Daddy!
Spark groaned in his sleep. He tried to ignore the extra weight on his head, but it kept bouncing there, on that spot where his jaw connected with the rest of his head. The voice came again, clear and loud in his head. Daddy, I'm hungry!
Spark made a face and turned over to face Sapphire. "What? Don't call me that, it's weird." Sapphire Snow was still asleep, however. She mumbled quietly as she turned away from him, stirred from his movement in her forelegs. Spark shot straight up into a sitting position. Ok, if that wasn't Sapphire, then who in Tartarus is calling me daddy? he though, and he immediately received an answer.
Daddy, it's me! I'm hungry! This time Spark recognized the fact that the voice was inside his mind. Of course, there was the issue of that weight on his head - Spark let out a gasp of surprise as he felt something small, about the size of a five year old filly attach itself to his face. He immediately grasped it with his hooves and pulled - painfully - until it was no longer grasping him. He held it away from him to get a good look, and his eyes slowly widened with horror.
In his grasp was perhaps the most adorable little nymph. She bore a mix of his colors and her mother's, green and blue. Her wings were that of a pegasus, unlike Orea's, whose wings more resembled a mix of bug and plant-life. She appeared to have the body of a five year old pony, but her limbs were long and thin, vine-like. No wonder it was so difficult to pull her off.
But no matter how cute she was, what came next out of her mouth terrified Spark to the core. She opened her mouth and called sweetly, "Daddy!"
The corners of Spark's lips twitched, nearly turning into a disturbed smile. Inside, he felt some force building up within his stomach. He had to let it out, or he would explode. It worked it's way up his throat until he finally lifted his head skyward and yelled at the top of his lungs, "OOOORRRRREEEEEAAAAAAAAA!"
Celestia's personal dining room burst open, causing the Princess to jump almost an inch off the floor and nearly dropped the banana gripped by her magic. Her nephew, Prince Blueblood, watched in outrage as one of his aunt's 'bodyguards', as he liked to call them, actually jumped on the table. "I beg your pardon! What do you think you're doing, do you have any idea wha-" He paused as he spotted the curious little creature that clung to the pegasi's head like a...a pony/octopus hybrid. He had never seen anything like it. He decided he would instead watch with fascination as the pegasus marched right up to his aunt.
Celestia stared at Spark's brazen attitude. He had never been so angry as to burst in on her breakfast time. She immediately noticed the little nymph clinging to his hair. She brought a hoof over her mouth to keep the amused smile spreading across her face hidden, though it wasn't lost on Spark. He wordlessly brought a hoof up to point at the newborn, who watched the whole scene unfold from atop his head.
After a moment, Spark decided to break the silence in the room. "You knew. You knew. I know you did, you had this look between you and Orea right before we left, and you knew." Celestia had to keep her lips pursed tightly to keep from laughing at the indignity written all over Spark Storm's face. From across the room, a door opened. Spark turned to watch as Twilight Sparkle stepped through the doorway, her eyes immediately latching on to him. Her gaze slowly rose to the creature on his head.
"Daddy, I am hungry." the little nymph said. Spark's eyes widened as all three pairs of eyes in the room widened in shock at the term 'daddy'. Spark groaned and put a hoof to his head. He could feel a bigger headache coming on than he'd ever experienced. He glared at Celestia once more and poked at her chest with a hoof.
"You. Knew." He hissed accusingly before he turned right around and took off the way he came, leaving the room in awkward silence until Celestia burst out into laughter, the banana held in her magic finally falling with a quiet thump on the table.
The little nymph gave a squeal of joy as she looked down over the Everfree forest atop of Spark's head. He was gliding around over the forest, intent on finding the child some food. He knew Orea's eating habits, she was fine with eating monsters, but he had no idea what a newborn ate. He frowned as he thought of Orea. She could've told him she was leaving him a nymph to take care of!
Spark sighed as he felt the little nymph hugging his neck affectionately. Despite the fact that Spark didn't want to be a daddy, it did make him feel kinda special to hear the nymph calling him that, even though it was slightly unnerving that she had his colors.
He was still deep in thought when he felt a tap at his side. He turned his head to see Lemon Pop gliding beside him, her eyes wide as she watched the nymph staring back at her. Spark didn't know what to say when Lemon gave him a disappointed look and pointed to his other side. He already knew what to expect as he turned to gaze at Sapphire Snow, who was staring at him angrily.
He frowned with frustration and turned his gaze forward. "I had nothing to do with this. I am not her father, and I didn't do anything with Orea to make this happen, so cut it out with the guilt-trip!"
Sapphire cringed lightly at his tone. Despite how she was acting towards him, she knew the truth, even before flying out here to give him the stink-eye. She supposed she was just angry. She'd finally come home, and she finally had Spark Storm back within her grasp. But the second she thought she had some time alone with him, this happened and suddenly Spark had a baby nymph to take care of. It wasn't fair!
"...You're right. I'm sorry, Spark. It's just...it's not fair. I've waited a long time to see you again, and..." Sapphire gave Spark an apologetic look. She reached out, lightly resting a hoof on his. Spark smiled at Sapphire and grasped her hoof in return.
"I know. This situation caught me off guard, too. Right now I need to get some food in her. I don't really know what she needs to eat, though. Orea-" he was cut off as the little nymph on his head called out her mother's name, long and loud like Spark had done that morning. "...eats monsters, so maybe she will, too." Spark chuckled at the disturbed look on his girlfriend's face. "Yeah, I know, but hey, I can teach her to help us out!"
Sapphire and Lemon glanced at each other at this, then shrugged simultaneously. He had a point. Spark suddenly dipped, eliciting a joyful shriek from the little nymph. Lemon and Sapphire followed him down as he sank into the trees. Now under the cover of the forest canopy, Spark landed and reached up to take the nymph from around his head and gingerly set her on the ground. She immediately looked up at him as she floundered about her on her flimsy limbs, a question in her eyes as she flopped her legs around.
Spark smiled and held out a hoof, then stomped it lightly on the ground. "Like this. Can you stand? See if you can form a leg." Spark's little charge watched him demonstrate. She pressed her noodly appendage against the ground, looked at his hoof, then back down to her leg. After a moment of concentration, her leg straightened, and finally formed a leg with a hoof at the end. Seeing the similarities between them grow, the nymph let out a squeal of triumph and began the process of turning her other three vine-like legs into pony legs.
Spark grinned down at the amazing progress the little creature was making. On some level, he felt proud. The look on his face was not lost on Sapphire and Lemon as they came in for a landing beside him. Noting their skeptical looks, he aimed a shrug at them. "What?"
"Well...the way you're handling her, and the way you smile at her, it's almost like...like you're her real dad." Sapphire said with a frown.
Spark rolled his eyes heavenward, his wings opening and snapping shut in irritation. "Really, Sapphire? You're forgetting where I grew up." Sapphire's frowned changed to a look of confusion. "An orphanage, remember? I grew up learning how to take care of little fillies and colts. It comes naturally to me now." He stepped over to the nymph, who was now prancing about on her solid hooves.
"All right, next step. Let's-" Spark cut off as his heart leapt up in his throat at the sound of a sudden, shrill scream in the air. The little nymph let out a scream and latched herself onto Spark, and promptly fell over, her hooves no longer as pliable as they had been. Lemon and Sapphire both shrieked and latched on to each other, having never heard such a terrible sound before. At least, not here in Equestria. They actually had heard it just the day before, in White Tail Woods.
The four looked around for the source of the sound when a tall form suddenly flew into the area, grasping a struggling Timberwolf in it's enormous claws. The two figures flew just over the heads of the ponies before the tall figure's second claw grasped the head of the wooden wolf and snapped it's neck loudly, whereupon it hung limply. It fell to the ground with a sickening crunch, followed by the tall, feathered figure as it landed on the limp body.
"Oh. Hey, kids." Sohl grinned at her audience, then hopped off of her catch and perched on a large stone jutting out of the ground, an expectant look in her eyes.
Spark glanced at Lemon and Sapphire. They returned the look, giving Spark a definite 'this is weird' vibe. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders as he took a few steps towards his friends as casually as he could. "Sohl, I've actually been meaning to come look for you. What's-"
"For your kid." Sohl said, opening her mouth and revealing her deadly sharp fangs. "You don't think I eat wood, do you? I much prefer the soft flesh of pon...err. You know. Other stuff."
Spark narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Sohl. "How did you even...? Ugh. Whatever." Spark glanced back at the nymph on his back, clinging desperately to him. Everything about her looked on edge. He reached up and gently took her in his hooves and plopped her down in front of him. "C'mon, little one. You're hungry, aren't you?" She looked back up at him, as if asking 'Can I?'
"Go on, sweetie." Spark said encouragingly, giving the little nymph a nudge with his muzzle. The little one approached the dead timberwolf under the watching eyes of the four others. Spark and Sohl's gazes were of curiosity, while Lemon and Sapphire watched only because they couldn't stop. Once the nymph was close enough, instinct took over. She opened her mouth, and five tendrils crept out from the depths of her body and wrapped around the body. The timberwolf started to glow with an ethereal green light, then it started to shrivel.
After about five minutes of this, half the of the timberwolf had been consumed, it's body only about a quarter of the size that it had been. The glow disappeared, and the tendrils from the little one's mouth retracted and disappeared back inside her body. She turned around, glanced at Spark Storm, and let out an enormous belch that echoed in the silence.
Spark tried to keep his amusement to a minimum as the nymph approached him sleepily, then stood on her hind legs, reaching for Spark in a way that said she wanted to be picked up. Sapphire watched with a disapproving gaze as her boyfriend picked up the nymph in his arms and cuddled her, at the same time leaning back into a sitting position.
Sohl watched as the little creature fell asleep in Spark's forelegs, an amused smirk on her face. "So. What are you going to call her?" Sapphire frowned a little more deeply at the idea of Spark getting more attached to the little monster.
"...Orea. Her name is Orea." Spark said, smiling down at the most adorable monster he'd ever held.