Applejack of the Green Lanterns

by Thatguywiththemane

Chapter Four: Homecoming

Applejack yawned loudly, covering her mouth with her hoof. She and Hal had been flying for hours through space, carried through the vastness on green energy, and she was more than ready to land. Not that space wasn’t fascinating, because it most certainly was. But there was only so much “Wow!” and “Look at that!” a pony could muster over six hours. Hal looked over to Applejack and smiled. “Getting bored, Cowgirl?”

Applejack grunted. “Well, Hal, empty space was mighty entertainin’ fer the first two hours, but by the third, it starts ta drag a bit.”

Hal chuckled. “Well, don’t sweat it, we’re almost there. I do commend you for not repeating ‘Are we there yet’ over and over. I’m sure that took restraint.”

It was Applejack’s turn to laugh. “Well, the thought HAD crossed mah mind…”

“Keep an eye out, we should be meeting up with your partner any minute now,” he said. “In fact…” Hal brought his ring to his mouth and said, “This is Hal Jordan to Quilla, we’re approaching planet Equestria, what are your coordinates?”

A voice answered back on the ring. “This is Quilla. I’m in the western quadrant of the planet’s northern Hemisphere. I’ve been getting some odd readings from the planet, thought I’d investigate them.”

Hal frowned. “You need me to stick around for backup?”

“Negative, Hal, I think I can handle it. It was just an unusual energy spike. Might be some kind of new experiment, these ponies can do some crazy things with their magic.”

Hearing what Quilla said, Applejack had an idea. She brought her ring to her mouth and willed it to connect to Quilla’s line. “Uh, this is Applejack, the new Lantern,” she said hesitantly. “Ah’m from this planet, and Ah’ve got a friend who’s pretty good with magic, so maybe Ah could ask her if she knows anything about it,” Applejack said, frowning a bit as she did. The words felt strange on her tongue. She had never had to specify her planet before.

The voice came out of her ring was terse and abrupt. “Don’t bother. I checked out the sight, whatever it was is long gone. All I got were some residual energy readings, nothing concrete. You’d just be wasting your time. Quilla out.”

As the voice died, the orange pony sighed a bit. Applejack could understand Quilla’s poor attitude right now, but that didn’t mean she had to enjoy it. Hal looked over to her, nodding a bit. “Yeah, she did seem a bit abrupt, huh? Give it time, she’ll come around.”

Applejack nodded. “Ah know, Hal. So, how far away is ‘almost there’?”

Hal brought up a map construct from his ring, studied it for a moment, and smiled. “See for yourself,” the human said, pointing.

Applejack followed his finger, and her jaw dropped. What she saw was… breathtaking, there was no other word for it. The sun glinted off the clouds, lighting them up all over the planet’s surface. What the clouds didn’t cover was a verdant mosaic of blues, greens and browns from the land and sea. She had been too concerned with her rocket out of the atmosphere to appreciate it last time, but now…

Applejack gawked for a while, just marveling at the fact she actually lived there. “It’s beautiful…”she finally said, her voice soft as the wind.

“Yeah, I said the same thing when I saw my planet this way,” said a voice. Applejack and Hal turned around, and saw a Green Lantern floating in space. She was a bit shorter than Hal, without her mane, anyway. That mane wasn’t made of hair, though; it looked like it was made of dozens of hard spines, which were a brownish-white. The spines even spread slightly onto her face, which looked a bit feral. Her spiny mane continued down her back, stopping right above her hips. Her uniform seemed pretty standard, green and black with the symbol of the Corps on her chest. On her right hand was her ring, glowing green with the energy keeping her afloat.

The spiky alien before them nodded to them both in turn. “Hal. And you must be Applejack,” she said as she looked towards the farm pony. She gave Applejack a critical stare before looking to Hal. “You can go now, Hal. I can take it from here.”

Hal raised an eyebrow, but gave Quilla a salute. “Alright, then, I’ll leave you to it.” He looked back at Applejack and winked. “Good luck, Cowgirl. I’ll be rooting for you,” he said, before turning in mid air and shooting off.

And so, Applejack was left alone with her new partner. The orange farmer rubbed the back of her head with a hoof nervously. She could feel the tension in the air, or lack thereof, given the circumstances. What do you say to somepony whose partner and friend you’re replacing? Especially when it’s the same pony who saw him die?

Well, you had to start somewhere. “Howdy there, Quilla. It’s nice ta finally meet yah. Mah name’s Applejack… but Ah guess yah already knew that,” she said, laughing nervously.

“Why do you talk like that?” Quilla asked, her arms folded. “Are you trying to be funny? I’ll tell you now, it’s not working.”

Applejack tilted her head, a bit taken aback. Did she just…? “Come again?”

` “So you’re serious?” Quilla asked. She sighed and rubbed her temples. “Anyway, you better keep up, pony girl. Last thing I need is an orange sack of dead weight holding me back. I have enough problems as it is.”

Applejack floated there for a second, a little dumbfounded. Quilla rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Look, I’ll meet up with you during the night. Your ring will lead you right to me, I’ll be somewhere secluded. We’ll see what you’ve got.” The spined woman then turned and flew off, leaving a green trail behind.

For a few seconds, Applejack didn’t move. She had expected the alien to be a little distant, maybe a bit terse. But she hadn’t expected her to be flat out insulting. Quilla basically called her useless, and even worse, that she sounded funny! Who does that to somepony they just met? Applejack grunted and headed for the planet below, fuming about her latest encounter. Who did she think she was?

As Applejack entered the atmosphere, she started wondering if this was going to work out at all.

-----

Applejack touched down right outside the farm, looking around a bit. She smiled; everything right where she left it. The shape of the buildings against the skyline really brought her comfort, especially after her little interaction with Quilla. Said skyline was a deep amber color, interspersed with the yellow and purple of a sunset. Applejack breathed in the crisp air as she saw the sun began to set in the eastern sky.

Wait a darn minute… she thought. Since when does the sun set in the east? Applejack squinted and realized that the sun wasn’t setting… it was rising. What in Tartarus? It wasn’t late evening, it was early morning! Must’ve been gone longer than Ah thought, she missed, before heading towards the farm house. She was going to get it from Big Mac…

Once she opened the door, her nostrils were assaulted with the smell of pancakes. Smelled like her brother was making some breakfast. She inhaled the scent deeply, savoring it. She could really use some good Equestrian food, even if Big Mac was going to make her beg for it. It was his favorite tactic: make something delicious and only give it to her if she apologized. She didn’t blame him, as it was the only way to get around her stubbornness.

As she turned a corner into the kitchen, she caught sight of her big brother. He was much bigger than most of the ponies in Ponyville, hence his designation ‘Big’. It was comforting as a foal, since she knew she had a big crimson defender if she needed one. At the moment, he was holding a spatula in his mouth, flipping the fluffy concoctions she had smelled earlier.

Big Mac turned as he heard her hooves on the hard wood floor. “Well, mornin’ sleepyhead. You end up fallin’ asleep under that tree? Ah keep tellin’ yah about that, don’t Ah?”

Applejack tilted her head a bit, but pressed forward. “Uh, Mac, Ah’m sorry about yesterday. Somethin’ crazy happened, and Ah kinda got stuck somewhere…”

Big Mac turned and raised an eyebrow. “What’re you talkin’ about, Sis? You seemed pretty on toppa things yesterday. Got all yer chores done, anyway.”

“Huh?” the orange filly said. “Mac, Ah was gone yesterday. Yah didn’t notice?”

The big red pony looked at Applejack funny, then walked up to her and stared her in the eye. He smelled her breath, then raised an eyebrow. “You been dippin’ into the cider early this mornin’ AJ?”

“No, Mac, you know Ah never touch it before noon, at least,” she said. “Wait a sec. What’s today?”

“Wednesday. Are you sure yer feelin’ alright, Sis?”

“Wednesday? Nah, yesterday was Wednesday, wasn’ it?”

“No, yesterday was Tuesday. Yah shipped our veggies yesterday, remember? Yah always do that on Tuesday, since it’s the one day all the vendors are in the market place.”

Applejack was supremely confused now. She sat for a moment, trying to get the timeline straight in her head. She had been launched to Oa late Tuesday, and arrived on Wednesday. She spent the whole day there, and the last part of it traveling home. So today should be Thursday. But according to Mac, it was Wednesday.

Applejack shook her head. She’d figure it out later, maybe talk to Twilight about it. In the meantime, though... “Oh, right. Sorry, Big Mac, Ah’m still a bit… groggy, that’s it,” she said, chuckling nervously. She hated lying, but what was she going to say? The truth would get her sent to the hospital like that barking pony. “Guess it comes from sleepin’ on the ground. Guess I should start listening to yah, huh?” she said, forcing a smile. “So, uh, save me some pancakes, will ya? Ah’m goin’ into town, need ta talk ta Twilight about somethin’”

With that, Applejack bolted out the door, leaving a very bemused red pony behind her.

-----

Across the bustling town of Ponyville, at the town library, Twilight Sparkle was bent over a book, as she so often was. This one in particular was rather fascinating. It concerned how objects from space behaved, both while in space and in the atmosphere. As she turned the page, Spike came up behind her, rubbing his eyes. He yawned a bit, saying, “Twilight, have you been up all night?”

The purple unicorn turned her head, her bangs covering her eyes. “Sorry, Spike, but this is too important. Last night, I saw something fly up into the sky near Ponyville. And it never came back down! If I can figure out what it is, it might be the biggest discovery since Starswirl the Bearded invented the Amniomorphic spell. It could totally change the way ponies view the rest of the universe!”

Spike rolled his eyes. Great, another project for Twilight. All he knew was that if she was going to be spending a lot of time on this, he was NOT working all alone in the library. Owlowiscious had better be ready to pull his weight, that was for sure. There was a knock on the door, and Twilight called, “Can you get that, Spike?”

The purple dragon groaned and headed towards the door, a disgruntled look on his face. When he pulled it open, he was greeted with the sight two orange legs. He looked up and smiled a bit. “Oh, Hey Applejack. What’s up?”

“Howdy, Spike,” she said, tipping her trademark hat. As she did, Spike noticed the bracelet on her right hoof. Funny, Applejack wasn’t the kind of pony to accessorize. “Ah’m sorry ta bother y’all, but Ah needed to talk ta Twilight.”

Spike grunted. “Good luck,” he said. “She’s been up all night with her nose in a book. Something about an object flying into the sky,” he said. Applejack stiffened a bit as he said that last part. He raised an eyebrow. “You ok, AJ?”

“Ah’m fine,” she said. “Just… Ah think Ah might be able to help her out,” she said.

Spike shrugged. “Alright, go on up,” he said, moving out of the way. Applejack moved past him and headed up the stairs, towards Twilight’s room. Once the door closed, he sighed and started shelving returns. Someone had to do some work around here.

-----

Applejack pushed the door to Twilight’s room open, once again struck by just how many books she had. She lived in a library for Celestia’s sake, how many books did she need? Apparently a lot right now, seeing as she was surrounded by them at her desk. A whole bunch of them were open in front of her, while dozens more were stacked around her. Applejack chuckled a bit and headed over to her. “Equestria ta Twilight, you there?”

Twilight’s head snapped up to look at the orange earth pony, bags under her eyes and her mane a total mess. “Oh, hi, Applejack. I’m really sorry, but do you think you can come back another time? I’m right in the middle of something.”

Applejack shook her head. “Sorry, Twi, no can do. This is kinda important.” Twilight groaned, but got up and headed towards the door her room. As they exited the room, Applejack contemplated the best way to tell everything to Twilight. Since trying to explain it all to her would most likely earn her a straight jacket, she figured she’d use her favorite tactic: the direct approach.

As they reached the main room of the library, Twilight took a seat at the main table. There were more books piled on this one, but Twilight cleared a path for them by levitating a few books back on the shelves. Applejack chuckled a bit, shaking her head. “What in the world’re you studyin’, girl?” Twilight seemed about to answer, but instead let out a big yawn. “And why were you up all night?”

Twilight shook her head to recover from the yawn before answering. “I saw some kind of weird light fly up into the sky last night. It was way too late to go and check it out last night, so I decided to read up on some natural phenomena it might have been. Having not found any, I decided to look at… less conventional ideas,” she said, rubbing the back of her head. “There was a lot to go over, and I guess I lost track of time. Anyway, what is it you needed, Applejack?”

“Well,” said Applejack, “It actually has ta do with that light…” she said. “Thing is, somethin’ happened last night that’s a little hard ta explain. So Ah figured Ah’d just show yah,” she said, bringing her right hoof onto the table, showing off her ring. Applejack allowed the ring to cover her in green light, an act that had become all too familiar, and sighed as if formed her uniform. She looked at Twilight, not a little nervous. “Uh, surprise,” she said.

Twilight looked at Applejack for a moment, her expression unreadable, before frowning. “Applejack, I don’t have time for this. I appreciate the effort you and Rarity went to in order to make this little show, but come on. Did Pinkie set this up? I bet she did.”

“Wait, what?” asked Applejack. Did Twilight think she was pranking her? “What are yah talkin’ about, Twilight?”

“Come on, Applejack. Rarity obviously made you that admittedly impressive looking outfit and bound it to your bracelet. An impressive bit of magic, but it is based on clothes, so that’s not surprising. Pinkie Pie probably burst in at some point and convinced you to have a little fun at my expense by saying it had something to do with the light. Who knows, maybe the light was just one of Pinkie’s fireworks. Do you know how much time I spent researching this? I appreciate a good prank, Applejack, but this has taken up too much of my-“

She stopped cold as Applejack rose into the air, cloaked in her green aura. “Do Ah have yer attention?” asked the flying earth pony. Twilight nodded dumbly as Applejack landed. “Alright, then. Now, as Ah was sayin…”

-----

“…So after Ah met up with Quilla, who was actually pretty rude, Ah landed by the farm. Ah had to dodge mah brother’s questions, but as soon as Ah could Ah came here. Yer the only pony in Ponyville who Ah thought might understand.” Applejack finally finished her tale, having spent the last half hour doing so. Twilight had been a surprisingly good listener, only occasionally interrupting with a question. Applejack was impressed; she had expected to be constantly stopping and starting from her inquiries.

As it stood, Twilight sat across from her, looking more than a little stunned. Applejack didn’t blame her, really. If she had just been told a story that shook her entire view of the world, she’d be a bit speechless too. Twilight proved resilient, though, as after maybe thirty seconds, her face split into a wide grin and she squealed loudly. “EEEEEEEEE!”

Applejack had to cover her ears from the high-pitched sound. “Ahh! Twilight, calm down!”

Twilight started hopping in a circle around the orange pony, still squealing. “Calm down?! How can I calm down when one of my best friends went to another planet?! And came back! With an ARTIFACT! Oh my Princess, this is amazing! No, it’s better than amazing! It’s… It’s…”

“Fantasteriffic!” yelled an incredibly hyper voice. Twilight yelped in mid bounce, crashing down to the ground with all the grace of a lead weight. The source of her scare gave a high pitched giggle and said, “Why’d you fall down, Twilight? Oh, are we playing dead? My turn!” The pink party pony of Ponyville gagged dramatically, falling to the floor and pulling a lily out of nowhere. After only a moment of silence (truly golden in any Pinkie Pie situation), she giggled again and bounded up. “I win!”

Twilight, on the other hand, got up much slower, dazed from Pinkie’s trademark random entrance. “Pinkie?! Where did you come from?”

“Oh, Twilight, I told you this! I grew up on a rock farm!”

“No, I mean in my house right now!”

“Oh, that’s easy!” said the eternally hyper earth pony. “Through the door! I was working at Sugar Cube Corner and all of a sudden I got tail twitch, spine tingle, clammy hooves and leg twitches in all four of my legs! And that can only mean one thing, that there’s a fantasteriffic story about outer space about to be told! So I just followed my Pinkie Sense here! And boy was I right, that was a fantasteriffic story!”

Twilight’s eye twitched as she took in Pinkie’s story. “But… how… Gah!” Without warning, she slammed her head into the hardwood table, knocking over a few books. As she raised her head, she said, “Ok, I’m good. Back to the groundbreaking scientific discovery.”

Applejack just shook her head, chuckling. Chuckling turned to laughing, and laughing turned to outright guffawing. She reared up and fell onto her back, laughing at the antics of her friends. After traversing millions of miles through space and meeting with little blue aliens, it was good to be home with some normality.

Applejack finally started to calm down, tears rolling down her cheeks. She got her hooves under her and stood. “Thanks, girls. Ah needed that. Anyway, Twi, Ah got a question. Ah spent about a day off planet, but when Ah came back, only a few hours’d passed. How in Equestria did that happen?”

Twilight furrowed her brow, tapping her hoof against her chin. “That is a bit odd… Ah!” Her horn lit up as she pulled a book from the shelf and started reading. “It was theorized by a famous physicist named Quantum Starlight that time works differently in space. His thinking is that more time would pass for a space traveler than an Equestria-bound pony, but it was an early theory, so I suppose there’s room for error. You’re living proof that time actually moves slower in space. Facinating!” she said, grinning ear to ear again.

“Oh! Oh! Me next! Me next!” Pinkie’s hoof was high in the air, like a filly in school. “What’s up with the alien you met? The spiky one. Do you know her birthday? Does she like cake? Oh, wait, duh, everyone likes cake!”
Applejack frowned and crossed her legs. “Trust me, Pinkie pie, if anypony wouldn’t like cake, it’d be her. She said Ah was jokin’ with the way Ah talk.”

Pinkie frowned, an unusual facial expression for her. “Hmm, that’s not very nice. Maybe she just needs some cheering up!” Pinkie’s face lit up once more in her trademark too-big-for-her-face grin. “I’ll get together some party favors, some snacks and maybe even a piñata!”

“Pinkie, Ah don’t think-“

“Oh, you’re right, Applejack. Of course I should get a piñata! She’s your new friend, she deserves the best!” squealed Pinkie. “I gotta go, girls, I’ve got a Pinkie Party to plan!” Out of nowhere, Pinkie produced a tiny glass ball and threw it on the ground. There was a flash of light and a burst of confetti, and Pinkie was gone.

Twilight groaned a bit. “Every time she does that, I can feel the laws of physics crying,” she said. “She does have a point though, Applejack. She did just go through something pretty upsetting. Maybe you can help her a little bit. You know, be friendly.”

Applejack kept her hooves crossed and grunted. “Ah’ll be civil if she will.”

“That’s the spirit,” Twilight said, smiling. “Now, do you mind if I do a few tests on your ring? That pocket dimension in particular fascinates me.” In a manner similar to Pinkie’s confetti-pellet, Twilight produced a strange looking device, which had blinking lights and seemed to be beeping.

Applejack laughed nervously. “Uhh, sorry sugarcube, but Ah gotta head home, Ah’ve got… chores! Yeah, that’s it, chores,” she said, bolting out the door, leaving behind a very disappointed purple unicorn.

-----

Everfree forest was quiet that night, as it usually was. While everypony knew that a lot of dangerous creatures lived in the Everfree, the creatures knew it, too. They all usually stayed as quiet as possible, to avoid alerting something bigger than they were. Except, of course, when something smaller wandered in front of them.

Quilla knew there were things in the forest, but she wasn’t worried. She had been around animals bigger and stronger back home, and had always been fine. She didn’t fight them, of course. Nobody fought or hunted animals on her planet. Her people were herbivorous, first of all. Second, most animals knew not to attack members of her species, or get a mouth full of quills.

Not for the first time that night, Quilla wished she could check the time. Her ring lay on the forest floor, fully charged from a few hours ago. Trees surrounded the small clearing that her ring occupied, while she was perched in one of them. She had told her pony… partner to find her after dark, and sundown had been three hours ago. Either she had gotten lost here and hadn't listened when Quilla told the pony she could track her ring, or she was just taking her sweet time.

A sound alerted her to her right, and her head swiveled in the same direction. Her face remained unchanged as she saw her orange target enter the clearing. She had her ring up, displaying a radar-like projection in front of her. The pony looked around confused, and Quilla smiled. It would appear her ruse was working, as Applejack kept looking around, seeming confused. It was true; the ring would let her detect other rings… but only the rings.

Quilla stood the quills that were her hair on end, preparing to strike against her landlocked quarry. Wincing a bit, she pulled three quills from the collection, holding them between her fingers. She brought her arm across her chest, rearing back to throw her sharp payload. With a quick movement, she launched them, sending them careening towards the pony.

As the sharp spines rocketed towards Applejack, the pony’s ears swiveled in Quilla’s direction. Damn, her hearing was better than she thought. Applejack leapt back, but not quite fast enough, as one of the sharp missiles hit home in her leg, just above her left fetlock. The earth pony cried out, but Quilla saw her ring flash as she donned her Green Lantern uniform. Quilla extended her right hand, calling her own ring, which zoomed from the center of the clearing and onto her finger. She reveled in the return of her power and leapt from the tree, willing a fist into existence and sending it towards Applejack on her way down.

Applejack brought her ring leg up, summoning a kite shield from her ring. The fist and shield met, and Applejack grunted as her construct held. The farm pony growled, then let out a bellow as she pushed her leg and the shield out, pushing Quilla away. The biped flipped and landed on her feet, only to be greeted by a hammer speeding towards her. Quilla, rather than try and field the hammer, whipped up a construct around her legs, using the strength of Will to leap out of the way. She countered the hammer with a construct of a solid ball, slamming Applejack in the stomach. Quilla took this opportunity to swing her body and the orb around, bringing the solid construct into contact with her muzzle.

Applejack flew several feet from the impact and landed on her side. She recovered quickly, though, and levitated a few feet in the air before settling on her feet. She pawed the ground and charged her opponent, hooves a blur. Quilla held out her ring and shot out several energy blasts, but Applejack artfully avoided them, dipping under one, only to jump over another, finally spinning around on one hoof to avoid the last. Applejack was up close this time, and she formed a knight’s helmet construct around her head before slamming it into Quilla’s gut.

Quilla pushed the air out of her lungs to keep herself from being winded, before forming a forked construct and slamming it into Applejack’s back, pinning her to the ground with her front legs pinned to her side. Once the tips were in the ground, she extended them to either side, effectively locking her in place. Applejack squirmed within the makeshift prison, trying desperately to find a weakness. As the pony tried to summon power in her ring, Quilla pressed her harder into the ground, pushing more air out of Applejack’s lungs. “Yield,” she said, keeping her construct against her.

Applejack grumbled a bit, but finally said, “Fine, Ah yield.”

Quilla dissipated her construct, letting Applejack up off the forest floor. As the farmer righted herself, Quilla said, “Not bad. Noit good, either, but more than I expected. You managed to get a few good hits in, and your constructs are strong. But you won’t be able to fight the stronger enemies of the Corps as you are now. Something’s still missing, and you had better figure it out quick. Now, get ready,” she said, charging her ring up for another confrontation.

-----

Far away, light years away from Equestria, and even Oa, was the planet Qward. It was a smaller planet, mostly a barren rock. However, glowing bright yellow on the surface, was a great citadel. It mirrored the one on Oa, but not nearly as benign. Sharp spires and spiked buildings dotted the skyline, each one a sickly yellow. At the center was a giant lantern, its yellow light a beacon amongst the creatures that flew amongst the buildings.

Inside one of these buildings was a lone woman. Her skin was a luminescent blue, with dark black hair that matched the emptiness in her eyes, though they were colored yellow. Her clothes were just as dark, but they covered little on her. On her chest was a strip of yellow, with a symbol emblazoned on it. It was a circle with two lines jutting from the bottom, which circled around the sides, stopping just before a small square at the top of the circle. On her right hand was a glowing yellow ring, but her left hand is what drew attention.

In that hand she gripped a book, its binding a faded yellow rather than the bright yellow so prevalent everywhere else. She gripped it with a combination of fondness and trepidation, as if the book was the single most important thing in her life, even though she was scared to death of it. The book was connected to a chain of yellow light, shackled to her left wrist. On the books cover was the same symbol as was on her chest.

The woman was walking through a room filled with black pods. They were oblong in shape, each resting on its own pedestal. As she walked by a few, she heard faint screams coming from them, and smiled. Soon, they would either emerge from the pods ready to serve her master… or they would not. No great issue; they were easy enough to clean out.

She heard the hum of another ring’s energy approach, and she turned, facing the visitor to this place. Her eyes widened, and she fell to one knee, clutching the book to her chest. The figure that touched down was tall and thin, though with decent muscle tone, as if he had spent much time exercising. His uniform was black and yellow, with the yellow forming three downward points along his front. His hair was cut short and meticulously styled, as was his pencil thin moustache. His skin was a violent purple, contrasted by his grey eyes. His left hand shone with yellow light from his ring, which did not diminish even as he touched down. He regarded the woman on her knees before him, smirking a bit, before signaling her to rise. “Greetings, Lyssa. How are the denizens of the Lodges today?”

Lyssa rose, but kept herself at a respectful level of reverence. As she spoke, her voice dripped with contempt. “Poorly, My Lord. I hear their screams, and very few seem to be coping. Though they survived Arkillo’s training, they are not strong enough to face true fear. Some may rise from the Fear Lodge, but I believe many more will waste away from-“

Any further derisive comments were interrupted by a huge blast of energy from one of the pods. The yellow blast faded, and from the ruined Lodge rose Gilda, her body covered in a uniform similar to the purple man’s. She was breathing heavily, gripping the sides of the hole she had blown in her prison. The imposing figure that had entered grabbed her attention, and gave a mighty cry as she lunged for him, summoning from her ring a massive eagle’s head of yellow energy.

The man cracked a smile as she created the construct, which towered over him by several feet. With his left hand, he swiped at the attack, his ring glowing brighter. The construct shattered into tiny bits of light, leaving Gilda charging at him with only her body. He extended his bare hand, catching her by her feathered throat, combining his thrust with her momentum. He spun his body, slamming her into the wall with enough force to shatter the stone. He squeezed her throat, choking the bird as she scrambled at the hand with her claws, which skittered harmlessly off his yellow force field. “This one has spirit, Lyssa. Be careful, or she may one day have the Book of Parallax tethered to her.” He finally released her throat, and she fell to the floor, gasping and clutching her neck. “That was quite a construct you created a moment ago. However, I believe that at the moment, it was a strength given to you by desperation. However, that desperate fear will one day serve you well. Well enough to crush both your enemies… and mine. Now, speak the oath that will give you your power, and remind you who it is you serve.”

Gilda looked up at him with something akin to awe, and stood, holding out her ring.

“In blackest day, in brightest night, beware your fears turned into light. Let those who try to stop what’s right, Burn like his power- Sinestro’s might!”

Comments

[Thatguywiththemane]

Well, friends and neighbors, the fourth installment is here. Unfortunately, I'm having some computer trouble, so I can't guarantee that there won't be a bit of a gap between this and the next chapter. Well, anyway, thank you for your continued readership.

[sonicx]

1521666 let me guess and say you are using windows??? i hear there all ways having problems

[Tundara]

I hope Hal returns. I read every one of his lines in Nathon Fillion's voice. Really enjoying this story. I wonder if any of the other Elements of Harmony will get power rings. I saw a comment about Pinkie potentially as a Blue Lantern.... that, surprisingly fits.

[Lupin]

Still liking this story so far. But as usual. there are a few little areas to correct. You said Sinestro's eyes were gray. From what I remember, they are yellow in the iris and the scalera (the white part of the human eye) is black. Kyle described it like staring into the sun.

[aquilerafroot]

Hey, so I finally got around to reading! It's reading week or study week or revision week, whatever you call it after all Still really impressed by your writing style, I really like how clear and concise it is And Quilla's attitude, teehee! Hope she gets around soon Right now I'm trying to get in one chapter of stories I've missed, so I'll probably get back to the next few next time

[ts_cogwheel]

While generally a good read, there is one piece of advise I want to give you.
A bit too often do you use the same word twice in a paragraph or sentence, like here:

As they reached the main room of the library, Twilight took a seat at the main table.

The double usage of the word 'main' halts the reading flow and makes the text feel less well thought-out. Try using synonyms instead.

That aside, there are some very good passages. I'm particularly fond of:

“Pinkie?! Where did you come from?”
“Oh, Twilight, I told you this! I grew up on a rock farm!”
“No, I mean in my house right now!”
“Oh, that’s easy!” said the eternally hyper earth pony. “Through the door!

Very Pinkie-ish. You have a good grip on the characters' voices.

[Alchemystudent]

*looks at Quilla* let me guess, you're from mobius, aint ya?

Oh and excuse the GL fanboy while he squees...SINESTRO!!!!

[The Portal Passer]

time works differently in space. His thinking is that more time would pass for a space traveler than an Equestria-bound pony

No it just means that oa rotates faster than equestria it's simple astronomical knowledge

[SpyderBookworm]

The truth would get her sent to the hospital like that barking pony.

Screwloose, right? Reminds me of a Ukrainian girl by the name Oksana Malaya, who was actually raised by dogs for 5 years (from the age of 3 to 8 when she was spotted), and after being found started to show behavior of a canine. And after some time, she regained her humanity, could talk and walk like a human. However, she still had the ability to bark like a dog.