Spark sighed. He loved that feeling of being full. He couldn't eat another bite. He'd finished four of those fish by himself, and it felt great. Rarity, however, still hadn't eaten anything. She felt like she'd been cheated out of a good thing, but she didn't know what else there could be in the celestia-forsaken place for her to eat. She supposed she could eat the grass, it looked appetizing enough. She leaned down where she lay and took a small bite of grass, nibbling it quietly. It wasn't so bad. Suddenly she crunched on something, something that was a little juicy.
Rarity let out a cry and shot to her feet and spit out the poor ladybug that she'd pulled from the grass. She spat and spat, trying to get the terrible, terrible taste that was the ladybug's natural defense out of her mouth.
Spark stared as Rarity dove into the water nearby and gulped mouthfuls of water into her mouth and spat them out again in an attempt to get the awful taste out of her mouth. After a moment, Rarity climbed out of the river, shivering and upset. It was clear to both Spark and Orea that she was trying not to cry. Spark sighed and wandered over to her, even as she glared angrily at him.
"This is all your fault, Spark Storm! Why, oh why did I let you talk me into this?" Rarity fell to her stomach dramatically. She was hungry, so hungry. She couldn't (well, wouldn't) eat fish, there were bugs in the grass, and water could only do so much for her. She sobbed into her hooves, her tears becoming more than just for show.
Spark and Orea exchanged a look. He smiled gently, then reached down to grab one of the remaining two fish and stepped over to Rarity. He reached down and stroked her back comfortingly. When she glared up at him, he offered the fish to her. She was still angry with him, but her stomach growled just from a glance at the baked food.
Rarity looked up at him, a desperate look on her face. He smiled sympathetically down at her, continuing to stroke her back. "Just close your eyes, Rarity. It's not so bad once you get used to it, and you'll be full, too. Just try it, please."
The alabaster unicorn, with tears of frustration in her eyes, took hold of the big, dry fish with both hooves. She finally closed her eyes, brought it close, and bit down. The skin held for a moment, then it gave and she came up with a mouthful of juicy flesh. The consistency made her want to throw up, but she held it. She chewed, noting that the flesh fell apart in thick flakes. It wasn't altogether unpleasant, though a far cry from a simple daisy sandwich.
After swallowing the first bite, the fish tasted just a bit tangy. This might go well with a bit of lemon, she thought to herself. Seeing Rarity eat, Spark made sure the second fish was within her reach. In about ten minutes, she had eaten them both down to the bone. A small pile of two fish heads and bones were discarded into the river, and Rarity laid on her side, a small smile on her face. While the fish certainly hadn't been what she wanted, it did get her what she wanted to be, and that was full.
When Rarity woke up two hours later, she awoke to find herself surrounded in a dark green bundle. A bundle that was moving. She looked around and found that it was a bit of a deep, narrow nest. "Spark! Spark Storm, where am I?" She called, trying to stay calm.
"Take it easy Rarity, Orea's got you." came Spark's voice from somewhere close. Rarity took a few deep breaths to calm herself before she began to climb out of the nice, comfortable nest she was sitting in. She found the top, then poked her head out and squinted as sunlight came down on her head.
Rarity found that she had been nestled in a large basket made of vines and soft, large leaves that was attached to Orea's side. With a little laugh, Rarity hopped out of the basket and to the ground. She smiled back at Orea, who had dropped the basket on the ground, where it collapsed as it no longer had the nymph's support.
"Thank you, Orea, you're such a dear to carry me." Orea smiled kindly to Rarity, but the smile quickly dropped as she continued on. Rarity frowned, concern lighting up her face. Did she say something wrong? She looked to Spark for confirmation. He seemed to have an idea why Orea seemed upset. He brought a wing to Rarity's back as he continued to walk, urging her to follow. "Spark, what's wrong?" she asked him in a hushed voice.
The dark pegasus sighed as he walked along behind Orea, his pace slowing just a bit so he could speak with Rarity. "I think we're getting close. For the last hour and a half she's been getting quiet. I mean, more quiet than usual. This whole trip she's been finding reasons to slow us down." He frowned and glanced at Orea, who stared straight ahead. The tall nymph's movements were slow, and nervousness was evident in her hoofsteps.
"I suppose it's understandable, she does seem rather fond of you," She said, offering Spark a kind smile. He rolled his eyes a bit at her statement, rather thinking it an understatement.
"If only you could've seen her when I first found her. I don't think she's ever had a pony friend before in her life..."
He had more to tell her, but he stopped as he saw Orea had come to a halt. The two friends came up beside her, facing a new section of woods. The birch trees had given way to a darker section of forest, and different trees. They were bigger, darker. Even the soil was of a richer, dark color.
Spark chanced a glance up at Orea, who had a terrified look frozen on her face. He was about to speak to her when she said, "This is it, my Storm. It is here...I can feel the Dryads life force...it calls to me, Storm, and I...I am scared..." An errant tear fell from her eyes.
Spark frowned. Poor little Orea. Though she was just over two hundred years old, she was still just a child. She had no more experience of the world than he did, yet she was expected to carry on the nymph bloodline without even getting to know the dryads. She'd never met them, if he remembered the stories she'd told him. No nymph or dryad had seen each other in nearly five hundred years.
Spark reached over for Orea, until he felt Rarity slap his hoof away. He glared at her, but the look on her face calmed him. It was a look that told him Orea needed to make this decision without him coddling her.
Orea suddenly let out a gasp. She tensed, her whole body tensing. Spark looked from her to the woods, and sure enough, a tall figure emerged from the trees. Spark wasn't sure what to expect from the dryads, but he had his answer when a tall figure, the tallest that Spark had ever seen before, stalked slowly towards them. It was the figure of a tall stag-like creature, it's body both old and powerful. It's coloring was brown, while it had a white mane and a white tail with brown in the middle. It's horns were long and rose up from it's head, twisting around each other.
The dryad stopped just a few feet away from Orea. It must have stood a good three feet taller than her, and it made no effort to seem less imposing to the already-frightened nymph. Both Rarity and Spark Storm had to take a few steps away just to look up at the giant creature.
The giant dryad looked down at Orea, a subtle scowl on his face. He was silent, like he was expecting something from the smaller nymph. Finally waking from her stupor, Orea sucked in a breath, and recited from her memory something that her mother had whispered to her during her sleep in the amber shell: "Tá mé leatsa crann máistir."*
Spark and Rarity both looked at Orea in confusion, the odd language alien to them both. The dryad, however, had an impressed look upon his aged face. "Hrrmm," he rumbled. "The old tongue. You came here prepared."
Orea smiled, but her face betrayed the fact that she was nearly paralyzed with fear. Slowly, she took a step forward to the elder dryad. He surprised her by stomping on the ground, something that all three of the travelers felt in their bones.
"You have traveled far, child, but your journey has been in vain." The giant took a few steps back, his scowl becoming more pronounced. "I understand that your mother has passed from this world and you are the last nymph in this world. Soon, all too soon we shall all perish. Our time has come to vanish. The road has been long and it is time to stop walking it. Go home, leanbh.* Live out the rest of your miserable days in peace."
Spark, Rarity and Orea stood stock still as the dryad made his way back into the trees. As they watched, they could see two other figures, both obviously much younger than the old dryad ambling towards them. The shorter figure was about Orea's height, and by all accounts could have Orea's current 'age'. The other figure, however, was even more massive than the old dryad. He stood a good two feet taller than the old one, with simple stag horns on his head. His fur was reddish, and covered with red-brown moss.
Spark chanced a glance at Orea, wondering if perhaps...oh yeah. She was watching the taller dryad with great interest, all the fear and anxiety gone, replaced with a look of longing. Why hadn't that one come to talk? Spark turned his head again to watch as all three drydads disappeared into the woods.
"This isn't right. Orea, you have to go talk to him. Those younger dryads would suit your purpose, right?" Orea nodded, though she said nothing. She still seemed to stare where the red dryad had disappeared. He sighed and took a few steps forward. He took no more than three steps when the elder dryad came shooting from the woods much faster then Spark was expecting. He managed to jump back before the giant stomped where Spark had been just an instant before.
Spark watched with wide eyes as the ground gave under the dryad's hoof. It cracked and sunk into the earth several feet before the giant stepped back. "You have received a warning that was meant to kill. Count your blessings and depart from my forest, all of you! You will not escape my retribution a second time!"
"If you threaten my friend again, I shall not spare you, sir." Spark, pulling himself out of the shock of being nearly squashed, glanced at Rarity. She had one of her explosive arrows notched in her magically formed bow, aimed straight at the big dryad's head. The white-tailed creature stared down at her. He knew what her arrows were made of, and he wouldn't walk away from this undamaged.
"E-everypony just calm down..." Spark said softly. He looked up at Orea, frozen in fear, then back to Rarity. Tears had formed in her eyes, angry tears. She had nearly lost Spark just now, and neither Ditzy nor Sapphire would forgive her if she lost Spark Storm on her watch. "Just take it easy. Sir...Uh, what is your name?"
"You may call me White Tail, mortal, as these are my woods. Your kind so named this vast forest for me thousands of years ago. Now, as I said before, - "
"No!" Spark raised his wings, igniting his feathers with furious electricity. White Tail glared down at him, but upon seeing Spark's power, took a single step backwards. Lightning in a storm was a tree's worst nightmare, after all. "Look, I don't know what your problem is, but Orea came a long way just to see you and your kind. The Changelings killed her family, she's the last nymph alive! If you don't give her a chance, there won't be any more nymphs, and there won't be any more dryads. I'm pretty sure the Changelings are looking for you, and her."
White Tail sneered down at both Spark and Orea. "You're a fool, you're both fools! I want the little beasts to find us."
Orea, finally snapping out of her trance, tried to form thoughts that would translate this madness. "Wh...what? But that would end our bloodline, we would disappear from the world completely!"
White Tail focused on Orea. He stepped towards her menacingly. His patience with the three intruders had grown dangerously thin. "Then so be it! This long, dark road we have walked has come to an end!"
"Your end is going to come a lot sooner if you don't back away from my friend right now!" Spark practically snarled, his wings furiously alight.
White Tail trembled, whether from fear or from madness, Spark couldn't tell. Finally he backed away from Orea. He turned right around and bellowed at the two in the shadows, "Away! Away into the forest! Our end is nigh, away, you fools!"
Spark, Orea and Rarity watched with wide, bewildered eyed as the three dryads disappeared once again into the forest. Spark let out a breath, Rarity relaxed her bow and Orea fell to the ground. She let out a long, strained sob, tears falling to the ground. Spark Storm sighed and embraced the nymph. "I'm so sorry, Orea," he whispered to her. "We're gonna fix this...somehow, someway. I promise, I'm not going to leave until we've got this sorted out."
Rarity frowned and eased her explosive arrow back into it's custom-made quiver. How in Celestia's name could this situation be fixed? How could it get worse? She prayed she wouldn't have to wait long to find out. The shadows circling them from above told her she wouldn't have to wait long. Things were about to get better, or worse. Either way, the feathered creatures coming their way ensured this was about to get interesting.
Tá mé leatsa crann máistir translates from
Irish as something like 'I am yours, master tree'
I don't really know languages, and a simple google translate was the best I
could do on such short notice and meager effort.