//------------------------------// // Time is Running Out // Story: Music is Magic // by Twilight Nightmare //------------------------------// 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?