Of Crystal and Chitin

by Gandalf158

Melody

Wolf, after consuming two bowlfuls of the stuff, concluded that he did, in fact, quite like celery soup. Melody was just happy that her meager ability to cook seemed to be more than enough for her strange new houseguest.
        Also, Wolf had gathered from Melody that he was in the Crystal Empire, which had recently reappeared in the Frozen North about a week or two ago. He nearly choked when she told him who was now in charge of the Empire: Princess Mi’ Amore Cadenza and her new husband, Prince Shining Armor. Two names he hoped never to hear again.
        “Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!” she asked, a little alarmed.
        “I’m… fine. Just… need to… slow down… on the soup.” he cleared his throat, “You were telling me about yourself?” he said to change the subject.
        “Oh, yes. Well, as I said before, my name is Melody Crescendo, I live here in the Empire, and I’m a singer.” she said.
        “Really? Do you sing in a band?” Wolf asked, getting curious.
        “Sort of; I sing at a nightclub called the Diamond in the Rough, and there’s always a band playing, but not always the same one. In fact, in the four years I’ve worked there, I don’t think I’ve sang with any band more than once or twice.”
        “Do you have a special somepony?” he asked, causing her cheeks to blush slightly.
        “No, not at the moment. What What about you? Got anypony back home?”
        “No. How about family? Or really good friends?”
        At this, Melody’s smile faded, and Wolf felt a wave of sadness radiate off of her. It went away almost as fast as it appeared, but Wolf knew that he had just asked the wrong question. For a few moments, she was silent, but then she started to talk again.
        “As for friends, no. I’ve never been that social, and family is a different story. Before Sombra’s Time Skip crap, I lived here with my grandmother and my mother, Harmony. But, my mother had gone to perform an opera in Equestria. That was the day before the Empire, Sombra, and anypony that was still in the nation got kicked 1,000 years into the future.”
        “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”
        “You couldn’t have known. Is there anything else you’d like to know, Wolf?’ she asked, smile returning.
        Wolf couldn’t think of anything else, but didn’t want the conversation to end. He put his hoof to his chin in thought, which Melody thought looked both adorable and unnerving at the same time. Then, suddenly, he thought of something.
        “Other than singing, what is your favorite thing to do?”
        “That’s an easy one, I really like to read.” she said.
        “What do you read about? Mysteries, fantasy, romance?” he asked, intrigued.
        “Mostly stuff about other countries and their cultures. I suppose that my books are a little out of date, but I have some very interesting ones on the Zebra nation of Savannah.”
        “Have you ever been?” he asked.
        “Where?” she asked, confused.
             "Savannah."
             "No, I haven't really been anywhere but the Empire. Have you?"
        “Once. It was beautiful. The zebra have a very rich, interesting culture.” he thought, but left out the part about them being very, very skilled fighters.
        “That’s amazing! Where else have you been?”
        “Everywhere, I’ve been to every major nation on Equus.” he said.
        “Why did you go to all those places?” he wished she didn’t ask questions like that, but didn’t want to make her suspicious.
        “Oh, I just follow the Hive and go where they tell me.” he hoped that would satisfy her curiosity, but still wanted to change the subject from him back to her, so he asked again, “Do you have any other hobbies?”
        “No, not particularly. Until recently, taking care of my grandmother took up most of my free time.” she said, eyes starting to tear up again.
        “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up sad memories.” Wolf said, looking down in shame.
        “Don’t worry about it, it’s ancient history.” she said, giving a weary chuckle at her own joke.
        She seemed to brighten up after that, so Wolf dropped the subject. He looked around the room, trying to find anything there that he could use to learn more about her. He got what he was looking for in the form of a violin hanging on the wall to his left.
        “Do you play?” he asked, gesturing to the instrument in question.
        “A little bit. Not since about a month or two before Sombra’s psychotic breakdown. Why, do you?”
        “I play a little saxophone.” he noticed she had a quizzical look on her face, “You’ve never heard of a saxophone before, have you?” to this, she shook her head.
        He realized the saxophone, along with many other instruments that were commonplace now wouldn’t have been invented until a few hundred years after the Empire’s disappearance. He felt, for what had to be the hundredth time that day, like a complete and utter idiot.
        “It isn’t important. This soup is amazing, by the way.”
        “Thank you, it’s my mother’s recipe.” she said.
        “May I ask you a question?” she nodded apprehensively, “What happened to your grandmother? You said that ‘until recently’ you took care of her. Did she go with your mother?”
        “She, uh… she passed away just before Sombra’s rise to power.” she said,.
        “I’ll drop it.”
        “Is there anything else?”
        “Just one more, this nightclub, do you like working there?”
        “Yes. It’s the best club in town, and the owner is an old friend of the family. Hey! I have an idea, how about tonight, you come with me to the club?” she asked.
        “That sounds like a lot of fun.”
        “Great! I bet you’ll have a blast. Maybe even meet a pretty mare?” she added the last bit with a sly smile.
        Wolf seriously doubted it, but he still gave a small chuckle. He didn’t know why, but he was really starting to like this Melody, maybe staying there wouldn’t be as bad as he thought.