The Melody of the Heart

by Star Origin


Trouble

The Melody of the Heart

Chapter Four: Trouble

Written by Star Origin

Melody followed after Queen Occento’s every step into the vast city of Serenus and glanced at every corner of the town with curious eyes. At first, the filly tried to compare the changeling city to Manehattan, but it became apparent to her after the first hour that there was absolutely nothing to distinguish between the two cities. Serenus Melodia was bustling with life and activity, with many merchants trying to sell their wares on the streets.

Just as Melody was about done looking at the merchants’ goods, she recognized what looked like an apple in a fruit market. She walked up to Occento and looked up at her with pleading eyes. She was met with success when Occento sighed and nodded, heading towards that stall at a slow trot, much to the filly's dismay.

Occento walked to the fruit merchant’s counter, surprising the shop owner. He was a tall and broad changeling as far as common changelings went. He nearly threw himself to the ground to bow before his queen, an act that made Occento roll her eyes and sigh. She cast a glare at him that spoke for itself.

“It is fine, Lambda,” Occento n with the intent of easing the changeling’s mind. “Addressing me without my title will not warrant you a trip to the palace dungeons.

“To what do I owe such an honor, though, my Queen?"

There is no reasoning with him, Occento groaned internally.

“Well, you see, my little friend here,” she motioned a hoof to Melody, “noticed the apples you are selling in your humble market and wished to have one. Do you think you can spare one for her?”

“Anything for you, my Queen,” Lambda said with a warm smile. He quickly proceeded in lifting an apple from his stock with his magic and giving it to Melody. “Here's your apple, young miss.”

“Thank you, sir!” Melody let out cheerfully. She was ready to grab the apple with her hooves before Occento took it with her magic. “Hey! What gives?!”

“I’ll give it to you in a few moments, Melody. Let me pay Lambda first.”

“Oh no, I certainly could not accept payment from my queen,” Lambda declared with a shake of his head.

“I insist. You make a living out of selling these fruits, do you not?” Occento inquired.

Lambda quickly nodded. “Aye. That I do, my Queen.”

Occento’s horn shone brighter and five bits were lifted out of thin air from where her barrel was. Melody watched the scene with a confused expression. She tried to make sense out of the scene, but her head was not helping her. The more she tried to figure it out, the more her head hurt her, ending in her rubbing a hoof on her temple.

Occento brought the bits over Lambda’s counter and deposited them on the wood’s surface. She winked at the changeling on the other side of the desk and she playfully said, “Then I will have none of it. Keep the bits, Lambda. You need them more than I do.”

“I… I don’t know what to say, my Queen,” Lambda stuttered.

“Then don’t say anything.”

“Thank you, my Queen!”

With her business done, Occento nodded the changeling for his service and gave a small bow to Lambda. Afterward, she left the market with Melody following behind, her brow furrowed and her lips pursed in a pout. She was upset about Occento taking her apple and keeping it to herself. She caught up to Occento in a matter of seconds and put herself in her way.

“Small one, what is it you are doing right now?” Occento asked Melody calmly.

“I want my apple!” Melody let out, her cheeks puffed in anger.

“You’ll get your apple soon enough, but let’s get out of everypony’s way first.”

Melody wanted to argue about the matter a bit more, but before she could utter a single word, Occento walked around her and slowly made her way out of the street and into an alley to the left. Melody followed after her, now more furious than ever, and was surprised when she bumped into Occento’s right foreleg.

“I must ask you calm yourself, Melody,” Occento told Melody.

“Not until you give me my apple!”

“Before I do, I need to ask you a simple question.”

“What’s that?” Melody inquired, her furious gaze melting into more curious one, her head slightly tilted to the left.

“How much did you learn about magic when you still lived in Manehattan?”

“Huh? That’s a weird question,” Melody began, tapping a hoof on her lower lip. “Hmm, as far as I recall, I guess they taught us how to levitate small objects, like this apple.”

“In this case, try using your magic to grab this apple,” Occento told her, lowering the apple to Melody’s eye level.

Melody did as she was asked to, and tried to light her horn. Every time she attempted to summon magic to her horn, she winced and let out a sharp yelp. She tried again for the tenth time, but this time, she actually managed to light her horn with magical energy, glowing with an olive aura. The apple floating in front of Melody was enveloped in her aura and it began levitating in front of her. But it was not before long that she lost focus, a sharp pain passing through her mind, and dropped the apple from her magical hold. Fortunately enough, Occento grabbed it before it touched the ground.

“Ow! It never hurt me before when I used my magic!” Melody complained, clasping both forehooves against her head.

“As I thought,” Occento muttered, much to Melody’s confusion, the throbbing pain in her head made thinking harder for the filly. “Your transformation into a changeling affected your magic.”

“What does… that mean?” Melody inquired, letting out a small grunt.

“This means that changeling genes, when mixed with a pony’s, are usually the dominant genes. Put simply, it means that even though I made you a hybrid, it was enough to affect your magic. If that is the case, it would seem that you are going to have to feed on love and other positive emotions to keep fueling your magical abilities. Here, you can have your apple now.”

Occento engulfed Melody’s legs in her dark green aura and brought them down a bit, with the filly’s hooves pointing upwards. She gently dropped the apple in the filly hooves and recommended that she eat it up soon to recover some of her strength.

Melody’s eyes gleamed with joy when she felt the apple touch her hooves. She instantly took a bite in the apple, feeling her fangs sink into the soft flesh of the fruit. The sensation was new to her and she unconsciously found herself thinking about the usage changelings made with their teeth.

Are changelings carnivores? Melody wondered in the back of her mind.

Though she wanted to ask Occento about the fangs changelings possessed, the taste of the apple on her new taste buds was simply wondrous. It felt like she was drinking fresh honeydew, which also happened to be her most favorite beverage. She devoured the apple in a matter of seconds, throwing the apple’s heart in the nearest garbage bin. Licking her lips with care, she playfully licked her fangs clean, feeling her body tingle as each drop of apple juice hit her taste buds.

Occento gave Melody a surprised look a first when she saw the filly devour the apple as if it had been the last apple in Equestria, but what surprised her the most was the way she licked her fangs. It was like she was already used to them despite having only been released from her recovery pod the day before. Perhaps it would take less time than she believed for Melody to become accustomed to their culture and way of life is that was the case.

Occento was about to leave the alley when she felt Melody clinging to her leg. She let out a sigh and shook the filly off her leg with her magic, levitating her at eye level. “What is it this time, small one?”

“How did you make those bits come out of nowhere, Occento?” Melody asked bluntly, pointing her hoof at the area near Occento’s barrel.

“Ah, that. Well, to keep it really simple, our natural ability to shape-shift gives us the ability to make anything on our bodies blend in. If I so wanted, I could be wearing a full regalia right now and nopony would be able to tell,” Occento explained before making the saddlebags she had been wearing this whole time visible.

Melody squealed at the demonstration, her eyes were almost asking Occento if she would be able to do it someday. Sensing the filly's question forming in her mind, Occento gave a quick nod and Melody threw her forelegs upwards in victory, squealing once more.

“Yay!”

Occento put the filly down and advised she stay close to her for the remainder of the day. Definitely upset about this, Melody chose to show no sign of it, though she was sure Occento could smell it around her. Still, she respected the queen’s demand and stayed closer to her.

Half an hour later, Melody’s stomach roared, forcing Occento to give the filly a questionable look, to which the filly responded with a slight blush. The filly thought about buying another apple, but she knew that Lambda’s fruit market was far from where the pair currently was. She knew it was wiser to stay with Occento, but she craved the delicious taste of the apple she ate.

“Occento?” Melody softly began, getting Occento’s attention.

“Yes? What is it, small one?” Occento inquired. She lowered her soft gaze at Melody to find her with pleading eyes.

“I’m still hungry. Can I go buy another apple and come back right after?” Melody asked the queen with pleading eyes. “I promise I won’t be long.”

“Out of the question!”

“But why?” Melody asked.

“Because you’re far too young. On top of that, you don’t even know the layout of the city. No offense, but you’d probably get lost if you go alone before you could come back here.”

“I swear I can do it!” Melody insisted, her brow furrowed angrily. “Just give me a chance. Please!”

Occento sighed. She wanted to say no, but those eyes were hard to resist. Despite the lack of pupils in Melody’s new eyes, it had made her pleading eyes much more effective than it ever was before, and Occento found it hard to say no to her now.

Finally, the filly’s adorableness prevailed.

After five minutes of staring and pouting at Occento, the queen gave up her fight and agreed to let Melody go buy another apple. She took a few bits out of her saddlebags and gave them to Melody, who had nothing to hold them effectively. Fortunately, smaller saddlebags fit for Melody’s size materialized on Occento’s side.

The queen gave the bags to Melody and strapped them to her back, placing the bits in the left bag and making sure that Melody knew where the bits were. After she had deemed that Melody was ready, Occento sent her off, even if she couldn’t help but worry that something might go wrong.

“Just remember, Melody, that if you’re not back here,” Occento gestured the café that they were in front of, “in an hour and a half, I am going to send the guards to find you.”

“Okay, but that won’t be necessary. I’ll be fine, Occento,” Melody replied with a grin.

“Don’t jinx it, small one.”

Melody nodded, and waved a hoof at Occento, before she made her way to the market district where Lambda’s market was. Strangely, Occento was sure that something would go wrong with this.

Guards, please keep an eye out for a white changeling foal. See to it that she stays out of trouble.

————

Melody strolled through the streets of Serenus Melodia with a joyful trot, often humming several songs that Star Blaze had taught her when she was younger. Simply humming them reminded Melody of her brother, and a wave of sadness washed over her, her smile slowly fading, and her eyes becoming a bit teary.

Although she knew that Star Blaze was still present in the collective entity of the hive known simply as the Voice, what saddened her the most was that he would never again hold her in his warm hooves and comfort her whenever something was hurt. She’d never share that feeling with him ever again, and that made her sad.

Deep in thought, Melody failed to notice the changeling standing in front of her and just bumped into him. That larger changeling looked down at Melody and glared at her, making Melody shrink in size as she gave the changeling an apologetic smile.

“Haven’t they taught you scrubs how to look in front of you when you walk?” the changeling asked in a scoff.

“I’m sorry, mister. I was lost in thought and didn’t see you. It’s just that with what happened in my life lately, I can’t help bu—” Melody’s mouth closed itself suddenly, causing the filly to shriek internally. She looked down at her mouth and saw a greenish aura glittering over her muzzle.

“I don’t exactly care much who you are or where you come from, scrub,” the changeling said through his scolding tone and cold glare. “Just make sure it doesn’t happen again. Understood?”

Melody blinked a few times and slowly nodded. “Yes, sir. Understood.”

“Good, now out of my way. I have better things to do than to babysit a worthless scrub like you,” the changeling told Melody, barely even looking at the filly as he walked past her.

Worthless? Is that what I am? Melody pondered, the changeling’s words still ringing loud and clear in her mind.

Melody stood motionless for about five minutes. Her mind ran circles, and her legs felt like they were stuck in the ground. The same question repeated itself over and over again in her mind, crippling her from any other kind of thought. Only the rumbling of her stomach along and a blush a few seconds later managed to pull her out of her trance.

With her quest for hunger renewed, Melody lifted her legs one by one as precaution in case they had actually been glued to the ground by the changeling she ran into. She let out a sigh of relief when she lifted her right foreleg. Assured that nothing else was wrong, Melody picked up the pace, humming a soft tune, with a smooth trot.

This time, she remained uninterrupted by any other kind of trouble.

Melody reached the marketplace fifteen minutes after the filly had gotten out of her trance. She was busy shifting her gaze from one place to another in search of Lambda’s fruit market. With the speed at which she spun her head from the left to the right and vice versa, Melody attracted some unwanted attention and several smiles and giggles from the crowd around her.

After she had crossed an intersection, she looked in the distance and caught a glimpse of several apples in a basket hanging in front of a counter. Quickly, she dashed towards the small market, panting through an excited smile. Once she reached the market, she tried to get the attention of the changeling tending to the market. Melody jumped up, attempting to grab onto the counter, but each and every attempt failed to get his attention. She tried to get his attention by shouting at him, but her voice was drowned by the countless voices surrounding her. Stretching her imagination a bit, Melody looked at her back and roused her wings to life.

The feeling of having wings felt alien to her. It didn’t feel right, but at the same time, Melody was intrigued by what her new wings were capable of. Instinctively, she began beating her wings a bit, feeling them. Bit by bit, she increased the speed at which she beat her wings until she could hear a slight buzzing. She felt herself being lifted off the ground and began to panic. She squirmed uncontrollably, unable to control her movement. Her tiny screams managed to get the attention of a few changelings around. She flailed her legs about in absolute panic until her wings locked on her back, and gravity pulled her down abruptly.

Melody let out a sharp cry of pain when she fell down on her rump. Tears formed in her eyes as she resisted the urge to burst into tears. She needed to be strong. No, she had to be strong. Now that Star Blaze was gone, Melody had to be strong for herself.

She painfully got back on her hooves, though jolts of pain coming from her flank made her cringe. She gritted her teeth when she regained her composure, although her legs were still slightly wobbling.

Melody gave out a small cry when a changeling nearby cleared his throat, and quickly raised her head upwards to see the changeling tending to the fruit market staring at her confusingly. Embarrassed, she could only blush and offer the changeling a weak smile.

"Hey, I remember you. You're that filly that was with the queen earlier. By the way, are you okay? Did you hurt yourself when you fell?" the changeling asked Melody, his pupil-less eyes masking any signs of concern he might have had.

Melody only kept staring at the changeling, her eyes devoid of fear. However, to the changelings around her, the air reeked of fear, so much some changelings clutched a foreleg to their heads, feeling a headache washing over them.

Even the shopkeeper was finding it hard to focus, his right eye twitching. He opened his mouth to say something, but he found himself unable to do so when he lost his balance. Melody continued to stare at the shopkeeper until she saw him tumble. She snapped out of her trance and rushed all the way to the shop to see if the changeling in question was alright

When Melody arrived at his side, she found him sprawled on the ground, holding a hoof against his head, an eye closed, and his teeth clenched. His fangs were bared, but that did not send her running.

“Are you okay? What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong? What happened to you? Oh, this is all my fault, isn’t it?” Melody frantically shouted, bombarding the shopkeeper with questions.

“Is there anything I can do t—” Melody began before the changeling put a hoof over her mouth.

“You… aren’t helping my…” the changeling grunted, flinching with each breath he heaved, “headache, small one.”

All of a sudden, Melody felt something draining her of her energy. Her eyelids were getting heavy while her legs weakened over time. Melody found herself unable to move her legs. She looked at the shopkeeper to find him grinning at her, no longer showing any kind of signs, with his horn lit with a disturbing green glow.

“Sleep tight, you stupid, stupid pony,” the changeling whispered into Melody’s ear before the filly fell prey to slumber.

Grasping Melody’s small body, the changeling made a run for it, disappearing into an alley near the markets. The changeling managed to get away from the scene, but not before certain other changelings caught glimpses of the events. One in particular immediately notified the Voice of what she had witnessed.

My Queen!

————

What is taking her so long? She should have already been back by now! Occento thought, her mind frantic.

My Queen!

What is it? Occento answered abruptly as though she had been disturbed.

It’s the hybrid. Someling foalnapped her!

WHAT?! Gah, I knew I should have never let her go alone! Occento furiously exclaimed through the Voice. Guards, mobilize and search for my protegée. This is a direct order!

Occento, the moment a guard finds her, I’ll jump to their minds and give the bastard that dared to touch my sister a piece of my mind! Star Blaze roared in Occento’s mind with fury consuming his consciousness.

You shall do no such thing, Star Blaze. It is far too risky, and I will not risk you being assimilated into another changeling’s mind, especially if it means your consciousness is going to be treated the same way a virus by antibodies!

I don’t care. I will take the risk, but I will not let that scumbag get away with this. Should we ever find him or her, I’ll make sure that they meet their maker! Star replied with rage.

Do you even understand what you’re saying?! Occento bellowed, hardly believing she was having this conversation. You would abandon your sister, to whom you promised you’d be there for her whenever she’d need your help and advice in case you had forgotten, for the sake of petty vengeance? Do you have any idea how hard it would be for me to explain to her how she won’t be able to talk to you anymore because your consciousness was consumed by a changeling’s mind? Do you, boy?!

I do! I do because I won’t be consumed that easily. I’m stronger than this, and I’ll pull through. Even if I don’t, what’s to say I won’t take over the changeling’s mind if I should ever have a greater mind that he or she has?

Then you are a fool and an imbecile! It doesn’t work like that. A changeling’s mind is more complicated than just that. Our brains are designed to process the emotions we feed on. If you were to jump into a changeling’s mind as you are, simply as a mere consciousness floating around in the Voice, you’d be perceived as a mass of emotions and eventually torn apart by our bodies until you become nothing but energy we harness for our magic and life. Is that what you want? Do you want to vanish entirely from this world? Are you ready to accept the consequences that should follow this decision?

I… I

When I first met you, you were ready to abandon this world and entrust your younger sister to an enemy of Equestria! Did you do that out of love for her, or was it all fake? Where is your resolve?! What good would it make if you just left her all alone?

Still, with no whereabouts about her and this changeling that foalnapped her, we’ll be lucky if we find her body, let alone finding her safe and sound. We don’t have the time to wait for you to make your move! Not when some mad changeling has my sister’s life at the end of his hoof! Star Blaze shouted. His nerves were running short and, if he possessed his body at the time, he felt like slapping Queen Occento across the face for the way she was leading him into a corner.

Even if you were to try going at it your way, what good would it do you? You wouldn’t have any leads on her whereabouts either. By assuming this, I can also predict you are going to argue the point that you could find the culprit through the Voice. Am I wrong to assume so? Occento asked Star Blaze calmly, not letting any of his bravado get to her.

When Star Blaze failed to give out a response, Occento continued, In that case, let me enlighten you. Whoever foalnapped your sister probably withdrew their mind from the Voice.

No matter, if you won’t back down, I’ll just let you on a little secret; in the case you were to jump to a changeling's mind, you would have around thirty minutes before you reach the point of no return. Do not waste that time!

I told you, everything’s going to be f Despite his effort, Star Blaze could not conceal his surprise at what Occento had told him. Wait, why are you helping me? I thought you were against my decisions.

I may be against your decisions and actions altogether, young one, but I can certainly feel the love you have for your sister, and I find it commendable that you would yet again place her safety and well being over your own. That is why, even though I don’t agree with your ideology, I just gave you some advice. Now go, shouldn’t you be searching for your sister right now?

I… I… thank you, Occento! Thank you very much!

You need not be so formal with me, Star Blaze. Just know that whatever happens, you’re still a rash idiot through and through.

But alas, Star Blaze’s consciousness was already long gone by the time she finished her sentence, leaving to herself. She slightly grinned and sent out more orders through the Voice. Whoever had committed this affront would face harsh consequences, of that Occento would make sure. She set out to the city, an angered snarl betraying her usually calm expression.

There will be hell to pay! Occento screamed internally. It didn’t matter if this was about Melody or one of her changelings, she would not stand such an assault on an individual go unpunished!

————

Melody woke up in terror. Her eyes were opened wide and she was scanning the area around her. She tried to move, but the filly soon found out that her legs were tightly tied together. So tight she could feel the pressure of the ropes against her legs. She let out a single screech of pain when she felt something hit her left cheek abruptly.

Her vision failed her for a moment, caught between reality and unconsciousness. A strong feeling of dizziness washed over her, her world spinning so fast she thought her eyes were doing the same. However, there was a strange taste in her mouth. It didn’t feel natural, and it wasn’t until her eyes finally fell on her belly that her she gasped in complete terror.

On her pure white coat were stains of a green liquid that Melody failed to recognize. The mere sight disgusted her, causing her stomach churn and bile to slowly rise to her throat. And, of course, she had finally recognized the taste that had been in her mouth, all thanks to a particular lesson she had received in school.

"Now, children. It's time to study a bit more about ourselves. What is one of the main characteristic of blood." The words clung to her mind like honey did to fur. "No one? That's quite alright, though. In that case, I'll just give you the answer; it just so happens that blood contains iron in it. Is there any questions whatsoev—Yes, Cloud Stir?"

Melody's face writhed in pain as she resisted the urge to just throw up the apple she ate earlier that day. She felt the small crumbles of the apple roll around on her tongue along with a small amount of bile. Her throat felt like it was on fire and before long, the nauseating smell that surrounded her on top of everything else was too much.

She felt a pressure rise from her insides, something definitely hot making her way up her digestive tracks. There was no resistance on her part. The torrent of vomit just parted her lips apart. She let out a few guttural screams as she threw up her earlier snack.

When it ended, Melody fought to stay conscious. Her eyelids were heavy and she barely felt any kind of energy in her body. What brought her out of the trance was when she looked down at where she vomited, finding only half-digested apple bits and something white and bloodied.

It only took a swipe of her tongue to realize that was one of her teeth. Dread made its way to her core, terrorizing her to her bone. Tears formed in her eyes, but she dared not let the floodgates open. She was, however, interrupted by a voice that crept up her spine and chilled her limbs.

"Did the little princess have a nice nap? But... Now that you're awake, why don't we get down to business?" The changeling began, his lips pursed in a devilish grin as he looked down at Melody's defenseless form. "And I can promise you it's going to be very enjoyable! Oh, we are in for a good time, 'little one'!"

His cackling laugh was the last thing Melody had heard before she fainted on the spot. Her mane lay down on the ground in a mess as the other changeling gazed down at her, his cackling laugh still echoing in the forgotten alley he stood in. Wind howled softly in his ears while his grin only kept on growing and growing.

————