Dustine sighed as she watched the wheel spend endlessly. The Wheel of Monotony sure is... monotonous, she thought to herself. Last week, she may have found it mildly amusing, but lately Dustine just hadn't been feeling like herself. She looked down at her new grey coat and sighed again. Before, it seemed like it would have been exciting to have a brand new color, but now it felt so... dull. she thought. Like this wheel... like my life.

The grey Wocky plopped herself down on the dusty Tyrannian ground. She even lacked the motivation to grab some omlette while the wheel was spinning.

Laying on her stomach upon the hot sand, with the sun scorching her back, the Wocky just stared across the endless wasteland...

She didn't know how long she had been asleep when the wheel finally ground to a halt with a loud squeak. Looking up, she was temporarily blinded by the sun. Putting a paw against her forehead to shade her eyes, Dustine wearily blinked as she looked to see what the wheel had come to rest on...

Slowly making her way to the Rainbow Pool, the trip seemed to take hours. By the time Dustine had reached the pool, the sun was just setting. Just as she was about to start painting herself liberally, the Wocky noticed something odd. Gasping while the paint brush fell from her paw, Dustine stared at the Rainbow "Pool".

However, the pool was no more. Where glistening waters had once flowed, there was now only dried, caked dirt! How could this be?!? Dustine thought to herself frantically. The awfulness of the situation dawned on her; she was stuck as a grey Neopet, and more miserable than ever...

..."Wow! Isn't that wonderfully, spectacularly, gloriously rotten?" a ridiculously cheerful voice chirped behind her.

Dustine looked back, to find the silliest sight in all her born days.

Right behind her was a huge, fat rainbow Skeith, flapping his lovely, colorful wings. He beamed the biggest, sweetest, happiest smile ever. He looked so silly, it almost made Dustine snicker.

"Wow. Sorry, but you're a hoot. What happened to you?" she asked.

"Since you're the only one that hasn't burst into into howls of laughter at me, I'll happily, merrily, ecstatically tell you," the Skeith said in a lilting tone. "I was about to paint myself from rainbow to fiery, which is so beautifully, whimsically cooler than this get-up... but that's when I saw the Pool starting to drain away. A Chomby and a Bruce dropped their brushes when they saw it, too. I didn't move fast enough, and... well, golly, here's what happened! I still have the fire brush, but... obviously, I can't use it now."

"Aww, poor you," Dustine said, feeling sorry for him. "What's your name?"

"Bobby Q," the Skeith said. "Do you think you could help me? My mouth's permanently stuck in this stupid smile. I'm so phenomenally, delightfully, fabulously, dynamically, impossibly happy, I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE!" Dustine saw real tears as they trickled down his eyes and over his wide grin...

"Oh," the Skeith said. Although he was disappointed, there was still a smile plastered upon his rainbow face. "Wait!" he suddenly cried, just as Dustine had begun to walk away, her gloomy tail trailing behind her. "I just had the most wonderfully superb idea! We could go to the fabulously colorful faerie from the Rainbow Fountain! She will most certainly be able to help us with our spectacular dilemma."

"How will we get there?" Dustine asked, disappointed and sad as she thought of another problem.

"I'll fly us there, of course!" Bobby Q declared while brandishing his wings and ecstatically jumping up and down.

Hesitant, but desperate to be rid of her gloomy color, Dustine nodded and clumsily climbed onto the Skeith's back. Within moments they were off and heading towards Faerieland...

...Off they went, into the skies. Dustine felt the wind blowing through her fur. As they got closer to the mystical land of the faeries, both Dustine and Bobby Q could feel the surroundings changing. Everything felt happier; the clouds grew progressively pinker with every inch they got closer to reaching Faerieland. Pink clouds were appearing with greater frequency, until it seemed as though they were enshrouded by a pink fog. With one last flap of Bobby Q's wings, they flew inches above the pink clouds. A brilliant light illuminated the skies; Dustine could only gape in awe at the stunning sight. "It's beautiful!" is what Dustine would've said, but she was too depressed.

Dustine looked around while Bobby Q panted for breath; despite feeling the burn of fatigue, a smile remained on his face throughout. In the distance, Dustine heard a noise coming closer and closer. "What's that sound?" Dustine asked. Bobby tried to answer, but since he wasn't the greatest flyer, was too tired to offer a response.

A sudden blur flashed by, hitting Dustine. As she fell over, Dustine dragged Bobby Q with her. With Bobby's last breath, he uttered the words "C-cloud ra... cer..." as they tumbled down into the puffs of pink.

Dustine woke with a horrific headache. As the pain lessened, she looked around. Bobby Q was still unconscious. Everything was... different. The clouds, instead of being pink, were now purple. She could hear thunder booming around her and flashes of light coming through the translucent clouds. Bobby Q woke up with a smile on his face. Then, after one glance at their surroundings, Bobby jolted up with a shiver and whispered, "Jhudora's cloud..."

"Hello my pretty, what brings you here?" Her voice was soft and gentle, which did not fit with her appearance. This made Dustine suspicious, but there was little she could do at this point.

Bobby Q quivered as she managed to squeak out, "Wwwwe bbbbetter be gggoing now Dddddustine!"

"I don't see he hurry," Jhudora said, picking up Dustine by the scruff of her neck with a clawed hand. Dustine started to cry; this was just too much for her. She squirmed trying to break free of Jhudora's tight grasp.

"Now, now, don't be afraid." Jhudora said, speaking in a sickly sweet tone. Just as Bobby Q was about to dash away, she picked him up by the tail. Upon being plopped down in Jhudora's lap, Bobby Q dared not move.

"Now, what brings you here?" she asked, "And what are your names?"

"Iii'm Dddustine, anddd thisss is Bbbbobby QQQ." Dustine stammered.

Bobby Q built up his bravery and said, "Wwwe ccame bbbecause wwwe wwanted tttt-to see the ccccolorful faerie tttto ask hher if sssh'ed ccchange mmy cccolor." he explained.

"I think you're beautiful just the way you are," Jhudora cooed in her sickly sweet voice to Bobby Q.

"You see, he's always stuck being happy, and it's driving him crazy... that's why he wants to change color," Dustine said; she had lost some of her fear, but was still being cautious.

"No worries, my pretties. Auntie Jhudora will help you," she said, in a voice that was too sweet to be true.

Jhudora scratched the Wocky behind the ears, and Dustine had to fight the temptation to give in. She stroked Bobby Q, too, who also tried his best to resist.

"For a small price..." Jhudora whispered to herself, then cackled. However, Dustine and Bobby Q didn't hear her; they were already asleep in Jhudora's lap...

...Dustine awoke to an uncomfortable feeling in her wrists, neck, and ankles. Twisting her head, she saw that she had been strapped down to a wooden table, and couldn't move. A gleeful moan came from off towards her right; Bobby Q was apparently in the same situation as the Wocky. What's going on, Dustine mouthed. The Skeith shook his grinning head. "I believe we are in an impeccably, spectacularly, radiantly--"

"Oh, stop that!" Dustine snapped.

"--we're in trouble," the Skeith finished. Their brief conversation was then interrupted by a menacing cackle.

"You're not in trouble, my dearies," Jhudora crooned. The companions looked up to see the Dark Faerie floating on a cloud, not far above them. "I'm only here to help you! I'll--erm... you'll have your colors back in no time flat!" Slowly the cloud floated down, then Jhudora stepped off. She was carrying two small beakers of frothy green liquid. Turning on Bobby Q, she asked, "You do want a new color, correct?"

The Skeith nodded as best he could, despite the immobility of his neck.

"And you as well?" she asked Dustine, who stared at her blankly. The Faerie smiled.

"Just one moment; I must prepare the final ingredient."

As she turned away, Dustine looked over at Bobby Q. "What's Jhudora going to do?" she whispered.

However, before the Skeith had time to answer, Jhudora had returned. She dropped a pinch of purplish dust into each beaker, then advanced on the two.

"I'm running out of servants," she explained. "When I saw you during that Faerie cloud race, I knew you'd do nicely, so I knocked you to the ground. You needed strength and determination to make it all the way up here." she said, her evil grin broadening. "These potions will turn you a lovely shade of purple, and at the same time, they will cause you to remain my faithful servants... FOREVER!!!" As she cackled the last word, thunder boomed and lightning cracked through the night sky. Fear jolted through Dustine's body. A servant to the Dark Faerie Jhudora? No!

Suddenly, the roar of an engine sounded from above. "Stop right there, Jhudora!"

Dustine gasped. "It's...

The Water Faerie was seated in her own Faerie Cloud Racer. "I saw you knock them down, Jhudora," she said coldly. "It was pretty obvious you did it on purpose." She brought the racer down to a landing and slid out on her tail.

Jhudora, who had been frowning at the fountain faerie, suddenly turned slightly pink in the cheeks. However, she then scowled again.

"Larila," she muttered through gritted teeth. "Why did you come here? Why does some other Faerie ALWAYS have to come and spoil my wonderful, glorious plans?! I WILL GET YOU ALL ONE DAY!!" she screeched. A dark purple steam began to rise from her clenched fists.

Dustine was scared. She had never seen faeries fight, not for real... but now, she thought she might.

She glanced at Bobby Q, who had a smile on his face but fear in his eyes. Poor Bobby, Dustine thought. He can't show his feelings.

But just then Jhudora said very quietly, "Or maybe I'll just deal with you now..."

The Water Faerie turned around and looked at her from between Dustine and Bobby Q, where she had sneaked over to while Jhudora was screaming.

A purple fire suddenly raged from Jhudora's hands, shooting towards the cloud's edge. The fountain faerie's Cloud Racer lifted off the ground, hovered for a moment, then heaved off the side of the cloud. Jhudora cackled evilly as the pets and Faerie watched.

The Water Faerie, surprisingly, did not show much concern. Instead, she simply said...

...a few magical words that neither Dustine or Bobby Q could make out, causing thousands upon thousands of tiny sparkles to shoot out from her hands.

They circled Jhudora momentarily before disappearing, revealing her in an orange and purple dress. She had been painted split!

Jhudora clenched her hands, shot them downwards and raised her shoulders. "Grrr!" she growled with a vicious look in her green eyes.

"Now you know how your antics can make others feel!" the Water Faerie declared.

"MY antics?" Jhudora questioned, "I have done nothing!"

By now Dustine realized what had been going on... now the jigsaw was complete! "YOU drained the Rainbow Pool! YOU lured pets over Faerieland, and YOU were the one who brought them here to be your servants!" Dustine protested.

The Water Faerie nodded; once again she chanted her spell, causing the sparkle to fly out and cover Jhudora.

The sparkles then cleared.

For the first time in her miserable grey life, Dustine nearly came close to giggling, for the once-menacing Dark Faerie was no longer split, but rather, she had become...

The Water Faerie smiled. "So, Jhudora..." she said mockingly, "How do you like being teased, for a change?"

For a minute there, Dustine thought Jhudora was going to cast a spell on the Water Faerie. Her face scrunched together, her hands balled tightly into fists, and both Dustine and Bobby Q cringed, waiting for her to explode in anger.

They were both surprised when baby Jhudora began to cry... loudly.

"Oh my, now that is something you most definitely do NOT see everyday!" Bobby Q cried in glee. Dustine nodded in agreement, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

The Water Faerie scooped a crying Jhudora from the ground. "Oh, come now... don't be such a baby!" she said, "I'm sure Illusen won't mind babysitting you until you've returned to normal." This only made baby Jhudora cry harder.

With a quick flick of her wrists, the Water Faerie freed Dustine and Bobby Q from their bonds. "Thank you!" Bobby Q said, fluttering his wings happily.

"Really, how can we thank you?" Dustine asked.

"It's nothing. I think seeing Jhudora cry is enough of a reward," the Water Faerie said, chuckling and bouncing the still-crying baby Jhudora in her arms. "You two wish to be painted, right?" she asked. Dustine and Bobby Q nodded. "Well, come with me to the Rainbow Fountain, and I'll see what I can do."

A while later, at the Rainbow Fountain, Dustine turned to admire the color of her new coat. After finding out that Wockies couldn't exactly be painted Tyrannian, she had managed to exchange her prize for a lovely Mystery Island paint brush. No longer was she so gloomy all the time, and she absolutely adored her new look.

"Wow, you look great!" Bobby Q commented. He was no longer rainbow; red and orange flames now danced around his body. "It's great for me, too. I can be sad, I can pout, and I can cry without having that stupid smile plastered to my face all the time."

Dustine chuckled. She knew none of this would have been possible if it hadn't been for the Water Faerie of the Rainbow Fountain.

The End