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My Little Unicorn: Magic is Believing

by Ariana-Twilight

Chapters

Intro: Legend of the Unicorns

Author's notes:

FIM is a BIG MISTAKE to me... its horrible… so I guess an alternate universe is in order!

PROLOGUE/INTRO

(Deep voice…)

Far off in a distant dimension is the magical kingdom of Unicornicopia—home to many winged unicorns of different sizes and colors. All were under the watchful eye of their grand ruler; the legendary tri-horned alicorn, and he was known as that because, unlike any other unicorn, he had three horns instead of one. All, of which, were golden.

It was the grand ruler's solemn duty to protect his kingdom, maintain the balances of all nature, and look after the young unicorns.

Each and every unicorn, though gifted with certain forms of magic and power, did not always rely so heavily on magic to solve all their problems and get through life, for they knew that the real magic came from the magic of believing!

But then, evil forces to attack the kingdom, led by a powerful and evil sorcerer from another dimension who sought to obtain all the magic he could find, and rule all worlds and all dimensions with darkness and chaos.

The unicorns tried to reason with him but the sorcerer merely scoffed at their friendly ways, and talk of believing, and unleashed his dark magic, threatening the entire kingdom with chaos and destruction.

The unicorns band together, but proved to be no match for the magic that threatened their world, but when all hope seemed lost, The Grand Ruler leapt into action to defend his kingdom and subjects, and using the power of his golden horn, he unleashed the mighty magic of the uniforce…! The sorcerer was overpowered and conquered!

Despite calls for his death, The Grand Ruler, whom many feared too kind, merely banished the fallen sorcerer to the Dimension of Darkness as fitting punishment for his treachery.

The sorcerer vowed to one day return to finish what started, and all that existed would belong to him.

In time, the events and the threat were forgotten, and peace returned to Unicornicopia where the unicorns continued to live their lives through the magic of believing.

…

A small white unicorn, with a brown short mane, and a marking "AO0C" on his chest armor finished the story. His companion, a small fairy with long blonde hair, and wearing a pink skirt felt puzzled. "So it really does exist, Lightning…?" she asked.

"It sure does, Krysta." responded Lightning "But I don't know why The Grand Ruler told me to come here, or why he wants me to be his apprentice. He knows I can't do magic just like other unicorns."

It was true! Though Lightning Dawn was indeed a unicorn, for some reason he just couldn't seem to perform magic like any other could. The only thing unusual about him was he had a golden horn, but he still didn't understand.

Still, he and Krysta had only just arrived in Unicornicopia the other day, and had just settled into Lightning's new tower-house, in a part of the Kingdom called White Village, and he was instructed by his master, The Grand Ruler…

"Once you arrive, you should go out and meet your newfound future friends and comrades. They have already been told of your coming and are anxious to meet you, and may very well help you, but no matter where you go, Lightning, and no matter what you do… always remember to believe."

Lightning could hardly understand what all this "Believing" was supposed to mean either. "Well we won't know just sitting around here." said Krsyta. "We should get going."

Lightning smiled and agreed, and as he spread his wings for takeoff, "Hey, Krsyta…? Thanks, you know… for always hanging with me and stuff."

The little fairy smiled and pecked Lightning on the cheek. "Lightning, if anyone should be thankful, it's me." She meant that, for a very good reason, but now was not the time to be thinking of that as Krysta sat on Lightning's head and Lightning took off over the lands of his new home.

MY LITTLE UNICORN

(Magic is believing)

Send a message out across the sky

Evil forces now are jamming by

Who will come and save us in this hour

Who can defend us from their power

MAGIC!

MAGIC!

MAGIC!

MAGIC!

Save the world from a fate harsh and cruel

Send out the unicorns to fight and duel

Always daring and corageous

Oo-Ooh... only they can save us

MAGIC!

MAGIC!

MAGIC!

MAGIC!

MY LITTLE UNICORN

(Magic is believing)

MAGIC...!

Author's notes:

I repeat, this is a whole new universe, so forget about FIM and anything you learned from that… that… PLACE!

Things are going to be different around here.

The return of evil: Part 1

There were many different places in Unicornicopia; most were named after their colors.

Bluesville… Greenland… Orange-Range… but the central and largest area was called Rainbow City Central, where most Unicorns went to have fun, or do their duties. Lightning could see them all down below, the anthropomorphic unicorns having fun, going to work, or some just flying around.

"I should find someplace to land." said Lightning "Not around here. It's too crowded." said Krysta. With that, they both decided to fly around and look for someplace soft. There was a nice vacant area near a large garden with vegetables and beautiful flowers and plants. The perfect place to land…!

"Wow!" exclaimed Lightning as he gazed at the lovely flowers. "Double wow!" added Krysta as she hovered around sniffing the many sensational smells. "Mmm…!" But then her nose began to twitch, "Ah… Ah… Ah-Ah…!"

"Krysta…?" cried Lightning "Krysta, No!" but Krysta had already sneezed "AH-CHOO…!" and even though she was just a little fairy, that single sneeze caused the flower she sniffed to keel over and lose all its petals. "Oh! Oh my!" cried Krysta.

That's when a red unicorn came dashing over. "Oh, no…! Not again?" he groaned as he gently began to scoop the fallen flower into a pot. Krysta apologized but the red unicorn said it wasn't her fault. "They always keel over when they make someone sneeze. I can fix it, no problem. There's no finer gardener than me."

Lightning was amazed. "You mean, you grew all this?" he asked.

The other unicorn nodded. "My name's Buddy Rose. Code-Number: FT5H. I'm the caretaker of the community garden. I can handle any flower, tree, weed- anything that grows." and in no time at all, the flower Krysta had ruined was standing upright again, and Buddy didn't seem to use any form of magic but rather ordinary gardening.

"Hmm!" remarked Lightning. "That's amazing. Oh by the way… I'm…"

"Lightning Dawn…? I know." said Buddy. "The Grand Ruler told everyone to expect you."

"Uh… yeah… he did." said Lightning.

Buddy hated to dash off but he had a few other vegetables to take care of. "Oh I'm sorry to impose, but could you do me a really big favor?" he asked while giving Lightning a small basket of vegetables. "Ugh…!"

"Could you take these to the Rainbow Dish Inn, when you go through town? Please?" and before Lightning could answer, Buddy had gone off, "Thank you!" he called back.

"Perfect!" Lightning scoffed.

"Well… that went well." joked Krysta.

…

It was a good thing that Unicornicopians were anthropomorphic, meaning Lightning could just stand upright and walk on his hind legs while using his front legs like arms to carry the basket. "Oh! This is heavy…!" he groaned.

Krysta wished she could help. Though she was small, some of her fairy magic allowed her to lift objects hundreds of times her own weight, but the basket was much too big and heavy for her. "Why don't you sit and rest?" she suggested. "Good idea!" Lightning panted and slumped down on a bench, almost dropping the basket. "Oh! My poor hooves..!" It was times like this Lightning hated the fact he couldn't do magic.

Suddenly he heard someone say, "Excuse me…?" The voice belonged to an orange unicorn, wearing a red artist's hat, just up ahead who was painting on a canvas. "…you kind of walked into the way of the scenery."

"Ugh!" groaned Lightning, but then the other unicorn caught the sight of Krysta. "Is that a…fairy?" His eyes lit up like the sun. "Hold still, please!" he said with excitement. Krysta felt confused, but did as she was told, and in almost no time the artist showed her and Lightning his painting. "I shall call it… Fairy in the park."

Krysta thought it was incredible. It looked so real and she seemed so beautiful in the picture, much to Lighting's dismay that "I notice I'm not in there." he said to himself.

The unicorn introduced himself as Artie. Code-number: HV7J. He loved to pain, draw, and sculpt. "You should come to my art gallery sometime, both of you."

Krysta's eyes lit up, "We'd love to." She said.

"Yes… but we have an errand to." Lightning quickly said as he scooped Krysta in his right wing. "Let's go, Krysta!" and he ran off with the basket of vegetables, much to Artie's confusion, but he couldn't wait to tell all his viewers that he had just seen and painted a real-live fairy.

Krysta thought that was rude of Lightning. But Lightning thought Artie was a little too eccentric, especially how the way he acted as if he had never seen a fairy before, but that was pretty much the case as Krysta was the only fairy in the entire dimension, but that wasn't important now.

Right now they were exiting the park and could see the city up ahead, but what Lightning couldn't see, as the basket was blocking his view, was a yellow unicorn right out in front of him.

CRASH! The vegetables were everywhere. Lightning felt the whole world spinning. "What hit me?" he groaned.

He got up and the yellow unicorn apologized.

"I'm very sorry to have knocked you down.

I was in hurry to get into town."

Lightning apologized too, as she should have watched where he was going. He and Krysta, along with the other unicorn picked up the vegetables and putting them back in the basket…

"I'll help you as part of my task." said the unicorn "Say! Are you Lightning Dawn, may I ask?"

"Uh… yes… I am…." answered Lightning "And this is Krysta."

"Um… do you always speak like that?" asked Krysta.

The unicorn chuckled…

"If you mean if I always speak in rhyme…

The answer is yes… all the time."

"My name is XL7Z.

But if you wish, you may call me Rhymey.

I love to speak in Rhyme, you see.

…as well as writing odes and poetry…"

"I was on my way to a rendezvous…

…when I accidently ran into you

I hope that in future we can chat,

But if you'll excuse me, I must scat."

Then he flew off leaving a much confused but amazed Krysta and Lightning. "Wow! He sure loves to rhyme." said Krysta. "And to think we'll that when we meet him next time." added Lightning. Then he and Krysta realized they both just made a rhyme, and they were both not amused.

…

Once fully inside Rainbow City Central, Lightning felt lost. There were so many places, buildings, and unicorns everywhere. "Terrific! How am I supposed to figure out where to now?"

"Uh, Lightning…?" said Krysta. "Isn't that our destination right there…?"

Just ahead was a building with a chef's hat for a roof, and a sign with a blue unicorn that read "Cookie Dough's Rainbow Dish Inn."

Lightning looked annoyed. "So it is." he simply said. So they both headed right in.

The restaurant seemed packed. There so many unicorns of many colors, and number-codes. Some, who looked as if they had already eaten, were still eating. "They must've really been hungry." said Krysta. Then, as she sniffed the air, she could tell why. The smell of so many wonderful foods... "Oh! Oh my…! It smells so good."

"Krysta, this is no time to be thinking about food." snapped lightning, but suddenly he took a whiff and felt just as she did. "I've never smelled anything like it."

That's when the big doors to the kitchen opened and several waiters and waitresses came out holding tureens and trays of delicious hot foods, fresh tossed salads, fruits and pastries, and then… all the customers rose out of their seats and applauded as the head chef came out. It was that same blue unicorn from the sign on the restaurant. He wore a white chef's hat, apron, and his code-number was BP1D, yet everyone cheered "Hail Cookie Dough! Hail Cookie Dough!"

"Honored guests…" Cookie Dough announced. "You're admiration of my humble fare, is most appreciated. It fills my heart with joy to fills your stomachs with delight. Eat hearty, everyone!"

The customers all cheered and continued to feast, but Lightning followed Cookie Dough into the kitchen. "Um… excuse me… Cookie Dough?" he asked.

Cookie Dough turned round, "Oh! You must be the new delivery unicorn, just set those vegetables down over there in the corner."

Lightning did as he was told but then said, "Actually, I'm Lightning Dawn."

Cookie Dough turned round again. "You mean, THE Lightning Dawn? The new apprentice of The Grand Ruler…?"

"Y…y…yeah…"

Before Lightning knew it, Cookie Dough had given him and Krysta a special table right there in the kitchen and prepared a small meal for them, despite Lightning trying to protest that he wasn't very hungry, but Cookie Dough insisted, and the two were forced to watch him skillfully mix, mash, slice, and chop up all the foods he would use to cook with. It was almost hypnotic to watch.

"So, you're a cook?" asked Krysta.

Cookie Dough shook his head and explained that he was actually more of a chef than a cook. "A cook feeds the stomach. A chef nourishes the soul and educates the taste-buds."

Before Lightning or Krysta could say anything more, a meal was set before them. "Try it. You'll like it." said Cookie Dough. Not wanting to be rude, Lightning and Krysta took a little nibble… then like magic… it was as if something inside of them sparked. It tasted so wonderful; they just had to keep eating until not a morsel was left. Krysta didn't eat too much though due to her small size… to her a little food was a lot. By the time they were both finished, they felt as if they could hardly move.

It was no surprise that was what Cookie Dough was famous for. He could satisfy the appetite of anyone, even if they were even hungry.

Before Lightning and Krysta left, Cookie gave them an invitation he was meant to hand to them upon their arrival. It was an invitation to the town library and observatory, but exactly why or what for, it didn't say.

So they decided to head straight over, following the directions on the invitation, but as they went they passed by the hospital and someone called out. "You there…! Hold it!"

Lightning turned and saw a white unicorn with a pink mane, and wearing a cap with a red cross on it approaching him. Her number was DR3F, but everyone knew her as Dr. Penny Sillion. "Are you Lightning Dawn?" she asked.

"Who wants to know?" said Lightning.

"Thought so… Come with me." replied Dr. Penny as she dragged Lightning into the hospital, much to his protest. "Hey! What are you?"

The Grand Ruler's orders were that every new comer to Unicornicopa had to have a physical examination, and that's exactly what Lightning went through, but in addition to the traditional things, Lightning was also put a treadmill to see how fast he could canter, or flutter with weights on his back to see how much he could support, but the worst test was the magic test, which was like having your blood tested, and almost done the exact same way, only much to Penny's surprise. "What…?" she exclaimed when she realized Lightning didn't have any magic like most unicorns she saw "Yet, you have a golden horn…?"

"Yes!" snapped Lightning. "I don't have magic, but I have a golden horn. Yet I'm fit a fiddle, healthy and keen- Can I go now?"

Penny saw no reason why he couldn't, but she assured Lightning she would see him again. "A gold-horned unicorn that can't do magic?" she thought. "I just don't understand."

…

Lightning was getting tired of running into so many unicorns everywhere he went. "Couldn't have just met them all in one place?" he asked.

"Aw, come on, Lightning." Krysta reminded him, "You're still getting know the place, and that's what The Grand Ruler said, right?"

Lightning knew she was right, and so they continued on their way through town, and finally reached the library. "This must be it." He said as they ventured inside, only to find everything was all dark. They couldn't' see anything, even when Krysta used her glow to make a little light. "This is getting creepy." She shuttered.

Lightning felt the same, and he got a sick feeling that they weren't alone. Then, all at once, the lights went on followed by the voices of many yelling "SURPRISE…!"

Balloons and decorations were everywhere as confetti fell from the ceiling, and big banner that read, "Welcome, Lightning Dawn"

The head of this party was the librarian, Inquerius. He number was ES4G. She was a grey unicorn, and wore half-moon spectacles. "Are you surprised, Lightning?" she asked.

Lightning was almost speechless. "I… uh… this… me…?" Before he could say anything else, all the unicorns approached him introducing themselves, and offering him some refreshments, or to join a game, or even dance. "I think I'll just have some punch please." cried Lightning, who really needed to cool off from all the sudden buzz and excitement.

So much had already happened to him that day he hardly ever had anytime to himself or to rest, and every time he tried to excuse himself he would bump into another unicorn and find himself unable to get away. "Krysta…! Help…!" he begged, but Krysta was a little preoccupied by her own fan-crowd of spectators who were amazed to see an actual fairy.

Then suddenly, all went dark, and the stage curtains at the back of the party lit up for the entertainment was about to begin. "And now everyone…" the announcer called, "The mystifying magic of… Abra-Kadabra…!"

POOF! A puff of purple smoke puffed and then, as if out of nowhere, appeared a purple unicorn, wearing a magician's hat and cape, and his number was CQ2E. "Thank you! Thank you!" he said to the cheering crowd.

"And now… if I may have a volunteer to help me with my first fantastic trick, please!"

Since Lightning was the guest of honor, you can bet the crowd was urging him to go, shoving him up on stage despite his protests. "Well, Lightning Dawn- how wonderful I am to meet you." said Abra.

"Yeah…! Charmed…" said Lightning.

The first trick was the old magic-box. Lightning stepped in. The door was shut. Abra tapped each his hooves twice. The door opened, and Lightning was gone. "Ooh…!" went the crowd and Abra then took of his hat, and gave it a tap, and plop. "Ah…!" Lightning fell out of it and onto the stage. The crowd cheered for both Abra and Lightning.

It was a good thing that, after which, everyone was so preoccupied watching the show and the entertainment, that Lightning and Krysta could finally slip off deeper into the library to have to quiet time instead of having to talk to someone new every ten seconds.

I'm going to go book browsing. Krysta said. "Want some company?" Lightning offered. "No thanks. I'll be okay." replied Krysta as she flew off. Lightning had a good idea of what Krysta was looking for and he hoped that she would find it.

Lightning could only sigh, and then he turned to gaze out a window. The night has certainly come quickly, but then again he did have a very busy day so the time just flew by.

Lightning knew this was The Grand Ruler's doing, he always brought in the most beautiful nights, but Lightning's daydreaming was interrupted when a book fell down and landed right beside him. "Huh?"

It was an ordinary book on astronomy. "Is anyone down there…?" called a feminine voice form up a spiral flight of stairs. "Yes…?" Lightning called "Is this your book?"

"Yes! Could you bring it up please?"

Lightning flew up to the top instead of climbing the stairs, and emerged in the observatory on top of the library, which was rather only but a single room, much like an attic.

"Oh, thank you so much." said the voice. Lightning turned round and saw the voice belonged to… the most… beautiful unicorn he had ever seen! She was white, and had a violet sparling mane, long eyelashes which glittered when she blinked; her armor sparkled like the very stars themselves. She was looking through her telescope, up at the night sky.

Lightning felt all strange and soft inside. "I, uh… I didn't see you at the party." Lightning said

"Oh, I didn't feel like it. I just can't stop looking up at the stars." answered the unicorn.

"Um… what's your name?" asked Lightning.

The unicorn looked at him and spoke softly. "My name's Starla- Starla Shine. Code-Number: KY1M. Who are you?"

He hesitated for a minute as he found himself lost in Starla's eyes, "I'm Lightning Dawn. Code-Number: AO0C."

"Lightning…" Starla said softly.

The two of them seemed to get along well for having just met. Starla explained she loved to look at the stars because to her they could tell stories, or give you advice. "They can?" asked Lightning.

Starla nodded and showed him recordings of her sightings. "These groups of stars tell us how many centuries ago, The Grand Ruler fought off the evil sorcerer, and defeated him, and these groups here, tell the story of how today a new arrival would be coming… that's you I guess."

"Well what's there tonight?" asked Lighting.

Starla was just working on that when she dropped her book, now that she had it back she could confirm her calculations. She look at the stars, then drew their positions, consulted her notes, and she gasped "Oh, no! Oh, my…!"

"What? What's the matter?" asked Lightning, and Starla explained that stars were warning her, "The evil sorcerer… he's coming back. Tonight…!"

"What? Get outta here…!" teased Lightning "There's no way that can happen."

Starla knew the stars didn't lie. If they said the sorcerer would return, he would!

Lightning told her to calm down. He didn't believe the evil that The Grand Ruler had banished all those centuries ago would return, when suddenly there was large quake followed by strikes of dark lightning and a sinister laughing sound…! "Heh, ha, ha, ah, ah, ah, aaahh…!

"What's happening?" cried Lightning.

"Ohh…!" cried Starla!

They could hear the other unicorns all screaming down below and dashed down to see what was going on. "Lightning!" called Krysta "What's going on…?"

"Can this be…?" cried Inquerius "Are the rumors true…?"

The doors flew open letting strong winds into the place as the windows shattered. Everyone was running about in panic as a large flash of lightning and big roar of thunder struck.

Then… there… on the stage… appeared a tall human-shaped figure dressed in dark robes, shoulder-guards, and a dark hood atop completely concealing his face within its shadows- except his eyes, his red and evil eyes glowing in the darkness within the hood.

Lightning could barely speak as he just stood there, gawking at the evil creature as it spoke. "I… am… Titan! The emperor of all darkness, and bringer of chaos and nightmares…!"

Starla was right all along. "You…!" snarled Lightning "You're the one I've heard of from the stories. That same evil The Grand Ruler banished to the Dimension of Darkness!"

Titan chuckle evil "Yes! But alas, that seal could not keep me a prisoner forever. Your grand ruler should have finished me off when he had the chance! Now, his mistake shall be inflicted on you all as my first order of vengeance of being locked up for all these centuries…! THIS WORLD… AND ALL ITS MAGIC… NOW BELONGS TO ME…!"

His evil laugh echoed as he made lightning strike the skies! The unicorns were in deathly trouble now!

To be continued…!

Author's notes:

If your wondering what all these code-numbers are for...

Like I said, this is not FIM. Things are different here, and that means, No Cuite Marks! Instead, we have code-numbers.

The return of evil: Part 2

With his raging fury, Titan began to capture unicorns, and imprison them. Some tried to fight him only to wind up being captured as well. "Easy pickings!" laughed Titan.

Before long, the library was a complete and total mess. Bookshelves were knocked down; books scattered all over the floor along with the broken glass and ruined party supplies. A; the other unicorns began to run in panic, much to Titan's amusement.

Lightning was furious! "What are you going to do with those captured unicorns?" he demanded to know.

"I will extract their magic and add it to my own power to get stronger." answered Titan "Power is the only way to live, after all. Hmm, mm, mm…!"

A blaze of furry sparked inside Lightning and he charged straight at the evil sorcerer. "Lightning…No!" cried Starla.

Titan just raised his hand and fired a small ball of energy that nearly Lightning, but the force it made on impact was enough to knock him back. "Lightning!" cried Krysta as she fluttered over to him.

"Fool…!" snarled Titan "You are as foolish as you are powerless. Your efforts are futile, and the power of all Unicornicopia… will be MINE!" He laughed maliciously as his vanished into the darkness from whence he came, taking all the unicorns he had captured with him.

Lightning angrily pounded the floor with his hove in frustration.

...

Penny and her team arrived to treat anyone who was hurt.

The library was still in a mess, until a green unicorn, wearing square glasses, the code GU6I, and spoke in an English accent arrive. "Mmm… I say!" he said "What's happened…?"

Inquerius approached him "Can you not tell…?" she asked "Did you not feel the danger?"

"Didn't we all?" added Lightning.

The green unicorn admitted that he did calculate the tremors, "But… I wouldn't have believed it possible that Titan has… mmm… eh… returned as it were."

"Well that's fine and dandy, whoever you are." said Lightning "But it doesn't help find where he's gone or where he's taken the unicorns he took."

"Lightning…!" snapped Starla.

The green unicorn kept his cool. "My name, good sir, is Brain, and as soon as I knew there was trouble I began to… eh… make my calculations, and confirm my theories, and I have come to tell you that, I just may know where Titan has gone."

Everyone's ears perked up, and Penny told them to run along. "I can look after things here."

"Thank you, Doctor." said Brain. "Come along, everyone."

Lightning Starla and Krysta followed brain to his home, a massive workshop and laboratory, and that pretty much confirmed that Brain was a regular genius and scientific inventor. "Please do not touch anything." He warned the others "One little accident could cause massive trouble."

The others gulped hard, and Brain then sat himself down at a strange contraption that seemed to be heating water. Brain sniffed the steam. "Ahh…! Satisfactory…" he sighed "Most satisfactory."

"What… what is that?" asked Krysta "Is it a device that lets you find Titan? Something that can beat him or get the unicorns back…?"

"What? Oh, don't be silly…" said Brain "This device is merely used to make me a cup of tea. I've finally perfected it you know."

"A cup of tea…?" Starla asked. She sounded most annoyed "I thought you said you knew where Titan had gone?" added Lightning.

"But I do…" snapped Brain. He cleared his throat "Begging your pardon. If you will just hand me that map over there..."

Krysta used her magic to levitate the map to Brain. "Thank you."

Brain unfolded the map, and consulted his notes. "Mm... let me see."

Neither of the others could understand his calculating one bit, but in the end, "Ah, ha! Satisfactory…! Most satisfactory..."

"What is it?" asked Lightning.

Brain explained that the only place Titan could have taken the captured unicorns would be to Blacktop Mountain, which was located on the other side of Violet Swamp.

"Then that's where we should be heading." Lightning suggested.

"Oh, good heavens, no!" snapped Brain "You know it's dangerous to be wandering through the swamp at night? And I would strongly suggest against flying over it, for fear of being spotted by the enemy."

"He's got a point." said Krysta.

"We have to do something." snapped Lightning "We can't just let that monster drain the magic away and hurt the unicorns."

Krysta felt Lightning was right, but wasn't too keen about entering a dark and scary swamp in the dark of the night. Starla tried to talk Lightning out of it, especially since she knew Lightning would be in real danger as he had no magic to even light his way, let alone overcome any dangers.

Lightning could see that no one was willing to cooperate with him. "I guess I have no choice. I'm going alone!" he snapped as he dashed out of the lab. "Lightning…!" cried Krysta!

"Oh, dear!" cried Brain.

They all ran to the door but Lightning had already taken off through the air. "Poor creature." said Brain "I fear he doesn't realize what he's getting himself into."

…

On Black-Top Mountain, inside and old abandoned shrine-Titan had placed all the unicorns he had captured in magical bubbles which would slowly drain them of their magic and transfer it to his powers. He sniggered wickedly as he watched the energy flow in streams into a giant sphere in the center of the shrine that he would soon absorb. "Wonderful…!"

"Minions…! Come to me!" he then called.

Dark shadows on the floor seemed to gather all in one place and take on the shape a shadowy, dark unicorn. "Mysterious at your service, my lord, Titan…"

Another evil unicorn standing upright on his hind-legs and holding a scythe appeared. "Rep-Stallion… at your command…"

Then a third one who resembled an evil version of Starla appeared "I am Dementia."

Titan had created his own band of unicorns to serve as his henchmen. After all, taking over the world was one thing, but even he needed help sometimes. "Have you completed your instructions…?" Titan asked.

The minions bowed. "Even as we speak, master." said Mysterious "We have laid traps and net our own creatures all over the swamp and the mountain trail."

Re-Stallion sniggered as he stroked the blade of his scythe. "Anyone who dares to come our way shall meet their eternal reward."

This pleased Titan, but he warned his minions not to take the unicorns lightly. "They are still capable of many things. I should know this."

Dementia suddenly felt a disturbance in the force. "Someone is approaching the swamp." she said.

Titan snapped his fingers and conjured images of what was happening. "Why it's that annoying little fool who tried to stand up to me before."

The minions were told of Lightning and how he couldn't do magic and decided he was no big threat, but Titan begged to differ. He knew The Grand Ruler chose Lightning to be his apprentice, but exactly why was a mystery, even to him.

"Let's see how well he can brave everything. Heh, heh, heh…!"

…

Lightning made it to the starting point of Violet Swamp, and Brain wasn't kidding- it really did seem dark and creepy at night. Just gaze through the thickets and brambles was enough to send chills up one's spine. Still, Lightning has come this far, he wasn't willing to turn back now. "I can do this. I will do this!" he kept saying. Then he took one step forwards, crushing a twig with his hove followed by all kinds of screeches and noises from within the swamp. "I'm going to die!" nevertheless, in he went!

It was hard to see when there wasn't so much light, but at least it wasn't so pitch dark you couldn't see anything. Lightning figured the best way to traverse the swamp was just to keep going forward. He wouldn't dare for fear of Titan being ready for that, and the fact that there was no room from him to flap his wings for takeoff.

Jagged rocks, and fallen logs seemed to trip him everywhere he stepped, he even ruined his boots on his hind legs by stepping in mud, and decided to continue on all fours.

Suddenly, Lightning turned and thought he saw a monster, but it was only a tree in the shape of a monster. He saw a scary claw, which was actually just a long branch. Lightning took in a deep breath and counted to ten, then again, and felt better… until he heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him. Quivering in fear, he ducked down, and peeped, "Who's there…?"

The bushes shook and twigs snapped, but then a friendly voice called. "Lightning…? It's okay… it's just me."

Lightning peeked up, "K-K-K… Krysta…? What are you doing here? I thought…"

Krysta couldn't let her friend do this alone, and that was why she brought some help. That was when several of the others, Buddy Rose, Artie, Rhymey, Brain, and even Starla, came out from the branches, all holding lanterns and flashlights.

Each and everyone one of them admitted that they, too, weren't willing to let Titan get away with what he did, and all offered to help Lightning stop him. "You'd really all does that… for me?" asked Lightning.

Buddy Rose spoke on everyone's behalf when he said. "That's what friends are for. It's one for all and all for one."

The others all agreed and put their hooves together, all saying "It's one for all, and all for one…!"

"…And we won't quit 'till our task is done." added Rhymey.

Lightning felt touched, and place his hove in with everyone else's, and then they all set off together. Rhymey even decided to make things easier. Horn glowed, and he shouted, "WARD SWORD!" causing a small blade to materialize so he could cut and hack away at all the brambles and thickets, making a clear path through.

"Follow me this way…

Hurry now! Don't delay."

Everyone followed quickly, because all the things that Rhymey had hacked seemed to grow back almost instantly, much to Lightning' fear.

The others seemed to know their way around the swamp better than Lightning did, but still. Even though they were all together, they all felt equally as scared, especially when they ran into a real and gigantic tree monster. "A dog-wood!" cried Buddy Rose. "Everybody, run…!"

The monstrous creature lunged at the unicorns. It wasn't very fast, but very fierce and nasty. "What is that thing?" asked Lightning, and Buddy explained it was a creature called a Dog-Wood, "And believe me, its bark isn't nearly as bad as its bite."

Brain couldn't understand what a Dog-Wood would be doing in the swamp when there hadn't been any known or seen around for centuries. "I fear that this is the work of our enemy."

"Tell us something we couldn't already figure out…" snapped Lightning "… like how to get past it!"

"I have an idea…!" said Artie, and he skidded to a halt and turned round to face the oncoming monster. "What are you doing…?" cried Krysta. Artie just stood his ground. "PAINT BLOBS!" and at the shout of his voice, he opened his mouth wide sending a swarm of paint blobs at the monster, a coupe le of which splattered on his eyes, blinding him. "Hurry, before he can see again!" he shouted, and everyone followed him, running right past the monster and as far away as they could canter.

There were more monsters and more traps along the way through the swamp, but each of the other unicorns used their powers to outwit or make it past all the tricks, and finding their way through the swamp.

"What a nightmare!" Buddy cried.

Lightning didn't understand why everyone used magic though. "I thought you never used magic…?"

The others explained that that wasn't true…

Unicornicopian's were different than ordinary unicorns that were known. Their basic powers were used for battle, and could be used offensively, defensively. Some unicorns only had healing magic, Like Penny at the hospital, and some powers were used for quick wits.

The bottom line was: their magic was only to be used in times of dire emergencies, by order of the Grand Ruler. This was why in their daily lives they didn't use magic to help them in most of their tasks, and did things naturally.

"Wow! Talk about powerful!" exclaimed Lightning. For a brief moment he almost felt okay not to have magic.

Still, their mission was not over yet. They made it through the swamp, but now before them was the starting trail of Blacktop Mountain, and it looked even more eerie than the swamp, sending chills up everyone's spines.

Still, they all climbed, and resisted the urge to fly up the mountain, not knowing what traps lay ahead. Not only we're there more monsters along the way, but booby traps as well- Things like hidden pits, rock slides, falling boulders. Even scary shadows, which only turned out to be the shadows of the gang all huddled against the mountainside.

Lightning took a deep breath and counted to ten again. "What are you doing, Lightning?" asked Krysta.

Lightning hated to admit it, but he was rather scared, but then everyone else admitted that they were frightened too. "Well, The Grand Ruler once taught me that everyone was afraid of something and that whenever I feel afraid or nervous, I should just take a deep breath, and count to ten."

Rhymey thought that was a great idea,

"Hey! A thought just occurs to me,

Why don't we try it musically?

It often helps to sing a song,

And it will help stay brave and headstrong."

Just then, a loud noise scared everyone, and they all agreed to go for the song…

"Well, perhaps you shall sing the words, Lightning." stuttered Brain, "It is something you were taught."

Lightning agreed, "Let's just do it before something else happens, but just as music started to fill the air, the gang spotted another shadow that didn't belong to them, and they all took off high up the mountain dodging all the dangers and traps that came their way.

(Shining Time Station: "Everyone's Afraid of Something")

Everyone's afraid of something.

So don't be afraid of your fear.

Take a deep breath and count to ten,

And soon it'll disappear.

If you're afraid of a shadow,

You see when you're alone.

Don't be frightened, don't be scared,

It might just be your-own.

Everyone gets afraid, it's really true.

Everyone gets afraid, so why shouldn't you?

Everyone's afraid of something.

So don't be afraid of your fear.

Take a deep breath and count to ten,

And soon it'll disappear.

Don't let your imagination,

Run away from you.

You could blame somebody for,

Something they did not do.

Everyone gets afraid, it's really true.

Everyone gets afraid, so why shouldn't you?

Everyone's afraid of something.

So don't be afraid of your fear.

Take a deep breath and count to ten,

And soon it'll disappear.

Don't be afraid of the dark because,

It always goes away.

Just wait awhile, and soon there'll be

A brand-new, bright-new day…

Everyone gets afraid, it's really true.

Everyone gets afraid, so why shouldn't you?

Everyone's afraid of something.

So don't be afraid of your fear.

Take a deep breath and count to ten…

"Huuuu…! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… 6…7… 8… 9… 10"

And soon it'll disappear-!

…

All through the song, they met more and more monsters, shadows, traps, but by the time they were done, they reached the top of the mountain. "We made it!" cried Artie.

"No, not yet we haven't." said Starla. "We still have to find the other unicorns."

"Uh… begging everyone's pardon." said Brain, "But perhaps they are… ahem… in there?" He motioned up ahead at the shrine ahead as a flash of lightning and booming of thunder made everyone jump.

Lightning recognized it from his studies. It was an old abandoned shrine that The Grand Ruler once used for times of meditation and to channel his magic, but it was no surprise that Titan was in there, and obviously waiting for them.

"D-Do you think it's okay,

Gulp! To go in that way?" asked Rhymey

"We have too." said Lightning "We didn't come all this way to just turn back now."

They all quietly walked through the open doors. Krysta hid in under Lightning's wing, shaking in fear. "Oh my!" whimpered Brain. "Perhaps we should… eh… call out? Announce our presence? Eh… what should we say?"

"How about… come and get us?" suggested Lightning. That was when the doors slammed shut behind, and everything went pitch black. Everyone else screamed all at once. "…Although a bloodcurdling scream is just as good." replied Lightning.

That's when a torch on the wall lit with fire. Then another torch lit, and another, and another, all the way around the shrine. "Look!" cried Starla.

It was the Unicorns, all sleeping inside magic bubbles. They didn't seem to be harmed, yet when the gang approached the bubbles; they found they couldn't touch them. Their hooves just passed right through them. "Curious! Most curious…" muttered Brain.

Krysta realized, "These are illusions!" That's when all the bubbles vanished instantly, and sounds of laughter echoed throughout the shrine.

That's when Titan's minions appeared. "Well, hello there…!" hissed Mysterious. Rep-Stallion and Dementia snickered cheekily.

"Who are you?" snapped Buddy Rose "And what have you done with the unicorns."

"They are quite safe… for the moment." said Rep-Stallion.

"And if you behave nicely, we just might make your fate less painful than theirs." added Dementia.

The gang was starting to tell that these creeps were going to give them no end of trouble. "Don't get any ideas!" snapped Artie. "When The Grand Ruler finds out…"

"Big deal…" hissed Rep-Stallion. "We can beat his magic with one hove- Well, maybe two."

The unicorns stood upright on their hind legs. Rhymey held his sword tightly.

Lightning, however, wasn't sure what to do. He didn't have any magic to use, so at best, he and Krysta ducked behind a column and watched as the others began to brawl!

Artie and Buddy Rose went after Mysterious. "Let's get him!" shouted Buddy, and the boys charged at their enemy only to end up passing right through him.

"Huh…?"

"What…?"

"Hm, mm, mm…! You missed me." Mysterious mocked at them. The boys tried again only to repeat what happened. Then suddenly they realized. Mysterious was no ordinary unicorn, he was a shadow. He was made of actual darkness, like air.

"You can't touch me…" hissed Mysterious as he ran past the boys, striking them with his horn. "… but I can touch you!"

Even with their armor on, Buddy and Artie felt this would be harder than they thought.

The others weren't having much luck either, as Rhymey and Rep-Stallion went at it with their weapons. Rep-Stallion was very skilled in wielding his scythe, but he was rather impressed by Rhymey's swordplay. "I must say, you are rather good…"

"I have practiced for long… like anyone should." answered Rhymey.

Rep-Stallion sniggered, and then pulled a cheap magic attack, "SCYTHE SHOCK!" and his scythe began to spark with electricity that gave Rhymey a jolt. "Ah…!"

"I've had enough…

It's time to get tough!"

He spread his wings out and shouted, "DRILL QUILL!" sending a swarm of sharp quill feathers form his wings at his enemy. Rep-Stallion leapt out of the way, and was now more impressed than ever.

Meanwhile, Dementia had Brain cornered, and poor Brain was a unicorn who didn't have magic used for battle, but rather observation and quick wits. "I say! Can we not talk about this?"

Dementia just laughed "You're kidding, right?"

"Oh, dear…!" whimpered Brain. Dementia was about to strike him, when…

"STAR SHOWER…!" Starla sent a wave of small star-bolts straight at Dementia, nearly ruffling her mane and Dementia did not like it when someone tried to spoil her looks! She turned and glared furiously at Starla. "Oh…! Ye who messes my mane WILL PAY!" she shouted and charged at Starla with all her might.

Dementia also demonstrated her ability to warp the fields around her to negate attacks. Her moves were basically defensive as she didn't like spoiling her looks. "Like they say… a good offense is a strong defense!"

Starla didn't care, but as the fight was about to continue, Titan appeared and called his minions off. "That's enough." he said with an evil snicker. "You have done well, my minions. Return to the castle."

The minions, though disappointed as they were having so much fun, obeyed their master and vanished into thin air.

Lightning and Krysta peeked from behind the column. "Oh, no…!" Lightning whispered.

"What do you want…?" growled Buddy Rose "Give us back the unicorns."

"Never!" scoffed Titan "But if you insist on seeing them again, I'll be glad to let you join them!" and he fired a stream of magic at the unicorns, most of them dodged, but Brain got hit. "Oh… my…!" he cried and he was trapped in a magic holding-bubble.

"Let's get him!" shouted Artie! and everyone fire their best attacks all at once…

"PTEAL DANCE…!" A swarm of razor sharp leaves…

"PAINT BOMB…!" Artie fired blobs of paint, but these were explosive kinds.

"STAR SHOWER…!"

"DRILL QUILL…!"

Titan got hit, but it didn't look as if he was even fazed. "Ha, ha, ah, ah, ah…! Fools!" he scoffed and, one by one, he trapped each of them in more bubbles, ready to drain their magic.

Lightning and Krysta were horrified. "What are we going to do?" cried Krysta. Lightning was so livid to see his new friends being tortured and harmed as Titan began to absorb their energy, but then he leapt right out and shouted, "LEAVE THEM ALONE…!"

Titan turned to face him. For a moment, nothing happened, and then Titan just fired a small projectile which knocked Lightning down. Krysta screamed, and Lightning scoffed him. "Stay out of my way, weakling! I don't know why The Grand Ruler chose you to be his student, but I'd say he made a poor choice."

Those words made Lightning find his second wind and stand upright. "Never say anything like that about my mentor again!" and he charged towards Titan roaring like a monster, but Titan just blasted him again, harder this time. "Lightning!" cried Krysta.

Lightning kept on getting up, and titan continuously blasted him back. Each time was more forceful than the last. Lightning was starting to slow down and feel weak. Titan laughed hard and evilly and continued to mock at him, "And you call yourself a unicorn?"

Lightning actually felt Titan was right. He was no unicorn. What kind of a unicorn couldn't do magic, or save his friends, or worse… keep his promise. Titan decided, "Well then… allow me to put you out of your misery!" He began to power up for a really big blast…

"LIGHTNING…!" screamed Krysta. The others all pounded on their bubbles trying to break free and help their friend.

However, Lightning remembered something The Grand Ruler told him... "Always remember… to believe!"

For the first time, Lightning was starting to realize what that meant. "I believe!" he said as he began to stand up, much to Titans confusion. "What…?"

Lightning kept concentrating. "Magic or no magic… I can do this. I believe...! I Believe…!" he stood proud and tall and shouted, "I BELIEVE…!"

His golden horn began to glow with a mystical light, and Lightning, who was bathed in a tube of golden light, he felt incredibly strong now. "That… that glow!" growled Titan "…Could it be?"

Krysta was amazed as she stared at Lightning. "Is that… what I think it is?" The other unicorns wondered the same thing, but Titan was not willing to let it be so. "So much for believing…!" he snarled as he continue to charge up, but Lightning stepped forward and stood on his hind legs with his horn and his front hooves glowing like crazy and said…

"Magic is believing…

Believing is right

I summon the magic,

In this mystical light…!"

Titan roared loudly and fired his magic-stream, and Lightning shouted, "…UNIFORCE!" He fired a large and powerful golden force of extreme magic which met with Titan's force sending it right back towards him. "AAH-Uh…? NO…!"

Titan was hit and was actually stunned, and then he decided to retreat. "This isn't the end, Lightning Dawn! I'll be back!" and he was gone, and all the unicorns he had captured reappeared, and his friends were released from their bubbles… while outside, the dark clouds lifted as the evil vanished from the mountain and the swamp below.

As for Lightning, he stopped glowing, and fell flat on the ground. "Ugh!" he groaned. He felt as if he had just blown up a giant. "What just happened?"

Everyone approached Lightning and cheered for him that he did it! He saved everyone. "I did…?" asked Lightning. "Hey, I did!"

Then, the doors to the shrine opened, as dawn began to break and the sun shined through, followed by a mystical glow and there he was- a handsome white stallion with a short dark mane with sparkling stars glittering. He wore golden armor with jewels encrusted into it, a red cape with gold markings fluttering on his back. Golden Pegasus wings, golden covers on his front hooves and black. Atop his head were three golden horns, one was full sized unicorn horn, and two small ones, one on each side.

The unicorns all bowed, and so did Krysta. "Grand Ruler…!" cried Lightning, "You're here!"

He ran over to greet his mentor, and The Grand Ruler was pleased to see everyone. "Lightning, my boy…I am pleased you and everyone are safe, and I am very proud of you."

He explained why he took Lightning on as his apprentice was because Lightning had just used the Uniforce- the very same magic that he had used against Titan centuries ago. A magic so intense that only unicorns with rare golden horns would be able to tap into.

"Lightning… do you know how you were able to tap into this mystical force?"

Lightning shook his head. His mentor smiled, "In time you will in fact. You may not possess any other form of magic power, Lightning, but you do possess something greater than any form of magic there ever could be."

Lightning looked up and asked. "What is that…?"

The Grand Ruler smiled. "You have heart, and courage. These are forms of magic that we all possess, and they come from within you, not from artifacts and other sources. All you have to do is believe in your own inner-magic, and then… nothing will seem impossible."

The unicorns felt his words meant well, and they all promised to heed them, especially now that Titan had returned and would strike again. They would all need to do their best to keep the kingdom safe from his evil.

The Grand Ruler promised to keep his watch over everyone and everything. "I will always be there, and so will the magic of believing. These things Titan will never hope to understand and overcome. I am proud of you all." He bowed to his subjects and they all bowed back.

Then off they headed back to the villages.

A new chapter had just begun for Unicornicopia.

…

Author's notes:

Now you get idea of how my characters are different.

See, I don't believe "Friendship is Magic" At all. I think it's a lie, and that is one reason I do not wish to get involved with much of FIM.

I make this fic so I don't have to ever watch FIM, get mixed up in those les, get hurt, and make a whole new world. That… and I was dared by spammer s and mockers who keep trying to force me to change and watch the show.

PS: I cannot and will not answer the questions of anonymous reviewers.

Fearsome Flowers

Author's Notes:

If anyone form ponychan is reading this, it's time you woke up.

That Dakari King Mykan who joined you isn't me. It's someone form Project After who got a whole of my past postings and altered them to frame me. Believe me… I am not part of ponychan and don't wish to be. I would never join the likes of you! "Friendship is NOT magic" The real magic is believing…!

EPISODE THREE

Lightning had received a gift package from The Grand Ruler…

Unfortunately, it was wrapped with a special material, not the kind you could just rip off, or open. It could only be opened if something special were to happen. All it came with was a letter from The Grand Ruler…

Dear Lightning…

As you know, dark times have befallen the kingdom. As much as I have faith in you, I wish to take no chances for your safety.

This package I have given you- It has been in my possession for centuries, and kept always ready but never needed until now. It will be very useful to you in the many battles you will fight, but by now you are aware that you cannot open the package.

When the time is right, it shall be made clear to you.

Learn well and strong, my apprentice, and keep on believing.

Your caring Mentor: The Grand Ruler.

"Huh! I wonder what it is." Lightning said to himself, but he decided to just leave it be for now. He had other things to attend to.

…

Now that the entire kingdom was aware of Titan's treachery, everyone was to take extreme measures to be cautious as they went along their daily routines.

As for Lightning, he spent a lot of time in the library or borrowing books to learn more about the Uniforce as he still didn't understand it that well, or where it came from, and how he used it the first time.

The Grand simply told him to be patient, and all would eventually become clear.

Inquerius was passing by and saw him studying hard again. "Are you frustrated, Lightning?" she asked.

"I don't think frustrated is the word?" Lightning sighed "Do you have any other books that can help me find what I'm looking for?"

"You are not willing to give up? Even if it means you will not find what you seek here?" asked Inquerius.

"Duh…! That's why I've been stopping here every day." snapped Lightning. He apologized quickly for being rude, "But please… can you just help me out?"

Inquerius felt confused, "I have not been helping you already?"

Lightning was getting so frustrated at why all the questions were being thrown at him, but Artie was passing by with some books he was returning told Lightning, "I don't think you quite get it here. Her name is Inquerius, as in… inquire! She doesn't give answers, she asks questions. It's the way she talks."

Lightning got the drift now. Inquerius helped others by trying to get them to realize the answer for themselves. "Is there not something else you can do instead of pondering over this mystery?" asked Inquerius.

Krysta fluttered near her friend and suggested he go get Lunch. "You've been working too hard. You really should relax."

Lightning felt that was laughable. How could he relax at a time like this when he had so many unanswered questions tormenting him, as well as worrying what Titan was up to now…?

Nobody even knew where his hideout was, or if it was even in the same dimension, and just the very thought of venturing out to search each and everyone one of the countless dimensions and universe once by one was already crazy enough.

All they could do was wait patiently, hope for some signs or clues, and stay alert.

…

Titan's castle was located in dark a creepy looking dimension. Winds were howling, thunder and lightning shook the skies.

Dementia was busy styling her mane while Rep-Stallion sharpened his scythe. Dementia look din her mirror. "Do I look fat…?" asked at her reflection "Nah…!" and she playfully kissed at the air.

Mysterious whispered to Rep-Stallion. "She's at it again…"

"Poor thing…" Rep chuckled.

"MINIONS…!" shouted Titan. Dementia's mirror shattered. "Aah-ugh…!" groaned. "…Seven years bad luck."

The minions headed to the throne room where Titan was seated on his throne. The minions bowed, "Yes, my lord?" asked Mysterious "Is it time for us to exact our revenge, and crush the unicorns?"

Rep licked the blade of his scythe sniggering madly. "Especially, that rhyming one…"

"Patience…!" bellowed Titan "Our chance will come in due time, but this is not it."

Titan hated to admit how he underestimated the power of the Uniforce, twice in fact, and now his main goal above all was to overpower it. Then his power would be the greatest throughout the dimensions. "But to do so, I must study it closely while harnessing more magic to increase my power. That's where all of you come in, friends."

"What do you wish for us to do?" asked Dementia.

Titan's eyes glowed bright red, "Capture Lightning Dawn." he hissed "With him as my prisoner I could gather the secrets I need with ease."

Each minion was also equipped with a small pouch containing dark magic dust that when used in just the right way would assist them in their plans and battle. "Now go on your way." Titan said

The minions bowed and left leaving Titan alone in his throne room. "Hmm, mm, mm…!"

…

Lightning and Krysta had finished their lunch and thanked Cookie Dough. "Happy to do it for you guys." he replied, and then he left to get back to work.

Krysta let out a tiny burp. "Ooh! Excuse me!" she giggled, but Lightning still seemed distracted. "I don't get it…" he said. "How can everyone be so calm when there's an evil force out that that could attack any minute?"

Krysta was just as confused as he was, but then assumed everyone was just trying to be brave. "We can't just let one fact scare us."

"I don't know…" Lightning said as they left and decided to head to the garden to pick some flowers for their home in White Village.

Buddy Rose's flowers were so beautiful and nice to smell. Krysta was careful not to sneeze this time. Even Lighting admired the smell of the flowers, it actually made him forget about Titan for a moment.

As Krysta was about to pick some flower, Buddy Rose came along and said "You don't want those flowers."

"I don't…?"

"They're too plain- Too ordinary. Now I something you'll really love." He motioned for them to follow him to a vacant patch in the flowerbeds with only mere drawings such beautiful flowers on sticks. They were so incredibly beautiful it was almost impossible to describe them…

(Even I can't)

Buddy Rose explained that's why they were called, the Beauti-Flors, and they only grew in his hometown, Redwood Meadows. "So why don't you have any here?" asked Lightning.

"I ordered a new supply of seeds from there, but my shipment's way overdue." said Buddy "I've written letters back, but I haven't gotten any replies."

Lightning didn't like the sound of this…!

"Can't you just go there and pick it up?" he asked.

Buddy Rose shook his head. "I can't abandon my garden, even on my breaks I'd never be able to fly over there and back in time, and I don't get off until sundown. I'd be too tired to go by then."

Then he gave Lightning and Krysta a peculiar look. "I don't suppose you want us to…" Lightning teased. "Well, it would be an excuse for me to visit Redwood anyway." So it was settled.

This was also Lightning's new job in Unicornicopa; the town helper. It was his job to volunteer and help people with their daily tasks if needed, or to do them simple errands of favors.

Lightning and Krysta took off and promised to be back by sundown. Along the way, they met up with Rhymey, who had just come from Redwood, but he looked a little. "Rhymey…?" called Krysta

"Hi! Bye!" called rhyme as he zoomed right past. He looked as if he had seen a ghost. "Rhymey, wait!" called Lightning as he dashed to catch up with him. "Rhymey, hold it! What's going on?"

"A monster…! A monster I've seen…

It's big and tall, and very mean!"

"A monster…?" asked Krysta.

"I knew something didn't feel right." snapped Lightning.

Rhymey nodded, and that was why he was in a rush. He was on his way back into town to call for help. He was glad that Lightning had come. "Where did you see it?" asked Lightning.

"Follow me…

You will see?"

Following Rhymey, they made it to Redwood, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Redwood seemed. It seemed a nice little village. Most of it was meadows with red roses and other flowers. There even some tall redwood trees. Little white cottages with red fetched roofs were all scattered along either sides of a red-brick road leading into the flower fields.

"Wow…! This is a nice place." Exclaimed Lightning "But where is everyone…?" He couldn't see any other unicorns down below at all. Rhymey explained…

"This is what the monster has done…

Everyone was scared and had to run.

Their poor village, I fear for it so.

We must find that monster and make it go!"

"Yeah, but where do we even start to look for it…?" asked Lightning.

Suddenly, Krysta spotted something, and the boys followed her down to the near the road where there was a second road. Lightning recognized immediately "It's not a road. It's a trail."

Krysta and Rhymey agreed, someone or something had left that trail there, and recently too. "Wait…!" snapped Lightning "Do you feel that?"

The ground was starting to quiver, and it grew stronger with every passing second.

"Oh… I fear…

It's coming near!" cried Rhymey.

The rumbling continued to get worse, and then it stopped. The gang felt really nervous and slowly turned round. There, standing behind them was a flower exactly like the Beauti-Flors in Rose Buddy's garden; only it was at least twenty feet tall, with dark eyes, sharp, prickly vines, teeth… and it roared!

The gang screamed and began to run for it, but the monster gave chase, making more trails as it traveled, slashing its vines, smashing the ground. It even fired deadly barbs form its mouth. "Spread out!" shouted Lightning, and he and Rhymey ran in opposite directions, but the monster seemed to chase after Lightning. "Not you!" he cried as he continued to canter as fast as he could, only to run into Dementia. "Hi, there…" she teased.

"So! This is Titan's doing!" Lightning snarled, and that's when the monster stopped right behind him, and was about to attack, but Dementia stopped him. "Now, now, now, Floralbite…!" Dementia said"We should give him a chance to come willingly."

"What…?" snapped Lightning.

"Titan wishes to have a few words with you." said Dementia "You come willingly, or my pet can escort you!"

The Floralbite snapped its teeth twice.

"Wow! Nice choice options." grumbled Lightning. He sure wished he could use the uniforce right about now, but he didn't know how. He couldn't remember how he did it the last time. "I'm growing impatient!" snapped Dementia, and she ordered her monster. "Take him!"

The monster extended its vines ready to ensnare the helpless Lightning, until Rhymey leapt into action with his "WARD SWORD…!" and slashed right though those vines. The monster roared in pain, and the air form his roar messed up Dementia's mane "Ugh! I just had it sprayed!" she whined. Lightning saw this as his chance to run. "Oh, no you don't!" snapped Dementia as she prepared to warp him back using her powers to warp the field around her, until sparkling dust began to sprinkle down from above, blinding her. "AAH…! My eye liner's ruined!"

It was Krysta who was sprinkling her fairy dust from above, "And I thought you liked looking sparkly." she mocked and flew off. "You little firefly…!" Dementia roared

While she was distracted, Lighting could help Rhymey with the monster. Rhymey continuously tried cutting the vines with his sword, but the vines just magically grew back, and the monster just got angrier.

Rhymey was staring to get tired.

"I've… tried my best,

But I need… rest." he groaned.

"No! Don't give up!" snapped Lightning "We can do this!"

The Floralbite growled and fired more barbs at them both which they barely dodged. Lightning had to do something and fast. "There has to be a way to stop this thing."

"Lightning, we've tried. It's no good." said Krysta, but Lightning was not willing to give up. He wasn't going to stand around a let some oversized flower tear up everything.

Dementia was losing patience and she was really upset about her looks being spoiled again. "I think I've waited long enough! Good looks or not!" and she ordered her monster "Get him!"

The monsters opened its huge mouth ready to devour Lightning and bring him back to Titan, when suddenly…

"VINE SNARE…!" shouted a voice as powerful vines emerges from the ground and wrapped around the monster's mouth, shutting it tight. "What…?" snapped Dementia.

That's when Buddy Rose dropped in from the sky. "Buddy Rose…!" cried Lightning, Rhymey smiled…

"You're here now…

But why and how?"

Buddy explained that the villagers of Redwood ran into Rainbow City, crying out for help. "No one messes with my home and gets away with it! Even if it means leaving my garden…"

Dementia growled and used her magic to free her monster. "Get them all!" she ordered, and the monster charged. "Run!" shouted Lightning, and the gang dashed away only to have the monster start chasing them.

"Lightning, can't you try what you didn't before and believe?" asked Buddy.

"I have… but it's not working. I can't summon the uniforce."

Buddy Rose then realized they were running from a flower that was running through the ground. "Of course…!"

"What…" asked Krysta.

"VINE SNARE…!" Buddy wrapped his newly summoned vines behind and under the monster, "Help me pull!" he said to the others.

"What are you doing…?" asked Lightning.

"Don't talk, just pull!"

Still not understanding, the others grabbed the vines and pulled with all their might, even Krysta. They pulled and pulled and yanked the monster right out by its roots, causing it to fall flat on its back, and unable to move. "Hey!" snarled Dementia.

"Good thing I know plants." smirked Buddy.

"But now what do we do?

Our task isn't through." Rhymey pointed out.

That's when a soft glow of light appeared in front of Lightning. "Now what's going on?" asked Krysta.

"Hey…!" Lightning said as he recognized what was appearing before him. "It's that package I got from the Grand Ruler." Indeed it was, and the wrapping around it magically vanished revealing a small wand with a spectrum glowing ball with a small crown in its head.

"Lightning…!" echoed a voice.

"Grand Ruler…?" Lighting asked as he gazed around, but his mentor was nowhere to be seen.

"I have used my golden horns to channel this message to you."

"You may be able to tap into the uniforce, but you have much to learn before you truly can master it. This is the Rainbow Rod. I present this to you to assist you in battle as you in battle further. When the time is right, simply aim it at the enemy and enunciate the phrase the magic phrase. Just have faith, and believe in the rod's power."

Lightning took hold of the rod, and held it tightly. He did believe in his master's words, and that he would do this.

He held the rod up high as it began to glow, and he recited the phrase engraved on the rod…

"Magic of the Rainbow,

My faith burns bright

To vanquish the evil,

…in rainbow's light!"

"RAINBOW FORCE…!" and the shout of his command, a magical rainbow stream fired from the tip of the wand and struck the Floralbite hard. The monsters roared loud, and Dementia braced herself from the upcoming shockwaves.

Two colorful waves burst from the monster…

WHAAAOM!

WHAAAOM!

Then POOF! It burst into a rain of ordinary flowers, and was all gone. Buddy, Rhymey and Krysta watched in awe, but then cheered for joy, and Lightning joined them, "I did it!" he cried.

Dementia couldn't believe what has just happened, both her monster being defeated, and she was in a mess. "You'll pay for this, you little clip-clops!" she snarled as she vanished and was gone.

Buddy Rose was happy that his hometown would be safe, and he could cancel his order for the seeds because now he had enough Beauti-Flors to fill a whole basket. "I'll take them back to my garden and get them replanted."

Still, what none of them could understand was how the flowers became a monster in the first place. Dementia's magic was only used for defense and capture. "Hey… what's this?" Krysta asked as she picked a flower that had traces of colored dust on it. The colors matched that of when the magic faded in those large waves when the monster was defeated.

"We need to see Brain. Now." said Lightning.

…

Once back in Rainbow City, Buddy Rose went straight back to his garden, and Rhymey accompanied Lightning and Krysta to Brain's laboratory. He used his powers of wit and analysis to examine the dust. "Ah-ha…! Satisfactory! Most Satisfactory." he said.

"What is it, Brain…?

Please explain." said Rhymey.

Brain explained that the dust was, in fact, the essence of defeated evil forces, and infused with the magical life-force of monsters. "So basically it just turns whatever it touches into a monster?" asked Krysta.

"Correct." Said Brain, "And it may have other qualities as well now that our enemy has it in his possession and obviously plans to use it as his method of attack."

This was good to know. The gang had learned a lot more about Titan and his plan of attack, and now they would be more prepared for him than ever.

In the meantime… it had been a long day, and Krysta and Lightning decided to head home. As they left Brain's lab, they could see Buddy Rose's Garden ahead and it was swarming with customers. No doubt they were there to buy or just one whiff of his new Beauti-Flors.

Buddy was so crowded, "I think I took in a little more than I could handle." he laughed.

Krysta and Lightning couldn't help but giggle.

…

(In the Grand Ruler's Palace)

Grand Ruler: "Well, we certainly learned a lot today."

"Buddy Rose learned that it's okay to leave your post sometimes, especially if the situation calls for it, and Lightning is coming along nicely too. Things come with time and you should just take it slow and simple. The more time you take, the more you may discover."

"See you all next time, and keep on believing."

Strong as a Rock

The Rainbow Rod was indeed a mystical weapon, and was powered to respond to Lightning's command, and only his command. All he had to do was call for it in battle and it would come.

The Grand Ruler had also dispatched a good number of his guards to set up lookout towers all over the kingdom and be on the lookout for any signs of evil activity. The minute anything seemed wrong, they would sound the alarms, alerting everyone to head for the nearest shelter. The only exceptions would be the armed forces, and or Lightning and any allies accompanying him into battle.

Magical force fields would also surround the buildings and homes to avoid collateral damage and keep the monsters outside.

Practice drills were held and everyone seemed to get the hang of it. Emergency supplies of food and water were passed all over the kingdom in case of long waiting periods. Lightning, of course, spent the whole week helping to deliver supplies, as was his job as town helper, but he was glad when the last of the supplies were dropped off. "Well, that should be all of it, Kyrsta."

Krysta checked her clip board, which was larger than she was. "Yep!" she chirped "And about time too. I'm exhausted."

Lightning's eyes widened at that statement. "You're exhausted? Look at my wings!" Lightning Wings were all tired out from flying back and forth between towns and villages so much. "Not to mention carrying all these heavy crates and boxes."

He was really looking forward to going home for a nice long rest, only he ran into Artie along the way. He was carrying a towel with him. "Hi, Lightning. Hi Krysta…"

His friends returned his greeting. "What's with the towel?" asked Krysta. Lightning also noticed that Artie didn't have his armor on and was merely wearing his exercising clothes, sweatband and he wore shoes instead of his boots on his hind legs. "Oh, no…! Please don't tell me…?" he groaned.

It was fitness-day- The day when all unicorns were to go through exercise workouts. It wasn't just all believing and having good skill to use magic, they also had to be in good shape and keep fit for normal everyday lives, as well as combat without magic.

Participation was mandatory, with the exception of Krysta, of course. She wasn't a unicorn, and seemed fit and fiddles for her type.

Before Lightning knew it, he too was in his exercise clothes, and ready to get moving along with everyone else. Penny was the coach. As a doctor she knew fit unicorns when she saw them and how to make them stay that way.

"Okay unicorns! Are we ready…?" she called out. The crowd shouted loudly "YEAH…!"

"Yeah." groaned Lightning.

Penny put them through all kinds of exercises, aerobics, even a little bit of track and field. Many of the unicorns did superb, but some didn't do so well. Lightning was doing the worst. He could hardly do so many push-ups; he couldn't leap over the jump pole, and during a period of timed jogging he finally collapsed. "Ugh…!"

When he awoke, he was in the hospital, and Penny was wearing her uniform and looking after him. Krysta was there too. "Where am I?" he asked groggily. "Shh…! Take it easy, Lightning…" whispered Penny.

Krysta explained what happened, and Penny confirmed why. "You're overworked, Lightning. Oh, I should've known better than to put you put there. I'm sorry."

Lightning smiled sleepily, "Well… at least now I can get some rest."

Penny nodded, and said she check up on him later.

Krysta decided to get some rest too.

When Lighting woke up again, he felt much, much better. "I feel like I could lift up the moon." he joked. "Bad idea, that." Krysta said. "I don't think you could lift up anything that big."

Lightning laughed with her.

…

Meanwhile, Titan had observed the conversation, then he turned to face Rep-Stallion, "And you say you have an idea over this…?" he asked.

"Yes, my lord." answered Rep "What finer way to capture those unicorns that by using something strong and sturdy, something immovable… solid as a rock maybe."

Titan gave his minion an impatient glare. "Get to the point!"

Rep-Stallion continued to explain, that against such a hard and heavy object, "The unicorns won't know what hit them. I will capture Lightning easily, and all his secrets will be yours, might Titan."

"Rep-Stallion… you may proceed." said Titan "And do not fail me."

…

As Rep-Stallion prepared for his mission, he suffered the ridicule of his teammates. "Even I know this plan of yours won't work, Rep-Stallion." mocked Mysterious.

"Huh! Just you wait…" snapped Rep "I'll be delivering unicorn pancakes to the front door by the end of the day."

"Oh, sure you will…" Dementia said with sarcasm as she gazed at herself in her mirror from many angles.

Rep to no further notice and went on his way.

…

Lightning and Krysta were passing through though the fields, when they noticed Starla, in her exercise clothes, sitting on a bench and panting heavily. She looked as if she had been cantering a-hundred miles. "Starla…?" called Lightning.

Starla was so pooped she could barely raise her hove. "H… H… Hi…" she said, but her voice sounded very dry. Luckily there was a water fountain nearby. Starla felt much better. "Starla, what's going on?" asked Krysta.

Starla explained that the other night while she was star-gazing in her observatory. Then she was on her way down to the library to get a book when she could hear other unicorns down below talking about the exercise period, and they began to tease Starla a bit, not knowing that she could hear them…

"That Starla... she's hardly ever seen outside."

"Yeah… and the way she sometimes trips and stumbles, you'd think she was losing her shape more and more."

So Krysta decided to excesses constantly to get into shape and prove that she wasn't all those things those unicorns had said. "Starla... exercising this much isn't good for anyone." said Krysta "Look at you! You're so worn out."

"Besides, you don't look out of shape to me." said Lightning

Starla turned her pretty face towards Lightning, "I don't…?"

Lightning felt a little shy and blushed softly. "N-N-No… you'll look fine to me. Ahem!"

Starla and Krysta giggled by how cute Lightning looked when he was shy, and they walked back to town Starla still wished she looked at least a little stronger. "Who says you have to look stronger, or even be that?" Lightning said to her.

Starla was about to answer when someone shouted, "I do… for one."

The gang looked up a tree. "Rep-Stallion!" they all snarled.

That's when the alarms abounded, and all the unicorns were dashing towards the nearest building before the force fields appeared. "Looks like we're on our own out here." said Lightning "What do you want?" he snapped at Rep-Stallion.

Rep was running the tip of his hove over the blade of his scythe. "I couldn't help but overhear your little talk about… what was it…? Not having to be strong and I was wondering if you'd like to… prove it!" His eyes twinkled with a sinister and serious gaze.

Starla thought that a joke. "There's three of us and only one of you. We don't have to be strong there."

Lightning and Krysta nodded.

Rep leapt down from the tree and sniggered at them all. "Who ever said you were going to fight against me?"

"Huh…?"

"What…?"

Rep reached behind him and held out a single ordinary rock he had found, and before the others could react, he reached into a pouch he was carrying, and dusted the rock once with yellow dust and again with blue. "That dust…!" yelped Lightning.

The rock began to glow magically as it grew in size and sprouted legs and arms, and an ugly face. Rep-Stallion laughed maliciously as the monster became complete.

The gang blinked their eyes once each. "I think we're in trouble…" Krysta peeped.

Rep snickered again and held his scythe forward. "Strong Stone, Seize them!"

The monster pounded its huge feet which actually caused tremors which nearly knocked Lightning and Starla down. "Whoa…!" Lightning feared for Starla, since she wasn't in armor, but there was no place for her to go with the buildings all sealed off.

"Can't you just use the rainbow rod?" she asked.

"Not yet I can't… the time isn't right." Lightning had been studying and found out the best time to use the rainbow force was after the monster's weakness had been exposed. Using it now would do absolutely nothing. "That doesn't mean I can't try something else." And he got down on all fours and charged forward… but Strong Stone, lived up to his name by simply raising his huge stone fist to block Lightning from going any further and simply nudging him…

"WHAAA…!" Just that simple nudge sent him far. "LIGHTNING…!" cried the girls.

Lightning could see stars and birds before his dizzy eyes.

Starla features hardened. "My turn now…! STAR SHOWER…!"

Sadly, all that bombardment didn't even tickle the monster. "It's like hitting a solid rock."

"Uh, Starla…?" said Krysta, "It is a rock, and it's heading this way!"

The monster was stomping towards them, and they began to run as the monster gave chase. Rep-Stallion laughed hard and wickedly. "I'm enjoying this…! Heh, heh, ah, ah, ah…!"

Lightning finally got upright again and was charged right at the tree knocking Rep off of it and down to the ground. "Whoa..! Ah…!"

"Are you afraid to fight us yourself?" Lightning snarled. "Bring it on!" snapped Rep-Stallion.

Despite that Lightning didn't have a weapon or any other magic on him; he managed to dodge all of Rep's scythe attacks. "Being strong isn't everything, you know."

Rep growled and continued to swing his scythe at him, "Tell that to Lord Titan when I bring you to him all tuckered out!"

As their fight continued, Starla and Krysta were still on the run from Strong Stone, he wasn't very fast, being so heavy, but he sure was able to keep the girls in his sights, so the girls decided to fly up high. "We'll be safer up here." said Starla.

"Uh… I don't think so…" cried Krysta "Look!"

Strong Stone looked way up, and opened his huge mouth firing blazing meteor stones straight up at them, which they barely dodged. "Lightning…! We could use some help…!" shouted Krysta.

Down below, Lightning was engaged in a battle lock, his horn against Rep-Stallion's scythe. "I'm a little busy right now…" he shouted back to them. "Try to find the monster's weakness!"

"That is not going to happen!" growled Rep. "SCYTHE SHOCK!" and Lightning was jolted away from him.

Strong Stone continued to fire his meteors at the girls. The girls just continued to swerve and evade the shots, but they couldn't keep it up. Somehow they just had to find out the monster's weakness.

Then suddenly, as Krysta gazed into Strong Stone's huge mouth, "I have an idea…!" she said as she flew downward. "Krysta, No! What are you doing?" cried Starla.

Kyrsta had flown closer towards the monster and began teasing him to chasing her. Flying one way, then another- up and down, every way around…

She was pretty fast, and her small size made her hard to see and follow. Strong Stone was getting dizzy. Starla was beginning to see, but she already knew the monster wasn't fast. Where was its weakness?

Suddenly Krysta flew way, way up. "Follow me…!" she called to Starla. Resisting the urge to question, Starla followed her until they were both directly above the monster and he was gazing straight up at them. "What are we…?"

"Just trust me." said Krysta.

The monster opened his mouth, "Okay, get ready…!"

Starla was getting nervous, which turned into fear as the meteor began to come right at them. "Now!" shouted Krysta and they split apart from each other letting the rock go just past them, it when up, and up, and up… and would soon come down again in a prefect straight line.

The girls went back to where they last were and at Krysta's word, began to fly downward slowly. "Krysta…!" whimpered Starla "KRYSTA…!"

Lightning caught a glimpse of them. "Girls…!"

Rep-Stallion was overjoyed, "Get them, my monster…!"

Strong Stone opened his mouth to shoot again. The girls waited until the last moment, "Now!" shouted Krysta as she and Starla sprinted away just as the next meteor was launched, and while it shot straight up, the first meteor was crashing straight down.

The two meteors collided and smashed into many small fragments, some of which landed in the monster's open mouth. The monster groaned and roared as it didn't seem to like being hit there.

"What…?" snarled Rep-Stallion. "It can't be…!"

Lightning pushed him off, and ran off to join the girls. "Krsyta…! Way to go…!"

Krysta winked at him. "My turn now…!" said Starla "QUASAR BEAM…!" From her horn, she shot a beam of energy straight into Strong Stone's mouth, weakening him even more. Now was Lightning's chance and he called out, "Rainbow Rod…Come to me!" and his magical wand, responding to his voice, came flying over the fields and into his grasp.

He began to concentrate really hard as he held the rod up high as it began to glow…

"Magic of the Rainbow,

My faith burns bright

To vanquish the evil,

…in rainbow's light!"

"RAINBOW FORCE…!"

The magic flew straight down Strong Stone's throat, crushing him into ordinary rocks, and dissolving the evil magic within.

WHAAAOM!

WHAAAOM!

The girls cheered for joy and then Lightning turned to face Rep-Stallion, "Your turn now…!" but before he could act, Rep-Stallion promised him, "I'll be back! Just you wait!" then he vanished and was gone.

Lightning growled in frustration that Rep had escaped. The important thing was that everything was okay now. No serious damage had been done to the park. The force fields were lowered and everyone was allowed back outside again.

…

"And extraordinary performance, Rep-Stallion." sneered Titan "And all you return with is a tangled tail, and no Lightning? I am displeased."

"Yes, My Lord." said Rep-Stallion "The fault is mine."

Mysterious and Dementia could hear the whole thing, and couldn't help but feel sorry for Rep, in a mocking manner. "We told him it wouldn't work." They whispered to one another.

Titan clenched his fists furiously. "You've won the battle today, Unicorns, but the war is not over yet!"

…

Lightning walked Starla home to the observatory. Starla thanked Lightning and Krysta for all they did. "You should thank yourself, Starla." said Krysta.

Lightning nodded "You helped me take out that big brute and you weren't even wearing your armor. You see…? You already are strong and fit. So you really don't have to worry about what others think."

Starla smiled and felt much better "Thanks…" she said and she pecked Lightning on his cheek before she headed inside. Lightning's face turned bright red.

Krysta giggled "What's the matter, Lightning?" she teased. Lightning could barely speak and just stuttered and slurred words all the way home.

…

(In Grand Ruler's palace)

*Grand Ruler is working out*

Grand Ruler: "Turn, and turn… and stree-ee-etch…! Ahh…!"

"Everyone has their own special shape and size, and while exercise is good for you sometimes, it's never a good idea to do too much. Having big muscles doesn't mean you are in good shape either, but there are other ways to get into better shape or stay in shape. Eat healthy foods, drink plenty of water, get plenty of rest, and even doing regular chores can be a good workout."

"Starla has learned well today, and I am very proud of Lightning for helping her see that being strong is not everything, but being strong-minded and swift can be just as effective."

"See you all next time, and keep on believing!"

It's raining evil's pouring

Today it was raining in Unicornicopia. It was a nice calm and cheerful rain the Grand Ruler had conjured to give everything a nice wash down and water the fields and trees. He wouldn't stop the shower for anything, not until it was properly time to do so.

The best part was some unicorns who worked outdoors were given the day off.

Lightning, unfortunately, was not one of them and still had his duties to do as town helper. Krysta lived in a small doll-like house near his bed, and just fluttered out. "I hate the rain." she grumbled.

She didn't really hate the rain. It was just that a single raindrop to her was about the size of a kickball to Lightning and the others. She didn't like going outside when it rained because it was hard to fly through it all without getting completely drenched.

Lighting thought that was funny, "Ever thought of using an umbrella?"

Krysta sighed and shook her head. "I don't like umbrellas either. I get lost inside of them."

Lightning knew just what to do about that. All Krysta needed was an umbrella the right size. That's when he gave her a playful little umbrella he got in a glass of punch with a piece of cherry and orange the last time he was at Cookie Dough's. "I saved it just for you."

Krysta really loved it and twirled round and around with it. "Thanks a lot." she said, "But next time, save me the fruit too?"

They shared and laugh, and then Lightning put on his rain outfit and hat, and they were off to town.

…

Mysterious stood before Titan with an idea to propose. It most likely wouldn't help them capture Lightning, "But I assure you I shall not come back empty handed, my lord."

"Oh…?" hissed Titan, "And just what is it you had in mind, Mysterious? It had better be good…!"

Mysterious explained that in addition to the importance of Lightning's capture, it was also necessary to gather more power for Titan. "I have plan that will not only gather you vast amounts of energy, and perhaps even lure Lightning Dawn into my clutches. I will not return to you empty handed, my lord."

Titan liked the sound of Mysterious plan, and the two of them laughed maliciously together.

…

Several unicorns walking out in the rain…

Lightning and Krysta met up with Artie who was playing outdoors to gain inspiration for a rainy picture he wanted to paint. He was playfully splashing in the puddles like a little colt, and Rhymey came along singing playfully...

"It's raining, it's pouring.

The old stallion is snoring.

He went to bed with a cold in his head

And he didn't get up in mo-ho-horning."

Even Brain was in the park testing his new rain gauge. "Ahh…! Satisfactory! Most satisfactory." He gleamed. "With enough of this water, I should be able to complete my newest experiment."

"What kind of experiment is that?" asked Krysta, but Brain thought it rather complicated for the other to understand just yet. "Can we lend a hand in any way?" asked Lightning

"I feel that… em… may not be necessary, my good yellow." answered Brain, "But if I require, I shall inform you." Then he went off to find a spot where it was raining harder to gather more water leaving the others in the park.

The rain just felt so wonderful, and warm even, a lot of the unicorns passing by had smiles on their faces, but Krysta was still complaining a little. Even with her little umbrella, and her specially made raincoat, she still found it hard to battle against the raindrops. "Blech…! Why does the rain always make things so hard for me?"

Rhymey, approached her and recited form one of his recent poems.

"While it's hard on you with no doubt,

There are things about the rain I must point out.

The flowers and plants and even the trees

They need the rain water to grow with ease.

And though the rain may be drippy and wet

There are still fun ways to have in it yet.

You can splash in the puddles, catch drops on your tongue

But the best part of all, you can sing a nice song."

Music began to play as Rhymey held his umbrella nicely, and even tap danced as he splashed in the puddles and the others joined him too…

(Today's Special" Storms: "I love the Rain")

(Rhymey)

I love the rain. I love it when it's raining

You'll find me smiling while others are complaining

I love the rain. I love it when it's raining outdoors.

I love the rain. The puddles and the splashes

Feel it on my face, it makes me blink my eyelashes

I love the rain. I love it when it's raining outdoors.

I love the rain…

It's raining. It's pouring

I love the rain…

The old stallion is snoring

I love the rain…

He went to bed with a cold in his head

(Everyone)

And he didn't get up in the mo-ho-horning!

I love the rain. The warm and gentle showers

I could soak it up just like the flowers for hours

I love the rain. I love it when it's raining outdoors.

I love it when it's raining outdoors.

I love it when it's raining outdoors!

The boys made one big splash in the puddles for a finish, and Krysta was actually starting to feel better, at least until she got hit by a huge drop right in her face. "Ugh…!" she spluttered.

The boys chuckled softly.

…

Meanwhile, there was Bluesville. It wasn't called that because anyone was sad or weepy. Just for the color. It was also the home of the waterworks; the very source of all the clear drinking water for the entire kingdom.

Technicians and workers helped keep the place shining bright, and made sure nothing bad happened to the water. What no one noticed was Mysterious, being a shadow creature, could slink about the place while hiding in dark places, and slink under the doors without being seen.

He peeked up from the floor, and then he saw the main power-switch that controlled all the power in the building, and he slinked along the wall and turned it off which turned out all the lights, making it pitch black, and impossible to see inside for all the technicians, and when the emergency lights came on, the technicians were all tied up and gaged with dark wraps, and Mysterious was in control of things now.

"Hmm, mm, mm, mm, mm…! And now… to work." he sniggered as he gazed at the tanks of water that came in, and using his shadow-magic he conjured a small vortex causing the water to flow into the vortex, instead of passing through the rest of the works to supply the kingdom.

He would transfer the water straight to Titan, and use it harness more energy, as well as combining it with the magic he had already stolen form the technician unicorns he had tied up. "So much energy, so little time." he said to himself. Then he began to ponder way to maybe lure Lightning and friends to him. After all, if he caught him it would make Titan all the more pleased.

That's when he heard the sound of the rain hitting the roof. "Hmm…" he wondered and came up with a plan.

…

The rain continued to fall, and Lightning and friends went to Cookie Dough's for their lunch. Brain was there, and offered them to sit with him.

Krysta finally dried off her long blonde hair on a napkin. "Cheer up, Krysta. It won't rain forever." said Artie.

"Artie is right, my dear." added Brain "We should all be patient as we can be and make the most of things." He said all this while he scribbled a formula onto his own napkin for his experiment. "Ah, yes."

He almost seemed in rather a hurry to finish his lunch, and for good reason. He was planning to head to the waterworks in Bluesville. He required some help from the technicians there for the final piece of his puzzle.

"Boy, he sure does burry himself in his work." Lightning whispered to the others who agreed with him.

Suddenly, it began to grow darker outside- much, much darker. "What's happening?" asked Artie.

"Curious! Moist curious." muttered Brain "It shouldn't be getting dark at this hour."

The gang headed outside, and noticed the clouds were getting darker, and thunder and lightning began to strike. This was very abnormal, for the Grand Ruler never allowed this type of weather, at least not in this particular manner.

Rhymey felt a shiver crawl down his back…

"I feel that something is not right,

Just who or what has blocked out the light?"

Lightning and Krysta had a good idea what was going on, but the warning alarms hadn't sounded yet, so it wasn't confirmed if it was Titan or not. Still, the gang agreed to investigate. "But where do we start looking?"

Brain had an idea, and it involved his experiment. "I thought you said it was incomplete?" said Krysta. "It is…" answered Brain, "But in desperate times… uh, such as now- will force us to take drastic measures."

Reaching into the pocket of his raincoat, he pulled out a small object. "This, my dear friends, is my latest invention; The Elemental Radar Receptor in Finding Interesting Characters-Terrific, for short."

The others all blinked in confusion, until Brain explained it was a radar tracking device that could detect elements, and other sources of energy and magic. It was still in development, and hadn't been tested yet, but if it worked, it would allow them to find the source of the reason why the sky was growing dark.

"Well, why did you want water for it?" asked Artie.

"My dear fellow…" said Brain "Such a delicate device like this should be made stronger to withstand damage. It was my hope of making a coating to make it water-resistant."

"So as long as we don't get it wet it'll be fine?" Lightning asked.

"Correct!"

With that settled, they were off. The radar seemed to work, but the rain was making it a little hard to track the source properly, which was another reason Brain was experimenting with rainwater- to make it strong against interference. To make things harder, the unicorns couldn't fly or their wings would get wet and heavy, which meant they had to walk.

Krysta could hardly keep her umbrella up, and was starting to get wet again; at least her wings were different and could work in the rain. "How much further, Brain…?" she asked.

The signal seemed to be coming from Bluesville. "Ah ha! Satisfactory…! Most Satisfactory..." Brain simple said. "The signal is getting stronger in detecting abnormal activity within this village. Follow me."

Rhymey rubbed his aching hooves

"I hope we find is soon, Brain…

My poor little hooves are aching in pain."

"You and me both." groaned Lightning.

Bluesville sure had a lot of ponds, rivers, and lakes, as it was the water source of the kingdom, but suddenly, the radar shorted out. "Oh, dear…! I was afraid this would happen." said Brain "The air is positively dripping with moisture. There is nothing more I can do at this point."

"Where do we look now…?" asked Artie.

Krysta then noticed Lightning was looking away from the group. "What wrong, Lightning…?" she asked, and then she saw it too. Lightning was staring at the waterworks building, exactly where brain wanted to go in first place. Yet, the water wasn't flowing very well, as if it were being blocked. The clouds above the building were darker, and stormier than anywhere else. "Curious! Most curious." said Brain.

"If the trouble isn't there, I don't know where it could be." said Lightning, and they all headed inside, where they found it was dark, and pretty much deserted. At least the emergency lights were on.

"Hello…?" Artie called out.

"Is there anyone at all?

Please answer our call!" added Rhymey.

As they trekked deeper, they found some of the guards, literally, laying down on the job. Krysta could recognize that their rest was not natural. "Their magic and energy must've been drained."

The sound of sinister sniggered followed that statement. "Hmm, mm, heh, heh, heh…! You are correct, young fairy."

"That voice!" snapped Lightning "Come on out, Mysterious! We know it's you."

"Do you, now…?" Mysterious hissed as he appeared before the intake tanks, "And do you also know why I lured you and your little colleagues here for, Lightning?"

Lightning gritted his teeth angrily, but before he could say anything, Mysterious merely stepped aside revealing his vortex taking all the water away. "Even if I fail to capture you, I believe Lord Titan will find all this water as valuable as I do."

"Huh…?" the others all wondered.

"Oh, yes…" replied Mysterious "For you haven't yet seen the type of monsters that I am able to create. Ha, ha, ha, ah, ah, ah…!" and while he was laughing, he threw the magic dust intro the tank, and the water began to bubble and stir and it began to rise up and take the shape of monster with many watery tentacles- A monster that was actually made of water.

"Incredible…!" remarked Brain.

"Now's not the time for that, Brain." snapped Lightning "We got work to do."

The others agreed and prepared for battle…

"WARD SWORD…!" shouted Rhymey.

"BIG BRUSH…!" shouted Artie, and he summoned forth a large paintbrush about his height when standing on his hind legs, to serve as spear. Artie wielded it like a skilled ninja. "Not bad for an artist."

Mysterious was no amused. "Seize them, Vapourizer!" he commanded, and the monsters breathed out a thick cloud of fog. "Look out!" cried Krysta, and before long the whole place was coated in a fog so think everyone was lost and couldn't see where anyone or anything was. "Oh, my!" cried Brain "My spectacles are steamed up. I can't see a thing!"

Mysterious laughed triumphantly, until he found himself consumed in the fog. "I… can't see!" he growled.

"It looks like you didn't think this through, Mysterious." Called Lightning "Now we're all lost in here."

The monster, however, was the only one who didn't seem lost and was able to squirt powerful pulses of water into the fog shooting at the gang. Even Krysta got hit and was totally drenched. "Pah…! Ack…! I told you I hated this kind of water!" she groaned as she tried to shake herself dry.

Rhymey could see someone through the fog and assumed it was Mysterious.

"Ah ha…!

Hoo-WHAA…!" and he just missed, and a good thing he did. "Rhymey! It's me." shouted Artie.

"Oh! Oh! Please forgive me, do.

I could not see to tell it was you."

"This is getting us nowhere." called Lightning as he stumbled around trying to find his way through the fog. "I say… this is most confusing!" cried Brain.

Artie had an idea, and began to spin and wave his spear around, using the brush like a fan to reduce the fog to a mere floor mist. "It's working!" he cried for joy, but as the lifted, he and Rhyme saw the monster gazing fright at them from his tank.

They both gulped hard…

"Uh oh…!

Oh no…!"

The monster fired more water pulses at them which they dodged, causing the shots to miss and actually crack the walls. Lightning was very annoyed with all this and began to charge straight for the tank, only to be halted by Mysterious. "Going somewhere…?" he hissed.

Lightning growled and tried to push Mysterious aside, forgetting that he was a shadow, and couldn't be touched as easily. He passed right through him and hit the wall. "Ugh…! Why is it I always hit my head first?"

Mysterious moved in to capture him. "Relax… I am certain Lord Titan will make you feel better." but Krysta swooped in ands buzzed around Mysterious like a pesky insect. Leave him alone!" she growled. Mysterious growled and grunted as he tried to swat her away, which gave Lightning a chance to break away.

Artie and Rhymey attacked Vapourizer as best they could, but their weapons passed right through him, and their other attacks didn't damage him at all. The monster was made of water, and that was to be expected.

"There's nothing more we can do.

Our attacks just go right through."

The monster continued to fire more water pulses, which the boys dodged, and Mysterious finally managed to swat Krysta out of his way, sending her right into an open drum of water.

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE…!" she shouted as she spit the out the water in her mouth.

Mysterious now had lightning backed up against the wall. "Now where were we…?" he asked, "I yes, we were on our way back to Titan."

Lightning looked nervous but then grinned cheekily. "Let me get the lights first." He said and the quickly reached to his right and flicked on the main power switch, which turned the lights back on. "NO…!" shouted Mysterious. Being a shadow, he hated being exposed to the light when not hiding in any shadowy corners.

He decided to retreat before the room became too bright. "We'll meet again!" he promised before he vanished, and then he was gone. "One down and one to go..."

Lightning ran up to join the others, "Nothing…?" he asked.

"It's no use…" said Artie "I don't know what can stop it."

"We better do something, and fast.

Look out now, here comes another blast!" cried Rhymey, and the boys scattered out of the way.

The monster hissed and growled, in a gurgling bubbly sound, and was preparing itself for one final washout, when suddenly it began to shiver, much to the others confusion. Then, "Look…!" cried Artie, "The water… in the tank… it's freezing."

The water was slowly turning into ice, and Vaporizer was beginning to freeze up, until it was nothing but a solid frozen statue. "Lightning…!" Brain called out "Try and finish it off now!"

Lightning decided to trust him. "Rainbow Rod…Come to me!" and his magical wand appeared

He began to concentrate, and the rod began to glow…

"Magic of the Rainbow,

My faith burns bright

To vanquish the evil,

…in rainbow's light!"

"RAINBOW FORCE…!"

The magic flew straight at the frozen monster, melting and shattering it away, and dissolving the evil magic…

WHAAAOM!

WHAAAOM!

The monster was gone. The power and systems were reenergized. The water was flowing normally again, and the other unicorns who were attacked were waking up after a long rest. The best part of all- since Mysterious had left, the dark clouds lifted, and it was raining normally again outside, without much scary activity.

That's when Brain came towards the others, "Oh! That was a stupendous performance, Lightning. Bang on!" he complimented.

"But… what happened?" asked Lightning.

Brain explained that after the fog lifted away, and his glasses became clear so he could see what he was doing. He noticed the intake tanks where the monster was sitting had temperature controls, and he found the console, and turned the temperature below freezing. This way, the monster would freeze, be weakened, unable to move, and have a solid surface to strike.

"Brain… you're a genius, said Artie.

And you saved all of us…" added Rhymey.

Brain bowed thankfully. "Thank you, gentlemen…"

"Uh… excuse me?" called Krysta "But would someone mind helping me out of here!" She kept trying and trying to escape the water drum, but even her wings were so drenched, from being dipped in that much water, they didn't work.

The boys couldn't help but laugh.

…

"Well, Mysterious…" said Titan "It looks as if your plan to capture Lightning failed after all."

"Poor Mysterious…" Rep-Stallion mocked.

"Guess you got all wet and washed out." added Dementia, but Mysterious just stood there and growled furiously. It was such an insult enough that he had failed to capture Lightning, but to be mocked by his colleagues made it worse.

"However…" Titan said "You have fulfilled part of your promise." He was waving his hands over a giant energy ball he had conjured from the energy of the water, and the magic of the unicorns Mysterious had knocked out. All that increased his power a great deal, "Hmm, mm, mm…! This brings me one step closer to the day when I shall strike the unicorns again without fear of the uniforce. Well done, Mysterious."

Mysterious bowed, "Thank you, my lord." And he cast a cheeky stare at the others, making them insulted now.

…

The rain was starting to die down. Obviously The Grand Ruler was busy clearing the skies after a good long day of showers. Brain Artie and Rhymey were stopping by Lightning's place in White Village. They were about to knock on the door when they heard the sound a tiny little sneeze…

"YEE… YEE… YAH-SHOO…!"

And then another…

"AH-CHOO…!"

The second sneeze shook the roof a bit, causing a few puddles up on top to splash the others below. The door was open, and there was Penny looking after poor little Krysta, who had caught a small cold form being drenched too much. "I must say… I've never had a fairy for a patient before." She giggled.

Poor little Krysta sniffed hard. Her poor little nose was all red and clogged, and she was shivering even while in her little bed moved near the fireplace.

Rhymey came over to see how Krysta as feeling and hoped she'd get well soon.

"Tank you… Rhybey…" Krysta said with her nose still stuffed.

And Artie came over to show Krysta a painting he made just for her, as a bit of a joke, but also because she inspired him. He pulled down the cloth to reveal a painting of what he called "Fairy in the Rain."

Everyone else couldn't help but giggle at the joke, but Krysta didn't think it was funny. "Oh! Take dat away!" she groaned. "Just looking at all dat water is enough to make me…? Me… me… ma… MA-AH-CHOO…! Sneeze!"

The others held in the urge to giggle. For a tiny fairy, Krysta sure had a lot of air in her.

"By the way, Brain… How did your experiments go?"

Brain explained that he was certain that he had perfected the radar. Now it was water proof and would stand up to most impacts, or extreme temperatures. "Are you sure of that…?" asked Lightning.

"Oh, quite certain... quite." answered Brain, but when Krysta sneezed again, "AH-AAAAHH…CHOO…!" Her sneeze was so strong it nearly shook the whole house, and the radar exploded right in brains face.

He really looked silly with all that soot in his face, his mane messed up, and his glasses dangling on one side of his head. "Well…" he muttered, "Now who's a fool?"

The others, even Krysta, couldn't help but laugh.

…

(In the skies, the Grand Ruler is making the last of the rainclouds vanish)

Grand Ruler: "Most creatures, like Krysta, don't like the rain, but others do. The important thing is to be well-prepared for a rainy-day, whether you have to stay inside or go out."

"A little rain never hurt anyone, but it is a good idea not to get soaked and remain that way. Sometimes you may end up with more than a cold like Krysta has, but the rain is very helpful to many plants, many animals, and it even does it's best to help make your world wetter, and better."

"See you all next time, and keep on believing!"

(Flies away into the night)

A friend in need

In Titan's domain, Titan had come up with a plan of his own to capture Lightning, and it didn't even involve having to make a monster or even catch Lightning himself.

The minions were very confused. "I do not understand, Master." said Mysterious "Yeah, how exactly will we be able to capture Lightning then?" added Rep-Stallion.

Titan explained they would give Lightning a reason to want to come to them. "We're going to force him into surrender, and we only need one simple thing to do that." He was viewing an image of Krysta. "Heh, heh, heh…!"

The minions began to catch on.

…

Just another day in Unicornicopica, and Lightning and Krysta had gone back to the Library to catch up on their studying and research. Krysta looked pretty depressed about something as she looked through many, many books. "You are troubled, Krysta?" asked Inquerius "Is there nothing I can do to help you find what you seek?"

Krysta simply smiled and said, "It's alright…" she said and then she flew off to search for another book.

Inquerius could still feel Krysta's sadness and decided to ask Lightning about it. He was over at a table with most of his friends, Buddy Rose, Artie, Rhymey, even Starla was with them, and when Inquerius asked her question, the others were all eager to know as well.

Lighting hesitated for a moment and then finally told them, "Krysta travels with me because she's lost."

"Lost…?" asked Buddy.

"Being is very bad.

It's no wonder Krysta always looks sad." added Rhymey.

Lightning began to explain more thoroughly, for he too was once lost!

*Lightning's POV*

A long, time ago, before I came to Unicornicopia. I was just an orphaned colt.

I was born in a different dimension, but I don't remember where exactly anymore because it had been so long.

My home was attacked by evil forces, not like Titan's at all. My parents were killed, and everything else was totally demolished. I was the only survivor. The only thing I ever remember clearly was seeing the face of the leading creature- A dark serpent-like monster with fangs, razor-sharp fins, and red burning eyes.

Then he was gone, and I was alone, and forced to wander the dimensions, scavenging for whatever I could find, and hopefully search for a new home, but I found no such place. Everywhere I went I was unaccepted because I couldn't do magic, or just couldn't fit in well enough, so I struck out on my own again. Some were ever acting nervous of me because of my golden horn.

Sometime later, I was in a forest snacking on some fruit, when suddenly I heard the sound of a tiny little scream. "HELP ME…! HELP ME..!"

I followed the sound of the scream, and I saw a tiny little girl trapped in a spider-web and about to be devoured by a huge spider. I acted fast and crushed the brute with a stone, and then I tore up the web, releasing the girl and noticed she had wings, and before the girl could overdramatically thank me, she noticed, "You're a unicorn!"

"And you're a fairy." I added.

We both had heard of each other's species, but never before dreamed we'd actually see one another. I told the fairy that I was lost and if she knew where the nearest village was, but to my dismay, she was lost too. All she knew was her name was Krysta, but she couldn't remember where she came from, what her home dimension was, or ever where it was, or even what her true purpose as a fairy was.

We were both alike in many ways, and both were lost together, but it was clear that day I made a friend. Krysta and I wandered the dimensions together, hoping to find more about her past, and a home for me, but one day… we were crossing onto the turfs of a gang of Dog-Woods, and other swamp creatures. There was nothing I could do since I couldn't do magic, and Krysta's fairy dust wasn't enough either. We both felt we were in for it, until… he came! The Tri-horned Alicorn- the Grand Ruler, and all this time we believed him to be a myth.

We watched has his used his powerful magic and skills to drive off the monsters. Then he turned to face us. He could see that Krysta and I were hopelessly lost and in needed help. He also seemed curious about my golden horn. That's when he brought us to his home in Golden-Palace, in another dimension, high above Unicornicopia.

He could sense that I very special, despite not having any magic, or lack of belief and faith. So he offered to make me his apprentice. "Give me a chance. I may be able to help you, and your little friend piece together what you've lost, and what you've been searching for. Just believe in me."

*Back to Present*

Since then, Lightning and Krysta had always been inseparable. "I made a promise that I'd help her find her home and I'm going to keep it."

The others thought that was a very sad, yet sweet story, "But isn't there anything we can do for Krysta?" asked Starla.

Nobody had a clue. There were hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of different dimensions outside of their own.

"To search them all, there's just no way,

We should just keep hoping, that's what I say." said Rhymey

"I just hope she's okay." said Artie.

Lightning did to.

…

Krysta was sitting outside on a window ledge. She felt she had searched every book on worlds, locations, and histories, even all the books on fairies she could find, but no information that could tell her what she needed to know.

She wasn't really trying to complain or make others pity her, but sometimes she did feel out of place, being the only fairy in a world of unicorns. Sometimes not knowing where she came from really got to her.

She felt like singing her blues away…

(In the style of "Barney and Friends": Oh What a Day)

Sometimes I feel sad and blue

I don't what I can do.

Where exactly am I from?

How I wish I really knew,

But I don't have a single clue

That's why I feel glum.

I don't mean to sit and moan

I like it here, it's always been shown

With friends whom I both love and care

But sometimes I feel out of place

And I just stare off into space

Wondering if my home's out there

Someday I know I'll find it.

I really would not mind it

To know where my kind, they do roam

So for now I'll stay right here

With all the friends whom I hold dear,

Far from my own… home.

Krysta sighed softly, but then something bright caught her eye. A small glowing ball of light floated softly around here, and said to her, "Do you wish to seek your true roots? Do you wish to know the answers you seek…?"

"Y…Y…Yes… I do." answered Krysta.

"Then follow the orb of light, and you will find what you seek." With that, the ball of light began to fly away. Krysta couldn't but feel that voiced sounded so familiar, but did it really know how to help her find her home? Krysta couldn't' pass up this chance, and followed the ball.

Pretty soon, the others had finished their reading, and most of the others left to get back to work and home. Lightning and Krysta put their books back and looked round, "Krysta…?"

No response!

"Krysta…?"

No response!

"Where is she?" asked Starla

Then the alarms went off warning the kingdom that there was danger lurking about. "Lightning and Starla gazed at each other in shock, hoping Krysta wasn't involved.

The announcement warned everyone that the danger was coming from Big Brown Canyon, and everyone was to head for shelter immediately. "Let's go!" snapped Lightning, and he and Starla ran off.

…

Big Brown Canyon was a rocky terrain, with caves, mines, and everyone lived in stone houses and cabins. Starla and Lightning couldn't see any danger as they flew overhead. So they headed down for a closer look.

"Look at all these caves and mines." said Lightning. Both he and Starla assumed the danger had to be inside, as Titan and his minions liked dark places. Suddenly, Starla noticed something by her front hooves. "What's this…?"

It looked like a small map, and recently drawn, it also read…

"If you ever want to see to see your little friend again, enter the mine near where you found this map then follow its directions."

Lightning's anger began to show. "Krysta!" he shouted as he ran straight into the mine. "Lightning, wait…!" called Starla, but then she heard a small crashing sound. Lightning came back out rubbing his head. "It's dark in there." he simply said.

Starla nodded as she handed him a miner's hat from the shelves near the entrance, and put on one herself. They also grabbed a couple of flashlights and lanterns. Then they went inside.

The walls were dripping with water, and the sounds of the splashes echoed along the walls. It was hard to see, even with the lights. "Starla, are you sure we're going the right way?"

"We should be…" answered Starla.

Down, down they went, through large tunnels, and down narrow paths. They didn't even notice that two pairs of eyes were watching them through the shadows.

Suddenly, they could see a light up ahead at the end of the tunnel, and they could hear voices. "Let's go…!" whispered Lightning.

Krysta was being held in a cage with crisscrossed bars so she couldn't try to slip out. She was being guarded by all of Titan's minions who kept teasing at her and shaking her cage, Dementia even criticised the way Krysta's hair was, and the way she was dressed. "Too bad I can't say the same about you." Krysta grouched. "Ick..!"

Dementia looked as if she was going to explode. "What… did you just… SAY TO ME?"

She looked ready to blow the cage to pieces and Krysta with it. "Leave her alone!" shouted a voice. The minions turned and saw at the entrance of the chamber. "Lightning…! Starla!" cried Krysta.

"STAR SHOWER…!" Starla shouted as she sent her stars to chase away the minions, but as Lightning tried to make a break for Krysta's cage, when it levitated up higher. "Krysta…!" cried Lightning.

"Help me!" his friend shrieked. Then… there was more danger as he appeared before everyone, holding the cage in his ghastly hand. "Titan…!"

"Oh… is this yours." the evil sorcerer teased.

Lightning had a look of furry on his face. "Give her back!" he snarled

"My! Such a foul temper." hissed Titan "There is so much more to you than meets the eye, Lightning Dawn. I like that in a creature. So I tell you what… All you have to do is let me take your powers, and I'll let your little friend go free."

As if Lightning didn't see that coming, and Krysta begged Lightning not to do it. "Don't worry about me… just don't let him get your power." Even Starla, who was now being held hostage by the minions begged Lightning not to do it.

Lightning, however, wasn't so sure. He knew if he gave Titan what he wanted then Titan would become even stronger than ever, and the kingdom would be at risk all because of him. The worst part was that he couldn't summon the Rainbow Rod, because it wouldn't reach him in time. Titan would strike Krysta instantly if he tried.

"The choice is yours…" hissed Titan as he reached through the pairs with his finger glowing softly, and ready to really hurt the helpless fairy. Poor Krysta was whimpering in fear. Lightning felt a small tear of worry for his friend fall from his eye. "ALL RIGHT…!" he shouted. His voice echoed throughout the mine. "…I'll do it. Just let my friends go."

Krysta and Starla were shocked and speechless, but Titan was pleased. "Hm, mm, mm…! Good lad. I knew you'd see reason." He then released Krysta from her cage, and trapped Lightning in a bubble. "No! No!" cried Krysta

"Lightning…!" shrieked Starla, but there was still nothing that she or Krysta could do. "They do not need to see this." Said Titan "Show them out, Minions..."

The minions bowed and began to drag Starla and Krysta away. "Come on…!"

"Get moving!"

That's when Titan gazed at Lightning inside the bubble. "Finally… the key ingredients that I seek shall be mine." He snickered as his hands began to glow, and began to absorb the magic. Poor Lightning could feel his energy starting to drain. When suddenly- KA-BOOM! A great explosion blasted through the wall near where Titan was standing, causing him to lose concentration, and the bubble magic wore off, setting Lightning. He felt pretty drowsy though after losing even a small fraction of his energy.

"Who did that?" snarled Titan.

That's when a tannish-brown unicorn, poked his head through the smoke, and spoke in a Spanish accent. "You there…" he thundered at Titan "You're a bad man, you are. No Me Gusta, I don't like you."

Titan's eyes glowed with anger. "You dare say such things at me…?" he looked ready to blast the living daylights out of the unicorn, when suddenly he ducked down, and then quickly poked his head through another opening. "Hola, Señor! You are looking for me…?"

Even Lightning, in his slight weakened condition was just as baffled. Titan continued to blast as the walls, but every time he caught the unicorn in his sights, he popped up somewhere else. This was causing Titan to miss and hit the walls of the mine, which not good!

"Enough of this!" snarled Titan and he fired a humongous blast at the wall, collapsing it into a pile of rubble and revealed to his and Lightning's surprise, there were in fact two identical unicorns.

"Dyno..!" said one to the other, "I think we are busted."

"Si…! I agree with you, Myte." said the other.

Titan growled angrier than before. "You dare to deceive the all mighty Titan with such games?" he roared. "I'll teach you both some respect!"

HE was about to blast them both hard, when suddenly, both Krysta and Starla came charging back into the chamber. "STAR SHOWER…!"

"Blargh…!" groaned Titan as Starla's attack hit him, although he didn't really get hurt. When Titan asked what happened to his minions. "They just got too cocky." snapped Krysta "They assumed you'd be fine and just left after they escorted us out."

Titan was most annoyed, but suddenly the whole mine began to rumble and shake as rocks began to fall from the ceilings. All of Titan's blasts and the explosion made earlier by the twins had weakened the supports, and the ceiling was caving in.

"We've got to get out of here!" cried Starla but Titan was not going to leave without Lightning, and picked him up while he was still on the ground all woozy and weak. "No!" cried Krysta.

"Yes!" snarled Titan "It was fun while it lasted, but now I think I'll claim my prize and leave you all to be forever entombed in this mine.

"Think again… Titan…!" Lightning said.

"What…?"

Lightning was beginning to find his strength again, and gazed at the evil sorcerer ferociously, and managed to slip from his grasp. "You never quit, do you?" he asked Lightning.

Lightning's anger grew more and more intense. "You bet I never quit." He said "I'd never let you harm my friends, and you may have weakened me a little, but you haven't stopped my determination… my willpower… MY BELIEVING…!" That's when his golden horn glowed, and his body was illuminated in that golden light again.

"Look…!" cried Krysta.

"He's doing it again!" added Starla.

The twin unicorns gazed in awe. "Aye Carumba!" they both said.

"No!" roared Titan. "I won't let you get me this time. The power shall be mine!" he reached out to grab Lightning, but he received a horrible shock upon touching him. "ARGH…!"

Lightning, then recited the magic spell…

"Magic is believing…

Believing is right

I summon the magic,

In this mystical light…!"

Titan got up from being knocked down and Lightning fired the "…UNIFORCE!"

WHAMM! "AA-AAA-AAAAAAHH…!" Titan was hit hard as he was forced backwards and slammed hard into a wall. This caused the supports to grow weaker and the mine began to collapse even harder and faster.

Though Titan got hit and was weakened slightly; he still had more enough strength to escape. "I'll get you for this, Lightning Dawn!" he shouted. "Mark my words!" then he vanished and was gone.

Lighting stopped glowing, and felt really tucked out now, but now was not the time to rest. The whole mine was breaking up. "We'll never reach the exit in time." cried Stala

"You follow us…!" called one of the twins. "We know a way! Hurry!" shouted the other. Heading the twins' word, the gang followed them down a secret tunnel and made it out safely through another entranceway.

"That was a close one." Said one of the twins

"Si…! But at least we are all safe." said the other.

The only exception was Lightning, who seemed really exhausted, and just collapsed into a deep sleep right then and there.

…

Titan was relaxing on his throne to help him recover from being hit by the uniforce. His minions were ever so sorry and wouldn't stop apologizing, even though it wasn't entirely all their fault.

"It was well worth it." Titan simply said

The minions were most confused and shocked. "But master…!" said Dementia, "You could have been severely weakened, or even destroyed!"

Titan laughed hard and wickedly. "Nonsense…! It make no difference to me that I was attacked, that weakling could never dream of defeating me… and at least I managed to ensnare a little of his energy." He held up a small orb with the energy inside which would prove very useful for him. "Perhaps it was all worth the while after tall."

The rest was drowned out with everyone laughing maliciously.

…

Lightning woke up to find he was in one of the houses, with a warm fire roaring in the fireplace. Krysta and Starla were safe, and it was all thanks to their new friends.

"Glad to see you are alright, amigo." said one of the twins.

"You gave us all quite a scare back in the mine." said the other.

That's when Lightning remembered everything that happened, including how he summoned the uniforce a second time, because he believed in himself and was determined to save everyone. Perhaps that was the key to how it worked…? He would have to study some more.

The two twins introduced themselves and Dyno- code-number IW8K, and his brother, Myte-JX9L. They were the chief mining engineers of Big Brown Canyon, and were quite handy with mining tools, preferably explosives.

"So it was you two who gave Titan all that trouble and saved Me." said Lightning. The twins nodded and explained they didn't like it when others intruded into their mines and used them for no good, especially Titan. "He ever show his face again…"

"…we blast him good."

The gang began to wonder if the twins were okay as they seemed a little Looney, but still, they were grateful for all they had done.

…

Later that day, Lighting, Starla, and Krysta all headed home, and Krysta explained how she ended up being caught by Titan, after he tricked her. "I guess I was just so caught up trying to find my home, I never thought of what I was really getting into." She was blaming herself very badly, and now Titan had succeeded in taking a bit of Lightning's energy. "You shouldn't have given in like that."

"But what about you…?" asked Lightning.

"Huh…?"

Lightning explained he couldn't stand to see Titan harm her. If anything happened to Krysta, he'd never forgive himself. "Krysta… you're the best friend I've ever had, and I don't know what I'd do without you."

Krysta blushed shyly, and she pecked Lightning's check. The two friends were happy to be safe and well.

…

(In The Grand Ruler's palace)

Grand ruler: "Lightning really took a chance today to save Krysta, even though he was warned not to, and was fully aware himself of the possibilities of the consequences if Titan had taken more of his energy. Still, it can't be ignored why he did… he was trying to help a friend in need."

"There are many ways to help your friends or people you know. Even helping to do very small tasks can be truly helpful to that someone, and it shows that you care, and that person would probably always do the same for you. So help out once in a while, and you'll always make a difference."

"See you all next time, and keep on believing!"

Magic and Mirrors

Lightning and Krysta had gone to Cookie dough's for breakfast, as it was flapjack day, and Cookie Dough made the best flapjacks there were. Lightning ordered a big stack for himself and Krysta, heavy on the syrup.

After just one bite of those warm fluffy flapjacks, Lightning and Krysta, as well as the other customers all felt lighter than are and warm inside. "Every time…" Cookie Dough chuckled "How do I do it?"

As everyone ate through breakfast, Abra Kadabra entered the restaurant, much to everyone's astonish. "Abra Kadabra, yes!" he chuckled. A few of the customers asked for his autograph, which he was only too obliged to give.

He passed by Lightning and Krysta. "What's a big-shot like you doing here?" asked Lightning.

Abra felt that was a silly question, "Why…because I'm hungry, even a magician needs to eat."

He found a table opposite form Lightning and Krysta's but Cookie Dough informed him that the table hadn't been set yet. "I see…" said Abra "Well… I think I can take care of that." He put down his bag and clapped his front hooves together, which captured everyone's attention.

Everyone watched as Abra began to perform tricks and the slight of hove… pulling a tablecloth out from his hat which everyone saw was completely empty. He waved his cape over the table making a dish appear. He held out one of his hooves, and then he waved his other hove across it, making eating utensils appear. Finally, he made it seem as if he had pulled a napkin form his mouth, and then placing it flat on the table, he lifted it up revealing a flower in a pot of water.

Everyone applauded, and Abra took a bow. Cookie Dough brought him a serving of flapjacks and promised him it would be on the house for such a performance. "Well, I was hoping you would." said Abra "I don't have any money to give you in any case."

"What…?" snapped Cookie Dough.

Lightning and Krysta were just as shocked.

Abra explained that he had fallen on hard times since Titan had returned, and he had a hard time finding work. All the parties he had ever been invited to perform at were always spoiled by an attack on the kingdom, forcing everyone to evacuate. He didn't do a show, so he didn't get paid.

Even at his own performances in the streets, people threw him flowers more than they threw him money, and those who wanted Abra's autograph, he just didn't have the heart to ask for money. That was his problem; Abra was as kind and merciful as The Grand Ruler.

"Well, can't use just use your magic and make yourself more money?" asked Krysta

"Uh… Krysta… I don't think it works that way." said Lightning.

"Indeed, it doesn't." sighed Abra as he picked at his breakfast. His real magic as a unicorn was for quick wits, and smarts. Not battle or conjuring. "Oh! What am I going to do?" he wondered aloud.

The only thing anyone could figure was perhaps for Abra to get a second job. "Say, Cookie Dough. Weren't you looking for help in the kitchen?"

Cookie Dough caught on and agreed to let Abra have a try. "Oh, I don't wish to be a bother." said Abra.

"Not at all…" replied Cookie Dough "I'd be happy to give you a chance."

Abra smiled.

…

Titan was very, very busy working on a special project, and charged his minions with gathering more energy, or capturing Lightning, and the minions were all arguing over who should go.

Ultimately they were forced to draw straws, and Dementia won. "I'm not only beautiful, I'm just lucky." she teased. The others were not amused. "Whatever your plan is… just make sure it actually works." snapped Rep-Stallion.

"Hah!" remarked Dementia "At least I won't screw up this time, unlike the two of you."

Mysteriously simply scoffed, "If memory serves me correctly, I actually succeeded in please Titan while the two of you returned empty handed."

Dementia growled angrily, causing her to sweat and ruin her makeup, making her even angrier, but she didn't have time to worry of that now. "I have a plan that's really going to reflect upon the both of you." She hissed as she gazed into her mirror. "Hee, hee, hee…!"

Abra was soon put to work, washing the dishes, only he wasn't very good at it, and dropped a couple of dishes. "Oh, dear!" he groaned.

Lightning and Krysta offered to stay and help, as their job of the day as town helpers. The way Abra worked, you'd think he'd never washed dishes in his life, which was true because Abra usually ate with paper plates and plastic utensils that you threw away or recycled once you were finished with them, that and he was too busy working on his magic acts to really have too much time for simple chores most of the time.

"If only I had spent equal time learning how to do other things, I wouldn't be in such a mess." Abra said. "Don't say that…!" said Krysta "You're a great magician, Abra, and make people happy and astonished with your talent."

Cookie Dough and Lightning agreed. "Everyone has their own special skill…" said Cookie Dough "Like me with my cooking."

"Abra, you're lucky…" added Lightning "At least you can do all these things, I can't even perform one simple card trick, let alone do actual magic other than the uniforce and my Rainbow Rod."

Abra felt flattered, but this still didn't help him with his money problem. "If only there some way I could really bring my act up. Get better performances. All I'd need is full house of observers."

Cookie dough wished he could help, but he really just couldn't think of anything. "Excuse me… I have a full house of unicorns to feed." He said as he went back out to serve his guests.

That's when Lightning and Krysta realized the full house, and remembering that Cookie Dough's place was one of the most famous in the entire kingdom. That's when they both happened upon the very same idea, but decided not to tell Abra yet. They planned to save it as a surprise.

As the day continued, Abra was starting to get the hang of washing dishes. He didn't even mind that he had dishpan hooves. He even amazed the staff with some of his magic tricks to store the dishes and utensils away. They were all very impressed. Abra took a bow and said to Lightning and Krysta, "I'm starting to like it here. Maybe I should work here more often."

Lightning and Krysta just giggled at one another cheekily.

Suddenly, everyone in the place began to scream followed by the clattering of dishes. Lightning and Krysta immediately ran out to see, "Dementia…!"

Dementia turned to face them and then she dashed out the door as the alarms sounded and everyone began to run back inside before the force fields activated. "After her…!" shouted Lightning as they zoomed past the crowds and out the door. Abra saw them run and felt that this was most serious, and he also had a sudden sneaky plan in mind.

Poor Cookie Dough though, his restaurant was a mess. He took off his chef hat, "When did I start losing control… in my joint?" he cried.

…

Lightning and Krysta searched round the empty square just as the shields came up, and then they spotted Dementia standing in at the other end of the square. "My, but it's a lovely day for a battle." she mocked "Only this time you lose."

Lightning and Krysta were already annoyed. "We're tired of these games, Dementia." snapped Lightning "Why don't you do us all a favor and go back to Titan, and stay there?"

Dementia simply laughed, "I think I'll stay around here for a while, and with a little company as well." she said as she held out her mirror.

"What are you up to?" Krysta demanded to know. She got her answer when Dementia sprinkled the magic dust in her pouches all over her mirror transforming it into a monster with mirrors for arms, mirrors for legs, even two large mirrors for its body and its head.

"As if she didn't have enough of those already." growled Krysta.

Dementia was pleased with her new monster, mostly but the fact that she could see herself from so many different angles, but that wasn't the best part. "Go get them, Reflect-Shot."

The monster began obeyed and began to move forward. "Let's see what this this thing can do." Growled Lighting as he charged forward, heading straight for the center mirror, which was the monster's body, and rammed into it, only get horribly knocked back. "OOF…!" Lighting felt is he had just been hit by another unicorn. "What was that…?" he wondered aloud. Krysta was confused too.

Dementia sniggered softly at their feeble attempts.

Lightning got up, and tried again. This time he did a bucking kick with his hind legs, but felt something boot him back hard! "Whoa…! Hey…!"

Krysta saw the whole thing and began to wonder what was going on. The monster hadn't even raised an arm yet Lightning had defiantly been attacked by something, and she also noticed Dementia was by herself with glee. "Wait a minute…!" Krysta said, and flew in closer to check out the monster as it continued to stomp its way forward.

Krysta flew at the Reflect-Shot's face, until she was just inches away from the glass that was reflecting her. She then reached out with her hand to touch the glass, but strangely, it felt as if she was touching her own hand. "What the…?"

Then, she tried something drastic, and gently slapped her reflection in the cheek, only to feel the actual slap herself. "Nya, ha, ha, ha… Haven't you figured out yet?" Dementia laughed.

Her monster was a giant mirror, if the reflection of anything or anyone was hit on its very special surface, the real thing would suffer the attack. In other words, you'd only be attacking yourself instead of the monster. Lightning and Krysta felt they were in big trouble, "But that's only half your worries." said Dementia "Let us demonstrate its other unique ability."

At her command, Reflect-Shot raised its mirror arms up, up, up… and began to reflect the sunlight into powerful beams to fire at Lightning and Krysta. "Watch out…!" cried Lighting as they evaded the beams. Lightning's tail caught little graze "WHOA…! That's hot!" he shouted.

Dementia was overjoyed, and really believed her victory was assured. "Why not make it easy and surrender?" she said "I promise I'll be gentle."

"Never!" shouted Lightning.

"We'll never give in." added Krysta.

"Ugh! Fine…! We'll do it the hard way." groaned Dementia, and she ordered her monster to capture them both. Lightning and Krysta didn't know what to do. They couldn't even try to attack the monster while it could reflect everything. The glass was also super strong and couldn't be broken as easily by simple attacks. Lightning didn't dare use the Rainbow Rod, and sure wished one of his other friends was there now to help him.

"Ha, ha, ha…! Too bad, fools!" Dementia sniggered, but then someone called out to her, "Hold it right there!"

"Huh…?"

The monster looked round too. Lightning and Krysta stared from round the monster and could see Abra was standing there, wearing his hat, cape, and holding his wand. "Abra… what are you doing?" called Lightning.

"Get out of here!" added Krysta.

Dementia actually agreed, "Indeed you would be wise to leave." she snapped "I have no use for you. It's Lightning that I want. Leave here now before I order my monster to destroy you!"

Abra wouldn't run. He had seen everything and was willing to help Krysta and Lightning out, not to mention get a little even with Titan and his minions for wrecking his gigs and forcing him out of cash. "You have interfered long enough." He growled.

Dementia had taken enough of this and ordered Reflect-Shot to attack. Abra just stood where he was as the monster reflected the sunlight. "Abra…!"

"Get out of there…!"

Abra still didn't move as the beams hit him. Dementia laughed hard in triumph, but when the dust had cleared. "What…?" Abra was nowhere to be seen, not even any ashes, except that of what was left on the pavement where the beams had hit.

Lightning and Krysta were confused too.

"Over here…" Abra called a she waved from another section of the street. "Get him!" shouted Dementia and her monster fired again, but again, Abra eluded them with another one of his tricks, and when he showed himself again "Remember the first rules of the magic arts: Things aren't what they seem."

Dementia growled fiercely, and then leapt down to attack Abra herself with her monster as back up. "Okay! I tried to be peaceful, but you like all others, wish to do it the hard way." She used her magic to warp the field around Abra, enclosing him and bind of waving energy, but Abra didn't even seem stunned. "Huh!" he remarked "Very amateurish…" and he stomped his hove and like magic, he was freed while Dementia was being held up by her own spell. "What… how did you!"

The monster however was right behind him, and already laid its two huge mirror arms to the sides of Abra ready to close in and squash him! "Oh I can't look!" cried Krysta as she hid under Lightning's wing, but Lighting began to notice something else. The monster had no reflective surface on its backside. "I wonder…" he thought.

"Any last words…?" Dementia sneered at Abra.

"Just two…" snickered Abra.

Dementia ordered Reflect-Shot to squash him, and right when its arms began to swiftly close in, "Abra-Kadabra…!" shouted Abra followed by a huge crash and the glass on the mirror arms shattered. "AAH…!" roared Dementia as she braced herself from the bombarding glass shards.

The monsters arms were badly damaged, because once again, Abra had eluded it causing it to smash its own arms, and as it harmed whatever reflections were in its sights, that included itself.

"This can't be…!" shouted Dementia. Then suddenly, the monster was whammed from its backside and was crashing right down upon Dementia. "YAAHH…!" she flew up in the air just in time as her monster crashed on the ground hard.

It was Lightning who was right all the time to hit it from in back. "Looks like your plan backfired, Dementia." Krysta called up "Do it, Lightning!"

"You got it…" Lightning smirked and called for the Rainbow Rod. "Rainbow Rod…Come to me!" and his magical wand appeared. "Hope no one's superstitious. That's a pretty big mirror I'm about to break."

"No…! You can't…!" shouted Dementia, but Lightning was already concentrating, and the rod began to glow…

"Magic of the Rainbow,

My faith burns bright

To vanquish the evil,

…in rainbow's light!"

"RAINBOW FORCE…!"

The monster was hit, and the magic dissolved…

WHAAAOM!

WHAAAOM!

All Dementia could do was screech and whine as she vanished and was gone, but she vowed to be back!

Lightning and Krysta were relieved that she was gone, and that's when Abra appeared alongside them as if from nowhere, and was applauding for them both. "Truly a magnificent performance." He complimented.

Lightning and Krysta were amazed at how Abra was okay. "How did you do all that?" Krysta asked.

Abra only chuckled, "My dear, Krysta- a good magician never reveals his secrets."

Krysta and Lightning merely sighed.

…

Later that night, Abra was given his surprise, and so was the rest of the town.

Cookie Dough's restaurant was already popular, and Abra was given a place for a permanent gig where he could perform shows while everyone was treated to a lovely dinner. This way, even more customers would flock in for the food, and the show, and Abra was entitled to a fair share of money which would get him back on track.

Abra was quite a hit and the crowds just admired his talent. So did Lightning and Krysta, who were sadly forced to watch from the kitchen as they scrubbed extra dishes. "This part of the show I'm not really enjoying." Lightning groaned.

Krysta agreed, and she was only drying dishes. "Well… at least we helped Abra out. Look how happy he is."

Lightning and Krysta watched the show go on through the kitchen doors behind them, and Lightning agreed that Abra was doing great. They also still were pretty curious at how he performed his tricks, but figured it best not to after all.

…

(In Grand Ruler's Palace)

Grand Ruler: "Well, it seems everything worked out fine for everyone today. Abra found ways to entertain and even help others with his skills and talent. That is something we all can do. Many talents and skills can be used for all sort of purposes, some even do more than one, or even several. There are usually other options, alternatives ways, and different methods to deal with problems. Just remember that sometimes the obvious choice is the wrong choice, and the right path is not the easy one."

"See you all next time, and keep on believing!"

Sweet Nightmares

When Titan had emerged from his secret project, though it still needed a little extra time to be fully ready, Mysterious had come to him with an idea, and extremely nasty idea to help gather more energy for Titan, as well as blow a hole through the unicorn's defenses.

"You are aware by this time, the unicorns are all heading home to sleep until morning, and that is where I shall strike them."

Rep-Stallion was confused, "You're going to go after them while they're sleeping?" he asked.

Mysterious nodded, and explained he was going to strike in the one place where they're magic, believing, and friends could not truly help them. "In their dreams…!" His plan was to haunt the unicorns with spell he had been working on that would bring their worst nightmares to life. The more they fell into their dreams, the more their energy would drain, and their self-confidence would be shaken as well.

"With their self-confidence impaired, their magic powers will be of little threat to me."

Titan liked the sound of this and gave Mysterious his approval. Then he viewed an image of Unicornicopia, it was already nightfall and the unicorns were already leaving for home. "Pleasant dreams, unicorns." he sniggered and then laughed evilly.

…

Buddy Rose closed his community garden and stretched and yawned. "What a day…!" he said. "I'm certainly going to sleep well tonight."

"I think so too…" added Cookie Dough as he closed up the restaurant. Rhyme was with him, after finish a good hot dinner. He looked ready for bed already…

"I don't feel as I have to count sheep,

Tonight I really will get a good sleep."

Then, they all looked, and saw Lightning standing up on a rooftop looking up at the stars as he sang a small short…

(Today's Special- Wheels: "In the night")

In the night there's magic…

Have you ever dreamed of wanderin' though a town?

When the stars come out, and the sun goes down

And there's no one left except your friends around…!

That's when he leapt down from the roof, landed in the streets, and many unicorns, plus his friends began to dance with him as the music played. Around the lampposts, over the small walkway-railings, even a little flying dance moves.

During the dancing, Lightning bid goodnight to his friends as he and Krysta headed back home to White Village, and upon arriving Lightning wrapped up his song…

In the night there's magic

Have you ever dreamed of wanderin' through a to-o-o-o-own…?

He and Krysta smiled at each other, but then both yawned and Krysta pecked Lightning on the cheek before flying into her little house. "Goodnight Lightning…"

"Sleep tight, Krysta." responded Lightning as he hopped into bed.

Soon, all over the kingdom, everyone was fast asleep. Some were even snoring. The only exceptions were the guards manning the scout posts to search for any evil activity that occurred during the night, and the night soldiers were just taking control of their shifts.

All completely were unaware that Mysterious was flying through the skies. It was much safer for him to come out at night where there wasn't so much light to harm him, and made it harder for the scout lights to find him as he blended in with the darkness too well.

"Hmm, mm, mm, mm, mm…! It's time…" he hissed as he began to fly here and there, over and under sprinkling special magic dust all over the entire kingdom. Being a shadow and able to move faster along the darkness helped him go faster.

By the time he was finished; he had retreated to a cave somewhere in Yellow Hills, where Rhymey lived. All he had to do now was sit and wait for the energy to start flowing, but what Mysterious didn't realize, was that he missed one unicorn who was watching him from the skies… one with three golden horns.

…

In Red Wood Meadows, in a cute little cottage, Buddy Rose was starting to toss and turn in his bed and moaning softly…

He dreaming about heading to his garden one day to realize, all his beautiful plants were dead. He tried and tried his best to revive them, but this only made the spiritual forces of his plans return to scold him and chase after him as payment for not taking care of them.

…

Cookie Dough was sleeping in his home in Bluesville when he started to have a nightmare about His cooking starting to make everyone feel sick and causing them to age into dust. "No…! No…! What have I done?" he cried, and soon the guilt and shame of what he had done began to turn him into stone!

…

Starla dream that the stars were falling from the sky like a meteor shower, crushing and destroying anything that slammed on.

Rhymey dreamed that while he was reciting a poem about monsters and horror, as he read the words he wrote, the monsters and horrors he described actually came to life and gave chase.

"Mercy me…!

I believe I should FLEE…!"

Even Krysta was having a nightmare…

She dreamt that she had found other fairies just like her, and they invited her into a spring for a swim, but as soon as Krysta leapt off the edge, the beautiful paradise turned into an infernal nightmare, with flaming monsters and demons that caught her.

…

All over the kingdom the unicorns were tossing and turning in their sleep as their nightmares grew worse, and as their nightmares continued to eat away at their minds, the more energy Mysterious was able to harness. The energy seemed to emerge from the unicorns and moved like a stream of fireflies, flying all across the land, into the cave and through Mysterious' vortex to be transferred to Titan.

He just couldn't stop sniggered sinisterly to himself, but what he was really anxious for was about to happen, "Any moment now…! Heh, heh, heh…!"

…

Easily, Lightning had the worst dream of all…

He dreamt that he was brought before The Grand Ruler and he did not look a bit pleased for reasons unknown. "Lightning Dawn it has become clear to me that I can no longer trust you, or instruct you as my apprentice. I have no choice but to banish you to the Dimension of Darkness and out of my sight and kingdom… FOREVER…!"

In a quick snap Lightning and Krysta both woke up with a bloodcurdling gasp…

So did Buddy Rose… then Starla… Cookie Dough… Rhymey…! Everyone across the kingdom had awoken, some were even screaming, some fell out of bed.

…

Mysterious could sense the fear in the very air a she absorbed the last amount of energy. "My plan has worked." He hissed "What I would give to see the expressions on their fearful faces now…"

…

"Krysta…" cried Lightning, but he said nothing else after that.

"What was that all about?" Krysta wondered.

There was a knock at the door, causing them both to jump. "It's okay… it's just the door." stuttered Krysta. Lightning answered the door it was only Starla, but she looked just as freaked out as he and Krysta.

Starla explained about her nightmare, and that she was too scared to even look at the stars for answers. On her way over, she also heard several unicorns screaming from their bedrooms, and many lights were on in the other villages too.

"This is getting really weird." cried Krysta.

That's when a magical letter shot through the open window and landed on Lightning's bed. The suddenness of its appearance made them all jump and yelp. Lightning recognized the seal on the rolled up paper. "I… It's from The Grand Ruler." He whimpered, but he didn't seem too eager to look at it. "Lightning, just do it…" cried Krysta "Just get it over with."

"Y… Y… You can do it." stuttered Starla.

Lightning swallowed hard and nervously unrolled the letter…

Dear Lightning…

I am well aware of the nightmares you and your friends have experienced, and I can assure you it was no trick of nature.

I was making my rounds of the sky to maintain the balance of the night-flow, when I noticed Mysterious was flying around and sprinkling an evil magical dust all over the kingdom called Nightmareadon which causes any sleeper to dream their worst nightmare.

Mysterious has used this to drain the magic from the kingdom as you dreamt, and to weaken your self-confidence so that you will be unable to use magic in your battles.

Lightning, as you read this I am constantly going around the kingdom and doing my best to dissolve the remainder of the dust so that no further nightmares occur, but you must confront Mysterious who I have seen based in a cave at Yellow Hills. That is all I can tell you. I'd assist you in battle, but I cannot allow my other subjects to fall under the spell.

Just believe, and face your fears! I have faith in you my student.

Your caring master: The Grand Ruler

"W… w… we have to go out there." Lightning said nervously "It's the only way."

The girls were not so optimistic. Krysta even slipped back inside her house and hid under her bed. "Why can't we just use magic to get through this?" she groaned, but this was something magic couldn't fix, and just as the letter said without their self-confidence, their powers were weak or couldn't be used.

Lightning, though he was just as scared, and part of him wished all this could be undone- his mentor had faith in him, why else would he charge him with such a task. "I'm going to try at least. I'll go alone if I have to." he said with pride, and then he leapt out the window and flew off slowly into the night.

Starla felt more nervous than ever. So did Krysta, but they both just couldn't let Lightning do this alone. "Lightning, wait!" they called as they flew off after him.

Soon they were joined by Buddy Rose, who looked just as shaken, but saw them flying off after Lightning and figured it was trouble. "Cookie Dough's coming do." He told them, and before the others could react, "I'm just as surprised as you are."

Cookie Dough hardly ever entered battles as it was believed his magic was only for quick wits. Still, they would find out soon enough after they met up with him and then caught up with Lightning. Soon they arrived at Rhymey's house, but it took some time for him to answer the door.

The door creaked opened, and poor little Rhymey peeked his head through.

"Is somebody out there…?

Please don't give me another scare!"

The others convinced him that everything would okay… at least they hoped.

Yellow Hill was a small village- quiet and peaceful, several houses, and even a poetry hall. The hills were small and not too step, and there was only small cave in one of the hills. Not really one of those deep dark mines or tunnels but a small dugout.

The gang slowly approached the location, stopping only meters away from the dark entrance "I… I don't see anything in there." stuttered Buddy Rose.

"But I… see you!" mysterious hissed loudly, sounding like a violent monster, and making everyone yelp. That's when Mysterious stepped out from the cave laughing hysterically. "What's the matter? Couldn't sleep well…? Having bad dreams…?"

By this time the gang had mixed expressions of anger and fear on their faces. "We know what you're up to, Mysterious." growled Lightning "You planted those nightmares in our heads."

Mysterious sniggered and nodded his head, "And it looks as if my little plan has succeeded. Look at yourselves… you're all trembling with fear. It shows in your eyes. I think now's the perfect time to introduce you to my newest sidekick. Ha, ha, ah, ah, ah…!" At the sound of his evil laugh and large flare of light erupted from the cave frightening the gang as a huge fiery coated monster emerged. Mysterious called this monster Hothead, and made it from the flares of a torch he had in the cave with him.

Krysta screamed and hid under Lightning's wing. "Oh, my…!" she whimpered. That was the exact same type of monster that attacked her in her dream, a large monster with burning flames all over its body. "G…G…Get it away! Keep it away from me!"

"Me too!" cried Starla

Buddy and Cookie held each other whimpered at the sight of such a beast. Just looking at those flames was enough to burn them. Lightning was almost at a loss for words, and remembered what the Grand Ruler had said; he just had to face his fears. "I can do this…! I can do this…!" he kept saying as he moved forward, but the monsters flared up and roared causing him to retreat "AAAAHH…! No I can't!" and he ran back to join the others.

Some of them tried to attack the monster from a distance, but just as they were told they're magic either didn't work, or was too weak to be of any help. Rhymey tried his "DRILL QUILL…!" but they burned up as they neared the monster as it was part made of fire.

"Oh dear…! This is bad!

I think I made the nightmare mad!"

Mysterious couldn't help but laugh at such a pitiful sight. "I can't remember the last time I had so much fun!" he said "Go get them, Hothead!"

The monster flared, and began to slowly move forward. His burning feet made burn marks and ashes on the ground. "He's coming!" cried Starla "What do we do…?"

The monster then clapped his fiery hands together and blew hard, causing a huge fiery flare to blow right at the gang. "WHOA…!" they all shrieked as they scattered around. The others tried and tried, but by this time they were so scared and nervous they couldn't even shout the name of their attacks.

Lightning tried to charge at the monster only to always stop and run away at the last few feet, especially before the monster blew more fire at him. "This isn't working!" cried Krysta.

"Tell me something I don't know." snapped Lightning, but he quickly realized "What am I saying? I can't let my fear get to me!"

The others heard that, and began to realize they were just being a band of crybabies too scared to fight to save their own skins. They just had to concentrate. "Huh…?" groaned Mysterious as he watched the gang stand up tall and proud. "What's this…? How are they no longer afraid?"

The gang was still feeling a little nervous, but the more they believed they could do it, the more the spell faded away. Soon, they were standing tall and proud and ready for action. "Dream's over, Mysterious!" said Lightning "And now it's your turn to face a nightmare."

The others nodded and charged.

Of course, Hothead was still made of part fire so they'd have to be careful. All of Buddy Rose's attacks didn't work on him, but he did manage to distract the monster long enough for Rhymey to attack with his "WARD SWORD…!" hitting it hard.

"Oh, no you don't…!" shouted Mysterious as he prepared to attack as well, only get bombarded by Starla's "STAR SHOWER…!"

"Blargh…!" Even though Mysterious could not be attacked normally like most shadows, magical-attacks were able to get at him, especially ones that gave off light like Starla's attacks.

Krysta joined her in keeping Mysterious distracted by sprinkling her brighter fairy dust on him. "Pah…! Stop…! Get this stuff off me!"

With Mysterious distracted, the monster was forced to face the others alone. Cookie Dough was ready. "I've always wanted to do this…" he said as the monster began to approach him "I may be a chef, but there's that I can do."

"CREAM PIE FLING…!" the sound of his words, he summoned up a whole bunch of pies, but not the kind you would eat. These plié were thrown in the monsters face. The creams were in face gross bits of slime which ran down the monster, and the heat from its fires caused the slime to harden into a shell slowing him down.

"Now try my… EGG BOMB...!" and Cookie fired explosive eggs at Hothead, disintegrating the hardened parts of his body and making him weaker.

Finally, Cookie Dough had one final attack, his "EGG BATTER…!" which formed a giant club in his hand like a baseball bat. "Batter up!" he shouted as he WHAMMED the monster and sent it soaring up, up, up.

The others were amazed, and Lightning realized this was his chance, so he summoned the Rainbow Rod, and began to power it up…

"Magic of the Rainbow,

My faith burns bright

To vanquish the evil,

…in rainbow's light!"

As Hothead began to crash down to the ground, Lightning unleashed the "RAINBOW FORCE…!" sending it straight up, hitting the monster. KABOOM! It actually exploded safely in the air, and the magic dissolved…

WHAAAOM!

WHAAAOM!

Mysterious watched in dismay right until the last bit of the magic faded, and growled angrily.

The gang all came together and cheered for joy, and then Lightning turned and snarled "Mysterious, now it's your turn!" but before anyone could act, "Sorry, but I already have some of what I came for, so I'll be on my way, but we'll see each other again real soon. Ha, ha, ah, ah, ah, ah…!" then Mysterious vanished and was gone.

Everyone was a little upset that he got away, and had taken a lot of energy with him, but they were all safe and that was what really mattered.

"Well done, Everyone." said a voice from atop the hill. The gang looked, and saw the shape of "Grand Ruler…!" cried Lightning. It was still too dark to see him clearly, but they all recognized his shape. He stood there proudly on the hill with his cape fluttering in the soft breeze.

"Because you all believed you could win, and faced your fears, you overpowered Mysterious' magic. Take great care of yourselves… for this battle with Titan and his forces will continue, but I have faith and believe in you all… especially you, Lightning."

The gang bowed to the Grand Ruler, and Lightning asked his mentor, "When will I learn the true secret of magic? Haven't I come far enough?"

The Grand Ruler chuckled, "You have done wonderfully, Lightning. One day all will be clear to you, but for now… you all better get home to bed while it's still night. Farewell…!" and he flew off into the sky to continue his nighttime duties.

The gang decided it was best to head home to bed anyway. Lightning felt disappointed that even after all this he still didn't know what his master was trying to teach him about magic, but at least when went to bed, he had nicer dreams… so did Krysta… and so did everyone else.

(In the Skies as Grand Ruler flies)

Grand Ruler: "Dreams may seem scary at the times; you must always remember that they cannot really harm you. Sometimes dreams and nightmares become true, but like all dreams they don't really last forever!"

"Sometimes, dreams can be triggered off by things you've done, and the dreams try to warn you by showing you what it's like from another view. Dreams can teach, just like books and lessons can, and some dreams can never be ignored. That is something we all feel, but just remember, dreams are not real and be if you don't let them."

"See you all next time, and keep on believing!"

Up an in with a balloon

Titan was growing stronger thanks to energies that Mysterious brought back for him the last time, and he was busy testing it out in private. Rep-Stallion began to think maybe it was time for him to take matters into his own hands for not having a turn in so long to cause havoc.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Dementia.

When Rep-Stallion explained what his plan was to his comrades, they didn't seem pleased. Not merely by the fact they didn't believe he would succeed, but the fact he had not informed Titan of his plan. "His lordship will not be pleased." Mysterious warned him.

"He will then, when I bring him Lightning Dawn." said Rep-Stallion "And don't either of you go off to tell him. I'd like it to be a surprise." After he left, Mysterious and Dementia felt that by day's end Titan would be more than just surprised.

…

In Titan's secret lab, he had been working hard to combine his magic with the energies he had absorbed form the elements and unicorns. "Yes…!" he hissed with glee "I can feel the power pulsating through my veins!"

He hadn't felt this strong for centuries, since the Grand Ruler sealed him away and drained him of his magic and strength. To further test his new growing powers he stepped outside and began to practice on the storms and grounds of the demission.

He was able to bend and swerve lightning bolts that came right at him so they flew in opposite directions, and even repel them back with a fraction of his powers. He also managed to break many boulders into dust with one swipe of his ghastly hands.

His powers were getting stronger, but just not enough for him to fulfill his ultimate dreams. Especially one in particular that he constantly remembered for so many ages!

He shut his eyes tight and imagined a poor young boy he once remembered being ridiculed by others because he was defeated so easily by so many others before him. Even those that would normally appear weak to him were able to overpower him. He was laughed at, taunted, and physically abused.

Titan opened his eyes and clenched his fists, and acted as if he wouldn't let that boy that he knew down. "Not quite yet, but soon. SOON…!"

…

It was another happy day in Unicornicopia and everyone was up and about, some at work, some playing, and little colts going off to school. It certainly was a nice day, and that worried Krysta a lot. "This is usually the time when Titan or one of his henchmen comes after us again."

"Well if they do…" Lightning said "We'll be ready for them."

All day they had been flying around looking for work, but nobody seemed to need any help that day, which wasn't really a bad thing. They were bound to find work sooner or later as the kingdom was fairly large, and soon they did find work. Cookie had asked them to deliver a specially packed lunch to Brain's place in Greenland. "He's been working another of his secret projects and says he hasn't got time to come here and get it himself."

...

Greenland sure lived up to its name; lush and green fields stretched as far as they eye could see. Grassy hills and pine-trees, the houses were all dome-shaped, and wasn't difficult to tell which one was Brain's because they could see something unusual. "A big balloon…?" Krysta said almost in a slight of dismay. "That's what he's been working on?"

"This is have to see." said Lightning

Brain was standing in the basket of the balloon and was truly proud of his "Ahh…! Satisfactory…! Most satisfactory…" He saw Lightning and Krysta and was glad someone finally showed up to see his work. "Tell me… do you like it?" he asked.

Lightning and Krysta gazed at one another. "Yeah… we do…" Lightning said "But why would you spend all this time making a balloon for? Especially since we all have wings and can fly by ourselves."

Brain was aware of this all and wasn't trying to imply that a balloon could compete with unicorn wings. "But… for the sheer sensation of soft gentle flying, there is nothing that can compare with a gas filled balloon. Come along you two, and join me for a most exciting experience."

Krysta and Lightning decided to go along, and as soon as they climbed aboard did brain unfasten the lines holding them down, "Right…! Away we go…" and the balloon slowly began to rise up into the air.

However, all this time, they were being watched by someone hiding behind one of the pine trees near the house. "Hmm… I think I can turn this to my advantage. Heh, heh, heh…!"

The balloon soared over Greenland, and across Rainbow City, and then back because Brain didn't intend to fly too far for his first test, but Krysta and Lightning were impressed. "This is relaxing, I'm kind of surprised." said Krysta "And the breeze feels just wonderful." added Lightning.

"Did I not tell you so…?" Brain chuckled

The landed safely near Brain's home, fastened the balloon down again and hopped out. "Well that sure was fun." said Lightning.

Brain agreed "And I haven't even told you the most exciting feature… the balloon is made of specially coated fabric making it difficult to puncture so there is little chance of hole being punctured, and a leak being sprung."

"That's just what I wanted to hear!" snapped a voice. The others turned round and saw him standing there.

"Rep-Stallion!" snapped Lightning.

"I say- What are you doing here?" growled Brain

"To cause trouble no doubt." Krsyta sneered.

Rep-Stallion was impressed by how well they caught on. "Nice balloon. Mind if I borrow it…?" before anyone could answer him he had leapt over to the balloon, "Thanks… I appreciate it."

Brain was livid when he saw Rep sprinkling his monster dust on the balloon "I say! What are you doing…?"

He soon got his answer when the balloon began to transform into Rep-Stallion's newest monster, Big-Blowout! Its shape was rather odd. The basket was its head, the ropes and latches were all connected together to serve as the arms and legs, and the big balloon itself served as the body.

At first, Lightning and Krysta didn't seem impressed. "You're going to beat us with a balloon?" asked Lightning "This should be easy."

"I'm not so certain of that." said Brain "I'm certain there is some reason he has used my balloon for a monster." but Lightning didn't listen and just ran on ahead. "Lightning, wait…!" cried Krysta as she chased after him.

Rep-Stallion hopped on the head of his monster and laughed at their feeble attempts. "Show them, my monster." He said and with a swift wave of his scythe, "Now…!" and the monsters unleashed a fierce blow of strong air, and blew it straight at Lightning knocking him far back right into a tree.

Krysta and Brain dashed over to him.

"Lightning…!"

"Oh dear…!"

Lightning wasn't hurt, "But that thing's got a lot of air in it." That was to be expected as it was a balloon, and a giant one to be exact. To make matters worse all it all it had to do was take in a deep breath and it sucked up the air back into its body ready for more.

"Nicely done, Big-Blowout." said Rep-Stallion, "Now seize them!"

The monster began to stomp its way towards the gang, shaking the ground with every step for a monster full of air, to make matters worse, the monster didn't only just blow air out. It drew in another huge long breath and began to suck in the air harder and faster than it did before.

"Hey…!" cried Lightning as he felt himself being lifted off of the ground by the strong winds. He quickly grabbed the tree and held it tight. Krysta and Brain felt the wind two Krysta held onto Lightning's mane, which hurt him because of the pulling force, and Brain held Lightning's tail.

"AAAAH…! OOOWWW…! Krysta… Brain…!"

"Oh my goodness…!" cried Brain.

"I can't hold on!" added Krysta

Poor Lightning was a little preoccupied by the pull of the air and the agonizing pane from Brain pulling on his tail and Krysta holding his mane. The pull of the wind only got stronger as the monster treaded closer!

"They can't hold against the pull forever." grumbled Rep-Stallion, but his patience were wearing thin and he raised his scythe, "This ought to loosen their grip- SCYTHE SLASH WAVE…!"

With a wave of his scythe he fired small blasts of waving-energy at the tree, hoping to hit Lightning so he'd let go. "AAH…! WHOA…!" but his grip still held! He just couldn't let go! Who knew what would happen if he and his friends were sucked into that beast!

"I'm losing my grip!" cried Krysta.

"Just hang on…!" shouted Lightning.

"I hate to admit this… but I believe I am slipping." cried Brain.

Rep-Stallion fired another blast, and the force nearly hit Lightning and created small sparks. "AA-AAH…!" he managed to hang on, but the others finally lost their grip and screamed as they were pulled in! "BRAIN…! KRYSTA…!"

"LIGHTNING…!" Krysta screamed as she and Brain disappeared into the monster mouth, causing the wind pull to stop, and the monster took a big gulp and swallowed hard. Lightning felt this heart ripping in half. "He… He ate them!" he cried as tears of anger and sadness form in his eyes.

"Well…" Rep-Stallion said as he scratched his head "Not quite was I was aiming for, but it will do just as nicely." He also loved the very sight of Lightning on the verge of tears. "Relax…!" he assured him "Your friends are perfectly safe, for the moment; inside the interior balloon of Big Blowout, but how long they remain safe is entirely up to you. Heh, heh, ah, ah, ah, ah…!"

Lightning could only gaze at the giant balloon wishing he could tell if his friends really were in there and if they were safe.

…

It was dark and pretty windy inside the huge balloon, but Krysta's glowing body made it brighter, and Brain has special miniature lights in his glasses on. "You okay, Brain…?" Krysta asked. "I am just fine, Krysta." Brain said, "But I fear we are in deep trouble. We try and escape from here. Who knows what is happening to Lightning out there?"

That's when they felt the monster sucking in more air which shook them all about inside.

…

Lightning was still hanging onto the tree, not willing to surrender. His friends were count on him, but he didn't what to do for them.

"Just give it up…!" snarled Rep-Stallion "You have no choice. Your friends' lives are at stake!"

Lightning growled and groaned in attempt to hang on tight.

…

Inside, Brain and Krysta were blown around hard and were lying flat against the walls so they wouldn't jerk around so much. "There's too much air…!" cried Krysta "This balloon is really driving me crazy!"

But her words made Brain realize, "Air… Balloon…! By word, that's it!"

He explained to Krysta that there only one hope of them getting out and that was to pop a hole in the balloon from the inside where they were. "But how…?" asked Krysta "You said it was impossible to penetrate the fabric."

"No! I said… there is little chance. Meaning that there is a possibility." replied Brain and he reached behind him, "Luckily… I always keep my trusty miniature-drill for such emergencies." and he started drilling.

…

Lightning didn't know how much longer he could last like this, or how much longer his friends would be safe, if they even were safe. "I'll never give into you, Rep-Stallion! NEVER…!"

Rep-Stallion growled and began to fire more blasts at him trying to force him to let go. Some of the blasts even hit him and they hurt! "ARGH…! AH…! DON'T LET GO!" he kept shouting.

Rep-Stallion couldn't believe the determination Lightning was exhibiting, but he was growing angry. "I'll get you yet!" he thundered as he fired more shots.

"ARGH… G'UGH…!"

…

Krysta could swear she could hear Lightning suffering from outside. "Time's running out, Brain…! Hurry!" she screamed.

"All right…!" Brain called "I think I'm… nearly… through, but this… fabric is stronger than I thought!"

…

This was it! The monster was still sucking in air, and Rep-Stallion had lost all patience. "Be prepared!" he thundered as he readied himself for one final, really big shot… when suddenly the monster began to vibrate violently. "Hey! Hey! What's going on… ? HEY…!"

POW! A huge hole popped right through the monster's body for sucking in so much air, and Brain's drill finally breaking through. The monster took over blowing around as the air escape knocking Rep-Stallion off and down to the ground hard. Krysta and Brain were set free, but they didn't exactly have a smooth landing.

"Ouch…!"

"Oh…! I say!"

Lightning fell flat on the ground, bruised and hurt from being hit so much, he looked in bad shape, and so did the monster. It looked like a squeezed out tube of toothpaste, and couldn't even stand. "My monster!" growled Rep-Stallion! "This can't be happening…!"

A golden glow of light forced him to turn round. "Huh…?"

Lightning, despite his injuries managed to stand up and was summoning his great power…

"Magic is believing…

Believing is right

I summon the magic,

In this mystical light…!"

Lightning took great aim, and as Rep-Stallion began to run away Lightning unleashed the "…UNIFORCE!" His blast soared in Rep's direction and just barely missed him, knocking him out! "UGH-AAH…!" and continued forward striking the monster, destroying it in an explosion and dissolve the magic…

WHAAAOM!

WHAAAOM!

"NO...!" shouted Rep "No! What went wrong?" he then angrily turned to face Lightning, who by now was very weak and sore. "No running this time…!" he growled as he gripped his scythe and charged forward, "I'm going to get you ONCE AND FOR ALL…!"

"LIGHTNING…!" screamed Krysta. "GET OUT OF THERE…!" but Lightning could barely move after all he had been through and using the uniforce too. Rep-Stallion continued to run forward ready to strike, when he was suddenly halted by the sudden appearance of a force-field. "AAAHH…!"

Everyone was confused, until the roaring sound of Titan's angry voice was heard. "REP… STALLION…! I think you've done quite enough! You are coming back here immediately!"

In a blazed glow of light followed by a scream, Rep-Stallion vanished.

"He's gone!" cried Krysta.

"Never mind that…" said Brain, "We must help Lightning."

…

Mysterious and Dementia were forced to watch Titan as he showed Rep-Stallion very little mercy by continuously shocking him with his stronger powers. He was raging with furry not only by Rep-Stallion's insubordination, but that he almost destroyed Lightning Daw, the key element to his success and he needed to be alive.

"I warn you, Rep-Stallion!" fumed Titan "If you ever… ever… EVER run off to spring a plan without my clarifications again, I will not be as mercy on you as I am being now! DO YOU UNDERSTAND…?"

Through all the pain and shocking Rep-Stallion acknowledged his master's warning.

…

Doctor Penny was summoned and she helped treat Lightning's injuries. "There! All better…?" she asked.

"Apart from being incredibly exhausted. I'll be fine." Lightning said.

Krysta and Brain were very relieved, but Lightning felt just awful. "I'm sorry I destroyed your balloon, Brain."

Brain shook his head "My dear fellow… The important thing is that everyone is safe, and that's all that matters to me." He was most sympathetic.

Right now it was strongly suggested that Lightning rest, he had taken quite a beating, despite being just healed.

"Oh, Lightning…" Krysta sighed softly as her friend slept "I don't know what we'd do without you."

...

(In The Grand Ruler's Palace)

Grand Ruler: "Poor Lightning… he really took a beating this time, but it cannot be ignored that he was only trying to hang on for the sake of his friends. His courage and determination make me proud to call him my student."

"And all of you out there, there are many ways to show your own determination, but you really should never risk it as much as Lightning did all the time. It can be fatal to you, and or someone you know or care about, but determination and courage are two very powerful forms of magic we all have, and they can never truly be taken from us."

"See you all next time, and keep on believing!"

Realization: Part 1

Author's Response

I cannot answer anonymous reviews (You'll have to find some other way to talk to me)

But I am not a brony, a closet brony, and don't want to be either. Bronies are for FIM… not my MIB. I have my reasons for not wanting to watch FIM, and make this fic, but I can't explain it here.

EPISODE TEN

(Part One)

Today was a very special, very important day for Rainbow City. The Grand Ruler was coming to visit after making his annual inspection on the entire kingdom to see things were running right, and that damages caused by battles were repaired, and to see if all the unicorns were fine and well. He also made sure to always visit Rainbow City and stay for at least one night the local resort, the Rainbow Ride Hotel.

The entire city was bustling about to prepare for his majesty's arrival. Lightning was head coordinator and assigned everyone their tasks.

Cookie Dough was busy preparing the biggest feast the unicorns would eat for dinner, but still found time to prepare small lunches for everyone during their break. "This is going to be the greatest feast I've ever made." He kept saying to himself.

Artie, Buddy Rose, and Rhymey were in charge helping to decorate the town. Streamers and balloons… Buddy Rose even aligned them with some of his finest white and red roses. "Beautiful…" he remarked.

"It may be beautiful, that is true,

But we all still have much to do." said Rhymey.

"He's right…" said Artie "Let's get moving."

Lightning assigned Krysta and Starla with the best task, entertainment for the big part that night, and the girls wasted no time in hiring Abra Kadabra to be one of the main performers. "This will be my greatest performance." Abra said with pride.

The girls were also tasked with helping to decorate the hotel lobby for the party. Lightning really loved how everything was going. "As Brain would probably say…" then he imitated Brain's voice. "Satisfactory…! Most Satisfactory…!"

"This is going to be such an amazing party." Krysta giggled with excitement

Starla fluttered over to the large record-player, "And what's a party without a little music." She started a record and played a disco theme song. Everyone got into the groove and worked to the music, even Lightning.

Dyno and Myte were tasked with another one of the best jobs- the fireworks display. "Esso Es…!" cried Dyno "This is going to be so wonderful, Si." added Myte. Being explosive experts, they knew how to make the most awesome fireworks that would ever be seen. They even ran a few demonstrations with just their smallest works. Everyone cheered for joy, and couldn't wait for the big show.

There was, however, only one individual who was not very keen on all this, and that was Inquerius when she came to the hotel to see how things were coming herself. "What is all this…?" she shouted, but no one seemed to hear her over the loud music and the preparations until she stopped the record-player, causing everyone to eye her. "Did you not hear me? What is all of this…? Are you not aware that The Grand Ruler is coming?"

Everyone looked confused, and Lightning approached her. "Of course we know. That's why we're preparing this celebration party in honor of his visit."

Inquerius had the look of a strict school teacher at that remark. "Surely you don't expect that all this is what his majesty will enjoy?" she asked "Have you put no thought into your planning?"

Lightning was more confused than ever as he gazed back at all the things he and his friends had done. "What's wrong with it?"

Through her complicated way of speaking in questions, Inquerius explained that the Grand Ruler was a very proud and respected creature, the legendary Tri-Horned Alicorn, the ruler of all of Unicornicopia, the one who saved everyone from Titan centuries ago, and Lightning's teacher. A well respected and royal creature such as him would never approve of such frivolous trivialities!

Through her questions, she implied that there should not be any loud dancing music, the place should have been decorated with fancy things like chandeliers and statues, and they should amuse themselves with serious conversation instead of childish games and entertainment.

Abra felt hurt to be called childish, but Lightning completely disagreed with Inquerius, so did everyone else, but seeing as she was very insistent, were prepared for such an emergency and managed to quickly redo everything so it was as posh and classic as Inquerius, everyone one else was also groomed and forced to wear fancy dress outfits instead of their armor and regular uniforms. Krysta was even told to do her long hair up high in a bun. "I feel ridiculous!" she grumbled.

"But do you look appropriate for the festivities?" asked Inquerius. Krysta didn't bother to answer.

…

Titan and his minions had been observing all this, and when they learned that The Grand Ruler was going to appear, "The time has come…" hissed Titan "After all these ages, do I finally get a chance to take my revenge on the one who imprisoned me."

The minions had never seen their master so excited before. "Tell us, Lord Titan…" asked Mysterious "What are we going to do and when…?"

Titan sniggered "Patience, Mysterious…in due time all will be made clear."

Dementia couldn't decide how to pretty up. "If I'm going to a party, I may as well look like I'm ready." she teased. Rep-Stallion merely sharpened his staff, "And think of all those yummy goodies we can eat!" He was so excited at the very thought of all the food he almost drooled.

As for Mysterious he couldn't wait to begin. He was so confident of their ultimate victory, he was looking forward to the party they would have to celebrate it.

As for Titan, he just relaxed and continued to watch. "Enjoy your little party, my foes." He hissed "Because I guarantee that it shall be the last one… THAT YOU EVER HAVE!" the rest was drowned out in the echoes of his evil laugh.

…

Before long, the red carpet was rolled out, and everyone was gathered outside to await the arrival. Soon the sky was glistening with a mystical light as a golden path seemed to reach down from above. The royal guards came soaring along the path way and landing on the edging like a fence path. Then, from far down the path, something like a shooting star came soaring down the way, and… BLING! There he was…

Everyone stared in awe. Those great gold Pegasus wings flapping gently as he descended, his royal red cape fluttering in the breeze, his very short, dark mane, and his long dark tail, sparkling like stars, and his horns… his three golden horns shimmering in the light.

Some of the girl unicorns were practically falling in love, nevertheless, everyone bowed graciously. He bowed back in greeting. "Greetings my subjects." he said "I cannot begin to describe how honored I am to be back in Rainbow City." Then he saw a familiar face, "Ahh… Lightning…"

His apprentice stepped forward and bowed again, "Your majesty! I'm so glad you're here too. We all are!"

"Ahem…!" muttered Inquerius, as she tapped her hove and gave Lightning a look telling him to act right. As annoyed as Lightning was, he straightened out and asked his master, in a gentlemanly way. "Shall I take your belongings to your on the top floor?"

"Oh, that won't be necessary." said Grand Ruler. He then turned to face the guards holding his only two suitcases. He closed his eyes, and his three golden horns began to glow as the suitcases began to float up, up, up, and into the air all the way up the hotel to the terrace of the top floor where his room was.

Everyone applauded in astonishment, and Grand Ruler took a bow. "Thank you!" he said, and then after ordering his guards to stand watch, "Now then, shall we go inside?"

The unicorns lead him into the lobby. Inquerius Lightning and Krysta were still outside. "Are you happy now, Inquerius?" Lightning asked annoyingly.

Inquerius simply smiled, "Is it not apparent that I am? Perhaps his majesty is already complimenting on such a wonderful and righteous display we have set for him?"

Suddenly, the booming sound of that disco music was heard. "Gee… that doesn't sound like it to me." said Krysta. Inquerius looked very angry, "I thought I had said… no loud music?" As they all stomped in, Inquerius was about to apologize to the Grand Ruler, only to see to her shock, but Lightning and Krysta's amusement…

He was actually dancing to the music with several of the others, and seemingly enjoying it. "Well, what do you know." chuckled Lightning. "I think he's really enjoying himself." added Krysta.

Inquerius felt so confused, "Am I seeing…? What is…?" then in a blinding rage she stopped the music again shouting "WILL YOU ALL STOP WITH THIS NONSENSE?"

Everyone, even Grand Ruler seemed annoyed. "Really, Inquerius…" he said as he walked over to her "Is this any way to behave when there is a guest?" he restarted the music. "Join the party. Have some fun."

"But… But I…?"

Lightning and Krysta smiled. Lightning removed his bow tie, and Krysta let her hair loose. "You heard him, Inquerius. Let's go." Lightning said as he and Krysta joined in the dancing, much to Inquerius disbelief.

More dancing happened then it was time for Abra's magic show. He was really magnificent, and when he asked for a volunteer to help him with one of his tricks, the Grand Ruler offered to be just that.

Abra put the Grand Ruler in a box, and supposedly slashed him with swords, only to find the box was empty, and when Abra resealed the box and opened it again, Grand Ruler was just fine, and he didn't even use his own magic to escape the box himself.

Inquerius felt disgusted and apologized to the Grand Ruler "Will you forgive us for the appalling act that Abra just forced you to do?"

Abra felt annoyed. "I… did not force his majesty to do anything."

The Grand Ruler confirmed it, "I wanted to do that, and it was fun."

Inquerius was speechless!

As the day turned to night and the arty went on, the Grand Ruler proved to be fun, and exciting. Especially when it came to games he enjoyed playing with the others, and what surprised everyone else, especially Inquerius, was The Grand Ruler's favorite gave was hopscotch.

Several hopscotch mats were laid out on the floor and everyone had loads of fun playing. Some hopped on all-fours; others jumped only using their hind legs while standing upright and tall.

After Starla went she asked if Grand Ruler wanted a turn. His majesty smirked, "Not only would I… but I'll show you all something special for being so wonderful for me tonight."

Everyone's attention turned to the center of the lobby as the Grand Ruler took his position, and tossed his cape off and to the side. He stood up right on his hind legs and stretched a little. Then the music to Pop-goes-the-weasel began to play as he softly leapt across the spaces all the way to the end of the board, and then slowly hopped back again.

Everyone couldn't understand what was so special, until Grand Ruler used a little of his own magic to activate all the disco lights, make the same song play in a remixed disco-like style. He winked to everyone and then began hopping across the board in a dancing style. He leapt, twirled, and even flipped out to the music as he hopped across the board and back several times, and when he finished, the entire lobby echoed with applause. Who knew he was such a fine dancer? This made everyone else want to try it.

…

Titan's minions stayed hidden in the shadows so not to be caught by the guards or by the searchlights. From the smell of things, dinner had been served. "Can't we go now?" groaned Rep-Stallion. "I just have to get at that food."

"Stay here…!" snapped Dementia.

"Our orders were to wait for Lord Titan's signal." added Mysterious. "We wait until the fireworks go off, and then… the real party begins."

…

Cookie Dough's feast was spectacular. The food was so wonderful; nobody could stop eating, even if they already consumed their fill. "Ahh…! A most excellent feast..." Grand Ruler sighed heavenly "My most humble compliments to you, Cookie Dough."

Cookie Dough felt shy. "Your majesty is too kind."

Grand Ruler meant what he said, he was proud of everyone for their own special talents, especially Lightning for helping to keep their world a safer place from Titan and his henchmen.

Inquerius still was confused and decided to ask. "These things all so common, and typical, yet you enjoy them?"

Grand Ruler nodded, "Why shouldn't I?"

This was a question everyone wondered. The Grand Ruler was happy to explain that even though he was royalty, he too enjoyed the pleasure of having good old fashioned fun. As the Grand Ruler, he was always extremely busy always carrying on with his duties, maintaining the balance of nature, and watching over the kingdom. He hardly ever got to have too much time to relax. "Besides… in many ways I am just like all of you here, and you are just like me."

Many of the others didn't understand how they, small and practically in-training unicorns were just like their powerful and wise ruler. "I'll show you..." he chuckled.

That's when a song began, and he leapt out from his seat to the center of the floor, but a lot of the others added their own sayings to the song.

(Simpsons: "I'm checkin' in" style but with my own stuff too)

(Lightning)

You bring night and day and make sure it goes right

(Krysta)

You have three gold horns, and are so strong with might

(Buddy Rose and Artie)

You've mastered magic that we've yet to learn

(Rhymey)

And you can do other things, a feeling we all yearn.

(Dyno)

So how can you say you are just like all us…

(Myte)

When we are all subjects, and you're known and FA-MOUS…!

…

The Grand ruler just smiled and began to sing and dance…

…

(Grand Ruler)

I'm just like you!

(We're just like you…?)

I'm just like you!

(Just like- Just like you…?)

True I may be big and tall

But we're alike after all

It's not a joke and it's no gall

I'm just like you

…

He leapt about, dancing and twirling, and everyone began to join him. That was one of his examples. He could dance and so could they.

…

I can dance, play games and kick.

You can too, it's no real trick.

(Sees them dancing and catches one of them)

I see you got it. Pretty slick…

I'm just like you.

We have wings and we can fly

Seeing sights from in the sky…

You can do it, and so can I

I'm just like.

(We're just like you…!)

…

As the song and dance continued, Dyno and Myte added some excitement by starting their fireworks show. The pretty colors and lights of the flares really made that party the best anyone had ever been too…

The fireworks also alerted Titan's minions. "There's signal." hissed Mysterious, "Let's go…!"

Everyone inside was too distracted by the song to really notice…

…

I'm just like you.

(We're just like you)

I'm just like you.

(We're just like you)

(Lightning)

I've no magic, this is true

In many ways I'm not like you.

(Krysta)

And I'm not a unicorn too

But there are things we both can do

(Grand Ruler)

Now you see it clear and through

We're all different in a way or two

But in another view...

(ALL)

...Just like you!

I'm/we're just… like… YOU…!

…

Right at the end of the song, all the lights went out!

Everyone else panicked, and struggled to get the torches lit again. That's when Titan's minions shattered the glass window-walls and burst in to crash the party. They tipped over the tables, wrecked the displays, and even used the torches to set things on fire. The worst part was a terrible storm breaking out and lightning was striking all across skies and strong winds picked up.

Then all went silent as he appeared in the center of the lobby and his minions joined him by his side.

"Titan…!" growled Lightning

Titan laughed deeply. "Let the party commence."

To Be Continued…

Author's notes:

When the Grand Ruler does his hopscotch dance, go on YouTube and see "Today's Special-Games" you'll see what inspired me for that and it's also why I made my unicorns anthropomorphic so they can dance like that and do other things.

Realization: Part 2

Author's explanation:

To those who still wonder why I'm making this fic… look at the latest entry on my Author's page, the answer is there.

EPISODE ELEVEN

(Part Two)

A brief silence went by and Titan finally sniggered. "So, Grand Ruler… we meet again after all this time."

The Grand Ruler narrowed his eyes in dismay. "Just what is it you want here, Titan?"

Titan sniggered again, "You didn't honestly think I had forgotten what you did to me all those centuries ago? The way you crushed my dreams and everything I hoped to obtain…"

The other unicorns felt confused, mainly because a lot of them… even Lightning and Krysta didn't really know the full story about Titan. "I will show you…" Titan said as he clapped his hands together, creating a wave of shadows…

Suddenly, everyone was seeing images in the past life of strange dimension that nobody recognized. A dimension where many forms of dark magic were conjured or practiced by so many different beings- One would say this was very nerve center of where all the evil in the dimensional universe had its beginnings. "What is this place?" asked Lightning.

Everyone looked all over, but soon the images began to show the story of a small boy.

This boy was small and rather clumsy as well. He couldn't seem to do anything right, not even perform the simplest spells that even an infant could probably master. Many of the people and creatures of the other dimensions would always laugh at and ridicule the boy. Even his own parents highly disapprove of his bumbling and threatened to disown their own son for being such a disgrace to the Dimension of Evil.

The small boy tried with all his might, but in the end, he was only able to master a absorption spell, which soon proved not to be so bad after all, because after being continuously being ridiculed and treated harshly by his people, the young boy decided to use the one magic he mastered to turn the tables on the inheritance of the entire dimension.

"Why work for something when you can take it…?" The boy treacherously plotted.

When the other creatures least expected it, the boy crept up from behind and used his absorption spell to drain his rival of all their magic and power they possessed and transferred it to himself, then using those powers to murder his rival to ensure secrecy of his plot.

Slowly, but surely more victims fell prey into the boy's trap, losing their powers to him and their lives. The boy grew stronger, and stronger, and the more power he gained, the more he grew in body and size, eventually becoming an evil sorcerer, known as Titan!

…

Everyone was just plain shocked. "That… that boy was Titan?" cried Buddy Rose.

"This is like some crazy book.

I'm so scared, I can hardly look!" cried Rhymey.

The story continued with Titan continuously gaining power from his victim. "Now I am the one with all the power and magic! FEEL MY WRATH…!"

He made good on his saying by continuously ravaging until his entire home dimension had been reduced to a dark and desolate realm of ruin and misery. Since then, that world had become the Dimension of Darkness.

As for Titan… although overjoyed with his victory, this was not enough for him. He now desired more power, more energy. His wished for people to know his name and fear his power and wrath… to be forever known as the single, most powerful and magical being in the entire dimensional universe!

He traveled through the dimensional gateways spreading his darkness and chaos on many worlds. Many forces fought back valiantly, but could not overcome the relentless actions of the almighty sorcerer. Many dimension were conquered, and those within became prisoners to Titan and were forced to surrender their powers and energy to him making him stronger.

However, Titan had learned not to take their lives so easily as they were needed alive so that they would continuously supply him with more energy to increase his power. Despite this, everyone whom Titan affected lived wallowing in despair, and powerless to stand up to him…

Until, one day, when Titan decided to launch an all-out invasion on the dimensional kingdom that was Unicornicopa; home to one of the most mystical races known in the dimensional universe.

The unicornicopians fought bravely but were seemingly doomed to suffer just as the rest, until The Grand Ruler, the Legendary Tri-Horned Alicorn, arose and unleashed the uniforce against Titan- relinquishing him of the magic he had squanderer over the years and sealing him in the Dimension of Darkness from when he came. Thus, the victims of his cursed ways were free to rebuild and regain the lives that were taken from them.

With his powers diminished, Titan was unable to break the seal that bound him to his prison, and spent a millennium trapped in the darkness, but slowly learned how to regain his strength from the remains of his former home-world and converting the very darkness into the energy he needed to restore his power. He even created his minions from the shattered corpses and remains of the dead bodies of the world around him.

Mysterious, Rep-Stallion, and Dementia… were artificial unicorns made of the very darkness and source that was death and evil. They existed for one purposes and on only and that was to serve Titan and carry out his wishes.

Soon, Titan managed to break the seal that had kept him contained for all those ages, and returned to Unicornicopa to exact his revenge, that was when he first met Lightning Dawn, the Grand Ruler's new apprentice who, for some reason, could not perform magic of his own, until it was discovered that he, too, call summon forth the unmistakable might of the uniforce.

Titan realized if he was ever to conquer the unicorns, he would have to learn the secrets uniforce and overpower it, either by stealing the force by capturing Lightning, or increasing his power to a point beyond imagination. That was why he sent his minions down to create monsters to attack the kingdom.

Seeing the unicorns in battle and mastering their every move and attack proved useful in his plot, and the best part of all, even if the monsters and minions failed in their mission Titan was still absorbing the energy emitted from the battle itself so he would get what he wanted either way, win or lose!

…

The unicorns were shocked to learn this. While their fighting did help to protect the kingdom, it only made Titan stronger.

The images faded and Titan chuckled deeply. "And now… here we stand after all this time." He hissed "Your only mistake was not finishing me off when you had the chance, Grand Ruler. Now, your mistake shall be your undoing and the fall of your kingdom."

"I did what was necessary." Grand Ruler said "I can understand why you felt the way you did… however… I could not stand by and let you torment the lives of innocent creatures. You fail to see the true meaning of magic, and that will always be your own key weakness!"

Titan's eyes went redder than ever inside his hood. "I believe we have spoken FAR ENOUGH…!" he raised his hand and fired a huge blast of power. Grand Ruler leapt out of the way. "EVERYONE OUT…!" he shouted, and the unicorns began to exit in such a rush, Titan warned his minions not to bother with them. "This time… it is personal."

Before long, nearly every unicorn had left the building, but Lightning, and many of his friends remained, and it was a good thing they had changed back into their armors when the party began.

"I'm staying!" Lightning said.

"Me too." added Krysta.

The others all nodded and stood ready for action. "Lightning…" Grand Ruler said "This is very dangerous, you may not be ready for such and ordeal." But his student insisted "It's like you always keep telling me. I just have to have faith, and believe… just like you."

His mentor smiled and nodded, and then everyone turned to face the evil ones. Lightning and friends were going to handle off the minions while Titan and The Grand Ruler decided to settle their score up in the dark and stormy skies since it was obvious that it was impossible to come to any reasoning with Titan.

Lightning and friends were already at it. Buddy Rose and Arite went after Dementia. Rhymey battled Rep-Stallion with Dyno and Myte, leaving Lightning, Krysta and Starla to face Mysterious Lightning grabbed a lit torch to serve as a weapon against the evil shadow. "You think I'm afraid of that?" Mysterious growled "You must be as brave as you are foolish."

He charged forward, and the others scattered, and then lunged for him.

Rhymey's sword clashed with Rep's Scythe even more fiercely than when they had met. Dyno and Myte didn't dare use any explosive attacks inside the building, but they were able to use their special attack which they could only do together. They stood back to back, counted down… from three to one in Spanish, then "BOOM-BOOM BASH!" the leapt straight at Rep like being launched out of a canon and bashed right into him, sending him rolling across the floor.

"Is that the best you got…?" thundered Rep as he got back up.

Dementia was evading the attacks from the others perfectly, and she didn't even spoil her makeup- the result of so much time for preparing for this fierce battle, and her field warping was as strong as ever and blocked all the direct attacks waged against her.

"She's dodging us like we're moving in slow motion." growled Buddy-Rose.

"We have to keep on trying!" said Artie, "There has to be a way to get to her.

"Fat chance, boys…" Dementia teased as she fluttered her eyelids. This only annoyed the boys more.

…

High above the town, Titan and the Grand Ruler just floated at opposite ends form each other. "Now let's see if your magic is as powerful as you claim."

"As you wish…" sniggered Titan and he fired lightning bolts straight at his foe. Grand Ruler dodged most of them, and reflected the last ones by letting them hit and bounce off of his armor. Titan leaned to one side out of the way "Grr…!"

Grand Ruler then charged forward attempting to strike Titan, only for Titan to evade his every attempt. Then he held his arms across like a defensive shield as Grand Ruler slammed right into him but was halted by a force field. The two struggled to force the other off, and managed to only deflect each other farther back.

"Ha, ha, ha… still, think I haven't improved?" Titan mocked

Now it was Grand Ruler's turn to laugh. "I never said your powers having improved… What haven't improved are your complete misguidance to the truth, and your lust and greed for power and order."

Titan's eyes glowed brightly. "SILENCE…!" and he charged up and fired a large wave of dark energy The Grand Ruler was barely able to dodge and his right hind leg was a little burned, but not too bad.

"You mock me? Just look at yourself!" snarled Titan "You yourself possess powers unlike any I have ever known which indeed entitles you to rule this dimension, yet you tell me that my struggle for greatness is futile?"

Grand Ruler quickly spun himself upright and fired a magical blast at Titan, hitting him good! "B'LARGH…!"

"You are mistaken as well as misguided, Titan. A true leader is not decided by how powerful he is, but by those who faith and believe in his words, and those who choose to follow him."

Titan still remained unfazed by those words, and the fight continued.

While down below, things were getting really serious between the smaller unicorns, and the minions. They had been brawling for a long time, and were starting to run low on power. And strength, yet neither side were willing to give up.

"Why do you continue?" growled Mysterious "Just give up while we still have some patience left, and you may be spared!"

"Never!" shouted Lightning "Maybe you should be the ones to give up!"

"We won't let you, or your master, continue to treat innocent creatures like this." growled Krysta. The others all stomped their hooves in agreement.

The minions and the unicorns glared each other down angrily, but then, a bright flare of light shone form above. Everyone looked up and could see both Titan and The Grand Ruler were shrouded in bright and dark lights. They were getting ready to hit each other with everything they had.

"You've left me with no other choice, Titan." Grand Ruler said with his three golden horns now shining almost as brightly as the sun

"Heh, heh, heh…! I've waited for this moment for a long, long time!" Titan chuckled as he was glowing as fearfully as the stormy skies above. "You're magic… your believing… and everything that you cherish… will avail you not!"

The two sides charged up as much as they could, and Grand Ruler recited his own magic chant…

"Cosmic forces as believing does grow

I summon the magic from the faiths I do stow

Unlock the magic form deep within,

So together shall the believing win

To banish the evil and make things right

I summon forth… THIS MYSTICAL LIGHT..!"

Titan roared loudly as he fired the biggest stream of dark energy he could even fire, as Grand Ruler unleashed the "…UNIFORCE!" His was much brighter and stronger than Lightning's, which was expected as his mentor had three golden horns, and his magic was far greater than many of theirs put together.

WHAMM! The two forces collided in the precise middle away from the two conjurers. Everyone watched from below and all were amazed and frightened to see so much magic being used all at once.

Titan was surprisingly making good on his threat. He was actually staving the uniforce back, "It's been fun, Grand Ruler, but now your time has run out." shouted Titan, and he began to charge more power into his magic, and very slowly began to force Grand Ruler's magic back towards him, the same way he did to Titan a millennium ago.

Grand Ruler couldn't believe this was happening, but he had to try harder. He concentrated as hard as he could… what he was fighting for, what he believed in… and all his faith. He managed to show a little force to hold it back, but not by enough… it was still moving towards him.

The minions cheered for their master, and decided to help him by planning to blast at Grand Ruler to weaken him so the fore would get him. "Oh, no, you don't…!" shouted Starla "STAR SHOWER…!" her blast stopped them before they could shoot, and the others began to fight off the minions again so they couldn't try anything, all except Lightning. He kept staring up at his master and watched him struggle. "I've got to help him somehow!"

For the first time, Krysta had her doubts and urged Lightning not to do it. "Just look up there…! I've never seen such force before. Who knows what could happen to you if you go up there?"

But Lightning flew off in any case shouting, "I have to try…!"

"LIGHTNING…!"

He continued to fly up, up, and up until he was by his master's side. "Lightning…! Go back!" Grand Ruler shouted, but his apprentice wouldn't and vowed to help him. He summoned the Rainbow Rod and tried with all his might to add to the power, "RAINBOW FORCE…!"

His magical force collided into Titan at the other end, but it caused him no harm whatsoever, all it did was make him stronger, which made his force counter the uniforce even harder "FOOL…!" he shouted "Even your pitiful rainbows are no match for me! YOU WILL FALL ALONG WITH YOUR MENTOR…!"

The dark magic had pushed the uniforce harder, making it now just meters away from striking The Grand Ruler, but Lightning, still not willing to back down, shut his eyes really tight.

"No! I won't let this happen!" he thought to himself. His mentor could sense what Lightning was doing- Believing…! Lightning had come far for a unicorn that could not do ordinary magic, and now, even with all the odds stacked against his friends, his master, and even himself… "I believe… THAT WE CAN STILL PULL THROUGH THIS…!"

His golden horn began to glow, and everyone down below gazed up at him. "Look…!" cried Starla.

"…Lightning!" Krysta muttered.

The minions were in shock. "He can't…!" cried Dementia.

"He wouldn't…!" added Rep-Stallion.

"I think he will!" cried Mysterious.

Titan didn't care if Lightning was glowing. "I've come too far to lose to the two of you now!" he shouted as he poured on more power. Pushing the blast now to just a few feet away and still slowly closing in!

Lightning recited his chant…

"Magic is believing…

Believing is right

I summon the magic,

In this mystical light…!"

"…UNIFORCE!"

His magic combined with that of his mentor's began to push the dark force back again. "What…? Impossible…!" shouted Titan "I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED AGAIN…!" and he summoned every last bit of magic he had, causing the two forces to stop right in the middle again.

"Lightning…!" said Grand Ruler "We only need a little more magic."

"I'm… trying…!" cried Lightning.

"We can both do this…!" replied his mentor "JUST… BELIEVE…!"

Lightning shut his eyes, and concentrated. So much was at stake, he couldn't lose. "I believe…!" he cried "I believe…! I believe! I Believe! I Believe…"

"I… BE-LEIVE…!"

The power of his courage and faith increased the magic of the uniforce ten-fold, sending the power straight back towards Titan swiftly as he felt the force beginning to consume him. "AAAH…! THIS CAN'T BE OVER…! IT ISN'T OVER…!" cried Titan, he then quickly reached behind him and drove his hand right into his back, pulling something out and hurling it up, up, into the skies.

"Huh…? What's that…?" cried Krysta.

In a blinding flare of light, the force consumed Titan's body, seemingly vaporizing the vile fiend to his doom. Then… all was quiet, until the minions shouted.

"TITAN…!" They really believed their master was lost, but seeing no reason to stick around now, they all vowed someday to return and avenge the fall of their lord and creator. Then they were gone, and the vile storms lifted away.

Everyone cheered and shouted in the outmost of joy as Lightning and The Grand Ruler slowly descended back to the ground. Apart from suffering only a few minor wounds and being extremely exhausted, they were both okay, and so was everyone else.

Of course the hotel lobby was a bit of a mess, but nothing everyone couldn't clean up and repair.

Grand Ruler was very proud of Lightning. "You showed great courage, my student. Without your faith and your spirit, we all would have been defeated."

Lightning bowed to his master, and finally was beginning to realize what he was being taught all this time…

Even though he was still not capable of performing his own magic, other than Uniforce and the Rainbow Rod- The real magic came from inside of him. His courage, determination, will power, and confidence… "The real magic… is that we believe in ourselves and in one another, and when believing is all we have… there is nothing that we can't overcome."

His mentor smiled and nodded. "Yes, Lightning! Never forget that, and someday you will make a fine unicorn. Magic… or no magic… but for now… I suggest we all get some rest."

Everyone agreed with him. They all had had a very busy and very frightening night. Some sleep would do everyone a world of good.

Still, Krysta wasn't so certain that Titan was really gone. "Do you think it's because of that thing I saw flying into the sky?" she asked

"I don't know…" answered Lightning "But one thing I do know… if Titan ever comes back. I'll be ready for him… and so will everyone else."

With good conscience, and a tired body, Lightning drifted off into a blissful sleep.

…

While somewhere, out in the void of dimensional-space…

That object that Titan had pulled from his back before his defeat was just floating out in the void, but it began to glow red, as red as Titan's eyes and small raspy voice whispered over and over…

"I shall return! I shall return! I shall return!"

Author's notes:

This fic isn't over yet… not by a longshot.

A new chapter of magic

EPISODE TWELVE

It had been weeks since the showdown with Titan took place, and since then not a single new monster had appeared. All of Unicornicopia was overjoyed with their victory, but kept well in mind it was possible that Titan was still alive, and that his minions were still out there. Nevertheless… things continued.

Lightning continued to study, and work his duties as town helper. He also now had more time to help Krysta search for her home world. "If only we had some sort of clue that could help us." Lightning said.

"That would make it easier." added Krysta "Still… I'm not so sure…"

"Not sure about what…?"

Krysta hesitated for a moment, and then admitted that as exciting as it would be to learn of her origins and discover who she really was, "What would I say…? What would I do…? My entire life might change forever."

Krysta clearly had a case of the nerves. It was as if she didn't know if she really wanted to discover her roots or not. "Well, first we have to find it." Lightning said "Who knows…? It may not even exist if we can't find any records of it."

Even so, they still had other things to worry about- like when and where the next attack would come and what would it be?

…

Titan minions were very outraged and somewhat depressed since the supposed downfall of their leader, and decide to avenge his defeat, only they didn't know how without his guidance. They didn't even bother to try using the magic dust to make more monsters. They just weren't powerful enough.

Fortunately, Titan left a note to his minions in case something would happen to him. The note turned out to be a map of something had hidden somewhere in the Dimension of Darkness that would ensure his minions could carry on. They had been wandering for what seemed like a long time. "Are you sure we're on course?" groaned Rep-Stallion. "My hooves are killing me."

Dementia felt she needed a pedicure real bad on her hove rims. "Will you two knock it off!" snapped Mysterious "According to this, Lord Titan hid his secret somewhere around here."

They searched around the decayed ruins, shoving the rocks and soils out of the way. "Eww…!" cried Dementia "Now I need more than a makeover after this." The other just ignored her and kept on searching. Suddenly, Rep-Stallion felt this scythe clang into something. "Hey I found something…!" he hollered.

The others rushed over to see him pull out a small box. "What do you think it is…?" asked Mysterious. They were about to find out as the box began to glow, and spin round and around, faster and faster… and it opened giving off a bright flash of light as three glowing balls emerged from the box, and flew around the minions in circles.

"What's happening…?" asked Mysterious.

"I feel strange…?" cried Rep-Stallion.

"Wait…! Listen…!" said Dementia.

Titan's voice could be heard as the magic balls hover over the minions' heads…

"My minions…! If you have found these hidden spheres, means I am no longer with you, but the war against our enemies must continue. These spheres shall provide you with the power you need, but you must beware of how you use them."

"Go now… and continue the reign of chaos."

As Titan's voice faded, the minions were bathed in glowing flares of light from the spheres.

…

Buddy Rose was working in his garden and Lightning and Krysta were helping him and Artie was there painting a picture of some of the flowers. "What do you think…?" he asked when he was finished.

"It's beautiful…!" exclaimed Krysta.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say those were really my flowers." added Buddy Rose.

Artie thanked them for the compliments, but now he was starting to feel bored. All these weeks of nothing really exciting happening, which wasn't exactly bad as it meant the kingdom was safe. "I know how you feel…" Lightning said "I'd like to see some action soon too."

That's when the alarms went off, and everyone began to evacuate and head for shelter. "Uh… I didn't mean right this minute." Lightning called, but he and others gazed up at tower searchlights to see where the direction of the disturbance was. "Hey…!" cried Artie "It's coming from Orange-Range. My hometown..!"

"Well what are we waiting for?" snapped Buddy-Rose, and off they all went.

…

Orange Range was almost pretty much like being in a western terrain. Not much grass, but plenty of water-holes and orange trees all in groves too, but that was exactly where the trouble was coming from. The gang could see it as they neared the danger area. "The groves…!" cried Artie "They're on fire…!"

"Let's put it out…!" cried Krysta.

"No! Wait…!" said Lightning. As he and the others flew in closer they couldn't smell the smoke, and the flames didn't even feel hot. "It's just an illusion."

No sooner had the illusions of the flames faded out did Titan's three minions appear. "You guys again!" snarled Lightning.

Mysterious sniggered, "My but it's a lovely day." He teased, and that made everyone realize that, a shadow, was indeed out in the open sunlight and not being damaged. "How's that possible…?" asked Buddy Rose.

"Oh, that's the least of your troubles." said Rep-Stallion "In just a few moments… you'll really be in trouble."

The gang stood ready. "All right…! So where is this new monster of yours…?" asked Lightning

Dementia giggled "Whoever said it was going to be a monster? You're fighting us…!" Her eyes began to glow, and so did Mysterious and Rep's.

"What's going on…?" asked Krysta, but she and the others got their answer as the evil unicorns entire bodies began to morph into mysterious human-shaped creatures, wearing armor, helmets, capes, and they also looked much stronger. The gang just stared in awe and were rather speechless.

"Take a good look at us now…!" hissed Mysterious "The tables are about to turn on you and your pitiful believing."

Rep-Stallion grasped his new double-bladed scythe and held it high. "Lord Titan shall be avenged, and our reign will carry on."

Dementia clenched her fists sight "Let's do this thing…!" she hissed and they began to charge forth. "Come on! Let's get them…!" snapped Lightning and he and his friends charged forth.

Buddy-Rose went after Dementia "How would the pretty lady like some pretty flowers…? PETAL DANCE…!" He fired his razor-leaves but Dementia's new armor merely deflected them right off of her. "Huh…?"

Dementia winked at him. "Why, thank you…!" she teased "Now allow me to return the favor. DANCE OF ICE…!" She twirled round and around on one foot like a skilled dancer creating and blizzard-wave of snow and ice that blew right at Buddy, "Whoa…! AAAHH! That's cold!" he cried. Some of the ice crystals were large and rammed into his armor, pushing him back.

Dementia was enjoying this.

Artie and Rep-Stallion were going at it hard. His scythe against Artie's big brush spear…

They met in a struggle, but Rep managed to get the upper hand and shove Artie of the way, stripping him of his spear in the process. Rep sniggered as he used his scythe blades to slash it into splinters. "No…!" shouted Artie "That's it! Now I'm angry…! PAINT BOMBS…!" and he launched a swarm of his explosive blobs. Not a single one missed and Rep-Stallion was buried in the explosions. Artie panted and puffed, but as the smoke settled, "Huh…? It can't be!"

Rep-Stallion stood there without even an ash on him. He just smiled wickedly, "Hmm, mm, mm…! My turn! THE BITE OF LIGHTNING…!" Whirling his staff round and around like a propeller above his head, he conjure dup heavy bolts of lightning which Artie almost had a hard time dodging. "Whoa…! Hey…! Ho…! Yah…!"

Lightning and Krysta were about to have their own hard luck dealing with Mysterious. The evil creature stared them down and approached them slowly "Look… Lightning Dawn just accept the fact that you and your friends can't beat us now... It's easier that way."

Lightning and Krysta refused to give in and decided to take their chances. "Here I come, ready or not." shouted Lightning as he dashed forward and on all fours, but Mysterious just stood where he was, not moving an inch, and actually let Lightning ram into him, despite still being a shadow, and he didn't stop until he had whammed Mysterious right up against a large pole.

"Yeah…! Way to go Lightning!" cried Krysta, but then to her and Lightning's shock. Mysterious, unfazed by the attack, grabbed Lightning by the horn, and gave him a huge toss the other way. "UGH…! AH…!"

Krysta was livid and felt a burst of rage building up inside her. She angrily turned to face Mysterious, but realizing how large he was, she quickly backed off like a scared cat. Lightning, wasn't too hurt, but he couldn't believe how strong Mysterious and the others were. Buddy Rose and Artie huddled close with him. "What are we going to do…?" asked Artie.

"That's easy…" Mysterious sniggered as he waved his arms round and around "Sit back and have a taste of my new power… THE HAMMER OF EVIL…!" With his shout, dark waves of intense energy formed over his head.

"LOOK OUT…!" cried Krysta, and she and others scattered out of the way before the blast hit them, making a huge crater in the ground where they were. Lightning was more devastated than ever. "I can't believe they have that much magic and power!"

All three of the evil ones stood together and slowly crept towards the helpless gang, snickering and glaring at them with evil eyes. "Which should we take out first…?" Dementia wondered aloud. "How about all of them at once…?" chuckled Rep-Stallion "Just what I was thinking…" hissed Mysterious.

Just as they were about to fire, they were attacked from the side by many attacks…

"STAR SHOWER…!"

"BOOM-BOOM ROCKETS…!" A swarm of firework rockets…!

"DRILL QUILL…!"

All those attacks struck the evil ones, and managed to actually shove them back a bit. The gang looked and saw most of their friends, who heard the danger and came to help.

"Starla…!"

"Dyno and Myte…!"

"Never fear,"

Rhymey is here…!

The others had never been so happy to see their friends, and in such timing, but now was not the time to exchange in pleasantries. The minions were still unharmed by the blasts. "So, now you're all together…? How marvelous." chuckled Mysterious.

"Now we can get rid of you all in one easy swoop." said Dementia.

Rep-Stallion chuckled and licked the blades of his scythe. "Let's get them!" They all charged forward, when suddenly they stopped. Next they were groaning and moaning as they held their heads in pain and fell to their knees.

"What's happening to them…?" asked Starla.

"They seemed so strong and fierce before,

But they don't seem to be anymore." said Rhymey

It was their new powers. The minions hadn't practiced with their new strengths and had really mastered them too well. That's why they were suddenly so weak… and before anyone knew it. The minions had changed back to their normal forms.

"This can't be!" growled Mysterious "Our powers failed us…!"

"Uh, Mysterious…!" cried Rep "That's not our only problem."

The gang now stood with the odds in their favor. "My how the tables have turned." teased Lightning. "You guys are in some trouble now." added Krysta. With the gang's powers still high, the minions wouldn't stand a chance in their condition.

Dementia whimpered nervously "Listen uh… this has been fun… but uh…"

"Let's go!" snapped Mysterious "You haven't seen the last of us!" Then they all disappeared.

The gang all sighed in relief for they had won today only by a stroke of luck. It was now obvious that the minions were much stronger but would need time to master their new powers. "What can we do about it…?" asked Dyno.

"Aye… I don't know. I don't." answered Myte "Even our best assaults… they don't do much."

Even Lightning had no clue of what to do, except one thing. "We need to see The Grand Ruler… Now…!"

…

It was in vain that the others tried to talk Lightning out of it. The Grand Ruler was very busy, so busy, that would have to write to him in advance to request an audience.

So they all headed up to The Grand Ruler's floating palace in the skies. The reason it was kept so high was so he could observe and watch over the entire kingdom from up above, and to help him keep track of the night and day with ease.

The guards, however, wouldn't let them in. Not even when Lightning explained "I am The Grand Ruler's apprentice."

"We know…" snapped one of the guards "But his majesty left strict rules; no entry without admittance."

That's when the large gate doors opened wide. "Let them in…!" echoed his majesty's voice.

The guard's turned, and that's when the gang shoved their way in. "You heard him…" said Lightning.

They walked down the entrance hall to the big doors at the end, which opened wide and showed the Grand Ruler sitting on his throne. He stood upright as the gang bowed to him and he bowed back. "Your majesty…! Forgive us for this intrusion…" Lightning said.

"It's all right…" his mentor assured them all "I had expected you would come…" he clapped his front hooves twice and his servants brought out a small feast that was prepared in anticipation of the arrivals.

As they ate through the feast, Grand Ruler came straight to the point, he had seen everything and he, too, was most disturbed by what was now happening. "As you all had witnessed, it will take time for Titan's minions to master and control their newfound powers, but rest assured they will."

That would be very bad for everyone. They were barely able to so much as even force them back during the battle that day. If they powered up, they'd be almost impossible to beat. "What can we do about it?" asked Starla.

"Can't we increase our powers too?" asked Buddy Rose.

"Precisely…" said Grand Ruler. Everyone gazed at him in curiosity as he explained that it would not be easy "All of you follow me…" he said.

He led everyone to a large stone doorway hidden deep within the palace, near the tip-top of the highest tower in the center. In the door were three special keyholes that only Grand Ruler could open by inserting his three horns into the holes and giving a small glow of magic.

The doors opened wide, and everyone saw a mystical waving vortex. "Wow…!" exclaimed Krysta.

"Incredible…" added Lightning. All the others just stared in awe and Grand Ruler cautioned them "Step forward, but do not touch at any cost."

Everyone gazed into the waving vortex and could see many places out in the dimensional void. These were all the many of world's dimensions in the dimensional universe where they lived; Unicornicopia was located near the center. "I think I recognize this…" said Lightning "It's the dimensional gateway I came through when I first arrived here in Unicornicopia.

Grand Ruler nodded and explained that this was how he was able to travel through to other dimensions and explore. He had traveled around quite a bit in his time, but there were still many places out there even he did not know of.

"What does this have to do with us?" asked Starla.

Grand Ruler explained that when first arrived to create and colonize Unicornicopia, he had forged a set of treasures he called The Rainbow Stones, which were infused with the very essence of the rainbow force and Grand Ruler's magic and wisdom.

He felt that someday they would be very useful, but decided against to keeping them as it would draw attention to evil ones. Not willing to allow the dark forces to get their hands on the rainbow stones or even to guess of their existence, he scattered them across several dimensions.

The others were starting to realize what this meant. "You mean… we have to go… out there…?" asked Artie.

"In time you will." Grand Ruler answered. "These stones should provide you all with the necessary forces to help you in your upcoming conflicts with Titan's minions."

"But, what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" asked Lightning

"Yeah, what if the minions return and we don't have the power?" added Krysta.

Grand Ruler chuckled and got down on all fours, bowed his head, and concentrated. His golden horns glowed, and then right up through the floor magically appeared a white and violet shinning stone- one of the rainbow stones to be precise.

"But how…?" asked Dyno.

"You said you hid the stones." added Myte

Grand Ruler chuckled "I never said that I had hid all of them."

The stone he had was one of four stones, which each contained two of the eight colors of the rainbow. The one stone they had now was white and violet, and would have the power to increase their magic, but it would only do so if the stone itself deemed them all worthy as another one of Grand Ruler's safety measures.

"Just close your eyes and look deep inside you."

The unicorns all did as they were told, and closed their eyes and the stone began to glow and give of colorful sparkling waves. The waves flew in great circles above the gang, then the sparkles gently settled into them, and all was quiet.

The unicorns opened their eyes, but they didn't feel any different. "What happened…?" asked Starla.

"I don't feel any stronger than I did before." said Buddy Rose.

"Perhaps the magic didn't work,

The stone would not give us the perk." said Rhymey.

Grand Ruler assured them that the stone did grant them its help, whether they felt it or not. "All will be made clear to you in time." he assured them "Krysta… you are not a unicorn but rest assured that you have also been gifted and in time, you will also obtain the answers you seek."

Krysta bowed to him, and the others did too.

"Just remember…" Grand Ruler continued "No matter what magic you may face, no matter what hardship you may endure, or whatever evil force you come into contact with… your courage, faith, believing, and you're good intentions are the greatest gifts that could ever be found within you that other force can take from you. They will always be there when you need them… as will I." He bowed to the gang and they bowed to him again.

Yet another new chapter had begun in the fight against evil for the unicorns.

Author's response:

To Buddy Kieth...

NO! I have to finish this...! Not becuase of the mockers but for my relief!

Close Combination

The Grand Ruler was now or days busy calculating just which dimensions housed the remaining three rainbow stones. After all… a-thousand years was a long time, and anything could've had happened.

So many questions pondered the unicorns' minds about the stones, but there no point in researching as there were no records or information regarding them, as Grand Ruler had wanted to so evil ones would never guess of their existence.

All they could do was wait, and wonder.

Lightning kept staring at himself in his mirror but still couldn't feel or notice anything new about him since the power of the first stone worked its magic.

"Take it easy, Lightning." said Krysta "We'll all know what's changed about us soon enough."

Lightning sighed, but knew she was right. "Come on, let's go. Answers or not, we still have jobs to do."

…

Titans minions had taken their humiliation from the last battle rough, and had ever since been training hard to master their powers, but it would take time. "This is intolerable!" snapped Mysterious "Here we are… forced to stay while we could be avenging the fall of our master."

"Isn't there something we can do, maybe send a monster?" asked Rep-Stallion.

"Ugh! Forget that!" snapped Dementia "Every monster we every sent ended up falling all over itself to those unicorns." She pounded her makeup table hard which caused several jars of her mane-gel to fall off and spill on the floor. "Oh, no…!"

Mysterious looked at the spilled gels on the floor and watched how they began to mix together into a big glob. His eyes and sinister grin widened. "Oh yes…!" he said and sniggered. He had an idea!

…

Lightning was spending some time at the training grounds and gym with Starla and Rhymey. Krysta enjoyed going through the obstacle courses. It helped her work on her speed and evasive movement. She always got the best of the others, because she was small and could pass the obstacles with ease, but she did get just as tired as the others too.

All four of them were out of breath and had a good workout, but Starla brought water for everyone.

"Oh, Hip-hurray…!

I feel as if I've worked all day." panted Rhymey

Starla giggled, "That's why I brought this water out. Nothing like it after a hard workout..."

Krysta already dunked her face at her cup of water, a small cup to the others, but enough to fill a bathtub to her. "Sometimes… being small has its rewards." she gloated. The others chuckled.

Starla then got up and walked away from the others, Lightning watched splash some of the water at her face to cool down. "Ahh…!" she sighed as she shook her head making her mane flick about. "Wow…!" Lightning muttered as he felt lighter than air as he stared at her.

Rhymey and Krysta noticed and could immediately tell Lightning had a thing for Starla, they even put on a little act to tease him.

"Oh Lightning… you are falling for me?" Krysta acted pretending to be Starla.

Rhymey scooped her up in a romantic pose.

"Starla, my dear, I must confess,

I have feelings for you, no more, no less."

Lightning felt annoyed. "Cut it out you guys."

The others giggled, "Come on, Lightning. We can tell."

"Tell what?"

The others gave him the look of suspicion, and hinted at Starla, and recalled all the times Lightning turned weak in the knees whenever he saw or was near her…

…

When he was at the Unicorn market shopping, Starla passed by and waved hello to him. Lighting was so distracted that he knocked over an entire stack of soup cans.

Another time when he helped her carry some books up to her tower above the library, and she thanked him sweetly… when he went back downstairs, he was so dazed that he walked right into one of the book-carts tipping it over with a loud crash.

…

…and just now, the way he looked at her?

"Okay… so I guess… I kind of like her." Lightning said "Just look at her. She's so beautiful, and she's kind, and smart, and she's helped me out tones of time too- in and out of battle."

"So… why don't you ask her out on a play-date or something?" asked Krysta

Lightning's face went red, and he felt like steam shot through his ears "Oh… uh… I… what do you mean?" he asked nervously.

Rhymey explained…

"In Unicornicopia, it's really okay…

For us to feel about someone in a nice way

Sometimes we ask, we never wait

To see if that someone would come on a play-date."

Lightning still didn't feel sure. "I'm not sure Starla would have the time."

"Have the time for what…?" she asked as she came to sit down. Lightning was startled and almost leapt clear off the bench. He stuttered and stammered for a second, "I… I mean… won't time to say goodbye… I have to go. See you all later! Bye!" and he dashed off quickly.

Starla blinked once and was most confused. "Is he okay…" she asked Krysta and Rhymey. They just hesitated. "What's going on…?" Starla asked.

…

A few blocks away, Lightning was just pressing his head against a pole and feeling very stupid. He felt as if he just acted like a complete idiot and probably should've just asked Starla n that play date right then and there. "Oh! How can I face her again…?" he groaned to himself.

He pulled himself together and turned to go on his way, and there was Starla"…Lightning?"

"Ah…!" Lightning almost jumped into the sky again "I mean… Hi." he stammered.

Starla giggled nervously, and then she asked. "Do you think you'd want to… if you're not busy… go on a play-date with me?"

Lightning felt so strange he couldn't describe it, and he stammered worse than ever, but managed to say. "Yeah… sure… I'd love to."

Starla smiled and the two of them agreed to meet in the afternoon, and then she ran off. As for Lightning, he just stood where he was completely still for a moment, and then… he leapt way up, as high as his wings could take him in one jump crying "YAHOO…!"

Krysta and Rhymey watched the whole thing from the shrubs and snickered cheekily.

…

That afternoon, Lightning went to the entrance of Pinkie Parks, the kingdom's amusement park and fun-land. A lot of it was colored pink, but the rest of the area round the land seemed pretty normal. Starla came along almost directly after Lightning did.

"Lightning…"

"Hey, you made it." he said to her.

"Sure did…" Starla answered. They soon found they were staring into each other's eyes, and turned away giggling. Then they went into the park together under the watchful eyes of Rhymey and Krysta.

"I don't think this is very polite.

Spying on our friends just doesn't seem right." said Rhymey.

"We're not spying…" said Krysta "We're making sure they're having fun. Look at them."

They watched as Lightning and Starla went on the rides, played some games, even got some snacks form the concession-stands. They seemed to be both having a greater time than anyone realized. They even seemed to warming up more to each other.

"Oh, I see now, and I agree,

Our friends are getting along so nicely." said Rhymey.

Krysta nodded in agreement "That's what being close friends is all about." She said, and she began to sing…

(In the style of…Fox and the Hound: "The Best of Friends")

When you are such close friends

Having so much fun together

You start to seem quite aware, you're such a lovely pair

You are such close friends

Life's a happy game

You could hang around forever

There are no boundaries, you just do as you please

Life's one happy game

…

Starla and Lightning had fun on the roller coaster the most and they went through a horror-tunnel, and Lightning won Starla a giant stuffed animal playing at the games. He got a big peck on the cheek for that, and blushed. He almost fainted too, and Starla just giggled.

Starla tried to repay the favor by wining Lightning something… but she wasn't as good at the games as he was. She felt a little embarrassed too.

…

Sometimes you feel things may get in the way

and some of those things will interfere with your play

you may both feel like fools

but just remember the simple rules

And you'll understand, the magic of your wonderland

…

Lightning didn't mind at all, and instead, he and Starla were soon actually sharing a milkshake together.

…

When you are such close friends

Sharing all that you discover

When that moment has past, will those feelings last?

Who can say? There's a way!

Oh I hope... I hope it never ends

'Cause you are such close friends

…

By sundown, Starla and Lightning had gone away from the theme-park and were sitting by a bonfire in the outer fields. "Wow! What a day." sighed Lightning.

"Yeah…! I can't remember the last time I had this much fun." said Starla. "Thank you, Lightning."

Lightning smiled, "Hey, you're the one who asked me out."

Starla smiled back at him.

The stars soon came out and they would have to be getting home soon, but they just didn't seem to want to leave yet. This all felt so nice and soothing. "You know… you could've just asked me out today yourself." Starla suddenly said "I would've said yes."

Lightning blinked once, "Pardon…?" he asked "You knew I wanted to ask you out?"

"Mm-hmm…!"

Lightning felt embarrassed again, but then asked, "How did you know that in the first pla-" then he suddenly got the idea, and Starla nodded which confirmed it. "Rhymey…! Krysta…! You can come out now."

The two came our form the shrubs.

"Forgive us, Lightning. Please do…

We only did it to help you." confessed Rhymey.

"Besides… you didn't say not to tell her." added Krysta.

Lightning couldn't really hold it against them. "Thanks, you guys. I appreciate it."

Rhymey and Krysta smiled, but suddenly…

BOOM! Titan's minions appeared in their regular forms. "Great! Just what I needed." grumbled Lightning.

"Sorry to spoil the moment…" hissed Mysterious "But we have a little plan of our own to dispatch."

"Prepare yourselves…!" snickered Rep-Stallion. He licked his scythe once

"You're about to deal with one of the fiercest types of monsters we've ever dished out." added Dementia.

The others all stood together, and then watched as the minions each cast their monster-dusts on three objects… the tree... a rock… and a little bit of the bonfire. "What's going on?" asked Starla.

"They're combining the three forms together." cried Krysta.

Sure enough, the monster appeared as fused form of rock, tree parts like roots and vines, and glowing hotspots in between. The minions could hardly decide what to even call it.

"Come on, guys!" snapped Lightning "Let's see what this bad boy can do."

"Hmm, mm, mm, mm…! This should be interesting." sniggered Dementia as she and the others watched from above. "Get them…!" all three shouted, and the monster began to stomp forward.

"WARD SWORD…!" shouted Rhymey, and as soon as his weapon appeared he leapt over ready to strike the monster, but was punched aside. "Ow…! Wow…!" He wasn't hurt too much, but that punch was very strong, and burning to the touch. His armor had a small dent and burn mark on it.

The others were shocked, but didn't let it scare them. Starla went up next, "QUASAR BEAM…!" Her beam struck the monster hard in his its chest, but the monster didn't so much as even flinch.

"It's not working…!" cried Krysta "The three elements are making him too strong."

The monster held out its arms and long strong vines shot out ensnaring Starla. "AA-AAH…!"

"Starla…!" cried Lightning. He angrily charged at the monster shouting, "Okay, you! Let her go right now!"

The monster glared at Lightning and stomped its foot, shaking the ground and causing Lightning to fall. "Whoa…! Ugh…! Okay, I didn't see that coming."

Krysta angrily flew forward and used her powers to pick up and throw smaller rocks, which were only small pebbles compared to the monster. All they did was make it angry. "Uh oh…!" squeaked Krysta as she watched the monster draw in a huge breath, and he flew out of range just as it blew a bursting stream of flames. "Sure… it just has to breathe fire too!" Krysta grumbled.

Starla was still bound in the monsters vines and the more Starla struggled to break free the tighter the grip felt. "I can… hardly… breathe!" she groaned.

Rhymey dashed over and tried to slash the vines with his sword, but they were as strong as rocks, and his beautiful sword was badly dented.

"Ah…! My sword's dent,

It's badly bent!"

Nevertheless, he continued to try and free Starla by pulling on the vines with his own strength, but they were just as strong as ever, and even sizzling to the touch.

Lightning tried to charge the monsters again, only to have it stomp its foot and knock him down again. Then it tried to roast him with its flames, but Lightning rolled out of the way. "This is nuts!" he growled, then he too was ensnared by vines from the monster's other arm. "And this is getting bad…!" he cried.

"No…! Lightning!" cried Krysta. Now only and Rhymey were still free, but left with hardly any options. Rhymey couldn't break the vines, and Krysta didn't stand a chance from the start.

Starla couldn't last much longer, and Lightning was starting to feel the burn. "It can't… end like this!" he growled.

The minions were laughing with glee. "I can't believe it…! We're really going to do It." cried Rep-Stallion.

"I guess we won't need to master our new knightly powers after all." added Dementia.

Mysterious, however, knew that it wasn't over until it was really over, but he was certainly as confident as the others "Sorry, my friends, but your time has run out!" he hissed and then laughed maliciously.

"Ugh…Uhn…! No…!" shouted Lightning. He tried and tried with all his might but it seemed as if he couldn't' break free. Still he kept trying. The heat felt so intense it was burning through his armor.

Starla and Rhymey continued to struggle too, and Krysta was still not willing to give up, even though she didn't stand too much of a chance. The monster had them all in its sights and drew in a huge breath for a great big fiery breath. "No!" cried Starla "He's… going to… roast us alive!"

"I won't give in…!

I know we can win!" shouted Rhymey

"We can do this…!" cried Krstya.

"Yes…!" Lightning said deeply, "WE CAN…!" that's when he began to feel the burn, but not from the monster's grip, but form within his own body. Starla felt it too, so did Rhymey, and Krysta.

The minions watch in confusion. "What's taking so long?" snarled Dementia.

"What's going on down there…?" growled Rep-Stallion.

Mysterious said nothing and stood there were a puzzled expression on his face.

Lightning and Krysta struggled hard, and all of a sudden they burst through the vines using their own brute-strength! Rhymey, however, was still in the way as the monster blew his fiery breath, but Rhymey held up his dented sword and it actually absorbed the fire, and like magic, the sword was all fixed, and seemed stronger than ever.

"Wha…? Huh…?"

The gang were puzzled, but had never felt anything like it. They suddenly felt so much stronger, and realized. "It's the rainbow stone!" cried Lightning "I guess it finally kicked in."

"I've never felt anything like it…" said Starla.

"This is incredible…!" Krysta said "I feel like I could move a whole tree."

Rhymey gripped his sword tightly…

"Our magic feels so strong and new,

Now let's see what they can do!"

The monster seemed furious, and began to stomp towards the gang.

It was about to stomp its huge feet to make the ground shake. But the unicorns leapt up high at the last moment to avoid the tremors. Rhymey then, with fast speed, shot straight at the monster and his sword began to glow. "THRASH… SLASH…!" With his sword powered, he slashed at the monster shocking it with a powerful force from the magic in the blade.

Starla hovered over the monster's head and added to the force with her own new attack, "PULSAR LASER…!" Two beams fire form her eyes, blasting the monster in Krysta's direction.

She just held her arms and hands out in front, and WHAMM! The monster slammed right into one her new abilities to create energy force fields, which only lasted an instant, but just right for the perfect defense, and deflecting on coming attacks. "Wow…!" Krysta cried "Did you see that…?"

Everyone was very proud of her, now it was Lightning's turn as he dashed along the ground and rammed right into the monster actually knocking it backwards, while he himself felt hardly anything at all.

The minions were outraged, even Mysterious was. "I don't understand…?" he muttered "How is it their strength suddenly increased?"

All he and the others could do was watch as Lightning summoned the rainbow rod, recite the chant, and fire the "RAINBOW FORCE…!" The rainbow hadn't received any new properties, and didn't require any as it still destroyed the evil magic within the monsters, causing it to vanish.

"Did you see that…?" snarled Dementia.

"I… I don't believe it! They actually did it!" growled Rep-Stallion.

That's when Lightning looked up at them, "Whose next…?" He snarled at them while posing his rainbow rod for another attack. The minions decided to retreat, but Mysterious warned him, "Consider yourselves fortunate, but this was merely a small sample of what lies ahead for all of you. Until next time…!" then he and the others vanished.

"Try all you like." sneered Lightning "You'll defeat the magic of believing."

…

Once back at Titan's castle, Mysterious decided that they would still train to master their knight powers. "Hey… who made you in charge?" asked Rep-Stallion.

Mysterious glared at him annoyingly "I am merely suggesting what our best plan of action is." he said "Once again, our enemies have outwit us. We must learn the secret of how there were able to beat us this time, and hopefully use it to our own advantage."

Dementia agreed, but she couldn't help but feel Mysterious was acting just as Titan would. She and the others pretty much missed him, and swore they would avenge him soon. So long as they existed, the unicorns would never know peace.

…

It was already late at night, and the others decided to head home. Lightning offered to walk Starla back, and she accepted. Rhymey and Krysta followed because they had to head in the same direction the library observatory.

With the exception of the battle, Starla had a great time, and so did Lightning. "Starla…?"

"Hmm…?"

Lightning stuttered and stammered a bit again, but he managed to ask "Do you think you might want to… you know… go out again sometime… for another play-date?"

Starla blinked once, and smile. "Sure." She simply said "I'd love to… but only if we don't have to fight another monster. Goodnight." and she pecked him on the cheek before heading inside to return to her tower. Lightning just stood there with red cheeks. Krysta and Rhymey giggled, and Rhymey even teased him…

"Lightning and Starla sitting in a tree…

K-I-S-S-I-N-G…!"

Krysta even joined in the teasing. "Lightning's got a mare-friend! Lightning's got a mare-friend…!"

Lightning just ignored them. So much had happened that day. He had good workout, went on a play-date with Starla, but most importantly, the rainbow stone was starting to work its magic, and just in time because the minions were getting stronger too.

Whatever sinister plots those baddies were conjuring and the real mystery to the remaining rainbow stones would all come within time. For now he would just remain on alert.

…

(In Grand Ruler's palace)

Grand Ruler: "Have you ever felt like Lightning felt today…? Shy, or at a loss of words, or unable to determine what to do next? Almost everyone feels that way from time to time. Even the bravest creature experiences fear or confusion."

"Sometimes it isn't best to face these problems by yourself. In most cases you should talk to someone you look up to. Someone that you trust about what confuses you or makes you shy then they can try and help you just like how Rhymey and Krysta helped Lightning today, but it's never a good to be nosey either and intrude on other people's affairs and issues without asking them or understanding what the situation is."

"Just remember… it's all right to feel shy sometimes but don't let it rule you, and someday maybe you'll overcome it."

"See you all next time, and keep on believing!"

Face to Space

Lightning spread word to all his friends about the rainbow stone, and that it really did work. The others almost couldn't wait to try it out for themselves, but what were they thinking? Were they actually asking for the kingdom to be attacked again just so they could test out new magic? No, they decided to let it be and only try to tap into their new powers when the time was right.

So, business just carried on. The unicorns still went to work and did their chores and duties, and once again, Lightning and Krysta were asked by Cookie Dough to deliver an ordered lunch to Brain show as busy working on a new project.

"What do you think he's making this time?" asked Lightning "A rocket-ship to take us all to the moon."

"I doubt we'd actually need a rocket to do that." said Krysta, "We could just fly up there ourselves."

(Their moon is nothing like the Earth's moon.)

As they landed near Brain's they could see Dyno and Myte standing outside.

"Hola, amigos." said Dyno when Lightning and Krysta landed.

"Hey boys..! Why are you here?" asked Krysta.

The twins explained that Brain had asked them to cover over to help test his new secret project. "But we waiting out here a long time." said Myte "We try and knock but he don't hear us."

Lightning knocked a few times, but as expected, Brain didn't answer. "That's Brain for you. He gets so wrapped up in his work he can't seem to hear anything else."

Luckily a window was open a wee bit, and Krysta agreed to fly inside and see if she could find Brain. "Back in a flash..."

…

Brain was busy spraying something on a small barrel on his workbench. "There…! My new formula is complete." he said to himself "I just can't wait to tell to the others."

"Well that's good to hear." said a voice from behind, making Brain jump "Oh… my…! Please, Krysta, I beg you… don't do that again. I get so carried away at times, you know."

"Well just carry yourself to the door, and let the others in." replied Krysta.

Brain's eyes widened, "Oh dear! I completely forgot. I shall be back, don't touch anything."

As soon as he was gone, Krysta sat on the barrel that was on the bench and just relaxed there, unaware that the barrel was beginning to fade away into thin air…!

Brain let the others in and apologized for keeping them waiting for so long. "So what's the big secret?" asked Lightning.

Brain explained that he had been working on a new spray-paint he hoped would improve others stamina. This way unicorns like him, that didn't have offensive or defensive magic, could enter battle against a foe and would be more protected against many attacks without sustaining too much damage or getting hurt, and would even feel stronger in brute force for a short while… at least he hoped!

"Qué…? You hope…?" asked Dyno.

"I don't like the sound of that." said Myte.

Brain explained, "I have just tried out the new formula on a barrel sitting on my bench. Do whatever you wish with it. Smash it, burn it, blow it up… this formula should make it so you cannot damage it."

"This I must see." muttered Lightning.

"You will in fact. You will." said Brain as he lead everyone into the workshop, but they couldn't see a barrel anywhere. Just Krysta relaxing comfortably in midair "So… where's the barrel?" asked Lightning.

"I do see a barrel, do you?" asked Dyno.

"No… I don't." answered Myte.

Brain was most confused, "I… I don't understand it."

Krysta woke up. "What going on…?" That's when she noticed, "Huh…?" she was standing on fresh air but her wings weren't fluttering. If anything, she still felt as if she were standing on something solid.

"Krysta…?" Brain said calmly. "Now… where is the barrel? What have you done with it?"

Krysta explained she didn't do anything. "All I did was sit on it and now… nothing."

"Hold on…" Lightning said "Krysta, tap your foot."

As confused as she and the others were, Krysta did as she was told and could actually feel her foot tapping against something solid. "Huh…?" She tried jumping, and could feel her feet stomping on a flat surface.

Brain walked over and gently tapped near Krysta's feet and he could actually feel the barrel. "I wouldn't have believed it possible!"

"It's invisible!" cried Krysta.

"Wow, have you hit on something, Brain." said Lightning.

Dyno and Myte were overjoyed.

"He's a genius."

"Si…! A regular super brain…"

Brain felt very proud. This was indeed a most magnificent discovery, unaware that Rep-Stallion had been peeking through the windows. "Just wait until I tell the others." he said. Then he vanished quickly before he was spotted by the lookout towers.

…

"A paint that makes things invisible…?" Dementia said "Now I've heard of everything. Why can't you ever come up with something more useful?"

Rep-Stallion looked furious "At least I do things more useful than you always prettying yourself up with that goop!"

Mysterious hushed them both before they broke out into a fight, and agreed that Rep had indeed discovered something most useful. If they got that formula they'd have a free hove in all their battles, "But first we must test it on our own fields, and for that we'll need a monster."

"Leave it to me…" said Dementia "I've been saving one for just such an occasion."

…

The barrel was still invisible, but Brain already actually managed to chip a little piece of it meaning his formula didn't make it strong, so the test was off. Luckily, Brain had theory and sprayed the barrel with ordinary water, and sure enough it reappeared. "Yes…! Satisfactory...! Most satisfactory…! Just a simple touch of water or any other exterior substance will wash the paint away. Now all that remains to figure how to apply this new invention of mine."

The others assured Brain not to worry about that. Like all his inventions it was bound to be put to good use very soon. "Can we help in any way?" asked Lightning.

"Oh, no, no, no… that shouldn't be necessary." said Brain.

With that settled, the others decided to leave and let Brain decide what to do. "That Brain…" Krysta chuckled "He just can't seem to tear himself from his work even when he's done."

The others agreed, but nobody realized that something was watching them, hiding in the bushes outside of Brain's house.

As Brain was tidying up around his workshop, and still wondering what to do about the invisible paint. He heard a loud pounding coming from his door, as if someone were trying to force their way in. "I say…! Who's there?" snapped Brain.

The pounding merely continued followed by a growling sound. Brain knew this was troubled, and pressed a big red button on the wall which sounded the alarms to warn the kingdom, and no sooner had he did the door break open and in came a snarling monster made from what looked like, makeup brushes and eyeliner wands. "Oh… my-y-y-y-y…!" cried Brain.

…

Luckily Lightning and the others hadn't gone too far and began to dash back immediately as soon as the alarms sounded. "Trust there to be trouble exactly where we were before." groaned Lightning.

Nevertheless, they all continued to dash until they reached Brain's house to see "Dementia…!" standing there.

She turned to face them. "So… the cavalry is here."

"What are you up to now, Dementia?" snapped Lightning.

Dementia sniggered "Oh, you'll see… or maybe you won't." she clapped her hooves, and the gang could hear something making its way through the door of Brain's house, but could see nothing there.

"Qué…?" remarked Dyno

"I see nothing." added Myte

Still, they could all feel something was there, and it was getting closer. Then Lightning felt something swinging at him and pushing him down. "Ah…!"

"Lightning…!" cried Krysta

"Guys, look out!" cried Lightning, but then the twins got tripped up. "AYE…!"

Krysta fluttered up higher before she got hit, only to get caught by Dementia. "Going somewhere?" she hissed, and Before Krysta knew it, she was thrown in a small jar and shut in tight, but with air-holes. "Help…! Let me out! Let me out!"

Dementia couldn't help bust shake the jar vigorously and laugh at the poor little fairy being rock about inside. Krysta never felt so dizzy in her life. Dementia simply placed her on the window sill of Brain's house where wouldn't cause any trouble, as long as she was in the jar. Poor Krysta couldn't pop the top, and she didn't dare try to blast the sides of the jar with her magic for fear of harming herself as the jar was so small. All she could do was watch helplessly as her friends began to get beat up by seemingly nothing…!

Lightning was pushed up against a tree and kept feeling hard punches go into his armor.

Dyno and Myte tried to blast the monster with their rocket-explosives, but their attacks missed completely. "It's no good!"

"We can't find it!"

But the monster seemed to find them, grabbing them both in what felt like spiky hands, it whirled them round and around and rolled them along the ground like balls.

Krysta could tell that this had something to do with Brain's new formula. That was why the monster couldn't be seen, and after all, how could they fight what they couldn't even see?

Dementia decided to rejoin the party, but resisted the urge to spray herself with the paint as it was too gross for her. This left Krysta on her own, still in the jar, and she realized the only way she could escape was shatter the glass by rolling it off the window and into the house where it would break on the floor, and luckily she was able to use her lifting magic, even while inside.

"Okay…!" Krysta said nervously as she braced herself "One… two…" and with a quick wave, she managed to push the jar off the edge, "THREE…!" and down she went. A small drop to some was a long fall to her.

The glass shattered upon hitting the floor, and she was free, despite having a not so smooth landing. "Ohh…! Uhn…!" she groaned as she crawled out of the mess. "Oh, even my wings hurt!"

It sure felt good to be out, but that's when she saw Brain, all tied up and gagged "Brain…!" She wasted no time in freeing him, and it didn't take two guesses to figure how he got in that fix. He was able to tell her that the monster the others were fighting was actually just made of makeup brushes and eyeliner wands. Krysta thought that was a very weird idea for a monster.

"We need a plan…" Krysta said.

"Not to worry, my dear." Brain said "While I was tied up, I came up with just the solution. Now… this is what we shall do…"

…

Lightning got shoved hard again by the invisible monster! "Ugh…!"

Dyno and Myte were struggling with Dementia, but their explosives seemed to be no match for her field warping. "Nobody messes with my face…!" she sneered.

"We can't… keep this up!" cried Lightning as he was pinned up against a tree by the monsters invisible, spiky hands. "Ow…!"

The twins agreed, but what could they do.

"That's easy…" Dementia hissed as she began to walk forward "You can finally admit defeat and surrender yourselves willingly."

"Fat chance of that!" snapped Dyno. "Si…! We will never give in to you…!"

Dementia sighed "Fine then…" and she raised one hove and held the twins in place with a warping barrier so they couldn't run anywhere, and then raised her other hove ready for another blast. "Oh boy…!" cried Lightning. He managed to break out of the monster's grip with his extra strength, but no matter how hard he tried to help the twins, the invisible monster just wouldn't let him through. "Guys…!" he shouted.

"Nice knowing you, Dyno!"

"Likewise to, Myte…!"

The twins let out a scream, but just as Dementia was about to blast them. "YAAHH…!" she shrieked as she felt someone pull on the back of her mane with such force. With her concentration broken, the Twins were released, but they couldn't understand what was going on.

Dementia looked as if she was fighting with nothing but clean air, but something was defiantly pulling at her mane. "Let… go of me…! Ow…!"

"What's wrong, Dementia…?" squeaked a tiny little voice. "Need some help styling your mane?"

Dementia couldn't see anything. "You little insect!" she shouted "When I get my hooves on her you I'll- AAAAHH…!" the more she struggled, the tighter Krysta pulled, keeping her well distracted.

Dyno and Myte felt confused, but suddenly they gazed at each other. "Dyno…! You are disappearing…!"

"Ah…! So are you!"

Soon they vanished completely. "Dyno…? Myte…?" cried Lightning as the struggled with the monster "What's going on here?"

That's when a floating sprayer of Brain's invisible paint seemed to float up right towards him. "What the…" and it sprayed him too. "Hey!" Then he, too, went invisible.

"Lightning…" Brain called "Don't be frightened. It is all part of my plan. Now listen closely!"

Soon it was all made clear. With Brain's spray on them it evened things out. "They couldn't see the monster, but now it couldn't see them either. Brain also pointed out, just because they couldn't see the monster, didn't mean they couldn't hear it.

Dyno and Myte liked the idea, now all they had to do was concentrate. Sure enough it was easy to tell where the monster way, what with its big feet stomping on the ground and the way the grass move when being walked on. "There is!" cried Lightning. "Get him…!"

That's when he charged ahead and rammed the monster hard knocking it down.

"What's going on…?" snarled Dementia

"Looks like the tables have turned." Krysta said "Or rather… doesn't look… or uh… meh!" she pulled Dementia's mane one last time "Aah…!" and then kicked her hard in the nose. "Ohh…!"

Then she ran over to join the fight. "Time to shine…!" she teased as she sprinkled her fairy dust over the area where the monster was, covering it from head to toe. Now it could be seen perfectly. "All right, Krysta!" called Lightning.

The twins decided to go next and try a little something they learned from the rainbow stone a while ago. "Ready, brother…?"

"I was born ready and so were you."

After finding where each other was, the twins joined hooves, "SHOCK ROCK WAVE!" and they both obvious jumped and pounded the ground very hard. This sent a long path of erupting ground towards the monster, hitting it with such power, almost an explosion.

Lightning summoned the rainbow rod and began to charge it up. It sure looked funny seeing the rod just float all by itself… except to the monster…!

"RAINBOW FORCE…!"

The monster was hit and vanished, and the magic dissolved. Dementia was outraged. "Time for me to vanish!" she snarled, and she was gone.

"Satisfactory!" cried Brain "Most… Most… MOST satisfactory…!"

"Uh… well… almost." said Lightning "Think you can wash this paint us now?"

The others just laughed.

…

Dementia was really in a mess. Her nose was all red and swollen, and she had an ice-bag attached to her sore head. "Uhn…! Look at me! I'm hideous."

"We heard you the first and thirty-first times!" snarled Rep-Stallion. As the two of them quarreled, Mysterious realized that these monsters were not working, and stealing the invisible paint didn't work out too well either.

It was decided to continue training to master their knight powers, and nothing more. If he could get the others to quit babbling! "Hey! Hey…! Knock it off you too." But he soon found himself arguing with them.

…

Everyone washed the pain off of them and became visible again. Brain decided to put his new formula in his safe and work on it another day. "Well… I must say, this invention certainly gave us more than we bargained for. I shall have to work on it some more and get it working more effectively."

"Just think…" Krysta pointed out "If Dementia had gotten it for good, we'd be in for it bad."

"Just the same, we managed to get out of another situation, but the sooner we find the other rainbow stones the better." said Lightning.

The twins agreed, and decided to run off and train some more. "I'll show you to the door…" Brain offered, but suddenly he tripped over something. "Oh…!" and fell flat on the floor.

Lightning examined the area where Brain had tripped; there was still one crate that somehow had been coated in paint that Brain didn't notice. "Well… now who's a fool?"

…

(In Grand Rulers Palace)

Grand Ruler: "Poor Brain… his invention may have caused a little trouble, but it taught the others how to use their other senses. You know some people and other creatures that cannot see often use their other senses of hearing, smelling, or even feeling to know that something is there, but sometimes even those who that can see can often miss certain things."

"It is also a good thing to know that just you cannot see something, or haven't seen it, doesn't not mean it doesn't exist or isn't there, but most importantly… everyone also sees things differently than others. To look at something through your own eyes is simple enough, but to see things through someone else's is a different matter. It is these things that make us special or different, but it doesn't make us look, or seem much different than each other. That's something we must all see every day."

"And I'll SEE you all next time, and keep on believing."

The fallen world of Elfaron

Several unicorns, even Lightning and Starla, had been summoned to Grand Ruler's palace. A rainbow stone had been located in another dimension, and the time had come to send a volunteer or two through the portal warp.

As much as Lightning wanted to go, he knew he couldn't in case Titan's minions tried to attack again, and Grand Ruler couldn't go either as it would be most unwise to leave his kingdom during such fearful times. He had to stay and maintain the order of nature and balance anyway.

Buddy Rose and Artie decided to go, and Doctor Penny was summoned to give them examinations to see if they could physically survive the trip, and or any ordeals they would come across on their adventure, but Buddy and Artie were very nervous, almost afraid even. They had never had been outside of the kingdom before, and didn't know what to expect. They didn't even know where they were going

They had gone to the library many times to research on as many of the outer-dimensions as they could, but there was just so much, almost too much they Inquerius suggested they leave and relax.

Still… the rainbow stone was very important, and needed to be obtained at all costs. The boys agreed to do it, no matter what. Grand Ruler was proud of them.

"Are you ready…?" he asked them. The boys just hesitated, and gazed nervously at one another, and as Grand Ruler tried to explain that no one was forcing them to go if they want to, "I'm ready…"

"Me too…"

Grand Ruler smiled and went over their final details, but also granted them one last thing before departure. He stood upright, folded his hooves, and concentrated. His golden horns glowed and zapped the boys' horns with soft lights.

He explained that he had made it so their horns would help them locate the rainbow stone. The closer they got, the brighter their horns would glow, and if they were separated it could help them find each other as well and also the precise area where they would land upon arrival so they could return. All they had to do was return to the position where they landed and send a flash of light from their horns to signal the transport.

The bottom line who nobody knew who or what they would find inside that dimension. "Go with care boys." Grand Ruler said "Look out for one another and return with not only the stone, but also with swiftness and experience."

The boys bowed to their ruler. "We won't fail you, your majesty." said Buddy Rose.

"We'll the get the stone." added Artie.

The large stone doors were already open, and there was the portal gate all ready. All the boys had to do was step or jump through it. "Good luck, guys!" said Lightning.

"Come back safe." added Krysta.

The boys nodded, and then turned to face the portal. They both took a running start and jumped in, and with a two bright flashes… they were gone!

"Boy, I sure wish I was going with them." Lightning said

Grand Ruler understood how he felt. For now, all they could do was wait.

…

Buddy and Artie felt like they were going down a super fun slide like at Pinkie Park, going over and under, in loops and curves as they sailed across the pathway through dimensional space. What a sight to behold! The colors of the void outside was prettier than a rainbow, but just the thought of the fact that straying from the path and falling into it, and getting thrown to who knew where, did not make it seem as friendly.

They didn't notice a pair of red, and evil looking eyes gazing at them from afar. Then they vanished into the void.

So many portals to so many other worlds and dimensions passed by, and they too were amazing to look at and wonder what they were like. "Look up ahead…!" cried Artie. A large glow of light was illuminating ahead of them and getting brighter every second. "It's the portal!" cried Buddy "We're almost there! Get ready to fly!"

The boys spread their wings just as they reached the end of the path and after a bright flash of light they found themselves soaring high in the skies above the new world. "We made it!" Buddy Rose cried excitedly.

"Yeah… but exactly where are we?" asked Artie. Neither one of them could see through the clouds as they were up far too high. In fact, the clouds below seemed orange and grey instead of white and fluffy. The boys started to have a really bad feeling, and decided to fly lower and investigate. They weren't likely to find the rainbow stone in the sky anyway.

As they dropped below the clouds, what they saw nearly turned their bloods cold. Everywhere they looked they saw ruin and destruction as if a-thousand storms had ravaged the lands below. The grounds were all laden with rocks and bits of rubble, planks and logs of wood. Buddy Rose could tell just by looking at the ground, "I could never plant anything in this. My whole garden would die in a second."

Artie never saw anything so awful before, but he reminded Buddy, "Come on, we have a job to do here."

Buddy agreed. They had to find the rainbow stone and get back, "Maybe we can find out what happened too."

And so they went along their way.

…

Back in Unicornicopia, Lightning and Krysta were charged with looking after Buddy Rose's garden while he was away. It was a good thing they saw him do it so many times which was why they were doing so well. Lightning was tending to the wedding while Krysta sprinkled water on the plants. She couldn't help but wonder if the plants missed Buddy Rose.

"Well… I bet these weeds don't!" growled Lightning as he struggled to yank them out, only to fling backwards into the wheelbarrow and hit the wall. Krysta couldn't help but giggle. Lightning was not amused. "Very funny, Krysta…" he grumbled.

As the two of them worked, they couldn't help but wonder how Buddy Rose and Artie were doing. "What do you think they've found?" Krysta wondered aloud.

"I don't know… but I'll bet that it's pretty exciting and maybe even fun."

…

If they only knew…!

Buddy and Artie found no signs of life, but just more chaos and destruction wherever they went. They were starting to think that maybe something had attacked this realm, "But what…?" asked Buddy Rose. It obviously wasn't Titan, when he was sealed away all realms under his curse went back to normal. "From the looks of this damage…" said Artie "I'd say this place was attacked recently… but I don't think it was Titan. We all saw the last of him long ago."

As the boys pondered over this, their horns gave a quick, soft glow. "Did you see that…?" asked Buddy. Their horns glowed again "I saw it…" answered Artie. This was what they were waiting for. They were getting closer to the rainbow stone, and the sooner they found it, the sooner they could leave.

They ran along and, just as The Grand Ruler had said, their horns were glowing brighter than ever, which meant they were getting closer. The problem was the two of them were so concentrated on following their horns they lost track of each other and ended up wandering away from one another, and they didn't realize it until it was too late.

"Buddy Rose…?"

…

"Artie…? Where'd you go?"

Buddy found he was all alone and wandering about, but his horn was still glowing though. He couldn't decide whether or not to keep trying to find the stone, or look for Artie. Both were so important, but ultimately he decided to look for his friend. All he had to do was follow his horn as it glowed in orange, the same color as Artie.

…

Artie was still looking for Buddy as well, when suddenly he heard a small clattering sound coming from the wreckage of a smashed home. "Who's there…?" he called. "Hello…?"

The clattering continued and Artie moved closer. His horn was also glowing brighter than ever, but not red to locate Buddy Rose, but rather the stone he was looking for. "Hello…?"

He reached the wreckage and began to move some of the rubble aside. His horn was glowing wildly now, and there ahead, he could see something shiny- A small jewel, half red and half orange. "That… that's it!" he cried "I found it! I found the rainbow stone!"

Suddenly, he heard the sound of someone whimpered. "Please…" it squeaked "Don't hurt me!"

Artie felt confused. "Whoever you are…I'm not going to hurt you." he said gently as he tried to get inside through the wreckage. He still couldn't see who was there though. "It's okay… you don't have to be afraid of me."

The creature saw Artie get closer and could see he was unicorn. She gently stepped forward revealing that she was a small human-like creature with pointy ears, short black hair. Yet she was all dirty, seemed famished, and was wearing a set of ragged old clothes that had seemed partially burned, and hung on a band round her head was indeed the rainbow stone.

"It's okay… you can trust me." Artie stood on all fours and extended his front right hove in a friendly manner; the little girl walked up to him slowly and gently touched his hove with her hand. "What's your name…?" Artie asked.

The girl hesitated for a moment, and then said "Ilia. I'm an elf."

Artie wanted to know everything… so Ilia explained.

Her dimension was called Elfaron…

It used to be a harmonious place with lush green fields; forests, ponds, and all her kind were elves. They were a peaceful race who had ceased the need for weapons, or magic powers for many centuries and devoted their lives to potion-making, or even playing and enjoying the necessities of life.

However, recently, an evil creature- a giant dark serpent-like monster with fangs, razor-sharp fins, and red burning eyes found its way into her realm, and began to lay a path of destruction and chaos as it was searching for something.

Everyone panicked and immediately escaped the realm to seek sanctuary somewhere else, but she was mistakenly left behind, and felt too afraid to leave on her own. She had no idea where to go.

…

Poor Ilia, he eyes were brimming with tears. Artie very sorry for her, but couldn't help but wonder about the description of this monster. It didn't sound like anything of Titan or his minions' doing, but it was familiar.

"You've been alone all this time?" Artie asked.

"Mm-hmm…!" Ilia murmured as she wiped her tears, but then… the ground began to shake. "What's going on?" asked Artie.

"Oh no…!" cried Ilia "The beast approaches!"

Artie ran to an opening in the wreckage and could see a trail of dust off in the distance and heading straight for them as the rumbling got worse. "It's still here…?" he wondered aloud, but it was pretty obvious the creature was still there. "Ilia, you stay here… I'm going to check this out."

For all her begs and pleas for him not to go, Artie dashed back outside, and readied his "BIG BRUSH SPEAR!" Then he stood ready to face this thing. "How big can it be…?"

The demon got closer and closer and by the time it reached near Artie, it was about the size, length, and width of Buddy Roses' entire garden, and that was gigantic. "Uh… oh…!"

The giant serpent demon stopped in its tracks and gazed at Artie. Its raspy breathing and hissing made Artie want to run, but he had to be brave for Ilia, and not give her position away. "I am unicornicopian HV7J. Who are you, and why have you laid waste to this dimension?"

The demon hissed and breathed in a snarly growl and then answered. "I am… Serpent-Terror…!"

"Serpent-Terror…?"

"The stone…!" hissed the demon "Give me the stone!"

Artie could only assume he meant the rainbow stone, but there was no way he'd let such a monster get it, or it would lead him to Ilia. He just stood there and gripped his spear tight. This angered the demon greatly. "Heh, heh, heh…! You dare conceal its location? You are courageous, but foolish as well!" and he began to charge forward.

Artie tried his "PAINT BOMBS…!" but it was like throwing pebbles against an oncoming brick wall, no effect at all. Serpent-Tyrant just laughed and then opened his huge mouth "PLASMA VAPOUR…!" and he breathed a huge burst of trailing energy that Artie barely dodged, "WHOA…!" the blast went right past him and kept right on going and going until it reached a far off mountain… KABLAM! Such an explosion wiped out the whole mountain.

Artie couldn't believe his eyes, even Titan was never able to cause such destruction so easily as that, but he still wouldn't tell where the stone was.

The demon was charging again, and Artie tried his "PAINT BLOBS…!" to try and blind it in the eyes, but once again it had no effect. "What is with this thing?" None of his attacks were so much as making him flinch.

"Now try some of my own tricks…" Serpent sneered, "SMALL SERPENT SOLDIERS!"

His eyes glowed madly and right up from the ground emerged several lizard-like monsters, all with sharp claws and gnashing teeth. They didn't seem too tough though and he could take them on, but while he was busy fending them off, the demon was heading straight for the wreckage.

"Ilia…!" she was still in there, he had to try and get her out but he couldn't get past the monsters. "No…!" was all he could shout as he watched Serpent smash through the wreckage, and leaving nothing left.

Artie batted the monsters away with one swing of his spear, and he was ever so upset. "Ilia…!" he cried, but then he heard her voice from above. "Artie…!"

He looked up, and she was fine, riding with "Buddy Rose…!"

His friend winked at him "Well, I thought I'd never find you, and we got the stone!" He held out his hove to show Ilia had kindly given him the red and orange rainbow stone.

Artie was overjoyed. Now they could leave, "But first to take care of some business." Artie snapped.

The lizard monsters were all coming at him at once, but Buddy Rose decided to help with a new trick he had learned before. He placed Ilia down safely where she wouldn't get hurt and then soared back up high and flapped his wings hard at the ground, "SOIL STORM…!" His wings flapping stirred up a lot of dust. Now the monsters couldn't see a thing, it was time for Artie to try his new trick.

He raised his spear over his head, and bean whirling it round and around like a propeller. "ART ATTACK SPIN!" The spinning went faster and faster, and the sides of it began to flare with sparkling colors. Artie ran forward, still spinning the spear, and swung hard unleashing a wave of magic at the monsters, dissolving them into thin air, and he stopped spinning his spear.

Ilia leapt for joy. She was so glad the monsters were gone, but she pointed out. "He's coming back!" Serpent-Tyrant was coming after them again shouting. "Give me that stone!"

The boys decided it was time to leave, and since they couldn't leave poor Ilia behind, they were forced to take her with them. Soon all three of them were soaring high, but Serpent-Tyrant surprised them again by rising off the ground. "He can fly too…?" cried Buddy Rose.

"PLASMA VAPOUR…!"

"Look out!" screamed Ilia, and the boys managed to avoid his blast. They had to get to the spot where they landed and fast. Their horns were glowing faster indicating the point. "But wait… we can't just bring a stranger to Unicornicopia…" said Artie. "What will The Grand Ruler say?"

Buddy Rose paid no attention, and they both kept going and going, until they reached their specific spot and sent out the glowing signal. "Hang on, Ilia." said Buddy Rose.

Serpent-Tyrant could see them from the skies and began to dive straight for them growling "Rainbow stone…!"

The three friends let out a scream, but suddenly they were swooped up by a tube of light that carried them away just in time. Serpent missed them and skid along the grounds.

…

Across the pathway, through Dimensional space they went. "Where are we going…?" cried Ilia.

"Just hang on!" shouted Artie

As they continued to wander, Ilia could suddenly feel the force of something pulling her away, clear off Buddy's back. "ILIA…!" the boys shouted, but there was nothing they could do now. The pull of the path they were traveling was too strong.

…

The portal gate in Grand Ruler's palace was glowing madly, and in a bright flare, the boys emerged, and landed with a thud, and the stone doors closed tight concealing the portal away. "No, wait!" cried Buddy Rose, but it was too late.

"Ilia…" cried Artie "Was she…?"

"She's perfectly fine, boys." said a voice from behind. It was The Grand Ruler, who was pleased that they had returned safely and with the second rainbow stone. "What happened to Ilia…?" asked Artie. "Is she alright…?" asked Buddy Rose.

Grand Ruler assured them she was okay. He had been observing things ever since the boys had left, and when he found out about Ilia, he used his golden horns to contact her father, the leader of Elfaron, who was so happy to hear she was safe. Grand Ruler used his magic to send Ilia to the dimension where her people were safe.

The boys were very relieved to hear that, and also relieved not to worry about Ilia and her kind. Their dimension was in ruin, but it was possible for them to rebuild and start over. That is… after assurance that Serpent-Tyrant would never attack again!

Grand Ruler promised he would never allow that monster to enter his kingdom, and would do his best to keep him outside.

…

Leaving the stone in Grand Ruler's possession, the boys headed down to home sweet home. Lightning and Krysta were delighted that they were back, especially since they had been gardening all day and were exhausted. "I guess some people just don't have a green hove." Buddy Rose joked "Come to think of it, neither do I."

"What an adventure…!" sighed Artie. He had so many ideas and so many paintings to make to describe it. The only person who was curious was Lightning. "Serpent-Tyrant…!" he thought to himself "Could it be…? Is he that monster that killed my parents?"

"You alright, Lightning…?" asked Krysta.

Lightning didn't know if he or anyone else would be alright. Now it was clear there was another evil out there, and he too was searching for the rainbow stones, but why nobody knew. All they knew was they had to find the remaining two stones and not let Serpent-Tyrant get them!

…

As for Serpent-Tyrant… he was very outraged that he missed a stone. "They have not heard the last of me…!" he hissed deeply, and then he took off high into the sky and vanished, leaving the dimension. After which, those same glowing red eyes shone in the darkness, and then faded!

…

(In Grand Ruler's Palace)

Grand Ruler: "What an adventure it was today. Buddy Rose and Artie saw a lot of things they had never seen before, and met someone in need of help. Even though they were sent to find the treasure, they did what their hearts thought was right, and thanks to their efforts and teamwork, they helped each other find the rainbow stone and helped Ilia escape certain doom, but then again they also could had been led into a trap."

"Sometimes we must choose whether to follow our instructions, or trust in our own instincts, but it is uncertain which way will truly lead you to your goal. Sometimes the obvious choice is the wrong choice, and the right path is not the easy one. We all learn and discover new things every day, and some will change your life and the way you think forever."

"See you all next time, and keep on believing!"

Fight in the Dimesnion of Darkness PT 1

Lightning had hardly gotten too much sleep lately, as he couldn't seem to expel the thoughts of Serpent-Tyrant from his mind, and even if he did manage to get a little sleep, he would then have a recurring nightmare from his past… the time when his parents were killed by that monster!

Then he'd wake up with a terrified gasp.

Krysta was getting worried about Lightning and decided he go see Penny for a physical. So he did…

…

Penny gave Lightning a thorough physical, and even asked him some psychological, and somewhat confusing and pointless questions, by the end of the exam all Penny could suggest was not think about it and try to take his mind off it. "Here… this will help." Penny said as she readied a shot for him.

"Say…! What are you doing?" Lightning asked nervously when he saw the needle. Penny explained that medicine she was giving would help relax him so he wouldn't have the nightmare for a bit and remain calm. "It might make you sleepy though when you least expect it, but it's for your own good."

"Okay… you're the doctor." Lightning said. Then he felt the needle prick him, "Ouch…!"

"There! All done…" Penny said.

"Thanks for nothing." Lightning remarked. Krysta couldn't help but giggle.

…

Titan's minions had been training for a while, and now they were still in their knight forms, and had been that way for a while without feeling too weak. "Ha, ha, ha… I've never felt so strong before since ever." chuckled Rep-Stallion as he smashed a rock to pieces with one swing of his double-bladed scythe.

They had also learned new projectile attacks, and Dementia was having a fun with those. "Nya, ha, ha… Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who's the pretties and strongest of all?" she kept on saying.

"Are we ready now?" Mysterious asked. The others nodded in agreement. "Those unicorns have made fools of us one too many times." growled Dementia.

Rep-Stallion ran his fingers across his scythe blades, "But what goes around… is about to about to come around."

…

Lightning still went to work, eventually stopping off at the library to help Inquerius sort and stack extra piles of books for her. "Feel any better yet?" Krysta asked.

"Well… I do feel less agitated." Lightning answered "I don't even feel tired."

"Why would you feel tired?" Inquerius asked. Lightning would've said don't ask, but then again that was like telling Inquerius not to talk as she only asked questions. "I'll be fine. It's no big deal."

After all the books were sorted, Lightning and Krysta prepared to leave, when he ran into Starla, who was carrying large pile of more books and couldn't see where she was going. "Oh… Lightning…" she said.

Lightning began to feel a little shy. "Hi… Hi… Starla. Sorry about that."

"No I'm sorry."

"No, no, no… it was my fault."

They kept exchanging apologies back and forth, until they realized they were gazing into each other's eyes. They both turned away giggling and blushing softly. Krysta just rolled her eyes at how typical they were acting.

As Lighting helped Starla gather her books and take them back to her room in the tower, he playfully asked. "Don't I owe you a milkshake?"

Starla's ears perked up, and she blushed. "I… I don't know…" she said "Do you… want… do you want to…?"

"See you after work?" Lightning teased.

"Sure…I'd love to." Starla peeped softly.

They were gazing at each other like standing in a flowery warm meadow. Krysta liked seeing this.

…

As soon as she and Lightning left, Krysta couldn't help but say "Lightning… don't you think you and Starla should do more than just these simple dates?"

Lightning was confused. "What do you mean?"

Krysta explained that he and Starla had such great times together, and were obviously getting warmer with each other. "Why don't you just ask her to be your mare-friend?"

Lightning's face turned red and he almost felt stressed out, but the medicine helped him not panic. "Uh… I… oh… gee…!" However, he decided not to deny it. He had been thinking about it for a while, but kept on deciding against it. Not just because he was nervous and things like that, but also because of the dangers…!

Always having to fend off against evil forces and risking themselves in so many ways. Especially since Lightning was the primary target of Titan's minions and who knew what or who else would be after him. This meant that Starla would be in danger too. "I can't do that to her. It isn't fair. She doesn't deserve it."

Krysta felt touched by how much Lightning showed his concern, but she implied that he was overreacting. "You both have had your shares of adventures, and hardships, and Starla understands."

Lightning realized maybe that was true. "I just don't think I'm ready to ask her yet."

Krysta understood and promised she wouldn't try to force him.

Suddenly, the sounds of wicked evil laugher echoed from above as the skies went dark. "Oh no…! What now…?" grumbled Lightning as he and Krysta looked way up. There, in the skies above the kingdom, were images of Titan's minions, all in their knight forms.

"Attention, Lightning Dawn…!" Mysterious hissed "We know that you can hear us. So listen carefully."

The minions had challenged Lightning to a duel, and he was free to gather as many of his friends as he wanted. It made no difference to them. "Meet us at the top of Blacktop Mountain after sundown tonight!" said Rep-Stallion. "We've prepared an extra special battlefield just for this occasion."

Dementia stepped forward "…And believe us… when we say that refusal to accept our challenge is unacceptable." She waved her hand and the images faded into images of the whole kingdom in grave peril. Fires, storms, freeze-ups…!

Lightning and Krysta couldn't blink.

The images faded back to the minions who promised that if Lightning didn't show up and accept the duel they would do just as they had seen to the kingdom, this time… for real! "Sundown, Lightning Dawn…!" snapped Mysterious "What shall it be? Think it over… but not too long."

The images faded, and the skies cleared up. So many had already fallen into panic and were preparing for an obvious lockdown at sunset. "Krysta…?"

"Yeah…?"

"Let's get the others. I'm accepting this challenge!"

…

Lightning and Krysta held the meeting at Lightning's house and gathered as many of their friends as they knew could help in battle…

Buddy Rose, Artie, Rhymey, Dyno and Myte, and Starla too. They all had seen and heard the threat from the minions, and were willing to accept the challenge with Lightning.

"It's a chance that we must not miss,

They'll destroy our kingdom, and that's their promise." said Rhymey.

"Si…! I agree. We can't let that happen." said Dyno. His brother nodded in agreement.

Krysta just returned with a message from The Grand Ruler and how he wouldn't let any harm befall the kingdom, and promised to keep a closer eye at night for any trouble.

Still, some of them were very concerned about the battle and felt the minions were leading them straight into a trap. After all, it seemed obvious that they had mastered their new powers and it wasn't known how much stronger they were now. "We were hardly able to beat them the last time." Buddy Rose pointed out "Who knows what new tricks they got."

That didn't discourage most of the gang. They, themselves, had kept to their training and even learned new tricks too. "So… I guess it's decided…?" asked Artie.

Lightning nodded. "It's tonight… or never." he put his hove in the center, and everyone else put their hooves on top of one another, and Krysta stood on the very top.

With that decided, everyone went off, Starla hesitated for a moment. "Stalra…? You okay…?" asked Lightning. Starla seemed really nervous something. "Lightning… I…" she choked on her words and then decided "Never mind…" and then she was gone.

"What was that about…?" Lightning wondered aloud.

Krysta didn't know for sure, but the way Starla was acting it had to have had something to with Lightning, the way she kept gazing at him all through the meeting.

…

It was starting to get late and the sun would start to set soon. Titan's minions, in the regular forms, were already at the Peak of Blacktop Mountain and patiently awaiting the arrival of their enemies. "It won't be much longer now." hissed Mysterious.

"Well I wish they'd hurry." groaned Rep-Stallion "I want to have at these little pests and teach them a lesson they won't soon forget."

"Make sure you save some for Me." growled Dementia as she prettied herself up, trying to hide a few of the bruises she still sustained in past battles.

The others still couldn't believe her. She was going to get dirty again anyway. "Never mind her…" Mysterious said as he gazed back at the setting sun. "Hmm, mm, mm…! Come to us, our prey!"

…

Lightning and Krysta were already soaring toward Violet Swamp, one by one they met with their friends until the gang was all together. They soared over the thickets and brambles of the swamp and could see the mountain up ahead. "Let's go…!" shouted Lightning, and everyone headed straight for the top landing near the shrine where their adventures first began.

The gang all looked around. "Where are they…?" asked Artie.

"They better not have set us up…!" snapped Myte.

That's when the sounds of the minions' laughter were heard. "Well, well… right on time." said Mysterious. Then, the area began to warp around everyone. "Hey…! What's going on?" called Buddy-Rose.

"This is like some scary book!

I don't even think I want to look!" cried Rhymey.

In a quick zap, they all had vanished from sight…

…

They suddenly landed with a thud in a dark and eerie place. Dark grounds, dark skies. It was all dark! Bits and pieces and mounts of rubble, and corpses and skeletons. Small fog layers, eerie winds, a large castle…!

BOOM! Lightning and thunder shaking the skies…!

Dyno and Myte jumped and held each other fearfully whimpering "No Me Gusta! No Me Gusta!"

"What is this place…?" cried Starla "This isn't Unicornicopia."

The minions' were heard laughing again! The gang turned round and there they were standing on a tall pile of rocks. "Welcome to our homeland." hissed Mysterious.

"Homeland…?" asked Lightning "You mean this is…?"

Krysta's eyes bulged wide, "The Dimension of Darkness…!" It couldn't be any other place. "Feel free to have a look around…" sniggered Dementia "This will be the last place you ever see… alive!"

The gang felt their courage building up and stood ready to fight. "We don't care what tricks you pull on us!" snapped Artie.

"We're not going to back down this time." added Buddy Rose.

"Yeah…? Well neither are we." said Rep-Stallion "There's no running away this time. This is a fight to the end. We'll see how you're little believing will save you this time."

"Enough chitchat! It's time for battle!" snapped Mysterious. Then he and his teammates transformed into their knight forms, and let the others charge up and ready their weapons. "Well… we're ready." said Lightning "Let's get them!"

The others all agreed and dashed forth like an army of soldiers charging. The minions stood where they were, not even moving and the gang seemingly jumped on them and began to attack full force, but when the dust had settled. "Huh…?" all they had done was hacked away at the pile of rocks, and the minions were nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd they go?" asked Starla.

"I don't know…" Rhymey said.

Mysterious waited while hiding in the shadows, thanks to mastering his powers, he could blend in with the darkness around him and hide easier and then, with almost no warning, he leapt forth just in time for everyone to see him, "SMOKE OF PAIN…!" fire powerful blasts of smoky magic that exploded on contact, knocking them all down.

"As Brain would say…" groaned Lightning "Well… now who's a fool?"

The other two appeared beside him snickering. "Did you miss us…?" Dementia mocked. The gang went at them again only to miss and be shot by Rep-Stallion's "BOLT OF THUNDER…!" an attack that let him fire electrified pulses from his scythe. Everyone jumped out of the way just in time.

This was getting them nowhere. Every time they tried to even find the minions to even try and attack them the same thing happened. "I say we split up." suggested Lightning.

Some of the other didn't like that idea. "Split up? Are you mad?" asked Dyno.

"We have to stick together, and form a plan." added Myte.

"Oh, sure, this is a great plan." snapped Starla "…staying in one place so they can get at us more easily…!"

Unable to argue with that… the team split up a bit. Lighting also yawned a little. "Are you okay?" asked Krysta.

"I'm fine."

"They've split up." hissed Mysterious.

"Heh, heh… just like we hoped." chuckled Rep.

"And now the real fun begins." Dementia said then laughed, and they split up to attack each team.

Dementia went after Starla and the twins.

Rep went after Rhymey, Buddy, and Artie.

This left Mysterious to handle Lightning and Krysta. "This should be over soon." hissed Mysterious.

"Not as soon as you think…!" snapped Krysta "Ready, Lightning…?"

Lightning yawned again, but answered "You bet!" and he dashed forth, only to have Mysterious kick him hard in his armor. "UGH…!" and sent him skidding along the ground into a rotted tree.

"Lightning!" shrieked Krysta.

Lightning looked as if he had been knocked unconscious, Mysterious just laughed at how pitiful Lightning's attempt was… until Lightning bolted upright, with a smirking grin, much to his annoyance. "Looks, like you have gotten stronger…" Lightning teased, "But so HAVE WE…!" and he dashed forward faster than ever and bashed right into Mysterious sending him sailing onto a pile of rubble… CRASH!

"All right, Lightning…!" Krysta cheered.

Lightning smiled, but he yawned yet again. This was starting to get worrisome, but now wasn't the time to concern about it. Mysterious had gotten up, and didn't seem harmed at all. "Very impressive." he hissed "Perhaps I underestimated you… or perhaps I HAVEN'T…!" and the fight continued.

Meanwhile, Rep-Stallion was showing off his new and improved swiftness by parrying his scythe against Rhymey's sword and Artie's spear. Two against one and he made the odds look equal. Even when a struggle was engaged, and Rep managed kick the both of them aside.

"Hey…!" snapped Buddy Rose "No one doesn't that to my friends! VINE SNARE…!" Using his vines, he yanked the scythe out of Rep-Stallion's hands and grabbed it himself. "Ha-Ha! Looks the tables have turned! I got your weapon now."

Rep-Stallion didn't seem the least bit concerned. "Easy pickings…!" he growled as he stuck out his arms and his hands glowed bright. The scythe began sparking and shocking Buddy hard that he was forced to let go, and the weapon returned to Rep. "You were saying…?" he mocked. "It looks like the tables have turned again, and my weapon is back with me. I'd never let it fall into the hands of anyone else… especially to the likes of you!"

Buddy got back up after his shocking, and Rhymey and Artie came to his side. "We're not done with you yet!" snapped Artie.

"This battle's not through yet!" rhymed Rhymey as he gripped his sword tight, and as their battle continued…

Starla and the twins weren't having much luck either, so many times they had launched their attacks, but Dementia's swiftness and defences proved to be a bit much. Most of the attacks just missed her and those that hit her only made her angrier. "Do you know how long I spent shinning my armor?" she scolded, and she fired her newest projectiles in outrage, "COLDNESS OF DESTRUCTION…!"

She fired a swarm of ice shards at the others, "Jump!" cried Starla as she and the twins leapt out of the way as the ice flew past them and completely froze a pile of fallen trees and rubble. "Aye-Aye-Aye! Hace Frio!" cried Dyno.

Both he and Myte were angry now, and thought they'd try a "SHOCK ROCK WAVE!" They slammed the ground, but their attack didn't work. No rock wave was formed. "Don't waste your efforts!" snapped Dementia. "The ground here isn't like yours back at home. It's littered the bones and essences of the life forms that once existed here."

The twins realized she was right. "Our ground attacks are useless…!" cried Myte

"Well my attacks aren't!" said Starla "QUASAR BEAM…!" Her beam fired, but Dementia just teleported, out of the way, and appeared right before Starla, slapping her hard in the face "AH…!" and knocking her down!

Lightning saw this, "Starla…!" he shouted! Then he got hit from behind by Mysterious' blasts. "AA-AAH…!"

Krysta hovered in and repelled the rest of the blasts with her defensive barriers, but the blasts were so hard she could hardly stand them herself. Then she noticed Lightning hadn't gotten up yet. "Lightning…? Lightning… what's wrong?"

Lightning didn't seem to have the strength to get up, despite not being hurt even from the last attack. "I… I don't know!" he said through a yawn "I feel so… dopey… drow….sy!" Then he drifted off into a deep, deep sleep. "Lightning…? Lightning!" cried Krysta.

Everyone else could see him. Lightning was just lying flat on the ground, hardly moving at all…!

To Be Continued…

Fight in the Dimesnion of Darkness PT 2

The gang huddled together, and the minions stood side-by-side. Lightning was still sleeping deeply, much to the gang's upset, but to the minions' delight. "Poor thing…" hissed Mysterious "Guess he's reached the end of his rope." added Rep-Stallion

The others tried to wake Lightning up, but he was really passed out. Krysta then realized what was going on when Lightning went to see Penny, and she gave him that medicine. "It might make you sleepy when you least expect it."

"Lightning… please, wake up!" cried Starla.

"Come on, amigo!" cried Dyno… but Lightning hardly even moved.

The gang also realized that they had all huddled into one group again, which made them easy targets for their enemies. "Who should we take out first….?" Dementia teased. "All of you…!"

The gang were in trouble now, but they couldn't just run off while Lightning was down. "I have an idea…" Buddy Rose whispered to the others, and told them his plan. "Okay, get ready…!"

The minions readied their most powerful attacks…

"DANCE OF ICE…!"

"THE BITE OF LIGHTNING…!"

"THE HAMMER OF EVIL…!"

Right as they fired their attacks, Buddy quickly leapt up, "SOIL STORM…!" and his magic worked as it stirred up the soil in the grounds creating a dust cloud just as the attacks collided in a massive explosion. All that soil and dust and mist made it hard to see for a moment, and then when the dust had cleared, the gang was gone, but they hadn't been blown to pieces.

"They're gone!" cried Dementia.

Rep-Stallion angrily slammed his scythe hard. "They outwitted us again!"

Mysterious, too, was annoyed. "They must be around here somewhere." He said "Remember, they can't leave here. We'll find them, even if we have to tear this derelict dimension apart piece by piece!"

They spread out and began blowing up and attacking anyplace that could remotely serve as a general hiding spot, but the gang had actually retreated to the foyer of Titan's castle. The one place they hoped the minions wouldn't dare to attack.

Lightning was still sleeping deeply under Penny's medicine, and the others needed time to rest and think. The minions had certainly lead them into a well laid trap, sending them to this dimension where their powers were much stronger, while some of their magic wouldn't work. "Just look at them out there…" said Artie. Everyone gazed outside watching the minions blast more chunks and piles of dead trees and rocks away. They're powers seemed just as strong as ever, even after all that had happened outside during the battle.

"Come on out…!" roared Rep-Stallion "We'll find you!" He sliced the remains of trees down, and blew up more rocks.

"Where it comes from we want to know…

How can they just keep going like so?" asked Rhymey.

The others didn't know and were too busy trying to wake Lightning up. He managed to get his eyes open at least. "Guys…?" he whimpered "What's going on…? I feel so… heavy… and weak!"

"You're just sleepy from Penny's medicine." said Krysta "That's why you feel weak."

Lightning struggled to stand, but he felt as if he had a huge boulder rest on his back and slumped back down. "Shh…! Quiet…!" cried Starla "They'll hear us out there…"

The minions heard nothing and continued to search. "You're beginning to make us angry!" snarled Dementia as she fired more ice shards and she almost struck the castle off in the distance. "No!" Mysterious thundered as he intercepted her blast with his own power. Then he gave her an angry look!

Dementia apologized. "I forgot."

…

"Did you see that…?" asked Dyno.

"Si, I did…! That ice shard could've come this way." said Myte.

Obviously the minions didn't want the castle to get blasted, but why was that. "There must be something very important in here." said Starla. "But what is it, and where is it?"

Just the foyer seemed large enough to hide so many things in so many places. Lightning finally managed to stand up without falling down again, "Maybe… we should go in deeper?" he asked.

Seeing no other option and it would do well for Lightning to move around and shake his drowsiness away, they ventured forth into Titan's castle.

…

Outside, Rep-Stallion asked the others "What if they really are in the castle? Maybe they know about… you know…"

Dementia grabbed him, "Don't be an idiot! No one would dare venture into the depths of the master's castle."

Mysterious wasn't too sure about that, though. "It is a possibility." He said "I think we'll play a waiting game."

…

Even with Kyrsta's fairy glow, and the lit torches along the walls, the inside of the castle was dark and creepy. Cobwebs everywhere you looked, water dripping down from above and bits of dead bones along the floor. Starla stepped on a few "Ugh! Gross…!" she murmured.

Every once in a while, one of the others would ask if Lightning was okay "I'm fine!" he would say annoyingly. Then he let out a yawn, "At least I think I will be…"

That was the least of their problems- They now were facing an area with many doors and pathways. "Which way should we go now…?" asked Buddy Rose. The best they could all do was split up. Starla and Krysta would remain with Lightning to help him out.

Artie handed everyone a small paintbrush, and a small jar of white paint each. "We'll draw arrows along the walls in case we get lost."

Then, everyone picked a doorway and headed through. Some ways lead upwards, others went deeper into the bowls of the world, and some just kept going straight ahead. "Hello…?" cried Krysta "Is anyone here?"

…

Poor Rhymey felt his hind legs quivering.

"Oh dear…!

I'm in fear." He whimpered. Then suddenly, something spooked him.

"I see something moving to and fro…!" Then he realized, "Oh silly me… it's just my shadow."

As frightful as he felt, he pressed on.

…

Dyno and Myte almost felt right at home in the mines, but it was never this dark and spooky. At least they had their miner's hats to give some light. Suddenly, Dyno felt as if he were walking on wood. "Myte… do you feel that?" he asked.

His brother nodded. "The floor was stone, now it's wood?"

Then suddenly the floor opened wide, as it was really a trap door, and the twins fell through, shrieking. Their shriek echoed throughout the castle, alarming the others.

Rhymey quivered in fear.

"Mercy me…!

I BELIEIVE I SHOULD FLEE…!" and he ran as fast as he could down the tunnel.

…

"What's that…?" asked Buddy Rose.

"I don't think we want to know." cried Artie. They continued to walk forward, and suddenly slipped on a steep slope sending them both sliding down and away!

…

"Okay…!" Lightning cried "I think wide awake now."

"Good…!" cried Krysta "Because I think we should…"

"RUN…!" cried Starla, and all of them began to dash ahead, and up ahead were three doorways, each of them dashed through one completely separating from one another.

Dyno and Myte were falling, Buddy Rose and Artie were sliding, and all the others were running feeling scared out of their wits, somehow they all wound up crashed into each other… and lay on the ground right back in the room where they started. All the paths lead them right back. "Now I'm really wide awake!" Lightning grunted annoyingly.

As everyone got up, they felt really silly, falling for all those traps.

"This just will not do.

This won't work out for me and you." Rhymey said.

"What do we do now?" asked Artie "There's no point in trying the paths again. We'll just end up back here."

The twins began to feel along the walls. "What are you two doing…?" asked Krysta, the twins didn't answer but just kept feeling along the walls, and tapping the stones. Suddenly, Myte reached up and grabbed hold of a torch holder, which moved like a lever. "Ah…! Esso Es!" he chirped with glee as the wall near him began to slide open revealing a hidden way to a flight of stairs. "Just like at home, Si." said Dyno.

"Way to go, boys!" said Lightning "Come on, let's go."

Everyone dashed up, up, up the long flight of curving stairs up into the castle keep. They felt a little tired after running all the way to the top. "Whew…! Now I see why the minions always teleport." groaned Artie.

Nevertheless, they had reached what appeared to be Titan's old throne room, and the sight of Titan's old massive throne was almost breathtaking. "Even the Grand Ruler's throne isn't this big." remarked Lightning.

Krysta flew round, and around the throne as she flew to the top then back down again. She landed on the seat and walked around a bit, but something felt strange to her. "Krysta… what's wrong?" asked Lightning.

"I feel something…" answered Krysta "Something below here is giving a vibration."

Starla walked over and place one of her front hooves over the seat. "I feel it…" she said. The other all walked over to see if she was right, but then Rhymey felt one of his hooves press down on a stone which was a floor-switch.

The area around the throne began to rumble and quake. "Rhymey… what have you done…?" asked Lightning.

"Oh…

…No!" whimpered Rhymey

Suddenly, the throne began to move. "Hey…!" cried Krysta and she leapt off of it and everyone else backed away. "Look…!" cried Buddy Rose as something was rising up from where the throne was resting before, it was a giant glowing sphere.

"What is it?" asked Starla.

That's when the sphere raised up, and began t fly around in circles, and then it flew straight through an open window and headed outside. "Let's go after it." said Lightning.

They all flew up and out the window, chasing the sphere, not realizing where they were going at first until they ran right into the minions again. "Well, well…" hissed Mysterious as he held the sphere and tucked it away in his armor.

"Did you enjoy your tour of the master's castle?" Dementia snickered.

The others had almost forgotten why they had come in the first place. "No more games!" Lightning said "I think it's time we finish what we started."

"Funny… we were thinking the same thing." snapped Rep-Stallion as he gripped his scythe. The gang readied themselves, drew out their weapons, and charged up.

"Go…!" shouted Lightning. At his shout, the gang split up and attacked the minions just like before. It was harder than ever to find a good place to run because most of the trees and rocks had been blown up.

The battle seemed more equal this time as attacks and blows were sent and given, but the minions were still proving to be far too swift and strong. Their powers just never seemed to decrease or get weaker, no matter what they did.

As for the gang, some of their attacks still didn't work because of the unstable conditions of the dimension, and Lightning couldn't summon the rainbow rod as it couldn't travel between realms. "You… won't win…!" growled Lightning. "We shall see…!" hissed Mysterious.

Rhymey and Artie's weapons were starting to get scraped and scratched, while Rep-Stallion's scythe had hardly a dent in it, and Dementia's ice powers were making it hard for others.

Dyno and Myte tried to rush her from different ends, but she flipped out of the way causing the twins to ram into each other. "Did we… get her...?" they both said feeling dizzy.

Dementia just had to laugh, but Starla didn't think it funny. "Oh yeah?" she growled, and lunged at Dementia trying to land one good bash, but she dodged each and every one of them and kicked her hard sending her back and right into Lightning, knocking him down.

"Starla…!" cried Lightning a she got up "Are you okay…?"

"Yeah… I'm alright." She answered

"This is crazy! We're not getting anywhere." Krysta said. The others huddled together.

"We've fought the best we can,

But I say we need a new plan." panted Rhymey

The minions laughed as the slowly crept forth "There's nothing you can plan…" hissed Mysterious. "There's nothing you can do." He reached into his armor and held out the glowing sphere. "We have all the magic… we have all the power… and now we have you in our grasp!"

Lightning took note of what was just said, and he also remembered how during the fight everyone was bumping into one another. He was beginning to have an idea. "Any last words…?" asked Rep-Stallion as he held his scythe high. "Make it fast…!" snapped Dementia.

"Yeah…" Lightning said "Everyone spread out…!" the others felt confused at first, but did as they were told. The minions were losing their patience and spread out to continue the fight.

"What are you doing…?" asked Starla

"Just trust me!" Lightning said and then he ran back towards the minions. "What is he up to?" Krysta wondered aloud. Then they all noticed that Lightning was standing directly with minions all standing around him in a ring. "I give up!" he then said.

"WHAT...?" everyone shouted.

"You're right, we can't beat you, but I don't want any more trouble. Take me, but let my friends go."

"Lightning… No!" cried Krysta.

"What are you doing?" called Dyno.

Dementia felt she was going to faint. "Somebody, pinch me." She chuckled.

"You're offering yourself to us…?" asked Rep-Stallion in disbelief.

Lightning nodded. "I'll do anything you want as long as you let them go."

Mysterious thought it over for a moment, "Well… as tempting as that would sound, I'm afraid we must refuse."

"That's right!" growled Rep-Stallion "We swore we'd get rid of all of you, and that's just what we'll do."

Dementia nodded, "You destroyed our master, Titan, and now we'll return the favor. Starting with you, Lightning Dawn…!"

The minions charged up ready to fire, and Lightning had no place to run. "And now… goodbye!" roared Mysterious as he and the other minions fired, that's when Lightning spread out his wings and flew straight up, casing the minions to miss them and strike each other instead!

"Ha, ha…!" Lightning laughed from above, "It works!" and his friends caught on with his plan. "If we can't beat them ourselves…" said Buddy Rose.

"Maybe… we can get them to beat each other!" said Artie.

The others agreed and the battle was on again.

Krysta fluttered round Rep-Stallion and near his face like a fly "Bet you can't hit me here…" she teased. "Why you puny pixie!" growled Rep and he launched his "BOLT OF THUNDER…!" straight at Krysta, but she dodged it and the blast collided into Dementia, too late for her to raise her defense. "AAA-AAH…!"

"Oh…!" cried Rep "Dementia… I… I!"

"Watch where you're aiming?" she shouted at him.

"Hey it wasn't my fault!"

While they bickered and quarrelled, Starla and Rhymey decided to launch an attack.

"STAR SHOWER…!"

"DRILL QUILL…!"

The two minions were hit hard and went after Starla and Rhymey, but they stepped out of the way at the last minute causing Rep and Dementia to ram into Mysterious hard. "You fools!" growled Mysterious.

Another quarrel erupted, and Dyno and Myte saw their chance and launched their "BOOM-BOOM ROCKETS…!" and bombarded the minions hard. The glowing sphere also slipped out of Mysterious' possession and Krysta managed to grab it and levitate it with her power.

"Look what you two have done!" roared Mysterious.

"We…?" snapped Dementia

"What about you…?" growled Rep

They broke out into such a quarrel and even began to fight each other, weakening themselves even further. The gang realized this was the perfect chance for them to attack with all they had. "IT's time to end this…!" Lightning growled "Once… and… FOR ALL…!"

That's when his horn began to glow and he was summoning up the uniforce, which alerted the minions. "Guys…!" cried Rep, the others looked up just in time as the other launched their strongest attacks.

Rhymey's sword was charged up and glowing strong, "SLASH THRASH!"

"ART ATTACK SPIN!" Artie was whirling his spear. They both slashed hard, knocking the armor clear off the minions.

Then Starla went next with her "PULSAR LASER…!" and her powerful beams knocked the minions' helmets off.

"My turn…!" Lightning roared as he stood tall and proud, bathed in glowing light and recited the chant and unleashed the "…UNIFORCE!" The minions tried to run, but were struck full force and screamed loudly.

They felt the magic around them starting to spark and flare off. They transformed back into their regular forms as, what appeared to be, the magic of their three knight forms rising into the sky, flare and sparkling wildly. They combined together in one big sphere and exploded in a great ball of fire! The gang jumped for joy and cheered with delight, while the minions could only grieve…

"Just like that…!"

"Our most powerful magic…"

"It's all gone…!"

They really blew it this time, and felt it was finally officially that they had lost for good. "Master Titan…" Mysterious whispered under his breath, and he shut his eyes tight "We have failed you!"

The gang was still cheering, but then something caught their attention. A portal gateway had opened, and The Grand Ruler's voice called out. "Lightning…! Are you there…?"

Lightning answered his master's call. "Yes, we're here."

"Quickly everyone…" Grand Ruler said "Come through this gate. Hurry, it will not hold for much longer."

"Andale, amigos!" cried Dyno.

"Let's go!" added Myte.

"Wait…!" snapped Lightning "We go… but we're taking the minions with us. They've caused us enough trouble for one lifetime."

"Hey!" cried Buddy Rose, "They're gone!"

Sure enough, the minions were nowhere to be seen. They had slipped off to somewhere when everyone's backs were turned. Still, there was no point in worry about that now.

…

Once back in Unicornicopa, everyone settled down and relaxed to a warm and hearty meal in Grand Ruler's palace, prepared by Cookie Dough. Grand was very, very proud of everyone, not only for going beyond the call of duty and seemingly put Titan's minions out of commission, but they had also found half of a rainbow stone.

The glowing sphere they had found in the castle was in fact a defensive shell of soft magic that kept half a rainbow stone, the green part, intact. This was what was supporting the evil powers that the minions had all this time.

"But… how did it end up in Titan's castle?" Lightning asked.

Even his master didn't know the answer to that, but one thing was certain, it was now imperative they all continue to search from the remaining rainbow stones. Even with Titan's minions out of action, there still other, more powerful evils still were lurking out there. "Our mission has not been fulfilled. Take good care, everyone, and never let your guard down."

Everyone bowed to their ruler, and then they all decided to head home for some much needed rest, they had a very exhausting night.

…

Lightning and Krysta escorted Starla home to the library, and her tower. "Starla…?" asked Lightning.

"Hmm…?"

"I…! I uh…" he just couldn't bring himself to tell her once again, "Goodnight, Starla." Then he left. "Goodnight, Lightning." she whispered, and she didn't stop staring at him until he was out of sight.

"Why didn't you tell her?" Krysta asked.

"I just couldn't do it." Lightning said "It didn't feel like the right time."

Krysta sighed and rolled her eyes. She was still waiting impatiently for him to suck it up and tell Starla how he really felt. "Lightning… what am I going to do with you?"

…

(In Grand Ruler's Palace)

Grand Ruler: "Planning is something we all tend to do, but usually for what we expect. I'm very proud of everyone for working together and escaping unharmed, for they learned that there is always a weakness in the enemy, and always a way to get the job done."

"But sometimes, even the best laid out plans can go wrong, and can confuse and surprise you when you least expect it. Most of the time… we make plans to do things with each other, or plan to make or do something extraordinary, only to be obligated with other affairs and chores even duties that slip our minds, or just sneak from out of nowhere. Just remember, that there always might be a way to deal with something, even if it isn't what you planned at first. Sometimes, what you didn't plan may turn out to be something better than what you hoped for."

"See you all next time, and keep on believing!"

Fairy Queen

EPISODE EIGHTEEN

It was almost dawn. All the unicorns were home and sleeping, and soon The Grand Ruler would make the sun rise up to start a new day, when in a small meadow near Rainbow City, a bright flash of light sparked, and a little man, about Krysta's size with fairy wings appeared. "I made it…" he said "This is where I will find her. I hope." Then he fluttered off along his way.

…

While at the same time, The Grand Ruler was already soaring high above his kingdom. His golden wings and horns were glowing. "Wakey-Wakey everyone…!" he said soothingly. "Time to start a brand new day…!"

With the wave of his golden wings, and sound of his voice, the sun was beginning to rise…

At the same time, every unicorn was starting to feel the warmth and goodness of the morning and began to stir from their beds. Lightning and Krysta were just waking up too. Krysta let out a tiny little yawn as she fluttered out of her little house near Lighting's bed. "Morning…" she said.

Lightning smiled at his little friend "Just was I was about to say to you." He sure seemed to be in a good mood today, and why wouldn't he? It was a beautiful day, almost the kind where everything would go right… not too likely though, but it was still a nice morning.

Lightning opened his window, sniffed the morning air, and just felt like singing…

(Style of Bear in the Big Blue House- Good Morning)

(Lightning)

When the day begins, Oh…

I look outside my window

I see the sun has come to start the morning

(Krysta)

Why, Lightning, my friend, it's true

The sky is bright and blue

I feel so glad I gotta' say one thing.

Good morning, good morning

Good morning to the sun

Good morning (Good morning)

Good morning (Good morning)

Good morning (Good morning)

(Both)

To everyone

…

They left Lightning's house and headed to Rainbow City, and then to Cookie Dough's restaurant for a breakfast. "Hey, what smells so good in here?" asked Lightning.

"Hi, guys…" Cookie Dough called from the kitchen, "It's an all you can eat breakfast buffet. Help yourselves."

Lightning and Krysta dashed at the food, and it really pleased Cookie Dough to see them and everyone else eating hearty.

(Cookie Dough)

When the sun rises bright

I love start the day off right

A good and hearty breakfast is the way

(Lightning)

So much we can do together

In this sun shining weather

(Krysta)

Oh it feels so right… I just have say.

(EVERYONE)

Good morning (Good morning), good morning

Good morning to the sun

Good morning (Good morning)

Good morning (Good morning)

Good morning (Good morning)

To everyone

…

Breakfast was so good, by the time Lightning and Krysta were finished, they felt so full and comfortable, they almost wished they didn't have to get up and leave. "Once again, Cookie Dough, your cooking has really made our day."

Cookie Dough thanked them, and then they left to head for work.

Suddenly, Krysta looked up. "Hmm…? Awe?" and she caught a glimpse of, what looked like, another fairy, flying across the rooftops. She was snapped out of her gaze when Lightning spoke to her, "Krysta…? What's the matter?"

"I thought I saw…" she turned to look back, but there was nothing there above the roofs anymore. "Never mind…"

…

As Lightning and Krysta worked, helping others out all day, Krysta couldn't forget what she thought she saw near the restaurant. She finally decided to tell Lightning. "You think you saw a fairy?" he asked "How can that be…?"

Krysta was just as baffled, but she was certain that she saw another fairy. "You know what…" Lightning said "I believe you."

"You… you do?" asked Krysta

"Of course…" replied Lightning "Many creatures of different shapes and sizes have entered this world before, and who knows… maybe we'll find who you saw and maybe even get the answers we've been searching for about you."

Krysta felt her hopes rising, but in the meantime, she and Lightning got back to work. The delivered some mail, they helped with some shipping, and helped out at the library again.

Then, as they were heading through the park, they decided to take a break and rest on a bench, when suddenly, they heard a small voice calling, "Help…! Help me…!"

They searched around and saw someone tiny, about Krysta's height, stuck in a mud puddle. Lightning pulled the little guy out. "Are you okay…?" he asked, but then he and Krysta realized he was a fairy! "Lightning, that's him. That's who I saw." Krysta said.

The other fairy's ears twitched at the sound of her voice. He turned round and gasped. "It's you…! It's really you!" he cried for joy. "Queen Krysta, I've found you!"

"Huh?" remarked Krysta and Lightning.

The other fairy then realized, "Oh, of course… I remember." He said, and then he kindly introduced himself as Mallow, and he was from the Valley of Fairies, located in a nearby dimension. "For so many years, Krysta, we thought you were lost to us, but we never gave up hope that we would one day find you again and restore what you had lost."

Krysta was hardly able to believe any of this. "I'm… queen of the fairy world? Then why don't I remember any of it."

"And how do we know you're telling the truth?" asked Lightning.

"Believe me, I speak the truth, and I can prove it to you." said Mallow and he held out his hand to Krysta. "Come with me… and discover your roots."

Krysta didn't know what to say or do. This was all so sudden, but if this was really her chance to learn about herself and everything that went with her, she took Mallow's hand. "I'm going too." said Lightning.

Mallow objected to this. "It is not necessary for you to follow us." he said "And it also may be dangerous."

Krysta and Lightning didn't like the sound of that, but still. Lightning was used to danger, and insisted he go. "But what about The Grand Ruler?" asked Krysta "You know he doesn't want anyone leaving the kingdom without saying anything?"

"Yeah… and you're doing what exactly…?" Lightning hinted. Krysta was licked, and then she too insisted that Lightning come with her. "Very well…" said Mallow. He began to wave his arms and a smaller gateway portal appeared. Krysta and Lightning were amazed. "Come… let's be on our way." said Mallow, and all three of them leapt into the portal.

…

They traveled across Dimensional Space, and emerged in a lush and peaceful forest. "Where are we?" asked Lightning. "This doesn't look like any fairy world."

"Follow me…" said Mallow "All will be clear soon."

Through the trees and brambles they went. Krysta and Mallow were able to fly through with ease because they were small, but Lightning had a hard time. "Next time… I think I'll bring an axe." He muttered.

Soon, they arrived at their destination. "Wow…!" was all Krysta and Lightning could exclaim. There was a small silver palace with gold turrets on the towers, and all around it was a beautiful valley with a small pond in the center, and flowers and toadstools were near the edges. A small Cliffside with a two waterfalls, lots of tree houses, burrows, and just ordinary hammocks handing around.

Easily, everywhere you looked. "Fairies…" exclaimed Lightning. "There must be hundreds of them."

"I can't breathe!" squeaked Krysta who was really at a loss for more words. That's Mallow broke the silence by calling out "HEAR YE ALL…!" which captured everyone's attention. "The Queen has returned!"

That's when all the fairies gazed in awe and then rushed up, completely surrounding Krysta and carrying her away. "Hey...! Wait for me!" called Lightning as he ran to catch up with them.

…

A great royal feast was prepared immediately. Fairies did eat a wide variety of foods as well, only much to Lightning's dismay "It's kind of small… isn't it?" he said, and the chefs looked insulted, and gave him a very sour glare. "Uh… but… but I'm sure it's delicious."

As much as Krysta was pleased with all this "Will someone please tell me what is going on here?" she said impatiently.

Mallow decided it was time she knew.

…

The Valley of Fairies was a small dimension, probably one of the smallest in the Dimensional Universe. All the fairies were creatures of peace, harmony, and friendship, all lead by Krysta, the fairy queen.

Every now and then, the fairies were permitted to leave the realm, and seek anyone who was lonely, frightened, or in need of companionship and vow to stay by their side for as long as they wished.

The fairies all had special magic that enabled them to carry objects hundreds of times their own body weight. Ten fairies would be able to push a small log. Twenty could roll a large rock, more fairies equaled more power.

Some fairies, like Krysta, could also use their powers in battle by sprinkling different kinds of dust on the enemies, which would then cause an effect depending on the dust used. They could also conjure instant defensive force fields. To negate, or repel any magic attack waged against them.

Finally, very few fairies, like Mallow, could generate small portal gateways for very short distant travels across dimensional space or just to teleport themselves and anyone around them from one area to another.

Yes, the fairies and their lives were certainly a beautiful thing, but years and years ago, an evil creature came and attacked the village. I said "Give me the treasure you hold, and you will come to no harm."

It was a treasure that only the queen, Krysta, knew of. A treasure so powerful that she knew if the evil creature had it, it would mean certain disaster for all. Yet she refused to hand it over and the evil creature lost patience and began to attack the valley.

The Fairies put up a valiant effort, but they were no match for the imposing power of the evil creature and his army of followers. The queen saw no other option but to take the treasure herself, and get it out of the land and fast! Just as she planned, the evil creature and his followers began to pursue Krysta, as there was no point in trashing the valley anymore.

…But she never returned, nor did the evil beast or any of his minions.

…

Lightning felt sorry for all the fairies, but he didn't know what to feel for Krysta, "But like you said… why don't remember any of this?"

"Just what I was about to ask." said Krysta "What kind of queen would just run off and then forget everything she ever did?"

Mallow explained that though Krysta didn't remember, "We fairies have remedies for such misfortunes. We can help you."

Krysta and Lightning looked up. "You can…?" they both asked.

Mallow nodded… and before Krysta knew it she was invited to the inside of the small castle, which was supposedly hers. Lightning was forced to watch through the windows as he couldn't fit inside.

Krysta was going to be put to sleep under the influence of a magic dust made from mixing the grading of toadstools, flower pollen, and tiny bits of unicorns mane, which unfortunately they were out of, but luckily there was a way to get some. The faired gazed at Lightning. "Uh oh….!"

That's when a fairy came and yanked out a thread from his mane "Ouch…!" he growled "This better we worth it."

Before long, Krysta was put into a deep sleep. Her nap would only last a short while, and when she woke up she'd hopefully remember everything. Lightning was happy Krysta was going to get her memories back, but he secretly felt sad and worried about something…

"Something troubles you. I can feel it." said Mallow.

Lightning explained that once Krysta got her memory back, would she want to stay in the valley? After all it was her home, and she was supposedly the queen of fairies. "It's just that… well… Krysta's my friend. She's the best friend I've ever had, and we've been inseparable for as long as I can remember."

"I see…" said Mallow "You fear you will lose your friend."

Mallow couldn't offer any advice, but Krysta would be asked to make up her mind when she awoke. All they could do was wait until then.

Suddenly, Lightning could feel the ground quivering a little. "What's that…?"

That's when a swarm of fairies flew through the foliage of the forest around the valley crying, "It's the monster! It returns!"

Mallow's wings twitched "The monster?"

Lightning's features hardened, and he began to dash off. "Where are you going…?" called Mallow. "I need to check this out." Lightning answered.

"No… please… come back!"

Lightning was already dashing through the forest in the direction of the rumbling. He eventually emerged on the other side, in a deep vast meadow, and he could see the beast up ahead. He recognized it almost immediately, "Serpent-Tyrant…!"

The evil demon stopped dead in his tracks, sneered at the little unicorn and snickered. "Lightning Dawn… we meet again!"

"That voice…" Lightning muttered "Those eyes…!"

It was all coming back to him now… back when he was a cold and that serpent monster attacked his village and killed his parents. "You…! You're the one! You killed my parents!"

Serpent-Tyrant admitted it "Your parents begged me for my mercy, and so I gave it to them. I ended their worthless existence quickly! Yours shall follow if you don't tell me where you have hidden the rainbow stone I seek."

Lightning's ears twitched, "Rainbow stone? What do you mean, and why are you after the stones?"

Serpent's eyes glared angrily "That… is of NO CONCERN OF YOURS!" and he dashed forth to strike Lightning who leapt out of the way. "I don't know what your deal is… but I don't know where the rainbow stone is, and even if I knew do you think I'd tell a slippery snake such as yourself?"

This angered Serpent and he charged again, he didn't dare use his plasma-vapour for fear of harming the fairies village, and he'd never get the information he sought. On, and on he kept dashing for Lightning. Lightning kept dodging hoping he could tire the demon out, but there was no chance of that for Serpent was much bigger and defiantly stronger than he was and could go on much longer than he could. Still, Lightning wouldn't let him near Krysta's village. "I'm not going to let you hurt the fairies! You hear…!"

Serpent merely laughed at him, "You, making threats towards me? How amusing!" finally, he pulled a fast one on Lightning, instead of charging straight at him, he burrowed under the ground. "Uh oh…!" cried Lightning and he decided to fly upward before Serpent popped up again.

POW! The demon launched up from the ground and bolted straight into the sky, straight for him. "Whoa…!" Lightning swerved out of the way just in time. "Ha! You missed me…!" that's what he thought when. WHAMM! Serpent's long tail came at him from below casing him to start falling. Lightning was barely able to get enough thrust to soften his landing and nearly crashed hard. "Uhn…! Ohh…!"

Now that he was temporarily stunned, Serpent summoned out his "SMALL SERPENT SOLDIERS!" some to hold Lightning down, and a few more to head for the village. "No…!" cried Lightning as he tried to break free.

Serpent sniggered wickedly. "Those poor, pitiful, fools! It's a shame their queen has only just returned after being away for so long, only to face the end of her land, and once she tells me where the stone is hidden, I will have no further use for her anyone either."

Lightning felt his blood turn cold. "You wouldn't…!"

"I CAN… AND I SHALL!" shouted Serpent.

"But you won't…!" snapped a voice from beyond the forest, followed by a blaze of light, and the other serpent soldiers running from the woods scared out of their scales. "Who dares to defy me?" snarled Serpent.

That's when a small portal appeared, and she stepped out and was followed by a swarm of other fairies behind her. She wore a royal robe, a warrior's helmet and was carrying a fairy-sized scepter. "Wow…! Krysta…?" exclaimed Lightning…

His friend smiled "The new and improved… Queen Krysta." she said with pride. "I remember, everything now…!" she then snapped, and explained that after she had hidden the rainbow stone, in a last ditch effort, she blanked out her memories and sent herself off to a faraway dimension. She knew that as long as the location of the stone was not revealed, Serpent wouldn't dare strike her land or harm her people.

"Serpent-Tyrant…! You and your kind are not welcome here! I warn you to leave immediately, or suffer the wrath of the fairies."

Serpent was not taken in by any of that. "Wrath of the fairies…? Nonsense…!" he began to charge forth ready to strike the swarm. "Guys…! Get out of there…!" cried Lightning. The fairies didn't move, and instead, with Krysta's command, some of the fairies teamed up alongside her. "Now…!" she shouted, and all at once they combined their magic to form a much larger force field to prevent the evil demon from moving any further. He growled and roared in outrage, and then the fairies decided to get rid of him.

"As queen of the realm of fairies…" Krysta said with pride "I hereby banish you from our world. Ready everyone?"

The fairies all shouted out, and joined her in creating a large portal that began to suck Serpent into it with a powerful air current. Still, the evil demon was determined not to give up and began to struggle against the pull, and none of the fairies could give it anymore power, or move from where they were standing or the portal would break. "Ha, ha, ha…! Too bad fairies!" hissed Serpent "You're time is nearly up!" By this time, he didn't care if he had the information he needed or not, he was just going to wipe them all out in a quick instant with his plasma-vapour, but as he readied himself to attack, while still holding against the pull of the vortex behind him…

Lightning had broken free from the serpent soldiers, and was glowing! "Not so fast, tough guy!"

Serpent could see him, and growled. "You think your puny little magic frightens me? THINK AGAIN, YOU PUTRID PONY!"

Lightning's narrowed his eyes "I'm no pony, I'm a unicorn…!" he sneered as he glowed brighter than ever, and recited the magic chant, and shouted, "This is for my parents!" and he unleashed the "…UNIFORCE!"

The force collided into Serpent, and while to his it was very small, and didn't do much damage, it did give the fairies enough power to push him hard enough into the portal, sending him to another dimension. "I'LL GET YOU YET…!" he shouted before he vanished completely and the portal closed.

The rest of the serpents vanished, and all was quiet again.

…

With the demons gone, and the kingdom now safe, Krysta remembered she had hidden the rainbow stone, it was only half of one, but it would help. After she told Lightning the dimension where it was hidden, Lightning needed to head back to Unicornicopia and tell The Grand Ruler at once.

The other fairies gathered to make a portal for him to leave, but Lightning couldn't help but say to Krysta, "Look, Krysta… if you want to stay, or you want to come back with me… I… well…" he paused, "I won't hold against you."

"Lightning…?" peeped Krysta as she watched her friend leap into the portal, and he was gone…!

A small tear rolled down Krysta's cheek, and the other fairies felt sorry for her.

…

Upon returning to Unicornicopia, Lightning found a letter from The Grand Ruler on his bed requesting he come immediately. Lightning did as he was told, but he felt nervous inside.

Upon his arrival, he bowed to his master, and Grand Ruler gazed at him. Lightning took a huge breath and apologized over and over for leaving Unicornicopia. "Calm yourself, Lightning." Grand Ruler said "I have not brought you here to scold you. I have something for you, something I know you will love."

Lightning was confused and then from behind his master's throne. "Krysta…?" fluttered towards him. His friend nodded. "But what are you doing here, I thought that…?"

"Well…" Krysta said "I left some of my things behind, I couldn't leave just yet, and also… I live here!"

Krysta wanted to stay in Unicornicopia. She owed Lightning her life, and now that he fulfilled his promise by restoring her to her roots, she could never begin to repay him enough. Even so, her kind, the fairies, they were supposed to go out and meet new creatures and stay as long as they wanted. "You gave up your home, and everything you had for me?" Lightning asked.

Krysta nodded. She would miss her people, but at least she could create portals now, and go visit them whenever she needed, but as for Lightning… she'd miss him more. "Lightning, you believed in me… and kept my hopes up, and I don't want you to be sad just because of me. So in other words…" she flew onto his face and hugged him warmly "You can't get rid of me."

Lightning almost felt like crying, and so did Krysta.

"Friendship and believing are powerful gifts." Grand Ruler said "I am very pleased with you both, but next time, do inform me that you are leaving the kingdom. It is very dangerous out there."

Lightning and Krysta bowed to him, and then Krysta explained the location of the rainbow stone she had hidden. She remembered she had hidden it in the land called… Equestria!

Grand Ruler's expression changed at the sound of that name. "Equestria…" he muttered under his breath. "It can't be…!"

…

Author's notes:

Yeah that's right… it was unavoidable and trolls and flamers won't leave me alone over it.

I watched SOME of the eps of FIM to gain information I require to do what I need (Got very sick) and I am very, very, VERY ANGRY and upset for watching it!

History of the Grand Ruler

Author's notes:

I'm still very, very, upset with all this… but I must point out…

When thinking of a name for the Grand Ruler, I looked over hundreds of different names and chose the best one.

Also…I would appreciate if you NOT think of him a Sue/stu, because believe me, he isn't or he would be 100% totally perfect and would never have a taste of adversity or defeat as you are about to find out.

EPISODE NINTEEN

Titan's fallen minions had retreated to a cave in a different dimension, where all they ever did was curl around a bonfire and berate themselves for their ultimate failure. Where would they go now? What would they do? "I guess we just sit here and wait for the end to come…?" said Rep-Stallion.

Dementia sighed heavily "We'll probably fail at that too. We're nothing but fools!"

Suddenly, they all heard the sound of someone sniggering in the shadows, it said. "You're only a fool if you give up."

Mysterious stepped forward. "Who's there? Who are you?"

Out stepped a black unicorn with dark armor, and a shadowy mane. She said, "Like all of you, I, too, am of the fallen evil, but I may be able to help you restore your pride over you vanquish… if you will help me."

The minions felt an evil grin returning to their faces for the first time in a while. "We're listening." said Mysterious.

The unicorn explained that she, too, had enemies she wished to crush, but it was obvious she couldn't do it alone and therefore thought it best to seek followers who would help her. "If you agree to help me… I will show and grant you all a magic so great that will make you all, and myself virtually invincible."

The minions weren't too sure at first. This unicorn seemed pretty slick, almost too slick. Still, seeing it would be nice to try one last time to avenge their master's fall, and claim their victories.

"Do we have a deal…?" asked the unicorns as she extended her hove. The minions decided, "Very well…" Mysterious said as he touched his hove to hers. "By the way, what's your name?" asked Rep-Stallion.

The unicorn sniggered softly. "Nightmare…" she hissed "Nightmare Moon is my name!"

…

In Unicornicopia, Rhymey was selected for the mission to travel to Equestria and obtain the rainbow stone which was there. Lightning and Krysta escorted him to Grand Ruler's palace.

Rhymey was going alone eh had heard stories about Equestria from Krysta. She didn't learn too much about it when she was there, but she knew it was another kingdom where ponies, pegasi, and other ground unicorns lived.

"Gee… I never thought there were other unicorns like us." said Lightning "You excited, Rhymey?"

Rhymey felt both excited and nervous.

"There's no telling just what I will find,

So many curiosities fill my mind.

Many creatures may come along,

But I will venture, brave and strong.

No matter what or who is there,

I'll just give them an icy stare…

Grrrrrrrrrraaah…!"

Krysta and Lightning exchanged looks of concern. "He's ready…!" they both said

Upon arriving at the palace, The Grand Ruler was sitting on his throne and playing a harp. He seemed rather sad though, the expression on his face and the song he was playing gave it away. Lightning cleared his throat, gaining his master's attention. "Oh… sorry, I was miles away."

He led everyone to the portal chamber, and by Krysta's instructions, Equestria was found. "Good Luck, Rhymey…" said Krysta.

"Have fun." said Lightning.

Rhymey nodded at his friends, and then gazed at the glowing portal. He gathered his courage and began to dash straight at it…

"With thoughts in my head, and nerves in my tum,

Look out, Equestria, HERE I COME!"

Then he was gone.

Grand Ruler just kept staring sadly at the portal and the images of the realm Rhymey had gone too. He looked sadder than ever now. Krysta and Lightning were very worried now. "Sire… is everything all right?" asked Lightning.

His master said nothing at the start, and then he said, "Lightning, my faithful student… I'm afraid that I haven't been completely open with you or any of my subjects. There are things about me that you just don't know and I had hoped it would remain that way, but I cannot keep it to myself any longer."

Krysta and Lightning were confused. "What do you mean?" asked Lightning.

"Follow me…" his master said, and lead the two into his master bedroom, and revealed a secret sealed door behind a tapestry on the wall. "I never let anyone else, and I mean anyone else in here…even my royal guards haven't guessed of its existence… but if the two of promise not to touch anything, and to keep this a secret… I will show you something interesting."

Krysta and Lightning promised solemnly, and with that, Grand Ruler unlocked the room by inserting his horns into the keyholes, and in they went.

The torches lit up and Lightning and Krysta felt they had entered paradise. The whole room was covered in wild flowers; small rivers formed a ring around the center where there were stone benches, and lovely small trees. "This is lovely…" said Krysta "It's almost like my home in the Valley of Fairies."

Grand Ruler explained that this was his private sanctuary. The place where he came to meditate in peace or whenever he wanted to be alone and think to himself, but most importantly this shrine was dedicated to the memory of something most dear to him. "What's that…?" asked Lightning.

His master pointed to the fountain that was in the center of the patio, to the statue on the top. It was a lovely unicorn with a long horn, Pegasus wings, and long mane and tail. "Wow! She's beautiful." said Lightning.

"Who is she…?" asked Krysta.

The Grand Ruler sat down, and he began to tell them his story, and for starters, his real name was not The Grand Ruler, it was just a royal title he adopted himself, for he was not originally of royal blood.

*Grand Ruler's POV*

I was born in the magical kingdom of Equestria, far away in another dimension over a-thousand years ago. I was named Celesto. I felt very unusual for some reason, different you might say. Then one day I discovered why… I was a unicorn with golden wings, and instead of having just one horn, I had three. All of them were gold.

My parents introduced me to many of their friends, but they all seemed to stare at me and act as if something was wrong. This made me feel very uneasy. My parents didn't have three horns or golden wings. None of the other colts in my neighborhood had golden horns either.

On my very first day of pony school, I could feel all the other foals staring at me. I wished they wouldn't. I tried to make friends but all the other foals just seemed to go away. Some acted nervous around me as if I were a monster and others they refused to let me play and just laughed and called me names.

"Tri horned, freak!"

"Uni-Creep…!"

"Magical mistake…! The circus is that way."

The worst one of all was a pony named Dusk Shine. Every day he would go out of his very way to pick on me, or to laugh at the way I looked. I tried to tell him that I couldn't help having three horns and golden wings, but he continued to bother me to such an extent.

"Look everyone, the little foal's going to cry and throw a hissy fit." He would say, and everyone would laugh at me, and making crying sounds expecting me to start blubbering.

I didn't throw any fits, but I did run out of the school near tears. I felt so alone. So unwanted… I couldn't understand why everyone hated me, just because I looked different didn't mean I should be treated as such.

(Rankin Bass' Jack Frost- One of a Kind)

The happiness of being me…

…is not what it's cracked up to be.

It's lonely being one… of a kind

With all the known variety

The things that life gave to me

It's lonely being one… of a kind…

I wish, I could be, like everyone I see

Not special, just an ordinary guy

Who has friends, and is loved

And leads a happy life

If only…I was given the chance to try

The happiness of being me…

…is not what it's cracked up to be.

It's lonely being… one… of a kind

It's lonely… being…

…One…

…of a kind!

A tear rolled down my face and splashed at my reflection in the water.

As I got older I began to embrace some of the wonder of being alone, with still some hope that I would make friends one day. I learned many magic spells, but in my spare time I learned amazing things like how to stand up right on my hind legs and seem taller, and doing things with my front hooves like having hands or claws. I even began to teach myself how to dance.

I tried to show off my talents, hoping to earn a little respect from the others, but all it did was increase the tension and the bullying from them all especially from dusk shine. He threw an apple at me that got stuck on my middle horn. "Hey, look… that apple's eating a freak show." Everyone laughed at me, and was very depressed.

So depressed, I began to study harder with magic, and I found something that would help me. A cover up spell that turned my golden wings white to match my color… I also made my middle horn white and made the other two vanish. Now I looked normal, and just in time for one of the biggest events for school ponies.

The Pony Games!

A great event where foals learned to become ponies… They would learn to fly, master their magic, and also, be inspected and judged by the future ruler of Equestria… Celestia… and she had also come to participate in the games herself.

I caught a glimpse of her and I couldn't stop gazing at her. Best of all she gazed back at, blinked twice and smiled. "Well, what do you know? I think she likes you." said Dusk Shine. I was amazed. This was the first time he wasn't rude or mean to me, possibly was because of the spell hiding my horns and wings, but I couldn't help but still gaze at Celestia.

The games went well, everyone did their best. I showed off more of my anthropomorphic tricks which helped me clear through a lot of the trials with ease, and everyone applauded me. They didn't laugh at me at all. I felt so happy, so wonderful for the first time. Yet every few moments I would notice that Celestia was gazing at me with great interest.

During a lunch break, Dusk Shine actually invited me to sit with him and some of his friends, and they kept saying how incredible I was, and it was Dusk who persuaded me to go to Celestia, who was eating her lunch under a tree alone.

As nervous as I felt, I went over, but our eyes met. "Nice day…" she said to me. She sounded a little

"Yes."

"For the games… I mean."

"Sure…"

We kept exchanging remarks back and forth, and we both felt a little silly… Celestia also noticed my wings kept twitching, and I kept feeling my only visible horn in worry. "Are you alright? Why do you keep feeling your wings and your horn?"

I didn't want to tell her, so I just said "Why… am I doing something wrong?"

Celestia apologized, "I don't mean it that way." she said, and since I already her name. She asked me what mine what. "Celesto…? I like that name. It means… heavenly."

I blushed, "Really…? Well… so does Celestia. I think it's… beautiful."

She giggled softly.

"Um… Celestia… after the games… I know you're the future ruler, but… would you… would you walk home with me?"

She hesitated for a moment, but she agreed. "I will… Celesto- I think you're sweet."

My heart leapt with joy. She thought I was sweet, and with my newfound confidence, and hope finally blossoming in my eyes, I finished the games as one of the top three grand winners along with Dusk Shine. "Hey, you know… you're all right." he said. It was a sign that he and I would be friends, except when we had a playful wrestle to congratulate each other for our victories the magic spell wore off thus exposing my horns and my wings.

Everyone gasped loudly, and as expected, many of them began to laugh at me and call me names again. The referees declared me disqualified, thinking I had been cheating all this time using magic and confiscated all my medals and awards.

"Yeah, you're all right…" said Dusk "All right as in wrong, Tri-horned reject!"

Celestia saw and heard everything and thought everyone was being very unfair. She saw me run off on my own feeling broken hearted and sore for the last time. "Celesto…?" she called as she raced after me. "Celesto…?"

I stopped and turned to face her. "Well… what do you want?" I asked almost sharply. Celestia walked up to me. "You… you promised to walk home with me. Remember…?"

"Aren't you going to laugh at my horns and wings too? Everyone else is."

She shook her head and said with honesty and truth, "I think they're handsome. Much better than the way you tried to hide them with magic."

I felt a little better hearing that from her, but still, "They're terrible. They make me different from every-pony else?"

"But that's what makes you so grand, unique and special." Celestia said "Everyone is special in the own way. Combine that with your sweet personality, why and filly would consider herself lucky to be seen with you."

Celestia was very kind-hearted and understanding. She never judged anything by how it looked, but why what they could do. It became clear to me that even though she was future ruler of Equestria, I had made a friend. Having one friend was better than having none.

As I grew older I mastered more magic, and skill, and continued to practice my own arts. I even taught Celestia some of my tricks like how to stand on your hind legs and do things with her own hooves instead of relying on magic.

Celestia even taught me some other types of spells even how that when in future, she'd help raise the sun in the sky and welcome the day. We were great friends, she and I, getting closer and closer every day.

Celestia believed and showed me that friendship was a very powerful gift, and she felt honored to share it with me, and I felt the same way, but I also felt strongly about believing. Until I met Celestia, nothing went too well for me, but I kept on hanging on trying my best, and things started to work out fine. Celestia liked that too.

Eventually, Celestia was crowned princess, and I couldn't be seen with her much anymore. We both didn't like that, so I decided to enroll as one of the palace guards, training myself for combat, and getting stronger, not only did I graduate with full honors, but I qualified for a special tournament that would decide who would be captain of the guards, and serve as Princess Celestia's right-hand pony.

As fate would have it, Dusk shine and other bullying ponies entered the tournament as well, and hadn't changed a bit. Now they were ruder than ever, and continuously picked on me trying to weaken my confidence. "Give up, Tri-Horned Puke!" snapped Dusk "No way the princess is going to want a freak show like you by her side."

I paid no attention to them and just kept on believing in myself, and the way Celestia kept gazing at me indicating she also believed in me.

As the tournament progressed I did very well, thanks to my skills and training, and even my anthropomorphic skills proved amazing. I was still taunted at and teased by Dusk, and I even found out that all he seemed to care about was winning just so he could be by the princess's side, and he only cared about her beauty… her looks! This angered me severely, and made Celestia feel unhappy to overhear it as well.

At the end of the tournament, it was down to me, and it was down to Dusk. "I'm going to enjoy taking you out, you manure pile." he snarled at me. I said nothing and just merely concentrated. I did very well, as best I could, but it when came to water breaks, I began to feel sleepy and tired, and the worst part was, I lost! Dusk had won.

Accepting my defeat, but still feeling rather disappointed I walked off, but when Dusk went to Celestia to accept his "Prize" as he called it. It was then revealed that he had cheated in the tournament by putting a sleepy potion in my water trough, this was what made me sleepy and Dusk's victory assured. "I did it for all of us…!" snapped Dusk. "Who the heck wants the three horned mistake by their side."

Celestia lost patience, and disqualified him herself. "You are unworthy of being a royal guard. You are a bully, and a cheater. You have no honor, no respect, and no care for others who seem different."

Dusk tried to protest, but he was thrown in the dungeon for the rest of the evening.

…

With dusk disqualified, that indeed made me the winner. I was knighted as the captain of the guards, for fighting fair, showing respect, believing in myself, but most of all… because I believed in my bond with Celestia. Only now I was beginning to feel more than just friendship towards her.

After assuming my place as captain, I took my duty to heart and helped lead the army against any evil forces, and kept Celestia well protected. I often got to stand by her side too, but she preferred I call her by name and dispense with the formalities.

As time went by, the kingdom began to respect me being captain, and some began to understand my ideas and hopes of believing and friendship.

One night, during a grand gallop ball, I was summoned before Celestia, because she had a gift for me as a reward for all my services, kindness, loyalty, and various other fields. She presented me with a red cape with golden marking sewn on it. She made it herself, just for me to go with my golden, jewel encrusted armor. It suited me very well, and the whole kingdom agreed.

I kissed Celestia's hove and asked "Princess fare… May I have this dance?"

She accepted, and I escorted down to the ballroom floor, and everyone cleared the way to give us plenty of room. The music began to play, and as we danced beautifully, we began to sing to it.

(Style of Strawberry Shortcake- Beautiful you)

(Celesto)

You are not your jewels. You are not your mane.

You are not the grace that others try to explain

Rich or even poor, it's still just all the same

You're still simply wonderful, You!

(Celestia)

You could be a guard with the finest clothes

But it wouldn't make you any nicer, I suppose

If you looked down on me, while turning up your nose

You would not be wonderful, You!

(Both)

It's not how much you sparkle, that makes you like a star

It's what inside your heart that tells you… who you are.

(Celestia)

Glamour's not the way. It's the other way around

Of all the things I glad I have found

(Celesto)

That it's not about the way you look.

(Celestia)

It's the things you say and do.

(Both)

That make you wonderful, You!

(Celesto)

I am not my horns, and I am not my wings

(Celestia)

And I am not my crown, cause' in my heart… I'm many things

(Both)

So let us just both say, that we do not have a care

About the way we look, and the things we wear

(Celesto)

That it's not about the way you look.

(Celestia)

It's the things you say and do.

(Both)

That make you wonderful…

That make you wonderful…

That make you wonderful, You!

As the song ended, Celestia and I were lost in each other's eyes, and then, right in front of every pony in that ball room, we shared our first kiss. Every pony cheered and applauded.

Celestia and I had fallen in love, and we grew closer and closer to each other every day. Sharing ideas, hopes, dreams, and then… one day… Celestia came to me… and proposed!

"What…?" I said unable to believe, "Us… Marry…?"

Celestia explained it was a marvelous idea, this way all their dreams would come true and Equestria would become one of the most peaceful and prosperous realms in the known Dimensional Universe, but most importantly because she loved me.

I loved her too, very much… I was captain of the guards which was the next best thing to being actual royalty, and it really would be a chance for me to show everyone the true magic of friendship and believing. So I accepted her proposal.

We planned to announce our engagement at the next year's ball, and all my time, I spent making the Rainbow Rod, as a gift of affection to my fiancé, channeling power into it, however… on the eve of the ball when we were to announce the engagement the kingdom was attacked…

Celestia's sister, Luna, jealous of her sister's duty in raising the sun, and that she had found true love while she herself had not. She had transformed into a demonic creature known as Night Mare Moon! Her plan was to overthrow her sister and cast eternal night on the kingdom.

She and her evil followers wasted no effort, and in the struggle the guards and I sprang into action. They fight was long, and the evil ones were tough, but I had to protect Celestia, and that was the first time that I had summoned the Uniforce, and blasted all her followers out of action.

*Regular POV*

"The uniforce is the ultimate power of the rare golden horn." Grand Ruler said, "By using the uniforce, a unicorn may very well have the power to increase its battle capabilities to infinity!"

Lightning and Krysta were shocked and amazed. "Whoa…! Infinite power!" cried Lightning. "No wonder…"

"But wait…" said Krysta, "That doesn't explain how you ended up here."

Grand Ruler explained that, at the time, the uniforce could only be used for an instant as it focussed all the energy of the unicorn into one concentrated bust of magic. "After I had used it on Night Mare's minions, it left me drained of all my power and strength. I had nothing left to fight off what happened next."

*Grand Ruler's POV continued…*

Night Mare managed to overpower me in my weakened state, trapped me inside a large gem, and hurled me out of the kingdom, straight for dimensional space, where I would be lost.

All I could see was Celestia reach out and scream, "NO…!"

"CELESTIA…!"

Then, in a bright flash, I had passed out.

…

When I had awoken, I found myself free from the gem in a distant, uninhabited, and unstable, dimension. All alone, lost, and with no hope to ever find my way back to Equestria. I didn't know how far I had come. I had never been to any outer dimension before.

I realized that if we're going to live in this place, it had to be made suitable. So, using all that I had learned and master, I fixed the world up. I made the forests, the mountains, the waters, the skies, and form what Celestia had taught me, I learned how to raise the sun and the moon, and control night and day.

I had changed the dimension to a lovely world, but I was still lonesome and longed for companionship, and so… I decided to create the first life forms of this new world. I tried with all my might, but was only successful in creating winged unicorns, I could create nothing more.

They were the very first that would help me start a world of my own, my own kingdom… a new life to help me overcome the sadness that lingered in my heart.

That kingdom had since become… Unicornicopia.

With that, I had assumed my rightful position, and adopted my royal title, The Grand Ruler. I never wanted to be addressed by my real name again for all the bad memories it brought me, and with all my might, I vowed that evil had taken away everything I loved… I would never allow it to continue.

I and my new subjects began to train, I even learned how to master the uniforce, and learn more about it so using it would not exhaust me so much if ever I would need it again.

I vowed that me and my race would become strong, and dedicate our lives to binding and staving off evil to maintain peace throughout the rest of the dimensional universe.

*Regular POV*

Grand Ruler sighed heavily, and Lightning was at a loss for worse, while Krysta blew her little nose "That's so beautiful and sad!" she sobbed.

Lightning then asked, "But sire… now that you've found Equestria, why didn't you go with Rhymey?"

His mentor explained that he couldn't just leave Unicornicopia. "I cannot abandon all my subjects after all this time and all we have endured. I have changed so much, Lightning."

Even still, it had been well over a-thousand years since he had seen Equestria, or Celestia. Even if he were to go back and even if Celestia was still alive… would she recognize him after all this time? Would she even remember him? Would she still have feelings for him? "I really have not much to hope for or expect by going back now."

"Oh, Master!" sighed Lightning.

Grand Ruler just stared at the statue once more. "Celestia…!" he said deep in thought "If only I could… nothing would please me more than to see you again."

"Hey…" Krysta whispered to Lightning "Do you think Rhymey's okay in Equestria?"

"I don't know." said Lightning.

A visit to Equestria

Author's response

To Buddy Keith:

You wanna talk to me, find some other way, heck get an account even

EPISODE TWENTY

In the magical kingdom of Equestria, it was that time of the year for the Grand Galloping Gala ball, and this year, Twilight Sparkle and her friends promised to have a much better time. "I don't think I'd like to go." Fluttershy said timidly.

"WHA-AAT…?" cried Pinkie Pie "But you can't bail out! It would be like a party without cake or a pool party without water or, or song without singers…"

"Calm down, Pinkie!" said Twilight. "Fluttershy, why don't you want to go?"

Fluttershy trembled nervously and tried to hide her face inside her mane. "Dang it, girl." snapped Applejack "You gonna tell us, or do we have to sit and guess?"

Fluttershy explained that after the mess she made last year, she wanted try fresh and maybe ask to dance with a colt. "Oh you must! You simply must!" cried Rarity "I myself have already been asked to the ball by several of the colts, and I promised I'd dance with each and every one of them at least once. To think, that neglecting one would break his poor heart."

"I wish I was one of those boys." muttered Spike.

Fluttershy just didn't have the courage to even think of asking a colt. That didn't surprise anyone in the least bit. "Ah, come on. You just need better confidence, like me." said Rainbow Dash as she zipped up and down and every way around "What kind of colt would resist this?"

The others honestly didn't know how to answer that.

"You could always just come with us." said Twilight "At least you'd be with your friends."

Fluttershy peeked through her mane. "Um… gee… that would be nice." Still, she just lost her nerves all over again, and ran for home as it was getting late, and the ball was tomorrow night. Rarity just realize "Oh, my! I have so much to do. Ball gowns to sew, tuxedos to stitch, or I must remember to look my best for each of the colts I promised to dance with. One must always look her out most glamorous no matter who she dances with." then she ran off.

"Same old Rarity…" Twilight sighed

Spike just kept gazing heavenly at Rarity's empty seat "Yeah… same old Rarity." He sighed with hearts in his eyes.

"Spike…!" snapped Twilight.

"What…?"

The others just sighed in dismay. Poor Spike never gave up.

…

Fluttershy was lying on the ground outside her house with her animal friends all around. Playing with the animals always cheered her up when she felt sad and nervous, but so did looking at the stars. "They're so beautiful." she said "You could almost reach out and touch them."

Then, she saw a glowing star, and she wasted no time in making a wish. "Oh great wishing star, I wish I could have the courage to show myself at the Grand Galloping Gala."

The star continued to glow, and it seemed to be coming in closer. "Huh…?" Fluttershy began to realize it wasn't a star at all. "S…So… Something's up there!" she cried. Her animal friends all scattered and hid. "Great idea…" she exclaimed as she hid herself too.

The glowing was coming from the horn of a winged unicorn, one that Fluttershy had never seen before. He seemed to be following the glow of his horn right to her house, and he landed in the front and Fluttershy got a look at him.

He was a yellow unicorn, exactly the same color as she was. His yellow mane was very short, and he wore a matching suit of armor across his body with matching boots on his hinds legs, and he white pants. The stranger could see Fluttershy peeking through the shrubs, he stood upright on his hind legs, and bowed to her, and then he said…

"In friendship and goodwill, I come.

Unicornicopia is where I'm from.

I'm searching for a long lost treasure

Take me, stranger, to you leader."

Fluttershy, shaking with nerves, slowly came out from behind the shrubs, and much to this, and the stranger almost fell. He had never seen such a pretty pegasi before.

"Forgive me if must stare.

You seem pretty and very fare."

Fluttershy blushed, "Me… really?" she asked still feeling a little timid. "Um… do you… well I… just want to know… do you always speak like that… in rhyme

"Yes I do… all the time." rhymed the stranger.

"My name is XL7Z,

But if you like, just call me Rhymey.

I'm pleased to greet you,

It's nice to meet you."

Fluttered shy approached him on all fours and extended her hove. "Hi… I…I'm Fluttershy."

Rhymey tenderly kissed her hoof, and Fluttershy's face turned bright red. "Oh, my…! Oh…!" she was at a loss of what to say or do. Rhymey almost felt the same.

"There's history right before my face.

I've met new life in Dimensional Space.

And all because of my expedition,

To find the rainbow stone, that is my mission."

Fluttershy seemed curious. "What's a rainbow stone?" she asked.

"It's rather difficult to explain.

But I have flown far, and my wings are in pain." said Rhymey. Then he let out a yawn.

"Oh, you poor thing." said Fluttershy and she wasted no time at inviting him in for the night. Rhymey didn't want to impose, but Fluttershy insisted.

As he walked inside her house, his horn began to glow, which startled Fluttershy. "What's going on?" she cried nervously.

"My horn is shining bright,

For the rainbow stone is somewhere insight."

That's when he noticed a small shining object hanging over the fireplace. It was half the rainbow stone that he had been looking for- the yellow part. Rhymey gazed in awe as he dashed over to take it. "Excuse me…?" asked Fluttershy.

Rhymey held the stone and cried…

"My mission has been a success,

The rainbow stone I now possess."

Fluttershy was still confused, but when Rhymey yawned again. She insisted that he rest. Luckily she had an extra cot when she had visitors, usually animals. "Here you go…" she said "I hope you'll be comfy."

Rhymey yawned again and said…

"Oh thank you, you are very kind,

And right now, it you don't mind.

I'll count the stars, or maybe sheep,

And slowly… fall… fast… a…sleep." Then he was sleeping very peacefully.

Fluttershy left him alone, and was still hardly able to believe this; a strange unicorn just dropped down from the sky and was now sleeping in her house. Did her wish come true…? Her animal friends seemed to agree it had. "Oh… I just have to tell someone."

She got her chance when a knock at the door startled her. It was Applejack. "What up, partner. You left in such a hurry you forgot to pay for your milkshake. Just thought I'd tell ya, ya owe me a little favor now, ya hear?"

"Applejack… you won't believe this!" squeaked Fluttershy, and she kept going off in so many sentences. "Whoa there, racehorse…! Slow down at the pasture and tell me."

"Oh…!" pepped Fluttershy. "Too bad Rhymey's asleep."

"Rhymey…? Who's Rhymey…?"

Fluttershy tried to explain about the stranger who dropped from the sky, but Applejack just giggled and laughed. "I think you're a little more confused than a mouse in a catty corner."

"No! It's the truth." Cried Fluttershy, but Applejack didn't believe her and merely dismissed that she had been up too late and her mind was playing tricks on her because of the ball. "Look you just go catch some Z's, and I'll see ya tomorrow." And she left still laughing, "Rhymey…? Unicornicopia…?"

Fluttershy felt a little upset.

…

In the gardens of Canterlot, near the hedge maze, The guards stood watch, when suddenly, from above in the starry skies, a pair of red and sinister looking eyes gazed down at the statues, preferable the one of the chaos god, Discord. They eyes glowed brighter, and the statue suddenly faded into thin air, but the guards didn't notice a thing.

…

Discord was brought back to life and found he was floating in the void of dimensional space. "Where am I?" he wondered. "Ooh… but this sure looks like fun."

That's when two large red eyes appeared before him and he heard a dark and sinister voice call to him. "I have released you to do my bidding! I am your master now."

Discord felt confused. "Excuse me, but have you any idea who you are addressing? I am Discord, the god of chaos. The only one who gives orders is me!" and he tried to zap magic on the two eyes, but to no effect. "What's this?" he cried in disbelief.

"Your powers are as feeble as your attitude." hissed the voice "Still… they will serve well with what I am about to grant you."

Again, Discord insisted, "Look… I'm very flattered that you freed me from that prison, and I'd love to make it up to you, but I really must be- AA-AAAH…!" He was being shrouded by powerful magic, "What is this…? What are you doing to me?" he demanded to know.

The evil voice sniggered wickedly. "Yes…! This will do nicely."

When the magic had faded, Discord felt completely different, and his voice was much deeper too. He laughed hard ad evilly, "What is your wish, my master?" he asked.

The evil voice behind the eyes laughed again.

…

The next day, all over Equestria, everyone was busy preparing for the ball. Pinkie just couldn't keep still. "It's tonight! It's really tonight!" she squeaked. She was so excited that she almost ruined Spike and Twilight's new carriage when she ran by. "That Pinkie…" said Twilight "Do you think she'll ever learn?"

"Not as much as you." said Spike "Great idea using a banana this year instead of an apple. It'll fit more of you inside."

Twilight had been practicing the spell for a while. "Yeah… I think it is a nice coach."

That's when they heard someone touchdown on the roof.

"It really is a comfy car…

…for getting to places near and far."

Twilight and Spike looked up. "Hey, Fluttershy…" then she and spiked gazed at what they thought was Fluttershy. What happened to you? Is that what you're wearing tonight?"

"Where'd you get that weird armor?" asked Spike.

Rhymey felt annoyed…

"This armor, sir, belongs to me.

Now… who might you two strangers be?"

"Strangers…?" asked Twilight "Yeah… get real, Fluttershy."

Rhymey raised an eyebrow in confusion. They thought he was Fluttershy?

"XL7Z is my name.

Call me Rhymey, it's all the same."

Spike and Twilight felt Fluttershy was really off her string, and she probably had a unicorn perform a spell on her to change her into this, whatever it was, to help her be brave for the ball. They decided to just humor who they thought her.

"Okay…Rhymey. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and that's Spike."

"Oh, tell us… Rhymey, what brings you to Equestria. Where did you come from?"

"Unicornicopia is where I am from

I've found the treasure for which I have come."

"Oh they have treasures in Unicornicopia?" Spike asked teasingly "and they all wear outfits like yours?"

"Well can't you hear?

It should be clear." answered Rhymey.

Twilight and Spike began to take their teasing a little too far by saying things like "Unicornicopian's love to play tricks on others?" or even, "And they disguise themselves to cover up how shy and timid they are…?" This made them laugh, but Rhymey was not amused, he felt rather insulted.

"Honestly! This isn't fair.

When did you two visit there?"

Twilight and Spike didn't bother to answer and went off to get some decorations for the coach. Rhymey decided to fly off as he was exploring Ponyville a little before he would leave. It was really was a beautiful place.

"Stop right there!" hollered a voice.

"Wha…?

Huh?"

Rarity approached Rhymey. "What in the world? This will not do…?" she said as she eyed him from head to hooves. Then she dragged Rhymey to her salon, much to his confusion.

"Who are you, what are you doing?

Tell me what it is you're brewing?"

Before he knew it, Rarity was giving him a makeover and stripped him of his armor and clothes, and when all was done. Rhymey has his suit back, but he looked like a dashing prince- doublets, a cape, and his mane was all slick down.

"Oh, don't you look the handsomest." chirped Rarity "You're really going to standout at the ball, Fluttershy; even you want be a male for the evening."

Now this frilly thought he was Fluttershy too, and what was all this talk of a ball? Rhymey tried to protest to all this, but Rarity insisted, "No need to thank me, I'm pleased to help everyone look their best. Off you go now."

She pushed him out of the salon, much to his annoyance.

"I must say, she's generous all right,

But the way she acted, she doesn't seem polite."

He decided to head back to Fluttershy's before someone else saw him.

…

Fluttershy was nervous and panicking like crazy when she found Rhymey was gone, but she was delighted when he showed back up, and was dressed in formal attire. He had a rough time in Ponyville. Fluttershy fixed him a quick lunch.

"This food you've made is so delightful,

I think I'll have another bite full."

"I always say… a good hearty meal always makes you happy and well." said Fluttershy. Rhymey thought she was very nice, they spent the time they ate getting know each other. Fluttershy told Rhymey lots of things about Equestria, even her friends which made them seem not so bad after all. Rhymey even learned about the adventures they had, the Elements of Harmony, and even the Grand Galloping Gala.

"Um… if you don't mind…" she asked "Could you tell me all about your home? Unitopia… er… Unicornica… or… whatever it's called."

Rhymey cleared his throat…

"Unicornicopia is far away.

In another dimension, you might say.

We love and work and play, you see,

And all are winged-unicorns, like me."

Through his rhymes he explained how he and his fellow creatures evolved as a warrior-race, protecting the dimensional universe from evil forces. Their powers and magic were used mainly for combat, but they did possess regular magic too, they just preferred not to use it and rely on it so heavily and preferred to believe in their own skills and talent. The rainbow stone was important treasure needed because the evil they had been facing were growing stronger, unlike anything any Equestrian had seen… their magic and Elements of Harmony seemed very mystical, but it was possible that even they would not be strong enough to wart of this type of magic.

"But remember this, please do,

Believe in the magic, and there's nothing you can't do."

Fluttershy felt amazed, but then she noticed Rhymey seemed a little upset. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Rhymey sighed and said…

"I must return soon, as you know."

He then gazed at her almost lovingly, "I wish you could come with me when I go."

Fluttershy raised a hoof to her heart. "Rhymey…? You mean it?" Of course she knew that wasn't possible and very dangerous as well for her. Still, saying such a thing like that made her speechless, it was as if a colt had just proposed marriage to her.

"When do you have to leave?" she asked "Do you think maybe you'd have time to… well… if you could stay… would you… would you…" she hesitated "Would you dance with me at the Grand Galloping Gala?"

Rhymey blushed, and thought that would've been lovely, but alas, he felt he wasted enough time already; he also didn't have a ticket. Besides, the ball wouldn't begin until well after nightfall, and by that time he'd be gone.

"But I suppose, just for a chance,

I will save you, one little dance."

Fluttershy stuttered and stammered in excitement, and then realized she hadn't picked up her gown from Rarity yet. "I'll meet you the roof of Canterlot castle at sunset." she promised.

…

It was already late afternoon, and a lot of the ponies had gone home to have a long rest for the ball. Twilight and Spike were still laughing about what they thought was a joke. When they met up with most of the others "What everyone laughing at?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"It's the funniest thing…" giggled Twilight, "Fluttershy's so nervous about the ball, she's pretending to be a creature from another dimension."

"Yeah…" chuckled Spike "Oh… named Rhymey."

Pinkie kept leaping feeling all giddy "I just love when a practical joke is played. Maybe we should do something to humor her."

Rarity came along, and said she just gave Fluttershy her gown, she looked normal though, not like when she was in her supposed unicorn disguise. "I think she's really taking this seriously. She said her… friend… Rhymey actually offered her to go back with him." Everyone laughed.

Then Rarity had an idea. There was still time for her to make some extra costumes so they'd all look like winged unicorns, even Spike. "You'll look adorable in that."

Spike turned to face her, "What did you say…?" he asked. That's when he pictured Rarity standing in a flowery field and her voice was heavenly. "I said you'd be adorable."

Poor Spike was so dazed that he fell out of his seat. Twilight rolled her eyes. Still, everyone decided to get in on the joke.

…

By sundown, everyone headed to Canterlot, for the ball was ready to begin. Twilight and friends were there, all looking like winged unicorns, much to other's confusion, even Princess Celestia. When Twilight explained, the princess wasn't very keen on them humoring Fluttershy with a joke, but felt Twilight would learn something from this, so they decided to let them all go with it. After all, the Gala was usually pretty boring.

…

Rhymey was standing up on the roof, in the outfit that Rarity gave to him. It was almost dark and he would have to leave soon, when he really should had left last night the moment he found the stone. He couldn't get his mind of Fluttershy though, he never felt like this before towards anyone.

Suddenly, he could see her far, far below in the castle ground she was there in a beautiful green, leafy-like gown, but staring up at the roof and she seemed to be talking to herself for she was nervously and shy.

"What do I do…?" she cried "Rhymey's up there expecting me… oh!" She had to think fast, or else Rhymey would be gone soon and she wouldn't be able to dance with him even if she wanted, but she just didn't find the courage, but then one of the bunnies began to motion behind her. "What is it…?" she asked.

Then she heard someone clear their throat. It was Rhymey. She got down flat on the floor and whimpered while covering her eyes, "Oh, Rhymey… I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to keep waiting… I'm sorry I'm sorry…!"

Rhymey thought it was rather cute the way she acted shy, but when the music began to play, and they both heard it, Rhymey gracefully helped her up, and they started dancing. Fluttershy never felt so nervous in her life but, she slowly began to feel less timid.

"I told you I would save a dance for you,

You dance very wonderfully too."

Fluttershy didn't know whether to feel flattered or embarrassed, yet here she was, dancing with a colt, and she was very good at standing and moving on her hind legs too. Rhymey almost wished they had balls like this back home, but they didn't have as many because of the evil that always showed up to ruin everything. Being a warrior was not always easy… but still… for the first time in long time, he felt warm and soft as Fluttershy felt to him.

As the song ended, Fluttershy actually curtsied to Rhymey and he bowed to her and tenderly kissed her hoof again. The other animals applauded for them both. "That was wonderful." said Fluttershy.

Rhymey agreed with her…

"But now I must fly.

Fluttershy… this is goodbye."

A sad expression appeared on Fluttershy's face, but she knew this was the right thing to do. "I… I want to give you something." she said "Something… you know… like a gift."

"A gift for me…?

What is it? Please hurry!

Fluttershy searched through her gown, and realized she had left it the coach which she came in. She decided to run and get and meet him on the roof of the castle. Then she dashed off.

No sooner had she gone, did Twilight and friends, who hadn't seen her, approached Rhymey wearing odd getups like his, and Twilight used a cover up spell to make them all look like winged unicorns, even spike, although the was only in a costume

"What do you think, Fluttershy…? I mean, Rhymey." Twilight asked teasingly, but Rhymey looked at them all feeling insulted again.

"What is with all you folk?

Is this some trick or a silly joke?"

The others just chuckled. "Nah… it's just our way of saying we want to be like you now. So we're all unicopians… or whatever it is you are." laughed Spike.

Rainbow came soaring and dashing across overhead. "Woo…!" she cried when she touched down, "And we figured we'd all come to this magical dream world of yours." she said.

Pinkie kept bouncing with excitement, almost forgetting that this was supposedly a joke. "I'm so excited, I can't wait to go!"

"Do be a lady… uh… I mean gentlemen." said Rarity "When is our departure time?"

"Yeah, we gonna go or what?" added Applejack, but Rhymey had officially had enough of their mocking him and said almost sternly…

"I'm opening the portal in just a minute,

But when I do… you won't be in it! Huh!"

"Oh, how come…?" the others all asked in a teasing manner.

As Rhymey flapped his wings and headed to the roof, he explained…

"First: You're just too many a-crowd,

And second: Only winged unicorns allowed!"

The others just watched him fly up to the roof, but were still laughing at him, and exchanged funny sayings. "Watch out…!" cried Fluttershy as she came dashing through.

"Hey, Fluttershy?" asked Spike

"Sorry! Can't talk now…" she called back as she headed to the roof. That's when the others stopped laughing, "Wait a minute…!" said Spike "If that was Fluttershy just now… who was that up there?"

Pinkie gasped "There must really be a Rhymey!"

The others all gasped, and Applejack remembered what Fluttershy had told her, "Crumblin' crackers! Ya don't reckon she's really goin' with him?"

"We've got to get up there!" cried Spike "Twilight, quick!"

"All right!" cried Twilight "Everyone ready…? Here we go!" and she used her magic to teleport everyone to the roof of the castle quickly just in time a bright tube of light came down from the skies. They didn't see clearly, but assumed Fluttershy was inside it. "Fluttershy!" cried Rainbow.

"Don't go…!" shouted Pinkie, but the tube of light already began to rise up into the sky. Pinkie burst into tears. The others felt depressed. She was telling the truth all the time, and no one believed her.

"Pinkie Pie, don't cry." called a voice.

"FLUTTERSHY…!" everyone cried. "Ye-Ha!" cried Applejack.

Pinkie pie still didn't stop crying, but at least she was happier now. Fluttershy forgave everyone for not believing her. She had fun that night anyway, and Rhymey even gave her a golden quill as a token of their new friendship, and she gave him one of her spare butterfly clips too.

The others were all happy for her, and they all just kept watching the sky until the beam of light was totally gone.

…

Rhymey returned to Unicornicopia with the yellow stone in hand and joined it with the green half to make a whole Rainbow Stone again. Grand Ruler was very proud of him, and pleased that he had learned so much, made a new friend. The others couldn't wait to hear his story.

"It really is a lovely tale…" but then he noticed,

"Your majesty, you look a little pale!"

The Grand Ruler, indeed, smiled sadly, "I will be fine. If you will excuse me." he said and then he headed off. Rhymey was confused, but Krysta and Lightning knew what was up with Grand Ruler…

Grand Ruler had gone to his private sanctuary and sat down sadly while gazing at the statue of Princess Celestia. At least he knew she was alive.

…

Back in Equestria, Fluttershy was busy repeating her story about Rhymey, to a lot of the ponies and creatures who asked, and when Celesetia had heard the part about Rhymey's ruler being an Alicorn with three golden horns and golden wings, she hadn't been seen for the rest of the night.

Twilight demanded the guards tell her, and it was revealed that princess had spent most of the night in her bedroom, weeping, but exactly why, no one knew. This made Twilight and the others feel terrible, and they wished there was something they could do… when suddenly…

The castle began to rumble and shake as the windows shattered and the chandlers fell from the ceiling. "What's happening…?" cried Spike. Then suddenly, they all heard a scream coming from way up. "The princess…!" cried Twilight, and she and her friends all raced upstairs, but found the door to Celestia's bed chamber knocked down, the guards were all unconscious, and the whole room was a mess with a huge hole smashed right through the wall…

Some of the ponies fell in in heartbreak and shock, and Spike examined a small note on the princess' bed. "We have your princess now. You will never see her again. Ha, ha, ha! Night Mare Moon and friends…!"

"Princess…!" peeped Twilight as she felt tears falling down her cheek and her anger building up… all she could do was let out a scream of woe!

Part 1: As Darkness Rises

Serpent-Tyrant knew that the only way to get the rainbow stones back now was to actually head to Unicornicopia himself, and he had plans to do so, all he needed now was the right moment. So in the meantime he began to strengthen and train his serpent soldiers so they would ready for the invasion.

Once the unicorns were out of the way, nothing would stop him from achieving his goals.

Unbeknownst to him, he was not the only one with sinister plots against the unicorns, and not just against them as well.

…

Princess Celesita awoke from being knocked out after she was pony-napped. The last thing she remembered was crying in her bedroom during the ball, and the next, three strange creatures appeared and knocked her out cold with powerful magic.

"Wake up sleeping princess." hissed a familiar voice "No, you're not dead, yet… just paralyzed."

"That… voice…" moaned Celestia. "It… can't be!" but it was. She found herself in a hidden chamber, locked in a magical bubble with Night Mare Moon gazing at her form outside. "Sister…? Why…? This isn't possible."

"Sister, Celestia!" cried a voice. Celestia turned to see Princess Luna trapped in another bubble beside her, for she too had been pony-napped earlier before the gala even started. "Big sister…! That is not I."

Night Mare sniggered, "Only half correct, foal! I happen to be a better, stronger version of what we once were!"

Night Mare explained that when Twilight and her friends used the elements of harmony on her, what really happened was, Night Mare and Princess Luna were split into two, and the evil part headed into dimensional space with the intention of getting stronger, and then returning to Equestria for revenge!

She no longer required being part of Princess Luna and she no longer had plans to make an eternal night, but rather to destroy Equestria and then rebuild it into her own world and the rest of the ponies, pegasi, and unicorns would be conscripted into her army of slaves! She wanted the two princesses alive for a good reason. She wanted Celestia alive to witness the downfall of everything she had loved and protected all those ages, and Luna… to show her what she could've had, but she chose friendship over evil and power.

Celestia and Luna felt absolutely livid, but try as they did, they were unable to break free from Night Mare's spell. Night Mare laughed at them, "Foals! Weren't you listening to what I just said? I have become stronger now; your pathetic magic powers are no threat to me."

The two princesses struggled to stand upright. Celestia tried to reason with Night Mare about friendship being real magic. "Silence!" snapped Night Mare. She stomped her hoof on the floor, and Celestia was shocked by magic currents. "Big sister!" cried Luna.

Celestia wasn't hurt too badly. She glared angrily at Night Mare, "You won't get away with this!" she assured her. "Oh, but I will…" said Night Mare "I don't believe I have introduced you to my new... friends you might say."

She summoned her friends to her side, which turned out to be three winged unicorns whom they had never seen before, but they could tell just by looking at them they were nothing to underestimate. "As for the two of you…" snickered Night Mare "Your hopes of being discovered and rescued are very slim. For this chamber is hidden in the very last place that anyone would dare to look."

Then she turned and began to walk away, "Come my friends, we have a world to conquer." Her sinister laugh echoed throughout the chamber as and her new friends left.

Luna was very angry and continuously struggled to try and break free. "I will not… let… this… happen!" she growled, but she wasn't able to break free, nor her sister. Celestia was very worried, not just for herself and her sister, but more for Equestria.

…

Back in Unicornicopia, three rainbow stones had been obtained, and only one was left, but The Grand Ruler had sent Lightning a letter saying that he was unable to locate it, but he would continue to search. "Stay strong, my student…and keep on believing."

Lightning sighed heavily as he sipped his milkshake. It had been very boring lately; Krysta had gone to visit her people in the Valley of Fairies. None of his friends needed much help with their jobs that day, and there hadn't been a single monster attack since the fall of Titan's minions. Of course that meant all was well and safe.

He decided maybe to just go for a walk, but as he grabbed his milkshake and turned to head off, he ran right into Starla and they both ended up spilling their milkshakes all over each other.

"Oh, I'm sorry." They both said at the same time. "No, I'm sorry." they did it again. Then they paused and tried to wait, but they ended up saying "I'll buy you another one." At the same time too. They shared a soft giggle, and both paid for two extra milkshakes, and they both went for a walk together.

"So…" Lightning said.

"So, what…?" asked Starla.

Lightning tried to be as careful as he could, "How are things at the observatory?"

They had a nice chat, and Starla explained she was a little worried. She had been gazing at the stars at night lately, and she feared they were trying to warn of something coming "Something really dreadful!"

"Are you sure about this…?" he asked. Starla admitted she wasn't entirely sure. There had been a few occasions when her calculations were incorrect, but she was right about Titan returning, and she was right several other times too.

"Don't worry…" said Lightning "If something does come, I just know we can see it through. Think about it, we've faced so many things already. If anything comes our way, well ready with a bang!"

That's when a distant explosion was heard and felt, even from in the city. Starla leapt into Lightning's front limbs with a yelp.

Smoke was coming from the direction of Greenland. Nobody panicked as it was just Brain. He had been working on one of his newest and most desperate secret projects of them all for a while now, and every now and then a small explosion came from his house, but it was nothing to fret over. Just another one of his tests that he would remark…

"Unsatisfactory… Most unsatisfactory…!"

"That must be the twelfth time he's done that." groaned Lightning. Then he realized he was still holding Starla in his limbs. So did Starla… They both blushed madly, and he put her down gracefully and they both shared another giggle.

Lightning's mind was racing in circles. If Krysta were there she'd be nagging at him to ask Starla to be his mare-friend, but was this the right time to ask her? "Um… Starla…" he suddenly found himself asked.

"Hmm…?"

"I… I wanted to ask you something really important."

Starla felt her cheeks turning red again. "What…? What is it?"

They were soon gazing into each other's eyes, and this time instead of turning away, they found their faces slowly move towards one another's, getting closer, and closer, their eyes softly closed, their lips were about to touch, when the ground suddenly began to rumble. "What…?" they both exclaimed.

Something told them this wasn't Brain's doing as the ground continued to rumble and quake "What's happening?" cried Starla.

"I don't know, but I don't like it!" said Lightning.

That's when Serpent-Tyrant's serpent soldiers burst through the ground armed with axes, swords, maces, and shields. The alarms went off at once as more soldiers burst from the ground and all the unicorns began to run for the nearest shelter.

"How did they get in here?" asked Starla.

Lightning didn't know, but he was ready to show them out for running their moment! "Let's get them!" and they began to brawl!

Buddy Rose and Artie came running round the bend, and they were surprised! "Serpent Soldiers…?"

"In the kingdom…?"

They soon joined the fight along with others, who were good at fighting, but things got way worse as Serpent Tyrant entered the city from a portal in the skies. "Look out!" cried Lightning. Everyone scattered before they were crushed.

Serpent-Tyrant roared loudly…!

…

Grand Ruler could feel the tremors even in his floating castle. He knew this meant trouble so severe that he would have to investigate himself. So he headed off leaving his guards to stand watch over the palace.

…

Lightning and friends gazed sharply at Serpent. "How did you get here?" snarled Lightning. "And why are you here."

Serpent didn't answer at first and merely gazed around. "So… this is the realm that my son had failed to conquer is it?" he sniggered "Very insulting…!"

The gang was confused. "Son…?" The only person they knew who ever tried to attack their kingdom before was Titan and his minions, and since the minions were created by Titan himself, but that only meant, "Are you…? Could you possibly be…?" asked Lightning.

"Yes…!" hissed Serpent "I am what remains of Titan's father. Titan was my son." And he began to explain it all…

…

He, Lord Tyrant, was a proud and loyal member of the Dimension of Evil, before it became the Dimension of Darkness. He used to be a tall and strong evil humanoid and used to be a great potions master. He made positions that could turn anyone into anything, and anything into something other than what it was.

His son, Titan- he had always despised him for his constant failures to master magic, and treated him harshly as he deserved in hopes of toughening him up. He never once dreamed that Titan would become so powerful that he would turn against his own father.

Titan had destroyed the entire dimension, reducing it to ruin and darkness, and killing almost every last inhabitant. Only Tyrant had survived, but was mortally injured and with his life fading fast, but there was still hope for him. Using the last of his strength, he managed to mix one final potion using the essence of reptiles and swamp creatures, which changed him into the serpent-like monster he now was, and allowed him to escape.

He would always then be known as Serpent-Tyrant.

…

"This wretched, disgusting form you now see me as. How I despise it!" growled Serpent. "But there was still hope for me."

His forehead began to glow. "What's that…?" asked Buddy Rose.

"Look…!" cried Artie.

There, on Serpent's forehead was the fourth and final rainbow stone with the colors blue and indigo. "So, he had it all this time?" asked Starla.

Serpent explained that after his escape from the Dimension of Darkness, and from his son's wrath! He found the rainbow stone which, like the gang, enabled him to increase his powers and become larger and stronger to his own desire. He never felt such power before, and returned to challenge his son for destroying their home world and killing all their people, but even with the power of the stone and all that he had gained from it, Titan was still far too much for Serpent to handle… and he was turned to stone at the hands of his son, and remained so for over one thousand years.

"When all of you destroyed my son, you also destroyed the curse that had long since kept me contained!"

The gang was freaked out by all of this. "And you've been searching for the rainbow stones, so you could gain more power and become unstoppable." snapped Lightning, but to Serpent shook his head, "No."

"Titan may be gone, but the Dimension of Evil is in ruin. The only thing I truly seek is to restore myself to my original state, and bring back my home world to its former glory, then revive every last one of my people who suffered the wrath of Titan. The rainbow stones, combined with my magic will make all that possible."

The others understood it all now and there was no way they could let him do that. If he restored the Dimension of Darkness t its former glory, he'd revive every last evil being that ever lived there, and if that happened… the entire Dimensional Universe would be at great risk form so many demons and monsters and who knew how much worse? They wouldn't stand a chance.

"You'll never do that!" shouted Lightning "Evil never triumphs!"

Serpent laughed, "We shall see…" and with a loud roar, he began to dash forth making a trail of destruction through the road and the sidewalks. The gang flew straight up to dodge him. "We have to get him out of the city!" cried Starla "Who knows how much destruction he could cause.

"Follow me…!" cried Artie and the others began to fly after him and Serpent began to give chase, tearing up the roads and destroying many trees and unshielded obstacles in his way. Along the way, Rhymey and the twins joined up with the gang.

Serpent stopped in the open fields. "So, you're all together now?" he hissed. "Makes it all the more easier for me to get rid of you in one easy swoop. Then the rainbow stones you have shall belong to me."

The gang all landed and Lightning stood at the head of the team. "You should've quit while you were ahead." he snarled "Now we'll show you just how strong and powerful we are. Ready guys?"

The others all stood ready, weapons and all.

…

Meanwhile, in Equestria…

The evil Night Mare Moon and her new friends wasted no time using their magic to blow up and destroy the kingdom. Houses were on fire, towers were toppled over, and ponies running in panic. Why, even Rarity's salon was crushed. "Oh… my…! The horrors!" she cried as she nearly fainted in sadness.

Twilight and her friends were still safe, but were unable to find Princess Celestia or Luna, and felt helpless to stop these demons. Soon, they were confronted by Night Mare herself and Titan's minions. They tried their very best but nothing seemed to work on them. "If only we had the Elements of Harmony." cried Pinkie Pie, but there was no way they could get to them without Celestia's help. They were hopelessly cornered

Rep-Stallion gazed at Fluttershy and how scared she seemed. He couldn't resist it and let out a simple little "Boo." As expected, Fluttershy screamed in a cry of horror and she ran to hide behind all her friends, trembling like a frightened mouse.

The minions really hoped to show off their new power learned, but Night Mare wouldn't let them. "Now, now…! Let's not be too hasty." she said "After all… they will make fine slaves."

"Slaves…? Us…?" cried Spike.

"In your dreams, Night Mare!" snarled Twilight "We won't ever bow down to you!"

Night Mare simply sniggered "You foal! The choice is not yours…!" her eyes began to glow and Twilight felt herself being lifted up high. "Whoa…!" she cried.

"TWILIGHT…!" the others shouted.

Twilight tried as hard as she could, "It's no use… she's too strong… I can't break free!" Night Mare had mastered psychokinetic abilities while she had been away, combined with her shape shifting and powers of darkness, she was one powerful mare.

Night Mare was enjoying seeing Twilight suffer. She gazed at the others, "Now you have a choice." she snarled, "Either you serve me… or you can suffer a fate far worse than your friend!" Her power seemed to intensify, and Twilight began to moan and groan in pain as she felt she was being squeezed in a vice.

"ALL RIGHT…!" shouted Spike "I'll serve you. Just leave Twilight alone."

The others reluctantly were forced to agree, and Night Mare let Twilight go. "Are you okay…?" asked Rainbow Dash. "I think so…!" Twilight said while coughing and hacking trying to catch her breath, but suddenly Night Mare used her powers to bind them all together with chains and manacles. Special ones that preventing any of them from flying, or using any magic.

Soon, all of Equestria was enslaved, and Nightmare even redesigned Canterlot Castle into a horrifying fortress for herself, and her new friends. "I, Queen Night Mare Moon, hereby declare this the land of Nightmarica!" she announced "May the horrors and fear strive forever!" She and the minions', their evil laughs echoed all across the land where all the ponies and creatures were helplessly marching and being forced into labor.

All hope seemed lost for the kingdom now, if one tiny creature hadn't gotten away. It was a fairy who had witnessed everything. "I must inform Queen Krysta." She said and then she vanished through a portal.

With Equestria enslaved, and Serpent Tyrant ready to face Lightning and his friends… the great struggle had no officially begun!

To Be Continued…!

Part 2: The End of Serpent Tyrant

Night Mare had all her new subjects working hard to build her new empire from the ruins of Equestria. The ponies and even other animals were forced to march, push and pull boulders and stones. It was very hard and painful, especially without magic. Night Mare only let them rest or eat when she chose.

Twilight and friends were forced to being her castle servants. They were charged with cleaning the entire fortress and tending to Night Mare and her friends' every need. Rarity constantly was whining about how ugly she looked, dressed in rags, covered with soot, and chained to an iron ball. "Eww… there's dust in mane." she cried.

Applejack was very annoyed as she passed by with another heavy crate of apples "You got the easy bit!" she growled "I like cookin' but this is worse than findin' a worm in your apple."

"SILENCE…!" shouted Night Mare. Her eyes glowed and Applejack and Rarity were being shocked by their chains and manacles with powerful magic. "Servants are to be seen… and NOT HEARD!" Night Mare shouted. "Get back to work!"

Then she summoned Pinkie Pie to sing for her, and Rainbow Dash to perform tricks for her as entertainment. Poor Pinkie was on the verge of tears and Rainbow felt her anger spiking, but there was nothing she could do without her wings and magic.

Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy were busy washing the windows and whispered to one another how much they hated this. "If only I knew where she was keeping princess we could get the elements of harmony." whispered Twilight.

"There's no chance." Whispered Spike "We wouldn't know where to start looking."

Fluttershy said nothing, but secretly thought of Rhymey and his friends, the warriors of Unicornicopia, and wished they could hear their calls for help.

…

While in Unicornicopia… Serpent Tyrant dashed forth, and the gang scattered out of his way. Starla and Rhymey tried their attacks for a test…

"STAR SHOWER…!"

"DRILL QUILL…!"

As expected, they had hardly any effect at all. Serpent just chuckled "My turn…!" he roared as the rainbow stone in his forehead began to glow "PLASMA VAPOUR!"

Everyone dodged as the powerful energy zoomed right past them, leaving such a trail of destruction. The blast kept going and crashed right into a building that was shielded with a force field so not too much damage was done, but the poor sheltered unicorns inside were shaken about and frightened. The shield itself seemed to have taken quite a beating!

"Stay focussed!" shouted Lightning. "We've got to try harder!"

The battle continued, and Dyno and Myte had an idea. The waited wand watched as Serpent's mouth moved as he roared and screeched. Then they fed him a taste of their, "BOOM-BOOM ROCKETS!" right through his mouth and into his stomach.

The small explosions ruptured his insides, but Serpent seemed to be more angry than damaged. "Fools…!" he shouted "Take this!" he raised his huge tail and swung hard knocking the twins up and away from each other. "Dyno…!"

"Myte…!"

Serpent laughed maliciously, but the others charged forth like a stampede, and launched many attacks at once and managed to actually put a big scratch on his face. He roared and screeched in pain for a brief moment. "We got him…!" cried Starla, and others began to cheer, but then they noticed the rainbow stone glowing again, and his wounds seemed to heal instantly.

"Oh, no…!

It can't be so!" cried Rhymey.

Even his wounds healed, Serpent was madder than ever and decided to even up the fight. The stone glowed again as he summoned out his, "SERPENT SOLDIERS…!" one for each gang member to deal with. Lightning almost immediately realized why Serpent would summon his minions when he didn't really need them, but before he could warn his friends…

"Let's get them!" shouted Buddy Rose, and the others began to charge at the monsters. "No wait…!" cried Lightning, but his friends were already fighting. Lightning also had a monster of his own to tend with, but rather than attack it, he just kept rolling, and dodging out of its way, but the others were already using a lot for their powers and strength, much to Serpent's amusement and his plan… to let them tire themselves out so they'd have nothing left to fight him, but Lightning wasn't about to let this happen.

"It's risky but I've got to do it" he said to himself, and he summoned the rainbow rod, and told the others to quickly gather all the soldiers into one place. It wasn't easy, but they managed to do it. "Do it, Lightning!" cried Artie!

Lightning powered the rod, recited the chant, and unleashed the "RAINBOW FORCE…!" Wiping out all the serpents at once, but he felt a little tired after which.

"Lightning…!" Starla cried as she ran over to help him up "Are you okay…?"

"I'll be fine!" panted Lightning as he stood. "Let's go!"

They dashed over to join the others, and Serpent hissed, "My patience is wearing thin. I give you this last chance- Hand over the rainbow stones you possess!"

"Never…!" shouted Lightning "If anything, you should hand over the one you have and make it easier on yourself."

Serpent roared angrily and began to charge again. "PLASMA VAPOUR!" he shouted, as the stone in his head glowed and he launched another wave of energy. The others scattered around, but poor Starla was barely able to get all the way aside as she felt one of her hind legs getting hurt by the burning of being so close to the blast. "Ow…! Ah…!" she groaned as the trail sped past her and blew up a set of trees.

Poor Starla fell to the ground shaking in pain, "My… my leg!" she cried softly, and she did look hurt. One of her boots had been completely burned off, and her leg look badly burnt and bruised.

Lightning felt his anger beginning to spike. "Starla….!" he roared, and then he roared angrily and charged at Serpent feeling the burning rushing through him, "Easy pickings…" hissed Serpent and he swung his tail and bashed him really, really hard "A'ugh…!"

"LIGHTNING…!" some of the others shouted. Lightning felt as if the moon had fallen on him. His mane and tail were all ruffled and tangled, and his armor never had a bigger dent in it. Serpent just laughed, and then gazed at the others. "It was fun while it lasted, but now you see how useless it is to… "Believe" when in fact it is hopeless."

The others were so upset and worried that they didn't know what to do as if for the first time. Not a single one of their attacks worked. "Now would be a good time to believe in a miracle!" cried Artie.

"Silence!" roared Serpent, and his loud voice shook the ground. "You, pathetic little fools. You have stood in my way for the last time, and now… the time has come for us to say goodbye… STARTING WITH YOIUR TWO FRIENDS…!" He was ready to blast Starla and Lightning to dust, "NO…!" the others cried, but suddenly… Serpent began to feel strange, as if he couldn't move. "What is… happening…!" he growled "My powers… they are getting weak!"

The rainbow stone in his head began pulsating like crazy, and then it popped right out from his head. "No…! NO…!"

Everyone watched as the stone began to float through the air and join with the other four around, "Grand Ruler…!" cried Lightning.

His master smiled and nodded. Then he said "If there is one thing you must never believe, and that is that you are all alone. Help will always come to those who are in need."

He used his magic to charge the rainbow stone, and the three others that he had brought with him, and then the stones gave a power glow and shot rays of light straight at Lightning, Starla… and all their friends…!

All of them felt very strange. "What is this…?" asked Buddy Rose.

"What's going on…?"

I feel so strong!" said Rhymey.

Dyno and Myte felt like they could blow up a mountain themselves, and not with any explosives but just using brute strength. Starla and Lightning both stood up, with their injuries fully healed, and Starla had her boot back. Grand Ruler explained that, just as he had promised, "You all found the rainbow stones. You overcame many hardships and battled countless foes and all because you never gave up hope and continued to believe. Now as promised, their great power will bring you victory. Use it well."

"No…!" growled Serpent "The power is mine…!"

Even with his powers severely weakened, he still was not willing to let what he had come so close to obtaining slip away now. "I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL…!"

He charged forward ready to crush them all like insects. "Not if I can help it…!" snarled Buddy Rose as he dashed forth and unleashed his biggest and deadliest, "PETAL DANCE…!" and his razor-leafs were now larger and sharper and flew faster than ever. They pelted Serpent from all around and damaged him good!

"Our turn…" said Artie as he held his spear.

"Now he shall learn!" rhymed Rhymey holding his sword up high.

"ART ATTACK SPIN…!"

"THRASH SLASH…!"

They both leapt forth and slashed and bashed at the evil demons, harming him further. The others attacked him as well…

"PULSAR LASER…!"

"SHOCK ROCK WAVE…!"

And Lightning stood, glowing and ready for the final blow. He no longer required as much concentration as before and in fact was ready to try something he never thought was possible before. "Serpent Tyrant!" he shouted. "You killed my parents… you've destroyed countless dimensions for your own desires… and you have demonstrated nothing but pure evil… and now… may all you have destroyed be avenged!"

His horn and the rainbow rod both glowed and sparkled like crazy. "You can't do this to me…!" shouted Serpent. "I can and I will…!" shouted Lightning as he charged rainbow force together, at the same time. The two forces collided into Serpent. The beast roared and screeched endlessly as his body began to vaporize into complete and total nothingness.

Then, he was gone… and all was quiet, until Grand Ruler smiled and said "Well done everyone. Serpent-Tyrant is no more. You have all done well."

Lightning and friends bowed to him, "But really…" he said "If you hadn't shown up with the stones… who knows what would've happened."

"There are times in which even the bravest and strongest warrior will need help from others." Grand Ruler said "Believe in yourself… and believe in others who depend on you, as well as those who fight alongside you, and there is nothing you cannot overcome."

Lightning smiled and bowed to his mentor again, but the moment was spoiled when a small portal appeared, and out came Krysta crying "Lightning…! Lightning…!"

Everyone dashed over. "Krysta…? What's wrong…?" asked Lightning.

Krysta took a moment to catch her breath and she explained that there was trouble in Equestria. Grand Ruler's ears twitched and Rhymey blinked once. He was very worried about Fluttershy.

"What is wrong? Tell us now!

How bad is it… just how?"

…

It was worse than bad…

The ponies and other creatures were already worked to the bone at the hoof of their evil queen, Night Mare, but Night Mare was ready to send her new friends off on their own mission. "The time has come, my friends." she said to them "You have helped me valiantly, and no service shall go unrewarded."

"So your letting us go now…?" asked Rep-Stallion. "Can we go crush the unicorns we've told you about?"

Night Mare nodded.

"This is going to be so incredible!" cried Dementia. "To think, we'll have two kingdoms under our control."

Mysterious sniggered "For so long we have waited for our chance at revenge, and now…" he didn't bother to finish. "Good luck, my friends." Night Mare said as she watched the minions depart.

She really hoped they would succeed and was confident that they would. She never forgot Celesto, and thought she had finished him all those ages ago. "First I took my sister's world, and now…" but the rest of what she had to say was summed up in laughter.

…

Celestia and Luna could hear her from within their secret dungeon under the castle itself. Luna felt ever so depressed and felt that this was all her doing. She created Night Mare, "The fault must lie with me."

"No…! Don't think that." said Celestia "We all were just as surprised by her appearance, and had no way of knowing, and now you're in just as much danger as the rest of us."

Luna couldn't understand how her sister could act so calm at a time like this, Celestia hated to admit it, but she was deathly afraid, and for the first time in a very, very long time too. If only Twilight and her friends knew where they were…

She closed her eyes tightly and prayed for a miracle.

Her prayers were almost immediately answered when a small fairy, Krysta, and several others appeared in the dungeon. "Who are you…?" she asked.

"Shh…! No time to explain Princess." said Krysta, and she and her warping fairies used their warping spells to weaken the cells holding the two sisters just enough so they could silently slip out. "How can we ever repay you?" asked Luna

The fairies gazed at one another and explained of what they wanted the two sisters to do.

…

Twilight and friends were trying to sleep within separate cells in another dungeon. Night Mare was finally merciful enough to give them a rest period, but not a very long one. The cells were cold and dank, and there was hardly any place to sleep, but Twilight and friends were so sore and tired form all their chores, they almost didn't care.

Twilight and Spike shared a cell, and at least they could talk there. Spike had a hard time trying to sleep like the others. Not being a pony he couldn't sleep standing up, and it almost hurt to lie down, especially on that cold and hard stone floor. The chains didn't make it any more comfy.

"Are you okay, Spike?" asked Twilight.

Spike shook his head, "I don't think anyone is okay." he said sadly "I don't think anyone will be okay anytime soon."

Twilight felt tears coming to her eyes, and she could hardly hold it in. "Oh, Twilight…" cried Spike, "I didn't mean to…"

"No…" Twilight sobbed "It's not that… it's just… I… I… I'm scared, Spike. I'm really scared."

"Oh, Twilight…" cried Spike as he moved over to hug her as she cried softly. Who could blame Twilight for feeling like this? She had never felt so helpless in her life. With Night Mare on the throne, she and her friends were powerless to do anything, the entire kingdom was enslaved, and Princess Celestia nowhere to be known. Twilight felt as if she had failed everyone. What kind of apprentice was she to the Princess?

Then, suddenly, they both head a little sound, "Pssst…!" they both looked up and saw a fairy, Krysta, at the cell window. She explained, in a very soft tone so she would not be overheard, that the princess and her sister were fine and with them now. "Don't worry… everything will be all right soon. Just have faith and believe." she whispered. Then she vanished out of sight.

Twilight smiled, sniffed, and wiped the tears from her eyes. The princess was safe now, at least that was over, but she and Spike wondered what that fairy meant by everything would be fine soon. Even Princess Celestia was powerless against Night Mare or she never would have been captured at all.

Whatever was going to happen, all they could do was wait and stay strong.

To Be Continued…

Part 3: Reunited and Trusting

In the void of dimensional space, that sinister voice behind the glowing red eyes hissed. "The time has come. Are you ready my friend?"

The shadowy image of whatever Discord was now extended his large wings and claws. "I am…" he said deeply. "The unicorns will finally be no more, as per your desire, my master. At daybreak, I attack!"

He and his master, whoever he was, shared a sinister laugh while gazing at Unicornicopia off in the distance.

…

The gang was at Grand Ruler's palace, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their guests. Princesses Celestia and Luna were on their way with Krysta. A royal red carpet was placed along the way from the portal gate and the guards were standing at the ends.

Cookie Dough had been summoned to the castle and was busy preparing a meal under The Grand Ruler's orders. The princesses were bound to be famished after being locked up for some time and after their inter-dimensional journey.

Brain requested to be present too. This was a dream come true to be able to meet creatures from another world. "I only wish the circumstances were a little more… eh… erm… pleasant, as it were."

…

The moment Krysta explained about the dangers of Equestria, after a short debate it was decide that Krysta was to go back to Equestria and bring the two princesses to Unicornicopia.

…

"Once they've arrived, we might be able to devise a way to help them." said Buddy Rose.

"I tell you…" said Artie "From what Krysta said… that Night Mare surely lives up to her name."

Rhymey was easily the most worried, he had only recently just visited Equestria and it all seemed so beautiful and tranquil. He gazed down at the butterfly clip that Fluttershy gave to him.

"Please be alright!

Just hang in tight!" he said in his mind.

Lightning came downstairs from seeing The Grand Ruler. "How is his majesty, Amigo?" asked Dyno.

"Is he really that nervous?" asked Myte.

Just the concerned look on Lightning's face answered the question. Grand Ruler was very nervous indeed about Celestia coming, and everyone was told why. "Who could blame him…?" asked Starla.

Celestia was no ordinary unicorn, she wasn't just the ruler of Equestria, but The Grand Ruler's former-fiancé as well, and he hadn't seen or heard from her in well over a-thousand years, and after all this time, what was to really be expected?

The portal began to glow, and Krysta and her followers were first to emerge, and that's when the royal musicians sounded their horns, and Krysta thought it not too impolite to announce. "Their royal highnesses…! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! Rulers of Equestria…!"

The portal glowed again as the two sisters emerged. The gang stared in awe at the sight and mystical grace of the two princesses, especially Celestia, she was just as beautiful as Grand Ruler had described.

The two princesses gracefully walked along the carpet, and each of the guards tipped their lances as they passed as form of greeting. Celestia and Luna nodded to each and every one of them as they made their way into the main chamber where Lightning and the gang were waiting. They all bowed to the princesses and Lightning stood proud and said "On behalf of my mentor, The Grand Ruler, and all of us here, your majesties… I welcome you both to Unicornicopia in friendship and honor."

The princesses bowed. "You will pardon my asking, but where is your leader?" asked Luna.

The royal fanfare sounded again, and the throne began to slowly spin round, and there he was. Celestia gasped softly. He gazed at her and had a hard time grasping that she was really there. It was now or never. He approached the carpet on all fours, and stopped at the last ten feet. A brief silence followed as he gazed into Celestia's eyes, and she gazed into his. The cape she had made him that he was wearing softly fluttered, just like her long and beautiful mane and tail. "Um… Greetings… Celestia." he finally said.

Celestia's heart began to race for the first time in ages. Tears began to fall from her eyes. "Celesto…?" she peeped. Even though this was a royal gathering, and what she was about to do was considered rather improper. "Celesto…! Oh, Celesto!" she dashed right over to him, and he ran to her, both colliding in embrace. "I… thought you were gone forever!" she sobbed, "I thought I would never see you again."

A single tear rolled down Grand Ruler's cheek, "I have missed you so much." he whispered to her.

Lightning smiled, Starla wiped a tear from her eye, and the twins… they were blubbering and hugging each other like the brothers they were. "Ay' Ay' Ay'! It's so beautiful!" they cried. Two lost lovers reunited after being apart for so long.

As for Luna, Grand Ruler approached her, and remembered that it was she who responsible for what she did all those ages ago. He looked rather cross with her, and she bowed her head in shame, but to her surprise. "I welcome you as well, Princess Luna." he said with pride.

Luna looked up and smiled, and then they both bowed to each other.

…

Soon, they were all seated in the great hall and enjoying the meal Cookie Dough had made. They all thought it was delicious, especially the princesses. Cookie Dough was flattered, but as business continued it became clear what the plan of action was. The only hope to defeat Night Mare was joining and combine forces.

"The elements of harmony…" Luna explained "They will not be enough to thwart my evil, former self. She has become much stronger as you no doubt are aware."

"And Titan's minions have been backing her up too." Lightning said "And we'd thought we'd seen the last of them."

Even still, the elements of harmony combined with the rainbow stones was their only hope, but the elements were still buried deep within Night Mare's castle, and despite becoming stronger she still could not break the spell Celestia used to seal the elements.

However, it decided that Celestia would remain in Unicornicopia for the while. The main concern was to get the elements and free Twilight and friends, for only they could effectively unleash the power.

Luna and a volunteer party would be sent back through the portal. "I know my former self better than any of us, and I do know of the location where the elements are sealed. If you trust me, we will succeed." she said.

The unicorns didn't know what to think, but Grand Ruler sealed the deal. "Very well, Princess Luna" he said and he tasked Buddy Rose, Artie, and Rhymey to go with her, to which they were forced to agree.

They would leave at dawn, so everyone would have a chance to rest up. "I just hope they're all doing okay back there." said Arte.

…

The rest period had long since ended and the slaves were forced back to work, but one of the guards came to Night Mare. "Gone…?" she snapped when she was told the princesses were missing from their cells, "Impossible…!"

She ordered her guards to begin searching high and low, and decided that her slaves would suffer for this escape. Longer work hours, less breaks, and hardly any rations at all now. How much more punishment could Twilight and her friends take.

Still, they continued to believe what Krysta said, that soon everything would be fine. They just hoped it wouldn't be much longer. They couldn't wait anymore.

…

As night passed in Unicornicopia, Grand Ruler hadn't been able to sleep very well. He was standing out on the terrace looking over his kingdom below. His heart was all torn up and his mind was going off in many directions. It was wonderful having Celestia back in his life, but would it last? What would happen from here on out?

That's he noticed Celestia was standing on another, smaller Terrace below his own. She looked rather sad and confused. He decided to fly down and confront her. She looked up when she heard him touch down. "Something bothers you, Celestia?" he asked.

Celestia admitted she was pleased to have seen him again after all this time, but she honestly did not expect all this. He had changed a lot, and created everything that surrounded them now, but she couldn't even begin to imagine all the hardships and battles he and his subjects had gone through over the ages. These evil forces were like nothing she had ever seen or heard of before. She was, however, very impressed and touched he forgave Luna for separated them all those ages ago.

"I had to…" he said "From what I had heard, if you can forgive your sister, then so can I. After all, I can understand why she did what she did, and I never would have created this entire world if she hadn't. So in many ways, what she did was wrong and always will be, but it has shown some signs good."

Their hooves touched, and they ended up gazing into each other's eyes. "Those eyes…" he thought "They are so beautiful."

"Those eyes…" she thought "I missed the way they would look upon me like that."

Their faces slowly moved towards one another's, but they stopped before they got any closer. They didn't feel they could do it, or if it was right. Still, they just sat there gazing at the stars. "Don't worry, Celesita. We will save your friends and your world." he promised her that.

"I… believe you." she whispered.

…

The night had passed, and Grand Ruler made his flight to bring the dawn in. Celestia went with him, and she impressed that he remembered what she had taught him. Then they returned to the floating palace to find everyone was already awake.

Buddy Rose, Artie, and Rhymey stood with Luna "Are you ready…?" Grand Ruler asked his subjects. His subjects nodded and stood tall and brave. "Princess Luna…" said Celestia "You are charged with these unicorns' safety. Make sure that nothing serious happens to them."

Luna bowed and understood. "Come along." she said, and the three unicorns followed her to the portal gate. Then they jumped through and were gone, heading back to Equestria, or rather Nightmarica as it was now known.

"There they go…" Lightning said.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" asked Starla.

"I hope so…" said Krysta, only she and Celestia knew how truly dangerous it was back there. Grand Ruler felt a little frustrated of having to stay behind. He longed to have a confrontation with Night Mare and make her pay for all she had caused for so many! Just once…!

That's when realized and reminded everyone that they had a guest. "Perhaps you would like a tour of the kingdom, Celestia?" he asked. Celestia nodded, "Oh, yes! I would like that very much." She had only flown over the kingdom, but hadn't actually seen much of it yet.

Lightning, Starla, and Krysta agreed to take her on a tour. Once again, Grand Ruler had to stay behind for he had his duties to do.

…

Once in Nightmarica, Luna and her followers didn't like the looks of what had obviously gotten way worse since Luna was away. Rhymey hated the sight of the kingdom most of all…

"It's all been destroyed… it all is in ruin.

Surly, this is that Night Mare's doin'!"

"I must say…" said Artie "Until now, I never realized how many different kinds of arts I wouldn't like."

Luna reminded the team why they were there. "Follow me, and stay low!" she whispered. Doing as they were told, they follower her along the mountains of rubble, and ruins of what Equestria once was. Every so often, a row of guards would pass by, shadowy black ponies created by Night Mare to serve as her first line of defense, and the team would duck out of the way.

The closer they got to the fortress, the more the guards seemed to pop out, and it was getting harder to duck them. "This is crazy…" snapped Buddy Rose "We need some sort of cover up."

Luna agreed and decided to use a little magic. "Don't be frightened." she said, and her horn began to glow as her shadowy mane seemed to expand, enveloping around the team and herself. Then, all was quiet, but the unicorns were confused. All the land around them seemed to be cloaked in a shadowy veil of darkness. "Come along…" Luna said, and the team followed her, directly through a path where the guards would easily see them, but surprisingly they didn't even move or seem to notice them. "We are invisible to them." Luna explained, "We are cloaked under the shadows of my mane and blending in with our surroundings."

The others thought this was incredible…

"How great for us.

They can't see us." said Rhymey. He even stood in front of a guard and waved at him, but the guard didn't notice a thing.

"Look!" cried Luna. The fortress was just up ahead. "Let's go…" Artie said calmly "Nice and easy." That's what they thought, but someone was indeed aware of their intrusion!

…

Celestia had a wonderful tour of Unicornicopia, visiting all the locations, even if they were for a brief moment, and then it was off to Rainbow City. Celestia was impressed, but felt the kingdom was not whole- except for Krysta; there weren't any kinds other of creatures, not even any ground-ponies or pegasi, or even a bird in the sky… just winged unicorns all doing their jobs, or playing, and all wearing armor and identical outfits. No one had a cutie-mark either, but rather an identification number, and no one seemed to be using or relying on any magic.

"We Unicornicopians evolve as a warrior-race, your highness." Lightning explained "And while we do find time to dance and play and sometimes party, we are not as luxurious as you and the Equestrians."

Celestia could tell that a warrior's life really was difficult. Then again, even she wouldn't like it when she tried to throw a party or a gala and then some evil creature would come and ruin everything. To make matters worse, from what she had heard and witnessed, every time the enemy was defeated, a newer, more powerful evil, emerged, and unlike certain foes Celestia had faced, these demons would not be reasoned with and would only continue to destroy and cause havoc. "You will find peace one day." she said "I know you will."

"Begging your pardon…" asked Lightning "But what makes you so sure…?"

Celestia was quiet for a moment, and then explained that if there was one thing Celesto had taught her it was to never lose hope. "Sometimes… believing is all we have, and that is what I admire in him."

She spoke as if her feelings were still true and strong. It was becoming clear that she was still in love with Celesto, but was it right to still be after all this time? No one could tell.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of unicorns screaming and running in panic. The gang raced round the corner and saw them, Dementia, Rep-Stallion, and Mysterious. "Did you miss us…?" Rep-Stallion teased.

Lightning and Starla expressions hardened. "You three…!" snapped Celestia.

"Hey…!" snapped Dementia "What's she doing here? I thought she was locked up back in Nightmarica?"

"It makes no difference." hissed Mysterious "Even she has no idea of what she's up against now."

That's when they began to demonstrate what their friend Nightmare had given to them- they began to make duplicates of themselves! "They're multiplying!" cried Krysta.

First there were two of each, then four, then eight. Soon, there were enough copies to cover the entire block, but it was easy to tell who the originals were as all the copies seemed to be darker in color.

The alarms sounded and everyone ran for the nearest shelter as the shields went off.

"Take a good look at us now, Unicorns!" hissed Mysterious. "We have an entire army at our backs. You don't stand a chance this time."

Lightning stood, ready for a big fight and suggested that Starla and Krysta take the Princess somewhere safe. "Grand Ruler would never forgive us if anything happened to her." he said.

"No…!" Celestia said as she stepped forward. "I'm not going anywhere! These creatures helped Night Mare enslave my kingdom. I cannot sit by and do nothing about this." She was a princess, and she knew a thing or two about warfare and fighting, especially when honor and pride were involved. "I will fight with you. Don't try and stop me! Understand?"

The others were reluctant to agree, and the minions and their army thought this was their lucky day. "We get to destroy our enemies and Night Mare's most hated enemy too…" said Dementia "Night Mare will be very pleased."

…

In Grand Ruler's palace, one of the guards rushed in to warn him, "Sire… a battle is about to take place. It's Titan's minions, and the princess is down there too!"

Grand Ruler looked worried "Celestia?" he cried "What is she thinking?" He already knew she didn't stand a chance against Titan minions the last time. He just had to go down there. "Stand watch!" he said to all his guards. Then he was off.

As he soared through the air he kept on telling himself over and over "I will not let anything happen to her! Never…!"

…

Outside the kingdom, in Dimensional Space, Discord was now hovering directly over Unicornicopia and chuckling sinisterly. He was ready to begin his attack! "Sorry, Unicorns… your time is up!"

To Be Continued…!

Part 4: Two way doomsday

The minions and their army dashed forth. "Scatter…!" said Lightning as he and the others leapt out of the way. It was a good thing at least the clones of the minions didn't have an fire power like the original, but there were still so many of them and they were just as strong in brute strength.

Lightning and Starla rammed into the clones and knocked them aside, Celestia stomped her hoof twice and reared on her hind legs which actually frightened more of them, and her horn was as strong and powerful like a sword. She really did know how to fight, just as she promised. Her magic was very helpful too…

As her horn glowed she levitated one clone up and threw it into a gaggle of oncoming clones, bowling them down. "She's pretty good." thought Krysta. She was snapped of her distraction when one of the clones almost swiped at her. Luckily her defensive magic helped by pushing them off so they couldn't hit her.

"There's too many of them…!" cried Starla, "We need more help…!"

That's when the ground burst and, Dyno and Myte and had tunneled their way over. "You called…?" Dyno said.

"We'll help!" added Myte.

Many unicorns were watched from inside their shelters, and though they felt safe, they almost hated having to watch all those monsters fight what few fighters were out there. Even the princess, their guest, she didn't deserve to be subjected to all this.

"What are we just sitting here for?" some of them started to say. "We're warriors, and here we are hiding from the battle?"

Soon, others began to agree, and it was settled. The shields were lowered and the unicorns began to dash outside. "Hey! Who invited them!" snapped Rep-Stallion.

"Never mind…!" growled Dementia "Let's get them!"

"Agreed!" said Mysterious and he and others began to conjure more clones. Soon, nearly the whole of town square was full of unicorns fighting the evil ones. "That evens the odds…" cried Lightning "But we have to find a way to get the real minions! Then maybe these clones will vanish."

Everyone agreed, but such a task was easier said than done. Despite the minions were easily recognizable, they were still hard to spot or get near with all the clones huddling so close together. "Keep trying!" shouted Celestia "We'll find them!"

…

In Nightmarica, Luna and her team had managed to enter the fortress, still invisible. Luna was strong enough to keep the magic going for a while longer, but she'd have to stop soon. "Which way to do we go now?" asked Buddy Rose.

"Follow me…" said Luna. She figured she'd know every last inch of the fortress as it was pretty much her own thoughts and design when she was fused with Night Mare. "I should know every crack in the stone, and every floor and hallway."

"She is really starting to scare me out." Artie whispered to the others.

"Me too, without a doubt." rhymed Rhymey.

As they continued forward, Luna began to feel a little tired. "I can't hold the spell up much longer." she said, but that was when it wore off completely. "Princess…!" cried Buddy Rose, he was careful not to speak too loud. Poor Luna was panting softly. "Are you hurt…?" asked Artie.

"I will be fine." she answered "I will need a while to restore my magic. You all will have to guard me."

"We'll do our best.

You just rest." said Rhymey.

Luna was still strong enough to guide the team, and the first thing they had to do was get to the chamber where the elements of harmony were, but now that they were no longer invisible, it was harder than ever to get around.

Guards were everywhere! They found themselves ducking and dodging more times than ever to get through safely now. Little did they realize that they were already detected, and being followed by a small stream of shadowy smog that had been perusing them ever since they had entered.

Suddenly, they could all hear voices, or rather sound of groaning. Rhymey recognized one of them as Fluttershy's voice. He didn't speak but he gazed down through a large hole in the wall, and there she was with all her friends in the main throne room, slaving away. All of them were filthy, tired, and in chains with their wings and horns missing.

Poor Rarity looked as if she had dusted a chimney with her whole body, and she felt even a-hundred baths wouldn't be able to clean her off now.

"Oh…!" groaned Applejack. "I almost got the nerve to wish to be executed."

"No… don't say that!" cried Pinkie Pie "We can't let this slavery break our souls."

"And just what do you suggest?" snapped Rainbow Dash "Look at us…! We have no magic, no wings, and even the princess is gone. You hear what the guards said."

Twilight and Spike said nothing, and still refused to mention what they knew for fear of attracting unwanted attention from Night Mare, wherever she was.

Fluttershy sighed and continued to mop the floor, and then she looked up, and swore she could see someone up there. Someone familiar...! She hoped it was a sign that they'd be rescued soon. That's when the quill Rhymey had given her fell from her mane to the floor, she quickly put it back.

…

Rhymey knew they had to save the ponies and fast. Luckily, the room they needed to get to was just ahead, down a long stretch with guards standing all in a row. "Oh, this it just great." said Artie.

"We can't get past them.

Nor should we blast them." said Rhymey

Luna admitted that even she couldn't figure a way to get past all the guards without making a terrific scene or noise. "We don't need to." Buddy Rose said "Watch this. I've been practicing."

He crept up as close as he could so as not to give himself away, then whispered, "Pollen Spores…!" and softly unleashed a small swarm of tiny spores that put the guards to sleep. They all just dropped their lances and fell like trees.

"Impressive." Luna said.

The others gave Buddy props for that move, and then they proceeded forward and reached the sealed door. "You sure the elements are behind here?" asked Artie.

"Yes…" said Luna. "My evil side may be strong enough to do all this, but it would seem she is still powerless to break this seal and alter this chamber."

"But how can we then?" asked Artie.

"I thought only Celestia's touch,

would undo the seal as such…" added Rhymey

Luna shook her head and explained it had been a long time since she was separated from that of her evil side, and she had done so well to adjust herself to modern times, and learn the ways of friendship and believing. Her sister, Celestia, taught her how to undo the spell for emergencies. "My sister trusts me, and I wish to honor that trust." Luna said "It is my fault that Night Mare was ever created, and I must do what is right for everyone and help take her down."

"Stand back." she warned the others as she concentrated hard, and her horn started glowing. She inserted her horn into the keyhole. She struggled and moaned softly as she seemed to be having trouble. The others felt nervous and hoped she could do it while not giving them away.

Suddenly, the door began to slide open, and there resting on a small pillar was the jewel-encrusted treasure chest. "That's it." cried Luna "The elements are in that chest."

The others all smiled, but as Luna went to take the chest a little bird flew down and landed right on top of it. "Shoo…! Shoo…!" Luna said, but lightning and thunder flashed with the sound of evil laughter, and the bird warped into Night Mare. "Surprise-Surprise!" she hissed. The gang gasped and began back away as the evil demon took the chest. "I've been aware of your little intrusion all this time." she said.

"So why didn't you stop us then?" asked Buddy Rose.

Night Mare snickered wickedly "How else could I have gotten the final key to assure my ultimate victory?" she said. She hinted that since she couldn't get to the elements of harmony, she waited until they did it themselves.

"You will never be able to use them!" snapped Luna "Only those who are pure in heart can even open that chest, or use the elements of harmony… and your heart is pure evil!"

Night Mare, well aware of this, laughed evilly. "But now that I have the elements, I can rest assured that they will never be used against me ever again."

The unicorns were growing annoyed with the sound of her evil voice, and drew out their weapons, and stood ready to fight. So did Luna, but Night Mare laughed again, "Foals…!" and her eyes began to glow, and all four of them were being lifted up by her new psycho-kinesis, and she threw them all out the window, and out of the fortress!

Twilight and friends heard the commotion and gazed outside. "It's Princess Luna." cried Spike, "But… who are they with her?"

Fluttershy gasped when she saw one of them was Rhymey. Twilight also noticed Night Mare was flying down to face them and she had "The elements of harmony!"

"How in the apple fields did she get them?" asked Applejack.

Down below, the four teammates stood side-by-side as Night Mare narrowed her eyes. "It is time that we settle this little dispute!" she hissed.

"There's no avoiding it!" said Buddy-Rose

"Do you think we can take her…?" asked Artie.

Luna honestly didn't know, but she had waited for this ever since her evil side returned. "I swear to you, Night Mare!" she growled "If it takes me to beyond my limitations, I will destroy you for everything you've done!"

This only amused Night Mare, "What I have done? I was born out of the jealously and anger you felt towards everyone. We were one in the same, making you just as guilty as me."

Luna knew that was right, but she made a promise to make up for everything she had done. "Ready, everyone…?" she asked.

The others nodded, and the battle began; only Rhymey swung his sword at Buddy Rose. "Hey!" snapped Buddy, "What are you doing?"

"Something is wrong, I can tell!

"I think I've been put under a spell!" cried Rhymey, and he was right, it was Night Mare, using her powers to control him. Now Rhymey was being forced to attack his friends, while they had to defend themselves but didn't dare to strike Rhymey back!

Luna tried to charge at Night Mare, but even while holding her spell on Rhymey, she raised her hoofs and blasted her back with a powerful wave of magic. This battle was going to be harder than they thought.

…

In Unicornicopia, the battle with the clones of Titan's minions was still going, and getting worse than ever. One could look down from the sky and see fighting everywhere as well as hearing clashing of weapons or the clattering of crashes.

Grand Ruler finally arrived on the scene, and joined in the fight, and brought some of his other guards with him. "You think this intimidates us?" shouted Rep-Stallion, "Get' em, clones!" and he summoned more of his clones to attack!

Celestia had never known such an invasion attempt before. "We can't hold out much longer!" she shouted. "Keep going!" shouted Lightning, "We can do it! Just need a little more fire power."

"Agreed…!" said Grand Ruler. "Everyone, use your special attacks!"

Everyone did as they were told, and it seemed to be working. The clones were being wiped out fast making it easier to break through. "We need more, clones!" cried Dementia, but the unicorns managed to wipe out the clones faster than the minions could make more, and soon they were confronted by a whole army of unicorns, with Lightning and friends at the front…

But Suddenly…! Loud explosions were heard as the entire kingdom seemed to shake and quiver. Everyone nearly fell over. "What was that…?" asked Grand Ruler.

"Ay' Ay' Ay'! It felt like an explosion!" cried Dyno.

"What have you three done now?" snapped Krysta, but the minions were just as worried and admitted that they had nothing to do with it. "Look…!" cried Mysterious as a giant molten fireball seemed to soar across the sky and crash into the area around Blacktop Mountain. It crashed hard causing another small quake.

Then, they all saw him… a gigantic black dragon, with silver claws, large dark red wings, and an evil face that many didn't recognize, but Celestia and Grand Ruler gasped. "That face!" cried Celestia.

"I can't be!" added Grand Ruler.

The evil dragon laughed loud and hard. "Ahh…! Celesto… It's been a long time!"

"Sire… you know him?" asked Lightning.

His mentor's eyes and Celestia's narrowed in anger. "Discord…!" It couldn't be anyone else, only now he seemed brand new, larger and stronger and more chaotic than ever. "Why have you come?" Grand Ruler demanded to know.

"How did you get here?" added Celestia.

Discord chuckled "Do I really have to explain…?" he asked and he explained that he was now a whole new Discord, and his powers and new purpose involved only to destroy and wreak havoc for his own amusement "I must say Celesto. You have a very lovely kingdom. Surely you won't mind if I have some fun…?" He laughed.

The minions felt outraged. "Who sent you to spoil our fun?" snapped Rep-Stallion "This is our territory."

"Yeah...!" The other two snarled, but Discord glared at them furiously for daring to question his all-new, mighty power. The minions decided to leave the kingdom and their few remaining clones behind. "Well… at least that part of the danger is over." said Brain.

"I say…! He's going to strike again!" cried Abra.

Discord was heading straight for the mountain, ready to break it to pieces. "Let's all try firing on him at once." Starla suggested. It was doubtful that it would work, but it was worth a try. Grand Ruler made all the attackers fall in line. "Ready… take aim…! FIRE…!" Everyone fired their best attacks; Lightning used the rainbow force combined with uniforce. Grand Ruler used the uniforce too and Celestia fired her own wave of magic.

The stream of magic and power struck Discord, but didn't seem to affect him at all. He just laughed at them and mocked "Is that the best you can do? Now I feel insulted. So…" and with his huge claws he began thrashing and crumpling the mountain, sending large boulders flying across the land. "Look out…!" cried Krysta!

Everyone scattered about to avoid the falling rocks from above as Discord continued to wreak the mountain, and then he flew up, up, up, and with a fiery blaze, he completely vaporized it in a huge explosion. The force shook the kingdom, and darkened the skies, and when everyone looked up… they were simply devastated.

"Blacktop Mountain…!" peeped Lightning. "It's… gone…!"

Discord stretched himself out, "That was fun. Now which is next?" Then he just decide to fly around unleash his wrath everywhere he went.

The guards, though devastated by what was happened were still doing their best to stave off the remaining clones the minions had left behind, but The Grand Ruler, for the first time ever, was completely overwhelmed by what was happening. He pounded the wall with one of his front hoofs in frustration and just stood like that. Worse than that, this kind of demonic power was a kind he had never seen before, it was so powerful and breaking his kingdom up worse than anything he had seen. There was nothing he could do to restore the damage at this rate, even with his magic.

"Sire…!" cried Lightning "Sire, are you okay?"

His mentor just stood there, hardly moving or blinking his eyes. Celestia tried, but couldn't get a response either. She realized there was only one course of action. "The kingdom is in danger. We have to evacuate everyone."

The unicorns were shocked. "Que…? Leave the kingdom?" asked Myte. "She's right…" said Lightning, "That demon has the fire power to actually blow this whole world apart, and I don't see much else we can do, but we've got to save everyone."

The unicorns began to agree, and Krysta made a plan of action for everyone to head to Grand Ruler's palace and use the portal gateway to escape. "I'll lead everyone to a safe place I know of." she said.

Without a moment to spare, everyone scattered about evacuating the entire kingdom, and all heading to Grand Ruler's palace to escape to safety. It was very difficult to get everyone out with Discord constantly wreaking destruction all over. The villages were being crushed and pummeled. Even Lightning's house was completely demolished.

All Grand Ruler did was just stand there in the middle of the crumpling Rainbow City, and gazed in devastation at the chaos and nightmares around him.

The long line up at the palace was getting shorter as more and more unicorns escaped into the portal, and Krysta used her magic to transport them to a safe place… a nearby dimension close to the Valley of Fairies she and her people knew of whenever creatures were in danger and needed shelter. They called is the Safe Dimension.

…

The dimension was wide and beautiful with lush meadows and a lake in the center. There was plenty of room for everyone. Several unicorns were hurt, and injured from being hit by the destruction of their homes. Luckily, Dr. Penny and her team were there to help everyone as best they could.

…

When the last unicorn had gone through, only Lightning, his friends, and Celestia were left "Is that all of them?" Krysta asked. They went over their massive checklists; all the villages and towns had been completely evacuated. "Okay! I better check back and see how the others are." Krysta said and then she jumped into the portal and was gone.

The unicorns stopped to take one last look outside and could hardly believe what was becoming of their home world. Still, they couldn't stay any longer. They had to go now, but as they went back to the chamber, "Wait…!" hollered Celestia "Where is Celesto?"

"Didn't he come up with us?" asked Starla, but everyone checked around and he was nowhere to be seen. That's when Lightning realized, "He must still be in Rainbow City!"

Everyone gasped and dashed out of the palace like the very lightning that shook the skies, becoming more and more violent from the destruction Discord was causing. Sure enough, they found Grand Ruler still standing in Rainbow City square… just… standing there with a look of extreme heartbreak in his eyes.

"Master!" cried Lightning. "What are you doing? We have to go!" but his mentor just stood where he was, hardly moving or making a sound, or even blinking his eyes. Starla tried approaching him softly, "Your highness… what's wrong?"

Grand Ruler finally explained that his kingdom was ending right before his very eyes. "Everything I worked so hard to make…! Everything I've protected and stood for all these centuries…! Everything I've held dear to me…!" …It's gone."

Everyone now understood why he was all frozen up. He was losing his confidence as a royal leader. Lightning approached him, and said "That's not true. You haven't lost everything." He pointed out that although the kingdom was doomed; all the unicorns were safe in the Safe Dimension. "And you still have me… and the rest of us… and Princess Celestia too."

Grand Ruler blinked once, and gazed at Celestia. She smiled at him and blinked twice at him. "And you taught us that sometimes things come with a price, but you shouldn't let it get you down." replied Lightning. Celestia and the others nodded in agreement.

With his confidence returning, Grand Ruler admitted "Yes! You're right." He was ready to suck it up and leave, but that's when Discord flew overhead. "Aw… how touching. I think I'm going to cry." he mocked "But I'm afraid the hour has grown too late, and you're all going down with this kingdom!"

He flew higher, and higher. "What is he doing now?" asked Myte. Dyno scaled a lookout tower and looked through the telescope. "Ay'! He is going to attack the palace!"

"THE PALACE?" everyone cried. "But the portal is in there!" cried Lightning.

It was too late, with a huge fiery breath; Discord blasted the palace causing a massive explosion in the skies. The remains of the palace began to fall from above like a burning meteor, right on top of Rainbow City, and the gang, followed by one of the loudest and deadliest crashes ever to be known, crushing the city into a mountain of rubble and destruction!

Discord laughed the loudest and hardest and evilest laugh he had ever laughed. "I did it! I destroyed them!" he shouted for joy "Long… Live… Evil!" he continued to laugh!

…

While in Nightmarica, Night Mare was proving to be too much for the others to handle. Rhymey was still battling his comrades, still under Night Mare's control, and still his comrades refused to hit a friend. While Luna just couldn't overpower her evil side and was continuously thrown back, or zapped with extreme magic.

By this point now, Luna, Buddy Rose, and Artie were all thrown together in a corner, and Rhymey was approaching them with his sword at the ready. Night Mare laughed and said, "Now isn't this a pity for you to come so far, only to fail and to perish in vain? As much as I've enjoyed this little… game… the time has come for you to say goodbye, and soon your comrades will follow."

Rhymey tried all he could, but he couldn't seem to break Night Mare's control. "Rhymey, don't do this!" cried Artie.

"I can't… go… through this!" rhymed Rhymey, but he felt himself raising his sword ready for the final strike, and his friends would be no more.

To Be Continued…

Part 5: Ultimate Teamwork

Rhymey's sword was charging up, against his will. No matter how hard he tried to resist Night Mare's control, he couldn't stop her. "Destroy them! Destroy them now!" she growled.

Buddy Rose, Artie, and Luna saw no other choice, and Buddy Rose rammed hard into Rhymey, knocking him away. "Forgive me, my friend." Buddy said under his breath, but Rhymey was relieved.

"All warriors must do the right thing,

I'm glad you did it before my sword did swing."

With Night Mare's eye contact broken, Rhymey was out of her spell. "I'm only getting warmed up…" she sniggered and she used her powers to lift everyone up high again, and smash them into one another like bumper balls while she laughed maliciously.

The poor Equestrian's watched helplessly from the fortress until the guards whipped them and forced them back to slaving. "That's it!" growled Spike "I can't take another minute of this."

Twilight couldn't either, and she could tell her friends couldn't either. While cleaning the floor all together, they whispered to one another about a plan that would probably. It was very risky and dangerous to try, but then again… anything was better than being slaves and beaten up anyway.

…

Meanwhile, Discord was still thrashing about and breaking Unicornicopia to bits, and really felt he had seen the last of Celesto, Celestia, and all their followers…

When in fact, they had survived! They were now in a hollow about twenty feet square under all the rubble of the collapsed Rainbow City. Celestia and Grand Ruler had used their magic to light up the dark and form a protective barrier to keep the rubble from falling on them, but it wouldn't hold forever, especially with Discord constantly attacking the remains of the kingdom and causing more tremors.

There was no possible way to dig their way to the top, even for Dyno and Myte or they'd bring everything crashing down. Even if they managed to escape, the portal gateway went down with the palace, leaving them trapped in there, and Krysta was in the safe dimension, and without the portal to help guide her back, she couldn't' return to help.

Celestia and Grand Ruler didn't dare try to teleport either, or they'd have to dispel the barrier keeping all the rubble above their heads from falling in. It all seemed just hopeless.

Starla was sitting by herself in a corner of the hollow. The expression on her face was enough to tell she had nearly given up all hope. Lightning walked over to her, "Starla…? Are you scared?" he asked as he sat next to her. Starla nodded. "Yeah… I am."

"Me too…" replied Lightning, and he wrapped his limb and hoof around her comfortingly. She smiled and rested up against him.

Grand Ruler felt terrible. This was his fault they were trapped like this, and after all his years of knowledge of swiftness, he couldn't figure a way out of this. Even if they managed to escape the rubble, how could they possibly leave the dimension before Discord completely destroyed it?

He gazed over at Celestia. "I'm sorry, Celestia…" he said to her.

"Celesto…?"

"This is all my doing… I've only made things worse, and now I've gotten you involved to. I should have known."

Celestia understood how he was feeling, "But don't let it get you down." she said "You're a great warrior, and you've done so much for your people. You had no way of knowing that this would ever happen."

"The princess is right, Sire." said Lightning "Besides, I know we can find a way out of here. When have we ever not made it out of tough spots before?"

The others agreed and showed that they still believed in themselves and hope. Grand Ruler smiled and realized he obviously has taught them better than he thought, and if there was one thing he above everyone should remember was… it wasn't over until it was over. They still had time to think of a way out.

"Eh… I beg your pardon." Brain said "But perhaps may be a good time to explain to everyone about my secret project I have been working on."

"At a time like this…?" snapped Dyno. "You should be thinking more of a way we can get out of here."

Brain tipped his glasses, "My dear fellow… that is precisely what my project is in fact." He cleared his throat and explained his project, which also explained the explosions that came from his house the past while.

He had in fact, over the years been working in an underground workshop he had, and building a massive ship which he hoped would enable to make inter-dimensional travel between dimensions possible. It would be like using a portal, only it wouldn't be as fast, or as stable if not handled well, but it would be reliable for such emergencies.

"After many years of hard work and experimenting… I'm certain that it shall succeed."

Everyone was gazing at him with wide-eyes. "You've been prepared for when all hopes of escape seem impossible and then make an alternate way?" asked Lightning.

"Yes…" replied Brain "Shall we say it was… eh… er… a lucky guess? Heh... heh…!"

Hope started to shine everyone's eyes, "But may I point out…" said Cookie Dough. "It's out there… we're trapped under here… and this whole place is going to cave in on our heads any minute."

He was right; Celestia and Grand Ruler could feel the magic barrier getting weak, and Discord was still attacking causing more tremors to shake the hollow and make things worse. The kingdom was in really bad shape now. It looked as if the whole thing would blow up at any moment.

Abra fell flat on the ground, but he could suddenly a light breeze of air blowing at his legs. "I say…" he exclaimed "Why is there air blowing through here.

Everyone walked over and observes it was a small crack in the ground, and it was obviously coming from the underground tunnel-systems under the city where all the water came in. That's when everyone happened on the same idea. If they couldn't escape by going up and out, maybe they could go under the ground, and that way Discord wouldn't see them either and they could teleport to Brain's place a lot easier.

"But the ground… it's too solid!" cried Starla "How can we dig through it."

Dyno and Myte saw this as their chance to take over. After all, they weren't the best mining engineers for nothing, and there wasn't any kind of terrain yet that they couldn't dig up, even with their bare hoofs combined with a fraction of their explosive powers. "Hurry, boys!" cried Grand Ruler "There isn't much time."

The barrier was almost ready to give, and bits of the rubble above were starting to fall in, but the twins managed to drill a hole big enough for everyone get through, but one at a time. Everyone quickly slipped through as the barrier got even weaker, and the pile of rubble above began to rumble and quiver. Celestia and Grand Ruler were the last ones to slip in as the barrier completely vanished and the hollow caved in, but the tunnels were still strong enough to hold the weight up.

Now that they were free, Celestia and Grand Ruler used their magic to teleport everyone to an area just below where Greenland once stood. Brain's house and laboratory, and everything he had above ground had been demolished, but his secret underground lab was still intact.

No one had ever been to his secret lab before, not even Grand Ruler, but upon entering, everyone was just stunned by what they saw. A giant ship just as Brain promised with armor plating, thrusters, and the inside would have more than enough room for everyone.

"Well, everyone… eh… what do you think?" Brain asked.

No one said a thing, but the hastily boarded, and through Brain's instructions they began to activate the ship's power. "Stand by for takeoff." Brain said "Opening secret roof hatch!"

Brain had even managed to construct a large hanger bay opening over the ship if ever there came a day when he would fly it. The ground moved away, and the ship began to rise up on a platform, then it was tilted up on a ramp lift until it was pointing straight up.

Suddenly, Lightning noticed, "Uh… I think we have a problem." He pointed out the window and everyone could see Discord heading straight for them. "Well, well… what have we here?" he asked teasingly as he gazed at the ship, and he was rather impressed that everyone had survived the collapse of the city. "And you have a new toy for me to play with too…? You shouldn't have."

He was hovered up where he was and drew in a huge breath, ready to blats the ship to ashes. "He's going to fire on us!"

"Not quite…!" Brain said, and he flipped a switch which raised a large shielding plate over the front of the ship which blocked Discord's fiery breath. "Mm… this is getting interesting." Discord sniggered. "Let's see what other fires we can start."

"Thrusters ready to fire!" said Cookie Dough.

"Launch!" demanded Brain, and the ship took off and zoomed right past Discord as he slammed his huge claws down and missed. He hit the ground with such force that the whole kingdom began to shake and quiver violently and it didn't stop but just kept getting worse. Any second now, it would all burst into flames!

"Take us out!" shouted Grand Ruler.

"Yes, Sire!" said Brain, but as they headed up, and up, and up into the stormy skies, they stopped moving up and felt themselves slowly being pulled back towards the surface. "What's happening?" cried Celestia.

Everyone looked round, and saw Discord was holding onto them and dragging them back down with him. "Leaving so soon? How rude!" he hissed. "The party's just getting warmed up."

Brian tried all he could, but the thrusters weren't strong enough to break Discord's grip. Also, of all the things he built in the ship for defense, he had forgotten to put in any weapons. "Well…" he groaned "…Now who's a fool?"

Lightning had an idea and he headed straight for the back of the ship where the hatch was. "Open it!" he shouted. "Lightning…? What are you doing…?" shouted Grand Ruler "Saving us, that's what!" replied Lightning and as soon as the hatch was open, Lightning got a good view of Discords huge, ugly face and fire the rainbow force and uniforce at the same time, straight at him.

The forces were actually helping the ship gain a little extra thrust, but Discord was still too strong and he hardly felt the blast at all. He laughed at Lightning's feeble attempts

Discord merely laughed and began to tighten his grip on the ship and began to squash the hull in like a tine can. "We can't hold out much longer!" cried Brain. That's when Grand Ruler leapt out of his seat and joined Lightning, blasting Discord with the uniforce himself. His force combined with Lightning added more power, but still just not quite enough. "We're almost out!" cried Brain "We just need a little more…" but Grand Ruler and Lightning were already giving it all they had. They could give no more.

Most of the others couldn't leave their posts, and their attacks wouldn't give them the thrust they needed. Discord's continued to laugh. "I can't remember the last time I had so much fun." He mocked. He continued to laugh so much that Celestia was growing very annoyed, and worried about everyone. She stood from her passenger seat with a serious look on her face… and then she began to glow with that same mystical light.

Everyone gazed at her in surprise.

"That glowing…!" cried Starla "…Is that the uniforce?"

This confused everyone, "But how…?"

"She doesn't have a golden horn!"

Even Lightning and Grand Ruler were amazed, but they continued to fire as Celestia joined them by their sides. "What?" growled Discord "Celestia…? No…! This can't be…!"

"Discord…!" snarled Celestia "After all these ages… this… is… goodbye…! …UNIFORCE!" Her power, combined with the others, not only gave them enough thrust to break free, but shot Discord right in the eyes.

The evil demon dragon roared and screeched in pain. "Quick…! Close the hatch!" cried Lightning. The hatch closed and the ship began to fly up, up, up… while Discord, blinded and completely stunned from being hit by such powerful forces all at once, not like before, began to crash back down into the exploding kingdom below. "We are almost there!" cried Brain.

The kingdom began flare and rupturing as they penetrated the dimensional barrier and into Dimensional Space. Then, as Discord crashed into the ground, did the biggest and deadliest scene of explosions and flares completely engulf the kingdom, reducing it to nothing less than a baron, burning wasteland or nothingness.

Everyone in the ship could feel the force of the explosion rock them about softly, but they made it out alive and were on their way. Everyone gazed out the back at, the now, ruined dimension. "My beautiful kingdom…!" Grand Ruler peeped softly, and he lowered his head in heartache and pain.

Everyone felt really bad, but at least Discord had been destroyed as well!

…

Night Mare had been bashing Luna and friends against each other for a while now, and they were all looking very badly beat up, but all she did was laugh at them and slam them down hard on the ground. "I think enough is enough." she said.

The gang was all bruised and their armors were all dented and busted up. Worse than that, they still hadn't landed a single hit on Night Mare at all. "Now… the question is who I shall destroy first?" she wondered aloud.

She was so busy that she didn't notice what was happening in her fortress.

Twilight and friends were ready to spring their plan. Some of the others were just playing it cool and continuing to slave, while Twilight and the rest were hiding behind a doorway. The only two guards in the chamber heard someone screaming for help and dashed to the doorway to see what was wrong, but as the crossed through, "Now..!" shouted Twilight as she and her friends pulled on their chains and raised them like tripping wires. The guards fell over and down the flight of stairs ahead of them and crashed at the bottom out cold.

"YE-HA…!" cried Applejack "Like beatin' a dead horse. Not latterly."

Now that the guards weren't watching anymore, they leave through the front door and head straight down to help the others, but they were still chained to iron balls which were extremely heavy. Only the elements of harmony would be able to break them, but Night Mare still had them on her.

"There's no way we can get down there like this." cried Pinkie Pie "It's no good! We're done for! DONE FOR…!" Rarity and Rainbow Dash tacked her to the ground to keep her from shouting too loud. "Keep it down, Pinkie!" snapped Rainbow.

Applejack already had an idea. "If we can't get to the elements, I'll get them to us."

Before anyone asked how she intended to do that, she grabbed a long and loose chain that was on the floor in her teeth and began to whirl it like a lasso. She didn't have her magic, but she still had her skills and regular talent.

Night Mare decided to wipe out all four of the fallen warriors at once, but right as she was about to do so. She felt something yanking the treasure-chest of from her back. "What?" she exclaimed as she saw the chest being pulled into the fortress by a chain. "No…!" she cried as a bright flash of light shone through the windows, and Twilight and her friends all dashed outside, out of their chains, with their wings and horns back, and each wearing one of the elements of harmony. "What's the matter Night Mare…?" mocked Twilight "Are we breaking the rules?"

Night Mare growled angrily. "You wretched little mules…!"

Rhymey, though weak and sore, looked up and saw Fluttershy. She gazed back at him and smiled. Then she gazed back angrily at Night Mare who was glaring at them all angrily.

Things were about to get far more intense.

…

It was taking time to get to Nightmarica, even at full speed, but at least the others would arrive soon…!

Poor Celestia was pooped out from using her powers in such a force before. She was resting now on a bench for multiple passengers to sit while she recovered her energy, but everyone was amazed and astounded by what she had done. "I never thought it was possible before…" said Grand Ruler, "But I witnessed it with my own eyes- a unicorn without a golden horn somehow managed to tap into the uniforce!"

"I… I did…?" groaned Celestia, "But how…?"

Grand Ruler hushed her and told her to relax. She would need her strength for the upcoming trials ahead, which he, himself, was really looking forward too. "Night Mare…! Beware…!" he said in his thoughts.

As the ship continued to fly across Dimensional Space, those same large red eyes were gazing at them, and the evil voice behind them sniggering softly.

…

Night Mare was still glaring at the Equestrians, but her anger slowly turned into evil laughter. "What is she laughing about now?" snapped Spike "She's driving me crazy!"

"I guess I should commend you for being able to outsmart my newest spells." said Night Mare "But you haven't won anything yet. You think that just because you have your precious elements back, that you can stand up to me?"

"And what makes you so sure that we can't?" asked Twilight.

That's when Titan's minions, who had long since returned, soared over the gang, and landed near Night Mare. All of them were sniggering, "Just watch…" said Dementia.

"Then you'll see…" added Rep-Stallion.

"Prepare to meet your doom!" hissed Mysterious.

Night Mare began to laugh loud and as powerful shadows enveloped her and the minions, and the shadows began to merge together into one, large, and powerful demon… part Night Mare, and bits and parts of the minions, though it still seemed to be mostly nightmare. She now called herself, Nightmaricus!

Fluttershy felt her old fear rising again, and she was too scared to even hide.

"Take a good look at me now." the evil demon bellowed "I have become one with my new friends, and added their power to mine. Even your elements of harmony will avail you not!"

Twilight and friends, though scared, decided to stick it up and fight.

Luna and her friends, though still a little sore, were finding their second winds. "We'll help you!" Luna promised.

"Our honor is true!" rhymed Rhymey.

Twilight nodded and then shouted, "In the name of the princess, Celestia… FOR EQUESTRIA…!"

And everyone leapt up high and charged into battle, but Nightmaricus was a lot stronger than she looked. She stomped her huge hoof which shook the grounds and made everyone fall over. The Unicornicopians, Luna, and the pegasi took to the air to avoid this. Everyone fired their best attacks at the demon form many angles, and it seemed to have some effect as Nightmaricus roared and growled in pain, but she didn't seem to get any weaker, but rather angry.

"Insignificance…!" she growled and she spun round and around on one hoof, swinging her massive tail and batting everyone off in different directions. "Wow!" cried Rainbow Dash, "I never thought she could get this strong!"

"It could always be worse…!" said Artie, and that's when Nightmaricus opened her mouth and let out a super energy beam which the gang was barely able to dodge. The force of the impact was so strong that it blew a small crater in the ground where it hit!

"EEK…!" cried Fluttershy "OhmyOhmyOhmyOhmy…!" she kept on squeaking while trembling fearfully

"Stay focussed!" said Luna as everyone huddled by her side "Everyone, attack her all at once!"

"Right…! Maybe that will blow her out!" added Buddy Rose.

Everyone summoned up all the magic they could spare, and combined it into one colossal force of magic and fire it straight at Nightmaricus, which damaged her good but not good enough. "Look out! She's coming!" cried Pinkie!

Nightmaricus stomped over to the group and growled at them fiercely and chuckled, "Face it! Friendship failed, and so did harmony."

"No…!" cried Twilight "She's just too strong…!"

"Oh, boy… this is it!" cried Spike and then he gazed at Rarity. "Before I die… I want… I want to tell you that I think you're… you're..."

Poor Rarity was too frightened to pay attention anyway, but just as Spike was about to say the magic words he had longed to say, Nightmaricus was blasted at from behind. Everyone looked and Twilight's eyes lit up, "Princess Celestia…!"

Her teacher smiled at her and her subjects. "I have returned, and I have brought some help with me." That's when the rest of the Unicornicopians flew up alongside her…

"Lightning Dawn…!"

"Starla Shine…!

"Dyno & Myte…!"

"Brain…!"

"Cookie Dough…!"

"Abra Kadabra…!"

Also with them was "Grand Ruler…!" cried Buddy Rose.

The Equestrians were nearly speechless at the sight of him. "Well I'll be gal-darned!" cried Applejack.

"There really is a tri-horned alicorn!" added Rarity.

Grand Ruler gazed furiously at Nightmaricus. "YOU…!" he roared. Nightmaricus could hardly believe her eyes "Celesto…! It can't be…! I thought I had destroyed you when I banished you from his place…"

"You… will soon wish you had!" roared Grand Ruler.

Nightmaricus growled and fired another energy wave straight for him. "Sire…!" cried Artie, but Grand Ruler just hovered there and countered the blast with the uniforce, stronger than ever. "What?" snarled Nightmaricus. Grand Ruler just stood there and narrowed his eyes. "This cannot be!" cried Nightmaricus "Friendship and harmony are useless against my power."

"You fail to see, Nightmaricus." said Grand Ruler "It isn't just friendship and harmony alone that you're facing, but a force far greater than anything you could ever comprehend." He held out the four rainbow stones and shouted "THE MAGIC OF BELIEVING…!" The stone glowed brightly and flew in circles in the air and shed their light on everyone, making the heroes stronger, and Nightmaricus just shielded her eyes. "Stop…! Stop…!" she groaned "I can't stand the light!"

"Everyone, listen…!" Grand Ruler called out "Just look deep within you. Believe in faith, and believe in each other, and together we will vanquish this demonic incarnation forever!"

Twilight and her friends did as they were told, and concentrated. They never felt anything like this, the power of the friendship and harmony seemed to be going crazy! At the same time, everyone else charged up for a good attack, even Brain, and Abra had a bit of magic to spare.

"NO! I… WILL… NOT… BE DESTROYED…!" shouted Nightmaricus.

"NOW…!" shouted Grand Ruler as everyone blasted her with everything they had. Small explosions and bolts of lightning and swarms of magic collided into her in every possible direction. She screeched and shouted and groaned the loudest ever. "THOU SHALT NOT RETURN AGAIN…!" Luna called out to her evil side as Nightmaricus rose up into the skies, flaring and sparking… then she exploded in a huge ball of fire and lightning which shook the kingdom most violently.

"Look…!" cried Lightning. everyone gazed up at the sky and could see images of Night Mare, Mysterious, Rep-Stallion, and Dementia… all wailing as they all twilled round and round, faster and faster and then they were gone. All gone!

Everyone leapt for joy and cheered over their win, but the kingdom still shook violently, and the red stormy skies grew black with darkness.

"Oh, no…! What now…?" cried Twilight.

Nobody knew what was coming, until those two large red eyes appeared in the darkened area of the skies followed by a sinister laugh!

To Be Continued…!

Author's Erie taunt:

Nightmare… Discord… …are dead!

Steal their power!

Feel their power!

*BRIGHT FLASHES*

…

Hehehe… couldn't resist. I got the idea form Gauntlet Dark Legacy.

Final Part: The True magic

With Night Mare gone, all the Equestrians were free from their chains, but all were just gazing up at those large eyes in the sky. Some of the little ones were hiding behind their elders.

"Who are you?" asked Celestia.

The voice behind the eyes explained, "I am the one who has been observing you all for some time now- Watching you all as you took on those evil creatures that came your way, and bolding revealing every last bit of your magical skills and powers. Now I have all that I require."

Lightning gasped "That voice…! I didn't want to believe it…" he said. His eyes narrowed, and he poised his hoof up high, "…Titan!"

Everyone who knew that gasped…

"Titan?" cried Starla

"It can't be!" cried Celestia "You said you defeated him."

Titan laughed in the darkness and explained what had happened…

…

When Lightning and Grand Ruler nearly destroyed him in Unicornicopia, Titan was prepared for this and reached into his back and pulled out a small blob from within his body, a special one filled with enough strength and energy that would one day allow Titan to be reborn.

The blob was cast out into Dimensional Space, and for all that time, Titan spent gathering strength and power, while at the same time, observing the Unicornicopians so that he could effectively destroy them by learned their every magic technique, and learn how to overpower it…

Even if it meant using Night Mare, Discord, or even his own minions as disposable tools to gain the information he required.

…

Twilight and friends had never heard of anything more despicable in it their lives… the fact that he would just use creatures, preferably ones that served him and then just toss them aside. "That is… by far… the most ungrateful, wretched thing ever!" snapped Rarity.

"I never knew someone that could exist could be so heartless!" said Rainbow Dash "So… evil!"

Titan laughed and said. "Well… sad to say it is. Now that Unicornicopia is gone, and even Equestria, itself, is in ruin, there only remains one final thing to do." He cast his gaze upon The Grand Ruler "Have you any idea who you really are by this time…?"

Grand Ruler looked confused "What…?"

Titan sniggered and revealed to everyone the secret… a story that had been only known from his former home world, the Dimension of Evil.

Golden horned unicorns were rare species, and would have access to certain powers and magic that others could never hope to use themselves, but once every hundred-thousand years, an alicorn with three horns is born. This creature would, one day, grow to possess extraordinary powers, and master magic beyond the comprehension of many.

Celestia herself, also possessed such power, not because she was born special, but for her interactions with the legendary tri-horned. Being with him for such a time began to unlock the magic deep within her as well, which was why she was able to tap into the uniforce despite not having a golden horn!

Whatever power Grand Ruler possessed, Celestia was going to be entitled to share. She and he would be the most mystical creatures in the known Dimensional Universe.

Titan was not about to let such a thing happen, when he felt it was he, himself, who deserved all the power and the title more. That was why he led such an onslaught of monsters against Grand Ruler's kingdom. Though Grand Ruler was strong, his true power had not fully been awakened. He wished to destroy Grand Ruler before that happened, and then he would have it all. Not a single soul would exist that could stop him.

"And now… here we stand." That's when Titan fully appeared, he looked almost the same as he always looked, but he was gigantic. His hands alone were as large as the whole group standing together. He laughed maliciously.

Everyone was just speechless, especially Grand Ruler. All this time he had wondered what reason it was for him to have three horns, and now he knew, and he knew what his destiny was. "Titan…!" he growled "I swear… even if my true power hasn't been discovered… so help me… I'll destroy you!"

"So shall I." added Celestia

Everyone else stood tall and proud, but suddenly they realized that the elements of harmony, and the rainbow stones were gone. "Where did they go?" asked Artie.

"Look…!" cried Pinkie Pie. Everyone gazed up and saw Titan had them in his giant hand. "Oh…! Are these yours…?" he asked mockingly as he did the unthinkable… and actually crushed the treasures into dust. Their magical energies flared out in soft explosions and were gone.

Celestia and Grand Ruler gasped in shock and everyone else felt beyond what words could explain. No one ever thought it possible actually destroy the elements of harmony or the rainbow stones just like that. "I can't believe he has that much power!" cried Luna.

"A little sample of what's in store for ALL OF YOU…!" Titan shouted as he grabbed Grand Ruler and Celestia in his hands. "No…!" cried Lightning and Twilight.

"Put us down…!" demanded Grand Ruler.

"Put us down this instant…!" growled Celestia.

Titan's eyes shimmered once. "As you wish!" and the inside of his hood began to glow mysteriously like a swirling vortex and he hastily threw them inside and they were gone.

Twilight and Lightning were devastated along with everyone else. "He… he… did it!" cried Twilight as tears began to form in her eyes.

"No! They… they can't be…!" cried Lightning.

Titan explained that they weren't dead, yet. "They have merely been infused inside of my very magical essence."

"They're inside of you…?" asked Applejack.

"YES…!" bellowed Titan "And every second they remain inside of me, their energies and magic are being infused into me. Soon they will be no more, and finally… I shall have complete power and strength to rule the entire Dimensional Universe!"

Everyone's anger began to peak. "GET HIM…!" Lightning shouted, and everyone fire their best attacks, but it was no good. They had used up a lot of their powers fighting Night Mare, and even so, their biggest attacks were only the size of insects compared to Titan's enormous size. He felt nothing but slight amusement. He chuckled and then raised his huge hand. "Everyone, watch out…!" cried Lightning and everyone dashed out of the way as Titan actually managed to use the, "UNIFORCE…!" drained from Celestia and Grand Ruler inside of him. Such a large and powerful energy blast flew straight through the ground of the kingdom and right out through the other end, which badly disrupted the force points that held the kingdom together.

Despite having missed any of his victims Titan didn't care. "You're fate is now sealed. I've disrupted the force point, and in just a few moments there will be bust of energy erupting from the ground so massive it will reduce the remains of this pitiful dimension to a dust cloud, taking all of you miserable creatures with it! I, on the other hand, won't be affected, with the power of your two leaders inside of me; my massive strength will protect me with everything there is."

All hope now seemed completely lost for everyone, but Lightning. "No…!" he growled "I won't let this happen!" and he began to charge straight for Titan. "Lightning…!" screamed Starla

"He's crazy!" cried Dyno.

"Come back…!" called Fluttershy

"He'll be beaten…!

Or worse, eaten!" cried Rhymey

Despite calls and protests from the others, Lightning refused to head back, and continued to charge, much to Titan's annoyance. "Pitiful fool…!" he fired a ray of energy from his eyes nearly hitting Lightning and creating such and explosion that it threw him back, but he just got back up and tried again. Titan blasted at him again, and again. "What's he doing…?" asked Twilight "How can he just keep getting up like that?"

All anyone could figure was that Lightning was determined to get at Titan, despite all the odds being horribly stacked against them; he wasn't willing to give up! He wasn't going to let his master, The Grand Ruler, or Princess Celestia be threatened by any oversized demon sorcerer.

"I'll… get them… out… SOMEHOW…!"

Titan had had quite enough of this foolishness, and prepared to blast Lightning to bits, but as soon as he fired, two large portals appeared right over Lightning, one absorbed the blast, and the other transferred it right back at Titan as if it had made a U-turn. "A'RGH…!" Titan roared after being hit by this own power.

"Huh…?" wondered Lightning and then he said, "Krysta…!" and the other fairies were with her. "Did you miss me?" Krysta teased.

The other fairies began to evacuate all the other creatures of Equestria to the Safe Dimension, and while Titan was still stunned from his own blast. Krysta ushered everyone huddled in close to her. She knew Grand Ruler and Celestia were inside, "So you'll all have to get them out." she said, she wouldn't listen to what anyone else had to say, and told them all to get inside Titan's hood using the same technique she had just used.

She formed one portal near everyone, and the second directly near Titan's head. "Go, now!" she shouted, and she and everyone else jumped through. They popped out through the other portal and could feel themselves being pulled in by strong winds that were Titan's breathing, and all fell into the blackness of his hood and into that vortex.

Titan could only roar in extreme outrage.

…

Inside of Titan was nothing anyone expected. It was like being a dark realm, with dark swirling colors and lights. Spike felt himself getting queasy, and his cheeks turned green. "Oh…! I think I'm going to hurl…!" he groaned.

Twilight lifted him onto her back. "This place is just… it's just…"

"Interesting…!" exclaimed Brain "Most, most, most interesting! I wouldn't have believed it possible!"

"Yeah, yeah… it's breath-takin'." Said Applejack "But what in tarnation are we supposed to do now?"

"We must find Celestia and Celesto." said Luna "We cannot allow Titan to absorb their energies any longer."

The only trouble was where to start looking. All ways round they couldn't tell which way was up, or down, or anywhere round, and the swirling dark colors and lights made it harder to tell. "Oh boy…!" groaned Spike as he felt his stomach gurgling, and in his dizziness, he thought he could see something up ahead. "Is that…?" He shook himself awake and looked up ahead. "Look over there!"

Everyone could see Grand Ruler and Celestia being held by slimy magical tentacle-like thinks by all four of their limbs, and their horns. They just remained like that with their eyes closed. They looked pretty weak and a little dehydrated as well.

"Princess!" cried Twilight as she ran to her mentor's side "Princess Celestia! It's me, Twilight. Wake up, please!"

Lightning walked over to Grand Ruler "Master…? Master, please...! Don't let Titan do this to you."

The two royal alicorns didn't even move as if they couldn't hear a thing, and Titan's voice could be heard as his huge eyes actually appeared in the darkness above them. "Go ahead. Waste your tears over those, soon to be no more, fools."

Twilight roared angrily and fired a magical beam at the eyes, but her blast only went through them. "It's just an illusion…" said Abra "He's trying to torment us with lies and deceit! Don't listen to him."

It was so hard for the others not to, with the royal alicorns getting weaker, and Titan getting stronger; his constant taunting seemed to have quite an effect. "Your precious rulers have given up on all of you. The friendship, harmony, and believing have failed them just as they have failed all of you. They know the end is coming. They've abandoned you… to me!"

A lot of the others, felt hurt. Twilight even had tears in her eyes for actually letting Titan get to her. His evil laugh made her sag down on her bottom. "No…!" she cried "The princess would never do this."

"You monster…!" roared Luna "Cease filling our heads with these lies!"

"We've got to keep trying!" said Lightning. Everyone tried as hard as they could to break the tentacles holding their leaders, but they were so incredibly strong and didn't budge an inch. Rarity really wished they had the elements of harmony now, and the twins wished they had the rainbow stones.

"Forget them…!" snapped Lightning. This made everyone gasp in shock, but Lightning gazed up at his mentor. "Sire… listen, I'm not giving up. I know you can hear me!" His master still didn't move or open his eyes, and neither did Celestia. "Twilight, help…! Just talk to the princess."

Twilight didn't understand at first, but figured it worth a try. "Princess Celestia… I'm here. We're all here."

The two students did their best to wake their mentors- telling them that they were both strong creatures who taught them both well, and one thing Twilight and Lightning learned was never to give up. Everyone on the entire Dimensional Universe was now depending on them and all their subjects. "Believe in us!" cried Twilight.

"Believe in them…!" said Lightning.

A small groan escape form Grand Ruler's throat, and he opened his eyes, "I… do believe!" he said.

"Me… too…!" cried Celestia as she awoke.

Grand Ruler's three horns began to glow and shimmer brighter than ever.

"What's this?" Titan's voice growled "It cannot be!"

Grand Ruler was beginning to unlock his secret hidden powers from deep within, thanks to everyone believing in him and Celestia. "Everyone, continue to believe!" he told them "We will get through this together!"

Everyone closed their eyes, and concentrated hard, which made Grand Ruler glow brighter than ever, and Celestia began to glow too. "Celestia!" her fiancé "Will you help me? Will you lend me your strength and purity to help us vanquish this terrible evil?"

Celestia wasted no time in answering. "Yes! Celesto, I will help you!" Her body began to glow brighter, and everyone else felt themselves being teleported.

…

Titan felt really strange inside. "This can't be happening!" he growled as the heroes emerged through his hood in beams of light. "We're out…!" cried Krysta.

Starla looked up in the sky and gasped, "Look…!" Everyone gazed up and saw Grand Ruler and Celestia, still glow, and spinning round and around and merging together as one.

What everyone saw next left them beyond words- A giant humanoid creature with pointed ears with long golden hair and four golden horns on its head. It had gold and silver armor, wings. It wore a skirt with the colors of Celestia's mane and tail, and a cape as red as Grand Ruler's.

The rainbow rod left Lightning and dashed up to the creature, transforming into a long and powerful scepter.

Everyone was so fascinated by this creature. Part Princess Celestia, and part Grand Ruler. They had become a creature known as, "GRAND CELESTIAL RULER…!" it shouted in its fused, god-like voice.

Titan glared furiously at the creature as The Ruler said to him. "Titan…! In the name of every creature you have harmed… of every dimension you have infected and destroyed… Your time to answer is now!"

Titan growled with his fists clenched. "You forget…!" he sneered, "I still hold enough of your powers… AND I CAN STILL FIGHT YOU…!" His shout echoed as he leapt up into the air, ready to fight.

He missed his first strike and The Ruler blasted him hard, but then Titan managed to flip around and blast right back. The two forces seemed equal in every possible way and continued to fight to what seemed like an endless brawl, and it looked like anyone's win.

The decaying kingdom was already beginning to break up and fall to pieces just as Titan had promised. Krysta suggested that everyone go with her to the Safe Dimension. "No…!" snapped Lightning "We can't just go…! We've got to try and help somehow."

"But how…?" asked Fluttershy "The elements of harmony are gone."

"So are the rainbow stones." added Buddy Rose "We don't stand a chance without them."

Lightning felt himself about to really lose his temper. "What's with all of you?" he shouted. Everyone gazed at him like he was a big bully gazing down at a helpless foal. "You're all missing the whole point of how we got this far… we don't need any treasures or weapons to fight. We've had the magic inside us all the time."

Everyone began to feel that Lightning was right. Luna stood tall and proud… She was powerful enough, and she never even had an element of harmony.

Twilight remembered all the spells she learned to master on her own as well.

One by one, everyone was beginning to realize the truth. Even those who didn't have battle magic, like Brain and Abra, were starting to feel different. That's when everyone began to glow, and feel the magic running through them. "Wow…! This feels so… so…" Pinkie just couldn't find the words.

"I feel like I could circle the whole universe." cried Rainbow Dash.

"I feel the power…

Like I could crush a tower." said Rhymey.

Lightning smiled at everyone, and then they all turned to gaze at the two warring ones in the sky. Titan took a big swing at The Ruler, but missed, and allowed The Ruler to strike him hard with the scepter, forcing him back hard.

"It is time…!" said The Ruler as it held the scepter high, and it began to glow with the most mystical glow ever. The Ruler recited a magical chant…

"Cosmic powers, hear my call

Come forth now, and make evil fall

Nevermore will darkness reign,

Let peace and harmony replace the pain

Now let be finished what has begun

And through the darkness shall light now run

Let hope shimmer and burden so bright…

I summon forth the… MYSTIC LIGHT…!"

The scepter glowed brighter and brighter as the most powerful of magical light began to pulsate from it. The Ruler whirled the scepter round and around many times, poised it at Titan, and fired the biggest energy force straight at him.

"No…!" roared Titan as he stuck out his huge hands and held the force back with his own strength preventing it from going any further. It was totally unbelievable, all that power and Titan was still managing to stay strong, much to The Ruler's outrage and shock, but it kept on firing the beam, but it didn't move at all.

Titan also laughed hard and maliciously "Even you if you defeat me now… I returned once before… AND I SHALL CONTINUE TO LIVE ON… FOREVER…!" He was hinting that he would only perform the same trick he did last time, and was quite confident that he would survive.

"Think again, Titan…!" called a voice from down below.

"Huh?" Titan looked below and saw Lightning and Twilight standing on top of a rock pile. Both were glowing madly, and so were all their friends behind them, and in the sky… Krysta and all her fairies had conjured the biggest portal anyone though imaginable which showed all the other Equestrians, and Unicornicopians in the Safe Dimension… all were glowing, and showing their true powers by believing in themselves, their friends and loved ones… and especially, believing in the power to destroy Titan for good!

"Titan…! This is goodbye!" shouted Lightning.

"From all of us!" added Twilight.

"No…!" shouted Titan as the army of creatures launched their power into a second extremely powerful beam that crashed right into him. Titan could feel his inner magical body beginning to break up. "NO…! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING…!" he shouted as he felt the two forces shoving him out into Dimensional Space, straight for the Dimension of Darkness, and shouting his final words "CURSE YOU…! CURSE… YOU… ALL!"

He burst right through the dimensional barrier, and crashed into his world so hard with the mystical light, the entire dimension exploded into dust, and was completely wiped out from existence and with it, all the evil that ever came and possibly would come from it.

Everyone cheered in such joy and a seemingly never-ending cry of victory, but the dimension they were in began to quiver and shake. It was ready to blow. "Everyone, quick!" cried Krysta "Into the portal!"

"Whoa…!" cried Spike as he was nearly engulfed by a fiery burst. "You don't have to tell me twice." Then he and everyone else hastily jumped through the portal, but Lightning and Twilight stopped when they realized Grand Celestial Ruler was just remaining where it was, not even moving. "Hey…!" called Twilight "Come with us…!"

The Ruler did not move, and just gazed at her and Lightning. "Don't leave us…!" shouted Lightning. The Ruler still did not move.

"Hurry you two!" cried Krysta.

"Not without them!" cried Twilight, but she and Lightning were soon dragged into the portal by their friends. Krysta followed them, closing the portal behind her as the remains of the kingdom went up in a massive flame, and just like Unicornicopia, it was reduced to a burning baron wasteland.

…

In the Safe Dimension everyone could see the explosions with their own eyes, they were all just completely devastated, not just by the fact that the kingdom was destroyed, but there was no sign of The Grand Celestial Ruler.

Twilight and Lightning fell on their bottoms and their heads drooped downward.

"Princess… Celestia!" sobbed Twilight.

"Grand Ruler…! Why…?" growled Lightning.

Just then, there was a bright flash of light, followed by a voice saying, "There is no need to grieve."

Everyone gazed up and saw Grand Celestial Ruler appear in the skies alive and well as it did have the power to do pretty much anything.

Everyone cheered for joy again. Titan and his evil demons were gone, and hopefully soon forgotten. They would never threaten the Dimensional Universe again. However, both the Equestrians kingdom and Unicorns' had been virtually demolished and were now in ruin.

"We have no place to live now." cried Pinkie Pie.

A lot of the ponies felt very upset, and few began to cry, but The Ruler assured them that not all was lost. The cost of victory was high, but there was still hope.

"Do you know why I was able to emerge and defeat Titan?"

Nobody seemed to have the answer to that, except for Lightning. "Is it because of our believing? Our faith…?"

The Ruler nodded and explained it did not beat Titan alone. "We all did this together. Every single one of you helped out in a great way, and while the cost of victory was high, all is not completely lost."

What it was hinting was that although the two kingdoms had been destroyed, there was still hope to start over, "Just trust and believe, and together… we can all piece together what we have lost."

Everyone decided to try and, and all at once made a full circle around the entire dimension, joining hoofs, and claws together with The Ruler in the very center. It raised its scepter up high as everyone shunt their eyes and looked deep inside and focussed on everything.

All at once, everyone began to glow as their believing… their faith… everything pure that they could feel flowed from their bodies in small beams of soft light that slowly moved towards the tip of The Ruler's scepter, and two mystical beams shot out towards the dead kingdoms out in Dimensional Space and broke them up into tiny specks of light which began to hover all around the Safe Dimension.

It was like a twister of light and colors as the dimension began to expand and transform. All the towns and villages from both kingdoms began to reform, only better than before with combinations of the two lands.

All the lakes, plains, meadows, valleys, cites, and mountains… It was all coming back, together. All three dimensions and reformed and were restored as one, whole new world. When all was done, the last bit of magic had separated The Ruler back into Celestia and Grand Ruler.

The two rulers stood tall and proud as they faced their friends and subjects…

…It was time for a new beginning.

Author's note:

There's an Epilogue coming too

And Don't any of you get any rude ideas into your heads. I've seen fusions like that lots of times, even between male and female. It's happened before.

Epilouge: A New beginning

This new world was now known as United-Equestria…

It was a place for all creatures of many kinds, and where friendship, harmony, and believing reigned over all, and it was all shared under the rule of Celestia, Celesto, and Luna. They would all equally rule the kingdom together and were nicknamed The Royal Trio.

In this new world, everyone would learn to appreciate, understand, and help one another as more peaceful and mannered kingdom… but they would still rise up against evil were any new threats to occur.

Celesto didn't mind being called by his real name any longer, but he still held tight to his royal title. Both he and Celestia were very proud of their students, Twilight and Lightning, and knew that they would both grow well, strong, and wise.

As for the unicornicopians, this was a chance to start a new life, and learn to enjoy more things instead of worrying about battling evil all the time, while at the same time, the Equestrians would learn the way of the warrior for should any new threats ever occur, however, cuite-marks and identification numbers were still necessary to help tell each other apart from others…

Still, everyone now had new homes, new lives…

Buddy Rose lived with Applejack and her family on the farms. His gardening skills were very useful, and he was a big help during apple-buck season.

Artie was now busier than ever with his paintings and sculptures, but he loved to share his gift with others, and in turn, teach them how to create art themselves. Rarity was just entranced by his art, though sometimes she would offer a few… rather strange suggestions, and would sometimes lead them into a small squabble, but they always made up in the end, appreciating one another for having their own style and sense of art.

Fluttershy was now Dr. Penny's assistant, but she still operated from home, and still spent most of her time taking care of other animals.

Rhymey was a constant visitor and the two of them seemed to be warming up nicely to each other. Rhymey even wrote a few poems about her, and helped her out with her animal friends.

Cookie opened a new restaurant that became just as famous as his old one. Pinkie Pie was always very giddy and excited whenever she ate there.

Brain became a teacher at Pony College, but he still kept mostly to himself, always trying to invent new things that would come in use.

Abra Kadabra was still a magician and even one of Trixie's rivals now. Everyone seemed to prefer Abra to her because he was nicer, and more polite than big mouthed, bragging like rude Trixie was. This often resulted in them having magical contests to see who was better than whom, yet they both seemed to be equally as good as the other.

Dyno and Myte were still miners, but also became executive construction workers. They built many buildings, homes, schools, even playgrounds for the foals, and obstacle courses for training which Rainbow Dash couldn't seem to get enough of. "This is so much fun…!" she would always yell with joy as she played.

Starla ran a daycare center near the library where Inquerious now worked. It was fun playing with all the little foals and teaching them how to read, even though Inquerious still spoke constantly in questions.

Twilight and Lightning were now in a shared apprenticeship with their two mentors. Celestia was teaching Lightning more about friendship and harmony, and how to live life outside of the battlefield, while Celesto would teach Twilight, and often her friends about the ways of the warrior, and how not always to rely on magic to get simple things done.

While they were learning these things, Spike and Krysta would often amuse themselves by playing cards, chess, or checkers… Spike didn't seem to have knack for playing against a fairy though.

"Ha!" he would remark "I have three queens. What do you have?"

"Four kings." Krysta would simply say.

"Not again…!" Spike would groan. "She does this every time."

Krysta would giggle.

…

One night a Grand Galloping Gala was held, not only to celebrate the beginning of United-Equestria, but the marriage of Celestia and Celesto. After over a-thousand years, their dream had come true. It was one of the most magical things that everyone would cherish forever. Pinkie and Rarity couldn't stop blubbering though Rarity seemed to be blubbering more over the beautiful wedding outfits that she had designed.

Luna was very happy too to have Celesto as a brother, and he was happy to have her as a sister too. He never had siblings before, and it felt very wonderful.

At the ball, everyone feasted like they were all royalty, and they all dances, and sang, and had a most magical evening. Celestia and Celesto even shared their first dance as a married couple to the same song they sang years ago the first time they danced… "Wonderful you"

Soon everyone was dancing with someone…

Fluttershy danced with Rhymey wonderfully; more graceful than the first night Rhymey had come.

But outside on a Terrace, Starla was gazing out at the stars when Lightning came and extended his hoof to her. "Starla Shine… may have this dance?" he asked tenderly. She accepted, and the danced on the terrace under the moonlight and stars.

"Starla…?" he asked her near the end of the dance.

"Yeah…?"

They were gazing deeply into each other's eyes. "I… I've wanted to ask you… something special for a long time, but I… well… I just…"

Starla just closed her eyes and softly pursed her lips at him. Lightning hesitated at first, but finally moved in closer gently pressing his lips against hers.

A lot of the ponies could see them from the ballroom, even Celestia and Celesto. They all smiled. "Way to go, Lightning." Krysta said to herself. "I knew you could do it."

MY LITTLE UNICORN MAGIC IS BELIEVING

Starring the Voices of…

Greg Cipes as Lightning Dawn:

(Me, myself) as Grand Ruler-Celesto/Brain/Abra Kadabra

Matt Hill as Buddy Rose

Bob Stutt as Rhymey

Brian Donavan as Artie/ Dyno & Myte

Ashley Johnson as Starla Shine

Yuri Lowenthal as Cookie Dough

Andrea Libman as Krysta

Cathy Weseluck as Inquerious

Tony Daniels as Titan/ Mysterious

Kirsten Bishop as Dementia/ Dr. Penny Sillion

David Lodge as Rep Stallion

John De Lancie as Serpent-Tyrant

Additional Voices…

(Me again)

Jeff Hyslop

Michael Lloyd

Roger Bart

Debbie Lytton

Author's notes:

UGH! Finally...! Whew!

There might only MIGHT one day be a sequal to this... but at least I finally got what I wanted. I am... OUTTA HERE!

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