//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night 
// by iowaforever 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 6


        Shining Armor had to think quickly. If these Manhunters could take out an entire ship and come out more or less unscathed, he would either have to be incredibly careful or get out of there as fast as he could. He took a moment to examine the room around him, trying to see if there was some kind of vantage point he had missed. Too open; they’ll surround me in no time.

        “Ring, pull up schematics for the ship, and highlight any choke points I can use.”

        “Processing.” the image of the ship’s exterior became transparent as several hallways and bulkheads were highlighted. “Cover is heaviest in these areas, but be advised: Manhunters are capable of limited tactical analysis and will compromise any defenses you might arrange.”

        “Well, I guess I’ll just have to be creative.” Shining muttered, and started off down one hallway, searching for the aforementioned vantage points while keeping his eye on the map showing the Manhunters’ advance. He did not get far before the entire ship seemed to lurch to one side from an impact. Running out of time; I need to hurry. Shining picked up the pace and flew down the halls, searching for the perfect location from which to defend.

        However, in his rush he lost track of where he was going. One wrong turn later, and Shining found himself in a hallway looking at what he assumed was a Manhunter. The thing was a tall biped, its body red save for its face, which was a light shade of blue. Its eyes were cold and unemotive, which Shining would have passed off as brainwashing if robots could be brainwashed. The Manhunter had not spotted him yet, which gave him a little time to map out a potential combat scenario.

        Okay, there’s one. I might be able to destroy it and move on before it can spot me... How, though? Shining aimed his ring at the Manhunter, trying to think of just how to attack his opponent before a javelin construct formed next to his head. I guess that will work. Shining reared back and hurled the green javelin towards the Manhunter, catching its attention before the construct stabbed through its shoulder and slammed it into a wall. Shining’s spirits fell when he saw that the damage was mostly superficial, and the machine was back up and turning towards him as his construct dissolved.

        “Hostile detected. Designation: Green Lantern.” the Manhunter droned, raising its own weapon and aiming it at Shining. “No man escapes the Manhunters.” With that the Manhunter fired its weapon, a bright ball of energy flying down the hall towards Shining. Shining lept back and raised his hoof, his ring forming a bubble around him just in time to stop the Manhunter’s attack. Still, when the ball of energy exploded Shining was knocked back, visible cracks threatening to destroy his construct.

        “Ring Power at 95% and holding.”

        “Wonderful.” Shining deadpanned, using a little more power to repair and expand the shield construct before moving forward to try and limit the Manhunter’s room to maneuver. The Manhunter fired again, and while more cracks did form Shining did not allow himself to be pushed back. As the Manhunter prepared to fire again, Shining dismissed his shield construct and fired a beam of energy at the machine, green light slicing through its torso and splitting it in two. The Manhunter stopped firing at Shining, instead focusing on trying to regain balance for a later attack.

        “Ring Power at 93%. Alert! Four cybernetic lifeforms with designation ‘Manhunter’ detected moving towards this position. 22 others have surrounded the wreck.”

        “I can’t fight twenty six of these things by myself.” Shining mused. “Ring, can you show me the quickest way out of this place that takes me as far from the Manhunters as possible.”

        “Processing.... Pathway is highlighted.” a line that ran more or less straight down appeared on the screen before Shining. “Alert! Manhunters closing in on position. Estimate time of arrival: 5.02 seconds.”

        “No time to waste then.” Shining aimed his ring downward and fired another blast of energy, blowing a hole in the floor that he could leap through. Above him, he could hear the sounds of the Manhunters, the robots searching the room for any sign of his presence. Shining continued on his way downward, only checking to make sure he was not being followed.

        His hopes of a quick escape dwindled as he saw the Manhunters flying after him, weapons aimed for his head. Shining twisted around and put up another shield as the Manhunters fired, energy exploding against his construct. Each hit caused the shield to flicker slightly, but Shining did his best to reinforce the construct before it was damaged severely. He fired a few short bursts back, mostly to just keep his opponents pinned down, but his main goal was getting through the hull and away from the Manhunters. Another deck down, and Shining flew off down another hall in an attempt to lose his pursuers, to no avail.

        As Shining rounded another corner, an idea came to mind. Backing up, he raised his ring and began to slice through the ceiling. He had almost completed his task when the Manhunters rounded the corner, once again readying their weapons to shoot him. Shining finished cutting and pulled the section downward, crushing three of the Manhunters and damaging the fourth. As the last one tried to recover, Shining advanced and fired another blast from his ring, blowing the Manhunter’s head off and sending it spinning away. He would have taken pride in defeating the machines, but he reminded himself to remain focused on escaping and getting away from the other Manhunters. He searched around for a hull breach or an airlock, anything that he could use to get outside. Finding none, Shining turned and fired one more blast, creating a hole in the hull for him to fly through.

        Doing so proved to be a very bad idea. Once he was outside, Shining saw that he was cornered by almost twelve Manhunters, all of them noticing him and adjusting their aim. Shining backed up and raised another shield, pouring in more energy as the Manhunters fired on his position. Stupid, Shining; you need to stay calm and think of a better plan to get away from these things. The blasts from the Manhunter’s weapons tore through the bulkhead around Shining, and he watched as once again small cracks began to form in his shield.

        Shining was about to move to a more defendable position when one of the Manhunters was bisected vertically by a construct Shining did not make. This caught the attention of several of the other Manhunters, but they had little time to react properly before they were destroyed as well. Shining reinforced his barrier before looking, and he saw a second Green Lantern descending to face the machines. It was an alien of some kind, another biped like the Manhunters but less heavily built. Its skin was dark red, its hair black, and although it was hard for Shining to see from this far away the alien looked rather annoyed. Still, any help right now is welcomed.

        The Manhunters redirected their attacks on the newcomer, who raised his own shield and sat passively as energy beams impacted the shield to no avail. After a minute, the other Green Lantern whipped his left arm around, a green mace of energy smashing the Manhunters to scrap. The remaining Manhunters attempted a retreat, but the Green Lantern quickly reformed the mace into a weapon Shining could not identify, a rapid stream of energy bolts seeking out the robots and destroying them with ease.

        “Manhunter lifesigns: 0.” Shining’s ring chimed.

        “I know you’re hiding in there,” the other Green Lantern called. “You should know that hiding only undermines your already tentative position as a Green Lantern. Come out; you have already wasted enough of my time.”

Shining frowned, but did not say anything before exiting the wreckage. “I had the situation under control.” he said.

        “Equestria’s definition of control must be a very loose one.” the other Green Lantern replied, eyes narrowing. “Your constructs were poor to the point of being worthless, you lacked imagination when counterattacking, and you only briefly used the terrain to your advantage. Had you been a halfway competent Green Lantern you would have been able to fight off those Manhunters with relative ease and I would not have had to expend any energy to assist you.”

        “Thank you for that... critique.”

         The other Lantern scoffed at this. “Do not presume that I am just here to dispense ‘critiques’. At this rate, I’m beginning to wonder if training you is not already a lost cause.” he began to fly away from the wreck, Shining following behind.

        “Well, I’ve already been trained-” he began before the other Lantern cut him off.

        “Poorly.”

        “Whatever. Look, whoever you are, can you just give me a rundown on everything you said I screwed up on, how to fix it, and then can you leave?” the other Lantern seemed rather insulted by what Shining had said, turning to face him while also strengthening the aura surrounding him.

        “Of course, it would be a backwater Equestrian that takes up Abin Sur’s ring.” he growled. “I am Sinestro of Sector 1417, greatest of the Green Lanterns. I have served in the Corps longer than you have been alive, and have defeated foes that would most likely kill you in an instant. I deserve more than your crude dismissal, but as your primitive mind can barely fathom the potential you possess I doubt I will ever achieve that.” Shining frowned; this “Sinestro” did seem too boastful for Shining’s taste, but after seeing him take down so many Manhunters on his own there might have been some backing to those boasts.

        Still, doesn’t explain why he’s here...

        “So, you showed up and told me everything that I did wrong.” Shining said. “Now what?”

        “I was instructed to train you further, so that your skills as a Green Lantern are properly honed.” Sinestro sighed. “Although I don’t see why they chose you, of all beings... It doesn’t matter. Recharge your ring and then we’ll begin, unless you’d rather surrender your ring and give it to someone more qualified.” Shining’s ears flattened against his head.

        “Look, I never asked to be chosen for this.” he snapped, maneuvering so that he was in front of Sinestro. “And believe me, I’d love to just give this up and pretend like it never happened.”

“So why don’t you?” Sinestro asked.

“Because I was trained never to give up if innocent lives were on the line, and if the universe wants me to move to a larger scale then so be it. Go ahead, insult me and call me incompetent all you want, but don’t think that’s going to get me to back down.” there was a pause as Sinestro and Shining stared each other down. Shining hoped it would at least get the other Green Lantern off his back, although the alien did not seem impressed.

“I have heard similar speeches from dozens of Lanterns in the past,” He said finally. “Most of them died because they decided to play hero and ignored key factors in various crises.” Shining opened his mouth to speak, but Sinestro waved him off before brushing past. “We’ve wasted enough time as it is. I presume your power battery is still on Equus?”

“... Yes.” Shining said finally, his eyes narrowing slightly.

        “Then that’s where we’ll start. Go and recharge your battery.” Shining’s ears flattened against his head again, but he said nothing before plotting a course back to Equus and heading off, Sinestro following close behind. Neither of them said anything during the flight, although they did exchange a few glances as they neared the planet.

        Shining’s thoughts were focused primarily on the other Green Lantern. Unlike Kilowog, who was much like any other drill sergeant Shining had encountered in his life, Sinestro’s approach was colder, more analytical, like an officer more focused on form than results. And what was that about me playing hero? Is there really much difference between being a Green Lantern and a hero? It was probably some rhetoric Sinestro used to keep himself focused, and maybe there was some truth behind it that he just hadn’t told Shining yet. No need to worry too much about rhetoric... Shining was so lost in his thoughts that he was almost caught off guard as they reached Equus, the planet a welcome sight after his fight with the Manhunters.

        “Once your ring has been recharged, we’ll find an isolated spot where you can train undisturbed.” Sinestro said as they entered the atmosphere.

        “Can’t we just head back to Oa?” Shining asked. “They have training facilities-”

        “Which cannot adequately represent the variations of atmospheres you may be operating in, and are most likely occupied by fresh recruits that need even more training than you do.” Sinestro produced a map, scanning through various locations. “There appears to be a desert in the southern part of this continuent.” He highlighted the region before continuing. “We’ll use that region. I shall scout it out first, and once you have recharged your ring-”

        “Alert!” Shining’s ring chimed, drawing his attention away from Sinestro. “Disturbance detected near settlement ‘Vanhoover’. Producing scan.” The ring projected the image of a bridge, and from what he could see it appeared that the structure had been damaged by a landslide. He could see a few ponies trying to get away before the structure collapsed, but the scan was too grainy to decipher anything else.

        “I think we should deal with this first before focusing on training.” he said, dismissing the image and taking off towards Vanhoover. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Sinestro flying after him, the alien pulling alongside him.

        “I suppose it would help to test your skills,” he said, casting a glance at Shining. “Perhaps this might get you to start thinking properly.” What’s that supposed to mean? Shining thought, saying nothing to avoid receiving a lecture from the other Lantern. Instead he focused on the flight to Vanhoover, running through several possible plans for dealing with the bridge. Rescuing the trapped ponies would have to take priority, and maybe he would be able to save the bridge from collapsing.

        Thanks to the power of the rings, they were able to reach their destination before the situation got any worse. Now that he had a better picture of the problem, Shining was able to construct a more concrete plan. Several ponies were dangerously close to sliding over the edge of the bridge, and any available Pegasi were distracted with pulling others free. To make matters worse, one of the bridge’s supports had all but snapped, and appeared ready to give way at a moment’s notice.

        “You’re hesitating,” he heard Sinestro say from behind him. “Are you hoping that they’ll be able to save themselves?”

        “I’m trying to put a plan together.” Shining snapped, not bothering to look around at Sinestro. “I probably only have enough time to get a handful of ponies to safety before the supports give out. The others I’ll probably have to catch-”

        “And this is why you keep failing,” Sinestro moved in front of Shining and raised his ring. “Allow me to reeducate you.” Sinestro’s ring flashed with light as dozens of constructs formed around him and the bridge. Discs formed underneath ponies who were about to fall and carried them to safety, support beams formed to prevent the bridge from collapsing, and constructs in the form of earth moving equipment began to clear away debris and repair damage. The landslide that had caused the damage in the first place was removed, with several chunks of rock being repurposed to replace those that had been lost or damaged beyond repair. Within two minutes, everypony was clear and the bridge repaired, all signs of damage swept away. Satisfied, Sinestro dismissed the constructs and turned to Shining.

        “You are still operating under the illusion that you are limited by such things as time.” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “A Green Lantern’s only limit is the strength of their will and the extent of your imagination. By merely consigning yourself to what you can immediately address, you have crippled your effectiveness as a Lantern and endangered dozens of lives.” his eyes narrowed. “You are still thinking as a soldier or a hero. I will teach you to think like a Green Lantern. Recharge your ring, and we shall begin.” With that Sinestro turned and left, flying off to the southeast and out of sight.


................


        Shining had stayed in place for some time after Sinestro left, looking down at the bridge. It seemed so obvious now what he could have done, how he could have saved everypony just as the other Lantern did. Was his mind really as limited as Sinestro said it was? Am I just hurting myself and others by sticking with this?

        It was not something to be taken lightly. What good was a protector if they could not even do their job properly? Sinestro had saved dozens of lives with ease, lives that might have been lost if Shining had just gone ahead with his original plan. What would happen if Shining faced a similar situation without any other Lanterns to back him up?

        But now Shining was presented with a chance to fix that. Sinestro might appear unsupportive, and Shining would not have been surprised if the alien hated him, but he was still offering to train Shining. Would he give up on that opportunity just because things were not going his way in the short-term?

        ... No. I have a chance to get stronger and fix whatever mistakes I made. I said I wouldn’t back down if lives were on the line, and by Celestia I’m not going to give up just because my technique needs work. His confidence renewed, Shining increased his speed as he neared the Empire, adjusting his angle so that he would not draw too much attention. Once he landed on the balcony outside his room, he summoned his Power Battery and recharged the ring, the light temporarily cutting him off from the rest of the world.

        Once it dissipated, he looked up and made eye contact with a very surprised looking Cadence.

        “Shining...” she started, her eyes darting from him to the Power Battery.

        “... I tried explaining it to you earlier,” he said, ears drooping slightly. “Are you convinced now?”

        “Well, uh...” there was a long pause before Cadence brought a hoof to her head. “I feel like such an idiot right now.”

        “Cadence, you don’t have to-”

        “No Shining,” she waved him off. “I mean, I did say that I would listen to whatever you had to say, and then I laughed at you... Dear Celestia, I’m really sorry for doing that.”

        “It’s okay, Cadence.” Shining set the Power Battery aside and crossed over to Cadence, placing a foreleg around her. “I admit, I kind of screwed up the first time I told you, but you don’t have to beat yourself up over it.”

        “Yes I do. I said I’d listen, then I just laughed in your face like it was some bad joke...” Cadence shook her head. “No, I screwed up then. You’re right, maybe I am being a bit hard on myself... must be the hormones from the baby.” Shining decided not to voice his agreement on that, less he upset Cadence. “So... you really were recruited by space cops?”

        “They call themselves the Green Lanterns, but yeah,” Shining let go of Cadence and made his way back to the balcony. “One of them is actually waiting for me down south, and I probably shouldn’t keep him waiting.”

        “Right, sure.” Cadence nodded, following after Shining. “Can we talk about this when you come back?”

        “Of course,” Shining gave Cadence a quick peck. “Like I’d try to leave my wife out of something as important as this. I’ll tell you everything once I get back, I promise.”

        “Okay.” there was a pause before Cadence spoke again “Shining?”

        “Yes?”

        “Be careful, okay?” her smile was quickly replaced by a small glare. “And if you die, I will get permission from my aunts to march into Tartarus and kill you.”

        “Uh... Not sure how that would work but I’ll be careful, okay?” he gave Cadence a wide smile before taking off, readjusting his trajectory and heading south to face Sinestro.

        Whatever he has planned, it can’t be worse than getting Cadence angry at me.