Chapter 11: The Dragon and the Sorceress.
"We've got to spread out!" cried Adora.
Rainbow activated the color belt once more, and Starlite's galloped carried him skyward. Sorrowful roared again in exasperation, spreading black leathery wings, chasing after the elevated horse.
Starlite had the advantage of maneuverability, once in the air. Long work with his companions kept him in tight circles while climbing. The dragon was forced to either use a wide sweeping arc to turn, or lose all momentum reversing field.
"How are we going to get out of this, Rainbow?" Starlite asked.
"I, I don't know yet!" Rainbow said, gripping on to his back tightly, even as Brian held onto her.
Brian glanced down, "I can't even see Adora any more. We better run for it!"
"Dragon or not, nothing's catching me now," returned Starlite. He charged down the rainbow path, forcing the dragon to beat its wings in an attempt to keep up. The chatter stopped when they hard the sharp intake of breath behind them.
A very deep breath.
Starlite's turn was very nearly in time. He sprang even as Rainbow set a new path for him. The flow of flame caught him in the hind quarters, scorching his legs and setting his tail alight. Starlite screamed in a way neither Rainbow nor Brian had ever heard. Only his forelegs were able to attempt purchase on the path and all three began to fall.
With the wounds from the Dragon's breath, the fall could have, would have killed the majestic horse. It was Rainbow's grace under fire, to bring her colorful path down to the level to cushion the crash that saved his life, and probably Brian's and her own neck. "Starlite," she whispered.
Only the sound of his breathing reached her ears. He was alive, but knocked out. Brian clambered to his feet, his eyes locked open. "Is he?"
"No. He's alive. Barely," Rainbow whispered. "We've got to get out of here before Sorrowful comes back. Using the color belt to create a kind of cot, like a combat medic would use, the pair lifted the horse, carrying him away from where they had fallen. They were far enough away that when Sorrowful returned for another pass, he did not see them.
"I'm surprised the color belt is so strong here, there's more darkness here then in the cave!" Brian commented, sweating from the exertion.
"Must be all the extra magic in the area," Rainbow said, coughing, unsure of how much further she could go. "Same reason your compass didn't work."
Adora looked up helplessly as her corrupted friend took to the air after her companions. What could she do, what could She-Ra do?
Not stand around. She lifted her sword, calling to the heavens, "For the honor of Greyskull!"
Seconds later, she and Swiftwind took to the air. But she had underestimated the speed of both Sorrowful and Starlite. She could neither hear nor see either of them.
"Castaspella. Casty can find them better than I can, Swiftwind." She remounted, and Swiftwind took to the air as well. Corruption or no corruption, she knew the way to Mystacor Castle. It was a ways, but they had made a great deal of the distance all ready
As they approached, the castle appeared slowly, emerging from the fog. The area immediately around the castle was lit, though not entirely free from the corruption. It was faded, like most of Etheria.
As She-Ra and Swiftwind cross the threshold, they could feel themselves pushing through some kind of shell, something sticky. Brian would have said it was like to push through Jell-O. Once the heroine realized its existence, crossing it was no problem. Swiftwind had more trouble, but was able to pass through with She-Ra's help. A few wisps of blackness came through with them before dispersing in the purer air around the castle.
Mystacor had never had a large population, with its relative isolation and poor farmlands. Mostly magi and other magic users made their home there in towers that were dotted across the land. So, as they entered, it was only a few guards and a few farmers that sought refuge that stared at their approach.
"Something has breached the shield!" came the shout, as Castaspella came racing into view. "Something has breached..." she stopped, shocked by the person she saw in front of her. "She-Ra?" she said. "Oh. Thank goodness!"
"Castaspella," she said, seriously, though with a touch of warmth of two friends that'd been apart too long. "I need your help. I've friends lost in Mystacor, and with the way it is now..."
"You'd never be able to find them," Casty nodded. "Of course I'll help. Who is it?" she asked.
"No one you've met, Casty," She-Ra replied. "Visitors from another world, a boy named Brian, and a girl named Rainbow Brite."
Casty frowned. "Describe them to me," she said. She-Ra did so. She frowned, briefly, then smiled. "Ah, yes! I know how we can find them. Wait here."
First aid for humans was tricky enough, trying to apply it to a horse was almost down right impossible. But there was no way Rainbow or Brian was going to leave Starlite, who'd not awoken. They'd managed to find dubious shelter at the side of a cliff, but the sun (what there was of it) was going down. Brian's flashlight provided dubious illumination at best.
Brian had taken a white T shirt from his backpack, and used it to provide pressure to where the dragon's breath had burned cleared through to muscle and bone. "It doesn't look good, Rainbow. He's alive, but he's got to be in serious pain."
"I'm not giving up, Brian, not on him. Not now, not ever," Rainbow whispered. He looked up, meeting her eyes. He could see unshed glistening tears in her eyes.
"Don't stop believing. Adora's out there. Maybe she'll find us. She can bring help," Brian said, trying to sound more hopefully then he felt.
They fell silent. The beating of wings had returned. The most ominous noise. The dragon was still searching for them. Brian clicked off his flashlight. If they were seen...
"I can smell you," came the growl from somewhere above and to the right, "I know you are here somewhere."
Brian and Rainbow shivered. The minutes ticked by. The beating of wings did not leave again. Then, at the same time, they looked up, then at each other. The words didn't need to be asked, they had heard that. The sound of a horse's hooves, thundering across the grasslands.
A triumphant roar. "Now, now I've found you! You will make a fine meal," Sorrowful flapped his wings, preparing for another deep blast to annihilate the trio.
She-Ra leaped from Swiftwind's back, charging forward and planted herself between the dragon and his prey. The flames spewed forth, washing against a steel-silver shield, a crystal sparkling in its center. Brian drew the light gun, returning fire. Light danced over the dragon's scales, but had no real effect.
"Casty! Now!" She-Ra cried.
Castaspella, still on Swift-Wind's back, finished her spell, gesturing at Sorrowful. Bands of light encircled his wings and limbs. He crashed unceremoniously to the ground. "Rainbow! While he's stunned!" Brian shouted, realizing the opportunity. He fired again, aiming directly for the dragon's head. Again, light danced.
Rainbow activated her belt, again wrapping Sorrowful up in her purifying color and light. This time, he could not react or break free. The rainbow enveloped him, and much like the darklings, he shrank in size. When the rainbow emerged the scales were a faded brown instead of jet black, the eyes reflecting yellow confusion instead of green malice.
Sorrowful rose, and in a much different voice said, "What? What happened?"
"You were corrupted," She-Ra said, simply. "What do you remember?"
"Shadow Weaver... Shadow Weaver blasting me with some sort of spell using a black crystal. Then, after that, just pieces. I remember seeing... and.. and.." Sorrowful stared past the group, to where Starlite lay on the grass. "Did, I? By the heavens... did I?"
She-Ra turned, seeing Starlite's condition for the first time. She spared only a glance at Rainbow. She had a flashback to a time when she just had learned she was Etheria's Guardian. A horde trooper's laser had struck Swiftwind directly. She had whispered what was like prayer, placing her hands directly on the pegasus, calling on the power of the ancients of Eternia's Castle Greyskull.
"Rainbow?" Starlite asked, still lying on the grass. She-Ra's hands ceased their glow, and she sat back on the ground. "She-Ra? What, what happened?"
"Starlite!" Rainbow cried out in happiness, running to embrace her friend. Brian stood back, letting Rainbow at him. Before expressing his own joy, he turned to She-Ra and Castaspella. "Thank you, you saved our lives."
"I know you would have done the same, Brian, I know you would have done the same," She-Ra said, her smile broad, her voice now relaxed.
"Let's return to Mystacor castle," Castaspella said. "It's still not safe out here."
