Crimson was back on the top floor of his cinema, which had been renovated to essentially become his own house. Despite that he was already the director for the music video, he did however express some interest into this contest. He got himself dressed and not long after having breakfast, began to practice on his black guitar with red star decals. Even if he didn't win, which he didn't really want to, he was going to have a good time.
A few days passed and the members of Unstable could not have been more gung ho about their practice schedule. As soon as Rockette would get off work, he would be over at Strato's house working all the kinks out of their original songs. "So Crimson Lionheart told you that she would be directing the video?" Sticks asked. Out of respect, Rockette had not told even his best friend Crimson's secret. "Yep, she said her bands gonna be in the contest too. I looked up some of their gigs on YouTrough and she's a pretty good guitarist."
While Crimson and her band, all the whom was made up of her cousins decided to enter, the red unicorn mare also wanted to make things interesting. Crimson formerly played as a lead guitarist in the group, despite the rumour of her 'amazing' singing ability, she has never sung for the band. Not even any YouTrough footage was shown of her singing. This year would be different however, when she decided to fully perform as the singer and lead guitarist. The contest started in three days, but Crimson felt like that she had all the time in the world. She was going to blow the judges and the crowd away. Deciding to go out for the night, she went over to one of Ponyville's many cafes and decided to catch up with a relative for some coffee. After all, she deserved it. The theater seen a 40% boost in revenue, and could actually see an expansion to another town if Crimson played her cards right. If she won the contest, then she would be fortunate enough to start her business franchise anywhere in Equestria and beyond. Of course, she didn't mind if she lost. She already had the money to expand to another town like Trottingham, Still, it was always nice to get out every once in a while.
The contest was a week away and more and more bands were posting live videos on YouTrough. Rockette's girlfriend Wild Awry had recorded their entire gig at The Griffon's Nest in Flanksington and had gotten over 5000 views on some of the songs she posted. Strato even went and had some custom guitar picks made for himself, Ged, and Rockette. Wouldn't it be something to catch one of those and then see Unstable rise to fame? It was a beautiful dream but, regardless of the outcome, the boys (and girl) were gonna give it their all and give their full support to whoever got the prize.
In terms of instruments, Crimson felt like that she could take on the world, but what really struck her out was that she had invested some bits into the appearance of the band that involved costumes. In the end during practise, they all played an incredible rehearsal but didn't want to post it onto YouThrough until after the contest. She wanted the crowd to have any expectations of her until after so that she could wow more ponies, she was essentially entering as a wildcard entry. The contest was tomorrow in Fillydelphia stadium and playing In front of 10,000 excited ponies. Ordering some seats on a train, Crimson and her band wanted to feel as relaxed as possible. Knowing that Unstable was entering, and that Rockette would be playing as well, it seemed to be a nice change in scenery compared to some other entries.
Crimson then heard a familiar voice from the seat behind her. "Heya, Crimson! Y'all in this car too?" Rockette came around and the two mares shared a hug. "The guys are all in here too!" Rockette and crimson turned around and the members of Unstable gave a warm wave. The blue stallion with red hair came over and Rockette introduced them. "Sticks Sabian, this is Crimson Lionheart." "Wow," Sticks said, shaking her hoof, "its an honor to finally meet you, Miss Lionheart. I've been a huge fan of your work for quite some time. I especially liked that documentary Decline of Equestrian Civilization Pt. 2: The Metal Years! Lil' Rockette here told me your band's in this too! I can't wait to see you play!"
"I could say the same for you guys as well ! I happened to see Unstable play some songs through YouThrough and needless to say, I'm impressed with how talented all of you are." Crimson happily said. "Thanks Sticks, I've put some time off work to go into the contest, I'm busy working on my own movie on the side. The other band members are located right in the back of the train, they're all my cousins. I'm sure that once we get off the train, they'll be glad to meet you"
"That'll be awesome!" Sticks said. "Maybe we could all hang out to while we're up here. I mean, I know this is a contest but we're all cool here. We're gonna give it as much hell as we can and we expect nothing less from y'all. I'm just psyched to get in front of a Fillydelphia crowd."
The Fillydelphia Stadium appeared like any other stadium, completely dominating the skyline in one of it's suburbs. Around 10,000 excited and happy ponies were eager to see the acts that were going to play, some travelling hundreds upon hundreds of miles to make it today. Crimson's auntie, Winter Rush, made the 750 mile trip from Snowville all the way to Fillydelphia just to see her 'son' play live. Around eight acts were scheduled to play with a major song with a supporting song afterwards for two songs to be performed, while judges sat around the front of the crowd and were made up of celebrity and major artists. After the song, they would score the band out of ten for a combined score of thirty. Whoever had the highest score won the contest while the runner's up had some decent exposure to the public.
The bands were all backstage hanging out in the catering area. Rockette's mom, sister, and girlfriend had all made the trek from Flanksington as well. "I can't believe my boy's gonna be on national television!" said Forty Love. Wild Awry was quick to correct her. "Well, just remember, Rockette is supposedly your niece." "Right. I'll still be cheering just as loud." Rockette hugged 'her aunt' and started tuning his guitar as Strato, Ged, and Sticks got all the heavy gear ready to be pushed up on stage. Bone Vox was speaking with the official to find out the lineup. "Alright," Bone Vox said, "here's how they're doing this. First up is gonna be Hammerhoof. After they play, they're gonna draw to see what band goes on next. Each band will draw the next band so be ready. By the way, Rocky, what did you say the name of Crimson's band was? I really wanna see them." Rockette thought for a second. "I don't even think she told me. Hey, Crim!" Crimson came over and Rockette proceeded. "What's the name of your band?"
"Oh! We're called the Fusion Stars." Crimson told the group. The mare was already having make up applied onto her around her eyes and mane while she wore a black dress, almost appearing like it came straight out of royalty. The other members of her band were in the back of the stage getting their make-up applied, their costumes in a similar fashion to Crimsons black coloured royalty, one of them with a tiara on her head was practising her guitar. Just as Crimson was about to continue the conversation, one of her members called out to her and waved. "Sorry everypony, I'm being called back. I seriously wish all of you luck, I bet that you'll ace it!" Crimson said with a smile on her face before quickly heading back to the Fusion Stars.
The sun was setting and Hammerhoof had just finished setting up on stage. Rockette sat stroking his ponytail as he often did when he was nervous. "Take it easy, buddy," said Sticks, "You're gonna do fine. You're a WAY better guitarist than Rockout." Rockette laughed. "Very funny, Sticks." The lights went down and the MC's voice echoed throughout the arena. "Welcome to the Battle of the Bands! Our first group of the night, from right here in Fillydelphia, shake your asses and raise your glasses for Hammerhoof!"
Hammerhoof was made up of five different ponies, all of them being stallions. As they spoke to the crowd, Unstable and the Fusion Stars tried to get ready alongside the other bands. The Fusion Stars, despite their expensive costumes, was a sleeping giant in this contest. It didn't matter if they won this contest or not, they were on stage. And it was one of the few places where they truly loved to be. (Might as well post a video for when a band plays. Seeing how the Fusion Stars lead singer is Crimson, who happens to be a mare, I'm thinking on what band would fit well with them.)
The crowd erupted as the guitarist broke into the first lick... [video=youtube;hcjN5BNU9CY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcjN5BNU9CY[/video]
The crowd erupted into applause once the moment that the song ended. "Mares and Stallions, give yourself up to Hammerhoof!" an announcer called out, prompting to cause the crowd to cheer even louder. It seemed that competition was going to be incredibly fierce this year, especially with such a heavy hitting performance that was surely going to have a very high score. The other bands in the back, as eager and prepared as they were to play on the stage, now knew one thing. They had to give it their absolute all. Meanwhile, the crowd went quieter and quieter as they wondered who would play next.
The bass player for Hammerhoof reached into the hat and the announcer read it. "Alright, the next band up is..." The crowd were on the edge of their seats. "Shorn Enemy!"
The crowd cheered as the members of Shorn Enemy, five in total, went onto the stage. The band consisted of two mares and three stallions, all of them wildly ranging in terms of appearance. The bass guitarist easily stood about a head and a half taller than the other members of the band. Once the band was onto the stage and the audience began to quieten down, the drums began to play... [video=youtube;bpOSxM0rNPM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpOSxM0rNPM[/video]
The crowd bopped along and when the beat and once they finished, they were greeted with a very warm response. "Alright! That was Shorn Enemy! And now, the hat, if you please." The singer dipped his muzzle into the hat and pulled out another card. "And the next band is... Sidetracked!!!" 4 stallions trotted up on stage, all wearing cowboy hats. The lead singer, who was 24 and Still half the age of the other members of the band, held his guitar up and struck the opening chord. [video=youtube;IH4dJ7k3oVU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH4dJ7k3oVU[/video] Rockette and Sticks looked at each other and couldn't believe that a country band could rock that hard! (My buddy Dalton has a band called Sidetracked and they played this at a battle of the bands.)
