It had been a difficult journey for them, but they had finally made it home. They never would have made it without the help of that giant pony, Fluttershy, and her friends, but they managed to make it. All the Breezies celebrated in their Breezie ways, and they thanked the friendly pony who had saved them from being trapped in the dangerous world of giants.
No Breezie noticed that something else had come through the portal behind them.
It was a small creature. Round and blue, it had four gossamer wings, a pair of huge green eyes, and a cute smile. It was also hungry, as these things always are. It was a parasprite.
When it came across some brightly colored flowers, that cute smile transformed into a massive maw, and the flowers disappeared in an instant. Flittering around, it found more flowers and fruit which it consumed. Finally feeling sated, it settled down for a nap as the sun started to set in this land of Breezies.
The next morning, it woke to see that two other parasprites have been spawned during the night. The other two had already begun feasting, as parasprites do, so this one joined in. It did not take them long to consume most everything around that they considered edible. As they did so, more would be birthed, for that was the way of the parasprite; to consume and to multiply. And by their very nature, the population began to grow at an almost geometric progression. It did not take them long to consume nearly all the plant life around them, and they began to search for more food.
They did not have to wait long.
A small group of Breezies was out checking on their land, and doing the things that Breezies do, when they came upon one of the strange newcomers. Being cautious and fearful of anything new and unusual, they hid for a moment to watch. When the parasprite did nothing but flutter around some in a seemingly benign manner, one brave Breezie named Sun Sprite flittered up to the creature for a closer look. It almost seemed friendly. It had a cute smile, and those big green eyes looked inviting. When it seemed to rub up against Sun Sprite in an affectionate manner, he decided that this new creature was safe, and would not harm him. He did not notice the devastated foliage behind the parasprite.
Turning to his friends, he called out to them. “Hey! You can come out now! He seems to be-- “
Sun Sprite never felt a thing, it happened so quickly. The gentle smile on the parasprite opened in an instant, and the Breezie was sucked in, masticated, and then digested in a blink of an eye.
The sheer horror on the other Breezie’s faces at what had happened to their comrade only grew deeper when the parasprite suddenly belched out a ball, which sprouted wings, and opened it’s eyes. Just that quickly, another one of these creatures, no, not a creature but a monster, was spawned before their eyes. In a panic, the Breezies took flight in desperation to get back to home so they could hide. Not all of them made it. Four more Breezies found themselves in the gullets of the pair of parasprites before they escaped.
When the surviving Breezies made it back to their homes, they fluttered around in a panic as they cried out about what happened to Sun Sprite and the others. “ITS MONSTERS! WE’RE ALL DOOMED!” they all screamed in unison when Seabreeze finally managed to stop them in their panic. By now a crowd had gathered around them all, curious and scared at the same time. If something was not done quickly, then things would soon escalate out of control. Seabreeze decided to bring the group before the Breezie Elder, and obtain his council on the matter.
When Seabreeze presented them to their Elder, they were told to tell their tale. A young Breezie flittered towards the elder nervously, and then began his tale.
“We were checking over the southern poppy fields when we saw a mysterious creature. It was blue, round like a ball, had big green eyes and two pairs of wings. We hid for a bit, watching it, and when it did not do anything, Sun Sprite decided to go take a closer look. It was looking harmless, but when Sun Sprite turned around, the thing opened its mouth. and ATE him!” The young breezie trembled at the memory of his friend’s demise, but steeled himself to continue his tale. “After that, the creature seemed to belch out a blob, which quickly turned into another one of those monsters. The rest of us flew away, but the beasts ate four more of us before we could escape.
Terrified whispers spread throughout the Breezies gathered before the Elder. None of them could ever recall hearing of such a monstrosity that would eat them so quickly. And now, they were being invaded by more than one. The panic started to grow strong within the small crowd, until the Elder cleared his throat and spoke up. “I have seen such creatures before. When I was but a young Breezie, I was in a gathering team that went into the land of the giants. There, in a massive forest, we saw a pair of them. They are called parasprites, and they seemed to be endlessly hungry. We rested for a while, and later, there was close to a hundred of the things. They can multiply that quickly.
“We shall fight these monsters, and save ourselves. If we do not, they will overrun us all. Gather your spears, and prepare to defend our homes and our land from these invaders!” With that bit of motivating speech, the Breezies let out a cheer and set off to pass the word and to arm themselves.
Seabreeze led them. While his actions and words back in the land of giants almost made it so the small group with him did not want to return, the Breezies were willing to follow his lead, knowing that he was capable. He would not give up on them, and he would save them all. About seventy followed him in search of the invading parasprites. It seemed a number that should be able to decisively deal with the small number of the hungry monsters. They held their small spears, no larger than toothpicks but capable of mortally wounding something of their size, before them as they flew to where they first found them.
When they did find the parasprites, the number had grown from two to six. Seabreeze did not waste time, but instead led the charge. “ATTACK! Before they can spawn any more!” he yelled at the top of his tiny lungs. And attack they did, swarming down upon the infesting beast in a swarm. The six creatures did not stand any real chance against such numbers, and soon, the battle was over, but not before they had lost five more to the ravenous flying eating machines.
“We did it! I knew you could do this!” Seabreeze exclaimed with pride. The sadness for those they had lost was overshadowed by the exhilarating joy of knowing that they had saved their homes from eventual destruction.
The celebrating amongst themselves did not last long, for one of them spotted another parasprite coming over a small hill. Seabreeze quickly rallied the troops, and they flew off to attack. But then more of the hungry monsters appeared over the hill, and then suddenly, hundreds more flew towards them. Realizing that they stood little chance of defeating this many of them, Seabreeze sent three back to warn the colony that they needed to rally every Breezie that could fight, because there were more than they could fight off.
And with that, The remaining Breezies charged at the mass of parasprites in a desperate attempt to hold them off long enough that the entire colony could gather to fight. Seabreeze and those who fought with him were never seen again.
By the time the colony had massed for war, there was no way to stop the swarm that overran them in a feeding frenzy.
Nopony could figure out why the Breezies never showed back up. Fluttershy had sent ponies out searching all over for them, but there was no trace of them to be found. Worried that something was wrong, she talked to Princess Twilight, and together they went to where the portal was between their lands. When they got there, Twilight used her magic to turn the Pegasus into a Breezie, and Fluttershy went through the opening by herself to investigate.
What she found was a wasteland. Nothing grew here anymore. Nothing lived. It did not take her long for her to find what remained of the colony where the Breezies lived. Even here, she found no signs of life. Neither flora or fauna remained. What she did find among the desolation shocked her to her very core. Instead of Breezies, she found the remains of parasprites. Hundreds of them. Thousands even.
The realization of what happened hit her like a hammerblow. Somehow, parasprites got through the portal, and multiplied. The Breezies never stood a chance. All she could do was bare witness to the extinction of a species she loved. With a heavy heart, she turned around and headed back home, never to see the wondrous delicate creatures she had grown so fond of again.
