//------------------------------// // Facing responsibility and doubt. // Story: Lanterns of Equestria- The Blackest Night // by Moon Chaser //------------------------------// Facing Responsibility and Doubt by Moon Chaser (DA CrazymikePrime) After speaking with Big Mac, Applejack did not head into town. She turned away from her brother and headed to the barn and the house. The noise of fencing being pried apart at a pace she had never heard before was a little disconcerting to Applejack. She looked back to see the fence being torn apart by ring energy so fast it was like a mini twister was running along the fence line at Mac’s command, tearing up the old rotten fence rails and pulling the old fence posts out of the ground like the big stallion would pull out small weeds from a garden. Big Mac looked behind himself and spoke in a louder voice than normally he would. “AJ…that ain’t the way ta town.” Applejack stopped and looked back at her brother. Mac had completed the demolition of the old and damaged fence sections already. The fencing tools were still held in the grip of the ring energy, the green glow around them not unlike the glow given off things unicorns manipulated with their telekinetic magic. “Ah know,” she said plainly. ”Ah figgerd Ah’d do somthin’ else first today, seein’ as Ah’ve been granted a day or so to mahself, whether Ah deserve it or not. Ah’m doin’ somthin’ Ah ain’t done in a while.” Big Mac made a puzzled face, “Oh? An’ what would that be?” She gave him a half smile. “Skippin’ stones an’ plinkin’ cans.” His eyes narrowed. “Don’t worry big brother, Ah ain’t borrowing trouble,” she said. “Then what are ya borrowing headin’ back to the house?” She gave him a wink. “Cans.” Mac eyed her sidelong at that statement. He remembered the last time Applejack had plinked cans for thinking.”AJ…” “What?” she said loudly as she trotted off. ”Ah ain’t plinked full cans since Granny tanned mah hide that time Ah ruined that fancy shmancy tomato sauce when Ahwas a filly.” She chuckled a little. ”Besides, they made pretty patterns didn’t they?” Mac shook his head and returned to work, using his ring to manipulate the tools and materials. He carefully set the fence pieces in what would be their final position, using the ring energy’s grip to hold them until the hammer drove the nails home and completed the construction. “Yessiree, mighty useful,” Mac commented to himself as he used more ring power to clean up the construction mess. Applejack made her way to the side of the barn closest to the house. On the side of the barn she saw the scrap bin, where all the little scrap bits of metal, old used cans, and broken tools that were unfixable were tossed The bin contained 6 baskets to separate and sort the different grades and kinds of metal. When a basket was full, it was taken into town for melting down and reuse. Copper lately had the best return of Bits in melt value, but Sweet Apple Acres had little in copper scrap to send in for money. The iron tools basket was half full, and would have to be sent in to the blacksmith soon to see if the steel tools could be re-forged and repaired to be used again, or melted down into raw materials. One of the baskets that was full was the one for empty cans. Since this basket was at the front of the bin, Applejack pulled the basket out and dragged it to the barn quickly. In the barn she dumped the contents of the basket into her old harvest carrier pack and, after filling the carrier baskets with the old cans, she heaved the pack onto her back and went out the back door of the barn heading to the west orchard, grabbing a few apples to eat on her way out. The creek that fed the apple trees in the west orchard was the same one that a bunch of ‘varmint beavers’ dammed up and flooded the apple trees’ roots. If Fluttershy had not gotten the beavers to open the dam and drain the orchard, the damage to the trees and the crop would have been considerable. Applejack had called Fluttershy to help solve that situation after she had attempted to remove the dam herself only to get swarmed with irate beavers. That galled her! The beaver was on her land consarn-it, and causing damage to her family livelihood. She had the inclination to smack the cantankerous beaver for all the fuss he had caused, especially after having to apologize the critter! Ugh! Fluttershy had solved the problem quickly and quietly, without any fur flying, or further fuss and only a tiny scratch to Applejack’s calm. But this time — there was no easy way this time! And the guilt stabbed at her heart again. “Ain’t no solvin’ this with a conversation and an apology, problem bein’…how do you apologize to the dead?” she sighed, “Especially when the one yer sorry to wants ya to die too?” A lone tear fell from her eye as she prayed silently to Celestia, Luna, her relatives that looked in on her time to time, and any power in the world that could aid her that Mac was right, that her friends could at least ease the pain in her heart. The sun had climbed higher in the sky as she was trotting to the west orchard. The trees were tall, their full leaves green and alive, as if promising a great bounty in apples to come. The meadow birds were singing in the branches of the great apple trees, their song soft and soothing to Applejack’s wounded heart. The creek that fed the orchard cut a gentle curving arc through the trees, the soft burble of running water adding to the beauty of the orchard. The orchard path threaded through the trees, curving this way and that and, while having a rising slope, it was gentle, making for a pleasant walk. The path ended at the back fence that separated the foothills of the mountains from the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. Just at the edge of the fence line was the pond that the creek ran out of. The creek was in turn fed from streams that ran down from the mountains into the foothills. Applejack had learned that there was also a spring that fed the pond, and that spring had a particular taste to its water that made it pleasant, and helped make the apples tasty as well. The work pony came up to the back fence and unloaded the pack onto the ground. It dropped with the hollow, dull ‘clang’ of empty cans. She dug out an apple and bit the fruit in half, popping and smacking as she chewed its sweet flesh as she began to empty the bag of cans. The flat top rail of the fence quickly had cans of various sizes and shapes placed on it, each can, no matter its size, evenly spaced apart. Applejack then ate the other half of the apple and gathered up small stones, piling them next to the base of an outlying apple tree. A gentle breeze blew softly though her mane and tail as she popped the first smooth stone into the air. She quickly turned and raised her hind leg, cocking Kicks McGee back and connected with the falling stone, launching it at the cans on the fence rail. The rock passed over the cans, making a thump on the grass on the other side of the fence. Applejack popped another rock in the air, and kicked out again, with the same result. She tried again and missed again. The cans seemed to be mocking her by just sitting on the rail unmoved. “Dang it! Ahm overshootin’!”she said in disgust. ”It ain’t like me to miss with every shot.” She changed legs this time. Bucky McGillicuddy smacked the stone dead center of a waiting coffee tin with a hard ‘clunk’. Applejack was rewarded with the sight of the can flying off the rail and tumbling to a stop in the grass. ”Now..That’s more like it!” She grinned as she prepared for another shot. She popped another rock in the air, and kicked with her right rear leg again. The ‘thock’ sound of her hoof striking the rock was followed by the ringing ‘clunk’ of another can flying to the ground off the fence rail. Applejack smiled a little and went to her pack to fish out another apple. She bit it in half again and chewed slowly as she headed to the pond edge and sat down on her haunches in the shade of an apple tree. She kicked with her right for hoof at a stone on the ground, making it pop up into the air. Applejack smacked the stone away from her and it sailed across the pond, skipping once before sinking into the water. The stone had been smooth and flat, and she had hit it correctly, but she only got one skip out of it. “That won’t do,” she said as she popped another rock up in the air and smacked it over the pond. The smooth stone skipped a more satisfying three skips this time before it sank. ”Ha! Ah can still skip an’ plink.” She lay back against the apple tree and looked at the rippling water. The water reminded her of Zecora’s cauldron in her hut, the way it always was bubbling and rippling every time Applejack visited. The sunlight sparkled off the pond’s surface like sparks of magic, making the pond seem to glow a little. She was going to get up and put back up the cans she had knocked down, but she changed her mind. She looked at the ring on her right foreleg. Then she ‘pushed’ her mind into the ring. The cans all glowed green, jumped off the ground and landed back on the fence rail exactly where they had sat before. Applejack leaned back and thought a moment. “Ah wonder how well I can plink cans with mah ring?” She looked at the cans on the fence. She imagined a rock the size she normally used for plinking forming and then hurtling at the can. There was a green glow in front of her at eye level and a green stone seem to condense out of the air. When the stone had finished forming, it flew in a straight line at the cans… ..and missed! Completely! “Dang!” she cursed. She tried once again, another stone appearing and flying at the metal containers. ..and again it missed. She tried again, and again she missed. ..and missed again… and again…and again… “Pony feathers! “ she snapped. ”This again!” Once again the ring was behaving erratically. Before that horrible night she had no problem connecting with things made of the ring’s green light. Indeed, it seemed she could not miss. But now, she was having problems with the ring in all areas, and aim was just the latest ill. She went through things one by one. Focus? No, she was as focused as ever. She could see the target can, and she could direct the stones she created at it. That wasn’t it. Will power? No…not quite anyway. Yes it required greater effort of will to form the stones and hurl them at the cans, but that was not the issue. Was it her ‘idea’ of the stones, her mind’s ‘picture’ of them? She could ‘feel’ the stones in her mind, their heft, shape, and hardness. They felt identical, and for all practical purposes they were. No, that was not it either. She formed another stone and waited before sending it flying, turning its pattern over in her mind while trying to maintain the stone’s form. Then it hit her. She wasn’t thinking about the whole thing put together CLEARLY! The grief gave her a kind of mental fog! She could visualize all the individual pieces clearly, but all together at once was very difficult. She did this every time, whether in apple bucking season bucking trees or at the rodeo in a competition — a picture, an image of the whole action and its various pieces was in her head. It didn’t seem like that because she had done things like that so many times it was almost automatic, and there was no disruption in that composition of action — nothing dulled or broke that image in her mind. This ring stuff was new though. And, like an athlete who has a major accident and has to relearn to move again, in a very real way she was relearning to use the ring. Much like recovering athletes who are unsure if they can really get back into their sports, she was unsure of herself as well. Those feelings of grief and guilt were making her doubt herself and her actions…. …and doubt was the bane of a lantern according to Twilight. Realizing this seemed to help. The stone did not disappear this time. It faded a bit, but it did not disappear. She took a deep breath. She then dissolved it herself and recreated another stone to replace it. This time Applejack emphasized in her mind the stone’s existence and its form. At the same time she told herself to ignore the voice of doubt nagging at her; just concentrated on the stone and the can. This stone seemed to become more solid than the others, and she pushed back the ‘fog’ of grief in order to picture the whole action clearly at once. She then ‘pushed’ with her mind. It was her will that the image be so… The stone flew straight and true, traveling so fast it was a blur to Applejack’s eye, but not to her mind. The stone struck the large coffee can dead center! A loud ringing ‘bang’ was heard as the can went flying off the fence rail. The stone flew on for a bit until it was Applejack’s will that it fade. The can tumbled along the ground for about 20 pony paces away from the fence. Applejack got up from the tree and trotted over to the can to see the size of the dent she had made. She rolled the can over under her hoof and found that the can had a hole in both sides. She had pierced it cleanly through! She smirked. “That’s a heck of a trick!’ She turned around to return to the tree, using the ring to pick up the can and return ii to its perch on the fence rail with an undamaged side facing her resting spot and went back to plinking with the ring, and wondering why this weird piece of jewelry had attached itself to her. She continued her musings all through the day and into the night, staring at the moon and the stars, wondering about the rings and her place in the fabric of all things. Normally she didn’t worry about or need to address such philosophical questions, but this ring was like the Element of Honesty she was bound to — it seemed to demand she at least think about it. And Zecora’s death made it critical she ask the honest questions, particularly of herself. It was late in the night before she came back to the house. She crept quietly in and up the stairs, heading to bed. But at the top of the landing, Applejack paused and looked in on all her family sleeping in their beds, checking first on Granny, then Mac and finally on Applebloom. Her little sister was sleeping restlessly, tossing and turning and mumbling quietly. Applejack fell into bed and sleep came quickly. She was tired. No. Her MIND was tired, more tired than when she went to school, more tired than when she had been alone at apple bucking season. She was tired. Even filled with weird dreams where she had wings, sleep was welcome. She woke up at just after dawn to the rooster’s crow. Quickly and quietly she got out of bed and headed downstairs. In the kitchen she found Mac had made some hash browns with cheese and left some for her on a plate before heading off to his chores. Granny and Applebloom were still asleep upstairs. She ate quickly and quietly, placing her plate in the sink before leaving the house. She intended to have lunch in Ponyville with her friends. Truth be told, she honestly wanted a friend’s shoulder to cry on. The ring chirped at her this morning “[=Warning, Ring capacity 1.7%. Recommend Recharge immediately=].” “Later, not now,” she answered it. “[=Warning, Ring capacity 1.7%. Recommend Recharge immediately=]". The ring repeated its warning. “Quiet dang ya! Later Ah said.” The ring was silent after that. Applejack decided to take a scenic route out of the farm. She trotted in the morning sunlight, as the rays made the dew shine and sparkle. The world was green and alive, and the sparkle gave the land an aura of vibrancy. As she trotted over the lush grass and the full leaf apple trees, she was asking herself the same question over and over again: “Why am Ah doin’ this?” That was the rub…why? Why did she have the ring…why had it come to her? It was the Element of Honesty all over again. She knew it needed a personality with great willpower to… bond (wasn’t that the term Twilight used) with. No not that…she was asking a deeper why. Why had SHE been chosen for this? Why had her ring failed…why was doubt making it fail? And why did she still want to get back into this fight? Why did she feel she needed to? Those questions were easy: because she owed it to her friends and family. And because of her failure, she owed more than she was comfortable admitting. …but she and her friends had really messed up...and a good friend had paid the price. “ Mac’s right…Ah flog m’self fierce when Ah mess up….but Ahm the one who’s gotta hold me to what Ah say an do. It’s no one’s responsibility but mahn,” she said to herself quietly as she walked along the farm path. “Ok…Ah messed up, an’ because Ah did mah brother had to step in and help save me an’ Granny an’ Applebloom, and now he’s involved in this here craziness we got with these here Black Lanterns...” Applejack came up to a gated fence. Sweet Apple Acres was filled with fences and gates that separated the various orchards up into zones. There was the North, South, East and West orchards, the front orchard near the front of the house, and the Zap Apple orchard. “ Ah think,” she said to herself, ”I need to talk to an old member of the family.” The gate she opened was the gate of the path to the Zap Apple orchard. She stepped through the gate, using her rear right leg to lightly kick it shut behind her. She paused a moment to look on the Zap Apple Orchard and just took in the sight of the trees for a moment. The Zap Apple trees stood like dark lightning frozen in time. Their trunks and branches had a jagged shape to them. Their dark ruddy bark also had the same kind of appearance, not smooth or in ordered lines like other fruit trees, it was also jagged, and slightly random in texture and contour, having a very subtle pattern to it like veins or lightning playing across the surface. The roots seemed to impale the ground at a sharp angle rather than gently grow down into the ground like other trees. The trees were ordered in rows that were not straight and ordered, but seemed to jink a little, continuing the lightning theme the trees exuded. As Applejack trotted along the path she wondered what it had been like to see the trees grow on that first day, to hear the thunder as the trees erupted from the ground where Granny had first planted them all those years ago. As she walked to the end of the path, she looked up from the ground and quietly greeted the one who she had come to talk to. “G’mornin’, Flash, still standing tall Ah see…” Alone from the rest of the trees, apart from the crooked rows they stood in, was the biggest Zap Apple tree of them all. It had been named Flash by Granny Smith when she was just a filly. That tree was the first tree that had grown at Sweet Apple Acres. Flash had started to grow slowly that first morning, the lone tree rising almost to full tree height by noon when the miracle of the orchard happened, when lightning and thunder seemed to erupt from the ground and the orchard had exploded over the land in one huge wave. At the time Granny said it seemed to her that Flash was the only Zap Apple tree, the rest of the trees seemed to be just the end of its roots pulled up out of the ground by Flash’s explosive growth at noon. As Flash was fully twice as tall as the next tallest Zap Apple tree the farm, it could be said that Granny’s statement hadn’t been far off. Applejack walked up to the tree and sat on her haunches in front of its huge trunk between its equally huge roots. She sighed and closed her eyes, and placed the flat of her face against its rough bark. She felt…something gently touch her. Not something physical. To her it felt as if Flash reached out and touched her with magic, embracing her wounded spirit with its own. Apples of every generation had done as Applejack was doing now, and as she had done long ago before. In hard times and when unsure or scared, or in need of something no pony could give, an Apple felt compelled to touch this tree and converse with it, hoping the anchor of the family could give them something, or just being glad to have somewhere a pony could actually unburden without fear or judgment. Flash was the beginning of all that she held dear, this mightiest and oldest of trees whose roots were literally the roots of the Ponyville Apple Family itself. Applejack felt when she touched the tree — she was touching the foundation of her life itself. “Ya remember when Ah used to come ta see ya all the time after we lost Ma and Pa?” A gentle breeze came up and made the tree’s boughs rustle, as if in answer to her. “Yep…I was so lost then wasn’t Ah, Flash? Remember? Ahd hardly leave ya alone. Ah always reached out ta ya first because Ah was scared that any pony would be taken from me by...tragedy, an Ah didn’t want ta have that happen again.” She sighed a little. “Guess Ah really haven’t changed all that much from those days.” But she had changed since then. She had grown to know how different the perspective was between being a foal with little idea of how things were, and where she was now, growing into a mare who had seen and done great things, some of which she honestly wished that she could forget. As an Element of Harmony, great power had been given to her, which she wielded only when necessary and only in concert with her friends. She did not fear the Elements or their power. This ring on her front right leg, it was something else! Its power was singular, contained in a whole of itself. The things it could do on its own — amazing! But to defeat the Black Lanterns, she needed the help of another ring wielder, using another color than the green hers used. In that one very important way, the Power Rings were just like the Elements of Harmony. The Elements would only work when used together. She leaned against the tree and closed her eyes. It was then she felt…something. It was like a very soft breeze blowing over her ear…a…voice? “Applejack...you are more than you know,” the voice said softly. Applejack’s head came away from Flash’s trunk with a snap. She looked around and saw...nothing. “…Zecora showed you what they will do. She bought you a warning with her life.” A filly’s voice? “Ruby?!? Warning? What warning?” “They will come for all. They will not stop.” Applejack looked around frantically; her ring began to glow, awaiting the mental order to engage a threat. “.., you must rise up, fight, and live, please” Ruby’s voice was fading and her tone had urgency… “But...” Applejack stammered. “You must use your light and become a star in their starless night they want to bring.” “Become a star…in their starless night?! That don’t even make any sense!” Ruby’s voice was barely a whisper above the wind. “Seek the book, it will show the way…you have three legacies to carry now…” “The book...” Applejack was puzzled. Books were Twilight’s stock and trade, and while the farm pony did read and enjoy a book now and then, she really wasn’t a scholar. What book was Ruby talking about? And what three legacies was she talking about? The earth pony conked her head with her hoof. “Ah must be outta my head,” she said to herself out loud.” Ah can’t talk to the dead...” “No, honey child, ya can’t. But...sometimes they can speak to you.” Granny Smith’s voice came from behind her, kind but firm with that tone of piercing clarity that chilled Applejack to the core. Granny walked up and patted Flash’s trunk with her right front hoof. “ But ole’ Flash here…sometimes can be a kind of…lightnin’ rod…if-n ya understand mah meanin’.” The tone Granny was using was when she was speaking of things that involved a rare gift few ponies knew even existed, and was the cause of her being a little ‘off’ even when she had been young. Earth-pony magic. Some called it ‘the sight’, others called it ‘the gift’, whatever it was, Granny possessed it. When she used it, Applejack got the willies. It was easier to be around unicorns with their magic, or pegasai with their weather magic, but earth ponies? Part of what an earth pony could use their magic for was to talk to spirits, even the spirits of the dead. When it was being used, it felt a lot like the foreboding Applejack felt when Zecora used her magic. Granny had it — as did Pinkie. “Clarity is part an’ parcel of honesty, Granddaughter. An’ when it hits ya...it can strike ya like a bolt of lightnin’,“ the old mare said to her with a hint of humor. “Sometimes ya find out, what yer made of, ya know?” “Don’t Ah know it,” Applejack said softly. “But, why me? An’ twice no less! Ah ain’t nothin’ special. Ah just don’t know WHY!” “Ah do, Granddaughter!” Granny closed one eye and looked up at Flash with the other. “Of all the family..ya know who yer most like darlin’?” Applejack shook her head, “No, Granny…Daddy Ah guess.” Granny Smith let out a cackle. Flash’s branches seemed to sway with her laughing. “No, Dearie. Of all of us...yer most like my oldest...so much so yer Daddy almost couldn’t stand it! He he he!” Granny’s oldest was her son, Applejack’s Uncle Hard Cider. He was a stallion of massive size and attitude. He was hard headed and hard kicking. He also performed a hard job few envied — Police Inspector. He had left the farm when Applejack was just a filly and had worked in some of the worst spots in Equestria: the Bad Lands, Baltimare, Manehattan and San Flanksisco, and made a name for himself as a protector of the peace. He was also one who bucked authority and ruffled a few pony feathers along the way doing his job. No one in the family had loved Hard Cider. Applejack also knew that his leaving the farm had been the reason Daddy had bought the harvester to begin with. The result of the whole thing was that many in the family blamed Applejack’s uncle for her father and mother’s death, with Big Mac holding the largest grudge against him. Few in the family would mention Hard Cider at all. For his part he kept away, writing a letter every so often to Granny for her birthday, or on Hearth’s Warming Eve. By and large, Applejack felt it was unfair to her uncle, but Apples as a rule were a stubborn lot, and on this thing the entire family save Applejack and Granny just seemed to not be able to let go. “Ya mean I left mah responsibilities an’ left mah loved ones a-hangin’?” She sneered a bit. ”Nah, let me guess…I LET mah loved ones get killed, carin’ not a bit about ‘em!” Applejack started to cry. Granny came up to her and put her head onto the younger mare’s shoulders. “Now, now, Applejack...listen. LISTEN! I know how the rest of the family feels, what they think. It ain’t true.! Hardy felt terrible about it. He even came home to try and fix things.” Granny took Applejack’s head into her old hooves and looked at AJ’s tear-filled eyes. ”No one would listen to him. They chased him off while Ah was in town gettin’ things ready for the funeral. By the time Ah came back, he was gone from the farm. Ah caught him before he left town. He told me somthin’ that ain’t ever left mah heart — ‘a pony’s got to know their limitations’. He knew he wasn’t going ta be a good farmer, that he had no talent for it. He left because he felt he had to be a protector, he felt he was made ta guard ponies’ sleep at night…and frankly, Dearie, Ponyville was relatively safe.” Applejack’s tears lessened. “You mam’ are a good farmer, a good baker, a good friend, and a good pony. The fact this here thing with yer zebra friend tears ya up so bad says so. Ya CARE!” The old mare stepped back. “ You go places and do things no other earth pony can dream of doin’. Ya ask the hard questions sometimes, not ta be mean, not ta be difficult, but ta put things in perspective, ta see if others have thought this through. Ya stand up for others that can’t stand up for themselves.” The old mare smiled. ”Yer a protector, girl, pure an’ simple. Ya don’t go out lookin’ fer it like mah son, but when it comes, ya don’t back down from a fight — you kick in hard and all the way.” Granny whipped her tears away. “You, young’un, are a great Apple! And ya do one important thing that makes an Apple an Apple more than anythin’.” “What’s that?” Applejack asked glumly. Granny spoke with a hint of menace. “Apples NEVER quit.” The blond mane and tale of the apple farmer fluttered in a suddenly stiff breeze. She sat down at the base of Flash’s trunk. “Ah can’t prevent anyone else from getting involved. To make sure whut’ happened to Zecora does not happen again..it means Ah need help. It takes more than one color ta beat ‘em.”She sank to the ground, laying her head between the tree’s roots. “Ah can’t do this by m’ self can Ah?” “No, honey child, ya can’t” Granny Smith looked at her granddaughter. The old mare’s eyes held a look of concern. “Ya need to get yer head set on what ya gotta do. Ya follow?” “No. Ah don’t.” Applejack sat up and looked at her grandmother hard. “What’cha mean?” “Your brother is helpin’ ya now, like it or not. I think…” Applejack’s ring flashed green quickly. Applejack was on her hooves standing as tall as she could. A cold form of rage was in her voice, her green eyes blazing with fire like her ring. “No. No. No. NO. NO! NO!!!! AB-SO-LUT-LY-POS-O-TIV-LY NOT!! Unh-unh!! By Celestia’s mane! Ain’t no way am Ah gettin’ anyone else wrapped up with these here rings if-n Ah can help it!” She sniffed as she moved away from granny, the air smelled a little foul to her. “Child…” Granny tried to start again. “No way!” Applejack trotted and then started to run away from her grandmother, gnashing her teeth. The ring flashed again. Applejack’s hooves glowed a little with ring power, helping her move. “Ah ain’t involving anyone else, Granny. Particularly my kinfolk. NO!” She looked behind her, “Please…don’t ask me again!” “Applejack…” Granny’s voice cracked with a hint of fear. “NO! Ah mean it!” she yelled. She had been in a run before she had turned to yell at Granny... …And that was when she saw it. The Edge of Sweet Apple Acres and its Zap Apple grove fence line butted against a part of the Everfree Forest. Normally it was quiet; a few interlopers would scurry out here or there, but wild creatures of the Everfree rarely entered Sweet Apple Acres. The few times it had happened, Applejack or Big Mac had taken care of the interloper, driving it back to the forest with only a little disturbance. But, with the Black lanterns loose in the forest, things had been stirred up and now the most dangerous creatures in Equestria were trickling out of their home and going out into the wider world to get away from something that was nastier than they were. And one of those creatures was here now. Applejack’s eyes beheld the largest Timberwolf ever to been seen. The creature stood almost as high as the Apple Family house, growling and giving off an awful stench somewhere between rotting wood and rotting flesh. ...It was between Applejack and Granny. The monster turned to face Granny, and, as its body of wood turned in the direction of the old mare, its evil green gaze fixed on her. It made a growl that shook the ground and made the Zap Apple trees shiver. Granny made a slow move to try and get to the tees for some kind of safety. The wolf set its rear legs as if getting ready to spring on the old green pony. Applejack herself was gripped with fear. The world seemed to slow down to a crawl. She felt as if she was moving through thick syrup, her body was slow, moving so slow it hurt. ‘It’s gonna charge...and Ahm too far away…” She was starting to run to Granny as a terror washed over her. “Ah let it happen again…AGAIN!“ Despair started to fill her heart as she saw the Timberwolf begin its charge at Granny. Applejack’s mind and heart were awash with emotion. ”Have ta stop it...” she told herself. “Have ta...” She felt something different, like an old knot in her muscles letting go… She focused on the wolf. She was running at a full gallop now, but she knew her legs could not get her there in time. Nevertheless, she pushed herself even harder, in her mind reaching out to her grandmother. Through the ring. “Not.. .gonna… let... it... happen.” More knots seemed to slacken. Her mind and the drive in it seemed to knit together, the fear pushing her to act and not to doubt. “[=Warning, Ring capacity 1.7%. Recommend Recharge immediately=].” “Not… gonna… let… it… happen… EVER… AGAIN!!!!!!!!!” And for that moment, the moment she decided she would never let harm come to her loved ones within her sight, for that instant, her shattered drive, her willpower, crystallized whole and clear. "[=Willpower uncompromised. Re-activation of Lantern Prime=]" Applejack was covered in green fire and was again enveloped in the Uniform of the Green Lantern Corps. The ring on her foreleg glowed brightly. “[=Warning, Ring capacity 1.7%. Recommend recharge immediately=].” In her mind, it was her will Granny be protected by the most impregnable defense she could imagine, Nothing else mattered. NOTHING! Her mind thought of the strongest barrier she could imagine… In front of Granny, appearing in a cascade of green shimmer, came block after block of large wall stones made of green ring energy. First in a trickle, then in a torrent, the blocks appeared and fell into place, knitting themselves together between Granny and the Timberwolf in the blink of an eye. The wall was ten pony paces thick, 40 paces high and 100 paces wide. Its top was lined with crenellations. Applejack had willed that Granny be protected by the walls of Canterlot. The Timberwolf slammed into the wall at full speed. There was a huge crashing noise and the scream of the creature’s voice as the impact shattered its body into an explosion of wood pieces looking like the leftovers of logging gone horribly wrong. Applejack’s construct wall did not crack in the least. No stones shifted even a bit. They stood there as immovable and resilient as if they were the walls of Canterlot itself. “You okay, Granny?” Applejack flew up to the construct wall and landed on her hind legs. Granny struck the wall hard with her hoof. It felt and sounded like solid stone. The old mare laughed. “Ah’m fine, dear. Little more thump in mah ticker, but otherwise Ah’m fine.” Granny looked up and down the wall. “ Little much doncha’ think?” “No, Ah don’t!” Applejack created a large dustpan and broom and swept the Timberwolf pieces up and then dumped them back into the forest, scattering the pieces around to delay the wolf’s reformation. “But..You were right about one thing?” “What’s that ?” Granny asked. “Clarity does strike ya like a bolt of lightnin’!“ Applejack dissolved the constructs and reverted to her normal self. ”Ah’m goin’ into town Granny, to see mah friends and get some supplies. We are outta COFFEE!” Granny made a sour face “Ah know…an’ you need to lay off an’ leave the rest of us some! Swear Ah never saw the like — a mare who can eat and drink more than most stallions’.” She looked out over the forest with a worried look on her face, “Applejack, all kiddin’ aside…that had ta be the biggest Timberwolf Ah ever did see. If there are more like that one...” “Ah know, Granny. That’s what worries me. Ah have a feelin’ we’re due fer more… Ah know it in mah bones.”