"The brothers are the Yo-kai?" Jibanyan paced back and forth in Pinkie Pie's bedroom, walking around the legs of each of the Rainbooms as he did so. "But then, why in the world would they disguise themselves as humans? Wouldn't it just make more sense to stay hidden and inspirit everyone anyway?"

"This goes far beyond the Dazzlings, girls." Pony Twilight looked down at her Yo-kai Watch. "As long as the Puppet Brothers have inspirited the girls, their spell can't be broken. The Magic of Friendship will do absolutely nothing against them!"

"Honestly, I still don't know what you think is wrong with the brothers." Fluttershy gave Twilight an innocent smile as she watched her sift through the medals in her Yo-kai Medallium. "Sure, they've managed to get the entire school on their side, but they haven't done anything evil, have they?"

"Fluttershy! What are you saying?!" Twilight jolted at Fluttershy's response. "They inspiritied the ENTIRE student body! There's no possible way that you can still think they're all good boys!"

"Like we said, darling. You're just jealous that we made it to them first and you didn't." Rarity's brows lowered and she stood upright, her friends close by her side. "Honestly. I wasn't expecting you to come back to this world in the first place, but to come back and be absolutely rude to the nicest and most harmless boys in school? How utterly revolting!"

"Rarity! What's gotten into you?!" Twilight asked as she watched the other Rainbooms stand up together and stand by her side. "Why can you still think that they're good, even when they've pretty much captured everyone else in the process?!"

"I agree with Twilight. You're all still yet to see that they're bad." Sunset Shimmer leapt up from the bed and stood by Twilight's side. "And if you want to disagree with her, then you'll have to disagree with me as well."

"What are we possibly going to gain out of this stand-off, Twilight?" Whisper looked at the furled brows and balled-up fists of the other girls. "They're obviously still smitten about the Puppet Brothers, even when they're not even following them."

"Nyeah! They're getting more defensive than I do whenever someone bad mouths Next HarMEOWny!" Jibanyan jumped up onto Twilight's shoulders. "What's wrong with them?"

"There's nothing wrong with us!" Applejack lashed out at Jibanyan, getting right up in his face. "If anything, there's somethin' wrong with you, Twilight, and Sunset!"

"The Puppet Brothers are innocent, and you're both trying to villify them!" Pinkie Pie stomped up to Twilight and Sunset. "I thought you knew better by now!"

Suddenly, a short purple flash engulfed the room, and the Rainbooms all fell to the ground and crumpled up, like puppets that had lost their strings. They didn't let any breaths escape their mouths, and didn't even groan or scream in pain as they all fell down onto the floor and furniture around them.

"What happened to them?" Sunset Shimmer asked as she reached down to Rarity and lifted her limp arms up.

"I'm nyot really sure." Jibanyan rubbed his head as he leapt off of Twilight and rubbed his paws against Human Twilight's face. "Humans don't nyormally do this, do they, Whisper?"

"Not from my knowledge..." Whisper floated down and pulled Rainbow Dash's head up. "What could be going on with them?"

All of a sudden, Rainbow Dash groaned and twitched in Whisper's grasp, and she rapidly opened her eyes up, revealing that they had turned pure purple. She let out a low-pitched snarl as a demonic smile appeared on her face and gnashed her teeth at Whisper, making him yelp and drop her.

The other Rainbooms slowly opened their eyes too and let out small groans of their own. Their eyes had also become pure purple, and once they were all standing upright, they hung their heads and shuddered, their fingers all curled up as low breaths escaped their mouths.

"What's going on?" Twilight backed up against the wall as she saw the girls get back on their feet."

"Twilight Sparkle." Pinkie Pie spoke in a voice devoid of happiness, and rather one filled with malice and cruelty. She let a wicked laugh fly as she threw her head skyward, causing her bubbly hair to deflate and hang right over her face. "How funny. You came to the human world just to die? And here I thought you would've met your end in Equestria, like the hero you really are."

"Your plan to save this world backfired big time, Twilight." Rainbow Dash droned as she slowly stumbled towards Twilight and Sunset like a zombie. "Now you're going to feel the full force of his wrath."

"His wrath?" Sunset Shimmer turned towards Twilight as she watched the other girls advance in on the two of them. "Twilight? What's wrong with the girls."

"Under the authority of the Puppet Brothers, and that of their king..." Fluttershy smiled and slowly raised her head to face her targets.

"YOU TWO ARE COMING WITH US!" The Rainbooms all chorused out with evil smiles on their faces and their eyes glowing bright purple as they charged in on Twilight and Sunset.

Sunset took up a defensive stance and Twilight readied the Yo-kai Watch, but the split second after they did that, they were all held down by the girls and slammed together. Rainbow Dash darted off with her super-speed power and ran around Sunset and Twilight, wrapping them both up in a strong rope that had been quadruple knotted and coiled them up neck to toe. They were completely incapable of escape.

"Girls?! What's gotten into you?!" Sunset asked as she looked deep into the girls eyes, seeing their malicious grins get wider and wider.

The Rainbooms all cackled evilly and hoisted Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer up onto their shoulders. They saw Whisper and Jibanyan try to cut the girls free, but Human Twilight used her telekinesis to throw them against the ground and crush them with the bed, turning them both into hovering blue flames, indicating that they had been defeated in battle.

"Your Yo-kai friends can't save you now!" Fluttershy grinned as she watched Twilight and Sunset struggle and shake in vain as they tried to get the ropes off. "You're going to meet face to face with the king, and he is personally going to make you want to kill yourself with all he's going to put you through."

"And as for you, Sunset Shimmer." Human Twilight looked her friend deep in the eyes and slid her finger across her chin. "You'll be joining the Puppet Brothers' entourage, just like we all have. What's your poison? Sock puppets, string puppets, or hypnosis?"

"Get your hands off of me!" Sunset gritted her teeth as she tried to break free of the ropes, but she was merely making the ropes tighter and tighter the more she struggled. "Girls! Wake up! This isn't you!"

"Oh, but it is us..." Rarity chuckled deviously as purple inspiriting flames appeared around her and the other Rainbooms. "We've been reborn by the darkness. And soon, you will be too!"

"No..." Twilight teared as she watched the girls carry her out of the bedroom, down the stairs, and out of the house. "No! Girls! Girls, wake up!"

"This isn't like you! Stop this! You're better than this!" Sunset thrashed about in the ropes as the girls continued to move, unfazed by her pleas and cries. "TWILIGHT! RARITY! PINKIE! FLUTTERSHY! APPLEJACK! RAINBOW DASH!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Sunset and Twilight screamed together into the night sky as the girls continued to move.

The Rainbooms and their captives eventually arrived at the place where they had originally battled the Dazzlings in the Battle of the Bands, only now, the stage had been covered up by a massive circus tent that reached high into the sky. There were posters draped all around the outer walls, showing pictures of Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and the Puppet Brothers all together smiling and waving to their audience.

Around the big top's interior and exterior, there were all of the other students from Canterlot High; all with the exact same evil smiles and purple eyes that the Rainbooms had on them at that moment. They were busy playing with sock puppets, string puppets, and were using little pocket watches to try out their hypnosis skills on each other. As soon as they all saw the Rainbooms walking with Sunset and Twilight, they all ran inside of the tent and took their seats on the rows around them.

The Rainbooms carried Twilight and Sunset inside of the tent, where they all saw a massive set with giant red curtains lined with gold silk, with similarly coloured tassels at each side. The frame around the red drapes was dark purple, like the inspiriting flames that had consumed the students. There were also portraits of Sock, Mind, and String Puppet together on the curtains.

"You sit here." Rainbow Dash threw Twilight and Sunset onto the front row and sat down beside her, along with the rest of the Rainbooms. "You're very lucky, you know. The Puppet Brothers don't often regard one single person as special."

"However, he saw the seven of us as super-special, and very beneficial to the king's plans to overthrow all worlds and make the denizens of each world suffer." Rarity showed Twilight and Sunset their geodes once again. "And as soon as that weak little horsey is out of the way, he's going to show us how to use our new gems for evil instead of good!"

"Girls..." Twilight began to cry as she watched the Rainbooms focus their attention on the stage. "Why would you do this?!"

"Because good has won on this world for far too long!" Pinkie Pie pulled out a knife and brought it up to Twilight's neck. "It's time for the forces of darkness and evil to win for once, and the king will be just the one to start this glorious new age!"

"Forget it, Twilight. They're being brainwashed by the Puppet Brothers. There's no point in trying to reason with them." Sunset looked back at Twilight as they saw the house lights around the stage dim. "The only way we'll be getting them free is if we defeat the brothers and save our world."

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, humans of all ages!" String Puppet declared as the curtains began to open on the stage. "Tonight, let us bedazzle and wow you, as we blow your mind with incredible acts that your world has never even seen before. A one-night-only performance that's guaranteed to wrap you up, put you under, and make you all dance in glee.

"And now. Without further ado, it's time to welcome tonight's stars of the show. The Yo-kai with the know, the brothers who will surely and truely go all the way to glory!" Spotlights crashed down on the Puppet Brothers, revealing them all to the crowd. "Sock! Mind! And me, String!"

"The Puppet Brothers!" They all declared, bowing as the mind-controlled crowd cheered for them and stomped their feet while clapping their hands.

Twilight and Sunset watched as their fellow students all cheered and applauded the brothers, their emotions unchanging as they watched the lights come back on, allowing the brothers to perform their first act.

"Now, we're going to need a couple of volunteers for this first little act of ours." String stepped forward and examined the crowd, humming to himself as he dragged his finger across the potential crowd to find his helping hands. He looked down at Twilight and Sunset, who were trying to make one more desperate attempt to get away. "I think we have a winner! Let's get some lights down on these wonderful ladies!"

The spotlights illuminated Sunset and Twilight, and they were once more carried up against their will by the Rainbooms. They were thrown onto the stage and untied, only to be held down at their ankles and wrists by the very girls that had tied them up in the first place.

"Twinkle Star! How lovely to see you again!" String Puppet slowly walked up to Twilight and gently played with her chin, wiping it with the nail of his right middle finger. "Though, I wish it were on more favourable terms."

"You know, Twilight Sparkle, it's very rude to keep secrets from people, especially from us." Sock Puppet whispered into Twilight's ears and used one of his sock puppets to bite Twilight on the nose, with actual teeth stretching out as he did so. "We Yo-kai don't take very kindly to tricking the tricksters."

"What do you want with us, Puppet Brothers?" Sunset Shimmer tried headbutting Mind Puppet away, but she was held back by Applejack and had her head bent backwards to the point where it would almost snap off of her neck. She let out a tiny yelp as she heard something inside of her crack.

"Oh, nothing. Just an audience." Mind Puppet clicked his fingers, causing the Rainbooms to throw Sunset to the ground, where she was immediately picked up by him and the other Puppet Brothers. "Now then. Let's play a little game. It's called 'What Puppet'! You simply have to choose which puppet fanatic you want to be."

"Be it string, sock, or mind puppet, there are no wrong answers to this quiz, Sunset Shimmer." Sock stepped forward with String, surrounding Sunset and ensuring that she couldn't escape. He made his sock puppet say, "Well, unless you say freedom or neither, because those are both wrong answers."

"Funny thing about Twilight Sparkle, you know. She lets the rest of the Spirits of Harmony fight her battles for her because she can't independently win against the darkness." String Puppet smirked as he looked down at Sunset and rubbed her chin. "Pretty pathetic for the Princess of Friendship, wouldn't you agree?"

"Brothers! Stop!" Twilight leaned towards them and Sunset. "You've got me now. You can release Sunset. This is between you and me! Leave my friends out of this!"

"But that's exactly the thing, Twilight Sparkle. The king wants you to SUFFER, not to hopelessly fight back." String Puppet gave her a wicked glance. "And what better way than to make you suffer, by having your own friends turn against you?"

"Well, Sunset? Time's almost up!" Mind Puppet sing-songed as he looked into Sunset's eyes. "Sock, string, or mind puppet? We need an answer from you now."

"None of them!" Sunset shouted, hearing the crowd gasp at her words.

"Fine then. We'll do this the hard way." String Puppet gave an evil grin and grabbed onto the shoulders of his fellow brothers. His eyes glowed a bright shade of black, making the crowd cheer as his gaze met Sunset's.

"SUNSET! NO!" Twilight cried as she watched Sunset jolt and jiggle around as the Puppet Brothers cast purple inspiriting flames on her too, making her fall to the ground and black out. When she saw what they had done to her friend, she struggled and strained against her friends one last time, gritting her teeth harder and harder as she watched the brothers walk up.

"I'll repeat the question." String Puppet's voice was much calmer once his eyes returned to normal and he walked back up to the now-inspirited Sunset. "Sock, string, or mind?"

"String puppets forever..." Sunset groaned in a low voice, reaching out for a marionette that String pulled out from thin air. She grabbed onto the frame and shook it around, making her new toy dance around on the strings. She was completely mesmerized by the puppet that she didn't even notice the brothers walk away.

Twilight began to glow a rainbow-colour as she fought against the grip of her friends. She groaned and shook her body erratically as she tried to break loose of her confinement. She eventually glowed brighter and brighter to the point where everyone in the tent had to shield their eyes.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Twilight screamed as loudly as she could, erupting with rainbow light, knocking the Rainbooms against the walls of the stage and audience bleachers. She was enveloped by all of the colours of the rainbow as she reached over to her Yo-kai Watch and pressed the bubble dome down.

"What the—" was all that String could say as Twilight transformed the Yo-kai Watch into its EX form.

"Battle perimiters met! Summoning Yo-kai!" Twilight raised her watch high into the air as the five extra Yo-kai Medal slots portruded from the watch and the clock faced turned into the tiny computer screen. The six medals that she wanted materialized in her hand by rainbow-coloured beams of light, and she spared no time in slamming them into her Yo-kai Watch. "Yo-kai fighters! Roll call!" She shouted as even more rays of light burst out of the watch, spawning the Yo-kai that she would battle alongside with.

"Blazion!"

"Noway!"

"Roughraff!

"Rhyth!"

"Pandle!"

"Buchinyan!"

"You may have taken Canterlot High, but I swear on my life, and the lives of these strong Yo-kai heroes before me, you will NOT take me or Equestria!" Twilight took up a battle posture and grew pony ears, a tail, hair extensions, and wings. She grabbed the stylus for her Yo-kai Watch EX and twirled it around in her fingers before tightly clutching it inbetween her thumb and index finger.

"A Yo-kai Watch?!" Mind Puppet's eyes went wide as he looked at the device on Twilight's wrist, and the Yo-kai that she had summoned. "But that's impossible!"

"Nyot impossible!" Buchinyan decreed as he jabbed one of his paws at the Puppet Brothers. "Indeed. Twilight is the chosen one, and I'm quite glad to be serving as her faithful butler for this battle!"

"Fine! We'll just have to resort to Plan B!" String Puppet clicked his fingers, causing all of the students that they had brainwashed to run onto the stage along side them.

A purple mist descended on the students, transforming them as soon as they were enshrouded by it. The ones that Mind Puppet had ensnared now held purple crystals on tiny strings. The humans that Sock Puppet controlled were now wearing sock puppets on both of their hands. As for the ones controlled by String Puppet, they had been turned into life-sized puppets, with wooden jaws, and strings poking out of every part of their body.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were wearing sock puppets, while Pinkie Pie and Human Twilight were holding the crystals. Applejack, Rarity, and Sunset Shimmer had been turned into real puppets as well, and had blank expressions on their faces as they eyed up Twilight and her team of Yo-kai.

"I was hoping not to use our true forms on such a weak little world like this, but you have forced our hands." String Puppet looked at his brothers. "Mind! Sock! Battle forms! Now!"

String, Sock, and Mind Puppet all took in dark purple energy, causing their eyes to turn shades of blood red as they were blanketed in black cocoons of energy. They flew up into the air and grew bigger and bigger in size, to the point where they were all roughly ten times as tall as the average Canterlot High student.

The cocoons burst, and the Puppet Brothers revealed their true forms. They all had archaic markings on their bodies and had shed their clothes, revealing massive eight-packs underneath as they flexed their claws. Their feet had become massive and all of their finger and toenails had transformed into purple talons which glistened in the stage lights. They all grew silver tails which wagged as they eyed up Twilight Sparkle, and their eyes had transformed into red with black pupils. They were also all wearing scarves made out of blue hair, which all draped down over their bodies.

String Puppet had strings hanging out of every part of his body, with different weapons attached to each different string. Such things ranging from shurikens, naginatas, and katanas, to guns, lances, and many more. He had a massive pair of steel wings that looked very identical to a pair of giant scissors ready to cut whatever got close to them.

Sock Puppet's sock puppets had become manifest, and had grown their own eyes, mouths, and teeth as they looked down on Twilight Sparkle and her Yo-kai. They were both looking at each other and laughing sadistically as Sock cast a wicked grin down on her. There were more and more sock puppets that had taken this form and were flying around Sock, ready to assist him if he needed it.

Mind Puppet had grown a massive pair of symmetrical wings which glowed all different colours. The lights spun and danced in hypnotic patterns and didn't stop no matter what. He was now holding a massive shield with a hypnosis spiral design planted on it. He twirled the shield around a bit and drew a giant crystal sword from the centre of it, brandishing it in front of Twilight, and slamming it down before her and her Yo-kai friends.

"Now, Twilight Sparkle." String Puppet spoke, but his voice was distorted and double-toned as he swung his arms, commanding the students that he had transformed to take up battle postured. "It is time for the grand finale. The greatest puppet show that this world, and all worlds will ever see!"

Twilight gulped and looked up at the brothers' true forms. "At this point, I think I PREFER the Dazzlings over this!"

Author's Notes:

Fun Fact: This was originally going to be one Boss Yo-kai known as Puppetyrant. He was going to be based in Canterlot and be involved in a number of kidnapping acts where all of the Canterlot Ponies involved would be turned into giant marionettes. He was going to go after Princess Celestia and Luna, but Twilight would've battled and stopped him in the throne room. It was only when people suggested that I input the Equestria Girls universe that Puppetyrant became the Puppet Brothers.

Also, similarly to how Kin and Gin fight in Yo-kai Watch 2, the Puppet Brothers need to be defeated ALL AT ONCE, otherwise they will just get back up and heal themselves, meaning that the fight will never end.

Let me know what you thought of these authors notes as well as the chapter in the comments section below, and I hope you all look forward to the next part.