#23

Yet another crumpled wasteland was passing by as Rainbow and Starlight continued on their aimless search.
"How many does that make?" Starlight asked. All of this time, and his gallop had yet to tire.
Rainbow, however, was having a great deal of trouble keeping her spirits high. "Six, I think. Oh, Starlight, what are we gonna do? At this rate, by the time we find anything helpful, Earth will be just another pile of dust! We need something now, here, not eight dimensions over!"
"It'll be alright, Rainbow. We'll find something. You'll save Earth, and the rest of the universe, just like you always do."
"I'm not so sure, Starlight. We've been looking for days, and still nothing." She looked off to the left, while Starlight tilted his head to the right.
A few minutes passed, before Starlight's ears perked forward. "What's that?"
Rainbow turned her head to look as Starlight slowed to a stop. "What's what?" She followed his gaze out beyond the last crumpled remains of the planet. Something glinted as they rubble rotated and floated along. "Let's check it out," she said, though with little hope. She veered the rainbow around and it began to maneuver around the debris. Starlight quickly chased after it, while Rainbow kept her attention on the out-of-place bit of rubble.
As they drew closer, hope suddenly popped back into Rainbow's heart. "It's a ship," she said as she sat up. Starlight's gait extended at those three little words. In no time, the rainbow reached the little ship, and Starlight moments later. Just as Rainbow peered inside, a little face appearing in the window. "Orin!"
Starlight backed up a couple of steps as the old sprite opened the ship's hatch. "Rainbow Brite! Bless my soul, little lady, am I glad to see you. I was afraid I would never reach you in time."
"In time?" Rainbow asked. "You know of Earth's poison?"
He motioned around them. "It would only have been a matter of time before this horror reached you. It has come then?" he asked glumly.
"It has," Rainbow said softly. "Is there nothing that can be done to stop it?"
"not as you are," he replied in the typical Orin fashion. "But there is something."
Rainbow and Starlight both perked at that. "What kind of something?" Rainbow asked.
"These creatures do not come on their own, but the one who sends them..."
"Don't you know?" Starlight asked in a slight frustration. Rainbow gently patted his shoulder to calm him.
"I know only that the cause is far bigger - no, older - than myself, or you, Rainbow. The only way to stop him is to travel to the beginning, then seek out the end."
Rainbow frowned. "On-X said you looking for the beginning. What does that even mean? The beginning of what?"
"The beginning of you, and of all of us who watch over the order of the universe."
"Does such a thing exist?" Starlight asked, with only slightly less frustration.
"Oh, yes, he does," Orin said matter-of-factly.
"He? The 'Beginning' is a person?" Rainbow asked with intrigue.
"He most certainly is. And he's waiting for you, Rainbow."
"Then you know where he is? Will you take us to him?"
"I can only point you in the right direction. There are other I must warn."
"If you pass by Rainbowland, will you tell the others that I'm safe, and that I know now where I have to go?"
"Of course I will."

#22

Another dimension crossed, and another world in ruins.
"This is terrible," Rainbow mumbled from Starlight's back as he ran through the field of debris.
"Do you think they'll all be like this?"
"I don't know. I hope not. I truly hope not." She dropped ehr head back down to his mane, squeezing her eyes shut. "Do we even stand a chance?"
"You're Rainbow Brite," Starlight said simply, as though that explained everything. And maybe it did.
She smiled softly and touched her face to his neck. "Right. Stupid question. Think we'll find Orin first?"
"That would be nice. But look at our luck so far?"
She sighed. "You're beginning to sound like Stormy."
"And she was right, wasn't she?"
"Hm...that's a good point. I'll keep an eye out for him anyway, though, if it's all the same to you."
"Oh, sure, be my guest."
"Thank-you."
"You're quite welcome."

But the time Krys returned to Rainbowland, the Castle itself seemed to be losing its colour. There was little nearby that was near as vibrant as it usually was. As On-X touched down, Stormy and Skydancer landed with a frustrated clap of thunder beside him.
"Nothing's working," she said with a huff.
Krys looked up at her with a worried smile. "We'll find a solution. What are the others working on?"
"I don't know. I came back and dropped Brian off then got to work. All I know..." she trailed off with a dark look on her face.
Krys waited for a few moments, then urged her on. "What is it?"
"Dismal and the lug are here, they're not tied up, and I think they may be helping. If that's possible."
Krys' expression quickly matched hers. "Somehow, I don't see that happening."
The two exchanged another look before quickly heading to the Castle. Just as they crossed the last bridge, the castle doors flew open, revealing Violet and Dismal both in quite the get-up. Two canisters each were strapped to their backs. Dismal held his gun, while Violet held a rather nicer-looking replica. Hoses ran from the canisters to the guns, and they both had a pair of goggles on their heads.
"Oh, good, you're both here," Violet said with a simple smile. "Mind giving us a lift?"
"A lift?" Stormy asked in shock. "A lift to where?"
Dismal pulled his gun down off of his shoulder, pointing with it up towards that bird, which was passing unscathed through Stormy's clouds.
"We're gonna spray a little gloom on him," Violet explained as Krys got his first sight of their monster.
"You think that's gonna work?" Stormy asked.
"Well, we're sure gonna try. If you take us up there, that is."
"Of course," Krys said as he looked back over. "Gotta try something."
"Great," Violet said and walked over to Skydancer. Stormy helped her up behind her, and she adjusted the gun. Krys hesitated as Dismal approached, flashbacks of Dismal stealing On-X popping into his head. But a screech from that bird brought him back to the present. He had to let go. For now. He reached down and Dismal took his hand, rising up onto On-X with ease.
"Let's go, while he's still close," Violet said, one arm around Stormy's waist, the gun propped on her hip.
In the next moment, they were in the sky.

#21

"Is it the monster?" Dismal asked, standing with the others, Lurky close by.
"I don't-" started Red, but was promptly interrupted by another clap of thunder.
"It's stormy!" Canary cried as she pointed up to a break in the clouds. Galloping down out of the sky was Skydancer, on his back Stormy and Brian. Just as they reached the ground, the rain began to pour.
Brian slid down off of Skydancer into the arms of a few of the girls, who led him inside out of the sudden monsoon.
Stormy looked down at Red, then noticed Dismal and Lurky. A snarl found her lips immediately. "You're lucky I've got a storm to conjure up, or I'd conjure one on your faces." She spat at their feet, then looked back to Red. "Hopefully rain helps this time." She wheeled Skydancer around and they took off into the sky again in the wak of another flash of lighting.
Dismal glared at her back, then just turned to head in out of the rain with everyone else, Lurky trailing along behind him. Surprisingly, Pink came over with a couple of towels, handing on to Lurky, then held the other out to Dismal. His brow lifted suspciously, and he hesitantly took the towel. "You didn't have to..."
"I know," she said gently with a smile. "But I did."
"Why? You don't hate me?"
"I don't like you much, but I don't hate you. You could have left us in the Pits to melt with your home, but you didn't. You saved us, even though you didn't have to."
He lowered his gaze and pulled off his helmet so he could dry his hair. "It would have been more work to unhitch the carts."
Pink chuckled lightly at that, hands resting on her hips. "Say what you want, Murky Dismal. You're not as evil as you think you are." With that, and another smile, she turned to get back to work with the others.
Meanwhile, Red had gathered Buddy and Patty, and they were getting ready to head out to track the progress of the poison that was now eating into their own planet. Dismal glanced over at them, then looked around for Lurky. Indigo was currently showing him how to make hot chocolate. He saw Canary continuing the attempt to hail Rainbow. At the Console, Lala and Pink were trying to keep everything working.
"Dismal, come on."
He blinked and looked over at the stairs. Violet stood there, his gun propped against her shoulder. "We've got work to do."
He tilted his head slightly in interest, then headed to the stairs, making his way up to her. She turned and led the way up, past Rainbow's room and up another flight of stairs. it opened up into a lab/workshop, in which Violet spent much of her time.
Dismal looked around as they walked through it to a mostly empty table, on which Violet set the gloomgun. "Impressive..."
"It is something. There's little use for it these days, though. Until recently, anyway." She glanced out a window at the sound of another screech, accompanied by a crack of thunder.
Dismal coughed into his hand. "Do you think the gloom will help?"
"We'll just have to see, won't we?"

#20

She switched the channel down to one, wanting to try just for herself. If she hadn't tried, and found out later it would have worked, she'd kill herself. "Rainbow!" She waited, but no answer. She tried again, "Rainbow, this is Violet." She knew that if Rainbow could hear her, she'd know who it was, but saying more might allow something to get through. But still nothing. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she felt her hope drain away. Her hands balled into fists and she slammed them down against the console. "Work!"
"She's not coming, is she?" came a voice from behind Violet. She turned slightly to look back. There stood some of the kids, and Dismal, who had spoken.
Violet slowly shook her head. "I can't get thruogh to her. Krys, Brian, and Stormy are on their way, though."
"What are we supposed to do?" Lala asked.
"I don't know. For now, we need to keep away from that...thing..."
"It's some sort of bird," Dismal said quietly. The others glanced over at him. He looked a bit defected, and understandable so. "It creates some sort of cloud while it flies."
"Poison," Violet said. "Another creature is poisoning the Earth."
"So that's what the fuss has been about..."
Red came to stand behind Dismal, hands on his hips. "Are you going to help us? Or do we have to tie you up and gag you?"
He scowled at Red. "I'll help. That thing destroyed the only home I've got."
That put a sympathetic look on the kids' faces.
After another screech, closer than the last, Dismal held out hsi goom gun to Violet, barrel in his hand to show he wasn't threatening her. "If this could help..."
She took the gun, pondering it for a time. "You are quite the inventor, aren't you? Perhaps we could come up with something."
Red, as Rainbow's right-hand man, decided to take charge. "Alright. Canary, keep hailing Rainbow. Violet, you and Dismal try to come up with something to hold off that creature." An idea popped into his head. "Moonglow, do you think you could get a signal to Rainbow through the stars?"
"Maybe, but she's changing dimensions so often, it would be difficult."
"Try, please." She nodded, and Red moved on. "As for everyone else, half of you should try to come up with something here, while the rest need to come with me. We need to keep an eye on that bird. If it comes near the Castle, we've got to make a run for it."
"Run where?"
"Anywhere!"
As he said it, a clap of thunder shook the whole castle, causing a few of the kids to jump. Red seemed a bit surprised as well, hand lifted to his throat. Once everyone was over the shock, they all ran outside. The sky was thick and dark, purplish clouds, and every few seconds, lightning streaked across the sky.

#19

Just as they reached the hill that marked the border between the two lands, something very bright appeared in the sky. It seemed to outshine everything, but on closer inspection, it was actually sucking up the light around it.
Lurky slammed on the brakes at the top of that hill, and the two villains watched the anamoly with a bit of fear. Did Rainbow get a new weapon? But it was appearing over the Pits...
"What is it, Murky?"
Before Dismal could answer, the light disappeared. In its wake hovered what appeared to be a giant bird, coloured an awful shimmering green with bright red crest feathers. It flapped a couple of times, then landed on Dismal's and Lurky's skull-shaped 'house'. It spread its wings wide and let out a terrible screech. Its talons dug into the stone, crushing it easily. It then flapped its wings a few times, and from those flaps, some sort of cloud was whipped up around it, the same colour as its feathers.
"What's it doing?"
Dismal shook his head, confused look on his face. "I don't know..."
A few seconds later, the bird rose out of that cloud, letting out another deafening screech, one that seemed to stir the kids. As it flapped, that cloud disappated, and all that was left of the Pits headquarters was what appeared to be a melted pile of rock.
Dismal's eyes widened at the sight. When he realized the bird was heading their way, he started to panic a bit. "Go back, Lurky!"
Slow as he was, Lurky knew enough to realize that bird was not something to get close to, especially seeing that cloud spilling out from its wings. He wheeled the buggy and carts around and floored it all the way back to the Colour Castle. Once they got there, Dismal leapt from the side car and started untying the now conscious and ungloomy - though upset - kids.
"Murky, what are you doing?" Lurky asked as he stumbled out of the buggy.
"We don't stand a chance against that thing, Lurky," he said simply.
He shrugged and started to help. In the distance, the bird's presence was being made known by its screeching.
As the kids were untied, they didn't ask any questions, or make any accusations. They'd heard the creature, and Dismal. There was no time for accusations. They started to untie each other, then they all clambored out of the carts and looked to the horizon. Violet wasted no time in racing into the castle to hail the others.
"Brian!"
"Violet?" Brian asked with surprise. "What's happening, is everyone okay?"
"Murky's not a problem anymore, but we're not okay. Get back here, quickly!"
"Alright," he said before Violet switched channels. He looked up at Stormy. "Something else is happening; we have to get back there." She nodded and spurred Skydancer into action.
Violet said a short prayer before switching to two. "Krys!"
By now, Krys was back in Earth's dimension, and his two-way was working fine. "Violet? What's happening? Where's Dismal?"
"That's not important! A giant creature is attacking Rainbowland! We need Rainbow!"
His eyes widened a bit. "That could be difficult."
"What?? What do you mean?"
"She's not with me, and the two-ways won't reach. I'm almost back; Brian hailed us with a mayday. I'll hurry, but there's no way to catch up with Rainbow now."
Violet looked quite stressed to hear that, but she just closed her eyes and nodded. "Alright. Hurry back."

#18

"Please don't argue. You know this is right, and we don't have time to play games."
He didn't look happy, but he nodded. "Okay, Rainbow."
She glanced back. "Twink-"
"Oh, Rainbow, please don't," Twink pleaded.
"I'm sorry, old friend. I know I said I'd need your help, but right now I think Rainbowland will need you more."
"How will you follow the warp?" Krys suddenly asked.
"Well, from what I understand, the warp crosses dimensions in a straight line, right? And if Xerol is any indication... We'll know if we're going the right way." That sullied the mood again. Twink carefully hopped over onto On-X behind Krys, and offered Rainbow what starsprinkles he had in his belt pouch. "Now go, before Dismal gets to thinking he's finally won."
Krys hesitated, casting a lingering look at Rainbow, before guiding On-X around and heading back the way they'd come.
"They'll be okay," Starlight said gently as Rainbow watched them disappear into the blackness of space. "It's us you should be worried about."
"Oh, I don't have to worry about us. I have the most magnificent horse in the universe taking care of me." She said it with a smile as she gently patted his neck.
He seemed to glow with that compliment. "You're right. What am I worried about?" He tossed his head, and as the Rainbow started forward again, he took up his gallop, Rainbow tucked tight over his neck.

Dismal sat in one of the charis at the Colour Console, his feet propped up on one of the stations. His gun rested against his shoulder, and he looked quite pleased with himself.
"So, what do we do now, Murky?" Lurky asked. He was sitting on the steps that led up to Rainbow's room, Kitty Brite curled up quite happily on his lap.
"Just keep those colour brats gloomed, nimrod. I'll worry about everything else." Truth was, he was somewhat stuck. A plan had never gone so well for him. What was he going to do now? He looked over at the kids, who were all slumped together in a corner with their sprites. He could do them in before they spoiled his plans again. But for some reason, he couldn't think about that for more than a moment. He could toss them into the Pits. Now there was an idea.
"Lurky," he said as he stood. "We're taking them to the Pits."
"Okay, Murky." He gently set Kitty aside, then stood up. As he came to stand beside the kids, he scratched his head. "How are we going to do that, Murky? They won't all fit in the grungebuggy."
Dismal couldn't help but roll his eyes again. "Just get them outside. And keep them gloomed. Don't need them getting any bright ideas," he muttered to himself. While Lurky got started on that, Dismal headed outside. For all of his bad luck, he really wasn't very stupid. He was smart, and clever. It didn't take him long to find some of the miner's carts and figure out how to hitch them up to the back of the grungebuggy. Once the kids were loaded up, Dismal and Lurky started gagging and blindfolding them all. It was hard to keep a gloom cloud over them when they were moving quickly through the open air.
Satisfied, Murky hopped into the buggy's side car, Lurky taking the driver's seat, and they started for the Pits.

#17

In the next dimension over, Rainbow, Krys, and the others were just getting over the effect of the dimensional crossing. Rainbow checked the dial on the two-way, then pushed the button to talk.
"This is Rainbow. Violet, you there?" She waited a few seconds, then tried again. When there was no response again, she sighed. "Guess Stormy was right about there being a first time."
"Maybe we're too close to the rift?" Twink offered.
"Maybe. Well, let's move a little further and try again," she said. The rainbow continued forward and Starlight picked up his tireless lope again, On-X cruising along beside him.
A few minutes later, Krys sat up straighter on On-X's back. "Hey, look there," he said and pointed to a dark, crumbling mass. "Wasn't that..."
Rainbow paled at the sight. "That was Xerol... I just finished bringing them out of their centurial ice age a month ago.." She felt Twink hold a little tighter to her back, and Starlight shiver beneathe her.
"You don't think..." Starlight trailed off.
"Yes. Yes, I do... I think that's exactly what happened. Earth isn't an isolated event."
"Xerol was a little bigger than Earth, right?" Krys asked. With a nod from Rainbow, he continued. "If this planet was fine a month ago, and if the poison is really what did this-"
"Then we'd better hurry," Starlight interrupted, and he broke into a gallop. No one wanted to even consider that the Earth was running out of time, and quickly. They'd wasted nearly a week with preperations and Rainbow's recovery alone. There's no telling when the poison arrived on Xerol. They could have three weeks, or three days.
"Rai...ow...ayday, may..." came a broken vioce in her headset. She frowned and lifetd a hand to the earpiece.
"What is it, Rainbow?" Krys asked.
"I'm not sure. It sounded like Brian..."
"What did he say?" asked Twink.
"I think..." she paused and glanced over at Krys. "I think it was a distress call!"
"What should we do?" Starlight asked as he slowed to a stop.
"Hang on, I'm going to try to reach them again." She pushed the button to talk once more. "Brian, come in."
"Thank goodness!" came a cry of relief from the headset. "Rainbow, Dismal's taken over Rainbowland!"
Her eyes narrowed and she looked over at Krys. "It's Dismal. He's taken over. Brian, where are you?"
"I'm with Stormy. We're on our way back from Earth. We were collectiong soil samples."
"I see. Don't get in close. Krys is coming back to help."
"I'm what?? What about you?" Krys asked, sounding flabbergasted. "You should come back with me!"
"There's no time, Krys!"
On the other end, Brian frowned. "No time?"
Stormy glanced back as Skydancer slowed up in the clouds. "What's going on?"
"I'm not sure," he said. He could hear Rainbow still talking, so he kept quiet.
"You ahve to stop Dismal, no matter what. If we lose Rainbowland for even a day, a cure for the poison may come too late. But if someone doesn't find the source, and stop it, finding a cure may not matter." She said all of this with conviction, one that struck Krys into silence.
"Rainbow, what's going on? Why are we running out of time?" Brian asked. Stormy's face grew worried at the sound of that.
"We found signs that Earth isn't the only planet that's been poisoned."
"Signs? What sorts of signs? Did you see another planet with dead patches?"
Rainbow looked down at Starlight's mane. "We found the crumbled remains of a planet I just visited last month."
His mouth opened in shock, and Stormy didn't dare ask him just yet what he'd heard. After a short time, he found his voice again. "What should we do, Rainbow?"
"It's like I said," she replied, sending a hard glance at krys. "Stay where you are. Krys will come help you."
"Alright. Be careful, Rainbow..."
"I will, don't worry about me." She switched off the headset.

#16

"So, Murky, what are we doing?"
Sitting on a hill filled with violet flowers, Dismal and his dim-witted sidekick spied on the busy workings of the inner circle of Rainbowland.
"We're taking over this upchuck of colour they call a world, turkey brain."
"Oh. And how are we going to do that this time, Murky?"
"Those colour brats are useless without Rainbow brite, and she just left with what looked like two weeks' worth of star sprinkles. Taking over Rainbowland will be like taking candy from a baby."
"That's not very nice, Murky."
Dismal glanced over at Lurky with a scowl, but just sighed at him. He had his arms folded over his chest and his jaw stuck out stubbornly. "Just come with me, numbskull."
Lurky's expression changed at once as he hurried after Dismal. "Okay, Murky!"

Red headed into the Castle, accompanied by Romeo. They both carried bags of starsprinkles, joining in the work they'd been overseeing.
"Hey, Violet," Red said as he bruoght those sprinkles over the toher kids. "Any word?"
She looked over with a slightly worried expression. "Nothing since they left Earth's dimension."
"I see. I'm sure they're just busy arguing," he said with a smirk.
She smiled faintly, though it was unconvincing. "I hope you're right."
Just then, the doors to the Castle burst open as the grungebuggy came crashing through. The kids and sprites scrambled out of the way, all running over to Violet on the far side of the room.
"Dismal!" a few of the girls cried.
Red, being his valiant self, put himself between Dismal and the other kids. "What are you diong here?!"
"We're stealing candy from a baby!" Lurky said.
Dismal rolled his eyes and raised a rather nasty-looking gun, aiming it at Red. "Be quiet." He pulled the trigger, and a gloom cloud shot from the barrel, engulphing Red.
"Red!" Lala cried as he wavered on his feet then fell to his knees. A few of the other kids held her back so she wouldn't run into the cloud to go to Red's side.
"Mayday! Mayday!" Violet yelled into the two-way station's receiver, the dial still set to Brian. "It's Dismal!"
"I said be quiet!" Murky yelled and pulled the trigger again. In only a few seconds, he had all of the kids and sprites on their knees, unable to move let alone stop him.
"Murky, I can't find any babies. And it looks like we're taking over Rainbowland."
Dismal just sighed and pulled some rope from his belt, tossing it at Lurky. "Just tie them up, meatwad."
"Okay, Murky."

On Earth, Brian had just finished getting the last sample when the mayday came in. His eyes widened and he looked over at Stormy. "Rainbowland's under attack! It's Dismal!"
A dark look fell over Stormy's face and she thrust a hand down to him. "Get on!" She pulled him up, and wasted no time in steering Skydancer back up into the sky. As they left, something shifted in the shadows. There was a figure, hiding among the trees, its gaze focused on Skydancer and his riders.

#15

Before long, the two were peeking through a break in some storm clouds. Below them stretched one of the devestated areas.
"Geeze..." Brian muttered. "You can't tell how big these things are from t.v...."
"A bit different in person, eh?"
"Just a little. Let's just get the sample and get back. This place is giving me the creeps."
"Sure thing, Earth kid."
"Do you have to call me that?"
"Mmm...yes," she said with a grin. A nudge from her heel sent Skydancer thundering down to the surface.
Brian slid down off of Skydancer once they reached the ground. He glanced around, then knelt down and scooped some dirt into one of the bags Violet had given him. He tied it off and stuck it in his pocket, standing up again. "Do you think we should get samples from a few places?"
"Eh, I'm not sure. Violet would know."
"Oh, yeah-" He dug into his pocket and pulled out the headset and wristpiece, putting them both on. He turned the dial to 4, and spoke up timidly. "Violet...?"
"Yeah, Brian? Do you have the sample?"
"Yes, I do."
"Then is something wrong?"
"Oh, no, nothing's wrong. I wanted to know if we should get multiple samples?"
Stormy lifted a hand up over her mouth in an attempt to stifle a chuckle at Brian's timidness.
"That would probably be best. Good thinking, Brian."
"Thanks. Any word from Rainbow?"
"Last we heard, they'd found the trace of the Warp and were following it into the next dimension. We should be hearing from them again pretty soon."
"Alright. That's good to know. We'll be back as soon as we can," Brian said, before switching the voice off.
Stormy smirked at Brian's sad expression. "I take it we're not finished yet." She reached a hand down to him.
"Unfortunately, no," he said glumly. He took her hand and let her help him back up onto Skydancer's back.
"Then we best get back to work."

#14

Back in the Colour Castle, there's a constant buzz of activity. Violet never left the base for the two-ways, continually monitering their connection with Rainbow's and Krys' sets. Sprites were in and out constantly with batches of star sprinkles, while Storm and Moonglow were coming back quite frequently for their own shares. While it exhausted Moonglow to work during the day as well as the night, it seemed as though each trip back to Rainbowland energized Stormy and Skydancer. Red was taking over Twink's duties up in the mines, while Blue continued the overseeing of the making of the star sprinkles.
"Ooh, it feels like we're getting no where!" exclaimed Lala, who was sitting around the console in the Castle with the other kids who didn't have another duty. "We'll never figure out a way to heal all of those poisoned patches."
"Don't say that, Lala," Canary said with a frown. "We have to find a way; Rainbow's counting on us."
"But we don't even know what kind of poison this is, or what it's doing to the earth."
"That's why we can't stop to worry. We don't have the time," Indigo said.
Brian, who was sitting with them as he had little else to do, spoke up timidly. "I-I could go back to Earth, collect some soil. That could help, right?"
The girls exchanged glances, then Patty spoke up, worried look on her face. "I don't know, Brian... Rainbow said you should stay here-"
"Unless it's absolutely necessary, I know. But don't you think this is necessary? Without a sample, you girls are just shooting in the dark, and exerting a lot of energy to do it."
"The Earth kid's right, you know," said a voice at the door.
"Stormy..." Pink mumbled as they all turned to see her waltzing in, empty saddlebag over her shoulder.
"I'll take you. That way there's a quick exit on Skydancer if we pick the wrong spot to go digging."
Brian smiled and rose to his feet. "Good idea."
The other girls hopped up, still looking awfully worried. "But, Stormy, I really don't think that's a good idea," Indigo said.
"Why not? It's a fine idea. The kid wants to help, and he found a way to do it."
"But what if that creature comes after you?" Lala asked.
"I already said that's what Skydancer's for. We don't use a rainbow to get around. He won't be able to follow us. Now chill out. Earth kid, let's go."
The others sank back down into their seats, while Violet came over and gave Brian a few bags for the soil samples. He then followed Stormy outside.
"Thanks," he said as she vaulted up onto Skydancer's back. He took her offered hand and pulled himself up behind her.
"Eh, don't mention it. I know what it's like to feel helpless, as well as how good it feels to do something useful." She smiled back at him. "Now hang on."
He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding on tight as Skydancer practically rocketted into the air.

#13

"So, how do we follow a warp trace?" Rainbow asked.
"On-X can detect where the dimensions have been bent. It's rather simple, actually. If you fold a piece of paper up and punch a hole through it, when you unfold it again, you can see all of the holes."
"How can you tell which one's the one you're looking for?" Twink asked.
"Well, in the case of warps, the folds follow a straight line. Follow the folds until you find what you're looking for."
"So there really is no way of knowing how far away the origin is," Starlight muttered.
Rainbow smiled as she looked down at him. "What's the matter? Getting tired?"
He tossed his head, nostirls flaring with his ego. "Of course not. I could run to the very end of the universe and back."
She patted his neck. "Well...let's hope it's not that far..."
"How's your magick holding up?" Krys asked as he eyed the rainbow.
"I think it'll hold up so long as the star sprinkles last. We'll be able to draw from the stars soon enough."
"The rainbow feels as strong as ever," Starlight offered.
"Good."
"Rainbow?" came a familiar voice from the headset Rainbow wore.
She lifted a hand to the earpiece, then made sure her channel was set to four. "I hear you, Violet. Loud and clear."
"Oh, good. You're coming through strong, too. Let me check Krys."
The headset went quiet again, and after a second Krys spoke up. "Perfect, Violet."
Rainbow smiled, then spoke again. "No sign of Dismal?"
"Nothing noticeable," Violet said.
"Let's hope it stays that way."
"If you could, Rainbow... Check in each time you cross dimensions."
"Of course."

Unfortunately for them, Dismal hadn't yet overcome his bad habit of keeping an eye on the goings-on of Rainbowland. He couldn't help but take notice of the mountains of starsprinkles flooding the Colour Castle, or that Rainbow had just left with enough to last her for months, if not longer.
Sitting on top of his cave-like home in the Pits, beside a telescope pointed at the Castle, Murky Dismal formed a plan.
"Lurky!"
From somewhere inside came the bellowing reply, "Coming, Murky!"
Dismal winced at the shout, standing up as the lumbering, somewhat slow-in-the-head Lurky appeared at the top of the stairs. "What is it, Murky?"
"I've got a plan."
"Ooo, a plan! Uh, a plan for what, Murky?"
Murky scowled and hit Lurky over the head. "A plan to do in those Rainbowbrats once and for all, dodo brain!"