//------------------------------// // Lights // Story: Wandering // by Mint Essence //------------------------------// A mere few minutes into her journey down the opposite tunnel she began to notice the faint echoing sound of dripping liquid, the only other besides her own hoofsteps. Another uneventful twenty minutes or so passed, the dripping fading in and out of her ears, although noticeably coming back louder and almost more melodious each time, before the narrow walls slowly began to widen, and she caught the faint appearance of an entrance away of in the distance from her. Quickening her trot to a canter, although not quite running, even the small increase in speed going to the throbbing in her head, the young filly soon arrived at the entrance of the tunnel, although what she saw was not a cavern, but something far more stunning, almost other worldly. Immediately as she left the tunnel’s entrance her torch’s light diminished in the bright glow of what seemed to be a thousand little lights, or one as mighty and powerful as the sun. Before her lay a large, wide wooden promenade, freshly painted in a deep oak brown, which seemed to stretch on either way for at least a good hundred if not a hundred fifty hooves each way. Turning around she could see the source of the light as dozens upon dozens of little lights, much like her torch only far more powerful, lined the cave walls behind the promenade. The thing itself seemed to hanging of the edge of a sharp cliff, strong think wooden beams arching down from the walls to hold it up. These however were only secondary to what really caught her attention. Hanging over and out from the promenade like a million swirling lights were the same long white spires she had seen before, only a thousandfold more numerous, long, and complex. Each one also let off gentle little drips of water, which as a whole made a kind of calm but lively symphony which could be heard echoing throughout the very walls of the cave. The signing of the spires reverberated through every object in sight, including herself, allowing her to almost feel their sweet nature melody slipping under her coat to warm her very bones. The dripping was constant, but done so in such a way that the melody of their song could flow like a real musical piece, surrounding and echoing through the large expanse as if it were the world’s biggest amphitheater. Trotting her way down the promenade, the young filly came across something almost as exciting as the pure spectacular of awe before, a small door, not an entrance to another tunnel or cavern, but a simple wooden door that seemed to radiate head from some unknown source. Overcome with curiosity she soon turned her attention towards the door, opening it to find that it gave way with little resistance, albeit with slightly creaking hinges. Entering through it she found a brightly lit and rather cozy room, no bigger than a small cafe, and arranged in much the same manner, with several small tables and pillows at one side, and a counter lined with freshly preserved food at the other. The room seemed to be a brief respite from the icy cold darkness of the caves, and to a certain extent even the echoing melody that could be heard outside its walls. Being perfectly silent, overly lit and heated, only the walls themselves, carved from the very stone of her surroundings, gave any hint of where she might be. Approaching the counter the young filly was delighted to find it strewn with a small banquet of cakes, cream buns, sandwiches and various other goodies. Finding herself suddenly attacked with a hunger she hadn’t notice from all of her tiresome trotting. Running around the counter the filly quickly snatched up a large piece of chocolate cake, hungrily devouring it alongside a few other sweets until she felt her belly bursting and her teeth sore from the sugar. Her belly full, and hunger more than done away with for now Radiant began exploring her way around the small cafe, searching through each and every drawer and cupboard she could find. Other than a few common kitchen implements such as knives, forks, plates, alongside a few pots and pans Radiant didn’t find much of interest. She did however find a small cupboard full of tea bags, a few sacks of sugar and flour, and a glass jar full of strange brown specks of something, a little bigger than the sugar. Opening the jar she took a deep whiff inside. The smell was strange, but pleasantly so. She couldn’t quite place it, but if she had to she had to she’d have described it as dark, strong, and warm, with a certain sweetness. Taking a small teaspoon in her magic she scooped up a healthy spoonful of strange substance, putting it directly into her mouth, almost immediately spitting it back up from the bitterness and sheer strength of its flavour. Rushing towards a bin she spat the stuff into a small tissue she had found, throwing into away with her magic. Looking back towards the small jar she picked it up in her hooves, sounding the letters out on the label. “C-o-f-f-e-e.” Finding another sign featuring the new word she had learnt alongside a steaming cup of black liquid she quickly surmised that the stuff was meant to be brewed over a stove. Knowing that flour didn’t taste particularly great either, but was an essential ingredient in the cakes she had eaten the young filly made sure to make a mental note. Continuing her search she found a modest storage cupboard, equally as warm and light as the room outside. Inside she was very grateful to find a few small creates filled with sacks of preserved bread, cheese, vegetables, fruit, as well as more sweets, flour sugar, and of course c-o-f-f-e-e. Although it wasn’t much, possibly enough to last a filly her size as much as two weeks or even a month if she wasn’t too greedy. Wandering back around the cafe, she wasn’t able to find much else, other than a small working toilet and a quick look over each of the empty tables. It wasn’t too long after that Radiant began yawing with sheer exhaustion. Taking a few pillows she snuck back behind the cafe counter, finding a nice corner to fall asleep in.