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)