#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.