#30

"You're sure we have to stop here?" Rainbow asked Alpha, glancing back over her shoulder at him. Before them stretched the surface of a dark, desolate world, much like the surface of the world they'd just come from. Only this time, the few openings inside that Rainbow could see were pitch, empty, no secret world tucked away. it looked lonely, and most of all uninhabited.
"Is there even anything here?" Starlight asked as he stepped off of the rainbow and onto the surface.
"I assure you both that something of great importance lies here," he said as he rested a hand on Rainbow's shoulder. "Waiting for you."
She blushed slightly and looked forward again, coughing to try to regain her composure. "Yes, well, shall we try to find it, then?"
Alpha nodded, and Starlight began to walk forward.
"You said you made the belt," Rainbow said as she looked around for some clue to something she didn't know anything about.
"That's right," he replied, glancing at her a moment.
"Can you tell me...who the voice was that brought me to it? And to Rainbowland? The Light..."
"I'm afraid that I can't. You will one day come to understand, though. That, I will tell you."
She sighed softly and looked back at him, meeting his gaze. "Is everything with you just one big riddle?"
He smiled, a bit sheepishly, which came as a surprise, and laughed lightly. "I'm afraid so, Rainbow Brite."
She tilted her head slightly at him. "You can just call me 'Rainbow', you know."
He smiled a bit sadly. "Perhaps that is why."
"Why...?"
He hesitated in continuing, before suddenly turning his head to look out at one of the caves. "There. Go there."
Starlight flicked an ear back, but waited for a nudge from Rainbow's knee before actually heading that way. "There aren't any crabs here, are there? Or giant lizard men, or robots, or anything?"
"No, nothing like that. We've already passed the defenses."
"Defenses?" Rainbow asked curiously. "How?"
"Because of me. I'm the only one authorized to come here."
"Authorized?" It was Starlight's turn. "You make it sound like you're some great, top secret, military experiment."
"We're no great experiment...but to fall into the hands of the wrong person, the hands of anyone but Rainbow Brite, would spell disaster for much of the Universe."
"We?" Rainbow frowned. She was beginning to feel like a parrot. "Is it a person we've come for? Someone like you?"
"Not exactly like me, but, yes, you've got the general idea."
While they were talking, a stone whizzed through the air and smacked Starlight inthe neck. Any other horse would have gone running, but Starlight only shook his mane out and glanced into the darkness of the cave. "I thought you said we were already past the defenses."
Before Alpha could answer, another rock came flying. "Rainbow!" Starlight shouted as he tried to back out of the way. But he was big, and the cave had grown tight.
She saw it, but had no time to duck or block it. However, a pale hand appeared in front of her face, catching the golfball sized stone.
"That's enough!" Alpha cried out into the shadows. "Stop this now, Omi!"
"No!" shouted someone in the darkness. "Go away!" Another rock smashed into the wall just beside Starlight's nose.
"Omi, it's me, Alpha! Cut this out!"
"I know who it is! Go away!" Rainbow shouted as a rock smacked into her knee, hand quickly covering the spot.
"What's the meaning of this, Omi?!"
Starlight finally managed to retreat behind a corner. he looked back at Rainbow. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine." She frowned as another rock hit the wall just past their defenses. "He's a child..."
"I won't go with you! I don't want to!"
"Omi, this is the Rainbow Brite!"
"I KNOW what she is! But SHE doesn't even know! I won't go with her!"
Rainbow frowned and glanced back at Alpha. "I don't know what?"
He smiled sadly to her, but didn't answer, instead calling out to Omi, who was still sending rocks out at them. "She needs us, Omi! She'll remember, I promise!"
"You can't know that! I won't go, I won't be used again!"
"Used?" Rainbow was thoroughly confused by now. Finally, she just shook her head and put the confusing things behind her. Right now, that wasn't important. She swung her leg up over Starlight's head and dropped down from his back.
"Rainbow??" Starlight looked at her with worry, but she just patted his nose.
"Stay put."
"Rainbow Brite, you shouldn't..."
"Alpha, please. I have to," she said with conviction. She stepped around the corner, and it didn't take long for the first rock to strike her. She winced as it hit her shoulder. "Omi, I'm not sure who you are; I don't even know who Alpha is. I don't know why I'm out here, what I'm looking for, or what I'm supposed to be stopping." Another stone hit her in the chest, right under the collar, but she didn't stop. She even took a few steps forward. "But I do know something. I know that the people I'm supposed to protect, and my home, with the people who depend on me, are all in danger. I know that whatever is doing this has something against me - against Rainbow Brite. I have to stop it, no matter what. But I know I can't stop it alone. I know I need Alpha's help, and he says I need you, too."
"No!" A rock hit her right in the face, just under her eye. She stumbled back a couple of steps and fell to one knee, hand lifted over the wound. A trickle of blood fell through her fingers, falling to her knee. But she didn't stop.
"I also know...that I would never use someone. I can only ask that you help, not for my sake, but for the sake of my home, and the Earth, and the rest of the Universe. Please...for their sake. Help me."
There was silence, and no more rocks were throw. A minute passed, and slowly, a small boy dressed in black stepped out of the shadows. He carried a slingshot in one hand, but she almost didn't notice that. Instead, her eyes were drawn to his ears - or where his ears were supposed to be. Instead, there peeking out of a head of thick, raven hair, was a pair of pitch wings, the feathers thin and delicate to match his hair. The tips nearly came down to his shoulders. If he had ears, they were hidden under the hair, or behind the wings.
"You won't use me?" he asked quietly. Tears streaked his face, and he sniffled ebtween his words.
She quickly shook her head and smiled warmly to him. "Never."
He relaxed, and reached out to touch her cheek where the rock had hit her. "I'm sorry."
Her smile grew. "That's alright."
Before she could do anything about it, he threw his arms around her neck. She laughed lightly and hugged him close. "I'll take good care of you, I promise."
Starlight stepped over to them, and Rainbow stood up. "Can we go home now?" he asked as he dipped his head down. Alpha reached down and helped Rianbow up onto Starlight in front of him.
"I believe so," she said. She reached down and lifted Omi up in front of her, keeping her arms protectively around him.
"Good. The more dimensions we put between this place and us the better." With that he took off at a canter, weaving his way back out of the cave and into the sky.

#29

"Do you think she got to where she needed to go?" Brian asked Krys a few hours after Orin had left. They still couldn't decide just what to do about the poison, even with all of Krys' strong words. None of them were brave enough to approach the fallen bird, and Krys finally announced that it was too dangerous for them to go anywhere near it. Murky and Violet were the only ones that went anywhere near it, and only to replenish the gloom keeping it at bay.
Krys nodded with complete confidence. "Of course she did. She's Rainbow Brite." That always seemed to settle everything, though by the look on both Krys' and Brian's faces, it was clear they weren't so sure it was enough this time.
"Don't forget that Starlight's the one looking after her. He'll make sure she gets where she's going, and in one piece," Canary said as she brought over a tray of lemon-ade. Lurky was over by the other kids, handing out more glasses.
Brian smiled, though faintly, and nodded. They wanted to believe...but she'd been gone a long time, with no word of any sort of progress. Orin hadn't seen her for some time, so there was no guarantee she was still safe.
Murky and Violet walked into the castle, gloom guns in hand. "Still no word?" Violet asked Lala, who'd taken a turn sitting at the base.
"Nothing," she said glumly, lemon-ade held between her hands on her knees.
"I'm sure we'll hear something soon," Violet said reassuringly.
Quite suddenly, Red let out a frustrated shout, standing abruptly on the stairs. "Arg! I can't stand being so helpless! We were made to protect the Earth and everything else, and yet we can't do anything?!"
"Because you're wrong," came a voice from the corner of the room. Everyone turned to look, and saw Stormy sitting on an empty, overturned bucket.
"What do you mean I'm wrong?" Red asked with no little hint of anger.
She paid it no mind, leaned back against the wall. Her arms were crossed over her chest and one knee was perched on the other. "We were made not to protect, but to help the Wearer of the Belt protect. She could not exist without us, but we cannot function without her. The Earth falls into despair without a Rainbow Brite. The Ice Age, the Black Plauge, and Seven Year Famine, the World Wars. And now, the 'greatest drought the world has ever known.'"
"Don't say that," Brian said sharply, causing everyone to look at him instead. He was too angry to be embarassed, though, and just glared at Stormy. "You say it like she's already dead. Well, she's not!"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Stormy!" Canary cried in shock.
"Oh, don't. Just don't, Canary. She's farther away than she's ever been, alone, trying to find something that no one even knows the identity of, exactly. Meanwhile, the Earth is drying up and will crumble apart any day now. And then what happens? What happens to us when the Earth dies? Even if we kept on living, our own world's due to crumble as well."
"Stop it!"
"We can't just sit here waiting for someone that's never coming back!"
"She will!"
"She can't save us anymore!"
"Stormy, stop it!" Canary pleaded, hands held up tight over her heart.
"Just what are we supposed to do, then?" Lala asked in disgust, none of the kids liking the least bit what Stormy was saying.
"Look for a new Rainbow Brite," she said simply.
Everyone gasped, and even Dismal and Lurky looked horrified.
"No," Red said firmly, which returned the attention to him. "That is not our place, Stormy. We have never looked for a Rainbow Brite. She has always come to us. And until the Belt is returned to us without its Wearer, there can be no new Rainbow Brite. Until that Belt finds its way back here in some way, we have to assume our Rainbow still lives, and is still fighting for us."
Stormy scowled at Red, who met her gaze with cool confidence. When others started to look at her again, she pushed herself to her feet and stalked out the door. She vaulted up onto Skydancer's back and they took off into the sky. Once she was asfely tucked away in the clouds, she let Skydancer stop. Slowly, tears filled her eyes, and finally a few leaked out. She ducked forward, her face buried in Skydancer's mane to hide the tears.

#28

"Tell me, Rainbow Brite, what is your name?"
Her brow furrowed and she turned her attention back to him. "What do you mean? My name is Rain-"
"No, my dear. Rainbow Brite is your title. What is your name?" When she continued to frown at him, a sad look came over his face. "You cannot remember, can you? No wonder."
"No wonder?" she asked curiously. When he didn't answer, she shook her head and turned herself to face him. "Who are you?"
He suddenly looked worried as his gaze travelled to the pathway she'd fallen from. "You didn't come here alone, did you?"
"No...why?" Befoer he answered, a piercing whinny could be heard from that path. "Starlight!" She leapt to her feet, the blanket falling from around her shoulders. The young man was a step behind her. Just before she reached the water, she called forth a rainbow from the handful of starsprinkles she'd had in her pocket. It created a path from the island to that opening. Without hesitation, she ran up the rainbow, with the young man still following on her heels.
"What is it?!" she cried back at him.
"They're crystal crabs! They're the ones that made these paths, and they don't like anyone else in them!"
"Great..." she muttered to herself as she moved as quickly as she could through the path. Another stressed whinny and the obvious sounds of a struggle caused her to move faster. "Starlight!"
"Rainbow!"
"Run! Get out!" She sent the rainbow on ahead with the wish that it would clear a path for Starlight. And, as the rainbow always did as she asked, she could hear him running father down the path a few seconds later.
Not more than a minute later, the young man grabbed her arm and dragged her to a stop, pulling her behind one of the crystals jutting out into the path. "Keep quiet," he whispered into her ear. Slowly, and without a sound, he maneuvered her back into a corner and stood in front of her. He was facing her, one hand on either side of her shoulders, though he was looking over his shoulder.
She blushed rather deeply when she found herself in that position, but her attention was quickly drawn away as something scuttled down the path. It was huge, about half the size of Starlight, and looked to be a cross between a crab and a spider. It had two large, jagged claws, and fangs that dripped with what was most likely venom. Eight eyes were placed around its head, and its shell was made of the crystals in the caverns.
Her heart began to pound as it slipped past, followed by three others, one of which was dragging a bashed claw, most likely from the fight with Starlight. As the last one passed and got a ways down the path, the young man took her by the hand and picked up a run in the other direction, following Starlight.
She didn't see any blood on the way, so Rainbow began to breathe a little easier in the hope that Starlight was fine. As soon as they broke the surface, he let her hand go and they both slowed to a walk. Rainbow hunched over as she stopped, hands on her knees as she gasped for breath.
Starlight lumbered over to her, reaching his muzzle down and tucking it under her arm. "Are you alright?"
She lifted her arms up around his head, resting her cheek against his neck. "I'm alright. Are you?"
"I'll be fine." His eyes drifted open and he caught sight of the stranger. "Is that him?"
She slowly let go of his head and looked back at the young man. "I think so. Will you tell me who you are now?" she asked a little louder.
He simply smiled and approached them. "Only when you both tell me yours. Until then, you can call me Alpha."
"Then you really are the Beginning," Rainbow said softly.
"Yes, that's right. Now, I believe you have a problem, one that cannot afford any wasted time."
They both looked at him oddly, but Rainbow nodded. "That's right. I'll explain on the way." She swung up onto Starlight's back, and pulled Alpha up behind her.
"I'm afraid we can't go back to your home just yet. There is one place we must stop at first." Before they could protest, he insisted, "I assure you, it is of the utmost importance."
Rainbow glanced back at him with a frown, but turned back around as Starlight began to move. "If you say so. Just tell me the way." She called forth a rainbow, and Starlight took them up off of the world's surface.

#27

"Should we turn back?" she asked as she glanced back at him.
"The light's coming from up ahead, and we didn't pass any other paths on the way in. This may be our only shot at finding the Beginning."
She frowned, but nodded anyway. "You're right." She gently scratched under his chin. "Wait here for me. I'll be quick." She turned and broke away from him, heading deeper in. For a good hundred yards she was hunched over while picking her way along the path. Before long, though, the light became brighter, and without realizing, she stepped out of the path onto nothing.
She let out a brief shout as she fell about ten feet into a pool of crystal clear water below. Disoriented by the bright light, sudden drop, and icey water, it took her a few seconds to get right-side up. She pushed off from the bottom and broke the surface of the water gasping. She clumsily swam towards what she hoped was the shore, until two hands grabbed her under the shoulders and hoisted her up out of the water.
"Easy, easy, just relax, you're alright."
She coughed and sputtered and wiped the water from her face, before realizing someone strange had just saved her. She opened her eyes and glanced up, and found herself gazing into the face of a most handsome young man. Her cheeks coloured at once and she began to try to stand up.
"Th-thank-you, thank-you very much."
"It's quite alright," he said as he reached to help her up. "Just take it easy."
She smoothed out her skirt, then finally took a look at where she was. It was a large, open chamber, with a ceiling sixty feet up. They were standing on a small island, surrounded by that clear lake. In the center of the island rose a grand crystal, starting narrow, then billowing out as it rose into the chamber, straight up to the ceiling. It was pure white, free of blemish or any of the colours in the surrounding crystals. But even free of colour, Rainbow found herself drawn to it. It seemed more beautiful than any of the crystals around them.
"Come, have a seat."
She blinked, having momentarily forgotten anyone else was with her. She looked over at him, once more taken by his fair face. Silver hair sparkled in the light that seemed to be cast by the huge crystal. His eyes were gray, as well, and they watched her every move.
"Who-"
"In time, Rainbow," he said, cutting her off. "Now sit." He pushed her, gently, down to a bench - made of crystals - then disappeared behind her.
She tried to see where he went, but he vanished before she could turn around. "Hey! Wait! How do you know who I am?" There was no answer, and she sighed as she turned back around. A few seconds later, a warm blanket was wrapped around her shoulders. "I've known you for a long time, Rainbow Brite."
She pulled the blanket closer and looked over at him. "How?"
"How? Because, my dear, I made you. Or, rather," he corrected and pointed to the Belt. "I made that, which makes you."
She looked down at the belt, resting her hand over the buckle.

#26

Nearly a day more had passed before the rainbow came upon a world that wasn't crumbled.
"Rainbow, wake up," Starlight said gently as he slowed to a stop just past the dimensional cross.
She slowly sat up straight, rubbing her eyes, then let her gaze focus on the world presented before them. "What is this place..." she said under her breath to no one.
The world looked like a giant geode, rocky and desolate on the outside, with various entrances that revealed jagged crystals of various pale colours.
"It looks so empty," Starlight said. "Do you think it was poisoned?"
"I don't think so. It would have crumbled, and it's not in the path anyway. Come on, let's check it out."
Starlight picked up a canter as the rainbow led them down to one of the openings. There was barely enough room for Rainbow to get more than five feet in, let alone Starlight.
"Better find a different one," Rainbow said as she pulled ehrself back onto Starlight's back.
They checked a few more entrances, before Rainbow noticed something in the distance. "Look at that. It looks like a light's coming from inside. The crystals are brighter." Sure enough, one of the entrances on the horizon appeared to be glowing compared to the others.
"You're right," Starlight said. He didn't need any telling to hurry up, at once breaking into a gallop towards the entrance. It was clear once they reached it that there was a path big enough for the both of them. Rainbow stayed mounted as Starlight slowly moved into the cavern.
"Hey, Starlight...do these crystals look familiar?"
He glanced back at her, then looked closely at some of the crystals as they passed. "You don't think..."
"They look like colour crystals."
"But they're so big, and pure!"
"This whole world is like one, big, colour cave..."
"Well, at least we're on the right track, right?"
"I guess that's true. She fell silent as they drew deeper into the cavern. After only a few minutes, the path grew narrow, and the ceiling sank until it was too low to ride through. Rainbow slid down off of Starlight's back and began to walk in front of him, one hand keeping contact with his chin. His head drooped lower and lower as the path narrowed, until they came to a point where he couldn't move any farther.

#25

"Is there nothing that can stop this poison?" Lala asked in exhasperation as she stood with the others on one of the castle's balconies overlooking Rainbowland.
"We can't even stop it from spreading," Buddy said softly.
"Maybe we're in over our heads this time. We just don't have the power or resources to fight something like this," Violet analyzed.
"We need Rainbow," Twink said quietly.
"Yeah, well," Krys said with a much stronger voice. "Rainbow's not here. She's out there, trying to save the rest of the Universe, alone, like she always is. She asked us to do one thing, just one: Keep Earth and Rainbowland intact until she gets back. Because she will come back; she always does. She cares too much about everyone here and on Earth to let anything stop her. The least we can do is what she asked. The least we can do is throw anything and everything we've got at this mess, and hope that we stall anihilation long enough for her to get back with salvation."
Everyone grew silent during that speech, watching him with slight amazement as well as a deep guilt for wanting to give up. Dismal especially looked surprised.
"She does all of that?" he asked with a hint of doubt. "I thought you brats just made the world colourful."
"Colour's more important than you think, Murky," Brian said. It was a surprise coming from him, and all eyes turned to see what he had to say. "Sure, it makes people happy, and makes things beautiful, but without colour, there would never be joy. Our hearts would never be touched by the coming of spring, or given hope in the promise of a beautiful sunrise. I never knew how much those things meant to me before I met Rainbow, and saw how much work goes into keeping the world bright and beautiful. If we didn't have colour, if it all disappeared, I don't think we could survive."
Dismal's brow furrowed in thought, before slowly looking away. "I didn't know that. Or maybe I did, once... But I'd forgotten. All I ever wanted was to make things black and white."
"Well, black and white are coloures, too," Moonglow piped up.
Canary glanced up at Lurky who stood beside her, smiling cheerfully to him. "Brown, too," she whispered to him, which made him smile.
"The most important colours," came a voice from behind them.
They all turned to look back inside the castle, and Twink was the first to recognize him. "Orin!"
"What do you mean, 'the most important'?" Krys asked.
"While you, Murky Dismal, may think of black and white as the extreme absences of colour, they are also the extreme presences of colour. White light can be broken down into each colour of the rainbow. And to make something black, every pigment must be combined. So you see, all colour comes from white, and all the coloures brought together make black."
Krys contemplated that, while the others gathered around Orin.
"Did you see Rainbow?" Twink asked first, looking hopeful.
"I did. She's asked me to tell all of you that she's safe, and knows now where she needs to go."
"Where is she going?" Red asked, his arms folded over his chest.
"To the Beginning." He held up his hands to stop their questions. "I haven't the time to explain. There are others I must warn of this disaster. Your Rainbow will be fine. She is strong, and soon to be in good hands." Before they could respond to that, he approached Red. "I will be needing some colour crystals to refuel my ship."
Red frowned, but nodded. "Of course."

#24

"Ha-ha! I think it's working," Violet yelled over to Kris and Dismal. They'd just emptied their canisters of gloom onto the head of that bird. It was beginning to slow down and drop towards the ground.
"I think you might just be right, Violet," Stormy said in a slight shock. "Look, he's not even bracing for impact!" Sure enough, feet lazily dangling beneathe it, it drew lower and lower, before finally crashing into the ground and coming to rest lodged into a hillside. "I can't believe it. It actually worked!" After a round of cheers, they headed back down to the ground.
"We should refill and take this stuff to Earth," Violet said as she looked at the fueld gauge on the gun.
"Why don't the kid and I take them? You should stay here and keep working on a cure for that poison," Stormy said to Violet.
Violet nodded and glanced over at Dismal. "What d'ya say? Wanna help make the world beautiful for once?"
His face turned gloomy. "Do I have a choice?"
"Of course. Help, or we can tie you up."
He sighed heavily and thought about it. "Fine. I'll help."
Violet smiled and gave a nod. "Good."

"What kind of person do you think 'The Beginning' is?" Rainbow asked. Starlight was back in his comfortable gallop, this time with a slightly more developed idea of where he was running to.
"Old, I'd suspect."
Rainbow chuckled lightly. "How could he be the start of all of us?"
"Maybe he was the first defender of the Universe?"
"Then why not call him our founder? The wording seems too strange. Do you think the 'End' is a person, too?"
"I'm really not sure, Rainbow. If Orin doesn't know, then I'm not sure who would."
"Yeah, I guess that's true." She suddenly glanced down at him, reaching a hand down to feel his chest. "Are you alright, Starlight? You've been running for so long now. Don't you need-"
"I'm the most magnificent horse in the universe; I don't need a break," he responded quickly, his head held high. But he slowly dropped his head afterwards, and glanced back at her. "I'm alright. I'll run forever if you need me to."
Her eyes widened slightly at that as she slowly sat up. "Starlight..."