Diamond Journals Issue 2: A Battle of the Bands

Diamond awoke to the sound of his friends snoring. Had they really been there all night? He checked his watch: it was 8:30 AM, confirming that fact. His batteries had recharged rather quickly, but they were going to be late for school if they didn't get a move on. He immediately began to shred on his guitar, jerking everyone awake instantly.

"Come on, guys! We're supposed to be at school in 15 minutes!" he shouted, sending everyone into a sort of tired panic. "Before we panic, let me just restore a bit of energy." He snapped his fingers, instantly making everyone feel more awake, as if they'd had a full night's sleep, when in reality they'd only had a few hours at best. If they got a move on, they might be able to make it on time. After a frantic scurry to get ready, they hopped into Diamond's tour bus and he banged on the accelerator with his Liphidite engine online. He was going to have to speed, even on slow, but it would definitely be worth it.

ONE ROUGH DAY OF SCHOOL LATER...

Sticking around after school to be able to check into the Battle of the Bands first was worth it. When ElectroGem checked in, Diamond called Rainbow Dash's cell to let her and the rest of the Rainbooms know what was going on.

"Hey, Diamond. What's up?" she said over the line.

"Hey, RD. Good news and bad news. Good news is, we've got the Crystal of the Day and two out of the three Dazzlings on our side. I'll explain later." Diamond answered. "Bad news is, Adagio's figured out how to REALLY use the Crystal of the Night and has access to The Obsidian Fury's spirit."

"Alright, Diamond. We'll be ready to attack if we need to." Rainbow said. "Remember the plan?"

"Say it with me, RD."

"Be cool enough to win, but not cool enough to pony up." they said in unison.

"So...about 20% less cool." Rainbow joked. Diamond cringed HARD at this line before hanging up and heading to the school hall.

The school hall/auditorium was filled with chaos and negativity. The Rainbooms followed shortly after ElectroGem, and almost every friend group was in the room, arguing with each other. It seemed like everyone had the same bands as before, with a lack of new members in any of them. Diamond decided that the best option he was going to have to see what exactly was going on was to take a visit to the Mana Zone. He signalled to his friends that he was going to head in there, and to stall Adagio while he looked around. He then coated himself in magic, disappearing in a flash of light. He had become Living Mana, and was constantly expending mana at the same rate he recovered it.

"Woah. What the heck are these?" he asked as he entered the Mana Zone. He found himself looking at beings of black and red Living Mana floating around everyone's heads. Diamond was automatically Meganized when he entered the Mana Zone, so he brought up his Scan Visor and got as much as he could need on them.

-Recorded to Logbook:
-Morphology: Dark Living Mana
-A dark manifestation of Living Mana created by the Crystal of the Night. These beings only exist in the Mana Zone, but have enough energy to corrupt the real world, at least if they find a human host. As long as the Crystal of the Night is at power, this form of Living Mana cannot be destroyed.

Dismissing the notifications, Diamond left the Mana Zone and was about to de-Meganize when he felt an incredibly dark aura nearby. That dark an aura only meant one thing: Adagio was here. He de-Meganized quickly, then pulled out his phone and sent a message to his friends from Planet Mobius. He had a feeling they were going to need even more assistance in order to begin this. However, it wasn't Adagio who entered the room, it was Obsidian Dazzle. Diamond went to strike, but the Crystal of the Day was nowhere near charged yet. She sent out a red tentacle, catching him midair and putting pressure on his body. She was going to crush him and there was nothing that could be done...was the theory. The principals showed up at just the right moment, and Adagio had no choice but to cease her attack and transform back into her original form.

"Uh...we WERE planning to have our auditions for the Battle of the Bands today, but we'll move it to tomorrow, since one of our students can't seem to keep control of herself." Celestia announced.

"Don't worry, we'll definitely have it first thing tomorrow. You may all go home and practice, except for you, Adagio." Luna said. "Meet me in my office in fifteen minutes. Everyone else: dismissed." A collective amount of groans sounded as everyone shoved their way out of the door.

"You know? MAYBE we'll just take the back door." Diamond said. The Rainbooms and ElectroGem agreed with him, then filed out of the door at the other end of the room. Once outside, Diamond summoned his car, tour bus and a few auto-cabs. Everyone hopped into their respective vehicles and were driven off by the autopilots, except for Diamond. He drove his own car away into the sunset.

(Vice-Principal Luna's Office)
(GemTech Drone #032 Footage)

Adagio reluctantly walked into the office and was seated. Vice-Principal Luna wasn't far behind, and immediately began chewing her out. However, answers were scarce and the ones she did get only proved her guilt was non-existent. The reason for this was that Adagio was trying to lie to get herself out of trouble. It was going well for her until Luna brought out the camera footage. It CLEARLY showed Adagio transforming into Obsidian Dazzle and travelling to the hall by tentacles JUST to kill Diamond. There wasn't any getting out of this one, and she was disqualified from the Battle of the Bands. However, she had to be in there to carry out her plan, and when dismissed, began to talk to Obsidian Dazzle inside the gem.

"Obsidian Dazzle...what do I do? I need to be in that battle to get to full power, but I can't do that now," she said.

"Fear not, Adagio. Just wish what to do, and I'll be able to do it...within reason. I can't do the truly impossible," Obsidian answered. "I can even rewind time. Just wish..." Adagio began to wish, and the gem began to glow impossibly brightly. A flash of white and red light coated the planet, causing time to fold in upon itself and restart the day from 5:59 AM.

(Adagio's House)
(GemTech Drone #112 Footage)

*beep* *beep* *beep*

Adagio banged her alarm for the second time that day. It was 6:00 AM - time to put her plan into action, and this time she wouldn't screw up.

"Thanks, Obsidian. You really got me out of a bad situation," Adagio said. "But...is this day going to fold in on itself infinitely?"

"Not unless that was your wish. Which isn't what I got." The gem began to glow much brighter. "Now, let's see how that Diamond's doing. I especially want to coax Aria and Sonata again."

"We won't be able to do that, you know," Adagio reminded. "But...if we get seen..."

"We will never be seen. We shall watch from the Mana Zone." At that point, Adagio felt her surroundings change. She had vanished from existence...almost. Obsidian Dazzle had transported her to the Mana Zone using her powers, and Adagio had become living Dark Mana.

(Mana Zone - Adagio's House)
(Light Mana Drone #021 Footage)

Materialising in the Mana Zone, a small light emerged from her gem, which began to ensue a physical form. When it was finished, it wasn't Obsidian Dazzle. Instead, it was the Obsidian Fury, an ancient dark being capable of incredible feats even a master mage could hardly DREAM of performing. He wore dark purple plate armour from chest to foot and a red and black cape. In his hands he carried a dark sceptre and a shield almost as tall as him. His eyes were crimson red, his hair, covered by his helmet, was jet black and his skin was grey, like a rock. He beckoned Adagio to follow him using hand signals, then took off through the Mana Zone at a steady pace. She followed him intently.

They arrived at Diamond's moments later. To travel 50 miles in the real world was like running across the street and back in the Mana Zone, meaning you travelled through the Mana Zone way faster than you would in the real world. Obsidian waved his sceptre, showing them the real world. Diamond and his friends could all be seen asleep on the floor, after a hard night of practice.

"Clearly, they've been working hard to beat us," she exclaimed. "But tell me: do you really think it will be enough?"

"No matter what, they will never beat us, especially not once I've regained all my powers," Obsidian replied. "But, I have nowhere near enough power right now. If you can consume enough dark mana, I will help you plunge this world under your control...forever." Adagio's eyes flashed red and she smirked evilly. "And look at you, my child. You're already changing to match me. Your hair, specifically."

"My...hair?" she asked, then fingered some of it. By now, the entire mop of hair had become Obsidian's colours, only a little lighter. Her eyes had gone from their original colour to a blood red, and her clothes were beginning to turn black. She looked awestruck for a second, then smirked again. "I like it, Obby. Mind if I call you Obby in your base form?"

"You keep me supplied with dark mana, you can call me whatever you want," he answered, bringing up a display. He scrolled through a few windows, then realised the time; it was 7:30 AM, and Adagio needed to be at school by 8:00. He returned Adagio to where she standing in the real world, which happened to be in Diamond's house. Hearing everyone else's snoring was one thing, it being in enemy territory was another. She quickly focused her energy and warped out, noiselessly, to avoid grabbing attention from Diamond.

ONE DAY'S RE-RUN LATER...

It was time to audition for the Battle of the Bands. Adagio had turned her two backup singers into astral projections of themselves to avoid grabbing too much attention, and had refrained from transforming. She arrived in the school hall JUST before Celestia had said: "Let the Battle of the Bands begin!"

-Snips and Snails VS. Bulk Biceps-

Snips and Snails had DEFINITELY improved on their rap skills, but were still inevitably crushed by Bulk.

-Flash Drive VS. the Eco Kids-

While the Eco Kids and their acoustics weren't bad, they were still no match for Flash Sentry's guitar solo.

It was time for the Rainbooms to go onstage before long. Using a comm that Diamond had given her beforehand, Rainbow Dash recited the plan to Diamond one more time: "Be cool enough to win, but not cool enough to pony up."

"Exactly. Now get in there! Derpy and her band just went, and I'm not gonna lie, they kinda sucked," Diamond said, before turning off his comm. The curtains rose, and the song began.

Rainbooms:
"We just got the day,
To get ready,
And there's only so much time to lose!
Because tonight,
Yeah, we're here to party, (partAAay,)
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 igni-ite,
The LIGH-IGHTS!"

"Shake Your Tail, cause we're here to have a party tonight!
Shake your tail, shake your ta-ail!
Shake Your Tail, cause we're here to have a party tonight!
Shake your tail, shake your ta-ail!

[Sci-Twi]:
"So what, you didn't get it right the first time?"

[Pinkie Pie]:
"Laugh it off, no-one said it is a crime!"

[R4r1ty]:
"Do your thing, you know you're an original,"

[Applejack]:
"Your ideas are so funny that they're criminal!"

"We just got the day,
To get ready,
And there's only so much time to lose!
Because tonight,
Yeah, we're here to party, (partAAay,)
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 igni-ite,
The LIGH-IGHTS!"

"Shake Your Tail, cause we're here to have a party tonight!
Shake your tail, shake your ta-ail!
Shake Your Tail, cause we're here to have a party tonight!
Shake your tail, shake your ta-ail!"

"Shake Your Tail, cause we're here to have a party tonight!
Shake your tail, shake your ta-ail!
Shake Your Tail, cause we're here to have a party tonight!
Shake your tail, shake your ta-ail!"

"Shake Your Tail, cause we're here to have a party tonight!"

Even while under Adagio's spell, the other students just couldn't help but clap. Then, it was ElectroGem's turn to go up, and their song was ready for action. Fluttershy counted them in, then Rarity began to sing.

[Rarity]:
"Lights, camera, action,
All I see is lightning flashing,
And it's time to get cracking,
Cause the clouds ahead are zapping,"

"Yeah, the spirits on our lawn,
We will fight them all night long,
Cause if we don't take 'em on,
Then we'll never cease the storm!"

*guitar solo*

[Diamond]:
"The lightning's coming in hot!
And I'm sure the ghosts are not,
But we can't take chances,
Put 'em in trances,
Gotta stop this endless storm!"

"You think you got it capped?
Well, we don't got no time for naps,
So come with me,"

[ElectroGem]:
"TO VICTORY!"

[Diamond]:
"It's time to storm The Electro Zap!"

We need to stop the endless storm, now,
OoooooooooooooooOOooOOooooh...
Come and stand between the flames,
The Electro Zap is not coming away!"

[Diamond]:
"Pulling out my vacuum,
Leading these spirits to their doom,
They ain't gonna come over,
Come wit the controller,
Gotta take these guys into my lab room,"

"Yeah, we can discharge 'em,
Send 'em to the dark world,
So come with me,"

[ElectroGem]:
"TO VICTORY!"

[Diamond]:
"The Electro Zap, it's time to take it down, yo.

*epic guitar solo*

[ElectroGem]:
"Lights, camera, ACTION!
All we saw was lightning flashing,
And because we just got cracking,
The storm ahead has stopped zapping!"

Diamond finished with four final G chords, then struck an unbelievable pose. The audience couldn't resist clapping once again, but this time, light mana began to emerge from the others. Adagio, due to being under the Crystal of the Night's influence, couldn't see this mana, but Diamond could without limits, and so could everyone else. They didn't suspect anything of it, though, just a few funny looks all around. Up next was Adagio, and she, along with her astral projections of her bandmates, had the perfect song for the situation: "Under Our Spell." They climbed onstage, the astral projection part clear to everyone else, and the song began from Adagio's crystal.

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

[Adagio Dazzle]:
"Now that you're under our spell...
Blindsided by the beat,
Clapping your hands, stomping your feet,
You didn't know that you fell,"

[Adagio Dazzle]:
"Now you've fallen under our spell..."

The Dazzlings:
"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!"

"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,"

As the song progressed, Adagio felt it was time to release a bit more power, so she used the Crystal's power to become Obsidian Dazzle and nobody noticed.

Obsidian Dazzle:
"Listen to the sound of my voice..."

Obsidian Dazzle:
"Soon you'll find you don't have a choice..."

Obsidian Dazzle:
"Captured in the web of my song,"

Obsidian Dazzle:
"Soon you'll all be singing along."

Aria/Sonata:
"Oh, whoa, oh!"

The Dazzlings:
"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!"

"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..."

The song finished, Adagio transformed back to normal and everyone, aroused from a far deeper trance Adagio had put them in, applauded graciously. Dark mana piled from everyone's body, powering up the Crystal of the Night ever further. Two more rounds and it would be full, ready for Adagio to create an endless night and plunge both Equestrias under her control.