Interlude - Tides of Love
Calm seas and stormless skies.
Those were the terms given should Twilight achieve the impossible and defeat Melodía Kalaigídas, eldest daughter of Ouranío Too, in single combat. As far as Twilight was concerned, that should have meant she didn’t see a single damned cloud in the sky.
Yet here she was on the deck of The Skylark, stumbling sideways and flapping her wings to try and keep balance against the howling wind. The cold chill of rain and seawater stung her face and soaked her to the very core.
Though, nothing could possibly overshadow that hauntingly beautiful song which wrapped around her like a warm lover’s hooves and wings. More specifically, the warm lover serving as her current source of ire.
“Melodía!” Twilight shouted above the din—or at least, she tried. But her voice seemed to die the instant it passed her lips, faltering beneath those howling winds and roaring waves.
Not to mention the anguished cried of those pegasus sailors.
A crew full of the brashest, most daring ponies to sail the Seat of Ardor, all reduced to a panicked, stumbling mess by the power of Melodía Kalaigídas’s storm. It certainly proved one of Shining’s old witticisms true—the pegasi were worried, so it was definitely time to find cover and hide from the elements until the storm passed.
Naturally, Twilight chose the far more dangerous option of finding the cause and giving her a piece of her mind instead.
If anything, if she could yell at that smirking storm siren, Twilight could pretend she had some semblance of control over her life anymore. Not much, admittedly, but she’d take any little bit at this point.
Twilight managed to half-stagger, half-storm—oh, the irony—her way over to Captain Headwind’s side. She threw a hoof out and caught the stallion as a wave swept across the deck and nearly took him off his hooves and over the other side. The stallion yelped at her touch and flared her wings, his natural instinct to fly even now betrayed his fear.
But who could blame hime? With a storm siren singing and two great predators in the cargo hold, he wasn’t exactly living a life of security.
“Just me!” she called, giving a little wave to ease his worry.
Well, as much as one in his situation could be at ease.
Twilight held up her hoof to forestall any complaints he might voice. “Where is she?” she asked, her tone deceptively calm.
Headwind jerked his head toward the crow’s nest. “She came out with that damned grin on her face and kicked Eagle Eye out! Then she just made herself comfortable and started singing!”
Oh, great. Twilight groaned and dragged her free hoof down her face. The grin.
The very one which betrayed all the mischief her ancient mind could concoct. The very same which never failed to draw a little fluff of mulberry feathers. Maddeningly enough, Melodía knew full well the power she held with that grin, and just how to stop her. And, admittedly, that she’d give right in.
More maddening, still, Twilight noted as she sighed and stumbled her way toward the mast so she could climb the rigging, was that she wasn’t at all against the idea.
All for it, in fact.
She grumbled and cursed Melodía’s beautiful song. Couldn’t she sing without whipping up a storm? Just once? Skittershy always sang Angel, Hadkhûna, and she to sleep without issue, and the aforementioned she dragon was quite fond of humming—which was more a musical rumble within her breast—when they laid together!
Of course not. That would be something far too normal to belong in my life, Twilight told herself as she finally pulled herself to glare over the edge of the crow’s nest.
Melodía laid upon her back, her hooves folded behind her head to cradle it against her head as she sang. Her eyes were closed and, coupled with that little smile upon her face, showed the picture of contentment.
Furious though she was, Twilight couldn’t deny how beautiful the storm siren looked when she sang. Whether wild and gleeful like when they battled at the Fountain of Astrapí, or peaceful and content as she was now, something about her never quite failed to make her heart flutter. And that smile? Almost enough to douse the flames of her ire.
Almost.
A stern “ahem” was all it took to get Melodía to cut her song short. With a little flick of her ear and a roguish grin, she opened her eyes to gaze up at Twilight. “Took you long enough! Thought I might have to hit a crescendo to get you out here!”
Twilight blew an angry breath through her nose. Anger, definitely anger. She wasn’t at all flattered at the implication. “We had a deal,” she ground through gritted teeth. “I beat you one on one and we’d get clear skies all the way home.”
“And?” Melodía raised her brows, daring her to say it.
No. Not daring her.
She wanted Twilight to say it. And if she didn’t, given what Twilight knew of her antics from the past few days, the storm siren was liable to just shrug and go right back to singing.
Growling, Twilight waved her hoof frantically at the blackened sky and demanded, “Then what do you call this?”
“A storm, obviously.” Melodía’s grin turned positively impish. “Like my work?”
“I might like it more if—eep!—Hey!”
Quick as the lightning she commanded, Melodía darted forward to steal a kiss and nip to the tip of her nose, then laid back down as if it were nothing at all. “If I might put my mouth to better use?” she teased.
Twilight pointedly ignored her reddening cheeks. “What’ll it take?”
“For?” the storm siren sang.
Another angry breath. “For you to sing the damn storm away and keep your promise.”
“Oh! Well, since you asked so nicely!” Unfurling a wing and giving her feathers an inviting twitch, Melodía turned her eyes skyward. “If some stunning, brilliant little alicorn might hop her pretty self on over the edge of this crow’s nest and spend a little quality time with me, I … might be convinced to sing a calmer tune.”
If not for the sciences Celestia and Luna drilled into her head, Twilight might have thought the heat in her cheeks enough to burn away the rainwater which soaked her face.
The logical side of her would concede, however, that it was enough to make her not feel so cold anymore.
“Y-You could’ve just asked,” she managed to squeak.
“Yeah, probably. But I got a rep to keep.” Waggling her brows, Melodía added, “Plus, this was more fun. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how my favorite mare loves my songs!”
Twilight’s only reply was to turn and try in vain to hide the wobbly smile which crept across her features. Her efforts earned her a chuckle and gentle turn of her cheek so the amorous storm siren could capture her lips in a deep kiss. Enough to turn that embarrassment and ire into a gasp and needy croon.
A creaking of wood and the unmistakable rumbling growl of an indignant she dragon killed the mood in cold blood.
Oh, Celestia, please. Not this again.
Melodía broke the kiss with a frustrated groan and leveled a glare at their interloper. “Really?” she deadpanned. “I can’t have her for five minutes before you pitch a fit? Didn’t Enzun teach you any manners?”
Few would have dared glare at Hadkhûna, Harbinger of Destruction, as she. Let alone even think to scorn her so.
Then again, most ponies weren’t immortal demi-goddesses who whipped up hurricanes out of boredom.
Such mockery only served to spur a long, smokey breath through the mighty she dragon’s nose. “Your storm,” Hadkhûna hissed, “interrupted our nap, sent Skittershy into a tizzy when Angel got lost belowdecks, and aggravated my seasickness. Again!”
“Ah.” Melodía had the grace to look a tad sheepish. “Er, I mean, I’m not sorry I got her up here, but I am for all that, if it makes you feel any better?”
A dark look crossed Hadkhûna’s features. Twilight winced and sucked in a sharp breath as she let her ears splay.
And to think I finally managed to talk the pair of them into giving her a chance just this morning.
With speed and dexterity that should’ve been impossible for her size, Hadkhûna snatched Melodía straight off Twilight and out of the crow’s nest, and flung her sidearm across the open sea. The storm siren barely had time to protest before her indignation turned to pained cries with each time she skipped off the surface of the water.
Twilight heard a heavy splash in the distance. Melodía had finally gone under.
Which meant they were about to start up. Again.
Sighing, Twilight closed her eyes and let her head thunk against the wood. “Great,” she grumbled. “When are you two going to stop antagonizing and trying to kill each other?”
“I did nothing of the sort this time.” Hadkhûna’s warm breath washed over the mare’s form as she nosed against Twilight’s side. “Had she actually apologized, I might have considered that forgiving thing you were talking about.”
And there was a big part of the problem. Not that she’d actually forgive Melodía outright if the storm siren was more sincere in her apology, but she’d consider the notion.
Come to think of it, other than any tiffs with Skittershy over the centuries or Twilight herself for trespassing and stealing from her hoarde, had Hadkhûna ever forgiven anyone? To be honest? Twilight had her doubts.
Which meant between the temper and pride both she and Melodía held, it was like a chemical explosion just waiting to happen.
Something Hadkhûna perhaps realized was going through her mind, for that was when she chose to give an affectionate lick to the mare’s cheek. “She’ll get back up soon enough, darling. You and I both know she’s far too much of a pest to be done away with a little skip across the sea.”
Oh, of that, Twilight had little doubt. “It’s not whether or not she’ll get back up that worries me,” she said, finally opening her eyes to level the she dragon with a tired look. “It’s what she’ll do when she does.”
“I can deal with her just fine. Now, with that said—” she gave a smoldering smirk and gently nosed Twilight’s cheek before she scooped the little mare out of the crow’s nest and lowered her down to the deck “—why don’t you come down from this silly thing and rejoin Skittershy and I for that nap? Once we’ve found Angel again, of course.”
If only.
But Twilight knew her chances of a relaxing day had been shot the instant she heard the first notes of Melodía’s song.
Sure enough, the sea swelled and shot a geyser of water into the air. Melodía launched herself forward with an angry cry and caught Hadkhûna right on the chin with an uppercut strong enough to send a thunderclap through the air.
Twilight saw her love’s reptilian eyes cross and head snap back as her massive claws were lifted straight off the deck. The great she dragon flipped over, landing hard upon her shoulders with a pained grunt and reached up to clutch her jaw. Blinking owlishly, Hadkhûna actually leaned up and gaped at the soaking, furious storm siren as if in complete shock.
“Told you my sisters and I beat your daddy like a drum, little whelp!” Melodía snorted. “Come on! Get up so I can beat the lessons he didn’t teach into you!”
Oh, Tartarus. Twilight scrambled to her hooves and dashed over, placing herself between them and flaring her wings out wide. Like she was honestly going to stop the two if they got physical.
But it didn’t stop her from trying. “You two, knock it off!” she scolded. “If you’re going to fight, fine! But at least wait until we dock at port some—eep!”
Hadkhûna brought one of her massive claws down over Twilight and picked her up by her shoulders, carefully as she could. Her eyes never leaving Melodía’s, she calmly lifted the little alicorn up and moved her closer to the cargo hold.
“Well, I never!” she hissed, black smoke pouring from between her razor sharp teeth. “You think one sucker punch validates your boasting? Very well. Let’s put it to the test!”
Lightning wreathed Melodía’s form. She took a wide stance, grinning wildly at the chance for battle. The thrill of the challenge, as Twilight had realized, was the only thing that matched her love of song and storms.
Which made it all the more imperative that Twilight get between them before lightning or dragon fire came into play.
Twilight took but a single step before she felt something hit and grip her between her wing joints, then a sudden, strong jerk backward—all too familiar. She didn’t even have a chance to squeak in protest before Skittershy’s fuzzy, strong hooves wrapped around her shoulders and held her tight, so much like a protective mother.
The spider mare looked at the bickering pair as though they were a volcano about to erupt. All eight of her eyes shone with utmost fear, especially when she turned her gaze upon Melodía and saw the lightning buzzing about her form.
A fact exemplified in how she whimpered and clutched Twilight tight, backing up toward the cargo hold.
“Th-They won’t fight if as long as we’re on the ship,” she stammered. Whether she said it more for herself or Twilight’s benefit, Twilight couldn’t be sure. All she knew was that the spider mare kept moving back, a trembling, fuzzy hoof reaching up to stroke her mane. “Throwing and punching and yelling. That’s it.”
Twilight nearly started to squirm and demand her release, but a quick look up at Skittershy’s face drove all thought of such from her mind.
She’d thought Headwind had been scared.
Skittershy looked as though she thought she were trapped in a bottle with the end of the world.
Instead, Twilight forced a weak smile. “S-Sure,” she replied. “They’ll temper it a bit. How’s Angel holding up?”
“I-I left him sitting on a web hammock down below. He, um, hit his head.” She paused a beat, then leaned in to press her snout into Twilight’s mane and murmured, “If it’s not too much to ask, you wouldn’t happen to know any healing spells, would you?”
Twilight took one glance at her lovers, just in time to see Hadkhûna lash her barbed tail in anger, nearly taking Headwind’s left wing off.
Yeah, it was time to hide.
“I’m no medic, but I can see if a minor headache cure might work.”
Skittershy slipped back into the cargo hold with all the grace and speed for which her kind were famed, and then some. Daughter of Gloomweaver or not, she didn’t want to be anywhere near the front row for a fight between a demi-goddess and a dragon.
Finally, someone with sense.
Stats
Page generated in 0.028 seconds
Total duration
965 users online
162,138 hits today, 2,314,256 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
At least Twilight has some way of keeping those two from killing everyone else on board. Though i can't imagine any of those sailors will ever look at the color purple the same way again.
Poor Headwind. He deserves a long break after this trip.
It's a dragon and demigoddess throwing and punching, after all. I don't know if I'm confident it'll be all that harmless, especially if they get too into it.
Huzzah, she lives!
Reasonably certain every sailor (that survives) will pursue the most landlocked careers available after this. Colleges will overflow with ponies seeking rocktorates.
Ohhhh! Thank you for more of this universe.
Always good to see a new chapter from you.
I spy Thief words 👀
Y'dropped an 'x' there.
Good to see this story still going.
Adorable as always, up until the two of them got into a tiff.
Keep up the great work
Dreadfully rare to find that these days.
Those sailors will have one HELL of a sea story to tell! No crew will boast such bravery or mettle as those who took Hadkuna and Melódia through the sea!
They'll get filthy rich from the fame. Will need too, considering the white hairs they'll get after it.
His
Him
Extra word here.
I'm sorry, but I completely despise Melodia. I don't see any redeeming features to her and her continued presence is just making things more difficult for everyone.
Oh my gosh this is it I'll never forget this it is probably one of the best fics I've ever read plz continue doing your thing my attention has been obtained
10184727
That is the effect of the rainbow sadly
EAGLE EYE?????? Well, of all the places where to sneak in a Herald this might be the sneakiest. Unless that changeling is someone we know?