Chapter 7: True Nature
Hooves cracked against stone. She could feel Starlite's back muscles tensing with each galloping step. Rainbow Brite held onto Starlite's rainbow colored mane all the tighter, not for the first time wondering how much further up the mountains they would have to go. She wasn't usually one to be scared of heights. But now that her Color Belt no longer worked, if Starlite misjudged a single step along these narrow paths there would be nothing she could do to stop their resulting fall. They were so high up the mounftains now, Violet Valley and Cloudy Canyon visible far below them.
"Hold on!" she heard Starlite shout as he continued to sped towards a wide rocky crevice in the fpath they had all too quickly come across, one that threatened to stop any further progress. As Starlite galloped towards the large fissure Rainbow unashamedly squeezed her eyes shut so as not to look down as he did so.
As she felt Starlite's muscles tense hard again, and heard him grunt with effort as he lunged into a jump, Rainbow Brite briefly and somewhat guilty thought that perhaps she should have asked Stormy if she could ride Skydancer on this quest. He was more familiar with the areas bordering Cloudy Canyon and could still fly. But, that would have opened a whole disgruntled can of worms for both Stormy and Starlite.. one that she couldn't bare to deal with right now, at a time when everyone's emotions were already on edge. It was bad enough when she had asked Stormy if she could ride Skydancer after the horse race when Starlite and Oynx had been horsenapped. And then there was Starlite catching her riding Sunriser when they had gone to rescue them both, galloping off in a huff.
Sunriser.
And that's what brought them up here, into the mountains. Sunriser. The wild horse of a different color that was as close to Tickled Pink as Starlite was to herself. Well, almost wild, Rainbow thought to herself. Eyes still shut as she couldn't bare to see Starlite thunder along the perilous rocky path any longer.
Once Sunriser had been truly wild. Never letting anyone ride her or try to tame her. Preferring these isolated mountains to Kid or Sprite company. But that had all changed when Tickled Pink began to befriend Sunriser.
Rainbow considered that it was so typical of Pink. The other Kids had told her that Sunriser was wild and didn't want friends. That it wasn't possible. But weeks after Tickled Pink had began heading into the mountains to try and befriend Sunriser it should have been with little surprise that Tickled Pink had wound up on Sunriser's back. It should have been with little surprise.. for those that knew exactly how contagious Tickled Pink's giggly good nature and friendship was. But still there were more than one Kid who had to pick their jaw up off the floor at the initial sight of the Pink Kid riding along on the Pink horse.
Another Kid if they were in her position, such as Red Butler, might have boasted about it. That they had tamed the elusive Sunriser. But not Tickled Pink. She had remained adamant that her and Sunriser were friends. That Sunriser didn't belong to her or anyone else and never would.
And perhaps that's why it was indeed Tickled Pink that Sunriser had bonded with.
Though she was wild, slowly over time Sunriser had began to lose her wild instincts and nature as she interacted with others. Mainly with Tickled Pink and Starlite at first, nervously back tracking and galloping for the mountains if anyone else got too close. But slowly this instinct faded further and trust began to surface towards the others in Rainbow Land too.
As the shackles of wild instincts were slowly replaced with the clarity of a calm thought, it was then that Sunriser had began to talk. At least, that's what Tickled Pink had secretly related to her. . late one night within Rainbow's room as the two sat and drank hot chocolate together. Tickled Pink having come for equine advice due to Rainbow's experiences with Starlite. It stood to reason, Rainbow had considered. Sunriser did seem to be the same species of horse as Starlite. So there was no reason why Sunriser shouldn't be able to speak as Starlite did. It was just a matter of environment, she guessed. When one was alone, you had no one to talk to. So you didn't need to develop or work on such a skill. But now that Sunriser had Tickled Pink..
Though Sunriser had not spoken to any of the other Kids as of yet, Rainbow Brite kept Tickled Pink's secret. Telling the Color Kid of Pink to let Sunriser take it at her own pace. If she felt comfortable enough, Sunriser would speak to the others. Till then, just take each moment as it was. Treasuring that Sunriser was sharing such a special gift with her.
But it was now that Rainbow needed to break that trust and have Sunriser to speak to her instead of Tickled Pink. Rainbow Brite needed to find out what had happened on that day at Pink Prarie. On the day that Pink had disappeared and the shockwave had rippled through both the Spectrum and Rainbow Land.
On that day Rainbow had raced towards Pink Prarie on Starlite; fearing what she would find. But when she got there all she was met with was the sight of Sunriser within a steel cage, gone wild. Rainbow had quickly pulled down the cage with Starlite's assistance, but as soon as she was free Sunriser had bolted. Any civilisation Tickled Pink had imparted on Sunriser had seemed to have completely vanished. There was no recognition when Rainbow Brite had stood before the caged Sunriser. All that could be seen in Sunriser's eyes was wildness and fear, kicking at the steel bars of the cage.
"We're fast running out of mountain." Starlite called back to her, ascending higher along the rocky, circling path. Galloping legs leaving him soaring over rocky ground for a few seconds, almost sadly alluding to what he had lost now that neither he or she could fly.
"Don't worry, we'll catch her this time." Rainbow shouted back, her eyes now open so that she could peer for the sight of the horse of a different color. The horse who knew the mountains of Rainbow Land better than almost anyone and had so far eluded Starlite and herself each time they tried to track and pin her down. After all, they were chasing her on her home turf.
And there further ahead Rainbow Brite saw her, galloping around another bend in the upward circling path. The burnt red form of Sunriser who was now truly a horse of a different color.
It was something that Shy Violet couldn't yet fully explain, saying she needed the Color Console operating in order to properly study the Spectrum. But ever since the shockwave the color pink didn't exist anymore, not in Rainbow Land. Shy Violet hypothesising it was because the Specturm had somehow been damaged. Whether the shockwave was the cause of the damage or as a result of it remained to be seen.
But Color crystals that had once been pink were now either red or white. The same went for everything else that was once colored pink. Roses, Sprites and.. as they had seen, even horses.
And Tickled Pink? The Color Kid that was connected into the pink frequency of the Spectrum?
Rainbow felt her heart lurch, and not due to the bumpy ride. It lurched at the worried and fearful thoughts that began to trickle through her mind at the thought of Tickled Pink's disappearance. Rainbow Brite doing all that she could to push the thoughts away and calm her emotion filled heart. Focusing instead on the here and now.
Rainbow had to find out where Tickled Pink was and she had to find out what had happened on that day in Pink Prairie. Failure was not an option. And until she found, everything else was just unproven worries and speculation.
She told herself that repeatedly.
And she would not let any doubts or worries that she had no evidence for consume her. If Tickled Pink was hurt or hiding somewhere, she needed Rainbow Brite. And Rainbow Brite wouldn't let another day pass without finding out what had happened. And the only person who knew was Sunriser.
Rounding the bend that Sunriser had disappeared behind, Starlite reared up suddenly, forelegs raising up into the air while he tried to come to an abrupt, sliding halt. Rainbow cried out at the sudden jolting stop, her hands clutching to Starlite's mane tightly and knees squeezing against Starlite's back in order to keep her upon his back.
As Starlite brought his front legs down, shifting his weight from left to right as he corrected his footings, Rainbow Brite was able to see what had caused Starlite to stop in his tracks. They had arrived at a dead end. The mountain path they had been galloping up and up on had finally reached an end in the form of a cliff peak. There was no where else to go except over and off the side of the mountain or back the way they came. And presently the wild and scared Sunriser was at the very edge of the cliff. Eyeing her and Starlite nervously, ears pricked forward and tail tucked as she scampered left and right slightly, as if searching for path away to freedom.
What worried Rainbow most right now was that the only path to freedom for Sunriser now seemed to be straight down.. she and Starlite would have to tread carefully.
If only her belt still worked.. But at present any rainbows that she tried to produce with it didn't survive for long. They twisted and writhed about; like a fish out of water futilely gasping for breath, before disappearing in a matter of seconds. And it had been that way ever since the Color Console had exploded.
But her belt's troubles weren't due to the Color Console being in many shattered pieces. Shy Violet said the trouble with rainbows was because of the probable damage to the Spectrum. Funny, that after so long, her Color Belt was now the exactly the same as it was when she first found it.
The Color Belt was hers indeed, but there was a time when it wasn't. She remembered when she first came to Rainbow Land, when it was a land under the rule of the King of Shadows. The King of Shadows had defeated the previous protector of Rainbow Land, Lady Brite, and with assistance from Murky Dismal stolen the Color Belt away from her. And Rainbow Land had gone from being a land of joy and color to a land of despair and hopelessness.
There were no colors in Rainbow Land during that time and the Earth suffered equally. The skies of Earth had gone from always blue to always grey. Buildings slowly faded from white to grey. And even the rivers of the Earth slowly changed from blue to murky brown. Factories upon factories pumped out blankets of smoke and smog, natural beauty was suppressed under gritty grey polluted particles, and worse still the people of the Earth began to simply not care. 'The Industrial revolution' they had called it on Earth. It was everything Murky Dismal had dreamed of.
And then she had been summoned. With the last of her powers Lady Brite had called to Wisp, asking for help. Rainbow considered that she was so young back then and had hardly realised how difficult the task ahead of her would be. She was so naïve, she had even brought a packed suitcase with her when she had been brought to the corrupted Rainbow Land. Still, even though she had not expected how difficult it would all be, she had persisted in her duty to remove the King of Shadows' rule over Rainbow Land. And Lady Brite had, in an indirect way, led her to where the Color Belt had washed up years ago from when the Shadow King had thrown it in the No Return river.
And from that point on the Color Belt had been hers. To use and to protect. As the belt was so important to both Rainbow Land and to the Earth. It could make or break either world, depending on how it was used. And who used it.
Except.. she had failed in protecting this land and one of the Kids. Rainbow's nightmare from the previous night coming back to unsettle her.
"Easy Sunriser.." She said in a soft, soothing voice, sliding herself off of Starlite to stand at his side, daring not to approach too much further towards the other horse just yet. Cornered wild animals were unpredictable and, by looking into Sunriser's white showing eyes, Rainbow got the impression the horse in front of her was indeed completely wild.
No words came from the burnt red horse. Instead Sunriser emitted apprehensive nickers as she nervously stepped this way and that, trying to determine if there was a way around the two. If the burnt red horse heard or understood Rainbow Brite's words she gave no indication.
"It's me, Rainbow Brite and Starlite.. you remember us don't you Sunriser?" Rainbow said, trying her best to coax a less petrified reaction out of the horse, "You let me ride you once, about a year ago.. so that we could find Starlite when he had disappeared. You remember that? I was so grateful for your help. That you let me ride you. And we found him, remember?"
While she spoke, Rainbow heard Starlite actually scoff. Which was, to be honest, a little shocking. Everyone has one or two negative personality aspects. And Starlite, although being incredibly brave and athletic and loyal, was somewhat egotistical. Which wasn't always a bad thing, Rainbow Brite had considered a few times. As during times of crisis self belief and self determination were important things to have. It meant you wouldn't easily give up. Believing you could persevere no matter what was thrown at you sometimes made all the difference.
So although it was sometimes a good trait to have, other times Starlite's ego tended to result in him getting jealous a little too easy.
She knew this about her wonderful horse, and accepted it. It was just the way he was. Just the same as Twink was sometimes a little too bossy towards the other sprites. But still.. she had expected more of Starlite. At a time like this to be scoffing as she tried to calm Sunriser down and get through to her with soothing words.. it was disappointing.
"Sunriser.. I need to talk to you. It is very important. We don't mean you any harm. Please.. Just for a moment.. It is so important you speak to us."
Rainbow Brite opened her mouth again, about to try to further calm Sunriser, when Starlite again scoffed. Making the audible blowing of air out through his nostrils. This time Rainbow Brite turned to look at him, eyebrows arched high in an expression of surprise and non verbal 'what do you think you are doing?'. For days they had chased Sunriser to try and find out where Tickled Pink was. And now Starlite was acting like this.
But, Rainbow realised as she turned, Starlite wasn't looking at her. His eyes were focused on Sunriser. And again he made the sound she had assumed was him scoffing. The blowing out of air from his nostrils.
At the third time Starlite emitted this blowing sound Sunriser's agitation visually decreased slightly and she focused her attention on Starlite, eventually nervously making the same sound herself that Starlite had been making. Blowing out air from her nose.
Starlite responded in turn with the blowing sound again, adding a small nicker to the end. He lowered his head and whispered to Rainbow, as if in explanation, "It's equine communication.. I'm conveying we're friends. Try again. Slowly."
And so Rainbow Brite repeated her words to Sunriser. Looking for a response. But still Sunriser's eyes looked at her without recognition, the other horse staring at her as if she was some type of alien.
For days they had been trying to find the one time pink horse. And now that they did, after so much effort and hoping that all the answers they needed would be discovered, there was nothing. Finally Rainbow's voice broke, desperation in her voice, a million worries from the past couple of days welling up within her, "Sunriser, /please/. We need to find out what happened to Tickled Pink."
Maybe it was the desperation and pleading tone in Rainbow's voice. Or maybe it was mentioning the Pink Color Kid's name. But suddenly the wildness left Sunriser's eyes and recognition stirred within her. The burnt red horse stopped her nervous trotting from side to side, looking for some way of escape, and instead lowered her head, ears back, stepping towards the two.
And Sunriser spoke.
"Rainbow Brite.."
It was the first time Rainbow had heard Sunriser's voice. Her voice was high and soft, speaking with the same lofty, regal rolling accent that Starlite spoke with. Of a voice that could so easily and effortlessly transform into rolling neighs. And there was sadness in the voice. Heartbreaking sadness.
"Rainbow Brite." The horse said again, moving so that her long face was lowered in front of Rainbow's, "She is gone.. And I am sorry for I could not save her. For she chose to protect me instead of herself. I tried to get her to safety, trick her in doing so because I knew she wouldn't leave me any other way. But in the end she would not. Friendship. Tickled Pink gave me a gift that no one ever had before. And now I wish she never had. For if she had not she would still be here."
Rainbow raised her hand and gently placed it atop Sunriser's nose.
The onetime pink horse was shaking.
"It's okay Sunriser.." Rainbow said softly, rubbing her nose, "Where ever she is gone, we'll find her. Tell me what happened, please, I need to know."
Sunriser shook her head away from Rainbow's hand and emitted an angry whinny. "She cannot be found, because she is /gone/." The sadness in her voice now contained anger. And Rainbow was surprised to find that Starlite had now stepped closer to her. She could feel him at her side, his flank just touching her. Tensed.
"Murky caught her in a machine that sprayed her with a rainbow. One that ran on stolen color crystals. He said he could return her to the Spectrum with it. She tried to fight him with pink star sprinkles. But when the rainbow from his machine hit them there was a burst of white light and the sprinkles were gone. I could not protect her, as Murky had me caged. I could not protect her, as Tickled Pink would not leave me. And so he sprayed her with his rainbow and she faded away into white light. All because of 'friendship'."
"Sunriser.." Rainbow said softly, moving her had back towards the burnt red horse. But Sunriser wanted none of it. Stomping her foot warningly at Rainbow. To which Starlite beside Rainbow stomped in response, back at the burnt red horse. Sunriser began to step back at this, ears still lowered, but after a few feet back the burnt red horse suddenly launched into a gallop, barrelling at the two. Rainbow Brite felt Starlite's mouth at her collar, his teeth grasping it and pulling Rainbow back out of the horse's path as Sunriser burst past. Galloping back down the mountain path.
Starlite gently placed her back on the ground after Sunriser had disappeared and reassuringly nuzzled her shoulder, as horses were want to do, saying to Rainbow Brite who was somewhat shaken by this sudden sign of aggression from Sunriser, "Don't hold it against her, Rainbow.. you need to remember Sunriser has been wild for far longer than she has been 'tame'. She is more wild than either me or well.. even Skydancer. Which is saying something." And her rainbow maned horse sighed, looking after where the burnt red horse had run, "All I'm saying is, sometimes it is hard to ignore one's instincts. We're horses, not humans. We may walk and talk, but in our blood is still the desire to gallop and fight or flight. To buck off anything that is on our backs. And with everything that has happened at the moment it is understandable that Sunriser might fall back to more instinctual behaviour. I know I may appear egotistical at times.. I hear the other Color Kids talking about my boasting. But it is who I am, Rainbow. Rather it is the way of my species, it is in my blood. I'm a stallion.. It is how we stallions are meant to act. When you are in a herd, when you are the lead stallion of a herd, you are meant to be the Alpha. Ready to challenge all those who come against you and are around you, to ensure they know full well you are the dominant, superior one."
Starlite nuzzled her shoulder again, showing his affection to the person he let ride him, and said, "All I'm saying is, blood instinct is a difficult thing to ignore. So don't hold Sunriser's actions against her.."
Rainbow looked up at her horse, silent for a moment. She had never heard him talk so candidly about the differences between herself and him. That there were major differences. In her mind Starlite was just a person in a different form, the form of a horse. She had never thought that he might feel things differently to her.. feel different impulses. That at times he was acting contrary to his nature.
Though it did now explain why Starlite had been spending so much time with Tickled Pink and Sunriser once Pink had started riding Sunriser.
He had been teaching Sunriser how to be like he was.
Rainbow hugged her horse, who she now considered may have never been boasting when he said he was exceptional to all other horses, and said, "We need to get back to Color Castle and tell Shy Violet what Sunriser said."
Oh the ride back Rainbow Brite had a lot to think about. And worry about. Of what had happened to Tickled Pink.
Things in Color Castle had been chaotic with the disappearance of Tickled Pink. All the Color Kids had been running through a gauntlet of emotions. From worry to anger to sadness and tears. It was the not knowing where she was, and the disappearance of the color pink that had scared all of them. Each of them were taking it hard, and Rainbow had done what she could to comfort them. To warn them that they still didn't know what had happened to Tickled Pink. Everything was just a guess, she kept reminding them and herself, so don't think the worst.
But now her answer to what had happened to Tickled Pink rested with one word. 'Murky'.
Murky Dismal. The only adult in all of Rainbow Land. What he lacked in mass the diminutive man more than made up in with the size of the chip on his shoulder. Murky hated colors and hated the joy and happiness that colors brought and would stop at nothing to stop her and the Kids from spreading the colors through Rainbow Land and Earth.
There really wasn't any low he wouldn't stoop to. The man was a sociopath. Literally. He fit all the common requirements to be confirmed with an anti-social disorder.
After all, he failed to conform to social norms. He displayed repeated acts of deceitfulness, constant irritability and aggressiveness. He also possessed reckless disregard for the safety of others and lacked remorse to acts he had performed that hurt others.
All traits of a sociopath.
It was Murky's disregard for the safety of others and his lack of remorse which were the most frightening aspects of this disturbed individual. And one of the reasons Sprites and Kids fled when he appeared in Rainbow Land. Truth be told there were multiple times that either her or the Kids had almost died due to the actions of Murky. Such as the time Red Butler and Brian were trapped in a rocky cavern, filling up with water from the Rainbow River. All the while Murky watched the two struggling swimmers from a safe, high vantage point. Gleefully waiting for the moment where they tired and couldn't swim any more and sunk beneath the waters.
There was also the time she had been trapped in the Monster Murk bottle and Murky had accidentally dropped it into the Rainbow River. As the bottle was swept away Murky was filled with joy that both the bottle and herself would be dashed apart by the rocks in the Rainbow Rapids.
Yes, Murky was not beyond allowing others to die due to his schemes. In fact he quite often hoped they would. The man was a sociopath and if he had caused Tickled Pink's disappearance, Rainbow worried what this meant for Pink.
They were silent the rest of the ride home, eventually returning to Color Castle. As they arrived at the castle doors Rainbow Brite slid herself off of Starlite and stroked gently down his neck, feeling Starlite's fine white hair run between her fingers, "Thank you Starlite, as always. Thank you for, well, being who you are.."
Her horse responded with a shake of his head, "You go see Shy Violet. There's more important things than me that need to be discussed. Don't worry about Sunriser. I'll go back to the mountains and see what I can do for her. She may respond better if it is just me. You just concentrate on Tickled Pink."
Rainbow Brite gave Starlite a worried nod and turned to hurry in the castle doors.
Shy Violet was asleep at the almost reconstructed Color Console, her forehead resting on the Console's keypad. As was the norm over the last couple of days. Well, her sleeping wasn't the norm. Rather, her working herself to exhaustion and collapsing into sleep was. Rainbow felt she should have said something. Encouraged Shy Violet to actually take a break and get a good night's rest. But, guiltily, she hadn't. Worried too much about what had happened to both Tickled Pink and the Spectrum Rainbow Brite had turned a blind eye, wanting the Color Console to be up and functioning just as much as Shy Violet did.
Rainbow felt guilty, but also grateful. Her relationships with the Kids of Rainbow Land were as different and varied as the colors of the rainbow themself. For example with Lala Orange Rainbow always found herself always engaging in more feminine types of discussions and activities. Fashion, Make up, boys. With Patty O'Green and Buddy Blue the interactions tended to fall towards adventuring and hiking through Rainbow Land.
And Shy Violet?
Shy Violet was in many ways Rainbow's advisor. The same way in which Rainbow Brite would often have Kids in her room, late at night, discussing their problems over mugs of hot chocolate, Rainbow often found herself heading to Shy Violet's room at night for a talk. When there was something about Rainbow Land she didn't understand, or a problem that was too complex for her to get her head around. Shy Violet just seemed to know.. everything. Or if she didn't, Violet would say she would investigate and find out. Heading to her library of books and texts.
So Rainbow Brite was grateful beyond words to her scientific advisor for the sacrifices she had made over the last few days. Without Shy Violet Rainbow didn't know what she would do.
"Violet.." Rainbow said softly, gently shaking the shoulder of the sleeping girl. "Violet.. I'm sorry.. but I need you. Can you wake up?"
The great hall was empty, apart from her and Violet. The other Kids were either out searching Rainbow Land for Tickled Pink or just simply away. Away and dealing with their feelings of sorrow and fear about the loss of pink and Pink as best they could. Rainbow had been so busy with tracking down Sunriser that she hadn't been able to give each Kid as much time to comfort them or reassure them as she had wanted. Another thing she felt guilty about. But Rainbow Brite had been comforted that at this time, the Kids had been there for each other. She had seen Red Butler and Lala Orange off together. Patty O'Green with Buddy Blue. And Canary Yellow, Moonglo and Indigo together.
Red and Orange comforting each other, along with Green and Blue pairing off she had expected. But Canary Yellow, Moonglo and Indigo grouping themselves together was something new. At first Rainbow Brite had thought it was simply because they had no one else. The 'dating' Kids having gone off on their own. But, from what moments Rainbow was able to spare to sit with and talk with the different groups, she realised that it was something different.
Canary Yellow and Indigo were vastly different people. In some ways the outgoing personality of Canary clashed with the sensitive, quiet personality of Indigo. But Rainbow realised that quiet, nocturnal Moonglo seemed to bridge the personality divide between the two.
It was easy to overlook Moonglo. What with her working in a completely opposite schedule to everyone else. She was the night shift. Disappearing to bed just as the others were getting up. And vice verse.
But Tickled Pink never did overlook her. Every day she made a concentrated, special effort to catch up with Moonglo. To take her to breakfast and chat and giggle away with her. And Rainbow Brite knew how much it meant to Moonglo. How much she loved Tickled Pink's friendship.
The disappearance of Tickled Pink was upsetting Moonglo most out of all the Kids. And Rainbow Brite could see that Moonglo saw a lot of Tickled Pink within Canary Yellow. Her laughter, her care free nature. And in Indigo Moonglo saw someone simular to herself. Quiet and sensitive. Artistic. Together the three seemed to mesh. Which was good, as she didn't want any Kid feeling isolated and alone right now. Which could so easily happen to Moonglo.
The brown eyes of Shy Violet opened sleepily, looking back at Rainbow Brite. The purple Color Kid's light purple hair had fallen out of its usual bun and fallen into straggling locks over Shy Violet's forehead and eyes. The Color Kid moved her band aid covered hands to brush the hair aside and blinked a few times, "Oh, Rainbow.. you're back.." she said groggily.
There was a few moments of silence as Shy Violet attempted to wake up and get all of her neurons firing. But when she did, the firing neurons were like an explosion.
"Rainbow, you've returned!" she repeated, eyes focused, hands moving to steady her glasses and align them just right, "I've had success at last! The Color Console, it is repaired." There was a pause, and a wave of hands in the air, "Well, repaired is not a word I would use. Repatched is perhaps a more accurate metaphor. As I'm afraid many of the advanced functions of the Color Console have not yet been restored. But those of which the highest necessity, namely connecting us into the Spectrum, should be available. At least I assume that is the highest necessity. Though when examining the Spectrum we may indeed find that there are higher wants. But given the limited time constraints we have we must.."
Rainbow raised her hand, giving Shy Violet a stop gesture. She didn't mean to be rude, and she knew Shy Violet would know Rainbow wasn't trying to be rude, just sometimes Violet could speak forever about a topic, if you let her.
Rainbow summarised, "So we can look at what damage has been done to the Spectrum, yes? And work out how to fix it?"
Violet gave a sheepish grin, knowing full well that sometimes she let her enthusiasm of knowledge runneth away with both her and her mouth, and replied, "Yes, that is correct, Rainbow."
"Good. Then start the Console. I need to tell you what Sunriser had to say."
Canary Yellow sat in the fields of the Yellow Plains, on her own. Sitting and looking at a lemon tree. Letting the ankle high grass blow and tickle against her legs. Idly rolling a lemon around in her hands, mind drifting in her melancholy mood. Remembering.
She remembered the day she and Tickled Pink had watched Red Butler and Lala Orange sneak away one afternoon. And, having nothing better to do. Or at least nothing that sounded more fun than creeping after the Kids of Orange and Red, Tickled Pink and her had followed them.
Canary Yellow remembered..
She was there in the Yellow Plains, crouching behind a bush with Tickled Pink at her side. The two giggling to each other as they kept peeking through the foliage to spy on Red Butler and Lala Orange. The Kids of Red and Orange were sitting beneath a lemon tree, holding hands and chatting softly to each other.
It was hard to say who started it first, as when Tickled Pink and Canary Yellow got together they were a bad influence on each other. Each feeding off the other's laughter and jokes. But one of them, either Pink or Canary, started making kissy-kissy sounds from behind the bush, pulling fun at Red and Lala's intimate moment. The sounds were soft at first so as to ensure Red Butler and Lala Orange didn't hear. But of course then the other bush hidden Kid responded back, making slightly louder kissy sounds in Red and Lala's direction, in between giggles.
Soon the two were giggling and making playful kissy kissy sounds loud enough that Red Butler and Lala Orange knew they were not alone. Red was on his feet instantly, cheeks blushing red and racing over to the bush from which the commotion was sounding, throwing a fallen lemon that he scooped up off the ground. All the while Lala Orange laughing at the scene, of Pink and Yellow squealing and trying to run but finding they couldn't because they were laughing too hard, ending up just falling to the ground instead. Of Red Butler attempting to teach the nosey duo a lesson by trying get them to eat one of the fallen lemons, in a very older brother type fashion. Causing Pink and Canary to squeal and laugh all the harder as they tried to crawl away.
Canary Yellow smiled sadly, and remembered.. rolling the lemon in her hands still. Looking towards a yellow butterfly fluttering by.
'Pink, where are you?' Canary silently asked.. looking off into the distance of her land. To where the Yellow Plains ended and Pink Prairie began.
'You better be found soon.. else I don't know what I will do.'
Keys danced under Shy Violet's finger tips. The machine beneath her humming and thrumming. Each key press caused invisible electrical signals to fire off down through the circuitboards hidden away in the depths of the Color Console. Sending data firing through processors that she had lovingly crafted and designed. Activating programs and services that only she could fully comprehend.
The Color Console was her greatest creation. A physical link into the Spectrum, the universal energy field that was an essential foundation of the Universe. It was from the Spectrum that all color originated. The diamond planet Spectra giving focus and projection to this universal energy field, allowing it to correctly and evenly flow and resonate through the Universe.
Color came from the Spectrum, and so did the Color Kids. At least, that was the theory Shy Violet and the others had. But if they didn't come from the Spectrum they were at least connected to it, each of the Kids attuned to a different frequency of the Spectrum. For the Kids instinctively knew when the Spectrum was not resonating as it should. When all frequencies were not in harmony and it needed correction. And that was their calling.
Before the Color Console, the Kids had manipulated and corrected the Spectrum differently. Inefficiently, as Shy Violet had liked to think. They needed to approach their job in a more logical and scientific method. At least in Shy Violet's opinion.
And so, using the Color Belt as her inspiration and muse, she had built the Color Console; a direct conduit into the Spectrum. When the resonance of the Spectrum was not correct, or if all color frequencies of the Spectrum were not in harmony, with the Color Console they could easily correct it. By feeding the appropriate energy into the Spectrum to realign the frequencies. That's where the star sprinkles came in. If the green frequency of the Spectrum was too weak, they could make it stronger by using the Color Console to feed the energy of green star sprinkles into the Spectrum to realign it.
If the Red frequency was too strong, they could feed in quantities of all other colored star sprinkles other than Red to align the frequencies correctly.
It was all very scientific. And that, in Shy Violet's opinion, made it the correct approach.
Though when the Color Console was implemented there had been a few Kids that had preferred their old ways.
That was always the way with innovation. People prefer what they know, what they are comfortable with. So sure that the tried and true method must be the best, because they know it so well.
But Shy Violet had eventually won over their support by demonstrating the Console.
They didn't need to work on Instinct anymore. They now functioned on logic and learning.
Though she had never thought when the Console was built that just as they used it to correct the Spectrum someone else could use it to throw the Spectrum out of order and harmony.
The time of the King of Shadows was something she didn't want to remember anytime soon.
"Sunriser is able to speak?" Shy Violet remarked, pausing only to give Rainbow the quickest of glances with a light purple eyebrow arched in curiosity, brown eyes moving back to the crystal screen before her, "Interesting. Though fortunate, I guess. As we need answers."
Shy Violet opened her mouth to ask Rainbow about what she had learnt, but suddenly her full attention was on the screen in front of her as the Color Console began to receive sensory data from the Spectrum. Countless nights of pushing beyond exhaustion and weariness were about to pay off. Without the Color Console they had been blind, but now it was time to open their eyes.
She could see it.. in the wave lengths of the Spectrum that flowed over her clear crystal screen. See what each of the kids instinctively felt deep inside, the worrying panic feeling that would not go away despite all of Rainbow's words that Tickled Pink was somewhere in Rainbow Land. The Color Kids were connected to the Spectrum and felt when something was not right. It was in their blood. And sometimes all the words in the world, all the logic of learned men cannot change what instinct dictates.
There was a wound in the Spectrum, gaping and ominous. At one time the Pink frequency of the Spectrum had flowed and danced along where the wound was, but now there was nothingness. Almost as if the Pink frequency of the Spectrum had been ripped and torn out.
"This shouldn't be possible.. Yet it is. We've seen the evidence before us in Rainbow Land." Shy Violet worried, her hand reaching over to grab Rainbow's and pulling her in front of the screen, The purple Color Kid's free hand moving to point at the screen with a slender finger, "The Pink line of the Spectrum is gone. Seemingly torn away. It does not exist any more."
Shy Violet paused a moment, even though her heart was racing and she wanted to bombard Rainbow Brite with questions. The moment seemed like an eternity, but she wanted to make sure Rainbow Brite was able to see the evidence with her own eyes.
Violet explained, rather afraid, in case Rainbow did not fully understand, "The Color Kids are connected into the frequency of the Spectrum that our colors came from. If the Pink frequency is gone, that means that Tickled Pink is no longer connected to the Spectrum. That there is no longer any Kid for the pink frequency of the Spectrum to connect to and vice verse.
Rainbow Brite was silent for a while, her head lowered looking at the screen. Eternity stretching onward once again for Shy Violet. Then Rainbow Brite slumped, completely. Defeated. Her shoulders dropped, her knees buckled and Rainbow was suddenly sitting on the floor. Head down into her hands. "It's my fault Violet!" She said. Looking up at Violet with distressed eyes, "The color crystals. The ones that went missing from the caves four days ago. Do you remember? It was Murky! Sunriser told me what happened.. he built a machine that used those crystals to spray Tickled Pink with color energy. Sunriser said that when pink star sprinkles were touched by the energy waves from his machine, they disappeared in a burst of white light. When Tickled Pink was trapped in the waves of his machine.. she too disappeared. Fading away into whiteness."
Rainbow shook her head, bringing her palms to her eyes and said again, sounding angry and upset, "It's my fault. I should have realised something was happening when the crystals went missing. But I didn't do anything. And now.. look.. what have I done.."
And then everything clicked. The last piece of the puzzle fell into place and Shy Violet understood fully what had taken place, now that the cause had been identified. "He cancelled her out.." Shy Violet said, a little surprised that Murky was that smart to have thought up something like that. On reflection, it certainly seemed possible, using the other frequencies of the Spectrum in such a way as to cancel out a specific wave length. They did simular acts with the Color Console when one wavelength of the Spectrum was too powerful. When Red, for example, was not acting in harmony with the other colors.
It seemed possible, now that the idea was within her head, to have been able to do what Murky did. But she had never even contemplated it up until now. The reason it had never crossed her mind until now was probably because she was not a demented sociopath like Murky Dismal was.
So Tickled Pink was gone? Cancelled and faded away into the Spectrum. Shy Violet felt numb at the thought.
Though something gnawed at her. A random thought. Her eyes looking back up to the gaping wound within the Spectrum. "But.. she didn't rejoin the Spectrum.." Shy Violet verbalised suddenly, hands going back to Color Console's controls. "We can see it ourselves. The color pink doesn't exist in the Spectrum.. at all.. It's gone."
And that conflicted with the law of conservation of energy, thought the brilliant Shy Violet. That energy could not be created or destroyed, merely transformed. If the pink frequency of the Spectrum no longer existed, then what had it been transformed into?
Rainbow looked up at Shy Violet from where she had dropped to the floor. The expression on her face said it all. Was there hope? Please please tell her there was hope. Please.
"Give me an hour.." Shy Violet said, standing from the Consol and running to her room. Requiring the services of her massive tombs of Rainbow Land scientific journals. "And bring me some Color Crystals. One of every color. Tickled Pink certainly did not rejoin the Spectrum, and I want to know where she did go."
It was day. The sun was high above Rainbow Land. Which meant Moonglo was where she always was at times like this.
Asleep.
In a soft bed of black silk sheets with golden printed stars upon them the nocturnal Kid slept. Dreaming of and remembering events of long since past. Of a time when she was far happier.
"Come on sleepy head." Tickle Pink said while grinning, pulling on Moonglo's arm which she now had a secure hold on. "We're never going to get there at this rate." The sun was getting higher now, it would have to be roughly 10 am the Kid responsible for nocturnal color guessed. Well past her bedtime. Once again Moonglo wondered how Tickled Pink had talked her into this.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Moonglo's soft voice said in response, stifling a yawn. Being dragged ever onward by the energetic Pink. "Just remember that I should be asleep right now. I bet you wouldn't be so active if it was me dragging you off to destinations unknown when it was past your bedtime."
To this Tickled Pink's eyes widened in response, an excited skip falling into Pink's steps. "Oh, yes! You should. That would be so fun. You should take me, tonight, on your rounds. I've never been to Earth. Do you think Rainbow will let me? Oh, I bet we would make an excellent team. I could color the moon pink for you. For all night. Imagine how wonderful that would look. A permanent pink moon. Shining down on everyone."
Moonglo opened her mouth in a gasp of alarm at the thought. Her tired and lethargic brain suddenly bursting awake with distress. "Pink! That wouldn't be right or allowed. You know that.." and Moonglo frowned as she realised Tickled Pink was looking at her and giggling. Giggling at the response her words had produced from Moonglo. The nocturnal Kid realising she had all too easily fallen for one of Tickled Pink's jokes.
"See, /now/ you're awake." Tickled Pink laughed, tugging on her arm again. "Now you can hurry up."
"You are a bully, Ms. Pink!" Moonglo responded in good-natured banter, unable to help herself but smile in return to the heart warming grin on her friend's face. "Always dragging me around instead of letting me sleep." But truth be told Moonglo wouldn't trade it for anything.
"Yes I am." Tickled Pink confirmed, giggling at the thought "Bossy ol' Twink has nothing on me. When I say do something, all the other Kids do it. 'Scrub the floors' I say, and they do. 'Make my bed' I demand, and they do." and her giggles turned into laughter.
Her joke of bossing the other Kids around was funny on a few levels, mainly because in many ways Tickled Pink was the youngest Kid.
Not in physical age mind you. As all the Kids were physically the same age. But more, Tickled Pink was the newest Color Kid to appear in Rainbow Land. Well after all the others had been established.
This might also be why in some ways she seemed personality wise and emotionally the youngest when compared to the others also. The 'little sister' to the other Color Kids.
Though maybe it was just because she was always joking about and giggling and smiling that she gave the impression that she was younger than the others. Maybe 'young' wasn't the right word at all, Moonglo thought, instead 'carefree' was more accurate. Simply wanting nothing more than to ensure everyone was happy and laughing.
And so Moonglo smiled and laughed. Within her dream memory. Remembering her best friend.
For now she would remember and when she awoke she would search again. As night fell her powers would return and she would sweep across the heavens looking for Tickled Pink, as she had done ever since she disappeared.
No matter what anyone said, no matter what their instincts told them. She would continue to search until the Pink Color Kid was found.