An Expedition--with a Kangaroo.

Spring Still Has Not Yet Sprung...or has it?

Bunny promptly vanished into one of his self-made tunnels with a quick wave of his paw, shouting, "Meet me at Pixie Hollow!" We looked around confusedly, wondering what we could use to get ourselves there.

Heather, ever the most sensible and responsible, broke the awkward silence with a suggestion. "Maybe we could find one of Bunny's snowglobes and transport ourselves to Pixie Hollow? After all, Tink and Peri flew out of it into our attic, and I'm assuming you both were in the Hollow before going to our place. Bunny also used a similar snowglobe to take us to the fairies' home."

Peri nodded. "We were right in front of the Everblossom, the flower which blooms to signify that the fairies are prepared to bring Spring to the Mainland. A light shone out of it, and we appeared in your attic."

"No wonder," I exclaimed. "I think I saw a place where Kangaroo—Bunny stashed some snowglobes," I ran off in the direction of Gruff's cave. Fawn flew after me and went into the cave, presumably to tell Gruff that we were going back to his home.

"Found it!" I called triumphantly as I spotted a lone snowglobe behind a mountain of colorful Easter Eggs. Bunny had probably dropped it on his way to wherever the bulk of globes was stored. Heather gave me a thumbs up, and the NeverBeast raced out of the cave in thundering footsteps. Once we were all gathered together, I smashed the snowglobe on the soft, mossy warren ground, and a blinding beam of light shot out of the soil. It engulfed us all, and we were spiraling, tumbling, spinning in the portal...

We fell with a bump onto a patch of wilted flowers. Fawn, Tink, and Peri took a moment to survey the loss again. "It seems we've landed in Spring Valley," Tinker Bell commented passively.

"But it looks more like Winter Valley than Spring," Periwinkle grimaced. "Everything's covered in snow, and the pink flowers are now brown. Pixie Hollow used to have all four seasons coexisting at once so that we could prepare efficiently for the changing of the seasons. Now, it's all just bleak and white and...lifeless."

We looked around dejectedly. After a moment of mournful silence, Fawn was the first to speak up. "I'd better make sure Gruffy's holding up alright," she flitted over to the enormous NeverBeast's side, whose emerald eyes seemed to be a shade darker than usual.

Gruff groaned and sighed unhappily. His tummy grumbled. "Oh dear," Periwinkle let out a sad chuckle. "I think he's hungry."

Fawn shook her head. "I'm pretty sure that's not Gruffy's tummy, but he did say something about the Everblossom and how it might grow faster if compromises are made. I don't quite know what he means by that—you know how enigmatic he is sometimes. But if we find a way to make that—" she pointed to the flower in question—"grow faster, like he said, then Easter will definitely come sooner."

"Agreed." A voice from underneath us boomed, and Bunny shot out of the tunnel. I applauded excitedly—that was quite the grand entrance. "I've brought a seed straight from the Guardians' Headquarters. It represents hope and is specially cultivated by all of us back at the North Pole to make sure Spring gets here as soon as possible,"

Tink gingerly reached out her hands to take the seed from Bunny. It was colorful and seemed to light up Spring Valley, reflecting off of the trees and cascading its iridescent rainbow swirls on every single surface. "But what are we supposed to do with it? Plant another Everblossom?" she muttered.

"Actually, I think I know what Gruff means by making compromises to help the Everblossom grow quicker." Heather offered. "It's simple, really. The flower will grow with more hope for Spring to come. Since the Belief in the world is low, we need another external source to make it thrive. And Bunny has given us the Hope seed from the Guardians, so if we plant it, something might happen to the Everblossom so it blooms. Once it does, it's ready for the fairies to bring Spring to the Mainland."