CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
There was no time to waste. Twilight quickly explained what Princess Celestia had told her in the Place Between Worlds, and Corey and Laney listened, more or less. The orange unicorn could feel his friend twitching next to him as if she couldn't wait to get back out into the battle.
"...luckily, if we play to Trixie's weaknesses, we might be able to distract her long enough for Rainbow Dash and me to run back to Ponyville and get the Elements of Harmony," Twilight finished, her eyes blazing almost as brightly as Laney's. "All you need to do is get that heart-song taken care of, and we'll be golden."
"There's only one thing wrong with that," Laney said, her tail flicking restlessly. "Core here has never written a good set of lyrics in his life."
It didn't matter that she'd said anything, though, since Twilight had already jumped out of the bush to inform everyone else of the plan.
Laney turned to Corey, who felt a tingle run up his spine. He figured it had to do with the kiss they'd shared just a couple minutes earlier. He tried to force down the awkward feelings he was feeling and focus on the task at hand. Er, hoof. "Corey, you'll actually have to write lyrics this time. There's no way to steal them from Trina because technically she's on the winning side right now," the green mare said.
"Plus, they have to come from the heart, and I'm not sure Trina has one," Corey replied. He flattened his ears as a particularly large boom resonated through the clearing. "But the thing is, even the crappy lyrics I've written took ages to think up! How am I supposed to make some pop out of my brain in just a few minutes to fight Trixie?"
A head poked through the leafy wall. It was Kin. "Not to interrupt your lovey-dovey moment, but we have a problem out here!" he said, waving a hoof in Corey's face. "Twilight says you have to make up some lyrics – and fast!"
Laney leapt lightly out of the bush, and Corey followed her, shaking twigs from his mane and beanie. The clearing was a mess. Bits of rock and tree branch were strewn everywhere, accompanied by a thin coat of dust that seemed to cover everything in sight. Pinkie Pie bounced about with a vine in her mouth trying to trip Trixie up, but it wasn't doing much good. Corey grit his teeth. "Kin, what do I do? I can't write lyrics worth anything! Trixie's gonna win, and I'll lose Laney again…"
"Thereisnotimeforthat! Try to think of some words, any words!" Kin blurted out, running in place nervously as Trixie's head twisted in the band's direction.
"Uh…I wish away my wishes!" Corey yelled, panicking.
"Corey, we already wrote those! What else you got?" Laney yelled back. She charged her horn and sent a blast at Trixie's backside, causing her to shriek in pain.
"Giggle…at the…ghosties?" Corey tried.
"Not even ours!" shouted Kon.
"Come onnnnn!" shrieked Kin.
"I am trying! It is hard to think under this kind of pressure!" Corey snapped.
"You're usually great at thinking under pressure!"
"This is different!" Corey glanced one more time at the battle – Pinkie was dancing around Trixie while Laney and Rarity sent magical blasts at the pale blue mare – and then squeezed his eyes shut. Come on, Corey Riffin, think think THINK…
His mind stayed, unfortunately, blank.
"From the heart, from the heart…"
Rarity sent another blast of blue energy at Trixie, then came galloping over to the band. "How's the song coming?" she asked as she hefted a rock in her aura.
"It's not," Kin growled.
"I suck at this, okay? Lyrics are something I suck at," Corey retorted. "I'm trying my best though. Now shut up and let me think!"
Rarity lobbed the rock in the general direction of the action. "Try to calm down! I understand, a heart-song is no easy task. You need have the right emotions at the right moment to make one happen. My friends and I are only so good at it because we're connected to the Elements of Harmony," she said, giving Corey a quick pat on the shoulder. "You just give it a few moments and something's sure to come along."
Corey felt a trickle of sweat drip down his face and risked another glance at Laney. The music was starting to leak from her body again, and she swooped into the air to dive-bomb Trixie and Trina.
"Twilight and Rainbow Dash are headed for Ponyville, so it's only a matter of time," Rarity said. "Come on, believe in yourself!"
"You can do it, Corey!" Kon cheered.
Corey strained his brain again, but nothing jumped out at him. He kept getting distracted by other thoughts; thoughts of being utterly destroyed by Trixie, thoughts of submitting to Trina's diabolical will, thoughts of his lips pressing up against Laney's… Sweet mother of God, how the heck am I gonna do this?
"We'll try to help, dear," Rarity said quickly when Corey didn't answer. "Twilight said the song had to come from the heart of the band, so try thinking about what's at the center of the band that connects all of yooooOOOH!"
Kin leapt ten feet into the air. "What is it? Whatdidyoufigureout?"
The white unicorn turned to Corey with a glittering smile on her face. "The heart of Grojband! Corey, it doesn't mean that the lyrics have to come from your heart, specifically – it means, the LITERAL heart of Grojband!"
Corey swore he heard a squee as Rarity finished her sentence.
"Who is it who brought your band together?"
Taken aback by the question, Corey had to think for a minute. "Uh…me?"
"No, no no no." Rarity paused for a minute to pick up another rock and aim it at Trixie. "I meant, who gave you the idea?"
"Oh – Laney…"
"I knew it! And, when you boys all fight, who keeps you together as a team?"
Corey opened his mouth, but Kon beat him to it. "Laney!"
"And does she care about you and support your ideas, even when she doesn't really like them all that much?"
"Yes!" Kin exclaimed.
Rarity raised her voice in order to be heard over the increasingly violent blasts of magic from the center of the clearing. "In that case, who is the LITERAL heart of Grojband from which the song has to come?"
Corey gaped at Rarity, jaw hanging down to the floor. "Laney?"
"You've got it!"
"But I've never heard her write her own lyrics! What if she's even worse at it than I am?"
"Nonsense!" Rarity said, stamping a hoof. "Do you want to beat Trixie or not? I'll get Laney over to you, and the girls and I will distract Trixie until you're ready and the Elements get here! Without them, I don't know how much longer we can last, so make every second…count…" The unicorn paused, looking straight into Corey's worried eyes, and took a deep breath.
"Corey, I – I'm sorry I've come on so strong to you this past week. You and Laney…are perfect for each other…" Her own eyes welled up with tears, and she took a deep breath, composing herself. "And I apologize for not realizing it sooner."
With a loud CRUNCH, Rarity uprooted another rock and began to run back to the still-raging pony battle. "Good luck!" was her final comment before she was out of earshot.
Corey couldn't think of what to say. His brain was working faster than he could process the huge flow of information, trying to make sense of it all but failing horribly. He was still frozen, mouth dangling open, when Laney landed next to him, music pulsing through her pores like she was a speaker.
"What happened? Core? Did you –" Laney stopped when she saw her friend's blank face. "Hello? Earth to Corey?" she said, waving a hoof in his muzzle. "Rarity told me you'd figured out the riddle!"
"Yeah!" Kon squealed, following Rarity's example and tossing another stone at Trixie. "And now you have to write a song in the few minutes before Trixie and Trina destroy us all! Isn't that great?"
Laney's mouth opened as wide as Corey's. "Wait – what?"
"You're the heart of the band, Lanes!" Kin said. "So get cracking!"
Corey broke out of his trance and smiled as encouragingly as possible. "Do I need to set up an inspirational hum for you?"
"What? I – I can't write lyrics! Core, I just play the bass! I don't do that! You can't expect me to –"
"We don't," Corey said, cutting her off. "At least, not just us. It's like what I just told you: the fate of the multiverse rests in our hooves. And Grojband never quits –"
"Ah-ah-ah!" Kin said. "You were just about to give up yourself!"
"Okay, Kin…" Corey facehoofed. "Now is not the time! I'm trying to give an inspirational speech!"
"Point taken."
"Okay, the thing is, we all have stuff we're good at. Kon's a drummer, Kin's a genius, and I'm the front man. But Laney – you're the heart. You keep us together, even when we fight or get a little too crazy. And, well, we love you for it."
Laney's eyes flared blue. "Um, I…"
"I already had this conversation with you back in the bush. So, it all comes down to this: Will you do it?" Corey shouted over the rushes of air and tinny music still oozing from Laney's skin.
The green mare hesitated, then nodded, once, a smile and a blush creping across her face at the same time. "All right, you've convinced me. I'll do it."
"And have no fear, because we're here to back you up!" Kon said excitedly.
Everyone looked at Corey. "Well?" Kin asked. "Are you going to say it or not?"
Corey knew exactly what they were talking about. He grinned, then "By the power of rock –" A flare lit up the clearing just about as brightly as it had lit up when Laney had first appeared, but the light was blue and came distinctly from the band instead of all around. "GROJBAND UNITE!"
Immediately Laney's music turned off. The light faded, and Corey realized that there was a weight hanging from his chest. He looked down and saw a shiny red guitar, just like the one he had at home, strapped onto his shoulders. "Sweet!" he said, looking around. Kin's keyboard, Kon's drums, and Laney's bass had also appeared around them. "I wasn't sure that was gonna work – but it did!"
"Well, do your thing, Laney!" Kin said, setting his hoof on the keys and proving that he could play chords just as well as if he had hands.
Laney gulped and pulled a pick out of the guitar's neck with her magic. "Hey, Trixie!" she called, her voice sounding way more confident that she probably was. "Leave them alone!"
"Or what?" the blue mare taunted. She had Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Mina trapped in a web of pink lines, and Applejack was hanging by her hind legs from a tall tree. Trina smirked next to her and echoed, "Yeah, or what?"
"Or you'll be in for a world of hurt, 'cause I'm not letting you walk free this time!" Laney strummed an E minor with the pick, and a huge blue sound wave rippled out and distorted the air. "Ever heard of a heart-song?"
"Well, yes, but those are one of the most pathetic forms of emotional magic. They're unreliable, never happen when one wants them to, and aren't a weapon whatsoever! Surely you don't think a heart-song is going to stop Trixie from her conquest of the multiverse?" Trixie laughed.
"Not the song, exactly," Laney said, strumming the guitar again. Corey could tell she was sort of improvising, but she didn't falter. "More like the lyrics. Count us in, Kon!"
The drummer, somehow clutching the sticks easily in his Earth pony hooves, tapped out a simple starting beat. "Woo-hooooooo! GO GROJBAND!" Pinkie Pie called from behind the web of energy, until Trixie silenced her with a zipper to the lips.
A soft tune wormed its way into Corey's brain. It sounded familiar, though he couldn't quite place it, but somehow he knew exactly what he was expected to do with it. Hear-song magic, maybe? he thought as he began to pluck out the melody on his guitar with his own pick. Whatever it is, it's probably best to roll with it. Especially since Kin's playing along too. And Kon's drum line is getting stronger…
"Louder," Laney whispered out of the side of her mouth to the band, then turned back to Trixie. The unicorn had conjured a humongously poofy couch to recline on, apparently thinking that the song would be a laugh before she finished taking over every single world ever created. Trina clambered up next to her, ponytail flapping in the breeze that had started up.
Laney's eyes still shone blue, and the rich tone of her bass joined the rest of the band's playing. There was something comforting about the music, even though it was upbeat; it made Corey want to dance, but just sit and listen at the same time. He poured all his love for Grojband, for his new pony friends, for Kin and Kon and Laney into his playing until he was totally into it.
It was still a surprise to him when Laney started to sing.
"It might sound like a lie, but I have never been too brave
I hide behind a tough-girl shell, my reputation's saved
I'm always searching for a way to let my true self free
Something has been missing but I've finally found the key…"
Corey saw Rainbow Dash and Twilight peek their heads out of yet another bush, their eyes wide. Belatedly, he looked down and noticed that arcs of blue electricity and sound waves were pounding off the instruments as the band played. Trying to ignore it, he mouthed to the hidden ponies, "Get over to the portal while she's distracted!"
Laney kept singing: "Dear Princess hear my song
I've righted what was wrong
I've found a place to turn
I told the truth
So lesson learned…
Twilight's eyes widened, but she didn't stop moving stealthily toward the portal, a number of golden necklaces hanging around her neck and a big crown thingy perched on her head. In contrast, Corey slid back into the music's spell, letting the tune and lyrics wash over his senses as both intensified. Chorus must be coming up –
"I can't let me hold me back anymore
Love and friendship mean so much more
Those you care for will always hold your hands
They'll follow you and all your crazy plans
And so, with the magic that I've gained
Now I say:
You no longer reign!"
A larger wave of sound blew out of the drumset on the final word, pushing Trixie and Trina deeper into the fluffy confines of their couch. Across the clearing, the ponies (excepting Mina) were all wearing their necklaces and surrounding the portal, waiting for the right moment to harmony-blast it. He wasn't sure how Twilight had freed them from Trixie's traps, but it wasn't important right now. Corey slid his hoof down the neck of the guitar and moved back into the melody of the verse.
"I might get scared and try to slip behind my fragile mask
To be myself is such a difficult and daunting task
But my friends will always be there to help me when I'm down
They'll pick me up and dust me off and wipe away my frown."
Laney tossed her mane and fixed her glowing blue eyes on Trixie, who seemed to be frozen in her seat. "Dear Trixie did you know –
To learn you have to grow
You can't just have it all
Pride always comes
Before a fall…"
Corey played a huge and impressive riff, then realized where he recognized the song from. Laney had been playing the instrumental version in the hot garage just before they'd arrived in Equestria.
"I can't let me hold me back anymore
Love and friendship mean so much more
Those you care for will always hold your hands
They'll follow you and all your crazy plans
And so, with the magic that I've gained
Now I say:
You no longer reign!"
Corey found himself remembering things as he played, like all the times he'd had his own crazy plans and Laney'd supported him, even when the idea had seemed kind of stupid. He remembered when they'd been little kids and played together in Laney's front yard, when they'd played their first gig at the Ashton Town Talent Show, when they'd pretended to be in love so that they could play the wedding at Barney's Cake Barn...
He remembered how he felt when that stuff happened, but he remembered how Laney felt too, as if the music was letting him know her true emotions. She was always the tough one, which was why they picked on her and called her a dude all the time, but she had a soft and creamy and loving center that would never allow her to let the band down. Her determination washed across the clearing like a wave of water.
"Honesty, kindness, generosity –"
Corey gasped aloud. When Laney sang the words of the bridge, the necklaces around the ponies' necks – the Elements of Harmony – began to light up. Applejack's was glowing orange, Fluttershy's pink, and Rarity's purple. Their eyes were glowing too, exactly the same color as their necklaces.
"Faith and laugher, loyalty…"
Pinkie and Rainbow Dash's necklaces lit up. Behind Corey, a thud and a soundwave erupted from Kon's drums; when the unicorn turned, he saw that Kon's drumsticks and eyes were glowing blue.
"Magic, brains, the skill to lead,
And the heart that beats for all of these…"
Twilight and Kin's Element and instrument exploded with light, and then Corey felt an odd sensation around his own eyes, as if everything had dimmed and the only thing that mattered was continuing to jam out on his guitar. Another huge flash of light radiated out from Laney's body, along with a rush of music in different languages and styles that, rather than hurting the tune, added another beautiful layered tone to it all…
"Dear Princess, I just wanna say
We're gonna fight the Grojband way!" Laney shouted.
"I can't let me hold me back anymore
Love and friendship mean so much more
Those you care for will always hold your hands
They'll follow you and all your crazy plans
And so, with the magic that I've gained
Now I say:
You no longer reign!"
With the last word, a column of rainbow light burst out of the Elements of Harmony and slammed into the portal, wrapping around it and then zapping over to Trixie and combining with the dozens of sound waves that already held the mare captive on her couch. If Corey's eyes weren't alight, he didn't think he'd have been able to watch as the rainbow encircled the blue unicorn, dancing when the music made disturbances in the air and whirling like Laney's tornado from less than an hour earlier.
Trixie rose into the air within the confines of the rainbow. Corey could hear her screaming, but only faintly through the music and wind. He realized that he'd stopped playing the guitar, but the music had continued.
He had no time to wonder about it before the portal shattered.
Liquid glass and pure auric magic went flying, and the trees bent backward under the force of the wind. Corey's emotions were vascillating again, from elation to fear to rage and back to elation again. He felt the light in his eyes flicker.
Then, as if caught by a fast-moving camera, time seemed to stop. The rainbow uncurled from Trixie and disappeared back into the Elements, while the music quieted into a whisper of notes before flickering out altogether. The clearing was silent.
Trixie lay in the middle where the poofy couch had been, horn smoking and eyes leaking gritty, sooty tears.
Hello, all! We have finally returned to bring you the climactic chapter of Magic Song!
We're so glad we could finally, finally, FINALLY make it to this chapter with you. Don't worry, there's still a little more to come.
Thanks for all you reads, favorites, follows and reviews, and a huge shoutout to my brother darkdruid01, who beta read this chapter for us. Go and check out his brand-new Eragon fanfic if you enjoy Eragon (I know I do!)!
And cookies to whoever caught the portal references in the last two chapters. (::) (::) We would have mentioned them before but there were other things on our minds.
Stay tuned for the final few chapters, we'll try our best to get them us ASAP but, you know us, that might not turn out perfectly.
Also, make sure to take a look at our profile for our future story ideas! If you want a say, go and vote in the poll for Twi's next story and just PM for mine. (Personally, if you guys don't suggest anything, I'll just pick one myself!)
We'll see you next time, when the question everyone wants to know comes up, finally: What happened to Nick?
Also: Will Mina stand up for herself, and can this be a Grojband fanfic in any way if Trina doesn't go diary? :3