---------------- Melody’s Tale - The Truth ----------------

A soft sound at his door woke him. Verse groaned and let his eyes flutter open, trying to make sense of what all was happening. He was in his bed, in his home. Okay. Good. It was dark. Very dark. Almost pitch-black. Or maybe that was because he had the blankets pulled up over his head… He fished his way out of them, poking unkempt teal hair up over the top before his brilliant green eyes took in the room. Still dark, but only in a shadowy, half-night sort of way… A quick glance at his clock told him it was just after two in the morning. So why was he awake? With another soft groan, Verse rolled over and looked at his door.

His hear nearly stopped. “The fuck?” He managed to mutter, blinking at the person standing in his room. It was feminine, whoever it was, but that was no surprise, due to the fact that EVERY other body in this house was feminine… Hell, every other person he’d ever MET was feminine… Save for Jokkan. THAT option was out the door… The door that was now, apparently, locked. The soft *click* assured it… He blinked a few more times and sat up. The covers slid off of his bare, flat chest, and he leaned back on his hands.

“Who’s there?” He asked, his voice laden with tiredness and a post-sleep haze.

“No one, sugar…” The voice wafted to his ears, even as the figure it belonged to stepped into the solitary square of moonlight coming through his window… “No one at all…”

“Applejack?” Verse asked cautiously, his tired eyes trying hard to focus on the farm woman’s form. It came to him slowly, the first defining feature being her hips. Wide and full, they led down to two long, muscular legs that were almost entirely bare… Verse stopped following them around her ankles. The descent took a full minute. When he returned to her hips, he saw she was, reluctantly, wearing something… A baggy button-up shirt with a warm red-and-grey flannel pattern hung down to the tops of her round thighs, and would appear to be her only means of outerwear… He let his eyes travel higher, up to her prodigious breasts that threatened to spill from the unbuttoned top of her shirt, to the rolled-up sleeves that left her arms bare, to her long, flowing blonde hair that oh so perfectly framed that freckled, sun-kissed face… Her apple red lips were split in a smile. Not a wide grin of mirth or even a smirk…

That was the look of pure seduction.

Verse was suddenly, and very painfully, awake…

“Someone’s been expectin’ me.” Applejack teased. She reached into her flannel shirt and pulled out a match book. Flipping it open and striking one with an expert touch, she walked forward and set the flame to the wick of Verse’s bedside lamp. The warm, golden glow of the fire contrasted the dark, bronze tone of her tanned skin. Applejack glowed like molten metal in a pot. She was… Entrancing. “Y’all relax, y’hear?” She said softly, turning her brilliant emerald gaze down onto Verse’s stun-locked body. He was frozen in place, muscles rigid at the sight of such a sultry, beautiful woman. The woman he had dreamed of for weeks now… The picture in his bedside table still had the dried droplet of his release… That he had spilled in a frenzy of teenage masturbation. He stared at those lips, those red, full lips, and came to the thought of her kiss.

The kiss that was just now pressed to his own shocked, half-open lips. Applejack groaned into the sweet touch, her full lips almost completely encompassing his own. He shuddered at the feel, whimpering softly as she smoothly pushed her tongue out. So smooth and easy. The motion felt natural to him. He opened his mouth and met her in the middle, their tongues undulating together in a passionate, sweet, even playful wrestling match. She had thick lips and a muscular tongue, just like the rest of her. It was full, round, and hot. He felt the blood pump into his member even harder, tenting the covers around it. The kiss had barely begun before he felt her weight indent the bed to either side of him. She swung a leg out, not that he could see, his eyes were closed… But he FELT her straddle his waist, push him back down so she was fully, completely on top of him.

Their lips parted with a very audible smack, his breath coming in a shaking gasp as Applejack sat back up, her own lips parted in that same, sultry smile she had had before. Smooth and easy, she hooked the edge of the blankets that rode halfway down Verse’s stomach, pulling them down, down, down… She slid her knees back at the same pace, smiling all the while. As the cool night air embraced more of his skin, Verse watched Applejack pause for a split second before pulling the covers completely off of his erect member.

“Well fuck.” Applejack said, her tone low and husky. “Ah guess I forgot jes’ how early y’all start ta grow these.” Her tone made Verse shudder, his eyes close as he flexed. “And lookit that.” He felt the briefest contact with the very head of his shaft, the shock of intense pleasure making him gasp audibly. His eyes shot open and looked down, just as Applejack pulled a single finger away. It was shining with the pre she had wiped off of him, and ever so slowly, Applejack raised the gooey liquid to her lips. “Hmm…” That low groan came straight from her throat as she licked her finger clean, and unless he was mistaken, she was flushing a bit.

“A-AJ, I-“

“Shh.” She cut him off, pressing a finger to his lips. “Y’all be quiet, okay? Twilight and Lily don’ know what ah’m up to, and ah ain’t too keen on wakin’ that sleepin’ bear. So you just hush up an’ let me do this, okay?” Her tone was both cautious and lusty at the same time, making Verse shudder again. He gave a small, almost imperceptible nod as Applejack’s head lowered to his own, giving him another deep, passionate kiss. This one was devoid of tongue, but Verse could care less. It was every bit as arousing as the first. Applejack’s hands, meanwhile, had pushed the covers down under her own knees, and she had kicked them off the bed. There wasn’t a stitch of covers or sheets atop the bed, save the one underneath them, and nothing to hinder Applejack as she smoothly started walking her body down Verse’s…

“Hnn…” Verse let the thin whimper leave his lips as she started kissing his chest, down to his twitching stomach, and ever lower…

“Hmm… Shaved…” She mused, her lips brushing the spot underneath his belly button. “Ah like it.” The hot breath washed over his most sensitive area, making him shudder and groan as she kissed ever lower. Still flexing and twitching in time with his rapid heartbeat, Verse tilted his head back and focused on the feeling.

“Aah…” Applejack’s muscular tongue moved around his shaft to the underside, laying flat as she smoothly, slowly, dragged the whole thing up every single inch of him. The cool feeling of her saliva drying in the night air was a very big contrast to the warm feeling of her spit, of her slippery flesh. She pulsed a hot breath against him, evidence of how horny she was… She wanted him, and he wanted her… No reason why not.

Before Verse had a moment to let his senses recover from that first hot lick, Applejack plunged her head downward. He almost didn’t feel it at first. So sudden was the change that it almost didn’t register. But just as soon as Applejack bottomed out at the base of his shaft, she sucked nice and hard, making him writhe. She sucked so hard the gentle curve of his penis was pulled straight as an arrow, and he could feel the soft ridges at the beginning of her throat. She was so HOT, it felt like he had pushed his manhood into an oven… The shuddering, pulsing breath that she drew out of him was like none other. It was everything Verse had ever dreamt of and more. She smoothly started pushing her head up and down, wrapping her thumb and index finger around his base. Every suck she gave him was rough, but not enough to cause pain… More than enough to make him gasp and shudder in pleasure.

Just when he was sure that he couldn’t hold out any longer, when Applejack was about to milk a messy, creamy orgasm from him, her mouth stopped. The cool night air wafted over the saliva left over, and her hand spread it around as she smoothly, slowly stroked him. He was on the cusp. One bit of pleasure, and he would cum. If she stopped, he would back away. Panting, whimpering, Verse opened his eyes to look pleadingly up at Applejack. The next words she spoke nearly blew his mind.

“If ah make you cum now, can you promise t’ stay hard for me?” Her hand rose and fell along his rock-hard flesh smooth and easy, teasing him, making him whimper. In that moment, Verse would have promised her the world on a silver platter if it meant reaching orgasm at her touch. Furiously, he nodded his head, closing his eyes as she smoothly leaned forward and plunged him back into the inferno.

It was almost instantaneous. Her mouth contracted around him in time, milking everything from him. Inhaling as deep as he could, Verse began flexing his length, each flex pushing more and more of his pent-up desire into her throat. Wet, hot, and perfect, Applejack’s tender touch made every single drop he spent into her mouth feel like the touch of an angel… Shuddering, whimpering, Verse slowly began to come down from his high, the pulsing pleasure still thundering through his veins. Idly, his eyes opened, looking down at Applejack as she straightened herself. He watched the graceful curve of her throat as the sultry woman swallowed. Once. Twice. The display was so erotic, so… Lusty. The grin she gave him after was one he would never forget. Her words were burned into his memory for all time.

“Delicious.”

“Uuhn…” Was all he could manage. In the aftermath, he felt relief, sweet and cool like a drink of clear water. Only to have it fly away as she leaned down to lick him clean of the bits she had missed. Hardness returned soon enough, the hot, slippery feel of her ministrations burning away all sense of fatigue from him… Uncharacteristic of masturbation, which usually taxed him so much that he would have to nap afterwards, Verse felt energy and eagerness fill his senses once more. Blood pounded into his length, filling Applejack’s mouth with all of his arousal.

“There we go, sugar…” Applejack teased, pulling her mouth off and stroking smoothly. Saliva glistened on her lips as she raised her one free hand to the button on her shirt. Smooth and easy, she parted the fabric, all the way down to the very last button. Underneath, Applejack wore a sturdy bra, the kind that was meant to hold back a hefty load. The straps of her bra cut into the round, full flesh of her breasts, signifying just how difficult it was for a woman with her endowment to find underwear to match her size. At least, that was true of up above… Down below, Applejack was bare. Not a stitch of clothing clung to her full waist. A flat, toned stomach gave way to a smooth-looking pubis. Applejack was shaved clean, no hairs visible from her belly button to her pink, glistening lips… There, in the light of the candle, Verse could just barely see the first hint of arousal. She was flared open, her inner lips exposed and pink. The years had been kind to Applejack and her choice of rough men. She looked tight as ever, and ready to go…

“Yeh wanna touch it?” She asked, still stroking. Verse perked up as she smiled down at him, the one hand falling to his own. He managed to unclench his fist from the sheets as she grasped his wrist. “Don’ be afraid, sugar… Yeh can touch me any way you like.” Her southern drawl was hushed, husky, and hot… She guided him forward and down, smiling as his fingers pressed against the rough patch of skin on her pubis. She was no stranger to a razor, or, judging by the smooth texture of skin around it, lotion… Or even shampoo. There was a soft bit of peach fuzz growing. It was smooth, soft, and invisible in the light. But it was there. Short and prickly if he rubbed against the grain, the first touch of a woman’s crotch made him shudder and groan. Applejack grinned and continued stroking as she adjusted for comfort. The slight motion invariably pushed his fingers further, making unexpected contact with her moist lips. He withdrew from shock and slight fear, but her sultry smile and insistent touch made him re-affirm his actions… Slow and easy, Verse spread her wet lips apart, feeling the very entrance to her core.

“C’mon, hon…” Applejack groaned, flushing again. “You can go inside…” Nodding slightly, Verse willed his fingers further. She parted for him, the slick, hot flesh wet as anything… Not like, water wet… This was a very slippery sort of wetness. It reminded him of seaweed wrapping around his leg, but he wasn’t in the chilly, frigid ocean… He was inside Applejack, and it was VERY hot. She gnawed on her lower lip as Verse tested her depths, bravely pushing his finger in all the way to the last knuckle. “Put another in.” She groaned, moving her hips just a little. “You cin fit two…” Verse nodded again, curling his middle finger around… She was so wet and slippery, it slid right in. He could feel her muscles tense and flex as she rolled her head back. Her long, blonde hair cascaded down her back as she gave a soft groan. Mesmerized, Verse watched both her hands start to strip her upper body bare. First, her shirt slid down her long arms, then she pulled her bra up. Like a fish slipping from clumsy hands, her breasts slipped free of the restrictive fabric, bouncing slightly before coming to a rest.

The years had REALLY treated Applejack well. She still sported two round, curvy breasts, where other women would have begun to sag… Both of her nipples were full and round, the areola almost perfectly proportionate to the rest of her nipple, which both puckered with gooseflesh as evidence of her arousal. In that moment, Applejack looked just as young as she ever had… In fact, she looked no older than thirty. Still old, but not as old as her years. Verse guessed age really WAS just a number… Applejack grinned down at him, still grinding her hips against his fingers as her hand resumed stroking him smoothly. The expert ministrations made him hard before long, his eyes fluttering closed as she picked up the pace just a little. Time for him to return the favor. Hard as he dared, Verse flexed his fingers forwards, pressing firmly into the soft folds of Applejack’s core. She gasped and arched her back, mouth open in a silent cry of pleasure. When she came down, flexing her core muscles and shuddering slightly, it was with a lusty grin.

“Fuckin’ A, do that agin…” She muttered, stroking faster. Verse smiled slightly and obliged, driving his fingers against the same spot. She groaned and closed her eyes, this time her head falling forward. Blonde hair slipped over her shoulder, cascading over her front and covering both breasts almost completely. Her hand came to a complete stop as she panted, and Verse repeated the same motion, backwards this time. “Haahhn!” She inhaled deeply, letting it out with a shuddering, pulsing breath. Verse ruthlessly started alternating between the two, pushing back and forth inside of Applejack’s hot, tight core. She grunted now and then, her hands curling into fists as she leaned forward. With a shuddering breath, Applejack reached her orgasm, clenching firmly down against Verse’s fingers. He marveled at her strength as the muscles clamped so hard it almost hurt, but she was clearly enjoying it… Panting and whimpering a little, her open mouth washed hot, lusty breath all over Verse’s chest as a small bit of her arousal dripped down his fingers onto the sheets.

“Good?” Verse asked cautiously as Applejack finally regained her breath, her stomach visibly twitching as he gently slid out.

“Ah honestly wasn’t expectin’ to cum with yeh…” She grunted softly, flushing a little bit darker. “So now that we got that outta the way…” She smoothly swung her leg out, positioning that wet, pink center above his hips. Still hard as a rock, still pulsing slightly, Verse was hard and ready. Eyes wide with disbelief, Verse watched as Applejack took his shaft in her hand. “Relax, hon… Ah’m gonna make it good for yeh…” Applejack rested one hand on his chest, and used the other to guide him IN

If Applejack’s mouth was an oven, her core was a furnace… It was so hot, he thought he was going to get burned. True to the down-home corn-fed girl that Applejack was, she took every last inch of him, straight to the hilt. He could hardly breathe, let alone focus. The waves of pleasure radiated straight from his head, down his shaft, through his stomach, and into the rest of his body. It thundered through him, making him grip the sheets in his fists as rough as he possibly could. Whimpering, squirming, Verse could barely formulate a coherent thought, let alone wrap his mind around the full scenario…

And then she started moving. Smooth and easy, Applejack rose and fell atop him, sliding every last inch of his thick, pulsing length in and out of her. His eyes inadvertently closed, his breath caught in his throat… He felt the corners of his sheet release around the mattress as he tugged and pulled on them, completely lost in the sensation of his very first time. It was everything he had ever wanted… Slick, hot, tight… He couldn’t help himself as he sat up, burying his face into Applejack’s bouncing breasts. She curled her fingers into his hair, stroking and pulling the thin strands as he kissed and suckled on her hot flesh. Her hips never stopped, just kept moving back and forth, pushing him in and out of her with the greatest of ease. She twisted, turned, flexed, and pulsed… Every smooth motion made him gasp and whimper, every little sensation new and fresh to his young, hormone-fueled mind…

“Don’ hold back, Verse.” She panted into his ear. Her teeth nipped the flesh softly, eliciting a shiver and a soft whimper from him. “Let it all go…” No man could last long against her… She was so practiced, so talented… Experienced. Older. And oh so erotic… Verse released her skin with his mouth, but only to cry out with pleasure as he flexed against the rushing wave of pleasure. It crashed through him, ten times as intense as the last. Panting, twitching, Verse could hardly stop the flood of cum he poured deep into Applejack’s wet womanhood, the grinning woman smiling down at him as he emptied his sac deep inside of her. Her fingers ran back through his hair, relaxing him, calming him, yet all the while urging him on… He felt the warmth spread inside of her, fill her up to the brim as he gave her every little bit of seed he could manage…

Applejack didn’t stop, though… Smoothly pushing him onto his back, Applejack just smiled and kept moving her hips. Verse panted as she started sliding against him again, helped along by the gooey cream inside her core. “Ah ain’t done yet… Iffen you could make me cum once, you cin make me cum again… C’mon, shug… Give it to me…” Her hands rested on his chest, the tips of her nails digging into his flesh. He felt no pain. No soreness… Only pleasure. Applejack rode him, her hips picking up in speed and intensity. Her breasts bounced and rolled with each thrust, her nipples painting a pattern in the air as she reached a fever pitch of action and… Well… SEX.

“Verse,” She gasped, her cheeks still flushed as she rode him harder and harder. Verse gasped as she panted his name. “Verse… Oh sweet Celestia, ah’m… Verse, please, ah’m gonna cum…”

“Do it. Please, Applejack, cum for me…” Verse panted, his hands falling to her thighs. Even from where his thumbs rested on her round thighs, he could feel her wetness, mixed with his own creamy seed. It was so wet, so erotic, so… So…

“VERSE!” She opened her mouth wide, jaw slack as she arched her back. Verse could see every curve of her body, every nuance of the soft glow on her skin… She was stretched out for him to see every little detail…

Until her skin started turning black. The sort of black that soaked up every little bit of light in the room. Until she grew holes in her arms and legs. Her diaphanous wings spread wide, and her neon green eyes flashed as she looked down at him. Verse looked up at his nightmare, at the woman his mother had described so well… At Queen Chrysalis…

And then she screamed.

Melody screamed.

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

“I don’t know, I don’t know!” Pinkie Pie stuttered, her chest rising and falling in a panic as she wrung her hands. “We were sleeping, and next thing I know she just starts screaming! I don’t know what happened!” She was answering Twilight’s question, as every woman in the house began to flood the room. There, Melody lay on her back on her bed, her back arched as she screamed long and loud. The loud sound pierced their ears, making Rainbow Dash wince and cover her ears. Twilight’s hands jerked back and forth between wringing together and hovering over Melody’s form, her face screwed up in concentration and concern.

“Lily! Lily get in here!” She suddenly called out, and her wife smoothly slipped in the door after that. Lily was throwing a quick knot into her robe, which she had apparently just pulled on. Her eyes almost immediately went wide as she looked down at Melody’s form.

“Out. All of you.” She said softly, just loud enough to be heard over the scream that was ripping through the air.

“Lily, I-“

“I don’t want any of you to see what I’m about to turn into.” She said darkly, throwing the knot on her robe, though she had just tied it a moment ago.

“I love you.” Twilight said softly. Lily shamelessly shrugged out of her robe, just as Verse peeked his head into the door.

“C’mon, Verse.” Fluttershy insistently tugged on his shoulder as she slipped out of the door. Lily was walking nude towards her daughter, right as Twilight began shepherding them all out of the room.

“I love you too, Twi…” Lily said softly, her attention elsewhere. Twilight pushed Dash out of the room and looked back at her love, giving her a soft frown of worry before shutting the door. Inside, Lily had already made the change…

Melody only knew those eyes. Those luminescent, neon-green eyes… Somehow, though, they seemed colder. Darker, almost like they had lost all semblance of life long ago. Beneath them was a set of dark fangs, split into a wide grin. That smile was evil. Evil incarnate. The absolute craziest, most insane, evil, and dark smile she had ever seen. It was terrifying. What was even worse, though, was the feeling on her soul. It felt as though she were being rent apart, torn from front to back so her soul could be ripped out. And it was painful. Searing, white-hot pain, the kind that made her throat close and her body shake. She tried to close her eyes, but the image was burned into her eyelids… She tried to look away, but her neck was locked… She cried and screamed and writhed, but nothing would stop it… Those black, soulless eyes bore straight into her, filled her entire vision, her entire consciousness…

Then it was over. The vicious, cold green was replaced with something else. Something entirely new. Familiar, but at the same time, not so frightening… There was warmth in this new pair of eyes. A sort of kind, warm feeling that would hold her close, whisper into her ear until she calmed. A reassurance she had never felt before… Or even thought could be felt… It pulled her close, warmed her from the inside out. The hole in her chest began to close, to slowly fill with a soft, gentle, loving embrace… She embraced it completely, holding it close to herself. Her eyes finally closed, rested their tired nerves as she wrapped her arms around it. It was so sudden, the change made her shake. She cried tears then, real tears… It didn’t matter that what she was embracing in the cold pre-dawn light was hard, spiny, and smooth… Or as jet-black as the heart of the night itself… No, when she opened her eyes, Melody only saw the kind, loving eyes of her savior. Of her hero.

Her queen.

“Lily.”

Shh. It’s over now. Relax, and it’ll be okay. The voice echoed to her through the fog of her confused mind, but it soothed her. She clung to the spines on the side of the changeling prime’s face, holding them tight as she clung to the one thing keeping her from receding back into the nightmare. Chest still rising and falling rapidly, she slowly relaxed, her grip loosening bit by bit. Melody watched as her mother slowly shifted back into her human form, the sleek, slender form of her black prime fading into soft, pink, bare skin. Lucidity returned as she left, and Melody finally returned to full consciousness.

“That was…”

“Shh.” Lily pressed a finger to her lips. “Don’t look down, okay? I’m going to go get Twilight.” Almost as soon as she heard it, Melody glanced down. She didn’t see much. Just the blood. Her black blood.

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

“She’ll be alright, though?” Applejack asked. They were all sitting at the kitchen table, nursing cups of strong coffee and talking about the morning’s intense events. Verse had been quiet, understandably so, but everyone else had questions. Lily answered them as best she could, but half of them were all speculation.

“I think so. Twi can tell you more when she gets back from washing up…” Lily had donned her robe again, once Twilight had taken over. Lily had dismissed them all to do her work, now Twilight did the same to her as she set to working on her unconscious daughter. Lily had had enough presence of mind to shift into another form, just so they wouldn’t see Melody’s blood all over her form. Verse didn’t see her, either. He would know, she would tell him, but right now, he didn’t know the state of his sister. Lily wasn’t doing too well, herself… She had watched her daughter cling to a nightmare, cut herself open on vicious claws and spines, watched her chest burst open…

“It didn’t look bad?” Pinkie Pie asked. Lily was almost thankful for her quiet demeanor. Pinkie Pie wasn’t bouncy or jovial. It wouldn’t have fit the moment. She had really learned to calm down over the years… Maybe it was the war. Even the element of Laughter could only stay positive for so long… Lily rubbed her eyelids with a soft sigh.

“It looked pretty bad, I won’t lie… But you all know just how well magi can heal. It might not be Twilight’s forte, but it IS Twilight we’re talking about. She’ll help Melody.” She added in an afterthought. “She has to…”

“Ah’ve never heard a scream that… Frightening.” Applejack said softly, her eyes elsewhere. Verse glanced up at her before his jaw quivered and he took another sip of the coffee. Lily nodded sage-like as she adjusted her legs.

“The short of it is this,” Lily said at last. “Melody has lost her connection to the queen.” In the pause after her sentence, Dash butted in.

“I thought that’s how the changeling primes came in…?”

“Normally, yes…” Lily said softly. “But there are a few things that might come into play to prevent that… The only other changelings that we have here are myself and Verse. I may have been inside her influence when she was dropped… And Verse is in the same boat as she is. The nightmare, and the screams, may have come from either Chrysalis trying to re-assert her authority, or from the absence of her power… Now, here’s the other thing…” This was where Lily struggled with it. She had found, in an obscure passage near the back of the book she and Twilight had studied in-depth, an interesting little tidbit of information.

“I’ve found a way to… I guess you could say… Forcefully remove myself from the queen’s influence…”

“Wait, how is that possible?” Fluttershy chimed in this time. “I’ve seen a few primes, Lily… Yes, even as far south as Fillydelphia, they exist… Reports say there are as many as a dozen at a time all fighting it out… You’re not anything like those… Those monsters…”

“My point exactly. See, when I remove myself from their influence, I can… I can…” Lily sighed and covered her aching eyes with a hand. She rubbed her eyelids, collecting her thoughts. “I think I’m becoming a new queen…”

“WHAT?!”

“No way-“

“That’s-“

“No way that’s tr-“

“SHUT UP!” Verse roared suddenly. His voice bellowed out, louder than all of their protests. The other four women fell silent as he glared at them all. Half a plead to let Lily continue, half a plead for them to shut up. Verse was growing a very vicious headache… Fluttershy gave a small squeak, and Applejack stammered for a few seconds. In the end, though, they fell silent and let Lily continue.

“I don’t know how to explain it any other way… I did it once, long ago… The kids were six. Remember when I walked for two weeks out into the woods?”

“I remember.” Dash said quickly, heading everyone else off. She was, apparently, sympathizing with Verse. Lily continued before she could be cut off again.

“I went dark for a few weeks. Well, that was when I tried to… Do what I just did…” She swallowed in rememberance. The link had been dark for the other five. She made sure she had returned to Twilight before re-opening the link, so she would have a reason to smile and feel happy again… She visited the dark memory reluctantly…

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

The long walk into the confusing forest had taken her seven full days. Her pack was lightened, but not empty, and her tent was pitched. She took a while to set up camp, chatting with her friends to pass the time as she idly went about building a fire and tidying up. She did, after all, plan on being out here for a while…

Alright, guys. I’ll catch you all later.

Not a prob, Lily. Just go live if you need some help, alright?

Of course, Dash. Twi, I love you.

I love you too, Lily. See you soon.

Ick, get a room, you two-

Oh shush. This from the girl who accidentally goes live with Spitfire when she’s- Lily let it die there. She knew where the joke was going, and to be truthful, she didn’t want to be happy at that moment… She wasted no time. She built a big fire, one that would burn for a few hours, and sat cross-legged next to it. Closing her eyes, Lily took a breath…

She felt it there. Inside her chest, just behind her sternum… It was the same area she pulled an essence from. There, nestled just behind her chest, was the pulsing, undulating core of her power. She could feel it spinning in a slow, smooth circle. It radiated power and calmness, a sort of serene aura that washed over her and made her feel whole. Lily knew it. She had been touching it repeatedly over the past year. She knew what it was, what it entailed, and what to do with it…

It was her link to the queen. Her essence. Her turquoise, shifting, ephemeral essence.

And it was flickering.

Even now, she could feel the connection weaken. As she touched on it, it flickered like a candle guttering in the wind, making her shiver. Normally, she wouldn’t even notice. Now, when she held it in her mind, feeling it, she could tell every little nuance. It was weak. Like a coughing old animal on it’s last breath, the core of her being was slowly dying away. It had some time, but it was still weak…

With a breath, Lily slowly let it fade. Her hands rose to her chest, glowing with that green aura of her own brand of changeling magic. Smooth as she could manage, she pulled it out… And out it came. There in her hands, Lily held what was effectively her own soul. She looked down at it. When it was this close, this real in front of her eyes, she could see through it to her palms underneath. She had to let out a soft breath of disbelief… She really couldn’t believe it… There, in her hands, Lily held the essence of her being. How many times had she seen other’s? Twilights, Applejack’s, Pinkie Pie’s, Rainbow Dash’s, Fluttershy’s… Rarity’s…

Even Celestia and Luna’s. And that was no small feat. But now, in her hands, she held her own. She had done this twice in the past week… What’s more, Lily thought she could go somewhere with it… She had to take a breath, first… And that meant putting it back in. As soon as it entered her chest, it felt like she was whole again. Like a wide gap in her soul had been emptied then filled again. She breathed heavy for a few long moments. Not that she hadn’t been breathing previously… Just that it had been useless, like filling a dead husk with breath… Now, though, she was about to take the plunge.

Lily pulled her essence out again, said her goodbyes to those she loved, and let it go…

The change was almost instant. In a bubble as wide as the world, Lily could see them all… Little faint, green wisps far, far off… Millions of them… And one big one, neon green and ugly… Lily was looking at every single changeling in the entire world… She knew it. She knew this was what Chrysalis saw… For thousands of years, her queen looked at this every single day. Every last changeling in the world was accounted and accredited for… She knew, because every single one of them that was even remotely close began moving towards her… In Lily’s fledgling queen mind, she welcomed them. Bid them closer. She was their queen, their ruler, and she wanted to look at every single one of them. Look at their adoring little faces looking up at her in recognition of their new queen. Lilly tossed her teal hair back over her shoulder, stood on legs with the holes of her existence, and waited…

The first one came in a day. A small drone, close to Appleoosa. He had flown hard and fast to make it to Lily, and when he arrived, he was panting and sweaty. Lily did little else than glance down at him. More like him would come. He caught his breath and stood off in the shadows, waiting. The second came shortly before a group. He flew at a break-neck speed straight for her. The group behind him shuffled for position closest to her, as close as they dared. Lily watched them fall to their knees and look up at her with rapt attention…

Next came a dozen at once. Then twenty. Soon, changelings by the hundreds were approaching her… She had close to two thousand of them when she lost control of her miniature queen transformation.

The resulting pandemonium could only be described as a bloodbath and nothing less. It dragged on for a full twenty-four hours… One whole day straight of nothing but snarling, spitting beasts tearing up trees, fighting, clawing, murdering… Each and every changeling prime Lily ripped to pieces made her angrier. Each enemy she dispatched made her sadder… She knew she had to kill them. It was kill or be killed. There was no running, no fleeing… Just the fight. The fight for power. One of them would be queen or king next. In the end, Lily had won. She had the most experience fighting primes. The link to her queen was re-established, flickering into existence within her as she ripped the last changeling’s head from his body. She shifted back, collapsed onto her side, and slept. Her dreams were fraught with nightmares, the kind that made her jerk awake, panting. Her waking reality was a nightmare, too, so she went back to sleep and prayed for an easier time…

She never got it. It was all she could do to change back into her regular form, wash up, and go home… Jokkan and Miko had escorted her, warily at first. But when she cried every night, they warmed to her… Jokkan would sing his native song to her, calm her senses. The full vibrations of his magic would thrum her off to sleep, and they left the nightmare of the battlefield behind them. That torn, twisted, bloody vale would forever remain unvisited by anything… Anyone… The local tribe made sure of it. To them, it was cursed. To the world, it was hell… Lily either repressed the memory of what she had done there, or forgot it… She prayed for the latter as she rushed into Twilight’s arms, two weeks after she had left. Two weeks of a hellish nightmare she would just as soon do without.

----------

“Fuck…” Applejack cursed after her story. Verse had finished three cups of coffee, and hadn’t moved an inch. Twilight had joined in a little into the beginning, and now that Lily finished it, she moved forward to wrap her in a hug. “Ah never knew… Ah thought you was jes gettin’ away from us fer a week… I never thought that’s what you was doin’…” Lily nodded solemnly as she gladly accepted Twilight’s hug, burying her face into the neck of Twilight’s sweater. Some stains, apparently, didn’t even leave skin… Underneath her own robe, Lily still felt dirty… Felt like a changeling.

“That’s… Horrible…” Fluttershy said quietly.

“Yeah. Real horrible.” Everyone gasped as they looked up at Melody. She was making her way down the steps one by one, wincing whenever she stepped on her right leg. “How long was it going to take you to tell me? To tell us?” She asked, her voice quiet, but clear as day to them all.”

“Melody, I… I don’t know if I could ever bring myself to tell you… About me. About us…” She paused for a moment before tilting her head to the side and continuing down the stairs.

“Well, at least you’re honest…” She said quietly. Verse stood and helped his sister limp down the last few stairs, and she accepted his help willingly. Together, they limped over to Lily and Twilight, and the four of them shared a soft, tender embrace. Gone was all trace of apprehension and anger… No more fear, no more pain. Melody lost herself in the hug, though she didn’t cry… None of them did… Slowly, the other four joined in… All eight of them hugged. Six elements of harmony, and two very, very scared children…

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

“Promise we’ll visit Appleoosa soon?” Melody asked. It had been a week after the incident. The other four ladies were on their way back north, with Jokkan and Miko standing fifty feet past, in the cover of the first trees of the forest.

“Thet’s gonna come down to your parent’s, kiddo…” Applejack smiled and ruffled her hair playfully. “But iffen I have any say about it, you’ll be sleepin’ in a comfy southern-style bed before the year’s out.” Melody smiled and leaned into give Applejack a rough, squeezing hug. It was returned kindly, Applejack’s chest shaking as she fought tears. They all were. In the case of Pinkie Pie, they were failing. She clung to Verse, bawling her eyes out as she sobbed and hung on him. Verse humored her, though he was obviously missing the chance to be hugging Applejack…

“If we can’t avoid another episode like this last one inbetween now and then, I’m all for it.” Lily said, taking Melody’s place hugging Applejack. “And this isn’t goodbye. I think it’s more like a ‘See you later’ huh?” Applejack smiled bravely as they pulled away, just as Dash swooped in and landed next to them.

“Checked in with Appleoosa’s weather team. Wrangler says we’re clear through for the week, but we gotta leave soon. There will be a stormhead rolling in soon. I’m gonna miss you, Lily.” Dash wrapped her in a tender hug, the two women sighing happily as they fought tears themselves. The last bit of the week HAD been fun. They had romped in the surf, told stories around the fire. Twilight, Melody, Verse, and Lily had all played a lot of good music, and there had been a rather tender scene when Applejack taught Verse a few tricks on the guitar. Rainbow Dash and Lily had flown together, Fluttershy and Melody had planted a few new trees along the edge of the ocean, and Fluttershy had shown her how to make them flourish in the harsh saltwater air. Before long, she and Verse would have more trees to sit and nap under…

The episode with her had nearly been forgotten. It wasn’t mentioned once as they all said their goodbyes. Pinkie Pie finally tore herself away from Verse long enough to give Melody a proper teary-eyed farewell, while Verse hesitantly approached Applejack. After the teary hug, they both broke apart to watch the scene unfold before their eyes… Verse looked like he was holding something in his hands.

“AJ, I…”

“Aw, shoot, sugar. No need to be shy about it. We all know you have the hots fer me, no need to hide it.” She chuckled and crossed her arms, waiting for him to work up the courage.

“Right. Well…” He unfolded his hands, pulling out a glimmering, thin chain of metal. “There’s a small hole down the beach a ways… Jokkan told me it held gold, and showed me how to work it with magic… I… I made this for you.” He said, offering the chain to Applejack. Her eyes went wide as she gingerly lifted the chain from Verse’s fingers, the early-morning sunlight catching the glimmering links and making the whole thing look like folded golden thread. At the bottom of the elegant chain hung a single pendant in the shape of an apple blossom.

“Verse, this is… It’s…” Applejack stuttered for a few moments. Silently, Verse’s hands glowed, as he threw the catch and threaded it around Applejack’s neck. She lifted her hair out of the way as he secured it, the elegant piece of jewelry hanging just below the hollow of her neck. She laid her fingers on it, the tears she had been fighting all along spilling fast and free now. “Aw, shoot, come here.” She quickly stepped forward and grabbed Verse’s face, pulling his lips against hers. Everyone stood in stunned silence as Applejack gave a stunned Verse the kiss of his lifetime, the young man standing in complete awe. His first true kiss. Applejack broke it off with a slight flush, her cheeks burning red as she turned around and walked off. Dash flapped after her, nudging the woman in her ribs as she landed next to her.

“You old cougar.”

“Shut it.”

Verse went to wander off as the remaining five came together to bid their farewells. “Remember, Melody. You have to trim the deadfall or the tree will die.”

“I will, Fluttershy. Once a week, I promise. You take care, okay? I promise to write you more often. I had no idea you liked my poetry so much…”

“I like anything you write, Melody. You have a sort of style, it’s very easy to read. And, I really could use some… Uum… Encouragement…” Melody and Fluttershy met for a gentle embrace as Pinkie Pie said her farewells to Lily. Twilight and Fluttershy said goodbye, and then the last two were gone… Back down to four, Melody felt a profound sense of loneliness in their absence… Idly, Melody, Twilight and Lily found their way to the tree, sitting next to a very solemn Verse, who was still rubbing his cheek as he looked out over the surf breaking on the shore. They were all very silent for a very long time. Melody spoke first, breaking their reverie.

“Things will never be the same, will they?”

“No they will not.” Twilight said first. “Not by a long shot… You two are growing up now. I don’t think there’s any reason for us to hide what’s happening from you anymore. If Verse is old enough to be having wet dreams about Applejack, then both of you are old enough to know…”

“To know what, though?” Verse said, not even hearing the shot at his nocturnal emissions. Lily and Twilight shared a look, and between the two of them, there seemed to be a sort of collective sigh… An awakening to the realization of a lifetime.

“To know the truth.”

----------- Notes from the Author -----------

So I understand it’s been a long while since we’ve had a Melody’s tale update. I owe this one to you all from Sunday, since I almost completely neglected to give you the livestream you deserve. What’s more, I was really looking forward to the Verse/Applejack ship, and then rending your hearts to pieces when you found out it was just a dream. And it was just a dream. Verse waking up to the sound of Melody’s scream, and his dick inside Chrysalis (It was Chyrsalis, not Melody) was the nightmare portion of it.

Still, given the quality of the clop leading up to said nightmare, I think you all can forgive me. This chapter was very heavy on character development and storylining. It’s helped me lay out the groundwork for what I hope will be the rest of the story, and gives you a little more insight into how the changeling transfer will go down… I hope I can answer a few unasked questions for you guys here, and it’s all an afterthought to the chapter.

-Lily is able to withdraw her own essence because she has others to fill the void, and is the most experienced in dealing with essences. Over her long career, she’s taken close to 2-3 dozen from customers, friends, and lovers.

-Lily can assert her authority as queen because she was the victor of the first changeling prime fight, and has the most experience becoming a changeling prime.

-Lily can shift into a prime at will. To do so, she removes her own essence, which is, in effect, removing the queen’s influence from herself. In doing so, she becomes either a prime, or as demonstrated in the flashback, a miniature queen. A changeling devoid of the queen’s power becomes the next queen, slowly. Bit-by-bit. It’s a natural thing. There doesn’t need to be any exchange of essence between the current queen and the new queen. The power comes naturally.

-Yes, other changelings might be able to do the same. But to do so, they would have to have won against at least one other prime, and be on-par with a lieutenant. In addition, there are a few more years before Chrysalis fully loses control of her power and dies. I’m positive the change will happen before then, but that will leave us some time for the story to run it’s course. Believe me, I’ve got a plan that could make this story longer than Fo:E. Emphasis on “Could.”

-The summoning of the fraction of the changeling horde that Lily managed did not go unnoticed. We will see evidence of that in the coming chapters.

-Verse had sex with Applejack in a dream, guys. Just a dream. The kiss at the end MAY OR MAY NOT signify something greater. You never know, with my writing. So relax. It was just a dream. And, to clarify, Verse woke up to Chrysalis, not Melody. It was Melody’s scream he heard, but Chrysalis’ body, and indeed, her personification. Or… Changelingification… Whatever. Close to the end of my shift writing the A/N so don’t hold this against me. Coming down from a Mountain Dew high and tired.

-Please, guys… You know how my writing style works. I hash this out as I go. If there are any flaws in the story, any mechanic I’m not seeing, any detail that I missed, PLEASE tell me about it. PM, comment, doesn’t matter. I want to make sure I got this shit right. You all deserve that much.