Zest for Life!

by AppleJTZ

Rating: everyone
Tags: Equestria Girls, Octavia, Lemon Zest, Dazzlings, Comedy
Length: 21321

When her friends refuse to join Lemon's band, she stumbles upon members outside of Crystal Prep.

If there is one thing Lemon Zest loves, it's music! So it only makes sense that one day, she decides to start a band out of the blue. However, her fellow Shadowbolts and best friends don't seem interested in playing music with her, claiming their genre preferences are too different for this to work. When everyone else at Crystal Prep Academy turns her down as well and she is about to give up, she unexpectedly receives help from two girls outside of her school. But soon, Lemon must learn creative differences as well as a certain past between her fellow band members might make this band thing a bit more complicated han she originally thought it would be...

Published 2016-05-19 07:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-07-31 15:27:46 UTC

One girl's dream

“SUUUUCKEEEERSS!!!”

The audience roared as the lead-singer screamed into his mic. Behind him, the guitarist thrust his instrument upwards, electric sounds vibrating through the air as he shredded on the razor-sharp strings in a frenzy. The bassist and the drummer were treating their instruments just as violently, creating an aggressive melody fitting the rather hard lyrics. The night sky glowed bright from the lights on the stages, myriad of flashing colours shining over the stars. From horizon to horizon, the area around the stage was filled with shrieking, yelling, roaring rock fans. Raising their fists into the air they were dancing on the muddy ground, cheering their lungs out as if they were trying to shout over the music.

Suddenly, a girl emerged from the center of the crowd. Raised into the air by the rock fans around her she wore a wide smile, obviously enjoying herself as everyone around cheered at her. Hundreds of hands carried her all the way to the stage and pushed her right on it. A bomb seemed to explode as she turned towards the audience, the screams growing even louder. With a smirk the lead singer took a step to the side, gesturing the girl towards the microphone. Her grin grew even wider as she grabbed it, tilting it forward and screaming right into it.

“ARE YOU READY TO ROOOOOCK?!”

For a moment the music was muted by the roaring audience. In the midst of all the wild screams a name was being shouted over and over, the fans pumping their fists to the rhythm.

“LEMON! LEMON! LEMON! LEMON!”

The cheers of her fans and the music of the band in her ears, Lemon Zest felt like she was sinking into an adrenaline-induced trance. Closing her eyes she took in a deep breath, holding the mic to her lips. Just as she was about to scream into it however she paused. Among the countless voices calling out her name, one seemed to be standing out. It didn’t bear the euphoria and joy of the others, but instead sounded rather angry and annoyed. The voice was getting steadily louder, eventually drowning all others and the music as it bored itself right into Lemon’s ear...

“LEMON!” Sunny yelled, pulling the headphone off her ear and blaring right into it.

Shrieking Lemon tilted to the side. Her headphone snapped against her ear as it slipped from Sunny’s grip, Lemon sliding off her chair and falling ungracefully to the floor. As she lay there on her aching shoulder, the rock music streaming through her headphones she needed a moment to get back into reality. Around her wasn’t the stage of a concert, but the library of Crystal Prep Academy. Like most of the school the majority of the room as well as its the furniture seemed to be made out of crystal, the walls and ceiling reflecting the light streaming through the tall, narrow windows. On two floors shining shelves were spilling over with books, forming straight alleys only interrupted by the occasional table for students to learn at. And the underside of one of those tables was what Lemon currently looked at, being so clean she could see her dazzled reflection in it.

With a grunt she got up on her knees, throwing a dark glare towards the girl who had ripped her out of her daydream. “Dude, for someone so fancy you can be pretty rough!” she scoffed, rubbing the headphone that had snapped against her ear.

Scowling Sunny crossed her arms, looking from her chair down on Lemon’s wild green hair. “I’ve been trying to call out to you and even tapped your shoulder! But like so often, you didn’t hear me over your noise!” she lectured her with a nudge towards her headphones.

Sitting back down on her chair Lemon frowned. “Punk rock and heavy metal aren’t noise!” she snapped at her. “Just because it’s not lullabies doesn’t mean tis not music!”

Sitting straight Sunny raised her head, chuckling amused. “It says a lot about your musical education if you call classic music lullabies, sweetheart” she said, proudly holding a hand to her chest. More strictly she held out her arm towards the table, gesturing towards the many open math books lying scattered over it while sternly staring at Lemon. “But to get to the point, your music is too loud! Some of us are trying to learn here, if you remember!”

Following Sunny’s arm with her eyes Lemon cocked her head. “Um, and who would that be?” she asked.

Confused Sunny turned her head. On the other side of the table, Sour was balancing a pencil on her nose, Sugarcoat she played around on her smartphone and Indigo slept on top of an open math book, a thick drop of spit just about to fall from her mouth onto the page.

Sunny dropped her head on the table. “Oh who am I kidding?” she moaned, running both palms over her face. “One more math formula and my head will explode.”

Quietly Lemon looked at the slumped Sunny, then at her other bored friends. Her headphones were still filling her mind with loud music. The beat of the drums was in her ears, driving and aggravating. Several guitars lashed out, like hundreds of lightning striking simultaneously into her head, accompanied by a subtler, but still thriving line of bass. With the scream of the band-leader in her joining the mix a grin flashed upon her face. She placed her hands on her headphones, letting the music pound into her for a bit longer before turning off the volume. Putting her headphones around her shoulders she gazed upon her bored friends once more, before declaring in excitement: “Hey, let’s start a band!”

The pencil fell off Sour’s nose, rolling over the smooth floor. Sugarcoat looked in irritation up from her smartphone while Indigo woke up with a start and Sunny sat up straight. They all looked wide-eyed at Lemon, then exchanged a glance with each other, before staring incredulously back at Lemon. “Seriously?” it came out of their mouths in unison.

Blushing, Lemon turned up her mouth. “Hey, don’t look at me like I just said something totally random and dumb!” she yelled.

“Shh!” There was a chorus of students calling simultaneously from behind the shelves all around them, making Lemon blush even deeper.

Standing up Indigo turned her chair around. “Seriously Zest, where did that come from?” she asked, crossing her arms over the chair’s lean as she sat down the wrong way around. “There isn’t any band battle, talent show or something else we could compete in coming up!”

“Also, due to the theatre group’s cut in budget” Sunny added with a raised finger “There also won’t be any musical anytime soon to participate in.”

“Because that’s totally what we want” Sour cooed, then slumped her shoulders while leaning her head against her fist. “Getting back on stage.”

“Our last performance was very well received!” Sunny reminded her.

“Because people were laughing about our eccentric character traits” Suagrcoat said dryly. Feeling her cheeks getting warm Sunny fell silent.

Lemon angrily furrowed her brows. “Hey, I don’t want to start a band so we could compete or perform somewhere!” She then paused for a moment. “I mean sure it’d be nice to perform, with hundreds of fans screaming our names… but that’s not the reason. I just thought it would be… fun, you know?” She shrugged her shoulders. “Like, playing music together, chilling out – AND WAIL AWAY ON THE GUITAR!” Grinning widely she jumped up, kicking her chair over as she played on her imaginary instrument while making fake guitar sounds.

“Shh!” Again she was silenced by a chorus of voices from all around.

A little embarrassed she put her chair back on its legs. “’sides, those girls from CHS also have their own band” she told her friends as she sat back down. “Why shouldn’t we do that too?”

Sunny rolled her eyes. “If they were jumping off a cliff should we do that too?” she asked.

Tilting her head Indigo gave Sunny a curious look. “Why should they do that?”

“Well, some of them can grow wings” Sugarcoat said.

Sunny placed a hand on her forehead, slowly running it over her face. Too add to her annoyance she could feel Lemon’s elbow nudging her side. “Come on, guys!” the energetic girl insisted. “What’s so bad about spending some time together, havin’ fun with your friends – AND ROCK THE HECK OUT!!!” she suddenly yelled, the abrupt outburst nearly causing Sunny to fall out of her chair.

Sour raised a finger. “Wait for iiit…”

“SHHH!”

Smiling, Sour nodded. “Thank you. You geeks.”

Taking in a deep breath Sunny rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Okay, first off we all are into different music” she eventually explained after calming down a little. “I like classic music – like all of you should – Sour mostly listens to Pop, Sugarcoat prefers Techno, Indigo is a fan of watered down rock music, and you are into noise.”

Lemon frowned. “It’s called…”

“Right, right, punk metal, heavy rock – whatever” Sunny interrupted her, dismissively waving her hand.

“What do you mean watered down?” Indigo asked, sounding somewhat offended.

Falling back against the lean of her chair Sunny groaned. “Look, what I’m trying to say is: What kind of music would we play if we were to start a band?”

A finger on her chin Lemon pondered for a moment. “Well, maybe we could combine it all?” she suggested.

“Right!” Sour chirped, giving her a thumbs-up and a sarcastic smile. “A Pop-classic-punk-and-not-punk-rock band with techno remixes of their songs. Great idea♥”

After throwing a dark glance at Sour Lemon turned with a more hopeful look towards Indigo. “Come on, Gogo, I know you like to rock out too – tell me at least you’re with me!”

Still sitting the wrong way on her chair Indigo scratched her head. “It does sound cool, but I’m not sure if I’ve got the time” she said to her green-haired friend. “It’s pretty rough already managing school, sports clubs and free time as it is. Don’t know if I can fit two or three hours of rehearsal under the week into it.”

Growing increasingly frustrated Lemon turned to Sugarcoat. “Please, Sugarbabe!” she begged, sounding somewhat desperate. “I even let ya write the songs! That way you can tell the world whatever is going on in your mind!”

Sugarcoat shrugged. “I’m doing that anyway. And the others are right: We wouldn’t be able to decide on a genre of music, we can’t combine them and we all have too little free time to really make this work.”

Again Lemon looked at each of her friends. They did seem to be sorry, but it was clear they were set on their opinions. Defeated she slumped her shoulders, dropping her head slightly. “You guys are such party-poopers” she mumbled, her lips curling to a pout.

Seeing Lemon upset the other all shared some guilty glances. “Now come on, don’t give us that look!” Indigo told her.

“It really is a nice little idea” Sour praised at her, before adding more reserved: “We’re just not interested.”

Placing a hand on her shoulder Sunny warmly smiled at her. “I know you are disappointed, dearie, but it’s not the end of the world” she tried to comfort her. “Now come, I’m sure we can come up with something else that is fun!”

Lemon gave her a cold glare from the side. “Like what?”

There was a moment of silence. “Maybe you can find others to start a band?” Sugarcoat suddenly suggested.

Lemon sat up slightly. “You mean other students here at Crystal Prep?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s a great idea!” Sunny exclaimed, happily clapping her hands. “Dean Cadence asked us to spread the spirit of friendship throughout the school, and what better way to do so but by making new friends?”

Lemon perked up slightly, but seemed a little doubtful. “You really okay with that?” she asked the others.

“Sure!” Indigo said, also seeming fond of the idea. “I mean we’re all in sports clubs, so why shouldn’t you start a band on your own?”

Thoughtfully Lemon stroke her chin. “You know what?” she finally said, smirking deviously. “I think I’m really diggin’ this idea.” She raised both arms into the air, index and little finger of each hand stretched out. “I’m gonna teach this boring school how to ROCK!!”

“SHHH!!” it cam from all around with more intent than before, but Lemon didn’t care.

Sour stood up, hands on her hips. “Great! Then that’s settled” she said sweetly, before taking a sour look down on the open math book in front of her. “I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t see math books anymore without feeling the urge to punch something.”

“Me too” Indigo moaned, slamming her book shut and stuffing it into her backpack.

“Should we take a walk around the schoolyard to ease the pressure on our minds?” Sugarcoat suggested as everybody packed their books.

“That’s a wonderful idea, darling” Sunny said while shouldering her backpack. Leaving the table, the group began to march towards the door of the library. Lemon seemed especially lively, more skipping than walking past the numerous book shelves. “Hey, can we go by the music room?” she asked, her voice barely able to control her excitement. “Then I can book it for practice!”

Sunny raised an eyebrow at her. “Don’t you want to form a band first before planning rehearsal?” she asked.

Lemon shook her head. “Nah, I’ll probably just forget it later.” As she put her headphones back over her ears she added with a smirk: “’sides, when everyone hears I’m getting a band together, I bet the Preps are gonna come swarming to play with me!”

While Lemon was starting to sink into her own world, the music blaring from her phones as they stepped out of the library Sour rolled her eyes. “Sure they will… in your dreams.”

As they stepped out of the library Sugarcoat stopped, noticing they were missing someone. “Are you coming, Indigo?” she asked, turning her head around.

Still sitting at the table Indigo looked over her shoulder. “Go on ahead, I’ll follow in a moment!” she replied, smiling with one hand in her backpack.

Sugarcoat lifted an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. Indigo waited until she had caught up with the others and all of them had gained some distance to the library. Once they were all out of range, she pulled out her music player from her backpack, alongside a pair of earplugs. After plugging them into her ears she fumbled around the player for a bit. Loud music began to emit from it. It was definitely rock, but a lot quieter than Lemon’s, still suitable for radio both in its tone and lyrics. Indigo listened to it for a while to the rhythmic, though not overly aggressive melody, and frowned.

“It’s not watered down!”

Two's a start

Despite the decline of physical sales in the recent due to the booming internet market, Lemon’s favorite music store in the city was still running very well. The several shelves in the rather large room were filled with all the latest singles and albums, alongside copies of every important performer of the last decades. Though the place wasn’t bustling with life, a handful of costumers were still going around through the narrow alleys, rummaging through CDs as they were either in search of something specific or just browsing.

Lemon, however, wasn’t searching something or browsing. Instead, she was resting her head on one of the shoulder-tall shelves. Her chin on the wood it looked like it was the only thing that kept her from falling forward, her whole body buckling with her arms hanging down. No music was coming from her headphones, placed loosely around her neck. Every once in a while she let out a sigh, bearing a look on her face that radiated apathy and depression.

A sudden vibration in her skirt pocket made her straighten up. Eagerly she pulled out her smartphone, quickly unlocking it. When she looked at the screen however her smile quickly dropped upon seeing the message on the display.

Sorry, no time

She dropped her head back on the shelf, sighing again. An aura of bad mood seemed to be wailing around her, as if black smoke emitted from her head. Sunken in her melancholy, she almost didn’t notice when she was tapped on the shoulder, and didn’t hear someone clearing their throat.

“Excuse me?”

Raising her head Lemon turned to the direction of the voice. Holding a CD with a piano on the cover a girl her age was standing next to her, looking a little concerned at her. Her skin was grey, her black hair reached down her back, and her eyes were shining in a bright, though not glaring hue of purple. She was wearing a white blouse without sleeves, but slightly puffy shoulders. Above it was a purple vest above, with a round cut below the neck so deep it made the vest look a little like a tank-top. Her skirt, neither very long nor really short, was in a pink brighter than Lemon’s skin, matching the bowtie she wore around her collar. White socks going up to her knees were lying beneath black shoes. “I am sorry if I interrupted your thoughts or anything” the girl apologized with a polite smile, speaking in a somewhat sophisticated, but not overly up-high manner. “But you seem as if something is troubling you. Are you feeling alright?”

Lemon forced herself to return the smile. “I’m fine” she told her, straightening herself up. Her eyes cast to the ground she murmured. “Just feelin’ a little down…”

Seeing the crestfallen Lemon the girl put a finger on her chin. After hesitating a moment, she held out the CD in her hand to her. “Well, I am not sure if it will help, but if you are looking for some music to cheer you up, I can really recommend this album here to you” she tried to comfort her.

Lemon looked at the cover of the CD, with its piano and a guy in a tuxedo playing on it, then at the girl. After staring at her in confusion for a moment Lemon took a quick look at the shelves around her, and realized they were all filled with classic music – in her apathy, she hadn’t noticed WHERE she had fallen into apathy. “Yeaaah, really not a fan of that flute-piano-violin-stuff” she admitted, sounding somewhat embarrassed as she rubbed the back of her head. “More into guitars and drums.”

To Lemon’s surprise the girl chuckled, seeming amused. “Dear, if you say you are not into classic music, then you have simply not yet found the right song yet” she told her.

Lemon stared back at her, hands on her hips. “Sorry sister, but one of my friends has forced me to listen to, like, a hundred of her favorite songs - and I dozed off at every one of them!” she laughed.

Tilting her head the girl crossed her arms. “What did she play to you?” she asked in curiosity.

Lemon rubbed her forehead. “I think one was called ‘Quiet of the night’, and another ‘The serene Flower in the garden’” she said, speaking slowly as she tried to remember the names. “And then there were quite a few with the words ‘Peace’ and ‘tranquility’ in ‘em.”

The girl shook her head. “Ts, ts, ts” she mumbled, taking out a music player from her pocket. “Who seriously tries to convert a rock fan with ‘Quiet of the Night’?” After fumbling around her player a bit, she offered one of the earplugs to Lemon. “Here, try this one.”

Lemon took the plug, glancing a skeptically at the girl. A little hesitant, the Crystal Prep student put it on her ear. At first, she couldn’t hear anything. She was about to ask the girl to turn up the volume when a sudden thunder almost jump-startled her. While the first still resonated inside her body more bolt of thunder hit her ear, banging heavily from the plug. Even though Lemon was used to loud music, for the first few seconds each time she heard the beat one of a classic drum it caused her to jolt slightly. After a few slow, very loud impacts the drums sped up, creating a quieter, but more aggressive rhythm.

Once she had recovered from the shock, Lemon soon found herself grabbed by the beat, bopping her head to it with a smile. Other instruments played in the same fast pace joined in. The wild melody made her tap her feet, while she bopped her head a little harder. Closing her eyes, she felt like she was standing on a windy plane, under a dark sky looking as if it was just about to shower her in thousands of gallons of water. A powerful gale was blowing into her face, her long green hair dancing in the wind, while the air and land around her screamed in a mixture of joy, agony and fear. Though she enjoyed the music, a part of her was shocked upon recognizing the instruments: The wild gales lashing against her face were actually piccolo flutes, and the shrill screams turned out to be violins and cellos. Despite this, the music continued to pump adrenaline through her body, sending electric shivers through her muscles.

Eventually the music calmed down, slowly coming to an end. As Lemon took out the earplug out the girl smirked contently at her. “So, What do you think?” she asked.

Lemon shrugged. “It’s okay” she replied as she handed back the earplug. “I still prefer E-guitars and REAL drums though.”

Receiving the plug the girl nodded. “That must do for now, I suppose” she said, putting the music player back into her pocket. As she pulled her hand out of her skirt again she suddenly paused. “Wait… aren’t you one of those girl that competed in the friendship games against our school?” she asked, looking more thoroughly at Lemon.

Lemon lifted her eyebrows. “You’re from Canterlot High?”

The girl nodded. “I am indeed! So, you really are from Crystal Prep?” Inspecting her clothes she added a little sheepishly: “Though I guess I could have figured by your uniform.” Coughing, she held out her hand to Lemon. “My name is Octavia. Pleased to make your acquaintance!”

“Lemon” she replied, gabbing Octavia’s hand and shaking it with quite some strength. “Nice to meet’cha too!”

Octavia stroke her hand as Lemon let go of it. “Vinyl told me a bit about you” she said, to which Lemon gave her a puzzled look. “White skin, blue hair? Wears headphones all the time? And pink sunglasses?”

“Oh yeah, I remember!” Lemon snapped her fingers with a grin. “She let me listen to some of her sick tunes!”

Octavia chuckled. “You really are like she depicted” she remarked, shaking her head slightly. An uncertain look suddenly crossed her face, looking like she was hesitant about saying something. “Pardon me if I’m meddling into your private affairs, but… was there are reason you were sulking a moment ago?” she carefully asked.

Lemon’s mood dropped a little again. “Oh, it’s no biggy” she assured Octavia, though the smile on her face looked somewhat forced. “I’m trying to round up a band at Crystal Prep, but…” Letting out a huge sigh she turned back to the shelf, crossing her arms on top of it. “…I’m kind of stuck with one member – me” she murmured, nestling her head in the sink between her arms.

Turning up her mouth Octavia looked at her in sympathy. “What about those other girls that were with you at the friendship games?” she asked. “Granted, you didn’t seem like you were the best of friends, but-”

“They ARE my best friends” Lemon interrupted her, before letting out another sigh. “But they don’t want to. I then tried to ask some guys and gals from my music class and some other Preps, but they all either weren’t interested or don’t have any time for rehearsals.” She took in a deep breath, before burying her face in her arms. “Guess I’m left to jam on my own.”

Octavia looked at the depressed girl. One hand on her hip she cleared her throat, trying to look as reassuringly as possible at her. “Well, I am usually a solo player, but I do assist the school orchestra from time to time” she told her. “So, I understand the urge to engage with others sharing the same passion for music. As such, I think you should not give up so easily. I am sure you will find others who share your dream of performing music together, and once you find these people, I am absolutely certain you will form a great band!”

Lemon, still seeming rather down but feeling a bit better smiled weakly up at her. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Rolling her head so her cheek lay on her arm Lemon looked up at Octavia. Suddenly, the eyes of the rock fan opened wide, while a large smirk spread out over her face. “Hey, how about you join my band?” she asked, straightening up.

Octavia took a step back, looking dumfounded at Lemon. “M-me?” she repeated, putting one hand on her chest while waving the request off with the other. “But I-I’m not even going to Crystal Prep!”

“So what?” Lemon countered. “Who says all members of a band must go to the same school?” She took a step towards Octavia, folding her hands in front of her. “Come on, pleeeaaase!”

Octavia bit her lip. “I guess I would have the time” she slowly said. “I just don’t know if we would… get along. Don’t get me wrong, you seem to be a really nice girl!” She hastily made some embarrassed gestures. “It’s just that our tastes in music obviously are very different, so I don’t know if it would really be wise-”

“You just tried to get me into classic music” Lemon cut her off.

Octavia gulped. “Well yes, but-”

“And I said I liked it! Or at least that it was okay - point is, our taste in music maybe isn’t that different.”

Arms crossed Octavia put on a stern look. “That is a big maybe…”

“Yeah” Lemon nodded. With a serious, slightly sad look in her eyes she said: “But that doesn’t mean we can’t try!”

Raising her gaze to the ceiling Octavia thoughtfully stared at it for a moment. Lemon nervously watched as the gears in her mind were turning. Eventually Octavia looked at Lemon again. “Alright” she sighed, not sounding too excited. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try...”

The corner’s of Lemon’s mouth rose up so far she had to squint her eyes.

“AWESOME!!!”

Everybody in the store turned towards her as she jumped into the air, raising both arms to the ceiling. Taken aback Octavia retreated a step, feeling slight regret. Before she could speak it out however Lemon suddenly lunged herself forward, nearly knocking Octavia over as she embraced her in a bone-crushing hug.

“Thank you SOOOO much!!” Lemon screamed, squeezing her even tighter. With the air being pressed out of her lungs and her internal organs slowly being crushed Octavia could almost see the light at the end of the tunnel when Lemon released her. “Come to Crystal Prep tomorrow at three pm” she said, still giddy and excited while Octavia was catching breath. “I’ll pick you up at the entrance. Bring an instrument if you have one, but I’m sure we find something in the music room.” As Octavia’s blurry vision returned to normal she saw Lemon heading for the exit, waving a hand at her with a big grin on her face. “Gotta go. See ya tomorrow!”

Octavia didn’t even have the chance to call out to her when Lemon had already rushed out of the store. The door still swinging she took a look around, seeing everyone else in the store was staring at her. Octavia’s cheeks turned red, the girl smiling in embarrassment at them. “Hehe… she is rather impulsive, isn’t she?”

Three's a band

Once she had rushed out of the store Lemon slowed down her pace, without losing any of her excitement. She flipped her headphones over her ears, turning the volume to its maximum as she happily skipped down the sidewalk. “Got my bandmate number one, she’s a lil’ prissy but awesome~♪” Her lyrics were not really fitting to the metal melody streaming from her headphones, but she didn’t care. Hopping down the street with her eyes closed she didn’t notice anything around her, neither the people that angrily glared at her as she almost bumped into them, nor the cars taking a sharp turn to the side when she got too close to the road.

After a while of dancing down the street however she slowed down, the bright smile on her face decreasing slightly. Bit by bit she dropped to a normal walk, the look on her face becoming somewhat thoughtful. She lowered the volume of her headphones, just so much she could faintly hear the noises around her. It also made it easier to listen to the voice inside of her head – and after the initial excitement had washed over, this voice wasn’t just saying pleasant things.

It was great she had found a second band-member, there was no doubt about it – after all, one girl didn’t really count as a band. However, as happy as she was about this, the nagging voice in the back of her mind told her two girls didn’t really make a band, either. And after she had been rejected by her friends, her mates from music class and every random Crystal Prep student that for some reason popped up in the contact list of her phone, she didn’t really know who else to ask. Maybe, she thought, one of those who had refused would change their mind after hearing the band already had another member, but she doubted it. Another problem was that even if she found someone else, there was still the lingering question what music they should play. Her favorite was of course hard rock, but she was also open to other forms of music. And Octavia had shown her classic could be kind of cool. Still, she wasn’t too thrilled about the prospect of standing on a stage while flutes, violins and pianos played around her. Similarly, Octavia didn’t seem too eager playing drums or E-guitars…

While she walked down the street with those thoughts in her mind, she noticed the sounds of her footsteps were surprisingly loud – they even seemed to have some sort of echo, as if after each step she made another one. As the echoes were getting steadily louder she realized someone was following her. Lemon turned down her volume slightly and listened for a moment. There was definitely someone behind her, and they were catching up fast. She took in a deep breath, before turning around on the spot with a confident look on her face.

Her confidence quickly dropped when there was the face of a girl an inch in front of her own.

“YIKES!” Lemon winced, jumped back while striking a pseudo-karate pose. The girl didn’t move a muscle, just staring at Lemon. Wearing a grey hoodie with the hood raised Lemon could barely see her face, but she was clearly frowning, the shades on her face making her look even more grim. With purple eyes, the girl stared straight at Lemon, hands in the pockets of her hoodie. As she didn’t do anything Lemon slowly dropped her fighting stance. She rubbed her shoulder, nervously looking left and right. The street was suddenly empty, with no other people on the sidewalk or cars on the road. Setting her eyes back on the stranger, Lemon forced herself to smile. “Um, can I help you?” she asked.

Taking the hands out of her pockets the girl threw back her hood, allowing Lemon a better look at her face. While she didn’t seem angry, the look she gave her screamed “I hate everyone and don’t care about anything” even more than Sugarcoat’s face. Also similar to her blunt friend the girl had tied her hair into a long pigtail on each side of her head, though she was missing Sugarcoat’s signature third ponytail. Looking at the girl’s giant strands of hair falling down to her hips Lemon wondered how she had ever managed to get them under her hood. Her hair was deep purple with blue-green strands, while her skin had a rosy tone somewhere between pink and purple.

“What’cha hearing?” the girl asked with a slightly raspy voice, fitting the sullen, life-hating look on her face.

Though a little confused, Lemon instantly brightened up. “Oh, you like my jam?” she asked, pulling off her headphones. “Here!” she said with a grin, holding them to the strange girl. “It’s the newest from Sup41!”

The girl leaned very, very slightly forward, as if to make sure she wasn’t really caring. After listening to the E-guitars, drums and screams for a moment she rolled her eyes. “Such a rebel, aren’t cha?” she remarked dryly.

Turning up her mouth Lemon pulled her phones back, putting them around her neck. “Well thanks for dissing me” she mumbled, about to turn away from her. “Anything else you want?”

The girl pointed behind her. “I was hanging around by the music store” she explained. Each word sounded like it didn’t want to leave her mouth, making everything she said feel like an annoyed moan. “You sang something about a band, didn’t you?”

Lemon shrugged. “So what?”

“I wanna join.”

Lemon nearly jumped, completely taken by surprise. “Y…you want wha- you serious?!” she stuttered, staring at the apathetic girl with eyes and mouth wide open.

She nodded. “So, when do we start?”

Lemon blankly stared into the girl’s bad-tempered face, before shaking her head. “Okay, I think now I know how the others felt when I asked them to start a band out of the blue” she murmured, scratching her head.

Rubbing her temples the girl sighed. “Look, I used to be in some sort of band once” she said, sounding like she had no interest at all to tell the story. “We had to stop because of certain ‘circumstances’, but I kind of miss being on the stage, so… I guess I wouldn’t mind playing in one again. So, might as well join yours.”

Lemon raised an eyebrow. “Now why do you think I would take some random stranger from the street into my band?” she asked, hands on her hips.

The girl shrugged her shoulders. “You seem desperate. So, am I in?”

For a moment, Lemon skeptically glared at her. A wide smirk suddenly spread over Lemon’s face. “Dude, you’re SO in!” she exclaimed, reaching out her hand. “I’m Lemon!”

The girl stared at the outstretched hand for a moment, then raised her gaze to Lemon’s grinning face. Rolling her eyes she took the hand. “Aria” she mumbled, shaking Lemon’s hand with little vigor.

The excitement was taking over Lemon again, making her rub her hands. “Okay, with you we’ve got gals three already – that’s good enough for a start, I think.”

“If you say so.”

“First practice is tomorrow at three pm. You free there?”

Aria pondered. “Can’t be there before half” she replied. “Gotta being someone to the dentist with someone.”

“Your little sister?” Lemon smiled. “That’s soooo cute!”

“Actually, she is around my age” Aria told her, sounding even more annoyed than before.

Lemon looked at her in surprise. “Can’t she go alone?”

“Happened once. It ended in tears and pain. LOTS of tears and pain.” She shuddered slightly upon the memory, but her face quickly returned to its grumpy look. “Where do I have to show up?”

“Crystal Prep Academy” Lemon said. “You know where that is?”

The mention of the school caused Aria to frown even harder. “That big shining building that looks like someone licked it clean?”

Lemon chuckled. “That’s the one!”

Letting out a sigh Aria nodded. “I’ll be there.” Her already gloomy face then took on a very serious look. “But I want to make one thing clear!” She raised a finger, pointing it straight at Lemon’s chest. “You may be the founder of the band, but you’re not my boss!” Pulling back her arm she mumbled under her breath: “I’m tired of being told what to do…”

While a little frightened at first, once she heard what she wanted Lemon breathed in relief. “Don’t worry, dude, we’re all equal there” she assured her. “No one’s gonna tell anyone what to do!”

Aria glanced at Lemon. For a brief second a devious grin flashed upon her face. “Not for long…”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” With a motion that seemed physically impossible Aria pulled her hood back up over her hair, somehow concealing both her pigtails. “Gotta go now” she said, casting a short glance at Lemon’ clothes. “Don’t wanna be seen with someone in such a lame getup longer than necessary.” Putting her hands into her pockets again she turned around, slowly walking away from Lemon.

“Okay, bye!” Lemon chirped, seemingly ignoring the jab at her uniform as she waved after her. Turning around herself, she pulled her headphones over her ears, skipping down the sidewalk as she turned the music back on. “Got my bandmate number two, and she’s a radical dude~♪” she sang, happily bouncing over the pavement. Bopping her head, she began to hum the melody, occasionally playing the air guitar on her way through the city.

She had already gone pretty far and Aria had long disappeared when Lemon suddenly stopped. Should she have asked what kind of music she used to play in her old band?

More problems

Octavia folded her hands, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her thumbs. “Let me get this straight” she said, speaking slowly and calmly. “You want to start a band, but can’t play any instruments?”

Lemon nodded. “Yup.”

Groaning, Aria massaged her temples. “You’re starting to remind me a little too much of someone I know” she murmured.

“How can you start a band, but forget you can’t play music?” Octavia asked, looking with slightly furrowed eye-brows at Lemon.

Uncomfortably the Crystal Prep student rubbed the back of her head. “I dunno, I… I was just… you know…” She bit her lip. “I was daydreamin’ ‘bout bein’ a rockstar, and it was like, really cool, and then I wanted to start a band myself, and, er…” A nervous smile on her face, Lemon shrugged her shoulders. “I guess I was so excited, I didn’t think it through.”

A hand on her cheek Octavia let out a sigh, while Aria slapped her palm against her forehead.

“B-but I’ve seen people play instruments like a hundred times before on concerts!” Lemon quickly stated, gesturing them to stay calm. “I’m sure I can pick it up quickly!”

“Yeah, sure” Aria said, rolling her eyes. “Listen, rebel, I’ve been playing music for a whole millennium, and you know how much that helped me when my magic gem broke?” She formed a circle with her thumb and index finger. “Zero. Don’t think just because you saw someone play before you can do it yourself.”

Lemon scowled. “Pf, can’t be that hard!” Taking a quick look around she smiled as she saw a guitar standing close to her. “Here!” she exclaimed, grabbing the guitar. “I bet I can bust out a sick guitar riff in no time!” With a wide grin she tucked all the strings at once. Hr grin abruptly turned into a pained grimace, some miserable guitar sounds accompanying her as she yowled in agony. “OUCH!” she screamed, hectically waving her hand. “The strings are like REALLY sharp!”

“That’s why you use a pick to play” Aria told her.

Blushing Lemon quickly put the guitar back. Her eyes then set on a trumpet. “That looks easy to play!” she said, quickly grabbing the instrument. Turning to her bandmates she took in a deep breath, then blew right into it. The two girls covered their faces as little music, but a lot of spit came flying out of the front end. As they frowned at her, Lemon quickly set the trumpet back too. It only took a second though before she had looked out her next instrument.

“Oh, I know!” Excited, she jumped behind the drums, picking up a pair of sticks lying on a drumhead and clapping them together into the air. “I’LL GIVE YOU A WICKED BEAT!!!” Before she could hit the drums however Octavia snatched the sticks away from her, leaving the girl confused as her hands were suddenly empty.

“I’d refrain from doing that, except you want to replace a thousand-dollar drum set” Octavia told her, handing back the drum sticks.

With a sheepish smile Lemon put the sticks back on the drumhead. “Um, maaaayyybe it’ll take a lil’ longer to learn an instrument than I thought” she whispered.

Groaning Aria started to walk up and down the room. “So what now?” she asked, turning with an even more annoyed look than usual to Lemon. “You’re gonna play the air guitar or something?”

Lemon looked up at the ceiling, humming thoughtfully while tapping a finger on her chin. Her face suddenly brightened as she snapped her fingers. “Hey, I know: I could be the lead singer!” she exclaimed. “I have a good singing voice. How’s that sound?”

Octavia and Ara exchanged a glance. “Well, I do admit I focus on my instrumental performance, so my voice is actually not that well trained” she said. More to herself she mumbled: “Some people actually wonder if I can speak at all…”

“And we already talked about my ‘beautiful’ voice” Aria muttered. Squinting her eyes she skeptically looked at Lemon. “Still, are you REALLY any better?”

Holding her fist in front of her mouth Lemon cleared her throat. Before she could start however Octavia raised a hand. “Before you begin, I know you are into rock music, but to better evaluate your voice, I would kindly ask you NOT to sing something that requires an excessive amount of screaming” she said.

Lemon froze for a second, apparently unsure what to do, before slamming her fist into her palm. “Oh, I know!” Smiling she inhaled deeply, sticking out her chest. In advance, Aria and Octavia covered their ears with, ducking slightly. They soon removed them however when they heard a crystalline voice fill the room. Surprised, both of them stared at Lemon’s unusually serious and straight face, listening to her voice. She sang rather calmly and quietly, as if she was only a part of a chorus.

Oh-oh, wuh-oh-wuh~
Unleash the ma-gic~
Unleash the ma-gic~♪

The sound of her voice had a surprisingly feminine ring to it, bright as a bell and ranging in rather high tones, without being shrill or unpleasant. Aria and Octavia were left speechless as the carefree girl perfectly hit every note. When she was done Lemon looked expectantly at her bandmates. “So? Was it any good?”

Slowly, Octavia nodded her head.

“Alright, rebel” Aria said, crossing her arms with that same antagonistic look as ever on her face. “You can chirp around the stage, if you want.”

Grinning Lemon raised her fist to the ceiling. “Alright! I’m still game!”

With a sigh, Octavia shook her head. “Great. So, our band consists of a lead singer, a cellist and a former demon who replays her cursed melodies on a keyboard. What kind of music should come out of that?!”

Looking over the instruments that leaned against the walls again, Lemon spotted a microphone stand resting behind a contrabass. “Chill, dude” she said casually, bending behind the large instrument and pulling the mic out of its stand. “Let’s just jam a bit for the start and see how things flow. I’m sure the spirit of music will carry us somewhere!”

“As long as it won’t leave us drifting in the ocean” Aria murmured.

Though clearly concerned with that idea Octavia sat down next to her cello again, while Aria took position behind the keyboard. Standing between them with the mic in her hand Lemon looked at her two bandmates as both got ready to play. Giddily she put the mic to her lips, taking in a deep breath.

For a whole minute an uncoordinated and disharmonic mix of slow cello music, fast siren-singing and randomly shouted lyrics resonated through the soundproof room. Stubbornly Octavia and Aria tried to force their pace on each other, playing steadily louder in an attempt to drown the other’s instruments. In the middle of this musical tug of war, Lemon just sang whatever came to her mind, from bits of lyrics of her favorite songs to the names of her friends and jingles from TV commercials.

Rocking hard to Sunny days
Sour for lunch keeps diarrhea away~♪
Raise your fist on the Indigo boat
And save 10% by buying two Sugarcoats~♪”

The more she sang the more random her lyrics became, the green-haired girl having increasing trouble to match her singing to the contradicting styles of her bandmates. Also, she had to constantly sing louder so her voice wouldn’t completely vanish behind their instruments. As she screamed a very high note into the mic a loud peep suddenly resonated from it. Dropping the mic Lemon held her ears, Aria and Octavia quickly following with pained grimaces. After a while they slowly put their hands off their ears, Lemon blushing as her bandmates looked angrily at her.

“Okay… I guess just jamming without knowing what to play isn’t the best idea” she admitted.

Octavia put her bow aside. “Look, I know you just want to have fun, but we have to decide for some sort of genre at least” she told Lemon. Her tone was not scolding, but still insisting.

Lowering her head Lemon scratched her shoulder. “Yeah, you’re right” she mumbled.

Aria clenched a fist. “So, rock-paper- scissors about who decides?” she asked, her voice and face giving no clue if she was sarcastic or serious. “Wouldn’t mind a catfight too, but I doubt Miss ‘I’m-so-classy-I-play-cello’ over there wants to mess up her bowtie.”

Instead of a frown, a slight smirk spread over Aria’s face. “Actually, how about we let our music decide?” she suggested.

Both Aria and Lemon lifted an eyebrow at the classic fan. “Like how?” Lemon asked.

“Each of us will play a small song” Octavia explained. “What genre impresses the others most is the one we will play. Of course, self-voting is forbidden, and we have to be honest.”

From behind her keyboard Aria snorted. “Very fair” she scoffed, pointing at her throat. “If you haven’t forgotten, I can’ sing! And don’t tell me to play acapella – everyone knows acapella always loses to songs with lyrics.”

Octavia glared at her, but remained calm. “If you insist, Lemon can sing your song while you play the melody” she offered.

Aria glanced at the green-haired girl. “You’re not gonna mess up on intent, are you?”

Turning her head Lemon looked deviously at her. “Who knows?”

For a second, Aria flashed a smirk. “You’re alright.”

Octavia grabbed her cello bow. “Looks like we all agree, finally. Since it my idea I will start, and I am sure I will convert you both into classic fans.” Proudly she stuck out her chest, holding her head up. “I don’t want to brag, but I have composed a symphony which I think could one day very well be considered a milestone in the era of modern classic!”

“Great for you” Aria remarked dryly. “Last week I squeezed out a zit that was a milestone in the era of my face.”

Octavia gave her another glare, before focusing on her instrument. Calmly, but with great concentration she began to stroke the strings of her cello, her eyes closed. The notes she produced were deep, as if they reaching out from the bottom of an abyss. Only slowly she lured them out of her instrument, her bow softly tickling the strings as she held each note for several seconds. There was a small pause after every note, additionally decreasing the pace of the melody. The slowness and depth of the notes gave it a melancholic feeling, and while it was clearly classic it had a somewhat jazzy feel to it. It was reminiscent of the misty streets of a big city with tall skyscrapers framing the road, while only a handful of shady strangers were walking around. Matching the sad melody Octavia began to sing in relatively deep voice, not quite as pleasant as Lemon’s, but going well with the melancholic atmosphere.

Good evening, people of all age,
Ladies, gentlemen - welcome to the stage ~♪
This very night, I will make you see
For I believe, music is the key~♪
To people’s hearts, and to change the earth
Make it better, life on it more worth~♪
Yes I am sure, the world will rejoice,
And all it takes, is a single voice~♪

Octavia was lost in in her own music, fully focused on her performance. As the last of the lyrics had left her lips a few more notes roll out of her cello. Slowing down more and more one final, deep tone eventually came out of the instrument, resonating in the air for a few seconds. As silence fell over the music room Octavia removed her bow from the strings. Smiling in content she opened her eyes, raising her gaze from her instrument to her bandmates.

Aria was holding a hand in front of her mouth and yawned, while Lemon was sleeping on the spot.

“OH COME ON!” Octavia screamed, looking like she was about to toss her bow to the floor. “I spent weeks on that one!”

Lemon awoke with a start, tumbling backwards and nearly falling into a pile of instruments behind her. While she tried to catch her balance Aria looked indifferently at Aria. “I liked you were kind of kissing yourself with it, but all in all, it was a pretty lame song” she told her.

Octavia turned on the chair, showing Aria her shoulder. “Very well! Then do show us what you have to offer – and just to be clear, your previous performance is not enough!” she told her, strictly pointing her finger at the former siren.

A chuckle was Aria’s reply. “Oh, you have heard nothing yet.” From her pocket she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. “Here, rebel” she said as she tossed it to Lemon, who still seemed a little dazzled. She clumsily caught the paper, juggling it in the air for a moment before unfolding it. “Just follow my lead” Lemon nodded, quickly looking over the lyrics while Aria adjusted the keyboard. With a smug smirk she put her fingers on the keys, Octavia all the while watching her with squinted eyes.

A single, high-pitched vocal introduced the song. It didn’t remain alone for long, quickly joined by an array of notes in various heights and lengths. Aria’s finger practically flew over the keyboard, the pieces of siren singing creating a melody that was even more aggravating than the previous one. Occasionally she pressed a key for a longer amount of time while simultaneously throwing out more notes with her second hand in a fast, yet still melodic rate. It was just background chorus, but the speed and composition created the illusion of a full pop band playing along. As the accords began to repeat Aria nodded over to Lemon, who quickly got ready. When she believed Aria to have reached the passage where the lyrics fit in she began to sing in her clear voice, though Aria’s fast play made it a little hard for her to follow.

I’m here to steal your soul,
And turn you into a doll~♪
You’ll all do what I tell
Once you fall under my spell~♪
Nothing’s holding me back anymore,
You’re gonna beg me for encore ~♪
I’ll take all the fame,
And all of you will scream my name~♪

Once Lemon was done Aria let out one final note, holding it for a few seconds before letting the song end by playing steadily deeper and quieter notes, resembling a dying echo. Eventually the last note ebbed off, leaving the room quiet. The usually nihilistic girl looked in mocking pleasure upon the furious Octavia, then set her eyes on the singer. “So, rebel?” she asked, sounding rather confident in herself. “What do you think?”

Lemon cocked her head. “Meh, it was okay. A little too generic for me though.”

The expression of Aria twisted into a one of annoyance. “Generic?” she repeated. Her eye-brow twitched slightly. “What is generic about taking peoples’ souls and force them to worship you?”

Pondering for a moment Lemon shook her head. “Dunno. Kind of sounded like you are trying to dumb down the aggressive tone of rock music into a more mainstream form to appeal to a wider audience.”

Aria rolled her eyes. “Well duh – that’s what pop was invented for.”

“Yeah well…” Lemon scratched her head “It’s okay once in a while, but I don’t wanna to play it all the time.”

Aria scowled at the green-haired girl. Her attention was then turned to the other girl, who was giggling deviously on her chair in the middle of the room. “At least I didn’t bore her to sleep” Aria deadpanned, defiantly stemming her hands into her sides.

Abruptly Octavia became silent, and frowned. “Well, what do you want to play, Lemon?” she then asked the Crystal Prep student.

“Yeah” Aria agreed, both girls turning towards the founder of their band. “What does the rebel have in mind?

Lemon shrugged. “Not sure. I guess something like… NA-NANA-NANANA-NANA!!!” With no real rhythm she jumped around, screaming nonsense while playing air guitar.

Aria and Octavia exchanged a look, then sternly stared at Lemon. “No” they said in unison.

Stopping her solo Lemon blushed. “Well, at least you two finally agree on something.”

Groaning Octavia placed her hand on her forehead. “This is ridiculous” she said, her palm running down her face. “Not only am I playing in a band with a monster that hypnotized me into worshipping her once, I’m playing in a band that has no direction whatsoever.”

Aria nodded. “Yeah, maybe it wasn’t THAT bad to have someone who called all the shots.”

Lemon smiled at her bandmates. “Come on guys, don’t be like that!” she tried to cheer them up. “I’m sure we will figure things out by next Thursday.”

Almost synchronously the two girls lifted an eyebrow. “Next Thursday?” they asked together.

Their surprised stares confused Lemon for a moment. “Um, oh yeah, forgot to mention” she said, grinning a little embarrassed. “I kind of already booked our first gig for Thursday evening next week, here at Crystal Prep.”

Lemon was startled to see both Aria and Octavia both glare at her – not directly in ager, but clearly they were displeased. “So, we basically got little more than a week to turn this mess of a band into something that can actually play music?” Octavia asked, a hint of aggression in her voice.

“When we can’t even agree what to play?” Aria continued, also having that ring of subtle aggression.

Looking at each of her bandmates, Lemon put on an awkward grin. “Um, is that a problem?”

Octavia and Aria shared a short glance. Then, almost simultaneously, both of them headed for the door.

All for one

Three girls walked down the hallways of Crystal Prep Academy, straight towards the exit. The girl going ahead looked especially angry, clenching her fists and stomping with each step on the crystalline floor. Behind her the second one had her hands in her pocket, not really appearing angry, but rather annoyed. Besides those two a third girl was constantly talking to them, the ring in her voice somewhat desperate.

“Okay, maybe I should have told you guys about the gig” Lemon admitted, flashing a light smile at the two. “But come on, everybody makes mistakes! It doesn’t mean you two have to-”

In a swift motion Octavia turned to Lemon. Her furious expression send a shiver down her spine. “Listen to me, Miss ‘Let’s wing it and just have some fun’!” she shouted, pointing her finger right at Lemon. “I have played cello since I was six, and adored classic music before I could walk. The first word I ever spoke was ‘treble-key’ – granted, it sounded more like ‘triple bee’, but the point is, all my life was always about music! As long as I can think back, I wanted to be a professional musician.” Squinting her eyes, she leaned closer to Lemon, poking hard at her chest. “I have practiced for years, and managed to build up a solid reputation as a junior cellist! I am NOT intending to give up on that reputation and ruin any chance of a future career by making a fool out of myself in front of an audience – that will stick with me for YEARS!” she finished, throwing her arms up in the air.

Standing beside her, Aria nodded. “Yeah, I also don’t feel like being bombarded with tomatoes and getting booed off the stage. Again.”

Leaving their lead singer behind Lemon’s former bandmates continued to head for the exit. Panicked, the green-haired girl walked after them. “Come on, guys!” she begged them. “It’s not gonna be THAT bad!”

Both girls stopped again. “Not that bad?” Octavia repeated. Furiously she scowled at the Crystal Prep student. “Did you actually hear us play? We were terrible!”

“I was pretty good” Aria remarked, dry as ever. “But yeah, you guys sucked.”

Octavia took in a deep breath. “You know what?” she said, her voice calm, but with clear ring of suppressed anger in it. “Even if we actually were any good, I still wouldn’t want to stand on a stage with that… that… that bad-tempered, ill-meaning, soulless clod of a girl who makes me seethe with anger JUST BY BEING AROUND HER!!!” The last part she shouted right at the former siren, dropping all calmness and attempts at being polite. Huffing and panted, the cellist stared with grit teeth at the completely indifferent Aria.

“Anything else you want to get out of your system?” the keyboard player asked – if anything, she sounded even more bored than before. “Or did you fire all your shots?”

For a second, the girl from Canterlot High looked like she was about to explode. She kept herself under control however, and once she had regained her composure turned towards Lemon. “It was nice meeting you Lemon” she said, all calm and polite again. “Sadly, I am afraid won’t work out. I hope you don’t think too low of me, but I can not participate in your band. I am sorry.” Looking back at Aria she coldly told her: “And as for you, I hope to never see your face again.” She made a slight bow towards each of them, before turning back to the exit. “Have a nice day.”

Holding her head up in dignity, she began walking down the corridor. “Wait!” Lemon shouted, reaching out her arm. A hand on her shoulder stopped her, the sudden halt nearly making her stumble on the crystalline floor. Looking over her shoulder she stared right into Aria’s dour face.

“Sorry, rebel.” Aria spoke in the same “I-don’t-care”-manner as usual, but listening closely and looking at her face, Lemon believed to notice some traces of sadness in them. “As much as I hate to follow around orders, there’s gotta be someone to call the shots. And let’s face it: You’re not cut to do this, and neither of us two will let the other one be boss.” Letting go of Lemon’s shoulder she followed Octavia down the hallway. “See ya” she said without turning around, raising a hand with the other being in her pocket. “And get a comb – your hair’s a mess.”

Without haste, but steadily both girl moved away from Lemon, towards the end of the corridor. The exit of the school was waiting there, the afternoon light shining through the glass doors. Her mouth open, but unable to say anything Lemon watched as the girls she had called her bandmates a few minutes ago were about to leave her behind.

But she wouldn’t let them.

Without thinking the green-haired dashed forward. It only took her a moment to catch up with Aria, bushing her shoulder as she passed by and jumped ahead of Octavia. Both girls stared in surprise as Lemon positioned herself in front of them, holding out her arms to block their path. The determinate look on her face made caused them to stand still on the spot, even making them feel a little uneasy. Suddenly, Lemon’s expression turned into a nervous one, her stance relaxing as she rubbed the back of her head. “Guys, I know things haven’t been going very sweet, and I admit I’m kind of a mess sometimes…” Lemon’s voice was meek and shallow, but abruptly become louder as she yelled: “But come on – we all love music! We can’t be that different! So please, isn’t there anything I can do to convince you to stay?”

Almost simultaneously, both girl pointed a thumb at their chest. “We play my song!” they shouted in unison.

A slight smirk appeared on Lemon’s face. “Great! You two agree on the something! Now can we practice again?”

Massaging the bridge of her nose Aria groaned. “Why must life torture me with loud and annoying idiots?” she mumbled.

“I should have known this was a bad idea the moment she dashed out of the music store and left me behind” Octavia sighed, rubbing her forehead.

“And I should have known the moment I heard the awful noise from her headphones” Aria added, rolling her eyes.

Octavia nodded. “I try to be open to any form of music, but how anyone can like this mash-up of guitars, drums and people screaming gibberish is beyond me.”

Amused, Aria chuckled. “Well at least something so wild and chaotic kind of fits our little rebel.”

Octavia glanced at Aria. “Maybe you shouldn’t talk too bad about punk rock.” Her tone was mocking, but not seriously offending. “If you have a chance at getting back into the music business, I’d say background screaming for some metal band would be a good start with your voice.”

For a second Aria glared at Octavia, before cracking a smile. “He, that was almost funny.”

Octavia smirked back. A very bright chortle caused them to turn their head their former lead singer. “Um, why are you giggling?” Octavia asked, raising an eyebrow at Lemon.

“Yeah” Aria said, giving the giddy school girl a look as if she was crazy. “If you haven’t noticed – we are making fun of your jam.”

Lemon’s lips had curled up into a large, wide smile. “You two are finally getting along!” she almost screamed in joy, raising both arms into the air.

Shocked, Octavia and Aria first looked in disgust at each other, then angrily at Lemon. “We are not!” they said in unison. Both girls blushed, Lemon grinning even wider.

“W-we are just both hating you and your music, tis all!” Aria mumbled, turning her red face away.

“That’s a start” Lemon replied with a shrug. She waved towards the music room, urging them to follow her. “Now come on, we’ve got a band to form!”

The colour of Octavia’s face changed from red of embarrassment to red of anger. “You are so…” A vein on her forehead twitched, and she had to take in a deep breath to calm herself. “I will say it one last time: As long as we don’t play classic music, I’m out of this!”

“And as long as we don’t play pop music, I am out” Aria added, crossing her arms.

Turning up her mouth Lemon looked at the two girls, both seeming set on their positions. “Come on, would it kill you guys to try out a sumthin’ new?” She stemmed her hands against her sides, her face radiating determination. “Tell you what: We’ll try out ALL of our styles – classic, pop, and punk rock – one after another. We will try our best, and if you guys still don’t wanna play, I’ll let it go.”

Aria looked curiously at her. “And if we refuse?”

Raising a finger Lemon was about to say something, only to end up standing around with an open mouth. “Er… I’ll be sad?” she finally bought out.

Octavia glared at Lemon with knitted eyebrows. “Tell me one good reason why I should walk back into that room with you and that witch!”

Lemon pondered for a moment, before her gaze went to Octavia’s empty hands. “Because you forget your cello?” she suggested.

Startled Octavia looked down at her empty. “Okay, that is actually a good reason” she admitted, blushing slightly. “But give me one good reason why I should go along on your silly idea!”

Lemon put a finger on her chin, staring up at the ceiling while humming thoughtfully. “Because… please?” she said, smiling with big begging eyes at Octavia. “Pretty please?”

Octavia glared at Lemon. Though still seeming rather angry, she let out a sigh. “We give it ONE try” she said, putting a great emphasis on ‘one’ “And if it doesn’t work out, I will leave – with my cello.”

Lemon leaned a little closer to her. “But if it works, we’ll play the gig?” she asked hopefully.

The Canterlot student harrumphed. “We’ll see about that.” Her head held high she walked past Lemon, who watched in glee as she headed for the music room. Then, with that same cheerful smirk she turned towards Aria. The former siren rolled her eyes.

“Fine” she moaned, avoiding to look into Lemon’s overly joyous face. “I guess I should be grateful for any minute I don’t have to spend with the dorks that wait at home.”

Content Lemon turned around, following Octavia back to the music room, with Aria behind her. As they approached the door, Lemon having it left open in her haste, Aria stepped to her side.

“Hey rebel, just out of curiosity: Have you ever thought about a name for our band?”

Author's Note

So sorry for the long wait - I got stuck on what Lemon should say to convince Octavia and Aria to return. Next chapters should be up sooner :twilightblush:

Up to eleven!

To say the hall was crowded would have been an overstatement, with more than half of the seats being unoccupied. Still, considering the size of Crystal Prep’s theatre, there were plenty of visitors in the audience. Looking through the gap in the curtain over the ranks, Lemon noticed pretty much everyone she had invited to her band was there. Either they were curious to see if it was a mistake not joining, or just wanted to make fun of her if they failed afterwards. In general, there seemed to be mostly Crystal Prep students sitting on the ranks, easy to recognize by their uniforms, the snobbish look on their faces and the books lying on their laps, with most of them learning and only a bunch engaged in relatively friendly conversation. There were also a few other boys and girls from outside Crystal Prep, presumably Canterlot High students who had come for Octavia – Lemon even spotted the white-skinned girl that had shared her jam with her at the friendship games. Although occupied with her music player, she did look up at the stage once. Seeing Lemon at the curtain she grinned, giving her a thumbs-up, which Lemon gladly returned. Her eyes then caught glimpse of two rather striking teenage girls in the back of the theatre – mostly striking because of their hair, one having tied her long blue strands into a ponytail while the other one carried the mother of all curly afros on her head. She seemed rather annoyed, probably by her seat neighbor kept babbling with an almost stupid grin on her face. There were also a few adults in the audience, though it was really mostly teenagers. A little nervous Lemon kept looking over the seats, searching for a specific group…

“Is everything alright, dearie?”

Almost Lemon jumped in surprise. The girl who had addressed her winced as well, taking a step back and lightly colliding with the girls behind her. As Lemon turned to them, relief immediately replaced her shock.

“Sorry” Sunny apologized, rubbing her arm. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Lemon smirked at her and the others. “Guys! What are you doing here?”

“We’re here to wish you good luck, obviously” Sugarcoat replied, in her usual fast-paced, dry manner of speech, bearing her usual passive-aggressive, straight face.

Sour smiled at Sugarcoat. “You’re really selling the point, Sugar♥” she cooed, before dropping her bright smile to scowl at the blunt girl. “Can you even try to sound any less motivating?” Sugarcoat just shrugged.

At the same time, Indigo stepped in front of Lemon. “We just wanted to see you before your performance” she said, patting Lemon’s shoulder. “You know, to make sure you’re not having stage fright or anything – and to see you one last time in case you become a rockstar and forget all about us” she added with wink.

Chuckling Lemon placed her hand on top of Indigo’s. “Don’t worry” she said with a smug smirk “I’ll be sure to come by and rub my fame into your faces!”

Meanwhile Sunny had pulled the curtain a little aside, peeking at the audience. “I must say, I am surprised you managed to get the school theatre for your first performance” she said as she looked over the ranks.

“Yes, a really great place for your first show!” Sour chirped, before asking more sternly: “But seriously, how did you do it?”

“Yeah, did you give Cinch a hundred bucks or something?” Indigo joked.

Lemon shrugged. “I’ve got my methods.”

“She probably bugged Cinch for an hour until she gave in annoyed” Sugarcoat deadpanned, causing Lemon to grin slyly.

“Nice outfit, by the way” Sour remarked as she looked over Lemon. Glaring down her own clothes she frowned. “Rocking out in these uniforms probably wouldn’t have worked very well…”

While still wearing the skirt and footwear of the standard Crystal Prep uniform, the rocker girl had exchanged the jacket and blouse for a loose purple shirt with ripped off sleeves. Over the front of the top, there was the yellow image of four heavily stylized lemons arranged like an inverted L, one having a circle around it. Black wristlets with spike were tied around her wrists, while a spike collar was hanging around her neck. Stretching out her arms and turning her upper body from side to side Lemon presented herself to her friends. “Thanks! Had to wear it under the uniform though cause there was no time to go home and change.” She pulled at her collar. “You gals ever noticed how hot it is in some classrooms?”

Pulling her head back out between the curtains, Sunny then noticed two other girls slowly walking from the back of the stage towards them. One was dressed in striped pants and gloves, a sleeveless dark top with white markings and a yellow skirt that was longer on the back than the front, alongside a pair of purple high-heel stilettos. The other wore a black tuxedo with a pink bowtie, giving her a very forma land elegant appearance. “And these are your bandmates?” Sunny asked as the two girls stepped behind Lemon.

Lemon turned her head around. “Oh yeah!” she confirmed, introducing everyone. “Guys, these are Tavi and Hot Stuff. Tavi, Hot Stuff, these are the guys.”

Octavia made a light bow. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Aria held up her hand. “Likewise.”

Raising an eyebrow Sour gave the former siren a curious glance. “Hot stuff?” she repeated

Aria shrugged. “Last name’s Blaze” she told her. “Though honestly, I have no idea what’s going on in our little rebel’s head.”

Sugarcoat rolled her eyes. “None of us have.”

Though the gap was closed, Indigo glanced over to the curtains. “So, this is your big moment.” A sigh slipped through her lips. “You know, I kind of regret now not having joined when you first asked.”

Putting her head back Octavia looked up to the ceiling. “I wonder if you’ll still say that after our performance” she murmured.

Lemon’s friends stared at her, looking a little worried. In an instant Lemon threw her arm around Octavia’s shoulders, startling the cellist. “Don’t listen to her” the lead singer yelled with a big grin. “We’re gonna rock this thing!”

“If you can call it rock” Aria mumbled under her breath.

A slightly uncomfortable silence fell over stage. Eventually, Sunny cleared her throat.

“Whatever it is, we’re gonna hear it in a moment” She winked at Lemon. “We should head to our seats now. Break a leg!” Waving at the three girls she walked off the stage. The other three Shadowbolts followed her, of course not without wishing their friend good luck as well.

“Blow off the roof!”

“Don’t embarrass yourselves.”

“I’m sure you will be great – and if not, I got earplugs.”

Lemon looked after her friends until all of them had left. Looking over her shoulder Aria followed her gaze, bearing an unusually soft expression.

“Your friends seem… nice” she whispered into Lemon’s ear.

The green-haired girl turned her head, smirking deviously. “Don’t worry – they are usually not that much sugar and sunshine.”

Aria smirked back. Just then, the light shining through the curtain was getting dimer, while the murmurs of the audience quieted down. “I guess it’s show time, ladies” Octavia said. Despite trying to sound cheerful, one could clearly hear the nervousness in her voice.

“Hooray, can’t wait for the boo-screams” Aria moaned. She didn’t even try to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

The three girls walked over to the instruments standing in the center of the stage. “Chill, dudes!” Lemon told them, grabbing the mic holder. It was located a little in front of the other instruments. “Everything’s gonna be fine – we will blast ‘em out of their seats!”

Behind the keyboard with her thumb-drive Aria rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I expect the hall to get emptier as we play.” She sighed. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”

Octavia sat down on the chair next to her cello. As she took her bow leaning against the instrument, she threw a glance towards their lead singer. “Hey, Lemon, um…” Her fingers fumbled around her bow, her cheeks turning a little red as she flashed a smile. “While I’m still not fully convinced how well our performance will be received, I must admit that I did have a lot of fun in the past few days.”

Turning her head Lemon smiled back at her. “Thanks, Tavi.”

The Canterlot student nodded. A bit hesitant, she turned her head to the former siren who was preparing her keyboard, the cellist looking somewhat bashful. “And Aria, I… I am really sorry how I treated you. Despite your past and your attitude, you’re actually okay.”

Without looking at her Aria waved it off. “Forgiven, forgotten.” She then stood straight, looking sternly at her bandmates. “Okay, enough with the sap – the curtain’s gonna roll up any moment. And remember: Once the first tomato comes flying, I’m out.”

Lemon chuckled, and even Octavia giggled a little. They then turned silent as someone’s head poked through the rift in the curtains. Lemon recognized the woman as one of her music teachers. “Are you ready?” the adult whispered. Her tone wasn’t strict, but she sounded stressed – an impression matched by her slightly messy hair and the wrinkles under her eyes. As Lemon nodded the middle-aged woman immediately pulled her head back through the curtains, and Lemon could hear her walk to the edge of the stage. A few seconds later the leftover murmurs from audience muted completely.

All three girls stood on the stage, facing the curtains. Octavia’s fingers nervously fumbled around the bow and neck of her cello, and even Aria lightly tapped on the keys of her instrument. Lemon, holding the mic holder with both hands could feel her heart beating steadily louder. Gone was the smile on her face, replaced with a look of anxiety. Then, she could hear the teacher loudly calling out towards the audience:

“Ladies and gentlemen, I present you… Zest for Life!”

There was some mild applause, with a single whistle mixed in (which Lemon was sure came Indigo). All three girls then watched the curtains splitting apart. Though the light was dimmed Lemon was still had to squint her eyes as it shone on the stage. When she opened them again her gaze then fell upon the ranks of the audience, with her schoolmates and a bunch of strangers staring at her.

Their number had only slightly increased from when she had peeked through the curtaisn, and a lot of seats were still unoccupied. However, facing the audience with the mic in her hands, the hall suddenly didn’t seem as empty to Lemon anymore.

Her fingers grabbed the steel even tighter. Letting go with one hand she waved towards the audience, smiling nervously at them. Sweat was running down her face as her eyes darted around the seats. When she spotted the heads of her friends poking out somewhere in the middle she relaxed slightly. As the mellow applause quieted down she threw a look over her shoulder at Aria, who glanced back at her. When the green-haired girl nodded the former siren took in a deep breath, her hands on the keys. Closing her eyes, she pressed one of them.

The serene echo of a bright voice filled the theatre. Aria held it for a few seconds before adding in a second, deeper note. Their synergy sent a shiver down the spines of nearly everyone in the audience, the voice sounding like it was coming from the depth of the ocean. Switching the position of her fingers Aria replaced the high note with a slightly deeper one, making the melody sound dimmer, before changing to a higher again. The tunes of her former siren voice created an ethereal ambience, that was lulling in the audience. Yet in the serenity of the song there also lay a hint of aggressiveness, the uneasy sensation of something eerie approaching – some of those who listened felt like a hand was slowly inching towards them, reaching for their very souls. As if she knew of the effect of her music a smirk formed on Aria’s face, the usually bad-tempered teen looking as if she was enjoying herself.

In the middle of Aria’s atmospheric, subtly haunting chorus of electronic siren sounds, Octavia raised her bow. Fingers on the neck of her instrument, she softly stroke the strings of the cello. Long, deep notes were the result of her play, blending in with Aria’s tunes. With a look of deep concentration on her face she played a rather calm background melody, luring out subtle notes from her instrument and leaving Aria’s music in the foreground. Still, her play greatly affected the tone of the song, the slow and soft cello notes bringing in a certain sadness into the song. Already tense from Aria’s play several boys and girls all over the hall were getting goosebumps. With each tune, the audience felt as if they were lured deeper and deeper into the sea with all its beautiful wonders, while at the same time being exposed to the dangers that lurked in the water, all the while sensing the melancholy of the ocean’s vast expanse.

For a while the instruments carried the song on their own. Just as the verse seemed to be reaching its end, the melody slowing down and becoming quieter, Lemon leaned towards her microphone. The look on her face was unusually focused, while at the same time she radiated calmness. Head raised she took in a deep breath, before pushing the microphone to her lips. As the instruments picked up their pace again, Aria’s alluring siren sounds and the melancholy of Octavia’s cello were joined by the clear, bright voice of Lemon. It was almost as if a bell had been added to the song, the teen’s voice and the lyrics she sang perfectly fitting the aquatic, slightly dampened tone of the melody.

Good evening y’all, we’re just here to tell
Ladies, gentlemen – you’ll fall to our spell~♪
Yes, our time is now – oh, this is our age
We will steal your soul – welcome to the stage ~♪

By that point there wasn’t anybody left in the audience who didn’t feel a chill all over their skin. Many slumped down in her chairs with their eyes closed, as if they were letting themselves sink into the sea. Those who allowed themselves to be put in a cozy trance however didn’t notice the pace of the song was starting to pick up: Slowly Octavia was stroking harder on the strings, while Aria switched faster between notes. At the same time, Lemon’s voice was becoming more passionate with each word she sang, the quiet bell sounding steadily shriller.

On this very night, we will rock your world
You’ll scream our na-ames, with your toes curled ~♪
No holding us back, we will make you see
That music is the, keeeeeeeeey♪

Holding the note Lemon’s voice got steadily higher. Aria also played steadily higher notes, the two girls seemingly competing with each other. Octavia accompanied their “duet” with a mixture of fast-paced cello-accords, before ending in a long, deep note. Suddenly, all three girls stopped. Being completely under the music’s spell several people in the audience ceased to breath for a moment, absolute silence hanging over the concert hall. Spreading out her legs Lemon raised a hand into the air. With a wide grin she snatched the microphone out of its holder, holding it vertically to her lips.

“HEY!”

The music kicked back in, a lot more joyful than before – it almost sounded like dance-music, Octavia and Aria playing fast-paced accords and tracks in perfect harmony. In an instant, a large amount of students jumped up from their seats, some of them dropping books that had been lying on their laps. No traces of the melancholy that had settled over them were left as they began cheering loudly at the band. Despite the commotion, the music was still clearly audible, Lemon walking up and down the edge of the stage as she continued to sing lyrics from several combined songs of her bandmates, mixed with some lines of herself.

Rock on Sunny days, may not make a change
But a single voice can make the world rejoice~♪
So dance to the beat! Come one, feel the heat
we’ll take all the fame, cause this is our game! ~♪

Lemon kept singing while Aria and Octavia played until the song was over. The first song was followed by the second, the second by the third, and so on. The whole evening the audience kept dancing and banging their heads to the music, each song making them more ecstatic than the last. Though surprised by how well their performance was received, Octavia and Aria enjoyed every second of it. The Canterlot High student played with a silent passion that burned from every stroke on her cello, while the former siren grinned deviously in satisfaction as her fingers danced over the keyboard. The one who was clearly enjoying herself the most however was Lemon, moving happily over the stage with a wide smirk on her face. The strain on her voice caused it to crack sometimes, even getting a little hoarse, but nobody seemed to care. While she wasn’t a professional musician,everybody could feel her passion and joy for music, and soon the entire audience had been infected by it.

Eventually, they had played all songs they had practiced. After one final encore all three girls stroke a pose, and under thunderous applause the curtains began to close. “THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT!” Lemon shouted before her face vanished behind red fabric. Even when they were closed completely she could still hear the cheers from the other side, many of them shouting her name.

It wasn’t until the applause had died down that Lemon realized her own breathing, her chest throbbing heavily forth and back. Sweat rolled down her pink face in thick beads, and her legs were numb from walking around the stage for several hours. Still, her face carried a large smile, radiating genuine joy as she turned towards Aria and Octavia. They looked equally exhausted, but also very happy. Panting Lemon took in a deep breath, her voice a little raspy as she spoke: “That… was…”

“AWESOME!!” Surprised Lemon and Aria looked at Octavia, who was holding her arms up in the air. Noticing the awkward glances her bandmates were throwing at her, the cellist blushed. “I-I mean, it was a very good performance” she said more reserved. She then winced slightly as Lemon pulled an arm around her and Aria, pulling both girls closely to her.

“Told’cha it was gonna work out.” With a wink she said to Aria: “And you were afraid they’d boo us off the stage!”

The former siren chuckled. “I admit, bathing in thunderous applause did feel nice – not as good as feeding on their hatred and manipulating their will, but whatever.”

Lemon released her bandmates. “I do have to say” Octavia said as she adjusted her bowtie “While it sounded rather good during rehearsal already, I didn’t think this mash-up of genres would be so well received.”

Proudly Lemon stuck out her chest. “See? You should have trusted me and my radical master-plan from the beginning!”

Aria raised an eyebrow. “Master-plan? We just kept fighting and trying to play over each other until we accidentally busted out a jam that didn’t sound horrible.”

The spirit of Lemon dropped, but only for a moment. “Eh, don’t care.” Excited again, she raised her fist. “All that matters is that Zest for Life is gonna rock the world!”

Octavia coughed. “I’d prefer the formulation ‘please the audience with their performance’” she stated.

“Or enchant them with a souk-sucking melody” Aria smirked.

Lemon looked a little oddly at her bandmates, but eventually shrugged it off. “Whatever floats your boat. Fact is, this band will hit it big!”

“Ahem.”

Lemon nearly jumped when someone cleared their throat behind her. She turned around, her eyes widening as she saw who was standing there. “P-principal Cinch!” she stuttered. “I-I didn’t know you were watching.”

Aria and Octavia also stared in surprise at the headmaster of Crystal Prep Academy. “I admit, this is not an event I would usually go to in my free-time” Cinch stated, her voice as stern as ever. She furrowed her brows, making her look even more strict. “But, I take it as my duty to inspect all concerts held at this school – to make sure nothing is played that could damage our reputation.”

Lemon grinned nervously. “Are you, um, here to congratulate us to our good performance?” she asked carefully.

From her pocket, Cinch pulled out a small cloth. “Miss Zest” she said slowly, taking off her glasses and cleaning them. “When you asked me to reserve the stage for a concert, you said it was for a school band you had recently founded.”

Lemon cocked her head. “Um, yeah?”

The principal held her glasses up to the light, squinting her eyes to see if they were clean. “A school band means it is formed by members of our school” she explained as she put her glasses back on her nose. Through them, she sharply looked at the two girls at Lemon’s side. “But I am pretty sure if I were to look into the school register, I will not find the names of your bandmates – or am I mistaken?”

Lemon felt her heart sink. “Well… um…” She rubbed the back of her head, exchanging glances with Aria and Octavia. The latter’s worry was apparent, but even the usually uncaring ex-siren seemed concerned. “N-no, Ma’am” she eventually admitted.

The principal nodded. “I thought so. In that case, consider your band dismissed.”

Dumbfounded Lemon, Aria and Octavia stood in front of the principal, unable to speak. Cinch on the other hand just stared back as if she had just said something completely casual. After finally regaining her senses Lemon shook her head, angrily glaring up to Cinch.

“Now hold it, lady! I-I mean Principal Cinch” she quickly said, shrinking slightly under her cold eyes. “Y-you can’t forbid us from meeting up and playing music!”

Aria, the shock only slightly showing on her dour face, nodded. “Yeah, that’d require you to be a witch or something – which really wouldn’t surprise me, to be honest” she deadpanned, looking over conservatively clothed woman.

Cinch scowled at Aria, before setting a more composed gaze at Lemon. “That, I indeed cannot” she admitted. “But I can restrain the access to the music room for non-students of Crystal Prep Academy.” Leaning closer to Aria she whispered sharply: “And if you were going to this school, you’d be in deep trouble for that comment, young lady!”

Aria held back a snicker. “Pff! ‘Young’ lady.”

Stepping forward Octavia cleared her throat, putting on a diplomatic smile. “Please, principal, I know Aria and I are not attending this school, but Lemon is!” Her voice was polite, but with a ring of despair. “Clearly there is a paragraph for other students to perform as well as long as the band leader is going to this school, is there not?”

Cinch harrumphed. “Maybe in a lax school like Canterlot High” she told the girl disdainfully. “But here, we take our rules serious, and accurately follow them.”

With each word of the principal, Lemon could feel her heart sink deeper. “But…”

“No buts, Miss Zest” the principal cut her off, glaring sternly at all three of them. “If you want to practice, you must do it somewhere else. End of the discussion.” Standing absolutely straight she turned on the spot, leaving three crestfallen teenagers behind. “Not a bad performance, by the way” she suddenly said over her shoulder, causing the three girls to jolt up in surprise. “Nowhere near levels where it could actually be considered worth listening to, but for second-rated music, it was rather entertaining.” Aster saying that she walked off the stage, her pointy high heels clapping on the steps.

The girls stared after her for moment, not saying anything. On the other side of the curtain, they could hear the audience getting up from their seats and leaving, their footsteps and mumbles filling the theatre.

Lemon, Aria and Octavia looked at each other. Their expressions ranged from sad and angry to disappointed. “And… what now?” Lemon asked, looking somewhat helpless.

Octavia scratched her chin. “How about we practice at Canterlot High?” she suggested, a sliver of hope hanging in her voice. “I’m sure Principal Celestia and Vice-principal Luna won’t be as strict as your Cinch.”

Aria shook her head. “Don’t wanna be the party-pooper, but I’d rather avoid running into anyone at your school. And I’m sure they wouldn’t be happy to see me too…”

Octavia as about to reply something, but stopped. “I… guess you’re right” she eventually admitted.

“Don’t you guys have a garage or something where we can practice?” Lemon asked.

“Really wish I had” Aria sighed, rubbing her forehead. “I know some people who’d deserve to be locked up in it from time to time – especially around TV time.”

“And I’m afraid our garage is reserved for my father’s new car” Octavia said, shuddering slightly. “One scratch and I will be grounded until college.”

“Also, I don’t have a keyboard at home” Aria told her bandmates “And I can only afford to loan one on two or three days per month. And I have to share it with my roommates, which means I basically have to fight for every second I can play on it…”

There was another moment of silence, the three girls exchanging worried glances. “So… that’s it?” Lemon finally spoke what everybody thought. “The band’s over?”

Slowly, her bandmates nodded.

“Looks like it.”

“I’m afraid so.”

Although she felt rather down, Lemon forced herself to smile. “Oh well… that’s okay, I guess. Tis was a blast while it lasted, so-”

Lemon didn’t really know what to say, but it didn’t matter. As she was still fumbling with the right words Octavia suddenly threw herself around her, tightly hugging the punk rocker. After staring in surprise for a moment, Lemon patted the back of the cellist with a smile.

“Now come on” she tried to comfort her. “It’s not like we’re gonna have to stop being friends or anything – we have each others’ numbers, remember?”

Releasing Lemon from her embrace Octavia slowly nodded, but with a sad look on her face. “I know” she said, wiping a finger through her eye. “But still…” She sighed. “You know, if not in a real band, maybe we could still hang around sometimes and play music? I have my own cello, you have your voice, a-and I’m still we’ll find something for Aria. It might not be very professional, but…”

Lemon smirked. “You sure it won’t hurt your future career?” she asked with a wink.

Both girls laughed. As Aria cleared her throat they turned their heads towards her. “Don’t wanna cut the goodbyes short, but tuxedo girl and I shouldn’t miss the last bus out of the city” she reminded them.

Lemon and Octavia hugged each other once more. “You text me, okay?” Octavia asked.

“Sure, Tavi” Lemon assured her. With a glance at Aria she added: “And you too, Hot Stuff!”

The former siren shrugged. “Whatever. See ya” Both she and Octavia headed off the stage, Octavia waving at Lemon before she left. As Aria was about to go down the steps however she stopped. She looked over her shoulder, smiling bashfully at Lemon. “And… thank you. It felt nice to be on a stage again.” Then, before Lemon had any chance to reply, she hurried off.

For a minute, Lemon stood alone on the stage. On the other side of the curtains, she could hear the last members of the audience leaving, some of them singing or humming their songs. When the last one had left, the door closing behind them, it was completely silent in the theatre.

Lemon took in a deep breath. Hands inside her pockets, she slowly began to walk off as well, leaving the stage behind.

Back to zero

Lemon walked down the sparkling corridors of Crystal Prep Academy, heading for the exit. Her march was not quite as enthusiastic as usual, the punk girl almost slurping with hanging shoulders while burying her hands in the pockets of her blue jeans. Looking straight down, past her black tank-top with the winking skull on the front she stared at her black boots, dragging them over the shining tiles of the school. The whole day she had carried herself like this, wandering from class to class like a zombie. It was Friday afternoon and the last lesson had just ended, but while most students couldn’t get out of the school fast enough, she was still moving rather sluggishly. Theoretically, Lemon had an hour of rehearsal with her band right now before she would go home and kick off the weekend.

Except there was no band anymore.

Raising her gaze from her feet Lemon closed her eyes. They had only practiced for a week together, but the short time she had spent with those two had already created a number of fond memories she could call back on…

Like on their first day after they had gone back to the music room, when they had kept arguing what to play until it was dark and they were trapped in the school overnight…

Or on the day after, when Aria and Octavia were arguing so loud the janitor came by to see if everything was alright…

Or the time the two had used the guitars in the room as swords to beat each other up…

And didn’t stop fighting until Lemon had bugged them so much they attacked her instead…

…

Maybe “fond memories” wasn’t the right term, but Lemon was still sad it was over.

At the end of the corridor, the large round entrance hall was coming into sight. Lemon straightened herself, and picked up her pace. She didn’t notice a girl was walking into the corridor behind her, taking a look around before setting her eyes on Lemon’s back. Seeing her long green hair hanging over the dark pink leather jacket with its ripped sleeves she called out to her.

“LEMON! Wait!”

It took a moment until the words had gone through the headphones into Lemon’s head. Turning around Lemon was surprised to see Sunny, her purple high-heels clapping as she ran towards her. She was wearing a lavender skirt, alongside a light blue shirt under a short yellow vest, buttoned over the chest. When she had caught up to Lemon Sunny bent forward, taking in a few deep breaths with her hands on her knees.

“Phew! There you are” she panted, wiping some sweat off her forehead. “I was afraid you were already gone.”

Lemon looked at her friend in confusion. “What are you still doing here, Sunny?” she asked. “You’re usually out an hour earlier than the rest of us on Friday - shouldn’t you be like, home already?”

A smirk spread over Sunny’s face. “There is something I would like to show you.”

“Show me?” Lemon repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Chuckling Sunny grabbed Lemon by her wrist, careful not to touch the spikes on her wristlet. “Just come with me!” she told her, dragging Lemon’s arm. Reluctantly, Lemon followed, the two of them going down the corridor back into the school. “Sorry again about your band” Sunny said to her on the way. “I know you guys would have had rehearsal right now.”

Lemon rolled her eyes. “You and the guys have been telling me you’re sorry like, all day.”

“Because you’ve been down about it all day” Sunny responded.

Tilting her head back, Lemon let out a sigh. “I know I shouldn’t be mourning that much about it.” She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. “Well, it’s Friday – maybe a trip to the disco or sumthin’s gonna cheer me up.”

The smile on Sunny’s face grew even bigger. “Oh, I think I’ve got something better than a disco for you.”

Before Lemon could ask what she meant Sunny stopped in front of a door. Lemon immediately noticed it was the one to the music room, and frowned. “What are we doing here?”

Instead of answering, Sunny opened the door. Looking inside Lemon took a step back, her eyes growing wide. Four instrument had been put into the middle of the room, alongside a mic holder. While mic and the bass guitar were unoccupied, one of her friends was standing at each of the other three instruments. At the drums there was Indigo, wearing an altered version of the school uniform: While skirt and jacket were the same, the sleeves of the jacket were tied around her neck, her top instead being a yellow-white T-shirt with lightning symbols all over it. Sugarcoat was standing behind the keyboard, dressed in a white blouse and a blue-grey skirt, with a blue scarf hanging around her neck. Sour was holding a guitar, her cherry-red summer dress with pink frills at the skirt going down to her knees, sporting short sleeves and puffy shoulder parts alongside a pink ribbon at the neck. As they saw Lemon Indigo grinned at her, Sugarcoat smirked slightly and Sour showed her a sweet smile.

Staring dumfounded at them Lemon slowly put her headphones off her ears. “Um, guys… w-what are you doing here?” she asked.

Holding the neck of her guitar with one hand Sour stemmed her other one against her hip. “What, isn’t it obvious? We are waiting for our lead singer – now get on the mic, I don’t wanna spend the whole day here” she told her sternly. “It’s Friday afternoon, after all.”

Lemon stood on the spot, speechless. After a while Indigo cleared her throat. “See, Lemon” she said, rubbing the back of her head “When your band performed last night, that music you played, those weird melodies with all that classic, pop and rock stuff – we were really amazed at how well it all went together, and how much fun you guys had playing.”

Sunny nodded. “You showed us it doesn’t matter if we don’t like the same music – we can still be a band.”

“It’s kind of the same morale from when we became friends, only with music instead of different personalities” Sugarcoat remarked.

Sunny put a hand on Lemon’s shoulder. “So, we changed our mind and decided to join your band – and since we’re all Shadowbolts, we shouldn’t have a problem with Cinch!” A little more quietly, she added: “That is… if you still WANT us in your band.”

First Lemon looked at Sunny, then at her other friends, each having a somewhat apologizing look on their faces. After considering for a moment she shook her head. “Nah, Zest for Life’s dead” she told them, sending a shock through everybody. With a sly grin she then asked: “So, any ideas for the name of our new band?”

Her friends breathed a sigh of relief, with Indigo shouting in cheer. Lemon glanced to Sunny standing next to her, both girls smiling happily at each. “But we’re not playing punk rock!” Sunny suddenly called out, sternly pointing her finger at Lemon. “That’s not music, it’s just loud.”

A little startled Lemon watched as Sunny walked past her into the room towards the bass guitar. She then remembered her headphones still resting around her neck, peeked at them, then at Sunny.

A mischievous smirk formed of her lips.

“Oh, really?” she asked, pulling one of the phones over her ear. She selected a song and fast-forwarded to a specific part. As Sunny was about to lift up the bass she jumped over to her, and before the surprised girl could react the headphones were already over her ears. Sunny closed her eyes, expecting a barrage of screams to assault her eardrums. However, she was quite surprised to hear a soft, calm melody. The strings of the guitars were being pulled slowly, the drums only gently brushed over the cymbals, and the voice of the singer was actually quite pleasant. The lyrics were rather hard, and the music was still sounding punky, but she didn’t find it noisy. Before she knew it, Sunny found herself tapping her feet to the rhythm, slightly bopping her head.

“So, Miss Fancy?” Lemon asked, hands on her hips.

After listening some more to the music Sunny slowly nodded her head. “I must say, I didn’t think punk rock could be so peaceful” she admitted.

Lemon laughed. “Well of course it can be! Usually right before it REALLY kicks in!”

Sunny looked a little confused at Lemon. Suddenly, an explosion of E-guitars and drums blasted through the headphones right into her skull, paralyzing her. As soon as she recovered from the shock she took off the headphones. Hearing Lemon giggle the classy girl threw a scornful glare at her friend.

“By the way we’re lucky you booked the room for four months in advance” Sugarcoat chimed in.

Taking up her headphones from Sunny’s hands and putting them back on her head, Lemon gave her a questioning look. “Whaddya mean?”

A wide smile spread over Indigo’s face. “Well look at the timetable!”

Lemon glanced over to the sheets of paper hanging next to the door, and winced: Having been almost empty the day before, the front page was suddenly filled to the brim.

“What the-“ She rushed over, scamming through the various pages hanging behind it. All of them were pretty much completely filled out. “The room’s completely booked till summer?!” she screamed.

Sour nodded. “Just like every other music room in school” she told her.

Lemon kept rummaging through the sheets for a while before turning back to her friends, bearing a look of disbelief. “But… but when I booked it, there were like, only two or three reservations per week!”

“True” Sunny confirmed. “But after your concert, the other students seemed to have gotten a taste for music.”

“There are DOZENS of new school bands!” Indigo exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air. “And not just classic or rock, but all sorts of genres: Pop, jazz, techno, country, even folklore and marching music – our band’s already got some fierce competition.”

“Considering Cinch will ever allow a contest where any music but classic will have a chance to win” Sugarcoat reminded her, causing Indigo to scowl at her.

Putting a fist in front of her mouth Sour cleared her throat. “Um, girls? Sorry to interrupt the chit-chat – but aren’t we here to play some music?” she asked, impatiently tapping her foot on the floor.

With a chuckle, Lemon stepped over to the mic holder. “Yeah, she’s right” she said, taking the mic in both hands. Grinning Indigo picked up her sticks, Sunny strapped on the bass, Sugarcoat placed her fingers on her keyboard and Sour put the pick on the strings. “Come one, let’s rock! One, two, three...”

A few minutes later, the music room looked like a battlefield. Instruments were lying around everywhere, Sunny and Sugarcoat were heavily arguing if remixing classic songs was an insult to the composers’ cultural legacy or not, and Sour and Indigo were basically at each other’s throats. Lemon watched her friends fight, sighing. At the same time however, she cracked a smile.

“Alright – back from the start, I guess.”

Author's Note

Thank you for reading this story! A small epilogue can be found here.

First problems

Like the whole school, the music rooms of Crystal Prep Academy radiated nobility and elegance. They weren’t quite as shiny as the rest of the school since, since the walls ceiling and floor were covered by a layer of soundproof material. Only the pillars embedded into the walls were glistening slightly in the light of the ceiling lamp. While chairs stapled on top of each other into man-tall towers occupied the spaces next to the door various instruments of almost any sort and genre were leaning against the rest of the walls. Standing in the middle of the room, Octavia couldn’t hide her astonishment as she looked at the variety and number of musical instruments. There were violins, old drums, flutes and clarinets, even a real piano, but also modern instruments, from saxophones and trumpets to E-guitars and a full set of drums. Despite the large number the instruments weren’t cramped into the room, but neatly ordered against the walls.

“I must say, the music rooms of your school are very well equipped” Octavia told Lemon who was standing behind her at the door. The case of her cello in her hand Octavia approached the instruments, gazing upon the rich assortment from up close. “You got basically every instrument I have ever heard of in here.”

“Thanks” Lemon said, though she was sounding far less impressed. From the top of a chair staple she lifted off the highest one, carefully bringing it to the ground. “Though I guess most of them have never actually been used by a student” she mumbled as she carried the chair to the middle of the room.

Standing in front of a guitar Octavia blew off some dust. “I figured that” she said. Walking along she noticed the violins and flutes were mostly clean. “The classic instruments seem to be in regular use, though.”

“Mostly for concerts of the school orchestra” Lemon explained, smirking as she put the chair in down. “The only instrument we ever use in class are calculators.”

After taking another look around, Octavia turned to Lemon. “Well, it’s not like music class in school is really about learning to play instruments” she said as she approached the chair. “But at Canterlot High, the students are highly encouraged to use the music rooms outside of school to practice, and they are free to be used for rehearsals of student bands.”

Placing her cello case on the ground she knelt down next to it, unhooked the two locks before lifting the top. As she took out the bow tucked in a pocket on the top’s underside Lemon looked over her shoulder into the open case. A large cello was resting inside, almost as tall as they were. Holding the bow Octavia took position on one end of the cello, embracing its neck with her free hand. Automatically Lemon knelt down at the bottom end. “We’re encouraged too – just as long as it’s for the school orchestra” the Crystal Prep student joked as she grabbed the end of the instruments with both hands.

As she was slowly raising the cello into an upright position Octavia raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying you are not allowed to use the music in private?” Suddenly she froze. “Wait, are we even allowed to practice here?!” she asked, her eyes widening in horror.

“Oh, tis not like it’s forbidden to play!” Lemon quickly said, to which Octavia let out a sigh of relief. As the two girls lifted the cello out of its case and placed it carefully next to the chair, Lemon was fumbling around finding the right words: “Tis just… well, outside of the school orchestra, there isn’t really much motivation to play music. There is the occasional talent show or battle of the bands, but since Cinch is usually one of the judges, only those playing classic have a real chance of winning. And classic isn’t everyone’s cup o’ tea – sorry, dude.”

Lemon set the bottom of the cello on the ground. Octavia, holding the neck of her instrument with one hand shook her head, placing the hand with the bow against her hip. “I’d imagine such an environment to be a breeding ground for rock bands rebelling against this bias. I mean I love classic, but that doesn’t mean other forms of music should be discriminated!”

Standing straight again Lemon shrugged. “I guess everyone here is too focused on winning to rebel” she said. “When there is no chance of victory involved, Preps aren’t usually very interested in it. Aside from the orchestra, the only school bands are those professionally attending in national competitions.” The green-haired girl scratched her head. “Everything at Crystal Prep is about reputation – that goes for the school as whole, but also for every single student.”

Eyes cast down Octavia sighed. “And I thought Canterlot High used to be terrible” she muttered as she sat down on the chair. Fingers around the neck of the cello she carefully placed the bow on the strings. Deep, but clear sounds resonated from the instrument as she gently lured the notes out of it. Eyes closed she turned the knobs on the cello slightly, altering the height of the tones. After adjusting her instrument, she put on a smile. “Alright, I’m ready to go!” she declared.

Lemon grinned. “Awesome!” Pulling her smartphone out of her pocket she checked the time. “Alright, Aria should be here too by now. I’ll go pick her up.”

As she walked to the door Octavia skeptically glanced after her. “Just to make it clear: You said you met her on the street and she asked if she could join us?”

Lemon nodded. “Yup”

Octavia stemmed her bow against her side. “And you just let a complete stranger you randomly ran into join our band?”

Opening the door Lemon winked over her shoulder. “Hey, we met kinda random too, remember?”

A slight chuckle emerged from Octavia. “Fair point.” She placed her bow back on her cello. “Okay, go pick her up. I’ll warm myself up a little in the meantime.”

“Cool!” Excited Lemon stepped out of the room, the deep notes of Octavia’s cello in her ears as she closed the door behind her. Back in the shining corridors of her school she walked towards the school entrance, headphones on her ears, a relatively quiet melody underlining her on the way. Since it was late afternoon most students had left for home, Lemon only running into few other girls and boys. While the students she met seemed grumpy, Lemon was in a chipper mood. She didn’t quite bounce down the hallway, but her steps were rather light-hearted. She was excited for her band’s first rehearsal, yet at the same time felt strangely calm. Everything had come into place – she had gotten her band together, and all that was left was to actually play. It was kind of sad though she didn’t get anyone from Crystal Prep to join her – she was supposed to spread friendship at the school, after all. But, as long as she could jam with others, she couldn’t complain.

After taking a turn the entrance hall appeared at the end of the corridor. Walking towards it Lemon could already see a pair of purple pigtails swaying. With a smirk she rushed down the hallway, into the large circular hall that was the entrance to the noble high school. In front of the doors Aria was standing, arms crossed over her chest. Instead of the grey hoodie from the day before she was wearing a green vest with ripped sleeves over a white T-shirt, the hem bearing slight ruffles. A double belt with a big silver star held dark pink jeans around her waist, the denim glittering slightly on the sides. Each of her arms carried three wristlets in the same deep purple as her belt. Her boots were in the same colour, sporting high heels. Looking at the bright shining surface of her surroundings Aria seemed just as annoyed and bad-tempered as when Lemon had first met her. Chuckling the Crystal Prep student marched over the emblem of their school in the middle of the hall towards her. “Hey!” she called out, raising a hand. “Nice outfit, dude!”

Without changing the dour look on her face Aria turned to Lemon. “Thanks” she said, sounding like she didn’t care about the compliment at all. The purple-haired girl glanced over to a trophy shelf nested between two crystal pillars, before looking back at Lemon. “So, can we get started? Before all that shininess causes me to throw up on the prissy floor.”

Lemon laughed out loud. “Yeah, I know what you mean – this school’s got like, waaaay too much money! Come on, this way!” She turned to the corridor she came from, waving Aria to follow her. Calmly, with a slight sway in her denim-hugged sides she followed Lemon, the two girls walking past aisles of lockers through the corridor. On their way they came across one other girl, who had her head buried in a book as she came into their direction. As she didn’t see where she was going and Aria didn’t seem to care avoiding her the two girls’ shoulders bumped against each other. Immediately the Crystal Prep student’s head snapped up, looking in fury at Aria. “Is it too much to ask to watch where you’re going?” she asked sarcastically, groaning as she walked on with her eyes back on the book.

Still following Lemon Aria turned her head, watching the girl walk away. “What a lovely school” she remarked.

Lemon stroke the back of her head. “Sorry ‘bout that…”

“No, I mean it – this place is great. Not so long ago it would have been great for lunch.”

Lemon gave Aria a weird look, but shrugged it off. “So, here we are” she said, approaching a door. The moment she opened it soft cello music was streaming into the corridor. With a smile she held out her arm into the room. “This is our music room!”

Arms crossed Aria walked past her, taking a look around the room. “I expected more fancy” she stated. Her gaze then fixed on the girl sitting in the middle of the room, playing on her cello. Sunken in her performance it took a moment before she realized the door had opened. Immediately she stopped playing, looking a little embarrassed at Lemon and Aria.

“Aria, this is Octavia, our third band member” Lemon introduced her, closing the door behind them. “Or rather second, coz you know, you are the third and… whatever.”

Standing up Octavia made a slight curtsey. “A pleasure making your acquaintance” she greeted her politely.

Aria raised a hand. “Sup” she said, sounding rather disinterested. The two girls looked at each other, Octavia especially staring thoroughly at Aria as if she was inspecting her. “Do I have ketchup on my shirt?” Aria asked annoyed.

Blushing Octavia cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, it’s just… do we know each other?” she asked, again looking over her.

Aria shrugged her shoulders. “I’d say I’d remember meeting someone like you, but you’re pretty much a background character.”

“Aria said she used to be playing in a band” Lemon told Octavia, stretching herself a little. “Maybe you’ve seen her on stage once?”

Octavia raised an eyebrow. “In a band?” she repeated. She looked over Aria again. A look of horror suddenly crossed her face. “Wait a second… now I remember who you are!” she screamed, her face turning pale as she pointed straight at Aria. “You are one of those Dazzlings!”

Unfazed Aria blinked. “Wow, you’re quick to notice” she said, looking left and right. “Anyone got a pen so I can write ‘slowpoke’ on her forehead?”

Confused Lemon first stared at the shaking Octavia, then at Aria. “Was that the name of your old band? Dazzlings?” she asked.

“It wasn’t just a band!” Octavia yelled. The look of fear on her face was replaced by one of anger, being directed right towards Aria. “And she is not a normal girl! She is a magical sea horse monster from another dimension who turned all the students of Canterlot High against each other to feed of our hatred and force the entire world to worship her and her friends as pop idols!!!”

“You forgot the part where we absorbed the magic of friendship to amplify our powers to infinity” Aria said, apparently not caring she was revealed as a monster. “It’s an important part.”

Octavia turned towards Lemon. “I refuse to play in a band with that… thing!” she shouted, her face full of spite.

Lemon, seeming a little overwhelmed by all this, slowly turned towards Aria. “Is that true?” she asked. “Are you really a… sea horse monster?”

Aria shrugged. “Sea pony would be more accurate, but yeah.”

“And you did all that stuff?” Lemon asked. “Mass hypnosis, trying to conquer the world?”

Aria bit her lip. “Yeah” she mumbled.

Silence fell over the room. Lemon stared at Aria, while Octavia continued to throw scornful glares at her.

“That’s… AWESOME!”

Startled Aria and Octavia watched as Lemon suddenly jumped into the air, grinning from ear to ear. “Dude, we have a real monster in our band!” she shouted. “How radical is that?!” Dashing forward she shoved her face right into Aria’s. “Hey, how does it feel like to eat someone’s hatred?” she asked. “Does it taste like chicken?”

After staring wide-eyed at the hyperactive girl Aria quickly regained her composure. “More like despair and broken friendship” she deadpanned.

Octavia gaped at Lemon, her jaw dropped in disbelief. “Are you seriously admiring her for nearly destroying our school?!” she shouted angrily.

Lemon looked over her shoulder. “This is Crystal Prep, ya know - we ain’t really the nicest of people here, either” she told her, showing a mischievous smirk to Octavia. Turning back to Aria she said with a finger on her chin: “Though I have to say, sea pony monster doesn’t sound THAT evil.”

“I’m actually a siren, if it sounds more ominous to you” Aria said, taking in a deep breath. “Or rather, I WAS a siren. I lost all my powers and abilities when those Rainshrooms or whatever they’re called beat us.” She sighed. “Now I’m just a regular teenage girl suffering the pains of high school, arbitrary math lessons and the company of my fellow ex-sirens. No more plots to conquer the world, no more feeding on hatred, and no more hypnotizing people with an enchanted voice for me.”

“See?” Lemon smiled at Octavia. “She’s all cool now!”

Still glaring at the former siren Aria put her hands on her hips. “Humph! Even if I were to believe that, the last time I heard you sing I remember your voice being not so enchanting anymore. What could YOU contribute to the band?” she asked, leaning slightly forward.

Rolling her eyes up so far one could almost only see their white, Aria put her hand into her pocket. As if she was expecting her to draw a weapon Octavia winced, only to look in surprise when she pulled out a thumb drive. After looking around a little Aria set her eyes on a keyboard standing in the corner. She walked over and pulled it forward, and after inspecting it plugged her drive into a port at the side. Taking position behind it she fumbled around the settings, Octavia and Lemon watching her in curiosity and concern (the latter mainly in the former, the former mainly in the latter).

Once she was done Aria placed her finger on the keys, and pressed one. Instead of a piano or techno sound, the serene voice of a girl came out of the instrument, singing a high, tranquil note. Immediately Octavia jumped behind her cello, a look of horror on her face as she turned her back to Aria while covering her ears. Lemon watched her in confusion, while Aria giggled impishly. “Relax” she told the frightened girl. “Without my gem, the notes don’t have any magical power to them.”

Slowly Octavia poked her head out behind the cello, a slight blush on her cheeks. “Very well” she muttered, coming out of her hideout. “But the question that remains is can you play something that doesn’t violate the ears? From what I’ve heard before you fled the stage at the battle of the bands, you not only lack the trained voice of a singer, but also have no feeling for rhythm, ear for the melody or any other form of musical talent.”

Aria darkly glared at the Canterlot High student, then set her gaze on her keyboard. Her fingers hovered over it for a moment, before she lowered them on the keys. A calm, yet aggravating melody filled the room. Each key she pressed lured out another, slightly different voice piece from the instrument. Some were higher, some lower, some more quiet, some were singing different vocals than others. Closing her eyes Aria’s fingers quickly danced over the keyboard. As she played multiple notes at once it sounded like she was directing a chorus. Despite the tranquility of the notes, her fast-paced play put some urgency to the melody. A thriving beat was underlining the siren chorus, almost sounded like dance music. While Lemon tapped her feet to the pop-like melody, Octavia just stared wide-eyed at Aria, completely speechless.

Eventually the song came to an end. With a smug smirk, Aria glanced at the dumbfounded cellist. “I have been practicing.”

Quickly Octavia shook her head. “W-well, even so, I am afraid you still don’t have a place in this band” she stated, resuming to look dismissively at Aria. “Cello and background pop-singing doesn’t mix too well together.”

Aria nodded. “Agreed. Want me to show you the door?”

Faster than one could see Octavia rushed over to the keyboard, furiously leaning over it and staring Aria right into her eyes. “I BEG YOUR PARDON?!”

“You can beg long for that” Aria calmly replied.

Lemon hasted behind Octavia, gently pushing her back. “Okay girls, just calm down for a moment” she suggested.

Suddenly Octavia turned around, while at the same time Aria stepped out from behind the keyboard. “Tell her to leave!” they both shouted at Lemon, each pointing at the other girl.

At first Lemon was startled by the combined assault. “Hey, I ain’t tellin’ no one to leave!” she then made clear, scowling at her bandmates. “‘sides, don’t cello and background singing actually go really swell together?”

“Only if you want to bore your audience to death” Aria moaned. “I want to play REAL music the people are willing to pay money for!”

“Oh please!” Octavia scoffed, waving her off. “You wouldn’t know what real music if someone slapped your face with!

“Actually, someone once blasted my face with it.”

Sighing Octavia massaged her forehead. “Let’s forget about who should stay and not for a moment” she mumbled. “But since you just brought it up, we should at least agree on the genre we want to play first, one that actually works with our instruments.” A sly smile crept over her face. “The easiest would be if you just lowered the pace of your melody – then it would go well with a classic cello arrangement.”

Aria harrumphed. “If you’re really half as good as you pretend to be, I’m sure you’ll be able to play your cello in a faster, more modern way” she said, a mocking ring in her voice.

“Of course I’d be able to” Octavia replied, inching a little closer to Aria “The question is would you be able to match me eye to eye?

“I could” she said, also approaching Octavia. “But I don’t like to bend down.”

Their faces were only millimeters away from each other. As they were staring with squinted eyes at each other Lemon stepped between them. “Okay gals, I think maybe you should take a step or two back” she told them, pushing them slightly away. She then made a puzzled face when both girls turned to her, looking expectantly at her. “Um, what’s up?”

“We probably could solve this faster if you told us what instruments you play” Octavia suggested.

“Yeah, rebel” Aria agreed, pointing her thumb at Octavia. “Tell that stuck-up music granny you’re only playing instrument invented AFTER the middle ages.”

While Octavia glared at Aria and Aria glared back, Lemon looked around the room. Her eyes wandered over the various instruments leaning against the walls, from the wind instruments spanning centuries of musical history to the guitars, both electric and acoustic ones, until reaching the piano, drums and all the rest. “Um, guys” she said as she had looked at every single instrument in the room “I just remembered something that might be a problem.”

Interrupting their stare-off the two girls turned to Lemon. “Oh yeah?” Aria moaned.

“What is it?” Octavia asked.

Turning toward her bandmates, Lemon smiled sheepishly at them. “I don’t play any instruments.”