Hello, fellow readers! So, what do we have:
Maelaeran: Makes sense since the Shadows have similarities with the originals. I find it sad that we never seen them after this movie, so since I'm writing this, I shall be merciful upon the three.
TheBeatles211: OK, Twilight and Spike is a given since they are usually there. The reason why I let Morgana join is because, spoilers, he is technically a resident of the Velvet Room and is currently living with Ren.
Teddie is a giant talking bear costume, which is not very subtle in a school setting and makes him ineffective during at least a majority of three of the movies. I know you want to make it fair, but there's also just my opinion on the character. Honestly, I tolerate him. He's an interesting character that has some funny moments along with his journey of self-identity, but the later games just left a sour taste with how he was treated, not really giving him anything else but comic relief.
Plus, the contrast between what the sidekicks are capable of is just jarring.
Morgana: A special cat that has a cartoony bipedal form to fight in and a van form to help with transportation.
Teddie: A cartoon bear costume that defies logic and has a human form that grew from sit-ups along with his own arsenal of weapons.
Spike: A colorful talking dog.
Sorry about the mini-rant, but I wanted to give my reasons as to why I do/don't use certain characters in my stories. Whether it's personal feelings, not wanting to go against canon material too much, or if I even remember that they're there. (Remember that Spike joke back in C2? I wasn't joking about that.) But of course, I might change my mind later down the line.
All right, let's get going!
Chapter 6: New Danger
The group woke up a little bit earlier than usual in order to get some practice. After they got dressed and got their instruments from the other girls' houses, they arrived at the farm where Applejack's family was. Applejack told Granny Smith and Big Mac earlier that they needed the farm to rehearse at, which they were all right with.
Yu and Ren recognized Granny Smith as the lunch lady and Big Mac from helping Applejack before for the Fall Formal.
Granny Smith had light lime green skin with brilliant orange eyes and light gray hair tied up in a bun. She wore her lunch lady attire, which consisted of a tied orange scarf with red polka dots, a white long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up past her elbows with yellow gloves, a long red skirt that reaches past her knees and had a white apron, ending with boots that was yellow as well to match her gloves.
Big Mac had pale light amaranth skin with sap green eyes and light gamboge hair. He wore a white t-shirt under a red jacket with a brown collar and the sleeves rolled up past the elbows, brown wristbands, blue pants with a leather belt, ending with red and white sneakers.
Yu, Ren, Morgana and Spike were their audience as the Rainbooms played their set to warm up with. It helped that Twilight was a fast learner with the lyrics to the other songs, which she was given main singer in the group with Rainbow doing backup for once temporarily. She still was a great singer from before in the cafeteria until they got to the counter spell, going straight downhill as she started going off-key for some reason. Thankfully, they were the only ones hearing this. but Yu and Ren notices the others were lacking any interest during the song.
After the first attempt, Sunset was the first to speak up. "That... wasn't bad."
"The lyrics were all over the place." Ren simply said.
"That's not all." Yu then walks over to the group, "Twilight, do you write your own songs?"
"No, they usually just come to me." That answer pretty much explains it.
"And the songs she sings are fantastic." Spike added.
"That may be true, but a written song is different from an improvised one." Yu explains as he paces a bit, "Without having an idea of how it goes, it's just noise."
"Well, how do you think we should play it?" Rainbow was still annoyed at the fact that the others were not really trying that hard.
"Hmm... here, I'll give an example." Yu then walks over to Applejack, "May I?"
Applejack simply shrugged her shoulders and handed him her bass. He puts on the strap over his shoulder before playing a few notes.
"You play bass?" Applejack asked.
"Only once. We did a little concert to help my partner out of a jam at his mall job and we had to get up on stage with our friend Rise to make it work." Yu casually answered to the surprise of Ren and Morgana.
"Wait, one of your friends is THE Rise?" Ren recalls seeing posters of 'Sapphire' with her on it in the city.
"Yeah. We met her when she was in hiatus." Yu answers before playing a few more notes to refresh his memory.
"Lucky." Morgana muttered to himself.
"Is she that popular in your world?" Rarity voiced the band's curiosity.
"She's quite the sensation. She already released a new album before going on hiatus again." Ren remembers that from the news during his stay at Cafe Leblanc.
"Anyways, I think I got something." Yu calls out to get their attention, "If the Sirens sing slow and sinister, then shouldn't the counter spell be the opposite?"
"Oh! Oh! Like this!" Pinkie then rapidly played a beat on her drums to emphasize her point.
"Yeah. Should be upbeat like this." Yu then starts a short riff that was at a moderate tempo.
Listening to the beat, Pinkie then hopped back in with a steady rhythm on her drums while Rainbow starts a riff alongside Yu. Soon after, the others joined in as Twilight sung the lyrics again, this time with her singing voice being a bit better.
[Twilight]
Hey, hey, listen
We've got a message for you
The audience were still cringing a bit from the lyrics, but they were more tolerable with the better singing. Sunset adjusted a speaker a bit to avoid feedback just in case as the song continued.
We're not all alike
But our friendship is true
Yeah, we're really different
But we still get along
So hey, hey, listen to our song
Now that the song had more structure, the magic in the music was starting to form as white light formed around the girls, slowly growing into silhouettes of the pony forms.
You may think you're in control
But we're here to prove you wrong
With our friendship and our music
With the power of our song
The ears were almost fully formed, giving the group more confidence as the song ended.
Gonna stomp our feet, clap our hands
With the magic of friendship
Gonna stop your evil plan
Rainbow played a final riff to finish things off with before looking around. The others had their ears formed in white light before disappearing entirely.
"That's more like it!" Applejack clapped with the audience as Yu took the strap off his shoulder before handing the bass back to her.
"At least the lyrics rhymed." Sunset pointed out.
"Sounds more like a nursery rhyme." Ren added.
"Though, I honestly think we should take a break for now." Rarity suggested.
The others didn't disagree with that since they were practicing nonstop until now. After getting some apple juice for refreshments, Rarity spoke up again.
"Now that we are resting, I would like to offer a few suggestions for our band wardrobe." She then pulled out a mobile hanger of clothes from... somewhere before looking through them.
"For goodness sake..." Ren caught Applejack muttering to herself in annoyance before Rarity chose one of the designs, "I like this one preferably."
It was interesting as it was a sparkling lavender jacket with gold trimming and epaulettes on the shoulders. "Though, maybe we should do something a bit more modern."
"Rarity, we're trying to save our school." Applejack reminded her with a bit of irritation, "Enough with the costumes!"
Somehow, Rarity already changed into some sort of techno outfit, a yellow suit covering from the neck to her feet while wearing a robotic helmet with three blue diamonds glowing on the black visor. She gasped before speaking, "You can NEVER have enough costumes!"
"...When did she change again?" Morgana whispered to Spike, who simply shrugged.
"She just wanna make things fun. Isn't that the point of this band?" Pinkie grumbled before performing a little rimshot.
"OK, hold up." Ren decides to step in, "Look, I understand that fashion isn't a major factor when it comes to music, but there's nothing wrong with adding a bit of style to make the band stand out."
"Thank you! That's all I wanted to do." Rarity agreed with his points.
The conversation was then interrupted as a loud alarm came from Sunset's phone, which she checks and gasps at what she saw.
"Don't mean to interrupt, but we need to check in for the showcase in fifteen minutes!" She exclaimed.
Upon hearing this, the girls quickly started to pack their band equipment as Twilight was still processing this info. "But, the counter spell isn't ready! If we play it now and it doesn't work, the Sirens might catch on and not let us get another chance at it!"
The six stopped in their tracks as Yu answered, "Then we just have to stall until it is."
"Yeah, we'll compete in the showcase for real! I'll take over lead vocals again and since we know the Dazzlings will be going to the finals, we have to stay in the game until then." Rainbow supported his suggestion.
"That'll be enough time, right?" Twilight was a bit hesitant at Applejack's question before answering, "Yeah, no worries."
"All right! Hop on!" Morgana had already went ahead of them to change into his van form, his doors opened for the others to get in.
Twilight stayed behind as the group got their stuff in the van before Spike spoke up from beside her, "You all right?"
"I'll be honest, Spike. This spell is much harder than I thought it would be, and it's a musical spell at that. This is my first time doing something like this." Twilight admits.
"Well, they'll be giving you more time to tweak it during the showcase. And thanks to Yu, we have something to build it on." Spike did have good points, "Don't worry, you'll figure it out."
Twilight lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding, "I hope you're right."
The Battle of the Bands was about to get underway in the gymnasium with the bands in their own groups on the bleachers. In front of the stage had a table for the judges, who were the principals that walked up onto the stage with Principal Celestia holding a mic to announce the first round.
"Welcome to the first ever CHS Battle of the Bands! I think I speak for all of us that this is the greatest event we have done yet!" The students cheered in excitement as the principal continued, "And we are glad that our new students encouraged us to change the showcase into a competition!"
The Dazzlings sat up at the top bleachers as they waved at their victims that were still under their charm and felt their adoration even before the contest began. Even without their gems, they knew they already won.
"But, since this is a competition, there can only be one winner." Principal Luna reminded, sparking the negativity between the bands, "Who will reach the top?"
The students then began their bickering, letting out more of the negative energy that the Sirens still unfortunately couldn't absorb.
"By now, our powers would have been close to full. However, what we have now will suffice." Adagio had a yellow spark dance across her fingers for a moment before closing her fist.
"Still, the heat from all the tension is still nice to hear." Aria commented as she held a purple flame in her palm, blowing it out before hearing Sonata yelp.
"Cold, cold, cold!" The two saw that she tried to use her ice, which she has yet to get used to as she rubbed her hands to warm them up. "Why do you two get the warmer ones?"
"...Can't help but feel there's a pun in this." Adagio muttered before hearing the doors open.
The three sees Sunset and her friends enter the gym, looking around to see the students arguing.
"Look at that. I was wondering when the Rainbooms would show." Adagio pointed out for the other two to notice.
"I don't remember them, honestly." Aria doesn't recall seeing them before.
"Hey, does that Ren guy have a twin brother?" Sonata's question got Adagio's attention, seeing Sunset and Ren from before among the group.
"Twin?" Adagio repeated to make sure she didn't mishear her.
"Yeah. Both of them have the hair." Sonata pointed it out for them.
Aria raised an eyebrow at that, but Adagio had an intense stare right at Ren.
"The hair... she's right! That hair, that figure... those eyes." Adagio places the pieces together in her head before overlapping him with what he reminded her of.
The black coat, the red gloves, and finally... the white mask. A perfect match.
Adagio would have been livid, but controlled herself by taking deep breaths. Once she was done, she had a smirk on her face.
"I'm impressed, Sonata. You found our gem thief." Aria was either surprised at the realization or the fact that Adagio gave an actual compliment.
"Yay, I did something!" Sonata couldn't help but be glad and claps her hands together before sticking her tongue out at Aria, making the fire user tempted to burn her where she sat.
"However, this begs the question. How are they not under our spell?" Adagio wondered that since they aren't arguing.
"Something tells me those girls are different. Like we need another annoyance..." Aria commented.
"True. And the Equestrian magic we sensed is strong around them." Adagio felt the magic that brought them here where the girls were, but the boys had a different kind of magic that was unfamiliar.
While they know of Sunset and the five girls that made the Rainbooms, the other three stood out to them. Ren was the most obvious, but the gray-haired boy and the purple girl were new.
"Those boys would be quite the addiction, don't you think?" Adagio suggested.
"Not to rain on your parade, but the gems allowed us to hypnotize others." Aria reminded her, "How are you gonna do that if they're not even affected by it?"
"Maybe if we ask them nicely?" Sonata flinched at the glares she got, "Or not."
"Despite the fact that they are special, they are just as capable of falling apart as everyone else." Adagio explained, "All they need is a little push in the wrong direction."
Looking around at the other students, she notices a few glaring at the Rainbooms as they headed backstage. "And it looks like they'll be getting quite the shove."
The Battle of the Bands starts with the duo of Snips and Snails, who decided to perform raps with beatboxing for their music choice. Almost all of the gym was cringing at the 'rhymes' the two were saying. Adagio and Aria held their snickering as Pinkie and Sonata were actually liking the performance.
"At least you wrote actual lyrics." Ren whispered to Twilight, who couldn't help but hold her chuckles.
The song itself, thankfully, only lasted a minute before ending with the two literally dropping the mics like they won. The impact made everyone wince at the sharp feedback the mics emitted.
"Please do not drop the microphones." Celestia sternly warned them.
The two didn't seem to hear her as they walked backstage where the other bands were, "Yeah! In your faces, Rainbooms!" The two bragged, looking like idiots as they passed their opponents.
"Well, this is an easy start." Applejack tuned her bass as she said that offhandedly.
"All right, let's rock this place!" Rainbow was pumped about this before hearing Yu.
"Wait, where's Rarity?" The others noticed that she wasn't around before hearing her voice, "Right here!"
The group turned around to see Rarity wearing yet another outfit, making the band members only groaned in exasperation at this. She wore a tan ribbon tied around her head like a bandanna, a loosely hanging jacket with sequins and metal fringes hanging over the sleeves and the hem of the tan coat, a longer purple skirt, and light gray furred sandals.
"Sorry about that, I just had to wear something fabulous in front of the audience." She briefly explains to them.
"Of course you would." Applejack pinched the bridge of her nose at this before turning to the others, "Come on, don't wanna get disqualified now."
Yu, Ren and Sunset stayed behind as the Rainbooms went onstage. "Good luck!" Sunset called out, hoping that this will go well.
The girls got onstage with the audience looking on with disinterest as they set up their equipment. They expected to not get applause, but hoped to at least please the judges to succeed. Twilight moved the mic down with her hand covering it to talk to the others.
"Remember, we only need to get through the competition. We need to avoid showing off our magic for now until the counter spell is complete."
"Got it." Rainbow said confidently as she tunes her guitar, "Be cool enough to win, but not too much to let our ears and stuff pop up. So... about twenty percent less cooler."
"Which means eighty percent less for us." Applejack remarked, making Rainbow roll her eyes as she finishes tuning.
Once they were ready, Pinkie tapped her drumsticks together to help count down to start their song, "One! Two!"
[The Rainbooms]
We 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
So far so good as they chose a rather catchy song to start with and everyone is keeping pace with each other that the three couldn't help but tap their foot to the rhythm of the song. However, they then notice trouble coming from up above on the catwalk. Three girls were attaching two big magnets to strings and were ready to lower them down over where Rarity was.
Even though Ren can climb up onto the catwalk no problem, he wouldn't be fast enough to stop the magnets that'll connect to the metal on Rarity's outfit. Seeing no other option to prevent this, Ren suddenly jumped on stage and was able to transition to dancing in tune with the song, moving across the stage while avoiding the girls.
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!
In one swift move at the apex of the buildup, Ren leaps up in the air and swung his knife to cut the strings, catching the magnets and putting his knife away before tossing them away.
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
[Twilight]
So what, you didn't get it right the first time
"Ugh, boring." Pinkie overhears Scoutaloo call out with Sweetie adding to it, "Needs more explosions."
Unable to sate her desire for fun, she kicks one of her drums around while still playing before setting off a hidden party cannon from inside it. Ren kept his cool, but was still surprised that she even did that as Sunset and Yu were baffled at this. Knowing that the falling confetti will throw them off, Ren kept up his dancing as he grabs handfuls of the colorful shreds of paper.
[Pinkie]
Laugh it off, no one said it is a crime
[Rarity]
Do your thing, you know you're an original
[Applejack]
Your ideas are so funny that they're criminal
[The Rainbooms]
Ohhh-ahh!
Ren was quick enough to snatch a confetti in front of Twilight to prevent her breathing it in, doing a spin to play it off that she thankfully didn't see as her eyes were closed to focus on reaching the chorus. Sunset and Yu then sees movement up above again, now seeing the rapping duo again near a spotlight. Sunset was quick to get up there as the song continued.
We've 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
Sunset reached the catwalk as Snips and Snails brightens the spotlight to then shine on Fluttershy, making her succumb to stage fright before running from the light. Yu jumped in now to help out, catching Fluttershy and pulling her into a dance with him.
"Just follow my lead." Yu said to her, not noticing her blushing a bit.
Snips and Snails were annoyed at this, too focused on them before getting pulled into a headlock.
"You had your moment in the spotlight." Sunset quipped before hitting their heads against each other, knocking them out.
With them down, Sunset fixed the spotlight back to where it was as Yu and Fluttershy danced in rhythm.
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!
Ren and Yu now were part of the performance as they danced in unison with the song hitting its final verse.
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
Ren finished the song by blowing the confetti in his hands into the air, adding a bit of flair and celebrating the fact that the band managed to get through without showing off their magic while the Persona duo and Sunset prevented the sabotages from the other bands. The judges were clapping, giving them the impression that they passed as the Sirens were impressed at what has transpired.
"Improvising on the fly and are good dancers." Adagio tapped her finger on her chin as she said that to herself.
"That was very good!" Sonata clapped at their performance as Aria rolled her eyes.
"Looks like they made themselves look better." Aria muttered.
The Rainbooms smiled before seeing Yu and Ren on stage with them, "When did you two get up here?" Applejack asked the question the others were thinking, except Fluttershy.
Ren sighs as Yu answered, "We'll explain backstage."
And done! Wow, a longer chapter this time! Been awhile since that happened. Now, this kinda clarifies what changes I added.
A) Thanks to Yu's experience with the concert from P4, he manages to help out with the counter spell a bit. However, while they have the tempo and rhythm of the song, the lyrics still needs to be worked on.
B) I was annoyed with how Spike was acting during some of the movie, sounding like he was trying to build up Twilight's ego and failing massively. Here, I wanted him to be what he should have been doing, which is keeping Twilight focused and calm.
C) I always figured that the gems were the only way for them to not only have their hypnotic singing, but also absorb the negative energy. Since those are gone, the powers they have restored only a portion of their power along with a few new tricks.
D) Adagio was shown to be pretty smart compared to Aria and Sonata, so it makes sense for her to figure out the girls were somewhat the source of the Equestrian magic. However, I wanted to have a 'Smart Sonata' moment for a bit of comedy in order to have her figure out the identity of the gem thief.
E) When it came to the sabotage part, I know for a fact that Yu and Ren wouldn't just let it happen without trying to stop it. And what better way to stop them than dancing with the band?
F) True that Sunset is still reforming, but she has mentioned that she prefers hands-on approaches to things and decided to add a douse of irony with her stopping a sabotage.
Sorry about the extra info, but I want to make sure I don't confuse anyone. Anyways, thanks for reading and see ya next chapter!