Up on the stage, Octavia Melody's cello echoed throughout the auditorium. She sat on a stool, eyes closed, the bow held between her fingers as she played. Her foot pumped on a looping pedal, so that she was essentially playing with herself. Her song was sad and spoke of regret, lost things, loneliness, and death. /6W774VU8zW4

At the end of the song, boos from the other bands and lackluster applause from the judges met her ears.

While Orion and Raven went off to confer with their respective bands, Octavia went running off from the stage, her cello bow in one hand, sobbing. She enters the hall and into the nearest bathroom. Further down the hall, snatches of sirens singing could just barely be heard. They seemed to be practicing.

Raven entered the bathroom, having seen Octavia bolt from the stage in tears, followed closely by Vinyl. Vinyl had a more worried look on her face than before, it was apparent even behind her sunglasses.

Raven went to where Octavia was hunched over, sobbing. Placing a hand on her shoulders, she smiled at Octavia. "You play beautifully, don't worry about what those uncultured cretins out there did."

Octavia snarls, her purple eyes flaring green for a brief moment as she locked eyes with Raven, "Why should I listen to you? You're no better than they are, turning the showcase into a musical fight with your ex-boyfriend... get away from me." The siren singing had grown a little louder now.

"Okay, I admit there was a bit of ... tension between Orion and myself, but that's over now! We're going to-" Raven was stopped by Vinyl's hand on her shoulder. Holding up her spare set of headphones, Vinyl slipped them over Octavia's head, and afte scrolling through the playlist on her music player, pressed the Play button. watch?v=nOr0na6mKJQ

Octavia closes her eyes and listens to the song. When the string part begins, her fingers automatically begin figuring out how to play it. She reopens her eyes, and again they are purple. She smiles at the DJ. "So you're that girl I've been seeing all night... I am glad to finally meet you at last." She looks to both of them, "My name is Octavia Melody."

"Vinyl Scratch," said the DJ, extending a hand. "Your music is awesome."

Raven watched as the two shook hands. "Orion and I have a plan to defeat the Dazzlings, but we'll need everyone's help to do that. I've already recruited one other, and Orion is working on the second. Octavia, Vinyl, would you two join with us?" she asked.'

Vinyl thought for a moment, then put her hand out flat. "I'm in. Whatever you need."

Raven put her hand on top of Vinyl's, then looked at Octavia. "Octavia, would you join us?"

Octavia nods, placing her hand on top of Vinyl's. "With pleasure, Miss Raven."

Suddenly there's a series of hurried knocks on the door, and Orion's voice is heard. "Raven, what's taking you? The Dazzlings will be on in a minute, then the judges are going to decide who's going to face them in the final!"

"Be out in a minute, Orion ... lady stuff!" Raven called out, smirking at Octavia and Vinyl. "Come on girls, we have work to do."

Back in the gymnasium, the Dazzlings take the stage to do their own semi-final/victory song. /sxFujBWQaB4 The audience watches with rapt attention, Vice Principal Luna even rests her chin on her hands as she watches them with a dazed smile on her face.

At the end, the newly-created Mystical Gallopfreyans now take the stage with a cellist, a very muscular violinist, and a weird-angled-eyed musical saw player, and play their semi-final song ( watch?v=n9qeJskx6r0 ) to raucous cheers from the students, and enthusiastic applause from Celestia and Luna. With a nod to each other, Celestia stepped on stage. "We wish to thank all of tour participants in this, our first Battle of the Bands! Moving into the finals, our two finalists will be ... The Dazzlings!" The students applauded. "And ... The Mystical Gallopfreyans!" More applause. "The final contest will take place at the amphitheater tomorrow night to give our bands time to prepare. Best of luck to both of you!"

Orion grins and hugs each of his bandmates in turn, there were lots of them now! But he saves the best hug for a particular purple girl he was glad to be in love with once again.

With their victory at the tryouts complete, Orion, Raven, and Sunset travel to Orion's house in his car, determined to spend the evening together. As the car approaches the stately manor, Orion gives a beaming smile. "Welcome, Sunset Shimmer, to Shadowfall Manor, the finest in all of Canterlot! I have a full staff of servants, more floors and rooms than I know what to do with, and sadly, a mother who doesn't approve that I am dating a commoner and attending a school full of them. Luckily she's not in town tonight, she's on a business trip, so we'll have the run of the place!" He climbs out and leads the two young women to the front door, going inside afterward.

"Let's see... Steno Pad should be around here somewhere..."

Sunset followed Orion inside, marveling at the very stately home. "I always wondered who owned this place," she said with awe, "but I had no idea it was your family, Orion. This place is almost like a palace!"

Raven smiled, and squeezed Orion's hand. "It takes some getting used to, Sunset, but trust me, you'll love it here!"

Steno Pad, working in his office off the main entryway, poked his head around the door. "Hello, who's - oh, hello Orion. I wasn't expecting you home so soon. How did it go?"

Orion smiles back, "Swimmingly, Steno! We won!" He grins, gesturing to himself and his two friends, "That reminds me: Sunset, this is my assistant, Steno. Steno, my friend Sunset Shimmer." He kisses Raven's cheek, "Wouldn't have been possible without you, dearest."

"Miss Shimmer, a pleasure to meet you," Steno said, nodding in greeting. "I'm very happy your band made it to the finals, Orion. I have some work to finish here, so I'll leave you three to celebrate! If you need anything from me, just give a holler!" He ducks back inside the office.

"He seems nice," Sunset said as Steno disappeared. "Kinda bookish, though. Almost reminds me of someone else - or somepony else - I know."

"Would it be that Twilight girl, or me?" he wonders aloud as they walk up the main stairs toward his room, which looks like it was made almost entirely from wood. The floor was wood, the walls were wood, even the bookshelves carved into the wall were wood! There was also a TV, a bed, and a desk, upon which sat his laptop and his tablet. "I hope you two brought pajamas... I don't have any for girls."

Raven smirked slyly, and winked at Sunset. "Oh no, Orion ... Sunset and I talked it over and we decided to sleep nude tonight. We figured it would be less to pack in the long run. Right, Sunset?"

Sunset nodded, trying not to laugh. "Oh yes ... besides, being pony and all, it's more comfortable for me. Shall we get ready then, Raven?" The two glanced over to Orion, smiling sweetly at him.

Orion's mouth opens and closes repeatedly as he tries to think of something to say in response to this. Two girls of roughly his age sleeping in his room, in his bed, without clothes. "Well, I... you see... It's..." He gives up. "There's... probably some spares... somewhere..."

Raven and Sunset burst out with laughter. "Oh, Orion… that look on your face! Better than I had hoped!" Raven laughed, walking over to Orion and wrapping him in a tight hug. "We were just having fun, sweetie. We've got nightclothes, so we're all set."

Sunset composed herself while watching the two lovebirds. "I'm sorry, Orion, but it sounded too funny to pass up. I hope you're not upset with us."

Orion returns the hug and smiles, "Not at all! You go get changed, then we can decide on what we want for dinner! And do other things too!"

"Okay, won't be a minute!" Raven said, kissing Orion's cheek. "Come on, Sunset, let's make ourselves presentable for His Lordship here," she said with a smile.

"Right away, your ladyship," Sunset replied, following Raven to the large bathroom. Emerging a few long minutes later, after much giggling and primping, both ladies emerged wearing pajamas and long bathrobes. Sunset had fluffy dragon slippers on her feet, while Raven had on a set of bunny slippers. "There. Now, let's see about some dinner," Raven said, "I'm quite hungry after all of the excitement today."

Orion is wearing a pair of silk pajamas that are just a little darker than his own skin tone, with some nondescript brown slippers on his feet. He's wearing a blue bathrobe. Nodding some to Raven's words, he flops down on the bed. "How would you feel about having something sent up by the kitchen staff?"

"That works fine for me," Raven replied. "I don't think I'm really dressed for the formal dining hall."

"It's fine with me, too," Sunset seconded. "Should we have a regular-type meal or just some snacky things we can munch all night? I'm fine either way."

"Snacks sound like an excellent idea!" Orion says with a nod. "Let's do it!" He then pulls a rope, summoning Cassius, who then asks what the trio would like to snack on. Orion goes first. "Let's see... tea for me, whatever drink the girls would like, and... as many biscuits (cookies) as you can find, berries, crackers, peanut butter, cheese..."

"Hi Cassius, I'll have my usual sweet tea, please," Raven said, smiling at the butler.

"Make that two," Sunset added.

Cassius nods, and goes off to the kitchen.

[20:03:34] Orion: Orion grabs the remote for the TV, "Suppose we watch a show or two? Or maybe a movie? I have an impressive DVD collection!"

"Sure! Whatever you'd like to watch, I'm not fussy." Raven moved closer to Orion, and Sunset sat slightly apart from the two.

Cassius reappeared with a tray full of snacks, and another servant brought the drinks. "Here we are. Ring if you desire anything else," Cassius said before departing.

Orion smiles and runs his fingers through Raven's hair as he picks a movie starring four English rockers with moptop haircuts living a hectic day (and night) as they prepare for a television performance, munching on his snacks too.

The night passed with many movies and many snacks being consumed. Soon, Raven was snoring away, leaving Sunset and Orion the only two awake by the flickering light of the television.

Orion looks over at Sunset concernedly, "Are you okay? You've been rather withdrawn tonight... and I don't just mean you've been writing in that book of yours."

Sunset sighs. "I'm just ... well, apart from feeling like a third wheel, I gues I'm questioning if I have any value to your group. I don't really do much, do I?"

Orion places a comforting hand on one of Sunset's, "Of course you have value... why wouldn't you? You're the one who leapt into action to bring us back together, and you're the one who revealed the truth about the Dazzlings. If it wasn't for you, Raven and I would still be at each other's throats."

Susnet nods. "I know, and I'm glad I could get you two back together. I just feel like I should be doing more. I guess I'm still having trouble finding my place, not to mention I'm still never gonna live down the Fall Formal incident."

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure about that... the Dazzling thing might be enough to overpower even that. But we'll see." A thought occurs to him, "If you had to choose between life here and life as a pony, which would you pick?"

"I think I'd rather stay here," Sunset replied. "It's been so long since I've been in Equestria, it would be too much to be able to assimilate back into pony life. Besides, I've made more friends here than I ever had there, and I wouldn't want to leave them."

"Which leads me to my next question... do you consider yourself more of a human, or a pony in a human body?"

"Definitely more human than pony now. I feel more at ease here for some reason."

Orion chuckles a little at that, "Maybe it's the disconnection from your past? Still, the fact that you're going native, as it were, after spending so long here... it's unsurprising. I can't really imagine what you looked like as a pony, because I only know you as a human." He smiles at her. "And you're a very good human, Sunset Shimmer. I'm glad to call you my friend." He gives her a hug.

Sunset hugs back, a glimmer in her eyes. "Thank you, Orion. You hve no idea how wonderful that makes me feel." She pulls back enough to look at Orion. "If it weren't for you and Raven, I'd be lost right now. I don't think I could ever repay your kindness."

Orion nuzzles her, "Just keep doing what you're doing. If you ever need it, you'll have a room here."

"Thank you." Sunset looks over at the snoring Raven. "I had no idea she was such a foghorn. Think we'll ever get any sleep tonight?"

"Try these," he suggests, pulling out some earplugs. "I'll see you in the morning... we'll have to get up early for rehearsal."

Sunset smiles and slips the plugs in. "Sounds okay to me. See you in the morning, Orion."

"Until tomorrow, Sunset!" Smiling, he climbs into bed and is soon asleep.

The night of the final arrived, and the amphitheater was packed with the student body of Canterlot High. Backstage, The Dazzlings were preparing to take the stage. With some encouragement from Adagio, a certain great and powerful musician had managed to ensnare The Mystical Gallopfreyans in a trap, leaving them under the stage as the show was set to begin. Trixie and The Illusions took to the stage, performing their song ( watch?v=aOEKu8L5UqQ )to smatterings of applause, before The Dazzlings made their way to the stage.

"Try to top that!" Trixie said boastfully.

"Oh, gosh! I don't know if we can!" Adagio said sarcastically, as the rest of The Dazzlings laughed. They then began their pre-show vocalizations.

Orion is down below, trying without success to open the door by taking run-ups. Vinyl was nowhere to be found, and neither was his sonic. "Arrrrgh! This isn't working!" he shouts, rubbing his bruised shoulder.

The door suddenly swung open at that point to reveal Vinyl, a smile on her face, looking over the group. "If you guys are done, there's a world to save?" she says with some mirth in her voice. She walks over to Orion. "Here, you dropped this when you got trapped down here, I guess. It's been buzzing like crazy." She hands over the magic screwdriver.

Raven was quick to grab her instrument. "Come on! If we don't get set up quickly, we'll never be able to stop them!"

"Has anyone seen Sunset Shimmer?" Orion asks, pocketing the screwdriver as they run past the ampitheatre toward a distant hill, "I hope she's around somewhere... preferably not hypnotized."

Adagio smirks at the sight of the hypnotized humans. Putting them under their spell had been so easy... of course, she had a thousand years of practice. She and her fellow Dazzlings begin their song, surrounded by green mist that flows into their necklaces, giving them the power they'd need to at least project their true forms, if not transform into them.

Sunset waits with Vinyl on the hill as the band approaches. "Sorry, I ran late. When I saw Trixie performing, I feared something happened to you, so I asked Vinyl to go look for you." She peers down at the green mist filling the arena. "Good thing I waited up here, no telling what would have happened if I'd been in there."

The Dazzlings strut onto the stage, singing their song and further entrancing the students. ( watch?v=hdwty6WVubY ) The necklaces they wore glowed with a luster and ferocity that hadn't happened since their expulsion from Equestria all those years ago.

Orion's device buzzes louder than ever, almost shrieking as the raw, dark magic flowed around the area. "This is our chance!"

Vinyl grins and pushes a button on her car dashboard, transforming it into a DJ stand. "I know just what you mean, dude!" She taps a few keys, and there's a loud burst of feedback as she hacks into the ampitheatre's sound system.

Orion grabs his car keys and scrapes the teeth up and down Octavia's cello strings, much to her chagrin, and says "Now that I have your attention..." He interrupts the Dazzlings mid-song, letting his band play an instrumental piece, a throbbing electronic tune with an eerie, creepy melody line and a bassline that threatens to get stuck in everyone's heads. /-H_o6ncUz3g Orion steps up to the mic, coat billowing behind him in the wind. "Hello, Dazzlings!" he calls out, looking around at everyone, "Who takes the high school, takes the multiverse! But bad news, everyone! 'Cause guess who? Ha!" He gestures grandly to himself and his bandmates then continues, focusing on the angry Dazzlings. "Look at you lot, swaying about, it's really very distracting. Could you all just stay still a minute, because I! AM! TALKING!" His voice echoes at those last three words.

"Now the question of the hour is, who understands friendship? Answer: I do, next question! Who's coming to take it from me? Come on! Look at me. No plan, no back up, no weapons worth a damn. Oh, and something else. I don't have anything to lose! So! If you're standing down on there on your silly little stage, singing your silly little songs, and you've got any plans on taking Canterlot High tonight, just remember who's standing in your way! Remember every black day you've ever been defeated, and then, AND THEN, do the smart thing!" His voice lowers as the tone of the song fades into an extended drum solo, "Let somebody else try first."

Adagio scoffed. "So the Gallopfreyans want to turn this into a real Battle of the Bands? Then let's battle!" The Dazzlings resumed their song. As they sang, their bodies transformed into some form of pony-dragon hybrid, their dragon essence emerging and swooping around the Gallopfreyans. With one particularly high note, the Gallopfreyans were knocked to the ground, Orion's screwdriver slipping out of his pocket and landing on the ground near Sunset.

Orion loses his hold on the sonic as it falls onto the grass below, rolling out of his reach. "Sunset, we need you!" he yells desperately.

Sunset rushed forward, grabbing the screwdriver and a microphone, and nodding to one of the drummers that had recovered. He quickly began tapping out a beat. With a knowing smile, Sunset began to sing as the rest of the band slowly recovered. ( watch?v=SsNl9zaWJdQ )

As the band strikes up a new song, Orion bobs his head in time to the beat and plays along with them. As they play, their own bodies undergo a transformation similar to that of the Dazzlings, only without the draconic elements.

Now sporting a pair of grey pony ears and much longer hair to give the appearance of a tail, Orion faces down the terrified Dazzlings. He takes the mic and speaks coldly to them. "I tried to talk. I want you to remember that. I tried to reach out, I tried to understand you, but I think that you understand us perfectly. And I think you just don't care. And I don't know whether you are here to enslave, hypnotize, or just transform us, I don't suppose it really matters now. You are monsters! That is the role you seem determined to play, so it seems I must play mine!" He determinedly straightens his bowtie. "The man who stops the monsters!"

From behind, Raven tosses him the magic screwdriver, which he catches, holding it aloft. "I'm ending your song now before it can hurt anyone else! And no matter what happens, I want you to remember this: You are not welcome here. This plane is protected. I am Orion, and I name you, the sirens!"

He presses the button, and a jet of blue light shoots out of the screwdriver and toward the clouds to join the spectral horse, taking the form of a blue police box. Both objects soar toward the spectral avatars of the Dazzlings and obliterate them, shattering the red gemstones around their necks in the same moment.

The spectral form of the police box washes over the Dazzlings, impacting the crystals around their necks. The crystals crack, and shatter, returning the Dazzlings to their original form. Attempting to regain their power, they begin to sing - horribly, and off-key. The crowd boos loudly, and the three make a break for backstage.

Raven, Sunset, and the rest go after them, finally catching up with them. "We knew what you were and where you came from," Sunset said softly. "I tried to take over this world, too, and it didn't work. And, in the process, I made a lot of good friends." She miles at Orion and Raven, and the rest of the band. "I couldn't let you destroy that. We have defeated your evil, but we offer our friendship, if you are willing to accept. The choice is yours."

Sonata looks about ready to accept, but Aria and Adagio are more brittle than that. They turn away to discuss the matter privately. "We're not just going to go and do it, are we Adagio?" asks Aria. "Hook up with these humans?" She spits the word out like it was poison. "Especially that grey one, Orion. Besides, he threatened us."

Orion taps Adagio gently on the shoulder, and smiles a bit. "I befriended Sunset after she became a raging she-demon. I can do the same with you, too. You might be a thousand years old, but deep inside? You're as human as I am." He offers his hand. "So, what do you say? Friends?"

Adagio sighs. "Aria, he didn't threaten us. He threatened what we became. And now, after seeing where that got us after all of these years, I have to say I'm about ready for a change." She looks up at Orion and smiles wanly. "I'm willing to try. I might be a little rusty at the whole friends thing, though." She takes his hand.

Raven and the rest crowd in and give the three hugs, welcoming them into their circle.

Aria grudgingly joins in, and Orion hugs the three ex-sirens with the rest, pocketing his magic screwdriver too. Hopefully he wouldn't need it anymore.

The arena was quiet now, and Celestia and Luna looked over the scattered decorations and other debris from the evening's events. Celestia put an arm around Luna's shoulder, and produced a compact disk from her blazer pocket. Luna smiled and nodded.

Moments later, the two administrators appeared on the stage, Celestia dressed in a stunning maroon velour form-fitting jumpsuit with flared legs, Luna in a similar outfit but in a rich hunter green color. They nodded to the bus driver seated at the piano, cowboy hat perched atop his head. He smiled, and pressed the Play button on the CD player. As the click track counted down, he swept his fingers over the keys as the music started. ( watch?v=xFrGuyw1V8s ) The two ladies began to sing in harmony, performing to an absent audience but not seeming to mind. ( art/SECRET-SHOW-492742047 )