The Great Pink War

     Ari felt his ears lower at the familiar tone. But, despite this, he kept his attention on the brush before him. Without even a word to the Neopian behind him, Ari passed the Shopkeeper the remaining Neopoints and thanked him as he took the brush between his teeth. Keeping his head down and eyes focused on his own paws, Ari made this way quickly out of the shop and into the gloomy weather outside. In all his years as a Neopet, Ari had never seen such a terrible storm. The Money Tree swayed heavily in the wind, it's eyes were shut tight as it braced itself for the heavy hail and strong winds. Ari was having trouble himself keeping his small paws steady.

     The Baby Lupe felt as though with every step forward the harsh wind pushed him back another three steps. Still, with his teeth clenched tightly around his new purchase, Ari continued forward desperate to reach the Rainbow Pool and to paint himself his new color.

     There weren't many other Neopians outside, but really why would there be? Overhead, lightning streaked across the sky accompanied by the loud, threatening boom of heavy thunder. His human had begged him not to go out. He was so small, so fragile in her eyes, but he'd refused. He'd waited years for this moment, had saved every little point. Finally he was here, he'd reached his goal and the moment he'd dreamed of was only seconds away from his paws. He refused to let another second slip by.

     It didn't take him long to reach the Pool. But, despite his earlier eagerness and excitement, Ari found himself stopping just inches from the Pool's edge. The brush fell to the ground beside him with a heavy thud as he released it from his jaws. With another thump, Ari fell to the ground, the raging storm continuing on around him. What had caused this change? He couldn't help but wonder, but even as his mind formed the question, he already had the answer. It all went back to that voice, that high pitched, taunting tone. Ari knew it well for it belonged to his old friend, a young Lenny who'd only recently gotten himself painted Royal. Apparently his new color, gave him a new status, a new life, one that didn't include his old friend Ari. Ari felt tears form at the corners of his eyes at the thought of his old friend. He hastily used a paw to wipe them away. What am I going to do? he wondered.

     "It's crazy to be out in this storm!" Bumbleburry groaned as he slammed the door of his Neohome behind him, "And why she sends me of all Neopians! Ridiculous!" The Blumaroo hopped angrily down the steps, a map piece, torn and faded in one paw, and in the other a sack of Neopoints, "Some days I wished she'd just left me in the pound!"

      He took another handful of hops, his mind still on his human and her need to send him out into the storm. It was out of the corner of his eye, as he was hopping his way down to the auction house, that he caught sight of the lone Baby Lupe lying beside the Rainbow Pool.

     "Hey you!" Bumble called out, his thoughts of his human and her request far gone at the sight of the lonely little pup, "What're you doing out here all by yourself?"

     When Ari didn't respond, Bumbleburry gave a groan and then, with all thoughts of the map piece and the auction house gone, made his way over to the Lupe.

      "You're going to catch a cold, little guy," he sighed once he'd reached him, "What're you doing out here? You lost or something?

     "No," Ari replied, embarrassed by the way his voice caught as he spoke, "I'm not lost. I'm fine."

     "Anyone who is out here in such a mess is anything but fine," the Blumaroo snorted. Then, catching sight of the brush, he added, "Hey, are you painting yourself or something?"

     Before Ari could reply, Bumble dropped the map piece and the sack of Neopoints and grabbed the brush. A thick pink paint dripped from the brush's bristles, staining the damp grass below. "Pink, huh?"

     "Be careful!" Ari cried, "It's taken me forever to save up for that!"

     "You're telling me," Bumbleburry replied, "I wanted to be a pink pet since before I could remember. Thank Fyora for that lucky lab zap though. Man, these things are expensive!"

     His words caught Ari by surprise. "Y-you wanted to be pink?"

     "Sure! I've always wanted to be pink. I've been every color under the sun! Wasn't a huge fan of Royal or Mutant though to tell you the truth."

     "You were Royal?" Ari asked, his eyes widening. Being painted Royal seemed like such an honor; why anyone would give up the color to be plain old pink was beyond him. "Why'd you change?"

     "Duh," snorted Bumble. "Because I love pink, always have, always will. It happens to be my favorite color!"

     Before he could think it over, Ari found himself voicing his own fear, "Y-you don't think it's too girly of a color?" His voice shook as he asked, afraid of the Blumaroo's reply.

     "Girly? You kidding me, kid! There's no such thing as boy colors or girl colors. Look, I have a housemate whose favorite color happens to be blue and that's her color! Now, does that make her any less of a lady because blue is supposedly a "boy" color? Of course not! That's her color. She's proud to be it! She's still quite a lovely lady if you ask me, though I could do without the 3am playing of her cello." At this, Bumble laughed, and Ari found himself joining in.

     "Don't ashamed of what you like, kid," Bumbleburry continued, as he handed Ari back the brush. "If you like pink, I mean it's a fantastic color so why wouldn't you? But, if pink's your thing, then go for it! Be proud of your color, be proud of who you are! It doesn't matter what others say, because they're wrong." And as Ari opened his mouth to argue, Bumble quickly continued, louder this time, "Kid, it's your choice. You don't have to listen to me, but I can tell by the way you look at this brush that this is the color you've always wanted to be. And if that's your dream, then you should go for it." At this, Bumbleburry handed the brush back to Ari.

     "Look, I gotta run or my human's going to kill me. She wants five hundred points for this!" Bumble snorted as he grabbed the Neopoints and the map piece, "Crazy, I tell you." With a wink, he was off, hopping up and away from the Rainbow Pool and toward the auction house's large, welcoming doors.

     For a moment, Ari said nothing. Both Bumble and his old friend's words rattled around in his mind. His following actions happened without him even thinking about it. His jaws caught the brush's handle and his paws began to move. The cool sensation of the Pool's liquid didn't bother him as he waded in. He couldn't seem to feel anything at that moment. In one smooth motion, he dipped his head beneath the surface.

     It happened in an instant. It felt like a small ball of light was in his belly, spreading along his limbs and warming his toes and the tips of his ears. Then it spread to his tail and his nose until his whole body felt warm and happy.

     With a gasp, his head broke the surface. Once he had a steady hold on the ground surrounding the Pool, he began to pull himself out. Once on land, he noticed with a smile that the sky had lightened a little. Small patches of sunlight filtered in through the softer clouds. Even the rain seemed to be letting up.

     "It's like a sign," Ari laughed as he stretched his now larger limbs and wiggled his toes. And then, with his eyes shut tight he turned back toward the pool. Slowly, with bated breath, he opened his eyes once more. Staring back at him was a face he's though he would only see in a dream.

     His fur was vibrant and inviting. The droplets of the Pool's magical liquid glittered like small diamonds as he shook them from his body.

     It was then that he admitted the Blumaroo was right... pink was, in fact, a fantastic color.

The End