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Cynos-Zilla — MLP: Blackest Night - Applejack
Published: 2012-03-22 01:34:47 +0000 UTC; Views: 30466; Favourites: 799; Downloads: 1429
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What if the Blackest Night also had hit the MLP universe?To me Applejack is perfect for the Green Lantern Corps, more than anypony else.
She has enough will power to buck half of the Sweet Apple Acres by her self and can overcome her fear to show weakness by asking for help to buck the other half.
However I don't think that she can be very creative with her constructs, but that never stopped Hal Jordan, right? XD
I know that there is a lot of crossovers like this, but I don't give a damn. XD
More to come.
Such a big smile on that pony... I bet you can guess what song I was listening while drawing that.
Twilight Sparkle: Sinestro Corps [link]
Spike: Orange Lantern [link]
Rainbow Dash: Red Lantern Corps [link]
Rarity: Indigo Tribe [link]
Fluttershy: Star Sapphires [link]
Pinkie Pie: Blue Lantern [link]
Celestia: White Lantern [link]
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Comments: 179
Applejack *wearing a green domino mask and coloring her mane green with her power and not wearing her hat* "STOP Banana Pony! Ya ain't stealin' any fruit today!"
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Applejack: 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!
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In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who worship evil’s might,
Beware my power: GREEN LANTERNS LIGHT!
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I think the sea bast from Spike's micro series should join the GLs. They went from non-sentient pets to an intelligent, learned people in a couple of days with only a bit of magic and their own will, that should qualify them.
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Applejack and Hal would get along. They're both plucky, both powerful, and both would use about three constructs each for practically every situation.
Hal's: Missile, plane, fist
Applejack: Apple, lasso, hammer
Let's be honest, neither are that imaginative. Mind you, John Stewart most frequently uses a bubble... but it's a really good bubble.
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Applejack: "Ain't about imagination--it's all about willpower. And hey, a hammer's th' best tool in the toolshed!"
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Well this gives me hope about the war with applejack on the good side
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For Luna and Celestia,
I'll always protect Equestria,
Let those who threaten my family,
Beware the Green Light of Harmony!
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Very fitting lantern corp memo
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... Applejack's parents are dead so... Applejack's parents?
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Or Luna? She is the princess of the night.
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Black Lanterns are all dead. You can't be a Black Lantern if you're alive. Luna's alive, so she can't.
KING SOMBRA! Now THAT'S a good Black Lantern!
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He's technically immortal... Just not in a physical form.
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Now i just want to hear the Green Lantern oath in her voice. So....awesome!!!!
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This was just another normal day in Ponyville.
It was noon, and Celestia’s Sun hung high against a clear sapphire sky. Without a trace of clouds from one end of the horizon to the other and the cover it provides, the Sun’s blinding glare makes it hard for ponies to see with their eyes fully open, its warmth could be felt in every corner of the quiet farming town, flaking the white walls of the town buildings, casting ink-black shadows of ponies and country houses on the ground. The heat hung in the air, bearing down upon the land like oven, leaving ponies to wonder if Equestria had suddenly become one big sauna.
All in all, the day was becoming quite uncomfortably hot. Most of the town’s residents had taken shelter indoors to escape the Sun as soon as the opportunity presents itself, except for a few ponies.
Three of them could be found on the edge of Ponyville, on a cliff-side amidst the rolling hills and fields of emerald grass, near the farm residence of Sweet Apple Acres.
For those three ponies, today was just another perfect day at doing what they do best.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS AVIATORS!!!”
Finding their talents and getting their cutie marks.
Applebloom wanted to find the meteors she saw last night, but today she had something else to do with her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders. Scootaloo had came up with their latest scheme to earn cutie marks, and insisted they try to work it out before they do anything else today.
It took Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle over a week before to design and assemble the contraption, but it was done – laying before them on a makeshift ramp was their glider-aircraft. It stretched a dozen meters from one end to another, and had the overall appearance of an albatross, its wings unfolded to its fullest span. Upon its wings, bits of garbage, old newspapers and straw poked out between the cracks of the polythene film that covers its surface. Suspended between the two wings was a basket big enough for three fillies. A tail pole extend to the rear to tail fins made of cardboard.
Given its shape and appearance, the glider might stand well on its own as its own abstract, modern art, were the Cutie Mark Crusaders not intend to actually fly it.
“So, whaddaya think?” Applebloom asked her two friends behind her, Cutie Mark Crusader capes adorned upon their backs, “Does it look great?”
“Not really as good as I imagine it would be...” Sweetie Belle reflected as she gazed upon the finished product in their latest scheme, “It could have looked better.”
“Who cares about that?” Scootaloo brushed it off, “As long as it could fly straight I couldn’t care less.”
The three of them paused for a moment to regard their masterpiece.
“So, what do you thing we should we call ourselves after we get our cutie marks? I got a few ideas already.”
“The Three Pigeons?” Sweetie Belle suggested.
“Nah, that’s silly.” Scootaloo shook her head in disagreement, “How about the Flying Trio?
“We’r could always jus’ figure it ou’ lateh.” Reassured Applebloom “First thing we ought’ ta do before launch is ta give da gal a name!”
“A name?”
“Yeah... I mean, it jus’ sound... wrong if dat thin’ don’t have a name, would it? I mean, it certainly deserves one if it’s gonna git us our Cutie Marks.”
“How about... the Albatross?” Scootaloo suggested.
“What’s an Albatross?” Applebloom asked.
“Albatross is a bird that lives by the beaches, and got the biggest wings of all other birds in the world.” Scootaloo explained, slightly baffled by Applebloom’s ignorance, “What? You never heard about the albatross before?”
“We don’t live near the coast,” Sweetie Belle responded, “and we are not exactly the best when it comes to paying attention in class.”
At this, Scootaloo let out a sigh. “I guess that’s what happens when you aren’t a Pegasus” she whispered to herself. Her two friends failed to catch the bitterness in her voice.
“Beg yer pardon?”
"Never mind... it’s nothing important.” Scootaloo brushed it aside.
“... Albatross, huh?” Applebloom paused to contemplate the name, “I like it! Albatross it is! I bet it’s gonna fly as good as one!”
“Well it BETTER fly! I’m tired of being stuck on the ground as it is. It is high-time I get into the air!” Scootaloo insisted. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but notice the look of determination on Scootaloo’s face.
“And it WILL fly!” Applebloom declared, looking confident. In her heart, she actually wasn’t really sure. But that’s all there is to it. She turned to face her friends, “Cutie Mark Crusaders! Put on yer helmets and git ready fer launch!”
The unicorn and pegasi filly gave each other a look of uncertainty. Then, Scootaloo picked the red hoof-ball helmets they brought along and placed it over her head, followed by Sweetie Belle.
Together as one they mount upon the basket that they had jerry-rigged into a cockpit. Applebloom took a moment to look at the controls: A series of wires run along the length of the wings around the edges, connected to wheels and pulleys, and at the center of this web of wires is a crude steering mechanism that was one part baseball bat and other parts kitchen ware.
The three fillies looked down upon the ramp, pass the cliff-side, and see the entirety of Sweet Apple Acres and Ponyville stretched out before them. Sweetie Belle gulped at the sight.
“Alrighty then, let’s do a lil’ final check!” Applebloom ordered, “Wings!”
Scootaloo took a quick scan at the wings, looking for structural breaks in its crude, piled-together and badly taped frame, “Looks good!”
“Steerin’ wires!” Applebloom called out.
“Holding!” Sweetie Belle confirmed, strumming the strings a bit.
“Wheels!” Applebloom call out ones more.
Scootaloo peaked underneath the glider to see the wheels, which they scavenged from a rusty old Manehatten shopping cart, “Check!” She replied, “So are we going or what?”
“We’re goin’ alright!” Applebloom snapped, her expression changed to that of a determined look, “Sweetie Belle, when Ah count ta three, kick it off!”
Sweetie Belle grabbed the strings connected to the wooden blocks that are blocking the wheels, holding the glider from sliding off the ramp too early. Sweetie Belle gave a nod.
“On mah mark...”
Scootaloo began to sweat, both from excitement, the summer heat and uncertain worry.
“One...”
Sweetie Belle gulped again and held onto the side of the basket with her other front-hoof.
“Two...”
Applebloom licked her lips, gripped her controls tightly, and stared down the ramp in front of her as if she was staring down the two bullies at school.
Time seems to slow down for the three of them.
“THREE! Launch!”
Sweetie Belle pulled as hard as she could, and the blocks slid off.
And so did the glider.
It accelerated down the ramp, going faster and faster as the wheels creaked and turn underneath the contraption and the glider reaching full speed. The crusaders felt the wind searing at their faces, their manes and tails fluttering backwards, their own tears and drool streaming behind them, their stomachs churn like when they were in a roller coaster, and the g-force pressing their bodies to the back of the cockpit.
They held on for dear life as the glider reaches the end of the ramp, goes off the cliff, and flies off into the wild-blue yonder.
====
Applejack wiped beads of sweat off her forehead as she watched another tree's worth of apples fall into waiting buckets. She was proud of her own stamina and strength, but under overwhelming heat of the noon day sun, even the ever durable and dependable earthpony is finding it hard to press on.
Right now she was thinking about the fireballs that streaked through the skies the previous night. The others saw it too, it seemed, from where they were (except for Fluttershy, who was tending a cockatrice that was scared out of its wits).
Shooting stars are always a spectacular sight, and in any other night she would had admired them, but not this time - while she did not feel fear, she instead felt an omnious feeling that something big is about to happen, and that it was related to those shooting stars. Call it a hunch, call it intuition, call it experience from having to deal with this kind of thing many times in her many adventures with the other Mane Six, but it was a feeling she can’t shake off.
For one thing, seven shooting stars the colours of the rainbow descending from Princess Luna's night sky like gemstones can't possibly be natural.
"Meteors usually burn up brightly in the atmosphere in the colours of gold-red or white, depending on their composition. And they never burn up in colours of green, blue or violet," AJ remembered Twilight explaining, flipping through an astronomy book, when the other girls met up at the library.
"Well if they weren't natural, then what're they? Have any ideas sugarcube?" AJ asked her then. She already have ideas, probably the typical villain of the week they face now and then.
"There are a lot of supernatural phenomena relating the night sky. The Zebras believed the stars are evil monsters out to get them and destroy the world, and that meteors are one of the ways they use to corrupt creatures on this world to disharmony and evil. Just ask Zecora, if you're into that sort of superstition." Oh there goes Twilight again, AJ thought, rolling her eyes.
"Could it be aliens? I would LOVE to start a 'Welcome to Equestria' party for them!" Pinkie Pie bounced with glee at the thought.
"And if they ain't friendly do I get to buck them in the face?" Rainbow Dash mused.
"Look, I don't know as of now, but give me some time to look through my books. Maybe there are some astronomy texts in Canterlot that have records of this. Spike, take a letter!"
That was nothing else they could do, so for now she let it slip back to the back of her head. AJ got other problems to worry about - When she got back to the farm, Big Mac told her that a swarm of parasprite suddenly appeared out of the Everfree forest and nearly ate through their new barn. It didn't made sense, given that it wasn't even parasprite season. And just to add to the mystery, a whole horde of critters from small animals to timberwolves, manticores scurried through the fields afterwards, AWAY from the forest. Panic was apparent in their expressions and howls.
Something had spooked them, it seemed, and that had AJ worried. Just what could spook the creatures that lived in the forests of death itself?
She spent the morning cleaning up the mess, and only now did she manage to get back on schedule harvesting the apples. Well, whatever it is, it couldn't come at a worse time. Just when the barn was getting fixed, it looked like it was about to collapse again, and with them saving up as much money as possible to pay off their latest debts it would have to stay that way. Which ultimately means, of course, that they had more work to do.
AJ sighed. Despite her pride, sometimes she just wished she could have some of the fancy magic Twilight and Rarity could do. It would certainly help her a lot...
The sound of a mighty crash knocked her out of her train of thought. Eyes wide with surprise, she turned left and right to locate the source of the commotion.
"Wha' in tarnation?!" AJ gasped when she look towards the barn, to find something had crashed upon it.
Without a second thought she dropped her baskets of apples and galloped at full speed towards it.
====
Applebloom was dazed, and everything she saw was spinning around her.
A minute ago they were still airborne, the wings of their aircraft actually holding despite its crude design, keeping them aloft in the air as it glided. She could remember the breeze brushing on their faces, the smell of clean air from high in the sky, the wobble in the cockpit as they flew, and best of all, the sheer joy and excitement they all felt in their apparent moment of triumph.
It lasted for ten seconds.
What happened next was a blur – she remembered feeling a mighty gust of wind sweeping them from their left, and her struggling to bank left and keep them from spinning out of control. She remember screaming, from either Scoots or Sweetie, warning her as the strings break and bits of the wing twist and fell off.
The whole thing shook, spun, and then came crashing down.
She shook her daze off, and she looked around her. She’s still in the cockpit, as were her friends, having been fortunate enough to not fall out of the basket during the dive. That would had been disastrous.
“Gals! Y’all alright?” Applebloom asked.
“I’m fine!” “Yeah...” were the responses.
She took a moment to examine herself and her friends. Their capes were torn, the helmets dented, but otherwise they appeared to have survived without a scratch on their bodies. That could be said less of their ride – what’s left of the wings were torn film and pieces of garbage skewered upon bent and broken wooden frames. The bottom of the basket cockpit had crumpled where it landed on hard surface. As far as things considered, it was effectively destroyed.
And to make things worse, Applebloom discovered, it wasn’t the only thing that’s broken – they had smashed right onto the roof of her family’s barn, the wooden planks crumbling where they landed. And that’s not counting the fact that the whole thing was already busted as it had because of the parasprites.
She was certain she would get grounded for this.
And despite it all...
“We still couldn’t fly or get our cutie marks!!” Scootaloo shouted in frustration when she noticed their flanks remained as they had been – blank.
“Scootaloo, we just crashed on the roof of your sister’s barn, and the only thing you care about right now is whether or not we get our cutie marks out of this?!” Sweetie Belle suddenly snapped at her, eyes narrowing and face in a scowl.
Scootaloo recoiled a bit at Sweetie Belle’s admonishment, and Applejack just stared in confusion as she took off her helmet. Sweetie Belle had never complained when their schemes ended disastrously (which is most of the time). To hear it from her like this shocked the orange pegasi filly.
“I... that’s not what I mean! I was just...” Scootaloo tries excuse herself, but was interrupted by a familiar voice below.
“APPLEBLOOM!” Applejack called to her sister at the side of the barn, voice with both concern and admonishment, “Whaddaya do this time around?!”
“Em... Ah...It was an accident!” Applebloom shouted down from where they were on the roof, “We jus’ lost control of our glider it just crashed on the barn roof! We didn’t mean ta! Ah just don’t know wha’ wen’ ‘rong!”
Augh, AJ thought, rolling her eyes in disgust. She was getting REALLY tired of their antics, and on their own barn’s roof no less! “Applebloom!” AJ admonished her, “Yer can’t jus’ go fly around gliders and expectin’ ta git yer cutie marks bah crashin’ it on houses! It ain’t safe! And don’t you know how long we tried ta fix this roof?!”
“Ah’m sorry!” Applebloom apologized again. Sweetie Belle was glaring at Applebloom behind her.
“Jus’ stay still! Ah’m comin’ up ta git y’all” AJ called in annoyance. She’s going to give Applebloom such a talking to.
AJ looked back to see where her brother Big Mac was, “Now I wonder where did that big red stallion put teh ladder...?”
Suddenly, she heard a creaking sound, followed by a groan, coming from the woodworks. She looked up at the shattered roof.
“Eh, Ms Applejack, I the roof is...”
Whatever Sweetie Belle was going to say was interrupted when the twisted woods and beams that were supporting the ruined glider, already weakened by the parasprite attack, finally gave way with cacophonous cracks, The planks fell, the support beams toppled, and Applejack watched with horror as the glider slid through the gaping hole on the roof and fell.
“APPLEBLOOM!” Applejack called out in fear and panic.
The Crusaders screamed as one, and just barely managed to leap out of the makeshift cockpit before it came loose and tumble towards the ground. What’s left of the glider was shattered into a thousand pieces upon impact.
Applebloom hung on for dear life on a broken plank on the roof with two her two forehooves, with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle hanging onto her by hind hoof and waist, kicking in the air as they struggled to just hold on.
“’Bloom! Sweetie! Scoot! Hold on! Ah’ma comin’ for y’all!” AJ called out to them as she circled around the building and ran into the barn through the doors.
AJ could see the three hanging over the pile of rubble that was the roof and the glider. If they fell, there was hardly any doubt their chance of survival. Besides the Crusaders, the support beam is cracking and bending, causing the plank they were holding on to twist further and weakening Applebloom’s grip.
“Big sis! Ah’m sorry fer everything! HELP ME!” Applebloom cry out in fear. Never had she felt fear of death more since that terrifying adventure at Sunnytown.
“We don’t know if we can hang on much longer!” Sweetie Belle added. Now more than ever does she regret agreeing to the scheme.
Scootaloo looked at the ground, and for a moment it was almost like it was coming towards her. More than ever did she thought the ground as her enemy and regarded it with both fear and frustration – if only her wings weren’t so small, she would had flown out of here, or even better, didn’t even need to suggest this scheme to begin with. And now it looks like it’ll get them all killed; it both angered and terrified her.
Applejack knew she couldn’t hold up the supports herself even with all her strength; that was Big Mac’s territory. If only she was STRONGER! She saw a path to the crusaders through the twisted, mangled rubble of wood. The distance to cross was daunting, however. If only she could FLY! But alas, she couldn’t. She doesn’t care. Her sister and her friends would fall to their deaths if she don’t save them now!
She made her way up a beam. Her heart was pounding her chest. Her guts twists and eyes opened wide with worry as she looked at the ground below her. She doesn’t care, and ignored her fear of heights. She must get to them or die trying!
The woodwork creaked and shook slightly as more of the rubble collapse upon themselves. AJ held on for dear life. She cringed, sweat was starting to form. But then she saw that Applebloom was slipping. She was down to one hoof. The Crusaders cry out in panic. AJ squashed her fears and pressed on. She was almost there!
Applebloom shouted out to her sister as her muscles strained to handle the weight of two fillies on her. Inch after inch of her hoof gave way as the plank looked it was about to break.
The only thing in between Applejack and Crusaders was a wide gap three meters wide. She could easily jumped it if it had been on the ground. Cornsarnit! If only she brought a rope or anything!
“APPLEJACK!!!” Applebloom call out as the wood she held onto finally gave way, and she slipped.
Applejack watched with horror as the three crusaders fell, screaming the top of their lungs.
“APPLEBLOOM!”
She loved her little sister, and that love, and her determination to protect her from all harm, regardless of all costs, allowed her to overcome all the remaining fears she had in her heart, and find the courage jump off where she was at and catch the crusaders. AJ leaped towards them.
If she could take the fall for them, they just might survive. She didn’t care if she would die in the process.
She is not afraid of death, she is not afraid of ANYTHING, as long as her ones she love are safe.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl, and Applejack could see her life flashing in front of her eyes.
( = Suitable candidate located = )
Only Big Machintosh saw what happened next – just as he was galloping towards the barn, having heard the commotion, he watched as a blazing comet appear suddenly over the horizons, before diving downwards, right through the roof of the barn like a mortar shell. The whole place lit up with a blinding green glow.
“Wha’ teh hay?!” that’s all Big Mac could exclaim.
The mysterious green glow enveloped the whole inside of the barn, covering everything in emerald light. Applejack couldn’t see, but she felt something slipped upon her right hoof as she fell towards the crusaders. She felt power coursing through her! Electrifying her! Just what in Celestia’s name is going on?!
( = Abigail Jacqueline V of Equestria = )
( = You had the ability to overcome great fear = )
( = Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps = )
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I still love this so much! Great characterization with both the CMC --- they'd really do something like this -- and Applejack. Her getting the use of her ring when saving her loved ones feels so very right for her.
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Thanks.
Sadly I am not in a position to write anything major due to Academic work, and to be frank I am not sure how to continue after chapter 1 or from Alex's recent entry.
Now if only someone can continue this...
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Now if only someone can continue this...
Crazy Mike Prime seems to be doing quite a job on it. And you take care.
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(A hub minute claimed AJ won her hat bobbing for apples, but sometimes you have to ask yourself, what tells a more meaningful story? )
Applejack 'should have' just panicked and died, like the pitch black comedy of a girl given the magic ring to save her people from invading giant bugs and in mindless panic just throwing the tiny thing at them. People wanted heroes to fail, to assure them that they were better off NOT trying, that there was nothing with NOT trying your hardest, that it was okay to let others suffers right in front of you if helping them put any risk to yourself, anything, everything, as long as it justified taking the easy road.
But Applejack was beyond stubborn, beyond determined, in ways that even put Rainbow Dash to say, she could press her body to work with no sleep until she fell over dead, it was good thing she had friends to protect her from herself sometimes. But despite, IN SPITE of this drawback, didn't know the meaning of the word 'break' when it came to helping and protecting those she loved.
Applejack didn't know the first thing about mental constructs, barriers, or the hundred other things the tiny most powerful weapon in the universe around her hoof, but none of that matter. This was a ring of the green flame of will.
AJ willed more than anything in that moment, in flawless, pure, perfect clarity and purpose, to protect Applebloom and her friends, everything completely forgotten in that moment.
And Applejack flew.
The first chosen of Equestria of the Emotion Spectrum flew. Not Twilight Sparkle, not one of the Alicorns, not an unicorn or pegasus, but an Earth Pony, the tribe who thousands of years ago was seen as expendable serfs whose only purpose was to farm the land for the 'superior races.' Not a ruler or a poet, but a farmer with a selfless heart a will of iron.
Like a green comet Applejack flew, straight out of the barn, and up into the sky, holding the three fillies, who were still screaming in fear and confusion at what was happening, blindingly sure they were about to die.
Applejack herself had barely an idea what was going on, her eyes closed as she held the three fillies close to her, a green aura surround her and her charges as she flew . . . flew? As in falling up under control?
Slowly, Applejack stopped, and more slowly opened her eyes. The three fillies were huddled close to her, scared for their lives, her forelegs safely around the three adorable astoundingly clever if absent minded little girls. They, and her, were covered by an green outline. And . . . she was wearing a skin tight suit, with white covering her forelegs' ends, and green covering her rear legs ends, black covering her legs and neither, and an open green turtle neck torso, at the center, was a symbol that vaguely reminded AJ of an old train lantern on a white circle.
AJ's rolled her eyes to see her father's hat still on her head, also with a green silhouette to it.
AJ looked around, she saw sky above her, and she saw sky every directions she looked, even the ground was hidden by clouds.
A random peagsus with wall eyes took one look at the sight, and kept looking and flew straight into a cloud (her precious mail was safe though).
The fillies, distantly wondering if they were dead yet and each wondering if they had gone to Elysium or Tartarus (not minding as badly if they had ended up in the same place), the fillies like newborns opened her eyes, seeing AJ. Thankfully they were not birds, they had not just hatched, did not suddenly think AJ was their mother, though for Scootaloo that would have been an improvement, considering her parents once upon a time called her 'special,' though, she didn't really have any to call her anything right now.
"Special?" Derpy Hooves said overhearing, "That's what my mommy called me! Just before she put the iron weight around my neck and pushed me into the river during winter! I still don't get how that was going to teach me to swim."
"You okay kids?" AJ asked. Buck whatever was happening, she wanted to know if Applebloom was okay.
"Ah . . . Ah'm . . . Ah think Ah'm okay Applejack . .. Applejack . . . are we in pony heaven?"
After making a quick stock of the situation, "No girl, Ah don't think we're dead."
Sweetie Belle saw the green aura on them and tried to see what unicorn was holding them up, but saw nopony.
Scootaloo . . . it had been so long since she had been so far from the hated, evil, evil ground. She didn't care how they all survived!They just cared they did! She was alive! Her friends were alive! And for whatever reason! They were in the sky, where she belonged! She wanted the feel the wind on her wings, but realized she couldn't, in fact she didn't feel really cold or anything, it was like they were a tiny magic force field around them. That wasn't fair!
It began to dimly register with the palomino earth pony that just how high they really were. They weren't falling. Why?
AJ looked at the glowing green ring on her hoof. Was this little weird thing the reason? She wasn't much of a praying mare, but she thanked the Alicorns for a miracle! She didn't know what mage pony made this magic ring or where, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth!
"Everything . . . it's beautiful," Sweetie Belle whispered.
Applebloom just kept hugging her big sister. She didn't care if she lectured for a million years and was grounded for two million years, she was so happy!
Somepony else might have tested out their new toy, flown to the moon and back, and zipped around the world reveling in the absolute freedom one could only experience with flight.
Applejack wasn't somepony else, and right now, she was wearing a magic do-hickey from somewhere wearing a freaky green costume, miles above the ground, and holding three fillies who had just almost died, she had almost died protecting them (she'd have considered giving her life saving theirs to be a fair trade).
And what she wanted more than anything at that moment, couldn't have had less to do with testing out her new plaything, and had everything to do with making sure her three charges were safe and sound.
"Come on youngin's, let's yet home." AJ said, and almost surprised that it actually worked, she simply began to slowly but safely lower from her impossibly high point in the sky to the ground below, the ring responding to her will.
(And no, AJ hasn't realized the creation of constructs yet or the hundred other things her ring can do yet. I'll leave that to the next guy who posts.)
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(Sorry if this comes out of the blue, but do you plan to continue this from the latest entry?)
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Eventually. You're not the only whose swamped.
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Big Mac galloped, fast as he could, making a beeline for the barn.
Minutes ago, he heard a racket, loud enough to turn his normally undivided attention away from his work and make him realize that something was causing a commotion in the barn, which made him worried.
As he made his way back, he saw, in the distance, a glowing green light. He ignored it then, thinking it not important compare to the commotion.
Then, to his shock, the green light gew large, until it became a bright green comet that fell from the sky shortly afterwards, straight through the barn's roof, causing an explosion of green light.
He didn't know what was going on, only that it couldn't possibly be good. So he made haste.
When he turned around the corner and entered through the main entrance, he noticed first the large pile of rubble sitting in the center of the barn. Most of it was roof tiles and broken timber, covered in splinters and saw dust, but he also recognized bits of what appears to be a wings and tail of a flying machine, made of garbage, plastic film and cardboard, sticking out of the debris.
He noticed a series of hoofprints leading from the front door to the pile, smaller than his own but bigger than Applebloom, no doubt Applejack's. He wondered where she is in the barn right now.
Then his gaze turned downwards to where the rubble leads, and he saw the gaping hole on the ceiling of the already worn and torn structure of the barn. Whatever it was, it was big enough to cause the roof to collapse, even causing the beams and braces supporting the roof to starting to break, and -
- there was a piece of torn cloth hanging on a twisted nail on the rim of the gaping hole, one that his sister and her friends always wears when he recognized too well - it bore the symbol of Applebloom's Cutie Mark Crusaders club.
His eyes widened in horror, he felt his mane standing on edge and felt his heart skip a beat. He looked back at the pile, including the hoof-prints, and he putted two and two together.
"No, NO! Applebloom! AJ!" He called out. Immediately, he pounced at the pile and set to work on it, dread rising in his heart, panic and fear crawling at the edge of his mind. His muscles strained as he frantically dug his way to the bottom.
Once upon a time, when he was young, he made a promise to his Ma and Pa - as the eldest of the siblings, he will look after his sisters no matter what, that he will always be there, to protect them, to help them, to love them and cherish them. Even after they were gone, he kept to his promise with a steadfast resolve.
Now, his sisters, and two other fillies, may be buried beneath the rubble, crushed under its weight. As he made his way through the pile of debri, he imagined his parents, wherever they are now, are watching him, outraged and disappointed at his failure - he had failed to take care and protect his family, he had failed to be there when they needed him the most, to save them and their friends. He was going to lose two ponies that meant the world to him, and there was not a thing he could do to...
Big Mac stopped and shook his head. NO, there’s something he could do. He was Bigsworth Macintosh Apple, of the Apple clan. His parents are counting on him to look after the family, and he swore he will always be dependable when it comes to that. He will NEVER give up! He will NOT fail them!
Banishing away his despair and doubt, with renewed vigor he tore his way through the debris. With a last heave, he lifted away a heavy broken wooden beam, picked and threw away the last of the rubble with his teeth. And at the bottom, he found -
- Nothing.
He dropped the roof tile he was carrying and backed away, shocked and confused. What was going on? He was so sure they were buried underneath the rubble – Applebloom and her friends were trying another scheme to get their Cutie Marks, and it ended with them and their scheme crashing on the roof. The roof, already worn and in disrepair, half-mauled by parasprites and stampeded by a horde of strangely fleeing critters, wouldn’t stand the weight and impact of the CMC’s flying machine. They, the plane and the whole roof would have collapsed to the ground, right when Applejack was just entering to check the commotion. They would all have been buried under the pile of rubble.
And yet, they were not under the debri, there was no denying that. Was it something to do with the green comet and green blast of light that filled the barn? Did it blew up and incinerate them? No, it logically wouldn’t have, or else there wouldn’t even be a barn, but a burning crater where it stood. Was that green blast magic? In that case, what sorcery was this? What did it do to them?
“Applebloom! AJ! Where are yah?” Big Mac cried out as he ran out of the barn, looking around frantically, desperately, for even a sign of his sisters. But nopony answered back, and there was nopony outside. “Somepony! Anypony?!”
That was when he noticed an unusual green light was glowing right behind him.
= = =
AJ willed herself to a stop as they descend through the hole of the barn roof, pulling still just short of the ground in the barn floor.The crusaders, unharmed and unscathed beyond getting the shock of their lives, hopped off and landed upon the solid earth once more.
“That... that was so amazing!” Sweetie Belle remarked, as Applebloom hugged and almost kissed the ground to celebrate at her survival, “I never knew it would be so beautiful up there; no wonder you wanted us to fly that glider so badly, Scoots”
“Yeah... that’s part of it.” Scootaloo merely said and nodded. Her face was a frown, and her foreleg kicked the earth a bit. She was the last to touch the ground, almost relunctant to do so.
AJ gave a sigh of relief. Already, she had forgetten to scold the three fillies for risking their lives on dangerous shenanigans like this. There was getting Cutie Marks, and then there was this! But there were more important things to worry about; among them, the weird magical green ring that gave her the power of flight, and put her in this weird costume. There were also the others.
“Alright, girls, there ain’t no doubt Big Mac or Granny Smith had heard the racket now, and coming this way.” AJ said. Idly, she noticed the pile on the floor had been already turned over by somepony, “Let’s go and tell them we’re alright.”
Right at that moment, Big Mac came back into the barn.
He paused for a moment to look at AJ, and his jaw nearly dropped in shock. She was still hovering a few inches from the ground, glowing green from her hind-hooves to the Stetson on her head, in what looked like a magical telekinetic aura, like the unicorns with their horns usually do. She wore a weird, hide-tight overall of green and black over her body, with a stylized symbol of an emerald colored lamp in the chest. To him, she glowed like an emerald angel from the great beyond.
He could hardly believe it. “AJ?” He began, softly, his voice cracking, his face uncertain, but hopeful, pleading, “... This... this ain’t a dream, ain’t it? Is it you?”
AJ raised an eyebrow at the question, at his expression. Then she saw the pile of rubble in the barn yard behind him, and she realized the reason why. He must ha’ thought all four o’ us bit the dust, she reasoned, He looked like he saw a ghost. I may as well look like one...
AJ pushed her green-glowing hoove forward, touching Big Mac’s chest, and Big Mac found the answer: They are solid, they are real; they are alive.
Without a second hesitation, he pulled a surprised AJ and Applebloom into a hug. “Ah thought you both were under that pile,” Big Mac said quietly. No pony noticed the single tear in the normally stoic stallion’s eyes, “Ah thought ah lost you.”
“Ah... so did ah, for a moment.” Applejack replied, pulling back and nodding. She looked down upon the green glowing ring on her right hoof, raising it up to eye level to examine it “And we would have... if it ain’t for this ‘ere green magic ring saving us.”
“What is that thing?” Big Mac asked the question they had all been wondering. “Where did it come from?”
“Ah don’t know... one moment, Bloom, Scoot and Sweetie was fallin’ from the roof, and ah climbed up just in time tah leap after them when they slipped.” Applejack replied, “The next moment, this ring came flying in and slipped upon mah hoof. And then...”
“She flew, Big Mac!” Applebloom chimed. The filly squeed, jumping around Applejack in a happy bounce, now no longer able to hold back her excitement after everything that happened, “the ring form this glow around ‘er and she flew! Up and up and up into the air! We saw teh sky beyond the clouds!”
“The magic ring saved us, all of us.” Sweetie Belle said, interjecting the three Apple siblings, “We all owe it our lives. It just appeared when we needed the most, like we hoped.”
“I don’t get the costume though,” Scootaloo said, now looking with a hint of strange fascination at the ring, “Where did it come from? You look like a superhero.”
Looking at the costume that she now wore, she can’t help but agreeing with that analysis, “Ah guess ah do look like one,” She said as she touched the surface of the costume, “Looks ridiculous if yah ask me,” It acted like a solid fabric, it FELT like a solid fabric, but something in AJ’s mind tells her that it’s not the WHOLE truth. On that note, having read comics in the past, she made a guess what that could mean, “And it looks like ah’ve been chosen by it or someone else; awfully convenient for it to just appear outta nowhere and -”
A long, whining, creaking sound interrupted her, and the whole group turned to look at where it came from. One of the wooden beams is bending, and the wood is starting to crack and splinter. Around them, more creaking; one of the tiles from the roof fell and smashed to pieces in front of Sweetie Belle, missing her by inches, startling her. Everypony knew what it meant.
“This ain’t good, not good at all!” AJ exclaimed, she turned to her big brother and the other fillies, “Everypony out, NOW! Before teh rest of teh place falls on top o’ us! Ah’ll see if ah can hold it up long as ah can! Big Mac, grab what yah need from the shed and help stop it crashing intah pieces, HURRY!”
Big Macintosh sprung into action; with lightning quickness he grabbed the three crusaders, one at a time, by the mane with his teeth and threw them onto his back. He galloped out of the barn without a second’s hesitation, the three crusaders hanging onto his neck and hoe as he raced towards the shed in the orchard.
Applejack turned back at the barn, falling apart around her. The structure wobbling slightly, more and more with each passing second, compounded by the fall of saw dust around her, some burning away on her aura, and creaking and breaking of wood. Applejack saw the honest truth – there was too little time, and even that was running out.
“Aw, no, it ain’t gonna hold long enough fer Big Mac to come back with the stuff we need!” AJ lamented, noticing the damage as it accumulated“Braces... ah need braces! But there ain’t one in the barn! What can ah use, what can ah use?”
Right at that moment, that one thought, a bright emerald light sparked from within the Green Lantern ring. Almost instantly, a small tendril of green energy erupted from the ring, stopping right in front of Applejack’s face. Another instant later the end bit of the tendril expanded and morphed into a weird shape, a green construct vaguely resembling a brace.
This action startled AJ, who gave a yelp, nearly stumbling. Just as quickly, the image flickered and faded away.
“What – wha’ was that?” She asked herself, looking at the artefact upon her hoof, her wonder and confusion growing by the moment “Wha’ did ah do?”
( = Attention: Green Lantern must maintain concentration when using constructs = )
Applejack’s eyes widened, looking around – something, someone, was speaking to her. But she didn’t hear it per say; it was more like a disembodied voice, speaking inside her head.
“Wait, what?! Who said that?” She cried out, alarmed, “Who are ya? Show yerself!”
Then, she remembered hearing something when the ring slipped on her hoof, while she and the fillies were falling; something about her having what it takes to “overcome great Fear”. She noted how similar the voice was to the one that spoke to her now, and that’s when she knew.
“Was... was that you?” Applejack said to the ring, “Were ye talkin’ tah me?”
( = Affirmative. You are Green Lantern 7201, sector unknown = )
“Green Lantern? Me? What’s that?”
( = Warning: Local building structural integrity compromised. Recommend post-poning information request = )
“Oh, right, gotta deal with this first!” The Green Lantern earthpony concurred, looking back up to the roof, as more dust fall to the ground and the creaking and groaning becoming more pronounced, “Look, whoever yah are, I need to know how do we do that trick again! Its teh only thing that can hold the barn up right now! Can yah teach me?”
( = Affirmative. All Green Lantern Power Rings have ability to create hardlight constructs = )
“Constructs? That’s wha’ they’re called?” Applejack said aloud, suddenly curious, “What should ah do?”
( = To create constructs, the ring wielder must hold a clear mental image of the desired object. The wielder must then will it into existence as a construct, facilitated via the ring = )
“And... it’ll just appear? Just like that?” AJ asked, still unsure.
( = Affirmative. = )
AJ paused, and looked at the ring, taking it all in. She took a deep breathe, and closed her eyes.
She ignored the noise of the imminently collapsing barn around her. She cleared herself of any doubts and any excess thoughts.
She tried to imagine a brace – She recalled the first time she saw the things, when she was still learning the ropes on how to work in a farm, doing repairs to buildings needed for Sweet Apple Acres to thrive. She recalled its shape, its size, its weight, its distinct metallic scent of iron and rust, down to the tiniest details.
She still didn’t know how the ring works its magic, but she knew she had to trust that it could do it, to believe in its power, for it to work.
And she believed.
An image and a single spark of will went into the ring, and out from it, the image, the construct came to life – first a glowing sphere, then quickly, it morphed, twisted, enlarge and shrunk in places, and lo and behold, when AJ re-opened her eyes, a brace appeared before her.
She felt amazed, astounded, and a tiny bit proud of herself at that accomplishment. But, with the barn’s state, she was quick to dismiss it; there are more important matters this instant. She focused again, and willed for another brace to appear, still focusing her will, holding the image in her head. Another appeared, at the end of a separate tendril of energy. And then another.
She flew quickly up to the top of the barn, and willed the braces to move, clamping down on where they are needed the most. Still, the building wobbled. Quickly, she willed more braces out of existence, and more green constructs clamped down and hold down at where the bends, the cracks and splintering appeared.
By the time Big Mac got back, with a whole cart of timber, nails and tools, he found AJ holding the entire barn together with no less than a dozen braces. And extra construct support beams, and even construct chains and ropes. At last, the creaking, wobbling and breaking stopped.
“AppleJack, how are yah - ?” Big Mac began.
“Good question, but another question that’ll have ta wait,” AJ said, “Gotta give it tah teh ring. It’s holding out for now, but ah ain’t sure how long. Can yah make it quick?”
Big Mac nodded, and went straight to work.
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
The barn was repaired, the green constructs held. After every plank and nail had been put in place, every support beam replaced, Applejack, Green Lantern Applejack, carefully, slowly, one by one, removed the braces, the barn held.
This little green ring had prevented the Apple family from losing their barn yet again in so many years and infinitely more importantly, had saved the lives of her sister and friends plus her own.
Applejack was still trying to wrap her head around it all. What this magic ring could do, it was incredible. There was no way whoever made this ring wasn't going to want it back, AJ could fly like a pegasus and do magic like a unicorn. It reminded her of how some ponies thought that some pegasi worried gossamer wings broke the status quo, what use were pegasi if unicorns could just cast their own wings on themselves? AJ wondered if she'd feel that if unicorn came up with a spell that granted them earth pony strength, but this wasn't here nor there, and seriously, it was just a paranoid fantasy, the vast majority of pegasi fell in love with Rarity's wings when they saw her, saying she was like a flutterpony out of ancient days gone by. And far far more important, ponies were just ponies, that racist horseapples hadn't been a factor in a thousand years!
Applejack shook her head, "Ah'm gettin' distracted."
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were inside with Granny Smith, with Applebloom joining them after the barn was repaired. Applebloom was fantastic, she had -in her own way- fixed up the barn more than Big Mac and AJ with her new magic ring had.
It was amazing how good Applebloom was at fixing, well, anything, and the filly still didn't realize it was her special talent, but if AJ told her, she knew she'd either brush it off, or try to FORCE IT, or otherwise be dismayed her talent was something 'uncool', Applejack sighed. Applebloom didn't understand AJ WANTED to tell her what her talent was, but if she did, it would harm more than help. If a pony didn't realize their special talent on her own, if they didn't decide it was what they wanted to do with their life, it wouldn't come at all. AJ knew all about the big speeches about destiny, but as far as AJ was concerned, destiny was all about choice. She CHOOSE to come back to Ponyville, not because she was destine to.
Granny Smith was flabbergasted at seeing her granddaughter floating off the ground in a skintight costume creating glowing green magic transparent green tools appear out of thin air, she admitted, she had seen nothing like this. None of them had. None of them were certain what to do next about their strange gift. A paranoid pony would have wondered about the chance of the ring coming just when it did, but AJ wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Somepony like Twilight Sparkle might have thought to ask the ring right off the bat itself where it came from, but Applejack was getting used to the magic ring that had saved her family's lives and had enabled her to do the impossible, and didn't think just because it came with some fancy talking instruction manual that it also came with a bill of ownership. But still . . .
"Hey ring, Ah gotta a question for ya!"
( = State Inquiry = )
"Who do ya belong to?"
( = Green Lantern 7201, Abigail Jacqueline V of Equestria = )
The apple was shocked to her core. "Wait wait wait, yer sayin' yer mine?"
( = Affirmative. You are Green Lantern 7201. This is your power ring. = )
AJ's felt her jaw drop. Her ring? This thing was hers? She was the owner?
"W-why me?"
( = Because you have the power to overcome great fear. = )
When . . . when she leapt to save Applebloom and her friends.
Applejack felt like she was at the edge of a great ocean. A sense of being able to go anywhere, but at the same it was so total that it looped around and became a feeling of not being able to go anywhere again.
Her mind couldn't wrap around the full potential of the ring in her hooves. This ring could make anything as long she stayed focused? Was here anything it couldn't do?
It scared AJ a little thinking about it, could anypony be trusted with this kinda power?
AJ grunted. That was what didn't matter! This ring was here and that was that, she wasn't gonna just put it in a box somewhere and pretend it didn't exist!
Some might have called AJ a silly pony for that, but she didn't care!
And she was still a farmer! And she still had an orchard to buck! Maybe it was time to see what else this little ring could do.
++++
The cutie mark cruesauders were no strangers to danger, both their own invention or otherwise: Nightmare Moon, the cockatrice, the squid in Ponyville Lake, and being at ground zero of Discord's escape (which some still blamed the fillies of) and the flash point of nothing less than the changelings invasion itself!(It was sad how many now forgot the poor fillies had even been there). The CMC were well versed in fearing for their lives, and with the exception swimming very fast away from the squid, the fillies had contributed nothing to getting out of danger.
In their quest to discover their destinies, the young foals had their nose rubbed in how little control over their destinies they had.
Now their carefully put together flying machine (if used with substandard parts) was a pile of scraps, and the three had almost died.
You could argue that the dangers the fillies face before were distant dangers, the Nightmare Moon's endless night was a slow death, Discord didn't 'intentionally' kill ponies, just made them wish they were dead, he just didn't care if they were caught in his game's cross fire, the changelings wanted to wrap up and harvest all of Equestria's love leaving emotionless husks in their wake, the cockatrice they'd have been stuck waiting, and waiting, until somepony happened to find them, all that time waiting. The squid the fillies didn't want to think about that one.
Not to mention their many experiments with cutie marks (like lion taming) they had kept from their families least they be grounded for life (on the bright side, they had all gotten very good at first aid and sneaking in and out of their homes).
But there had been no monster to run away from this time, no power-mad villain, only the fillies looking down at the ground, struggling to hold onto life for a moment longer with their death waiting for them down below, and Applejack having to run in and save their lives.
And it turned into a dream come true as the three fillies went from about to die to being given the ride of their lives by their savior.
As it was, Applejack was too happy that her little sister was alive and too bewildered by the arrival of the magic ring to give her a proper verbal smack down and smacking for her part in their reckless stunt.
Big Mac was too relieved that his sisters were alive to give Applebloom a tongue lashing or punishment.
Granny Smith regarded the girls.
"On the one hoof, ya girls are all safe and sound, Applejack is fine, an' the barn is back together no worse for ware."
"No harm no foul?" Sweetie Belle meekly offered. A look silenced her.
"On the other hoof, if it hadn't been for that crazy magic green whozits, Applejack tells me the best she coulda hope for was usin' herself as a shield so she'd bite the big one instead you youngin's!"
All three fillies shrunk at her words.
"It's bad enough when yer shanadagins risk yer own necks, but this time ya coulda killed Applejack too."
Maybe that hadn't been the right things to tell these foals, but Granny Smith had lived through the loss of her husband and her son and daughter in law, she wasn't eager to outlive her grandfoals too.
Tears filled Applebloom's eyes, the others whimpered. Granny Smith sighed. "Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, it ain't mah place ta tell ya so, but Applebloom . . . Don't ya go thinkin' yer immortal or somethin'. Ah get the whole 'want yer cutie mark' business, but ya should have an adult with ya when ya try these sorta stunts!"
The CMC looked at each other. THey knew they weren't in a position to argue. And from the look on Appleblom's face, she didn't feel like plea bargaining.
Inside Sweetie knew they'd pay lip service to Granny Smith's condition, but as soon as they had another ambitious enough idea, they knew their elders wouldn't approve of, they'd 'forget' to tell them…
BUt one look at the others, and herself, she knew that wouldn't be for a long long time.
"You youngin's are lucky Applejack said she wants a bit ta figure out that them ring before showin' it ta everypony, so remeber she wants ya not ta go blabbin' that ring to everypony."
"Cutie Mark Crusader secret keepers." The foals nodded, being enough hot water as is. They hadn't been told to 'lie' so this didn't trigger anything that AJ had hammered into Applebloom over the years (and forgot about when it might mangle with Crusading, and Gabby Gums sadly proved).
"Now Applejack's new magic ring is doin' a week's worth of choirs, hers and Mac's and yours, in a day, even with fixin' the barn, and after what happened, Ah ain't gonna ask ya ta do more today Applebloom, ya and yer friends just recover from what happened, but Ah beg ya, don't do anymore crazy stunts today ya hear?"
Applebloom bit her tongue, least she mention to her grandmother how she had ventured into the Everfree Forest as a filly in the desperate hope of finding SOMETHING edible and had nearly gotten eaten alive by Timberwolves but had found the legendary zap apples. Not to mention how all of Applebloom's family had spoken of how Granny Smith had been nothing sort of a dare devil in her younger days. 'And a lot more pretty.' Scootaloo had once said without thinking that had earned her a kick from Applebloom.
"Ah . . . Ah don't wanna lose ya either, and Ah know yer families don't wanna lose ya either." 'Either', that was all Granny Smith needed to say, and it made Applebloom think of the parents she didn't even remember, and would never get to know. Sweetie Belle was equally cowed. Scootaloo suppressed an indignant snort at the mention of family, of which she was lacking.
The fillies silently left the farm house, and indeed, Applejack's ring was making short work of farm choirs that would have taken a good part of the day before. It left the foals in awe.
"Just imaging all the Crusauding we could do with one of those, I wonder if the wizard who made it has more," Scootaloo said, seeing Applejack flying.
"We'd need three to share," Applebloom pointed out.
"Oh right," Scootaloo admitted.
"Girls," Sweetie Belle said reluctantly, looking at her hooves, "I… I don't think that I feel like Crusading for a while."
"Oh you want to rest up for a few minutes?" Scootaloo asked. Applebloom kicked her, she kicked back, Sweetie Belle broke the cycle.
"No I mean . . . I don't know how long, just, today, tomorrow, this week, I just don't want to do anymore Crusading for a while. After what . . . after what almost happened. I wanna break. I'm tired."
The two foals stared at the unicorn, Sweetie shrank under their gaze, she dreaded what would come next, she folded her ears against her head and braced herself and- Applebloom a leg around her shoulder.
"Shucks Sweetie Belle, all ya had to do was say so."
Scootaloo mimicked Applebloom, "Yeah. It's not like we need to Crusade to hang out."
"Well, I kinda also wanted to spend time with Rarity, oh and mom and dad." Sweetie didn't want to admit who had been her caretaker more than her parents had been.
"Sweetie, Ah understand, it's not like we're glued at the hip." Applebloom said, "We spend time with our families too." Scootaloo said nothing. "Look. Remember when Ah went nuts over not havin' mah cutie mark and gave mahself the cutie pox? I gotcha."
"Then . . . you're not angry? You're not upset? You understand?"
"I wouldn't say not upset," Scootaloo said, "But we're not gonna be ticked off at ya after something like that! I was gonna want to cut back on things, well, maybe, just a little. But we're not leaving ya because you're tired."
"Yeah, ya girls are mah friends and Ah ain't ever leavin' ya!"
"Dash says be loyal to your friends and that's what I'm going to be!"
The non-winged fillies said nothing, Scootaloo thought about Rainbow Dash the way Rainbow Dash thought about the Wonderbolt. Some ponies joked how how many times a minute the word would random pop up in Rainbow's mind if they cast a mind reading spell.
"If you don't feel like Crusading," Applebloom said, "Then we don't either. So . . . Anypony feel like ice-cream after the whole . . . almost . . . . almost dyin'? Then flyin' above the clouds?"
Ice cream sounded good. Then big long hugs with their big sisters.
+++
'Slacker.' 'Slacker.' 'Slacker.' 'Slacker.' 'Slacker.' Rainbow heard other pegasi call her that behind her back. And it was all a big fat lie. Did they think Rainbow Dash got this job due to family connections or something? She might have been a flight school drop out, but that didn't make her incompetent at her job. Mayor Mare wouldn't have let her hold this job if Rainbow Dash wasn't good at it.
She had cleared the skies in ten seconds flat before and she could it again no problem. It simply meant she had plenty of time to rest afterwards. Her job wasn't easy, she just made it look easy.
Part of her team, Raindrops really thought that Rainbow had her job 'just cause', and didn't bloody trust the Element of Loyalty herself to 'take care of it' when she Pinkie Pie promised she WOULD! UGH!
That mare gave her a headache, it was like she was looking for an -excuse- to get angry with her every chance she got.
Well, she had finished setting up today weather early, as normal, and was now going through her mail. Say what you would about Derpy, (and Rainbow Dash had a LOT to say whenever Ditzy Doo had to put in her mandatory weather team time, much to Rainbow's rising medical bills) the ditzy pegasus was a force of nature when it came to delivering the mail. She had even protected her saddle bag and mail boxes from the parasprite invasion.
And RD saw the letter with the Wonderbolt's mark . . . her breathing swallow, her mouth dry, her heart racing, her hooves sweaty, she slowly opened it . . .
'Miss Rainbow Dash, on behalf of the Wonderbolts blah blah blah, yada yada yada . . . you are now officially registered for this year's Wonderbolt Academy!" RD's heart skipped a beat. "Should you pass, you will be eligible to take the entrance examine for the Reserve Wonderbolts!!! YES YES YES YES!!!!!'
It might not have been for another six months about, but Wonderbolt Academy. YES!!!! One more step to becoming a Wonderbolt! It was becoming a reality! It wasn't just a pipe dream! And there was no way in Tartarus that Raindrop could just say she didn't earn this! She knew she wouldn't be getting special treatment while there and she didn't want any! She'd prove that she was made of the right stuff!
Rainbow Dash laughed and did indoor cart-wheels, and did a bro-hoof with Tank. Yes yes yes! Everything was looking bright! Let the next Discord or Chrysalis or Nightmare Moon come! She and her friends would kick their butts! No way any villain was going to ruin this!
Her dreams would come true, she just knew it.
++++
Dead Ringer, and Monster Bait, and Weekly Victim, were a trio of rowdy teenage ponies on a simple camping trip taking an unauthorized day off from school because they felt like it.
Dead Ringer was certain he'd get into any acting school he wanted at this point, the earth pony had passed as a unicorn, a pegasus, and an Alicorn on many a social occasion.
Monster Bait wandered off on her own unattended hoping to catch sight of a Manticore or the Sass Squash. Even if she was a pegasus she couldn't fly all that well and had a habit of twisting her hoof whenever she tried to run and Dead Ringer had noted how a buffalo in bells could sneak up on her.
Weekly Victim had decided to take a make-shift shower using her magic and had told Dead-Ringer no peak as she washed herself in the lake where a dangerous pony was said to have drowned decades ago.
Dead-Ringer, having a trip on very two very pretty mares, felt like singing as he wanted.
"Just hand me the crown!
My life will never cut down!
My life is so perfect!
I'm sure I can work it!
I'm on my way to the acting circuit!
I'll be wearing the circlet!
I'm on the rise!
I've got my eyes on the prize!
So many love to slap on a however!
They think they're so clever!
I'm gonna live on forever!"
Five minutes later, Weekly Victim was scrubbing her bull-eye cutie mark when an equine monster with a face of rotted flesh jumped out of the water and snarled at Weekly Victim. She screamed and slapped it.
"Ringer! Take that mask off!"
"Sorry." He took off the cheap rubber mask.
"How dare you peak on a mare washing!"
"You don't wear anything anyway."
She slap him again.
Several hours later Monster Bait walked back into camp.
"How'd it go?" Dead-Ringer asked.
"I just wandered aimlessly for an hour or two completely out of sight of our camp, and ran into the Sass Squash! He says it's been forever since he got new visitors! Did you know he's personal friends with Granny Smith?"
"No way." Weekly Victim said.
"Yes way!"
The teens finished their camping trip without incident, packed up, and headed home. Several hours later, the ponies safe at home, a black ring dive into the lake, resurrecting the corpse of Monster-Bait's great-great-grandfather, Fish Bait. After a successful competitive fishing career he had been buried at the bottom of the lake at his last will instructed. Rumors giving rise to the myth of the drowned psychotic pony.
The zombie black lantern first went to the dark, looming forest, then at the vulnerable, easily ambush-prone camp site, and found no pony.
A good deal of time later Commander Hurricane's undead voice echoed through the black ring at the zombie.
"yoU iDiOT, WhY ArE, YoU skuLKing aRoUNd?! JuSt FlY!"
"oOpS," Said the zombie before using its power ring to take off in search of living ponies to terrify. In the exact opposite direction that the rowdy teens had gone.
+++
"Lyra, are you sure it's safe to camp out in these woods?" Bon Bon asked her best friend. Their ward, Tootsie Flute, happy skipped behind them, reading a comic book.
"Don't worry so much Bonny, what's the worst that could happen?"
"We're not looking for big-hoof again are we?"
"Of course not. Big-hoof is a myth."
Bon Bon breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now The Sass Squash on the other hoof-"
Tootsie giggled and Bon Bon groaned.
+++
Applejack was pretty sure that her new magic ring hadn't given her super senses, but there was just so bucking little she knew about it, and every question she asked only gave her a million other questions.
This ring did save her life and that of her little sister and friends, there were no two ways about that. The ring had said in plain Equestria that it belonged to her, no if, ands, or buts, she was its master. Applejack knew nothing in life was free. Pinkie Pie she knew would say presents were free, but it still cost something to the giver.
So if this ring was a gift, who was it from? The ring said it had been given to her because she had shown immense courage. But Applejack knew she, and her friends had done that plenty of times before, Fluttershy had overcome her bucking PHOBIA of dragons to Stare one into submission to protect her friends. Why hadn't the ring come to Fluttershy then? Or to Twilight Sparkle's brother? Applejack was proud of herself, but she wasn't so arrogant as to think she was the bravest pony in all of Equestria.
She had made sure not to use the ring when Rainbow Dash came by for rain over the farm. Applejack wasn't dumb, well, Twilight, Rarity, and well, a lot of ponies said she was ignorant, and some formal education wouldn't kill her. Applejack laughed and scoffed at such notions . . . then again . . . on the inside, that might have been why Applebloom on the other hoof was getting proper schooling unlike her big sister.
The point was, Applejack knew she couldn't hide the ring forever, she just wanted time to get a grip on what she had before she showed it off to everypony, she wasn't an attention grabber like Rainbow Dash.
So far, the only real limit she could figure out to this thing was what she could think of, and that she had to focus to keep it together. That it was always colored green, but unlike Rarity she wasn't allergic to the color. What did that mare have against green anyway?
Deciding to practice a little on something challenging, she tried to picture a telescope, how did those things work again? Long tube with glass on both ends right? Make what you're looking at bigger. She just needed to picture it in her mind, she wasn't a metal smith but she could still create the braces that saved the barn, so she could do this right? Right!
Come on, come on . . .
"Help!"
Applejack's ears perked up.
"Help me!"
AJ saw it . . . beyond Sweet Apple Acre . . . a foal in the river, caught in the strong rapids. There was no waterfall waiting for her . . . but there were plenty of deadly sharp rocks ready to shatter bones awaiting the pony.
- Night Of Fate, Kingdom hearts -
Applejack didn't even think about it, she just rose into the air and flew towards the river. A little dot becoming larger in her vision and she could make out that it was a unicorn filly . . .
And she saw Bon Bon and Lyra Heartstring racing along side her, abandoned camping gear some ways behind them. Lyra trying to grasp the filly with her magic, but missing, or the currents were too strong.
"TOOTSIE FLUTE!" Lyra called out.
"Don't worry! Don't panic!" Bon Bon called out.
AJ didn't think about her hat vanished from her costume, or how a mask appeared over her face. The ring, (or perhaps what dwelled within it), was quite familiar with Green Lanterns who didn't want their identities public so as to keep their private lives private.
All AJ thought about was flying as fast the ring would let her, and zooming towards the helpless foal, either too young or too panicked to use her own magic.
It was a sad fact of life, many non-unicorns mistook their horns for a built-in magic wand, something they could just 'command' to do what they wanted, not something that took as much effort and practice to use a pegasi' wings or an Earth Pony's legs.
And all that filled Tootsie's mind right now as panic.
'Faster! Faster dangit! Faster!' Applejack thought as she zoomed towards the couple.
The masked pony swooped down, creating a wake in the water as she sped by. She used the first useful thing that came to mind, a ladle, and imagined it giant size, an.
Lyra and Bon Bon were in awe as the green and black cladded pony created a giant green serving spoon out of thin air, and scooped up Tootsie before she could be smashed against the rocks.
"You okay?" Asked the masked mare of the filly, who almost in shock, but nodded at the pony who had just saved her life.
The green glowing pony floated over the river, carrying the filly in the ladle, until they were over the sand of the river bank and the two adult mares. She gently lowered the ladle and carefully deposited the foal in front of the pair.
"Oh Toostie!" Bon Bon hugged the filly, "You're okay! Tell me you're okay!"
"I-I'm okay." She nuzzled Bon Bon, who nuzzled back her foster foal back along with Lyra.
"T-thank you!" Bon Bon said. "THANK YOU! THAN YOU!"
"Are you friends with Mare Do Well?" Tootsie asked the green mare.
The mask pony wasn't sure how to answer that.
"Who are you?" Lyra Heartstrings asked.
"Huh? Ya know who-" AJ finally noticed the mask on her face and her missing hat, that hat as her pa's (even if she had to win it BACK once in a bobbing for apples contest) as much as Applebloom's row was their ma's. They had a million replacements, but that was besides the point. WAS IT her mask now?
AJ realized the ponies were still looking at her. She thought for a second.
"Ah, I guess you can call me, Green Lantern."
AJ flew off a moment later.
"THANK YOU GREEN LANTERN!" Tootsie shouted.
+++
-A Few Days Later-
Twilight magically drew a picture of Green Lantern on the library's chalk board.
"Alright," Twilight said, "Let's review. We know what Ponyville's new hero, due to the shape and size of her costume, and lack of wings and horn, is an Earth Pony mare."
"That only narrow it down to what, half of Ponyville?" AJ said.
"Fifty fifty point two percent actually." Twilight corrected.
"I just hope this one stays in business long enough for me to finish their auto biography."
"Spike dear, if you don't write it yourself, it is not technically an auto-biography," Rarity said looking at as much at the dragon and as the blue pegasus who had implanted that factoid into his head. Factoid itself in fact meaning something assumed to be true, but not necessary true, not a little bit of trivia, as ironically assumed.
"Okay," RD asked flying into the center of the room, "I gotta know, am I acting like Trixie again? Cause I thought I had a good idea now on what was over the line."
Applejack groaned and put her face in her hooves, "Rainbow that doesn't even make sense. We dressed up as Mare Do Well as a safety net for when your grandstanding made you fumble the ball, not to steal your thunder. And I gotta ask, how many of the stuffed she helped with where ya even near?"
"Uh," Fluttershy said, "Do we REALLY NEED to know who it is? I mean, they're helping ponies, and they aren't asking anything in return, maybe we should just let them have their privacy?"
Still smiling Pinkie Pie got in 'Shy's face, her words beating down on her, her eyes actually POKING into Fluttershy's somehow with her last words. "OH! OH! Is it YOU Fluttershy? Is that why you asked that? Huh?! HUH!? HUH?!"
Fluttershy curled up into a ball and whimpered hiding behind her mane, "N-no it isn't-"
"Pinkie Pie dear, please, let's not go accusing random ponies." Rarity said pushing the pink mare back and comforting the yellow pegasus. "I must say she does have a point. While it is an enticing mystery to be sure, I don't think it's something that absolutely MUST be solved."
"Ooooh, Rarity, does that mean you're the Green Lantern?"
"No I'm not!"
"Does that mean you know who-"
"NO I don't Pinkie Pie, please stop."
"I say we all do a Pinkie Pie swear right now that say we're not the Green Lantern!" Pinkie Pie said excited at the new game.
"Pinkie Pie I don't think there's any need for that."
"Oh Twilight, I bet that means that you're-"
"NO! Pinkie Pie! I'm NOT The Green Lantern! Cross My Heart Hope To Fly Stick a Cupcake In My Eye! And you are NOT to accuse or ask or otherwise inquire or presume anypony else, or anyDRAGON here is Green Lantern."
"Oh, okay," Pinkie Pie slowly turned her head towards Owlowcious and Peewee.
"Or owls, or phoenixes."
"Drat."
"Besides," Rainbow Dash said looking up from a comic book, "That's not how it works. We need another super hero, yours truly, to wait until there's a big super villain in town, and who Green Lantern fights, but the first time gets really beaten up, and I take Green Lantern back to my home to get her cleaned up and healed, and learn her secret identity and her secret origin as she wonders if she should give up being Green Lantern, before she faces the super villain a second time, and this time whops their flanks!"
Pinkie Pie poke Rainbow, "HEY! No stepping on my territory!"
"Sorry."
Nopony noticed AJ swallowing harding.
"At least we know her actions so far have all been good." Rarity said, "Helping round up those panicking monsters from Everfree."
"Rarity it's not nice to call-"
"Fluttershy, not now. She rescued that pony trapped at the bottom of the well, fought off that sky pirate, arrested Sportsmare, and she stopped that insane mare with the frosting gun."
AJ sighed, it had been a long week.
Pinkie Pie said, "Well, she did have a reason to be upset since last time we saw her Applejack accidentally took her place during a cooking contest under her name."
"Can we not talk about that please?" AJ asked.
"Ookay, dookey, lookey!"
The discussion went on for an hour or so more before the friends all had somewhere they needed to be. Applejack, normally the most eager to get back to tending her farm and being with her family, was uncharacteristically the last one in the room besides Twilight and Spike.
"Hey Spike, Ah'm still a little hungry, could ya make some nachos? Lots and lots of 'em? Ah'd like to bring some ta mah family too."
"Huh? Oh! Sure! Just wait here!" Spike went into the kitchen.
AJ looked around, Peewee and Owlowcious were both sleeping, she closed the drapes and locked the door much to Twilight Sparkle's confusion. Much more when she asked if they could speak privately in Twilight's room.
"Uh, Applejack, are you feeling-"
"Twiley, can ya promise not ta tell what Ah'm about ta show ya."
"Well, it's kind of strange to-"
"Please?"
Twilight promised.
The a minute later the room was filled with a green flash as Applejack summoned her costume.
Twilight Sparkle's jaw hit the floor.
(There! Done! Your turn! *Falls Over* YOU TAKE OVER!)
(I wanted to throw in a pony who could make his cutie mark come to life, and a unicorn version of the Invisible Destroyer, but I was worried I was over doing it on the pony parody versions of early age Green Lantern villains as is).
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Haha!
I love the the parody of monster films! great job on that!
And good job overall!
And nice parody villains!
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I love unmasking scenes!
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What did you like about it?
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Well, AJ made sure to only show Twilight. (Though we know it doesn't last long.)
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So do I, when they're well done and make sense in the story as this did. As compared to, say, Spidey and Civil War.
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Hopefully I gave a good reason for AJ TO keep it secret.
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Forgot to add, I like how Granny dealt with the CMC after their near fatal stunt, and the bit with AJ saving Bon Bon and Lyra's foal.
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"Forgot to add, I like how Granny dealt with the CMC after their near fatal stunt,"
It was hard. And I'm still not sure I avoided any fridge logic or that it flowed naturally.
"and the bit with AJ saving Bon Bon and Lyra's foal."
That wasn't even planned out at first. But I realized it fit so perfectly!
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It was hard. And I'm still not sure I avoided any fridge logic or that it flowed naturally.
I'd say it worked very well.
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Oh I love this. Great new addition to the story, showing what Green Lantern AJ's life was like pre-Black Lanterns.
And this part here, you weren't even bothering with subtlety, were you? 
Dead Ringer was certain he'd get into any acting school he wanted at this point, the earth pony had passed as a unicorn, a pegasus, and an Alicorn on many a social occasion.
Monster Bait wandered off on her own unattended hoping to catch sight of a Manticore or the Sass Squash. Even if she was a pegasus she couldn't fly all that well and had a habit of twisting her hoof whenever she tried to run and Dead Ringer had noted how a buffalo in bells could sneak up on her.
Weekly Victim had decided to take a make-shift shower using her magic and had told Dead-Ringer no peak as she washed herself in the lake where a dangerous pony was said to have drowned decades ago.
And then you surprise us by having them get away alive and in one piece. Hah!
The teens finished their camping trip without incident, packed up, and headed home. Several hours later, the ponies safe at home, a black ring dive into the lake, resurrecting the corpse of Monster-Bait's great-great-grandfather, Fish Bait. After a successful competitive fishing career he had been buried at the bottom of the lake at his last will instructed. Rumors giving rise to the myth of the drowned psychotic pony.
The zombie black lantern first went to the dark, looming forest, then at the vulnerable, easily ambush-prone camp site, and found no pony.
A good deal of time later Commander Hurricane's undead voice echoed through the black ring at the zombie.
"yoU iDiOT, WhY ArE, YoU skuLKing aRoUNd?! JuSt FlY!"
"oOpS," Said the zombie before using its power ring to take off in search of living ponies to terrify. In the exact opposite direction that the rowdy teens had gone.
Poor guy, he needs to work on his timing. Jason and Freddy would be shaking their heads in shame.
"Fluttershy, not now. She rescued that pony trapped at the bottom of the well, fought off that sky pirate, arrested Sportsmare, and she stopped that insane mare with the frosting gun."
AJ sighed, it had been a long week.
Pinkie Pie said, "Well, she did have a reason to be upset since last time we saw her Applejack accidentally took her place during a cooking contest under her name."
"Can we not talk about that please?" AJ asked.
Early GL villains? I assume the one with the 'frosting gun' was your take on Captain Cold? (Who was a Flash villain, but there probably was a GL ice-villain). Hmm, now I wonder if GL-AJ ever ran into pony versions of Solomane Grundy and Vandal Savage (no, wait, Celestia handled him on that date).
Again, I love this one.
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"Poor guy, he needs to work on his timing. Jason and Freddy would be shaking their heads in shame."
Really, horror stories (all stories, but horror stories need an extra helping) of everything being at the right time and the right place. Ever since I read the wiki entries on Cabin In the Woods, I couldn't help but think how many horror movies REQUIRE the victims to be in just the right place along with the killer. What happens when they get their bus schedules mixed up?
" now I wonder if GL-AJ ever ran into pony versions of Solomane Grundy and Vandal Savage (no, wait, Celestia handled him on that date). "
There's the Sunnytowners, the zombies of the Everfree Forest, who Twilight Sparkle stubbornly refuses to admit exist.
"And this part here, you weren't even bothering with subtlety, were you? "
Many horror movies have who is gonna die in what way practically painted on their back with giant bulls eyes.
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Really, horror stories (all stories, but horror stories need an extra helping) of everything being at the right time and the right place. Ever since I read the wiki entries on Cabin In the Woods, I couldn't help but think how many horror movies REQUIRE the victims to be in just the right place along with the killer. What happens when they get their bus schedules mixed up?
Well, this is kind of a requirement unless you want to do a two hour movie about the killer playing tiddlywinks or the like.
" now I wonder if GL-AJ ever ran into pony versions of Solomane Grundy and Vandal Savage (no, wait, Celestia handled him on that date). "
There's the Sunnytowners, the zombies of the Everfree Forest, who Twilight Sparkle stubbornly refuses to admit exist.
Okay, but Grundy is pretty powerful compared to the Sunnytowners. Though they have that 'death touch/life drain' which he lacks, so I guess it evens out.
"And this part here, you weren't even bothering with subtlety, were you? "
Many horror movies have who is gonna die in what way practically painted on their back with giant bulls eyes.
The BAD ones, yes.
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"Well, this is kind of a requirement unless you want to do a two hour movie about the killer playing tiddlywinks or the like."
That might almost be fun.
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Maybe, but when you go to a horror movie you expect to see, well, horrible things happening.
Though given the right kind of cast and crew it could work.
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People love factured fairy tales, why not freactured horror movies?
Then again, horror movies always go through a 'thesis, deconstruction, parody, reconstruction' cycle.
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