Tang Ri Shan

My Little Pony Equestria Girls- Project Tantabus

(This is a sequel to Equestria Girls- Seeing Double)

Ch 7

"OOOOOOHH! I'm so excited!" Pinkie Pie squealed in her new voice as the girls made their way to the gymnasium.

"Me too!" Twilight commented in her 'Crystal voice. "I've never been to a 'pep' rally before" Twilight added in a whisper to her double, who chuckled in response.

Upon entering the gymnasium, the girls gasped in awe at the streamers hung draped from the rafters on the ceiling. Balloons in nearly every color were attached to nearly every surface, and a large disco ball hung from the center of the gymnasium ceiling. Lights positioned around the gym shone on the ball as it slowly spun, sending out beams of light in all directions. Beneath the disco ball, chairs had been assembled, and the bleachers at the end opposite the stage had been pulled out. Many students were already gathered, talking animatedly among themselves as they took seats, either on the chairs, or on the bleachers.

"Pinkie had a hand in this. I just know it." Twilight said, giggling at the other girl's reactions.

"I did?" Pinkie asked, looking a little confused. The other girls rolled their eyes.

"She means the other Pinkie" 'Twilight' explained.

"Oh" Pinkie nodded as they found seats on the bleachers nearest the door. Even from this angle, they had a good view of the rest of the gymnasium.

"This does appear to be quite the social gathering" Rarity commented as she glanced around at the assembling students. A trio of boys passed by where they were sitting and one of them paused to glance at Rarity, looking her over. Seeing him, Rarity's smile widened. She ran her fingers through her 'hair' and blinked prettily at him, causing him to blush before his friends pulled him away.

"What're ya doing 'Amythest'? We're supposed to be incognito, remember?'" Applejack hissed in her new accent as Rarity waved at the departing boy.

"I'm sorry 'Timberwood', but that is no excuse for not looking fabulous" Rarity countered in her new accent.

"Gimmie a break" Rainbow Dash muttered, rolling her eyes as Pinkie and Fluttershy giggled.

"So, what exactly happens at a 'Pep rally'?" Fluttershy asked, leaning forward and asking in her 'Wildflower' voice.

"Well, usually there are speeches, songs, and performances designed to get people excited and to raise school spirit" 'Cirrus' explained.

"In other words, it's like, totally fun!" 'Scarlet' added in her valley-girl tone, causing Twilight to giggle, but then she paused as she saw a girl she did not recognize turn her head to look at them. The girl had pale white skin and her magenta-colored eyes brimmed with a mixture of excitement and extreme unease. Twilight smiled at the girl, and the girl smiled back before quickly glancing away. Twilight's smile faded as she stared at the girl's pink hair, she felt something in her mind click. Something about this girl looked familiar, but Twilight couldn't remember what.

"Do either of you know who that girl is down there, with the pink hair?" Twilight asked the two humans, pointing her out.

'Twilight' and 'Sunset' shook their heads. "No, but that's not very surprising. Remember we're not students here." Her double whispered back.

"Good point" Twilight admitted, still staring at the back of the girl's head. "But I can't help feeling I've seen her before."

"Huh, maybe when you were here last time" 'Sunset' suggested, doing her nails with an emery board as the ponies looked on in confusion.

"What are you doing?" Rarity finally asked, raising an eyebrow.

'Sunset' smiled at Rarity but before she could answer, a loud voice drew their attention to the stage.

"Good morning everyone!" Everyone looked up to see Principle Celestia standing on the stage, holding a microphone. Vice Principle Luna stood next to her, holding a clipboard. As their gazes swept over the assembled, the students quickly grew silent.

Rarity gasped and leaned forward in her seat. "Twilight, are those the human counterparts of the royal sisters?" She whispered.

Twilight smiled up at her. "Yes, that's Principle Celestia and Vice Principle Luna. The head teachers of Canterlot High."

"No way" Rainbow Dash's eyes widened.

"They're so...tall" Pinkie added, causing Twilight to giggle.

Just then, a beam of sunlight shone through one of the gymnasium's windows and fell upon the disco ball, bouncing off the glass orb in such a way that the light seemed to illuminate the spot where Princess Celestia was standing, making it look like she was bathed in sunlight. "Wow" Fluttershy gasped, as the other ponies gave similar exclamations. Twilight felt her eyes widen as Celestia squinted through the light, holding a hand up to block the beam. Almost instantly, the sunlight seemed to fade. Both principles exchanged a glance and Twilight could clearly see Luna raise an eyebrow and Celestia shrug innocently at her.

"Ah thought ya said human's couldn't control the sun" Applejack glanced at Twilight.

"They can't" Twilight replied, frowning thoughtfully. How did that happen? She wondered.

"Anyway" Celestia raised the microphone again, turning back to the assembled "As you are all aware, in just a few hours, Canterlot High will welcome the students of Crystal Prep Academy to join us in celebrating the spirit of excellence, sportsmanship, and fidelity, as we compete in the Equestrian Games!"

At this announcement, applause could be heard, but it was minimal and many students instead muttered angrily. Twilight caught at least a dozen students rolling their eyes. "They don't seem very excited" She noted to her twin.

"Yeah, well, I guess it's kinda hard to get excited about a competition you generally don't do well in" Her twin replied and Twilight noticed that both she and 'Sunset' suddenly looked uncomfortable.

Celestia continued, unfazed by the lukewarm reaction. "Since the games occur once every four years, I'm certain that you're all curious as to what occurs"

"You mean, other than us losing?!" A lone voice cut through the air and the girls glanced up to see Flash Sentry had risen to his feet nearby. The students sitting around him all nodded in agreement and the muttering continued. Both 'Twilight' and 'Sunset recoiled from this statement as if they had been slapped.

"What's wrong?" Twilight tried to ask, but her twin quickly shushed her.

Both principle looked annoyed at the interruption, but Celestia continued. "While it is true that Canterlot High does not have the best track record going into this year's games..."

"Ha! Try no record!" Another voice rang out and they saw Trixie rise from her seat. "CHS hasn't won the Equestrian Games even once!"

"Not even once?" Rainbow Dash repeated, looking horror-struck as unhappy muttering broke out across the gym. 'Twilight' and 'Sunset' shook their heads.

"She's right!" A third voice broke through the muttering and Twilight saw one of the Rockers, a boy with a red mohawk rise from his seat. "We can't beat a fancy school like Crystal Prep at anything! What's the point of having the games at all?" Snips and Snails who were sitting nearby, nodded their heads, as did most of the crowd.

"Naturally! Trixie refuses to participate in anything that does not give at least a chance of victory!" Trixie nodded at the boy, which set the audience mumbling again.

"Trixie?" Applejack gasped. "As in 'The Great and Powerful Trixie'?"

"Mh hmh" Twilight nodded, her eyes narrowing as Trixie smirked triumphantly before an angry look from Vice Principle Luna made her sit down again.

"I can see the ego of this one is just as big as the one we have back home" Rarity snorted and the others agreed.

"Ahem!" Principle Celestia loudly cleared her throat, also looking angry. As if in response to that, the room was suddenly flooded with beams of sunlight reflecting off the disco ball again, which caused the muttering to quickly subside, but many students still looked unhappy.

"How is she doin' that?" Applejack wondered, squinting through the bright sunlight.

"Good question" 'Sunset' replied, narrowing her eyes thoughtfully.

When the beams of sunlight had faded, Celestia resumed speaking, "I understand that many of you feel disappointed with our current performance record. Yet I feel it best to remind everyone that these games are about more than winning or losing. To that end, Vice Principle Luna and I have asked the Rainbooms to perform a song demonstrating what they believe the Equestrian Games stand for" As that, the student's voices became excited and many leaned forward in their seats, their unhappy frowns suddenly replaced with excited and eager smiles.

Feeling excited herself, Twilight twisted in her seat to face her friends and whispered to them "The Rainbooms are the band that all your counterparts are in"

"Our counterparts are in a band?" Rarity's eyes widened as they watched the principles descend from the stage.

"Mm-hmm" 'Cirrus' nodded. "And quite a popular one, based on what we've been hearing"

"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash squealed as the lights suddenly dimmed.

"Aaaaaaaaaaah, ooooooohhhhhh" A collection of voices suddenly fluttered through the air accompanied by what sounded like flute music. Smoke poured from underneath the base of the curtain and the crowd gave a collective gasp as a figure emerged from the cloud. It was a girl, but her head was down and her face masked in shadow. The crowd began to mutter, but the girl snapped out a hand and a loud "Shhhhhhhhhhh!" erupted from the loudspeakers, making many students jump and others giggle. The babble quickly fell silent as the music got louder.

"Good buildup" Twilight heard her twin comment.

"Na, Na, Na-Na-Na, Oh" Hidden voices chanted as the figure struck a pose and slowly raised one hand. "HA!" With a dramatic flourish, she snapped her fingers and the curtain began to rise, the figure spun on her heel and strode into the rising cloud of smoke, which dissipated, revealing five more figures standing on the darkened stage, lit from behind so their faces were in shadow, but Twilight felt herself smile as she recognized the silhouettes.

"Is that...them?" Applejack's voice sounded tense behind Twilight's head.

"Yes" Twilight nodded.

"Wow, great presentation!" Pinkie chirped, and the other girls agreed.

"Hey, you think we'll get a chance to meet them after the show?" Rainbow Dash whispered.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to hang with them." 'Twilight' replied.

"Yeah, like totally" 'Sunset' said in her accent, making Twilight giggle. I wonder if our Sunset could do that, she thought.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh, Ooooooooohhhhhh!" Twilight's thoughts were interrupted by the Rainbooms and she focused again on the stage.

From within the smoke cloud, the girl in the middle held up a microphone and Sunset's voice rang out through the gym "Equestrian Games!"

The words were followed by an explosion of lights and guitar music that opened into a fantastic beat that poured from the speakers and seemed to dive into Twilight's very soul. The lights in front came on, bathing the Rainbooms in color and allowing the assembled to get a good look at them. Much to Twilight's surprise, they had already ponied up. They all had pony ears and tails extending from their hair, 'Rainbow Dash' and 'Fluttershy' had wings, while Sunset and 'Rarity' had horns sticking out of their foreheads. As they sang, they struck various poses at points of the song, and Twilight was left to wonder of there was a hidden meaning behind them.

"We've come this far,

And we're not goin' back! (NO WAY!)

Prepare yourself,

cuz we're on the attack! (ATTACK!)

Won't have to find us,

we'll be tracking you down (RIGHT NOW!)

And when we're finished,

we'll be taking your crown!"

Twilight burst out laughing at that last line, remembering the event that had drawn her to Canterlot High in the first place, drawing a confused look from her counterpart.

"All the way (All the way!) All the way, to the Equestrian Games!"

Na, Na Na-Na-Na, Oh!

Na-Na, Let's go!"

As the chorus repeated itself, Twilight show a look at her friends and found them all staring at the Rainbooms with wide eyes. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie all had dropped jaws, while Fluttershy and Rarity had both clapped their hands over their mouths. Twilight giggled, the faced forward again as a loud "Hey!" echoed through the room. Her eyes widened to see the Rainbooms all pointing at her and she felt a surge of panic. Did they see her? But a second later that cried "Ho!" and pointed to the ceiling, and Twilight relaxed, realized that it was part of the song. "Hey!"Each girl assumed a pose and an individual light shone on each of them. Twilight realized that there was going to be a solo from each member. "Let's go!"

"We've studied hard and we came to win" Rainbow Dash opened, diving to her knees and sliding to the edge of the stage

"(Woah, oh!)"

"We're only tellin' ya once" Applejack continued, tossing up her hat, which landed back on her head as she sang.

"(Oh, oh!)"

"Our power comes from the inside out!" Rarity added, running a hand through her hair, making it and her tail flash in the light

"What you see is what you get" Fluttershy started, twirling like a ballerina, her tambourine held high

"But you've seen nothing yet!" Pinkie finished from the back, before slamming her drumsticks down, somehow creating a burst of light and color.

"All the way (All the way), All the way to the Equestrian Games!

Na, Na Na-Na-Na, Oh!

Na-Na, Let's go!"

"Wow" Twilight turned as Fluttershy spoke as the chorus repeated. The girl's eyes were shining. "They're amazing"

Twilight made to comment, but a flash of light drew her attention back to the front, and she saw that Sunset had stepped forward and now seemed to be enveloped in a halo of orange light.

"Crystal Prep thinks that they're the best!" She sang in a clear and powerful voice. her eyes closed.

"(Oh Oh!)" The others chanted in response

"But we know we can be better!" Sunset twisted her head, causing her tail to whip through the air.

"(Go Go!)"

"No we will not bow,

OUR TIME IS NOW!" The others sang along, their voices filling the gym.

"Wondercolts, Forever!

When we stand, together!

All the way!"

"ALL THE WAY!" Several students in the chairs and bleachers rose to their feat and yelled along, their actions causing the majority of the others to follow suit

"ALL THE WAY TO THE EQUESTRIAN GAMES!" The entire gym yelled."NA, NA, NA-NA-NA, OH. NA NA, LET'S GO!" Twilight was certain she felt frame of the bleachers shake.

"All the way!" Sunset began clapping her hands in time with the music

"All the Way!"

"ALL THE WAY TO THE EQUESTRIAN GAMES!" The gym echoed in reply and now thudded with the sound of many hands clapping. "NA, NA, NA-NA-NA, OH. NA NA, LET'S GO!"

"Na, Na, Na-Na-Na-Na! Wondercolt's United Together!" The Rainbooms began chanting, clapping their hands high over their heads

"Na, Na, Na-Na-Na-Na! Wondercolt's United Forever!" The rest of the gym quickly began to follow suit, many students were on their feet and those that weren't soon were as their chanting swelled to fill the entire gymnasium. Before Twilight realized it, she too was on her feet, along with her counterpart and 'Sunset', clapping and chanting along with the other students. After staring at them for a few moment,s the other girls rose to their feet and began clapping as well.

As the Rainbooms chanted, a group of figures in blue and while uniforms appeared and began throwing things out to the audience. Twilight's face lit up when she saw that they were the ear bands and tail belts that she and her friends had used in the cafeteria when she was trying to become princess of the Fall Formal. Many students scrambled to catch them as they were flung out and put them on, some helping others that were not quick enough to catch one themselves. Twilight glanced up to see that even the principles were wearing them, and were clapping in time with the music.

"ALL THE WAY (ALL THE WAY!)

ALL THE WAY, TO THE EQUESTRIAN GAMES!

NA, NA, NA-NA-NA, OH. NA NA, LET'S GO!"

As Twilight smiled at the scene unfolding, each of the girls suddenly became haloed in light. Twilight saw their eyes widen in what was clearly surprise, and even though they kept singing, she saw them glance uneasily each other. As they repeated the chorus one last time, she saw Sunset glance towards someone off-stage and urgently make a slashing motion across her throat. As they came to the last word of the chorus, there was a loud bang and confetti and streamers suddenly rained down on the crowd, leading to exclamations of delight. At the same time, the curtain quickly dropped down, hiding the Rainbooms from view. As the music dimmed, and the audience realized the song was over, the exclamations swelled into thunderous applause. Many students were cheering and loudly whistling. Several were jumping up and down like Pinkie Pie was now.

"WOW! WOO HOO!" Pinkie screamed loud enough for the whole gym to hear. "THAT WAS AMAZING!"

"Cotton Candy! Shhhh!" Twilight quickly shushed her friend. "We're supposed to be undercover, remember?" She glanced around to see if anybody had noticed and cringed when she saw the pink-haired girl glancing up at them again with a confused look on her face. She smiled at her and the girl turned away again.

"Sorry. Woo Hoo! That was amazing!" Pinkie repeated, but kept her voice down a couple octaves and switched to her new accent as many students began to depart from the gym, most were talking excitedly, many still wearing their Wondercolt bands and belts.

"I have to agree" Rarity nodded, winking at the same boy from before as he passed by again, making him blush and dart after his friends. "That was incredible." The other girls nodded in agreement.

"Uh girls, heads up!" 'Sunset' suddenly warned, glancing towards the stage. They all looked up to see Principle Celestia heading their way, a somewhat annoyed look on her face. Twilight braced herself, but the woman stopped in front of them, but the principle instead spoke to the pink-haired girl.

"Well Sunrise, did you enjoy that?" She asked, her frown fading slightly as she spoke.

"Oh my gosh!" The girl squealed, rising to her feet. "That was amazing! I've never seen a school so motivated!"

"Well" Celestia chuckled and Twilight thought she saw a tiny blush appear on her pale cheek. "I can't take much credit. We mainly have the Rainbooms to thank for such an inspired...rally..." Celestia's voice gave out as she noticed Twilight and the others sitting a little ways up and her eyes widened in what was clearly surprise, her mouth dropped open.

"Uh oh" Twilight felt her twin stiffen beside her and felt the urge to cringe as well. Under the Principle's gaze, Twilight suddenly felt stripped of her disguise. Did Celestia recognize her?

---

Meanwhile:

Backstage behind the curtain, the Rainbooms slowly sank back down to the ground and the auras that covered their bodies faded, along with their ears, wings, horns, and tails.

"Aw yeah! That was awesome!" 'Rainbow Dash' crowed as she unstrapped her guitar and set it carefully on the floor.

"It sure was!" 'Pinkie' agreed, twirling her drumsticks in her hands.

"We really came together, didn't we?" 'Rarity' commented as she checked her appearance in her compact mirror.

"Yeah, but what was up with the end?" 'Applejack' asked. "Where did that surge of magic come from?"

"I was wondering about that too" 'Fluttershy' agreed, looking a little uneasy.

Everybody looked at Sunset, who flinched as memories of her dream came back to her. "Sorry girls, I'm just as puzzled as you are" Sunset admitted. "My testing the other day didn't really confirm anything. It may have come from us playing our instruments, or it may have come from something entirely different"

"Or maybe you just can't figure it out" Sunset's eyes narrowed as a dark voice whispered in her head.

"I'll bet it's because were so awesome!" 'Rainbow Dash' said at the same time, smirking.

"Maybe" Sunset rubbed her chin. "I mean, of course we're awesome" She hastily added, upon seeing everyone looking at her. "But I kinda think there's more to it than that, right?"

"It does seem a little random" 'Rarity' admitted. "It only seems to happen when we play as a group. At least, it's never happened to me when I'm practicing by myself, how about you?" She glanced around at the other girls, who all shook their heads or shrugged their shoulders.

"Whatever the reason may be" The Rainbooms looked up to see Vice Principle Luna approaching, a serious look on her face. "We would appreciate you girls getting a handle on this"

"What do ya mean?" 'Applejack' asked.

"Principle Celestia and I would prefer to keep magic as far away from the Equestrian Games as possible. Canterlot High is more spirited than ever, and we do not want that new-found spirit to be marred by accusations of cheating" Luna narrowed her eyes as she spoke.

'Rarity' scoffed loudly "We don't need magic to defeat those Hoity-Toity Shadowbolts!" She exclaimed, and the other girls were quick to agree.

"Uh huh!

"Aw yeah!"

"That's right!"

"You said it!"

Vice Principle Luna nodded, as if satisfied, but her face did not lose its frown. "Still, the Equestrian Games are serious business, particularly this year's games. We do not want any surprises, especially the kind that might cause us to forfeit" She empathized her opinion on this by slapping a fist against her palm. The girls nodded, signalling they understood. Luna then turned to Sunset. "Sunset Shimmer, you came here from a world of magic. Do you think you can get to the bottom of our magical development?"

"I'll do my best" Sunset smiled at her.

"No you won't" Sunset felt her smile fade as she heard Sunspot's voice whisper in her mind. She tried to shut it out, but her inner demon's voice echoed through her head. "You will try, but you will fail. You will always fail"

"Good" Luna nodded and turned to go, then suddenly paused. "Oh, but before you work on that, my sister would like to see you. She's out by the bleachers right now" Before anyone could say anything else, Luna turned and walked away, but Sunset could have sworn she saw a smile appear on the woman's face before she turned away.

"OK, does anyone have any guesses what the events for the games are gonna be?" Rainbow spoke up, diverting Sunset's attention away from Luna.

"Well, with the name 'Equestrian Games', I'm guessin' something with horses will be involved." Applejack suggested.

"I don't know" Fluttershy argued. "I overhead Professor Cheerilee talking with Professor Doodle and they mentioned something about an academic portion to the games as well." Fluttershy suddenly shivered. "That means it could be anything"

"Anything?" Rarity gasped. "How will I ever pick the right outfit?"

Pinkie suddenly giggled. "Ooooh, imagine if Princess Twilight and her pony friends were here to watch us compete in the Equestrian Games! How weird would that be?!" Pinkie laughed out loud.

"That would be interesting" Applejack agreed, chuckling a little. The other girls agreed.

"Well, since all six of us will be competing, I suggest we try to find out what the events are gonna be and come up with a strategy" Rainbow Dash suggested. "You girls in?"

"I am!"

"Sure"

"Count me in"

"Okie Dokie!"

Sunset frowned. "I'd like to help, but I think I'd better go see what Celestia needs me for. I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

"Okay" Pinkie chirped. "But it's probably nothing to worry about" Sunset felt her face flush, was her discomfort that noticeable?

"Thanks Pinkie" Sunset smiled before turning to move around the curtain.

"Nothing to worry about?" Sunspot's voice made Sunset wince. "We'll see about that" Sunset shuddered as her inner demon's chuckle echoed in her head.

---

And Cut!

Well, we're back where we started before I decided to re-write everything, and I think the first few chapters are a lot better now, don't you?

What did you think of the Rainbooms' performance? I combined the Friendship Games opening song with the rally song that Rainbow Dash sings in the movie. I felt that those two songs just went well together.

It looks like things are beginning to get interesting at Canterlot High. What was up with the light show at the end of the Rainbooms' song, and what was with those conveniently-timed sunbeams? Is this more Equestrian magic, or is there something...else...at work here?

Will Principle Celestia unmask Twilight and her Ponyville friends? And what will happen when the students from Crystal Prep arrive? Stay tuned to find out!

FYI: my schedule is going to be a bit crammed for the next few weeks, so I'm not sure how often I'll be updating. Please bear with me, as this story is finally taking off!

Until Next Time!