The Rainbow Lake

     "Riya, you know that all of the food and drinks are in my backpack, and you also know that an umbrella is too big to fit in this boat. We've only been paddling for an hour, so don't drink all of the Cheops juice and bottles of water. Have a Pyraberry. Food and drink in one." Shani returned to rowing.

     "But SHANI, I don't WANT a Pyraberry! I want something different!" The little Usul folded her arms.

     "Okay, okay, Riya. We have Tchea fruits, Cheops fruits, Ptolymelon, Sutek muffins, Sphinx links, red eye eggs, Pleto melons, scarab cookies, grackle bug steaks, sandy sandwiches, mummified burritos, and Cheopples. Take your pick." The desert Cybunny continued paddling. She had heard a legend about a necklace left behind by the Fountain Faerie when she left for Faerieland after a visit. No one knew why she had left the necklace, but Shani and Riya were about to find out. Shani was going to go alone, but Riya wanted to go, too. Unfortunately, Riya thought Shani was just running an errand, not going on a three day trip down the Lost Desert River. It was hardly a river, though. It was so narrow, Tug-O-War was played across it. It was wide enough to paddle a boat on, though, so that was the way Shani wanted to use to get to the lake. It was easier than walking, and they didn't actually have to carry their supplies. They had their food and drinks, toothbrushes and toothpaste, hair brushes, and ragged desert capes. They were Battledome items, but they made good blankets. Shani and Riya were sisters, and they had lived in the Lost Desert their whole lives, but now their owner decided that it was time for a change. They were moving to Faerieland, but their owner couldn't afford the faerie paintbrushes after buying the lost desert paintbrushes and the expensive land. A place in Faerieland wasn't cheap, and neither was a place in the Lost Desert. Shani thought that maybe, if they found the Fountain Faerie's necklace, she would let them use the Rainbow Pool in Faerieland. Even if she didn't, it was a fun thing to do before they left the Lost Desert.

     "Shani, why do we have all this food? Are we going to live out here? I don't want to stay here! I want to go to Faerieland!" Riya started to cry.

     "No, of course we're not living out here. I just don't want to run out out here, okay? Don't cry." Shani knew she shouldn't have let her little sister come along.

     "Shani, let me out. I want to go home! I don't want to go diving in some lake! Let me out!" she wailed.

     "It's too late now, Riya. Just be quiet, okay? The sooner we get there, the sooner we can go back, and your whining is slowing me down." Finally, the boat was silent. Shani and Riya stared out at the shining sand of the lost desert and Qasala, which they were amazed by. The crumbling ruins were beautiful in their own way. As they stared and stared, they hardly noticed the sun setting in the distance. Suddenly, Shani snapped out of her trance.

     "Riya, when I pull up alongside the bank, get out. Don't run away, please. I need you to help me to pull the boat out of the water, okay? Then we'll go to sleep." Riya nodded, and stepped out of the boat. She then helped pull the boat out of the water, and curled up under her cape and fell asleep. Shani sighed. This was the time of day she loved best, when the air cooled and the setting sun cast long shadows of the palm trees over the dunes, and the sand sparkled. She sighed contentedly and fell asleep under her cape.

      ~ ~ ~

     "Shani! Shani! Wake up, Shani! I made eggs and steak!" Shani groaned and rolled over. She wasn't ready to wake up yet. What was it with little kids and waking up early?

     "What?" Shani grumbled, looking around. There, on a rock, were two red eye eggs and two grackle bug steaks simmering in the already boiling sun. She groaned.

     "Riya, they are already cooked. You don't need to cook them more!"

     Riya's lower lip quivered. "I-I just wanted to help!" she wailed.

     "It's okay, Riya. Just get them off the rock before they burn and it will be okay." The little Usul grabbed a leaf from a palm tree and used it to scrape the food off the rock.

     "Tomorrow, let me cook." The Cybunny grinned. Riya managed a small smile. They finished eating, put all of their supplies in the boat, and continued paddling. They had gotten a late start yesterday, but they should get to the lake that day, thought Shani. They might also take an extra day because of the very late start. They passed under the bridge and came to Tug-O-War, Shani's favorite game.

     "HEY!" yelled Ramset, who was playing-and winning- against a Desert Shoyru. "You can't paddle in the middle of our game! You'll mess us up!"

     "Okay, okay. We'll pull the boat around." So they got out, pulled the boat out of the water, and dragged it around Ramset. They then resumed their paddling down the river. They snaked their way down, and passed Coltzan's Shrine.

     "Let's visit the Shrine," said Shani. Riya nodded, and they pulled the boat out of the water. They walked up to the shrine. Coltzan appeared, and so did a Pyramicake. They took their food, pushed the boat into the river and got back in. They continued on. Shani and Riya had their Pyramicake and some Ptolymelon for lunch as they passed Sakhmet, which was where they lived. Shani had decided to start at the beginning of the river so that it would be more of an adventure, and it would delay them from moving, since she loved the Lost Desert. She was also afraid she was too heavy to sit on the clouds in Faerieland without falling through. Cybunnies weren't exactly the lightest pets, especially with all of the desert clothing.

     "Look! Look! A lake! Is that where we are going, Shani?" exclaimed Riya.

     "Yep, that's where we are going." Shani grinned. They had made it- and without Riya falling into the river or running away or Shani going out of her mind! They passed the Pyramids game and Sutek's Tomb and before they knew it they were floating on the lake. They paddled the boat over to shore and pulled it up onto the beach under a palm tree for shade. They both relaxed for a moment, and then Shani jumped up.

     "Okay. Riya, I can't remember. Can you swim?"

     She nodded.

     "Good. Now, I want you to help me search the bottom of the lake for a necklace, got it?"

     She nodded again, and without hesitation, they jumped in. The water was cool, clear, and deep, and the bottom was filled with beautiful, sparkling kelp in all colors of the rainbow. All kinds of seashells littered the bottom, and the rippling water and the sun cast a pretty pattern over everything. It was magical. The sand was rainbow, too. It was the most beautiful place in Neopia, and Shani discovered it right before she moved away. What convenient timing. Riya dove down and picked up a twirly seashell. When she brought it up to the light, it sparkled and shone like a precious gem.

     "Ohhhh... It's so beautiful!" breathed Riya. Shani joined her holding a handful of sand, which seemed to be mixed with glitter. They both dove down again, and when they did, they saw a beautiful necklace in the shape of a tear in all the colors of the rainbow. Shani picked up, and the colors around her seemed to fade. When she brought it up to the surface, all of the color and life in the lake had disappeared.

     "Oh no!" gasped Shani. "That's where all the color came from... The rainbow necklace! We can't take it away! This lake is too beautiful." So she carefully and sadly replaced the necklace. The lake immediately burst into color, and it made her happy that the lake would still be beautiful for anyone to see. But then, what if someone else took the necklace? She then had an idea. She took the necklace and tied it around a rock that was too heavy for even a super strong pet to lift. The lake would forever remain in color. She smiled to herself and returned to the surface.

     "Shani, does this mean we won't be painted Faerie?" asked Riya. "I really wanted to fly!" She began to cry.

     "No, Riya, we won't be able to fly, but aren't you glad that we did the right thing and made sure the lake stayed colorful forever?" asked Shani. Riya nodded through her tears. "That's the most important thing. Do you want a scarab cookie?" She took one out of her pack and handed it to her sniffling sister. With one last look at the lake, she paddled away.

      ~ ~ ~

     "Shani! Riya! I'm going shopping, so why don't you go explore? Good bye!" Their owner left.

     "Let's go, Riya. You've just been moping for the past few days. Just because you don't have wings doesn't mean it's the end of the world. Now, come on." Silently Riya followed. They spun the Wheel of Excitement and won 500 Neopoints. They headed on over to the Poogle Races, but to get there, they had to pass the Rainbow Fountain. When Riya saw it, she cried and cried and cried. Shani tried to comfort her, but it didn't help. She was so loud, the Rainbow Fountain Faerie called them over to ask Riya what was the matter.

     "I want to have wings!" she sobbed.

     "But you are so pretty without them," said the faerie.

     "I don't care. I want wings." She clearly had her heart set on flying.

     "Why does she want wings so badly?" asked the Rainbow Fountain Faerie. Shani explained the trip in the Lost Desert. She was very surprised.

     "You found my necklace! I left it there after I found the lake to be dead and gloomy. My necklace has water from the Rainbow Pool in it, so that is why everything in there is rainbow. I'm glad you didn't take the necklace away, and that you made sure no one could. For that I will reward you." She swept her arms towards the Rainbow Pool.

     "What color would you like to be, Shani? I know what she wants to be." The faerie gestured over at the little Desert Usul who was happily imagining flying in the air.

     "I'm not sure. I would like to be Faerie, but I kind of like being Desert," she said.

     "Well, you can come back when you've made your decision, okay?" She waved at them as they made their way to the Poogle Races. Shani wasn't sure what she wanted to be painted yet, but she was sure she would make the right decision.

      That night, Shani had decided.

      ~ ~ ~

     "Hello again. I have decided that I would like to be a cloud Cybunny so that I can imagine myself flying among the clouds. I still want to be able to swim in the rainbow lake, and I'm not sure I can swim with wings."

     The Fountain Faerie smiled. "I knew you would make the right choice."

     Shani stepped into the pool. She slipped under the cool water and felt lighter and fluffier. When she stepped out, she was a cloud Cybunny.

     The Fountain Faerie smiled at her again. "Now, your sister."

     Her sister stepped in too, and she came out with wings instead of a cloak.

     "Shani, Shani, I can fly!" Riya exclaimed. The Usul lifted into the air, and flew around them.

     "Thank you so much," Shani said to the Fountain Faerie. "You made my sister really happy, and I like being cloud."

     "Just make sure to tell all your friends to leave rainbow necklaces they find in lakes alone, and they can look like you!" The faerie smiled at them, and the two pets flew and hopped away, thinking maybe living in Faerieland wouldn't be so bad.

The End