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!"