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// 34 - Crossing To Whitetail Woods 
// Story: Raison D'être 
// by mechafone 
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Spark Storm watched as the earthen giant slowly collapsed, seemingly under it's own weight. His heart was thundering in his ears, and he could barely stand. He had failed Orea. He had failed Turbid. He would never recover from losing two more members of his team. He looked up at the sound of sloshing, wet earth, then lost his breath as Turbid Serocity pulled herself from the wreckage of the collapsed titan, twigs and mud falling from her body as she gave the pegasi trio a tired smile. "Hey kids, did you miss me?"

Midnight and Lightning both let out big sighs and laughter from relief, but Spark Storm sat there, dumbfounded. He understood that Turbid was alive and well, but thinking that she had perished, that and the fact that Orea's home had been burned to the ground, it was too much. He leaned forward onto the fallen, broken woods, and passed out.



By the time Spark Storm woke up, it was late. Evening had set in, and Celestia had already lowered the sun and brought the moon over the land. His teammates had gathered around him and built a fire to keep everypony warm. Fall was in full swing now, and the wind wasn't as warm as it had been.

Spark sighed as he sat up. His whole body ached from his strenuous outburst earlier. As he got himself into a sitting position, Turbid stepped over to him and sat by his side, offering him a comforting hug. Although it felt good to be held, Spark's heart felt much too heavy to be comforted easily. He lowered his head and sighed, doing his best to hold back his anguished tears. "I failed her, Turbid. I failed Orea, and I lost her. She was one of my closest friends and I let her down."

Turbid sighed and rubbed Spark's back comfortingly before drawing back. She had learned a long time ago that mothering wasn't always the best course of action. Allowing Spark to grieve some on his own would benefit him. "I'm so sorry, Spark Storm. We did our best, sweetie. Sometimes, our best just isn't good enough. I'm going to get some rest. Don't wander off, okay? We'll pack up and head home at first light." She wanted to hold him longer, make sure he knew he wasn't alone in this, but after a moment's hesitation, she slipped over to the fire and laid down to get comfortable.

Spark Storm frowned as his vision began to blur with tears. If only we'd left a day early, we might have gotten here in time. He let out a slow, shuddering breath and looked up and ahead of him. He got up to take a walk, but something in his field of vision caught his attention. Something shining. His curiosity getting the best of him, he approached the area he'd seen it. He could no longer see it, though he noticed it may have been under several fallen tree trunks.

For some reason beyond him, Spark became driven to find the shining object. He pushed himself under the logs and lifted for all he was worth until his night-efficient eyes could see it, half buried in the ground. He strained and reached for it, digging in the ground until he loosened it. He grabbed it with his mouth and then slowly, painfully backed out from under the heavy burden on his back. With a loud crashing sound, the logs fell off his back, and he sat on his haunches to catch his breath.

After a few moments' rest, he spat out the small, round object and held it up towards the light of the fire. Immediately, his heart started racing, and yet his breath had caught in his throat. The small round thing he'd found was a perfect, round and smooth encasing of amber. And inside, held tight and protected, was a single helicopter seed.

Spark felt like he could cry for joy, but he didn't want to get his hopes up. If this was what he thought it was, then Orea might still be alive, trapped but protected within this seed. Or maybe it was just a random, useless treasure left here for somepony to find. But that was just it: What would an amber-encased seed be worth to anypony, except the gift of life for one nymph? He trembled with anticipation as he set the small jewel on the ground. Determined to see this through, to unlock this mystery, Spark raised his wings in the air and filled his feathers with light.



Turbid was just falling asleep when she heard the crash. She jumped to her feet and looked around. Lightning and Midnight hadn't heard the sound, and were still asleep next to the fire. She looked around in the darkness until a light caught her attention. A bit aways from the fire, she spotted Spark Storm, his wings raised and charged with electricity. She started over to him when he zapped something on the ground, something that popped and released an outburst of dust into Spark's face. She started running when he fell over, unconscious and twitching.



Spark Storm coughed and choked on the dust. It filled his lungs, made them burn. Just when he thought he couldn't take any more, the pain was gone and he could breathe. After a moment he got up, only to find himself deep in the woods. Orea's woods, completely restored. Okay, what the hell...I must be dreaming.

"You are dreaming, Storm."

Spark looked around until he found the source of the voice, only to come face to face with Almalthea, in all her glory. The giant sat down in front of him, then nuzzled his cheek. Her body felt heavy, as if she were fighting to keep herself upright.

Spark returned the nuzzle, then reached up and lightly brushed his hoof along her neck. Her very skin seemed to crumble. He noticed it was dry; like a dying tree. "...What's happened to you, my lady?"

The tree goddess looked sadly down at Spark Storm, even as her body began to dry, turn brown and crumble. "Be silent, Storm. I have little time left. I have hidden my beloved Orea inside the seed you found. I had hoped you would find it. It warms my heart to see your concern and your friendship for her. Storm, you must take this seed to White Tail Woods. Do not wake Orea before you reach it. You must help her find the dryads, she must find them, Storm, or we will surely be wiped from the face of history forever."

Spark Storm watched with tears in his eyes as Almalthea quickly shriveled, collapsing in on herself until her whole body fell to the ground and separated into hundreds of tiny dead leaves.



Turbid gasped as Spark shot to his feet, gasping and breathing heavily. He looked around, noting the clearing he was standing in. He looked down at the shattered amber, and spotted the seed. He grabbed it up, his heart swelling with happiness as he saw that he hadn't damaged it. Very carefully, he tucked it into his mane, then grinned at Turbid and hugged her.

She gave him a most confused look, then drew back to see a bright, determined look in his eyes. "Turbid, we've got a new mission. First thing tomorrow, we're gonna get this little seed to White Tail Woods."

Turbid smiled happily at seeing Spark so full of life, but she had questions. "What do you mean, Spark? And...White Tail Woods? That's a straight shot across the valley, it'll take us two whole days of running."

"Okay, quick run-down." Spark sat on his haunches as he continued. "Orea's mom just told me while I was out that I've got to get Orea to White Tail Woods to find the dryads. I dunno, I think they're the males of their race." Spark paused as Turbid looked up into his mane. "Oh, uh...she's in here." He reached up and gestured to the hidden seed. "Trust me, it'll make sense when you see it. She's alive, Turbid. Orea's alive, and she's in this seed."

Turbid shook her head slowly. "Well, I won't pretend to understand a bit of what you just said, Spark. I do understand that you've got your drive back, so I'll take that as a good sign. If this mission hasn't failed, then I guess it's not over, either." She took a breath and smiled at Spark. "All right...sounds like we've got a journey ahead of us in the morning."



The next morning at nine am, an alabaster-shaded unicorn stood on a hill in the woods surrounding Ponyville. Her usually long, curling mane had been tied into neat, crimped curls that kept it out of her way. Her tail had been similarly styled, wrapped up gently to prevent it from dragging along the forest floor. On her back she wore a saddle bag that she had made just for this occasion. She magic'd a single, diamond-tipped arrow out of the makeshift quiver she'd sewn into her saddlebag, and aimed it.

A single target came into view, placed on a tree some fifty meters away. All right now, Rarity. You've done this three times now. It should be easy. Just relax...she thought to herself as she 'notched' the arrow into a magically formed bow. She tugged on the arrow gently with her magic, drawing into firing position. That's it. Breathe. Pull. And...Release! The arrow shot through the morning air, but her aim was still off. It hit the target, on the circle farthest from the target on the south portion.

Rarity pouted and lightly stomped the ground. "Oh, it'll be years before I get this right!" She sighed and grabbed another arrow with her magic. She took a deep breath and started again. She went through the same relaxing exercises. She took aim once more, pulled back on the arrow and...became completely distracted by movement to the right of the tree. It startled her and she released her arrow with a gasp. It sailed wide and hit a tree right before a big, dark form nearly ran into it.

"Geez! Who the heck is..." the familiar voice trailed off, and Rarity furrowed her brows as she tried to make out who she had nearly shot. She pulled her binoculars she usually used to check her work and raised them to her eyes. She nearly had a giggle fit when she saw that it was none other than Spark Storm, whom she hadn't seen for a little over two years. She immediately dropped her binoculars into her saddlebag on the ground and started running for him.

"Spark! Spark, darling! Is it really you?"

Spark Storm stepped out from the shadow of the overhanging tree he'd stopped at to look at the approaching unicorn. His heart leaped up into his throat as he saw his old friend from Ponyville running for him. Lightning and Midnight both peeked over his shoulder to see the purple-maned unicorn making a fuss as she ran their way. Unable to contain his excitement anymore, Spark let out a laugh and ran to meet Rarity. The two of them hopped around each other like two excited foals at Hearth's Warming Eve and finally hugged.

"Oh Spark Storm, it's so good to see you! I-I say..." she grinned and took a step back to look at her friend approvingly. "My, Spark, you've been growing, haven't you?" Her eyes trailed down his form and back up. Spark blushed and took an involuntary step away from her. She hadn't been so...flirty the last time he'd seen her. Then again, they were both ten the last time he'd seen her, not to mention that he didn't hang out with a lot of girls lately.

"Oh, u-uh, have I?" he laughed and shook off his feelings of embarrassment at being ogled by an old friend. "You're looking pretty, Rarity."

Spark's old friend tittered and fluffed her mane. "Oh, this? It's just something I put together when I come out here to practice, although I do think that it -" She cut off mid-sentence as she noticed the three others standing at Spark's side, each with a different level of amusement on their faces. "Oh my. Spark, who are your companions?"

Spark, grinning like an idiot, stood beside Rarity to introduce his comrades. "Rarity, this is Lovely Lightning, Sweet Midnight, and Turbid Serocity." Lightning bowed his head, Turbid gave Rarity a smile, but Midnight lowered her head and tried to hide behind Lightning. Rarity let out an adoring sound and nudged Spark Storm.

"Oh, Spark, she's like another Fluttershy. And she looks just like you. Did you have a sister and forget to tell us?"

Turbid smiled at how easily the two of them got along. She magic'd Rarity's arrow to her, which was covered in a shell of green magic. Rarity took it graciously, when the older unicorn asked, "I see you use diamond-tipped arrows. I'd say from the velocity and the force you put in into firing...you have an excellent sense for earth magic, don't you?"

"Oh, I suppose." Rarity said modestly. "It's just a little something I've been working on since I was a filly." Suddenly remembering something, she turned a steady glare at Spark Storm, who backed away from her again. "And you, sir, have not seen a single one of my works. I think it's high time that you did. You did say you were going through Ponyville?" She raised a hoof to cut him off as he tried to explain. "I shan't hear another word, Spark Storm, you and your friends are coming home with me tonight on your way to wherever it is you're going, and I don't care that you're not "allowed" to be in town, we'll sneak you in, do you understand?"

Spark frowned as he thought of this. It was true he missed all his old friends, and he wondered how Emerald Skies was doing. But they had a mission! They had something important to do. Maybe on the way back? If there was going to be a way back. Spark sighed as he looked down at his hooves while he thought, a habit he had been forming lately. Finally he looked back at his comrades. Turbid shrugged, leaving this decision up to him.

Finally he smiled at Rarity once more, and nodded. "All right, Rarity. We'll stop by home." Rarity smiled happy when he called Ponyville 'home'. She hopped in place happily for a moment before running to get her things. Turbid came up along Spark Storm, resting a hoof on his shoulder.

"You know we can't stay there long, Spark. I know of your situation. Celestia told me." She gave Spark a gentle look when he glared angrily at the ground. "I understand your anger, Spark. This could be dangerous for us. We'll have to be careful, and I wouldn't recommend staying there too long."

Spark Storm sighed. Of course, she was right. Going back to Ponyville was a bit of a gamble, and it was probably a bad decision. But here he was, on a mission that could possibly cost him his life if he wasn't careful. He wanted to see his friends one more time. He gestured for his companions to follow as he made to catch up with Rarity.



Rarity's magic bow and arrow scene was inspired by this fantastic comic and was used with permission. Thank you, explosivegent!