------------- Melody’s Tale: Heart of Shadow -------------

Three days after Melody and Verse left, the first convoy arrived from Fillydelphia. The soldiers and relief workers who came in on the massive, lumbering trucks were awestruck. The city was quiet as could be, and didn’t appear all that damaged, save for a few dozen buildings in the south-east part of the city, where the fighting had been the worst. Bodies had been burned or buried, and the changelings had made sure to clean up before they had left. Two days after that, the second convoy arrived from Southbay, and the next day came the avian cavalry from Eyriewatch. Soldiers and civilians alike began to return to the city, and all of them had the same words on their lips.

”The war is over.”

For Twilight, it felt like an awfully hollow victory. So many of her friends had been hurt or perished during this twenty-year war. Equestria would never be the same. And there was still the Chimera to deal with. Rumor had it, though, that Hurricane was keeping them in check, and making sure they stayed in Hearth. Stalliongrad and Trottingham were still on high alert for any attack from the reptilian invaders, but everywhere else, the relief effort had begun.

Ponyville was centric to that. Being the largest farm community West of Canterlot, it became the hub for relief efforts. Chrysalis had made her home in and around the small town in the months before she had invaded Canterlot, and thanks to her wavering magic, the primes had ravaged most of anything. The town was almost leveled, and the surrounding countryside ravaged. It would take a long time before any more crops were ready to grow there.

But the worst of it was over. The fighting had ended. Everyone could rest easy. Homes began to fill up again, as families made their way back to the city from the refugee camps in Fillydelphia, Appleoosa, and all the towns between. The railways were restored, and commerce kicked up again. All across Equestria, it seemed, people were rejoicing.

Until the day the changelings returned. Twilight had taken over as the de-facto ruler of Canterlot during the months after the changelings returned. She kept a council of well-informed and wise people, but none really disputed her place as their monarch. She stimulated the relief effort and began restoring Canterlot, and indeed all of Equestria, back to its former glory. People were beginning to think of her less as Celestia’s old student, and more like the new god she was.

Her tenuous peace was shattered when her aide burst in on her breakfast, sweaty and frazzled. He started babbling on and on about some ‘force’ that was advancing on the city. Twilight finally managed to calm the poor fellow down long enough to get a straight answer out of him.

“Changelings.” He gasped, still panting heavily. “From the north-west. Maybe two hundred.”

“Two hundred?” Twilight’s brow furrowed. “That’s hardly any reason for-“

”They’re all lieutenants.”

Now that was cause for concern. Twilight jumped out of her seat and dashed down the halls, calling guards and aides to her side with shocking efficiency. By the time Twilight emerged onto the castle grounds, she had maybe four hundred guards with her. More had ringed the palace, each of them with spears and shields. Twilight approached the North-Western gate, only to find a long lane of guards keeping the street clear.

Her heart nearly stopped when she saw them. Her aide was right. A hundred or so changelings, each of them in their changeling form, walked in a column down the street. Guards had ringed their advance, but none of them were attacking. Twilight wondered why until she saw the first changeling was holding a sturdy-looking stick with a white square of cloth tied to the end. None of them made a move towards the guards and each of them held their hands out to their sides. Twilight very nearly ordered the guard to execute each of them, but she didn’t. The white flag was universal for surrender. Whoever these changelings were, they wanted peace. Hesitantly, the guard opened the gate, and allowed the small column of changelings to file in before Twilight. Twilight looked them all over for a long while before speaking.

“Where is your queen?”

“Honestly, Twilight.” The changeling holding the flag stepped forward. She was tall, perhaps a full head taller than Twilight, but not the tallest among them. Twilight eyed the flag-wielder warily. “You think you could recognize your own wife.”

“L-Lily?!” Twilight watched as the changeling shifted into Lily, her love, her wife of twenty years. For a moment, she considered rushing into her arms. It felt like ages since she had seen the woman last, even longer without the link. But she stopped herself, for the sake of the guards. “Prove you’re her.”

“Pinkie Pie doesn’t know it, but she snores ‘twinkle twinkle little star’ in her sleep.” Twilight would have spit her drink if she had one. That was one of the most best-kept and well-protected secrets among the elements of harmony, save the element of laughter herself. No one would have known about that. Specifically, no changeling.

“Is it really you?” Twilight asked incredulously. “Are you really back?”

“It’s me, the one and only.” Lily smiled, opening her arms. “Can I at least have a hug from my wife?”

“Not yet,” Twilight breathed. Oh how she wanted to, but she still couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “What happened to the rest of your horde? Where are the other changelings?”

“You’re looking at them.” Lily swept her arm out at the group behind her. “One hundred seventeen lieutenants. These are all that remain of Chrysalis’ horde.”

“Wh… How did you… What?”

“Allow me to explain.” Lily smiled at Twilight. Their arrival had drawn a large crowd, it seemed. Twilight glanced over her shoulder to see her entire council standing behind her, curiously looking on to the proceedings. Lily waited until Twilight looked back at her before beginning. “Changelings are the embodiment of the element of Greed. They take love, the most precious and sacred of things, from other people. Each of them are the very embodiment of Chrysalis’ element. But the lieutenants, like myself before I became queen, lieutenants like Noth and… And Nyralith…” Lily paused for a moment, her expression sad. “They… Well, they’re free of the Hive Mind influence. We were able to shake the chains of greed and anger Chrysalis put on the drones. You see,” Lily smiled sadly.

“I’ve eliminated the drones. Just like I’ve eliminated the elements of generosity and greed. I turned each and every one of them into lieutenants. I gave them their freedom, the ability to think and feel for themselves.” Lily took a hesitant step forwards, offering her hand. Twilight idly took it. “I gave them the chance to find their own love, rather than steal it… I gave them independence.” Lily’s bright green eyes bore straight into Twilight’s.

“I gave them life.”

Twilight collapsed into the kiss, just as the cheer went up from the guard and everyone else gathered.

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

In the weeks that followed, the one hundred seventeen lieutenants integrated perfectly into Equestrian society. Much like Lily and Noth and the other lieutenants that had defected before the war started, they found their callings. Some of them left Canterlot, but others stayed. Two of them decided to take up Lily’s old profession, and soon opened Canterlot’s only whorehouse. Others still wanted to join the guard and pursue a military career. They made amazing spies and infiltrators. Others still picked up regular jobs and lives. They were welcomed into Equestrian society openly, after a mass newsletter was published explaining what had happened.

Equestria rejoiced. The vicious and hurtful changelings that had once terrorized their homes and families were now gone. Instead, these one hundred seventeen lieutenants were all that remained of the horde, each of them a smart and gifted individual. Changelings became actors and performers, using their shifting abilities to execute magnificent and wonderful roles in plays. Some others moved to Ponyville, to try their hands at farming and help restore the ravaged town to its former glory.

Twilight could care less about any of them. To her, there was only one changeling worth mentioning, and that was Lily. The queen of the changelings became more-or-less normal. She had lost her godhood when the elements converged and neutralized within her, but that didn’t make her any less Lily than she was. Twilight loved her fiercely, and found in her a wise councilor and faithful wife. Lily proved to be invaluable in handling the transition of changelings into Equestrian society, and acted as a liaison between them and the government. There was a learning curve, of course, but it was easily overcome. The changelings integrated perfectly, and some had even found love already.

Whenever Twilight asked Lily what had happened to the horde, though, the queen became dark. “I’ll tell you one day, Twilight. I promise you I will. But not today. Not for a while.” Was her answer for each question. It took two months before she finally felt comfortable enough to share it with Twilight. Curled up on their bed, basking in the afterglow of a much-needed lovemaking session, Lily shared what she had done.

“You remember how lieutenants are made, right?” She asked, curling her fingers through Twilight’s.

“Of course.” Twilight’s expression was dark, but she didn’t want to stop Lily now that she felt comfortable enough to share. Lily paused for a moment before continuing.

“I did that. Time and time again. Hive became a slaughterhouse. When one lieutenant emerged, I did it again. Day in, day out, for almost two full months.” Lily shuddered, and there were tears welling within her eyes. “Millions of them died. And in the end, we were one hundred seventeen.” She began to sob then, but Twilight held her close, stroking her fiery-red curls gingerly.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay.” Twilight calmed her, holding the sobbing queen as close as she could. “You did the right thing.”

“Did I?” Lily sniffled, still choking now and then. “They were innocent. Mindless, helpless things. They did what I told them to. They were… They were just…”

“Mindless. You said it yourself. And they needed love.” Twilight pulled away, just enough to look into Lily’s green eyes. “Nothing could have given all of those changelings enough love to live. You culled their numbers, made them small and manageable. Three million changelings? I cannot find enough love in Equestria to feed all of them. One hundred seventeen?” Twilight smiled and kissed Lily’s nose. “One hundred seventeen changelings, they can find their own love.”

Lily sniffled and grew quiet, pensive. Twilight went back to stroking her hair, holding her close. They were quiet for a long while before Lily spoke again. “Are you sure that was the right thing to do?”

“I wouldn’t have done it any other way.” Twilight nodded warmly.

“… Thank you, Twilight.” Lily muttered. “I needed that.”

“Anytime. You know what else you need?”

“Hmm?”

“Another ‘backrub.’”

“Twilight, no, I’m sore… Hey! Get your finger out of th- ahn!”

Twilight grinned and rolled over. The two were lost beneath the sheets, giggling and moaning together.

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

The day after that dawned bright and warm. It was mid-summer now, near the end of July. The restoration of all their cities was almost complete. Reports from the north indicated the Chimera had settled down and wouldn’t attack, so even Stalliongrad and Trottingham were able to relax and enjoy the temperate summer. Even Baltimare had been re-erected. The city was new and young, but already thriving with life. Hundreds of thousands of citizens had moved there, mostly people whose homes had been destroyed elsewhere, or who simply didn’t want to live in Canterlot after all that had happened. All-in-all, the nation was thriving.

Twilight woke in Lily’s arms, smelling faintly of the night before. She grimaced and gingerly extracted herself from Lily’s embrace before going to the shower. One long and luxurious scrub later, Twilight felt refreshed and renewed. She dressed in simple business attire to handle the day’s issues. It was mostly budgeting and currency crises she handled nowadays. Recuperating from a war was tough to do. Thankfully, there were businesses like the whorehouse and several other non-profit organizations that donated heavily to the relief effort, helping to soften the blow.

Twilight was halfway through one such budget meeting when her aide rushed into the conference room. “Twilight. It’s Hurricane and Gale. They’ve just arrived outside the palace.”

“Oh? Forgive me, I must see them immediately.” Twilight apologized to her council members who had attended the meeting with her before excusing herself. She followed her aide out onto the lawns, frowning as she saw the two massive roc standing on the castle grounds.

“Hurricane! Gale! To what do I owe the pleasure?” She called up to them, standing before the two with her arms open.

”Ephemira. Good. We must speak with you immediately.”

“It’s about your children.” Twilight was shocked to hear that.

“Children? What?” The roc had apparently made a large commotion. Lily pushed her way through the small press of guards and curious passers-by to stand at Twilight’s side.

“What are they talking about? Children?” Lily looked between Twilight and the two roc with a worried expression. Hurricane and Gale shared a look before furrowing their brows and looking back down at the two of them.

”Your children. Melody and Verse. Where have they gone?”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked, her defenses rising. What were the two of them talking about? Children? Since when had she had children?

”The children of love. Melody and Verse. The two responsible for reviving the two of us!” Gale was beginning to grow annoyed, Twilight could tell.

“I have no clue what you mean.” Twilight lifted her arms and dropped them helplessly. “I have no children.”

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

“No magic.” Melody sighed as she fought to summon a spell, a telekinetic field, something, anything. It felt almost as if she had taken a potent dose of Magesbane.

“Well at least Jokkan and Miko taught us how to live off the land.” Verse sighed, running is fingers over the leaves of one of the nearby trees. “I saw some roots back there a ways. And some mushrooms too. It’ll be tough, but I think we can survive in here.”

“Wherever ‘here’ is.” Melody groaned and dropped her hands helplessly. “We can’t even keep our heads on straight. I feel like we’ve been going in circles.” She looked around at the seemingly endless forest around them. The trees were unlike any she had ever seen, in that their trunks were gnarled and twisted into grotesque and strange designs. The leaves were a very dark shade of green, and spread wide and flat. The canopy above them was so thick, they hadn’t seen the sun or the moon in the three days they had been in the forest.

What’s more, the forest had all but eliminated their magical capabilities. Try as she might, Melody couldn’t summon her magic. She was a rather proficient mage, and Verse even more so, but neither of them could accomplish even the slightest task. Her magic was there, she could feel it hovering behind her breast, warm and comforting as it always was… But she couldn’t use it. She was aching with the need to release the pent-up energy she had accrued over the past few days. If this continued, she feared for the magic burns she might suffer.

Verse’s power was much more considerable than her own, though. If he hadn’t burned himself yet, she wondered if they even could. This forest was mysterious in many different ways. The first and foremost was the absence of their magic, but that wasn’t the most notable. For her, melody was more concerned with the lack of animals. Three days since they had left Equestrian borders, and they hadn’t seen anything. No birds, no squirrels, no deer, not a single animal. The flora, though, was abundant. Melody had studied botany when she was a child enthralled with gardening, and as such was moderately familiar with the plants of Equestria. But these trees, flowers, fungus, and roots were completely alien to her. She couldn’t even guess at what they might be.

“Come on.” Verse nodded to a spot ahead of them. “Let’s press on.”

“Right.” Melody grimaced and shrugged into her pack. They had managed to find a farmhouse not terribly far from the Everfree Forest’s borders, and had discovered a small cache of supplies there. It wasn’t much, but they could make shelter and cook whatever food they might come across. The latter had been few and far between, but they had scraped together enough berries and roots from the somewhat-familiar plants in the forest to last them this long. What they had was running low, and Melody was beginning to worry what, if anything, they might eat next.

Her prayers were answered as darkness descended on the eerie forest. She found it odd that an apple tree would be found this far out in uncharted wilderness, but the warm wood and plump ripe fruit allayed her fears. After checking one apple from the tree for poisons, they picked an entire pack’s full, and carried another dozen with them until they found a tree large enough to make camp against. Verse went to work erecting their lean-to while Melody went in search of water. She found a small stream maybe fifteen minutes from their camp, and filled both their canteens and a pot full of it. She didn’t recognize the stream, and that meant progress.

When she returned to camp, Verse was munching happily at an apple and stoking a fire. These strange trees had no shortage of deadfall, and the canopy kept rain off of them for the most part. Melody was thankful for the latter, as late-summer storms were typically vicious and would ruin shelters. As she joined Verse for their tasty dinner, she made a silent thanks to the powers that be for giving them temperate weather and shelter.

Ever since they passed Chrysalis’ queenhood on to Lily, Melody’s sleep had been untroubled. Despite their long journey into this strange land, she felt rested and energetic. She was slender, fit, and capable. Every day they spent hiking further and further into strange territory strengthened her all the more. The only frustrating parts of this entire journey were the lack of magic and the constant feeling of going in circles. But the unfamiliar stream held promise for them.

Melody slept well and relieved Verse for her turn at the watch in the dark hours of the morning. Verse slumbered silently while Melody walked a circle around their camp, letting the cool morning air refresh and wake her. When dawn broke and Verse awoke, they packed their camp and ate a breakfast of two apples apiece. Verse shouldered the pack with the apples, and Melody took the one with their supplies. Together, they made their way to the stream Melody had found, and followed it upstream. After a whole day of hiking without reaching a familiar twist or turn in the slight bends, Melody felt confident. They had made progress.

So the days progressed as such. Verse discovered roots in the muddy banks of the stream which went well when boiled with apple slices, and when they ran out of apples, there were enough berries and roots to be found anyways. Four full days of walking alongside the stream later, they arrived at what could roughly be described as the first waypoint of their journey. A clearing of sorts, located on a hillside, opened up the sky and surrounding land for them to survey where they were.

The Shadowlands weren’t all that intimidating, Melody noted as she looked around at the scenery. Sure, travelers had entered and never left, but that was probably thanks to the disorienting nature of this place. She had expected monsters and fights, not to mention answers, in the mysterious land she had only ever heard of in whispers. Instead, she found mysterious forests, confusing landscapes, and even more questions.

As she and Verse crested the hill into the small clearing, the first they had encountered since their entrance into the forest, Melody was greeted with a whole slew of new questions. First and foremost was: ‘What in the world am I looking at?’

Before them on the floor of what she guessed was a valley of sorts was what looked to be a pure black pool of some sort of liquid. The closer Melody looked at it, the more she realized it was just deep, dark, foreboding shadows. The darkness was so pure, so undiluted, that it covered everything. Even now, in the bright light of day, no light penetrated the deep shadows. The hills all around this place seemed to slope into the valley, where nothing could be seen. Melody and Verse stood there, completely transfixed, looking into the darkness.

“Well.” Verse said after a long while of staring into the darkness. “I guess we found what we came looking for.”

“If that is what we’re looking for.” Melody frowned at the darkness. She wondered what lay within it, if they could enter it at all. And even if they did, would they live? That darkness looked so complete, so absolute, that she wondered if they could even breathe inside of it.

“It’s the first thing we’ve seen since we entered this place.” Verse was staring into the black depths with the same intensity she was. Both of them were curious, but cautious. “I say we take a look, if nothing else.”

“Agreed.” Melody glowered at the darkness one last time before hoisting her pack higher on her back. It was mid-day, and they could arrive at the edge of the darkness in the next hour or two. Verse followed her across the clearing and back into the forest. This time, though, they walked with determination. They both wanted to arrive at the blackness as soon as possible. Eerie as it was, it was the first different thing they had both seen since leaving Equestria. Melody’s heart pounded in her ears as she followed the slope of the valley down towards the blackness. What would they find here? Would it hold the answers they both sought? Was this the end of their journey, or just the beginning? All these and more harried Melody into the valley, and up to the edge of the darkness.

“Woah.” She breathed. Looking down into and looking out across the shadow were two entirely different experiences. From above, it almost looked like a lake. From here, Melody could hardly tell the difference between the edge of the shadow and the forest proper. The entire world seemed to dim around her, not unlike the sun setting behind the horizon. But she knew it was no later than noon. The darkness between the trees grew deeper and deeper, and soon enough she could hardly see a few feet in front of her face.

“I think we’re inside.” Verse’s voice sounded muffled, but he was right behind her. Melody inadvertently held her hand out, searching for him. Verse took her hand in his when she touched him, giving her with a gentle squeeze. “Let’s keep going.” They continued walking through the dark fog, slowing considerably. Melody held one hand in front of her while the other kept her as close to Verse as she could manage. She walked shyly, afraid to hit something. But she never did. Instead, she continued along at a crawling, slow pace, sliding her feet over the ground to avoid tripping.

After what felt like hours walking at that pace, Melody froze in place.

“What?” Verse asked.

“Shh. I think I just heard something.” Melody stayed still, her entire body frozen with concentration. Verse followed her wishes, but he pressed a little closer to her. It was then she realized he had pressed his back to her, so they both looked out into the blinding, inky blackness. She could see nothing. Not even her hand in front of her face.

They stood like that for a full minute before the sound came again. It was a quiet, swishing sound, almost like bare limbs across satin sheets. She wondered what could possibly make that sound. It came again, a little more insistent. Then again. Melody tensed when she realized the sound was growing nearer and nearer. She clutched Verse with one hand, and with her other, tried to light the darkness around her.

She nearly cried out when her magic surged forth, blazing to life without the tiniest amount of effort. The darkness bled away, leaving in its wake a blinding, radiant whiteness. After hours of not seeing a thing, Melody thought she had gone blind. Instead, she looked down, and saw her naked body. She had brought herself to the white plane. But how? Why? What happened to the swishing sound, and whatever it belonged to? There was a presence at her back.

“Verse?”

“I’m here.” Verse’s voice was tense and low. “I don’t know how, but I’m here.”

“What happened?”

“Did you use your magic?”

“I… I think I did. I called it, and suddenly I was here.” Melody pressed back against him more insistently. “I don’t like this, Verse. I didn’t mean to bring us here.”

“It’s okay. Relax.” Verse laid his hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze. “Just take your time, and try to see if you can bring us back.”

”She won’t.” The voice nearly made her jump. Melody knew in an instant that voice belonged to whatever had made the swishing nose. She tensed up and pressed back into Verse more insistently. ”More accurately, she can’t. Not until you accomplish what you set out to do here.” It was a low, melodic voice. If she had to guess, it could have belonged to a man, though a woman was not out of the question. Her eyes darted around the horizon, but the whiteness around her was barren of any lifeform.

“What do you mean, ‘she can’t’? Can neither of us get out of here?”

”Correct.” The voice swirled around them. Under other circumstances, Melody might actually have enjoyed listening to whoever spoke. It was an awfully calm voice, but given the situation, Melody was anything but relaxed. ”I suppressed your magic from the moment you first set foot into the Shadowlands. There are creatures here who are attracted to magic. They would have killed you without my doing so. That’s why none have survived the journey here before. Many have tried, none have succeeded. Human, Avian, Magi, they all have some measure of magic within them. No matter how tiny or miniscule, they would have sniffed it out and hunted you down.”

“So there are animals here.” Melody breathed.

”Indeed. And many other interesting plants you’ve yet to see. These, too, I had to hide from you. Sometimes sight is all they need to kill you. Others would have lured you in with scents and sights so profound and evocative you’d have no choice but to drink their venom. And others still would have pursued you, wrapped their vines around you, and made you part of their body. We couldn’t have any of that…” Melody relaxed a little bit. The voice was kind, and though it spoke of terrible things, Melody began to relax. She could feel Verse relax behind her as well.

“So why are we here?” Verse asked.

”You walked here.” There was a hint of sarcasm in the voice, and Melody couldn’t help but smile a little. ”You were called. There is an imbalance in the world right now. An imbalance you created, and only you can resolve.”

“An imbalance?” Melody furrowed her brow, but realized what the voice meant. “The elements.”

”Correct. The element of Generosity and the element of Greed no longer exist. This has created an imbalance with the others. An imbalance that, I’m afraid, has affected their memory.” Melody stiffened at that.

“Their memory? What do you mean? Woah!” She jumped back as the voice materialized in front of her. This being, whatever it was, was most definitely not friendly. She couldn’t even bring herself to describe it, though her best guess would have been ‘demonic.’ In a flash, she realized what this thing was, or what it was reminiscent of.

”My sister has forgotten she ever had children. Her wife, the queen of changelings, as well. In fact, all of the elements have forgotten about you. The seed you’ve planted will spread to the other gods and goddesses soon enough.” Melody stepped back as the demon-like thing advanced on her. The voice was the same, but this creature was evil incarnate. Melody had seen it before, too. Or something akin to it. She had seen changeling primes before. And this thing was the father of said primes. What’s more, his words were sending a chill up her spine. Her mother had forgotten about them? How?

”Don’t worry, children.” The massive changeling prime, or whatever this thing was, stopped a scant foot from her face. She could feel its breath wash over her, even as the devilish red eyes bore straight into her own. ”I’ll help you fix this imbalance. Come now, embrace me.” It spread its arms, the wickedly-curved teeth inside its horrific maw spread apart in a grin.

”Embrace the Heart of Shadow.”