…… Bonyo sat close to Lightning's prison cage, close enough that Lightning knew he was there for the smell alone. Lightning also knew the nasty little creature was nearby because each time a night-crawler scurried by in the darkness Bonyo would flick it at the tormented prisoner. Lightning didn't dare cry out in his frustration, instead he bottled it up and violently shook his mane to knock the crawlers loose. Lightning thought that he might like to take Bonyo by the arms and swing him around until the arms fell off completely, but then Lightning realized the wrong in the way he was thinking. But it was hard. It was overwhelming, to be so lost in the darkness, and he found his thoughts wandering more in the direction of the anger and violence. Quelling such potent emotions would surely drive him mad.
…… Lightning lamented his candle. His one tear of flame had provided such beautiful light, and he had hardly realized, when the sun had shone over him so many years, how necessary the light was for his sane mind. The Mountain Boy saw nothing through his open eyes and hated it. He realized it was how a blind man must feel. He missed those things he used to see, the simple things like trees and flowers and great stretches of green grass: things he may not have noticed otherwise. Simple things were so meaningless to those who could clearly see them. Simple things were taken for granted, and now it was all Lightning could do not to weep for these simple things lost. There was so much he hoped to see again, but Hope had faded with the Light. In such unforgiving darkness, Hope was impossible to keep sight of.
…… There was nothing to see. Lightning knew that a slipping mind could muster images of its own creation: mirages! Tricks on the eyes, water in the desert and faces in the darkness. Little bits of light played in his eyes and he shook his mane fiercely to propel some creature or another out of his hair. Lightning peered at the light and smiled a little; even though it was his imagination, it was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen! Colors took on definition, and he could almost make out every one that painted the rainbow. He could nearly make out a hallway, just beyond the throne that sat there so solidly in the Great Hall of this dark castle.
…… Lightning's eyes widened. Rainbow light!
…… He could sense Bonyo's attention wane, and in seconds he could see Bonyo. The short little ghoul rose to his feet with eyes round as tea saucers, staring off in the direction of the lovely glow of light. His mouth gaped open, and as the little beast found the breath to say a few of the things he was thinking, Lightning reached through the bars and bit the creature's cloth tunic. He gave Bonyo a solid yank back against the metal bars and let the dirty minion drop to the floor, unconscious.
…… "What was that?" the Blind Queen Shrek demanded, and when Lightning glanced up towards the sound of her voice, he could clearly see her face.
…… "Bonyo had an accident," Lightning told her matter-of-factly, and flinched back as the Queen ascended from the cold grey throne. Her face was terrible, even without eyes with which to show emotion, and she turned that face at the little pony.
…… "Lightning, do you wish to die?" she asked him pleasantly. "When your friends come to rescue you, do you want them to find only your lifeless corpse?"
…… Lightning was unsure how to respond. Better to find him dead than to watch him die! But if there was that chance of rescue, he didn't want to waste it. Shrek could hear the labor of his breathing and grinned a feral, toothy grin, understanding the pull from both sides of the question.
…… "You fear your friends having to suffer because of you," Shrek said sweetly as she descended the steps and approached his prison. He cowered against the back of the cage, pressing hard against the cold metal bars. "You fear your wretched fate and with good reason, my silly little pony. My sweet, pathetic creature of the light, I have in mind for you and your stupid friends a fate far worse than death." She laughed, kneeling down to where she heard the minute sounds of fear escaping Lightning's lungs. He couldn't help but stare into her eyeless face.





…… Darshan's eyes shifted as he became aware of the subtle changes in the room's atmosphere. He inhaled deeply and placed a hand on Firefly's flank to keep her quiet as she drew breath for a question. Across the length of the castle's Great Hall, something flickered like a flame. The young man wasn't sure he saw anything at all and stayed silent, letting his eyes keep focus of the uncertain smear of light.
…… "Darshan," Firefly said, in a breath that was quieter than a whisper. He was startled that she thought to speak in a tone so close to silence, and very pleased that she should think of it at all. He could hear a sound so small and she had finally realized that. "Do you see it?"
…… He did see it. "What makes the light burn different?" he wondered, very close to her ear.
…… "The Rainbow."
…… Darshan heard triumph in the whisper. He had never seen a rainbow. "Color formed by light refracting through prisms?"
…… Firefly frowned wryly. They could make out shapes as the Rainbow light drew closer in that distant hall, and Firefly felt her heart doing cartwheels in her chest when her tired eyes finally found the shape that curved and curled in certain directions. Lightning! Chills ran the length of her spine and traveled through the nerves that split away from it. It was Lightning, she was sure of it! And movement reassured her that he was alive. Tears sprung up into her eyes and she stared at the young Mountain Boy until the image doubled. She blinked and the tears streamed across her cheeks. Darshan looked at her enough to know what tears were, and he touched her gently.
…… "The journey's not yet over," he warned her quietly. "Our road is long yet to follow."
…… "I know," she wept. She knew what the young human was trying to say. Find control. Losing herself to such overwhelming emotion wouldn't save Lightning from the darkness of the Wicked Queen.
…… The two were startled by the sound of impact against metal bars and watched carefully the scene that followed. Firefly's muscles tensed and she felt adrenaline snake through her like fire as she watched the blind queen approach her helpless cousin. Darshan's stilling hand was the only thing that kept her from charging into the Throne Room to present Shrek with a significant piece of her mind.
…… "You're friends are coming for you, Lightning," the Blind Queen said gently, her lips upturned in a terrible sort of smile. "I smell the heat of their bodies. I hear the rush of their excited breath: they think they can save you. They believe they can wrest you from the strength of my hand, they believe they can free you from the darkness. Foolish creatures, are they!" Shrek reached through the metal bars to stroke the face of the terrified pony. He shook under her gentle fingers as they smoothed down along his nose, and tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. "They walk blind into their wretched fate. They walk brave into my waiting hands, and, Lightning, yes! How they will suffer for their bravery. Yes! How they will weep for their misfortune. And how they will damn you, Lightning, for bringing them into that fate. For not crying out to warn them of the danger. For not sacrificing yourself for love of them."
…… Lightning clenched his teeth and tried so hard to keep the tears from escaping. Tiny, strangled sounds came from his throat, because he wanted to cry out. He wanted to warn his friends away but felt so paralyzed! His muscles wouldn't respond, no matter how badly he wanted to escape this evil woman's touch, as she gently petted him. Her deceptive caress sickened him, and he wanted to die, right at that moment. He wanted to have never been born!
…… The blind queen smiled and ascended to stand tall above her young captive. Shivering there, Lightning seemed so small, and Firefly's heart was breaking as she watched from the concealing shadows. Shrek lingered over him long enough for him to see her sneer of satisfaction as the sounds of the rescue party drew close. Lightning could hear those sounds now, and his head jerked in that direction. Light spilt out of the hallway, splashing across what had to have been marble. The throne was delicately carved by hands that had to have had sight, although it hadn't been seen by living eyes for some time unspeakable. Ancient tapestries hung from a glorious vaulted ceiling, one that rose high above them. Chandeliers hung on long chains, whispering of days when that Great Hall had seen the pale wash of candlelight. There were these hints of civilization, of socialization! That suggested perhaps, once upon a time, there had been life inside these walls. Maybe, there had been hope, and light.
…… Tears broke out across Lightning's face as the Queen walked away from him. Long, silken skirts clung to her slim waist, and a bodice was laced tight. She was a beautiful woman, almost normal until one looked on her face. Even if one looked beyond the fact that her face was sadly malformed, there were still hardened lines and a cruel, thin smile that shattered all the beauty that she had. She stood alone in the midst of her Great Hall and lifted her hands out before her, gently chanting the words to a spell. Lightning watched helplessly as she began to weave her trap.





…… Quarty, AJ and Megan chased the Rainbow of Light through the gloomy hallways of the floating palace, dodging and ducking under spider webs and occasionally stopping to stare, dumbfounded, through some shadowed doorway. There were giant rooms that jutted away from the hall they tiptoed through, and though only barely lit by colorful light, the three friends could sense that they were massive. And empty. There was nothing to fill all that space but darkness. Yet it had to have been built for the light… as though once, there had been souls to fill the rooms, long ago! It could have been such a magnificent place, when once seen by other eyes. Spiders spun it tapestries now, and all those romantic rooms were only used by dancing shadows.
…… "Does the Rainbow know where it's going?" AJ whispered by Quarty's ear as the ribbon of light kept flight just ahead of them.
…… "Would you rather be in the lead?" Quarty teased, and grinned at the look on her face when he said that. "Let the Rainbow take us where we need to go. Our job is to keep our eyes open! Shrek could have traps set for us anywhere."
…… AJ seemed to shrink at the very thought of falling into the Blind Queen's hands. It wasn't a fate very comforting. It was a fate that could be rather paralyzing, and AJ's legs stopped working one by one until she stood cold still in the hallway. Quarty and Megan paused when they realized she wasn't close beside them and looked back.
…… "You okay, Apple Dumpling?" Quarty asked gently, even though with one look at her face he could tell she wasn't. The Rainbow lingered in the hallway just above them, waiting, and flickering impatiently. It tied itself into a knot and pulled itself free again, just as nervous as the rest of them. Megan went to AJ and wrapped her arms around the little pony's neck. "It's all right, Apple Jack," she promised. "I'm scared, too." AJ's lower lip began to tremble. Her eyelids fluttered and she took a deep breath before muttering: "It's not fair."
…… Megan frowned.
…… "This never should have happened. Lightning never did anything to hurt anybody!" she whispered harshly. "Why did this have to happen to him?"
…… "I don't know, AJ," Megan sighed. She ran her fingers along the pony's neck comfortingly. "Sometimes there aren't reasons for the bad things that happen."
…… "Is there a reason for anything that happens?" AJ wondered angrily. "Is there even a point to being born? All we do is live until something bad happens, and then we die, and then what? Then, nothing!"
…… Quarty and Megan listened to her, sad that she had come to feel that way, and realizing that they were a close step in her wake. "I think," Quarty began quietly, "that bad things happen, so that we appreciate the good things in the rest of our lives."
…… AJ's face twisted.
…… "It's not a kind theory," Quarty agreed, taking a step closer. "But look, Apple Pie. You're scared and you're angry. It's not fair what's happening to Lightning, or to us! You're right. And you love him, right?"
…… AJ stared at him, the anger fading and changing.
…… "Right?" Quarty pressed.
…… "Yes," AJ whimpered, wanting to cry. "I love him!"
…… "Then lets go save him," the big brother said gently. "Okay?"





…… The air crackled with heat and electricity, dancing around the outstretched fingers of the Evil Queen. Her thin-lipped, triumphant smile looked crudely chipped of stone in the harsh light of her own spell, as she patiently waited for two ponies and one little human to fall helplessly into her grasp. Rainbow-colored light grew intense in that distant hallway, enough to throw shadows up against the wall. Firefly could make out those shapes and clenched her teeth, not knowing what to do. She glanced down at Darshan, who was crouched patiently against the wall, watching.
…… Three forms stepped out of the hallway, and Queen Shrek sneered and lifted her hands high above her head.
…… "Now," Darshan said, and Firefly stepped out into the Great Hall.
…… "Hey, Ugly!" she shouted, and Shrek's expression changed. She turned her ear in that direction and looked surprised.
…… "Why not pick on someone your own size?" Darshan crowed, standing right by Firefly's side, and the two started laughing at the Blind Queen. The Queen's face twisted into an irate snarl, and Darshan whispered: "Duck."
…… The two friends dropped to either side as Shrek discharged the spell from her fingertips. The beam of electricity punched through the air between them and exploded off the wall behind them. Shattered stone rained out across the floor as they climbed to their feet to stand beside each other again.
…… Lightning stared, wide-eyed, from behind the bars of his prison. "Firefly!" he gasped.
…… "Not bad for someone blind and stupid!" Firefly giggled.
…… "How dare you?!" Shrek howled at them. "How dare you think to defy me? Darshan!" she shrieked, and stalked across the throne room in their direction. "You will not live to regret this day!"
…… The young, white-haired human glanced down at his pony friend, smiling slightly. Without saying a word she understood his intentions, and without hearing a reply he understood that hers were the same. "You'll have to catch me first, My Lady Queen Shrek," Darshan bowed, and he and Firefly turned to run down the hall they had come from. The Queen, though blind, rushed to follow, rage and a promise on her face.
…… "No, Firefly!" Lightning cried after them as they disappeared back into darkness. "Stop!"
…… Megan, Quarty and AJ recovered a bit from the wall of shock they'd blindly walked into and ran across the marble floor. The Rainbow rose high above them and lit the Great Hall as though by those hanging chandeliers, and the three friends could clearly see where Lightning stood trapped in his metal-barred cage. "Lightning!" AJ cried, and the Mountain Boy turned at the sound of her voice. They nuzzled gently through the bars, tears soaking their faces. "Oh, Lightning!" AJ sobbed. "I thought I'd never see you again!"
…… "I never thought I'd see anything again," Lightning admitted quietly. "AJ, I'm so sorry. I love you so much, I'm so sorry!"
…… The little pony backed away for a better look into his face. "Sorry? For what?"
…… "We got to get you out of here," Quarty said, stepping over the little ghoul, who was still unconscious on the floor. The football hero examined the tall cage, looking for the lock mechanism. "We need to help Firefly and her friend, I don't think they'll be able to hold Shrek off for long. We can save all the happy reunions until after we're actually safe again."
…… "You're right, Quarty," Lightning said. "Shrek has something planned for all of us. I don't know what it is, but I doubt we'll want to find out."
…… "Here," Megan said, grasping the padlock that kept Lightning so tight a prisoner. "Do you think we can pick the lock?"
…… "Maybe that thing has keys," AJ suggested, wrinkling her nose and nudging Bonyo with a hoof. Quarty snorted at both ideas and turned around, giving his blue tail a solid shake. Megan backed out of the way and Lightning shuffled to the far end of the cage as Quarty lifted up on his forelegs for the momentum to kick the lock clean off the bars. Sparks showered and the lock spiraled off, landing across the floor in a heap of twisted metal. Megan swung the gate open, and Lightning stepped free.
…… Finally!
…… Megan wrapped her arms around the Mountain Boy and hugged him firmly, and let go so that he and Quarty could playfully butt heads. AJ nestled close to him, tucking her head under his chin and inhaling the warmth of his body. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily, tired. It had been a long ordeal. She realized that it was barely over.


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