Chapter 5
Chapter 5
After the initiation ceremony, Shining had been allowed to return home. He would have stuck around a little longer, but he wanted to explain everything to Cadence as soon as possible, and thus he left Oa and flew back to Equus as fast as he could. As he landed outside of the Crystal Empire, his vision was surrounded in green once more, and when it cleared he found his uniform gone and the lantern sitting next to his hoof. The ring itself was still on his foreleg, and he made a note of finding some way to conceal the ring until he could explain himself further.
Although, the Lantern might be a bit more difficult...
“Most Lanterns store their power batteries in a pocket dimension, in order for them to be on hand.”
“Thanks for telling me that.” Shining said, grasping the battery in his telekinesis and walking towards the city. “Do you have any idea what I should tell my wife?”
“This ring is incapable of initiating romantic relationships with any being, and thus is unable to assist in such conversation.”
“... Yeah, that’s not surprising at all.” Shining sighed and continued on, making a note to ask one of the more experienced Lanterns on how to get the ring to shut up. For now, he kept the rest of his thoughts to a minimum, keeping the battery close to his side in order to shield it as best as he could from any curious ponies. It was not that he did not like the idea of being a hero, he just wanted to ease ponies into the idea.
As he walked, more and more ponies began to appear in his field of vision. Those that saw him gave him a friendly nod or wave, but did not notice the glowing green band wrapped around his foreleg, or if they did they did not draw attention to it. Inside he was panicking that somepony might notice the Power Battery, but as he approached the palace his fears began to dissipate.
“Oh, Prince Shining Armor!” the guard at the entrance of the palace said as Shining approached. “Princess Cadence was wondering when you would be back.”
“Oh, well, here I am... I wasn’t gone too long, was I?” Note to self; find out if the galaxy has a standard unit of time.
“She said if you weren’t back in three days to send somepony out to make sure you were okay.” Three DAYS?! the guard was about to continue before Shining rushed passed him, not even bothering to hide the Power Battery. As he hurried through the palace, numerous scenarios ran through his head, many of them bad; Cadence was not really known for her temper, but ever since the Changeling Invasion she had become rather protective of Shining, almost to obsessive levels.
“This ring may assist you by locating the pony you are seeking.” the ring chimed.
“Can’t you just say that in my brain or something?” Shining hissed as he hurried up a flight of stairs.
“This ring lacks such abilities at present, but should be able to acquire them at a later date-”
“Whatever, just find Cadence.” there was a pause before a green map appeared in front of Shining, his position marked by a small arrow.
“The pony identified as Mi Amore Cadenza is located 12.4 meters north of your current position. Target is stationary.” so she’s in the Throne Room... that’s good. Shining quickened his pace, dismissing the map as he approached the Throne Room. The guards standing in front realized that he was in a hurry, and so opened the door as quickly as possible so Shining’s pace was not stalled.
“Shining?” Shining stopped and looked up, seeing cadence talking with one of her attendants. “Is something wrong?”
“Uh... no?” Shining took a few breaths to calm himself. “I just got back from... well, I just got back, and I wanted to make sure you weren’t panicking or anything.”
“Why would I be panicking?”
“Um... Well, I was gone for a few days and all, and you know-”
“Oh Shining, you don’t have to worry about that.” Shining blinked. Did Cadence already know about the ring and the Green Lanterns? “I got your message the other day saying that you were going out to check that thing that crashed into the tundra, and several guards confirmed that you were seen heading in that direction.”
“... Really?”
“Oh yes.” Cadence cocked her head to one side. “Although I don’t see why you didn’t ask some ponies to help you. It could be dangerous out there.”
“Oh, heh.” Shining massaged the back of his head, trying to appear as innocent as possible. “Guess it... just slipped my mind, a little.”
“I see.” Cadence turned to her attendant and whispered something, the other pony nodding and leaving the couple alone. “So, Shining-”
“Cadence, I-” they stopped, each one giving a small blush. “Sorry, you first.”
“No, it’s okay, I don’t mind waiting.”
“No really; I’ve been gone for a few days, so you should go first.” a pause before Cadence giggled.
“Oh, if you insist.” Cadence smiled and walked towards Shining. “Shining, I wanted to tell you something yesterday.” And I’m really sorry that I wasn’t there to hear it... stupid ring.
“Err... Did something bad happen? Because if it did, I think I know something-”
“I’m pregnant.” Shining’s mind completely shorted out. He stared at Cadence for several minutes, trying to come up with some kind of coherent sentence and failing miserably. His telekinesis shorted out, dropping the Power Battery to the ground with a loud clang. Cadence did not seem to notice, instead raising an eyebrow in concern. “Shining?”
“I...” he stammered. “I... you... err... I... babies?”
“Yes Shining.” Cadence said, moving forward and giving Shining a hug. “We’re having a foal.”
“W-we are...” Shining’s mind was beginning to regain coherency, and he reached up to return Cadence’s hug. “Sweet Celestia, I’m going to be a father.”
“Yes, isn’t it exciting?”
“Yeah...” Shining pulled back a little. “Have you told anypony else?”
“Well, I was going to tell Twilight next time she came for a visit, and I’m sure your parents would love to know too... Maybe you and I could go to Canterlot next week and tell everypony then!”
“That’s a great idea.” As long as the ring doesn’t draw me away from that too. Cadence smiled again before speaking.
“So, what was it that you wanted to tell me?” Shining’s mind blanked again.
“Uh... Are you sure you want to talk about that now?”
“Why not?”
“Well, I mean, you just found out you’re pregnant-”
“Actually I’ve known for about a month; I just wanted to surprise you. And we’ll have lots of time to fuss over our child later. So, what is it?”
“Uh...” Shining began to think of many possible explanations. “You... you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Shining, I’ve had tea with an alien superhero, my best friend is a demigoddess and I foalsat your sister; I’m sure I can handle anything you throw at me.” Really?
“Okay then, because this is going to sound nuts.” Shining took a breath before speaking again. “I was drafted by an army of intergalactic space cops who want me to protect the universe.” there was a long pause, Cadence giving Shining a blank look. He chewed on his lip for a moment, unsure of how Cadence would react.
He was caught off guard when she burst out laughing.
“Sh-Shining!” she gasped between her laughter. “I knew you had a good sense of humor, but that is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard!”
“But it’s true!”
“Oh yes, and my father’s King Sombra!” Cadence continued laughing, breaking away from Shining in order to keep herself steady.
“Cadence, that really happened; that green ring that I found the other day brought me to this planet with a bunch of aliens that were part of a ‘Green Lantern Corps’.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes. See?” Shining held out the ring to Cadence. “See? Here’s the ring.”
“Very nice. Does it fire lasers?”
“I...” Shining’s ears flattened against his head as Cadence doubled over in laughter. “You really don’t believe me, do you?”
“Nope!” Cadence said, calming down for a brief instant before starting to laugh again. “M-maybe you can show me some of your alien friends sometime!” Oh, I’m sure Kilowog would love to meet you.
“Right.” Shining waited for Cadence to calm down, a process that took several minutes.
“I-I’m sorry Shining,” Cadence said as she regained her breath. “I didn’t mean to laugh at you, but your story is rather ridiculous.”
“Says the mare that almost flooded a palace on accident.”
“Well... okay you have a point there.” she chuckled. “But that’s still more believable than alien space cops.” Shining frowned. He wanted Cadence to understand what he was dealing with, but apparently that would take some time. He considered activating the ring and showing Cadence a little of what it could do, but decided against it. “Is that all you wanted to tell me?”
“Well... Yeah, pretty much.” Stupid; I should have broken the subject more gently.
“Oh, okay.” Cadence smiled again. “I have a meeting with the physician right after lunch, perhaps you’d like to join me and see how the foal’s doing?”
“I... I’d like that.”
................
A few days passed. Shining had tried and failed to breach the topic of the ring to Cadence, who either laughed or was too caught up by other concerns to really listen to him. Shining almost considered giving up, but knew that was not an option; Cadence would have to find out sooner or later, and it would be better if he told her rather than having her be drawn into something dangerous, especially now with a foal on the way.
The foal was beginning to take up more of Shining’s thoughts. Would Shining’s position as a Green Lantern take away time from him or her? Would he get killed by some alien monster and never see his son or daughter grow up and have children of their own? Was the position of a Lantern inheritable? The ring did not provide any clear answers, adding to Shining’s worry and frustration.
He did not need worry in his life. He was supposed to be level headed, like a good soldier.
“Alert!” the ring chimed as Shining went about his morning routine. “Distress signal from Verdolian Cruiser TX-1138 detected.”
“Now?” Shining asked. The ring did not respond, so Shining pulled it off the shelf with his telekinesis. Once he slipped it on, he summoned the green and black uniform and made his way out to the balcony. “Okay, can you take me to this... cruiser?”
“Insufficient power; recharge is required.” Shining paused before using the ring to summon the Power Battery. He had kept it in his closet for the first two days, but he had managed to figure out the pocket dimension that the ring had mentioned. A small hole opened up in space and Shining pulled the Battery through, placing his hoof inside and allowing the ring to recharge.
“Ring Charged. Power Levels at 100%.” Shining Armor nodded before dismissing the power battery.
“Now can you take me to the cruiser?”
“Preparing for transit.” There was a pause before Shining was lifted into the air by the ring’s power, and he quickly allowed his mind to focus on the flying so that no accidents happened. Soon, the Crystal Empire and Equestria began to fade away, and Shining Armor found himself in space once again. As much as he was still hesitant about being a Green Lantern, he liked flying in space; there was something peaceful and majestic about it, the vast emptiness and multitude of twinkling lights keeping him captivated.
After a few minutes of flying, Shining saw something floating in the black. It was a large, boxy thing, not unlike the airships back home. On closer examination, the thing appeared to be made of thrown together bits of metal, with mountings for weapons dotting the hull at unusual points.
“Are spaceships always so... crude?” he asked.
“The Verdolians are currently engaged in civil war against the Gordanian and Thrax’kall Empires; standardized military craft are a rarity.” Improvised warships... Things must be pretty desperate.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Main Gordanian Empire is outside of Sector 2814 jurisdiction, but possible intervention in Verdolian space is an option.” Shining frowned, but decided to address that issue at a later point.
“Can you locate the distress signal?”
“Scanning...” there was a pause. “Distress Signal emanating from main cargo bay. Plotting course now.” Shining nodded as a map appeared before him. Again, his target was a small blinking light, and the ring had highlighted several pathways that he could take to reach the source. Shining glided along the side of the derelict, looking for a way in.
“There should be an... airlock, I think that’s what they’re called.” Really shouldn’t have given all those comic books to Spike; they might have been of some use.
“Hull breach detected. Breach is large enough for possible entrance.” Shining looked around and saw a large hole in the side of the ship, the metal having been melted by the attack. Still, it was large enough for him to pass through, and the light from the ring allowed him to see in the darkened hulk.
“Ring, can you identify what kind of weapon caused that?”
“Negative; residue energy samples do not point to any unique type of weaponry. More thorough analysis is required.” there was a pause, and Shining continued on through the spaceship towards the distress signal. The walls around him were scorched and pocketed with holes, hinting at some kind of struggle between the occupants of the ship and their attackers.
Shining continued down the hallway until he spotted a body. The creature resembled a larger than average ape, probably even larger than the Princesses. It was coated in white fur, and what remained of its face suggested tusks. In its hands was a tube-shaped device that Shining guessed was some kind of weapon, and several spent ammo casings floated nearby due to the lack of gravity.
“Verdolian male, deceased.” the ring chimed.
“Can you tell what killed it?”
“Scanning.” there was another pause. “Wounds indicate blast from Manhunter Energy Weapon, most likely combat stave.” Manhunters. Shining’s conversation with Tomar-Re came back to mind, and the alien had mentioned Manhunters there, but the way Tomar-Re had phrased the statement made it seem like that had happened a long time ago. Surely these weren’t the same Manhunters... were they?
They said the same thing about Nightmare Moon coming back. Shining thought before looking back to the dead Verdolian.
“Can you scan for any survivors?”
“Scanning... 695 organic lifeforms matching ‘Verdolian’ genome detected, 0 lifesigns.”
“Any Manhunters?”
“Scanning... 8 cybernetic lifeforms with designation ‘Manhunter’ detected, 0 lifesigns.” Eight, and they’re already dead... or something. Do robots die? Doesn’t matter.
“Keep me informed if anything changes.” Shining proceeded further, checking corners and bulkhead in case the ring missed something The further he went in, the more bodies he found. Some were bigger than the first one he had found, but all bore the same wounds: one shot, directly to the head. Some did bear other injuries, but Shining was sure that the headshots were what killed them.
Shining continued walking until he reached a large room. It was almost the size of Canterlot’s throne room, and it was filled with crates, barrels, and dead bodies. Shining moved forward, pushing a few corpses out of the way as he neared the center of the room.
“Guess this is where they made their last stand...” he mused to himself before turning to the source of the distress signal. It was a small box, no larger than a brick, and one end was flickering with light.
“Message detected. Translating.” there was a pause before the message began to play, a gruff voice meeting Shining’s ears.
“Ambushed. Red Men came and attacked Jorgon and others.” the voice said, and Shining could hear the sound of fighting in the background. “Jorgon tried fighting back, but Red Men too strong.” Shining frowned. He had no idea how Verdolians normally talked, but given his encounters with the other Green Lanterns he expected them to sound more... sophisticated.
“Is this message corrupted or something?” Shining asked.
“Verdolian speech is difficult to translate properly into most languages, especially Equish. The most accurate translation would be what you called ‘third-pony’.” Shining nodded and continued to listen to what he assumed were Jorgon’s last moments.
“Jorgon has destroyed spare plans; Gordanians not find them if they come. Red Men will be here soon.” there was a crash, followed by more fighting before the transmission cut out. Shining stood in silence for a few moments, his eyes darting from the corpses that surrounded him.
“Ring, can you send a copy of this transmission back to Oa?”
“Processing...” there was another pause. “Transmission complete.”
“Good. Now I’ve got to find something to do with this-”
“Alert!” the ring cried before bringing up an exterior view of the ship. At first Shining saw nothing, but then he saw several glowing dots moving towards the derelict. “27 cybernetic lifeforms with designation ‘Manhunter’ detected moving towards this position.”
... Why do I have a feeling that they were waiting for me?
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Yay new chapter
So cadence was raised on an island of amazons yet she doesntbe live in alien space cops?
3892017 Not really (maybe it's justified, or maybe it's the hormones)
Well, Equestria is a magical kingdom. Amazons? Alicorns? All that makes perfect sense. Alien Space Cops? Not so much... to a pony.
I'm pretty sure you meant THX-1138, i.e. the first film George Lucas ever made, or it's just a fun conicdience.
Also: INSERT COMMENT ABOUT SHINING NOT BEING ABLE TO HEAR ANYTHING IN SPACE BEYOND HIS RING HERE
3892092 It is a reference, but I didn't want it to be too explicit (I'm weird with my shout outs like that)
3892106 Well the good news is that THX-1138 is still pretty obscure, unless you're a film geek like me.
So I say add the 'H', since otherwise, it feels more awkward to see TX-1138. Since it feels like it SHOULD mean something, when really, it technically doesn't.
Not sure if that makes any sense.
About time this was updated, Well I'm sure Cadance will believe Shining sooner or later. But, good luck Shining, I got a feeling you got a fight in your hands...err, hooves.
Awesome chapter!
3892127 I disagree - I'm no film geek, but even I know what THX-1138 is. And even people with zero knowledge will recognize THX at the very least...
How I think this will go:
NO MAN ESCAPES THE MANHUNTERS!
Shining: Well I'm a pony so give it your best shot!
Well, time for some action.
Ok, next chapter we finally get to see how good Shining is with his ring. Also, Cadence is probably going to flip out when she sees Shining fly with no wings.
Now, lets get the only gripe I've got with this out of the way, Fluttershy, if you please.
Yeah, it's never stated in the comics if you have to say the oath to charge the rings or not. Kyle never said the oath except for a few times before the corps was restored while he was the only lantern, So having Shining just touch it was actually a valid way to charge the ring (in fact that's how kyle charged his, all others said the oath). Not sure if you knew that fact about GL lore.
3892512 Good point (although I think there was a time when Hal didn't recite the oath when charging the ring, I think it was when he and Sinestro were fighting Atrocitus)
3892068
Let's not forget that she had tea with RD. I honestly can't see how Cadance can find Shining's story "ridiculous." You'd think she'd take it more seriously.
3892593 Well, there's aliens, and then there's alien space cops
3892333
3892602
Goddammit Cadance...
Still feels very:
...
3892641 Yeah, it kind of does (another reason is that I'm not done using Shining as a butt monkey; he's just got to suffer a little more)
3892602
EXACTLY.
You know, there was an easy way for shining armor to demonstrate that he became a green lantern. All he had to do was make a construct and that would make cadence be quiet. Especially since from what I can tell about equestrian magic, it's not exactly capable of forming constructs any more stable than a bowl or something that simple. Making a green...net or tea set might have her change her tune. I don't know if that was the right call not to show her. After all, a green lantern is a space cop. And all cops have to be ready for anything, even death in the line of duty. Well, at least now he can say I told you so when the moment comes.
And it appears that the manhunters are forthcoming. Hmmm, is it possible to combine magic and green lantern energy? You know, like fusing shining's shield magic with the energy? Eh, we'll see. Anyways, time to blow those robots to bits.
It's back!
And so, Shining Armor discovers a ship full of dead Freaky Alien Genotypes, and must now fight off an army of robot assassins who used to work for his new bosses! Will he be able to fight them all off on his own? Or will he have to rely on the assistance of another Freaky Alien Genotype who may or may not secretly be Discord? And will he be able to convince his wife that he really is working for the smurfs in the red togas? Tune in next time to find out!
(For those of you who don't get it: John DeLancie voiced Sinestro in the Duck Dodgers episode "Green Loontern")
WAy to throw in an ambush on a newly added GL, a soon-to-be father, and his continued battle to make his wife believe, which would have made the WHOLE situation much smoother for him and his wife. Which by the way was the best course of action and to that he would have been set to do his best for both worlds.
3893274 Pretty much
Now I want fan art of Discord hanging out with/ annoying Sinestro
Yes! Finallly Sinestro shall make an appearence!
Hey, what happens when you mix Shining's shield magic with the ring?
3983515 We'll just have to find out, won't we?
I can hardly wait to see Green Lantern Shining Armor in action.
By the way, have you watched the live action Green Lantern movie? Despite it's criticisms, I kinda liked it. Sure there were some flaws, but i didn't think it was that bad, and I liked the visuals they made for the lanterns' projections. Will you be using projections similar to those?
4117869
Honestly, the worst thing I can say about it is that lacked quality. It wasn't outright bad.
Great acting, Special Effects that could Micheal Bay cry...Honestly, the script was the only true weak link.
Green Lantern: First Flight, was a lot better though.
Do you think that chrysalis would make a good star sapphire, the purple power battery based off of love/lust that had a thing against Hal in the comics?
4807825 I do, and I have plans to address that in the future
glados:KILL ALL THE HUMANS WITH DEADLY NUROTOXIN
still cant make nurotoxin monster...
glados:i hate you... -_-
Cadence, capital C, it's her name.
Simple. Admiral Ackbar if you would?
3893274
Wait, you're telling me, that this guy: vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/5/56/Q_at_Quarks_auction.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20050920140521&path-prefix=en voiced this guy: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c8/Sinestrosciver.png