Chapter 10: Mystacor's Twilight

Catra's prophecy came true. The nearby crystal had been seen by a child, not much younger then Brian and Rainbow were when they had met. Rainbow's magic broke the shield, and She-Ra finished the job with a downward slash, cutting it evenly in two.

WIth the pieces in hand, they returned to Theymore, and Rainbow put her magic in action. Without the Nexus in the immediate vicinity, the brightening colors stuck. By the time she was done, she had returned Theymore to the a level of color and life comparable to what she was used to seeing on Earth. Rainbow, and to a lesser extent Brian, could tell the difference between Earth and Theymore, however. It wasn't fading as fast as it did when they had entered Etheria, but it was still fading.

There was a cheer from the villagers, who mobbed both Rainbow Brite and She-Ra. Neither one relished the attention, though She-Ra was more used to dealing with it.

It was on the way back to Whispering Wood that Brian spoke up. "We're making progress," Brian whispered to Rainbow.

"Not fast enough, and not over a wide enough area," she responded.

She-Ra turned to them, "But the act will bring them hope. I meant what I said, back in the square. Bow will be able to use this as a rallying point, to bring people back to our cause,"

Starlite cocked his head, looking at She-Ra. "Then what are we doing?"

"We need to go to Mystacor, and find Castaspella. She is another part of the magic that can reverse Shadow Weaver's spell.

Shadow Weaver was understandably upset with Catra's report.

"She-Ra has returned," she hissed.

"Has she," Hordak said, almost amused at Shadow Weaver's anger. "It had been suspiciously good fortune when she vanished when she did. We took good gains, and made good use of our time. Pity that it's over." He held up a hand, holding Shadow Weaver's retort. "I have a plan to deal with her. But it best we finish the siege of Brightmoon before that. All we need are the end of the supplies coming from Horde Prime."

Shadow Weaver stared at Hordak, her shadowed face hiding her indignation. Horde Prime had promised them reinforcements, and a special surprise, but it was due to HER plan. SHE was the one who had brought the Rebellion and Etheria to its knees. She felt the advantage slipping away even as she reached out to claim victory. She fumed silently, but didn't yet have the authority to countermand his orders. Not yet. She knew that Horde Command knew who was succeeding here, and in time, she would be recognized.

For now, she would wait.

"Very well, Hordak. I will prepare my own magics."

Rainbow walked beside Starlite, hand stroking the horse's back. They'd almost grown used to the fact that as they left the sanctuary of Whispering Wood, that the world grew darker.

That didn't mean they liked it.

"What can you tell us about Mystacor, Adora?"

"I can tell you it is a land of powerful magic, once led by a dark Sorceress. Her name was Mortella, an ally of the Horde. Her magic was fueled by a dark fire, which Bow and I extinguished. She fled, and Castaspella, our friend, took over rightful ruler-ship of the land."

She told them of some of the other adventures the Rebels had there, from being imprisoned in the sixth dimension, the Unicorn Island, to when Castaspella had 'accidentally' brought Adam through a dimensional rift to Etheria.

This prompted Rainbow to share one or two of her own stories. When she, and Spectra's Guardian Krys, met on the diamond planet to save it from capture and destruction by the evil princess.

"No name?" Adora asked.

"Not that we ever found out," said Rainbow. Brian was silent. He wished, as he always did, that he had been there to help in some way. He had decided there was something to help too late. He was making it up for it now.

"We should almost be a Mystacor's borders," hooted Kowl.

So they were, and it was clear there was something wrong. "Hold up!" whispered Brian, "Horde patrol!" He was right. The Horde were marching across their path, though they were not looking for the rebels. "It's almost as if..." Brian began,

"They were keeping something out?" Rainbow finished. "Us?"

They were still in the distance, so Brian volunteered to have a talk with them. Adora, of course, would be recognized on sight and Rainbow was rather obvious. Brian, however, could probably get away with the direct approach. And he had the Light Gun in case anything went wrong.

The soldiers noticed Brian as he approached, and they turned to face him. As he posed no obvious threat, however, the human seargent approached. "Halt. Where are you going, Boy?"

Brian had been thinking of a cover story, and hadn't actually come up with a good reason. "Just wandering. Mom said, Mystacor was a fascinating place."

The sergeant gave a hmph and waved him away. "It's dangerous, kid. There's dangerous monsters in there, and Hordak has declared quarantine. Nothing should be going in or out. And that's more dangerous than the rebel magician that illegally claims Mystacor as her kingdom.

Brian backed up. "Monsters, you say?"

"Yes," he said flatly. "Monsters. I don't know what happened in there, but I don't like it."

Brian was willing to take a guess, but he held his tongue. He nodded a fare well, backed up a bit further, before taking an out of the way route back to the others. He relayed the sergeant's message.

"Monsters?" asked Starlite.

"We'll have to see, I guess," Adora said. "We should be able to sneak by without a problem."

The troopers were, perhaps, more focused on keeping things in than keeping the heroes out. They gave it a good fifteen minutes of walking along the border, away from the patrol, before crossing in.

Rainbow felt the darkness grow around her, it was thick, almost palpable as they entered Mystacor. She shivered, and coughed, Brian looked over in nervousness. She squared her shoulders as they moved in.

That the few corrupted trees that dotted the shadows would be on the unfriendly side wasn't unexpected. Still didn't make anyone feel better. Both Starlite and Spirit kept looking backward, not just uncomfortable, but with a defintive feeling of paranoia.

After some time passed without incident, Brian frowned. He slung his pack off his shoulder, rummaging around in it. Pulling out a small device, he tried to hold it as level as possible, which was difficult on a walking horse. After a few moments, he stared at it. "Adora?" He said, flustered.

"Brian?"

"We're not going in a straight line. Or something else is messing with the compass."

"Magical ley lines, probably," she said, unconcerned.

"I'm sorry?" asked Brian.

"I'll admit, I don't understand it myself. But all the magical energy in Etheria runs through Mystacor, in some way."

"Great," Brian replied, he shook the compass some more, slipping it back into a pocket.

"You hear that?" Rainbow asked.

The all paused. Leaves rustled through distant, if unseen, trees.

"The wind?" Starlite asked.

Rainbow's vaguely ill faced blanched. "I don't feel any wind."

A loud cry went up behind them. Rainbow, Brian, and Starlite all froze as the cry pierced the very depths of their bodies. Even Spirit looked shaken. Adora's eyes widened in surprise, as she whispered, "Sorrowful?".

"What's sad?" Starlite asked.

"Not sad, Sorrowful," Adora said. "A dragon. He's a friend of the Alliance and of Mystacor..."

This was punctuated by a roar, coming from behind. Green emerald eyes glittered out of the darkness. The dragon's black scaled body came into view.

"No..." whispered Adora. "Sorrowful!" she exclaimed.

The dragon blinked, landing heavily on the ground. "Who dares stand before..." he snarled in a dark meanicing voice. "Adora? No.. Adora... you shouldn't be here. I... I can't control myself!"

Spirit took steps toward the dragon, Adora reached her hand out. "No... I..." Sorrowful roared again, but his jaws attempted to close on Adroa's arm. He kept it open just long enough for Adora to yank it back. He roared again, taking a deep breath.

"Scatter!" yelled Adora. Starlite darted to one side, and a gout of flame narrowly singed Brian's back.

"Rainbow!" called Brian. Rainbow had all ready tapped, and was surprised by the strength of the rainbow that came out. Previously, it had trouble in places of the strong corruption. But even the rainbow was unable to constrain the dragon the way it had constrained the darklings.

Sorrowful roared in anger, as powerful black wings broke through the attempt to contain him. Adora's eyes widened. "Run!" she yelled.

Starlite didn't have to be told twice. Brian fired shots backward, but even the light gun had no real effect. "I sure hope we're close to the castle," he whispered.