//------------------------------// // Revival // Story: Keeper of the Forest // by ShowShine //------------------------------// Spike stood in the middle of the throne room with his eyes closed, letting out steady breaths. Buddy laid on the floor and Debbie laid on his side, both watching Spike. His hands started to glow a light green. His let out a soft grunt as he concentrated. A small branch grew from the ground, curving slightly. Little leaves grew from the side as it continued to grow. The tree started to become thicker and tougher. His hands started to flicker and shake. Spike let his hands drop as he caught breath. Beads of sweat dripped down his face. He opened his eyes and gasped at what he saw. A large oak tree the reached up to the ceiling. It was perfectly symmetrical and the bark looked smooth. It was thick and the tree was big enough to build a house. “It’s so big!” Spike exclaimed while sitting on the floor. That had taken a lot of energy out of him. Buddy walked over to him with a cold water bottle in his mouth. He dropped it next to Spike. “Thanks.” Spike said as he started to sip from the bottle. Buddy walked away for a few seconds before coming back with the red book in his mouth. He handed Spike the book happily. He flipped through the pages of the book. “I can make most of these potions now that I can grow the ingredients. Let’s go to the library.” Spike said happily. He stood up and closed the book. Debbie and Buddy followed him as he walked down the hallway. They walked in silence, only hearing the wind and the pattering rain. Suddenly, there was an unexpected crack of thunder. Spike let out a high pitch scream and a large, thorny vine shot through the ground. Buddy jumped in front of Debbie and Spike, trying to protect them. He stared at it, his heart pounding. “Did I do that?” Spike asked in disbelief. The floor around the vine was cracked and some of it had broke. He looked at his hands that were flickering slightly. He shook his hands until they stopped. “I need to get that under control.” He muttered to himself. His hands started to glow and the vine string back down until it disappeared. The floor was still obviously broken. Spike walked past the crack with caution. This was going to be a challenge. Spike sat at the desk, reading through the book. “Which one should I do?” Spike asked Buddy. Buddy ignored him and slept in the corner of the room with Debbie leaning on top of him, also sleeping. There was a rapid scratching from the window above the desk, making Spike look up. He saw a baby squirrel trying to get his attention. It was soaking wet and looked very sickly. It had blood on its head and it’s right eye was squeezed shut. Spike let out a gasp and stood on the table, opening the window. He let the squirrel land into his hand. It could fit in the palm of his hand. The squirrel seemed to be alone with no mother. The poor thing must have gotten lost during the storm and hurt. The squirrel gripped onto Spikes finger, tightly shaking. It looked like the squirrel could die at any moment. He flipped some pages until he found the recipe for the ‘Gift of Life’ potion. He read the instructions quickly. ”Five life berry leaves, the fur of a squirrel, and twenty life berries. Life berries are very rare and can only be found on the very top of the Canterlot mountains.” Under that passage, there was a picture of a life berry bush. The leaves on the bush were golden and the berries were a glowing white. It was one of the most beautiful plants Spike had every seen. He grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped a little bit of fur off of the squirrels tail. He placed the fur in a potion bottle. The squirrel let out a soft squeak. “You’ll be all better soon.” Spike said to the squirrel while holding it close to his body. The squirrels breaths were getting slower and it’s eyes started to droop. Spikes hand started to glow and he concentrated heavily. A small golden root twisted from the cracks of the floor. It started to split, making two branches and golden leaves sprouted out. One by one, berries started to grow. They unfolded like blooming roses. This was surprisingly easy to grow for something so rare. Spike had never even seen a life berry before this moment and he grew a while bush in a few seconds. He hopped out of his chair and grabbed a handful of berries and some leaves. He when back to the book and started to read. ”Put the leaves in the potion. Peel the berries and place them in with the rest of the ingredients. Shake it until it becomes a liquid. Only use a drop. Warning: Don’t use on anything alive and/or healthy unless absolutely needed.” Spike placed the leaves in the bottle and started to peel the berries with his claws. The squirrel let out small distressed squeaks and the color from it’s eyes started to fade. “Stay strong, I’m almost done.” Spike stated. All of the berries were freshly peeled and he put them into the bottle. He closed it tightly and started to shake it vigoursly. The potion was a white color and Spike quickly opened it. He carefully poured a drop of the potion onto the suffering squirrel. He stared at the squirrel for a few moments, waiting for a result. The squirrels fur started to turn white and his nose twitched slightly. The squirrel opened his eye and look around. His right eye was still permanentally shut. The squirrel hopped into Spikes hand and stared at him happily. “Thank you so much!” The squirrel exclaimed happily. Spikes eyes widened in surprise. “You can talk?!” Spike exclaimed in shock. The squirrels eye widened. “You can hear me?!” He responded, equally surprise. Spike read through the potion, looking for any side effects. He didn’t find any. “The potion must have done this to you.” Spike explained. “What’s your name?” He asked. “I don’t have a name”. The squirrel stated sadly. Spike put his hand on his chin. “How do you like the name Snowy?” He asked. The squirrel nodded his head happily. “When the storm is over, you should go back to your family.” Spike said. Snowy shook his head and gave a sad look. “I don’t have a family, I’m an orphan and I don’t have anywhere to go. My nest broke in the storm.” He said sadly, starting to sniffle. “It’s okay, I’m an orphan too.” Spike said reassuringly. Snowy sniffled and wiped the tears from his eyes. “Really?” He asked. Spike nodded his head. “I am. Since you don’t have a home, how about you live with me?” Spike suggested. Snowy’s eyes lit up and he nodded his head. “I would love that!” He exclaimed happily, jumping onto Spikes head. He let out a chuckle. “Since you already helped me twice, now I have to so something for you.” Snowy said. Spike shook his head. “No you don’t have to do that.” Spike reasurred. Snowy climbed down from his head and onto his arm. “I’m going to do it anyway.”