- The next morning -
Fluttershy sat up and stretched out upon waking up the next morning. She felt surprisingly refreshed, which was odd, considering what she had been doing the prior night. She looked over and noticed Penny and Penelope weren't there. They must have already woken up and left. She hoped they were doing well; The Cogs had left both of them with rather nasty injuries the prior night.
"I'm lucky I wasn't injured myself last night." Fluttershy thought to herself, rubbing her eyes and sliding off of the bed. She felt full of energy; though her right arm was still a little sore after all the pie throwing. She wondered how Dusty must feel after entire days of slinging pies at robots like that. Perhaps it was something you grew immune to in time.
She looked up at the clock over the doorway. Only eight in the morning. A little early for her, but she didn't mind. She still felt refreshed.
She heard a knock on the doorway and saw Snappy entering the room. He smiled warmly at her.
"Good morning. Did you have a good rest?" He asked her, strolling past her and putting some medicine away in one of the cabinets. No doubt he had just been using it to heal either his, or one of the other's injuries.
"Yes, I did. Thanks for providing me a place to sleep for the night." She said kindly, before stretching back and yawning again, then rubbing her eyes.
Snappy cracked a smile at her, happy with how well she was doing after the enormous battle from the prior night.
"No problem. I'm just glad you're alright. That was a pretty heated fight last night. Between a horde of Cogs and yet another angry mob..." Snappy rattled on, before exhaling lightly to stop himself. He was not looking forward to going into Toontown today, where there would likely be even more angry mobs waiting for him.
Fluttershy was wondering about something after hearing that.
"Um, do big battles like that happen often?" She asked curiously, watching as Snappy fixed the other two beds and looked over at her with an eyebrow raised.
"Not really. Every once in a while, yes, but it's been a good year or so since I saw a battle like that one." Snappy answered, stepping past Fluttershy and into the other room, and out of the building.
Fluttershy, after collecting her things off the bedside table, as well as her pink bag, followed after him.
Dusty was outside, overlooking the scene of the battle in the field outside the Bumblejinks estate. The obliterated remains of almost three thousand cogs littered the ground, although the hole in the ground and the missing section of fence from Mildew's TNT blast had been repaired, no doubt thanks to Dusty. A bunch of Toons had come out to survey the scene, while the police supervised them, no doubt ready to spring into action in case any of them showed any sign of going after Snappy. One of the Toons was wearing the same purple battle outfit as Dusty.
"So Dusty, what's the word?" Snappy asked his older brother as he came to a stop right next to him, Fluttershy right behind him.
Fluttershy looked out over the remains of the Cog hoard and felt her eyes widen. It hadn't felt like she and everyone else had destroyed that many Cogs. But then again, she hadn't been paying attention to how many Cogs Dusty was destroying.
Dusty pulled out his Shticker book and looked at a specific page inside of it.
"Well, Rosie, Penny and Penelope were pretty beat up after last night, but they've all made a full recovery. The Toon Resistance came out to see how bad the damage was, but they've made no comment yet on the situation." Dusty reported, before turning to Snappy and smiling at him. "The good news is, nobody was hurt in the attack on Toontown Central, so it looks like only our three friends were injured last night. Good for us."
Snappy looked slightly hopeful at the news.
"And what about that angry mob?" Snappy asked, taking note of how happy Dusty seemed to be.
"Good news there, too. The Toontown Police managed to convince them not to come back for the rest of the night. Though I'm sure none of them wanted anything to do with us after last night's fight." The older dog said to his brother, closing his Shticker book and looking back at the small building. "We're pretty lucky, Snappy. Things could have easily turned nasty last night."
"Don't remind me." Snappy replied, counting in his mind the number of ways their situation could have gone from bad to complete crud storm the prior night.
Dusty then turned to Fluttershy and Snappy and smiled at them.
"Part of the reason why we came out relatively unscathed is because of your guys expert teamwork. You guys put up one heck of a fight, you know." Dusty said, giving both Snappy and Fluttershy a thumbs up, which made Snappy chuckle and Fluttershy blush.
"Aww, it was no problem, bro."
"Um, t-thank you."
Dusty just chuckled at them, before pulling out a pocket watch, snapping it open and gazing closely at it with a calculating look on his face.
"Well, Snappy, there's business to be done today. All of it big and none of it easy." He told his brother, before snapping the pocket watch closed, and then turning to address Fluttershy. "And number one on the priority list is safeguarding you to Melody's. She told you to come see her at daybreak, right?"
Fluttershy nodded at him, wiping a small leaf off her skirt.
"Um, yes, she did ask me to come see her this morning." She replied, eager to go and see Melody. The sooner she could get home, the better.
Dusty clapped his hands together.
"Well then, we better get started, then. There's much to do today and I want to get an early start." Dusty said, turning around and strolling away toward the gate, twirling his police baton the entire way.
Snappy then ran a hand over his stomach, which had just let out a grumbling sound.
"Are we going to have breakfast first?" Snappy asked his older brother, who simply did the hand-wave motion.
"We'll eat at Melody's." The older dog said, which made Snappy frown in disappointment. Fluttershy just giggled lightly.
"Well, I guess we better get going." Snappy said, as he started toward his older brother, Fluttershy right behind him. Along the way, they noticed Daffy nearby hitting a mound of dirt with his shovel, laughing like a maniac the entire time. Fluttershy just raised an eyebrow at him, as if she didn't understand him. She didn't think that was how one used a shovel.
"Um, where exactly is Melody?" Fluttershy asked Snappy, noticing there wasn't another house in the nearby area where Melody lived. There were only houses for Dusty, Snappy, Daffy and Rosie, who was currently watering the gag trees.
"She lives separated from Toontown, mainly because of her nature and her powers. She rarely ever goes into town, and even then she usually wears a more casual outfit." Snappy answered, walking past Dusty, who was currently looking out at the horizon as if looking for Cogs, and opening the gate. "Toons don't have powers like hers, as I'm sure you've noticed, so she has to live separated from Toontown. She doesn't want people bugging her to use her powers to help them with their problems."
Fluttershy thought about that, walking through the gate as Snappy held it open for her and Dusty, before he closed it behind them.
"I wonder why she helped me, then. I'm nothing but a stranger to her." Fluttershy wondered out loud, a puzzled look on her face. If she was as reserved as Snappy said she was, why had she decided to help Fluttershy, who was a complete and utter stranger to her?
Snappy pondered that for a moment, before giving Fluttershy a thoughtful look.
"She may not go into Toontown very often, but when she does, she makes it a priority to help innocent Toons who are suffering from some kind of serious problem. And to be honest, it doesn't get much worse then what you're going through." Snappy told her, which left her pondering and puzzling once again.
"She's one of the sweetest Toons you'll ever meet. Everyone who knows her knows that." Dusty said to Snappy and Fluttershy, getting their attention, before turning around and motioning for them to follow him. "We better get going. Follow me."
Snappy and Fluttershy followed along behind him, heading north and away from Toontown, keeping wary eyes peeled for any sign of trouble.
"Where exactly are we going?" Fluttershy asked, keeping an eye on their surroundings. She noticed they were heading north and toward The Brrrgh. There was no mistaking that snow globe-like atmosphere that didn't exist anywhere else in the town. She then realized that the Bumblejinks estate must have been located near Donald's Dock, and furthermore, the forest where she had first encountered the cogs.
"Melody's place." Dusty replied, looking at a small map that lead to a specific place on the snowy hills bordering The Brrrgh and Donald's Dreamland and peering around for any sign of trouble.
- Bossbot Headquarters -
Mystery was throwing a major temper tantrum after hearing about his assault on both Toontown Central AND the Bumblejinks estate falling to pieces. The other cogs in the room all watched their boss with baited breath; was he going to order their deaths for failing such a simple task?
"Tell me again, Mildew, just so I can confirm that I'm hearing this correctly. How did the assault go?" Mystery asked his right-hand bear once again, glaring at her with pure venom in his gaze.
"It blew up in my face. Literally." Mildew grumbled in reply, half of her face and her right arm now covered in bandages, her destroyed TNT cannon lying on the desk in front of her.
Mystery let out a primal roar, slamming his fist into the desk.
"How in the name of Mike did the Toon Resistance know about our attack on Toontown Central!?" Mystery shouted, furious over his latest failure.
Mildew simply shrugged.
"No idea, sir. Perhaps Toon HQ has upgraded their equipment and they're better able to track our cogs movements? That's the only explanation I can come up with." Mildew replied, still sour over the destruction of her TNT cannon. Not to mention the injuries she had sustained.
The brown cat remained on his chair for a short while, breathing heavily as if trying to control himself, before standing up and walking away toward his chambers.
"I need to lie down for a while. Come see me later." He said as he closed the door behind him, still enraged over his cogs latest failure. He needed some time to plan out his next move, and a power nap seemed like the perfect way to do that.
Mildew just sighed, crossed her arms and shook her head.
"Truly, these are not glorious times for us." She muttered to herself, before picking up the remains of her TNT cannon and carrying it off to Mysteries lab. She figured she may as well get started on repairing it while Mystery slept. "I think I'm going to make it bigger this time..."
- Twenty minutes later -
The past twenty minutes flew past before Fluttershy had realized it. She, Dusty and Snappy were now standing right next to the snowy hills that bordered The Brrrgh. They were a lot bigger up close as opposed to how they looked from across town, towering over her completely. Trees covered in snow, among other kinds of plant life, were scattered all over the area.
She then noticed a couple of things that made her raise an eyebrow. She had just started walking through the snow without any protection from the cold, but she didn't feel cold in the slightest. Not only that, but despite a minor chill in the air, she didn't feel very cold at all despite the snowy surroundings, and despite the fact she was walking right into what looked like a snow storm.
Dusty must have noticed as well, because he had just stopped where he was and put a finger on his chin, gazing down at his map for a moment, bringing Fluttershy and Snappy to a halt right behind him.
"Hmm, the air isn't as cold as it usually is." Dusty commented, before rolling up the map and putting it away in one of his pockets. "Melody must already be expecting us."
Fluttershy gave him a confused look, as he quickly looked around to make sure nobody else was watching, then walked over to a wall of ice blocking the entrance to a nearby cave.
"Here we are." Dusty said with a smile, before pulling out his police baton and tapping the ice on a specific spot. This was clearly a "Sweet Spot" of some sort, because the ice magically vanished in a puff of blue smoke.
"Just like that mirror in the forest." Fluttershy thought to herself. There was no mistake about it. This had to be where Melody lived. After all, it's where Dusty's map had led them.
Dusty ushered them into the cave, and once they were inside, he turned around and clapped his hands once. In another puff of blue smoke, the wall of ice reappeared.
"Just to make sure nobody can follow us in." Dusty said, nodding his head once at the wall of ice, before the three turned and continued down the dimly lit cave. Torches sat in place along the corridor, burning light blue flames. For some reason, Fluttershy had the idea that they were cold instead of hot. It made her give them a funny look as she passed them.
A moment or so later, they reached the end of the corridor and entered into a large room.
"Melody? We're here!" Snappy called out, looking around the room for any sign of their blue feline friend.
Fluttershy gasped at seeing the large room. More blue torches lined the walls, and at the top was something that resembled a large glass dome. She then realized it must have been some kind of magic that made the ceiling look like the sky outside. Tiny snowflakes were falling from the ceiling, and disappearing into thin air about a foot or so over Dusty's head, who was the tallest of the three.
This room was much more well-lit then the corridor that had just walked through, and Fluttershy could clearly make out the light blue walls with white snowflake designs all across it, and the silver tiled floor. The snowflakes appeared to be glowing in the light cast by the torches. In the middle of the room, there sat what appeared to be a large pool of water with yet another snowflake floating in the middle of it. Seven small pedestals surrounded the pool, each of which had a shape carved into the sides and the top of them. She could clearly make out a snowflake on one of the pedestals, and what appeared to be a star on another.
And there, walking out of one of the other three doorways that branched off of this room, came Melody, still wearing her white dress and carrying her long staff. She looked as sweet and sage-like as ever.
Dusty removed his hat and gave Melody a bow as she walked over to them.
"Hello there, Melody. How are you doing today?" He asked her in a kind and friendly tone, putting his hat back on and chuckling lightly. Melody chuckled as well as she came to a stop in front of them.
"Dusty, you don't have to be so gentleman-like with me. But I'm doing fine, thanks." She replied, smiling happily, before giving him a worried expression. "I heard your estate was attacked last night. Did anything happen?"
Dusty shook his head reassuringly.
"Only Penny, Penelope and Rosie. And they've since made a full recovery. We were lucky. It could have turned ugly just like that." Dusty said, snapping his fingers to prove his point. He then frowned and pointed at Fluttershy. "Mildew was there. She said they were after her. They retreated after she blew up her TNT cannon."
Melody gave Fluttershy a calculating look, before sighing sadly.
"I guess it was only a matter of time before Mystery came after you, little Fluttershy. I was hoping he wouldn't rear his ugly head until after we'd recovered the seven Power Medals." She said with a sad expression on her face.
Fluttershy gave Melody a curious look. Something about those words "Power Medals" made something tick in her mind.
"Power Medals? What are those?" She asked, stepping closer to Melody. The blue cat looked down at Fluttershy and gave her a warm smile, before stepping over to the pool with the snowflake inside of it.
"Come over here." She said, motioning for Fluttershy to come over.
Fluttershy hesitated at first, but then she slowly walked over and stood next to Melody, who put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's only a matter of time before all seven of them are assembled here, so I think it's about time I explained a few things." The blue feline told her, before setting her staff down and snapping her fingers, causing an image to appear in the pool in place of the snowflake. Fluttershy looked into the pool and felt her eyes widen.
The image showed seven shining, glowing medals, each one a different color and fixed to a golden string, spinning slowly in a circle. They looked about the size of her hand. They were mostly transparent, except for a shape in the middle. Fluttershy immediately drew parallel to the Elements of Harmony; that's what this image reminded her of the most.
"The Seven Power Medals. They made up everything that ever existed in my home world. At least, until the day I was forced to leave and come here in order to protect them." Melody told Fluttershy, taking note of how Fluttershy's gaze never left the image in the pool. "They're immensely powerful. Just one can power an entire world the size of the one you came from for hundreds of thousands of years, and grant unlimited power to anyone who can learn to tap into their energy. So you can only imagine what can happen if you found all seven of them."
They sounded more powerful than even a hundred sets of the Elements of Harmony. Somehow it unnerved Fluttershy, knowing such vast, immense power had existed for so long without any of her friends ever knowing about it. What would they say if they found out about all of this? She didn't even want to think about what Twilight Sparkle would do to figure out their true nature. If it was even possible to learn such a thing.
"Courage, Strength, Compassion, Honor, Wisdom, Trust and Patience. Each one represents a different virtue, reflecting the hearts of the people who created them. And I, of course, had a hand in their creation."
Fluttershy turned sharply to look at Melody, as she reached into her dress and pulled out a shining medal. It matched the appearance of one of the medals that was still spinning around in the image inside the water. Aqua blue and transparent, apart from the light blue snowflake design in the middle. It was attached to a golden string.
"I was the one who created the Power Medal of Wisdom. It's been in my care ever since." Melody told her, before putting the medal away in her dress pocket. This got Fluttershy thinking. If she was the one who created the Power Medal of Wisdom, that must mean she must be extremely wise, perhaps even more so then Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia combined. But what about the other Medals?
"Um, I'm just curious... what happened to the, uh..." She cut herself off, unable to find the words she was looking for. But Melody understood fully what she was about to ask, and gave a tragic sigh.
Melody snapped her fingers again, and the image in the pool showed a large green and blue planet in space. It looked nice, peaceful and beautiful, until out of nowhere, the entire planet suddenly exploded, causing Fluttershy to gasp sharply and take a step back.
"The other Power Medal creators were, uh... less fortunate then I was. Somebody stole the seven Medals and abused their power, eventually leading to my home world's destruction. I just barely managed to escape with the Medals, but there was nothing left of my old home." Melody explained with a heavy sigh. She never liked bringing up how she came to live in Toontown, mainly due to the dark nature of her backstory. This caused Fluttershy to give her one of her most upsetting expressions.
"Oh my goodness... that's just absolutely..." Words failed Fluttershy once again, as she was unable to find the words to finish her sentence. She had heard of many terrible things in the past, but never anything on THAT scale and scope. She was right in her suspicion that Melody wasn't from this world. But the only reason she was here was because her home world had been obliterated, all because someone had misused the Power Medals.
Before Fluttershy could stop herself, another question was already about to come sliding out of her mouth like Pinkie Pie when she was ice skating. But it was as if Melody could read her mind. And who knows; maybe she was.
"The Power Medals are safe now. Or, at least, as safe as they can get with that crazy Mystery running around. But last time I checked, they were hidden away where he'll never find them without mine." Melody said, giving Fluttershy a reassuring smile. "And besides, ever since I came here, nobody can use them properly anymore, except me and Dusty over there."
Fluttershy cast a quick look at Dusty, who was still standing by the doorway with Snappy, watching this entire conversation with a content look in his eyes. Snappy had his back to them, looking at a page in the Toontown Survival Guide and muttering nonstop under his breath.
Melody then sighed and got Fluttershy's attention again, who turned around to look at Melody again.
"But alas, it seems it's come time to bring those seven Medals out of hiding. I was hoping we wouldn't have to do so for a little while longer, after the last time we had to use them. But it seems in this case, we have no choice." The blue cat said, before snapping her fingers again.
What the image showed next made Fluttershy gasp once again. This time out of joy.
"That's your home, isn't it?" Melody asked the younger cat, smiling at the hopeful look on Fluttershy's face.
There was no mistaking what the image was now showing. It was Ponyville!
"Oh, yes! That IS my home!" Fluttershy exclaimed, a hopeful tone in her voice. But her hope quickly dwindled as the image in the pool suddenly disappeared, once again replaced by the snowflake.
"I do believe it IS possible to send you home, Fluttershy. Back to your friends, and the world you know. But I'm afraid it's simply not possible at this time." Melody said, turning around and walking over to the pedestal with the snowflake design on it.
Fluttershy gave Melody a tragic look.
"It isn't?" She asked.
Melody once again took out her Power Medal and placed it on the pedestal. The snowflake designs on it shimmered to life and began to glow brightly as soon as the Medal touched the top of the pedestal.
"Like I said, I've never attempted to send others to other worlds before. I've traveled to other worlds myself a few times, yes, but I always had all seven Power Medals here, keeping the gateway open for me so I could return. And even then, that was years ago." Melody explained, earning yet another confused look from Fluttershy, before explaining further: "I don't want to try and send you home with only one Power Medal. There's too great a risk that something might go wrong. And besides, the portal has been dormant for a very long time. It will take large amounts of energy to bring it back to life."
Fluttershy gave her another hopeful look at what she said next.
"But I feel confident that once we do have all seven Medals in hand, we will be able to use the portal to get you home." Melody said happily, giving Fluttershy yet another warm smile.
"Where are the other Medals?" Fluttershy asked, only to get another disappointing sigh from Melody.
"Well, to best explain it, the Power Medals are like magnets. They have the power to attract one another in times of great danger. But in times of peace, they also have the power to separate from one another, often to the point where they fly away and vanish somewhere. Nobody knows where those seven Medals are now, except this one." Melody told Fluttershy, pointing to the Power Medal of Wisdom.
Fluttershy felt her spirits fall once again.
"They-They're gone?" She asked, now feeling thunderstruck. At least until Dusty spoke up.
"They're not gone for good." Dusty told Fluttershy as he walked over to her. She looked up at him with a confused look on her face.
"Uh, what do you mean?" She asked, as Dusty walked past her and stepped up to the pedestal where one of the other Power Medals went.
"Like Melody said, the Power Medals are like magnets, with the power to attract each other. Snappy over there developed a special device we can use to track them down about a year ago. Me and him have used it loads of time to find the seven Medals, no matter where in the Tooniverse they are." Dusty explained, sawing the air with a hand to emphasize his point.
Snappy, upon hearing his name, reached into one of his pockets and pulled out said device. It was only about twice as big as a Power Medal, but it looked very advanced. Snappy held up the device and smiled happily. It had the words "Medal-Detector-5000" on it.
"With that device, I feel it's only a matter of time before all the Power Medals are found. With any luck, we'll have you home before too long." Melody told Fluttershy, restoring the younger cats hope once again.
Fluttershy looked down and allowed a single tear to fall from her eye.
"I really have to get home. I have to let my friends know I'm alright. I don't know what they'll do if I never come back. I miss them all so much..." Fluttershy said, letting another tear drop from her eye. She was so worried about all her friends. What were they doing? What were they thinking? Were they trying to find her? Could they?
Melody walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"I know, I understand what you're feeling. I've felt its terrible, ugly cousin. But at least you have a home to return to. And we're going to help you get there." Melody told her, giving her yet another warm smile.
Fluttershy sniffed once, and wiped another tear from her eye, giving Melody a happy smile.
"Thank you... all of you..." And for the third time that day, words failed Fluttershy. She was so happy to have found such help and such support in this dire situation.
Maybe there was hope for her. Maybe there was a chance she could get home to her friends. And maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't end up being sent home a lifeless corpse.
Melody gave her another happy smile, before looking over at Dusty.
"When are you going to begin searching for the Power Medals? The last I remember, there was one on the shoreline just south of Donald's Dock." She asked him, as he and Snappy looked down at the Medal tracking device. He looked up at Melody when she addressed him.
"Today, I hope so. However, I have to go and talk to the Toon Resistance, so I'm counting on Snappy and Fluttershy to find the first one without me." Dusty told her, earning surprised looks from Snappy and Fluttershy.
"Wait... us? Alone?" Snappy asked, not sure if he had heard that correctly. Was Dusty really about to send him and Fluttershy out to track down a Power Medal without him? "What if the cogs show up again?"
Dusty chuckled, before putting a hand on Snappy's shoulder.
"The cogs are still recovering from last night's battle. You probably won't be seeing many of them out there. Many high level ones, at least. You and Fluttershy should be fine." Dusty told his younger brother, before giving him a smile and a thumbs up. "Can I count on you to get to that Power Medal before Mystery does?"
Snappy looked worriedly to Fluttershy, who gave him a fearful expression for a brief second, but after a moment she gave him a more firm expression and nodded her head at him, as if telling him that she was ready to go get that Power Medal when he was.
Snappy paused to think for a moment, and then looked back up to his brother and smiled, nodding his head firmly. Dusty let out a hearty laugh.
"That's the spirit, Snappy!" Dusty exclaimed, clapping his hands together. Fluttershy couldn't help but smile happily at the two.
Melody smiled at them as well, then picked up the Power Medal of Wisdom and carried it over to the two Bumblejinks. Dusty and Snappy gave her their full attention as she approached.
"You'll need this Power Medal to get that device to work, I'm sure." She said, handing the Power Medal to Snappy.
"Thanks, Melody." Snappy said to her, as he took the Medal and affixed it into the device quickly and turned it on.
Fluttershy came over as the device came to life. A large red arrow on the top sprung up from the device and pointed toward the corridor they had previously walked through. Fluttershy turned to look down the corridor.
"It looks like it's ready to go." Snappy reported happily, pleased with how well it still worked, before turning it off and putting it away. There was no doubt in his mind that it was going to be absolutely vital for finding those other Power Medals. And the sooner they found them, the better.
Melody then turned around and headed toward one of the doorways that branched off of the large room they were in. She turned around upon reaching said doorway and addressed the others in the room.
"Come, let's have some breakfast. It's going to be a long, difficult day, I'm sure." She told the others, instantly getting Snappy's attention, as his stomach had just growled again.
"You bet!" Snappy said, hurrying over to where Melody was standing, earning laughs from her, Dusty and Fluttershy.
- Half an hour later -
It had been half an hour since they arrived at Melody's sanctuary. Dusty and Snappy were currently standing over the kitchen table looking at a map of Toontown and the surrounding areas. There was a red circle drawn on the shorelines just south of Donald's Dock, where Melody was sure there was a Power Medal, and a couple of more were drawn outside of the town itself.
Fluttershy, however, was currently wandering down one of the other corridors, trying to find where Melody was, who had disappeared about ten minutes ago. Luckily, it didn't take Fluttershy long to find her.
Melody was on her knees in what appeared to be some sort of shrine-like chamber. She was breathing extremely slowly and had her eyes closed, concentrating on her meditation. The room itself was truly a sight to behold, one that left Fluttershy utterly speechless. Large, pure white walls with more blue torches lining the walls, and with a small ring of water making a circle around a central platform, which was filled with pure green grass and bright, colorful flowers. The ceiling once again reflected the sky outside.
"I do hope that young one will be alright. Mystery is almost certainly going to be after her after what's happened." Melody thought to herself, feeling herself coming out of her trance. She just couldn't seem to focus for any longer than ten minutes at a time, which she found very odd, considering she's usually able to sit and meditate for an entire hour every day.
Deciding that her meditation could wait until later, when she was in a better state of mind, she got up and turned to the doorway, only to see Fluttershy standing there watching her. She let out a light giggle and gave Fluttershy a happy smile.
"Were you standing there long?" Melody asked, walking over to her.
Fluttershy shook her head.
"No, I wasn't. Um, what were you doing?" She asked the taller cat, who had stopped next to her and crouched down to her level.
"Meditation. I do it every day." Melody explained, gazing around the small room she had visited thousands of times. "It helps to relax me. As well as better control my powers."
Fluttershy puzzled about that for a moment. Meditation? She had heard of the practice, but had hardly ever seen it herself. She knew it was often used as a means for one to calm themselves down, or seek inner closure on a difficult subject, though she did often question its effectiveness.
But what did she mean, better control her powers? She opted to ask her about that, but ultimately decided against it. It was none of her business, anyway.
"Hey, Fluttershy! Come on! We're heading out!"
Fluttershy heard Snappy calling her name and turned around. He and Dusty were standing at the other end of the corridor, waiting for her.
"Looks like it's time for you to head out." Melody said to Fluttershy, standing up and backing away from the younger cat. "Be careful out there, Fluttershy. And watch out for Mystery."
Fluttershy looked up at Melody and nodded to her.
"Thank you." She said, turning around and walking away toward Dusty and Snappy. She waved to Melody happily upon reaching the pair, before turning and following them back down the corridor and out of sight.
Melody sighed as she watched them go, picking up her staff from the ground next to her.
"If only they knew, maybe all this could have been avoided." She said grimly, before turning around and walking back into the middle of the room. Maybe she could finish her meditation now. After all, she needed SOMETHING to take her mind off of what was troubling her.
Dusty Bumblejinks and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Bulldozer Studios.
Fluttershy, My Little Pony and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Hasbro.
Toontown and all associated characters, including the cogs, are owned and copyright by The Walt Disney Company.
