The Melody of the Heart

by Star Origin

Evolving Perspectives - Part Two

What was she doing? What were they doing? As she glanced between Rising and Coral, she couldn’t help but think that they were intruding on this dinner and that she should have just stayed home. Of course, when she told her parents about the invitation, her mom automatically jumped on the occasion to meet Princess Luna. Her father was a bit wary about it since he was present when Occento and Luna crossed paths a few months ago.

Choir had been quick to support Coral because she wanted to meet a Princess. She smiled and chuckled as the argument that her sister had invoked the night before sprung back in her mind. Something along the lines that if Melody could meet with a Princess, then she had every right to meet one too.

When she noticed that Choir was staring back at her with her tongue poked out, Melody couldn’t help but chortle. Her smiled broadened, and her worries seemed to vanish. She blinked when heard Coral clear her throat and lower her head a bit, glancing at her and then at Choir.

“Now, now, girls. We are guests here, and I do hope you will behave. You can have fun with Raine, but do behave, alright?”

Melody craned her neck forward to look at Choir and exchanged a nod from her sister. “We will, Mom!” they chimed in unison, bringing another round of giggles.

When she managed a straight face again, and she took a deep breath, Melody looked up to see that Coral was about to knock on one of those two large doors. Before her hoof reached said door, however, the door opened on its own, and Wishing Star beamed when she saw all of them.

“I knew you would come!” she let out excitedly, almost bouncing up and down. She opened both doors and gestured for them to come in. “Come on in! Luna’s already here!”

Melody looked at her parent’s face to see the same form of disbelief as when she had first heard Wishing refer to the princess as Luna instead of using her title. A smile spread her lips, and she tried her hardest to bite down the urge to laugh at the faces their parents made.

When she looked over at Choir, she saw the excitement in her eyes and her smile spread further. She watched as her family looked at the walls and the ceiling, remembering how she had been when she had first seen those gem-encrusted walls fill the suite with an endless array of colors. Thankfully, the sun was starting to set, so the blinding hues were nowhere to be found.

Melody took a deep breath at the thought of meeting the princess again. Her stomach writhed in knots with each step she took. Every second, every heartbeat, made her more anxious. It wasn’t until she felt a hoof on her back and she turned to see Coral smiling at her that she finally allowed herself to let go of all of her stress.

Maybe she was just exaggerating things. The princess wouldn’t just banish her or make her feel miserable. She let out a sigh. Slowly, stress seeped out of her, and she felt so much lighter with every step that followed.

She could do this! She would walk into that kitchen, and she would take a seat, have a good time with everypony and nothing bad would happen. Except her mind decided to regress to its earlier statement when her gaze met with the princess’ eyes.

Her legs shook—nay, trembled—as she engaged in a staring contest with Princess Luna. It took no more than a few seconds for Melody to disengage from those teal eyes and duck her head from the sudden attention given to her.

And then her eyes lost their intensity, and she regarded Melody in a gentler way. That didn’t make the changeling any more comfortable, though. “The guests have arrived! The feast can begin!” she let out cheerfully, her attitude the absolute contrast of how she looked a few moments earlier.

Melody’s ears perked up when she saw Coral crane her head down to offer her that same comforting smile and whispered, “See, she doesn’t look all that bad. Come on, silly filly, no need to be terrified.”

Her cheeks flushed crimson, and she huffed, puffing out her chest and cheeks as Coral trotted forward, winking at her with a smirk spreading her lips. Her cheeks lit up even brighter when she noticed almost all eyes were on her with a smile, almost ready to giggle at a moment’s notice.

“Luna, I’d like to introduce you to Coral Charm, Rising Chorus, Melody Swiftsong, and Choir Heart. Everypony, meet Luna, our employer,” Wishing said enthusiastically, gesturing to Melody’s direction and then to Princess Luna’s.

Melody blinked when she noticed that her parents and sister were all dipping their head in front of the alicorn, and she raised an eyebrow and looked at Princess Luna to see her rolling her eyes and making a gesture with her hooves for her family to raise their heads.

Weird. Melody would have expected to see the princess revel in the attention given to her. Instead, she seemed… annoyed by it. “You may rise,” she said in complete deadpan, her voice yet again the complete opposite of her previous mood.

And then her scrutinizing gaze fell on her again, and she froze again. Had she recognized her? Was something bad going to happen now? Her heart began beating faster; her breathing became ragged as she tried to appease herself under that terrifying stare.

And then, it stopped. Just as it had happened, the princess softened her gaze. How come? Her legs still trembled under the might of the princess looming over her. Her mind raced, her thought completely muddled by the fear overrunning it.

“Let us eat, then! I am starving!” the princess cheered, clapping her hooves together, almost like a child waiting for their mother’s favorite dish. It was almost comical to see the princess this cheerful about dinner.

Once the introductions were made, Wishing guided the whole family to the kitchen table and gestured at the chairs that waited for them. Fortunately for Melody, the chairs had been placed in such a way that she would be sitting next to her sister and Raine, with all of the other ponies sitting in front of them. She gulped when she looked up to see that Princess Luna was sitting right in front of her. Shivers ran through her spine, despite the princess’ expression being chipper.

Shuffling her hindlegs endlessly, she desperately sought to avert her gaze, but the pregnant silence that befell the kitchen only made her look at the others in hopes that a conversation would start. Finally, Melody’s eyes caught Coral’s, and the mare nodded shortly after, having probably noticed how her eyes shrank to the size of peas.

She cleared her throat and placed her hooves on the table. “I am a bit curious, Wishing Star, what is it you’re cooking for us?” she asked, turning her back to look at Wishing near the oven. Melody saw a bit of smoke coming forth from the kitchen, and her mind wandered off, thinking of what it was that Wishing was cooking.

“She’s cooking her mother’s specialty, and my personal favorite dish when she’s on cooking duty. It’s pan-seared salmon, served with sautéed mango and asparagus!” Astral answered, poking his head from behind the princess and beaming at Coral.

Melody gulped once again at the mere thought of eating salmon. Fish? Wasn’t that meat? Did ponies even eat meat? Her question was answered when she saw Coral’s distraught expression. Ponies did not eat meat, apparently. One look at her father, however, leaned onto the opposite. He was licking his lips, and he seemed genuinely excited for that dish. She noticed Choir shuffling in her chair and rubbing her hooves together from the corner her eye.

But Raine was the exact opposite of that. She was just as excited as Rising was, and she didn’t understand why. Wasn’t she a pony? Ponies didn’t eat meat, so why was she so excited. Once Raine realized she was being stared at by both Choir and Melody, she turned to them and offered the simplest smile she could muster. “Don’t worry. It doesn’t even taste like fish!”

That did not reassure Melody in the slightest. She was still about to eat fish. Maybe she was a changeling now, but it felt wrong for her pony heritage to eat meat. Finally, her gaze drifted toward Princess Luna to see her gently clapping her hooves together again. Was the princess excited for that meal too? One of the four alicorns was excited for a meat dish, of all things? Either something was wrong, or Wishing’s cooking was just that good.

“Wishing, dear, have I ever told you how much I prefer your cooking over the Griffynstone Castle’s?” Princess Luna asked, her voice soft and filled with mirth. Even without tasting the emotions around, Melody could tell she was genuine. It was such a different tone than when she first met her.

Wishing groaned and shuffled her wings in what Melody could only imagine was from irritation. “Yes, Luna, you have. In fact, you keep saying that about my cooking at every occasion you get.”

The princess waggled her ears, and Melody noticed the hint of a smirk despite the princess having turned around to face Wishing Star. Maybe she wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe she had just misjudged the princess after all.

Playful banter between the two kept resurfacing as a strange smell filled the room. Melody wrinkled her snout and flared her nostril, finding the odor to be quite pleasant. It was certainly a new smell for her. Was that maybe the mango’s smell once cooked? Either way, it would be a grave error to underestimate Wishing’s ability to arouse the appetite in the future.

Before long, Wishing let out a chirp and carried out plate after plate on the table, placing one for each of her guests. When Melody was faced with her plate, she looked at the piece of what she assumed was fish. Was it safe to eat it? Wouldn’t she get sick by eating meat?

“Dig in, everypony!” Wishing hummed, sitting next to Astral and nuzzling him a bit. She picked up a fork and smiled, before pressing the fork on the piece of fish and having it slide through without any effort. “I hope you’ll like it!”

Melody hesitatingly picked up a fork using her magic and brought it to the fish. She poked it a few times, finding it incredibly soft. A few moments later, she cut a piece of fish and stuck the fork through it, bringing it to her mouth. The moment it touched her tongue, her eyes went wide, and she began munching on it. A second piece went into her mouth and, just like the last, vanished from existence. It was so tender, so juicy, and it didn’t even taste like what she expected meat to taste. She expected a bloody taste that would have to make her gag and spit the meat out.

But instead, she found herself enjoying each bite. Her eyes drifted off to find that Choir was happily chewing on a piece of fish too, eyes closed, a hum accompanying her next bite. Even Coral was enjoying it. What was it that made that dish so marvelous?

“Melody, was it?”

Melody’s ears perked up, and she tore her eyes from her mother to stare at the source of the voice: Princess Luna. She hastily swallowed her bite and offered a quick nod. “Yes, Princess?” she answered sheepishly, as though she had done something wrong.

“It is to my understanding that you’re still readjusting to your life in the Empire and with your adoptive family. How are things coming along?”

Melody’s mouth dropped, and she froze in place. Why was Princess Luna suddenly interested in her? Why would she show such an interest in somepony like her? She wasn’t a big shot or anything. Her ears drooped, and she looked down at her plate. Things were going fine, weren’t they?

She was in good hooves, for sure, though she was having more and more thoughts about her biological parents as the weeks passed. She just wanted to know who her parents were, and make sense of it, give it meaning.

She glanced at her parents and Choir, her lips pursing into a slight smile. She perked her ears up once more and looked up at Princess Luna and said, “Everything’s been great in these past few months!” She wasn’t lying. Despite the few bumps in the road that she had to go through, everything else was relatively fine. “There are some answers to my questions that remain unanswered, but I believe those will come in time.”

She blinked for a moment. Had she just said that? Had something wise come out of her mouth? Not only did she surprise herself, but she also surprised her entire family, who were now gaping. For her part, the princess raised a brow and leaned in closer.

“Oh? Would you like to elaborate?” she asked, a tone, and scent, of curiosity, dripping from her voice and attitude.

Melody rubbed her hooves at this sudden prompt. Once more, her eyes drifted toward Coral and Rising, and she felt like she was going to shrink in her chair. What if what she was going to say hurt them? It was the truth, though, wasn’t it? Wouldn’t it be best, in that case, to just tell a small lie?

“I’ve wanted to learn more about my real parents and who they were before their accident.”

She clasped her hooves over her mouth as soon as those words left her and she instantly looked at Coral, expecting to see a scowl of disapproval from her, but what she instead found was a warm smile that radiated love. She almost wanted to eat her share of that love, but she made a mental note that her reserves were full enough as they were.

Why wasn’t Coral shocked or mad about this? She had expected either her, or Rising to make a protest to what she said, but they both sat in silence, maybe out of respect for the princess. No, that wasn’t it. Coral would have most likely spoken up, with her impulsive nature following her every step.

“I see.” A pregnant silence ate away at the ambiance, threatening to topple it. Nopony dared to say anything, and Melody kept in silence, looking up at the princess, her undivided attention belonging to the alicorn. “In that case, you might want to ask Wishing Star and Astral Rain to help you with that. I believe they were well acquainted with your birth parents.”

Hesitation and uncertainty still swirled in Melody’s mind, and she looked at the two bat ponies, shooting glares at the princess while she squealed and giggled like a little filly. Another surprise. Melody would have never guessed that Princess Luna could act like this. That put a little smile on her lips.

But then Coral cleared her throat, and a feeling of dread filled her brain. Was she not happy with the princess’ suggestion? Either way, Melody silently awaited her mother’s opposition. Even after shooting a look her way and seeing her smile, she couldn’t help but think she was just bristling inside. “I think that’s a fantastic idea. Despite her adaptation here in the Empire, she still has trouble finding out who she is. Maybe learning more about her birth parents could help her,” Coral explained, glancing at Melody every now and again

Melody blinked, and her jaw dropped. That wasn’t at all what she was expecting. Not only had Coral not overreacted, but she had agreed wholeheartedly to letting Melody learn about her real family a bit more. A few tears welled in her eyes and rolled down soon after.

A concerned expression washed over Coral and Wishing’s faces, and they both exchanged a look from across the table, while Princess Luna furrowed her brow, probably wondering if she had done something out of line. But Melody was anything but sad. She was just so happy that she was offered this opportunity.

She hastily dried her cheeks and looked at the adults with a bright smile. “Don’t worry about me,” she chimed. “I’m just happy to have this offered to me. I just want to know the truth about my parents.” Her voice was slightly shaking, and despite it cracking once, she tried her best to look like she wasn’t emotionally overwhelmed.

Took her a few seconds to realize that that effort went to waste.

It was only then that Melody noticed that Wishing was already done with her plate, along with Astral and Princess Luna. She hadn’t even finished half of hers, what with the conversation she was having.

While her eyes were still fixed on the princess’ plate, she noticed Wishing setting her elbows on the table and rubbing her chin, humming lightly. She set her eyes on Melody and smiled, shifting in her chair as if she was itching to say something.

She drew a quick breath and said, “With Hearth’s Warming Eve coming up, I doubt we’ll have much time to go to Canterlot, but if you want to learn a bit more about your parents, I’ll have a lot of free time during the holidays.”

The holidays? That was a bit less than three weeks away. Would she have to wait so long just to finally have some answers to her questions? It was worth it so she could definitely muster the patience for it. Besides, with the festivities for Hearth’s Warming Eve slowly starting to overrun the city, time would pass so very quickly.

With a sly smirk and a gesture to Melody’s plate, she added, “Now, eat up before it gets cold!”

Melody stared at Wishing, then at her plate, and rolled her eyes. Sadly, it had gotten a tad colder, but the flavor hadn’t changed at all. The strong aroma of mangoes still swirled in Melody’s mouth with every bite, all the way until she had swallowed her last bite, finally realizing that she was the last one to finish, with everypony having finished long before she did.

She set the fork on the plate and pushed it back, where it was gathered with all the others in a blueish aura that dragged them all the way to the sink. A quick inspection told Melody this was Princess Luna’s doing, and she was proven right. Wishing was giving the princess a glare, puffing her cheeks and chest while the alicorn pulled her tongue out and waggled a hoof at her host, or was she the princess’ subordinate.

She shook her head as subtly as possible and shrugged. Didn’t matter one way or another. She licked her lips and cleared her throat, reading to ask Wishing the one question she desperately needed an answer to. She opened her mouth, trying to untangle the words in her mind.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, Wishing Star, but how do you make meat taste like that? It was so tender and flavorful! It felt like I was eating tender slices of fruit,” Coral inquired. She had her forelegs resting on the table and a pensive look in her eyes.

Wishing’s eyes lit up, and she gave the crystal mare a toothy grin, her eyes almost dancing. She looked like she was just about to burst with joy, ready to bounce around the room. She grasped one of Coral’s hooves and looked at the mare deep in the eyes, and squealed, “I knew you’d enjoy it! You… did enjoy it, right? You didn’t just eat it out of respect for our different culture?”

When she received a nod from Coral, Wishing squealed, even more, earning her a frown from Melody, glancing at her as if she had just gone insane.

“I’m so glad!” She took several deep breaths, trying to drown the excitement from her voice, which proved a hard challenge already. “I just marinated the fish with mango and lime juices to let the flavor seep in and give it it’s tender texture.”

Lime juice? But Melody didn’t taste the bitterness of the lime in the meat. She just tasted the strong and fruity flavor of the mango. Truly, Wishing was a great cook. That made Melody ponder what else the mare could cook that had such an exotic taste.

That would have to wait another time, though. With Coral and Wishing engaged in conversation, the princess turned to Astral and Rising and engaged them. All things considered, things had gone far better than what she had initially expected. In fact, she was glad that she had come. Not only was she getting the chance to learn more about her parents, but she was now acquainted with Princess Luna.

Time passed her by rather quickly, and before she knew it, it was time to leave and go home. It had been a good evening. A few stories shared between the children and the parents, Princess Luna taking everypony by surprise with some of the things that happened in Canterlot.

“Thank you so much for coming,” Astral said, giving Rising a firm hoofshake, and nodding at the three others next to him standing in the hallway. “It was an outstanding evening, everypony.”

“Thank you for inviting us!” Coral replied, waving a hoof at him. She laced her other hoof around Melody’s shoulder and hugged her close. “You lifted Melody’s mood, so I am incredibly grateful for that.”

Melody pushed back against the hug, pouting and wrinkling her nose, sending everypony in laughter. She started to puff her cheeks, but the hysteria swept her off, and she began to laugh with them in unison.

She felt much better now. Eventually, they all parted ways. Melody and her family left the comfort of the hallway while Wishing closed the door behind her, leaving both families to return to their businesses. Part of her didn’t want for this evening to end. It changed her ideas, and she was happy about that. She felt once again light-headed.

Either it was out of coincidence or not, she stopped in her tracks when she heard loud voices coming in from the suite she had just left. She perked up her ears just in time to hear Princess Luna shout, “Why are you okay with this?! She is your ward, is she not?!”

“Drop it, please, Luna. She seems happy where she is right now. I don’t want to disrupt or ruin what she has now.” She was too far away now to distinguish emotions, but that trembling, heartbreaking shriek made Melody’s ears droop on her head.

Her tail dropped as well, dragging along the floor with each step she took. What was that about? Were those two fighting about something? And why did she feel like she was at the center of that exchange? She shuddered at the thought of it being true. Her heart clenched within her frame, and her shoulders slumped until her earlier chipper mood vanished like dust in the wind.

“Melody, are you coming sweetheart?” called Coral’s voice from way up ahead.

Melody snapped out of her trance and looked at the corridor in front of her, then at the suite that housed Wishing Star and her family. One thing at a time. She’d get answers in due time. She just needed to be patient, no matter how painful it was.

“Coming, Mom!”

Comments

[Star Origin]

7499488 I'm sorry you've had a bad experience with my story and that it wasn't up to your standards. All in all, I hope you have a good day, and that you've enjoyed a great summer overall.

[Dragger Dragon]

Yay, I have finally gotten all caught up and am looking forward to the next chapter!

[Star Origin]

7538106 I'm glad you're enjoying this story so far, and I really hope I can keep entertaining you, and all of my other readers, in the future chapters. Leave your thoughts on future chapters as well, if you feel like it (I'm certainly not forcing you to do so). I rather do love to have discussions, so long as I don't give anything away for the future of this story.

[Dragger Dragon]

7538184 II can't wait to see where you will take the story but reading this I can't help but think that Melody is on the border of becoming really depressed.

[Star Origin]

7538658 I will not confirm or rebuke this, but I will say this: her perspective is going to change drastically through the next 15 chapters. And I'll try to torture her less, I guess? No promises, though!

[Slavenger Karl]

Finally read that.

Geez, it feels like Melody's parents were developing weapons or something like that. They having something to do with chngelings would be the only too convinient scenario unless it would also explain Melooy's initial fascination. I also subspect Bon-Bon-like spies...

[Star Origin]

7564816 I can neither confirm this, nor deny it. We'll just have to see when the other chapters get released when I have the time to do that!

[Slavenger Karl]

7573997 The author cannot enter such speculations because spoiler stuff.

Better sit still and let us miss the truth.

[Rosie Quill]

She blinked for a moment. Had she just said that? Had something wise come out of her mouth? Not only did she surprise herself, but she also surprised her entire family, who were now gaping. For her part, the princess raised a brow and leaned in closer.