Rainbow Rocks (partial) Rewriteby MalekPonyChaptersThe Rainbooms' Argument and BreakupArgument Stoppage, Apologies, Accusations, Resentment, and Bad FuturesThe Final BattleTwilight's Departure, the Friendship Lesson, and Shine Like RainbowsRealizations, Confessions, Reconciliations, and Preparations for the Final Battle The Rainbooms' Argument and BreakupTHIS IS AN IMPORTANT WARNING TO ALL READERS! The following story contains arguments, a break up, accusations, and some anger that might be too disturbing for some readers. Reader discretion is advised. Our story begins with the Rainbooms, trapped under the stage thanks to Trixe, who had just started to sing "Tricks Up My Sleeve" with her band the Illusions, which is muffled in the background. While Rainbow Dash grunts and tries to open the trap door, Applejack says "Give it up, Rainbow Dash. You've been tryin' at this for hours. It's not gonna work." "Maybe it doesn't even matter that we're trapped down here. I don't think the counter-spell would have worked anyway." Twilight Sparkle laments. Applejack assured her with comfort, "Of course it would have worked, Twilight." before her mood changes to anger as she directs this to Rainbow, yelling "Assumin' a certain band member didn't try to hog the spotlight the whole time we were tryin' to play it!" "Hey! If you wanna tell Twilight she's getting a little too caught up trying to be the new leader of this band, you don't have to be all cryptic about it," Rainbow Dash retorted as she accuses Twilight of being the new leader of the band. "She was talking about you, Rainbow Dash!", Rarity pointed out, telling Rainbow that she was referring to her. To counter the argument, Rainbow Dash roared, "Me?! I'm just trying to make sure my band rocks as hard as it needs to!" The other four Rainbooms (Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie) all correct Rainbow Dash by shouting, "OUR BAND!!" We then go to Twilight Sparkle, who says, "But why wasn't it working? I should know what to do. How could I not know what to do? How could I have failed like this?", as she continues to lament on her failures. We then go back to the rest of the Rainbooms, when Applejack tells Rainbow, "It might've been your idea to start a band, but it's not just your band, Rainbow Dash!" "I'm the one who writes all the songs!" Rainbow Dash argued back. "I write songs! You just never let us play any of them!" Fluttershy yelled. Rarity then followed up with, "I had the most perfect outfits for us to wear!" Getting annoyed and fed up with Rarity's constant fussing and whining about costumes, Applejack yelled, "Again with the costumes! No one cares what we're wearin'!", opposing what Rarity just said. "I care, Applejack! So sorry if I enjoy trying to make a creative contribution to the band!" Rarity shot back at Applejack, seething with anger. Pinkie Pie jumps in between the arguing Rainbooms, screaming "Hey! Anybody here remember fun?! I'll give you a hint: It's the exact opposite of being in the Rainbooms!" "I wish I never asked any of you to be in my band!" Rainbow Dash bellowed in anger. "I WISH I'D NEVER AGREED TO BE IN IT!!!!" Rarity shouted. "Me neither!" Applejack and Fluttershy agreed. ...and thus the Rainbooms have ended their friendships in a huff and started arguing immensely toward each other, which is not a pretty sight. With their friendships in shambles, a green glow has begun to surround the Rainbooms, with a green mist starting to emerge from the now-former friends! This greatly worries Sunset Shimmer because the Dazzlings had started to feed on their negativity, arguing and hatred toward each other! This won't end well. Meanwhile, above the stage, Trixie and the Illusions were about to finish her song, "Tricks Up My Sleeve", with this: Ya better believe I got tricks up my sleeve See me dominate 'Cause I'm powerful and grea-ea-eat! There were fireworks going off and lighting up the whole sky. Not to mention the fact that there was a lot of applause and cheering from the crowd being directed at Trixie and the Illusions. Trixie Lulamoon then exclaims, "Try to top that!" "Oh, gosh! I don't know if we can!," Adagio sarcastically replies. The Dazzlings then started to sing their song (By this point, there is a green mist, the same one that the Rainbooms emitted because their friendships came to an end, has started to make its way up onto the stage): Ahh, ah-ah, ahh. Ah, ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Ah, ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Argument Stoppage, Apologies, Accusations, Resentment, and Bad FuturesArgument Stoppage, Apologies, Accusations and Resentment Some time after the Dazzlings started up the song "Welcome to the Show", Sunset Shimmer looks up above to see the negative energy the Rainbooms are giving the Dazzlings thanks to their arguing. Realizing that the negative energy was what the Dazzlings were wanting, she had to do something about it, and fast! "Stop! You have to stop!" Sunset Shimmer yells, and this stops the Rainbooms from continuing their arguing any further. By this point, the Rainbooms no longer emitted a green mist that had been feeding the Dazzlings their negative energy. "This is what they've been after all along! They're feeding off of the magic inside you!" she next exclaims. "How can they be using our magic? It's the magic of friendship," Applejack confusingly asks. Sunset then explains to the Rainbooms, "I'm sorry to say this to you, but I need to point out that you are not being good friends to each other right now because you've been letting little things get to your head ever since the day you formed this band. I never said anything because I didn't feel like it was my place. Not when I'm so new to this whole "friendship" thing. I still have a lot to learn. But I do know that if you don't work out even the smallest problems right at the start, the magic of friendship can be turned into something else." The Rainbooms then feel guilty about what they did, realizing that they shouldn't have treated each other the way they did. With a hint of realization, Twilight Sparkle says "I can't believe all this tension was happening right under my nose and I didn't realize it. I'm supposed to be the one with all the answers. And all I've done since I got here is let you down." "I don't think anyone is supposed to have all the answers. But you can count on your friends to help you find them." Sunset Shimmer reassures. The Rainbooms smiled at this statement. Thank goodness Sunset Shimmer stopped their foolish bickering, otherwise history would've been made for the wrong reasons as explained in my author's note below. "Sunset, we're sorry for what we did," Rainbow Dash admitted sadly. "Our behaviors toward each other today were just awful," Rarity shamefully said. "We'd all been too thick headed to realize our folly of bein' enemies to each other," Applejack added. "We shouldn't have been arguing with each other like that," Fluttershy confessed. "We should've been happy and smiling instead of getting angry with each other like we did. What we need to say to you is...." Pinkie Pie lamented. "We're sorry!" all five of the Rainbooms announced to Sunset and Twilight. The Rainbooms then embraced each other indicating that they had made up. "Now that's better and I forgive you," Sunset said to the Rainbooms. "What do you think, Twilight? Do you forgive them as well?", Sunset asks Twilight. Twilight thinks about it for a little while, but she got angry all of a sudden as she turns her gaze to the Rainbooms. This is not the reaction the Rainbooms expected. Twilight then snapped and said, “You’re sorry? You’re sorry? ALL of you should be sorry for what you did, especially you, Rainbow Dash!” “Geez, Twilight! Calm down! I’m sure that I’ve learned my lesson by now,” Rainbow said. “NO! YOU HAVE FAILED TO LEARN YOUR LESSON AFTER WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO THE RAINBOOMS!!” Twilight bitterly said. “How could you call yourself the “Element of Loyalty” when all you did was hog the spotlight and abandon your friends? As a matter of fact, I think that you do NOT deserve the Element of Loyalty AT ALL! Sorry, but I’m telling it like it is, you sad excuse for a friend!” “Twilight, stop it! This isn’t like you at all!! Don’t you see? You’re doing exactly what the Dazzlings wanted by taking your anger out on the Rainbooms, so I suggest you calm down and be happy that they made up and got the band back together,” Sunset dictated. “Oh yeah? Well, do you know what I think? I THINK THAT THE SO-CALLED “RAINBOOMS” HAVE NOT LEARNED A SINGLE DARN THING AT ALL THIS WHOLE TIME DURING OUR BATTLE OF THE BANDS, AND THAT’S BECAUSE ALL THEY HAVE BEEN DOING IS FIGHTING AND ARGUING WITH EACH OTHER!!”, Twilight resented. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, Twilight! I cannot believe that you would say such horrible things like that! However, I do have to admit one thing; you were right to yell at us because our behaviors today were just despicable, especially when I was being such a fussy fool who got carried away with my costume obsession. I guess we were not being good friends to each other after all, were we?”, Rarity told Twilight. “NO, YOU WERE NOT! In fact, I need to have a VERY serious discussion with you, Rarity (or should I say “Miss Vanity”)! I thought that you were supposed to focus on the music and how the band was performing, but NO! You had to just go and let your vanity, selfishness and obsession with the costumes get the better of you! Do you want to know why? It's because you were so fussy about the costumes that you forgot the very reason why you formed the band in the first place! You do need to realize that you've gone off the deep end because the Rainbooms are a band and most certainly NOT a fashion show!! SOME ELEMENT OF GENEROSITY YOU ARE, MISS VANITY!!!!”, Twilight raged. Applejack then cautioned Twilight, “Whoa nelly! Hold your horses there, Twilight! I know I did yell at Rarity for actin’ like a disgrace to the band with her obsession with the costumes, but please don’t take your anger out on me.” Unfortunately, Twilight's rants continued on as she angrily hissed, “YES! I WILL TAKE MY ANGER OUT ON YOU, APPLEJACK!! Now, I know you may be an honest pony, but look in the mirror: you are as stubborn as a mule! Do you want to know why? Technically, it's because you were the one trying to start an argument! As a result, I will have to pin the blame on you, Rarity AND Rainbow Dash for your actions that caused the Rainbooms to fall apart the way they did!” “Twilight, please! Stop your anger and calm down!”, Fluttershy ordered, “We now know that what we did is wrong.” “NO! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! I’m still feeling resentment toward the Rainbooms for their behavior. In fact, I’m holding a grudge toward Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack!”, Twilight bellowed. However, she then calmed herself down for a bit to say, “I know you wanted the Rainbooms to play our songs, but you shouldn’t get mad all because of that “egotistical maniac” who rejected it,” Twilight roared Rainbow then retorted, “What did you just say? Did you just call me an “egotistical maniac”?” Twilight then responded in anger “YES, I DID! Well, guess what? If it wasn’t for your egotistical showboating, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!!!” Pinkie Pie then tried to intervene by saying “Twilight, will you stop your angry rant? I want the Rainbooms to have fun!” “Well, Pinkie? Do you know what I have to say about that? What I am going to say is that you and the Rainbooms will NOT be having any fun at all because I’m resenting ALL OF YOU for what you have done!! In fact, how can you call yourselves good friends, when YOU REALLY ARE THE WORST FRIENDS I HAVE EVER MET IN MY WHOLE LIFE? Now if you’ll excuse me, I am holding a grudge against all of you and you can forget about getting the Rainbooms back together for the Battle of the Bands! In fact, if I were any of you, I wouldn’t even come near me at all! You all have a lot to think about right now because as of this very moment, OUR FRIENDSHIPS ARE OFFICIALLY OVER! GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE, UN-FRIENDS!! I HOPE I NEVER SEE ANY OF YOU EVER AGAIN!!!!” Twilight Sparkle accused to her now-former friends, before turning to Sunset, announcing "Sunset, I'm sorry but my friendships with the Rainbooms are OVER! I never want to see them ever again!" Twilight then storms off in a huff as she screams in frustration and runs away from the Rainbooms to sit in the corner. Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms, or should I say ex-Rainbooms, gasped at this. “Whoa! That was quite the display of anger we saw from Twilight, and I must say that I am very disappointed in you for arguing with each other the way you did. How could you? How could you treat each other like that? I thought you had learned your lessons, but I guess Twilight told me otherwise.” “Gee, Sunset Shimmer. After the way Twilight yelled at us, our ears are damaged right now. We’re sorry for arguing with each other, and for making her mad because of our behaviors today,” Rarity apologized. “Sunset, let me tell you the story about why we were behavin' like rotten apples durin' the battle of the bands. The reasons why we were arguin' in the first place was because Rainbow Dash failed to control her ego and I thought Rarity's vanity was just too much for me to take, especially when I told her that it was a band, NOT a fashion show. However, it’s my fault too because of my stubborn pride that has torn our friendships apart. Not to mention the fact that when I tried to cool down the Rainbooms’ anger and keep our friendships together, I actually had the intent to wind up starting the arguments. Why had I done that? It was because I thought it was something everyone wanted to hear. As a matter of fact, I was complaining about something no one else took issue with, and without saying "Does anyone else see the point of dressin' up fancy?" or "Did you ever realize you're not the only member of the band?". Let’s face it; it’s all our fault, especially Rainbow’s, Rarity's and mine. I guess Twilight was right to chew us out the way she did, huh?” Applejack told Sunset. Sunset Shimmer then got angry at the Rainbooms and said, “Yes! I think you really did deserve to get chewed out by my friend Twilight because this experience with the Battle of the Bands has taught you nothing at all! I hope you’re happy. All of you. Thanks to your arguing, you’ve ruined the Battle of the Bands for us! The squabbling, the ego, the vanity, the stubborn pride, the negative attitudes... I mean, is there anything else that could possibly go wrong?” Just then, by sheer coincidence, the door opens (now unlocked) to reveal Vinyl Scratch and Spike the Talking Dog, who have angry looks on their faces. “Yay! The door’s open now, and I see Spike and Vinyl!”, shouts an excited Pinkie Pie Spike growled at the Rainbooms and said, "You should be ashamed! You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" Meanwhile, Vinyl gives the Rainbooms a thumbs-down expression. The Rainbooms gasped in shock. It was bad enough that Twilight gave them a tongue-lashing, but Spike the Talking Dog and Vinyl Scratch getting mad at the Rainbooms would just make it worse. Rarity then cried, "But Vinyl and Spike! We are truly sorry for what we did! Can you forgive us?" "What do you think Vinyl, do you think we should forgive them?", asked Spike Vinyl then gave a thumbs-up expression to indicate that they're forgiven. "Well, it's settled then. You all are forgiven," Spike announced, and then added "Oh and by the way, I had to get someone who was not affected by the sirens' spell in order to get you out of this trap." “What about the battle of the bands?”, Rainbow Dash pondered. “Not a chance, Rainbow. I told you to forget about it because I'm still holding a grudge against you for what you did,” Twilight angrily replied. Rainbow Dash then admitted, “Well, I guess you’re right. Unfortunately, I'm afraid we'll have to shut down the Rainbooms for the time being, until we can get you to become our friend again.” Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie agree sadly. "Come on! Let's get out of here!", Pinkie Pie yelled. The Rainbooms, Twilight and Sunset run out of the ampitheater storage room. Meanwhile, The Dazzlings sing up on the stage. They are still absorbing the negative energy that the Rainbooms emitted a while ago, and this was shortly before they gained their anthro forms: Ah-ha, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah. Ah-ha, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Welcome to the show Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah We're here to let you know Our time is now Your time is running out "Hey girls, look! I see the Rainbooms, Sunset and Twilight running outside...", said Sonata, having interrupted their song. "...and judging by Twilight's face, I think she looks mad. I guess she must've gotten sour at the Rainbooms for the way they acted," Adagio continued. "Well, speak of the devil: here she is," Aria pointed out. "That's right! I'm the one who yelled at the Rainbooms for their bad behavior. I even broke up my friendships with them!" Twilight said. "So, you're still holding some resentment against the Rainbooms, eh?", Adagio asked. "Yes! I don't want to be friends with them anymore! Not after what they did!", yelled Twilight "Well, I guess the Rainbooms are likely to fall apart again without you and we can feed on more of their negative energy than we've imagined," Adagio said with an evil smirk on her face. "We'll see about that, Adagio!" Twilight retorted, with a competitive smile on her face. The Final BattleThe Rainbooms and Dazzlings have their battle of the bands! The song being sung is Welcome to the Show/Rainbooms Battle: Ahh, ah-ah, ahh. Ah, ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Ah, ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Ahh, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah. Ah-ha, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah. Welcome to the show Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah We're here to let you know Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Our time is now Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah Your time is running out We then see the Rainbooms over the top of a hill, ready for the battle of the bands, "How are we supposed to play over them from up here?", questioned Rainbow Dash Just then, by sheer coincidence, a car horn beeps. The car in question belongs to Vinyl Scratch, who forgave them for their actions. Said car turns into a DJ station that included a rainbow-colored soundscreen, several stylish lava lamps, and an epic-level sound/light system. The Rainbooms cheered at this discovery! Pinkie Pie shouted, "Awesome!" "Sweet!", Rainbow Dash agreed. Ah, ah, ah Ah-ha, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah. Ah-ha, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah. Feel the wave of sound As it crashes down You can't turn away We'll make you wanna 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 Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh I've got the music in me Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh Don't need to hear a crowd Cheering out my name I didn't come here seeking Infamy or fame By now, the Rainbooms should all gain their anthro-pony form with their horns and wings. The one and only thing That I am here to bring Is music, is the music Is the music in my soul 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 "So the Rainbooms want to turn this into a real Battle of the Bands? Then let's battle!", declared Adagio. What we have in store (ah-ah) All we want and more (ah-ah) We will break on through (ah-ah) Now it's time to finish you! By this point, the Dazzlings turn into their true siren forms. While there's an instrumental going on during the song, Twilight and Adagio had a battle of the voices. However, the Sirens' shout had outmatched Twilight's voice attack. This caused a dramatic wind to blow in the Rainbooms' direction and even caused the microphone to fall out of Twilight's hand and into the ground. Twilight Sparkle then said, "Sunset Shimmer, we need you!" There is a drum solo as Sunset Shimmer then picks up her microphone and starts singing. You're never gonna bring me down You're never gonna break this part of me My friends are here to bring me 'round Not singing just for popularity We're here to let you know That we won't let it go Our music is a bomb and it's about to blow And you can try to fight But we have got the light of Friendship on our side! Got the music in our hearts We're here to blow this thing apart And together, we will never Be afraid of the dark Here to sing our song out loud Get you dancing with the crowd As the music of our friendship Survives, survives! Notice that at this point, Sunset Shimmer gets her own anthro-pony transformation. Got the music in our hearts We're here to blow this thing apart And together, we will never Be afraid of the dark Here to sing our song out loud Get you dancing with the crowd As the music of our friendship Survi ves, surv ives, survives! The rainbow that Mane Six's colors plus Sunset Shimmer's creates a celestial alicorn that fires a rainbow beam at the Dazzlings, not only shattering their siren forms but also shattering their pendants. The students have been snapped out of the Dazzlings' spell as well, for the trio is now defeated! However, the Dazzlings try again to sing, albeit off-key this time: We will be adored Tell us that you want us We won't be ignored It's time for our reward This leads to the crowd booing and pelting stuff (including hot dogs, sandwiches, oranges, grapefruits, pears, etc.) at the Dazzlings, who have decided to run away by this point. "Guess that explains why these were so special to them," Sunset Shimmer said as she picked up a piece of one of the Dazzlings' now-broken pendants. "Without those pendants and the magic you brought here from Equestria, they're just three harmless teenage girls," explained Twilight Sparkle. "Rainbooms rule! That was amazing!", congratulated Flash Sentry. The Rainbooms had giggled at this, and right before Twilight could kiss Flash Sentry, Trixie Lulamoon then appeared out of nowhere, stepping in between them and saying, "You may have vanquished the Dazzlings, but you will never have the showstopping ability of the Great and Powerful-", she started before getting interrupted. "OH, GIVE IT A REST AND BE QUIET!!!!", the Rainbooms and Sunset yelled to Trixie, who then uses her smoke bomb to disappear. "She's gone!", reacted Pinkie Pie. She does, however, change her mind when she notices Trixie is still present, which results in her saying, "Oh, wait. There she is." Trixie then falls off and says, "Trixie's okay!" "You know, Twilight is going back to Equestria soon. The Rainbooms could really use someone to help Fluttershy on backup vocals," informed Rainbow Dash. Sunset Shimmer plays her guitar riff and then says "I also play guitar." "We'll see," Rainbow Dash responded. Twilight's Departure, the Friendship Lesson, and Shine Like RainbowsThe next day, Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and the Rainbooms gathered in front of the stature where the portal lies. "Sure wish you could stay longer." Applejack said. Twilight Sparkle then responds with, "Me too. But I have responsibilities in Equestria that I have to get back to. Its citizens need me. But now I can go through the portal whenever I need to. This isn't goodbye. It's just goodbye 'til next time. Ready?" "Ready!", Spike confirms. Both Twilight and Spike walk into the portal exiting the human world and back into Equestria. Using her journal, Sunset Shimmer writes: Dear Princess Twilight, Missing you already, and I hope you'll be back soon. Things are definitely looking up for me here at Canterlot High. But I know I still have a lot to learn about friendship. Hope you don't mind if I write to you for advice when I need it. Anyways, the Battle of the Bands turned out to be a complete success! We all have learned a lot from the Battle of the Bands. First, we couldn't believe that the Rainbooms were constantly bickering with each other, and it almost ruined the Battle of the Bands for us. That's because they've been letting little things get to their head. They learned the hard way that if you don't work out even the smallest problems right at the start, not only will your friendships fall apart, but the Magic of Friendship can be turned into something dark and ugly. Another lesson we learned is that both of us still have a lot to learn. You've also learned that it was foolish of you to think that you should have all the answers. What you do have are good friends who will always be there to help me find them. Finally, a third lesson we learned is that friends forgive each other. At first, you got mad at the Rainbooms because of their bad behaviors yesterday and you even refused to forgive them because of it. However, you then let go of your grudge as you realized that if you forgive them, they forgive you because that's what friends do. Your friend, Sunset Shimmer. Rainbow then asks Sunset, "You ready or what?" "Ready!", says Sunset as she takes her place on stage with her guitar ready. Pinkie Pie then counts out, "One! Two! Three! Four!" The song being sung is Shine Like Rainbows [Applejack] Once upon a time You came into my world and made the stars align [Rarity] Now I can see the signs You pick me up when I get down so I can shine [The Rainbooms] Shine like rainbows Shine like rainbows Shine like rainbows Shine like rainbows [Rainbow Dash] Friends, you are in my life And you can count on me to be there by your side [Sunset Shimmer] And when the music comes alive We sing our songs to lift us up so we can shine [The Rainbooms] And the sound that we hear in our hearts Makes a crescendo And the light that ignites in the dark It makes us all glow And shine like rainbows We shine like rainbows Shine like rainbows We shine like rainbows Together we stand As the rain begins to fall And holdin' our heads up high As the sun shines through it all [The cast] And the sound that we hear in our hearts Makes a crescendo And the light that ignites in the dark It makes us all glow And shine like rainbows We shine like rainbows Shine like rainbows We shine like rainbows [The Rainbooms] We shine like rainbows. Realizations, Confessions, Reconciliations, and Preparations for the Final Battle Realizations, Confessions, Reconciliations, and Preparations for the Final Battle Twilight, who still shows resentment toward her friends right now, faces off with Adagio in a three vs. one battle alone. "Adagio! I don't care if you had the intention to tear the whole school apart with a competition that should never have been there to begin with, but I will still take you down even though my friends' actions almost caused you to win!", said Twilight as she prepared for battle. "Well, for all your blabbering, you were right about one thing; the way your friends were treating each other did indeed nearly cause us, the Dazzlings, to win! Anyways, we'll see how long you can survive without your friends," Adagio retorted. "Alright, I can survive without my-", Twilight started to say before she stopped herself. "My friends. Oh no! What have I done?", Twilight said with a realization, tears now starting to form in her eyes. "My friends, I really do care about you! All the time I could've spent with all of you was wasted, getting angry and wishing we were never friends in the first place," Twilight sighed sadly, closing her eyes with tears running down her cheeks. "No! I can't waste my whole life away crying! I've got to get my friends back!", Twilight said with determination. Shortly thereafter, here come her friends (and Spike the Talking Dog) Pinkie Pie, upon the very sight of Twilight, exclaimed, "Hi, Twilight! Long time no see, eh?" "Uh, listen. I owe some big apologies to you guys. I'm sorry for yelling at you, and I'm especially sorry for disowning you as my friends. I now realize that I do care about you and you do care about me. One thing I'd like to ask of you is this question: do you forgive me?", Twilight apologized, after finally letting go of her grudge. "Yes, Twilight! We all forgive you!", Pinkie Pie replied. "Thanks, girls!", exclaimed Twilight. "You're welcome," said her friends. "By the way, you didn't have to apologize. We should be sorry too because we were being hypocrites to our elements. Remember when I had my huge ego during the Battle of the Bands? I was supposed to be the Element of Loyalty, but the only person I've been loyal to was myself. I was self-centered," Rainbow Dash admitted. "Not to mention the fact that when I was supposed to be the Element of Generosity, I wound up being a rather selfish fool. You were right; I wasn't being generous when my petty vanity and costume obsession caused me to abandon the very reason why we formed this band in the first place, and that was to make music. However, I did say that I was making a creative contribution to the band." Rarity confessed. "Well, I am the Element of Honesty, but I ended up with the intent to start the arguments that we were having and that's what nearly ended our friendships right there. I took my anger out on the wrong girls, and we almost got our friendships torn apart all just because I couldn't control my temper," added Applejack. "Let me add in the fact that I was supposed to be the Element of Kindness, but we were being mean to each other," Fluttershy said. "..and finally, I'm the Element of Laughter. We were supposed to smile, be happy and have some fun, but all we did was ruin our friendships by getting angry and arguing with each other the way we did. Some friends we are. We now realize our follies and we are sorry for what we did. I guess we don't deserve your forgiveness after all, huh?", concluded Pinkie Pie. "Well, to be honest, I did hold a grudge against you when we were trapped under our stage, but that grudge has finally gone away now that I realize that friends forgive each other so I'll do my part and forgive you just like you forgive me!", Twilight announced. "YAY!", cheered Twilight's friends after their reconciliation. Shortly after, Sunset Shimmer walks by and says, "Is everything okay?" "It is now! I had just reconciled and made up with my friends!", Twilight responds. "Well, that's good to hear.", Sunset affirmed. "We're so glad to be friends again," said Twilight. "Don't forget that you still have the Dazzlings to defeat," Sunset reminded Twilight and her friends. "Oh yeah, that's right! We forgot about that because we were celebrating our reconciliations," Twilight replied. "Sunset's right! Come on, y'all! Time to prove we've still got the Magic of Friendship inside us!", Applejack declared. Twilight followed up with, "...and there's only one way to do it!" "We're getting the band back together?", asked Pinkie. "We're getting our band back together.", confirmed Rainbow Dash, who had finally learned her lesson in humility and teamwork. "Whee!", Pinkie shouted in excitement. "Oooh. Which version of the counterspell are we going to play?", Rarity pondered. "I don't think it matters what song we play, as long as we play it together as friends, rather than the enemies we were being.", Twilight responded. "I know just the song, and Fluttershy's written a great one.", Rainbow said (to make up for her mistake of rejecting Fluttershy's songs for her own). "We're about to save the world here. Personally, I think we should do it in style. Rarity?", Applejack added (finally letting go of her stubborn pride). "I thought you'd never ask!", shouts Rarity excitedly, while bringing out a rack of costumes for the Rainbooms to wear. Twilight replied with, "Well, how about that? And I thought Rarity was being a bad friend." "Nope! She told me that she did make a 'creative contribution' to our band with her costumes. Isn't that right, Rarity?" Applejack corrected. "That's right!", agreed Rarity. "Now, enough time for standing around. Let's do this!", shouted Sunset.
The Rainbooms' Argument and BreakupTHIS IS AN IMPORTANT WARNING TO ALL READERS! The following story contains arguments, a break up, accusations, and some anger that might be too disturbing for some readers. Reader discretion is advised. Our story begins with the Rainbooms, trapped under the stage thanks to Trixe, who had just started to sing "Tricks Up My Sleeve" with her band the Illusions, which is muffled in the background. While Rainbow Dash grunts and tries to open the trap door, Applejack says "Give it up, Rainbow Dash. You've been tryin' at this for hours. It's not gonna work." "Maybe it doesn't even matter that we're trapped down here. I don't think the counter-spell would have worked anyway." Twilight Sparkle laments. Applejack assured her with comfort, "Of course it would have worked, Twilight." before her mood changes to anger as she directs this to Rainbow, yelling "Assumin' a certain band member didn't try to hog the spotlight the whole time we were tryin' to play it!" "Hey! If you wanna tell Twilight she's getting a little too caught up trying to be the new leader of this band, you don't have to be all cryptic about it," Rainbow Dash retorted as she accuses Twilight of being the new leader of the band. "She was talking about you, Rainbow Dash!", Rarity pointed out, telling Rainbow that she was referring to her. To counter the argument, Rainbow Dash roared, "Me?! I'm just trying to make sure my band rocks as hard as it needs to!" The other four Rainbooms (Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie) all correct Rainbow Dash by shouting, "OUR BAND!!" We then go to Twilight Sparkle, who says, "But why wasn't it working? I should know what to do. How could I not know what to do? How could I have failed like this?", as she continues to lament on her failures. We then go back to the rest of the Rainbooms, when Applejack tells Rainbow, "It might've been your idea to start a band, but it's not just your band, Rainbow Dash!" "I'm the one who writes all the songs!" Rainbow Dash argued back. "I write songs! You just never let us play any of them!" Fluttershy yelled. Rarity then followed up with, "I had the most perfect outfits for us to wear!" Getting annoyed and fed up with Rarity's constant fussing and whining about costumes, Applejack yelled, "Again with the costumes! No one cares what we're wearin'!", opposing what Rarity just said. "I care, Applejack! So sorry if I enjoy trying to make a creative contribution to the band!" Rarity shot back at Applejack, seething with anger. Pinkie Pie jumps in between the arguing Rainbooms, screaming "Hey! Anybody here remember fun?! I'll give you a hint: It's the exact opposite of being in the Rainbooms!" "I wish I never asked any of you to be in my band!" Rainbow Dash bellowed in anger. "I WISH I'D NEVER AGREED TO BE IN IT!!!!" Rarity shouted. "Me neither!" Applejack and Fluttershy agreed. ...and thus the Rainbooms have ended their friendships in a huff and started arguing immensely toward each other, which is not a pretty sight. With their friendships in shambles, a green glow has begun to surround the Rainbooms, with a green mist starting to emerge from the now-former friends! This greatly worries Sunset Shimmer because the Dazzlings had started to feed on their negativity, arguing and hatred toward each other! This won't end well. Meanwhile, above the stage, Trixie and the Illusions were about to finish her song, "Tricks Up My Sleeve", with this: Ya better believe I got tricks up my sleeve See me dominate 'Cause I'm powerful and grea-ea-eat! There were fireworks going off and lighting up the whole sky. Not to mention the fact that there was a lot of applause and cheering from the crowd being directed at Trixie and the Illusions. Trixie Lulamoon then exclaims, "Try to top that!" "Oh, gosh! I don't know if we can!," Adagio sarcastically replies. The Dazzlings then started to sing their song (By this point, there is a green mist, the same one that the Rainbooms emitted because their friendships came to an end, has started to make its way up onto the stage): Ahh, ah-ah, ahh. Ah, ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Ah, ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah.
Argument Stoppage, Apologies, Accusations, Resentment, and Bad FuturesArgument Stoppage, Apologies, Accusations and Resentment Some time after the Dazzlings started up the song "Welcome to the Show", Sunset Shimmer looks up above to see the negative energy the Rainbooms are giving the Dazzlings thanks to their arguing. Realizing that the negative energy was what the Dazzlings were wanting, she had to do something about it, and fast! "Stop! You have to stop!" Sunset Shimmer yells, and this stops the Rainbooms from continuing their arguing any further. By this point, the Rainbooms no longer emitted a green mist that had been feeding the Dazzlings their negative energy. "This is what they've been after all along! They're feeding off of the magic inside you!" she next exclaims. "How can they be using our magic? It's the magic of friendship," Applejack confusingly asks. Sunset then explains to the Rainbooms, "I'm sorry to say this to you, but I need to point out that you are not being good friends to each other right now because you've been letting little things get to your head ever since the day you formed this band. I never said anything because I didn't feel like it was my place. Not when I'm so new to this whole "friendship" thing. I still have a lot to learn. But I do know that if you don't work out even the smallest problems right at the start, the magic of friendship can be turned into something else." The Rainbooms then feel guilty about what they did, realizing that they shouldn't have treated each other the way they did. With a hint of realization, Twilight Sparkle says "I can't believe all this tension was happening right under my nose and I didn't realize it. I'm supposed to be the one with all the answers. And all I've done since I got here is let you down." "I don't think anyone is supposed to have all the answers. But you can count on your friends to help you find them." Sunset Shimmer reassures. The Rainbooms smiled at this statement. Thank goodness Sunset Shimmer stopped their foolish bickering, otherwise history would've been made for the wrong reasons as explained in my author's note below. "Sunset, we're sorry for what we did," Rainbow Dash admitted sadly. "Our behaviors toward each other today were just awful," Rarity shamefully said. "We'd all been too thick headed to realize our folly of bein' enemies to each other," Applejack added. "We shouldn't have been arguing with each other like that," Fluttershy confessed. "We should've been happy and smiling instead of getting angry with each other like we did. What we need to say to you is...." Pinkie Pie lamented. "We're sorry!" all five of the Rainbooms announced to Sunset and Twilight. The Rainbooms then embraced each other indicating that they had made up. "Now that's better and I forgive you," Sunset said to the Rainbooms. "What do you think, Twilight? Do you forgive them as well?", Sunset asks Twilight. Twilight thinks about it for a little while, but she got angry all of a sudden as she turns her gaze to the Rainbooms. This is not the reaction the Rainbooms expected. Twilight then snapped and said, “You’re sorry? You’re sorry? ALL of you should be sorry for what you did, especially you, Rainbow Dash!” “Geez, Twilight! Calm down! I’m sure that I’ve learned my lesson by now,” Rainbow said. “NO! YOU HAVE FAILED TO LEARN YOUR LESSON AFTER WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO THE RAINBOOMS!!” Twilight bitterly said. “How could you call yourself the “Element of Loyalty” when all you did was hog the spotlight and abandon your friends? As a matter of fact, I think that you do NOT deserve the Element of Loyalty AT ALL! Sorry, but I’m telling it like it is, you sad excuse for a friend!” “Twilight, stop it! This isn’t like you at all!! Don’t you see? You’re doing exactly what the Dazzlings wanted by taking your anger out on the Rainbooms, so I suggest you calm down and be happy that they made up and got the band back together,” Sunset dictated. “Oh yeah? Well, do you know what I think? I THINK THAT THE SO-CALLED “RAINBOOMS” HAVE NOT LEARNED A SINGLE DARN THING AT ALL THIS WHOLE TIME DURING OUR BATTLE OF THE BANDS, AND THAT’S BECAUSE ALL THEY HAVE BEEN DOING IS FIGHTING AND ARGUING WITH EACH OTHER!!”, Twilight resented. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, Twilight! I cannot believe that you would say such horrible things like that! However, I do have to admit one thing; you were right to yell at us because our behaviors today were just despicable, especially when I was being such a fussy fool who got carried away with my costume obsession. I guess we were not being good friends to each other after all, were we?”, Rarity told Twilight. “NO, YOU WERE NOT! In fact, I need to have a VERY serious discussion with you, Rarity (or should I say “Miss Vanity”)! I thought that you were supposed to focus on the music and how the band was performing, but NO! You had to just go and let your vanity, selfishness and obsession with the costumes get the better of you! Do you want to know why? It's because you were so fussy about the costumes that you forgot the very reason why you formed the band in the first place! You do need to realize that you've gone off the deep end because the Rainbooms are a band and most certainly NOT a fashion show!! SOME ELEMENT OF GENEROSITY YOU ARE, MISS VANITY!!!!”, Twilight raged. Applejack then cautioned Twilight, “Whoa nelly! Hold your horses there, Twilight! I know I did yell at Rarity for actin’ like a disgrace to the band with her obsession with the costumes, but please don’t take your anger out on me.” Unfortunately, Twilight's rants continued on as she angrily hissed, “YES! I WILL TAKE MY ANGER OUT ON YOU, APPLEJACK!! Now, I know you may be an honest pony, but look in the mirror: you are as stubborn as a mule! Do you want to know why? Technically, it's because you were the one trying to start an argument! As a result, I will have to pin the blame on you, Rarity AND Rainbow Dash for your actions that caused the Rainbooms to fall apart the way they did!” “Twilight, please! Stop your anger and calm down!”, Fluttershy ordered, “We now know that what we did is wrong.” “NO! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! I’m still feeling resentment toward the Rainbooms for their behavior. In fact, I’m holding a grudge toward Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack!”, Twilight bellowed. However, she then calmed herself down for a bit to say, “I know you wanted the Rainbooms to play our songs, but you shouldn’t get mad all because of that “egotistical maniac” who rejected it,” Twilight roared Rainbow then retorted, “What did you just say? Did you just call me an “egotistical maniac”?” Twilight then responded in anger “YES, I DID! Well, guess what? If it wasn’t for your egotistical showboating, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!!!” Pinkie Pie then tried to intervene by saying “Twilight, will you stop your angry rant? I want the Rainbooms to have fun!” “Well, Pinkie? Do you know what I have to say about that? What I am going to say is that you and the Rainbooms will NOT be having any fun at all because I’m resenting ALL OF YOU for what you have done!! In fact, how can you call yourselves good friends, when YOU REALLY ARE THE WORST FRIENDS I HAVE EVER MET IN MY WHOLE LIFE? Now if you’ll excuse me, I am holding a grudge against all of you and you can forget about getting the Rainbooms back together for the Battle of the Bands! In fact, if I were any of you, I wouldn’t even come near me at all! You all have a lot to think about right now because as of this very moment, OUR FRIENDSHIPS ARE OFFICIALLY OVER! GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE, UN-FRIENDS!! I HOPE I NEVER SEE ANY OF YOU EVER AGAIN!!!!” Twilight Sparkle accused to her now-former friends, before turning to Sunset, announcing "Sunset, I'm sorry but my friendships with the Rainbooms are OVER! I never want to see them ever again!" Twilight then storms off in a huff as she screams in frustration and runs away from the Rainbooms to sit in the corner. Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms, or should I say ex-Rainbooms, gasped at this. “Whoa! That was quite the display of anger we saw from Twilight, and I must say that I am very disappointed in you for arguing with each other the way you did. How could you? How could you treat each other like that? I thought you had learned your lessons, but I guess Twilight told me otherwise.” “Gee, Sunset Shimmer. After the way Twilight yelled at us, our ears are damaged right now. We’re sorry for arguing with each other, and for making her mad because of our behaviors today,” Rarity apologized. “Sunset, let me tell you the story about why we were behavin' like rotten apples durin' the battle of the bands. The reasons why we were arguin' in the first place was because Rainbow Dash failed to control her ego and I thought Rarity's vanity was just too much for me to take, especially when I told her that it was a band, NOT a fashion show. However, it’s my fault too because of my stubborn pride that has torn our friendships apart. Not to mention the fact that when I tried to cool down the Rainbooms’ anger and keep our friendships together, I actually had the intent to wind up starting the arguments. Why had I done that? It was because I thought it was something everyone wanted to hear. As a matter of fact, I was complaining about something no one else took issue with, and without saying "Does anyone else see the point of dressin' up fancy?" or "Did you ever realize you're not the only member of the band?". Let’s face it; it’s all our fault, especially Rainbow’s, Rarity's and mine. I guess Twilight was right to chew us out the way she did, huh?” Applejack told Sunset. Sunset Shimmer then got angry at the Rainbooms and said, “Yes! I think you really did deserve to get chewed out by my friend Twilight because this experience with the Battle of the Bands has taught you nothing at all! I hope you’re happy. All of you. Thanks to your arguing, you’ve ruined the Battle of the Bands for us! The squabbling, the ego, the vanity, the stubborn pride, the negative attitudes... I mean, is there anything else that could possibly go wrong?” Just then, by sheer coincidence, the door opens (now unlocked) to reveal Vinyl Scratch and Spike the Talking Dog, who have angry looks on their faces. “Yay! The door’s open now, and I see Spike and Vinyl!”, shouts an excited Pinkie Pie Spike growled at the Rainbooms and said, "You should be ashamed! You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" Meanwhile, Vinyl gives the Rainbooms a thumbs-down expression. The Rainbooms gasped in shock. It was bad enough that Twilight gave them a tongue-lashing, but Spike the Talking Dog and Vinyl Scratch getting mad at the Rainbooms would just make it worse. Rarity then cried, "But Vinyl and Spike! We are truly sorry for what we did! Can you forgive us?" "What do you think Vinyl, do you think we should forgive them?", asked Spike Vinyl then gave a thumbs-up expression to indicate that they're forgiven. "Well, it's settled then. You all are forgiven," Spike announced, and then added "Oh and by the way, I had to get someone who was not affected by the sirens' spell in order to get you out of this trap." “What about the battle of the bands?”, Rainbow Dash pondered. “Not a chance, Rainbow. I told you to forget about it because I'm still holding a grudge against you for what you did,” Twilight angrily replied. Rainbow Dash then admitted, “Well, I guess you’re right. Unfortunately, I'm afraid we'll have to shut down the Rainbooms for the time being, until we can get you to become our friend again.” Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie agree sadly. "Come on! Let's get out of here!", Pinkie Pie yelled. The Rainbooms, Twilight and Sunset run out of the ampitheater storage room. Meanwhile, The Dazzlings sing up on the stage. They are still absorbing the negative energy that the Rainbooms emitted a while ago, and this was shortly before they gained their anthro forms: Ah-ha, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah. Ah-ha, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Welcome to the show Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah We're here to let you know Our time is now Your time is running out "Hey girls, look! I see the Rainbooms, Sunset and Twilight running outside...", said Sonata, having interrupted their song. "...and judging by Twilight's face, I think she looks mad. I guess she must've gotten sour at the Rainbooms for the way they acted," Adagio continued. "Well, speak of the devil: here she is," Aria pointed out. "That's right! I'm the one who yelled at the Rainbooms for their bad behavior. I even broke up my friendships with them!" Twilight said. "So, you're still holding some resentment against the Rainbooms, eh?", Adagio asked. "Yes! I don't want to be friends with them anymore! Not after what they did!", yelled Twilight "Well, I guess the Rainbooms are likely to fall apart again without you and we can feed on more of their negative energy than we've imagined," Adagio said with an evil smirk on her face. "We'll see about that, Adagio!" Twilight retorted, with a competitive smile on her face.
The Final BattleThe Rainbooms and Dazzlings have their battle of the bands! The song being sung is Welcome to the Show/Rainbooms Battle: Ahh, ah-ah, ahh. Ah, ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Ah, ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Ahh, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah. Ah-ha, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah. Welcome to the show Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah We're here to let you know Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Our time is now Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah Your time is running out We then see the Rainbooms over the top of a hill, ready for the battle of the bands, "How are we supposed to play over them from up here?", questioned Rainbow Dash Just then, by sheer coincidence, a car horn beeps. The car in question belongs to Vinyl Scratch, who forgave them for their actions. Said car turns into a DJ station that included a rainbow-colored soundscreen, several stylish lava lamps, and an epic-level sound/light system. The Rainbooms cheered at this discovery! Pinkie Pie shouted, "Awesome!" "Sweet!", Rainbow Dash agreed. Ah, ah, ah Ah-ha, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah. Ah-ha, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah. Feel the wave of sound As it crashes down You can't turn away We'll make you wanna 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 Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh I've got the music in me Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh Don't need to hear a crowd Cheering out my name I didn't come here seeking Infamy or fame By now, the Rainbooms should all gain their anthro-pony form with their horns and wings. The one and only thing That I am here to bring Is music, is the music Is the music in my soul 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 "So the Rainbooms want to turn this into a real Battle of the Bands? Then let's battle!", declared Adagio. What we have in store (ah-ah) All we want and more (ah-ah) We will break on through (ah-ah) Now it's time to finish you! By this point, the Dazzlings turn into their true siren forms. While there's an instrumental going on during the song, Twilight and Adagio had a battle of the voices. However, the Sirens' shout had outmatched Twilight's voice attack. This caused a dramatic wind to blow in the Rainbooms' direction and even caused the microphone to fall out of Twilight's hand and into the ground. Twilight Sparkle then said, "Sunset Shimmer, we need you!" There is a drum solo as Sunset Shimmer then picks up her microphone and starts singing. You're never gonna bring me down You're never gonna break this part of me My friends are here to bring me 'round Not singing just for popularity We're here to let you know That we won't let it go Our music is a bomb and it's about to blow And you can try to fight But we have got the light of Friendship on our side! Got the music in our hearts We're here to blow this thing apart And together, we will never Be afraid of the dark Here to sing our song out loud Get you dancing with the crowd As the music of our friendship Survives, survives! Notice that at this point, Sunset Shimmer gets her own anthro-pony transformation. Got the music in our hearts We're here to blow this thing apart And together, we will never Be afraid of the dark Here to sing our song out loud Get you dancing with the crowd As the music of our friendship Survi ves, surv ives, survives! The rainbow that Mane Six's colors plus Sunset Shimmer's creates a celestial alicorn that fires a rainbow beam at the Dazzlings, not only shattering their siren forms but also shattering their pendants. The students have been snapped out of the Dazzlings' spell as well, for the trio is now defeated! However, the Dazzlings try again to sing, albeit off-key this time: We will be adored Tell us that you want us We won't be ignored It's time for our reward This leads to the crowd booing and pelting stuff (including hot dogs, sandwiches, oranges, grapefruits, pears, etc.) at the Dazzlings, who have decided to run away by this point. "Guess that explains why these were so special to them," Sunset Shimmer said as she picked up a piece of one of the Dazzlings' now-broken pendants. "Without those pendants and the magic you brought here from Equestria, they're just three harmless teenage girls," explained Twilight Sparkle. "Rainbooms rule! That was amazing!", congratulated Flash Sentry. The Rainbooms had giggled at this, and right before Twilight could kiss Flash Sentry, Trixie Lulamoon then appeared out of nowhere, stepping in between them and saying, "You may have vanquished the Dazzlings, but you will never have the showstopping ability of the Great and Powerful-", she started before getting interrupted. "OH, GIVE IT A REST AND BE QUIET!!!!", the Rainbooms and Sunset yelled to Trixie, who then uses her smoke bomb to disappear. "She's gone!", reacted Pinkie Pie. She does, however, change her mind when she notices Trixie is still present, which results in her saying, "Oh, wait. There she is." Trixie then falls off and says, "Trixie's okay!" "You know, Twilight is going back to Equestria soon. The Rainbooms could really use someone to help Fluttershy on backup vocals," informed Rainbow Dash. Sunset Shimmer plays her guitar riff and then says "I also play guitar." "We'll see," Rainbow Dash responded.
Twilight's Departure, the Friendship Lesson, and Shine Like RainbowsThe next day, Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and the Rainbooms gathered in front of the stature where the portal lies. "Sure wish you could stay longer." Applejack said. Twilight Sparkle then responds with, "Me too. But I have responsibilities in Equestria that I have to get back to. Its citizens need me. But now I can go through the portal whenever I need to. This isn't goodbye. It's just goodbye 'til next time. Ready?" "Ready!", Spike confirms. Both Twilight and Spike walk into the portal exiting the human world and back into Equestria. Using her journal, Sunset Shimmer writes: Dear Princess Twilight, Missing you already, and I hope you'll be back soon. Things are definitely looking up for me here at Canterlot High. But I know I still have a lot to learn about friendship. Hope you don't mind if I write to you for advice when I need it. Anyways, the Battle of the Bands turned out to be a complete success! We all have learned a lot from the Battle of the Bands. First, we couldn't believe that the Rainbooms were constantly bickering with each other, and it almost ruined the Battle of the Bands for us. That's because they've been letting little things get to their head. They learned the hard way that if you don't work out even the smallest problems right at the start, not only will your friendships fall apart, but the Magic of Friendship can be turned into something dark and ugly. Another lesson we learned is that both of us still have a lot to learn. You've also learned that it was foolish of you to think that you should have all the answers. What you do have are good friends who will always be there to help me find them. Finally, a third lesson we learned is that friends forgive each other. At first, you got mad at the Rainbooms because of their bad behaviors yesterday and you even refused to forgive them because of it. However, you then let go of your grudge as you realized that if you forgive them, they forgive you because that's what friends do. Your friend, Sunset Shimmer. Rainbow then asks Sunset, "You ready or what?" "Ready!", says Sunset as she takes her place on stage with her guitar ready. Pinkie Pie then counts out, "One! Two! Three! Four!" The song being sung is Shine Like Rainbows [Applejack] Once upon a time You came into my world and made the stars align [Rarity] Now I can see the signs You pick me up when I get down so I can shine [The Rainbooms] Shine like rainbows Shine like rainbows Shine like rainbows Shine like rainbows [Rainbow Dash] Friends, you are in my life And you can count on me to be there by your side [Sunset Shimmer] And when the music comes alive We sing our songs to lift us up so we can shine [The Rainbooms] And the sound that we hear in our hearts Makes a crescendo And the light that ignites in the dark It makes us all glow And shine like rainbows We shine like rainbows Shine like rainbows We shine like rainbows Together we stand As the rain begins to fall And holdin' our heads up high As the sun shines through it all [The cast] And the sound that we hear in our hearts Makes a crescendo And the light that ignites in the dark It makes us all glow And shine like rainbows We shine like rainbows Shine like rainbows We shine like rainbows [The Rainbooms] We shine like rainbows.
Realizations, Confessions, Reconciliations, and Preparations for the Final Battle Realizations, Confessions, Reconciliations, and Preparations for the Final Battle Twilight, who still shows resentment toward her friends right now, faces off with Adagio in a three vs. one battle alone. "Adagio! I don't care if you had the intention to tear the whole school apart with a competition that should never have been there to begin with, but I will still take you down even though my friends' actions almost caused you to win!", said Twilight as she prepared for battle. "Well, for all your blabbering, you were right about one thing; the way your friends were treating each other did indeed nearly cause us, the Dazzlings, to win! Anyways, we'll see how long you can survive without your friends," Adagio retorted. "Alright, I can survive without my-", Twilight started to say before she stopped herself. "My friends. Oh no! What have I done?", Twilight said with a realization, tears now starting to form in her eyes. "My friends, I really do care about you! All the time I could've spent with all of you was wasted, getting angry and wishing we were never friends in the first place," Twilight sighed sadly, closing her eyes with tears running down her cheeks. "No! I can't waste my whole life away crying! I've got to get my friends back!", Twilight said with determination. Shortly thereafter, here come her friends (and Spike the Talking Dog) Pinkie Pie, upon the very sight of Twilight, exclaimed, "Hi, Twilight! Long time no see, eh?" "Uh, listen. I owe some big apologies to you guys. I'm sorry for yelling at you, and I'm especially sorry for disowning you as my friends. I now realize that I do care about you and you do care about me. One thing I'd like to ask of you is this question: do you forgive me?", Twilight apologized, after finally letting go of her grudge. "Yes, Twilight! We all forgive you!", Pinkie Pie replied. "Thanks, girls!", exclaimed Twilight. "You're welcome," said her friends. "By the way, you didn't have to apologize. We should be sorry too because we were being hypocrites to our elements. Remember when I had my huge ego during the Battle of the Bands? I was supposed to be the Element of Loyalty, but the only person I've been loyal to was myself. I was self-centered," Rainbow Dash admitted. "Not to mention the fact that when I was supposed to be the Element of Generosity, I wound up being a rather selfish fool. You were right; I wasn't being generous when my petty vanity and costume obsession caused me to abandon the very reason why we formed this band in the first place, and that was to make music. However, I did say that I was making a creative contribution to the band." Rarity confessed. "Well, I am the Element of Honesty, but I ended up with the intent to start the arguments that we were having and that's what nearly ended our friendships right there. I took my anger out on the wrong girls, and we almost got our friendships torn apart all just because I couldn't control my temper," added Applejack. "Let me add in the fact that I was supposed to be the Element of Kindness, but we were being mean to each other," Fluttershy said. "..and finally, I'm the Element of Laughter. We were supposed to smile, be happy and have some fun, but all we did was ruin our friendships by getting angry and arguing with each other the way we did. Some friends we are. We now realize our follies and we are sorry for what we did. I guess we don't deserve your forgiveness after all, huh?", concluded Pinkie Pie. "Well, to be honest, I did hold a grudge against you when we were trapped under our stage, but that grudge has finally gone away now that I realize that friends forgive each other so I'll do my part and forgive you just like you forgive me!", Twilight announced. "YAY!", cheered Twilight's friends after their reconciliation. Shortly after, Sunset Shimmer walks by and says, "Is everything okay?" "It is now! I had just reconciled and made up with my friends!", Twilight responds. "Well, that's good to hear.", Sunset affirmed. "We're so glad to be friends again," said Twilight. "Don't forget that you still have the Dazzlings to defeat," Sunset reminded Twilight and her friends. "Oh yeah, that's right! We forgot about that because we were celebrating our reconciliations," Twilight replied. "Sunset's right! Come on, y'all! Time to prove we've still got the Magic of Friendship inside us!", Applejack declared. Twilight followed up with, "...and there's only one way to do it!" "We're getting the band back together?", asked Pinkie. "We're getting our band back together.", confirmed Rainbow Dash, who had finally learned her lesson in humility and teamwork. "Whee!", Pinkie shouted in excitement. "Oooh. Which version of the counterspell are we going to play?", Rarity pondered. "I don't think it matters what song we play, as long as we play it together as friends, rather than the enemies we were being.", Twilight responded. "I know just the song, and Fluttershy's written a great one.", Rainbow said (to make up for her mistake of rejecting Fluttershy's songs for her own). "We're about to save the world here. Personally, I think we should do it in style. Rarity?", Applejack added (finally letting go of her stubborn pride). "I thought you'd never ask!", shouts Rarity excitedly, while bringing out a rack of costumes for the Rainbooms to wear. Twilight replied with, "Well, how about that? And I thought Rarity was being a bad friend." "Nope! She told me that she did make a 'creative contribution' to our band with her costumes. Isn't that right, Rarity?" Applejack corrected. "That's right!", agreed Rarity. "Now, enough time for standing around. Let's do this!", shouted Sunset.
