Hello, fellow readers! Welcome to our grand show! Here's our guest list:
TheBeatles211: I wouldn't be surprised since the fans talk about her using 'wubs' for basic stuff like washing dishes.
All right, let's start the party!
Chapter 9: Reaching Out for the Last Surprise
The Rainbooms were held up in the storage room under the stage as the finals for the Battle of the Bands went underway. They heard Trixie's band play their song as Rainbow slammed her shoulder into the door for who knows how many times, rubbing it soon after as Applejack spoke up.
"Give it up, Rainbow. You've been trying that for hours, it's not gonna open." She wasn't wrong about that since they were still trapped.
Rainbow continued rubbing her shoulder as her words settled in a bit before Twilight spoke, "It doesn't matter now. The counter spell wouldn't have worked anyways."
Applejack got up to her feet after hearing that, "What are you talking about? Of course it would have, if a certain band member would stop hogging the spotlight."
"Hey, if you wanna tell Twilight that she was getting too focused on being the new lead of this band, you don't have to be all cryptic about it." Rainbow tried to defend herself from her accusation.
However, it only confused and annoyed the others as Rarity stepped in, "You know she's talking about you, Rainbow."
"Me!? I'm just making sure MY band rocks as hard as it needs to."
Her words seemed to be the last straw as the four girls shouted to the equivalent of a bomb going off, "OUR BAND!"
Twilight sat in the corner as Sunset observed what was going down around her, "I only had to write down words to the song. When did writing words become so difficult?" She told herself.
Sunset then had her attention towards the others as Applejack spoke, "It might have been YOUR idea from the beginning, but it ain't just YOUR band, Rainbow!"
"Really!? I write all the songs!" Again, Rainbow tried to prove her point, only to get proven otherwise.
"I write songs, too! You just always want to play yours instead!" The fact that Fluttershy was annoyed at this says a lot.
"And I had the perfect outfits for us to wear!" Rarity's statement seemed to have really ticked off Applejack now.
"Again, with the costumes! NO ONE cares what we're wearing!" She shouted at the top of her lungs at her.
"I DO, Applejack! Sorry if I'm trying to make a creative contribution to the band!" Rarity retorts right back.
Pinkie then popped up in between the four as she spoke, "HEY, anyone remembers having fun!? I'll give you a hint! It's the EXACT OPPOSITE of this!"
"I wished I never asked ANY of you to be in my band!" Rainbow shouted.
"I wished I never AGREED to being in it!" Rarity shouted right back.
Sunset only watched as the argument escalated, the five shouted at each other as she saw something that filled her with dread. Magical mist similar to the one from the students started to come out from them, rising up to the roof and going through the cracks of the doors above.
"No, no, no!" Sunset muttered to herself as she looked around, wanting to find something to break up their argument.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much to use that would be effective, leaving her to having to resort to simply shouting louder than them.
"ENOUGH!" Sunset's outburst was thankfully able to get their attention, "This is what they've been after all along! They wanted to get your magic!"
"Wait, Ah thought we were immune to their magic. How are they taking it now?" Applejack was just as confused as the others.
Twilight watched as Sunset spoke, "Ever since you started this band, you've been letting small things get to you guys. I never said anything because I didn't think I had a say in this. Especially since I'm still new to actually having friends. Even when Yu told me that everyone matters, I just couldn't muster up the courage to say something."
The girls listened as she continued, "Now, I do know that you need to deal with the problems right when they show up or it will build up and make even our magic into something else entirely."
Her words were setting in to the others as Twilight got up to her feet and walked over, "I can't believe all this tension was happening right in front of me and I didn't even notice it. I'm supposed to have all the answers to solve our problems, but all I felt like I was doing was letting you down."
She then felt Sunset place a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention. "I'm starting to see what he means now. No one has all the answers, but you can count on others to help find them."
Rainbow rubs the back of her neck as she spoke up, "I should apologize. I call myself the leader of the band, only to prove that I'm anything but. Ren told me that losing is part of the entire competitive thing, which may be a way of saying that I should stop hogging the limelight."
Following her example, Applejack removes her hat and holds it near her chest. "Since we're coming clean about this, I should say sorry too. I always thought a band was just about making music, but it seems that there is more to it than just sounding good."
"I didn't mean to annoy you with all that talk about our outfits." Rarity said before taking Applejack's hat and placing it back on her head, "I just wanted to help define our own style as a group."
"I just wanted to write songs to give us something meaningful to share for anyone that listens to our music." Fluttershy chimed in.
"And creativity helped made this fun to begin with! That is all I ever wanted with you guys!" Pinkie chimed in with a big smile, pulling the four into a big hug.
"See? They found their answers, now to solve the bigger picture." Sunset told Twilight.
Her little speech seemed to have got them back on track as Twilight agreed, "I think you already have. Come on, we need to get out of here!"
The girls then pushed on the door with their combined weight, hoping to open it this time only to fall to the floor. Right after that, they heard a knock at the door before it swung open, revealing Yu and Ren with Spike and Morgana at their feet.
"Please tell me this was a 'pull, not push' situation." Ren joked, getting Rainbow facepalming to confirm it.
"There you guys are!" Twilight said as they got up to their feet.
"Sorry about the wait, we had to make a parking space." Yu mentioned to their confusion.
"Didn't you come here with the Monamobile?" Pinkie questioned.
"Not this time. We got another ride." Ren then moves over to reveal Vinyl behind him, "Sup?" She greeted.
The girls waved back at her before Spike spoke up, "Hoped you girls played nice while we were gone."
"Don't worry, we worked it out." Twilight reassured him.
"All right, y'all. We still got a chance to take down the Sirens." Applejack said.
"And there's only one way to do it." Twilight added.
"Yay, the band is back together!" Pinkie squealed in excitement.
"We're getting our band back together." Rainbow corrected.
"But wait, what about the counter spell?" Rarity did bring a good point.
"I know now that it doesn't matter what song we use, just as long as we give our all." Twilight answered.
"And I know just the one." Rainbow then looks at Fluttershy, "It's your spotlight now."
Fluttershy smiled wide as she lets out a cute little coo sound, "Yay."
"And since we're about to save the world here, Ah think we should do it in style." Applejack suggested to Rarity.
"All right, now we're talking." Ren agreed with.
"I thought you would never ask!" Rarity pulls out her magical mobile hanger with the attire she has chosen for them.
"Once you've changed, we've got the car and equipment on the hill nearby." Yu told them.
"Wait, was that what you meant?" Sunset recalls them saying they had to 'make' a space.
"Yup. Right across the stage too." Ren confirms, "Now, get changing and let's go."
The Dazzlings stood backstage with new outfits for the finals and their gems back on their necklaces, savoring the absorption of the vast negative energy built up from the entire day of musical numbers as Trixie's band was finishing up their song.
[Trixie]
Ya better believe
I got tricks up my sleeves
See me dominate
Cause I'm powerful and grea-ea-at!
The group then ended the song with a burst of fireworks in the sky above, making the crowd applaud their performance. They then took their leave, passing by the Dazzlings on their way out.
"Try and top that." Trixie mocked the fact that they could.
"Oh gosh, I don't think we can." Adagio sarcastically said back.
The three let out a small laugh soon after, with Adagio stopping themselves as she notices the more potent magic mist coming from under the stage through the closed doors. The three smile at each other for step one of their plan was finally complete.
"Showtime, girls." Adagio simply said before their set began.
A low hypnotic beat rang out as the crowd looks at the stage, watching the Dazzlings enter as the magical mist was getting absorbed into their gems. Their song begins with a simple vocal warm-up along with slow intricate dancing to entertain the audience. Now, the magical mist from the school went across the sky towards them like clouds as they officially started their song.
[Adagio]
Welcome to the show
[Aria and Sonata]
Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah
[Adagio]
We're here to let you know
[Aria and Sonata]
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
[Adagio]
Our time is now
[Aria and Sonata]
Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah
[The Dazzlings]
Your time is running out
Ah-ah-ah
The Rainbooms arrives at the hill Yu and Ren mentioned earlier, now in their new attire and instruments in hand as they see what is happening down below. Morgana was in his bipedal form as Sunset and Spike stood on the sidelines.
"All right, time to fight fire with fire!" Rainbow declared.
The group turns around to see Vinyl's vehicle with Yu and Ren next to it on each side as she pressed a button and transformed her car into practically a DJ booth, surprising them.
"That is awesome." Ren was the first to compliment it as the others got their equipment set up with the booth.
Ren changed into Joker as Yu simply put on his glasses, most likely out of habit, when they see the Dazzlings continue their song.
[The Dazzlings]
Feel the wave of sound
As it crashes down
A red sound wave was unleashed as the gems glow brighter when the rest of the magical mist was absorbed into them, signifying their power was restored. The wave flowed through the crowd, putting them in a deeper trance to focus on them as the three hovered into the air and started to transform.
You can't turn away
We'll make you want to sta-a-a-ay
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
Shattering the red veil that covered them reveals their appearances has changed a bit. Equine ears on their heads, longer ponytails to look like... tails, and fins resembling wings on their backs with a dark aura surrounding them as they were combining their powers with their new ones. Their eyes were the ominous yellow of the Shadows as they smiled with glee at their full power.
With their equipment set up and their instruments in hand, Twilight with a microphone along with Yu and Joker having one as well for the extra boost, Pinkie started the song with a rapid riff, getting the attention of the Sirens as they saw the group on the hill.
[The Rainbooms, Yu, Joker]
Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh
I've got the music in me
Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh
[Twilight]
Don't need to hear a crowd
Cheering out my name
I didn't come here seeking
Infamy or fame
[The Rainbooms, Yu, Joker]
The one and only thing
That I'm here to bring
Is music, is the music
Is the music in my soul
A white light channeled through the girls as they transformed into their pony forms, along with some extra colors combined into their hair, before hovering into the air to shine, their song getting the attention of the crowd to show it was working.
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
The Dazzlings had a confident grin on their faces as they watched them, "So, the Rainbooms wanna make this an actual Battle of the Bands? Then let it begin." Adagio wasn't impressed as the three continued their song.
[The Dazzlings]
What we have in store (Ah-ah)
All we want and more (Ah-ah)
Their song got the crowd's attention again, putting them under their power once more as their gems glowed brightly.
We will break on through (Ah-ah)
Now it's time to finish you!
Their eyes then glowed red with yellow pupils as an energy wave channeled through them before sending a ripple effect throughout, going past the Rainbooms as they see them summon creatures from their gems into the sky above. Fins, scales, hooved forelegs and all along with an gem embedded in their chests described their appearances well. The only difference between them were the colors that represented the human forms they came from.
"So, they revealed their true forms." Joker quipped as Mona hopped onto the speakers above Vinyl.
"If that's the game they want to play, then challenge accepted!" Mona called out.
The trio summoned their Personas to fight, rising into the sky as the Sirens flew circles around the group. Zorro stood on a platform of wind as Sonata circled around him, Izanagi readied his spear as Aria stares him down, and Arsene hovered up to where Adagio was to get her attention. After only a moment, Joker was the first one to pull a move.
"Rebellion!"
A purple stream of energy swirled around the entire group before entering Twilight, giving her a boost in her magic. Seeing the Sirens group up in front of them, Pinkie jumps at the opportunity as she rapidly hits the drums, sending rainbow-colored sonic waves from the large speakers behind them. The Sirens quickly separated to avoid the attack with the rest of the group following up with their own attacks.
Rarity moved her fingers across the keys before waving her arm out to conjure a swarm of diamonds along with Yu joining up with his own.
"Maziodyne!"
The lightning from Izanagi entered the diamonds as they flew towards Aria, exploding with sparks on impact.
Fluttershy keeps the momentum going as she shakes her tambourine, creating pink butterflies around her as Mona joins her in the attack.
"Magarudyne!"
Small tornadoes swirls around her as she fires the butterflies at Sonata, the tornadoes then forming into one that surrounded the siren as the butterflies swarmed her.
Going for the lucky three, Twilight sung herself a long note as the boost took effect, creating a large wave of white stars to land the final blow. Not one to back down, Adagio channeled the Shadow powers into her true form as she sung a long note herself, unleashing the red sound waves from before to challenge Twilight's attack.
The waves collided, struggling to even budge against each other as Twilight and Adagio held their notes, going higher and higher in pinch to amplify the waves. The group tried to stand their ground as Aria and Sonata were trying to prevent themselves from flying off behind Adagio, the two waves echoing through the sky before finally reaching their peak. The colliding energies burst, stunning both parties as the waves shook their surroundings like an earthquake.
Rainbow was one of the first to recover and plays a sick riff that Yu follows up on, sending Izanagi up at Adagio with unbelievable speed. She tries to retaliate by firing a beam of lightning right at the Persona-
"Cross..."
Only for Izanagi to deliver a powerful horizontal slash that slices through the beam and hits Adagio dead on right before he held his spear with both hands.
"SLASH!"
Izanagi brought the spear down upon his opponent, the two trails of rainbow-colored electricity forming a cross around him for a second before dispersing, sending the yellow siren flying.
Aria channeled her Shadow powers into her true form before letting out a wave of flames into the sky, causing fireballs to eventually rain down upon the group. However, Applejack noticed this and plays an intense riff on her bass, which Mona follows up on.
"I'm feeling lucky!" He quipped before Zorro unleashes his attack.
The fireballs were met with a large barrage of boxing spring gloves, launching out to cancel the opponent's attack as the resulting explosions left a cloud of smoke in its place, only for one last boxing glove to come through and hit its target straight in the jaw, leaving a spinning lavender siren stunned.
Sonata had already channeled her Shadow powers into her true form earlier, flying upwards high enough to get a surprise attack in as she blows a massive cloud of snow at the group. Noticing the sudden chill, they look up to see it as Joker was the first to react.
"Arsene!"
Sending his Persona in the cloud's path, Arsene held his arms out as a dark glow emitted from his hands. To everyone else's surprise, the Persona actually absorbed the attack into himself, getting a big boost in exchange.
The group sees the Sirens trying to group back up in front, most likely for a team attack of their own, as Pinkie mashed her drums like crazy, sending pink-colored sonic waves towards them. Seeing this opportunity, Joker takes it as he joins the attack.
"Megido!"
Summoning energy orbs behind the Sirens adjacent to the waves, the two attacks collided into the three as fireworks burst upon impact until only a thick cloud of smoke remained in its wake.
Silence was met as the band looked on, seeing the Dazzlings back on the ground and appearing to be worn out from the onslaught of attacks. The Persona users felt something was off, knowing that there must be one last trick left. The only question is... where?
Just as that question hit them, the Dazzlings seem to have gotten a second wind as they rise back up into the air, letting out a horrifying shriek as the smoke cloud vanished instantly from the red sound waves the Sirens were unleashing at once. Not quick enough to counter it in time, the group had to endure it as the red sound waves hit them hard. They tried to keep their balance, only for the final wave to ripple through, sending them off the ground.
Twilight lost grip on her mic as it flew off, flipping in the air before hitting the ground and rolling until it hits a boot. Sunset and Spike were knocked off balance by the attack too as they were recovering. Noticing the mic by her foot, she grabbed it and held it for a moment.
She looks at the band, still stunned after that last attack and slowly getting up to their feet, and looks back at the mic. Knowing what she has to do, she held the mic tight as she got up to her feet.
Twilight was still shaking off that last attack, her vision still being a bit blurry as she tried to focus on the enemy. Still feeling the aftereffects, she shook her head before noticing a figure walking up to stand in front of her. Even with her back towards her, she recognized the hair that resembles a flame.
"Sunset?" Her thoughts echoed what she saw as Sunset removed her jacket and tossed it aside.
Vinyl notices the newcomer and starts up the song again as triumphant beats were heard through the speakers.
[Sunset]
You're never gonna bring me down
You're never gonna break this part of me
My friends are here to bring me around
Not singing just for popularity
As if words can heal, the entire group felt a sudden second wind of their own as they got back up to their feet. The Persona users then started to feel a familiar power inside them as Twilight joined Sunset in the singing.
[Sunset and Twilight]
We're here to let you know
That we won't let it go
[The Rainbooms]
Our music is a bomb and it's about to blow
[Sunset and Twilight]
And you can try to fight
But we got the light of
[The Rainbooms]
Friendship on our side!
The Sirens tried to stop them, lunging at the group as the Personas appeared by their users and the volume of the song went to the max.
Got the music in our hearts
We're here to blow this thing apart
And together, we will never
Be afraid of the dark
The duo swiped their hands to the side as the Personas glowed with a shining light, releasing a powerful shockwave that send the Sirens flying back at the amphitheater as it hits the Dazzlings and the crowd in one shot. The girls on stage stared at themselves in horror, their power now waning as they floated back down and their eyes reverting back to normal. The crowd turns to where the music is coming from, seeing the Rainbooms and the Personas floating above them.
"Our powers..." Adagio refused to believe what had just happened, "How!?"
The three only looked on as the band on the hill continued their song. They then noticed that the Personas were not the same, but in fact had transformed themselves.
Above Joker is now what can best be described as the devil, a golden mask with horns and red eyes, silver armor, six black demonic wings and holds what appears to be a gun in his right hand. Joker smiled devilishly as he said the name, "Satanael!"
Above Yu is now a super form of Izanagi, a white mask with a matching long white coat as he held a large twin-bladed spear with a large yellow circle guard attached to the long handle in between. Yu had a confident smile as he said the name, "Izanagi-no-Okami!"
Above Mona is a humanoid being decked in a blue jumpsuit with a mask that has a split-visor of red wings, golden boots with two large blue feathered wings attached to them and holds a golden staff with wings as the head. Mona stood proudly as he said the name, "Mercurius!"
As if that wasn't enough, a yellow glow appears around Sunset as she started to float.
Here to sing our song out loud
Get you dancing with the crowd
Within the glow, she gained a pony form of her own, equine ears on her head and her hair extended to a makeshift tail. As if now, she is able to stand on her feet confidently with nothing holding her back as her friends floated up in the air too.
As the music of our friendship
Survives, survives!
Now, the crowd joined in with the song as the Personas glowed along with the Rainbooms as they floated into the air as well. Streams of energy flowed from the girls, each one their respective color, into the clouds above as the Personas used their attacks.
"Myriad Truths!"
"Sinful Shell!"
"Garudyne!"
Izanagi-no-Okami spun his spear in a complete circle before raising it up, sending a beam of light skyward.
Satanael aimed his gun into the sky above as well, firing a single bullet of pure energy.
Mercurius summons a massive tornado that follows the rainbow stream like it had an orbit.
The lights then combined to form a large sphere that had the energy swirling inside as it then unfurled large wings created by the winds of the tornado.
[Everyone]
Got the music in our hearts
We're here to blow this place apart
And together, we will never
Be afraid of the dark
Here to sing our song out loud
Get you dancing with the crowd
The Dazzlings only looked on in horror as their worlds came crashing down, witnessing the sphere in the clouds emerge as a gigantic alicorn with a long flowing rainbow for its mane and tail.
As the music of our friendship
Survives, survives, survives!
At the apex of the final lines, the alicorn channels the magic into its horn before unleashing a powerful beam of light down upon both the Sirens and the Dazzlings, hitting with the equivalent of a Megidolaon spell as the Sirens and the gems shattered at once. The blast itself shined brightly for a few seconds before dimming down entirely. Silence was the only thing as the dust settled from the aftermath, until a voice was heard.
"Now THAT was a showstopper!" Vinyl was the first to cheer as the crowd followed suit.
The Persona trio were breathing heavily after using their ultimate personas, getting back up on their feet as the girls cheered for their victory with the alicorn fading away. The magic from it goes back into the group as the girls' pony forms disappeared along with it.
Twilight was the first one to speak after their small celebration, "That was amazing, Sunset!"
"T-Thanks." Sunset had a small smile at the compliment, "I didn't expect the transformation, though."
"You're one of us now, darling!" Rarity joined in as she gave Sunset a little hug.
The others congratulated her as she was officially apart of the group with Yu watching with a smile of his own, still a bit worn out from the battle.
"She kept her word." Joker walked up to him as Mona was riding on his shoulder.
"Well, the girls didn't slouch either." Yu gave some credit to the other six, knowing that they helped set Sunset on the right path.
"While that is great to hear..." Mona pointed his paw out for the two to follow, "We still have to wrap this up."
The three sees the Dazzlings knocked out on the stage below, their gems shattered on the ground in front of them.
"Hey, girls." Spike spoke up to get their attention, "Save it for later."
"Yeah, let's close the curtains on this show." Joker lead the way as they made their way to the stage.
And done! Couldn't agree more, my friend. No joke when I say this chapter was what I was waiting for awhile. Ever since I started this story, I had a vivid idea of how I wanted this fight to go down and I finally wrote it!
For the battle theme, I was honestly just thinking of "Welcome to the Show" slightly extended to fit the length of this battle.
Also, just for fun, I made names for the team attacks:
Rarity and Yu: Diamond Lightning
Fluttershy and Mona: Butterfly Spiral
Twilight and Joker: Rebellious Star
Rainbow and Yu: Crossing Rainbooms
Applejack and Mona: Buck-Punch Barrage
Pinkie and Joker: Firework Surprise
And here are the moves the Dazzlings/Sirens had:
Adagio: Zio, Mazio, Marin Karin/ Sonic Wave, Ziodyne
Aria: Agi, Maragi, Marin Karin/ Sonic Wave, Maragion
Sonata: Bufu, Mabufu, Marin Karin/ Sonic Wave, Mabufula
With all that, see ya next chapter!