//------------------------------// // Chapter One: A Light Goes Out // Story: Applejack of the Green Lanterns // by Thatguywiththemane //------------------------------// Disclaimer: Green Lantern belongs to DC Comics. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro. The moon was high in the sky over Sweet Apple Acres. It cast its pale light over the entire orchard, giving the bright skin of the apples a silvery glow when looked at from just the right angle. The moon was fat and full, with the Mare in the Moon looking down. The stars seemed to dance against a navy blue background, almost in celebration of the night. Atop a small hill in the farm, about a mile from the farmhouse, sat an orange earth pony. The hill overlooked a large pond, teeming with crickets and other insect life. The workhorse of Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack, had her legs folded under her as she looked up at the cloudless sky. She worked so hard during the day, and she was happy to have a moment to herself during the night. As much as ponies saw Twilight as the stargazer, and she was, Applejack had always loved looking up at the sky. She didn’t use a telescope: she didn’t need it. Applejack wasn’t charting star paths, or whatever it was Twilight did. Applejack looked up at the sky to get a better look at herself. She had a pretty good life here. A good days work, a great family, and the best darn friends a pony could ask for. She smiled to herself as she felt a cool evening breeze blow through her mane. On a whim, she undid the ties on her mane and tail, letting the hair flow freely. That breeze that blew through her blond locks was colder than the ones last night, which meant fall was coming in. Harvest time was coming, and she and Big Mac would- Whoa, there, filly, hold yer horses. We don’ think about those things out here, do we? she chided mentally. It was true, Applejack generally used this time to wind down from the day, not work herself up. There would be plenty of time to plow herself into the ground in the morning. Right now, she was focusing on her own thoughts. She smiled, letting her mind drift to other things. Like how much Apple Bloom had grown. Boy howdy, had she grown. She’d be getting her cutie mark any day now, if she’d just settle down about it. She would be a very pretty filly when she got older. She'd have to beat the stallions off with a stick... if Big Mac didn't do it first. Applejack chuckled softly, imagining how THAT would go in her head. She thought they had a nice hefty piece of lumber in the barn... Applejack began to stand, deciding that it was about time she headed to bed. She had another full day of work tomorrow, and as Benjamin Flanklan had said, “Early to bed, early to rise.” Applejack’s thoughts were interrupted, however, by the appearance of a star twinkling a little bit brighter. She squinted a bit, frowning and tilting her head at the sight of the star. Huh, she thought, squinting a bit harder at the point of light. Is it just me, or is that star gettin’… bigger? And indeed, it looked like the star was growing, its light getting bigger as she looked on. That was… odd. Stars moved in the sky, sure, but they didn't grow like that. And… wait, it looked like it was turning… green? What in Celestia’s name…? she asked herself, continuing to watch the little speck of light, which was starting to become not so little. The light was getting bigger and bigger, even getting brighter. At the back of her mind she wondered if Twilight was looking at this. Maybe she should go ask her… Hold it one apple buckin’ minute… it aint gettin’ bigger… its gettin’ closer! And indeed, it looked as if the light might not be a star at all, but an object heading straight for Sweet Apple Acres. A very close spot. A spot marked by a certain freckled pony… Applejack started running, heading for a nearby ditch, hoping it would shield her from the resulting impact. She covered her head in her hooves, closing her eyes. Please land in the pond, please land in the pond, please land in the pond… she repeated in her mind, tensing her body in preparation. Her prayers went unanswered as instead of a large splash, there was an earth-shattering crash, followed by a cloud of dust and debris. A cloud of said debris soared over the ditch, before settling down onto the dusty ground. Applejack was protected by the ditches overhang, but she wasn't protected from the shockwave that rocked the ground. She could feel the vibrations against her back as she pressed herself against the wall of the ditch. She kept her eyes closed, waiting out the horrible rumbling of the earth. Once the quake subsided, she slowly opened her eyes, looking around the depression in the earth she had taken shelter in. She breathed a sigh of relief, resting her back against the side. She took a moment to regain her bearings, slowly getting to her feet. She hooked her hooves over the edge of the ditch, and pulled herself up, looking towards the impact sight. She almost regretted it. Right where she had been sitting was a huge crater, the dirt gouged out by the force of the object’s impact. The tree she had been under had been uprooted by the celestial wrecking ball, its roots totally incinerated. It looked like something was caught in the trunk, too, by the look of it. She gingerly approached the destroyed tree, and examined the foreign object. It was green, and the texture was rough, like some kind of bone. It was tapered on one end, but jagged on the other, as if it had broken off of something. She looked from the strange object to the ruined tree. ‘Hayseed…’ she lamented briefly, calling to mind the tree’s name. Her grief was cut short, however, when she saw the strange green light at the bottom of the crater. Or, more specifically, what was at the center. It was… well, it certainly wasn’t a pony. It looked like some kind of lizard, with patchy, green, leathery skin. It had a crest upon its head, a short, bony protrusion with a jagged edge. Applejack turned green as she realized that the bony object she had seen moments ago had been part of this creature. It didn’t have any wings, so she didn’t think it was dragon, but it looked like the two might not be too far off. It seemed to have claws, like Spike did, four on each appendage, with a ring around one of them. It also seemed to be wearing clothes, some kind of odd uniform. It was black and green, with a strange symbol on its chest: a circle with a line on the top and bottom. Applejack was a bit wary of this thing- not unwarranted, she thought, as it fell out of the Celestia blessed sky- but she’d be damned if it would be said that an Apple left something to die. So, on shaking legs, she eased her way into the hole, letting the dirt slide under her hooves. She reached the bottom, almost touching the creature. She nudged the creature’s shoulder but backed off quickly to be safe. “Hey… you alright, partner?” At her words, the creature’s eyes opened, and took a long, shuddering breath. Applejack jumped a foot, and backed up a bit. The creature lifted its appendage up, the right one with the ring on it. It turned its head, and Applejack saw that some kind of green liquid was leaking from the corner of its mouth. “Who… are you…?” it asked, its voice weak and raspy. It certainly sounded alien, with a strange kind of distortion. It reached out its appendage towards her, looking as if it was seeking something. Applejack had seen this before, a long time ago… She instinctively knew that it was looking for a connection, it its final moments. It was then that Applejack knew the creature was going to die, and it knew it. All fear left Applejack at the point. The poor creature was dying, and needed contact with another living thing. Applejack offered her hoof, and touched its appendage. The creature’s claws closed around her hoof, still with some strength in its weakened state. Applejack, after a moment of just sitting there, finally said, “Ah’m Applejack. Who’re you?” The creature gave what might be considered a smile, and said, “I am… Seron Gruto, Green Lantern of… Sector 0236…” it said. “You have been chosen… Applejack of Equestria… to join us…” It released her hoof and moved its right appendage. It tried to reach over its body, but stopped suddenly and gave a bloodcurdling howl. Applejack winced mightily, and placed a hoof on its shoulder. “Whoa, partner, be careful!” she yelled. The creature shook its head. “No, this… must be done…” it said, reaching over again. It gave a sickly groan, but reached over its body, and quickly plucked the ring off its claw. “The ring… has chosen you… to serve in the Corps… It is a great honor…” Applejack tilted her head, supremely confused now. The ring chose her? Green Lanterns? What in Equestria was it talking about? “Ah don’t know what you're talking about,” she said quietly, a touch of fear returning. The creature nodded. “It is to be expected. Put on the ring, say the oath to the lantern… the Guardians will explain… Tell them… the Five Inversions… are moving… Beware… Rage…” It pressed the ring up to her right hoof, and before Applejack’s eyes, the band began to grow, until it was able to slip on like a bracelet around her fetlock. It felt… warm. Not the kind of warm that came from being worn, though, as she expected. It was as if it was heated from within, especially from the symbol on it. She realized then that the symbol was the same on the creature’s chest. The ring shone brightly, let out a flash of green light. When it finally dimmed, something had appeared in front of her. It was bright green, the same emerald hue as the ring and the creature’s uniform. It was a sphere with two holes on either end. It had a round base, and a similar object on the top. Connected to the sides was a piece of metal that connected at the top to form a handle. A bright green light seemed to radiate from within the holes on the object. It looked something like a railroad lantern, she thought. The creature gripped her hoof once more, looking her in the eyes. “Repeat after me…” it said. “In brightest day… in blackest night… no evil shall… shall escape my sight. Let those… who worship… evil’s might… beware my power… Green Lantern’s light…” As it finished this strange phrase, the creature- no, Seron – went limp and closed his eyes, letting out one last shuddering breath. Applejack sat there for a moment, staring at Seron Gruto, who, for whatever reason, had chosen this planet to die, leaving behind… Tartarus’ sake, she didn’t even know. Did he have a family? Friends? Co-workers? Someone had to tell them, if they did exist. Whoever he was, he was a living, thinking creature, and he deserved better than this, to die so far away from home with only a stranger for comfort. She wouldn’t wish that on anypony… And so she sat, wondering just what had happened… and what it meant. -- Applejack patted the dirt at her hooves, settling it down. She had just spent the last hour digging a grave for Seron. She felt she owed him that, even if he hadn’t made a lot of sense. It hadn’t occurred to her until too late to go out and get a shovel, but she felt she had a pass on logical thought for the night. She picked up a sizable rock she had managed to find, and placed it at the head of the grave. It was a simple marker, with no name or epitaph, but it was what she could manage. Not for the first time tonight, she wished Twilight was here. She might have been able to mark the rock, and for that matter know what in Celestia’s name had just happened. Applejack looked at the ring around her hoof, which looked like it was glowing again. Seron had said to “say the oath to the lantern”. Her gaze drifted over to the object that had appeared. She was no fool; she could put two and two together. It seemed crazy, but... well, it was her only clue. She sat in front of the lantern, just looking into it and its strange light. What was it that Seron had said? “In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape mah sight. Let those who worship evil’s might, beware mah power, Green Lantern’s light.” As the last words left her mouth, the lantern’s light intensified. What looked like a green flame snaked out of the lantern, and began swirl around her. Applejack backed away from the fire as it followed her, but she stopped when she realized that it wasn’t hot. In fact, it felt almost pleasant. As she felt the fire, it slowly enveloped her in a sphere of emerald flame. The fire turned into a transparent green bubble, surrounding both her and the lantern. Applejack hesitantly placed a hoof against the bubble, and met with strong resistance. However, before she could start panicking about being trapped in a sphere of green energy, she was presented with an entirely different reason to panic: The bubble shot up into the air, carrying her along with it. Applejack hurtled through the air inside the ball, hesitantly looking down at the ground. Ponyfeathers, she was already above the clouds! She started beating her hooves against the bubble, then reared back on her front hooves, giving the sphere a mighty buck. She cried out in pain, however, as the force of her buck didn’t damage the bubble at all, but instead went right back into her. “Oh, Celestia…” she said as her situation sank in. She was trapped in an indestructible green bubble, which looked like it was actually LEAVING the planet’s orbit now, towards who-knew-where. Applejack curled up in it, the events of the night finally catching up to her. She closed her eyes and started to sleep, hoping this was all just a crazy dream she could laugh about with the girls tomorrow.