//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: The Real Me 
// by Creativa-Artly01 
//------------------------------//

"Ten minutes till stage," says Rara's manager Blade Sloan.

"Thanks Mr. Sloan," replies Rara as she brushes her hair in front of her dressing room mirror. "I'll be out then." 

Ten minutes later, Rara goes out onto the stage and to a crowd of cheering, overeager fans. She fakes a smile. She loves her fans but she doesn't love pop music. The truth is, she never did. She'd rather be belting out a country ballad to be completely honest. Just the same, she belts out the music they want to hear: the horrible thing she sees as modern pop. A tear falls from her eye. All she wants is to share her country music for everypony to enjoy not this sappy modern pop. 

Back in her dressing room after the concert, Rara falls down onto her sofa and cries. She wants to get out of the mold. She wants to be her own musician and her own boss. She wants to share the music she loves, the music she grew up with. She even discusses this with her manager hoping he'll be more understanding than her original manager Svengallop. 

"Sloan," says Rara to her manager, "I don't want to sing pop anymore. I want to start fresh. I want to do country music."

"Then do country music," replies Sloan with a smile, "your fans will stick around no matter what you sing and you know that." This makes her smile.

"Thanks Sloan," she replies. "Now can you tell Spotlight he can come in since I see him standing in the hall behind you?" He nods and motions Spotlight into her dressing room and then leaves himself. It's time for him to get to changing her public image as the local pop star into the local country star. He knows it's going to be a hard road but if it's what Rara wants, he's going to make it work.

In the dressing room, Spotlight and Rara sit down and chat. "Spotlight," says Rara, "do you think I'm making the right choice, swapping from pop to country?"

"Yes, I do," Spotlight replies. "You're going to make a great country star." He kisses her then continues to reassure her. "With your voice, you can sing anything and they'll still flock to you. Your fans are loyal and devoted. That will never change."

"Thanks, Spotlight," she replies. She tucks a piece of loose mane back behind her ear and a sincere smile appears on her face. 

"You're welcome," he replies. "Now go show them the real Rara. After all, that's why I fell in love with you because I know the real you. The one that hates modern pop, the one that is humble, the one that loves country music. I love you because I see the parts of you they don't see." 

"Oh, don't make me blush," replies Rara, blushing. A few moments later, Spotlight leaves and returns to his own studio to work on his newest song. After all, he's not only Rara's boyfriend but a musician too that needs to make a living himself. That's another reason, he knows, they are the perfect couple. They know what it's like to struggle in the musician gig and that's why he has plans to ask her to marry him on Christmas Day in five months time.