“Wha-ha-hat?” Iris brayed in shock over Mena’s out-of-this-world proposition.
“You heard me,” Mena said, holding an enormous bag of rainbow sugar cubes she had pilfered from the equestrian supply room. “All these sugar cubes could be yours if you take us to catch up with the sky train.”
Iris’ enormous eye swiveled over to the boarded over gap in the stable wall, and beyond the cracks to the pure blue of the sky. “I dunno, the mare shook her head. “Isn’t it scary-hee-hee out there?”
Suddenly, Mena had a brilliant idea. “You want us to save your sister, right? If she’s out there—controlled by the Mal-Essense—she’ll be looking for me.”
The unicornea frowned and gave a sad whiney. “I don’t even know if she’s still there-here-here.”
With a wide eyed smile, Janus approached the horse’s gate an rested her hands on it, “No need for the long face…”
Suddenly, Iris glared at the pixie reaper and kicked her feet on the ground.
“Oops,” Janus squeaked, giggling nervously. “I mean, no need for the sad face, because I am the seer of death and I see anyone who is passing between this world and the next…A second please.”
Janus held her bony hands up to her face and slowly her eyes became black and hollow. Gazing into the emptiness of Janus’ normally lively eyes was a bit spooky for Mena.
“Aha!” Janus said, her eyes fortunately returning to normal. ”Scalera is alive, but on the brink of death. I see her in the middle of a muddy alleyway.”
“An alleyway? Mena asked, “But where in the world is an alleyway?”
Janus raised a finger. “One such place is Wormwoo.”
“Alright,” the Unicornea brayed again. “Please save her and I’ll take you-hoo-hoo.”
Mena high-fived Janus. It was great having the daughter of death on her side.
Mena opened the gate, allowing Iris to exit. All the other Unicorneas gritted their teeth and let out snorts of anger. This all changed when Mena opened her bag.
“What are you do-hoo-hooing?” Iris asked, as Mena’s mouth spread into a sneaky grin.
“Bribery!” she exclaimed and pulled out some sugar cubes. “You horses want some?”
Slowly, the unicorneas all began nodding their heads.
“Then don’t tell anyone where we’re going.”
The horses whinnied and nodded again.
Mena threw the rainbow sugar cubes into the stalls and there was a feeding frenzy. Some horses even managed to catch the cubes with their mouths.
Janus gave a spacey smile. “You know how it goes, rainbow sugar cubes are the root of all evil these days.”
Mena laughed manically before adding, “Only this time, we’re using them to save the day!”
Iris snorted with jealous, causing Mena to walk over and give her some sugar cubes too. “Don’t worry, I got plenty more where that came from, old girl. Now let’s go and catch that train.”
Mena climbed onto the horse, and Janus followed, mounting their steed. “Wowie zowie!” Mena exclaimed, feeling horse’s familiar rainbow mane. “I never though I’d be flying on a unicornea again! Let’s hope those lessons with Electra paid off.”
Like she was dashing across a runway, Iris sprinted across the stable with her wingspan out and her body arched for a perfect aerodynamic flight. She crashed through the boarded-up wall, and Mena ducked as splinters and shards of wood scattered everywhere. Once she opened her eyes, Iris was soaring through the crystalline blue sky.
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“Miraculous magicaps!” Mena marveled at the view from that altitude. Autolycus’ tiny hills of yellow and green patchwork were ripe for Septober harvest, and the houses and farms resembled doll-houses Mena played with when she was young.
Mena shook her head as the wind blasted through her hair. She couldn’t lose sight of the mission. “How are we going to catch up with the train?” she asked Iris.
“Perhaps, a suggestion,” Iris neighed as her wings flapped, “You should ride the rainbow wind.”
“The rainbow wind!?” Mena asked, her hands held to her blushing cheeks. That sounded positively romantic and beautiful. “We’re going to ride a rainbow?! But how?”
Iris craned her neck around. “Do you have any more rainbow sugar cubes? They have laxative properties.”
Janus rolled her big purple eyes and smiled, “I know where this is going. And I’m thankful I don’t have a nose.”
Mena, suddenly feeling tentative, handed Iris some more rainbow sugar cubes. As the unicornea gulped them down her tail stood straight up.
“Quick,” Iris urged, “Pull my tail!”
Mena pinched her button nose and cranked the horse’s tail, causing the unicornea to flatulate rainbows, all while riding from zero to six hundred. Mena could barely keep her cheeks from pulling back over her gritted teeth. “I’m thankful I don’t have a nose…or skin!” Janus screamed
The train that was once a blip in the blue closed in at such a rate, Mena closed her eyes, afraid they were going to crash; but slowly the potent wind died down and Iris returned to her regular speed. “Remember kiddies,” she brayed. “Always eat your greens, and reds, oranges, yellows, blues, indigos and violets.”
“Mena!” Janus asked, shaking a slightly catatonic basic witch. “Are you okay?”
“Wowie zowie…” the young witch said, coming to. “That’s one colorful breeze. I got a bit dizzy from the fumes.”
“Well, we’re here-ere,” Iris exclaimed as the train continued to chug along the rainbow track.
“Thank you, Iris,” Mena said, petting the unicornea’s rainbow mane. “We’ll be sure to save your sister.”
“You better,” Iris whinnied as Mena and Janus hopped onto the passing train. “Or I’ll turn you-hoo-hoo into glue!”
Mena swallowed hard as she watched Iris sail back to the Dream Castle. She hoped she could save Scalera in time.
“Hey Mena,” Janus called out, drawing Mena’s attention back to the train. “Help me lift this fire escape off the roof.”
Mena looked down and saw a golden lid on the shiny black roof of the train. Janus was struggling to lift it with her pipe cleaner arms. “I don’t exactly have a big bone density,” she giggled.
Together, Mena lifted the latch and tossed it aside. Looking into the hole, she saw checkered floor tiles. “Here goes nothing,” Mena said to Janus, and they leaped inside, landing quietly on the floor.
Checkered floor tiles in black and white lined the floor, which was filled with a stainless steel sink, a gas stove and a preparation table. They soon realized they were in the train’s kitchen.
The two handsome cabin boys toiled over a can of peanut butter spread, bread rolls and kumquats. “Can you believe this wench, man?” the first one said, as he lathered the peanut butter on the bread. “That was the gnarliest pair of feet I’ve ever had to massage. I’ve ran ten miles in the train’s gym and I still don’t stink as bad.”
“I agree, dude,” the second one said, as he sliced the kumquats. “And she likes peanut butter and kumquats between two pieces of bread. And here I thought I was a freak and—hey”
Mena squeaked as the handsome men turned around and exclaimed, “Hey who are you?! You’re not allowed back here.”
Mena boldly thrusted her finger at the men. “You may diss May’s personal hygiene til the cows come home, but I’ll never let you criticize her taste in kumquats!”
Mena held her hand to her head and chanted. “Magic, magic if you can KO these palookas with a frying pan!”
In response to her magic spell, the frying pan on the stove sailed off and smacked the first man in the head. He fell to the floor in second’s flat. The other man screamed and ran, but the frying pan quickly swung itself and clobbered him too. As the handsome cabin boys lay unconscious, Janus smiled dreamily, “Nice work. They’ll think twice before messing with May’s kumquats.”
Mena laughed but she was soon interrupted by a voice that rang out of a red funnel shaped speaker. “Hey big boys, where’s my peanut butter and kumquat sub and my foot rub?”
“Oh no!” Mena exclaimed. “We knocked out May’s service. What should we do?”
Janus eyed the groaning unconscious men and flashed a smirk. “Oh, I know.”
***
May Cumberson was happier than she had ever been. She had gone from being bound in a magic-wheelchair and saving her best friend from an evil romance book, to reclining in a deluxe train, being waited on hand and foot by two handsome men. She hated to thank her arch enemy, but it sure was nice of Ashlan to give her the train ticket.
As she relaxed in a purple bathrobe with her bushy hair tied up in a towel and kumquats over her eyes, she heard the door open. Her dimpled cheeks curved into a smile. “Ah there you are big fellas. Let’s start with the foot rub first. That always raises my appetite.”
The cabin boys were silent, and May demanded, “Well, lay one on my tootsies!” Soon she felt a bristling chill on her heels.
“Brrr,” May shivered. “Your hands are suddenly frigid. It’s like I’m being touched by the hands of death herself.”
“About that…” Janus’ high and flighty voice trailed off.