(That's pretty cool ) "Let's give it up for Sidetracked!" The announcer said as the crowd went gave the band a huge response. Just as they left the stage, the bass guitarist reached into the hat and drew out the next act as he shown it to the announcer. The announcer gleefully responded as he spoke into the microphone. "This next band has been making some waves and have already made quite a name for themselves. Mares and Stallions, let's give a warm welcome to Unstable !"
It took a minute for it to hit Rockette but once it did, the adrenaline kicked in and the boys (and girl) thundered up to the stage. Rockette hoof-bumped the singer for Sidetracked on the way up. They plugged in and Sticks gave the 4 count. (We'll post both songs when our bands perform.) [video=youtube;iiHaWeXbUmw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiHaWeXbUmw[/video] Strato let the crowd simmer for a moment but soon went into the intro to the next song. Rockette was nowhere near as good a guitarist as Strato but had the solo for this one. [video=youtube;iVnyFwdFqoM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVnyFwdFqoM[/video]
The crowd went absolutely electric upon the ending of both of the songs, giving Unstable far more of a warm welcome. It seemed that all doubt of failure had just melted away. Crimson seemed highly impressed about the performances that Unstable gave, but knew that she would be playing. It turned out that she and her band was playing next, watching the name being drawn out of the hat. "Please welcome the Fusion Stars!" The announcer called out. Crimson and her band, dressed up in all black, went onto the stage and immediately received a warm welcome. Once the band was ready, they began to play... [video=youtube;JqoQ20Lpq18]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqoQ20Lpq18[/video] Once the first song ended and the crowd went absolutely ballistic, Crimson took her guitar and kicked their next performance into high gear. [video=youtube;yVMH6IOHXso]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVMH6IOHXso[/video]
As the crowd roared, the Fusion Stars decended from the stage to meet up with Unstable. Rockette was the first to greet them and could barely contain his excitement. "Sweet Luna, you guys... and gal... SLAYED it!!!!!!!!" "Hell of a job, Miss Lionheart!" said Sticks. The 3 remaining bands had yet to play. The Fusion Stars and Unstable all gathered close to the stage to see them. Beatnik Broncos were up next... [video=youtube;4pJlmoezCh8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pJlmoezCh8[/video]
"Mares and Stallions, the Beatnik Broncos!" The announcer cried out, much to the delight of the crowd. Once the Beatnik Broncos had finished their performance, the crowd applauded as the announcer began to pull another name out of the hat. While the Fusion Stars stood next to Unstable, the announcer drew the second to last band. "Give it up for Blackbird !" This band seemed to be interesting, with it's lead singer and drummer being Griffons while the other members were Zebra and Earth Ponies. Whatever the result was, they were ready to entertain the crowd. [video=youtube;O5Oo3InIlfw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5Oo3InIlfw[/video]
The crowd shouted their approval as the next band came up. "Let's hear it for Trixie and the Illusions!" [video=youtube;rl1fGEPWIP0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl1fGEPWIP0[/video] The crowd was silent for the first time all night, trying to make heads or tails out of what the hell they just heard. The MC quickly trotted up on stage and muttered something to the fuming blue unicorn. "Alright, I wanna thank all of the bands for their amazing performances! But now we need to tally up the scores. That should take about 45 minutes to an hour to do so..." He paused as the audience looked slightly confused, "...as an added bonus for coming out tonight we have another band here who, while not in the running, if gonna rock your tails off!" They made their way through the backstage area and every single member of the competing bands could not take their eyes off them. "So without further ado, give it up for our special guests... METALLICOLT!" [video=youtube;kQrvb3i1q-E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQrvb3i1q-E[/video]
The atmosphere was absolutely electric and the ground felt liked a minor earthquake, Metallicolt caused the crowd to go absolutely ballistic and they loved every moment of it. Meanwhile, the scores were being tallied up behind the scenes and needless to say, some bands did much better than others. The announcer was with the judges personally to help with the tallying results. Crimson and her cousins went up to Rockette and Unstable with a pleased look on her face. "You guys were awesome....didn't understand the last performance of the concert though. Still, if you guys don't win, I'd happily spend the time and money to make a music video for you guys. It won't be as 'professional', but it would still be impressive."
The members of Unstable all smiled. "Even if we didn't win," Sticks said, "it was cool just to be here. We ain't NEVER played for a crowd this big!"
One of Crimsons cousins had a decent smile on his face, absolutely flowing with positive energy. "And seeing how well these events are in terms of exposure, alongside this entire event being live streamed and live on TV as well, there is going to be plenty of ponies who are going to notice all of us now. Expect much more ponies attending your gigs now!" After some conversation between the two bands, the announcer tapped Rockette on the shoulder and got the other band members attention. "Hello ponies, you are required on stage within the next few minutes. The score has been tallied and I'm sure all of Equestria wants to see the winner of this event. I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results!" The announcer then trotted away and went to the other bands to inform them, Crimson watching move back and forth. "Well...it's now or never." Crimson replied before looking at Unstable. "Good luck Everypony!"
"Well, boys," Rockette said, "keep your hooves crossed." All the bands gathered on stage and were stunned to find out that Hames Jetfield, lead singer of Metallicolt, would be presenting the Battle of the Bands trophy to the winners. "Oh my Luna," Bone Vox muttered nervously, "I think I'm gonna hurl." The MC raised the glass cover of the case containing the trophy. Hames picked it up and held it as the MC approached the mic. "Fillies and gentlecolts, let's give it up one more time for ALL of our amazing performers!" He paused and let the cheering die down. "It was a close race! The top 4 teams were only separated by 6 points! And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. The winner of the Battle of the Bands is..." Every band member on stage held their breath.
Hames Jetfield took the trophy as Crimsons thoughts seemed to echo across every member that was involved in the contest. Crimson knew that regardless of who won, this was unbelievably close. 6 points in her books was not even half a point to her. It was between the Big four. Unstable, Fusion Stars, Sidetracked and Hammerhoof. Time seemed to stop as Jetfield announced the winner. "And the winner is....Unstable !" Crimsons jaw dropped, but she wasn't the only one. The score came up onto a large projector screen in the stadium alongside being on TV's across Equestria. It turned out that the Fusion Stars were only a point behind from second place, sitting in a nice position in third place. She felt relieved yet happy for Rockette and her band at the same time, it turned out she was going to record the music video for them. She didn't know if she felt honor or pride, or perhaps something else. Possibly friendship between two genderbent stallions cursed to embrace their feminine side but also blessed with the ability to be themselves. While the other band members congratulated each other. Crimson couldn't feel happier for them. After all, they deserved it
Rockette bounced around cheering as the rest of the band were brohoofing. Sticks settled his best friend down and the band stood at attention as Hames presented them with the trophy. "Hell of a job, you guys... and gal!" Bone Vox accepted the award and held it up for all to see. "Dude," Sticks said to Rockette, "are you crying again?" Rockette quickly dried his eyes and shook his head. The crowd continued to roar. Just then, Hames Jetfield approached the mic. "You know what? Since this band is the winner, I'm in favor of a little encore. What do you say, Fillydelphia!?"
Fillydelphia cheered loudly as the bounced up and down, excited about the results of the competition and for all of the awesome bands they came to enjoy. Crimson tried not to laugh when her cousin whispered something funny into her ear. She looked at Unstable from backstage, along with some other bands out of respect. The crowd began to chant "UNSTABLE !" loudly, seems like they needed one more song to calm down and call it a night.
Sticks got behind the drum kit and started it off. Rockette somehow managed to maintain his composure as the song they agreed on was the first song he had played with the band as a young colt. [video=youtube;ZLUj-jh_UyQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLUj-jh_UyQ[/video]
The crowd burst to life at the end of the song. As if on cue, fireworks were launched into the air and burst to life to the crowd below. Once the bands backstage were thanking and speaking to each other about their success and talents, Crimson and some other members backstage waited for Unstable to finally come on down in celebration
Unstable descended the stairs with Sticks carrying the trophy. Rockette could not contain his tears at this point. He sniffled and wiped his eyes to find Crimson waiting.
Crimson seen Rockette crying and gave the mare a nice warm hug. Crimson wiped a tear away and had a large smile on her face. "You did it Rockette! You and Unstable won! We're so proud of you!"
"Thanks, Crimson," he said still sniffling, "you guys did a hell of a job too. I thought for sure that trophy was y'all's!" Sticks came over and collected his best friend. Hames Jetfield had requested that the winners take a picture with Metallicolt. "You know," Sticks snickered, "you even cry like a girl." Rockette chuckled and shook his head as Sticks led him over to meet Metallicolt. Hames introduced them to Kirk Slammett, Mars Kilrich, and Rob Neighillo.
While Unstable was meeting Metallicolt, the drummer of the Fusion Stars came to stand next to Crimson. Solar Comet, a fiery haired Pegasus, looked at the band nearby. "So, do you have an idea on the video? Crimson didn't say anything for a minute before she had a fairly large grin on her face. The dark red Unicorn mare had a sense of inspiration and imagination in the look if her eyes. "I think I've got something in mind..."
The photographer took a few shots and went about his way. The rest of Unstable had calmed Rockette down by now. "Well," said Strato, "now we need to figure out what song we're gonna do the vid for."
