot.
As Sunset Shimmer and Fragment Hunter stayed behind, Sunset Blaze stepped forward. "They aren't the only ones who need practice," she said to Shimmer as she handed her some sheets of paper. "Go and practice the other songs to be safe. I'll look out for anything screwy by myself." As Fragment Hunter and Sunset Shimmer left themselves, Blaze stayed behind and looked at the roster. After 'Trixie and the Illusions', Blaze saw that they Dazzlings were after them and left to search for the Sirens.
As the Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter left to find a practice space, they discussed where they could do it without the Dazzlings hearing them and catching onto their plan to use the counter-spell Twilight was working on. "I don't think we should use a classroom," Twilight said to the others before bumping into Flash Sentry while he was talking with his bandmates. Seeing that she bumped into Flash again, Twilight blushed a little before nervously chuckling. "We really need to stop bumping into each other like this."
"Uh, you guys hear something," Flash asked his bandmates as he ignored Twilight. Saying that they didn't hear Twilight either, Twilight just repeated what she said. "There it is again. So annoying," Flash interrupted Twilight.
Everyone was surprised at Flash's behavior toward Twilight and the princess spoke up again. "Why are you acting like this? I thought we were friends."
Flash turned to glare at Twilight and confronted her. "Yeah, and then you decide to come back here just so you can beat me in the Battle of the Bands. I want this, Twilight, and you're trying to take it from me! Some friend."
"But, that's not..." Twilight tried to explain before Applejack reminded her what they needed to do.
"You really think you're gonna help them?! Ha! I bet you have no idea what you're even doing," Flash shouted at Twilight as she started to tear up from Flash's attitude under the influence of the Sirens.
Before Flash and his band could head off on their way, they heard the sound of knuckles cracking and saw Rua with a deadly glare on her face. "Tell me, do you like having your teeth? Or are you willing to part with a thumb or two," Rua snarled. The threat and Rua's face made Flash gulp before the smaller girl was carried off by her friends to get more practice in before the next round.
With Twilight in tears and Rua growling like a wild animal, the Dazzlings enjoyed how the two bands in their way were acting. "Tears already? It's only the first round," Adagio chuckled. As the three Sirens laughed, they soon heard that Trixie's band was playing next. "Come on, girls. Better head back. We're supposed to go on after Trixie," Adagio said to her cohorts before they walked down the hall.
Seeing the lights going dim, Adagio stopped Aria and Sonata as she saw somebody leaning against the wall. Seeing a familiar girl waiting for them, the fire-haired girl confronted them. "You're never going to get away with this," she warned.
"Why? Because you didn't," Adagio said to Sunset. The latter only looked on with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, we know all about you, Sunset Shimmer. You've got quite the reputation at Canterlot High," Adagio said as she and Aria circled around the girl.
"I've changed. I'm in a better place now," Sunset said as she continued to stare down the Sirens.
"Waiting in the wings while your friends have all the fun," Aria asked to get a rise out of Sunset.
"Oh, yes, you girls are so tight. And yet... they didn't ask you to be in the band. I wonder why the didn't do that," Adagio mentioned as they remembered the performance that the Rainbooms put on earlier.
"Probably afraid no one would want to see them play if she was in the group," Aria suggested as the Sirens continued to taunt the girl.
"Too bad. So sad," Sonata said as she popped into the 'conversation'.
"If it's any consolation, no one is going to remember you at all by the time we're done," Adagio said evilly as she and Sonata bumped into Sunset on purpose.
Walking past the girl with their eyes closed in satisfaction, they didn't notice the girl quickly get in front of them. Opening their eyes to see that Sunset was suddenly in facing them again, the Dazzlings were surprised a little. "Hmm. You three might be right," Sunset said to the Dazzlings. "But, you don't know this one important thing," she told them as the sleeves of her jacket became a bright orange and she spread her arms out. With a ring of fire surrounding them, the Dazzlings were caught off guard by the intense heat around them. Hearing a loud and high-pitched sound beneath them when Sunset positioned her fingers to get ready to snap them, they saw a circle under their feet that flashed shades of red, orange, and yellow. "I'm not Sunset Shimmer," she said in a dangerous tone as she kept the flames under control. "If you three come near me or my friends with your hypnosis again, I will turn you into charcoal," Blaze warned before she willed the flames to disappear and walked away.
The Dazzlings gulped loudly in fear before Sunset Blaze left their sight. While Sonata was shaking in her boots and Aria panted loudly, Adagio was relatively calm compared to them and just thought of what Blaze did. "Just what kind of power do you possess....? I must have it," she whispered to herself, but was loud enough for her bandmates to hear her. They soon went back to prepare for their performance in the contest while thinking of what Sunset Blaze was able to do with the flames she controlled.
As the Battle of the Bands continued, everyone was talking and ready for the Dazzlings to sing. Backstage the Dazzlings were getting ready for their song. "Remember, girls," Adagio said to Aria and Sonata. "We want to save the good stuff for when our full power has been restored." Smiling as their pendants shined red, the curtains raised as the three girls began to sing.
Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh You didn't know that you fell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Now that you're under our spell
Blindsided by the beat Clapping your hands, stomping your feet You didn't know that you fell Now you've fallen under our spell Oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh
We've got the music, makes you move it Got the song that makes you lose it We say "jump", you say "how high?" Put your hands up to the sky
We've got the music, makes you move it Got the song that makes you lose it We say "jump", you say "how high?" Put your hands up to the sky
Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh You didn't know that you fell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Now that you're under our spell
Listen to the sound of my voice Oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh Soon you'll find you don't have a choice Oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh
Captured in the web of my song Oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh Soon you'll all be singing along Oh, whoa, oh
We've got the music, makes you move it Got the song that makes you lose it We say "jump", you say "how high?" Put your hands up to the sky
We've got the music, makes you move it Got the song that makes you lose it We say "jump", you say "how high?" Put your hands up to the sky
Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh You didn't know that you fell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Now that you're under our spell
Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh You didn't know that you fell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Now that you're under our spell
As the song played, everyone was entranced by the Dazzlings and their singing. They either enjoyed the song or started to fight with each other verbally while the competition went on. Luckily for the Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter, some students had enough of their common sense to at least prevent physical confrontations with each other.
Meanwhile, the principals decided to change the Battle of the Bands into a tournament-style contest and sixteen performers had been selected with emblems that they chose for their bands. The Rainbooms had a horseshoe that was apparently flying with a rainbow trail in its wake, the Dazzlings had several of their gem pendants surrounded by hearts and musical notes, and Fragment Hunter's band emblem was a partially shattered moon in a sniper's crosshairs. "Where did you get the inspiration for that design," Rarity asked Fragment Hunter during a break period of the contest.
"Remnant's moon is naturally like that. Nobody knows why it's shattered the way it is. Been like that for as long as I can remember," Slate said as he tuned his bass for the next round. "Well, time to play on. We have more rounds to complete. Let's go, gang."
While the contest continued, Sunset Shimmer felt isolated from the Rainbooms, but was genuinely enjoying her time in Fragment Hunter. She just felt like the Rainbooms could've given her a chance to play with them. At the same time, the Rainbooms kept getting into these little arguments about the band while Twilight desperately tried to write up a proper counter-spell. Fragment Hunter kept noticing all these things and wondered what to do while they advanced through the bracket.
As the Battle of the Bands continued, only three bands remained in the contest as Vice Principal Luna crossed off Flash Sentry's band from the running. Flash was angry and stormed off as he saw the Dazzlings, Trixie and the Illusions, and the Rainbooms take the last spots. She turned to her sister and spoke to her about the remaining contestants. "This is becoming a close race."
"It seems that way," Principal Celestia mused as she looked over the notes for the three bands. "It all depends on the semifinals."
Meanwhile, the Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter were talking in a corner of the gymnasium. Sunset Shimmer and Sunset Blaze changed back into their regular clothes after Fragment Hunter was defeated by Flash Drive and Shimmer was psyching up the Rainbooms. "This is it! Last round and you're in the finals," Shimmer said to her friends before turning to Twilight. "Unless you think the counter-spell is ready to be played now."
Twilight was still unsure about how the counter-spell would work because of her struggles to write it and clutched the notebook to her chest. Applejack turned back to Twilight and spoke up. "Don't worry, Twilight. Finals aren't until tonight. We'll get in a little more practice before we're supposed to hit the stage. We won't let you down!"
The other Rainbooms offered words of encouragement as well, but Twilight wasn't sure of their faith in her. Looking away, Twilight mumbled to herself as Azalea and both Sunsets looked worried for her. "You won't let me down..."
Layla also picked up on Twilight's doubts and placed a hand on the princess' shoulder. "Even veteran heroes can have their doubts. Just make sure that they don't take over and do what you can," she said. Twilight smiled at the kind words before flipping through the notebook for what seemed like the hundredth time during the time she was here.
"Um, I was just wondering. We haven't played any of my songs yet," Fluttershy mentioned in hopes of getting a say in the band, but was interrupted by Rainbow Dash.
"It's the semifinals. We gotta do 'Awesome As I Wanna Be'," the guitarist declared.
"Wow... Great name," Rua dryly commented. "What's it about," she asked with a sarcastic smile as Rainbow Dash walked off.
"Don't know why I even asked," Fluttershy muttered to herself. Azalea caught onto this and hugged Fluttershy to try and cheer her up.
Onstage, Trixie and her band were finishing up their song and went with a flashy end with bright lights and Trixie flicking her guitar pick onto the Principals' judging table. The sisters were impressed by the performance and applauded. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, wasn't very impressed by Trixie's performance. "Hmph. You're never gonna top that performance, 'Rain-goons'," Trixie taunted as she confronted her opponents backstage. "You shouldn't be allowed to when you have such a big advantage over the rest of us."
"My superior guitar playing and off-the-charts awesome singing voice," Rainbow Dash said as she stroked her ego.
"An ounce of sanity," Sunset Blaze sarcastically suggested.
"More than one song, you one-trick pony," Rua said as she taunted Trixie back.
Trixie glared at Rua before explaining what she meant. "Oh, don't be ridiculous. I mean her," she said as she pointed at Twilight. "If you were really all that, Rainbow Dash, you wouldn't have needed to bring in some magical ringer to have half a chance. Everyone's talking about it," Trixie taunted Rainbow.
"Ha! Puh-leeze! I could win this thing as a solo act and everybody knows it," Rainbow Dash declared. As her friends heard this, the Rainbooms glared at the egotistical girl while Fragment Hunter all slapped their heads.
"Sure you could," Trixie scoffed before throwing a smoke bomb onto the floor. With white smoke obscuring everyone's vision and filling their lungs, they were distracted from Trixie's disappearance.
"She's gone," Pinkie declared before noticing her drum kit on the stage. "Oh wait, there she is," Pinkie pointed out as she gestured to Trixie hiding away behind the drum platform. Seeing that she didn't hide well enough, Trixie sped off the stage as the P.A. sounded off.
"Next up, the Rainbooms," Principal Celestia said.
"Knock 'em dead, Rainbooms," Spike said as the band went onto the stage.
"Guess we'll just wait here until our turn," Sunset Shimmer said as she and Fragment Hunter looked on.
As the Rainbooms took the stage, they started to play a song that sounded like it was dedicated to Rainbow Dash's ego. With Pinkie starting the song with a wild drum solo, spotlights shined down on each member before Rainbow Dash started to sing the lead vocals. During the song itself, Rainbow Dash kept showboating and taking everyone's spotlight as she moved around the stage.
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Awesome as I wanna be Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Awesome as I wanna be
First you see me riding on a sonic boom Got my guitar shreddin' up my latest tune There is nothin' you can do to beat me I'm so good that you can't defeat me
Yeah, I'm awesome, take caution Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be (Yeah!) I'm awesome, take caution Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be
While Rainbow kept continuing with a guitar solo, Sunset Shimmer and Fragment Hunter saw that the guitarist was about to transform and give away what they were planning to do with the Sirens. Panicking, Sunset Shimmer went onto the stage and tackled Rainbow Dash to the ground to stop her. However, the crash let to the two girls knocking into Twilight and caused a chain reaction that knocked the other Rainbooms down. In the chaos, their instruments either fell to the ground or even broke each other as Applejack's bass punctured one of Pinkie's drums.
As the lights turned back on to show the calamity, everyone saw the ruined stage and that Sunset Shimmer was the cause of it. Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were surprised at what happened and the former started to write something down. The audience however, all started to jeer after Flash Sentry spoke up. "Now that's the bad girl we love to hate!"
As the students all shouted disapproval at Sunset Shimmer, the girl was trying to explain what was happening. Unfortunately, she couldn't get a word in while everyone jeered at her and the Dazzlings grinned evilly at the audience. "No, it isn't like that," Shimmer tried to say. Before she could say anything else, a loud and reverberating crack was heard from in front of the stage. Everyone turned to see that the judge's table was broken into pieces and a large crack appeared on the wooden floor underneath a boot.
Seeing who was responsible, everyone's eyes widened at Azalea as she stood up straight and glared at everyone. "Remember what I can do? I suggest that you leave. My friend. Alone," Azalea said as she popped her neck and cracked her knuckles. Remembering what the girl did to the Dazzlings at the party and seeing what she just did now, the student body were all silenced immediately.
Returning backstage, the Rainbooms confronted Sunset Shimmer about what she did. "What was that," Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"You were showing them your magic. I-I didn't know what else to do," Shimmer explained what she did.
Rarity snapped at Sunset and listed what else she could've done. "Close the curtains? Unplug her amp? Give us a chance to deal with the situation?"
"It was fight-or-flight," Rua stated. "She did the first thing she could think of when confronted with a problem. How would you respond if you saw somebody being attacked by a Grimm?" This left the Rainbooms speechless as they considered the idea of Sunset Shimmer rushing in and trying to deal with a demonic monster to protect someone. "That's what I thought."
"Still, none of this would've happened if you weren't tryin' to show off like you have been since after the first round," Applejack said as she prodded a finger into Rainbow dash's chest.
"Good show, 'Rain-brooms'," Trixie said as she walked up to the group. "I especially liked the part where Sunset Shimmer, in a fit of jealous rage, knocked out Rainbow Dash mid-guitar solo!"
"IT WASN'T A FIT OF JEALOUS RAGE," Sunset Shimmer shouted at Trixie as the girl was getting on her nerves. However, she realized what she was doing and the Rainbooms all awkwardly looked away as Shimmer demonstrated her anger at Trixie.
Trixie herself only smiled smugly as her point was proven. "If you say so," she said before noticing the principals looking over their notes. "Ooh! Looks like they've already decided who'll be moving on to the finals! I'm guessing it wasn't too difficult a decision."
As Celestia and Luna went over their notes, the doors behind them opened and the Dazzlings came up next to them while they sang. Sunset Shimmer and Fragment Hunter noticed this and were curious at what they were doing while the Rainbooms were caught up in their own conversations. "What can we do? There isn't gonna be another opportunity for us to play. And I had the most gorgeous outfit for the finals," Rarity lamented.
"Yup, 'cause that's the real tragedy here, Rarity. That you won't get to play dress-up," Applejack replied with annoyance.
Rarity and Applejack got in each other's faces as Rarity spoke up again. "You know perfectly well that is not what I meant!"
Rainbow dash broke them apart as she explained that the next finalists were being announced. Fluttershy moaned that it obviously wasn't going to be them because of the disaster of a performance from earlier. "The band that will be joining the Dazzlings in tonight's finals... The Rainbooms," Principal Celestia said.
Everyone who heard the announcement was in complete shock as it was the Rainbooms being selected for the finals. As Pinkie questioned why they were chosen, Trixie was livid and stormed off in rage. While the Rainbooms were congratulated for advancing, the audience was angry at the girls who the Dazzlings claimed wouldn't be able to win made it to the last round. The Dazzlings joined them onstage and Adagio spoke up. "See you at tonight's big show, Rainbooms. We are really looking forward to it."
"Well... not as much as we are," Rainbow retorted before hearing more jeering from the audience. As the Rainbooms and Sunset Shimmer made their way out of the gym, Fragment Hunter stuck around and wondered what was going on. While the twelve left through a different exit and went to think, Trixie was shown to be the most upset about the results.
"This is a travesty! A travesty," she exclaimed dramatically as the Dazzlings walked up to her.
Adagio placed her hand on Trixie's shoulder as she spoke with false sympathy. "It really is! The Rainbooms don't deserve to be in the finals. Not when your band was so much better in the semis," Adagio said.
"And wanted it so much more," Aria mentioned as she leaned next to Trixie.
"Alas, this is the way it's going to be. Dazzlings vs. Rainbooms," Adagio mentioned.
" Unless, of course, the Rainbooms don't manage to make it to their set or get held up for some reason," Sonata voiced. "Oh, but if you or the Rainbooms don't make it, who would take your place? Fragment Hunter, maybe?" Hearing the first part of what Sonata said, Trixie smiled sinisterly as she thought of what to do.
As the Rainbooms set up their equipment, they were still wondering what was going on with the results. "This doesn't make any sense. We were awful. Doesn't anybody else think it's strange that we're the ones that made it to the finals," Fluttershy mentioned to the others.
"Very strange," Trixie said as she approached the Rainbooms with her bandmates.
"What do you want Trixie? I'm pretty sure that the losers join the audience in the cheap seats," Rainbow Dash said as she pointed to the stands.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie is the most talented girl at Canterlot High. It is I who deserves to be in the finals. And I will not be denied," Trixie said as she snapped her fingers. At the signal, one of her band members pulled a lever that activated a trapdoor underneath the Rainbooms. As the Rainbooms and Sunset Shimmer fell down, so did all their equipment and a few other supplies that they brought. The only one left after Trixie had the trapdoor open was Spike and he was shocked at what just happened. "See you never," Trixie said as she laughed evilly and had her band close the trapdoor.
Seeing his friends locked away, Spike ran off to get help from Fragment Hunter or anybody else unaffected by the Dazzlings. The Sirens themselves were looking out onto the stage and Adagio smiled at the results of their manipulation. "Told you someone would give them a shove," Adagio chuckled.
"But, she didn't push them. She pulled a lever," Sonata mentioned.
Adagio facepalmed as Aria rolled her eyes at Sonata's clueless behavior again. "Just go back to sleep, Sonata. You need to rest what brain cells you have before tonight," Aria said. Sonata only glared at Aria in response, but followed the others as they left to prepare for the finals.
After the Rainbooms left to prepare for the finals, Fragment Hunter was hanging out on the roof of Canterlot High School as they tried to figure out what the Sirens were planning. "Why would those girls want the Rainbooms to advance," Lapis asked as she saw the sun setting. "It doesn't make sense for the contest."
"Yeah, it's just confusing," Layla mentioned.
"Wouldn't they want Twilight, Shimmer, and the others out of the way," Azalea asked.
"Unless they thought it was an easy victory for them by going against the Rainbooms," Vinyl mused as she cleaned off her sunglasses.
"If they wanted an easy victory, they would've let Trixie go on and they would hypnotize the principals again," Rua bluntly said. "They're just bitches who spread hate wherever they go."
"Spread hate," Sunset Blaze repeated as her eyes widened. Remembering what the Dazzlings were and what they did, Blaze slapped her forehead as she realized what they did at the semifinals. "How could we be so stupid!? They gained more power by getting the other students to turn against Twilight and the others!"
Everyone heard what their de facto leader said and were upset at themselves. "Come on! We have some Siren ass to kick," Rua said as she punched her palm.
"I don't think so, Rua," Cereza warned. "They might be expecting us."
"So what? They've been on my nerves since we got here and if their plan involves the finals of the competition, we need to deal with them ASAP," Rua countered.
"Rua, we can't just rush in there like a Boarbatusk," Celadon stated. "We need a strategy. Perhaps Shimmer and Twilight can help come up with one?"
"Then, let's go down and find them," Silver said as he stood up. Leading the others down to the foyer, Silver and the rest of Fragment Hunter saw that people were already heading to the final round of the Battle of the Bands. "They might be busy with the contest, so we better find them quickly," Silver assumed.
As Fragment Hunter made their way to an empty hall, Rebecca sensed something. "Sunset, you feel that," the ninja asked.
"Yeah. Somebody's looking for us," Blaze said as she turned to see Spike rushing toward the group with DJ Pon-3 behind him. "Spike? What are you doing here," Blaze asked as Azalea picked up the dragon-turned-dog.
Spike had to catch his breath before he said one sentence that had everyone's attention, "Twilight and the others are trapped!"
Trixie was performing her song from the semifinals as the Rainbooms struggled to try and free themselves from their makeshift prison underneath the stage. After hours of being trapped, the only one who was still trying to break down the only door was Rainbow Dash. Charging into it, Rainbow only impacted against the door and hurt her shoulder. "Give it a rest, Rainbow Dash. You've been trying for hours," Applejack stated. "That door's not gonna open for us from this side."
"Maybe it doesn't even matter that we're trapped down here," Twilight bemoaned. "I don't think the counter-spell would have worked anyway."
"Of course it would have worked, Twilight," Applejack reassured Twilight before turning to Rainbow Dash. "Assumin' a certain band member didn't try to hog the spotlight the whole time we were tryin' to play it!"
Rainbow Dash looked indignant as she faced Applejack. "If you wanna tell Twilight she's getting a little too caught up trying to be the new leader of this band, you don't have to be all cryptic about it."
"She was talking about you, Rainbow Dash," Rarity exclaimed as she pointed her at her egotistical friend.
"Me," Rainbow Dash asked in surprise. "I'm just trying to make sure my band rocks as hard as it needs to!"
"OUR BAND," Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all shouted at Rainbow. They were so loud that their voices caused Rainbow Dash's hair to blow back like a breeze went through the room.
As Rainbow Dash looked at her friends in anger, Twilight was asking herself about the failed counter-spell. "But why wasn't it working? I should know what to do. How could I not know what to do? How could I have failed like this?" Sunset Shimmer looked at Twilight and the others in worry. Even though she was playing with Fragment Hunter for most of the Battle of the Bands, she was still paying attention to the issues that the Rainbooms were caught up in while they started their band.
"It might've been your idea to start a band, but it's not just your band, Rainbow Dash," Applejack stated.
"I'm the one who writes all the songs," Rainbow Dash said.
"I write songs," Fluttershy voiced. "You just never let us play any of them!"
"I had the most perfect outfits for us to wear," Rarity said as she thought of what everyone would have during their performances.
"Again with the costumes," Applejack complained. "No one cares what we're wearin', Rarity!"
"I care, Applejack! So sorry if I enjoy trying to make a creative contribution to the band," Rarity practically screamed at AJ.
"Hey! Anybody here remember fun," Pinkie exclaimed as she popped up between her arguing friends. "I'll give you a hint: It's the exact opposite of being in the Rainbooms!"
"I wish I never asked any of you to be in my band," Rainbow Dash said to the others.
"I wish I'd never agreed to be in it," Rarity yelled at Rainbow Dash.
"Me neither," Applejack and Fluttershy agreed before the five members of the Rainbooms got into a shouting match. As they argued with each other, Sunset Shimmer looked on in worry while Twilight was stewing in her own troubles. As the girls kept yelling at one another, Shimmer saw some sort of green mist flowing from them and looked up. Seeing the mist floating up to the stage, Sunset Shimmer slowly realized that the seven of them had been played by the Dazzlings.
As Trixie finished her song, she taunted the Dazzlings before they slowly walked onto the stage with their hips swaying and they began to sing. As the three girls vocalized, they absorbed the mist they saw emerging from the trapdoor that held the Rainbooms. Hearing the Dazzlings sing, Sunset Shimmer finally figured out what they were planning. "No! This... can't be happening! I have to help my friends," she thought to herself before separating the Rainbooms.
"Stop! You have to stop! This is what they've been after all along! They're feeding off of the magic inside you," Shimmer explained.
"How can they be using our magic? It's the magic of friendship," Applejack asked.
Sunset Shimmer looked at Twilight before she explained what she meant. "Ever since you started this band, you've been letting little things get to you. Like what songs to sing or how you look when you play. I never said anything 'cause I didn't feel like it was my place. Not when I'm so new to this whole "friendship" thing. I still have a lot to learn," Shimmer said as she explained why she didn't help sooner. "But, I do know that if you don't work out even the smallest problems right at the start, the magic of friendship can be turned into something else."
Twilight and the Rainbooms listened intently to what Sunset Shimmer had to say and the princess realized something. "I can't believe all this tension was happening right under my nose and I didn't realize it. I'm supposed to be the one with all the answers. And all I've done since I got here is let you down," Twilight deprecated herself before Shimmer put a hand on her shoulder.
"I don't think anyone is supposed to have all the answers. But, you can count on your friends to help you find them," Shimmer explained.
Looking at the Rainbooms, Twilight saw all of their smiles and realization hit her again. "I think you and Fragment Hunter already have," Twilight said as she remembered several pieces of advice they gave while she was stressed over everything. "C'mon! We need to get out of here!"
The Rainbooms and Sunset Shimmer all tried to break down the door again, but failed and fell to the ground. Before they could get up and try again, they heard a familiar voice from the other side. "STAND BACK," they said before breaking the door into splinters by hitting it with a dropkick. Seeing the door pieces clatter on the ground, the Rainbooms also saw Azalea roll to her feet and dust off her sweater. "Blaze heard everything with her Semblance. We're up to speed."
Twilight saw Spike walk up next to them and she grabbed her friend in delight. "Sorry that I took so long. I needed to find anyone who wasn't under the Dazzlings' spell and I'm sure Fragment Hunter needed more backup," Spike explained as the other eleven teenagers helped the Rainbooms to their feet. Peering in, everyone saw DJ Pon-3 smiling at them.
"Why isn't she under their spell," Twilight asked.
"She never takes off her headphones," Spike stated. The girl just gave a thumbs-up in reply.
"Come on, y'all! Time to prove we've still got the magic of friendship inside us," Applejack exclaimed as she was at the broken door frame.
"And there's only one way to do it," Twilight mentioned.
"We're getting the band back together," Pinkie asked.
"We're getting our band back together," Rainbow Dash clarified. The news made Pinkie cheerfully jump for joy.
"Ooh, which version of the counter-spell are we going to play," Rarity asked.
"I don't think it matters which song we play as long as we do it together as friends," Twilight explained.
"If that's the case, we could've just blasted them with 'Caffeine' or 'It's My Turn'," Vinyl said as she crossed her arms.
"I know just the song for us to play," Rainbow Dash said and confused everyone. "Fluttershy's written a really great one," she said as she walked up to her friend. Hearing that one of her songs was going to be used for the counter-spell, Fluttershy had a giant smile that couldn't even begin to describe her happiness. Azalea saw the shy girl's happiness and couldn't help but smile as well.
Applejack pondered something before she spoke up again. "We're about to save the world here. Personally, I think we should do it in style. Rarity?"
Glad to hear that her contributions were wanted, Rarity showed the Rainbooms a rack of dresses that fell down with them. "I thought you'd never ask!"
"Something tells me we're going to need more than a nice song, friendship, and costumes," Sunset Blaze said. "If they took magic from you that lets you transform, they might get physically stronger." She turned to her teammates and everyone knew what she was thinking. "Fragment Hunter, it's time to lock and load. We're going monster hunting," Blaze said as she clenched a fist in front of herself.
"Hell yes," Rua said as she cracked her knuckles. "It's time to bring it to those Sirens!"
"Couldn't agree with you more," the rest of Fragment Hunter unanimously and simultaneously said.
"The real Battle of the Bands starts now," Sunset Blaze declared as her eyes flashed for a brief second.
Welcome to the show Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah Our time is now Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah Your time is running out Ah, ah, ah
While the Dazzlings sang, most of Fragment Hunter was in the audience and kept an eye on the right opportunity to strike. At the same time, the Rainbooms were all in Rarity's costumes and were overlooking the Dazzlings' performance from a hill a distance away from the stage. Slate and Celadon were selected to stay with the Rainbooms in case they needed backup. "How are we supposed to play over from from up here," Rainbow Dash asked as she noted the distance between them and the stage. "We don't even have any amps."
Suddenly, a car horn honked to signal DJ Pon-3 was rolling up in her convertible and she pressed a button on a remote. When she did, her car began to transform and reveal a number of hidden devices. A rainbow-colored display screen on the front, lava lamps beside it, and several loudspeakers were shown as the DJ went over her sound and light system. Everyone who saw the vehicle were greatly impressed and the Rainbooms set up their equipment as the Dazzlings continued to sing.
As the Sirens sang their next verses, the effects the magic they absorbed began to manifest. With their hands raised, they lowered them in the direction of the crowd as red waves of magic crashed down on the audience. All but Fragment Hunter had a lifeless look in their eyes after failing to shield themselves from the newest spell. Seeing everyone else hypnotized, Fragment Hunter began to reach for their weapons just as they saw what was happening to the Dazzlings after that.
Feel the wave of sound As it crashes down You can't turn away We'll make you wanna sta-a-a-ay
The three girls began to float in the air as their gems shined a bright red and the light surrounded their bodies. As the light shined, Fragment Hunter could see the Dazzlings were all colored black as they began to transform. Their ears changed shape and placement on their heads as they became more like pony ears, their hair grew longer and more like tails, and the black color seemed to shatter like glass as the transformation ended to reveal translucent fin-like wings growing out of their backs and they continued to float in the air.
We will be adored Tell us that you want us We won't be ignored It's time for our reward
Now you need us Come and heed us Nothing can stop us now
"I DON'T THINK SO," Rua shouted as she teleported in front of the Dazzlings and quickly kicked each of them in the face. With the attack knocking the Sirens to the floor, they saw the rest of Fragment Hunter join on the stage. As the three monstrous girls floated back up, they heard a different song playing from the distance and saw the Rainbooms singing with DJ Pon-3 playing alongside them.
Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh I've got the music in me Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh
Don't need to hear a crowd Cheering out my name I didn't come here seeking Infamy or fame
The one and only thing That I am here to bring Is music, is the music Is the music in my soul
As the Rainbooms sang, Sunset Shimmer, Celadon, Slate and DJ Pon-3 saw them transform as they played. However, it was different compared to the times Shimmer saw them change. As their 'tails' grew, each member of the Rainbooms also gained a few streaks of color in their hair to signify that they were likely stronger than before. The new song was able to break the hypnosis on the crowd as they turned to see where the music was coming from, but some of them kept looking to see Fragment Hunter with their weapons ready for a fight against the newly-transformed Dazzlings.
Gonna break out (Out!) Set myself free, yeah Let it all go (Go!) Just let it be, yeah
Find the music in your heart Let the music make you start To set yourself apart
"You know, if Yang was here, she would probably say some obviously bad pun," Azalea mentioned as she twirled her baton, Gladion. "Maybe something like 'Time to face the music'. Then, she would get to punching."
"That is pretty bad," Silver said as he pulled out his chainsaw and kicked his boots to reveal hidden blades in the toes and heels. "But, what's stopping the second part," he stated as he revved the engine of his weapon.
"I've got a line for the occasion," Blaze said as she pulled out her sword and twirled it before adjusting her grip. "Let's rock!"
"That wasn't bad actually," Cereza noted before readying her tonfa.
The Dazzlings all glared at Fragment Hunter and the Rainbooms before Adagio smiled smugly. "So the Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter want to turn this into a real Battle of the Bands? Then, let's battle," she declared as she and her bandmates began to sing again and hypnotized the crowd once more.
What we have in store (ah-ah) All we want and more (ah-ah) We will break on through (ah-ah) Now it's time to finish you!
As the Sirens sang that last line, their eyes all turned into a bright red and their pendants shined even brighter. Adagio's pendant released energy that flowed into the other gems that Aria and Sonata wore. When all three seemed to power up, their bodies flashed brightly. Fragment Hunter and the Rainbooms saw Adagio summon a large projection of what was most likely her true siren body. As Aria and Sonata did the same thing to summon their own spiritual avatars to attack the Rainbooms on the hill, Fragment Hunter stared down the Dazzlings. "ATTACK," Sunset Blaze shouted as the ten members of Fragment Hunter onstage separated and began to fight the girls in front of them.
Blaze started by swinging her sword at Adagio, but the Siren floated back to dodge. Continuing her assault, Blaze swung again until Adagio caught the blade with her bare hands. Adagio smirked as she grabbed the sword, but was caught off guard by a sudden impact to her gut. Sunset Blaze managed to kick Adagio when she was distracted and Azalea went in to assist by hitting Adagio in the face with her baton. After the strike, the Siren felt a surge of electricity run through her body before she saw Blaze's jacket light up. Knowing what would come next, Adagio floated into the air to dodge a stream of flames that came at her.
Lapis blocked several punches and kicks from Aria with her trident as the Siren tried to attack her. "Take this," Lapis shouted as she unleashed a blast of water and lightning from her trident. However, Aria managed to dodge the attack and grabbed at Lapis' trident. Kicking the rookie Huntress in the knee, Aria forced Lapis down and took the weapon for an attack on Vixen as the latter fought Sonata.
Throwing the trident in Vixen's direction, Aria managed to pin the Fox Faunus to a wall by her sleeve. "Hey," Vixen shouted. "I don't go around burning your clothes, so watch the kimono!" While Vixen struggled to free herself with one hand, Aria began to beat Lapis to the ground while she was disarmed.
On the hill, the Rainbooms were surrounded by the Dazzlings' Siren avatars and everyone was worried. However, Slate took the first move and fired his revolvers at the horse-like projections. The bullets hit each Siren avatar, but they failed to do much damage. As DJ Pon-3 turned up the volume of her sound system, Pinkie began to drum and her magic was channeled through her music. Shockwaves were sent flying at the Sirens and they were forced to dodge the blasts.
As the Siren avatars evaded, this left them open to attacks from the rest of the Rainbooms. Rarity started to play on her keytar and diamonds began to magically form around her. Celadon saw this and used her Semblance to summon her own gemstones to attack Aria's projection. As the two girls sent their attacks flying, they impacted against the Siren and managed to injure it.
Fluttershy used her magic to summon a swarm of butterflies and they flew at Sonata's projection to distract it. Taking the chance, Slate changed his ammo and fired at the distracted Siren. As the bullets flew at the target, they changed direction and began to circle above Sonata's avatar for a few seconds before Slate moved his arms down like he was holstering his pistols. At the motion, the bullets all immediately fell onto the projection and injured it. "Wind Dust bullets. Perfect for trick shots and delayed attacks," Slate mentioned to Sunset Shimmer and Spike as they looked on.
Back on the stage, Vinyl was fighting Sonata and neither could land a clean hit on the other. Every time that Vinyl went for a slash with one of her weapons or a kick, Sonata just floated out of the way. And every time that Sonata went for an attack of her own, Vinyl either used her weapon to summon hard light disks that blocked the attack or she dodged like she was breakdancing. Soon, Layla stepped in and used her telekinesis to hold the Siren down as Vinyl unleashed a flurry of roundhouse kicks as a katana made of light slashed away at Sonata during the combo.
Cereza and Silver began to attack Aria relentlessly after she downed Lapis and trapped Vixen. With swift kicks, swings of a chainsaw, and switching between who attacked, Aria was forced into Sonata as they backed up into each other. "Oh yeah," Silver exclaimed as he used his weapon's whip form to try and strike at the Sirens. However, they managed to grab the chain and pull him to the ground before he had a chance to recover it.
Twilight tried to use her magic against the Dazzlings' Siren projections, but Adagio only countered by singing louder than Twilight did. As red sound waves deflected back the attack, it also physically pushed her backward. Glaring at Adagio's avatar in anger, Twilight saw the three projections regroup. On the stage, all three Dazzlings did the same and loudly vocalized in harmony to force back both the Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter.
While they were being pushed back, Rebecca tried to use her Semblance to create a smokescreen around the Dazzlings and try to stop their singing. Unfortunately for Fragment Hunter, the gems on the Dazzlings' pendants began to glow brighter as they sang. The smoke failed to damage their voices as it got blown back with the Hunters and the injuries that the Dazzlings took during the fight began to quickly heal. "Time to fight fire with fire," Sunset Blaze muttered before turning to Lapis and covering her ears. "LAPIS, DO IT!!!!"
Noticing Blaze's order, the rest of Fragment Hunter covered their ears as well as Lapis inhaled deeply. Suddenly, Lapis screamed loudly and released silvery-blue sound waves at the Dazzlings. Everyone and everything in range was affected by Lapis' Semblance. The Dazzlings' ears began to bleed, lights on the stage began to shatter, and the audience even covered their ears in defense despite their trance. As the Dazzlings were struck by Lapis' high-pitched sonic scream, they countered by singing again. As red and blue sound waves crashed against each other, it looked like a stalemate until the Dazzlings gradually sang louder.
As they took control of the battle, Lapis began to suffer from overusing her Semblance. Her throat felt like it was on fire and her voice started to become hoarse until she had to stop her attack and coughed badly. Sensing weakness from Fragment Hunter and even the Rainbooms, the Dazzlings kept singing and forced all of them to the ground. As that happened, Twilight's microphone flew out of her hand and landed next to Sunset Shimmer.
Picking it up, Shimmer reluctantly held onto it and thoughts of doubt flooded her mind. As the Rainbooms struggled to get up, Twilight saw Shimmer with the microphone and called out to her. "Sunset Shimmer, we need you!" Seeing her friends in trouble and hearing that they needed her help, Sunset felt nervous. Her mind was clouded by doubt and fear until she remembered what Azalea said to her before.
"If people don't like you, show them that you are more than what they believe you to be." Hearing Azalea's voice echo through her memory, Sunset Shimmer had a look of determination and stepped forward. The Rainbooms saw Sunset Shimmer remove her jacket as she stood in front of them. DJ Pon-3 started the music back up and a drum solo sounded off. Fragment Hunter and the Dazzlings saw what was happening and Azalea cheered on as Sunset Shimmer started to sing. "GO, SUNSET!!!!"
You're never gonna bring me down You're never gonna break this part of me My friends are here to bring me 'round Not singing just for popularity
As Shimmer sang, the Dazzlings began to grind their teeth in anger at Sunset Shimmer standing up against them. Fragment Hunter only smirked at their leader's counterpart taking control of herself and helping when they needed her. After helping Twilight to her feet, Shimmer began to sing together with her and the Rainbooms.
We're here to let you know That we won't let it go Our music is a bomb and it's about to blow And you can try to fight But we have got the light of Friendship on our side!
As the Dazzlings sent their avatars to attack the Rainbooms again, the latter continued to sing and play. Their combined power actually repelled the Sirens and broke the audience out of their trance with a rainbow-colored shockwave of magic. As the Dazzlings and Fragment Hunter were hit by the blast, the former were weakened as the red glow faded from their eyes and the latter group felt re-energized.
Got the music in our hearts We're here to blow this thing apart And together, we will never Be afraid of the dark
After weakening the Dazzlings, the Rainbooms, Spike, Slate, and Celadon all saw that Sunset Shimmer was starting to float in the air. Smiling as her ears changed to those of her friends' current state, Sunset Shimmer felt a surge of magic filling her and warming her very being. As her hair grew longer, she posed confidently with a hand on her hip as her clothing instantly changed with her. Her skirt gained a red and yellow sun emblem and her entire outfit seemed to shimmer as everyone was amazed by the transformation.
Here to sing our song out loud Get you dancing with the crowd As the music of our friendship Survives, survives!
As the Rainbooms began to float alongside Sunset Shimmer, Rua teleported to grab Celadon and Slate. "Come on! Let's finish this," Rua declared as she warped back to the stage with her friends. As Fragment Hunter was regrouped on the stage, the Rainbooms all released a rainbow aura of magic that collected in the clouds above them. The magic condensed into a ball that soon sprouted wings as it grew in size.
Fragment Hunter stared down the Dazzlings as Sunset Blaze gave the final order for the fight. "Time to end this battle," Blaze exclaimed as she changed her sword into a sniper rifle and added a new cartridge into it. It had a stylized snowflake on the side and as she pulled the trigger, the Dazzlings saw ice forming around them. Every member of Fragment Hunter that had Ice Dust, used it to freeze the Dazzlings in place and prepare for the final strike.
While Layla used her telekinesis to send Sunset, Azalea, Rebecca, Silver, Celadon, Vinyl, and Rua into the air with some effort, the rest of Fragment Hunter started to attack the trapped Dazzlings to try and weaken them further. As they were sent above the audience, Vinyl used her hard light disks as platforms for herself and Rebecca to stand on while the latter used her Semblance in a more creative way. Focusing her abilities, the smoke she created managed to grab at the other airborne Hunters and sent them higher.
As Rebecca gave them more altitude, Silver and Celadon changed their weapons into their respective whip forms. Azalea and Sunset Blaze grabbed onto the whips and their friends sent them flying higher into the sky before Rua teleported above them. Preparing her shield, Rua waited for Azalea and Blaze to place their feet on her weapon. When she felt their weight, Rua pushed them off at the same time they kicked off the shield to return to the stage. As Azalea and Blaze went flying past the Dazzlings' Siren avatars, they pulled their arms back and got ready to punch as the moon shined behind them. Fragment Hunter cleared away from the Dazzlings as Azalea and Blaze came in fast with fire and light surrounding them. The Dazzlings could only look on in horror as the two girls came crashing down on top of them and punched them hard enough to break them out of their icy prison.
Got the music in our hearts We're here to blow this thing apart And together, we will never Be afraid of the dark
Here to sing our song out loud Get you dancing with the crowd As the music of our friendship Survives, survives, survives!
To add insult to injury, the Dazzlings heard all of Fragment Hunter singing along with the Rainbooms and the crowd. As they recovered from the attack, the Dazzlings were mad that they lost control of their audience. However, their expressions changed from anger to fear as they saw what the Rainbooms' magic manifested. Fragment Hunter took note of their faces and turned to see what they were looking at. As the twelve saw what their new friends summoned, they were awestruck and they could stop smiling at the sight.
High above the stage and towering over the Dazzlings' projections was an absolutely enormous alicorn projection with a starry blue coat and a flowing mane that looked like a real rainbow was moving with the wind. Fragment Hunter saw the beast above them and they all silently agreed that it was the most beautiful thing they have seen in their lives. Wordlessly, they all got together for a group hug as the alicorn blasted the Dazzlings and their Siren avatars. Caught in the laser beam, everyone on the stage was hit by the blast, but only the Dazzlings were harmed by it. The Siren projections broke into pieces, the Dazzlings began to change back to their human forms, and the pendants they wore shattered as a bright light enveloped the area.
After the laser vanished, the alicorn faded away and the Dazzlings began to stir and saw that their pendants broke apart. As they tried to sing, they were horribly off-key and Fragment Hunter had to cover their ears as they heard the girls. Realizing they were singing badly, the Dazzlings started to run off as the crowd booed at them and began to throw things at them. As they got offstage, Fragment Hunter was waiting for them as the Rainbooms made their way back. "I don't think so," Rua said as she teleported in front of the Dazzlings.
As the Dazzlings gulped and were paralyzed by fear of what Rua would do to them, Sunset Shimmer picked up a shard from one of the pendants. "Guess that explains why these were so special to them," she said as she looked at the gem in her fingers.
"It let them influence everyone, absorb negativity, healed their wounds, and even sing properly," Lapis listed as she collected the other shards. "If anything, we were protected by their spells because we were from a completely different world and our Auras."
"Without those pendants and the magic you brought here from Equestria, they're just three harmless teenage girls," Twilight said as she turned to Sunset Shimmer.
"They did try and plant a few seeds of doubt when they thought I was Shimmer, though," Blaze mentioned. "So, what should we do with them?"
Twilight thought about it for a minute, but her thoughts were interrupted by someone. "Rainbooms rules! That was amazing," Flash Sentry exclaimed as he got onto the stage and hugged Twilight. As he held the purple girl in his arms, she blushed as Sunset Shimmer, Fragment Hunter, and the Rainbooms giggled.
"Gag me," Aria muttered as she and the other Dazzlings looked disgusted by the lovebirds in front of them. Rua and Azalea glared at the three girls before looking back at their friends. As Twilight and Flash looked at each other, they were both blushing before they were pushed away from each other.
Trixie showed up between them and faced Twilight and the Rainbooms. "You may have vanquished the Dazzlings, but you will never have the amazing, show-stopping ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie," she stated before throwing down a smoke bomb. With everyone on the stage coughing from the smoke, Pinkie was the first to notice Trixie's disappearance.
"She's gone," Pinkie exclaimed before seeing out to the stands. "Oh, wait. There she is," the drummer said as she saw Trixie trying to climb down. However, Trixie lost her balance and fell down to the ground. Several members of Fragment Hunter immediately went over to check on the performer and saw her give a thumbs-up.
"Trixie's okay," she told everyone.
Back on the stage, Fragment Hunter let the Dazzlings go and leave the school grounds. "You know, Twilight is going back to Equestria soon. The Rainbooms could really use someone to help Fluttershy on backup vocals," Rainbow Dash mentioned as she turned to Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset Shimmer saw a guitar resting next to an amp and started to play a guitar riff with great skill. "I also play guitar," Sunset said after her demonstration. The Rainbooms were shocked at their friend's talent with the instrument and Rainbow Dash was speechless over what she saw. "What? I dated Flash and was interested in his guitar. Plus, it gave me practice using my hands when I first showed up here."
"Not only that, but she was playing with us in the competition," Azalea mentioned and caught the attention of the Rainbooms. "Remember when we played 'This Will Be The Day' in the first round? Shimmer was taking Blaze's place on lead guitar."
"Thought she needed the confidence boost," Blaze mentioned.
"We'll see about the guitar thing," Rainbow Dash said. "But for now, welcome to the Rainbooms, Sunset Shimmer!" Upon hearing this, Sunset had a warm smile before the Rainbooms all got together for a group hug.
"Now that just leaves one thing," Slate spoke up. "How are we going to get back home to Remnant?"
The morning after the Battle of the Bands, Fragment Hunter and the Rainbooms all gathered around the Wondercolt Statue to see Twilight off as she returned back to her home dimension. "Sure wish that you could stay longer, Twilight," Applejack said to her friend.
"Me too. But I have responsibilities in Equestria that I have to get back to. Its citizens need me," Twilight replied as she explained that she had to return to her world. As she said this, Pinkie was fooling around with the portal by poking it a little before sticking her head inside the gateway for a little bit. After a second or two, she pulled her head out and her hair was messed up a little and her eyes seemed unfocused. "But, now I can go through the portal whenever I need to. This isn't goodbye. It's just goodbye 'til next time," Twilight reassured her friends.
"That still doesn't help us find a way back home," Cereza mentioned.
"Yeah," Rua agreed. "I'd prefer not getting detention for missing Doctor Oobleck's History class again."
"Even if you did, we'd go to 'Magnolia's' for frozen yogurt anyway," Azalea said as she placed her hand on Rua's shoulder. All of a sudden, a rainbow-colored flash of light blinded everyone and the two girls were gone. Everyone was shocked by what happened, but Rua and Azalea reappeared after a few seconds in a similar flash with two cups of frozen yogurt in hand. "GUYS!!! I think that blast had some weird side-effect on us," Azalea exclaimed.
"One second, we were here. The next, we ended up in Magnolia's with nobody noticing us warp in! We spent the next few minutes getting something to calm our nerves before we thought of you guys being stuck here. Now, we're back at this courtyard," Rua said in disbelief. "How did we do that?!"
Twilight and Sunset Shimmer thought it over for a minute before coming up with a hypothesis. "Maybe you all gained Equestrian Magic when we blasted the stage and hit the Dazzlings? It probably upgraded your natural abilities or at least allows you to travel between Remnant and this world because of how the portal originally brought you here despite it being closed before I arrived to help," Twilight theorized.
"Well, it's either that or lazy writing," Pinkie said as she leaned into view from beside Sunset Shimmer. "Either way, we'll get to see you guys whenever you want, too," she exclaimed as she hugged Slate and Azalea tightly.
"Well, I guess it's goodbye until next time for all of us," Twilight said as she looked at the teenagers in front of her. "Ready, Spike," she said as she looked down at her assistant.
"Ready," Spike declared as he and Twilight walked through the portal to return home.
The Rainbooms turned to Fragment Hunter and smiled. "Well, I guess that you should be heading off now, huh," Rainbow Dash said.
"We'll probably visit sooner than later," Sunset Blaze mentioned. "We'd love to show you Remnant's controlled areas, too if we can bring you. But, we should probably focus on figuring out how well we can get back to Beacon and back."
"It'll be fun to see you guys around again," Applejack said as she tipped her hat to Fragment Hunter.
"And I would love to see what other kind of fashion styles are in Remnant," Rarity swooned.
"Don't forget about us," Fluttershy said as she waved goodbye.
"Like we would forget you girls," Silver said with a smirk.
As Fragment Hunter grouped together, they soon warped away in a flash of rainbow-colored light. The Rainbooms smiled at who they just met and what they all did over the course of a few days. "Well, I'm beat," Rainbow exclaimed as she stretched her arms. "Let's get some rest and play some more music for fun tomorrow."
"I couldn't agree with you more," Sunset Shimmer replied as she yawned. "I feel like the next few weeks are going to be better now."
One afternoon, the Rainbooms were setting up their equipment to play on the amphitheater stage for a rehearsal. DJ Pon-3 was helping as she adjusted the sound system. And while everyone was tuning their instruments or setting up microphones, Sunset Shimmer was sitting down in front of the DJ booth with her old journal in her hands and wrote to Twilight.
'Dear Princess Twilight,
Missing you already and I hope that you'll be back soon. Things are already looking up for me at Canterlot High. After we broke the Dazzlings' spell over the school, everyone's been acting much more friendly to me and have even been helping me and the girls out from time to time. I guess that it's easier to forgive someone that used to be at your throat and acted like a jerk when you've made the same mistakes. But, I know that I still have a lot to learn about friendship. Hope that you don't mind if I write to you for advice when I need it.
Your friend, Sunset Shimmer.'
As Sunset finished writing, she closed the book and put it away before she saw a flash of rainbow-colored light. The Rainbooms saw Fragment Hunter was in the stands of the amphitheater waving to the band as they came for a visit. After waving back, Rainbow Dash turned to Sunset Shimmer with her guitar in her hands. "You ready or what," the lead guitarist asked.
Once upon a time You came into my world and made the stars align
Now I can see the signs You pick me up when I get down so I can shine
Shine like rainbows Shine like rainbows
Friends, you are in my life And you can count on me to be there by your side
And when the music comes alive We sing our songs to lift us up so we can shine
And the sound that we hear in our hearts Makes a crescendo And the light that ignites in the dark It makes us all glow
And shine like rainbows We shine like rainbows
Together we stand As the rain begins to fall And holdin' our heads up high As the sun shines through it all
And the sound that we hear in our hearts Makes a crescendo And the light that ignites in the dark It makes us all glow
And shine like rainbows We shine like rainbows Shine like rainbows We shine like rainbows
We shine like rainbows
The new audience applauded the performance and joined the Rainbooms on the stage. "That song was beautiful," Celadon complimented.
"Who wrote it," Vinyl asked.
"Actually, me and Fluttershy wrote it together," Rainbow Dash said. Fluttershy beamed at the mention of another song she wrote got the credit it deserved. Azalea smiled and hugged Fluttershy in happiness. "So, why are you here today," Rainbow Dash asked.
"Just wanted to visit. Maybe we could play a song or two with you guys," Sunset Blaze said as she went back to the stands and grabbed a guitar she brought with her. "We'll do 'Let's Just Live' to start," Sunset suggested as everyone else grabbed their own instruments or borrowed some from the Rainbooms. The members of Fragment Hunter began to play and the two bands had a great time for the duration of Fragment Hunter's visit, not knowing that someone was investigating the events of the Battle of the Bands.
In a lab, a seismograph was printing out its readings and a purple hand tore it off to take a better look at it. After seeing the results, the paper was pinned to a board that had several other notes and pictures on it. Pieces of string were pinned to the board as well to show what notes and observations matched to a specific point of interest. Following the board's notes, it was revealed that a picture of Canterlot High was literally at the center of it all.
Stepping back to look over the board again, the purple-skinned girl who placed the paper was wearing a lab coat, her multi-shaded purple hair was a mess, and she wore glasses. However, she was completely identical to Princess Twilight Sparkle in looks and had the same voice as her. "There's no doubt about it, Spike," she said to her dog that was eating a bowl of treats behind her. "There's definitely something strange going on at that school..."
Spike only barked in reply as Twilight was deep in thought. "I need to go there personally to get some new readings," she mentioned to her dog. "And I should try to find out more about these people that showed up there," she said as she looked at a few pictures of Fragment Hunter. "Something doesn't seem right about them. I need to learn more about them and Canterlot High, Spike."
