//------------------------------// // Fairy Dust // Story: Sun-Speckled Lake // by Wurd //------------------------------// “Hi!” Twilight approached me with a big smile on her face. She was carrying a note book and pencil. I decided not to question it. I had been waiting in the spot I was yesterday, eating a banana. “Hallo,” I said through a mouth full of banana. She plopped herself next to me, and began to scribble in her notebook. “What are you doing?” I swallowed the food in my mouth and leaned in to look at what she was doing. Instead of helping me see, she moved it away and towered over it. “Wait,” she continued scribbling. After a while, she showed me her work. I expected to find something other than just the location of the lake. “You where trying to hide that, Twilight Sparkle?” I made a slight deadpan face. “I don't like ponies watching me write.” She mumbled in a grumpy tone Nervously, I asked, “Why did you write the location of Sun-Speckled Lake?” Her eyes seemed to light up with excitement. Jackpot. I am so smooth with the ladies. “My dad said that there is some fun fish in here to discover. He said they are at there best when it's dark, but sometimes come out when fed. I brought their favorite food,” she pulled out a bag of red pellet like things from nowhere. “We should get a few with these fire-bloom seeds.” “Wait, if they are flower seeds, how do the fish eat them?” Did I just ask a smart question? Her eyes sparkled, “Well, the fish only live in three lakes, making them a bit of a rare species. In the Silk Wave Lake, Lake Pristine, and this one, Sun-speckled Lake. Each have cold climates during fall, which is when the fire bloom flower begins to bloom. It has it's name because it glows a golden light when cold to preserve heat. Well, after the cold climates pass, the seeds begin to fall off. The flowers usually grow next to a lake, like right here, so the seeds plop right into the lake. They float, so the fish just come and eat them.” My mouth gaped open at her knowledge. She pointed a hoof at a beautiful red-golden flower at the edge of the lake with a fiery appearance. I gave an impressed whistle. A proud smile adorned her face. “So are you going to feed them?” “Yep!” She gave a smile. “Now, they usually hang out behind... I believe this waterfall... Over there... There should be a clearing behind that waterfall.” She pointed towards the smooth waterfall at the edge of the lake. Eagerly, she grabbed my hoof and skipped over to it. “Okay, here goes,” she stuck her hoof in, and it seemed to go through. After a squeal, she jumped in and disappeared in the water. I panicked for a moment, afraid she wouldn't come back out. But after a few seconds, she came out with a wet mane and a huge smile. “Common!” She grabbed my hoof again and pulled me into the waterfall. I closed my eyes in a panick. “Open them, Flash. It's nothing scary. It's really... Beautiful...” I opened my eyes slowly, an immediately knew she was right. It was a small cave, around ten feet in every direction. It was as tall as the majestic waterfall that served as a curtain, about fifteen feet. It would've been pretty dark if it wasn't for the glowing flowers and small star-like spots hanging off purplish vines. There was a thin river that went through the whole thing, disappearing in a crack in the cave walls. It had a very faint yet warming smell of lavender and water mist, and it was the single most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Anything beating this beauty would have to really be drop-dead gorgeous x100. “Oh my Celestia,” I gasped. “This is a rare cave,” Twilight gently poked a glowing flower. “Not many ponies know about it. Only my parents and their scientist buddies. My dad told me today, but in a riddle. I was right!” “Why are the flowers glowing? And why does it look so starry?” “Simple,” she replied. “It's bacteria called Loriander. It glows when it senses peacefulness. I believe that's maybe one of the reason why my dad decided to keep it a secret. If too much disturbance happens, then the bacteria slowly dies. No one has ever brought one back to life, so once the bacteria dies, the cave dies with it.” “Oh. Wow.” “Yep. I prefer not to study this one,” she said with a sad tone. “Knowing myself, I emit stress wen I can't get something I'm studying. The bacteria would know that my stress is linked to it. It might die. But-” she looked a bit sad. “-the death of something so beautiful and rare isn't worth the study. I can manage.” I realized that this filly was a crazy studyholic. Basically, a nerd. A geek. A genius. I looked over to see her with a small smile, examining a glowing flower. The flowers purple and teal glow danced on her face. The light reflected off her big eyes. Some nerd. “So what now?” “Well, I better get out. We can come back tomorrow. I sense that they haven't been around other animals, so this is new to them. We should let them calm down.” “The bacteria acts like an animal, doesn't it?” “Mhm.” She poked her head out of the waterfall, making sure that the coast was clear. When it was, she motioned for me to come out and disappeared again into the waterfall. Once we where both out, I told her. "I cant believe I experienced something like that. I never would think I would see something so rare." "That's the thing about rare things," she replied. "Ponies assume that when something is rare it will never happen to them. But truth is,sometimes it happens to only them." "Makes sense," I replied. Because it really did. A lot.