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// 13 - Not All That Kills Is Ugly Part 2 
// Story: Raison D'être 
// by mechafone 
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Spark Storm had wandered into a darker part of the forest. The trees above did little to provide any sunlight. You know, I might've taken a wrong turn at some point...he thought to himself. "Ya think?" He responded aloud, and then laughed. He was beginning to think he might be just a little nervous.

Thinking it might be high time to see where he was, Spark approached a tree and started climbing it. Several weeks spent practicing a good hard grip with his hooves were paying off as he scaled the tree like a spider, slow and steady. Higher and higher he went, into deeper foliage. Finally, he began to see sunlight.

As he broke through the canopy, he had to shield his eyes. It looked to be about high noon.

Well, no wonder I was lost...I can't even tell where I am up here! This of course posed a problem. He'd need to backtrack, but...even looking over the tops of the trees, he couldn't see Ponyville, or...wait. There, about twenty miles to the northeast. That had to be the mountain that Canterlot rested on.

He was concentrating so much on his task that he didn't see the little green face poking up between his hooves. Little Orea was suddenly in his face, a big curious smile on hers. "Hello, Storm!"

Spark's eyes widened as he let out a little yelp of surprise. "Who are you? How do you know my name?" Orea's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "You mean to tell me that is your name? I was just giving you a nickname!" The fact that this strange, cute filly was practically resting on him was making Spark very uncomfortable.

"Um..." Spark looked down at the little filly. She was about Rarity's size and build. Petite, slender frame, thin, not at all unpleasant to look at. He mentally slapped himself for thinking that. With a clear of his throat, he reached down to gently ease her out of his personal space. He started making his way down through the trees as he spoke to her. "So, what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere? Are you lost as well?"

"Lost? Of course not. I know my way around here. It -is- my forest. Well-mother's forest, really. But someday it will be mine. Mother says so." Spark looked back at the filly with confused irritation. Now that he could see all of her, he noticed her wings. They were unlike anything he'd ever seen, and her colors matched the forest perfectly. She seemed to have been made from the trees themselves.

"Your forest, huh? Well, maybe you can help me get out of it. I really need to get back to Canterlot." Orea tilted her head at the unfamiliar term. "Canterlot? What is that?" Spark sighed inwardly and face-hoofed. "Really? You live here in this valley with the mountain in perfect view? Have you never even left these woods?" Orea shrugged. "No. Not in two hundred years."

Spark gave the filly a dead-pan look. First, the filly gets in his personal space like they're intimate. Then, she's totally unhelpful. And to top if all off, now she's...what, some kind of immortal fairy? Spark was about to comment when he felt the presence of another right behind him. He snapped around only to come face to face with an older pony. She looked to be in her late teens. She was lighter in color than Orea, taller. Everything about her seemed to scream mature, and something else that made Spark uneasy.

"Oh, look at this..." She said, her voice both seductive and venemous. Everything about her was telling Spark that this one was trouble. Orea knew this, already, as she stood in front of Spark Storm protectively. "No, sister! This one is mine, you cannot have him! He is but a boy anyway, you would derive no pleasure from him! Please, I just want - " She was cut off as her sister's leg clamped itself over her mouth, a long thin tendril where her hoof should be.

"Hush, sister. You know as well as I that we cannot be friends with our food." She gazed longingly at Spark Storm, who had backed away in awe when the older pony's leg seemed to turn into a vine. His earlier misgivings about the younger pony may have been incorrect.

Ampelus lifted her sister and placed her out of her way gingerly. As much as she loved torturing her poor sister, she would never dare to strike her. The seductive nymph moved closer to Spark Storm, towering over him by a few inches. He backed away from her, his wings raising instinctively in a threatening posture. "Oh, come now, boy. Do you not find me inviting? Surely you have looked at a mare before with inquisitive eyes."

"Uh, w-well, maybe..." He swallowed hard. While this older mare was indeed pretty, he only had eyes for one mare, and he wasn't about to switch now. Besides, something told him this creature wasn't talking about cuddling and smooching. He felt it was something much more sinister. "B-but I'm not really looking for anything serious right now."

The nymph smiled and touched Spark's cheek with a solid hoof. Her touch was both cool and inviting, and it made Spark shiver. "Hm, see? You do like it." Spark blushed, then shook his head to rid himself of the nice feelings the older mare was giving him. "Look, I can't stay. I really have to g-" He was suddenly cut off as Ampelus had wrapped herself around him. His legs, torso and neck were being squeezed, crushing the life out of him.

Fear and adrenaline drove him now, and he only had one option. His wings burst to life, and Ampelus had only a second of recognition before her body lit up with pain. She let out an angry, pained scream as her body stretched and coiled away from him, freeing him. Spark caught his breath, nearly falling to the ground. If he didn't watch himself and pay attention, the strange pony could try again, and she might succeed in taking his life this time.

"Storm-bringer!" Ampelus was saying in an accusatory tone. Even little Orea was staring at Spark Storm in awe. Suddenly, she sprung into action. This friend was much more than what he seemed. He was special.

While Ampelus was recovering from her shock, Orea shot forward and pressed herself against Spark Storm, nudging him away. "You must run away, Storm! Run or she will kill you, please! I will take you away!" Spark didn't need any more convincing. He ran with the little filly, finding she was much faster than she looked. Behind him, he could hear Ampelus following them.

Spark Storm turned on the speed. He came up behind Orea and nudged her onto his back. "Just tell me where to go!" He shouted as his wings propelled him faster. He could hear Ampelus cursing and shouting 'Storm-Bringer'. Orea just watched Spark with fascination. She'd never seen any creature moving as fast as he was right now.

The two of them kept moving until Spark had come to another section of the forest. He mildly recognized it. The sun shone through the trees, and there were small ponds here and there. Leaves littered the ground, and it was growing cold. Winter would be here soon. After a moment or two of looking around, Orea got down off of Spark's back, and nuzzled him affectionately.

"Storm, I am sorry for my sister's actions...she is always trying to deny me my friends!" Spark turned to look at her, his eyes wide. He had almost forgotten what she claimed to be. "So, uh...are you a...tree god, or something?" Orea looked up at her new friend and laughed. "Tree god? You are silly! No, that is my mother." Spark sighed and fell down on his haunches. Tree gods, sexy vine monsters, and...what else could happen today?

His thoughts were quickly answered when he looked around and saw at least ten creatures approaching them. They all looked the same. They slightly resembled tiny alicorns, but their bodies were hard and black. Their wings looked more like insect wings, and their legs were long and had...well, holes in them. Orea reacted by screaming and pressing herself against Spark Storm in fear. "Oh no, we have come too far from home!"

Spark looked down at Orea. "What do you mean? What are these things?" "We are Changelings, brat!" One of the creatures said. Every one of them looked like they were ready to tear apart the two. "Whatever. I really don't like the way you guys are looking at us. Get lost before I have to hurt you!" Spark threatened. His wings spread in a threatening display and they flared to life with electrical energy.

Every last one of the Changelings laughed. "You are funny, little colt. But fear not; you will forever be remembered for bringing us one of the Nymphs! Our curse will be one step closer to being lifted! So thank you, who ever you are. Now sleep forever!" All ten of the Changelings leapt into the air, bearing down upon the two.



Nuzo looked up from where he had fallen. Just what in Tartarus had happened? One minute, he and his comrades were about to tear into that little Nymph and her coltfriend, when...light. And pain. He glanced around at his soldiers. All were either dead or injured, like him. He struggled to his hooves. His whole body shook, his very foundation unsteady. Where had their prey gone?

Reporting to Chrysalis about his failure would surely end in his demotion. It just wasn't fair. There were three more Nymphs left in the world. To be handed one and lose her in the same minute...Oh, the Queen would be furious. He gathered his remaining forces together and made to return to the hive, preparing himself for his imminent misfortune.