Author's Notes:

Alright, so there's gonna be some music in this chapter. I know, there are some who think it's a cheap way to try to enhance a story, and I would agree for the most part, BUT... I just wrote a story of over a million words, and I think I've earned the right to indulge myself a little bit. And if you want to skip the songs, go right ahead.
If you do want to hear them, I might suggest opening the MUSIC links in a new window, that way you can keep reading while they play–but I've also found that on some mobile devices it can act a little weird, so you can go about it however you like.

Also, I have to give a BIG shout-out to YouTuber Krzysztof Słowikowski, who is the individual who recorded these songs. Krzysztof does excellent metal covers of older video games, with a focus on the Mega Man series in particular. I discovered his videos around the same time I started watching Equestria Girls, so the two things were always married together for me, and it was, of course, inevitable that I would envision The Rainbooms playing these songs. His work is absolutely spotless, and if you're into that kind of thing, go subscribe to his channel!

Enjoy!

Song composers: (in order of appearance)

Kenji Yamazaki
Naoto Tanaka
Yu Shimoda
Takuya Miyawaki
Naoto Tanaka
Naoshi Mizuta

Chapter 159

“Fuck!” I was able to catch my balance after a few steps, and then I glanced back at the wire --one of many strewn across the floor-- that I had tripped over on my way across the stage.

“Are you OK, Goldie?” Fluttershy asked placing a hand on my shoulder as I brushed my shirt off, trying to look casual, like I didn’t just make myself look like a doofus.

Maybe I should have just stood outside with the others.

“Actually I, uh…” I paused to clear my throat as I glanced around to see who else saw my blunder. “I twisted my ankle a little; it kinda hurts now.”

“Oh dear. You poor boy,” she replied, leaning in to plant a soft peck on my cheek. “Maybe me and Rare can look after that later for you.”

With a little smile, I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into my side. “Sounds good. So, as I was saying: how are you doing?”

The shy girl glanced down at the tambourine in her hand and then out at the small sliver of crowd she could see from between the massive amps that lined the rear of the stage. “Ohh… nervous. It’s been a long time since we played for a crowd--especially one this big.”

“You’ll do fine, Flutters,” I said as I placed my lips on her temple, right next to the pink butterfly painted around her eye. “You’ve done it before; you can you it again. If anything, your experience at the ‘Us’ base should make it easier than ever.”

“Hm. Maybe. I won’t be singing, though.”

I looked over at her, brows furrowed. “God, your fears are so oddly specific.”

She gave a little shrug and a smirk. “They don’t call me Fluttershy for nothing.”

“HEY!” Dash’s voice burst out from across the stage. “Who’s fucking with the wires?”

“Uh… I dunno,” I said, releasing the shy girl to make myself scarce.

It was the night of the fundraiser, the Battle of the Bands: Part two. Several weeks had passed since our late-night meeting with the Princesses, which was how long it took to organize the event and to get some songs together to play.

The girls’ contact with the sirens had been minimal in order to prevent musical cross contamination, so, as a result, they had no idea what The Dazzlings were going to play --aside from wild guesses at what their attempt at metal would sound like-- nor did they know how they were going to sound with only three musicians. Sunset did allow them the option of recruiting extra members, up to a maximum of six to match the Rainbooms, but they were in the dark as to whether they chose to take advantage of that option or not.

Conversely, The Dazzlings had no idea what The Rainbooms were going to play.

I, on the other hand, after being chosen to be the only one able to talk to both groups in order to communicate important issues, had no idea what either band was playing, as I was not allowed in any jam sessions on either side.

“Here it is,” Dash continued as she bent down to plug the wire back in to the bank of amps, which I had inadvertently pulled out moments earlier. “How’s that, Vinyl?” she asked, turning to the spiky, blue-haired behind the mixing board and large, round shades, who simply replied with a thumbs-up. “Sweet!”

The rainbow-haired girl turned to face the rest of her band mates, her blue guitar slung over her shoulder. “OK, you guys ready?”

The rest of the band --Sunset with her orange flying-V, Applejack with her black bass, Rarity with her white keytar, Pinkie with a pair of drumsticks and Fluttershy with her tambourine-- all gave a confirming nod.

“Then let’s head out and meet the crowd!” Dash waved them along, leading the way between the sparkling, blue curtains that led to the center of the stage.

A chorus of cheers erupted from the amphitheatre when they saw the colourfully-dressed ladies disperse onto the stage, their clothes bright and flashy, the legs of their tights clad in different colours, their hair lines with black and silver highlights, their faces painted with colourful symbols that reflected each of their personas.

The stage itself was bathed in an array of bright colours by a row of powerful spotlights, backed by the massive concrete clamshell that stood tall in the background, ready to focus the sound of the upcoming showing directly onto the crowd. In the center of the stage was a space roughly fifteen feet wide; on the left stood Pinkie Pie’s drum set and the stands and wiring for the other girls’ instruments, and on the right stood a stand with a blue bass guitar of the Fender variety resting on it, along with a rather large drum set and a bank of keyboards that surrounded a small bench on three sides.

The more showman-like members of the band, like Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, approached the front of the stage to greet and wave to the crowd, which, as predicted, was made up of the many familiar faces of former Wondercolts, as well as many of Rarity’s younger clientele from over the years.

“Heeeeeey!” Rainbow Dash’s voice could be heard as she pointed at the center front row, which consisted of Maud Pie, Big Mac and Cheerilee, as well as Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, and finally, Princess Twilight and her light-skinned, purple and turquoise-haired companion, Starlight Glimmer. “How’re you guys doing!?” Dash asked, to which the three young sisters replied with a loud howl.

The more reserved members of the band hung back, like Fluttershy, who stood, hands folded, next to the drums while Applejack adjusted her bass straps, and made sure the patch cord was plugged securely into the wireless amp box strapped to her side.

A low-volume beat track began to play as the noise of the crowd died down, a pre-show appetiser courtesy of the DJ Scratch while the bands got situated on stage.

I stood behind the scenes, arms folded as I watched the blue-haired DJ bob her head to the beat, her fingers dancing over the missing board as a flashy-dressed Twilight Sparkle stood next to me, scanning wildly through a series of screens on her phone.

“You gonna be able to handle all this?” I asked, watching the somewhat flustered nerd, who quickly looked up at me in response.

After staring at me through a pair of pink lenses, wrapped in thick, sparkling frames for a moment, she looked back down at her phone. “I’ll be fine. I’m just organising; there’s a lot to go over before things get started.”

I nodded and looked out to the stage. Then I cleared my throat. “You know the girls are on stage already, right?”

Twilight looked up from her phone again, eyes wide. “Oh shoot,” she said, placing a hand to her ear. “Dazzlings, this is your cue.”

Out on stage, the Rainbooms turned to face the right side of the stage upon noticing the sudden drop in noise from the crowd; up the stairs on the far right climbed the three sisters led by Adagio, dressed much more regally than the punk-like attire of their opponents. Their hair was styled scantly different than the norm, but their outfits struck an obvious 1940’s vibe, albeit modernized significantly with lower necklines and higher skirt hems, along with a pair of tall boots rounding out the bizarre, but strangely alluring motif.

Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom became quite still when their eyes briefly met with the orange and purple-haired sirens, but a look of relief quickly washed over them when Sonata stepped on stage and greeted them with a smile and a coy wave, which they returned somewhat timidly.

The crowd as a whole remained fairly quiet during the siren’s entrance; a few boos and jeers could even be heard from farther back in the darkness of the rear seats. This prompted Sunset to glance over at them, feeling empathetic toward the reactions that their previous reputations had garnered, and she suddenly felt the need to change the mood, lest they become discouraged in their reformation.

She knew herself how this felt, all too well.

Facing the crowd, Sunset began to wave her hands upward, signalling the crowd to give a warmer welcome. Rainbow Dash quickly caught onto this, and after pointing at the sirens, clapped her hands above her head. It wasn’t until Pinkie joined in as well that the crowd began to react, sending an avalanche of cheers rolling toward the stage.

The Rainbooms faced the sirens with a collective smile, prompting Sonata to return he smile, along with a thumbs-up to her friend Pinkie, who she hadn’t seen in weeks due to prepping for the show.

Aria, looking entirely indifferent, simply turned and headed toward the rear of the stage to approach the keyboards. She stepped over the bench at the center and sat, picking up a pair of large headphones and hanging them around her neck before fiddling with the switches on the center bank of keys.

Sunset, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie approached Adagio and Sonata.

“Hey guys,” Sunset greeted, resting her hands on her guitar. “Long time, no see.”

“The gesture is appreciated,” Adagio replied, “but unnecessary. By the end of this show, we all know who the crowd will be cheering for.”

“Hell yeah, we do,” Dash fired back.

“We just figured you deserved an even entrance,” Sunset explained, to which Adagio raised her hand, eyes closed.

“Entrances mean nothing. It’s the performance that truly matters when all is said and done,” said the siren.

Sighing, Sunset leaned in close, smirking smugly. “Yeah… it’s called ‘gratitude.’ You should try it sometime.”

Eyes narrowed, Adagio sneered at the red-head as she retreated. “I know what gratitude is,” she replied, tight-jawed.

In the meantime, Sonata had made her way over to the stand to pluck the bass guitar from it. After throwing the strap over her shoulder, she reached the short cord around her back to connect it to the wireless amp on her belt.

Pinkies eyes lit up when she saw this. “Whoa! You’re playing bass tonight, Notty!?”

“Heck yeah, P!” Sonata replied, reaching up for a high-five.

Pinkie returned the gesture and her hand together with Sonata’s. “That’s so cool! Is there anything you can’t play?” The party-girl turned to face Adagio next while Sonata placed a finger to her bottom lip to consider the question. “What are you playing?” she asked, finding herself suddenly quite curious when Adagio reached into her pocket.

Under the curious watch of the three Rainbooms, the siren produced a pair of fingerless leather gloves and began to slip them on. After pulling the Velcro traps tight, she brought her hands together loudly before reaching behind her back to pull something from the rear of her belt.

It was a pair of drumsticks.

Pinkie gasped noisily. “You play the drums!?”

“No, these are for eating really big sushi,” Adagio sassed, rolling her eyes.

“From WHERE!?”

Adagio sighed. “It was a joke.”

“Oh.” Pinkie furrowed her brows. “Wait a minute… that seems like kind of a weird position for you--you know, since you’re the leader and all. I kinda figured you would be on lead guitar or something.”

“On the contrary, it is the perfect position for me,” Adagio replied. “The drums are the true lead; they set the beat, the speed at which the song is played. They are the foundation on which the music is built. That has been, and always will be, my role in this group, and with my sisters.”

“Wow! Did you hear that, Dashie!?” Pinkie exclaimed. “I’ve been the leader of the Rainbooms all along!”

“Yyyyyeah… no,” Dash replied flatly before facing Adagio with a dubious look. “Look, that’s all well and good, but you do realise that the theme tonight is metal, right? That’s gonna be kiiiiinda hard for you guys to pull off without a guitarist.”

Adagio arched a brow. “Who says we don’t have one?”

Sunset and Rainbow Dash glanced at one another.

“Are you saying you’ve recruited someone?” Sunset asked, facing the siren again.

Adagio shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“Well where are they?” Dash asked. “The show’s gonna be starting soo--“

“Hey guys!” a male voice said, coming from the same right-hand staircase that the Dazzlings entered on.

The Rainbooms all faced that direction to find a young man with spiky, blue hair and a full beard, wearing a pair of tattered jeans and a white T-shirt under a black jacket standing halfway up the steps. Slung over his shoulder was the strap of a red guitar with a white pick guard.

“WHAT!? Haha! Flash Sentry!?” Dash wailed.

“Heh… yeah.” Flash ascended to the top of the stairs and made his way across the stage towards them.

“Well I’ll be!” Applejack chuckled, approaching from the left side of the stage. “Yer gonna play with the Dazzlins tonight?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled, looking slightly nervous as the rest of the Rainbooms approached to see him. “I heard about the Battle of the Bands fundraiser for Rarity’s shop through some friends, and then I heard the Dazzlings needed a guitarist, so… here I am, I guess.”

“Playing with the enemy…” Dash accused, eyes narrowed.

Flash chuckled again, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well… maybe, but at the end of the day, this is really about helping Rarity. That’s why I’m here.”

“Aww…” The fashionista placed her fingertips to her chest. “Why thank you, Flash; that is too sweet!”

“Heh…” Flash’s eyes dropped to the floor, cheeks flushed.

I had been talking quietly with Twilight when I heard a vaguely familiar voice from the stage, and I stopped what I was saying to lean out past the stack to see if it was who I thought. Sure enough, I caught sight of Flash with his guitar, standing with the sirens and talking to the girls.

His eyes immediately shifted onto me when I came into view, and he gave a little smirk and a nod my way.

“Hey, man,” he said.

I returned the nod. “What’s up? You’re not playing with the sirens are ya?”

He just shrugged. “Just doing my part, that’s all. Ya know?”

I nodded and then faced Twilight. “He’s trying to score some pussy. Guaranteed.”

Twilight covered her mouth and giggled.

“You should give him some.”

The lavender girl’s laugher stopped instantly, and she face me with a pair of wide-eyes. “I’m sorry, what!?”

I gestured to Flash. “Well, you know… he’s got a thing for the princess, right? I was just thinking… I dunno, maybe you could help him out--you know, fulfill his fantasy.”

She sneered a bit.

“What?” I shrugged. “You’ve never thought about doing that for him before?”

“Uh… no. Flash isn’t really… my type, I guess you could say.”

I faced the young fellow again. “Hm. Bummer for him, I guess. Oh well; maybe Sonata’ll yank another batch out of him later. Who knows.”

Out on the stage, Rainbow Dash had brought her hand up and was stroking her chin, facing Flash. “So what’s up the beard, bro? You trying to be a lumberjack, or what?”

“Oh, uh…” He reached up to tug gently on his chin hairs. “It just… it helps me look --and feel, I guess-- um… more grown up. At least I think it does.”

“I like it!” Applejack announced with a nod.

“Same here, darling,” Rarity agreed. “I think it suits you well; it adds a certain ruggedness that was, frankly, very much needed.”

“Oh…”

“Dear me, I didn’t mean it like that!” Rarity quickly added when she saw his reaction. “I just meant…”

“Nah, man; don’t worry.” Dash cut in. “It looks badass.”

“Really?” Flash paused for a moment, glancing around at the Rainbooms as they smiled and nodded in reply. “Thanks,” he said smiling. “It’s good to see you all again; but I guess it’s time for the show to start, eh?” He glanced at Sonata and Adagio, and then his smile faded as he began looking around more intently. “Hey… where’s uh…?”

“Don’t even…” Adagio replied flatly, eyes rolling. “I have no idea.”

“What!?” Flash huffed incredulously, glancing at Sonata. “Are you kidding me?”

Sonata just shrugged.

This exchange led the Rainbooms to glance curiously at one another, wondering what the Dazzlings might have been stressing about. Flash was right, however: the show was about to start, so the Rainbooms migrated back to their side of the stage to get into position.

Backstage, I turned to face Twilight. “Looks like this is it. You’re up.”

She drew a deep breath and released it slowly, wagging her fingers to loosen herself up. “Hooo… nervous,” she giggled anxiously, glancing at me.

“Hey… you’ve broken into enemy buildings and tapped into their security systems,” I reminded her. “If you do that, this should be a walk in the park.”

After another breath, Twilight nodded. “You’re right. That is a logical comparison.” She turned to face Vinyl Scratch to give her a nod, receiving a silent thumbs-up in reply before queuing up the appropriate screen on her phone and then stepping forward onto the stage.

The coloured stage lights dimmed as she entered stage center, prompting a slight hush to waft over the audience when their attention was drawn to the sudden change in scenery. A bright spot light came on with a soft clang next, illuminating the lavender girl from above.

An energetic cheer rippled across the crowd when they saw the studious young woman standing between the two bands, holding her phone like a stack of cue cards. Smiling nervously, she reached out to pluck the microphone from the stand and held it to her mouth.

“Good evening, everyone. How are you all feeling?” she said, her voice echoing over a small bit of feedback.

The crowd responded with a surprisingly hearty roar.

“Excellent!” she continued. “I was actually just checking the weather for tonight. Here is the current report, last updated seven minutes ago: temperature is currently twenty-two degrees Celsius; wind speed is an easy point-five kilometres per hour; humidity is at seventy-one point-six, and possibility of precipitation is at a below ten percent.”

The crowd was pretty quiet.

“Um…” She paused to clear her throat. “W-what this means… iiiiiis that tonight is the perfect night for a great show!”

Still, there was very little reaction.

“… Gawd dayum,” Applejack’s voice grumbled from the darkness on Twilight’s right.

Twilight sighed, trying to play off the sudden lurching in her stomach and the heat in her earlobes as something other than embarrassment. “Please clap,” she begged, her voice echoing over the crowd.

Upon hearing the remark, small pockets of laughter broke out around the crowd, which prompted an applause that slowly grew into a deafening roar.

This made Twilight smile with relief. Once the ovation died down, she brought the microphone to her mouth again. “Thanks for that,” she chuckled, earning a few more laughs, plus a loud whistle from somewhere in the back. “Anyway, I’d like to thank you all for coming, and I wanted to welcome you to the Canterlot Battle of the Bands. For those who don’t know me, I am Twilight Sparkle, and I’m going to be your host for this evening--oddly enough, since apparently I’m not really cut out for this type of thing, as we just saw.

“But regardless of my discomfort,” she continued, “I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing right now, and there’s a good reason for that. As many of you know, this concert is not just for your entertainment, it is also raising money for a good cause. I’m sure many of you heard about the fire that destroyed the Carousel Boutique several weeks ago; this shop --run by the one-and-only Miss Rarity-- is an integral part of our town. It is part of who we are, and it is one of the many things that makes Canterlot great. We cannot take small businesses like these for granted, and I feel we must go to great lengths to help them in their time of need.

“While yes, the building was protected by an insurance policy, the coverage it gives will only bring the building back to code and to make the boutique workable again. But we --and Miss Rarity especially-- have much bigger plans: we intend to take the Carousel Boutique to new heights, to make it bigger and better than ever before. But we can’t do it alone; we need your help! Tonight, we need you to--“

Rainbow Dash’s voice rang out from the left side of the stage, cutting the lavender girl off. “Hey, Twilight! Are we gonna play some songs tonight or what?”

A murmur of chuckles echoed over the crowd.

After a quick glance at her friends, Twilight faced the crowd again. “Right… sorry. I tend to ramble sometimes.” She turned partway to gesture to the metal framework above the stage. Between the array of lights, a trio of large screens were mounted, each of them showing the figure: ‘$0.’

“If I could direct your attention to the displays above me, I will explain how this is going to work. As you know, when purchasing your tickets online, you were given a link via text message to a GoFundMe page, which is the fundraiser for the Carousel Boutique. During or after each song is played, you are free to donate; the more you like the song, the more money you can donate. It can be as much or as little as you want. It will be up to the bands to earn as much as they can!”

Twilight then braised her phone so she could have a look at the donation page. “Now, in the weeks leading up to tonight, and because this was an active GoFundMe account, many of you, the fine people of Canterlot, have already donated generously to the cause, to the tune of…”

She turned once again to point at the center display with the microphone while tapping the icon on her phone’s screen, which prompted the number to change from ‘$0’ to ‘$5430.’

“Fifty-four hundred and thirty dollars!” Twilight announced, facing the crowd again. “Thank you everyone, for your generosity; we --and especially Miss Rarity-- appreciate it very much!”

The crowd began to clap and cheer, especially when Rarity began to wave and blow kisses at the crowd while mouthing the words ‘thank you.’

“Now, these other two screens,” Twilight continued, “Are for each band, to track how much in donations they are able to bring in. Whoever has the highest dollar amount on their screens at the end of the show… wins the Battle of the Bands.” She then gestured to the groups of either side of her. “And who are the bands? Well, on my right, we have…” The coloured lights hit full intensity again, bathing the girls on the left in a dazzling glow.

“Rainbow Dash, Sunset Shimmer, Miss Rarity herself, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy,” Twilight announced, prompting each of the girls to wave when their name was called. “Together, they form the band many of you might know as ‘The Rainbooms.’”

The crowd cheered once again as the girls took a moment to wave at them.

“And on my left,” Twilight continued as she gestured that way, signalling the lights to illuminate Flash and the sirens in a blaze of colour. “Is ‘The Dazzlings,’ featuring Adagio Dazzle, Sonata Dusk, Aria Blaze and guest guitarist, Flash Sentry.”

Again, the audience responded with applause and cheers, albeit not as loud--possibly due to that fact that only Flash and Sonata waved to them. The other two didn’t bother to engage at all.

Facing the crowd once more, Twilight smiled and cocked her head. “OK then, without further adieu, let’s get on with the show.” She pointed to her friends and began to back-step to the rear of the stage. “Rainbooms, you’re up first!”

The girls formed a loose huddle as the lavender girl disappeared from view, quietly discussing their first performance over a soft applause.

“OK, Flutters,” Rainbow Dash was saying, “we’ll do your song first and then mine second?”

“M-m-mine?” the shy girl asked, her face draining of colour, even under the hue of the spotlights. “I don’t know. I-I’ve been thinking about it the past few minutes, and I don’t know if it’s really ready. I don’t know if I wanna do it.”

The other five glared at her, especially Rainbow Dash.

“What!?” the rainbow-haired girl shouted. “After all that work we did on it? Why are you chickening out now!?”

Fluttershy shrugged. “I-I dunno. What if no one likes it?”

“Nonsense, darling! The crowd will love it!”

“Yeah!” Dash agreed. “I think it turned out awesome! We gonna open with it; it’ll blow everyone’s socks off, and the Dazzling will have nothing to come back with!”

Sunset nodded, facing the shy girl. “It did turn out pretty good, Flutters. Dash is right; we should totally open with it.”

“Oh… I, I don’t know.” Fluttershy tapped her index fingers together. “I don’t think it’s quite right yet. I told you girls before I don’t know anything about writing metal. Why don’t we start with your song, Dashie?”

Dash slapped a hand over her face. “Ugh… no! We’re supposed to play mine second. We talked about this already!”

With a huff, Applejack gave the rainbow-haired girl a light elbow. “If she don’t wanna play it, then don’t make her!” she said, to which Dash groaned. Then she faced the shy girl. “Why don’t ya just pick another song?”

“She doesn’t HAVE another song!” Dash protested. “That was the whole point of doing this one!”

“Well, she ain’t comfortable with it, so we ain’t doin it!” AJ turned to Fluttershy. “You got anything else fer us ta play that we can do without fuckin up?”

“Um…” The shy girl brought a finger to her chin. “I guess, um, we could do ‘The Staff of Roll.’”

“Ugh!” Dash groaned, rolling her eyes and turning away. “That won’t work!” she protested, turning back to the group. “That’s, like, our normal stuff; it’s not heavy enough to pass of as metal!”

“What if, um, we just play it with lots of distortion?”

Dash’s jaw dropped. “That’s not how metal works! It has its own chords, scales--‘Staff of Roll’ is too happy-go lucky for that!”

“We’re wasting too much time, you guys,” Sunset cut in as she placed a hand of Fluttershy’s shoulder. “We’ll do it like you said: ‘Staff of Roll,’ lots of distortion on the guitars. It won’t be a big deal for me to do power chords in place of the usual rhythm. Sound good?”

“Gah!” Dash broke away from the huddle, pulling her own hair.

Fluttershy smiled. “OK, sounds good. Thanks Sunset.”

The group broke and went to their positions--except for Pinkie Pie, who approached Adagio to get right into her face. Nose-to-nose, the pair stared each other down, stone-faced, eye narrowed.

“OK… it’s oooooon,” Pinkie growled. “May the poopiest hair jam out the sickest beats.”

After staring for a moment, Adagio’s eyes narrowed further.

Pinkie, whose confidence had faltered slightly, shifted her eyes around and blinked a few times. “I… I meant to say poofiest.”

A tiny smirk tugged at the corners of the siren’s mouth. “Hm. You amuse me, Rainboom. I look forward to seeing what you’ve got.”

The pair parted, and Pinkie hopped behind her drum set, picked her sticks up and, after glancing around at her band mates to make sure they were ready, cracked the sticks together and counted down from three.

MUSIC

Starting with a single bass thrum combined with a soft splash of cymbal, the notes of a piano began to trickle out as Rarity’s fingers danced across her keytar, followed by a light-hearted guitar lead by Rainbow Dash. Pinkie joined in on the second line with the snare drum, pounding out a simple march that gave the feel of a buildup until eventually, the drums went silent and Rarity, adding the tone of a violin to accent the piano, played a staccato scale with Dash, progressing downward and then up, with Applejack joining in on the odd note to keep it grounded.

They went through the scale twice, hinting to the audience that they were about to be hit with a sudden crescendo as the main section neared. They did not disappoint; after sneaking in with a drum roll, the entire band hit at once, sending an intense rumble from the stage straight out across the entire swath of the crowd, earning a loud, but largely overpowered cheer in response.

Sunset and Applejack hammered the Earth with deep bass and full, powerful chords. Dash and Rarity took the lead with a smooth and inspiring guitar lead, which was matched by a string section and accented by the dance of the piano while Pinkie and Fluttershy kept it all on time with their percussive beats. They soon transitioned into a bridge section, the high notes of which were lead by the shrill, but emotionally-charged string section, bringing them back into the main riff for the coda.

The piece had plenty of grit and weight to pass off as metal, but it was indeed very light-hearted sounding, which, given the Rainbooms’ own stipulation for the type of music to be played, left Adagio looking rather perplexed as she stood and watched, arms folded, brow cocked.

When the music ended, the crowd replied with a chorus of cheers and whistles, followed by a sea of faces lit up by their phones as they made their donations to the page that Twilight had set up. Sonata and Flash were clapping enthusiastically while Aria just sat behind the keyboards, watching on; Adagio was clapping as well, although her expression failed to match the enthusiasm of the others.

Stepping across the stage, the siren’s clapping slowed as she approached Rainbow Dash and Sunset. “Very nice, ladies,” she said, not forgetting to add that Adagio-specific hint of machination to her voice. “But… I’m a little confused.” She furrowed her brows, feigning confusion. “I thought this was supposed to be a metal concert; that was a pretty cheery little tune--coming from the group who chose such a heavy medium. Perhaps a little lesson on what hard rock is supposed to be is needed?”

Sighing, Rainbow Dash turned away when she saw that sly grin on Adagio’s lips, and she turned to glare at Fluttershy, who quickly hid behind her tambourine with a faint ‘eep’ sound.

Twilight had returned to the stage by then, purposely taking position between Adagio and Rainbow Dash to separated them as she spoke hastily into the microphone. ”Wow, what a way to start off, am I right?” she chuckled, drawing a small applause of agreement from the crowd as she drew her phone to look at the screen. “Is everyone finished donating? Vote with your wallets, folks; that’s how this works!” She paused briefly, watching the numbers climb slowly.

Then she shrugged. “It seems to have slowed down for most part; I’d say that close enough to post the results.” She tapped the screen and then looked over her shoulder to watch the overhead displays update.

The screen on the left changed from ‘$0’ to ‘$2827’, while the center screen updated its total to ’$8257.’

“Eight thousand, two hundred fifty-seven!” Twilight announced, facing the crowd again. “That’s amazing, thank you! Let’s have a round of applause,” she said, waving to the Rainbooms, who faced the audience and clapped while Rarity blew more kisses.

“Amazing,” Twilight repeated, sidestepping closer to the Dazzlings. “Let’s keep this trend going! Up next, we hear from the Dazzl--“

The lavender girl paused and turned to her left when she heard someone speaking.

It was Adagio.

“Um… we’re still short a member… actually,” the siren said, biting her lip.

Furrowing her brow, Twilight put the microphone behind her back so the crowd wouldn’t hear her. “I’m sorry?”

“We’re missing someone.”

“What, you hired another band member?” Sunset asked, surprised. “For what?”

“Another guitarist,” Adagio replied with an exasperated sigh. “Who… seems to be fashionably late.”

“Fashionably late!?” Dash sneered. “From here it looks like you got stood up! What the hell, man! You’re bagging on us for our song choices, and your band can’t even show up to the damn concert!?”

With no response, Adagio looked away and rubbed her nose. Aria sat behind the keyboards, shaking her head.

The Rainbooms looked around at one another. This explained the display of unrest from earlier, when Flash had first arrived on stage and tried to ask a question that seemed to put the others off. Their frustration made perfect sense now.

“So what are you gonna do?” Sunset asked. “Are you gonna be able to do your set without your other guitarist? Who is it, anyway?”

Adagio drew a breath to answer. “Well, she wasn’t our first choice, for obvious reasons, but we were left with--“

POOF!

A large cloud of smoke suddenly erupted onto the stage, causing everyone to step back in surprise.

“Stand back in awe, everyone!” a familiar voice announced as the thick cloud quickly dissipated in the breeze. “The Great and Powerful Tr-r-r-r-r-r-rixie is on stage!”

The white-haired, azure-skinned magician came into view as the smoke was quickly swept aside by the breeze, standing with her hands in the air as a silver Flying-V guitar hung from the strap that was slung over her shoulder. She was dressed in a dark blue colonial-style dress with tall, blue boots

“Ugh!” Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and let her head fall back. “Serously!? You guys hired Trixie!?”

“We… needed another guitarist,” Adagio answered.

“The Dazzlings needed an edge,” Trixie stepped in, finger raised. “When Trixie heard they were facing off against you Raingoons again, Trixie KNEW she had to be a part of it! After having Trixie’s victory stolen from her at the first Battle of the Bands, she would love nothing more than to see the Rainbooms knocked down a peg to where they belong; and with the unspeakable talent and sheer stage presence of a dynamo like the transcendent and awe-inspiring Tr-r-r-r-r-rixie on their side, the Dazzlings are sure bet for the ultimate victory!”

Trixie threw her hands into the air again, but was met with silence as everyone stared at her, deadpanned.

She opened her eyes and let them dart around for a moment before lowering her arms rather sheepishly, tapping her fingers together in front of her chest. “And… also,” she said in a much softer voice, “Trixie heard about the fire at the boutique, and… she wanted to do her part to help.”

Rarity’s expression softened noticeably when she heard this.

“When Trixie was little,” she continued, sighing, “she… accidently set her room on fire practicing a trick. The rest of the house was OK, but Trixie’s room --all of Trixie’s things-- were gone. So she knows how it feels… to lose everything--and Carousel Boutique is a part of this town, so in a way, we all lost a little bit.”

Tilting her head to one side, the fashionista gave a starry-eyed smile. “Aww… why thank you, darling…” Then she paused, frowning. “Er, I think? I mean, you did come out of the gate talking a dreadful amount of smack.”

Backstage, I was seated on a stool behind the mixing board with Vinyl Scratch when I heard the new voice on stage, and I leaned over, closer to the DJ to get a better view. When I saw the white hair and blue skin and pointed hat standing amongst the others, I quickly turned to Vinyl.

“Who ordered the stripper? Was that you?”

She glanced at me and shook her head. Then she brought her hands up and did some ‘air guitar’ before pointing at Trixie.

I glanced at group on stage again, noticing the guitar strap on Trixie’s shoulder. Then I looked back at the DJ, finding myself face-to-face with a pair of red-tinted reflections of myself in her shades. “Get out! She’s playing tonight!?”

Vinyl nodded, smirking.

“Wow…” I said, facing the stage again. “This just got even more interesting.”

“OK wait, so… what does this mean? Are you guys good to go then?” Twilight was asking.

“It does look that way… now,” Adagio growled, leaning into the white-haired girl. “And if I find out you held out on purpose without telling us, just to make a ‘grand entrance,’ so help me, I will smash your knees with a crow bar.”

Trixie adjusted her hat and gave a care-free flip of her hair. “Mm. Nope, that won’t be necessary. Once I’ve lead The Dazzlings to a stunning victory here tonight --thanks to me-- you’ll be thrilled that you had the privilege of playing with the one and only, the Great and Powerful Tr-r-r-r-r-rixie!”

Sighing, Adagio turned to Sonata and Flash, both of whom rolled their eyes and looked the other way.

“Whatever,” the siren replied flatly, facing the lavender girl again. “I guess we’re ready; we’ll start with her song,” she said, gesturing to Trixie.

Twilight nodded while Rainbow Dash let out a snort. “What? You guys are playing one of HER songs?”

“It was her stipulation,” Adagio explained. “She said we had to play at least one of her songs, or she wouldn’t play with us at all.”

Incredulous, the Rainbooms shifted their eyes onto Trixie in unison.

“Wow,” Dash muttered.

“It’s a small price to pay for greatness,” Trixie said, inspecting her fingernails. “In fact, when you get me, and my brilliant song writing skills--it’s kind of a win-win when you think about it.”

“Hm. Looks like we’re not the only ones who came from and alternate reality, eh Adagio?” Sunset said, prompting the siren to meet eyes with her.

“For once, Sunset Shimmer, I completely agree with you,” Adagio replied with an amused smirk, which the red-head quickly returned.

“OK, fine. Let’s get on with it,” Twilight said, stepping toward the front of the stage as she brought the microphone to her mouth. “Slight change, ladies and gentlemen,” she announced. “As it turns out, The Dazzlings actually consists of five members: Adagio Dazzle on drums, Aria Blaze on keyboards, Sonata Dusk on bass, and Flash Sentry and Trixie Lulamoon on guitar.”

The announcement drew a few hoots and wolf-whistles, likely from consumers of Trixie’s other profession.

After leaning over to let Sonata whisper in her ear, Twilight nodded and faced the crowd again. “Alright. Now that everyone’s been introduced, it’s time to let The Dazzlings take it away with their first song of the night, entitled: ‘Dynamo.’”

Behind the drumset, Adagio was just finishing the process of tying her hair back to keep it out of her face. She then raised her drumsticks above her head and looked around at her bandmates. “On three,” she announced.

Then the siren counted to three, and off they went.

MUSIC

They started off with a thunderous chord on both guitars, led by a simple synth riff on the keyboards that was followed by a string of hammer-ons and then a quick pick-scratch, dropping into the main riff. The song continued on much the same; Aria led the tune on the keyboard while the guitars chugged out a heavy rhythm in unison with one another, eventually moving into a higher set of licks that moved them into yet another section.

As the guitars settled into another new riff, Aria launched into a keyboard solo that appeared to leave the Rainbooms somewhat slack-jawed as they watched her fingers dance up and down the keys like a pair of hyperactive tarantulas, all the while Sonata thrummed away on the bass, keeping a steady rhythm with Adagio’s surprisingly fast and precise drum beat.

The end of Aria’s solo switched seamlessly into a rather bouncy guitar riff that quickly turned hot, making both Flash and Trixie lean into it as they shredded a blindingly fast solo out together before the entire band hit a pair of chords, followed by a drum roll from Adagio. Two more chords, slightly higher, brought a second drum fill, then a third and finally, a forth, each higher in pitch, followed by a hard roll on the snare drum to take them back to the start.

They played through the same verse twice more, ending with the two highest chords on the final run, plunging the amphitheatre into an ear-ringing silence.

A sea of stunned eyes stared back for a moment before erupting into a massive ovation, taking everyone on stage, even the sirens, by surprise.

“Ugh…” Rainbow Dash pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “Dammit. That was pretty awesome,” she grumbled--not that anyone heard it.

Twilight made her way back on stage, clapping with the microphone in one hand, which caused an inadvertent thump to echo across the place until she stopped to raise the mic to speak. “Ha! Wow, let’s hear it for the Dazzlings! That was amaz--” She froze when she happened to glance over and found a sour-looking Rainbow Dash staring back at her. “Uh… I mean, great.”

Flash was clapping softly to the compliment while Trixie gave her hair a little flip with her hand.

“What else would you expect from a superstar as great and powerful as me?”

“Ya know,” Applejack interjected as she scratched her temple. “I couldn’t help but notice the guitars were both doin the same thing; seems ta me that ya only needed one fer that song.”

Trixie rubbed her chin. “You are correct, Applejerk; it was, in fact, written for only one guitar.”

“Hey… the fuck d’you call me?”

Trixie waved a hand toward Flash, ignoring the farm girl’s question. “I suppose we could have done away with this… scruffy… thing.”

This comment made Flash scowl.

“But we do need two guitars for the other songs, so… he can stay,” she continued.

“That’s not your call,” Adagio growled from behind the drumset.

Seeing the unmistakeable tension building, Twilight raised the microphone and began to speak hastily. “Uh… l-let’s see how the numbers are doing on that one. Is everyone finished their donations?” She looked down at her phone and then cocked her head. “Looks about ready, I’d say.”

Holding her phone up like a remote --just for show, since it didn’t work that way-- she tapped the screen, and the displays above updated to the latest figures. The right-hand screen above The Dazzlings changed from ’$0’ to ’$3365, making the grand total in the center ‘$11,622.’

Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped when she saw the totals. “What the fuck; we’re losing!”

“I TOLD you!” Pinkie’s voice sounded from behind her drums.

Sunset quickly stepped in with a pat on the athlete’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Dash. We’ll bring it back with your song.”

Again, Twilight was clapping as she turned to face the crowd again. “Amazing. Thank you so much, everyone!” she said, while Rarity stood not far behind her, bouncing on her heels and rubbing her hands together with excitement before waving at The Dazzlings and mouthing the words ‘thank you.’

“OK…” the lavender girl continued, glancing down at her phone and then pointing at the Rainbooms. “It’s time to give the stage back to the Rainbooms. You’re up, girls!” she said, before departing once again.

Drawing a deep breath, Dash turned around to face her bandmates. “Alright, guys. No more fucking around! We’re doing ‘Galaxy Fantasy’ next, OK? You ready!?”

The rest of the girls nodded.

Dash faced the audience again and took a wide-footed stance, her guitar pick ready. “Two, three, four!”

MUSIC

Following the countdown, the crowd was blasted with the crash of cymbals and a combination of rhythm and lead guitars, bass and the quick beat of drums, accompanied by a fast and rhythmic rattle of Fluttershy’s tambourine.

The riffs were fast, and the drums were full throttle and on point. The song was an assault on the senses, but it was catchy; it was difficult not to be thrilled by it, and it was even more difficult not to move along with the beat.

The only member of the band who was doing nothing was Rarity. She stood back a few steps, bobbing her head to the rhythm as she tapped her little, white fingers on the top of her keytar. Watching from backstage, I became curious of her part in the song; was she going to sit this one out? Was this a purely thrash song? I wouldn’t have put it past Rainbow Dash to write such a thing.

Just as I was thinking this, however, there was a fast lick that scaled upward following a catchy little verse, which led into a bridge that saw the bass drop out, leaving a light sounding drum beat in its wake. Dash dove into this section with both feet and a high-pitched chorus on her guitar, but just as it started, the fashionista stepped in, her fingers dancing wildly across the keys of her instrument, jumping up in key to match Dash’s lead while Sunset kept the whole thing grounded with a of tinny-sounding rhythm section.

The song then burst into a final chorus that ended each line with a fun scale that took the crowd’s sense for a ride not unlike a roller coaster, and after three of these fast yet smile-inducing rounds, Rarity’s fingers made a fancy trip from the bottom end of her keytar to the top, creating and effect similar to something one might hear in an old video game.

After the climb, the song began once again, and the girls played through the second and third verses just as fast, and with just as much energy as the first. The audience was right into it, cheering and fist-pumping as Flash, Sonata and even Aria bobbed their heads to the beat.

The piece ended with a bang, and the crowd threw their hands in the air, filling the place with a deafening roar. Looking out over the crowd, Rainbow Dash stood and looked out over the crowd, smirking with pride at her handywork.

Twilight emerged once again, clapping her hands --with the microphone tucked under her arm this time-- as she took position next the Rainbooms. “HA!” she laughed after bringing the mic up to her mouth. “Let’s hear it for the Rainbooms, everyone!”

Another roar lit the amphitheatre up; even The Dazzlings were clapping now.

“My gosh, that was fun,” Twilight said, bringing her phone up with her other hand. “How is the… oh wow. Looks like you guys liked that one.” She turned to look up at the displays, pressing the icon on the screen to post the results.

The screen behind the Rainbooms jumped up to ’$6529,’ for a center total of $15,324.’

“That’s up thirty-seven oh two, up from twenty-eigtht twenty-nine,” Twilight announced facing the crowd again clapping.

A high-pitched squealing could be heard over the applause, prompting Twilight to look over to her shoulder to find Rarity bouncing with giddiness, clapping her hands together rapidly, so elated with the results that Fluttershy felt the need to step in and place a hand on her shoulder to calm her down a notch.

Shaking her head, Twilight faced the crowd and laughed. “Great job, everyone, and thank you very much as always.” Then she gestured to the sirens. “Moving on. You’re up, Dazzlings; the ball’s in your court. You’re gonna have to pull out all the stops to top that one.”

“That’s shouldn’t be a problem,” Adagio said from the behind the drums, nonchalantly twirling a drumstick between her fingers. “Although the Rainbooms did step up their game by at least playing the right genre this time.”

This drew a scowl from Rainbow Dash.

If nothing else, Adagio Dazzle was an expert troll, and apparently her bait was far too delicious for Dash to resist, so she took it every time. I had already seen this time and time again throughout the show, and it was admittedly getting under my skin--partly because Adagio was trying to fluster the girls rather than just play a better set, and partly because Dash was not seeing the tactic being used on her. I taught her better than that!

“Excuse me,” I said to Vinyl as I stood and made my way out onto right of the stage, trying to stay out of view as much as I could. Approaching the drumset from the rear, I closed in on the siren, who turned abruptly when she heard my feet shuffling over the sound of Twilight’s voice as she announced the Dazzlings’ next song.

“Hey, knock it off with the psychological warfare,” I said, to which Adagio cocked a defiant brow. Seeing her up close caught me off guard; with her hair tied back, her smooth fair complexion was more visible than usual, her make-up accentuating her features to perfection, even after she’d built up a thin patch of perspiration on her forehead during their first song.

I shook it off though, resolving to stick to my guns. “Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing,” I continued. “I wasn’t born yesterday, you know.”

The siren replied with an innocent shrug and a coy smirk. “Neither was I,” she said, looking down at the snare sitting before her.

“Yeah, well… you’re here to play music, not talk shit,” I fired back.

“Oh my goodness,” she sighed. “If you’re trying to get in my pants, who don’t you just come out and say it?”

I recoiled from this out-of-the-blue accusation, but then I quickly brushed it aside. I knew full-well what game she was playing, and I couldn’t let her draw me in too. Instead of giving her the reaction she was after, I narrowed my eyes and leaned closer, putting my face close to hers for a moment before turning my head to peer out across the stage between the cymbal stands. I locked eyes onto Fluttershy, watching her as she listened on to the conversations around her until I knew that Adagio was looking at her as well.

Finally, I turned back to face the siren. “You gotta pass the taste-test first,” I said, quickly turning away without waiting to see her reaction.

I made my way around to the rear of the stage where Twilight was standing, having finished her part. I stood next to her, folding my arms as The Dazzlings prepared for their next tune, which Flash was apparently having a little chat with Sunset and Rainbow Dash about.

“Yeah, the lead switches of between me and Aria, back and forth between guitar and keyboard. It’s pretty cool, actually; I think you guys’ll like it,” Flash was saying.

“Sounds cool,” Sunset said, arms folded. “I’m sure if the sirens wrote it, it’ll be pretty good.”

“Psh! Yeah…” Dash sulked. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Flash rubbed his beard. “Eh, you guys have a pretty good lead on us now. We’ll see what happens, I guess.”

“What’s gonna happen is that Trixie and the Dazzlings are gonna mop the floor with you Rain-goobers,” Trixie interjected, placing her hands on her hips as she joined the small group. “That is, as long as Flashy-boy here doesn’t screw up like did CONSTANTLY during practice--unlike moi.”

This drew a disdainful scowl from Flash, which he sent her way. It was missed, however, because Trixie had already turned to saunter back to her place on the stage. After a quick glance at Dash and Sunset, he let his eyes fall to the stage, clearly ashamed of himself for being such a pushover.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, man,” Dash said, giving him a soft shot in the arm. “I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

As the Rainbooms retreated to their side of the stage, Flash drew a breath and reluctantly brought his eyes up to look around the stage, eventually landing on me of all people. After a little shake of my head, I raised a fist and gave it shake, signalling him to grow a pair and fire back at her.

He looked nervous when he saw the gesture, and his eyes wandered the stage once more before landing on me again, then Trixie for a moment before coming back to me.

I gave him a nod, hoping it would encourage him to go for it.

After staring anxiously for a moment, a look of resolve finally came over Flash, and he nodded back, drew a deep breath to puff his chest up and then exhaled as he turned to face the white-haired girl. “Hey, Trixie!”

She turned rather suddenly, caught off-guard by the sharpness of his tone.

He pointed a finger at her. “You know why I messed up more than you during practice?” He pointed at himself with his thumb. “Because I play lead guitar, and you play rhythm. Your part is just a bunch of easy-ass power chords. A retarded quadriplegic on ten pounds of mescaline could play your part--so yeah, you probably shouldn’t screw up!”

Trixie stared in shock, blinking a single time.

“Tell you what,” Flash continued. “How about you keep your little ‘tidbits of wisdom’ to yourself, OK? If I need advice on how to hang upside-down from a pole with my fucking balls hanging out, I might give you a call. Sound good?”

Trixie’s mouth dropped open.

I turned slowly, facing Twilight. She stared back, wide-eyed.

“Fuck, he’s gonna get his ass beat talking to people like that,” I said, shaking my head.

“I’ll say…” she replied, looking out at the blue-haired guitarist again.

“Good!” Flash said to Trixie, readying his guitar pick. “Now let’s play this goddamm song. Try not to choke, OK?”

Both the Rainbooms and the rest of The Dazzlings stared in shock--that is, until Sonata decided to speak up. “Wow. I’m actually kinda moist now. Let’s play!”

With a soft snort and a little shake of her head, Adagio reached up with her drumstick to tap the countdown on the hi-hat, adding a verbal ‘three, two, one’ once the tempo was set.

MUSIC

Adagio opened with a quick roll across the toms, and the song burst into existence with an intro that quickly and unmistakably distinguished itself as being dance track-inspired, blended seamlessly with the hard grit of metal distortion.

Aria came straight out of the gates with a dark-sounding synth lead, built on a foundation of thick, but cleanly separated chords provided by Trixie that were mirrored by Sonata on the bass. Unexpectedly, the purple-haired siren did not remain seated during this piece, rather she rose to her feet, kicked the stool out behind her and began to walk, her steps in time with the beat.

She didn’t go anywhere, however; under the keyboard bank was a treadmill that began to run at her command, which made her a bit of a spectacle to look at while she played--and the affect was hypnotizing, I had to admit. Many times, I had seen keyboardists try to look ‘the part’ while playing with a metal band, whether hitting the keys harder for banging their heads, and it never seemed to look right.

But this? This looked fucking cool, even more so that using a keytar--not that I would ever admit that to Rarity. Still, seeing Aria taking those long strides to the beat of the music made for an impressive spectacle on its own, even without the song. The simplicity of such a concept must have been frustrating to the Rainbooms; The Dazzlings had knocked it out of the park with this effect, the icing of the cake that was the already captivating music they were playing.

As the intro neared its end, Adagio laid down another drum fill, prompting the band to pause while Trixie hit a chord that rang out for a few seconds, followed by several notes on the keyboard to build up to the next section.

Flash, who as yet had played nothing, jumped in when the drums, bass and rhythm guitar resumed, taking a synth-backed lead with his guitar to move the verse along. For the first time during the show, he turned to face the crowd directly, having kept his back or side toward them while playing the previous song, and he took a step forward to lean into his playing, letting his head bang slightly as he played his part, which lasted a only few lines until Aria took over on the keyboards.

The rhythm changed during the pre-chorus, with Trixie and Sonata grouping the chords into fours, building the anticipation as they moved through, the notes rising higher and higher, matched by the rhythm until they reached a peak, followed by the entire band --save for the drums-- going silent, save for the keyboards repeating the same notes five times over, a groove that lead perfectly into the main chorus.

Standing with his feet apart, Flash threw his head back and launched into a smooth and melodic solo. The rhythm continued to punch away while he lead the catchy tune, and Adagio laid down a solid beat; her quick tapping back and forth on the hi-hats seemed to hypnotise the crowd like the steady ticking of a clock, and they bounced along with the rhythm like it really was a dance track. It was, in fact, but it was also metal. It was both: perfectly fused, perfectly married together in harmony.

As Flash finished out his end lick with a long final note, Aria jumped back in with the same opening synth riff that kicked the tune off, and they proceeded to go through the next loop.

It was hard not to feel bad for the girls, watching them stand there as The Dazzlings did exactly what their name suggested. If the sirens were good at anything, it was apparently putting on a hell of a show.

Sonata and Trixie stood side-by-side as they played in synch, the former letting her head bob from left to right as she fingered the deep thrums from her bass while Trixie let herself nod along to the beat, still looking quite put off by the verbal thrashing her bearded bandmate had just given her--and deservingly so.

Aria continued to stride along as she played, and Adagio hammered away behind those drums, her forehead and glistening with perspiration, breathing open-mouthed as her sticks swung down with perfect precision and timing.

Flash was the star of the show when the chorus returned, drawing on the newfound confidence he seemed to exude; the crowd threw their hands in the air as his guitar screeched into the night sky, seeming to reach beyond the edges of the amphitheatre to echo far across Canterlot.

Backstage, I leaned closer to Twilight. “SAY, HE’S PRETTY GOOD!” I shouted over the loudness, to which she smiled and nodded. “ARE YOU SURE YOU DON’T WANNA… YOU KNOW…?” I raised one hand to form a circle with my thumb and finger, and then proceeded to stick my other index finger through the middle of it.

She paused for a moment, sneered and then rolled her eyes, looking away.

“WHAT?” I shrugged. “THE PRINCESS IS IN THE FRONT ROW, DON’T FORGET; IF YOU DON’T GO FOR IT, I BET SHE WILL AFTER SEEING THIS.”

“FINE,” she replied, stepping away from me to get into position for the end of the song, which seemed to be drawing near.

Sure enough, the music drew to a close, and was quickly replaced by the roar of a thoroughly entertained crowd. Taking her cue, Twilight stepped out with the microphone raised. As she made her announcements, Fluttershy turned to face me, not looking to confident about the outcome of the battle.

After I gave her a little smile, she turned to set her tambourine on a stool that sat next to the drums and scampered gracefully over to me.

“I guess that’s it, eh?”

“Mm-hm,” she nodded, looking relieved that the show was finished.

“You did good,” I said, to which she lowered her eyes and shrugged.

“I dunno,” she replied. “I kinda feel like I let them down.”

“Nah.” I shook my head. “Your song was good. I liked it.”

“Mm. Sunset did make it sound pretty good.” She reached around the back of my neck for a hug, Following a little kiss on the cheek, she slipped behind me and began to pull on my shoulders.

“What are you doing?” I chuckled, looking back at her.

“Pick me up,” she said in my ear.

“What, you want a piggyback ride?”

“I wanna sit on your shoulders.”

I let out a chuckle. “You trying to get as far away from the stage as possible without actually leaving, or what?”

“Sure,” she said as I knelt down to let her climb up.

Once the backs of her thighs were planted firmly on my shoulders, I stood, letting my hands drape over her feet as the shy girl towered above the stage.

“Let’s see how they did,” Twilight was saying as she turned and gestured to the displays.

The screens updated as she did this, the one over the sirens changing to ’$7345’, with the total at ’$19,214.’

Rarity immediately clapped, and Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped.

“We LOST!?”

“Heck yeah, we lost!” Applejack replied, stepping past the rainbow-haired girl to approach the other side of the stage. “The Dazzlins won fair and square, and they deserve it. They put on a hell of a show!” She reached over her bass to shake Flash’s hand, followed by Sonata and Trixie before heading over to the keyboards to reach across to Aria.

“But… we couldn’t lose!” Dash cried, hands outstretched in protest. “We chose a genre that we kick ass at!”

Sunset shrugged. “Well… hey, I guess Pinkie was right all along. Their songs were pretty awesome.”

Sighing, Dash turned to look behind the drumset to find a deadpanned Pinkie, sitting arms folded. After locking eyes for a moment, Dash rolled hers and groaned. “Ugh… we probably would have won if Flutters’d let us play her song.”

“Well, she didn’t, so…” Sunset replied, giving Dash a pat on the shoulder as she walked by to meet Flash and Sonata.

Adagio had emerged from behind the drums by then, being sure to add that victorious swagger to her step as she stood next to Trixie and folded her arms, listening to her band receive its compliments and congratulations.

Drawing a deep breath, Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at the sirens. They were much better than she expected--but given their age and long-time relationship with music, she should have seen this coming, especially after seeing what Sonata was able to come up with in just a couple hours on her own.

The sirens had brought their A-game. But this is what irked her, because the Rainbooms didn’t. Dash turned to rear of the stage with a huff, spying Fluttershy sitting tall on my shoulders. “Hmph!” After watching the shy girl for a moment, she made a beeline in our direction, stomping her feet as she went.

“Fluttershy!” she barked, prompting the shy girl to look down at her as she stood before me. “We gotta play your song!”

Fluttershy stiffened instantly. “Um… w-why? I thought the show was over?”

“It IS over,” Dash fired back. “And they BEAT us!”

“Oh…” The shy girl ducked down, trying to hide behind my head, but only succeeding in letting her hair drape around my face. “I know, b-but… they did really good, we just--“

“We coulda did better!” Dash complained, fists clenched.

I put a hand out to get Dash to back down. “Hey, Flutters is right. The show’s over. It’s not the end of the world; besides, the whole point was to raise money for Rare, and both teams did a good job of that. You guys raised damn near twenty grand!”

“Ugh…” Dash started to turn away, but quickly came back to face us. “I know, but… there was more to tonight than just that. We were supposed to rock the sirens’ socks off, and we totally would have if you’d let us play your song!”

Fluttershy’s arms wrapped tightly around my head. “Oh… no-no-no, I think I made the right call on that. It wasn’t ready.”

Dash threw her head back in frustration. “Gah! Quit saying that! Your song is awesome!”

My eyes shifted upwards to hear her response, seeing those yellow forearms wrapped just above my brow.

“I-I don’t know, Dashie, but it’s too late now anyway.”

“No it’s not, fuck that!” Dash replied sternly.

“What seems to be the problem here, darlings?” Rarity asked as she approached, having noticed the commotion from the stage.

“Flutters won’t let us play her song!” Dash folded her arms.

After a short pause, the fashionista rolled her eyes. “Oh Rainbow Dash, it’s a bit late for that, I’m afraid.”

Dash stubbornly shook her head. “Nah, I say we go out there right now and play it!”

“What?” Rarity replied, surprised by the idea. “Right now?”

“Yeah…” Dash paused to look over her shoulder. “But we gotta hurry; Twilight’s gonna be done talking soon and then everyone’s gonna leave!”

Rarity rubbed her brow and sighed. “My goodness… why are you so strung-out on this, darling? I don’t see what the big deal is; we’ve accomplished what we set out to do.”

“Congrats on that, by the way, Rare,” I said, giving her a smile.

“Ah, thank you, darling,” she replied, flashing that heart-melting smile before facing Dash to hear her reply.

“I don’t like losing at my own game,” Dash said, pounding a fist into her palm. “It was my idea to play metal tonight, and we totally got beat by a bunch of pop stars!”

I cocked a brow. “Not Flash; that did was rocking it like there was no tomorrow.”

“True,” Rarity nodded. “He was spectacular.”

“That’s not the point!” Dash raised a finger to point up at Fluttershy. “We would have won if you’d let us play your song!”

The shy girl cowered, tightening her grip on my head. “Oh… I-I know but--“

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity backhanded Dash arm. “Don’t blame her! It’s not her fault we lost!” The fashionista looked up to the shy girl next, softening her expression. “That said, I cannot understand why you refused to let us play it; it’s quite good, darling. I think it would have been a big hit with the crowd.”

Fluttershy relaxed slightly. “You think so?”

Rarity nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Dude, that song is totally crazy!” Dash agreed. “Come on, Flutters, let’s go out there right now and knock everybody’s fucking socks off with it.”

“Ohh…” The shy girl tilted her head to look down at me. “What do you think, Goldie?”

I shrugged, looking up at her. “I dunno. You guys wouldn’t let me in, remember? So I’ve never hear it.”

Rarity raised a finger at this. “Actually, darling, you have, technically.”

I furrowed my brows. “What? When?”

Dash waved her hands. “It doesn’t matter; we’re running out of time! Come on, Flutters, let’s DO it!”

Her grip tightened once again. “Oh… I don’t know.”

“OK… listen, Flutters,” I said, “I don’t know what this song sounds like, but if both Rare and Dashie are saying it’s good, I trust their judgement. And you should too.”

Pausing, Fluttershy drew a deep breath and groaned softly. “Why do let you guys put me through this stuff?”

“Because it’s good for you,” I replied.

“Hm…” The shy girl spent a moment sitting in silence, perched high on my shoulders. Finally, I felt an exhale blow against the top of my head. “OK. Fine.”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip and scrunched her nose, bringing her hands together loudly. “Alright! Let’s do it!” she shouted as she turned to head back to the stage, but then stopped to wave Fluttershy along. “You coming, Flutters?”

The shy girl tightened up again, shaking her head rapidly. “No. I’m just gonna, um, stay here.”

“What?!” Dash sneered, hands out in confusion.

“You don’t really need me for that song,” Fluttershy said. “The tambourine part really doesn’t add anything. You go ahead and play it without me.”

After watching the shy girl for a moment, Rainbow Dash looked somewhat torn as she finally nodded, and she turned to continue out onto the stage to approach Sunset and Applejack. We watched as she tried inconspicuously to get their attention, speaking quietly to them as they leaned down to listen before glancing backstage at Fluttershy and me, and then made their way back to the left side of the stage.

Rarity turned back to look up at the shy girl, looking rather concerned as she reached up to take her hand. “Darling, are you sure you don’t want to join us?”

Fluttershy drew a breath and paused. “I… I can’t. I’ll be too worried that they won’t like it.”

Rarity’s shoulders deflated. Then she closed her eyes. “Listen, Fluttershy,” she said, stroking the shy girl’s knuckles with her thumb, “promise me something, and I will make you a promise in return.”

The shy girl nodded. “OK.”

“Promise… that you trust us, to trust your friends, that when we tell you the song is good, that we’re not just trying to make you feel better. It really is very good!”

Fluttershy sighed. “Um… OK, fine.”

Rarity gave a little smile. “Thank you,” she said. “Now I suppose it’s my turn, hm?” Rarity paused to draw a breath. “My promise to you, darling, is this: this will be the performance of the ages! We will play your song, and we will play it well. We shall give it our all, and I promise you, people will love it. They’ll be talking about it for months to come, and they’ll remember it for years. You have my word, darling; you have nothing to be worried about.”

I looked up at Fluttershy. “That sounds like a good deal.”

The shy girl stared vacantly for a moment, and then she squeezed Rarity’s hand, smiling. “OK. Thanks, Rare. I-I know you’ll do good.”

Just then, Rainbow Dash came jogging back to us. “Hey, Rarity! You coming or what? We might be able to leave Flutters out, but we can’t do this one without you.”

After a quick glance at the athlete, Rarity looked up at her girlfriend as she released her hand. “Not to worry, Rainbow Dash. I’m coming.”

Excited, Dash clapped her hands together and pointed at Fluttershy with both index fingers. “Oh yeah! We’re so doing this! We’re doing ‘X vs Zero!’”

It took a moment for the title to ring a bell for me, but when it did, I quickly faced Rarity, brows furrowed. “”X vs Zero?’ Isn’t that that little diddy you played for me on the piano at the music store?”

She nodded. “Yes, the day you bought Applejack’s bass.”

My brows shot up. “You guys turned THAT into a metal song!?”

“Hell yeah, we did!” Dash laughed.

“With yours and Sunset’s help, of course,” Rarity admitted to the rainbow-haired girl before facing me again. “It actually translates quite well, surprisingly; I think you’ll be amazed at how good it sounds.”

“It’s awesome!” Dash added, giving the fashionista’s shoulder a pat to move her along. “You’re gonna love it. C’mon, Rarity!”

After one last smile, the fashionista turned to follow Dash to the stage as Twilight was wrapping up her monologue, and they got into position with the other girls, who were standing by and waiting to start.

“And lastly,” Twilight was saying, “I want to thank you all once again for coming out tonight, and thank you very much for the generous donations. You have no idea how much it means to us, and especially Miss Rarity. I have no doubt that she’ll put it to good u--“

MUSIC

Twilight’s eyes popped open when her sentence was cut short by Sunset and Rainbow Dash playing a tall, fast scale with Pinkie backing them up on the drums. Perplexed, the lavender girl turned to face her friends, and then she looked down at her phone to re-check her itinerary to make sure she hadn’t missed something. Coming to the conclusion that she hadn’t, she looked up at her friends again, shrugging.

None of them acknowledged her, though; they were too busy concentrating on their playing.

By then, they’d passed a section which was lead by Rarity, her keytar tuned to sound like a string section, before letting Dash take the lead on her guitar. The tempo was fast, making Pinkie flail wildly with her drumsticks as she kept pace, and Rarity had switched back to synth to back Dash’s lead while Sunset and Applejack shredded the rhythm apart like a pair wood chippers.

So far, I was unable to recognise the piece in this form. It had been months since Rarity had played it for me, so it wasn’t surprising that I couldn’t pick it out--that is, until a quick drum roll transitioned them into the next part, in which Dash backed down to let Rarity take the lead with the synth.

This part I recognised. This is where the piece began on the piano, although, now it was much louder and faster. It built itself up through the next few lines, preparing for the chorus, which I remembered as being quite upbeat and epic-sounding, and I began to wonder what they were going to do with it here tonight.

Dash took position next to the fashionista, readying her pick to join in on cue as Pinkie laid into another massive drum fill, followed by Rarity switching back to strings to play a little riff that lead into the main chorus.

And when that chorus landed, it caught everyone off-guard, including me--and I knew how it was going to go… sort of. Granted I’d already heard it on piano, but now, it was like they’d thrown gasoline on it and lit it on fire; it had been injected with pure energy.

Rainbow Dash and Rarity played the lead in unison, a smooth and beautiful, but massive and epic-sounding melody of guitar and strings combined, built on full, yet fast-changing chords from Sunset and AJ, and a relentless drum beat from Pinkie Pie.

I looked up at Fluttershy to see what she was doing, not noticing how tightly she was squeezing my head against her stomach. She simply stared out at her friends, not moving, but looking quite on edge.

I had no idea what she had to be nervous of though, it sounded amazing.

The chorus repeated a second time, this time ending on a darker note, which quickly jogged my memory of the first time I heard it. This led them back to the beginning, and they proceeded to make their way through the next loop, starting with Rarity lead on the strings.

This time I was able to hear that innocent little piano tune hidden inside this blazing musical insanity, and so I was able to appreciate it that much more this time around. Fluttershy and her friend’s really outdid themselves on this one.

I suddenly found myself thinking about that first Saturday dinner with them: how Fluttershy was so scared she could barely stomach the idea of sitting at the table with a stranger, making small talk with Rarity on the way to the parts store, playing video games with Applejack and Rainbow Dash. All of it seemed like a distant memory now, clouded by the events of the past year, to say nothing of learning many things about each of these girls--intimate things, seedy things, and, in some cases, unsettling things.

And now here they were, playing a superb piece of music in front of a huge gathering of people.

I was abruptly pulled from the reminiscence when I noticed Rainbow Dash and Rarity scamper to the front edge of the stage just in time for the chorus to begin. Once again, they played through that uplifting yet scorching riff as a pair of fireworks launched from both sides of the stage, illuminating the entire amphitheatre when they exploded while Dash stood below, her feet apart as she leaned into her playing, banging her head hard enough to thrash her hair around in a rainbow-coloured blur.

Just in front of her in the front row, Scootaloo threw her fists in the air and howled as her childhood idol played with all the energy and charisma she could muster. I smiled at the thought of Rarity thrashing her hair around in the same way, but both Fluttershy and I knew she wouldn’t dare mess it up after all the work she’d put into it before the show.

The song ended after the third round, finishing off with a long, rapidly-strummed chord that slowly climbed the necks of their guitars while Pinkie unleashed a drum roll that never seemed to end. I craned my neck to look up at the shy girl, watching her eyes widen in disbelief as the audience erupted into a massive roar; they rose to their feet in sections, some clapping, some pumping their fists in the air, whistling, howling, barking.

It was plainly obvious who Rarity’s patrons were, and who were there to see a metal concert.

I gave Fluttershy’s ankle a squeeze to get her attention, prompting her to look down at me. Smiling, I shook my head and chuckled.

“Flutters… that was fucking crazy. You did an amazing job.”

“You… you think so?”

“I think everyone thinks so,” I replied, nodding toward the stage. “Look.”

Standing off to the right, The Dazzlings stood with Twilight, applauding the Rainbooms’ performance, including --for the first time-- Adagio.

Fluttershy said nothing. Instead, she stared out at the scene, blinking.

Stepping forward again, Twilight slowly raised the microphone to speak. “Heh heh… I guess, uh… you got a little bonus tonight,” she said, facing the crowd. “Once again, everyone, let’s hear it for the Rainbooms.”

After a another surge of ovation, she continued--or was about to. “It’s not every day you get a--“

She stopped and raised her phone to check it, having received an alert. Then her eyes widened suddenly.

“Uh… this actually wasn’t part of the… uh, show.”

Rarity cocked her head when she heard this. “What isn’t part of the show?”

Mouth agape, Twilight looked up at Rarity, holding her phone up to tap the screen before looking back at the center monitor.

The total rose to ’$26,134’

Gasping, Rarity brought her hands to her cheeks and spun around to face the crowd. “Oh my goodness!” she squealed as she rushed over to swipe the microphone from Twilight. “THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE!” she cried, her voice wavering slightly. “Thank you all so much for being here tonight and showing your generosity, and thank you for all the support you’ve given me over these past few months. I appreciate more than you could possibly know, and I want you to know that I love you all: my dear little sister, my associates, my employee and her family--each and every one of you!”

She turned to face the sirens, Flash and Trixie. “I also would like to thank The Dazzlings for their contribution tonight. Without them, donations would be down by one half, I’m sure--and let’s be fair, they put on a splendid show. A round of applause for them!”

Again, the crowd roared with appreciation as Adagio, Sonata, Aria, Flash and Trixie looked out across the sea of clapping hands, offering a few smiles, a wave and a blown kiss from Trixie.

Rarity faced her friends next, holding the mic with both hands. “And lastly, I need to thank my dear friends and fellow members of the Rainbooms. I don’t know where I’d be without any of you, and I’m certainly glad to have you at my side. I knew I could count on you throughout this whole ordeal, and you can certainly count on me to be there for you--anytime, through thick and thin, no matter what.”

By then, Rarity’s eyes had gathered a noticeable amount of moisture, and were threatening to send a pair of rivers down her cheeks to spoil her make-up. Dash, being the closest, reached out to offer a comforting pat on the shoulder.

“Oh!” The fashionista’s eyes widened suddenly. “And I have something else to say, before I forget: that song you just heard, it was written by my very dearest friend. She is someone I hold very close to my heart, and she worked very hard to bring us this masterpiece tonight.”

Rarity turned to face me and the shy girl, waving her arm to coax us out. “Come out here, Fluttershy! Come and receive the round of applause you deserve!”

I looked up at Fluttershy when she didn’t move. “Hey, she’s calling for you. Go on!”

She looked down at me, wide-eyed. “Right now?”

“Yeah, right now!” I said, slipping her thigh off my shoulder with my forearm.

She slid down my back and then scampered on a pair of feather-light feet to the front of the stage to meet her girlfriend, who wrapped her in a tight hug while the crowd exploded once more. The rest of the girls approached the front of the stage in a row, joined hands and raised them into the air, and then took a bow as the crowd remained standing, applauding the performance.

Elated, Fluttershy looked out over the sea of faces.

“You see, darling?” The voice that she loved said from her right. “They loved it!”

She faced Rarity, smiling, but then she turned to the left to look at The Dazzlings, who were standing off to the side, watching. Knowing they were deserving of their won recognition, Fluttershy extended a hand to invite them to take a bow with them.

After a short pause, The Dazzlings approached the front of the stage. Adagio joined hands with the shy girl, and the rest of the band followed suit --somewhat reluctantly in the case of Trixie and Flash-- and both bands, together, took one long bow that stretched from one end of the stage to the other, with Twilight standing just behind them, still clapping.

I watched from backstage with Vinyl standing next to me, nodding rhythmically to whatever was playing from her headphones.

Everyone stood to face the crowd, keeping their hands clasped. Turning to face Fluttershy, Adagio offered a little smile.

“I don’t say this often of someone else’s music,” she said. “But that was an impressive performance. Revel in this moment, for it is yours, and no one can take it from you.”

Fluttershy paused, surprised to hear this. “Um… thank you,” she said at last, with a heart-warming smile.

Something came over the siren when she saw this, and she let her eyes crawl slowly across the crowd in a daze, trying to figure out what it was. Gradually, it came to her. People were cheering for her. Not just for her, of course, but it was real cheering. Real appreciation.

These people weren’t under her influence, and their eyes were not glowing green. She was a part of something good for once; something positive, that made people cheer and applaud. Her eyes fell unintentionally onto Princess Twilight, who was standing in the front row, looking back at her.

Remembering what she was told that night in the front yard at Canterlot High, Adagio turned to face Fluttershy again, watching those pretty, demure eyes as they danced over the crowd, watching that proud smirk curling her lips. Such a peaceful, gentle creature, the siren thought.

And then she thought of what she saw in that parking garage, when this same girl leveled a group of full-grown men like it was nothing. What a deceptive appearance she had. Adagio found herself admiring this when it suddenly hit her: the only reason she was standing there right then, being cheered, was because of Fluttershy. If not for her, Adagio Dazzle would surely be dead.

After a moment of staring off into space, her eyes rose to meet Fluttershy’s once again, and after a short hesitation, she yanked the shy girl in by the arm and wrapped her in the tightest hug she could muster--right in front of everyone.

*****

“Nngh… I’m so close, Goldie--don’t stop!”

Biting my lip, I looked down at the shapely figure bent before me, watching that round, pink booty jiggle when it collided with my hips, again and again and again. I held her steady as I continued to drill, my hands gripping the swell of her hips, right where they began to flare out from that narrow little waist.

In truth, I wasn’t far behind. I was starting to feel that telltale stiffening, the tensions building in my loins as I watched my glistening shaft slip between those chubby, pink lips, leaving a creamy ring of fluid near the base of my length that’d accumulated during the course of the session.

I glanced to my left for a different view of the party-girl as she leaned over the vanity with her elbows, wearing nothing but a lacy bra and thong panties that were coloured in bright fuchsia, which clashed slightly with her skin colour--not that I cared. That curly, frizzy hair of hers draped over her shoulders and in front of her face, swaying along with my thrusts and blowing outward each time she exhaled.

Her bathroom mirror was beginning to cloud ever so slightly, the hiss of the tub faucet hiding the sound of Pinkie’s breathing and soft moans as her body quickly stiffened in preparation for another orgasm.

“Ohhh… here it comes,” she panted, her fingers gripping the edge of the sink as her head tipped back. “Ahh… now… NOW!”

I looked down at her backside when I felt those hot depths clamp down around my manhood, studying the lacy strap of her thong: it had been pulled to the side, stretched tightly across the left cheek of her backside to grant me access to that tight, juicy treat.

She howled with delight, her voice echoing noisily in that tiny apartment bathroom as I continued to thrust my rapidly-swelling length into her pulsating interior. The sensation of that slick, throbbing texture, hugging my erection as it swept along its length was becoming too much. That inevitable explosion, that satisfying release, was imminent; it was time to give the party-girl her prize.

“Getting close, Pinks,” I announced, my voice strained as the pressure was drawn right to the edge, my manhood tingling with anticipation. “You want it?”

“Oh… yes!” She ceased her moaning quite suddenly, her eyes popping open as she looked over her shoulder at me, reaching back to grab my wrist, squeezing it tightly as she begged for that hot filling. “Do it… DO IT, GOLDIE! Cum inside me! I wanna feel it!”

It didn’t take me long to oblige. Holding firmly onto her hips, I bit my lip as the pressure broke through that final barrier and overwhelmed me with pleasure, triggering my length to begin pumping my juice deep inside her.

The small portion of shaft left visible twitched violently, despite being hugged firmly by those pink lips. Feeling my delivery flow through me and into her, I looked up to watch Pinkie in the mirror; even with her face partly obscured by her hair, I could see a sense of satisfaction in her expression. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was open, the corners of which were pulled up by a little smile as she indulged herself in the sensation of that stiff girth throbbing within her depths, those hot, thick shots firing deep inside, relentless, flooding her completely.

Panting deeply, I closed my eyes and let my head fall back as I waited for the climax to finish, enjoying the feel of her tight, juicy warmth wrapped around me.

“Ooohhhh…” she moaned softly, her grip on my wrist finally loosening. “Wow, Goldie. That was good.”

I let a breath blow out between my lips. “You’re telling me,” I replied as I slid my hands back to give her backside a squeeze as I slowly began to withdrawal.

“Wait! Hang on a sec,” She let go of my arm to reach down past the edge of the vanity for the roll of toilet paper, giving it a yank with her fingertips to make it spin a length loose for her to tear off. She crumpled it into a ball and then slipped her arm under herself, reaching down between her legs until the tissue brushed the underside of my shaft. “OK… go ahead.”

I backed away from that beautifully plump derriere, letting my sex-glazed manhood slip away from between those pink folds. She quickly covered her crease with the ball of tissue as I stepped back to sit on the edge of the bathtub, watching the party-girl wipe the slick mess from her womanhood.

My eyes began to detect a visible haze in the air, and I turned to face the faucet, which was still dumping hot water into the tub. “Might as well turn this off,” I muttered, unsure if she heard it. I reached over and turned the knob with a squeak, plunging the little bathroom into relative silence. “Heh. Didn’t even make it into the shower.”

“Got a little distracted…” Pinkie said, giving her crotch one last wipe before withdrawing her hand, revealing a pair of squeaky-clean lips that peeked out from between her thighs as she dropped the sopping wad of tissue into the toilet.

They didn’t stay clean for long, though; seconds later, a thick, white bead of fluid emerged from her folds and oozed slowly down the length of her slit.

“Pinks, there’s more,” I warned.

“Huh?” She reached between her legs again to feel for it, her middle finger dipping into the stream and smearing it across her lip. “Oh crap!” She reached over to snatch another wad for toilet paper and resumed wiping herself again. “Jeez, Goldie-Woldie, you sure creamed the heck outta me!”

I shrugged. “Hey, every good pie deserves a good filling.” I smirked, looking down at the edge of the tub as she threw the second ball of soiled tissue into the toilet.

After hooking her thumb under the thong to pull it back to the center, covering her womanhood in hopes of trapping anymore cum that might escape, Pinkie stood upright, lowered the lid of the toilet and sat, staring at the ceiling as she exhaled between her lips.

Thin, but curly locks of hair hung in front of her face, obscuring her smooth, round cheeks. Her make-up from the days before was still there, slightly worn and faded away-- and smudged by a bead of cum that stretched the length of her cheek.

The way she sat, slouched down on the toilet seat, made her cute belly bulge ever so slightly; I was glad the transition into immortality, which had stripped her of some of her body fat, didn’t take so much that she’d lost that sexy, curvy appeal. The sight of her sitting like this, spent and completely satisfied, was so arousing it was almost enough to entice me into another round.

Her breasts, pink, full, and plump, were peppered with droplets of cum as well, which had run down like hot fudge on two big scoops of ice cream. Being bent over the sink and hammered from behind had caused her tits to bounce and climb their way out of that lacy bra, the left strap of which had slipped from her shoulder and down her arm, letting that cup sit lower than the other, which allowed the darker pink of her areola peek out above the lacy border, like the morning sun rising over the horizon.

As I let my eyes travel down her body, I noticed more of my juices next to her navel, having been smeared cross her belly during the session, and finally, a larger gob of it laid across her thigh.

After taking a moment to enjoy the afterglow, Pinkie drew a deep breath and then released it. “Wow, Goldie. Three times!” she said, facing me. “What’s gotten into you today?”

I shrugged and then leaned forward to reach across her lap, fetching some toilet paper so I could wipe the slick coating from my rapidly declining erection. “I dunno; just feeling frisky. One of those days, I guess.”

“We’ve been at it pretty much all morning,” she replied, reaching across herself to pull her bra strap over her shoulder before adjusting her bust so it sat properly in the cups. “What time is it, anyway?” she asked as she reached for her jeans, which were heaped on the bathroom floor.

After fishing her phone from her pocket and turning it on, Pinkie’s eyes bugged from the socket and she leapt from the toilet to her feet. “HOLY CRAP, IT’S ELEVEN-THIRTY! RARE-BEAR’S GRAND OPENING IS IN HALF AN HOUR!”

“Oh shit,” I said, lifting the toilet lid to throw the tissue in. “Here.” I reached over to turn the tub faucet back on before standing to tuck my manhood into my pants.

Pinkie paused, staring at the running water. “No! There’s no time for that!” she cried, pulling her hair in a panic. “We gotta go NOW!”

I shook my head and gestured to her midsection. “Pinks, you can’t go like this; your hair is all messy and you got nuts busted all over you.”

She looked down at herself for a second, and then shook her fists, growling. “GRR! Fine!” She reached behind her back to unclip her bra and then tore it away, releasing those giggling, pink masses before sliding her panties down to step out of them and then leap into the tub.

***

Pinkie Pie and I made pretty good time, honestly. We pulled into the rear parking lot and parked at about 11:57am, quickly hopping out of my truck to head for the rear door of the new rebuilt boutique.

It was the day of the Carousel Boutique’s grand re-opening, in the early weeks of October--just in time for the Fall Formal at Canterlot High. The store was set to open at noon, and the party-girl and I were just barely on time as we entered through the back door, Pinkie jogging through the back hallway in her tights and blue and white tu-tu, anxious to meet up with her friends.

We burst into the main showroom and found everyone else standing there, talking amongst themselves. The place was much more impressive than it was before the fire, with a ceiling that was now double the height, with a smooth-looking modernized arch at the peak, similar to a gothic cathedral, but without the intricate carvings and designs.

Rows of spotlights in alternating colours --pink, blue and violet-- illuminated the ceiling and upper portions of the room, showcasing large posters of famous or at least notable citizens of Canterlot who modeled various examples of Rarity’s work, while the floor and lower part of the space were flooded by clean white spotlights so as not to taint the colour of the pieces on display.

The customer service counter was in a similar position, although much longer and better decorated, with rows of violet LEDs running the length of its seams. Behind that was the doorway to Rarity’s much larger and more equipped work room, complete with wider shelves, poles to hang spools of fabric on, endless cabinets and of course, the latest and greatest sewing machines money could buy. Everything in both rooms sat atop a carpet that was back and white, with groupings of ‘floor tile’ checkers separated by straight, narrow strips that divided the design into a much larger grid--at the center of which stood the rest of the girls.

They turned suddenly, looking rather surprised when Pinkie entered, feigning laboured panting as she stopped to bend forward, leaning on her knees with her hands.

Then she quickly stood upright, smiling ear-to-ear. “Hey guys, did we make it on time?” she asked, no longer out-of-breath.

Rarity produced her phone to check the time, and then faced Pinkie with an arched brow. “You have less than two minutes to spare, darling.”

Pinkie’s shoulders dropped, and she exhaled noisily, letting her lips flap like that of a horse. “Oh thank goodness,” she breathed, swiping her hair way from her face as she looked around the place, listening to the soft thumping of bass of the song that wafted from the speakers hidden all around. “Wow, the place looks great, Rare-Bear! I…”

The party-girl stopped suddenly, and she began to scan the place rapidly, her brows furrowed. “Wait a minute… where’s all the party favours?” she asked, facing Rarity again. “Where’s the confetti cannons? The balloon bombs!?” She turned to face the massive, tinted from windows that looked out onto the main street. “WHERE ARE THE WACKY WAVING INFLATABLE ARM FLAILING TUBE MEN!?”

Rarity put her phone away with one hand and flipped her bangs with the other. “I’m quite sorry, darling, but I simply too busy for all that. Perhaps if you’d been here sooner, you could have looked after it, but I’m afraid it’s too late now,” she said, her eyes shifting onto me.

I gave her a smile and a little wink.

“Awww…” Pinkie slouched forward, letting her arms hang dejectedly as she walked away to approach Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

I put my hands in my pockets and approached Rarity and Fluttershy, who were both dressed to kill, clearing my throat before giving them a somewhat coy smile.

Rarity smirked and rolled her eyes, her long, black lashed whipping when she blinked. “Congratulations, my love. It appears your mission was a success.”

I shrugged. “Hey, you wanted her out of your hair. Ask and you shall receive.”

She stood up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on my cheek. “Thank you, darling. Lord knows she would have had this place looking like a four year old’s birthday party, so I am grateful for your help. I take it you were able to find something to keep her busy enough to be late?”

I cocked a brows and nodded slowly. “Oh yeah… and let’s just say I made the most of it.”

Her expression faded slightly, and she stared across the showroom at nothing. “Ah… I see. Say no more, darling.”

“We fucked.”

“Ugh! I get it, darling.”

I let out a soft snort and looked up to have another look at the place. "So how's the drug racket going?"

Rarity turned toward me, mouth open, brows furrowed. "I beg your pardon, darling?"

I brought my attention back to her. "Well you know, when you killed Father Tirek, you became their new leader. That's how they work. Are they still trying to bring you your share?"

"Not lately. After I delivered that first two to the police, I told the next two when they came that I would outright cancel them if they returned."

"Hm." I nodded. "Not bad. I'm sure they're seeing diminishing returns by now. Twi was saying most of their business partners have pulled out since Tirek died--including the foreign ones. Which is understandable; I'm sure none of them really feel like dancing with a devil that can level a group like The Ministry almost overnight."

"Well said, my love."

This was when Sunset approached, pointing over her shoulder toward the front of the store. “Uh, Rare? You might want to keep an eye on Pinkie.”

The fashionista cocked her head, looking a bit perturbed. “Why? What is she up to?”

“She’s out front pretending to be one of those tube men thingies.”

Wide-eyed, Rarity leaned over to look past the red-head.

Sure enough, she spotted Pinkie Pie outside on the sidewalk, gyrating around with her hands waving in the air. Gasping, Rarity put her fists to her temples. “FUUUUCK!” she screeched, sprinting toward the front door.

I let out a chuckle as Fluttershy approached and took my hand with both of hers. “Poor Rarity. She’s so stressed out about today.”

“It’s gonna be great,” Sunset said, folding her arms as she shifted her weight onto one leg. “I tried telling her that, but you know Rare: she never listens.”

I nodded in agreement, facing Fluttershy as she cleared her throat, leaning closer.

“Um… did you, um… get some video this morning?” she asked, her voice lowered.

“Yeah, I got some pretty good stuff. I think you’ll like it.”

Elated, the shy girl scrunched he shoulders and squealed softly. “Yay!” she giggled. “That’s means I only have two more to get.”

Sunset shook her head, her upper lip curled. “You know, Flutters, you’re the only person I’ve met that likes to collect videos of her friends getting creampied.”

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes at the red-head. “You say that, and yet the three I have of you were some of the first ones I got,” she fired back.

“She’s got you there,” I said, looking sideways at Sunset, who rolled her eyes and looked away.

Outside, Pinkie turned to look over her shoulder when she heard the front door of the boutique open, but continued to wave in the imaginary breeze. In the narrow opening, she found Rarity staring back at her, brows raised, teeth gritted. “Hey. Look, Rare-Bear! Pinkie Pie, saving the day!”

“Pinkie Pie! Get back in here this instant!” Rarity whisper-yelled, her voice husky. “You’re making a mockery of my grand reopening!”

Pinkie stopped and turned to face her friend. “A mockery?”

“Get-- … Fuck!” Rarity threw the door open and marched out toward the party-girl. “Get your arse inside. Right now!” she shouted, grabbing Pinkie by the shoulders and giving her backside a boot.

“Ohh!” Pinkie stumbled toward the door, rubbing her behind as she looked back at the fashionista, who lifted and arm to point at the door. “Alright, alright! Jeez!”

Once Pinkie was inside, Rarity sighed, rubbing her temple as she glanced around to see if anyone saw that. There were a few people further down the sidewalk and across the street, but she was unsure if they’d noticed the commotion.

Then she heard a familiar voice from above.

“Rarity?”

The fashionista craned her neck to look up. “Yes, Adagio?”

On the roof of the boutique stood The Dazzlings --minus Trixie-- complete with guitars, stands, keyboards and a drumset, which Adagio was sitting behind.

“When is this big opening?” the siren asked. “We have another gig at four o’clock, you know. We have to be there on time to set up and all that.”

Rarity nodded, using her hand to shade her eyes. “Yes, I understand. We’re opening in less than a minute, actually, so I see no reason not to start whenever you’re ready.”

The sirens and Flash glanced around at one another, then Adagio faced Rarity with a nod. “Alright then.”

“Perfect!” Rarity said. Before she could head back inside, however, she paused to look up at The Dazzlings. “Now… don’t play anything too aggressive, if you don’t mind. This is a fashion boutique, not a metal concert.”

Adagio rolled her eyes. “Yes, we know. Don’t worry, we have just the thing.”

“OK.” Rarity nodded. Then she paused. “Er, darlings?”

The band looked down at her again.

“I just want to thank you once again for doing this,” Rarity said. “It means a lot to me; I just… wanted to you to know that.”

After a short pause, Adagio replied with a smile. “It’s the least we could do. And don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll draw plenty of people to your store.”

Rarity smiled, still shading her eyes. “I’m sure you will,” she said. “Best of luck you to!” She lowered her head and headed inside, hearing the sound of a hi-hat setting the tempo, soon to be joined by the siren’s voice.

“One two three, one two three, one…”

MUSIC

"Hey, Sunset?"

“Yeah, Twi?"

“Can I get you to look at something?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Handing Sunset my phone, which she accepts--before looking strangely at me.”

“Uhh… why are you talking like that?”

“Oh, well… the narrator is gone, so… we kinda have to describe what we’re doing or no one will know what’s happening.”

“Oh, weird.”

“So anyway, as you can see, I have the app open, and I’ve captured a shot from… when was that? I believe it was three days ago, but anyway, see if you can find anything of interest there.”

“… … …”

*Ahem*

“Oh… right. Um, I’m looking inquisitively --inquisitively?-- uh, at Twilight’s phone, and uh… there’s, uh … … … huh.”

“You see it?”

“I think so.”

“On the roof, next to that ventilation unit?”

“Yup.”

“What do you think?"

“Uh… I just sighed, and now I’m looking at you. Er... at Twilight, I mean. It looks like It’s time I paid a certain someone a little visit.”

“Agreed. And also, I’m smiling ominously... for anyone still reading."