//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 // Story: My Little Lantern: Friendship is Colorful // by enigmaMystere //------------------------------// Ponyville – First Pony POV I awoke, staring up at the all-too-familiar stone ceiling above me. I slowly got to my hooves, slowly walking over to the fireflies that allowed me to see. They had just been replaced, the previous group having passed on yesterday. I’ve lost count of how many times they were switched. How long have I been down here? It feels like years. I remember that one unicorn - what was her name? Dusk Twinkle? She had just come to town. The next day...she appeared. I don’t know why I trusted her. I shouldn’t have followed her down here. I should’ve noticed that stupid frying pan... I shook my leg, hearing the rattle of my chain. I sighed, feeling my stomach rumble slightly. Any minute now... The door opened wide, letting in its blinding light. “Good evening. I hope you slept well.” Her voice sounded squeaky, like a balloon being rubbed. It actually reminded me of that pony who helped at Sugar Cube Corner. I just stared at her, doing my best to keep quiet. I knew what she wanted, and there was no way I’m giving it to her. She pouted, levitating a tray of food over to me. “Still being silent, I see.” She set it down on a table, sitting close to me. “I know it still may not make sense to you, but I just want to fit in. And for that...” She gently placed one of her cream-colored hooves on my mouth, a sullen look flickering across her face. “...I need your voice. It’s the only thing I don’t have.” Her voice changed, this time making her sound like a tomcolt. It, too, was familiar. I shook my head, refusing to say anything. She sighed, rubbing her hoof through her pink and blue mane. “Is it really too much to ask?” ...Scootaloo. That’s who the voice belonged to. “Ah’ve been through fifty diff’rent voices, tryin’ ta figure out which one was yours.” Another change in her voice, with a definite country twang. It must be one of the Apple Family. “None of them seem to be right, considering the strange looks everypony keeps giving me.” I turned away, trying to hide the tears in my eyes. That last one...it sounded just like my best friend. I missed her so much. A few more minutes of silence passed before she finally stood up and walked away. “I guess I can try again tomorrow.” She looked over her shoulder, framed in the doorway. “Sleep well, Bon Bon.” She closed the door, leaving me alone in the stone room. Oa Rainbow and Celestia followed Hal, the former trying her hardest to keep a brave face as her ruler stared down at her intensely. The three of them eventually made it to a hangar, where the human brought them to a white object. If Rainbow was to be honest, it looked like one of the air boats she saw in Canterlot on Twilight's birthday. If you took away the balloon. And flattened it. And added two fish-shaped things on the side and a ball of green near the back. "Like her?" She got startled out of her thoughts by Hal's words, turning to see him gesturing to the object in question. "She's a prototype spaceship that runs on Green energy. One of a kind." Celestia couldn't help but interject, allowing the Element of Loyalty a chance to relax as her intense gaze was averted. "She?" "Yep! She is an artificial intelligence." He grinned at them as what appears to be a green being with piercing blue eyes and white armor stepped out of the vehicle. "I call her Aya." Ponyville "Where did ya even find it?" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were standing over the bug-like thing the orange filly found. The latter poked it with a hoof, much to her friend's chagrin. "I found it on the road. It didn't seem to be doing much." They continued to stare at it for a while longer. "Think it could help with Sweetie?" "I dunno. Maybe?" Scootaloo shrugged a bit. "Maybe we should take it to Twilight." "Take what to me?" They turned to see the mare in question walking up to them, rubbing her head in pain. "Seriously, what just happened?" The fillies glanced at the vial being held in the mare's magic, then back to her, confused. "You don't remember Sweetie trashing the Carousel Boutique?" "No, I think that I would." She sighed, staring hard at the vial beside her. "...did I...? Yeah, I think I did..." Sighing quietly, she brought it up to her lips. In that exact same moment, Apple Bloom picked up the beetle like object and placed it on her back to carry it over to the library. Crunch. At first, none of them knew what that was, up until the farm pony felt a searing pain in her back and screamed at the top of her lungs. Scootaloo, startled as she was, leaped away from the noise and into Twilight's chest, the vial falling from her grasp and crashing on the floor, the liquid splashing the two of them. So distracted and disoriented was everyone, they didn't realize what was happening to themselves. For Scootaloo and Twilight, they watched as the beetle slowly sunk into the yellow filly's back, unable to fathom the pain she must be going through. The unicorn's perspective was slowly getting lower, she belatedly realized. For Apple Bloom, while she could barely see through the blinding agony, she was at least able to see that the mare had vanished, and that her friend's eyes had turned a pure white. There was a long silence as the two of them stared at each other, subsumed by the heaving breaths of the farm pony. Finally, they each pointed a hoof at the other. "What just happened to you?!"