Sidequest

The eevee narrowed his eyes, pacing back and forth while the water that made up his tail splashed the three others. "Is this all we have?" he said.

"Yeah," said an extraordinarily fluffy eevee. "I'm here 'cause I'm your sidekick–"

"You're my subordinate, Firestarter, we've been over this."

"–Dapple's here because I dunno–"

The largest eevee, his fur dotted with white patches, just shrugged.

"–and Spotlight's here 'cause I bribed him."

"What?!"

Firestarter flinched, but the remaining eevee laughed. "You need me," he said, turning his glowing eyes towards the leader. "No one takes you seriously, and you're not getting through that dark cave without me, King."

The beams of light reflected off King's tail. He narrowed his eyes. "I could get Firefly. They glow, too."

"Quill and Green Ninja would destroy you," Dapple said. "Shall we go?"

"Firestarter, what did you bribe him with?"

"A percentage of the treasure we find," Firestarter said. "Sorry."

King puffed out his mane. "Fine," he said. "And what did you bribe Dapple with?"

"I am here without persuasion," said Dapple. "I simply want more time with my friends."

"I don't know you," said Spotlight.

"Well," said King, "I supposed it'll have to do. Firestarter, where was this cave again?"

---

The secret cave behind a waterfall was behind the waterfall, as expected. King marched forward straight through the pouring water and was nearly knocked over from the force. He managed to get to his feet and flicked his own waterfall tail to make sure it was intact. "It's fine," he said to the other three. "Are you coming?"

Firestarter walked through and drenched himself, dragging his soaked fluff dragged across the ground. Dapple and Spotlight exchanged a glance and took the dry path around the waterfall to get into the cave.

"Good," said King. "Follow me."

Spotlight casually walked ahead of him. "Follow me," he said, turning his eyes to shine their light directly in King's face. "I'm the one who can see where he's going."

King bristled, and his tail splashed harder. "I'm the leader–"

"And leaders know when to take a step back, figuratively or literally, to achieve the best possible outcome," Dapple said smoothly. "I trust you will do what's right."

With a deep breath through his nose, King nodded. "You make an excellent point. Spotlight, I will allow you to walk in front of me."

"Sure," said Spotlight, and he started walking. King followed close behind, while Dapple and Firestarter ran a few steps to catch up.

The cave sloped deeper into the earth, and puddles pooled in shallow indents. The reflections from Spotlight's eyes gave the caverns an eerie glow. Firestarter shivered. "It's cold in here," he said.

"Thought your fur kept you warm," King commented.

Firestarter shivered again. "I got soaked getting in here!"

Dapple pat him with his tail. "The light can be pretty," he said. "See? There are rainbows."

King snorted, but upon second glance, the rainbow light on the ceiling gave him pause. "There could be something over there," he said. "Let's take a look."

Spotlight turned his head, which made all the reflections shift. After some confusion, they managed to narrow down the source of the rainbows to a treasure chest, lying open in a dark corner of the cave. Spotlight stuck his head inside and pulled out a shimmering, iridescent piece of fabric.

"This looks like all that's left," he said. "Nothing of value."

King sighed. "So be it," he said. "I'll take this scrap with me as a souvenir."

Spotlight shrugged and passed the fabric over. King grasped it in his teeth, and swung his head around to lie it over his back.

The fabric promptly melted into his fur.

"Uh," said Firestarter.

"What?" said King. "Did I drop it?"

Something shifted–in King's mind, it was almost like flipping a switch. With a flick of his fur, shimmering colors cascaded down his back, over his head, and even colored his tail in a beautiful rainbow. He blinked.

"What just happened?" he said.

"You're rainbow now!" Firestarter said in delight.

King frowned and mentally flicked the switch back. His fur returned to normal. "It looks like I can control it," he said. "Interesting. Well, let's head back."

"Wait a moment," Spotlight said with narrowed eyes. "You just cheated me out of my share of the treasure!"

"You said it wasn't of value," Dapple said. "I wouldn't worry about it, Spotlight. What would you have done with it?"

"I doubt I can give this back," said King. "Take the chest, if it pleases you."

The trip back took nearly half an hour, as Spotlight insisted on dragging the chest up the slope and out of the cave. When they finally made it, they dropped it in the lake, where it sank to the bottom and was irretrievable. King just shook his head as Spotlight raged and began the walk back to the cabin.