Potion Mare

Melody stepped out into the marketplace, this time alone. She had left Lily at home to work on her robe, with the assumption she would only need the bits at her side. She was wearing the chest plate she had received from One yesterday, along with pockets sewn to its straps. In one strap was a bag of bits, and in the other was a dagger. She glanced up at the morning sky, covering her eyes slightly with her foreleg. The sun had just risen, casting its piercing stabs of orange light along the light snow that covered the island, dispelling the shadows around Melody and stretching out her own.

"How pretty." She smiled, trotting into the center of town and glancing around at the several local stores. She had already been to the potion supply store, so she checked that off of her mental list. She brought her eyes to the bakery. She had yet to actually order anything herself, but Lily had gotten her a little something yesterday. Next, she brought her attention to the blacksmith. She doubted he was done working on her sword already. Lastly, she brought her gaze to the clothing store. She thought long and hard on whether or not she needed anything. Lily was already fixing up her robe, but it couldn't hurt to look inside. She sat there in a confused silence while thinking about her options.

"Eh, I'm pretty hungry." She giggled, trotting up to the bakery door and stepping in, a little bell attached to the door jingling. Melody raised her eyebrows as a bouncy white mare stood up near the counter. "Hello!! Welcome to the bakery! I'm Shirley! Can I take your order!? Can we be friends? The special today is a tomato soup and a biscuit for the low price of 4 bits! We also have fresh te-" The mare said before Melody cut her off.

"Whoa there, slow down. Yeah yeah, I'll get the special please." Melody said, reaching into the bit bag at her side and depositing four of the tiny coins on the counter, Shirley reaching forward and swiping them.

"I'll have that out to you in a jiffy!!!" Shirley said while rapidly nodding, bouncing off through the kitchen door behind her. Melody shook her head slightly, settling down into a booth and staring out of the window. In a matter of minutes, Shirley reappeared with the food Melody had ordered.

"Here it is Miss! ENJOY!!" Shirley said, plopping the bowl of red liquid and the biscuit down on the table and bouncing away. Melody brought her eyes back to the window and studied the snow-covered grass. The rising sun cast it's glow through the window, and it gave Melody a small sense of hope. She dipped the biscuit into the soup and then gave it a firm bite. She let the warm soupy mixture fill into her mouth, and raised an eyebrow. She had forgotten how chunky tomato soup was in this period. She shrugged her shoulders and buried her face into the bowl. She hadn't realized how truly hungry she was.

When she had finished her bowl of soup, she decided it was time to go pick up her sword. Enough time had passed, right? She shrugged and trotted out of the door, leaving her bowl on the table. She trotted along the storefronts over to the blacksmith's and stepped inside. She gasped silently as she saw it resting on the counter, recently finished. Her sword. She stepped forward silently, hefting it in one hoof. It was heavy but just heavy enough. Melody held it up, the lanterns in the shop casting a glow on it that could only be described as magical.

"Enjoy your purchase, ma'am. It really is a beauty." The zebra stallion said from behind the counter. Melody would need to request Lily sew a holder for this in her new robe. She trotted outside into the snow, only to be met face to face with a mare wearing a red robe. She instinctively raised her sword, before a kind voice eased her nerves.

"Hi, Melody! Here it is, nice and fixed up! Is that the new sword? It's so... impressive." Lily smiled, having put on Melody's robe. It was split down the front, in two equal halves. They met back up around the back and folded around. "Also, do you mind if I keep this? I thought it was really pretty, and I don't know if it has any magical powers or anything." Lily spoke, lifting a familiar, glowing red amulet from under the front of the garment. Tears slipped from Melody's eyes as she lunged forward, attempting to remove the amulet. It wouldn't budge.

"NO! NO, NO, NO!!!" Melody cried, screaming into the shrill morning air, steam puffing out of her nostrils as she sobbed. She felt Lily's hoof wrap around her neck and shove her off.

"What's wrong? Miss me?" Lily's voice spoke, distorted into a lower pitch. Melody tossed the sword aside. She would need to deal with this non-lethally. Lily gave an inhuman grin. She drove her heel into Melody's chest, the armor blocking it. Melody rolled over and screamed.

"STEELE!!!!! STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELE!!" She shouted into the air, a white figure sprinting off of the ship in the distance. She felt another swift kick into her side. Melody thought she felt something crack. "Lily, PLEASE! FIGHT IT!" She screeched, towns ponies gathering around to watch the display. Lily floated into the air, body hanging limp, but head straight up.

"Help me! It will maaaaake me huRT yooOU." Lily struggled out, her voice shifting pitches mid-sentences. Melody felt herself lifted into the air, struggling to break the magical grip, Lily's eye's glowing red as tears dripped from them. Melody was flung from the air into the front window of the bakery. She clattered against the ground, rolling through a pile of glass and yelping as some pieces stuck into her hooves. She ignored them, charging out of the front door and turning a hard right as Lucy swung a fallen tree into the store she had just been in. Steele appeared from behind the tree, crawling under.

"MELODY!? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?" Steele Gear said. Melody shook her head.

"NO TIME TO EXPLAIN, GET HER AND GRAB THE PARALYSIS POTION IN MY ROBE!" Melody screamed as she rolled backward, the Lucy-controlled Lily slamming into where she had just been. Steele jumped onto her back angrily but was flung like a rag doll. Melody tackled Lucy, catching her off guard. she grabbed the potion bottle and nodded to Steele. Steele jumped onto Lucy again, and Melody poured the potion down her throat.

Suddenly, Lucy stopped. Lily's body froze. The pedestrians gathered around. Melody noticed the mare from the potion shop she had visited yesterday, who rolled her eyes.

"Textbook possession, everyone. Get on with your lives." She said, walking back off into the crowd. Steele lifted Lily over her shoulder and nodded at Melody. They returned to the ship in silence.

When they arrived, they tied Lily to a chair in Melody and her's shared room. Steele and Melody went back upstairs to contemplate on what to do.

"I need to get to a zebra mare somewhere far away. She can help us... she can help me... she can help me help her." Melody finally spat out. Steele nodded in response and was silent for awhile. She picked up a bottle of aged wine from under her desk.

"I know the gal. Alice, right? I can get you there in a couple of days." Steele said solemnly, both mares thoughts obviously weighing heavily on them. Melody began to cry.

Steele handed her the bottle.

Melody tilted it back against her muzzle and drank.