"I'm not trying to escape," Callie muttered as the heavy footfalls from before approached. She thought quickly - if the creature brandishing this light she was trying to avoid wasn't moving towards her, then she wouldn't be expecting a direct attack. With no more time for deliberation, she shot forward, her wings propelling her into a flying tackle.
Her tactic worked, catching both creatures off-guard. Callie's tackle earned her an armful of a slimy, somewhat spiny, screeching monster. "Put me down!" it screamed, wriggling with indignation. The griffin and deep-sea beast were nearly the same size and weight, though Callie could tell she was a bit stronger than her.
"Little thing like yous in charge, huh?" Callie taunted, her claws finding their way around her wriggling opponent's mouth so she couldn't bite. She could feel the beast growling in anger, but there was something else, something vibrating deep within this thing's body. She didn't have time to think about it when her captive suddenly changed shape and managed to whack her hard upside the head with a new appendage. It felt like a hardened, wet tail, and it nearly knocked her out. She fell to the forest floor, her captive rolling free.
Callie grunted as she got to her feet, her head ducked down to avoid getting struck with that hypnotizing light, though for the moment it seemed to have gone out. She whipped her head around until she caught sight of her opponent, who was now getting back up off the ground. Her tail was gone, replaced by back hooves. There was a single appendage that grew from her head, almost like a small tail that ended in a small, fleshy bulb. Was that were the light had come from?
"Ugh. You'll pay for that..." the creature hissed as she got to her hooves. Callie could feel the ground vibrate under her paws, the sickening green light beginning again.
"Probably. Say, does that light need to be seen to work?" Callie asked with dripping sweetness.
"Of course it does - ohhh. You mean your friends back there?" Lomiphora laughed bitterly. "Don't worry. I left them with Lusus. They don't need to be captured by my light to be killed, sweetheart. They don't stand a chance, and neither do you." Callie massaged her paws into the ground, her eyes averted from the light and preparing another strike when the Queen reared her head back and shrieked, "BABIES!!"
The griffon was unprepared as eight black-skinned, slippery and wet creatures leapt out of the bushes and dog-piled her. They wriggled around her, grasping at her wings, pulling at her feathers and giggling. She fought them blindly, finding that they were much too slippery to grab on to. Instead, she found she was being held tightly after a moment, with their bodies pressed tightly against hers, lanky arms and limbs holding her down. One webbed hand grasped her chin and forced her to look up, for a brief second seeing the approaching royalty. She closed her eyes, only to have them forced open. She let out a final scream as she felt her mind numb, and she succumbed to a deep, wide-awake sleep.
"Poor little griffon," she heard the queen say as she felt a pat on her head. She could feel and hear and think, but she could not move. She was trapped inside her own body! "Now, I need to find Mimosa's grave, so I may spit upon it. Yes, I think after all the grief he's caused me, that should-"
Callie heard the queen go quiet. She felt her captors slowly remove themselves from her body. Suddenly she heard the queen shriek, she felt the ground tremble slightly as the small black creatures suddenly began moving chaotically, as if they had been terribly spooked. "Where is it?! Where is it coming from?!" she heard them scream. She heard the sounds of whipping, branches reaching out, big pieces of wood crashing into the invaders. Callie suddenly found her eyesight returned, and she could move. She beamed happily as she looked around for Ampelus. Surely this was her work, right?
She could not have been more wrong. She saw the little black creatures scrambling to dogpile another fighter, but their efforts were in vain. The creature they surrounded moved like an exotic dancer with hard-hitting tactics, tumbling and turning in the air and on the ground, grasping heads with thighs and introducing said heads to the ground. The pony Callie knew to be Steel Scabbard danced inbetween the dark creatures, fighting them off with nothing but her hooves and kicks and turns.
The sickly green light of Lomiphora's antennae flickered into view, approaching the dancing pony from behind. The queen let out a soft whooping sound, grabbing the pony's attention. As she turned to face the queen, a blue and tan streak ran into her from the side and rammed her into a tree, where she slumped and fell over unconscious. With their leader out cold, the little black creatures scampered in a panic back into the bushes, abandoning their queen.
'Steel Scabbard' grinned as she watched the creatures flee, then turned to the griffon. "Thanks. I probably wasn't prepared to avoid your fate and get captured. You're pretty brave to just tackle a sea pony alone."
Callie rubbed her at the shoulder that would most definitely be sore later. "Thanks for rescuing me. Ya got some pretty killer moves…”
Fire Lotus smirked at Callie’s chosen words. “Oh yeah. You were there for the lowest point in my life recently.”
The griffin frowned and turned to face the assassin. That didn’t sound too promising. Had Fire Lotus taken offense at Callie being present for said situation? The possibility of this seemed to flash in the mare’s eyes. She chuckled and tossed her mane aside. “Relax, Ms Griffon. If I wanted you to be dead, I would’ve killed you along with the minnows.”
“That’s…reassurin’,” Callie responded, the exact opposite still lingering in her eyes. “Can ya help me protect the others back there?”
The earth mare sighed dramatically, eyes heavenward. “I…guess. I don’t have much else to do, and I am trying to stay in Spark’s good graces. I have business in Breen.”
‘I bet I know why you’re here,’ Callie thought to herself, her face darkening with intensity. With a rare creature born specifically to signal a cease-fire between two warring races, what else would bring an assassin to Sunanwaves? It was too great a coincidence to ignore. She kept this to herself as she followed the older mare back to the princess and the others.
Pearl Depth took in a deep, gulping breath of air as Lomiphora's hypnotic paralyzing spell wore off. Without her in proximity to maintain it, the spell was broken. But as the griffon flew off carrying the queen, the king still stood opposite her, bearing his teeth.
"Bombyx!" she cried as Lusus charged. She realized with horror that he wasn't coming for her, or for Bombyx: he was making his charge at the young zebra, aiming to pick off the smaller, weaker ones first. Lusus leapt through the air, jaws reaching for Ramani's neck, when a sudden burst of air pressure popped between his jaws and threw him back. He growled and rubbed at his jaw when he landed on his hooves.
"That's an unusual power you have there. Wish I'd known about it earlier..."
Pearl Depth's mane swirled around her head, her mane glowing like a unicorn's magic. "You'll find me full of surprises, you wretch. And not so easy to kill, nor my family."
"You've heard, then." Lusus began to pace around before the princess as Ramani came to, immediately darting to hide behind Pearl Depth and Bombyx, who now stood beside the royal mare. "This is...quite an unusual day for me. For you as well, I'd assume. You...did tell your parents where you were going, didn't you?" Lusus asked with barely restrained glee. "Did you get a chance to tell them that you loved them? You're not leaving this island again, just so we're clear."
Pearl Depth stared at Lusus with a steely air, undeterred. "So was this your plan? Separate me from my family, take the young monarch out of the way before her parents?"
"Not at all, to be honest. Nothing has really gone according to my plans...not since Celestia's ship came to port. I will need to deal with Mimosa's guests. They all seem to be a bit stronger than we'd thought. I assume their coming here was your idea?"
Images of the dark pegasus came to mind. He had powerful, unknown abilities. He was also a complete pervert. But perhaps a highly useful ally, considering his powers were her enemies' weakness, and Bombyx had made it clear he could be trusted, and that he was of great interest to Mimosa Palm, though the nymph hadn't really gotten to that point before they were attacked, so..."Yes. I knew I would need extra reinforcements, so I asked Celestia-"
A peal of horrid laughter erupted from Lusus. As his chuckles subsided, he grinned at the princess. "A bluff, I knew it. You don't know anything about them or why they're here, do you? Celestia agreed a long, long time ago not to interfere with the outside world. She turns the sun and the moon for our world, and nothing more. Her politics got her in trouble a long, long time ago. No one outside of Equestria turns to that kingdom of fools for anything."
"Then we both know what that means," she returned without hesitation.
This caught the greenish pony off-guard, a guarded look of anger in his eyes. "...Yes. It means she fully intends to break peace with the rest of the world, after all this time. This will almost certainly take war to Equestria."
"If that is what she intends," Pearl Depth offered. "Who knows what her intentions are? Did she really mean to send them here to interfere with your plans? Or was this just a mad coincidence?"
"...Breen," Lusus said softly. His master had said so, mentioned that the travelers probably had no business on the island. But, that changed absolutely nothing. If they were indeed heading to Breen, chances were they intended to meddle with someone else's affairs, and most likely his master's. They still needed to be dealt with.
The shark pony came to a sudden realization that the other two creatures had crept away from his view, leaving him and Pearl Depth alone. He let out a laugh and shook his head. "I must be losing my edge to let you get to me like this! While i was thinking you allowed the other two to escape. What a fix I'm in..." He leered at the princess, bearing his pointed teeth.
"Well, that, and gave us all precious time..." the princess said with a cool smirk as she turned to leave.
"You have no more time!!" Lusus shouted as he suddenly leapt towards the taller mare. He let out a grunt as something bigger than himself and the princess came down on top of him, hitting him hard enough to bounce off the ground, his vision a blur of pink and yellow feathers.
Something bit down onto his ear as he tried to get to his hooves. He started to shake his head to free it when he heard the mouth bite harder and heard a voice inside the mouth mutter, "Tremo!" He let out a panicked yell of pain as his ear and part of his head vibrate violently. Finally the mouth released him, and as the vibrating came to a stop he felt a sudden jolt of powerful pain, a pain that wracked his entire body that pulsed, then finally released him. He let out a cough of smoke as he fell to his knees, his breath coming in gasps as three figures stood between him and the departing princess.
The one that had bitten his ear, a cross between a pony and a frazzled pink and yellow griffon, grinned at the second, a big pegasus, who's colors reminded him of an angry sky. The pegasus glared back at him, his back and wings seeming to blink to life with strobing electricity. If the pony was anything like Seaweed, this could be a little troublesome. Where was that blasted eel, anyway?
Lusus had no more time to think as the third and biggest figure, the bipedal bird, let out a scream that rocked his senses, even worse than that muttered spell from moments ago. He felt his body ripple with the force of her scream. He closed his eyes as he felt his body lifted off his feet and was thrown, skidding to a halt some fifteen feet back. His head still ringing, he got slowly to his hooves, his chest heaving.
"Hey. Heard you were having a bit of trouble," Lusus heard. Another pony come to mess with his plans? Like things weren't bad enough already. He opened his eyes to see one of the mares that had gotten off the ship earlier, a unicorn that looked like the sun, yellow body and fire in her mane.
"You heard...something like that," the dark pegasus told her. "So far these sea creatures have been total pushovers."
Pushovers? Lusus growled, his sharpened teeth bearing in a wide frown. Pushovers?? "Not really...I ran into one in the forest, some kinda eel. She was not a pushover, Spark, she almost killed me! If Ampelus hadn't found me..."
That was the last straw. Lusus let out a roar as he grew, his tail slapping the ground as his poison-tipped fins ripping up the ground as he pulled himself toward the four of them just talking amongst themselves. How dare they ignore him! "You'll regret underestimating me!!"
"Will-"
"You-"
"Shut-"
"Up!"
Four voices said in unison. Lusus let out a yowl of pain as he was shocked, burned, shouted and tingled as one attack. His massive body was flung backwards, breaking through at least three trees and toppling a fourth over his head. He pulled himself up slowly, body trembling specifically from the shock. He had spent months getting used to shocks from Seaweed, but this pegasus was on a whole different level.
"Well, that was...unexpected," he heard one of them say. "Never saw a pony able to change size, or shape for that matter."
The pony shark growled and pulled himself upright again, sharpened teeth gnashing in fury. He would not be brushed aside like this! He pulled himself toward them again when he heard it: a voice calling to him, a voice that filled him with terror. "Theeeere you arrree..." He froze. He knew this voice, though he had heard it for the first time today. Vines completely armed with volcanic glass and jade-like, jagged stone began to fill the jungle surroundings, slithering around trees and harmlessly around the four standing there watching him.
"No. No! This isn't supposed to happen - I was supposed to kill the princess, eat her family, claim their territory! How is this happening on the surface??!" he yelled, his heart pumping in his chest. Ampelus had come to find him, and she had proven that she had inherited her father's power. And at least two of the creatures that had pummeled him proved too strong to handle alone. Just what kind of power was Equestria hoarding?!
"Well...I think you're so far in over your head that you're sinking like a stone," Ampelus said, finally appearing before the four of them in a mass of green leaves and grass. She shook her head out with a sigh, casting a glance at Sohl. "Nice to see you stopped hiding, bitch."
"Fuck you," the harpy retorted, actually making a move on Ampelus before Spark's wings spread out between them.
"Can we just get rid of that thing, please?" Spark sounded like he'd need a few minutes before the next crisis.
"Sure, now that I know the little pest can change shapes." Ampelus grinned like sadistic fiend that she was as her vines surrounded Lusus, more vines behind them in case he changed. He backed up against the tree behind him, teeth bared, which chattered in terror.
Thoughts of terror, entire monologues of vulgarity and despair ran through Lusus' head. To be killed like this, when he was so close! The princess had just walked away from him two minutes ago!! This wasn't fair! This was -
His thoughts were interrupted as the biodome's light went out. Sounds of falling debris were heard all around him, sounds like falling and shattering glass. What in the world? When lights came on again, the others in front of him looked bewildered as well, but none more than Ampelus. Her vines had been disarmed, so to speak. Dirt began to fall from her body, falling like fine powder. When it had finished, she stood about six inches shorter.
"Uhh. Um." The nymph looked around, stunned and at a loss for words.
"Well this is a fine mess you've made," a voice boomed, seemingly coming from everywhere. Every last head in the biodome raised, looking for the source of the voice. "I take a nap for TWENTY minutes and all hell breaks loose!"
"...Dad?" Ampelus said, a single brow arched. She looked at Spark Storm, flapping her wings from under their hidden flaps, with no results.
"Uh..." Spark looked from her to Lusus, who had shrunk back down to size. "You...you know how your dad died, and-"
"MY DAD DIED AND NO ONE TOLD ME?!"
"Well you were -"
"Ohhhh my god, please can we just-"
"Spark, who died??"
"My fish fillet!!"
The mimic's outburst brought the yelling to a halt as Spark looked back to where Lusus was no longer waiting. He was indeed gone. He turned to give chase when Ampelus grabbed him with her vines and turned him towards her. "Spark Storm!! My dad died?!"
"What's wrong with the shouting?!" Mimosa's voice called once again, this time close enough that he didn't have to yell. He came through a patch of trees, dusting himself off. He had been covered in dirt not too long ago, similar to Ampelus when her powers wore off. He sighed and looked around at the devastation, irritation in his gaze.
Ampelus unceremoniously dropped Spark Storm to the ground, vines twitching in agitation. "Dad!! Why aren't you dead? I-I mean...did you die? What happened to me while you were 'napping'?"
"Hmph. I suppose I 'died' a little," he responded, helping Spark Storm back to his hooves. He gave Sohl a single glance before locking eyes with the mimic, who was also 'helping' Spark to his hooves, her head propping him up under his tail with a lecherous grin. The pegasus jumped away from her when he realized what she was doing, then glared at Flash Fire at the look she was giving him.
"Uh...look, I'd rather not explain this one," he told her, then withered at the look Ampelus was giving him.
The nymph sighed and turned her gaze to her father. "So...about the powers? I've never had that kind of strength before."
"As well you shouldn't," he replied. "But...you did do well. Whilst I was incapacitated, my strength was needed elsewhere. It left me and came to you so you could protect my home long enough for me to recuperate. And while there is much to repair...you kept my home and myself safe enough for me to return and retake what is mine." He turned, giving Ampelus a little kiss on her forehead. "Thank you for saving my home, dear."
Ampelus seemed to shrink, unsure how to take this gesture of affection. It may well have been her first from her father. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Anytime, dad..."
"Now, there's quite a bit to clean up. I'll see if I can find Bombyx, there's still a bit to do, and...do you taste something...ominous?" Ampelus watched her father walk off, mumbling to himself about a bad taste in the air before seeming to collapse in on herself.
Sensing her needing a moment, Spark turned to Sohl and her mimic. "Thanks, girls. I'm sure we're going to see more of these guys today, but I'm hoping we'll have some time to talk later. Right now..." he paused, glancing at Ampelus.
"Uhhhh no." Spark found himself picked up again and slung over Sohl's shoulder, where he watched Ampelus giving him a sour but defeated look. "You need a rest. I'm picking all kinds of tired from Orea, and I think you could both use some alone time together."
"Oooh, he needs some rest?" the mimic inquired, hopping along around Sohl's legs. "I know a quick way to get him to sleep..."
"You're not thinking..."
"What? We just hit him really hard!" she said, her wings carrying her around Spark's level with a loud buzzing. "Or, y'know, I could suck his..."
"Y'know, I think I'd rather you hit me," Spark droned as the three of them disappeared into the woods.
"Uh..." Flash Fire uttered quietly, alone at Ampelus' side.
"I don't want to know what the hell that is all about. I'm...I'm so tired," Ampelus said, sitting down and slumping against the unicorn.
Flash Fire bristled at the touch, but slowly leaned into it, helping to hold the nymph up. The last few hours had really helped to solidify a trust between the two of them. "So...what happened with that griffon?"
"There was a griffon? Oh, right, the...bird thing. It's kind of a long story, though it only happened like...an hour ago. Let's go make sure we don't have any more invaders and I'll tell you all about it..."
Spark Storm, once again finding himself in Sohl's grasp, found it a good time to wriggle free and walk beside her, feeling fifty different kinds of tired, and annoyed to boot. "Okay. So Ampelus and I could use a little more time apart. But I still - "
"Daddy!"
Spark Storm sighed and practically deflated as Orea dashed forward from the trees, followed by Cyno and Amacia, who looked absolutely frazzled. "Sheesh...what happened to you, chicky?"
Sohl's question, an odd little nickname, went completely over the shorter harpy's head. "Spark Storm! I was so worried." The pegasus, his 'daughter', the hybrid and the short harpy collided into a warm embrace, leaving Sohl and her mimic to sulk outside the circle. "All that action, all those different creatures. It was actually kind of terrifying."
"I'm glad that you managed to keep these two safe, thank you." Spark's words warmed Amacia's heart, as well as the other two currently nestled in her lap between their two elders. It wasn't long before Spark's head came to rest against her shoulder, and the two younglings had to move to make room as Spark's big body came to rest against Amacia's chest as he sank into her wings, completely exhausted from the day's events. The mimic watched with envious eyes as Amacia stood, easily carrying Spark's prone form.
"Whew," Orea whispered as Spark's thoughts became restful in sleep.
"About time," Sohl sighed. "He's been nonstop worried about everything."
"Con...cerned?" Cyno quipped.
"Yeah. He's got just about everything on his mind. I mean...I think? I don't have the same connection to him as those two do. I still don't understand it..."
"It's not really something that harpies were meant to understand, Amacia." Sohl sat down cross-legged and ran a clawed hand through her hair wearily. She looked down at her thighs, a frown crossing her face, shades of anger in her eyes. "Ugh...shit."
Amacia gasped, a flash of anger in her eyes as she covered Spark's ears on instinct. "Language!"
"Yeah, no. I...I've got some trash to throw out," Sohl replied as she stood back to her full height. "I'm sure Mimosa could take care of it, but this one's personal. Amacia..." she paused, glancing at the shorter harpy. "...Thanks for watching Cyno and keeping him safe. He's in good claws." Orea frowned as her tall friend made her way through the bushes.
Cyno made a little squawk of protest as the nymph stood and made to follow Sohl. "I don't...uh, what?" Amacia fumbled in slight panic.
"You don't want to know," the little nymph replied in a somber tone as she slipped out of the bush cover. "I wish I didn't."
Amacia sighed, left alone with Spark Storm and Cyno. He shuffled around in the bush, somewhat agitated at the lack of interesting things happening. With the pegasus left in a deep sleep, Amacia let her thoughts drift for a while, barely aware of the scuttling about. She thought of the last time that Spark had been asleep next to her - weeks ago in his little apartment back in Canterlot.
She had only known him for a few short weeks. Her reception in Canterlot had gone a lot better than she'd thought: She'd been welcomed by Celestia rather easily, citing her gentle disposition and her history with medical knowledge and spells. It made her think of Rolling Waves. She'd done everything she possibly could, right? Maybe she could go check on him -
And that's when she realized that she'd been alone with her thoughts for only twenty seconds, but it was enough for her to not realize that Cyno's shuffling had stopped. Spark Storm was lowered gently to the mossy ground and left there.
After a few seconds of brushing some low-hanging branches to the side, she found a panicking griffon, hog-tied and her beak wrapped shut with a thick twine. She pulled her break free and immediately recoiled as she started screaming. "FIND HER!! SHE TOOK CYNO, SHE'S GOING TO KILL HIM!!"