//------------------------------// // Chapter Two: Arrival and Preparations // Story: The War of Light Series: In Blackest Day, In Brightest Night. // by Malfrost //------------------------------// The Universe Sector 0000 The Planet Oa- Planetary Citadel Hal Jordan of Earth; he was considered one of the greatest Green Lanterns in the entire Corps. He, alongside fellow Earthling Lantern Kyle Rayner, were the ones who defeated Sinestro and finally brought the rouge maniac to Oa to face justice for all the atrocities he had committed. Hal was far from perfect though; he had given into his rage on Ysmault and become a Red Lantern, a being of pure rage. If it wasn't for the quick thinking of Saint Walker to deputize him into the Blue Lantern Corps, then he might have still been one of the rage filled beasts. Now here he stood, standing before the Guardians of the Universe as he often did, having to explain the situation to the little blue aliens. He found it hard to take the Guardians seriously at times; their short little blue bodies conjured images of blue gnomes. Hard to believe a bunch of blue gnomes were suppose to be the all-knowing protectors of the universe. He always managed to maintain decorum at least though, unlike Guy Gardener, another fellow Earthling in the Corps. "That's what happened, Guardians. Sinestro escaped while we were dealing with these Red Lanterns. Don't you worry though, I'll find him. I won't let Sinestro get away scot free. He will pay for all that he’s done." Hal's brown eyes gazed at the Guardians above him as he finished explaining the events that had just transpired. He began by recounting the ambush by the Sinestro Corps, the arrival of the Red Lanterns and then the appearance of Saint Walker as a Blue Lantern; he then went on to explain what occurred on Ysmault. He told them of his transformation into a Red Lantern and his subsequent salvation by being deputized into the Blue Lantern Corps. Finally, he reluctantly spoke of how Sinestro had fled and most likely returned to Qward. "I'm sure you will, Hal Jordan of Earth, but we have other pressing matters to attend to. The appearance of two new Lantern Corps is troubling indeed; these Red Lanterns must be dealt with swiftly, and we must investigate these Blue Lanterns as well. "One of the Guardians spoke, looking down on Hal from on high, as they always did. His tone lacked any sort of emotion, they all lacked emotion, pure logic was all they stood for. He glared at the Guardians through his mask, his hazel eyes shimmering with annoyance and frustration. "I'm telling you, the Blue Lanterns are our allies! If not for them, I would still be hell bent on ripping out the hearts of every member of the Green Lantern Corps! We should be focusing our efforts against Sinestro and Atrocitus!" Hal knew his argument was pointless however, once the Guardians had made up their mind they rarely ever changed it. "Your concern has been noted, Hal Jordan. However, until we can examine or remove the blue power ring that is currently on your personage, you will be detained here on Oa. We do not know what the ring might do to you or those around you, and we must take time to examine it." Another Guardian spoke as he pointed at the blue ring on Hal's left middle finger. When he had returned to Oa they had tried to remove it to little avail. As Hal made ready to protest their decision, small lights began to flash all across the universe map. "That is never a good sign; what's happening?" Hal questioned the Guardians; they remained silent for a moment, examining the map before one of them finally addressed the confused Lantern. "It would seem that approximately one hundred yellow power rings have recently emerged into the universe and our now seeking out new owners." "How is that possible!? I thought the forges were all shut down!?" Hal’s eyes widened in shock as he ground his teeth together in frustration. Had Sinestro somehow built new forges somewhere? "They were, Hal Jordan. Be at peace, these rings are most likely just Sinestro's last stockpile that he has sent out in a last ditch recruitment drive. It will do him little good at this point." Hal felt relief at the Guardian's statement; knowing that this would be the last of them was welcome news. "It seems there is one heading towards Sector 2814...." "Is it heading towards Earth? I have to stop it then!" Hal’s ring immediately began to shine as he flew towards the exit of the Citadel, only to be stopped by one of the Guardians. "Calm yourself, Hal Jordan. There is more to Sector 2814 than just Earth. It is already in the atmosphere of the planet of Equestria " The map of the Universe zoomed in on the peaceful and idyllic world of Equestria. To Hal, it looked remarkably similar to Earth. "Still, if I can stop it...." Hal’s voice contained a tone of duty, but also one of resignation as he realized what the Guardians would say next. "No, Hal Jordan, it is already too late. The ring seems to have selected its owner already. They will be taken to Qward for training no doubt. It is already beyond our grasp." Hal let out a frustrated sigh as he looked at the flashing yellow dot that would undoubtedly ruin the future of the planet and whoever was unlucky enough to be selected by the ring. The Universe Sector 2814 Planet Equestria- Manehatten "What manner of trickery is this?!" Luna had finally managed to calm her nerves and bellowed at the floating ring in front of her. She began to wonder if this was some kind of prank. Perhaps Rainbow Dash had decided to start the pranking by pranking her first. Well she wouldn't fall for it. She would show that trickster of a pegasus that she didn't scare easy. "Very funny, Rainbow Dash! Nevertheless, I have seen through your ruse! It was a valiant effort, but in vain! You may come out of hiding now!" Luna commanded as she craned her neck up slightly, sweeping her dark mane across her face as she tried to appear as regal and calm as possible. She grinned stupidly to herself, assuming that Rainbow Dash would now give up and admit her failure to scare her. That was not what occurred, much to Luna's surprise. The ring shot towards Luna's right hoof; it moved so quickly that the mare had no time to react as the ring slid up her hoof and latched itself on, securing itself to her firmly. She brought her hoof up and examined the object with hinted curiosity. It was pure yellow in color and on its face was an insignia she had never seen before. Before she had time to contemplate about the insignia however, here vision filled with a bright yellow light. She was overwhelmed by it as she was forced to close her eyes fearing she might be blinded if she didn't as she was engulfed by a wave of heat more intense than even the hottest of summer days. Finally, the light subsided and the heat vanished as Luna slowly and hesitantly opened her eyes. When she managed to open her eyes fully, she quickly turned her head to look at the window. She caught sight of her reflection and let out a startled gasp. She was now wearing some kind of uniform; primarily black in nature with streaks of yellow that resembled the flames of the sun running up her legs and just under her chest. The suit glowed softly with the same light that was emitted from the ring. Her cutie mark had also been replaced; instead of the normal crescent moon that normally adorned her flank and chest, there was now the strange and foreign circular insignia that had been on the ring. "Wha...what is all of this!? I demand answers!" Luna yelled, using her royal Canterlot voice for the first time in what felt like years. She was confused and above all else, afraid. As she struggled to comprehend her situation, the ring spoke once again. "Princess Luna, please prepare for Antimatter Universe transport." the automated voice chimed in as the ring emitted even more of the yellow light. It slowly engulfed Luna who was doing her best to cast any sort of spell she could, but found she was unable to. Just as she was getting ready to scream for help, to call out to her sister and her friends, the light engulfed her completely and then she vanished from existence. A few moments later, Rainbow Dash burst into the room through the open window. She had a grin a mile wide on her face as she landed on her bed. She looked around the room, noticing that Luna was nowhere to be found. "I told her to wait for me! Where did she run off to? Is she in the bathroom?" Rainbow Dash quickly trotted over to the bathroom door. She knocked and called out Luna's name for a few moments before she slowly opened the door, peeking her cyan head inside only to find an empty room. Her wings fell dejectedly as the grin vanished from Rainbow's face to be replaced by a frown. "She didn't ditch me, did she? No way! Princess Luna wouldn't do that! She's too cool to do something so lame like ditch me! I bet she just started the fun without me! Yeah! That must be it! She must have been so excited she couldn't contain herself! I better not keep her waiting then!" Rainbow's grin quickly returned to her face as she convinced herself of what she wanted to believe. Surely, the princess was just out stretching her wings to get ready for the race or something like that. With those thoughts in mind, Rainbow Dash raced out of the window again to go search for her missing roommate. The Antimatter Universe Sector 1 The Planet Qward When Luna opened her eyes again, she found herself in an environment that was foreign and unknown to her. The land around her was sheer rock with no signs of vegetation or life at all. Nothing but jagged rock formations seemed to exist here. As she took in her new surroundings, a strange being approached her. It walked on two hind legs much like a Minotaur did. Instead of a bulls head however there was instead an odd mixture of bird and reptile; it had the pointed beak of a bird, yet the frill of an iguana atop its head. It stood tall and was on eye level with Luna as it approached her; the beak began to move and it emitted a strange combinations of caws and random assorted utterances. She cocked her head to the side in a confused manner as she tried to speak with it. "I'm sorry...whatever you are, but I cannot understand you." Luna hoped the creature would be able to understand her somehow. The creature paused for a moment, stroking its chin with its fingers before finally snapping, as it seemed to reach some sort of answer. It brought its right arm up and on its middle finger was a ring that appeared to be remarkably similar Luna's. A beam of light shot out of the creatures ring and connected with hers. She drew back slightly in surprise, but as she seemed to be under no immediate threat, she allowed the creature to finish whatever it was doing. After a few moments, the light ceased and the beak of strange being in front of her began to move again. "So, can you understand me now?" A voice that was now understandable to Luna spoke as her eyes widened in surprise. It was fairly high and sharp, but from what Luna could discern it was the voice of a male. Had he done something with their rings so they could understand one another? Could her understand her? She figured there was only one way to find out. "Yes, strange creature. I do understand you now; so tell me what you did and where we are. I demand answers!" Luna spoke in her regal tone, trying to sound as collected and confident as possible. The creature pinched the rim of its nose with its fingers in frustration. It let out a sigh and then looked back up to Luna, speaking in an annoyed tone. "I fixed your universal translator; you'll be able to speak with anyone now. As for who I am and where you are. Just know that I am Romat-Ru, your superior, and this is the planet Qward, headquarters of the Sinestro Corps of which you are now a member." Romat pointed at Luna as he finished his sentence. Luna only appeared more confused which only added to Romat's frustration. To Romat, Luna was from a backwater planet that had never even heard of the Green Lantern Corps, which meant he had a lot more to explain, but it also meant he could put some negative spin on the Green Lantern Corps. "Just walk with me, I will explain everything." Romat motioned for Luna to walk beside him. She hesitated for a moment, not sure if she should trust this strange man, but she wanted answers and he appeared to be the only way to get them, so she walked. They walked for quite some time as Romat explained just how large the universe was and what purpose the Sinestro Corps served in it. "We bring order to the otherwise chaotic universe through use of fear. While most consider fear a weakness, if one learns how to harness it, it can become a powerful ally. We learn to live with and overcome our fears so that we might harness its power. With its power, we bring justice and order to the universe." Romat was stretching the truth a bit, but what he was saying was never the less still true. Sinestro did desire to bring order to the universe, order through fear. "So...we would make people fear us so that order and unity might be achieved? Is it not better to achieve those through being loved though?" Luna questioned Romat as neared an outcropping of rocks. Romat merely shook his head. "So naive, you can be betrayed by those you love, never by those who fear you. Haven't you ever had that happen?" "Yes...yes I have." Luna looked up to the sky, remembering how Celestia had betrayed her and exiled to the moon for so long. The cold and lonely moon, it made her skin crawl just to think about it, but then, an odd reaction. She felt, anger; anger that her sister who supposedly loved her had locked her away to suffer for so long. She could feel it inside her; she could feel her old self trying to get out, to be free once more. She shook her head; she promised herself that she would never give in to it again. She then noticed that they had stopped at the entrance of the outcropping. It hid the entrance to a cave. "What is in there?" Luna questioned as she look towards Romat for answers. "The first part of your training; in order to control fear, you must first face and overcome it. Prepare yourself, Luna of Equestria. You will either overcome your fears, or you will die."