The crowd cheers Trixie's performance again. "Well, the fireworks are a nice touch." I notice the Dazzlings glaring at me. "What? I didn't say the song was good."

"Actually, I do kinda like the fireworks," Sonata says.

Aria facepalms. "Geez, it's like there's two of her..."

"Try to top that!" ...Seriously? Has she even heard us so far?

"Oh, gosh!" Adagio says sarcastically. "I don't know if we can!" All of us laugh.

I sit at the drumset. This is it. The final round. Five minutes away from getting back at this school, according to the Dazzlings. I notice green mist rising from below the stage. Was that seriously all it took to break the Rainbooms?

Following a count-in, I begin playing as the pre-recorded music starts and the Dazzlings walk on-stage. They start with a vocalizing section. After about a minute, I notice they're still doing the same thing. Shouldn't we have moved to the verse by now? The green mist continues to flow into the Dazzlings' pendants. Hm... Maybe they're waiting until they have enough power.

As we finally reach the verse, I notice there's no mist rising through the stage anymore.

On the line "Feel the wave of sound as it crashes down", a couple red sound waves fly up and back down onto the crowd. When we reach the chorus, they start floating in the air and are surrounded by red auras. Their hair grows longer, they get wings... Wings that looks like bat wings... and ears... Ears like the ones that started to appear on Rainbow Dash. Are these their true forms?

Suddenly, I hear another band start playing. On the hill in the back, it's... the Rainbooms?!

I yell to the Dazzlings over the singing. "I thought they were trapped!"

"Not a problem," Adagio says. "We have more than enough power to eliminate them, now!"

"Eliminate? Don't you think that's a bit extreme?"

"They're standing in our way! Do you want the school to respect you or not?!"

I notice the Rainbooms going through the same type of transformation as the Dazzlings did.

It's for the best. "Let's take 'em down!"

I immediately start playing. "So the Rainbooms want to turn this into a real Battle of the Bands?" Adagio says. "Then let's battle!"

What we have in store
All we want and more
We will break on through
Now it's time to finish you!

Suddenly, a trio of dragon-type creatures with hooves and mermaid-type tails rush out from the Dazzlings. These must be their true forms! They fly around the Rainbooms, then rush at them. The Rainbooms try to retaliate with their own music, including a vocalization from the purple girl with wings. Adagio retaliates with her own, and then the other two join in. They're successfully able to knock the microphone out of her hands.

I stop playing, and Shimmer picks up the mic. Yes! We've done it! This school is ours!

"Wait a minute..." I talk quietly to myself. "If we end up ruling the school... Wouldn't everything go back to the way it was before the Fall Formal? Four people using fear to get what we want?" I shake my head. "No. I'm not like her. We're doing this to make the school better. ...Right?"

She removes her jacket, and a drum beat plays. She starts singing. After a few lines, she picks up the purple girl, who joins Shimmer on vocals. The Dazzlings rush in.

Somehow, the Rainbooms are able to unleash a rainbow shockwave and blow the Dazzlings back. Shimmer starts hovering, and undergoes the same transformation as the rest of the band, who all join her in the air. A rainbow rushes into the clouds and merges to form a... sphere of energy with wings.

The crowd is free of the Dazzlings's control. The energy sphere forms a... It's a... A unicorn with wings. It blasts both forms of the Dazzlings with a beam of light, and I can barely see their pendants crack and break.

As the light fades, I look at the drumset, not caring about anything else. We've lost...

We will be adored
Tell us that you want us
We won't be ignored...

And now they suck... I hear them get booed off-stage.

I can hear the Rainbooms rush on-stage.

Well, now my school life is over. Hell, my entire life is pretty much over. I went from being tormented to being completely hated. I'll forever be associated with the sirens. Maybe I should just move away. It worked for my girlfriend...

"So, let me guess. You three were ponies?"

Adagio scoffs. "Yeah, right... We were what they call the sirens."

Sirens? "You mean like the mythical creatures that would lure sailors to their deaths with their singing?"

"Not quite," Aria says. "Our singing would cause the ponies to start fighting with each other, and we feed off of that hatred and distrust." Okay, now it's making a bit more sense...

"Until that stupid Star Swirl the Bearded banished us to this place..." Sonata angrily says.

Why did I stay with them after that? Hell, why did I agree to join them in the first place? I've seen enough movies to know the bad guys always lose. I guess I hated the students so much, I was blind to common sense. I feel myself start to cry.

I hear footsteps approaching. "Hey there..."

It's Sunset Shimmer. I can't bring myself to look up. "Go ahead. Rub it in. I deserve it."

She sighs. "Listen..." She puts a hand on my shoulder. "When I said I was sorry, I truly meant it. I really have changed."

I sniffle. "I just wanted everybody to stop bullying me... I've wanted it ever since that day..." I wipe my eyes and look up at her. "When the sirens came to me and said they could help, I wasn't sure they could actually do anything. Saying they'd get back at you as well was what tipped the scales. Even now, I still want to hate you. I want to hate you even more for getting in my way and further ruining my school life. But I know you had nothing to do with it. It's nobody's fault except my own..."

"It's not your fault," the purple girl says. "The sirens were manipulating you."

"It doesn't matter now... Everyone has an actual reason to hate me."

"Don't you have any friends?" Sunset asks.

"No. I had a couple at the start of the year, but when you told everyone I was dating her, they wanted nothing to do with me."

"Some friends they were," I hear Rainbow say.

"Well... If you forgive me," Sunset says, "maybe I could be your friend."

Sunset Shimmer being my friend, huh? Hm...

I've heard rumors that she changed her ways after the Fall Formal, but I've always thought that was a bunch of crap. There's no way somebody who's ruled the school since her freshman year could suddenly become nice.

And yet... And yet, I just saw her help defeat the sirens.

Maybe she has changed.

I smile. "Sure. I think I'd like that." I stand up, and we shake hands. "I'm keeping a close watch on you, though. Better not try anything funny again."

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Is... that a yes?

"Ooh, a Pinkie Promise!" Pinkie says. "She definitely means it."

"Okay then... Can you get the students to not resent me?"

"I'll do my best," Sunset says, "but it might take a while. It wasn't until tonight that I was still hated."

I look at the other girls. "What about all of you? Can I be friends with you girls as well?"

They smile.

"Sure!"

"Absolutely."

"Of course!"

Oh, right. "I just remembered, we haven't actually been introduced. My name's Cloudflare. I like video games, I play the drums, and I'm the most-hated kid in school." I say that with a smile, trying not to let it bother me.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle," the purple girl says. "I'm a pony princess from the land of Equestria."

"If the Dazzlings didn't tell me who they were, I'd find that a little hard to believe."

Her dog jumps onto her shoulder. "And this is Spike."

"Pleased to meet'cha." Did that dog just...?

"A talking dog... Sure, why not? Not like this week can get any stranger..."

"Name's Applejack," the girl with the cowboy hat says. "Bass player for the Rainbooms and one of the most honest people you'll ever meet."

"I'm Pinkie Pie. Drummer and member of the official CHS event planning committee."

"I am Rarity," the other purple-haired girl says. "I play the keytar and design fabulous outfits for the Rainbooms."

"Um... I'm... Flutt..." The other pink-haired girl trails off.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Flu... Flu...hy..." She seems nervous.

"One more time?"

She takes a deep breath. "I'm... Fluttershy... I, um... I play the tambourine, and I love animals."

"And I'm Rainbow Dash! Captain of the CHS soccer team, lead singer and guitarist for the Rainbooms, and totally awesome!"

Yeah, I figured that from their song. "Man, this has been an interesting week. I've probably had more fun the past couple days than the... entire..." Of course! "I just realized... Joining the Dazzlings was probably the best thing I could've done."

"What?! You're not serious, are you?" Rarity asks.

"Before yesterday, I had nothing. Every day, students would bully me, either physically or verbally. I was actually considering dropping out just so I wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. I probably made the teasing worse..." I smile. "but at least now I have seven friends who will stand by me." They smile as well.

...Oh, who am I kidding? I'm gonna be eaten alive. I have to try to do something about this. Some of the crowd is still here. "Can I have a mic?" Rainbow looks on the side of the stage and finds one. She hands it to me.

I tap the mic to make sure it's on. "Um, excuse me. Everyone? Can I have your attention, please?"

Immediately, I'm met with a chorus of boos.

I speak a little louder. "I know, I deserve it. Please, just let me explain myself." They quiet down. "When Sunset Shimmer told everybody who I was dating, I thought my school life was effectively over. Most of you laughed at me, some would tease me, and a couple of you even beat me up. I was ready to drop out. Then yesterday, the Dazzlings showed up. While all of you were being manipulated by their songs, I wasn't affected. I think the hatred towards the entire student body that was bottled up inside me was able to shield me from their magic. The Dazzlings seem to have picked up on this, and they tricked me into thinking that by siding with them, they'd help make everyone stop degrading me."

"He's not the one at fault." I look to my left and see Sunset with her own mic. "I know more than anyone that he doesn't have a single mean bone in his body. After I revealed his secret relationship to the school - again, I apologize - he looked really depressed every time I saw him. He didn't even lash out at anyone."

"I thought you said you didn't remember me."

"I didn't, but I still saw you in the halls." She turns her attention back to the crowd. "The Dazzlings were manipulating him, just like they manipulated all of you."

"I forgave Sunset for what she did to me, and I forgive the students who talked me down all these months. I can only hope that you'll forgive me as well. If I have to grow pony ears and help take down the next evil entity that threatens the school for that to happen, then so be it."

Speaking of evil entities, there's one thing about all of this I don't understand. I hope they haven't gone too far. I drop the microphone and run off-stage.

"Hey, you're not supposed to drop the mics!"

I find the Dazzlings on the sidewalk closest to the stage. "Hello, Dazzlings."

They turn their attention to me. "What do you want?" Adagio says, irritated.

"I have one more question. After this, I'll leave you alone forever."

Aria sighs. "Fine, but make it quick."

"Why did you recruit me? According to you, I'm just a normal person with no magic."

"Correct," Adagio says. "You are a normal person with no magic, just like almost everybody at that school."

Really? "I don't understand. Why did you say everyone had magic in them?"

"What we sensed was hatred and negativity. Everyone, whether they're from Equestria or this world, has some of both within them, but yours was the strongest we've ever sensed from one pony or person. For some reason, we weren't able to feed off of it in the same way as the others. We wanted to try getting ahold of it directly by taking advantage of whatever was causing it."

"Which paid off," Aria says. "As we found out, we were able to take in that hatred by touching you."

"So every time you were holding onto my shoulders..."

"That's right."

"I kinda liked it," Sonata says.

"The feeding or the touching?"

"Both!"

...

Awkward...

"Um... Right... So since you didn't really need me, what were you going to do with me if your plan succeeded?"

"Our plan wasn't to get just the school to adore us," Adagio says. "When we were done with CHS, we were going to spread our dark magic across the entire town, and eventually the world. After we took down the Rainbooms, we'd kick you out. After all, what use would the sirens have for someone like you at that point? You might have a lot of distrust, but we could get far more from thousands of people at once."

And the truth is out. "I see..." I turn around and start to leave.

Perhaps I should tell them.

I face them again. "Oh, and thanks for letting me join."

"Huh?"

"If it weren't for you recruiting me, my life would still be miserable. Because of all this, I've made up with Sunset Shimmer and I actually have friends again. Yes, the entire school probably hates me now, and my attempts to ease their anger likely failed, but that's a small price to pay." I walk toward them. "I'd ask you to be my friends as well, but I doubt any of you know anything about friendship." I focus my gaze on Sonata, and I smile. "It's a shame, Sonata Dusk. I feel you and I could've been great friends." Her expression remains unchanged. I turn around. "Oh well. Too bad! So sad!" I walk back to the stage.

I return to the stage. Much of the crowd has dispersed.

"What was that all about?" Sunset asks.

"Just had to tie up some loose ends," I say. I yawn. "Man, what a day. All this being evil seems to have tired me out."

"Yeah, it is gettin' kinda late," Applejack says.

"Why don't you stay with us tonight?" Pinkie asks. "We're having another sleepover."

"Uh..." Hanging out with seven girls in their sleepwear? A scenario a lot of guys would love to be in, but... "I think I'll pass. I just wanna go to sleep for the night. Maybe some other time."

"Aw, come on... Please?"

...

Now that I think about it, why not? They're just friends. "Okay..."

"WOO-HOO!" Gah, ears!

"Yeah..." I think my hearing's still intact. "I need my sleep clothes, though. Give me the address and I'll be over as soon as I can."