Legends Of Ponyville

Chapters

1 - Coming Home
3 - Coming Home 2 Family
4 - The Recap And The Return
5 - Glamour Ponies
6 - Confrontations
7 - Temper, Temper
8 - Strange Ties
9 - East Goes West
10 - Settling And Stalking
11 - Confrontations And Varmints
12 - Viewing The Past
13 - Secrets Revealed
14 - The Chain Of Command
15 - Changing Directions
16 - The Beginning Of A New Storm
17 - Encounters And Insurance
18 - A Duel Of Storm And Shadow pt 1
19 - A Duel Of Storm And Shadow pt 2
20 - Together Again, Into Darkness
21 - Encounters In The Caves Part One
22 - Encounters In The Caves Part Two
23 - Encounters In The Caves Part Three
24 - Survival And Sacrifice
25 - Race To The End Part 1
26 - Race To The End Part 2
27 - Race To The End Part 3
28 - Race To The Conclusion
29 - How Legends Are Remembered
30 - Epilogue
2 - Coming Home Part 2

1 - Coming Home

Five hours after the fallout at Canterlot

Pinkie Pie sat straight up in bed. She looked around her dark room, looking and listening for the cause of her sudden departure from sleep. The reason came to her in the sensation of something wet on her face: tears. She was crying, and there was only one Pinkie Pie explanation for being woken up by her own tears: Somepony's heart had just been broken, and it was somepony close to her. Pinkie Pie looked at her clock, which read 2am. It was possible that whatever happened had occurred some time ago, so Pinkie rushed out of bed and very quietly slipped downstairs and out of the bakery.

Pinkie ran full speed towards the Everfree Forest. It didn't take her long until she came to the edge. Nearby was the road leading to Canterlot, but Pinkie felt that whatever was heading her way wouldn't be taking the road. Soon enough, she saw them: in the dead of night, under the moon, emerged Spark Storm, the harpy creature she'd seen but once, and a new, smaller creature that somewhat resembled a pegasus, partially made of grass and moss. Spark stared at Pinkie for a moment, having not expected her first thing in the morning.

The earth pony moved closer, her big eyes curiously wandering over Spark's face and into his eyes. The two other figures were silent, and even backed away to give the two some room. As Pinkie Pie got closer to Spark, she could make out an angry look on his face. It didn't deter her from reaching up and brushing away a stray tear born from anger. Spark lowered his head, and made no move to stop Pinkie from wrapping her hooves around her friend, his face buried in her shoulder.

Pinkie Pie frowned as she stroked Spark's mane. His body was tense, as if he'd been carrying horrible tension for hours now, his muscles on the brink of lashing out at something. After a moment, the little grassy pegasus stepped closer to Pinkie, moving cautiously. Pinkie watched it from the corner of her eyes. Upon closer inspection, the little thing was definitely female. Pinkie reached down and touched the little one's head, who reacted by pressing into Pinkie's hoof, then moving closer and settling upon Pinkie's lap without so much as an invitation.

The blatant show of trust made Pinkie smile. She was about to ask Spark what she was, but he had fallen asleep sitting up, propped against her shoulder. "Ugh...finally," sighed the harpy as she leaned against a nearby tree. She slid down into a sitting position, her deceptively long legs folding under herself. "It's been a long night, 'pinky', and those two have been upset all night. You have no idea what it's like to have others' emotions pressed on you like they have."

"...Actually, I do."

Sohl peered at Pinkie, who merely grinned sheepishly at her, though she had to peer around Spark's bulky form to be seen. Soon, Pinkie's legs began to give out. She grunted with effort as she leaned back, trying to get Spark to lie down. He was completely prone; out like a light. He was too heavy, and he fell forward on to Pinkie, pushing her on her back. She let out a giggle as the small pegasus wriggled out from between them, then pushed on Spark's side until he was lying on his side, giving Pinkie an opportunity to crawl out from under her heavy friend.

Pinkie and the little grassy pegasus sat next to each other, both standing watch over Spark as he slept. Suddenly remembering the harpy, Pinkie turned to see that she, too, had fallen asleep, in a sitting position and propped up against her tree. "Looks like it's just you and me now, "Leafy"," Pinkie whispered, and reached down to take the little one into her arms as she laid down beside Spark. 'Leafy' made a face as she snuggled deeply into Pinkie's fur, making the pink pony squeak, a sound of happiness.

"Call me Orea. My daddy does." Pinkie blinked, slightly shocked that the little one could talk.

"Oh! Um, ok, Orea. So...who's your daddy?" Orea yawned as she settled in for sleep as Pinkie pressed her back against Spark's, keeping the three of them warm in the chill night.

"He is," Orea whispered as she fell into the first stages of sleep, her body kept warm in Pinkie's arms. The earth mare's eyes shot open in shock. And just how did...you know what? It doesn't matter. Sleepy time, Pinkie thought as she closed her eyes and fell asleep in the grass.

When Pinkie awoke next, Celestia's sun had just started to rise over the tops of the trees. She smiled and let out a yawn, then sputtered as she nearly inhaled a feather. She spat it out and sat up, brushing a large, heavy wing off of her. She looked to her side to see Spark still sleeping, though he stirred from all the noise. After a moment of watching Spark and recalling the events of just a few hours prior, Pinkie got to her hooves and looked around the area for the little creature that called herself Orea.

Pinkie Pie let out an adoring coo as she saw the little nymph nestled in the arms of the harpy, those massive wings wrapped around herself and Orea. This last sound was enough to get Spark to open his eyes. His gaze was on the grass around where Pinkie sat, and as he woke and focused his vision, he realized he was staring at Pinkie's rump. He shot up, blurry eyed as he rubbed a hoof over his eyes. Whether Pinkie had noticed this or not, she was silent about it. Instead he was greeted by a grin that started to grate on his nerves. "Ugh, Pinkie...so I wasn't dreaming last night." He let out a sigh and nearly fell over until Pinkie lent him her shoulder.

"Sparky, what were doing walking around this tired? Why didn't you make camp instead of...where are you coming from, anyway?" Pinkie asked, her tone and eyes full of concern. The pegasus turned his gaze on Pinkie. He really didn't want to have to talk about it, but she deserved to know. They all did, actually. He closed his eyes and touched his forehead to hers affectionately before pulling away from her to stand on his own.

"I'll tell you, Pinkie. But I really don't want to have to repeat myself...it's not a pleasant thing for me to think about or talk about. Can you go grab the others?" Pinkie Pie smiled and saluted. Before she turned to go, though, he stopped her. "Pinkie, wait...let me find Fluttershy. There's something I need to ask her. Go find the others, tell them to meet me at the library in a couple hours."

After Pinkie left, Spark wandered over to the sleeping Sohl and Orea. Sohl was roused with a cautious poke to her nose. Her eyes opened and stared at Spark. He quickly retracted his hoof, then sat down in front of the harpy. "Sohl, I need a safe place to keep Orea, and there might be a place to keep her-"

"So keep her with me," she interupted, cradling the nymph a little tighter in her arms. The two had grown very close over the last few weeks, and even though Sohl had initially disliked having the nymph inside her head at all times, it had become comforting. Apparently the thought of being away from Spark's 'offspring' was an unpleasant notion.

"I don't want to keep the two of you hidden out here for who knows how long, and I don't want to hide you two like you're a couple of monsters. It's bad enough that I have to." Sohl narrowed her magnolia-colored eyes at him. He wasn't starting on that whole pity trip again, was he? She suddenly lashed out with a talon, intent on grabbing him and knocking some sense into him. His left wing shot up and pushed her foot over his head. The swift reflex brought a grin to her face; he was getting really good at predicting her movements. She let her leg down slowly, the long talons curling back into resting position.

"You're getting better, and here I thought you might be tired." The tone in Sohl's voice told Spark that she was getting restless and wanted to fight. He quickly reminded her that she was holding Orea in her arms with a hoof. After making sure that she was indeed holding the nymph, Sohl sighed, collapsing in on herself a little. "...All right. Fine...Let's go do the things that you wanna do." Sohl got to her feet slowly, still clutching the child carefully. She stepped up onto Spark's back, then stood straight.

As she had in White Tail Woods where they first met, she quickly shrank down into eagle form, now about as large as the average eight year old filly. She made sure that Orea, still miraculously sleeping, was tucked between Spark's wings. She then perched atop the nymph and covered her with her expansive pink and yellow plumage. Stuck to body language in this form, Sohl slapped the back of Spark's head with a wing and pointed towards Ponyville. Glaring back at the harpy eagle, Spark turned northwest of the village and took off in that direction for Fluttershy's cottage.

Fluttershy stepped through her front door, wings raised to the sky. It was such a glorious morning! The bees were buzzing, collecting honey and making flowers bloom, the hummingbirds were chirping as they flew by, and the wind had such a wonderful smell to it. Today, Fluttershy was going to start work on an area for a chicken coup. Over the last week, she had been gathering supplies; chicken wire, plywood, nails, and straw for the little chickens to make their nests.

It was going to be a busy several days for her to be working alone, but really that's how she liked it. She hated asking others for help, if only for the fact that her troubles were just too insignificant to bother others with. She had just gotten all the materials out to start work when she happened to glance down the road and spotted a dark form approaching. She gasped and dove behind her materials, then very slowly popped her head over the stack of plywood. She watched the figure approaching, then let out a squeal of delight: Spark Storm!

Fluttershy hopped into the air and in a single bound covered the distance from her home to Spark Storm, landing nearly at his hooves. He took a step back, but not before he found himself in a big, feathery hug. "Spark Storm, you're home!" she called, nuzzling him affectionately before taking a step back. She let out a gasp as a pair of big, yellow and pink wings spread wide. From Fluttershy's perspective, being as short as she was, it seemed the pretty feathers were protruding from his head. It would've made for an amusing sight if the wings didn't look so dangerous.

Spark Storm gave Fluttershy a sheepish grin as an annoyed harpy eagle stepped up Spark's back and gripped his head in a set of talons as she peered down her beak at the pony that had disrupted her rest. "Oh...oh my..." Fluttershy said breathlessly. "What...a magnificent bird!" she proclaimed, lifting herself into the air to better examine Sohl. Finding this to be a terrible idea, he took a step back before the irritable harpy could react.

"Ah, that's not a good idea, Flutters. Sohl here isn't the type of 'bird' that likes to be touched. I was actually wondering if you could find a place for her for a couple days..." Fluttershy's eyes got bigger and bigger as he talked. The 'couple days' did it.

"Oh, Spark, you're going to be staying here for a while?" she said, her voice rising with excitement. "Woo hoo!" she crooned, her voice barely above a whisper, but her body language was that of an excited filly. "Oh, that's such exciting news! And your bird is so pretty! I just know we're going to get along so well, you and I! And..." she trailed off as another curious face popped up over Spark's shoulder.

Fluttershy and Orea stared at each other in wonder. Slowly, a look of realization came over the yellow pegasi's face. "Spark...this is..." she said, her voice full of awe and respect. "Th-this is a tree spirit..."

Spark looked down at Fluttershy with surprise. "You know them, Fluttershy? I didn't think anypony in this day and age would know of them without actually meeting them."

She shook her head, her eyes still full of wonder. She gasped as Orea climbed down from Spark's back and approached Fluttershy slowly. "Oh, I...no, I've never seen them, or read about them, really. But seeing her...I just know." Fluttershy let out a soft gasp as the little nymph suddenly attached herself to Fluttershy's legs.

"Heh. Don't worry, Fluttershy. She only does that to ponies - argh!" he groaned as Sohl scratched his head with a talon. "...and harpies...that she likes." Spark's grunt of pain and his mention of harpies went completely unnoticed by Fluttershy. She was too busy fawning over Orea.

Suddenly the nymph turned to Spark and said, "Daddy, I like this one. Let's keep her!" She turned back to Fluttershy and jumped into her arms, nuzzling under the pegasi's chin.

"Oh Spark, she talks! She's just so cute and cuddly, and she sh-she called you...'daddy'."

"Mhm," Spark said in a noncommital sort of way. There was going to be a lot of explaining to do before the day was up.

Ditzy hummed happily to herself as she gave little Dinky a bath. She was just over two months now, and things had finally gotten easier, especially with everypony's help. Ever since Spark Storm's intervention a little over a month ago, Ditzy didn't feel like she was alone and drowning anymore. Many ponies stopped by now and then and asked her what she needed.

Many times she said she wasn't in need, but like clockwork, an hour later she would find extra baby supplies on her doorstep, donated anonymously. Today had been such a day: Pinkie Pie had come by earlier, asking what she could get for her. When Ditzy told her that she didn't need anything today, a basket that had most definitely been from Pinkie appeared at Ditzy's front door, bearing more diapers, more bath supplies, and a plate of blueberry muffins.

Having gotten Dinky cleaned and wrapped up in a diaper and a nice warm towl, Ditzy was feeling a bit peckish. She pulled the plate of muffins closer and tore away the cling wrap. The smell of breakfast made her mouth water a bit, which Dinky was kind enough to point at and laugh as Ditzy's open mouth smile made her dribble just a bit.

"Oh!" Ditzy laughed and wiped at her mouth. "Dinky, that's an embarrassing thing to point out!" She said accusingly, getting a happy giggle from her little girl. Ditzy smiled and looked down at something that seemed to be poking out of the bottom of her plate. Curious, she pulled it out slowly to reveal a small letter that seemed to be made out of construction paper. Attached to it was a single, familiar blue feather. Ditzy's heart jumped for joy as she read the card, which had been scribbled in blue crayon against the bright pink card: "Special guest today at the library this morning, don't be late!"

Ditzy didn't want to think about how Pinkie got this feather. She was an odd mare, but her heart was usually in the right place. She reached down and carefully picked up the feather in her mouth, then tucked it neatly into her mane with help from a wing. She let out a sigh of happiness as she cantered back to Dinky and nudged her over onto her back and, much to Dinky's delight, began to blow raspberries on the infant's tummy. After successfully making the little foal happy, she sighed dreamily.

"Good thing we just got you washed, muffin, 'cause we're gonna go see an old friend today. Maybe we'll bring him home tonight, wouldn't that be fun?" Dinky nodded, just for the sake of moving her body a little, but Ditzy took that as a sign of affirmation. She laughed happily, and took Dinky with her as she slipped into her closet to find something nice to wear for the occasion.

And so begins the third arc of Spark Storm's story! A new story, a new direction for our hero. Stay tuned for more!

3 - Coming Home 2 Family

Emerald groaned as he opened his eyes. Everything was terribly blurry, and it wasn't just because he didn't have his glasses on. Just a few minutes ago (or was it hours ago, he couldn't tell) Rainbow Dash had crashed right into him and sent them both tumbling into the library. Having the wind knocked out of you was not a fun experience. He sat up slowly and immediately felt a hoof on his shoulder. "Whoa, take it easy, guy," came a familiar scratchy voice. Emerald laid back down with a grunt, the strain of movement in his stomach causing him considerable pain.

"Ugh," Emerald grunted. He turned his head to see a blur of sky blue mixed with fuzzy rainbow mane. "You're Rainbow Dash, right?" While Emerald had met Spark Storm's cousin perhaps twice in the last seven years, their extreme opposite personality types kept them from mingling much.

"Uh, yeah," Rainbow said, as if Emerald's question was obvious. "So...sorry about crashing into you like that. I kinda got anxious when I heard that Spark Storm was coming home. Something about a 'misfire' or something at the castle?"

Emerald rolled his still-blurry eyes. "Mishap, actually, but yes. There was a bit of a falling out between Spark Storm and the Princess. I won't go into details, I'll leave that for your cousin."

Rainbow Dash shrugged at this, then looked around at the library. Suddenly realizing that she was surrounded by books, Rainbow started to get a little nervous. "Uhh, hey. He's gonna be here soon, right? I seriously don't want to be in a library longer than I have to."

Emerald Skies sat up again, this time unimpeded. He looked around the floor until he found his glasses, and finally slipped them back on. "Well, I'd say we still have an hour to go before the actual meeting starts, but I don't know when Spark plans to be here."

"Right now, actually," came Spark's voice from the door. The big pegasus stepped inside the closed the door, a weary expression displayed on his countenance. He turned and gave Rainbow Dash a light smile when she came to embrace him tight enough to halt his breathing. She hit him on the shoulder affectionately when she pulled away.

"All right, out with it, cuz. What happened at Canterlot?"

Spark just rolled his eyes and walked past his cousin to sit down at Emerald's center work-table and absently fiddled with a random book found at the top of a three-book stack. "Rainbow, if you're here because Pinkie got a message to you, then you know I'm going to tell everypony what happened at the same time." Spark looked back at Rainbow Dash apologetically. "I'm sorry, Dash, it's just...what happened really sucked. I don't want to go over it again more than I have to, you know?"

Rainbow sighed and glared at Spark. She hated waiting, but she knew what he meant. "Yeah, I get it," she said, looking around the room and fidgeting restlessly. "Look, I can't stay in here if I don't have to be here, I'll see you guys in about an hour." She turned to leave, then looked back at the other two pegasi, posing with an accusing hoof at them, "Do not start without me." And with that, she left the two stallions alone.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and a small, dark form burst into the library, followed by a larger, brighter form. "Chrome! You little sneak! Get back here!"

Spark watched with wide eyes as the small, dark pegasus leapt up onto the table in front of him, a hoof pointed at Spark's chest and shouted, "AH-HAH! I finally found you, brother!"

Rainbow Dash stopped at the table. It was too late. She, Emerald and Spark stared wide-eyed at the ten year old pegasus who resembled a smaller Spark Storm, but with a metallic chrome color in his mane and tail. He also lacked the black around his mouth, and his eyes were a dark plum color.

Spark hadn't said a word in the last ten seconds. He was lost in memory, back to the day that he, Sapphire, Ditzy and Rainbow had gone to confront his parents in Cloudsdale for the second time. It was there that he ran into his little two year old brother. Spark's parents had forgotten about him and had another colt. Spark hadn't been able to take it, and had run off. So, here they were again, face to face. Chrome finally dropped his hoof, a worried look on his face. "Spark? You remember me, don't you? I know it's been eight years, but...you remember me, right?"

Emerald and Rainbow both turned their heads to look at Spark Storm, still silent with shock. Rainbow reached over and punched Spark in the shoulder, earning her a glare until he looked back up at Chrome and nodded. "Yeah, kiddo, I remember you. I promise, there's no way I'll ever forget that moment we met."

Chrome broke out into a grin, even as happy tears started forming in his eyes. "You mean it, big bro?" Spark stared at Chrome, tears of his own threatening to fall. At this point, he couldn't tell if this was a cruel joke being played on him by fate, or if this was really something to be happy about. He was fine with being separated from his biological family. For the longest time, Cheerilee had been his big sister and the only family he needed. Did it really need to get bigger?

...Of course it did. Spark approached Chrome and sat his front hooves on the desk and raised himself up to embrace his younger brother. "Yeah. I really mean it, Chrome." Chrome Spectrum smiled happily as he hugged his long-lost brother. Finally, after years of searching for the truth, he finally had a brother. From the moment of meeting Spark that day, he had been asking his mother who he was. Having never gotten a straight answer, he eventually tricked Rainbow Dash into telling him about his sibling. Since then, he had been bugging his cousin every day to tell him about Spark Storm, though he was denied every time.

Emerald and Rainbow both exchanged a look, and, apparently thinking the same thing, crept slowly from the room and upstairs. Rainbow hopped up onto the open windowsill and chanced a glance back at Emerald with a light grin. "Well, I think I'm gonna take off. I'm so gonna get it for letting Chrome find Spark later, but...well, nothing I can do about it now, right?"

"Pretty much," Emerald replied with a shrug. Rainbow chuckled and took off into the air. From downstairs, Emerald thought he could hear Chrome crying happily. It wasn't a heart-breaking sound, but still feeling too close, Emerald left as well, a gentle smile on his face.

"Hello?" the knocking came almost too quietly to hear. Fluttershy knocked again, taking a moment to glance around the town nervously. She had gotten more than a few looks making her way to the library with such a large predatory bird on her back, and every time she tried to go back, the bird had firmly steered her back into town. After knocking once again (again, nearly too softly to hear) she decided to slip inside. The library was a public place after all.

Once inside, she closed the door and let out a gasp. There, sitting at the table, were two Spark Storms. Was some heinous magic spell at work here?! Or...could it be...? Fluttershy let out a gasp of joy and ran over to Spark Storm so fast that the harpy eagle, clutching a big ball of green in it's wings, fell over onto it's back and dropped the ball, which turned out to be Orea.

As Spark and Chrome turned to see what the noise was, several things happened. First, Fluttershy approached the two and gave Spark a nuzzle before turning to say hello to the colt that she'd seen many times before moving down to the surface. The second, Orea bounced up behind the two older pegasi and hopped onto her 'father's' back and peeped over his head at Chrome, eliciting an awed gasp from Spark's brother. And third, Sohl returned to her tall harpy form and leapt up into the air and came down with her legs on either side of Fluttershy, an annoyed snarl erupting from her. "You dropped me!" she shrieked, just loud enough to cause Fluttershy to drop to the floor with her forelegs over her head.

Chrome, however, let out a scream and bolted for the door. Not wasting a second, Spark flapped his wings once and got to the door before his little brother, effectively blocking it. Chrome tripped when he saw the dark form in his way, rolling to a stop as he collided with Spark's chest. "Aaaaaaaugh! Lemme go, lemme go, it's a monster!" he cried and struggled as Spark lifted him into his forelegs.

"Chrome! Knock it off!" He set Chrome down to look at him, his back to the harpy. Chrome hyperventilated, panic and fear written in his eyes. He looked around wildly until Spark grabbed his face and forced his brother to look at him. "Chrome! Look at me!" After a moment, Chrome calmed down enough to focus on Spark. "They're friends. All of them. You hear me? They're all friends. They won't hurt you."

Chrome looked up into his brother's eyes. He started to calm down when he saw how serious Spark was, but he still wasn't sure. Spark glanced behind Chrome and called, "Fluttershy, can you come here?" Looking up to see Sohl still glaring at her, Fluttershy slowly crawled away from the harpy until she sidled up to the brothers, still on her belly and looking quite subdued. After Spark gave her a 'really?' look, she sat up slowly and smiled sheepishly at Spark. He pulled her closer and looked down at his little brother. "Fluttershy, do me a favor and hold on to him for just a moment, ok?"

Fluttershy squee'd at the idea of holding onto to such a cute mini-Spark and happily wrapped her hooves around Chrome, who tensed and blushed at the sudden contact. Spark rolled his eyes and turned to look at Sohl. She shrugged at him and then sat down on the table top. She seemed to have taken all of this in stride, maybe even enjoying all the ponies running around. He sighed and shook his head as he stepped closer to her. "Has she seen you like this before?" he asked, referring to her tall, bipedal form.

"Yes," she replied, with a more than a little annoyed tone. "She took one look at me and started acting like I was the cutest animal she'd ever seen. Do you have any idea how insulting it is for a harpy to be called cute?" Spark arched a brow as he brushed a hoof through Sohl's feathers. "Uh huh. Have I mentioned that your feathers are the girliest colors I've ever seen?" Expecting Sohl to be even more insulted, Spark was surprised when she smiled happily down at him.

"Aw, no, you haven't!" Spark backed up in alarm when Sohl kneeled down and wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss on top of his head. He blushed with embarrassment and backed away from her. "What, did you think I'd be insulted with a comment like that? You do know that my natural coloring is used to attract my natural prey, don't you?" she asked as she stood back to her full height, an amused grin on her face.

"What exactly is your natural prey, anyway?"

Sohl smiled down at Spark with a little less amusement and a little more malice, displaying her usually hidden sharp incisors. "They look a lot like harpies. They're shorter, don't have wings, and don't have these," she said, lifting a leg to poke Spark on the nose with a needle-sharp talon. Spark managed not to yelp in pain at the sharp poke to his sensitive nose and pushed Sohl's talon away. He turned away from her, glancing at Chrome and Fluttershy, who still held the younger colt.

Chrome had a large, goofy grin on his face, and Spark had a pretty good idea why. Chrome was just old enough to notice the mare body, and Fluttershy was much too naive to notice him noticing her. He marched over to the two and plucked Chrome out of the mare's clutches and glared at his younger brother, who immediately grinned sheepishly. "Hehe you can totally let Fluttershy hold me again, uh, I think I'm getting scared again..." Chrome said, trying with all his might to look honestly frightened. His older brother merely glared daggers at the younger colt and placed him on the ground.

"Yeah, no. I think you're brave enough to stand on your own four hooves, hm?" he said, giving Chrome a glare that said something completely different. The younger colt nodded and lowered his head slightly. He got the silent message.

"All right, good. Now wait a second, where's...?" He looked around the room for Orea, who had gone surprisingly quiet, and missing, apparently. When his wings twitched with agitation, he felt her resting on his back. How long had she been there? He didn't have time to ask any more questions when a strange thing happened. The air in front of him began to shimmer. All four occupants of the room stared at the spot before the energy in the air collected at the center of the area, then suddenly pop! and a scroll appeared from nowhere, dropping to the floor.

Spark stared silently at his three companions, then cautiously picked it up. He looked it over slowly, then slowly opened it, and read it quietly.

Dear Spark Storm, I hope this reaches you. I have some bad news. Apparently Lemon Pop has gone missing! All we know here at the palace is that she was very upset when she left earlier today. She's been feeling terribly guilty about what happened between you, Sapphire, and Princess Celestia. I thought I would take it upon myself to send you this message via Spike. He's just learning, so I don't know if this has reached you or not. If it has, please keep an eye out for her.

Your Friend

Signed, Twilight Sparkle

Spark Storm let out a heavy sigh as he rolled the message back up and set it down slowly on the center table. All was quiet in the library until Chrome couldn't take it anymore. He stepped closer to Spark, a worried expression on his face. "Bro? What's up?"

Spark frowned as he thought quietly to himself, his eyes on his hooves. After a moment, he turned to look up at Sohl. She returned the look, already reacting to his feelings through Orea. "Lemon Pop is in trouble. It seems like she might've left the Fighters, too. I think we should go look for her."

As he said this, there was a tiny sound from upstairs, like a gasp. All eyes turned towards the upper floor as they saw a flash of blonde tail disappear into the room above. Spark sighed and held a hoof to his forehead. At least he didn't have to worry about looking for Lemon in the woods. "You guys, just...give me a minute," he said as he cantered up the stairs and slipped inside the room, then closed the door behind him. The room was nice and big, with plenty of space and two large beds, but other than these there weren't a lot of places to hide.

After just a moment of searching, Spark took a look under the main bed and found a hiding Lemon Pop. Spark gave her a patient smile, earning him her presence beside him. The two looked into each other's eyes, and Spark didn't need to know her as well as he did to know that she was terribly conflicted and guilty.

Lemon lowered her head just slightly and leaned forward, stopping just inches from Spark. The big pegasus took the hint, and pressed his forehead against hers. The two stayed like this in silent companionship, with nothing but their breathing and an occasional tear falling to the floor breaking the silence.

4 - The Recap And The Return

As Spark Storm and Lemon Pop sat close together, giving each other comfort, one pair of watchful eyes sat hidden in a tree not far from the library, taking notes and spying through a camera. "Hm. 'Long lost pegasus returns to ponyville'," he said through the pencil in his mouth as he wrote feverishly fast. Laser Reflex looked back into the library's second floor window. Nothing new happening there, it was time to scope out the first floor.

Reflex gathered his recording materials and flew down to the library's first floor, and sneak-like peeped through the window. What he saw made him shiver with terror, so of course his first instinct was to start writing. "Great merciful Celestia," he whispered, his pencil scribbling details of everything he saw. "What is that thing? Tall, terrifying, feathered...are those supposed to be teats? On her chest? What kind of horrifying society could this thing come from? And...that filly appears to be made of grass. Fascinating!"

Reflex was so busy writing and watching the creatures inside talking with one another that he almost didn't hear voices approaching. When he did, he took a quick leap up into the thick coverage of the library's foliage. He watched as the local librarian approached, accompanied by the mare that was in the papers about a year ago, a pegasus previously shunned for having a foal at thirteen. He remembered how that went down: apparently one of the town's own outcasts returned and set the town straight on the subject of the young mother. It was quite an event that many of the elders in the village were against, but ultimately powerless to prevent.

So there was to be a reunion of sorts in secret? Laser Reflex chuckled to himself; today was going to be a most fortuitous occasion for journalism. He was so focused on writing everything he saw down that he didn't notice the collection of vines slipping into his saddlebags.

Ditzy closed the door behind her and instantly froze at the sight of Sohl. The last time Spark had been in town, Ditzy had missed the group session where everypony shared their secrets. She flinched when Emerald put a hoof on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Ditzy. She might look intimidating, but she's..." he paused, glacing at the harpy. "Well, she's actually very intimidating either way. But she's a close friend of Spark's. She won't hurt you."

"Probably not, anyway," Sohl said, giving Ditzy a friendly wave. The grey mare didn't have time to respond when Orea came running up to her. It was Ditzy's first time meeting a nymph as the little one sniffed at her, her long grassy tail flipping back and forth with interest. Finally she leaned up with her hooves on Ditzy's chest, a happy smile on her face.

"Daddy really likes you. Almost as much as Sapp-" Orea was cut off as Emerald grabbed her gently, a hoof over her mouth.

Ditzy narrowed her eyes suspiciously as Emerald smiled innocently, coughed, and took Orea with him as he flew up to the second floor. He knocked on the door, then slipped inside. Spark stood at the side of the guest bed, where Lemon Pop had fallen asleep. Spark smiled and waved at Orea as Emerald set her down. The nymph ran to him and hopped up onto his back and whispered in his ear, causing both to fall back in a gesture of dismay. "Orea, you said what?" he hissed quietly, then slipped over to the door, only to find Ditzy waiting there, playfully rocking backwards and forward on her hooves like a child.

"You like me," she said through partially lidded eyes, which were very nearly looking in the same direction.

With having one of his deepest secrets revealed, Spark blushed a dark red. He took a single step backwards as he felt that blush extend to other parts of his body. "Uh, well, I..." Spark gasped as Ditzy hopped forward and planted a kiss on his cheek before turning right around and hopped back down to the first floor. Spark Storm immediately brought a hoof to his forehead, his face still hot from the peck to his cheek. "Oh, great...Like things aren't complicated enough already..." He turned his head to glare at Orea on his back, but his anger quickly melted away when she decided to mimic Ditzy and kiss his nose.

Spark managed to hold in a manly squee at the cuteness of his charge. Instead, he grabbed her in his hooves and hugged her to him, resulting in an obscenity from downstairs. "Quit being so happy up there!" Sohl yelled. Spark and Orea both chuckled as the pegasus let the nymph on the floor, and she ran out the room again.

Spark sighed and ran a hoof through his mane and looked over at Emerald, who quickly looked away and whistled innocently. "Yeah, you keep doing that, Emerald, it's your fault what happened with Ditzy."

"What?" Emerald turned to look at him incredulously. "How was that my fault?"

"I...I don't know! Weren't you supposed to be watching Orea, or something?"

"I'm not a babysitter! She's your kid, you should watch her!"

Spark's wings ruffled as he glared at Emerald. "She's not my kid! She..." he sighed, a happy little sigh crossing his face. "Well, she is kinda mine, even if she's not my daughter." Emerald watched Spark with an amused expression as the dark pegasus adopted a dreamy, happy look.

Lemon Pop murmured in her sleep and opened her eyes blearily. "Spark? It's kinda hard to sleep with...you know..." Spark frowned and trotted over to her and ran a hoof through her messy mane.

"Sorry 'bout that, Lemon. We'll take it downstairs. You just try and rest." Lemon sighed softly and closed her eyes once more. Spark tilted his head towards the door, then the two left, closing the door behind them.

Laser Reflex remained busy for a while, writing down everything he saw and everypony that entered. After the ones already inside, he witnessed, Lyra, Bon Bon (not at the same time) Allie Way, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie enter the library over the next hour. According to his notes, this concluded his theory: All of Spark Storm's classmates from elementary and middle school were meeting. Being relatively new to Ponyville meant that he had to check the town records to catch him up on all the different ponies.

After one last checking of his notes, Reflex put everything into his saddlebags, which were a little overstuffed this time. He thought he made extra space for this trip, but he couldn't check his bags here, so he took off into the air and made for home. Finally, on the other side of town, he reached his house, located on the exact opposite side of town from the library. Turning the key, he slipped inside, dropped his saddlebags, and headed straight to the bathroom. All that time outside had gotten him sweaty.

As soon the shower started, Reflex's saddlebags fell over. Yards of vine emerged from having squashed itself into the confines of the bag, and began to take form. A tall pony-like form began to take shape, the vines' mass spreading itself out to form a solid body. Finally, it was finished, and Ampelus fell to the floor, gasping as her newly reformed body readjusted to pony-form. Her mane was long and spread out, her long dragonfly-like wings were still wet and partially formed. She slowly pulled herself to her full height, a bit taller than a certain red farm stallion. She stood, and waited.

It wasn't long before Reflex came out of the shower, refreshed and soaking wet. He stepped over to his saddlebags and rummaged through them, getting out his notes. He sat down and went through them, muttering to himself quietly. It was only after five minutes of going through his notes that he vaguely sensed he wasn't alone in his home. He looked up and came face-to-face with a seven hundred year old nymph.

Laser Reflex stared at the creature that resembled a tall, beautiful mare. If his survival instincts hadn't kicked in right then and there, he might have fallen for her, as so many stallions had. He opened his mouth to scream, but it was quickly pulled shut by a long tendril like leg. He struggled, trying to pull away from her. She easily pulled him up off his hooves and then planted him down against his back, her other front hoof pressed against his chest. The tip of the tendril wrapped around his mouth pulled up over her lips as she leaned in close and whispered, "Sshhh."

Spark sat surrounded by his friends, having just filled them in on what had happened at Canterlot to make him leave the Fighters. He told them every last bit of what happened that night and the preceding days before it, Ditzy sat at his side, stroking his back comfortingly. His closest friends had come to hear his tale, and all of them looked sad or unhappy at this turn of events. None of them really knew what Celestia's Fighters were about, just that they were all branded outcasts by their respective towns, Spark's being their own Ponyville.

"Oh, dear, that's horrible," Rarity said sympathetically. "And yet, so romantic." she said, swooning a little. Ditzy's mouth tightened just a little as she looked over at the fashionista, as did the others. "Why, Sapphire must have been so impressed with the way you handled yourself. Standing before the Princess herself, and talking to her like that! I know I'm impressed."

"Yeah! Totally brave, Sparky!" Pinkie said as she jumped to her hooves. "We should totally throw you a 'Spark Storm is brave' party!" She looked around at the questioning faces around her. She shrugged and sat back down. Applejack opened her mouth to add her two cents when the door from the room above opened. All eyes turned to see Lemon Pop emerge, her yellow mane combed and freshly braided. While she looked pristine and fresh, she still had an air of sadness about her that tightened Spark's heart. Lemon Pop was the sweetest and strangest mare he'd ever known, and to see her like this was heartbreaking.

He stood and went to greet her at the foot of the stairs, the two friends friends embracing. When Ditzy came up to say hello, Lemon Pop took a stance before her, her eyes angry and accusing. Ditzy gasped and took a step backwards, then assumed a mirror stance, the two girls staring each other down. Spark looked from one to the other, then cleared his throat. Both Ditzy and Lemon glared at him, one a highly interested mare, the other jealously defending her best friend's stake.

Instead of backing off like he should have and let the girls have their stare-off, Spark stepped forward, his wings raised aggressively. "Knock it off, you two! There's enough going on around here without the two of you at each other's, and my throats!" The two mares winced at his tone, then backed away from each other, but not without poisonous glares directed at each other. The room was quiet as it's occupants glanced at each other awkwardly.

Spark sighed and returned to his place in the circle, Lemon and Ditzy following. The two of them made to sit at his side, but not before glaring daggers at each other. Ditzy turned her nose up at Lemon and sat down with her side pressed to Spark's. Lemon did the same, earning the both of them an annoyed glance from the dark pegasus. This was going to be a long day, he could tell.

Ampelus squeezed her prey harder, crunching it's insides and sucking the life out of it. Her prey's energy became food for the nymph, filling her up and, for now at least, satisfying her intense hunger. "Mm. Thank you, little pegasus. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten," she said, licking her lips as she dropped the empty husk to the floor where it broke into pieces.

"Oh, you're welcome," Flex said from his dinner table. He frowned at the mess on the floor. Such a waste to have to give her all the plants he had in the house, he always was a bit of a plant and flower connoisseur. "Are you sure that's all you need to sustain yourself?"

"Do not worry for me!" Ampelus snapped, turning her head to Reflex, staring down her muzzle at him. After a brief glare, though, her stomach rumbled and she fell to her belly. The plants were most certainly not enough. She would need something considerably bigger and meatier, but she needed the pegasus to get close to the Storm-Bringer who had wounded her two years ago and stolen her sister. She panted quietly and struck her muzzle several times on the floor in pain and frustration before looking up at him through her grassy bangs.

Laser Reflex stared back at the wondrous creature huddled in his living room. She was truly a sight to behold: She was beautiful, both in the sense of something wonderful, and in a physical sense. He'd never seen a creature that mimic'd the dominant life form to hunt it. He supposed he should be grateful that she didn't want to eat him, though he would need to get her some compensation soon if he didn't want that to happen. He stood and grabbed his saddlebags, then headed for the door.

Ampelus was immediately on top of him, her legs elongating and twisting around his limbs. He let out a panicked yelp as the nymph grabbed him by the scruff of his neck with her mouth. He might have been turned on if he wasn't fearing for his life. "T-take it easy! I have to go to town and get you some food!" The nymph didn't let go, but she wasn't tightening her hold on him. "L-look, you want your revenge on Spark Storm, right? You need food and nourishment, and if you eat me, then you're not going to be able to leave this place without getting noticed."

Ampelus considered his words. She released the scruff of his neck and brought a tendril up to tenderly caress his cheek. "There is always the cover of darkness, my love," she purred sweetly into his ear, making him blush. "I could just devour you now and slip out in the night to take my revenge." Laser Reflex blanched in horror. Oh. "...But I suppose that would be no fun for you, now would it? I am a generous creature." She slid slowly off of Reflex's body, making sure to brush him in all the right places. "Now go. Bring me food, and I will spare you when my time for revenge approaches."

Laser Reflex was all too glad to get out of his house. He shut the door behind him and slid down it, his heart beating a mile a minute. Just what had he gotten himself into?

New OC Laser Reflex enters the fray, courtesy of avid reader plzexplode.

Hang on to your hats kids, 'cause things are getting interesting!

5 - Glamour Ponies

Lyra sat at the far end of the library as Bon Bon said her goodbyes to Spark Storm and his brother. Bon Bon lingered around Chrome a little longer than Lyra would have liked. Did she really have to make sure that Lyra saw all her flirting? She sighed and looked down at the wooden floor. She'd just have to get used to the fact that Bon Bon was going to continue to get back at her until she saw fit.

Chrome grinned like an idiot as he watched Bon Bon leave. He turned to look up at Spark with big excited eyes. "Bro! Did you see that?! She was totally in to me!" He pranced back and forth in front of his brother proudly, then suddenly turned and posed in front of the girls. "Ladies," he said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. It was an embarrassing moment for Spark Storm.

He couldn't help it. Spark reached over and put a sympathetic hoof on Chrome's shoulder and whispered something in his brother's ear. Chrome immediately deflated and looked up at his brother in dismay. "Wait, what? H-how does that even work?!" Rarity, Lemon Pop and Ditzy all giggled at his reaction, all with varying degrees of amusement at the poor colt's misguided and misinformed excitement.

Suddenly, Rarity shot to her feet. "Oh! Spark Storm, I just remembered, I've been working on a glamour spell, dear, and it just might let you wander about town with us. I just brought it up because, well, it's lunch time and I rather think that we as good guests shouldn't burden poor Emerald by raiding his meager kitchen. What do you say?"

Spark took a step backwards from Rarity's enthusiastic gushing, his eyes wide like a deer in the path of a manticore. He looked to each of his friends for help, but all of them save for Ditzy and Pinkie Pie were purposely glancing elsewhere. The two mares seemed interested in seeing the outcome. "Well...I guess I'm feeling a little peckish," he said carefully. "And it might be nice to walk around town without being recognized..."

"Yes, that's the spirit!" Rarity cried as her horn lit up unexpectedly. Spark's eyes widened even more as he backed away from the unicorn. "Wait, Rarity, aren't we going to discuss-" and before he could finish, Rarity cast the glamour spell upon the big pegasus. Spark Storm closed his eyes as he could feel something like a strong wind blowing through his fur and his wings. When it was over, every pony, harpy and nymph were staring at him, wide-eyed.

Allie Way grinned and held a hoof over her mouth. She rather liked what she saw, even if it was to Spark's discomfort. Spark turned to the others, a look of panic on his face. "What did she do to me?! Somepony get me a mirror!" Despite the urgency in his voice, Lemon grinned behind a hoof, then burst out laughing. Chrome Spectrum just stared, trying to keep himself from chuckling out loud.

Rarity stepped close to Spark, lightly running a hoof through his now silky, long mane. "My, Spark, you're certainly looking different." Spark turned to glare at her before noticing his mane hanging off of Rarity's foreleg.

Blonde. He was blonde. Spark let out a whimper of dismay as Ditzy brought him a mirror with a sour face. She much preferred his original look. So did Spark. He was strawberry red, like Lemon Pop, with a long, straight, blonde mane and tail, and his eyes were green. His black facial markings were now cream colored, as were his hooves. He whirled on Rarity, his wings flaring. "What were you thinking, using this...this...namby pamby glamour crap on me, Rarity?! I look like a prissy..." He paused. He knew he'd seen this mane-do before. Where was it? It suddenly hit him. He'd seen it once before, and just once.

Just seconds before, Orea had leapt onto his back, sniffing at his new mane. It was very reminiscent of the day that he burst into Celestia's personal dining area and seen that pompous pony that called himself a prince. "Rarity, why does my mane look like Prince Blueblood's?!" he yelled.

"And don't think Ah didn't notice," Applejack said, marching straight up to Rarity, "that with his build and his colorin', he looks just like mah brother!" Spark gasped and looked back into the mirror. Aside from the fact that he was a pegasus, his big build and his new coloring did make him look similar to Big Mac.

"Oh honestly, you two, you can't fault a girl for having good taste in stallions. I simply put two of my favorite eye candies and put them on Spark." She smiled charmingly and fluffed Spark's new mane a bit. "Personally I think it does wonders in bringing out your shapely behind, dear."

Spark, Applejack and Lemon Pop glared at Rarity, who was indeed admiring Spark's more visible posterior. Ditzy flew up over the mirror to also get a look. Spark immediately backed himself up against a wall and sat down, sulking and embarrassed. "I don't like it! I prefer my darker colors. I feel so...exposed!"

Allie Way giggled and shook her head as she walked towards the door, then turned to wave. "As amusing as this is, I think I'm gonna cut out. This is way too embarrassing!" She left, leaving Lyra wondering if she should go, too.

"You been eye-ballin' mah brother, Rarity?" Applejack demanded to know, a pushy hoof on the fashionista's chest.

"For viewing pleasure, yes. A lady is allowed to look, is she not? While I may be refined and proper, I do have an eye for the more rugged, outdoorsy type."

Applejack smirked, then pointed a hoof at Spark. "You been eye-ballin' mah other brother?"

Rarity immediately turned a cherry red in her cheeks, her body language suddenly becoming shy and hesitant. "Ah-wh-I-I beg your pardon, Applejack! I simply cannot speak of this directly in front of said stallion." Regaining her composure, she gestured to Spark Storm. "Why, just look at him, he's uncomfortable enough as it is. And besides," she said, turning to acknowledge Lemon Pop's glare that was switching between Applejack and herself. "I do believe we are upsetting our guest."

Spark sighed and held a hoof over his face. This right here is why I should've stayed with the Fighters, he thought. At least there, I had Frostbite and Gunslinger to balance out the mare to stallion ratio. Who in their right mind would hang out with just mares all day?!

Russet Hearts cantered happily through the market place, his feminine black mane bouncing and shining in the sunlight. He was off of work at his column job for lunch. A quill pen over a newspaper graced his flanks. Many a mare swooned at his appearance, russet brown, with his thin, wiry frame, yet somehow manly chiseled jawline and tight body structure. His mane and tail were always well-kept and shining and beautiful, his horn was always polished, and his brown eyes were a mare's delight. Unfortunately for them, Russet Hearts wasn't interested in mares. It was the male persuasion that he was attracted to.

It was a known fact that Russet was gay, and a usually accepted fact. There had been bullies, to be sure, especially in elementary and middle school. Russet had known who he was by the time he was two. But by the time Lyra and Bon Bon had come out, the two well-known ponies made it easier for ponies like Russet. Lyra, Bon Bon, and Ditzy's problems being shoved out in the open and solved had been the best thing to happen for Russet. More and more ponies began to accept him and call him friend.

One of these friends was Laser Reflex. Laser was a busybody, holding several part-time jobs around town. One of those was helping Rarity out in her boutique, being gifted with an eye for fashion. Being a bit of a hipster, he always had an opinion on the newest fashions and ditching the old ones the moment they got old. He also worked at the paper as a part-time journalist, where Russet Hearts worked as a columnist. The two had hit it off immediately upon meeting two years ago.

Now, Laser Reflex was smart. And he worked hard, and had a great eye for fashion, and possessed great taste in decor, as evidenced by his grand collection of rare flowers and plants at his home. He was not, however, gifted in socializing. He had no idea how relationships were formed, nor did he get subtle hints, much to Russet's chagrin. Reflex was quite often flirted with by Russet, and every time it went over his head, mistaking it for simply hanging out and talking.

It was lunchtime now, and Russet was looking for a place to eat. He was tired of the same old places, he just wished that Reflex would recognize his feelings and take him out somewhere nice. Speak of the devil! he thought. There was Reflex, wandering around the marketplace with a large bag that was quickly filling with all different types of food, bread, fruits, vegetables and nuts.

His bag was really starting to overflow, and he was looking very frustrated. Ever the good friend, Russet quickly purchased a bigger, stronger bag and caught up to his friend. "Well hello there, 'Flex!" he said in the usual bright, cheerful flair. He caught a few of the items that were loose or falling from Laser's bag and put them in his own. "Need some help?"

Reflex jumped at the sound of Russet's voice. His eyes were wide, he was tense, and he looked frightened, causing a concerned frown to form on Russet's face. "Oh, hey. Uh...sure, th-thanks." Reflex seemed more distracted than usual, and it was making Russet a bit anxious.

"You've got quite a haul today, Reflex, are you having a party later?"

Reflex turned to Russet, his eyes wide and filled with terror. "What?! No! No I'm not! Do not come by later! Stay away!" Russet backed away from Reflex until his back legs gave out and he fell to his rump. Several ponies, both buyers and sellers in the market place, stilled their conversations to watch as Russet's eyes filled with tears. Reflex, as thick as ever, turned right around and made off with his haul, leaving Russet Hearts with a wounded heart.

"Oh...ok." the unicorn finally said, his voice quiet and subdued.

Laser Reflex opened the door to his home and pulled in the kill that he bought. He carried almost thirty pounds of food in several bags inside, then shut the door, laid down on the couch, and closed his eyes. He'd almost completely forgotten about the presence of a deadly, hungry creature in his home, so when the bags started rustling all on their own, he yelped in panic and shot up to the top of his couch.

Ampelus, unfamiliar with the concept of groceries, poked at the bags with a vine-like appendage. She turned her muzzle at Reflex, her thin mouth curved in a disgusted frown. "What is this? This is not food! This material is indigestible, even to you!" She reached out and wrapped a leg around the pegasi's throat and dragged him closer to her. "Is this your idea of a joke?!"

"Th' frrd..." Reflex managed to choke out. "S'n th' bgs..." Unamused, Ampelus dropped Reflex to the floor, where he fell and coughed, gasping for breath. He reached and opened one of the bags, revealing a two-foot long loaf of Fancy Bread. Ampelus snatched it up and eyed it this way and than, then leaned in to nibble at it. It was crisp and appealing, so she scarfed it down, crunching loudly on the tasty loaf. Ampelus did the same with the rest of the food, not even bothering to suck the nutrients out properly with her tendrils.

Temporarily freed from his tormentor, Reflex crawled away as Ampelus continued to feast on the food noisily. He made his way to his bedroom and crawled into bed. He closed his eyes as he went over everything that had happened over the last two hours. The report he was supposed to do, the things he saw at the library, coming home and finding that creature waiting for him...and Russet. He opened his eyes as he remembered the look in Russet's eyes right before he left in a hurry.

Russet had looked like a puppy that'd just been kicked. Had he hurt his feelings by warning him to stay away? He'd only been trying to protect his friend, but Russet didn't know that. Reflex got up. Whether or not that Ampelus creature was still there at the doorway, he needed to go find his friend and apologize.

As he approached the door, he frowned at the mess Ampelus was making. Bread crumbs, seeds, pistachio shells and the juice of crushed fruits was all over the floor. He'd have some serious cleaning up to do when he got back, but right now he wanted to find Russet and apologize for yelling at him. The nymph said nothing to him as he walked past her, but when he made to open the door, she shot a leg out to wrap around his middle. "Ah-ah, you are not leaving anymore. You will stay here with me and provide me with entertainment."

No longer willing to be bullied by the seductive creature, Reflex turned right around and pounced on Ampelus, knocking her to her back. He stood over her, his face alight with fury, his wings flared. "Now listen here, you walking lawn, I am going out, and you're going to sit here and entertain yourself! Got it?!" He reached down and slapped her vine off of his waist and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Ampelus stared up at the ceiling where Reflex had been, then chuckled as she closed her eyes and laid against the floor. "I suppose I shall have to, then. That was quite exciting..."

Reflex spent the better half of an hour looking for Russet. He was nowhere to be found, but he did receive more than a few dirty looks for yelling at the sensitive stallion. It was something that Reflex just didn't get, and as could be expected, he didn't know that Russet Hearts was gay. He really didn't get that Russet was gay for him.

He was about to give up and head to the paper hq where he knew Russet worked when he saw something strange. The group from the library was gathered at a restaurant at the far end of the street, minus the harpy and the grassy filly, plus one unfamiliar stallion. At least he seemed unfamiliar. He had odd coloring for a pegasus, strawberry red, like the new mare he saw, but the same markings as...Spark Storm. Why of all the dumb-that was Spark Storm! His markings and his sour demeanor was unmistakable. Reflex would be sour, too, if he looked like that.

He marched right down the street towards the group. He stopped right at the railing separating the street and the outside dining area, a smug smile on his face as he put his front hooves on the border and pointed at Spark Storm and said -

Pain. Reflex's face was in pain. He'd been struck right in the face, and it stung and made his vision blurry with little multicolored stars. "Aah! Wh-what?" He stumbled away from the dining area, followed by confused gasps.

"How dare you!" came a familiar feminine voice. Rarity? Reflex opened his eyes to see a furious fashionista standing before him, her eyes absolutely angry. "How dare you treat that poor boy like that! He has nothing but affection and admiration for you, and you treat him like that? You should be ashamed, sir!"

Laser Reflex stared at Rarity, dumbfounded. He looked around with embarrassment as every single pony on the block had stopped what they were doing to witness the spectacle. He rubbed at his still stinging muzzle and turned to face Rarity. He'd been pushed around enough today, and he'd had it. "What the devil are you talking about? What poor boy? 'Admiration' and 'affection'? I have no idea what you're talking about!" Reflex's tone was angry and aggressive, and although he knew Rarity could handle herself, Spark stood slowly, his eyes on the blue pegasus.

Rarity stared at her fashion partner with bewildered eyes. Suddenly, it hit her: Laser Reflex wasn't gay. Her eyes widened and her own mistake became clear. She had been under the impression that the pegasus working with her in her shop for the last eight months was gay. Laser Reflex kept himself immaculately clean, he didn't have a girlfriend, and he had an eye for fashion that nearly rivaled her own. Reflex wasn't mean to Russet because he didn't care; he was 'mean' because he didn't know!

"...O...oh," she managed to squeak out. The blow she'd dealt to Reflex suddenly stung her hoof, and she dabbled it on the ground lightly, daring to get her hoof dirty. "Reflex, dear, I...I am dreadfully sorry for striking you...I was under the impression that you'd hurt Russet on purpose. When I heard what happened, and when I saw you, I just...snapped." she finished lamely, her head lowered in apology.

Reflex was much too angry to back down now. He approached her, his muzzle still stinging from Rarity's hoof. "What the devil are you talking about? So I yelled at Russet. He's a guy! He'll get over it!" Reflex was still going to apologize for yelling at him, though.

Rarity stared at Reflex as if he'd said something terribly stupid. Which he had. The unicorn's fur stood on end all over again, and she resisted striking him a second time. "A guy? A guy?" she yelled, her voice constantly rising. "He's gay, you blind dolt, and he likes you!"

Reflex's ears rang with that word. Gay. Gay? And...he never told me? Or was it just that I wasn't listening? Reflex thought back to all the times that Russet had talked to him, joked with him. The physical contact, the brush of a hoof that he brushed off as what guys did, even if Russet had always been a little too touchy-feely. Then he thought about the last thing he said to Russet. Do not come by later! Stay away! The look in Russet's eyes, the kicked puppy look.

Reflex started to get angry. Everything that had happened to him today happened because of Spark Storm. If he'd just stayed away from Ponyville, he wouldn't have taken the job to spy on him, Ampelus wouldn't have snuck in his bag and demanded food, and he wouldn't have hurt his best friend's feelings. He suddenly turned towards the big red pegasus. He was so ready to fight, he was boiling over. "Spark Storm! This is your fault!"

Rarity and Spark's entire group gasped. Spark rolled his eyes, then glared as Reflex lunged over the railing, aiming a punch at Spark's chin. "Oh, Spark, don't let him touch-" The bigger pegasus deftly dodged the punch, but hooked an arm under the thrown punch and threw the blue pegasus back over the railing, where he pulled into a backflip and rolled into the air. He didn't look ready to give up. However, he froze as he saw a different pegasus than the one that he'd started fighting. The entire block filled with ponies gasped as there in their midst stood Spark Storm, the outcast from three and a half years ago, in broad daylight.

6 - Confrontations

Laser Reflex didn't waste any time. He flew down at Spark Storm while his attention was on the fact that his cover was blown. He was blocked, however, by a blur of red. The pegasus mare? Well, she wasn't about to stop him. She was from a group of warriors, right? Then she couldn't blame him if he got rough. He flew past her, only for her to get in his face again. "Look you-get out of my way, or I'll-"

He didn't have time to finish when she suddenly dropped from view. In her place came a big, dark figure that rammed into him and pushed him down to the ground. An instant before impact with the street, Reflex twisted in the air and threw Spark off of him.

A crowd was gathering now. Spark looked from Reflex to the growing witnesses. It wouldn't be long now and the whole town would be here. Dodging a punch from Reflex, he hopped over the blue pegasi's back and leapt over to Lemon Pop and hissed in her ear, "Take them and go!" Lemon Pop stared at him. She knew the story connecting him with this town. He was generally loved here, but there were ponies here that hated him as well. She didn't want to leave him alone.

"Hey!" Reflex yelled, ignoring the growing crowd around them. "Stop ignoring me! I'm trying to fight you!" Spark Storm turned to face Reflex, as Lemon Pop turned and gathered her new friends, corralling them down the street so they wouldn't be caught in the crowd.

Laser had waited long enough. He flew down to Spark's level and threw a punch. Spark's wings flapped as he moved to the side, dodging easily. "Knock it off," Spark said. His voice, calm and disarming, only served to fuel Reflex' anger. Did Spark think he was better than him?

Reflex threw punch after punch, Spark simply stepping to the side, and the light blue pegasus was getting tired of it. He turned and whipped a wing at Spark, a move too big to be blocked. As predicted, Spark held up a hoof to block it. Reflex hooked a foreleg around Spark's and flew into the air, dragging Spark with him. At the very least he knew Spark was incapable of flight, and judging by how tightly Spark was holding on to him, he was right.

The two of them rose higher and higher into the sky. Several pegasi followed them, mostly just to watch the fight. Spark glared up at Reflex, a grudging look of respect in his eyes that seemed to say Well played...Reflex smirked down at Spark, then said, "When you're outmatched...cheat." And with that, Reflex brought a hind leg up and smashed it down on Spark's face. Spark let out a cry of pain as he fell, blood sailing up from his lip. Spark twisted and turned in the air, unfolding his wings to catch the air, and he began to glide. The air was filled with cheers at his save. At least a dozen pegasi had gathered in surrounding clouds to watch.

On his way down, Spark glided over to a cloud and latched onto it, then dug his hooves into the side on all four corners, and revved up his wings. He angled the cloud, then shot straight for Reflex. He never saw it coming, as he'd thought that Spark had no way of getting back up. The two collided, sending Reflex spinning down through the air. Spark wasn't finished yet. He dove off his cloud and rammed into Reflex again until the two hit a cloud big enough to hold both of them.

Spark rolled along the cloud then snapped up to his feet, his wings raised threateningly. Reflex groaned and got up much more slowly, his shoulders and chest bruised. "You...you think you're so tough, huh? You can't even fly!" He yelled accusingly, then flew up into the air. He came down again, this time spinning directly through the cloud. Spark lost his footing, and fell, his wings attempting to straighten out. He wasn't fast enough, and Reflex came back around and clocked Spark right in the chin.

Spark unfolded his wings again, slowing his fall. The muscles in his wings had begun burning, having stopped a full-speed fall twice now. He'd need to land to let his wings rest, and later begin training on wing endurance to keep something like this from happening again. Spark looked around for Reflex. This was a tough fight; not because Reflex was a better fighter; he wasn't. He was a better flier, though, and he was using this fact to his advantage.

Suddenly sensing the smaller pegasus bearing down on him, Spark twisted in mid-air, catching Reflex off-guard. Spark brushed an electrified wing tip along Reflex's back, messing with his motor control. The smaller pegasus let out a shout of anger and frustration as he began to spin wildly out of control. Spark chuckled and watched Laser nearly crash into a house. "Heh. When you're outmatched, huh? All right..." He took a nose dive after Reflex, who was catching his breath in the air above the rooftops.

Spark came down on top of Reflex, grabbing him in his forelegs. The smaller pegasus struggled, but he didn't have the strength necessary to break free. Spark lowered the both of them to the ground, then shoved him out of his grasp. Reflex bounced once, then rolled to a halt on the ground, Spark landing next to him. Laser got right back up and threw several punches, expecting Spark to dodge again. Instead, Spark lifted a wing to catch the second wildly thrown punch, then jabbed once right in the center of Reflex's nose.

For the second time in the last fifteen minutes, Reflex had been struck square in the one place where he was the most sensitive. Dazed and in pain, he fell backwards, straight onto his back. One hit. Was that all it took? Spark hadn't even been trying to hurt him. What the hell was he thinking, attacking such a big pegasus? His last thoughts before he blacked out? I hope they don't take me home...

"Spark Storm!" came an angry voice from behind the big pegasus. Here we go, he thought as he turned around to face an inevitably angry village. Instead, what he saw made him wish it was an angry village. Sapphire Snow and the entire Fighters team, minus one Lemon Pop, had arrived. Every last one of them had a disappointed or critical look on their faces. Spark looked around himself, recalling that he'd just put an angry pegasus down after a brief fight, and he immediately went on the defensive.

"Whoa, whoa...this is not what it looks like," he said, holding up a hoof defensively. Sapphire frowned at him, a look of such deep seated disappointment that it hurt to look at her.

"What you do in your spare time is your business, Spark," she said curtly after a moment of painful silence. "We're looking for Lemon Pop. She..." she paused, a look of sadness and even a little guilt passing over her eyes. "She's guilt-ridden. After what happened at the palace, she just cried and cried, then earlier today she left." Sapphire looked up into his eyes, a soft pleading look in her own. "Have you seen her?"

Spark looked away from his girlfriend. She was still his girlfriend, right? After the decision that he made, walking out, did he really deserve it? Lemon Pop now, whiny emo bitching later. Spark returned his gaze to Sapphire, his mouth curling downwards into a slight frown. "Yes. She's here in Ponyville. She's safe. Now you can all go home, because she's not coming back until she's ready."

Sapphire looked like she'd been struck. Her wings flared as she approached him, her forehead pressing aggressively against his. "She's my best friend, Spark Storm! You tell me where she is right now!"

"So you can scare her off with how you're acting? Forget it! She needs space, Sapphire, she needs time to figure out how she feels!" he yelled back at her, refusing to push back.

Sapphire pushed harder, starting to push the bigger pegasus back. "What she doesn't need is the advice of a deserter!"

Sapphire nearly lost her balance when Spark stood to his full height and stood away from her. The smoldering look of disappointment on Spark's face was a complete reversal. Sapphire found herself backing up, her heart tightening painfully. She always did have a bad habit of saying things she didn't mean when she was angry. Now the damage was done. "This is about Lemon Pop, remember? Your best friend? I think you need to leave now."

Spark turned right around, angry and frustrated. Sapphire watched him go, shaken and upset. Finally, she turned around to see her teammates looking in every which direction but at her. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she hadn't yet earned the medal she kept in her room. "Ok, guys. We know that Lemon Pop is safe," she said. The Fighters turned their attention back to her, each giving her looks of encouragement or acknowledgement. "It's a start. Spark is right. She needs time and some space, so let's give it to her. Let's go report to the Princess."

"Uh...What about him?" Flash Fire asked, gesturing to the still blacked out Laser Reflex. Frostbite looked around at the crowd. Only a couple ponies now remained, the fight having gone out of them as quickly as the fight had gone out of Reflex. The unicorn stepped over to the fallen pegasus and slipped him over his shoulder.

"I've got this. I'll see if I can find his home. You guys go, I'll catch up." The others glanced at each other in question for a moment until Sapphire gave Flash Fire a knowing smile. She signaled the others before taking off, followed by her team save for Frostbite and Flash Fire.

"Looks like it's just you and me, then," Flash Fire said as she approached her "hated enemy". Frostbite rolled his eyes to the heavens and didn't respond to Flash Fire, instead opting to approach the nearest pony, a big doofy-looking pegasus.

"Hey, can you tell me where this guy lives? I'm gonna take the poor guy home so he can sleep off his unfortunate encounter," he asked. The pegasus nodded and pointed in the direction of Reflex's home.

Rarity, back inside her boutique, sat staring at some of the dresses that Laser Reflex had helped her pick out, talk about, design. Her eyes were wide, a slight, distant frown on her face. She looked like she'd discovered something terrible, and she had. She had discovered that, despite all the signs, Laser Reflex was a straight stallion. She gasped and looked down at her hooves, where the stallion had touched her once. It had been an intimate gesture, something close and personal. But because she and probably the whole town believed he was gay, it was a welcome gesture, something between simple friends.

She gasped again and reached up, brushing her hooves through her mane. He had also touched her hair, given her tips on how to make it shiny, had been to the spa with her, talked about things. It had been a comfortable relationship, one where she didn't think she'd have to worry about any kinds of unwanted advances. She frowned and wrapped her forelegs around herself. "He-he's straight?!" she suddenly blurted out, and shivered.

The others glanced at Rarity, worried expressions on their faces. Lyra for one looked unamused. She was still a bit sour over Spark's brother getting more attention from Bon Bon than she did. The little twerp was over by Rarity's mannequins, posing and checking the fabrics.

Ditzy paced back and forth by the door, her feathers twitching with agitation. She didn't like leaving Spark Storm alone to fight, even though she knew he could probably handle himself. She made for the door, when she felt a hoof on her back. She turned and came face to face with Lemon Pop. Since Lemon had discovered that Ditzy was sweet on Spark, the two of them had been aggressive with each other. But now that Spark wasn't there for the two of them to fight over, Lemon gave Ditzy a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Spark can more than handle himself alone. He wont have any trouble. He'll come back to us."

Ditzy looked away for a moment. She knew Lemon Pop was looking out for Sapphire's interests, but Spark was a big pony. He could make his own decisions, and his "daughter" revealed to her that Spark liked her. When confronted about this, he didn't even deny it. He was stuck inbetween the two mares, and as far as the young mother was concerned, that meant he was fair game.

For now, though, Ditzy planned to play along, and then make her move when she could get Spark alone. Who knew when that would be, but that was the plan. So she smiled at Lemon Pop, a genuine smile, and leaned in to nuzzle her new friend. "I know he will. Spark's the most reliable pony I've ever met."

Lemon Pop nuzzled back, then narrowed her eyes in a playful glare. "And the most special, I'm sure. I like you, Ditzy, but I'm keeping an eye on you."

Ditzy smiled. She really did like Lemon Pop. Maybe if she'd met Lemon before Sapphire did, they would be best friends, and would've had her back instead of being in her way.

Grabbing the keys from Reflex's pocket, Frostbite opened the door to the pegasi's home and stepped in, followed by Flash Fire. They both made a face at the mess on the floor. Bread crumbs, juice, nut shells, what a dump! "Geez, you think this guy needs a maid or something..." Flash Fire said, magically closing the door behind her. It looked like the pegasus had dumped out a bunch of groceries and just ate everything off the floor. The place was starting to smell.

She followed Frostbite towards the back as he disappeared into the back room. She suddenly felt herself being picked up around the waist by a long, thin tendril. She tried to let out a shout for help when a vine-like appendage wrapped around her mouth, pulling it shut. Her front and rear hooves were tied, preventing any chance of escape. She was lifted by her hooves, struggling with all her might.

"Such a pretty little thing," a seductive voice whispered in her ear. "It has been too long since I've had any mortal fun. You and your comrade should do nicely." Flash Fire turned her head, an angry expression on her face. It quickly turned to horror when she saw Ampelus. Nymph?! She thought. She squirmed and squealed mutely as Ampelus tickled and caressed her belly with an vine-like appendage.

Flash Fire's horn lit up, intending on searing the nymph with a fire spell. Another appendage wrapped itself around Flash Fire's eyes, blinding her. "Ah-ah..." Ampelus whispered in the unicorn's ear, beginning to nibble at her neck. "Using spells blindly can be dangerous..."

Flash Fire knew she was right. She struggled, her breathing quickening from panic and, she hated to admit, pleasure at the tickling along her belly that was quickly moving south. Frostbite! Help me!

7 - Temper, Temper

Flash Fire squealed as Ampelus' vines tickled the lower regions of her belly. She had had about enough of this, she would not be helplessly molested! Frostbite was here, that meant that he could at least stop the damage from spreading. Her horn lit up once more in firey orange, preparing a quick fire spell. "My my, you're a bold one, aren't you?" Ampelus whispered. "We can't have that..."

Keep talking bitch, you're about to burn! Flash Fire thought. Her spell was ready to unleash when she felt her mouth freed from the vine. She took in a deep breath, then choked. The vine that removed itself from around her muzzle was now around her throat, squeezing just enough to take away her breath. Having lost her concentration, she dropped her fire spell and started to panic, squirming and choking in the nymph's grasp.

"Ohhhh, th-that's it," Ampelus whispered in a shuddering voice. Asphyxiation always was her biggest turn on. She suddenly screamed in pain, her hold tightening on Flash Fire until she couldn't take the pain anymore and dropped the unicorn five feet onto the floor, where she lay gasping for breath. Ampelus dashed to the front of the living room and huddled at the doorway, her vine-like legs nursing her back where she had been freeze burned. Frostbite stood by Flash Fire protectively, his horn blazing with cold mist.

"Whach..." Flash Fire gurgled, her throat still recovering from being compressed. "Wha took you...so damn long?!"

Frostbite flushed with embarrassment, though he never took his eyes off of the nymph. "Sorry. Dude has a really neat snowglobe in his room." Flash Fire got to her feet, ready to scream at him, but the amused look in his eyes told her he was joking. She turned and lit up her horn. It started to emit waves of heat, an exact opposite of what was happening with her partner's horn.

Ampelus, her freeze-burn healed, glared at the two. She had to be careful. Fire and ice were even more of a danger to a nymph than lightning. Perhaps it was time to make a hasty exit. She leaned forward just slightly, her back leg curving around the door handle. Frostbite shook his head, an eager look on his face. "Uh-uh. You don't leave. Sorry, but we can't have a vine monster on the loose in this or any other town."

Ampelus froze her movements. She narrowed her eyes as she settled back down against the floor, hunched over as she tried to make herself as small as possible. "So you would sink to my level and kill a defenseless creature?" she asked, her voice soft and weak. Flash Fire scoffed at this, her horn giving off so much heat that Frostbite stepped away from her, his eyes squinting to keep out the excessive heat.

"You disgust me, you damn tree-bitch! If you're going to molest ponies and then choke them for your own personal gratification, at least be up front about it!" Flash Fire's horn was glowing now, the heat from inside it making Frostbite sweat a bit.

"Geez, Flash, tone it down, you're gonna bring the poor guy's house down!" Flash Fire turned to glare at Frostbite, a look of anger and disgust in her eyes such as he'd never seen before there on her face. He backed away from her, then lit up his own horn. Like always, she was flying off the handle and going off the deep end when she got too passionate about something. Such was the very nature of fire.

Ampelus, now fearing for her life, released her secret weapon. Her tail pulled up, revealing that it had sunk into the floor boards, elongated, and stretched under the floor until it was under everything, including the two unicorns. At the last second, Ampelus pulled. The floor came up to shield the nymph as Flash Fire unleashed her spell, searing but not killing Ampelus as she crashed backwards through the door, leaving behind a good portion of her body still under the floorboards. Luckily for her, her wound was cauterized the moment the separation occurred, or she might have bled to death in the streets.

Frostbite kept his eyes closed as he concentrated out the outpoor of cold magic from his horn. Suddenly thinking of the pegasus in the back room, he ran back and grabbed up Laser Reflex from his bed, even as flames and waves of terrible heat came into the back room. Frostbite extended his cold shield to surround Reflex just as he woke up. The pegasus looked around at his home, it's walls peeling from the heat, and he began to panic. "Wha-what?! What's going on?! Why is my house on fire?!"

Frostbite rolled his eyes, turned and smacked Reflex in the jaw just hard enough to get his attention. "Shut up for a minute! Let's get you safely outside, then we can all panic and run around like we're on fire!" Frostbite and Reflex made a face at the poor analogy. "Whatever, it's time to go."

The door bust open, splintering into firey pieces as two unicorns and a pegasus emerged from the burning blaze of a house. Laser Reflex frowned unhappily as everything that he owned was turning to ashes. Frostbite lit up his horn, casting a spell that quickly encased every surface inside the house with ice. After a moment, the fire was gone. Frostbite banished the ice before it could start to get everything wet.

"Oh...why me..." Reflex moaned as he stepped through his broken doorway into his ruined home. All his work, all his notes, that gift from Rarity, all gone.

"I...I'm so very, very sorry, sir," came a feminine voice. Reflex turned to look at Flash Fire, his eyes angry and accusing. "You did this? What were you thinking, loosing a fire spell that strong inside my home?!"

Frostbite groaned and shook his head as Flash Fire pressed her forehead against Reflex's, her temper returning. "And what were you doing with a tentacle monster that likes choking ponies in your home?! You've got a strange way of saying thank you for getting rid of her!"

Having forgotten about Ampelus in his panic, his memories of the seductive creature returned to him. So that's what happened: they found her and there was a fight. So...he was free of her? And here he was, yelling at the ponies that both destroyed his home and rid him of the monster. "Oh...um, thank you." he managed, inclining his head in thanks.

Flash Fire snorted and turned around to look at Frostbite, a 'We're done here' look on her face and stormed off. Frostbite sighed and turned to face Laser Reflex, an apologetic look on his own. "Look, I'm really sorry about your house. I'll make sure to report this to my bosses. You'll be reimbursed for your losses."

"Your bosses?" Reflex asked incredulously. "You're both unicorns with magic way beyond that of normal capacities...who in Tartarus do you answer to?"

"I could tell you..." Frostbite said, stepping closer to Reflex menacingly. "...but then I'd have to kill you." Reflex gasped and stepped away from the unicorn until he laughed. "Just kidding. We work for the Princess. See ya later." Frostbite turned around, and followed after Flash Fire, leaving Laser Reflex alone to ponder his next move.

"Fire! Fire! Somepony help!" The incessant yelling disturbed Rainbow's sleep. Honestly, what did a mare have to do to get some decent shut-eye? Wait...fire? Rainbow Dash shot up on her cloud and looked over the edge to see a home on fire.

She was about to go down and help when a strange, greenish figure ran out of the burning building and galloped off into town, then found a hiding place in a back alley behind the bowling alley. Rainbow turned back to the burning building, only to see that the fire was being put out. Making up her mind, she flew down to the alley where the figure had disappeared.

The area was dark, and filled with many obstructions like tall trash cans and large-scale air conditioners. There was no sign of the green figure. Stepping into the alley, Rainbow called, "Hello? Is anypony here? I thought I saw somepony escape a burning building, are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"Please go away," a trembling voice said. It came from between one of the dumpsters and a large a/c. Rainbow stepped closer, a concerned frown on her face.

"Hey, talk to me. What happened? Do you need help?" She stepped closer, peering into the darkness of the space. She could just barely make out a tall form sitting upright. Weird. A feminine voice like that, belonging to a figure taller than Applejack's brother? "Don't be afraid, I just want to help."

"I said go away, you stupid pony! Leave me alone!" the voice warned.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash was through being nice. Her wings flared aggressively as she peered into the darkness. "That's no way to talk to somepony that's trying to help you! I saw you come out of that fire, you're probably in bad shape! Now stop being a jerk and let me see you!"

No sooner had the words come out of Rainbow's mouth, a blackened vine shot out of the darkness and wrapped around Rainbow's throat. She choked and strugged as she was dragged into the darkness, then placed down against her back. Her wings free, she flapped and took off into the air, still held around her throat. The two of them flew up into the air. A second vine wrapped around Rainbow's waist, ensuring she wouldn't get away so easily.

Rainbow didn't think about looking at the creature that had ensnared her. She needed to get free, her lungs were burning and her waist was being squeezed hard enough to really hurt. Adrenaline now pouring through her, she looked down and noticed that the creature holding her hung about ten feet below her. Suddenly inspired, she flew low over Ponyville, heading towards the nearest building. She flew just over the top, running Ampelus into the building. Rainbow let out a silent scream of pain as the vines around her throat and stomach pulled. She fell back against the building as the vines maintained their grip, then slowly released as Ampelus fell to the ground.

Panting, weak, in pain, Rainbow slowly pulled herself to her hooves, but the pain in her ribs brought her down to a lying position again. It felt like one or more of her ribs had snapped. Probably more than one, Dash. Reeaaallly smart move, she told herself, her thoughts dripping with sarcasm. She pulled herself closer to the edge, her eyes widening in horror to see no sign of the vine creature. She let out a yelp as she was pulled once again around the waist, this time lifted into the air and held over the creature from it's place behind her.

Rainbow got a full view of the creature's face. She was pretty, or was, at least. She had a horrible burn scar that ran from her face straight down her neck and chest. "I told you to leave me alone," she growled menacingly. She turned and threw Rainbow Dash down to the roof of the building, where she rolled helplessly to a stop a few feet away. She could only watch as the creature approached menacingly, vines emerging from it's back.

Suddenly it screamed as lightning arched down from the sky and struck her several times. Finally, she dropped to the roof of the building, her body smoking, yet still alive as she glared up at the dark pegasus standing on his cloud. He dropped down inbetween Rainbow and Ampelus, who glared at him before passing out.

Rainbow chuckled quietly as she finally relaxed. Cousin comin' to save the day? That'll work.

"You're late...stupid." she managed to choke out through her still sore throat. Spark Storm turned to look at Rainbow, an unamused look on his face.

"Uh no, you're late. We couldn't just sit around and wait for you to finish your nap, you know. We went ahead without you. This probably could have been avoided if you'd just shown up on time-"

Rainbow Dash let out a short scream as Ampelus reared up and wrapped her vine-like legs around Spark Storm. Immediately, the two of them lit up the area with shocking lights, Ampelus let out a squeak as the lights disappeared. Her body smoked once again, and she fell against Spark's back, neatly balanced on the pegasi's back. Spark hadn't moved, though he did have an amused smirk on his face.

Rainbow glared at her cousin and shot an accusing hoof at him. "You knew?" she coughed painfully at the strain she put in her voice.

"Eyyep. She was playing possum. Now let's get out of here. I've gotta find a place to put her, and get you to the hospital."

8 - Strange Ties

Ampelus groaned in discomfort. Her eyes shot open as she heard that damned voice again. Her mother's voice. It spoke of ages past, accused her of failing to protect her sister. Failed to honor family, failed to be a good daughter of the trees. I don't care about the trees! I don't care about you! Die for all I care! Your words are harsh, Ampelus. Do you truly wish for my death?

Of course I do! Ampelus' words were sharp and true, spoken without hesitation. You have always favored Orea over me! For two hundred years I watched you fawn over her, bestow all your love on her, and never for me. You always treated me like a...a monster. Are we not all monsters? ...A mother should know the difference...

Ampelus sat up with a gasp, tears running down her face. She hated those dreams, always the same. Her mother, or something that seemed to be her mother, guilting her for not being a nymph her mother could be proud of. Not that it mattered much nowadays, anyway. Her mother had died last year, alone and weak. Was it betrayal to think of herself first, to have abandoned the forest so she wouldn't perish when the Changelings came?

The nymph sat up with a groan. She hurt all over. Where was she? She was in some kind of dark room. Spotting light behind her, she stood on her grassy hooves and looked out of the only vent-like window that her room sported. Was she stuck in here? Was this a cell or some sort that she'd heard that the ponies of 'civilization' often put other ponies into?

Ampelus frowned as she touched her face. Her beautiful, lovely face...scarred by fire. She hissed angrily as she could feel the scar tissue. This wouldn't heal for days! She didn't have days, not if she wanted to be pleasing to the eye. How else would she find food? She turned back to the darkness of her cell, facing the bars keeping her in. She approached the thin metal columns and poked at them. No leeway. She pressed harder, testing her superior strength against the bars.

Usually, iron and stone gave way to her impressive strength, but not now, and she remembered why. In a bid to escape a firey death at the hooves of that ticklish, pretty mare, she had abandoned a great deal of her mass. It had resulted in her being greatly weakened, to the point where she couldn't deal with one lousy pegasus. It was embarrassing, to say the least. And then...

And then, the Storm Bringer. The very pegasus that she had come to town to get revenge on. He had bested her once again and denied her food and revenge all in one blow. Well, two. She had been foolish enough to think she could take him off guard, not like the last time. She nearly had him, but her mother had interfered. Now, even though her mother and Orea were both gone, she still couldn't overpower him. Granted, she had been desperate, but that was no excuse.

Suddenly, the darkness that Ampelus had been getting used to flooded with light. She covered her eyes, pulling her grassy bangs over her face to cover it. She didn't want anyone to see her face when she was so weak and vulnerable. The nymph's ears tilted this way and that, scanning for sounds and picking up voices, whispering, taunting. It sounded like Orea, she smelled Orea. But this same scent carried wafts of the Storm Bringer, intermingled and mixed together. Disgusting.

Ampelus dared to open her eyes as she heard diminutive steps descending on wooden floor, hard thick steps that eventually gave way to softer plodding, the sounds approaching her cell. Slowly, the nymph's curiosity got the better of her. She opened her eyes, and saw what had confused her senses.

It looked like Orea. It smelled like Orea. Hell, it even moved like Orea. But this seeming incarnation of her younger sister was at least one hundred and ninety nine years younger than the Orea she knew.

Ampelus stared at the little creature, standing before her with such fear and trepidation. The older nymph looked around for a guardian; she severely doubted that the Storm Bringer would allow for the little freak to come near her alone. Of course, there he was, at the top of the stairs in this strange, underground room. She smirked and looked down at the tiny newborn before her, her head pressing against the bars menacingly. "Look at you, Storm Bringer. You must be so proud; Not even reached proper puberty and you have already laid with my sister and produced this little morsel!"

Ampelus' cruel tone made the tiny nymph back away from her, her haunches raised and mane rattling, a sound created from a mixture of self-preservation and anger. "Father has never touched Mother in such a way! Why are you so cruel, O family?"

Ampelus winced harshly at the tone the little one was using. Her! A newborn, and so condescending! She bashed herself against the bars of her prison, causing the newborn to shriek with fear and run up the steps to hide under the dark pegasi's legs. "Little leech!" she cried after her, bashing herself once more on the bars, causing a horrible rocking sound. "Stay away from me, you are no family of mine! My sister lusted after your Father and created you in a moment of disgusting passion! Never refer to me as Family again!"

Little Orea cried, her tears born of both fear and of rejection from the only real biological family she knew. Of course she was connected with Spark Storm in that he made her grow months earlier than she should have and carried his life energy within her, but Ampelus was her mother's sister. directly related by blood. To be denied warmth and affection from her only family was heartbreaking.

Spark reached down and wrapped the dismayed nymph in his arms, cradling her like a newborn. Technically, she was a newborn. A nymph would live for thousands of years, and at less than a year old, little Orea would still be a baby by the time Spark's life had come to an end.

He turned and walked up the stairs to the first floor of the library, closing the door behind him. "Shh, shh," he murmured to Orea. She wept a little quieter and clung a little tighter to Spark, her body relaxing and untensing. After a moment, she crawled from Spark's forelegs and up onto his neck, her forelegs clutching the back of his head.

"You ok?" he asked, brushing his wings along Orea's back. She practically purred and snuggled closer against her 'father's' head.

"I'm better now," she answered, breaking out of the old speech she had adopted to speak to Ampelus. Spark figured it had something to do with race memory.

When Spark opened the door to the first floor, he and orea both stood face to waist with a very angry harpy. Sohl made to pass the two down the stairs, but Spark's suddenly outstretched wing blocked her path. The tall biped glared at the wing first, then at Spark. "Move it, Sparky," she growled. "I'm gonna teach that overgrown fern a lesson in manners!"

Spark, a completely flat look on his face, reached up and held Orea out to Sohl. Orea squealed happily and held her hooves out, begging to be picked up. Sohl reacted to the mental connection that she and Orea shared by groaning in annoyance, then finally grabbed the nymph in her clawed hands and cradled her to her chest. "...Fine...you're lucky you're so cute," she said as Orea nuzzled her head under Sohl's chin. "But I swear, I don't care if that witch down there is your aunt. If she scares you again, your cuteness will not prevail."

Spark could only grin at how close the two were. It was a strange situation, but then so was his relationship to Orea. His friendship with Sohl was also questionable. She was so aggressive and brutish that sometimes it seemed the only way to keep her from regressing into a pony predator was beating her down once a week, although this was happening less and less thanks to Orea.

As the pair of mismatched friends slipped over to sit on the stairs, Spark snapped to attention as Fluttershy, who had been waiting patiently at the center of the room, cantered up to him, a worried and motherly expression on her face. "Oh, Spark, I just heard. Is she ok? Is Rainbow Dash all right?"

"Yeah, Flutters. She'll be all right," he said, giving the mare a comforting nuzzle. "She hurt her throat a little bit and she has a couple snapped ribs, but she'll be all right for flight before Hearth's Warming, according to her doctor."

Fluttershy smiled with relief, but the look quickly darkened as she looked at the door leading to the basement. "Ohh...w-what I would have given to be there to teach that...that..." Spark watched Fluttershy with surprise as she fumed like he'd never seen her fume before. The mare brought a hoof up to stamp it on the floor, but there was barely more than wiff of air and a nearly inaudible tok when her hoof connected. Spark smiled at the adorable mare and stroked her back to calm her down.

"It's a good thing you weren't, Fluttershy, or she might be in even worse shape than she is now."

Fluttershy blushed at the thought of being violent and squeaked, excusing herself to a corner of the room.

Spark Storm sighed as he looked around the library, filled with his friends. Not just his friends; one of his partners. Lemon Pop sat at the center of the room with Emerald Skies, playing a game of cards. He chuckled with amusement as Emerald looked through his hand, then slammed the card down on the desk and announced, "Go fish!"

Lemon Pop groaned loudly and threw her cards into the air, sending them everywhere. "For Celestia's sake, Emerald, we were playing poker! Poker!" Emerald and Spark both erupted into laughter as the red pegasus stormed up the stairs to Emerald's room. Upon examining a card on the floor, Spark noticed that the cards were, in fact, Uno cards.

Spark headed up the stairs as Emerald began gathering the cards strewn around the room. This lull in the action had been a long time coming: it was time to talk to Lemon Pop about what happened with the Fighters.

Spark knocked on the closed door. When Lemon Pop opened the door, a look of fear crossed over her features as she saw Spark. She knew as well as he what he had come up for. She sighed and opened the door for him, then cantered over to the guest bed and plopped down on top of it. This was one thing that she really didn't want to talk about, but it had been coming, and she knew it. She gave Spark one last pleading look, hoping he'd let it drop, but the gentle glare in his eyes told her he would not.

She let out a long, soft sigh and trained her eyes to the room's window. Might as well start at the beginning, she supposed. She turned to Spark, and began her tale.

Two days ago

"Come on, now, Lemon Pop," Gunslinger whispered to her, still perched on his back and soaking wet. Her sobs had quieted, but she still clung to the blue unicorn tightly. She had found some small comfort in his presence, but the very act of betrayal still hung heavy on Lemon's shoulders. If only she'd been stronger. If only she'd gone to Sapphire's side without question. Spark Storm told her to do this when she chose him over Sapphire. No, he didn't. He told me to 'do the right thing', she thought, her feelings bitter and angry, and focused inwards on herself.

Gunslinger trudged along the Fighter's common room towards the center. A large, circular table, a couple end tables and three couches were positioned in the center. He brought Lemon Pop to the nearest couch, then helped her to lie down. As he stood there, watching the pegasus pull herself into a fetal position and weep, his heart did terrible things in his chest. He had never seen Lemon Pop cry before. He had to sit down as the most innocent creature he'd ever had the pleasure of working with broke.

It was a terrible time to start falling for the mare he'd known for the last three and a half years. He'd shared with her their triumphs as a team, their failures, their laughter. Why did it take seeing her heart break to realize his feelings? Lemon Pop, seeming to notice something was off, opened her tear-stained eyes and glanced at Gunslinger. The two stared at each other until a blush came over the stallion's cheeks and he had to look away.

After a moment of awkward silence, Gunslinger got up, walked off, and returned a moment later with a warm, dry blanket and covered Lemon Pop with it. Lemon accepted the attention, grabbing the blanket tightly to her and sighed exhaustedly as the day caught up with her. She was asleep in minutes.

Gunslinger sighed heavily as he watched his friend sleep, her long blonde mane, still wet from the rain, stuck to her face and neck. How had not he noticed how pretty she was before now? He ran a hoof through his mane and trotted over to the lights and cut them off, then climbed up on one of the free couches, and closed his eyes.

That night, he had a dream. A most interesting dream. In it, Lemon Pop climbed onto the couch with him. Her mostly dry mane, still cool and a little moist, tickled his face as she leaned over him, her muzzle inches from his. Her breath was hot and smelled sweetly of peppermint as she whispered, "I'm sorry, 'Slinger. I can't be here, or with...n-nevermind. Please forgive me. Tell Sapphire I-"

Gunslinger shot up into a sitting position on the couch. From the light coming in the windows, it was morning, well after nine. He looked around at the empty room, the blanket Lemon slept in had been placed over him. He thought of the feelings he'd discovered last night, or at least thought he had. Were they real? Was it just a spur of the moment kind of thing? Wait...his dream. Starting to panic, he hopped over to the empty couch that she had slept on last night. There was a note sitting there, with two words scribbled on it: I'm sorry.

Ok, now it's time to panic, he told himself. He ran off to find the others. They had a search party to put together.

Back To The Present

"...And that's pretty much it," Lemon Pop told Spark Storm. "I left before the sun came up, and I came straight here." Spark frowned and rested a hoof on Lemon's shoulder. She wordlessly nuzzled closer, and he wrapped his arms around her, her head rested on his shoulder, tears stinging her eyes again. "I just don't know what to do, Sparky," she whispered, her voice hitching as she tried not to cry again. She'd been doing way too much of it in the last two days. "I took my best friend's trust and threw it in her face, and now, I think things are about to change between Gunslinger and me. I-I don't want things to change, I don't even know how I feel about him, I've never had to think about it."

She pulled back and looked in Spark's eyes, sniffling softly. "You and Sapphire knew for years that you were supposed to be together. Gunslinger and I have barely known each other for more than three years. Is that even enough time to get to know someone?" Spark frowned gently. How could he answer this? He was about to try when a knock came at the door and Emerald poked his head through the crack as it opened.

"Uh, Spark? You have a guest downstairs..." he said, throwing a meaningful look between Lemon and Spark, who looked between each other in a knowing glance, the same thought passing between them. Sapphire Snow.

Lemon and Spark peeped out the door way. Lemon let out a squeak as she saw Sapphire there in the library, talking with Emerald. Lemon panicked and got behind Spark and pushed him out of the door, where he slid on his butt as the door slammed shut behind him. The loud noise got Sapphire's attention, who turned and looked up at Spark standing alone at the top of the stairs in an awkward position, his hind legs raised up in the air with his front hooves in front. She'd rarely seen him so discombobulated, so for a moment she forgot they were fighting and she let out a giggle.

Spark smiled at the sound of her voice, but he was quickly reminded of her words earlier that day, drawing a scowl to replace any light-hearted expression he might've been wearing before. He stood, and came down the stairs slowly, stiff-legged to express his distaste of the situation. His body language not lost on the new leader, Sapphire sighed and stepped forward to face the pony whose situation with her was currently ambiguous.

The silence in the room was deafening as old friends and new witnessed the thick awkward tension between the two. Finally, Spark spoke up. "Lemon Pop isn't-"

Just as soon as he'd began, Sapphire brought a hoof up to his lips. The touch was soft and intimate, and did funny things to Spark's heart. The pleading look in Sapphire's eyes quickly melted his resolve to stay angry at her. "Spark...I'm not here to bring her back," Spark's surprised look urged her to continue. "You're right...I was angry about losing two of my closest friends, and I lashed out at you unfairly when I should've been considering Lemon Pop's feelings. And you..." she said, stepping closer, her forehead pressing against his, "I am so sorry for what I said. I-I didn't mean it, I never would've-"

"Oh just kiss her already!" Lemon Pop's voice rang out from the room upstairs.

Laughter erupted from the entire room in reaction to Lemon's pouty shout. Sapphire Snow eyed the door at the top of the stairs, then lowered her eyes to stare into Spark's. The two of them blushed as they brought their mouths together, kissing delicately at first, then more deeply. "Oooh," Orea coo'd before Sohl held a hand over her eyes.

Spark and Sapphire parted, both reluctantly. Sapphire reached up and brushed a hoof over his cheek before she started backing away towards the door. "I have to go, we have some things to report to the Princess. You guys just...take your time, think about what you guys want to do. I miss you...both of you!" she said, shouting the last bit so Lemon wouldn't miss it.

When she got no answer from Lemon Pop, she sighed and turned to go. Pausing at the door frame on her way out, she turned to Spark, an inquisitive look in her eyes. "What about the nymph? What did you do with it?"

Spark gestured to the door leading to the basement. "We've got her locked up. She's weak, she won't be getting out anytime soon." He paused, a light blush cresting his face as he avoided eye contact with his girlfriend. "So. How's Fl-"

"She's fine," she said forcefully, aiming a glare at her boyfriend. "Now stop thinking about that before I knock your block off."

Spark took a deep breath, then let it go. He coughed once and nodded at Sapphire, making eye contact. Head clear, his eyes told her. She rolled her eyes at him and left, closing the door behind her.

9 - East Goes West

Three Weeks and five days ago...

It was dark, and it was cold. This prison holding the mare inside was fool-proof, and such precautions were of course called for. She was the nation's most-wanted, a war criminal, held for trial for the last year, accused of treason, murder, and probably too many other things to count.

Fire Lotus glanced at the door to her cell. Had she heard something just now? The guard hadn't been by in quite some time. He usually strode on by every five minutes. No one was allowed to take their eyes off of her for more than four.

It wasn't long before she saw movement. Not just movement, but light. It was a flickering light, as if someone was approaching with a lit candle, the movement slow and halting. When the light was close enough, a sound entered her range of sense: a jangling sound. Fire Lotus started to pace back and forth. She hated being made to wait.

Finally, the source of Fire Lotus' torment came into view, and her eyes widened in a mix of horror and anger. Her exotic features lit up as a small ball of angry crackling energy floated towards her cell. It sparked like a sparkler that children in the villages would play with, but it's light fluctuated between red and yellow, like fire.

"You!" Fire Lotus said, starting to pace back and forth in her cell with fervor now. "I thought I told your people I won't work for them! I believe in money and power, not their hocus-pocus and superstition!"

"Oh, please," an entirely unexpected voice said, the deep, sarcastic tone echoing loudly in the stone prison. "The Will O' The Wisps aren't in right now, sadly." The single bouncing light suddenly became many, filling the space in front of the prison and shedding blinding light on Fire Lotus. She gasped and fell to the dirty floor of her cell, covering her head.

Just as quickly as it had appeared, the blinding light was gone. Fire Lotus slowly looked up through her hooves to find the single light before her once again. She climbed cautiously to her hooves and approached the bars slowly. "...So what are you, and what do you want with me?"

"Oh, I think you'll find that who I am is completely unimportant, my dear," the voice said, emanating from the small crackling ball of light. "What I want with you, however...is extremely relevant to my interests, as well as yours." With that, the little light dropped two five-inch long metal objects, both sharpened to a point, just in reach of Fire Lotus. She cautiously took a closer look, then snatched them both up, a skeptical look on her face.

"You'll need Shimmering Oasis to get out of this place. I can't help you there, but she can. Tell her what you saw, I guarantee she'll know who I am. Whether she chooses to tell you any more than that I'll leave up to her. It's no fun knowing everything from the beginning!"

Fire Lotus resisted the urge to skewer the annoying light with one of the kunai it had dropped for her, but something told her it would be a fruitless effort. "Fine. I can get the both of us out of here with these, but you still haven't told me what you want us for."

The light seemed to darken, and Fire Lotus was given the impression that whatever was actually looking at her was looming over her, like a tall, dark figure, imposing and threatening. She almost took a step back. "My dear, I'm giving you the opportunity to avenge yourself. I'm sending you and the dethroned princess to the land of your oppressors. I want you to go and take revenge on the ponies responsible for overthrowing you."

Fire Lotus needed more no convincing. She aimed one of the knives and threw it through the bars of her prison. It ricocheted and landed tip-first into the lock of the cell door, the throw so precise and strong that the lock fell to the floor loudly in two pieces. The little light backed away as the mare stepped through the door, making it creak noisily.

"Well, now you've done it," the voice said as it turned to acknowledge two guards coming down the hall. "Just how do you think you're going to-" the light and the voice was snuffed out as Fire Lotus brought her hoof down on it, blanketing herself in darkness.

"Fire Lotus! I...I saw you? Where is she?!" One of the guards asked, a tall red unicorn.

"Shut up, you fool!" his partner hissed, a yellow earth pony mare. The two of them bore their own lights attached to their necks, just enough to see through the dark hallways. She approached the cell cautiously, observing the broken lock and the open door. Fire Lotus was nowhere in sight. "You can't just mouth off in front of a mare like this," she cautioned. "Fire Lotus is an assassin, trained to kill in the dark. You'd never see her coming."

The silence was suddenly very unnerving. She turned to her partner, or at least where her partner had been. He was gone, and there was a dark splatter on the wall behind where he had been. The mare gasped quietly. It was already too late. She didn't panic, she didn't scream or run for the exit. She reached up and casually grabbed the light around her neck and switched it off. She closed her eyes, and waited for the end. It was quick and merciful.

Silence. Silence as always. Silence as it had been for more than a year. Shimmering Oasis stood in the center of her room. Despite her betrayal to her father, the king of Neippon, and the vile murderous acts she had used her father's dragons to commit, he had not seen fit to make her sit out her five hundred year sentence in a dirty cell. It was a place that was cleaned every day, and she was made as comfortable as possible. She was given meals every day.

Of course, she was asleep for most of it. She might have gotten over this punishment eventually, but she wasn't even allowed to suffer her punishment properly. She never did have much respect for her father, but this was just adding salt to her open wounds. It was bad enough being beaten by a pony whose powers dealt with trivial things like love.

At this moment, Shimmering Oasis was doing what she did all day, every day: she reached out using her enhanced psychic abilities to reach beyond the sleeping spell that the most powerful unicorns in the land had her under at all times. They could successfully put her body to sleep; they were far too weak to suppress her mind. Her senses were currently telling her that things were about to change.

Sounds came alive in her mind. Her eyelids fluttered, her ears twitched. While her mind sensed things happening outside her room, her body tried to keep up, unconsciously attempting to comprehend what her mind was experiencing. A shout. A cry of pain. A gurgling death rattle. The sound of metal scraping on metal.

And then...her door opening. Shimmering Oasis' excitement grew and grew until she could feel her horn throbbing with pressure. She could physically hear hoofsteps approaching her, and for the first time in so long, the hoofsteps were not apprehensive, as if she were a fire to be taken seriously, with precaution. The alicorn's lids fluttered one more time, then snapped open.

Fire Lotus, her mane stained with blood, stared back up at the alicorn. This was the first time they had seen each other in quite some time, even before they had been imprisoned. The two stared at each other for several minutes, until Fire Lotus broke the silence. "...Look at you. So pitiful. Look what they've done to you. They've taken what freedom you had and traded it for a spoon-fed life of blissful sleep. This is a true crime, not what they locked us up for."

The Alicorn princess glowered down at the earth pony that dared speak to her like that. She was the only pony she ever allowed to speak to her in such a way. It was refreshing. It was brutally honest. And it was true.

There was something much more important on the princess' mind now, though. The why's and the how's of how Fire Lotus had come this far. "How have you come to me? Why are you here?"

When Fire Lotus spoke of the seemingly possessed Will O' The Wisp, the alicorn's eyes widened in realization, and a small smile lit up her face. "So it is time. After all these years..." Fire Lotus frowned as the princess walked past her, towards the door.

"Mind filling me in? What's going on?"

"My master calls. We shall do his bidding. If he wants us to travel to Equestria to destroy the fiends who put us in this prison, then I shall be all too eager to answer his call and take my revenge on that prissy pink princess."

Fire Lotus ran after Shimmering Oasis, out into the dark hallways now lit by the alicorn's horn. "Wait, your 'master'? Since when do you answer to anyone?" She shrugged at the look the princess gave her. "Willingly. Since when do you give your loyalty to anyone willingly?"

"I met him many, many years ago, long before you were born. He came to me much in the same way he came to you; in the form of a pitiable creature, offering such riches in knowledge and power. I was young at the time, but even now I would still take his deal and offer myself to him in servitude for what he gave me."

"Uh huh..." Fire Lotus murmured skeptically. "And just what did he give you?"

"My freedom," the alicorn said, narrowing her eyes as a company of ten guards appeared to block their passage through the dark hallways. No words were said, no movements were made, at least not until every last guardspony dropped their weapons, then ambled slowly past the two, gathering up the dead bodies that Fire Lotus had left behind. A smirk came over the warlord's lips. She hadn't seen it, somehow she hadn't seen it when Shimmering Oasis put all the guards under her hypnotic spell. Usually she had to be close for that to work. She obviously hadn't been sitting on her laurels this whole time while in prison.

The warlord let out an amused chuckle as she continued to follow the princess towards the exit. "What now?"

"We will continue to be 'guarded'. They will be under the illusion that we have not escaped, and our freedom shall go unnoticed for weeks. By the time someone comes to check, it will be far too late to stop us from crossing the ocean." Shimmering Oasis smiled down at Fire Lotus, a genuine smile, with nothing hidden, no secrets in her eyes. It was a terrifying sight, something that made even Fire Lotus flinch. "We will rain vengeance upon our captors, we will make them all pay for hindering our freedom and our ambitions."

The next few hours were a blur. After casting a glamour spell to disguise themselves as a pegasus and a unicorn, the two escaped prisoners traveled to the city of the Golden Lord, then found and commissioned a ship captain to sail to Equestria. Fire Lotus, disguised as a unicorn, shocked the captain by producing more money than he would be able to spend in two years if they could begin traveling that very day.

And so, the two traveled to the port where they would meet the captain and his crew for their trip. The very next day, they set sail. The voyage was long, it would take three weeks to travel from Neippon to Equestria. The trip was spent meditating for Shimmering Oasis. There was little to no interaction with her once she disappeared into her cabin.

Fire Lotus, however, spent her days training, working out, or sleeping around with the captain. It had been a long time since she'd enjoyed such pleasures.

When Equestria was finally in sight, the ship was halted several miles from shore, the crew's minds were wiped of their memories, and were sent home. The two escaped prisoners continued to shore, the princess bearing the warlord on her back. There could be no witnesses to their approach.

Once ashore, the two continued on, avoiding the roads. They took to the forests. It was slow-going and quiet, and after a mere day, Fire Lotus was getting annoyed. Where were they going, and how would they know when they got there?

Before these questions could be asked, though, Fire Lotus noticed that the woods had gone quiet. The princess had noticed it as well, though she didn't seem concerned. The warlord was, however. She brought out her kunai, ready for a fight. It wasn't long before a dark figure presented itself to the two. It was tall and thin, and somehow resembled an alicorn. There were many things wrong with the comparison, however.

One, the horn. It was long and twisted, like a gnarled tree branch. Two, the creature's skin was dark and hard, like a carapace. Three, the holes. Sweet Celestia, the holes. Fire Lotus had never seen anything like it. She looked between this new creature and Shimmering Oasis, the two seemingly staring the other down. After a moment of pause, many other, smaller creatures emerged from the woods, completely surrounding them.

A grin crept up Fire Lotus' face. It had been a long time since she'd faced such odds. It was usually quite fun. She was to be disappointed, though. Shimmering Oasis stepped forward, as did the tall alicorn-like creature. They approached each other, their eyes harshly judging the other. They met and circled each other slowly, a look of distaste in both their eyes. Finally, at the same time, they bowed to each other, a curt, politely forced motion.

"Hail," Shimmering Oasis said after the two no longer looked like they wanted to kill each other.

"Hail," the tall creature returned.

Fire Lotus looked between the two for a moment of silence, then approached slowly with a light clearing of her throat. "Uh, pardon me, but-"

"You dare?!" cried one of the smaller creatures. It and three others flew into the air and bore down on Fire Lotus. "You shall not approach our queen so flippantly!"

Fire Lotus simply rolled her eyes. As the nearest creature came within reach, she grabbed his hooves, outstretched to grab her, and pulled, using his momentum to drive him face-first into the ground. Hardly finished, she hooked one of her kunai through one of the holes on each other of the other guards' hooves and pulled, causing the two of them to circle around her and crash into each other at her back. She flew up into the air to catch the third in the face between her hind thighs. She flipped forward over it's back, pulling it backwards where it crashed into the ground face-first in a well-timed pile driver.

While Shimmering Oasis watched with mild amusement, the Queen stared with wide-eyed approval. Her minions were usually quite adept at protecting their queen. Then again, this red earth pony was quite fearsome. She had no doubt that she could have just as easily have spilled their blood.

"Well," Fire Lotus said as she slipped her favorite kunai back into their hiding spots just above her forelegs on her chest, "that was fun. So sorry about that interuption, now...oh, yes. I was going to ask, who are you?"

The tall creature drew herself up proudly, an arrogant smile crossing her lips as she said, "I am Que-"

"She is a servant of Discord," Shimmering Oasis interrupted, a slight frown of disapproval in her eyes. Chrysalis glowered down at the alicorn, her eyes burning with anger. "Hmph. Don't look at me like that. You have earned no title in this land. My comrade and I wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for your incompetence." Chrysalis sputtered with fury. She took a few steps back, searching for the right words to express her indignity. "Look at you," the princess said, closing the distance between herself and the Changeling queen. "Look at what little power you have left. You and your entire army have failed to eliminate one child, despite multiple efforts."

"He is ellusive!" Chrysalis spat in her defense. She turned and started pacing back and forth in front of the two, her tail flicking in agitation. "He is constantly surrounded by those that make it difficult to get close, and he himself is powerful. He has nearly singled-hoofedly thwarted my efforts to kill him. Also, he is favored by Princess Celestia! Do you have any idea how powerful she is? My magic and my forces cannot compare." She whirled on Shimmering Oasis, stomping closer. "How my lord Discord thinks you will do any better is beyond me!"

Fire Lotus smirked and waited for Shimmering Oasis to put this pouting monster in her place. However, Shimmering Oasis did little more than shrug. A bit of a disappointment to Fire Lotus. After all the sex she'd had on that ship, she wanted blood. The two mixed together was a great way to relieve the anger and stress of her year-long imprisonment.

"I suppose you'll just have to trust our lord Discord in his infinite wisdom, won't you." Chrysalis flinched as if she'd been slapped. Of course she couldn't question Discord. That was one of the decrees he set down for their people more than three thousand years ago. Finally, she turned around and called out to her minions.

"We move out! Begin the march back to our home! First squadron, on front. Seventh squadron, to our flanks!" As the Changelings began formation, Chrysalis turned back to look at the two, eyeing and judging them one last time. "We move out. Don't fail m-er, Discord..." she sighed and flew off to the front, leaving the two surrounded by Changelings on all sides, the long escorted walk home beginning.

Anorax woke up from his dream with a horrified gasp. In his sleep, his Halfling form had activated. His heart pounded, and the last remnants of his dream haunted him: dozens of his Changeling brethren, stampeding the town, capturing some and killing others. At the heart of this stampede, three figures emerged, bathed in a golden light. One, a warrior with a bloodlust that could not be satiated. Another, the queen of the Changelings. He'd never seen her before, but he could see her, clear as day. And the third, the most imposing, the most dangerous: A golden alicorn. She was beautiful, but her eyes...those eyes that saw everything, controlled everything...

Suddenly, a head popped up over the bed from the floor below. "Wha?" a sleepy voice sounded.

Anorax, having thought he was alone in his room, let out a startled scream. Lyra, who had been lying on the floor, screamed as well, startled by the Halfling's appearance. This continued back and forth for a good ten seconds before they both calmed down. "Geez, Lyra, what are you doing in my house, in my room, at night?!"

Lyra lowered her head slightly in apology. She drew in on herself, her tail curling around her legs. She looked sad and vulnerable. "I'm sorry, Anorax. The last few nights have been really hard. I can't sleep at night unless I'm with someone. It's...it's getting really hard without Bon Bon."

Anorax had a sudden lapse of sense and blushed. "Whoa, so you guys already..." A glare from Lyra pulled him back to the moment. He hopped down beside her and rested a hard, white hoof on her shoulder. "Er...that's not important right now. What is important is that you do something about this, Lyra. Have you tried talking to her? Do you think she feels the same way?"

Lyra shuffled closer and settled into an easy embrace against her best friend, never minding the fact that he was still in his Halfling form. "I don't know, Anorax. What if she doesn't? Am I just wasting my time waiting for her? What if she doesn't love me any mor-" she cut off, unable to continue as she started to cry. She leaned herself against Anorax, burying her head against her shoulder and wrapping her hooves around him.

Anorax sighed quietly and held the unicorn in his arms, the two of them leaning against his bed. He just held her and let her cry, and after a few moments she was asleep. Now that he had some time, he tried to remember his dream before he discovered Lyra in his room. The details were almost all gone, having drifted away like a cloud on a high wind. Those eyes remained, though, haunting, glaring. He shivered, and had a very bad feeling about those eyes.

10 - Settling And Stalking

Laser Reflex sighed as he surveyed the charred remains of his home. Thanks to the quick actions of the stallion that seemed to control ice, not all was lost in his home. For one, well...the only thing that actually survived was his house. It hadn't been burned to the ground, but everything inside had. All his possessions, gone. His couch, his bed, everything.

What was he going to do now? As he bemoaned his situation, the local crazy mare, Pinkie Pie, popped out from behind him suddenly, with a loud "HEY!", bouncing to land beside him. Reflex let out a shout of panic and fell over onto his side.

"Oh, Pinkie, it's you. Don't scare me like that, I've had a very rough day!" he said, a little meaner than he meant to. Pinkie Pie either didn't notice his tone or didn't care as she helped him up.

"Sorry to hear about your house Reflex I guess you'll need a place to stay did you know that Russet has a house and he has lots of room and you need to apologize for what you said to him anyway so whaddya say?" she said all in one breath so fast that it took Reflex a moment to catch up.

"Wh-wait a minute now, Pinkie, this is all very sudden, I-I mean Russet is a very..." he paused, trying to convey what he really meant. Of course, what he really meant was that he recently found out that Russet was gay and very, very into him. Not that he thought there was anything wrong with that, but he himself wasn't into stallions, and staying with Russet would make things awkward. But he still needed to apologize for yelling at him, so he supposed that Pinkie actually had a point.

Reflex glanced at Pinkie, who had gone silent, now staring at him with a patient smile. He sighed and bowed his head in defeat. He knew what he had to do. Pinkie Pie patted Reflex on the back comfortingly before hopping off down the street. Sometimes, that crazy mare made sense, and that in itself was crazy.

Well, I might as well go apologize and see how things go from there, he thought as he stood, then took flight off for Russet Hearts' home just a few town blocks away.

After a few knocks on the door, it opened to reveal not Russet himself, but his sometimes business partner, Rarity. The two of them stood there awkwardly, tensing as they both recalled the odd encounter earlier that day before Reflex went and made an ass out of himself in public and attacked Spark Storm.

Finally, Rarity took the initiative. There were things to talk about between them, but in Russet's home wasn't the place. "Laser Reflex," she began. She was putting her words together slowly and carefully, a sign, Reflex knew, that she was not pleased at all. "I'm afraid you and I have some unpleasant things to discuss the next we meet. Russet is inside, why don't you go and talk to him. I shall take my leave, sir."

Reflex sighed quietly and stepped aside so she could step outside. She stepped daintily out, her head inclined ever so slightly to show her manners. She paused at the top of the three-tier stairs leading to the street, a genuine look of concern on her face. "I do hope you can at least patch things up with your friend, Reflex. He is such a sweetheart. That's all he needs right now...a friend."

Reflex wasn't sure that was meant to be comforting or not. He was already starting to feel nervous going to talk to a pony that had harbored a crush on him for he didn't know how long. After a brief moment's pause, he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Having been inside Russet's home before, he made his way down the hallway leading to the one room in the house that was lit, the living room.

"Rarity?" came Russet's voice from around the corner. "Who was there?" When Laser Reflex popped his head around the corner, Russet's cheeks burned and he tensed, an urge to panic rising in his throat. "...Oh...H-hllo, Laser." He swallowed his fear and stood shakily. He would not freak out in his own living room. "W-won't you please come in?"

Reflex sighed as quietly as possible as he stepped into the room. It wasn't a big room, but it wasn't that small, either. There was room for two long couches on either of the long walls, and a coffee table in the middle. A tasteful cabana lamp on the far corner of the room kept the light moderately bright, and the light fell on Russet's face just enough for Reflex to see tear stains on his cheeks.

The pegasus frowned at the sight of his tormented friend. How was he going to tell Russet that he had a monster in his house and he didn't want his friend to come over and get assaulted, like that poor unicorn mare had been? Things like that just didn't happen every day. Best way to do it, he concluded, was just to do it quickly, pull off the bandage in one movement.

"Look, Russet, I'm really sorry about yelling at you earlier. I wasn't angry with you, I was just in a big hurry. My mind was...well, it was somewhere else. Like, a long, long ways away. I was in a panicked frenzy. The last thing on my mind was to make you feel bad, or that I didn't want you around."

Russet stared blankly for a moment, then he sniffled quietly and rubbed at his eyes. After a moment he looked back up at Reflex and said, "Earlier you said you wanted me to stay away from your house. Was something dangerous happening there?"

"Well, yes..." Reflex said. He stood up from the couch and walked to the end of the room, fidgeting uncomfortably. He hated having to think about the vine-y, grabby creature that either wanted to kill him or molest him. Probably both. "There was a monster in my house, Russet." Reflex frowned at the way it sounded, but it was the truth. He turned around to face the unicorn. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. My house burned down today because a fight broke out between the monster and some really strange unicorns."

Russet gasped and shot to his feet. "Your house burned down?! That's terrible!" Laser Reflex's apology completely forgotten, Russet made up his mind right then and there. "I gather you don't have a place to stay? Well don't you worry, 'Flex. You can stay here with me, if you like, I don't mind at all. Just tell me what you need to settle in and I'll get it for you."

Reflex tensed for just a moment. He was afraid of this happening, but he had to admit that not having to go through the trouble of finding a place for the night would be nice. He finally let out a breath and gave his friend a genuine smile. "Thank you, Russet. I honestly don't deserve a friend like you. Uh, as of right now I don't actually have anything to pack..."

Russet smiled, his face brightening with excitement. "Oh don't you worry about a thing, 'Flex. Why don't you sit down and get comfortable?" He gestured for Reflex to sit when he made to follow Russet towards the door. "Oh you just sit right down and relax, Laser, I'm gonna go and pick up some things for you, some comforts and toiletries. When I get home we'll set up your guest room and I'll let you settle in the night, hm? Don't you worry, I'll take care of everything!"

And with that, the elated unicorn ran out of the house, leaving Reflex to sigh and settle down on the couch, and finally relax.

Spark Storm opened his eyes at the poking and prodding he was receiving. "Daddy, I am hungry!" a familiar voice said. He smiled. Whenever Orea used that title for him, it made him happy. The good feelings went away when he heard an older, seductive voice practically purring in his ear.

"Yes, daddy, wake up, we're hungry."

Spark Storm shot up in his bed, trying to deny the blush that the close proximity of the voice and the heat it left on his ear. His heart started beating fast, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he stared back at Ampelus, standing at his bedside. Orea sat on the bed between them, her back to him. Her mane and tail were rattling threateningly.

"Stay away from daddy!" she yelled. Ampelus looked unimpressed, but she made no move to harm either of them. Spark started to feel better when he spotted Sohl standing at the doorway to the upstairs bedroom. She didn't look ready to attack, but his trained eye noticed that she wasn't relaxed, either.

"What's all this?" Spark said. He kept his wings raised warningly; Ampelus remembered those from their first encounter, and their last, and she wasn't strong enough to contend with them right now. She kept herself calmly composed as she stepped away from the bed. Not one of the trio watching her relaxed.

"I am hungry. I believe we all are. None of you are willing to let me starve," she paused, glancing at Sohl, an amused smirk on both the female's faces. "She might be, though. Though she seems to have attained a comfy position amongst you, she is no less heartless than I am."

Spark snorted. Sohl wasn't...with a glance at the harpy, she shrugged. Though there were those that she loved and would sacrifice for, there were also others she could be brutal and cruel to with no remorse. He lowered his head as if to accept this fact. Sometimes, thought not often, it was easy to forget Sohl's true nature.

"Welp..." Spark said as he got up and stretched. He rested a hoof on Orea's back, calming her down enough to stop rattling. He glanced out the window, noting that the sky was getting lighter, the sun not yet risen. "If we're gonna do this, it has to be now, before the town wakes up. Orea, you're up here," he said, flapping his wings once. She complied, hopping up onto his back. He blanketed her in his wings, effectively hiding her from sight. "Sohl, if you're gonna fly out of town like that, you need to get some altitude first. Why don't you take Ampelus with you and see if she's afraid of heights?"

Sohl scowled at the idea of carrying the nymph, but when she noticed Ampelus whirl on Spark Storm with indignity written all over her body, the harpy smirked and stood to her full height, nearly brushing her head along the ceiling. "Sounds like fun, Sparky," she said, amusement lighting up her eyes. Ampelus turned to her, her ears drawing back in anger.

"I am not freight. I will not be carried like luggage!"

Sohl leaned over Ampelus, grinning widely to display the teeth that could easily rip through the nymph's body. "You don't have much of a choice, bitch. You're not leaving this tree house unless it's under cover, and you're too big to hide. You get a free ride," she paused as she lashed out and grabbed the nymph in one of her massive talons, the claws wrapping around Ampelus' waist. The nymph panicked and struggled until Sohl stomped her foot on the floor, taking Ampelus with it, slamming the nymph into the hardwood floor.

Sohl leaned over the nymph once again, her tall form pressing down into her captive. "I'd settle down if I were you, 'Ampy'. You're lucky we're inside a library, or I'd raise the volume a bit."

Ampelus did nothing to hide her disdain for the tall biped, but she wisely kept her mouth shut. She closed her eyes and accepted her fate. If they were going to let her feed, she needed to be smart about this situation. Taking her silence as her cue, Sohl walked to the window, clutching the nymph tightly within her talons, then leapt out the window and took to the skies quickly.

Spark followed close behind on the ground, running at full speed along the ground, Orea clinging tightly to his back in the cool late September air.

Orea latched herself onto the timberwolf, the creature snarling and snapping at the nymph. Orea was stronger, though, having gotten used to this feeding thing and learning to hunt thanks to Sohl's teachings. Before the wooden monster could reach her, she used her morphing abilities to wrap her front legs around the wolf's throat and snap it. The big wooden wolf fell lifeless to the ground, and Orea began to feed.

Spark Storm and Ampelus stood side by side, watching her, both with varying degrees of comfort. "Hmph." Spark Storm glanced sideways at Ampelus, both annoyed and cautious. "I underestimated you, Storm-Bringer," the nymph said, turning to look the pegasus in the eye. "You are indeed as much a monster as the rest of us, teaching young Orea to be the murderous creature she should be."

Spark Storm narrowed his eyes, but kept his anger in check. He wouldn't be giving Ampelus the satisfaction of making him fly off the handle with words. "She's not a monster like you," he said, turning to face the nymph. "This is nature. You remember that, don't you? Your mother tried to teach you that, though I'm not sure how successful she was in getting that past your thick head and your nymphonmanic tendencies."

Ampelus' grassy fur bristled on end as she took a step closer to the pegasus, looking down her muzzle at him. "That is also a part of nature. You should be finding that out soon enough." A seductive smile fell over her face as she tilted her head to inspect him closer. "You should be growing soon, shouldn't you? You were too young the last time I saw you, but you have indeed grown. A young welp like you should..." she stopped, her eyes widening as she began to look around in wild panic.

Thinking this a trick, Spark raised his wings, ready for anothing. "I'm not buying it, Ampelus. Cut it out with the theat-"

Spark was cut off as Ampelus raised a hoof to his mouth. She leaned in, a very serious glare in her eyes as she whispered one word that changed his mood: "Changelings."

Spark froze, then reached up to remove her hoof from his mouth. "...You're not trying to pull one over on me, are you?"

A fierce glare from Ampelus told him she wasn't trying to trick him. He turned his head ever so slightly and called to Orea. When she ran over, he tucked a hoof over her and whispered into her ear. "Orea, do you feel anything? Anything familiar in the area that you can't see?"

The tiny nymph thought for a moment, her head and ears tilting back and forth. Finally, she lifted her head with a smile and said, "Anorax!"

Spark's blood ran cold. Sohl was still out hunting, and they needed to get out of the area as quickly as possible. He picked Orea up and set her on his back, his wings closing around her to keep her still. "'Anorax'? What does that mean?" Ampelus asked, her voice hushed and strained.

"It means you're right," Spark told her. He turned back towards Ponyville, though he walked slowly and with purpose. Ampelus followed him, but she was anxious to pick up speed. "Just relax," he said, though he himself was aching to start running. "Running like mad isn't going to help us. Just walk as calmly as you can and we'll get out of this."

Ampelus frowned. When did the welp get balls like this? She started to calm down, earning a smile from Orea from under Spark's wings. "Impressive, Storm-Bringer. You have grown."

As the trio got further and further away, a small group in the trees watched. A certain red earth pony sighed, then reached out and hit the nearest Changeling. "Ow! What did you hit me for?!" she demanded.

"I told you I wanted to do this on my own!" Fire Lotus retorted. "I work better alone, your 'queen' should have let me handle this mission unsupervised."

"Your tone is insolent!" said the largest of the Changelings, a male that stood nearly two heads taller than the earth pony. "If you don't show our que-"

"They're getting away!" hissed the Changeling Fire Lotus hit, bouncing up and down excitedly. "We must capture them!" She spread her wings and leapt into the air, only to be brought down and anchored to the ground with a kunai stuck in one of her leg holes.

"No!" Fire Lotus hissed as she came close, grabbing her kunai and resting a hoof on the Changeling's head. "I told you, this is reconnaissance. Info-gathering. I get it; I've heard the legend. Kill all the nymphs, get your pretty glamour bodies back. Have any of you ever seen what that even looks like?"

"Well..." the female Changeling began, then looked back at the large male. He only shrugged. The others didn't look so sure, either, one of them scratching their heads in wonder. "Th-the thing is, the only one among us old enough to remember the legend is our queen..."

"Well isn't that typical," Fire Lotus said with a sadistic tone in her voice. "I'll bet she's just using that as an excuse to keep you all in line. It's what I would do," she added, laughing appreciatively. She found herself grabbed by the scruff of her neck and pulled close to an angry Changeling male.

"You will learn to speak of our Queen with respect, even if I have to beat it into you!" he snarled. Fire Lotus smiled, then pressed on his chest to push herself up, then came down, using the sudden shift in weight to flip the bigger creature over her back as she came down on her hooves, sending the big Changeling flying back-first into a tree. The resounding crack was heard through the forest. He groaned pitifully as the assassin stepped close to him and knelt down, pressing a kunai to his throat.

"And you're going to have to learn that I have a dirty mouth. I don't respect those in authority, and it won't be the last time I insult your queen. But if you touch me again without my permission, I'm going to have myself a science lesson..." she paused, dragging the knife slowly down the Changeling's chest, the point making a horrible screeching noise as it proceeded down his carapace. "...and I'll see what makes you tick. Understand?"

The big Changeling felt very small as he nodded. Fire Lotus merely snorted as she slipped her kunai back into it's hiding place. "Good...now, we keep following them. Those two nymphs can sense you, so you stay back away from me. Watch me from afar if you have to, but don't get in my way again!"

The five Changelings all exchanged looks as Fire Lotus continued to follow the three now nearly out of sight. They waited for three minutes, then started to follow her once more.

11 - Confrontations And Varmints

Chrome Spectrum yawned as he woke up in the guest room of his aunt's home. He froze as he felt the fur sticking up on the back of his neck; he hadn't experienced this sensation since years before when he confronted his mother about having a brother he didn't know about. Something was wrong in the house, something was very very wrong, or about to be wrong, or about to erupt.

He crept to his door, then eased it open very slowly. Silence. And yet, the silence was what bothered him. Usually his mother and his aunt were chatting animatedly about things, things like the Wonderbolts, or Rainbow Dash's flight school, or Rainbow's friends.

He cantered down the cloud hall, then froze as he saw something he would never forget, something that would be burned into his mind for the rest of his life: His mother, sitting at the table, her eyes angry and disappointed as she waited for him. Rainbow Falls, his aunt, was also present. Aurora Flash stood and stepped closer to her son.

"Chrome Spectrum, your aunt was cleaning up after Rainbow Dash in her guest room when she found a note. A note that I'm pretty sure you read. Now, you were gone all day yesterday, and when you came home you didn't give me a single word of greeting, and that tells me you know you did something wrong. Now what do you have to say for yourself?"

Chrome blinked, staring at his mother. At first, he'd been afraid, thinking that he had indeed done something bad by going to see the brother that his mother had denied existed his entire life. But that was the point, wasn't it? She had been lying to him her entire life about a strange colt that had shown up at their door eight years ago, then suddenly disappeared. If anything, she had some explaining to do!

"Well..." he said, reaching a hoof up to his chin to scratch at it in mock contemplation. His mood and tone was not lost by either pony in the room. "let's see. I have a brother named Spark Storm...oh. Did you know his name, mother? Did you even bother to name him before you tossed him out the window?!" he finished yelling the last few words.

His mother and aunt stared at Chrome, both with differing looks on their faces. Rainbow Falls held a hoof over her mouth. She looked like she at least partially approved of Chrome's bravado. Aurora Flash, however, looked like she'd been struck in the face by her own son.

Aurora had been through a lot since her first son had been born. Burdened with the responsibility of keeping him or running the risk of losing him to an accident in the sky, she made her choice, and effectively pushed her husband to give up their son, played it safe and had him live on the ground. She always felt it had been the right choice, but it was a choice that slowly ate at her husband, leading to him eventually leaving her some time after Chrome Spectrum was born.

Her choices had come to leave her bitter and angry. Any change threatened to loosen her last holds on any normalcy she had left in her life. Her sister and niece helped immensely, but her remaining son was the real source of her comfort. Her hold on him was threatened now, and she was quickly being backed into a corner by his accusing tone.

"Young colt, you are not allowed to take that tone of voice with me!" she yelled back, advancing on her son to tower over him. "The choices I made in life haven't always made me proud, but I always did what I thought was right. I...I shouldn't even have to explain myself to you. You're my son, that doesn't make you-"

"What that means is you look out for me!" Chrome yelled, advancing on his mother. She backed away this time, her body language displaying fear and tension. She'd never had a problem with her son before. Sure, he was rebellious sometimes, he was a Rainbow. All the stallions and mares in the Rainbow family were bull-headed and proud.

"I have always looked out for you!" Aurora shouted back, advancing again. The two came to a standstill, neither of them backing away from the other. Rainbow Falls quietly got up from the table and slipped outside. This was no longer a matter for the whole family. It was personal.

The shouting continued as Rainbow Falls slipped outside. She took off into the air, her mane cascading around her like water, as her name suggested. She flew to a distant cloud, far enough away to offer privacy, but near enough to hear if things got bad. As thought on the situation, she couldn't help but worry about her own child. Rainbow Dash had been involved in some kind of rope or vine accident, and damaged a rib and hurt her throat. While Ditzy hadn't been too keen on divulging information, Falls was satisfied with the knowledge that her daughter would recover.

Just then, Chrome Spectrum burst from one of the cloud walls of the house, and flew down towards Ponyville. He certainly was a Rainbow; he was nearly as fast as Rainbow Dash. Falls sighed to herself as she heard her sister breaking down in broken wails. It was time for damage control as she flew back to her home.

Chrome Spectrum burst into the library, his breathing hard, ragged and trembling. Tears of anger threatened to fall, and if he didn't find something to kick soon he might just hurt somepony, the first somepony he saw.

He looked around, and the first ponies he saw were a unicorn and a pegasus, ones that he recognized from Spark's story the other day. Emerald Skies, if he remembered, but the mint green unicorn mare he didn't really recognize. He'd seen her, but she'd been so quiet that day that he'd barely noticed her.

Lyra and Emerald looked up as Chrome stood there, seething with anger. He began to pace back and forth inside the library, snorts of anger escaping him. Lyra stepped toward him slowly, a cautious frown on her face. "Uh...Chrome, was it? What's wrong, little guy?"

"I am not little!" he snapped, rounding on Lyra angrily. She gasped at his outburst, but she stood her ground, inclining her head just slightly to let him see her horn, an indication that she wouldn't take violence sitting down. "I'm too big to treat like a sniveling little colt!"

Lyra was in no mood to deal with an angsty ten year old. Her horn lit up, but she paused when she felt Emerald's patient hoof on her back. She calmed down and dispelled her magic, and took a step back as Emerald took one forward. "Chrome, tell us what happened," he said, his voice patient and controlled. His tone and gentle command seemed to calm the younger pegasus, at least a little.

"It's my mom...she's angry at me for being gone all day yesterday and spending my time here, getting to know the brother that she gave up for adoption! She's angry! At me!"

An understanding look came over Lyra's face. He really did have just cause for anger. Years ago Ditzy told her about the encounter involving the two brothers. It hadn't ended well, not for anypony. "You know, Chrome, she's probably just scared that she's going to lose you," Lyra said gently. Chrome frowned at her, a bewildered look on his face. "Your dad's not with her anymore, right? Think about it...it's just the two of you now. Maybe she doesn't know how to respond to you in a way that'll make you see how she feels, so she lashed out."

Realization came over the young pegasi's face. Conflicted emotions ran through Chrome as he started pacing again. "So...she's mad at me because she's worried she'll lose me? But the only way she knows how to tell me that is by getting pissed and yelling at me?! That's not fair, that's just stupid!" he yelled. He was angry all over again, this time stomping over to a pile of books stacked by a large shelf on the right and kicking them hard, sending books across the room.

It was Emerald's turn to move towards Chrome in anger. No one damaged books in his library! In a reversal of roles, Lyra grabbed Emerald's tail and dragged him backwards, leaving him to lose his balance and fall back on his butt. He straightened his glasses and glared at her as she passed, an amused smile on her face. Chrome turned to face Lyra as she approached, prepared to lash out at her. He was completely unprepared, however, for the hug that she pulled him into.

An embarrassed blush came over his face at the unexpected close proximity to this mare that he barely knew. "Hey! Stop that! I-I don't want hugs, I wanna hit things!"

"So hit me," Lyra said, looking down at Chrome. He was tempted to, but he looked up into her eyes, and he was caught there, their eyes connecting. Chrome saw a sadness, and maybe even an anger, that matched his. "You've got a good reason to be angry with your mom right now. Your feelings are totally understandable, Chrome. I get it, I really do. But Emerald's library shouldn't be treated so harshly. If you want, hit me, instead. Unlike the books, I deserve it."

Chrome felt confused. On the one hoof, he was angry and he really wanted to throw a tantrum and cause damage. Hadn't he wanted to fight earlier, with anypony? Lyra's behavior and her close contact was melting his resolve to be angry, though, and her self-depreciating words were even more confusing. He was losing his anger, and with every passing second he was starting to see reason concerning his mother. It wasn't fair. He wanted to be angry.

Instead of lashing out at the unicorn, Chrome buried his face in Lyra's chest. When she reached up and ran a hoof through his mane, he couldn't help it. He started to cry. It was embarrassing crying in front of a girl, but she was already holding and comforting him. It couldn't get much more embarrassing than this, and he needed to let it out.

Chrome was so lost in his own emotions that he didn't notice when Lyra began to cry as well. Her troubles with Bon Bon had been weighing heavily on her mind, and she hadn't allowed herself to vent, or to feel much of anything until now. More aware of this than he was comfortable with, Emerald began to pick up around the library quietly, leaving the two alone to release their grief to each other.

Outside the library, an ear pressed against the door, Ditzy frowned and pulled away, Dinky nearly falling off her back. She instinctively caught her with a hoof and slid her back up into a stable position, then took off into the air, an angry, determined look on her face. She made a beeline for Bon Bon's.

The pounding at Bon Bon's door at nine in the morning was one of the most intrusive and vulgar sounds she'd heard in a long time. As she crept from her kitchen, down the hall and to the door, she saw a grey figure through the stained glass windows that lined the center of her doorway. Ditzy? What was she doing here? When she opened the door, the outraged look on the mother's face was almost too clear. "Ditzy? Um...what can I-" she began, trailing off as Ditzy stormed inside, her wings flared. A barely concealed Dinky poked her head out between the feathers.

Bon Bon sighed and closed the door. It had been going around town that she and Lyra had parted on bad terms, she supposed it was only a matter of time until somepony got on her back about it. Truth be told, she was only making Lyra suffer for a little while. Of course she wasn't going to keep her away for much longer; she just wanted to make sure that she'd learned her lesson about lying to her and for getting too close to the librarian pegasus guy.

The miffed look in Ditzy's eyes, however, worried Bon Bon. The pegasus had so far kept her mouth shut about the whole thing. If Ditzy herself was coming to yell at her, then...

"Bon Bon, I'm disappointed in you," Ditzy began. "You and Lyra were two of my strongest supporters, and it seemed like the two of you would never have any trouble. Look, I don't know what's going on between the two of you, and it's none of my business, but if there's a chance for you two to make up, then take it!" Ditzy marched right up to Bon Bon, leaning over the earth pony threateningly with their foreheads pressed together. She jabbed a hoof into Bon Bon's chest, her wall-eyed stare suddenly less comical and more angry than Bon Bon had ever seen. "And if I find out that you've been playing a game with Lyra's heart, you are in big trouble, missy!"

Bon Bon frowned unhappily. That was exactly the case. Having felt unappreciated by her girlfriend, Bon Bon had created a situation at Canterlot Castle to make Lyra jealous. It all went down-hill when she discovered that Lyra had been studying a magic that was probably prohibited in Equestria. Her loyal girlfriend had been lying to her for months. To top it all off, she had been spending more and more time with Emerald Skies. Sometimes it felt like Lyra had been cheating on her. So in retaliation, she broke up with the unicorn and left her standing on the steps leading from the city. It had been harsh, but it was necessary to teach Lyra to appreciate her.

She opened her mouth to retort, but Ditzy turned right around and started walking for the door. "Hey! You can't just come in here and yell at me and not give me a chance to defend myself!"

"Dinky?" Ditzy said. The light purple unicorn popped out from behind Ditzy's wings and held a hoof to her eyes, then whipped it in Bon Bon's direction in an unmistakable 'I've got my eyes on you' gesture, then disappeared back into Ditzy's wings as the mother left the house and closed the door behind her.

Applejack frowned angrily up at the tree in front of her. Her keen eyes looked the tree up and down. Every apple on every tree was important to her. They were all important to the business. So when a few apples went unaccounted for, it was cause for alarm, and cause for scrutiny. Applejack turned and marched right up to Big Mac. He watched her from the corner of his eye, then rolled his eyes as she fixed him with a glare. Here we go again, he thought. This was the third time this week.

"Big Mac!" she shouted, though she was standing not five feet from the big work pony.

"Eyyup?" he said, continuing to work. He turned towards her and bucked the tree behind him.

"We got varmints again! There's some apples missin' from that tree!" she said, gesturing to the tree behind her.

"Yer sure ya didn't just miscount like last time? I keep tellin' ya to learn yer numbers..."

"You keep mah learnin' outta this!" she said accusingly, stepping closer to poke him with a hoof. "Ah'm tellin' ya, there's apples missin', and I aim to catch the thief. With or without yer help, but Ah guarantee we'd get things done a lot faster if ya just helped me out!"

Big Mac stopped working long enough to give his younger sister a glare for a long, hard minute, the mare keeping her eyes glued to his, daring him to disagree with her one more time. Finally, with a brief roll of his eyes, he moved forward and past his sister towards the tree with the 'missing apples'. "Alright. Let's get this over with so's we can get back to work."

As the two siblings approached the tree, arguing back and forth, a pair of eyes watched them quietly from across the field. The eyes belonged to a small unicorn, around the age of 11 or 12. As he levitated the six apples he'd pilfered from the apple orchard, from that very tree the siblings were arguing about, actually, he took a bite from one, feeling himself fill up quickly. He marveled at it's crisp outside and it's juicy inside. He'd had apples before, of course, but it had been many years since he'd been able to indulge like this.

The wild orange and red unicorn ducked down as the orange mare in the orchard looked his way. Too late...she'd seen him. He could hear her yelling at him as she was suddenly moving very fast towards him. He dropped all six apples on the ground as he panicked and started running away. Too fast, she was too fast! She was gaining on him at an alarming rate.

"Git back here, you!" she shouted. Closer. Closer. The unicorn's breathing came in ragged heaves. He wasn't used to long bouts of running like the mare was. She finally got close enough to make a diving tackle, and she came down hard...and empty hooved. She rolled a few times until she came to a stop, a bewildered look on her face. "Wh...what in tarnation?" she said. She looked to the side where the unicorn had managed to reach the woods and disappear. She was sure she was on top of him, but then he just seemed to...well, phase through her.

Applejack got back up and dusted herself off and straightened her Stetson. "Hmph...Ah knew there was a varmint." She turned and headed back towards the orchard, a feeling of accomplishment putting a hop in her step. "That's two days o' hard labor Big Mac owes me!" she announced to herself, taking one last look towards the woods before heading back to tell her brother what for.

12 - Viewing The Past

Shadow Heart gasped for breath as he came to a stop. The orange and red unicorn definitely needed to start running every day if he wanted a better chance of getting away from angry farmers. While his phasing ability came in handy, there might come a time when it wouldn't work. His magic was selective, after all. The unicorn made his way through the woods, deeper into the Everfree, towards the small cave that he called home.

The twelve year old colt had been living there for years, sometimes on the road around Equestria, but always staying within walking distance of Ponyville; it was the only place nice enough not to send mobs on him. Even Canterlot, the home of the generous Princess, wasn't nearly as kind as the little burg. He'd heard tales of cruelty coming from the town, though, and he still wasn't sure if they were true.

After the Ursa Minor incident a few years ago, though, he'd begun to have doubts. He'd been on the edge of town when it happened: An angry Ursa rampaged towards the town, only to be stopped by a pegasus capable of using lightning without the aid of storm clouds. It was an impressive power, one that had wowed Shadow Heart to the core. And then...the jeering. The yelling and the cursing at the pegasi's heroics. It seemed like the older ponies were angry just at his presence. It reminded Shadow of himself, being labeled a monster. Unlike the pegasus, though, he really was a monster.

The unicorn came to a dead stop when he reached the entrance to the only home he'd known for the last few years. Something was off, something was wrong. The 'something wrong' showed itself as dozens of black, hard-shelled monsters walked through the grass, emerged from his cave, and from everywhere to surround him. He started to panic. He'd seen many creatures here in the Everfree, but he'd never seen these monsters before.

Shadow Heart levitated several rocks around him, drawing them in close to propel them at his possible foes. He would fight for his life if he had to. It wouldn't be the first time, and Celestia-willing it wouldn't be the last time. The creatures stepped aside, however, as a much bigger figure strode right up to him. The rocks in his magical grasp fell to the ground as he looked up in wonder at the beautiful, burnt orange Alicorn standing before him.

The Alicorn's eyes were a shining gold, deep and piercing, as if she were peering straight into Shadow Heart's soul. It was both a calming and terrifying feeling. He could almost feel as if she were opening his eyes and reaching inside, digging at his past. Wait, was that actually happening? The faint, familiar feeling of his spell-absorbing abilities were activating against his will, as they usually did.

He took a few steps away from the Alicorn, shaking his head violently to rid himself of the feeling of being psychicly violated. "Stop!" he shouted. He groaned as the overpowering feeling of having his brain searched drove him to his knees.

"This one has the strength to resist me..." the Alicorn murmured. She sounded excited, eager even, to dive further into the colt's psyche. She saw interesting things in his past: timberwolves, murderous thieves, his parents. The colt was an outcast, and had lived on his own for years thanks to the death of his parents while out in the wild. She saw strange and unusual talents that even powerful unicorns almost never attained. The colt was out here, on his own, no use to anypony, and here he was with wondrous talents that could be of use to her and her purpose.

"Go away!" he shouted, pushing back against the palpable force pressed down on him by the Alicorn's psychic powers. "Get out of my head! Leave me alone!"

"Shhh..." Shadow Heart opened his eyes to see the Alicorn crouching to be level with him. He couldn't help but stare at the strange beauty in her eyes, so alluring, so inviting. A golden mist-like light began to pour from her eyes and pouring into his. Some of the spell was absorbed, but the overpowering spell soon took him over. He stopped fighting, and fell limp into the grass. He was magically lifted into the air and then placed lovingly onto the Alicorn's back.

With a sudden air of indifference, she turned around and walked back into the woods without a word to the surrounding Changelings, of course leaving them confused and a little bit put off. Though they had their orders from the Queen herself to do as the Alicorn commanded and assist her, the golden princess never gave them orders, instead opting to ignore them. It was very vexing.

Fire Lotus watched the three figures from the trees. They had stopped a few times to talk, though what they spoke of, she didn't know. She was much too far away to hear. She was about to move closer when she heard something whistling towards her. She turned and caught a projectile pine cone. A second pine cone in the first one's shadow bopped her on the forehead.

Gritting her teeth in annoyance, she leapt from her perch and into the distant trees.

The five Changelings looked this way and that, having lost sight of the earth pony the moment she jumped from her perch. The large male, Dozix, took a step forward on his perch in the large tree they had been ordered to stay on. "...Where did she go?"

He flinched when he felt a pinecone drop on his head. He supposed he had that coming, it hadn't really been necessary to throw pinecones at the mare to get her attention...well, it had, actually. They'd been ordered to stay far away from her, and they needed to talk to her. How could they do that if they were far away? The pinecone had seemed the only logical answer.

Dozix looked up and immediately whimpered. A downpour of pinecones came down on top of him, rattling his skull. Then the thick branch previously holding the pinecones came down and snapped in half over his head. Stunned, he fell backwards and down towards the ground. He felt his hind legs wrapped up in cord, and he stopped just before he hit the ground, snagged in rope and hung upside down. Fire Lotus landed on the ground lightly beside him, an annoyed glare in her eyes and a pinecone in her hoof.

"Oh...hello," he said, smiling sheepishly. He got a pine cone to the nose for his efforts.

"What." she said. It was a demand, not a question or an inquiry.

"Uh...It's just been a while since we received any updates from you on our query," he explained, still hanging from the rope wrapped around his legs. He could've flown up and released himself, but after being handled by the irritable earth pony already, he quickly came to the conclusion that this was a bad idea.

"How many times have I told you to wait for me? Interrupt me again and I'll-"

"You'll answer to our Queen if you don't have something for us soon," the Changeling in charge, Nuzo said as he landed beside Fire Lotus with no fear of the assassin. He was the smallest male present of three, but his confidence and take-charge personality at least made Fire Lotus respect him a little. Kecnik, the last male, was tall and lanky. He didn't seem to care either way what Fire Lotus did, he just stood around and looked bored no matter what happened.

Madalah and Bezzle, the two females of the group, joined Nuzo on the ground beside Fire Lotus. Bezzle was an irritable Changeling, her yellow eyes and torso cover and mane reminded Fire Lotus of an angry wasp. Madalah, the excitable Changeling, was an electric blue, as opposed to the usual teal of the Changelings. Dozix, the largest of the males, was a dark purple. Kecnik's coloring was the normal teal, and Nuvo was completely black. A fitting color, considering his rank.

"Hmph. Your Queen is awfully demanding if she expects me to get any work done with you five constantly on my back. Learn a little patience," she said, daring to flick the end of Nuvo's nose. She was even more impressed when he just stared straight into her eyes, daring her to be even a little more silly. She liked this one. "Look. We're staking out the enemy to gain information. The more I watch them, the more information I obtain. And the more information I obtain, the more I'll be able to help your Queen. It's not a difficult concept."

"Changelings do not wait," Bezzle said, lifting her chin proudly. "We are a race of action, we demand perfection from those who must work with us, and that includes you." Fire Lotus narrowed her eyes and turned towards the smaller creature. Madalah, Kecnik and Dozix stepped to the side, leaving Bezzle alone before the earth pony. She stood tall before the assassin-well, as tall as she could.

Before the confrontation could continue, though, all five Changelings lifted their heads and tilted their ears, as if hearing something only they could hear. Fire Lotus looked between them with a frown on her face. She did not like being left out of the information loop. Finally, Nuzo nodded his head to his partners. They immediately turned and took off into the air and headed off into the forest.

"We have received word of an event that requires our presence. Yours as well, considering your partner has discovered something that she apparently deems worthy of our attention. Now, follow. You can spy on them later." Nuzo turned tail and sped off into the air, leaving Fire Lotus just a little peeved. Here she was, about to teach the little yellow upstart a lesson, and they get a "message" that Shimmering Oasis found something interesting. Compensation would be in order.

Mrs Cake hummed to herself as she brought out a fresh batch of cookies. They were chocolate chip mocha raspberry cheesecake cookies, Pinkie Pie's current favorite.

She turned to her guest baker, having come all the way from Canterlot, Choco Swirl. She was one of the most beautiful mares that Mrs Cake had ever seen: She was a pleasant light brown color, her mane and tail a darker brown, both accented with the most charming cream curls. Her hooves were also cream-colored, and she had the softest butterscotch eyes. At only fifteen, Choco Swirl was one of the prettiest mares that the whole town of Ponyville had seen, and there were more than a few jealous mares spreading the word of her presence.

Choco Swirl was here to take Pinkie's place for two weeks. Pinkie Pie had been very resistant to the idea of having an apprentice trade at this time, but the Cakes told her it would be a tremendous learning experience for the young mare. Of course, Pinkie had neglected to tell the Cakes it was because Spark Storm was in town, so in the end she had been shipped off to Canterlot for two weeks to learn from Canterlot business owner Orange Treat.

Choco Swirl leaned in to take a deep whiff of the cookies when Mrs Cake offered the tray. She took the cookies from the older baker and laid them out on the counter to let them cool. "This is so much fun, Mrs Cake!" she gushed, clopping her hooves together excitedly. "It's so much busier in Canterlot, there's almost no time to relax, and take some time to smell the cookies. I really like it here..." she trailed off with a sigh. She'd been here for only two days, and she was already dreading the return to Orange Treat's large candy factory.

Mrs Cake smiled; she knew that look. Hers was the look of a young mare who was seeing something new and wonderful. Big city girls like Choco Swirl rarely got to see the countryside. Ponyville was the perfect place for a pony to wind down and live a peaceful life among friendly neighbors. It had always been Mrs Cake's dream.

"Go on, dear, have a look around."

Choco snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at the older mare. "Ma'am? D-did you just tell me to leave work and look around town?"

"Of course I did! We're past the lunch rush, it'll be calm for a few hours. Why don't you go out and try meeting a few ponies, see the sights a bit? Just be back in three hours, I'll need some extra help to get ready for the evening rush."

Choco Swirl gasped with joy and quickly hugged the blue mare. "Oh thank you, Mrs Cake! Thank you, I've been wanting to see Ponyville since I saw it! Um...ok, three hours..." She glanced at the clock, then nodded affirmatively. "You can count on me, Mrs Cake, I'll be back in three hours!" She cantered out through the back doors, giddy as a school-girl. Mrs Cake smiled approvingly, then went about getting those cookies onto a plate.

"She'll be late, I just know it."

Choco Swirl cantered through town, an excited smile on her pretty face. She was the new girl in town, so of course there were more than a few stares. She was an unusually styled-up mare, and there weren't a whole lot of those in Ponyville. The town's own up and coming fashionista was probably the only other mare in town who bothered to look that pretty every day.

Upon getting a more clear view of the town from the very center near Sugarcube Corner, Choco's attention was drawn to the huge tree that stood aways down the street and behind some buildings. She felt drawn there; there might be something of interest there. Along the way, she stopped a the local candy store. The mare running the place was a cream-colored earth pony, with a pink mane and a small navy blue stripe running along the middle.

The two talked for a while, bantering back and forth until the shop-keeper introduced Choco to her daughter, Bon Bon. The two teenagers got along rather well, sharing stories about their business. When it came time to talk about boys, Bon Bon became quiet and somehow sad. Choco worried she had offended her new acquaintance, so she quickly made up an excuse to head out and take in more sights.

Soon enough, Choco made her way to the library. She was about to step inside when she noticed the sign that it was closed. She gave a little pout; after having gotten out of work three hours so she could see the town, the first place she wanted to see was this amazing tree library. She sighed and swung her gaze upwards, a grand breath of defeat escaping her lips. As she did, though, something caught her eye, something in the tree. A camera.

And not just any camera, it looked like an expensive, professional camera, just hanging there in the branches by the shoulder strap. Choco stared at it for the longest time. It wasn't likely that someone had just left it there. In that case, someone was in the tree and left in while they were in a hurry. That had to be it, right?

It would be irresponsible of her to just let the camera go to waste in the elements, and the library was closed, she couldn't just knock on the door to get their attention. No, she would do the right thing, get the camera, and turn it into the lost and found. She started climbing the tree, slowly at first, then gaining speed and confidence, she made it up to the camera.

What a nice, shady area, she thought. ...A perfect place to sit and look through the camera. She always was such a nosy thing, and although she always gave good advice, she very seldom followed it. Finding herself a comfortable spot to sit down and turn the camera on, she held up the digital device to her face and sifted through the images. All very plain, places she'd seen of the beautiful little village.

She soon came to a very interesting file: it was a video, labeled Spark Storm: The Secrets Nopony Wants To Talk About. Choco snorted. What a dumb name for a file! She snuggled deeper into the confines of the tree. It was getting colder, and September was almost over. She hit the play button, and settled back in for what was sure to be some nerdy project.

The view opened up into a living room. A plain living room with a simple table and a game system hooked up to a tv in the background. Soon enough, a blue pegasus came into view, messing with the camera and causing the microphone to emit white noise. It went away when he was done adjusting. He was kinda cute, looked to be around 18 years old or so. Wasn't really her type, though. Too clean.

"Ok. We're live, good," he said. He was calm and collected, and he held a stack of papers in his hooves. "I have just received a commission from an anonymous buyer for my services as a journalist. The mission? To find information on an individual known as Spark Storm. The buyer has told me that this stallion is currently away from town, though he consistently returns three or four times a year."

He pulled the paper in front of him out of the stack and slipped it to the back and began reading from the second page. "Information on this Spark Storm was readily available at Town Hall records. It says he is a dark blue pegasus, with black markings on muzzle, forehead and hooves. He was born with a deformity to the wings, in Cloudsdale. He was given up for adoption here in Ponyville to one Cherry Joy, who is currently deceased...seems a bit of a story there, but we're on Spark Storm."

He went on for far too long. Choco Swirl's attention span had long since failed to keep focused on the pegasus droning on and on about some tragic story. Blah, blah, blah. She snapped awake after having nearly fallen asleep to the pegasi's constant droning when a beeping frightened her. The battery was low. She switched the camera off and slipped it around her neck, it might come in handy. She went dead quiet when she heard some voices approaching.

She watched as a dark pegasus, accompanied by the biggest bird she had ever seen perched on his back and apparently holding some little blue bundle in it's wings approached the library and slipped inside. Well, now the library was open. And yet...the camera called to her. As dull as the video had been, she had a feeling there was much more to the story than she had learned. The town could wait - there was a mystery to be solved.

She hopped down from her hiding place and away from the library; it was time to find an outlet and continue this story.

Shadow Heart groaned as he came to. It was dark. So dark. So cold. He opened his eyes to strange, old and empty volcanic rock chambers. He seemed to be in the center of a very large, open room. It was too dark to see the walls, but there was green light where he lay, seeming to come from the floor, just enough to illuminate his position.

The only sounds he could hear was a constant hum. The tone was much too low to notice it if you weren't paying attention. Shadow Heart knew from experience that this was an echo, the sound of wind drifting somewhere in the distance, caught and bounced through the walls of closed spaces giving way to large ones. He was underground.

As to what he was doing underground, he would soon find out from the three figures approaching him. The closest and the smallest was a red earth mare. She was pretty, but her body language spoke volumes. She was bloodthirsty, and untrustworthy. Or perhaps more reliable than anything else, it depended on how you looked at it.

The second, the tallest, was the most frightening of them all. She was black, hard-shelled and thin, with a veil of hair that might have been beautiful if it wasn't so unnerving. Her legs, hair and insectile wings were full of holes.

The third was the most familiar; the dark orange Alicorn that he saw before he woke up here. Had she brought him here? He crouched down low, preparing to defend himself, his horn alight with a firey red magic.

"Oh. Look at that little dragon!" the red earth mare said with no spare amount of derision. "I like him. He's obviously seen blood...can you feel the murder instinct on him? He's killed."

Shadow Heart said nothing, but kept his horn aimed at all three creatures. The tall creature stepped forward, a mocking smirk on her face. "Look at him. So angry. What do you think you can do against the likes of-"

"Enough, both of you," Shimmering Oasis interrupted. Chrysalis huffed and turned to face the Alicorn. She would not be silenced within her own domain!

"Now listen here, you, in my home I command you, not the other...way around..." she trailed off as Shimmering Oasis simply walked around her, her horn glimmering softly in the darkness. Chrysalis fumed and quietly cursed before walking off into the darkness.

"Look at me," Shimmering Oasis commanded the unicorn. He did, but he did not lower his horn. "You and I share a great pain, young colt." Shadow Heart snorted. That was bull. No one knew the pain he had suffered. Not on any level, even if she had seen it.

"I, too, hurt my mother when I was younger."

Shadow Heart felt his determination waver. He started to wonder. Finally, he spoke. "How?"

"You have experienced for yourself. My psychic abilities. They are powerful, powerful enough to negate your spell absorbing capabilities. You know that powers like mine, if they could not be controlled, could greatly hurt anypony unlucky enough to be in it's way."

The unicorn frowned. He slowly started to untense, and suddenly noticed that the two of them were alone. The red earth mare had snuck away when he wasn't paying attention. Still, he had become very interested in what the Alicorn had to say. "What happened? What did you do?"

Shimmering Oasis was silent for a moment, a contemplative frown on her face. After a moment, she said, "Before I knew how to control my powers, my mother and I were very close. We shared everything together. We held no secrets from each other, completely honest and open communication. Or, so I thought."

By now, Shadow Heart and laid down on his belly on the ground, completely at attention to the Alicorn's story. Her words, her tone, her expression, they were all so honest. The unicorn hadn't seen such honesty in so long.

"One day, I happened upon a revelation. I was in the garden at our palace when I overheard my mother telling my father something, something that negated what she told me. She lied. It wasn't that upsetting; my father had told me lies and half-truths before to protect me, I assumed she was doing the same. But then it happened again a month later, and again that same month. My parents would meet in the garden every few weeks, being much too busy to rule an entire country to get much free time to themselves. And every time they did, I was there, hiding, and listening.

Day by day, I grew more and more bitter with my mother. We were losing truth between us and gaining lies that created a border where warmth and honesty used to be. As the years flew by, as they do for Alicorns, my mother grew more and more strange. She made less sense, she babbled, often in pain from terrible headaches. Eventually, I realized that I was causing her pain. Oh, how you ask?" she smiled at the bewildered look on the unicorn's face. He nodded, affirming he wanted - no, needed to know.

"Because I was beginning to develop my powers. All Alicorns have a special gift that separates them from other Alicorns. Mine were powers of the mind. My bitter and angry feelings towards my mother began attacking her mind, even though it wasn't intentional. Probably." She paused, a soft, amused look on her face. "My psychic abilities, mixed with my angry emotions towards my mother, slowly drove her insane. She had to be locked up, and I haven't seen her for hundreds of years."

By now, Shadow Heart had a mixture of emotion on his face. Sadness, confusion, and perhaps happiness, happiness that he had found somepony that might understand his pain. But there was one question on his mind that needed to be answered: "Why me? Why did you bring me here, among these monsters?"

The Princess smiled. "Because you could belong here. Perhaps not among these beasts, but with me. You and I share a sadness that only we can understand."

The unicorn frowned. He was considering it, but..."What would you have me do? I don't understand what's going on."

"I would have you help me. Your abilities could assist me in defeating my enemies." Shadow Heart frowned and began to stand. "In return," she began to add quickly, "I could offer you a warm place to stay. I could offer you love, shelter, food. A sure thing, compared to scraping for food or being chased out of town when you simply ask for some kindness. Give yourself to me, child, and I will forever ensure that nopony will ever hurt you again."

Shadow Heart sighed quietly. There was much to think about, the Alicorn's offer was very tempting. He had grown tired of the life that fate had given him. But did he really want to work hurting others? Then again, maybe the princess' enemies were terrible foes, terrible ponies. There was still so much that needed to be asked. One important question on his mind, though, fought it's way to the surface. "What if I say no? What if I don't want to help you?"

"Then you are free to go. Your assistance would be appreciated, but it is not mandatory. If you wish to leave, then I will take you to the surface myself."

The unicorn looked up into the princess' eyes. She was being honest. Everything about her was so honest. He sighed once more and looked off into the darkness. "Can I at least think on it? Outside, on the surface?"

Shimmering Oasis smiled and stood, offering him a hoof up. He reached out and held her hoof, a light blush cresting his cheeks as he realized how warm her hoof felt. "Come. I think some fresh air would do us both some good."

Shadow Heart walked with the Alicorn, feeling closer to her than he'd felt to anypony in years.

It felt good.

I'm so very sorry for getting this out later than I intended. This is the longest chapter I've ever written, I just hope it's up to the usual standards.

Be sure to check out my deviantart page for fan-art of your favorite characters! http://amarriedmegaphone.deviantart.com/

13 - Secrets Revealed

Spark Storm sighed upon his return to the library. He ruffled his wings as Sohl's eagle form hopped off of his back, along with Orea's added weight. The little Nymph crept up to give Spark Storm a warm hug, which he returned. Feeling playful, he tipped her over onto her back and blew a loud raspberry on her tummy, causing the little one to erupt in giggles. This, in turn, caused Sohl to throw the nearest thing she could find at Spark. Pegasus, nymph, and harpy ran around the room, either chasing or running from each other, all either annoyed or joyful.

Ampelus watched from the upper floor, an unamused look on her face. In her seven hundred years of life, she had never seen a cause for such childish behavior. That was another thing that bothered her: Here she was, a proud nymph, hiding out among her enemies, her food, just biding her time until her wounds were healed. She would much rather be out and on the hunt for nourishment, and maybe some fun.

This idea brought her attention down to Spark Storm again. Hadn't the whole reason she'd come here to get her revenge on him? And yet, the more she thought about it, the more a very stupid, silly idea came into her head. What if maybe, just maybe, she was simply lonely and desired the only familiar face she knew in this world? What if she missed her sister, and getting to know her niece would be the only peace she would ever know?

She scowled. The very idea of such emotional weakness was to be laughed at, nevermind actually having those feelings to begin with. At least, that's what she had always believed. Her mother had tried time and time again to get her to love and be curious of life, like Ampelus' sister did. What was the point? They ate and drank of almost every other creature in the forest. They were at the top of the food chain. It was nature. And yet her mother seemed to want her to make friends? She was a predator, not a sympathetic pony.

Ampelus continued to stew in her complicated moral dilemma as there was a knock on the door. The three down below, now in a pile on the floor in a mess of wings and limbs, reluctantly (Sohl would never willingly call it that) pulled themselves apart. Spark smiled patiently as both Orea and Sohl pouted when he indicated that they needed to hide. The harpy shrugged and grabbed Orea in a large claw and flew up to the second level and out of sight.

Spark opened the door to find Emerald Skies standing there, looking very apologetic. The big pegasus started to wonder why he looked like that when Ditzy, carrying Dinky on her back, popped up into view over Emerald's back and hopped over to Spark Storm, who was too surprised and taken off-guard to prevent the grey mare from pressing her lips to his in a brief kiss. By the time he realized what she'd done, it was too late to stop it. She hopped into the library with a cheerful, "Good morning, Sparky!"

Spark Storm stared off into the chill late September air, wide-eyed and shocked as Emerald Skies slipped into his library and slowly closed the door, a look on his face that was a mix of worry and amusement. When the door was closed and the morning air was cut off from Spark, he turned on Emerald. "I-I'm sorry! I was just coming back to the library, and she caught me by surprise!" Emerald said defensively. Spark brought a hoof up to his face and sighed. This situation really needed to be addressed.

"Fine, fine..." he said, and drew in a breath to gather some courage. Why was it that dealing with monsters was so much easier than dealing with girls? He turned around and followed Ditzy towards the back, near the kitchen. He heard a whistling sound from above, and looked up to see Sohl making a descending whistling noise and mimicked a crashing pegasus with her hand. Her whistle lowered and finally ended with a mock explosion as she dropped her hand to the floor. She grinned at him and gave him a thumbs up, the gesture of course completely lost on the pony. He scowled at her and continued on his way.

As Ditzy perused the books, humming quietly to herself, Spark took a moment to really look at her. She had originally been thinner, but having Dinky some three months ago had filled her out a bit. She was extremely attractive, and she was a friend he'd known his whole life. While he didn't feel as close to her as he did Sapphire, there was definitely something there, and it just kept getting stronger whenever he looked at her.

Yeah. He was in trouble.

Ditzy turned around suddenly, catching Spark off-guard once more, as well as his heart, which pounded in his ears. He'd been through the cutesy phase before, why was he getting all hot around the collar with Ditzy? Because, you idiot, he told himself, you haven't done this with Ditzy. Face it, you hadn't thought about her like this before she kissed you earlier this year. It's just a passing feeling!...right?

He wasn't so sure anymore. The very thought of being with Ditzy, living a normal life here in Ponyville, was suddenly very appealing. Well, it's not like he was in a hurry to get back to Canterlot. Definitely not after what happened with Sapphire. And there it was. There was the clincher, the point that brought him back from this dangerous edge he was standing on. Sapphire Snow.

Remembering why he had been approaching Ditzy in the first place, he continued to close the distance between them. She smiled charmingly at his approach, those adorable eyes straining to keep her gaze straight. Spark let out a quiet breath, hoping to gather some courage. "Uh, Ditzy, listen...Look, it's no secret that I'm pretty fond of you," he said, bringing a patient smile to the mare in question.

"But...you can't just...come up and expect...uh..." Spark floundered, blushing rather red, a feeling that spread even to his wings. He fought to keep the tell-tale signs that his wings sought to betray under control. "You can't just-"

"And why not?" Ditzy asked, her voice betraying no fear of rejection. Her body language and her tone was full of confidence. She knew exactly what she wanted, and for some reason beyond Spark this really turned him on. "Hm? Did Sapphire propose? Did you propose? Has she got a ring?" These flurry of questions confused Spark as Ditzy started to circle him.

"Uh...n-no, I haven't prop-we're only kids, Sapphire! I'm barely thirteen and a half! I haven't even-"

"Oh. So you're not exactly set in stone, are ya?" she asked as she came full circle and pressed her muzzle against his. He blushed even harder than before, and swallowed hard. One wrong move and their lips would be touching. Spark wanted to move away, to be true to his girlfriend and not kiss Ditzy. But the grey pegasus had been so devious in her body language and forwardness that the big trembling pegasus had little resistance. Their breath on each other's mouthes just felt too good.

Spark started to close his eyes and lean in when he saw movement. His eyes opened just enough to see Dinky staring at him from her mother's head. He was slightly amused but undeterred. Maybe he could be Dinky's father...wait. Wait one damn second. He raised his head again to stare at Dinky. That faded purple fur. That blonde mane. That horn. It hit him so fast and so hard that he tensed and took a step away from Ditzy, good feelings gone. The grey mare stared at Spark with worry in her eyes. "Spark? What's wrong?"

Spark started to tremble again, but this time with barely contained anger. "Dinky's father..."

Ditzy arched a brow, a look of both confusion and frustration on her face. "Right. Foggy Nights. What about him?"

Spark grit his teeth as he put it all together. "Your worthless ex-boyfriend, Dinky's father, I met him in Canterlot! Actually, he met Sapphire first, right before he nearly raped her!" Ditzy gaped at Spark. Upstairs, a rattling noise could be heard. Ditzy looked upstairs to see Spark's little one rattling her mane and feathers in what appeared to be anger. She recalled something about how they shared emotions. Even the harpy creature looked pissed off. All three of them? It was weird, but it didn't matter. She was feeling a bit ticked herself.

She stepped closer to Spark and rested a hoof on his shoulder. "Sparky, are you sure? Absolutely sure it was him?"

Spark's expression was partly flat and partly angry as he nodded just once. "Moon obscured by clouds for a cutie mark?" Ditzy paled just slightly, then nodded, an angry, dark look pulling over her eyes.

"Yes...yes, that's him...Oh, I don't believe it!" she shouted, stomping away from Spark, her wings trembling with anger. "I had him pegged for a guy who didn't want the responsibility, but not...not this!"

Spark groaned and planted a hoof on his face. "Ugh, dammit! I knew I forgot to take care of something...I told that jackass not to leave town, and then what do I do? I go and leave town! I completely forgot to report him, I forgot to track him down and bring him in to Celestia so he she could do something about him!" Spark pulled his hoof down his face, a dark look in his eyes. "...maybe I should go find him. Bring him to justice."

Ditzy frowned at the way Spark was talking, his mood and his look. "Bring him to Celestia's justice, or yours?"

Spark didn't put that hoof down that rested on his mouth. He glanced at Ditzy, his eyes narrowing. "Would it matter which?" he asked, his voice muffled. Ditzy heard him just fine, though. She stared at him quietly, then looked down at her hooves. Apparently she had to think about it. When she didn't answer, Spark moved closer to her and rested a hoof on her shoulder. She immediately moved to him, and the two embraced each other, emotions running high between them. Dinky, sensing the tension, crawled forward and planted herself across the two pegasi's heads.

Up above, having witnessed the whole scene, Ampelus turned to look at Sohl. The harpy's talons were digging into the floor. She and Orea both looked ready to head out and find the offending pony. Not that she was really interested in what was happening or what was going to happen, but she'd been craving some action, either entertainment or maybe a violent encounter. Those were always fun, unless it involved fire. Or ice. Or lightning. Then they were just unpleasant and ruined any good feelings accrued. She was still upset about her sympathetic feelings from before, perhaps a nice fight would help clear her head.

The door to the basement suddenly opened, causing all eyes to fall on Emerald Skies as he came out butt first, hauling a load of books onto the first floor. He managed to get through the door without dropping anything, then set the books on the floor and took a rest next to the pile. Sensing the dead quiet, he looked around at the six faces staring at him. "...Did I miss something important?"

Russet Hearts poked his head out of the kitchen at the incessant banging on his front door. It almost sounded like the door was about to give, the banging was so heavy. He slipped further down the hall and stared at the massive shape looming in the decorative stain-glass pattern at the top of the door. Who in Equestria was tall enough to stand at the door and cast a shadow like that?

Russet's heart leapt in his throat as the banging began again. His door actually was in danger of being broken if this went on much longer, but this scene was very frightening and Russet was a bit of a coward when it came to violence...bad memories. He peered around the corner at the guest room where Laser Reflex had retired for a nap. Was he still asleep through all of this? He held up a hoof and whispered, "Laser...Laser..." Unfortunately, the banging was much louder than his whispering, and it just wasn't going through.

The unicorn swallowed hard as he decided that confronting this giant standing at his door was better than replacing it. He crept forward slowly, the dark shadow behind the door just getting bigger and bigger. Finally, he reached out and opened the door and stared up. And up. Standing before him was the most massive unicorn he'd ever seen, massive and purple. The unicorn had to be at least as tall as the Princess, except about three times more mass. The giant stepped into Russet's house, his plum-colored eyes fixed in a mean glare down on the other unicorn.

"Where is Laser Reflex?" he demanded, that deep bass voice reverberating along the walls. Russet just stared and trembled up at the giant. Somewhere in the back of Russet's head, a bit of sense tried to worm it's way into the logical part of his brain. Don't look to the left. Don't look to the left. Russet found his eyeballs working against this thought, and sure enough his head followed his eyes to the left. The giant unicorn followed his gaze to the guest room. He moved forward and easily shoved Russet to the floor out of his way.

Russet fell on his back but immediately shot to his feet. It was one thing having violence pushed on him, but if this massive unicorn planned on harming his best friend, he had another thing coming! Russet's horn lit up in a fierce brown shell of magic. "You get away from that door, right now!" he shouted. Almost as if on cue, a small blur of yellow and orange bolted into the living room where Russet had been tossed. He hardly had time at all to register the movement when it bolted under him, grabbing his forelegs and pulling him face-down onto the floor.

Russet let out a groan as he was stunned. He could feel his horn was pressed into the floor, and it smarted terribly, but not as much as one of his hind legs being pulled backwards towards his head and a foreleg wrapping around his throat. "W-waaaait..." he choked out.

"You'll shut up if you know what's good for you, you stupid male," a feminine voice hissed in his ear. He took offense to this labeling, but he could barely breathe or move to make a complaint. The giant unicorn, having watched the whole scene, snorted in bemusement and finally turned to the door to open it.

Choco Swirl settled comfortably into the big, cushy sofa that was conveniently positioned next to an outlet in the candy store she'd returned to. After gathering a pair of ear buds from the Cake's guest room where she was staying, she was determined to see more of this video. With a mug of hot cocoa and a small tray of assorted chocolates on hoof, she turned the video back on and started where she'd left off.

Laser Reflex appeared where Choco had last see him. The same couch, the same room. He sighed as he set down a mug of what was probably coffee. It steamed and sent rivulets of heat into the air above it. Laser grabbed a folder from beside him, stacked it so that the papers inside would be even, then promptly dropped it. He swore and picked the stack back up. His hooves trembled, as if he'd just seen something quite terrifying.

The pegasus stared into the camera, making sure it was centered before he moved on. "Things are getting a little more complicated. I have met my employers. Five of them, and every last one of them gives me a bad feeling. You'd think it'd be the big one. He was bad enough. You'd think it'd be the angry unicorn mare, but no." He paused, glancing this way and that, checking all the dark corners of the room. He leaned into the camera, accenting his big, scared eyes.

"No. It's none of the others. Not even the tall, bored looking one. I would've been happy with the nice one. Date material, definitely. But you've gotta look out for the small male. Don't..." Laser set the camera down, which fell over onto the lens, blocking out all sight. All Choco heard was the sound of Laser's anxious breathing for several minutes. It calmed down after a few short moments, after which he picked the camera back up and set it back in it's place. "Ok. I'm ok. It's time to get back to work."

The next few scenes were a jumble of sound, but no picture, like the camera was being jostled about in a dark room. Occasionally the camera would give light, and Choco had to squint at the sudden light. Finally, the camera came to rest with the lens facing up and into the sky. Well, into the branches of a tree. She could barely make out the sounds of scribbling and Laser muttering to himself. She nearly shrieked when she noticed a face staring down at her in the tree, an angry looking creature. It was definitely feminine, but it most definitely wasn't pony.

There was movement again, and that horrible face mercifully disappeared. Wind swept into the bag (at least that's what it seemed like) that the camera was sitting in. Again, she found herself staring up into the sky, this time through a much thicker tree. Again with the scribbles and the muttering. And then, something else happened, something different and somehow more terrifying than the hard-skinned, insect-like face.

A long, thick vine crept into the bag and started rummaging through the inside, grasping for something. It finally found the camera and pulled it out, and this time Choco had to hold a hoof over her mouth to actually keep from screaming. The camera tilted this way and that, every other second catching a glimpse of a monstrous pile of vines with a head attached at the center. The head was of a pony mare, a beautiful, mysterious mare, but that's all it was. A head centered in a pile of vines.

The view finally stopped shaking, and Choco got a good look at this horrendous creature directly behind Laser Reflex. What was that idiot doing when this monster was right behind him? And what the heck was going on in this town that there were monsters everywhere? Was she really safe?

Choco turned off the camera. She looked down at her hooves, which were trembling. She looked down at her mug of cocoa, then grabbed it and chugged it down. She'd need something stronger, and fast.

Laser Reflex gasped as his door was thrust open. It burst through the doorstop, crumbling both door handle and doorstop into pieces. Through the door stepped something he'd hoped he would never have to see or deal with again, but after he'd lost all his work in the fire, he had nothing to give to his clients, all of whom stood waiting for him in Russet's home.

"Uh..." he managed as he crawled off the bed and stepped out into the hallway as the giant moved back, revealing the other four. The angry female, Bezzle as she had told him last time, had poor Russet in a painful looking head/leg lock. "Oh come on, gentlecolts, ladies, is all this violence really necessary? Let him go, please."

Bezzle sneered at Laser Reflex, actually applying more pressure to her captive. He let out a pained moan, which brought a satisfied grin to her face. "I'd rather break this sniveling little colt's back. Serves him right being born with a pair!"

"He's gay, you know." Laser said. Bezzle's four companions turned to look at Laser, then Bezzle. She reluctantly let him go, and his leg and head flopped down on the floor. Russet coughed, and did his best not to weep from the pain. Laser boldly strode inbetween his five clients and crouched down next to Russet, then looked up in anger as the other mare of the group, the nice one that was 'date material', crouched down next to Russet as well, and started to gently message the unicorn's shoulders and leg.

Russet let out a soft groan of relief. He seemed to relax, and went very quiet. Laser smiled at her, a little longer than he should have as he suddenly found himself hoisted up by the scuff of his neck by the giant. He was brought face to face with the unicorn called Dozix, then set down next to the only one among that he really didn't want to face: the one with the really weird name. Well, they all had weird names, but this one was just out of the park. "You're late, Laser Reflex," Nuzo said.

Nuzo was a unicorn. He was about Russet Heart's size, maybe a little smaller. Teal in color, black in mane, and there was something very strange, very intimidating about him. Was it his slicked-back mane, the look of a corporate shark? Or was it just those monstrously angry eyes he always wore? "Ah yes, N-Nuzo," Laser said, attempting to keep his composure. "My apologies. I've hit a bit of a set-back. See, my home burned down in a fire two days ago..."

From the back, Laser heard a sound like a scoff. He turned as Bezzle marched toward him. He backed away from her, only to bump into Nuzo, who wasn't budging. Bezzle stopped only when her muzzle was pressed against Laser's. He didn't blush, because it didn't feel like an intimate touch. It felt like a threat. He stood stock still, staring back down into the mare's eyes. Finally, she turned to Nuzo, a smirk on her face. "I don't think he respects us enough, Nuzo. I think she should know. Then he might take us seriously."

"Kn-know what?" Laser asked, looking between Bezzle and Nuzo. Nuzo shrugged, then grabbed Laser and shoved him back into the bedroom where he'd emerged from. Laser started to panic, as this room was closed off. There were no windows in here, there was no way out. He watched in horror as all five ponies suddenly erupted in fire to reveal their true forms.

Laser screamed.

14 - The Chain Of Command

Laser Reflex stared in horror at the sight before him. The five that had employed him for a simple spying job were themselves not so simple. Standing directly before him were terrible creatures he had just previously thought were five pushy ponies. Instead, they had become five terrifying pushy monsters. While they still somehow resembled the ponies he thought they were, they were still vastly different. Their skin had become hard, insect-like, with insectile wings. Even the three unicorns had sprouted wings. They looked like strange, bug alicorns with holes in their bodies.

If he remembered correctly, the one closest to him was Nuzo. He was still a bit shorter than him, but wore some kind of red helm and armor. The rest was black, save for pale red wings and tail. To the right, baring the other side of the door, was must assuredly Bezzle. She was the same height as before, the smallest in the room, yet the only one more frightening than her was Nuzo. Her body was black, save for bright orange highlights along her head, back, wings and tail.

Behind Bezzle was the attractive mare and...somehow still attractive as a monster. Her colors were similar to her pony form, electric blue and a sky blue fin along her head and down her back, sky blue wings and tail. Despite her appearance, she was still very pleasant to look at. Dozix, however...if he hadn't been terrifying as a giant unicorn before, he was absolutely horrifying as one of these monsters.

The giant unicorn was now a giant purple monster, slightly taller than he had been before. Through the silence in the room, Reflex could hear the floor creaking under the weight of the giant creature. Although Nuzo was terrifying in his new form, Dozix's mere size more than doubled the fright factor of the collective creatures frightening looks.

Reflex could feel his joints tightening, his wings starting to twitch and expand, almost against his will. A part of him wanted to reason with these creatures, give them the truth of what had happened to him with that sexy vine creature. Why were all the monsters flocking to him lately? Either they were trying to kill him, rape him, or muscle in on him when he wasn't giving his clients, who just happened to be said monsters, their due time and attention. Reflex had had enough.

"Hey boss, I think he's gonna bolt," Bezzle half whispered to Nuzo, an amused smirk on her face. She was not amused when the white pegasus dove right into her, his knees smacking dead into her face and sending her to crashing into living room across the hall.

Laser Reflex had no time to think. He had to get out of this place. He managed to run into Dozix and kick off of him and head straight for the door, but there was another, previously unseen creature barring the door. It was tall, not nearly as tall as the big purple creature behind him, but taller than the others. It was a docile teal color, and it looked at him with a look that was completely unreadable.

Well, Reflex didn't care if he couldn't read this one's expression. He dashed right towards him and right into the door as the creature ducked, which was really where Reflex was aiming, anyway. He crashed through it shoulder first, knocking the door straight off it's hinges and sending blinding pain along the pegasi's neck and shoulder, but he kept going, straight out into the street and up into the sky, away from those creatures to safety.

"Idiot!" Nuzo shouted, immediately crossing the room to Kecnik and swiping a sharp hoof down at the taller Changelings face. Kecnik, much taller than Nuzo, merely tilted his head away from the blow. His body erupted in teal green fire, and an instant later he appeared as a teal pegasus once again, a dismissive look on his face as he turned from his commander and stepped towards the fallen door.

"Don't you think we should concentrate on keep ourselves hidden..."sir"?" Kecnik said, the last word dripping with insincerity. It was well known within the group that Kecnik used to be their commanding officer until Nuzo nearly took the taller Changeling's ear off in a bout for leadership. Nuzo never let slip an opportunity to remind the former commander who was in charge now, even though the younger Changeling hardly paid him any mind. It was infuriating.

"You let him escape!" Nuzo hissed accusingly as Kecnik eased the door back into it's frame, at least as well as it could. As long as he was there, the taller Changeling glanced around the street. Several ponies were watching, and had probably seen Laser Reflex make his exit. He turned to look back at his commander with a roll of his eyes.

"Think about it. If he'd hit me, we'd both be out there on the street, and we'd have been exposed. There's still time to fix this. Madalah, you and I will go, the others are grounded as ponies." Madalah inclined her head as she approached Kecnik, an old habit. An old habit that severely angered Nuzo. Madalah gasped as she sensed the bloodlust rising in her commander's eyes, it literally poured out of them as a dimly lit red cloud.

Kecnik stepped forth before Madalah, standing tall over his commander. Again with that dismissive look. "We're on a mission, sir, it's imperative that we complete our objective. A new line of action has risen: we must apprehend Laser Reflex before he brings attention to us. Keeping ourselves secret and hidden is paramount."

"Do not presume to tell me how to do my job, soldier! You answer to me-"

"Orders, sir? Before we lose this opportunity?" Kecnik interrupted. Nuzo glared up at his subordinate, rage and bloodlust pouring off of him in droves. He would make the younger Changeling pay, and hard, but later. He gave a single dismissive nod before Madalah's form lit up in bright electric blue and put on her pegasus disguise. She and Kecnik flew out the door and into the sky, giving chase to the panicked Laser Reflex.

Nuzo whirled around, absolutely furious. Kecnik had always been a thorn in his side, even after the younger Changeling had been bested and demoted to serve under him. He never took his commander's words seriously, he always gave him that disinterested, dismissive stare, and now he was taking to lecturing him! He needed something to torture, and now.

Bezzle shrank on the floor and backed away from her commander. While she herself was second in command, fierce and to be feared, Nuzo's fury and cruelty among the Changelings was legendary. She knew better than to give him a reason to take his frustrations out on her. Nuzo turned to look at Dozix, who did much the same as Bezzle, though he was still taller than Nuzo even at crouching level.

The silence in the room was disrupted by a sniffling sound from the living room. All three Changelings quietly turned to look at the brown unicorn that had been forgotten and abandoned in the action of minutes past. Nuzo grinned to himself; problem solved. This little crybaby would be more than enough to satiate his anger.

Russet Hearts sat on the floor, a hoof on his face as he tried to hold in his emotions. He was scared, he was confused, and he was hurt. Laser Reflex had panicked, that much he could understand. Then, when faced with these terrifying monsters, he bolted, and without a single thought to his friend. His tears were both scared and bitter, and they fell from his eyes freely. As Nuzo approached, the scent of sadness came off the unicorn, and was visible to him as an aura of bluish white, as well as...wait. Love?

Nuzo stared at the unicorn, completely baffled for a moment, until it came to him. He let out a roaring laugh, the sound of which made Russet cringe. "Haha! So that's it! You love Reflex, don't you?" Russet stared at the monster in front of him, smirking like he'd just found a new ant to burn under a magnifying glass. "So pathetic, leaving his lover here to suffer at the hooves of the monsters. Some love he has for you, hm? Such a waste!"

Russet blushed as angry tears fell down his cheeks. As terrified as he was, he wasn't going to let this monster bully him any more. "You're wrong. He didn't mean to abandon me. He was just scared! I-I might've done the same thing!"

Nuzo chuckled with cruelty in his voice as he grabbed Russet's chin and forced him to look in his eyes. "No you wouldn't. You're the brave one, the one willing to do anything for your beloved. You would've stood against us with honor and love, which is why it hurts that much more to know that your lover is just a coward!"

Nuzo was too close to the situation to see that Russet's horn was glowing. He was basking too deep in his own ego and confidence to pay attention to anything else. So when the big, round log connected with his face, he was completely taken off guard, and taken into the guest room where he hit the bed, flipped end-over-end against the wall, and brought the bed crashing with him.

Russet was up on his hooves in an instant. So was Bezzle. She flew at him like an angry wasp, but came to a complete stop when a fire poker was rammed point first into the floor through one of her leg holes. The sudden pause was all that was needed for another log from the fireplace to be brought against her head and knocked her down to the floor, effectively stunning her.

Russet made a run for the door, but a big blur of purple made him change course and smash the last eight-inch thick log into the brute's head. Dozix flinched, but resumed his charge and slammed Russet against the wall and held him there. "Nice moves, tiny, but you're going to need something much big-"

Dozix's eyes widened and he whimpered as the front door, completely ripped from it's hinges, became shelled in Russet's magic and swiftly connected with his chin. The giant went down for the count as he flew backwards, his jagged horn driving deep into the floor. Russet made for the doorway. He had nearly made it when his view was obscured by the same door he had thrown at Dozix. He ran smack into it, stunning him briefly as the door was replaced and then sealed shut, the wood of the door fusing with the door frame.

Bezzle panted heavily from the strain of using ancient wood magic. It was obvious that the downed unicorn before her had strong ties to earth magic, much stronger than she was capable of, but she was more creative. She looked down at her hind hoof that had sustained damage from ripping free of the fire poker's hold. She turned again to Russet as he slowly got to his hooves, still partially stunned from the sudden stop. He turned to the shorter creature, then his vision turned to white and felt nothing but pain as the fire poker came across his face, then all was black.

Lemon Pop yawned in the afternoon sunlight. After having spent the last day and a half perched on a cloud and drowning in her thoughts and feelings and what-ifs and why-nots and whys, she just couldn't get enough sleep. Now, with the sun perched at around two o' clock in the sky, she wasn't feeling much more inclined to get out of the cloud she'd been snuggled up in. She pulled the covers of warm, sun-drenched cloud over herself, and started to drift back to sleep. At least she would have, if some inconsiderate pegasus hadn't dropped in on her cloud.

The cloud was big enough for the two of them, heck it was big enough to hold half the library floor. It was the only cloud in the sky, though, so hoping for some privacy over Ponyville was a bit of a stretch. Still, Lemon was not in the mood to be disturbed. She was about to pop her head out from her cloud cover not ten feet away when she heard the pegasi's nervous muttering.

"Monsters...they're monsters..." he said inbetween heavy breaths, like he'd flown here as fast as he could. He started to pace the cloud back and forth, and Lemon continued to listen, completely transfixed. "Monsters...in my house..." the figure paused. "No. No no no...Oh Celestia, I left him! How could I just leave him?!" he wailed, his voice rising with panic. "Ok, ok it's ok...think...I-I need help. Who knows about monsters?...Oh Celestia, they're coming!"

And without further warning, the pegasus dove off the cloud. An instant later, two other pegasi landed on the cloud, right where the first pegasus had been. Intrigued, Lemon very carefully lifted the cloud cover until it was transparent enough to take a glance. The first pegasus she saw was very tall, a teal colored stallion. The other was an electric blue mare, quite pretty.

"He was here a moment ago. You can smell the panic in the air." the stallion said, lifting his head and...was he sniffing the air? He took a long, deep breath, his wings trembling with what could've been excitement, or anticipation. He continued to sniff the air, his head slowly turning towards Lemon Pop's location. Lemon didn't know what was going on, but she suddenly felt her heart skip a beat as her and the stallion's eyes locked. But he couldn't see her through the cloud cover...right?

Lemon could almost feel his piercing gaze look right into her soul, and she felt a chill running down her chest when the hard gaze was suddenly broken by a sniffling sound from the mare. Lemon let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. The tall stallion brought his gaze down to the mare before him, who looked like she could cry. In a stark contrast to the hard, intense gaze he had before, he suddenly looked very gentle as he clutched the mare's chin in the crook of a knee to bring her face up towards his.

"Why is he so cruel to you?" she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Things were so much easier before he came and ruined everything!"

"Hush. Don't talk of our commander that way, Madalah," came the response. His voice was cold and neutral, but the look on his face was warm and sympathetic.

"But it's true! He is cruel, egotistical! He may represent what we all should be, but I'm not like that! You're not like that..." she said, her voice trailing down to a whisper again as she lowered her head and pressed her forehead to his chest.

Lemon Pop's heartstrings were pulled. The beautiful mare, so upset and shaken, was upsetting to Lemon Pop. There was something pure about the mare, and anything that made such a pure heart upset deserved to get pummeled. Again, the stallion's attention seemed to be drawn to Lemon Pop's location, eliciting a slight cringe from the red mare. She was almost sure he couldn't actually see her, she could barely see out of the cloud. How could he see her? Why did he keep looking in her direction?

After a moment, the stallion eased his companion away from him, a slightly sterner look on his face. "It's time. We need to find him. I don't think he's crazy enough to think that crying "monster" will get the proper attention. Then again, if he is desperate, he may go right to the source, and that might be a problem. Now, let's go."

"Yes, sir."

The stallion had turned away to jump off the cloud, but the mare's response made him pause. He looked back at his companion, a mix of amusement and resignation on his face. The mare joined him at the edge of the cloud and gave him a warm smile. "I'll never think of you as anything else, Kecnik. Might as well get used to it, I'll never stop calling you that."

Kecnik sighed, his body drooping ever so slightly in a definite show of resignation. He shook his head again and leapt from the cloud, followed by his mare companion. Lemon Pop finally emerged from her cloud cover and stepped to the edge to see the two weaving back and forth in the air. There was something very disturbing about this whole situation, and she was going to get to the bottom of it. She'd been depressed and listless these last three days, but if solving this mystery would help get her back on her hooves, then so be it!

Spark Storm paced back and forth across the library, occasionally snorting with anger. Just moments before, he had found out that the very stallion that nearly raped Sapphire Snow was none other than Dinky's father, and he'd let the bastard walk away the next day. If only he'd been paying more attention, he would've seen the resemblance to Dinky.

As he made one more turn to cross the floor, he nearly ran into Ditzy, now barring his path. He frowned down at her, a look that was more sad than angry. She returned his look with a patient smile. "Sparky, stop freaking out. You're gonna make an indent."

Spark sighed, her voice having a calming effect. There were so many new things in his life to tend to, the forefront being his feelings for Ditzy. Just being around her confused him, and she knew it. The two of them stood in the center of the library, staring at each other. What was he going to do about this? He couldn't just forget about Sapphire. He couldn't forget about Ditzy, either. They both dominated his thoughts, each fighting and pushing to gain that last bit of leverage that would allow one to outweigh the other.

Spark sighed once again, his thoughts heavy and clouded. The slight inclination of his head was met with Ditzy's. The dark pegasus tensed slightly as he felt the mare's forehead pressed to his, and their eyes met. Both sets of golden eyes stared into each other's gaze, one trying to make it's decision, the other's decision had been made long ago. This time, Ditzy didn't leave him time to decide. She closed the gap between them, her warm mouth pressing to his. Spark gasped quietly, but it was too late to react accordingly now. He kissed her back, and they eased into a deeper kiss, lips parting, tongues teasing.

For a room full of two nymphs, a harpy, and another pegasus in the back, it was awfully quiet. Sohl, Ampelus and Orea stood in the kitchen doorway, all three peeping at the two pegasi locked in a deep, passionate kiss in the center of the library. Ampelus laid on the floor, an amused grin on her face. "You know, this is kinda hot," she remarked quietly.

"I know, right?" Sohl said, the slightest hint of a perverted grin on her mouth and in her eyes. Orea, poking her head out of a blanket of feathers at Sohl's side, made a face. She looked worried, sensing the conflicting emotions in Spark's mind. He loved Ditzy, this she could tell. But he still had severely strong feelings for Sapphire, and even now, even though he was enjoying the affection, his mind was a mess.

Emerald just frowned at the three of them from his place at the table in the kitchen. Personally, he felt that Spark was forgetting where he came from, what he'd done, all that he'd gone through for the life and love of Sapphire Snow. But hey, if he wanted the quiet life here in Ponyville with Ditzy, well, what did he know? He was just the librarian.

The silence in the library was suddenly broken as the front door swung open. Spark and Ditzy parted in surprise, both turning to face the powder blue pegasus standing in the doorway. Spark narrowed his eyes as he approached Laser Reflex, whose eyes were wide with panic. He quickly moved forward after closing the door and put his front hooves on Spark's shoulders. "You have to help Russet he's been kidnapped by monsters!"

Spark stared at the frantic pegasus in confusion. "Uh, what?"

"Monsters!" Laser shouted, shaking Spark roughly. Spark's mane shook this way and that, giving Laser a better view of the library. He immediately began to regret this decision, as the viney nymph hanging out in the kitchen came into his view. "Oh gods..." he muttered, and backed away from the bigger pegasus in horror. "Why is she here?!"

Spark sighed heavily and glanced back at Ampelus, who merely shrugged while Orea and Sohl slipped out of sight. "Oh, uh..." he trailed off, then turned back to Laser and shrugged. "What were you saying?"

Laser shook his head in disbelief. This was crazy, so damn crazy! He'd been contacted by monsters to trail Spark Storm. He'd been ambushed and nearly raped by that vine creature, then accosted by said monsters, terrorized, chased, and ended up back here. Since when was Ponyville overrun with monsters?! He fell down on his rump and held his head in his hooves, completely overwhelmed. "Why is this happening, nothing makes sense!"

Ditzy, feeling more sympathetic for the pegasus than Spark, approached him and put a hoof on his shoulder. "What monsters, what are you talking about?" she asked gently. Laser looked up at her with gratitude.

"I...I don't even know how to describe them. One minute they were unicorns and pegasi, and then...they changed!" Spark's ears perked when he heard this. "They looked like giant bugs, and...I don't know, they looked like ponies, but they changed and then they had holes in their bodies, and-"

"Changelings." Spark said, quieting Laser and garnering attention from the back room. Ampelus emerged finally. She approached Spark Storm until she was nearly touching him. Laser backed away until his back was against the door, eyes wide and frightened.

Spark glanced back at the taller nymph. He didn't need her to tell him that she was highly interested in hearing more. That, or going and sucking the life out of the creatures that ruined everything for her. He wasn't surprised to find Sohl on his other side, cracking her knuckles. He had to hide his amusement; if there were Changelings in town, they were in for a rude awakening. Two of the most powerful beings he'd ever run into held very harsh grudges against them. He wouldn't want to be them if Ampelus or Sohl got their hooves/hands on them.

Laser stared at the four of them standing together. Ditzy didn't seem surprised by this at all. Spark Storm, the vine creature and the bird lady all seemed familiar with these "changelings'. Of course. The "changelings" had hired him to look for Spark Storm. Monsters looking for other monsters. All that mattered now was which monsters would help him?

"You said they took Russet?" Spark said, holding a hoof out to Laser to help him up, which he took and nodded quietly. "Then it seems we've got a bug problem."

Huzzah! Writer's block has been conquered! Stay tuned for more!

15 - Changing Directions

Anorax sighed as the road finally came to a close and the Ponyville town borders opened up to the welcoming burg. It had taken him and Vinyl Scratch nearly two days to clean up after the party. Maybe they shouldn't have volunteered for that job, but it had been worth it. The party, the music, the reception and the food had all been absolutely amazing, and with the way Spark had danced and rained those lights down on the crowd...all three of them would go down in Canterlot history.

Being one of the last of the Ponyville citizens to leave the city, Anorax was completely unaware of the events that had transpired after the dance. Also being out of town, he was completely unaware of the monsters running amuck in Ponyville, also a complete secret to the town itself.

As Anorax made his way home, he smiled and waved as neighbors and friends stopped to say hello. There was Applejack, selling a hard day's work with her big brother. Roseluck and her mother were on the other side of the street. Half of their flower wares had been sold. This actually reminded him that it was about lunch-time. He had seen Pinkie Pie in Canterlot, apparently on an apprenticeship trip in the local cake shop, so he thought he'd go in and see how the new temp was doing, and headed for Sugarcube Corner.

Upon entering the cakes and sweets shop, the first thing he noticed was the gorgeous mare at the counter waiting for him. She was probably a couple years older than him, maybe three. Absolutely beautiful, young, attractive, and...a little paranoid. She seemed very nervous. Probably first or second day jitters. Time for a little "Anorax therapy". He cleared his throat and strode up to the counter and put on his best smile.

"Hey there," he said, trying to sound suave. He actually managed to not sound like a complete geek. "New in town? Don't worry, everypony is totally friendly, you'll be just fi-"

"No I won't!" she shot back, her eyes wide, the left one twitching a little. "This town is crazy, it's full of monsters, and NOPONY seems to notice! There's...crazy unicorns and pegasi acting like the mob, there's crazy faces in the trees, and there are headless vine monsters everywhere! I just want to finish my apprenticeship without seeing something you'd never see back in Canterlot! Now what are you ordering?!"

Anorax stared silently at the pretty, frazzled mare. After a moment, he pointed to a chocolate dipped hazelnut star-shaped cookie. It was a completely random motion, so when the mare turned to get his cookie, he was taken aback when he had asked for the very cookie that was blazened on her shapely flank. He hoped to Celestia that she didn't make the connection. She put the cookie in a bag and plopped it down in front of him. "Five bits," she said without so much as looking at him.

A little steep for just a cookie, he thought. Nevermind that, I'm getting out of here! He paid the mare and grabbed his treat. On his way out, he was sure he heard her mutter, "Great. Now perverts. I hate this town..."

As Anorax stepped out of Sugarcube Corner with a slow shake of his head, his exit was duly noted by a pair of staring blue eyes. Across the street from Anorax stood Madalah and Kecnik, having come down to the surface to look for Laser Reflex. Madalah, however, now completely distracted from her job. As she stared at Anorax, her wings twitched with excitement, even buzzing, creating an actual buzzing noise that alerted her partner to her actions.

"Madalah, what are you...?" Kecnik asked, then turned to watch the white pegasus across the street. Odd. Madalah never got excited about a pony before, but he supposed it was only natural. She was young, and there were no rules stating that Changelings couldn't be with other species. He turned with an amused smirk on his face back to the younger soldier, and his amused smile disappeared. There was a serious look of longing and sadness on her face. He turned to her completely to block her vision of the stallion.

"Madalah, what do you think you're-"

"He's one of us, Kecnik."

Her declaration was so sudden and so final that it took the older Changeling off-guard. "He's..." she started bouncing in place, her wings fluttering, keeping her in a hovering position for a moment or two before coming down and hopping back up again. "He's a Ch-" she stopped as Kecnik held a hoof over her mouth.

"This is no small matter, Madalah. Another Changeling in town that we were previously unaware of may change everything about our mission. For now, though, we need to stay on task. We'll look into this later." He turned, and promptly flew off, completely confident that Madalah was behind him. When he looked back, though, she was most certainly not following him. She wasn't where he'd left her, either. He let out a big, tired sigh, and continued on his search for Laser.

Anorax sighed as he walked toward his home. He was still a bit weirded out by the cookie mare, even if her hotness had been off the scale. He lifted up into the air to handle the bag and look inside, a slightly pervish grin spreading across his face as he took out the cookie to observe it. The fact that this cookie was the same as the cookie on the mare's cutie mark was highly amusing to him. He was about to take a bite when he nearly ran into another pegasus, just standing there in his path.

"Whoa! Uh, sorry..." he muttered in passing. He hadn't really taken the time to see her, though he had gotten the distinct impression that she was a light blue, almost electric blue. Not exactly the kind of color he looked for in a mare, but still, she seemed pretty cute. He got a glimpse of her again as she began following him. At a distance, though, far enough back that he knew she was there, but without getting all up in his space. It was still a little too close for comfort, though, and he sped on down the street in the air.

The mare kept the pace, down the streets towards his house. For some reason the mare's creep-o-meter was really high, and he didn't feel at all comfortable showing her where he lived, so he sped right on past his place. She didn't slow at all, so it was a safe bet she didn't know that he lived at the place they just passed. Now it was time to ditch the dame.

He sped on ahead as fast as he could, dodging ponies in the street and getting more than a few angry shouts. He didn't care, he wanted to lose this girl, and fast. He turned down the first alley he could find, then ducked behind a large collection of boxes and waited for the mare to pass. Sure enough, she did. Then, making sure that nopony saw, he transformed into Halfling form, revealing his wingless, furless white body, along with his horn. This he used to gather the boxes around himself, making sure that if she doubled back, the mare would have lost him.

She did double back, however. He heard her settle down to the ground. Now that he thought about it, why was he running from a mare? It's not like she could..."This just made it easier to find you, silly." The mare's voice, while certainly cute, did nothing for the sound of fire erupting outside of Anorax's box shelter. He started to panic until a magical grasp took hold of his box fort and flung them in every direction. Wait, since when did pegasi have magic? he thought.

What he saw when the boxes cleared defied every facet of Anorax's grasp on logic. Before him stood one of the most beautiful faces he'd ever seen in his entire life. She was different from what he saw before, yet it was most definitely the same face, the same mare. Something inside Anorax's 14 year old mind struggled to comprehend this situation, yet it felt so natural.

Standing before him was a Changeling. She was slightly shorter than he was, electric blue mane and the lightest, most translucent wings he'd ever seen. Technically, the first Changeling wings he'd ever seen, apart from his father's. Anorax felt himself trembling with emotion. His first Changeling encounter and he was running away from her. And now, just from looking at her, he felt like he would never want to leave her side.

After a moment or two of awkward staring, Madalah smiled curiously and reached forward to touch Anorax's side. The touch was like electricity to the young Halfling. He did his best not to gasp. Whether or not the effect she was having on him went unnoticed or not, she didn't seem to show as her hoof trailed up along his back. "You have no wings."

"Um." Anorax managed to respond. He felt himself burning up inside, the way he always did when talking to a girl he knew he had no chance with. But this was different, wasn't it? If she was actually interested in him, then maybe this was the chance to turn things around for himself! Now if he could just...wait. Wait. You're getting ahead of yourself, Anorax, think! What is a Changeling doing in Ponyville? Anorax didn't know much about the Changelings from his father except that their being in Ponyville was never a good sign.

Anorax managed to take a step away from the female Changeling, but she quickly closed the gap between them. The Halfling tried moving away from her again, but this time his rear connected with the brick wall behind him, and unless he changed back into a pegasus there was no other way out of here. His Halfling genetics kept him a unicorn in Halfling form, while he had access only to a single pegasus form as a pony.

"You're like us, aren't you? But you're different. What are you?" the Changeling mare asked, her voice sweet and curious. Despite the panic that Anorax felt, he also felt compelled to speak to her, to get to know her...maybe even be with her. His Halfling nature cried out for like companionship, and he had been alone for so long that it was difficult to fight his nature.

"No, I'm...I'm different," he heard himself telling her. "I'm only half." Wait, what are you doing, stupid? Don't talk to her! She's bad news! Dad says that Changelings in Ponyville is bad. So knock it off! "My mother is a pegasus. A-a pony, and my father is a Changeling." Nice, dude, excellent recovery. Madalah took this in quietly for a moment, then bounced and giggled where she stood, her insect-like wings buzzing with excitement. Her seemingly pure innocence and infectious excitement was extremely charming, and Anorax felt himself getting deeper with each passing second.

"This is so exciting! I've never heard of such a thing happening, I didn't think it was possible! Well, I guess I've never even thought about it before, but whatever! You-you may be the first of your kind! Maybe the only one of your kind..." she paused and held a hoof up to her chin, while still hovering in mid-air. "Gosh, that must be awfully lonely..."

Lonely? Am I lonely? Hell no, I've got dozens of friends here in Ponyville. I've got family here and in Canterlot, and...and I don't have a girlfriend. So...am I lonely?

Yes.

Anorax's body finally caught up with his thoughts, and he suddenly had to fight the urge to tear up. Unfortunately, and he knew this well, hiding your emotions from a Changeling was a moot point. Madalah put her hooves over her mouth, a sudden surge of sadness and regret welling from her. Anorax lowered his gaze, feeling more vulnerable than he ever had at any point in his life. He'd never had a chance to meet another Changeling aside from his father, and wearing his emotions on his sleeves was both revealing and embarrassing.

"Oh, I...I'm sorry," Madalah said. Anorax didn't respond. It was humiliating to have his insecurities observed and picked at the way she was doing. It might not have been intentional, but there were few secrets between them now. He could feel her remorse and having discovered his lonliness, and their emotions pinged back and forth, sending and receiving new emotional information. This was nothing like the training his father put him through to control the input he had to endure daily.

Anorax just wanted her to go away. Changeling or not, like him or not, he didn't want to see her anymore. His whole day was shot, maybe even the whole...his thoughts were interrupted as he felt the female Changeling press against him. He tensed as he felt her head on his shoulder. He was angry now. This Changeling thought she could just pop into his life and change everything he knew about his own existence and just hug him?

That actually worked out pretty well. In the last two minutes he'd experienced more emotion than he had in his entire lifetime. And hey, he discovered that he was attracted to actual Changelings as well as ponies. That was something, right? He supposed he was just too tired to push her away and tell her to mind her own business. Yeah, that was it.

Anorax suddenly winced as he caught a signal from out of nowhere in his head. Madalah sat straight up, her ears tilting this way and that. Anorax's ears instinctively moved the same way, and after a moment he could make out a telepathic signal in his head. It wasn't far away, in fact it was coming from just down the street a bit, maybe towards the library? It was faint, but he could just make out the unfamiliar sounds that made up a telepathic Changeling message: I found him. Found who?

Madalah frowned and started pacing in place, while Anorax picked up anxiety from her, as if she were indecisive. She groaned and lowered her head, her resolve to finish this gone. Still...it was too late to anticipate her next move. She moved close and planted a delicate kiss on Anorax' mouth before she pulled away, a pretty blush cresting her cheeks. "You are not alone," she whispered to him before a bright blue flame engulfed her body, and she was once again the blue pegasus she started as before she flew up into the air and away from Anorax.

Anorax stood frozen on the spot, in the same position he'd been in when she'd kissed him and left: eyes wide, lips slightly parted, ears drawn back. Ever so slowly he came back to his senses and raised his head in the direction that the Changeling had left. A smile slowly spread over his face, as did the signature Changeling phenomenon of changing fire. His pegasus form restored, a single tear slipped down his cheek.

Alone? Not anymore.

Madalah flew as fast as she could to reach Kecnik. Her little heart beat faster than it ever had before, and she was sure it was because of that kiss. It was so unlike her to be so assertive like that. Of course, she'd never met any one that made her feel like that Halfling did. She shook her head to clear her thoughts; it was game time, and she needed to have her head clear.

Finally, she located Kecnik near the library. She remembered this place, Bezzle had followed Laser out here once to make sure he was doing his job. This was right before his whole mission failed, of course. That was four days ago.

Madalah landed beside the tall pegasus, who indicated inside the library. She crouched and crept close to the front windows. Indeed, she saw Laser Reflex, backing away from a creature that could've been as tall as Kecnik and covered in vines. She'd never seen such a creature before, but everything in her race memory and her natural instincts were telling her this was an enemy. The fur on her body was sticking up, needle hard and sharp.

Another creature that caught her attention was the tall bird...thing. This also screamed "enemy", but in a completely different way. She couldn't place it, but she had a very uneasy feeling about it. And then her eyes fell on what could only be their true query, the pegasus called Spark Storm. Her hackles rose, their true objective finally found: locate the one called Spark Storm.

...Well, what now? She glanced at Kecnik, this question going unasked but completely understood. "I think it's time to regroup with the others, Madalah. It's time to plan our next step. We have no orders to engage the enemy in combat, but..." he trailed off as he stared in horror at what was approaching them: a group of colts and fillies, and since he and Madalah had been so distracted, they didn't notice until the group was nearly upon them.

They were being lead by an older orange mare with bright white mane and tail. With her was a younger mare, with a soft berry color and two pleasant shades of pink in her mane and tail. The group stopped before running into the two, now standing before the door. "Oh, um..." Kecnik began before stretching his wings. Madalah did the same, preparing to take off into the air. "We were just leaving..."

They didn't have time to leave, however, before the door behind them opened. Madalah and Kecnik both turned and came face to face with Spark Storm himself. There was a brief shriek of indignant horror from behind Spark before it was muffled. Spark had heard enough before he figured it out. The two unfamiliar pegasi at the door, Laser's shout. These were Changelings. So of course, he took the only natural course of action: "Won't you come in?" he asked, stepping aside to make way for the two Changelings and the class behind them.

Kecnik narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the pegasus, while Madalah looked to Kecnik for the next move. Finally, Kecnik inclined his head and stepped forward and into the library, Madalah following behind him, extremely tense. Just what was going through Kecnik's mind?! Spark gave his sister and his old teacher a nod. "Come on in, everypony!" he called.

The colts and fillies filed on inside, with Cheerilee and her current teacher, Angelica Lovage, Spark's old teacher. Spark smiled a genuinely happy smile as his older sister embraced him, followed by a tight hug by his old teacher. "Spark Storm!" she gushed. "It's been years, sweetheart, you've certainly gotten bigger."

"And popular," Cheerilee said with a sly wink. "Who's the cute pegasus?" Spark's smile slowly started to thin out and disappear as he glanced at the two standing awkwardly in the center of the room as the little visiting colts and fillies ran around the room, thankfully devoid of visiting monsters. Emerald thankfully emerged from the kitchen and started on damage control.

"I think explanations'll have to wait," he said, his eyes never leaving the two Changelings. "I'm a bit due for an explanation, myself. Please excuse me, ladies." Cheerilee frowned as she watched her brother head to the new pegasi. Something was off. Something was very off.

Spark glanced to the side as Laser Reflex came to walk beside him, and speaking in angry hushed tones said, "Spark Storm, are you crazy?! You can't let the children run around with these two! What about your sister-"

Laser was cut off as the younger pegasus rounded him on him and poked him with a hoof in the chest. "Oh yeah? And what's your deal? How do you know that's my sister, how long have you been following me and why?"

Laser grit his teeth together, angry that Spark wasn't listening to him. Finally, he inclined his head to the side. "It's them. They hired me to follow you, get all kinds of information on you. I don't know why, and I certainly didn't know they were monsters when they hired me, so sorry for doing my job so well! Now why are you letting the kids in here when this place is literally crawling with monsters?!"

Spark narrowed his eyes at this answer. So the Changelings wanted information on him? His whereabouts, his family? They were getting personal this time. Much too personal. "Think about it, Laser. There are two Changelings here. If you know them like I do, two of them aren't too tough, and I doubt they're here in town to make trouble for anypony but me. The closer the kids are to danger, the further they are from harm."

"You don't know that, Spark Storm. Besides, what about the others? That vine...thing...and that giant thing that I think is some kind of bird lady? Or the smaller vine creature?"

Spark snorted with a mix of derision and anger. "Those three are under my protection, especially the smaller one. And don't worry about Ampelus-"

"Ampelus?"

"You know...the one that almost stole your virginity."

"I beg your pardon, but I lost my vir-"

"Not interested. Seriously. Look, she won't touch the kids, they don't like the youth. They want the sexually mature ones." Spark paused and held a hoof thoughtfully over his mouth for a moment. "...You know what? We can get into this later. I'm sure you've got questions, but my questions are more important right now, and those two might have some answers." Spark stepped away from the older pegasus, leaving Laser just as frustrated as he had been before the conversation had started.

Kecnik nudged Madalah as their query approached. Madalah, who had been watching the little colts and fillies run about and play with a smile on her face, snapped to attention. She frowned just slightly as the big pegasus looked her way, and tensed as his wings twitched. She knew about his wings, and what they were capable of. She glanced in Kecnik's direction, hoping he hadn't seen her momentary hiccup in concenctration. If he had, he didn't show it.

Instead, Kecnik put on a slight smile. Madalah recognized that look; it was the look he always had on his face when he was impressed. "Smooth idea, bringing us all in together. You were counting on the children to keep us from attacking, and you are right. We're not here to kill innocents."

"What do your people want with me that they had to to hire Laser just to find me? I also heard that you've taken a captive. Is that true?"

Both Kecnik and Madalah glanced at each other. They had forgotten about the unicorn. He'd been abandoned by Laser. But if Laser had come and told Spark Storm, then obviously a rescue mission had been put into motion. Spark had been in the middle of leaving the library, if the scene was to be believed. Finally, Kecnik nodded his head. Madalah closed her eyes to the sound of his voice. "Yes, we've taken a captive."

Spark's face visibly darkened. So it was all true, the monsters, the attack, and Laser's friend being taken captive. This whole situation was really pissing him off. A sudden movement from above caught Kecnik's eye as Orea poked her head out over the edge of the second story floor, her wings and mane rattling with just enough noise to be ignored by the clamoring children occupying the room below. Kecnik and Madalah exchanged glances as two other forms made themselves visible, the bird creature and the older nymph.

While the children were too busy to look overhead to notice the three figures just barely in view, Laser was not. He started mumbling to himself and quickly retreated to the kitchen area. Kecnik smirked down at Spark Storm. He had to admit, coming into the library was a bad idea. Not only were there innocent children inside, but he and Madalah were outnumbered and definitely overpowered. A pegasus that could control lightning and two nymphs, which ate Changelings, plus that bird creature who was looking extremely formidable. All inside, all concentrated on them. Definitely a dumb idea.

Then again...If the pegasus was thinking about a reversed captive situation, that wasn't going to fly. He'd let the children inside, and while Kecnik had no intention of harming the little ponies, he could take a captive in here. It was obvious that Spark didn't want trouble, and still he'd taken the risk. It was a double-edged move, so Kecnik felt for sure at this point that he and Madalah could walk out of here with no problems. At least...there shouldn't be any problems.

"I'm afraid I can't disclose to you all the answers you seek, Storm." Kecnik said, nudging Madalah with a wing to get her attention. "Now if you'll excuse us..."

Spark stepped carefully into Kecnik's path as he tried to walk past. The taller "pegasus" looked down at Spark, his eyes narrowing. "Cheerilee? If you'd be so kind, there's some stuff to see down in the basement. Why don't you take your class to check it out?" Spark called over his shoulder. Angelica blinked and looked between brother and sister and back, then started to object when Cheerilee stepped towards the basement door, beckoning the children.

"Come on, kids. I'm...not really sure what's in the basement, but I'm sure it'll be an adventure! Let's go, kids!" The class needed no more coaxing as they began cheering and headed for the basement when the door suddenly swung open to two figures, one a unicorn, the other a small pegasus Spark turned and groaned heavily as both Lyra and Chrome came running towards him, both with bright, excited looks on their faces.

"Oh Celestia, what in Tartarus were you two doing together in the basement?" Spark demanded. This situation was getting more and more vexing by the minute!

Usually, Chrome would have made some lewd joke, from what Spark knew of his brother, but the young colt stood straight and scowled up at Spark. "We were talking, Spark, and she's really helped me realize that our mom did the best she could. She made some mistakes, but I don't need to make her suffer anymore. So I'm gonna go make it up to her."

Spark almost completely forgot about the two Changelings behind him. He was, at this moment, extremely proud of his little brother, and he had to take a moment to concentrate on keeping his emotions in check, Kecnik noted this calmly, but Madalah began to tremble at the outpouring of love and pride coming from the big pegasus. He was making it very hard to bear any malice towards him. It was moments like this that made her wonder why they needed to be here, to hurt others, to take from them. Her own insecurities were picked up by Kecnik. He closed his eyes in concentration to shut out her feelings.

"Yeah, and I'm gonna go to Bon Bon's and clear all this mess up!" Lyra chimed in, bouncing in place with that familiar mad grin. "I'm tired of feeling sorry for myself. I'm gonna go get my girl, tell her how she's made me feel like crap, and that I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!"

Chrome jumped into the air and cheered for Lyra, flying around the room in circles until he came back down next to his new friend, then glanced up at his brother. "What about you, bro? Are you gonna forgive mom too?"

Both Madalah and Kecnik took a step back from Spark Storm as the dark emotion of rage bubbled inside the pegasus, appearing to them as hissing out from his pores and feathers. It came under control though, as Spark tried not to scowl at his little brother. "That's...a whole different story, little buddy," Spark said through clenched teeth. "And I'd really appreciate it if you didn't refer to her as my mother. I'll only have one mother, and it's not her."

Lyra and Chrome both had backed away from Spark as well, just enough to finally see the two new figures in the room. Chrome bounced around his brother and strode right up to Madalah, the familiar pervy grin on his face. "Wait - Chrome!" Spark said, managing not to yell as he grabbed Chrome's tail and dragged him away from Madalah. Spark's sudden anger aimed directly the two Changelings made her take another step back. She actually felt hurt. Here she was, standing and watching her enemy interact with his friends and family, and she wasn't getting a sense at all of why he was their enemy. What was she doing this for? What could their Queen possibly gain by hurting such an individual?

As Spark lectured his brother on personal space, Kecnik turned to his partner, a look of anger and disbelief on his face. Madalah brought her hooves to cover the gasp trying to escape her. She'd done it...she'd really done it this time. It didn't matter if she hadn't said it out loud, she had actually questioned the Queen's motives and brought herself under scrutiny from her former commanding officer. This usually meant punishment, sometimes death if the offense was severe enough.

And yet as she watched Kecnik, his eyes softened. They became less angry, a little sad and a little thoughtful. It wasn't long, though, until their thoughts were completely in sync. The same thoughts ran through their heads: Why are we doing this? The two Changelings smiled at one another. They always knew they were different, even if they had always done what their Queen wanted them to do. They were always a little kinder, a little less cruel, a little less...Changeling like. Here they were, expected to attack Spark Storm, and yet all they could do was emphasize with him, feel sympathy for him...and feel warm towards him as he dealt with life and loved his family.

And then, it happened. They felt something break inside of them. It wasn't a painful feeling, in fact it felt good. They felt separated from the hate, the anger, the malice that they were supposed to feel for Spark Storm. They had been disconnected from the hive because they no longer wished to follow the Queen's orders. They stared into each other's eyes, their emotions rising. They immediately latched on to each other, holding on and practically weeping with a joy they had never been allowed to touch.

Quite suddenly, they parted as a furious voice filled their heads. Nuzo's familiar voice was uncharacteristically but expectedly furious. Why...you...traitors! You dare to remove yourselves from the hive?! Both of you are dead! Do you hear me?! You're dead! Spark Storm is temporarily off the list, and you both are on it! Prepare yourselves, because as soon as I find you, your lives are forfeit!

The two Changelings looked into each other's eyes once again. That was to be expected after what they just did, but the excitement of being free for the first time in their lives was too exhilarating to let this new change of plan get to them.

The two suddenly became very aware of the three ponies staring at the two of them. Lyra absently leaned over and gave Spark a shove. He jumped a little, then cleared his throat. "Uh...you guys wanna fill us in?"

Kecnik smiled at Madalah, silently asking her permission to make this decision. Yes. Absolutely, her eyes said. With pride swelling in his chest, he turned to Spark Storm and said, "Our lives, by Changeling law, are now forfeit. We'll help you get your friend back."

16 - The Beginning Of A New Storm

Spark Storm stared at the two Changelings in disguise suspiciously. Could he really trust what the two of them had just told him? Not really, he told himself. He hadn't met a single Changeling worthy of trust, and Anorax didn't count, because Anorax was...Well? What? Different? A Halfling? And what exactly separates him from them?

After a moment of wrestling with his thoughts, Spark frowned and gave Kecnik and Madalah his full attention. "Look, I don't get it. One minute you're spying on me and you say you've got a prisoner and now you want to help me. Sorry, but I've got some trouble believing that suddenly you're on my side."

Kecnik bowed his head in a subtle gesture of patience. "Of course. Allow me to explain the situation. You see -"

"We just broke off from the hive and now our boss is gonna kill us!" Madalah chimed in, bouncing in place. Kecnik arched a brow at his partner, suddenly very curious as to what had happened between her and the white pegasus from before. She had claimed that he was a Changeling. The sudden revelation that they were no longer of the hive seemed very appealing to her, if her emotions were to be believed.

Spark stared at the young mare, then at the taller stallion, who after a moment merely nodded. Spark frowned; how did that even work? He brought a hoof to his face and sighed. If Laser's friend had indeed been taken captive, then there really wasn't time to debate this. He'd dealt with Changelings before, and he could deal with them again.

"I guess I'll have to take your word for it...for now. Right now a friend is in trouble, and -" Spark cut off as he turned around and nearly ran into Lyra and Chrome, whom he'd forgotten had been right behind them. They'd been listening the last couple of minutes, something Spark Storm had not been counting on. There was just too much going on at once to remember every last detail.

Lyra and Chrome both looked like Spark had their complete attention. "Did you say they've got a prisoner?" Lyra asked.

"And a friend is in trouble?" Chrome demanded. Oh, Celestia, Spark thought, staring at his brother and friend in horror. What have I done?

Ever the high-energy mare that she was, Lyra stared at Kecnik and Madalah suspiciously. Something about these two just seemed very unnatural, like they were completely out of place. She'd never seen them in Ponyville before, and they were getting awfully familiar with Spark Storm. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but it's like they were hiding something, and it almost seemed like they were hiding themselves somehow...

Wait, that's it! she told herself as she conjured up some magic and announced, "Revelare!" and before Spark Storm could stop her, Lyra's magic spell washed over both Kecnic and Madalah. At once, both their transformation instincts kicked in, and before the three ponies, they revealed their Changeling forms.

Several things happened in this instance: For one, there were a couple of girly screams, coming from both Emerald Skies and Laser Reflex. For another, Lyra and Chrome screamed, neither as girly as the first two. And third, Lyra and Chrome began to run for the door. Spark Storm cut them off and tackled them both to the ground and stood over them angrily.

"For Celestia's sake, shut up!" he hissed at the two as the two Changelings quickly returned to their pegasi forms, though they both looked thoroughly panicked by their forms being revealed against their will.

Suddenly, the door to the basement slammed open and Cheerilee's voice called out rather angrily, "Just what in Tartarus is..."

She paused just as Lyra was trying to get out from under Spark, her rump up in the air. She, as well, was standing over Chrome. All three stared at Cheerilee. Spark and Cheerlee shared an unreadable look before the young apprentice silently closed the door and slipped back downstairs.

Spark's face lit up with embarrassment as Lyra got to her hooves and grinned sheepishly at the pegasus. "I don't get it," Chrome muttered as he stood and stepped out from under his brother. "What's so weird about -"

"Look," Spark groaned while dragging a hoof down his face. This was quite possibly the dumbest situation he'd ever gotten himself into, and it was seriously grating on his nerves. "I need you, Lyra, to look after Chrome for a while. There's a bit of a situation, and I need their help to get through it," he said, indication the two monsters in disguise behind the unicorn and his brother.

"Whoa, no way," Lyra said, standing tall with a mad grin on her face. "This just got ten times more interesting. First there's a kidnapping, then there's monsters, now these monsters are on your team and you're all going on a rescue mission?! Count me in!"

"Uh," Madalah chimed in, "I resent that 'monster' remark..."

Spark Storm had had enough. Barely containing his anger, he moved forward until his forehead was pushing against Lyra's so she could see how serious he was. "Look," he said, poking her in the chest with a hoof. "You keep my brother away from this. This is a dangerous situation, do you understand me? Ponies could die, and I don't want you or my brother anywhere near this!"

Chrome stared up at his older brother. Even as he listened to him yelling at Lyra, he could feel emotions building up inside of him. Sure, those two behind him had looked scary, but he wasn't exactly scared of them. He was scared of what was yet to come. Scared, and excited.

It was around this time that the library door opened. Spark Storm whirled around, ready to send whoever it was packing, his wings lightning up with angry intent. All of Spark's anger and stress seemed to melt away when he realized that it was Lemon Pop, who stared suspiciously beyond him at the two disguised Changelings behind him.

Oh of course, the fighters! Spark thought to himself. Why hadn't he thought of that earlier? They could help with this mess, if he could just a message to them fast enough. He practically flew to her in one jump and rested his hooves on her shoulders. "Lemon Pop, just the mare I need to see right now!" he gushed.

Lemon sought to keep the two in her line of sight, but with Spark in the way she had to turn this way and that until Spark took her face in both hooves and focused her on him. "Lemon! Are you listening to me? I need you to go get the fighters and bring them here. This is an urgent matter, I need their help!"

Lemon stared at Spark for the better part of a minute, then pulled away from him, a disturbed frown on her face. "Spark, I can't just march back there after what happened, I still need time, I...a-and what about them?!" she said, her voice rising as the pointed behind Spark.

"Lemon, it's all worked out, I promise, they're on our side. Look, they're Changelings, all right? They're nice Changelings though, kinda like Anorax, and-"

"Changelings?!" Lemon reared up and beat her wings furiously. "Spark Storm, what are you doing cavorting around with Changelings? You know they're the enemy!"

Spark snorted and pulled Lemon into the library before she could make a scene in front of the whole town. Lemon gasped indignantly and fought against him until he had to tackle her to the floor and stood over her. "Lemon! Knock it off! You know as well as I do that not all "monsters" are monsters! Orea and Sohl and maybe even Ampelus are proof of that!"

Up above, Ampelus flinched as if Spark's very words had stung her. Was it true? Was Spark Storm being honest when he said that, that he didn't think of her as a monster anymore? She wasn't sure what to think of this. But if she found out he was being dishonest of his feelings towards her, there would be hell to pay.

Lemon Pop pulled away from Spark Storm, hurt and upset. "Sparky, I...I don't think I'm ready to go back...Can't you send Emerald Skies, or-or-"

"You know, I'd be happy to get over there as fast as possible," Emerald chimed in from the kitchen, popping his head around the corner.

"No!" Spark rebutted, his fur standing on end as he looked from Emerald to Lemon. "Sending you would take too long, there are processes and complicated procedures and politics involved, Lemon could get in there instantly, if she'd just get over her stupid problem!"

The room became very silent as Spark Storm stared at Lemon Pop in horror. Did he really just call her problem stupid? It wasn't stupid, it was serious, and he needed to tell her that, but the look in her eyes froze him to the core. If Spark had called her useless, or ugly, and not even worth his time, she would not have looked more hurt. Spark wished she would hit him or yell at him even, anything other than look at him like that.

"Lemon, I...I didn't mean-" he tried to say before she turned and flew out the door, leaving Spark Storm behind in heavy regret. "...I'm sorry." Spark hung his head in shame. He could've sworn he saw a face in a crack from the basement door frame, but at this point he didn't care. He'd just hurt one of his closest friends right when he really needed her. No, you idiot. She needed you, and you blew it, he told himself. He had never felt so angry at himself before.

Spark Storm let out a deep breath and turned to face the others that stood waiting for him to do or say something. Emerald Skies looked like he had something to say to Spark, though he kept it to himself. Finally, Laser broke the silence by clearing his throat a bit louder than he needed to. "So...Russet? Rescue mission? Anypony?"

Spark finally lifted his head and nodded. He pushed aside his guilt for now, something needed to be done, and now. "Yeah. You're right, Laser. All right, if it's just the four of us-"

"Uh, beg your pardon, Spark, but there's five of us," Emerald chimed in, coming to sit beside Laser Reflex, who politely balked at him.

"You? You're a librarian, what exactly do you expect to accomplish?" Emerald Skies and Spark Storm sniggered softly as they shared a look between them.

"Well...I'm not a bad flier, and I survived a ninja attack last year. I should be of some help."

Before Laser Reflex could continue his inquiry, Sohl and Orea made themselves known as the tall biped landed on the ground floor. "You're not counting us, Sparky? I'm insulted," Sohl told him as Orea leapt from the harpy's wings and landed on Spark's back.

Spark let out a sigh and smiled gratefully at his friends. "Good...that makes seven of us, so-"

"Eight. There are eight of us, Spark." Spark Storm looked up in shock as Ampelus descended from the upper levels of the library. The entire group made room for her among them, most notably Laser and the Changelings, both of whom made quiet hissing noises, nearly unnoticeable. The older nymph smirked cruelly at the two and mockingly licked her lips. "Don't worry. I'm not hungry, little Changelings...yet. I surmise that feasting on your brothers and sisters later will fill me. That won't bother you, will it? You did turn traitor, after all."

"Hey, easy," Spark chided. Ampelus lifted her head and approached Spark, looking down her muzzle at him. "And just how are you going to get around town with us? From what we've seen it takes a lot out of you to do that vine trick you use, and I'm not carrying you around."

"Do you truly think me so uncreative?" she said with a sigh. She closed her eyes and vines shot out from her mane. Most everypony jumped when she did, but the vines had one purpose, and it was none other than to grab the drapes, which were ripped violently from the wall. She quickly draped the cloth tightly around her body, making her resemble a strangely clothed traveler. The makeshift cloak smartly hid the vines which wrapped around her body as well as her dragonfly wings, leaving just her face and her bright blue eyes staring at Spark Storm.

"Oh look, she knows how to look modest," Laser said, his voice full of sarcasm and angry indignation. "Spark, do you honestly trust this thing? What guarantee do we have that she's not going to go around and try to rape everything that moves?"

Ampelus nearly hissed a retort at the pegasus, but her eyes were locked with Spark Storm's, and she suddenly found herself on the far side of his judgement. She tensed, and she realized that she was holding her breath. As the nymph waited for a reply from him, she realized that she actually cared a great deal what he thought of her, yet she couldn't be bothered to tell him that, and certainly not in the presence of others. Oh, she would have to hurt him if he made her say it, and she told him this with her eyes.

Finally, after a few grueling moments of silence and silent staring that bordered on intimacy, Spark turned away from the nymph and headed for the door. "She'll behave, I trust her to do that much, and she'll come in handy when we need her. Now let's go, we've wasted enough time."

The two ponies continued to walk toward the town. The hour long walk was invigorating, and it allowed Shadow Heart some time to think. It was true that Ponyville had never been a nice place to live if you happened to be an outcast. The ponies that created the rules enforced them and made sure that their descendants remembered them.

As he walked along beside Shimmering Oasis, Shadow Heart thought about the offer the alicorn had made him. Join her, lend her his abilities, and keep Spark Storm from getting too close to her. But what if Spark Storm got close? What if Spark Storm had better things for him than Shimmering Oasis had promised him? Of course, the alicorn had promised him many good things: Companionship, love, security. Couldn't Spark Storm offer him the same?

And not just that, but the Fighters...one of them knew about him. It had been nearly a year ago, last November, that he'd broken free of the gang that had taught him to be cruel. Of course, he'd had to earn his freedom by killing them, and that was truly what set Shadow Heart free.

Immediately after was when he met one of the Fighters. Gunslinger, if Shadow Heart remembered correctly. The Southern pony had been out hunting manticores, monsters of his own personal vendetta. Shadow Heart's meeting with this hunter had been an eye-opener him, as it opened him to the possibility of joining a group of ponies whose skills were like his: used to kill. Whether it was killing monsters or other ponies, at that point it hadn't mattered to Shadow Heart.

However, after meeting the laid-back, pinpoint-accurate Gunslinger, Shadow Heart had begun to doubt if killing was all he was good at, yet here he was with Shimmering Oasis, an alicorn that, for all he knew, wanted him to kill. After what Gunslinger had told him of the Fighters, Shadow Heart wasn't so sure that he wanted to go through with this. He told himself then and there that if he met Spark Storm, the first thing he'd do would be to try and talk with him. Only then could be be sure of what he wanted to do.

When the two were nearly to the town, Shimmering Oasis suddenly stopped. She craned her head upwards into the air, eyes closed, almost like she were receiving a silent message. She drew in a quiet breath, then let it out as her horn lit up in a gentle golden light. A shot of golden energy flew up into the air and took on the form of a tiny dragonfly, which immediately flew in the opposite direction they'd been moving, and disappeared into a small cluster of trees.

"What was that about?" inquired Oasis' unicorn companion suspiciously. She opened her eyes and smiled sweetly at Shadow Heart.

"I received a message from our friends of the hive. I merely passed that message and one of my own back to the hive itself. It's something important, and something we must deal with before we see Spark Storm. Come along, dear." She pressed forward and nudged Shadow Heart along with her muzzle, prompting another blush from the colt. Did she have to be so hoofs-on?

He was about to voice his concerns to the alicorn when he saw several figures in the sky - three, in fact. No, four, one of them riding on the big one's back. Completely limp. Shadow Heart let out a little gasp and leapt backwards as three Changelings landed where he had been a second ago. A short male with red coloring, a shorter female with orange and yellow coloring, and a giant one that probably towered over the Queen herself, carrying a male unicorn prone on his back.

Shadow Heart frowned as he saw a change in Shimmering Oasis' attitude. Before, with him, she was kind, affectionate, patient and gentle. When the Changelings arrived, a look of cold disdain came over her face, her body becoming stiff, as if she found their presence unpleasant. "Princess Oasis," Nuzo said, offering a bow that seemed to reflect Shimmering Oasis' mood. "We were not expecting you to be here, so close. Just what are you-"

"What have you done?" Shimmering Oasis interrupted.

All three Changelings shifted uncomfortably, Bezzle and Dozix exchanging worried glances. Nuzo, however, looked more annoyed than anything. "Do not speak to us as if you order us! You are not in command of us, you work with us!" He continued to rant even as Shimmering Oasis' horn lit up in a deeper gold than Shadow Heart had seen it before. As he watched, he saw something out of the corner of his eyes - the giant Changeling's eyes lit up in the same light. The unicorn soon realized the full scope of what the alicorn could do as the giant stepped over to Nuzo, knocked him on his side and pressed a hoof on his chest to keep him from getting back up.

"Wh-what are you doing, you fool?! Let me up before I rip you to pieces!" Nuzo demanded. He gasped with pain as the giant pressed down harder, then looked up in awe and fear as Dozix began to speak to him.

"Let's get one thing straight," Dozix and Shimmering Oasis both said at the same time, both their eyes blazing gold. "I do not work for you; you work for me. Your queen works for me. You are all bugs under my hoof. If you don't remember your place, I will put you there. Permanently. Do not make me remind you again, else it will be the last thing you do."

Everypony present was silent as a tomb as Dozix took his time to let Nuzo up. When he finally clambered off of his leader with a look of bewilderment, Nuzo shot to his hooves, trembling with what could've been anger, or maybe fear. He didn't respond to Shimmering Oasis, instead turning to his subordinates. "...You know the plan. Get that unicorn back to the hive, I have business in Ponyville." Bezzle and Dozix nodded silently before taking to the air. Nuzo then turned and headed for town when Shimmering Oasis stepped forth.

"Hold. I received your message of your comrades' treachery. Rest assured, I will handle this matter. I want you to return to with your teammates and wait for my instruction."

Nuzo paused, then turned back around to face the alicorn. "I will not. You can't just send me back to the hive with your hocus-pocus, princess, not if you intend to go into the town!" He paused then, glancing down at Shadow Heart. "Unless you mean to challenge me with that little whelp. A pony whelp at that! A laughable concept!"

Shadow Heart's eyes narrowed just slightly. He'd dealt with worse things than this pompous creature, he was not afraid. Nuzo stepped closer, a tinge of excitement in his bones as he noticed the fearless look in Shadow Heart's eyes. "Oh, look at this little one! You have not known fear yet, little colt. Shall I show you?!" he shouted as he swiped at Shadow Heart and promptly lost balance as he somehow missed his mark. Nuzo fell on his face as he'd put all his force into that swipe.

Nuzo got back to his hooves and glared at the unicorn. "Slippery little cuss...a lucky dodge." He chuckled with cruel mirth as Shadow Heart's horn lit up in firey orange, a warning look in the colt's eyes. "Oh, finally putting up a defense? Or is it an offense?!" he shouted once more, this time making for a full body tackle with a full-speed lunge. The colt actually leapt forward to meet him, and again, Nuzo slipped right through him, only to run head-first into a small boulder that the colt was pulling behind him. Both boulder and Changeling fell to the ground with heavy thuds.

"Are you through making a fool of yourself?" Shimmering Oasis stated more than asked as Nuzo slowly and painfully pulled himself up into a sitting position. "Honestly, if you can't handle one single little colt, what makes you think you could dispose of your brethren in town?" Shadow Hearts watched cautiously as Nuzo glared at the princess, who had a decidedly proud look in her eyes as she gazed at him. It made him feel warm inside, and he averted his gaze shyly.

Nuzo got to his hooves angrily, his hard frame trembling with fury. There was nothing to be done here. He couldn't touch the colt, and the princess' powers were far too fearsome to bother with. Not yet, anyway. He'd need to do something about her, and soon. After a moment more of glaring, he took to the air and flew off towards the hive, leaving Shimmering Oasis and Shadow Heart alone once more. She gave him her sweetest smile, then lifted her head to the sky. Her horn shone once more, this time the golden light turning to a fine dust that began to settle over her.

When it was all gone, so were her wings, and her mane was slightly different. She gave her confused student a wink as she pressed on towards the town. "We mustn't frighten the villagers with the sudden appearance of an alicorn, my dear Shadow Heart. Now...let us go say hello to Spark Storm."

17 - Encounters And Insurance

It was such a beautiful day. The sun was shining, there was a very light breeze, the birds were singing happily in the trees. For Early October, it was a gorgeous day, the kind of day that Amacia enjoyed the most.

When one looked at Amacia, the words to describe her often failed to accurately pin her down in any one aspect. The first issue of course was her height. For a harpy, she was rather short at 5'2. This might have had something to do with the fact that she was a chicken harpy. Her natural yellow and orange coloring was a pleasant sight to see, though she was hardly vain. Her brown and orange clothes had been claw-stitched, something she was rather proud of, seeing as most of her harpy brethren preferred to fly around naked.

Amacia's tail feathers swayed back and forth as she made her way through the Everfree, which had been a frightening experience for the young harpy. Cockatrices, manticores, parasprites and even bickering ponies. These were all very new to her, and she was sure that if she hadn't flown away from all of them she'd have died of a heart attack.

There had been many times she'd asked herself why she was travelling all this way, but the troubles of her people always came back to her. As a "bottom-feeder" as her sisters-in-arms liked to call her, she wasn't much use. She was a medical expert, a doctor, a healer. To the harpy tribes, roles likes Amacia's were looked down upon, as harpies were a brutal race where fighting and rough-housing were the norm. What was the use of rough-housing if you were just going to wrap up the bruises and make them disappear? Wounds were battle scars, best left to display proudly to show how tough one was.

But war had broken out, and the younglings were often left hungry as the hunters had to leave their respective jobs and join in the fight. Amacia was no hunter, and although she tried to take care of the younglings, she just didn't cut it as a hunter. And so, she was sent off to retrieve one of the best hunters that her tribe had ever seen, a runaway that had disappeared just over three months ago.

Tracking Sohl down had been very difficult. The eagle harpy had been very careful in covering her tracks and keeping her molting feathers from lying around. If it hadn't been for a very, very kind nymph that decided to spare her life instead of eating her, she would never have known where to look.

The walk through White Tail Woods had been a long one, but certainly a beautiful one. Her pit-stop at the waterfall as her path lead her down was beautiful, and had been a great place for a bath. Soon, she came to a constructed pathway that lead further into the valley, a pathway that eventually lead her out of the woods and face-to-face with a long, sloping valley that gave way to a mountain range where she could see a magnificent castle nestled carefully on one side of the jutting stone.

Amacia smiled happily as she picked up her pace and headed towards the town not two miles away. Her mission was finally in sight.

Choco Swirl continued on through work in the sour mood she'd been in since viewing the last bits of that video. While she tried to keep Mrs Cake happy and unaware of her growing want to return to Canterlot, away from this crazy town, the older earth mare had begun to pick up on Choco's bad mood. It was beginning to affect the mood in the kitchen, and training Pinkie Pie had taught Mrs Cake that a happy kitchen was a productive kitchen. Having the sour Choco Swirl in the kitchen was beginning to put a damper on the business.

Mrs Cake was about ready to have a talk with Choco when the front door chimed, signaling a new customer. Eager for a break from the downer pony, the older mare practically forced Choco Swirl to go see to the customer.

As Choco stepped through the double swinging doors to the lobby, she heard a quiet sniffling. Great, she thought. Now we've got cry-babies in...she paused in her grumpy musings as she saw an old friend from Canterlot."Oh my gosh! Lemon Pop!" she exclaimed. Said pegasus brought her head up as she heard a familiar voice to see her good friend Choco Swirl. The two knew each other well, as Lemon often frequented the store Choco worked at, the place where Lemon bought her beloved lemonade and brownies.

The two friends embraced, a concerned frown on Choco's face as Lemon buried her face in her friend's shoulder. As Choco rubbed Lemon's back, the red pegasus could hold it back no longer. With a familiar friend to vent and not care how messy she was, Lemon began to sob, her shoulders shaking. True to her role as a good friend, Choco held her friend and hugged her tighter until her younger friend was ready to talk.

After several minutes and a declining shaking of shoulders, Choco lifted Lemon's face to look in her eyes. "Sweetheart, what's wrong? Why are you so upset?" She had other questions, of course, but these were the most important.

Lemon looked up at her friend with a look that said, 'Do I have to tell you?' After a stern look from Choco, Lemon sighed, but continued to lean into her friend. "Well...it's...kind of complicated. See, about a week and a half ago, I had to choose between two of my best friends. I don't want to get into how that started. A-anyway, I started to make my choice, but the friend I wanted to choose told me to choose the other, and I've been feeling so guilty about not choosing the other friend in the first place, so I ran away from my job."

Choco tilted her head, a little confused. "So...This job that you do...is it what you mentioned to me a while back? Something about "protecting Equestria" from bad things?" Lemon nodded. Choco rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Uh huh. Honestly, Lemon, how many times are you going to -" Choco stopped right there. For the first time, Choco Swirl's knowledge that the kingdom was perfectly safe was questioned. The last two days had been eye-opening for her. Monsters did exist, and they existed here, in this town.

Taking this knowledge into account, Choco Swirl felt nervous again. So what Lemon Pop had told her was true; she was like...monster police, or something like that. "O-ok," Choco began, staring down at her friend who was returning the gaze with some concern. "So...what exactly happened to make you choose between your friends?"

Lemon Pop pursed her lips in a cute little pout as she glared at the wall, as if it were it's fault for causing all this trouble. "Why? Because the Princess decided that training Sapphire Snow for eight years to be a leader wasn't good enough. No, she decided that after all her sacrifice, all her troubles and the loss of her parents just wasn't enough. She had to go and give it to that jerk Spark Storm!"

Lemon Pop let out a gasp as she found herself on the floor. After picking herself up, she looked at Choco Swirl, who had backed away several hoof-lengths with a look of horror on her face. "S...Spark Storm? N-not a dark pegasus with a wicked-long pair of wings, blue with black?" Choco demanded.

"Well...yes. How do you know him?" Lemon Pop asked.

Choco Swirl sat down after a moment, her eyes wide as she connected all the dots. Spark Storm. This was all about Spark Storm. The monsters in town. Laser Reflex's camera and video, spying on him. Laser having been hired by some "scary" ponies. Spark Storm was a monster hunter, and he was in turn being hunted by monsters.

Choco ran a hoof through her mane. How was she supposed to react to this, or deal with it for that matter? If everything she had experienced was true, if everything all lead up to Spark Storm, then Lemon Pop's friend was in trouble. But a monster hunter could take care of himself, right? Wait...if Spark Storm was a monster hunter, and Lemon Pop was in the same field, then Lemon herself was a "detestable" monster hunter herself. Choco frowned as she looked at the sweetest, most hyper mare she had ever known. Did this information change how she looked at Lemon Pop? Were years of friendship suddenly changed?

No. Not with the way Lemon Pop was looking at her. She needed a friend, and Choco intended to continue to be the good friend she always was. Screw the monsters, her friend, who always bought from her store, who always stopped to talk to her and listen when she needed somepony to listen, needed her help. She stepped forward and rested a couple of supportive hooves on Lemon's shoulders. "Sweetie, listen..."

Anorax practically skipped along as he made his way through town. After his encounter with the changeling mare, he'd been practically walking on air. He might as well have been, with the way he used his wings to keep him from putting his full weight on the ground. As he came around the corner, he came to a stop as he noticed the library. Lyra was there, wasn't she? He really needed to tell somepony about what he'd just experienced.

As he approached the library, he began to feel tense. There were several strong sources of emotion inside the library, a bit packed from the usual. Not only that, but at least three sources were unfamiliar. He knew Spark Storm and Lyra were inside, but...wait. One of those three were vaguely familiar. As he stopped short of the door, it hit him full-force: the changeling mare that approached him was inside. His heart began to beat much harder than he thought possible, to the point that he knew she must've known he was outside.

With a trembling hoof, Anorax pushed open the library door and came face to face with her, that beautiful blue pegasus mare, keeping that beautiful changeling mare hidden. As the two stood facing each other, their emotions rose. The two smiled at each other for the longest time, until a cleared throat grabbed Anorax' attention. "Uh, Anorax? I take it you've met our new friends, but we're kind've on a mission here. Need to move out."

Anorax broke his stare with an embarrassed blush and backed away as Spark Storm emerged from the library, followed by Emerald Skies, Laser Reflex, whom Anorax had seen around town but not met, and then the tallest mare he'd ever seen. She was wrapped tightly in what looked to be a travelling cloak...or a large pair of drapes. The look in her eyes chilled him to the bone, and his first instinct on making eye contact was to prepare himself for survival. Just what kind of creature was this, she certainly wasn't a pony! He backed away from her as she passed, certain he heard her murmur something about more food.

As she passed, he also noticed the large pink and yellow harpy eagle resting on the tall mare's back, along with the familiar ball of blue and green that the eagle constantly carried in it's talons whenever they went out. The next to emerge were Lyra and Spark's little brother, Chrome Spectrum, both of whom looked a little miffed. Anorax was sure they were both giving off something akin to resentment, but he wasn't sure and at the moment he didn't care. He waited as patiently as possible as the mare that had changed everything stepped through the door. While she gave off the same excitement as he did, she seemed apprehensive.

Anorax tried not to let this bother him as he turned to face Spark Storm and the others. "Uh, a mission? Maybe I can help?" he offered. Spark grinned, his wings twitching with excitement.

"Right. We're putting together a rescue mission. Russet Hearts has been taken captive by changelings, and we're going...to..." Spark trailed off. He didn't need a changeling's intuition to catch the mood coming off the halfling. Madalah especially seemed more and more dismayed by Anorax's look and mood.

"Wait, " Anorax said, his ears pressed down hard against his head. He glared at Spark Storm, his head slowly turning in Madalah's direction. "Who did? Why would they-"

"We did." Madalah's voice was very quiet, barely above a whisper. The poor mare trembled as a child that knew she had been caught doing something terrible, and she knew she was wrong. "We came for Laser Reflex."

Kecnik watched quietly as Madalah's happiness quickly ebbed away as Anorax turned to face her. The whole group was silent as the two faced each other, and while not all of them felt the emotions between them as Kecnik could, it was obvious that a happy situation between the two was quickly becoming one-sided guilt, as well as one-sided anger.

Madalah eyes began to tear up as she felt Anorax' anger. This wasn't the reunion that she was hoping for, not at all.

Quickly deciding to step in, Spark Storm approached his old friend. "Anorax, take it easy, all right? I don't know what happened between you two, but I've spoken with them...it wasn't intentional. And these two aren't even part of the "hive" anymore."

Anorax turned on Spark, his eyes blazing with anger. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means the hive wants us dead." Anorax turned once again, this time to look up at the towering Kecnik. There was a look there in his eyes, a look of pain. Whether he shared in Madalah's guilt and sadness wasn't clear to Anorax. "They mean to kill us. We betrayed them, and we will help you get your friend back."

Anorax frowned deeper, his gaze falling to the ground. This whole situation stank. He knew Russet Hearts well. He was the sweetest stallion in all Ponyville. Why him? Why was he dragged into this? He had too many questions and uncertainties, but one thing he was certain about: His father was right. Changelings in Ponyville was a bad thing. His glare rose to meet Kecnik, then Madalah, and his words ran clear among the group. "Fine. I'll help you guys get Russet home...and then I want the changelings gone."

As he turned his back on Madalah and Kecnik, he fought the crumbling despair of the mare behind him. He didn't need his halfling senses to feel her tremble, or to hear the barely contained sob she issued forth. Anorax walked past Spark, who watched in stunned silence. After noticing that Anorax wasn't stopping to wait for the group, he whistled back at the others. "Come on," he said quietly, as if speaking too loud could break the already fragile changeling mare. "Lyra?" He said, giving the unicorn a glare. "Get my brother someplace where you can keep an eye on him. I don't want him or you following us!"

Chrome sat down on his haunches and crossed his forelegs over his chest, like a child that had just been given a time out, which technically he had been, and from his own brother! He snorted with displeasure as he watched the mismatched group take off at a run down through the center of town, with Kecnik and Madalah in the lead. Lyra as well looked like she was upset, her eyes narrowed and fixed on Spark Storm as he disappeared down the corner. This was so unfair.

Spark Storm and his comrades ran down through the center of town. With Madalah and Kecnic leading them in the direction of the hive, Spark began to slow down and position himself at the back of the group. Something told him he'd need to watch their backs. As the group turned a corner, the ponies, changelings and nymphs alike spread out, making a space between them to pass a tall unicorn mare standing in the middle of the street. As they did, her horn lit up and a barely noticeable stallion, a perfect visual copy of Spark Storm issued from her and followed after the group. Spark, having been behind his group, was the only one to notice this and he came to a screeching halt just a few meters in front of the unicorn.

Spark Storm stared at the unicorn mare before him. Even without the wings, he knew instantly who she was. The kiss that blinded him and put him to sleep while Princess Cadance and Twilight Sparkle fought for their lives suddenly burned on his lips. He glared at the disguised alicorn, and spat on the ground. This gesture was completely understood and completely amused her.

Shimmering Oasis smiled down at Spark Storm with a wide grin as her horn lit up. A thick, golden dust issued from it and covered her body. When it fell off her again, her wings were visible once more, revealing her true form to the whole town. Ponies lined the streets as the denizens of Ponyville began whispering amongst each other. Since when was there another alicorn besides the Princess? Some whispers decried the existence of another, others spoke praises of her beauty. Spark Storm was much too focused on her to pay attention to the rumors quickly spreading through the streets. Shimmering Oasis didn't seem to care either way.

Finally, Spark Storm spoke. "You. What are you doing here? Something tells me you're here with the changelings."

"Perceptive," Shimmering Oasis spoke, her voice barely containing the excitement she felt after having waited as long as she had for this. "You may indeed assume that I am involved with them."

Spark's wings twitched with agitation. The last he'd seen Shimmering Oasis, she was under arrest for treason and attempted murder and a whole slew of felonies that would take days to list. How she'd gotten out of prison wasn't nearly so important as..."Why are you here? Why did you come to me? Are you a little confused?" Spark asked with a hint of a sneer. "I'm not the one that put you down last time, that was Princess Cadance."

"Oh, I know," she responded sweetly. "But you're not so dim-witted this time around, are you? Your guard is up, your defenses as well as your offenses are sharper. The first time I saw you, you defended your ship from a lightning storm and even turned my offense back upon me. You were dangerous then, you are much more so now. It only makes sense to remove the knight from the board before attacking the queen."

That did it. The ponies in the entire area began whispering among themselves. Was this alicorn here to attack the royal family in Canterlot? Who was she? Why was she really here? Who was that colt behind her? This last whisper struck Spark Storm. He hadn't seen anypony else here. Seeing the look on his face, Shimmering Oasis stepped to the side, revealing the young firey unicorn.

Shadow Heart opened his mouth in quiet shock as he finally laid eyes on Spark Storm. The pegasus did the same, eyes narrowed. Shadow Heart swallowed hard as the two continued to stare each other down. Finally, Shadow Heart took a tentative step forward. This was his chance, the chance he'd been waiting for. If he could just talk to Spark Storm, get some kind of positive reaction from him, then he'd know which side he really wanted to fight for.

Shadow Heart's heart raced as he looked between Shimmering Oasis and Spark Storm, but the princess simply gave him the most patient smile. He never could figure her out. After a few more moment's debate, he approached Spark Storm slowly, a look of cautious hope on his face. "Spark Storm...I've wanted to talk to you for a long time, but I never got the chance. I know who you are. Please, I need to know...is there a place among the Fighters for me?"

"No," came the immediate answer. Shadow Heart stared at Spark. He wasn't sure if he'd heard that right. "You? A little worthless worm like you? Of course not. You're in my way now, you'd be in my way then."

The young unicorn was struck by Spark's words. Did he really mean that? Had he been wrong about Spark Storm all this time?...Was this a trick? A trick being played on him by Shimmering Oasis? And yet he knew it couldn't be, his magic absorbing powers weren't detecting a spell on him. No, those were Spark Storm's real words. Tears threatened to appear in Shadow Heart's eyes as he backed away from Spark Storm, who just stared at him in that cold, callous way.

When he reached Shimmering Oasis, he looked up at her with a bitter frown and a guilty conscience. "I...I'm sorry, Princess. I had to be sure. I'm sure now. I belong with you and I'll do what needs to be done." Shimmering Oasis just smiled that ambiguous smile of hers, then leaned down to kiss the unicorn's forehead tenderly. Shadow Heart nearly fell into tears once more at this show of love and affection, and after betraying her trust, he felt he didn't deserve it. He took it all in readily, though. After being alone for so long, having somepony to look after him felt too good to reject.

"You are my knight, Shadow Heart. I will leave this battle to you." the alicorn told him. Shadow Heart immediately shot her a look of alarm.

"M-me? But my powers, they don't always work, I-I might-"

"Shh," she shushed him gently, a hoof on his lips. "You can do this. It's all..." she leaned down, touching her horn to his "...willpower." A spark from her horn flew into his, a light that flew like an electric current along a wire into his brain. It ran along the circuits that wired his magic to his brain, and removed the block that kept him from using his powers at their full capacity, a mental block that had sat there since his parents deaths.

Shimmering Oasis moved away from him now as Shadow Heart's body took on a dim, black glow. The unicorn could feel his unique magic-sucking power activating at it's fullest, and he was filled with a confidence and anger as he'd never felt before, and it was all going to fall on Spark Storm.

As the pegasus and unicorn stepped forward, wings ablaze with electricity and horn glowing an ominous black, frightened whispers erupted from the crowd, garnering the attention of both combatants. Spark Storm frowned and turned to the townsponies, and shouted, "What are you all doing?! Get back, get out of here!"

A loud, amused laugh erupted from Shimmering Oasis as she raised her horn to the sky. "Don't be so dramatic, Spark Storm. Allow me to clear the field." Spark stared at the alicorn in horror, then closed his eyes tightly as a bright, white circle of light appeared at the tip of her horn. "Look, look you little ponies!" she called joyously. "Look!...and sleep." As the last word slipped from her lips, the light branched out over the street, covering that entire section of town.

Ponies everywhere began to fall asleep, falling to the ground where they stood. Some even fell asleep standing up, but all who had seen the light lost consciousness, minus one unicorn whose magic ate the spell as it approached him, and Spark Storm who had wisely hidden his gaze. Spark looked up again in shock. Shimmering Oasis had put dozens of ponies to sleep with one spell. He'd forgotten just how powerful she was. She had commanded three powerful dragons back in Neippon, it shouldn't have come as a surprise what she could do to normal ponies.

"Now, good knights, there will be no more distractions!" the alicorn announced excitedly. "Shadow Heart, my boy, go to battle for me!"

The unicorn needed no prompting. His horn lit up with a stronger blackness, a dark mist issuing from his horn. Spark Storm's wings continued to charge, a concerned frown on his face. If only Shadow Heart had reacted positively to his invitation...

The library was quiet and devoid of life as Fluttershy slipped inside, an eager smile on her face. She'd been so taken with Chrome Spectrum when they'd first met that going to see him was one of the things she looked forward to most during school. "Hello!" she called into the big, empty library. She frowned when she received no answer. She was sure he would be here today. Perhaps he was downstairs?

As Cheerilee and Angelica's class had left, the library was indeed empty. As Fluttershy reemerged from the depths of the basement (she hadn't gotten very far, it was dark down there after all), she sighed and made for the door. It was stuck, and stuck fast. After trying the door a few more times, she noticed something wedged inbetween the door and the floor, it looked like a little hoop attached to a blade.

As Fluttershy's mind began to race, she felt a presence behind her. She whirled around and came face to face with a patiently smiling Fire Lotus.

It wasn't Fluttershy's timid nature that told her to get away. It wasn't the fact that the strange red mare held a knife in her mouth. Something about the earth pony terrified Fluttershy to the core. She immediately took off into the and made for the window, but not before she felt something cold and hard attached to a rope wrap around her left rear leg. It pulled tight and the young pegasus fell to the floor.

"Leave me alone, please!" Fluttershy cried as she tried to take to the air again. This time another rope flew around her waist, and she was again pulled to the floor. Her wings were tied together, and finally her front legs. She struggled madly until the earth mare pounced on top of her and held one of the knives against her throat.

"Shhh," Fire Lotus whispered almost tenderly. "You're a pretty little thing, I would hate to get blood all over your pretty coat." Fluttershy silenced, tears of fright falling and pattering onto the library floor.

"That's better. Now be quiet. I'm not going to hurt you if I don't have to, but I won't hesitate to ground you for life and take your beautiful wings. You're coming with me, little pegasus." Fire Lotus spoke as she laid down on the younger pony, holding her against the floor as she grabbed a small cloth from a pouch and soaked it with a small bottle of liquid.

"Wh...what do you want with me?" Fluttershy asked with the barest of whispers.

"Insurance," the earth mare whispered back to her before covering Fluttershy's mouth with the cloth, causing the pegasus to struggle into she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

18 - A Duel Of Storm And Shadow pt 1

Orea frowned as she huddled closer against Sohl's form. Something felt very wrong. She could see Spark Storm running after them, but she couldn't feel him there. It was like she was just looking at a moving image of him. Sohl began to feel the very same thing, and it made her angry, causing her to dig her talons into the tall nymph on whose back she rode.

"What do you think you're doing?! That hurts!" Ampelus hissed, slowing down so she could turn to glare at the harpy eagle without tripping. Orea was about to explain when Sohl quickly and without warning launched herself into the air, eliciting gasps of shock and admiration from the townsponies that were nearby. While Sohl was still in eagle form, her wingspan was still far bigger than anything most of them had ever seen. "What is she doing?!" Ampelus hissed, now coming to a complete stop as she glared at Orea on her back.

Her niece, however, was now exposed and no longer hidden by the large bird. And Ampelus, as tall as she was, had been hidden fairly well when running with the others, and hadn't drawn much attention. But now that the two of them were alone in the streets of Ponyville, they both stood out. Ampelus' form was hidden by the drapes, but her appearance was questionable.

Orea, while small and visually insignificant, couldn't actually pass for a pony if one were to look closely enough at her. Like her aunt did, she grew natural vines and bright vivid flowers on her body, and her wings stood out, as well. Ponies began to gather around the two of them, natural curiosity getting the better of them. "...We need to go back. I think something's wrong with Spark Storm..." Orea whispered, apprehension and fear starting to bubble up within her.

"Nevermind that, little one, we need to get away from these ponies. Their stupidity may erupt into violence." Ampelus retorted under her breath. She began to move forward, her head held high as she looked down her muzzle at the ponies she would normally call food. Some of them began to follow, whispering while keeping their distance. Ampelus began to feel angry, the vines hidden under her "cloak" writhing with anticipation.

Amacia hummed a little tune to herself. Her spirits had been especially lifted in the last twenty minutes, when she'd first sighted the beautiful sight of the pony town and the castle. She'd just broken the tree-line when she saw a group of ponies headed straight for her. She squawked in surprise as she dove back into the trees to hide. She watched as several ponies of varying colors passed her, a big happy smile on her face. So much life here, so much excitement!

Her happy smile soon turned to a look of apprehension as she turned her head to look towards the town once more. A flying shape emerged from the town, and while she somehow knew that that shape belonged to Sohl, something in her most primal instincts told her to run, because hiding wouldn't cut it. Not when you were being hunted by one of the best trackers in a harpy tribe, and Sohl, while still nearly a mile away, was giving off some very homicidal vibes.

There was no time to appreciate the scenery as Amacia took off at a run, her rough feet and talons digging into the ground and giving her extra speed. While she wasn't tough or a fighter, her strong legs and short talons gave her considerable speed. A born runner, and a rare talent for a harpy. This is so backwards! she thought as she bobbed and weaved through the trees back in the direction she'd come. I'm supposed to find her, why am I running from her? A backwards glance at the enormous bird, gaining ground on her, reminded her. Oh. I think it's because she looks like she wants to kill me.

Amacia ran until her lungs felt like they might give out. It wasn't far, she didn't run that much and was a little out of shape. She dove for cover into some bushes, and laid there, hoping beyond hope that Sohl wouldn't find her. As she laid there under cover, she began to wonder just what she was supposed to say to her if she'd found Sohl first. Would it have to come to this? Would she have been able to convince her that she was needed back back home?

Amacia's thoughts were interrupted when a large claw wide enough to wrap around her whole body pulled her up from the bushed. The chicken harpy let out a terrified squawk and struggled against the enormous talon until she felt herself lifted once again and pressed against a tree. Held about three feet off the ground, she stared as the harpy Sohl stared at her, eye to eye. Amacia's fears were confirmed: Sohl looked pissed.

Sohl stared angrily into the frightened younger harpy's eyes as she leaned in, pressing both clawed hands against tree on either side of the tiny harpy's shoulders, her nails digging into the tree. Finally, she spoke, her voice barely hiding her anger. "Just what the hell are you doing here? You've better have a damn good reason for coming all this way, little chicken."

Amacia stared into what could very well have been her death if she didn't place her next words very carefully. "M-miss Sohl, I-I came here to t-tell you-" she paused to swallow, her breath shuddering in her chest. "U-uh...There's need of you back home. W-we're at war..."

Sohl stared at Amacia with rage in her eyes. She had grown accustomed to living in Equestria-no, with Spark Storm and with Orea. It didn't matter where she was, as long as those two were with her. She loved Orea, she loved being with her, she loved having her in her head. Even more than that, she loved Spark Storm. She loved teasing him, she loved fighting with him, she loved knowing all his secrets, and she loved being a source of comfort to him.

This of course was where Amacia came in, to tear all of this away from her. Sohl knew that returning home meant discarding that warm coat of love and affection and forgetting all of it, because if she went home wearing the scent of weakness, as harpies called it, she would be torn to pieces by her peers. To go meant to harden her heart; to stay would be ditching her duties and calling vengeance down on Equestria, tearing it apart until her sisters found her.

With a shriek of rage, Sohl turned and swung Amacia through the air and threw her, sending the much smaller harpy flailing gracelessly until she bounced off the ground and came to a skidding halt as she clawed desperately at the ground to slow her momentum. Finally free of the much bigger harpy, Amacia clawed her way up into the nearest tree, trembling with both fear and relief, relief that she'd gotten out of that situation with her life. At least, for now.

Amacia watched as Sohl began pacing back and forth along the forest floor, her breath coming out in sharp, agitated huffs. Sohl finally turned around and faced Amacia's tree, let out an enraged scream and swiped at the tree's trunk horizontally with a foot. Her long talons made quick work of the thick trunk, and with the one swipe the cut area separated into four different sections. The tree, now unable to support itself, toppled down erratically, with poor Amacia still in it.

Sohl continued to pace back and forth, angry growls issuing from her, her feathers bristling straight out against her arms. Amacia, sticking her head out from the branches of the fallen tree, had never seen such an angry harpy, especially one as dangerous as Sohl. If she had any sense about her, she'd had made a run for it, or a fly for it, but she doubted she'd have gotten far. The taller harpy had a terrible sense of bloodlust about her, and Amacia wasn't about to give her a reason to unleash it on her, so she sat and she waited.

Finally, Sohl noticed the smaller harpy there in the tree, then stomped over, a low, raspy growl escaping her throat as she reached down, grabbed the tree's branches and with a very unlady-like grunt, began to lift the tree from the ground until Amacia fell from it's branches. Sohl grunted once more and tossed the tree on it's side with a loud crash. Amacia backed away from the taller harpy in panic until Sohl reached down and grasped her shoulder to still her. She knelt down in front of Amacia, her eyes narrowed, but now with an unnerving patience.

"How long do I have?"

The sudden question caught Amacia off-guard. She swallowed hard and fiddled with her hands as she quickly calculated in her head. "Uh...w-well, counting how long it took to get me here, and how long it'd take someone of your speed to return...about a week?"

Sohl frowned, her piercing gaze seeming to look past Amacia now. So I've got a week left...to say goodbye. She grit her teeth, barely suppressing a quiet, strained sob. She lowered her head, obscuring her face from view as tears of despair filled her eyes.

Amacia stared in wonder at one of the toughest harpies she'd ever heard of showing tender emotion. Just how much had she been affected by living here among ponies? How much had she changed?...How was she going to go back, face her sisters, and not be ripped to shreds? Amacia began to understand now why Sohl was so angry.

Amacia smiled and put a sympathetic hand on Sohl's shoulder. She was beginning to see that Sohl wasn't so bad. The look that Sohl gave her immediately made her regret thinking that Sohl's crying was an invitation to touch her. The smaller harpy gasped and began to move away from the murderous glare Sohl gave her, but the punishment for looking upon a harpy during her moment of weakness never came. Instead, all of the anger seemed to drain away from the bigger female. Instead, a look of faraway sadness lingered in her eyes for a moment before she finally stood, and took off into the air without another word.

As the eagle harpy flew off in the direction the ponies from before went, Amacia blinked with confusion as she sat on the ground. "...So, do I just wait here, then?" she said to no one in particular.

Spark Storm narrowed his eyes at the unicorn standing before him. He just didn't understand it - when the unicorn had asked if he could join the fighters, Spark's words had been clear: "Of course you can. You're in a bad place, standing beside that alicorn. She's lying, she's using you!" And then the young colt acted as if Spark had insulted him and returned to Shimmering Oasis. He could only guess what more lies and half-truths she fed him then, but he looked ready to murder.

Shadow Heart had no words to add before his horn lit up and removed the travelling cloak he wore, fully exposing his dark orange and yellow body. Shadow Heart took a few steps closer to Spark, his horn growing in intensity of darkness as it enveloped his horn. The unicorn hadn't used this power since he'd had to kill that gang, but that feeling still felt fresh. He knew Spark's powers. He knew what they could do, and what kind of damage it could cause. After a moment of concentrating, he finally held that feeling of new, unfamiliar power growing in his horn.

Spark watched in horrified fascination as Shadow Heart's horn began spouting familiar blue, illuminated threads of light. When Shadow Heart opened his eyes to stare Spark Storm in the eyes, the pegasus had only a split second to dodge out of the lines of electricity that shot at him and bowled over the market cart directly behind Spark, spilling it's contents of celery all over the ground.

Spark didn't have time to think about the implications of what Shadow Heart's attacks meant. Another volley of lightning shot at him, but Spark had stopped in a bad spot, directly in front of a pair of sleeping ponies. He couldn't just dodge this time. His wings fanned out and ignited, which caught the wayward stream of electricity. Instead of redirecting it, though, Spark Storm took it like he had no control of lightning. He let out a pained cry and fell to the ground, convulsing and trembling for a moment.

That's what I wanted to see, Shimmering Oasis thought with a smile that bordered on pure bliss. The boy's magic can do more than mirror the powers of another, he actually takes their power and uses it against them. The mighty Spark Storm will fall under the crumbling ruins of his own tempest.

As Shimmering Oasis had been expecting, Spark got back to his hooves, a fierce, determined look in his eyes. He had no time to make a plan of attack; if he waited too long, the unicorn would attack, and Spark didn't have time to make sure that others wouldn't be hurt. The only way to finish this was to take the attack to him.

Shadow Heart was charging up his horn for another attack when Spark Storm rushed towards him. The unicorn scoffed and shot off a bolt of lightning at the pegasus, who simply dodged it. As Spark had been expecting, the unicorn was aiming lower, and his shots simply damaged the ground instead of blasting into the sleeping crowd. He shot again, and once more Spark Storm danced out of the way.

Shadow Heart began to back up as the pegasus grew closer and closer. He'd never seen such an angry pony before, not one with their eyes looking upon him with as much ferocity as the pegasus was. He quickly charged his horn once more and shot off another blast, but this attack was rushed and clumsy, assuring Spark Storm an easy dodge.

Spark ducked and slid under the bolt, and as he came close to Shadow Heart on the ground, he pushed out of the slide and brought his hoof up along the unicorn's chin, decking him with enough force to send him off his hooves and down to the ground where he slid several hoof-lengths, and finally came to a stop on the ground on his back.

Shimmering Oasis merely smiled down at Spark Storm as he ignited his wings once more, preparing to battle the alicorn. She shook her head silently then tilted her head to Shadow Heart, who had begun to stir and got back on his hooves, lightly rubbing his jaw where he'd been hit. He cast Spark Storm an angry look before his horn sparked to life once more. Spark scowled and turned to face the younger pony.

Spark struck first this time. His wings ignited with live energy, thicker threads than before. He shot them at Shadow Heart, who ducked his head and closed his eyes. Instead of being struck down, the dark aura around Shadow Heart's body absorbed the energy, in essence, "eating" Spark's attack. This prompted a look of surprise from both Spark and Shadow, neither having expected the unicorn's powers to be so strong.

Spark Storm took to the initiative once again. If he could prove himself too fast to be hit, then he'd be able to subdue the younger unicorn without hurting him too much. Shadow Heart wasn't about to be taken down so easily, though, and prepared himself. This time his horn lit up with electricity much faster, and aimed a blow at Spark's hooves.

As Shadow Heart had predicted, Spark had little time to react, and leapt to avoid the attack. Using the power he'd kept in reserve from the initial strike, Shadow Heart struck again at Spark Storm in mid-air. Spark had seen this coming, and, taking a chance, released his own electrical energy, hoping that taking the initiative in the strike might have a different result from the first time.

It did. Both energies met each other halfway. Upon contact, the two opposing forces came to a standstill, each pushing against the other. The air began to crackle around the two bolts of lightning as they arched up and down in place, heating the surrounding area with escalating pressure. As Spark Storm and Shadow Heart glared at each other, both pushing harder with their respective powers to dominate the other, Shimmering Oasis began to frown for the first time since the fight began. Something was different; Spark Storm was changing right at this very moment.

Shadow Heart could see this as well. The bolts coming from Spark Storm's were now different from the ones he used. Whereas the thick threads of light that Shadow Heart had been using were of a solid, consistent hue, Spark Storm's had begun to pulse, as if new energy not seen before had begun to awaken. They were stronger, as well. Shadow Heart began to have trouble pushing back against the pegasus, and soon enough he had to dodge out of the way as Spark's lightning won the fight.

The bolts didn't come down on the unicorn, however. Instead, they began to rise into the air, as if striking an unseen wall. As Spark's eyes had been closed in concentration, he didn't see the twin bolts of lightning begin to curl up into two balls, as if filling an invisible, round container. Finally, Spark had given all he could. He cut off the attack and his wings fell to his sides, sore and burning from the effort he'd put into the struggle.

Spark opened his eyes to see Shadow Heart and Shimmering Oasis both staring not at him, but up in the air. Bewildered, he followed their gaze, and became as confused as his foes. In the air, pushing and whirling in place, were the two bolts. They had formed a pair of electric circles, pulsing and wriggling angrily in place like a pair of translucent hives filled with angry, electric bees.

Shimmering Oasis for once looked down at Shadow Heart in anger. "This is taking too long. Finish this quickly!"

Shadow Heart, taken aback by the angry tone in Shimmering's voice, turned to attack Spark Storm once more, who was still staring in awe at this new seeming manifestation of his powers. Shadow Heart gave no warning as he took this opportunity to throw a well-aimed, if weak bolt at Spark Storm to get his attention. The pegasus didn't even see it coming. The bolt him Spark Storm in the chest. Spark doubled over with a sharp yell of pain, his wings drooping as he temporarily lost motor control.

As Spark fell to the ground from the blow, the two balls of electricity quickly lost elevation. Shadow Heart hadn't been counting on this, as he was still standing directly under them. Shimmering Oasis watched with mild amusement as he realized this and ducked to the ground, splaying himself out with his hooves over his eyes.

When the balls of fiercely churning electricity didn't fall on him, Shadow Heart looked up and gasped as he saw the twin spheres just over his head. Now that they were up close, he could see that both of them were about the size of his body. He doubted very much that he would come out of getting hit with either of them unscathed. Come to think of it, why were they just hovering there?

After crawling away from the pair of large electrical spheres, Shadow Heart's eyes widened as he saw Spark Storm once again on his hooves, wings outstretched towards the heavens. It wasn't often that Shadow Heart saw a pegasus with his wings full out, but he was certain that pegasi wings didn't usually come that big. They were at least twice Spark's body length, and they were in the process of folding down, then out, then in again. Shadow Heart frowned as he noticed the electrical balls following the basic movement of his wings, Spark's eyes wide open as he watched the balls of energy following his movements.

"You hit him with a warning shot!" came the alicorn's voice from behind Shadow Heart. "If you don't finish him now, you will have failed me, Shadow Heart..." The unicorn didn't hear the threat in her voice so much as felt it on his back as she glared at him. Shadow Heart's horn lit up once more, no longer intending to hit Spark Storm with just a warning shot. Why had he hit the pegasus so lightly? He felt as if his resolve were wavering, and he didn't know why. Well, no more playing around. He struck again with all his might, and for all his effort the strike was blocked as one of the balls moved into the path of the attack and completely absorbed it.

Spark Storm went from staring to the twin balls to throwing Shadow Heart and Shimmering Oasis a small smile. His wings twitched, his shoulders rolled. The twin balls maneuvered themselves to hover on either side of him, both humming loudly as the energies stuck inside the invisible walls of their containers whirled with anxious movements.

Shadow Heart stared at the pegasus before him. Never before had he seen powers like these. For the first time in years, he found himself a little intimidated. Not even Shimmering Oasis' psychic powers were this fearful, at least not to him, not in this moment. The unicorn felt himself take a step backwards. This was not unnoticed by the alicorn princess. She frowned, and slowly stood as she and Spark Storm exchanged looks. She might have to step in for this one.

Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I've had a lot of ideas for the next few scenes, and we're getting closer and closer to the end of this arc. No worries, though, I'm not going to close this out with a gap of six or seven years between now and the canon time-line. Legends Of Ponyville will continue in chapters, this being chapter one. Stay tuned for more action and soon a very big closing event!

19 - A Duel Of Storm And Shadow pt 2

"That's right, Spike!" Twilight cried, raining more praise on her own protege, clopping her hooves together happily. The little dragon, now nearly five years old, was excelling at sending scrolls. His first successful scroll sending had been just over a week ago, when one of the Fighters had disappeared. As loath as she was to write that letter to Spark Storm, it had to be done. He deserved to know that his friend had gone missing. No word had returned, of course. Twilight had been half expecting an answer, preferably delivered by a certain green pegasus. Of course, no answer had come.

Spike grinned toothily up at his surrogate sister, before striking a proud pose with his claws on his hips. No sooner had he given her the proud stance, though, he felt a gurgling in his gut. "Oh no, it's coming back...!" he groaned before releasing a firey belch, along with a scroll that launched itself into Twilight's face, who promptly shrieked and fell backwards onto the floor while waggling her hooves at the scroll to get it away from her.

"Oh eww, Spike, you're supposed to aim those away from ponies!" she cried indignantly before falling on her back. The scroll fell stubbornly into her forelegs, seemingly determined to be held.

"Heh, uh...sorry, Twilight," Spike offered before reaching down to help Twilight to her hooves. She glared at Spike, though it was a playful one. The two of them had been at this for days, sending messages back and forth to Princess Celestia, who had offered to help Spike with his scroll training.

"It's all right, Spike. You're learning, you're getting better. I'm so proud of you," she replied, giving the little dragon a hug. He replied in kind, happy to be getting so much praise today. Twilight cleared her throat after a moment, prompting the dragon to hop back and sit before the older pony patiently. Twilight nodded her approval before grasping the scroll in her magic, unrolling it to read the contents.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle and Spike, well done! This marks the twentieth successful attempt at magical scroll-sending. Today's session is over. Take a break, dear Twilight, and enjoy the rest of your day, the both of you. Your princess, Celestia."

Twilight smiled happily before refolding the scroll tightly and setting it aside. "Well, Spike, how about that? You're amazing! Well, I don't know about you, but I could really go for a nice study session - Spike, are you listening to me?" Spike indeed was not. He wasn't even sitting before her anymore. Looking around for the little dragon, she spotted by the window of their room, having opened it and letting some cool October air inside.

"Spike, I was talking to you," she told him in a gently scolding voice. "You should listen to your elders when they...SPIKE!"

The dragon finally jumped with a start when the unicorn yelled his name. He turned around and frowned at her, rubbing at his ear fins. "Geez, Twilight, you don't have to yell. I - " he paused, and again turned to look out the window. Something out in the valley had grabbed his attention, and it wasn't letting go. Twilight frowned down at him before following his gaze out the window, over the valley, past the trees, to the teeny, tiny speck of a town miles and miles away.

Princess Celestia hummed to herself quietly as she sipped at her afternoon tea while perusing the many, many government documents that she had to look over, sign, or tear up for many hours of her day. Tea was one of the few things that gave her some solace. That, and teaching Twilight in her studies. The window behind her was open, letting in a cool, refreshing breeze.

As the princess lifted another of countless, endless documents in a magical grasp, she paused. Something felt different. Something felt wrong. Dropping the document carelessly to the floor, the alicorn stepped over to her window. There was something in the air that warranted her attention. Stepping onto the windowsill and spreading her wings, she took gracefully to the air and began to climb, taking a smooth turn around the corner of the castle, the wind whipping through her colorful mane.

She could feel it much better while flying. It tickled her feathers. It bristled her fur. And it brought a sense of unease to her heart. As she looked down over the valley, in the town where she knew a certain pegasus was still very angry with her, something was stirring. Something was building, charging the air with electrons. Somepony was creating a storm. Celestia stared down towards Ponyville, her breath catching in her throat. Her lips parted, and from them she uttered the words she had heard many times but never spoken: "Storm-Bringer. It's too soon..."

Spark Storm groaned as the weight of the two storm-orbs weighed heavily on his wings. While they didn't physically touch his body, the orbs on either side of him took immense muscle control to keep them from falling to the ground, and he didn't to find out what happened if they fell in the middle of town.

"Shadow Heart!" Shimmering Oasis shouted, making the unicorn jump, so focused was he on the unfolding events. He turned to look at the princess with anxious eyes. "Finish this now, before he has a chance to use those!"

Shadow Heart immediately began charging a new attack, but it wasn't fast enough. Spark Storm raised his wings, and the sudden movement in turned moved the spherical storms higher into the air. As they moved, thick, strong chords of electricity danced inbetween the orbs. Gravity did its part as the ground directly beneath them was showered with a torrent of constantly flowing electricity, ripping up the road the three combatants all stood on.

Shadow Heart backed away from the curtain of what now seemed to be liquid electricity spilling towards him like running water. He needed to take a chance now, or face the alicorn's anger. He had not seen her angry before, and he didn't want to. The unicorn charged up his horn as quickly as he could, then released a thick bolt of electricity at the pegasus before him.

Spark Storm barely even thought as the incoming bolt was caught between two bolts of his own from the twin orbs. The two thick threads of energy maintained their grasp on the wayward bolt for a moment, then sent it back, nearly three times bigger. It caught the unicorn in the horn and threw him off his hooves. The counter-attack was so fast and so sudden that Shimmering Oasis didn't have time to dodge the projectile unicorn or put up a barrier. Unicorn met alicorn, sending both crashing over outdoor dining tables and chairs, flipping their bodies end over end until both ponies crashed into the wall of the bistro behind them.

"Ok, whoa," Spark muttered to himself. He knew these orbs would come in handy the moment they formed, but to down both the powerful unicorn and Shimmering Oasis? In one blow? He couldn't help but feel a little excited, but he felt a little bad, as well. He hadn't meant to hit either of them that hard, especially not the unicorn. Something had to be done to get through to him, if he was indeed under a spell, something that was more than likely considering who he seemed to look up to.

As Spark Storm approached, something that was very difficult to do considering the weight of the orbs, Shimmering Oasis suddenly emerged from the mess of tables and chairs. Her silver adornments had fallen from her mane and three of her hooves, and a small line of blood trickled from the right side of her mouth. She looked livid. "I have had enough," she growled as she reached down and pulled Shadow Heart from under a chair. She shoved him down to the ground and held him down, even as he lay there unconscious.

"What are you doing?! Leave him alone!" Spark shouted as the princess leaned down and touched her horn to Shadow Heart's. Almost instantly the colt awoke, a look of panic on his face.

"...What? What did you do?!" Shadow Heart demanded as he got to his hooves and stumbled away from the princess. His horn began to give off an ominous black glow. The unicorn groaned and shook his head, as if he could shake off the terrible feeling growing in his head. He trembled and finally fell to all four knees. Spark looked in horror as his entire body took on the same black glow. A moment later, it happened.

Almost all at once, Shadow Heart's body became a simple black shape. Spark Storm backed away as he immediately felt a pull, as if Shadow Heart's body had created it's own immense gravitational pull. It appeared that was exactly what had happened, as thin strings of electricity began to flow from Spark's orbs and into the darkness that had become Shadow Heart, disappearing into his body as if it were a deep, dark void.

Spark Storm began to notice other things being pulled towards the unicorn. Broken table pieces, crumbled bits of road, Dinky...Spark Storm had to look twice to make sure he was seeing what he was seeing. Dinky was in the road, which meant that Ditzy was...where was Ditzy?! Spark Storm began to panic. Not only was Dinky separated from her mother, but she was several meters behind Shadow Heart, asleep on the ground, and slipping closer and closer towards the transformed unicorn.

Spark groaned as he resisted the pull of the dark void as he took step after step towards little Dinky, his muscles straining under the immense weight of the orbs hovering at his sides. He wasn't going to make it at this rate. "Ugh...Stop! You've got to stop, innocent ponies are going to die if you don't!" he shouted at the unicorn.

Shadow Heart, who hadn't moved this entire time, seemed to turn his head in Spark Storm's direction. At least he thought he did, there were no features on his body anymore, simply a black form. The unicorn opened his mouth, and out came the most hollow, metallic sound he had ever heard. "I can't! I can't turn it off, she won't let me!"

Without wasting a second, Spark Storm whipped out a wing, commanding the spheres to strike Shimmering Oasis, who hadn't stopped grinning since this whole thing began. A bolt as big around as a young tree shot towards her, only to be sucked into the void that was Shadow Heart. This resulted in the alicorn breaking out into brief, mad laughter. "This is it, Spark Storm!" she cried, her horn surrounded in the same black mist-like magic as Shadow Heart's body. "You will govern my future no longer!"

Spark Storm had no idea what she meant by this, but if he didn't do something fast, Dinky would be lost to the void, along with whatever else wasn't pinned to the ground. He had to lighten his load, the storm orbs were useless to him. He had to turn them off, or throw them, or something...Spark let out a loud groan of effort as he tried getting closer to the little unicorn slowly dragging towards the dark unicorn. Suddenly, she lifted off the ground and tumbled end over end towards Shadow Heart.

No! Spark Storm gave a great heave of his shoulders and wings, and immediately he felt the orbs leave him. Paying no attention to what had happened to them, Spark worked his wings as he shot forward. Closer and closer, and finally he grabbed Dinky into his forelegs and shot past Shadow Heart and the small bistro, away from danger, for now.

"That's it. Good job, Sparky," a quiet Southern voice whispered to himself from across the street, hidden in another building as he watched the scene through the scope of his pistol. "So magic gets eaten by that thing? Let's see you stop this." And with a magical squeeze, the chamber of his newly outfitted weapon let off a blast that was meant to bring down manticores. The blast, aimed just under Shimmering Oasis' hooves, was pulled towards Shadow Heart, but the projectile was moving too fast to be completely consumed.

Shimmering Oasis found herself propelled through the air. Even her wings were of little use to her at this speed, and at having been caught by surprise. She landed face-first into a brick building opposite the bistro, knocking her clean out and leaving a bloody mess where her head lay.

Spark Storm turned around to stare in shock at what had just happened. The bistro dining area was destroyed, Shimmering Oasis had left his field of vision, and Shadow Heart was stirring. Not the black void, but the actual unicorn, in all his orange and red glory. The dark, matter-swallowing void was gone.

This was all well and good, but what in Tartarus happened? Spark looked down in his forelegs as little Dinky began to awaken. She looked up at Spark Storm, a look of confusion on her face. Her nose and mouth began to scrunch up. Spark knew that look well. "Shh shh, don't cry, sweetie, you're ok," Spark whispered, a hoof brushing her the little filly's mane comfortingly.

Dinky sniffled quietly, but calmed down after a moment. She then smiled and reached up for him with a plaintive "Daddy!"

Spark Storm felt his insides burn at the title. Spark Storm felt his eyes fill with emotional tears, but a sound from the destroyed bistro area brought the pegasus back to focus. He frowned as he reached up and settled Dinky onto his back and hid her within his wings. He didn't think he'd need to attack Shadow Heart any more, but if he did he'd need his wings. Still, he couldn't just leave Dinky alone.

As he approached the unicorn, who stumbled about for a moment before finding his balance, Spark let out a small whistle. Shadow Heart immediately turned to Spark, eyes wide with fear. The unicorn quickly calmed down as he noticed the little periwinkle unicorn poking her head out of Spark's mane. The two teenagers stared at each other intensely before Spark spoke up quietly.

"Before our fight started, you asked me if you could join the Fighters. I said 'yes'. What did you hear?"

Shadow Heart stared at Spark Storm in shock. His eyes started to fill with tears as he lowered his head and grit his teeth, his thin frame shaking lightly. "...She lied to me. I don't know how she did it, but she lied to me. She lied to me this whole time!"

Spark pitied the younger unicorn. How much of this could have been avoided? How could it have? Shimmering Oasis...Spark frowned as something else came to mind. If she was here, what did that say about Fire Lotus? He didn't have time to think that one through as another pony came into his line of sight. Spark stared at Gunslinger as he approached. A well of hope began to spring up in the pegasi's chest.

"Gunslinger? Please tell me you brought the other Fighters!" Gunslinger paused in his approach, a look of embarrassment coming over the blue unicorn's face, as well as a hint of a blush.

"Uh...w-well, no, actually. Ah've been hangin' around town hopin' I could get a word in with Lemon Pop. Ah'm afraid it's just us, Spark."

Spark Storm sighed and brought a hoof to his forehead. "That's fine, Gunslinger. I mean, if it weren't for you, who knows what..." Spark trailed off as he turned to look at Shadow Heart, who had taken to sitting on the pile of rubble, head lowered. He looked miserable, and the fight had completely gone out of him.

Gunslinger looked up and down the street, then straight up into the sky and let out a low whistle. "Dunno what you were gonna do with them orbs, Spark, but Ah think if ya had more time ya might've just won this yerself."

Spark Storm arched a brow as he followed Gunslinger's gaze. His jaw dropped as he stared at the dark clouds that hadn't been there when this fight had started. The orbs, the storm spheres. Had they done this? Had he created those clouds? He remembered throwing the orbs off of him to save Dinky, he didn't recall what happened to them, he hadn't cared at the time.

Gunslinger frowned and looked up and down the street, taking note that more and more ponies began to stir from their magically forced sleep. "Uh, Spark, Ah don't mean to be rushin' ya, but it might be a good idea to skedaddle right about now. All them ponies are gonna wanna know what happened, and this is the kinda thing we Fighters try to keep under wraps. So let's grab yer mind-scrambler alicorn over there and make ourselves scarce before - "

Spark Storm, Gunslinger and even Shadow Heart, hearing mention of the alicorn, turned to see where the princess had fallen, a bare spot was all that was left, aside from a small puddle of blood. "Oh, damn it," Spark growled, his fur bristling and his wings stiffening. This caused little Dinky to get uncomfortable and pop out to sit on Spark's back. "Sorry, Dinky," Spark said consolingly as the little unicorn hugged his neck.

"Daddy," she said again, adding an affectionate nuzzle that made Spark blush once more at the title.

Gunslinger stared accusingly at the pegasus before Spark could return the gaze no longer, a pang of guilt rising in his chest. The unicorn mercifully broke the glare as he stepped closer to Shadow Heart. A consoling hoof resting on the younger unicorn's shoulder, he asked, "Hey there, kid. Guess the darkness won over this time, huh?"

Shadow Heart looked up with tears in his eyes. After hearing Gunslinger's voice and name, he had been filled with shame. When he'd met the Fighter a year ago, he had promise that he would try to keep his darkness in check, to keep from stepping over the line into the abyss. He had failed. He had failed Gunslinger, and he had failed himself.

Gunslinger smiled and gave Shadow Heart a good pat on the back. "Come on, Shadow. We gotta git outta here 'fore we're all discovered and ponies start askin' questions, specially with this mess here," he said, indicating the remains of the bistro dining area they all stood on.

Shadow Heart said nothing, but held that look of shame in his eyes as he stood and followed Gunslinger down the street towards the outskirts of the town. Spark remained, taking one last look before his eyes lit up. Spotting Ditzy in the direction his comrades were running, he ran to her as she sat, looking exponentially more dizzy than usual.

"Ditzy!" he called as he sat down with her. Hearing Spark's voice, she fell against him, her head on his chest.

"Wha...what happened? Why am I so tired? Wh..." she looked up suddenly in panic. "Where's Dinky?!" Spark Storm smiled down at her as Dinky popped up over his mane and reached for her mother happily. "Oh...thank Celestia..." Ditzy reached up and plucked Dinky from her resting place and cradled her lovingly. "Oh, Spark, what happened? Why was I on the ground, why was everypony on the ground, and wh...what happened to the bistro?!"

Spark frowned. Didn't she remember Shimmering Oasis showing up in the middle of the street, or Shadow Heart? "You mean you don't remember? The big golden alicorn showing up with a little unicorn?"

Ditzy shook her head, a concerned frown on her face. "No, I'm pretty sure I'd remember that. What's going on, Spark Storm?"

"I don't have time to explain. Look, I've got to go. One of our friends have been kidnapped, I have to go help."

Ditzy raised a hoof to place it gently on Spark's chest. She understood, but something else was troubling her. Spark seemed to have trouble looking her in the eyes. There was silence between them until Dinky reached up for Spark Storm, once more calling to him, "Daddy!"

Ditzy gasped as she held up Dinky in her forelegs, a happy smile on her face. When she looked beyond her daughter to see the reaction on Spark's eyes, she knew then what was wrong: Spark didn't look happy, he looked ashamed. He could barely look at her until he finally turned and started to walk away.

"Sp...Spark, don't you want to be Dinky's father?"

Spark Storm's eyes threatened to spill over with emotional tears as he stopped. There was so much to think about, so much to do. Russet Hearts needed rescuing. Shimmering Oasis was working with the Changelings, and she was out there somewhere. His friends were out there trying to help, and here he was, on the brink of a decision that would change his entire life. Sapphire Snow. He took in a small, shuddering breath and shook his head. "Ditzy, I-I can't, I can't make that decision now, I'm sorry..." He put on a stony expression that he hoped would reflect on his heart as he took off at a run, determined to catch up to the others.

Crap crap crap crap crap! Spark Storm thought as he took a flying, wing-assisted leap from the street to the roof of the bowling alley. Not only was he entirely lost on where to go, he was late and he was pretty sure he just broke Ditzy's heart, and probably Dinky's as well. He was just getting close to the edge of town when he heard somepony calling for him. "Spark Storm! Oh, Spark Storm!"

Spark skidded to a halt when he recognized that voice. Oh no, not now! Spark Storm swiveled around to see Rarity trotting quickly to catch up to him. "Oh Spark Storm, I'm so glad I caught you! Come down here, it's so uncivilized for me to be standing here, yelling at you up on the roof! It's undignified."

Spark Storm bit his tongue to keep from yelling at his old friend. He was in a rush, he didn't have time to talk. Finally he turned to her, an angry expression on his face. "I can't talk, Rarity, I have to go," he said, turning to leave. Rarity, however, wasn't about to let him off so easy. She was easily just as upset and worried as he was. Without another word, she magically loosened the roof tile he was about to step on.

Taken completely by surprise, Spark put his weight on the tile and found himself tumbling off the roof until he was caught in Rarity's magical grasp, then dumped unceremoniously onto his rear. Spark scowled at the unicorn and was about to yell at her when she instead got in his face. "Spark Storm, it was my job to look after Russet Hearts today. Well, imagine my surprise when I went to get the poor dear some soup and I arrived back to see his home ruined!"

Spark Storm tried to move away from Rarity, to try and keep her from getting to the point she was making, but she followed him, her forehead pressed against his aggressively. "Now I imagine that you often leave town in such a hurry as you were all the time, completely normal, to be sure! But on this day, with my dear friend Russet's home completely ravaged and empty, I demand an answer! Spark Storm, what is going on?!"

There was no getting out of it now. Well, she had promised she'd never go adventuring again, hadn't she? She wouldn't be in the way this time. "Russet Hearts has been kidnapped by the Changelings. To get to me. Now this is none of your business, I suggest you go home and wait for us-"

"Oh, I hardly think so," the alabaster unicorn retorted in a voice that was much too calm to suggest she hadn't been expecting this. She eased away from Spark Storm and turned sideways to indicate the travel saddlebags she wore. The pouch facing Spark opened in Rarity's magical grasp, briefly showing him the arrows she'd packed. "With the damage done to poor Russet's home, I knew something terrible had happened. This is one of my close, personal friends, Spark Storm," she told Spark as she turned to him once again. "I am not coming home until I've returned him to where he belongs."

Spark Storm sighed with annoyance, but on the inside he was relieved that he didn't have to head out alone. Still, there was the matter of finding the others. Suddenly, an idea came to him. "Fine, fine, it's fine," he said as he got back to his hooves. "The first issue is finding the others already on this rescue mission. Rarity, can you grab some of that cloud up there?" he said, indicating the slowly dissipating clouds overhead.

"Oh, well...I suppose I can, I've never brought clouds down below, but..." Rarity scrunched up her nose in concentration, her horn flaring. For a moment, nothing happened. Soon enough, though, she managed to snag a good sized portion of cloud and bring it down to eye level. Spark immediately jumped on top, eager to leave until he remembered Rarity wouldn't be able to sit with him. He shrugged inwardly and grinned down at her.

"Y-you want me to ride with you?" the unicorn asked, testily poking at the cloud and frowning as her hoof passed through it. "Spark, I can't even..." she paused looking up at Spark's grin. Rarity glared at him as she tried to hide the blush creeping up over her face.

"Come on, Rare, you're not scared to actually ride the eye candy, are you?" he said, teasingly reminding her of what she'd said before.

Rarity threw her hair back with indignation before she approached him and held a hoof up, demanding his help. "I never said I liked looking at you, Spark Storm, I was talking about Applejack's brother and the royal prince." Spark Storm rolled his eyes as he helped Rarity to climb up on his back, where she settled down against him and wrapped her forelegs around his neck. "The nerve, Spark, the ego! Hmph." The back on this pegasus! Oh my, she thought, surpressing a giggle.

"Yeah yeah, just hang on." Spark flapped his long wings and propelled the two into flight as he pushed and pulled the cloud underneath him into the sky. Spark Storm thought he saw something flashing and sparkling down from the street where he'd come from, but now was the time to concentrate on finding the others. He turned towards the Everfree forest, and slipped into a dive to pick up speed. They were on their way.

20 - Together Again, Into Darkness

Fluttershy sputtered as her consciousness returned to her. As she opened her eyes, she began to panic. She saw blackness, nothing but blackness, and she felt her legs bound. Panic gave way to terror as her breath escalated to near hyperventilating, and in an attempt to free herself she felt a weight suddenly upon her exposed shoulder. "I'd sit still if I were you," an eerily calm feminine voice told her. Fluttershy gasped and pulled away from the touch, though it did very little to get the safe, personal space she so desired.

Fluttershy curled herself up into as little a ball as possible. She experimented with her wings, and found that those, too, were bound. She had never wanted so much to be home alone than right now. As she lay there, tears of fright streaming down her cheeks, she thought she could make out a shape in the darkness. Now that her eyes had adjusted some to the darkness, she realized that there was a light coming from behind her, a distant, softly glowing green light.

Despite the fear clutching at her heart, Fluttershy was able to let enough curiosity bubble to the surface to study the shape. It looked like a pony, and from the shape of it's head, it was a unicorn. But something was wrong about his horn. It looked thicker than it should've been, and somehow in her panic Fluttershy knew something was wrong with it. It was too big, too long, and after a moment of studying it she came to the conclusion that the horn was covered in something that shouldn't have been there.

It was some kind of hard, crystalized material, a deep, dark green mess of hardened resin. As Fluttershy continued to stare, the pony became more and more visible to her. From the build she could tell it was a stallion, dark in color, and probably black in mane. The shy pegasus closed her eyes, blocking out the slightly disturbing visage, and tried to concentrate. Who did she know that fit that description? Only one really came to mind, but...him?

She opened her eyes once more, and she knew for sure. It was Russet Hearts, bound and captive, just as she was, and some strange hardened thing was covering his horn, and he was out like a light. This revelation brought new tears to Fluttershy's eyes; what was going to happen to them? Why were they here, and who was this that had kidnapped them?

Although the frightened pegasus could feel eyes on her back, she held nothing back as she truly began to cry.

Anorax ran. Ten minutes after entering the Everfree Forest with no sign of stopping in sight, the halfling began to wonder what proof there was that the changelings that lead them were telling the truth. How did they know they weren't running right into a trap? Why had they all agreed to follow those two? He had to say something. He slowed down to wait for Spark Storm, but after slowing for a full three minutes and letting the others get ahead, he quickly realized that Spark wasn't following them, and he'd lost sight of the others.

Not a problem, really, I can still track them, and...oh crap. Anorax's fur and wings tensed and bristled as he turned to face the way he'd come. Somepony was approaching, but it was the last pony...thing he wanted to see. He backed up several steps as she came into view, tall, thin and still shrouded in those drapes. Ampelus stopped just short of the halfling, standing tall over him as she looked down her muzzle at him with her piercing blue eyes.

"...What." the nymph finally said, her voice filled with agitation and aggression. Anorax frowned and backed away from her. Being this close to the nymph was giving him backlashes of her murderous intent, and he wasn't sure if it was for him or...suddenly he didn't feel so bad. In fact, he felt pretty great about this situation. He'd never felt so relaxed about any situation.

Before Anorax could question why he was feeling this way, a figure emerged from behind Ampelus' neck, and down stepped Orea. The flowers along her body were gently twitching, and he could see some kind of yellow powder was emerging from the blossoms, flitting through the air. "Orea, it's good to see you," Anorax said with a relieved smile on his face. For a moment he was sure that Ampelus was putting something in the air to relax him before she did something unpleasant to him.

The elder nymph, however, wasn't pleased. She lowered her head and pulled away from her niece, a distinct hissing noise issuing from somewhere under the drapes covering her. Anorax immediately stepped over Orea as she cowered from her aunt, her own vines rattling threateningly. "Whoa, easy you two! What the hay is going on?"

"She is displaying abilities that should not have developed for at least one hundred years!" Ampelus said, thrusting an accusing hoof down at Orea, who was set in an aggressively defensive position between Anorax' forelegs.

"Ok, so she's special," Anorax retorted, a frown spreading over his face. He knew he didn't like Ampelus the second he saw her.

"She is a freak of nature, and-"

"All right, knock it off!" the halfling yelled, surprising both nymphs. "I've only known you ten minutes and I can already tell you're the most hateful, most disrespectful creature I've ever met! I don't know what Spark sees in you to trust you with Orea, but obviously he was mistaken!"

For a brief moment, it seemed that Anorax had shocked the elder nymph into silence. The next instant, however, proved this to be false, as the nymph angrily grabbed the drapes around her body and easily tore it into ten different sections with her vines. Anorax held his ground, but barely as the nymph stepped closer, towering over him. Orea, however, retreated further behind the halfling.

"You sniveling little ant," she began, her voice alarmingly calm. "You dare talk to me as if you matter? Do you know what you are? You are food, little ant, and you defending the little one isn't helping me to decide not to consume you. You're just a child!"

Every last one of Anorax' primal instincts were telling him to run. The anger and the killing instinct coming off of Ampelus was nearly overwhelming, but he was also proud. Too proud to turn away from her and let her bully him and Orea. "And just what does age have to do with anything? Have you seen the crowd? We're all a bunch of kids going into battle to help a friend. I'm pretty sure me being a few hundred years younger than you doesn't disqualify me from making a valid point!"

Anorax was expecting the nymph to lash out at him, to silence him from standing against her. Instead, she surprised him by continuing the argument. "The point is experience. With time and age comes experience, you simply have bravado. That might be commendable, except I sense no battle instinct within you. You're a child who has lived in the comfort and safety of your little town, and you rushing into a fight as blindly as you are will do you no good, it is stupid!"

Anorax pursed his lips and glared at the nymph, but as he looked into her eyes, he was almost positive that aside from the disdain and disgust evident in her eyes, he could also see..."...You're worried for us. You-you actually care, don't you?"

The silence following this question was deafening. Little Orea silently wrapped her forelegs around one of the halfling's back legs, for security or for pity, it was unclear. The look on Ampelus' face betrayed her anger and disgust, and for a brief moment, Anorax could've sworn the look in her eyes seemed to say 'How could you think I don't?'

The brief moment of vulnerability was quickly replaced by fury. The nymph suddenly moved forward with a loud growl and butted her head against Anorax's, pushing him down against his back before he knew what was happening. The next thing he felt was a hoof putting pressure on his chest. He didn't have time to react before it was over, and Ampelus had walked on ahead, simply pushing him over and stepping on him to move forward.

As the halfling lay there wondering what happened, Orea hopped up onto the hoof of his rear leg and smiled down at him. "That means 'you're right, but don't mention it again or I'll kill you'."

"I kinda gathered that," he responded with half a smile as he slowly got to his hooves. He frowned; hadn't he slowed for a reason? Orea seemed to pick up on his worries, as she turned to look in the direction they'd come as well. She shot Anorax a very worried look.

"When Ampelus and I were still in town, I saw Spark following, but I didn't feel him with us. I think he is still in town, and I feel that something very bad is happening..." she said, her green eyes wide and distant. It was a little creepy coming from a creature that was less than a year old. Anorax frowned, and closed his eyes. He searched with his halfling senses for Spark Storm, and immediately picked him out heading this way, but he wasn't alone. There was somepony familiar with him, and...something completely unfamiliar. His frown deepened.

"Hey, you ok up there?" Spark asked. Rarity lay across his back as he drove the two of them forward on the small portion of cloud she'd brought down for him. While she was keeping him nice and warm, he remembered that her back was exposed, and he could feel her shivering and holding tighter.

"Oh, f-fine, just fine!" Rarity pouted. "Perhaps you could fly a little lower, where the w-wind isn't so bad, please?" She let out a little sigh of relief as she felt the cloud dip as Spark made adjustments. She peered down below as she got a better look of the land. She'd never seen the valley from this height before; it was both exhilarating and breathtaking.

As she stared out over the beautiful fall valley, something occurred to Rarity that she hadn't thought of before. "Oh Spark, dear," she began, spacing her words carefully so as not to make her tone clear, "you do know where we are headed, don't you?"

Spark flinched just slightly at the unicorn's tone. Of course he didn't know, he'd just spent twenty minutes accruing lateness by fighting a magic-eating unicorn and the psychic alicorn that controlled him. "Uh, w-well..."

Rarity scoffed and brought the side of her head down on Spark's, holding it there in frustration for just a moment until she both felt and heard him gasp, then looked up just as he began to tilt to the left. Rarity herself gasped and held on to her ride tighter, lest she fall. "Oh, Spark, you should warn a lady before you make such a sharp turn!" she whimpered, glancing down at the ground, which was still a good ways up.

When Spark gave her nothing, not even an apology, Rarity huffed and lifted her head over his to see a pegasus in the distance, hovering over the trees and waving to them. At first, Rarity began to feel psyched. She could feel her adrenaline rising. Soon she would be coming to Russet Heart's rescue, and this whole dirty adventuring business would be over. But as she got closer, she could see that it was Laser Reflex waiting for them, and the good feelings immediately began arguing with the fact that she still needed to talk to Laser about things.

Spark Storm felt Rarity stiffen on his back. He cast her an amused smile, to which she gave him a look that said she didn't approve of his candidacy. "You never did tell me what was going on between you and Laser, you know."

The unicorn's eyebrows raised delicately as she regarded him cooly before responding, "You never did tell me what was going on between you, Sapphire and Ditzy."

Spark stuttered for a moment and looked ahead of himself, trying to keep some sense of dignity after this rather ruthless burn. "That - that's not-"

"-None of my business? No it certainly is not, Spark Storm, and neither are my affairs your business, thank you very much."

Spark Storm frowned. It wouldn't do to have this cold tension between them to worry about before beginning the rescue. "...You're right. That was very rude of me, Rarity, I'm sorry."

Rarity smiled and delicately touched Spark's shoulder in an amicable gesture. "I think this situation has all of us a bit on edge, dear, think nothing of it. Let us begin this mission with light hearts, best as we can manage, anyway, and we shall succeed!"

Spark smiled at this brief but rousing speech. It felt good to have his traveling companion back on another mission, even one as grim and as dangerous as this. Rarity may have been too prissy to get close to in the beginning of their friendship, but after spending time with her on their trip to White Tails Woods, he had come to see the unicorn as witty, reliable, generous and fearless. She would've made an excellent Fighter.

The two came under a silence as they approached Laser Reflex. He still waved, but his demeanor had physically fallen as he noticed Rarity. Immediately he began lowering back down into the trees; he didn't seem too eager to talk, which was a relief for Rarity. She wasn't ready to talk things over yet, either.

Soon enough, the trio descending under the forest canopy revealed the others. The changeling pair, Emerald Skies, and Sohl waited for them. They all stood before a small hill, with a barely noticeable hole in the side. Spark figured this was the entrance, but before the group could continue, there needed to be a plan.

"What took you so long, Spark? And where's the rest of the group? Oh and hello, miss Rarity, " Emerald said, offering the unicorn a respectful bow of his head before he turned to Spark with a concerned frown on his face. Spark mirrored the look as he noticed that Orea, Ampelus and Anorax were also missing. That, and something was off about Sohl. She stood apart from the others, which wasn't all that strange, but she hadn't looked at him once since he'd arrived. He put this odd feeling aside as he turned to Emerald Skis.

Spark Storm stomped on his cloud, dissipating the platform and landing him back on solid ground. He lowered himself for Rarity to step down, who gracefully stepped down and stood at his side, a look of curiosity on her face. Why had he been separated from the group? Spark glanced around at the group. They all gathered a little closer to hear his explanation. Even Sohl had finally given him her attention.

He took a deep breath, then fixed his gaze on Emerald Skies. "Shimmering Oasis is here." Emerald, as the only pony among the group familiar with this name, gasped quietly as he took this in. "She just showed up out of nowhere with this unicorn kid in the square, put the whole street asleep and made us fight. It was pretty close, until one of the Fighters showed up and saved my butt. Shimmering got away, but that's why I'm late."

"You have met the princess before?" a voice from the back asked. Heads turned to face Kecnik, still in his pegasus form, a frown on his face.

Emerald spoke up this time. "Yes...last year, Spark Storm and I and a few others traveled halfway across the world to Neippon. We met her there," Emerald sighed and lowered his head. "We thought she was a good alicorn, somepony we could trust, but it was far from the truth."

"She put me under a spell and made me sleep while others fought a battle that nearly killed my friends," Spark added, a bitter frown in his eyes as well as on his mouth. Emerald didn't need to hear the rest on how Spark Storm had lost Twilight's friendship to know that the pegasus was thinking of it. Putting a brief companionable hoof on Sparks's shoulder, Emerald then turned his attention back on Kecnik.

"So you know Shimmering Oasis. What else can you tell us about what's inside?"

"She did not come alone," the changeling began. Spark's ears twitched, his gaze narrowing. He was almost sure of what he would hear next. "She came with an earth pony that calls herself Fire Lotus. She has no wings or horn, yet she is devastatingly dangerous."

Spark nodded slowly. From what Lemon Pop had told him, the fight with Fire Lotus had been a quick one. The earth pony had taken a magic blast to the face, broken some ribs being thrown from said magic, and had probably injured herself trying to stop rolling. Lemon Pop had then dispatched her in hoof-to-hoof combat easily enough, but from those injuries, and the way the changeling described her, she wouldn't be going down so easily this time around.

"I must also warn you about our brethren," Kecnik began again. As he spoke, Madalah lowered her gaze, a sad look coming over her pretty face. She had shown no signs of shame until Kecnik began to speak of them. "Aside from the many changelings we will soon face, there are three that you must be made aware of."

Beside Emerald Skies, Laser Reflex shuddered. He knew all too well the three that Kecnik was speaking of. "The first is Dozix. He is a giant, and if you see him you will not miss him. He is very dangerous. The next is Bezzle. She is very small, but she is also very dangerous, and behind the queen she is the second-in-command of this hive. Last is-"

"Whoa, whoa," Spark interrupted. "What do you mean 'this' hive?"

Every last head that wasn't a changeling perked at this question. Of all the ponies in the know about the changelings, all of them assumed that there was one hive, here deep in the Everfree Forest. Kecnik frowned as he shared a glance at Madalah, who turned to the group and asked, "You do not know of the other hives?"

Laser Reflex sighed and brought a hoof to his face and dragged it down slowly. "Ugh...can we sort this other hive business after we get Russet out of there and back to town? I'd be all for inviting you two back with us, you've been more than helpful with getting us this far, but the talk can wait..." he said, raising his gaze to the changelings once more. "Please. It's my fault Russet is in this mess. I want him back."

Spark reached over to nudge Laser, the slightest hint of a derisive smile present on his face. "Heh, you sure you're ready for this? There probably won't be a lot of flying room once we get inside..."

Laser cast Spark a narrow-eyed glare. "I was angry and I wasn't thinking straight. My fighting skills are up to par, thank you very much." Laser paused and absently rubbed at his muzzle, still a little sore from the blow that ended the fight. "Of course I'm kind of hoping the changelings don't hit as hard as you do."

"The changelings will not attack to defeat you," Kecnik said, his voice low with warning. "They will be attacking to kill you. If you do not attack with the same intent, you will lose..." he paused, letting his words sink in for a moment before continuing. "...you will die."

Rarity glanced around at her comrades for a moment before stepping forward, her horn lighting up as she readied an arrow in her magical grasp. "I, for one, am ready. I have fought the changelings before and I am fully aware of what they are capable of. Nothing shall surprise me, I have killed before and I shall kill again for the sake of my friend."

"Uh..." Spark muttered before coming to stand beside her. "That brings up an excellent point, actually." Rarity furrowed her brows at the pegasus, a questioning look on her face. Spark turned to Kecnik and Madalah once more, then gestured for Rarity to lower her weapon. When, and only after she had, he turned to the two before him. "Speaking of surprises, I think you two should show Rarity what you really look like. We really don't want any mishaps once we've begun."

Rarity looked from Spark, then to the two in front of her, her eyes widening with disbelief as Kecnik nodded in agreement, then closed his eyes. Madalah did the same, and they both erupted into teal and electric blue fire, revealing their changelings forms. Rarity gasped quietly, but she stood fast. Spark smiled as he watched her. He had admired her courage since the battle in White Tail Woods.

Finally, Rarity nodded her head solemnly and smiled at the two changelings. "I believe I understand now. I thank you for helping us."

As Kecnik and Madalah returned Rarity's smile, Sohl perked up from the back and turned around to face the woods as Orea bounded into the clearing and came to a stop before the harpy, a look of uncertainty painted on her face. Sohl frowned and knelt down before her. When Orea leaned up and put her hooves on Sohl's chest and opened her mouth to speak, Sohl put a clawed hand over Orea's lips. "Hush. Don't you say a word."

The harpy and the nymph stared at each other for the longest time. Orea's eyes filled with tears as Sohl's encounter with Amacia ran through her mind as easily and as constantly as it did in Sohl's. "Sh-sh-sh, don't, sweetheart, not here," Sohl whispered, gingerly taking the nymph into her arms. She frowned as Ampelus ambled into the clearing, the slightest hint of annoyance on the older nymph's face as she stepped past the harpy and shouldered her way past the others to stand at Spark's side.

The tall nymph glanced around at the group agitatedly, then down at Spark Storm, purposely ignoring the changelings in front of her and said, "Well? Are we going into the dark caves to commit murder on the abominations now?" Kecnik and Madalah both hissed quietly, their wings buzzing with clear anger.

Spark made a face at Ampelus' crass speech, but he wasn't about to start a fight outside of the changeling caves. He rolled his eyes and glanced back to see Sohl holding an upset Orea. He frowned and trotted over. "Orea, what's-" he said, but a fierce growl from Sohl froze him in his tracks. The harpy had turned to him, displaying her sharp teeth in a threatening display.

Spark was shocked for a moment, but as he came to his senses he grew angry. He wanted to know why Orea was so upset, and the harpy wasn't letting him get close. His wings raised in his own threatening gesture and he took a step forward. Sohl's left foot tensed, preparing to strike when Orea jumped down from her arms and stood between them.

"No! No fighting, stop it!" she cried, and immediately lowered her head and pressed it against Spark's chest. "Please, no, no fighting. I'm-I'm fine, dad. We need to go, we have to inside now and help our friend."

Spark Storm frowned down at Orea. She trembled as she stood there, it was very evident that she was mustering a great effort not to cry in front of him. When he cast a questioning look to Sohl, she scowled at him and stood without a word and walked away from the two.

Spark looked down at Orea once more, begging with his eyes to tell him what was going on. The nymph merely shook her head and lowered it to press her head to his chest, hiding the new tears that fell. While the group waited patiently, Anorax finally made his way into the clearing, a frown instantly plastered over his face as he noted Spark Storm and Orea together. While Spark was completely befuddled, Anorax needed no explanation. He'd been getting sorrowful vibes from Orea for the last five minutes.

Orea looked up at Spark once more, this time her eyes dried. She put on a brave face, forgetting for now what she knew of Sohl's coming fate. She nodded to Spark, affirming she was prepared for the coming battle. Spark gave a nearly imperceptible sigh as he looked down at his surrogate daughter. Daughter...could he really be father to a second child? Could he really live this life while being attached to Ditzy? Wouldn't that just be running away from his destiny, like Applejack had told him several years ago?

There were so many questions that needed answering, and new ones just kept popping up. Spark leaned down and kissed Orea's forehead before he stood once again and turned, facing the other seven. They all stood there, watching him, waiting for him. This brought a frown to his face, as all it did was remind him of that day just over a week ago. His teammates, waiting for him to take command. It was different now, though. This role felt right.

He drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly, then began making his way forward to the cave. He spoke no words, and he was given no objections as he walked up to Kecnik and Madalah and gave them a firm nod. The changelings, in turn, wordlessly turned and lead the way into the cave. Spark Storm and his friends and comrades followed suit, every last one of them making their way into uncertain darkness.

21 - Encounters In The Caves Part One

She fled into the darkness. She did not heed the sharp curves and turns of the cave, nor did she seem to be aware of the painful bumps she accrued as she ran. The damage to her pride was all the pain she felt. She had been dealt a most damaging blow, and while she had suffered some physical pain, the real, stinging insult had been to her ego.

Shimmering Oasis was also carrying a new scar, one that trailed under her right eye halfway down to her mouth, still bleeding and cached with dried blood. When the blast that had come from out of nowhere and blew the alicorn off her hooves, she was propelled through the air and landed face-first on a building, knocking her out for a brief moment. When she'd regained her consciousness, Shadow Heart had regained control of his powers, and the block that had been removed from his power had been replaced.

The princess had then fled the scene. She flew faster than she'd ever remembered moving, all the while going over the last few seconds before she'd lost consciousness over and over in her head. She was close. She'd been so damn close. With her goal ripped from her hooves so suddenly and so violently when she'd been so near to liberating herself from that prophesy made hundreds of years ago, to be denied the opportunity to once again change her future, Shimmering Oasis was understandably a little upset.

As the alicorn broke free of the tunnels and ran into a large, dark chamber, she barely felt the dozens of changelings she trampled as she kept running. Her eyes saw not the darkness, nor the dozens of fearful changelings trying to get out of her way. Suddenly she came to a stop in the center of the chamber, skidding loudly on loose stones. She sat down, her breath struggling to keep up as she stared at the ground. Her thoughts ran wild, and her breath began to come in ragged, panicked breaths until she found the memories she was looking for. She'd been so close...

As the panicked princess sat in the dark, panting and attempting to regain what control she felt she had left, her thoughts began to stray backwards, back hundreds of years to the first time she heard the term 'Storm-Bringer'. It was a prophesy that had begun at least a thousand years before her birth, just over nine hundred years ago.

Shimmering Oasis, at the tender age of twenty five, followed her father through the bright, sun-kissed halls of her humble home. It was a hallway that opened out into the warm summer air. It was a humble place, and unlike the palaces found far to the west, was constructed using hard clay and brick as opposed to marble and gold. Her father, known to her and their people as the Golden Lord, often told her that the royal family was to serve the common ponies, not lord over them with riches. Thus, the palace was built from the rich soil.

The Golden Lord had shown his daughter the old wooden carvings of prophesies that she had made in the first ten years of her life, prophesies that she never remembered making. She would have them in her sleep or while she was awake, it didn't matter. Every time she'd had a prophesy, she would immediately go to her own private tree garden and begin carving out whatever she saw. Every last one of her carvings had come true, even the ones that took years to happen.

Shimmering Oasis's prophesies seemed to have a limit on how far into the future she could reach. Never further than five years at a time, and the last time she'd made a prophesy that took so long to happen was when she was but a child. Her latest prophesy had been very upsetting to her father, but he hadn't told her why, yet, only that it was a type of prophesy that he'd never seen from her before.

As the two made their way down the hall, something came into Shimmering Oasis' view that eluded her understanding. Along the wall, next to her last prophesy, stood what appeared to be a monolith, at least compared to her other prophetic artworks. Most of the prophesies she created could be framed and hung on the wall like a portrait; this could've decorated a wall.

Shimmering Oasis' eyes opened wide with what she felt could've been awe or terror. Never before had she seen such artistry, and supposedly she had done this last night. The entire marble slab, which she'd carved with what appeared to be soot and ash, depicted a rising storm, born from the back of a single pegasus. Not an alicorn, whose powers would certainly be capable of summoning such a tempest. No, a pegasus. It might not have been so out of the ordinary if it weren't for the fact that this pegasus was not flying, but standing upon the ground while summoning this storm.

The young princess frowned. She never remembered creating her prophesies, but they usually made more sense than this. Often they could be deciphered in moments, sometimes hours, and occasionally days, but this...this was far, far beyond her. She'd never seen anything like this before. She turned to her father, her eyes filled with confusion. "I do not understand, Father. What does this mean?"

The Golden Lord stared at the large marble slab a moment longer, then turned to his young daughter. "This is different, much much different from the ones before, daughter. Your prophesies usually have much less significance."

At the annoyed look on Shimmering's face, a hint of amusement washed over the older alicorn's face. "All your prophesies are significant, my dear," he assured her. A moment later, his face became grave as he once again laid eyes on the marble. "But this...this is something I had not showed you yet and would not have for at least a hundred more years. This, my daughter, is the Storm-Bringer."

Having spent her first twenty five years in ignorance of this term, Shimmering Oasis made a face at her father. "The what? It's just a pegasus and a storm. It sounds significant, but the symbolism doesn't seem so. So why is this important?"

The Golden Lord frowned thoughtfully as he put his words to be said together. Finally he raised his head and told her, "Daughter, the Storm Bringer is a prophesy that is older even than your parents. It is said that one day the world will be at war with itself, ravaged by hate, greed and chaos. The Storm Bringer will then summon a storm that will be seen the world over, bringing a cleansing of the evil that has gripped the entire planet, and bring peace."

The princess shuddered, a feeling of utter terror creeping into her bones. If this prophesy was accurate (and they always were) then war was coming, a terrible war that would wash over the entire planet, and soon. Her visions always came true, and in a matter of a few short years. Still, something else was bothering her. Of all the times she'd made a prophesy, they had been her own. Never before now had she made a prophesy of a pre-existing one. So why now?

She turned to her father, who seemed to be asking himself the same question. She received her answer when he finally spoke: "I cannot be sure, my daughter, but I believe that you will be directly affected by this coming storm."

Shimmering Oasis was shaken back to the present, quite literally as she felt a hard hoof pressed on her back, shaking her, as well as a rough voice yelling at her. "Pay attention! What in Tartarus is wrong with you?!"

The princess turned slowly, her wings still shaking with adrenaline to face the smaller Nuzo, glaring at the alicorn furiously. "What is your problem?!" he demanded, sweeping back the way she'd come in a granduous gesture. "Your arrival just now was completely inappropriate! I don't care how well known you are back in the east, but-"

Nuzo's lecture was brought to an abrupt halt. The look of terror on his face was very clear as light from the alicorn's eyes shone upon him. He did not speak, or rather, he could not as Shimmering Oasis' gaze bore deep into his mind. He would have screamed from the pain as pressure mounted tighter and tighter somewhere in his skull, and somehow everywhere else as well. The changeling began to tremble, and a trickle of greenish blood began to ooze from his nose. An instant later and he might have met his death, but the alicorn released him as Chrysalis approached.

"What happened?" the Queen demanded, nearly stepping on her commanding officer as she stood over the two. Nuzo had fallen onto his back, panting and coughing and twisting in pain now that he was free from the angered alicorn. "And not that I care significantly, but where is the colt you so charitably invited into my home?"

As Nuzo got to his hooves to silently crawl back into the darkness, Shimmering Oasis turned to look up and face Chrysalis, perhaps the first time she'd made eye contact with the changeling queen since their first encounter three days ago. "I was...so close," she murmured. Upon closer examination, the Queen realized that the alicorn was in fact not looking at her, but beyond her, not really seeing the changeling. Chrysalis made a face and waved a hoof in front of the princess' face.

Shimmering Oasis blinked, then turned around and began walking off once more into the darkness of the caverns. Chrysalis had had enough. From being ignored to being told she was no more than a servant, the changeling's wings raised and her horn lit up as she prepared to attack the alicorn. "Enough! I will be ignored no longer! Your blatant disrespect has continued long enough!"

The alicorn froze in her tracks, and the room became silent. Even Chrysalis, in her anger, noticed the change. She had to shield her eyes as a light came from around the room. It came from everywhere, from every direction. Chrysalis's eyes widened in horror as she realized that the light came from her minions. Every last one of them in the large chamber, their eyes a whitish gold. And then they spoke.

"He is here. He will fall. He and all his friends will die, and so will you if you get in my way. I will not warn you again."

Chrysalis stared, open-mouthed, as the echo of the voices of her minions slowly died down. The Queen abruptly sat down, speechless, as Shimmering Oasis and the Queen's entire brood slowly exited the chamber. It took a few moments for every last one of them to exit, leaving the Queen alone in the large chamber. Finally, she remembered that she needed to breathe and took in a few hungry breathes. It was in this moment that she finally realized why her lord Discord had chosen the alicorn to be in charge and not her, and the fear that she should have shown for the alicorn from the beginning finally set in.

Spark Storm lead the way into the darkness, his wings quietly alight with electrical currents that provided just enough light to see a few meters ahead of him. Spark was first, followed by Kecnik and Madalah. Laser Reflex and Emerald Skies came next, followed by Rarity, who provided light for the middle. Behind her followed Orea, Ampelus and Anorax, with Sohl bringing up the rear, who had to duck to follow the shorter ponies.

The going was slow and unnervingly quiet. The only noise to be heard were hoofsteps, the crackling from Spark's wings, and the occassional misstep on loose stones on the cavern floor. After a moment, a collective gasp issued from behind Spark Storm. He turned to face a grave-faced Kecnik and a horrified Madalah. They seemed to stare off beyond Spark, unnerving the pegasus enough to look behind him to make sure they hadn't seen something he'd missed.

When he saw nothing behind him, he turned back to the two changelings and cautiously poked at Kecnik. When he received no response, he reached forward and put a hoof on the tall changeling's shoulder, finally breaking him from his trance. "Uh...you ok there? What's going on?" Spark asked.

"...Something terrible has happened," Kecnik murmured, turning to look down at Madalah, who simply nodded and stared at the ground. "Before, even after we broke free from the hive, we were still connected to them. We could receive messages from them via telepathy, even feel their proximity. Just seconds ago I could feel them, all of them, and then suddenly they...they just disappeared. All of them at the same time, from not far from here."

Spark's group exchanged glances that mixed between weirded out and worried until Ampelus spoke up with a roll of her eyes. "Don't be absurd. I can sense every last one of them still inside." The entire group turned to the nymph, who returned their gaze with a shrug. "Honestly, is telepathy your only means of keeping track of each other? Small wonder they lost you two," she said, inclining her muzzle to Kecnik and Madalah.

"Hey, back off," Anorax nearly snarled as he pushed his way through the group to stand nearly muzzle-to-muzzle with the nymph, who found herself looking down at not one, but two of the group as Madalah joined Anorax' side in glaring at her.

"Enough!" Rarity hissed quietly, but loud enough to get the trio's attention. "Please. We are here to retrieve Russet Hearts. Once we begin fighting amongst ourselves, we open ourselves to weakness, and then we shall be in trouble. If you must instigate infighting, save it for after we're all safely outside, please!"

As Ampelus, Anorax and Madalah slowly backed away from each other, Spark Storm sighed and nodded to Kecnik. "We need to keep moving. Lead the way, please, before we're all stuck down here arguing."

The tall changeling made a muffled sound that might've been amusement before he continued down the dark tunnel. When Anorax turned to follow, he paused as he made eye contact with Madalah. Her eyes brightened and a small, hopeful smile broke over her face. Anorax looked like he had something to say, but after a moment he turned wordlessly and followed the others, leaving Madalah to mope and follow him.

As Sohl, the last in line, disappeared around the corner, Orea poked her head out from behind a large rock lining the wall and frowned. The whole group was so on edge, with so many things on their minds, that none of the changelings nor Ampelus noticed the two new energies that had entered the cave some ways back, and she knew who it was. This will not end well...she thought as she turned and headed back towards the entrance to the cave.

Chrome Spectrum trotted along the cave floor, every now and then tripping as he stepped on loose stones. Lyra followed him, her horn lit up to light the way. She moved slower, finding the younger pony's energy to be vexing. "Chrome, slow down, colt! I don't want you to get lost in the darkness!"

Chrome scoffed as he took flight, turning a quick, tight circle between the tunnel walls. "Oh, please, stop worrying about me, I can take care of myself!" With that, he came down to the ground and immediately lost hoofing and fell to the cave floor and slid further into the darkness, beyond Lyra's light.

"Chrome! W-wait!" Lyra cried as she ran after him, herself tripping and falling to her rump as she slid down the tunnel. Finally she came to a stop when she connected with Chrome and fell over his back. "Oww..." the unicorn whined, reaching back to rub her sore behind. "Are you all right, Chrome?"

"M'fine," he muttered under the older unicorn's head. "No need to worry about me, I'm juuuust fine..." The pegasi's wings flapped once, indicating his desire to get out from under the bigger pony.

"Oh who cares about you?" Lyra said, resting against the pegasus and propping her head up on a hoof. "I just didn't want to be left in the dark."

"What?!"

Lyra laughed and hugged the younger pegasus, eliciting a blush that could barely be seen from the light emitted from Lyra's horn. "I'm just kidding. Come on." After removing herself from Chrome's back, she helped him to his hooves and stared further into the darkness, an excited grin on her face. "This is so cool. A rescue mission, deep underground, and two of the toughest ponies in Ponyville to rescue everypony's butts!"

Chrome's wings twitched with equal excitement as he opened and closed them hard enough to blow Lyra's mane to the side. "Yeah! They'll never see us coming...Deep in the dark, we wait..." he said, creeping forward in a crouched position. "They never did see them coming," he said, beginning a dramatic narration. "They were the dark. They were the night. They were...ninja ponies!"

Lyra chuckled as she followed Chrome a few meters into the tunnel. They hadn't gone far when a small, dark form with gleaming eyes jumped into their path from the darkness. Both pegasus and unicorn leapt into each other's arms and shrieked. Orea stepped closer into Lyra's light, a concerned frown on her face. "You two shouldn't have followed us. Something is terribly wrong, you have to go back!"

"Oh geez, it's just Orea," Lyra said with relief. She released Chrome and stepped closer to the nymph. "Don't scare us like that, kiddo. Now what's wrong? I mean, besides the fact that we're all on a rescue mission?" She reached up and patted Orea's head condescendingly, though it probably wasn't meant to be taken that way.

Orea flinched, not from the patting of her head, but in reaction to something unseen and unfelt by the other two. She looked up at the ceiling in wild fright, then lurched forward against Lyra and started pushing her back towards the exit. "You have to go! Get out, go, run!" she yelled. Lyra and Chrome both stared at her incredulously, but a new sound erupted from above them, a terrible grinding, shuffling sound. Immediately, the three began making their way back up the tunnel, running full speed.

Whatever had been happening though was too late to escape. The entrance caved in, resulting in large, dangerous boulder sized rocks to come tumbling down the tunnel. Lyra and Chrome both screamed in terror as they tried to turn and escape the incoming landslide. Both pegasus and unicorn felt something thin wrap around their waists, and they were pulled backwards away from the falling debris. The air was filled with terrible sound as the rocks fell and settled, then silence in the darkness.

After a few moments after the dust settled (not that one could tell in complete blackness) a single point of light shone in the darkness. Lyra and Chrome, huddled together on the cave floor and covered in dust, rose to their hooves, somehow both unscathed. Lyra approached the tunnel that used to lead up back to the surface, now covered in rocks and boulders, the once live-giving air completely blocked off, and Orea was nowhere to be seen.

Chrome stepped up to stand beside Lyra, a look of terror and dismay on his face matching how the unicorn felt. Tears began to slide down Lyra's face, leaving trails of wetness as her tears washed lines down her face. "Oh, Orea, I...what have I done?" Chrome's eyes began to water as well as he rested his head against Lyra's. He hadn't gotten to know the nymph at all in the last few days, but he knew that she meant a lot to his brother.

The two sat there quietly weeping for their comrade when a noise caught their attention. Lyra gasped and turned around, thinking the sound had originated behind them. Seeing nothing, the unicorn looked all around, even at the ceiling. Feeling a hoof poking her side, she looked down at Chrome to see the pegasus staring, slack-jawed, at the rubble before them. Several rocks and boulders fell over, then a large rock fell down towards the two.

Neither had time to react when a long, thick vine, decorated with beautiful orange flowers, gripped the boulder and set it safely aside. Lyra and Chrome continued to stare in disbelief as Orea extracted herself from the rubble with virtually no damage to her whatsoever, save for the crushed tip of her left ear.

"O...Orea?" Lyra managed through her shock, and stepped forward to rest a hoof on the nymph's shoulder. "A-are you all right, sweetie?" The unicorn gasped and pulled her hoof away when she received an electric shock from Orea's shoulder. Orea's eyes widened in fear and quickly stepped away from Lyra down the tunnel and past Chrome. Lyra was sure she saw something on Orea's flanks as she hurried down the tunnel.

Lyra and Chrome shared a look. Hadn't the nymph just been through a near-death experience? Why was she rushing off without them? Something was amiss - well, this whole situation was amiss. Lyra frowned and nudged Chrome to follow Orea into the darkness. "Uh...what just happened?" Chrome asked. He looked as confused as Lyra felt.

Lyra didn't have an answer for her partner in crime, but she did have a suspicion. She hurried on ahead, taking the light with her, an encouragement for the pegasus to keep up with her. Soon enough they caught up with the spooked nymph. She'd been too invested in sensing life forms around her to notice Lyra catching up, thus she didn't have time to hide the new decoration on her flanks.

When Orea noticed the light from Lyra's horn, she turned to face the unicorn too late for her not to notice what appeared to be a cutie mark: It appeared to be one of Spark Storm's feathers, in fact it was nearly identical to Spark Storm's cutie mark, but there was a lack of electricity, and in it's place appeared a line vine that entwined around the feather. Several of Orea's orange blossoms decorated the vines, making a complete cutie mark.

Orea stared up at the two with utter fear and dismay in her eyes. Tears began to fall from her face, leaving a slowly growing pile of fresh moss at her hooves. The look of fear and pain in the nymph's eyes actually brought a tight pain in Lyra's chest. Was the nymph worried about her appearance? Were nymphs not supposed to have cutie marks? She didn't know what to do or say, so she reached forward and pulled Orea into a hug, which she readily accepted.

The nymph buried her face into Lyra's chest, her shoulders heaving as she wept silently. Chrome looked up at Lyra, a look of sad confusion on his face. Feeling helpless to help, he wrapped his arms around Orea as well. Finally, Orea lifted her head to look into Lyra's eyes, and plaintively begged, "Please don't hate me..."

Lyra frowned. This was familiar. Something that she'd heard Spark and Sohl speaking about once, some time ago. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but the last few days had seen Lyra spending much of her time at the library. It wasn't her fault that Spark and his friends liked to talk there. "Sweetheart, you're not..." she paused, wondering for a brief moment if this was really the right thing to say, but she couldn't think of anything else that might help. "You're not a monster."

This seemed to be what Orea wanted to hear. She stopped sniffling, but she clung closer to Lyra. The three remained huddled there together, in the dark, and in the quiet.

Spark Storm and his team, minus one nymph, had just begun to notice they were short one member when Sohl, taking a break from her brooding, finally noticed the nymph's feelings. "Everybody just stop, right now!" she demanded loudly. The entire group turned to face the harpy, who was craning her neck, as if trying to hear something off in the distance.

A look of realization came over the harpy's face, and without a word to the others, took off into the air and shot through the air the direction they'd come. "Whoa, Sohl, what - " Spark started, then trailed off with a groan as the harpy was gone in an instant. In the next instant, the ground trembled, and the tunnel collapsed in the direction they'd come, cutting off any chance of Sohl returning from that direction.

The group began to panic until Laser Reflex put a hoof in his mouth and let out an ear-piercing whistle. At the collective but silent glares, the pegasus let out a sigh of relief. "All right, guys...I know this doesn't look good, but it's not going to do us any good to panic. Let's all just gather our wits, and...uh..." Laser trailed off as dozens of pairs of lights lit up the chamber they'd just stepped into. They were completely surrounded by dozens and dozens of changelings.

Kecnik, Madalah and Anorax stared in horror. All three of them knew that something was off, something was very, very unnatural about these changelings. For one, none of them had been able to sense their approach. It was as if their very minds were shut off while their bodies continued to operate. The normal telepathy that ran between the changeling race was completely cut off.

Spark Storm, however, had a completely different view. At the very back from the center, her eyes ablaze with the same color in the changelings' eyes, was Shimmering Oasis, a mad grin on her face. Spark's wings came to life, the bright blue electricity in his feathers raging. It was time for some payback.

22 - Encounters In The Caves Part Two

Spark Storm frowned as he felt his team draw into itself, drawing closer into itself for protection. Of course his teammates were drawing into a defensive position; most of them had never been in a fight where their lives were on the line. Spark took a quick glance at his comrades. Emerald Skies, who had been with him to Neippon, had only seen a brief moment of action. With his great flying skills, he had escaped an attack that would have severed his left wing, but he wasn't a fighter.

Laser Reflex had given Spark the run-around just a day or two before in the sky, drawing out a battle in a near stalemate, but from what Spark had seen, he wasn't up to a messy battle like this. Anorax was a wild card in this situation. While Spark was sure that the halfling had some battle instinct, he had lived most of his life in Ponyville as a pony. He had no idea if these three were up to this challenge. He wasn't sure if he was up to this.

Spark began to feel that he'd made a terrible mistake. What was he thinking, bringing along civilians into this fight? It was suicide coming in here so unprepared! A light touch on his back sought his attention. When he turned, he came nearly nose to nose with Rarity, whose bright blue eyes stared into his before she brought her forehead down against his. The warm contact had a calming effect, and Spark felt his breath come back down to normal levels.

When she saw the intended effect take hold, Rarity smiled and brought some space between them. "Spark Storm, have faith in your team. Have faith in me. I would follow you to Tartarus and back, if the situation so called for such madness."

Spark Storm stared in awe at his childhood friend. How was she so calm, so sure? He looked to his other teammates, and saw that they all had the same assuring smiles as Rarity, save for Ampelus. Her gaze was different, though no less reassuring. It was almost expectant, as if waiting for him to do the things she knew he was capable of. Even the elder nymph's gaze gave him strength. It almost made him forget that he and his team were surrounded by a goddess-controlled hoard of angry changelings. Almost.

He turned to face the dense light given off by the dozens of eyes agleam with telepathic light, then raised his gaze, beyond the puppets, to the puppeteer in back. While Spark gave her his most intimidating glare, the mad princess merely smiled pleasantly, a disturbingly calm gaze which was mirrored in the faces of all her controlled changelings. It was a look that seemed to say Go ahead and say your goodbyes, I've got time.

Spark Storm's wings immediately rose in the air. He fanned them out on either side of his body, the long feathers nearly as wide as his entire team standing in a circle. When he snapped them back to his sides, he turned to his teammates and said, "Emerald, Laser, I want you two in the air. Make as much chaos as you can and keep the changelings busy. Kecnik, Madalah, you two know the layout of this place. I want you two to find Russet Hearts, and cause as much damage as you can on your way. Anorax, go with them."

Spark gave the halfling a chance to object. When he received none but a compliant glare from Anorax, Spark continued as he cast Ampelus an amused smirk. "Ampelus," he began, his smirk widening just a little as the tall nymph stiffened. "I want you to cause as much damage in as many directions as you can. Leave no stone unturned, leave no changeling undamaged. Uh, you know, besides our comrades," he said, tilting his head at Kecnik and Madalah. The nymph just rolled her eyes and gave him a shrug of her shoulders.

"No promises on the last bit. I'll show no mercy to any unfortunate enough to get in my way."

Spark figured that was the best offer he was going to get from the nymph, then smiled down at Rarity. "Rarity, you're with me. You and I are going for Shimmering Oasis. If we can make her back off, she'll probably lose hold of her control like she did in her fight with Shadow Heart and me. Uh - long story. Just throw everything you've got at her." Rarity smiled at this as she notched an arrow into her magic bow and turned to the hoards of changelings.

Spark turned once more to face the changelings. As the princess had been so kind as to let him organize his group, he was ready. He raised his wings once more, intending to bring them down as the signal to attack. Before he could, however, Shimmering Oasis let out a shrill laugh and launched herself into the air, as did every last changeling under her command. In a flurry of black shapes and lights gleaming everywhere, the sound of buzzing wings filled the air for a brief moment, and then silence. The alicorn and the soldiers under her control had fled the room.

Spark Storm and his entire team stood alone in the room, shocked and confused looks on all their faces. Spark frowned and shook himself in an attempt to pull his wits together. Shimmering Oasis was a tricky one, and now that she didn't have to pretend in front of others about her true intentions, she was pulling out all the mind games. He should've known there would be no easy, direct confrontation with the alicorn.

Emerald Skies was the first to speak up. "Uh, Spark, what now?"

"Keep your guard up, do not let this confuse you. Shimmering Oasis is playing games with us, trying to confuse us and lower our guard. Ampelus?" Spark turned to the nymph, the others following. She was now the only one in the group that could sense the other changelings. Suddenly sensing that the next move was up to her, Ampelus frowned and tried not to feel the others' gaze on her.

"They're still here," she said, her eyes raising to the ceiling far above, then along the walls and down at the floor. "They're not all here, they're vastly spread out among the caves. Some are ready to ambush us, others...digging."

"Digging? What in the world-" Rarity began, but was cut off as the floor beneath her hooves gave way. Her frightened scream echoed as she fell into the darkness, turning into a series of grunts and yelps as her fall curved, the unicorn meeting a slope as she rolled and bumped further into the darkness.

Spark didn't think out his next action. The whole plan had been shot to Tartarus, and he knew it the instant Shimmering Oasis left. There was nothing to do now but wing it as he went, there was no time to think. He dove headfirst after Rarity. The others could only look on in shocked horror as Ampelus, not wanting to be left without Spark Storm in her presence, made to follow. Her speed was not nearly enough to escape her back leg being crushed and then severed as the hole was quickly shut, leaving behind a small pool of thick green blood, a useless stump and the sound of the nymph's scream echoing through the chamber.

Emerald Skies, Laser Reflex, the changelings and Anorax stared at each other in horror. Things had just gone from bad to worse, and showed no signs of getting better. The silence between the six spoke volumes; they weren't ready for something so terrible, so daunting. They especially weren't ready as more holes opened in the ground, some directly under them, some beside them. All had wings, though, and all took flight.

It wasn't for long, though as changeling soldiers came up from the holes and grabbed at their prey. Kecnik was caught, but it was a short catch as he fought his kidnapper and broke free. Madalah wasn't so lucky as two changelings grabbed her and bore her down into the darkness. Like Spark Storm, Anorax left little to thought or chance as he sprung forward and down into the darkness, just making it without getting any body parts caught as the hole was cut off.

With just the three left in the air, the three males looked around in panic. "Oh Celestia, oh Celestia, this is not...this is not what was supposed to happen!" Emerald Skies said, his breathing coming in and out in panicked spurts. Emerald was too busy panicking to pay attention. He was too busy panicking to notice the changeling buzzing towards him from the side. He did, however, notice as Laser Reflex was suddenly passing in front of him.

There was a loud, unsettling crack as the changeling fell to the ground. Even Kecnik flinched as the body fell in an unnatural pose upon the ground. He and Emerald Skies stared in wide-eyed wonder as the blue pegasus turned to face his comrades, a look of determined fury in his eyes. "No. We do not fall apart here. Russet Hearts and now the rest of our friends and comrades are in trouble. We've got work to do."

Sohl had stopped flying and had taken to running, her clawed toes curled inwards as she ran on the hard knuckles of her feet. She'd been aware of the path behind her closing. She'd been aware of the panicked voices she'd left behind. It didn't matter, they were all big ponies. They could take care of themselves. What worried her were the feelings of terror and then shame coming from Orea back in the cave. Why oh why hadn't she been paying attention and noticed that the little nymph had trailed behind?

Because she was too immersed in her own despair and self pity, that was why. She had to remind herself that while her encounter with Amacia had opened her eyes to the fact that she couldn't stay with her friends forever, she still wasn't done with her business here. Spark Storm needed her to be at the top of her game to help their friends, and...

Sohl came to a complete stop as the very pegasus she'd been thinking of stepped from the shadows ahead of her. He stood, watching her, a scowl on his face. The wall that Sohl had put up before outside of the cave went up again. She couldn't give to him the same closeness and affection that she'd given him since they'd gotten close. This was a time for closing her heart and preparing to say goodbye.

"Spark, come on. Orea's in trouble," she said off-handed as she passed him. Something was bugging her about him. He seemed strangely quiet, usually he had something to say. It was unsettling. She turned back to him as she walked, a suspicious glare in her eyes. "Did you hear me? Orea needs our help, now move!"

"So when were you going to tell me?" he finally said, stopping Sohl in her tracks. She slowly turned to face the pegasus, her eyes hard. She crossed her arms as she stepped towards him, hoping the aggressive stance she was taking would hide the fact that she had begun to tremble.

"Tell you what?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about. What, did you think you were just going to walk right out of my life without telling me? Did I really mean that little to you?!"

Spark's tone, not so much his words, struck Sohl hard in her heart. The harpy tensed as a disgusted look in Spark's eyes drove Sohl to her knees before him."Sp...Spark, I...I didn't, I just didn't..." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She reached out a clawed hand to the pegasus. She gasped as he immediately swatted her hand away with a hoof.

"Don't be so pathetic, Sohl. Don't your kind look down on weakness?"

Sohl's eyes widened with shock. The pegasus that she had come to hold in such high regards, the pegasus that she had come to love, had never spoken to her in such cruel tones. Though she had been preparing to close her heart off to him in order to return to her home, she only felt more emotion as her chest tightened painfully, her eyes threatening to fill with tears.

"You're a pretender, Sohl. You talk tough, you walk the tough walk, but you're just a big softy pretending to be hard. And you were just pretending to care for me, weren't you? Pretending to care for Orea when you were just going to ditch us when things got tougher than you!"

"That's not true, Spark, and you know it!"

"Then prove it," Spark said, stepping closer, then disgusted look in his eyes more evident as he moved in. "Oh, come on, Sohl, what are you willing to do to prove that you love me?" Sohl leaned away from him, a confused look in her eyes. She knew that in the beginning of their friendship, she had flirted with him. Innocently enough, she'd pointed out many times that he was nowhere near old enough for her tastes. In the back of her mind, many alarms began going off in her head, and it felt like she wasn't the only one in there.

Spark Storm was almost upon her when she lashed out, her closed fist connecting with Spark's jaw hard enough to knock him several feet from her. When he landed on his hooves, he raised his wings and the tunnel lit up with angry light. However, the light wasn't coming from his wings. It was coming from his forehead. That was all the evidence she needed. Sohl stood to her full height, spread her own wings to brace herself, and let out a deafening scream.

The whole tunnel shook with the echo of the harpy's death scream. 'Spark' braced himself, trying to stand against the horrible palpable force of the scream, but he quickly found himself buckling, his fur falling from his body as the close proximity to the harpy began to take it's toll. Finally, unable to take anymore, the pegasus flew backwards and fell into a bloody heap on the tunnel floor, no longer an image of a destroyed pony, but revealed as the treacherous changeling it had been from the beginning.

In the silent aftermath of the horrible, fatal scream, Sohl stood there, her hardened eyes staring at the corpse. She stood there for a long time, then finally brought a trembling hand up to her eyes. She brought her other hand up to cover her face, and stood there in the darkness, alone again.

Rarity's whining voice grew closer and closer as Spark Storm met the sloping ground. He slid against the coarse dirt and finally flipped head-over-hooves and fell on something soft and loud.

"Oh-oh, get off! Get off of me this instant!" Rarity shrieked, pushing herself to her hooves with a great amount of effort and actually managed to shrug Spark Storm onto his side with a pained groan. The unicorn backed away from him long enough to bring light to the room. Upon realizing it was her friend and not a changeling that'd fallen on her, she knelt down to Spark's side. "Oh, Spark, I do apologize for throwing you, dear. Now quickly, get up and help me ascertain our surroundings."

"I didn't think you could throw me like that, Rarity," Spark muttered as the unicorn helped him to his hooves. He raised his wings and brought his feathers to life with dancing light, illuminating the room to reveal a long, closed-in space that resembled a rocky corridor. A thick, foggy mist littered the ground that never strayed above the ponies' knees.

Spark Storm frowned as the last few moments began to circulate in his mind. Things had gone so wrong so fast. He'd just pulled himself together, made a solid plan, and then lost that and so much more in just under twenty seconds. That was a new record for him. His quickly souring mood was not lost on Rarity. With a roll of her eyes she reached up and pulled his head to look at her. "Now don't you start this again, Spark Storm. You simply cannot blame yourself for-"

"I know, I know," Spark cut her off and pulled away from his friend. The last thing he wanted right now was to be talked down to. Some part of him knew she was just trying to help, but with the way he was feeling, it just felt condescending. The two stood there unhappily for a moment until a quiet dripping noise made itself known. Spark and Rarity glanced at each other, their ears tilting, trying to get a fix on the sound. Finally, their attention was drawn to the vertical tunnel they'd just slid down.

Some greenish liquid was slowly puddling at the bottom of the tunnel. Unsure of what to make of it, Spark Storm leaned in to get a closer look. Quite suddenly a large body fell, dropping heavily with a loud squelching sound, along with a terrible scream of pain. Spark Storm gasped and stepped closer, resting a hoof on Ampelus' shoulder. The nymph, in pain and reacting on survival instinct, immediately whipped her left foreleg around, catching Spark in the face. The connection resounded in the chamber as a sharp blow, sending Spark tumbling several pony-lengths back.

Rarity was livid. "How dare you! He was only trying to help, you mangy-"

"Rarity, wait!" Spark yelled urgently. After getting back on his hooves and ignoring the blood seeping from a wound on the left side of his cheek, he approached slowly as Ampelus glared at him, the vines around her body now displayed with sharp thorns. She was reacting in self defense, as most wild animals did when injured. Rarity frowned angrily as she watched the two. She hadn't trusted Ampelus, not at all, from the beginning. The nymph was violent and vulgar, and perhaps a little too familiar with Spark Storm for her tastes. Not that she had a say in the matter, but still.

"Ampelus, take it easy. It's me, Spark Storm," the pegasus said, stepping closer. He kept his wings folded tight down against his back, lest the nymph take his wing's natural position as a threatening gesture. Ampelus's vines rattled loudly, the desperately angry look in her eyes intensifying.

"Stay away, Spark Storm," Rarity cautioned. "You may have faith in her, but she's injured. She has no sense right now."

Spark Storm frowned. He took a closer look at Ampelus' body, noticing that she indeed had lost a leg. Thinking on how to approach the nymph without getting his flesh torn to bits, an idea came to him, and he started speaking to her again. "Ampelus, that looks really bad," he said, sitting down on his haunches slowly. "How long do you think it'll take you to heal?"

There was no change in Ampelus' mood for a moment. In fact, it seemed that his speaking to her only made her angrier. After an intense three minutes of staring at each other, the nymph's position began to change. Her stare became softer, the rattling became quieter, and finally the thorns disappeared, retracted into their hiding spots.

"Ampelus?"

"What."

Spark tried to keep the smirk off his face. The nymph was back to her ornery self. He stepped close again, earning a glare from Ameplus, but she made no move to stop him as he eased himself gently under her and helped her up to her hooves. The two argued for a moment about who was stepping down onto the foggy ground first, until Spark relented and let her move first. As calmed as the situation had become, Rarity was determined to get the nymph to apologize to Spark.

"Excuse me, but what do you have to say for yourself for hitting Spark Storm when he was just trying to help?"

Spark Storm rolled his eyes exasperatedly, but he said nothing. Frankly, he was a little curious to see what Ameplus would say. He wasn't too terribly surprised when the nymph raised her chin and looked down her muzzle at the unicorn. "He should have known better."

Rarity's indignant gasp amused Spark for a moment, but the fact remained that this was not a place to be laughing. Spark Storm frowned as he looked down the hall ahead of himself and his comrades. It was long, narrow and dark, and something told him that walking down that way wasn't going to be as simple as it looked. "Ampelus, do you see the changelings down here?"

Ampelus closed her eyes, the vines around her body writhing and twitching for a moment. "...No. They must have fled this place, because it's empty. No, wait...there are three here, not far beyond this place. I can't make them out well, but they're not changelings. If they were, I'd be able to see them clearly. And no, they're not from your team." Spark frowned deeper and glanced at Ampelus. She opened her eyes and returned the look with a serious glare. "I'd know if it was them, I'm familiar with them by now."

Spark glared down the hallway. Had they found Russet Hearts? And why were there three, if not two? Had more than Russet Hearts been brought down here? There would be time for questions later. He tilted his head towards the hallway to his comrades, and slowly all three began making their way towards the end of the hallway, which seemed to open up into a large chamber, which was giving off a bright, luminous green light.

The trio was halfway through when Ampelus suddenly stopped moving, causing Spark to halt as well. The nymph reached over and grabbed Rarity, pulling her back forcefully, an action that was not taken kindly to. "I-I beg your pardon, release me at once!" the unicorn nearly yelled, squirming until she broke free. "Just what is your game?"

"Shut up and I'll tell you," Ampelus retorted with a disgusted glare. "Don't move from that spot." Rarity pouted angrily, but a look from Spark Storm made the unicorn sigh and resign herself to standing still. Ampelus snorted and looked down at the foggy ground. Something about it was bothering her, something she could just barely make out. She leaned down and blew at the fog. Nothing. She drew in a breath again, and much more forcefully blew again, revealing a steel cord pulled tight between the walls near the floor. A trap.

Rarity's glance at Spark Storm told him all he needed to know. She stepped closer and offered her side to Amepelus, who looked at Spark in confusion. "Go on, let her support you. I need my wings." The nymph gave Spark a suspicious glare, even as she shifted weight to lean against Rarity, who had to adjust her own balance to support the much heavier Ampelus.

With Spark's left wing free, he raised both slightly and concentrated. The familiar tingling feeling danced along his back until his feathers ignited with tiny little threads of electricity. He carefully branched them out into the open air, causing Ampelus to gasp and push against Rarity. "Oh...oh! Stop panicking! This isn't going to hurt you...I think," Rarity grumbled, struggling to support Ampelus.

"It won't," Spark muttered, still concentrating as his electric web spread out, crawling along the walls towards the open chamber. Almost immediately, the electric web began finding hidden chains and cords. They were anchored everywhere. By the time the web had spread out through half the chamber, he'd found at least thirty hidden tripwires. Spark, Rarity and Ampelus stared in wide-eyed wonder as the webs settled, leaving their mark so as to avoid running into them.

"Nice. Very nice, very smart, such a useful tool."

A small, feminine figure dropped from the ceiling in the center of the open chamber. She was too far away to make out many details, but Spark Storm knew who it was. The lithe form, the mane style, the way she stood. He'd seen her but once, when she was brought back from the battlefield in Neippon. Fire Lotus. "I suppose I'll have to come up with a more clever way of hiding my traps. Why don't you all come in here and help me brainstorm?"

Spark Storm's fur and feathers bristled. He made to move forward, stepping over the cord, but Rarity brought him to a halt, tugging on his tail with a magical pull. "Just a minute, Spark Storm! Don't go rushing into this haphazardly! Think it through. These traps, they're all very well-thought out. You need a plan, dear, you need tactical maneuvers." Fire Lotus interrupted, calling a well-placed taunt out to the trio.

"You should listen to her, kiddo, she's a mare. And what's more, she's a fancy mare. Obviously she has the answers for everything. Heh, little miss perfect prissy pony knows what a stallion needs."

As Spark went beet red, Rarity sputtered with fury. "I-what-you-you how dare you!" Ampelus, however, erupted into laughter, her body shaking so hard that she had to sit down, ignoring the searing pain in her severed leg long enough to collapse onto her side. This sudden absence of weight was just what Rarity needed; an excuse to engage in a furious cat-fight.

Rarity bolted forward, past the traps that Spark had found, still barely lit with little marks of electricity. Fire Lotus merely smirked and stood her ground, eagerly awaiting a fresh victim. As Rarity ran, her horn lit up, though what she was preparing went unseen. When she was close enough, Fire Lotus sprang into action. She lunged forward. But as her body left the space she had just been occupying, the no-longer depressed area sprang up behind the earth pony, who ducked and watched as a thick wooden spike thrust itself at the unicorn.

Rarity had been expecting something like this, though. At the last second a sharpened arrow-head met the tip of the wooden spike. Her magically propelled arrow split the spike in half. The two halves were caught in Rarity's magic, then brought down tip first in an attempt to skewer Fire Lotus, who rolled out of the way. The earth pony had a look of surprised excitement on her face. She was facing a very smart opponent, one who expected traps and knew where to look for them.

She had no time to appreciate the new opponent when the unicorn brought the spike halves up, and instead of aiming them at the earth pony, the halves were flung expertly in two different directions. They connected with metal cords, springing their traps. Fire Lotus's eyes widened with shock as the very traps she'd set up for her enemies were now unleashed on her. She leapt out of the way as one log swung length-wise at her, then landed and immediately leapt again to avoid the other. She could not, however, avoid a fierce kick to her chest as she'd leapt directly in Rarity's direction, who had spun to connect with the earth pony using a backwards buck.

Fire Lotus flew backwards from the unicorn and landed on her hooves, skidding backwards slightly from the force of the kick. The earth pony smiled approvingly, a hoof rubbing at her chest. "My, my, you're no pushover. You've got quite an eye for detail."

Rarity allowed herself a small smirk at the praise, a pair of arrows raising to horn level in her magical grasp. "I sew, dear."

"Oh, pinpoint accuracy?" Fire Lotus smiled and reached down under her chest, producing a short, sharp knife. She struck it down against the rock floor tip first and rested her weight against it starting with a bent hoof. "You sound like you'd make a great surgeon. I'm a little skilled in that area, as well, but unlike you, sweetheart, I've actually seen what makes a pony tick. Have you heard of pressure points? There are actually quite a few on a unicorn's body. Do you know them?"

Rarity frowned and braced herself. The earth pony was playing mind games, trying to psyche her out and make a mistake. The unicorn had in fact heard of pressure points, and she knew a good few of them. She resisted the urge to swallow before responding. "I know quite a few. They're not so different from earth pony pressure points, if I'm not mistaken."

"You're not mistaken," Fire Lotus said with a sweet smile, her hoof absently pushing the tip of her knife into the ground in a slow, almost seductive grinding motion into the the hard, rocky floor. "But there is one key difference: You have one more than me. You have a horn, and I've seen harder unicorns than you break when I've cut into the very tip. There's a very sensitive nerve just under the bone; very painful, or so I gather from the screams. You seem like an intelligent unicorn...why don't you come help me experiment with new ways to make a unicorn scream?"

Rarity tried to find the right words to reply with. At the moment, she was scared. This earth pony was far more intense with bloodlust than she'd ever seen in any creature. Her confidence, her body language, the mind games...right then and there she knew she couldn't win. And if she lost, there would be torture, horrible, mind-numbing torture, and then death. The unicorn could feel her very core tremble, and a single bead of sweat ran down her cheek and fell to the ground.

"Well, I think we've wasted enough time with chit-chat, or at least your frightened silence seems to indicate. Why don't we get started?" Fire Lotus smiled to herself. While her bantering had given her the edge in confidence, everything she'd said had been true. Bluffing would have been excessive. She raised her hoof, the knife following into the air. She twisted her hoof to grab it, but a sudden bolt of light knocked the knife away from her grasp and behind her into the darkness.

Rarity released a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, then turned to look at Spark Storm by her side gratefully. He held his wings outstretched, displaying the wide berth of his wingspan, all alight with furious electricity. Fire Lotus smiled happily as she pulled the second hidden kunai from under her chest. "Wonderful. I was hoping I'd be able to play with two at once. Let's dance, kiddies!"

23 - Encounters In The Caves Part Three

Fire Lotus smiled gleefully between the two combatants. The unicorn, so far as she could tell, was the one to watch out for. Her skills with accuracy and control were potentially lethal. She had already demonstrated a high intelligence, though her confidence could be broken. The pegasus wielded lightning powers, and that was the extent of her knowledge of him. He hadn't been allowed to participate in the last battle in Neippon, so she had no more information on him.

Still, fighting electricity with metal was a bad idea. Good thing she'd prepared for this eventuality. She wasted no time in turning around and running towards the left wall, with Spark Storm in pursuit. Whatever she had planned, he wasn't about to let her do it. Rarity frowned and made to follow, but at a more cautious pace. "Be careful, Spark Storm! Don't follow so close!"

"Again, the unicorn speaks wisdom!" Fire Lotus called as she released a trap. She ducked as large, thick branch swung down from the ceiling. With Spark directly in its path, sure he'd at least bang his head, but the pegasus spread his wings, leapt into the air, and cut the ropes holding the heavy branch with lit wings. He spun in mid-air, and threw spiraling trails of electricity ahead of Fire Lotus. The earth pony barely managed to avoid the strike, though her tail was tingling from connecting with the volley. It wasn't the nice tingly, either.

Spark Storm threw another bolt at Fire Lotus, this time aimed squarely at her back. The earth pony turned and threw what looked like a long line of black - and completely dispersed Spark's attack. Rarity and Spark both came to a halt, facing Fire Lotus as she had her back to the wall. The older mare grinned victoriously as she slowly spun what appeared to be a black whip around her foreleg. Rarity's eyes widened with realization as she finally recognized the material. "A rubber-covered whip?"

"Completely safe when playing with live wires, too!" Fire Lotus said with a grin as she held the whip in one foreleg and swung it to wrap around Spark's right wing, even as he attempted to shock her. He yelped in pain as she tugged, his wing alight with electricity. The rubber casing kept the earth pony from receiving a shock, though, and Spark Storm found himself stumbling towards his foe, who leapt at him and brought a back hoof to his face.

Spark saw nothing but white and felt nothing but pain and the brief sensation of being tugged by his wing again, this time a blow to his chest propelled him to his hind legs and on his back. Rarity let out a cry of rage as she charged Fire Lotus. Using her magic, she managed to break Fire Lotus' hold on the whip, but the earth pony always had worked best bare-hoofed. Getting this close to her was a mistake.

Fire Lotus leapt forward and under Rarity, spreading her legs and causing Rarity to do the same. She lost her balance as Fire Lotus grabbed her waist and pulled her down, then locked her hind legs around Rarity's right hind leg and her left foreleg, pulling them together painfully. The earth pony laid down against Rarity's back to hold her down, then reached up and pulled her mane loose, causing it to spill down her shoulders. In her hoof, she held a short needle, which she brought down in front of Rarity's face so she could see it.

"Remember what I said about pressure points, sweetheart?" Rarity let out a quiet whimper, both from the pain and from the fear. She struggled against Fire Lotus' grip, but the earth mare was both older and much stronger. In desperation, the unicorn began a spell to liberate herself, but before she got far the needle found its way to a spot under her chest, where her foreleg began. A terrible, blinding pain filled her body, and Rarity found herself screaming. Fire Lotus turned her head to the side and leapt off the unicorn just in time to avoid a side blow from Spark Storm, leaving the needle in Rarity's body.

"Hold on, just - stop moving!" Spark told Rarity, turning her writhing body over, but Rarity's pained convulsing made it difficult. Finding the problem, he leaned down and took a few hoofs to the face until he managed to pull out the needle. Immediately Rarity stopped her wild movements and turned over on her chest, a hoof over her wound, her face hidden by the other as she sobbed.

Infuriated, Spark spat out the needle, splattering a small line of Rarity's blood on the ground, then turned to face Fire Lotus, who stood waiting for him a few yards away with an excited grin on her face. "Guess she wasn't as hard as she thought. She should've known better than to try acting tough. A life lesson to remember, if you two just happen to make it out of here alive."

Spark Storm sneered angrily, roughly hoofing the ground. "Ooh. Angry, aren't ya? Ya gonna make me pay for hurting your girlfriend?" Fire Lotus said with a taunting leer.

"Yes."

"Ya gonna spank me?"

"..."

"Ooh, guess we found the limit to your vocabulary. Don't worry," she said, flipping a small part of the ground at her hooves to show a small, rubber encased knife, which she picked up and flipped from hoof to hoof. "I'll be sure to open your mind to new possibilities."

"You talk too much!" Spark said as he lunged forward. He shot a bolt at her hooves, which she blocked with her knife. He shot another over her head, which she didn't bother deflecting. He shot off more and more as he got closer to her, making the earth pony work with continually greater speed and effort to avoid his shocks. Once close enough, he raised his wing and swung it at her, but there was no attack attached to it. Predictably, she lunged to deflect the attack that didn't happen.

Too soon to realize she'd been duped, Fire Lotus took a hoof to her chin, a hard shoulder to her chest, then let out a cry of alarm as her hind legs were tackled. She landed on his back, and found herself in a world of pain as his wings lit up. The angry bolts of electricity carried her up in the air and down again upon her back where she lay for a moment, convulsing and groaning with pain.

"Oh...ow...N-not bad, kid." she said as she struggled to her hooves, panting and now sweating a little from the shock of being electrocuted. "You're actually pushing me, and you've got some good moves. I sense you're just starting, though, and I don't want to draw this out anymore than I have to. You're younger and probably have the stamina to beat me if I let this go on, so..."

Spark didn't give her a chance to finish. He leapt through the air towards her, only to find she was already up and running towards the center of the chamber, where the fight had begun. He ran after her, nearly catching up when she removed the hair clip from the left braid in her mane and threw it up to the ceiling. It hit a hair switch, something that had been set up hours before the team's arrival.

The whole chamber began to shake as dust arose from the ground and the walls. As Spark stared in confusion, he thought he heard a voice calling for help. He glanced back towards Rarity, but she had fallen into unconsciousness. Rarity...He wasted no time in running for her. He didn't get far when a gigantic network of cables and wires erupted from hidden spots all around the room.

Spark came to a stop beside Rarity, even as various chains and ropes dangled around them. Too late to note that every last one of them was encased in rubber, Spark felt something thin and tight around his waist. He let out a grunt as it squeezed and hoisted him into the air. His wings instantly lit up, only to find that his wings had been quickly bound behind his back, and struck ineffectively against his bindings.

Spark Storm looked down in anger as Fire Lotus grinned up at him, several rubber-bound ropes in her grasp. "Oh, I hope you don't mind me redecorating. It was essential, you see." She turned her back on him as he struggled to free himself, pausing only when he saw the earth pony heading for Rarity.

"Leave her alone! She can't even defend herself!"

Fire Lotus paused long enough to retrieve the needle she'd used to torture Rarity with, then turned and smiled seductively up at her prey. "That's usually the best time to go and say hello."

Tears of anger and fear for Rarity's safety formed in Spark's eyes as he screamed and struggled to free himself. Suddenly, he remembered - "Ampelus! Help her! Now!"

Fire Lotus paused at this new outburst. Ampelus? Wasn't that the - oh. Fire Lotus barely had time to react until she felt something like her ropes wrapping around her waist and lifting her into the air. She looked down to see the three-legged nymph hobbling towards her. The earth pony laughed and brought a hoof to her forehead. "I must be losing my edge to forget you!"

Ampelus smiled up at Fire Lotus, an appraising smile that gave the earth pony pause. "My, you're a delicious looking mare. I could have some serious fun with you if this situation were a little different."

"Uh...interesting, definitely interesting, not sure how to respond to that," Fire Lotus responded, an interested smile on her face.

"Ampelus! Quit fooling around and get rid of her, we've got work to do!" Spark shouted angrily. He couldn't believe that Ampelus was flirting with the enemy, especially when Rarity was hurt and there was still Shimmering Oasis and her army to deal with.

Ampelus glared at Spark before sending another pleasant smile up at the earth mare in her vines. "Heh, stallions ruin everything, I guess," Fire Lotus told her. While Ampelus had looked away, Fire Lotus had grabbed one of the rubber ropes near her and tugged at the last second, pulling Ampelus just slightly off-balance. Fire Lotus then spun in mid-air, freeing herself from the vines.

She wasted no time as she dropped and grabbed onto the grasping vines, using her acrobatic skills to avoid being grabbed. The earth pony grinned as she pulled out her last trick: she flicked her tongue, dislodging the small needle hidden in her mouth, and positioned it as she fell towards Ampelus. The nymph wasn't fast enough, and Fire Lotus collapsed on top of her.

Ampelus let out a brief scream as the two fell to the ground, the small needle plunged straight into her forehead, right between the eyes. As Spark Storm stared in disbelief, Fire Lotus stood back and dusted herself off, then turned back towards Rarity while whistling a care-free tune.

Spark Storm had had enough. He was furious. He wanted to hurt Fire Lotus. He wanted to hear her screams for what she'd done to his friends. He hadn't felt like this since River had beaten up Pinkie Pie, the day he discovered his special talent.

He strained against his bonds, his wings pulling down against the ceiling they were tied to. Fire Lotus paused in her movements towards her favored unicorn victim when a trail of dust and debris fell from the ceiling. Her ears pricked as she turned to see Spark Storm struggling against the ropes that held him aloft. She stared with wide-eyed fascination as his wings began to light up. She scoffed; and here she thought he might have a chance if he broke himself out of his prison, but there he went with the lightning again.

Spark Storm didn't give up. He strained harder, pulling harder with his wings, so much that his electric feathers began pulsing. Suddenly two bolts shot out in front of him and met, lighting up his face and body, clearly displaying his closed eyes and snarling mouth. The two bolts began to wrap around each other, forming a ball of angry, buzzing light.

Fire Lotus could see where this was going, and she didn't like it. She ran under Spark Storm, even as the ball of electricity grew bigger, and stepped on a switch. Immediately every rope in the room fell from their attachments, in turn dropping Spark Storm to the ground. This sudden action caused Spark to lose his attack, as it scattered on the floor and dissipated harmlessly about the floor.

As Spark got to his hooves and shook his wings free, he felt a weight on his back. He brought his wings together, hoping to catch Fire Lotus as he had before in his earlier attack, the but nimble earth pony rolled forward over his shoulders and caught his chest with a hard hoof. The big stallion grunted and leaned back even as Fire Lotus continued her attack, throwing hoof after hoof aimed at his face.

The pegasus kept moving back to avoid the smaller earth pony's strikes, several of them even landing. Having had enough, he lunged at her, hooves forward and very nearly taking her head off had she not literally danced over his back, striking at his spine as she danced over him. He managed to get away with nothing more than a bruised spine, but that had been close.

Spark turned to face Fire Lotus. His body trembled from trying to keep up with the smaller earth pony, something that she noted with a smirk. "Looks like you've hit your limit. You're not as impressive as I thought, after all."

"And you really do talk too much," Spark replied with a roll of his eyes. Fire Lotus began to fire off another insult when she realized her mistake: she'd been far too arrogant in this battle, and there were too many factors that she had ignored. Namely, the nymph. She grunted painfully as Ampelus' vines wrapped around her waist and her hind legs tightly. She struggled to free herself even as she was pulled closer to the nymph, close enough to clearly see her pull the needle out of her forehead.

Fire Lotus gave the nymph a hopeful smile as Ampelus calmly studied the needle, dripping a thick, green ooze-like blood. "So, uh...different physiology? Quite frankly I thought I'd killed you."

Ampelus stopped eying the needle long enough to give the earth pony a very serious 'Duh' look, before setting the needle on the ground, holding it up so that the point was at a perfect vertical position. This set Fire Lotus into a panic. As sadomasochistic as she could be, she did not like where this was going. She struggled with fervor, but before she could get far she was pulled down to the ground, rump first. The earth pony let out a pained scream, and she was lifted back into the air. The needle was gone. Fire Lotus then found herself flung across the room where she hit the wall with a sharp impact.

As Fire Lotus fell limply to the ground, Ampelus snorted in victory and turned to a tired Spark Storm. "You're welcome," she told him curtly. Spark laughed and cantered over to her. Sensing an impending and unwelcome show of affection, she backed away from him. "Stay away, you...p-pony, just cut it out!" Ampelus' warnings went unheeded, and Spark closed the distance between them and wrapped his forelegs around her. The nymph sighed and took it, even the nuzzle that brought an embarrassed blush to her face.

Spark released the nymph, still glaring at him with that embarrassed frown. "Really? You're all over me half the time, and a 'thank you' makes you uncomfortable?"

Ampelus turned away from him and grumbled as she searched for a practical excuse to hand the pegasus. "Uh...well, its a little different, when, uh...you're just not usually willing to touch me in the first place, or...something." Spark rolled his eyes good-naturedly as he stepped past the uncomfortable nymph to go to Rarity's side, a concerned frown on his face. He reached down, gently shaking her shoulder as she lay on her belly.

After a moment, the unicorn groaned and slowly got to her hooves. When she put her weight on her right foreleg, she let out a quiet gasp of pain and nearly collapsed. Spark lent her his side, which she gratefully took. She glanced at him sideways, an apologetic smile on her face. "Oh, Spark, I must apologize. I fear I may be a (ow!) a bit of a burden on you, dear. I must ask, how...?"

Spark Storm smiled as he shook his head. "You're not a burden, Rarity. You were amazing. Ampelus saved us, actually."

Rarity appeared shocked for a moment, a look that seemed to give insult to the nymph as she glared at the unicorn. The unicorn immediately gave Ampelus a genuine smile. "Thank you, Ampelus. Who knows where we'd all be without you. Thank you." Ampelus again appeared uncomfortable with the praise, a blush appearing on her cheeks. She turned away from the two, her tail swishing with agitation.

Spark Storm merely shrugged and offered Rarity a grin. He began to take a step forward when he heard that voice again, calling for help. Now that the fight was over, he could hear it much more pronounced. It was very familiar. Even Rarity's ears twitched, a look of realization in her eyes. "Oh, sweet Celestia," she exclaimed, glancing at the wall nearest her. "That's...Fluttershy!"

Spark and Rarity shared a look of horror. Just when had Fluttershy been brought down here? A dark look came over Spark's eyes as he could only think of the poor, frightened mare being dragged down to a place like this. Rarity frowned and eased herself into a sitting position, her horn lighting up as she began to concentrate. The wall was enveloped in her magical grasp, and it began to shake as the unicorn searched for a loose spot in the stones. After a moment, she proclaimed "Ah-hah!" as one of the stones was pressed into the wall. Immediately the whole wall fell apart, revealing a smaller, compact area.

A small shriek from the other side of the wall told Spark all he needed to know. He left Rarity standing there as he stepped slowly across the threshold between the two rooms and into the darker room. His eyes light up as they reflected the soft green light of the walls, presenting an ominous figure as he spotted the pegasus in question, protectively but shakily standing before another form, one that was prone, knocked out, and exactly who they had come for: Russet Hearts.

"Please...please go away! D-don't come any closer!"

"Fluttershy, its me, Spark Storm! Rarity's here, too."

"Fluttershy, come on out, please?" Rarity called, hobbling closer to the entrance. "You're safe now, darling."

Spark Storm brought light to the room with his wings, allowing Fluttershy to see her old friend. Fluttershy stared at him with wide, fearful eyes, tears falling freely. Suddenly she leapt into the air and flew to Spark Storm, sobbing quietly. She clung to him, her whole body shaking. He wrapped a foreleg around her, then cast a worried and angry look at Rarity. The unicorn seemed to share his unspoken sentiments, then carefully climbed over the crumbled wall. The two seamlessly switched places as Rarity took Fluttershy into her arms, shushing her and rubbing the frightened pegasi's back.

Spark Storm stepped over to the prone Russet Hearts. The unicorn's horn was encased in a thick, green resin, as well as his legs, all four imprisoned within the thick green substance. Spark reached down and knocked on it, finding it solid and tough. Another knock on the unicorn's head produced an annoyed groan, which in turn brought a smile to Spark's face. At least he was alive. Spark reached down to pat the unicorn's face several more times until Russet finally opened his eyes, one of which was bruised from a blunt force injury.

"Oh, ow, stop it, I'm awake!" Russet whined, his vision blurred from hours of unconsciousness. "Wha...where? Who are you?"

Spark Storm felt a presence at his side. He turned to see Fluttershy resting against him, the poor thing still trembling. He draped a wing around her as Rarity stepped up, still limping from her injury. "It's me, Russet. I'm so terribly sorry you were dragged into this terrible situation. You can rest assured, now, that we're nearly out of it."

Russet Hearts smiled happily up at Rarity, but Spark Storm frowned. They were hardly out of this; they still had to deal with Shimmering Oasis and find a way out of this place, and get back to Ponyville. No, their struggles had just begun.

Shimmering Oasis lead a small company of soldiers as she navigated through the caves at breakneck speed, using the memories of the soldiers under her command. She'd already stopped once to play with one of Spark's comrades, that harpy female. She had been a most entertaining subject, with such strong ties to the princess' enemy. It hadn't lasted long, though. Shimmering Oasis had made the mistake of thinking that they could be intimate. Such was not the case, as the immediate death of her soldier told her. A pity; she would have to find easier prey to torture.

Something had been bothering the princess for the last fifteen minutes, a strange presence in the caves that she couldn't ignore. It was new, and at the same time familiar. It carried a strong psychic force, something that was connected both to the harpy and to Spark Storm. It created a bothersome itch at the back of her mind, something she'd never felt before. Could it be that whatever was causing the itch also had formidable psychic powers?

The alicorn came to a stop in the caves, her entire platoon mirroring her movements. This psychic presence was close. It wouldn't be as interesting as breaking Spark Storm with her illusions, but this feeling at the back of her mind wouldn't let her ignore it. She switched directions, and headed straight for the bothersome origin of her curiosity.

In the darkness some unknown levels above, three figures moved through the dark tunnels of the changeling caves. Chrome Spectrum no longer dashed around like a ninja, and Lyra no longer danced with excitement. After their very close encounter with a landslide and witnessing what very could've been a first in nature, the two of them had very much sobered up.

Orea herself carried a worried frown. Despite this place being a very frightening locale, something else was bothering her. There was a strong psychic power here, something that kept bouncing off her connection with Sohl. It had been particularly disturbing some five minutes ago, but after that it had disappeared. For now, there was silence. It was almost as disturbing as the psychic interruption.

The three explorers soon came to a new chamber, one that opened up into a massive area. The ground, however, opened up several feet out of the doorway, leading down, further than one could see. A short trail heading to the right lead to a mass of bridges that connected this side to the other. The ceiling in this giant chamber was also a good distance up, but could be seen.

Chrome Spectrum let out a leap for joy and took to the air over the chasm, prompting Lyra to gasp, for a brief moment forgetting he could fly. "Geez, Chrome! Don't do that, get back here!" she called.

"Are you kidding? We can get out of here!" he called, speeding up to the other side of the wide open space. "Let's find the others and bring them back this way. I'm sure they found Russet by now." Chrome's voice carried across the way, echoing through the chamber. The sound grew distant, but it soon became stronger, more concentrated, almost like the buzzing of bees. Orea didn't like the sound of it one bit. She glanced this way and that, trying to find the source of the new noise.

"Chrome Spectrum, you get back down here right now! I will tell your mother you were being a bad colt if you don't!" Lyra warned. The pegasus glanced down at the older unicorn, a dry, unimpressed look that said 'Really?' He looked behind him in horror, however, as the sound finally presented itself as a hoard of changelings led by a burnt orange goddess came rushing through the tunnel directly behind him. He let out a yelp of panic and took to the air and began to fly back.

Chrome wasn't fast enough, though, as a changeling came up behind him and grabbed him. The two sped up, the changeling's intent very clear: Chrome was to be smashed against the ravine wall. Lyra wasn't about to lose her charge so easily, though. Her horn lit up as she yelled, "Ventus obstructionum!" With careful aim, the two were separated. Chrome fell towards Lyra and caught himself in mid-air, performing an impressive mid-air flip that landed him back beside his two comrades. The changeling merely slid off the wall of air, and fell into the ravine below.

"Oh!" Shimmering Oasis proclaimed as she held a hoof to her mouth, intrigued. "I've heard of the vocalized magic spells of the Northerners, but have never witnessed it before. You must be truly something special to be able to wield it, little unicorn."

Lyra was unimpressed as she stepped forward to the edge of the precipice, glaring up at the alicorn. "I'm guessing you're the big jerk behind all this mess. Well we're tired of walking around this depressing place, getting nearly buried and bothered by your...things! Let us out of here, right now, and that goes double for our friends!"

Shimmering Oasis barely heard Lyra's barking. Her eyes poured over the unicorn and the pegasus with the impressive flying, but her eyes kept returning to the smallest one, the one that had yet to say anything. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the little thing that surely had something to do with Spark Storm; her markings were nearly identical to his, albeit different colors.

"-and you better do it quick, missy, because I'm not going to say it again!" Lyra finished, glaring up at Shimmering Oasis. The alicorn's eyes had become hard as she finally turned her gaze to Lyra, who swallowed hard and took a single step back. "Um...please?"

"Kill them, but bring me the little one alive." Lyra and Chrome's blood felt like ice in their veins as a cloud of black issued forth from around the alicorn, snaking across the chasm, like a great black arm, it's touch death. The three of them stared in horror until Orea gasped and looked behind her, where they'd come from, and ducked as a large figure swooped out into the open air and let out a shriek.

At least twenty changelings were directly in Sohl's line of sight, and all twenty of their flights were halted as they met the force of the harpy scream. All of them were propelled against the wall were they went tumbling down to their deaths.

"Oh?" Shimmering Oasis smiled, an amused grin on her face. "I must say, that scream of yours is superb in dealing direct damage. It's much more efficient at-"

"Shut up!" Sohl shouted, her wings beating furiously as she rose in the air. "You're the one. You tried to trick me with Spark Storm!"

The alicorn smiled very patiently, her eyes summing the harpy up cautiously. "Yes. And I don't think I even need one of my minions to do it, either. You have no natural psychic block, you're a feeble-minded race that reacts purely on instinct. You're hardly worth anything, are you?"

Sohl had had enough. She'd heard the down-talk before. The griffins looked down on the harpies in the same way. All of them, of course, except...

"Ah. Arrin, was it?" Shimmering Oasis grinned at the way the name made Sohl tense. The one griffon, no, the one creature she'd ever met that hadn't judged the harpy for being so weak of mind.

"You shut up! Don't you ever mention his name, you're not worthy to speak it!" Sohl shouted, loud enough to ruffle the alicorn's mane. Shimmering Oasis just chuckled, her wings spreading wide as her horn lit up in gold light.

"Do you miss him? I'll allow you to see his final moments."

Sohl gasped in terror as the alicorn's changeling soldiers stepped forward. One of them changed into a large griffon, its wings magnificent in brown and black, it's eyes highlighted with burnt orange markings. It set out into the air, and was immediately set upon by at least a dozen changelings. The "griffin" screamed in pain as it was torn apart, it's blood spraying out and falling into the abyss. A scream from behind Sohl told her the scene wasn't pleasant for the three of them, either.

Sohl watched, horrified as the vision of her once-best friend and lover was torn to pieces. Tears of rage filled her eyes. She knew this was just another trick, but to see the real look of pain and horror in the eyes of the one that was taken from her was too much, she could watch no more. She inhaled, positioned herself above the nightmarish vision, and screamed, "Incendere erumpant!"

Shimmering Oasis watched in surprise as an eruption of fire billowed from the harpy's mouth, incinerating the mass of brainless puppets and putting the one out of its misery, the fiery mass disappearing into the chasm. Sohl immediately turned her attention to the alicorn, inhaling for another attack.

The alicorn smiled appreciatively as the fire from Sohl's second attack approached her. Her eyes grew bright as she put up a psychic shield. She chuckled as the fire spread up and down the shield, like a beautiful display of destruction. "My, my. You're much stronger than I believed, and certainly a bigger threat if I'm not careful. I think I'll be careful now."

The psychic shield pushed out towards Sohl at shocking speed. The harpy had no time to counter as the shield rammed into her, pushing further and further until harpy met rock on the far side of the chasm. Sohl was pressed into the rock hard enough to make an impression. Sohl growled, pressing her hands against the shield. She actually began to push back, hard enough to make Shimmering Oasis take a step back from her place across the chasm.

"My goodness, I was right, you are dangerous," the alicorn said approvingly. "I will respect your impressive prowess...with no more holding back!" Sohl spat upon the psychic shield, even as it pulled back, only for it to connect with the harpy again. And again. And again, each time, pushing the harpy further into the rock, and each time taking more of the harpy's strength.

"Stop it, stop it!" Lyra yelled, having finally had enough. She stepped forward, her horn lighting up. Her magic conjured a lyre similar to that of her cutie mark. Using telepathic commands, she struck harsh cords on the magical lyre, sending the notes crashing into the rock on Shimmering Oasis' side.

With the alicorn's focus on crushing Sohl, she had no time to guard. She watched in surprise as the notes cut into the rock, and she quickly had to duck as a note passed dangerously close to her ear, carrying with it a sound so harsh that it made the princess' ear tremble, making her drop the psychic shield, then drop onto her side holding her head in pain.

Sohl, pummeled into unconsciousness, slowly slid out of the indent in the wall and began to fall. Orea let out a panicked yelp and ran to the edge of the rocky platform. The vines from her flowers whipped out and wrapped around the bigger harpy. The weight pulled Orea to the edge, nearly pulling her with. Chrome, barely pulled out of his panicked stupor, grabbed the nymph and pulled, managing to help her pull Sohl back up and onto the ledge.

"That's it. I have suffered too many embarrassments!" Shimmering Oasis' voice called from across the chasm, her horn lighting up angrily. "Granted, the embarrassments are my fault for allowing you to live. Toying with you all is no longer an option." She paused, a sadistic grin spreading over her face. "Mother did always say, drowning your sorrows is never the answer, but mother's not here anymore."

Lyra made a face. The old bat's gone a little over the deep end, she thought. Her eyes widened in horror, though, as a thick cloud of changelings emerged from behind Shimmering Oasis. The alicorn was indeed done playing with them. She was going to end it. The unicorn's horn lit up once more, preparing another spell, when a small, concentrated psychic sphere rushed to meet her, smacking into her and bashing her against the wall. She fell into a fetal position, in pain and unconscious.

"Kill them all. Bring me the little one," Shimmering Oasis told her puppets once again, a triumphant smile upon her face. She smirked down at Orea, who had huddled in terror this entire time. It appeared the little nymph had had enough, though. She stood over Sohl protectively, her leafy wings spreading in a threatening gesture.

Shimmering Oasis grinned with pleasure as the changelings flew past her in obedient silence, the only sounds the beating of their wings. Something seemed to be happening, though, beyond her field of vision as it was clouded by the changelings, something that was throwing the changelings off course. The alicorn commanded her soldiers to the side, and her eyes widened at what she saw.

Vines had grown out of Orea's body, spreading out in eight different directions. They had grown into different sections of the wall around her, surrounding herself and her comrades. More than that, the vines and her wings pulsed with what appeared to be electricity. The lively dancing bolts were green, however, and appeared to be growing. The electric vines spread out, creating an even more thorough barrier.

"Fascinating...a wonderful defense, but you cannot hide from me, little one," the alicorn said, her horn shining brightly. Her mind dove forth, across the chasm, and into...well, not into Orea's mind. Into pain. Shimmering Oasis let out a shrill scream as she entered an unfamiliar place, filled with memories, emotions, intents. But these did not belong to Orea; they belonged to Spark Storm.

The alicorn's physical body trembled and convulsed as she fought with the little nymph, whose psychic connection to the pegasus was a force of nature, something that the alicorn was not ready for. She fought, still, pressing forward. There was something in Orea's mind that was foreign, foreign to all three of them, something that shouldn't have been there.

Shimmering Oasis' nose began to bleed as she pressed forward still. Amidst her senses being assaulted, she could see it. A door shaped like the crescent moon. It stood there on top of everything, foreboding, yet teasing, biding the alicorn to dare try and unlock it's secrets.

"Wh...what...what are you?!" Shimmering Oasis screamed, her voice louder than anything she remembered hearing in almost a thousand years.

Shimmering Oasis's eyes opened wide as a presence far older than she, and far stronger, stood before her. A vision of a dark goddess in full body armor, stars in the dark clouds that were her mane and tail, billowing in a non-existent breeze. The princess gasped and stared, even as she felt blood at the back of her eyes threatening to spill. "Young fool," the dark goddess seemed to say. "You are not worthy of my secrets. Be gone."

And with that, the connection between the alicorn and the nymph was severed. Shimmering Oasis dropped to her haunches, her mane completely disheveled. She stared across the chasm at little Orea, who continued to stare at the alicorn with disdain. The princess slowly got to her hooves, and quietly turned around and disappeared into the darkness.

*Ventus obstructionum - Latin for wind block

*incendere erumpant - Latin for fire erupt

24 - Survival And Sacrifice

Orea frowned as Shimmering Oasis slipped into the darkness across the chasm. A faraway look of sadness and regret passed over her eyes. What Shimmering Oasis had seen was a secret that Orea had been keeping from Spark Storm and even Sohl since she'd met the two of them. Out of fear of rejection, perhaps stemming from Spark's own experiences, the young nymph had chosen to keep these secrets away from the two that she trusted the most.

Another thing that had begun to concern Orea was the fact that the changelings, having been abandoned by Shimmering Oasis, were still hovering about in the air. Their gazes were empty and vacant, but who knew how long they would stay like that. They needed to make an escape while they still could. The nymph turned to look back at the others, all of whom except for Chrome were unconscious. The pegasus stared at her, unable to comprehend just what Orea had done.

Before Orea could say anything to him, both of the children turned to look back out into the open air as the changelings were no longer idly hovering about. They had regained their own consciousness, finally free of Shimmering Oasis' control. Their confusion at finding themselves in this place was soon replaced with aggressive stares down at the four figures huddled inside a cage of electrified vines.

It didn't take long for things to escalate into attack attempts. Several changelings charged the barrier, only to be shocked, grabbed and whipped around the chasm walls and finally released to fall into the darkness and out of sight. Without proper leadership, they had no direction. The changelings became angrier, more confused, and finally the cloud of angry creatures dispersed in all directions.

Orea frowned as she surveyed the empty air. Was the assault finally over? Her wings spread, and she began to recall the vines she'd used to protect herself and her friends. She let out a soft groan as the extra mass reattached itself to her, while Chrome watched with somewhat horrified fascination as the little one somehow gained no mass, despite the yards and yards of extended vines retracting into her.

There was something else about Orea that struck Chrome as unusual. He couldn't quite put his hoof on it, but if he stared long enough at her, it was bound to show up. Or...disappear? "Your cutie mark!" he exclaimed, pointing a hoof at the little nymph's bare flank. The long, blue feather surrounded by vines, accented with orange blossoms had in fact disappeared. "What happened to your cu-"

Chrome couldn't finish as he felt Orea's hoof press over his mouth. He, in turn, was pushed back up onto his hind legs as the nymph pushed him against the rocky wall behind him. As forceful as she had been, Orea's touch was very gentle. Her gaze, however, was horrified. "Please! You must keep this a secret! You and Lyra are the only ones who saw it, nopony else must know!"

"Wb, bb-" Chrome paused to free his mouth. "What, but why? I mean, a cutie mark is everything to a pony, it identifies them as an individual and makes them feel special and stuff! I mean, I know you're not actually a pony, but...but then why did you have one in the first place?"

A groan from Lyra gave Orea pause and greater panic. She reached up and placed a pleading hoof on Chrome's shoulder. "Please, please, as Spark Storm's sibling, it is your responsibility to protect his secrets, as well as mine!" When Chrome gave Orea a look that told him she was just making him more lost, she sighed and backed off, allowing the both of them to return to all four legs.

"I promise, if you will allow me to carry my secrets, then I will divulge you in what you want to know - after we return to the surface and all is well. Not before then," she finished, a hard look in her eyes.

As Lyra slowly pulled herself up into a sitting position, Orea gave Chrome a final look before stepping over to the unicorn's side and nuzzled her comfortingly. "Ow, oh ow. Orea, next time I try to challenge an alicorn, please knock some...uh..." Lyra trailed off as she noticed the now-abandoned area where a small army had stood when she was last conscious.

Looking between Chrome and Orea, she frowned and said, "Anypony wanna tell me what happened while I was out?"

When Orea shot Chrome a look, he sighed and helped Lyra to her hooves. "Can we talk about that after we get out of here? Plus, we need to figure out a way to haul that massive bird with us..." Chrome nodded his muzzle at Sohl.

Orea stepped over to Sohl and placed a hoof on her shoulder, gently shaking her. As the harpy began to stir, Orea leaned down and nuzzled Sohl's cheek. It had been a tradition between the two of them, more as a safety measure for the nymph, to nuzzle the harpy's cheek when she was waking to prevent a sudden sudden attack on Sohl's part.

Orea frowned and tensed as she felt the harpy put a hand on the back of her neck, drawing her closer. She stared, mostly in fear as Sohl stared at her through a messy head of hair. "Orea, what happened?"

"U-um...well, you were injured, and then-"

"No!" The harpy interrupted, her grip tightening on the nymph's neck. "I mean what happened between us! I thought when you bit me and made that connection between us, you couldn't hide anything from me! When I was out, I saw everything. And I mean everything, Orea. How could you keep that secret from me?!"

As Orea realized what Sohl was asking of her, she grew angry. This was an emotion that was new to her, new in the sense that she'd never been angry with her friends before. Even Sohl, who felt everything that the nymph felt, drew away from her in shock. An angry rattling noise came from inside Orea, the petals of the flowers decorating her body closing.

"You are one to talk! You've been keeping an awful secret from Spark Storm, and you keep pushing him away! Don't you know how terrible you've made him feel over the last two hours?!"

"How do you think I feel?! Why am I even asking you that, you know how I feel!" the harpy yelled, pulling herself up and away from the nymph into a sitting position. "More than that, you know why I've done the things I've done! You know what happened before we came in here, and you know what I have to do, and you're not making it any easier, you little brat!"

"Hey!" Lyra shouted. Sohl and Orea both turned to glare at the unicorn, but she stepped closer, returning a glare that refused to be intimidated into disappearing. "Look, I don't know what's going on between you two or who's hiding what from Spark Storm, but we've gotta get out of here before we start arguing again! Now the both of you get up and let's move out!"

Sohl shakily stood, planting a hand on the rock wall as she stood tall over Lyra. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to, pipsqueak?"

"I think you need a refreshment course on who you're talking to, Polly." This retort gave Sohl pause, even as Lyra's horn lit up. "I'm the one that kicked your flank earlier this year when you were messing with my marefriend!" Sohl stared at Lyra, even as her body was pulled and held upside down in front of the unicorn. "Now quit acting so tough and start walking so we can get out of here!"

"Yeah," Sohl said dryly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "that was all her idea."

Lyra balked at the harpy before unceremoniously dropped her onto the ground. Could it be true? After all this time, after all the accusations on Bon Bon's side, had the earth pony mare been hiding things from Lyra as well? And she dared accuse Lyra of hiding things?

Even as angry tears began to form in the unicorn's eyes, Chrome, who had been getting more and more uncomfortable by the minute, took off into the air and crossed the chasm to the ledge where Shimmering Oasis had disappeared moments before. "Come on!" he yelled to the girls. "We need to find the others, then come back here. I'm pretty sure there's a way up in this place, the air's kinda fresh in here."

"Ugh. Stop yelling," Sohl hissed just loud enough for Chrome to hear as she got to her feet and flew after him. "The echoes in this place carry a long way, we don't want to attract any unwanted attention."

Anorax's ears twitched and tilted upwards. He stopped in his tracks and followed the sound of a distant yell, his eyes turning towards the great black opening in the tunnel that seemed to go on forever. After a moment, a distressed Madalah came to his side and prodded him. "We can't stop and listen to every other sound, Anorax, we have to keep moving!"

Anorax scowled at the changeling and put some space between them. "Don't look at me like that," she said, frowning with a small degree of hurt. "You felt it as well as I did - the changelings have regained control of themselves, and they're furious and running rampant through the tunnels now that their queen has been deposed."

Anorax continued walking with a slight sneer on his face. "You talk about them like you're not one of them."

Madalah stiffened at this comment. She flew up into the air and landed in front of him, her pony eyes furious. "Is that what you want? You want to be right about us? You want me to be a monster?" Anorax's features lit up as Madalah's changeling fire erupted, swallowing the pegasus form and returning her to her electric blue changeling form. "Let me tell you something, I am a monster! We both are!"

Anorax's ears tilted back with annoyance. She'd been going on like for the last few moments, harping on him and trying to get him to open up. Fine. "No, I didn't want you to be a monster, but you turned out to be one, anyway!"

The halfling's outburst surprised and silenced Madalah. Anorax scowled at her as bright orange fire lit up the tunnel, exposing him as the hard white-shelled halfling he was. "Look at us, Madalah. We are monsters, but some of us try to live normal, changeling queen-free lives. Peaceful and in a way that we're not harming others. My dad proved to me that this was possible.

"I grew up keeping this look a secret from all my pony friends for my whole life, save for a couple I could trust, and I've done just fine keeping myself separate from changelings. Was I lonely? You bet I was. I didn't have a single female that I could give my heart to, not even the ones that knew. And then-"

The halfling paused, glancing away from Madalah's big, glowing blue eyes, watching with rapt attention. He could swear he heard her heart skip. "...and then you happened. You, just this...little, beautiful changeling, the...the most beautiful creature I'd ever laid eyes on. Yeah, I could tell, just by the way you looked at me that there was some kind of natural connection between us. The way you looked at me, the way I felt you inside me when you looked at me."

As Anorax spoke, Madalah tensed, attempting, and not very well, to keep herself from crying. She knew where he was going with this. "I felt the same way about you, Madalah. I've always heard stories about other ponies falling in love, and it almost never happens that way because they work differently than us. It's never like that with us unless it's a sure thing. I was..." Anorax paused to wipe at a stray tear. "I was so sure that it had finally happened to me. That I wouldn't be alone anymore."

"That's what I told you," Madalah whispered, her eyes lowering to the ground.

"Yeah, that's what you told me when you...when you kissed me. Yeah, that was pretty damn awesome. I'd never felt so alive, and for the next five minutes, I was walking through that town, knowing that I had somepony out there, and I knew, for a fact, that I had something to look forward to in the future. And then I found out what you'd really gone to Ponyville to do, and that was to hurt my friends!"

Madalah flinched at the tone of his last words, and of course they were true. She couldn't make an excuse for that, since that's exactly what she and her four comrades had gone to Ponyville to do. Their original target had been Spark Storm, but had gone through Laser Reflex to do it and had ended up kidnapping his friend Russet Hearts.

The changeling finally lifted her head to stare up at Anorax, whose bright orange eyes continued to look down at her with disdain and judgement. Maybe he was right. Maybe she was much more of a monster than he. "You're right," she whispered. "Maybe I don't belong with you. Maybe I deserve to stay here with my kind."

Madalah's new pessimistic approach was beginning to grate on Anorax's nerves. As much as he was loathe to admit, he wanted her to keep pressing, to find that one thing that could get him to change his mind. "Pfft. They'd just tear you to bits down here for turning your back on them," he told her callously.

"Do you want them to?"

"N...no."

This reaction gave Madalah pause. She stared carefully up into Anorax's face, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. Anorax, finally out of excuses to make the changeling suffer, sighed and lifted his eyes to look back into hers. The silence between them was very loud, but it was also very telling. After a moment, Madalah began to close the distance between them slowly. As Anorax made no move nor protest, the changeling lowered her head and slid it gently under the halfling's chin and press her body to his.

Anorax let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He relaxed as he felt Madalah's warmth, and wrapped her up in his forelegs, squeezing her to him. A soft, happy little sob escaped from the changeling, and as they stood there together in the darkness, Anorax had a brief fight with his emotions not to follow suit. He soon lost that argument, prompting him to squeeze Madalah tighter to him.

After a good few minutes of this, he knew he had something to say to her before this moment of happiness could continue - he needed to apologize. He took in a deep breath, then felt a hoof on his lips and looked down to see Madalah's smiling face. "It's ok. You don't have to say anything, I understand why you were angry with me. You had every right to be, you were right. I just-"

The two of them tensed. Two - no, three changelings were approaching at high speed. The buzzing of wings could be heard, and soon three familiar changelings dropped down to the tunnel floor in front of them. The sadistic Nuzo, the psychotic Bezzle and the intimidating giant Dozix. Madalah let out a small gasp and almost took a step behind Anorax. Almost.

Nuzo cracked a wicked smile at Madalah's bravery, but his attention was on Anorax. "What have we here? Our first few moments of freedom and we come to find that the hive has been infested with half-breeds and traitors!"

"Pfft. In what world does one halfling and one changeling count as an infestation, genius?" Anorax retorted. Nuzo had been expecting to inflict terror on the two, not to illicit a possible rhetorical question that would set his two lackies into chuckles.

"Just leave us alone," Madalah said bravely, earning scathing stares from her three former comrades. "The queen has been deposed, there is no more order in the caves. Why seek justice for your clan when your clan can't even keep itself together?"

"You forget your place!" Bezzle argued, stepping past Nuzo. "You forget where you come from. We do not hail from this colony, Madalah. While this hive struggles to find it's balance, our hive still flourishes across the great sea, and that still makes you a traitor to your clan!"

Madalah knew Bezzle spoke the truth. She drew in against herself, finally allowing herself to fear some fear as the trio approached menacingly. Anorax stepped in front of her when Madalah suddenly stepped forth again, an idea having formed in her head. "Stop! I invoke the rite of challenge of H'ze!"

Anorax frowned at this unfamiliar term, even as Nuzo snarled with anger. "Heresy! I refuse to acknowledge your ridiculous customs!"

Nuzo quite suddenly found himself in the shadow of the biggest changeling his hive had ever seen. He turned to face Dozix, rearing up on his hind legs and hissing with aggression. Nuzo's show of aggression was as quickly pushed aside as he was, and he found himself pressed into the cave wall by the giant's large hooves, knocking the red helm from Nuzo's head.

Anorax blinked with confusion as the helm skittered loudly onto the cave floor by Anorax's hooves, revealing Nuzo not as the red-headed changeling Anorax thought him to be, but as a normal black-carapaced changeling. He turned and looked to Madalah for the anser to his confusion. "He's not one of you, he's...?"

"From here, yes," Madalah answered in a hushed voice. "He'll have no choice in this matter."

"Your view of our customs is both arbritrary and unnecesary," Dozix told him coldly. "You hail from this hive, which has reached it's peak of power and control, and has lost both. You hold no rank here any longer." As Dozix finished his speech, he released Nuzo, who fell from the slight indent his body had made in the rock and fell to the floor.

Bezzle spat upon the ground near Nuzo, then turned her murderous gaze to Madalah. "I will accept your rite to H'ze. You know the rules, sister. One combatant, and one only. If your comrade enters the fray, he will die as well. Dozix will see to it."

"You're talking like you're gonna win!" Anorax retorted. Bezzle pulled herself up to her full height - just beneath Madalah's chin, and snorted. Madalah blinked in confusion and turned to Anorax.

"You're not going to argue, or tell me I can't?"

"Enough with the mushy talk! We fight!" Bezzle yelled, rushing forward, only to come face to face with a furious Anorax.

"Back off! She didn't agree to your terms, or are you so eager to break the rules of the sacred H'ze?!"

Bezzle skidded to a stop in a panic until she bumped noses with Anorax. His sudden outburst and bravado were surprising, and not altogether unpleasant to the psychotic changeling. Besides, he spoke the truth, although she had not a single idea how he would know of their hive's rules. She grumbled and walked back to Dozix' side to wait for Madalah to agree to the chosen terms.

Madalah leaned in, her eyes wide as she whispered, "How do you know the rules of the H'ze?"

Anorax, a dry look on his face, answered, "I didn't. Lucky guess."

The changeling laughed quietly, a soft, confident sound that, coupled with the stare she was giving Anorax, made him blush. "Will living with you always produce such humorous results?"

Anorax smiled despite the situation, a faint glimmer of his romantic bravado shone in his eyes, and he chanced a nuzzle on Madalah's cheek. "I can only hope so, because I plan to give you the same stuff for the rest of my life."

Madalah's bright eyes actually began to tear up at Anorax's hopeful tone. She wasn't sure how this would turn out, but for now, at this very moment in time, she'd never felt happier. She closed the distance between the two of them, and began their second kiss. It was just as warm and easy and wonderful as their first.

After a moment or two, the pair reluctantly pulled away. It was time. Madalah turned to face her foe and stepped forward, head lowered, wings raised. "I am ready, and I accept your terms. My male shall not interfere. Our brother shall not interfere. Winner takes all."

"Also agreed," Bezzle said as she assumed the same stance. The two females stared at one another, both sizing the other up. Anorax looked between the two, judging the size differences between them. Madalah was taller and had longer reach. Bezzle, while shorter, had a stronger looking frame.

Suddenly, the two began. Not with a frontal attack, but by taking to the air, both changelings moving at an incredibly fast pace within confined walls. Anorax gasped and had to take a few steps back to take in all the speed. The two changelings had taken to ricocheting off the walls, and attempting to attack one another when they met in mid-air.

Anorax couldn't even begin to wonder how they did it without damaging themselves. It took him a moment to locate Madalah. He started tracking her, and soon came to realize that this truly was a battle of speed and accuracy. Madalah had to propel herself from one wall, calculate where her foe would be, then attempt an attack, all while focusing on twisting herself in the air to land with her hooves against the wall for another propelling jump, then start all over again. Each moment inbetween the walls lasted about half a second.

The halfling stared up in wide-eyed wonder as the two combatants zipped back and forth almost faster than he could see. It didn't seem like either of the changelings had gained an upper hand until the flying bodies suddenly connected and he heard Madalah cry out. As much as he wanted to step in, he knew that would be the end of their clean chance at a getaway.

Anorax gasped as he saw Madalah slowing down as she flew up into a backwards arch, just narrowly avoiding another attack. She came down on the ground directly next to Anorax. A single sideways glare from the changeling told Anorax to move - and he did, just narrowly avoiding being stomped on by Bezzle as she pursued the taller changeling. Madalah hopped once as she avoided Bezzle once more, then returned to the ground and twirled her body around and caught Bezzle in the rump, propelling the shorter combatant headfirst into the wall.

Without missing a beat, Madalah shot forward and...bit Bezzle's behind. Bezzle let loose a roar that was a mix of pain and her dignity being knocked down a peg. Madalah let loose a wicked giggle and shot into the air, into the darkness of the open chasm above. As the insulted changeling turned upwards to follow her query, Anorax stepped closer to Dozix, a confused look on his face.

"So, uh...?"

Practically hearing the question in the halfling's voice, Dozix made a soft little chuckle in his throat. "Madalah has always done that. It is a terrible insult to take an injury in the back. Bezzle has never taken care of her defense. Yet, for all the times they've fought, Madalah has never once won. Go figure."

"Oh, heh." Anorax had to let that sink in before he stared up at Dozix in panic. "What, what? Madalah's never once won against Bezzle?!"

Dozix shook his head slowly, then looked down at Anorax menacingly. "Enjoy the truce while it lasts, half-breed, because when Bezzle is done with the traitor, I'm going to grind you into the stone and leave you here to rot." Anorax backed away from the giant, half from fear of him, half in fear from Madalah. He quickly changed back into pegasus form, his wings liberating him into the air.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Dozix bellowed, quickly taking to the air to follow Anorax further upwards into the darkness.

"I'm not going to interfere with this fight, you have my word!" Anorax yelled down at the slower moving changeling. "I just...I want to be with her when it ends!" Geez Madalah, what were you thinking?! Anorax thought, furious and panicking as he flew higher. Eventually he could make out sounds, and then light. He'd caught up with the two, Madalah and Bezzle facing each other on a broad ledge.

Madalah was too focused to notice Anorax on the opposite side, and she was starting to wear down. Bezzle had always been a better, stronger fighter, and they both knew this. Why, then, had Madalah initiated the H'ze? So I could say goodbye, she thought to herself as she faced Bezzle.

The smaller changeling began the attack once more. They attacked like before, but now they had more space. Their attacks would be slower, and would give them more time to attack. Unfortunately, while Madalah's speed slowed just a fraction in the open space, Bezzle's speed actually increased.

On their third fly-by, Bezzle clipped Madalah and sent her careening for the wall. She began to pull away from it when Bezzle grabbed her from behind and sped up, then smashed the bigger changeling headfirst. Stunned, Madalah fell and rolled away from the wall as it turned into a small slope at the bottom. Before she could pull herself to her hooves, Bezzle again came down on top of her harshly.

The two wrestled for a moment, each trying to get the other in a deadly pin. Finally, Madalah freed herself, only to have her hide legs pinned. She fell forward as Bezzle grabbed the back of her neck in her mouth. This was usually a winning position, but Bezzle took her hooves off of Madalah's and stretched out Madalah's wings to either side of her back.

A cruel, sadistic look came over Bezzle's face as she panted, just slightly out of breath. She stretched Madalah's wings tighter, causing the bigger changeling to begin screaming in agony. "Forfeit!" Bezzle announced, letting go of Madalah's neck and pushing down on it with her forehead. "Forfeit, end your pain, and I'll end your suffering forever!"

Anorax trembled with fury as he watched his marefriend stretched and tortured. His hooves dug into the ground he stood on. There had to be something he could do, some kind of support. That was it. He looked to the side at Dozix, who smirked down at him. Only a matter of time, Dozix's eyes told him.

This is it, Madalah told herself inbetween her screams. I've lost, and I've cost Anorax his life. At least I got to say goodbye. Madalah screamed again, her eyes blinded with tears of pain, but she saw something bright come into her line of sight. She focused enough just to see Anorax, who had flown across the chasm to stand before her, a look of bright determination in his eyes.

Even as blinding white pain filled every last section of Madalah's body, something else started to fill her being - purpose, determination, fury. She wasn't going to die - she was going to win, at any cost, and win the right to keep living. With this fierce determination in her, she pulled forward and down, and effectively ripped her wings from her body, the sinew snapping from her wing joints and causing Bezzle to fall backwards.

Bezzle, completely shocked that Madalah would willingly part with her wings, wasn't nearly fast enough for what came next. Madalah ran around behind her and grabbed her, her longer legs locking around the smaller changeling so she couldn't escape, and closed her mouth over Bezzle's throat, stopping her breath, even as she struggled in vain.

Bezzle continue to struggle and gasp for breath as a heavy buzzing of wings approached, followed by an even heavier set of hoofsteps. Anorax watched as Dozix approached the two, and finally looked down at Bezzle, who stared up at him expectantly. "Do you forfeit, Bezzle?" he asked. An incredulous look came over Bezzle's eyes, then a look of panic as she still couldn't breathe.

Finally, after more vain struggling, Bezzle nodded. Madalah immediately released her, leaving the smaller changeling gasping for air. As Madalah and Anorax made their way towards each other, the adrenaline that had allowed her to survive began to wear off. She could feel the stinging pain coming from where her wings used to be. She faltered in her steps and collapsed to the ground. Anorax followed her and took her into his arms while she sobbed and trembled in pain.

"Madalah, I..." Anorax began. "...I'm so proud of you. You were awesome. I didn't think you'd sacrifice your wings like that...for us."

"It was worth it, Anorax, if it means getting out of here alive with you," she whispered, easing a pained smile across her lips as she looked up at her halfling mate.

The two were suddenly thrown from each other as a furious Bezzle rammed into them. Anorax found himself grabbed from behind and smashed into a wall, stunning him thoroughly. As Madalah fell, she felt her heart jump into her throat as she was headed for the chasm. She landed just inches from the ledge, then turned and found Bezzle waiting for her. The smaller changing lashed out and hit her in the face, causing the bigger changeling to falter and fall, just barely catching herself on the ledge with her lower half hanging in the air.

"You got off on a technicality, little sister. I had you by the neck first, I won! You're not even a proper changeling now without your wings! And what do you think our mother will think, you shacking up with a half-breed freak like him? Trust me, I'm doing you a favor..." Bezzle said, raising a hoof over Madalah's eyes.

"What are you doing?" Dozix said as she approached from behind Bezzle, looming over her with a scowl on his face. "Madalah never forfeited the fight. You did. She sacrificed her wings to gain the upper edge. You had her by the neck, yes, but you did not follow through with the rules. You lost this battle, Bezzle, accept your defeat."

Bezzle turned and leered up at Dozix. "Oh, please, brother! Look around, we are not at home, the rules don't apply here!"

Dozix made a face of disgust. "Have you no honor? We bring the rules with us, that's what mother told us when she sent us here!"

Bezzle merely laughed and turned back to Madalah, again raising her hoof, intending to push Madalah down into the abyss. "Well, mother's not here, either!"

Madalah closed her eyes to her impending doom. Instead of feeling a hard hoof on her face, she heard Bezzle grunt sharply and in pain, the sound moving away from her. She opened her eyes again to see Dozix not far away, though she couldn't see Bezzle. She heard the smaller changeling yelling, then Dozix brought his hoof down on the ground, resulting in a loud, sickening crunch. Bezzle didn't make another sound.

Madalah frowned sadly as she began to pull herself up. After a moment of effort, she was safely on the ledge once more. She kept her eyes closed as she walked past Dozix. She didn't want to see her sister's fate. When she came upon Anorax, still knocked clean out, she laid down beside him and very quickly fell asleep, the harsh battle having wiped her out.

25 - Race To The End Part 1

Chrysalis paced back and forth down the tunnel. It was a tunnel that branched off three different ways: One lead to the former queen's personal chamber, one lead straight to the surface world, and one lead back around to the central chamber. The tunnel that lead into this area inclined upwards, leading from a chamber that lead to large, open-spaced chasm that had access to all the other levels.

Something was bothering Chrysalis, something that was somehow worse than the feeling of having her position, her title, her very right stripped away from her. No, it was the fact that while she could sense her soldiers once more, there were at least one hundred unaccounted for. That, and she could swear she felt the very foundations of her home trembling. These two things combined made her very nervous.

The changeling queen narrowed her eyes as she turned towards the chasm tunnel, sensing an approaching presence. She didn't have to wait long until the usurper herself, Shimmering Oasis slid down the final few hoof-steps, and came to a stop as she saw Chrysalis. A small smile came over the princess' face as she approached.

"And what are you smiling about? Coming back with nothing to show for it? Did you fail?" Chrysalis asked, emphasizing the fail with a grin.

"I failed to take the king, I failed to take the queen," the alicorn said with dripping ambiguity, stepping past the changeling to examine the tunnels ahead. She smiled pleasantly as glanced back at Chrysalis over her shoulder. "...I shall have to be happy with taking the pawns. A small victory is better than a huge loss."

Not liking the sound of this, Chrysalis stepped a little closer to the alicorn, eyes narrowed with consternation. "And just who are the pawns?"

"At this point, everyone. If you don't want to play, then get out from under the board before it comes crashing down."

The pawns. Everyone. Crashing down. These five words clicked in Chrysalis' mind like a lock sliding into place. It all made sense now - her missing soldiers, the unsteady foundation of her home, Shimmering Oasis' plan. The changeling queen began to scramble past the alicorn princess, who made no move to stop her. "You're insane! Play your game, but leave me out of it!"

Shimmering Oasis merely snorted and closed her eyes to concentrate and smile over her inevitable victory. While she had taken Chrysalis' entire army under her control, she had given one hundred and ten a special job, and given them locked commands so that they would continue their work if she were somehow disconnected from the others - and that was to dig. Dig until the caverns collapsed in on themselves. The princess wasn't too keen on competition for her lord Discord's favor.

She sensed that at least ten of her special workers had died - either at the hooves of her enemies, or having perished as the cave began to collapse in that area. By locating all of the locked changelings, Shimmering Oasis estimated that there was still at least fifteen minutes left before the entire cavern collapsed. Plenty of time to stall her prey and trap them in the center, and ensure their demise.

The alicorn began walking to the tunnel that would take her back up to the central chamber, her horn lighting up as she began to recall control of the changeling soldiers. She smiled as they fought in vain to keep control as they all slowly came under her control once again, but something seemed off. She could feel some kind of flicker in the flow of her power, an interruption, like a bad casing in an electrical light. It felt familiar, it felt...no. He wouldn't dare come for her, would he?

Shimmering Oasis put this troubling thought at the back of her mind. What could he do now? If Shadow Heart came for her here, he too would be caught in her trap. One last welp to worry about, she thought as she chuckled, making her way to the next group she intended to crush. If should could not defeat Spark Storm or his little pea pod, she would destroy his friends.

In the highest central chamber, the point where Spark's team had originally been separated, the remaining three comrades, Emerald Skies, Kecnik and Lazer Reflex, had been busy. The floor was littered with changelings. Some of them had been killed, while most of them had been incapacitated, either broken or unconscious.

Kecnik had resigned himself to standing guard while Emerald Skies and Laser Reflex rested beside him. For the entire time that that the rest of their group had been separated from the three, the chamber had remained closed off to any other passageways. They had been stuck battling a fierce fifty changeling warriors in an enclosed area, with no way in or out.

At first it had been a bit of a one-sided fight. For the first ten minutes, the changelings had been predictable, too easy to outmaneuver. Quite suddenly, however, the changelings had stopped fighting and just stood there, as if in a trance, every single one of them. Two minutes later, the changelings resumed the fight, but this time they were unpredictable, in a rage.

The fight for the three comrades had then become a battle of survival. The changelings had suddenly gone into a rage, furiously attacking the three and wounding Kecnik while severely battering poor Emerald Skies about. The two of them had been lucky that they hadn't been seriously injured. Laser Reflex had been particularly fierce. As trapped as he had been, he had remained true to his determination to fight his way to Russet Hearts and rescue his friend.

Now though, a mere twenty minutes after entering the cave, the three comrades were worn out, having fought constantly for nearly fifteen minutes. "You know, isn't it always like this?" Kecnik and Laser glanced at Emerald Skies, his comment bringing them out of their bored stupor. "It's like a story in a book, and trust me, I know books." The changeling and blue pegasus glanced at each other. Somehow, they knew exactly what he was going to say.

"There's always a hero, and there's always a close bunch of friends that he trusts when they go into battle. There's a pyramid chart to show how this works, but just try to picture it. There's the main character, the hero, at the top. Then there's his love interest, his close friends, and then at the bottom, there's the friends who get left behind and end up fighting the other bottom feeders," Emerald closed bitterly.

Laser Reflex let out a tired chuckle. "Yeah, I believe it. You know,-"

Laser Reflex paused as he, Kecnik and Emerald Skies all felt a rumbling in the floor. Something was happening. All three got to their hooves as the far wall slowly slid open, like a secret panel. Laser sputtered incredulously and got to his hooves slowly, his body aching but screaming for more action. "Finally, something else to do. Come on in here, and give me back my fr..."

Laser Reflex again cut himself off as he stared at the open doorway in horror. There stood Shimmering Oasis, an eager smirk on her face as she laid eyes on the three she wished to see most. The ones left behind.

Shimmering Oasis offered no words as her horn lit up. The changelings littering the floor around the trio began to get to their hooves, despite their injuries and unconscious states. Kecnik stared at his fallen kin as they rose. It was a terrible insult to be used like this, and the alicorn had no qualms using them as ragged puppets.

Despite Kecnik's reasons to be angry, it was Laser Reflex that released a roar of rage and flew directly at the alicorn, surprising his comrades. "Geez!" Emerald Skies exclaimed. "You've got to admire his persistence, if not his insanity!" Kecnik responded with a noncomittal grunt as the two took to the air to avoid the approaching changeling puppets.

"Give me back Russet Hearts!" Laser Reflex shouted. He flew straight at the princess, hooves extended, probably reaching for her throat. He met a psychic shield, though, and bounced off it like rubber, sending him careening backwards into a group of changelings. Emerald Skies and Kecnik were quick to go to their comrade's side, easily fighting off the surrounding changelings. Despite the alicorn's control of them, they seemed very sluggish, as if the princess' control of them was weak.

Before the trio could give commentary, Shimmering Oasis' near-permanent grin turned into a frown. Her light from her horn flickered, then gave off a barely noticeable black glow. The princess groaned and shook her head before turning a glaring eye at the far wall, where the intrepid group had first entered twenty five minutes ago. "He's here, that little brat..." she muttered.

Just an instant later, there was a loud, intense boom as the wall came down, shattered with a single shot. Shimmering Oasis, her changelings and the formerly trapped trio all turned to look as two unicorns entered the room through the shattered doorway. Gunslinger and Shadow Heart had arrived.

Shadow Heart's horn was aglow with the same shade of black as Shimmering Oasis' horn, his eyes instantly locking with hers. "Little welp, you made a mistake in following me!" she hissed angrily. His presence was severely messing with her magic flow. Wait a moment, she thought, her eyes on the blue unicorn's magical hold of his weapon. He certainly wasn't having trouble with his magic.

Noticing the princess' observation, Shadow Heart smirked with bitter amusement, the magical glow from his horn intensifying. "You taught me well, princess. What was it you said? 'It's all about willpower'? You left me my focus, and I'll use that to mess you up any way I can!"

Glancing between the three of them, Kecnik leaned closer to Emerald Skies. "I can't tell. Are they on our side?"

"Heck if I know," Emerald responded. "Although I think I recognize the blue unicorn. Wait, yes!" Laser turned his head to look at Emerald in confusion. "He's Gunslinger. He's in Spark Storm's group."

"Just how many 'groups' does Spark Storm have?!" Laser said loudly.

"Enough!" Shimmering Oasis announced. Her horn's glow grew in intensity, her natural gold glow slowly overcoming the black magical drain of Shadow Heart's own magical grasp. Between fighting the powerful unicorn and attempting to keep control of every last changeling in the caves, it seemed she still had enough power to overcome.

Instead of ordering the changelings to attack, however, Shimmering Oasis seemed to have other plans. Her own eyes began to glow. Shadow Heart grunted with effort as he intensified his spell, but his magic draining seemed to have no effect on the alicorn. "I have no more time to play with you children," the princess growled. All at once, every last changeling in the room let loose howls of such volume that the ponies dropped to their knees and held their hooves to their ears.

Shimmering Oasis herself winced and pinned her ears against her head as she turned tail and ran back the way she'd come, not even bothering to close the door behind her. And for the third time in the last hour my plans have been ruined...fine! Spend your last moments ruing the day you crossed me! she thought as she ran back down the tunnel to where she'd seen Chrysalis disappear. The way out was this way.

With a last glaring telepathic command, she locked the remaining changelings under her command in a state of fury. They would wander the caves and keep Spark Storm and his friends busy until the entire structure collapsed, due in ten minutes.

Shadow Heart groaned at the sound assaulting his ears. He'd had enough; building his magic at the base of his horn, he opened his eyes and identified his targets and separated the friendlies, then loosed a magic barrier that spread out around him, passing harmlessly over Gunslinger and the other ponies. The dark barrier pressed against the howling changelings, then smashed them all into the walls with loud, sickening crunches, ending the terrible sound.

Emerald Skies slowly got to his hooves, a bewildered look in his eyes. "Geez...um, nice job."

As Laser Reflex stood up, he let out a low whistle. "Nice one, uh..."

"Shadow Heart," the unicorn said as he got to his hooves slowly, his body trembling from releasing his powerful spell. "I can't do that all the time, so let's try and avoid more of those things. Now let's go catch her!"

"Now hold on a minute, Shadow Heart," Gunslinger cut in, putting a hoof on the younger unicorn's back. "You might be able to disrupt her magic, but Ah ain't seen evidence that you can straight up take her on. Ah can't speak for you, but out of all the alicorns Ah ever seen, ain't one of 'em pushovers, ya hear me?"

As Shadow Heart begrudgingly and quietly agreed, Emerald Skies stepped forth, a fascinated look in his eyes. "Begging pardon, but did you say 'alicorns' - as in plural? Are you saying that you've met more than just Princess Celestia and Shimmering Oasis?"

Gunslinger sighed and shook his head incredulously. "Can we stay on topic here? Look, Ah'm pretty sure it wasn't just the three of you that came up here on some damn fool suicide mission. Where's the rest of your team?"

"We lost them," Kecnik said. "The changelings separated us and sent the rest of our team to the depths of the caverns."

While Shadow Heart eyed Kecnik with suspicion, Gunslinger sighed and sat down on his haunches. "Ah was afraid of that. Turbid told me these caverns're gonna be comin' down pretty soon."

Emerald Skies shot to attention, his wings perked. "Sorry, what? We, uh..." The pegasus swallowed hard. He'd been trying not to freak out too badly from being trapped in the same room, let alone being trapped while the caves came down.

"Now calm down. My superior told me we ain't bein' no heroes. That means we take this group and get to to the surface as fast as possible. No dawdlin', and no revengin'," Gunslinger said, emphasizing the last two words while giving Shadow Heart a stern glare. The younger unicorn returned the glare, but he offered no retort.

Emerald Skies let out a huge sigh. The thought of being in these caves while they were crumbling was not an idea he had been looking forward to.

"But what about the others? They don't know what we know!" Laser pointed out in a panic.

"Turbid's goin' to get 'em," Gunslinger said. "Trust me, if anypony can locate others under the ground, it's her. She'll find 'em."

Laser Reflex didn't look too sure, but he nodded. After a moment, the others gave their approval. It was time to go. They all turned and headed out the way Shimmering Oasis had gone, and before long they found a tunnel leading up, giving way to precious sunlight. Emerald Skies and Kecnik were all too happy to find fresh air, and went on ahead.

As Shadow Heart reluctantly stepped out into the sunshine, Gunslinger hung back and looked down into the opening of the caves, a heavy frown spreading across his face. Laser Reflex had turned back, a lingering look into the darkness. "Y'all come on, now. Ain't nothin' we can do now but trust our friends."

Laser Reflex frowned unhappily and shook his head quietly. "...I can't. I can't just walk out of here without knowing for sure that he's safe. I'm sorry, Mr Gunslinger, but even if Russet is in good hooves, I'll regret it for the rest of my life if I don't go in there myself and-"

The pegasus fell silent and fell forward, sliding a few feet down into the tunnels, a small dart sticking out of his rump. Gunslinger shook his head as he slipped down into the opening and came back out with Laser over his shoulder. "And I'd regret it if I let you do that, partner."

Anorax groaned quietly as he felt consciousness returning to him. The first sensation to return to him was pain, pain at the top of his head. He remembered Madalah being close to him, her wings ripped from her back, her flesh still steaming. This prompted him to nearly sit bolt upright, panic for his new love bringing him to his senses.

What he saw both eased his mind and troubled it at the same time. Madalah lay against his side, legs folded peacefully, breathing. But as the battle with Bezzle had left her wingless and wounded, the halfling's heart sank. As far as he knew, a changeling's wings did not grow back. He had always been taught to take very good care of his own wings, and as much as he could tell, they were the only pair he would ever have. Madalah was grounded for life.

Anorax' split sense of mind was soon overcome with another, far less pleasant sensation: an angry buzzing, and it was everywhere. Anorax shot to his hooves as carefully as he could, but the movement still woke his changeling charge. Without a word, she too got to her hooves shakily before pressing against Anorax for balance.

"What is - we need to go, Anorax, we have to get out," Madalah told him dizzily. Anorax turned to frown at her with concern, but something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. What was that behind Madalah? Some kind of mound of broken and bleeding flesh...oh. The halfling's eyes widened with realization as he recognized the remains of Bezzle, crushed under a great weight.

Anorax could only think of one creature in the caves big or heavy enough to have done that. He looked around wildly for signs of Dozix, but there was no sign of him. Madalah, coming to her senses and realizing that Anorax was just standing there, leaned close and promptly bit him on the shoulder.

"Ow!" Anorax yelped, turning to look at Madalah with a mixture of anger and curiosity. When he noticed the panicked look in her eyes, the loud buzzing returned to him. Without a second more to waste, he got to his knees. Madalah instantly straddled his back and laid between his pegasus wings, clinging tightly. Anorax shot to his hooves and immediately launched himself into the air, just as a cloud of changelings came raining down from the chasm above.

Anorax's heart leapt up into his throat, but his actions were quick. He pulled a backflip maneuver, arching up into the air and sailing back down into the darkness below. He was suddenly very thankful that his halfling senses were not diminished in his pegasus form. He just barely saw the transition between chasm and narrow hole that lead down into the tunnel where he and Madalah had first been confronted.

Anorax had little time as he flew off in the direction that he had seen Nuzo, Bezzle and Dozix approach, but he chanced a glance. Nuzo was not where Dozix had laid him to rest.

"Anorax, pay attention!" Madalah's voice sounded in Anorax's ears as she shouted, her head positioned just right to give him an earache. The halfling turned his head quickly and barely managed to avoid a jutting rock on the tunnel side. He rose in the air much too fast, and when Madalah screamed and held tightly to him, he knew he'd bumped her shoulder wounds on the ceiling.

Gritting his teeth in anger, he suddenly heard another sound, this one familiar and filling him with terror. The buzzing of furious changelings began to close in on the two from behind. He didn't dare look back; another clumsy bump could very well land the two of them on the ground and at the mercy of the angry, violent creatures.

As Anorax raced on, something up ahead on the left caught his attention. A vent, just big enough to slip into. However, the changelings nipping at his heels were a problem. If he could just get there and slip inside, the angry changelings wouldn't have the presence of mind to get in after him one at a time. They'd get stuck, and he and Madalah could climb the vent that likely went to a higher level.

The problem was that there wouldn't be time to climb in before they were grabbed and likely torn to pieces. Anorax tensed and groaned as he passed the vent. Even if he'd had time to climb in, he would've had to make a 90º turn at full speed. It didn't add up, his plan was severely flawed, and he was running out of stamina.

Anorax was beginning to lose hope when a large figure suddenly appeared next to him. The two of them barely fit in the long straight tunnel. "Dozix!" the halfling exclaimed happily, but the giant changeling just looked down at him with a grim frown.

"Follow me. The tunnel loops back that way, you can make your exit into the vent I saw you looking at. A brilliant plan."

Anorax smiled and flew faster, feeling some hope and his strength return. "You got it, big guy! W...wait, what about you? You're too big to fit in that vent!"

Dozix just flew faster. He seemed determined not to explain himself, and Madalah had a pretty good idea why and what he planned to do. She said nothing as she clung tighter to Anorax and buried her face in his mane.

The two fliers sped along down the tunnel, the angry cloud of changelings directly behind them. Anorax frowned, slightly panicked as they grew closer again. It wasn't that he was getting slower, it was that they were getting faster. It was like some terrible force drove them past their limits. Some of them even began to fall to the ground to bounce once, causing body pile ups as they ran into each other.

"We're getting close," Dozix warned Anorax. "Be prepared; this isn't exactly a loop, like I said, but..."

Anorax stared at the coming 'turn' that Dozix had mentioned. It wasn't a turn at all, it was a slope, a very smoothly worn slope that climbed the wall and continued down until it came to a complete stop. The halfling started to panic until he noticed that the slope didn't just stop with the wall, it continued along the ceiling and ran sideways down the other wall. This was going to be tricky.

Anorax and Dozix both glanced at each other. If they didn't time this just right, they would trip and fall prey to the changeling mob behind them. Just just five seconds to go, Anorax formulated a plan so ridiculous it would probably get them killed. He probably wouldn't make that 90º turn anyway, so...

As the two approached the slope, Dozix getting there first, the giant changeling ran up the wall as he flew, his long legs giving him an easy edge. Anorax wouldn't have it so easy, so he did what came naturally and eased his forelegs up and began sliding up along the smooth rock wall. As the slope began to connect with the ceiling, he pushed up and began running upside down on the ceiling, forgetting for a moment that his momentum was driving him over the cloud of changelings.

The angry mob, much too hell-bent on chasing to initiate any maneuvers, began crashing loudly into the wall, some of them fatally. It was just the break that Anorax was looking for. "We're gonna get out of here, Madalah! We're almost there!" he shouted over the sound of rushing wings and snarling changelings. When he didn't get a response, a moment of panic set in. Had she fallen off?!

A shifting of shoulders told him that Madalah was still attached to him, and the feeling of her clinging tighter to him told him she was still with him, but something was wrong. Something was off, and she was refusing to tell him what. After a moment, Anorax let himself fall as he passed over the dark cloud in the tunnel and righted himself. As he sped along the way he'd just come, he could see that vent just up ahead.

There was still the issue of making that turn, and he could hear a fresh wave of changelings approaching. Taking his time to make that turn just right and then crawl into the vents still didn't seem like a good idea, and he was very quickly running out of steam. Continuing down the tunnel and looking for another way out was not an option.

Anorax flew as fast as he could, but he was slowing. His wings and lungs burned, and he could hear the changelings getting closer. His vision was temporarily shadowed as Dozix flew over him at breakneck speed. He wondered just what the giant changeling had in mind when Dozix flipped in mid air, turned, and faced Anorax. The halfling suddenly understood his plan, and oh-so wished there was some other way...

Anorax was suddenly in a world of pain as Dozix caught the speeding halfling, bringing him to a complete halt. The big changeling's hoof caught Anorax in the stomach and around the back. It wasn't a violent grab, but Anorax's speed meant there was no easy way to stop him. Dozix immediately turned and stuffed Anorax into the vent, Madalah and all. Madalah crawled upwards, her hooves pressed against the narrow vent walls. Anorax did the same in a panic as Dozix began to follow them, grunting and squeezing.

"Come on, come on! You're almost there!" Anorax called down, his voice echoing in the enclosed space. One look at Dozix's face, however, told Anorax that the big changeling had never meant to follow them into the vent to escape - he had followed to plug the hole.

Dozix's scream as the back portion of his body was torn into was loud, so loud in the crawlspace. Anorax could only stare in horror, even as he felt wet drops falling onto his head, salty tears that Madalah had been saving for this moment. She'd known of Dozix' intent; Anorax had not.

Dozix grunted quietly, the life quickly draining from his eyes and body movements as he lowered his head to rest against the far side of the vent. "Go, just...get out."

The final whisper of the giant changeling petered out, his eyes now lifeless. Anorax, in shock, could only stare down at the changeling that had selflessly given himself to preserve the two of them. Before, he had been so ready to kill Anorax once Bezzle had defeated Madalah. He still didn't know what happened between Madalah, Bezzle and Dozix, maybe he would never know. He certainly wouldn't if he didn't honor Dozix's sacrifice.

He finally came out of his stupor and started climbing up the vent until he and Madalah's bodies were touching. He reached up with a hoof and brought her muzzle to his, his eyes hard and determined. "We'll thank him properly later...now let's get out of here."

Madalah closed her eyes and bit back a quiet sob for her fallen brother, then the two of them began a long, tiring climb, the only sound in the darkness of the vent their even breathing, given to them to keep a while longer by an honorable giant.

26 - Race To The End Part 2

Russet Hearts cringed as the bigger stallion brought his hoof down on the hard, green substance encasing his front hooves for the third time, and for the third time the results were less than hopeful. A single green chip fell to the ground, and Spark Storm scowled and shook his hoof to rid himself of the numbness his efforts were causing. "Ugh, this is really ticking me off!" Spark growled, raising his wings with the intent to try to shock the resin off of Russet's hooves.

"Spark Storm, don't you dare!" Rarity chided, reaching over to touch a hoof to the resin protectively. "We have no idea what your wings could do. You could shock poor Russet!"

Russet looked between the two, thoroughly confused. He'd never met Spark Storm before today, so he had no idea what kind of conversation the two were having.

Spark Storm scowled down at the resin, but he knew Rarity had a point. He was just being angry and impatient. They'd been down here much too long trying to get Russet free from his bonds, and the creaks and groans he heard in the background were becoming more and more unnerving.

"You're right," he said off-hoofedly, glancing briefly at the ceiling. What a day it'd been; so much had happened, so much to process, it was almost too much. He would need a very long vacation from dealing with this kind of thing when it was over.

"Um..." a timid voice from behind Rarity sounded, just barely heard over the sound of Spark Storm thinking. "If it's all right with everypony, I'd really like to see the sun again and go home..."

Spark and Rarity turned to look at Fluttershy with looks on their faces that they shared the sentiment. "Of course, dear," Rarity told her reaching up to comfortingly stroke Fluttershy's back. "I think it's high time we make our way out. Spark Storm, could you...?" she trailed off, pointing to Russet.

"I guess there's nothing else to do at this point," Spark commented as he positioned himself to slip Russet's front hooves around his neck, then pulled the unicorn easily up onto his back. He shifted himself as Russet's back legs were also encased in the resin. It took him a moment, but finally got Russet's back legs to rest over Spark's rump.

Spark thought nothing of it, but the position made Russet blush nervously. Rarity had to hold a hoof over her mouth to keep from commenting, but seeing the two in that position made her blush and think very inappropriate things about the two. She could only imagine what Russet was thinking.

Spark Storm, completely oblivious to what he'd just done, turned to face Rarity and Fluttershy, a wary look on his face as he looked up at the ceiling again. He was sure he could see and hear debris falling to the ground. "We need to get out of here as fast as possible. It really sounds like the place is going to come down."

"Wait!" Fluttershy said, a look of worry and concern in her eyes as she cast a glance towards a still red body at the far side of the room. "We can't just leave her here..."

Spark Storm blinked. He had hoped there wouldn't be any neigh-sayers about leaving Fire Lotus here while the place came down, but this was Fluttershy. He didn't know her as well as he knew Rarity or Applejack, but he knew her well enough to know that she valued life, all life. Then again, this was Fire Lotus, who, for all he knew, valued nothing but pain and entertainment.

"I don't know, Fluttershy," Spark told her carefully. "Fire Lotus is very tricky. She's not going to-"

"You have to!" Fluttershy interrupted, stepping closer to Spark Storm, her eyes pleading. "Spark, please. I know she's mean and she's done bad things, but...oh, we can't just abandon her, please!"

Spark winced at the pleading look in Fluttershy's eyes. He was very very opposed to do anything to help Fire Lotus, but that look..."Ugh...fine," he grumbled, then looked to the other side of the large room, where Ampelus had laid herself out to heal. By now, the nymph's severed leg had begun to grow back, a soft, winding tendril forming from the stump.

When Spark turned to face her, he didn't even need to call her. Ampelus sighed and stood, walking towards the small group. As she got close, she noticed the position that Russet and Spark were in. Her eyes widened in confusion, but her vision wasn't her only senses getting cues. The brown unicorn was giving off reaction pheromones; that position was turning him on, even if he was uncomfortable.

Ampelus paused when she got to Spark Storm, a hoof rising to her mouth, much as Rarity had done to keep herself from commenting. Ampelus, however, was not nearly so subtle. She burst out laughing, even striking the ground with a hoof. "Spark Storm! I had no idea you swung that way!"

Russet, realizing what was happening, blushed heavily and shifted uncomfortably, actually drawing in a little on himself, then cast a 'help me' look at Rarity, who was also blushing at the implications. She, however, found this outburst to be extremely distasteful. Spark Storm, of course, was still completely oblivious, until he realized of course the position he'd put poor Russet in on his back, especially the unicorn's back legs hanging over the end of his rear.

"Enough of this immature banter!" Rarity barked, turning to face Ampelus. Behind her, Fluttershy had pulled herself into a little crouching ball, her face red as a tomato, wings erect. She immediately hid her face in her hair when she realized that she, too, had dared to let her imagination run for a moment.

"Pfft, like you haven't thought about it," Ampelus shot back at Rarity, her eyes predatory and suggestive. When Rarity sputtered and made to argue, Spark Storm stepped in. He seemed to be the only one among them that wasn't blushing, but he felt hot with embarrassment.

"Knock it off, Ampelus. Look, we've decided that we can't leave Fire Lotus here. I think the foundation of this place is coming down, and-"

"Well of course it's coming down," Ampelus interrupted, poking at Spark's chest with a hoof. "Heightened senses, duh." She trailed her eyes upward, ears tilting this way and that. "With all the digging the changelings have been doing, I'd say we have less than ten minutes to get to the surface before the caves collapse."

Fluttershy let out a tiny gasp of fear as Spark frowned, following Ampelus' gaze. "Well, then I suggest we get a move on out of here. Grab Fire Lotus so we can-"

"No."

Four pairs of eyes settled on Ampelus, who had settled herself into a sitting position. "You can all give me the guilty 'please' look all you want, I'm not doing anything for that bitch."

A small gasp from Fluttershy was the only sound before the yellow pegasus took to the air to position herself just over Ampelus, the pleading look in her eyes just slightly harder than before. "But you must! It's not right to leave her down here, no matter what kind of evil things she's done. Everypony deserves life."

Spark Storm watched Ampelus very carefully. Despite the amount of trust she had earned from him so far, he still didn't trust her not to hurt his friends if she was so inclined. The nymph sneered up at Fluttershy, the vines around her body twisting with slight agitation. "She kidnapped you, tortured your unicorn friend, beat the crap out of both her and Spark, she stuck a needle in my forehead, and you want to help her live? I think you've got a screw loose!"

Spark Storm had seen enough. He knew well enough that Fluttershy was very sensitive, and anything else that Ampelus had to say would hurt the pegasus. He started to step forward when something happened, something that struck him with fear. Rarity and Russet could feel it, too, a feeling of dread, but this feeling was coming from Fluttershy.

The yellow pegasi's eyes had opened wide, but the look in her eyes spoke volumes. She was angry, and it was a look that terrified even Ampelus. "No!" Fluttershy said, the look in her eyes intense and nearly palpable as she closed in on the nymph. "I've had it with your apathetic attitude towards life! Life is precious and it should be preserved! We are not going to abandon Fire Lotus, not if we have a chance to help her, now you go over there, pick her up and let's move!"

Ampelus stood, though crouched, in a defensive position. Fluttershy had cowed her into submission, the vines around her body hanging limply on her sides. "Ah, f...fine, ok!" she said as she took off at a run around Fluttershy as fast as she could, the soft tendril replacing her leg actually supporting her weight.

Fluttershy smiled with satisfaction as she watched Ampelus run to Fire Lotus, the angry look in her eyes gone. As she landed and folded her wings, she happened to glance at Spark and noticed the look on his face. She turned to see the same look in Rarity's eyes. She immediately drew in against herself, a guilty look spreading across her face. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lose my temper..."

As Spark Storm, Rarity and Russet Hearts shared an uncertain look, Ampelus slowed down as she approached the earth pony cautiously. Her eyes told her that the earth pony hadn't moved since she had connected with the wall, but her other senses told her that Fire Lotus was awake and very alert. "Clever," the nymph said, beginning to circle Fire Lotus but keeping a distance away from her. "How's your butt feeling?"

"Like there's a four-inch needle in it," came the answer, Fire Lotus opening an eye to peer at Ampelus. "How's the forehead?"

"Better than your ass," the nymph responded, noting that Fire Lotus still hadn't budged an inch. "The sympathetic ponies want to take you to the surface. The one you kidnapped refuses to leave you down here."

Fire Lotus offered Ampelus a cruel smirk in response. "I couldn't care less what they want. I'm just fine here, why don't you go play somewhere else? I certainly won't be doing much playing with this needle in my glutes."

"You won't be doing much of anything when the caves come down," Ampelus said, putting herself into a sitting position a good few feet from the earth pony, whose ears twitched with interest at the nymph's statement. "Didn't your partner in crime tell you? She's bringing everything down. This place will be buried in about ten minutes."

Fire Lotus narrowed her eyes at Ampelus, and thought back, years and years ago to when Shimmering Oasis and she had made a pact, that while their plans would run parallel to each other, if either one got in the way, they wouldn't hesitate to kill each other. This took off a lot of pressure between them and made it easy to trust one another, to trust that there was no trust. It seemed that Fire Lotus had finally been left behind.

"Hmph. Whatever. I'll find my own way out, so why don't you-"

Fire Lotus cut herself off as a sudden, angry buzzing could be heard from the direction that Spark, Rarity and Ampelus had come, filling the chamber with a loud, overwhelming echo of buzzing wings. Fire Lotus immediately shot to her hooves, issuing a sharp grunt as the small metal needle in her rump shifted. "Sounds like she did more than just order the caves to collapse. The blood-lust..."

Ampelus chanced a glance at Fire Lotus. She'd never known a pony to be able to sense rage and blood-lust before. "Well? Going to chance staying around here with that wound?"

Fire Lotus glared at Ampelus for a brief moment before turning her hindquarters to Ampelus. "I'll let you help me if you take this needle out of my ass, it's hampering my movements."

"Oh, ok," Ampelus said. Without waiting, without warning, Ampelus thinned out her front hoof and jabbed it into Fire Lotus' wound, then pulled out the needle, along with fresh blood. The action had been so sudden that Fire Lotus didn't have time to brace herself. She let out a pained scream and fell forward, barely catching herself. She had no time to recover as Ampelus wrapped a vine around her waist and deposited the earth pony on her back as she ran back to the others.

Fluttershy's determined attitude drained away as she heard that sound, that angry buzzing. Russet Hearts clung tighter to Spark Storm. The unicorn just wanted to go home and spend the rest of his days forgetting about today. Rarity and Spark Storm shared a look; they both knew this sound well. The changelings were coming.

The four ponies stood together (except Russet Hearts, who clung to Spark Storm for dear life) as Ampelus approached, carrying a furious Fire Lotus, her tail curled to the side to cover her wound. Spark and Fire Lotus locked eyes for a moment. When Spark Storm said nothing, Rarity surprised him by speaking up. "Whatever she did to you it wasn't enough. I hope you suffer."

Spark Storm, Russet Hearts and Fluttershy all cast the fashionista a surprised glance. Rarity met their looks with righteous indignation, but turned apologetic when she noticed Fluttershy, who looked like she might cry. Fire Lotus looked like she was about to respond when Spark Storm intervened. "Fire Lotus, if you want to live, show us the way out."

Fire Lotus sneered down at Spark Storm from her perch, but the approaching sound of death was much too close for her to argue. She turned and pointed behind the group, but as she did there was a deafening crashing sound from that direction. A small landslide came crashing through a carefully constructed hidden doorway, revealing that that way out was out of the question.

"Uh..." Fire Lotus said and frowned. She turned to another direction, to their left. The group ran over to what looked to be another fake wall. Ampelus reached out and broke it down with two swinging vines, but when the dust settled they could hear more angry buzzing. The changelings had them cornered. The group ran back to the center of the room, their backs to each other.

"Wh-what are we going to do?!" Russet asked, his nerves nearly to the boiling point. He was freaking out, and Fluttershy was worse, drawing herself into a little ball, her hooves hiding her face. Tears fell from her eyes, tears of fear and despair, and Spark had had enough of it.

The big pegasus carefully eased Russet Hearts down onto the ground and stepped forward, his wings raised. His feathers began to spark, then began to dance as threads of electricity leapt and crossed along his wings. Russet stared in wide-eyed fascination. Never before had he seen a pegasus call forth lightning at will. Did they really have a chance to survive?

Spark Storm shifted his hooves into a sturdy position, eyes glued to the fall wall where the angry buzzing was coming from and getting closer. He saw their shadows approaching, they came into view, and then...they were gone. Two walls of heavy, moist earth erupted from the ground and covered the entryways.

Spark Storm's heart leapt into his throat and he looked around wildly until he found her, the only unicorn he knew of that commanded the earth. Behind the group, a small hole opened in the wall, the hard rock turning to mud and allowing the teal unicorn known as Turbid Serocity to step through into the chamber.

Spark Storm said nothing as he ran over to his former mentor and embraced her. The older unicorn smiled and returned the embrace. As the two parted, Spark frowned unhappily down at her, a humble and apologetic look on his face. "Turbid, I'm so happy to see you, but-"

"Leave the past alone, Spark Storm," she told him, a warm smile on her face. "At least for now. We can deal with that later if you want, but for now let's focus on getting you and your friends out of here."

Spark smiled as he turned back to his group and ushered them closer. "All right guys, we've got a way out. First, we'll need-"

"Sorry, Spark," Turbid interrupted as she stepped up to stand at his side. "I'm afraid it's not going to be that easy. You see...I've been ordered to help you get out of here. All of you." Turbid let that set in as Spark Storm and Rarity made faces, afraid of what she was going to say next. "Princess Celestia herself has ordered that we at least try to save the changelings. She'll not have their blood on her hooves through negligence."

Spark's wings twitched with agitation. She always had to have the last word, didn't she? What she said went, even if there was a better way. "Uh, ponies?" Fire Lotus said. "Collapsing caves? Angry bug monsters?"

"Fine," Spark Storm finally said, ignoring Fire Lotus and addressing Turbid. "What does she want us to do?"

Turbid smiled approvingly at the pegasus, then stepped forward and lowered her head towards Russet, situated on the ground beside Rarity. "The first thing we need," she said, her horn lighting up in a dark green glow, "is to appoint my assistants." Spark Storm frowned suspiciously at Turbid's words. He didn't like where he thought this was going.

Russet gasped as the resin on his horn and all four of his legs melted, broke apart and then dissolved. Something in Turbid's magic had a profound affect on the resin. Rarity pouted lightly as Russet finally got to his hooves and pawed at the ground, happy to finally have feeling under his hooves again. "I don't understand," Rarity said and turned to look at Turbid. "I tried that, and failed miserably."

"That's because you don't have the right kind of magic, miss Rarity," Turbid told her. A kind and patient smile came over the older unicorn's face as she approached the two. "But you do have a special kind of magic that I desperately need. And you too, Russet."

Russet and Rarity glanced at each other with uncertainty. Special magic? They both lead unextraordinary lives in Ponyville. The only thing Rarity could think of...wait. Now that she thought about it, she could feel it all around. Gems. Gems hidden in the walls, in the landslide from earlier.

Russet frowned as he thought. What could he possibly have to offer for this situation? He looked around. Now that his horn was free, he was picking all kinds of signals. A glance at the wall where Turbid had emerged from was thick with mud, rocks, roots...that was it. That's what he was feeling his horn connect with. Wood.

Turbid smiled approvingly as the two of them seemed to grasp what she was saying. "That's right, you two. I need your help keeping this place together. If we put our strengths together and put our all into it, we can hold the caves together for a few more minutes. Miss Rarity, I'll need you to gather as many gems together as you can and form a structure for the caves. Russet, you'll help her keep the cave's structure."

Russet stared at Turbid incredulously. "I-I what? How do you even-"

"Because it's a special talent of mine," Turbid said, tilting her head to indicate her horn. "My magic deals with the earth and manipulation of the ground, and I can sense when somepony has strong ties to earth magic, and you two have it in spades. With our three talents combined, we might just be saving more lives than our own." When Turbid noticed the now uncertain looks on her fellow unicorns, she sighed. "Please. I know how you feel about the changelings, but we have to try to show them mercy. We can't just let them die without trying."

Rarity sighed, a heavy feeling in her chest. They were so close to getting out and being done with this terrible day, now she was being asked to help the monsters survive and possibly face death as the cave collapsed? She looked over at Russet, who seemed to be dealing with the same thoughts and fears. The question in both their eyes seemed evident: Were they really willing to risk their lives for those monsters?

Turbid looked between the two, and was about to say more when Russet looked up from his own inner turmoil. "I'll do it." A gasp from Rarity gave the stallion pause, but he continued to stare ahead at Turbid, a surprised but pleased look in her eyes. After a moment, Rarity sighed and stepped forward dejectedly.

"I suppose if Russet has the heart to try and spare those terrible creatures, then it would look terrible if I were to neglect the duty selected for me by the princess herself."

Turbid smiled proudly at the two of them. "Thank you, both of you. Now," she turned to Spark Storm, a hard look in her eyes. "This isn't going to be easy to hear, and even less pleasant doing it. The thing is...I need you four to head up through the caverns and lead the changelings to the surface."

A chorus of disbelief, anger and fear broke out among Spark, Fire Lotus and Ampelus, fear on Fluttershy's part. "You can't be serious!" Spark Storm said. "Even if we get a clean break and manage to get past the wall of changelings out there, we won't be moving fast enough to outrun them! We have two injured, and that's going to slow us down, slow enough to have to defend outselves. A lot of changelings are still going to die."

"Dead one way and dead another," Fire Lotus said with a shrug. "Your princess sure has some ambiguous morals for such a high and mighty position."

Turbid frowned with disapproval and sighed. "I'm sorry. It has to be this way. We risk our lives in absolute danger and death to give the changelings a fighting chance to survive this."

Hearing this, Fluttershy stood tall. Now this was something she could get behind...if only it meant staying out of danger. She quickly crouched again and whimpered. "Um...I think I'd like to stay behind with Rarity. Oh, if that's all right..." she whispered.

Spark turned to Fluttershy and gave her a rueful smile. "You're welcome to, Fluttershy, between us and them, they're the ones that are going to have to deal with the cave as it collapses. We'll get to the surface first...maybe."

Fluttershy whimpered as she started fiddling with her hooves. "So, you're going to have to fight your way through hordes of angry, mean monsters, and Rarity and her group will have to face being buried alive...um..." She glanced up at Spark Storm, then at Turbid. "What was the other option again?"

This time, Spark actually let out a laugh. A real, entertained laugh. It felt good after so much tense fighting. Spark Storm stepped over to Fluttershy and sat down next to her to wrap a hoof around her shoulders. "Don't worry, Fluttershy. We'll protect you."

Spark immediately shot a look at Ampelus and Fire Lotus, both of whom shrugged and looked the other way. Fluttershy, only having seen Spark Storm, smiled happily, and finally felt a little safer.

Spark sighed softly, then looked back over to the three unicorns. "Well, lingering here any longer won't help us. If this is the only way, then so be it. Turbid, we're ready."

Turbid smiled proudly once again. Her horn lit up with magic and turned to face the recently blocked doorways. "I hope we all are. You have five minutes to get as far as you can before the caves begin collapsing. Rarity, Russet and myself will stay here and create a new structure that should hold the cave together long enough for you to get out, as well as any of those changelings following you. Just...try to save a few of them."

Spark Storm nodded to his former teacher, then turned to the escape group. "All right, here's what's going to happen. Fluttershy, I want you by my side at all times. I'm gonna need a little space for my attack-er, my defense, so keep your distance, but stay close...you know what I mean." The butter yellow pegasus smiled and nodded quietly. "Ampelus, make sure you don't drop Fire Lotus, and use those long vines of yours to provide a little chaos as we go."

Ampelus smirked to herself - she was going to enjoy this. The vines around her body twitched, then reached up and wrapped themselves around Fire Lotus, holding her tightly against the nymph's back. Fire Lotus grunted quietly as her rear was squeezed and held down, obviously a motion that was supposed to hurt, considering the stinging pain in her rump. The earth pony resigned herself to glaring holes in the back of Ampelus' head.

With the four of them tensing and prepared to run, Turbid turned her attention to the barred doorways. She tilted her head down as her horn lit up, then the doors came down and the room began to fill with furious changelings. As Spark's wings lit up, two walls suddenly formed around the two groups of ponies, walls that carried all the way to the ceiling, keeping the ponies on the inside and the changelings on the outside. As the escape group tensed, the walls began to move, opening up a path straight down to the exit.

"That's your window, take it! Take it and keep running!" Turbid called. Spark Storm didn't waste another second as he took off down the rocky hallway, Fluttershy just behind him, and followed by Ampelus carrying Fire Lotus on her back. As soon as they four got to the doorway, the walls began rescinding, leaving just a large dome in the center of the room. Spark Storm turned and faced the changelings, whose attention was on the dome, and shot a bolt into their midst.

That did it. The changelings turned away from the dome and started after the four in the doorway. "This is it," Spark Storm said as he turned and ran, the others following. "Don't fall behind, don't look back!"

27 - Race To The End Part 3

Rarity concentrated as she sensed the dozens of gems in the earth. They were all around her - in the earthen walls protecting the trio, in the ground underneath their hooves, in the ceilings and in the walls. She did as she was instructed by Spark's teacher: her horn was aglow with a solid blue hue, her natural magic. She usually used it for simple things like grasping thread, cutting with scissors, and operating a sewing machine. While her magical abilities allowed her to find gems easily, she'd never used it for this purpose: to grasp gems from a faraway location and relocate them.

In the space of five minutes, Rarity had formed in her mind a spiderweb pattern and laid it up on the ceiling, blueprints for what needed to happen. The fashionista had formed no more than half of that pattern with gems, chained together with her magic. It was a completely new experience, something she was sure she could've learned to enjoy if she'd had time to.

There was no time, though. Turbid told her there was only five minutes before the entire cave structure would begin to collapse, and Rarity, having taught herself to be very aware of time and deadlines, knew that the five minutes were up. She could feel it as the earth pressed down against the gems encased in her magic that struggled to hold the structure together. She could see it in her mind's eye, and her web was still incomplete. She had to work faster, but..."Ms. Turbid, I-I don't know if I can complete this in time," she said through a strained voice.

Beside her, Spark's mentor merely smiled, her eyes closed as she concentrated. Her own horn was lit up with a fierce hue of magic as she, too struggled to keep the ceiling from caving in. "Keep working. I have faith in you, Rarity."

Rarity frowned. The older unicorn barely knew her, how could she possibly have faith in her? Turbid answered this question, almost as if she'd heard Rarity's thoughts. "Spark Storm has nothing but faith and respect for you, Rarity. His report from the White Tail Woods incident held nothing but glowing remarks for your bravery and ferocity in battle. You come highly recommended."

Recommended? Rarity thought, a new feeling of apprehension entering her already frazzled system. "Recommended? You don't mean..."

"I do," Turbid said, her face still calm and passive as her magic worked to manipulate the earth above them. "Spark Storm recommended you to join the Fighters earlier this year."

For a moment, Rarity forgot what she was doing. She couldn't see the danger that loomed over her head. Her head was immersed with visions of adventure, of living up to Spark Storm's standards, of being lifted high in his eyes and earning that faith and respect he had for her. But no matter what way she looked at it, all she saw at the end was the inevitable moment that she let him down, that she proved he was wrong about her.

"Rarity!" Russet's voice broke through the fashionista's thoughts and brought her back to the situation. Rarity immediately put her attention back on to the ceiling, a frustrated frown plastered across her face. Fine, she thought, her magic pouring out of her like a small geyser. For now, I'll prove him right. For now, I'll be the unicorn he needs me to be.

Russet and Turbid both had to stare at Rarity as she worked her magic like the master she was training to be. She closed her eyes and concentrated as dozens more gems erupted from the floor and from the walls, all meeting together to link into a long, evolving chain that slowly shaped itself into the remaining web needed to complete the structure she'd began.

I will live through this, Rarity thought, her magic straining but continuing to pour out in a solid, strong flow. I will live to give Spark Storm my answer!

Spark Storm and Fluttershy ran on ahead, the angry buzzing of changelings right behind them, as well as Ampelus and Fire Lotus, who laid strapped to the nymph's back. "Can't you move any faster?!" Fire Lotus hissed in Ampelus' ear.

"In case you haven't noticed," Ampelus said as she whipped her vines out at any changeling that managed to get close, "I'm kind of running on three legs here. We wouldn't be in this situation if wasn't for you and your insane alicorn buddy, so maybe you can shut up and let me concentrate!"

The two continued to bicker as Spark Storm and Fluttershy arrived at the vertical tube that lead up to the central chamber. "Fluttershy, get to the top, wait for me there. If you-"

"No!" Fluttershy interrupted, reaching up to place her hooves on either side of Spark's face. "We go together or not at all. Please!"

Spark Storm had no time to argue. Spark pushed Fluttershy ahead of him and quickly followed. "Go, Fluttershy! I'm right behind you!" he called, even as Fluttershy began to fly up the tube, her eyes on him as he leapt up and began kicking off the walls, his wings carrying him high. The two quickly made it up with Fluttershy actually following him by the time they reached the top.

Fluttershy let out a shriek as a group of seven or eight changelings charged them in the central chamber. She quickly hid under Spark, her eyes shut and her hooves over her head. The sound of thunder rang out and echoed in the chamber as seven or eight changelings fell to the ground. Fluttershy gasped as she looked at the motionless bodies, tears of remorse and anger forming in her eyes.

She actually jumped a little when Spark Storm touched her back, having stepped out from over her. "Come on, Fluttershy, we've got to move, they won't be down for long." The mare looked up and noticed that Spark had indeed only stunned them. She leapt up and hugged his neck happily.

"Oh, Spark, you-"

"Later, Fluttershy!" Spark gave her the lightest of hugs before tugging her gently towards the door where he'd seen Shimmering Oasis first appear from, the last logical path to take. The two ran to the doorway, when Spark came to a stop and looked back. Ampelus and Fire Lotus hadn't made it up yet.

The buzzing of changelings in the room was getting louder. Suddenly Ampelus and Fire Lotus emerged, followed much too closely by a thick cloud of angry changelings. Fire Lotus had several cuts on her back where she'd been attacked, and she'd had enough. The tall nymph had been moving too slow. The earth pony brought down one of her hooves onto one of the vines strapping her down, having grabbed a sharp rock on the way up.

Ampelus' vine snapped easily, prompting a grunt of pain from the nymph. In the next instant, Fire Lotus was free. With adrenaline and a strong will to live, Fire Lotus ran up Ampelus' back, and then placed a hoof on the nymph's face before launching herself across the room and towards the doorway. The kick-off, meant to push Ampelus backwards, did just that. The nymph grunted in pain as she lost her footing and fell into the cloud of changelings, which converged on her like a cloud of wasps on a wayward honeybee.

"The way out is just beyond here!" Fire Lotus called as she hobbled past Spark Storm and Fluttershy, both too shocked at what the earth pony had done to respond. As they stared, the perfect spheroid shape of the changelings attacking Ampelus began to ripple, then finally burst as the nymph appeared, wildly fighting off the furious creatures. She'd lost another back leg and her beautiful tail had been halfway torn off.

"Get out!" she screamed. It took Spark Storm a moment to realize that Ampelus was telling them to go and get out, to save themselves. A small sob escaped Fluttershy as she watched Ampelus, fighting like an animal, yet still possessing the sense and selflessness to tell her comrades to save themselves.

However, something seemed to snap in Spark Storm. He'd never felt this way, so helpless, yet so determined to make things right. He turned to Fluttershy, every last hair on his body standing up straight. Fluttershy gasped and cowed away from him, the look in his eyes was downright terrifying. "You go and get out of here, Fluttershy, and don't you dare look back at me!"

Fluttershy's tears began to flow. She didn't move as Spark Storm approached her, lifted her into the air, and turned her around. "One day you're going to have to accept that sometimes it's them or our friends, Fluttershy." The mare closed her eyes and tried to close her ears as she ran forward, Spark's voice ringing in her ears.

Amepelus whipped the vines on her body furiously. The thorns she kept hidden in the sinewy appendages had been unsheathed, but as she'd whipped them around, cutting dozens of changelings to the ground, the thorns were quickly sanded down to the bare tips, and she was quickly running out of fight as a few of the furious monsters had gotten through her defenses and grabbed onto her, sinking their teeth into her, weighing her down.

As pain and black bodies began suffocating her, she closed her eyes. Despite the pain, despite the fear of coming death, Ampelus took solace in the fact that for once in her seven hundred years of life, she had finally done right by her mother. She'd been selfless. She could rest easy knowing that she'd done something worth remembering. Maybe Spark Storm would tell her tale to her niece.

Just then, a bright light appeared above her, and Ampelus drew in her last breath. And another one. And another one. And...what? The changelings around her lifted into the air, not from their own will, but from a bright light that drove them away from the prone nymph. As more changelings were seemingly driven from her, she saw the source of the light: bright white streaks of electricity striking her attackers.

Ampelus was too weak to move as another form came into her view, a dark, strong body. The bright streaks of light flew from the top of the body, beyond her line of sight. She could do nothing more than stare up at the mortal. He was angry, he was furious, and his body language spoke volumes. His fury at the creatures that dared try to take the nymph before her time, and he spared none. Not even the ones that he had previously stunned. She felt she was truly at the hooves of an almighty god who had no more purpose than to keep her alive.

The lights and sounds continued for what seemed like hours to Ampelus, as she found herself quietly slipping away. She fell into darkness, and it felt like she was falling. It was so quiet. Suddenly she felt the dark silence invaded by blinding light. Just once, a bright, violent jolt. The uninvited light shook her once more. This was getting annoying. It happened once more, and she felt herself falling once more, but this time up. One more jolt and she landed on something hard, something unpleasant.

Ampelus opened her eyes blearily and glared up at Spark Storm, his wings raised. His whole body was smoking, and he looked like he'd been exerting himself, his breath falling on Ampelus like he'd ran a marathon. Besides the sound of his hard breathing, it was quiet. Too quiet. Ampelus groaned with pain as she realized that something was very wrong. She couldn't move, and...suddenly it all came back to her.

She looked around the room and noticed the black markings around the walls and on the ground. Changelings. All gone, all dead. All mounds of ash. It was the price that Spark Storm decided they would pay for removing the back half of Ampelus' body. She stared up at the pegasus, who stared back at her, a mix of relief and shame in his eyes.

Ampelus glared up at Spark Storm. Hadn't she told him to get out while he could? She'd had everything under control, then he had to jump in like some idiot and risk his life for her. He'd only known her for...what had it been? Half a week? Seven hundred years old, and she'd been saved by a pesky mortal who'd had less than a week to get to know her.

The nymph grunted with effort to right herself, but she soon found why she couldn't sit up. Her hind legs were gone, as was her tail. The entire back half of her body had been ripped off. Even Spark Storm looked down at her with some sense of horror as Ampelus tried to sit up further, her head lowered. After a moment she sighed and looked up at Spark Storm, an embarrassed look on her face.

"You know those bonding moments you have with your friends, where you touch foreheads? I'm...trying to have a moment here."

Spark Storm felt an embarrassed blush rise up his face. He'd been too busy pitying the poor nymph, thinking she'd be in terrible pain, and maybe she was. Yet here she was, trying to show her appreciation for him and some semblance of affection. This was too weird to be coming from the nymph. He sighed quietly and stepped closer, trying to avoid the nymph's gaze as he pressed his forehead to hers.

Spark Storm let out a gasp and flinched as he felt thin little vines spreading from Ampelus' mane wrapping around his head. "Look at me, Storm," the nymph demanded. Spark, slightly panicked, looked down into Ampelus' eyes as she stared at him intensely. "You did what you felt you had to do. You acted on instinct to save the life of a comrade. I heard you; 'it's them or your friends'. What you did was not cold blooded murder. You saved me, so...thank you."

Spark stared at Ampelus. Ampelus stared at Spark. In that moment, it was clear to both of them that their relationship had changed. In some part of Spark Storm's mind, he knew he wouldn't have anything to worry about from the sadistic nymph again. He had earned her trust and respect, as she had done for him. They were finally on equal terms.

Suddenly, a loud sound made the both of them flinch, a popping sound originating from one of the walls. Spark and Ampelus both turned, the nymph's vines pulling, hooves wrapping around Spark's neck as she pulled herself up and over him to secure herself to his back. Spark's wings raised as a figure started crawling out from a tube that had revealed itself with the loud sound.

It wasn't just one figure, but two, and Spark realized it was Anorax, pulling a tired Madalah out with him. Tired and injured, her back glistening with dried blood and missing wings. "Geez! What happened to you two?!" Spark exclaimed, running over to help the two.

Anorax jumped a little at the voice, a look of tired relief coming over his face as he saw it was just Spark Storm and half of Ampelus strapped to his back. He stared at her for a moment, wondering if perhaps she was still alive. He swallowed hard as he helped Madalah to her hooves, tired and weak from a loss of blood. "It's...whoa." Anorax said, noticing the charred remains of a large group of changelings. "...it's a long story, but I guess if we've got the time to-"

Anorax was cut off as a deafening sound rang out in the chamber. Spark Storm made a gurgling sound as Ampelus tightened her hold on him. "Ow! I think it's time to get out of here!" Spark looked down in panic as the floor of the chamber started to cave in on itself, the rocks crumbling down into the depression. "Anorax! The caves are collapsing! Shimmering Oasis got the changelings to keep digging till this place came down. Pick Madalah up, and run!"

Anorax didn't need any more prodding. He got under Madalah and picked her up on his back. She clung to him quietly, but now awake and alert as the two stallions ran side by side around the big hole forming in the center of the chamber. The ceiling began to collapse as well. The entire cave system felt like it was shaking and crumbling.

Spark and Anorax ran through the darkness of the tunnel that lead down. The caves were now collapsing much too quickly, and Spark Storm had a moment of doubt as he ran full tilt towards the light he saw just ahead. ...What about Rarity, Russet and Turbid? Was this according to the plan? Would he ever see them again? Spark just kept running, his lungs just starting to burn when he hit a slope moving upwards and then...light. Light everywhere.

Spark Storm came to a halt, skidding on loose dirt as he felt something moving against his face. Was that air? After his eyes adjusted, he could make out mountains and trees. The thundering sound behind him regained his attention. He looked down into the hole in the darkness, then backed away from it as tons of dust poured out of the hole, then all was still and quiet. The caves had fallen.

"Spark Storm! You made it, thank Celestia!" Spark turned back around, the bright light of sunlight still hampering his vision a bit. He could make out what must've been Emerald Skies, Kecnic, Shadow Heart and Gunslinger. Spark started to worry when he couldn't see Laser Reflex, but a moment later he spotted the pegasus laying down in the grass beside Gunslinger.

Spark turned to watch Anorax take Madalah a bit away from the group. Spark's stomach turned as he thought about poor Madalah, her wings clipped and her flight taken from her. He turned away from the terrible sight and strode towards the group of ponies waiting for him. "It's good to see you guys made it out," Spark told them, a light smirk on his face as he saw their reactions to seeing half of Ampelus wrapped around his back.

Spark looked around the area for Fluttershy. He frowned; had she not come this way? A sinking feeling of panic started to rise in Spark's chest as he turned this way and that, hoping that maybe she was just being really quiet. Gunslinger stood up and approached Spark, reaching to rest a hoof on his shoulder and casting Ampelus a wayward glance. "Spark, if you're looking for your yellow mare friend, she took off all a-sobbin'. Headed back for Ponyville."

The pegasus sighed and closed his eyes. Fluttershy was never one to take life lightly, and she'd gone from the caves knowing that Spark was going to take life away from the changelings, even after Turbid had told them that they had to try. Spark closed his eyes tightly, that familiar feeling of shame creeping up his body again. A brief nuzzle at the back of his neck brought Spark back from the edge of self-pity, and he nodded his thanks to Gunslinger, then made his way to the others.

Spark Storm looked down at Shadow Heart, who still looked angry. The unicorn was sulking, having had his chance at revenge taken from him. Spark stepped a little closer, prompting Shadow Heart to look up at him, then stand. The two stared at each other in silence until Spark reached up to touch the younger pony's shoulder.

Before Spark could say anything, a familiar scream rang out from the depths of the dusty entrance to the caves. A crashing could be heard, and much more dust billowed from the hole in the ground. The entire group turned to face the rising column of dust, but Spark Storm was the only one whose heart was singing.

From the cloud of dust walked out the two figures Spark Storm had the most faith in. When Sohl had flown out of the central chamber, he'd figured it was because she could sense something happening with Orea. He'd been worried for but a moment. Sohl and Orea took care of each other. If there were any two creatures that could take care of themselves and each other, it was those two.

"Daddy!" Orea shrieked, launching herself through the air and into Spark Storm's waiting arms. Spark leaned back and fell onto his rump, hugging Orea for all he was worth. "Daddy, I was so scared. I was so worried about you..." she whispered. She'd felt Spark's anger during his fight was Fire Lotus, something that Gunslinger had failed to mention. He could only assume that the earth pony had slipped by unnoticed, something that he couldn't blame him for.

Orea glanced up and smiled at her surrogate father, then over his shoulder, a sweet smile spreading across her face as she locked eyes with her aunt. Ampelus huffed and looked away. She had nowhere to go, so she leaned against Spark's back and closed her eyes, hoping her niece wouldn't make a big deal out of the situation.

Spark Storm looked up in surprise as Sohl sat down in front of him and pulled Orea into her arms, a distant look in her eyes. "Sohl..." Spark said. The harpy looked down at him and into his eyes. Something was off, he could tell. Something had upset her. The last time he'd tried to talk to her, she'd snapped at him for seemingly no reason. "...Thanks for looking after Orea. I knew she'd be safe with you."

Sohl frowned, and glanced down at Orea, who returned the look. Please don't tell him, please, Orea's eyes seemed to say. After a moment, Sohl reached down and ran her clawed fingertips through Orea's mane, then looked up at Spark Storm and managed a small smile. "Of course, Spark. Orea means the world to me. I'd never let her come to any harm."

Spark smiled with relief. He knew he could count on Sohl. The harpy sighed and glanced back at the dark, still dusty hole. "Can't say I could say the same for the two of them, though."

Spark made a face and stood, then stepped around Sohl and approached the dusty hole in the ground. Two figures were indeed sitting there, apparently trying to sit as still as possible, trying to remain hidden. The figures were much too familiar to him, and Spark Storm felt himself getting angry. He started flapping his wings until the dust cleared a bit, revealing what he'd feared: Lyra and his little brother, who he'd told Lyra to babysit and stay away from this mission.

"Oh! Hey, bro!" Chrome said and stood, flapping his wings to clear them of dust, a confident, hopeful smile on his face. "This was some wild ride, huh? Do you guys do stuff like this often?"

Spark's eyes were wide and angry. He gave his little brother no answer. Instead, he looked down at Lyra. She was supposed to have made sure that Chrome didn't follow the others here. She smiled sheepishly and lifted a hoof conversationally. "No words." Lyra looked at Spark, confused by his statement. She opened her mouth to ask him what he meant by that, but he repeated "No words!"

Chrome tensed fearfully at his older brother, then shot Lyra a worried look. "Uh, bro, what-"

"There are no words to describe how much trouble you two are in!"

As Spark continued to yell at his brother and friend, Gunslinger couldn't help but give a little chuckle at the light-hearted scene. Still, he couldn't help but feel worried. Turbid, Russet and Rarity had yet to surface. Turbid had been through some tough situations, but this...this was something else.

Turbid's ears popped painfully. The air in the chamber was being compressed as the compacted earth of the caves fell around her and her temporary students. She finally opened her eyes and looked around at her surroundings, seeing little more than the light from the other unicorn's horns. "It's time!" she announced.

"There's nothing more we can do. We head back to the surface now, but it's not going to be easy with the shifting earth. Stand by me, you two, and concentrate. I'm going to need you two to concentrate your powers just over our heads as we move. We can't get back up in a vertical line; we have to move diagonally, up and out. Now follow me, and do not fall behind!"

Russet let out a breath of relief. Finally, they'd be on their way. Of the three unicorns, Russet had the least control. His root growth had been excellent, but he lacked the fine control that Rarity had displayed. His roots had gone everywhere but where they needed to go, and he also lacked what Rarity called a 'mind's eye' to see where he was placing the roots, and had to depend on Rarity and Turbid for cues.

As Turbid and Rarity took off at a run, Russet hurried to follow, nearly losing his footing as he realized how weak his body was. He'd never exhausted his magic before, he had no idea that doing so made his body weak as well. At this point, he didn't know how much more magic he could use before he needed to rest.

Russet stared in slight panic as Turbid ran straight into the wall of the collapsing cavern. Her powers turned the packed dirt to mud, her powers of earth and water combining. The stallion gasped as he felt the dark ceiling falling in thick plops on his body when he entered the magically formed tunnel behind Rarity, and panic quickly set in. It was so dark in this tunnel, the only light coming from the horns ahead of him and his own.

The ground he ran on was wet and slippery, and he could hear his own breath in the closing walls around him. He dared to look behind him, and immediately wished he hadn't; the space behind him was closing, the large, open cavern they'd recently been in closed off. Russet was reminded why this whole situation scared him; he was claustrophobic.

Russet's magic flared as he tried focusing on moving the roots over the top of Turbid's mud tunnel. It was getting exceedingly difficult; pulling roots overhead and positioning them was one thing, doing the same while moving was another, and the stallion's panic wasn't helping. He felt himself begin to hyperventilate. "Faster...faster! We've gotta move faster!" he yelled at the two in front of him.

"Calm down, Russet," he heard Turbid calling back. "Relax, we're almost to the top."

Russet didn't believe a word she said. It felt like they'd been running in a perfect horizontal line the whole time. What if they were just moving deeper into the earth? What if the tunnel collapsed? He could feel the pressure from the collapsing earth all around, and he decided to push his magic, tried to rearrange the roots so they would push from underneath and take them to the surface.

"Russet? What are you doing?!" Turbid called back, right before Russet lost control. A thick root pulled out of the earth and into the open tunnel, smacking Turbid hard in the side of her head. One of three lights in the tunnel went out as the lead unicorn was struck unconscious. Rarity let out a cry of panic as Turbid slowly slid down the tunnel towards the back. Both Rarity and Russet looked around in sheer terror as the tunnel seemed to melt without Turbid's magical support.

"Oh Celestia, I've killed us! Oh, help me!" Russet shrieked, taking great gulps of panicked air. Rarity, despite the terror ripping through her chest, slid down to Russet and soundly slapped him.

"Russet! Focus!" she said as calmly as she could. "Focus your magic, gather the roots, give us some structure." Rarity's softer tone brought Russet's panic down to tolerable levels as he closed his eyes to concentrate. Trying to move the roots one way hadn't done him any good, and now that they'd stopped moving he could get his bearings. As Rarity grabbed Turbid to keep her from sliding too close to the slowly collapsing far end of the tunnel, Russet slowly worked his magic.

The tunnel slowly stopped collapsing as dozens of roots began to form an oval, with the unicorns inside. Mud dripped through the cracks, but Russet finally managed to create a mostly water-tight container. The stallion sat down, finally calm, though just barely. The fact still remained that they were buried, and would run out of air if something didn't happen soon.

"Good job, Russet, you saved us..." Rarity said with a smile, then turned to look down at Turbid. The older unicorn had suffered a harsh blow to the right side of her temple, and was bleeding heavily. "Oh, dear. This is bad," she whispered to herself as she pulled Turbid into her arms. "Turbid? Oh, please, wake up..."

Turbid managed to open her eyes and groan quietly, then closed her eyes again. "I'm getting too old for this..." she whimpered, tears of pain forming and spilling from her tightly closed eyes. Rarity frowned and looked down at the sizable scar on her chest from where she'd been impaled from her battle in White Tail Woods. The older unicorn certainly had been through the wringer.

"And you shall retire an older age yet, Ms Turbid, I promise you, but you must help us reach the surface. Please. We cannot move forward without you," Rarity coaxed gently. Slowly, the teal unicorn got to her hooves, a grimace of pain on her face from the pounding pain in her right temple.

As she approached Russet, the stallion looked down in shame. "Turbid, I'm so sorry, I-"

"Tell you what, Russet," Turbid said gently, placing a hoof on the Russet's shoulder. "Let's make it out of here alive, and we'll call it even." Russet managed to smile and nod, eager to keep moving. "Then let's move. We'll move a little slower, if that'll make it easier."

The stallion thought about it a moment. Rushing to get out certainly hadn't been a good idea, so..."Yes. Let's get to the top now, please!"

Spark Storm paced back and forth, a frown plastered on his face. This had to be most harrowing wait of his life, waiting for Rarity, Russet and Turbid to make it back to the surface. He was starting to make an indent in the ground. "Will you please stop?" Ampelus whined from his back. "You're making me dizzy."

"Nopony told you you had to sit there all day, you know," Spark retorted.

"...I don't trust anyone else not to drop me, and I'm not going to crawl around on the ground like a two-legged bug."

Spark snorted with amusement. Ampelus had become much more pleasant to be around now that she'd been torn in half. He wisely kept that thought to himself. He turned around once more, away from the rest of the group, who were mostly resting, some asleep. Spark sighed heavily, and looked out along the rolling hills that lead away from Ponyville. For a while, he wasn't sure he'd ever see them again.

He was about to turn around when something caught his eye. There was movement a good ways away, maybe a mile away, maybe two. Something bright, something that reflected sunlight. Something shiny...like a silver crown.

At the opposite end of the group, Sohl and Orea both looked up as they felt the rising emotions coming from Spark Storm. Mainly blind, furious anger. It was an instant later that Spark Storm took off running, with no word or warning to the others. Gunslinger, noticing Spark's sudden departure, ran after him and stopped at the edge where the pegasus had been standing a second before.

"Now what the hell are you doin', Spark?" the unicorn murmured as he raised his scope and looked out over the hills for a possible reason for Spark to take off like he'd done. Gunslinger paled as he spotted the reason. There, about a mile and a half away, was the princess Shimmering Oasis, slowly making her way into the wilderness, and Spark Storm was headed right for her.

Author's Note

This is it! The final confrontation of this arc before it ends. It's been a long, awesome trip. Thanks to everyone that has helped me with this, either with giving support, or by lending me their character for developing this story. Don't worry, guys, Spark Storm's story is far from over :D

28 - Race To The Conclusion

Shimmering Oasis took in a deep breath of that rich, mountain air. Nothing felt, tasted or smelled quite like freedom. Or victory. A small smile plastered over her face as she made a mental check of all the changelings that she'd taken over in the caves. Of all of them, only a single one had survived, save for their pathetic "queen".

It was over, then. There was simply no way Spark Storm or his comrades could have survived the collapsing of the caves. There just wasn't time for it. So she'd done it, then. She'd changed everything, and freed herself from her nightmares. So...why didn't she feel any different?

The princess frowned. Something was wrong. She'd missed something, something important. What could it possibly be? She'd crushed her enemies under tons of earth, and she'd made sure that there wasn't nearly enough time to get out. So what-

The alicorn's thoughts were interrupted as a sudden bolt of electricity, thick around as a young tree, split the sky from above and struck the ground directly in back of the princess, searing her backside and sending her crashing forward through the branches of several maple trees. She rolled until she came to a stop, her mane littered with twigs and tree sap.

"You're a terrible shot," she heard a female voice saying from somewhere behind her.

"I want her alive!" growled the unmistakable voice of Spark Storm. No. No, this isn't happening. I did everything right, I made sure he was buried! the alicorn thought, panic, embarrassment and fury rising in her chest. Shimmering Oasis emerged from the branches to stare at a stranger scene than she was expecting: Spark Storm, her hated enemy, with what seemed to be an extra head.

The leafy extremity suddenly leapt from him and disappeared into the foliage beside him as Spark turned to face the princess, eyes narrowed at the alicorn. As Spark Storm's wings lit up with live electricity, the two stared silently at each other. There was no need for words.

Spark Storm shot off a bolt at the princess. It met resistance in the form of a psychic shield, which was formed into a sphere and shot back at Spark. The pegasus leapt sideways, narrowly missing the projectile shield just as it rammed into the ground, sending up mounds of packed dirt everywhere.

As the shower of dirt obscured her view, Shimmering Oasis looked left; no Spark. She looked right, still no pegasus. Instead, he shot forward from behind the cloud of dust, propelled by powerful wings. The alicorn began forming a new shield, but it was quickly countered with a massive shock to her horn. The princess let out a cry of pain and reared up on her hind legs, her forelegs swinging wildly in an attempt to hit Spark as he grew closer.

Her flailing was ineffective as the pegasus connected with the alicorn. The two tumbled together as the force of the blow took Shimmering Oasis off her hooves. The two traded physical blows, biting, stomping, kicking, psychic blows and electric shocks. The tumbling took the two to the edge of a dropoff, where Spark tumbled off the alicorn and nearly fell off, barely hanging on. Falling wasn't a problem, but if he lost the princess here, she'd get away.

There didn't seem to be a problem there yet, though, as the alicorn grasped a thick branch in her magical grasp, snapped it from the tree it was attached to, and made her way over to Spark, his wings charging below her view. She brought the branch over her head, but before she could swing it down, Spark released the beach ball-sized sphere of electricity he'd built up into the princess' face.

There was a rapid if brief succession of two loud cracks that rang out into the open air as the ball erupted ans sent Shimmering Oasis into the tree behind her. Spark Storm scrambled to his hooves, only to find his entire body grasped in a sheen of gold magic, which began to squeeze.

Spark struggled, kicking at the magical bubble that was quickly closing around him. Shimmering Oasis got to her hooves, her horn blazing angrily as she lifted him into the air to get a better look at him, eager to see the pegasi's face before he was squished like a grape.

Spark's wings flared to life and started firing off bolts of electricity, which bounced around inside the bubble, even as he felt his body running out of room to move, the alicorn's magical grasp constricting him. Spark let out a strained growl of pain and anger, his eyes closing to prevent them from popping out of their sockets.

The bubble grew silent.

Suddenly, the bubble filled with a dark mist. Her view obscured, Shimmering Oasis glared suspiciously at the magical bubble. An instant later, the bubble shattered, the alicorn's magic cut off at the horn, a painful experience for her as she retreated backwards and fell against the tree at her rear. As she did, she heard a thump as something heavy fell to the ground.

Shimmering Oasis stared in shock at the creature that had emerged from her magical prison. Heavy hooves hoisted a heavy body to its feet. Dark blue electricity sparked along its mane, wings and tail, all of which were enveloped in a thick, star-filled mist. It wasn't the same creature she'd encountered earlier, in the nymph's mind. This one was similar, with the same physical attributes, but this was, without a doubt, Spark Storm.

The stallion opened his eyes, raised his wings, and shot out a beam of luminous blue lightning at the alicorn. The princess put up a shield. It held, but the powerful bolt pushed the defending alicorn against the tree hard enough to snap it in half, sending Shimmering Oasis at least fifty feet beyond that point. The sudden return to the ground while she was still moving made her lose her footing, and she rolled a few yards further and came to a trembling stop.

Shimmering Oasis was losing steam. From the confrontation with Spark Storm using Shadow Heart, to controlling every last changeling in the caves, and now exerting laborious spells, the alicorn was finally running low on magic and energy. She wouldn't be able to keep this up, especially not with this troublesome new development.

The princess wished she had more time to think on this situation, but there was none to be had. She raised her tired gaze to Spark Storm as he spread his wings, crouched, and sprang into the air. Spark's ethereal new wings seemed to lack his old limits, and the pegasus rose in the air, wings carrying him higher over Shimmering Oasis.

This, of course, was a startling revelation to the starry-maned pegasus. He let out a panicked whinny and lost his balance. He spun erratically, and came crashing down to the ground just beyond Shimmering Oasis. The panic, though brief, was enough to shock whatever it was that had come over Spark Storm to drop. As Spark regained his footing, the dark mist pouring from his body was gone, his look and body back to normal.

As the pegasus got back to his hooves, a look of confusion on his face, it dawned on Shimmering Oasis that he'd been completely oblivious to his transformation and to the increase in his powers. It was a cruel joke, to be overpowered by her enemy who had no idea of the power that slept within him. "Fool...you ignorant fool, you disgust me!" she shouted furiously.

Spark Storm glared at Shimmering Oasis, his teeth bared. He was tired. From his battle with Shadow Heart, Fire Lotus and fighting dozens of changelings to save Ampelus, and now this battle with the Neippon princess. He was only vaguely aware that something had been different. He wanted desperately to know what had happened to him, to demand to know what the princess had done to him, but a different question had been lingering in his mind.

"...Why? What did I do to deserve your hatred? This is more than just revenge for a foiled plan, this is personal! Why are you doing this?!"

Shimmering Oasis stared at Spark Storm as he'd just asked the most ridiculous question ever asked. She brought a hoof to her face in exasperation, sighed, then began to walk towards her foe, an angry but tired expression on her face. She walked as if the fight had gone out of her, and it might as well have. "You ill-informed foal. If it is the truth you seek, then I shall let you have it."

Spark Storm tensed as she approached him, yet he couldn't bring himself to attack her. His wings raised over his head, yet he couldn't call his offenses to arms. He trembled with anticipation and some fear as the alicorn stood over him, close enough to feel her exasperated breaths on his face. "I shall show you the truth I saw nine hundred years ago, then you shall despair in the knowledge that this whole situation was your doing!"

Spark Storm felt a fearful chill run down his spine. He took in a breath to scream as the alicorn's horn lit up. Her eyes followed, and Spark felt his breath stop, his blood ran cold, and his mind stolen as Shimmering Oasis showed him her truth.

Nine hundred years ago...

Shimmering Oasis shot up in her bed, gasping for breath, a heavy sweat shining in her mane. She'd had that dream again, the one where she witnessed a great storm that seemed to envelop the entire planet. Ever since her father had revealed his daughter's prophesy to her, she'd had that dream every night since.

It was always the same: Shimmering Oasis stood on a hill, a hill that somehow had a view of the planet from space. The earth was troubled, overtaken with war and strife, caused by a mysterious being of unending chaos. The planet itself was unhappy. Soon enough, the entire planet was soon covered in a soothing rain, a cleansing storm that washed away the filth, restored the color of the planet and eased the troubling chaos.

What truly troubled the young alicorn was that she seemed to be on the outside of the events. She seemed to be neither part of the solution or the problem. What role did she have in these events? Did she have any role in the future?

The young princess slipped out of bed and approached the large slab of wood that held her newest prophesy, recently moved into her room for her to study. Day after day, it taunted her, confused her. This early morning was no different. It never spoke to her, it never revealed to her its secrets. This night would be different, though, as she soon felt a presence behind her where before there had been none.

Shimmering Oasis gasped as before her stood the tallest, most mis-matched creature she'd ever seen. She'd heard tales of the draconequus, of their bizarre appearances, but she'd never seen one before. He was truly a sight to behold.

In days old, when her grandfather had been alive, he had told stories to his son of when his grandparents spoke of the draconequus, how there had been many. In today's age, there was only one, and he ruled Equestria, a land far to the west. The alicorn bowed her head in deference, which he quickly waved off. "Oh, spare me the fake formalities, little one," he said, completely unimpressed with the princess' manners.

The alicorn continued nondeterred, a gentle tilt of the head was usually enough to sway most neighsayers (at her age, she was very very cute). The draconequus merely shook his head and tsk'd. "Now now, there's no point in trying to look innocent, princess," he said, arms linked behind his back as he leaned down to whisper conspiratorially in her ear, "...after all, I know what you did to your mother."

A chill ran down Shimmering Oasis' back. She stared at the intruder, not sure whether or not to believe him. It was possible that someone knew, but this creature? He looked so silly, with his two protruding fangs, the mismatched body. Still, something seemed very threatening about him.

"I don't know what you mean, sir Discord, I assure you," she said, still giving him the innocent head tilt. "Besides, should you not be explaining why you have come halfway across the world to visit me in my bedchambers?"

Discord merely laughed and turned around, pacing back towards the princess' bed, his eyes darting to the messy sheets and damp pillowcase. Shimmering Oasis flushed with embarrassment and quickly brushed past the draconequus and began making her bed, pulling the covers neatly over her bed to cover her pillow. "This is where it happens, isn't it?" she heard, a frown pulling over her previously calm and collected gaze.

"The dreams," Discord explained when the princess offered no rebuttal. "The storm you see in your nightmares."

"Nightmares, dreams, what is your point?" she said, turning back around to face Discord, who smiled gleefully down at her.

"I suppose that would depend on your definition of dreams vs nightmares. Do your nightly visions bring you calm? A reason for panic, hm?"

Shimmering Oasis made a face at her intruder. She turned away from him as a nagging feeling in her gut told her something was very, very wrong about this situation. As she thought, Discord grinned madly and began to float around her in a loose circle, relaxing on his back with his claws behind his head. "I can feel those cogs in your head turning, princess. Take your time, I've got plenty of it."

The young alicorn paced back and forth in her room, from her bed to the prophetic slab of marble. What was wrong with this situation, and why couldn't she place it? She stopped in front of the marble slab, studying it for a moment, when it came to her. Her eyes widened with fear as she turned back around to look at Discord, who merely smiled at her with that crooked grin. One of his fangs was missing.

"You...you can't be here," she whispered, the fur on her body standing on end. "I...I don't know why it took me so long to figure it out, but you can't be here! You were turned to stone one hundred years ago by the sisters Celestia and Luna!" Shimmering Oasis fell to the floor. How could she have forgotten that? Was she going mad? Was she finally paying the price for driving her mother to insanity?

"No, you're not going mad, my dear, and you're not paying the price for anything." Discord's voice broke through the panic rising in Shimmering Oasis' chest. She looked up at him as he reached down with his eagle claw to help her up. "I'm here to make a deal with you. Your talents have intrigued me, and I want to make use of them."

"I...what? What could I possibly do for an ancient lord who, for all I know, is still encased in stone halfway across the world?" she asked, cautiously reaching out to take the offered help. It was real. It was warm. She stood, trembling and afraid.

"I want you to be my eyes and my ears over the next few hundred years. Say...the next thousand years. I want you to serve me in any way that I might ask you to, whenever I ask you. I might call on you tomorrow, I might call for you in five hundred years. Just know that if you accept my deal, you must answer to me in any way that I wish without question."

"A deal, you say? she said, her bravado slowly returning. "If I agree, what shall I receive?"

This was what Discord was waiting for. With a wicked grin, he reached forward and touched the young alicorn's horn. Shimmering Oasis let out a surprised, terrified gasp that slowly etched out into a soft, almost sensual moan. Visions swam before her, possibilities in the future. The future of her country, hundreds of years in the future, the future of her career, and-

The visions were suddenly gone, cut off as Discord removed his claw from the alicorn's horn. She opened her eyes and glared at him, a desperate, hungry look in her eyes. "Was...was that...?"

Discord let out an excited little squee and twirled around in mid-air in a 'tadaaa' fashion. "Isn't it wonderful? If you serve me, Shimmering Oasis, I will give you the ability to forego your trance state when you make your prophesies. Not only that, but you'll be able to call them up at will. No waits, no limits in time, as you've already demonstrated you're capable of," he said, gesturing to the marble caricature."

Shimmering Oasis stared up at Discord with tears in her eyes. Was this really happening? This had been a dream of hers for twenty five years, to be powerful, to be wise, to have no limits, and here was a god of indeterminate power offering these things to her, and for what, a little servitude? "Yes, yes!" she said, her eyes bright, a nearly maniacal smile on her face. "I will do as you ask!"

Discord grinned, a fanged grin that spread wider than it should've been able to as he offered her his lion's paw. "Then I offer you this: the God's Bargain. I give you a massive increase to your natural abilities-and you offer me your life in servitude.

Shimmering Oasis did not hesitate. She reached up and placed her hoof in his paw. As she did, a golden ribbon of light began appeared around their paw/hoof and began wrapping around the two in a sideways figure eight, the sign of infinity. The ribbon grew smaller until it disappeared, taking the golden light with it and leaving the two in darkness.

The young aliorn frowned. She didn't feel any different. She looked up at Discord, a fearful look in her eyes. "I don't understand. Why don't I feel any different?"

Discord smirked down at the young princess, then reached down to brush her cheek with his lion's paw. "Because, my dear, you're still asleep."

Shimmering Oasis shot up in bed, gasping for breath. Her mane shone with a fresh sheen of sweat, and her pillowcase was damp. A dream...it was all a dream, she thought. It was so real, and it was so unfair! A tear made it's way down her cheek, then began to fall. She watched it carefully, watched it slow down. She stared hard into the teardrop, and she could see. She could see everything.

She saw her father getting older. She saw herself growing into the most beautiful alicorn she'd ever seen. She saw nine hundred years of her country's future laid out before her. Visions swam in her head, too fast for her to keep track of. She saw a war in her home land, a terrible civil war. She saw profit. She saw freedom, freedom from her father's political grasp.

The young princess again found tears running down her cheeks, but this time it was from pure elation. Somehow, her dream had been real. She had been visited by the draconequus Discord, he had given her an incredible gift. She leapt out of bed with an excited scream only to fall again on the cold floor, wriggling with joy and kicking her legs.

After a moment she got back to her hooves, having expelled enough energy to calm down. In the quiet of the morning, she had time to sit down and think. She now had the power to look at any point in the future without going into a trance state, also no longer limited to just five years in the future. Where would she look first?

The first thing that came to mind was herself, of course. She was a beautiful mare, and sometimes could be very vain. She closed her eyes and concentrated. What would her love life be like? A vision slowly came to her, an image of a long, long line of stallions, reaching from her home to lands far away. Well, she was immortal, undoubtedly there would be time for many.

What about her future as the princess of Neippon? An excited smile came over her face as she looked forward into the future. She saw herself growing older, more mature, more beautiful. Wiser, stronger. She saw her psychic powers growing in strength. She saw herself getting clever, smarter, meeting other ponies with the same ambitions.

One of these ponies, located just under nine hundred years into the future, held the most promise. This one was an earth pony mare. She was very beautiful, with a red coat and a black mane. What was her name?...Fire Lotus? It reminded Shimmering Oasis of passion and drive. In her vision she could tell that this Fire Lotus was driven with a purpose, a very dark purpose to turn the land into a glorious field of anger, hate and death.

It was a feeling that the alicorn princess had been waiting so long for. This mundane existence that her father made her live would be well worth tolerating the wait. Greedy still, Shimmering Oasis pushed forward, eager to see the next thousand years.

Something was wrong, though. Although she could see the world beyond meeting Fire Lotus, she could not see herself. She was missing from the future. Why couldn't she see herself? It was beginning to frustrate her. She pulled back in time, back to when she would meet Fire Lotus, and slowly pulled forward. She and Fire Lotus would unite, beginning a long, thought out plan that would eventually allow them to overthrow her father and begin a new reign of control for them both.

The plan would continue for several years, slowly gaining power and control from the country's war. The alicorn had to smile to herself. It was a glorious feeling, knowing that her plans would eventually come to fruition. But then, something began to obscure her vision. Whatever caused her to lose sight of herself in the future was approaching.

Whatever was going to happen would occur to her personally. Something that happened, or someone she met. She saw news of her father begging a city of the west for help. The vision continued to blue, even as Shimmering Oasis put all her power into continuing her prophecy. She saw a ship sailing to Neippon, she saw a band of children, children coming to give her father assistance.

Her head began to hurt, flashes of light dancing in her head, causing her pain. She cried out in pain, but she was so close! She made one final push, and finally saw the figure that prevented her from seeing herself in the future. It was..."No!" she cried as she lost the image. She fell to the floor, gasping for breath as the pounding pain in her head began to recede.

The young alicorn cried softly, both from pain and from frustration. Why was this happening to her? She raised her head to stare at the marble prophecy. She stared at it harder, and it suddenly hit her: it was him. The Storm Bringer. He was on that ship, headed to Neippon to offer assistance. Her father's words returned to her: "I believe that you will be directly involved with the Storm Bringer, my daugher."

Shimmering Oasis stared off into space, beyond the marble slab. It was the Storm Bringer. It was he that would directly influence her future into obscurity, into nothingness. The Storm Bringer would erase her from the future.

Back to the present...

Spark Storm stared at Shimmering Oasis in shock. The alicorn sat before him, tears of frustration running down her face. For the briefest of moments, Spark wanted to reach up and wipe her tears away, to comfort the princess, to tell her that he wouldn't destroy her.

As if sensing this, Shimmering Oasis glared down at him. "I knew it was you. The moment I met you when you arrived at my father's camp, I knew it was you: the Storm Bringer! To this day, I still cannot see my future, and that is because sometime soon, you will erase me! So what now, Spark Storm? Do you have it in your heart to kill me? Will you make my visions come true?" She sat up and spread her arms, making a clear space at her heart.

Spark Storm stared at the alicorn, beginning to tremble. He wasn't a murderer. He wasn't a savior, either. He was just Spark Storm, an orphaned pegasus that could make a little static electricity. Faced with a decision that he couldn't make, Spark shook his head in terror and ran from the princess, as fast as he could. He didn't even register when Ampelus grabbed on to him as he ran under her perch.

Shimmering Oasis sighed quietly, then turned around and slowly limped away. Her last fall had broken her right hind ankle, yet the pain barely registered, the alicorn's thoughts far from her own well-being.

"What the hell was that, Spark Storm?" Ampelus demanded for the fifth time since rejoining him as he was running from Shimmering Oasis. And for the fifth time, Spark ignored her, or didn't hear her, still lost and in shock. The nymph had had enough. She wrapped her remaining vines around his front legs, pulling him down to tumble on the ground.

Spark struggled fearfully, beginning to whimper and hyperventilate. "Let me go! Just let me go!" he cried. Ampelus wrapped a vine around Spark's muzzle, pulling his mouth closed to shut him up. She pulled his face close to hers, a frustrated scowl written on her face.

Spark Storm found himself muzzle to muzzle with the nymph. His legs were unbound, and he felt Ampelus' forelegs wrapping around him, one soothingly brushing through his mane. "Seven hundred years old and I expect everyone to act my age," she said quietly, a gentle look on her face. "With all the action you've seen, it's easy to forget that you're still just a colt. I don't know what happened between the two of you, but it was obviously something that reminded you that you're still just a boy."

Spark tensed, feeling embarrassment from her words, as well as the confusion and fear he'd felt when Shimmering Oasis asked if he was truly capable of murder. His head swam with emotions that terrified him, encouraged him to plunge into a deep, dark place that called to him to kill, to run back to Shimmering Oasis and tear out her heart.

And yet it was Ampelus, a natural born killer's soothing motherly touch and words that slowly calmed his heart. As Spark sat there and listened to his own breath and heartbeat with the nymph's forelegs wrapped around him, her warmth reminded him of the way his own mother would hold him like this when he was upset. It was hard to think of Ampelus, the sex-driven murderer as a mother figure, but at the moment he couldn't think of any other way to look at her than as his savior, pulling him back from the brink of a very dark place.

He closed his eyes as tears of frustration and weariness began to fall. Ampelus said not a word as the pegasus buried his face against her neck, cradling his body as well as she could to hers.

Aaaaand MERRY CHRISTMAS! I wanted to finish the other half of this, but that might've taken me all day and there wouldn't be a new chapter up for you guys for Christmas. So, hope you guys enjoyed this tiny taste of what's in store for Spark Storm's future. Soon, I'll be starting a brand new arc that takes Spark Storm and his friends in a new direction as they cross the sea. Along the way they'll meet a slew of new characters and villains, as well as discovering a new changeling hive! Exciiited! Merry Christmas, y'all, and stay tuned for part 2 of this conclusion.

29 - How Legends Are Remembered

Spark Storm woke up to the sensation of being rocked. At least it felt like being rocked. He felt warm and safe, loved even, along with the sensation of something warm and wet pressing against his face and sliding along it. It almost felt like a tongue. With this realization, Spark Storm opened his eyes just in time to see Ampelus in the middle of preening his face, a dark forest green tongue sliding up between his eyes.

The two locked eyes for a moment before both pulled away from each other. Spark groaned with some annoyance as he rubbed at his face with the crook of an elbow. "What are you doing?" he said before glaring at the nymph. As she blushed with embarrassment at having been caught, she quickly unwrapped herself from the pegasus and slid to the ground to sit with her back to him.

"It's just my way of showing affection, no need to make a big deal out of it," she grumbled, in truth a little hurt at Spark's tone.

Spark said nothing for a moment. Honestly, he hadn't felt so safe and warm for a very long time. Being held by the nymph had been very comforting, enough to coax him to sleep in her embrace. If it wouldn't make things awkward, he wouldn't mind her holding him like that again if it was just to let him get some rest. After noticing Ampelus's indignation, he sighed and reached down to lightly brush her back with a hoof.

"Um...thank you, Ampelus. For that, and...for before. I completely freaked out and I...I let her get away."

Ampelus glanced backward at Spark Storm, a gently annoyed look on her face. She turned to Spark Storm on the stump that was her missing lower half and reached up, a vine curling under his chin to pull his gaze towards her. "Don't you remember what I told you, after you saved me in the caves? I told you that you're not a cold-blooded killer, and you proved that twice today. There's nothing wrong with that."

Spark smiled, feeling reassured once more. He was feeling closer and closer to the nymph as the day wore on, and he was thankful for a new friend. Ampelus decided to ruin the moment just then as she pulled him close and rubbed her cheek against his.

"Ooh, you're just a big softy, aren't you? You act all big and macho but you just want some love!" she cooed, reaching up to take his cheeks in her hooves and squished them together. "Ooh just look at that face!"

Spark recoiled, his face blazing with embarrassment. "Wh-what-why-you!"

The nymph chuckled and reached up, her eyes twinkling with amusement. Spark glared down at her, then turned away from her and backed up, his wings spreading slightly to indicate his invitation to climb on. She took it and wrapped her forelegs around his neck to fold around in front of his chest, her head resting down on top of his.

"I think I liked it better when you had to watch your back around me, Storm," she told him in a teasingly ambiguous tone. "It gets a little too weird when you let the enemy get too close."

Spark Storm let out a breath, feeling more relaxed now that things were more normal between them. She was right; it was much too strange between them to be openly affectionate. "I completely agree," he told her as he turned once more, heading back to the others.

"Just beware, Storm, because I'm watching your back," she hissed gently. In a subtle movement, she shifted and squeezed her forelegs around him.

This gave Spark pause, but just for a moment. He smiled and continued walking. "I'm watching your back, too."

The rest of the way back was held in a comfortable silence.

Orea frowned and clung tighter to Sohl as the two rose in the air. The young nymph cradled on the harpy's shoulders, she looked back at the quickly fading hills. "Sohl, I don't like this. I want to be there for Spark, he's been through so much..." she said, whimpering the last few words.

"Don't you start crying!" the harpy told her sharply. "Spark is in a delicate place right now, but he needs to toughen up!"

"For his own good, or for when you run away?"

Sohl growled in anger, but the sadness coming off of the nymph was too much to continue being angry with her. The two continued to sail through the air in an uncomfortable silence. Orea sniffled quietly and wrapped her body around Sohl's shoulders tightly, as if to prevent her from leaving.

"...I'm not leaving for at least a week. There are things I have to do to get ready, and there are things I need you to do, sweetheart," Sohl said with a little more warmth in her voice. Reacting to this, Orea lifted her head to pay attention. "You're probably aware that Equestria has a second harpy. You're going to find her and make sure she stays here."

Orea frowned, not sure how to feel about this. "I don't understand. What do you want me to do? You don't...want me to hurt her, do you?"

Sohl frowned as well. She reached up and pulled Orea into one of her massive talons to hold her out in front of her, pausing in her movement forward. "No, Orea. I'd never ask you to hurt someone. I need you to make her feel welcome. She's not a normal harpy, like me. She's...different."

Orea tilted her head innocently, a thoughtful expression on her face. "You mean she's...?"

"Nice, and terribly naive," Sohl finished, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Look, she can't come with me when I go, my sisters will tear her apart for information on what I've been doing, and then they'd tear me apart for not telling them everything."

"What is 'everything'?" Orea asked. Sohl merely shook her head and held the nymph out away from her, and then dropped her. Orea let out a brief gasp as she fell, then spread her wings to catch herself. By the time she'd slowed her fall, Sohl had flown away, now off in the distance. Orea whimpered quietly, wondering if she'd at least see the harpy one more time before she left.

So she had to find another harpy, who was presumably here somewhere, hiding in the forests of Equestria? The nymph sighed as she rose higher into the air and scanned the forest. There was simply no way she'd find the harpy simply by looking. She turned around until she could see where she and the others had first gone into the caves forty minutes ago, then trace a line in the exact opposite direction and flew low along the treetops. It wasn't long before she found exactly what she was looking for.

Laser Reflex groaned and slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, the mid-afternoon sun less than gentle on his eyes. He looked around, noting Gunslinger near him, as well as Shadow Heart, who had gone to sleep, Emerald Skies, who just looked bored, and Kecnik, who kept a stoic watch to the west.

The pegasus sat there for a moment as he tried to rememeber what happened. They had just reached the surface, he wanted to go back in, and then...a pain in his butt. He shot right up and examined his rump, which still had the offending dart sticking out of it. He quickly snatched it up in his hoof and tossed it to the ground before jumping over to Gunslinger and grabbing him by the shoulders.

"You-you little jerk! Where is everypony? Are we too late?!"

"We ain't too late, calm down," Gunslinger told him, carefully taking the pegasi's hooves off of him. "Spark Storm, Fluttershy, and that older nymph thing came out earlier, plus the harpy lady and Orea. Uh..." he paused to clear his throat nervously. "Plus, Russet, Rarity and my boss're still down there. They used some powerful earth magic to give the others time to get out."

Laser Reflex stared down at the younger pony, his breath disturbingly calm. "So let me get this straight. We've rescued Russet Hearts, but we kept him down there, under the rapidly collapsing caves, so he could get us out?"

Gunslinger swallowed hard and was about to answer when the ground began to shake. Gunslinger pulled away from Laser Reflex, the tense moment forgotten. He laid down, ear to the ground. He shot right up and started running north. "It's comin' from this way! Come on, y'all!"

Shadow Heart, having awoken from his slumber once the earth began to tremble, followed, along with Emerald Skies and Kecnik. They all approached a rising mound in the earth, where they felt multiple concussions coming from under the ground. The mound rose and rose until finally the earth broke open to reveal a mess of broken tree roots with muliti-colored gems stuck inbetween the roots, thoroughly confusing the surface party.

Suddenly the roots and gems were thrust explosively into the air to reveal a thick mud pit, and three very, very muddy ponies. "Air! Air!" a distraught Rarity cried, inhaling huge mouthfuls of precious oxygen. She started climbing out of the pit, but her efforts were hampered by the mud. She was completely covered in it, even her mane was thick with twigs and sloppy mud. "Help me, oh please help me, get me out of this terrible mud!"

No sooner had Rarity cried for help, a thick tendril wrapped around her waist and pulled her up to the surface. Every last head turned to see Spark Storm carrying half an Ampelus, who set the distraught unicorn next to Spark. Rarity looked up at the pegasus for a brief moment, the tendril snaking away from her. "Rarity, you made it! You saved all of us, you kn-"

Spark Storm didn't finish as Rarity latched herself onto him silently. Her shoulders shook with shock, the fact that she had survived and everything that had happened weighing heavily on her. Spark frowned sadly and wrapped his hooves around her, getting nearly as dirty as she with all that mud caked on her.

An instant later, Laser Reflex flew down into the hole. It took him a moment to tell which unicorn was Russet. He and Turbid had nearly the same build, but Russet was taller, and the moment Laser dropped into the pit the stallion took an excited step forward. Only the memory of the pegasus ditching him to suffer at the hooves of the changelings stopped him.

"Russet, I..." Laser started, the terrible guilt of everything he'd put Russet through making him pause. "...Russet, I am so, so sorry. I never should've taken off like that. I should've-"

A hoof on Laser's shoulder silenced him as Russet smiled and shook his head. "It's all right. After everything we've all been through, honestly I'd just like to move on. Don't let today ruin tomorrow, you know? Besides, Rarity told me it was you that put this rescue mission together."

"Well, one half of it, anyway," Turbid said, approaching the two.

"Oh, of course," Laser said as he turned to face the mare. "I don't know how you guys did it, but that earth-magic is something else!"

Turbid smiled and shook her head. She turned to look up at Spark Storm. "I'm not talking about that. Apparently, somepony got over their 'stupid' problems and came to let us know that you all needed help. I suggest, Spark Storm, that you go thank her when we're through."

Spark sighed and hung his head with shame. That's right, he thought to himself. If I'd been been more careful and less callous, I could've spared Lemon Pop the hurtful words I threw at her. But then she'd be in this mess with us and no back-up plan...

Turbid smiled, an exhausted look on her face as she turned to face Laser and Russet. "Now, boys, I think it's about time to call it a day. Let's get you all home and cleaned up. And Spark," she said with a small sigh, "I know things aren't the best with you and the princess right now, but you need to come give her a report on what happened here."

Spark frowned, but he supposed she was right. He might not've been too warm with the Fighters, but they needed to know what had happened here today. He held Rarity out at arm's length and rubbed her back comfortingly. "Rarity, are you ok to walk? We're going home now."

The unicorn nodded quietly, then turned away from him and started the long walk back towards Ponyville. Spark sighed quietly and began following her, then paused and looked back at the others. "Has anypony seen Anorax and Madalah?"

Kecnik spoke up, who had been quiet this whole time, from the back of the group. "Anorax has taken Madalah back to his home already. Madalah will be in much pain as her wings have been torn from her. The changeling race have never been ones to heal quickly. She will want to be alone and you may not see her or Anorax for days."

Spark frowned sadly at this, then glanced back at Ampelus, usually one to have something snarky to say about changelings. She shrugged at him and glanced away from him. "I didn't say anything," she said quickly.

Orea approached the ball of feathers. High up in a tall pine tree she'd found the harpy Sohl told her to find, curled up and asleep. She was different from Sohl in every way; from what she could tell, this harpy had a great deal less mass than Sohl. From the crook of her knees and up her slender body, this harpy was probably no taller than half a foreleg's length than Spark Storm.

Her wings were also much shorter, she had large tail feathers, and she wore clothes, as opposed to Sohl's blatent nudity. Orea smiled at the sight. The harpy looked very peaceful, maybe this wouldn't be such a bad situation. She reached forward and poked at the harpy's shoulder. After a moment the harpy glanced up bleary-eyed and, noticing Orea, gasped and shot to her feet and made to run off.

Forgetting that she had found a perch some fifty feet into the air, she fell and managed to grasp at the branch, dangling precariously. "Aaah! Aah, I'm-I'm going to fall, heeelp!"

Orea stepped closer to the harpy, a baffled look in her eyes. "Um, you might fall, but you're a harpy, you can fly, or glide at least, can't you?

The harpy stared up at Orea as if she were brilliant. "You're right. Oh, that's embarrassing..." She grunted as she pulled herself up, reaching up with a foot to grasp the branch and pull herself back up to a stable position. She let out a little sigh then looked down at Orea, a warm smile spreading over her face as she knelt down to her knees. "You're a forest spirit, aren't you? You're certainly not a pony, at least I don't think you are..."

Orea smiled happily and nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes, you're right. I'm a forest nymph, and my name is Orea. What's yours?"

The harpy smiled happily and brought herself just a little closer. "Oh! My name is Amacia The Useless Coward!" Orea stared at Amacia, completely baffled. Amacia seemed to realize what she'd just said and blushed with embarrassment, a clawed hand rubbing the back of her head. "I keep forgetting everything I said after my name there is my title..."

The nymph tilted her head and frowned. "Do the other harpies call you that?"

Amacia sighed and shook her head, both feeling and looking crestfallen. "No...that's my name for myself. The other harpies use words that probably shouldn't be repeated anywhere outside of harpy earshot."

Upon seeing the nymph looking a little depressed after hearing that, Amacia was determined not to turn this into a downer situation. She pulled herself up straight and clasped her claws in front of her. "So, what brings you to me? Were you going to keep me company until I head home?"

Orea perked up as she remembered what Sohl had asked of her. "Well...that's actually why I came to find you. See...you can't go home." Upon seeing the increasingly terrified look in the harpy's eyes, Orea quickly smiled and said, "We're not keeping you prisoner, promise! See, Sohl told me that if you followed her home, then her sisters would hurt you for information on where she's been and what she's done, and I don't want to see you hurt!"

For a moment, Amacia looked like she might cry. Suddenly she darted forward and picked up little Orea into her winged arms and sobbed loudly. The nymph stared over the harpy's shoulder, then grunted and shifted with effort until she could pulled her forelegs out to rest them on Amacia's shoulders. "I don't understand, was it something I said? Did I offend you?"

"Noooo," the harpy whined, calming down enough to speak. "It's just, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. You have no idea what it's like trying to be a nice harpy in a tribe of angry, abusive...b..." she stuttered for a moment, feeling herself getting angry enough to express the word she wanted. "...Bitches!" Amacia gasped and held a claw over her mouth. "Oh! I'm sorry..."

Orea stared at Amacia in utter bewilderment. Amacia certainly was different from Sohl. The eagle harpy had a poisonous tongue and seemed to be proud of it.

Orea smiled and relaxed in the harpy's wings, pulling her closer with a happy sigh. "I'll be very happy if you stay with us a while, Amacia. I don't know how long Sohl meant for you to stay with us, but I'm sure my friends will find a place for you. I certainly think you'd be more comfortable here than with a tribe of abusive harpies, don't you think?"

Amacia stared down at the little nymph with tears in her eyes. This was so much more than expressing concern for her well-being, this was inviting her to stay in this valley with the nymph and the "they" she kept mentioning. "Well gosh, I don't really know what to say, except..."

The walk into town an hour later was a strange one. After Kecnik had assumed his pegasus form, nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. Ponies everywhere went about their daily lives, filling up the streets for their evening routines, although gossip of a royal visit and a small accident reached the ears of Spark and his group.

After what Spark had told his group of what had transpired between him, Shimmering Oasis and Shadow Heart (who by then looked like he wanted to disappear, but Gunslinger wouldn't let him) the group figured there'd be more talk, more panic, more running in the streets, maybe. But the town was calm and generally happy. It bewildered the group, but Spark remembered his conversation with Ditzy: when she'd woken up from the princess' spell, she didn't remember anything from just before she arrived.

It wasn't long before the group came upon the battle ground from Spark and Shadow Heart's fight. The place was still a mess, and there was still a pile of chairs and tables from when Shadow Heart had become a projectile and smashed Shimmering Oasis into the pile. It gave Spark some satisfaction to think about, until Shadow Heart came to stand at his side, apparently remembering the same thing. "That one really hurt, you know," he told Spark, an unamused look on his face.

Spark laughed uncomfortably and was about to respond when he felt a squeeze around his waist. "Spark! I hate to ruin such a tender moment, but laying myself out flat like this is really uncomfortable!" Spark looked back at the dark green wrap around his waist that was Ampelus. There was no way she'd go unnoticed being half a nymph, so she'd stretched herself out and wrapped herself around his chest and back to look like a decorative wrap. It was actually quite fetching, according to Rarity.

"Fine, fine. All right, everypony," he said, turning to his group. "I think we should split up from here. Go home, wash up and relax. It sounds like Princess Celestia might be here in town somewhere, I've gotta go catch her up."

Rarity let out a dramatic sigh of relief. "Finally, I can wash off this mud and return to my beautiful self. Oh, this day has been horrid..." she said, then turned and walked off towards the Carousel Boutique. Spark frowned as he watched her. Her departure had been too quick and much too casual. Something was wrong.

Noticing two in the back trying to slip away unnoticed, Spark leapt up into the air, sailed over the group, made a mid-air turn and landed in front of Chrome and Lyra. Both put on looks of innocence, which Spark wasn't buying. "No," he told them. "Neither of you are off the hook. You're both in big trouble, need I remind you! You can't just waltz into a situation like that! You both could've been seriously hurt, and it would've been my fault!"

Turbid watched with a smile of approval on her face. While Spark continued to lecture Lyra and his brother, she turned to Russet, Emerald Skies and Laser Reflex. "Gentlecolts, I suggest you git while the gitting is good. I daresay that Spark Storm may be occupied for a while after this. Like he said, go home and get some rest. Just...expect a call shortly. You all may be asked to give your accounts of what happened."

She needed not repeat herself. The three were much too tired to do anything else but go home and sleep. The trio lumbered off to their respective homes, until Laser Reflex remembered that his house burned down, then began to follow Russet Hearts, while Kecnik quietly followed Emerald Skies.

By the time Spark Storm was finished with Chrome and Lyra, they both looked like they wanted to cry. Their pitiful looks was too much for him, though. He sighed and pulled them closer to himself. "Look, I'm only telling you all this because I care about you so much." This of course was what they were waiting to hear. They latched onto him, and all three smiled happily while Ampelus sighed with annoyance.

Finally, Spark let the two go and looked between the two of them. "All right, now you two get on home. I think you've both a lot to think about on your own issues."

Chrome snorted and glanced sideways at Spark. "You think I'm the one with issues?" A warning glare from his older brother convinced Chrome to shut up and fly away. He circled the much smaller group and waved goodbye, then took off to get home. Lyra waved back, then hopped forward to hug Spark tightly.

"Thanks, Spark. Thanks for getting us home." She pulled away, then waved once more and trotted off towards home to maybe sleep for a week.

Spark sighed as he turned to face Turbid, who waited patiently. I guess it's about time to talk to Celestia...he thought as he approached Turbid, who reached up to rest a hoof on his shoulder. "Storm Spark, you've got a...a magnificent..." she trailed off. The wound on her temple, while no longer bleeding, didn't look good, and she appeared dizzy. She nearly fell over until Spark caught her.

"That's it, I'm taking you to the hospital, Turbid," he told her, a definite order. Turbid shook her head in defiance, but this only added to her dizziness.

"N-no. You need to be debriefed, sh-she's waiting at the library," she slurred, her vision blurring and her head pounding.

"Well she can wait a little longer while I get my teacher to the hospital!" Spark grabbed one of Turbid's forelegs and pulled her up onto his back. The already uncomfortable Ampelus let out an annoyed whine, then squeezed tight around Spark's chest. "Geez, easy Ampelus! Give me 15 friggin' minutes to get Turbid to safety!"

Rainbow Dash sat up in bed and coughed lightly. Her throat was better, although she still had to recover from her bruised ribs. She knew her cousin did some dangerous work now that he'd found a special job in Canterlot, something he refused to acknowledge as anything other than "animal control", which she'd just finished explaining to her friend Lightning Twist.

"Pfft. Nice," the garnet pegasus said with a sarcastic roll of her silver eyes. "Keep them in the kennel until they're put down. Sounds like a crack job to me." Lightning Twist was a thirteen year old with a penchant for thrills. Since she was young, the everyday flying bored her. She loved to fly into thunderstorms, braving the worst of them for the adrenaline.

Lightning Twist had the annoying habit of showing off. She knew this aggravated others, and took every chance she had to do it. She was also a terrible flirt. Not that she was terrible at, but ever since she'd realized she was attractive, she flirted constantly with the colts her age in Cloudsdale, but most found her way too intense to go steady with. Most never even got to kiss her. She might've flirted excessively, but she had standards.

Rainbow Dash shook her head with a roll of her eyes. "Dude, whatever. Why didn't Gilda come with you to see me?" she asked, pouting just a little. It was Lightning Twist's turn to roll her eyes, her wings flittering in a habit of impatience. She hated standing still for too long.

"You know her. She's almost as bad at sitting around as I am. Hurry up and get better so we can go flying!" Lightning said with a whine, starting to pace back and forth, then stopped at the window. She pressed her muzzle to the window, her wings stretched out over her head the way they did whenever she was interested in something.

"What is it?" asked Rainbow, noticing her friend's familiar habit.

"Dude, you have a cousin, right? Big blue dude with black markings?"

"Yeah..." Rainbow confirmed, eyeing her friend suspiciously. She didn't like where this was going.

Lightning Twist's greenish blue tail began to swish back and forth. "He's cute. Why didn't you tell me he was cute?"

"Because ew? I don't look at my cousin and think 'Oh, he's cute, I bet Lightning Twist would be all over him!' Geez! And no going ga-ga over my cousin!" Rainbow said testily, looking away from Lightning. After a moment she returned her gaze to her friend, a look of confusion on her face. "Wait, is he coming here?"

Lightning Twist, whose tail was still swishing, said, "Mhm. And it looks like there's been an accident or something, he's toting this older chick on his back."

Spark Storm stepped into the hospital, and was immediately met with two nurses, one an adult white mare with a red mane and a needle cutie mark, the other a white mare in her late teens with a pink mane with a thick red cross and four hearts in each cross-section. "What's happened here?" the older mare demanded.

"Uh, she...had an accident...?" Spark mumbled, unsure of how to explain Turbid's injury.

"I've got this, Spark," Turbid said as she made to climb down as carefully as she could. "All-allow me. Ladies, this is a delta class situation, code "golden nugget".""

"What?" Spark and the younger nurse said in unison. The older nurse just smiled and stepped forward to help Turbid stay on her hooves.

"Understood, ma'am, we'll take good care of you. Miss Redheart!" she barked suddenly at the younger nurse, who stood straight to attention. "Come over here and help me get this mare to a room. Sir," she said, turning to Spark Storm now, "thank you for your assistance. We'll take it from here."

"Uh..." Spark frowned with confusion, uncertain of what had just happened or if he should really let the mares take his teacher.

Turbid smiled at Spark. He certainly was loyal, she'd always admired that about him, even if it was getting him into trouble. "It's all right, Spark Storm. It's all take care of now. You need to go, you know what to do." And with that, the two nurses helped Turbid down the hall. Spark sighed, then turned around to head back outside.

"Hey!" Spark looked up once he was outside. He heard a fluttering of wings, then spotted Rainbow Dash at the window, leaning out with some effort. "Ugh! Sorry, Spark!" she yelled, before ducking down to stare at something just behind him. Spark arched a brow before turning around to leave when he came muzzle to muzzle with a silver-eyed, dark red mare.

Spark frowned down down at the pretty pegasus, who had to blow her spiky bangs from her eyes to get a better look at him. "Well, hi there," she said casually, making sure to ruffle her feathers just enough to make that pleasant ruffling noise she was so good at making. "Name's Lightning Twist, and you?"

Spark shook his head and quickly stepped around the smaller mare. "No. Just no. I can't deal with more of this crap. Sorry, I've got things to do."

Lightning Twist scoffed at being rejected. It didn't happen often. To add insult to injury, she could hear Rainbow Dash laughing at her from above. Lightning turned around and flew up, a look of mock anger on her face. "It's a good thing you're already in a hospital, Rainbow Dash!"

Spark Storm sighed as he headed for the library. Lighting Twist has been unbearably cute, probably the cutest mare he'd ever seen, but he couldn't even think of getting to know new mares. Mares made him do dumb things without the slightest of provocation. Bad news.

Finally, he arrived at the library. As he stepped inside, the first thing he noticed was the fact that it was full of ponies. Emerald Skies, Laser Reflex, Kecnik, Anorax, Gunslinger, Shadow Heart, Lyra and his little brother Chrome all seemed to be waiting for him. Even Rarity, who looked like she'd been in the middle of a shower, was there. She certainly seemed unhappy to have to sit in the presence of the princess when she wasn't ready for it.

Princess Celestia stood at the back of the library, a concerned frown on her face as she laid eyes on Spark Storm. Spark looked back at her, then noticed his friends watching him. They'd been here already and had probably already made their proper greetings. Would he?

Before he could do or say anything. the thin green band around his torso suddenly snapped and fell to the floor. A tired groaning sound emerged from the formless puddle of green before it began to form a head, then two forelegs, and half a torso. Ampelus groaned once more and turned to glare up at the big pegasus. "You jack-ass! You just had to go and take every single detour on your way here, didn't you?!" she yelled loudly into the library.

Spark Storm glowered at the nymph, then gestured to the company in the room. Ampelus turned to face Celestia and the others. Still feeling cross and in pain, she whipped her head back around at Spark Storm with her own glare. "Congratulations, you've got company!" With that, she whipped a vine up onto the second floor and pulled herself up to disappear into seclusion.

Spark groaned quietly, a hoof over his face in resignation. A politely cleared throat brought Spark back to attention. He turned his attention back to the Princess, who stood waiting patiently for Spark. Finding this situation to mend in front of all his friends and comrades to be uncomfortable, he stammered quietly as he tried to put his words together.

"Please, be at ease, Spark Storm. Whatever issues there may be between us can be discussed at a later time, in private, if you wish. I have gathered your friends and comrades here, not all exactly willingly-" she paused, offering Rarity an apologetic look. "-because I also have something to tell you all, something that I think you all should hear as soon as possible. So Spark Storm, please..."

Spark sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a moment. He'd been dreading this, and he still didn't feel like he could forgive the Princess for what she'd done to Sapphire, but at least talking to her was a step up from avoiding her. So, he stood up straight and proud, and over the next two hours, recounted to the Princess what had happened, with his comrades adding in their pieces to fill in Spark's blanks.

When it came to Chrome's turn, however, he hesitated. While Lyra and he both kept Orea's cutie mark a secret, only Chrome had seen the things she'd done, how she'd repelled a psychic attack from the orange alicorn princess.

And so, with the Princess completely caught up on everything that had happened, Spark Storm had one last question that he wanted to ask. "Princess, before you begin, I've wanted to know: what do we tell the ponies of Ponyville about Shimmering Oasis and what happened in the market?"

"Mm...that actually covers what I wanted to speak to you all about..." Celestia said, speaking slowly and carefully to let them all know this would be important.

"Oh!" Rarity exclaimed. "I am willing to bet this will end up being a royal secret! We'll be sworn to secrecy, such a romantic notion..."

Spark and Anorax made faces at Rarity. Even Celestia chuckled, finding the fashionista's quirks to be amusing. "While I do agree, miss Rarity, I'm afraid it's much simpler than that. You see...my guards have asked around to see what had happened while you all were in the caves..." she paused, letting this information sink in. "I'm afraid there were no witnesses."

Gasps of horror and anger rose through the room at this new information. "What do you mean?! Did Shimmering Oasis kill the ones who were there in the market?!" Shadow Heart demanded, tears of guilt and fury filling his eyes. Just when he thought he'd suffered enough at the hands of the psychic alicorn, she reached out from the past to sting him once more.

"No, my little ponies," the princess said gently. After the angry talk had simmered down, she continued. "Amazingly, despite the apparently rough fight between Shadow Heart and Spark Storm, there was no loss of life in Ponyville today."

"But...'no witnesses'?" Spark asked, as bewildered as the others. Then, he thought of something. "But wait. I talked to Ditzy. She was there. Shimmering Oasis put her to sleep like the others. When she woke up, she didn't remember her, or Shadow Heart. Are you telling me that Shimmering Oasis erased that memory from everypony that saw her?"

"Well...yes. I'm afraid that seems to be what happened."

The group exchanged glances, each feeling something different. Even Ampelus had reappeared at some point, laying on the edge of the second floor to listen.

"Huh. Back to normal life, then," Anorax said, a relieved smile on his face. At this point he just wanted to go back home and tend to Madalah.

"Wh...well that's...that's just cheap!" Laser Reflex exclaimed. "My life was turned upside down and inside out! I was accosted by changelings, made to follow Spark Storm, she nearly rapes me-" he pointed up at Ampelus, "-I ditch my best friend to escape the changelings, then I go down into the devil's throat to get him out, and I can't even talk about it?! Nopony's gonna believe that story!"

Russet himself looked unhappy. He just wanted this whole thing to blow over, and it looked like he was going to get his wish. At least, if Laser would shut up about it.

"Well, that's it, then," Emerald said with a sigh. "It's all over, said and done." The pegasus sat down with a bitter chuckle. "Here I was thinking maybe I'd have my name carved in stone or my image in a stain-glass window or something, but...there won't be any stories to commemorate this event. No one will remember this adventure."

"I will remember," Princess Celestia said with a gentle smile. Emerald and the others turned their attention to the princess. "Many things have happened here today, many important events." She took a step forward, putting on that warm smile that her subjects looked up to. "I promise you, each and every one of you, that what happened here will never be forgotten, because I will remember. You will all be my legends of Ponyville."

Aaaargh I can't believe it! This has been such a wild ride, but it's not over yet. Stay tuned next week for the epilogue of Legends Of Ponyville, after which this arc will be complete and I can start writing the next one. I thank you all for staying with me this whole time. See you soon!

30 - Epilogue

"No, please! Enough!" Rarity cried. Fire Lotus smiled that too-pleasant smile and reached up to softly caress the unicorn's cheek. Rarity was strung up, her hooves held over her head by hard leather rope. She was in some dark place, and Fire Lotus was the only other pony there. Rarity's right foreleg stung, right in the pit where sensitive nerves were.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, this will be over soon..." the earth pony whispered as she knelt over a fire. When she stood back up, she held a small metal needle whose tip was red hot from the fire. "Now that I've finished heating...we can begin."

Fire Lotus stepped closer and stood up on her hind legs, wrapping one foreleg around Rarity's waist to balance herself. "Now, this might sting a little," she whispered into the unicorn's ear as she brought the red tipped needle up to Rarity's armpit, then dove the needle in.

Rarity awoke with a scream. She gasped and cried and rolled over in her bed, clasping her pit where the dream Fire Lotus had stuck her needle. It stung as if it had really happened.

For three nights now, since the meeting with Princess Celestia, Rarity had played it cool. She joked, she smiled, she pretended that nothing had changed. But things had changed, even though none of her town friends knew it. Deep down, she knew what was giving her nightmares. Her brief exchange with Fire Lotus was part of it, yes, but there was a bigger factor in her dreams: she dreaded telling Spark Storm that she didn't want to be with the Fighters.

Three days ago, when she'd been deep down in the earth, she'd been using her special gem magic to keep an entire cave structure from collapsing. That alone proved that she had great potential for earth magic, like Turbid had said. She had tremendous battle skills, as evidenced by her multiple encounters with changelings and even against Fire Lotus. On these merits, Spark Storm had recommended her to join the Fighters.

But even as she drove her way to the surface, Rarity began to face and realize her own mortality. Becoming a monster hunter, leaving the boutique behind and following Spark Storm on wild adventures and saving the lives of others was a very romantic notion, one that she had seriously considered both before and after Turbid told her what Spark had done for her.

But once she'd gotten home and unwound, and after the princess told her that none would even remember the deeds she'd done, the lengths she'd gone to to survive, she began to think of her home life. She was in the midst of starting up a shop. Her parents still came to visit, and as of two years ago she'd gained a sister that she'd barely gotten to know. There was still so much for her to live for here, it was too much to ask of her. The more she thought of this, though, the more guilty she felt.

Spark Storm had long been a figure that she looked up to, a symbol of strength, pride and loyalty. The horrible suffering he'd gone through, and still he rose up to the challenge of going on living. This had largely been due to Sapphire Snow keeping his head above the surface, but it was still his choice to keep going and live to serve others. He set a standard that she longed to live up to, but Rarity was beginning to find it was one she didn't want to hold herself up to. She wanted to live a peaceful life, live in ignorance of the world of monsters that lurked around Ponyville. Was it selfish? Maybe. Was it just self preservation? Probably. Was the decision tearing her apart? "...Yes..." she whispered to herself in the darkness of her room. She had to make a decision.

Cheerilee stared wide-eyed down at the plans before her. Her mother had never told her about this. Tears of welling emotion fell and spotted on the bottom of the house plans that had just been delivered to her by a most apologetic architect from Canterlot. He'd never received word of Cherry Joy's death, and having assumed Cheerilee to be said pony, told her of her mother's previously secret plans to build a home just for her children. The work pony had apologized profusely for taking four years to get around to it. Being an architect in Canterlot had been busy.

If Cheerilee's eyes had been leaking before, they were pouring down now as she picked up a small box that had been delivered with the blueprints. With quivering hoof, she managed to open the latch, lifted the lid, and nearly let out a sob as she found a single slip of paper with her mother's mouth-writing on it. She couldn't do it. She brought a hoof to her mouth to try to cover her sobs, then shut the box. It was too early to read it.

A knock at her door made her jump and brought her out of her thoughts. Has the architect forgotten something? Who else would be here at six in the morning? she thought, rubbing at her eyes to rid them of evidence of her tears. It was not the architect, but a unicorn that looked even more distraught than she did. "Rarity? What are you doing here so early?"

The fashionista sniffled quietly. Tired, dark bags hung under her eyes, but the rest of her was spotless. She'd gotten up and ready to go, but she looked like she was forcing herself. Cheerilee frowned sadly and beckoned the younger mare inside. "What are you doing up so early, sweetie? Are you looking for Spark Storm?"

Rarity inclined her head ever so slightly and stepped inside from the cold morning air. She noticed the blueprints on the table that sat in the adjacent room, but decided not to ask. She turned and smiled at her friend as she tried her best to appear nonchalant. "I do apologize for just showing up on your doorstep at this most disagreeable hour, but yes, I need to speak to your brother. Is he here?"

Cheerilee shook her head. "No, I'm afraid he's not. He woke up earlier this morning and headed out. He said he had an apology to make and left it at that."

Rarity paced herself, feeling herself tremble as she saw Spark Storm returning from the edge of the Everfree. She'd tried talking with Fluttershy about what had happened in the caves between herself and Spark, but the mare was just too broken up about what she'd seen to talk about it. With the disappointed look on Spark's face, Rarity surmised he hadn't had anymore luck than her.

Rarity picked up a little speed as she went to meet him, putting on one of those gentle smiles she always used to mask her true emotions. "Good morning, Spark Storm! Do you have a moment to spare, darling?" she called.

Spark frowned when he saw and heard Rarity. She'd been using the same avoidance tactics since the day of the caves. Something was really bothering her, but she wouldn't talk about it, she wouldn't acknowledge that something was wrong. He knew her well enough that she was hiding something. "Rarity," he said in greeting, coming to a stop to sit on his haunches and wait for her, a suspicious look in his eyes.

The tone in Spark's voice and the look in his eyes told her that the jig was up, he wan't falling for the fake routine. A stab of guilt stung her chest as she stepped closer and sat down before him. "Rarity, you've been acting like this for three days. Like nothing is wrong. You know it isn't, I know that's not right, either. Please, tell me what's bothering you?" he said, reaching with the crook of his foreleg to ease her gaze up to his.

Rarity stared up at Spark Storm. It took him a moment to realize what he was doing, and quickly released her, letting out a nervous cough. "Sorry." he told her quickly. The unicorn, instead of looking offended or uncomfortable at the breach of personal space, gave him a real smile.

This brief chain of reactions made Spark confused, so Rarity decided to continue for him. "Spark, I...I have a confession to make," she told him, taking another deep breath to ease her nerves. She'd been dreading this conversation for three days. As Spark came to attention, the unicorn lowered her gaze to the ground. "That day, when Turbid arrived to help us with the task of holding up the caverns, she told me that you recommended me to join you. Join the Fighters, that is."

Spark was taken aback by this. Yes, he'd mentioned it, but he was hoping to have some time set aside to ask her later. Turbid must've had a good reason to tell her. "Well, yes. I did. I wanted to talk to you later when I had a chance to prepare..." he said, feeling...well, unprepared.

Rarity nodded and murmured in understanding, her eyes still glued to the ground. "Yes, well...I wanted to reconvene with you before you left for Canterlot once more and communiquer with you about that. Spark, I..." Rarity finally brought her gaze up to meet Spark's. Tears of emotional anguish and guilt finally flowed from her eyes. Spark's form became a blur to the unicorn. "I can't do this anymore..."

Spark stared at his friend, unsure of what to do or say. Crying girls had never been his expertise. Crying babies maybe, screaming harpies sure, but not crying girls. "I don't think I understand, Rarity," he told her gently, slowly reaching out to rest a hoof on her shoulder. Spark honestly didn't know what he was doing at this point.

Rarity sighed quietly and brushed a hoof at her eyes before taking a step or two closer to lean against the pegasus, feeling a little better already. How did he do it? Just standing next to him made her feel stronger. Touching him this close did other things to her, mainly to her heart. Remembering what she came here to do, she begrudgingly pulled away from Spark, and this time rested a hoof on his shoulder.

"Spark Storm, I can't go with you anymore. The adventures, they've...they've been so wonderful, they've been a romantic adventure. But they have to stop now, for me." When Spark finally comprehended what she was telling him, he looked like he had something to say. She brought a hoof up to his mouth. "I am not finished, Spark Storm. Now, I...I realize that you've come to see me as a trusted and reliable partner in your travels, but I have other partners, other responsibilities, that I must see to. I have a shop I must attend. It's been my dream Spark Storm, my dream to design and sell dresses and have my name written forever in the social book of the entire valley, maybe the world!

"Not only that, but...I...still have my parents to look after, Spark Storm," she said carefully. The last thing she wanted to do was sound like she was bragging that her parents were still around. "They need me, and I need them. And my little sister, Sweetie Belle, needs me. I can't just go off and live my life the way you do, Spark Storm. You're bigger than me. You're too selfless. You give and you give and I..." Rarity frowned, choking up quietly. "I just...take. I want my life to be here, and I know that might sound selfish, I...I didn't want to disappoint you, Spark Storm, because you mean so much to me."

Spark felt his cheeks fill with heat. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? He would need time to process this. There was so much he still needed to take care of, he didn't have time for-

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt Rarity's hoof softly touching his cheek as she looked up into his eyes, a genuine smile sparkling in her eyes through her tears. "And that's why, Spark Storm, I'm not giving you a say in this matter. You shall just have to deal without me. I have faith that you most certainly can." The unicorn smiled and stepped away from him, leaving him with all new questions and a touch that burned his cheek. "This is au revoir, Spark Storm. Perhaps one day when the skies are untroubled and Celestia's sun is free to make her journey, we can sit down together and talk."

Spark Storm watched Rarity leave. He watched where she'd disappeared even as Celestia's sun rose to warm the cold ground. Usually, this was something that annoyed him. Lightning Twist was a good new example. She'd just popped out of nowhere and started flirting. It was annoying to have to deal with so much unwanted attention. Sometimes, it felt right, with Ditzy. Now he wasn't so sure, though. He'd already made a huge mistake with Sapphire Snow in that regard, and it was a mistake he intended to correct upon arrival in Canterlot.

But this was Rarity. As far as he knew, Rarity had never looked at him like that. They'd been close since he'd found her practicing her archery earlier this year. Their friendship before that was average, if that. Then when he'd reconnected with her, it was as if everything had changed. She'd changed, he'd changed. They bonded, they talked, they laughed, they fought, and they killed. They killed to survive and they killed to preserve life. When had he come to mean so much to her?

These questions continued circulating in Spark's mind as he made his way quietly through the town. It was the first time in many, many months that he felt he could without getting the stink-eye from somepony. Many smiled and waved. Others nodded their greeting and continued on their way. Some didn't even know who he was. It was a liberating feeling, to not be hated, to not be yelled at for his mere presence. Had things finally changed for him here in Ponyville?

It wasn't long before he found the market. He smiled to himself as he saw Shadow Heart trying to apologize to Applejack in a lengthy conversation about stolen apples.

Spark sighed to himself. Today's the day I retake my place as a Fighter, and I'm taking Shadow Heart with me. I can't believe it's only been three days, and nothing has changed in town. Maybe that's why everything feels off.

His thoughts occupying his mind, he wasn't watching where he was going when he ran into another pegasus, causing the workpony to drop his load of several boxes. "Oh, geez, sorry! Let me help you, mister..." Spark trailed off as he realized it was Laser Reflex. The light blue pegasus shrugged it off and started piling his boxes back on top of each other. Spark helped in awkward silence. He couldn't take it. "So, uh...how've you been?" he asked, offering up some light conversation.

Laser let out a humorless chuckle. "So that's what it's come down to? 'How are you'?" He turned to Spark Storm and leaned on his boxes, his body kept aloft as he beat his wings with agitation. "This sucks, Spark! Look at what we did, and what have we got to show for it?" He gestured across the market angrily. "Normal life. How the hell am I supposed to just slip back into normal life? This is the most unfair situation ever, and..." he paused as another pegasus approached, carrying a young filly on her back.

Ditzy gave Spark Storm a gentle smile as she stepped towards him. Spark swallowed hard as he turned to face her, apprehension clutching at his insides. Before either of them could say anything, Dinky dropped to the ground and ran up to Spark, a bright smile on her face. Then she turned to face Laser Reflex, threw her hooves up in the air, and yelled "Daddy!"

Laser stared down at Dinky with wide, surprised eyes before glancing first at Spark, who looked shocked, then at Ditzy, who looked very embarrassed. "Ugh...I-I'm sorry," she told Laser, reaching down to pull Dinky into her arms as she hovered in the air before the two. "...it's her first word and she's using it everywhere."

Hearing this, Spark looked up at Ditzy, trembling a little. "Wh...what? You mean earlier this week, that was..."

Ditzy hesitated for just a moment, then sighed and shook her head. "No. That wasn't the first time, but...you didn't know that, and I didn't want you to." Seeing the somehow sad and angry look in Spark's eyes, Ditzy gasped and ducked her head down as she held Dinky higher, her eyes barely cresting the filly's head. "I'm sorry I let you believe that, Spark. Please don't be angry, I just-I just wanted you in my life."

Spark frowned and glanced at the ground. So that's what happened? Ditzy landed, set Dinky on her back, and approached Spark, a patient smile and an air of resignation in her eyes as she reached up and put a hoof on Spark's shoulder. "Spark, it's ok. We shared a kiss in a moment of passion and you had a 'daddy' scare. Neither of those obligates you." Spark stared down in amazement at Ditzy's maturity. Again, he felt just a little bit intimidated. She was always so sure and so confident. Becoming a mother had given her courage.

"I can tell," she continued, "that your dream is somewhere else. I just wanted you to be in mine, but that's ok if you can't be in it. I have a bigger dream right now, and that's Dinky. Bringing her up in this town that cares about the two of us because you turned it around was a big enough gift, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to thank you enough, Spark..." With this, she leaned closer and planted a kiss on Spark's cheek, then stepped away and smiled brightly at him.

Spark Storm frowned sadly at what he'd pushed Ditzy to do. Had he really pushed her? She was a big mare and could make her own decisions, but it still felt wrong somehow. "Ditzy, I-I don't even know what to say. I feel like-"

Spark sighed through his nose as for the second time that day a hoof was pressed to his mouth. "It's all right, Spark. It was a gamble, and I couldn't keep it up. You're in a different place than I am. The timing was wrong, maybe." Ditzy reached up and pulled Dinky into her arms and held her in front of her again. "Don't worry, I won't be lonely. And it's not like you're the only stallion in town. The one you were talking to was kinda cute."

Spark made to say something, but kept himself in check. He was not about to lecture Ditzy about getting involved with older guys. Ditzy gave him a suspicious look, probably suspecting him of doing just that. She smirked and reached forward to playfully knock on his head. "Very funny, Spark Storm." Spark winced, more from his blunder than from the hoofing on his head. "Well, I guess that's that," Ditzy said with a sigh. "You've got a big day ahead of you and I won't hold you up anymore..."

Spark tried to think of something to say. He saw her glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes to see if he had parting words for her, but when he didn't she sighed and suddenly darted forward and planted the lightest of pecks on his mouth and flew up with a giggle. "Bye, Sparky! Take care of yourself, ok?"

While her movement caught him by surprise, her action didn't. He smiled and waved before she was completely out of sight. With Ditzy gone, Spark could see Shadow Heart still talking with Applejack. The earth pony seemed to be insisting on sending him off with some apples, which he was attempting to refuse. Spark rolled his eyes and approached the two. "Shadow Heart, you're not going to get away with empty hooves. You might as well just accept the fact that your theft is forgiven."

Applejack beamed at Spark Storm, but Shadow Heart cringed as he turned to Spark Storm, a brooding glare in his eyes. "But Spark, I've done so much more than simply steal apples."

"And no matter how many times he tells me that, he won't tell me what else he did!" Applejack said with a frustrated but gentle glare down at the smaller unicorn. "How am I supposed to convince him that he's been forgiven?"

Spark frowned at this. He knew what it felt like to know that he'd done something terrible and not feel worthy of forgiveness. He reached up to rest a hoof on Shadow Heart's shoulder, then stepped closer to Applejack to take the apples she'd been trying to offer Shadow Heart, which she gave readily. He turned and stared down at Shadow Heart sternly. Wordlessly, Shadow Heart moved closer and accepted the apples into the saddlebags that Applejack had also provided.

Applejack watched the scene appraisingly, then clapped a hoof over Spark's back. "Y'all gotta teach me that one, Spark. Applebloom could benefit from a glare like that!"

Shadow Heart blushed with embarrassment, mumbled a 'thank you' and turned right around, headed back to the library to wait for Spark, who turned around to smile at Applejack. "Well...I can't really think of anything else I need to do in town today..." Spark frowned just a little. He could actually think of one thing, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea.

"Y'all all right there, Spark?" Applejack asked him. "Ya seem a might tight in the shoulders."

Spark matched eyes with Applejack, then sighed and lowered his head. "I've got...girl problems, Applejack. Well...I'm one problem down and a new problem up. Girls are stupid. No offense, AJ."

Applejack let out a barking laugh before patting Spark on the shoulder. "I think I get it, Spark. No offense, but y'all guys can be pretty dumb too. Dumb as bricks." Spark gave Applejack a playful glare before stepping close to give her a hug goodbye, then waved goodbye and headed off towards the library. As he walked along, he understood what Laser Reflex had been complaining about. The whole town seemed to smile. It was peaceful, it was busy, and it was ignorant of the horrible things that had happened just days before. So much had happened and so few remembered. It would feel good to get back to Canterlot where some ponies knew as much as he did. Of course, he'd still need to see one more mare...well, two.

Finally, he arrived at the library, only to find an angry Emerald Skies pacing in front of the door. Spark frowned and approached his old bookish friend, only to have him round on the bigger pegasus. "Another one, Spark?! Would you please take them all with you? I'm running out of excuses not to let anypony into the library!" Spark stared at Emerald Skies as if he'd been stung as the librarian stalked off angrily. ...What? Another one? Spark thought as he opened the door slowly and stepped inside.

Spark Storm entered the library to find a mess of feathers. Reddish brown feathers. Spark glanced around the room quickly, expecting another giant harpy to show itself. Instead, he found Shadow Heart sputtering and blowing feathers out of his face, a few of which hadn't reached the floor yet. "Did you see it? What are we dealing with?" Spark asked the unicorn.

"A chicken," came the annoyed response as Shadow Heart turned around to face Spark, his eyes on the upper level.

"Heh, it does seem that way. What kind of harpy molts like this?" Spark said with an uncertain laugh as he came to stand beside Shadow Heart, who gestured upward at the frightened harpy curled up in trembling ball at the top of the stairs.

"A chicken," Shadow Heart repeated. "...A chicken harpy."

"Daddy, come up here," Orea called from the second floor. She appeared a second later as she approached Amacia and laid a hoof on the harpy's back, who flinched, then peered out at Spark. Spark Storm tilted his head curiously, then turned to Shadow Heart and gestured for him to stay downstairs. He made his way up slowly up the stairs and cautiously approached the frightened harpy.

"'D-daddy'?" Amacia asked. She pulled herself slowly from her position and peered openly at Spark. She reached toward him slowly. "Um...if I may?" she asked. Spark glanced at her hands. While everything about her was much smaller than Sohl, her hands and feet still looked like they could do some damage. Her face might've been the most different thing about the two. Spark had no gauge of beauty for these creatures or the creatures they mimicked, but Amacia's face had a gentle round look to it, while Sohl's features were sharp and defined, sleek and dangerous. This harpy's big round eyes did nothing to make him feel like he was being hunted.

"I guess...?" he told her, not even sure what she wanted. Still, he stepped closer to her. Amacia smiled gently as she ran her clawed hands over his face slowly, then up into his mane and down his neck, then back up, a scrutinizing look in her eyes. "Um...what are you looking for?" he asked, just a little uncomfortable to be pawed at by a complete stranger.

"I have no idea how your species works, you're brand new to me. But...from the timbre of your voice and what I assume to a young body, you cannot be Orea's father," she told him, finally bringing her arms down to clasp in her lap.

"Oh!" Spark laughed, causing Amacia's former professional calm to shatter. She flinched visibly. "Uh, yeah. I actually get that a lot. It's a pretty complicated story...one that I can hopefully tell you on the way to Canterlot." Orea's eyes widened and she clopped her hooves together excitedly.

"Are we finally going back? I've missed it there!"

"Yeah, we're going back, Orea. I think it'd be a good idea to let the princess know that we have a new harpy." Spark glanced around the room. He spotted Ampelus hanging in her vines like a hammock over the entrance to the kitchen. Her body was almost completely grown back by now, her hind legs were strong enough to walk on. He wasn't looking for Ampelus, though. "Now where's the old harpy?"

Orea sighed quietly at the mention of Sohl. She'd been instructed not to say anything, and it was going to kill her when her surrogate mother left, but...no. She had a duty, and a secret to keep. "She went ahead to Canterlot. She's going to meet us there," Orea told him, trying to keep the frown on her face from showing too much.

Thankfully, Spark had his focus on the wall, glaring at some random pattern in the wood. "She's been acting so weird lately, it's like she's distancing herself, but why?" Orea had to close her eyes tightly to keep Spark's emotions from burning her. His thoughts of his bond with Sohl crumbling was hurting him much more than he was letting on.

Amacia glanced between the two, completely missing the tension in the two creatures. "So...a walk, then?" She got to her feet and stretched. When she brought her arms back down, she looked down at Spark Storm, who blinked up at her. She truly was different from Sohl. While Spark came up to about half of Sohl's height, Amacia was merely a head taller than he was. Plus, the fact that she wore clothes set her apart from the proudly naked Sohl.

Still, the clothes, and how she looked...Spark was pretty sure Sohl had never been seen by the public. At least not in harpy form. Sohl had the ability to hide in plain sight by assuming a bird form. His thoughts had to surface. "So, I really have to ask...how did you get in here without being seen? Do you have a bird form, like Sohl?"

This made Amacia blush and look down on the ground with intensity. "I...I do, but it's kind of embarrassing..." The harpy gave a great sigh and closed her eyes, and immediately shrunk down to a bird half the size of Sohl's bird form. It was indeed a chicken, covered with thick, fluffy reddish brown feathers, brighter along the bottom of her body and darker near her head.

"A chicken..." Spark mused with a dead-pan expression. "I don't know what I expected. Uh, anyway, we should get going, okay?"

Amacia clucked quietly, her head held down low against her body, giving her a look like she was trying to suck her head into her body, which she may well have been trying to do, she was so embarrassed. With a loud rustle of feathers, she flapped up onto Orea's back and settled down with her head tucked under her right wing.

"All right...I think it's time we head back. Today's been weird...too weird." Spark sighed and headed down the stairs and slipped over to Ampelus. When he reached up to tug on the vines keeping her stationed, the nymph groaned and turned over in her hammock-like position and wrapped her forelegs around Spark's neck. "Nnnno. Don't wanna go. Why don't we stay here and play?" she whispered seductively into his ear.

The library doors burst open, making Emerald Skies, who was waiting nearby, jump. The first thing he saw was Shadow Heart, who emerged with Orea curled up on his back, who appeared to be holding a chicken. When Emerald caught Shadow Heart's eyes, the unicorn shook his head with what might've been the funniest, most annoyed look the pegasus had ever seen. "Don't ask, just...don't ask," Shadow Heart told him.

Behind him walked Spark Storm with a pair of saddlebags across his back, one pocket bulging. Spark looked absolutely furious as he shifted the bag to balance the weight. A whine came from inside the bags, and Emerald could see it shifting, writhing like a hundred snakes. "Geez, Sparky, can't you take a joke?" came Ampelus' voice. Spark didn't respond to her. Instead, he turned to Emerald Skies, a tired expression on the dark pegasi's face.

"Well...I guess this is it, Emerald. We're finally going back, and you've got your library back. It'd be nice if we had our own place, and I'm sorry we hurt your business by hanging out there the whole time. It's back to the lives we know. I don't even know how long I'll be gone this time."

Emerald made a face at Spark, then clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't talk like everything's back to normal. It's not for you, anyway," Emerald told him with a smile and more than a hint of jealousy. "You seem to have been born for this kind of thing, Spark. Now go on, get on back to what you know best."

Spark smiled and embraced his old friend, then turned around and gave an encouraging nod to Shadow Heart. The two set out of town carrying their respective passengers, a certain silence between all of them.

"He's here, he's here!" Lemon Pop said with an excited bounce several hours later. Sapphire Snow hopped forward to stop at Lemon Pop's side as they stood at the edge of the town of Canterlot, where the road disappeared past the trees.

A frustrated frown broke over Sapphire's face, her eyes still looking for signs of Spark. "You baffle me. Every time. How do you do that?" she asked her long-time best friend. Lemon Pop merely grinned and began hopping. The longer she did it, the shorter her hops became until it just seemed like the red pegasus was vibrating. "Oh for Celestia's sake, go to him!" Sapphire nearly shouted with expasperation.

"Thankssapphireipromiseiwon'tkeephimlong!" Lemon Pop shouted as she took off down the hill towards where she just knew Spark Storm was coming.

Lemon Pop flew down the road, where the road eventually ran out of stone and simply turned to dirt, though the path remained just as visible. It wasn't long (about a mile) that she saw the group. By now, Ampelus, Orea and Amacia had slipped out of their disguises (in Ampelus' case, her prison) and were all walking together. A red pegasus headed their way, subtle as a train was a small cause for alarm until Spark and Orea recognized her. He held up a hoof as the older nymph and the unicorn poised for battle (Amacia had jumped into the bushes). "Easy, guys, this one's for me."

Lemon Pop came to a complete stop three pony-lengths ahead of Spark. The excitement in her eyes quickly changed to an angry pout, her chest rising and falling from her flight. Spark smiled gently at his companions and nodded his head forward. "Orea, you know the way, right? Take them to the gardens, ok?"

As Orea happily lead the other three towards Canterlot, Spark sighed and turned to face Lemon Pop. The last time he'd seen her had been three days ago, just before his first encounter with Shimmering Oasis. His words had been quick, uncaring and hurtful, and had caused her to miss out on the adventure. He still wasn't sure what had changed her mind to run get help, but he and his friends would all be buried if she hadn't.

Lemon Pop leaned forward with an expectant look on her face. She wanted an apology, and she wanted a nice one.

Not one to disappoint, Spark cleared his throat to begin. "Lemon Pop, I wanted to say I'm sorry-"

He got no further then that when Lemon Pop latched onto him and nuzzled him happily with tears in her eyes. "Apology accepted!" Spark Storm laughed and threw his hooves around her. They talked for several minutes, both catching the other up. Spark learned that her friend Choco Swirl convinced her to swallow her pride and go get help. If it hadn't been for that convenient apprentice-swap that week, things might've been different, and not in a good way.

The two began to walk and talk, continuing their conversation for the next mile. Spark had so many things to tell her of his adventures that there just wasn't enough to to finish when they came upon the place where Sapphire Snow stood waiting in the same spot she'd seen Lemon Pop disappear. Lemon Pop smiled as she looked between her two best friends, a concerned frown when she saw look in Spark's eyes. "Spark? What is it, why do you look like that?"

Spark turned to look at Lemon Pop, unsure of what to tell her. The red pegasus let out a tiny gasp, her hooves covering her mouth as she began to hover. "Oh, Spark...you and Ditzy...?"

Spark shook his head and looked his friend in the eyes. "No. Well...Yes and no, but I'm not with her, and I'm not going to be. But...something happened, and Sapphire needs to know, Lemon Pop. I can't just pretend that nothing happened."

Lemon Pop frowned at him, a look of disappointment. She landed beside him and rested a hoof on his shoulder. Spark couldn't hold the look and cast his gaze to the ground. "You're a good guy, Spark Storm. Don't let anypony ever tell you that you're not amazing. You're just not ready, yet." She leaned in to give his shoulder a nuzzle before taking off, leaving Spark Storm alone with Sapphire Snow waiting ahead.

Sapphire Snow stared down at the exchange. She couldn't hear anything, but she knew something was wrong. She watched Spark Storm as he approached her, her heart continuing to tighten, and suddenly she wished she hadn't gotten up so early this morning.

Spark Storm sighed as he sat in elder Orea's ash tree, in the very crook he'd found her when he'd planted this tree. Her progeny sat with him, curled up with a sad look in her eyes as she dabbed at the black and purple wound surrounding his right eye, visible only because the setting sun shone on it.

Spark sighed and closed his eyes, not even bothering to protest when he felt thick vines wrap around his body and pull him against a larger body than his, also coming to rest in the tree. The pegasus opened his eyes to see little Orea staring up at him with worried eyes. He reached down wordlessly to pull her into his forelegs. He felt more vulnerable now than he ever had before. Sohl still hadn't met them, and now Sapphire Snow had rejected him. At least she'd had good reason, but Sohl didn't seem to have one.

It wasn't like Spark's life just started to suck, he was just having a really bad day. Spark would resume his life in Canterlot as a Fighter, he would continue serving under Celestia, and he'd made new friends and allies. It was the wondering where his other allies and friends had gone to that concerned him.

Far away, some twenty miles away, a figure broke the canopy of the forest, a tall, thin, bug-like creature with straight teal hair watched the castle. She watched it with jealous, hateful eyes. While it hadn't been Canterlot itself that caused her downfall, it had indeed been Spark Storm's involvement that had resulted in the destruction of her clan. Well, almost all of it.

She looked down as Nuzo joined her. He had a nasty scar on the back of his head where he'd been slammed into a rock wall, the last action he'd seen before he'd escaped. Chrysalis managed a small smile as their eyes met, causing him to look up at her in fear and apprehension. They both knew-Chrysalis and Nuzo would disappear for a little while. A few years, at most, to rebuild the hive. And next time...next time, they would take Canterlot itself.

And that's it! I think the ending was maybe a bit rushed, but I do believe I got the point across. I'm not sure what I'll start with next - I have been planning to start the SCSD rewrite again and work on that, but I'm also anxious to keep this going! For those wondering, Sohl hasn't left yet. -That- will be an affair to remember. Stay tuned for...well, something! Much more writing to come. Thanks to all of you who have read and left reviews for each chapter, your support and encouragement has been a big influence to help me keep writing :D

2 - Coming Home Part 2

Lyra let out a little groan as the pounding at her door woke her up. The nerve! She was in no mood to deal with anypony, not after what she'd been through. After a few more minutes of trying to ignore the knocking that refused to be ignored, Lyra dragged herself from her bed, then from her sheets. It had been a long, restless night, full of tossing and turning. She crept down the hall and opened the door, bleary-eyed as Pinkie Pie gave Lyra a gentle smile. Spark Storm's wasn't the only heart that had been broken in the last two days.

"Pinkie? What is it, it's too early," the unicorn said with a light frown. Pinkie Pie held out a card for her, and backed away slowly as Lyra took it with her magic to examine it. She let out a gasp at the information stated on the card. She looked up to see Pinkie had gone. Lyra scowled angrily as she closed the door. Just what had happened at the party last night to make Spark leave? The whole party had gone without a hitch. Sapphire looked like she had fallen in love with Spark all over again, so what happened?

Lyra turned the card over and noticed the time for the meeting at the library, in just over an hour. You can bet your ass I'll be there, Spark, you'd better have a good explanation, Lyra thought as she burned the card to ashes with her natural magic. She turned and slipped down her hallway to her bathroom to shower.

Rainbow Dash laid in her bed, snoozing the morning away as she usually did. It was a Saturday, so there was no school. If she wasn't in school or practicing her continuously awesome flying, Rainbow was sleeping. It was one of those kinds of mornings where sleep was more likely to be had, it was getting quite cold. Hardly an incentive to get out of bed.

Rainbow suddenly shot awake when something tried to ram itself straight down her ear. She let out a yell and fell out of bed, legs flailing as she found herself on her cloud floor. She reached up and grabbed a paper airplane that had sailed through her partially open window and wedged itself halfway into her furry ears. "What...the..." she trailed off as she saw print. She unfolded the paper to read it. While the news of Spark's departure from Celestia's service was indeed a shock, she recognized this writing as Pinkie's. She shot out of her window to see Pinkie Pie, dozens of feet below her home, hopping merrily away. "Pinkie Pie! How do you do that?!"

Receiving no more answer than a distant giggle, Rainbow rolled her eyes, crumpled up the message, and tossed it onto her bed for later use. She immediately shot out of her window, giving no thought whatsoever to the fact that her aunt and her family had come to visit for the weekend. So it should've come as no surprise when Spark Storm's 10 year old brother, Chrome Spectrum, snuck into Rainbow's room a few minutes later.

Chrome was a healthy young colt, already starting to shape into a strong young pegasus. His coloring and marking almost matched his brother's, save for where Spark had black in his mane, Chrome had a thick metallic color, and his eyes were a dark purple, like his mother's. It didn't take him long to find Pinkie's note. Chrome's eyes went wide. He had seen his brother once before, though he barely remembered that time. He had been only two.

His brother was here? In Ponyville? And he was in trouble? Well, this was the perfect time to get to know the brother that his mother always denied existed. He knew she'd been lying to him about it, and now he could prove it. He checked to make sure that nopony was watching, then slipped out of Rainbow's window and took to the skies, following the unmistakable rainbow streak that followed in his cousin's wake.

Emerald Skies opened the door to see Pinkie Pie with a basket in her mouth. The basket was full of hoof-crafted cards, one of which she held out for him. He took it from her with a questioning look. Flipping the made-with-love card open, he read, "Sparky is coming home, bad fallout with the Princess, meeting at the library in two hours, don't miss it."

"Don't forget!" Pinkie called in a sing-song tone as she hopped away down the street.

"Pinkie, I'm here all day, every day, you know I'll be here!" Emerald called, slightly annoyed. Still, Pinkie's antics made him smile. Had that been her only mission today, it was a success. He sighed and closed the door, then made his way to the work desk in the center of the room. He looked over the card one more time, a frown on his face. He had been there to hear about what happened directly after the dance just yesterday evening, and it had made him lose a great deal of respect for the royal house.

Emerald had spent a great deal of time with Spark Storm, both growing older with him, and going on adventures and hearing everything there was to hear about Spark and Sapphire's relationship from Lemon Pop on their trip to Neippon. To hear that Spark had been chosen over Sapphire, after all the time apart, after all the blood, sweat and tears that had been put into their own personal goals.

There were other things beside Spark's troubles on Emerald's mind. The green pegasus closed his eyes, and thought back to the previous night and what he found.

The previous day, 11p.m.

Emerald Skies tried not to turn back and see the look of hurt he knew would be on Twilight's face. The two of them had getting along since being reunited just two days earlier. At the time he'd had no concrete plans to go back to the library. His aunt worked there as well, and she had things pretty well under control. He could've stayed and gotten to know Twilight Sparkle a little better. But then the incident in the ballroom. After hearing everything from Frostbite, Emerald hadn't wanted to stay at the castle anymore. It just seemed like a bad place to be.

Through the darkness and the rain, Emerald quickly discovered that trying to get home at at a time like this was just a little insane. However, he was almost halfway to Ponyville thanks to the downhill flight.

Something caught his eye, a light in the darkness of the woods. Emerald banked back around and down through the trees towards the odd, mint-green light, and soon began to guess it's source, and he was right. It was Lyra, walking alone through the woods and soaked to the bone, her horn lit up to light her way, and she looked miserable. He landed right in front of her, appearing right out of the darkness. Lyra let out a single yelp of fright and fell back onto her butt. Instead of getting angry, she looked away and was silent.

Emerald frowned and stepped closer, offering Lyra a hoof up. "Lyra? Why are you alone out here? We're still a good twenty miles to Ponyville! You'll catch your death out here." The unicorn got to her feet slowly, her eyes unfocused. Not bothering to respond to Emerald's question, she continued on her way downhill. "Wait...Lyra? Wait!" Emerald cantered to keep up with her, a concerned look burning in his eyes. "Please. Tell me what happened." When Emerald didn't get a response, he asked quietly, "Lyra, why isn't Bon Bon with you?"

That did it. Lyra stopped in her tracks and turned around, tears in her eyes, an angry expression on her face. She really didn't want to talk about it, but Emerald wasn't leaving it alone. She sighed heavily and walked over to him, taking a seat on the cold, wet ground. "Bon Bon and I...we're not together right now, Emerald. I kept too many things from her. S'all right," she said as she noticed Emerald's saddened face. "It's nothing I didn't do to myself. I'm the one that kept the book from her. I'm the one that kept flirting with you."

Emerald stared sadly at Lyra. He didn't know what to say. Lyra sighed quietly and started on her way again through the bone-chilling rain. Neither pony really felt the chill, both of them were uncomfortably numb at this point. After a moment, Emerald went after her. This was all his fault, and now he was going to make it right. Well..try, anyway. The first thing that needed to happen was to get the both of them home. "All right, Lyra, hop on. It's time to take you home." Lyra turned her head to glare at Emerald. The last thing she wanted now was to touch him.

Emerald glared back at her. "Look, I realize that things are pretty messed up right now. But if we're going to set it straight eventually, the first thing we have to do is take care of ourselves. You're not walking twenty miles home in the rain." When Lyra started walking away from Emerald again, he hopped over her and got in her way, his wings flared. "Look! I don't care if you hate me for the rest of your life, I am not letting you walk all the way home, alone, out here in the rain. Now get on, and let's go home!"

Emerald stared Lyra down for a moment, then turned around and sat down, wings still flared out to the side. He closed his eyes and waited. After a moment of silence, he felt Lyra climbing onto his back, her forelegs wrapping around his neck. Without a moment's hesitation or a word to her, Emerald stood and grunted lightly. He talked big, but the truth was, he wasn't very strong, and suddenly found himself wondering if he could actually do this. With a mental shrug, he took off down the hill, his wings spread wide and began flapping. After nearly falling twice, he lifted off the ground and finally took off into the air. His wings burned with the extra efford of carrying a passenger, but he got himself into this and he wasn't about to back out now.

The flight was a bit slower than it would have been just by himself, but they were still moving much, much faster than if it had just been walking. The air was chill, and the rain was getting lighter, colder. Lyra clung tightly against Emerald, making for a very warm back. Nice thoughts of the feminine form weren't on Emerald's mind tonight, though. Lyra's heart had been broken, now was not a time to be thinking of her in inappropriate ways.

It took twenty five more minutes to get to Ponyville, and by then Emerald's wings were screaming in pain. He pushed through it, just until he made it to Lyra's home. It was midnight, or around there, and the lights in her parents' home were off. As soon as Lyra climbed off his back, he fell onto his belly. His wings cramped, twitching from too much work. He pressed his head down against the ground, panting and groaning in the terrible pain he put his wings through.

Tears of pain had begun forming in his eyes when he felt Lyra's mint light on his face. He turned to look at her as she touched her horn to his wings, whispering, "Reficite." Emerald let out a sigh of relief as he felt his wings relax, the pain quickly dying. Reficite, that's...that's refresh, he thought, recalling the text of the book. He still had to talk to her about that. Lyra seemed to know the book far too well to have simply borrowed it for a week. For now, though, it was enough just to see her home.

He stood and shook out his wings before giving Lyra a light bow of the head. "Thank you, Lyra. Goodbye." He turned to leave, only to feel a hoof at his back. He paused and looked back at her. Lyra gave him a small smile before stepping back to give him his space.

"It's not 'goodbye'. It's 'see you later'."

Emerald felt his heart soar, but he gave Lyra the smallest, most genuine smile he could muster. "As you wish." With that, he took off into the air and made his way home.

Back to the present

Emerald Skies sighed quietly as his memories subsided. Poor Lyra. Poor Spark. ...Poor Emerald. Friend-zoned. He sighed and shook his head at his poor choice of self-analysis. Suddenly remembering the card that Pinkie Pie had given him, he looked around the library. It would need to be straightened out before...how many ponies did Pinky invite? Emerald sighed and stepped over to the door. As long as he was expecting company, he'd better ask Pinky Pie just how many ponies she'd invited to the library. He opened the door and immediately wished he hadn't.

"Watch out!" came a panicked voice. He was immediately bowled into as Rainbow Dash crashed straight into the library, taking Emerald Skies with her. His last thoughts before he blacked out was, "That's it, I'm adding a safety net."