//------------------------------// // Equestria Blackest Night Breezies // Story: Lanterns of Equestria: Blackest Night // by The Literary Lord //------------------------------// Nightingale was considered insane by most breezies, and for good reason. The world outside their own kingdom was simply not healthy for a breezie. Yet a handful had in bravery, stupidity, recklessness, a desire to see and learn, or just plan having nothing left to live for, had chosen to adopt Equestria as their own home. Not all of them lived long lives afterwards. The smart ones kept to the gardens of Equestria, often employing themselves as landscapers and gardeners, communicating with and encouraging the growth of flowers that impressed even Earth ponies at times. The Breezies had an . . . odd relationship with Equestria . . . they had to venture out into this dangerous world, travel across a massive kingdom, filled with giants and monsters, collected the pollen they NEEDED to survive, and return home in one piece. If not for the help of the pegasi, the breezies knew their civilization, their species, their entire WOLRD, was doomed. Not all Breezies were happy about this that they were sentenced to survive purely on the kindness of giants. Maybe that was why Nightingale had chosen this path. He didn't want to be somebreezie's glorified pet. At this way, he was returning something to the whole. After all, the swarm looked after you, and you looked after the swarm. If the ponies constantly gave to them, shouldn't they return something somehow? If only ponies didn't keep mistaking him for a girl! To be fair, to Nightingale, the stallions and mare of the giants looked alike too. The garden was at a private estate near Canterlot, nicknamed a 'breezie reserve' by some. They were exotic animals that needed protection from going extinct. The not-so-false truth of that statement bit at Nightingale's mind. Sweetscent was on top of a flower bud, watching the beautiful moon and stars, that had been HER reason to stay in this world of giants and lethal dangers at every turn. The garden breezies had an unspoken rule NOT to judge each other's reason for staying on this side of the portal, considering normal breezies considered them all nuts anyway. Of course there were the horror stories of griffins and diamond dogs keeping breezies as trophies and playthings, but Sweetscent said she didn't want to believe in THAT Equestria, looking up at the moon and the stars, THAT was the Equestria she chose to believe in. Sweetscent would paint pictures that the giants had to use magnifying glasses to appreciate the beauty of. They still sold rather well, breezie anything was hard to copy by. Nightingale saw the black ring, it nearly went -THROUGH- him as it dug its way into the ground below him, and a minute later, the corpse of the great-grandfather of the garden's owner, buried there by his grand children, rose from the dead, in a black costume with sliverish designs. "Such pretty little fairies, you'll look so much better in our collection!" The zombie cackled, a glowing black butterfly neat appeared. The breezies caught up at the zombie didn't move slow at all, little black jars WITHOUT holes on top appeared as well, which the breezies were stuffed into. "ThAt'S it! FEEl afraID! THInk oF yoUR loVED onES! Be anGRY! WAnT yoUR freeDOM, make YOUR heARTs evEN moRE tastY!" The thing laughed. Nightingale had never known such anger. Why? Why had they been cursed to be so small? So weak? So helpless? Why were they doomed to forever be nothing but parasites almost! Nightingale unleashed a stream of curses at the zombie, banging his head against the top of the jar, determined to rip the zombie's face off with his tiny hooves or dying trying! But he'd make it die again first! Sweetscent saw through the tinted black glass that Nightingale couldn't break through the glass, but she didn't tell him to stop, it at least set an example to the others to not give up. Sweetscent prayed for help. Princess Luna's moon watched over them didn't it? That meant Princess Luna looked over them. The Princesses loved all their subjects, even their adopted ones. An Equestria where this could happen, where this would happen, it wasn't the Equestria Sweetscent had chosen to come to, to form a life here in the face of overwhelming danger, she had chosen to stay, to see the beauty of all of it. She saw the other breezie's faces, the faces of despair. There was Jinglebell, he didn't look like telling a joke right now. Leaf Dance whimpered inside her prison. Cobweb mumbled to herself it had been a mistake to ever leave home. Sun Light banged his head against the black glass, looking on the verge of a break down. She saw the hungry look in the zombie's dead eyes. Looking more hungry the sadder her friends got. "Everybreezie! I know the giants will help! It's their nature, it's a part of them, we breezies are a part of their swarm, their family, they've never let us down once before, and they wouldn't let us down now! Just believe!" "Whatever delusions you impose on them won't matter," said the zombie of Flower Arrangement, "Sink to your wOrst despair, thEn I'll free you of the suffering called life, and you'll then do the same to my grandchildren grEat-grand children! You'll carry the blessing of death on your wings!" "NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!" Nightengale snapped. "YOu dOn't." "I'LL BE THE JUDGE OF THAT!" Sweetscent said, "That isn't going to happen! This is Equestria! We're not going to hurt Flower Setting and her family and neither are you!" "Your hOPE is INGnorance." "BUCK YOU!" "I believe! You don't know until the end! I don't know what's happened to you Flower Arrangement, but your family always loved you! They said you were a great giant! I don't know if this is a nightmare or real! But if it is! I chose to have a happy ending! And if it isn't, I'll make one! Every breezie! Everything has to turn out okay, we'll work something out, I'm sure of it!" The other breezies looked towards her. A red star and blue star zipped from Ponyville towards the garden, moving at a speed to put Rainbow Dash in awe. [ = Nightengale Of Breezie Blossom = ] [ = Sweetscent Of Breezie Blossom = ] [ = You Have Great Rage In Your Heart = ] [ = You Have The Ability To Instill Great Hope = ] [ = You belong to the Red Lantern Corp = ] [ = Welcome to the Blue Lantern Corps = ] For a moment the two rings swirled around each other, and then both shattered through the top of the black constructs, and shrank down to doll size, and fitted themselves around the breezie's hooves. Nightengale snarled in rage. Sweetscent gasped and felt certain more than ever that all would be well. Neither had time to look at the blue and red costumes they now wore. Together the two flew at the monster. --- "Hey! Listen!" The next morning, BL Pinkie Pie opened her eyes. And found a little fairy glowing blue sitting on her windowsill. "Uh, excuse me, the magic ring said I should talk to you." Said Bluelantern Sweetscent shyly. --- RL Rainbow Dash looked with her forehooves crossed. But inside she was in awe. Rage was practically dripping off the tiny form in front of her. "What's this puny little thing?" RL Biceps said point at the Red Lantern Breezie, who surprise grabbed his hoof with their own hooves and threw slammed him into the cloudly floor . . . several times. "Now whose puny?!" Red Lantern Nightengale said. "Alright! Stop! Isn't how we show loyalty to teammates around here!" RD intervened with a snarl. "Either of you!" RL Nightengale snorted. "So . . . you're a breezie huh?" The prime red lantern said appraisingly. "Want to make something of it?" "Naw . . . just wanna say, welcome to the herd. I'm Rainbow Dash, I lead this pack, you got a trouble with how things are done around here, tell it to my face! Them's Scootaloo and Gilda, when they speak, they're speaking for me, you got a problem with what they say, take it up with me. Got all that?" "Crystal." --- "POUND! PUMPKIN! MR. AND MRS. CAKE! I MADE A NEW FRIEND!" Pinkie Pie shouted. --- "Dash! I have to take orders from -- that?!?" The little orange pegasus filly thrust her hoof at the hovering ball of crimson energy. Nightingale merely snarled, dripping acidic blood, as Scootaloo added, "Come on, I've been here longer than anypony but you!" "Put a sock in it. You and Gilda are still at the top of the food chain, and if you want to stay there squirt, I suggest you treat our newest pack mate with respect due!" "Okay," Scootaloo growled, giving the little flying red spitball a meaningful sidelong glance. "Fine." She waited until Dash left the room, and then wheeled on the newest member of the Red Lanterns: "Okay, rule number one; I'm second to Dash around here! I've been fighting for months now, and if I ever give an order when we're facing those Black Lantern freaks, you listen! Rule number two," she flew closer and snarled, "Remember rule number one!" "What's with the attitude little giant? Scared a little newblood might do better at cleaning out the rot than you?" Nightingale hissed. Scootaloo snorted, burning bloody foam shooting from her nostrils. Only in her dreams, or rather nightmares, did she ever remember once having been weak and helpless. She did not care to be reminded of it, especially not by something a tenth her size at the most. Nightingale smirked at her as the little orange fireball buzzed closer. "I'm not scared of anything, least of all whatever you can or can't do," Scootaloo spat. "All you need to know is this: if any of my Corps, but especially Rainbow Dash, get hurt because you can't hold up your end of it, you'll answer to me! That and..." She hesitated, wondering how to say this. "If you see some silly little marshmallow of a unicorn filly, or a raggedy yellow-coated earth pony with a red mane, leave them alone. They were, I mean are friends of mine." She grinned and added, "The nasty little pink earth pony with the skunk stripe mane is fair game, though!" ### And somewhere many miles away, as she reported through her link to Rarity about how she'd helped some Yellow and Green Lanterns clean out a small gang of the Black Lanterns in Manehattan, Diamond Tiara wondered why it felt like her ears were burning.