//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Smiling Flowers 
// by TheBrianJ 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 2



Only the faint rustling of leaves and the occasional animal howl interrupted the silence that surrounded the two ponies as they walked back to the cottage. After her friend had pushed away the second she started talking, Twilight didn't want to say anything else, instead choosing to remain quiet and gather her thoughts. Cheerilee, meanwhile, hung her head as she walked, anxiety wracking her mind too much to form any words. She found herself too ashamed to even look her friend in the eyes, knowing that Twilight now knew something about her that she had hoped no pony would ever know.

As they returned to Cheerilee's cottage, she gently nudged the door open and stumbled inside, sitting down on her couch and looking straight at the floor. Twilight cautiously stepped into the cottage as well, sitting down a few feet from her friend and waiting, hoping Cheerilee would be the first to speak. A minute went by with no words, before Twilight had enough and quietly broke the silence.

"Gardening."

Just the mention of the word made Cheerilee shudder. The remaining shred of hope that perhaps Twilight hadn’t figured it out was destroyed; Twilight knew.

"Cheerilee. Your special talent, your Cutie Mark, it has nothing to do with teaching. It… it's gardening."

Cheerilee opened her mouth, but the words became choked in her throat. She closed her mouth again and paused for several moments, before giving an almost imperceptible nod. 

Twilight shook her head. "I don't understand. You've been lying to me? To all the ponies in Ponyville?" Twilight paused, and her voice lowered. "To your students?"

Cheerilee closed her eyes in shame and gave another small nod. Twilight stood up, turning away from Cheerilee as she took in the information.

"I don't understand," she said, turning back to Cheerilee. "Why? Why would you want to hide a part of you like this, let alone lie about it to so many ponies?"

Twilight stepped forward, but Cherrilee remained silent. "Cheerilee, talk to me, please! Just answer me, why have—"

Cheerilee interrupted. "Twilight, have you ever thought about your own Cutie Mark?" 

"My Cutie Mark?"

"Your Cutie Mark, Twilight. You told me you got it when you tapped into your true magical potential. Well, look at you now: you're the most magically gifted pony in all of Equestria. Not only are you the Element of Magic itself, but the the other Elements of Harmony are right there, represented! The moment that your mark appeared, your entire destiny was set in stone."

"But Cheerilee—"

"And your friends, Twilight! Applejack knew she would take over Sweet Apple Acres as soon as those apples appeared on her flank, and that's exactly what she ended up doing. And Pinkie Pie got hers by partying, and she parties to this very day!" Cheerilee turned away from Twilight, her voice getting louder and louder. "Even Princess Celestia's Cutie Mark represents what she does, Twilight. The first thing you see on a pony is their Cutie Mark, the most important moment for a child is the day they get their Mark… I hate it, Twilight. I hate Cutie Marks! I hate being trapped by mine, having to lie to everypony I meet so that they won't judge me as a gardener. I hate—"

"Cheerilee. Stop."

Cheerilee winced as Twilight's demanding voice cut off her frustrated diatribe. The unicorn stepped forward, locking eyes with her friend.

"You're not making any sense. This isn't about me, it's not about my friends, it's not about any other pony. Cheerilee, this is about you. I need to know the full story here… please, I need to know the truth."

Cheerilee felt her body shiver again as she took a deep breath. "Twilight, it's… a long story."

Twilight remained firm. "I don't care how long it is. You're my friend, and this is important. Please."

Cheerilee froze again, her head wracked with nervousness. She gazed up at her friend, whose face was plastered with worry. Staring into her eyes, Cheerilee knew that there was no going back; she had to tell her.


"Ever since I was a little filly, I wanted to be a teacher. It was more than just a dream for me; it was almost an obsession. Both my parents were teachers, Twilight, and I wanted so very badly to be just like them. They were wonderful teachers. In fact, they still are. " Somehow, through her nervousness, Cheerilee smiled. "I even remember as a little filly, I never had tea parties with my toys…I had lessons, teaching them whatever I had learned in school that day. I would daydream about when my Cutie Mark would finally appear, and what it would look like. I couldn't wait for the day that I could confirm my dream to the world."

The smile disappeared from Cheerilee's face, and her head hung back down. 

"But it never came, Twilight. No matter how much I studied teaching, no matter how much I taught things to my friends… it never appeared. I kept working, watching all the other kids in my class get musical instruments, food, animals, until I was the only pony left in my class without a Cutie Mark. I would spend my days thinking about teaching, my nights studying teaching…and it just never happened."

She stopped talking, her head hanging again. Twilight stared at her, then broke the silence. "So then, how did you get your Cutie Mark?"

Cheerilee took a long breath, letting it out with a sigh. "My neighbor. She had one of the most amazing gardens I've seen in my life; sparkling flowers, always in full bloom, always perfectly maintained, and I had admired it for years. One day, she went on vacation… she had seen how down I had been getting about not getting my Cutie Mark, and knowing how much I loved her garden, she asked me to take care of it. And… well, it just came naturally to me. It took my mind off my Cutie Mark, it calmed me down, it made me happy to take care of it. After just a few days, her garden was suddenly more beautiful than ever. I stood back, marveled at my own work…" Cheerilee briefly glanced back at her Cutie Mark, sadness in her eyes. "And this appeared."

As Cheerilee shook her head, Twilight cocked hers. "I still don't understand, Cheerilee. Why would you hide your special talent from us? It sounds like you're a great gardener, I would think that you would have been proud of something like that."

"I wasn't," Cheerilee said, her voice cracking a bit. "I was terrified, Twilight. After everything I had said to my friends about being a teacher, everything I had told my parents about how much I looked up to them and was going to follow in their hoofsteps, after all of that... I panicked. I wasn't ready to accept that my special talent was gardening. So… I hid it."

"You hid it?"

"I took some of my mom's makeup and covered it up as best I could. I wore dresses for a few days. I didn't want anypony to know... and a few days later, I came up with the story."

Twilight's jaw dropped, sending numbness down Cheerilee's spine. Twilight sat down next to her friend, staring straight ahead.

"Oh my gosh,” she gasped. “You haven't just been lying to Ponyville… you've been keeping it hidden your whole life."

Cheerilee nodded. "Yeah."

"D-does any other pony know besides me? Anypony at all?"

After a long hesitation, Cheerilee gave in. “No... no other pony knows.”

Twilight shook her head in shock, remaining quiet. Cheerilee tried to look her friend in the eyes for the first time since starting her story, but as soon as she saw the confusion and shock in Twilight's face, she turned away in shame.

"Then why did you keep it hidden? Surely when you went to study at a university, a new city, you could have told the truth, started fresh."

Cheerilee closed her eyes. "I wanted that, Twilight. I wanted that so badly. But as soon as I got there, as soon as I was ready for that fresh start, I was surrounded by ponies who were studying to be teachers too. Only, their Cutie Marks were blackboards, A-pluses, pieces of chalk, textbooks. These permanent symbols told everypony around them that their destiny was to be a teacher, and there I was with smiling flowers. I figured that if I told anypony that my special talent was gardening and not teaching, it would destroy any credibility I had. So the story just stuck. I guess I thought that if I ignored my special talent long enough, it would just sort of change; that I'd really become that teacher I wanted to be."

Silence filled the room again as Twilight took in all the information. It was quite the shock for her; finding out that one of her closest friends hadn't just been keeping something from her, but keeping it from every pony her entire life. But something more was confusing Twilight.

"But… if you're so ashamed of gardening, if you wanted to ignore it and become a teacher, then why even have a garden? Let alone, one as beautiful and well-maintained as the one you have in the forest?"

Cheerilee looked up and out her back window at the Everfree Forest. She stared for a few moments before taking a deep breath and exhaling in sorrow.

"That's just it, Twilight. Ever since I got my Cutie Mark, no matter how hard I've tried to ignore it, no matter how much I've strived to be a teacher, a part of me wants to garden. I'm ashamed of it, I've tried to avoid it… but gardening calms me down, it relaxes me." Cheerilee glanced up at the wall. Twilight's eyes followed hers, and fell on the framed teaching degree that was hanging up. "Even when I graduated and moved back to Ponyville, I kept a garden. I can't escape it, Twilight, I just can't... ”

Cheerilee's head dropped again, and she stared at the floor. As Twilight tried to comprehend all the information,  a new thought entered Cheerilee's mind. It was a thought that she had been trying to fight for the past few hours, but there was simply no way to ignore it anymore.

"Maybe Headmaster was right."

Twilight turned to her friend in shock.

"What?"

"Maybe he was right! Twilight, he said that I didn't know much about teaching for a pony with a teaching Cutie Mark. Well, I don't have a teaching Cutie Mark! I'm just some gardener who tried to ignore her special talent. But there's no avoiding it, Twilight... you saw my garden. Maybe he's right; maybe I don't know anything about teaching... because I was never meant to know anything about it. I was just meant to plant flowers.”

Cheerilee swallowed the knot in her throat as best she could, desperately holding back any more tears. Twilight remained quiet, and her horn glowed as Cheerilee heard her sink turn on. A few seconds later, a glass of water gently floated into the room and in front of her, and Cheerilee shakily grasped it in both hooves, taking a few precious sips. As she did, Twilight finally gathered her thoughts enough to speak.

"Cheerilee. Everything you just told me, this whole story… is it the truth? Are you being totally honest with me? You're not hiding anything now, are you?"

Cheerilee slowly shook her head.

"No. It's all the truth."

Twilight paused, taking a big breath. "Well, in that case, I have something important that I need to say to you, something that you need to hear. And I need to look you in the eyes when I say it."

The world spun. Cheerilee's throat closed and her breathing quickened. The moment she had feared for so long had arrived; the moment when she would lose her best friend. When she would be taken to task for being so untruthful about something so important. For not being a teacher, for deceiving the fillies in her class, she knew that she deserved everything Twilight was about to say. She closed her eyes and turned away, wanting to preserve a few more precious moments before it all came crashing down on her.

"Cheerilee, please."

Cheerilee's eyes became wet again. "I-I can't… don't… "

"Look at me, Cheerilee."

Her head trembling, it took every muscle in Cheerilee's anxiety-tormented body to turn to face her friend. After a few moments, she forced her eyes open and looked at Twilight, ready to accept the inevitable… 

… but her jaw slowly dropped in shock once she opened her eyes.

Twilight Sparkle was smiling at her. 

There was no anger, there was no betrayal, there wasn't even a hint of disappointment in her face. Instead, her smile was genuine, and her face was warm and inviting, a face that was ready to help her friend. Cheerilee stared in shock at her friend, as if the smile was the last thing she ever expected to see—and in many ways, it was. Twilight reached up and placed her hoof on Cheerilee’s shoulder, her eyes filled not with sadness, but with reassurance.

"Cheerilee… you are more of a teacher than any pony I've ever known."

Cheerilee stared at her friend in a stunned silence. She had expected to be chastised, berated, told what she was doing was wrong, but she simply wasn't prepared to hear any sort of praise coming from her friend.

"Wh-what?"

"Listen to me. You've talked about how you went against your Cutie Mark, how you ignored your "special talent" of gardening, and focused instead on something that meant the world to you. But Cheerilee, that's not a trait to be condemned and ashamed of… it's one to be admired. You didn't go against your special talent; you followed your dream."

"But..." Cheerilee started, but before she could even continue Twilight gently squeezed on Cheerilee's shoulder with a smile.

"It doesn't matter that you went against your Cutie Mark, it doesn't matter that you still garden, and it especially doesn't matter that some jerk doesn't like the way you teach. You know what does matter? The fact that despite everything, that degree on your wall is just as legitimate as it would be no matter what your Cutie Mark is. The fact that the ponies here in Ponyville respect you enough to let you teach their kids without giving it a second thought. And most importantly, the fact that your students… well, they love you Cheerilee. I've never seen a filly speak a bad word about you. They look forward to going to school every day, and they admire you, Cheerilee… and if you ask me, that's the real mark of a teacher, not what your Cutie Mark is.

Cheerilee remained quiet. She couldn't believe what she was hearing; not only was Twilight not angry at her, but she was accepting and encouraging? It was the absolute last thing that she had expected to hear after finally telling a pony the truth… and she still didn't quite believe it.

"You… you're just saying that."

Twilight's grasp on Cheerilee's shoulder again turned firm. "No! I'm not just saying that, I really believe it. And it's important that you believe it too. Cheerilee, you have a wonderful talent for gardening. But you have just as wonderful a talent for teaching, for bringing happiness to the lives of your students. Don't sell yourself short as a teacher just because it doesn't relate to your Cutie Mark; you're amazing at both."

"But… but I've been lying… "

Twilight's face turned serious for a moment. "I can't condone lying, Cheerilee. You know I can't do that."

Cheerilee started to turn her head away in shame, but Twilight reached up and brought it back, looking her friend in the eyes. "But there's something more important than that right now, and that's you. Now is not the time for me to be talking about lying. Right now, what’s more important is you listening to what I'm telling you. It sounds like you've been doubting yourself for far too long. You don't have to do that anymore, Cheerilee. It's like I said, you're an amazing teacher, and you have no reason to think otherwise."

The smile on Twilight’s face grew as Cheerilee looked into her friend's eyes, and silence once again filled the room. She tried to comprehend everything that Twilight had just said—all the praise, all the kind words, all the encouragement—but when she thought about it, all that happened was it made her more confused. Her mind was suddenly swirling with conflicting ideas, quotes, and opinions. She had no idea what to say to her friend, or even what to say to herself; she finally sighed and stood up, turning away from her friend.

"Twilight… I need some time to think."

Twilight stood up as well, stepping forward. "I know it's a lot to think about, but you don't have to do it alone. I'm here for you if you need me."

Cheerilee turned back to her friend. "I appreciate it, but right now, I just need to be alone to think about everything."

"Cheerilee, I can stay… "

"No, you don’t have to, it’s ok. Like I said, I need some time alone.”

Twilight sadly looked at her friend, sighing. "I understand. But please, come talk to me when you're ready. I don't want you to have to deal with this all on your own. I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Twilight."

Twilight leaned forward and gave Cheerilee a hug. Cheerilee returned the hug lightly, her mind anywhere but on the embrace. As they broke off, Twilight paused, still sadly staring at Cheerilee before nodding and walking out the front door of Cheerilee's cottage. Cheerilee looked out the window at her friend as Twilight walked into the distance, stopping to look back at the cottage for a few moments before turning back and walking out of sight. Once Twilight was out of her vision, a new feeling hit Cheerilee: exhaustion. The draining nature of the past few hours finally caught up to her, and she found herself unable to even keep her eyes open. With practically no other choice, she slowly pulled herself through her cottage and to the sanctity of her bedroom.

She pulled herself into bed, and began to drift off almost immediately. As she lay in bed, the day's events played over in her head, and she pulled the covers up over her chin. Once her eyes began to flutter closed, Headmaster's words rang in her head yet again, and her body shuddered, curling up under her covers.

But as she fell asleep, another voice played in her head. It was faint and distant, almost completely covered by Headmaster's words… and yet it was powerful, a shining beacon in her nervous mind.

"Cheerilee… you are more of a teacher than any pony I've ever known."


-----


A part of Cheerilee had hoped that a good night's sleep would clear up her mind. That once she woke up, maybe everything would make sense. But she knew it was but a pipe dream, and once she woke up, she found herself more confused than ever. 

The past day had taken its toll on her, and she had fully expected to spend the weekend home alone recovering, but Twilight's visit had thrown everything out the window. She hadn't expected that she would be telling another pony about her day. She hadn't expected that by the end of the day, a secret she had held onto for her whole life would be known by another pony…

And most importantly, she especially hadn't expected that the pony would offer her encouragement, not anger. Although she knew that Twilight had nothing but the best of intentions when she told Cheerilee how good of a teacher she was, her words had simply complicated matters.

Cheerilee found herself lost in thought for most of the day. Was Twilight right? Was going against her Cutie Mark not as important as following her dream? Cheerilee had never heard of a pony ignoring their Cutie Mark like she did, but did it matter? Cheerilee couldn't deny that ponies in Ponyville certainly respected her, and that her students enjoyed her work, but the idea that it would be enough to make up for her lying her whole life was something she had never even considered before. Was it enough? Was she really a teacher, like Twilight had said?

Or… was Twilight just being nice? Was Twilight just being a friend and encouraging her, even though what she had done was wrong? Lying about a Cutie Mark even once was something Cheerilee had never heard of another pony doing, and she had been lying about it her whole life. Surely an act like that was unforgivable, and yet Twilight had brushed it off as if it was nothing. Was Twilight genuine when she said Cheerilee was a wonderful teacher, or was it just an attempt to make Cheerilee feel better?

These thoughts raced through Cheerilee's brain all day, no matter what she did to try to calm herself. She was too confused about teaching to try to grade the papers she had been putting off. Attempting to read a book only left the room silent and gave her brain more time to wander, and there was no way she could go downtown to Ponyville Spa, or even anywhere in Ponyville. She had no interest in talking to another pony, not in the mood that she was in. As the day wore on and her stress built, she finally gave up and accepted the fact that there was only one thing that could calm her down enough to contemplate her situation.

And thus she found herself sitting at the edge of her garden.

As soon as she had arrived, she had intended to start weeding out a pesky patch of dandelions that had grown over the edge of the garden… but as soon as she had arrived and seen the flowers, it was as if all the energy had been sucked out of her body, and she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was ashamed at the fact that the one thing that could calm her down was the very source of her problem. She gazed down at her Cutie Mark, then back at her garden, and Twilight's words played again in her head.

“if you ask me, that's the real mark of a teacher, not what your Cutie Mark is.”

As she mulled over the words, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she heard a rustling coming from the bushes next to the garden. Cheerilee jumped up and started to slowly back away from the bushes. The rustling grew closer as she saw the bushes begin to move, and she found herself shaking nervously. If it really was a creature, she knew that trying to run away could only anger it, but staying there could be just as dangerous. As the rustling got right to the edge of the garden, she took another step back, ready to run into the woods…

…but instead, through the clearing came a black and white figure. The figure looked down at the garden for a moment before turning up and seeing Cheerilee, then smiling.

"I thought a pony I did see. How are you doing, Cheerilee?"

A long, relieved sigh escaped Cheerilee's mouth, "Oh, it's just you Zecora. You scared me for a second. I'm doing okay," she said, sitting back down next to her garden. She looked over the flowers for a few moments before turning back to Zecora, but suddenly found the zebra much closer to her than expected. Zecora's head was turned to the side slightly, staring at Cheerilee.

"Hmmmm…for a pony who claims to be "okay", you certainly don't seem that way."

Cheerilee sighed and looked back at her garden. "I'm… I guess I just have a lot on my mind right now, Zecora."

Zecora took a step closer to Cheerilee and smiled again. "Well should you need a pony to lend an ear, know that I am always here."

Cheerilee mustered a smile on her face. "Thanks, Zecora, I appreciate it."

She turned to the zebra, but found that Zecora had turned her attention to the garden. Zecora looked amazed as she paced back and forth along the edge of the garden, admiring all the flowers. "Such beautiful flowers of every style and hue. Tell me, does this garden belong to you?" she asked, prodding at a patch of King Proteas that sat in the far corner of the garden.

Cheerilee turned back to the garden. She didn't want any other pony to know about it, but Twilight had pointed out that lying about it wasn't a good idea. 

"Yes, it's mine" she said after a long pause.

Zecora nodded and looked over the garden, and her eyes sparkled as she saw the patch of Canterlot Golden Daisies in the center of the garden. She carefully walked up to the daisies and stared at them in wide-eyed amazement, taking in their heavenly scent and beautiful glow for several moments. Once she reluctantly pulled away from them, she exited the garden and stood next to Cheerilee, continuing to marvel at it.

"I am quite impressed with your gardening powers," the zebra said, before looking over at Cheerilee. Cheerilee turned to meet her gaze, but saw that Zecora wasn't looking her in the eyes…she was looking down at her Cutie Mark. "Is this the true meaning of your smiling flowers?" 

Cheerilee went numb as her mind panicked and her eyes frantically darted around for something to focus on to bring her back to the real world. She couldn't believe what she was hearing… in only a few moments, Zecora had figured out something that she had been trying to hide her whole life. 

"I… that is, I don't…" Cheerilee started to stammer, but as soon as her usual story of her Cutie Mark popped into her head, something else was right there to accompany it.

"I can't condone lying, Cheerilee. You know I can't do that."

Twilight's words echoed in her head, stopping Cheerilee's thoughts dead in their tracks. She swallowed her usual excuse, and merely nodded her head. "Yes, it is."

Zecora nodded thoughtfully, and the two stared at each other in silence. Cheerilee braced for the inevitable line of questioning that was coming, but Zecora just looked her over.

"I can tell this issue brings you great distress.  For that reason, I will not press," Zecora said, smiling and backing up. "But if it is something that you wish to discuss, I assure you that you can have my trust."

Zecora nodded, then turned around and started to leave the area, but as she began to push through the bush…

"Zecora?"

The zebra stopped and turned around.

"Zecora… what defines a pony's special talent?"

Zecora cocked her head, then walked back to the garden and sat down next to Cheerilee, rubbing her chin.

"Quite the interesting question you pose. Their passion defines it, I suppose. And when they find their talent on which to embark, it usually results in their Cutie Mark."

Cheerilee sighed. "Yes, but… well, what if a pony doesn't want to follow their Cutie Mark? What if they had an interest in doing something else? I mean, if somepony… "

Cheerilee looked up at Zecora, who was lightly shaking her head.

"Please make sure your words are true. When we say 'somepony', we are talking about you."  

Cheerilee sighed. "Yes, we are. You see the garden, Zecora… my "special talent" has always been gardening. But, well, I always dreamed of being a teacher. I went to school for it, I became a teacher here in Ponyville. But… I just don't know, Zecora. Does that mean I'm a teacher? Or does it mean that I've just been ignoring my special talent, being something that I'm not?”

Zecora kept quiet, pondering, as Cheerilee took deep breaths, calming down.  Finally, Zecora spoke.

"To me, we must begin at the start. What is important to you, in your heart?"

Cheerilee looked Zecora in the eyes. "In my heart?"

"In your heart, look and see. What matters the most to you, Cheerilee?"

Cheerilee thought quietly to herself. She looked back at her Cutie Mark, then at her garden. There was no denying her skills as a gardener, they really were beautiful flowers… but she shook her head.

"What matters the most to me is teaching, Zecora. It’s always mattered the most to me. It's what I've always wanted, and it's what I've worked for my whole life. I just don't know if it's my destiny to—"

Zecora held up a hoof, silencing Cheerilee. The zebra smiled.

"That is all you need to hear. If you ask me, the answer is already clear."

Cheerilee turned her head to the side. "It is?"

"It appears your confidence is swaying… so let me impart on you an old Zebra saying." For a brief moment, Zecora's eyes had a glint of nostalgia, before she smiled again, and put her hoof under Cheerilee's chin, pushing her head up slightly to be level with her own.

"When times are tough, lift up your chin."

Zecora paused, then moved her hoof down to Cheerilee's chest.

"What matters to your heart…will always win."

Cheerilee looked down at her chest, then slowly up at Zecora. Zecora's smile was warm, just like Twilight's had been the day before. Zecora finally drew her hoof away and stood up.

"I do apologize, but I must go. A pony in Ponyville needs me so.  A stallion suffers from Unicorn Horn Stress, the cure for which I currently possess."

Zecora smiled and nodded, then turned and slowly trotted off. Just as she got to the edge of the area, Cheerilee spoke up.

"Zecora?"

The zebra turned around.  Cheerilee looked up at her and smiled… and for the first time since Headmaster’s words had first been spoken, the smile didn't feel forced. It felt natural.

"Thanks, Zecora."

The zebra nodded again, and shuffled off through the bush. As she left, Cheerilee turned back to her garden, sitting in silence and surveying it. After a few moments, her eyes fell on the dandelions in the corner of the garden. She trotted over and sat down next to them, staring down at the overgrowth. Again, her mind filled with conflict, wondering if working in her garden was only going to make her problem worse.  The words of Headmaster again played, sending a shiver down her spine and making her remember the mistakes she had made; teaching the kids about Hydras, not disciplining Silver Spoon, Apple Bloom walking home in tears...

But as those images appeared in her head, another one joined them. The image wasn’t as clear as the others, but was still enough to momentarily stave off the anxiety that had been plaguing her for the past day. 

The image was Zecora, smiling down at her, and placing a hoof over Cheerilee’s heart.

"When times are tough, lift up your chin. What matters to your heart…will always win."

As the sentence finished, Cheerilee closed her eyes and took a long breath in, then reached down, beginning to pluck the weeds from the corner of the garden.


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SMILING FLOWERS

End of Chapter 2



Special Thanks: Props, RazgrizS57, and Shortskirtsandexplosions