//------------------------------// // 24 - The Nature Of Change // Story: Expanding Horizons // by mechafone //------------------------------// "¡Dios mio! ¡Perra malvada!!" Scriven shouted as Ampelus propelled them up and over the beach. "What the hell did you say to me?!" Ampelus shouted over the roar of the wind. How did they end up in the sky?! She pushed his claws out of her face and looked back, shocked to see that the two of them had rocketed forward...because of her?! Her wings were never meant for flight! Why had they come out now?! "Oh right...because of my...thing..." "I called you a wicked, heartless, evil, maniacal villain!" the griffon shouted at Ampelus as he began clawing at her face. His talons raked down her cheeks, leaving bloody marks. The marks quickly healed themselves, and left him with a furious face glaring at him. "Ay carumba..." "You did not say all those things with four words, you little jerk!" Ampelus wrapped her vines around the offender and threw him into the air. The griffon stretched out his wings and flew after her. "You ain't gonna terrorize nobody else while I'm around!" he shouted. "WHY are you following me?? She told you down there that I'm not a threat to her or you or anybody!" Ampelus swerved up and down, starting to feel nauseous. What was the point of flight if it was going to make her sick? "Like I'm supposed to take the word of a monster...!" Scriven grabbed onto the nymph from behind. She didn't seem to have a lot of control up here. If he could just...yes! There it was! His ship was in view, just over there on the opposite side of the forest from the beach. He needed to get her away from there, anyway, away from innocent folks. If he could just get this creature to Vasha... On out the water, away from the village and prying eyes and ignorance, Deep Surf paddled on his board. He stopped as he began to feel something on the wind. "Again? Like the ever pulling tide calls to the dude, the wind also calls to me on a fell...uh, wind." He lifted his muzzle and pulled his goggles off his face. He pulled his white-ish blue mane out of his eyes and smelled the air. Across the ocean, an unnatural darkness had begun to spread across the horizon. The black clouds had an almost ghostly, ethereal blue hue to it. "A heart of darkness. Like the hamsters of old lore, their hammers bring their sandwiches to swift justice." Far over his head, he spotted two figures neatly entwined in flight, yet desperate to separate. Their arguing voices reached the pegasus on the water, which caused his ears to pin back as he watched them soar gracelessly towards the pirate ship about a mile off west of him. "A paradigm of dimpled dollops departs the flow of peace...a super-heated dawn of daimons!" With that, Deep Surf abandoned his board and flew in pursuit of the two squabbling fliers. "Would...you...get your claws out of my face?!" Ampelus growled, vines frantically trying to pry this creature off of her without hurting him. She had to make a good impression, after all. Finally she threw him off again, only to have him latch on again and pull her off balance. She ran into something very big and thick, something tall and round. She fell to the floor. Floor? I thought this was the ocean! Ampelus pulled herself up to her hooves only to get shoved off of them again, and by something quite hard and hitting fast. She landed on her face, growling and thoroughly pissed. "Hit 'er again, Xennen!" she heard the griffon call. She shot to her hooves in time to see a tan and brown figure run at her head-first with a nasty set of horns. Ampelus met the headbutt with her own. The nymph skidded back a few inches before she pushed forward and threw the oryx off his hooves. "Whoa!" Scriven helped his crewmate up. "She really is a monster!" "It is a she? You are sure?" Xennen's question irked Ampelus, who was sure this horned creature had never even seen a female before. "WHY are you idiots attacking me?!" "Nobody insults my friends!" A new vexing voice called from the port beam. Ampelus turned just in time to receive a massive, wet slap as a figure dropped in from the water. Scaled Melody turned to hit the nymph again with her body, only to find the bigger creature stop her with a soft but firm hoof. "Knock. It. Off," Ampelus growled, staring down the sea pony. "Move, friends." The crew made way as one of the biggest creatures Ampelus had ever seen made her way onto the deck. The kirin had much more mass than the nymph. She stood at least as tall as Celestia, maybe even taller. "Let us see her stop me." Ampelus groaned impatiently. These jerks were just not getting it! Whatever. Once the big fluffy brute failed to hurt her, they might give up and just let her leave already. She huffed her mane out of her eyes and spread her legs wide in a defensive stance. The kirin wasted no time and inhaled, releasing a sound not unlike a hidden brook disappearing into a dark underground whirlpool. The sound raised in pitch, faltered, then cresendo'd into a roar as the kirin spewed a heavy stream of boiling hit water onto Ampelus' face and body. "Rrrraaaaauuuuugh!!" Ampelus screamed. The stream ended, leaving the nymph slumped over, body steaming. The kirin's crewmates gathered around her, congratulating her, when the steaming body got up, groaning painfully. "Ow ow ow, hot hot!" She sputtered, and shook her mane out. She examined herself, apparently as baffled as the pirates, every last one of them staring slack-jawed. "Hey...can you do that again?" she asked the kirin. Vasha stared at the creature before her. Never in all her travels had she seen anything that she had boiled asked her to do it again. Was this a nymph like Merope? She let her magic swell up like before, then released it again, dowsing the beast. Ampelus sighed and opened up her pores, letting the hot water pour over her insides. "Aaaaaahhhhh...this feels soooooo good. I was so thirsty." "Thirsty?" Vasha balked politely. "This water...is the BEST water I have ever tasted. Even Celestia's mountain and river waters have too much sediments. But yours..." Ampelus shook out her mane again, this time steaming heavily. "Yours is the absolute purest water I have ever had." Vasha frowned, then turned her head to look down with disdain at Scriven and Xennen. "Why are you IDIOTS picking a fight with a forest spirit?!" Xennen snorted at the kirin. "Forest spirit?" He regarded Ampelus for a moment. "That would explain her strength, and impossible durability...plus, I was defending Scriven..." The griffon coughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well...she looked suspicious!" "Feather brain!" Scaled Melody accused as she hopped over to Ampelus to offer her apologies. Ampelus waved her off. What had she been doing here again? "You hit her too, jellyfish!" Scriven countered, then sighed as the others ignored him and offered their apologies to the nymph. After a moment the passing glares of the others finally got to him. "Ugh...fine, fine...madre de dios! I am sorry for thinking you were una villaina." "...And?" Vasha offered. "...And...trying to hurt you. 'Cause obviously I didn't." "The only thing you managed to hurt was your pride, numb nuts." Ampelus' comment caught the griffon off-guard and caused his comrades to break out into laughter. Clearly, someone of her humor would've fit right in. The nymph scoffed and looked back towards the island. "Oh. Gods. I was supposed to find that friggin' worm in the woods!" Ampelus leapt to the side of the ship and raised her wings, managing little more than flittering in the wind. "Didja forget how to fly already, amiga?" Scriven's question grated on the nymph. How did she manage to get so chummy with a bunch of strangers in less than ten minutes? And when did she ever get chummy with anyone? This wasn't like her, and yet...it felt natural. Was all her practice with Spark Storm starting to pay off? Or was this the result of accepting her fate? Ampelus frowned. All this excitement and meeting new ponies and managing to not kill them had made her forget about the thing with Spark Storm, and the reason that she'd showed him her true, tiny form. Only a nymph that intended to claim another being as her soul mate, her property, and spend the rest of their lives with that creature, would show them their true form. She'd done that for Spark Storm, but...was she really ready to accept that this was possible? She had smelled the auras of many ponies there in Ponyville, and even in Canterlot. The inconvenient truth to be found was...she had competition. And not just in the form of other females, no. Spark Storm himself had always been resistant to her. True, he was still young, and his sexual desires would only increase as he got older. Romantic desires, however, he was quite open to, now. He was very interested in the alabaster unicorn, Rarity. She didn't need to see any residual energies for that. And there was that red pegasus, the one that had met him twice and had flirted with him strongly. There was...something about her. Something that could potentially threaten Ampelus' place in Spark Storm's life. She couldn't put her hoof on it, but... That, of course, was if Spark Storm even wanted her at all. She had felt his hesitation...wait, hesitation? Ampelus shook her head and closed her eyes tight. This was more than hesitation. She had bared her soul to him, offered it to him, practically begged him just to acknowledge this action, but his body language told her that he did not want to. She let out a breath that she didn't know she'd been holding in. Was Spark Storm the only thing she had left in this world without giving into her father's demands? Would it be so easy to just forget how she felt about him and just... "Whoa, hey..." Scriven's voice brought her back to reality. "Looks like you just took a trip somewheres far from here, linda dama." Ampelus glanced at the griffon sideways. "My name is Ampelus." So similar to Merope. I wonder if they'll meet. Vasha thought with a smile. "Ampelus, are you going to Breen?" Ampelus gave Vasha a playfully suspicious smile. "Yeeees...why do you ask?" "I just wonder if you know many other nymphs. I am curious...does the name Merope mean anything to you?" Ampelus turned the name over and over in her head. For some reason it felt very familiar. Finally she shook her head up at the big kirin. "No. It does sound like a nymph name, though. I do wonder sometimes how many nymphs there are left in the world." "Hey!" a voice called from the water. All hooves and claws on deck looked down from port side to see Scaled Melody. She had gathered some rope and attached it to some floating debris. "If you can't fly back to the island, maybe I can pull you!" Ampelus sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, thank you." She paused. Had she just made her first friends besides Spark Storm? This sudden encounter had not been altogether unpleasant, and she did not know if she would see them again. She wanted to. These new feelings she could tend to later, she told herself as she leapt down, too engrossed in these new emotional sensations to calculate her drop. She plunged into the sea, immediately disappearing into the water. Had she been swimming before? Her memories told her that she had, but this was seawater, infinitely open and immense. She could see under the water as clearly as she saw above it, and what she saw terrified her as there was nothing but blackness far below. Hundreds of lifeforms swam around her, things she had never seen before, and one of them was staring right at her, far below her. It was massive, just drifting there in the water, long tail swishing back and forth. Why was this creature familiar? The massive beast opened it's jaws wide in what must have been a smile, bearing hundreds of razor sharp teeth, and then Ampelus recalled where she had seen that face. Inside her father's biodome. Lusus, her father had called him. The massive tail shook back and forth behind him, propelling him towards the nonbuoyant nymph. Ampelus panicked; not only had this creature overpowered her in the bio dome, but he had completely terrified her. She let out a scream and began paddling, far from the necessary speed to out swim the shark. Ampelus shook as the massive Lusus drew his mouth open to swallow her, every last detail down to the dark hole at the back of his throat visible to her. She did the only thing she could think of at the moment: she stretched out her vines as far as they could go, preventing him from straight out swallowing the nymph as he collided with her. Ampelus felt the rough skin pressing against her as Lusus picked up speed. She felt the water rushing past her, could feel the suction from his open mouth, could feel her heart pulsing in every inch of her stretched out body. Terror pulled at her every muscle, and...she felt something new, something that came with this new fear. Something that compelled her to transform, revert to the smaller size that only her life partner should know about. She could feel some embarrassment, but if she couldn't get out of this now she knew she'd never see Spark Storm again. The long, stretched out vines shot back into her body and her sight momentarily went blank. Ampelus, tucked neatly into her shell, shot directly into the black abyss of Lusus' mouth. The giant shark slowed, a small grin crossing his massive mouth, until he felt a tickle in his throat. He let out a cough, and Ampelus' shell slipped out through the gills in the giant's throat. Ampelus' eye stalks appeared at the base of the shell, her vision even more clear in this form. She felt other things, water flowing through her entire body. She hadn't wanted the seawater before, on the ship. It had tasted foreign and nasty, but now that it was running through her lungs it felt like the most natural thing in the world, like breathing in fresh air. Appendages she never knew she had fluttered out of minute holes in her shell and set her off away from the beast, leaving him to search for her. It wasn't long before he spotted her swimming away behind him. He lurched forward again, quickly overtaking the small-shelled creature. Deep Surf watched as the green-surely-not-a-pony plunged into the ocean, watched as the siren-looking pony gasped in alarm. This felt like an important event, but something else was more important, something happening in this exact spot. But it wasn't happening now, no. He would need to wait... Spark Storm let out a groan as he paused in his search for Amacia. He felt heavy with sweat, deep inside his dark fur coat. Why was this jungle so humid? He glanced at Callie, noting that she did not seem to have the same problems. Noticing his look after stepping out from under a low-hanging willow branch, she burst out into a grin. She puffed out her feathers, revealing she could air out her plumage at will. "I'm always air-conditioned." "Ugh...that's hardly fair..." "You'd be wasted in a desert, Sparky. Why are we walkin' back inside, again? You...lost yer chicken?" Spark Storm rolled his eyes at the griffon. "No. Remember you thought maybe I knew some harpies? Well...I do. One of 'em came with me here to the island. I think I might've lost her in here, she was sleeping under my wings for a good long while, and now she's not here. I'm...fairly sure she was with me when I came in here." Callie arched a brow as she approached the pegasus and casually raked a claw between his wings down his spine. It sent chills down Spark's back until he lifted his wings for complete perusal. "Do you mind? I'd know if she were there..." The griffon blinked in surprise, not at his reaction, but in something she felt on his back, beneath his fur. "Sparky...these marks..." Spark Storm pulled away from her touch, a frown on his face until he remembered that Rarity had also made this observation, though under different circumstances. "Uh, yeah, that's...I was hit by lightning. A few times." Callie stared at her friend. "Really? I realize it's not unusual for a pegasus to take a beatin' in the air now and then, but...a few times? Like, over a few years?" She approached him again, her claws reaching beneath his wings to find and trace the marks. "Spark, those marks...did they all hit ya at the same time?" "Yeah...one after another," Spark told her, tensing a little bit at Callie's articulate paws tracing the marks hidden under his fur. "Probably ten or twelve strikes in all." "How?" she asked, finally giving him a bit of space. Spark chuckled lightly. "Dragon attack." "Dragon attack?? Why in the world would you be under a dragon attack?" "It's...a long story," he told her. He paused once again. Was he hearing voices? He pushed through some massive low-hanging leaves and happened upon Mimosa Palm and two of the pirates from before, the tall pegasus and the zebra mare, with the little Cyno clinging to her. "...Anyway, as I'm sure you're aware, this is far too complicated to get into. I'm sure you'll have a chance to speak with her eminence sometime tonight, possibly tomorrow, and..." the dryad stopped, noticing Spark Storm. "Ah, Spark Storm! I thought you'd left. Have you met our new friends, crew of the Sea Pearl?" Before Spark Storm could answer, there was a sound like a panicked shriek in the trees and a rustling of feathers. A flash of yellow and pink fell from the branches above and flapped like mad, leaving the scene. Spark felt a flash of everything in his chest, panic, hope, fear and anger. Anger won out in an instant as he let out a wordless yell as he made after the bird. Cyno let out a squeak and leapt into the branches and into Amacia's arms, where she'd been hiding alongside Sohl. "Oh - Aaaaah!!" she shrieked and leapt up into the branches as Spark passed underneath. She'd seen Spark angry before, and she did not like being in his path. She knew he would never hurt her, but seeing him angry always set her on edge. Callie ran after Spark Storm, her heart beating a mile a minute. Earlier, along with Bombyx, she had learned about Sohl's role in Spark's life, and had learned that if Spark knew that Sohl had come here, he might just lose it. Now, she was quite scared that Spark might hurt the harpy, or visa versa. "Ramani, get back here!" she heard behind her, as well as the sounds of quick hooves. Spark's breath came in too quickly as he chased the bird flying frantically before him, headed towards the north-east of the dome. Branches smacked him in the face as he passed, feeling aches and burns, but pushing them to the side. His mind was buzzing with anger. He had no coherent thoughts as he pushed himself further and harder than he had ever before. The chase through the woods gave way to an open area, where a tram sat ready for use. The bird slipped past it and shot down the tunnel at breakneck speed. Not to be deterred, Spark Storm skidded into the tram's front car. Looking around with barely a moment to think, he hit the button that displayed an arrow in the direction Sohl had gone. The train hissed, and began to move as Callie and Ramani arrived, too late to board. The tram ride was smooth and quiet, the silence interrupted only with the sound of Spark's post race breathing. He trembled with anger and impatience, the dark lights of the tunnels illuminating his eyes with light and shadow. Neither did much to soften the look on his face. A good five minutes later, the tram stopped. The locale had changed entirely. Where there had been a dense jungle, there was now a blinding white snowscape, filled with mountains, harsh winds and few trees. Had Sohl actually stopped here? Spark disembarked and felt his breath stolen in the cold. He looked around, his heart still thumping in his chest. It wasn't long until he spotted her, far off in the distance. He took a few steps forward when a squealing metal sound stopped him in his tracks. The tram was leaving, hurrying forward into the snow and disappearing. He took a breath and continued forward, much too angry to worry about freezing to death. Way up on her perch, Sohl returned to her harpy form. The wind rushed through her wings and down her body. She crouched, wrapping her arms around herself. The cold was formidable, even colder than her home, the Heldren cliffs. She thought of home, of the hell that was growing up in such a place. Even the shape of the cliffs was much like that of a hole in the face of the planet, an outcropping of rock that opened up into a pair of cliffs. Ocean water drifted down into the massive, endless hole. The harpies' home was inside, where they nestled along the walls. This place was their home, their sanctuary, and also it was a place that they jealously guarded. It was also here that the harpy's originated from, an old, old tale, their darkest secret. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard hoofsteps in the snow. He'd found her already?! She turned towards the sound, only to duck as a strike of electricity whizzed past her and struck a mound of snow next to her head. She rolled forward and took off down the hill she was sitting on, on all fours. Flying was a terrible idea in this cold. She was no Amacia, but her speed was considerable on the ground. She bounded forward, running just as fast as four limbs could take her. Spark Storm in hot pursuit. Mimosa frowned, watching ponies, griffons and harpies run off into the woods. Well, this was a long time coming, and Sohl was a powerful harpy. She could handle herself. He turned to Gabriel and offered a shrug. "Don't fear, my boy. Callie will keep an eye on Ramani, I'm sure. She knows her way around here, and I'm sure the other two won't cause too much trouble." Gabriel sighed with a little nod. "Well. Ramani's always been way too nosy for her own good. I'm sure the pretty griffon will take care of her, but that pegasus...there have only been a few times in my life that I've seen pure, unbridled fury in somepony's eyes. His were full of it..." "Hm. Well, his friend has been...absent as late, I'm sure he just wants to talk with her." Niceties over with, Mimosa returned to the command center, which required a unique code entered into the tram that took him towards the top of the bio dome, a place that was unavailable to all not in the know. He sat down before the monitors, watching his pirate guests congregate near the exits, all save for the oryx and her younger zebra charge. Where had they all gotten to, anyway? It took him a moment, eyes trailing over the environments, until he found Callie and Ramani on a tram, heading to...the tundra? "Haven't those two made up already?" he muttered. Leaning forward, the dryad switched the view to the tundra fields. Peering closer, his eyes dilated as he realized what was happening. He lurched forward and grabbed the universal mic and switched it on, in too much of a panic to localize his voice to just the tundra. "SOHL!" he yelled. "SOHL YOU TURN AROUND AND FACE YOUR PROBLEMS PROPERLY!! DO. NOT. ENTER. THAT PORTAL!!" Spark Storm's ears pinned back as Mimosa's voice nearly deafened him. He was going to have a talk with Ampelus' father if he knew that Sohl was here! He let out a snarl as Sohl suddenly stopped in the middle of the field, turned around to face him and...disappeared. The pegasus skidded to a stop mere yards away. How? Sohl wasn't some sorcerer, she didn't know how to magic herself away! He let out a howl into the cold air, too angry to notice several ghostly figures floating around overhead, the creatures giddy over the anger floating around. Spark Storm stepped closer to the place where Sohl disappeared. Maybe it was the snow, but was that area shimmering? Spark clenched his teeth, still shaking with fury. He wasn't about to turn back now! He stepped into the shimmering, undulating circle where Sohl had disappeared and...nothing. He could feel energy buzzing all around him, but still, nothing happened. No Sohl. No vindication. No vengeance. He didn't want vengeance on his closest friend, did he? No...No, he just wanted... And suddenly, it got a lot colder. The snow hit harder, stole his breath deeper, and he saw Sohl, huddled on the ground, arms wrapped around her knees. She looked up at him, eyes wide and afraid. He approached her, feeling his anger running new and hot. "You..." he finally managed. He glared at her, teeth bared, wings twitching, ready to strike. But looking at the harpy, looking afraid and vulnerable...He scoffed and looked away from her. He immediately wished he hadn't. Suddenly, he wished he hadn't come here at all. Standing before them was the gate from his nightmare. He felt cold. Not from the wind and snow, but something deep inside, a fear, a primal instinct. It wasn't just the endless gate that shook him, but the figure just beyond. Was it...was that...an alicorn?! The gate opened slowly, metal shrieking as it rubbed against ageless ice. The alicorn watched as the two standing before his gate could naught but stare and freeze as he approached. Through Spark Storm's utter fear he wondered if Sohl had been rendered helpless from him, or from HIM. "So...you finally wander in my direction. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever even see you myself," the alicorn said, his voice booming through the winds. "Fate has brought you...back to me." Spark stared at the ghostly alicorn. Back? Did he mean the dream? Had it not been a dream, but some kind of connection between them? He sniffled in the cold, feeling his fear start to wane. He glanced at Sohl, who still sat there, shivering. She seemed to have gone catatonic almost. He reached over and popped her in the side of the head. "Ow! Knock it..." she began, turning to throw a punch until she realized she was still in this situation. She turned her gaze to look upon the daunting figure. "Oh gods...King North Wind. What the shit..." "Who?" North Wind peaked a brow at Spark Storm's question. Who? WHO? "She...dares?" Spark Storm turned his attention on the alicorn, his wings charging threateningly. "She DARES to mock me by keeping her greatest crimes a secret?!" "Who the fuck are you even talking about?" Spark shouted over the wind. "Look, I just came here to kick my friend's ass. I don't know who you are or why you think you know me. We're just leaving..." Sohl turned to look at Spark as if he were crazy. "Spark...this isn't the time to get all crazy macho, all right? That's the lord of the windigos, King North Wind! I don't care what weird transformations you can do, you're not a match for him!" "Transformations?" The alicorn stepped closer, a mixture of curiosity and derision in his eyes. "That sounds promising...tell me, have the voices begun yet?" Spark Storm didn't have time to answer when snow erupted behind him. Harpy and pegasus turned to see Mimosa standing behind them, directly facing the alicorn. "Mimosa..." North Wind began with a small grin. "You humble me with your presence...in MY domain." "Yes well...wasn't exactly my idea," he returned, turning to glare murder at Sohl. She cleared her throat and looked away from the dryad. "And what is your...idea? Hm? Is it to...look the other way?" North Wind spat venomously. "...It was never my intention to get involved. You know my rules. I do not interfere, no matter how egregious the crime. And -she- has held up her end-" "S-sheee," North Wind drawled, his hatred of the subject barely contained. "-is sending her children outside of her end of the bargain. They are no longer protected, and they have come here, so -" "Against my better judgement, I allowed the harpy Sohl to come here and keep the child Cyno in her care. I did not expect her to run from her problems and come here. And the boy," he paused, glancing at Spark Storm. "Well, I don't need to tell you that he will be returning safely to my island. They are both under my care." Spark Storm and Sohl both glanced at each other, both resenting feeling like children being dragged back home. "I think you'll find that you're at a bit of a disadvantage," the alicorn told Mimosa. "You may be the oldest thing on this planet, but my domain holds little for you to use against me. If I want them to stay and die here, I don't think you'll be able to do much against my will." Spark Storm shivered. He knew almost nothing about Mimosa, and even less about North Wind, but his simple declaration just now filled him with terror. Shaken to his core, he felt the child that he still was take over. He let out a quiet whimper and let his gaze fall. And that's when it happened. The air shimmered before the four of them. Mimosa took a step back, and even North Wind frowned, holding his horn before him at this mysterious energy. Suddenly, a thunderous crack in the air from overhead came down, like a lightning strike. All four shielded their eyes, and when the light was cleared, all were silent with complete shock. The little life form standing before them looked almost the same as Spark Storm. Her body was blue, like his, save for the leafy bits that hung from her wings, which were displayed threateningly at the much bigger alicorn. "You leave my daddy alone!" she cried.