The dark cloud had begun to dissipate and clear up, allowing the gang to get a better look at the creature they saw before their very eyes. Melodia was grinning even more, knowing very well that her plans had actually fallen into place and felt like she was finally going to get what she wanted. With the dark cloud now out of sight, the creature had finally revealed itself.
She was a black alicorn with red eyes, but no pupils. Her mane was grey and had on leg armor and had black and red wings on her back. She wore a black cape with red trimmings. The cutie mark on her flank resembled the Alicorn Amulet, but it was black and red.
Eternal gave the mare a serious glare. "Who are you?" he asked. The mare chuckled and approached Eternal Flames and leaned down towards his eye level.
"So, the little stallion wants me to introduce myself. Very well, but I'm only going to say this once, so keep your ears open when you hear my name." she says. She whispers in his ear. "I... am... Zoor!" she lights up her horn and Eternal immediately backs up and retreats towards the gang before she had the chance to try to strike him down with a powerful magic attack. "Now, who was the one that freed me from my imprisonment after thousands of years?" she asks.
"It was I!" Melodia called out. Zoor turned to look behind her and found Melodia approaching her. Zoor turned her whole body around and gave Melodia her full attention. "I released you from your prison by absorbing their combined attacks and fueling you with my own magical abilities! Now my magical powers are yours to use for your very own, including the song of the dragons!" she explains.
Spike got freaked out when she said that. "I was afraid of that!" he said.
"What do you mean, Spike? Is the song of the dragons that bad?" Twilight asked.
"Afraid so. If played, then any and all dragons near and far will fall under the hypnotic song and follow singer's every order against our will!" he whispered.
"Excellent. With these newfound magical abilities, I will finally once again rule all of Equestria and seek my revenge on the one who opposed me: Master Starswirl the Bearded!" Zoor exclaimed.
"YES! And what about me?" Melodia asked. Zoor looked at Melodia, who was filled with excitement. Zoor laughed at Melodia and approached her with an evil grin.
"Please, even though you have freed me from my prison, I do not see how a pathetic little weakling like you could ever hope to be of use to anymore! You're nothing but a useless pawn. So take your weak little flank out of my sight and NEVER EVER COME BACK!!!" Zoor said, as she lit up her horn. She launched her attack on Melodia and blasted her into the sky and over to the forest of the elements. "Now that the little wretch is out of the way, I have a world that's rightfully mine to take now!" she exclaims. She laughs evilly as she lit up her horn and used her magic to disappear without a single trace to find her.
At the same time, after Melodia was caught completely off guard, her magic grip on the buildings in the village loosened and the buildings fell back down into place.
The others were speechless on what had just happened. Including Eternal. He was dumbfounded by the fact that Zoor had backstabbed Melodia after freeing her. But this was also the first time in years he had ever been struck with so much fear that he froze. Sunset approached him.
"Eternal? Are you okay?" she asked.
"There's no way we can beat that thing... at least... not like this." he replied. "And Melodia... I know she's the enemy but she didn't deserve something like that."
"You're right. We've got to find her as soon as we can!"
"Then let's waste no time. Tidal Wave, you're the only one with the most medical experience so I need you to come with me and Sunset and find Melodia. There's no telling how badly she might be injured, so we have to be well prepared for this." Eternal ordered.
"I understand." Tidal agrees with a nod and got his first aid kit from Pinkie once again.
"But, what about me?" Rarity asks. "Aren't you going to bring me along with you?"
"He-llo! This isn't a vacation, Rarity! You stay here with the others and check up on the locals to make sure no pony is hurt, then we'll meet back at the entrance of the village." Eternal ordered.
"Come on, you didn't have to yell at Rarity like that!" Spike said.
"I didn't want to yell at her, but I had no choice. She just doesn't get the message!"
"The message?"
Eternal sighed in annoyance and signalled Spike to get closer to him. He nodded and walked up to Eternal and let him whisper in his ear. "Remember how you said you had a crush on Rarity and how I said she just kept taking you for granted?" his question was met with a nod from Spike, "Well, I keep trying to make it clear to Rarity that she's not my type and I don't have time for dates! Besides, with the amount of time you've been in love with her, I have no business to pursue her at all."
"Oh... well, thanks." Spike replied quietly.
"No prob. Now come on, you two." Eternal ordered Sunset and Tidal.
They both nodded and left to find Melodia. They approached the gate leading to the Freedom Valley and opened it up, running down the path of the valley leading to the forests. But they didn't know which path she might have landed in.
"Eternal, I've got an idea. I'll check the path on the far left, you check the left path in the middle and Tidal Wave can search the 2nd farthest path on the right. If she's not there, we'll take the paths next on our rights so we'll have a better chance." Sunset explains.
"Good thinking. Just be careful." Eternal said.
"I'll be careful if you promise to."
"Done." Just as Eternal was going to run down the path, Sunset stopped him.
"Hold on!" she says, grabbing his shoulder. He turned towards her, seeing a troubled look in her eyes. He held off on running into the forest and listened to Sunset.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
"Do you remember when I latched onto Melodia up on the mountain?" she asks.
"Yeah, how could I forget?"
"This might not sound believable, but... I was able to see into Melodia's past and... she went through a traumatic experience as a little filly. She was tortured and brutally beaten. Her father... the ruler of all dragons... his life was taken away from him and in front of his daughter's own eyes."
"What?!" Eternal shouted. "How do you know if that's the truth?"
"One of my special abilities is to see into other ponies' pasts. Melodia's past held a dark secret that she probably didn't want others to find out about. She was probably too scared, or ashamed to tell the others and find out whether or not they'd believe her."
"But if that's the-- oh dear! I... I gotta go find her, quick!" Tidal says before taking off. He ran down the path on the farthest to the right without even thinking about it. Eternal wanted to go after him, but Sunset placed her hoof on his shoulder, getting his full attention and shook her head.
Eternal realized from both Sunset's and Tidal's expressions that this was something that only somepony like Tidal Wave can try to fix and Eternal was not allowed to interfere. Though, he didn't like his friend going alone, he had to respect his wishes and see this through his way. In the meantime, he and Sunset ran down the other paths in search for Melodia if she was down one of the other paths.
Tidal Wave was right to run down the path and found Melodia laying in the dirt. She was really covered in bruises and her breathing was faint, but stable. Tidal Wave got closer to her and opened up his first aid. He began treating Melodia's wounds and helped her stablize her breathing more. The moments rolled by and Melodia began to stir and grunt in pain from the damage she took.
"Just relax, give it a second. You're still not strong enough to walk yet." Tidal implied. Melodia gave him a glare, but he didn't back away from her. She scoffed.
"Why bother? I got what I had coming. I suppose I deserved to be tossed aside." she said, looking down at the ground with the look of dissappointment in her supposed smile. Tidal Wave had never heard her talk like that and his friends would think he's nuts if he told them what she said. But he knew all too well she was just trying to act tough to mask the real hidden torture in her eyes.
"Melodia, you don't have to keep up this act anymore. I know why you did all that stuff." Tidal replied. "But I'm still very upset with how you targeted my sister."
"What else is new?" she asked, retorically.
"I know that you lost your father a long time ago and you witnessed it with your own eyes. I'm very sorry for the horrible pain that you experienced during your childhood."
Melodia flashed an angry look at Tidal Wave. "What do you know about my past?! You know nothing! You don't know what it's like to be looked down upon just because you're different!"
"Melodia, just because you're different, doesn't mean it's frowned upon."
"IT WAS, THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO!" When she raised her voice at him, he could see the tears swell up in her eyes, but she does her best to hide them.
"Well, hear me out. Being different is not a bad thing anymore. Although, I can't say the same thing for my parents, because I don't act like them. They thought that acting the way I always do will make them think I'll just end up in the slums with no power whatsoever. In my family, all my parents cared about was being the most powerful ponies next to the King's family. I only had my little sister who understood me as much as I understood her during the time when I mostly raised her."
"Aww, boo-hoo, such a sad story, but what does that have to do with ME? You had a warm bed to sleep in and fresh food stuffed inside that stomach of yours! I was always dangling from the walls in chains and fed this disgusting liquid every time the queen felt I was punished enough!"
"All I'm saying is that no matter how different we look or act, we are who we are. And right now, I can't stand to see you have to deal with the demons of your past and have to suffer because of them. I want to show you that no matter how dark the path may be, there will always be light at the end of the tunnel. And I want to be able to pull you out of that darkness and be by your side."
"B-But... I... Your family a-a-and the village... why are you..." Melodia stuttered. She sat up with a questioned look in her face, as she had never known that a simple earth pony would actually help her, despite everything she had done to them and their family and friends. Then, next thing that happens catches her by surprise. Tidal Wave wraps his hooves around her and gave her a warm hug.
She gasps and tried to brake him away from her, but he held on tight. "Please, Melodia. You don't have to be alone in the dark, anymore. You can still try to move forward and we can help get you settled and we can give you a brand new fresh start in life."
And in that moment, for the first time in thousands of years, Melodia formed tears in her eyes and started crying in Tidal Wave's shoulder. She hugged him back and sobbed loudly, quivering with grief and guilt.
"I'm so sorry! This was all my fault! I was so hung up on getting revenge on all those who shunned me away and feared me as a child, that I failed to see the pain and anguish I put you all through! I promise, I will never hurt anypony ever again for as long as I live!" she sobbed.
"Shhhh, just let it all out. I'm here." Tidal says, getting choked up himself. Tidal Wave sees Melodia's dragon wings wrap around him and her like a blanket. He didn't object to it and held her warmly in his hooves, easing the pain in her heart.
"Why? Why would you be nice to a heathenous wretch of a creature like me?"
"Because you're not what you're claiming be. You're not a heathenous wretch of a creature, or a bad pony, or a mistake that everypony thought you were. You are Melodia Sortis Aeternalis: A pony/dragon hybrid who wanted to seek out freedom and sanctuary from the cruel world that misjudged you so badly. And most importantly, you are a mare/dragoness who deserves to be treated like any living creature in this world."
For that moment, Melodia had never felt so happy about somepony who had said such heartwarming words of wisdom and made her feel special. She only pulled away to look into Tidal's eyes and smiled at him before she leaned back in and whisper to him.
"Thank you so much, Tidal Wave. You have my word that I'll try to make things right."
"I wouldn't expect nothing less, Melodia."
She pulled him in for another warm hug and he hugged her back just as Eternal Flames and Sunset Shimmer had arrived at the scene and saw how Tidal Wave had succeeded in taming Melodia and smiled at the sight of them finally uniting as friends and allies.
In that moment, Sunset's cutie mark began to glow, which meant that hers and the other girls' friendship problem was finally taken care of. They waited for Tidal Wave and Melodia to break free from their hug so they could finally head back with the others. After about half a minute of hugging, the two finally broke free of the warm embrace and Eternal walked towards the two of them with a calm look in his eyes, even though Melodia still thought he might still be crossed with her.
Tidal Wave looked up at Eternal, who looked back down at him... with a warm smile and a nod. Tidal Wave was surprised, because Eternal had never smiled like that for a long time. But to see one as bright and reassuring as his, told him that he wasn't angry.
"You've done good, Tidal Wave. You've done good." Eternal said. His attention went towards Melodia, who had her back turned towards him, still unsure if he was upset with her or not. Eternal placed his hoof on her shoulder and she closed her eyes tightly. "Melodia, it's alright. Look at me." he said. Melodia turned and faced Eternal with an uncertain look and shook a little bit. "No matter how badly the pain felt when you were young, it was the wrong thing to do when you endangered the lives of innocent ponies."
"I know... and I'm truly sorry for everything. I just felt so alone when I had lost my father years ago. He was the only family I had left." Melodia said sadly.
"How? How did that happen?" Eternal asked. Melodia turned away, closing her eyes tightly.
"I think I can shed some light on this. But you guys should be aware that what I saw in her memories was something that even leaves scars in me." Sunset explains. She approaches Melodia and placed her hoof on Melodia and looks over at the guys and says, "Grab my hoof and don't let go." Tidal Wave and Eternal Flames nodded and grabbed Sunset's hoof and she began to transfer Melodia's memories to the two stallions. In that brief moment, not a word was said, just the looks of shock, sadness and anger.
When Sunset let go of Melodia, Eternal's expression began to change. His bangs covered his eyes and he started emitting low growls. Tidal Wave looked at Melodia, now understanding what had happened and approached her, placing his hoof on her claw.
"Now I understand. I'm so sorry, Melodia. No pony should go through that." he says, almost crying.
"To think that I respected her... but to find out how much of a monster SHE was... I can never forgive her for what she's done to a little filly! If I find that mare, she's DONE FOR!" Eternal snarled.
"Calm down, Eternal! You don't even know where to find her." Sunset says.
"Then, if she ever shows her face again, I'll make sure she doesn't try this on anypony else!"
"There'll be plenty of time for threats, but right now, I think it's best that we take Melodia with us. The others are probably wondering what's taking us so long." Tidal implied.
"Fine... but I'm keeping an eye out for that monster if she ever shows up. And I don't mean you, Melodia." Eternal said, a bit calmer, but still feeling a bit hostile. The group of friends all gathered together and were about to teleport back to the village, however, Melodia spared them the trouble by using her own magic to teleport the four of them back to the village.
Tidal Wave leaned down and placed Melodia up on his back. She yelped at his surprising actions but later accepted it and just let the fatigue take over and she wrapped her forlegs around his neck, soundly falling asleep as they finally approached their friends. At the same time, the rest of the gang rushed over to the four ponies and surrounded them in a big circle.
"Sunset, did it go well, she didn't hurt you, did she?!" Twilight asks.
"It's alright, Twilight. She didn't attack me or the boys. In fact, this might sound crazy, but she's actually being given a second chance to redeem herself." Sunset explains.
"WHAT?!" everypony asked in disbelief.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?! She nearly tried kill you and Tidal's sister earlier!" Rainbow shouts.
"And let's not forget that Princess Celestia told us how Melodia shot Blaze Burn down the mountain! What good'll it be it let that thing run free." Applejack asks, pointing at the sleeping hybrid on Tidal's back.
"Hey! You didn't see what Sunset showed me and Tidal." Eternal snapped, glaring daggers. Applejack quirked an eyebrow at his expression.
"What're y'all talkin' about?"
"Are you aware of Sunset's ability to look into ponies' pasts?" Tidal Wave asks.
"Of course, bu....oh, lemme guess, somethin' bad happened to Melodia in her past life." AJ guessed.
"Yes. And it wasn't pretty. If you want, then I'll explain it, but I warn you, her memories aren't exactly the sweetest kind of memories a filly has ever made." Eternal says. "Tell me, have any of you ponies ever wondered what it's like to have your hooves chained over your head and have them dangling from the ceiling, because that's what Melodia went through. And let's say there's this ancient so-called guardian who had something to do with all of this and she's the reason Melodia acted the way she did today."
"What are you talking about, deary? What "guardian" are you talking about?" Rarity asked.
"The same one who raised mother: Queen Galaxia, my grandmother." Eternal says, glaring. Pinkie Pie levitated a few feet off the ground, gasping before landing back down on her hooves.
"I... did not see that coming!" Pinkie says.
"But, why would Queen Galaxia hurt Melodia? Surely she wouldn't stoop that low. She and King Cosmos were the most powerful guardians in all of Equestria before the two sisters." Fluttershy says.
"Fluttershy, many guardians come with flaws in their lives and I think from Eternal's expression, Galaxia had that one big flaw that probably made him discredit everything about Queen Galaxia. I just pray that he doesn't do the unthinkable if he ever meets her face-to-face." Spark Burst says.
"Eternal, my son." Celestia says, approaching him. "Are you sure all of this was because of mother? Please, I have to know if this is the truth!" she begs with tears in her eyes.
"Seeing Melodia's memories with Sunset's help makes me wish it was all a lie. Even if we try to deny it, memories always reveal the hidden truth." Eternal says, still looking down, holding in his anger. Celestia didn't want to believe it, but there was no hint of lies hidden in her son's words. Celestia backed away from her son and hung her head down in shame. She turned to Melodia, who was still sleeping on Tidal Wave's back and she approached him with guilt and sympathy. "Melodia, my dearest friend, I'm so sorry for everything that's happened to you and not being there for you when you needed me."
"I can only imagine what she might say if she heard you say that." said a male voice. Celestia looked in front of her and saw that Blaze Burn had fully recovered from his fall. She approached him with concern, though, feeling like she could've done more to save him.
"Dearest, you're not still hurt, are you?" Celestia asked.
"I only had my ear drum nearly blown out, but other than that, I should be fine. I apologize for making you worry about me so much." Blaze Burn replied. "Including you, my son." he says to Eternal.
"I'm just glad you're okay, father." Eternal replied.
"Come on, Eternal, you always refer to him as "father" and not "dad." Can't you at least stop with the formalities for once and talk to him like he's "family" and not a "high-class pony?" Heat Blitz asked.
"It's alright, Heat Blitz. He's just being himself. Now, how's about we get to fixing the village? Then, maybe later on, we can get accquainted with our new friend and ally." Blaze Burn says.
"It'll be a challenge to fix up everything in this village if it's only one of us, Blaze Burn. After all, this was my home at one time and I want to help restore it with you." Celestia says.
Blaze Burn chuckled. "I think it's a great idea." he replied. Now coming to an agreement, the two alicorns stood closely with each other and lit up their horns in unison, casting their combined magical energies together and coating the entire village in it. The light shined so brightly in one instant and then disappeared, revealing the village finally being restored to its original state. Princess Celestia and the former King Blaze Burn smiled at each other and the village before approaching Twilight and her friends.
"I suppose this means our work here is finally done, everypony." Celestia says. The girls nodded.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Hurricane Breeze asked.
"Well, to be specific, Hurricane, we came here because of a friendship problem and we all got called here by the map of Equestria, which was sort of rare. I know it seems a bit difficult to take in at first, but, in reality we're actually the spirits of the Elements of Harmony, just like how you and your friends are the spirits of the Elements of Freedom here. And now that our work is done, we have to go home." Fluttershy explains.
"She's right. After all, I'm sure you guys saw our cutie marks blinking earlier, right?" Twilight asks. Eternal and his friends and family all agreed with a nod. "Well, that was the sign telling us that our work here is done, and we have to get going if we want to stay alert for anymore threats."
"Wait, what about that monster that sent Melodia flying? She's still on the loose!" Spike says. "Don't forget, she still has the ability to sing the Song of Dragons! At any rate, she mi-- AGH!!!" he shouted. Spike kneeled down onto his hands and knees.
Twilight ran to the teen dragon with concern. "Spike, is something wrong?" she asked. As she got closer, Melodia woke up from her little nap and looked up to see Twilight approaching Spike and could hear a familiar melody being sung from a far distance and she knew it meant danger.
"STOP, DON'T GET SO CLOSE TO HIM!!!" Melodia shouted. Twilight looked back, which proved to be a big mistake because Spike also looked and had his predatorial eyes locked on her. Sunset felt uneasy with the way Spike was looking at Twilight and ran towards her.
"Twilight she's right, get away from him!" Sunset says, tackling Twilight away from Spike, who shot green flames, but missed his target.
"The next time we meet, you won't be so lucky! Remember this day!" Spike growled before flying off. As soon as he was out of sight, Melodia took one look at Rarity's expression and immediately caught wind of the situation, knowing what she was about to say.
"Oh no! Spi-" Rarity says.
"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Rainbow Dash said, cutting her off.
"Phew, thank you." Melodia sighed in relief.
"What are you girls talking about?" Eternal asked. Rainbow went over to Eternal.
"Rarity's had this annoying habit of calling Spike by these nicknames like "Spikey-poo or Spikey-Wikey." Rainbow whispered in his ear. Eternal face hooved himself.
"Sweet mother Celestia, how does he put up with her?" he asks.
"We'll worry about that later! Right now, we've got to find a way to bring Spike back!" Twilight says.
"Twilight's right! Spike's done so much for Equestria than we give him credit for! But we're going to need you boys to come along with us if we are to succeed!" Celestia said.
"What?!" the boys shouted in surprise.
"But, the Freedom Village is our home. What's going to happen if we leave it behind? What if some other evil entity shows up and tries to destroy the village?" Hurricane Breeze asks.
"Nonsense." said another male voice.
"What? Who said that?" Eternal asked. He feels something land on his shoulder, catching him by surprise and he turns around, meeting his older brother eye-to-eye.
"Hah! There's no need to worry. You and your friends have forgotten that I'm the new leader of the village, so anything that tries to harm anypony here has to answer to me." Blue Blaze says.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Don't worry about me. I'm still strong enough to hold my own. But it's still your decision on whether or not your want to join the others. But if you want my advise, I say you should venture forth, this way you and your friends will be able to learn and grow. The village can only teach you so much and I say that you've learned just about everything you need to learn in this entire village and the valley. And you should always keep in mind that as your older brother, I'm so proud of you."
The words coming from Blue Blaze made Eternal silent for a few seconds and in return, he gave his older brother a big hug, earning a hug from him in return. Eternal pulled back and said, "And I'm proud I got to grow up with the best big brother in the whole world." he then turned to his friends and told them, "Guys, whether or not you choose to stay here, I'm heading back with mother."
"If you're going, then I'm going with you, too!" Heat Blitz says. The other guys all walked up with confidence in their eyes and in their spirits.
"So are we!" they said in unison. Eternal was surprised that all 6 of his friends were coming along with him on his journey, his respect for his friends grew more, knowing that he'll always have their backs as they've had his back throughout all the years he's known them.
