Spark Storm glared at the small army slowly surrounding himself and his charge, who leaned against him and whimpered, hiding her face in his feathers. He'd be tempted to cuddle and comfort her if they weren't about to be ripped apart by monsters.
The Changelings had moved in, closing their prey in around them, when they felt the earth moving beneath them. They all did. Relief surged into Spark Storm's chest. He quickly nudged Orea onto his back and he leapt over the Changelings, who were all still too confused to move.
Suddenly, they all found themselves falling to their stomachs. They could no longer hold their own weight. Each of them attempted to get up to their hooves, and each one of them failed. That was when they noticed the big, black circle on the ground.
Spark smirked and looked around until he found his teacher, Braham Gravitas, sitting by a nearby tree. He grinned and gave a wave to his student. "Braham!" Spark called, and cantered over to him. Braham smiled warmly at his student, until he noticed the sprite on Spark's back. He gave Spark a soft glare before he got to his feet, his horn billowing that strange black glow. "Spark, about your friend there. We'll talk about it later." Spark frowned, not liking the tone his teacher was taking with him. "All right...what about them?" He looked back at the Changelings. Some of them were getting to their feet, and more of them were approaching from the woods. It seemed they had a contingency plan.
Braham frowned. His gravity spell could only hold for so long. In hindsight, he probably should have brought Frostbite or Gunslinger with him. Instead, he had been following Spark since he'd lost him in Ponyville, alone. He knew this might come back to bite him in the flank. "What are they, son? I've never seen creatures such as this." "I don't know. They call themselves Changelings." Braham arched a brow and looked back at his student incredulously. "Don't talk nonsense! Changelings are a myth!" Spark shrugged, making Orea 'meep' from his shoulders. "I suppose Tree Gods are myths, too?"
Braham had a good laugh at that one. "You have a point, Spark. Now..." He reached up and eased Orea down from Spark's shoulders. She instantly got underneath Spark, common sense dicating this was the only safe place. Her wings tickled Spark's stomach, convincing him he needed to be about two feet to the side.
After igniting his wings, Spark leapt forward and shot off electric bolts at the Changelings. Most of them dodged his clumsy attempts, some of them unfortunate enough to take them head on. They very neatly exploded into shell and steaming piles of wings and teeth.
Braham released his gravity spell. The Changelings collapsed, and were promptly swallowed into the earth as the Unicorn used a quicksand and earth implosion spell. The sounds that erupted from the earth sent the remaining Changelings into a frenzy. They flew into the air, some of them taking the forms of griffons, the others into the forms of Pegasi.
"Psst...kid, follow me, I'll get you out of here!" Orea glanced behind her to see Spark Storm beckoning her. Ever trusting, ever innocent, she immediately obeyed and climbed into the underbrush with her new friend. Her friend the Changeling. She let out a shriek as it revealed itself to her, but it was too late.
Several of them had found her and had begun to drag her away from the fight. Finally she was far enough away that they decided it would be safe to kill her. Orea's vision blurred as it filled with tears. She stared up at the six dark beasts, leaning over her with malice in their eyes. Her whole world seemed to move in slow, dulled motion as one leaned down, mouth wide open, and...
Light. Speed. Darkness. She saw Spark Storm, the real one, tackling all six of the Changelings to the ground. She saw his wings stabbing the creatures with those valiant blades of light and electricity. It wasn't over. Many more came pouring into the clearing. Spark Storm made to stand over Orea, with her underneath his stomach.
She simply stared up at him in awe as she witnessed his fury, his power. He looked this way and that, sending out powerful streams of storm on his enemies. It seemed to go on forever. The area was lit up with constant strikes of lightning, and little Orea was at the heart of it. She had never been more entranced by anything. She felt she was truly at the hooves of an almighty god who had no more purpose than to protect her.
Finally, it was over. Seventy five bodies lay smoking around in the area, and Spark Storm was exhausted. He leaned down to look at Orea, whose eyes had never left him. She reached up with her hooves to touch his face. "Are you all right?" He asked her. Risking his life to protect her, never once worrying about his own safety. Orea couldn't help it. She leaned up and kissed him on the mouth.
Spark smiled down at her, and then fell over in a dead faint. For a brief moment, Orea was upset that he hadn't fallen directly on top of her. With a light blush at such naughty thoughts, she got up and checked his pulse. He was alive, he would be fine. But what of the Earth God? She trotted out of the area, and gasped. It was a massacre. Dozens of Changelings had been crushed by boulders, or had been buried alive. Looking for the one responsible, she found him. He was leaning against a tree, bleeding heavily. He'd been bitten and clawed, terrible wounds criss-crossing his body. He looked barely conscious.
She stepped over to him warily. The woods had become eerily quiet. As he saw her approach, Braham fell to the ground. His breathing was shallow and ragged, and he was coughing a bit of blood. "Go..." He whispered. "G-get...Spark...go...get to...the castle. F-forget me." Orea's eyes widened. The speed of her breath increased, and tears began to spill from her eyes.
She leaned in and lightly kissed his forehead. "Thank you, Earth God. I swear, in the many thousands of years that I may live I will never forget what you have done today." And with that, Braham closed his eyes for the last time. Tears falling from her face and onto the ground, little Orea went to wake Spark Storm.