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!