//------------------------------// // Let Me Try // Story: The Melody of the Heart // by Star Origin //------------------------------// Melody’s head rested peacefully against Cherry’s bosom, and she finally drew a breath, heaving a sigh a few seconds later. Her eyes drifted upward and gazed in her friend’s emerald eyes. The young hybrid sniffled and barely managed in choking a sob. Both of them sat on Melody’s bed, leaning against the blue walls. Next to them was the fluffy pillow that Melody’s hindlegs occupied. None of them seemed to pay any mind to the mess that covered the ground, ranging from small toys to figurines to some pieces of clothing. Even some bedsheets covered the floor right under the window, but none of those were on the fillies’ list of importance. “And I think that sums up what happened in the last year. What I remember of it anyway,” Melody said, passing her hooves against her tearstained cheeks, drying off any potential tears all the while. She fidgeted when she felt a hoof run through her mane. She moved her head slightly to the side, looking from the corner of her eye to see that Cherry just stood there, her hoof going back and forth through Melody’s smooth mane. The changeling blinked when she felt something collide with her forehead. It was immediately replaced by a wet sensation that trickled down her face until it finally jumped from her chin and crashed on Cherry’s haunch. “Cherry?” Just as a strand her mane slid across her face to come rest atop her snout, Cherry brushed it back behind her ears. She stared deep into Melody’s eyes, using that same hoof to rid herself of the tears dampening the fur below her eyes. “Why didn’t you talk to anypony about this before?” the smaller filly asked flatly. “I don’t know,” Melody replied, scratching her chin with her hoof, shuddering at the odd sensation of the white chitin stroking her soft fur. “I really don’t know…” Cherry let go of Melody and slightly moved away from her, wobbling and losing her balance a few time as she navigated the soft and comfortable mattress. Melody just blinked away, angling her head sideways, resting on her chest and foreleg. She only got up on her haunches when that position became uncomfortable. Cherry leaned forward and, with swift and careful movement, extended her front legs to hold Melody’s right leg, looking at her deep in the eyes again. The hybrid looked puzzled by the gesture, a quizzical expression quickly forming in her eyes. “Don’t hold feelings like those inside. I think you need to let go and move forward with your life. At least, that’s something I think my dad would say,” Cherry whispered, her eyes wide open, her brow furrowed with concern. Melody felt the empathy swirling around the room, but, despite her current need for emotional sustenance, she decided against feeding on her friend without her permission. She nodded absentmindedly, still in shock from the fact somepony listened to her. She opened her mouth once, her tongue rolling in her mouth. She searched for the right words, and she closed her gaping mouth when no words came to life. Something in her felt a bit warmer, though. Her eyes descended on the hooves holding her leg, using her other one to hold Cherry’s right hoof. Her eyes trailed back up to look at her, biting her lip. “I guess I was afraid. Afraid that nopony would believe me, or that they’d make fun of me,” Melody muttered, averting her gaze from her friend, withdrawing her hooves hesitantly. “Huh?” Cherry queried spontaneously, tilting her head. She gaped at Melody with eyes that demanded answers. “I think the reason I kept it inside,” she began, rubbing her hooves together nervously, staring at the window and the scenery outside, “was because I was afraid nopony would believe me. And I guess I was scared others would get too attached to me.” Cherry nodded, crossing her hooves over her chest, leaning her head sideways, humming wonderingly. Had she cracked Melody’s armor somehow? If she had, then now was the opportunity to strike. Either way, she knew she was going somewhere with this. She grabbed hold of Melody’s hoof again and felt a struggle against the hold from the changeling. Something was definitely up, she was sure of it. Melody turned back to stare at Cherry and opened her mouth once more to tell her to stop, but the pleading look in the alabaster pony’s eyes made all attempts at telling her off impossible. “Why would that be a bad thing?” Cherry asked, her tone getting a bit louder, yet her touch still as gentle. Melody’s gaze fell and she stared at her hind legs, her ears splaying against her head while her mind still tried to process the right words. Finally, she managed to pull her vision back up, and she said, “I’ve had a good track record of everypony I’ve cared for or was close to me have something tragic happen to them, so that’s why I was so dis–“ “Stop right there!” Melody blinked, opening her eyes wide to look at Cherry with a surprised expression. She instinctively pulled her hooves back, and she backed away from Cherry, feeling herself shrink in comparison to the other filly. Even though her tone held no authority, she still felt like she was getting lectured about something. And Cherry’s insistent gaze seemed to prove her right. She seemed intent on making a point somehow, too. “Don’t do that, please. Melody, you’re safe here in the Crystal Empire. We have the guards, and the princess. And you should count yourself lucky to have loving parents like the ones you have,” Cherry said, looking at Melody with pleading eyes again. Her voice cracked with a hint of sadness, forcing the filly to pause while a hoof reaching for her chest, clinging to the fur as if it was glued there. “Some ponies don’t have that luxury.” Melody was taken aback by the comment. The first reason was that she faintly tasted the sour taste of jealousy and the second one was because she had expected something harsher than that. The third reason was that nothing could have prepared her for the hint of sadness that cracked her friend’s voice The simple idea that Cherry could feel jealous or sad about anything left Melody speechless. Nevertheless, it did not fall on deaf ears. It did the complete opposite, as a matter of fact. If she had been told that a few hours before, she would have blown things out of proportions, but emptying what was on her mind gave her inner peace, and she managed to think things through for once in the past two months. Melody deflated in shame, her mind reviewing the catalog of horrible things she said and did to her family. She’d been so self-centered. She only cared about herself. She made life around her unbearable and bitter. She bit her lower lip, still looking back at Cherry with her big, golden eyes. She wondered if her eyes could ever look like they were before she was turned. She’d have to ask Rising about it later. Their little heart to heart was cut short when the sound of the front door echoed in her bedroom, followed by the sobs that belonged to a filly. Melody’s ears perked up and she rapidly got down from her bed, painfully landing on all four. She held a cry back, instead biting her lip further and drawing tiny drops of blood that stained her fur. She barely approached the door to the room that it burst open, the glint of a magical aura pushing it wide open long enough for a purple blur to pass through. Choir Heart slipped past the frame and threw her saddlebags on the floor, launching herself onto her bed. She completely ignored the fillies’ existence and just buried her muzzle in her pillow, yelling and sobbing and crying at the top of her lungs. Melody lifted a hoof and attempted to extend it, ignoring the fact that a considerable distance separated her from her sister. She put it back down, hesitation creeping through her limbs. Guilt strangled her and every word she tried to let out was stopped by the sickening feeling that this was her fault. “Choir… Are you okay?” No response. Melody hesitantly approached the unicorn’s bed, sitting on her haunches to look at Choir’s body, only finding a few bruises and small cuts. Where had she gotten those? Who had given her those? “Choir, what ha–“ “Why do you care?” Choir shouted, her head snapping to glare menacingly at Melody. Even Cherry staggered, placating herself against the wall, no movements emanating from her frozen body. Melody closed her eyes. Choir had every right to be angry with her. But that did not mean she couldn’t care for her little sister. She just took the snarl and stood there, her head hung low. Front legs tugged at the bedsheets and soon, Melody pulled herself onto the bed. Her expression blank, she just slowly approached the weeping filly. “Why should you care in the first place?” Choir yelled again, pressing her hoof on Melody’s chest. “It’s always been about you! Why would you care about anypony else?” Melody said nothing in return. She pushed that hoof aside and continued taking step after painful step, her left hind leg jerking upward with each step. Choir’s eyes grew wide and she shook her head. Tears streaked down her cheeks. She tried to back away, but her awkward positioning hindered her movements. Astonishment washed over her when Melody just laced her hooves around her. Choir gasped and searched for something to say, anything to ask what warranted the sudden act of kindness. No words came, and all she could mutter were stutters. Melody said nothing in return and instead just shared whatever attention and love she could muster with her sister. “I know… I know I’ve been harsh and bitter with you, Choir,” Melody stammered, sniffling moments later. She passed a hoof over the wetness around her eyes and went back to her embrace, gently pressing Choir’s head on her bosom. “But I was an idiot, Choir. I-I was so self-centered, I failed to notice what you, mom, and dad were doing to make me feel at home. So… please… let me try to be a big sister just this once.” Melody felt the shuffling hooves of her sister squirm on her belly and prepared herself for another series of sobs. She was shocked to find that her expectations had failed her so. Instead, Choir threw her legs around Melody’s neck and bawled her eyes out, grasping onto her sister’s mane as if her life depended on it. Surprise soon turned to affection, and Melody reflected that by leaning her chin on Choir’s head, hooves gently stroking the aquamarine mane tenderly, untangling any knots that she found. “It’s all going to be okay. Take your time,” Melody whispered, shooting a glance to Cherry to find her friend nodding at her, offering a wink all the while. ---- The next day, when the bell rang, Melody packed her things and quickly set out of the classroom, barely leaving Cherry anytime to follow suit. She hurriedly made her way past the horde of ponies, pushing some aside, slipping through some others. She had no time to spare. She ignored the aching pain her leg sent through her spine, holding back the tears that sprung to her eyes. She slipped past a group of fillies, excusing herself in mumbled words and finally managed to get out of the small school that housed her during most days of her life now. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, trying to find Choir amidst the horde of ponies that filled the entrance. Her search lasted for a few moments, blinking once before she scanned the yard another time, this time, her eyes stumbled onto a filly donning a purple coat with a long, red scarf around her neck, eyes squinted at a notebook that flew in front of her. The filly’s aquamarine mane rocked gently in the wind’s gentle caress, occasionally grazing her neck. As if the world around Melody had stopped turning, she heard the notes that came out of her mouth. Strong, yet soft, vocals escaped the filly, scattering in the air, causing heads to turn and eyes to land on her. Yet Choir failed to care. Her magenta eyes scurried in front of her, never once sighting Melody. She closed her eyes for a moment, inhaling and continuing with other notes. Meanwhile, Cherry finally managed to slip past a few other students, joining Melody to find her standing still as if frozen. When her ears perked up and the wind carried the notes to her, her legs threatened to melt under her. “Oh look at that, girls. She’s at it again,” came a feminine voice that Melody faintly recognized, although she could not identify whom it belonged to. Nevertheless, the world around Melody returned to its earlier pace and her legs commanded her to move forward. She made a promise to Choir, and she would, at least, try to make right by her. With the yard mostly cleared of any souls, her eyes fell on the group of five ponies, and one particular filly caught her attention. She had a white coat that seemed to be taken care of almost perfectly, her mane and tail were a strong pink. Her mane was done in twin ponytails that perched themselves on her shoulders all the while her tail barely brushed the ground. “I guess she hasn’t learned anything from yesterday,” another pony, a colt this time, said, snickering before giving Choir a glare, trailing his hoof along the ground threateningly. Oddly enough, out of all the ponies present, only Melody, Cherry, Choir and the filly that seemed to be Melody’s center of attention did not possess the shimmering coats that sparkled in the sunlight like gems. That made Melody all the more suspicious of this mysterious filly. Things were well past the stage of observation. Melody was already marching in the midst of the yard, imposing herself on the small group of ponies. She furrowed her brow as best she could, giving them the best impression of a glare that she could muster. She cleared her throat rather audibly, earning herself the attention of the ponies. She took a few more steps, placing herself between the group and Choir, firmly planting her hooves on the ground. “Leave her alone,” Melody said sharply, glaring at them menacingly. “Who’re you to her?” one of the other fillies asked, scoffing at her and tossing her mane back, her nose held high. “Besides, who let a changeling like you in the Empire?” “She’s my sister, so I live here too, obviously,” Melody replied, her tone venomous. She took a few more steps forward and flashed her fangs, a growl resonating from her throat. The mysterious filly’s eyes snapped wide open, her eyes looking at those golden orbs, that green mane, and tail. She fell on her haunches, pointing at Melody, trying to say something that refused to move out of her chest. That’s when Melody finally remembered who that filly was. “Glimmer Heart? What are you doing in the Empire?” Melody queried, eyes going wide as well, but in her case it was because she had not expected this turn of event. “And you’re still a bully, what a surprise.” Glimmer shook her head even more and pushed herself back, distancing herself from both Melody and her friends. Melody eyed her oddly, tilting her head to the side. She completely failed to understand what was going on with the other filly. “Y-You! Y-You’re supposed to be dead,” she shouted, pointing her hoof accusingly at Melody, her terrified expression soon transforming into an amused one somehow. She began chuckling to herself, her pointing hoof soon clutching itself to her forehead. “I know, you’re just a changeling trying to imitate her to make me feel sorry for mocking her the day she died. Well, it won’t work, you hear me!” Melody just continued to watch her descend into her delusions, her expression switching to deadpan. She just thought her entire theory was so cliché, but there seemed to be something deeper. She tasted it in the air. Guilt, regret. They hung over Glimmer like rainclouds and they continuously poured down on her, nourishing her with newborn feelings of guilt. Melody’s attention was drawn to Cherry when Glimmer switched her attention to her, glaring at her and silently gesturing for her to follow. Afterward, Glimmer turned her hooves around and tossed her mane, her hooligans following close behind. Melody’s ears fell when she saw that Cherry hung her head and nodded, leaving the comfort of her spot to follow after the other alabaster pony. She placed a hoof in front of Cherry and gave her a pleading stare. “Glimmer Heart is… my older sister.” And with that, Melody’s leg folded back and she fell on her haunches, looking on as Cherry left her all alone with Choir. Sure, Cherry and Glimmer looked alike, but Melody hadn’t considered that option or remembered Glimmer Heart at all in the first place. She deflated in her spot, her lips quivering in a pout Besides, she had nothing to worry about. She was still friends with Cherry, right? Something like that wouldn’t destroy their newfound friendship, right? But if Cherry lived in the Empire, then that meant Glimmer did too. What happened to them residing in Manehattan? Questions formed in her mind, but she had no answers for them. She looked, eyes wide open, mouth agape. A strained squeak escaped her as her leg lifted itself, attempting to beckon to Cherry before her friend ultimately disappeared from her sight, vanishing behind a small shop. Melody hesitantly glanced back when she felt a hoof on her shoulder to see Choir behind her. The purple filly looked away from Melody and began trotting away, not even sparing a few words on Melody for comfort. Her long mane flowed in the wind, accompanied by her scarf. She looked back at Melody with a hint of a smile. “Come on, let’s go back home before you catch a cold.”