The emerald light of the green ring bathed Spike in its glow while he sat confined in his dark room, gazing down at the only item that Spike had left of his mentor...his friend. Despite nearly all Lantern rings looking the same, Spike could see nicks and scratches on John's ring that had not been on his.
'Guess that shows how many harrowing adventures he survived,' Spike thought to himself with a downcast look. 'All the battles, the wars against the forces of evil...so, why did he have to die here?! Why did his adventure with me have to be the one that finally did him in?!...Was it because I wasn't strong enough? Had I been a better student, a better Lantern, would he have survived?'
Spike leaned against his fist as he thought along those lines, with guilt creeping into his soul. To him, the emerald light made him feel sick, made him feel like he had failed one of his friends when they had needed him most...that one of his fears had come to light. Yet, those thoughts were dissolved into feelings of peace when the door to his room opened and a blue light mingled with the green to cast a feeling of calm over him, yet his expression did not change when he glanced towards the blue belle who entered.
"Hey Spike," Sweetie said softly as she walked inside, instantly reading the look on Spike's face as she sat down on the bed beside him. "Hal asked me to check up on you, but I would have done so regardless of whether he asked or not...I know this probably sounds like a stupid question, but are you alright?" Spike wanted to say no, wanted to shout about how he'd never be alright again, but he let his rage go in a sigh, and instead wrapped his left arm over Sweetie's shoulder.
"I don't know, Sweetie. I know that I feel terrible, but that's about all I know," Spike muttered weakly with pain in his voice. "And I also know that I'm partially responsible for why he's gone. If I had just been slightly stronger...if I had managed to defeat Brainiac-"
"Spike, don't," Sweetie said sternly as she placed a hoof on his hand, derailing his train of thought. "Don't blame yourself for John's death. It wasn't your fault that he gave his life to save ours ,and it wasn't your fault that you couldn't beat Brainiac. Besides, you heard Hal. Even the heroes of his world haven't been able to stop Brainiac for good. It was John's choice to sacrifice himself for us and he did that so that we could live."
"But...but what if I-?"
This time Sweetie placed her hoof on his mouth, preventing him from speaking any further as she shook her head. "Remember what you always told me when the voices of the dead spoke to me, and I asked you if I should be with them?" Sweetie asked him with a stern, yet sympathetic look. "You told me there's no point worrying about the past, so instead we should try to make a better future. And I think that's what John would want you to do. Instead of focusing on his death, focus instead on honoring his memory by helping others the same way he helped us."
Spike let out a sigh as her words pierced through his doubt and anger towards himself, allowing him to think far more clearly than before. "You're right as usual, Sweetie...but it still hurts. And I still wish that I could find a way just to...talk to him. To thank him for all he did."
"There's nothing wrong with thinking like that Spike," Sweetie softly comforted while she leaned her head against him and joined Spike in looking at John's ring with sad eyes. "We'll all miss him. But don't worry. No matter how painful things get, tomorrow will always be brighter. And all will be well."
"Heh, since when did you get so wise and mature?" Spike asked with as much of a joking tone as he could muster, getting a small smile out of the belle.
"Ponies mature faster than dragons. Not to mention all the Blue Lanterns I met seemed to be wise gurus--kinda like Zecora, so I guess it rubbed off on me," Sweetie chuckled slightly, gazing up at the blue and green stars that the two Lanterns were constructing without thinking. "I am glad that you're back to normal though. I'd hate to have to explain to Twilight why her son looked like a vending machine all of a sudden."
"Heh, knowing her she'd be upset for a few minutes, then she'd start working on a way to get me back to normal herself while studying the machinery that I used to be," Spike added on with a small chuckle, one that seemed to help the pain in his heart slightly. "Man, we've been away from home for too long, haven't we?"
"And yet, I bet when we get back there, practically nothing will have changed. Not unless Sombra somehow managed to take over the world in the month we were gone," Sweetie reasoned, getting Spike to shudder slightly.
"Ugh, don't say things like that. Sombra's been a big enough pain in our flanks when we're actively looking for him. I'd hate to think what evil he got into while we were gone."
"Maybe he went and got himself captured? That'd be a nice welcome home gift." Both Sweetie and Spike chuckled a bit at that thought, but both knew that the dark king was far too crafty to get caught. Spike then let the smile fall slightly as he looked back down at the ring, causing Sweetie to follow his gaze to it as well. "That's right. When we get back home there will hardly be time for a break. We're going to have to get right back to work."
"What, you wanted to take a break? We're superheroes Spike, we don't get breaks," Sweetie teased Spike slightly before taking on a more somber expression. "But...if you really need to, I'm sure the ponies wouldn't-"
"No. It's like you said, heroes don't get breaks," Spike said with a fire in his voice that Sweetie knew well, a fire that told her Spike was starting to find his strength again. "John wouldn't let the death of a comrade get in the way of protecting others. And if I'm going to honor him, to be the Lantern he wanted me to be, then I won't let it either. Yeah, I'm going to miss him and still mourn...but he'd want me to help others. And that's what I plan to do."
Sweetie smiled with pride at Spike as he said this, but before she could commend him on his decision a flash of light went off from Spike's ring, causing both Spike and Sweetie to glance down at the item with shock in their eyes as the ring constructed a miniature...
"John?" Spike and Sweetie both asked in disbelief as a construct of the human looked up at them.
"Hey, Spike. If you're getting this message, then that means that you've survived the battle with Brainiac, hopefully, and that my ring chose you to be its next wielder, which I figured it would," John's construct spoke with a smile before the smile fell. "And if that's the case, then that also means that I finally 'kicked the bucket' during the battle. Hopefully I died stopping Brainiac. If not, I'll settle for hopefully going out saving as many as I could. Who knows?"
"I do. And you did far more than that," Spike whispered softly as the construct continued.
"So, if you're getting this message and the day has been saved and all that, then I can probably guess that you're upset right now with my passing," the recording said knowingly. "You're probably kicking yourself for not helping out more, or you feel guilty for letting me die. I just wanted to tell you this, kid: don't. It may feel like you were helpless or that you abandoned me, but in all honesty...you helped me more times than I helped you." Sweetie and Spike both shared a confused look at these words, but neither said anything as the construct continued.
"See, most heroes, especially those on Earth, have a similar fear. That fear is, what happens when we're gone?" John continued, looking to the side off into the unknown as he said this. "What would happen if one day guys like me and Superman and Flash all died, and the cosmos was left without its heroes? Would crime suddenly skyrocket? Would there be no one left to protect the universe? Would the next generation of heroes be up to the task? It's thoughts like that that keep us up at night."
"But now we get to you, Spike," the construct said as it turned its head back to the pair, though it was only looking at Spike, "the Lantern who fought off nearly every color of the rainbow in the first month of getting his ring. The Lantern who managed to overcome his greatest fears at twelve years old to save his loved ones. A Lantern who remained a burning light in the Blackest Nights."
"I saw it then, and I saw it when we traveled across the cosmos, unlocking the secrets of the missing Lanterns. I saw a Lantern who was fearless, who would stop at nothing to save the lives of those in peril, and who was so damn stubborn that he wouldn't listen to a single order. Much like a certain pilot I know that became a Lantern," John said with a chuckle while he shook his head. "When we first started out, I believed that you needed to be taught, that I needed to show you how to properly use your powers. But you're like Hal in so many ways. Your introduction to the Green Lantern Corps was a baptism by fire. You learned everything you needed to on your own planet, so by the time you got to me I had really nothing to teach you."
"But I sure as hell learned from you. I learned many things, but the most prevailing was how determined you were to protect others, and that there were no lengths that you would not go to in order to make sure people were safe, be it disobeying my orders, throwing yourself in the line of fire or taking on one of the most dangerous foes the Justice League has ever fought to make sure we got away," John reminisced with a smile as he shook his head again. "And perhaps I had gotten too...negative over the years, started to let the years of fighting the never-ending battle wear me down. But when I was fighting alongside you...I remembered what it was like to be a younger Lantern; remembered what it was like to have the will to win any situation, no matter the odds."
"So, what I guess I'm trying to say is...thanks Spike. Thanks for dispelling my greatest of fears that there would be no tomorrow without the heroes of today," John said with the most genuine smile that Spike had ever seen before. "I write this message knowing full well that I might die tomorrow, but for the first time, I'm not worried about 'going into that good night'."
"Because I know that you'll be there to pick up the slack, kid. That even with me gone, the cosmos will have you there to defend it in my place. That there is a hero who will replace me," John spoke softly with tears in his eyes for a brief moment, before he stared up again with pride in his eyes. "So that's why I know if I die in the fight tomorrow, that my ring will pick you. Because you are the Lantern that's going to create a brighter tomorrow. And that's why I can face the idea of death with no regrets. Because I know I can pass on my mission of helping save the worlds to you. I can pass on the torch--my emerald torch...make me proud, kid."
"I will..." Spike whispered softly, trying (and failing) to fight back the tears in his eyes as the message played. Sweetie gently patted him on the chest while she leaned her head on his shoulder, casting some of her blue light onto the ring.
"And this message is only supposed to play if Sweetie's in the room with you when you get the first message kid," John continued, forcing Spike to wipe the tears out of his eyes. "Sweetie, if it's really you who's there, make sure you don't leave Spike's side for a moment. If he's anything like the headstrong Hal, then he's going to need a levelheaded and rational thinker like you, for the most part, to keep him from going to wild. And don't forget, either of you, that no matter how strong a Lantern's light shines by themselves, their light will always shine brighter alongside other Lanterns."
The image flickered out for a moment, but then John returned with a smile on his face. "Oh, make sure to tell Hal that he owes me twenty bucks when he gets to the afterlife. Seems I was the first to go after all...unless you get back to Earth and that damned daredevil has gone and gotten himself killed before me," John requested with a smirk. "And then, tell him thanks for being such a good friend all these years. John Stewart of sector 2814, signing off."
The Lantern saluted the pair of them before the recording faded, leaving Spike and Sweetie sitting in the darkness with tears streaming down their faces, both of them struggling to keep themselves from outright sobbing. Yet for a strange reason, they both had smiles on their faces.
"Don't worry John, we'll protect the cosmos in your place. In brightest day. In blackest night," Spike promised on the ring, Sweetie nodding her head in agreement due to her sobs preventing her from speaking. And unbeknownst to the two, another Lantern leaned against the wall near the open door with tears misting up in his eyes as well, forcing him to reach under his mask to wipe them away.
"And I'll keep an eye on them, John. I promise you that," the Lantern vowed before heading back into the cockpit, heading towards Equestria, heading to those two Lanterns' home.
|)O(|
The gentle breeze carrying the faintest hints of magic blew past the two Lanterns as they floated far above the ground, happy smiles on their faces while they looked at the familiar landscape of the planet that they called home. Yet, the moment was interrupted when the sound of engines roaring alerted them to the departure of the ship, and they turned to see that the Interceptor was about to leave the planet, with Hal waving at them from within the cockpit. The two smiled as they waved farewell to him as well, before closing their eyes as the ship's engines roared to life and in a flash of green it was gone, leaving the pair to watch its green trails vanish.
"Come on, let's see the damage," Spike said with a smirk after the trails vanished and he turned in the direction of Ponyville.
"Come on Spike, try to be optimistic. Maybe nothing happened and they're all just waiting for us with huge smiles!" Sweetie suggested with a huge grin, but Spike turned to look back at her with a smirk on his face.
"Everything perfectly okay? Sweetie, this is Ponyville we're talking about."
"You're right. But still, try to be positive. Maybe only half of it burned down," Sweetie optimistically sang as she sailed past Spike, getting a chuckle out of the dragon while she sailed away. Spike shook his head with a smile before glancing down at his ring once again, remembering John's words and what the ring on his hand was.
'It's more than a ring now. This is John's will, hopes and courage all in one ring-shaped object. This is his torch,' Spike thought with a serious nod of his head before the carefree smile crossed his face and he flew off after Sweetie. 'And I'm here to make sure that his torch burns bright even with him gone. I'm the Emerald Dragon, wielder of the Emerald Torch and...why do I hear screaming?'
Spike floated down into Ponyville to find upturned buildings, ruined city streets and ponies running in every direction with terror written clearly on their faces. Yet, the strangest sight amongst the chaos, destruction and the stunned Blue Lantern who floated not too far from him was the giant, five head dragon that was battling it out with his mom and the Elements of Harmony...along with a certain pony wearing a uniform he knew all too well.
"Is that...Applebloom?" Spike asked Sweetie when he floated over to her, unable to mistake the green bow that was attached to the back of the Lantern's mane.
"Sure looks like it. And I think that's your ring she's wearing," Sweetie added as Applebloom created a giant, green apple that she slammed into the monster's head, yet Spike narrowed his eyes at AB's hoof to find that it was indeed his ring. The dragon heads roared in fury in reply before slamming one of their heads into her and hurling the new recruit into a building.
"We should go help her, shouldn't we?" Spike asked as AB pulled herself out of the rubble she caused and flung herself back into battle.
"Quick question. Why does Applebloom get a ring from you before your own marefriend?" Sweetie asked Spike with a smirk on her face, a smirk that grew even longer when she saw his face redden slightly. "Ah, we'll talk about it after the fight. Come on, evil never rests and neither do we!" she cried before flying into battle, leaving Spike to shake his head.
"What did you call it, John? The never-ending battle?" Spike asked before casting a green light around himself as he flew into battle. The mob of ponies stopped running when they saw the green light and all eyes turned skyward as he flew overhead, causing the crowd to begin to cheer for him when he lunged straight at the dragon and AB, who both also turned their heads to face him.
"Out of the way! Better let a professional handle this...rookie," Spike smirked when he flew past Applebloom while a construct began to wrap around him. "And as for you, its nice to meet you, Mr. Dragon," Spike said before he brought back his fist that was wrapped in a massive, emerald claw.
"I'm the Emerald Dragon!"