The Antimatter Universe
Sector 1
The Planet Qward
Luna and Romat ventured deep into the cave. It was pitch black inside, the only light provided was that of Romat's ring as it lit the path before them with yellow light. Romat had explained to Luna what she was about to do; she would enter into what was known as a fear lodge. Her ring would be drained of all power in the fear lodge and it would be up to her to activate again by confronting and embracing her greatest fear. She would be left in the lodge until she broke out or until she died. She was reluctant to agree at first; after all, why should she risk her life just to become a member of some odd space club. It was only after Romat had described the tragedy of Sector 666 that Luna was convinced to proceed with her training and induction into the Corps.
He described how in a matter of days trillions of lives, entire planets and species were wiped out of existence. Luna's face paled as she heard the number, she just couldn't believe it. Equestria's total population only numbered maybe a billion souls; the idea of thousands of worlds like hers being destroyed was beyond her comprehension. All she knew was it was the most evil act she had ever heard of and it made her blood boil to think of it happening again. Romat changed the story however; instead of the robotic Manhunters committing the massacre of over a trillion lives he put the blame on the Green Lantern Corps. He told her that Sector 666 refused to bend to the Guardians’ wills and that they ordered the destruction of the sector to teach the rest of the Universe a lesson.
"These Guardians and Green Lanterns are monsters! If we really are the only ones who can stop them, then I must take my place in the Corps for the sake of my people! I will not allow harm to befall them at the hoofs of these wicked Green Lanterns!" Luna spoke, her tone full of disdain and disgust towards her new foe. They would regret the day they ever tried to do anything to Equestria, but first she had to pass her trial.
"Correct, we are the only ones who can stop those vile Green Lanterns. We are the true keepers of order in the universe. They hide behind a sham, a lie." Romat's beak moved as he spoke; his 'little' white lie to help indoctrinate the naive mare. Technically, it wasn't all a lie; that massacre could ultimately be blamed on the Guardians who now control the Green Lanterns. After walking for a while longer, they finally reached the fear lodges. Romat approached one and used his ring to open the shell like container as he beckoned Luna to enter. Luna hesitated for a moment, but then steeled her nerves. There was no way this could be worse than being banished to the moon. She drew a deep breath and then let it out as she slowly gave Romat a nod. She trotted up towards the shell and slowly stepped inside. She turned and gave Romat another nod, one that he returned.
"Good luck." With those brief words, he disengaged his ring, and Luna was sealed completely in darkness, isolated and alone.
The Universe
Sector 2814
Planet Equestria- Canterlot
Celesita trotted back and forth across the throne room, her brow furrowed in frustration as her eyes gleamed in the moonlight. She was completely alone, except for one other being. On the floor slept an exhausted and ragged Rainbow Dash. She had searched the streets of Manehatten for any sign of Luna for hours, and when she realized that Luna vanished, she flew non-stop and as fast as she could to Canterlot to inform Celesita of the news. She then promptly passed out from exhaustion, leaving the Princess of the Sun to try to deduce what had happened to her sister. She had used her magic to try and sense out Luna to see if perhaps she were kidnapped or lost, but she could not detect her sister's presence on the planet at all. It was as if she had simply...ceased to exist entirely.
"Oh my sister, where have you vanished to? Wherever you are, I hope you are safe. I swear, I will not rest nor cease to worry until I can see you once again." Celestia looked up and spoke to the full moon as its light graced her body. The light shimmered against the stained glass windows depicting the famous scenes of Equestrian history. Celestia looked towards the one that depicted Nightmare Moon's banishment.
"Sister, I am so sorry. I wish I had never been forced to do such a thing. We have been apart for so long; I loved having you back in my life. I don't want us to be apart again. So please...wherever you are, come home soon." Celestia's voice began to crack as warm streaks of water flowed from her eyes and down her cheeks. She wept silently, not wanting to wake up the young mare who had tried so hard to find her sister before coming to tell her of the horrible news. After a few moments, Celesita brought her hooves up to wipe away the tears, rubbing her puffy and reddened eyes. Once she had calmed her she slowly stroked Rainbow Dash's mane, trying not to disturb her too much.
"Thank you, Rainbow Dash. Thank for trying so hard, and for being my sister's friend, you have no idea how much it meant to her to have friend like you." Celesita managed to smile as Rainbow let out a quiet yawn in her sleep. Just as Celesita was getting ready to lift up Rainbow Dash to get her into a bed, the room began to fill with a green light. Celesita quickly turned to the source. A figure had mysterious appeared near the entrance of the throne room. She had dismissed her guards for the evening, but the door was still locked. How then did this being get into the throne room? Celesita didn't have time for such questions however as the glowing green being approached her and Rainbow Dash.
It was foreign to her; she had never encountered a creature like this in all her time on Equestria. It walked on two legs, much like a Minotaur, but its upper body was much smaller, and its head lacked fur and horns. In fact, its entire body lacked fur except for the upper part of its head upon which it had an extremely small portion. Celestia dropped into a defensive stance, readying to cast a spell as she pointed her horn at the intruder.
"Halt! I don't know who or what you are, but if you can understand me do not come any closer until you have stated your business!" Celesita made sure to keep herself between the intruder and the slowly awakening Rainbow Dash; perhaps this odd creature was the one who did something with her sister?
The creature stopped once Celesita spoke and slowly raised its hands above its head. As it did so, Celesita managed to get a better look at it. It was tall, standing on eye level with her. It wore some kind of strange glowing green uniform with a symbol that looked a lot like a lantern colored green on its chest. Its furless face was partial concealed by a mask covering its eyes, but the princess could see its eyes clearly. They were a deep brown, and they burned with a sense of righteous vigor and duty.
"Sorry ma'am, I didn't mean to just barge in like this, but I didn't want to disturb anyone else if I could at all help it." the creature spoke, it's voice deeper than most ponies; its tone was collected and firm as it gazed back her, completely unafraid. This only unnerved Celesita more as she continued to point her horn at it. In response, it let out a sigh and spoke again.
"I am Hal Jordan, of the planet Earth. I am an officer in the Green Lantern Corps, and I need to speak to you about your sister."
The Antimatter Universe
Sector 1
The Planet Qward
It was just like the moon, dark and lonely. It was as if she was floating in nothingness and that unnerved her. It wasn't the darkness that unnerved her though, it was that dreadful sense of being totally alone. She wanted to call out, she wanted to be back with her sister and her friends, but she knew that could not happen. To her surprise however, she began to hear familiar voice in the void.
"What a scary pony! Like I'd ever be friends with her!"
"I'm sorry, but why would I ever be friends with such a scary pony like you?"
"I never loved you, 'dear' sister. I wish you were back on the moon."
Luna couldn't believe what she was hearing; the voices of Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and her sister all came at her at once. They spoke with such venom and contempt, each word saturated with hatred. Then she saw all three of them appear before her and they began to walk away. She couldn't move however and all she could do was pitifully cry out to them.
"No! Please! Don't go! You are the only ones who care about me! You are my only friends! Please don't leave me alone! I don't want to be alone again! Please!" She begged and cried as the figures slowly vanished into the darkness, leaving her alone once again. The bitter isolation, the fearful gazes, that was all that remained in their wake. Luna wept uncontrollably, how could they just leave her alone like this?
She was left, just as she had been on the moon, abandoned and unloved. She wept bitterly; why did the ones she cared for always betray her it seemed? Was Romat right? Perhaps she should just abandon the idea of having anyone love her and just rule with fear. As she thought this, the darkness felt like it was closing in all around her, suffocating her. She found it harder and harder to breath. She was scared, is this what her subjects always felt whenever she walked by? It was a horrible feeling, one she wished she could purge from herself. She thought back to Nightmare Night and all the fun she had with Twilight and her friends. She thought back to the fun she was having in Manehatten with Rainbow Dash. A smile graced her face; those memories drove the fear away and made her feel almost like she was at home in the dark. That's when it struck her, she realized what her greatest fear was.
"I fear being alone. I wish not to be alone. I will not allow myself to be alone! I will have others be with me! I will make them be with me, even if they do not wish it! I will not be alone again!" Luna yelled out into the void her resolve firm and clear. Then, a small spark as her yellow ring began to glow and illuminate the shell. Using the ring’s power, she forced open the shell, emerging like a newborn hatchling. Romat was there waiting, an expression of pleasant surprise on his face.
"I must say, that was quite impressive, Luna of Equestria. That was the fastest I have ever seen anyone get out of a fear lodge. Normally takes a few days at least." Romat's voice shuddered slightly as he recalled his own time spent in the fear lodge vividly.
Luna landed beside Romat, her eyes glowing a faint yellow as she began to grow accustomed to the power of the ring. With her spark now activated, she had complete access to the ring's databank. She already knew the basics of the rings functions as she looked to Romat, her eyes back to their normal shade of blue.
"I spent a millennium trapped in something just like that; I did not want to spend any more time in there than need be. Now, take me to the training area, I wish to test my powers." Luna spoke with confidence as she activated her ring once again basking in the glow of the yellow light. She levitated herself off the ground and looked expectantly at Romat.
"Good, I've been itching for a fight ever since I got back! Try to keep up!" Romat quickly took off after he finished his sentence. He soared through the cave, easily breaking the sound barrier, as he didn't bother waiting for Luna at all. Luna grinned as she took off after Romat; she had missed her race with Rainbow Dash, this would have to suffice for fun for now.
She glided through the cave at an incredible speed, faster than she had ever flown before on Equestria. She easily dodged stalagmites as she soared out of the cave exit and after Romat, increasing her speed to as fast as she could manage. Romat looked behind him, surprised that an initiate already had such control; she had potential.
They flew for a while before they finally reached a flat clearing; unlike that rest of the world, which was jagged and uneven, the ground here was flat and smooth. Romat landed first and Luna landed a few yards just across from him. Romat grinned as he popped his neck; this rookie had no idea what she was getting herself into.
"I won't pull punches just because you are new. I'm going to beat the living crap out of you and show you why I'm one of the best in the Corps! I'm gonna make you bleed!" Romat boasted as he dropped into a low offensive stance, his ring glowing brightly as he snapped at her with his beak.
Luna closed her eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath before she slowly began to rise off the ground. Her ring began to glow brightly as well as she opened her eyes, now full of vigor and resolve.
"No, Romat-Ru of Xundar, you will do no such thing. You are nothing more than a petty killer. I was the very essence of fear on my planet; you will learn your place and show some respect. For you will burn like my power... "Luna spoke back, her voice causing the very ground around them to quake as her ring shone brighter as her eyes began to glow faint yellow. She then bellowed the rest of words in her royal Canterlot as the yellow light engulfed her.
"LUNA'S MIGHT!"