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!