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LOP Chapter 16: The Beginning Of A New Storm

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Spark Storm stared at the two Changelings in disguise suspiciously. Could he really trust what the two of them had just told him? Not really, he told himself. He hadn't met a single Changeling worthy of trust, and Anorax didn't count, because Anorax was...Well? What? Different? A Halfling? And what exactly separates him from them?

After a moment of wrestling with his thoughts, Spark frowned and gave Kecnik and Madalah his full attention. "Look, I don't get it. One minute you're spying on me and you say you've got a prisoner and now you want to help me. Sorry, but I've got some trouble believing that suddenly you're on my side."

Kecnik bowed his head in a subtle gesture of patience. "Of course. Allow me to explain the situation. You see -"

"We just broke off from the hive and now our boss is gonna kill us!" Madalah chimed in, bouncing in place. Kecnik arched a brow at his partner, suddenly very curious as to what had happened between her and the white pegasus from before. She had claimed that he was a Changeling. The sudden revelation that they were no longer of the hive seemed very appealing to her, if her emotions were to be believed.

Spark stared at the young mare, then at the taller stallion, who after a moment merely nodded. Spark frowned; how did that even work? He brought a hoof to his face and sighed. If Laser's friend had indeed been taken captive, then there really wasn't time to debate this. He'd dealt with Changelings before, and he could deal with them again.

"I guess I'll have to take your word for it...for now. Right now a friend is in trouble, and -" Spark cut off as he turned around and nearly ran into Lyra and Chrome, whom he'd forgotten had been right behind them. They'd been listening the last couple of minutes, something Spark Storm had not been counting on. There was just too much going on at once to remember every last detail.

Lyra and Chrome both looked like Spark had their complete attention. "Did you say they've got a prisoner?" Lyra asked.

"And a friend is in trouble?" Chrome demanded. Oh, Celestia, Spark thought, staring at his brother and friend in horror. What have I done?

Ever the high-energy mare that she was, Lyra stared at Kecnik and Madalah suspiciously. Something about these two just seemed very unnatural, like they were completely out of place. She'd never seen them in Ponyville before, and they were getting awfully familiar with Spark Storm. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but it's like they were hiding something, and it almost seemed like they were hiding themselves somehow...

Wait, that's it! she told herself as she conjured up some magic and announced, "Revelare!" and before Spark Storm could stop her, Lyra's magic spell washed over both Kecnic and Madalah. At once, both their transformation instincts kicked in, and before the three ponies, they revealed their Changeling forms.

Several things happened in this instance: For one, there were a couple of girly screams, coming from both Emerald Skies and Laser Reflex. For another, Lyra and Chrome screamed, neither as girly as the first two. And third, Lyra and Chrome began to run for the door. Spark Storm cut them off and tackled them both to the ground and stood over them angrily.

"For Celestia's sake, shut up!" he hissed at the two as the two Changelings quickly returned to their pegasi forms, though they both looked thoroughly panicked by their forms being revealed against their will.

Suddenly, the door to the basement slammed open and Cheerilee's voice called out rather angrily, "Just what in Tartarus is..."

She paused just as Lyra was trying to get out from under Spark, her rump up in the air. She, as well, was standing over Chrome. All three stared at Cheerilee. Spark and Cheerlee shared an unreadable look before the young apprentice silently closed the door and slipped back downstairs.

Spark's face lit up with embarrassment as Lyra got to her hooves and grinned sheepishly at the pegasus. "I don't get it," Chrome muttered as he stood and stepped out from under his brother. "What's so weird about -"

"Look," Spark groaned while dragging a hoof down his face. This was quite possibly the dumbest situation he'd ever gotten himself into, and it was seriously grating on his nerves. "I need you, Lyra, to look after Chrome for a while. There's a bit of a situation, and I need their help to get through it," he said, indication the two monsters in disguise behind the unicorn and his brother.

"Whoa, no way," Lyra said, standing tall with a mad grin on her face. "This just got ten times more interesting. First there's a kidnapping, then there's monsters, now these monsters are on your team and you're all going on a rescue mission?! Count me in!"

"Uh," Madalah chimed in, "I resent that 'monster' remark..."

Spark Storm had had enough. Barely containing his anger, he moved forward until his forehead was pushing against Lyra's so she could see how serious he was. "Look," he said, poking her in the chest with a hoof. "You keep my brother away from this. This is a dangerous situation, do you understand me? Ponies could die, and I don't want you or my brother anywhere near this!"

Chrome stared up at his older brother. Even as he listened to him yelling at Lyra, he could feel emotions building up inside of him. Sure, those two behind him had looked scary, but he wasn't exactly scared of them. He was scared of what was yet to come. Scared, and excited.

It was around this time that the library door opened. Spark Storm whirled around, ready to send whoever it was packing, his wings lightning up with angry intent. All of Spark's anger and stress seemed to melt away when he realized that it was Lemon Pop, who stared suspiciously beyond him at the two disguised Changelings behind him.

Oh of course, the fighters! Spark thought to himself. Why hadn't he thought of that earlier? They could help with this mess, if he could just a message to them fast enough. He practically flew to her in one jump and rested his hooves on her shoulders. "Lemon Pop, just the mare I need to see right now!" he gushed.

Lemon sought to keep the two in her line of sight, but with Spark in the way she had to turn this way and that until Spark took her face in both hooves and focused her on him. "Lemon! Are you listening to me? I need you to go get the fighters and bring them here. This is an urgent matter, I need their help!"

Lemon stared at Spark for the better part of a minute, then pulled away from him, a disturbed frown on her face. "Spark, I can't just march back there after what happened, I still need time, I...a-and what about them?!" she said, her voice rising as the pointed behind Spark.

"Lemon, it's all worked out, I promise, they're on our side. Look, they're Changelings, all right? They're nice Changelings though, kinda like Anorax, and-"

"Changelings?!" Lemon reared up and beat her wings furiously. "Spark Storm, what are you doing cavorting around with Changelings? You know they're the enemy!"

Spark snorted and pulled Lemon into the library before she could make a scene in front of the whole town. Lemon gasped indignantly and fought against him until he had to tackle her to the floor and stood over her. "Lemon! Knock it off! You know as well as I do that not all "monsters" are monsters! Orea and Sohl and maybe even Ampelus are proof of that!"

Up above, Ampelus flinched as if Spark's very words had stung her. Was it true? Was Spark Storm being honest when he said that, that he didn't think of her as a monster anymore? She wasn't sure what to think of this. But if she found out he was being dishonest of his feelings towards her, there would be hell to pay.

Lemon Pop pulled away from Spark Storm, hurt and upset. "Sparky, I...I don't think I'm ready to go back...Can't you send Emerald Skies, or-or-"

"You know, I'd be happy to get over there as fast as possible," Emerald chimed in from the kitchen, popping his head around the corner.

"No!" Spark rebutted, his fur standing on end as he looked from Emerald to Lemon. "Sending you would take too long, there are processes and complicated procedures and politics involved, Lemon could get in there instantly, if she'd just get over her stupid problem!"

The room became very silent as Spark Storm stared at Lemon Pop in horror. Did he really just call her problem stupid? It wasn't stupid, it was serious, and he needed to tell her that, but the look in her eyes froze him to the core. If Spark had called her useless, or ugly, and not even worth his time, she would not have looked more hurt. Spark wished she would hit him or yell at him even, anything other than look at him like that.

"Lemon, I...I didn't mean-" he tried to say before she turned and flew out the door, leaving Spark Storm behind in heavy regret. "...I'm sorry." Spark hung his head in shame. He could've sworn he saw a face in a crack from the basement door frame, but at this point he didn't care. He'd just hurt one of his closest friends right when he really needed her. No, you idiot. She needed you, and you blew it, he told himself. He had never felt so angry at himself before.

Spark Storm let out a deep breath and turned to face the others that stood waiting for him to do or say something. Emerald Skies looked like he had something to say to Spark, though he kept it to himself. Finally, Laser broke the silence by clearing his throat a bit louder than he needed to. "So...Russet? Rescue mission? Anypony?"

Spark finally lifted his head and nodded. He pushed aside his guilt for now, something needed to be done, and now. "Yeah. You're right, Laser. All right, if it's just the four of us-"

"Uh, beg your pardon, Spark, but there's five of us," Emerald chimed in, coming to sit beside Laser Reflex, who politely balked at him.

"You? You're a librarian, what exactly do you expect to accomplish?" Emerald Skies and Spark Storm sniggered softly as they shared a look between them.

"Well...I'm not a bad flier, and I survived a ninja attack last year. I should be of some help."

Before Laser Reflex could continue his inquiry, Sohl and Orea made themselves known as the tall biped landed on the ground floor. "You're not counting us, Sparky? I'm insulted," Sohl told him as Orea leapt from the harpy's wings and landed on Spark's back.

Spark let out a sigh and smiled gratefully at his friends. "Good...that makes seven of us, so-"

"Eight. There are eight of us, Spark." Spark Storm looked up in shock as Ampelus descended from the upper levels of the library. The entire group made room for her among them, most notably Laser and the Changelings, both of whom made quiet hissing noises, nearly unnoticeable. The older nymph smirked cruelly at the two and mockingly licked her lips. "Don't worry. I'm not hungry, little Changelings...yet. I surmise that feasting on your brothers and sisters later will fill me. That won't bother you, will it? You did turn traitor, after all."

"Hey, easy," Spark chided. Ampelus lifted her head and approached Spark, looking down her muzzle at him. "And just how are you going to get around town with us? From what we've seen it takes a lot out of you to do that vine trick you use, and I'm not carrying you around."

"Do you truly think me so uncreative?" she said with a sigh. She closed her eyes and vines shot out from her mane. Most everypony jumped when she did, but the vines had one purpose, and it was none other than to grab the drapes, which were ripped violently from the wall. She quickly draped the cloth tightly around her body, making her resemble a strangely clothed traveler. The makeshift cloak smartly hid the vines which wrapped around her body as well as her dragonfly wings, leaving just her face and her bright blue eyes staring at Spark Storm.

"Oh look, she knows how to look modest," Laser said, his voice full of sarcasm and angry indignation. "Spark, do you honestly trust this thing? What guarantee do we have that she's not going to go around and try to rape everything that moves?"

Ampelus nearly hissed a retort at the pegasus, but her eyes were locked with Spark Storm's, and she suddenly found herself on the far side of his judgement. She tensed, and she realized that she was holding her breath. As the nymph waited for a reply from him, she realized that she actually cared a great deal what he thought of her, yet she couldn't be bothered to tell him that, and certainly not in the presence of others. Oh, she would have to hurt him if he made her say it, and she told him this with her eyes.

Finally, after a few grueling moments of silence and silent staring that bordered on intimacy, Spark turned away from the nymph and headed for the door. "She'll behave, I trust her to do that much, and she'll come in handy when we need her. Now let's go, we've wasted enough time."


The two ponies continued to walk toward the town. The hour long walk was invigorating, and it allowed Shadow Heart some time to think. It was true that Ponyville had never been a nice place to live if you happened to be an outcast. The ponies that created the rules enforced them and made sure that their descendants remembered them.

As he walked along beside Shimmering Oasis, Shadow Heart thought about the offer the alicorn had made him. Join her, lend her his abilities, and keep Spark Storm from getting too close to her. But what if Spark Storm got close? What if Spark Storm had better things for him than Shimmering Oasis had promised him? Of course, the alicorn had promised him many good things: Companionship, love, security. Couldn't Spark Storm offer him the same?

And not just that, but the Fighters...one of them knew about him. It had been nearly a year ago, last November, that he'd broken free of the gang that had taught him to be cruel. Of course, he'd had to earn his freedom by killing them, and that was truly what set Shadow Heart free.

Immediately after was when he met one of the Fighters. Gunslinger, if Shadow Heart remembered correctly. The Southern pony had been out hunting manticores, monsters of his own personal vendetta. Shadow Heart's meeting with this hunter had been an eye-opener him, as it opened him to the possibility of joining a group of ponies whose skills were like his: used to kill. Whether it was killing monsters or other ponies, at that point it hadn't mattered to Shadow Heart.

However, after meeting the laid-back, pinpoint-accurate Gunslinger, Shadow Heart had begun to doubt if killing was all he was good at, yet here he was with Shimmering Oasis, an alicorn that, for all he knew, wanted him to kill. After what Gunslinger had told him of the Fighters, Shadow Heart wasn't so sure that he wanted to go through with this. He told himself then and there that if he met Spark Storm, the first thing he'd do would be to try and talk with him. Only then could be be sure of what he wanted to do.

When the two were nearly to the town, Shimmering Oasis suddenly stopped. She craned her head upwards into the air, eyes closed, almost like she were receiving a silent message. She drew in a quiet breath, then let it out as her horn lit up in a gentle golden light. A shot of golden energy flew up into the air and took on the form of a tiny dragonfly, which immediately flew in the opposite direction they'd been moving, and disappeared into a small cluster of trees.

"What was that about?" inquired Oasis' unicorn companion suspiciously. She opened her eyes and smiled sweetly at Shadow Heart.

"I received a message from our friends of the hive. I merely passed that message and one of my own back to the hive itself. It's something important, and something we must deal with before we see Spark Storm. Come along, dear." She pressed forward and nudged Shadow Heart along with her muzzle, prompting another blush from the colt. Did she have to be so hoofs-on?

He was about to voice his concerns to the alicorn when he saw several figures in the sky - three, in fact. No, four, one of them riding on the big one's back. Completely limp. Shadow Heart let out a little gasp and leapt backwards as three Changelings landed where he had been a second ago. A short male with red coloring, a shorter female with orange and yellow coloring, and a giant one that probably towered over the Queen herself, carrying a male unicorn prone on his back.

Shadow Heart frowned as he saw a change in Shimmering Oasis' attitude. Before, with him, she was kind, affectionate, patient and gentle. When the Changelings arrived, a look of cold disdain came over her face, her body becoming stiff, as if she found their presence unpleasant. "Princess Oasis," Nuzo said, offering a bow that seemed to reflect Shimmering Oasis' mood. "We were not expecting you to be here, so close. Just what are you-"

"What have you done?" Shimmering Oasis interrupted.

All three Changelings shifted uncomfortably, Bezzle and Dozix exchanging worried glances. Nuzo, however, looked more annoyed than anything. "Do not speak to us as if you order us! You are not in command of us, you work with us!" He continued to rant even as Shimmering Oasis' horn lit up in a deeper gold than Shadow Heart had seen it before. As he watched, he saw something out of the corner of his eyes - the giant Changeling's eyes lit up in the same light. The unicorn soon realized the full scope of what the alicorn could do as the giant stepped over to Nuzo, knocked him on his side and pressed a hoof on his chest to keep him from getting back up.

"Wh-what are you doing, you fool?! Let me up before I rip you to pieces!" Nuzo demanded. He gasped with pain as the giant pressed down harder, then looked up in awe and fear as Dozix began to speak to him.

"Let's get one thing straight," Dozix and Shimmering Oasis both said at the same time, both their eyes blazing gold. "I do not work for you; you work for me. Your queen works for me. You are all bugs under my hoof. If you don't remember your place, I will put you there. Permanently. Do not make me remind you again, else it will be the last thing you do."

Everypony present was silent as a tomb as Dozix took his time to let Nuzo up. When he finally clambered off of his leader with a look of bewilderment, Nuzo shot to his hooves, trembling with what could've been anger, or maybe fear. He didn't respond to Shimmering Oasis, instead turning to his subordinates. "...You know the plan. Get that unicorn back to the hive, I have business in Ponyville." Bezzle and Dozix nodded silently before taking to the air. Nuzo then turned and headed for town when Shimmering Oasis stepped forth.

"Hold. I received your message of your comrades' treachery. Rest assured, I will handle this matter. I want you to return to with your teammates and wait for my instruction."

Nuzo paused, then turned back around to face the alicorn. "I will not. You can't just send me back to the hive with your hocus-pocus, princess, not if you intend to go into the town!" He paused then, glancing down at Shadow Heart. "Unless you mean to challenge me with that little whelp. A pony whelp at that! A laughable concept!"

Shadow Heart's eyes narrowed just slightly. He'd dealt with worse things than this pompous creature, he was not afraid. Nuzo stepped closer, a tinge of excitement in his bones as he noticed the fearless look in Shadow Heart's eyes. "Oh, look at this little one! You have not known fear yet, little colt. Shall I show you?!" he shouted as he swiped at Shadow Heart and promptly lost balance as he somehow missed his mark. Nuzo fell on his face as he'd put all his force into that swipe.

Nuzo got back to his hooves and glared at the unicorn. "Slippery little cuss...a lucky dodge." He chuckled with cruel mirth as Shadow Heart's horn lit up in firey orange, a warning look in the colt's eyes. "Oh, finally putting up a defense? Or is it an offense?!" he shouted once more, this time making for a full body tackle with a full-speed lunge. The colt actually leapt forward to meet him, and again, Nuzo slipped right through him, only to run head-first into a small boulder that the colt was pulling behind him. Both boulder and Changeling fell to the ground with heavy thuds.

"Are you through making a fool of yourself?" Shimmering Oasis stated more than asked as Nuzo slowly and painfully pulled himself up into a sitting position. "Honestly, if you can't handle one single little colt, what makes you think you could dispose of your brethren in town?" Shadow Hearts watched cautiously as Nuzo glared at the princess, who had a decidedly proud look in her eyes as she gazed at him. It made him feel warm inside, and he averted his gaze shyly.

Nuzo got to his hooves angrily, his hard frame trembling with fury. There was nothing to be done here. He couldn't touch the colt, and the princess' powers were far too fearsome to bother with. Not yet, anyway. He'd need to do something about her, and soon. After a moment more of glaring, he took to the air and flew off towards the hive, leaving Shimmering Oasis and Shadow Heart alone once more. She gave him her sweetest smile, then lifted her head to the sky. Her horn shone once more, this time the golden light turning to a fine dust that began to settle over her.

When it was all gone, so were her wings, and her mane was slightly different. She gave her confused student a wink as she pressed on towards the town. "We mustn't frighten the villagers with the sudden appearance of an alicorn, my dear Shadow Heart. Now...let us go say hello to Spark Storm."
A new situation arises that could change an already chaotic situation even worse for our heroes.
© 2012 - 2024 mechafone
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TylerFreeFlight's avatar
Yee ha! Lyra. way to go. Spark is juggling a lot of things at once and now he's got more. I'm still loving the two changelings. Kecnik and Madalah. It is fun to watch their characters develop into fully unique individuals.

LOL!! Madalah: "uh, I resent that monster remark"  You do such a great job lighting up tense moments with a bit of mirth.

Just a thought. How does Spark push his forehead against Lyra's? She is a unicorn and has something in the way. Like her horn. heh heh!

Spark sad maybe Amp may not be a  not a monster? What? She kills and eats ponies. Although she does do it in a pleasant way She still does it.
I'm loving this chapter. There is a lot going on and the action is fun.

Spark hurting Lemon with a poorly chosen comment was a surprise to me. Thier friendship is strong but I see you're setting up more twists. 
It's always exciting to see where things lead to. It's what really draws me to your tales. I absolutely love the moment between Spark and Amp. She cares what he thinks of her and she doesn't want anyone to know.

And finally. Oasis and Shadowheart arrive on scene. Nice job with showing Shadow's inner turmoil. He is still a wildcard and I'm hoping he makes a good choice. Still Oasis scares me as does Fire Lotus. I worry somepony is going to die before this all plays out. It was interesting to see Shadow heart's little display of ability. He can phase out? Nice one. I think Nuzo made a wise decision to pick his battles and now was not the time.

This is a great story that keeps getting better. Nice work friend!