Applejack of the Green Lanterns: Rage in Equestria

The thoughts that flitted through AJ’s mind where short and blunt, as was the case for many things involving the farm pony. As her leg shot out at the next tree in the line, her mind drifted further away from the task at hoof. The farm was finishing harvest time as well as it always did, despite their loss. Applejack’s heart barely twinged as she realized that even a pony down, the Apples were still kicking. It had been about two months since the matriarch of the Apple clan had passed, and things were settling down to normalcy, or as normal as life ever got in Ponyville.

Applejack wiped her brow as the last apple fell into her buckets, and with a practiced hoof, the orange pony hauled the three full containers up onto her cart. Applejack latched herself to the cart and heaved forward, her strong chest muscles straining against the rough leather straps as her legs pushed forward. An observer might ask why she bothered when she could easily lift the entire thing up with her Green Lantern ring. The answer was simple, really; she liked it. Physical labor was as calming a thing as she could think of, and Applejack certainly needed a calming activity these days.

One of the reasons for that was walking up the path now. Applejack looked at her ring, bringing up the time display. Four o’clock, right about the time Apple Bloom came home from school. And there she was, coming up the path to the farm house. As Applejack pulled the cart towards the barn, she took a detour to pull up next to her little sister. “Howdy, Apple Bloom. How was school today?”

Apple Bloom looked up to her sister and smiled, something that was far too rare these days. “It was nice, sis. Scootaloo let me play on her scooter, when she usta tell me would never, ever happen. And look what Sweetie Belle made me!” she said, taking out a piece of paper with jewels glued haphazardly to it. “Rarity got real mad when she found out, but Sweetie said if it made me happy, it was worth it. Me and the girls were thinkin’ ah goin’ crusadin’ this afternoon, can Ah go?”

Applejack couldn’t help but smile and ruffle the little foal’s mane with a hoof. “Sure can, sugarcube. Jus’ be back ‘fore supper, Ah’m makin’ apple fritters.” Apple Bloom grinned and bolted into the house, no doubt after her cape. Apple Bloom was handling their loss with a resilience that surprised Applejack. Though she wasn’t sure why she was so surprised, that filly was tough. She was also glad to hear that her little friends were being so nice to her. It was good to see Apple Bloom regaining her happy smile. Celestia knew it was needed around here.

As Applejack pushed the door open to the barn, she was greeted with the sight of her big brother up in the loft, just kind of staring off into space. The stallion was doing this more and more often, she noticed. It wasn’t uncommon, as the large pony had always been a bit introspective. But as Applejack looked at him, she saw the pained expression on his face. This wasn’t introspection, this was brooding, and THAT was unusual.

“Hey, Big Mac,” said Applejack gently. “You wanna give me a hand with these baskets?” The crimson stallion didn’t say a word, but climbed down the ladder and began hoisting the apples off the cart. His face was still set in a locked grimace, and he was treating the baskets with little of the care he normally showed. “Big Mac, are you alright? Ya don’t seem yerself…”

“Ah’m fine, AJ,” he said tersely, slamming a basket down onto the ground. “Don’t ask me again.” Applejack winced at the big pony’s tone, but did as she was asked. As the final basket was taken off the cart, Big Mac started out of the barn. “Ah’m goin’ to the bar, Ah’ll be back late,” he grunted, not bothering to close the door on his way out. Applejack was just about to go with him when her ring began to flash. Ugh, why now? she thought before answering it. “This is Green Lantern Applejack, Sector 236.”

An image of one of the Guardians hovered over her ring. “Applejack of Equestria, this is Ganthet of the Guardians. How are you faring? I trust you have put your loved one’s affairs in order?”

AJ, sighed a bit, but nodded. “Yessir, Granny’s insurance and will have been settled. Mostly life’s been getting’ back ta normal.”

The Guardian smiled, something AJ had half believed they couldn’t do. “I am glad to hear it, Applejack.” His smile faded as he continued; “Unfortunately, I am afraid that you are needed once again. I am sorry to intrude upon the grieving period we granted you, but-“

“No, sir, it’s alright,” she said, forming her uniform around her body. “Ah think it’s about time Ah got back to it, anyway,” she said.

Again, Ganthet smiled. “Your resilience does you credit, Applejack. You will be discussing our jurisdiction involving the case of the Sinestro Corpsman Gilda of the Griffin Kingdom. You must convince the leaders of your planet to relinquish the captive peacefully. Assure them that she will pay for her crimes, but that her actions and the nature of how they were committed warrant action from the Green Lantern Corps. Good luck, Green Lantern Applejack. When custody is ours, simply contact Green Lantern Medphyll to transport her. Guardian out,” he said, before the image faded.

Applejack groaned a bit, realizing that this meant showing the Princesses her power ring. She supposed it was inevitable; you didn’t go around swinging objects made of green energy without turning a few heads. But it also meant a lot of questions, not all of which she was sure she had an answer to. But, the Guardians were counting on her, and with that thought in mind, Applejack pushed off the ground and into the air, making a beeline for Canterlot.

Celestia sat on her throne, looking down at the griffin standing before her. The pure white alicorn ruffled her wings in agitation, allowing the pompous little bird have his say. He was a rather large specimen, covered in grey feathers and fur, with a large patch of fur missing from his back from a jagged scar. His face was similarly covered in healed-over scar tissue, relics from some bygone battle. He wore a formal officer’s uniform, covered in assorted medals and commendations. The hat upon his head bore five stars, displaying his rank to anyone who looked at him. Slung across his shoulder, in between his wings, was an elegant and deadly looking sword.

“Your Highness, I must protest to your course of action. The traitor Gilda has been MIA for over three years, and as such is considered a deserter. She must be tried in the Griffin Kingdom. She is our responsibility, and we will deal with her.”

“And I say again, General Silverback,” said Celestia, “The griffin in question committed unspeakable crimes against Equestria. She has taken over three hundred lives, traumatized many more, caused millions of bits worth of damage, and spread panic and fear all over the country.”

“Perhaps, but Gilda is not a citizen of Equestria. As such, you have no claim to her.”

Luna spoke up then. “Like Tartarus we don’t! Gilda committed crimes against Equestrian citizens on Equestrian soil! To say nothing of the instrument of her rampage! Obvciously a weapon of incalculable power, not easily come across! My sister and I will not have this monster tried for such comparatively small crimes as desertion!”

The scarred griffin turned to look at Luna and sneered. “You speak of monsters, Luna, when you yourself were the reatest of them all not long ago?”

Luna stood from her throne, magical lightning crackling around her. “HOW DARE YOU!” she cried, bellowing her anger in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

“Calm yourself, Luna,” said her alabaster sibling, placing a hoof on her shoulder. As Luna calmed herself, Celestia turned to the Silverback. “That was over the line, General. I will not have you insult a member of the royal court, least of all my sister,” she said, spreading her wings in a truly intimidating fashion. “And my sister brings up many good points. The griffin called Gilda did much damage to this nation, and with a weapon we have never seen. How are we to know you did not send her here as a test of some great instrument of death?”

Silverback seemed to bristle at this. “You think the Griffin Kingdom ordered this attack?! As you have repeated over and over, this assault was unprovoked! You have no evidence to support such an accusation! And I have given documentation that Gilda has not been in the employ of the Kingdom’s government for three years! Your biased view of the griffins as warmongers makes me sick!”

“Biased?!” bellowed Celestia. “You act as if Equestria and the Griffin Kingdom have never been at odds! Remind me, GENERAL Silverback, who was it who lead the assault on our Eastern boarder ten years ago?!”

“You bring up ancient history!” growled Silverback.

“No, General, you did! I bring up wounds that are still healing!”

“Ah think that’s enough of that.”

This voice came not from the princesses on their thrones, nor the griffin general. It came from the orange earth pony mare standing in the doorway, wearing her Green Lantern uniform. She inclined her head to the two princesses and sank to one knee. “Yer Highnesses.”

All three creatures in the room stared at Applejack, all quite confused. “Fair Applejack?” asked Luna. “What are you doing here? My sister and I are in an important diplomatic meeting, I thought we had closed court for the day…”

“Ya did,” replied Applejack. “Once Ah explained the reason Ah was here, though, yer captain of the guard decided Ah should be here. Trust me, it’s important.”

Once Silverback recovered from the shock, he fumed, “What is this civilian doing here? You assured me that this meeting would be private!”

“Crossed Swords let you in?” Celestia asked, stunned. She recovered quickly and nodded. “Well, Applejack, why is it you came here?”

“Why are you entertaining this nonsense, is the better question!” yelled the griffin.

Celesta fixed the general with a piercing glare. “Crossed Swords is a highly competent soldier, whose opinion I trust. If he says that Applejack has a reason to be here, then she does. Go on, Applejack,” she said, turning to the farm pony.

Applejack nodded, and cleared her throat. “Mah name is Applejack Apple, Green Lantern of Sector 236. Basically, that means Ah look after this here part of space. The Green Lantern Corps is…” Applejack paused for a moment, trying to put it into words. “We’re kinda like police. Yer Highnesses, Mister Griffin, we ain’t alone in the universe. About three months ago, somethin’ crashed onta mah land, a creature named Seron Gruto. When he died, he passed this on to me.”

Applejack lifted up her hoof, showing them the ring on it. “It’s a Green Lantern power ring. We use it to fight evil all over the universe. Let me show ya.” Before the critical eye of the leaders in the room, who had so far been questioning Applejack’s sanity, Applejack produced a sword out of green energy. “Ah can’t really explain to yah how it works, but it does.”

Celestia shook her head a moment. “Applejack, while this is all fascinating, I fail to see how it pertains to ours and the general’s discussion. We were discussing the criminal, Gilda.”

“Ah know, yer Highness,” she said. “Ah was getting’ to that. Gilda was recruited to another Corps, called the Sinestro Corps,” she said, projecting an image of the Sinestro Corps insignia. “While Green Lantern rings’re power by willpower, Sinestro Corps rings’re powered by fear. They use ‘em to enforce their own kinda justice, tryin’ to keep the peace through the fear that they create. That’s why reports from survivors were all jumbled,” she explained. “Those ponies saw what they were most scared of. When Gilda came to Ponyville, she and Ah squared off. It weren’t easy, but Ah managed ta beat her. Ah have her ring right here,” she said, calling it out of the small pocket of space within her own ring.

The others in the room stood for a moment, jaws agape at the sheer amount of information the pony before them had just given them. It was Silverback who spoke first. “Celestia, this is ridiculous. Are we to sit here listening to these lies?”

Applejack glared at the General. “What’d you say to me?”

“You heard me, pony,” he said. “I can’t believe you thought this little charade of yours would work. Creatures from space? Intergalactic police officers? Weapons powered by will and fear? Who exactly do you think you’re kidding, miss?”

“Ah don’t lie, buster!” cried Applejack, squaring her hooves. “Ever hear ah the Element of Honesty? Yer lookin’ at her!”

“Never-the-less, that you would think this is something we would believe is baffling. Where is your proof? All I’ve seen so far are things that could be replicated very easily by pony magic.”

“Actually, General,” said Luna, her horn glowing, “I just cast a rather sophisticated scanning spell. According to it, there is no magic coming from Applejack or her artifact. However she managed to produce those images, it was not through any spell.”

“Ah told ya,” said the orange mare. “It’s really advanced technology.”

“Applejack, again, while this is fascinating, what does it have to do with Gilda?” asked Celestia.

Applejack’s expression darkened slightly. “Right, that. See, by joinin’ up with the Sinestro Corps, Gilda broke a whole heap of intergalactic laws. Mah bosses, the Guardians of the Universe, say she needs to be tried on Oa, by the Green Lantern Corps.”

The General balked. “Are you insane? Not only do you come here with outrageous stories about aliens and weapons, you now believe you have some claim to the traitor due to some fabricated laws?!”

“You call me a liar one more time, pal,” growled Applejack, “And I’ll buck you right through the damn wall!”

“Applejack! Contain yourself,” said Celestia, the demand sounding more like a request. Applejack growled slightly again, but nodded and took a breath. “You must admit, Applejack, this is quite a bit you are asking us to accept.”

“Which is why I am here,” said another voice. A starry, swirling portal opened up within the throne room, and a small blue creature floated out. It wore the robes of the Guardians, with the symbol of the Green Lanterns, on it, but her face had a horrific scar on it, as if she had been burned. “Greetings, Green Lantern Applejack.”

Applejack bowed quickly to the Guardian, then tilted her head. “Ma’am? What’re you doin’ here?”

“The Guardians thought you may have trouble convincing your leaders of the veracity of your claims,” the scarred alien said, “so I was sent to help explain.” She then turned to the two Princesses. “Greetings to you as well, Your Highnesses,” she said, bowing to them. “I am called Scar, of the Guardians of the Universe.”

Celestia and Luna, to their credit, Applejack thought, had the presence of mind to bow to her. “Greetings to you as well, Scar,” said Celestia, still sounding a bit shell-shocked. “I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Princess Luna. So, you can verify Applejack’s statements?”

“I can. We, the Guardians, assure you, the Sinestro Corpsman Applejack captured will pay for her crimes.”

“I see…” said Celestia. “And what crimes are you speaking of? Do you plan to put her on trial for all her crimes? Or will her victims’ families go unappeased?”

Scar shook her head slowly. “All her crimes, I assure you. The Green Lantern Corps takes this massacre very seriously. Normally we would turn over a criminal caught by a Lantern to the local government, but as the perpetrator was in possession of a Qwardian ring, she falls under our jurisdiction. I ask that you turn the prisoner over to the Corps, and I promise you she will face judgment for the lives she has taken.”

“Excuse me!” yelled General Silverback. Applejack jumped a bit; with Scar’s arrival, she had forgotten all about him. “But you are not the only one with claim to the traitor! She is a citizen of the Griffin Kingdom, and her desertion must be answered for!”

The Guardian turned to the blustering bird, her gaze like ice. “Are you so insistent that your wounded pride be healed that you forget the other victims? Is it worth it that three hundred innocent lives go unanswered for that you may sleep better at night?”

The General gulped. “I thought not,” said Scar. “What say you, Celestia?”

Celestia met the eyes of the alien. “You assure me she will face justice?”

“Absolutely.”

The alabaster pony looked to her dark sister, who simply nodded. “Very well, Scar. The prisoner Gilda will be handed over to your Green Lantern Corps. How soon can she be escorted?”

“As soon as possible,” replied Scar. “Green Lantern Applejack, please contact the retrieval team for extraction. Thank you for your cooperation, Your Highnesses.”

Silverback seemed to have the good sense to keep quiet after Scar’s tirade, but he was fuming internally. However, as Applejack spoke into her ring, he couldn’t help but speak up with a question. “And what is to be done about Gilda’s weapon? What will be done with it?”

“It will be brought to Oa and disposed of. The ring is too dangerous to be left in one piece,” answered Scar. “Thank you again, Your Highnesses. I leave Green Lantern Applejack to iron out the details of Gilda’s transfer.” And with that, the strange alien opened another portal and floated through it.

“This is Applejack, Green Lantern of Sector 236, callin’ Medphyll, Green lantern of Sector 1287, Applejack said into her ring. “Come in, Medphyll.”

From the center of her ring came the image of a rather lanky looking alien with a single eye in the middle of his forehead. His hair looked odd, also, looking more like grass than anything else. “I read you, Applejack. I take it that the prisoner is prepared for transport?”

“Not yet, but we should be set to go by the time ya get here. In any case, custody was given over without much of a problem. Ah’ll expect ya in about four hours.”

“Understood, Medphyll out,” said the projection, before it faded away. Applejack looked up from her ring, and came face to face with a scarred and livid griffin. He had a crazed look in his eyes, and his beak was bared in a savage scowl.
“How dare you! I will not have the honor of King Shardfeather’s army fouled by having a member tried by any but her countrymen! Especially not by some freak in a ridiculous costume!” The big soldier drew the sword on his back, revealing the battered but razor-sharp double-sided blade. He gripped it in both claws and brought it savagely down towards Applejack’s head.

Celestia gasped as the general swung his sword, and instantly tried to catch the blade in the grip of her telekinesis. However, she was shocked when her magic seemed to soak into the blade like water on soil, while the metal lit up with bright purple runes. Luckily, Applejack was just as fast, bringing up a slab of green energy to block the sword’s decent. The general seemed surprised; he had obviously expected the runes to work on Applejack’s energy as well. As Silverback reared back to deliver another blow, Applejack converted her shield into a long staff. The general gave a loud, shrieking cry before swinging once again at Applejack. The orange pony managed to block the savage strike, sparks flying from the point of contact. Silverback spun from the contact, bringing his weight to bear as he swung the blade around with all his might. Applejack willed a blade to emerge from the tip of her staff, turning it into a curved scythe, allowing the force of the strike to be better deflected as she brought the butt of the haft up to the griffin’s marred beak. The general squawked in pain before Applejack planted her scythe on the ground and used it to lift her up as she swing her hind hooves in a spinning kick to the other side of her opponent’s face.

As the big Griffin went down, several guard burst into the room, each one holding a spear in their hooves. Applejack allowed her construct to dissipate and backed away from her attacker, least she be confused for the instigating party. Luckily Celestia chimed in. “Guards, take General Silverback to a cell. I will deal with him another time.”

Applejack spared the pompous bird another dirty look as he was carted away, still shell-shocked from her assault “Thank ya kindly, Yer highness, If’n ya don’t mind me askin’, why was it yer spell didn’t work?”

The sun goddess frowned heavily. “Griffin runes, a particularly nasty invention. They act like sinks for magic, soaking in any used against them. They’re notoriously hard to use, but I should have known Silverback would have at least a few.”

Applejack whistled. “Well, looks like it didn’t work on my constructs, thank Celestia.” The sun monarch chuckled a bit at that remark, and Applejack blushed. “Beggin’ yer pardon, Ma’am.”

“Not at all, Applejack,” Celestia said. “I find the use of my name as an expletive quite endearing. Now, if I am not mistaken, we have a prisoner to prep for transport.”

The sun beat down hot on Canterlot as Applejack stood outside the castle. She was tapping her hoof idly, checking her ring for the time. It had taken just about three hours to prep Gilda for her trip, not aided by the fact that the griffin kicked and screamed the whole time. In the end, Applejack had to use her ring to restrain her, finally stuffing her inside an enchanted cage.

Applejack looked over at the cage, seeing Gilda through the bars. She had pretty much healed up from the beating Applejack had given her, but her face still looked wrong, like her bear was shorter. She was also quite disheveled, obviously from the scuffle to get her out here. She was flanked on either side by earth pony guards, each one wielding a large spear.

“Yer sure this here cage’ll hold her, right?” asked Applejack, looking up at the Princess.

“I am, indeed,” responded the Princess. “It was an early idea for holding Discord Luna and I came up with. It proved too weak to hold a creature of pure chaos, but effective against powerful unicorns. It is completely indestructible from the inside. Gilda will be unable to free herself. Unfortunately, I still have matters to deal with involving this… creature’s rampage, so if you’ll excuse me.” With that said, the Princess spread her wings and took off, heading for a tall tower of the castle.

Applejack watched her go, holding onto her hat to protect it from the wind caused by the Princess’s mighty wingbeats. That would have been the end of it, had said griffin not spoken up.

“Yeah, we’ll see.”

Applejack rolled her eyes, crossing her hooves and not even looking at Gilda. “Something wrong, Green Loser?” She didn’t rise to the bait, keeping her gaze determinately towards a bush. “Silent treatment, eh? Sinestro always talked about the Green Lanterns, how you used some stupid morality to justify how spineless you were. But you’re not spineless, I can tell. You hate me, don’t you?”

One of the guards bashed the side of the cage with the butt of his spear. “Quiet, prisoner!”

Gilda turned on him. “Was I talking to you, helmet head?! Then shut up!” she yelled, causing the guard to back up. Even without her ring, the intimidation the Sinestro Corps was famous for shone through. Her dull golden eyes turned back to Applejack. “Well, pony, do you? Wouldn’t blame you, seeing as I killed that old bag. You wanna know what it was like? How easy it was to snap her neck?”

As Applejack turned on Gilda, her face was twisted in a scowl. “You shut yer Celestia-damn beak.”

“Ha! There it is,” said Gilda, grinning wickedly. “There’s that hate. Don’t deny it, Applejack, it’s there. You Green Lanterns think you’re so much better than us, but deep down in places you don’t talk about in your lame little village, you’re the same. Why wait, loser? It wouldn’t take much. Just one little construct, and I’m dead.”

Applejack grunted, her teeth clenching. “Come on, you pussy, I’m unarmed and helpless, you won’t get another chance. Show me exactly how ‘moral’ you Green Lanterns are. I remember how you looked in the forest. You’ve got it in you, Applejack, that thing that makes you hard.” The skin on the orange pony’s forelegs hurt as the hooves clenched. “Come on, Applejack. A sword, a sickle, a nail, so many ways to take me out. I killed your granny, for Kingdom’s sake! Don’t you care?! And if you hadn’t stopped me, I’d have killed more of them! That big red one, the little one, and your friends! Even that traitor Rainbow Dash! Tartarus, ESPECIALLY her! So come on! Do it!”

The ring on Applejack’s hoof glowed brighter.

“Do it!”

Her right hoof clenched.

“DO IT!”

There was a huge blast of green light as Applejack thrust her ring forward and fired a blast like a cannon from her ring. A ball of green energy shot from her hoof, blowing past the cage and hitting a nearby tree. The deafening sound of the explosion whistled past her ears as the ball detonated, ripping the tree apart and leaving nothing behind but splinters. Applejack looked down at the griffin, who looked absolutely terrified. She obviously hadn’t expected her to lash out like that.

“Listen here, you damn coward,” said Applejack, sitting in her haunches so she could focus her smoldering gaze on Gilda. “Yer right, Ah do hate you. Ah never thought Ah’d ever say that about another livin’ creature, but congrats, yah made the list. But Ah’m not like you. And it ain’t cause Ah’m more moral, though that might be part of it. It’s cause when it comes down to it,” she said, placing a hoof on the cage, “Yeh just ain’t worth it. Killin’ yah wouldn’t bring back mah granny, or all them other ponies you killed, and it woudn’t make me feel no better. Ah hope yeh enjoy yer trip to Oa, cause it’s the last view yer gonna have fer a long while.”

The furious Lantern slammed the top of her cage, taking far too much satisfaction in the way the captive jumped. She saw the huge white wings of Celestia as the Solar Goddess touched down once again, gaping at the destroyed tree. “Applejack, what on Equestria happened here?”

“Sorry, Princess,” Applejack said, pulling her hat over her eyes. “Just a lapse in judgment. Feel free to send me the bill fer the tree. Now, if Ah’m not mistaken, Medphyll’s about to touch down,” she said, pointing to a green shimmer in the sky. “Let’s get this over with.”
_

Twilight frowned over her book, the words on the page confusing her more than they enlightened her. The book under her hooves, Legends of Early Civilizations, was indeed fascinating, but it could be a bit muddled. She supposed that it might be because early ponies had little to no written language. Any information on anything from that time was oral tradition, which was notoriously unreliable.

Spike walked into the room behind her, munching on a handful of gems. “Hey, Twilight,” he said casually, settling into his bed to enjoy his snack in comfort. “What’cha reading about?”

Twilight looked up from her tome, glad to give her eyes a break. “It’s a book of legends from olden pony times, before even the Princesses. I thought I might be able to find out more about this energy that Applejack and Gilda used.”

“It’s just magic, isn’t it?” asked Spike, flicking a gem into the air with his thumb and catching it in his mouth.

“No, see, I thought so too,” she said, “But if it was, how would Applejack, who’s an earth pony, be able to harness it like that? Their magic is passive in the extreme, making them stronger and hardier than other ponies. From what little data I could gather, both their rings were drawing off something else.”

“So how’s the book helping?”

“Well,” replied Twilight, “I found this creation myth. It’s different from the usual fair, very different. It talks about a great light, which is obviously Celestia, rising from the depths of the earth,” she said, bringing the book down so Spike could have a better look. There was a photo of a cave painting, depicting an indistinct shape with light coming from it, shining down on not only ponies, but griffins, dragons, zebras and other creatures. “But then, it says that the light was… broken. The literal translation is ‘shattered’, but modern scholars think this refers to Discord usurping Celestia’s throne. Where it differs from most legends is that when the light broke, it became seven more diminished lights, each a different color.”

“Ok,” said Spike, scratching his head, “that’s pretty cool and all, Twi, but what does it have to do with Applejack?”

“I’m glad you asked, Spike,” she said. “When the light shattered, the lights it created were the colors of the visible spectrum; violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Notice two familiar colors in there?”

Spike’s eyes widened. “Whoa.”

The purple unicorn nodded. “Exactly. This could just be a coincidence, but I have a funny feeling about it. I think I should-“

“Hold on, Twi- Bleh!”

Spike’s mouth spat green flame from his burp, and it coalesced into a physical shape, a long brown package with a note. As Spike bent over to recover, Twilight plucked the note off the wrapping paper and began to read.

Dear Twilight,

I have given you a task of great importance in Ponyville, but now I must ask another of you. One that may be even more important. Due to recent developments, I believe that Equestria can no longer be content with its defenses as they stand. Given this fact, and the fact that you have perhaps the keenest mind I have seen in a century, I am putting you in charge of an undertaking I am calling the Equestria Defense League. It will be your duty to, along with any equipment or specialists you require, develop defensive strategies and technologies not only for Equestria ,but for the entire planet. I know this is a tall order, but I would not ask you unless I thought you could do it. I have the utmost confidence in you. If you should need any equipment or materials, merely send me a letter. Be sure that you only use Spike to contact me in this way, however, as such information could prove disastrous in the wrong hooves. I ask that you memorize any further contacts between us and then destroy them.

Enclosed is the sword of the General of the Griffin Kingdom, General Grindal Silverback. It is an excellent example of griffin craftsmanship, and, more importantly, bears an intricate network of griffin runes. I believe this will be an excellent place to start, but you have control of where your research goes. Good luck, Twilight. I have the utmost confidence in you.

Yours truly,

HRM Princess Celestia.

Twilight didn’t have time to gawk at the letter long, as it began to disintegrate in her horn’s grip. She plopped down on her haunches, just sitting there for a moment. Celestia wanted her to… what?

“Twilight, you alright?” asked Spike, placing a claw on her shoulder.

The lavender researcher shook her head, and levitated a pair of glasses without lenses onto from her top desk drawer to the bridge of her nose. Spike’s face lost color in that moment; when Twilight pulled out the Brainy Specs, things had officially become serious.

“Come on, number one assistant,” said Twilight, hovering the package next to her. “We have work to do.