Potion Mare

When Melody woke up, Steel was standing over her, narrowing her eyes and poking her side repeatedly. Melody gave a groan of annoyance, rolling over and stumbling to her hooves, which felt like utter jelly.

"HEY! YOU!" Steel whisper screamed, tugging Melody back by her mane and dragging her toward an alley, the mare kicking and grunting as she did so, but making as little sound as possible. She had never made it this far before, and she was damn sure not to ruin anything that would help her. Steel sat her down against the alley wall, looking both ways before stepping over her. "EXCUSE ME, BUT, HOW DID YOU FUCKING GET HERE!?" She shouted, giving the dazed, cream colored mare a slap across the face that turned it a soft red. "HOW!? You had better fucking have a GREAT explanation, and have it now."

"Ugh.. ouch! Steel, get the fuck off me you crazy hoot, your ship leaves in 45 minutes. Ok, I can explain, but you're not going to believe me. I'm from the future." She sighed, giving Steel a couple of seconds to raise both of her eyebrows, Melody leaning on the wall. "Yeah. Now that we've got that out of the way... I came back with you in my original timeline. We're now in a sixth timeline, other Melodys rushing around and trying to accomplish the same mission I am, to get back to you, and to get back to your pirate ship. You already know why, we're in the same BOAT here, sorry for the pun. I just want to save your crew. We both know that once you set sail, in two weeks, you'll be raided by another ship, and they'll kill everyone on board. Neither of us wants that to happen. Here, I imagine you'll want these back, right?~" She smirks, reaching into her robe and tossing out a pair of golden scissors, the dial in the middle in the shape of a clock. "I can't use them myself, but I know you can, and that's why we're both here. Now, let's go out there, buy some supplies, and set sail for The College of Foreign Magicks. I need supplies if you want to save your crew." She said, finishing off her rant, and taking a couple of deep breaths.

"That's... alright. Ok. There's no way you could have known any of this if I hadn't brought you with me when I ditched this place. So how did YOU get here? Wouldn't you be, like, a couple thousand years old? It's fucking 1735. You know I can't take us to the future, I smell bullshit." She said, narrowing her eyes, and pressing a hoof to the mare's chest, shoving her up against the wall.

"Hey Steelie, hey, take it easy. I don't know where they come from, but essentially, there are these holes in space-time. There are very few, and I have spent a VERY long time attempting to find them. As for the question of age, I made a deal a very long time ago with a gypsy mare. She slowed down my aging process, and in return, I gave her something very dear to me. That's as far as I'm willing to go on that subject, and that is also as much as you need to know. We've wasted 10 minutes now, let's go. I'm pretty sure I'm the first of me to get this far, and I am NOT getting assassinated by myself. I've avoided it this far, and I'd like to keep doing so." She frowned, shoving Steel off of her and trotting toward the exit of the alley. "Oh, and Steel..." She raised her eyebrows, turning to her left and ripping something off of the wall. "Don't forget you're a wanted criminal." She spouted, pressing a wanted poster featuring a very talented drawing of Steel into her face, her crimes listed as pillaging, murder, rape, and blackmail, with an award of five thousand bits.

"That's.. quite an interesting story. But, I suppose time travel is my thing... and if you dare report me, I'm feeding you to the first sirens we sail across." Steel frowned, shoving the paper out of her face with a hoof, but honestly... glad to have Melody back by her side after all these years. She trotted to catch up with Melody, ponies trotting around busily in the open market, the two getting lost in the crowd.

The town center was very circular, with a large fountain in the middle. On the far end of the square was a huge pirate ship, anchored near a large dock that extended from the water's edge. Along the walls of the town were small businesses, all kept around by the port activity, most likely. There were quite a few bars, a general store, an inn, a potion supply area, and a small bakery, each marked by tiny signs made of driftwood. All the stores were split into two sides by a street that led into the rest of the town, most likely residences. From what Melody could see over the buildings at the far end, there were a couple of steeples in the distance, as well as a school bell erected between them. She avoided all of the storefronts other than the potion supply, trotting up and pushing her way in.

The room was lit by a couple of blue lanterns hanging on the walls, opposite each other in the middle of the room. The entire place smelled of herbs and spices, several incenses being burned at the front counter, run by a young plucky mare, seemingly a golden filly in an orange witch's hat that was way too big for her head. Melody trotted up to the counter, leaning over and staring at the filly who was sitting on a small stool.

"Heya! Welcome to Golden Mane's potion supplies!! What can I get ya? A focus? A book? One of my world famous Golden Mane Elixers?" She said, hopping up and setting two hooves on the counter, grinning expectantly. Melody gave a grin and put 30 bits on the counter, the little filly's eyes widening. "I'll take three bottles of your best magic enhancing elixir. Keep the change." She sighed happily, leaning down and booping Golden, who gave a gasp before hurrying under the desk and returning with 3 small, round potion bottles. "THANK YOU, MISSUS!!" She shouted, Melody nodding and hurrying out the door before any other pony could attempt to mug her after seeing the amount of bits she was carrying.

Melody hurried up the dock, trotting up on to the deck of the large ship EXACTLY as it lifted anchor, a bread roll still hanging out of her mouth from her lunch at the bakery. Steel scowled at her, tugging her by the robe sleeve to the front of the ship, right up next to the captain's wheel.

"HEY! FUCK FACES, ATTENTION!!!" Steel shouted angrily, every pony on deck stopping what they were doing as soon as the ramp was pulled up. The mix of leather and cloth clad stallions and mares stood in a crowd under the captain's wheel, ears flicked up, all eyes on Melody. "This is Melody, our new local mage. She'll be handling magic, making elixirs, cooking up grub, and is our go-to for magical defense. Treat her with care. If I see any of you touching her flank, I will give her permission to geld you." She teased, grinning at Melody as the crowd's ears flicked down, all except for one, a gray mare with a soft pink mane who simply shuffled her hooves, licking her lips. Melody's eyes locked on to her, and she felt herself begin to take shallow breaths. Once Steel let her go, Melody, trotted over to the edge of the railing, gazing out at the ocean, the sun high in the sky as they began to sail away from the small port town.

Melody sighed, blushing as Lily brought her lips to the pale mare's cheeks, making them flush a deep red as they laid next to each other in the small bed. Several candles were lit around the room, dimly lighting the scene. Melody wrapped her hooves around Lily, pulling her closer in the covers, embracing her closer as they shared each other's warmth. Lily brought a hoof up, pushing Melody's chin up and bringing it to her's, tilting her head to the left and pulling Melody into a deep kiss, her tongue probing around and poking its way into Melody's mouth. After a bit of wrestling with their tongues, they broke the kiss at the same time, Melody panting and blushing.

"Ok, wow, you're the most amazing mare I've ever met. Let's just be together forever, ok?" Melody said, blushing and grinning widely, her hooves caressing Lily's body.

"Agreed, sweetie pie.~" Lily replied, pulling Melody into a tight hug and squeezing her rump with a hoof, drawing out a soft squeak from her. "Now let's get some rest, we have a big meal to prepare tomorrow. If you remember to turn off the burner, I might give you a little somethin' somethin' once we curl up at the end of the day." She said, punctuating it by squeezing Melody's other flank.

"Eeep!~ A-alright Lily, yeah, sure.. goodnight.." She sighed, resting her face in Lily's chest floof and dozing off into a peaceful, warm, and happy sleep.

Melody was knocked out of her flashback by a hoof tapping on her shoulder, bringing her back into the world of the conscious, and urging her to spin around.