Showcase Presents: The Secret Origins of Green Lantern!
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all related characters belong to Hasbro. Green Lantern and all related characters belong to DC Comics.
This is a fic I am co-writing with another author, He Who See's(Check out his work on fanfiction.com, it's really good!). I'd say about 60% of this you could credit to me as I did the bulk of the writing and 40% to He Who See's as it was his overall idea and he did the editing.
Green Lantern Corps Theme
Youtube Video
The howling winds of the Frozen North were unlike any form of cold weather Twilight Sparkle had ever experienced. Sure, winter in Equestria wasn't exactly moderate by any definition of the word (she should know, considering the number of dictionaries she owned and had read in their entirety), but she couldn't for the life of her remember a time when she felt her bones as chilled to the marrow as they were at the present. With anair of amusement, she briefly wondered if the freezing temperatures racking her body were anything compared to what the pony she portrayed in the Annual Hearth's Warming Eve play in Canterlot had to endure.
It was fitting, she thought. Especially since, much like Clover the Clever, she too found herself in a cave in the middle of a fierce blizzard with a sense of impending doom hanging over her head.
Suddenly, she shivered. Not just from the temperature, but from the ghostly, pained moan that emanated from behind her. In her thoughts, she had nearly forgotten that she had company; though perhaps that wasn't the right word for it.
For you see, "company" would imply that she was in the presence of someone other than herself. Something which was hard for her to say when the other pony with her was her.
Well...her, expect about five years older from the looks of things. With an emerald colored ring on her horn. And an emerald domino mask. And a worn out green and white costume covering up everything below the neck with an emblem, in which a representation of the ring on her horn was surrounded by a white background, that was adorned on either side of her flank in place of her cutie mark. And with a plethora of cuts, scrapes, bruises, and some dried blood stains.
Putting a hoof to her face (and yelping in pain as she missed and poked her eye like she so often did when making Pinkie Pie promises), she mentally chastised herself for her absent minded, inconsiderate musings.
After all, she was just feeling chillier than normal. The other...her...was both cold AND looked like she had just tried to box-out a Minotaur and lost. Badly.
Slowly, she trotted over to herself (something she never thought she'd do when she woke up this morning) and asked, with expected sincerity, "Are you okay?"
She...Other Twilight, coughed up some red fluid that made Twilight cringe at the sight of it and stop in her tracks.
"Hehe. Sure," She laughed weakly, "I've never felt more...recherche."
Twilight blinked in a manner Owlicious would have been proud of.
"Are...you sure? I mean...nothing's broken...is it?" She asked, uncertainly.
"Battered, bruised, and bloodied, but I don't think anything's damaged that badly."
To say that Other Twilight's and Twilight's mood changed drastically when the former then attempted to walk would have been an understatement.
"Ah ow oh!" Her other self screamed, falling back onto her side, "I was wrong! So, sooooo wrong!"
Twilight another pony in so much pain was bad enough, but hearing and seeing that pain being broadcasted from her own lips, yet not her own lips, just made things surreal and not in a good way.
"Oh uh-" She stuttered, trying to find what she could use to put wilderness survival information she had garnered in her library to use in making a splint, "-do you know what's broken? Maybe I can help."
Other Twilight waved a forehoof dismissively. The broken one if the sudden clenching of teeth and hiss was any indication.
"It's alright. I can handle it myself." The Green Ring on her horn glowed, a beam of light shooting from it and forming into a splint around her damaged leg. "See?"
As Other Twilight managed to stand up and rest her hind-quarters, Twilight once again blinked Owlishly.
"Ooo-kay..." She said, pawing at the ground, contemplatively.
"How long was I out for?" Asked Other Twilight suddenly after a few moments of uncomfortable (to Twilight anyways) silence.
"Oh!" She perked up, again cursing her mind's recurring tendency to wander in this situation.
"Well, after one of those crazy caribou that were chasing us hit you with that golden hammer of his-" She began, her look of discomfort at the memory mirrored on her other self, "-I managed to use some telekinesis to cause an avalanche to slow them down and then teleported the two of us to the other side of the ravine.
"After that, this blizzard started settling in, I found this cave, and decided to use it as shelter until it passed. I think it's been about four hours since you went under...so to speak." She finished, putting on a forceful grin.
Other Twilight's response was to chuckle lightly to herself, causing Twilight to once again blink like an owl. "Sweet Celestia, I've got to stop doing that!"
"Glad to see some things are still the same, even here." Other Twilight said.
"Yeah..." trailed off Twilight, "...speaking of which...do you mind me asking what, you know, your whole deal is?" She finished, shaking one of her hooves around as well as her head absentmindedly.
Her eyes widened with a sudden epiphany.
"Oh no." She said hoarsely (hehe), "Please-oh-please-oh-please-oh-please-tell-me-you're-not-from-the-future-and-here-to-warn-me-about-some-great-disaster-that-I'll-spend-days-worrying-about-but-that'll-never-actually-happen-prompting-me-to-go-back-in-time-and-warn-my-past-self-but-not-have-enough-time-to-do-so-resulting-in-a-confusing-parado-"
Before Twilight could finish, Other Twilight used that ring of hers to create a hoof made of solid green light and shoved into her mouth.
"Relax Ms. Sparkle," She said with a grin, despite herself, "I'm not from the future."
The construct faded out of existence and Twilight let out a breath she had forgotten she was holding in her ramblings.
"Well that's a relief." She said, wiping away the sweat that had pooled on her forehead.
"I'm actually just from an Alternate Universe where apparently, among other things, I seem to be a little bit older than you."
At this, Twilight seriously considered blinking as she had the last three times. Instead, she raised a quirked eyebrow and cocked her head to the side.
"Uhm...come again?"
"You know: string, multiple Equis's, and Multiversal theory?"
After a few moments of staring at Twilight's confused look, Other Twilight used her good forehood to massage her aching cranium and sighed.
"Alright then. I'm assuming by your obvious perplexion that you have no idea what I'm talking about."
Her ears and her face perked up as an idea struck her at that moment.
"Luckily though, I think I have just the solution to answer any and all questions I know you have going through your mind right now." She said, pointing towards the ring on her horn. "Just look at the power ring Twilight, and all shall be made clear."
Though Skeptical, Twilight eventually trusted herself enough to comply. For a moment, nothing happened except for the ring glowing green and Other Twilight seemingly exerting her mind intensely. Then, a green beam of light, conical in shape, shot forth and struck her in the eyes. Yet, for some reason, she did not feel the instinctual compulsion to blink.
Instead, her world became the same color as the tring and she soon found herself caught up to speed with everything Other Twilight was. Everything.
Well...everything other Twilight wanted her to know about...
Once upon a time...in the magical land of Equestria...
There were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land.
To do this, the eldest, used her Alicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn...
The younger, brought out the moon to begin the night...
Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects: all the different types of ponies.
But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful...
For the ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night...
One fateful day, the younger Alicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn...
The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a whicked mare of darkness, Night Mare Moon!
She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night!
A massive battle ensued in which both sisters fought each other using much of their awesome power that devastated much of the land. However, because of the elder sister's love for her sibling, she held back through much of the fight and was defeated by the evil pony her sister had become. One who held no qualms with unleashing her new and unbridled fury upon the other Alicorn.
Luckily, the elder sister managed to flee and rally the various forces still loyal to her against the armies of Night Mare Moon. During their final battle atop the peak of the largest mountain in all Equestria, the eldest, reluctantly, harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom. The elements of harmony!
Using the magics of the elements of harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon...
...However, all was not well. For while the citizens of Equestria rejoiced in the defeat of the monster the younger Princess had become, the eldest...was dying.
The fighting between her and Night Mare Moon was strenuous and had left her with many wounds, physical, magical, and mental. This, coupled with the taxation using the elements demanded, meant that she, had unfortunately, mere hours of life left.
When her subjects discovered this, the previously jovial mood was halted and replaced by one of somberness. Now, both of their beloved rulers would be gone and without them, who would rule Equestria? Who would defend it from all who would see it wiped from the map? Who would raise the sun and the moon?
Before her untimely demise however, the remaining pony sister did her best to ensure the future of her little ponies. With her remaining power, augmented by the elements, she made the sun and the moon rise and set naturally and predictably over the lands of Equestria and the rest of Equis. She decreed that a counsel of ponies comprised of equal parts Earth ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns would be established to rule ver Equestria in her absence with one head that that would share equal power in important decisions made for the country.
And, she decreed that a total of five military branches should be established and maintained to protect Equestria's borders and hopefully, prevent the devastation caused by Night Mare Moon and Discord's reign from ever happening again in future conflicts with future enemies.
And so, with a final farewell to her subjects, the Alicorn of the sun was no more.
In memory of her, the ponies of the land built a Castle around the spot where she had fallen, a mausoleum of sorts that would stand as a reminder of the Eldest sister and all she had done as well as the seat of those that would govern the nation. Soon, a city that would serve as Equestria's capital blossomed around this palace, and the ponies of the land set about the final tasks their sovereign had asked of them.
The Triumvirate of the Tribes, as the pony counsel came to be known, took on responsibility and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since...
It was a sunny mid-summer morning as a lavender colored unicorn lay slumbering in a park. She had fallen asleep while reading "The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide" and was now using it as a makeshift pillow. Like the staccato burst of machine gun fire, she snored happily, a puddle of drool coming from her mouth and staining her book. She looked…peaceful.
However, such peace would soon be shattered.
A purple baby dragon came walking into the park, an annoyed expression on his scaly face. He saw the unicorn asleep under the tree and grumbled to himself.
"There she is! Humph!" The young dragon said as he noticed that said unicorn was sleeping under a particular type of a tree: pine.
He picked up a small stone and aimed for a small pinecone at the top of the tree. He threw it and it struck, causing the cone to fall and knock loose many more of its kin. After about three seconds, the unicorn under the tree was covered in a pile of pinecones, very much awake now. She heard the sound of the young dragon rolling on his back, laughing, and glared at him as she used her magic to levitate the pinecones away.
"Spike! Was that really necessary!?" The unicorn asked loudly as she levitated her book into her saddlebag and trotted over to the dragon.
"Sorry, but we're going to be late for that big presentation in Coast City if we don't get a move on. I doubt Sunny Skies would appreciate that, and I'm not about to let you brand me as 'The Dragon who made Twilight Sparkle a tardy delinquent' or anything like that." Spike said as he hopped up on Twilight's back.
Twilight Sparkle was helping the Equestrian Defense Force in designing a new fighter jet, so she had to be there for its first test flight.
"What would I do without you Spike?" The unicorn asked thankfully as she galloped toward the train station.
The duo headed down the streets of Canterlot, which had remained much the same as they had been centuries ago, even with the rise of big cities with skylines dominated by Skyscrapers and other, more modern, structural designs. Eventually, they passed an alley were they heard what sounded very much like a screaming mare. Spike yanked hard on Twilight's mane, causing her to come to an abrupt stop as she yelped in pain.
"Owww! Spike! What was that for?" The unicorn asked, causing the young reptile to point a claw at the alleyway where a unicorn stallion levitated a knife to a mare's throat.
"We gotta do something Twilight!" Spike demanded. Twilight looked and saw two police-stallions down the street. She galloped down and reported the mugging. The cops then headed to deal with the mugger and Twilight continued on here way.
"See Spike, we don't need to do the police's job." The unicorn said, glad she did something good.
"Come on Twilight, you know as well as I do that Canterlot isn't the safe city everypony thinks it is. There are gangs, illegal spice trading, even crooked cops! If you weren't such a shut in, you'd see it!" The young dragon pushed.
Twilight sighed as she ran, not bothering to respond. This was exactly how many a debate between she and Spike started and the unicorn just wasn't in the mood for one right now.
Spike and (to a lesser extent) Sunny Skies, her mentor and the Executive Unicorn of the Triumvirate, had always insisted that she should try to get out more and make some friends instead of isolating herself with her books all the time. Twilight on the other hand didn't think she needed any friends other than Spike, feeling that her time was better suited to studying, and more recently, helping the Equestrian Defense Force with their plane prototypes.
Few knew it, but Twilight Sparkle had a fascination with flying. She'd look at birds, butterflies, or pegasi and wish she could soar through the sky. As much as she loved magic she would have been quite satisfied to be born a pegasus, though she'd never say that aloud.
Soon they reached the train station. Spike was still in a grumpy mood, but Twilight was just glad they were getting there on time. Once they reached their seats, Spike said, "Okay, now that we've got some time, I want you to promise me that when we get back to Canterlot you'll at least try to make some friends."
Twilight just gave a frustrated sigh and replied, "If it means you'll drop it then…fine." Spike smiled in triumph as the train began to move.
ABOVE THE SURFACE OF PLANET EQUIS: SAME TIME
A small ship was burning up in the atmosphere as a purple alien in a green uniform tried to hold the ship together. He was hurt and barely keeping himself conscious. Soon, he crash-landed in a desert on the planet below and passed out from the ensuing injuries and shock his body sustained. After an hour, the alien slowly began to crawl out of the wreckage, clutching what looked like a green lantern close to its badly burned chest. It stopped for a moment and pulled a green ring off its middle finger. For a few brief moments, it held the ring in its open palm, staring intently and longingly at it before saying, like someone about to enter the eternal sleep, "Choose…choose wisely."
The ring glowed a bright, emerald green and flew away from its grasp.
EQUESTRIAN DEFENSE FORCE TESTING AREA: ONE HOUR LATER
Twilight had managed to make it 20 minutes ahead of her very concise schedule. Spike had wandered off to get something to eat (meaning that she couldn't integrate the changes this extra time would have in her checklist as quickly as she would have hoped) while Twilight decided to make some last minute calibrations to the pilot seat.
As she was checking to make sure that the ejection system on the seat was functioning properly, she saw a green light flash behind her. Twilight turned around just in time to see a small green ring dart for her horn and then carry her off, along with the entire jet, through the air, taking her toward the open desert in a green bubble of sorts. To say that she screamed like a timid foul of a filly on her first rollercoaster ride at Four Flags would be the very definition of understatement. A statement not made likely when one considers how much louder she was yelling on this ride than on any of the ones at that amusement park, even the teacups (which still occasionally haunted her nightmares).
Soon the ring, along with the jet and its very reluctant passenger, stopped at the site of a crash. There, she saw a sight that pushed her to the brink of feinting. A purple creature was lying before her, holding what she assumed to be a green lantern in its unusual appendages.
"Hands." Her mind told her, remembering the information she had picked up in her studies over the years and the crackpot theories proposed by a, to her at least, rather obsessed mare Unicorn with a minty green coat and a lyre as he cutiemark.
"So…you…are the one? Come…closer. Tell me…your name…" The alien uttered weakly in a voice that sounded male.
The unicorn was unsettled by all this to say the least, but did as instructed. "Ummm…my name's…T-T-T-wilight S-s-s-parkle." She said in a nervous tone.
"I am Abin Sur, Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814." The alien said, still as though he were barely living. Twilight was about to go into her usual analytic self, but then she noticed the alien's rather grievous injuries. Taking a quick glance behind her, towards where she had come from, a magenta aura enveloped her horn and then the alien. Levitating him next to her, she began galloping towards civilization when she heard him ask, "What are…you doing?"
"Don't speak now Abin! Save your strength!" She commanded in between pants for breath "I'm going to get you to a doctor right now and you'll be as good as new in no time!"
Before he could respond, Twilight casted a teleportation spell and then another and another while still maintaining her hold on the alien, moving a far greater distance across the sands than her normal running speed would allow. Yet, even as she nearly exhausted all of her mana, even as she nearly exhausted all of her stamina, it wasn't enough. She was still much too far from anyone who could possibly help this odd, but still injured, visitor that her mind had quickly deduced was from the stars.
Her gallop slowed to a canter and that slowed to a trot before devolving further into a very ragged and unsteady looking walk.
"Don't worry Abin…" She muttered weakly, physical and magical exhaustion taking its toll on her mind, body, and spirit. "I'll get you the help you need…"
Unceremoniously, she collapsed onto the dirt, her aura soon fading, but managing to drop Abin much more softly than the Unicorn herself.
"Twilight," she heard him utter, turning around to face him, "you don't have to concern yourself with my well being. Even if we did reach help in time, your world's medical minds do not possess the knowledge necessary to operate on me."
He took a large gasp of air before continuing, even more hoarsely than before.
"My time… has come…the ring…has chosen…you."
The pony, tears now welling up in her eyes, was completely lost as to what this meant. "It chose me for what? How can a ring choose anything?"
The alien coughed hard for a moment before saying, "The Green Lantern Corps is an intergalactic peacekeeping force. Members are chosen by the rings. The rings give power. To be chosen is the highest of honors, the greatest of responsibilities."
It was clear now, more than ever, that the alien was truly hanging on by a thread that was soon to be cut by the shears of the fates. Abin Sur held up the lantern in his hands, which was obviously a great struggle for him.
"Place the ring in the lantern. Speak the oath. Go to Oh..." He managed to say, but soon fell into death's cold embrace before finishing.
For a while, Twilight stood there, sniffling at the once living thing before her. A living thing that she had, a few minutes ago, promised would get to a doctor and be all right. A living being that, despite all her best efforts, despite all of her skill in the arts arcana and all of her running, she had failed. Laughably, miserably, failed. Who knew why he was here, why he had crashed? Who knew what unknown knowledge of the Universe he had to offer? Heck, maybe he was just a nice enough person and that if she had managed to save him, she would have actually made a friend?
A few moments after her internal speculation, his last words echoed across her mind. Carefully, she levitated the lantern from Abin Sur's hands and held it between her hooves, feeling a warm pulsing power coming from it.
However, before he could do anything more, she heard a loud rumbling sound in the distance, coming from the where she had first met the alien. She saw a rather large chunk of flaming debris of what she assumed was once his ship, heading towards her. She first thought about running, but found her legs sluggish to respond. Then, she thought about forming a force field around herself, but found herself lacking the required magical energy to do so.
Even so, she thought as hard as she could about it, and suddenly, the ring on her horn glowed green and a barrier of the same color deflected the incoming fiery scrap metal. However, the force was enough to send her flying backward and to hit her head hard on a nearby rock.
Twilight groaned as she felt a power course through her body, the ring trying to heal her, but soon passed out.
Sometime later, she woke up in a daze, looking around to see it was nearly sundown and that she was still in the desert. Twilight had thought it had all been a dream due to spending to many late nights indulging in the guilty pleasure that was Spike's book collection, until she saw the body lying before her, the lantern lying next to her, and felt the ring on her horn. Then, she remembered Abin Sur's last words again.
"Place the ring in the lantern and speak the oath. What's the oath?" The Unicorn asked frantically. She decided to do something her assistant and mentor had suggested to do on numerous occasions, and just winged it, touching the ring to the glowing core of the lantern. Suddenly, she froze as a power began to course through her and words began to enter her mind as she said them.
"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!"
Suddenly, the green energy then formed a costume for the new Lantern. She now wore an emerald domino mask and a green and white costume covering up everything below the neck with an emblem: a green circle with two horizontal green bars surrounded by a white background, that adorned either side of her flank in place of her cutie mark. The Unicorn had never felt such power before and it made her feel wonderful, elated even!
She had little time to dwell on it though as the ring began to beep.
"MUST RETURN TO OA TO REGISTER NEW LANTERN."
Twilight tried to look up at the ring as she said, "Return to wha-AAAAH!"
The ring then blasted the new Lantern up into the sky and into space.
The lavender unicorn screamed as she rocketed through the troposphere, and then the stratosphere and the mesosphere and the thermosphere and the exosphere before finally reaching the chilling void of space, rapidly exiting her native solar system and slowly beginning to black out.
Sometime later, she regained consciousness just as slowly as she had lost it. Twilight Sparkle groaned as she opened her eyes, a bright light shining down upon her. Twilight's vision slowly refocused as she saw a squirrel in a green mask that wore an outfit nearly identical to the one Abin Sur wore, looming over her with large and curious eyes.
"Hi there!" It greeted in a cheerful and male tone.
Twilight's next reaction was to be expected.
"AAAH! TALKING SQUIRREL!" The pony yelled as she backed up, accidentally falling off the table she was laying on.
"Owww..." The unicorn grumbled as she slowly stood up. Turning her head to see the squirrel, she saw that he was now flying with a green aura covering him, staring her right in the eye.
"Huh…never seen a talking horse before." The floating rodent said with a little tinge of amazement in his voice. "Neat."
"I'm a pony actually, a unicorn to be precise." Twilight corrected in her typical reproachful manner that she used whenever she heard someone say something incorrect, only to shake her head when she realized what she was talking to. "Wait! Squirrels can't talk, it's not scientifically possible."
The unicorn then poked the squirrel with her hoof, much to his apparent displeasure. "You are not scientifically possible!" She exclaimed, then taking full notice of her surroundings. She was in what looked like a very high-tech lab, with the same green symbol that Abin Sur wore on his chest on the walls.
"Whoa there girly! I ain't a squirrel! I'm a munk from the planet H'lven. You wouldn't believe how many times I heard that squirrel crack from Gardner, so please don't go on bringing up unpleasant memories like that." The alien rodent grumbled as he floated up to the table and sat down on his hind legs. Twilight was about to open her mouth, but then she noticed a small ring on the alien rodent's finger. She unconsciously moved her hoof up to her horn and felt the ring on it.
"Yeah, I had the same reaction when I got my ring. So anyway, name's Ch'p, Green Lantern of Sector 2813." Said the small Lantern as he introduced himself.
"Ummm…I'm… Twilight Sparkle of…Equis?" The unicorn said in a nervous tone. Ch'p snickered a little at the mare's name before flying off the table.
"Well then Miss Sparkle, welcome to Oa." He said as he opened the door to the lab, showing a massive emerald colored city, with tall buildings that seemed to spire so far up into the atmosphere, that the architects of Cloudsdale or Griffhala would turn green with envy, no pun intended.
"Wow." Was all Twilight could say, a dumbstruck look on her face.
"Ha! I never get tired of seeing that look on a rookie's face!" Ch'p said as he flew up into the air, looking down at the pony. "Well come on! Let's get flyin'! I gotta get ya to your trainer before I get my tail chewed off by the Guardians!"
Twilight looked at him incredulously. "I can't fly! On my planet, the only ponies who can fly are pegasi!" The unicorn exclaimed, but was meet only by laughter from the rodent.
"How do you think you got here girly? Just think about flying and the ring'll take care of the rest." Ch'p instructed in between chuckles.
After a moment of thought, Twilight closed her eyes, jumped into the air and, much to her surprise, stayed afloat. She opened her eyes and saw her body was covered in a green aura that suspended her in the air and prevented gravity from plummeting below into an early grave
"I can fly?" Twilight asked, disbelievingly before shouting in glee as she zipped around the air. "I CAN FLY! WHOOHOO!"
Finally, after years of wishing and hoping, her secret lifelong dream was finally a reality! Suddenly though, she was caught by something. She looked to see that she was now inside an energy bubble that was coming from Ch'p's ring.
"As much as I'd love to see you flutter around like a little fairy pony, we really need to get going." The veteran Lantern said as he undid the construct, allowing Twilight to move again.
"Oh. Sorry." The unicorn smiled sheepishly.
She followed the squirrel-like alien through the emerald colored city, flying over smaller structures and zipping around larger ones when her curiosity revealed itself again.
"So…how many Green Lanterns are there? How do these rings work? Are they magic? Who are these 'Guardians' you mentioned? How..." Twilight started, firing off questions like the overachiever she was. However, she was quickly silenced by a green piece of duct-tape appearing over her mouth.
"Whoa there girly! One question at a time!" Ch'p said, not bothering to stop the tape construct he had placed on Twilight's mouth. "There's around a good three thousand and six-hundred Green Lanterns in numerous sectors across space, not even counting the hundreds here on Oa, and that number's always growin'.
"The ring ain't magic; it's some kinda high-tech stuff that taps into willpower. Don't bother asking me how that works since your trainer will take care of that.
"And finally, the Guardians of the Universe are the creators of the Corps. That answer everything?" The alien rodent asked only to notice he hadn't taken the tape off of the Equine's mouth.
"Hehe, sorry." Ch'p said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.
Soon, the duo reached a large building in the shape of a lantern. They entered and Ch'p flew up to a red alien with a large pointed head and four arms that sat behind a desk with many green holographic panels in front of him.
"Hey Salaak. So, who's the trainer for the Equestrian?" The alien squirrel asked the red alien.
"Lantern Gardner is waiting for her in Training Ground 247." Salaak said as he continued his work.
Ch'p's blood ran cold as soon as Salaak said that.
"Ummm…what about Kilowog? Tomar-Re? SINESTRO?!" Ch'p begged on behalf of the rookie Lantern, bringing his paws together in a pleading manner.
"Kilowog is on a mission in his own sector, as are Tomar-Re and Sinestro. Gardner was the only one available on such short notice." Salaak said, an air of finality in his voice.
Ch'p sighed and flew back over to Twilight.
"Should I be worried?" The unicorn asked, causing Ch'p to reply.
"Very."
Twilight and Ch'p flew for about half an hour before they came to a large open field, no buildings around for a good three miles. In the middle stood a being with pinkish-red skin and many tribal tattoos on his body with ginger hair. He wore a green and black sleeveless shirt with the Green Lantern in the middle of his torso, black fingerless gloves, and black pants and boots. The alien was using his ring to make a lawn chair and sunglasses as he drank what looked like a coconut with a tiny umbrella in it. He noticed the two other Lanterns approach and stopped his constructs as he stood up.
"It's about time you got here and quit bein' so squirrely, squirrely! I was supposed to be startin' my vacation today!" The redheaded Lantern barked out, causing Ch'p to glare at him for the "squirrel" crack.
"Nice to see you too Guy." The alien rodent grumbled. The taller Lantern looked down at Twilight and stayed silent for a while before bursting out into laughter, falling on the ground and clutching his stomach.
"Hahahahahaha! Okay, Ch'p, where's my real trainee?" Gardner asked as he got up and dusted himself off, wiping a tear from his eye.
"Uhhh…she is your trainee Guy." The floating rodent said nervously, quickly making a pair of earmuffs with his ring.
"WHAT?! SHE'S A STINKIN' HORSE!" Guy Gardner yelled at the top of his lungs, causing Twilight to cover her ears. She had never heard anypony yell that loud before.
Timidly, she said, "Um, I'm a unicorn."
Guy turned to her and replied, "Oh and that's supposed to make it better?! I'm a Vuldarian warrior, not a rancher! Is this Salaak's idea of a joke? If it is, it ain't funny!"
At this point, Ch'p decided to leave, but not before flying over to Twilight and whispering into her ear, with a sincerity that suggested deep empathy, "I'm so sorry. So, SOOOOO sorry."
The redheaded Lantern grumbled to himself a little before saying, "Alright, let's get this over with. I'm Guy Gardner of the Green Lantern Honor Guard. You are?"
The lavender pony was hesitant to reply, but Gardner tapping his foot impatiently was incentive enough to get over he nerves.
"Um, I'm Twilight Sparkle?" The pony said, very nervously.
Guy just slapped his forehead and said, "Kill me now."
Deep in space, Tomar-re was inspecting an old space station. His ring showed no life readings coming from inside it, so he decided to enter and take a look around. Normally he wouldn't, but he knew that Guy Gardner was currently on vacation and also knew that everyone else was away, meaning Guy would be stuck with a new trainee.
"Maybe this will teach you not to call people names Gardner. Oh, who am I kidding? It won't, though I do relish ruining your day." Tomar-re chuckled a little to himself as he looked through the old station. However, unbeknownst to him, he accidentally set off a security system. Down below in the cargo hold, two red androids powered on.
"COME ON SPARKY! HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO MAKE IT AS A LANTERN IF YOU CAN'T EVEN DODGE A FEW MEASLY SHOTS?!" Gardner yelled from his construct lawn chair while he also used his ring to maintain a laser rifle construct to shoot at Twilight with.
"AAAAH!" She yelled as she barely dodged the blasts of energy that, coming from Guy and what she knew of him on her short time on Oa, were probably more lethal than any normal, sane, instructor would make them.
Soon, Twilight had had enough of this and, without thinking it through, conjured up a teleportation spell that took her to the other side of Guy. Luckily, her instructor wasn't looking at her, having just been firing wildly in her general direction. The unicorn decided to fight fire with fire and bucked him out of his chair. The redheaded Lantern got up and stared down at the pony, who suddenly found the ground to be very interesting.
"I'm sorry Mr. Gardner I-" Twilight started, only for Guy to interrupt
"-Sorry?! I've been waiting for you to do something for the past hour! It takes guts to be a Green Lantern! Remember that Sparky."
The ginger Lantern then flew up into the air. "Come on, I'll buy ya some grass and then we'll move onto the hard stuff!" Guy said, causing Twilight to freeze.
"That WASN'T the hard stuff?!"
A Word From the Author:
The following is a product that is 100% the work of VunderGuy. Any editing made is the result of Odin the All-Father of Asgard, father of Thor, he who sold his eye for infinite wisdom, for this chapter, and, like I said before, if you’re going to throw applause and money at ANYONE here, it’s gonna be him! Him ya hear!?
So, without further adieu, I hope you enjoy VunderGuy’s hard Work
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“There she is my little horsey.” Guy said, pointing out the nearest porthole. After about a week of particularly lon
g and grueling exercises with her ring and Guy as a teacher, he had decided that now was the time for Twilight’s final portion of training. The world whose system they had entered upon exiting from hyperspace would be the grounds for it. “The planet Florauna. Ain’t she a beaut?”
From her position on a seat within the small ship Guy was piloting, Twilight opened her swollen eyelids to gaze upon Florauna, as he called it. Despite the fact that the past week had left her battered, bruised, cut, stabbed, burned, and a plethora of other such things beyond the recognition of those few that knew her, Twilight couldn’t help but become entranced by what she saw, much like on Oa. Through everything her teacher (read: tormentor) had forced her to endure, she had not yet lost her sense of wonder at the new macrocosm that had been revealed to her.
As she looked on at the myriad of ships docking and departing from the half dozen or so rotating space stations visible from that porthole alone, as well as the continents worth of flora she was above, a small smile graced her lips. Even after all she had been through, Twilight couldn’t help but keep a sense of hopeful optimism.
Next to her, Guy smiled cruelly.
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“Room 225 good sir.” Am alien maid said as she opened the door leading inside their hotel room aboard one of the stations.
“Thanks bud. Keep the change.” Guy said as he flipped a credit coin worth about ten cents Equestrian into her hand.
“Errr…thanks…” She said, deadpan, as she turned to leave. She turned back around however and asked, “Uhhh…you want I should help your pet out with yer luggage?”
“Nah. The old girl needs the exercise. Plus, she needs to be reminded of whose in change.”
Shrugging her shoulders, the maid said, “Whatever” and left. Soon, after much muffing, puffing, wheexing, sweating, tearing, and (if Guy had his way) bleeding, Twilight passed through the threshold, carrying half a dozen large and brimming bags. Her face was contorted into an expression so constipated, it was as though she had eaten half a dozen limes at once. Finally, after reaching the final agonizing step that would put her into the center of the room…she dropped to the ground, spread eagle, with an audible thud. Her tongue sticking limp out of her mouth, completely dry and unable to taste the full richness of the porcelain tiling, she began dry heaving as best she could with all the weight pinning her down.
“Oh don’t have a cow Sparky. Or a—what do you call baby ponies? Fouls? Yeah, don’t have one of those either.” Guy said after he jumped onto the plush king-sized bed. “Seriously. If it turns out you were pregnant this whole time, DON’T have it here or I won’t get my deposit back. They have a policy against pets messing up the rooms here and I don’t feel like cleanin’ up any messes.”
Twilight couldn’t say anything to that. She had neither the physical or mental energy nor the breath to. All she could do was to continue to heave deeper…deeper…deeper…
Finally, Guy had enough and said, “Alright Sparky, alright. I’ll help your sorry lookin’ hide out some.” With his ring, Guy moved the luggage off of her and put it all aside. “There. Now, do us both a favor and stop looki’ so pathetic. Also: unpack my stuff and organize ‘em would ya’? It ain’t gonna do it by itself ya’ know.”
Though the oppression of gravity’s tyrannical grip had lessened on her considerably, for which she was grateful for until the end of time, Twilight still found herself quite exhausted. The word parched, she thought in her addled state, was not an adequate enough describer for how bleached and dusty her throat felt. So, she came up with a new one at that moment, or rather, an old one repurposed into a more apt description. Deserted.
Hey. It made sense at the time.
“W—a—ter…” She managed to croak out.
“Oh give me a break already.” Guy said, using his ring to open the mini-fridge in the room and pull out two bottles of water that he then tossed unceremoniously at her head. “There. Now drink up and let me get the beauty sleep I need after piloting a voyage like the one I just did, would ya’?”
Twilight crawled at the pace of a spider up a wet bathtub towards the spot the bottles had landed on. Reaching one, she attempted to grab a hold of it with her tongue, but found it lacking sufficient strength in her water-deprived state. She found better luck with her teeth, as she was actually able to grab a hold of the cap, but found that the muscles of her maw lacked the strength to twist it open. Finally, she managed to will herself to stand halfway, hold the bottle by the crrok of her hoof, and attempted to open it with the other. After about five seconds of fruitless twisting, Guy palmed himself in the face and said, “Uh! Do I have to do everything for you Sparky!?”
Using his ring, he snatched the bottle from Twilight, picked up the other one, unscrewed the caps, grabbed a nearby bowl, poured their contents in, and dropped it in front of her. “There! Now drink up and leave me alone! We’ve got a big day tomorrow, so shut-it and goodnight!”
Guy clapped his hands twice in rapid succession and the lights of the room shut-off. With renewed vigor in her dehydrated heart, Twilight crawled towards the bowl, this time at pace not unlike that of a foal learning how to walk for the first time. Stopping before it, she plunged her face inside as far down as it would go and drank as much of the water as she could in a single gulp before swallowing and the continuing the process all over again. Eventually, as the bowl neared its end, she forwent that more civil manner of drinking for slurping like a wild, thirsty dog would after finding a small puddle. She did not care how she acted at that moment, nor did she have time to chuckle at the irony that the bowl she was acting upon was labeled the alien equivalent of mutt. For, without her ring, she could not read such alien scripts and, at that moment, she did not care.
She collapsed moments later after finishing her drink, into a restless sleep.
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“RISE AND SHINE SPARKY!”
Slowly, Twilight lifted her head up from her impromptu pillow, eyes bloodshot and sagging. “Uhhh…” She moaned.
“Aw quit your griping! Today’s gonna be much better than all of the ones you’ve had with me so far. Lantern’s honor.” Guy said, putting both of his hands over his heart in an overblown fashion.
Twilight merely slumped her head back inside the bowl. Somehow, she doubted it.
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Several hours later, and whatever doubts she had were shot out of the nearest airlock they were so gone.
Sure, they were still there after they left the hotel room that morning and multiplied when Guy put a collar on her and leashed her in order to sell the deception that she was his pet (because apparently having another sapient being with him would cost the Lantern more than he could afford) but, after he dropped her off at the Alien equivalent of Pet Day Spa, she found them to be largely unfounded. As though she were a legitimate guest to the resort, Twilight found herself pampered to a degree that she was sure would make most of the snobby Canterlot ponies she had been around her entire life seriously consider hiring newer, better staff. They had given her a much needed hooficure, her coat and mane a much needed cleansing of all of the dirt, dried blood, and more dirt, some much needed nourishment, a much needed back massage, and even let her soak and relax in a nice warm bath of mineral water with a mud mask and two cucumber equivalents on her eyes with a pleasant and relaxing aroma that smelled of a cross between lilacs, apples, and pine. They even managed to take her to see a vet who luckily (for Guy at least), didn’t ask questions about her horn and who managed to patch up the various injuries she had sustained like a pro, giving her caretakers supplements that he told them should be mixed up with her food so that her muscles could get back from the brink of atrophy faster.
This stay at the Spa continued for an entire week. Seven days of being spoiled rotten like she was a little filly with rich parents. Seven days of her body recouping from the stress placed upon it the past seven days in the most splendid way imaginable. Seven days with nary hide or tail-less backside of her teacher slash tormentor in sight. She wasn’t complaining and though her caretakers were worried when Guy didn’t arrive after the first day, neither were they.
It was amazing! It was stupendous! It was the happiest Twilight had ever been ever since she was flung into the unknown depths of the Universe by that stupid little green willpower powered ring! It was such a needed thing for Twilight, a wanted thing.
But, like all things, good or bad, it just had to come to an end…
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“Hello there gorgeous, I’m here to pick up my pet. A cute looking little horsey with a stupid looking branding mark on both her butt cheeks, a dark purple mane with a light purple highlight, and a stubby looking horn great for roasting all kinds of food on.” Guy said to the clerk manning the desk to the Pet Day Spa, before leaning on it and looking deeply into her eyes. “Though, not as cute as you, of course.”
“Riiiggghhhttt…” The clerk said, leaning back with an awkward smile. “I’ll just…uhm…give my…coworkers…a call…”
“Take your time gorgeous.” Guy said, his eyes still staring.
The clerk intercommed for the two caretakers in charge of Twilight, one male and one female of the same species and, not long afterwards, they came out of the back. The male one of them cradled her like a newborn foul in his massive, oddly colored arms. Both wore sullen looks on their faces at having to give her back to her…owner. Twilight did too, though not only because she had to leave these wonderful, wonderful aliens, but because who they were letting her go back with.
“Sparky! There you are! I was starting to worry you were sold to some chef for cheap take-out or one for an expensive fancy dinner I was waiting so long!” Guy said.
“Sir…you’ve only been here five minutes…and most of that time was spent looking at me creepily…” The clerk said.
Guy looked taken a back. “Well, that was rude! You treat all the resort guests you get coming down here like that lady?”
“Sir…just take your pet and leave. Please?” She replied.
“Well I never!” Guy said, making as big a scene as he possibly could, embarrassing Twilight even though nopony around knew it. “Come on Sparky! I want to spend my time somewhere where the employees treat me with some of the respect I played so many credits to get fer one stinkin’ lousy holiday!”
“Huh. You think that scumbag means the kind of respect he’s shown for his pet, dear?” The female caretaker whispered sarcastically into the male one’s ear.
He huffed in response and placed Twilight on her hooves on the chrome colored, metal ground. “Go now little one. Go to your owner. For better or worse…you belong with him.” He said gently.
Twilight looked up at him with wide, puppy dog eyes and her owner, who was tapping his foot impatiently and had his arms crossed, his lips pouted in an “I’m wainting” sort of way.
“I don’t like it either, but fate, it seems, is cruel this day.” He said.
For a few more moments, she continued to look between her caretakers and Guy before the latter had decided he had enough of waiting and used his ring to move her beside him. “Come on Sparky, we’ve got places to go, people to get into fights with, and, most importantly of all, back to teaching you how to be a good little horsey.”
Floating in the green bubble he had conjured up, she looked back with a worried expression on her face at her caretakers as she and Guy passed into the threshold of the sliding metal door out of there. She could tell they were doing their best to look on stoically, but the cracks were obvious enough that she could see that they were just as worried about what was about to happen next as she was.
With a thud, the door slammed shut, and they were gone…
