The First of The Parasprites
"Hello Commander Hurricane, it's good to see you again," Smart Cookie said as he opened the front door of his small house. "Please come in."
"It has indeed." The elderly stallion walked into the small cottage. His warm and friendly voice a strong contrast to the cold and hard face that decades of fighting and leadership had caused. "I'm sorry I haven't been by recently. Nor that we've been able to find your grandmother. Though we are still searching I assure you."
"It's fine, Grandmother left on her own accords, and to her own ends. She seemed to think it was important. Besides you've been busy these last few months." Smart Cookie offered the retired pegasus general a seat, at the round wooden dinning room table. "Coordinating the last few waves of pegasi migrants to Equestria, can't be easy, even if they're twice as cooperative as earth ponies."
"I wish they were twice as cooperative. These last couple of thousand are die hard purist." Hurricane sighed as he looked out the window. "Hard headed as I was, but still I can't just leave them there to freeze to death, or starve. As soon as they see the benefits of working together, I'm certain that they'll come around. That's actually why I'm here. I need you and your wife's help."
"Well Clover should be down shortly." Smart Cookie took a seat. "She's been trying to get Smartie Pants to go to sleep for a while now." Smart Cookie chuckled. "All the energy and endurance of an earth pony with all the magic of a unicorn. He really is a hoof full. Still it's nearly been ten minutes that's the normal amount of time it takes."
"Yes it is and next time your doing it." Clover walked down the stairs into the living room. "I swear that colt has your endurance. Unicorn foals fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow. Oh and hello Commander Hurricane. I hope you don't mind me calling you that, even if your retired."
"It's fine the title has kind of stuck."
"Would you mind staying after Smartie Pants has woken up if he finds out you were here, and he didn't get to see you then we really will have a hurricane."
"And he gets that from you."
"That's right he does. He'll be one of the best unicorn magicians of all time." Clover answered her husband with a grin. "He'll even give my old mentor a run for his bits. Where ever the old coot has run off to this time. Sorry easily distracted Commander." Clover blushed. "Dotting parents and all. You came for our help."
"Quite alright. The colts one of the strongest horn heads I've ever met, and yes I need your help." Hurricane scratched the back of his head. "Or rather we need your help. Much of the land of this new country is incredibly fertile. Unfortunately almost none of it has been cleared. We've also been hearing reports from our scoots that in certain areas the fauna is actually resistant to clearing tactics."
"You mean those rumors were the forest comes alive?"
"Yes."
"So, what do you want the two of us to do about this. Sorry Commander, but we're not leaving our foal, and we're certainly not taking Smartie Pants to some far corner of Equestria, especially if these rumors are to be believed." Clover nodded her agreement to her husband's words.
"And I don't expect you to. I was hoping that the two of you could provide some tool with which we could increase the speed at which we are clearing the land. I was hoping the two of you could create a homunculus"
"That's not going to be easy. It'll take us at least two months."
***
"Uncle Hurricane!" Smartie Pants jumped on his segregate uncle, and hung around his neck. The elderly pegasus had no problem holding the colts weight.
"Hello Smartie Pants. I see that you are well."
"He always is" Clover's light lavender magic enveloped her son and set him on the ground. "It's good to see you again Commander Hurricane. I think Cookie and I have finally been able to get your request finished."
"You mean the little ball thing was for Uncle Hurricane?"
"Yep." Clover nodded and lead Hurricane down to the basement. "It took us a while to get it finished but we finally got it done." Clover and the former pegasi commander came to a stop at a small table, which was cluttered with books and alchemical ingredients. In the middle of the table close to the edge was a small glass jar with a little ball. "We wouldn't have been able to get it done with out the help of a roaming zebra. Still I'm glad he's gone."
"Yeah he was just creepy."
"Smartie Pants you know your not suppose to be down here."
"But mom."
"Get back up here," Smart Cookie called from the top of the stairs. The colt sulked up the stairs, and Smart Cookie shut the door once he was on the other side. "This thing is really versatile, It'll eat just about anything." Smart Cookie tapped the glass jar. The creature inside woke up. Spreading it's dragonfly like wings and opening its black empty eyes.
"Once it's consumed enough it will multiply. It literally spits out another one that is exactly like it." Clover continued. "They're really easy to control though just blow this whistle." She picked up a small white whistle and gave it to Hurricane. "It's made of moons stone if you blow this they'll come back to you."
"You need to call them back before night fall, the evaporate in the presence of moon light."
"How much land can they clear?"
"If there is a lot for them to eat, hundreds of acres, a day."
***
"Wow these things really are amazing they ate through hundreds of miles in only five days."
"In less than a week we already have enough land for all of the last arrivals to live on and grow food on, and we still have room to spare."
"Yep it's getting dark though time to call the little things back." The dark green pegasus blew the moonstone whistle. In moments hundreds of parasprites began obediently flying back to their creators.
"I think that's all of them, are you sure I only counted 956 there should be one more."
"It'll be fine what can one parasprite do, besides once the moon comes up they turn to dust." The three pegasi headed back. Oblivious to the shadows that coiled and twirled around the trees. Shadows that snaked around a single silver parasprite.
"You, my little friend are going to be special." The sentient shadow cloaked in burlap petted the parasprite. "I'm going to give you life, a life of a locust. With a hunger to match." The living shadow chuckled as a little zap of gold lightning shot through one of the shadowy bindings. The parasprite slowly changed from a pale silver to a bright blue. "You are the first of so many amusing plauges. The last of what you were and the first of what you are. I look forward to seeing what one parasprite can do." With that the shadows faded back into the back ground allowing the little insect to buzz off toward the west into yet untamed forest and mountains.
Author's Note
Well the random tag was there for a reason.
Moral don't release evasive spiecies of Humonculi, I guess, I don't know, shoe horn your environmental message in?
