Legends Of Ponyville

by mechafone

23 - Encounters In The Caves Part Three

Fire Lotus smiled gleefully between the two combatants. The unicorn, so far as she could tell, was the one to watch out for. Her skills with accuracy and control were potentially lethal. She had already demonstrated a high intelligence, though her confidence could be broken. The pegasus wielded lightning powers, and that was the extent of her knowledge of him. He hadn't been allowed to participate in the last battle in Neippon, so she had no more information on him.

Still, fighting electricity with metal was a bad idea. Good thing she'd prepared for this eventuality. She wasted no time in turning around and running towards the left wall, with Spark Storm in pursuit. Whatever she had planned, he wasn't about to let her do it. Rarity frowned and made to follow, but at a more cautious pace. "Be careful, Spark Storm! Don't follow so close!"

"Again, the unicorn speaks wisdom!" Fire Lotus called as she released a trap. She ducked as large, thick branch swung down from the ceiling. With Spark directly in its path, sure he'd at least bang his head, but the pegasus spread his wings, leapt into the air, and cut the ropes holding the heavy branch with lit wings. He spun in mid-air, and threw spiraling trails of electricity ahead of Fire Lotus. The earth pony barely managed to avoid the strike, though her tail was tingling from connecting with the volley. It wasn't the nice tingly, either.

Spark Storm threw another bolt at Fire Lotus, this time aimed squarely at her back. The earth pony turned and threw what looked like a long line of black - and completely dispersed Spark's attack. Rarity and Spark both came to a halt, facing Fire Lotus as she had her back to the wall. The older mare grinned victoriously as she slowly spun what appeared to be a black whip around her foreleg. Rarity's eyes widened with realization as she finally recognized the material. "A rubber-covered whip?"

"Completely safe when playing with live wires, too!" Fire Lotus said with a grin as she held the whip in one foreleg and swung it to wrap around Spark's right wing, even as he attempted to shock her. He yelped in pain as she tugged, his wing alight with electricity. The rubber casing kept the earth pony from receiving a shock, though, and Spark Storm found himself stumbling towards his foe, who leapt at him and brought a back hoof to his face.

Spark saw nothing but white and felt nothing but pain and the brief sensation of being tugged by his wing again, this time a blow to his chest propelled him to his hind legs and on his back. Rarity let out a cry of rage as she charged Fire Lotus. Using her magic, she managed to break Fire Lotus' hold on the whip, but the earth pony always had worked best bare-hoofed. Getting this close to her was a mistake.

Fire Lotus leapt forward and under Rarity, spreading her legs and causing Rarity to do the same. She lost her balance as Fire Lotus grabbed her waist and pulled her down, then locked her hind legs around Rarity's right hind leg and her left foreleg, pulling them together painfully. The earth pony laid down against Rarity's back to hold her down, then reached up and pulled her mane loose, causing it to spill down her shoulders. In her hoof, she held a short needle, which she brought down in front of Rarity's face so she could see it.

"Remember what I said about pressure points, sweetheart?" Rarity let out a quiet whimper, both from the pain and from the fear. She struggled against Fire Lotus' grip, but the earth mare was both older and much stronger. In desperation, the unicorn began a spell to liberate herself, but before she got far the needle found its way to a spot under her chest, where her foreleg began. A terrible, blinding pain filled her body, and Rarity found herself screaming. Fire Lotus turned her head to the side and leapt off the unicorn just in time to avoid a side blow from Spark Storm, leaving the needle in Rarity's body.

"Hold on, just - stop moving!" Spark told Rarity, turning her writhing body over, but Rarity's pained convulsing made it difficult. Finding the problem, he leaned down and took a few hoofs to the face until he managed to pull out the needle. Immediately Rarity stopped her wild movements and turned over on her chest, a hoof over her wound, her face hidden by the other as she sobbed.

Infuriated, Spark spat out the needle, splattering a small line of Rarity's blood on the ground, then turned to face Fire Lotus, who stood waiting for him a few yards away with an excited grin on her face. "Guess she wasn't as hard as she thought. She should've known better than to try acting tough. A life lesson to remember, if you two just happen to make it out of here alive."

Spark Storm sneered angrily, roughly hoofing the ground. "Ooh. Angry, aren't ya? Ya gonna make me pay for hurting your girlfriend?" Fire Lotus said with a taunting leer.

"Yes."

"Ya gonna spank me?"

"..."

"Ooh, guess we found the limit to your vocabulary. Don't worry," she said, flipping a small part of the ground at her hooves to show a small, rubber encased knife, which she picked up and flipped from hoof to hoof. "I'll be sure to open your mind to new possibilities."

"You talk too much!" Spark said as he lunged forward. He shot a bolt at her hooves, which she blocked with her knife. He shot another over her head, which she didn't bother deflecting. He shot off more and more as he got closer to her, making the earth pony work with continually greater speed and effort to avoid his shocks. Once close enough, he raised his wing and swung it at her, but there was no attack attached to it. Predictably, she lunged to deflect the attack that didn't happen.

Too soon to realize she'd been duped, Fire Lotus took a hoof to her chin, a hard shoulder to her chest, then let out a cry of alarm as her hind legs were tackled. She landed on his back, and found herself in a world of pain as his wings lit up. The angry bolts of electricity carried her up in the air and down again upon her back where she lay for a moment, convulsing and groaning with pain.

"Oh...ow...N-not bad, kid." she said as she struggled to her hooves, panting and now sweating a little from the shock of being electrocuted. "You're actually pushing me, and you've got some good moves. I sense you're just starting, though, and I don't want to draw this out anymore than I have to. You're younger and probably have the stamina to beat me if I let this go on, so..."

Spark didn't give her a chance to finish. He leapt through the air towards her, only to find she was already up and running towards the center of the chamber, where the fight had begun. He ran after her, nearly catching up when she removed the hair clip from the left braid in her mane and threw it up to the ceiling. It hit a hair switch, something that had been set up hours before the team's arrival.

The whole chamber began to shake as dust arose from the ground and the walls. As Spark stared in confusion, he thought he heard a voice calling for help. He glanced back towards Rarity, but she had fallen into unconsciousness. Rarity...He wasted no time in running for her. He didn't get far when a gigantic network of cables and wires erupted from hidden spots all around the room.

Spark came to a stop beside Rarity, even as various chains and ropes dangled around them. Too late to note that every last one of them was encased in rubber, Spark felt something thin and tight around his waist. He let out a grunt as it squeezed and hoisted him into the air. His wings instantly lit up, only to find that his wings had been quickly bound behind his back, and struck ineffectively against his bindings.

Spark Storm looked down in anger as Fire Lotus grinned up at him, several rubber-bound ropes in her grasp. "Oh, I hope you don't mind me redecorating. It was essential, you see." She turned her back on him as he struggled to free himself, pausing only when he saw the earth pony heading for Rarity.

"Leave her alone! She can't even defend herself!"

Fire Lotus paused long enough to retrieve the needle she'd used to torture Rarity with, then turned and smiled seductively up at her prey. "That's usually the best time to go and say hello."

Tears of anger and fear for Rarity's safety formed in Spark's eyes as he screamed and struggled to free himself. Suddenly, he remembered - "Ampelus! Help her! Now!"

Fire Lotus paused at this new outburst. Ampelus? Wasn't that the - oh. Fire Lotus barely had time to react until she felt something like her ropes wrapping around her waist and lifting her into the air. She looked down to see the three-legged nymph hobbling towards her. The earth pony laughed and brought a hoof to her forehead. "I must be losing my edge to forget you!"

Ampelus smiled up at Fire Lotus, an appraising smile that gave the earth pony pause. "My, you're a delicious looking mare. I could have some serious fun with you if this situation were a little different."

"Uh...interesting, definitely interesting, not sure how to respond to that," Fire Lotus responded, an interested smile on her face.

"Ampelus! Quit fooling around and get rid of her, we've got work to do!" Spark shouted angrily. He couldn't believe that Ampelus was flirting with the enemy, especially when Rarity was hurt and there was still Shimmering Oasis and her army to deal with.

Ampelus glared at Spark before sending another pleasant smile up at the earth mare in her vines. "Heh, stallions ruin everything, I guess," Fire Lotus told her. While Ampelus had looked away, Fire Lotus had grabbed one of the rubber ropes near her and tugged at the last second, pulling Ampelus just slightly off-balance. Fire Lotus then spun in mid-air, freeing herself from the vines.

She wasted no time as she dropped and grabbed onto the grasping vines, using her acrobatic skills to avoid being grabbed. The earth pony grinned as she pulled out her last trick: she flicked her tongue, dislodging the small needle hidden in her mouth, and positioned it as she fell towards Ampelus. The nymph wasn't fast enough, and Fire Lotus collapsed on top of her.

Ampelus let out a brief scream as the two fell to the ground, the small needle plunged straight into her forehead, right between the eyes. As Spark Storm stared in disbelief, Fire Lotus stood back and dusted herself off, then turned back towards Rarity while whistling a care-free tune.

Spark Storm had had enough. He was furious. He wanted to hurt Fire Lotus. He wanted to hear her screams for what she'd done to his friends. He hadn't felt like this since River had beaten up Pinkie Pie, the day he discovered his special talent.

He strained against his bonds, his wings pulling down against the ceiling they were tied to. Fire Lotus paused in her movements towards her favored unicorn victim when a trail of dust and debris fell from the ceiling. Her ears pricked as she turned to see Spark Storm struggling against the ropes that held him aloft. She stared with wide-eyed fascination as his wings began to light up. She scoffed; and here she thought he might have a chance if he broke himself out of his prison, but there he went with the lightning again.

Spark Storm didn't give up. He strained harder, pulling harder with his wings, so much that his electric feathers began pulsing. Suddenly two bolts shot out in front of him and met, lighting up his face and body, clearly displaying his closed eyes and snarling mouth. The two bolts began to wrap around each other, forming a ball of angry, buzzing light.

Fire Lotus could see where this was going, and she didn't like it. She ran under Spark Storm, even as the ball of electricity grew bigger, and stepped on a switch. Immediately every rope in the room fell from their attachments, in turn dropping Spark Storm to the ground. This sudden action caused Spark to lose his attack, as it scattered on the floor and dissipated harmlessly about the floor.

As Spark got to his hooves and shook his wings free, he felt a weight on his back. He brought his wings together, hoping to catch Fire Lotus as he had before in his earlier attack, the but nimble earth pony rolled forward over his shoulders and caught his chest with a hard hoof. The big stallion grunted and leaned back even as Fire Lotus continued her attack, throwing hoof after hoof aimed at his face.

The pegasus kept moving back to avoid the smaller earth pony's strikes, several of them even landing. Having had enough, he lunged at her, hooves forward and very nearly taking her head off had she not literally danced over his back, striking at his spine as she danced over him. He managed to get away with nothing more than a bruised spine, but that had been close.

Spark turned to face Fire Lotus. His body trembled from trying to keep up with the smaller earth pony, something that she noted with a smirk. "Looks like you've hit your limit. You're not as impressive as I thought, after all."

"And you really do talk too much," Spark replied with a roll of his eyes. Fire Lotus began to fire off another insult when she realized her mistake: she'd been far too arrogant in this battle, and there were too many factors that she had ignored. Namely, the nymph. She grunted painfully as Ampelus' vines wrapped around her waist and her hind legs tightly. She struggled to free herself even as she was pulled closer to the nymph, close enough to clearly see her pull the needle out of her forehead.

Fire Lotus gave the nymph a hopeful smile as Ampelus calmly studied the needle, dripping a thick, green ooze-like blood. "So, uh...different physiology? Quite frankly I thought I'd killed you."

Ampelus stopped eying the needle long enough to give the earth pony a very serious 'Duh' look, before setting the needle on the ground, holding it up so that the point was at a perfect vertical position. This set Fire Lotus into a panic. As sadomasochistic as she could be, she did not like where this was going. She struggled with fervor, but before she could get far she was pulled down to the ground, rump first. The earth pony let out a pained scream, and she was lifted back into the air. The needle was gone. Fire Lotus then found herself flung across the room where she hit the wall with a sharp impact.

As Fire Lotus fell limply to the ground, Ampelus snorted in victory and turned to a tired Spark Storm. "You're welcome," she told him curtly. Spark laughed and cantered over to her. Sensing an impending and unwelcome show of affection, she backed away from him. "Stay away, you...p-pony, just cut it out!" Ampelus' warnings went unheeded, and Spark closed the distance between them and wrapped his forelegs around her. The nymph sighed and took it, even the nuzzle that brought an embarrassed blush to her face.

Spark released the nymph, still glaring at him with that embarrassed frown. "Really? You're all over me half the time, and a 'thank you' makes you uncomfortable?"

Ampelus turned away from him and grumbled as she searched for a practical excuse to hand the pegasus. "Uh...well, its a little different, when, uh...you're just not usually willing to touch me in the first place, or...something." Spark rolled his eyes good-naturedly as he stepped past the uncomfortable nymph to go to Rarity's side, a concerned frown on his face. He reached down, gently shaking her shoulder as she lay on her belly.

After a moment, the unicorn groaned and slowly got to her hooves. When she put her weight on her right foreleg, she let out a quiet gasp of pain and nearly collapsed. Spark lent her his side, which she gratefully took. She glanced at him sideways, an apologetic smile on her face. "Oh, Spark, I must apologize. I fear I may be a (ow!) a bit of a burden on you, dear. I must ask, how...?"

Spark Storm smiled as he shook his head. "You're not a burden, Rarity. You were amazing. Ampelus saved us, actually."

Rarity appeared shocked for a moment, a look that seemed to give insult to the nymph as she glared at the unicorn. The unicorn immediately gave Ampelus a genuine smile. "Thank you, Ampelus. Who knows where we'd all be without you. Thank you." Ampelus again appeared uncomfortable with the praise, a blush appearing on her cheeks. She turned away from the two, her tail swishing with agitation.

Spark Storm merely shrugged and offered Rarity a grin. He began to take a step forward when he heard that voice again, calling for help. Now that the fight was over, he could hear it much more pronounced. It was very familiar. Even Rarity's ears twitched, a look of realization in her eyes. "Oh, sweet Celestia," she exclaimed, glancing at the wall nearest her. "That's...Fluttershy!"

Spark and Rarity shared a look of horror. Just when had Fluttershy been brought down here? A dark look came over Spark's eyes as he could only think of the poor, frightened mare being dragged down to a place like this. Rarity frowned and eased herself into a sitting position, her horn lighting up as she began to concentrate. The wall was enveloped in her magical grasp, and it began to shake as the unicorn searched for a loose spot in the stones. After a moment, she proclaimed "Ah-hah!" as one of the stones was pressed into the wall. Immediately the whole wall fell apart, revealing a smaller, compact area.

A small shriek from the other side of the wall told Spark all he needed to know. He left Rarity standing there as he stepped slowly across the threshold between the two rooms and into the darker room. His eyes light up as they reflected the soft green light of the walls, presenting an ominous figure as he spotted the pegasus in question, protectively but shakily standing before another form, one that was prone, knocked out, and exactly who they had come for: Russet Hearts.

"Please...please go away! D-don't come any closer!"

"Fluttershy, its me, Spark Storm! Rarity's here, too."

"Fluttershy, come on out, please?" Rarity called, hobbling closer to the entrance. "You're safe now, darling."

Spark Storm brought light to the room with his wings, allowing Fluttershy to see her old friend. Fluttershy stared at him with wide, fearful eyes, tears falling freely. Suddenly she leapt into the air and flew to Spark Storm, sobbing quietly. She clung to him, her whole body shaking. He wrapped a foreleg around her, then cast a worried and angry look at Rarity. The unicorn seemed to share his unspoken sentiments, then carefully climbed over the crumbled wall. The two seamlessly switched places as Rarity took Fluttershy into her arms, shushing her and rubbing the frightened pegasi's back.

Spark Storm stepped over to the prone Russet Hearts. The unicorn's horn was encased in a thick, green resin, as well as his legs, all four imprisoned within the thick green substance. Spark reached down and knocked on it, finding it solid and tough. Another knock on the unicorn's head produced an annoyed groan, which in turn brought a smile to Spark's face. At least he was alive. Spark reached down to pat the unicorn's face several more times until Russet finally opened his eyes, one of which was bruised from a blunt force injury.

"Oh, ow, stop it, I'm awake!" Russet whined, his vision blurred from hours of unconsciousness. "Wha...where? Who are you?"

Spark Storm felt a presence at his side. He turned to see Fluttershy resting against him, the poor thing still trembling. He draped a wing around her as Rarity stepped up, still limping from her injury. "It's me, Russet. I'm so terribly sorry you were dragged into this terrible situation. You can rest assured, now, that we're nearly out of it."

Russet Hearts smiled happily up at Rarity, but Spark Storm frowned. They were hardly out of this; they still had to deal with Shimmering Oasis and find a way out of this place, and get back to Ponyville. No, their struggles had just begun.

---

Shimmering Oasis lead a small company of soldiers as she navigated through the caves at breakneck speed, using the memories of the soldiers under her command. She'd already stopped once to play with one of Spark's comrades, that harpy female. She had been a most entertaining subject, with such strong ties to the princess' enemy. It hadn't lasted long, though. Shimmering Oasis had made the mistake of thinking that they could be intimate. Such was not the case, as the immediate death of her soldier told her. A pity; she would have to find easier prey to torture.

Something had been bothering the princess for the last fifteen minutes, a strange presence in the caves that she couldn't ignore. It was new, and at the same time familiar. It carried a strong psychic force, something that was connected both to the harpy and to Spark Storm. It created a bothersome itch at the back of her mind, something she'd never felt before. Could it be that whatever was causing the itch also had formidable psychic powers?

The alicorn came to a stop in the caves, her entire platoon mirroring her movements. This psychic presence was close. It wouldn't be as interesting as breaking Spark Storm with her illusions, but this feeling at the back of her mind wouldn't let her ignore it. She switched directions, and headed straight for the bothersome origin of her curiosity.

---

In the darkness some unknown levels above, three figures moved through the dark tunnels of the changeling caves. Chrome Spectrum no longer dashed around like a ninja, and Lyra no longer danced with excitement. After their very close encounter with a landslide and witnessing what very could've been a first in nature, the two of them had very much sobered up.

Orea herself carried a worried frown. Despite this place being a very frightening locale, something else was bothering her. There was a strong psychic power here, something that kept bouncing off her connection with Sohl. It had been particularly disturbing some five minutes ago, but after that it had disappeared. For now, there was silence. It was almost as disturbing as the psychic interruption.

The three explorers soon came to a new chamber, one that opened up into a massive area. The ground, however, opened up several feet out of the doorway, leading down, further than one could see. A short trail heading to the right lead to a mass of bridges that connected this side to the other. The ceiling in this giant chamber was also a good distance up, but could be seen.

Chrome Spectrum let out a leap for joy and took to the air over the chasm, prompting Lyra to gasp, for a brief moment forgetting he could fly. "Geez, Chrome! Don't do that, get back here!" she called.

"Are you kidding? We can get out of here!" he called, speeding up to the other side of the wide open space. "Let's find the others and bring them back this way. I'm sure they found Russet by now." Chrome's voice carried across the way, echoing through the chamber. The sound grew distant, but it soon became stronger, more concentrated, almost like the buzzing of bees. Orea didn't like the sound of it one bit. She glanced this way and that, trying to find the source of the new noise.

"Chrome Spectrum, you get back down here right now! I will tell your mother you were being a bad colt if you don't!" Lyra warned. The pegasus glanced down at the older unicorn, a dry, unimpressed look that said 'Really?' He looked behind him in horror, however, as the sound finally presented itself as a hoard of changelings led by a burnt orange goddess came rushing through the tunnel directly behind him. He let out a yelp of panic and took to the air and began to fly back.

Chrome wasn't fast enough, though, as a changeling came up behind him and grabbed him. The two sped up, the changeling's intent very clear: Chrome was to be smashed against the ravine wall. Lyra wasn't about to lose her charge so easily, though. Her horn lit up as she yelled, "Ventus obstructionum!" With careful aim, the two were separated. Chrome fell towards Lyra and caught himself in mid-air, performing an impressive mid-air flip that landed him back beside his two comrades. The changeling merely slid off the wall of air, and fell into the ravine below.

"Oh!" Shimmering Oasis proclaimed as she held a hoof to her mouth, intrigued. "I've heard of the vocalized magic spells of the Northerners, but have never witnessed it before. You must be truly something special to be able to wield it, little unicorn."

Lyra was unimpressed as she stepped forward to the edge of the precipice, glaring up at the alicorn. "I'm guessing you're the big jerk behind all this mess. Well we're tired of walking around this depressing place, getting nearly buried and bothered by your...things! Let us out of here, right now, and that goes double for our friends!"

Shimmering Oasis barely heard Lyra's barking. Her eyes poured over the unicorn and the pegasus with the impressive flying, but her eyes kept returning to the smallest one, the one that had yet to say anything. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the little thing that surely had something to do with Spark Storm; her markings were nearly identical to his, albeit different colors.

"-and you better do it quick, missy, because I'm not going to say it again!" Lyra finished, glaring up at Shimmering Oasis. The alicorn's eyes had become hard as she finally turned her gaze to Lyra, who swallowed hard and took a single step back. "Um...please?"

"Kill them, but bring me the little one alive." Lyra and Chrome's blood felt like ice in their veins as a cloud of black issued forth from around the alicorn, snaking across the chasm, like a great black arm, it's touch death. The three of them stared in horror until Orea gasped and looked behind her, where they'd come from, and ducked as a large figure swooped out into the open air and let out a shriek.

At least twenty changelings were directly in Sohl's line of sight, and all twenty of their flights were halted as they met the force of the harpy scream. All of them were propelled against the wall were they went tumbling down to their deaths.

"Oh?" Shimmering Oasis smiled, an amused grin on her face. "I must say, that scream of yours is superb in dealing direct damage. It's much more efficient at-"

"Shut up!" Sohl shouted, her wings beating furiously as she rose in the air. "You're the one. You tried to trick me with Spark Storm!"

The alicorn smiled very patiently, her eyes summing the harpy up cautiously. "Yes. And I don't think I even need one of my minions to do it, either. You have no natural psychic block, you're a feeble-minded race that reacts purely on instinct. You're hardly worth anything, are you?"

Sohl had had enough. She'd heard the down-talk before. The griffins looked down on the harpies in the same way. All of them, of course, except...

"Ah. Arrin, was it?" Shimmering Oasis grinned at the way the name made Sohl tense. The one griffon, no, the one creature she'd ever met that hadn't judged the harpy for being so weak of mind.

"You shut up! Don't you ever mention his name, you're not worthy to speak it!" Sohl shouted, loud enough to ruffle the alicorn's mane. Shimmering Oasis just chuckled, her wings spreading wide as her horn lit up in gold light.

"Do you miss him? I'll allow you to see his final moments."

Sohl gasped in terror as the alicorn's changeling soldiers stepped forward. One of them changed into a large griffon, its wings magnificent in brown and black, it's eyes highlighted with burnt orange markings. It set out into the air, and was immediately set upon by at least a dozen changelings. The "griffin" screamed in pain as it was torn apart, it's blood spraying out and falling into the abyss. A scream from behind Sohl told her the scene wasn't pleasant for the three of them, either.

Sohl watched, horrified as the vision of her once-best friend and lover was torn to pieces. Tears of rage filled her eyes. She knew this was just another trick, but to see the real look of pain and horror in the eyes of the one that was taken from her was too much, she could watch no more. She inhaled, positioned herself above the nightmarish vision, and screamed, "Incendere erumpant!"

Shimmering Oasis watched in surprise as an eruption of fire billowed from the harpy's mouth, incinerating the mass of brainless puppets and putting the one out of its misery, the fiery mass disappearing into the chasm. Sohl immediately turned her attention to the alicorn, inhaling for another attack.

The alicorn smiled appreciatively as the fire from Sohl's second attack approached her. Her eyes grew bright as she put up a psychic shield. She chuckled as the fire spread up and down the shield, like a beautiful display of destruction. "My, my. You're much stronger than I believed, and certainly a bigger threat if I'm not careful. I think I'll be careful now."

The psychic shield pushed out towards Sohl at shocking speed. The harpy had no time to counter as the shield rammed into her, pushing further and further until harpy met rock on the far side of the chasm. Sohl was pressed into the rock hard enough to make an impression. Sohl growled, pressing her hands against the shield. She actually began to push back, hard enough to make Shimmering Oasis take a step back from her place across the chasm.

"My goodness, I was right, you are dangerous," the alicorn said approvingly. "I will respect your impressive prowess...with no more holding back!" Sohl spat upon the psychic shield, even as it pulled back, only for it to connect with the harpy again. And again. And again, each time, pushing the harpy further into the rock, and each time taking more of the harpy's strength.

"Stop it, stop it!" Lyra yelled, having finally had enough. She stepped forward, her horn lighting up. Her magic conjured a lyre similar to that of her cutie mark. Using telepathic commands, she struck harsh cords on the magical lyre, sending the notes crashing into the rock on Shimmering Oasis' side.

With the alicorn's focus on crushing Sohl, she had no time to guard. She watched in surprise as the notes cut into the rock, and she quickly had to duck as a note passed dangerously close to her ear, carrying with it a sound so harsh that it made the princess' ear tremble, making her drop the psychic shield, then drop onto her side holding her head in pain.

Sohl, pummeled into unconsciousness, slowly slid out of the indent in the wall and began to fall. Orea let out a panicked yelp and ran to the edge of the rocky platform. The vines from her flowers whipped out and wrapped around the bigger harpy. The weight pulled Orea to the edge, nearly pulling her with. Chrome, barely pulled out of his panicked stupor, grabbed the nymph and pulled, managing to help her pull Sohl back up and onto the ledge.

"That's it. I have suffered too many embarrassments!" Shimmering Oasis' voice called from across the chasm, her horn lighting up angrily. "Granted, the embarrassments are my fault for allowing you to live. Toying with you all is no longer an option." She paused, a sadistic grin spreading over her face. "Mother did always say, drowning your sorrows is never the answer, but mother's not here anymore."

Lyra made a face. The old bat's gone a little over the deep end, she thought. Her eyes widened in horror, though, as a thick cloud of changelings emerged from behind Shimmering Oasis. The alicorn was indeed done playing with them. She was going to end it. The unicorn's horn lit up once more, preparing another spell, when a small, concentrated psychic sphere rushed to meet her, smacking into her and bashing her against the wall. She fell into a fetal position, in pain and unconscious.

"Kill them all. Bring me the little one," Shimmering Oasis told her puppets once again, a triumphant smile upon her face. She smirked down at Orea, who had huddled in terror this entire time. It appeared the little nymph had had enough, though. She stood over Sohl protectively, her leafy wings spreading in a threatening gesture.

Shimmering Oasis grinned with pleasure as the changelings flew past her in obedient silence, the only sounds the beating of their wings. Something seemed to be happening, though, beyond her field of vision as it was clouded by the changelings, something that was throwing the changelings off course. The alicorn commanded her soldiers to the side, and her eyes widened at what she saw.

Vines had grown out of Orea's body, spreading out in eight different directions. They had grown into different sections of the wall around her, surrounding herself and her comrades. More than that, the vines and her wings pulsed with what appeared to be electricity. The lively dancing bolts were green, however, and appeared to be growing. The electric vines spread out, creating an even more thorough barrier.

"Fascinating...a wonderful defense, but you cannot hide from me, little one," the alicorn said, her horn shining brightly. Her mind dove forth, across the chasm, and into...well, not into Orea's mind. Into pain. Shimmering Oasis let out a shrill scream as she entered an unfamiliar place, filled with memories, emotions, intents. But these did not belong to Orea; they belonged to Spark Storm.

The alicorn's physical body trembled and convulsed as she fought with the little nymph, whose psychic connection to the pegasus was a force of nature, something that the alicorn was not ready for. She fought, still, pressing forward. There was something in Orea's mind that was foreign, foreign to all three of them, something that shouldn't have been there.

Shimmering Oasis' nose began to bleed as she pressed forward still. Amidst her senses being assaulted, she could see it. A door shaped like the crescent moon. It stood there on top of everything, foreboding, yet teasing, biding the alicorn to dare try and unlock it's secrets.

"Wh...what...what are you?!" Shimmering Oasis screamed, her voice louder than anything she remembered hearing in almost a thousand years.

Shimmering Oasis's eyes opened wide as a presence far older than she, and far stronger, stood before her. A vision of a dark goddess in full body armor, stars in the dark clouds that were her mane and tail, billowing in a non-existent breeze. The princess gasped and stared, even as she felt blood at the back of her eyes threatening to spill. "Young fool," the dark goddess seemed to say. "You are not worthy of my secrets. Be gone."

And with that, the connection between the alicorn and the nymph was severed. Shimmering Oasis dropped to her haunches, her mane completely disheveled. She stared across the chasm at little Orea, who continued to stare at the alicorn with disdain. The princess slowly got to her hooves, and quietly turned around and disappeared into the darkness.

---

*Ventus obstructionum - Latin for wind block

*incendere erumpant - Latin for fire erupt

Comments

[Melody Brush]

DAYUM man!