Lanterns of Equestria: Blackest Night

by The Literary Lord

Diamond in the Ruff

Bottom of Call Horn Bay Fjord, Southern Antler Range, Western Mountain Earldom, Noon.

“Why are we hanging out here in this fjord again High Tide, “ a blue finned sea pony slowly floated between encrusted wooden pillar s thrusting up from the rocky bottom of the bay like the jagged teeth of some ancient monster. The dour colors and the murkiness of the water gave the bay bottom a depressing feeling to Whitecap. She thumped one of the beams with her tail, a cloud of dirt rising around the struck object. “This place gives me the creeps!”

A flash of yellow passed in front of her in the gloom, disappearing for a moment in the silt clouded water and then reappeaed. High Tide came to a stop next to her friend, hovering next to Whitecap and the wooden post. She looked up to the surface at the beams of sunlight piercing the water.

“Ah…it’s not so bad. Besides the caribou trade is good! They like the salty kelp and safe jellyfish we give them and the fruits they give us are so tasty,” High Tide turned upside down for a moment, and giggled. “You like those golden apples don’t you?”

“That’s not the point. Do we have to meet them here? This is where they…you know..”

“Burn their ships with their dead? Come on Whitecap, don’t be such a twitchy tuna.”

Swimming in a circle, Whitecap held out a fin pointing out at the bay bottom as she went. “This entire place is a gravesite. There must be hundreds of their sunken longships here! Couldn’t we have just waited for the others at the dock? Why do you like this place?”

High Tide swam up into a beam of light, her scales dazzling in the dour setting they were waiting for their friends in. She smiled and gestured with her tail to the docks where the Caribou ships were tied up. “Have you ever seen one of their burials Whitecap? I got…”

“I know I know…you got invited to the old chief’s funeral because he liked you. You’d spend days listening to him just ramble on and on about all the fights he’d been in, the trolls he’d slain the things he’d seen. I swear, it’s like you wanted to grow legs and antlers and go out with him on a raid yourself.”

High Tide stuck out her tongue. She was about to say something in Caribou language when her ears pick up a familiar sound. She turned around, her ears pointing in the direction of the sound she had heard. In the distance she could make out the rough shape of the trade cart being pulled by Sea Mist and Wave Jumper.

“The others are here Whitecap, you can calm down…”

Black stones splashed into the water next to them streaking down like shooting stars
from the sky. They fell like sparks from a volcano but instead of glowing with heat and light it was like they absorbed what light was around them, ‘glowing’ with darkness. As they neared the bottom of the bay the sea ponies could hear a voice like a buzzing surface bug coming from the strange unlit objects.

[=FLESH=]
[=FLESH=]
[=FLESH=]
[=FLESH=]
[=FLESH=]
[=FLESH=]
[=FLESH=]

The black sparks buried themselves in the bottom, boring into the dirt like a digger crab and disappearing.

“Wha…what was that High Tide,” Whitecap asked, her voice almost cracking.

The ground around them began to move. Wooden beams began to fall and a rumbling sound came up from the bay bottom. Once again they heard the strange voice of the black sparks, this time louder.

[=Issonsöngur Stedison of Westhold=]
[=Lodinnhorn Bitrson of Westhold=]
[=Bitregg Eljundottier of Westhold=]
[=BaniSteinn Hraustrson of Westhold=]
[=Rammligr Ljoistason of Westhold=]
[=Hvitrvindr Eldingson of Westhold=]
[=EldingFognudr Modrdottier of Westhold=]

[=RISE=]

Silt formed a cloud over the area making a shroud of darkness obscuring what had erupted from the seafloor. High Tide heard Whitecap coughing and made out the outline of her friend in the cloud. She pushed her muzzle forward until she touched the scales of her friend. Following the contours of Whitecap’s skin she found one of her fins. High Tide clamped firmly down with her mouth on the appendage and pulled.

“This way! Come on!”

They swam in confusing darkness for a moment, High Tide leading. She used her memory and the end of her nose to guide her, dead reckoning the two of them out of the storm of dirt. Clearing the silt cloud the sea ponies turned around to see if anything followed them out, hovering in place and watching and waiting. The voices of Wave Jumper and Sea Mist called out behind them.

From the swirling cloud of sea bottom came a dark shape. At first the ponies could not make out what it was. Sea Mist looked over Whitecap, checking to see if her fins had been hurt in the confusion. High Tide kept peering into the floating dirt trying to makw out what was within. There was a noise sounding like a drowned and damaged bugle trying to sound a note.

A decayed leg with a hoof at its end appeared from the edge of the cloud, followed by another. Two sharpened metal points thrust out connected to curve antlers the shredded and decayed velvet skin covering hung from the great prongs that grow from the cloud.

The corpus of a great caribou emerged from the silt, clad in armor that High Tide was sure belonged to a Jarl. It had a strange device on the chest plate she had never seen any other caribou warrior use before. Bloated rotting flesh and half scorched bones seemed to be knitting themselves back into their original shape. The head of the creature turned to face the sea ponies. They felt a chill in their hearts when its dead gaze fell on them.

[=FEAR=]
[=FEAR=]
[=FEAR=]
[=FEAR=]

“Ah…is that High Tide? Do you not know me anymore, “the jumble of decay shaped like a caribou said. “ Have you missed me and my stories child of the sea?”

“ICE SONG?!”

[=Love=][=Compassion=][=Hope=]

“Ah..You did miss this old head butting stag,” the body of Jarl Ice Song said. It was becoming more whole by the moment, years of decomposition undone as if by magic: a loose hanging jaw had returned to its set and became tight again. Missing teeth returned, muscles grew anew, filling out the bulk of the old Jarl’s body. Skin appeared and his coat returned. It was a miracle.

“Ice Song! It IS you! You’ve come back!” High Tide shot forward away from her friends, swimming furiously to the renewing body of one she loved as dear as her own grandmother. “How…how is this possible? Did you make it to Valhalla? Did your spirit make it to your ancestors? How did you come back and who…er…what are those,” High Tide pointed with her tail as she floated before the returned form of the old chief. She suddenly felt strangely weak.

The other sea ponies were still, hovering next to the trade chariot unsure what this all meant. They all knew the old chief, or at least knew of him. High Tide was the one who loved the deer folk most and she was very close to Jarl Ice Song when he was alive, he had loved their friend dearly. His death had hit her very hard. When news of his death came she refused to eat anything for a week. He had requested that she attend his funeral and willed to her a golden saddle belt. Now, the old warrior was before them, in the renewed flesh. High Tide almost danced in front of him. It was the happiest they had seen her for a long time.

“Some came back with me…see,” he pointed behind with a black band decorated hoof at the still swirling cloud of dirt. More shapes appeared from the cloud, caribou bodies in the process of reforming like Ice Song had done. “And for you my golden sea nymph I have one more tale to tell.”

The Jarl reached up with his legs taking the sea pony into an embrace. The world seemed to reel to High Tide, coldness creped through her body. All strength and feeling seemed to be flowing out of the. She felt an ache in her chest. She looked up at the old chief with half lidded eyes.

“I…I” she stammered. “Wha…” a hoof was pressed into her side.

[=LOVE=]

“The story is this little one: Ragnarök has come!”

[=FEAR=]

The hoof glowed with darkness and plunged into her. Searing, blinding pain shot through her whole body. Her scream echoed over the bay bottom. Whitecap swam forward enough to see the caribou’s hoof impaling High Tide. A boiling cloud of red shot out from her as Ice Song withdrew his leg. He let go of High Tide’s body, the broken sea pony slowly fell to the bottom, blood trailing out of her like ink form a retreating squid. On his hoof what looked like tentacles made of darkness held their friends heart.

[=Charge 5.23%=] the black band on the leg of the caribou corps buzzed. The heart of their friend seemed to melt away.

[=FEAR=][=RAGE=]
[=FEAR=][=COMPASSION=]
[=FEAR=][=WILL=]

Inky blackness erupted from the black ring, spinning like a whirlpool and curling itself into a hoop. It became solid, like the one on Ice Song's leg.

[=FLESH=] the ebony thing called out.

The black band floated down to the still body of their friend. It expanded becoming larger and larger as it moved down and slipping itself over High Tide’s tail and set itself on just above her tail fin. Golden yellow of her scales became dull. Material of black with white stripes formed around her body from her tail to the band around her neck. A triangle crest with five prongs like a dragon’s talon was on the front of her body over her middle. The crest was identical to the one the Caribou had on his chest plate.

[=High Tide of Aquastria - RISE=]

The sea pony’s head snapped upward, her body followed as she rose up and floated again under control. The wound the caribou caused had disappeared under her new garment. High Tide turned and drifted towards her cowering friends huddling around the sea chariot.

“H-High Tide? W-What’s happening….what happened to you?”

Unlight flared from her black neck band as large black barbed hooks appeared at the end of all High Tide’s fins. Black spear like spines grew out of her back giving her an appearance like a horrific lionfish.

[=FEAR=][=COMPASSION=]

Black Lantern High Tide smiled, “the same thing that’s about to happen to you!”

============<0>============

Rambling Rock Ridge west of Ponyville 12:30 PM

[=Scanning for Suitable candidate sentient=]

The loose ring flew only a meter in front of Applejack. She had ordered it to only go as swiftly as she herself was flying and today she was not in a hurry. After creating this ring with a quarter power charge, she had fully recharged her own ring and flown east like she said she would. Only after she was outside of Ponyville had she instructed this ring to begin looking for a wielder. Bon Bon’s words had struck a nerve and she had made her first decision as Corps Leader: The Green Lantern Corps would not recruit from Ponyville any longer unless there was no choice. Applejack had told Rarity and Twilight her policy decision via Rarity’s Indigo ring. Rarity and Twilight agreed with her thinking. The inducting of neighbors and associates in the various lantern corps tasted wrong to the fair dealing farm mare, it smacked of favoritism and she would not have that, not on her watch!

Twilight then informed her about Mac’s mission with the group of lanterns sent out under Princess Cadence and Fluttershy. They were going to look over things after the town of 29 Fronds had been wiped out! The princesses had asked the lanterns to look things over and stop the Black Lanterns if they attacked towns nearby and one of the towns close enough to count was Appaloosa. ‘No wonder Mac looked concerned’ she said to herself. ‘Maybe it’s a good thing Ah’m out here lookin’ for another recruit’ she thought as Twilight read the letter from Princess Celestia requesting help, ‘we might need them sooner rather than later’. Trixie apparently was the first lantern to reach Appaloosa and had reported all was well, which relieved Applejack greatly.

She had been in the air for about an hour now, getting far enough from home that Ponyville was now part of the horizon. She was over a beautiful sparkling cloud layer when the ring came to a sudden stop. Applejack, felt in her mind the ring letting go from her control like the one before had indicating that it had found somepony.

[=Suitable candidate found=] chirped the ring.

It suddenly flashed brightly and then dropped below the clouds, the green light tail through the clouds allowed Applejack to follow the ring down. She cleared the layer; the vista below her was barren scrub and rocky high hills. There were pit holes scattered over the landscape, looking like giant gopher holes. She saw the ring streaking into one of the larger pits, disappearing into the dark. She started to follow and as she descended she realized what the holes were, the large dog guarding the entrance was a dead giveaway as to who was alive out here.

“Figures,” she said shaking her head. “Ah wonder how Rarity is gonna to handle this? Heck, how am Ah gonna handle this?” As she entered the mouth of the pit, Applejack heard a crashing sound deep inside the tunnel.

<0>

“Engineer told you we should have shored up the tunnel more!” a large dog miner said as he shook, dirt flying off his coat in sheets. “That is the third time today!”

“I walked mine an hour ago-three times since then- dang,” a medium sized dog responded, pulling out a long brown rope like thing out of the pocket of his red vest. He bit into the cord and tore off a few inches and began chewing. “How bad is it,” he asked smacking as he talked while he chewed. “if we didn’t need to find more of those gems because of our last move…”

“They’re still digging?” Another Diamond Dog growled as he ran in from another mine tunnel, panting when he came to a stop in front of them. This dog was like the one eating; medium build and wearing a blue vest festooned with tools, spikes, a lamp, twine and rags. He was caring a combination pick and hammer that he used to support himself like a cane. The dog was almost heaving, his tongue lolled as he gasped for breath. “I told you to stop Rover! The tunnel needs to be reinforced. It’s not stable! By my sire’s ears you never listen! “

The tool vested dog looked around the dome staging chamber. “Where are the extra shoring materials, there’s only a minimum here?”

“We don’t have any extra Rufus and it will take a least week to get more lumber. The ponies don’t give it away and we’re still settling in from the last move! I got these from cannibalizing some of the old played out mines, and I was only able to take what was safe to grab.”

“You,” the tool laden dog pointed at the larger mining dog with his pick hammer. “Take me down there. We’re taking some braces and I’ll tell you where they should go.” The large dog nodded and lumbered over the wall picking up large wood and metal beams and placing them in a mining cart. There was a deep rumble sound and a thick cloud of dust erupted from the mine entrance.

Engineer Rufus slung his pick hammer over his shoulder and let out a low growl, ” I know that Rover! I told you to stop digging for a reason!” Rover responded with a louder growl while baring his teeth. “I told them to go slow and careful and when I was down there an hour ago it was fine. I’m NOT stupid! I am Alpha here Rufus! Remember that!”

Rufus backed away unbent. ” An ‘Alpha’ should be more careful with his pack Rover instead of hoping to stay lucky.” He turned away and ran after the large miner pulling the cart full of braces. From his belt canteen he poured water onto two cloth dust masks he pulled from a pocket of his vest, placing one over his muzzle and offering the other to the miner dog. Both pulled on their goggles and entered the mine. There was an even louder crash. What looked like thick smoke poured out of the mine, bathing the two dogs in dirt head to tail. Rufus waved with his pick hammer at Rover indicating that he was still going in.

The churning torrent of dust and noise coupled with the crush of workers struggling to find their way out made Rufus howl to grab their attention. He barked and flashed his light, directing the confused canids to the mouth of the mine. As the diggers passed by he questioned if anyone else was left. Between coughs and growls he learned that more workers were partially trapped at the end of the shaft and the ceiling was slowly falling in. Rufus asked if there was anyone that could help and he got a few volunteers, whom he gave more water soaked masks. He took the lead making his way to the shaft end.

The impromptu rescue party reached the cave in area quickly and went into action. Rufus directed workers to place the few supports he had in the key areas to slow the collapse. Wielding his pick hammer he drove spikes into the beams to lock them in place. The whines of the wounded and the low growl of the rock overhead created a din of desperation has the dogs worked quickly to get as many out as possible. Rufus, being one of the smaller dogs wiggled underneath debris and fallen structural members, prying here, lifting there, able to get into spots the larger workers could not.

“Engineer,” a large gold coated miner called out to Rufus from the other side of some fallen mine wall. “There are three of us trapped here…”

The creaking of an overhead beam told the lead dog what he needed to know. He looked at the bowing structural member and thrust his pick hammer in to act as a corner brace, the shaft of the tool reinforcing the beam temporarily. Rufus then dug with his bare paws quickly, helping to make a hole large enough for the miners to escape.

“Hurry…I don’t know how long that will hold,” the overhead beam still creaked and the shaft his tool was starting to curve a bit. “Get out of there!”

Dirt was falling like rain now, darkening the little light he had. His limbs felt heavy and he was having trouble breathing, choking as he yelled to the trapped workers to make for safety. They all were going to have to leave soon or be buried; the whole thing was coming down. ‘I can’t smell anything but dirt and I can barely see a thing in this darkness,’ he thought. Around him he could hear the cracking of timbers warning him of their eminent failure. ‘What I wouldn’t do to have some screw braces right now’ he thought when he was blinded by the most intense green light he had ever seen.

[= You have been chosen=]

“What in the name of,” a glowing green band wrapped itself around his paw looking very much like a set of knuckles the guard dogs would sometimes use.

[=Rufus Della Axle of Canidia you have the ability to overcome great fear =]

Immediately he was swathed in green light, his vest and tools disappearing, replaced by a garment made of something he could not identify. His mask and goggles disappeared in a flash of the green light but what was strange was that he could breathe as well as he could in clear air and he could see, the dust not obscuring his vision or hurting his eyes!

[=Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps=]

“What is…” he asked out loud.

“Engineer?”

A whine came from the floor of the mine. He could see the three diggers he had freed! They had stopped to gawk at the site of him despite the danger of the cave in. Snapping wood sounded from the walls. ‘If the wood could just hold together longer,’ he thought. In his mind he felt something reach out and ‘slot’ with him, like gears meshing together and beginning to turn, transmitting ones motion to the other making an endless cycle of connections.

The ring flashed, bathing the walls with a brilliant green light. The cracking and groaning sounds began to die down. In his head, Rufus swore could ‘feel’ the light giving holding power to the compromised mine braces, making the structures able to hold and stop the cave in. The mine appeared and felt stable for the moment, almost safe. He turned his attention away from the braces and to the fallen workers. He took his thoughts off of the mine for the moment to the struggling workers. The moment he did so the light dimmed and the walls began to fail again. The feeling in his mind and the sounds of cave in refocused his attention to the mine braces. Strength returned to the failing structures becoming solid again.

“Hurry up! I don’t know how but this magic light has stopped the cave in. Get out of here,” the light enveloping the mine walls had banished the darkness of the dust, allowing the miners to see the way out.

“Rufus?” a miner gestured at him in his new garments.

“No time. Get out! NOW! ”

When they had scampered to safety, Rufus relaxed. For a moment he was still, not taking his thoughts from the mine walls, lest they begin to fail again. He started to take slow deliberate steps, making his way to safety. He held the idea of the green light strengthening the mine braces in his mind while he walked.

He looked down at the glowing emerald object on his left knuckles. It was like the thing had attached itself to his paw. The band felt like metal but looking at it he could see that the material was like crystal and metal combined. If it had been a gem it was have been the most perfect gem he had ever seen! Completely flawless, seamless!

A symbol of some kind was ‘formed’ on the face of it, like it had grown out of the material not carved or shaped: a circle bracketed by and connected to two parallel lines. Light seemed to shine from within from every part of it, but here was no flame or bulb; no source for the light coming from it. The thing appeared to be formed of light itself. It was as if it was…MAGIC!

There was the noise. It almost made him forget about the idea of the mine being held up in his head. There was a groan from the earth when he almost let go of the thought. He could hear a commotion, the shouts of his fellow dogs, their barking at something but he could not see what it was. When he got to the opening of the shaft he beheld another strange sight.

In the air near the top of the main staging chamber shining with the same light he had just seen was a pony. It was a female, about the size of Rufus and wearing the same kind of clothes he was now clad in. On one of her front legs was a bright glowing band just like one on his paw. The sight of the pony made him forget about the mine and with a rumbling crash, the cave in completed, dust exploding into the staging chamber.

The glowing pony landed in the center of the chamber floor.

“Pony,” Rover growled in Equestrian, “I saw light in tunnel! Your light! You made cave in! It your fault!”

“Uh…R-Rover…” Rufus stuttered trying to make himself heard over the din in the pit. The light had stopped the cave in, not caused it, Rover had not seen that. He also knew somehow that he had made the light from the object he now wore stop the collapse. The pony wrapped in the same light he had just seen in the mine didn’t do it.

Four large miners rose and stood besides the Diamond Dog leader. All of them held a tool of some kind ready to use as a weapon. The dogs all sounded a low growl, their lips curling back exposing their teeth. Rover glared at the strange mare exposing his teeth as well.

“GET HER!”

The four large dogs rushed forward barking insults, tools swinging. There was a shower of green light before them and a brick wall made of green luminance appeared. The tools struck the wall then rebounded almost hitting their wielders. One dog ran into the wall, his body compressing from the impact before he collapsed to the floor. Barking and growling filled the room.

Two more dogs behind the pony rushed forward, reaching out to tackle her. She leaped into the air before they could lay paws on her. The pony then hovered above them out of reach. A glowing rope appeared flowing out from the glowing band on her fore-leg, flying at the four dogs that had attacked her first. Another rope flowed out; making its way to the two dogs that had attacked her from behind. The green strands struck the six attacking dogs, weaving around and between them tying them together like bundles for caring. The loose ends of glowing rope then reached straight up and wrapped around overhead beams, the trapped dogs swinging like fresh trapped wild game.

The pony then landed where she had lifted off from, the sound of her landing echoed from the chamber walls. Cracks in the stone floor appeared under her hooves. She was covered in green fire.

“All right that’s ENOUGH,” the pony bellowed. Her voice was like thunder and her eyes arced with green lightning. The Diamond Dogs all became silent and still. Rover trembled both from fear and rage. His ears were lying flat; eyes narrowed. His mind plotted trying to figure out if he could attack himself. He had half raised his hand when the pony’s gaze fell upon him. The Diamond Dog froze.

A large miner behind the glowing mare took a quiet step forward, his pick raised to strike. She caught the movement in the corner of her eye. “You really want ta try it?” The dropped pick clattered on the floor. She then gestured with her head for everyone to be in front of her. There were whines from the miners as they regrouped in front of the green glowing mare. The ropes lowered the tied up attackers, disappearing when their captives were on the ground. Released, they joined their compatriots behind their leader.

Rover raised a paw cutting silencing his pack, “What you want pony?”

“Ah’m not here ta fight…at least not any of y’all. All Ah’m looking for the one who got one of these,” she held up the blazing band. A few of the dogs barked and pointed to the caved in mine. Applejack looked in the direction they had gestured and her gaze met Rufus’s. She pointed at the engineer with her ring hoof. He was still standing at the cave entrance still unseen by the other dogs save the last he had rescued.

“Ah’m here for him.” Her ring shone, brightening the chamber as she pointed to behind crowd.

The semi circle of dogs turned around and saw their strangely dressed engineer. They began to growl and yip. Rufus, held up his ‘knuckle’ and it lit up as if answering the ponies light. He walked forward, the crowd parting so he could reach the pony and their pack leader. The dogs sniffed at him as he as he passed by, trying to discover what kind of material he was clad in. Their eyes wide in wonder at the vision of their pack mate dressed the same as the intruder.

Rover looked the engineer up and down, his eyes boggled looking at the strange outfit. “Rufus! Why you like this pony,” he continued to growl in Equestrian. If there was going to be issues the pony should address them and ponies were notorious for not being able to understand Diamond Dog language. “What goes?”

Rufus held up the glittering green knuckle band so that the pack leader could see it better. He recalled how it had attached itself him and how with the green light from it a miracle had occurred allowing all dogs to get out of the collapsed mine. Rover nodded as he listened. He turned and asked the truth of what he had been told, the rescued miners responding that it was as their engineer had said.

“When it appeared it spoke to me and said: welcome to the Green Lantern Corps,” there was a murmur as a large miner came forward. His tail was wagging as he approached Rover.

“Lantern! We heard about them from traders from Ponytown. They said ponies had strange new power and fought…the dead that move again!”

More whining and barking erupted. Tails went between hind legs. Many of the dogs shifted uncomfortably in place, some huddled together. Applejack’s eyes moved around. The dog’s reactions told her something was going on. The Diamond Dogs were scared. Terrified! Rover raised a paw and the sounds died down again. The pack leader’s ears were flat besides his head, his tail low.

“You’ve seen em! You’ve seen these things….these zombies? “

Rover nodded. “ Zombies? Yes…them we have seen pony. Some of our gone, they take! We flee from old mines to here. They kill some of us.” The dog sniffed then spat at the ground. ”Nothing we do stops them, not cave in, not fire, not weapons. We flee. We open old mines again. They leave us alone here, so we are safe.” Rover sat on his hind legs visibly relaxing. “You not welcome here pony. What you want with Rufus? What is magic thing he now has?“

“The ‘ring’ he’s wearing now was told to search for anypony..er..anyone who could use it properly. It chose him,” Applejack pointed again at the ring wearing Diamond Dog. “It picked him as a warrior, as the one who could use it to fight the ‘zombies’…they’re called Black Lanterns.”

The dogs murmured , yips and growls shot back and forth.

“Pony is lantern…she come to hurt us..”

“No…lanterns with colors fight no color ones…”

“Why she want engineer?”

Applejack stood still and let the ‘discussion’ go on, her gaze never leaving Rufus. Her eyes seemed to be searching within him for an answer to a question, a very simple question with a complicated answer: ‘Who are you?’

Who indeed?

The dog who the ring had been chosen spoke, “You calling me to war pack pony?”

The mare shook her head then looked at the engineer in the eyes again, ”That ring called ya…Ah’m here ta see if’n the answer is yes or no. If it’s a nah, Ah take back an’ it goes home with me with and ya go about yer life. If it’s a yes, Ah take ya with me and ya train ta fight an we fight tah’gether.”

“To serve ponies! To serve Equestria and fancy princesses! Feh,” Rover snapped.

Again Applejack shook her head. “No. Our job now is to fight the Black Lanterns. The Green Lantern Corps does not serve any one country. The corps job, “ she turned her gaze onto Rover ,”Is to protect all…EVEN YOU!”

“Corps? A pack? A war pack,” Rufus asked as rubbed the band with his other paw.

“Humm… Ah guess the answer to yer question is yes!”

“Maybe Rufus keep here and we have it’s magic for us!” a small dog yipped.

“Sorry, isn’t gonna happen,” her aura glowed brighter for a moment.

“Only ponies are lanterns,” the dog who spoke said.

“No. That ain’t true either! There is a griffon lantern,” Applejack sat on her rump and looked into the eyes of the dog chosen again, “you would be the first Diamond Dog lantern.”

“Rover…I’m engineer. I’m responsible for mines. I have…”

The leader of the Diamond Dogs shook his head. The awakened dead had chased them out of their homes. There had been no way to stop them, no means. They were the stuff of nightmares, unstoppable. Now a pony glowing in green light said there was a way to stop them, a weapon that could hurt them, and that power was in the paws of a Diamond Dog! A new tool…but a tool must be learned before it can be used correctly, a weapon must be trained with to be effective…

…and you can’t train for war if you are always busy stopping cave-ins and planing shafts.

“The law on war pack is clear! Engineer Rufus you are called to war pack! It is yes or no. Before all: what say you? ” Silence fell for a moment as the assembly listened for the engineer’s answer.

War pack…called to war pack! His grandsire had been a warrior long ago. He was thought too small to be a warrior but was fierce and made a name for himself. Later because he was intelligent he became an engineer like Rufus himself was. Now a magical band had called on him to be a warrior, to wield it. The walking dead had chased them out of their homes and killed many. They needed to be stopped. But that meant leaving.

‘Can I do this,’ he asked himself. Rufus stared at the green crystaline band. ‘I don’t know, but I want to find out.’

“I say..yes. I will go.”

Ears flat in sadness Rover asked simply, “Who should be new engineer. You pick, it’s your right.”

“I pick Fido,” Rufus answered. He had raised himself up to his full height. “My family?”

“Will be well. We keep in duty to you,” the chief dog replied. He then barked three times and spoke loudly commanding attention for what he was about to say.

“Rufus goes to war pack for us, becomes a warrior! His things shall not be touched! Bring me a great gem..a green one to match his war pack colors! “ It took a moment and then a large beautiful emerald appeared and was pressed into Rufus’s paws by a small dog. The miners then came forward, pressing their bodies against their engineer. They nuzzled him and licked his face as they gave him what looked like their version of a farewell. Rover then raised his forepaw up and there was silence.

“Good hunting. Come back to us as the living, not dead!” Rover licked his face and then bowed his head.

Rufus turned to fully face the pony waiting patiently for the pack to bid their lantern recruit goodbye. Pointing at different tunnel in the wall he said, “I need my things. Please wait pony lantern.” He ran off using all his limbs. Rover then approached Applejack and glared at her with an evil eye.

“Every time you ponies show up, it becomes big headache!”

“Well don’t feel too bad about it. The pain ain’t all one sided.” Applejack smiled, ”Should I tell Rarity y’all said hi?”

Rover winced. He put his paws over his ears “Please, no more today miss lantern pony.”

After that there was silence while Rufus was gone. When he returned he was caring a large satchel bag that looked like it was almost bursting. Applejack was not sure exactly what the Diamond Dog had packed but the straining seams on the carpet bag indicated the bag was packed full and he apparently was ready to go.

Her ring brightened as a farm cart formed out of green energy. The watching dogs barking here and there at the appearance of the vehicle from nothing. Applejack hitched the cart to herself with a construct yoke and then looked over her shoulder at Rufus.

“Go ahead and get on in and we’ll get goin’.” Rufus threw his bag in first then hoisted himself aboard. When he had settled in he indicated he was aboard.

“We’ll teach ya about flyin later in more…open surroundings.”

“Fly? ME?” That idea was too incredible to the tunnel dweller.

“Yep, the ring allows any who wear it ta fly. How do ya think Ah’m doin’ all this right now? ”

Applejack and the cart lifted into the air, hovering for minute. The Diamond Dogs watched in silence as the pony and their pack mate flew silently out of the mine and into the sky disappearing behind the cloud layer.

For a few minutes there were no words said as Applejack concentrated on flying, the constructs and figuring out exactly what she was going to with this critter? What did he even eat? Where he could sleep was not a problem, but feeding the dog was going to be an issue…he surely ate meat! Maybe Gilda would help out with that.

She turned to get a better look at the new recruit in the sunlight. The dog sat back in the wagon, using his carpet bag as a back rest. He was bigger than she thought, not like the huge digging dogs, but about as tall as Big Mac. Blue eyes narrowed from sunlight, his pointed muzzle and his dirty grey coat gave a slightly wolfish appearance. His curved tail ended in the typical spiked ball. His tongue hung out of his open mouth like Winona’s did when she was on a train poking her head out the window. Ears that normally stood upright now flapped backwards in the wind. Applejack flipped around so she was still pulling the construct but face her passenger.

“Excuse me there partner can Ah ask ya a question?”

The dog nodded, “Yes lantern pony, what you want to know?”

‘Ok THAT has to stop.’ “Look now, ya don’t have to call me that…”

“Yes, of course warpack leader.” He answered in a rough voice. Applejack winced slightly. Equestrian sounded a little harsh when it was spoken by a Diamond Dog.

“No…no. Ah’d prefer you use mah name if ya please. We are just getting ta know each other. Here let’s do this again an’ do it right! Let me introduce mahself properly: Howdy there, Ah’m Applejack,” she flashed bright teeth as she smiled. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
The dog just stared at the pony for a moment, his expressionless face like a statue carved of grey stone. He then closed his eyes as if he were remembering something

“I am Rufus of Long North Tunnel. Engineer Master of Mining for the Diamond Dogs. Greetings Applejack of…um, where do you live?”

“Ponyville”

“Yes, of course. Greetings Applejack of Ponyville.” Rufus closed his eyes again and brought up his hind left leg using it to scratch behind his left ear with a kicking motion. ”It is custom for us to include our home when we greet others. I meant no disrespect asking you your home.”

“Nah, its fine. Ah didn’t know yer custom. You might say we’re learnin’ about each other from scratch, startin’ over again and doin’ it right, ya know- making up for last time.”

“Last time?” He tapped his nose with a paw finger , ears flat, eyes closed. Then the blue eyes became large as his ears stood up. “Miss Rarity?”

Applejack chuckled, “Yep.”

There was the sudden crack of laughter followed by coughing. Rufus’s tail wagged about wildly. “Yes, she made impression on us…Rover had nightmares about her for a moon!” His chest heved as he resumed laughing.

The farmer joined the miner in mirth. It was something in common-a fussy unicorn that could get under both of their skins the same way, yet they both could laugh about it. Friendships have started on less.

The dog let his laughter fade, wiping a tear away from his eye. “What was it that you wanted to ask me ‘Miss’ Applejack?”

“Aheh. Yeah.. .why ya doing this,” Applejack did her best to make the same face she had seen on the dog as they flew. She let her tongue out the side of her open mouth, her nose flared and lips flapping around like her tongue. She was sure it was goofy looking. It might even be insulting, but it WAS how he looked and she was curious to know.

The diamond dog closed his eyes and shrugged, sticking his nose back up and opening his mouth letting his tongue roll out into the air again. He loved the feeling of the wind rushing through his ears, and marveled at seeing the clouds rush by underneath, the fluffy tops of the clouds was something he was sure that he would never see, let alone fly over like a dragon or a pegasus! His eyes closed and mouth lolled open the large purple tongue flapped in the wind. “It…feels like the right thing to do.”

She shook her head. “Fair enough. Just thought Ah’d ask.”

“Now I have question for you Applejack. No, two.”

“Go ahead,” she turned back to face in the direction of flight, looking down at the ground occasionally to check if she was on path to home. “Fire away.”

Rufus held up the gleaming knuckle-ring on his paw, “What is this…and what is a ‘Green Lantern’?”

Author's Note:

This chapter was written by Crazy Mike Prime.

Comments

[Ardashir]

I love the detailed work out into differentiating the various cultures of the caribou, the sea ponies, and the Diamond Dogs. The latter especially feel very canine in their actions. And good on making Rufus an engineer, it'll be interesting to see how his ring's constructs manifest as compared to Applejack's or those of other members of his new 'war pack'.

And the poor Sea Ponies. I hope some of them got away from the zombified Black Lantern High Tide.

[treegrowth]

The loose ring flew only a meter in front of Applejack. She had ordered it to only go as swiftly as she herself was flying and today she was not in a hurry. After creating this ring with a quarter power charge, she had fully recharged her own ring and flown east like she said she would. Only after she was outside of Ponyville had she instructed this ring to begin looking for a wielder. Bon Bon’s words had struck a nerve and she had made her first decision as Corps Leader: The Green Lantern Corps would not recruit from Ponyville any longer unless there was no choice. Applejack had told Rarity and Twilight her policy decision via Rarity’s Indigo ring. Rarity and Twilight agreed with her thinking. The inducting of neighbors and associates in the various lantern corps tasted wrong to the fair dealing farm mare, it smacked of favoritism and she would not have that, not on her watch!

wait, WHAT!
WHEN DID THAT HAPPENED!!!
WHY DID YOU SKIP ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTENT PARTS OF ANY ADVENUTRE STORY!!!!!!