Music is Magic

Chapters

Chance Meeting
Shimmering Jem, Sparkling Melody
Truly Outrageous
Time is Running Out
Always in My Heart
She's Got the Power
The Mood I'm In
A Mother Should Be

Chance Meeting

She wasn’t sure how many Hard Ciders that she managed to put away, but Twilight did know that she was way past a little buzz. Not that she could hold her liquor anyways, but she was able to function when drunk for the part. Well, function may have been exaggerating a little as she still became clumsier. Still, it also helped get rid of any inhibitions that could work against her when it came to being her normal shy self. When drunk, she was anything but shy.

“Look Miss, why don’t you just relax and enjoy the singing?” The barkeep said, wiping out a mug with a cloth while looking down at the purple unicorn with pity.

“I don’t need no stinking pity!” Twilight said, slamming her own mug down with her magic. Thankfully the barkeep gave her wooden mugs instead of glass ones, because it would have shattered from the force.

“I know they aren’t much, its open mic night. There’s actually a prize for the winner.” The barkeep chuckled, “Not that this crowd really deserves it so far.”

“How about a round of applause for Sonic Duet.” The earth pony on stage called out on the microphone. Only one pony even bothered clapping their hooves together as the embarrassed singer trotted off stage. “We have time for one more singer. Anyone else want to give it a shot?”

“I will!” Twilight and another unicorn cried out at the same time, trotting up to the stage. Normally Twilight would have noticed the bad shape the other unicorn was in, her yellow coat dull and dirty with her flame colored mane fairing little better. Her ribs were visible showing just how much she must have had to eat recently. In her drunken state though Twilight didn’t see it, only caring about blowing off steam over what happened earlier.

“Look, I was here first so why don’t you go back to your drinking!” The other unicorn snapped out at Twilight, making the purple unicorn bristle angrily.

“That’s funny, I’m pretty sure I was up here first!” Twilight snapped back, their eyes locking onto one another’s before the small crowd started booing.

“Sing or get off the stage!”

“Get off the stage you drunken nag!”

“Go away you street rat!”

“Fine! I’ll play instruments if you can sing!” The yellow unicorn snorted. “If we win we split the winnings.”

“If we win you can have them, I just need…I need to blow off some steam.” Twilight sighed, hanging her head a little. Despite her arguments of having better stuff to study, she was forced to take some music lessons when living at the castle. She may not have been the best playing instruments, but she understood a lot of the intricacies. “Play a slow ballad in G…and try to keep up with me.”

“You try to keep up with me!” The yellow mare snapped as she took several instruments in her magic, the act seeming almost foreign to her at first. After a few moments the instruments became steadier as the music began.

“Sometimes I feel so alone at loose ends. Sometimes don't know where to turn, or who to call my friends. But I'm okay, I'm okay. I have faith in myself, I'm okay. I'm okay…” Twilight began singing, her voice taking on a melodious quality. It seemed to please the crowd as they started cheering; though the more Twilight got into it the more memories of the recent past began to haunt her.

“You have a lot to think about.” Celestia had told her. Her mentor, her mother figure had turned her back on Twilight along with her friends to go comfort a fake. Even Shining Armor turned his back on her, throwing her out of the wedding and his life. Every single one of those ponies had dozens of reasons to believe Twilight over the fake, yet they didn’t. And the only two who may have had somewhat of an excuse should have known better than that, known that Cadence would never have acted that way.

They all turned their backs on her though, and the only apology she had gotten was one that didn’t even sound sincere from Applejack before they all turned their backs on her once again to usher Cadence out of the hall and away from Twilight. They had left Twilight to clean up the mess and make sure the hall was ready for the real wedding. As much as Twilight loved Cadence, there was no way she was going to do that after everything they all put her through. Instead she walked straight to her room, grabbed her pack and walked straight out of the castle. She hopped the first train out of Canterlot and ended up at the small village a few hours away from the capital city.

They had shown her that she meant so little to them, that they didn’t care how hurt she was so Twilight intended to show them. She would show them she didn’t need them, she didn’t need a bunch of backstabbers for friends. She would have been better off if she never met any of them.

~~~

“I'm gonna make it through today, I'm okay. Sometimes I go through so much in my mind, sometimes the space that I need is no place I can find. But I'm okay, I'm okay. I have faith in myself, I'm okay. I'm okay, I'm gonna make it through the day.” Twilight sung as Sunset concentrated on the music. She had learned some music before running away to that world full of humans. And when there she learned even more about music, the one boy she cared for getting her hooked on it. He only wanted one thing though, and when Sunset continued denying him he finally dumped her. She still had the guitar and keyboard though, and she spent many hours in the condemned house she used as a home playing them. They were what helped her survive, what helped keep her sane.

For nearly three years Sunset had lived in the abandoned place after the first couple months. She was naïve of the world and the jewels and bits she sold were bought from her at extremely low rates and the money wasted as people took advantage of her naivety by over charging her. She had tried getting a job, but didn’t have any papers that were required for some reason to work.

She had quickly picked up on how to use a computer though and managed to break into the school office and study the files of other students. Using them she was able to forge some documents to get her enrolled in Canterlot, hacking into the computer and changing some things to her liking. It was surprisingly easy, but the only easy thing she was able to do. Since she started going to school she managed to score free food, but no friends.

She had tried to blackmail some students, but it was no use. They quickly taught her a lesson in what not to do as the few students whose accounts she hacked ganged up on her. She was probably lucky to be left alive after the beating they gave her, though her reputation was completely gone. Not that she had much of one, but any hopes of climbing the social ladder faded away when those students spread lies and gossip around about Sunset that made almost every student avoid her when they weren’t hitting her.

Over the time that she was trapped in that world, her anger at Celestia had faded away. All she wanted was to sneak back home to Equestria and live out her days in some nice small town. Sure it wouldn’t be the castle, but it would be better than what she had back in the human world. For that reason Sunset had hurried through the portal back home the moment it opened up.

It was simple to sneak out of the castle and to this village. It wasn’t as bad as the human world, but things weren’t going as good as she would have liked. She had been trying to lay low so Celestia didn’t find her, so she couldn’t get many jobs yet. She wanted to make some money doing this open mic thing to buy a ticket out of the town and somewhere far away where she could get a job and settle down. It was far from what her dream was, but her dream was dead.

“Well folks, I think we have ourselves a winner!” The pony from earlier cried out as the music stopped and he came up on stage. The cheers of the crowd were actually a little deafening, but something passed between the two mares as they locked eyes with each other. They couldn’t help smiling a little as the cheers, bits and roses flew their way.

Author's Note

Thanks to Sunset_Sparkles who helped with fixing a lot of errors in this chapter :twilightsmile:

This story is dedicated to my GF who kept pushing me to write this. Also, thanks Admiral Q Ponyform for all the input.

This story will be updated slowly until I finish my other two active stories, and almost didn't even get written yet as I was planning on taking a break soon. My GF convinced me to keep writing for now and even got me to write some of this to see what kind of response we would get and see if it would be worthwhile even continuing it.

As for the song that they were singing:

Shimmering Jem, Sparkling Melody

Twilight sighed as she shared a booth with the pony that she had teamed up with to win the competition. They didn’t really win a lot of money, but the bits thrown at them helped increase the amount. She really didn’t need it though and she had given it to the mare, but she wouldn’t take it unless Twilight let her buy them a drink first out of it.

“So, as I said, my name is Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset said, looking around quickly as if paranoid that someone overheard her. It made Twilight wonder if some pony was tracking her or something. Not that Twilight blamed her; they were probably searching for her as well by now.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight said, sighing into her now half empty mug after taking a long drink form it. The eyes of the other mare widened in shock upon hearing Twilight’s name making the darker colored pony worry a little.

“I knew you looked familiar.” Sunset said, her eyes narrowing on Twilight making the purple unicorn’s worry grow even more. “What are you doing slumming it here with the rest of us. Shouldn’t you be in your nice cozy quarters, little Miss Princess’s Student?”

“I haven’t been her student for awhile, and I doubt she even cares for me except as some pony to do her dirty work.” Twilight huffed out. It was true, she was starting to feel like that was the only reason Celestia even bothered with her was because of the Element of Magic. The Princess saw her as some attack dog after seeing how powerful her magic was because she was stuck leading five untrained ponies into battle with three of the biggest threats to Equestria so far. The third was the only one she wasn’t directly involved in defeating with the elements, but it was enough to make her question her mentor and friends. Especially after the way they treated her at the wedding.

“So she chased you away to?” Sunset snorted, throwing her mane back over her head. “Wow I really wish I still had hands.”

“Hands?” Twilight asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion as Sunset merely giggled at her.

“It’s a long story, though I’m more surprised that you are more curious to what I said about hands than what I said about the Princess.” Sunset said, shaking her head in disbelief.

“I didn’t really want to pry.” Twilight said sheepishly, not wanting to admit that she was a little more interested in the new word than she was about gossip about her now former mentor.

“Sure you didn’t.” Sunset scoffed while rolling her eyes. “I was her personal student…just…like…you. In fact I was there the same time you were.”

“What? But I never saw you before!” Twilight gasped out, not sure if she should believe this new pony.

“Oh I was there, Celestia kept me away from you for some bull story or another. She changed the reason often enough. She made me so many promises…promised that she was going to be my mother and…I would be her Princess. A real Princess and would someday rule with her.” Sunset said, her voice becoming softer and filled with pain as she hung her head a little. Twilight reached over and put her hoof on Sunset’s own and smiled as the fire maned pony looked up at her, slowly returning the smile. “She started neglecting me more and more after you came. She didn’t need me…didn’t want me anymore, and even told me to get out of the castle when we had an argument. Tell me, what mother does that to their daughter?”

“What about your real parents?” Twilight asked before she could stop herself, the smile Sunset had dropping at the mention of family.

“I never had any…the Princess took me in and took care of me until she got bored of me.” Sunset sighed, “I…I ran from the guards who were ordered to escort me out of the castle. I…ran into a magic mirror that opened a portal for three days every three years. My life…really sucked there. For three years…I…sorry, I really don’t want to get into it.”

“It’s okay.” Twilight said, stroking Sunset’s own hoof. “I looked up to her as a mother even though I already had parents. There was an emergency recently and still the Princess ignored the threat and pushed for the wedding between Princess Cadence and my older brother forward. I found out that Cadence was an imposter and tried to warn every pony. No pony believed me, they abandoned me and my own brother disowned me over the fake. How could Princess Celestia not realize her own niece was missing and replaced with that…thing?”

“Those creatures? The changelings?” Sunset asked, shock filling her voice as she stared at Twilight without any doubts.

“Yeah, their queen trapped me in the caves under the castle and I could have died. I found the real Cadence though and we escaped. We barely managed to stop the invasion, but did I get any apologies or words of encouragement? No! I didn’t get anything but an apology from one pony that didn’t even sound halfway sincere. When the Princess told me to prepare for the real wedding and they left me alone…again!...I just walked out. I’ll show her I don’t need her! I don’t need any of them!”

“I…don’t really know much about this friendship thing…but how about we work together? We can team up and show the Princess that we can survive without her hypocrisy.” Sunset suggested making Twilight laugh a little as she finished off her mug.

“And how do we do that?” Twilight asked softly, though she was a little interested. She wanted to become successful on her own and defy the destiny the Princess tried to force on her and show every pony that she was no puppet.

“We did good singing tonight, every pony loved us.” Sunset suggested, “We could always try and be singers. I bet we could make a killing.”

“Yeah, and have the Princess breathing down my neck trying to drag me back home. Forget it!” Twilight snorted. There was no way she was going to go back and deal with the Princess and her crap.

“Twilight, we are unicorns. And if I’m right, you are very powerful. All we have to do is cast illusions over us while we sing. No pony will recognize us, and we can do something fun while sticking it to the so called Princess.” Sunset said, making Twilight slowly smile. It would be hard, the magic required to hold illusions over them could be a lot, but it could work. There were a few theories of Starswirl that she might be able to refine to make things easier even. If she could get a hold of a couple Celestial Gems and someone very adept as illusion magic, then maybe things could work out better than she thought.

The gems were rare though, but they wouldn’t even need a big gem. A small piece combined with a normal gem would be enough to get it to work if she was right. She wasn’t exactly the best at illusion magic, but she was passable enough to keep them over the two of them while performing. She would just need some pony very skilled to help create the matrices inside the gems to create what she was thinking about.

“You know…it could work…but singing? It might be fun, but I doubt we could make a living off of it.” Twilight said slowly, liking the idea, but weighing the negatives in as well.

“Sure it will be hard at first, but trust me, when we get our names out there then people will be paying us lots to perform for them.” Sunset said making Twilight cock her head to the side again.

“People?” Twilight asked slowly making Sunset facehoof.

“Never mind, are you in or out?” Sunset asked.

“In…I’m in.” Twilight said grinning, Sunset joining in with one of her own.

“Good, now all we have to come up with is our performer identities. I can’t let my name get out really. I don’t want the Princess to know I’m back yet.” Sunset said.

“I know my name for when we use the illusions.” Twilight grinned in a teasing manner, “I’ll be Shimmering Jem…or Jem for short.”

“Okay.” Sunset giggled, catching on to what Twilight was doing. “Call me…Sparkling Melody…or just Melody.”

“I can buy an instrument or two, but we will need money for train tickets and a place to sleep.” Twilight said.

“I can use the winnings for food, but we might have to rough it with the sleeping arrangements until we start making more money.” Sunset said making Twilight swallow nervously. She would do it, but it was a little scary. “And we should just buy a guitar for now, we can do enough with one until we get going.”

“It’s settled then, we will show her that we aren’t puppets.” Twilight said.

“Or useless. We will make her regret the day she abandoned us.” Sunset said.

XXXXXXX

A black unicorn with a pink mane and tail stood on the corner of a village about three hours away from Canterlot by train. Her cutie mark was a pink gem with a few starbursts around it. Next to her was a white unicorn with purple mane and tail with blue musical notes surrounding a guitar. In her magic she held up a guitar, playing it slowly as the black unicorn took a deep breath.

“Good evening ladies and gentle colts, my name is Jem and my friend here is named Melody. We’re just going to play a little song for you and we hope you enjoy it.” Jem called out, fighting to keep her nerves calmed down. She wasn’t drunk like she was when she first met her partner, so her nerves were playing havoc with her composure. An encouraging smile from Melody gave her the strength to take a deep breath and begin singing.

“It's a hard, hard life, there's no help along the way. It's a hard, hard life, it's a struggle night and day. It's a hard, hard life, and the weak do not survive. It's a hard, hard life, hard to keep your hopes alive.” Jem sung out, a small crowd starting to gather around enjoying the music. As the music continued more and more ponies came to see what was going on and tossed bits into the open guitar case on the ground.

Melody, or Sunset in her real form, enjoyed the attention as it made her feel good. It made both of them feel good and she couldn’t help looking at the pony in a new light. She knew what Jem really looked like, knew it was Twilight Sparkle, but she couldn’t help feeling a pull towards the pony. Of course she thought the mare was cute, but listening to her sing seemed to open her eyes…and heart even more.

She couldn’t help letting her magic waver a little as she realized that she was feeling attracted to the pony a little. More though than she really should be, especially after just starting their new…life?...together. She didn’t want to mess things up with her, Twilight being the first friend she ever really had.

Swallowing the lump forming in her, she pushed the feelings and thoughts out of her mind and just concentrated on the music letting it carry her along.

"Ponies stand in your way, but you push past them running for your life. And if luck goes your way, you may outlast them in this hard, hard life!"

Author's Note

Hope every pony enjoyed chapter 2. Don't worry, I'm not replacing Sunset and Twilight, it's just personas while performing, there will be plenty of normal Sunset and Twilight time as well. And yes it will be a pairing between Sunset and Twilight. :twilightsmile:

Here's the song that they were singing for this chapter.

Truly Outrageous

“We’re running out of money.” Twilight sighed as Sunset muttered curses as she restrung her guitar. It was times like this that she missed being human as it made tasks such as this a whole lot easier. True she had gotten more and more used to using her magic once again, she could play instruments easy now, but things that took much more control such as actually restringing an instrument took a lot more effort. Sometimes she wondered how pegasi and earth ponies managed.

“I know…and having to buy the strings didn’t help. We won’t be able to stay here much longer unless something happens.” Sunset said, already knowing that they were going to be having trouble soon. Sure they had earned a bit of a name for themselves the last few months, which got crowds coming to them when they stopped at a new town. With the bits they earned from their street performances they've managed to keep afloat until now.

Unfortunately, the fine they were given two weeks ago for performing without a license in one of the bigger cities has really eaten into their budget. And with the big dent placed in their earnings, things seemed to get worse as repairs had to be made to Sunset’s guitar and now the new strings for it. It meant that they would be sleeping under the stars which didn’t really bother them as they had to when they first started. It just meant that they would have to stick to smaller towns for the time being as they didn’t seem to require permits for their shows. It would take longer to build their reserves back up though.

“We will be okay though, I know we will.” Twilight said as she sat next to Sunset nuzzling her. Sunset couldn’t help leaning into it, feeling a little shiver passing through her body at the touch making her feel good. Not that she would admit it to the other unicorn, or admit that she was attracted to her. And with that attraction growing more and more as time went on.

She wanted so much to maybe explore those feelings and maybe even ask Twilight out, but she never really had experience with that sort of thing. All of the knowledge she had came from gossip she overheard in the human world and books which confused her at the same time. She was afraid that she was looking too far into things and the feelings she was having were really just feelings close friends had…something she never believed she would ever have. A friend.

“I know, but for awhile we might be a little tight on bits.” Sunset sighed, “I’m hoping that we get enough bits for train tickets to Bitsbe.”

“Isn’t that town a little too small?” Twilight asked, arching an eyebrow at the suggestion.

“It is small, but a lot of ponies stop there overnight during their travels. That means a lot of new ponies everyday.” Sunset explained, happy that she learned that detail from the inn keeper earlier.

“I didn’t know that, all I really knew was that it was a very small town.” Twilight said, unsure how to take that. She trusted Sunset, especially after the pony had trusted her with the story about her time in the human world. It didn’t make a lot of sense that such a small town like Bitsbe, where most places of business were closing and moving out, would get any visitors at all.

“Yeah, and there’s a big convention being held there soon. The inn keeper said if we wanted to make it in time for the convention we should leave by noon tomorrow.” Sunset said, growing a little more excited making Twilight smile. She didn’t see Sunset truly smile a lot, but getting this information seemed to really excite the pony making Twilight smile in return. Still…she had a nagging suspicion that something wasn’t right.

“Well, let’s head out and see what we can do about earning some money.” Twilight said, making Sunset’s smile grow even more before they took up their disguises. As they walked down the stairs and into the common room where several ponies were enjoying a meal they saw the inn keeper with a younger mare. She was a pink pony with a light blue mane with a microphone for a cutie mark.

“I got rid of more of your competition dear, told them that some fake convention is coming to Bitsbe to get them out of here before the competition tomorrow evening.” The inn keeper said making Sunset freeze in place as they overheard the conversation.

“I’m going to kill him!” Sunset hissed, though as Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder she sighed and was able to calm down.

“Don’t worry about him; let’s just go do what we were planning.” Twilight said as the inn keeper turned to see them, all color draining from his face seeing the still fuming expression on Sunset. He visibly relaxed as Sunset just snorted angrily and stalked away from him. Twilight took a mug that was sitting on the bar in her magic and dumped the sticky contents over his head before following.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know.” Sunset said, though she half smile showed she was very appreciative of the gesture.

“I know, but no pony tries to pull such a dirty prank on my best friend.” Twilight said happily as she trotted next to Sunset who felt like her heart was breaking and soaring all at the same time.

“Let’s just forget it, I want to play some music and get it out of my mind.” Sunset said as a crowd started gathering around them as the reached the park. They had a small following already, though with only a small percentage offering bits for their performances, they didn’t make a lot.

“Okay, how about…Truly Outrageous?” Twilight asked, getting a nod from Sunset as she took the guitar in her magic and started playing the music for the song. It was one of their new songs they had just written recently and once again Sunset found herself lost in the vision that was Twilight as she started singing.

“Look at me, in a different role, trying out a brand new part. But don't you worry baby, I know I'll never have a change of heart!” Twilight sang, her body moving with the music making Sunset move a little as well. A part of her wondered if maybe something was wrong with her as she felt just as attracted to Jem as she was toward Twilight. Sure she knew they were really the same pony under the illusion, but she couldn’t help feeling a little guilty.

The lyrics fit them so well though as the fans around seemed to love the new song, more and more ponies gathering around them. It was true, both of them were trying a new role in life and they were going to do their best at it.

“It's truly, truly outrageous. Truly, truly, truly outrageous (a fantasy!) Bein' anyone I wanna be! And on top of it all, you're here with me!” Twilight sang, Sunset supplying the backups to the song. She couldn’t help feeling butterflies as Twilight looked to her from the corner of her eyes while singing about being there with her. For a brief moment she wondered if perhaps that was meant just for her.

The loud cheers that greeted them broke Sunset from those thoughts as bits were tossed in her guitar case. It was more than they had actually planned on getting which was good, but still not enough to cover there recent losses and expenses.

“That was awesome you guys!” A voice that sounded somewhat familiar to Twilight cheered as she trotted up to them. “You are going to rock the battle of the bands tomorrow!”

“Vinyl?” Twilight gasped out, shocked to see Pinkie Pie’s friend there. Twilight had met the DJ twice while living in Ponyville as she came to visit Pinkie Pie.

“Awesome! You know my name? Most ponies just know me by my stage name.” Vinyl laughed, “So who else is in your band? Or do you have a full music system like my setup?”

“I’m sorry, but we don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sunset said, looking at the slightly scared look on Twilight’s face.

“Come on! You have to be here for the battle of the bands, the winner is guaranteed a record deal with Twilight Music.” Vinyl said, making Twilight cock her head as she wondered if that was just some kind of coincidence. “You two will probably take the prize. Sweet Celestia, most of the competition I’ve heard sound like some pony being tortured.”

“Yeah, well, we didn’t know about it and this…is…kind of all we have.” Sunset said, feeling a little let down at the opportunity that they couldn’t grasp because apparently they needed a full band with a full range of instruments if she understood what this pony was saying.

“Heck no! You two are going to that competition! I’ll provide my equipment and even take care of most of the track. You can borrow one of my electrics Melody. And Jem, I have wireless headsets so you don’t have to concentrate so much on holding a mic in your magic.” Vinyl said already making plans that left the two stunned.

“You don’t even know us.” Twilight said. Shaking her head.

“You already know my name apparently, and I hear you sing a couple weeks ago in Summerdale. You’re Shimmering Jem and Sparkling Melody.” Vinyl said, pointing at each one saying their names. “You two deserve this, and when you get the record deal I’m sure the studio will supply a house band. Or…well…if you wanted?”

“Wanted what?” Twilight asked, catching on quickly now. Vinyl wanted something from them, and Twilight was unsure of how to take it. She didn’t want to owe any pony anything, but if they wanted to do this they needed help. Question was, could they afford this pony’s help?

“I could…you know…travel with you for awhile? Don’t get me wrong, I love being the most awesome DJ in Equestria…but I want a change for awhile. I want to be a part of making music instead of playing it. Sure I can deliver some serious wubz…but I just need a change you know.”

“We…have to talk about it first.” Twilight said, noticing how tired Sunset seemed to be getting. She should have realized that after using so much power fixing the strings before having to help maintain their disguises would have tired her out. After so long as a human without magic, Sunset’s magical stamina was a little low despite being pretty powerful still.

“Twi-Twilight!” Vinyl gasped out as Twilight tried to take over both of their disguises only to misjudge the amount of powers causing their disguises to fluctuate momentarily. It wasn’t long enough for any pony not paying attention to notice. Sadly, it was enough for Vinyl.

“I can explain!” Twilight gasped out as she looked at Vinyl in fear, only to have the unicorn to hug her.

“You have no idea how worried every pony has been about you!” Vinyl said, squeezing Twilight. “I guess you don’t want me telling them if you are out her doing this.”

“If you don’t mind keeping a secret.” Twilight said hopefully, not liking the smirk growing on the pony’s face.

“Oh, I suppose I can’t tell any pony if I’m traveling with you two. Of course we will have to stop off and see my marefriend when she’s not in tour.” Vinyl said, wincing when she saw the angry glare Sunset was sending her. “Kidding, just kidding. Don’t worry Twi, I promise not to tell any pony. I really would love to help you though, now more than ever.”

“We don’t have a choice if we want to have a shot at that record deal Twi.” Sunset sighed.

“So you don’t mind?” Twilight asked.

“It’s up to you.” Sunset sighed, unsure of how to take this. It would be nice to have another member while at the same time it would take Twilight’s attention away from Sunset. Not that she was jealous, okay maybe she was a little jealous, but this was what was best for them all.

“Okay then, welcome to the band.” Twilight said hugging Vinyl making Sunset send a glare at the new member who returned the hug.

Author's Note

Here's the video for this chapter's song. :twilightsmile:

Sorry that it has been awhile since I updated, but I plan to try and update both this and Sunrise a few times each over the next couple of weeks. Hope you enjoy! :twilightsmile:

Also, thanks to BiomasterM2 for helping point out a lot of errors and rewording some things making this chapter at least 20% more awesome! :twilightsmile:

Time is Running Out

Twilight wasn’t sure about Sunset, but seeing all of the equipment Vinyl had in her trailer…a trailer she magically shrunk marking her as an elite of Celestia’s school…really shocked her. There were several guitars, a couple sets of drums, all kinds of audio and lighting equipment, keyboards, what Vinyl said were turntables and synthesizers, along with so many others were crazy. To be able to shrink so many things at once had to be very taxing.

“You better close your mouth or flies are going to get in.” Vinyl laughed as she pushed past the two. “I’d offer you ladies a drink, but I can’t keep food or anything organic in here because of the spells on the place that helps me shrink it for easy travel.”

Twilight should have realized that there were some kind of enchantments or magical amplifiers in the place to allow it to be shrunk. Of course Twilight herself could probably do it without them, not that she would brag about it, but it would leave her drained after. Just as much, if not more than she was drained after the Ursa Minor incident awhile back with Trixie. Twilight had to shake the thought out of her head otherwise she would be wondering just what happened to the mare again as she was to preoccupied to find her right after passing out from the exertion levitating the Ursa caused.

“So you take all of this with you everywhere?” Twilight asked as she regained control over her speech as Vinyl kicked back on a couch and stretched out.

“Sure do, cheaper when I want to stay in it instead of a hotel or inn. Plus I can keep a lot of my equipment on hoof if I get any awesome gigs. And I can unwind just playing something when I want. I may not be the best musician despite being the best disc jockey, but I am pretty good if I do say so myself.” Vinyl said as Sunset was looking at a red guitar hanging on the wall with a fire scheme and a sun that almost looked just like her cutie mark. “You two can pick out whatever you want for the battle of the bands then we can go over what to play. I will be on the synth and keyboard.”

“How do we know if you’re good enough?” Sunset asked, shooting a strange look over her shoulder at Vinyl. “I mean, you just admitted that you were the best DJ while not being the best musician.”

“And I’m not, but I can promise I’m just as good, if not better than the rest of the competition. Only a few groups will have any competition against us, and I honestly don’t think that they will be a problem.” Vinyl said with a cocky grin, “Our biggest threat will be a group that has a friend of mine in it. Well…we aren’t really that close, but we do hang out sometimes when I’m in town. It’s her friends that I don’t really care for.”

“Oh, what’s wrong with her friends?” Sunset asked, arching an eyebrow.

“They can be nice, but they are too immature and pull too many pranks that can hurt other ponies sometimes. And her dad and his friends only make it worse egging them on and pulling pranks themselves. My friend has given up trying to change them, but she loves them because they are all family…or like family, and stays with them.” Vinyl explained, sighing as a knock came from the door. “Be right back girls, don’t be afraid to take stuff down and look at it.”

“Sure thing.” Sunset grinned as she pulled the guitar that she was looking at down from the wall with a look that screamed, ‘MINE!’

“So, are you sure that you are okay with this?” Twilight asked, still a little uncertain. She wanted to have a chance at the battle of the bands as it could be the break they desperately needed.

“Honestly, I don’t know how much to trust her…especially after finding out that she’s friends with the competition.” Sunset said, testing out the guitar, but without an amp to hook it up to she couldn’t tell how it sounded. “If you know her though…and think it’s okay…I’ll trust your judgment.”

“Thanks.” Twilight said, nuzzling Sunset as she walked by in thanks before sitting on one of the other couches that formed a ‘U’ shape around a coffee table. Too bad they didn’t have something to drink while relaxing there. It looked like it’d be really nice. “I think we can trust her, I mean she’s always been really nice the few times I’ve met her and Pinkie Pie talked about how great she was for days after she left.”

“Good to know Pinkie still talks about me.” Vinyl said, her voice coming from near the entrance, talking rather loudly actually. “I have a friend who wants to talk to you Jem and Melody!”

“Crap!” Sunset hissed as Twilight waved her off and cast the illusion over both of them just in time for Vinyl to come back with a hooded mare.

“Hey girls, this is my friend I was talking about. Her name’s Siren Stormer. Stormer, these are my friends Shimmering Jem and Sparkling Melody.” Vinyl said as the cloaked mare shuffled back and forth nervously.

“I just wanted to come by to apologize for what my father did.” Stormer sighed as she pulled back her cloak to reveal the same mare the innkeeper was talking to. “He means well, but he goes about things the wrong way sometimes.”

“And why should we listen to anything you have to say?” Melody demanded, but settled down when Jem put a comforting hood on her shoulder.

“You don’t really have to, but I did want to apologize for what happened.” Stormer said, looking away in shame while Melody glared at her though making no moves against her.

“It’s okay, sometimes we can’t help what our friends or family do. Just be careful, if he does that to the wrong ponies he may end up in trouble of some kind.” Stormer said, sighing in exasperation. “I love him, but…he’s an idiot.”

“Okay, so your father is an idiot, but that doesn’t explain the cloak.” Melody said, almost sounding as if she was accusing Stormer of something.

“It’s so my dad or friends don’t see me coming here. They view Vinyl as…competition and a distraction. Just because she’s…well…in love with another mare.” Stormer said, swallowing nervously.

“Hey, it’s ok, I get that crap a lot. What matters is that I have my friends and family, including you and Octi.” Vinyl said grinning while Jem frowned a little.

“What’s wrong with liking another mare?” Jem asked, sounding rather confused.

“As in like-like. As in being in love.” Vinyl clarified for Jem, earning a laugh from Stormer and a worried expression from Melody.

“So, what’s wrong if a mare loves another mare? As long as they loved each other then that’s all that matters.” Jem said, getting a huge smile from Melody and a nod from Vinyl.

“Exactly, it’s something that some big cities look down on, and maybe some smaller towns depending…but places like Ponyville and Canterlot really doesn’t care about that sort of thing.” Vinyl explained.

“Well, I better go, I have practice and if I’m late my dad will yell at me again.” Stormer sighed as she pulled her hood back up and left, Vinyl seeing her to the door.

“Do you trust them?” Sunset asked, dropping her illusion as Twilight did the same.

“Vinyl I do, I know her a little through an old friend.” Twilight sighed, feeling bitterness towards her so called friends. It saddened her a little as she was sure the longer she spent away from them, the less anger she would feel for them. Yet her bitterness towards them only grew more and more. “Stormer, I don’t know, but she did seem kind of nice.”

“Yeah, don’t let that fool you.” Sunset snorted as she remembered some girls from Canterlot who she thought could become her friends. And at first they were friendly enough, but the two more athletic girls of the group pretty much forced her to stop bothering as they treated her like crap. They said they would give her a chance yet never trusted her or wanted to be seen with her. The only one she kind of missed was the shy one as out of all of them, she was truly the kind one.

“Anyways, what do you want to play for tomorrow?” Vinyl asked as she came back in, stretching a little before adjusting her shades.

“We have a few songs that could work.” Twilight said as the three sat in a circle going over possible plans as well as going over the songs that they thought would be the best ones.

“We can talk about this all we want, but if we don’t actually try playing anything, we are never going to know if we mesh well together.” Sunset finally said, putting a stop to the brainstorming session.

“Okay, well let’s play something and see what happens.” Vinyl said, getting a nod of agreement from Twilight.

“Okay, how about Time is Running Out.” Twilight asked, seeing the two nod she took a deep breath as Vinyl played with her synth and a few moments later bass and drums started playing as the DJ started playing keyboard while Sunset joined in on the guitar. Smiling at them, Twilight prepared herself to add her voice to it.

"Time, time, time, time! Time is runnin' out! So just keep thinkin' if we make it, how much we'll have to show for it. We can't give up there's too much at stake, come on baby let's go for it!” Twilight sung, both Vinyl and Sunset providing backup vocals as the music and their voices meshed perfectly as if they were meant to do this.

The lyrics was a little ironic in a way Twilight mused as she sang, as their time was running out until the Battle of the Bands and they had little time to prepare for it. Still, listening to just how good they were together, even Sunset had to admit Vinyl was going to make an excellent addition to their group.

"So just keep thinkin' if we make it, how much we'll have to show for it! We'll never stop till we reach the top, come on baby let's go for it!” Twilight sung, finishing the song a few moments later to all threw of them wearing huge grins.

“Okay, maybe I was wrong about you.” Sunset said with a shrug.

“Well, that’s good to hear, because I really want to do this.” Vinyl said, “I want to be a part of something creating music, just not playing it.”

“Well, welcome aboard.” Twilight said hugging Vinyl, Sunset following, albeit a little hesitantly. She really didn’t want to share Twilight, but she had to remind herself it was for the best and it was silly being jealous over this. Wasn’t it?

Author's Note

I hope this works out well as most of it was actually already written from a scrapped idea, but hoping that it will work as an in-between chapter between the last chapter posted and the once I posted a couple weeks ago. Sadly my GF wasn't here to run it with her and get her help picking out the song, but I hope I managed to pick out a decent one for it. :twilightsmile: Thanks to BiomasterM2 for suggeting I use this to bridge the chapters

Always in My Heart

They had worked hard staying up all night to get everything set just right, yet nothing they had done had prepared her for what Twilight was looking at backstage. The crowd there to watch the Battle of the Bands was ranging in the hundreds, if not thousands, and it was making her head spin. Sure they usually had large crowds at times, but nothing could hold a candle to this. She felt as if she was going to faint.

“Relax, it will be okay.” Sunset, or as she was known as with her illusion on, Melody said while nuzzling the illusioned form of Twilight, or what the ponies just on the other side of the curtain knew her as, Jem.

“It’ll be fun, so don’t let it get to you. Just ignore the crowd and let the music flow through you. Concentrate on the music and your enjoyment of doing it.” Vinyl said trying to encourage Jem as the mare was fighting to keep herself steady as the current group was just finishing off there set.

“No!” Jem gasped as she caught sight of a pony she wasn’t sure she wanted to see, her father. He wasn’t at the rehearsal, yet Twilight couldn’t help wondering just how disappointed he was in her. Shining Armor always got away with so much while she was always reprimanded when she failed to live up to expectations. She loved him of course, he was her father, but she had a feeling he took Shining Armor’s side over the treatment she received from her brother.

“What is it?” Melody asked with worry, looking over Jem’s shoulder searching the audience for what caused her distress as she knew it wasn’t simple jitters now.

“My father is in the audience.” Jem sighed, unsure if she could go out there now. The more she thought about him though, the more she remembered all the good times as well. And there were plenty of those, though they drastically lessened when she was made Celestia’s student. Yet something he always told Twilight always stuck with her and even ended up being turned into a song.

“Are you fighting with him to?” Vinyl asked making Jem snort.

“I’m not fighting with anyone, I just don’t want anything to do with them. I wasn’t good enough for them so as far as I’m concerned I’m better off without them.” Jem said bitterly, though she was forced to wipe at her eyes. “Look, I know we worked mainly on the one song, but do you two think we could change it?”

“I don’t know, I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” Melody said a little skeptically. After talking about it a few moments before they were called to the stage, they decided to do it with a little trepidation. Jem wanted to send out a message to her father as she decided that while she was unsure about him, she still loved him especially since he wasn’t one of the ones who shattered her heart.

“Hello everyone.” Jem said as the small group took the stage. She had to lick her lips several times as she looked out at the sea of ponies. “I admit that it’s a little scary standing up here in front of all of you, but I hope you enjoy the song we have to sing for you all. I know that the planners have something listed for us, but there is a special pony in the audience that I’d like to dedicate a different song to.”

Jem couldn’t help smiling at the collective aww’s from the audience as Melody and Vinyl began playing the music.

“Seasons come, seasons go, but you're always there in my heart.” Jem sang as memories of her past began filling her head. Memories of her first break from being Celestia’s personal student and apprentice and of her father comforting her. Telling her that no matter what he would always love her, telling her something she remembered even to this day. ‘Twily, no matter how many seasons come and go, you will always be in my heart.’

It was a sweet sentiment and managed to cheer her up at the time, as well as help her feel better on those lonely nights when she really started to miss her parents and BBBFF. It was such a shame that a bit of a rift formed between her and her parents since moving to Ponyville. It wasn’t that they had a huge fight or anything, but their correspondences seemed to become less and less.

“You're a part of me, as I am of you, I can't leave you behind.” Jem sang, noticing how enraptured the audience was in the song, more than one watery eye among them. Looking toward her father, Jem noticed him look very sad, yet a little happy at the same time as he appeared to lose himself in one thought or another.

Another memory came to her as she remembered her first Hearth’s Warming Day away from home. Two days later her parents came to see her and bring gifts, as well as words of love and encouragement. She could remember her mother and father both telling her, ‘We could never leave you behind or forget you, you are a part of us as we are a part of you. Never forget that my little Sparkle.’

”Always near, ever dear, you're always there in my heart. Always there in my heart!” Jem finished, the music dying down. At first she thought the crowd may not have really liked it, but then they burst into cheers and clopping of hooves applauding them. Jem wiped a few tears from her own eyes as the large screen above them lit up showing the votes that every pony entered on their hoof held voting terminals given to them as they entered. Looking up nervously, Jem saw that they had twice as many votes than any other group making Melody and Vinyl pile onto her in a group hug.

“We did it!” Melody squealed as Jem looked toward her father who locked eyes with her a few moments before getting up and walking out. A part of her felt a little hurt that he left, but she reminded herself that he didn’t know her. She was actually curious as to why he was there to begin with.

“I still can’t believe we are getting a contract.” Vinyl said in awe as the trio stood outside the office of the owner of Twilight Records, waiting to be let in. They were given directions that the owner wanted to meet them in person before signing a contract. There was no name on the door though, the secretary letting them know that the office was actually just an empty one as the owner ran things from the office back in Canterlot. He had to be there for the Battle of the Bands though. “Thank you both for letting me be a part of this.”

“Your very welcome, thank you for joining us. We couldn’t have done it without you.” Jem said, smiling at the eager unicorn while knowing very well that Sunset had other thoughts on the matter. Still, Jem looked forward to the future as she was well on her way to proving that they could make it on their own without the Princess’s meddling in her life.

“He will see you now.” The secretary said coming out of the office, into the receptionist office where they were gathered.

“Thank you.” Jem said as the trio made their way into the room, Jem stopping in shock as she saw the pony sitting behind the desk.

“Congratulations you three, the performance you gave was outstanding.” Night Light said in greeting, gesturing to the cushions in front of the low desk. Melody and Vinyl took seats on them with Jem following much slower. “My name is Night Light, as I’m sure you know Miss Scratch as we’ve already met on several occasions. Please introduce me to your friends?”

“This is Sparkling Melody and Shimmering Jem. They’re actually the original group, but they let me join them. I’m kind of getting a little burned out just being a DJ. You know how I want to be a part of making the music.” Vinyl said, smiling at Night Light before finally realizing something. This was Twilight’s father!

“I’m sure your parents are very proud of you, Jem.” Night Light said giving a small smile to the pony who shook her head.

“I doubt that.” Jem sighed making Melody lean in and nuzzle her.

“Oh my, so you two are an item?” Night Light asked with a chuckle and gleam in his eye. It was something that bothered Jem as it was raising warning bells in her head.

“What! No! We aren’t like that!” Melody choked out, blushing brightly which confused Jem. Of course they were an item, they were friends and band mates. Why was that something to blush over?

“It’s okay, you don’t have to be so defensive about it.” Night Light said as he shifted some papers on the desk with his magic. “I do have to ask, is Jem your real name? Or just a stage name?”

“It’s my real name.” Jem squeaked out as she tried to avoid looking into the stallion’s eyes. She was beginning to think about just leaving, contract or no.

“Well, it is a beautiful name.” Night Light said gently, “You know, your song made me think about my daughter. She’s been missing for about seven months now, and I miss her deeply.”

“Do you really miss her?” Jem asked softly, looking up at him as he wiped at his eyes. Jem could feel her own eyes misting over.

“More than you can imagine. Her idiot brother broke her heart and her friends didn't help matters much. I have to say I’m not really happy with any of them right now, I expected better from my son. I truly hope it was all the spells forced on him by that bug that made him act that way like the investigators claimed.” Night Light grunted out, pushing the papers over the desk to the three.

“What if she didn’t want to be found? Would you keep her secret if she asked you to and let her just hide away from the rest?” Jem asked softly getting a smile from Night Light.

“As long as she was happy, I’d only tell her mother who would keep it a secret as well. She misses her baby girl so much. We both regret letting the Princess take her on as an apprentice since it caused a rift in our family. We believed we were doing the right thing for her at the time.”

“What if she didn’t want to be a royal mage anymore? Would you be disappointed then?” Jem sniffed as Vinyl and Melody each put their hooves on either of Jem’s shoulders.

“Sweetie, I don’t care what you do as long as you are safe and happy.” Night Light said shocking them. “I love you and miss you.”

“You know?” Jem asked letting her illusion fade away.

“I suspected it when you started singing and looked into my eyes. You can change the way you look, but I will always know those eyes.” Night Light sniffed wiping at his eyes, “A father always knows his baby girl, no matter how good she is at trying to hide.”

“Daddy!” Twilight sobbed launching herself over the desk and into his waiting hooves.

Author's Note

I'm truly sorry for being so long since updating this story, but my GF is a big part of this story though she's getting back into it and we hope you enjoyed this chapter. So yeah, Night Light and Velvet will know Twilight is okay and for the most part very happy, and will show up from time to time to see her. Even though they do know the truth, they won't be telling anyone as they aren't happy with them and think they deserve their worry as punishment after what they did. :twilightsmile:

She's Got the Power

It had been three months since winning the Battle of the Bands and the group had produced two records so far that had both broken several records such as most sold from a new band on the first day of release. Their popularity was increasing by the day with many cities inviting them to perform there which was a little staggering. Still they were making it, making more than enough to live a very comfortable life not only for themselves, but in Twilight and Vinyl’s cases, their families as well.

Despite all of the attention and fun they had, it was still a lot of work. Especially for Twilight and Sunset as they learned just how hard it was to maintain their illusions throughout the few large shows they did while their shows they put on before was only one or two songs for a small crowd. Still, it didn’t keep them from doing their best as they were all determined more than ever to do this.

“So, you girls ready?” Velvet asked as they headed to the fair grounds where they would be performing in Manehattan after Night Light asked them to since one of his old friends were responsible for the entertainment. They were happy that it promised to be a smaller gig, their instruments already at the platform they were to perform on after several other entertainers finished their acts. It left them time to enjoy the rides and some of the games beforehand. It was kind of sad that they had to wear cloaks though it also let them stay in their real form before having to use the illusions.

“I guess we’re ready.” Twilight said, smiling to their manager which was her mother after she revealed that she quit working for Celestia after the wedding. Mother and daughter loved being able to work together, able to spend the time together they missed when Twilight grew up in the castle as the Princess’s personal student. “Though I am looking forward to seeing the magic show.”

“Magic show?” Sunset asked, coming up beside Twilight to see a poster advertising the act that would be before their own. It seemed that Trixie had somehow managed to secure a spot at the fair which made Twilight smile as she had worried about the traveling magician after she ran away from Ponyville.

“Yeah, some pony I kind of know is doing it.” Twilight said with a smile, “I can’t wait to see what she does today. She tells the best stories!”

“Well then maybe we should head to the stage to watch, it should be starting soon.” Vinyl said, smirking at the jealous look Sunset shot Twilight while the violet unicorn didn’t notice it. Velvet did take notice and shook her head while smiling a little. She would love to see the young unicorn get over whatever kept holding her back and just ask Twilight out, she was sure her daughter would be happy if Sunset did.

“Girls, I’m not too sure if you want to go near the stage as part of the audience.” Velvet said, stopping as she noticed five ponies that were very familiar to her.

“Its fine, mom, we will just avoid them.” Twilight said getting a confused look from Sunset.

“Come one, come all, and pay witness to the wonders of the Great and Powerful Trrrrriixxxiieeeeeee!” Trixie cried from the stage, throwing her front hooves into the air as smoke blasted up around her and fireworks exploded overhead. Twilight couldn’t help feeling excited as she would be able to watch the whole show uninterrupted. Before she was too stressed out to go, worrying about showing off her own magic or seeing some pony else show theirs off. What little she did see, she loved as Trixie was so good with illusions making them appear and disappear so gracefully without even showing any signs of fatigue. Only a master illusionist could do that, which Twilight wasn’t. Sure Twilight and Sunset were both two of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria, but only in their respective fields as Trixie was in her own.

“Booo, get off the stage you hack!” Rainbow Dash called out, not many of the other ponies seeming to pay much attention to Trixie other than some of the younger colts and fillies. Hearing Rainbow Dash do something so rude angered Twilight, especially since she was looking forward to this show before having to perform herself. “We want to see Jem, not so fake!”

“While I don’t agree with Dash here with how she’s going about it, I do think it best you get off the stage darling. We don’t need another Ursa Minor rampaging.” Rarity said, acting more refined, but just as bad.

“That Ursa Minor wasn’t Trixie’s fault!” Trixie snapped out, her eyes going wide when she saw who it was who said it.

“You!” Trixie hissed angrily pointing at Rainbow Dash.

“So it’s true?” Gasped someone from the growing crowd, more and more ponies being drawn by the argument.

“I did hear something about a poor magician drawing an Ursa into Ponyville and caused a lot of damage.” Another voice said, making Trixie take a step back with her lip quivering and eyes starting to water.

“That is enough!” Twilight screamed, her magic washing over her under the cloak applying her ‘Jem’ illusion. She stomped up the steps on the side of the stage to stand next to Trixie, Sunset and Vinyl following soon after.

“And who are you? One of Trixie the Great and Pathetic’s audience plants?” Rainbow Dash asked, flying up to hover just above them.

“No, I’m some pony who knows the difference between a showmare and fraud!” Jem snapped throwing her cloak off. “And Trixie is no fraud! In fact I was there the night of the Ursa and Trixie risked her life to protect the two foals who led that Ursa into Ponyville.”

Rainbow Dash looked on in shock, her jaw hanging open as Jem stood there glaring at her in anger. She didn’t seem able to formulate a response to Jem’s claims as the others came up to surround her.

“Do you hate us?” Pinkie Pie asked, her mane falling flat while Fluttershy seemed to shy behind Applejack who was looking on in shock, yet anger while Rarity just stood there unsure of what to say.

“Now that there is a straight out lie! We would have known if you were there!” Applejack finally said, the others nodding in agreement.

“Then why do I know Twilight Sparkle pleaded with you to leave her alone? Trixie may have bragged a little, but that’s what a showmare does. They have to sell themselves and their art as Trixie is one of the best illusionist I have ever seen. And even Twilight Sparkle agrees with me.” Jem scoffed, Melody and Vinyl ditching their clothes. “I guarantee Trixie is the best unicorn illusionist in all of Equestria and her stories are the best.”

“Girls, please don’t fight.” Fluttershy squeaked out.

“I’m not fighting, I’m just stating facts.” Jem said, “Trixie, is a pony I would be proud to call a friend and I would be honored if she would let us perform with her.”

“Your crazy!” Rainbow Dash snapped as the crowd started booing.

“Get off the stage!”

“Let them perform!”

“Come on you lot, off the stage.” Two earth ponies who were serving as security guards said ushering the group of girls off the stage as Trixie came over to Jem.

“Do you really wish to be Trixie’s friend?” Trixie asked softly, getting a nod from Jem.

“I do, would you like to put on a show together?” Jem asked, Trixie nodding a few moments later.

“Let’s have some fun then.” Jem said as they went and got their stuff from behind the curtains and pushed it out, Vinyl’s synth on a small platform with wheels. Jem gave Trixie one last smile before the music started as Trixie started casting illusions, creating realistic looking mythical creatures, dangerous monsters and normally timid forest creatures all getting along and dancing to the music much to the amusement of the younger ponies in the crowd.

“Like a crystal gleaming bright, like a prism bending light! She can turn the day into night, she's got the power!” Jem sang, Trixie making the sky seem to darken as if it was night, the moon replacing the sun while pulling out a somewhat large crystal from her hat letting it balance on her hoof, holding it up as the light from the false moon shone through it, it created rainbows going in all different directions making the ponies look on in awe as it was no simple trick of a prism, as the rainbow colored beams were so bright and vibrant.

“See the way the candles gleam, feel the sun throw off its beam! She can turn life into a dream, she's got the power!” Jem continued as the sun reappeared alongside the moon as flames from candles surrounded them without the actual candles supporting them.

“Her mastery is no illusion, she’s got the power!” Jem sung, finishing up moments later as the illusions slowly faded while the crowd stared up at them for several long moments before they finally starting cheering, more than just a few of the cheers being directed to Trixie herself as a few tears escaped while bowing to the crowd.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Velvet waited for the remaining element bearers, and her daughter’s old friends to wonder away from the cheering with dejected looks on their faces. She was angry at them, but Twilight had pulled her aside during the cheering before the encore started and asked her to deliver a simple message to Pinkie Pie. If it was up to Velvet she wouldn’t have as she did not like these girls after what they had done, but she had promised her daughter.

“You know, I’m beginning to wonder if the elements made a mistake when choosing you girls.” Velvet said getting their attention, the angry looks at the accusation falling away at the realization of who was talking.

“How many times do we have to apologize?” Applejack sighed, hanging her head much like the others. Pinkie Pie though already had her head lowered and while Velvet thought the mare’s mane looked much better this way, she did know it was a sign that the earth pony was deeply troubled and saddened. Despite being angry at them, she didn’t like seeing the pink pony in such a bad state.

“Until I actually believe it, but I’m not here for that.” Velvet sighed, “I came to deliver a message to Pinkie Pie.” Velvet moved over to whisper in the pink mare’s ear. “No, she doesn’t hate you, not anymore. She’s deeply disappointed in all of you, but maybe someday she will come see you. Until then, she expects you to keep her secret if you really care about her.”

“Really?” Pinkie sobbed out as she pulled back, but her hair had poofed back up a lot which Velvet couldn’t help smiling a little at. Sure she may have embellished the message some, but maybe it was for the best as it seemed to cheer one of the only two of the girls she could almost say she could possibly forgive.

“Yes, really. I have work to do so enjoy the fair.” Velvet said before wondering off.

Author's Note

We will be going on vacation and wanted to let everyone know, so wanted to get at least a chapter out for this before we go. I'm sorry it is kind of short, and sorry if the description of Trixie's part wasn't all that great as I'm not very good with that stuff.

The Mood I'm In

Trixie sighed as she sat at the local library; a little shocked that they actually had the book she needed in the reference section. It was kind of funny that a few short weeks ago she hated Twilight Sparkle with a passion and now she was actually helping the unicorn after the humiliation in Ponyville. Yet not only had Twilight made things up to her through her actions at the fair, though at the time she didn't know it was her, but the purple unicorn also reunited Trixie with the only unicorn she could consider family.

It had been years since she saw Sunset Shimmer, but when they both realized just who the other was, there was a teary reunion as they told each other everything. It was hard to believe that there was another world, but she also knew Sunset wouldn't lie to her about that. And it was also nice to know that Sunset just hadn't abandoned Trixie like a part of her feared happening.

Studying the book before her, she couldn't help wondering if this was such a good idea as to do what Twilight and Sunset wanted. To create such a thing as a self sustaining enchantment connected to each other was the easy part as Trixie's own broach was created by herself to make the fireworks and some of the illusions for her shows. Twilight and Sunset wanted more though, they wanted to be able to communicate if they are farther away as well as the ability to create illusions on the fly, which was possible though difficult. It could also be dangerous as the two gems that they would use would have to be imbued with a small part of their soul and to do so they would have to bare their hearts and souls to each other as they would have to enter the astral plane and their soulscape. If they weren't as close as they seemed the could end up seeing things that they could hate each other over. And if that wasn't enough, they would be creating an artificial intelligence with what they wanted to do that could actually end up being more and possibly dangerous if there was any darkness hidden in either’s soul.

"Why did Trixie agree to this?" Trixie sighed. "Oh yeah, Mrs. Velvet offered Trixie a contract for performing and a new trailer."

"I don't know about this, Twi." Melody hissed softly as the two walked down the street in their cloaks, yet keeping up their illusions as they didn't want any pony to spot them as their true selves, especially a certain five ponies that Twilight/Jem wanted to check up on after learning from her mother where they were staying. She felt guilty for being as hard on them as she was, yet Sunset felt that she wasn't hard enough after the pain they put her through.

"I know they hurt me, Sunset, I know that better than any pony." Twilight sighed, "I still care for them and I do want to know that they are okay. I don't plan on going back to them, I'm happy with what I'm doing with you and Vinyl, a lot happier than I was as Celestia's student. I just can't forget that they were my first real friends though and I still care for them."

"Well here's your chance." Sunset said, motioning ahead of them to see Rarity stuffing something in a trash can.

"Hello Rarity." Jem said, getting the unicorns attention to see the tear stained muzzle.

"Hello darling." Rarity said, her voice sounding sad and defeated.

"What are you doing?" Jem asked, sitting down to study the mare before her.

"I came here to compete in the fashion show, but I don't deserve to." Rarity said, angry at herself as she glared at the pile of clothing and papers sticking out of the trash. "I can't even come up with any good designs after what you said. You were right, I was acting like an idiot and it wasn't the first time."

"Look Rarity, I was a little harsh." Jem said moving over to hug Rarity. "You shouldn't give up on your dreams because of a silly mistake. If you truly are sorry for the things you did, then do your best to apologize when you get the chance but don't put your life on hold in the meantime. It won't help you or who you want to apologize for."

"Do you really know Twilight?" Rarity asked with hope shining in her eyes.

"I do, we are very good friends and if it wasn't for her Melody and I would have never met." Twilight said with a smile as she pulled back her hood revealing Jem, though Rarity already knew it was her. "I won't lie, she was very hurt over what happened at the wedding, but she doesn't hate you."

"What do I do?" Rarity asked, sounding lost.

"Well for starters, how about a cup of tea? Do you have any inside?" Jem asked, Rarity giving her a bit of a smile.

"How's it going, Trixie?" Velvet asked, sitting down across from Trixie who was just closing a book and adding it to the stack next to her.

"Great, Trixie has everything she needs now except for the gems." Trixie said as she held back a yawn. It was tiring and boring work, but worth it if she could help out her old friend and hopefully her new one.

"That's wonderful dear.” Midnight said happily though she had to admit she wished that Twilight and Sunset could just go about as themselves and not have to hide their identities. Even if they did though at least she knew the truth and had her daughter back which made her extremely happy. Even happier that she gets to spend so much time with her lately as she was traveling with them on this tour.

It was hard to believe that she was against Night Light investing in the recording company, and she was terrified that they were going to lose that when the previous owner that was then Night Light’s partner took a lot of the companies money and left. Night Light refused to let all those ponies lose their jobs and threw himself in trying to fix things while Twilight was missing as there wasn’t much they could do but pray for her. Now the newly named Twilight Music was the largest recording company in all of Equestria as they not only set up concerts and sold records, but they also managed other venues of entertainment such as magic shows and even fairs.

“Trixie has been thinking, she doesn’t want pity or given a chance because she’s doing this for your daughter.” Trixie sighed, kicking herself. This was her chance and she was throwing it away, but she didn’t want to make it look like the only reason she was helping Sunset was because of their offer of a contact.

“Honey, I’m not sure exactly what you are thinking, but I was planning to offer you a trial contact with transportation if you needed it after seeing your show. That was one of the most beautiful displays of illusions I have ever seen.” Velvet said, smiling to the show mare. “I truly believe that you have a bright future ahead of you and would be honored for us to be a part of it.”

“Really?” Trixie asked, her eyes growing misty.

“Really.” Velvet replied nuzzling Trixie who hugged her.

“I’m just having trouble coming up with designs and it’s almost too late. It probably is too late because I need models and after the argument I had with the girls earlier, I won’t have time to find any pony else.” Rarity sighed.

“Well, one thing at a time.” Jem said, smirking at Melody who was shaking her head no.

“No way, I am not doing any modeling.” Melody said frantically, but Jem used her magic to create an illusion of two different dresses on them as she started humming a little before starting to sing.

“Oh, oh, mood I'm in! Oh, oh, mood I'm in! I can be whoever I want to, anyone at all! I can strut, when I want to strut! Or hide behind a parasol!” Jem sang, thankful for all of the lessons her mom had her take by professionals learning to dance the last few months. She smirked when Melody got into it, joining in with her own voice as their outfits changed again.

Rarity watched, her jaw hanging open as the outfits that Jem created looked familiar, yet gave her a lot of inspiration. Quickly she grabbed her sketchbook and started sketching out some designs from the ideas of the private show she was getting.

“It all depends on the mood I'm wearin’, it all depends on the mood I'm in! I can be beautiful or truly outrageous, it all depends on the mood I'm in!” Jem and Melody both sang, each one changing the others outfit with magic making the illusions look so real.

Finally the song came to a stop as Rarity started wiping the tears she just realized she had away, thankful for the two mares help getting over her block. She didn’t know why Jem forgave her, but she was happy that she did. She promised herself to apologize to Trixie next time they met as Jem did have a point, she had treated the show mare wrongfully and intended to make up for it. She deserved the humiliation of green hair after what she did to Trixie the first time, interrupting the mare’s show.

“I can whip up these designs shortly, they’re simpler than I usually do but I don’t have the time for my usually fair.” Rarity sighed, “I still need models though.”

“I think we can help you with that.” Jem said as Melody facehoofed. “Oh come on, it’ll be fun. We can even get Vinyl to DJ it.”

“Thank you both so much!” Rarity said hugging them both.

“We’re so sorry, Rarity!” Applejack said, holding her hat while looking at Rarity with regretful eyes, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash beside her as the fashion show was going on in front of them.

“We should have stayed and helped you.” Fluttershy said softly.

“We still want to help, if you’ll have us.” Pinkie Pie said hugging Rarity, the unicorn hugging back.

“Its okay darlings, everything is under control.” Rarity said as a recorded song that they recognized as one of Jem’s began and the lights shone down on Jem and Melody strutting out on the catwalk.

“And our next models are special entries by one of the Elements of Harmony, Rarity Belle.” The announcer said as Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s jaws all dropped.

“How?” Applejack asked in awe as Pinkie Pie was wiping away tears of happiness.

“She said she was sorry for going a little overboard protecting her friend. And I told her that I was sorry also for both Ponyville and at the fair.” Rarity softly said, the others nodding.

“We really should apologize to.” Applejack sighed, “As much as I didn’t like her boasting, Jem had a point.”

“Yeah, I guess she did.” Rainbow Dash sighed, the group missing the next two entries during their talk as the fashion show ended.

“I have the results from our judges, it appears the up and coming fashions of Rarity Belle of Ponyville is this year’s winner!” The announcer said as Rarity froze in shock and every pony started cheering for her.

“Will you please tell Twilight when you see her that we are sorry and wish she would come home?” Applejack asked as the group gathered at Rarity’s temporary residence to se Jem and Melody off. While they were a little upset with the singer at first, they realized that they may have not shown their best side to welcome Trixie when she first arrived at Ponyville. And when they realized that they may have went overboard challenging the boastful mare, as well as realized what Jem said about being a show pony was true, they all apologized to Jem and promised to apologize to Trixie when the could.

“Applejack, Twilight doesn’t hate you. I’m not sure if she ever did, but what you all did to her cut her deeply and she’s not sure if she’s ready to face you again.” Twilight sighed, looking at each of them. She knew Pinkie Pie knew who she was; Jem could just see it in the pink pony’s eyes which was probably because of her Pinkie Sense which made no sense to Twilight whatsoever. She did know not to question it though.

“Will she ever come home though? We really miss her.” Rainbow Dash asked shocking Jem a little as there was no ego at all in those words.

“If you girls can keep a secret, I’ll let you in on something.” Jem said, getting nods from them all.

“Of course we can, we won’t ever let a friend down again. Never again.” Fluttershy said, her voice a little louder and full of conviction than Jem ever remembered it being.

“Okay girls, do you know that our tour will be coming to Canterlot in a few months time?” Jem asked, eyeing each pony as they nodded yes tentatively. “Well, what we haven’t made public is that it isn’t the final stop on our tour. Ponyville is. I can promise that Twilight will be there, but I can’t promise that she will see you girls. She has a lot to think about until then.”

“Thank you!” A chorus of cries came as the group of mares tackled Jem in a group hug as Melody backed away a little at the obvious insane mares. Though Jem looked as if she was enjoying it a little.

Author's Note

We had to to switch the chapters here as we were going to introduce the new band member this chapter, but it wouldn't have worked as they needed to get things over with with Rarity. So next chapter will be the new band member for sure. :twilightsmile:

A Mother Should Be

“Can’t it wait until morning? We’re exhausted.” Sunset Shimmer yawned in their suite, a little worried that the huge arcane symbols on the floor wouldn’t clean up. Trixie had assured her that it would and Velvet had assured them that if for some reason it doesn’t, it would be taken care of. It looked more like something that would be up Twilight’s alley, not Trixie’s as Trixie’s specialty was in illusions.

“It’s best to do it while your minds are tired so they won’t fight back as much.” Trixie sighed, also kind of wanting to wait, but as Velvet and her moved the furniture out of the way and worked on the symbols, they came to the conclusion it would work better this way. Velvet had of course been a little worried, and still was, but relented that it was safe enough as this magic was Trixie’s specialty even if the rune part was a little out of her comfort zone.

“Why would our minds need to be so tired that they won’t fight back?” Twilight asked, her eyes folding back a little in worry. Magic that dealt with the mind was something she really didn’t like a lot. Especially after the wedding incident which made her think about her brother and Cadence. Apparently they haven’t been married yet as Cadence was holding out of finding Twilight, but had a wedding planned for a couple months time which was one of the stops on their tour.

“To empower the Celestial Gems you wouldn’t really have to deal with the mind, but they also wouldn’t do what you want. Celestial Soul Gems are another matter.” Trixie explained, rubbing her hoof on her cloak’s clasp, a gem set in the center. She took the gem off and handed it to Velvet.

“But we’d never find one of those, I thought we were using the Celestial Gems.” Twilight sighed.

“Like the regular gems, a very small sliver combined with another gem, in this case your Celestial Gems, would be enough. Actually even better as the Celestial Gems would amplify the Soul Gem’s power.” Trixie explained, “However the thing is…you both have to donate a drop of blood and a small piece of your soul.”

“No way! There’s no way I’m doing that!” Twilight gasped out, starting to hyperventilate.

“Twilight, I trust Trixie if she says it’s safe. Though I do want to know about donating a piece of or souls. Won’t that damage our souls?” Sunset asked, a little worried but having faith in her friend. They were once like sisters and that bond was still there, even if a little weakened.

“What about Vinyl?” Twilight asked, hoping for a diversion as she wasn’t too sure about doing this.

“She doesn’t need a gem as she doesn’t use illusion and it works better with just two anyways.” Trixie said, not telling them about the real reason why it works better with just two. Velvet had told her not to worry about that detail in a way that made Trixie wonder. “Taking a piece of your soul is no different than if you two had a foal together, well if one of you were a stallion anyways. Parents give a small portion of their soul to their child where the soul would grow into a full soul during pregnancy. The parents’ souls also heal very quickly so there is no danger to it and it takes nothing away from the parents.”

“What about reincarnation?” Sunset asked, actually curious and not questioning Trixie’s explanation of what was going to happen.

“As far as I know, reincarnation doesn’t happen as often as some believe. Sure it does happen, but only under special circumstances. Otherwise a soul goes to its eternal paradise or damnation depending on what they did during life.” Trixie explained, “There’s no need to worry, I promise, you both will be fine.”

“That explains about the soul, but what about the mind?” Twilight asked nervously, unsure if this was a good idea. She found herself looking to Sunset for any indication on what she wanted to do.

“The mind has to sync with the two gems as both of your mindscapes will merge during this. I’ll be there as well with Velvet to make sure that I’m not doing anything bad. I’ve already showed her how to cancel the spell if she believes either of you are in danger.” Trixie sighed, “You will be fully open to each other, so it is best that you tell each other anything that you are hiding before we start if there is anything you feel would hurt the other before this starts.”

“Wait, I thought you said it was best not to have too many ponies here for this.” Twilight said, swallowing nervously as she tried to come up with some valid reason to back out now. She would usually be excited seeing new magic, but she didn’t really like soul or blood magic which is what this was sounding like.

“We shouldn’t have too many here, but Velvet insists on making sure that you both are watched after which Trixie doesn’t blame her. After all she is your mother Twilight.” Trixie said, wishing that she had a mother as caring as that.

“We should get started if we plan on getting any sleep tonight.” Velvet said as she moved to stand next to Trixie in the center of the runes, pointing to the two spots on either side of them that had a small bowl at each spot with the Celestial gems in them. Trixie looked a little sad at the gem from her cloak’s clasp before breaking two small chips off the back before replacing it and floated one of the chips to each bowl.

“Trixie! Your mother left that to you!” Sunset gasped out.

“It’s ok, you can’t tell that it’s damaged like this.” Trixie sighed, though she really wished that she had another choice. She wanted to help Sunset though and after what Twilight had done for her, felt as if she owed the pony. “Each of you need to use your magic to make a small cut on your leg and let at least one drop of blood drip into the bowl. A few drops would be better though, it’s up to you how much you want to spare.”

Twilight watched Sunset do it without question so stilled her nerves and did the same. Letting several drops of blood drip into the bowl and watched in awe as the runes in the bowl flared and the two gems turn into a gel like substance and merged. It was kind of weird seeing such a thing, but the colors it kept creating in the merging substance was beautiful.

“Now get comfortable as your bodies will be in a trance like state while we travel to the Astral Plane and into your mind and soulscapes. Remember that nothing can hurt you there, but it is best that you don’t mess around and let me handle threading the magic and souls into the gems. When we are finished we will meet the artificial intelligence that will manage your illusions for you. As long as you two are within a mile of each other you will be able to talk back and forth through your gems and the closer you are the more powerful your illusions will be. When you are very close they can even take on a physical shape.” Trixie explained, making sure to tell them as much as she could remember before they started as interruptions could be bad which meant surprises could be bad. After all three ponies settled down in their circles, Trixie followed suit getting comfortable next to Velvet. She wouldn’t admit it, but it was nice to be close to someone she would have given anything to have had as a mother. “Okay, here we go.”

Twilight found herself in a cloudy place, that had no actual sky yet no ceiling like a cave or room. There was mists everywhere she looked and she couldn’t find any pony anywhere. She wasn’t sure where she was, but she had a feeling that she should know. As she walked through the mists she saw small bubbles floating by with images playing in them that drew her attention. Picking one up in her hooves she saw herself snuggled with a fiery pony that after a few moments she remembered was Sunset Shimmer.

“I’m in our shared mindscape!” Twilight gasped out, remembering what was happening. She couldn’t see any of the others anywhere close by as she picked up another bubble.

“Twilight, stop!” A frantic voice called out drawing Twilight’s attention to look up to see Sunset rushing toward her. Unsure of why she seemed so scared, Twilight looked back down in the bubble to see…

“Wh-what?” Twilight swallowed in shock, seeing an image of Sunset and her making love. She couldn’t help feeling her cheeks heat up in a blush as she stared wide eyed at the images that she knew wasn’t in from her mind, though she knew she did have several dreams a little similar.

“I’m sorry, Twilight.” Sunset sighed, hanging her head as her ears folded back. “I didn’t want you to see that. I was hoping I could keep you from seeing that.”

“Are these dreams?” Twilight asked, feeling a little strange. She should be a little put off by it yet she couldn’t stop thinking about what she just saw. In all honesty she really wouldn’t be against having a relationship with Sunset, but she had no idea how to go about it. And she knew she wasn’t ready for doing what that bubble had in it.

“F-fantasies.” Sunset gulped out, finding it impossible to lie. “I can’t keep myself from thinking about you. I like you, a lot. I think I might even love you.”

“Sunset, I don’t know what to say or do.” Twilight sighed, unsure of what she should do or what she was expected to do in this situation.

“I’m sorry Twilight. I know I’m a sorry excuse of a mare.” Sunset whimpered as Twilight moved forward and tipped Sunset’s head to look up at Twilight.

“You aren’t a sorry excuse of a mare, if any pony is, it’s me. I like you Sunset, I’m more than willing to explore a relationship with you. I’m just not ready for doing that and I have no idea what to do. I’ve never even dated before.” Twilight said, nuzzling Sunset.

“We can learn together.” Sunset said with a soft smile.

“I was wondering when you two would finally admit that you liked each other.” Velvet said walking out of the mists with a huge grin on her face. “See, I told you that you wouldn’t have to worry about the gems bonding them together.”

“Bonding us?” Twilight squeaked in panic.

“A small bond, it wouldn’t hurt either of you and if you decided to go different paths someday it wouldn’t effect either of you. If you have feelings though, it will help the bond and increase the effectiveness of the spell matrices.” Trixie explained, “Trixie is going to get started now.”

“Go ahead dear.” Velvet said with a soft smile to the mare, studying Trixie closely as she watched the blue unicorn go about her work. The mist slowly cleared away forming a clearing where Sunset and Twilight vanished from their position to reappear in the middle of the clearing facing each other with a glowing gem floating before each with a couple yards between the two.

Trixie trotted to the middle, closing her eyes as she concentrated, magic flowing from her horn and into the gem which also flowed through it to it’s unicorn. Trixie concentrated as the gems started glowing brighter and brighter before Trixie took a few steps back as a beam shot from both of the gems and met in the middle of the clearing. Slowly the light where the two beams met started changing and growing, taking shape of a pony just a little smaller than Twilight and Sunset themselves.

Finally the shape finished growing and the lights died down leaving behind a mare seemingly a little younger than Twilight and Sunset themselves. It was a light purple mare with pastel rainbow colored mane and glowing purple eyes. There were no irises or anything, just a glowing purple that seemed to be pure magic.

“Hello Synergy.” Trixie gasped out, sounding as if she had run a marathon.

“Good morning.” The younger pony smiled a little, moving her mouth a little as if testing it.

“Are you properly formed?” Trixie asked, “Can you access your magic and memories? Can you see the forms that Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer like to keep? Will you be able to maintain them?”

“Of course I can maintain both of my moms’ illusions for them.” The young mare smiled brightly as her eyes stopped glowing to show normal purple eyes making Trixie look worried.

“Moms?” Trixie asked as the young mare looked up at them with loving eyes.

“They are my moms aren’t they?” Synergy asked, cocking her head to the side. “Hey, does that mean that you are my dad? How can you be my dad though when you’re a girl to?”

“Umm, Trixie, I thought you said she would be an artificial intelligence.” Twilight whispered when she slowly made her way to Trixie’s side as Synergy hoped up to Velvet looking up in her shocked eyes.

“Are you my grams?” Synergy asked Velvet excitedly, the older mare smiling nervously.

“Of course I am, dear.” Velvet said as she reached out to nuzzle Synergy, shocked to find her solid.

“Congratulations, your both mothers.” Trixie chuckled weakly, unsure of what went wrong. Only things he could figure out was that the two already had a bond and the extra power the Celestial Gems had actually created something more than an artificial intelligence that would act as an interface to the enchantments on the gems. Did that mean that this Synergy was alive?

Twilight, Velvet and Sunset had all gathered in the kitchen of the suite while Trixie slept on one of the beds while Synergy sat on the balcony looking out at the night sky. They found that the illusion was scared to stay in the gemspace and begged to be allowed to stay out when they left the astral plane. Unsure of what to do they let her do so and were surprised to find that she didn’t have to stay in a direct line of sight to the gems. In fact she could move about freely and was just as physical as she was inside of the spell. Of course they knew if she went too far the magic would weaken and she would be nothing more than a regular illusion.

Sunset sighed, rubbing the black band around her neck that held a gem in the shape of Twilight’s cutie mark. Twilight had a silver band with her gem matching Sunset’s which Trixie informed the two they would have to wear the other’s gem for full effect of the enchantments as they worked off the bond they shared.

“I think you girls should treat her like any other pony.” Velvet said, “Even if you can’t see her as your daughter, she is alive and deserves to be treated as such.”

“Your right mo…” Twilight started to ay finally, but was cut off when they heard the voice coming from the other room.

“A mother should be a good mare, a mother should be wise! A mother should be wise and strong, with laughter in her eyes!” The voice sang, the three walking out into the room to see the balcony door open as Synergy sang her heart out.

“A mother should be behind you, a mother should be there! A mother should be someone, who always treats you fair!” Synergy sang, tears forming in her eyes. She stopped when Sunset and Twilight walked out, sitting on either side of her.

“We will be there for you if you let us.” Twilight said, nuzzling Synergy from her side.

“We are your mothers after all.” Sunset said smiling to the other two as velvet watched on with a smile on her face before turning back to look at Trixie with a sad look.

Author's Note

Since it won't make a huge impact on the story, we decided to leave two things up to all of you. Firstly, should Synergy have an actual name such as Summer Rose? And secondly, it is one of my main headcanonons, but I didn't plan to use it in the story though my GF is starting to like the idea though she's also unsure. So we decided to let you all decide this as well, should Trixie be Twilight;s sister that was either kidnapped, lost or somehow ended up in an orphanage?

Anyways, let us know what you think about that.

:twilightsmile: