Riding With Rainbow

by Robert Teague 22 August 2001

copyright 2001 by Robert Teague This story is intended solely for the entertainment of Rainbow Brite fans, and no copyright infringement is intended. This story may be reproduced, provided no changes are made, and that you let me know.

You wake up all excited, because today is the first day of spring, and Rainbow has promised that you can ride with her to activate the spring colors!

You wash and dress as fast as you can, then head out the door to the front of the Color Castle, where you find Rainbow Brite, Twink, Starlite, and all the Color Kids waiting for you. They smile to see your excitement.

"Ready to go?" Rainbow asks you, but you are too excited to talk, so just nod your head. Rainbow hops up on Starlite's back, and gestures for you to climb up next. Since you can't jump like that, she offers her hand, and almost pulls you up. You settle in behind her, and reach for Twink's hand, pulling up the sprite to join you. He sits close behind you, and you tell him to hold onto your belt. He immediately does so, saying thanks.

"We're ready, Starlite," says Rainbow, and the most magnificent horse in the Universe nods. Rainbow touches the star on the Color Belt, and a rainbow appears under Starlite's hooves, stretching upwards and away from the Castle, into the clear blue morning sky.

Your heart beats harder, and Rainbow tells you to hold onto her. You put your arms around her waist, a bit embarrassed at the familiarity.

Suddenly a powerful leap by Starlite and he lands on the rainbow, running along it. Behind you you hear the Color Kids saying goodbye. You risk a quick look over your shoulder, and see them all clustered around the base of the rainbow, waving. Starlite is running upward at an impossible angle, and you don't dare let go long enough to wave back. Shortly their voices fade away behind you.

The rainbow's angle shallows out, becoming more parallel with the ground, and you look down, seeing the Color Cave below, and sprites small as ants going in and out. You pass by the mountain with a cloud around its peak, close enough to feel the cold from the snow covering its upper slopes. But strangely, you feel no cold; merely a light breeze.

The mountain is left behind, and you see a broad valley below, surrounded by mountains, with a river meadering through it. Patches of bright green woods dot the countryside, but no sign of inhabitants.

The longer you stay on Starlite's back, the more used to his rhythm of running you get, so feel more confident. You ease up your grip on Rainbow. She feels the loosening, and laughs. "Don't worry", she tells you, "You won't fall. Starlite won't let that happen."

Suddenly the rainbow's angle increases again, and you see the ground falling away from you. Within minutes, to your fascinated eyes, the whole planet becomes visible, as you leave the atmosphere. You can make out the shapes of the continents, and even see where the Pits is. Mountains are small lumps and you can't find the Color Castle at all.

All around you, the stars are visible, with a myriad of colors and brightnesses and patterns. Far ahead, rising over the edge of the world, the moon makes itself known, the golden hues glimmering in space. You look all around, but avoid looking at the sun. That could be dangerous to your eyes.

"Wow!" is about all you can manage to say.

"It is pretty up here, isn't it," says Twink. "I love looking at the stars."

You nod to the sprite, but are too taken with the beauty of the Universe to pay much attention to him. Suddenly it hits you; you are astride Starlite, holding onto Rainbow Brite, with Twink hanging on to you, riding the rainbow between worlds. The sensation of the powerful horse, the odd breeze you feel, but no sounds other than hooves pounding the rainbow, and breathing. Your sight is overwhelmed.

The white horse with the rainbow mane has established a rhythm while running, and you feel more secure.

Starlite's powerful stride is taking you farther from Rainbowland, and when you finally think to look behind you, there is no sign of it, just the small but bright sun, and the rainbow streching toward it.

Looking ahead, a star is getting brighter, and the rainbow in that direction is leading toward it. You look around again, and when you look forward, are surprised to see a planet dead ahead, the rainbow leading toward it, growing rapidly larger. You look at your watch, and are surprised to see that only about twenty minutes have passed.

The stars slowly fade as you ride deeper into the atmosphere, the planet taking up most of your sight. Below you see the oceans and continents, and as the clouds approach, passenger planes fly by. You wave at one, but there is no response. "They can't see us," Rainbow reminds you, and you drop your arm.

The rainbow's path suddenly flattens out, and heads in a straight line toward a thunderhead. "Since you're riding with me this year," says Rainbow, "Stormy promised not to put up a fuss about the start of spring." You feel and hear Twink take a sigh of relief.

The cloud grows larger, and the sound of thunder grows louder; the lightning brighter. Plunging inside, all you can see for a moment is the soft grey fog of the cloud. Suddenly you come out of the cloud, and into a cavernous open area. The thunder is very loud, and the lighting flashing between parts of the cloud almost blinding.

Starlite slows down, because just ahead is Stormy, sitting atop Skydancer. She waves, and Skydancer snorts, the horse's breath turning to ice and shattering. Starlite pulls up beside them, and stops.

"Already?" she asks, and you hear a note of desparation in her voice. Rainbow nods. Stormy's expression clouds up and becomes angry. The lightning gains in power and noise and frequency.

"Remember your promise," Rainbow says, and suddenly the anger just leaves Stormy.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I guess I can wait three months for winter in the other hemisphere!" she says, then looks at you. "Enjoying your ride?" she asks, and you say yes! eagerly. "Good! See you in Rainbowland!" she says, and nudges Skydancer.

Stormy and Skydancer take off back in the direction you had come from, and are shortly lost in the clouds. The lighting and thunder slack off.

"Whew!" says Twink.

"Let's go, Starlite!" says rainbow, and the magnificent horse takes off. Soon you are out of the cloud, and moving along over a snow-covered region. "I was going to visit Brian to start spring, but he's in school today. So I've picked another place."

A few minutes later, the rainbow angles down into a forest, the trees a dull green and brown. A clearing appears, and a moment later, Starlite is on the ground. Rainbow hops off, followed by Twink. You struggle for a moment, then Starlite politely squats, giving you a chance to get off as well. Thanks! you tell him, and he nods.

"Twink, give me some starsprinkles," says Rainbow, holding her cupped hands down to the sprite. Twink reaches into his pouch, and pulls out a fistfull, which he gives to her.

A glow surrounds the Color Belt, and the starsprinkles dissappear, leaving a rainbow-colored globe in her hands. She tosses it up, and bats it like a volleyball. The ball flies over some low brush, and lands splat! on the ground, flattening out and making rainbow colors spread out. As you stand there, the trees and bushes around you suddenly take on a more healthy glow, and the green and brown become deeper and prettier.

You watch the effect radiate in all directions as far as you can see. Rainbow turns a slow circle, hands on hips, nodding. She is satisfied.

Going over to Starlite, she jumps back up on him, and holds her hand out to you. Grasping it, you pull yourself up, and help Twink back up.

Touching the star on the Color Belt, the rainbow appears once more, stretching upward. Up Starlite runs, and once higher than the trees, you can see again the edge of the rainbow effect, now nearly to the horizon, affecting the colors of everything in its path. Rainbow watches it too, and is pleased to see no problems.

As you and your companions leave the atmosphere, the stars once more brighten, and take on colors. Suddenly you notice the Moon, low on the horizon.

Starlite suddenly slows down, and he, Rainbow, and Twink look around. "There it is," says Twink, pointing. You look in that direction, and see another rainbow in the distance. The rainbow Starlite is running on veers in that direction, and crosses it. When he reaches the other rainbow, Starlite leaps, and lands on it, running away from earth. Behind you, the other rainbow fades away.

"This is the color signal rainbow, that keeps the colors on earth bright and fresh," Rainbow explains. "It will take us directly to the Castle."

As earth and the sun slowly recede in the distance, once more you get used to Starlite's regular stride, and look around at the stars, trying to pick out the constellations, but having little luck because of all the extra stars not visible from the ground. You have questions, of course, but they will wait.

This time, you see your destination ahead while it is still barely visible, and it rapidly grows in size, as doe Rainbowland's sun. The rainbow goes in a straight line directly to the planet. Starlite continues to run, even though the angle is getting steeper and steeper. By the time the Color Castle is visible below, Starlite is running straight down toward it. You feel a bit of fear, and your grip on Rainbow's waist tightens.

She lets go of Starlite's mane with one hand, and pats yours. "It's okay, we aren't going to fall," she tells you. You try to loosen your grip, but it is difficult to do.

At the bottom of the rainbow, the top of the Color Castle awaits. Starlite leaps off of the rainbow, and comes down with a solid THUNK! on the roof. His hind legs follow his front, which have leaped again, down to the top of Red Butler's Keep, and then to the ground, right between the bridge and the door to the Castle. It was so quick, you didn't have time to be scared. The trip is over.

The Color Kids and several sprites run out of the Castle, greeting Rainbow and Starlite. Stormy is there with them.

Rainbow slides off of Starlite, and you do so as well, the jar as you reach the ground noticeable. Twink leaps off, and lands beside Rainbow.

"Well, what did you think?" Rainbow asks you.

You grin. "Thank you, Starlite!" you say, hugging the horse.

"You're quite welcome; thank you for coming along," he replies.

"Thank you, Twink," you say, picking up the white sprite and hugging him. He makes a big show of being choked, but is grinning all the while. You put him down.

You fall to your knees, so you will be at her height, and hug Rainbow tightly. She hugs you back, just as tight. You notice that, although she isn't wearing any perfume, her scent is fresh and clean. "Thank you," you say, as you let go.

She is smiling, and says, "You're welcome! I'm glad you had a good time!"

Suddenly, your stomach growls loudly, and everyone laughs.

"Lunch is ready," says Lala, and the Kids turn and head back inside, talking to Rainbow about the morning's work at the Color Console.

You stand up, brushing your knees, and follow them in, smiling.

It had been quite a morning.

The End

Author's Note:

I wrote this because I wanted to see what it might be like to accompany Rainbow on a mission. I tried to tell it from the reader's point of view, making it as personal as possible without mentioning gender, race, or a particular person.