Chapter Five
"We'll go after Murky soon," said Rainbow, looking around, "But we need to fix the damage here first." She put down the cup, grabbed Starlite's mane and pulled herself up. Twink climbed up behind her.
"What can we do to help?" asked Ruby.
"This is OUR job!" protested Twink.
"Just stay here. We'll be back soon," the blond girl answered. "Stand back a bit."
The troll girls stepped back a couple of paces and Rainbow touched the star on the Color Belt. Once again a rainbow appeared under Starlite's hooves, and he took off along it.
The Best Friends For Life could not help but stare, mouths open. They were used to magic, but this was far different from anything they had ever seen before. Their eyes followed the trio as they headed off on their mission.
"Wow..." said Onyx, in a monotone.
"That is sooo cool!" said Ruby.
Topaz giggled. "Wish I had thought of that!"
"I wonder if my grandma and the other Ancients ever did anything like that?" asked Amethyst.
Sapphire shook her head. "I don't know, but I'm going to keep that in mind for an emergency road if we ever need one."
A minute later the rainbow faded away.
"Well, let's clean up the mess that Murky and Lurky left while we wait," said Ruby.
rb/bffl rb/bffl rb/bffl
About an hour later, Starlite trotted up from the woods. He let Rainbow Brite and Twink off his back, and went to get a drink of water from the Fallz.
"Hi!" said Rainbow, waving and smiling.
"We're baaack..." added Twink with a grin.
"Hey!" said Ruby with a grin in return, "You hungry? We've got lots left over."
"But what about Murky?" said Twink, looking worried.
"The rainbow is faster than his space ship," answered the blond girl, "We'll get there before he does. Don't worry, Twink, we've got time."
A few minutes later Starlite munched grass and leftover veggies while Rainbow and Twink enjoyed hamburgers and Trolla-Cola.
As she ate, they talked and got to know each other.
"So you know the Ancient Trolls?" asked Amethyst, stunned.
"Yes, we met a couple of times back in the day," Rainbow answered, "I got involved helping stop a plot of Simon's. Odd coincidence I would meet their students."
"Ever since we discovered we have the Magic of the Five, we've attracted all kinds of weirdness and trouble," said Onyx.
"HEY!" said Twink, glaring and crossing his arms.
"Oh, uh, I didn't mean YOU!" amended the dark troll, holding up her hands and putting on an apologetic smile.
Rainbow giggled. "I know." She wiped her mouth and sat back a bit. "That was great! Thanks so much! But we really need to go after Murky and Lurky."
"Too bad," commented Starlite, "The grass around here is really good."
She and Twink resumed their places on Starlite, then looked around to say goodbye to their new friends. But nobody was there.
"Hey, where did they go?" asked Twink, looking the other way, but not finding them.
"Hear that?" asked Starlite, twitching an ear toward the Mystic Fallz. "Sounds like engines."
"Is Murky coming back?" asked Twink, cringing against Rainbow.
Just then the troll girls came around the bushes, riding their skoots. They were like motor scooters without wheels,
hovering a few inches above the ground. The riders were now helmeted and ready for travel.
"We're coming with you," declared Ruby.
"Yeah, that Murky almost messed up our whole world, and we want in on stopping him," added Sapphire.
"Fashion doesn't work very well if all you have to use for color is grayscale," giggled Topaz.
"Besides, I've cornered the market on the gloom around here," said Onyx.
"I can't stand by and let him win!" put in Amethyst. "Let us help. Please."
Rainbow Brite smiled at them. "You're just like your Ancients. Come on!" She tapped the Color Belt's star, and the rainbow appeared under Starlite's hooves.
The great horse took off, heading upward while the trolls just stayed behind and stared.
"Do we really want to do this?" asked Onyx, eyes tracking the rainbow that vanished upward.
"We committed ourselves. We can't back out now," answered Ruby, and gunned her skoot. The others followed.
They found that, while the rainbow angled up steeply, they weren't affected by gravity. Their skoots stayed where they should, and the world dropped away quickly.
After a few minutes, they could see the curve of the planet, and the sky overhead was getting darker.
"I KNOW we're above the breathable atmosphere," said Sapphire, looking off to the side, "Anybody having trouble?"
"No, we're all fine," said Amethyst, glancing around at her friends.
"We're also traveling a lot faster than our skoots are able to," put in the brilliant blue-haired troll.
"It's funny, but I'm not afraid, and this is way outside anything we've ever done," said Onyx.
"Must be part of her magic," said Amethyst. The horse and his riders were some way ahead, and the stars were now all around.
After another couple of minutes had passed, Sapphire looked behind her. "Hey, guys! The planet's gone!"
The others looked, and indeed Trollz World was no longer under them. The rainbow stretched back toward where it had been.
"We're really moving fast, now!" said Sapphire.
Up ahead, Twink was looking back at their new friends.
"You were right, Rainbow," said the white sprite, "Trolls ARE nice! But I gotta admit, I've never seen so much hair!"
"And colorful, too! Did you notice they represent a good portion of the rainbow?" asked Starlite.
"Yes, and it's great to make some new friends!" answered Rainbow. "How are they doing back there?"
"I think they're staying about the same distance behind," said Twink.
"Warp portal coming up, Rainbow," said Starlite, "I'll drop back so you can warn them."
"Good idea!" was the answer.
The big horse slowed his pace and the skoots caught up with them a minute later.
"See that circle of light ahead?" called Rainbow, "That's a warp portal that will take us to Rainbowland!"
"A warp portal? Wow!" said Sapphire. "How does it work?"
"You can ask Shy Violet when we get there," was the answer. "Be careful, the sudden change of scene can be disorienting."
Onyx raised an eyebrow. "Shy Violet?"
"One of the Color Kids!" answered Twink. "There's Red Butler, Lala Orange, Canary Yellow, Patty O'Green, Buddy Blue, Indigo, Shy Violet, Tickled Pink, Moonglo, and Stormy."
"Sounds like a colorful bunch," muttered Onyx.
"You'll get to meet them all when we get there," added Rainbow.
"Speaking of which," Starlite interjected, and plunged through the portal without breaking stride. The five skoots followed.
"That wasn't so bad," said Onyx, "We've been through worse."
Up ahead a different sun shown, with the rainbow traveling toward the distant bright disk that was their destination.
As they neared the end of the trip, the trolls once again noticed that, although they were traveling straight down toward the ground, they weren't afraid or feeling vertigo. Gravity still felt like it was from the rainbow.
Rainbow narrowed her eyes at the sights below. She automatically looked for anything "off" as she came home, and this was one of the few times the action was rewarded. So to speak.
"Starlite, Twink, look! Something's wrong!" she pointed ahead.
"Yes, Rainbow, the colors are fading!" said Starlite, slowing just a bit.
The trolls just behind were listening, and exchanged glances.
"Oh, no!" exclaimed the sprite, "Murky must have gotten here first!"
"Maybe... or there might be another problem." answered Rainbow, pointing at the Castle far below. "The Color Signal isn't working." Sure enough, the rainbow emitted by the star atop the Color Castle was absent.
"So Murky isn't here yet. Whew!" said Twink, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow.
"I can't say for sure, but we still need to be on our guard!" said the Guardian of Colors, "Let's go!"