Chapter 6: Sword and Spirit

Starlite came to slow a stop as the rainbow landed just outside of the whispering wood. The flier Adora parked nearby, and there was a general rush to bury it with dirt, leaves, and other plant matter. A flier, naturally, was a handy thing to have around.

Bow was there as they approached. He raced for Adora, and there was a quick, excited, embrace. "By the powers, Adora! Welcome home!"

Adora returned the embrace. "Bow! I've missed all of you! You can't imagine what is was like being a prisoner of the Horde for six months. I was rotting away."

Bow took a critical look at her. She was definitely the worse for the wear. No doubt the Horde had not fed her well, at all. At least she didn't look atrophied, the Horde either gave her enough room to move or allowed her brief times out. Bow bet on the latter, and that it was some kind of torture.

"I'll help the twiggets rustle up some kind of food. I'll bet your starving."

Adora smiled. "I am, Bow, thanks."

Over dinner, the group discussed plans. All though Adora didn't want to hear it, the idea of going out that night to look for Spirit was vetoed.

"No, we've been through enough today," Madam Razz said, calmly. "Dearie, I want to find Spirit as much as you do, but he's been missing for three months! One more night shouldn't make a difference, except that we'll be looking in daylight."

"Can you at least try a scrying spell to locate him?"

"I need some kind of fresh component, Adora." Razz explained, "I have nothing that is keyed to him."

Adora felt sick, Rainbow sitting next to her, grabbed her hand. "We'll find your friend, Adora. Don't worry."

Adora smiled, "You are right. I just finished 3 months in a Horde jail, but I got rescued. This is no time to despair."

That night, when he finally had a moment to talk to Rainbow quietly, he had his own explanations to give. "I found the Crystal Castle, Rainbow," he told her. "It's where I got this gun," he continued, patting it. "But I was given a new task by the oracle, Light Hope. I had was to find the guardian of Earth..."

"That's me," Rainbow said, nodding.

"And the guardian of Etheria, and return to the Crystal Castle, where we would begin the counterattack on the evil magic that's covering this world."

"Who is this guardian?" Rainbow asked.

"I have no idea," Brian admitted.

"I suspect the Rebellion would know," she said. "We should ask them. Brian nodded. "In the morning, of course." Brian nodded again.

"All right, good night, Brian," the two went to their separate tents for sleeping.

Elsewhere in the camp, Adora had gathered her two friends that shared her own secret. "I suppose the question to ask, hoo, is what happened to your sword when you were captured? I hope the Horde didn't get it," Kowl hooted.

Razz raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"It's with Spirit, that's why we need to find him as soon as we can. First thing after breakfast," Adora said.

Razz nodded, "I think we can safely trace a line between here and the Fright Zone, and search along it for him."

Adora breathed deeply. She didn't know what frightened her more, that something had happened to Spirit, or that without the Sword of Protection, that she may have doomed all of Etheria to darkness.

"Now, what do we know of these newcomers?" Adora asked.

"Well," Kowl said, slowly. "We know that Light Hope was expecting them," He paused briefly as Adora recovered from her shock. "He gave Brian that gun you saw him carrying. We also know that Shadow Weaver believes Rainbow Brite to be a dire foe."

"All in all, people we should glad are on our side," Madam Razz said. "I'm not saying they need to be trusted with your secret, but people who I'm sure will give their all.

"All right, Madam," Adora nodded.

"Anything else?" Razz queried.

"No, I think that's it. Until morning, then."

-The Next Day-

Adora was up before anyone other than Starlite, who stood munching grass to one side of the clearing. He cocked his head at her, but said nothing.

She walked up to him, stroking his mane. "You look like him, you know. Like Spirit," Starlite nickered, then paused. He felt something, something in her that he couldn't place. Something trapped inside, wanting to be free. He shook his head, and nickered again.

"I couldn't sleep, there's just too much at stake," she trailed off. Absently stroking Starlite, and gazing into the distance.

It was another hour before the rest rose and shone, and plans were made to find Adora's friend, Spirit.

"I want to go with you," said Bow, "I feel responsible that I wasn't with you when you got captured."

"We all want to go with you," said Madam Razz, practicly, "but we all can't. We'd make too big a target for the Horde, the more of us in one place, the easier we are to spot. Really, I used up a lot of magic yesterday, I probably shouldn't go with you, as much as I want to. I need time to refresh my mind, and my components."

"And we can't take the flier," Kowl hooted. "That'd be too obvious."

"We can take horses," Adora said. "Bow and I on Arrow, and Rainbow and Brian can follow on Starlite."

Bow looked at Rainbow and Brian speculatively. Yes, they'd proven themselves by rescuing both him and Adora, not to mention each other. But, they were, teenagers at best. Still, there was no denying heart, when you got right down to it. "That's not a bad plan, Adora," he told her.

She grinned, "Glad you approve, Bow," she said, playfully punching his arm. "Is there anything we'll need before we go?"

"Lunch? Money, in case we need to stay away from the camp?" Brian suggested.

Money was in short supply in the rebellion, most of it went to paying the taxes of covert rebels, to help them survive long enough to do battle against the Horde, but food was obtained, and stored in packs.

The group set off, Kowl flying above the rest to scan for possibe hiding places for Spirit. The two horses were spread out as well, to cover the widest possible territory. Only idle conversation was to be had, though it was noted that the farther they got from Whispering Wood, and the closer they got to the Fright Zone, the more corrupted the world got, and just the darker it got over all.

"I need to fix this," Rainbow whispered, the gloom attacking her heart.

"I know you do, it's why you're - we're - here," whispered Brian. "But we're trying to keep a low profile. Attacking Shadow Weaver's darkness now will send out a beacon to her."

"I know, I know," Rainbow said morosely.

Starlite said nothing, Brian gripped her shoulders as they rode on.

"It's getting worse," Bow said. "If we let this corruption continue, there may be no bringing the light back."

Adora didn't answer. She knew three things: That she had to find Spirit, she had to find her sword, and that Bow was right. This was a task she hoped She-Ra would be up for. But, first things first. She had been given a power, and that power was meant to be used...

Kowl's announcement that the were was a village coming up brought her back to the present.

"Tell you what, we've been riding for a while. Let me go in and see if anyone's heard anything, and you all can start on lunch," Bow offered.

This advice was agreed to, and the group plopped under a copse of trees, checking to make sure they weren't going to be grabbed by them first.

Arrow whinnied. He began nibbling at the nearly black grass, then spat it back out, snorting.

Starlite gave Rainbow a nudge with the star on his forehead, and Rainbow relented. She searched her backpack for the green sprinkles, and decorated a small section of grass with it. Adora turned and stared, as the grass turned through a dying brown to a bright green.

"Wow," she whispered, as Arrow and Starlite began to eat. "Is that why Shadow Weaver was after them?"

The group began eating, and were polishing up their sandwiches when Bow returned, some 15 minutes later. He looked directly at Adora, and he was smiling, a rather large smile. Adora jumped up, "Did you find him?"

"Not quite, Adora, not quite. But I found out where he is, I think. There's a farmer not far from here, goes by the name of Donovan, who has a," Bow paused for dramatic effect, "new... white... horse. He didn't buy it in town, either."

"Then let's go!"

It took them another half an hour to locate Donovan's farm. He was tilling the fields, a pair of horses pulling a farm implement behind them. He turned as Adora shouted Spirit's name. Spirit also looked round, his eyes visibly tearing up at the sight of his friend.

Donovan patted the two horses, then walked over to the small party.

"Aye! What's all this then?" he inquired, gruffly, almost angrily about being interrupted.

"That's my horse!" Adora exclaimed, "I thought I lost him when the Horde attacked Last Chance."

He eyed her, grimly. "You're not from last chance, I know who ye are," He spoke, almost bitterly. "You're from the lost rebellion. Adora, and Bow, unless I completely miss my guess."

Adora blinked. Lost rebellion? "We're not lost, we haven't given up yet, neither should you."

Now it was Donovan's turn to blink at her forcefulness. "Look," head said, his voice softening, just a tad. "I want the Horde gone as much as anyone. But it's my neck, and my family's necks on the line. Your horse or not, I've fed him and sheltered him this past three months. I need him to pay my taxes. No. He stays here."