//------------------------------//
// A Sweet Tune 
// Story: Old Magic 
// by HyperBlossom7 
//------------------------------//

	Melody woke from a dreamless sleep. She slowly opened her eyes as she picked up on a delicious scent wafting into the room. Momentarily, as she hung between the realm of sleep and the waking world, she forgot her surroundings. Then memories of the previous days events came swimming back to her. She was at Sugar Cube Corner, sharing a room with her Pen Pal Pinkie Pie. And now, as she glanced towards the window, she could see warm sunlight coming in through the glass. The young unicorn yawned slightly and got out of her bed. She stretched out her body before giving herself a little shake. Now that she was more awake, she could focus better. 

She could still smell that delicious aroma coming from outside of the room. Melody had a feeling it was Pinkie Pie or the Cakes making breakfast. She glanced over towards her roommate's side of the room, seeing a lack of the party pony. Her suspicions confirmed, she left the room and first went to the bathroom to wash up. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but giggle at how ridiculous her mane looked. It stuck out in all directions, giving herself a slight punk pony look. She cleaned herself up and brushed her mane down to its side swept style. Then Melody went down to the main floor of Sugar Cube Corner. 

"Good morning," she said brightly as she entered the room. 

She saw Pinkie Pie setting down a big plate of blueberry pancakes on a table. There was milk and apple juice on the table, as well as toast with butter. Pinkie Pie beamed when she saw Melody and went over to her. 

"You're just in time Melody. I made breakfast!" she said excitedly. 

"It smells delicious, Pinkie," Melody said with a giggle. "I am actually hungry." 

The two friends sat down at the table together. Pinkie Pie handed her a glass and a plate, and Melody took her share of the breakfast items. She filled her glass with apple juice and started on her breakfast. She glanced at Pinkie Pie who was happily devouring three pancakes like she would any other treat. She giggled, seeing that the pink mare was just as hungry as her. 

"So whatcha doing today, Melody?" Pinkie Pie asked conversationally as she ate some toast. "You don't start work until next week right?" 

Melody nodded in affirmation. "Well I thought I would go visit Twilight again, and maybe go see Roseluck." 

"Aw, you don't want to hang out with your favorite party pony?" Pinkie Pie whined.

For a moment Melody thought she was genuinely hurt, but then she saw the laughter in Pinkie Pie's eyes. "I'm happy to hang out with you any time, Pinkie Pie," she said. "You're welcome to come with me to Twilight's." 

"Nah," said the party pony. "No offense, but books aren't as fun as all the other super cool things I can do around town." 

"And what would those things be?" Melody asked curiously. 

Pinkie Pie giggled and lowered her voice as she said, "It's a secret." 

She put a hoof to her lips and winked at Melody conspiratorially. The coral unicorn laughed at this and nodded. "Right, of course." 

She smiled, taking another drink of her apple juice. She finished up the last of her pancakes and wiped off her mouth with a napkin. Melody rose from her seat and proceeded to take her dishes into the kitchen. But Pinkie Pie stepped in her path and took the dishes off her hooves. 

"I got it Melody, don't worry!" said Pinkie Pie, expertly balancing the dishes on one hoof while she carried her own on another. 

Melody watched in amazement as the pink mare easily walked into the kitchen area and set the dishes in the sink. She blinked, and glanced over to where the Cakes were. However the two adult ponies didn't seem to be paying much attention, as they were tending to the Cake twins. Melody decided that this was probably normal and she shouldn't look too much into the matter. 

"Well I'll be off then," said Melody. "Thanks for the breakfast, Pinkie Pie!"

"No problem, see you later!" said Pinkie Pie.

"See you!" Melody waved at her pen pal.

She turned and went back to her room to grab her saddlebag. She made sure she had her notebook and flute case inside before leaving. She walked out of Sugar Cube Corner and into what was a sunny day in Ponyville. She was glad for this, as she was way too used to seeing rain and cloudy skies in Scoltland. There was a cool breeze in the air and it swept through her mane. She smiled again and headed down the street towards Twilight's library. 

Melody's path was suddenly blocked when three fillies came dashing into view. It was the Cutie Mark Crusaders, all donning their trademark capes. They each seemed to be carrying a filly sized backpack on their backs. She chuckled at the sight as the Crusaders smiled sheepishly at her.

"Sorry, we didn't see you there!" Sweetie Belle apologized. 

"We didn't mean any harm," said Scootaloo. 

"Where are you going?" inquired Applebloom, looking at the unicorn curiously.

"I was going to the Library," Melody answered. "And where are you three going?"

The three fillies all shared a secret smile and Applebloom answered, "We're going to get our cutie marks in backpacking!" 

Then the three of them shouted out together, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER BACKPACKERS!" 

Melody winced slightly at the loud tones, but shook her head. "Well be careful!" 

"We will, don't worry!" said Scootaloo. "Come on guys!" 

Melody watched as the three of the scampered off. They were quite energetic all right, maybe even more than her roommate. Of course her roommate's energy went with her cutie mark. As for the three fillies, well Melody didn't know. She sighed as she looked at her own blank flank, wishing she could have some of that energy as well. Melody continued to the Library, glad to have a distraction from the dour reminder. 

When she entered the Library, Melody was met with a pacing alicorn surrounded by books and notes. Twilight Sparkle looked rather stressed, and Melody could even see some hairs out of place. She cautiously approached the Princess of Magic, not wanting to startle her. 

"Um, Twilight? Are you okay?" she asked warily. 

Twilight's head snapped towards her, having not seen Melody come in. Then realizing it was only Melody, she relaxed slightly. 

"Oh hey," said Twilight. "I'm sorry for the mess. I've been trying to study the three components of an alicorn's magic: The magic in the hooves that earth ponies possess; the magic in the wings of pegasi, and then of course unicorn magic which resides in the horn. It's a new approach that I hadn't even thought of doing before, but it's also very difficult." 

"Oh..." Melody glanced at all the books around her. "Well...is there anything I can do to help?" she offered. 

"No no, I'll be fine," said Twilight dismissively. "Feel free to browse around, don't mind me." 

Melody frowned slightly as she watched Twilight return to her pacing. Every few moments the alicorn princess would use her magic to pick up several documents or books and look at them closely before deciding they were useless or didn't have the information she was seeking. Melody couldn't help but be concerned for her friend, who seemed to be overworking. Then a thought occured to her. 

"Twilight, when was the last time you went outside?" she asked.

Twilight looked in her direction and blinked, as if trying to process what the coral unicorn had said. Then she responded, "I don't know, two days ago? I think I went to get lunch at Sugar Cube Corner or something." 

Spike appeared at Melody's side and whispered, "I had to force her to do that."

Melody looked at the dragon and nodded. Then she looked at Twilight, who had already gone back to her work. She sighed, wondering how a pony could live like this. Melody loved books, and she loved learning new things, but she wasn't as quite obsessed as the Princess of Magic was. Still, she didn't think it was her place to order a princess to take a break and get out of her own Library. She decided it would be best to leave her be. 

Melody went on to do what she came here for, and that was to find something to read. She went to a lower level of the library where there were more books available. She found some interesting topics on Coltic magic, and decided she would check those out. Spike went ahead and gave her the receipts for the two books Melody had picked out, and told her she needed to return them in two weeks. Melody thanked Spike and went back to the main floor of the Library. 

"See you later Twilight," she said to the busy alicorn. 

Twilight nodded, not looking at her. "Bye Melody," she said. 

Melody sighed, seeing the alicorn was too immersed in her work to pay any attention. She stuck the two books she had checked out into her saddlebag and headed out of the Library. She paused momentarily to decide what she would do next. She had two new books to read, but the weather was too pleasant to be inside nose deep in books. She wanted to stay outside and be in the fresh air and sunlight. 

Melody walked down the street, feeling the cool autumn air on her coat. She spotted the Carousel Boutique and thought Rarity. The dressmaker was closer to Twilight than she was, maybe Rarity could get Twilight out of the Library. Melody liked that suggestion and changed her direction towards the Boutique. She went inside and saw the dress maker using one of the pony mannequins as a model for a dress. 

"Rarity?" she called her name. 

The white unicorn turned and smiled when she saw Pinkie Pie's pen pal. "Oh hello Melody, what can I do for you?" 

Melody smiled in a friendly manner and said, "Well actually I was here about Twilight. I was just at the Library and she looked a little stress. I was thinking maybe you could help her out, since you know her better than me." 

Understanding came across the alabaster unicorn's face. "Ah, I see. I can fix that. Is that all?" 

Melody nodded, "Yeah, I just wanted to let you know. I'll see you around Rarity." 

There was a flash of disappointment in the unicorn's eyes and Melody felt slightly guilty about leaving so soon. "Maybe you can show me some of your latest designs?" she said, trying to console the dressmaker. 

Rarity brightened at that and said, "I would love to. Of course you're a unicorn however, and the latest dresses I have are designed for Pegasi. Would you like to see them?" 

"Sure," said Melody with a smile. 

She followed Rarity into another room and tried her best to be interested in the dresses that Rarity showed her. She listened patiently as Rarity went on about how she had gotten the right fabrics and other materials for each dress, and how each feature would bring out the most stunning parts of a pegasus. Soon however, Rarity picked up on Melody's disinterest. 

"Melody, if you happen to see Fluttershy today, would you mind asking her to stop by? I can tell you're bored. It's all right, really," said Rarity gently. 

Melody sighed and said, "I'm sorry Rarity. I'm not really into dresses. I mean your designs are great, but you know.."

"I understand darling, don't worry too much about it," said Rarity. "Thank you for trying, anyway." 

"You're welcome," said Melody politely. "And I'll be sure to ask Fluttershy to come by."

Rarity smiled and said, "Thank you Melody. See you around then." 

"Bye," said Melody. 

She left the Carousel Boutique and headed down the street. Sure enough she did see the shy pegasus up ahead. Melody approached Fluttershy carefully and told her that Rarity wanted to see her. The yellow pegasus nodded and quickly walked away, clearly not having warmed up completely to Melody. The coral unicorn watched her go for a minute before continuing on through Ponyville. 

She looked around for a certain florist when she spotted Roseluck at her stand. Smiling, Melody walked over to the earth pony who returned the smile. 

"Hey Melody," said Roseluck. "How are you doing this morning?" 

"Fine, Rose," said Melody. "How about you?"

"I'm fine, I'm just holding the fort for Daisy while she's on her date with Lily. When they come back, we can hang out if you want," said Roseluck. 

"Oh, they're marefriends?" Melody asked, surprised. 

"Yep, they are. I think they're perfect together, anyway," said Roseluck with a smile. "I'm happy for them, even if I do get left out sometimes."

"I think that sounds cute," mused Melody in regards to the couple. 

"Hey, Melody," Roseluck drew her attention back. "Do you happen to have your flute with you?" she asked hopefully.

"Huh?" Melody looked at Roseluck. "Oh, I do actually. Why?" 

"I still want to hear you play the flute," said Roseluck with a smile. "If you have it with you, I'd like to hear your music." 

"Oh...um you mean here?" she asked nervously. "I'm...I don't really like playing my flute in public..." 

"Oh, why is that?" Roseluck asked, her smile fading into a look of concern. 

"Well, it has to do with my parents." 

"Ah, I see," Roseluck could sense the coral mare's discomfort. "You can tell me at my place. I can see Daisy coming back now." 

Melody smiled gratefully at Roseluck as Daisy arrived. Roseluck left the stand in Daisy's care before going with Melody to her place. The two mares went around Roseluck's house to her garden. Melody's eyes widened at the sight of the garden. It was made up mostly of roses, clearly living up to Roseluck's namesake and cutie mark. 

"Wow," Melody murmured. "This place is beautiful!" 

Roseluck blushed at the compliment, "Thanks. I grew it myself." 

"You did a good job," Melody said. "It's lovely." 

"It is, isn't it?" Roseluck agreed. "Come on." 

Roseluck led Melody to a gazebo that sat in the middle of the garden. They took a seat on the benches and Roseluck turned her attention to Melody. 

"So, tell me about your parents?" she asked. 

Melody nodded slowly and said, "Well my father was a musical composer. He orchestrated formal events, while my mother wrote songs for him. One day my father wanted me to take part in an orchestra, and he asked me to play my flute. I didn't want to disappoint my father, even though I didn't want to play the flute either. I joined the concession and well...it ended badly." 

"I'm sorry," said Rose sympathetically. "That wasn't right of your father." 

"It's not your fault," said Melody with a heavy sigh. "This flute belonged to my Grandmother. I see it as more of a treasure than a musical instrument. Though, I do still play the song she taught me sometimes." 

Her horn glowed a rosy red and her saddlebag opened. The case containing the flute floated out and Melody removed the flute from its casing. She looked at it sadly, memories of her grandmother coming back to her. 

"You miss her a lot, don't you?" Roseluck meant it as more of an observation than a question. 

Melody nodded slowly. "Yeah..." 

Roseluck looked at her friend for a few moments. Then she spoke softly, "Do you still want to play?" 

Melody smiled slightly. "I do, actually." 

Roseluck smiled and watched as Melody brought the flute to her mouth. Melody began to play her flute. A sweet tune filled the air, and Melody closed her eyes, letting herself be lost in the music. It was a meaningful song, filled with love and kindness. It was a song taught to her by her beloved Grandmother, who was one of the most precious ponies Melody had ever known. As she played her flute, the wind lifted slightly, coming a little stronger. The roses swayed gently all around them. The melody coming from the flute surrounded the two mares, and Roseluck found herself getting lost in the music as well. 

Melody continued to play, unaware of what was happening around her. At their feet, roses with their petals closed began to bloom. The grass grew a little taller, and turned a little greener. A magical aura began to surround Melody, and she felt warmth envelop her. Roseluck opened her eyes and saw what was going on. Her eyes widened and she got off her seat, backing away from Melody. The magical aura continued to swirl around the coral unicorn, growing even stronger as the music went on. 

Melody felt something inside of her, and her eyes opened immediately. She saw the aura, Roselucks's mixed look of surprise and fear, and the growth that had occured around her. She ceased playing her flute, setting it down in front of her. Melody looked around, stunned. That had never happened to her before. She had to have played that melody dozens of times, but she had never felt magic like that before. 

Roseluck finally broke the silence by saying, "W-what was that?"

Melody swallowed and looked at her friend. "I don't know," she admitted. "That's never happened before." 

"Strange..." Roseluck said. She decided it was safe now and returned to her seat. "That song though, it was beautiful." 

Melody smiled slightly, "Thank you." 

Meanwhile, miles away in Canterlot, the two royal pony sisters had sensed a slight change in the atmosphere. The ambiance around them had shifted, to their surprise. Neither knew where it had come from, but it was certainly new. Princess Luna found herself looking in the general direction of Ponyville, suspecting that the change in the ambiance had come from there. Princess Celestia followed her gaze, and she understood. Tomorrow the two sisters would pay a visit to Ponyville.