Disclaimer:Neopets, the species pet names, and pet colors, are owned by Viacom. The pets used in this story are either from a previous account of mine or totally made up

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I was soaring through the air on my faerie wings. I swooped and dived, loving every minute. I soared so high I saw Faerieland, then dived down again...

I was awakened by a knock on my bedroom door.

"What?" I said, still tired.

"Sunshine, it's time to get up," My owner, Xtra3847, said.

"Okay," I answered.

I heard him walk away, then I turned over and went back to sleep. Xtra woke me up a few minutes later by shaking me. I opened my eyes to look at him.

"Get up, Sunshine," he told me. "I'm not letting you sleep the day away."

I slid out of bed, and he walked off. My Mallard, Quacky, waddled up next to me. He looked about as tired as I felt.

As you probably heard, my name is Sunshine. My full name is Sunshine03250, but everyone simply calls me Sunshine. I'm a yellow Kacheek, and a very tired one at that.

"Just because our owner likes to get up early doesn't mean that we like to," I muttered to Quacky.

I walked outside the room and down the steps, where I saw my siblings. Their names are Chiizoneo, Furfront, and PoogleSix.

Chiizoneo was a blue Meerca, until he went face to face with the ray. Now he's a Strawberry Poogle, but how long he'll stay that way was anyone's guess.

Furfront is a Christmas Usul. A male Usul, I might add. He's not exactly happy about being one of the few male Usuls in Neopia, but he gets through as best he can.

PoogleSix is a yellow Poogle. She's one of only 2 females in this family, myself being the other one. She got named PoogleSix because she dreams of racing in the Poogle Races someday.

Anyways, we all made our way to the breakfast table, where some Omlette was waiting for us. As we ate, Xtra was making sure he knew what we were doing today.

"So, Choizo, you're getting battle practice in?" he asked.

Choizo nodded, and Xtra turned to Furfront.

"You're meeting some friends today?" he continued.

Furfront nodded, and he turned to me.

"You're exploring, right?" he asked me.

I nodded, and he turned to PSix.

"You're helping with the shop today," he finished.

PoogleSix groaned.

---

After breakfast, we all went outside. I sat on the front step and thought about my dream.

"It would probably be great to be faerie," I said to myself. "I would love to fly, and I would look so beautiful."

I walked back inside, where Xtra was washing dishes. I turned on my puppy dog eyes and said "Xtra, can I be painted faerie?"

"No. I can't afford the paint brush," he answered.

"Pleeeeeeease?" I said cutely.

"No," he repeated, turning around. "The paint brush is retired, and there's no way I'll be able to afford one. If you want to be painted a cheaper color, I'll consider it."

He finished the dishes and kissed me on the head.

"I have to get to the shop. Be good," he said, then left the house.

I left myself, and headed towards Neopian Central. As I passed by the Rainbow Pool, I stopped to watch an owner and her own yellow Kacheek.

"Ready?" the Kacheek's owner asked.

The Kacheek nodded, and the owner pulled out her Faerie Paint Brush and dipped it into the water.

Water rose from the pool, swirling around the Kacheek. After a few seconds, the water fell back in the pool, and the yellow Kacheek was now a faerie Kacheek.

As they embraced each other, I couldn't help but feel a little jealous of them.

Then, I felt like someone was calling me. The feeling told me to go in the woods outside of Neopian Central.

I followed it deeper and deeper into the woods, until it stopped me at a dark clearing. It was so dense, almost no sunlight filtered through the trees. I shivered, feeling a sudden chill.

Then I heard a voice. The voice was a woman's voice, but I never heard her voice before.

"You wish to be a faerie Kacheek. Am I correct?" the voice asked.

"Yes. Can you help me?" I asked.

"I can. But be aware, there is a price to pay," the voice said.

"I don't care. I'll pay any price," I answered.

"Very well," the voice answered. "Dig into the ground in front of you. You should find a Faerie Paint Brush there."

I dug into the ground, and found a Faerie Paint Brush, like she said.

"I'll collect my payment later," the voice said. "Do not tell anyone about me."

I walked out of the woods, the paint brush held tightly in my paw. As I passed by the Rainbow Pool, I had the idea of painting myself.

I stepped in the water, imagining the look on Xtra's face when I come home as a faerie. I dipped the paintbrush in the water, and water started to swirl around my body. I felt some slight pain as wings came out of my back and grew to full size, but the process was mostly painless.

As the water went back down into the pool, I took a look at my reflection. But then, I felt like I was suddenly paralyzed.

I tried to move my wings, but they didn't respond. Neither did my legs, my arms, or even my eyes.

"Very nice," the voice said, inside my head. "This body will do very nicely."

"What's happening?" I thought.

"I warned you that there was a payment," the voice answered. "And that payment is your free will. Now, we have some work to do."

She used my new faerie wings to fly up into the air.

"Who or what are you?" I asked her, from inside my head.

"My name is Malanda, and I'm the spirit of a Dark Faerie. The same Dark Faerie that's now a statue," she answered.

While she answered, I noticed which way we were going. Though she had me see only what she wanted me to see, I knew we were headed towards Mystery Island.

"Statue? Wait...you're that Dark Faerie statue near Marquaria, aren't you?" I asked.

"Yes. I was turned to stone after my takeover of Faerieland failed. Fyora was just getting promoted to queen, and I tried to take advantage of her inexperience. I had an army of followers to wage a war on Faerieland, but the attack failed. I was turned to stone, while the ones that went with me were stripped of their wings." Malanda answered.

"So...why me? Why not some other neopet?" I asked.

"First, I wanted the vessel to be female. Second, I wanted a peaceful species, like Kacheeks. Third, I wanted one that was painted a more common color, so they would be more likely to accept my offer," she answered.

As she finished, I noticed we were hovering over the ruins of Marquaria. Then she had us both dive down towards the water.

"What are you doing? I can't swim!" I yelled.

"We need the necklace that's around the neck of my stone body. But a spirit can't hold it. Only a physical body can touch it," Malanda said. "The necklace is filled with power that I'll need when I take over Neopia."

"I'm still here, though, I can try and rebel," I said

She had us stop above the water and hovered there for a moment.

"Being here, though, gives me access to your memories, your fears, everything about you," Malanda said. "For example, you don't really feel like you get a fair share. One of your brothers is painted and a second one battles. Your sister also has great potential for the Poogle races. But you don't have any special skills or anything that makes you stand out. You're worried that you may end up in the pound someday."

I would have cried if I could. Everything she said was true.

"Now that you don't feel quite as rebellious as before, lets get that necklace," she said.

She had us swim down in the water, and soon came into view of the statue. She made me look around, to make sure nobody was watching. Then she took the necklace from around the statue's neck.

As soon as we did, the statue started to break apart, and the physical body of a dark faerie emerged. Since it didn't have a spirit, however, it just sat there lifelessly.

"That was unexpected. But so much the better," Malanda said.

"Wait. You can't leave me here to drown," I told her.

"Watch me," she answered, as I felt her leave my body.

After entering her own body, she then snatched the necklace from my hand and left in a purple flash.

I was free again. The problem was, I was underwater. And like I told her, I can't swim.

I flailed my arms and legs, trying to get to the surface. I felt my body weakening, my eyes closing.

I didn't feel the paws that wrapped around my waist and pulled me to land. I didn't feel the air being blown into my mouth.

The next thing I did know, I was coughing and spit up ocean water. I turned on my stomach and coughed up more of the salty water.

When I could breathe normally again, I looked around and saw a green Acara sitting a couple of feet away.

"Thanks," I said. "I owe you my life."

"No problem," he said. "What I'm wondering is why a cute Faerie Kacheek like you is doing at the bottom of the ocean."

I blushed a little when he called me "cute". Then the rest of his words sank in.

"Faerie? I'm still a faerie?" I thought. I took a look and saw that I still had faerie wings. "At least something good came out of all this."

I told the Acara the whole story.

"So, what's your name?" I asked, after I finished.

"Koroko," he said. "But if you're going after that dark faerie alone, I'd have to advise against it. It's dangerous, and you don't know the extent of her powers."

I was about to protest, when Koroko added "Count me in."

After figuring out which way was the easiest to carry Koroko, we flew up towards Faerieland. I figured that Malanda would try and get some new followers, and Fyora needed to know about this.

But, a few meters from Faerieland, I ran right into...well...what looked like empty air.

"Did you hit the Hidden Tower?" Koroko asked.

"We're nowhere near the Hidden Tower," I answered.

I reached out, and my hand felt some kind of invisible barrier.

"There's some kind of invisible wall here. My guess is that this barrier surrounds Faerieland, keeping anyone from going in or out," I said.

"Probably Malanda," Koroko said.

"That's my guess," I said, nodding.

We flew around Faerieland, keeping our distance from the barrier, and soon found Malanda. She was putting her finishing touches on the barrier. We landed on a cloud to plan our next move.

"Do you have a plan?" Koroko asked.

I opened my mouth to answer, then shut it again. The truth was, I didn't.

"I was hoping one would come to us on the way up," I answered.

"How about this? You can grab the necklace, and have her follow. Toss it to me as you pass by, and I'll let he have it from behind," he suggested. "Since I studied magical items, I should be able to use it."

I didn't exactly agree with the plan, but I didn't have a better idea. So I flew above Malanda, hoping she didn't look up.

But of course, she did. Then she flew up to my level.

"I thought you drowned," she said.

"Guess again, Malanda," I said.

"A mistake I won't make again," she vowed, and shot a blast of dark energy right at me.

I was able to dodge it. Barely. Then before she could fire another one, I flew forward and grabbed the necklace from her hand.

I flew as fast as I could. Malanda followed, firing blast after blast of energy at me.

I passed off the necklace. Koroko raised it and started saying a few magical words.

The necklace started to glow, but Malanda fired a blast at the cloud, disintegrating it.

Koroko started falling, and I flew down to try and catch him. But a blast hit me from behind, destroying my wings, and turning me back into a yellow Kacheek.

We both fell, down towards the Neopian world below.

I closed my eyes, expecting myself to hit the hard ground far below, when I felt myself stop falling and start rising. The necklace fell past us and landed in the water.

I opened my eyes to find that a Light Faerie has caught the both of us, saving us from a bad situation.

"Great. Now I owe two people my life," I said.

"You're lucky I was out doing quests when the barrier surrounded Faerieland," she said. "You two are brave to take on a Dark Faerie by yourself, but I'll take things from here."

"Can we watch?" Koroko asked.

"Koroko, this isn't a spectator sport," I said.

"I don't see why not," the Light Faerie said. "I'll place you on another cloud and use my magic to hide you from Malanda's sight. That way, you'll be safe."

She did just that, placing us on a cloud and putting a magical shield around us. Then she flew over behind Malanda and threw a ball of light energy to get her attention. When she turned, she got another ball of energy right in the face.

"I see you haven't changed a bit, Melody," Malanda said.

"I see being trapped in stone hasn't affected your memory," Melody answered.

---

"They know each other?" Koroko asked

"I don't see why not. She used to live in Faerieland, before rebelling against Fyora," I answered.

"I just hope it doesn't affect anything," he said, as we watched.

---

Malanda charged up and blasted a beam of dark energy right at Melody. She dodged and fired light energy right back, which was shielded.

They fought back and forth like that, neither one able to really get a good blast on the other.

"You've gotten stronger since I last saw you," Malanda said. "But I'm too strong for you. My power comes from all the darkness in Neopia. The pounded pets, the villains, the scammers, all that feeds my power, and makes me too strong for you to handle."

---

That's when I heard a voice in my head.

"Neopians," the voice said.

I glanced towards Koroko, and I could tell he heard it too.

"My name is Melody, and I am a Light Faerie," the voice continued. "I am in battle with a Dark Faerie, and the fate of Neopia depends on the outcome. I need you to focus on the good in Neopia. Love, friendship, charity, and other things like that. Try to focus on that, and give me the power I need to win."

I looked at Koroko. He had his eyes closed, and seemed to be concentrating. A yellow light surrounded him, and a ray of yellow energy went right for Melody.

I closed my eyed and started focusing myself. The love I share with my brothers and sister. The friendship I have with my owner. The friends I've met in my life.

I opened my eyes again and saw yellow rays coming from all over Neopia. The record for the most NP donated at the Money Tree was broken, and the battledome went to a virtual standstill.

The rays from all over Neopia came together to form a ball of yellow energy above Melody, who took it and fired it at Malanda. She tried to shield, but there was no way she could shield against all of Neopia.

Her body stiffened and turned back to stone. Then her body fell into the water with a mighty splash.

The barrier around Faerieland disappeared, and faeries from all different alignments flew up to congratulate Melody.

A few minutes later, I was attending in the throne room with Koroko and Melody.

"Sunshine and Koroko, you two have displayed great courage taking on Malanda by yourself," Fyora said. "That kind of courage should not go unrewarded."

With a wave of her hand, two bags appeared next to us, each with 100,000 NP.

"Melody," Fyora continued "For defeating Malanda and saving Neopia, I have decided to promote you to Uber Light Faerie."

Melody gasped in surprise, and didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Th...Thank you." she stammered.

As Koroko and I left, Koroko said "You want to go somewhere with me?"

I blushed. He really was cute.

"Are you sure you don't mind that I'm a boring yellow color?" I asked.

"Your color doesn't matter. You could be mutant, and I wouldn't care. The only thing I see is you," he said.

I smiled. I may not be faerie, but somehow, that didn't matter.

The End