Steel Unicorns: Rainbow Djents

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Chapter 1

The bell rang its last peals as the students of Canterlot High left their classrooms. Many were eager to just get home and relax, but everybody else was talking about the upcoming Musical Showcase contest. Some new bands have formed for the occasion, but others have already existed beforehand and couldn’t wait to seize the opportunity. Everybody clamored for the rehearsal room, which was normally easy to book. Luckily for our heroes, they managed to snag the space for themselves today...

And they got louder than anybody!

The battlefield’s now barren.

Fallen foes now silent.

We’re still standing proud.

It’s just you and us.

Glory will soon be ours

You will face your defeat

‘Cause our heart is pure fire

And our song is razor sharp steel

That last syllable turned into a high-pitched howl, as Lyra, kept going as long as she could, while her fingers galloped across an ancient bass guitar covered in stickers. Her loud voice was accompanied by Lemon Hearts’ modest looking guitar wailing along, as she swirled her blue hair around. And Twinkleshine just went crazy on her drums, hitting each piece as much as she could, drops of sweat falling from her pink hair.

These three oddball girls form the Steel Unicorns, the most metal band in all of Canterlot High.

“Woo!” Lyra cheered, “That was perfect!”

“Yeah, you finally sang in key.” Lemon Hearts added.

“And you didn’t break the flow with your unnecessary solos.”

“Come on Guys!” Twinkleshine interjected. “Can’t we just appreciate that we finally got it down?”

“Don’t worry ‘Shine,” Lemon Hearts laughed, “I’m just giving her a hard time.”

“Yeah,” Lyra smirked, “we’re just practicing our trash talk. You know it helps with the stress of competition.”

They all laughed together feeling like nothing could ruin their fun.

“Alright girls, let’s give it one more try.” Said Lemon. “Just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.”

A sudden knock on the door however interrupted them before they could start playing again. A young woman with red and yellow hair stepped in, in a somewhat nervous manner.

“Sorry for interrupting girls,” she said, “but the Rainbooms were supposed to start rehearsing about five minutes ago.”

“Aw man,” Lyra whined, “has it really been an hour already?”

“It’s okay, we can keep going in your garage again.” Lemon Hearts said as they switched places with the Rainbooms.

“But that old fart’s going to complain again.” Lyra moaned further. “If I were him, I’d be thankful that I can still hear, but nooooo!”

Having heard their lamentations the fire-coloured girl leaned her head out from the studio room and called out to them

“Hey! Girls... I might be able to help out with that.”

The Steel Unicorns looked back at her, taken aback by her friendliness. They were still not used to her not being the biggest meany in school anymore.

“I just so happen to have the key to the music studio,” she continued, “I can give it to you once we finish.”

“What’s in it for you?” Lyra crossed her arms, glaring at her from the side.

“Sure Sunset, that sounds great.” Lemon chimed in, ignoring Lyra’s suspicion.

“Aren’t we gonna get in trouble?” Twinkleshine glanced across her bandmates.

“I’ll let you three in on a secret.” Sunset hushed. “We always stay longer than we’re supposed to.”

“Really now?” Lyra said with a judgemental tone in her voice.

“The janitor’s totally cool,“ Sunset continued, “he lets us practice for a while and doesn’t mind so long as we clean up after ourselves and lock the door when we’re done.”

“Sneaky... I like it!” Lemon Hearts grinned.

“So, you’re still breaking the rules, eh?” Lyra muttered accusingly.

“Since when were you against that?” Lemon shot a disbelieving glare at her friend.

Lyra dropped the attitude in response. “Touché...”

“Well alright then,” Sunset smiled, “I guess I’ll be seeing you three in about an hour.”

“Sounds good.” Suddenly, a loud rumble could be heard coming from Lemon’s stomach; it was begging for something to eat. “You’ll know where to find us.” She said.

“Alright, see you girls later!” Sunset ran back into the studio as the Rainboom’s bubblegum-pop rock blared through the open door.

“Why didn’t you ask her about the catch? There’s always a catch with her!” Lyra cautioned.

“Nah, Lyra. She changed.” Lemon asserted.

“Don’t you remember how many times I had to scrape her off you two?” Lyra continued.

“Come on Lyra, she’s trying to be nice!” Twinkleshine backed Lemon up. “I think it’s a welcome change.”

“Oh fiddles, it’s this guy.” Lyra mumbled, as she noticed somebody approaching.

It was a boy with spiky blue hair, wearing factory-ripped clothes. “Hey Lyra, Twee’, Lem’” he greeted them, “are the Rainbooms in?”

“Yeah Flash,” Lemon answered, “they just started rehearsing a few minutes ago.”

“Okay, thanks.” He gave them a shaky smile before heading to open the studio door, but stopped with his hand on the handle and stared gormlessly at it instead.

“Aren’t you gonna go in?” Twinkleshine inquired.

“Oh, no, I’ll just wait for them to finish.” Flash’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

“Flash… Just…” Lyra pinched the bridge of her nose. “Have you ever looked in a mirror? You have the face that can melt any girl you look at.” She swung an arm around Flash’s shoulders.

“Even you?” Flash joked, with a hint of genuine confusion.

“No...”

“But you just-”

“Listen here, pretty boy!” Lyra grabbed him by both shoulders. “I’m sure your little Twilight is dreaming about you this moment. There is no reason for you to hesitate!”

“I don’t know…” Flash huffed in amusement and ran his fingers through his hair. “I just don’t want to bother them, you know?”

“Oh, I guarantee you’ll get them bothered, just not in the way you think.” She turned him around to face the door and gave him a small shove. “Just go in and let your perfect smile shine!”

“Alright, if you say so.” He sighed and reached for the doorknob.

“Go get ‘em, tiger!”

They were interrupted by another rumble coming from Lemon Heart’s depths.

“Alright, Lemon Belly quit your fussin’,” Lyra ran ahead, leading the way, “we’ll get you something to eat!”

“How come you never give me a pep-talk like that?” Twinkleshine asked.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lyra answered, “only losers need that kind of pep-talk.”

“Don’t you do the same thing in the mirror every morning?” Lemon prodded with amusement.

“I know what I said!” Lyra asserted.

Unfortunately, Flash was still in hearing range and their giggling was almost like they were mocking him. He spent a few more minutes holding the doorknob awkwardly.

The three of them were soon at Sugarcube Corner, a favourite hang-out place for the students of CHS, due to how close it is. The Steel Unicorns weren’t particularly interested in rehearsing anymore. It’s been a long week and some teachers don’t relent in the face of important events, so other things have been on their minds as well. But the Musical Showcase was still at the forefront. Among other things…

“I still can’t believe Vinyl Scratch isn’t competing.” Said Twinkleshine, while she scrolled through social updates on her phone.

“I can.” Lyra answered quickly, with a toothpick still in her mouth. “That girl has lost the last fluff to give once she entered the mainstream scene.”

“No kidding.” Lemon interjected. “Didn’t she just do a collab with ShrillX as well?”

“It was quite good.” Twinkleshine added. “She would easily smash the showcase.”

“How nice of her,” Lyra flicked her toothpick away, “handing us the victory like a true friend.”

“I still don’t understand why you’re so set on winning, Lyra.” Said Lemon Hearts. “It’s not like, there’s an actual prize or anything.”

“It’s not about the prize, it’s about principles!” Lyra palmed her fist.

“Principles? Since when do you have principles?”

“Hey dude, look...” Lyra paused to collect her thoughts.

“I’m looking…” Lemon hurried her.

“I mean… Name me one band that has a bassist people actually care about.”

“That’s easy,” Lemon counted off, “there’s Primate, Red-Hot Stallions, Chariöthead-”

“No no no no,” Lyra cut her off, “I mean new bands.”

“Well… Hmm.” Lemon thought really hard.

Twinkleshine slurped the last drops of her drink and looked up from her phone. “The Steel Unicorns?”

“Exactly, bassists are a dying breed!” Lyra exclaimed with open palms.

Lemon sighed. “Here we go again.”

“Nobody cares about bassists anymore. They can be replaced with software now and everybody tunes their guitars so low, that I’m not sure why they even have bassists.”

“Lyra, we’ve been through this.” Lemon rolled her eyes, “It doesn’t matter what others do, we just gotta do our own thing and have fun. Isn’t playing for recognition and ‘selling out’ something you’re against as well?”

“Well yes and don’t get me wrong, I have loads of fun, but... You can’t prove a point with just having fun!” Lyra slunk back down in her chair.

“There’s no point to prove. You’re a talented musician and anybody can see that.”

Lyra leaned back and crossed her arms. “What’s the point of speaking if nobody listens?”

“You’ve got like two other bands!” Lemon threw her hands in the air.

“Only one...”

“Yes, the other one is a solo project, I know.”

“And it’s not like the people are terribly interested in improvisational jazz rock. And psych rock is just a niche at this point.”

“Yeah, but you love doing it, right?”

“Well... Yes...”

“Look, out of all of us, you’re the one most likely to get anywhere with music Lyra. You are passionate, creative and have the most sheer talent out of the three of us. You write like half our songs!”

“I guess...” Lyra tried to pretend she wasn’t deeply touched by that statement, but Lemon Hearts could see her blush.

Twinkleshine lifted her inattentive gaze from her phone again. “I personally just like hanging out with you guys.”

“Aw,” Lemon hugged her, “we like hanging out with you too.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s really what matters.” Lyra commented with a small content smile. “In the end, success would be nothing without your friends.”

A loud indescribable noise suddenly came out of Lyra’s phone. “Oh, sorry that must be Sweetie.” She jumped out of her chair. “We were supposed to study together for that test tomorrow.”

“More like make sure you study, right?” Lemon teased her.

“Yeah, yeah... See you tomorrow.” Lyra waved that comment away and hurried out to the street before finally putting a stop to the racket and answering her phone. “Sorry Sweetie, I’m on my way, don’t worry... Just band stuff, you know how it is...”

“That gal’s gonna go far.” Said Lemon Hearts as she leaned back in her chair. “Don’t you think Twinkleshine?”

“Yeah, I can’t believe Mr. Cranky finds these tests so dang important...” She slowly realized that she was way off-topic. “I’m sorry, what was the question?”

“Nevermind...”

The bell above the diner’s door jingled as Sunset Shimmer came in, casting her gaze around the hang-out until her eyes met with Lemon Hearts’. “Hey girls,” Sunset walked over to their table, “we just finished up our practice if you want to head on in.”

“Nah, Lyra just left.” Lemon sighed in reply. “She had an appointment she forgot about.”

Sunset’s gaze shifted to the empty seat, “Oh... She didn’t leave because of me, did she?” She asked with a hint of remorse.

“Nah” Lemon Hearts snorted in amusement, “I’m pretty sure she forgot about you too. We do appreciate the gesture though.”

Sunset scratched the back of her head, “I’m just trying to make up for how I acted to all of you.”

Lemon Hearts grinned up at the former bully. “You know what? You’re doing great! Right Twinkleshine?”

“Right!” Twinkleshine replied, then looked up from her phone. “What am I agreeing to?” She whispered to Lemon.

So the day went by without a second rehearsal. Even the studio emptied, as the school closed for the day. But in the dead of the night three mysterious figures entered the studio.

The amplifiers buzzed menacingly as two massive guitars were plugged in, and after a short countdown, the sound of cymbals rang out, accompanied by two sonic explosions that could put most earthquakes to shame. And there were more strings than anyone has ever seen before.

“Yes, I think we’re ready.” Said one of the shadowy figures, her voice filled with gleeful malice.

Their grins lit up the darkness; who knows what terrors have been unleashed upon Canterlot High School?

Chapter 2

Lemon Hearts watched the clock, as the final seconds of the class ticked down. It was almost lunchtime; she couldn’t wait to reunite with her friends. Finally the bell rang and the whole class stood up without missing a beat.

“Hey, where do you think you’re you going?” Mrs. Harshwhinny barked at them. “Class isn’t over until I say it’s over!”

A silent choir of groans and whispered cursing ensued, as the students fell back into their seats. Lemon Hearts didn’t even move, just slank deeper into her seat. Mrs. Harshwhinny wasted a few more seconds glaring at the students, before continuing the lecture nobody was paying attention to. About three minutes passed and she let the students out, who rushed the door as if there was a fire.

Lemon was among the last ones to escape. “Yes, that was so much more important than lunch.” she grumbled to herself. “Thank you Mrs. Harshwhinny.”

She briefly passed in front of the band room. The Rainbooms could be heard playing inside.

“Just typical, they get to skip class.” She complained further.

She finally got to her locker and threw her backpack in like it was a bag of thrash and began to rummage through her stuff. “I bet Lyra and the others are already there; They get to have Ms. Hibiscus. She doesn’t mess with lunchtime.” She continued fuming.

Her attention was briefly pulled away. She could see Sunset Shimmer walking with three girls whom she’s never seen before.

“That's the science lab. Computer lab is in there.” Sunset showed the new girls around cheerfully, pointing at various doors, before stopping at a nearby poster. “Oh! We're having a big musical showcase this weekend! The whole school is pretty much rallying around it.”

Lemon went back to searching her closet. No one else was around, so the sounds of Sunset’s little tour of the school reached her ears.

“A musical showcase?” Gasped one of the new girls, who had big curly orange hair, her deep voice drawling from years of sweet talking.

“I’m sure since you're new,” said Sunset Shimmer, “Principal Celestia would let you sign up if you're interested.”

“We have been known to sing from time to time.” Said the other girl in a raspy monotone voice, who had purple hair in long pigtails.

“Uhh… Hello?” The third one interjected with a lively energy that directly contrasted her associates; she wore her long blue hair in a ponytail. “We sing, like, all the time! It's how we get people to do what we want.”

The other two girls whipped their heads around and fired some real nasty glares at her. “Wha-What did I say?” She asked, completely unaware of where she went wrong.

Lemon finally found the guitar pick she was looking for and happily put it in her pocket, before realizing what she had heard. She stayed at her locker and began to eavesdrop; now on purpose.

“What she meant to say was,” the orange haired girl corrected, “that being in a musical showcase sounds like a great way to meet other students.”

“Ohhhh, yeah. Th-What she said I meant to say. That's what I meant... To say.”

The purple girl scoffed. “And what you would have said if you weren't the worst.”

“You are!”

The orange girl turned to Sunset with unwarranted confidence. “You’ll have to excuse them. They're idiots.”

A few seconds of silence passed. Sunset noticed the guitars on two of the new girls’ backs; they were enormous, with at least eighteen strings running across.

“Wow, cool guitars!” Sunset broke the silence. “Where did you-“ She reached out and the orange haired girl grabbed her wrist immediately.

“Sorry.” She quickly let go of Sunset’s arm. “These are one of a kind. We'd just hate for anything to happen to them.” They then tried to walk away and pretend it was a normal exchange. The blue one lingered behind and stared at Sunset obliviously, until the other two pulled her away.

Lemon Hearts saw the three girls walking her way, so she quickly turned back to her locker, hoping that the three girls would pass by without suspecting a thing.

“There you are!” She exclaimed and pretended to put the previously found guitar pick in her pocket and closed her locker as the trio passed her by.

Thankfully they were too busy quietly bickering to notice anything. Well, the blue girl was briefly distracted and glanced at her, but her attention was quickly pulled back into their heated whispering.

As soon as they turned the corner, Lemon ran after Sunset. “What was that all about?” She asked once she caught up.

Sunset looked deeply puzzled. “I’m not sure...” She said.

“They were acting awfully strange.” Lemon continued with a look of concern.

“Do you think that maybe...” Sunset hesited. “Maybe they know about how I used to be?”

“I-it’s probably not that.” Lemon avoided directly answering that question. “Something tells me they’re up to something.”

“That’s probably true as well.”

“I’ll keep an eye on them for you. And don’t worry about your past Sunset, you’re cool in the present.” Lemon assured.

“Thanks!” Sunset smiled. “It’s… It’s good to hear that from someone else.”

“No problem!” Lemon Hearts gave a friendly punch to Sunset’s arm.

The two of them finally arrived at the cafeteria. Lyra enthusiastically waved at Lemon from across the room. Twinkleshine and Sweetie Drops were there as well.

“Go and warn your magical friends about the new girls.” Said Lemon to Sunset.

“Will do.” She replied and they parted ways.

Lemon Hearts weaved her way through the packed lunch crowd towards her table and sat down at the seat her friends had reserved for her.

“Hey, guess who’s going to ace Mr. Cranky’s class.” Lyra greeted Lemon.

Lemon said nothing as she took her seat and stared at her food with a perturbed expression.

“This gal!” Lyra answered her own question, proudly pointing at herself.

“Yes, we get it.” Sweetie Drops sighed.

“I’m sorry Sweetie, you helped me a lot. All credit should go to you.”

“No, I have to give you credit ,” Sweetie Drops added, “you didn’t have to look at my answers this time.”

Twinkleshine paid no attention to that exchange. She saw that Lemon was too focused on the thoughts in her head.

“Lemon?” She put a hand on her shoulder. “Is something wrong?”

“N-no... It’s nothing.” She tried to assure her friend before asking: “Do you know anything about the new girls in school?”

“New girls?” Lyra yelped in surprise and turned to Sweetie Drops. “Have you heard anything about that?”

“Nuh-uh.” She shook her head. “You’d think the gossip girls would be all over that, but nope.”

“Well I was heading to my locker to grab my pick,“ Lemon explained, ”when I noticed that Sunset Shimmer was showing around three girls... They must have been new in CHS.”

“Well, that’s nice of her.” Twinkleshine commented naively.

“Are they good looking?” Lyra grinned.

Lemon rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you’ll find out.”

“Is there something wrong with them?” Sweetie Drops asked. “I mean there must be if you were more worried about them than Sunset Shimmer.”

“Well, kinda... They acted a bit strange.” Lemon Hearts tried to explain.

“What kind of strange are we talking?” Lyra asked. “The Pinkie Pie kinda strange, or the ‘somebody-most-definitely-will-go-missing-while-you’re-here’ kinda strange?”

Lemon thought for a moment. “The latter. They seemed like...” She stopped, when she heard some clicking and buzzing coming from somewhere.

“What’s that noise?” Twinkleshine pondered.

The noise sounded like the electric buzz a guitar makes when it’s plugged into an amplifier. Soon, it was followed by the sound of slow drums and the three new girls barged into the cafeteria, singing eerie melodies. Everybody stopped eating and talking. Some were so surprised that they forgot to swallow the chewed up food in their mouth. They all directed their attention to the unexpected performers.

The purple haired girl played on a portable drum machine with another device on the side, which two guitars were plugged into. Those guitars were held by the other two and they had a ridiculous amount of strings on them: The orange one had eighteen strings, while the blue one had twenty! Tapping the neck of their stringed monsters, they played a quiet, complex melody.

A seductive smile loomed over the orange one’s face and she started singing:

We heard you want to get together

We heard you want to rock this school

We've thought of something that is better

Something that changes all the rules

Why pretend we're all the same

When some of us shine brighter?

The purple haired girl turned a knob on her device and those many-stringed guitars bellowed out sounds that would make an earthquake cry. But their synchronized vocal lines were flawlessly harmonious, impeccably blending with the savage pulse of the music.

Me and you, you and me

Why don't we see who is better?

We don't have to be one and the same thing

Oh, what's so wrong with a little competition?

I'm going out and winning the audition

They went around the cafeteria, occasionally lifting one hand off their instruments, to touch members of their audience. A hair-stroke here, a meaningful tap on the shoulders there. One of them went up to Lyra and with a single look conveyed that she understood exactly what Lyra wanted from the showcase. Meanwhile, the air started to feel heavier, as it got filled with a sense of malice between the students.

Gradually, students started getting very aggressive with each-other. They were all claiming to be the ones to win the showcase and defeat the others. Scornful looks turned into boastful yelling; even Lyra joined in, but Sweetie Drops pulled her back down into her seat.

Battle! We wanna win it

Let's have a battle, battle of the bands

Let's have a battle, we'll go all in it

Let's have a battle, battle, battle

Battle of the bands!

As the strings and drumbeat died down and the music seamlessly transitioned into the loud arguing of the student body, Lemon Hearts and her friends stared in bewilderment. Unrestrained glee in Lyra’s case.

After the bell rang the end of the last class, the Steel Unicorns, along with Sweetie Drops, went to Sugarcube Corner again. They were having an argument and it was just starting to get heated.

“I still don’t get why you’re so opposed to a little excitement?” Lyra complained to her worried friends.

“Did you forget what we were talking about just yesterday?” Lemon replied.

“No!” Lyra answered frustrated. “But it’s not like we can’t be friends while also getting into the spirit of things.”

“While, I sort of agree with Lyra,” Sweetie Drops interjected, “there was definitely something about those girls that seemed off.”

“Yeah,” Lyra commented, “those guitars looked more like dining tables than instruments!

“No, not that.” Sweetie Drops continued. “Don’t you think it’s weird how everybody got so aggressive after that song they sung? Not even Sunset Shimmer was ever able to cause a school fight like that with JUST her words.”

“Yes! Finally someone else noticed!” Lemon exclaimed.

“Wait,” Twinkleshine stopped slurping on her drink, “are you saying they were using… Magic?” She whispered.

“Wouldn’t be the first time, would it?” Sweetie Drops asserted.

“Exactly!” Lemon blurted out. “We finally had one proper Fall Formal; we wouldn’t want some power-crazed lunatic ruining another event.”

Lyra pouted and lowered in her seat. “But we’ll let boredom ruin it, I guess.”

Lemon Hearts sighed at Lyra’s disappointment. “Just... Promise us that you’re not going to make it about the competition. We’ve all been looking forward to the Musical Showcase just having fun together.”

“Besides,” Sweetie Drops added, “you guys are pretty much the only band in the line-up worth anything. Even if you don’t win, you will definitely turn some heads... I’ve heard the Trotting Stone magazine may cover the event.” She winked at Lyra.

“Yeah, alright… I promise.” Lyra grumbled. “But promise me one thing too. This matters to me and I would love it if you all at least pretended that it matters to you too.”

Lemon Heart placed a hand on Lyra’s shoulder “Hey, you matter to me, and our music matters to me as well. But if it means that much to you I promise to try and get you pumped for this.”

“Thanks Lemon.”

“Uh girls, hold on.” Twinkleshine raised her hand, “Shouldn’t we be worried about the whole evil magic thing?”

Suddenly, on the other side of the cafe, somebody started making a racket. They turned their heads to the disruption and it was Rainbow Dash, fighting the air for some reason. Applejack swiftly and effortlessly brought it to an end, by catching one of Dash’s flying fists.

“We’ve got nothing to worry about, now that Twilight’s back!” Applejack’s drawl could be faintly heard over the normal chatter of Sugarcube Corner. Her whole group nodded along with her with unflinching confidence.

“See?” Lemon Hearts grinned. “Looks like the professionals are already on the case. Means we have more time to practice.”

Lyra smirked and leaned back in her chair. “And leave the winning to the winners. We’re still going to that party tonight, right?” Lyra asked.

“I don’t see why not.” Lemon replied.

“In fact,” Sweetie Drops added, “that may be a good opportunity to find out what kind of magic they’re using.”

“Not the kind that can resist the power of speed metal!” Lyra exclaimed.

Sweetie Drops said nothing. Lemon said everything with just a blank stare.

“Come on, dude, you were supposed to pump me up.” Lyra whined.

“Oh, sorry, you’re right.” Lemon then jumped out of her seat. “Yeah, go Steel Unicorns! Woo!”

Lyra jumped up along. “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!”

Chapter 3

Evening has come and the competitors of the showcase have all gathered in the sports hall, which has temporarily been repurposed as an auditorium. But to call it a party would be a stretch. Every student was standing in their own isolated cliques, scheming quietly and exchanging dirty glances with the other cliques. Somebody brought cookies and punch as well, but barely anyone touched them, in case somebody put something in them.

In an attempt to mingle, Lemon went over to the very few people hanging out at the punch stand.

“Hey Tavi!” She called out to the person closest to her.

“Please, don’t call me Tavi.” The person barked back. “My name is Octavia.”

“Uhh... Okay... I’m s-sorry...”

“If you think your barbaric ‘music’ can stand up to my training, then you are sorely mistaken.”

“Uhh...” Lemon tried thinking of some way to defuse the situation, but figured that was an uphill battle. “I’ll be going now.” She said and tried to do just that, but she accidentally bumped into Trixie who gave her an absolutely withering look of contempt.

After a bit of nervous giggling, she made it back to her band, thankfully in one piece.

“Sheesh, Octavia’s being really catty today.” She stated.

Lyra chuckled. “Breaking news: Octavia’s head is still up her own bum!”

“She wasn’t always this uptight.” Lemon complained. “I remember her complimenting my skill barely a week ago!”

Twinkleshine leaned close. “Maybe that’s the Dazzlings’ spell.” She whispered.

“The Dazzlings?”

“The new girls,” Lyra said, “but they seemed way too nice to do that. Sonata made the punch herself.”

“Who?”

“Oh sorry, while you were busy almost getting into trouble, the new girls came here and introduced themselves.”

“What did they say?”

“They told us their names, brought us punch, then wished us a good competition and... That’s it really.”

“Sonata’s the blue one, Aria is the purple one and the orange one is called Adagio.” Twinkleshine explained and took a sip from her cup of punch, only to almost spit it back up.

“And to answer my own question,” Lyra continued,” yes, they are very good looking.”

“I don’t recommend the punch though,” Twinkleshine added, “it’s pretty bad.”

Lemon looked around the hall, looking for these Dazzlings. She found them scattered across multiple cliques; Aria and Adagio were talking to the members of Flash Drive, while Sonata invited Trixie and the Illusions for punch. Seemed pretty innocent at first look, until she realized that they were all pointing at other bands, as if those bands were scheming something.

“So what songs are we gonna play?” Lyra shattered Lemon’s concentration.

“What?” Lemon blurted out, as she snapped back into reality.

“What what?” Lyra replied. “We’ve got a competition to win.”

“Oh, sorry. I was distracted.”

“Distraction is my job, Lemon!” Lyra chuckled.

“So what song?” Lemon got back on track. “Well, obviously something that showcases our skills and how we normally sound like.”

“Warriors of Cheese?” Twinkleshine suggested. “That’s basically our theme song.”

“Yeah and we all have our own individual moments in it.” Lyra added. “I like it. What about the other ones?” She looked around her bandmates and noticed Lemon staring into the distance again, not paying attention. “Hey Lemon!” She raised her voice, before falling back on her normal volume. “What other songs should we play?”

“Oh, uhh…” Lemon pulled her attention back. “Well, I said it already. Something that sounds like what we usually play.”

“But we play a lot of things.” Twinkleshine commented.

Lyra snapped her fingers. “We could throw a curveball in the second round and play something completely different!”

“Like that random flamenco song you wanted to put on the second album?” Lemon Hearts prodded.

“Okay, not that different.” Said Lyra. “Just, one of our funky songs or something.”

“Nuts!” Blurted out Twinkleshine.

“Yes!” Lyra cheered. “That’s one of our best songs!”

“You two had so much fun writing that.” Twinkleshine added.

“Yeah, I’m pretty proud of those slap-lines. But Lemon wrote a pretty amazing jazzy solo as well.” She turned to Lemon, only to see that she was staring into the distance again. “Lemon!” Lyra shouted.

“Oh… What?” Lemon turned back.

“You’re paying less attention than I do in class!”

“Sorry, but I just don’t trust these Dazzlings. They seem to do a lot of talking behind people’s backs. It’s almost like they’re trying to turn everyone against each-other.”

“Oh yeah,” Twikleshine confirmed, “they did something like that to us as well.”

Lyra waved that away. “But we assured them that we’re going to win.”

Lemon crossed her arms with an unimpressed look. “Riiiight…”

“Apparently,” Twinkleshine added, “the Rainbooms took the practice room away from us on purpose.”

“And you believe that?” Lemon raised her eyebrows.

“Pfff…” Lyra interjected. “As if it matters!” She jumped in front of her bandmates, radiating with enthusiasm. “They might be the most popular girls in school, but that’s all they have going for them. But we… We are pure winners!”

Lemon and Twinkleshine stared at her dumbfoundedly. Twinkleshine was just surprised at Lyra’s newfound confrontational attitude, but Lemon had a very strong bad feeling about it.

Suddenly, a vaguely familiar voice interrupted the mumbling in the room, “There isn’t going to be a battle of the bands!”

Everybody turned and they saw the Rainbooms, now complete with that Twilight Sparkle girl, standing in a half circle around the Dazzlings. They grabbed each-other’s hands and with a very determined look, Twilight yelled out:

“Friendship is magic!”

What followed was complete and utter silence, filled with confused faces. The silence lingered just long enough to turn from pretty confusing to intensely uncomfortable.

“Talk about throwing down the gauntlet!” Adagio’s amused croon finally broke the silence, for better or for worse. “This group is obviously serious about winning! A little cocky though, aren't they? Claiming there won't really be a battle. Seems they think they've already got this thing all locked up.”

“Not if the Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie has anything to do with it!” Trixie shouted from the other side of the hall, trilling her ‘r’s vehemently.

“Whatever, Trixie! We're the best band at CHS!” Flash Sentry shouted back.

“No! The Crusaders are gonna win!” Applebloom joined in the shouting match, soon followed by practically everyone else. The quiet mumbling turned into what sounded like a riot.

“Boy, that got out of hand fast!” Lemon Hearts commented.

“Yeah, it’s like they don’t realize that the Steel Unicorns are the best.” Lyra added.

Lemon sighed.

“Come on, dude...” Lyra said, then started quietly cheering. “Yay, Steel Unicorns, woo...”

“Not this time Lyra,” Lemon said, “I’d rather not be part of this.”

“Then I suggest we follow the Rainbooms and leave,” Twinkleshine pointed at the exit, “I’m pretty sure this is what the rest of the night’s gonna look like.”

Lemon turned and saw Twilight and the Rainbooms hastily leaving the auditorium. “Yeah, they probably got the right idea.” She said.

They sneaked towards the door, trying to keep away from the shouting crowd’s attention, weaving across raised fists and streams of fighting words. Before they could finally leave, Lyra couldn’t help but step back and do her own part in the shouting contest. She got pulled out, before she could get into it.

They quickly headed into the main hall, the noisy crowd echoing through the quiet hallways.

“What is up with everybody?” Lemon blurted out. “Why is everyone yelling at each-other?”

“I’m telling you,” Twinkleshine answered, “this is what the Dazzlings are doing.”

“Or maybe,” Lyra said as she finally escaped their grasp, “this was bound to happen.”

“What are you talking about?” Lemon said. “Everyone got along a few days ago.”

“How do you know that was going to last? This is the first musical showcase at this school!”

“There isn’t even a prize!”

“Maybe, everyone is more eager to prove themselves than you are, Lemon!”

“What are you even saying?”

“Uh guys...” Twinkleshine interrupted the brief aimless argument. “Maybe we should ask the Rainbooms about what’s going on.”

“Didn’t you see that shameful display?” Lyra growled. “It’s clear that whatever they’re trying to do isn’t working. They only saved the school once, why would everything be their responsibility from now on? Twilight doesn’t even go to this school!”

“Sure, but still....” Twinkleshine meekly replied, shying away from Lyra’s intense response.

Lemon sighed. “Look, we’ll do our part in this competition, but as soon as somebody gets hurt, we’re leaving.”

“Oh somebody will get hurt, I can assure you!” Lyra exclaimed. “They will all be smashed under our steel hooves!”

Lemon groaned. “I’m going home.” She said and headed to the exit.

“You’re like the worst hype-man ever!” Lyra complained.

“Lemon, wait!” Sunset shouted at them from the other end of the hall and ran towards them.

“Ugh, what does she want?” Lyra grumbled.

Sunset stopped right in front of Lemon Hearts. “So good that you’re still here.” She huffed. “Can I ask one favour from you?”

“Here we go!” Lyra complained. “I knew we shouldn’t have accepted any offers from her.”

“Lyra!” Lemon scolded her, then turned back to Sunset. “What is it?”

“You probably saw that failure back there.” She began. “The thing is... We have an idea on what the Dazzlings want and we have a plan too. I just want you to help.”

“Sure, but how?” Lemon inquired.

“We’re pretty sure, they are the ones behind everybody acting so strange.”

“I told you!” Twinkleshine hushed from the side.

“So what’s the plan?” Lemon turned back to Sunset.

“Twilight’s gonna write a spell to vanquish them, we just need to stay in the race to perform it.”

“Oh, no no no no!” Lyra interjected. “Are you asking us to let you win?!”

“No, no, of course, not!” Sunset apologized, though she might have just been proactively retracting a statement. “We just need a backup plan. And seeing that you are not affected...” She glanced at Lyra, quietly second guessing that statement. “I just wanna make sure we can count on you, in case it doesn’t quite work out.”

“Count on us how?” Lyra judged.

“Sure, you can count on us!” Lemon didn’t let Lyra get an answer.

“Thanks, it means a lot.” Sunset then turned around. “Now, I gotta catch up with the rest of the gang.” She ran back down the corridor and disappeared by a corner.

“Don’t tell me you trust her.” Lyra said accusingly. “I saw that shifty look she gave me.”

“She was probably just checking out the best band in the showcase.” Lemon assured.

“Don’t try to distract me with the truth!” Lyra demanded. “Now... What were we talking about?”

“We were talking about how we’re going to smash this competition!”

“You know it, sister!”

Chapter 4

“Welcome to Canterlot High School’s first ever Battle of the Bands.” Principal Celestia announced. “I believe I speak for everyone when I say it is by far the most exciting thing we have ever done here at this school!”

The crowd of excited students cheered in agreement.

She continued. “We are so glad our three newest students encouraged us to turn this event into something a bit more exciting!” Celestia pointed at the Dazzlings sitting in the back, who had a perfect view of the whole auditorium.

“But, as this is now a competition,” Vice Principal Luna took over, “we expect every contender to bring their best effort. And then we’ll see who’s the best musician at CHS.”

Almost immediately as she finished that sentence, the students suddenly remembered how much they hate each-other and heated arguments flared up. A lot of them were the performers themselves, exchanging fighting words and threats. But many of them were just fans, trying to protect their favourites’ honour.

Lyra couldn’t sit still in her seat either. Not that she’s known for being able to, but yelling “Haha, this steel is unbreakable!” over the angry voices was not like her.

Lemon Hearts glanced around the bickering students and just couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease. She turned in her seat, looking for any way out of this when she saw that the Dazzlings were way up in their seats, just smirking among themselves, looking pleased and almost invigorated by the malicious air around them. They had their own space carved out of the crowd and nobody even touched them.

Twinkleshine hid behind Lemon, away from an unusually angry Micro Chips. Lyra turned to the nerd and shouted: “Your body will be our red carpet! Isn’t that right guys?”

Lemon looked at Lyra’s flaring eyes. “I don’t like this.” She thought out loud. “I don’t like this one bit!”

She saw that the only ones not taking part in the shouting match, aside from the wily Dazzlings, were Twilight Sparkle and her friends, the Rainbooms.

“Hey, Twinkles, look!” Lemon began whispering to Twinkleshine. “How come the Rainbooms don’t seem to be affected by whatever’s happening?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered back, “but we’re doing fine as well.”

They briefly glanced at Lyra, who was currently berating someone for suggesting that the Steel Unicorns aren’t the best.

“At least the two of us are.” Twinkleshine corrected herself.

“Look, even Sweetie Drops is doing it.” Lemon pointed at Sweetie Drops, who was getting into an argument of her own. “She’s never gotten in trouble for anything. Now look at her!”

“Well I mean…” Twinkleshine added. “It’s not like she liked everyone.”

“And look at Lyra,” Lemon kept going, “it’s clear that this dumb competition is more important to her than our friendship.”

Twinkleshine flinched at Lemon’s harsh judgement. That was not something she’d normally expect from Lemon.

Lemon put one arm around Twinkleshine’s shoulders. “I am so glad you and I aren’t affected though.”

Twinkleshine turned away and thought to herself: “Not me, at least…”

Eventually, the participants were selected. The line-up of bands consisted of total newbies like MC Snips and DJ Snazzy Snails, along with oddball groups like the Pony Pickers, whose main instruments included the bowed saw and the cowbell. Their weird experimental music appealed only to people with tastes like Lyra, who got some strange looks when her lonely clapping echoed in the silence.

“What? I can applaud the competition.” Said Lyra, then she chuckled smugly. “It’s not like they’re gonna win.”

But there were also seasoned bands like Flash Drive and Trixie and the Illusions, who really made the judges’ job difficult. Even some promising newcomers like the Cutie-Mark Crusaders and, of course, the Rainbooms.

And perhaps most dangerous of all: the Dazzlings. It was clear from the get go, that they are going to win and the rest is just a big hassle for second place. Their performance was the only one to get a genuine unanimous applause. They only played four strings on their stringed beasts (but they went up to seven in more complex sections) and only used their ethereal voices as another instrument, but their “gothic djent” seemed to hypnotize everybody. They won their first set without any difficulty. Nobody even remembered what their opponents were doing or who they were.

In the next set, The Rainbooms faced off against Octavia. It was Octavia’s turn first. She took her seat up on the stage and her presence commanded silence in the auditorium. Well, Lyra tried messing with her, by feigning a coughing fit, but Lemon put a stop to that with a poke to the ribs. Octavia watched them with a single raised eyebrow, knowing that her performance cannot be ruined.

Once she started, she alone had the power of an entire orchestra. The intricate melodies were a bit hard to swallow for most, but the pure skill spoke for itself. Twinkleshine let out an audible “wow” at the end of Octavia’s performance. Even Lyra let herself be impressed, despite her earlier goofing.

After that, it was the Rainbooms’ turn. Right off the bat, their setup was flawed; Twilight Sparkle, their new member, was just kind of standing around awkwardly as a sole backing vocalist, with Fluttershy trying to hide behind her. And Rarity was wearing some new experiment, with long metal bits dangling from her sleeves, like a junkyard shaman, clearly without consulting her bandmates. But, they managed to pull off a confident beginning.

We've just got the day to get ready

And there's only so much time to lose

Because tonight, yeah, we're here to party

So let's think of something fun to do

We don't know (we don't know) what's gonna happen

We just know (we just know) it's gonna feel right

All our friends are here

And it's time to ignite the lights!

Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight

Shake your tail, shake your tail

Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight

Shake your tail, shake your tail

Unfortunately for them, the confident beginning soon faded. They couldn’t even get to the first chorus without difficulties. Rarity suddenly started dancing around with her arms in the air, knocking off Applejack’s hat.

Lyra was baffled at what she was witnessing. “What is happening?” She wondered aloud.

“Look!” Twinkleshine pointed above the stage. The members of Photo Finish and the Snapshots climbed up there and dragged Rarity around by the dangly metal bits on her outfit, using magnets.

“Not even the second round and we’re already playing dirty.” Lemon grumbled.

“If they try that with us, I’ll strangle them.” Lyra added.

The troubles continued as they kept on performing.

So what you didn't get it right the first time

Laugh it off, no one said it is a crime

Do your thing, you know you're an original

Your ideas are so funny that they're criminal

That is when Pinkie Pie noticed the bored unimpressed faces in the audience, so she spun her kick drum around and shot a deluge of confetti out of it. It all fell in such a way, that Twilight sucked one in and almost choked.

Snips and Snails also decided to join Photo Finish and the Snapshots above the stage and started messing with the stage lighting. They took one of the spotlights and directed it onto Fluttershy, triggering her crippling stage fright. She was behind the drum set before the second chorus.

Meanwhile, Applejack could barely play, due to Rarity being frantically flailed around. Rainbow Dash was the only one doing fine, but she was really distracted by her bandmates horsing around.

“Wow, I really hope they weren’t supposed to save us.” Sweetie Drops commented. “That was dreadful!”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Lyra frowned.

Lemon silently agreed, but something seemed off to her. As Celestia and Luna were about to announce the winner of the round, the Dazzlings started softly tapping their strings. And just like that, Celestia announced the winners in an eerily monotone voice. And to the shock of all, it was none other than the Rainbooms.

“What?” Lyra almost jumped out of her seat. “How did that go through?”

“They had a really tough competition as well.” Twinkleshine wondered.

“Yeah, as much as I don’t like Octavia,” Lyra said, “she’s good! And a thousand times better than... whatever that was.”

Lemon Hearts gestured to the Dazzlings, “I think they might have something to do with this.”

“Seriously?” Lyra groaned.

“They were playing just as Celestia was speaking. And didn’t you hear how monotone her voice was?”

“When is Celestia not droning like MunnO)))?” Lyra commented.

“And why would they help their opponents?” Sweetie Drops questioned.

“I don’t know,” Lemon Hearts crossed her arms, confident in her intuition, but not knowing how to back it up, “but I really think this is between them and we’re just here as extras.”

“Lemon, if you don’t start cheering right now, I’m going to-“

“Up next,” Lyra’s threat got cut short by Celestia announcing the next contestants, now without the monotone voice, “MC Snips and DJ Snazzy Sails, vs the Steel Unicorns!”

Not a hard match, really. Even though freestyle rapping and coming up with rhymes on the fly is an admirable skill, it would take a lot more than Snips and Snails’ pitiful performance to vow a crowd. They just spouted generic rhymes such as: “We’re the best, we’ll pass the test” and their flow wasn't even good. But they still had enough confidence to drop the microphone once they were finished, to the displeasure of literally everybody else.

Celestia and Luna were completely unimpressed.

“Please do not drop the microphone.” Celestia said in a cold unflinching tone.

Snips and Snails however could not read the social cues and walked off like they just put on a show at a sold-out venue.

“In your face, Lame Unicorns!” Snips taunted as they walked off stage, not realizing that this battle was already over.

It was time for the Steel Unicorns to step on stage. Their song started with a high-pitched guitar riff, accompanied by quick muted jabs on the cymbals. As the guitar repeated the main melody a second time, the drums grew in definition and the bass played its own little melody to go along. Then everyone switched into full gear and started blasting at high-speeds. And then the instrumentals stopped and echoed as the three girls alternated each line, then sang together for the chorus.

Metal crowd wake up your frozen eyes

It’s time to once more reach for the light

Ignorant crowds that break you with lies

Make way for the warriors-

Cheesy warriors will shake the ground

Cheesy speed never breaking down

Cheesy warriors will bring it down

We’re warriors – warriors –warriors

Of cheese

Old-school will school the nu-skool

Spiky bracelets into your spiky hair

We will drop-kick your drop-Ds

Make way for the warriors-

Cheesy warriors will shake the ground

Cheesy speed never breaking down

Cheesy warriors will bring it down

We’re warriors – warriors –warriors

A sudden silence lingered as Twinkleshine’s vicious blasting took over. Then Lyra screamed another “of cheese” line, accompanying Lemon Heart’s hyperspeed guitar solo. At some point Lyra started interrupting with her own speedy runs, as if they were duelling, but it quickly turned into a duet. Just to close that off Lyra handed out a few lines of high-speed slapping.

Suddenly one of the strings broke almost hitting her in the face. But Lyra didn’t stop; she simply kept going and laughed uncontrollably instead of singing along with the last chorus. That was the only sign that anything went wrong; they still managed a solid finish.

The crowd was visibly impressed and not without reason. The winner was announced quickly and the result surprised nobody. The Steel Unicorns have beaten MC Snips and DJ Snazzy Snails.

“So, uhh...,” Lyra laughed while they were still walking off stage, “I gotta run to the store for some new strings.”

“You don’t keep any spares on you?” Lemon questioned.

“No, don’t worry about it,” Lyra assured, “I shouldn’t be gone too long.”

Lemon and Twinkleshine turned and glanced at one another as Lyra left.

“Did she take her wallet?” Lemon hushed.

“Sweetie has our stuff,” Twinkleshine responded, “she probably went to her.”

“Nope,” Lemon pointed at Sweetie Drops sitting in the bleachers, “she ran straight out.”

Twinkleshine slapped her forehead. “Oh, ugh, pfff... I’ll get it for her!” Twinkleshine ran down the stairs to chase after their forgetful friend.

Lemon rolled her eyes and left out an amused sigh. She was just about to head back to her place in the audience, only to find the Dazzlings waiting for her at the door, blocking her path.

“Can I help you?” She raised an eyebrow.

“That was quite an impressive performance there.” Said Adagio, her tone carrying a sense of unease to Lemon.

“Uh... Thanks...”

“Especially that bassist of yours,” Adagio fanned herself as she continued, “what an incredible recovery.”

“Yeah, Lyra sure is something.” Lemon responded meekly, not sure where this confrontation was going.

“Ah, more like something else!” Sonata jumped in between the two of them.

“What she means is,” Adagio pulled Sonata back to her place at her side, “that you don’t find talent like that every day.”

“And that kind of talent needs to find a fulfilling outlet.” Aria finished the thought.

“And you know,” Sonata leaned on Aria’s shoulder, “steel does corrode.”

Lemon placed her hands on her hips. “I don’t like where this is going.”

“Now, now,” Adagio haughtily laughed, “you don’t have to worry your little mind about that.” She then put one hand on Lemon’s shoulder. “Just know that sometimes you have to put someone else’s happiness over your own.”

Lemon slapped Adagio’s hand away. “Stop dancing around and tell me what you mean?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually.” Adagio dismissed Lemon’s demand. “Come on girls, we have to get ready for the next round.” They brushed past Lemon Hearts and headed backstage. Sonata waved cheerfully as she left.

“Are you kidding?” Lemon shouted after them. “You still have like an hour!”

“We have to tune up.” Aria grumbled back before closing the door after herself.

Lemon stared for a second, thinking back to those stringed beasts the Dazlzings call instruments. “Yeah, that makes sense.” She mumbled.

Half an hour later and everybody was back in their seats waiting for the next act to take the stage. Well, everybody except Lyra. Three more performances failed to get a cheer, while she was away and it was almost time for their second appearance to begin . During the show between the Diamond Dog boys and The Snapshots, Lemon started getting really impatient.

“Where is Lyra?” She complained, “It’s been twenty minutes since she texted about getting the strings!”

“It’s not like she’d get lost. She practically lives in that music store.” Twinkleshine commented.

Sweetie Drops began to seethe and covered her ears as the two bands on stage proceeded to assault her ears. “At least she doesn’t have to listen to this dreck.”

Though it was odd to hear Sweetie Drops comment so harshly, Lemon found herself agreeing and got to her feet. “I’m gonna go and look for her. Anyone want to join me? Get some air.”

“I’ll stay here and keep an eye on the time.” Twinkleshine answered. “I’ll text you when we’re supposed to go on.”

“Alright. You coming Drops?”

“What?” Sweetie Drops looked at Lemon Hearts as if she had spoken profane blasphemy, ”No way am I going anywhere without seeing the Dazzlings first!”

Lemon and Twinkleshine looked askance at each-other, “Since when were you so invested in the Dazzlings?”

“Since when was that your business?” Sweetie Drops barked back just aggressively enough to make Twinkleshine flinch.

“Alright, alright,” Lemon put her hands up as if she was being threatened, “sorry for asking! Geez!” She shook her head and made her way out of the auditorium.

It didn’t take much to find Lyra however. Lemon had barely set foot outside into the hallways when she could hear somebody talking around the corner. It was the Dazzlings who seemed to have cornered Lyra at the auditorium’s other entrance and were speaking to her rather closely.

“That was quite the impressive move you did up on the stage.” Adagio crooned. “I don’t know what I would do if I broke a string and I don’t even use them all.”

“Well,” Lyra blushed but was trying to act cool, “the trick is to just roll with it and improvise, you know?”

“You are quite a talented musician, Lyra. And clearly passionate about what you do. I’d even dare to say that you have the highest chance at beating us.”

“Wow, you really think so?”

“There is just one problem though.” Aria suggested.

Lyra blinked. “Uhh, what is it?”

“Not what, but who.” Adagio corrected.

Lyra stared at them. “What are you getting at?”

Adagio chuckled maliciously. “I don’t think your bandmates share your enthusiasm.”

“Well, let’s be real here,” Lyra meekly tried to brush off that statement, ”it’s pretty hard to match me in enthusiasm.”

“Oh please,” Adagio scoffed back at her, “you clearly stick out in your little group.”

“Your guitarist was practically falling asleep on stage.” Aria commented.

“And that drummer,” Sonata chimed in, “like, she wasn’t even paying attention to the beaty beats.”

Adagio leaned in to stroke Lyra’s hair. “I think you need to face it my dear. They’re holding you back, Lyra.”

“That’s not true,” Lyra said sheepishly, “they’re my friends.”

“Well, of course they are! Nobody can deny that.” Adagio solemnly stated, softly placing one hand on Lyra’s shoulder. “But perhaps you should find yourself some more ambitious friends.”

“Ooh, Ooh! You could be our bassist!” Sonata cheered.

“Sonata my dear, that is a Great idea!” Adagio exclaimed pretending that the thought had never occurred to her.

Lyra raised an eyebrow. “Don’t your guitars go low enough to not need a bassist?”

“We just think that it’s about time to add something new to our music.” Aria smirked.

Adagio put both hands on Lyra’s shoulders and leaned in close. “If you join us, Lyra, not only are we going to crush this competition...” She stopped mid-sentence and glanced at Aria.

“We will make you more famous than the Lame Unicorns will ever do.” Aria finished the sentence.

“And we’ll be your friends too!” Sonata hugged her suddenly.

“That sounds good, but...” Lyra pried herself out of the unexpected hug. “I’m a Steel Unicorn, not a Dazzling.”

“Oh it’s fine, I get it, Lyra.” Adagio crooned. “You don’t want to leave your friends behind.”

“But what if they leave you behind first?” Aria poked Lyra threateningly.

“It’s not like they were all that enthusiastic about this competition in the first place right?” Sonata leaned in from the other side. “At least from what we’ve heard”.

Lyra’s eyes darted between the faces of the Dazzlings and tried to speak up, to defend her friends and band, but found the words stuck on the back of her tongue. She knew they weren’t entirely wrong.

“Take all the time you need, Lyra.” Adagio lightly smirked and flicked a tuft of Lyra’s hair away from her eyes. “We’ll be right here, waiting for you.” They headed to the auditorium’s door. Adagio stopped and glanced back at Lyra. “But I’m sure you’ll make the right choice soon.” And with that, all three of them were back in the auditorium, planning for their own show.

Lyra stared at the closed doors for a good minute, silently reflecting on her choices. “They weren’t entirely wrong, now were they?” She mumbled. “Just the music and hanging out is enough for Lemon and Twinkle, but not for me. I want something more...” She leaned against the wall with her back and slid down onto the ground. “And more is what they promise…”

Lemon Hearts listened with clenched fists. She always had a feeling this was coming, but was not ready to face it just yet. She thought about storming up to Lyra and letting it all out, but holding back the tears of anger took too much already. She headed back, to tell Twinkleshine everything she’s heard, deep down hoping that Lyra would come to her senses. But also doubting any good-will she ever felt to her.

Chapter 5

The Rainbooms were up on stage, just about to finish their song. Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine were watching from the backstage area, as Rainbow Dash played a solo that was surprisingly modest, almost as if she was holding back. Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine would have felt very confident at this point, if Lyra wasn’t still absent.

Then the backstage door slammed open; Lyra finally arrived.

“Sorry, I took so long girls.” She bent down to catch her breath. “Got held up by someone.”

“Yeah, we know...” Lemon Hearts said with crossed arms.

Lyra got up and brushed her hair from her face. She noticed that Lemon’s usually calm features were carved into a judgemental scowl while Twinkleshine’s eyes and hands fretted in worry.

“W-why are you looking at me like that?” Lyra’s eyes darted between her friends.

Lemon Hearts narrowed her glare. “We are up against the Rainbooms.”

“O-okay? We can still play Nuts right?” She asked.

“Yeah, can’t not play your favourite now can we?” Lemon Hearts said with an oddly sarcastic tone.

“What’s with the attitude?” Lyra objected. “That’s what we were planning, right? Or am I missing something?”

“Actually,” Twinkleshine interjected herself into the brewing tension, “we were thinking about maybe… Changing some things.”

“Changing what things?”

Lemon Hearts cut to the point. “We were thinking about removing that whole solo section.”

“What? Why?!” Lyra threw her arms in the air. ”That’s the best part of the song!”

“Yeah, well, the whole school being brainwashed again is much more important than showing off.”

“Didn’t you say you just want to have fun? That’s the most fun part!”

“They clearly know what’s going on, I’m just trying to help them defeat the Dazzlings’ spell.”

“I thought you said they let the Rainbooms win anyway. What’s the point of ruining the song then?”

“Next up, the Steel Unicorns!” Celestia’s voice could be heard from outside.

“Guys we don’t have time for this!” Twinkleshine shouted at them, as she quickly finished setting up her drum set. “We’re coming up!”

“I am not parting with that solo Lemon.” Lyra stood her ground stubbornly.

Lemon Hearts quietly picked up her guitar, not having the energy to argue with Lyra.

“We wrote that part together, it’s the exact way we can have the most fun... Just like you want.”

“Alright fine!” Lemon Hearts hissed between clenched teeth. “We’ll keep the blasted part!”

But Lyra wasn’t satisfied with Lemon’s disgruntled response. “What is it with you anyway?”

“That shouldn’t concern you, now should it?”

“What the hay are you talking about?!”

The curtains were already opening.

Twinkleshine, already sitting at her drum set, hushed at her bickering friends. “Guys come on, we’re starting!”

Lemon already stepped into her spot once the curtains fully opened. Lyra still stumbled around, fiddling with her strap and frantically fine-tuning her new string, all at the same time. Lemon glared with tilted head impatiently, as the audience waited in silence. Finally Twinkleshine counted down with her drumsticks.

The audience got an interesting surprise: A groovy funk played instead of the speedy blasting they expected. Lyra had plenty of slap-bass to get her back into the zone. Lemon’s opening solos sounded angrier than usual; the argument backstage actually helped her get into the spirit of the music. Twinkleshine just hoped that they wouldn't start arguing again.

I like your jacket, where you bought it?

Is this the straight model? You need to tell me

'Cause you're driving me nuts

Driving me nuts!

Gotta lose more weight

Take off your skin, take out your bones

Unique thoughts too heavy

It's not like you had a spine to begin with

I don't care what she said

I know I don't have the fakest smile

I'd rather not look in a mirror,

than not sleep again

So nice to see you, I envy the blind

Please take the wheel away from my legs

'Cause it's driving me nuts

Driving me nuts!

My head's in the clouds, my feet are on the ground

I have a thick skull, with at least one brain

You've got two faces and a mask for each one

If I punch one of them, it'll go below the waist

I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that

Actually, I don't care, my ear's not a toilet

You're driving me nuts

Driving me nuts!

And this is where that solo section was supposed to come in. Lyra slapped a few lines out and Lemon went along with her own solo reluctantly. But eventually, the song came to a quiet part and it was only Lyra playing a repetitive bass riff. She finally smiled at Lemon, expecting some jazzy-funky lines from her. But Lemon’s eyebrows remained furrowed, wiping Lyra’s smile away. She turned away and kept playing the filler riff. Twinkleshine noticed and skipped right into the final speedy section of the song, while Lyra took some time to realize what was happening. Her unplanned transition was less smooth.

So after that bit of stumbling and a sloppy ending that wasn’t as lively as it was supposed to be, the song ended on a rather bland note. The audience applauded mildly, though the judges clearly sensed the unease. But they chalked it up to a lack of practice.

As the curtains fell, Lyra turned angrily at Lemons Hearts. “What was that all about?!”

“I didn’t touch your solo, I left out mine.” Lemon explained as she put down her guitar, trying to not sound as angry as she really was.

“This isn’t about the solo!” Lyra raised her voice suddenly.

Lemon swung her arms open. “Then what? What is it about?”

“It’s about you acting so weird and ruining the song!” Lyra shouted. “It’s like you don’t give a fluff!”

“Well, I guess we’re just holding you back.” The words fell from Lemon’s mouth before she could stop them..

Lyra was slightly taken aback at that remark, but kept going. “W-well you kind of are, actually! Look at what just happened!”

“Good,” Lemon completely lost it, “then why don’t you join somebody more ambitious?!”

“Well, maybe I should!” Lyra shouted back, not even thinking about what she was saying

“How about the Dazzlings? I heard they could use a bassist!”

“At least they appreciate my passion!”

“Good! Then I wish you good luck for the future!”

“Thanks! I will!”

And with that, Lyra stormed out, the walls trembled as she slammed the door behind her. Lemon lingered for a moment, trying to grab onto the last bit of composure she had, but the tears began to fall and she fled through the other door. Twinkleshine was left behind, not knowing what to do and whom to run after. So she stayed, trapped between two shut doors.

The sound of slow clapping filled the sudden silence and the Dazzlings emerged from the shadows.

“Oh, how tragic!” Adagio’s voice drawled out, as she sarcastically applauded what had just gone down. “And here we thought that the Steel Unicorns were going to be a challenge.”

Princess Celestia’s voice crackled over the intercom as she announced the Rainbooms to be the winners of this round.

Aria leaned against Adagio “Well then,” she smirked, “better luck next time.”

“Ooooh,” Sonata shuddered with fake sympathy, “there won’t be a next time, will there?”

And then they laughed at the tears that shone so clearly on Twinkleshine’s face. She tried to confront them, but the words got stuck in the back of her throat and she ran off, tears running down her cheeks.

Lemon Hearts stomped her way through the school’s hallways, the rush of emotions leading her further and further away from the auditorium. She burst through the glass doors to the front of the school and stopped and stared at the statue before the school; a concrete horse rearing up in defiance, the red and purple sunset forming a magnificent halo around it. Lemon Hearts felt another surge in her heart and slammed her fist into the cold rock before sliding down and turning her back to it.

With her back pressed against the statue and her legs tucked in, Lemon Hearts finally allowed herself to cry. Each tear for a memory that she held so fondly, now filling her soul with excruciating pain. Questioning if Lyra, the one who’d make any boring day fun, had ever truly been her friend, or ever saw the band as more than a temporary disposable convenience.

Many sorrowful minutes have passed, but the pain was not fading. A pair of boots came to a stop in front of her, but Lemon Hearts couldn’t even bear to look up.

“Hey.” Sunset Shimmer’s voice rang softly.

Lemon could not find the energy to deal with anyone at the moment. She ignored the sympathetic bystander, hoping that she could go back into the company of her tears.

But rather than leaving her alone, Sunset sat down next to her under the horse statue. “I heard your argument backstage,” she said, “is everything alright?”

“No...” Lemon answered quickly.

“I’m sorry... This competition is really bringing the worst out of everybody.”

Lemon said nothing, just took in big heaving breaths, as her eyes dried up.

“Things... haven’t been going great with the Rainbooms either. It’s almost as if everyone’s worst aspect of their personalities have been amplified.”

“Now they got Lyra to deal with as well.” Lemon grumbled between two tearful sniffs.

“What do you mean?”

“She joined the Dazzlings....”

“No, she didn’t,” Sunset raised an eyebrow, “She ran straight out the back door.”

Lemon didn’t respond.

“Listen, I know what Lyra’s like. Remember back when…” Sunset turned away, as she dug up a memory that filled her with shame. “Back when I was terrible... She would always stand up for you and Twinkleshine, against me. She was always the loud mouth.” She turned to Lemon with a gentle smile. “No matter what was said, I can guarantee you that she didn’t mean it like that. Once Twilight finishes the spell-”

“Don’t bother Sunset, this has been brewing for a while. She always wanted more. I should have expected her to leave us at some point."

Sunset wrapped an arm around Lemon’s back. “Look, I know that Lyra is better than that and I think you know that too. Would she have protected you against me, if she didn’t care?”

Lemon sat in silence, not looking at Sunset. As the last teardrops dried up, she sniffed and turned to Sunset. “I’m sorry we couldn’t be your backup.”

“Don’t worry about it Lemon. Your friendship is more important than that.” Sunset replied before sighing. “Although, things haven’t been going well on our end either.”

“How so?”

“The Rainbooms aren’t holding together for long. Everyone’s on the edge of snapping at one another. if the spell isn’t ready soon, then... I don’t know what we’ll do.”

“Hmm, I know how that feels.”

“And the worst thing is, with my past, I can’t even help. I would just end up hurting their chances. Even the Dazzlings know how awful I was… I know, they told me.”

Lemon Hearts shook her head. “Eh, I bet they don’t actually care about all that. They just see a weakness and use it to their own gains.”

Sunset looked at her curiously, but said nothing.

“It’s like a game to them. They can’t reach you with their magic, so they reach you with words.” Lemon continued.

Sunset Shimmer smiled mildly at Lemon. “I think you might be right...”

Lemon trailed off into her own thoughts. After a moment, she turned to Sunset and gave her a faint smile.

“Right,” Sunset got up, ”I should get back in and make sure that they don’t kill each other.”

Lemon Hearts looked at the girl leaving. Once Sunset was away, Lemon got lost in her thoughts again. “...If they can’t reach you with magic, they reach you with words...” She mumbled to herself.

Sweetie Drops had been sitting alone in the bleachers for much longer than she expected. She let out a big drawn-out sigh of boredom and leaned back in her seat. She stared at the ceiling, as it proved to be more interesting than whatever was happening on the stage. She heard somebody quietly sniffing next to her. She turned and saw Twinkleshine sitting curled up with her knees to her face, whose return Sweetie Drops failed to notice. Twinkleshine’s eyes were red from tears that have been shed.

“Twinkleshine? What’s wrong?” Sweetie Drops asked.

Twinkleshine responded only with a feeble sigh.

“Where are the others?” She questioned further.

Twinkleshine hesitated to answer, but after a few quiet moments pried out the words. “W-we broke up...”

“Oh no! Why?”

“Creative differences...” Twinkleshine responded vaguely.

“I am so sorry to hear that.” Sweetie Drops wrapped her arms around her. “Is there anything I could-“ She stopped mid sentence when she saw that The Dazzlings were about to come on stage. Suddenly, her face lighted up and her comforting arms shook Twinkleshine in excitement.

Quiet drums filled the hall, as the Dazzlings emerged from the darkened stage. A soft melody was being tapped on one guitar, while the other wailed silently. And as the first verse went, the drums got louder and louder.

Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh, You didn't know that you fell

Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh, Now that you're under our spell

The peculiar wording made Twinkleshine look up from between her knees.

The drums got quiet again.

Blindsided by the beat

Clapping your hands, Stomping your feet

You didn't know that you fell (Oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh)

Now you've fallen under our spell (Oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh)

We've got the music, Makes you move it

Got the song that makes you lose it

We say "jump", you say "how high?"

Put your hands up to the sky

Finally, the expected heavy djent sound kicked in.

Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh

You didn't know that you fell

Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh

Now that you're under our spell

By this point Twinkleshine was really paying attention. Were the Dazzlings serious about that spell? It would sure explain things. The squabbling had completely stopped at this point and the students swayed around to the beat almost as if they were being hypnotized. Even Sweetie Drops was enamoured with the show. That paired with the peculiar wording of the song, Twinkleshine slowly began to piece together what was going on.

Listen to the sound of my voice (Oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh)

Soon you'll find you don't have a choice (Oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh)

Captured in the web of my song (Oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh)

Soon you'll all be singing along (Oh-whoa-oh)

We've got the music, Makes you move it

Got the song that makes you lose it

We say "jump", you say "how high?"

Put your hands up to the sky

Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh, You didn't know that you fell

Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh, Now that you're under our spell

Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh, You didn't know that you fell

Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh, Now that you're under our

Spell...

As the song ended and the crowd cheered. The Dazzlings basked in the praise of both the crowd and the judges. The audience of rowdy teenagers had been only hostile to every band before them, now they stood in rapture towards the newest members of the school. Twinkleshine was in complete disbelief, as Sweetie Drops next to her joined in with the cheering.

“Woo! They’re so awesome, aren’t they?!” Sweetie Drops cheered.

“Oh my gosh!” Twinkleshine bolted up from the bench. “How can they get away with this?!” Without waiting for an answer, she ran out.

“Well, I thought it was good.” Sweetie Drops pouted.

Twinkleshine raced down the hallways, now darkened by the setting sun, only stopping to peek into side alcoves and empty classrooms.

“Come on, where the hay are you two?” She grumbled to herself. She quickly turned a corner only to slam into somebody.

She rubbed her head and took a look at whom she ran into. And once she saw who it was, she jumped to her feet.

“Lemon!” Twinkleshine reached forward and grasped her distraught friend in a tight bear hug.

“Twinkleshine!” Lemon weakly tried to return the hug, but Twinkleshine pulled back suddenly, grabbed her by the shoulders and started shaking her.

“You are under their spell! You are under their spell!” Twinkleshine screamed.

Lemon shook off Twinkleshine’s grasp and righted herself. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s the new girls! Those... those Dazzlings! They’ve been making you and Lyra fight with their evil magic!”

“What?”

“They just sang about their spell!”

“Wait, so they just admitted it?”

“You are under our spell, that’s literally what they said”

“And everyone was okay with it?”

“More than okay, they were swaying to the beat, like zombies! Even Drops!”

“Wow, I guess it’s more serious than we thought.”

“We need to find Lyra!”

Lemon Hearts stopped at this desperate declaration. She took a deep breath and prepared herself, “And I think I know where.”

Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine ran out of the school and down the block until they reached the gates of the local town park. Some kind of music could be heard in the distance. Lemon Hearts peeked her head through the gate and upon a glance saw their erstwhile bassist sitting alone on a park bench near the lake, lightly picking at her lyre.

Lemon approached her, after motioning Twinkleshine to stay behind. “So you didn’t join the Dazzlings after all.” She said, not sure how to broach a conversation so soon after their argument.

Lyra's fingers stopped plucking at the strings but said nothing in return. She didn’t even look at her.

Lemon, seeing as her light-hearted opening didn’t work, she sat down next to Lyra on the bench. “Look Lyra, I’m sorry about giving the win to the Rainbooms for free.”

“It’s not about the winning...” Lyra's head hung over her lyre, her hair shadowing over her eyes.

“What do you mean?”

Lyra shifted in place for a moment before speaking. “...I wanted to win sure, but that wasn’t the point.” Her eyes finally rose to meet Lemon Hearts’.

Lemon Hearts was shocked to see that the usual fire in Lyra’s eyes had been extinguished by tears.

“I know how much that whole competition business ruined the fun for you and I was just looking forward to see you have fun again. We wrote that song together and it’s always such a special feeling to play that song with you. I was looking forward to that, ya know.”

“Oh... I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

“At least the Rainbooms got to win, I guess...”

“If it helps at all, they probably would have won anyway.” Lemon then motioned to Twinkleshine to come over. Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine stared at one another as Twinkleshine just stood there cluelessly, even when Lemon motioned for her to speak.

“What?” Twinkleshine asked, really not knowing what Lemon wanted.

“Come on Twinkie! The Dazzlings? Their song? Their spell!?”

“Oh yeah... So the Dazzlings just admitted to casting a spell on everybody.”

Lyra stared blankly at her friends blinking widely. She then jolted up. “Wait, really?”

“You are under our spell, that’s what they said. They even had the school swaying around like mindless zombies.”

“So what you’re saying is,” Lyra narrowed her eyes, “that Lem’ ruined our song and performance for no reason then?”

“What she’s saying is,” Lemon Hearts quickly corrected, “that they got to us as well. I was mad at you, sure, but I would never intentionally mess up a performance like that.”

Lyra grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her head, “Heh... I haven’t been my best self either, have I? I probably didn’t help you in having fun, with all that cheerleading.”

“Yeah, you didn’t.” Lemon smiled. “But to be fair, you were under a spell... Just like me.”

Lyra returned the smile, before her face turned somber again. “Guys, there’s something you two should know.”

“What is it?” Lemon asked, though she had an idea where this was going.

Lyra sighed deeply and met Lemon Heart’s eyes, “Earlier tonight I was cornered by the Dazzlings after our first show. You know how I kept playing after that string broke? Yeah, they were super-impressed by that. They offered me a place in their band… They said you two are holding me back… And the worst part is... I genuinely considered it... But even just thinking about leaving you two behind made me feel awful. Even after our fight I just... I couldn’t bring myself to do it… Now that I think about it, they probably weren’t actually serious about it. Just dangling that carrot in front of my face and making me walk straight into the abyss.”

“And I’m sorry too,” Lemon put her hand on Lyra’s shoulder, “I should have talked to you after hearing what they said, instead of getting so testy.”

“Wait, you heard that?”

“Oh… Yeah… I did…” Lemon grinned nervously. “I got impatient and went looking for you.”

“Haha, no wonder you had that attitude.” Lyra chuckled. “I would have been pretty miffed too, especially with their magic mind-bugs in my brain.” Lyra sighed with relief then jumped to her feet. ”But you know what? This just proves that, even when the battle is rigged with evil sorcery, the Steel Unicorns will still prevail! The Dazzlings and the Rainbooms can have their magical shenanigans, but our friendship beats any magic!

Lemon jumped to her feet as well and hugged Lyra tightly. “Ah, glad to have you back Lyra!”

Twinkleshine clasped her hands in front of her face. “So... Does this mean we’re not splitting up?”

Lyra and Lemon looked at each-other and spoke in unison.

“Of course, not!”

“The Steel Unicorns will live forever!”

Twinkleshine giggled with joy and embraced the two of them. With all tension dissolving among them, they laughed, as they held one-another in their arms. The Dazzlings’ spell has completely dissipated from them and they could finally cherish their friendship again, as new tears have emerged in their eyes.

Their moment was interrupted by the sound of somebody gasping for air and the girls turned to see a purple dog wheezing at their feet.

“Isn’t that Twilight’s dog?” Twinkleshine pointed at the dog.

“I’m so glad I found you!” The dog said. “The Rainbooms need your help, they’re trapped!”

The three of them stared in disbelief for a moment, before Lyra broke the question: “Yo, did that dog just talk?”

Chapter 6

Spike the dog rushed out of the park, with the Steel Unicorns following closely behind. There was only one hill standing between them and the grand stage. The music of Flash Drive was blistering through the air, the beat vibrating in their chests as they got closer and closer. They stopped at the top of the hill to catch their breath, finally with a good view of the scene.

Spike growled at the band playing on stage, as if the distance was the only thing keeping his teeth away from Flash Sentry’s shins.

“So, what’s the situ?” Twinkleshine asked between two heaves.

Spike turned his back to the stage. “The Rainbooms were supposed to go against the Dazzlings for the finale. But Flash Sentry showed up and locked the girls in the trap room.”

“Oh Flash!” Lyra chuckled. “That silly boy thought the trap room was meant to be an actual trap.”

“Wait, Flash Sentry?” Lemon wondered aloud, “Isn’t he supposed to be having a crush on Twilight?”

“Not since the Dazzlings got to him.” Spike shook his head. “They turned the whole school against each-other.”

“Wait, we already know that.” Lyra added.

“Right,” Lemon’s voice turned serious, “now we need to stop them before they infect more than just the school”

Meanwhile, the song ended and Flash Sentry stepped up to the microphone.

“Thank you Canterlot City, couldn’t have asked for a better party!” He gushed. “So bad the Rainbooms couldn’t be here to experience such a great audience!”

“Wow, what a slimy git!” Lyra scoffed.

“Such a shame that we have to leave,” he continued, “but we gotta give a chance to the Dazzlings to top that show. But I promise, that’s not the last you see us.” He then winked, prompting several girls in the audience to swoon. The boys did not waste any time leaving; the whole band quickly disappeared behind the curtains.

“Quickly!” Spike shouted. “The Dazzlings are about to come up. We gotta find a way in!”

They ran behind the stage and proceeded to run around, looking for the way inside the backstage area. They found many doors, but they were all locked. All except one.

“Over here!” Twinkleshine pointed at a very visibly open door.

“Hey, I’m pretty sure this was locked a second ago.” Lemon wondered.

“Doesn’t matter, let’s go!” Spike commanded.

They swiftly charged at the wide open door. They were only a few long steps away, when Lemon and Twinkleshine suddenly stopped dead in their tracks.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Said a vaguely familiar voice.

Spike and Lyra turned and saw that their companions had been grabbed from behind by Flash Sentry’s bandmates: Brawly Beats and Ringo. At about the same time, thick fog covered the front of the stage and the Dazzlings stepped forth from the shadows. They played a slow deep groove, singing an eerie melody on top.

“Get to the girls,” Spike shouted at Lyra, “I’ll deal with them!”

Lyra nodded and ran inside, past the door.

“No Spike, look!” Lemon shouted.

Spike turned and saw Flash Sentry in the doorway. He tried to get him, but Flash closed the door right in Spike’s face, trapping Lyra in with him.

“Oh come on!” Spike clawed at the closed door in desperate frustration.

Lyra noticed Flash running after her and knew he was going to catch up eventually. But she also spotted the trap room’s door, so she charged at it with all her might. There was a loud bang, followed by a painful yowl, as Lyra’s attempt at forcing the door open with her shoulder failed.

“Looking for these?” Flash twirled a ring full of keys on his finger.

“You could have told me you have them!” She complained, while still trembling from the pain.

“Sorry, it was funnier this way.” He grinned.

Lyra lunged at him to try and take the keys, but he pulled away. “Hey!” He yelped before wrapping an arm around Lyra’s neck and headlocking her. “Sorry, but this loser is stronger!”

“Curse you and your good hearing!” Lyra protested.

“You can enjoy the show from below, after I lock you in with the others.”

Lyra stopped struggling and a snide grin emerged on her face. “Oh no, not that!” She objected sarcastically.

Flash opened the trap room’s door and dragged Lyra in. All the members of the Rainbooms and Sunset Shimmer were staring back at them. They were all embracing each-other; there was clearly an important moment that had just been interrupted.

“Hey, guess what this girl was trying to do?” Flash announced mockingly. “Seems like you have a new cellmate.”

And with that, Lyra smashed her foot down, right into Flash’s right toes. All his limbs retracted into his chest, as he proceeded to clutch his smashed foot. The keys fell on the ground and Lyra was free from the headlock.

“Quick,” Lyra pushed Flash over, “get out of here, stop the Dazzlings!”

The Rainbooms nodded and ran out.

“Knew we’d need a backup band.” Sunset cheered on.

“You can thank Spike later, now go!” Lyra responded.

Flash tried to reach for the keys, but just as he touched the ring, Lyra stepped on his fingers.

“Honestly,” she said as she slipped the rings from under her Flash’s squished hand, “just stick to the lovable dork shtick. At least you’re good at that.”

Soon, they were all outside. The rest of Flash Drive were struggling to keep a hold on Lemon, Twinkleshine, as Spike kept flailing his sharp dog-teeth around. Once they noticed that their hostages had escaped. They dropped everything and legged it.

Meanwhile, the Dazzlings have once again captured the audience in their music. The heavy downtuned guitars were enough to do the trick, but the song was just about to start. The groovy riff turned into a hard-hitting dissonant mess of controlled chaos, before calming down, letting the girls’ voices carry the spell further.

Welcome to the show

We’re here to let you know

Our time is now

Your time is running out

The Rainbooms got into position on top of the hill and... Just stood there.

“How are we supposed to play over them from up here?” Rainbow Dash complained.

Lyra gasped. “I know somebody!” She took out her phone and dialled that somebody. “Yo Scratch,” She began, “are you busy right now?”

The heavy downtuned guitars kept swelling and the drums sped up, spreading thunder with each riff.

Feel the wave of sound

As it crashes down

You can't turn away

We'll make you wanna sta-a-a-ay

We will be adored

Tell us that you want us

We won't be ignored

It's time for our reward

Now you need us

Come and heed us

Nothing can stop us now

Suddenly, cheerful pop music blasted through their relentless djent. At first they didn’t know what was going on; Adagio was just about to scold Sonata, when Aria pointed at the hill in front of the stage.

Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh

I've got the music in me

Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh

The heads turned, the gormless hypnotized stares cleared up as Rainbow Dash let out a short guitar solo. Vinyl Scratch was right there to back them up with her own portable amplifier kit. They were all loud and clear and ready to throw down.

Don't need to hear a crowd

Cheering out my name

I didn't come here seeking

Infamy or fame

The one and only thing

That I am here to bring

Is music, is the music

Is the music in my soul

Gonna break out (Out!)

Set myself free, yeah

Let it all go (Go!)

Just let it be, yeah

And this is when a glowing magical aura surrounded them. They grew pony ears and tails and wings.

“Huh, that’s new…” Lyra remarked, as her band watched from the sidelines.

Find the music in your heart

Let the music make you start

To set yourself apart

“So the Rainbooms want to turn this into a real Battle of the Bands?” Adagio exclaimed with a plan already in her head. “Then let’s battle!” She grinned and they burst into their own verse.

What we have in store (ah-ah)

All we want and more (ah-ah)

We will break on through (ah-ah)

Now it's time to finish you!

A bright light blasted out of Aria’s drum machine and the beastly guitars. The light converged into three solid beams and three monsters emerged from the brightness. As Sonata and Adagio played some killer riffs, the monsters circled around the Rainbooms, ensnaring them with their magic.

But then Pinkie blasted on her drums and they took their chance to strike back. They shot vibrant laser beams out of their instruments at the monsters. But it wasn’t enough. The stage exploded with sound. The Dazzlings broke out into the heaviest breakdown of all time, as their monsters erupted into loud relentless opera.

The Rainbooms simply couldn’t stand against the massive wall of djent and were thrown to the ground by the sound. Deafening noise was followed by deafening silence. The Rainbooms laid down all scrambled and the Dazzlings stared them down with eyes glowing red, beckoning them to launch another attack. But tense silence is all that they could manage.

Suddenly, the drums seemed to have come alive. Twinkleshine took Pinkie’s place and burst out into a solo. Aria tried to take her down, with her slow and heavy beats, but her buttons simply couldn’t keep up against Twinkleshine’s ferocious blast beats.

Adagio and Sonata jumped in to help Aria. They strummed their massive guitars and the ground shook under Twinkleshine. But then Lyra stepped up and played over the Dazzlings. Sonata and Adagio now struggled to get their hold back, as Lyra played notes far too high, for the eartshakingly low breakdown to subdue it. And then came the final blow, when Lemon Hearts stepped into the scene and shredded a vicious riff. The Dazzlings were now struggling to keep their balance and quickly fell down when the final high note was blasted at them.

Their monsters tried charging at them, but they broke out into a galloping power metal riffage, and Sunset Shimmer took the front.

You're never gonna bring me down

You're never gonna break this part of me

My friends are here to bring me 'round

Not singing just for popularity

We're here to let you know, that we won't let it go

Our music is a bomb and it's about to blow

And you can try to fight, but we have got the light of

Friendship on our side!

Soon, the rest of the Rainbooms joined. They sang in unison, while the Steel Unicorns backed them. Their harmonies created a big beam of rainbow around them and forced the monsters back.

Got the music in our hearts

We're here to blow this thing apart

And together, we will never

Be afraid of the dark

Here to sing our song out loud

Get you dancing with the crowd

As the music of our friendship

Survives, survives!

And suddenly, Sunset Shimmer’s body started glowing. She grew pony ears, a tail and wings as well. A blazing light surrounded them, from which, an enormous ethereal unicorn emerged. The Dazzlings tried to stand their ground. The unicorn fired a huge laser beam out of its horn, destroying the monsters and breaking all of the strings on their beastly guitars. All except one: The highest strings were the only ones to survive.

At this point, even the audience began singing and dancing.

Got the music in our hearts

We're here to blow this thing apart

And together, we will never

Be afraid of the dark

Here to sing our song out loud

Get you dancing with the crowd

As the music of our friendship

Survives, survives, survives!

The song ended and the battle was over. The Dazzlings did try striking back, but all they could do was play the dinkiest guitar solo ever, with the one string they could barely even reach. The crowd quickly booed them off the stage.

“Heh, good luck finding a string that thick!” Sunset jeered.

“Even if they do,” Twilight continued, “they can no longer imbue them with the magic you brought from Equestria.”

“We missed out on a lot, haven’t we?” Lyra commented.

“Don’t worry darling,” Rarity replied, “we’ll fill you in later.”

“Here’s one thing you could fill us in.” Rainbow Dash interjected. “Like that awesome gig you guys just laid down!”

“No kidding!” Applejack said. “You could really teach us a thing or two.”

“What I personally would like to know,” Twilight interjected, “is how did you resist the Dazzlings’ spell?”

Lyra and Lemon looked at each-other and chuckled. “Yeah, about that...”

“They didn’t.” Sunset smiled with her hands on her hips. “They had their own problems, but managed to work through them, just like we did.”

“I had no problem at all…” Twinkleshine said quietly. “I just wanted to hang out…”

“And we’re so glad you remained sane.” Lemon said.

“Okay, so why wasn’t she affected?” Twilight questioned further.

“The Dazzlings used the tiny grudges we all held, remember?” Sunset Shimmer explained. “They used their magic to add fuel to these tiny fires. But Twinkleshine just didn’t have any fire; she has no ill-will towards anyone. So it didn’t work on her.”

“Yep, that does sound like our Twinkles.” Lemon put an arm around Twinkleshine.

“Aw, she wouldn’t hurt a fly.” Lyra hugged her from the side.

“Twilight!” A distant voice could be heard, followed by Flash Sentry running up the hill. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry; I don’t know what’s gotten into me! Please don’t hate me!” He flopped down on the ground and wrapped his arms around Twilight’s leg as he continued begging.

“Don’t worry, Flash,” she said, “you were under the Dazzlings’ spell.

“Still,” Flash continued, “there’s gotta be a way I can make up for this!”

A loud rumble could be heard. They all turned and saw Lemon Hearts looking really embarrassed.

Lyra slapped Lemon’s shoulder. “Well, Lemon Belly’s got an idea!”

Sugarcube Corner was soon filled with all of them. Flash Sentry and his bandmates took up waiting duty and served the girls the food they asked for, while Mrs. Cake stared in disbelief.

“You know, Twilight is going back to Equestria soon.” Said Rainbow Dash. “The Rainbooms could really use someone to help Fluttershy on backup vocals.” She then winked at Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset quickly borrowed Lemon’s guitar and played a riff.

“I also play guitar.” She said.

Everybody looked back at Rainbow Dash, waiting for her reaction.

“We’ll see...” She responded.

“Nothing wrong with having a second guitarist.” Lyra chimed in.

“Of course, it’s gotta be rhythm guitar,“ Twinkleshine added, “just to not take the spotlight away from the leads.”

“You know it!” Rainbow Dash approved.

Flash appeared next to the table, his bandmates holding up an unreasonably massive plate of ice cream. “Which one of you ordered the quintuple size double banana split?”

“I did!” Pinkie cried out and quickly submerged herself in the ice cream mountain.

Their giggling filled the establishment. It was only interrupted by the bell ringing the arrival of unexpected guests.

“Here they are!” Sweetie Drops stepped in first. “I introduce you to the saviours of Canterlot High.” She extended an arm towards the band. “The Steel Unicorns,” she winked at Lyra, who winked back, “and the Rainbooms!”

A journalist with blond hair and skin stepped in, with starry eyes. “That! Was! Incredible!” The journalist gushed as she scrambled to take out her notebook and a pen. “I am Hot Topic from the Trotting Stone magazine, I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”

“Heck yeah!” Lyra and Rainbow Dash screamed in unison. They were briefly surprised by each-other’s enthusiasm, then they laughed about it.

Finally, order in the school has been restored. Students no longer fought about who’s got the best band ever, or whose fandom is more valid. For a couple days apologies filled the halls, but soon laughter and joy returned to bless every day at CHS. And now that the rehearsal room was no longer constantly occupied, the Steel Unicorns could finally play in peace, without bothering Lyra’s neighbors.

“You know,” Lyra said, “I wonder who would have won the musical showcase if it was a legit competition. Don’t you?”

“Nope.” Lemon replied.

“Me neither.” Twinkleshine affirmed.

“Right,” Lyra continued, “we all know that the Steel Unicorns would have crushed the competition.”

“Alright there badflanks,” Lemon said, “are you ready or what?”

Your tyranny has ended, order restored

I stare at you, your soul run through with a sword

What you thought you wanted, your soul in pieces

We wouldn’t let you win, now rest in peace

We’re surrounded by enemies, but we’re friends in the end

Because friendship always wins, when we open our hand

When there’s a common goal, we will sing as one

There’s a light in our soul, and the battle is won

...Uhhh...

“What happened?” Lemon yelped.

“Sorry,” Lyra answered, “forgot my lines.”

“Seriously?”

“I know, I know, I’m just tired that’s all...”

“Are you guys sure we’re ready for a new album?” Twinkleshine interjected.

“Yeah, maybe we should just take a break for a bit.” Lyra commented.

“You’re just gonna release an album of your own.” Lemon smirked.

“Yeah...”

Lemon sighed.

“Are you not tired, Lemon?” Twinkleshine asked.

“No actually.” She said. “I’m still pumped, I wanna rock!”

“Well, in that case,” Lyra exclaimed, “could you help me get down some sick Horse Volta riffs?”

“Could I?!”

The Rainbooms, now complete with Sunset Shimmer, were supposed to come in already, but they could hear how much fun the Steel Unicorns were having improvising the hardest riffs they could, so they just let them be. After all, they hogged the studio enough already and couldn’t have saved the school without the Steel Unicorns.