The Return
By Sunshine Sam 

            “Even the most magnificent horse in the universe needs exercise sometime.  And this is a particularly marvelous morning for running,” said Starlite stepping out of his stable.  Sunriser peeked out from her stall, rubbing her head against his mane.  “Good morning,” he said mildly, continuing off, only to hear Sunriser following behind.  Turning around to see the mare staring at him, Starlite snorted.  “ Fine.  You can come along but I’m warning you, I’m not going to slow down.”  Starlite picked up into a swift trop, then a gallop, Sunriser keeping pace. 

Soon they were running together towards the horizons edge, the soft violets melting to pink and orange in the sky.  The two horses paused to look back towards the castle, knowing the kids must be awake by now, beginning the preparations to color what had faded during the night.  “Rainbow’s going to need me soon,” said Starlite.  “I guess I should go back.”

“Always a little off…They try… But always a little off…”  the voice was week and hoarse.  Starlite turned to Sunriser with a start.  “Was that..” but she shook her head, turning in the direction of some brush a little further off.

“I guess it will do.  No one even knows what they really are anymore.  I’m sorry Prism.  I should have come with you.  I should have known I wouldn’t make it,” there was the voice again, coming from the direction Sunriser was facing.  The two horses inched closer, peering over the hedge to see a small figure lying there.  Long hair, the shade of honey was in all sorts of disarray, dress dirty and torn beyond recognition, face smudged with dirt and arms laced with bruises and cuts.  The only thing that seemed to have gone unscathed by the battery that had faced her was a belt around her waste, striped with bright shades of yellow, orange and pink with a crystal circle in the middle.  She seemed delirious as she stared up at the horses, first looking at Sunriser then Starlite.  “That one’s nice.  Looks like a horse.  But it’s much too early for white clouds.” 

“I am not a cloud,” Starlite snorted.  The girl’s eyes seemed to focus a moment and then closed, her body going limp.  Sunriser pressed her nose to the child, looking up at Starlite then shaking her head in the direction of the castle.  “You can’t seriously expect me to take her back to the castle.  What if she’s some friend of Murky’s or the Dark Princess?  I will not bring the enemy into Rainbowland.”  Sunriser’s eyes were stern and cold.  Starlite sighed.  “Fine.  But you’re carrying it.  I’m not getting dirt on me.” 

Sunriser bent down, Starlite nudging the limp girl onto the other horses back.  Sunriser set out at a slow step towards Rainbowland, Starlite walking with her to keep the child balanced.  Rainbow had come out to find Starlite, Twink chattering with worry while she and Pink giggled about the possibilities of what was keeping their horses so long when they came into sight.  Suddenly the collapsed girl jerked awake, “Prism!  I… can’t go with you…not ready.  They’ll need me.”  Sunriser brayed in surprise, stopping in her tracks and sitting down, Rainbow and Twink running over to see the commotion, a few more sprites gathering about, others running in the seemingly opposite direction.

The girl slid of Sunriser, making as if to stand up, then clutching her side, lying back down again, eyes peering up at Rainbow who was now standing over her, Twink fidgeting nervously nearby.  “Prism?  No… Not Prism.”  Rainbow looked to Starlite with confusion as he explained what little he knew.  Pink and the color kids began arriving, drawn to the commotion made by the sprites and the girl’s cries.

“Who is that?” “What are they doing here?”  Violet stepped forward.  “She’s hurt.  She needs help.”  As she reached down to touch the girl’s head in search of lump or fever, a strand of lilac seemed to shoot from her touch into the girl’s hair, making a streak of color in the honey brown, the crystal on her belt beginning to sparkle.  Violet jumped, Starlight braying.  “I told you she was no good.  She’s probably been sent to suck out all our color.”

“But if that was true I’d be weaker, Starlite.  But I feel fine, almost better,” said Violet, stepping close once more.  The girl on the ground stared up at her grinning.  “So how much of my library have you read already?  You must have figured out the lock.”  Violet gasped, and the other kids had similar reactions, even Rainbow a bit surprised at the statement.  There was only one library besides Violet’s and it had been locked in the eastern wing of the castle where the long thought dead Sunshine Sam had lived.  Rainbow had never met her, but was there when Violet finally broke the complex lock that had been placed on the room when Sam and Rainbow’s predecessor had gone to fight the Evil One.

            All eyes seemed to simultaneously dart to the girl’s belt.  Indigo rushed forward, tears covering her face.  “Sam?!”  The girl’s eyes closed, tears at the corners as if pained by hearing the name.

            “It’s been so long.  Prism was the last.  After that it was just, Light-One and Prisoner.  And it’s dark now..  Just like then.”  Her body seemed to relax as she drifted into unconsciousness amidst the cries of those surrounding her.

            Sam awoke in the bed that had been hers so long ago not to the sun streaming in her large window but to the soft snoring of Red and Romeo who were dozing in a chair by her bookcase.  She moved to get up, groaning slightly with the remembered pains of her wounds, which had be carefully bandaged while she had slept, noting that she was now dressed in fresh clothing, her belt sitting on the night table beside her, its glow fully rejuvenated.  “I thought I wasn’t going to make it…  So many times…It’s so good to be home.”  With a snort, Red stirred, looking over to the bed. 

            “Sam!  You’re awake.  We were so afraid when you just passed out like that.  Violet hasn’t slept in two days reading up on medical conditions and treatments and we’ve been taking shifts to watch in case you woke up.”  He poked Romeo who jumped of the warmth of his lap, looked over at the now awake Sam and set of at a run down the hall squeaking loudly.  “The sprites have been real worried too.  Everyone was just so shocked to have you back.”  His voice became lower and quieter as if the initial excitement had been drained, leaving only some pain.  “It’s just, after the Evil One was defeated and you didn’t turn up.   Well we thought you must have been trapped somewhere else.  But neither you nor Prism ever turned up and we just gave up hope.  We thought you might have ascended,” but he trailed off as Violet and Canary stepped in, followed closely by Lala and Patty.

            “Sam!” screamed Patty, running over to her bed and giving her a huge hug before anyone could stop her.  “We missed you so much!”  Sam grinned past the pain of the embrace, brushing away a clump of hair that had since been streaked with yellow, orange, red, pink and violet blended with a lighter shade of brown than had covered her head two days ago.

            “I missed you too.  That’s why I had to get back.  You’ve kept the sun looking great.  All of you and someone cleaned my room,” she grinned broadly, looking about the tidy room that she had left in all states of chaos. 

            “We all pitched in.  We were afraid you might have been lost beneath the mess,” said Patty in a strange mixture of joke and seriousness.  They had combed the castle and the area around it looking for the lost friend, all to no luck.  Everyone seemed to be grateful when the entry of Buddy, Rainbow, Indigo and a swarm of Sprites broke the silence. 

            Rainbow beamed at the girl in bed.  “So you’re Samantha…  I’ve heard so much about you.”

            Sam smiled looking over at her.  “And you’re the new Guardian of Color.  Prism chose well.  You seem very strong.  Did you always have that star on your cheek or did she give it to you?”

            “I got it after I defeated the Evil One, when I got the title Rainbow Brite,” she seemed a little hesitant, as if awkward discussing her successor, the conversation of her rise as leader of the color kids having never really been discussed before. 

            Sam only nodded, leaning back a bit more in her bed.  “Tell us what happened,” pleaded Indigo, stepping forward.

            “Shhh!” scolded Violet.  “Sam needs to rest.”  It seemed as if Violet needed sleep too, the truth of Red’s words apparent in the girl’s face and heavy eyes.

            “No, it’s alright.  I’ll tell you all now.”  She smiled softly, sitting up as best she could to watch the crowd around her, wanting to be able to see their reactions.  Her eyes stopped on Rainbow then turned to the rest of the kids.  “How much does she know?”

            “Only what we do,” answered Buddy.  “When we were all reunited we tried to piece together what had really happened and Moonglo, Pink and Stormy contributed their own parts when they came back.  But the big blank was you… and Prism.”  The second name was said slowly, with great hesitation, Buddy and all the other kids lowering their eyes as it was spoken.  Moonglo and Tickled Pink wandered in but Stormy was nowhere to be seen.  Sam looked to the door and again at the crowd with a nod, her eyes having flashed slightly at the mention of Stormy though she remained silent.  It had been common knowledge that the two had often fought over the weather and while most had been jokingly, the tensions had escalated shortly before Prism and Sam departed.

            “Well you must know already that Prism ascended.”  The words were slow and deliberate, showing little hint of the agony within even as all the kids simultaneously burst into tears as any hope that such wasn’t true shattered. 

Ascending meant death for their race.  For a short time span, they would grow up, becoming adult in form and taking on great powers that did not need any belts or star sprinkles to be activated.  But when the time was up, they could not return to their normal forms and simply faded away.  Sam closed her eyes a moment as if in thought, then opened them.  “I know it’s hard for you to accept but she had to or else we would all still be in darkness.  It was the only to journey to Spira and bring a new guardian here.  She had been weakened too much to be able to escape and continue fighting herself.”  The emotional detachment that she had struggled so hard with since it happened shattered now once again, Sam looking down, tears streaming down her face. 

            “I should have gone instead.  Maybe my powers would have been enough.  The Speer of Light worked.  I felt it.  Maybe if someone stronger could have channeled Spectra’s energy, we could have won and Prism would still be alive.”  She slammed her hand on the night table, wincing with the ensuing pain.  The room was silent.  Finally she spoke again, her voice much quieter as if it pained her to speak.  “The Evil One was my enemy.  Since I was first created.  Before me, before the light, there was only darkness.  Then suddenly I existed.  It seemed like an eternity.  Just me-the light-and the darkness all around.”  They had heard the story before.  The light persisted though and eventually the darkness, the Evil One, decided that he would condense, pull the darkness into itself to create a barrier that would block the light from filling the Universe.  But the dark was too compact.  It caved into itself and became a crystal the way coal, dark and dirty, could be pulled into itself to become a diamond. 

            Before the Evil One realized what had happened, the light struck it and shattered.  All seven Color Kids were created simultaneously, then somehow their powers combined forming Prism, the first guardian of Rainbowland.  The crystal shattered, part of it becoming Spectra, another part creating the color crystals that make up so much of Rainbowland.  It was why diamonds could also be found in the mines.

            The tears had subsided for a moment and Sam turned to Rainbow, explaining what she seemed confused about.  “The Color Kids and Prism instinctively went to Rainbow Land while I stayed on Spectra initially.  The Sprites were appearing and Orin was my helper.  But I sensed that the Evil One was growing stronger and I knew that to fight him, we would need to be united.  So I came here, under the guise of wanting to help with the sun colors on Earth.”  Her eyes now swept across the crowded room and the faces of all the Kids, smiling now at the joy of being back among friends.

            “But then what happened?” demanded Red.  “You and Prism kept the whole thing so secret that once we were gone, none of us knew what to do.  It was child’s play for the Evil One’s henchmen to pick us off.”

            Sam nodded solemnly.  “I know.  That was a mistake.  But we thought that we had more time.  But he began his attack so suddenly… We fled, hoping that the Evil One would pursue us and leave you be.  Where once he had hated me, now his greatest qualm was with Prism.  She had become more powerful and embodied more than just the plain light.  But I was determined to stop him.  It was my fight.  Our powers were enough for a while but we knew it was just a matter of time.  He was simply too powerful and we were both weakened by an attack on Spectra.  I convinced Prism to hide the belt and I poured my last remaining powers into the creation of the Spear of Light.  Then she ascended and I was captured.”

            Sobbing began anew at those words, silence broken by words of “It’s ok” and “You did your best” from some kids while others could only join in her tears.  Eventually she subsided, turning to Rainbow once more. 

            “You were stronger than both of us.  My pooling of energy in the Spear plunged Rainbow Land into darkness but my powers returned once you released the light.  I was being held outside the range of your belt but then I don’t know if it would have picked my signals up anyways since it relies only on the freedom of the Color Kids to work properly.  At the news of the Evil One’s defeat the ones guarding me fled and I was left to fend for myself.  So slowly I fought my way back here, through the darkness and the wild.  Not all of the beasts that the Evil One unleashed fled Rainbow Land and I used most of my strength up before those horses found me.”

            “Starlite and Sunriser,” Tickled Pink corrected proudly, Rainbow suppressing a small grin despite the severity of the situation at Starlite’s reaction should he discover he was ever called just a horse.

            “Sunriser…What a beautiful name,” Sam whispered, closing her eyes once more, thoroughly exhausted.  “Everything’s so different, yet it’s all the same so good to be home.”