//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: My Little Lantern: Friendship is Colorful // by enigmaMystere //------------------------------// Sweet Apple Acres A familiar orange earth pony sighed, sitting down to rest after harvesting half of the south field. She looked up at the sky, hoping for some clouds to come and save her from this intense heat. Sadly, it seems that Rainbow didn't shirk her duties, as the sky was perfectly clear. She groaned, wishing for some rain, or maybe even a gentle breeze. What came instead was a hailstorm of light, destroying most of the ground around her. She stared in shock, looking at the two glowing figures in front of her. She couldn't really tell who they were, but they definitely seemed familiar. The green figure spoke, his voice distorted enough that Applejack couldn't recognize it. "Stop and think about what you're doing! What would Rarity say?" "She won't mind." The other figure, glowing a brilliant pink, approached the smaller one, the pleading tone evident in her voice. "She wants us to be happy-" "Then why did you put her in that crystal?" Her expression hardened, strands of energy emanating from her hooves. "She was in the way. Not because of her feelings - trust me, she likes somepony else-" "Liar!" He grit his teeth, an emerald cannon forming in the air beside him. "She loves me! She even told me so!" He shot the cannon, making both Applejack and the pink-clad pony recoil in shock- As multiple shreds of confetti and streamers blew the unicorn back into a tree. She groggily sat up, watching as he flew away. She shook her hoof in the air, growling angrily. "Mark my words, Spike! You will be mine!" She flew after him, a pink stream of light left in her wake. Applejack sat there for a few minutes, pondering what she just saw. She shook her head, carefully holding it in her hooves. "...Ah must've hit mah head, er somethin'..." Oa Rainbow found herself in a circular chamber. In the center of the room was a large emerald lamp, which she and this Hal human (whatever that was) were currently approaching. She looked up at him, bumping him with her shoulder. "So what is this? The Griffon's Goblet?" She was joking around, but he didn't know that. He just stared at her for a moment, confused, before shaking his head. "I will never understand you ponies." He motioned to the green object, smirking slightly. "This is the Central Power Battery. You recharge your ring here." He stepped forward and held his fist up, quickly speaking a series of words that Rainbow couldn't begin to understand at that moment. It wasn't that she was too dense - she just wasn't paying attention, enraptured by what she was seeing. Bright green light slowly stretched from the battery, small tendrils that gradually grew larger and larger as they approached her instructor. They crawled up his arm, wrapping his body in an emerald glow. Eventually it stopped, and he turned to her. She stared at him. He stared back. After a moment of silence, she tilted her head in curiosity, finally saying something. "...what was that?" He blinked in surprise before sighing in slight annoyance. "...that's right...you don't know about the oath..." Ignoring the pointed glare she gave him, he waved her forward. "Hold your hand...er, hoof...up to it and repeat after me." Rainbow nodded, lifting her hoof, albeit awkwardly. She ended up holding it straight out, even though the ring was facing straight up. She was ready to repeat the oath now. In brightest day, in blackest night. The tendrils of light began to form once more, stretching toward Rainbow's hoof. She wasn't scared - no, she was fascinated. No evil shall escape my sight. They slowly wrapped around her limb. It was a curious feeling, not like she was being grabbed at all. Rather, it was a pleasant tingling sensation, soothing and invigorating at the same time. Let those who worship evil's might The light was covering her entire body now, almost making her fall asleep, as it gave her the sense of being in a bed of clouds. She should know - she has one, after all. She kept going, though, knowing she needed to get her ring recharged. Beware my power - Green Lantern's light! All too soon, it was over. Rainbow blinked, the familiar feeling of her mask returning as it began to form on her face. Glancing down at her body, she saw her uniform was back on her body. Not the regulation one. Rather, the one she made. The same green belly, the lightning bolt patterns, the white circle on her flanks- That were no longer blank. She stared at the symbol which had formed in the center of the circle. It was the exact same one that was on her ring...not to mention Hal's chest. Before Rainbow could contemplate that further, Princess Celestia entered the chamber, her eyes locked on the multicolored pegasus. "We need to talk." Ponyville Scootaloo rode her scooter through the streets, determined to get back to the clubhouse. There had to be a clue there - it was where Sweetie had been changed, after all! If there wasn't something there to help, then- "AGH!" She was so lost in her thoughts, she wasn't paying attention to where she was going. As a result, she crashed into a large, blue item, sent flying due to her momentum into a tree. "...ow..." Groggily getting up, she trot back over to her scooter. She looked at the object, and, confused, picked it up. The strange insect-shaped item was heavier than it looked, so she was struggling to hold it. Unable to figure out what it was, she placed it in the wagon. Deciding that somepony else could figure out what it was, she rode back into town.