| At one point during the festival the Ferris Wheel ride broke down and some people were stuck at the top of the ride. Anna and Splash flew up and gave each person a ride to the ground so they did not have to wait or be scared while waiting for the ride to be fixed. In the middle of saving the people who were stuck at the top of the Ferris Wheel, Anna spotted the other reason they were at the celebration. They were on the lookout for members of the Geese Police. She spotted two of them moving through the crowd. They were not hard to spot. Geese Police were made up of snow geese from the north. They were bigger than the other birds, and mean. They had been defeated several times when battling Castle Candi and its kingdom. Every time the Geese Police would have many of their members escape the battle when they lost. Then they would meet up somewhere else and re-organize. It was common knowledge among the secret security of Castle Candi that the Geese Police would be back. It was just a matter of time. Now that Anna had spotted some of them they could try to follow the Geese Police when they returned to their headquarters. If successful, she would have Splash fly her across the sky back to Castle Candi so she could give up her intel. Squads of eagles, hawks, osprey, owls and of course, ducks, would be launched to fight the enemy so to try and keep them from becoming as powerful as they had been in the past. The Geese Police were well-known for being bullies. It would be best to battle them before they became any stronger. Of course, first, Anna had to be successful in following the two Geese Police back to their lair. The two heroes finished saving the people stuck in the Ferris Wheel and then Anna said, “Lets get up above everyone Splash, have a look all around. Those Geese Police are here somewhere. We need to locate them and then follow them until they lead us to their headquarters.” Splash gave a whinny while Anna climbed onto the pony’s back. Next the blue pony with the white mane, tail, and feet, went flying upwards into the sky. Back and forth across the celebration the two flew. Finally the little blue pony came to a halt, hovering in mid-air. Anna knew he had seen something. She searched the crowd below for signs of the big birds. Then she saw them. They were moving among the crowd. Big, white bullies both on the ground and in the sky. Normally they flew in a formation with numbers ranging from thirty to as many as one hundred. These two were obviously on a furlough of some sort. A short vacation provided to the troops that haven’t had one in a while. It helped to keep them happy not too mention it allowed for time to do personal tasks. Geese Police when not in their military roles, often tried to pass themselves off as other types of birds. Their size and bright white color gave them away however. Of course not all snow geese were members of the Geese Police, but since they almost always travel in groups of thirty to one hundred, it was seldom to encounter a snow goose who was not a member of the Geese Police. The two that Anna had spotted were making a poor effort to hide their identities. They both had bought sombreros which only made them easier to follow from the sky above. She supposed they were probably very good disguises to hide from those where were at eye-level, but they made large, colorful targets when viewed from the air. She told herself to be careful not to lose them by them handing off the hats and going in a different direction. Anna and Splash waited until the big snow geese finished their time among the crowd. Once they took to the air to fly home the two friends followed from a far distance. In the meantime they were joined by a large bald eagle who was a retired general in the royal air force. He had been flying by when he noticed Anna and Splash hovering so he flew over to see what was going on. They explained that while geese were not known for having the best eyes in the bird world, they feared they might be seen. So now they were trying to stay within sight, but out of sight. “What you need is a bird with greater eyesight than a goose.” Retired general Regal Bald Eagle said. “Someone like me. For instance I can see the two snow geese you are talking about. They have begun a circle pattern and I suspect are waiting to see if you continue in their direction. The ball is in your court. I suggest a drop off the court straight down. Leave me, who is a smaller, therefore harder to see target. I will follow them at a distance and discover the information you seek. Then I will report back to the castle and look you folks up just as soon as I land. Sound good?” “It sounds terribly dangerous to me.” Anna said shaking her head. “Sir you are a relished part of the royal air force history. It would not be fair to ask you to take on such a role after having served so valiantly for so many years.” “I don’t see you have a lot of choice my dear. I mean, if you want to know where their headquarters is hidden. They will stay in that circle pattern until they know it is safe to go forward. That means you have to give me the reigns.” Regal said to the princess. Splash nudged Anna with his soft nose. She gave in. “Okay sir. Please be careful. We will return to Castle Candi so not to give away your cover.” “That’s right. I cannot be a simple retired military man out fishing if you two are covering my six. Er, that means my rear-end, for you non-military types.” He leaned over and patted Splash on the neck. “Take care of the princess little one.” Splash gave a whinny and blinked one eye. “Good luck sir.” Anna said as she and Splash soared away toward the opposite direction of where the Geese Police were flying. “Lets see where you go next.” Regal said, looking at the two Geese Police members. He let them fly off a little further until he thought they could not see him. Then he followed. ———- Chapter ———————— Back at Castle Candi it was turning night again. Dan and Buzzy were once again staking out the drinking establishments looking to catch the vandals that were supposedly trying to get to Purebred Polly to prevent her from collecting the original Dark Queen’s remaining fortune. It was said to be burried someplace in the world of Magicland. She claimed to have proof of a sister to the original Dark Queen who then had claim to the buried treasure. If it could be found. “I told her it was a long shot. A million to one actually. Of course, she came to the right person to ask, because there is nobody wiser than a dam duck.” Dan started to say. He got interrupted. “Yes, yes. That is true if you are trying to find water. Treasure is another story.” Buzzy said. “For that she needs someone who is trained in being patient. Someone who can do what we are doing right now. Wait and watch. That my friend is what we buzzards do best! We are waiters and watchers. Then when the subject has got nothing left … that’s when we move in. Its a favor to nature really.” “Do me a favor?” Dan replied. “Don’t ever do me any favors.” “Look, there, coming down the street and going into the last chance saloon. It looks like our gang.” Buzzy said, pointing to a group of short people entering the last chance saloon. “We just need to hang out and wait. They will come out eventually.” Dan let things end at that point and he started concentrating on the door at the last chance saloon. Two hours later the group of short people came out of the saloon. They were with a large shaggy dog. This night it wasn’t nearly so foggy. The two friends who were also secret agents of Castle Candi, watched the group of short people with the tall dog make their way through the castle streets. When they got far enough away, Buzzy slipped off his perch and started his buzzard glide following the group of short goths without making a sound. Dan, knowing he would not be able to glide so quietly, waited, giving his friend the lead. When Dan thought enough time had passed, he also left his perch, and he tried his best to glide behind Buzzy but his short wings and heavier body demanded he flap his wings to stay in flight. Up ahead Dan saw Buzzy glide around a corner taking an alley. He landed at the corner and peered around the corner. He could see that Buzzy was in the middle of the street and he was looking all around. Dan flew up and joined him. “I lost them.” Buzzy said, looking confused. “I don’t know how, or where they went. They just were not there when I turned the corner. There are several possibilities where they might have ducked in, but I think we would be wasting our time to try and find them at this point. I mean, if we go through one of the four or five possible doors they could have entered, and we are wrong, they will know we are after them and we won’t be catching them. If we give up tonight and try again the next night I think we will be more successful. There’s no guarantee they saw us. They might have just ducked in and had no idea they were being followed.” “Makes sense. Let’s head back to the castle and touch base with Ozzy and see what Anna and Splash have been doing? Chasing kids and dogs surely must be the less important assignment currently trending.” Dan said. Then he turned and got a run to take off. Buzzy followed and soon the two were back in the air. They headed for the castle. —————– Chapter ————————— Anna and Splash kept an eye on the big snow geese when they left the gathering. They flew off and to Anna’s surprise they went to Castle Candi. Geese Police were not welcome at the castle. They were taking great risk to not only enter the air space but they landed and went into an apartment. They were there just a short while and when they exited the apartment there were what looked like a bunch of kids and a big dog that followed them out. The two snow geese then flew to a spot not too far from the castle. Next Anna and Splash decided to hover above the spot where the Geese Police members had landed. They saw there was a squadron of them hiding. What were they planning on attacking? Next Anna saw some movement coming from the direction of the castle. Then she could see what was coming from the castle. It was that bunch of kids with the big dog. They watched as the kids and the dog made their way up a path which eventually led to where the Geese Police were hiding. Anna and Splash watched as the two parties met and seemed to be discussing something. Then Anna saw something else. Something she didn’t really want to see. It had to do with Splash. Down below she saw the reason she had Splash. He was back! Then Splash saw him and Anna had to command the little blue pony with the white mane, white tail and white feet, to fly away. It was the leprechaun! He was back. Did he want the pony back? Anna felt a tug on her heart and a tear well up in her eyes. She wasn”t ready to give him back. Splash came to a landing in a field that was far enough away from anything that they would get caught but was still the closest to the action. Once down, the little blue pony waited until the princess slid off his back and then he turned around to face her and gave her a little horsey-hug with his neck. He would try to wrap his head around her so that his neck was holding her against his body, then he would move his head up and down like he was trying to tell her everything was going to be okay. Anna tried to dry her tears and she gave the little pony a hug. He stuck his soft little nose in her hand and made her giggle when he scruntched it up and then exhaled. Then he used his head to push her arm up so he could get his neck under her arm. Anna hugged him and tried to look upbeat. “Ye ave no reason to be shedding tears for the little steed.” A voice came out of no where saying. “Tisn’t the reason I am here little lass.” Then seemingly to step out of no where because he wasn’t there one second and the next he was; all Anna did was to look the other direction for a second, and when she looked back, there he stood, as surreal as the dark night she first met the man, or being, or whatever he was. He had claimed on that dark, lonely night to be a leprechaun. A very powerful one in fact. He gave the princess his pony that night, and told her the pony’s name could did not have a word for it in English but it was the sound that a stream makes when it falls over a gentle water fall. A slow stream that skips and hops its way down to a gentle fall of just a short distance, not the forced, rushing noise of a river racing downwards concluding in a riot of white water rambling over the edge tumbling downward at the speed of gravity until it exploded into a shower of drops sent randomly in every conceivable direction. You can call him Splash. As you may have gathered there is a difference. “You’ve been given a pony that is reliable, predictable and that is calm under any circumstance no matter how vital or vile. And ye’ve proven up to the task, whatever it may have turned out to be. I’m proud of ye lil’ lassy. So fret not that I am here to take your pony. Nay, not today. But I do need something from ye. From ye both!” The little red-headed man in the green suit and green hat said. He had a red-haired mustache and beard as well. He took off the hat and Anna saw he had a little bald spot on the back of his head, which seemed almost perfect to her, for what reason she thought? She did not know. It just seemed to fit. “Please tell us what we can do to be of help?” Anna asked, while hugging Splash. She was almost ecstatic to find out the little man did not want his pony back. At least not at this time. She also noticed he made a point to say he didn’t want Splash back today. So he clearly considered the pony to be on loan, nothing more. Anna knew she had no right to expect more, and that in fact, she was extremely lucky to have been chosen to take care of the little blue pony because he had made her life so much more interesting. She was able to effect change using the pony. He taught her something she didn’t expect though. She learned that a lot of the times the two of them went to save the day, or just be helpful, that the truth was that Anna and the people involved in that particular situation, were enough to solve the problem even if Splash had not been there. The secret was not having the magic powers that Splash was given. They were nice, and sometimes they made things easier. What Anna learned was that what really mattered, what really made a difference, was just simply being there. Making an effort and joining in with the community. The real secret to power, to achieving the hard things, is to try. Get out there and physically try. If a barn needs built, if everybody offers to help, it gets done! You don’t need a magic pony. Further proof is that having the magic pony there without someone to guide it, results in nothing more than having a magic pony there. Splash is a tool to help achieve a goal, but he isn’t the thing that is the reason for the change, he simply makes it easier to effect the change. “Ye’ve learned some great lessons in the time ye’ve had possession of the magic steed. I can see that from your face.” The little green-suited man stated. “It appears the pony is better for the experience as well. He shows no signs of being mistreated. If you had chosen to not be vigilant in his doing a good deed every day it would show on his coat, and his mane. You see how there are no tattered spots on his coat. And see how thick and healthy his mane. Well done indeed lass! Now about what I am needing your help. It seems there is a … shall we call it a movement, which is attempting to get its hands on the leprechaun’s pot of gold. That age-old myth about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is not a myth. It isn’t exactly true either. You see, it is a much larger amount of gold than could ever fit into any pot. It is the gold that is used to replace the gold that is dug up every year. I use the leprechaun’s gold so it is there to be dug up or found. It depends on the situation. If the leprechaun’s supply was taken, the world would stop finding new gold. That would sky-rocket the price of existing gold, causing the world economy to go into a spin the likes of which we have never encountered before. In short, it would be a disaster on not only a global scale, but it would actually involve parallel worlds. Without going into it a whole lot, suffice to say that not only the real world economy is at stake, but other worlds as well.” “Wow! Do I exist in these other worlds?” Anna was curious to know. “Oh lassy, tis better not to dwell on these things which were not meant to be known. If it is any consolation, none of the other worlds are any better or any worse than the one you are living in, when you take every angle into consideration.” The leprechaun said. “What does that mean? Are there worlds where greed and corruption do not form the basis for existence?” Anna asked. “Aye child. You were born in one. But it was unable to sustain the way of life. Once evil gets a foothold, it taints everything. After that, it is a forever struggle to just keep things at an even keel. In other words, once evil finds a way in it must forever be fought to keep it from ruining the world. Because it will if given a chance. Ye may have heard the old saying, all it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing. That is a very sad, but very true, forever truth. All good men must be forever adamant or they will lose their foothold and evil fights to hold every inch it gains. Make no mistake lass.” “It sounds like we should just give up. There’s no chance of winning.” Anna replied. “Aye, that’s what evil wants you to do. Evil can’t win, if good shows up. Evil may win battles, but it won’t win the war. Here’s the rub, as they say, little lass. The rub is that you don’t just get to give up. You have to continue living in that place where if evil gets to run rampant, things only get worse for you. That is why we must all, at every opportunity, turn evil away. If your friends say come on! Everybody is doing it. That is when you must find the strength inside yourself to be the one that turns evil away that day. It is a job that is thankless and relentless yet if enough people do not choose to take up the fight, it ends badly for everyone.” “So it is either fight now, while things are at least as good as they are now, or fight later, when things will be much worse, but you will still have to fight. So make it easier by choosing to do something this time. Do something when the evil is being done to your neighbor or friend. Don’t wait until it comes for you.” Anna said. “Aye child. and now what evil is coming for is my pot of gold. I need you and Splash to protect it for me. But here’s the hard part. I don’t know where it is, any more than anybody else. As part of the security for keeping it safe, the gold is left in the protection and safety provided by the rainbow. Ever try to find the end of a rainbow lass? Tisn’t an easy thing done. The rainbow is a master of deceit. It can have you chasing it all the day long ye’d never get close.” The leprechaun said. “So why are you worried?” Anna said. “The rumor is that the movement has a new technology on their side which is suppose to be able to track a rainbow to its end.” The leprechaun stated. “So ye can see why this has come to my attention and why it demands being addressed. If the gold stash is taken the many worlds which will suffer is beyond the ability of a mortal to comprehend. That’s why I’m here lassy. To make sure that technology never gets used in Magicland. Or any other world which I travel and keep a stash of gold at the end of the rainbow. I still keep a modest stash at the end of the rainbow in the real world. Anybody living there shouldn’t give up the hope. They might find it if they follow the rainbow it its end. Beware however, it will move on you just when you think you have it figured out. They’re tricky, that’s why I chose it.” Anna asked, “Do you think they are using the technology in the real world to find the end of the rainbow?” Next Page |     |