Hero of the Despaired Future!
Chapter 18: The Battle of the Bands Begins! A Strange Outcome!?
Previous Chapter Next ChapterWell, garage at Sweet Apple Acres.
They were rehearsing...
It's shit.
Twilight kept singing off key.
"Hey, Hey, listen..."
The microphone gave feedback, ripping into everyone's ears.
Especially Gohan's, since he has enhanced ears.
He grabbed his head in pain, Sunset plugged her ears and Spike was about to die.
"We've got a message for you...
We're not all alike...
But our friendship is true...
Yeah, we're really different...
But we still get along...
So hey, hey, listen to our song...
You may think you're in control...
But we're here to prove you wrong...
With our friendship and our music...
With the power of our song...
Gonna stomp our feet, clap our hands...
With the magic of friendship...
Gonna stop your evil plan..."
"Stop! Darn it, stop!" Gohan yelled, the feedback ringing in his ears.
Sunset shut off the speaker and the microphone...
"Since when was your singing this bad!?" Gohan asked.
"Eh, that sounded... way better than the last... five times you've played it. Heh heh." Spike said...
Not convincing.
...Then Big Mactintosh happened to be right by to tell him-
"Nnnope."
Aw...
"I think it's pretty obvious what's going wrong with this counter-spell." Rainbow Dash said.
"Lack of team synergy?" Gohan asked.
"You're turnin' what should be the chorus into a five-minute guitar solo?" Applejack asked angrily.
"I have to pick up the slack somehow! Are you guys even trying!?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I'm trying...!" Fluttershy said.
"...Just as I said." Gohan said.
"It's fine. Heheh... It'll be fine. One more time from the top!" Twilight said.
...
Nobody wanted that...
"Or, perhaps we could take a short break..." Rarity said, walking over to an invisible closet.
"...And try on some of the wardrobe choices I've put together?" She asked, pulling a clothes' rack out.
"I'm particularly fond of this one." She said, wearing some marching uniform with purple glitter.
"Eh, of course we could always go with something a bit more modern." She said.
"We're tryin' to save our school here. Enough with the costumes!" Applejack said.
Then, Rarity suddenly had a yellow glittery jumpsuit...
And a robot head.
It even changed her voice.
"Oh, you can never have enough costumes!" Rarity said.
"She just wants to make things fun! Isn't that what being in a band supposed to be?" Pinkie asked angrily...
"You don't have time for any of this! You're supposed to check in at the Battle of the Bands in fifteen minutes!" Sunset said.
Well, the girls gasped and started getting everything ready.
Except for Twilight.
"What? But it's not ready! If we play our counter-spell in the first round and it doesn't work, the sirens will know what we're up to and make sure we don't get a chance to play it again!" She said.
Now everyone stopped to think about that for a moment...
"...We have more than one opportunity to perform the spell, right?" Gohan asked.
"Plus, how are they gonna get this guy out of the way?" Pinkie asked, slapping Gohan's shoulder.
"Alright! New plan: We compete in the Battle of the Bands for real! I take over lead vocals again and we stay alive until the finals! We unleash the counter-spell then! You'll have figured it out by finals, right?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight.
"Of course she will. Twilight Sparkle's never met a problem she couldn't solve. Right, Twilight?" Spike asked.
"R-Right...?" Twilight said, unconfident.
Gohan already had the Nimbus ready.
"I'll sign you guys in." He said, standing on the cloud.
"Oh, please do!" Rarity said.
In an instant, he flew off, leaving that yellow streak.
The gym...
Now it's set for musical players.
It has speakers and microphones and- yeah, everything.
Celestia and Luna were onstage.
"Welcome to the first ever Canterlot High School Battle of the Bands. I believe I speak for everyone when I say it is by far the greatest thing we have ever done here at this school!" Celestia said.
Nearly everyone cheered, but that was clearly bullshit.
"We are so glad our three newest students encouraged us to turn this event into something exciting!" She said, turning to the Dazzlings...
"But, as this is now a competition, we can only choose one winner. Who is it going to be?" Luna asked.
...That sparked a bunch of fighting.
"Bet you're not as good as me!"
"Oh, it's on, asshole!"
They all started emitting that green energy that's headed towards the sirens...
They were relishing in the energy...
...For about two seconds, until an orange blur directed the energy away.
"Alright, what the heck is it this time?" Adagio asked angrily.
She looked to another corner of the gym to see Gohan, yet again, kicking the energy out the window.
He was in a dark corner...
...But he gave the Dazzlings a mean stare.
"Ugh. I'm tired of him and his meddling!" Adagio said.
"It's not like he could have any more power than us. We have years of magic on our side." Aria said.
"Are we gonna ambush him or whatever?" Sonata asked a little loudly.
Adagio "Shh!"ed her.
"Don't say it out loud!" She said.
"If he remains in the way of progress... We will get rid of him one way or another." She said.
"I don't sense any magic from him, though. That's weird." Aria said.
"There's no mistake that he does have it. How else would he see our magic?" Adagio asked.
Then the Dazzlings saw the Rainbooms enter the gym.
"...And after that, we can tap into the strongest magic here." Adagio said.
"But the Rainblossoms, or whatever they're called, aren't under our spell. How exactly are we supposed to get to their magic?" Aria asked.
"The Rainbooms are just as capable of falling apart as anyone else. They just need a little... push in the wrong direction. I have a feeling everyone here is going to be lining up to give them a shove." Adagio said.
"Except for that guy." Sonata said, pointing at Gohan, who was conversing with them.
"You know what I meant." Adagio said.
Okay...
Now, the first opponents for the Rainbooms were Snips and Snails...
But, damn. They suck ass.
I don't even wanna put it in.
They just did some shitty beat boxing and freestyle rapping.
...Then they dropped the damn microphones on the ground.
The feedback fucked everyone's ears...
Everyone covered their ears...
"Please do not drop the microphones." Celestia said a bit angrily.
The two were acting big and tough...
"Yeah! Bam!" Snips yelled, walking offstage.
Snails was laughing...
Then they passed the Rainbooms.
...Rarity was missing.
"In your face, Rainbooms!" Snips yelled.
"...Least we know one group who won't stand in the way of us gettin' to the finals." Applejack said.
"I don't know... The principals are under mind control." Gohan said.
"Oh... Well, we'll just have to hope for the best." Fluttershy said.
"Let's get ready to rock!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Wait! Where's Rarity?" Pinkie asked.
"I'm here!" Rarity said, running towards the group...
...Wearing this ridiculous jingling keys outfit.
Her sleeves had keys, her pants had them- Even the socks had them, Christ.
Everyone just stared at her quizzically.
"We will be performing in front of an audience. I'm not going to wear something fabulous? Hmph." Rarity said, crossing her arms.
Applejack just face palmed...
Anyway...
It's time to perform.
Everyone is onstage and ready to roll.
Twilight put her hand on the microphone so that it wouldn't transmit what she would say.
"Remember, we have to be good enough to make it through but not so good we let the sirens see the magic within us. They could realize we plan to use it against them." She said.
"Got it! Be cool enough to win, but not so cool that we end up showing off the whole ears and tails and rainbows thing. Sooo... about twenty percent less cool." Rainbow Dash said.
Time to play.
"One, two!" Pinkie yelled.
Then they started playing.
"We've just got the day to get ready,
And there's only so much time to lose!
Because tonight, yeah, we're here to party!
So let's think of something fun to do!
We don't know...
What's gonna happen!"
Uh oh...
Above the stage, Photo Finish and a few other girls were planning something...
One of them had blue and purple hair in two pigtails, yellow skin, and a Harley Quinn outfit.
Well, it looks like a rip off of her anyway.
The other girl had pink hair with a spiky headband, a yellow blouse, a purple skirt and black and purple knee-highs.
They planned sabotage.
Sunset and Gohan, spectating from the side, noticed...
"We just know...
It's gonna feel right!
All our friends are here,
And it's time to ignite the lights!"
The girls had ropes attached to magnets...
They dropped it down on Rarity...
And, as you would expect, the magnets just removed the use of her arms.
Now she can't play.
She was dragged into Applejack, but Applejack just shoved her away...
The magnet suddenly disappeared with an orange blur, and the rope was snapped.
Rarity was confused for a moment, but saved her act by playing on the right note.
"Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight!
Shake your tail, shake your tail!"
The girls were just confused...
...Until someone tapped on their backs.
"Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight!
Shake your tail, shake your tail!"
The three turned around to be greeted by a scary Saiyan, angry at them.
...Yes, they ran without screaming.
Gohan just sighed...
Why would anyone stoop to this level?
Then Twilight sang.
"So what you didn't get it right the first time?" She sang.
Pinkie noticed that the Crusaders, dressed up as emo dickheads were bored.
"Boring!" Applebloom shouted.
So, Pinkie kicked the drum to blast out a ton of confetti.
"Laugh it off! No one said it is a crime!" She sang.
"Do your thing, you know you're an original!" Rarity sang.
"Your ideas are so funny that they're criminal!" Applejack sang.
Then they all sang-
"Ohhh-ahh!"
...Then some confetti got in Twilight's throat, and she started coughing.
...So Fluttershy smacked her with her tambourine to get it out.
Instant recovery.
"We've just got the day to get ready!
And there's only so much time to lose!
Because tonight, yeah, we're here to party!
So let's think of something fun to do!"
Well, Gohan was made even angrier because more people stooped to that level.
Snips and Snails refused to go down like this...
So they were planning to sabotage.
"We don't know...
What's gonna happen!"
They immediately aimed a spotlight down at Fluttershy...
...Which shocked her so much that she had an anxiety attack.
She just stopped moving altogether.
Maybe her heart stopped, I don't know.
She moved to the side, but the spotlight was flashed on her again...
She started running around the friggin stage.
That just made Gohan furious.
"We just know...
It's gonna feel right!"
"Hey!" Gohan shouted at them.
Once they looked towards Gohan...
He made his aura flare for a split second and turned into a Super Saiyan.
"All our friends are here!
And it's time to ignite the lights!"
Well, PTSD kicked in and the two just ran away.
Gohan grunted angrily and fixed the spotlight so it wasn't on Fluttershy anymore.
Fluttershy started playing again, and sighed in relief.
She ran back to her original spot.
Some people...
Thankfully, this was the last obstacle, and the show went on without any more distractions.
"Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight!
Shake your tail, shake your tail!
Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight!
Shake your tail, shake your tail!
Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight!
Shake your tail, shake your tail!
Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight!
Shake your tail, shake your tail!
Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight!"
The principals applauded, but everyone else just gave them this mean look.
The girls walked offstage, to be greeted by Sunset and Spike...
...Then Gohan jumped in, still Super Saiyan.
"Rarity, were you tryin' to make us lose out there!?" Applejack asked.
"It wasn't her fault." Gohan said, turning off the Super Saiyan.
"People tried sabotaging your efforts. People can stoop so low..." He said.
"Yeah, well, whoever did this couldn't have done it if you didn't insist on dressin' like... like... this!" Applejack said, pulling on one of the keys.
"We need to sound good! Is there some reason that concept seems to escape you?" She asked.
"And what was with the confetti, Pinkie Pie? How am I supposed to shred if there's paper stuck in my frets!?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"It was pretty distracting..." Fluttershy said.
"Uh! Says the girl who ran away from a light! A light!" Pinkie yelled.
"Stop arguing already!" Gohan said.
"This is what I mean by a lack of team synergy!" He said.
"You still played nearly perfectly." Sunset said.
"I'm sure you'll make it to the next round. But it won't matter if you don't have that counter-spell ready. You all find a place to practice where the sirens can't hear you. I'll keep an eye on things around here." She said.
"I'll help out. Even if the sirens did find out, they won't get to you." Gohan said.
The gang walked in the hallway, planning out the practices.
"We don't think we should use a classroom." Twilight said.
...Then she happened to bump into her... crush.
Flash.
She nervously chuckled as he... seemed angry.
He was with his bandmates.
"Heheh... We really need to stop bumping into each other like this." Twilight said.
"Uh, you guys hear something?" Flash asked his bandmates, ignoring her.
"Uhh-uhh."
"Nope."
"Er... I said, we have to stop-" "-There it is again!" Flash interrupted.
"So annoying." He said.
Twilight was hurt...
"Why are you acting like this? I thought we were friends." She asked.
Flash took a deep breath in...
...Then he got super pissed.
"Yeah, and then you decide to come back here just so you can beat me in the Battle of the Bands. I want this, Twilight, and you're trying to take it from me! Some friend." Flash said.
"That's not why I...!" Twilight said.
Applejack put a hand on her shoulder.
"Come on, Twilight. We've got things to do." She said.
The girls and guy walked away...
"You really think you're gonna help them!?" Flash yelled.
"Ha! I bet you have no idea what you're even doing!" He yelled.
Twilight actually shed a few tears...
She didn't really know that it wasn't him.
Three shadowy figures stood.
Flash just crossed his arms and grunted...
Well, those shadowy figures were the Dazzlings, and they were watching all of this.
"Tears already? This is only the first round." Adagio said.
Her cohorts laughed with her...
Celestia came on the P.A..
"The next band to take the stage will be Trixie and the Illusions." Celestia announced.
"Better head back. We're supposed to go on after Trixie." Adagio said.
They were about to head back, but someone was in the way...
Sunset Shimmer.
"You're never gonna get away with this." She said.
Now, Adagio was prepared.
"Why? Because you didn't?" She asked.
That... got to her.
The girls started circling Sunset.
"Oh, we know all about you, Sunset Shimmer. You've got quite the reputation at Canterlot High." Adagio said.
"I've changed! I'm in a much better place now!" Sunset yelled.
"Waiting in the wings while your friends have all the fun?" Aria asked.
"Oh, yes, you girls are so tight. And yet... they didn't ask you to be in the band." Adagio said.
"Probably afraid no one would want to see them play if she was in the group." Aria said.
Now Sunset didn't feel so well...
"Too bad! So sad!" Sonata mocked.
"If it's any consolation, no one is going to remember you at all by the time we're done." Adagio said.
Sunset wanted to retort, but...
That really hit too close to home.
Now...
It's the semifinals.
The Rainbooms have performed well to come this far.
The only downside is...
The Dazzlings were still getting stronger, despite Gohan's best efforts.
It's been a rough ride.
Everyone is fighting each other even harder than before.
People win, people lose...
Angry people gave even more power to te Dazzlings.
The Dazzlings just beat Flash and his band.
It was rigged.
He was pissed off.
Anyway...
Backstage.
"This is it! Last round and you're in the finals! Unless you think the counter-spell is ready to be played now." Sunset said to Twilight.
Twilight didn't seem ready...
"Don't worry, Twilight. Finals aren't until tonight. We'll get in a little more practice before we're supposed to hit the stage. We won't let you down!" Applejack said.
Agreement.
"You won't let me down..." Twilight muttered under her breath.
Sunset noticed that...
"Um, I was just wondering. We haven't played any of my songs yet, and..." Fluttershy piped up.
"It's the semifinals. We gotta do 'Awesome As I Wanna Be.'" Rainbow Dash said.
"Don't know why I even asked..." Fluttershy said.
"I'm sure you'll play it one day." Gohan said.
"I don't think so." Fluttershy said.
Trixie was playing onstage with her band...
Two other people.
They were just finishing up.
"...I got tricks up my sleeve!
See me dominate,
'Cause I'm powerful and grea-ea-eat!"
Then there was an extremely bright white light.
The gymnasium cheered for some reason.
"Fantastic!" Celestia said, clapping.
The three walked backstage and greeted the competition.
"Hmph. You're never gonna top that performance, 'Rain-goons.' You shouldn't be allowed to when you have such a big advantage over the rest of us." Trixie said angrily.
"My superior guitar playing and off-the-charts awesome singing voice?" Rainbow Dash gloated.
"Oh, don't be ridiculous. I mean her!" Trixie said, pointing at Twilight.
"If you were really all that, Rainbow Dash, you wouldn't have needed to bring in some magical ringer to have half a chance. Everyone's talking about it." She said.
"You even have the stupid roadie!" She yelled.
"I don't drive." Gohan said.
"Like I said. Stupid." Trixie mocked.
Gohan just sighed.
"Ha! Puh-leeze! I could win this thing as a solo act and everybody knows it!" Rainbow Dash gloated.
Now the rest of the band were mad at her about that.
This is a team effort!
Trixie scoffed.
"Sure you could." She said.
Then she threw down a blue smoke bomb!
Everyone but Gohan coughed...
Trixie disappeared!
Pinkie gasped!
"She's gone!" She said dramatically.
"...You're joking, right?" Gohan asked.
"Oh, wait. There she is." Pinkie said, pointing at her drum set.
Trixie was trying to hide behind that shit, and...
She just ran off.
"Next up: The Rainbooms." Celestia said on the P.A..
The band walked onstage, but nobody was really hyped except for Rainbow Dash.
"Knock 'em dead, Rainbooms!" Spike said.
"You got this!" Gohan said.
"I'll be here!" Sunset said.
"...Just... watching." She said sadly.
The stage was dark...
But a spotlight appeared on Pinkie Pie slamming on the drums.
The spotlights went on each girl with each-
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!"
Then Rainbow Dash sang-
"Awesome as I wanna be!"
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!"
Everyone seemed indifferent onstage...
Then Rainbow Dash sang alone again.
"Awesome as I wanna be!"
Then she starting running around the stage like a jackass.
"First you see me riding on a sonic boom!
Got my guitar shreddin' up my latest tune!
There is nothin' you can do to beat me,
I'm so good that you can't defeat me!"
This is a shitty song, damn.
The people playing were not happy except for her.
Then there was this guitar solo and every spotlight went on her.
Stupid idea, she was about to pony up!
Sunset and Gohan noticed, and...
Shit.
"What do we do...?" Sunset asked.
"She doesn't even notice... Dang...!" Gohan said.
Now they're freaking the fuck out.
Sunset just acted on instinct...
And she dashed onstage.
"Wait! No!" Gohan said, reaching out.
He didn't grab her, so...
Sunset rammed herself into Rainbow Dash, and the song just stopped.
They crashed into Twilight, who tried grabbing Rarity's keytar, who kicked Applejack's guitar in the air, which landed into one of Pinkie's drums and ruptured it.
Then all the spotlights came on.
...Fluttershy just screamed in fear and ran off, throwing her tambourine in the air.
Rainbow Dash sat up, but looked angry at Sunset...
Shit.
They all stood up, and...
Awkward silence.
Luna and Celestia angrily wrote on their score sheets...
Then Flash just had to call out...
"Now that's the bad girl we love to hate!" He yelled.
Then the crowd just started jeering.
"I knew she was still trouble!" Octavia said.
"The real Sunset Shimmer is back!" Another male student yelled.
Now the gym was filled with all these friggin things.
"N-No... It's not like that...!" Sunset mumbled.
They all walked offstage as the Rainbooms just angrily stared at her.
Now, offstage...
Gohan wasn't angry, Spike was, and everyone else wanted an explanation.
"What was that!?" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"You were showing them your magic. I-I didn't know what else to do." Sunset said.
"Ugh. Close the curtains? Unplug her amp? Give us a chance to deal with the situation?" Rarity asked.
"You weren't doing anything at all, Miss Hindsight." Gohan said.
"It was split second thinking, she tried to hide your power. I would've done worse than that." He said.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to help." Sunset said.
"Yeah, well, you didn't!" Rainbow Dash said.
"None of this would've happened if you weren't tryin' to show off as usual!" Applejack yelled at Rainbow Dash.
"Good show, 'Rain-brooms.'" Trixie mocked.
"I especially liked the part where Sunset Shimmer, in a fit of jealous rage, knocked out Rainbow Dash mid-guitar solo!" She said.
That got her gears going.
"It wasn't a fit of jealous rage!" She yelled.
...In a fit of jealous rage.
"If you say so. Ooh! Looks like they've already decided who'll be moving on to the finals! I'm guessing it wasn't too difficult a decision." Trixie said.
The principals were backstage now...
But...
The Dazzlings were singing around them.
Oh shit.
Those multiple "Ah"s and such.
Sunset and Gohan noticed that the principals were being... screw with in a sense.
But nobody else gave a shit.
"What can we do? There isn't gonna be another opportunity for us to play. And I had the most gorgeous outfit for the finals!" Rarity complained.
"Yup, 'cause that's the real tragedy here, Rarity. That you won't get to play dress-up!" Applejack yelled.
"You know perfectly well that is not what I meant!" Rarity yelled.
"You guys wanna keep it down? They're about to announce who's moving on." Rainbow Dash said.
"Who are you kidding? You know it isn't gonna be us." Fluttershy said.
The principals walked onstage...
"The band that will be joining the Dazzlings in tonight's finals... The Rainbooms!" Celestia said.
What...?
"What!?" Trixie asked.
"Huh?" Everyone else backstage asked.
"Did they just say, 'the Rainbooms!?'" Pinkie asked.
Trixie stormed away...
"This. Isn't. Over!" She said.
The band walked onstage...
Along with the Dazzlings.
"Congratulations, girls. You deserve it." Celestia said.
"Seriously!? We didn't even finish our-" Pinkie said, before Rainbow Dash nudged her to be quiet.
"See you at tonight's big show, Rainbooms. We are really looking forward to it." Adagio said.
Then they strutted off.
"Yeah, well... not as much as we are!" Rainbow Dash retorted.
Then the gymnasium booed.
"Zis never should haf been you, Rainbooms!" Photo Finish yelled.
The Rainbooms walked offstage and into the gym...
More boos and shit.
They were booed as they left.
Trixie was in the back, angry as hell.
"This is a travesty! A travesty!" She yelled.
"It really is!" Adagio said.
"The Rainbooms don't deserve to be in the finals. Not when your band was so much better in the semis." She said.
"And wanted it so much more." Aria said.
"Alas, this is the way it's going to be. Dazzlings vs. Rainbooms." Adagio said.
"Unless, of course, the Rainbooms don't manage to make it to their set or held up for some reason." Sonata said.
Oh, that gave Trixie an idea.
She chuckled sinisterly...