The Final Battle (Of The Bands)
"So, Princess Twilight. We meet at last." Adagio said as she, Aria and Sonata walked onto the stage, so that Twilight and the girls could finally see their final opponents. "I'm actually impressed you girls made it this far. Not many bands like yours have ever come close to dueling us."
"To take out all of our subjects like that," Aria looked at all of the fallen students, who were on their knees, despite the spell's power still being cast onto them. "Is a very impressive feat indeed. I can tell this will be one battle that neither of us will forget."
"You planned this, didn't you?" Twilight said, her gaze locked with that of the Dazzlings'. "You made this Battle Of The Bands thing as a front, just so you could drain the power of the kids at CHS!"
"My, you're a sly one, how did you guess?" Sonata said, shooting a little grin at Twilight as she took out her instrument. "I guess it was a bit of a dead giveaway to wear these pendants all the time."
"So you admit it?" Rainbow Dash said, taking out her guitar as she looked at the three Dazzlings with an angry, yet confident look.
"Yes, this was all a front, I admit it." Adagio clutched her gem tightly, causing a red glow to shine forth. "You see, we need the anger for a very desperate reason: Revenge."
"Revenge?" Sunset said from afar, but close enough for the Dazzlings to hear her. "For what?"
The Dazzlings merely held their tongues for a while, before Aria finally raised her head to address their reasons. The Rainbooms could tell that if the reaction came this late, it had to be important.
"Revenge for the ponies of Sirenia Trench." She said, as she raised her jewel up to her eyes. "You see, we're not what you think we are. You, Twilight, and us."
"Well, duh." Pinkie said as she readied her drum kit and placed it in a comfortable position. "We already know that Twilight and Sunset are ponies, since they had a little fight during the Fall Formal a while ba-"
"Pinkie, no time for that now." Sunset wrapped her arm around Pinkie's mouth, causing the rest of her sentence to become muffled and inaudible. "The past is in the past, the present is now."
"The Fall Formal?" Adagio said, now with her own spark of interest starting to show as she let the pendant drop back to its' original position. "You mean when you girls used Equestrian Magic against Sunny here?"
"Well, I don't like to brag, but-" Twilight suddenly froze as she remembered what they were talking about. "Wait, you saw that?"
"We only saw a pillar of darkness and then a flash of Equestrian Magic when it happened." Sonata explained, plugging her electric guitar into the power source. "The rest was all cut off from our view."
"I guess we have you to thank, Princess Twilight." Adagio said, now with a little hint of cruelty showing on her face. "If it wasn't for you and Sunset having your little 'battle' We'd never have thought to put this whole charade on. Thanks, Princess."
"This all happened... Because of me?" Twilight made a terrified kneeling pose as she finally placed two and two together. That fight did have a pretty colossal magnitude when it happened, and if it could make another evil rise to power, she panicked on whether or not to use it again. "I-I... I..."
"Twilight!" Spike said, leaping out of the bag and slapping Twilight across the face. "Pull yourself together, for Celestia's sakes! You can take these three, no problem. After all, you always win, even when the odds are against you."
"Even when I turned into a she-demon, you didn't back down in the face of adversity." Sunset said as she leapt on stage, to help Spike give Twilight some more confidence. "And I'm sure you won't back down in the face of this adversity."
"You all believe in me?" Twilight said, looking up to all of them, while at the same time she was rubbing the slap print that Spike had given her.
"Trust me, Twilight. Ya'll fought bigger odds than this before." Applejack said, giving her a hand to help her back onto her feet. "The darkness may frighten all of us at times, but when we all stick tagether, the darkness can't even touch us, let alone do us any harm."
"Even if times seem bleak..." Rainbow Dash said.
"Even if there are meanies standing in your way..." Pinkie said, taking out her drumsticks for the final battle ahead.
"You must remember..." Fluttershy said, giving Twilight her microphone.
"Friendship Is Magic." Rarity said, finally finishing up their words of support. This seemed to motivate Twilight as she took the mic and finally stood up, to face down the Dazzlings for one final duel.
"Thanks, girls." She said, with a smile on her face. "I know that together, we can win this Battle Of The Bands and put Adagio's plans to ruin."
"So, it all comes down to this, does it?" Adagio said as the other Dazzlings were finished with their instruments. "You dare to stand up against an entire nation?"
"Adagio." Twilight said, beginning to address her opponent with some final words. "You, Aria AND Sonata forced this entire school to feud over a dream which was all impossible from the start, and as such, you caused many friendships to crumble around us all."
"Ooh, I feel praised." Adagio merely smirked and disregarded the severity of Twilight's words. "Go on..."
"You caused so many people psychological and physical pain, and all the while, you've been illegally feasting on their power to gain strength." Twilight said once The Rainbooms were all set up, and Sunset and Spike were watching from the side again. "And for that, you must be defeated."
"Very well, Princess Twilight." Adagio said as she used her gem to make a microphone purely out of dark magic. It had a musical score flowing all around it, and was adorned with Adagio's Cutie Mark. "Let this be your final performance."
"Because now we'll show you..." Aria said, using her pendant to enchant her keytar so that it was pouring with dark energy.
"What the power of the Scorn Scorch pendants..." Sonata used her powers to enchant her electric guitar so that it now looked like it could also be used as a sword.
"CAN REALLY DO!!!" The three Dazzlings pointed at the Rainbooms and spoke in perfect sync. When they made their pose, the pendants they wore glowed violently, so that it looked like their bodies were radiating pure red lightning.
The Rainbooms readied their musical weapons as well. Once their instruments were ready for battle, they gained their pony wings, ears, hair extensions and tails, so that they now looked like a worthy match-up for the Dazzlings.
It all came down to this, and Celestia and Luna, who were still under the Dazzlings' Spell, began to play the final song, the song which would determine the fate of CHS and Equestria.
This final battle was all out. Straight off the mark, The Dazzlings used their powerful voices to make the felled students stand right back up and cheer them on every step of the way. Adagio's powerful vocals, combined with the backing of Aria and Sonata, gave her words power beyond comprehension.
The entire school watched and cheered as The Dazzlings wowed the crowd, taking control of all of the lesser students like it was nothing. With Adagio's power, they thought it was child's play to win this final battle.
But then The Rainbooms stepped in, led by Rainbow Dash, their vocals and music was also a powerful force. Each of the Rainbooms made rainbows as they played their instruments, freeing most of the crowd from the Dazzlings' control.
Adagio, Aria and Sonata looked flabbergasted as Twilight and friends utilized their own brand of crowd controlling magic. They could only watch as The Rainbooms got the whole crowd back on their side. While Sonata looked a little worried, Adagio merely snarled and began her second part once The Rainbooms finished their segment of the song.
Once the Dazzlings got back into the spotlight, they sang their second half with as much composure when they did, they immediately got all of The Rainbooms' followers back on their side. The Dazzlings seemed unbeatable in every aspect of music, and their words seemed to seal their victory.
But all that was shattered when The Rainbooms finished their segment. Their final segment featured all the voices and instruments of Twilight and Friends working together in harmony. Their song, combined with a catchy closing sequence and amazing dancing, got the entire crowd back on the side of The Rainbooms with little effort.
As the entire crowd broke free of The Dazzlings' control, they cheered for The Rainbooms, picking up scattered Wondercolt Ears and Tails, wearing them and then dancing along to the end of the song.
Once the song reached its' conclusion. Twilight and Friends took a bow, before turning to the Dazzlings, who didn't look pleased at first, but then remembered their pendants. They clutched them tightly as possible and made dark magic pour out of the cracks in their hands.
"Well, I think we know who won this tournament." Principal Celestia said, as she picked up her own mic and held up the trophy for the winning team to take. "Luna, would you like the do the honours?" She said as she handed the mic to her sister Luna.
"I shall, Sister." She looked at the two acts for a few seconds before she turned around and gave her verdict. "The winners of the Battle Of The Bands are..."
Sunset and Spike were climbing the stage, ready to congratulate The Rainbooms on triumphing over the Dazzlings. However, they saw Adagio, Aria and Sonata hold their right hands out in the direction of Celestia and Luna's area.
"The-" But before Luna could even say the winners, she and Celestia were struck with deluges of dark magic, sending them both flying into one of the walls of the hall, landing with a hard crash which damaged the wall at the same time.
"Sorry, Rainbooms, but this Battle Of The Bands is FAR FROM OVER!!!" Adagio said, as her eyes glowed a furious red. She prepared another ball of dark magic in her hands and fired it at the ceiling, shooting the whole roof into the atmosphere, so that the night sky was visible for all.
"Adagio, stop!" Twilight yelled, seeing a massive amount of Dark Magic begin to cocoon Adagio, Aria and Sonata. "Your rage is consuming you, if you don't calm down, there'll be no hope for you all."
"You don't know what we've had to suffer to get here." Aria said, her pendant now pouring out a massive concentration of dark magic, powerful enough to bring the whole school down. "None of us came this far, to be stopped by something as PATHETIC as friendship!"
"At long last, we shall return to Equestria..." Sonata said, her hair growing to extraordinary lengths now that her scrunchie was removed. "...Take our revenge on Celestia and Luna..." Her voice now turned malicious instead of quirky. "...And bring Sirenia Trench back to its' former glory!"
"Princess Twilight..." Adagio said as soon as Aria and Sonata were completely cocooned in the black magic. "Long has it been since I've been forced into my final form." She said as her spiked headband flew off, so that her hair was even longer than before. "You'd better say your final goodbyes to Equestria, while you still have time."
Once Adagio was cocooned in the darkness, the three cocoons exploded and were replaced with pillars of dark-purple energy. Twilight and her friends looked terrified as the Dazzlings underwent their final transformation. The entire school was enveloped in pure fear, all except for Sunset, who still kept a brave face.
Inside the cocoons, the Dazzlings grew hair, tails and pony ears, similar to Twilight and her friends. However, they also grew wings, horns and even a pony body. Once they were satisfied with their transformations, the Dazzlings clutched their pendants tightly, and a massive flash of darkness enveloped the entire hall, causing everyone to scream in terror.
"Adagio..." Twilight looked at the smoke as it was starting to clear. She couldn't make anything out, besides the destroyed area of the stage where the Dazzlings stood. "What are you?..."
Suddenly, from the dust, three pairs of dark red eyes flashed in the aftermath, followed by three figures leaping out of the dusty blast. The Dazzlings had taken on their final forms, and all of the Rainbooms could only look in horror.
Each of the Dazzlings had become a centaur. The top halves had Adagio, Aria and Sonata's human bodies. However, they had extended hair, pony ears, wings AND horns. The bottom halves were all pony-like, so that the Dazzlings' Cutie Marks were on display for all to see. Each bottom half of their new bodies also had wings, for improved aerial mobility.
"...A queen." Adagio said, as she gazed down upon Twilight and friends with a savage, yet calm look on her face. "I am the chosen one from Sirenia Trench. Just as the legends foretold."
"What kind of repulsive monstrosity such as you would ever make queen?" Rarity said, half brave and half frightened.
Adagio didn't answer, and merely sealed the doors with her horn. She had heard the students were panicking, so she cut off their only means of escape. Then she answered once the doors were sealed with a spell. "A very talented one."
"You don't know the power of the Siren Ponies, don't you?" Sonata said, her quirkiness now replaced with pure spite and malice.
"Calm yourself, Princess Sonata." Adagio said as she held the blue centaur alicorn back with her own spell. "Before they suffer, I suppose there's really no harm in telling them our tragic story and what we're fighting for."
"Go on." Sunset said, curious to know more as she and Spike finally took the stage. "You may as well listen, Twilight." Sunset said as she placed her hand on Twilight's shoulder, causing her to stop trembling. "Why fight a battle without knowing the other's reason?"
"Very well." Twilight said, holding the hands of her human friends to get them to calm down. "Fine then, Adagio. We'd be more than happy to hear your story."
"Anything to keep you from destroying us." Fluttershy said, hiding behind Twilight since she couldn't possibly stand up in front of a trio of overpowered centaur sirens.
"Long ago, during the early days of Equestria's founding, there was an ocean kingdom called Sirenia Trench." Adagio said, bringing up pictures of the kingdom with her new horn. "It was a mighty kingdom, and welcomed all types of ponies, whether they be Pegasus, Unicorn or Earth Pony."
"The ponies who lived here had a chance to become part of the Dazzlings Royal Family. So long as they were seen fit by the queen of the trench herself, Queen Adagio." Aria said, looking a little more stern than usual. "However, Adagio had pretty high standards, and only the best of the best made it into the family."
"Adagio here was a powerful ruler, with a heart that suffered no evil, eyes who looked upon the weak with charity, and a pure soul which gave her people hope, and the courage to stand up to any adversity." Sonata said, calming down so that she could continue the story. "She was everything we could want in a leader, and everything I could want in a mother."
"Wait, did you say a mother?" Spike said, poking his head out of the bag once more.
"Yes, little dragon." Sonata said, looking at Spike with a now calm look. "I was born into the family shortly after my mother, Adagio married a beautiful stallion named Allegro Storm. The two alicorns gave birth to me, a beautiful young unicorn with power beyond compare."
"Once Sonata turned 14, Allegro died, leaving the poor girl's emotions in shambles." Aria said as the pictures kept flashing by before the eyes of Twilight and friends. "I know this, because it was on the same day that I'd been promoted from a guard, to Queen Adagio's aide."
"It was at that time, we noticed a powerful surge of magic flowing from Sonata with each new emotion." Adagio said, which sparked Twilight's interest. "She was able to enchant songs to do extraordinary things. A trait that had been passed down from her father."
"She taught all of Sirenia Trench the magic of songchanting, and the Dazzlings Royal Family gained new prominence in the field of music, and magic." Aria said, before her voice turned grim. "Then, we found them..."
"Them..." Sunset said before looking at their necks once more. "You mean those red jewels around your necks?"
"Well, five points to Sunny here." Sonata said, lightly teasing the red-blonde human. "One day, we discovered a hidden mine at the bottom of Sirenia Trench..."
"Inside the mines, we found a hefty sum of these red gems, and carved them into pendants for the entire kingdom." Adagio smiled as she rubbed her pendants during her speech. "However, once they were worn, they made the user feel evil inside and out."
"We didn't know it at that time, but by the time these pendants were attached to our necks, it was already too late." Aria said, hanging her head. "These jewels were called Scorn Scorch, they can give the wearers eternal youth and limitless power, by making others mad."
The students were appalled at this. They had been made into fools by three seemingly innocent girls. Almost everyone off the stage charged up in an attempt to fight Adagio, Aria and Sonata themselves, but were stopped by the three centaurs' now lit horns.
"We used our songs to cause riots in Sirenia Trench." Adagio said, as she held all of the attacking students down with a magical net. "It was a hefty source of power for us, but we needed more, so much more, in fact."
"So you plotted to overthrow Celestia and Luna, take Canterlot by storm, and rule all of Equestria with an iron fist, just to make every country feud, so you could feast on their hatred for each other." Twilight said, as she finally pieced the riddle together perfectly.
"Yes, but it didn't work out in the end." Adagio said, as she showed Twilight and friends the picture of Celestia and Luna defeating the Dazzlings, who looked entirely like alicorns in this shot.
"Celestia and Luna were much too powerful for us, even with the Scorn Scorch pendants' power, we were still beaten by those annoying sisters." The picture changed, to now show the Dazzlings' exile to the human world. "She banished us from Equestria, and left us to rot in this dump."
"And then, before we could even do something, she sealed off the portal, saying these words to us:" Adagio said, as the picture of Celestia and Luna now talked to Twilight and Friends. "Hatred is your downfall, and the downfall of your kingdom." This scared Twilight as it sounded PERFECTLY like Celestia. "As far as Equestria is concerned, Sirenia Trench is merely a MYTH." Luna's voice sounded scornful as the picture ended.
"We created this Battle Of The Bands to replenish our power, so that we could storm Equestria, and overpower Celestia and Luna with our ultimate power, so that we can bring Sirenia Trench back to the way it was before." Aria said, as they now hypnotized the students, with their horns. "If you defeat us now, you end up obliterating an entire Equestria city in the process."
"So the question is this, Twilight." Sonata said, as the three Dazzlings now spawned giant swords with their Cutie Marks emblazoned on the handles, flew up into the air with both their sets of wings, and shrouded themselves with colourful forcefields. "What is more important? The lives of a few? Or the lives of many?"
Twilight couldn't even answer for a few seconds. There were two outcomes to this. If she defeated the Dazzlings, she ended up killing an entire civilization and spilling so much pony blood. But on the other hand, if she lost to the Dazzlings, Equestria and the human world would be doomed to serve Adagio, Aria and Sonata for all eternity.
Twilight didn't want to accept either option, and merely threw her microphone to the ground. "I... I..." Then she fainted at how hard the choice was.
"Hah, there's a good girl." Adagio smiled as she saw Twilight fall to her chest in fear. "Now you see, Twilight. You can't win because you don't want to win. You don't want to ruin an entire civilization, don't you?"
"Yes, that's true." Twilight whispered, as she looked paralyzed with fear.
"I'm sorry, could you speak up?" Adagio taunted as she did a pose of arrogance. "We couldn't hear you."
"I don't want to destroy an entire city." Twilight said, tears now showing in her eyes. "It's one thing to defeat a villain, but to destroy an entire city in the process..." Twilight said, as tears started to flow from her eyes. "I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT YOU!!!" She now screamed her sadness and was reduced to a blubbering mess, causing her human friends to gasp at her sorrow.
"So, you surrender?" Sonata smirked at Twilight's tears. Knowing that Twilight had been broken and was about to hand the Dazzlings their victory.
Twilight didn't answer. Instead, her vision went blurry at first, but then with one final gasp of air, she fainted completely. Sunset took notice of this straightaway and ran up to her to help bring Twilight back to the light.
"Twilight!" Said all of her friends at once, as they saw their princess from Equestria black out in front of them. They stood no chance without Twilight, so they ran up to her and attempted to give her CPR.
"Maybe all we fought for... Maybe it was all for nothing..." Twilight floated in a black space as she felt completely and utterly helpless. "If we win, we destroy an entire city full of ponies. But if we lose, Equestria falls under Adagio's control for all eternity."
"Is this really a battle we can't win? Are we all just pawns in Adagio's little scheme? I can't tell anymore." Twilight's voice sounded futile and hopeless now, and she was finally willing to accept defeat. "I guess I might as well accept defeat and give Equestria to the Dazzlings. I'm sure things would work out if they ruled instead of Celestia and Luna..." Then her entire body lost all colour, and she looked like a hopeless girl with no sign of happiness. She closed her eyes and was about to give up, when...
"TWILIGHT!!! GET UP!!!" Some very familiar voices shouted out to her. Her eyes opened slowly to find out where the voices came from. The voices sounded so familiar to her.
"G-Girls?" She asked the darkness, but got no response. "Are you there?"
"Twilight, you CAN win this fight." Another voice called out, again, it seemed very familiar to her. "You've never backed down before, and I know you're not going to back down now."
"Sunset?" She asked the darkness once more, but got no response from a physical being. "What are you saying? That I should destroy an entire city?"
"There's something wrong with the Dazzlings' story. I heard it the second Adagio mentioned the gems." Sunset finally appeared in the darkness, so that Twilight could see her. "They said they gave pendants like that to ALL of Sirenia Trench."
"Yeah, so what does that-" Then she gasped at the final realization. She had been meddled like a piece of clay, to believe that defeating the Dazzlings was a bad idea. "No..."
"That's right, Twilight." Rainbow Dash appeared next to Sunset. "If they gave those pendants to all of the ponies of Sirenia Trench, then that means that ALL of Sirenia Trench is evil, not just Adagio, Aria and Sonata."
"Meaning, that if you defeat the Dazzlings, you can prevent Sirenia Trench from sparking an uprising and conquering your world." Rarity appeared next to Rainbow Dash. "And besides, those gems do look a bit garish, if you ask me."
"Don't lose hope, Twilight." Fluttershy said, with a very courageous smile starting to show and give Twilight some of her confidence back. "They're just messing with you, believing that victory is the wrong path."
"Yeah, I mean it's one thing to win a Battle Of The Bands by dark magic, but bringing an entire city of meanies back to prominence is even worse!" Pinkie said, popping up next to Sunset. "Hey, I'm so glowy-wowy in this dimension." She giggled as she noticed that all of the girls, including her, had a white shroud of light around them.
"These three are rotten to the core, there's no denyin' that. Ya'll need to keep a brave face, and face them, head on." Applejack said, completing the group with her appearance. "They may have powered themselves by makin' everyone here feud and fight, but don't ferget ya'll have a power of yer own, the Magic Of Friendship."
"We'll also be with you, every step of the way, to help you save Equestria and CHS from the grasp of the Dazzlings, and anyone who tries to oppose friendship." Sunset said as she and the rest of the girls glowed even brighter. "Remember one thing, Twilight. No matter how unbeatable the odds seem, remember these words: Friendship Is Magic."
Twilight remained silent for the whole thing, taking each of the girls' heartwarming and reassuring speeches to heart. She finally regained all her colours and confidence back. She wasn't about to let Equestria fall into Adagio's hands, nor the hands of anypony in Sirenia Trench.
"Thanks, girls." She said as the darkness became a giant neospace of light before Twilight fazed out of it. "Thanks for bringing me back to my senses."
"I grow tired of this nonsense." Adagio said as she used her horn, combined with the energy from her Scorn Scorch pendant to charge up a final attack that would finish the Rainbooms off. "It's time for the curtain to fall on this Battle Of The Bands ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!"
Then she shot the entire spell at the girls, Sunset included and they could only run out of the way to save their skins as in reality, Twilight was still unconscious. Once the others were out of the way of the explosion, Twilight looked up, with a confident smile on her face and grabbed the spell with her bare hands.
"You lied to me, Adagio." She said as she got to her knees, got up to a squatting position, and eventually stood up regularly again. "You lied to ALL of us." She then threw the spell back at Adagio, hitting her with a powerful impact, which sent Adagio flying into the wall.
"The lives of many?" Twilight showed a little anger as she stood in a ready-to-fight position. "I think you mean the lives of many EVIL SIRENS."
"I thought you didn't want to destroy an entire city?" Aria said, trying to break Twilight down once more, and was instead met with a rainbow blast from Twilight's hands.
"I didn't... Until I saw the light of the situation." Twilight said, as she decided to give the Dazzlings a little taste of their own lies. "You said you gave these pendants to ALL of Sirenia Trench, if that were the case, you'd be making the entire city evil, isn't that right?""
"We- I- Urrrgh!" Sonata hissed in spite. "YOU MAGGOT!!!" She then launched a powerful slash of energy at Twilight by swinging her sword. But Twilight merely kicked it into the sky, out of harm's way.
"Celestia and Luna made the right choice in leaving you here to rot." Twilight said, not even flinching at the Dazzlings' hostilities. "If you return to Equestria, you'd bring back Sirenia Trench, which is now riddled in evil, and cause a war of the worlds that could mean the demise of all of Equestria as we know it."
"Your power seems undefeatable, Adagio, but your arrogance has blinded you, Aria and Sonata to the truth." Twilight said as she picked up her microphone and turned it into a scepter. "There is one power FAR greater than the Scorn Scorch pendants you wear."
"Hidden deep within all of our souls..." Twilight turned to her friends, who picked up their instruments, which turned into musical weapons for a final battle of epic proportions. "...Waiting for a powerful and unbreakable bond to bring it to life."
"The ultimate power that we can all use together..." Once they all got their weapons, they also got armour that was their exact colour and was a perfect fit for each of the girls. "The power that can't be snuffed out by darkness..."
"It is the one true power that everyone can embrace if they decide to." Twilight said as she held Sunset's hand, giving Sunset pony ears, extended hair and even a horn coming out of her forehead. "And that power, is the Magic Of Friendship!!!"
Now everyone was ready for conflict. Pinkie's drums became a powerful set of pink sledgehammers, Rarity's keytar became a polearm staff, Applejack's base guitar became a powerful sword, Fluttershy's tambourine turned into a shield with her Cutie Mark emblazoned on it and Rainbow Dash's guitar became a rainbow-coloured longsword.
"You might be able to break us down, Adagio..." Rainbow Dash said, bearing the tip of her sword for battle. "But you won't be able to stop us from building ourselves back up again."
"Face it, Adagio. Your efforts have all been for naught." Sunset said as she made a stream of fire with her hands and was now ready to shoot that stream at will. "Your attempts at taking over the school have failed."
"You have a choice to make now, Adagio." Twilight said as she used her staff to give each of the girls a Rainbow Power upgrade, giving each of them their Cutie Marks all over their bodies, new hair and wing colours and even allowed the non-winged girls to fly as well. "Surrender peacefully, or be struck down by our undying friendship."
"So be it, Princess Twilight..." Adagio said as she pulled herself out of the impact and flew up into the air, readying her sword for combat. "I didn't want the Battle Of The Bands to turn into a bloodbath, but if you insist on guarding that pathetic little dirtball known as Equestria... So be it."
With those words, Adagio charged at Twilight, who flew up with her friends to meet her assault. The alicorn and the centaur locked horns before exchanging blows with their weapons. Adagio's swords were enchanted, so each slash shot out waves of energy as well as the typical sword damage.
Twilight stood strong however, reflecting the swords with her staff, before firing a huge concentration of Equestrian Magic at Adagio. She swiftly avoided most of the blows, being only scraped by a few of the rainbow megalasers. Then, Adagio brought her forcefield back up and absorbed the final laser, before firing it right back as a stream of her own dark magic.
Once Aria and Sonata pulled themselves together, they saw Adagio having an aerial dogfight with Twilight and Friends. They spread their wings, grasped their swords and shot themselves into the air, whilst being wrapped in a powerful aura.
As Twilight was about to strike Adagio with the scepter's orb, she was blasted by two streams of energy which struck both sides of her face at once. She merely healed these wounds and turned her attention to Aria, who had hit her from the left side.
She charged towards Aria, leaving her friends to deal with Sonata, which left Sunset having a one-on-one with Adagio. Twilight and Aria were exchanging blasts of magic, left, right and centre, whilst Twilight's friends used their weapons to try and chip away at Sonata's forcefield, with each strike doing nothing much against the blue centaur.
Meanwhile, Adagio and Sunset were locked in hand-to-hand combat, with each and every kick and punch being enchanted by their own respective magics. Sunset gave Adagio a powerful left hook, whilst Adagio came back with a mighty chest kick.
"You fight well, Adagio." Sunset said in between gasps for breath as she began recovering from the kick she had just taken. "You remind me of me, when I was a demon like you."
"Well, you're also a mighty fighter, with an extraordinary amount of power behind each of her blows." Adagio said as her fists became wrapped in the magic of the Scorn Scorch pendants. "I can see now why Twilight and her friends used Equestrian Magic to defeat you."
"So then..." Sunset smirked as she wrapped her fists in pure fire, ready to go another round with Adagio. "You think you can slay a demon?"
"I admire your ambitions, Sunset." Adagio said as she launched herself at Sunset, ready to deal her a powerful series of punches towards her facial area. "But your power doesn't even compare to mine!"
Sunset merely grabbed both of Adagio's fists like it was child's play. She tried to strike Sunset with a blast from her horn, but she was kicked in the face by Sunset and launched as she felt Sunset's grip on her hands disappear.
"I've been meaning to unleash so much pent up fury for a while now." Sunset said as she grew her demon wings back, but still retained her human form as she drew her sword. "The Fall Formal incident was only a taster for me. Defeating you with this power will be my main course!"
"Fine then. Let's go!" Adagio and Sunset charged at each other once more, each of them dealing rapid strings of sword blows to one another. The two seemed to want to drag this battle out for as long as possible, to see who had the better endurance.
As for Twilight and Aria, the two were powerful sorceresses, neither side had a shortage of power as they slung every spell in their books at each other. Twilight's Rainbow Power against Aria's Scorn Scorch Magic.
Twilight shot a black hole at Aria, but she destroyed it by firing a spear of black magic at the centre of the black hole, causing it to explode and rain down the ashes for a few seconds before they disappeared in mid-air.
Aria slung a series of magical swords at Twilight, as if to try and impale her in mid-air, but Twilight saw the swords and swatted them away with her scepter alone. Then she fired a blast of Equestrian Magic at Aria, who merely absorbed with her own forcefield.
"I can see it now..." Aria smirked once the laser had disappeared. "The true power of friendship."
"So, you give up?" Twilight smirked right back at Aria with a confident look.
"Heck no!" Aria retorted as she started to leak pure lightning from every part of her body. "In fact, you could say I'm only getting warmed up!"
"Bring it..." Twilight said as she raised her scepter for another onslaught of magical attacks.
"Take this, you witch!" Rarity said, as her spear finally broke Sonata's forcefield, causing the blue centaur to stumble backwards in mid-air. This was followed by each and every one of the other girls to strike Sonata with their weapons, dealing her some pain.
"Ah guess ya'll really are the worst, if yer' just gonna get kicked around like this." Applejack shot a confident glance at Sonata, who looked like all of her happiness was replaced with pure fury. "Ya might as well wanna quit now while-"
"DON'T CALL ME THE WORST, YOU SCUM!!!" Sonata roared as she grabbed Applejack by the neck and barraged her with spell after spell after spell. "I AM THE PRINCESS OF SIRENIA TRENCH, AND AS SUCH, I SHALL BE TREATED WITH RESPECT!!!"
Sonata was too blindsighted by rage to even defend against the attacks of the other girls, who swatted her away like a mere fly. Pinkie's hammers sent her flying, before she was struck by Rarity's polearm, then Rainbow Dash's sword dealt her a blow.
During this entire ordeal, Applejack had been injured by Sonata's assault, but was swiftly healed by Fluttershy's new magic. Once Applejack's cuts disappeared, she and Fluttershy joined in the game of Sonata Pinball, knocking the blue centaur all across the sky.
"Grrr..." Sonata growled as she teleported out of the attack and headed back into the hall, where the students were just standing there, like zombies waiting for a good time to strike. "You may fight well against one target, ladies. But what about many? Pegasi, FLY!!!"
She gave some of the mindless students wings, and they flew up into the air to attack the girls. Within seconds, each of the girls were surrounded by the students they had already beaten or had been defeated by other bands.
They didn't want to harm any of the students, but once they saw Sonata's evil smile, they knew they had no choice. They readied their weapons and prepared to fend off Sonata's aerial support.
Eventually, Aria started to struggle to keep up, and Twilight got the upper edge in spells. She fired a concussive spell at Aria, knocking her through the air and across the stars.
Twilight then took Aria by the horn, preventing her from striking her back by casting a spell on Aria to prevent her from attacking. Then, once she had a good line of sight, Twilight swung Aria round by the horn and launched her towards Sonata.
The two centaurs collided with an explosion of blue and purple energy before falling back down to the hall where they had come from. To speed up the falling proceedure, Twilight fired a massive laser of rainbow energy straight down at Aria and Sonata, driving them deeper and deeper into the ground at a rapid rate.
Twilight then saw her friends struggling to fight off Sonata's winged zombies, so she flew over to give them a hand. She flew in the middle of the onslaught and held out her scepter for a powerful anti-mind control spell.
"Girls, I can break their hypnosis, but I'll need you to help me out on this!" She said to each of her friends, who were locked in aerial combat with groups of students.
"Roger that!" Rainbow Dash kicked a winged zombie back and flew over to Twilight.
"Better than having to fight, I'll admit." Fluttershy used her shield to repel another attack before flying towards Twilight.
"Okie dokie lokie! I'm on my way!" Pinkie said as she launched another winged zombie into another, causing the two to stumble around in midair whilst Pinkie made her escape."
"Ah hear ya, Twi. Ah'm comin'!" Applejack repelled a zombie hoard with a powerful spinning strike and flew towards Twilight as fast as she could.
"Let's put an end to this unchivalrous quarrel!" Rarity swept her attackers away and flew over to Twilight and the rest of the group.
Once everyone was together, they held each others' hands and their Rainbow Power created a powerful burst of energy, which gave each and every one of the winged zombies their free will and human minds back.
"Alright then, everyone. You'll have to deal with the Dazzlings' ground forces whilst we finish this." Twilight said to each and every one of the winged students, who looked at her with a confident and trusting smile. "Can you do that?"
"You got it, Princess Twilight!" Most of them said, before charging towards the ground to fend off the grounded zombies. The only one left was Flash, who looked at Twilight with the most confidence.
"Twilight. Now's the time for you to end this." Flash smiled as he and Twilight shook hands. "I know that you can save both our world and Equestria."
"Thanks, Flash." She smiled and kissed his hand before she and the girls flew off towards Adagio and Sunset, leaving Flash to join the winged batallion back at CHS.
Adagio and Sunset were close to impaling one another during their intense swordfight. Both the powers of fire and Scorn Scorch were on display here, as the two girls ripped each other apart with their powerful blows.
The two swords made a power struggle and the two of them pushed their swords forward with all of their might, as powerful auras of fire and Scorn Scorch pushed against each other above Adagio and Sunset's heads.
"Is that all you got?!" Sunset screamed as she put all of her power into this one power struggle.
"I could say the same for you, Sunset!" Adagio said, she too was giving her all in this final push.
Once the swords finished their struggle, Adagio and Sunset felt winded, as if neither of them could continue any further. Adagio thought her victory was imminent, if Sunset couldn't continue on like this, but then she saw Twilight and her friends coming towards her at breakneck speed.
Adagio tried to strike the girls with a magic attack, but her horn wouldn't co-operate with her. She gasped as she now realized what Sunset had been. Sunset Shimmer was a distraction, to make Adagio tired, so that Twilight could deliver the final blow.
Adagio took every single one of Twilight's attacks, followed by the attacks of her friends. Once everyone had had their fair share of strikes, they all knocked Adagio down right into Aria and Sonata, who were about to rejoin the aerial fight.
"TWILIGHT!!! FINISH THEM!!!" Sunset said as she pointed towards the impact site where Adagio had crashed.
"You got it, Sunset. It's time to end this!" Twilight and the girls flew down at extraordinary speeds towards the three centaurs.
Once they landed back in the hall, they could see all of the damage that had occurred before and during this final battle. They could also see the winged students had defeated the last of the zombie students, knocking the darkness out of them.
"You... can't... d-defeat us... Princess Twilight." Adagio said, clearly in pain from the onslaught she had been receiving. "As long as we can still draw a breath, Equestria will fall!"
"No." Was all that Twilight said before the six girls casted a joint spell on the six centaurs, trapping them in a pyramid of pure rainbow energy. Adagio, Aria and Sonata tried to break out of the pyramid, but it had been made with phenomenal amounts of unequaled Rainbow Power. "Equestria will stand tall. It is you three who will fall!"
"Honesty... Kindness... Laughter... Generosity... Loyalty... Magic..." Twilight said as each of the six girls became encased in a rainbow sphere and was now overflowing with pure rainbow energy. "You girls may think that hatred and scorn can prove victorious over all adversity, but you're wrong. There is always one thing more powerful than any of your little lies and hatred combined."
"The Battle Of The Bands is over, Dazzlings. You lost." Twilight said as each of the balls of rainbow energy became brighter, bigger, and charged up more and more energy. "For the ultimate power is within all of us, no matter how many lies, rumours, and scorn you give to the students, that won't stop them or us from believing in the ultimate magic: The Magic Of Friendship!!!"
As she finished up her little speech, each of the six balls fired a humongous beam of energy. Each of the six lasers combined together in midair, and created an enourmous halo of rainbow energy above CHS. Then, once it was created, a gargantuan beam of Equestrian Magic struck the entirety of CHS, proving non-harmful to the humans but very harmful to the Dazzlings.
Adagio, Aria and Sonata screamed in pain as the light came down on top of all three of them. With in seconds, each of the Scorn Scorch pendants cracked and exploded, expelling colossal amounts of all the dark magic that the Dazzlings had acquired.
"IMPOSSIBLE!!!" Sonata screamed before she cracked up and broke into millions of pieces before fading away on the powerful laser of light. "WE'VE NEVER LOST!!!"
"I commend you, Princess Twilight." Aria smiled as she finally accepted her fate of defeat with a smile. "That truly was a Battle Of The Bands that neither of us would forget... I'm proud of you..." Then she broke up and disappeared in the beam of light.
"No..." Adagio looked as everything she had worked for crumbled away in the light. "NOOOO!!!" She said once Aria and Sonata died in the powerful rain of Equestrian Magic. "THIS IS... IMPOSSIBLE!!! THE DAZZLINGS CAN'T BE DEFEATED!!! She screamed as her entire body cracked, then her face, and all of her dark magic followed suit. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Once the Dazzlings died in the spell's light, CHS became consumed in a massive Rainbow Power explosion, which would wipe out any and all remaining dark magic in the area. Once the light faded, CHS was back to the way it was, the roof had been returned, the students looked like they hadn't even been hurt in the first place, and Celestia and Luna were about to announce the winners.
"It's finally over..." Twilight said as she and the rest of the girls, as well as their weapons, reverted back to their original states. "The Dazzlings have been defeated, the Battle Of The Bands is over, and Equestria AND this world is safe once more."
"You know, I can't help but feel like we're forgetting something..." Rainbow Dash said once she dropped her guitar after it had all ended.
"The winners of the Battle Of The Bands, are The Rainbooms!" Luna announced once she and Celestia held up the trophy together, to celebrate Twilight's victory. Once they had said it, the whole school roared in applause, giving the Mane 6 all of the praise.
"Oh yeah, the tournament." Rainbow Dash said as she picked the guitar back up and got the girls to pose together for a picture. Once they were ready, they pulled Sunset and Spike into the picture as well, so that everyone at CHS knew that Sunset and Spike had some help in this.
"Congratulations, Twilight!" Flash said as all the other bands took the stage to comment Twilight and Friends on their victory. "I always knew you could do it!"
"Well, I didn't do it alone..." She said as she turned to Sunset and the rest of her friends, who were giving her big smiles of accomplishment. "I guess friendship really IS magic after all..."
Once everyone broke up to head back home for the night, Twilight stood in front of the portal and turned to her friends before stepping back through it. Everyone else got the chance to say their goodbyes to Twilight before she made it to the portal.
"Aww, Twilight. Do ya have to leave already?" Rainbow Dash said with a bit of a sad look as Twilight leaned against the edge of the portal.
"Yeah, Twilight. Do ya have to go home already?" Pinkie also had a bit of a disappointed look on her face. "I already had this super cool Thanks-For-Saving-CHS-And-Equestria-Again party idea all set up for you. Don't you leave me so that that idea can go to waste."
"I'm sorry, Pinkie." Twilight said as she leaned her back against the portal, to say her goodbyes. "I know you want to celebrate our victory with me, but I have matters to attend to as the Princess Of Friendship back in Equestria." She said as she looked at the portal, and back at her friends. "Besides, I have a Pinkie Pie back in my world who'd gladly do your idea."
"Oh, okay!" Pinkie said, remembering that Equestria had doubles of each of them as well. "Make sure to tell that Pinkie I said hi, alright?"
"I will." Twilight said as she placed an arm through the portal, so that she was ready to head back home. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." She gave Pinkie an official Pinkie Promise as well, so that she knew that Twilight would do it.
"You know, Sunset..." Twilight said as she felt the portal's magic was stronger than ever now. "The portal has been upgraded, so if you like, I could take you home with me..."
"That's a very tempting offer, Twilight. But I'm afraid I have to decline." Sunset smiled as she graciously gave Twilight a goodbye look before she turned back to look at CHS one more time. "While Equestria still has its' charm, I think CHS is more home to me know. That, and Celestia is still a little mad at me for running out on my studies."
"Oh, that's right..." Twilight said as she remembered that Celestia was still mad at Sunset because she had left for the human world in a fit of rage. "Well, it was worth a chance, right?"
"Yeah." Sunset said as she remembered how Twilight had gotten here. "At least I've still got the book to contact you with." Sunset picked the book up from her bag and held it to Twilight. "If I get bored, I could have a little talk with you through these pages."
"That'd be nice." Twilight said as she called Spike out of Fluttershy's arms, so that the two could go home together. "I'll be waiting to open the portal again, if you change your mind."
"Oh, Twilight!" Flash said, running over to Twilight, who was about to make the jump back to Equestria. "So, uhh. I guess this is goodbye?"
"Yeah, I guess it is." Twilight said as she looked Flash in the eyes before she looked back at the portal. "Don't worry, Flash. I could always come back, if you wanted me to."
"Oh, uh, no. It's alright, no seriously." Flash said, stumbling a little as he was told that Twilight could head back to CHS any time she wanted to now. "You've got to be a princess back in your world. I wouldn't want the affairs of CHS to meddle with your royal duties."
"Oh, Flash. Before I go, I have something to give you." Twilight said as she blushed a little as she cracked a smile.
"Oh, what is it Twi-" Flash was stopped mid-sentence as Twilight began to kiss Flash, he was a little surprised, but decided to play along and kiss Twilight back. At long last, Flash and Twilight had confessed their love for each other.
"Oh, I love happy endings!" Rarity smiled as she saw Twilight and Flash kissing under the moon. "The kiss shared by two star-crossed lovers. Doesn't it make you tingle with delight?"
"Yeah, ah guess yer right about that." Applejack said as Flash and Twilight finished their smooch and let each other breath in fresh air once more.
"Goodbye, Twilight." Flash said as Twilight walked back towards the portal. "Keep me in your thoughts, ok?"
"I will, Flash..." Twilight said as she walked backwards through the portal and back into Equestria. "Goodbye, everyone. And thank you, for everything..."
And with that, Twilight and Spike vanished into the portal, and back to Equestria. They could take comfort in knowing that Equestria and CHS had been saved once more, by the true magic of friendship.
Once Twilight left, the students of CHS knew that their friendship was undeniable and unbeatable, and with Twilight in their thoughts, they'd never give in to pure hate ever again. They all knew that the defeat of the Dazzzlings, sparked a new beginning for CHS and Equestria.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading The Ultimate Show.
This ending wasn't exactly accurate with the actual movie itself, it's just how I imagined it would end. I hope you enjoyed reading this story. And hopefully you'll share it with your friends when you have the time. It really helps this story get out there, and it gives me more support and motivation to update my other fanfics.
On a more personal note, I kept listening to Collective Conscience and It Has To Be This Way when I made this fic, to help me keep going and to make this fight seem truly epic. And I'm not gonna lie, those songs are purely epic, and would have made the final battle all the more glorious. Speaking of which: METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE. GET IT NOW! YOU WON'T REGRET IT!!!
Anyways, this is Shadowmane PX-41, signing off. See you around, guys and gals!
