//------------------------------// // An Unwelcome Offer // Story: Summer Songs // by Seeking-Sparks //------------------------------// “I know, I know! I’m sorry!” Twilight huffed out a breath and glared at her. She was holding about a dozen scrolls up in her magic and Spike was stacking more on a pile next to her.  “I am the ruler of all of Equestria, and I come back here to Ponyville to help you with your studies! And you blew me off for TWO WEEKS!!!” Melody winced. “Yeah. I’m sorry. That was awful of me.” Twilight sighed and shook her head, all the scrolls disappearing in puffs of magenta sparkles.  “Melody, I have been tracking your magic since before you were born. You have been studying with me since you could talk. You gave yourself wings last week and you hardly seem to care!” Spike burped out another scroll and handed it silently to twilight. She opened it, her eyes scanning the first few lines. She sighed again, a heavy weight settling on her shoulders.  “I have to go. And I can’t come back to Ponyville for a few days.” Her eyes swept over to Melody, who was hanging her head.  “The wings went away within 24 hours, correct?” Melody nodded silently.  Twilight hummed. “No spell I know of can create actual pegasus wings. So my research leads me to believe the spell you cast requires so much intricate magic that it simply cannot last any longer than that. So I want you to try and recast that spell. If you can recreate it, then hopefully we can study it, learn what it entails, and be able to have other unicorns cast it.” Melody looked up and quirked an eyebrow. “Are you telling me to get drunk?” Twilight rolled her eyes and stood up. “I do not condone research under the influence, but if you have to recreate the situations of the original casting, then so be it.” “Is that academic speak for just don’t tell you about it?” Melody grinned.  Twilight begrudgingly smiled at her. “I will send you a scroll when I am free to meet with you again.” She and Spike disappeared in a flash of magenta magic, and Melody was left blinking lights out of her eyes. She stood and walked resolutely out of the castle, closing the large crystal doors behind her. Melody glanced back towards the Everfree forest and the cottage she knew stood at the edge. But she glanced up at the setting sun and sighed. Twilight must have started the sunset as soon as she got back to Canterlot. She would see Somer at dawn anyway. Melody stopped by the market to pick up a new jug of cider, then walked home.  “Hey mom.”  Running River was the one at the stove this time, though she seemed to be having a pep talk with an army of onions. Melody raised an eyebrow instinctively, but knew better than to question her mother’s cooking habits.  “Listen up! I grew you! It is utterly unacceptable to make me cry! I am your mother!!!” Melody grinned as River turned towards her, huffing out an angry breath. Her eyes were red and watery. Her daughter ignited her horn, magic glowing her typical gold, and the tears vanished from her face.  “There. Protection should last about an hour.” River kissed her on the cheek. “I do love being an earth pony, but there is something to be said for magically fixing my disagreement with the onions.” She slid an envelope across the table. “Before I forget, the Canterlot Orchestra sent you another letter.” Melody rolled her eyes. “For Celestia’s sake, I sent them the song only last week! How could they already need a new one??” She tore open the envelope and read the first few lines. “Oh. They want me to headline their summer concerts.” River tossed her chopped onions into the pan, the sizzle filling the silence as Melody stared at the paper. River glanced over her shoulder, but let the quiet stretch. Melody closed her eyes and put down the letter, grimacing and setting her head in her hooves.  “What would that entail?” River continued to saute the onions, facing away from her daughter.  Melody silently thanked that it was River who was home and not Sparks. “They offered me a full time position as their soloist. Living in canterlot. Traveling with the orchestra and the choir.” “That makes sense. They did try to hire you as a choir member when you applied to be a songwriter for them.” Melody groaned and dropped her head to the table, a few black sparks sputtering out of her horn. “They said we could sing or play our written song for the audition! I didn’t want to bring my guitar all the way to Canterlot.” She winced at the memory.  River hummed nonchalantly. “You used to love singing at camp for every talent show, campfire, or spare five minutes.” “It’s different! I know everypony here. Canterlot is so…” She waved a hoof, voice floundering. “Big.” She finished lamely.  Chuckling, River threw some tomatoes and carrots into the pan. “Sweetheart your voice is the same no matter where the stage is.” The door swung open harshly and both mares turned towards the interruption. Sparks was standing in the door, blinking at them.  “You two okay?” Melody groaned and turned her head back to the table. River served up three plates of vegetable stir fry, a slight smile on her lips.  “The Canterlot Orchestra offered her a job as their soloist.” Sparks grinned and kissed them both on the cheek as she sat down at the table. “Aw sweetheart that is incredible!!! When do they want you to start??” River placed a hoof on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. Sparks frowned and looked at her disheveled daughter.  Her tone softened. “Honey, what’s going through your head?” The unicorn sat up and started poking at her plate with her fork. “I just wanted to be a songwriter.” Sparks opened her mouth but stopped when her wife placed a hoof quietly on hers.  “Maybe you could go and test it out. Perform for a small event and see how you like it.” Melody looked at her mom, a soft smile and a concerned look on her face. Her eyes flicked over to Sparks, who had a glint in her eye.  “What if you did an event here in Ponyville and sold Somerset’s pottery? Help repay what you broke in her shop.” Sparks had the ghost of a smirk but she quickly tried to hide it.  Melody furrowed her brow, confused but interested. Her mom’s smirk wasn’t usually a sign of danger.  “That’s not a bad idea. Maybe Fluttershy and I could do a pet adoption drive with some of the recovered animals from the sanctuary.” River smiled at the two of them.  Melody bit her lip. “I’ll run it by Somer tomorrow morning." She watched as Sparks’ eyes flicked to look sideways at her wife. River didn’t meet her gaze, but a small smile spread across her lips as she continued to eat. Melody narrowed her eyes.  “What are you two doing?” Seeking Sparks looked up, not missing a single beat. “Waiting for you to get to bed so we can have the couch to ourselves.” “Ew! Mom! Gross!” Melody shook her head, disgusted. “Oh my Celestia. For fuck’s sake, go! I’ll clean up dinner.”  Sparks winked at her and snuck a hoof around River’s shoulders. “Much appreciated, spawn.” Melody rolled her eyes and groaned as her moms walked out of the kitchen. River paused at the door and looked back at her lovingly.  “You don’t get a cutie mark for nothing you know. The Orchestra has been after you for years. Maybe it’s time to get on a bigger stage.” She caught the slump of her daughter’s shoulders. “But your mom and I will support you no matter what.” Melody looked back at her, smiling sadly. “Thanks mom.” River blew her a kiss and disappeared up the steps. The unicorn held the dishes in her black magic as she heard her mom laugh and the sound of someone falling into bed. She pulled a face and put on a record as she cleaned the kitchen. She looked out the window in front of the sink and watched as the stars twinkled in the dark sky. A breeze blew a few stray leaves around the town. Cloudsdale would be there soon to bring winter, and with it would come their rare visits from her grandparents.  After the dishes were done and the countertops cleaned, Melody took the envelope up to her room and tucked it in the folder with her other employment information. It sat neatly in the drawers under her desk. The top of the desk was not so neat. Scattered sheets of music lay haphazardly across the surface, some smudged and wrinkled, others carelessly folded and creased. There were dozens of partial songs there, some lyrical for the choir, others instrumental for the orchestra and the band. There was one neat folder of stapled, official versions of the completed songs she sent to Canterlot.  Melody looked ruefully at her cutie mark. A black songbird under 6 music notes in the colors of the rainbow. She had gotten it after one of her talent show performances at Camp Friendship. The first time she’d performed her own original song. She had performed at camp her entire life; it had just been a part of growing up the daughter of the camp directors.  Melody sighed and closed the drawer, turning away from the job offer. Camp performances were one thing. But to stand up in front of hundreds, maybe thousands of ponies, and sing her songs? That was terrifying. Sighing, she fell heavily into bed and nuzzled herself deep into her pillow.  “Fuck!” Melody groaned. She hadn’t tried to replicate the spell for Twilight. She would have to ask Somer if she could skip pottery work this weekend. There was no way she could get herself drunk and still be at the cottage at dawn.  As the night stretched, the soft light of the moon washed over the room and Melody found her eyes closing heavily. She burrowed deeper into her pillow and blankets and tried to block out the thoughts of job offers and magic lessons. She smiled softly into the pillow; she would see Somer in the morning, and that was good enough.  Once the house was quiet, Sparks and River carefully walked down the hall outside their daughter’s room and looked in quietly.  “Do you think she bought it?” River rolled her eyes. “You’re not subtle.” “I had to say something fast!” “So you chose to say we wanted to have sex??” Sparks smirked. “Well she stopped asking about it didn’t she?” River rolled her eyes again. She did that a lot around her wife. “I don’t even think she knows that she likes Somer.” “She takes after you.” River shooed Sparks away from the room and closed the door. “Rude!” “You didn’t know we were on a date until I kissed you!!” “Irrelevant.” Sparks grinned as she turned back towards their room. “I think she will figure it out. Eventually she has to realize that there’s a reason she’s been talking our ears off about this mare for the last week.” The two mares walked softly back to their bed, shoulder to shoulder down the narrow hallway. Seeking Sparks worked a small brush through her wife’s long mane as River delicately undid the forest green braid in hers. They leaned in, their noses touching and small smiles spreading across both of their faces. It was a familiar routine by now, but not one that had lost its magic. As they climbed under the covers and settled in for the night, Sparks looked out the window at the clear night.  “Dawn will be here soon.” She paused for a moment, considering. “You know, I don’t think Melody has even been this willing to get up early in her entire life.” “If only we’d known all those summers at camp that it just took a pretty mare to get her out of bed in the morning.” River mumbled from her pillow.  “Apparently more effective than my buckets of cold water.” Sparks chuckled to herself and turned away from the window, finally laying down for the night.  “Goodnight my love.” “Goodnight darling.” River and Sparks drifted off to sleep in the quiet night air, the last chills of fall breezing softly through their room. It would be winter soon, bringing cold weather fun at camp. They hosted weekend events after the lake froze over and the hills were covered in snow. Then the months would tick by and it would be summer again before they knew it. River’s last thought as she drifted to sleep was how strange it would be to have their daughter in Canterlot instead of at camp that summer.  When they woke in the morning, Melody was gone and so were most of her music sheets.