//------------------------------// // An Average Day // Story: The Melody of the Heart // by Star Origin //------------------------------// Melody awoke to the chirps of birds, and she slowly opened her eyes, only to find herself blinded by the sun. She hissed at her silent assailant and rolled out of her bed. She landed smoothly on the ground and rubbed her eyes absentmindedly. She let out a yawn as she trotted out of her room and the hallway to find Coral and Choir sitting at the table in the kitchen. Coral held a cup of coffee in her hooves, sipping every now and then, her eyes focused on a letter set on the table. She looked up to spot Melody and smiled. Choir waved at her sister and went back to eating her bowl of cereals. Melody smiled back and walked to the table, pulling a chair to sit down. She lit her horn and pulled out a bowl from one of the cupboards near the oven. Her magic switched to the fridge, and she levitated the milk out it, closing the door behind effortlessly. She brought the items to the table and eagerly prepared her breakfast. She tried to peer at the letter on the table, but the moment Coral caught that glint of curiosity in her eyes, the mare put down her cup of coffee and slid the letter away before quickly folding it back in its envelope. Melody did have enough time to see a seal stamped on the letter, piquing her interest. “So, what’s the letter about, Mom?” Melody asked with a smile while she poured cereals in her bowl and added the milk afterward. Coral waved her hoof dismissively and set the envelope on the chair next to her where Rising usually sat. “Nothing you should concern yourself with, Melody.” Not content with the answer she received, Melody still dropped the matter and shrugged, mentally scolding herself for not grabbing a spoon when she was busy gathering the necessities for her breakfast. She turned her head to focus on a drawer and collected the silverware within, dragging it to her bowl some seconds later. “What are you going to disguise yourself for Nightmare Night at school, sis?” Choir asked, setting her bowl aside and leaning on the table, both hooves resting on her chin. A cough from Coral and a stare directed on Choir made the purple filly remove her hooves from the table with a sheepish expression, leading to Melody snickering in response. She chomped on her spoon and stared back at her sister with a hoof scratching her head. “I don’t know,” she answered before taking another bite, “but Cherry did tell me she was going to go as Discord. However that works.” Melody returned to her bowl, assailing the cereals relentlessly with her spoon while Choir just looked at her sister with a slight tilt of her head. She was quick to dismiss the comment and the resulting inquiries with a shake of her head. Without wasting any time, she pushed herself from the table and hopped from her chair, quickly disappearing behind the corner. Silence rapidly fell between the two and soon, Melody returned to finishing her breakfast while Coral finished what remained of her coffee. The mare left the table and strode across the kitchen, placing her cup in the sink. Without so much as a word, she instead smiled at Melody and left the kitchen. Melody caught a glimpse of her mother walking upstairs, but she shrugged once more and returned her gaze to the bowl in front of her. Melody finally dispatched her last spoonful of cereals, downing the milk in the bowl in a few instants, setting the bowl down. Curiosity crept its way into her mind, and she leaned to the side, noticing that the letter her mother had hidden from her had been left there unattended. She eyed the envelope a few times, biting her lip each time the desire to open it surfaced in her mind. She was quick to shake her head and leave the letter be, instead grabbing the bowl with her magic and carrying it with her to the sink, depositing there before heading straight for the bathroom. Her curiosity for the letter was not worth the scolding she’d get later if she got caught. She closed the door behind her and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her expression turned to deadpan when she saw the mess that was her mane. She stared back at her ruffled mane and frowned. She was a mess this morning. Her horn burst to life again, reaching for a brush in a small basket near the bath. She glared at herself in the mirror, snorting at the same time. “All right, mane. Let’s do this. You and me.” She tugged at her mane with the brush and instantly winced at the incoming pain of her locks lashing out at her. She kept the rhythm going, however, and focused on straightening her mane. It was a good thing it was as smooth as it was, or else she could be at this all day. After a few attempts at struggling with her mane, Melody had finally finished what her mother had called a half up half down do and finished with a braid that fell neatly against the bulk of her mane on her neck. She levitated the mirror on each side of her head, inspecting her work with the utmost care. With a sigh of relief, she lit her horn again, and a flash of green covered her completely, leaving only a unicorn filly behind. Melody looked at her reflection with pride. Not a single mistake this time. Even her eyes were like they used to be. It was a bit hard, even for herself, to believe that a month had already passed since her confrontation with Ocean Breeze. Ever since her talk with Rising, and those little mother and daughter times she had with Coral, Melody’s mood had visibly improved, marked by the broad smile that adorned her lips each time she looked at her reflection. She picked up the brush again and straightened her forelock a bit more before she heard a series of knocks on the door. And they were not Cherry’s. Melody burst out of the bathroom and started for the door and called, “I’ll get it!” She happily pranced to the door, unlocking it first and then grabbing the doorknob. She opened the door, and her eyes fell straight on Princess Cadance. Two guards stood at her side and looked completely stoic. The princess, for her part, looked at Melody and offered a simple smile, trying her best to remain as friendly as possible, to the point her smile became forced. Melody’s mouth dropped, and her eyes widened. In an instant, her form burned in bright emerald flames, leaving Melody in her natural form in front of the princess, staring at the royal guest with big, fearful eyes. Only a few stammers managed their way out of Melody’s mouth before her brain went to work at imagining terrible things that explained the Princess’ presence, trembles and shivers shaking her form. The little changeling was so caught up in her head that she failed to hear Coral’s voice from upstairs. “Who is it, dar–oh… Oh!” ---- “So now, I have Princess Cadance wanting to teach me magic, apparently,” Melody said, giving herself another push on the swing while she glanced at Cherry. “Why me of all ponies?” Both of them were in the local park, and while Melody glanced at Cherry with an incessant twitch to her eye, the earth pony just tilted her head to the side, and she raised a brow. “I don’t see how that’s a bad thing.” Melody’s gaze hardened into a glare and she threw her forelegs in the air angrily. She tried to say something in response, but only gasps made their way out of her mouth for a good minute while her brain tried to process a reply. “Not a bad thing”? she repeated, her eyes widening. “What if she’s wary of me, or she wants to keep me close, or she thinks I’m dangerous and wants to monitor me?” Cherry sighed, her lips spreading into a smile and she failed to swallow a snicker. When faced with Melody’s glare again, she could only hold herself so much before she exploded into a fit of giggles. She waved her hoof at Melody and covered her mouth, sucking in her breath and holding it in. Despite her best efforts to keep calm, Cherry snickered again, earning Melody’s ire. “Cherry!” Melody squeaked, crossing her forelegs on her chest. “Sorry, sorry. I don’t mean to make fun of your worries, but you need to calm down. You’re blowing things out of proportion.” Melody snorted and tossed her head to her right, but something else caught her attention as she did. Falling from the sky was a pegasus, screaming for dear life. She flapped her wings as hard as she could, but only managed to barely alter her trajectory. She passed through the sky in a blur of blue, crashing into a nearby tree. Melody was quick to jump down the swing. She saw a group of ponies, evidently older than she was from a glance, gather around the tree, glancing up to the pegasus and Melody’s ears went high in the air. She swiveled them a bit and began marching towards the group. Melody sensed something foul about them. She looked around to see the worry in the adults’ eyes, but none of them moved, instead looking at the colts as if they were there to help the filly. Melody spat at the ground and snarled, setting her glare onto the ponies in the distance. “Melody, what do you think you’re doing?” Cherry asked when she saw that her friend had already begun making her way towards the group. Melody looked back at her friend. “Helping somepony. I’m not going to sit by and let them group up on her like that. Plus, she looks injured.” Cherry stopped in her tracks and stared at Melody, her jaw hanging wide open. Since when had her friend become so straightforward and brave? She knew Melody was prone to anger, but this felt different. There was a little tingling feeling in Cherry’s chest, and she felt proud of Melody. “Hey, don’t you know trees are for birds to perch in, and not pegasi?” one of the colts amassed below the tree said, smirking at the filly above him. The pegasus possessed a dark blue coat and a silver mane and tail, and her mane flowed loosely to the side of her head. She had a slim build and, though Melody had to squint to get a better look, already had a cutie mark adorning her flank. It was a full moon with a few stars on its left and a cloud hiding its lower quarter “Maybe she got the case of the featherbrains or something. Might explain why she thinks that standing in a tree like that’s a good idea.” The pegasus looked dazed. She kept her eyes closed, and she rubbed a hoof on her head, groaning as she tried to stir from the branch. Her wing had other things to say, however. As soon as she attempted to fold her right wing against her side, she was met with pain and she released the pressure, letting a pained whine escape her Melody puffed her cheeks and moved forward, advancing on the group of colts with fury guiding her steps. She sucked in a breath and pushed it out with a sigh, setting her sights on the two colts that were making fun of the pegasus. Without warning, she shouted, “Hey, leave the filly alone!” One of the colts turned around, following by the entire group. They frowned at first, but their expression all turned to laughter when their eyes fell on Melody. One even fell backward, clutching his hooves to his sides. Melody raised an eyebrow and continued her advance, moving to put herself between them and the tree. She glared at them and hissed, scrunching her nose with indignation. The ponies cracked smiles once more. Half of her wanted to run away and leave the filly to her misfortune, but she fought back the urge. She’d finally found an answer to her question. Despite everything she had now had, the filly thought that she couldn’t afford to lose anything anymore. Her mind screamed in pain at the very idea of having to lose somepony or having to say goodbye to somepony she cared about. Maybe it was selfish of her to think of the few before the many, but she refused to acknowledge the prospect that she could lose something again. And this filly needed her help more than anything. She didn’t know her, true, but her gut told her to help that filly. Her wings roused behind her and quickly began beating the air around. Specks of dust followed her movements, clinging to the bark of the tree and the grass all around it. She immediately went airborne and cast a glance at the filly above, ignoring the surprised gazes of the colts below her. She landed smoothly on the branch and used her magic to help the filly up, placing the pegasus’ leg around her neck and lifting her a bit. “You’re gonna be fine. Just hold on tight.” The filly let out a whimper and shivered at the touch. She refused to open her eyes and soon clutched onto Melody, almost making her fall over. Melody held back a shriek and flapped her wings when her body tilted sideways. Her efforts were in vain. Despite the buzzing and flapping of her wings, she only managed to delay the inevitable. She took a deep breath and looked down. She wasn’t that high up. She could make the jump. With a nervous gulp, Melody leaped from the branch and tried to break their fall as best she could, strengthening her wings with her magic and the consumption of her reserve of emotions. They both landed on the grass without further injuries, much to Melody’s relief when she let out a drawn out sigh. “Are you okay?” She smiled when she noted that apart from the wing, there seemed to be no other injuries on the filly. A few bruises here and there, but nothing too bad. That was quickly put aside when the colts behind her laughed in unison. She growled and looked back to see them closing in on her. This time, she almost ran away, but she fought the urge again. She took a few steps forward and stomped her front hooves once in front of them. “Oh, come on, kid. We were just having some fun.” The crystal pony said, looking at Melody with an irritated scowl. “I would hardly call that fun. You were bullying her when she was defenseless. Do you have no shame at all?” she replied harshly, pressing her nose against his. “Woah there, calm down, bug princess. No need to accuse anypony of anything here. I swear we were just having some fun,” another colt retorted, giving the changeling filly a frown. “I highly doubt that,” Melody shot back, shaking her head. She took a few steps back to extend a wing over the filly and narrowed her eyes in a glare that she quickly cast on all members of the group, who remained unaffected by the changeling’s threat display to the point one even snorted. “Not as a group of six, and not after what I heard. So here’s the deal now: either you leave the two of us alone, or I’ll fetch the Guards!” Some of them froze and looked at each other with panicked expressions. In an almost coordinated effort, they broke into a gallop in the distance, leaving only the lead pony in the area to face Melody. She flashed her fangs and grinned at him. She softened her expression, offering the only remaining colt a wink before flicking her front leg and gesturing to his fleeing band of ponies. He glared at her, gulping for a moment, and broke into a gallop. She was completely unfazed by the glare, instead turning her attention to the dark blue filly behind her. She looked her over another time, making sure she hadn’t missed any details during her initial inspection. She did have to fight back a short fit of laughter when she took notice of the leaves and branches that decorated her mane. “It’s okay now, you can open your eyes,” Melody said kindly, taking a few steps away from the filly. Cherry, who had, for the most part, remained distant, had slowly made her way to her friend and sat down on her haunches to look at the filly, tilting her head, and then gazing at the sky. She let her gaze fall back on the pegasus, and then glanced up at Melody; an eyebrow raised. “You know, I think they were friends with my sister, and you sent them running with their tails between their legs,” Cherry said, covering her mouth with a hoof and giving Melody a jab on the shoulder. “I don’t know if I should call you courageous or insane.” Melody shrugged. “Somepony had to do it. It wasn’t right, and nopony should have to go through that.” Cherry was about to say something else when she heard the pegasus groan. Her eyelids slowly opened, and she took a deep breath. She took a glimpse of the world around her, blinking repeatedly. Her eyes shot open when her turquoise eyes fell on Melody. She screamed loud enough to force the two fillies to cover their ears. She crawled back to the tree and slammed her back on the bark, clutching a hoof to her chest. She winced when her wing touched the bark, and soon began hyperventilating. Melody sighed and rolled her eyes, igniting her horn, only to find that she lacked the energy to transform. She’d have to feed at some other time. Now was not the appropriate time. “Hey, hey,” Cherry began, making reassuring gestures of her hooves in vain as the filly refused to cooperate with her, shaking her head and attempting to back away once more, “it’s okay. My friend’s not going to hurt you. Just calm down, all right?” “B-b-but she’s a changeling!” the filly whined, shying and cowering from Melody. “They tried to invade Canterlot last year!” “Here we go again,” Melody muttered under her breath, turning her back on the two fillies. Cherry waved a hoof nonchalantly at her changeling friend and stuck her tongue out playfully. She moved to the side ever so slightly to partially block Melody from the filly’s gaze, smiling at her once she’d regained the pegasus’ undivided attention. “She’s also half pony, but don’t mind her, she’s just grumpy today.” “Hey!” “Hush, you,” Cherry replied through a series of giggles. She took a long breath and exhaled rather audibly. “She’s not going to harm you or anything. If anything, she’s the one that chased away the bullies making fun of you.” The filly’s eyes went wide, and she seemed to relax a bit though she avoided any eye contact with Melody. “Really?” “Uh-huh. But anyway, what’s your name?” Cherry asked cheerfully, extending a hoof to the pegasus. She offered her a simple smile and happily gave her head a slight tilt. “R-Raine Moon.” Raine shied away from Cherry, but she still held her hoof out to grab the earth pony’s. Cherry immediately pulled her up, keeping that smile of hers, and gestured to Melody. “I’m Cherry Blossom, and that’s Melody Swiftsong, my best friend.” The pegasus still refused to look at Melody. The changeling snorted and slightly turned her head back to smile at both fillies, only to have it falter when she saw Raine wasn’t even looking at her. Though she understood the reason, she turned her head back around with a huff. “N-Nice to meet you two…” Raine murmured, tumbling back a bit, losing her balance when she tried moving her wing around again. She gasped when she felt Cherry jump at her neck and cuddling her cheek. “Aww, isn’t she just adorable? Can we keep her?” Cherry laughed before Melody turned back around, deadpan plastered all over her face, her brow raised. The changeling filly raised a leg and tried to object, but all that came out of her mouth were mumbles and stutters. “Raine!” All three fillies turned their heads to see a mare and a stallion headed their way at blinding speed. Melody gasped at them while Cherry let go of Raine. The pegasus was quick to run toward the two ponies, throwing herself at them. Melody rubbed her eyes, blinking a few times to check if she wasn’t hallucinating. Ponies with tufted ears, vertical pupils, and leathery wings hugged Raine, holding onto her as if she could disappear if they ever let go. The stallion looked up and saw Cherry, smiling at her and nodding at her several times. Cherry blushed a bit in return, but she shook her head and gestured to Melody. The stallion’s expression shifted entirely, and his fur almost went white. Melody instantly recognized that glance and let out a heavy sigh. She closed her eyes and just sat down on the grass, looking away from the trio of ponies ahead while she could only await the next course of action. “Here we go again.” ---- “We are so sorry about this misunderstanding. We honestly didn’t know she was an official citizen!” The stallion, Astral Rain, said, bowing his head time and time again. Rising Chorus and Coral Charm looked at each other and then at the family that had found its way to their house. Rising shook his head and scratched the back of his neck, stealing another glance at his wife. Melody just stared at the three ponies intently, her golden eyes locked on them, and the flame of curiosity burned brightly within them. Of course, only Raine Moon stared back at times, but she still shied her gaze every time her eyes met with Melody’s. Astral Rain was a burly stallion. He had a dark gray coat, azure blue eyes and his brown mane lay flatly on his head while it was kept extremely short on his neck. His tail was also kept short, barely reaching down to his fetlock. One quick glance at his flank revealed his cutie mark: it was a large guiding star surrounded by three smaller stars. They looked genuine that Melody thought they blinked at her once. Next to him was his wife, Wishing Star. She had a powder blue coat and amber eyes. Her pale red mane was long and wavy, caressing her neck as it lay hanging on the left side of her head. Her cutie mark was of a swirl with a star in the middle of it, casting light amidst the darkness of the swirl. “Don’t worry about it. Mistakes and misunderstandings happen,” Coral said with an awkward smile, trying her best to remain calm and composed. “Besides, from what Melody’s told us, you’re from Canterlot. I can barely blame you for being a bit afraid or wary of changelings.” Wishing Star shook her head and took a step forward, forcing Coral to take a step back, eyes going wide. She frowned and looked at Rising. He raised his shoulder and gave her a clueless gaze, shaking his head. “It was still wrong of us to jump to conclusions like that. We’re thankful for what your daughter did!” Coral nodded again and offered another glance at Rising, who repeated his earlier gesture. She glared at him in the subtlest way she could and let out an exasperated sigh, glancing down at Melody and smiling at her, patting her mane. “I couldn’t just let those bullies get away with what they were doing. Nopony should have to go through that,” Melody said, adjusting her gaze, so it wasn’t so blatantly apparent she was staring at the couple. “By the way, are you two vamponies?” Just as quickly as she had spoken, Melody slapped a hoof to her forehead and let out a groan. She didn’t even react when Coral gave her a slap across the head. She deserved that one, that was for sure. Coral looked back at Astral and Wishing, offering them an apologetic smile. She occasionally glared down at Melody. “I am so sorry about that. She’s not normally this rude.” Astral let out a giggle and shook his head, glancing at Melody with a smile. That wasn’t enough to convince the filly. She knew, and she could taste it as well, that he still didn’t like her appearance. Wishing Star and Raine Moon didn’t either, and that hurt her. “Would you three like to stay for dinner?” Rising offered, giving Coral Charm a pat on the back. Both smiled at the trio of ponies in front of them. Their guests looked at each other with worried glances as if they had other plans. “We’re having zucchini and eggplant lasagna.”