Chapter 11
Worse Problems Than Oranges
I scratched, gnawed, jumped on, and even kicked the orange around to open it. Nothing, and I mean nothing worked! I finally gave up, though I knew Razor would be hungry when he woke up. I was hungry enough I would have eaten the oranges by myself, but I wasn't the only hungry one around. Razor slept peacefully, though I heard his stomach rumble every now and then. I looked down at the oranges hopelessly. I asked the Chilidean to help, but they said they were too scared. No matter how much I pleaded with them, they would not come down from the orange Ferar Tree. I finally collapsed in frustration and hunger beside my little friend. I still had to figure out a way to change back to my normal self. I licked my teeth which came down to my chin. My fur was long and shaggy, much like an Afghans. It wasn't silky but coarse and heavy. It made me very hot. I was grateful the little one didn't have such a heavy coat. His was halfway to the ground, while mine was two thirds of the way down. I put my head on my paws and tried to think up a plan. I would need to change back, get the oranges peeled, then find a way to get out of the Sparkle. I looked up at the Ferar Tree. There wasn't any shade under it at this time of day. I moaned and stood up. Walking closer to it, I decided to see if the tree could help me with my problems. "Hey, can you answer a few questions for me, Mr. Ferar?" The Ferar Tree shuddered and the Chilidean became restless. The Ferar Tree spoke in a rumbling voice that made the ground shake and it's branches vibrate. The wood of the trunk shifted a little as it spoke. *I'm not sure. What are your questions?* I heard its voice all around me. It was in the ground, my head, the branches, Razor, the Chilidean, the sky. Its voice was everywhere, it seemed. I shook off my amazement and asked my question. "Uhhh, well, you see, I'm trying to find a way out of the Sparkle." The Tree seemed to think about that for a moment. I watched the wood twist and turn, then it stopped. *Oh, the Sparkle. I understand now. Let me explain a few things, if you'll just sit down and listen.* "Why, of course, whatever you say," I told it. I sat down beside my pup and kept him in plain view as I listened to the tree. *A long, long time ago, a unicorn found us here. Her name was Lila. This is what she told me. First of all, let me explain something. We Ferar Trees can discern between lies and truth. Its second nature to all of us. We feel the truth run through our roots as the person or creature talks. If it lies, we feel this strange boiling in our sap. It's quite unpleasant and we scold the liars. I could tell she was telling the truth. Lila told me all of this, so listen carefully. These are her exact words, for we Ferar Trees have excellent memories. "One day, the unicorns were playing in the forest, hiding from the humans. We had accidentally been seen by one human and had run off to hide. We would get in trouble if it happened again. I am an older unicorn. I'm ten years old and would be held responsible if any of us were caught. I helped the little unicorns hide from the human. The human girl had wandered into the woods, following us every time she caught a glimpse of our tails. We had already tried to run without being seen further, but it proved to be too difficult. After helping the little ones hide, I ran to look for a hiding place for myself. There was this perfect tree. It had a really big opening and stretched way back. I don't know how it got there, but it was huge. I ran inside the opening and snuggled back as far as I could. I heard the girl coming closer to my hiding place and I didn't want my horn to be seen, so I lifted it up toward the ceiling of my hiding place. My horn bumped something solid. It jiggled the solid thing a little, so I nudged my horn up farther. Sawdust fell into my eyes and all over me. I felt the thing tumble from where it had been in the tree. It landed on my back. I was so scared! I jumped out of the tree and looked back. It was a beautiful box! I couldn't believe the look of it. I walked close and nudged it with my hoof. It opened and was even brighter than before! I smiled and thought what a treasure I'd found. I walked to it and turned centaur. I picked up the box and noticed something in it, slightly duller than the really bright light. I reached into the box and pulled out a long stick. I laughed and grabbed it with both hands, twirling it like a baton. That's when I unintentionally pulled it apart. It pulled a little wider and a little longer as I pulled. I stretched it and stretched it until it was huge! I set it down on the ground and a light shone through. I looked around me and shrugged. I was too curious to just leave it there. But, I didn't want to be stuck in whatever it was. I grabbed a stick and stuck half of it in the light door and left half of it sticking out on my side. I walked through the door and appeared here. I really don't know what you are, but you sure seem nice. You also look an awful lot like the trees on earth. I guess I'll have to tell the unicorns how I discovered this place. That'll get me into trouble, huh? Well, I guess I'd better get going. It was so nice meeting you. I hope you like me, because I really like you. Maybe I can bring my family here to meet you too! Wouldn't that be great?! Well, gotta go. I hope to see you soon!" And that was the end of her side of the conversation* said the Ferar Tree. "Wow, so it was all a mistake that this place was even found out?!" I asked it. The Tree shuddered and said *Yes.* I looked at it with a little more respect. It's memory and ability to tell truth from lie was enough to make a regular human fall over in amazement. Then, finding out that the Sparkle had been discovered accidentally? It was almost too much for me. I watched as Razor's sides when up and down, up and down. *Oh, and this place, as you know, is affectionately called the Sparkle. That's not the real name for this place though. The Sparkle is the box and key, not this dimension.* I looked up at the tree and asked,"Well, what is this place called? This...dimension called?"
The Tree seemed to take great pride in telling me the name of this strange place. All of the ground shuddered, the Chilideans began to shake, the Chilidean's feathers began to rustle. The Ferar Tree's wood twisted as it..........burned to a crisp! I was so shocked I choked. Razor woke up and huddled close to me, looking at the charred remnants of the tree. It was a big black tree with the wooden skeletons of Chilideans on it. No feathers, no live Chilideans, and the Ferar Tree was dead inside and out. I didn't even care when the dragons that had killed the tree flew down and took me and Razor captive. All I could do was pick up Razor in my mouth, stare at the late Ferar Tree, and go with the cruel, cruel dragons. Those big lizards of hate and lack of caring would die. I would make sure of it. Especially after what they'd done to my beautiful friend, the orange Ferar Tree.
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