//------------------------------// // Episode 19: Make Your Mark pt 3 // Story: My Little Pony: Sparkling Harmony: Season Three // by Captain_Cosmos //------------------------------// Sparkler trotted into her bedroom after brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed. She could not stop smiling after the productive day she had with her band and Airwave and Sapphire Shores. “The Harmonic Medleys, Airwave, and Sapphire Shores. I can’t wait to see the final product of our collab.” She said as she hopped into bed and snuggled up to her life sized Twilight plushie from Griffonstone. “Now I’m glad that Griffon made these. Gives me something to snuggle.” She commented. At that moment, she heard her phone go off with the ringtone she set for it, the song she used for her first music festival in Ponyville. One of the best days of my life. She thought as she looked at who was calling and answered to hear Twilight’s voice. “You’ve reached Sparkling Medley, go.” She said. “How’s my favorite Alicorn?” Asked Twilight. “I can’t stop smiling today Twi. You’ll never believe what happened.” Sparkler responded. “Try me. Remember where we’re living.” “The Harmonic Medleys are joining forces with Sapphire Shores and Airwave for a three way collab project!” Sparkler announced excitedly. “No way! That’s so awesome! Congratulations!” Twilight exclaimed excitedly. “Thanks!” Sparkler responded. Maddy, who was laying in bed with Sparkler, barked happily and licked her face. Sparkler chuckled. “So, yeah. We’re planning on performing the song live when it’s done. Hopefully you’re back by then.” She told Twilight. “We’ll see. The friendship mission is gonna be delayed a day because one of the parties involved had to leave for a business meeting. She out logicked me by saying friendship isn’t as important as keeping food on the table at the end of the day.” Twilight responded. “She has a point.” Sparkler responded. “Gotta pay the bills.” “Right.” Twilight relented. “So. You and Starlight gonna have fun in Califoalnia in the meantime?” Sparkler asked. “I guess we’ll go to the amusement park tomorrow.” Twilight responded. “Though I refuse to go on that tunnel of love ride without you there.” She added. “I would never have even known if you just never said anything.” Sparkler teased. “I would never be unfaithful to my fiancé. Plain and simple.” Twilight shot back. “Good to hear.” Sparkler responded. “Yeah.” Twilight responded. “Hey Sparkler? Mind if we have a talk when I get back? I need to talk to you about something important.” She asked. “Why not just do it over the phone?” Sparkler asked. “It’s uh…it’s better if we talked in pony.” Twilight responded. “Please?” Sparkler bit her lip. It’s probably about that kiss. She thought before replying. “Uh sure. Yeah sure Twi. We can talk when you get back.” She said. “Great. See you day after tomorrow hopefully.” Twilight said. “I love you.” She added. “Love you too Twily, have a good night.” Sparkler said. With that, the connection was cut. Several miles away from Ponyville, in Califoalnia, Twilight let out a sigh as she put down the phone. “Faust I hope she doesn’t get too mad at me.” She said. “You mean that kiss with Moondancer?” Starlight, who was in the room, asked. “Yeah. That’s what I mean.” Twilight responded. “In my excitement to being back to normal I committed the worst crime in romance, I kissed another as I kiss my lover.” She said. “Oh come on Twi, that was because your brain needed a moment to catch up. It was a heat of the moment thing. I’m sure Sparkler will forgive you.” Starlight told her. “Except it’s not just that. My old crush on Moondancer resurfaced and has not gone away yet. I have tried to forget about Moondancer, but every time I just wind up daydreaming about snuggling both her and Sparkler in bed.” Twilight responded. “I think I’ve actually fallen for Moondancer alongside Sparkler.” “Well at least you aren’t denying it like last time.” Starlight joked, Twilight gave her a very unamused glare. Starlight stopped laughing and cleared her throat. “Sorry. Bad joke.” She said. “Look, whether Sparkler is happy with you for this or not, she’ll appreciate that you didn’t try to hide this more than you already did. And even then, it was only to ensure you weren’t going to make a big deal out of nothing.” She explained. “It’s better to be honest than deceitful.” “Still, I’m really, REALLY worried that Sparkler’s gonna have a magical breakdown from this. She’ll have a breakdown, nopony will be able to stop it, she’ll explode. And now she’s gone and it’s all my fault!” Twilight panicked. “I killed Sparkler!” “Twilight! Calm down!” Starlight told her. “Relax. She’s not dead yet.” Twilight took a deep breath, like Cadence taught her, and calmed down. “I’m just really scared.” She said. “Yeah. It’s hard knowing your lover can blow up if she becomes too emotionally compromised.” Starlight said. “But sometimes, you just gotta take that risk. It’s better if she knew it upfront rather than behind her back.” She said. Twilight sighted. Starlight was right. “You're right…we need to have this talk.” “The sooner the better.” Starlight responded. She hugged Twilight before smiling. “So, you think Sparkler’s monogamous or would she not mind having multiple lovers?” She asked jokingly. Twilight blushed like mad. “Uhm…I don’t think even she knows.” She said. “I mean, given her history.” “Are you gonna ask?” Starlight asked. “Because the best case scenario is probably all three of you loving each other mutually.” She reasoned. “That would be the best case scenario.” Twilight admitted. “If we could all love each other.” She sighed. “But I’m not gonna ask. At least not yet.” “Alright but you might want to hurry. Otherwise Moondancer could be stolen from you.” Starlight said. Twilight deadpanned. “If I had to choose between Moondancer and Sparkler if I could only have one lover, I would choose Sparkler. Plain and simple.” She said. “Sure my heart yearns for Moondancer now too, but Sparkler trumps Moondancer. Every variable taken into consideration.” Starlight laughed. “Better not let Moondancer hear that.” She said. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Let’s just get to bed.” She said. The next day, back in Ponyville, Sapphire and Sparkler left Ponyville General after getting one of Sapphire’s injured backup dancers there. “I told him not to try that Quadra Tiger Sashé. It’s the most difficult and risky dance move ever created.” Sapphire said, sighing. “The only one to successfully compete that move is its creator, Beat Drop.” Sparkler responded. “Over 100 years ago.” She added. Sapphire raised an eyebrow at Sparkler. “How do you know that? Very few ponies know that little known fact.” She asked. “I had a lot of free time growing up. Musical history was a genre I consumed a lot.” Sparkler responded. “Huh. You really are a musical nut aren’t you.” Sapphire said with a chuckle. “My cutie mark is in music. What did you expect?” Sparkler responded, chuckling as well. The two chuckled for a moment before calming down as they continued their walk. “So, I don’t suppose you know anypony who can bust a move on short notice?” Sapphire asked Sparkler. “Unless my Sparkler Sense happens to point us to a superb dancer, we might be out of—“ Sparkler was cut off when her right wing flapped up and down once, and her hooves tapped and her right hoove pushed out to point to a specific direction, and all that was in rhythm. Sapphire was nearly hit with the wing and stepped back to avoid another hit. “Whoa, Sparkler, what was that?” She asked. Sparkler blinked, taking a moment to process what was going on. “My Sparkler sense just went off. Something musically impressive is going down.” She glanced to see where her hoof was pointing, and saw it point directly at the New Golden Oaks Library. “The NGOL…But the only pony I know to be there right now is…” “Think it’s worth checking out?” Sapphire asked. “My sense so far has pointed me in the right direction, might as well.” Sparkler responded. So they took off for the New Golden Oaks Library, as they approached the door, they heard music coming from inside. Sapphire’s eyes widened as she recognized the song being played. “It’s one of my songs. Lucky Star.” She said. “Sure sounds like it.” Sparkler responded before she opened the door. Almost immediately, Sparkler and Sapphire saw the reason Sparkler’s sense went off. There, in the middle of the library with her horn lit, was Moondancer, living up to the DANCER part of her name, because she could absolutely bust a move. Moondancer continued to bust a move, and actually sang along with the lyrics. She was completely oblivious to the fact that she now had a two pony audience. Sparkler stood there slack jawed, unable to tear her eyes away from the apparent breakdancing genius in front of her. Sweet freaking tap dancing FAUST! She’s good! She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. After a moment, the song came to an end and Moondancer shelved the last of the books, which she had been shelving the whole time impressively. After a moment of silence, Sapphire decided to break it. “Wow. That was some amazing moves you busted out there.” She said. Moondancer, her back still turned to the two, yelped and jumped high in the air, she landed on the ground, whirled around, and saw Sparkler standing there with an earth pony mare. “Eep! Sparkler! I didn’t see you there. Hi. Uh…how long were you standing there for?” She asked. Sapphire glanced over at Sparkler, smiled, and used her hoof to push Sparkler’s mouth closed. That snapped Sparkler out of her shock and she sent off. “That was amazing Moondancer! I didn’t know you could dance like that!” She exclaimed. Moondancer blushed, realizing Sparkler saw her dancing. “Yeah…just something I sometimes like to do.” She admitted. “You’re pretty good for somepony who only does it “sometimes”.” Sapphire responded. Moondancer nodded. “So uh…what brings you here? Along with…Sapphire Shores?” Moondancer asked, recognizing the famous pop star. Sapphire and Sparkler glanced at each other, both thinking the same thing. Sparkler turned back to Moondancer. “How would you like a chance in the spotlight Moondancer?” She asked. Moondancer blinked, confused. “What?” Sapphire explained the situation, saying they were looking for a backup dancer last minute. Moondancer was a bit taken aback, but after thinking about it, she agreed to step in for the injured backup dancer. Two days later, in the late afternoon, Sparkler was welcoming ponies who came to the castle to see the live performance of the three way collab between the Harmonic Medleys, Airwave, and Sapphire Shores. It was super advertised thanks to Pinkie Pie finding out and getting excited. At least she waited for us to say it was ok. After a call to Twilight no less. She thought. She glanced out into the world outside the castle, and to speak of the devil, she saw Twilight and Starlight walking up the path. She beamed as she flapped her wings, glided down the stairs, and crashed into Twilight in a loving hug. “Twilight! You made it!” She exclaimed. Twilight giggled as she hugged her fiancé back. “Like I was gonna miss this pivotal moment in your life. I’m so happy for you.” She said. “Anything we need to know beforehoof?” Starlight asked. “Only that I found out something that I would like to talk to you and Moondancer about Twilight.” Sparkler responded. Twilight gulped, her mind racing with what Sparkler could mean. “Uh…what do you mean Sparkler?” She asked. “Moondancer is apparently a dancing queen, and somehow you could still work on improving.” Sparkler responded. Twilight blinked, before actively beating down a sigh of relief, but also had to chuckle. She knew exactly what Sparkler was getting at. “Honestly? It never, ever came up.” She said. “Might need to fix that.” Sparkler responded. The three chuckled as Sparkler led them to what was now being dubbed Sparkling Harmony Records Showcase Stage. Once they got in Sparkler moved to where her fellow music artists and bandmates were gathered and gave the green light to get the show started. She got a mic and hopped onto the stage to address the crowd. “Yo what up everypony!” She called. The crowd cheered as Sparkler continued. “Today is a VERY, very exciting day. I know rumors have been going around. And I like to think that yes, they are true, Sapphire Shores is in town, and you lot are in for a very special treat. Just like when they made the song Face to Face, she and Airwave are back at it again, and this time, myself and the Harmonic Medleys are joining in on the fun. Fillies and gentlecolts, it is my privilege to introduce to you our three way collab song, Make Your Mark!” The crowd went wild as Feathers, Autumn, Flash, and Chroma started playing and Sapphire, Airwave, and Moondancer and the other backup dancer joined Sparkler on stage and they started singing. (Imagine two girls and a guy singing, guy singing the rap part, girls the Main verses, and all three singing the chorus.) Twilight’s jaw dropped when Moondancer stepped onto the stage and started dancing. She deduced that Sparkler found out Moondancer could dance, but she still was shocked when Moondancer was up there in the spotlight. Holy Faust look at the two of them up there! She thought. She was absolutely mortified to learn that this only made her fall harder for Moondancer and Sparkler. Oh come on! That’s it. Tomorrow I’m getting Sparkler flowers. Hopefully that will help hold off her anger. She thought. She wasn’t a fool. Sparkler being mad at her for this was almost a guarantee. Still, it’s better if we had the talk. She thought as she watched the two objects of her desires break it down. To be continued…