Main Page Go to Short Stories Go back to Articles Go to Comics Go to Continued Series Go to Editorial Go to New Series

Show All | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 | Week 22 | Week 23 | Week 24 | Week 25 | Week 26 | Week 27 | Week 28 | Week 29 | Week 30 | Week 31 | Week 32 | Week 33 | Week 34 | Week 35 | Week 36 | Week 37 | Week 38 | Week 39 | Week 40 | Week 41 | Week 42 | Week 43 | Week 44 | Week 45 | Week 46 | Week 47 | Week 48 | Week 49 | Week 50 | Week 51 | Week 52 | Week 53 | Week 54 | Week 55 | Week 56 | Week 57 | Week 58 | Week 59 | Week 60 | Week 61 | Week 62 | Week 63 | Week 64 | Week 65 | Week 66 | Week 67 | Week 68 | Week 69 | Week 70 | Week 71 | Week 72 | Week 73 | Week 74 | Week 75 | Week 76 | Week 77 | Week 78 | Week 79 | Week 80 | Week 81 | Week 82 | Week 83 | Week 84 | Week 85 | Week 86 | Week 87 | Week 88 | Week 89 | Week 90 | Week 91 | Week 92 | Week 93 | Week 94 | Week 95 | Week 96 | Week 97 | Week 98 | Week 99 | Week 100 | Week 101 | Week 102 | Week 103 | Week 104 | Week 105 | Week 106 | Week 107 | Week 108 | Week 109 | Week 110 | Week 111 | Week 112 | Week 113 | Week 114 | Week 115 | Week 116 | Week 117 | Week 118 | Week 119 | Week 120 | Week 121 | Week 122 | Week 123 | Week 124 | Week 125 | Week 126 | Week 127 | Week 128 | Week 129 | Week 130 | Week 131 | Week 132 | Week 133 | Week 134 | Week 135 | Week 136 | Week 137 | Week 138 | Week 139 | Week 140 | Week 141 | Week 142 | Week 143 | Week 144 | Week 145 | Week 146 | Week 147 | Week 148 | Week 149

Neopia's Fill in the Blank News Source | 28th day of Running, Yr 26
The Neopian Times Week 117 > Continuing Series > The Power of Friendship: Part Two

The Power of Friendship: Part Two

by futureshrinksme

Cheriche wasn't sure where to go, and her heart was beating wildly. Who would know about what had happened? She decided her best bet would be to poke around in Faerieland and see if anyone there knew anything about silverbelle Unis, or enchanted bridles.

     She arrived out of breath as much from fear as from hurrying. The most obvious place was the library. She wondered if she could just borrow a few books, as she didn't have much money. She doubted it, though…

     She walked into the shop and fought the Sunday-afternoon crowd to get to the counter. She stood as tall as she could and asked in a loud voice:

     "Do you have any books on enchanted bridles for Unis?"

     A hush fell over the bookstore. Some people pointed at her and stared. She blushed and fidgeted, wondering what she had said wrong. One of the clerks, a red Lenny, put down the book he was restocking and came up to her.

     "Now why in Neopia would you ask a thing like that?" She looked at him and felt like crying again. He stared at her evenly, then waved a wing at the other customers. "Continue shopping, nothing to see here." He took her by the elbow and gently steered her into a back room. He sat down in a comfortable chair and gestured for her to do the same. She sat on the edge of it, too tense to lean back.

     "I think I made a terrible mistake," she said.

     "You put a bridle on a Uni?" he asked sharply. "What, were you playing dress-up and weren't thinking? What happened? And where is this Uni?" The Lenny leaned forward and stared at the trembling Kyrii.

     "No," she squeaked. "No, I didn't put a bridle on a Uni. Is that… is it a bad thing to do?" The Lenny continued to stare at her, looking into her eyes for a clue. Finally he leaned back again and sighed.

     "You don't ask a question like that for no reason. And you don't ask it unless you really don't know. I don't know what they teach you in Neoschool if you don't know that…" Cheriche bit her lip.

     "No, I don't know."

     "Well, yes, it is a very bad thing to do. Putting a bridle on a Uni is like… well; it's like taking away their identity. They lose their free will. Little Neopets sometimes play pretend and a Uni will get a bridle put on them without any of them knowing… well, sometimes there are bad results. The Uni acting funny. But it does happen and can be easily remedied by removing the bridle."

     "Why? I mean, why does it make the Uni act funny?"

     "Well, no one knows for sure. But there are theories. You see, Unis are rumored to be cousins of the mythical beasts called horses. And these creatures are "beasts of burden" in their native world. Not that they are always treated badly, but you see, they can be, and have no choice in it. They can be made to do backbreaking labor as well as something as simple as letting a human ride them. And all of this power lies in the bridle."

     "So, they become slaves," Cheriche whispered. What was happening to Lynella right now?

     "Yes. They become completely helpless, under the power of whoever put the bridle on them. But unlike horses, Unis are magical creatures, and special rules apply when they are… when someone slaves them under their power." "What rules?" Cheriche asked.

     "For one, the Uni must allow the bridle to be put on, even want it. And of course, only the person who puts on the bridle can take it off." Cheriche waited, then asked,

     "Is there anything more?"

     "I really need to know why you're asking," the Lenny said sternly. "If you had just made a silly mistake and didn't know why your friend was acting funny, you'd be out of here and taking off that bridle by now. This must be something much more serious." Cheriche nodded. "Why don't you tell me what happened?" Cheriche shook her head, then sighed.

     "All right. I need to tell someone." She proceeded to tell him about the silverbelle Uni in the bridle, and how Lynella had threatened to stop being friends if Cheriche tried to keep her from following the silverbelle Uni off into the woods to have a similar bridle put on. "And I think Lynella was getting hypnotized by the bells or something, because every time they rang she spaced out, but I wasn't sure. I know I messed up and I should never have let her go, but I was just so scared she'd hate me forever. And now I might never see her again," Cheriche said, and started to cry. The Lenny let her get the worst of it out, then said,

     "But you were promised you would see her on Monday. This sounds like powerful Faerie magic, and Faeries usually have to keep direct promises when they make them. You were very wise to insist on seeing Lynella again."

     "But the Uni wasn't a Faerie, I don't think…" Cheriche looked up and begged with her eyes for the red Lenny to tell her there was hope.

     "Yes, but a Faerie was probably speaking though her. The bridle sounds even more powerful than most on a Uni and was probably controlling this Uni psychically…" The Lenny suddenly stood up and looked through the shelves lining the room. He pulled out a book, and flipped through the pages, muttering to himself. "Yes. Yes. Oh, of course. Silverbelle, did you say?"

     "Yes," Cheriche replied.

     "Well, there's only one Darkness Faerie that would have done this, then. Her name is Serenelle, and she is notorious for preying on vanity, and it says here she also favors mind-control techniques." The Lenny showed Cheriche a picture from the book he was holding. Cheriche stared, and felt a chill go up her spine.

     It was definitely a darkness Faerie, but far more beautiful than most of them were. The Faerie's hair was purple, and her skin was a pale orchid, and she was wearing a silver tiara. This wasn't what made Cheriche shiver, though.

     The Faerie was shown riding a silverbelle Uni.

     "That's just what the Uni looked like!" Cheriche said. "That's it, exactly!" The Lenny nodded and read from the small article on the evil Faerie.

     "Serenelle is said to derive her power from pain and suffering, most of all guilt. She is rumored to live on the dark side of the moon, but as it has never been explored no one knows for sure. What we do know about her is that she visits Neopia, preying on the foolish and the vain, and enslaving Unis to add to her flying army, which can be seen flying on clear nights and is often mistaken for shooting stars. Her power is strongest at the full moon, and weakest at the new moon." The Lenny closed the book and Cheriche bit her lip.

     "So now we know what happened to Lynella… but we still don't know how to save her. And right now she's probably being tortured in some horrible way." The Lenny shook his head.

     "No, a Uni in a bridle has little or no awareness of what is happening to them. The misery she preys on is yours, remember, Serenelle feeds on guilt. What you need to do is stop blaming yourself and try to find a solution." Cheriche nodded and sighed.

     "Well, it says that she's more powerful at the full moon. Was that today?"

     "No, in fact, the new moon is tonight," the Lenny said. "So you should hurry." Cheriche's eyes became wide.

     "So you think I have a chance?"

     "Yes. So what we need to do between now and then is find some way to fight Serenelle," the Lenny said. "And I know just where to start. The only person who can fight a darkness Faerie is…."

     "A Light Faerie!" Cheriche said. "We have to find a Light Faerie who is willing to help us!" The Lenny smiled but shook his head.

     "Not we, you have to do this. I need to stay here and search for any more useful information. This is your friend, and she is your responsibility now. I'm willing to help, but you need me less than you need to learn to stand up for yourself. That is the only way you can be a real help to your friend."

     "But where would I find a Light Faerie willing to help me?" Cheriche asked. The Lenny pulled a pen and notebook out of his pocket and wrote something down. He gave it to Cheriche. "1537 Effulgence Lane," she read. "What's this?"

     "The address of a Light Faerie named Helene. She is a friend of mine. Tell her Harold sent you." The Lenny gently guided Cheriche out the door, and as she left said "Good luck. Remember to believe in yourself… and the strength of your friendship. Hurry now."

     "Thank you," Cheriche said, and closed the door behind her. She looked back at the slip of paper, and started off to meet Helene.

To be continued...

Previous Episodes

The Power of Friendship: Part One

The Power of Friendship: Part Three

The Power of Friendship: Part Four

Week 117 Related Links

Scene: Beautiful Music -- Part Six
I mentally ran through all the magical options I had open to me, given my limited set of wands, my limited amount of time, and the small amount of energy I had after healing Sadiyah’s petpet Cadro.

by scriptfox



Search :
Other Stories

The Zafara Assassin 4: Darkness and Light -- Part One
"Maybe you should let her go with you Zarrel," he said softly to me "The best way to learn is to try something out."

by meratocat


Dropped from the Skies: Part One
"There's this Faerie on the beach and she needs help! She told us to find her Shoyru!"

by furbyfun


Jay and the Super Authors Strike Back: Part One
"You guys seen Jay? I wonder where could he be?" Rosie said, when Harriet and Spot failed to respond.

by erika_idle


Deathwoven: Part Three
Raishre was silent. She knew she had let Whisp down terribly, and did not want to make it worse.

by catlady87


Drake: Part Two
"I just found you. No note, no mysterious cloaked figure, nothing. You were just there, waiting for me." Malyice smiled. "Now you will be waiting for someone else."

by larin_ellotan


Neopets | Main | Articles | Editorial
Short Stories | Comics | New Series | Continued Series | Search