----------- Melody's Tale - Terra Incognito -----------

"The truth?" Verse said softly. Lily and Twilight shared a look between them, both of them sighing softly.

"Come on. Not here." Together, they both turned and walked back towards the house. Daytime was fading slowly, leaving in it's wake the brilliant crimson and golden streaks across the sky that Melody loved so... Together, she and Verse stood and brushed themselves off, turning their backs to the breaking waves of the ocean and following their mothers into the house... The worn wood floors creaked under their steps as they followed Twilight and Lily into the library.

"I think it's about time..." Lily said, pulling up a small ring of chairs. There were only four in the library, just enough for all of them to be seated comfortably. Hesitantly, Verse and Melody took their seats. Twilight was busy browsing one particular shelf of books... There was a flash of magic, and she emerged holding two dusty tomes. Melody arched an eyebrow at what she held. These were two books she had never seen before... One of them, a very dark tome with black covers and silver engraving... The other, white with golden lettering... Somehow, Melody doubted either of these books were ones she was meant to see...

"You two learned the truth about your existence and ours."

Verse swallowed.

"Wait..." Melody said, still hung up on the books Twilight held. "I've never seen either of those books before... I know every book in this library by heart. All of them. I've read many of them. How come I've never seen them before?" Twilight set each book down on it's own part of the one table in the library, giving them enough space away from any of the other books or sheets of paper.

"These books," Twilight said softly, laying a hand on either one of them... She looked down at them lovingly, almost like Melody would envision she looked down at her sleeping children... "Came from Celestia's private library... Before Lily and I fled Canterlot, on the day the war began, Celestia took me there..." She paused for a few moments. Melody could swear she saw a shiver pass over her mother's form. "I've never seen so many books... So much power... Celestia has under her sole care books that could very easily destroy kingdoms. That could end the world as we know it... That's why she couldn't flee Canterlot. That's why the war is taking place up there... Celestia and Luna have to guard those tomes, else Chrysalis, or worse, the Chimera get their hands on them..." Twilight slid her hand off the books, turning around to her children, her wife... All three of them silent. Lily seemed to be pensive...

"This book," She gestured to the black-covered volume. "Is about Changelings. Specifically... What happens to them when it's time to choose a new king or queen." Melody felt her mouth go dry. Twilight continued. "And this book," She gently laid her hand on the other. "Is probably the most important book of prophecy known to anyone."

Melody finally worked up the courage to speak.

"How... Why did she give them to you?" Twilight held up a finger, shaking a little as her jaw worked, Melody guessed she was trying to find the courage to speak...

"I'll get around to it... But let me start from the beginning. There was a time... Long, long ago... When your mother and I weren't so... Kind... To one another..." Lily shifted a little in her seat, making Twilight glance at her... "Maybe I ought to let her tell at least this portion of the story..." Melody's neon-green gaze turned to her other mother... That's right... Lily was a changeling... But Twilight was a magi. According to everything Melody knew about the war, these two should be ripping one another apart every chance they got... Instead, they were completely in love with one another. Melody had seen the way they looked at one another... Countless times they had expressed their love in one way or another. One wall-shaking, screaming way or another...

"I guess," Lily spoke, drawing Melody's attention back around. "I'll start with my personal story..." For the next hour, or two, Melody couldn't tell, Lily shared her personal story. Melody and Verse listened to her as she went about telling everything to them. Every little detail about her life, from her awakening as a changeling lieutenant all the way up to fleeing south... There were a few gaps, though... She said she and the heartless lieutenant had visited Trottingham, but she didn't say what they did there... And there was a passing mention about Rarity's death when they were fleeing Canterlot... But not the answers Melody had been expecting. She stopped when she finished describing Twilight building their home.

"Ever since then, we've been living here, hiding from the war. We're so far south, I doubt any changelings can find us... Hell, even our friends need help making it through the forest to find us..." She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose when she was finished. It was very dark outside now...

"Right... Lily told you her side of the story." Twilight said softly. She picked up both books and brought them to the space inbetween the four of them. They were all seated now, Twilight, Lily, Verse, and Melody... Melody wondered what was in store for her next, though... She had just learned her mother was a whore responsible for discovering true love, a long-buried and old magic that all but the princesses thought dead and gone... "Now it's time I told you mine." Twilight flipped open the white book, the book of prophecy, and very tenderly turned the pages. Melody watched dirt and dust crack the pages, make them shard and very nearly fall apart... Twilight got to where she needed to be, though, and she laid the book out for them to read.

Let it be known, that at an indeterminate time in the future, two will emerge who will unlock the long-dead potential of true love. To these two will be born the children of a new age, and they will usher in an era unlike any other before it. These children, two they shall be, will change the world.

Melody swallowed as she read the text. Then the gears began turning in her head. They clicked and whirred, her thoughts connecting the happenstance together. She gasped as realization came to her.

"That's us." She breathed. "Verse and I, that's us... This prophecy is about us, isn't it?" Twilight nodded sagely, silent for now. Melody gave a breath as she sat back in her chair, looking at the white book in front of them. "I don't believe it."

"What, so Twilight's got a dick and now I'm a proud parent?" Lily said with a chuckle. "You two were born in a crucible of magic, witnessed by Celestia and Luna themselves. Luna confirmed it. There's no way that the two of us would be able to bear biological children." Lily shook her head softly. "You two came straight out of our love for one another." Idly, Lily and Twilight joined hands.

"We ran straight south from Canterlot with the two of you in my stomach. Alone, frightened, tired, and depressed, we ran as far south, as fast as we possibly could... After a brief stop in Appleoosa to mourn Rarity, we ran into a snag and had to come even further south. We stopped here, made our home, and gave birth to you two. Trust me when I say there's a whole, wide world out there for you two to see." Twilight said, smiling at them. "And Lily and I agree it's about time you get out to see it."

"Wait..."

"Does that mean..."

"Eeyup. In three months, we're going to take a trip north. Mind you, we'll just be going to stay with Applejack and Pinkie Pie in Appleoosa, nothing too major. But it's time you two got out and saw some of the world." Lily smiled, even as Melody's heart leapt in her throat. She fought to calm it, to keep from squealing and jumping on her mothers like an adolescent child...

In the end, she failed. Melody laughed as she leapt into their arms, all three of them laughing long and loud from joy.

Verse, though, was quiet. When Melody noticed, they slowly stopped, looking at him. They could tell. He had an unasked question. Melody slowly took her seat, still fighting the euphoria of the moment... Verse's sobriety was slowly bringing her down. She was still smiling when he asked his question.

"What happened to Rarity?" Melody's smile vanished. Slowly, her head turned to either of her mothers, watching their expressions sober almost immediately. They shared a look before Lily started speaking.

"In the seventeen years we've been down here, I've been doing some studies of my own... I've come to understand enough about magic that I can read this book without being completely clueless about who I am... Or... What I am." She sighed and pulled the black book towards her, opening it to one specific page. She shuddered visibly at the sight before turning the book around to them. Melody gasped. Verse was silent.

"This is a Changeling Prime." Twilight took over for Lily. "They begin to appear from all changelings, be they drone or lieutenant. Like Lily is, like Ajax was... There are other lieutenants, but millions more drones. The queen, Chrysalis, exists within each and every drone and lieutenant in some way, shape, or form... We've discovered she's inside each drone through the hive mind. It's how she exerts her control over them, bends them to her will... In the lieutenants... Well, it's just speculation, but we think she inserts herself during their transformation from drone to lieutenant. But she's growing older. Chrysalis is losing the sway she used to very easily hold over every drone and lieutenant. When she loses her hold... Well..." Twilight gestured to the picture once more. Melody's heart was hammering in her ears.

"Are you saying Lily is one of those...?" She asked hesitantly. Twilight and Lily shared a look again before Lily gave a soft nod.

"I've changed about six times since the war began. One of those times... Was when... I fought Nyralith..." Melody froze. She'd heard stories of Nyralith, about the wedding and how Lily saved Rarity from living with a lie. It had been a rather heart-warming tale, about how not every changeling was evil, how there were others like Lily that could fit in with normal society... Certainly not every changeling. But they were out there... But she had...

"I killed Nyralith on our way south out of Canterlot... She and Rarity were coming north, and we were running south... With you two, with these books, and a lot of changelings on our tail..." Lily continued. Her voice had grown slightly dark, her vision distant as she spoke low and quiet. "Rarity didn't see me kill Nyralith, but she saw her body... That was when things were probably the worst for me... Aside from this one other time-" A nudge from Twilight stopped her. They shared a look, both of them furrowing their brows. Melody could tell from the way their expressions shifted they were talking in the link. She gave a soft 'ahem,' urging her to continue. Lily shook her head and re-affirmed her actions by standing and pacing slowly. "I fell into a dark depression... I didn't learn until we arrived in Appleoosa what Rarity had done after... After..." Lily stopped and took a shuddering breath, stilling herself.

"Rarity lost herself in that moment... From what I could tell, and from the brief... Vision that I got... She went on a rampage. Nothing was able to stop her. She ruthlessly killed every single changeling she came across, slaughtering hundreds, if not thousands of them... Only a direct confrontation with Chrysalis herself could bring her about... And when... When Dash found her, she wasn't... Alive." Lily was struggling with each word. Tears spilled freely from her eyes. Twilight went to hug her, to take her away, but Lily pushed her away gently. She sniffled and continued the story.

"We said our goodbyes to Rarity in Appleoosa, all six of us, and that was when I became the element of Generosity... The elements of harmony have to be in balance... Never without one for long. After that, it happened again... This time, a group of changelings found us at Applejack's cousin's farm. Me and one other changed, and we fought in the field... Applejack and her cousin Braeburn, who you probably haven't heard about much, almost died, but I managed to stay a prime long enough to save them..." There was a pause for a few moments before Verse spoke, still very quiet, very hushed.

"The other four times...?"

Lily straightened herself and continued.

"Once, was when you were just children... It just happened one day. Out of nowhere. I was working in the field and bam. I was me, more or less, but I had changed... It was done before I could recall, and we went about our lives... The same with the time after that... But the third time since we arrived here..." Lily took another breath. "This one will be difficult to explain, but please, just trust me... I left for a week, walked as far as I could manage, and... I TRIED to become a prime..."

"Why would you ever want to do that?" Melody asked quietly.

"To see if I could." Lily replied. "And what happened was..." She held her face in her hand, breathing shakily for a few moments. "I... Became a queen. For a few short days, I was queen... Changeling drones from all over left Chrysalis and came to me. But it wasn't time. I couldn't hold it, and I let it drop... When I let it go, we ALL changed into primes..." Lily paused for a few moments, struggling to fight back the memory. She failed, and rushed into the kitchen. Melody could hear her retching, the sound of her voiding splattering into the kitchen sink. Verse looked to Twilight.

"The last one?" He asked quietly. Twilight blinked at him before turning her gaze to Melody.

"The last time... Was just a few days ago. When Melody got hurt."

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

"Ready?" Verse asked, poking his head into Melody's room.

"Just about," She muttered, poking her tongue out of her mouth as she struggled to find a way to make her violin fit along with the rest of her luggage. In the end, she ended up hooking the neck on a zipper on the outside of her pack. It'd have to do for now. Appleoosa was a few short weeks away, it'd survive. And if it didn't, she could make another. This one was handmade, a labor of love. It had endured a lot. "Go ahead, I'll be down in a minute." Verse thumped her door frame with his fist before slipping away. Finished at last, Melody straightened her back and looked around her room. Everything was clean in preparation for their extended time away from home. In the next three days, they would be further than she had ever been from her home. In a week, Melody would be in a whole new world... Areas she hadn't yet discovered.

"Melody!"

"Coming!" She hoisted her pack, careful not to bobble her violin too much. Satisfied it would survive, Melody hefted her pack and left her room. "Alright, let's go." She ran her hand down the hand rail of the staircase, over the wooden knob at the end, and smiled at her family. All of them ready for an adventure. Together, they left their home, the sound of the breaking waves chasing them into the forest as they turned north...

Such a broken, dysfunctional family... They were a magi, a changeling, and two... Whatever she and Verse were. But they loved one another. Fiercely. Just like Twilight and Lily could make their love work, Melody knew they could make THEM work. For the time being, at the insistence of Twilight, she would ignore her calling, the reason for her existence. It lingered in the back of her mind, that thought that somehow, some way, she was going to have to change the world... For now, though, she was seventeen, one month from turning eighteen, young, and ready to see places she never had before.

It took them five days to make it through the forest. Jokkan and Miko had to guide them for a short ways, but after a while, they left. The wide, rolling plains south of Appleoosa greeted Melody. She had never seen this big of an open space before... Just grass and hills as far as she could see. No trees, no forest, no nothing... When they crested the first tall, wind-swept hill, Melody looked around at everything around her. The majesty of the wide-open plain, the blistering sunlight, the wide-open landscape... She felt like she couldn't comprehend it all. She spun in several long, slow circles, trying hard to make sense of all of it... It hit her like a hammer, robbing her of breath, making her struggle to comprehend it all... It was like the ocean, but solid... The ocean was wide, but Melody knew she could never traverse it all... This... This vista... Melody could walk to every place she saw. It would just take time. Every inch of ground before her eyes was open to exploration.

"Melody."

"I think she stopped breathing."

"Hey, Kiddo. Come on." Lily nudged her, making her snap out of her reverie.

"S-sorry," She stuttered, blinking a few times. "That was just... Woah... Verse, come on, did you NOT see this?"

"Oh, I saw it." Her brother chuckled. "I just want to get TO it. Not stand there and look at it." Melody smacked him upside the head with magic, laughing as he glared at her. All four of them smiled and set out, walking north towards Appleoosa.

"How different is it going to be seeing someone other than Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Dash, or Fluttershy?" Melody wondered aloud as they kept walking.

"Not very, I'd think..." Verse said softly, pondering. He hoisted his guitar case over his shoulder. "I kinda wanna meet Braeburn. He sounds like a pretty cool guy."

"I... Wouldn't say that, if I were you." Lily said with a soft chuckle.

"Hmm? Why not?"

"Braeburn's gay."

"WHAT?!" Verse stopped and nearly dropped his guitar case as far as his jaw. "Awww, fuck... Come on, man... The first other male I get to see, and he's gay... Fan-fucking-tastic..." The three woman laughed at his misfortune as they continued walking, talking, and joking.

It took them just another two days to reach the southern edge of Appleoosa. Even the small farm town was like a sprawling metropolis to Melody. She took in all the sights and sounds, wide-eyed and in wonder as she saw dozens of people mill about along the main drag. It would appear to be a market day of sorts, vendors and stalls were going up. Anxiety welled up in her chest as the four of them walked into town, Twilight and Lily sharing smiles as they watched their children gaze at the new sights and smells in wonder.

"Ooh! What's THAT?!" Melody asked, pointing.

"Caramel apples. Shoot, we never made those for them, did we, Twi? Come on, let's go get some!" Melody and Verse ran forward in a show of childish delight, eyes wide as the vendor laughed and whipped up two of the treats for them. The caramel was still incredibly soft, and almost melted away as Melody bit into the apple. The sweet mixed perfectly with the tang of a green Granny Smith, and she smiled happily. It was so GOOD! Twilight and Lily paid after getting one for themselves, and after walking up and down the market a few times, they made for Applejack's home. Melody wanted to look at more of the sweets, but she was assured the market would be there for her tomorrow.

"Melody! Verse!" Applejack was waiting on the front porch for them. She waved, backlit by the warm glow of her windows. It was early-evening, and at the sight of their old friend, Verse and Melody broke into a run. They were wrapped in a crushing bear-hug. Applejack was every bit as strong as she had ever been, the fact made obvious as she easily lifted both of them into the air with the force of her hug. Not that Melody cared, she was too busy laughing and smiling. Today had been a REALLY good day...

"Ah betchy'all are plum tuckered out after a long hike like that!" Applejack wrapped Twilight and Melody in their own hug, smiling as Verse and Melody started gathering all they had dropped. "Well, c'mon! Git inside, Braeburn an' I have whipped up a big ol' dinner for y'all! Pinkie Pie's in town gettin' some supplies for later on, and Dash'll be here in a day. Fluttershy's not too far behind her."

"Thanks a bunch, AJ." Lily said, kissing her on the cheek. "We owe you one for opening up your home for us."

"Aw shucks, ain't my home. Y'all best go thank Braeburn." She said, swatting at Twilight's rear with a playful smile. Laughing, the four of them went into the warm farmhouse and deposited their bags at the foot of the stairs. Melody inhaled the fresh scents of pine and woodwork, of worn, dusty floors, warm food, and warmer company. Together, she and Verse walked into the dining room...

Right as Braeburn swung the knife around at Lily.

Melody stood, shocked, as Lily raised her arm to deflect the blow. The blade made a sickening sound as it drove through her arm, clear out the other side... Braeburn snarled and tried to pull it free, further opening the vicious wound. Lily screamed and fell backwards, wrenching the knife from Braeburn's grip. The muscular man pounced backwards, and realization struck Melody... Before she knew it, Melody was looking at something she had seen just once, one time a year ago when Lily had showed it to her... Realization hit her like a hammer, even as the sinuous, reptilian form of the naga lunged towards her.

Braeburn was a changeling!