A Green Lantern in Equestria, Part 13 (The Empire of Tears)

>You are Anon Ymous of Rann, Green Lantern of Sector 2828.

>While you were training on Oa, many tales of the Green Lantern Corps were shared with recruits.

>These stories were told with the intention to teach.

>To instruct new Lanterns and give them guidance.

>As such...these were not only tales of the Corps' triumphs...

>...but also there failures and errors.

>One of these is the story of the Manhunters.

>Who let no man escape them.

>The Manhunters were the Guardians enforcers before the days of the Green Lantern Corps.

>As machines they were very efficient at their job.

>But as they were machines, the subtleties of right and wrong were beyond them.

>The Justice they delivered was often of a quick and brutal variety.

>While their efficiency allowed people to look past their obvious flaws, This did not stop people from wondering if one day the Manhunters would go to far.

>This came to a head when the Guardians came into conflict with the demonic Empire of Tears.

>It's origin being the world of Ysmault, the Empire of Tears spread across a large swath of the universe in part thanks to the magic that served as the Empire's backbone.

>Their rule was brutal and nightmarish, and when the Guardians could no longer turn a deaf ear to the pleas of those oppressed by the Empire, the Manhunters were dispatched to deal with the situation.

>They were sent to bring peace and freedom to those sectors.

>What occurred was annihilation.

>Reasoning that the Empire in its entirety was a foe of such magnitude that no element of it could not be left in tact lest it rise again, the Manhunters proceeded to lay waste to the entire sector.

>Not only the Empire's military, but it's civilians and subjects all the same.

>Horrified by this display, the Guardians recalled their machines with great haste.

>But they were too late.

>Sector 666 and Ysmault burned.

>The Guardians retired the Manhunters and set about founding the Green Lantern Corps, placing their trust into the inhabitants of the universe to police their homes.

>That is the story you were told in training.

>What you learned later, from gossip (a fact that caused you to question the tales authenticity, what a fool you were) was that the story had a part 2.

>That the Manhunters rampage had survivors.

>And in an effort to lock away the magic in the universe (as is was a power they felt to be unpredictable and beyond their control), the Guardians used their incredible power to take these surivors and bind their physical and spiritual forms to Ysmault itself.

>These demons held more than a little contempt for your masters.

>Even worse, there were rumors that a number of beings eluded the Guardians and hid in the depths of space.

>Considering the position you were in right now?

>You'd say that rumor was verified.

 

CANTERLOT CASTLE THRONE ROOM

 

>Twilight said she was a calm, wise and noble ruler.

>Twilight was full of shit.

>Celestia held your form, bound to a chair in the air above as she paced about the throne room.

>She regaled you with the tale of her history.

>"We fled...my Mother and I...she was with child at the time..."

>She paces around in circles, grading you along with telekinesis so that you were facing her at all times.

>The effect was disconcerting...to say the least.

>"She didn't want to fight the Oans...not in her condition.  She didn't want to risk the life of my sister, you see."

>You needed an out, and you needed it fast.

>"So she fled to this world, at the time a barren and lifeless rock.  Wholly unremarkable, were it not for the ancient barrier that encompassed the planet, a remnant of an imperial project my mother had supervised.  It was to be a base; the project never came to fruition for...obvious...reasons."

>Everything about this scenario pointed to your imminent and violent death.

>"We hid on this world, and in the greatest exercise of power that I have ever witnessed, my mother used her magic to terraform this planet and seed it with life, an act that costed her own.  The last thing she ever did was give birth to my younger sibling...Luna, and then she was no more."

>There was a bitter sadness in her eyes, but you saw that it did nothing to stem her rage.

>You weighed your options, Celestia had so far done nothing to your ring hand, so you had that.  But the position you were in meant that the moment you tried something, she'd rip you to pieces.

>You had to keep her talking, you had to stall for time.

>Neutral Jing was the name of the game, when you struck, it had to count.

>You had no idea when the right moment you be, but you know you'd know it when you knew it.

>...that caused your head to hurt a little...

So what happened next?

>"I beg your pardon?"

I just asked you...what happened next?  Did pony-kind come into existence, did you come into your rule peacefully?  Or did you do as the Empire did, and conquered them in a bloody crusade?!

>A telekinetic fist slams you in the face.

>"I assure you, I spilt no pony blood when I came to rule...but I guess your right, I didn't come to power peacefully.  I took it...I took it in violence...from a being that deserved it..."

>There it is.

>Rage is not her true nature.

>She is valiant, passionate, but there's a reason that Twilight went on and on about her.

>And you now had to draw it out.

>You knew what you had to do, and it was going to hurt like hell.

So how does that make you different from the Empire of Tears then?  They deposed thousands of despots in their conquests; it did nothing to stem the horrors that followed!  Yes, what the Manhunters was horrific, but you forget why they were deployed in the first pla-

>A Telekinetic grip closes around your throat, silencing you.

>"You were not there, child..."

>Venom dominates her voice.

>"My mother seeded this world with life, and from it ponykind came forth!  My sister and I acceded to her wishes, we kept our distance and did not interfere...but not even she could have predicted the byproducts of her magic, the monsters that her spells had unleashed.  Her ponies...MY ponies...they were suffering...how could I just sit back and watch?!"

>She looks at you, the rage in her eyes is fading, you can feel her grip slipping from your throat, you can speak again.

You're right, I wasn't there.  I did not bear witness to the events at hand, nor can I view them with the same hindsight as you...but consider my position.  You've are about to kill me on the grounds that I serve being who, while they destroyed your ancestral home, feel what I can only describe as infinite remorse for the incident.  The massacre was not intentional in any capacity...and they're doing their damnedest to make restitution to those they've harmed.

>Celestia is unable to react to this.

>Time to seal the deal.

The act of sealing the last of the demons was the completion of the task they originally sent to do, and while it seems cruel in the context of what happened earlier, it was done to stop the Empire from re-surging and plunging the known universe into darkness.  Yes is was horrible, but it was necessary.

>Celestia looks on, her mind a stir with these ideas.

>One last push, and you were home free.

Besides...the Guardians are dicks anyway.  Always have been, always will be.

>Celestia chuckles at this...and then her chuckles evolve into full blown laughter.

>You've won.

>Today, Anon Ymous faced an angry sun god and lived.

>It be nice if she'd let you go.

>Hell, you'd settle for a loosening of the neck hold, seems to have gotten tighter for some reason.

>...wait...

>"Oh, Mr. Ymous, I thank you for that, I needed it!  But I'm afraid that even your passionate arguement is not going to help dissuade me from several millennia of pent up anger."

>Shit.

>"Goodbye, Lantern, meeting you was interesting, to say the least."

>The TK grips on your tighten.

>It's now or never.

>A cruise missile erupts from your ring and flies around the throne room, shocking Celestia into releasing her telekinesis.

>The missile swings back around and slams into you, creating a mighty explosion.

>The chair your were sitting in is now disintegrated, you are floating the air unharmed.

>A shield construct over your left arm.

>A muti-frequency gatling blaster is assembling on your right arm.

I'm sorry it has to come to this, your grace.  I tried to solve this non-violently, but you've left me no choice!

>Celesita rolls her eyes at this.

>Her horn glows.

>You raise your shield, ready to receive whatever attack she's about to throw at you.

>Sunlight pours through the windows.

>It starts out white, but it's color is changing, it's becoming a rather stark shade of...

>Your shield and the rest of your constructs dissolve in front of your eyes.

>...yellow.

>Well, that's it, you were fucked, nothing to do now but wait for Celestia to vaporize you.

>You close your eyes and wait for the end to come.

>It doesn't.

>Instead, she speaks.

>"Well, I must say, Twilight was right about you...clever, brave, pragmatic, and willing to fight to the end!  At least, those were the stories you told her."

>...huh?

>"I have to admit that I was skeptical at first, but there seems to have been truth to the words you shared with my student, Mr. Ymous.  I know now that you didn't lead my little ponies astray."

>Note to self, when you see Twilight later, hug her and promise to tell her all the stories you can about the Green Lantern Corps.

>"I know now that the Guardians have at least attempted to make an effort to atone for their crimes...even if I don't feel it's enough for me, personally, to forgive them...I will, at the very least, not judge you for their actions.  And so long  as all the Green Lanterns that have been in the universe over are as noble as you claim they are, I will never have a need to."

>Not to self, never, under ANY circumstances tell Twilight about Thal Sinestro.

>"I must admit, for a second there, I thought that it was going to end poorly for you.  I give you credit for your initial tactic; although it was doomed to failure from the start, I give you credit for the attempt.  I must admit thought that when the chips were down, you managed to perform spectacularly."

>Waitaminute.

A-are you telling me that this whole thing...the chair, the telekinetic death grip, the rants of rage...they were all some sort of test?!

>Celestia just looks at you and smiles.

>It is now your turn to rage.

YOU COSMIC BITCH!  I'M GONNA KI-

>You feel a new, powerful, telekinetic grip.

>This one is on your testicles.

>"I know these are important to the males of my species, judging from your reaction, I'd guess the same holds true for yours."

yesma'am...

>"I believe we have an understanding.  Let's all just calm down and discuss things like rational sentient beings."

>The grip disappears.

>You breath a sigh of relief.

>"Not that that business is out of the way, let's get to discussing your little issue with our barrier."

>Well, it seemed like things were starting to take a turn for the better.

>Sure all these ponies were ABSOLUTELY FUCKING CRAZY, but hey, this was their world, who were you to judge?

>It's not like it could get anymore insane and dangerous is this sugar-bowl...right?

 

MEANWHILE, IN THE CAVERNS BENEATH PONYVILLE!

 

>"My queen!  We've achieved 95% saturation!"

>"YES!  Now is the time to strike!  Come, my children, gather!  We were defeated in Canterlot by a stroke of irony, when that which fed us was used to overwhelm us, but providence has provided us a new weapon in this eleventh hour!  Soon, Ponyville, nay, the WHOLE OF EQUESTRIA shall know the true power of love as they cover before the light of the glorious STAR SAPPHIRE!"

 

>To be continued...