Let the battle begin!

//It's time for me to write a story inspired by a game/series I'm engrossed in again. This time with accompanying sprite scenes. Might do more of these stories with edits. Also looking to borrow characters for these stories if people want to see their characters in the stories/scenes. Featuring Gray Rivers Alton-Yuri and Carmine Gumshoe with permission. All spritework was originally made by Paul Robertson. I only made edits for Asuka, Nar, Juno, Roy, Gray, and Carmine. I don't do requests/commissions since I am not the original artist. Human sprites because 1. I love Paul Robertson's work, and 2. I can't do anthro to save my life. [STORY START] "Hurry up Asuka! The guys are waiting at Roy's place!" Asuka can hear her cousin's voice from her bedroom. "I know! I got the text too!" She calls out before slipping on her favorite gray hoodie. She quickly grabs her bag, and drumsticks before heading into the living room to meet up with her cousin. Without a word the two exit their apartment and lock the door before quickly, but quietly shuffling downstairs. Just as the door to their apartment block closes behind them the two break into a run. Roy's place isn't too far from their apartment block. They could make it in time if they were quick enough. The sun was just about to fully set when the two began their run. Street lights illuminated the streets of Vanhoover with snow covering anything that wasn't the road, or sidewalk. The day's snowstorm had passed, but it's remains likely wouldn't melt until next week if they didn't get another snowstorm. It was pretty cold, but nothing either of the two couldn't handle. The streets themselves were largely barren save for the occasional passing bus or car. After 10 minutes of running the two finally made it to their destination, only to find their bandmates already leaving the house. They quickly catch up only for the red maned stallion in the front to turn to yell at them. "There you two are! Why are you guys so late?! We're on in 40 minutes!" Nar motions to Asuka with a hoof. "Blame her." To which Asuka responds. "Maybe if you'd told us WHEN we were on BEFORE the day of our show I could have been ready on time." Roy scowls as he begins to grumble. "I gave you a time at 10 AM. That's plenty of time to get ready." Nar then decides to jump in with "C'mon Roy. It's a text from you. It takes considerable effort just to open one of your texts." This elicits a laugh from Juno, and a nod from Asuka. "Why did we even agree to let you back in in the first place?" Asuka groans. Juno shrugs before stating "I think we all just felt bad for him." The group continues their silent walk through the streets of Vanhoover with only the occasional remark from Nar or Juno. A joke here, a comment there, but it did nothing to brighten the mood. The silence was finally broken when Asuka managed to spot two familiar figures stepping off of a bus. Without pause she approaches the two figures. "Well what do we have here?" The shorter of the two figures turns to Asuka, and immediately cracks a smile. "Asuka! Just the mare I was looking for!" For a second it looks like the two plan to either hoofshake, or maybe hug, but neither of the two lift a hoof. "What are you two doing here?" Asuka asks with a raised eyebrow. "Well. I'm here for a few scenes for a movie." Gray responds before nodding to the other figure. "I've got a case that lead me to Vanhoover. I came across Gray and he dragged me with him here." Before Asuka can ask anymore questions Gray speaks up again. "I saw your band's name on a poster saying you were playing tonight, and I HAD to come see you guys live! But I didn't want to go alone and be weird so it's great that Carmine happened to be in the city!" The taller stallion simply shrugs. "I didn't even know it was your band Asuka. Weird name if you ask me." At this point Asuka's bandmates catch up to her, and begin to question the two stallions themselves. First is Roy. "Hey, you're Asuka's new friends right?" To which Gray feigns shock. "New?! We've known each other for over a year!" Roy narrows his eyes. "Riiight..." Next is Juno. "Are you guys new to Vanhoover??" To which Carmine responds. "Not entirely. We've been here to visit a few times separately." Finally, Nar with a comment rather than a question. "Finally! Our first fans... Outside of all the people who heard us play at the Glorian Amphitheater minus Roy." This causes Roy to shoot him a dirty look before Gray speaks again. "So are you expecting a big attendance tonight?" The band's eyes fall on Roy. "Y-yeah! We're popular in the city! There's going to be a lot of people in attendance!" Carmine then looks to Asuka to ask. "Do you even know when you're playing?" "The Quarry." Asuka had to admit. Out of all the rock clubs in Vanhoover, The Quarry was one of the worst. It was small, the food and drinks were cheap in quality, but expensive, and the sound crew always acted like they hated life itself. It didn't surprise her when she saw two ponies getting kicked out at the front door. From there the band split from their two new friends to head to the back entrance. Gray and Carmine wish the band good luck before paying the cover charge for the club. Once inside Gray immediately drags Carmine to the bar. Carmine took one look at the menu before deciding to save his appetite for a place Asuka showed him the last time he was in Vanhoover. His gaze returns to Gray to see him picking out multiple drinks from the menu. It was going to be a long night. Backstage Attack on Mango began setting up for their show. It was the first time they'd all played a show in months. They'd only had two weeks to practice, and no one was confident they'd play well, but with Roy being the only one who cared about his reputation the others agreed to play regardless. The band does a sound check with the sound crew to confirm their instruments are set up properly, and after some time the lights on stage dim. A stallion walks onto the stage to welcome everyone, and announce tonight's performance. The name "Attack on Mango" turned a few heads in the club, with Gray raising a glass of gin with a cheer. Carmine could feel the glares, and he didn't like them. Once the stallion was off of the stage the curtains were pulled back to reveal the ragged band on stage. Roy in the front was sweating bullets with the rest of the band seeming genuinely uninterested. Roy looks back to Asuka sitting behind the drums. After a second her forehooves shoot into the air with her drumsticks held in them. Her voice fills the club as she begins to shout. "WE ARE ATTACK ON MANGO!" She slams her drumsticks together as she counts the band in, and they begin to play. Roy gets halfway through the first verse when the doors to the club fly open, and a group of stallions rush onto the dance floor. The largest of the stallions shouts as he points to the band onstage. They slowly stop playing to stare until the stallion begins to shout. "Attack on Mango! We are Ned and the Meatheads! Prepare to fight!" The band is dumbfounded. Roy tilts his head slightly in confusion. "What?" The large stallion lowers his hoof. "The Battle of the Bands!" Again, a "What?" from Roy. "The thing you guys signed up for!" The band looks to Roy. "But isn't that about playing against each other in a show?" The large stallion seems bemused. "It's a fight between bands. Did you not read the sign up sheet?" Roy's cheeks turn red. "I skimmed it." The rest of the band is now quite angry. "Skimmed it? Then what DID you read?" The large stallion muses. "That there was a cash prize for the winning band." The club collectively sighs. "Well, we either fight, or you forfeit. What'll it be?" The large stallion raises an eyebrow. Roy is quiet for a moment as he looks back to his band. He turns back to shout "You're on!" The large stallion nods before pointing to the stage. One of the other stallions climbs up onto the stage, and attempts to grab hold of Asuka. She manages to reverse the grab, spin the stallion around, and throw him over herself off of the stage. At that time Nar removes his bass, and leaps off of the stage in an attempt to divekick one of the other stallions. The large stallion makes a gesture of cutting his throat with his hoof as Roy motions for him to come closer before the two bands break out into a brawl. Off to the side Carmine watches with concern. "Gray, aren't you worried Asuka might get hurt?" To which a rather inebriated Gray simply chuckles. "Not to worry Carmine. She's a feisty one. If those guys are able to spend so much time around her I'm sure they're tough."