> Next Generation: The Emotional Spectrum
>  by Thestoryteller
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter one: Rise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The emptiness of space. A void, silent, lifeless, and seemingly endless abyss of absolutely nothing. But in this cold and dark space there is still life. But it is this life that the darkness wishes to destroy, to wipe off the face of existence forever. This absence of life is named death. Death, unlike life, is eternal. Frozen in time, never aging, never moving, just stuck for there is no where for it to go. The living see death as a horrible evil thing but the dead do not. The dead see death as a place of peace and harmony, one the living should embrace not avoid. Death is inevitable, unstoppable, and invincible. Nothing can truly defeat death, only shield those from it.

In the end, death catches up with us all.

In the vast emptiness of space there lies a planet called Equestria. Life blossoms on this planet, shining like a beacon of life itself. It is this beacon of life however, that has caught the attention of a very powerful evil. A portal opens in space, a bridge between the universe of the dead and the universe of the living. The portal isn't strong enough for something dead to return, but it is strong enough for something of great power to pass through it.

A ring. One colored black that matched the very emptiness of space itself. On its piece was the symbol of an upside down triangle with multiple lines jutting out from it. The portal closed and for a moment the ring floated in space, lifeless and slowly rotating.

Then the ring glowed, its top aimed towards Equestria. It became enveloped in a black sphere and shot through space like a comet, leaving a trail of black aura behind it as it flew at impossibly fast speed. When the ring entered Equestria's atmosphere, it slowed its descent by about fifty percent. It entered the frozen north, past the Crystal Empire, soaring a few feet above the ground towards its intended target. It's speed came to a quick halt when it discovered what it had been looking for.

A black curved horn jutting out, half buried in snow. This was what the ring had been searching for, one worthy of its power and now it's search was at an end.

The horn belonged to a now dead powerful unicorn named King Sombra. One who ruled the Crystal Empire with fear and hatred. Yes, Sombra would make an excellent host for the ring. The ring slowly glowed, a dark aura surrounding as an eerie and raspy voice spoke.

"The Blackest Night falls from the skies,
The darkness grows as all light dies,
We crave your hearts and your demise,
By my black hand, King Sombra, rise!"

Nothing.

If the ring was expecting something to happen, then it was sadly disappointed as nothing happened. The ring looked down at the horn, almost as if it seemed perplexed as to why nothing was happening.

"The Blackest Night falls from the skies,
The darkness grows as all light dies,
We crave your hearts and your demise,
By my black hand, King Sombra, rise!"

The voice repeated once more from the ring, and once more nothing happened. The ring was now starting to get frustrated, angry that what should've been working was not.

"WORK YOU STUPID PIECE OF SHI-" The ring shouted as a black beam enclosing the horn and lifting it up, revealing that it was nothing but a horn. The ring brought the horn closer to itself, observing it. It was then that ring understood what had happened. The reason nothing was happening was because it was only a horn, and to do what needed to be done the ring needed a body. The ring found itself scouring the barren snow, searching for pieces of Sombra's remains. Over time the ring unearthed all of the pieces and laid them in a pile.

The pieces of Sombra became entrapped in a black aura as they were put back together like a puzzle. Piece after piece was delicately placed, until the horn was placed last. Finally the ring had constructed the full body of Sombra. The ring's handle grew in size as it fit snugly onto Sombra's right hoof. Once more the ring spoke.

"The Blackest Night falls from the skies,
The darkness grows as all light dies,
We crave your hearts and your demise,
By my black hand, King Sombra, rise!"

There was a soft rumble. It shook small parts of the snow, causing it to become unbalanced and lose its structure. Sombra's eyes opened, revealing they were completely black with purple mist seeping out of them. His chest raised as his lungs filled up with air. Purple mist seeped out of his mouth as he exhaled. Two red pupils became visible in his eyes as slowly lifted himself up to his hooves. He observed his surroundings, noticing the cold and desolate weather around him. He looked to his chest, slowly raising his hoof and touched it.

Thump-thump

A heartbeat

Thump-thump

Once more it beat. Sombra couldn't believe it but he knew it to be true.

"I'm alive." He spoke, a wicked smile spreading across his lips.

"Not exactly."

Sombra whipped his head around, searching for the voice which had spoken to him.

"Who's there?" He demanded. "Show yourself!"

"Look at your hoof."

Sombra raised his left hoof.

"Your other hoof."

Sombra lowered his left and raised his right hoof, where he saw the new ring on his hoof.

"What are you?" Sombra asked, examining the ring.

"I am a ring of death and you, King Sombra, are a Black Lantern. Welcome to the Black Lantern Corps by the way."

"Black Lantern...what in Tartarus is a Black Lantern?" Sombra demanded.

"A Black Lantern is one who wields a ring of death, and you just so happen to be our lucky winner."

"I don't understand, why have you brought me back?" Sombra asked.

"I'll gladly explain later. But for now we've got work to do, no doubt the others will be closing in soon."

"Others? What do you mean by others?" Sombra demanded.

Warning! Lanterns of Will, Hope, Love, Compassion, Fear, Rage, and Avarice detected! a robotic voice projected itself inside of Sombra's mind.

"Those others. Now, unless you want to return to the land of dead I suggest we make ourselves scarce."

As the voice said that, Sombra could see seven objects falling from the sky, each with its own unique color. One of green, one of yellow, one of blue, one of red, one of violet, one of orange, and one of purple. Sombra didn't know what they were, but he could feel as though they were something he didn't want to find out. With that, Sombra took the ring's advice and teleported away.

Sombra reappeared in the mouth of a cave, still watching the seven colored objects fall towards earth. Sombra couldn't explain it, but there was a feeling inside of him when he saw the seven objects. Was it fear? Anger? It felt similar but Sombra knew that it wasn't.

"Its difficult to understand isn't it? The feeling whenever you see them."

"What are they?" Sombra demanded, not taking his eyes off the objects. "And why do I feel...this?"

"Black Lanterns are devoid of emotions such as fear, love, rage, hope, compassion, greed and willpower. They have no need for such trivial things. After all, what use could the dead have with emotions?"

"If I no longer have these emotions then what is this feeling?" Sombra asked.

"This feeling of yours has no name, yet it is the only one you and the other Black Lanterns have felt. We can't explain it, but those of the Spectrum have always been our enemy. They see our goal as one of pure evil and refuse to see the beauty in it. That feeling you have, it is the feeling of the Spectrum being your enemy. It is your goal to defeat them, so that our dream will finally be seen to fruition."

"And...what is this dream you speak of?" Sombra asked cautiously.

"Since the dawn of time there have been two universes. The one of the living and the one of the dead. The living is limited, short, and ending. But the dead is forever, unlimited, and inevitable. Our goal, our one true dream, is to show the living the beauty of death and let them join us in eternity."

"But the living refuse to see the beauty of death. They lash out and fight against us, believing that their lives are actually worth something. We send our rings of death to those who have died so that they may bring the living closer to the dead. That is why I have chosen you, King Sombra, as a Black Lantern."

"And if I refuse to go along with this dream of yours?" Sombra asked.

"Then I will return you to the land of the dead, and seek out someone else who will carry out my dream."

Sombra considered the ring's choice, accepting it's deal would result in him returning and potentially ruling over the Crystal Empire once more but if he refused then that chance would be lost forever.

"I accept your offer, ring of death, I will help you achieve your dream." Sombra said, accepting the ring's offer.

"Splendid! Head deeper into the cave, I will begin to teach you about the ring's power and it's capabilities."

Sombra turned his back to the entrance and went deeper into the cave, ready to learn about his newfound power and what the ring had in store for him.
> Chapter two: Arrivals
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day was much like any other in the quaint little town of Ponyville. The sun was shining, birds were singing, flowers were blooming. On days like these, Golden Delicious, or Del as his friends called him, found himself working on the farm, bucking at trees and collecting apples. It was what his mother did, and her mother, and her mother, and so one. His father was different, he wasn't as "experienced" as the rest of his mother's family. But Del rather enjoyed days like these, days when he had something to do, days when he was preoccupied, and on days he wasn't he could be found resting on a hill in the shade of a lone tree.

Del carried the basket of apples and, making sure that none of them were bruised, dumped them into the cart filled with apples. He dumped the other basket into the cart and looked back at his work. Every tree, as far as the eye could see, had been harvested of the fruits that they once had. Satisfied, Del tipped his hat and walked over to the front of the cart. He grabbed the two boards and strapped himself to the cart, he lowered his head and kicked back his hooves as he pulled the cart with all his might.

Del instantly regretted bringing the cart closer to the trees instead of leaving it back at the trail. Because of his decision he now had to pull the heavy cart through the resisting mud, which pushed back against his cart and took away his hooves friction. But even so, Del kept pushing, fighting his way through the thick brown mess. His hoof made contact with the dirt of the trail and with something he could actually grab onto, he pulled himself and the cart onto the trail. He let out a sigh of relief before making his way down the trail.

The morning dew which clung to the grass tips glistened in the sun's gaze. Del took in all of natures wonders as he passed by her works of art. The smells, the sights, the calm winds whistling tune, the hard, yet comfortable, dirt and rock beneath his hooves he felt with each step he took. Maybe today he would visit his friend, Cotton Candy, this fine day and spend the day baking treats.

Del froze, correcting that thought of baking with Candy to keeping her far away from any kitchen instrument as painful memories of her last creations haunted his mind. Del shook away those thoughts and continued walking along the trail. Perhaps instead of Cotton Candy he would visit his other friend Prism Bolt. That idea was short lived as he remembered the Prism was busy today. Del racked his brain, thinking of ways to spend the day. Perhaps he would work on the east side of the field today, or at least give his mom a hoof with it anyways. Or maybe-

*SMACK!*

Whatever idea that was about to present itself was short lived as Del directed his attention to the loud noise that had come beside him. He looked to his left (and down a bit) and his expression softened into a grin. Beside him, face first into the dirt, was a Pegasus mare with light orange fur, a blue mane with a pink and purple stripe  in her mane, and she had a shooting star as her cutie mark.

"Ooooooooowwwwwww." The mare groaned, her right wing twitched.

"Wonderful day we're having aren't we?" Del said, trying to make small talk as he unstrapped the saddle attached to the cart.

"Shut up." The Pegasus said hotly, her angrily tone slightly muffled by the ground.

Del chuckled a bit, undoing the final strap. He approached the mare and lifted her up, showing off the red on the bridge of her nose. "Wanna tell me what happened?" Del asked.

The Pegasus turned her head away from Del and huffed, making a pouty face.

"Star." Del pressed. "What happened?"

The Pegasus' right wing twitched once more, she let out a sigh. "Wing cramp."

"I'm sorry what was that?" Del asked, motioning his ear closer to the Pegasus.

The Pegasus whipped her head around and said so that she could be correctly heard,"I got a wing cramp okay!" 

The Pegasus' angry tone didn't even make Del flinch, as he stood firm and continued to keep that grin of his. "Cramp huh?" Del rubbed his chin. "Have ya tried walking it off?"

The Pegasus gave Del a flat look, "I'm going to assume that your joking."

Del rolled his eyes. "Here, this ought'a help." Del said grabbing the Pegasus' right wing. "Where is it cramped?" He asked.

The Pegasus pointed right at the muscle connecting her wing to her body, which looked out of place. Del, grabbed the muscle which was taught and slowly applied pressure to it. The Pegasus stifled a moan, her eyes shut tight and her upper jaw bitting down on her lower lip, waiting for the discomfort to end. Eventually the pain subdued and wing was no longer stuck in one place. The Pegasus flapped her right wing, stretching it out and jiggling it so the cramp would not return.

"There," Del said, removing his hooves from her wing. "All better. You're lucky that you were flyin' so low, any higher and you might've broken somethin'."

"Yeah, yeah." The Pegasus said. "I will make sure not to have another cramp. Geez you sound like my mom."

Del chuckled. "I wish, maybe then you'd listen ta me once in a while."

"Uh huh, that's nice Del but I got to get moving." The Pegasus said, spreading her wings. "Later." She said as she took flight.

"Nice ta see you too Star." Del mumbled as he strapped himself back to the cart, and continued along the trail.

Once more he welcomed in all of natures wonders. The magnificent sights, the wonderful feel of the dirt road, the rustling leaves in the wind, the stench of ozone...wait.

The smell hit Del like a dead fish, more like five hundred dead fish actually. Del gagged at the smell, its strong sent stung his nostrils like pointy shards. He lifted his bandanna over his muzzle, blocking out the majority of he stench.

*Grrrrrrrrrrrrr*

A paw, a large one, made of wood stomped onto the dirt trail out from the tree line beside Del. Followed by the paw was another, and then a head, also made of twigs, sticks, and logs, that bore resemblance to a wolf. Only it was twice as big, its eyes were completely sickly green, a dark green smoke fumed from its opened mouth, and did I forget to mention it was entirely made of wood? 

The wolf-like creature was a Tmberwolf, clumps of wood and rocks bound together by the spirit of a once dead wolf. In the very center of its body was the soul, slowly burning away inside the body, giving off a disgusting smell which was pouring out of its mouth.

Del didn't seem startled or fazed in the slightest. In fact he seemed just as cool as he always had. The Timberwolves continued its low growl, scrapping his claw against the ground.

"I don't suppose you want to friends?" Del asked half smiling.

"GGGRRRRRAAAAAAAAAA!"

The Timberwolf's mouth opened all the way as it responded with a vicious roar.

"Would've been a terrible relationship anyways." Del muttered as he unstrapped himself from the cart.

The wolf charged, galloping at speeds faster than normal eyes could process. The wolf leaped at Del, his mouth unhinged and wide, ready to smash it down upon Del. But then it came to an instant stop, its jaws tried to move but they were held in place by Del's forehooves.

"You disrupt my work." Del stated as he heaved the wolf over his head and smashed it down onto the ground. "You threaten my farm." Del said as he lifted the wolf once more and slammed it back down. "And above all you pissed me off." He said as he heaved the wolf over his head and smashed it against the ground. Only this time the wolf shattered into twigs, rocks, and wood. Del stood and waited, until the pieces became engulfed in a sickly green aura and floated into a pile, which took shape into the wolf. It shook its body before growling at Del.

"Sit."

The wolf ceased its growling, tilting its head, showing off its perplexity, before growling again.

"Sit." Del commanded.

The wolf slightly flinched upon Del's commanding words, taking a step back.

"I said, sit." Once more Del spoke in that firm commanding tone of his.

The wolf continued its growl. Why should it listen to the prey? What gave him the right and authority to command it? He was but mere prey, he was weak and therefore was fated to be eaten. Yet the wolf found its rear slowly lowering towards the ground. How? How did this prey, this weakling, command a beast such as itself. What gave him the right?

Because he willed it.

The wolf sat on its haunches, its head hung low, knowing that it had been defeated. The wolf's eyes widened as the prey approached him, balancing something on his back. "Here ya go." Del said.

The wolf looked down, his confusion increased. At his feet was a pile of at least twenty red apples. The wolf looked up at Del as he hung the basket back onto the cart. He looked to the wolf and smiled underneath his bandanna. "Ya looked mighty hungry, so I thought I'd share. I've got more than enough." Del stated as he strapped himself back to his cart. "Enjoy." He waved goodbye as he passed by the wolf.

The Timberwolf looked back down at the pile of apples, picking one up by holding it between two of his claws. As it took a bite from the apple, it promised that it would never forget what had happened here this day.





The Castle of Friendship. Place of Harmony, and home to the Sparkle's. Inside its walls, the son of Twilight Sparkle and Flash Sentry sat in the chair which belonged to his mother. As he sat, he read a book in his hooves which contained knowledge on certain spells. This son was named Night Light jr, a unicorn colt who was much like his mother. A thirst for knowledge. Night Light, whenever he had the spare time, would spend his time reading or sometimes writing.

He was so immersed in his book he didn't noticed the door to the room opening and closing. Along with the pony who had just entered.

"What'cha doing?"

It wasn't until whomever entered the room was right next to him and spoke that Night Light became aware of the pony's presence. He jumped back in surprise, dropping the book and glaring at the chuckling pony next to him.

"What the hay dad?" He glared.

"Sorry kiddo." Flash Sentry apologized. "You really are just like your mother, ya know that? So immersed in a book that the entire world dissolves around you."

"Yeah, well I'd like to get back to that world thank you very much." Night Light said, grabbing the book and continued reading from where he had left off. He paused midway through, noticing that Flash was still next to him. "Uh...no offense dad but...why are you still here?"

"Hmm? Oh right, well..." Flash rubbed the back of his head rather awkwardly. "I've done some thinking and I've realized that...well... you and I haven't really spent much time together as of late."

Night Light thought about what his dad said and after marking his page he put down his book. "You know...you're right, we haven't spent as much time together as father and son as we should've."

Flash's mood seemed to brighten up a bit. "So you want to go do something?"

Night Light shrugged, "sure, I don't see why not." He said as he hopped off from the chair. "Say...what do father's and son's do anyways?"

"We'll do whatever you want to do." Flash answered.

"Whatever I want?" Night Light cringed at the thought, knowing that his dad might've not been so keen on the thing he normally did. "How about...frisbee?" Night Light suggested, a white plastic frisbee appearing with a magical poof and floating next to him.

"Frisbee?" Flash asked.

Night Light nodded.

"Well alright, lets go play frisbee kiddo." Flash said as he walked towards the door.

"Here dad, catch!" Night Light hollowed as he chucked the frisbee.

Flash didn't have enough time to prevent the frisbee from colliding with his chest and, thanks to its speed being increased by Night Light's magic, it sent Flash through the wall, leaving a hole which matched his figure. Night Light gasped and his eyes went wide as he ran up to his dad.

"Oh my gosh dad, are you okay?!" Night Light shouted, his head popped through the hole in wall.

"Maybe...we should...do something...less...physical." Flash wheezed.





Prism Bolt, son of Rainbow Dash and Soarin, sat comfortably in the chair made out of a cloud. Beside him was a crib, also made from a cloud, in which his little brother slept. He looked to his bother and then back down to his hooves, where a letter, with lines indicating that it had been folded, laid in them. He sighed, using every fiber of his being to fight back his tears.

*knock, knock*

"Prism, can I come in?" A voice from the other side of the cloud door came.

"Nothing's stopping you." He said grimly.

The door knob turned and a mare Pegasus entered. She had dark purple fur, blue eyes, and a white mane and tail. This Pegasus was known as Whirlwind, Prism's ex, the moment she stepped in an aura of awkwardness entered the room as well.

"Hey..." Whirlwind cringed, her greeting sounded terrible. "How ya doing?"

Prism looked up to her, his eyes narrowed. "How do you think?"

Whirlwind's eyes landed on the paper, slowly she approached Prism, pulling up a chair next to him. "May I?" She asked, pointing to the letter.

Prism glanced down at the letter then back to Whirlwind. He sighed defeatedly as he handed her the letter. She took it and glanced at who it had been sent from. Her eyes widened when she saw, she looked to Prism in disbelief. "You auditioned for the Wonderbolt?!" She shouted.

"Shhhh!" Prism hissed, covering Whirlwind's mouth. Eyeing the sleeping colt who stirred in his sleep.

Whirlwind knocked away Prism'a hoof before continuing. "I thought you said you weren't going to try out for becoming a Wonderbolt? Didn't you say that you wanted to do something different than your mom and dad?"

"I know what I said." Prism grunted. "I just...I was bored okay." Prism crossed his hooves, turning his back towards her. "Besides, it doesn't matter anymore."

Whirlwind gave Prism a look of confusion before her face turned into an expression of realization. She looked back to the letter and realized it was a letter of acceptance. But one of rejection.



-Prism Bolt;

Hey kid, how's it going? Hopefully good I guess. Me on the other hoof, let me just tell you, cadets nowadays are just pathetic. Their nothing at all like the ones back then. Hay, even Thunderlane was better than these clowns.

Well, I guess there's no point in slowly breaking the ice. I didn't want to do this kid, I really didn't but... I'm sorry you have no idea how hard this is. Rainbow Dash was by far the best flyer and the best friend I could ever ask for, and Soarin, that goofball, who would've thought those two would've been a match in heaven. They were both excellent flyers, and when they had you, well, everybody thought that you had been destined for greatness.

But sadly this isn't the case. It is with great pain and sorrow that I must reject you from the Wonderbolts training. I'm sorry Prism, I fought tooth and nail to change their minds but it was no use. You're just...you're just not good enough.

I'm sorry Prism, I truly am.

Your Aunt Spitfire



Whirlwind's hooves slowly lowered, unable to bear the weight of their own gravity.

"Not good enough." Prism grounded his teeth upon saying those words. "It's always the same three words. 'Not good enough'. You're not good enough to be a great flyer. You're not good enough to be Rainbow Dash and Soarin's son. You're not good enough to be a Wonderbolt."

"Stop it!" Whirlwind demanded. "You can't beat yourself up like that Prism. You are good enough for anything."

"But I wasn't good enough for you."

Those words sunk deep into Whirlwind, her gaze fell to floor, unable to look Prism in the eyes. "That...that isn't what I meant and you know it."

"Sure." Prism huffed. "Is there a reason why you came here or did you just come here to see me grovel?"

"I came back to check on you." Whirlwind stated. "You haven't been seen for two days. Your friends are worried." She said. "And why would I want to see you grovel?"

"My life has been nothing but miserable ever since you left." Prism said. "Just one bad thing after the next."

"But it doesn't have to be." Whirlwind said offering Prism her hoof. "The 'Star Gaze Festival' is going to start at midnight. Everypony is going to be there, you should go too."

Prism looked at Whirlwind's hoof before giving her his answer. "Get out." He growled.

Whirlwind didn't budge. "I'm not leaving without you."

"I said get out." Prism growled, this time just a bit louder.

"No." Whirlwind said.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Prism's rage flared.

Then his eyes widened, the chair Whirlwind had been sitting in was now empty. His gaze looked to the floor where Whirlwind was now laying. Her hoof covering the red mark on her cheek, her left eye tightly closed, while her right had a tear forming in the corner of her eye. Prism looked to his hoof, which had a slight sting in it. He looked back to Whirlwind, eyes filled with disbelief and regret.

"What did I do?"





The sun had begun its descent, its yellow shining glow disappearing behind the horizon. While completely parallel to it was the moon, rising on the other side. While this was happening, all of Ponyville was gathering at the edge of a cliff, carrying baskets and blankets with them. A pink blanket was draped over the grass by the green pony-dragon hybrid Turquoise. He neatly smoothed out the blankets edges before setting the basket in his mouth down. He sat down in the middle of the blanket, opening up the basket's lid, he pulled out multiple containers and plates.

"Something smells good."

Turquoise set down a third plate before turning to the source of the voice. "I would hope so," he grinned. "Otherwise I just wasted an hour in the kitchen for nothing."

The pink unicorn mare smiled at him. Her name was Annie, adopted daughter of Fluttershy, and Turquoise's marefriend. While Annie's pupils were blue, they also had a glossy mist on them. See, Annie here has an eye disease which prevents her from seeing detail. All she can see are blotches of color, but she manages. Annie gave Turquoise a smile as she laid next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. There was a silence between the two, not an awkward silence, but a comforting one as the two enjoyed the other's company.

"*Ahem*"

Both Turquoise and Annie where yanked away from their comforting silence as they both turned to see an Alicorn-batpony hybrid mare standing in front of them. The Alicorn's name was Nidra, daughter of Luna and Super Nova. Her bat-like wings were fully extended, her piercing yellow eyes drove her gaze into the couple's heart.

"Would you guys mind if I spend the festival with you?" She asked, folding her wings.

Annie gave Nidra a warm smile. "Of course Nidra, what are friends for?"

Nidra gave the two a grateful look as she walked onto the blanket and laid on the other side of Turquoise. She caught a glance of Annie as she rested her head on Turquoise's shoulder, silently wishing that she was in Annie's place.

"Wheeeeeeee!" An energetic mare squealed, jumping into the air as an explosion of confetti went off behind her. Startling the three on the blanket.

"Oh its you Candy." Turquoise exhaled in relief. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Hi Candy." Annie waved at the pony known as Cotton Candy, or Candy as her friends called her, daughter of Pokey Pierce and Pinkie Pie.

"Candy please sit down." Starburst grimaced, as she sat on the blanket, "you're making a scene."

"Star, its Candy. When on earth has she ever gone anywhere and not caused a scene." A new pony arrived, a pony-dragon hybrid known as Clarity.

"She's got you there Star." The Alicorn-draconequus hybrid known as Illusion added.

Del chuckled a bit as everyone took their seat on the blanket. A few minutes passed and Del felt something tap his foreleg. He looked down to see that it was cousin Api Apple, daughter of Apple Bloom and Pipsqueak.

"Hey cousin, have ya seen Nighty anywhere?" She asked.

Del thought for a moment before responding. "Can't say I have Cuz. Is he missing or somethin'?"

Starburst facehoofed. "That idiot. Hold on, I'll be right back." She said, extending her wings and taking flight.





While the whole town was gathered at the edge of the cliff, Night Light found himself at the tip of a mountain not to far from the cliff where the town was. At the edge he had set up a portable telescope, which he peered into to get a look at the stars beginning to become visible. The more he saw, the more he wrote down in his small journal. While star gazing he noticed something out of the ordinary. He looked back and forth between the sketch of the star's in his journal and the actual star's themselves. There was a star missing, the fifth star which belonged in the warrior constellation was no longer there.

Night Light found this curious and decided to investigate further. When he looked back into the telescope the star had reappeared, but something was moving. It was faint, and barely visible, but it could still be seen, a small black object which entered the atmosphere and disappeared over the horizon. Night Light removed his gaze from the telescope and looked back at the constellations, this time the star had disappeared once again. Night Light looked back through the telescope and directed its gaze at where the star should've been. He then saw seven colored objects appear. One green, one yellow, one blue, one red, one violet, one orange, and one purple.

Night Light then figured out what had happened. The star hadn't vanished, but its visibility vanished because a portal appeared in front of it. Night Light looked back at the stars, his eyes glued on the seven colored objects which fell to the planet, leaving a trail matching their color behind them.

They fell until they're direction changed. Night Light's eyes widened as he realized they were heading straight for him. Before he could act, the seven objects were upon him, floating in front of him. Night Light held his hoof over his head, covering himself from the blinding light they were emitting. After his eyes adjusted, he got a good look at the objects.

They were lanterns, strangely shaped, but their structure resembled a lantern. The seven lanterns hovered in front of Night Light of a moment before something came out of their opening.

A ring was produced from each lantern, each matching the color it came from and each bearing a unique symbol. Before Night Light could understand what it meant, four of the rings took action.

Willpower detected

Rage detected

Fear detected

Love detected

The green, red, yellow, and violet ring shot off into the sky, a trail following behind them. The other three ring's paused before they retreated into the lanterns they had come from.

ERROR: Small traces of Avarice detected, will maintain hibernation until suitable bearer determined.

ERROR: Compassion clouded, will maintain hibernation until suitable bearer is ready.

ERROR: Small traces of Hope detected, will maintain hibernation until suitable bearer determined.

Night Light starred in confusion as the lanterns circled around his head, surrounding him. Before he could understand what was happening, each lantern shot a beam into his head. A green, yellow, blue, red, violet, orange, and purple beam of light entered his mind, causing his eyes to become completely white. His vision faded, replaced with a picture of a pony, his head covered by a black shadow. The pony raised its hoof, showing off the black ring it wore with the symbol of an upside down triangle that had five pillars shooting out from it.

The image faded and Night Light's vision returned. He looked around the entire area but the lanterns were no where to be seen, they had completely vanished, not a trace of their presence could be seen.

"What the hay was that?" Night Light asked, only to receive silence as his answer.





The frozen north, the harsh and cruel winds howled as they carried pieces of snow across the plane. Inside the cave, Sombra sat in a chair he had carved from stone.

"You look bored."

"What gave it away?" Sombra asked sarcastically, looking at the ring.

"You seem to not yet fully comprehend what is about to happen."

"Did it ever occur to you that I might not even have a clue as to what I'm supposed to do?" Sombra asked.

"Hmmmm, yes that is my fault I will admit. Very well, I'll explain what you're supposed to do step by-"

"Not so fast." Sombra interjected. "Before you explain this 'master plan of yours'. I want you to answer my questions first.

"..... Fine. What do you want to know?"

"What are you?" Was Sombra's first question.

"Did you lose a few brain cells when you died or something? I already told you what I am, I am a ring of death-"

"NO!" Sombra shouted, once again cutting the voice off. "You can't be the ring. The ring is sounds robotic, lifeless. You...you sound as though you're a living, breathing, creature."

"..... Well guess there's no point in hiding it now. I guess introductions are in order, my name used to be William Derek Hand, I guess it still is now but I prefer the name Black Hand. And unlike you, I'm alive."

"Explain." Sombra demanded.

"As you wish. As of right now you and I are the only Black Lanterns. There was a time when there used to be countless of us but now there's only two. You and I. Before I was imprisoned by the other corps I sent out a copy of my ring to a parallel universe. It found you and now you're a Black Lantern."

"Okay, that explains that I guess." Sombra said. "Next question, what is this ring made of?"

"Ah yes, the ring's makeup structure. Trust me, it's best if you don't know."

"Very well. Last question," Sombra paused bringing the ring directly to eye level. "What can this ring do?"

"I thought you'd never ask. But unfortunately to demonstrate your newfound power we need a corpse, and last I checked there isn't a Walmart in this universe."

"A corpse huh." Sombra rubbed his chin. "I think I know exactly where we can get one." Sombra grinned as he stood up from his chair and exited the cave.
> Chapter three: It begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sombra found himself walking in the frozen tundra, his magic shielding him slightly from the harsh winds.

"Sooooooo...care to enlighten me on our destination?" Black Hand asked from within the ring.

"I'll explain once we get there." Sombra answered with a grumble.

"Mmm-kay. Well can you tell me why you don't just teleport there then?" Black Hand asked

"Can't." Sombra answered. "There's a spell which prevents me from doing so." Sombra added. "Oh wait, you probably don't have magic in your universe do you?"

"Well...I mean we technically do." Black Hand said

"You're universe has magic?" Sombra asked in surprise.

"Yes and no." Black Hand admitted. "In my universe we do have this form of energy known as magic but it's nothing like the magic in yours." 

"Explain." Sombra demanded.

"That's gonna be kinda difficult, since I don't really know much on that kind of thing." Black Hand sighed. "Lets just say where I come from things are a bit different. Hell, for all I know your universe is filled with things I could never possibly imagine." Black Hand chuckled.

"Speaking of your universe." Sombra said, redirecting the conversation. "What's your universe like?"

There was a slight pause before Black Hand responded.

"Ex-...excuse me?" Black Hand asked as if he were perplexed.

"Your universe, what's it like?" Sombra asked again. "I'm genuinely curious."

"My universe...huh...truth be told I don't know much about it either." Black Hand admitted. "I do know that my universe is universe 52, it's full of planets which harbor life...there's a planet I live on called Earth, or I used to live there at least. That's all I know really." 

"What about that whole speech you gave about the two universes of life and death?" Sombra asked.

"Oh did I say universes? I guess that's the wrong to describe it, how do I put this?" Black Hand paused, thinking. "Okay, perhaps its better if I show you." 

The ring glowed as two spheres appeared in front of Sombra. One white, one black.

"I want you to picture the white sphere as, what I like to call, the life zone and I want you to picture the black sphere as the dead zone. Now look closely at the life zone."

Sombra leaned forward, squinting his eyes, he saw what Black Hand wanted him to see. It was a transparent object in the shape of a galaxy, small dots circling around a massive glowing ball. "I'm going to assume that's a universe, correct?" Sombra assumed.

"Correct." Black Hand said, sounding as if he were smiling. "The life zone is full of universes, each different and unique to the other. But if you look at the dead zone." 

Sombra leaned in closer to the black sphere, he look as hard as he could but couldn't see anything. Thats when it dawned on him. "The dead zone isn't home to any universe. It is a universe."

"You're smarter than you look." Black Hand said. "Yes, the dead zone is the only universe which is frozen in time, a universe that is never ending." 

"Remarkable, and this is where we go when we die?" Sombra asked.

"It doesn't matter what universe you're born in. Eventually we all go to the dead zone-oh look at that."

Sombra came to a halt, his mane flying with the wind like a flag stuck to a flagpole, as he lifted his head to get a better look at what stood in front of him. It was a black metal gate, nearly twenty times Sombra's size, attached to a stone wall which seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. Sombra extended his hoof, intending on touching the gate. But before his hoof could get close enough, a pink spark shot his hoof back.

"So this is the magic that prevents you from entering huh?" Black Hand asked, his tone of voice sounding intrigued. "Okay, here's another thing the black ring can do, the ring is capable of creating energy constructs. To do this, picture something in your mind, anything, and the ring will create it." 

Sombra raised his right foreleg, starring at the ring before closing his eyes and thinking. When he opened them two large transparent black hands appeared above him. The hands loomed towards the gate, piercing through the magical seal and wedging themselves into the crevice that separated the two gate doors. The hands pried open the door with full force, causing them to swing open so hard they slammed against the back of the wall. With the gate now open, the spell keeping Sombra out dissipated and vanished. With nothing keeping him back, Sombra walked past the gate, walking along the stone path, he passed multiple stone objects.

"Now I understand why you came here." Black Hand said, his tone of voice sounding excited and giddy. "You've brought us to a graveyard!" 

Yes indeed, that was where Sombra had brought them. Stone monuments with names and dates carved into them, each tombstone was a somewhat tall rectangular stone monument. Beneath each tombstone lied the casket of a dead pony. Sombra approached one of the tombstone's and took a knee so that he could get a clear look at it.




Here lies Crystalline Jade
Devoted husband, loving father, and loyal guard
3613-3675




As Sombra looked at the name he felt as though he had heard it somewhere before. As if he knew who the pony was. His mind flash back to the past, back during a time before was the ruler of the Crystal Empire.





Sombra, before he became king, was a unicorn colt who lived in the Crystal Empire. Sombra hated being a unicorn, as a wielder of magic the Crystal Ponies would never play or talk with him. Sombra was alone, but then, one day, she arrived. Radiant Hope, and unlike the Crystal Ponies she was a unicorn. Just like Sombra. The two became instant friends, always going on adventures and playing and laughing. But on days when Sombra wanted to attend the Crystal Fair, he would become sick and feverish. On those days Radiant Hope would stay by Sombra's side. Sombra lived with Radiant Hope because he didn't have a family or home of his own.

Then Sombra remembered. On days he would get sick Radiant's father would feed him medicine which would take away some of the pain. Radiant's father, was a guard who's name was Crystalline Jade.

Sombra's mind flashed further in time, to the time when he was now king.

King Sombra's hoofsteps echoed along the crystal walls, his eyes locked on the black crystal door being guarded by five Crystal guards wearing black armor which covered their entire body and they wore a black helmet where it showed their glowing green eyes. Indicating they were under Sombra's control. As Sombra approached the guards all bowed before their king in unison. Sombra, not showing any interest or point in acknowledging the guards, walked past them and flung the doors open with his magic.

The room inside was dark, pitch black in fact, with little to no visibility. Until now, the open doors allowing Light into the room giving it visibility. At the very end of the room was a Crystal Pony Stallion, his fore and hindlegs held by chains. His head looked up to Sombra, when he caught sight of him his face twisted into one not of hate, but of disappointment.

"When I ask you a question, I expect a direct answer." Sombra stated. "Where is she?"

The Crystal Pony looked at Sombra for a moment before responding.

"Go choke on your cock." He spat.

A crystal pike shot from the ground and halted, barely inches away from the Pony's neck. Sombra took a deep breath, cooling his temper, as the pike slowly receded back into the floor. Sombra needed to keep his anger in check, if he didn't then Sombra would be giving the Pony exactly what he wanted.

"I'll ask again." Sombra repeated. "Where. Is. She!"

The Pony remained silent.

"If you're doing this to protect her then there's no need to worry, I won't hurt her. I would never hurt her." Sombra said.

"You won't hurt her?" The Pony asked. "You don't get it, just the mere sight of you is gonna break her heart."

"That's not true." Sombra growled.

"But it is." The Pony said. "Look at yourself Sombra, who's she gonna see? Her childhood friend? Or the monster who enslaved her home."

Sombra pushed aside the Pony's insults. "Where is she?"

"I suppose it's my fault really." The Pony admitted. "I should've noticed the signs. Tartarus, even your name was a dead give away. 'Sombra', a name that is anything but innocent."

"WHERE IS SHE!!!" Sombra roared, causing the floor and walls to form cracks.

"You can hurt me, you can burn me, you can torture me all you want Sombra." The Pony said. "But for both her sake and yours. I will never tell you where Hope is."





"Is that sympathy I detect?" Black Hand asked.

"It's nothing." Sombra lied, whipping away a single tear which had run down half his cheek. "Lets do what we came here to do."

"Alright, so here's what the ring's special power is, aside from creating constructs of course. This special power is the power to raise the dead."

Sombra stood flabbergasted before giving his response. "Impossible, there's no such magic capable of bring the dead back."

"Well you're half right. Nothing can truly come back from the dead, the black ring just acts as a...preserver, keeping you afloat in the land of the living. All you need to do is summon black rings for these undead guys and they'll return to the land of the living."

Sombra, now interested in this offer, asked, "Very well, what must I do?"

"Well normally what I do is say my oath and the dead are raised."

"Oath?" Sombra asked. "You mean those words you spoke when you resurrected me?"

"The Blackest Night falls from the skies
The darkness grows as all light dies
We crave your hearts and your demise
By my black hand
The dead shall rise."

"Seems easy enough." Sombra shrugged as he held up the ring. "The Blackest night-"

"Woah, woah, woah there buddy. You can't use my oath. You gotta use your own."

"What?!" Sombra shouted. "You expect me to make up an oath?!"

"It's pretty easy actually, the words will just come to you."

Sombra decided to do as Black Hand said and waited. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the ring he had. The power to resurrect the dead, and the goal to kill all light. His eyes opened, completely black with a black haze fuming from them. His ring seemed to glow brightly as he extended his foreleg. He opened his mouth and spoke, only this time his voice and Black Hand's were in complete unison.


"By my power the light shall die
The time has come, the end is nigh
I crave their destruction and demise
Awake from your slumber my kind
By your King's command
I order you to RISE!"


Sombra clutched his stomach as he fell to his knees, his other hoof covered his mouth, his cheeks puffed out as whatever was in his stomach traveled up his body and was mashed together in his mouth. Sombra could no longer bear the weight, his mouth was force open all the way as many black lantern rings flew from his body over towards some of the graves.

Shining Gaze, RISE! One of the rings spoke with a robotic voice as it shined above a grave.

Other ring's did the same, hovering over a grave, speaking the name of who was buried, and commanding them to rise. However there was some ring's who did something differently. One such ring hovered over a grave and spoke

Gemstone RI- the ring paused for a moment. Gemstone at peace. It spoke before leaving the grave and searching for a new one.

Sombra glanced at his ring, as if asking it a question.

"Yeah, see there's a little catch to the ring's power." Black Hand admitted. "See, a black ring can only resurrect someone with unfinished business. So those who have died and have done everything with their life can't be brought back." 

Sombra remained silent, averting his gaze away from the ring only to see the disturbed ground as half flesh and half bone limbs erupted from the tombstones. They were ponies, or at least they were, with holes in their body and skin ripped like string cheese. Their body's rotten, and a hollow hole inside of them where their soul should've been. In an instant each black ring jumped onto a zombie and each of them announced.

Welcome to the Umbrum Corps

The zombies were covered in a black suit, each with the symbol of the Black Lantern Corps on them. They approached Sombra and stood in formation like the soldiers they once were. They all kneeled before their new king, ready to serve as his army of the undead.

Power levels at 5%

WARNING: Ring bearers of Willpower and Fear detected!

Before Sombra could process what the ring had said there was a loud boom. All heads turned to the source of the loud noise to see a large crater. From the crater two figures emerged, one with the build of an earth pony stallion wearing a green and black suit along with wearing a green mask that had white eyes. The figure beside the Stallion was a Pegasus Mare who wore a yellow and black suit along with a yellow mask that had white eyes.

The feeling Sombra had when he laid eyes on the seven colored objects returned. The feeling that screamed "They are the enemy! Kill them! " and from the look on all of the zombies faces, or what was left of them, they had the same feeling. All that they were waiting for, was their king's orders.

"By my command, Kill them!" Sombra ordered.





Del's day consisted of work, work, some work, more work, basically nothing but work today. His mom had decided to work overnight and in doing so her body needed a full day of rest. With his dad taking care of his mom, and his uncle busy at tending the school grounds, the responsibility of work fell to Del. It wasn't much really, just half of the east field, should've taken him only till 2:00 to get it done. 3:00, including breaks and lunch. Del was currently resting beneath a tree, his cowboy hat's rim covering the top of his face, and his chest slowly raising and lowering with each breath he drew.

His nose twitched, a sent tickling his nostrils. The sent was familiar, it stunk and reeked. It was the stench of ozone. To avoid direct contact to the stench Del covered his muzzle with his red handkerchief. He raised the brim of his hat to see what the cause of the horrible smell was. The bushes in front of him rustled, twigs snapped and cracked as the creature emerged.

It was the Timberwolf Del had seen yesterday, only this time the Timberwolf was missing its left foreleg. The wolf had its head low, making a soft whimpering sound.

"What's the matter with ya?" Del asked, not fazed in the slightest by the wolf's appearance.

The wolf limped itself over next to Del, cowering behind him. Del looked at the wolf confused before directing his attention to the sound of snapping twigs. From the bushes a new creature emerged, this one was different from the wolf.

Their was five of them, wooden creatures with a similar build to a wolf only these were smaller, about the size of a foal, and they were, laughing?

"Heeheeheeheeheehee." They cackled as they began to circle around Del and the wolf.

These creatures were known as Jakols, spirits who possessed pieces of wood much like a Timberwolf. Only Jakols were completely different from a Timberwolf. For one, Jackols eat everything. It didn't matter what it was, as long as they could fit it in their mouth they would eat it. Del had put the pieces together, this pack of Jakols had attacked the lone Timberwolf and eaten its leg, and once the Jakols eat something, it's gone forever.

One of the Jakol's pounced, mouth opened impossibly wide, showing off its razor sharp long teeth. As the Jakol closed in on Del, he rammed his hoof up its lower jaw, clamping it shut, he then grabbed it by the muzzle and smashed it against the ground, causing it to explode into nothing but splinters. The other Jakols pounced, ready to devour the earth pony, but none of them was able to do the task as one by one they were destroyed by Del. But that didn't stop them, every time they were destroyed they reformed and attacked. Del wasn't even breaking a sweat, his whole life he had been bucking trees which meant that breaking these Jakols was easy as pie.

One of the Jakol's exploded into twigs and splinters, but as it began to reform a black object shot itself inside of the Jakol's body. It prepared to pounce but froze, its cackling replaced by a groan of pain as the sickly green light inside of it turned pitch black.

A Jakol pounced at Del, only to be tackled by the black Jakol while in midair. The black Jakol held the other Jakol down as its mouth opened and it took a massive chunk of the Jakol's body. The Jakol whined, and cried out as its body was devoured. It went limp the moment the black Jakol ate its soul. The Jakol growled as its head rose, its body fatter than before, containing more than it could hold. It eyed the other three Jakols with hunger. It grabbed two of them and gorged on their body's and soul's, causing its size to increase and its body had begun to change.

The fifth Jakol tried to run but was brought to a dead halt as a black frog-like tongue shot from the black Jakol's mouth and wrapped around the Jackol's leg. The Jakol clawed at the dirt, desperately trying to stop its approach to the black Jakol but it was to no avail as the Jakol was swallowed whole. The black Jakol was now the size of the Timberwolf. It's wooden body was now bones, with rotting flesh underneath, four eyes stuck out from its skull, two on the right, two on the left, both completely yellow with a black dot for a pupil. The black Jakol, no, this Abomination let out a cackling laugh as if thinking that eating his brethren was amusing.

Del was awestruck, unable to process what stood before him. But he still kept his stance firm, not showing any sign of fear. The Abomination struck Del with the back of its paw, shooting him through a tree and crashing against the one behind it. His body full of cuts and bruises as the tree in front of him let out a loud groan as it tipped and fell.

"Damn. It's gonna take us forever to plant a new tree." Del chuckled, even in this darkest moment he was still able to joke.

The Abomination slowly made its way towards Del, step after step, crunching the leftovers it didn't eat. But it's approach was stopped as the Timberwolf sunk its teeth into the Abomination's fleshy neck, ripping away the bone and flesh. The Jakol let out a cry, not in pain but in annoyance as it grabbed the Timberwolf by the neck and slammed it against the ground. While pined, the Abomination tore the Timberwolf apart, piece by piece.

"NO!" Del shouted, unable to stop the Abomination from tearing the Timberwolf to shreds, until all that remained was the green orb of the wolf's soul. But before the Abomination could feast on the soul, Del rushed up and grabbed it, shielding it from the Abomination.

The Abomination unleashed a monstrous roar at Del, spitting chunks of bone, flesh, and black ooze. But Del stood firm, refusing to budge an inch.

"Ya want this?" Del asked, glaring at the Abomination. "Well the only way yer gettin' it is over ma dead body."

The Abomination stood on its hind legs, its two claws balled into fists as they were brought down onto Del. But before they could make contact with him, a green light shot from the sky. Knocking the Abomination back as the green light completely covered Del, the source of the light was a green ring with a strange symbol on it. The ring's handle enlarged as it fashioned itself onto Del's right foreleg, causing his eyes and body to glow green.

'Golden Delicious of Equestria. You have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps.'


The bright light faded as fast as it had appeared, allowing the creature to get a good look at Del. In his left hoof was the circular sickly green orb of the Timberwolf's soul, and in the other was the green ring on his hoof. Del was now wearing a tight black suit with his top half green, his hooves wore white gloves, and his eyes were still completely green.

"Impurity detected, beginning cleansing procedure."

The Abomination roared, charging its way towards Del. Del raised his ring and a small ball formed above its symbol, sparks shooting out of it. With the Abomination's mouth wide, it lunged at Del.

*KRA-BOOOOM!*

Only for it explode into pieces as a green bolt shot from the ring and collided with the Abomination. A splatter of bones, black ooze, and decaying flesh covered the area. Where the Abomination once stood, a black sphere floated in place, an ominous hum coming from it. The pieces of bone and flesh slowly vibrated, their shaking increased with each passing second until they were pulled towards the black sphere. Piece by piece, the Abomination slowly reformed its body. It's yellow eyes opened, glaring at Del.

"Subject capable of regeneration, updating strategy." Del spoke in a robotic echo-like voice.

The Abomination roared as it swiped above Del. Luckily he ducked, only losing a few strands of hair instead of his whole head. The Abomination threw blow after blow, only for each blow to collide with a transparent green shield.

"Updated strategy complete, beginning cleansing." Del spoke, still in his robotic voice, as he leaped onto the Abomination's backside, a pair of large transparent green needle-nose pliers appeared. The needle-nose was driven into the Abomination's backside, causing the Abomination to cry out in pain as it reared up on its hindlegs. The pliers were opened, forcing an crevice in the Abomination's spinal area. Del looked inside, taking notice to the black sphere floating in the hollow body. Del aimed his ring at the sphere, a green bubble forming around it ,attached to his ring by a green tail, being careful not to make any contact with it as he pulled the sphere out.

The yellow eyes of the Abomination faded to black, still as a statue for a second before black ooze poured out from the body, then its bones cracked and fell apart along with pieces of flesh peeling off and falling. The Abomination lost its structure and it collapsed into a pile of bones, rotting flesh, and black ooze. Del directed his gaze at the black sphere, setting it on the ground. He aimed his ring over the sphere and spoke,

"In Brightest Day. In Blackest Night.
No evil, shall escape my sight
Let those who worship evil's might
Beware my power
Green Lantern's light."

Once Del was finished speaking, a powerful beam was rained down onto the sphere. Cracks formed on the sphere's surface, until it shattered like glass. Shards scattered across the area of the black impact mark left by the ring's beam. But Del wasn't concerned with the shards, he was more concerned on the black ring in the center of the impact mark. Seeing that the black ring no longer contained any energy he picked it up and brought it to his eye level. The ring had a symbol of an upside down triangle with five pillars shooting up from the flat part of the triangle, the ring also had a series of cracks all over its body. Green energy flowed into the ring, green sparks shooting off it as it slightly hovered, wobbling with each increase in height.

"Return to your master." Del commanded, and the ring took off into the sky. "Threat level's neutralized, disabling security protocol." Del said as his green eyes faded and returned back to normal.

The first thing Del did was raise a hoof up to his head, trying desperately to quell the headache. "Owwww." Del winced. "What the hay just happened?"

While Del fought the Abomination, he could see and feel everything he was doing. But his actions weren't his own, the ring, or whatever it was, somehow possessed him and was able to take down the Abomination. Del looked at the ring and demanded,

"What are you?"

'I am a green power ring that represents the ability to overcome great fear. Or Willpower in other words.'

"But...what the hay are you? And how did ya beat that Jakol?" Del asked, demanding answers.

'To truly explain, I must show you. Brace yourself.'

"Brace myself? Why would I-AAAAAHHHHHH!" Del roared, his eyes returning to the bright green they were when he fought the Abomination.

Deep within Del's mind was a blank empty abyss, except for the green ring.

'For you to understand I must show you the corps history.' The ring said, shining forth a green light, causing a green symbol to appear.



'The green color of the Emotional Spectrum is the power of Willpower. It is the Green Lantern Corps who has harnessed this power and wields it in the form of ring's. You are one of those Lanterns Golden Delicious, because you have the ability to overcome great fear.'

".....okay." Del said. "So...what? Is the Green Lantern Corps trying to take over the world or something?"

'The Green Lantern Corps is a corporation in charge of protecting life. Not ruling it.' The ring said very sternly. 'Besides, you are the only Green Lantern in this entire universe.' 

"Wait. If I'm the only Green Lantern, then why is called a corporation?" Del asked.

'The Corps are not from this universe, we traveled to this one in pursuit of a Black Lantern ring.'

"Black ring?" Del thought before continuing. "You mean that thing that possessed that Jakol?"

'No, that was not the ring. It was a copy, sent by the true ring in order to kill you before I could reach you.'

"Oh..." Del paused, imagining his life being snuffed by the Abomination. "What was that ring anyways, and why did it try to kill me?"

'The black ring is the ring of death, its wielder is capable of raising the dead. History reports indicate there has only been one Black Lantern other than the one here. His name is Black Hand, and he is responsible for starting the Blackest Night.'

"What's the Blackest Night? Sounds like a big deal." Del said.

'The Blackest Night was the resurrection of multiple deceased Lanterns, Heroes, Villains, and eventually led to the bringing of the Entity of Death. Nekron. Nekron's plan was to kill a being who's name is the Entity of Life. If the Entity dies, then all life in that universe dies. So you see, Golden Delicious, the Blackest Night wasn't a 'big deal'. It was thee deal. All life in the universe I am from was nearly wiped from existence.'

"Geez." Del cringed. "But you guys won right?"

'If by win, you mean defeated Nekron then yes. Nekron was trapped back in the dead zone and the Entity returned to its slumber.'

"But then that guy, Black Hand, he did something, didn't he?" Del assumed.

'Correct; the Entity returned Black Hand to life so that he could be imprisoned. It took a long time to track him down but eventually the Corps caught him. But before he was arrested, Black Hand had opened up a portal to this universe and sent a black ring into it.'

"Woah, woah, hold on a second." Del said abruptly. "Why didn't the Corps just send a group of Lanterns to this universe?"

'Impossible, Black Hand designed the portal to ensure that only a ring could be sent through. Therefore, each of the seven Corps sent a lantern to this universe till the ring could do any damage. But it appears we were to late.'

"So this black ring...it threatens all of Equestria doesn't it?" Del assumed.

'No Golden Delicious, the ring does not threaten your world.'

Del let out a sigh of relief.

'It threatens your entire universe.'

Del's eyes went wide at the thought of an army of the Abomination's he had fought attacking Ponyville. Killing his friends, family, and loved ones. Del's face twisted into one of determination.

"Ring." Del got the ring's attention. "What do I have to do to protect my home?"

'The course of action required is to acquire the ring sent by Black Hand and send it back to its original universe. Once you have done that, then you will be safe.'

"Alright then." Del said, his eyes returning to normal. "Can you locate this ring?"

'The copy is returning to its master, the ring has left a trail for you to follow.'

"Alright, how am I supposed to follow the trail?" Del asked.

'FLIGHT INITIATED'

Del's body became completely engulfed in a green aura, his body lifted up above the tree-line.

"Woah nelly!" Del shouted, his body flipped as he desperately tried to regain his balance. "I'm...I'm flying." Del stated in disbelief.

'Affirmative. My powers include the capability of flight, energy constructs, light manipulation-'

"Hold on there." Del cut the ring off. "Why don't we start by dealing with this black ring first."

'As you wish. Adjusting flight pattern.'

Del's body was shifted and aimed north before rocketing off. A green trail being left behind him.





Del thought that today might've been normal, well as normal as things went that it is. When Del got up this morning he expected his day to be filled with work, chores, friends, and family.

Saving Equestria from the bring of destruction, was not one of them.

A million thoughts and questions raced across Del's mind as he flew at sound breaking speed into the north. Green lush grass became white, glittering, snow the further he traveled. The task seemed simple, return a black ring back to the universe it came from, then everything would be fine. Easy, right?

Del's body son began to slow down before landing on the edge of a cliff.

"Alright, so where's this black ring?" Del asked, searching around for something that looked to be capable of destroying Equestria.

'Lo-k do-n t-er-.' The ring sparked.

"Hello? Can you repeat that?" Del asked, raising the ring closer to his ear.

"Don't bother, Lantern."

Del whipped around, his body in a stance ready for battle, to see a Pegasus mare wearing a black suit with yellow armor parts on her chest, hooves, and shoulders, she also wore a yellow mask.

"Let me guess, you're the one with the black ring. Aren't cha?" Del asked, narrowing his eyes.

The Pegasus looked like she did an eye roll as she showed Del the yellow ring on her right hoof. "Sorry to disappoint ya Greenie but I'm a Yellow Lantern."

'Fea-r d-tec-e-.'

"Yellow Lantern?" Del asked, his stance softening. "So you're like me then?"

"No." The Pegasus said flatly. "Unlike a Green Lantern, who wields the emotion of Willpower, Yellow Lantern's wield the emotion of Fear."

"Huh...so you're here to return the black ring to the universe it came from too, right?" Del asked.

"Yep, I'm here for the same reason you are." The Pegasus answered.

"Well then." Del returned to his normal stance, extending a greeting towards the Pegasus. "Nice ta met ya, since we're both Lantern's I guess that makes us partner's."

The Pegasus glanced down at the hoof, looking as though it perplexed her somehow, before pushing it away. "Look Greenie, I know you're new and everything, truth is I'm a bit new myself, but in case you didn't know the Yellow Lantern Corps and Green Lantern Corps aren't exactly what you'd call, 'partners'."

Del blinked, confused for a moment before realizing the emphasis the Pegasus put on the word "partners". "We're enemies, aren't we?" Del assumed.

"Technically our Corps are. But for now we have a bigger problem." The Pegasus said, walking to the edge of the cliff. "The black ring is down there." The Pegasus pointed.

Del leaned over the cliff so that he could see what the Pegasus was pointing at. What he was was a circular shaped stone wall with smaller, hard to see, blocks of stone in it.

"Alright Greenie, here's the plan." The Pegasus said. "We go in, we grab the black ring with our ring's energy, we send it back to whatever dimension it can from, and then we part ways. Sound good?"

"Sounds good ta me." Del slammed his forehooves together as his body glowed with a green aura. "Lets do this."
> Chapter four: Battle of the Dead
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There had been many things in life which had surprised Del. The first of those surprises was the time he received his cutie mark, the second surprise was when he found out he was gonna have a Cousin, and now a third, when a green ring gave him incredible power to save his home.

Now a fourth was added to that list, fighting zombies. Never, in all of Del's life, did he think that he would be fighting zombies. His Uncle Spike had told him "spooky" story's at campfires about these creatures of the undead. But these guys weren't anything like Spike had described. The plan was so simple, so simple that there couldn't have been any room for flaws. Both Del and the Yellow Lantern were supposed to fly down, grab the black ring which was causing this whole mess, send it back to wherever it came from, send the other rings back with it, and be home in time for supper. That simple.

Of course a flaw appeared the moment the two Lanterns touched down, and that flaw was that there wasn't one black ring. There was at least a fifty zombies, each wore a black lantern ring on their hoof. Del looked to his green ring and asked,

"Uh, which one is the correct ring?" He asked.

'ER-O-R: -ult-ple co-ies d-tec-ed' The green ring's voice glitches out every second, sparks shooting off it.

"Can you repeat that please?" Del asked. "You're kinda breaking up-CRAP!" Del shouted as one of the zombie's lunged at him.

Only for it to be slammed against the ground as three yellow transparent spears sunk into its back.

"That's the only time I'm saving you Greenie." The Pegasus stated before adding, "and I thought I told you to not bother talking to your ring. The black ring creates some kind of interference with ours, luckily it doesn't keep us from creating constructs. So feel free to chip in any time soon."

"Con-structs?" Del tilted his head in confusion.

The Pegasus whipped her head and looked at Del with a look of disbelief and shock. "You can't be serious. What, did you just receive your ring five minutes ago?"

Del avoided the Pegasus' gaze.

"...Oh my Celestia you're worthless." The Pegasus facehoofed as she blocked a zombie's attack and snapped his neck. "Okay look, just picture something in your mind, something useful, and your ring will create it."

It seemed far fetched, but Del did it anyways. Closing his eyes, his ring glowed and a transparent shield appeared. It grew five times its size and pushed the army of zombies back as they clawed against it.

"Woah." Del did a double take, looking back and forth between the ring and shield. Unable to prevent a zombie from tackling him and sinking whatever teeth he had left into Del's foreleg. "Aarrrghhh!" Del shouted more in surprise than pain as he aimed the ring at the zombie's head. "GET OFF!" He roared as a green bolt entered the zombie's skull and it exploded into a red paste. Del kicked the body away as he examined the bite, he looked to the Pegasus and noticed that she was right next to him the whole time. "You could've helped." He stated.

"What part of 'the only time I'm saving you Greenie' don't you understand?" The Pegasus asked. "Don't wanna get bit? Then hit them before they hit you, that simple."

"Geez, you must be an officer of the Royal Guard or something."  Del muttered, before three green construct swords appeared by his side.





The feeling returned, it toyed with and teased his brain with every dragging second that ticked by as he watched the Yellow and Green Lantern fight his small army. He hated the feeling, or rather, he hated not being able to fully understand its meaning. It gnawed at the back of his mind, like an ich he couldn't scratch. And he hated that. Sombra had a thirst for knowledge and understanding his whole life, even when he was little. But anytime the thirst came, it was quenched immediately. But now the thirst returned, punishing Sombra for not feeding it. He wanted to understand this feeling.

Was it hate? Fear? Sadness? Disgust? No, it was more complex than that. So complex that it Sombra couldn't define it based on his current understanding. He wanted answers, no, he needed answers. But where would he start? Where could he even begin to comprehend the complexity of the feeling?

'Hey Sombra. Get your head outta your ass and focus on the two Lanterns tearing through your army.' Black Hand pointed out.

Power levels at 3%

'Great. Just great.' Black Hand grimaced.

"What should I do?" Sombra asked directly to the ring.

'You know what you should do? GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!' Black Hand screamed, causing Sombra to flinch. 'Its fine if we lose all those zombie's and their rings, they're just copies anyways, what we can't afford to lose is yours. We lose your ring, we lose everything!'

Sombra looked to his army, how, despite their increased numbers, they were being cut down by the two Lanterns like tall grass to the blade. Sombra remembered how he had known them once, whether they were his slaves or guard they were still his subjects. And he was still their king.

'No.' Black Hand spoke firmly and orderly like a commanding officer ordering his soldier. 'I know what you're thinking and I want you to stop. They may look like people you once knew, but their not anymore. They're dead, undead actually, risen by your power. The power I so graciously gave you. If you think I'm going to let you throw away my only chance then let me tell you-' 

"Shut up." Sombra growled, glaring directly at the ring.

Connection severed

Sombra lowered his foreleg and approached the Yellow and Green Lantern's. The zombie's, the ones left, were all striking at the two with everything they had, but none could land a single hit on the two. There were some who had been defeated, their ring's turned to dust and the host it belonged to did the same. Evaporating in the wing.

"Enough." Sombra ordered, and the zombie's froze, the Yellow and Green Lantern did the same but didn't let their guard down for a moment. "I will not hide behind my troops like some coward. You've come for this, right?" Sombra asked as he showed off his black ring, which, unlike the ones worn by the zombie's, was glowing.

The two Lanterns noticed this difference and the Green one spoke. "Your's is the real one isn't it?" He asked. "So all we gotta do is take it off your hoof and send it back to wherever it came from."

Sombra chuckled at the simplicity the Green Lantern expressed. Even though the plan was considered capable of success. However, "I can assure you, Lantern, that getting this ring off my hoof will prove far more difficult than you imagine."

"We'll see about that!"

Sombra turned his head to the right to see the Yellow Lantern heading straight towards him. He acted to the Yellow Lantern's attacking approach by causing two spiked crystal pikes to erupt from the ground. One bent at a 45 degree angle, the other angled at a 135 degree angle, causing both to strike through the Yellow Lantern's chest, their tips jutting out from her limp body. But the top half of the pikes, which should've been covered in red blood, was covered in a yellow liquid. The Yellow Lantern's appearance faded, returning to a yellow transparent construct shaped like a pony's body.

The moment Sombra had realized what had happened it had already been to late. The Yellow Lantern, the real Yellow Lantern, was in front of Sombra glowing bright yellow with her ring aimed right between Sombra's eyes. Some of the zombies moved forward, only for Sombra to hiss, "do not interfere." He ordered and the zombies returned to where they stood.

"Cover your eyes Greenie. You don't want to see this." The Yellow Lantern ordered the Green Lantern as a pair of green construct sunglasses appeared on his eyes. The Yellow Lantern turned back to Sombra and with yellow mist fuming from the bottom of her mask's eyes she roared.

"FEAR SHINE!"

In an instant the Yellow Lantern's entire body was engulfed in a bright yellow aura, its brightness increased violently with each second. Until the yellow light shined so bright it could be seen from the moon. The yellow light was all Sombra could see, it wrapped around every space and crevice in the graveyard. The yellow light brought forth images, memories made physical by the yellow light. Memories of things Sombra used to fear, more importantly, the feeling of fear he had when he saw them. The first image to appear was a frozen wasteland, with a small colt lying still in its center. Sombra remembered the memory very well, it was back when he was a colt, wandering the frozen tundra till he collapsed and waited for the cold to end his life.

The image was twisted into a new one, this time it became a puddle of yellow. Only it was moving, and that it wasn't a puddle but a group of transparent yellow ants. Sombra used to be afraid of ants, yellow ants to be specific. Insects capable of killing a bear by entering its body and breaking down piece by piece. Truly there wasn't a more horrifying creature.

The pool of ants twisted into a pony, an Alicorn mare in fact. Her name was Princess Amore, the queen of the Crystal Empire when Sombra was older. The Princess had learned of what Sombra was and planned to destroy him. But she failed to even compare to Sombra's power, and met her untimely end. Sombra smiled triumphantly as the light created image after image of his past fears and the fear he felt because of them, and image after image not a single one was able to scare Sombra.

Then a new image appeared, one that caught Sombra off guard. A mare stood before Sombra, tears streaming down her cheeks as she cried. 'I thought you were my friend, I thought that you and I were close.' The mare spoke, her voice hurt and broken. 'Little did I know that you weren't my friend, you're not even a unicorn. You're a monster.'

The words stung, it felt as though Sombra had been struck with a blade's tip that was red from sitting in the coals of a fire. No more, Sombra had his fill of the yellow light's cheap trick and decided to put an end to it. His horn flared, causing the yellow light to crack and shatter like glass before evaporating into the air.

The normal surroundings returned, the only difference was the Yellow Lantern's confidence was replaced with confusion and shock.

"How? Why?" The Yellow Lantern sputtered, unable to wrap her head around the fact that her Fear Shine didn't work.

"Cute trick Lantern, you almost had me for a second there I'll admit." Sombra grinned. "But if bending light is the way to play, then let me take a stab it." Sombra said as the entire area became engulfed, just like it had with the yellow light, in a pitch black curtain.





Del groaned as he slowly rose, rubbing his head. He glanced to his left, and his eyes widened when he saw the Pegasus lying on the ground frighteningly still. Del rushed next to her and noticed she wasn't breathing, he lowered his ear to her chest and heard only silence. Del rested his head on the Pegasus, his body filled with guilt that he couldn't safe her.

"A shame really."

Del's ears perked up at the voice, he raised his head and looked to his left to see Sombra standing casually as though his actions were so innocent. "You killed her." Del growled, standing up.

"It was difficult to, like having to put down a dog you love." Sombra explained. "Instilling fear was a hobby of mine, and having to kill someone with the same interests as mine was...heart wrenching."

Del's body began to glow brighter as he lunged. "You're gonna pay!" He roared as he flew towards Sombra.

Sombra only smiled as he too lunged and flew towards Del.





The Yellow Lantern slowly rose, groaning as her bruised body moved. She searched the area to see she was still in the graveyard, but Sombra and his zombies were nowhere to be seen. The Yellow Lantern rammed her hoof against the ground in frustration. Then it dawned on her, she looked around and her eyes landed on the Green Lantern. His body lied on the ground still as a statue, it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was dead.

"I never understood the Spectrum."

The Yellow Lantern glared at Sombra as he stood next to the Green Lantern, looking down at the dead Lantern.

"So many opposite emotions, so much conflict and turmoil. Do not worry," Sombra looked up to face the Yellow Lantern, "he no longer has to bear the weight of separation. In death, he is one."

The Yellow Lantern lunged at Sombra, yellow light burning brightly. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" She roared as Sombra lunged and flew towards the Yellow Lantern.

The two collided, both of their ring's connected forcing the two back. The Yellow Lantern landed oh her hooves while Sombra crashed against the ground. The Yellow Lantern took this opportunity and created five spear constructs which flew towards Sombra. He noticed the spears and in response created five small construct shields, when the five yellow spears collided with the five black shields the constructs exploded.

"That was a close one." Sombra chuckled as he stood up.

"You ain't seen nothing yet."





Del stood in shock as a ginormous black construct beast with scales as skin, four massive legs with five claws on each of its feet, its body was plump and fat and it had four long tall snake-like necks with four heads on each. The beast was a hydra, and its size was the most terrifying feature it had. For a second Del could've sworn he saw a flash of yellow in its eyes. Before Del could focus on what he may or may not have seen, he had to focus on staying alive as the hydra's heads lunged for Del. Each striking with precision, making sure to get tangled in the other necks.

Del could do nothing but dodge and block the beast's attacks as it forced Del to move backwards. Any construct he created was instantly broken by the Hydra.

'May I make a suggestion?'

Del looked at his ring, surprised that it was finally speaking clearly. "Bout time you spoke up. Tell me how I beat this guy?"

'SCANNING. . . . COMPLETE. ERROR: data does not match visuals.'

"The hay is that supposed to mean?!" Del shouted, just barely dodging one of the heads.

'Black Lantern: Sombra, appears before us but data shows energy of fear not death. Analysis shows that the black ring has manipulated the light around you to-'

"Look, I know you're not from my world and everything." Del said, creating a green bubble construct around him. "But could you make your 'analysis' easier to understand?"

'You're not fighting Sombra, you're fighting the Fear Lantern because Sombra casted an illusion on the both of you. Reboot is required, do you wish to proceed?'

The Hydra's heads slammed down onto Del's shield, biting and clawing away at some of its layers. "If it'll make this stop then yes!" Del yelled.

'REBOOT INITIATED: please stand by.'

The shield shattered and one of the heads dove in mouth opened wide. But instead of a pony, the Hydra was met with a full blast of green energy shot upright into the sky, incinerating the Hydra's head into nothing. The energy caused the Hydra to stumble back, and frazzled it due to the loss of one of its heads.

The energy faded and Del reopened his eyes to see smoke and ash emanating from where he stood. He looked at his body to see he was still in his Green Lantern suit, but when he looked at the Hydra and where Sombra was they had changed. The Hydra, once a black construct, was now yellow due to the power of fear from the Pegasus who stood where Del had seen Sombra.

'REBOOT COMPLETE. WARNING: Yellow Lantern is still under the illusion and is not aware that you are not Sombra.'

"Well can't you just reboot her ring or something?" Del asked, noticing the Hydra was beginning to recover from Del's attack and was beginning to advance.

'NEGATIVE: any energy that resembles Willpower cannot touch the yellow light of Fear. She is unreachable with my power.'

"Well is there anyway I can reach her at all?" Del asked.

'SCANNING. . . Nope.'

"Well that's just perfect isn't it!" Del screamed, the Hydra was now right on top of Del. "Screw it. I guess the only way I'm gonna be able to reach her is by knocking the sense back into her." Del said, his body glowing brighter. "That all you got? I thought you Yellow Lantern's were scary? You think this is scary? HA! You couldn't scare Fluttershy with that thing!" Del winced, realizing the offense his words had.

The Hydra remained still as a statue before a large crack split down its middle. Then another crack formed on its belly. Then another, and another, and another, and another, until the Hydra shattered like glass causing shards to rain down. Del created an umbrella construct to shield him from the shards. Once it had stopped raining he looked to where the Pegasus was only to see that she had vanished. Del braced himself, expecting some type of sneak attack but loosened his stance when his ring spoke,

'There's no need for that, the Pegasus is gone. She left once the construct shattered.'

Del took in his surroundings, what was once an area of stone, grass, and dirt had been transformed into ash, smoke, and dust. To think that this all happened in the span of half an hour was heavy on Del. He then noticed that some of the zombie's, which hadn't turned to dust, were scattered all over the place. He was about to speak but his ring beat him to it.

'The black power of death is no longer here Golden Delicious. You may return the deceased to their slumber.'

Del nodded in a way that said thank you as he approached the corpses and, with the ring's help in identification, returned them back to the grave they had risen from. Del also used his ring to fill the holes made during the battle and tidy up the place. He rebuilt the graves that had been broken, and any other damages that had been done. Once he was finished, he asked the ring what he should do next.

'Unfortunately the mission's goal was failed, but it wasn't a complete failure. While the black ring did escape, we were able to decrease his power. Sadly, with the copy I used to track him gone, we no longer have anyway of finding Sombra. For now, return home and rest.'

"What about the Pegasus?" Del asked as he took flight.

'I wouldn't get to comfortable around the Fear Lantern if I were you. For while they are our ally against the darkness,' 





'They will always be the enemy of the Green Lanterns'

The Yellow Lantern flew at incredible speeds, flying so fast that it could barely be seen by pony eyes. The Yellow Lantern flew way up in the Stratosphere, her flight mostly powered by her ring instead of her wings. She soared for a while before slowing down and slightly descending. She landed on a stray cloud and pooped her head over its edge.

Beneath her was Ponyville, and in it was young and old ponies alike playing, talking, doing stuff they did naturally. But the Yellow Lantern couldn't afford to be seen by them, any of them. Her ring glowed, triggering the light manipulation power it wielded. Her body faded, its color matching the area around it until all you could see of the Pegasus was an outline of a pony. She spread her wings and took off, knowing that any hint of her ring's power would expose her presence.

The Pegasus flew towards the Castle of Friendship, landing on the balcony with the door left wide open. The Pegasus' appearance returned as she entered the room, closing the doors behind her. She lifted her body onto the bed and lied on her backside. The yellow ring removed itself from the Pegasus' hoof, taking away her suit and, most importantly, the memories she had of the yellow ring. Once the ring had completed its task it hovered above the Pegasus, observing her.

The Pegasus was Starburst, she was put into a sleeping state thanks to the ring. The ring didn't like doing this to her, she didn't deserve to be tested because the ring had already decided she was more than worthy. It wanted nothing more than to slip back onto Starburst's hoof and return her to the Fear Lantern she needed to be.

But the ring had its orders, and the ring did not disobey. Perhaps it could somehow convince her, the ring thought as it exited the room by phasing through the door. It entered the hallway and flew against the ceiling, avoiding any attention.

The ring froze, more of a pause actually, it unglued itself from the ceiling and hovered in front of the door. It phased through the solid wood like a specter, entering the room. It directed its gaze over to the purple coated unicorn Night Light Jr, who sat on his bed reading a book. The ring looked into the emotion's Night Light possessed, inside the ring saw a wheel comprised of seven colors, red, blue, green, yellow, orange, violet, and indigo. Each color was shining bright inside of Night Light, then some would dim and some would shine brighter than the others.

Night Light looked up from his book and towards the door, getting a feeling like someone, or something something, was watching him. But when Night Light looked at the door all he saw was the door, nothing more nothing less. Shrugging the feeling off, Night Light returned to his book.

The yellow ring continued down the halls, zigzagging through the labyrinth-like castle before coming to the room it was looking for. The library. It phased through the door and hovered for moment. The library had a crescent shaped bookshelf on the opposite end with 346 organized books on its shelf. In the center of room was a brown reading chair where a hot cup of tea sat on its armrest.

The ring carefully approached the chair. Once it had reached its destination the ring hovered next to the cup of tea, which was lifted to the pony siting in the chair.

"Report." The pony ordered. 

'Analysis shows that Starburst has proven to be an excellent Lantern. Given training and guidance she would be a very powerful-'

"I'm gonna stop you right there." The pony spoke. "I told you, you were allowed to test my daughter with power of Fear. I never said you could let her join the Corps."

The ring sighed, or it would've if it was somehow capable. It knew that this was gonna happen, that there would be refusal. It was expected the moment the ring had decided that Starburst would be its rightful bearer. But that didn't stop it from trying.

'Why do you refuse her destiny? She must play her part in this conflict as you did with yours.'

The pony was silent, glaring at the ring. "I did what was required of me, and in return you promised to never interfere in my life ever again. Yet here you are."

'We had no choice, none of the Corps did. This threat is to big to not be dealt with. We promise that all of us will leave once we've dealt with the threat. But we can't do that unless you let us, Starburst has the potential to end this quickly and easily, if you would just allow me-'

"I don't care who you choose, but it won't be her." The pony stated taking a sip from her tea.

'Then I choose you.'

The pony finished her sip before saying smugly, "sorry, but I've already got a ring as a matching pair." The pony stated, indicating to the silver ring on her hoof.

'Perhaps you don't understand. There isn't anyone else worthy of this power like you and Starburst. Why do you shun her from this?' 

"Because she doesn't need to be apart of this. I won't let her be apart of this." The pony said as a yellow lantern appeared in her hoof. "Now return to your slumber, and wait until someone else comes along."

The ring didn't want to, it wanted to disobey everything the pony had ordered it to do, to burst out of the room and leap onto Stardust. But it couldn't, it wasn't build to disobey. The ring hovered towards the lantern's opening and before entering, it turned around spoke,

'I hope your actions are for the best. For if they were the cause of your universe's destruction, I doubt you'll be able to bear that guilt Twilight Sparkle.' The ring said as it entered the lantern's opening and vanished.

"Me too." Twilight sighed as she sat the lantern down and took another sip.





Prism Bolt needed a way to vent, to somehow release all the pent up anger inside of him before he hurt somepony.

"Like Whirlwind."

Prism froze, his mind went back to the image of Whirlwind. The red mark on her cheek, the tears building up in her eyes, the expression of pain on her face, and the look of betrayal she gave Prism. Prism looked at his hoof, still unable to understand as to why he had done what did. Whirlwind was only trying to help, she was trying to be a shoulder for Prism to lean on and he pushed her away.

But maybe that was for the best? Bad things tended to happen to Prism Bolt and those close to him. Maybe Prism didn't deserve to be around others.

Prism Bolt swooped down onto Sweet Apple Acres in the forest line and landed in front of a tree.

"RRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!" Prism roared as he punched the closest thing to him, which was an apple tree.

"WHY!"

*thud!*

"DO!"

*thud!*

"BAD!"

*thud!*

"THINGS!"

*thud!*

"ALWAYS!"

*thud!*

"HAPPEN!"

*thud!*

"TO ME?!"

Prism Bolt slowly removed his bloody hoof from the tree's trunk, observing hole he had drilled into the trunk. Part of the bark inside it was darkened red by his blood. Prism looked at his hooves, which had been stained red and had layers of skin peeled off. Prism hadn't noticed it at first, but then the pain signal reached his brain and he reared back his head roared,

"BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

Prism's chest heaved up and down to match the rapid beating of his heart. Prism was angry, no not just angry, he was furious. Furious that bad things always happened to him, furious that he had hurt Whirlwind, and he was furious that his hands were in burning pain. Then Prism was furious at the fact that he was furious.

"Get a hold of your temper Prism." Prism quietly said to himself, and when he couldn't do that it just made him even madder.

"GGGGRRRRRAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" Prism roared, striking against the ground in hopes to cease the burning pain in his hooves.

"I hate this!" Prism screamed. "I hate my life! I hate my family! I hate the fact I can never control my rage! I hate myself! I HATE EVERYTHING!"

Prism gasped, falling to his knees he wheezed as he clenched his chest. There was a tight knot in his chest that hurt like hell. Prism was breathing hard and his right foreleg went numb. He collapsed onto his back, his chest heaving harder than before.

"And now I'm having a heart attack. Awesome." Prism groaned mentally as it was to difficult for him to speak.

Prism gazed at the sky, his breathing began to slow and his heart beat did as well. Prism then realized that the pain in his chest was caused by hyperventilating. Prism didn't bother getting back up, he was to tired to move.

Prism blinked, catching a glint of something in the corner of his eye. He blinked and a red dot appeared in the sky. He blinked again and the dot seemed to be getting bigger. A fourth blink, the dot wasn't getting bigger it was getting closer. Closer to Prism!

The dot was in front of Prism within seconds revealing it wasn't a dot but a transparent sphere colored red with sparks shooting from it. In the center of the sphere was a red ring with a strange symbol on it. The ring's handle enlarged itself as it slid onto Prism's hoof and spoke,

Prism Bolt of Equestria, you have great rage in your heart, you belong to the Red Lantern Corps.
> Chapter five: Rage's Wrath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sombra found sanctuary in an underground cave. While he stood inside, he found it quite convenient that there were so many places to hide. Sombra headed deeper into the cave, passing the remaining zombies which hadn't been destroyed. He used his magic and created a chair for him to sit on and took a seat. He looked to his ring and noticed that it had been awfully quiet. Ever since Sombra had commanded that it shut up, Black Hand was as quiet as a mouse.

The thought of allowing Black Hand to remain silent crossed his mind, multiple times in fact, but Sombra couldn't deny Black Hand his voice. He owed him that much, he did bring him back from the dead after all. Sombra wondered how he would bring Black Hand back, was there a phrase, or code he was supposed to say?

"Why didn't this thing come with an instruction guide?" Sombra mentally growled.

Sombra, slightly, regretted silencing Black Hand, due to the fact that he was his only way of understanding the ring. Without him he wouldn't be able to do anything really, there was still so much to learn, so much that was unknown. Sombra needed his thirst quenched, now!

Sombra thought back to the Green Lantern and how it spoke to his ring. Maybe Sombra's worked the same, in some manner. It wouldn't hurt to give it a shot, right?

Sombra looked at his ring and asked, "Um...ring?" He asked awkwardly.

'Yes, King Sombra?'

Sombra seemed taken aback, surprised that the ring had actually responded. After composing himself he continued, "can you return Black Hand?" He asked, unsure how to explain what he needed.

'Are you asking me to return communication to William Hand?'

"Um...yes?" Sombra said unsure.

'As you wish. CONNECTION REESTABLISHED.'

There was a silence, minus the sound of occasional dripping water, that wrapped around the entire cave. Sombra waited for some, any, sign that Black Hand was back. Sombra licked his lips and braced himself as he spoke,

"Black-"

That was as far as Sombra got as he collapsed onto the floor, screaming. Unmeasurable pain shot through Sombra's entire body, it felt as though his body was being turned inside out, having oil poured over all his flesh, lighting that oil on fire, returning his body to normal, and his body melted as it burned from the inside out.

Oddly specific I know, but Black Hand had made it clear he was very pissed off with Sombra.

"I want one thing to be clear between you and I." Black Hand spoke, clearly angry. "I brought you back, I gave you that power, I chose you to fulfill our goal, and then you do this! Do you have any idea how stupid your decision was?!" 

"I'm...sorry." Sombra managed to say through his pain.

"Sorry? Sorry?! News flash Sombra, sorry isn't gonna fix the shit storm you've just started. Thanks to you, my plan was almost completely destroyed. If you had been defeated everything I worked so hard for would be in ruins."

"But it wasn't." Sombra gritted through the pain. "In fact, I would think that what I did helped our goal."

"How did it help exactly?!" Black Hand demanded.

"Its true we suffered a loss when those Lantern's attacked. But because of my actions we escaped with a chunk of the zombies." Sombra said.

Black Hand paused, thinking about what Sombra had said before sighing and releasing Sombra from the pain. "Fine...I will admit we came out better than I thought. But you took a risk and that's something I hope you don't plan on doing occasionally. There's to much on the line to rely on luck alone."

"Fair enough," Sombra grunted as he rose, "I promise not to take anymore risks. There, happy?"

"I'll be happy the second I'm out of this prison." Black Hand stated. "Which will be happening soon I hope. Now then, you brought me back for a reason right? What is it?" 

"I want to understand some things." Sombra answered. "For starters, why don't you explain those two Lanterns I had just fought."

"...Uuuugggghhhhhh." Black Hand let out a long, irritable, sigh. "Fine, to understand the Lanterns I'm gonna have to start at the beginning. The very beginning." Black Hand began to explain.

"Long, long, long, long...lets just say very long ago there was nothing, just a blank and empty void, and from that void came life, and from life came emotion. Life became adventurous and fearless, thus the emotion of Willpower was born. Life became fearful of others, scared and terrified, thus the emotion of Fear was born. Life became angry and furious with others, thus the emotion Rage was born. Life became hopeful and believed that all would be well, this the emotion Hope was born. Life took and hoarded things they needed to survive, thus the emotion of Avarice, or greed, was born. Life learned to reproduce and care for those it held dear, thus the emotion of Love was born. Life became caring and kind to others, thus the emotion of Compassion was born." Black Hand explained. "Over time, many creatures learned how to harness and wield these emotions in the form of weapons and tools, and while some use this power to protect others, like the Green Lantern's, there are those who use its power to harm and destroy others."

Black Hand paused before continuing. "This is the flaw of the Emotional Spectrum, so many unique emotions leads to diversity and separation. Life believed it could create something better than the darkness, but the Life has failed, and so it is our task to clean up the Life's mess and return to the way things were."

"I see..." Sombra paused to stroke his chin. "But if what you say is true, then all I have to do is sit back and let the other Lantern's tear themselves apart."

"As easy as it sounds, it's not. Despite how much each of the Corps hates each other so much, when we step onto the playing field they will do whatever it takes to take us off." 





There was a saying that everyone was gonna have a "worst day in their entire life" moment. So somebody said that on the worst day of your life, you should look forward to tomorrow. Cause it automatically makes it better than yesterday. Cheesy I know, but all to embarrassingly true.

Del knew he was in for bumpy ride the moment the morning sun rose across the horizon. He could feel it in his bones. He remembered how he had to discretely enter his house, how he headed up to his room, collapsed onto his bed, and was out like a light in seconds.

Now Del was at the mercy of the new day as he awoke groggy and stiff. His body cracked softly and twitched as he stretched out his tired muscles. He looked to his hoof to see the green ring was still there, causing Del to sigh in disappointment that it wasn't all just a dream. No matter how he sliced it, the ring was apart of his life now and he was gonna have to get used to it. Del got up from his bed and walked downstairs, driven by the rumbling of his stomach.

He was so tired that Del had forgotten to eat dinner last night and was now suffering the cost of his action. As he walked downstairs his nose was tickled by the tantalizing sent of pancakes with a hint of chocolate. As he entered the lower floor he was graced with the sight of a stack of six pancakes with chocolate chips sprinkled on each cake sitting on a white plate with a fork and knife laid out. On the top of the cakes was a piece of sliced butter melting onto the top, drips of it being caught by the bottom cakes. From top to bottom the stack had been drizzled with maple syrup that glistened as it caught the sun's rays.

Del couldn't help himself from licking his lips at the sight. He wasted no time as he rushed to the table, pulled up a chair, grabbed the fork and knife, and dug into the cakes. Each bite was delicious and mouth watering, it tasted as good as it looked. Del finished the breakfast quickly, once he had finished he took his dishes, washed them off in the sink before setting them out to dry, and walked outside.

He took in a deep breath, with a fully stomach, and his body slightly healed, Del was ready to tackle the day. But his ring thought otherwise.

'Remove whatever plans you think you will have. We have a problem.'

Del should've know today wouldn't be great, he knew it was gonna be the exact opposite in fact. "What is it now?" Del sighed as he spoke directly at the ring.

'I'm detecting large amounts of Red energy approximately 12 miles away.'

Del raised an eyebrow. "Red energy?"

'Rage. It seems that the red ring has chosen its bearer.'

"And...that's bad, isn't it?" Del assumed.

'If your definition of bad includes a creature hellbent of destroying everything within a 30 mile radius, then yes, it's very bad.'

Del understood the urgency the ring was explaining and wasted no time in powering up. In a flash of green light, Del became adorned in a Green Lantern suit and mask. He braced himself before taking off into the air and flying towards the energy.

'Might I make a suggestion?'

"Nothin' holding you back, speak what's on your mind." Del answered.

'The red light of Rage is considered the most physically strongest among the Emotional Spectrum. It would be wise to not try and fight the Red Lantern, but rather to lead him to a Blood Lake as records show that once a Red Lantern is dipped in the lake their rage is majorly suppressed.'

"When you say Blood Lake you don't mean a literal 'lake of blood'. Do you?" Del asked, the idea of a lake completely filled with blood made him shutter.

'I'm afraid I do mean a literal lake of blood. I can only assume you don't have one.'

"Hey, its not like they sell them at the local supermarket you know!" Del yelled defensively.

'Then it seems we will have to resort to the current course of action and defeat the Red Lantern. I estimate your chances of success at 42%.'

"Anyone tell you you're the definition of doubt?" Del asked.

'You're the 5th.'

"That was rhetorical." Del grumbled before he came to a stop and stood (floated) in awe.

A large chunk of the orchard had been destroyed, broken trees, burnt grass, a large radius of destruction covered the area. Del's eyes went wide at the sight of the destruction caused, by what he assumed, to be the Red Lantern. Del landed in the middle of the area and began searching for the so called Red Lantern. He took a step and his hoof stepped in something red. He raised his hoof to eye level to see it was completely covered in a black red liquid. It was blood, most likely belonging to the Red Lantern, and there were puddles of it scattered all over the area. Del agreed that this Red Lantern, whomever he or she was, was in pain and needed help quickly.

"RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Birds took flight as they scattered from nearest trees, the sound of animals running far from the roar could be heard as well as Del stood in shock once more. The roar didn't sound like it was in pain like Del had thought but it sounded...angry?

*THUMP*

The ground shook lightly as something big collided with it. Del braced himself as he knew that the Red Lantern was closing in.

*THUMP*

Once more the ground shook, no doubt by the Red Lantern. It was getting closer, Del could feel it.

*THUMP*

The ground shook harder, Del's body lightly shook from the grounds vibrations

*THUMP*

A silhouette appeared, its body shaped like a pony. It was a Pegasus, Del could see its flared wings, and it had a face similar to a Stallion's. Its mouth came unhinged as red mist fumed from the back of his throat and out his mouth. The Pegasus walked forward, allowing is figure to enter the light and become visible. Upon the sight of the Red Lantern's appearance Del became even more shocked and slightly confused.

"Prism?"

Indeed it was the hot headed Pegasus known as Prism Bolt, only now he wore a black suit with his chest, hooves, and flank red. On his chest was a symbol that looked a like an H except there was a hole in the middle of it. Prism's teeth were stained red, as well as his chin, eyes, and the blood drizzling down from them. Prism was breathing heavily, almost like he was constant pain.

'Subject related to bearer, estimated chance of success 36%.'

Del ignored his ring and took a step forward. "Prism, it's me Del." Del said, and then remembering that he was still wearing a mask removed it to show Prism he was telling the truth. "See, it's your good old buddy."

Prism looked up at Del, anyone could see that he wasn't thinking clearly. He looked at Del but in his current state his vision was blurry and unfocused and he couldn't make out Del's appearance. His eyes could barely see through the blood in them which gave everything a red hue, but when Prism looked at Del he didn't see Del. He saw a Pegasus Stallion with red fur, mane, and tail, blue eyes, the front of his mane had a cowlick, and he had a flame as his cutie mark.

The Pegasus was known as Hot Head, and whenever Prism saw him he was instantly filled with rage. Hot Head and Whirlwind were currently dating you see, and it made Prism all the more angrier every time he saw the two because it reminded him of his failure with Whirlwind. In fact, it made Prism want to bash Hot Head's skull in. What a coincidence he was standing right before Prism?

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!" Prism roared as he tackled Del to the ground.

Del groaned in pain when Prism came in contact with his body, the pieces of his suit disintegrated upon Prism's touch while leaving burn marks on his skin. Prism reared up his forelegs and brought them down hard. Not wishing a direct hit to the face, Del used his ring and created a shield construct in front of him which Prism's hooves collided with, causing it to crack.

"Prism stop!" Del shouted. "You don't want to do this!"

Prism's hoof broke through Del's construct and grabbed him by the neck. Prism pulled Del closer to him and roared, "BLLAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" Prism roared as he unleashed a pillar of red liquid from his mouth and Del was helpless as his face was bombarded by the liquid.

"Okay...maybe you do." Del admitted as he wiped the liquid off his face. Today was Del's lucky day as the liquid was nothing more than Prism's blood so it didn't burn a hole through his skull.

But Prism wasn't done, far from it, he reared back his head, this time he was going to unleash something that would actually hurt Del. Del, anticipating Prism's moves, used his ring and knocked him back away from Prism as he unleashed a burst of red liquid, which burned a hole in the ground where Del once stood.

"Uh...little help here?" Del asked to his ring.

'The only assistance I can provide is advice, would you like to hear it?'

"What do you think?" Del asked sarcastically.

'As I have said, the only way to subdue a Red Lantern is by dunking them in a Blood Lake or by rendering them unconscious, and I suggest you do it quickly.'

"Why?" Del asked as he created a green shield around him to keep Prism back.

'A Red Lantern ring is comprised of two elements, the red energy of Rage and Blood Magic. Because of this, when a red ring chooses its bearer it stop's its heart and the ring acts as its replacement, expelling the blood and replacing it with red napalm.'

"Where are you going with this?" Del sounded concerned, and it wasn't because Prism was starting to break his construct.

'Because the ring acts as Prism Bolt's heart, should it be destroyed, removed from his hand, or its power levels reach zero percent. Prism Bolt, will DIE.'

Del's eyes went wide at the thought, the thought of Prism dying crossed his mind, his freshly made corpse lied atop a pile of defeated ponies. His colors darkened and his glossy, but what scared Del most of all was the thought of Prism being turned into a zombie by Sombra. Del couldn't let that happen. He would not allow that to happen. Sure Prism Bolt was ass most of the time, but he was Del's friend and friend's don let friend's die. 

Prism broke through Del's construct and charged at him, only for Del to dodge causing Prism to ram headfirst against a tree. The tree let out a twisted moan as its trunk cracked and bent before crashing against the ground. Prism turned back to Del, his eyes still glowing red. Del decided that it was time to take the offensive, he started by closing the distance between him and Prism, then he used his ring to create green construct chains that attached themselves to the ground and Prism's hooves to hold him down. With Prism restrained, Del unleashed everything he had onto Prism, punching, kicking, unleashing constructs and beams at him, hoping that it would somehow knock him out.

But all he achieved in doing was making Prism angrier. Prism broke one of the chains easily as he pulled against it and with his hooves free he punched Del under his chin and sent him flying. Del crashed against the ground and stood up shaking.

'You don't seem to be doing so well.'

"You wouldn't happen to have an off switch would you?" Del asked.

'Sorry but no, I'm afraid you're stuck with me until-RED ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED.'

Del was confused until he saw a bright light coming towards them from the sky. It came to a instant halt as it hovered above the ground, its light fading as it became visible. It was a strange looking object, it resembled the shape of an H but the two top parts were sticking out unevenly to the bottom ones and the middle was a red sphere. Del had put two and two together and realized that the object was a red lantern. He didn't know what it was going to do but before he could do anything the Lantern spoke,

'Bearer detected, begin terraformation.'

The lantern rotated itself so that the sphere's hole was aimed towards the ground, it glowed before it unleashed a red beam of energy. It rotated clockwise, causing the beam to carve out a circle that was six feet deep while leaving a pillar in the middle where it sat. Once it was finished it spoke again.

'Terraformation complete. Beginning transfer.'

The lantern glowed once more, but this time instead of pure red energy a red liquid flowed from its opening. The lantern was like a faucet, spewing red liquid into the circle. It ceased the liquid's flow once the circle was completely full of red liquid. Once more the lantern spoke,

'Transfer complete. Blood pool ready for use.'

Today really was Del's lucky day, he had just been provided with the thing capable of saving his friend. There was only one thing left to do, and that was to actually somehow get him into the pool.

"Ring?" Del asked.

'Estimated change of success, 98%. Fortune smiles on you Golden Delicious.' 

"It sure does, now let's repay the favor by saving my friend." Del declared.

Prism had broken the last chain connected to him and was completely free, he looked to Del aiming his rage at him. But Del took action before Prism could and grabbed him by the waist. He flew upward and heaved Prism over him. He rotated his body, aiming Prism at the pool before two green rocket construct's appeared on his hindleg's hooves, a green flame erupted from the rocket as it shot Del and Prism straight towards the pool. Del pushed his two forehooves against Prism's stomach as the two rocketed towards the pool.

When he was close enough, Del turned the rockets around, using its force to make his body come to halt. But Prism was at the mercy of gravity as he plummeted into the pool. The blood caved in on where Prism sunk, forcing itself upward before crashing back down causing droplets of blood to shower onto the ground which hissed as they disintegrated the dirt beneath them. Del landed in front of pool, making sure to keep his distance as he didn't want to know what would happen if the blood touched him.

The blood stood still and it became deadly silent. Del waited for something to happen, anything in fact, not to sure if the blood was doing its job or not. As if to answer his call, Prism surfaced screaming and roaring as he flailed about in the pool. Del, knowing that Prism still wasn't in his right of mind, used his ring and created a green construct pool cover over the pool of blood. The red lantern stuck out of the cover as the green light avoided contact with the red.

Del could see bumps forming on the cover, signs that Prism was trying to bust through. But after a while the bumps became smaller, a sign that Prism was beginning to tire himself out. Eventually the bumps stopped and everything became quiet once more, as Del waited for his friend's sanity to return.





Red

The color was everywhere as it wrapped itself around everything it could touch. The color was so deep that Prism could barely make out anything but the color Red. Actually, it was hard to make out anything period. It felt like he had gone blind, cursed to only see the color Red. But that's when something appeared, an image, a memory of someone from his past. Prism's mind was fuzzy, it was hard to think let alone allow a single thought to be processed inside his head. But he somehow managed as he true to mane out the image.

Who was it? And why couldn't Prism understand who it was? The thought made him angry, but as quickly as that anger came it faded just as fast and the image became clear. It was a picture of four ponies, all Pegasi each matching in appearance except for the one holding the foal, he looked different compared to the other three. Almost like he didn't belong in that picture.

It took Prism a second but eventually he remembered what the picture was. It was a picture of his family, his mom and dad standing behind them wearing their Wonderbolt uniforms, a sleeping foal wrapped in a blanket, held by his big brother Prism Bolt. But something seemed off to Prism, something in the picture looked like it was out of place, like it didn't belong. Prism got his answer when he looked at himself in the picture, he looked like he didn't belong, like he wasn't supposed to be there.

Like he should've never been born.

'Isolation.'
'Pain.'

The image faded and a new one appeared, this one of just a Pegasus Stallion. Prism felt like he should've known who he was but his mind continued to draw a blank. It wasn't until a second or two went by that Prism remembered who the Stallion was. It was a picture of Hot Head, walking away with a mare by his side, his head turned around and he was showing off that cocky smirk of his. When Prism saw Hot Head with the mare his rage increased and subdued.

'Rage.'
'Anger.'
'Pain.'

The image faded like the first and just like the second a new one appeared. This one was an image of the mare that was by Hot Head's side, only this picture was of her on the floor with a red mark on her cheek and tears building in her eyes. Prism looked at his hoof, then back at the red on Whirlwind's cheek.

Whirlwind? Yes Whirlwind was her name and she was important to Prism. No, she wasn't just important she was everything to Prism and he...he hit her. He hurt her, it wasn't the slap that caused her to cry it was the fact that Prism lashed out against her that made her cry. Why did Prism do it? What could've possibly possessed him to hurt the only thing he cared for?

'Rage.'

Rage? Yes, it was his rage. He couldn't control his rage and because of that he hurt Whirlwind. His rage was his power, he could never get rid of it or destroy it. But he could control it, strengthen his grip on the fury inside him and instead of hurting those he loved he could protect them. But to that he needed to show his rage who's boss, he needed to show it that he wouldn't allow it to control him, but he would control it.

'Rage.'
'Love.'
'Acceptance.'

Prism began to move, he didn't know where but he was moving and the closer he got to the surface, the more the red light began to fade and everything became more visible. As he got closer words appeared in his mind, demanding that they be spoken.

And Prism complied.





Sweat trickled down Del's forehead as he poured every ounce of his strength into trying to keep the construct stable. But despite his willpower, he couldn't stop the red fumes of the blood pool from burning through his construct.

"With crimson blood and burning Rage." 

Del's ears perked up and a shiver went down his spine upon hearing those words

"No longer will my fury be caged."

Del's construct fell apart, shattering like glass as the pieces sunk into the pool

"With my burning hatred and hellish hate."

A head rose out from the pool and a body followed.

"I'll burn all evil, that is their fate."

Prism hovered above the pool, holding his ring high and proud as it shined brightly.

'POWER LEVELS 100%'

Prism descended down and landed in front of Del, who stood in awe at Prism's appearance. His suit was still the same, but splotches of red blood clung to his coat and mane. The way Prism stood and with his new look, Del couldn't deny that he looked like a total badass. But was it really Prism who stood before him, or his rage?

"Prism?" Del spoke softly and carefully, making sure that he wouldn't trigger Prism into his rage state again.

Prism looked at himself, his hooves, his outfit, and then back at Del where he asked, "Del...what am I wearing?" He asked before noticing the crimson black/red liquid on him. "And what the heck is on me? Is this-" Prism licked the red liquid on his hoof to get confirmation. "Is this blood?! Del, why am I covered in blood?!"

Del let out a sigh of relief now knowing that he was talking to Prism. "Well..." Del rubbed that back of his neck sheepishly. "It's kind of a long story."

"Wait..." Prism paused, shaking his head. "Scratch that, my memories just came back." He said, flinching slightly at the headache he received. "Sorry for uppercutting you by the way."

"It's just a scratch, I'll be fine." Del smirked, doing his best to hide the pain from the red mark on his chin.

"If you say so." Prism sighed. "Sooo...you wouldn't by any chance know what this thing is do you?" Prism asked pointing at the red ring on his right hoof.

"Ah...that...right." Del avoided eye contact with Prism. "You better get comfy, cause this is gonna be a lot to take in."






Universe 52


While the events transpired in Equestria, something else was happening in its neighboring universe. Universe 52 to be exact. At the very corner of the universe there was a prison, a cube shaped object that was comprised of seven colors changing into another every second. Inside the cube it held one of the most dangerous criminals in the universe. Inside was a man, his skin pale and ghostlike, unlike his left arm his right was uncovered and its veins popped out and bulged as a black ring rested nicely on his middle finger. He wore a black suit, boots, and mask that left his eyes and mouth exposed and he had a cape. On his chest and head was the Black Lantern symbol.

This man was once known as William Derek Hand, but after he died and rose from the dead he has been known as Black Hand. Currently he sat in a lazy boy with a book in his hand titled "Bones". Against one of the sides of the cube was a shelf filled books of all kind. Scattered across the floor were books that Black Hand had finished reading. While midway in his book Black Hand looked outside to see that he had visitors. Two Green Lantern's hovered outside, both human.

"Greetings houseguests!" He proclaimed tossing the book he was reading onto the ground. "Sorry for the mess, I would've tidy up the place had I known you were coming."

"We're not here to play games Hand." The Lantern on the right growled.

"Then let me guess, you're here to try and remove this aren't you?" Black Hand held up his right hand, showing off his ring. "Here, let me give you a better look." Black Hand said, lowering his three fingers and thumb while leaving the middle one that held the ring up. "Better?"

The two Lantern's ignored Black Hand's crude gestures and continued. "We've come to offer you a deal. Return the ring you sent and the one you have and we'll let you go."

"Yeah, right." Black Hand scoffed. "Sorry to disappoint you but there's only two ways this thing comes off. One, I take it off willingly. Or two, someone wielding the white light takes it off. And last time I checked the only one capable of that was your friend Kyle Rayner." Black Hand clasped his hands against his cheeks. "But wait, he can't do that can he? Why?" Black Hand asked, a grin growing on his face. "It's because he's DEAD."

The right Green Lantern slammed his fist against the wall, only causing Black Hand's triumphant smile to grow. The left Lantern put his hand on the right one's shoulder, which seemed to calm him down. He removed his fist and turned his back to Black Hand. "You'll never win Hand." He said as the two began to fly away. "We beat you once and we'll beat you again."

Once they were gone Black Hand stood up and walked over to the shelf.

"The stage is set." He spoke as he grabbed a book, its cover changing upon Hand's touch. "The time draws near. As all watch in horror, their hearts gripped with fear." He continued to speak as he eyed the black hardcover book with the Black Lantern symbol on it. "Their hope has died, their will is gone. Their greed consumes them, the end has come." He continued to speak as he opened the book. "Their love has shattered, their hearts filled with rage." He spoke flipping through the pages before coming to the one he wanted. "Compassion be damned." He spat. "It's time for a new age." He said, understanding his instructions he closed the book. "It's all over now, you will try and you will fail. You little lights will never win, the darkness always prevails." Black Hand said as he aimed his ring. "But if you refuse to bow down, and you decide to stay and fight. Then come at me then!" Black Hand's voice rose as his ring created a black portal. "Let your colors burn bright!" Black Hand said as he tossed the book into the portal. "Face the darkness, and show me your might!"

Black Hand smiled, cackling like a maniac at the wondrous events that were to transpire 
> Chapter six: Search for the Book of Black (1/2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The prison created to contain Black Hand was a combination of construct's made by the Corps power. The power of Willpower, Fear, Rage, Love, Avarice, Hope, and Compassion were all used in the prison's creation. But the prison had a flaw in it, one unbeknownst to the Corps. Black Hand wasn't imprisoned, he never was. He could've escaped at any time he wanted to. The reason he didn't was because it would've been stupid to do so.

While he was imprisoned, the Corps no longer saw Black Hand as an imminent threat, therefore they didn't keep a watchful eye on him. He used this to his advantage by secretly passing power from the Black Lantern central battery to his ring and then to Sombra to give him an edge. But Black Hand had decided to take a risk, he sent something that would be very valuable to Sombra.

The Book of the Black. A book written by an unknown author that has very strange abilities. Black Hand knew he couldn't risk the Corps detecting the Book. So to ensure they wouldn't, he sent the book to a random location on the planet Sombra was on. It didn't matter where the Book landed since Sombra could track the Book down wherever it landed. Of course there was the off chance that the Lantern's on Sombra's world would find the book before he did. But that wasn't likely to happen.

------------
Equestria

Sombra concentrated with all of his might, focusing both the ring's energy and his magic into what he was creating. The ring glowed as it began to create a construct of black energy. But as it began to take shape the construct shattered and Sombra recoiled in pain.

FEEDBACK OVERLOAD.

Once the pain subdued Sombra looked back at the shattered black remains of his construct. He narrowed his eyes, focusing his magic and the energy inside the ring once more.

"If you keep doing that you're going to give yourself a brain freeze." Black Hand chuckled.

"Leave me be." Sombra ordered, attempting to silence Black Hand again so that he would not be disturbed.

"Yeah, no. Look, I just sent you a very powerful artifact that'll give you an edge in this fight and all you have to do is find it." Black Hand stated.

Sombra, taking a break from creating the construct, became intrigued by Black Hand's offer. "Go on."

"The object is know as the Book of the Black, and I had to send it to some random place to ensure the other Corps wouldn't find it. It is, I don't know how important I can make this, crucially vital that you find the book before the other Corps do. In their hands they could...well I'm not sure what they could do with it exactly, just find it before they do okay?"

Sombra raised a brow at his ring before responding. "And just how do you plan on me finding this 'Book of the Black' exactly?"

"Your ring will lead you to the book, just follow its instructions and you'll be there before you know it."

"Very well." Sombra said, lowering his hoof and approached his small army of the undead. "Come my legion, we have a task to complete." Sombra ordered as he stood at the mouth of cave, his mane flowing as the wind blew against it.

------------

It took some time, but Del managed to explain the situation to Prism. He told Prism about the Corps, their powers, why they're here, who their enemy was, stuff like that. Del wasn't to surprised that it took Prism a while to process everything he had been told by Del. After a minute or two he finally spoke

"So what you're saying is that Sombra, thee Sombra, has risen from the dead and is attempting to destroy Equestria by raising an army of the dead against us and only you, me, and five others wielding this kind of power can stop him?" Prism asked.

"Uhhh...yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it." Del confirmed.

Prism sat on the stump of the tree he had cut down, resting his head against his forehooves. "Geez, this is a lot to take in." Prism admitted.

Del sighed, "I know, to be honest I don't quite understand all of this myself. But right now don't focus too much on this, just give it time to set in."

Prism looked at Del and frowned. "What happened to your accent?" He asked.

Del looked confused, "my what?"

"Your accent." Prism said again. "Whenever you spoke you talked in that country accent of yours but now you're speaking normally."

Del was confused at what Prism said before he understood what was happening. Or who was behind it actually. "Ring, did you do something to my accent?" Del asked.

'I have done nothing. It is Prism Bolt's red ring, as it is capable of translating all languages to suit its bearer. It seems that his ring has removed your accent to allow Prism Bolt to better understand you.'

"And just what's that supposed to mean?" Del asked offended.

"Ring's got a point Del." Prism agreed. "You're more understandable without your accent."

Del pretended that he didn't hear what Prism said and focused on the much larger matter at hand. "Ring, so far we have the Red Lantern, Yellow Lantern, and myself as the Green Lantern. Who are the other lanterns?"

'I'm afraid I can't answer that. When the lanterns landed on your planet only four of the seven sought out bearers. Willpower, Fear, Rage, and Love were the only ones to seek out hosts whereas Hope, Avarice, and Compassion remain in hibernation.'

"So there's two other lantern's we have to find? Great." Prism sighed.

"I've already met the Fear Lantern." Del stated. "She seems to have the same enemy we do, so I guess she's out ally?" Del said unsure.

"Well then that leaves the Love Lantern, any idea who this pony might be?" Prism asked.

'While I am unable to find the location for the bearer of the violet light, analysis indicates the bearer has a 100% chance of being a female.'

"What makes you say that?" Del asked.

'The bearers of the Violet Light are known as the Star Sapphires, a Corps comprised of only females.'

This caught Prism's attention. "Wait ,hold on a second, how come only girls can join?" Prism asked in a slightly demanding tone.

'The Star Sapphires believe that males are heartless creatures unable to know any emotion whatsoever.'

"What?! That's totally sexis and not true in the slightest!" Prism shouted and Del gave him a flat look. "What are you looking at?"

"A heartless creature unable to show any emotion whatsoever." Del stated.

"Hey! I'm not heartless nor am I unable to feel emotion, look at me! I'm the definition of rage and that's an emotion, so there!" Prism said, grinning triumphantly.

"A male only capable of rage." Del repeated Prism's words. "I can here the ladies sprinting towards you already." He said sarcastically.

"Y’know just because I’m not in ‘rampager mode’ anymore doesn’t mean I can’t blast you halfway across Ponyville, so shut up." Prism growled, a small spark emitting from his ring. "Let's just find this stupid Love Lantern already." Prism said as he began to storm off.

"When did we say we're trying to find the Violet Lantern?" Del asked, causing Prism to stop.

Prism whipped around to face Del. "Well that's the plan right? I mean, what else are we gonna do?"

Del opened his mouth to protest, but said nothing as he thought for a second. Prism did have a point, they had no idea where Sombra was, the Fear Lantern was Celestia knows where, and there was no way they could learn about their rings in enough time. Del let out a sigh, knowing that the best course of action was to search for the Violet Lantern.

"Alright fine, we'll search for the Violet Lantern." Del admitted. "But where do we start?"

'While I'm currently not able to pinpoint the energy itself, I was able to locate the energy somewhere in a town very close to you.'

"The closest town is Ponyville." Del stated.

'Then the energy is somewhere in Ponyville.'

"Okay so here's the plan, I'll cover the east half of the town and you'll cover the west half of the town." Prism said as he took off into air. "We'll meet back at your house once we're done!" Prism shouted as he rocketed off into the sky.

'He seemed strangely enthusiastic to finding the Violet Lantern.'

"Yeah, I know." Del said as he to began to fly above the tree line. "He chose the east side of Ponyville-"





'-and there's only one pony there that he would to see.'

Prism didn't know what was in that blood pool, but whatever it did it made his head less fuzzy. It was like receiving a huge wake up call, his head was clear, clearer than before. When Prism thought about the Love Lantern's bearer he instantly thought of it choosing Whirlwind. The red ring chose Prism because he was filled with rage, so maybe the violet ring worked the same by choosing someone with large amounts of love in their hearts.

And if anyone had lots of love in their heart, it was Whirlwind. The mare was always so kind and caring no matter what came her way. The violet ring would no doubt prey on her kindness and turn her into a Lantern. Prism couldn't let that happen to her, he wouldn't allow her to be roped into this whole mess. He couldn't allow her to get hurt.

Without a second thought Prism rocketed towards Whirlwind's house, flying 10 times faster than he normally did. Prism couldn't believe how fast he was flying, clouds passed him by appearing in a second and disappearing in the next. A cocky grin spread across his face as he ascended higher above the clouds, his speed doubled.

He shot across the sky like a red bolt of lightning, he couldn't believe the speed he now had. He was flying faster than his mother ever could. He came to a halt as he looked down, the town of Ponyville was a mere speck from his height.

"I've always wanted to do this." Prism grinned as he rocketed downward to the planet.

He began to fly faster, his forelegs extended outward as a white crescent force took shape in front of him. The crescent began to push against Prism, Prism's response was pushing back harder. The crescent shape became larger the closer Prism got, until it was no longer shaped like a crescent but instead shaped like an arrowhead. The force pushing against Prism became stronger, so strong that Prism had to pour ever ounce of energy he had into fighting against it. He pushed and pushed and pushed with all of his might until the force ripped, and it exploded.

KRA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

Prism couldn't believe it but he did it, he created a sonic rainboom! Prism shifted his body around to marvel at his work only for his triumphant smile to become a defeated frown. In front of him was the result of him breaking the speed barrier, but it looked nothing at all like a sonic rainboom. It was a large circle that spread out like a ripple of water. Only it was crimson red and was on fire, which was causing it to droop like it was melting. The circle became liquid, dropping onto the clouds that were underneath it, turning their once white coat crimson red.

Prism let out a frustrated roar at his sloppy rainboom. He quickly shut his mouth and took deep breaths while quietly saying to himself, "Don't get angry, don't get angry, don't get angry, don't get angry, don't get angry, don't get angry."

The words did their magic as Prism's temper cooled. Prism then remembered what he set out to do and continued on his goal as he took off towards Whirlwind's house. With the speed he got from his ring he made it there in little to no time.

Whirlwind's house, like all others belonging to Pegasi, was built out of clouds and hovered in the sky. It was two stories tall, with a front porch and backyard made of clouds. Prism walked up the cloud stairs and stood in front of Whirlwind's door. He raised his hoof to knock but paused as an image of Whirlwind with a red mark on her cheek appeared in his mind.

Whirlwind and Prism had been friends since they were kids. 10 years of friendship, destroyed by a single strike of Prism's hoof. Prism thought about how much Whirlwind must've hated him for what he did, and she had every right to. Prism was angry at himself for what he did, and he wished that he could somehow take it back but he couldn't. What's done is done and it cannot be undone.

Prism lowered his hoof and his head drooped. "There's no way she wants to see me...." Prism muttered.

"Hello Prism."

Prism's head whipped up to see Whirlwind standing in the open doorway with a slight frown. The two stood in silence as Prism's mind was going crazy. What should he say? What should he do? These questions flooded his mind as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

‘Say something you moron!’ He mentally screamed at himself and Prism, without thinking, said the first thing that cane to his mind.

"You look sexy." He blurted before covering his mouth and his face turned red as a tomato.

Whirlwind tilted her head slightly and raised her right brow, which caused Prism to start sweating and shaking under her glare.

‘Congratulations, you've just thrown out whatever hope you had at salvaging your relationship!’

Whirlwind continued to give Prism her deathly stare until a grin wormed its way onto her face. She tried to resist it but failed as she burst into a fit of laughter. Which only terrified Prism even more. "Oh mare!" Whirlwind sighed, wiping a tear from her eye. "No matter how much you mature you'll always be bad at introductions won't you Prism?" Whirlwind shook her head jokingly as she walked back inside. "Come on in, I promise not to hurt you."

Prism's body began to relax, easing his mind and tensed muscles. He entered Whirlwind's home, closing the door behind him. Whirlwind entered the living room and took a seat on the cloud made couch. Prism flew to the living room and took a seat in the chair facing the couch.

"So Prism," Whirlwind started. "What brings you to my humble abode?" She asked in a humorous tone.

'Oh you know, just wanted to ask if a weird violet ring thingy came to you and gave you strange powers. Also did you do something with your mane, it looks fabulous.'

Prism ignored the offer from his mind and decided it would be best to address the elephant in the room. "How's..." Prism cringed, finding it slightly awkward to talk about what he did, but he continued anyways. "How's your cheek?" He finished.

Whirlwind remained silent, rubbing her hoof on the cheek Prism had struck. While no longer visible, it still stung a little. "It's fine." She lied.

Prism lowered his head, unable to meet Whirlwind's gaze. "I'm sorry." Mumbled.

"Didn't quite catch that. Can you say that again?" Whirlwind teased, the words were music to Whirlwind's ears as she laid back against the couch, folding her forelegs behind her head while wearing a triumphant smile. It wasn't everyday Prism swallowed his pride, so she soaked up every moment she could get.

Prism spoke, this time louder and audibly. "I'm sorry." Prism repeated. "I'm sorry I...I..." Prism choked. "...I'm sorry I hit you. I let my anger control me and...and I know am I total jackass for doing that...and I'm not trying to get back to-together, you've already made that perfectly clear, I just...I just want to fix our relat-friendship." Prism corrected. "So...do you...you know...forgive me, and stuff?"

Whirlwind gave Prism a chuckle, "wow...that's gotta be the most sappiest, cringeworthy, thing I've ever heard you say." Whirlwind sighed. "But all joking aside, I do forgive you Prism."

"R-really?" Prism weakly smiled, looking at her like a sad puppy, like someone that was in desperate need of a hug. Lucky for Prism, Whirlwind was happy to oblige. She approached Prism and took a seat next to him, it was a tight fit in the one seated chair but Whirlwind made it work as she wrapped her forelegs around Prism and embraced him a hug. Prism sat dumbfounded, his body moving involuntarily as he too embraced Prism in a hug. The two sat in silence, not an awkward silence mind you but a comfortable one as they enjoyed each other's company.

"Are you sniffing my mane?" Whirlwind asked, lightly chuckling.

Prism turned his head away from Whirlwind with cheeks red as a tomato. "I-I-I couldn't help it." Prism flustered. "Your head was underneath mine, my nose was up close to your mane, and it smelled so nice...I mean it didn't smell nice, wait no I meant...uh...um..." Prism stuttered, trying to think clearly.

Whirlwind shook her head lightly as she stood up. "You boys are to easy." She grinned. "All a girl's gotta do is point something out and you start sputtering like a broken engine." She laughed, as though Prism actions were innocent.

Prism joined in on Whirlwind's laughter with a small chuckle of his own. Once Prism stopped he remembered how good it felt to hear Whirlwind's laugh, and how great it felt when he made her laugh. Prism stared at Whirlwind with adoring eyes, entranced by her physical features. Her body, wings, mane, tail, eyes, Prism loved everything about Whirlwind.

Love...

Prism was broken from his trance when he remembered what he had came here to do in the first place.

"Hey Whirlwind." Prism spoke nervously.

Whirlwind turned to face Prism with those beautiful teal blue eyes of hers. "Yes Prism?"

"Um..." Prism rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he tried to figure out the best way to put his words gently. "You'd tell me if anything...strange happened to you right?"

Whirlwind thought for a second before responding. "Define 'strange'."

"Strange like...like a ring came to you or something." Prism winced, mentally slapping himself for his terrible wording.

Whirlwind gave Prism a smirk. "Are you asking if Hot Head's gonna propose to me or something?"

The thought of Hot Head and Whirlwind wearing wedding outfits at a ceremony almost made Prism puke. ‘Don't get angry, don't get angry, don't get angry….’ He thought as he swallowed the red liquid that was rushing up his throat before speaking. "No...you guys have only been dating for like a week now. If he pulls a ring on you this soon I hope you do the smart thing and say no."

“You sure you don’t want to keep me to yourself?” Whirlwind teased, giggling at how defensive he was getting.

“I wasn’t trying to-okay not getting into that now.” Prism retorted with a sigh. "That isn't what I was talking about. When I say strange, I mean like magical strange."

"I...can't say I have had anything 'magical' strange happen to me." Whirlwind answered.

To that, Prism let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." Prism said before remembering he still had half a town to cover. "Sorry to cut this short but I've gotta g-" Prism said as he flew towards the door, but stopped before exiting and he turned to Whirlwind. ‘No…if I leave her in the dark it’ll only make her think I don’t trust her. I have to come clean with her...but...' Prism paused. 'But I also don't want her getting dragged into this if it'll get her hurt...so, what the heck should I do?!'

"Whirlwind..." Prism sighed as he approached her. “There’s… something you should know."





The first mares that came to Del's mind where his friends, Crystal Clarity, Cotten Candy, Annie, and Starbur-

Del held that thought as he asked his ring a question, "hey ring, the violet ring chooses someone with great love in their heart right?"

'Correct. The violet light of love chooses its bearer by their ability to spread and feel love.’

"Someone that spreads and feel love." Del repeated, thinking if Starburst fell under those categories. "I'm gonna be a total jerk for this, but at least I can cross one off the list." Del said. "Actually, thinking about it, which one of my friends is capable of spreading and feeling love?" Del asked out loud.

Del thought about Clarity and how she did love Illusion, but when it came to spreading love...let's just say she needed improvement. Then there was Candy, she was sweet, kind, and Del was pretty sure she was psychic, not to mention she was great at spreading joy and happiness to others. But did that count as the same as love? Then there was Annie, who was the sweetest, most adorable, mare you ever laid eyes on. Only glaring flaw with her was her perverted personality. But the more Del thought about it, the more the pieces fell into place. Annie was able to feel love for Turquoise and she was known for spreading love. Or at least trying to, she came up with the craziest ships.

Del then remembered he had a powerful computer just sitting on his hoof. "Ring, can you somehow calculate which of my friends will become the Violet Lantern?"

'I can. But to do so I would have to access your memories for the process. To access your memory I require your permission. Do you wish for me to proceed?'

"You have my permission." Del answered.

'CONFIRMED. Will access memories on the count of 3.'

'3'

Before Del could understand what the ring meant his body went limp and he fell to the ground. His eyes remained opened, locked in place but unable to move or blink. He tried to move his body but it refused to respond.

'DATA COLLECTED. Releasing mind suppression, beginning calculation.'

Del blinked, showing that he had control over his body once more. He groaned as his sore body rose and he rubbed his head before glaring at the ring. "What the hay was that for?!" Del demanded.

'When a power ring is given to its bearer the ring is instantly connected to the users brain. But only parts of it, not all. The reason behind this is if your brain found out the ring was trying to access the brain it would assume it as a threat and attack the ring, causing damage to both the ring and brain. To prevent this, I released a neurotoxin that numbed part of your brain while I accessed your memories.'

"Well you could've warned me!" Del shot.

'NEGATIVE. Your brain would've known of the access and attacked. Pacifying it was the only option.'

"Well...alright I guess." Del said, not to sure how to feel knowing that the ring didn't tell him about its action. But it was necessary Del supposed.

'DATA COMPLETE. Would you like to hear the results?'

"Yes." Del answered.

'Very well, from least to greatest,
'Starburst: 06%'
'Clarity: 13%'
'Api: 24%'
'Nidra: 32%'
'Candy: 69%'
'Annie: 93%'

"...is that it?" Del asked.

'I only had enough time to gather data about your friends. But it matters little, data indicates that the bearer of violet light will most likely be the mare known as Annie.'

"Thought as much. Then we have no time to lose." Del said taking off into the air and flying at high speeds.

------------

It took little to no time to get to Fluttershy's cottage with the green power ring. He touched down gently at the front door and knocked.

"Hold on, I'm coming." A voice said from inside as the door opened, revealing a smiling Annie. "Hello, who might you be?"

"It's me Annie." Del answered. "It's Del."

Annie gasped. "Oh Del, what a surprise. Come on in." Annie offered and Del walked inside.

"Woah." Del said in surprise as Fluttershy's cottage was crowded with animals of all kind. Almost as though every creature from Everfree Forest was in the cottage.

"Yeah, sorry about the mess." Annie apologized. "All the animals are scared of something in the forest. So my mom and I let them stay here."

"Where is your mom anyways?" Del asked.

"She left to go get some food for everyone." Annie answered as she began to walk up the stairs. "Come on, we'll talk in my room."

Del thought to himself as he followed Annie up the stairs. "Good, her mom's not here. That'll make things easier, if she is the Violet Lantern of course."

While the downstairs was mostly filled with large animals, the upstairs was mostly filled with smaller creatures such as mice, birds, squirrels, etc. Annie made her way to her room door and entered as did Del. She quickly shut the door before any of the animals could get in. The last thing she wanted was her neat and tidy room messy.

Annie's room was the spitting image of clean. Her bed was made perfectly, her furniture void of a single speck of dust or dirt, and her wood floor seemed to almost sparkle with its shine. Del wished he could keep his room neat and tidy like Annie could.

"Alright," Annie took a seat at the front of her bed, "so what didja want to talk about Del?"

Del took a seat at the end of Annie's bed. "Well...it's gonna sound very strange I admit, and you're gonna probably think I'm very weird for saying this so just bear with me-"

"Ooh!" Annie exclaimed in delight. "I almost forgot, I have something amazing to show you. But, I'll show you it after you tell me what you want to say."

"Not at all." Del smiled cheekily. "You're the host, as a guest I should let you go first." Del said, hoping that by letting Annie speak it might break the ice a little.

"Ohmygosh thank you!" Annie squeaked, giving Del a tight hug before entering her bathroom.

Del wondered what Annie seemed so excited to show him, and then Del remembered that this was Annie he was thinking about, and then Del became frightened of what Annie wanted to show him. Annie was well known for her dirty mind and the things she came up with it. Del shuttered at the memory of the shipping game.

"Okay, I'm gonna show you. Are you ready?" Annie asked from the other side of bathroom door.

"Um...sure." Del hesitated answering.

After that the bathroom door opened, pink smoke fumed from the creaks and crevices as a bright light blinded Del. The light began to dim and Del started to slowly make out what he saw. It was Annie, only she was wearing a violet suit that tightly hugged her body, while leaving the majority of her flank and belly exposed, a pair of violet goggles rested on her eyes that was connected to her violet mask, and she had a violet ring on her right hoof. It didn't take Del long to figure out that Annie was indeed the Violet Lantern he was looking for, which meant that things were gonna get complicated, and then things got even more complicated when Annie asked,

"Does this suit make my butt look big?"
> Chapter seven: Search for the Book of Black (2/2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Del sat in shock, his mind trying to process two things at once. The first was that his friend was now a Violet Lantern, one who harnesses the power of love, the second was the most bizarre question she had just asked him. Del blinked, slowly regaining his senses before responding.

"Wha-what?" He asked his friend.

Annie turned her head slightly around to get a view of her rump. "I know it's an out of the ordinary question, but this suit feels so revealing ever since I got it, and it's especially difficult to see."

"That's not the point-wait." Del paused, catching on to something Annie just said. "Annie...can you...see?" Del asked.

Annie's gaze left her rear and looked back to Del with a bright gleaming smile. "I can!" Annie squeaked. "It's amazing, I have no idea what this ring is but it's given me the ability to see! Speaking of which," Annie paused closing the distance between her and Del and examining him closely, "anypony ever tell you you really look like a stud?" She asked.

Del's cheeks flushed red as he avoided eye contact with Annie, while she began circling him like a wolf circling its prey. "You look like a stereotypical cowcolt, minus the hat." Annie stated. "You've got green eyes, blonde and brown mane, and a orange looking coat." Annie said while stroking his foreleg muscles. "Not to mention these beefy muscles of yours."

Del pulled his foreleg away from Annie's grasp. "Okay, first. Don't do that." Del glared, reviving a giggle from Annie. "And second. I'm gonna need you to give me that ring." Del said, extending his hoof.

Annie stared at Del's hoof, then at Del, then back at his hoof again, then finally at Del. "You want me to do what?!" She shouted.

"Annie listen-"

"NO!" She roared. "You listen! I've been given a gift, a wonderful gift that's allowed me to see, and you just...just want to take it from me?"

"Annie you don't understand-" Del tried to plea but was cut off by Annie once more.

"No, you don't understand!" Annie shouted. "You have no idea what it's like, okay? You have no idea what it's like to only be able to see nothing but blobs of color, you have no idea what it's like to wake up every morning and not even know what your mother looks like! So no Del, it's you who doesn't understand!"

Del was afraid that something like this would happen. That Annie wouldn't give up the ring, not willingly that is. But Del had to get the ring away from her, Del couldn't let her get dragged into this. No, he wouldn't let her get dragged into this. From what Del had seen Sombra do, there's no way he would let any of his friends face him. Except of Prism, Del knew Prism could hold his own against Sombra. But Annie...Del couldn't imagine what he would do if she ever got hurt.

"Annie listen." Del spoke calmly, lowering his hoof. "I'm your friend, and as your friend I would never let anything or anyone hurt you. Which is why I can't let you have that ring." Del said, eyeing the ring. "That thing, while it is capable of restoring your sight, it's also capable of great power, and there's a bad guy coming after us because we have that power. I can't stand the fact of you getting hurt, so please, give me the ring."

Annie looked at Del's extended hoof once more. She thought about what Del had said and about his offer. But Annie had already made her decision before Del had made his offer.

"No."

Before Del could understand what that meant Annie aimed her ring at Del and hit him with a violet beam. The beam struck Del directly in the chest sending him flying through the wall. Del was shot through the wall, busting through it with enough force to break it into splinters.

Del crashed against the ground outside, his ring creating a pillow construct to break his fall. The construct disappeared and Del became adorned in his Green Lantern suit. Annie floated down to the ground before speaking.

"You have a ring too Del." Annie pointed at the green ring on Del's foreleg. "Why do you want mine when you already have one of your own."

"It's not like that Annie." Del pleaded.

"Then what is it huh?!" Annie demanded. "Why do you want to take away my sight?!"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt!" It was Del's turn to shout as it seemed to be the only way for Del to reach his friend. "That ring is a homing beacon for all things bad, and I don't want you to get hurt. I won't allow it!" Del stomped his hoof against the ground, creating cracks in its surface. "So please Annie, as your friend, give me the ring."

"You want this ring Del?" Annie asked, showing off her violet colored jewelry. "Then you're gonna have to come and take it."

Del stood firm as he responded, "I won't fight you."

"That makes things easier." Annie said, her ring glowing brighter than before. From it a large violet wolf construct emerged and charged at Del with its jaws opened wide.

Del countered the wolf's attack by creating a simple rectangle construct that he used as a shield. The wolf clawed and bit at Del's construct, slowly breaking piece by piece off of it. Del receded the energy for the construct back into his ring, he balled that energy up and redirected it towards the wolf. The energy was transformed into a massive blast of Willpower. Exploding the once wolf construct into nothing but violet colored dust.

Del's first mistake was letting his guard down. In doing so, Annie saw an opening and went for it. She closed the distance between herself and Del within seconds. Annie created a spear construct which she held with her magic, and forced the blade towards Del. However, Del saw this attack and countered with his own by creating green construct gloves over his hooves and then halted the spear's blade by pinning it between his two hooves. Annie tackled Del and forced him onto his back where she pushed down harder on her spear, causing it to slowly move closer to Del.

"Annie, stop!" Del grunted, using all his might to push back against the spear. "You're gonna...kill...me!"

But his words fell on deaf ears as Annie just pushed harder onto the spear. Del saw that he no longer had a choice and poured the energy in his ring into a construct. A green boxing glove construct appeared and it rammed straight into Annie's cheek, sending her flying. Annie rolled against the ground for a moment before regaining her balance and got back on her hooves. But when she searched for Del the Earth Pony was nowhere to be found.

Del peered from the tree he was hiding behind to see Annie searching for him. Del slouched against the trunk, letting out a sigh. He thought of how he could handle the situation, how he could somehow get the ring from Annie without hurting her.

Or her killing him.

Del thought about how he could deal with Annie, how he could somehow make her realize that the power she had was too great for her to handle.

"Wait."

Del paused thinking back to how Annie was able to pin Del and almost kill him with a spear, not to mention she had him hiding behind a tree at the moment and she seemed to have a good idea on how to wield her new power. Maybe she wasn't incapable of defending herself, maybe she wasn't as helpless as Del thought.

Del lifted his ring and spoke quietly to it, "Ring...what should I do?" He asked.

'What should you do? That is a question you should be asking yourself, not me.'

"But you're supposed to help me." Del hissed. "Give me advice and stuff like that."

'I am nothing more than a tool created to focus the green light of Willpower. You are the bearer, you are the one who controls and guides. Not the other way around.'

"But...I thought...I can't..." Del's breathing quickened as the stabbing emotion of fear began to crawl up his spine.

'Calm yourself Golden Delicious. You are not alone. Look.'

The ring created small constructs of all of Del's friends. Starburst, Candy, Prism, Clarity, Annie, and Turquoise all standing next to each other giving Del a smile. Del's fear began to disappear at the sight of his friends.

'You are not alone Golden Delicious, you never are. As long as you have those that will stand beside you in times of darkness you will never lose. But one of your friends is in need of your help, so what will you do? Will you run and abandon her?

Del stood up as his entire body glowed bright.

'Or will you stay and fight?'





"Annie!"

Annie whipped her head around to see Del walking towards her from the forest. As he got closer Annie readied to defend her ring. Del came to a stop, reached for the ring on his hoof and slid it off. He dropped the ring onto the ground, causing his suit to disappear.

"It's me Annie." Del pointed at himself. "It's Del, your friend and as your friend I only want to help ya. But I would never hurt ya, ever." Del said, closing his eyes. "So if ya really think I'm a threat, then do what ya must, cause I ain't movin'."

Annie glared at Del, aiming her ring towards him. As she did, shards of a violet colored crystal erupted from beneath his hooves. The crystal grew onto Del, covering him in violet crystal so fast that his body was completely covered in seconds. But Del remained still as the crystal continued to grow until it covered his head and stopped.

Del had been completely engulfed in the violet crystal, unable to move or speak. By the time Annie realized what she had done, it was too late. "Del?" She asked the crystallized pony. No response. "Del? Come on Del, quit messing around."

But this was no joke, Del couldn't do anything because he was encased in crystal forever. Annie looked at her ring and demanded.

"Ring, take the crystal down."

'I cannot do that Annie.'

Annie was taken aback by the ring had said. "What do you mean you can't?" Annie demanded once more.

'I detect no pulse or heartbeat. I'm sorry Annie, but Golden Delicious... is dead.'

Annie's eyes went wide, unable to accept the result of her actions she created constructs to try and break the crystal. "Give him back!" She roared. "I didn't mean it! I didn't mean to do it! I just wanted to keep my sight! I never wanted to do this!" She screamed as she threw construct after construct at the crystal and construct after construct broke. Her strikes began to slow, becoming weaker with each strike until she could nothing but lean her head against the crystal and cry. "Give him back." She whimpered. "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

"Annie." A hoof touched her shoulder.

Annie whipped her head around to see Del, actually Del standing behind her with a small grin on his face. Del opened his mouth to say something but was cut off as Annie tackled him to the ground in a tight hug.

"Del!" She yelled in delight. "Thank goodness you're okay! I thought I...I..."

Del patted her on the back gently, calming her down. "Shhhhhh, it's okay. Look." Del pointed to the other Del trapped in the crystal.

The Del trapped within the crystal slowly transformed into a transparent green construct made by Del. Annie saw this in disbelief as the construct phased through the crystal and stood beside Del and Annie.

"See, it's just one of my construct's. I was never in danger." Del reassured Annie.

Annie got off of Del and sat in front of him, Del sat up and she spoke, "You're right Del, this ring..." Annie held up the ring. "This power...it's too much. I don't think I can handle it so..." Annie paused as she removed the ring from her hoof, causing her suit and goggles to disappear. Especially her sight. "I want you to take it."

Del looked at the ring for a second before picking it up in his hoof. He examined the ring for a while before lifting Annie's hoof and slipping the ring back on. Annie's goggles returned, and with it her sight. She blinked twice and stared at Del in disbelief and confusion, only able to ask a single question.

"Why?" She asked.

Del sighed, "you know how, often time, ponies don't say things but think things about you?" Annie nodded slightly. "Well...the thing is..."

"Ponies think I'm helpless." Annie summed up everything Del was trying to say.

Del avoided eye contact with Annie, "yeah..." Del admitted. "We didn't want to say if but...yeah..." Del cringed, uncomfortable saying these kinds of things to a friend. Especially Annie. "But that ring, and the way you handled it, you've proven that you're more than capable of defending yourself."

Annie was in shock at what she heard Del said and instantly protested. "But I tried to kill you, how could I-"

"You attacked me because I was threatening you." Del cut her off. "I wanted to take away your sight. So you had every right to attack me."

Annie looked at her hoof, "but I don't want to hurt my friends. I don't want to hurt anyone." 

"And you don't have to." Del said with a kind smile. "If you let me help, we can work together to help each other. What'd ya say?" Del offered a hoofshake

Annie went a step forward and embraced Del in another hug, saying "thank you" over and over until Del pried her off. "Okay, okay. Calm down Annie." Del chuckled before becoming serious. "Alright, listen, before we talk about controlling our rings, I need to tell you what's going on."

Del went on discussing about the ring's and why they were here. He explained how Sombra has risen from the dead and is gathering an army. He also explained that the ring's were sent in order to defeat Sombra and send the black ring back. He also explained how Prism Bolt was now a Red Lantern and harnessed the power of rage.

"Geez." Annie held her head. "That's a lot to take in."

"I know, I know." Del agreed. "But it's the truth, and we're the only ones capable of stopping Sombra and his army. So we have to gather the other ring's and attack him while we have the chance." Del said.

"Speaking of which, what are the other ring's?" Annie asked.

'I can answer that.'
'I can answer that.'

Both Annie and Del looked at their ring's as they spoke. Del's ring created a green symbol of the green lantern corps.

'As I have already said, the Green Lantern Corps is a group of Lanterns created to uphold justice in the universe. They wield the green light of Willpower, capable of battling great fear.

Annie's ring created a symbol of a six pointed star with a hole in its center.

'The Star Sapphires are a Corps created to spread love throughout the universe. We bring and protect love so that it may bloom.'

Del's ring spoke again, this time creating a new symbol.

'The Blue Lanterns, while currently small, is considered to be the most powerful Corps of the Spectrum for they harness the blue light of hope.'

Annie's ring spoke, creating a new symbol.

'The Indigo Lanterns are bearers who wield the Indigo light of compassion. They are capable of tapping into the Spectrum and understanding the other forms of emotion.'

Del's ring spoke creating a new symbol.

'The Yellow Lanterns, or Sinestro's Lanterns as they're called, is considered to be the enemy of the Green Lanterns as they instill fear.'

Annie's ring spoke creating a new symbol

'The Orange Lanterns wield the orange light of Avarice, there is currently only one Orange Lantern by the name known as Larfleeze. However, after the Green Lantern's stole a second orange ring and battery from him, that number will undoubtedly change.'

'The Red Lanterns harness the power of rage, and are maintained by a creature known as Atrocitus.'

"Oh shoot!" Del exclaimed. "I forgot about Prism!" Del looked at his ring. "Ring, can you contact Prism somehow?"

'NEGATIVE. Prism Bolt's ring is blocking any form of communication, I cannot reach him.' 

"Great." Del muttered. "The one time I actually need to speak with him he shuts up." 

"Del, what should we do?" Annie asked.

"I don't know." Del admitted. "I don't know what the hay I'm even doing anymore with this stupid ring!" Del shouted. "This whole entire thing has just been one confusing thing after the other, and it makes me so frustrated!" Del roared, striking the ground he caused it to crack and break.

"Del!" Annie yelled, embracing him in a hug to restrain him, "calm down."

Del took some deep breaths before regaining his calm expression. "Thanks Annie, I needed that."

"If you're whining about what you're supposed to do with that ring, I think I can be of some assistance."

Del and Annie drew their attention to the source of the voice to see the Yellow Lantern Pegasus flying. In her hooves was a black book with the symbol of an upside down triangle with five pillars extending from it.

"You again!" Del yelled, readying himself to fight. Annie did the same.

"Calm down Greenie." The Pegasus said as she landed. "I didn't come here to fight, I came here to help."

"Help how?" Del asked, not lowering his guard.

The Pegasus showed Del and Annie the book in her hooves. "See this? It's called 'the Book of the Black', an ancient book that belongs to the Black Lanterns, and something tells me Sombra's on his way here to get it." 

Annie lowered her guard, trusting that the Pegasus was an ally not an enemy. "Why is he coming for the book?" She asked.

"Beats me." The Pegasus shrugged, tossing the book at Annie. "All I know Sombra's coming to get it, so it must be important."

"If it belongs to the Black Lanterns then we should destroy it." Del said.

"Use your brain Greenie. If that thing could be destroyed don't you think the Corps would've done it by now?" The Pegasus asked. "If we're gonna do anything with it we should use it against Sombra."

"How are we gonna use a book against Sombra?" Del asked. "Read him to sleep?"

"I don't like your tone Greenie." The Pegasus growled. "I was expecting a lit bit of...what do you call it, 'gratitude' for bringing you a weapon of the Black Lanterns."

"Well I'm sorry you don't like my tone. But the last thing I want is anything that has to do with Black Lanterns." Del said back. "Especially those who are working for them."

"Oh for the love of-" the Pegasus facehoofed before showing her ring at Del. "Does this look like a black ring to you?!"

"You're color could be brown for all I care. I'm not trusting you one bit." Del glared.

The Pegasus grabbed Del by his suits color and glared at him with a murderous look. "You wanna fight mate?"

"What's so important about this book?"

Both Del turned to Annie and their angry faces became one of pure horror as Annie began to open the book.

"ANNIE DON'T!" They both shouted as they dashed to grave the book from the Unicorn's hooves.

But it was too late as Annie opened the book.

And all hell broke loose.

The three Lanterns were sucked into the book, forced to watch as images of things that had passed and things that had yet to pass flashed in seconds. It was so fast that none of them could make out what they were seeing, or what was happening. But one thing was for sure, they were falling. And they were falling fast.





When Del, Annie, and the Pegasus awoke, they were no longer near Fluttershy's cottage. They were somewhere where the shining sun was blocked by dark clouds, where the calm cool breeze became a violent force of harsh winds, where the healthy grass was covered by the thick blanket of snow and ice. They were in the frozen tundra, the frozen north.

The Book of Black stuck out of the snow like a sore thumb, until a hoof grabbed it and picked it up.

"Well. What have we here, hm?"

The three Lanterns looked up to see none other than Sombra and his undead army standing behind him. Sombra looked at the book with interest and curiosity in his eyes. Upon touching the book, Sombra felt a surge of power radiating from the book. But where was his manners? He had three Lanterns to deal with.

"Look alive boys, we have guests." Sombra grinned, and his army did the same. Their thirst for death reached its limit, their restraint held by a thread. They were like ravenous dogs, pulling against their chain as they begged their master to release them. To let the hunt. To let them kill. Sombra turned to his army and with a toothy grin he said,

"Be a good host and take their coats."

And with those eight words, those eight innocent, simple, words, the chain that held back the ravenous dogs that were the dead.

Was released.





"Well?" Whirlwind asked impatiently. "Spit it out already, what important thing do you have to tell me?"

Prism nervously bit his lip as he looked down, racking his brain as he tried to think of the best way to tell her, his mind going through various possibilities on how she'd react, would she hate him for letting his rage transform him into a Red Lantern? Would she be terrified of him? She did have a nasty phobia of fire… 'Shit! I forgot all about that! What if she starts freaking out over this!?’ 

He was so wrapped in his thoughts however, that he didn't notice Whirlwind getting closer to her until she gently lifted his head up so they were at eye-level. “Prism, whatever you have to say, just say it.” She said in a firm yet assuring tone. “I won't think less of you for it…”

“It… it's just… I don't want you to hate me-”

“I'm gonna stop you right there.” Whirlwind cut Prism off in a serious tone. “You are Prism Bolt, son of Rainbow Dash and Soarin Skys, you are stubborn, hot tempered, frustrating, prideful, funny, and sometimes, really sweet. But most importantly, you're my friend.” She stated with a smile. “I could never hate you, no matter what kind of secret you have. So please, just tell me.”

After hearing this, Prism let out a content sigh as he straightened himself out. “Thanks Dubs, I needed that…” He smiled, causing Whirlwind to blush at her old nickname. "What I need to tell you is that...that I...I-"

*ROOOOOOOAAAAR*

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by an enraged roar that shook that both to their core.

“What in Celestia’s name was that!?” Whirlwind gasped as Prism's ring glowed slightly.

'Warning: Avarice detected.'

“Where did that ring come from?!” Whirlwind asked, and blinked in realization. “Did that ring just TALK!?”

Prism mentally cursed as he turned towards the source of the roar, and to his horror it was right in the middle of Ponyvillie.

“That's NOT good…” He growled as his ring began to glow, in a few seconds he was now wearing his Red Lantern uniform. Before bolting out the door, he turned back to Whirlwind who was staring at him with her jaw hanging open. “Look, I'm sure you have a lot of questions-”

“Uh yeah, several!” Whirlwind deadpanned 

“And I promise I'll answer them all, but right now I need to stop whatever's attacking Ponyvillie right now!”  He stated firmly before taking off.

Whirlwind could only stare at the space Prism had previously occupied, slowly contemplating what she'd just witnessed. But another feral roar snapped her out of her thoughts as she shook her head and immediately took off after him.





“Ring!” Prism yelled at his jewelry. “Get me Del, I need to speak with him.”

No response.

“Helloooo? Is this thing on?” Prism tapped his ring, trying to get a response.

Prism gritted his teeth as he continued to fly, he'd been trying to reach Del… but for some reason his signal had been blocked, at this point he could only hope Del got the signal and was headed towards it as well.

He was immediately out of his thoughts however when he noticed Whirlwind catching up. “What are you doing here?! Don't you know how dangerous it is about to get!?”

“Yeah, and that's exactly why I should be going!” Whirlwind fired back. “I don't know what this is all about, but I do know that there are numerous civilians who could get hurt while you're fighting that thing!” She stated seriously. “I may not be able to help you fight it, but I can at the very least make sure there aren't any casualties! I'm going to help you whether you like it or not!”

Prism sighed in frustration, if there was one thing he and Whirlwind had in common, it was their stubborn nature. He knew she had point give however, and her a confident smile.“Spoken like a true Wonderbolt!” Prism smirked as he bolted towards the center of Ponyvillie, leaving a Crimson Rainboom in his wake while Whirlwind dived downwards into the town to start helping the civilians.

“Be safe Prism…” She smiled.

“No promises, Dubs!” He retorted, earning an unseen blush from the Pegasus.





Ponyville. Prism’s home, his friends, family, and everything that he held dear occupied this large town. But his home was under attack, and Prism couldn't allow that.

Prism landed in the center of Ponyville, where the center building that once stood was no longer there. Prism could see ponies running, scared for their lives, in the opposite direction of something. Prism could see his friend Candy trying her hardest to keep everyone calm. Prism was relieved to see one of his friends was okay and flew next to her.

“Candy, what's going on?” Prism asked.

Candy turned her head and gave Prism her most cheerful, warm, smile. “Hiya Prism!” She said with glee. “Lovely day we're having huh? Cool outfit by the way, red looks...okay on you.”

Prism couldn't help but chuckle. That was Candy for you, smiling even in the bleakest of times. But right now Prism had better things to do than remember the past.

“Candy listen. I don't know what's going on but I need to know what's causing this.” Prism said, pointing to everything that was happening.

“Beats me.” Candy shrugged. “All that I know is some weird orange looking things started attacking. I'm trying to get everyone to safety for the moment, do you think you could help?”

“Trust me Candy, I'm gonna do everything in my power to stop this.” Prism said as he took to the sky.

From the large height he could see all of Ponyville, the city that was nearly as big as Canterlot. Occupied by everything he held dear. This once shining beacon of Harmony was now turned into an atrocity of chaos as some houses were vanishing.

Prism gazed in horror as an orange construct of a large worm looking creature erupted from the ground and swallowed a house whole. The same thing was happening all over the place, as large orange constructs were consuming houses one by one. That's when Prism laid eyes on the source of the orange light. A bright eerie glow shining from the center of this chaos, it was the source of this, it had to be.

Prism wasted no time in flying towards the source, arriving in little to no time. The bright orange light was surrounded by rubble and sat atop a pile of what Prism could only assume was junk. As he got closer he could here someone speaking.

”This is my power, this is my light!”

Prism got closer, his rage increasing with each step. It felt...almost like it was fighting something, some other feeling that was trying to pierce its way into Prism.

”To take everything that falls in my sight!”

Prism didn't know why, but every now and then he would glance at the pile and feel an urge to take it. Like it was the most precious thing in the world to him. Prism shook away those thoughts as they were replaced with anger. Why was he angry? What was causing this?

”Because giving away is such a chore!”

Prism reached the top of the pile and his eyes widened once more at what he saw. There he was, his friend, someone he knew and cared about more than anything, sitting in a throne clutching an orange lantern closely to his chest while wearing an orange ring on his left talon. A black suit with orange shoes and gloves on his claws, and orange like armor covering his chest and shoulders with the symbol of the Orange Lanterns in the center.

Prism realized why he was so angry, it was because he let this happen. He allowed this thing to affect his friends and now he was going to pay the price.

”What's mine is mine!” 

The dragon hybrid known as Turquoise stood up from his throne and approached Prism with a livid look as he wrapped his claws around Prism’s neck and brought him close as he screamed in his face.

”AND NOT YOUR’S!!!”
> Chapter eight: Avarice takes the stage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Del had only seconds to act, and he used those seconds to quickly create a green construct in order to shield him and his friends. The Black Lanterns clawed at the construct, slowly chipping away at its structure.

’I know this may be a bad time but your power levels are at 53%.’

“Thanks for the update.” Del said sarcastically as he pushed against the construct, pushing all of the Black Lanterns away. The construct faded and the Black Lanterns slowly got back up. But before they could do anything, a yellow hammer construct slammed down onto them.

“Alright Greenie, here's the plan.” The Pegasus said. “Annie and I will distract these guys while you take that book from Sombra.”

“I'm not letting Annie get hurt.” Del stated. “T would roast me alive if anything happened to her.”

“Don't worry about her,” the Pegasus said as Annie flew towards the Black Lanterns. “She can handle herself.”

Annie’s ring began to glow brighter than ever as it began to collect massive amounts of energy. She was gonna need all of the energy she could muster to accomplish what needed to be done. Once she had gathered enough energy, she unleashed it and created a violet construct.

Of a bunny.

The construct stood at a size as big as a giant, it wiggled its nose as it snuggled against Annie, which caused her to giggle. The bunny saw the Black Lanterns and let out a warning growl before pouncing at the Lanterns and tore through them. Slashing, kicking, hitting any Black Lanterns that came within the bunny’s sight.

“Woah.” Del said in amazement as Annie’s construct continued attacking.

“Less drooling, more book snatching Greenie!” The Pegasus ordered as she soared towards the battle.

Del shook his head, this was no time to be hesitant. He had a job to do and he was gonna finish it.

While the battle raged on, Sombra held the Book of the Black in his hooves. He turned the cover, revealing the first page. Unlike when the three Lanterns opened the book, when Sombra opened the book it revealed pages filled with words written in crude ink. Sombra was fascinated by the text, and what the text was telling him to do, while also confused at the same time. It was a most wonderful feeling.

“Incredible.” Sombra muttered, his eyes wide as he devoured every word, sentence, and paragraph in the book.

”Impressive isn't it?” Black Hand asked from the ring. ”As much as I enjoy your fascination with the book, you best stay on task with the battle at hand.”

“My dear Black Hand.” Sombra paused, closing the book with one hoof and catching Del’s punch in the other. “Didn't you know I'm quite the multitasker?”

Del reared back his left hoof for another strike, only for Sombra to blast him away with his magic like he was nothing but an annoying fly. Del rolled against the snow before pulling out and stopping himself by digging his hooves into the ground. Once he had stopped, Del charged towards the non-interested Sombra.

As Del threw blow after blow at Sombra, he only dodged each attack while continuing to read his book, not at all concerned with the fight he was in. He started humming while dodging and reading, seeing if he could try doing three things at once.

‘Hell, why not make it four?’ Sombra thought as he balanced on one hoof.

With all the advantages he had, Del still could not land a single blow, and that made him angry. Angry that he couldn't hit Sombra despite his lack of interest in the battle. Angry, Del did the only thing he knew would get Sombra’s attention. It was when Sombra had left himself open, while dodging he left an opening for Del to strike. But Del didn't strike at Sombra, instead he struck at the Book. Not wanting Del to take it, Sombra backed away to avoid Del from taking what was rightfully his.

But when he looked back at the book his eyes widened when he saw that it was missing a page. Realization dawned on Sombra as his wide eyes gazed at Del, taunting him with the page he had just ripped from Sombra.

Sombra closed the book shut and inhaled deeply. He exhaled and opened his eyes, revealing his crimson pupils, green eyes, and black mist fuming from them.

”You shouldn't have done that Lantern.” He growled.





Turquoise’s mind was fuzzy, all other thoughts blocked out by the roaring voice inside of him that told him to take everything. But despite Turquoise’s frazzled state he could remember how he had gotten here.

It had all started with a local visit from Hot Head. He entered the shop and requested a suit, no doubt to take for a date with Whirlwind. Naturally, Rarity got to work designing and taking measurements. Some things were said, conversations started. Turquoise didn't remember how, one thing led to another, and Hot Head said something he shouldn't have.

“It's no wonder only a blind mare loves you.”

Hot Head didn't mean it, at least not in the way it sounded. It was probably meant to be a joke or something. But Turquoise didn't take it that way, he didn't see it as a joke.

Turquoise flew to a pond in the Everfree Forest, a place where he and Annie would rest and relax, enjoying each other's company. Turquoise stared at his reflection in the pond, his dragon-pony reflection staring back.

Millions of thoughts ran through his mind, but one stuck out amongst the chaos. Annie, the one he loved, and the thought of losing her. He couldn't let that happen, she was his. Only his, nobody else deserved a mare like her. Annie was his and his alone.

A spark of greed was all that was needed for Turquoise to attract something very powerful. In the pond he saw a bright orange light getting bigger and bigger in the ponds reflection until an orange ring appeared, hovering above the water. The ring was in front of Turquoise within seconds, its emblem observing Turquoise, like it was studying him before it spoke in a mechanical voice.

’Temporary host detected.’ It spoke, before warping its shape and sliding onto Turquoise’s middle claw.

’Turquoise of Equestria, you want it all.’

It was then that Turquoise felt the hunger, the unquenchable thirst to take. The power of Avarice flowed through his very being, bringing out his desire to take and hoard.





Present Time:

Prism was thrown from the large pile of junk with enough force that sent him flying through a house and crashing against the ground. Prism groaned as he shakily stood up, the blast stronger than he thought it would be. As he got up, he quickly leaped the left, just barely missing the large snake that devoured the house whole.

All while Turquoise was tightly gripping his body over an orange lantern and constantly saying, “MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! IT’S ALL MINE!”

Prism flew back onto the pile of junk, red fumes seeping their way out of his mouth. “Alright T, that's enough.” He said, walking forward. “Just take off the ring and let's talk about this.”

Turquoise whipped his head towards Prism with a livid expression. “You want it don't you?! You want to take it away from me! Well I won't let you!” Turquoise shouted, firing an orange beam towards Prism.

Thinking fast, Prism spread his wings and quickly closed them in front of him in a shielding motion, deflecting the blast. “I really don't want to hurt you…” He managed to growl out as he spread his wings menacingly, a little trick he learned from Starburst. “...but you're making it seriously hard foR ME NOT TO THROTTLE YOU!!” He snapped as his eyes went red and he slammed his right hoof into the ground, making a small crater. He shook his head, trying his best to fight the boiling hate inside of him.

“T...look, you're my friend. But in all honesty...I'm trying very hard not to attack you right now.” Prism began, only to get punched in the gut by Turquoise.

”You can't have it! I won't let you have it! It's MINE!”

Once more Prism found himself fighting the primal urges of his hate. Prism tried thinking of ways to save his friend, but at the same time he was fighting off the urge to kill. ‘The more time I waste here the more Ponyville gets damaged, and the more civilians gets hurt… I gotta take this somewhere safe!’ Without a second thought Prism flared his wings and took to the sky, putting as much distance between him and Turquoise. “Hey! Catch me if you can jalapeño breath!” He taunted, hoping to goad him into following him.

But when he turned back to Turquoise he saw that Turquoise was only concerned in taking more things. It was obvious that Turquoise wasn't gonna act on insults, but maybe…

With an idea fresh in his head, Prism flew down to the pile of junk and grabbed a basketball from the pile.

“Oooooh T.” Prism taunted, tossing the basketball up and catching it. “Lookie what I got.”

Turquoise looked at Prism with an expression that could only be described as pissed. With his attention caught, Prism took off into the sky still holding the ball.

“GIVE! THAT! BACK!” Turquoise roared in a berserk rage as he took to the air after his opponent. 

As they flew off however, neither of them noticed a certain Pegasus observing the scene.

“Hiya Whirlwind.” Candy greeted the Pegasus, causing her to jump in the air in surprise.

“Don't do that!” Whirlwind shouted hotly at Candy. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Sorry.” Candy apologized with a wink while her tongue was sticking out. “Couldn't help myself. But anyways, we should probably follow them.”

“Yeah but...you saw what those two are capable of right?” Whirlwind asked. “What can we do against something like that?”

“You worry too much Whirl.” Candy giggled, bouncing off in the direction Prism and Turquoise flew off towards. “Just tell yourself what I tell myself every day I wake up.”

“And what's that?” Whirlwind asked, flying beside the still bouncing mare.

With a warm smile Candy replied, “everything’s gonna be just fine.”





Prism was naturally fast enough to leave Turquoise in the dust, even more so now that he had the Red Ring. However this wasn’t about losing him, but rather luring him to a more secluded area, one where they could fight without any casualties.

He hated the idea fighting his friend, but what other choice did he have?

The very thought of it made Prism angry, which caused more red napalm liquid to start dripping through the cracks in his gritted teeth. ‘NO! Focus Prism!’ He thought, shaking his head as he flew towards the one place he knew they could truly let loose:

The hazard-filled Ghastly Gorge.

Prism landed one side of the canyon while Turquoise crashed really hard on the opposite side. With eyes of pure red and orange, the two best friends locked eyes with one another before letting out a bestial roar.

“T, I'm gonna say this one last time: TAKE. OFF. THE RING!!!” Prism screamed as he made the first move as he dashed across the canyon, decking him across the face and sending him back a few feet. Turquoise groaned in pain as Prism spread his wings and bolted forwards for another blow, only for the hybrid to catch his hoof before it made contact and slammed his fist into the Pegasus’ stomach.

Prism gasped in pain as his mouth opened and an explosion of red napalm spewed from his mouth all over Turquoise, thankfully his dragon anatomy combined with the Ring’s energy negated any long-lasting damage, but that didn’t stop in from hurting like hell. 

”RRRRRAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!” Turquoise screamed in pain as he turned around, slamming his tail into Prism, sending him flying over the edge of the cliff and into the water. Seconds later Prism burst out of the water and flew back upwards towards the cliff, only for Turquoise dive over the edge and exhale a boulder-sized fireball right in his face.

Prism quickly conjured a sphere around himself and burst right through the fireball, Turquoise attempted to strike him with his claws was blocked by Prisms wing. Seeing his chance Prism spun around in mid-air and kicked him into the cliff wall, not willing to let him recover he bolted towards him and slammed his hooves into his stomach before repeatedly punching him over and over.

”ENOUGH!!!” Turquoise screamed as he released a powerful pulse of energy, sending Prism flying back straight into the opposite side of the canyon. ”You're very strong, so I think I'll make you apart of my collection.” He grinned like a mad stallion filled with crazed insanity as he raised his ring and pointed it at Prism. 

”Identity thef-”

“NO!!!” A new voice called out as it stopped Turquoise from activating his special power.

Both Prism and Turquoise glanced up towards the top of the cliff to see who’d come to help him… only for Prism’s blood to run cold at the sight of his two friends Cotton Candy and Whirlwind. “What are you two doing out here!?” He demanded. “Get back to Ponyville before you get killed!!”

“Kill is such a strong word Prism.” Candy stated, sliding down the curve of the cliff and stopping in front of Prism and Turquoise. “Sure, T is currently under some kind of mind control but he wouldn't kill us.”

Whirlwind landed beside Candy and asked, “am I the only one here who wants to know what the Tartarus is going on?”

”Knowledge is mine! Mine you hear!” Turquoise yelled.

“Look T, I don't know what happened to you but if you'd just tell us what's going on then we can't help you.” Whirlwind said.

Turquoise’s response was aiming his ring at the two mares and unleashed a full blast of orange energy.

“NO!” Prism shouted, flying at fast speeds he put himself between the orange blast and the two mares. Just as the orange blast was closing in he unleashed a blast of red napalm from his mouth. The orange and red energy mix and they both dissolved into nothing.

“Prism...what's happening to T?” Whirlwind asked, worry in her voice.

“He's being controlled by that ring, I'd take it off myself but I can't get close enough to him.” Prism explained as Candy stepped forward. “Uh, Candy...what are you doing?”

Candy looked back at Prism and with a coy smile replied, “I'm saving a friend.” She said as she approached Turquoise. “Hey T, it's me Candy. You know, your crazed sugar-high friend that always teases you.”

Turquoise's response was a low hiss, like he was warning Candy not to come any closer.

“Candy get back here!” Prism shouted. “He's gonna kill you!”

“Have a little faith Prism.” Candy said, silently telling him not to interfere. “This is T we're talking about, he'd never hurt anyone.”

”You should've listen to your red friend, fool. Now you will be MINE!” Turquoise declared as a huge worm construct with a large hole as its mouth erupted from his ring and sailed towards Candy.

But even as impending doom swiftly approached the Earth Pony mare, she held her ground. Not losing her composure or her genuine smile. The screaming words of both Whirlwind and Prism became silent as they tried to rush to Candy before the construct could reach her. But none of it mattered, Candy knew that she would be safe, she knew that Turquoise would return to his normal self, she knew that at the end of everything there'd be a happy ending. 

She had faith.

And as the construct was upon her, its gaping mouth ready to devour her in seconds, the construct was shattered by a bright light that shined down from the sky. Turquoise, Whirlwind, and Prism shielded their eyes from the intense light but Candy did not shield her eyes from it. The light was warm and comforting, Candy embraced the light with open arms not denying its request to wrap her in its warmth. As the light’s brightness increased a voice spoke from the light to Candy.

”Cotton Candy of Equestria. You have been chosen, for you possess great potential. Will you accept this power and use it for the good of all?”

Candy raised her right hoof into the air and touched the light as she gave her answer.

“I accept!” She cried out as the light approached her and she could see what had been speaking to her.














'COTTON CANDY OF EQUESTRIA: ALL WILL BE WELL.'






If Del was trying to piss of Sombra he succeeded by tearing out a page from his book, because Sombra was livid. Sombra was a lot like Twilight, when you damage a book, you will suffer for it.

“Hey Greenie!” Shouted the Pegasus as she blasted one of the zombie's to pieces. “Hurry up and grab that book already!”

Del created a green construct shield to protect himself from a black blast of Sombra’s magic before shouting back, “easier said than done!”

Annie obliterated two zombies with her violet light before landing next to the Pegasus. “We need to help Del, he can't take on Sombra by himself.”

“Agreed.” The Pegasus said, forcing a yellow construct spear down a zombie’s skull. “But it's gonna take a lot more than Willpower to beat Death.”

A lightbulb went off inside Annie’s head when the Pegasus said that. “Um...what's your name again?” She asked.

“Just call me Fear, Annie.” The Pegasus said.

“Oh...well okay then.” Annie shuffled uncomfortably, feeling awkward about calling someone ‘Fear’. “Well Fear, I have an idea.” Annie said, trapping a zombie that was about to attack the Pegasus in a violet crystal.

“Shoot.” The Pegasus said, listening to Annie’s suggestion.

“I know that together we can't kill Sombra, but if we pour everything we have at him then maybe we can stun or knock him out.” Annie suggested, fighting off a zombie.

“It's worth a shot, let's do it!” The Pegasus answered.

“Right. But first, let's get a little elbow room.” Annie said, using her ring she released a ring of violet energy that pushed back the crowding zombies. The two Lanterns flew towards Del to give him some assistance.

Meanwhile, Del was still battling against Sombra. Del held a green broadsword construct in between his teeth, using it to block Sombra’s black construct from hitting him. Sombra swung the construct with his magic, giving it extra strength.

“You wield the power of Will do you not?” Sombra asked, mocking the Green Lantern as he could see some Yellow beginning to mix with Del’s green. “That means you have the ability to face great fear. But from what I've seen,” Sombra paused, forcing the blade down on Del’s. Del responded by holding up his construct sword to defend himself. The two swords were at a standstill as both forces cancelled each other out.

”You're a shitty excuse for a Green Lantern.” Sombra’s voice became deeper and more ghostlike. His words dug into Del like a knife through melted butter, causing cracks to start forming in his green construct. ”Face it, you can't defeat me. You're just a little light, alone in a world of Darkness.”

After those words left Sombra’s lips he became puzzled as the Yellow he saw in Del began to be replaced with Green.

“You must be the dumbest pony in the world.” Del said, the cracks in his construct disappearing and as he pushed back against the black construct he was beginning to break it. “I've got news for you buddy, I've got friends and family I care about. As long as I have them I'm never alone.” The black construct was filled with cracks as Del pushed back with all of his strength, his eyes glowing bright green.

”AND AS LONG AS THEY HAVE ME, THEY WILL NEVER BE AFRAID OF ANYTHING!” Del declared as he completely shattered the black construct. He aimed his ring at Sombra and unleashed a blast of pure Willpower at him.

Sombra was blown back by the blast and was sent flying backwards. He whipped his body around so that he landed on his hooves. He looked at Del with a smile of amusement on his face. “Well, look at you.” He said, his voice returned to normal. “You were able to beat fear after all. But that green light of yours won't be enough to beat me.”

“You're right about that!”

Sombra and Del’s gaze was directed upwards to the source of the voice, where they saw the Pegasus and Annie land beside Del and aimed their rings at Sombra.

“Willpower alone can't defeat death.” Annie said, her eyes glowing bright violet.

“But if we add Fear and Love to the mix, I think that'll do something.” The Pegasus said, her eyes glowing bright yellow.

For once, Sombra had a tinge of fear in his heart. He tried to move but when he did he found his hooves chained to the ground by a collection of green, yellow, and violet constructs.

“All together, let's speak our oath and send this zombie back where it came from!” Del declared as the three ring's began to shine brightly and they spoke.

"In Brightest Day, in Brightest Night. Shine forth our power of combined light. To defeat all evil, impurity, corruption and Black. We strike the darkness, together we fight back. With Love in our hearts, Fear in their eyes, and Willpower in our souls. With our combination of power we strive for our goals. May the Darkness beware our might. Behold our power, our unleashed LIGHT!"

A mixture of Green, Yellow, and Violet light was combined from the three power ring's. The light flew towards Sombra, intensifying the closer it got.

*KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

An explosion of color erupted from where Sombra stood, the explosion was a pillar or Green, Yellow, and Violet energy violently swirling upwards. At the base of the pillar, Sombra thrashed in pain as the colors flowed through his very body. The energy pillar collapsed and shrunk into a ball for a second before bursting, releasing a powerful shockwave of the three colors that stretched like ripples in water.

When the ring's and energy faded all that was left of Sombra was a hollow and empty skeleton with the black ring on his right hoof and the Book of the Black in his left, and the skeleton was lying in the center of a large crater. The other Black Lanterns were like puppets, and without their master pulling their strings they were nothing more than lifeless bodies of flesh.

“It's over.” Del sighed in relief. “Sombra’s dead.”
> Chapter nine: Hope shines bright
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the beginning there was nothing, there was only the Black.

Then, there was the White.

For 700 years the White waged war against the Black, and in the end the outcome of their battle ended with loss on both sides. Their battle ended severing the universe, splitting it in two. A universe of Life and a universe of Death. The Black was imprisoned in the Universe of death, where it rules to this day. But the White had been splintered, separated into seven lights. The Red, the Orange, the Yellow, the Green, the Blue, the Indigo, and the Violet were all created from the White. 

But there was something not mentioned during the war. That in the middle of the war two beings existed, two entities. One of Life and one of Death. These entities exist in every universe, for where there is Life and Death, there will always be entities that represent these powers.





…

…

…

’RECREATION PROCESS INITIATED: please stand by.’

The ring spoke as Sombra’s eyes fluttered open. He looked at the sky but only saw black, he looked at the ground and only saw black, but he could recognize where he was.

Lifting himself up, he stood on the black grass that covered the ground. Sombra observed his surroundings to understand where he was, but all he saw only confused him.

He was in a graveyard, tombstones that stretched as far as the eye could see with names of those forgotten to time engraved on them. Sombra knew where he had gone, for he had left this world when the black ring chose him. This was the land of the dead.

’RECREATION PROCESS: ERROR. Failure to regenerate.’

”Fascinating.”

Sombra whipped his head around and he came face to face with a figure hidden by a hooded cloak with tears and strands sticking out. The figure was a pony that was fairly tall, as tall as Luna, and a black scythe stood beside him. 

“Who are you?” Sombra demanded, not fearing the ominous figure.

The figure was silent for a moment before answering with a riddle.

”I am always around, but never seen. I am often avoided, but you can't outrun me. For I will come when you're old and grey, or maybe even the very next day. I will come to you with a cold embrace and give you rest with a chilled kiss on your face. An eternal shadow I do create. Eternal rest, that is your fate. What am I?”

Sombra's eyes widened in shock as he heard the riddle. Involuntarily he answered,

“...Death.”

The figure nodded, ”My name is Mortum, I am Death itself. I know who you are, King Sombra. I know that you have died by the Crystal Heart, you entered my realm and you rested. But something awoke you from your rest, something pulled you from the realm of the dead and returned you to the living.” Mortum explained. ”But then you died again, and once more you return to the realm of the dead, and once more, you are being pulled back to the land of the living. How? There is no power that can return the dead to the living. So tell me, how have you returned?”

Sombra showed Mortum his ring. “I can't explain it, but this ring has given me the power to raise the dead, as well as prevent me from dying as well.”

Mortum took a closer at Sombra’s ring.

’ERROR: Unknown energy detected.’

”This ring is a doorway, one between the living and the dead. It opens the door and its wielder enters through it. But it does not return one to life. Instead, it creates a copy, a replica, of the one that wields it. I must know more” Mortum said, removing the ring from Sombra's hooves.

’ERROR!’

“Hey!” Sombra shouted, charging his horn to strike back at Mortum. Only for his magic to vanish and his body froze.

”You forget, King Sombra. You are in my realm, and all in my realm are mine to command.” Mortum said, redirecting his attention to the ring.

’ERROR: Host lost, unknown Entity detected.’

”Silence. You will reveal to me your secrets, show me everything you know.” Mortum ordered.

’ENTITY IDENTIFIED, SUBJECT IDENTIFIED AS NEKRON, INITIATING DATA TRANSFER.’

Mortum did not know who this “Nekron” was, but he soon learned as a connection was established between Mortum and the ring. He saw everything, the beginning of universe 52, the war waged between Life and Death, the creation of Nekron and the Entity as well as the seven entities of emotion. Then he saw the Corps, Green Lanterns, those who harnessed the light of Willpower. The Sinestro Lanterns and the Yellow Lanterns, those who wielded the light of Fear, but there was two of them. Blue Lanterns, those who wielded the light of Hope, but Hope could only heal and instill hope in others, it required Willpower to truly unlock its full power. Indigo Lanterns, those who wield the light of Compassion, but the light forces Compassion on its wielder, not giving them a choice. Agent Orange, the only Orange Lantern that wields the light of Avarice, but he had the strength of an entire Corps inside his ring. Red Lanterns, those who wielded the power of Rage, but blood magic had been used to tap into the red power of Hate. Star Sapphires, those who wielded the light of Love, much like the power of Hate, they used powerful crystals to tap into the violet light of love. But it seems that only females can become Star Sapphires.

Mortum saw other things as well, the Guardians, the Blackest Night, the Third Army, and the White Lantern. The White Lantern, his name was Kyle Rayner and he was the only one to harness all seven lights and achieve the White Light. But he was missing, believed to be dead, but there was no record of him entering the Dead Zone.

’Data transfer complete.’

Sombra felt his body freed from whatever had kept him frozen, as well as his magic returning to him, from which he proceeded to charge up his horn and aiming it at Mortum.

“Return my ring at once!” Sombra demanded. “It is rightfully mine and it belongs to me and me alone.”

”And you may have it.” Mortum said, turning to face Sombra. ”But in return for your ring you will serve me and obey my commands.”

“I obey no one,” Sombra growled.

”You will if you wish to leave.” Mortum said. ”It is I that allow those to leave, but without your ring, you are forever trapped. So tell me, king, what will you do?”

Sombra opened his mouth to protest, only to quickly shut it. He couldn't deny the fact that Mortum was right, he was at Mortum’s mercy and had no choice but to accept.

“What shall you have me do?” He asked, allowing his magic to disperse.

”Your goal remains the same, you are to destroy all life so that there is only death. However, you will do it differently and accordingly to my will.” Mortum said, holding up his other hoof an inky black liquid swarmed over his hoof. He took this liquid and placed it onto the black ring, the liquid bubbled as it was forced onto the ring but it soon came to rest and imprinted itself onto the ring. ”I have altered your ring and embedded it with magic. It is stronger now, far stronger than before.”

Mortum released his magical hold on Sombra’s ring, causing it to fly onto Sombra’s hoof and making him a Black Lantern once more.

’RECREATION PROCESS INITIATED: 20% complete.’

“What am I to do now?” Sombra asked Mortum.

”When you return you must search for the lantern, it will act as a gateway between my realm and the living, then you must raise an army and crush the lights before they grow stronger.” Mortum explained as he created ten new Black Rings and gave them to Sombra. ”Consider these a gift to help you.”

’RECREATION PROCESS: 42% complete.’

“But the lights are already too powerful, my army could not stop three of them let alone seven!” Sombra shouted.

”You needn't worry, the lights cannot destroy these new Black Lanterns. It is only the White that can harm the Black, not the fractured pieces it once was.”

’RECREATION PROCESS: 58% complete.

“Very well, if what you say is true, then what am I searching for?” Sombra asked.

’RECREATION PROCESS: 79% complete.

”Your ring will guide you to the lantern, all you must do is follow my instructions and Death shall triumph.”

’RECREATION PROCESS: 93% complete.

"What lantern? Do you mean the lantern of the Black Lanterns?" Sombra asked, but his question remained unanswered as his ring declared.

’RECREATION PROCESS: 100% complete. INITIATING RESURRECTION.’

’King Sombra of Equestria, RISE.’





It was said that the color blue was the color of sadness and depression. But that couldn't be further from the truth as blue is a color that is uplifting and brings happiness. It is the color of hope, one of the most powerful emotions there is, and Candy now wielded the blue ring of hope. Her body became wrapped in a black tight suit with blue on her shoulders and back, the suit covered her entire body and she wore a blue mask that concealed the top part of her face. The symbol of the blue lanterns rested squarely on her chest.

Meanwhile, both Prism and Whirlwind were staring at Candy in disbelief. Until Prism’s growled and glared at Candy.

“Candy, take off that ring right now.” He demanded.

Candy looked at Prism and replied, “do not be afraid Prism, for all will be well.”

“No, I already let two of my closest friends get caught up in...whatever this is. No more! I'm not letting you get dragged in too!” Prism shot back.

“You don't understand Prism, the blue light of hope is not like that of the Green or the Red. It is a light of healing, a light of goodwill.” Candy said, aiming her ring at Prism. “Here, let me show you.”

“Show me wha-”

’Target locked’

Just as the ring spoke, Prism was blinded by a blue light. His pupils reflected the Blue Lantern symbol as the light engulfed him, and it felt...warm?

The light was comforting, like being wrapped in a tight cozy blanket after flying in the cold weather. His once uncontrollable rage began to fade, slowly dying down from where it once spiked. He felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, and he had been released from his hate.

Prism fell to his haunches, choking on his words as tears began to swell his eyes. Candy lowered her ring and spoke once more.

“You see, we Blue Lanterns do not harm, we heal.” Candy stated, before directing her attention to the shell of the Dragon-pony she once knew as Turquoise, but what she saw was someone consumed by the orange light of Avarice. “But in order to heal T, we're gonna have to give him some tough love. I'm gonna need some help Prism, you up for it?” She asked, giving her friend a devious grin.

Prism wiped away his tears and stood up. “If it means getting my friend back, I'm ready to do anything.” Prism said, his rage growing once more. But he didn't stop it, he knew he was gonna need all the power in the world to help Turquoise.

Speaking of the Dragon-pony, he was beginning to get bored.

”Time is precious, time is fleeting, time is Mine, and you're wasting it!” Turquoise shouted, aiming his ring at Candy and Prism he created two worm constructs with open holes for their mouths. ”Your light is MINE!” Turquoise shouted, the two constructs diving towards Candy and Prism.

“You want my light T?” Candy asked, holding her ring high. ”You can have it.” She said as a blue construct bubble shielded Candy, Prism, and Whirlwind.

Turquoise couldn't help but grin triumphantly as his constructs latched themselves to the shield and began to sap its energy.

”Fool, my light consumes all. Soon all will be MI-” Turquoise was cut off as his constructs shattered like glass. ”WHAT?!” Turquoise shouted, his eyes wide and confused.

“It's true, the orange light of Avarice is capable of sapping the other lights of their power. But it cannot steal the blue light of hope.” Candy explained, lowering the blue shield. “Avarice is weak against hope, it cannot devour my power nor can it devour my belief.” Candy said, her ring glowed brightly as it created a large cannon construct with a cannonball being loaded into it. “Sorry to do this T, but don't worry, for all will be we-”

’ERROR: Willpower, insufficient.’

Just as her ring spoke, Candy’s construct shattered just as Turquoise's constructs did.

“What?!” Candy shouted, trying again she created another giant cannon.

’ERROR: Willpower, insufficient.’

Her ring said once more, and once more her construct shattered. “What the hay is going on?!” Candy demanded from her ring. “Why can't I create anything?!”

’Insufficient Willpower.’

“WHAT DOES INSUFFICIENT WILLPOWER MEAN?!?!” Candy roared.

’Hope is the most powerful light of the Spectrum, but it is limited without the green light of Willpower. Unless a Green Lantern is nearby, your power is limited to abilities such as flight, defenses, healing, protection from the vacuum of space, etc.’

”So in other words,” Turquoise gave a toothy grin. ”You're as helpless as a lamb, isn't that right? Well, while I might not be able to consume your light, I can definitely take you down-”

Turquoise was cut off as his face was properly introduced to Prism’s hoof. Turquoise was sent flying until he bounced a couple of times and landed on his feet-claws-hooves, whatever. Turquoise snarled at Prism, a very clear red mark left on his cheek.

“She might not be able to fight, but I sure as hell can.” Prism growled, droplets of red napalm dressed the ground under Prism’s mouth. “I've been holding back all my rage so I don't hurt you, but I realize now that the only way I'm gonna get through to you is if I go all out!” Prism’s rage began to surface, no longer would he let it boil up inside of him. It was time to unleash everything he had. ”Candy, I'm gonna need you to create a bomb.”

“What? Prism, my ring just stated that I can't create any weapons.” Candy explained.

”I'm not asking you to make a literal bomb, just the shell of one. No components, no explosives, just the metal shell, I’ll do the rest.” Prism explained.

Candy didn't argue and used her ring to create the hollow shell of a nuclear bomb with the blue lantern symbol on it instead of the radiation symbol.

”leave a slot open, I'm gonna fill this thing up with something that's gonna be able to hurt T.” Prism ordered, and Candy did so, removing a chunk from the bomb she created an opening.

All that was left was to give the bomb an explosive, and Prism had one boiling inside of him. He opened his mouth and vomited pools of red napalm into the shell. The bomb filled with the red liquid, raising until it reached its peak. Once the bomb was full, Candy put the slot back and lifted her construct up.

“I don't need to tell you what to do next I hope?” Prism asked with a cocky grin, his rage settling.

“Sure don't.” Candy replied with a wink. “FIRE IN THE HOLE T!” Candy shouted as she chucked the bomb at Turquoise.

Turquoise reacted by creating multiple constructs to stop the bomb, but as they came in contact with the blue shell they were destroyed. But Turquoise didn't stop, he poured all of his power into creating constructs to stop the bomb but its advance didn't stop. Soon his constructs became more sloppy and rushed, indicating his panic and fear. He began to see that cracks were starting to form on the blue shell, but it wasn't by Turquoise's attacks, it was by the red napalm eroding the inside of the bomb. It wasn't until the bomb was right on top of Turquoise that the shell exploded.

The blue construct turned into a small bubble that surrounded Turquoise, leaving the top open. The red napalm spread in mid-air and splashed onto Turquoise, the bubble was sealed off and Turquoise wreathed in pain and he screamed and thrashed in the pool of napalm he became trapped in. His movements became slower and weaker until his body froze and he sunk into the still napalm.

“He's gonna be okay, right?” Candy asked.

“He should, that stuff is gonna hurt him but not kill him. With any luck, he'll be knocked out.” Prism explained.

“Well, it won't take long. Whatever that red stuff is, it's already begun to erode my construct.” Candy stated, pointing to her construct as it had begun to crack. “So, I might not know much about my ring, but I don't have a clue as to what's going on.”

“I guess you're apart of this now, might as well explain it I guess.” Prism sat down. “So basically-”

Prism was cut off as the blue shield shattered, pools of red napalm spilled like a rushing wave, and it was on this wave that carried Turquoise's body until the water evened itself out and was a thin puddle. Both Prism and Candy approached Turquoise carefully, but his body lied still. Candy used her ring to check Turquoise's pulse, heartbeat, and any injuries he might have suffered.

“He's gonna be fine, but he's knocked out. So what now?” Candy asked.

“These rings are the source of our power, we take off the ring, we remove the power.” Prism answered, lowering himself down he grabbed the orange ring around Turquoise's hoof. He slowly slid the ring off without any resistance or hesitation, and once the ring was removed Turquoise returned to his normal state.

“Huh, well that was anticlimactic.” Prism stated, holding the ring.

Until it flew into the air and swooped down on Turquoise.

“Spoke too soon.” Prism muttered.

’Temporary Host detected; Turquoise of Equestria, you want it al-’

Prism grabbed the ring and threw it away from Turquoise, it bounced against the rocky floor a couple of times before stopping and flying once more. It soared to Turquoise and hovered just inches away from his right hoof.

’Temporary Host detected; Turquoise of Equestria, you want it-’

“GET AWAY FROM HIM!” Prism roared, chucking the ring with all his might it flew across a length equivalent to seven football fields.

But the ring returned in seconds and once more it spoke,

’Temporary Host detected; Turquoise of Eques-’

This time Prism unleashed a burst of red napalm onto the ring, the ground sizzled from where the napalm splattered but while it stretched across the orange ring it remained unaffected.

’Temporary Host detected; Turquoise of Equestria-’

Prism grabbed the ring and held in his hoof, “I'm only gonna say this once, so you better listen up.” Prism growled. “That dragon right there, he's my friend, and I'm not gonna let you touch him.”

’Turquoise of Equestria is worthy of the power of Avarice, he must become an Orange Lantern if the Black is to be stopped.’

“I don't give a crap what you need to beat the Black, you're not taking T!” Prism shouted.

’There must be an Orange Lantern.’

“Then chose somebody else, anybody else, I don't care who, just as long as it isn't one of my friends.” Prism growled.

And for once, the ring shined a small green spark for a split second, like its nature had been changed just for a moment. The ring took to the air and hovered there for a second before it spoke,

’Suitable Host detected.’

The ring then took off at unimaginable speeds. Prism wore a smile on his face as the ring took off until it could no longer be seen. For once, Prism no longer felt angry or sad, he felt happy knowing that he had done something good. But that happiness was about to cost him dearly.

’ERROR: power levels decreasing rapidly. 48%

Prism coughed as he collapsed, his chest felt tight and his head felt dizzy as the world around him began to spin and shift.

“What...the...hell?” Prism asked wearily as he fell onto his back.

“Prism!” Both Candy and Whirlwind shouted as they raced to their friend's side.

’ERROR: power levels decreasing rapidly. 32%

“Candy what's going on?!” Whirlwind asked frantically, pressing her ear against Prism’s chest she listened for a heartbeat, but there was only silence. “Candy, his heart’s not beating! Why is his heart not beating?!”

“I don't know, I barely know anything at all about my ring let alone Prism’s. But don't worry, all will be well.” Candy said.

”Typical Blue Lanterns.” A voice from above spoke.

Both Candy and Whirlwind looked up to see a unicorn adorned in a Yellow Lantern's suit and a mask covering her face. The unicorn landed in front of the two mares before continuing,

”You’re all the same, all you do is pray and believe but you never do anything about it. You never get up and do the things you hope for. How can Hope be so powerful when it has such a major flaw?” The Unicorn asked.

’ERROR: power levels decreasing rapidly. 15%

Prism’s breathing began to lessen by the second, his eyes started to flutter shut.

“We're losing him!” Candy shouted, looking at the Unicorn she pleaded, “please, help us save him.”

”You want to save him? To do that you must purge him of his ring.” The Unicorn explained, pointing to the red ring on Prism’s hoof that seemed to be slowly inching off. ”Red Lantern rings replace their host’s heart, therefore if the ring were to ever leave its host or if its power reached zero then the host would die. The only way to cleanse Prism of his ring is with the power of a blue one, but unfortunately, your ring alone cannot do that.” The Unicorn paused as she levitated a blue lantern in front of Candy. ”To save your friend you must make him a ring.”

Candy understood what she had to do and held her ring in front of the blue lantern, she closed her eyes and the words surfaced inside her mind. With pure conviction and faith, she spoke.

”In the bleakest day, in the blackest night 
Let our soul's come together and spark the blue light
When all seems lost and our Stars have fell
Expel your fears, for all will be well”

With that, an object emerged from the lantern's opening. It was a blue ring, one shaped exactly like Candy’s. The ring hovered in front of Candy for a moment before it swooped down and slid itself onto Prism’s hoof.

’Prism Bolt of Equestria; All will be well.’

Prism’s eyes shot open as his body glowed blue. The left half of his uniform turned blue, the left side of the symbol on his chest was of the blue lanterns while the right was the red lanterns. Prism stood up and stared at Candy wide-eyed, holding up the two rings he asked,

“Candy, what hAVE YOU DONE?!”





“It's over.” Del exhaled a sigh of relief. “Sombra’s dead.”

“For good this time, I hope.” The Pegasus added as they all approached the skeleton.

“Does anyone else think this was kinda...easy?” Annie asked.

“Who cares if it was easy or not?” Del asked, reaching down he grabbed the Book of the Black from the skeleton. “All that matters is that it's finally over. So let's head home.” Del said as he took off into the air.

Annie looked at the skeleton for a moment before asking the Pegasus, “you gotta admit that this just doesn't feel right, right?”

“I can't deny that this felt too easy, but when you think about it, perhaps we beat Sombra before he could gather his full power.” The Pegasus explained. “But enough of that, let's head home. It's time for some good ol’ fashion R&R.” The Pegasus said as both she and Annie took off into the air.

Once they were gone, the black ring on the skeleton’s bone hoof began to glow. The skeleton began to crack and moan as it stood up. Pieces of flesh started to collect on the bones surface as he stood upright on his legs. Hair grew on the skin forming a main, tail, and coat. His eyes opened to reveal they had become completely black with two grey pupils for eyes. Sombra had risen once more.

However, Sombra received no celebration for his return. Instead, he was greeted with the sight of his demolished army. Rows upon rows of skeletons with remnants of flesh and black liquid, pieces of what they once were was scattered all across the snowy landscape. But with his return, Sombra was greeted with yet another unpleasantry; Black Hand.

”You have no idea how lucky you are right now. If those Lanterns hadn't been so clueless they could've...messed...up…..Sombra, there's something different about you.” Black Hand spoke from within the ring. ”You seem...different, but in a good way. Like your power is more...pure. What happened while you were dead?”

“I met the Entity of Death,” Sombra answered. “And he has agreed to help me with our goal by providing me with more power. He's given me the power to create more rings like mine, but only by a lantern that I must find.” Sombra explained.

”This...is...WONDERFUL!” Black Hand exclaimed with delightful glee. ”Oh this day couldn't get any better!”

“But because this is still your big plan, what would you recommend I do now?” Sombra asked.

”The answer’s simple, the other Lantern’s don't know you're alive still, we can use this to our advantage. Build an army, a stronger army, and once you've done that, launch a surprise attack on the Lanterns.”

Sombra closed his eyes and focused on his magic, his ring and horn glowed a dark black. A stream of a black liquid shot from Sombra's horn and onto the ground. The liquid split apart into ten puddles, swirling like a pool. The puddles formed into black lantern rings, ten new black rings had been created. They floated to his eye level and hovered for a moment before they flew towards the crowd of corpses.

”SEEKING HOST.”

The ring's flew and slipped onto the hooves of ten zombies, causing the copy rings to crack and shatter. The zombies changed, not physically, but mentally. They became more aware of who they were, what they had done, and what was happening.

”What is this?” one of them asked. ”Why are we...how are we...I don't understand.”

Sombra approached them and spoke to calm their nerves. “Do not be afraid, I have brought you back from the dead for but one purpose. You know our purpose, you know our goal, you know because we are all connected by the Black.” Sombra explained as wicked grins began to form on nine of the new Black Lanterns. “Yes, you can see it now. The beauty of Death, the glorious heaven that welcomes all. But we have been given a task, our goal is to destroy all life and allow everyone to embrace death.”

”I will not partake in this madness!” One of the Black Lanterns shouted as he moved through the crowd and approached Sombra, who recognized him right away.

“...Crystalline Jade.” He hissed.

“Hello Sombra.” Jade greeted. ”I can see you're still following evil. No matter what you do, you'll never change huh?”

“You call this evil?” Sombra asked, pointing to the army around them. “This is truth! This is purity at its finest!” Sombra proclaimed.

”YOU CALL THIS PURITY?!” Jade yelled. ”Admit it, you've dug yourself into a hole so deep that you cannot escape. This…this is the only thing you have left now. No friends, no family, nobody but yourself. You think that this will change anything? You really think that anyone will accept you if you do this? Don't you understand? Even if you turn everyone into a monster, you'll always be a demon.”

That word struck a nerve within Sombra. Demon. Oh how Sombra loathed that word, he had memories of when he was a child and the kids would call him a demon because of his appearance. Now, Crystalline Jade dared to use that word against him, only this time, Sombra felt no hate towards him. "I do not hate you," Sombra stated. "Nor do I love you." He said, as he approached the new black lanterns they lined up in a row like soldiers. "I feel no avarice, nor compassion towards any of you." Sombra preached to the lanterns. "Nor do I fear you, nor do I hope for you," Sombra said, his ring and horn became engulfed in a black aura. "Nor do you have the willpower to resist me," Sombra stated firmly and the new lanterns felt a hard amount of pressure on their soul. "Know this, I will make this world equal, I will unite all races under the black banner of death. No longer shall we be separated by mere appearence, nor will we be slaves to our emotions. We will be free at last, as a child this was my dream but now it is my goal, and I will bring it to fruition." Sombra turned his back to the new lanterns and walked away.

“Then, I'll finally get to see her again.”