Title: A Green Lantern in Equestria, Part 7 (Onwards and Upwards) Author: Deadbeat Pastebin link: http://pastebin.com/4MjjGTsX First Edit: Monday 28th of May 2012 09:40:41 PM CDT Last Edit: Monday 28th of May 2012 09:40:41 PM CDT >THOSE WERE YOUR FUCKING RIBS! >You are Anon Ymous of Rann, Green Lantern of Sector 2828. >And you are damn near positive that your ribcage was just collapsed by a high speed sonic projectile, possibly of Reach origin. >You find it odd that it seems to be in the shape of a blue Pegasus pony with a rainbow mane. >"Oww...not my head...," says the weapon. >You find this odd. >Most weapons don't talk. >Then again, you were pretty sure the Reach made this thing. >And if they liked making talking scarabs...why not talking ponies? >Oh this bitch was going to be so many atoms in the next- >[Goddamnit Anon! Are we really doing the shit again?!] >Fuck you consince, I'm dying here! >[Shut up, buttwipe, you are not dying, your ribs aren't even broken.  Hell, I bet the worst you have is some bruising, these ponies are practically made of marshmallow!  Quit your bitching and think for a minute.] >B-but the Reach- >[-are nowhere near here.  You're on Equestria remember?] >...yeah... >[And you were going to fly up and scan the barrier around the planet, right?] >Y-yeah, that is right! >[And the name of your escort was...?] >Rainbow Dash. >The gears in your head line up properly and you look at the rainbow maned cyan pegasus that is in the process of untangling herself from you. >She finally opens her eyes and gets a nice, long, and rather confused look at you shortly before receiving a quick strike in the back of her head from a floating book. >"OW!  Whaddya' do that for Twilight?!" >"For not looking where you're flying!  You could've killed Anon!" >"What, him?" she says, indicating you with a dismissive gesture, "He looks fine!" >Rainbow Dash looks you over again, "I think..." >Oh, Ho-ho...this bitch is dea- >[FOR FUCKS SAKE ANON!] >I'M NEVER ALLOWED TO DO ANYTHING, AM I?! >[NO!  YOU'RE NOT!  NOW WALK IT THE FUCK OFF LIKE A FUCKING MAN!] I'm...okay...Twilight, just give me a minute... >You groan as you stand and shoot the blue Pegasus a bitter look. Rainbow Dash...I presume? >She winces at the venom in your voice. >"Y-yeah that's me!" >She clears her throat as she regains her composure. >"So what's the plan here, Twilight?  You want me to show your friend some fancy flying?  Or maybe we need to go fight a monster?!  A dragon or-" >Twilight stuffs her hoof into Rainbow's mouth. >"Dash, listen carefully.  You need to follow Anon into the upper atmosphere, let him analyze whatever he needs to analyze, and if he falls?  Catch him.  That's it." >"That's it?" >"That's it." >The Rainbow one's disappointment is palpable. >"Fine." >Twilight smiles. >"Good!  Alright Anon, good luck, I look forward to your findings." >You give Twilight a small salute, and then turn to your Rainbow escort. Come then, we have work to do.   SOMETIME LATER, IN THE SKIES ABOVE PONYVILLE   >OK, maybe you were quick to judge your blue, ballistic companion. >When you got over the initial unpleasantness between the two of you, you spend the flight into the upper atmosphere swapping stories. >You explain how your ring lets you and other Lanterns fly without wings, though your not sure she gets a lot of it. >She, in turn,regales you with tales about her flight prowess, and skills as a weather-pony, along with her desire to   join an aerobatic team called, "The Wonderbolts". >"...though I gotta tell you Anon, when I heard about where you come from?  Outer space?  It got me thinkin'." About what? >"About what it'd be like to fly up there, to actually fly into the night sky!  I wonder why no Pegasus has done it before?" Probably because of this barrier that I'm going to scan. >"Maybe...hey Anon, what's it like?" What? >"You know, flying in space?" >Oh wow... >You've never actually thought about this before. >For you, flying was an act of utility, a means to an end, a method of transit. >It wasn't always like that, it used to be much more exciting, but that was before... >...no, stay on topic. It's like...floating in the sea one moment, and maneuvering faster than you ever have in your entire life the next. >She's in awe at your words. >You can see her envisioning it in her eyes. ...We're here. >"Oh wow...edge of the cloud-line." >You stood (floated really) at the point where the wild blue yonder becomes black. >You stare up into the void. >Where there should be stars, an inky blackness greets you. >You notice that your Life Support shield is up. >"M-man...the air up here...kinda thin." >Rainbow is panting and flapping her wings quite hard. Hang on, this will only take a second. >"Yeah...sure...just make it quick." >You begin your scans but keep one eye on your Pegasus companion. >Hopefully this goes without incident.   MEANWHILE, NOT FAR BELOW   >You are Fluttershy. >Animal expert and caretaker. >And you are exhausted. >You've been flying for two days straight, making sure that the birds went south for the upcoming winter. >You spent all day yesterday flying and setting up nests in warm, tropical places for your feathered friends. >And now you're rushing home feed the rest of your animal friends. >Or you would be, if you weren't on the verge of passing out. >You're spent, you've been flying for hours and you needed a rest. >But you couldn't rest! >The animals at home were waiting to be fed! >You had to soldier on! >Oh look!  There was your friend, Rainbow Dash! >And some Green...thing. >You'd be scared, but your too wiped to even do that. >Oh look!  Rainbow's waving at you and pointing you out to the green thing! >You try to wave back, but you can't seem to find the strength. >That's odd, Rainbow's getting farther and farther away from you for some reason. >Oh well, no big deal, you'd figure out why that was after your nap.   UPPER ATMOSPHERE Music:  http://youtu.be/Exg-zf2nouQ   >You are Anon once more. >And you are watching a yellow Pegasus, identified by Rainbow Dash as her friend "Fluttershy", fall out of the sky. >This alarms you and your companion greatly. >You break off what you are doing and speed to the rescue of the falling mare. >One problem though. Dash. >"WHAT IS IT ANON?!  KIND OF BUSY HERE!" I know, I've just run the numbers in my head.  At our present speed and her present velocity, we're not going to make it   too her in time. >"THEN WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST WE DO?!" >That's a good point. >In any other circumstance, you'd send out a construct to catch her. >Constructs move at the speed of light, rendering your present issue's moot. >But there was a problem. >Fluttershy was yellow. >A color that did not mix well with your powers. >You had heard rumors in the corps, however. >That with sufficient willpower, the weakness could be overcome. >There was no choice, you'd have to try. >You extend your arm and send out a green glowing hand. >It wraps itself around the falling Pegasus. Stay together...stay together...stay together...stay together...stay together... >It makes physical contact with her. >The backlash is instantaneous, your fears strike you all at once. >VALADEATHSYNONBANISHMENTCORPSFAILURE >The hand shatters. >And Rainbow Dash reacts. >"NO!  NOT LIKE THIS! I CAN MAKE IT!  I *WILL* MAKE IT!" >What you see next astounds you. >A sonic cone forms around the cyan Pegasus. >And with a luminescent sonic boom, she gains a speed heretofore unseen. >She accelerates at nearly triple her previous velocity. >And in one fell swoop, catches the falling Fluttershy. >All the while, her rainbow shock wave covers the land. >You are stunned. >The willpower it took to perform that feat amazes you. >You look at your ring and think of your failure. >And then you look at the ever-expanding shock wave, and the Pegasus who has just landed and is resting her friend on the ground. >And you begin to wonder.