practice makes perfect (open)

The overcast sky threatened an impending downpour of rain and a chill breeze had begun to kick up little dust motes. In fact, if one chose to do it, they could look upward and notice the weather ponies at their work. However, Heartspan had no desire to do such a thing and so kept studiously at his task. Instead, he sat on his front lawn, eyes closed in deep focus, and he was doing his best to visualize a very beautiful rose. Before him sat a rather rose size rock, minding its own business completely unaware of Heartspan's intentions.

When he had a thoroughly good image of a rose firmly implanted in his mind his horn began to glow with blue light. Soon enough this was followed by a tell tale pop like a bursting soap bubble, and the smell of burning bread. Heartspan immediately opened his eyes. The smell of burning bread was a tell tale sign of it's own and one he absolutely hated to occur during his practice. His heart sank the moment he saw the smoldering half rock – half flower monstrosity sitting on his lawn.

Even though transmutation was his special talent, he found he had to keep a firm regimen of training in order to do it effectively. It was dangerous even when he was fully focused but he had been neglecting his training lately and now had real concern.

But...this is so boring..... he thought apathetically.

He quickly shook off his laziness. He needed to get back on track and not only that but he wanted to get rid of that annoying popping noise that signaled a transmutation. His little sister Winterdream loved it and giggled every time he performed his little trick for her. On the other hand he absolutely hated it. He quickly exchanged his monstrous creation for another unassuming rock and once more closed his eyes. He had found a way to keep the targets of his talent from glowing ominously as he cast his spell, but it had come with a price. In order for the target not to glow he had to shift the light else where and this had resulted in an ominously bright glow from his horn. Even so it was a small price to pay. Now he just had to figure out a way of exchanging the sound for some other balancing effect. Of course he couldn't do that until he had brought the transmutation itself back under control. Heaving a deep sigh he began to visualize the flower once more.

After another run to get her groceries, Melody walked home feeling as if she needed to try being a bit more bold for a change.

"For Celestia's sake, I must have spent 15 minutes shuffling around before I decided to ask somepony where the carrots were." she thought, reminding herself of today's "events".

She began to realize that the only "highlights" of her days in this new town were simply circumstances of her shyness getting the best of her.

Sighing in resignation, she vowed to herself to try, just try, reaching out to somepony else for a change.

Just her luck, that opportunity presented itself immediately after she made her "vow".

A little ways away from her was a lean, male unicorn who appeared to be having difficulty with, what appeared to be, a spell of sorts.

Melody couldn't help but notice the irony in the situation: she, a unicorn who couldn't cast a spell if her life depended on it, was going to try to talk with somepony who actually had magical skills.

Deciding to hope for the best, she thought,

"Maybe he'll be sociable and just talk about himself so I won't have to embarrass myself." 

She breathed in deeply, almost holding her breath in as she walked over to where the stallion was, and, with the social graces of a doormouse, quickly said,

"Hello. I'm Melody Heart. New to Ponyville. How are you today, sir?"

Tension filled her body from the moment she began speaking to her very last regret-filled word.

"Hello. I'm Melody Heart. New to Ponyville. How are you today, sir?"

Heartspan's eyes shot open, though this was the only outward sign of his being startled. For several uncomfortable moments he stared at the mare standing in his yard. Her words slowly sinking in.

“ Melody Heart.....I see.” He said slowly as he tried to regain his composure.

“ Oh, er, ah, Good day ma'am. I am Heartspan..ah, er, um..at your service.” he stammered awkwardly as he stood up.

He looked at the mare apologetically knowing his introduction was trash as usual. However, this afforded a moment to scrutinize his new companion. He noted her being taller than himself, and sharing the same lean build. He noted her short, strait purple mane tucked carefully behind her ears. He noted her coloring, her eyes, and even the freckles on her face. All of these arranged themselves in his mind as a copy he stored carefully for later use. Then realizing his scrutiny took far longer than he intended he blushed slightly before speaking again.

“So, er.... how are you liking Ponyville so far?” he asked awkwardly.

Melody wasn't sure where to proceed.

Not having nearly any experience in initiating conversations, and considering how she was fairly convinced that she had interrupted the stallion's work, she was, at best, struggling to keep her wits and "confidence" about her instead of succumbing to the pressure that she was feeling.

This began to manifest itself in a very minute trembling of her hoof and a slight wavering of her voice as she responded with,

"I - um… actually - well, it's… uh…"

She realized that she was going to have to collect herself at least to the point where she could articulate some semblance of a sentence if this meeting was going to go anywhere.

After all the time that he had spent examining her after his introduction, she didn't want to make this encounter go to waste - she admitted to herself that she was slightly intrigued by this stallion.

Refocusing herself, she breathed in deeply and begun with,

"Sorry about that… I, I've liked it here so far. It's very… um, nice - I mean, the ponies here are very friendly."

She caught herself nervously laughing in a somewhat blatant attempt to conceal her timidness. She deeply inhaled once more and added, almost as if talking to herself,

"To be honest, though, you're, um… one of the first ponies I decided to actually talk to here."

Heartspan listened to every word she said, giving her his undivided attention. Her shyness was so obvious that for a moment Heartspan was worried she would collapse from the sheer effort of speaking. However, seeing her trembling ever so slightly and listening to her stammered attempted at conversation took away every bit of Heartspan's concern over his own lack of social grace.

Here was a mare in desperate need of some friendly banter to ease her stress. Heartspan, unfortunately, was not good with friendly banter when it came to strangers. He realized as she spoke that if he remained as reserved as was his usual desire then she would only grow more and more nervous. Yet, he didn't know her really well enough to offer anything in the way of friendliness. Then a sudden burst of awkward laughter brought him back to attention.

To be honest, though, you're, um...one of the first ponies I decided to actually talk to here.... these words of hers didn't really seem like they were meant for him. Yet, they solved his dilemma easily enough.

“ I'm not sure what to say. I guess it is an honor, though I feel like I should do something to live up to your expectation.” he commented as a blush crept to his cheek. “ That said, I will show you something only my family has ever really seen. “

Heartspan closed his eyes allowing the brilliant light of his magic to ignite. In his mind he visualized his long forgotten rock as a gem roughly the color of Melody's eyes. He let his magic build for just a moment before releasing it. A sound like a soup bubble bursting filled the air and in the place of the rock there lay a very brilliant gem. Heartspan opened his eyes, and smiled in relief at having succeeded at his little mission. He picked up the gem and offered it to Melody.

“ There you go, a present, one crafted by my special talent. A talent that I am not good at and that I hate, except on a rare occasion like this where it has a good use.” he said with a small smile. “ You can think of it like fate. Normally I hide in my house when I practice, but today was the first day I decided not to. It turned out ok I think. of course, this will be a secret just between you , me, and the weather ponies.”

She stood breathless for a moment that, in her mind, seemed to stretch on for hours.

She found herself smiling a smile that hadn't surfaced in quite a long time - a smile of thankfulness and, perhaps most prominently, of one of the purest feelings of happiness she'd felt since she had last seen her parents.

At once, her reservations and mental walls began to crumble down.

Now she was met with the nearly insurmountable task of finding words to express her gratitude, a task that left her attempting to start thanking him but continually failing to find the words.

After a silence, she felt compelled to thank him in a more indirect way because her regular, conversational words were sure to abandon her in this situation.

Her horn began to emit a very soft, translucent glow that was the color of her eyes.

But there was no physical form to this magic.

Instead, she focused all of her effort on channeling her own special talent.

Looking directly into his eyes for the first time, she let her the magic be expressed through her words as she spoke,

"With my head held low to the ground,
there is no way for me to see
the light surrounding me.

But, all at once, perhaps by fate,
I choose, I dare to open my eyes
and, much to my surprise,

somepony else can give me words,
but more than this, can give me faith
that new friends can be made.

And to that somepony else, I owe
my deepest thanks, for I do know
without the generosity
of those surrounding me,
my world and all within its sphere
would crumble up and disappear.

For darkness would envelope my heart
without somepony to help me start."

The words, much different than the words she normally spoke, came out with a grace, a passion, a rhythm, and a sense of purpose and confidence that was only present in her poetry.

Her horn's glow faded away, and, with a humble smile she quietly added,

"Much like you, I don't ever create poetry, never mind speak it, in front of others."

She chuckled slightly before she said,

"I suppose this can be a secret just between us as well."

Melody stood silently for a moment after he presented her his gift. Then slowly she began to smile a deep and pure smile. In truth Heartspan loved his special talent but only because it could bring such a genuine smile. If only his parents could understand that his families special talents weren't for making money, they were for making every pony happy. He sighed inwardly, his sister was the only one who seemed to understand this fact. His parents constant pressure made his special talent seem worthless most of the time. Yet seeing Melody smile almost made him want to share his talent with all of the world. His thoughts suddenly died as Melody's horn began to emit a soft glow.

Even though his special talent had forced him to sacrifice almost all other forms of magic it was still one of his biggest interests. He watched with patient interest as she channeled her power. Then their eyes locked for the first time. Her magic poured out not in the visual display that he had expected but in another way entirely.

…."With my head held low to the ground,
there is no way for me to see
the light surrounding me.

But, all at once, perhaps by fate,
I choose, I dare to open my eyes
and, much to my surprise,

somepony else can give me words,
but more than this, can give me faith
that new friends can be made.

And to that somepony else, I owe
my deepest thanks, for I do know
without the generosity
of those surrounding me,
my world and all within its sphere
would crumble up and disappear.

For darkness would envelope my heart
without somepony to help me start." ...

Her words were filled with a grace and confidence that was in stark contrast to the mare that stood before him. Charged with magic these words infiltrated his deepest thoughts. They carried foreign passion and feeling deep into his spirit. Then just as quietly as they had entered these words passed into the realm of memory, leaving a strange emptiness in their wake. The subtle glow of her horn vanished and she spoke but her words were lost as Heartspan tried to bring himself back under control.

“ T-that was very beautiful.” he said quietly.

Slowly her words began to register with him as his thoughts came under his control once more. They both had a talent that they kept hidden from all but a few. He wondered why she would not share such a gift but considering his own position he understood in a visceral way. Heartspan did not believe in friendship, after all it was merely a form of classifying ones relationships outside of blood relation. Despite this truth these two ponies had created a bond of sorts and one which defied Heartspan's normal classification. Melody could no longer be considered a stranger, nor was she simply a pony whose company was tolerable. He frowned as he thought this, then cautiously he held out his hoof.

“ Melody.... I can't offer you any kind of friendship, since such a thing doesn't really exist. However, if you are ok with it...... I will consider you an extension of my family. “ he said hesitantly.

Heartspan continued to throw Melody's expectations in a whirlwind.

In the instant after Heartspan offered his hoof and kinship, Melody's mind, in all of one second, was flooded with thoughts

What was it about this day that was so indescribably special? As far as Melody was concerned, today was going to be another silent, morose, uneventful, and embarrassing day in what she dreaded to think would be a lifetime of silent, morose, uneventful, and embarrassing days.

Nothing felt at all different about today, though, in honest truth. Melody wasn't surprised by this, however, as she was never one to believe that one could predetermine or predict their life - it made living seem pointless in her mind, and, with her confidence as it was, she needed to thrive on feeling alive, otherwise her mind would go to very dark, scary places.

Beyond all this, however, was a thought that confused her more: of all of the ponies she could have met today, why Heartspan? Of all the stallions in this quiet town, why him?

She felt intimidated by him, yet, at the same time, drawn into who he was. She felt like giving him space, yet also being near to him. She felt inferior to him, but had also never felt more equal with a pony.

What stuck with her the most though, was how she felt so distant from him yet, in one short, awkward, tense, and, largely, insignificant encounter, she felt undeniably close to him.

And this thought scared her, yet comforted her at the same time.

She looked at his hoof, looked back up into his eyes, gave a small sigh that seemed to communicate her wide multitude of emotions, offered her own hoof, and said,

"That would be wonderful."

It would be nice to have someone who considered her to be an extended part of their family in this town. Her parents were all the way in Canterlot, after all, and she didn't get to see them as often as they wanted for her to.

Heartspan held her hoof for just a moment before releasing it. It was not everyday somepony made an impact on him. In fact most days he met at least one new pony, usually somepony he was working for or with, and yet they remained classified as some pony he knew. He felt unsure what to do or to say now that he was confronted with an entirely new concept. It wasn't simply a question of the proper thing to say or do. Melody presented an new social class in his mind. He smiled suddenly, a very sweet smile, and promptly pushed all those deep thoughts aside. There were times when a pony should think deep and long and there were times when a pony should simply trust to luck or fate or whatever else they believed in.

“ melody, do you want to go get something to eat, it will be my treat.” he offered warmly. “ If we are lucky we might even get caught out in the rain. “

Speechless, Melody stared at Heartspan, awestruck and amazed.

She remembered her days back in Canterlot when, even with her closest of friends, she had to ask if they had any plans if she wanted to go anywhere with them. This was one of the first times that she had been directly asked to spend time with somepony.

However, Melody's mind began to work against her. She tried to stay away from spur-of-the-moment plans because they caused her to worry excessively about her behavior and they way others would see her.

Heartspan was already beginning to mean a lot to her, and, perhaps her biggest stressor at the moment, besides the millions of other worries running through her mind, was that she would ruin his impression of her within the first moments of their outing.

And she began to think that she was already beginning to cause this to happen when she realized that she had been completely silent, standing in front of Heartspan, probably looking like an absolute fool with her eyes staring off into nothing, for at least five tedious seconds.

She had to physically shake her head to ground herself back in reality and, much against her will, her nervousness began to some back as she tried to formulate a sentence to apologize for her absent-mindedness.

"Ah! Um... wow - I'm so, so... oh, wow."

Like clockwork, her hoof began to tremble again.

She breathed deeply, trying to handle this situation with dignity and poise.

"Ok... um, wow, I am so sorry about all this - could, could you... w-what did you ask me?"

She looked at him with eyes that desperately hoped that he wouldn't walk away as soon as she finished her question.

For the longest time melody stared at him and he noted her nervousness. So rather than stare at her in return he busied himself by using his magic to float his bag of bits out from inside the house. If there was one thing he had learned about this mare it was that he had to allow time for her to adjust to any new situation, ideas, or conversation topics. So he did exactly that. That is until she stammered at him, clearly at a loss for words.

Heartspan could not help but smile at her pleading look. He had expected her to be nervous but not to the point of totally spacing out. He wanted to tease her a little but decided it probably would not go over as well as he would hope. There were some ponies you just shouldn't make a joke on and this was one of them. Instead he patted her lightly on the head.

“ we are going to get a late lunch, maybe stroll about in the rain if we are lucky and if
not... well who can say what adventure we might find. The future is not a sure thing you know.”
then very calmly he began to walk past her giving her flank a slight nudge with his own.

“ Let's get going before I die of hunger.” he said as he turned his head back toward her. “ and just so you know ...I am going to ask you tons of questions about yourself.”

This last part was certainly true as he had many many questions brewing in the back of his mind, and he felt it a good idea to let her get used to the whole thing before they got to their destination. this way maybe he would not have her staring so blankly so often.

A small, almost coy smile began to come across her face.

Normally, ponies being so forthright and straightforward like Heartspan was caused her even more distress, but there was something comforting in his leadership. Besides, Melody was beginning to realize that, if she was left to do the decision-making, there wouldn't be any decisions made.

She gave an audible chuckle as he nudged her flank.

Very surprised at the fact that he wanted to get to know more about her, she let out a small, accepting,

"Ok."

Letting him lead the way, she followed slightly behind and to the left of him.

After walking for a bit, she began to wonder what Heartspan could want to know about her. She inquired,

"Um... what's your first question?"

Heartspan wandered down the road in the direction of the cafe. When melody asked him about questions he thought for a few moments before answering.

“ Well, there are so many things that I am not sure where to start. I guess the easy things first, like where are you from, what are you interested in. But really I am more interested in things like, what spells you know, what are your goals in life, what do you think of Equestria and it's leadership. “ he answered absently.

“ To be honest, this last month or so I have felt myself strange.” he looked at her from the corner of his eye. “ Lately I feel like maybe I am letting myself drift along too much, you know. I feel like I want to do something grand with my life, but I am not sure what. “

he sighed deeply as he walked.

“ I want to be a villain like Nightmare Moon, or maybe a hero, I don't know yet. “ he turned to look directly at her. “ Either way, I want to change ponies lives in a significant way. So, when it comes to you I am curious what we have in common really, besides our secret. To me you are fascinating and cool. I like your special talent , it is more interesting than someponies out there.”

Flattered by his saying that he found her fascinating and believed her special talent to be interesting, she thanked him, beginning to open up to him.

"Well... thanks. I find you very fascinating as well."

She took a moment to think about all that he had said before she responded with,

"I know that feeling - or, at least, one similar to it. Wanting to be something but not being sure what. I have a lot of trouble focusing when I don't know where I am in my life - I think everypony does, though. It's the main reason I came out here to Ponyville."

She quietly laughed to herself as she thought of the obviousness of her next statement.

"I was born in Canterlot and, um... as you can probably tell - I'm not exactly a 'go-getter'. Suffice to say, Canterlot's busyness was not really the place for me."

Her tone began to sound slightly embarrassed as she admitted,

"I actually don't know any spells. I, I'm... uh - well, I'm actually pretty unsuccessful at magic in general. My parents always tell me that my horn glows when I write poetry because it's the way my magic manifests itself, but, I don't know - I've never really been curious enough tried to understand it, I guess."

Heartspan listened intently as she spoke. He could not help but raise his eyebrows slightly in surprise when he heard she was not good with any spells, but then again he wasn't either.

“ Well, you know most of the time I am ok not having a goal in life, but lately I have this itch you know. “ he replied once she had finished speaking. “ I was also born in Canterlot. My parents are pretty well off even by Canterlot's standards. They are jewelry makers, but they are the type who wants to be in the lime light. So they have all these dinner parties and such. Growing up I was always surrounded by ponies I could only look at as being fakes, and these are the type of ponies my parents want to emulate. Eventually I couldn't stand it so I left as soon as I could.”

he smiled a very guilty smile as he continued “ Of course I am not above begging for money when I need it.”

he laughed at his own hypocrisy. Then he got quiet again as he thought for a little about his youth.

“ Well, when I was a colt I was a little on the sickly side, so when I finally could cast spells I took to telekinesis. At the time it afforded me the ability to do things that I couldn't physically accomplish before that. Now that I am healthy I find I still prefer to use it. Then , my special talent demands so much effort that I never have time to learn other spells, so I only know the two. But, while I cannot cast a walk on clouds spell, I do have the power to lift myself up and to hold myself in the air for some time. “ he continued.

he looked over at her for a moment, very seriously.

“ Even without any other magic you could become somepony great, but in my honest opinion, even knowing one spell makes us a cut above those ponies who have no magic.” he spoke earnestly and nodded his head once for emphasis.

Melody's face lit up slightly when he mentioned telekinesis. She always found what ponies could do if they trained at magic to be amazing.

She considered what he stated truthfully before saying,

"I guess it could never be too late to start."

Feeling very contented, she remained silent for a while. Melody always liked silence in between conversation - it helped her to have some time to try to clear her mind of any residual worries she might have as well as think about what the other pony was saying.

She became curious about his family, but didn't want to tred on any extremely personal conversatin topics. She thought for a moment about what she wanted to say, before carefully asking,

"Do you see your parents anymore?"

Heartspan continued walking as a brief silence enveloped them. He didn't mind it. The weather was nice> he watched other ponies passing by and wondered what they might be up to. After a time she asked him about his parents. He turned with a smile.

“ Of course, I visit my parents pretty regularly. Don't get me wrong, I like my parents despite my complaints. They pressure me but they are not a bad sort and sometimes I even can see their point of view. Besides, if I never went home I would never be able to visit my little sister.” he replied nonchalantly.

He paused for a moment as they reached the cafe.

“ looks like we're here. Shall we go in?” he asked “ or do you prefer to sit outside?”

Starting to become excited, as their outing was now officially beginning, she replied,

"Oh... um - I guess... really I'm fine with either, I suppose."

Not wanting to come off as overly indecisive, she timidly added,

"It's really nice outside so... um - we could sit outside, if that's alright with you."

Melody had never had the experience of siblings. In fact, very few ponies, even in her extended family, ever had been members of anything other than one-child families. She figured she would ask him about that at some point along today's event.

Refocusing her mind back on track, she curiosuly asked,

"Would you like to sit outside?"

“Yeah, I like sitting outside.” he replied before finding a table for them to sit at. He used his telekinesis to pull their chairs out. Then as custom in his family dictated he stood quietly waiting for her to take a seat.

Heartspan was almost always hit or miss with his family customs but this for sure was one he always observed. He felt it showed a certain level of respect for a ponies company to remain on guard while they took their seats.

“ So, do you plan on visiting home much.” he asked

Since she had just moved here he imagined she had not visited just yet, but it was easy to become homesick when you move away from everything you know. He smiled knowing that even though he disliked many things about Canterlot it was still his home. In many ways he was proud of his heritage. His family was an older one, and Canterlot was after all the royal city. For him Ponyville was like a vacation home. He didn't feel particularly like it was his home. Although it was a very relaxing environment in comparison.

Noting his chivalry, Melody couldn't help but smile and offer him a nod to express her thanks for his thoughtfulness for pulling their chairs out and waiting for her to be seated before he seated himself. Melody had always had a bit of a soft spot for gentlepony ways. She felt warm inside and found it impossible not to smile whenever somepony went out of their way for somepony else's sake. It made her feel respected and honored in a way that not all ponies made her feel.

She thought about his question for a while before saying, almost like a confession,

"Well... I like being at home, it's just..."

She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing. It was odd how, even though this wasn't a difficult subject for her to speak about, it still caused her to have to think very hard. Perhaps it was because she didn't think about it very often - or as much as she should.

As if sighing a weight off of her soul, she continued with,

"I'm still a little distant with my parents, I suppose... I-I guess that I've been sort of, well, waiting for them to ask me to come back home before I say anything about it. My family has owned a very successful café in Canterlot for generations and generations, so, um... after being among the upper-class crowd for so long, it's... well, um, sort of expected that I join it with them."

She stopped somewhat suddenly. Here she was, somepony who, all her life, had been told that she was very introverted, delicate, quite, and reserved, talking surprisingly freely about this subject. She felt different around Heartspan than she did around nearly every pony she had met before.

Maybe it was him, the weather, the day, the move to Ponyville, the time away from her parents, the encounter they had before they came here, the way she was feeling today, or a mistake in judgment - but something was causing her to feel different talking about herself around Heartspan.

Deciding to think about this at another time, she finished her thought with,

"I guess that, um... what I'm trying to say is that... I think that there's a part of my parents that wants me to visit as often as possible and a part that, uh... is somewhat happy that I'm no longer the wallflower in a family that's supposed to be, well... I don't know really... filled with extravagant, boisterous ponies. And, well... sometimes I feel like I feel the same way."

Heartspan had smiled at her approving nod, though it was only a small courteous smile. Then as he had quickly become accustomed to he waited patiently as his words were twist and turned in the mares mind. Then at last her words came pouring out complete with all of the sighs and stops and starts that he had learned to expect.

"Well... I like being at home, it's just..." she began

Then a sigh and a pause

"I'm still a little distant with my parents, I suppose... I-I guess that I've been sort of, well, waiting for them to ask me to come back home before I say anything about it. My family has owned a very successful café in Canterlot for generations and generations, so, um... after being among the upper-class crowd for so long, it's... well, um, sort of expected that I join it with them." she continued

Then another pause

"I guess that, um... what I'm trying to say is that... I think that there's a part of my parents that wants me to visit as often as possible and a part that, uh... is somewhat happy that I'm no longer the wallflower in a family that's supposed to be, well... I don't know really... filled with extravagant, boisterous ponies. And, well... sometimes I feel like I feel the same way." she concluded.

He had given her his fullest attention, watching her struggle with kind silence. She was beginning to open up, or to find some measure of comfort from having somepony to listen to her. Since they had met he had felt a strange stirring in the natural order of his world. He hadn't known what it was at first, but now he had figured it out.

He looked at melody and smiled warmly, in the same way he often smiled at his sister and yet there was an emptiness in his eyes. Her story was so sad, her way of think so sorrowful, and without even meaning to be.

“ I know why I get along so well with you. We are so elementally similar. Our heritage and upbringing, and our position in our most respectable families. “ he commented warmly

Yet in his heart he had found a seed had been planted in the meeting of this Mare. In the moment he had heard her story he had had an epiphany. He suddenly realized that the world had become completely out of balance. Everypony and Everything was horribly out of balance. The world had been changed and the cost of this change had not been paid in full. Now like a runaway transmutation spell the world was seeking to correct itself. Ponies like Melody and himself along side those ponies like Starswirl the Bearded were the worlds balance for ponies like their parents and those their parents courted too.

As his thoughts continued to flow down this path Heartspan put one hoof to his head as if he had a headache. It was all so clear and this imbalance extended farther and farther. Those ponies who wielded the elements of harmony were a form of balance. Even the princesses were a form of balance each in their own turn. Then just as suddenly as it had come a fog began to descend over this epiphany, leaving only traces of itself in Heartspan's mind.

Heartspan took a very deep breath to bring himself under control. Then he smiled awkwardly as he realized he had spaced out .

“ Sorry..” he said and though his voice was warm his eyes were still empty and haunted.

It was interesting to Melody that another pony would recognize similarities in their life stories. Before now, she was thoroughly convinced that she was one of a few ponies who was just "different". In fact, she had based a great deal of herself off of simply accepting this fact. Now that idea was being challenged - and Melody was so grateful for that. The feeling of kinship, a bond transcending ordinary acquaintances, and a friendship that delved deeper, reaching levels of self-identification - that was the sort of relationship Melody felt comfortable in. She had seen the shallowness of too many trite, insignificant relationships amongst ponies when she was in Canterlot - there was no way she could put any weight in them.

Once again, Heartspan was proving himself to be a much different stallion than others; and, when she saw him looking aimlessly off into nothing for a long period of time, her intrigue in him was reaffirmed. She found herself searching his eyes for answers as to what his mind was wandering on about. She was searching, almost desperately, and hung on the deep breath he drew afterwards, hoping it would be followed by his warm, comforting voice offering her explanation into what his mind was thinking on.

However, he simply responded with an apology that caused Melody to want her answers even more. But, wanting to not come off as off-putting or too forward, she phrased it in a different way, calmly asking,

"Are you alright? You seemed pretty focused on something"

Even if he wouldn't answer her with whatever was on his mind, she figured that it was worth asking, given the chance that he might explain and give deeper insight into his inner thoughts.

His smile fell flat, deflated as his “epiphany”hung at the edge of conscious thought. His realization about life was almost more than he cared to handle and yet the bits and pieces hanging at the edges of his mind were fast growing undeniable. His self imposed mental fog was lifting little by little as he grew used to the concept. Melody searched his eyes with her own.
"Are you alright? You seemed pretty focused on something" she asked
he didn't answer right away. Instead he looked off into the street.
“ Melody....what would you think of me if I said I thought celestia was evil?” he asked out of the blue. “ truly malevolent and cruelly evil in her very spirit.”
then he turned back to her his face devoid of all emotion except for a certain grim certainty.

His question stuck like a dart on the wall of her mind. In all honesty, Melody had always been intimidated by authority. Even in the case of Celestia, a princess whom she had developed an inherent and undeniable respect for, authority caused fear in Melody's mind.

"Well..." she began before realizing that she would needed a moment to gather her thoughts.

Heartspan had asked what she would think of him if he doubted Celestia's goodness and piety, not what she thought about it. She stayed focused on the question so she could form a somewhat coherent response.

"I, I honestly couldn't think any differently of you. I'll admit it's, well, it's sort of strange for a pony to be vocal about their thoughts on the matter. Having a different view on something isn't a basis for judgement. Especially when the "judge" is someone who feels... um, sort of afraid of Celestia and her power."

The whole exchange was beginning to confuse her. Not as a result of what he asked, but because he asked it in the first place. Melody had never heard a pony express such a view before. Although it was somewhat alienating in a way, it also piqued her intrest. With the curiosity and honesty of a young filly, she politely asked,

"What causes you to think that? To be honest, nopony has every asked me anything like that before."

Heartspan smiled and nodded his head once as if having confirmed something to himself.
His smile slowly turn more shy and a blush crept to his cheek as he began to talk.
"Ah, well...I know we only just met and i am sure i am saying strange things but you are so easy to talk to. so...... don't worry I-i will explain all my strange words." He blurted out as his awkwardness began to return.

He really had only known melody for maybe an hour or so and he had already told her so many personal things. he wasn't used to being close to anypony, he realized he must sound crazy and his blush deepened.

" Well, um, I shall begin then. " he stated, his voice awkwardly professor like. " It is my firm belief that anypony who could banish somepony who loved and trusted them to a place of desolation for a thousand years is clearly evil. "

he sighed and slumped down in his seat feeling very self conscious.

" I mean there is more to it but ....I have a sister, and when i think of it...I could never send her away no matter what she did. It just seems so cruel. It's sort of funny, we are a lot like Luna. A lot of ponies are a lot like luna in that context. too different from the majority to blend in and so they are held apart from the others, like a bad apple. When you first started telling me about your family i thought. Wow, here is a pony who is like my double. Then as i thought deeper i realized how sad your story was. The way you wait for your parents hoping for them to accept you and to invite you back into the fold. that is when i had a very uncomfortable series of thoughts" he spoke timidly and seemed to shrink into his seat.

he sighed and then continued talking almost as if talking to himself.
" They should accept you because of the amazing pony you are not simply because you fit in. Our society is designed to alienate certain ponies and to elevate others. Canterlot is the perfect example of it. Even in our families, the smallest unit of society, we are like this you and i are the perfect example. I realized as you spoke and as i thought these things that we are the balance for our families. Ponies like us are the balance for all of the others. But when i think about it it seems like our entire world is out of balance as if someone cast a spell with out paying the full cost and now the spell has gone awry and is working to correct itself. But this rebound is giving too little. Ponies like us, like the princesses during the reign of discord, like the elements of harmony during the fall of sombra. ponies like us are only able to correct the effects but not the real cause. The majority determines social norms and it is the majority that is the cause. The herd let discord come to power, and the herd let sombra rule, and the herd abandoned luna. It is the herd that is the cause of all of our problems. The worst is that Celestia could change all of that but she doesn't. Instead she forces ponies like us to assimilate. she enforces obedience to a way of thinking that is the very root of our problems. She promotes this imbalance in the world and all the while she paints it as a pious and pure act. just look what she did to her own sister and the proof is there, she only let her return once she had assimilated......anyway, thats what i was thinking." he said shyly " i normally don't share these sorts of thoughts but ...well i think you deserve to hear the truth...everypony does."