//------------------------------// // 23. The Secret // Story: Orchestrated Chaos // by ReFro //------------------------------// The crack of dawn came all too early as usual. Though, today was slightly worse than others as Melody groaned, pushing Granita’s hoof away for the second time. After all the excitement yesterday along with the mini celebration that Ma, Pa, and Granita threw for her last night, Melody’s eyes were refusing to open. “Ya got five minutes, then I’m a gonna haul ya out myself,” Granita half-jokingly stated, voice trailing off as she exited their spartan, but cozy, shared room. With a groan, Melody rolled over on the straw-filled mattress, eyes still refusing to open to welcome the new day. The cold morning air that crept in under the blanket when she turned wasn’t helping one bit either. Fur or not, late fall sucked… Granita had left the door open, letting the light fall upon Melody’s face while the smell of Ma’s maple flavored oatmeal wafted in, appealing to her mostly empty stomach. Her full bladder on the other hoof, appealed entirely to another. “Ugh... I’m up,” Melody groggily stated, throwing the covers off, attempting to just get it over with as the cold air made her shiver and want to move. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she rolled out of bed, all four hooves clopping down at the same time on the cold floor. “I really miss central heating,” she muttered to herself, walking out into the common area. “Mornin, sweetie,” Ma warmly stated, stirring the pot of oatmeal. Granita was donning her new scarf and some beat up boots. Pa could be heard in his bedroom, doing something or other. “Mornin,” Melody sleepily responded, barely awake enough to keep herself upright as she moved towards the back door, wondering what Granita was getting all bundled up for. Sure it was cold, but once you got moving, the fur made it toasty and warm. Melody soon found out as she opened the back door and was greeted with a face full of snowflakes and about a half a foot of snow, the cold blast instantly waking her up. “Holy…” Slamming the back door shut after coming back inside from her morning business, Melody was shivering. The snow came up to her belly and was not a pleasant experience to say the least, not to mention that she could swear she had icicles hanging off her snout, though a quick swipe with her hoof proved otherwise. “Cold out there?” Pa asked with a grin, eating his steaming bowl of oatmeal at the table with the rest of the family as Melody shot him an ‘Are you serious?’ look. “Guessing so.” With a sniffle, the filly walked over to the stove with a comforting sigh as the radiating heat was a godsend to that freezing outhouse. If she didn’t have fur, she was sure her ass would have frozen onto the seat. “Just a little,” she stated, rubbing her front hooves together, taking a seat on the floor, letting the warmth melt off the snow that clung to her underside. “Was gonna tell ya ta put on your boots and scarf, but ya seemed in a mite bit of ah hurry,” Granita snickered. “Gee, thanks.” Melody rolled her eyes and plopped herself down at her chair to eat. <><><><><> “Why are we cleaning up the barn again? We just moved all this stuff in here last week,” Melody asked Granita, grunting as she pulled a bay of hay across the cold wooden barn floor, having to stop every so often and move her mane out of her eyes. Both of them had just come from outside after spending a few hours clearing snow with Ma and Pa. The workout, plus the boots and the scarf, helped keep her warm from the freezing temps. The filly helped out as best as could with her small size, but each one of her adopted family let her know that she was still very much appreciated with what help she could give. “You’ll see ta-morrow,” Granita playfully hinted at, gathering up loose odds and ends scattered about the barn, putting them in their respective places. With a huff, Melody moved the bale against the back wall and headed to get the next one. “Does this have anything to do with why Pa went into town today?” she asked, critically eyeing the mare for a moment. She had asked Pa where he was going earlier, but all she got was a short, ‘to town’ and not a single word more. Usually he brought a cart into town to sell goods or at least brought his bit pouch with him, but she didn’t see any of that today after they cleared the snow. He was up to something, she just knew it, but couldn’t figure out what ‘it’ was, and it was annoying her to no end. “Maybe. Maybe not. You’re just gonna have ta wait and see, now aren’t’cha?” “Granitaaaa~” Melody moaned. Not even her best friend was going to tell her it seemed. It has to be something to do with me, or they wouldn’t be being all secretive-like. I doubt it’s about my cutie mark since we just had a celebration about that last night… Maybe it’s a holiday coming up or some kinda celebration? But if it was, why are they keeping it hidden from me?, she thought to herself as she moved the next bale of hay, putting it next to its brethren in the back in a nice line, just as Granita had asked her to. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it too much,” Granita stated with a warm smile as she hung up the still slightly pink shovel on the wall in the tool section of the barn. “Easy for you ta say,” Melody softly remarked, slipping a little into the family’s mannerisms that got a quiet giggle from Granita. “After we get the barn cleaned up, it should be time for lunch, then Ma wants to cut your mane and tail. Getting ta be a might bit shaggy, if’n Ah do say so myself.” The mare chuckled, mussing Melody’s mane as she walked by. “Stoooop~” Melody whined, sitting back on her haunches to fix her mane as she eyeballed the antagonizing mare. With a grin, Granita scooped up the filly, pulling her into a hug as she nuzzled her cheek. “You can git me back for it later,” she lovingly stated. “But you really do need a mane cut. That'll make it much easier for you ta handle, plus git rid of all those split ends too.” “What?! I don’t have any split ends!” She pushed back, giving her enough room to grab a lock of her mane, bringing it down and giving it a critical look over. “I have split ends…” She frowned and brushed her mane back on top of her head. “Okay, so I do need a mane cut. Is... Ma any good at it? I have never seen her cut any of your manes before.” I really hope she is. I can’t stand having terrible looking hair. “Oh Ma is pretty darn good at it. She cut’s all our manes and tails. Just remember to stay still and don’t make a fuss. Don’t want her ta nip your ear with the scissors, now would ya?” Granita half-jokingly stated with a grin. “Get my ears with what?” Melody asked, not understanding that word, scissors, in their language yet. While having grown to know quite a lot of their words over the past few months, some still some eluded her, and it would probably take years before she became proficient in their tongue. Hopefully going to school in the spring will help me learn some more of these common words. Though I still kinda dread having to start my school career all over again... Letting fully go of Melody, Granita slipped over to the tool area and pulled down a large, metal hedge trimmer, the kind that looked like a pair of scissors but only if your hair was made of leaves and branches. Kinda like those timberwolves… Melody shuddered at the thought. Turned around to face Melody, Granita sat back and snipped the air a few times with the trimmers. “These!” she loudly stated with her best fake evil laugh. Melody’s eyes went to the size of pinpricks as she screamed and bolted out of the barn, startling the chickens in the coup as she ran for dear life. “Wait! It was just ah joke!” Granita called out. “Oh horseapples!” The trimmers fell unceremoniously to the ground as she galloping out of the barn after Melody. <><><><><> Melody sat on top of the kitchen table. It was an unorthodox place to be in her mind, but it was the only place that was tall enough and had enough room so she could get her hair cut. Currently, she staring at the shelf on the wall, the same one she had been staring at for the past hour, give or take some minutes. It was plenty of time to memorize every detail about it as there was really nothing else to look at while she held perfectly still. The scissors snipped again, close to her ear this time as Ma took another strand of hair off her mane. The pile of her grey hair was starting to grow at her hooves, and she was beginning to wonder how much hair she would have left after this was all said and done. But, she trusted Ma, and Granita swore up and down that her mother knew what she was doing when it came to cutting manes and tails after she had calmed the filly down, promising that it was all a joke and no pony was ever going to use hedge trimmers on her mane. So, it was a big relief that the scissors Ma was currently using on her resembled ones Melody was used to back home, with slight modifications for hooves of course. After a few more snips, Ma started brushing Melody’s mane out again. It was a few short moments of bliss every time that brush massaged her scalp and made sitting here on top of the hard wooden table for so long bearable. What was not so bearable was when Ma started with her tail and was brushing and cutting back there. It was really embarrassing to have someone, or pony, doing things that close to one’s posterior, especially with sharp scissors… More than once Melody had to be told to hold still. If it wasn’t her rocking back and forth from being nervous, it was her tail moving uncontrollably on its own, also probably from being nervous. She was more than glad when Ma had finished back there and found that her tail felt much lighter than before after she tried moving it. “That’s it. Yer all done,” Ma suddenly announced, smiling as she set the brush down on the table and grabbed a small mirror for Melody to look at her mane. “Well, what ya think?” Looking at herself in the mirror, Melody moved her head around to different angles while running a hoof through her much lighter mane. There was quite a bit of hair missing, as evident on the table all around her, but her mane looked like it was professionally done. It was layered and flowed nicely down her neck and slightly over her shoulders with all the ugly split ends removed. It was hard to believe how nice it actually looked. With all the hair around her, she didn’t know what to expect, but her fears were over nothing it seemed. “My mane… and my tail. They look wonderful! Thank you,” Melody graciously stated, turning around and gave Ma a quick nuzzle followed with a much longer hug around her neck. “I’m so glad you didn't use the hedge trimmers…” she stated with a small giggle as she pulled back. Ma laughed at that, a small twinkle in her eye. “You’re mighty welcome, and maybe Ah might just use those trimmers on Granita next time she’s due fer a cut,” she stated with a wink. Melody giggled again as she started brushing some errant strands of hair that had stuck to her fur. “You got clean up duty though. We gots ta eat lunch in a bit, so don’t dawdle,” Ma stated as she grabbed the mirror, brush, and scissors to put away, leaving the mess of hair for the filly to clean. “Yes, Ma’am,” Melody happily replied, climbing down from the table to a chair, and finally back down on solid ground, going to get the small broom and dustpan. Ma had started up the wood burning stove, setting up a large pot of water to boil while Melody worked on getting all her hair off the table and floor, making numerous trips outside to the refuge pile, glad that it had stopped snowing and warmed up slightly as the sun poked out of the clouds as a few pegasi were up there removing them. It was still quite a wonder even after being here for months that pegasi controlled the weather and fly, unicorns cast visible magic from their horns, and earth ponies, such as herself, could grow things with magic, or feel the flow of the earth as they put it. Weeks ago, she had tried and tried to get in touch with her own magic, but every attempt ended with the same result. Nothing. Ma, Pa, and Granita could all make plants grow at will, though they only did it when absolutely necessary as Pa had explained that using magic to grow a plant sucked up a lot of nutrients from the surrounding soil, leaving it barren if one was to overdo it. Melody almost doubted that she had any kind of magic inside of her, but that all changed yesterday when she had gotten her cutie mark. Now she knew for sure she had magic inside her. Maybe she just wasn’t good with plants? It’s not like she had a plant type cutie mark. It was a musical mark, a coda. A conclusion to a piece. Her adopted family had explained last night after she had calmed down from the small party that cutie marks aren’t always clear in what they mean, but they are a defining piece of one’s self. And finding out what that piece truly is… that is what makes a pony complete. For some, the journey to find one’s self takes years, for others, they know, without a shadow of a doubt, the moment that symbol appears on their flank. Melody was part of the former group, but it was just another piece of this strange world’s puzzle that she was determined to find out about someday and hope that it would lead her to Gennie and a way back home. Today though, was not that day. Closing the back door behind her, Melody lightly shivered as the warmer indoor air hit her. She was finally done cleaning up all her hair from the table and floor. Her ears swiveled, scanning for any indication of Pa being back from wherever he went. “Ma, where has Pa been all morning? He and Granita won't tell me nothing but to wait and see…” she softly whined, trying to sound sincerely hurt as she walked over to Ma, doing her best ‘give me what I want because you know I’m cute’ face. “Oh, he went ta town. Should be back before lunch is ready though,” Ma remarked, her attention fully on stirring the pot of vegetables while humming a happy tune. Melody wrinkled her snout at the mare and internally huffed. Ma didn’t even bother to look at her secret weapon. How rude. “What did he go to town for?” “Nothing much. Just need ta talk ta some ponies. That’s all,” Ma easily replied, still stirring their lunch. The aroma of cooking veggies was filling the air, making Melody aware that she was indeed getting hungry again. Even being so much smaller than she was as a human, she was finding herself eating more and more and still not sating her hunger entirely at times. It concerned her a bit when she first took notice, but since she found that there was no extra weight being added to her frame anywhere, she just chalked it up to being a pony and as long at she didn’t become pudgy, it was of little concern. “He went inta town just to talk?” Melody skeptically asked, looking up at her adoptive mother. “He never go inta town to just talk…” “Well, that’s what he done did. But now that yer all done cleaning up, why don’t ya go back and help Granita finish up in the barn?” Ma remarked, more as a statement than a question. Melody’s ears fell back against her head as she frowned at the older mare for a moment. What in the world are they hiding from me? Why won’t any of them tell me what is going on tomorrow? It’s not like them to keep secrets... “Yes, Ma’am,” Melody softly stated, donning her scarf once more before heading back out to see what else was left in the barn to clean. October 22. 8:18 P.M. Dear Diary, It’s been a hectic couples of days since I last wrote in you and I’m sorry for that. But, now that I have a chance, where to even begin? Well I guess I will start with the worst thing first. A couple days again, a… voice thing or whatever entered my head and basically told me I couldn’t tell anyone and to let my new body just… forget my past. What a complete and utterly stupid request that was. Even if my mind is trying to push out my old thoughts like they were interlopers in my own head, I can still recall them, or better yet, I’ll just start writing them down. I’ll have to see about getting another diary and then find time to sit and write out any memories that come to mind. See, that thing said I had to forget them, but didn't say anything about writing them down and then reading them later on. Heck, that way they would be completely new memories to me and I wouldn't have to worry about the whole incompatible brain thing, if that was even true or not. But as of right now, I have no way of knowing, plus if I want to find out anything about Gennie from him, I guess I will have to comply. Too bad I wasn't a unicorn, then I could just magic up a way to get him out of my mind forever. Or something like that. Magic that thing away! Don’t I wish… Well enough about that, writing and thinking about that whole incident is getting me down, and when I start feeling down, my family starts asking questions and I really don't need that right now. I still really do want them to know, even if it is just for the selfish reason of getting rid of this guilt I have about keeping what I really am from them. But I need to find out what happened to Gennie first, then I don’t care what that thing does, I’m telling Ma, Pa, and Granita everything, even if it kills me. Ha. Morbid thought. What if me dying was the way to get back home? What if I really died to get here and that it worked the same way but in reverse? I wish there was a way to test that theory but I doubt there is… Maybe Dr. Chart has a resurrection spell or something? You know, just in case. Yeah, that’s getting a bit too morbid for my taste. Moving on. Yesterday was a hell of a day. Pa gave Granita and I some bits to go into town to relax and have fun. It was great getting to wander around town with nothing in mind to do for a while. Then I got to meet Silver, a pegasus, and his family who are friends with Granita. They own an awesome bakery, and I would love to go back and try more of what they had. I also got to meet Silver’s friends, Rose, Autumn, Cherry, and Henna. I didn’t really want to meet them at first since hanging around with a bunch of kids isn’t really my thing, but after that game of soccer, I think it is safe to say that I was wrong, and I’m glad that I got to meet all of them. I guess I impressed them so much out on the field that they asked me to join them again, which is sweet and I think I will. I missed playing soccer. Even better than finding some friends, was something magical that I thought would never, ever happen to me. I got a butt tattoo! Or a cutie mark, which is the proper term for it. And I got it while playing the cello. That’s right! I can play the cello with hooves baby! Suck it, universe! Anyways, it’s a pale violet coda, one right on each flank. I have no clue what it means (I know what the musical term stands for) or what purpose it has yet, but now that I know for certain I have magic inside me, I’m going to damn well learn how to use it. P.S. The family is hiding something from me. I know, I know, irony, right? Even after asking Pa again when he got back from town why everypony was being so secretive, all I got was the same thing. I’ll find out tomorrow. At least tomorrow isn't that far away now, but I can't stop thinking about what it could be… It’s obviously something to do with me or for me, or… bleh! I want to know, dammit!