---------- Melody’s Tale - Out of the Fire… ----------

Melody paused on the next switchback to look out at the vast plains stretching out beneath them… It almost looked as if she was a giant, and if she took a step forward, her foot would just occupy several square miles, and she could walk across the land freely. So sheer was the drop, so little were all the features and landmarks, she felt like the biggest thing alive… The sheer face of the mountain was one of three that they had traversed in two weeks. Though it was the tallest yet… Every other time, there had been one thing or another that would block her view, or jut into her periphery, or mar her view of the wide, vast, open area beneath her… But right now, in that moment, Melody could see everything from the southern sea to the desert north of Appleoosa, and not a single inch of it was thrown out of context by that one rocky outcropping, the curve of the path, or her family members looming up in front of her. She looked down at her feet… The edge of the path seemed to meet the green, rolling hills beneath… The way her eyes focused, it looked like it was right there, laid at her feet, a lush carpet of grass and hills for her to walk upon…

“Melody?” Twilight’s voice broke her reverie. She blinked a few times and backed away from the edge, feeling anxiety well up in her throat. “You okay, kiddo?”

“I almost jumped…” She said softly, her voice half a whisper. “It looked so close, like I could just step out onto the plains…” She backed up until the sloping face of the mountain caught her heels, dropped her on her rear. Even then, she continued to scoot backwards, her feet leaving the trail and scrabbling for purchase on the sheer face of the mountain.

“Vertigo.” Lily said automatically. “She’s never been this high, or in this thin of air. We need to stop for the day, let them catch their breath, wrap their minds around what’s happening.” Indeed, all of them were huffing and sweating profusely. It seemed like she couldn’t get a full breath in the thin mountain air. They had managed to make it through the foothills in good time, but ascending the steep slope of the mountains was a different fight altogether. The steep trail switched back upon itself dozens of times over and again, so that for however tall the mountain was, they would literally walk ten times the distance. Melody’s lungs burned, and her legs were worn time and again. At night, the air would freeze, though they had magic and fire to keep them warm. During the day, the high sun would do little to warm the thin air, but the wind was eerily still, so the cold mornings gave way to hot, sweaty days, and more cold nights.

Still, for all this, there was majesty to be seen. Melody looked back frequently, looking over what was probably one eighth of the entire land of Equestria. There was one night that Twilight had stood with her on a cliff face, pointing out by nighttime light the different landmarks. She could see farther out into the Southern sea than she ever could, and all the way north, the faint lights of Fillydelphia stained the night sky with a dull glow…

“Go find a spot to set up camp, Verse. I’ll pry Melody from the mountainside.” Lily switched places with Twilight on the trail, her and Verse plodding onwards to find a spot to make camp. Melody resisted for a moment as Lily gently pulled on her arm, but resorted to clinging to her mother with a little urging. Together, she and Lily ascended the last two switchbacks, finally cresting the top of the mountain. A gust of rare wind lifted their hair from their shoulders as they looked down into the valley below, eyes wide with wonder.

“Woah.” Melody breathed.

“Yeah. Woah.” Lily mirrored her.

The land beneath them was best described as barren. Rocky. Desolate. Among other horrible adjectives. Like deadly. Feeling a little bit more in control of herself now, Lily slowly descended the opposite side of the mountain, thankful that these were much less steep, and much wider. The going was easy on her legs, so she let the mountain do the walking for her. She plodded along, resting her legs as best she could, still staring in wonder at the vast display of jagged, broken earth before her. A very large, stark contrast to the brilliant, green, rolling display that had greeted her eyes previously, the eastern dragon territory was very… Brown. But not without definition… Jagged slopes of knife-like rock formations jutted up from the landscape like the knife poking from the ribs of a dead man. The thin, emaciated skeleton of the land was pockmarked here and there with black, charred marks. A darker color than those places that were burnt and jagged, the smooth surface of the wide, open plains was marred only by black holes, darker than the ashen wastes left behind by what melody could only guess was dragon fire. Those holes were the dens and homes of the dragons who lived here…

“There. Twilight’s found a spot.” Lily pointed. Melody followed the line of her finger to a small inlet in the rugged side of the mountain. Twilight’s shirt stood out from the rest of the dull, brown rock, painting her position well. The books she had read said this side of these mountains were buffeted by great winds, winds that powered the dragon’s flight. She was glad to have the shelter her mother had found, even if it meant there was little to no vegetation. Between two jagged teeth of rocky outcroppings was the adequate room they needed, space enough to build a magical fire that burned through the night with no fuel and still have room for the four of them to stretch out on insulated sleeping bags that had weathered the journey north, back south, and to the east well. Melody plopped herself down with a sigh as Verse started to make their camp. He had valiantly offered to carry the majority of supplies, since he was stronger than any of them, save for Lily when she was shifted in to the hulking Liam or someone else… But Lily didn’t like to change if she didn’t have to. Given her history, Melody couldn’t blame her.

The fire leapt to life under Verse’s careful touch, and they all huddled close to it. Even though the sun had just begun to go down, they could already feel the chill in the air. Lily set about cooking magically-summoned food, and before Melody knew it, they were looking at a hearty dinner of lean venison steaks and crisp celery stalks. They ate in silence, for once… In fact, all four of them had become more silent in the past few weeks… Melody was unsure if it was because they were just plain tired, or if they were afraid of discovery.

She guessed against the latter, since Twilight pulled her flute from her bag. As she began to tune the instrument, Verse smiled and pulled his guitar out of it’s own case. Why they brought the instruments, Melody couldn’t guess yet again. But she was still glad she had her violin. Just as she pulled it free from it’s case, though, Lily held her hand open.

“I want you to sing this song.” She said softly, nodding to Verse. He knew which one it was. It was the only one that Melody sang and didn’t play an instrument on. Meal finished, remains cleaned, instruments tuned, Verse began to strum the first few simple notes… Together, he and Lily sang the first verse

”My mother wears rosy glasses,

Goes to temple, prays to Luna ‘til she passes out.

By the road of our house is my dad,

In his heart lives a poet and a sad-faced-

Clowns never made my brother smile.

He’s a devil-dog, running strong, never tired.

I am, my brother’s brother, Redundant Wonder.

Misunderstanding how we all stand under the same old sun,

Yet we love no one but ourselves. Even that just goes to hell.

‘Well, well,’ said the sun to the moon, by the stars,

‘How far can they run ‘til it all falls apart?’

‘I don’t know. I am just your reflection.’

But I know, they will hope, they will dream

Oh when they see me lighting up the night

I’m fighting with the tide

I’m waving them goodnight.

They’ll soon wake up to your sunlight, checking that the time’s right, time’s right on.

You’ll heal these holes that fill this road.

With holy ghosts and broken notes.

I just wanna shout out loud

Your name in this crowd

And if you hear, somehow…

Won’t you turn around?

‘Cause in your eyes. I. See my soul.

Yes, I see my soul. My queen, my soul…

Melody lifted her voice in a high soprano solo, while Verse sang low and quiet, letting her have the spotlight…

”I just wanna shout out loud

Your name in this crowd…

And if you hear, somehow…

Won’t you turn around?

Countering her line-for-line, Verse sang quietly…

”’Cause in your eyes. I. See my soul.

Yes, I see my soul. My queen, my soul…

They joined back together for the next, upbeat section.

”’Don’t be so set in your ways’

Said the moon back to the sun

‘They will learn, they will change, they are only human

Don’t you know? They are just our reflections.’

But I know, they will hope, they will dream

Oh when they see me lighting up the night

I’m fighting with the tide

I’m waving them goodnight.

So goodnight, moon

Morning sun,

Evening stars,

And little ones.

Learn to hope, sweet, sweet dreams,

To fall in love, and everything.

‘Cause in my mom, and my dad, oh my brother, too…

I love for them, and I sing for you…”

The song ended on that last note, a shiver running through Melody’s form as her voice and Verse’s faded away with the last, metallic strains of his guitar… She loved that song. It had a brilliant melody, simple and oh so easy to follow. Each time she sang the words ‘I just wanna shout out loud,’ she felt an emotion sweep through her… It filled her front to back, from her toes to her scalp… Lily held the violin in the crook of her neck for a full minute before removing it and handing it off to Melody. Without even thinking, Melody laid the violin against her neck, put bow to string, and began playing.

Her own lullaby was written by her mother when she was a child. Whenever Melody had had trouble sleeping, Lily would play for her, while Twilight hummed along with the notes. The haunting, slow, beautiful notes were a comforting reminder of her life before it was complicated beyond belief. Even just playing the song, she felt her eyes close, her body relax and lose itself to the tune. Apparently everyone else decided enough was enough as they packed up and began pulling bed rolls out… Melody played through the tune once more, smiling at Verse as he set out her sleeping bag for her. By the time she finished, everyone was under the cover of their own makeshift bed, the four of them laid out parallel to one another. Smooth and easy, Melody put her violin away and slipped under the covers. Sleep took her, blissfully dark and dreamless.

-----------

They seldom shared any words. Verse and Melody followed Twilight and Lily’s lead as they turned right, towards the south. It took them a week to come down out of the high, jagged mountains and out into the flat, occasionally scorched plains. They skirted the wide, dark holes that marked dens of slumbering dragons, and avoided the scarred earth when they could. The one time they were forced, however, to walk through one of the barren charred spots marring the face of the planet, Melody smelled brimstone and fire. Other smells she couldn’t place, but she was willing to believe it was the smell of the ground beneath her feet, which had melted and warped under the intense heat… Worse than the temperature, though, was the wind. It was always there, whipping her hair into her face, making her stumble as it caught her bulky pack like a sail. Eventually, she just tore strip off of her shirt and used it to tie her hair back behind her head, tucking the long ponytail into the neck of her shirt.

They only spotted dragons from afar. Occasionally, a dark shadow would detach itself from the rest of the mountains, or emerge from one dark hole or another, and wing into the sky… In those moments, all four of them became completely still, sometimes even laying down… Verse and Melody waited for Twilight and Lily to tell them it was clear before moving. The scorched, blasted land stretched on forever and ever in each direction, never showing any relief from anything. Day by day, though, the southern horizon began to change. Melody watched as it grew jagged teeth, and soon those teeth grew bigger and bigger… The wind-swept dirt ground beneath their feet became more rough, rocky in places… The small stones and rocks soon grew to jutting formations and massive boulders, larger even than the biggest house Lily had seen in Appleoosa. The ever-present wind lifted and swelled more, now, gusting up the face of the imposing cliff…

“We stop here tonight.” Lily pulled up short. It was late afternoon, and they were in a small delta, a rare flat spot before a rather sharp incline. The rise looked almost impassible, maybe one or two ways making themselves readily visible, and at the top, what looked to be a knife’s-edge drop down to whatever laid on the other side. Lily spoke quietly as she turned to Melody and Verse. “No fire. No music. Tomorrow, we reach the beach.”

“The southern sea?” Melody asked quietly, leaning close as she and Verse shrugged out of their packs. Lily nodded and looked around slowly.

“The sea runs as far east as Dragonpoint, where the land turns north to form the eastern border of the world as we know it… No one has sailed a boat east of that shore and returned… Some say it’s just a never-ending ocean of water, no matter how far you sail you’ll never reach the end… Others say it turns back around upon itself and lands in the Nightlands… Which would explain why no one returns…”

“The Nightlands? I’ve only ever read the stories… No map documents them, there is next to no proven text on the subject. What are they?” Verse said, keeping his voice low as he rolled out his sleeping bag.

“Another story for another time, Verse… Right now, get some sleep. Tomorrow, we climb to the top of the Razor and see if we can find a way down to the beach…” She leaned in and gave them both a gentle hug. Melody knew they had to remain quiet… There was just an eerie presence in the air. Like if they made any loud noises, they would be discovered… By a dragon, or worse… When Melody lay down to sleep, fear kept her quiet, and terror kept her still.

The next day dawned bleak and cloudy. An odd thing for a sun-bleached land. Every day previous, the sun had at least shone, if not glared down at them… Today, though… It hid behind the opaque, pearly-grey cover of clouds, only peeking out when a thin layer passed over it. They quietly set about to cleaning up their small, almost non-existent camp. Quietly, Twilight ushered them to leave their packs stuffed inbetween a boulder and the joint where it met the ground. She went about casting a silent spell to conceal them, while Lily’s vision worriedly looked up towards the land feature she had called the Razor the night before.

Slow as they could go without making noise on the loose ground and rocks beneath their feet, the four of them began to make their way up to the tip of the Razor. One time, Melody’s foot slipped, and she fell to her knees. Pain lanced through her leg as she landed, sending a miniature avalanche of loose rock tumbling down behind her. It was much more silent than it really should have been, which made her both thankful and inquisitive. Twilight looked up at her, holding a finger to her lips at Melody’s pained expression. Carefully, Twilight picked up a small chunk of stone, showing off the pointed, jagged edge to them. Quiet as a whisper and barely audible, she placed the substance.

“Obsidian.” Melody’s breath caught in her throat as Twilight said what it was, making her eyes widen. The loose, flat stones were all sharp as a knife. She felt them dig into her skin as she shifted back to her feet, some of them picking up with her skin. Wincing, but not giving more than thin whimper, she pulled them free and set them back on the ground, red with her blood. The cuts were shallow and thin, closing readily enough, but each step she took would open them back up… The pain was a dull, low ache, laced with the occasional hot flash. Melody gritted her teeth and fought through the pain, moving to a more stable portion of the slope. She made sure each portion of the steep incline was safe to put her hand on before pulling herself higher. In the chill, cloudy morning, the four of them were rapidly warming up. Lily reached the top first, her fiery red curls matching the hue and tint of the ground much better than her own teal. Verse was next, followed by Melody, then Twilight.

Melody nearly slipped back down the face of the cliff when she saw what lay beneath them.

Dozens of dragons. Dare she say hundreds, even, dotted the beach beneath them. The first noise aside from the blowing of the wind was the sound of their hissing breath, their terrible roars… They lay stretched out on the shore, slumbering lazily. Others thundered through the surf, playing and running through the water. It was both terrifying and amusing to watch. The younger, smaller dragons were probably the size of their home on the same sea west of where they were now. The older dragons, though… Melody couldn’t even begin to guess how large they were. As one of them picked itself up from the sand, Melody guessed a small town could have fit in the crater it left behind.

Fire erupted here and there as they breathed on one enough, evaporating the saltwater with a hiss, leaving the other dragon a smoking, furious mess. Melody would be incinerated, gone in an instant if she were caught in one of those blasts. Skin, flesh, and bones would burn and turn to ash in an instant… The dragon that played the victim to this attack would merely roll over on it’s back, making steam erupt as it’s hot scales dipped into the water. Now and then, one of them would take wing, kicking up spray as it’s wings lifted it’s bulky form up into the sky. They would gain height, then arch backwards, tuck their wings in, and dive into the sea… The way they sliced into the water was so graceful, so terrifying…

One of the closer dragons, laying at the base of the cliff, gave her a chance to study them, closer than some people ever made it in their entire lives. This particular one boasted brilliant emerald scales, each one as large as a door. They glimmered in the dull light, catching the smallest particle and throwing it back four times illuminated. It’s massive flanks lifted and fell with each smooth, easy breath, it’s wings idly twitching now and then. It sported four massive appendages, each leg as wide around as a tree and bulging with muscles. The scales on it’s elbows and knees were pointed to an edge so fine Melody could have guessed would impale a person with ease. Each one of these legs ended in a muscular paw of sorts, more of a claw, really… The black talon curved around, and was easily as long as Melody was tall. It’s long, muscular neck supported a brilliant head, just like the ones drawn in the books she had read. Smaller scales, perhaps as big as her hand, lined the beast’s lips, eyes, and nose, sweeping back of it’s cheeks and brow into a row of black-and-brown spines, flared outwards to give it a frilled appearance. The ones at the back of it’s skull, though, extended upwards and out, curved around until they faced forward. Vicious horns. They were magnificent. They were frightening. They were dragons.

“Come on,” Lily pulled at her ankle. She realized then that she had been staring rapt at the dragons as her family had left the edge. Tearing her gaze away from the magnificent beast, she quietly slipped back over the edge, moving slow and careful back down the face of the Razor. They made their way down as silently as they could manage, stopping now and then to listen for signs of discovery. It was well after noon when they arrived back at the site they had slept last night, and when they retrieved their concealed packs, they made fast time walking fast away from the Razor. When it was deemed they were far enough away they could talk without worry of their voices carrying over the edge of the imposing edge of the Razor, they spoke again.

“So now what?” Verse asked. Twilight and Lily looked between themselves for a moment. Melody could tell they were talking over the link again…

“We do what Celestia ordered we do long ago… South isn’t safe… We can’t survive in Dragon territory without being close to the sea… So we go north, into Harpy lands.”

“The hapries?!” Melody whispered incredulously, her voice high and thin with disbelief. “She wanted us to turn ourselves in to the harpies?! Why would she DO that?!”

“She only wanted us to do so if we were being chased by changelings… Which we are. Harpies hate changelings more than they hate humans and magi. Though it seems their hatred for avians extends beyond all else… None of you shift into anything with wings while we’re there.” Twilight warned them, pointing in particular to Lily. Verse and Melody knew they could shift, but neither of them had practiced, if at all… They were more focused on learning magic than learning how to change. Lily, however, nodded.

“The hapries will keep us prisoner, more than likely, but better a prisoner than dead.” Twilight continued. She pointed to the north. “We need to cross the wastes again, north past Naga-haal, the city where the Naga used to live.” She paled a little. “That’s going to be tough… But we need the fresh water springs. I can’t summon water and food forever. We’ll stop there, rest, then strike north into Featherhome.” Twilight sighed and hoisted her pack higher on her back, turning her purple-eyed gaze north. “We’ll be there by winter.”

Melody followed her gaze, out across the barren, windy plains stretching on ahead of them. As she watched, a small gust kicked up a dust devil, the spinning cone listlessly passing over the ground before them. If this were the desert north of Appleoosa, she would expect to see a tumbleweed passing her vision… With a sigh full of sadness and exhaustion, Melody willed her feet to carry her further north… Back over the dragon lands before her feet.

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

“Hold on.” It had been another three weeks. For the past ten days, none of them had said a word, hadn’t played their instruments. All they had done was slowly make their way through the barren wasteland, swinging wide of the black dens, staying clear of any scorched battlegrounds… Once or twice, they had passed the dirty, brown bones of a dragon long dead. “No, I feel something, Lily.” Twilight continued, her eyes fixed on one black pockmark in the land. They had been tracking to the left of this particular den for two whole days now, and were just to the west of it when Twilight stopped. They looked at her, she looked at the black hole in the land.

“What is i- TWILIGHT!” Lily had begun to ask a question, just as Twilight dropped her pack and started running towards the hole. Cursing, she and Melody followed after, Verse behind them as he hoisted Twilight’s pack along with his own. Twilight moved half again as fast as Lily and Melody did, sprinting full-tilt towards the hole. The ground began to turn darker, going from a light brown to an earthy, sort of soil color, and darker still until it was as black as night underneath their feet. And slippery. The land had been turned to obsidian. Twilight slipped and fell now and then, but quick as she could picked herself up and kept running. She was huffing. They had run two miles, maybe a little less… But still… She was as fast as ever, nothing more than a purple gash in the black land before them. Melody watched with horror as Twilight disappeared into the dark hole, the home of a dragon…

“C’mon.” Lily slipped out of her pack, dropping it to the ground. She spun around to Verse, huffing along behind them. She gestured to him, then to the packs, then held her hand up. ‘Stay here, wait for us.’ She meant. Melody followed her mother’s lead, the two of them following Twilight into the den…

The land sloped down and away from them, tunneling into the earth at an angle. Twilight couldn’t be seen in the darkness in front of them, but from the dull glow of the sunlight on the shiny, black walls, Lily could tell it turned in a slow curve, burrowing down and into the earth. Obsidian was slippery, but slightly porous. While they slid down it when they put their weight into it, they could make it back up without too much of a struggle. Lily and Melody slid down into the den, blackness surrounding them as they slid further and further. Ten, twenty, thirty feet underground, turning slowly… Pressure build around Melody’s ears, amplifying the sound of her hammering heart and her panting breath. Hands and feet on the sloped ground, Lily and Melody slid around the gentle curve. They had to have been a hundred feet underneath the surface now, the pressure making her ears ache. She flexed her jaws, popping her ears. They rounded the bend, into a wide, flat chamber…

Where Twilight was hugging a dragon’s face. Her arms laid flat on the beast’s muzzle, her cheek pressed into his scales. Melody felt as if her heart as stopped. Just as she rushed forward to pull her mother away, to run out of the nightmarish den, Lily stopped her, pulling her short.

“What-“

“It’s okay.” Lily said gently. “It’s fine…” Melody opened her mouth to tell her mother off, to go rescue Twilight, adrenaline pounding through her veins… One word from Twilight, though, stopped her.

“Spike.”

She knew that name. Melody stopped, turning towards her mother. Twilight was standing normally now, but one hand laid flat on the dragon’s muzzle. “Wh… What?”

“It’s Spike.” Twilight said gently. “I knew him… Know him… He’s a friend.” Twilight’s face shined with tears, her chest shaking with a sob as she leaned forward to lay against his muzzle again. “C’mon, buddy… Wake up…” She mumbled softly, laying out against him. The dragon breathed smooth and easy, it’s eyes closed completely. It was asleep. She watched, both frightened and inquisitive as Twilight’s hands began to glow. “Wake, up Spike…” Her purple glow enveloped the dragon, wrapping around his entire body. “I need you awake, buddy… C’mon…” Idly, the dragon rolled over, making Twilight jump back. He rolled onto his back, one claw raising to scratch it’s pale-colored stomach. It’s scales were a brilliant, shining purple, the spines down it’s back and lining it’s face a beautiful jade green… On it’s stomach, and lining it’s eyes, however… They were a pale, faded sort of yellow… The contrast was beautiful. Melody noted, however, that this particular dragon did not have wings… Still, it was as big as their home, and as it rolled over, it muttered tiredly.

“Not now… ‘nother five minutes…” It couldn’t be that old, if Twilight knew it… But it’s voice rumbled through the entire cave, making her chest vibrate with the force.

“You’ve slept long enough, mister!” Twilight planted her fists on her hips, fixing the dragon with her gaze and her magic. “Time to get up!”

“Aah! Okay, okay! Sheesh… Whaddaya want? I already cleaned the bookshelves just yesterd-… Wait…” The dragon leapt to it’s feet, scrambling to get away from Twilight. The thudding of it’s massive body into the obsidian floor made the entire chamber jump and shake beneath Melody’s feet. She watched, though, as the dragon squared it’s face on Twilight, eyes blinking for a few moments.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Twilight said, a coy smile curling her lips. Spike blinked, looking at her in disbelief for a few long, long moments… Then, with a massive laugh, the dragon bounded forward, loping across the open area and nudging Twilight to the ground. Twilight laughed with him, squirming as the long, forked tongue slid out of it’s mouth to run up the entire length of Twilight’s body. Spike alternated between happily licking and nuzzling Twilight, his throaty laughter shaking the entire chamber.

“Ow, Spike!” Twilight laughed, pushing helplessly at his massive face. “It’s hot! Spike, stoppit!” She giggle and laughed, much to Melody’s disbelief. Spike backed off, his scaly face split in a wide grin as his tail thumped the floor. He was acting like a big, happy dog… Twilight stood up, wiping her shirt and pants free of the hot saliva. “Sheesh, buddy… You act like you haven’t seen me in two decades.”

“Two… Wait, has it really been twenty years?” Spike said suddenly, his expression and actions sobering considerably. He sat back on his haunches, lifting his body up. Melody thought he looked much different like that, his body rearing up. He held his hands in front of his face, flexing long, white claws and bulging muscles. He raised one hand to run over the green spines on his face, down his neck, and a ways down his back. “Woah… You look so small…” He mused. He turned his head this way and that, surveying his body. “I look so… Big… Holy crap.”

“Hey!” Twilight pointed a finger at him. “Watch your language, mister.”

“Hey to you!” Spike grunted, swinging his head back around to her. “I’m… What… Twenty-six now? Seven? Eer… Wait… how old was I when I left…?”

“You were ten.” Twilight said softly. “It’s been nineteen years since you left. You’re twenty-nine now, buddy. I guess I shouldn’t tell you to watch your language anymore.”

“I’m twenty-nine… Which makes you…”

“Fifty-one.” Twilight said gently.

“Huh.” Spike lowered himself down onto his stomach, his head gracefully swinging forward until it was close to Twilight once more. “You don’t look it…” He smiled again as Twilight leaned into him, her arms open wide as she hugged him as best she could. He closed his eyes and nudged her gently, his sigh washing a hot breath over her. She giggled and pulled away.

“So… Wait, what are you doing over here? Twilight, shouldn’t you be back west, in Ponyville or something?” Spike asked, the spines on his brow furrowing as he frowned at her.

“That’s a long story, Spike…” Twilight said gently. Melody felt a gentle pressure on her shoulder.

“I’m going to go get Verse.” Lily said gently into her ear. “Stay here, make sure everything goes okay. We’ll be back.” She nodded, still remaining silent. Spike hadn’t noticed either of them yet, he had been too busy talking with Twilight. Her other mother had sat on the ground, talking to Spike happily. Like nothing had changed.

“After you left, Lily and I… Well, we kind of fell in love.” She started, smiling wistfully.

“That’s good, Twilight. I’m glad you found someone. Even more glad it was Lily.” He swung his head around, spotting Melody. “Woah. I see you like ‘em young, eh Twi?” He chuckled, nudging Twilight with the side of his face as he looked intently at Melody. His vertical pupils slid up and down her body, blinking as he took her in. “She looks more like a changeling than ever, though… The hair, the eyes…”

“Spike,” Twilight said gently. “That’s our daughter, Melody.”

There was a long silence.

“D… Daught- WHAT?!” Spike roared, rearing up. His eyes went wide with disbelief. “You… You two… HOW?!” He leaned in, intent on Twilight’s laughing face.

“Bahahahaha! You should see your face right now!” Twilight rolled onto her back, kicking her legs. Melody laughed as well, Spike’s shocked face swinging between her and Twilight slow and smooth.

“Twilight, how did you have kids with Lily?! I mean, did she turn into a guy, and… You know…”

“Oh, she did… Believe me buddy. A couple of times.” Twilight wiped tears from her eyes as she gestured to Melody, urging her forward. “But that’s not how it happened… We’ve got a lot to catch up on…” Melody sat next to Twilight on the smooth ground, Spike settling down to listen intently.

Twilight shared everything she had told Verse and Melody a few months ago in their home before they left, though she went a little bit back. There was a story about Cheerilee and Celestia and Lily that Melody hadn’t heard previously. She knew her mother liked it rough, but… Whips? Chains? Leather? Ick. She told Spike how they had discovered the power of TRUE love, how that power had given her Melody and Verse, the two of them born of means more complex than even Celestia could understand.

Twilight told a very saddened Spike about Rarity’s death… He cried tears, the liquid hardening into diamonds as they fell to the hard floor, landing and breaking into shards that tinkled across the floor before they grew completely hard… She told him how Lily had become the new element of Generosity, how they had gone far to the south to keep Melody and Verse safe… All up until their most recent encounter with the vicious lieutenant Imoheen, how they had fled south, then back east… How the southern shore was laden with dangerous dragons, how they were now headed north into Harpy territory.

“Hmm…” Spike’s claws clacked on the ground as he tapped them, much like someone would tap their fingernail on a desk as they pondered a difficult question… “Well… I know the harpies aren’t happy with avians right now. But they should be able to at least keep you safe. Have you thought about how you would get out of that situation, though?” He asked. Twilight nodded.

“I figure if I promised to help them broker a peace with Equestria, using myself as a bargaining chip, they would let us go eventually… We could end the harpy/avian quarrel, end the bloodshed, and maybe even re-open trade with them… If they have any amount of decency, they wouldn’t kill me… Or any of us… Lily just needs to be careful to not shift around them… I hope they can’t pick her apart from us… Verse and Melody, for that fact, either…” She sighed, her expression turning downward.

“I think it’ll work, Twi.” Spike said softly, reaching out to lift her head with the back side of his claw. “You can talk anything out with anyone. You’re good with words like that.” He dropped the claw, turning to look at Melody.

“Wow… Twilight had kids with Lily… Oh! Where’s Verse, by the way? I’d like to meet him. And I haven’t seen Lily in forever, either…”

“I think they’re coming down now…” Twilight said, looking back to the entrance. Shadows danced on the wall, the form of two people sliding down the obsidian slope. Spike grinned as Lily and Verse came around the corner, but judging by their expression, neither of them brought good news…

“Uh oh…” Twilight and Melody both stood as Verse and Lily hit the flat surface, jogging to cover the distance. “What’s wrong?” Twilight asked as the two of them caught up. Verse looked hesitantly at Spike, whose own face now mirrored his own.

“They caught up with us.” Lily said, panting a little. “The changelings are behind us, now… A dozen of them, maybe more.” Spike growled, even as Melody covered her mouth with her hand. Lily’s face was set in stone. “We’re cornered.”

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

This one’s going to be a long note, with a lot to cover, so stick with me, folks…

The song Melody and Verse sang earlier on was a nod to “Goodnight Moon” by Monsters Calling Home. I changed some of the words around to make it work with the story (They used words like “God” and “Jesus” so it wouldn’t be fitting…) If you want to know how it sounds, please look them up. Don’t do it on youtube, though… I’ve searched and searched and searched, and all I can find is a crappy puppy theatre video. I recommend Spotify, which is what I used to listen to this song.

Oddly enough, the two singers in that song sound almost EXACTLY what I imagine Verse and Melody to sound like. It’s eerie. Like, they have it nailed. So there’s another reason you should go check it out. The lyrics are almost word-for-word, aside from what I’ve changed. All credit to them, I don’t own the song at all. Please don’t sue me for this >.>

A lot happened in this chapter, and a very large period of time was covered. So let’s recap.

-Imoheen, a vicious changeling lieutenant, tried to kill Lily but was foiled.

-Discovering they weren’t safe in Appleoosa, they tried to flee back south to their home

-Jokkan and Miko won’t let them go home while the changelings follow them

-Following Celestia’s original plan, they flee East, into Dragon territory

-Planning to stay on the southern sea so they can fish for food and whatnot, they head further south, but discover the dragons are lining the entire southern sea. While I didn’t explain it, the reason for this is it’s nesting season. They find their mates by the sea, then fly north to their homes and lay eggs. The whole process lasts two years.

-Headed back north, Twilight discovers Spike, and rouses him from his sleep. While they sleep for a century, dragons are very irritable and easy to wake. If you remember the episode where Fluttershy goes nuts on the dragon, they wake him up very easily.

-the changelings following them manage to catch up, and that’s where this chapter ends.

I hope this covers anything i may or may not have forget.

A few more things:

I plan on writing Melody’s Tale much more frequently. My goal is to catch the word count up to at least where The Untold Chapters is, plus enough for the next 3 chapter update. So, The Untold Chapters will be taking a short break while Melody’s Tale catches up in word count. Expect another chapter before the weekend, plus a livestream if I can manage it on Saturday (WoW might trip me up)

Equestria After Dark posted something new. I’ll be posting a blog entry with a link to the description, and my plans for it. For those of you who keep up on EQAD, please don’t spoil what I’ve got planned in the comments. Wait for the blog entry.