--------- Melody’s Tale - Invasion ---------

“Dash, scout ahead, see what you can see.” Twilight and the rest of the force landed in the fields outside of Southbay in a storm of purple and rainbow-colored energy. The troops had been disoriented at first, but at the sight of the changeling attack on Southbay, they quickly began to rally and prepare for battle. Rainbow Dash, her orders coming from Twilight, took off into the sky. Her blazing Sonic Rainboom was ringed with golden energy from her powerful wings, and Twilight watched as she streaked out over the city, flying a long, low circle. To traverse the whole scene took her all of four minutes. The other elements, Discord, and Judicia had just collected their thoughts by the time Dash returned.

“It’s odd,” Dash muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. She flapped her wings idly, glancing back at the city. “I watched maybe three thousand changelings swarm a group of civilians. I expected the worst, but when they passed, the civilians were unharmed. They’re fine. In fact, I saw only very few casualties at all. On either side. The fires are real enough, though.”

“An illusion spell.” Twilight realized. Cursing, her hands began glowing immediately.

“A what?” Judicia’s brow furrowed.

“An illusion spell.” Twilight growled, weaving her hands in an intricate pattern. “I can dispel the images, but not the root. A spell like this has to have a root of sorts. A trinket, a stone, or something. Something that can be filled with power. A receptacle. I can’t break the spell itself, but I can dissipate those mirrors. Watch.”

Twilight’s hands were ablaze as she cast them out towards the city. A massive wall of purple energy erupted from them, rumbling through their forces towards the city as fast as a shockwave. It was harmless, but as soon as it hit the edge of the changeling forces, they disappeared. Where once had been a teeming swarm of jet-black changeling bodies was instead a few hundred, scattered and confused at the sudden change. What little defenses the city had been able to muster reacted immediately, but Twilight had other plans.

In a brilliant flash of light, Twilight was among the chaos. A small group of changelings rushed her, but she concussed each one with a deafening blast. Bleeding from their ears, the changelings fell to a heap. Twilight wrapped them in a magical field and propelled it back towards her forces. She would have to interrogate them later. At that moment, the houses around her were burning. And she had other changelings converging on her position. Hands blazing, she began weaving spells. Each one hummed to life, streaking off to go do its work. Some of them were to stop fires. Others were to incapacitate changelings. And others still were designed to seek the root of the illusion spell she had discovered.

After twenty full minutes of casting, Twilight finally came to a rest. Changelings were heaped around her in piles, fallen where she had bound, concussed, or otherwise blasted them to submission. In some cases, some had died. Other changelings fought their bonds, or clutched bleeding stumps. The force she had teleported to Southbay was advancing still, but there were far too many of them to do anything effective. Twilight suddenly felt very foolish for not thinking of this contingency.

She had just crippled Canterlot’s forces, taking the bulk of their might halfway across Equestria to stop a few house fires and incapacitate two hundred changelings.

But why?

“Twilight,” A high-ranking general approached her cautiously, nudging one of the writhing changelings with a boot. “We’ve captured maybe a dozen of them, still lucid. They’re awaiting your questioning.”

“Good.” Twilight sighed, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She hardly felt winded, let alone exhausted. Being a goddess certainly had its perks. “Take me to them.”

The guard had commandeered a local general store for the interrogation quarters. A dozen individual cells had been hastily erected out of summoned plaster walls, enforced with spells and other anti-sleuthing measures, allowing Twilight a chance to talk with each changeling individually. She looked through each of the viewports for a few seconds before finding her target. He had been surrounded late in the fight by several hundred of the guard, and surrendered without a fight. He didn’t even suffer any wounds. Of all the changelings they had captured, he was the most promising. Twilight entered the cell with a simple chair, which she placed opposite the one he had been shackled to.

“Who crafted the illusion spell for you?” Twilight cut straight to the chase, crossing her legs and her arms as she fixed the changeling with a piercing gaze.

“I honestly can’t say. Chrysalis handed me a stone, and told me to go to Southbay. That’s all I know.” Twilight’s eyes narrowed, but the changeling appeared to be telling the truth.

“Do you have your stone?” Twilight asked softly, still looking suspiciously at the changeling.

“Heh. Even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you.” Now he was lying. Twilight flicked a glowing finger towards the changeling, watching as a fire started underneath his feet. Almost immediately, the creature began to writhe in its chair. “Wha-hey! Hey! Stop!”

“Give me your stone.” Twilight held her hand out, her fact stoic and unwavering. “And I’ll consider putting the flames out.”

“Stop! I don’t have the stone! I don’t!” The changeling continued to tug at its bonds, but the fire remained constant. Twilight watched as the black skin on the heels of its feet began to blister. “Augh! Okay, okay, here!” The changeling shifted in front of her eyes, turning into a portly elderly man. In his hand, the man clutched a smooth, nondescript stone. Twilight smoothly pulled the stone out of his hand and stood. The fire continued to burn. “H-hey!” The changeling jumped in his chair, looking between the fire and Twilight. “You took the stone! Put the fire out!”

“I said I’d consider putting the fire out.” Twilight glared over her shoulder as she shut the door on the changeling. Just as the screams began.

But something else had her attention then. The stone in her hand was engraved with an intricate pattern, one that she was almost intimately familiar with. Not because she was Ephemira, and had knowledge of the spell the diagram empowered, but because she had taught this spell before. To two very special, talented individuals. It struck her then.

Three hundred changelings, all armed with these stones, come to attack Southbay. But three hundred was a paltry sum to Chrysalis. She could have spared three thousand changelings and it wouldn’t have mattered to her horde. So where was the bulk of her horde?

The stone sparked in her hand. Twilight nearly gasped. That spark had a texture to it, a quality that she knew. And just like the spell, she knew it intimately. Realization froze Twilight in her tracks. She turned her eyes North-East. Towards Canterlot.

“Melody. Verse. What have you done?”

---------------

“She out?” Lily ducked under Luna as the princess collapsed, already asleep.

“Oof. Yeah, and heavy.” Verse grunted under Celestia’s weight. The princess slumped into his arms like a sack of potatoes. “Here, you take her for a second. I need to send the signal.”

“We did it, Verse.” Melody grunted under the added weight of Celestia. Verse’s hands glowed as he shot a bright-green bolt of energy straight up into the air. It hovered for a second before flaring bright as day. It was the signal to Chrysalis’ forces to begin the invasion. Even as she watched, Melody could see the horde creep over the western horizon. Canterlot was missing sixteen of it’s twenty-two divisions. The guard was out-numbered a thousand to one, and neither Celestia nor Luna could stop them. As it stood, no one defended Canterlot.

Chrysalis would take the city in a day.

“Come on.” Verse took Celestia from Melody, nodding towards the balcony doors. “Let’s take them to the room.”

“Right.” Hoisting Luna over her shoulder, Melody followed her brother. This was no regular sleep. It couldn’t be dispelled by some awakening charm or spell. This was the sleep a god partook of when they were tired. Like Celestia and Luna had been for the past twenty years. All it took was Melody and Verse to put them down. Until the two of them saw fit to awaken Celestia and Luna once more, the two wouldn’t rouse. Not for anything.

Verse and Melody found the princess’ chambers in short order, just underneath the observatory tower. The room was warmly-appointed, and through a curtained archway was the bed. It sunk into the floor, with the mattress sitting at about floor-level. Gingerly, they tucked the princess’ wings against their backs and laid them flat. Crossing their hands on their stomachs, they were left side-by-side.

“They look peaceful.”

“I think sleep is the only peace they’re going to find in the next few years.” Melody said darkly, though she had to admit, it seemed almost as if the two of them were smiling. Sun and moon lay side-by-side, their chests rising and falling slowly. Almost in tandem. “The sun and the moon will go about their normal cycles, right?”

“They’re asleep, but not completely dormant.” Verse affirmed with a nod. “Solaris and Luminescence will continue to cycle, using the princess’ power, but not their body. At least, that’s what Discord told us…”

“Heh. Our one ally.” Melody found it ironic. When they had awakened Discord and told him of their plan, the god had agreed, only because he said ‘it’d cause so much chaos, it’ll be beautiful.’ He even agreed to help sway the rest of the other seven gods to leave Canterlot. Not just that, he’d run interference on their return, giving Chrysalis more time to secure her hold on the city. Slowly, Verse and Melody went out onto the balcony. The changeling horde was drawing closer and closer. It took the guard maybe two minutes before he burst into the princess’ chamber.

“Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! Chrysalis, she’s- wait, what happened?!” Melody glanced back into the room as the guard wheeled about, his hand on his sword. At last, he spotted Melody and Verse. “You two! What have you done?!” Drawing steel, he charged across the floor at them. With a smooth flick of her wrist, Melody ripped the sword from his grip and flung it out over the balcony. The guard continued to run at them, so she tripped him and wrapped his arms and legs in a thin magical cord as strong as diamond.

“The princess’ are incapacitated, soldier.” Melody spoke calmly and evenly as she advanced on him. “What rank are you?”

“C-captain. Let me go!” He growled at her, still writhing on the floor.

“I will, but only if you tell the rest of the soldiers to stand down. Look outside.” Melody hauled him to his feet and brought him to the balcony. “There are six divisions, only twenty-four thousand soldiers left in Canterlot. There are hundreds of thousands of changelings. Maybe even a million. You can’t win this fight, captain. Go tell your fellow soldiers to stand down, and maybe, just maybe, we can avoid bloodshed.”

“But… We have to protect-“

“Nothing!” Melody slapped him. “The princesses are asleep! And they’re going to stay that way for a very, very long time!” Even Verse nodded his acquiescence. “Now, go and tell the other soldiers! Please! Before more people have to die!” Her magic faded away, and she shoved the captain back towards the door roughly. He stumbled a few times before coming to a stop and turning towards them.

“Did you do this?”

“We had to, captain.” Melody was shaking with rage and hatred right now. Not for the guard. Not for Celestia and Luna. Not even for the changelings. But for herself. “Believe me… We had to.” The guard left then, but Melody didn’t miss the vicious glare he shot her. When she re-joined her brother on the balcony, neither of them said anything to the other. No more guards bothered them. Instead, they watched the slow approach of the horde as it approached Canterlot.

By the time the sun sank below the horizon, the city was occupied. “Come on,” Verse nodded towards the balcony’s edge. “Chrysalis will want to meet with us.”

“Yeah…” Melody sighed as she shifted back into her avian form, complete with wings. Together, she and Verse vaulted over the balcony edge and dove towards the castle grounds. Verse’s prediction was true. Almost as soon as they landed on the castle grounds, a small flight of six changelings approached them. At the fore was their nightmare. Chrysalis lighted on the grass with a devious grin.

“Aah. My children.” She advanced towards them with her arms open, expecting a hug. In sync, Melody and Verse stepped back.

“Don’t call us that.” Melody growled. Verse was tense beside her. She could tell from the hum in the air, both of them were ready to use their magic to defend or attack the first sign of hostility. Melody honestly didn’t care if there were five hundred thousand or three billion changelings in Canterlot just then. She would cut her way through them all.

“Very well.” Chrysalis dropped her smile and her arms. “You delivered me the city, I’ll grant you that. And I can already tell, Celestia and Luna are asleep. I’ll survive for a long, long time without either of you now. Oh, and you might want to take a look at your arm.” Melody obliged, and sure enough, the hole just above her elbow was gone, replaced by olive-toned, smooth skin. Verse’s expression betrayed that his hole had disappeared as well. “We very nearly didn’t make it. The primes have been going wild the past few weeks. I’m glad you brought us here while you did, children. We might just not have made it another week.”

“How bad was it?” Melody asked guardedly.

“Oh, not too bad…” Chrysalis’ wings fluttered as she looked at them with her glowing green eyes. “We just leveled Ponyville was all.”

-----------

“You’re sure this is the right thing to do?” Melody called out over the roaring winds. Beside her, Verse’s jaw was tense.

“Of course it was. You heard what she said. The primes have been going berserk the past few weeks. If we’d have waited any longer, she’d have destroyed more than just Ponyville.”

“What about the other thing?” Melody fretted a little. “She said she was pulling all of her changelings back into Canterlot. Do you think that’s true?”

“She said she has to re-assert her authority over them.” Verse glowered down at the city beneath them. They were leaving Canterlot behind, but still moving over the outskirts. Even now, trickles of changeling troops made their way closer to the capitol. Behind them, the castle looked almost like a hive. Melody didn’t want to look back at it if she didn’t have to, but she frowned at the bands of changeling patrols on the outskirts of the city. “I don’t think Chrysalis wants any more casualties on her side than she has to have. She’ll regroup her forces in Canterlot, and use the remnants of the military and civilians as her hostages. Meanwhile, every changeling will impersonate someone and take up residence in the city. There isn’t enough trueform in the world to shower all of Canterlot. If she plays it right, Chrysalis can keep what remains of the guard from attacking Canterlot for the rest of… Well, forever.” The airborne conversation was sobering to say the least. In the late-evening sun, they left the outskirts of Canterlot, flying over the hills and valleys south of the city.

“There,” Melody pointed towards a small wood. “We can camp there.”

“Right.” Verse tucked into a dive and followed her down. The two of them landed in a small clearing near the center, and blessedly, there was a freshwater spring here. They hadn’t taken any supplies with them. Instead, Melody went to forage for berries while Verse worked on constructing canteens out of the deadfall of an old oak tree. The berries were overripe and the water tasted like sap, but they were thankful for the fuel. All they had were the clothes Gale and Hurricane had given them.

“I’ll take first watch.” Verse muttered, gesturing to a soft bed of needles he had managed to push together. “Wake you in six hours.”

“Thanks.” Melody sighed and stretched out. There was a chill to the air, but her magical clothing warmed her better than any blanket could. In her dreams, she heard the buzzing of insectoid wings. Millions of them, filling her senses. She woke before Verse could shake her, and went to relieve her exhausted brother. The night was dark, filled with the chirping of other sorts of insects. Not changelings. Melody didn’t trust Chrysalis at all, so she wanted to be as far from Canterlot as possible. Verse awoke after four hours of rest, and they took off once more.

They didn’t stop until they reached Fillydelphia. Exhausted beyond measure, it was all the two of them could do to summon some money and seek shelter in a hotel for the night. For the first time since the invasion, both of them slept, but not soundly. Melody kept waking to the vision of Chrysalis’ demonic face above her, panting and covered in a cold sweat. Feeling rested, but mentally taxed, they partook ravenously of the complimentary continental breakfast. Full, as rested as they were going to get, and still distrustful of everyone around them, they managed to shift into a nondescript couple and pay for two tickets to Appleoosa. They were going to go home. Changeling invasion or not, they were going to make it home.

The trains had stopped moving north into Canterlot, thanks to some sabotage on part of the changelings. But the system between Fillydelphia and Appleoosa was still alive and well. After only a few dozen stops at small farm communities, they arrived in the dusty farm town early the next day. Using more summoned counterfeit money, they bought a bedroll and enough supplies to make it to the forest edge. They didn’t even stay the night in Appleoosa. Nowhere was safe for them then. They couldn’t trust anyone. Melody felt like she couldn’t even trust herself.

The three-day hike south of Appleoosa held markedly less majesty for her than it had on the way back north. Instead of staring in wonder at the wide spaces around her, she cursed the distance and trudged onwards. They slept little and ate less. Even then, the meager supplies they had managed to bring were wearing thin. On the fourth day, they found the edge of the forest. It was then that they spoke, the first words they had shared since that night in the wood outside of Canterlot.

“What now?”

“I really didn’t think this far ahead. We need Jokkan and Miko to guide us through the forest, huh?” Verse blushed softly, and Melody sighed. She should have thought of it as well. They could fly over the forest to reach the ocean, but even then, finding the cove their home sat upon would be troublesome. The shore was rocky, with plenty of inlets and false bays. Finding their home, despite their familiarity with the area, was going to be next to impossible without Jokkan and Miko.

Almost as if on cue, the two mysterious natives appeared from the brush. Melody and Verse sagged visibly before shifting into their normal forms. Even this far south, they had maintained the disguise. Now, they had no choice but to reveal themselves. Jokkan and Miko tensed visibly, but Jokkan approached cautiously. He reached into a small pouch he had on his loincloth and withdrew a fine powder. Melody and Verse shuddered as the trueform sprinkled their skins. Jokkan smiled.

“Welcome home.”

------------------

The hike to their home took only two days. Jokkan and Miko were understanding that Melody and Verse just wanted to get home as soon as they possibly could. They hiked fast and slept little. They didn’t even ask where Twilight and Lily had gone, or why they weren’t with them. Instead, Jokkan and Miko deposited the two of them in familiar territory. Late that evening, Melody and Verse arrived in the clearing. Their garden was neglected and choked with weeds, as was the yard. The house looked almost like it had seen better days. Still, it was home.

Verse pried the boards off of the front door and threw the lock with magic. Melody sighed as they crossed the threshold of their home, dusty and dark as it was. After poking around a little while, they managed to turn the lighting and plumbing back on. The water was lukewarm, but Melody and Verse both indulged in long showers. Padding back downstairs on pruned feet, Melody poked through their cupboards for some food. Most of it had spoiled, but she managed to find a healthy stock of some dried meat and wheat. They’d have to get the garden back into working order soon, else they might starve. Without Twilight and her link to the other elements, they wouldn’t be able to receive shipments from Rainbow Dash. Verse joined her in cleaning out the spoiled food and cooking dinner.

Exhausted, Melody and Verse pulled blankets from the closet beneath the stairs and curled up on the wood floor in front of the fire place. Laying back-to-back, they both slept. But yet again, they were plagued with nightmares. Melody awoke sometime into the night, this time letting her suppressed scream out. Verse jolted upright beside her, his skin glistening with sweat.

“She won’t leave my dreams.” Melody whimpered, feeling the tears come on. She hadn’t slept soundly in what felt like years. “Every time I try to sleep, her face is there. I swear, I’m going insane.”

“Shh, it’ll be okay.” Verse rubbed her back softly, though she could tell from the clipped, short movements he needed comfort just as much as she did. Helplessly, Melody broke down into tears and threw her arms around Verse. Exhaustion eventually took her, granting her a few hours’ blissful sleep. She awoke in Verse’s arms, with her own wound around his neck. Gingerly, she pulled away from him, blushing a little.

The water heater had worked overnight to give them hot water, so Melody took a hot shower to try and wake herself. It seemed to work, though she had the beginnings of a headache. Rather than fret over it, she pulled some of her old clothes from a dresser and set about to cleaning. Soon enough, the early-spring air was filled with dust as she went about brushing it from all the surfaces in the house. She stripped all the beds and shook the sheets out in the salty air. By that time, Verse had awoken, and after his own short shower, joined her in cleaning.

By lunchtime, they had dusted and done the linens. They paused to scarf down the leftovers from last night’s dinner before donning thick gloves and descending on the garden. Thankfully enough, much of their crop had survived their extended absence. They were able to salvage quite a bit, and an extremely large harvest of tomatoes and cabbage. It’d be salads for a few weeks, but Melody didn’t mind. If she recalled, there was still some dressing that was in-date, and they had plenty of vinegar to last them the year. They could survive until the other crops began to come in.

After clearing out the weeds and re-planting what they could, the sun was sinking below the horizon. Verse claimed their shared bathroom while Melody used Lily and Twilight’s master bathroom for her own shower. Once they had dressed for bed, they retrieved the dry linens and made their own beds. Melody was tired from a long day’s work on taxed muscles, so she fell asleep almost the moment her head hit the pillow.

Only to have nightmares once more. This time, Melody could swear she could feel Chrysalis’ hands on her throat when she woke. Screaming long and loud, she clawed at the imaginary hands, her chest heaving as she stared up at the ceiling. By the position of the moon, it was barely midnight. Hoarse, bleeding from raw scratch marks, tears in her eyes, Melody could do little else than lay awake until dawn.

Melody began to lose track of what was real and what was her dream. She swore that every time she turned around, Chrysalis would turn a corner in their home. Upon investigating, Melody would find nothing. Her sleep-deprived mind was playing the most vicious tricks on her. She took a three-hour long shower one day. Another day, she stood staring down into the dishwater in the sink, where her reflection was that of Pinkie Pie’s.

Verse pulled her aside one day. “Melody, we can’t do this,” He whispered. “I’m going insane here. I can’t sleep. And let’s be honest, you look worse than I do.” Melody hid her face with her hands, rubbing her eyes with a groan.

“I know. But what can we do? Even taking medication to help us sleep doesn’t solve it… If anything, it just makes the nightmares worse.” In the past weeks, or days, however long it’d been- Melody and Verse had tried several remedies, including teas and herbal infusions. Nothing worked. If anything, Melody woke up feeling more panicked.

“We need help.” Verse looked out of the window of their home to the North, into the forest. “We need to go back to her. She can stop these nightmares.”

“I’m never going back there.” Melody shook her head. “Even this is better than what’s become of Canterlot. No, I’m never going back to that city. Never again.”

“Melody, we don’t have much of a choice…”

“Mother.” Melody offered weakly. Twilight could help them. She knew everything there was to know about magic.

“… Do we really want to risk it?” Verse asked quietly, his voice hushed and fearful. “I mean, she’s not just Twilight… She’s Ephemira as well. She might just kill us for what we’ve done. We deceived her. All of them.”

“Do we have a choice? We can’t go on like this, Verse.” Melody could feel the bags under her eyes. “We need to find Twilight. If she kills us, well…” Melody followed his gaze out of the northern windows. “We can’t say we didn’t deserve it.”

“But we just got home,”

“This place isn’t home, Verse. Look at it.” Melody lifted her hand weakly, gesturing to the pitiful cabinets and depleted store room. They hadn’t even been in the music room yet. “Without Lily and Twilight, this place isn’t home. Our home is wherever they are. All of them.”

“… You’re right. We have to go back.” Verse sighed and buried his face in his own hands now. “But how? We can’t make it out of the forest, let alone to wherever it is they are.”

“I have an idea… Go put your clothes on.” Melody had wanted to try her hand at hunting that day, so she had worn the clothes given to her by Hurricane. Verse went and changed promptly, meeting her on the front porch. They didn’t bother boarding up their home this time, but Melody did place a spell on the door that would discourage wildlife and other undesirables. When she and Verse were outside and into the small clearing between their home and the ocean, Melody put her fingers to her lips and whistled as long and loud as she could.

Hurricane arrived in three minutes. ”Melody! Verse! Oh, goodness, you’ve seen better days.” Any other time, Melody would have glared at the god for his tone, but today, he wasn’t incorrect. Melody hadn’t tended her hair in weeks, and Verse had the beginnings of a scruffy beard.

“We need your help, Hurricane.” Melody advanced towards the massive roc with a pained expression. She laid a hand on his huge beak, looking into those brilliant amber eyes. “My brother and I suffer terrible nightmares. We can’t rest, we can’t even think straight. We need to find Twilight. Ephemira. Can you do that for us?”

”Ephemira? Hah! I can carry you to Southbay.” Hurricane lowered his shoulder, letting Melody and Verse scramble onto his back.

“Southbay? So she stayed there after teleporting?” Verse asked, clutching Hurricane’s feathers as desperately as his weak hands could manage.

”You two have missed much, I think. Canterlot has fallen, and the guard is divided. Rainbow Dash cannot control them all. Half have left to take Canterlot back, and in doing so sacrificed their kin. The other half stay in Southbay and wait for Ephemira and her companions to devise a plan to re-take the city. Much has happened since Chrysalis has re-asserted herself. But now is neither the time nor the place. I must return the dead children to their parents.

“Dead children?” Melody and Verse shared a shocked look. “Hurricane, what do you mean ‘dead children?’”

”Chrysalis has your bodies hanging from the observatory balcony for any who venture close enough to Canterlot to see. Your parents have mourned your passing for the past month.”