1618 9.01 KB 140
Hope Rides Alone 1: How the World Fell Under Darkness.
By MandroidCreated: 2020-12-19 13:44:30
Expiry: Never
-
1.
=Hope Rides Alone=
-
2.
-
3.
>"Ring Capacity: 5 percent."
-
4.
"I know, I know..."
-
5.
>You clench your fists and pick up speed towards the planetoid that slowly inches closer, a blue streak across the cold of space.
-
6.
>It had been days since you last saw another life form. On your last interstellar voyage you had gotten a bit too close to a black hole that must have tossed you halfway across the galaxy, draining your ring in the process just to keep you alive.
-
7.
>You were now too far out of range for communications, and far too far out of range to call your power battery.
-
8.
"Nice going, Anonymous..."
-
9.
>"Ring Capacity: 2 percent." the little piece of jewelry on your finger says.
-
10.
>You take a deep breath as you enter into the planet's atmosphere.
-
11.
"All will be well."
-
12.
>Your personal shields flare as the friction of your descent turns you into a fireball streaking across the sky for a few minutes.
-
13.
>Once you enter into the atmosphere proper, the flames give way and you get a good look at the world you find yourself on.
-
14.
>Muted green fields and mountains stretch across the land, pockmarked with blue lakes resting under...pink clouds?
-
15.
>Well, you've seen weirder in the Corps.
-
16.
>"Ring Capacity: One percent."
-
17.
>No time to sightsee, it seems.
-
18.
>You increase your pace down to the surface, directing yourself near a small lake nearby a town.
-
19.
>"Ring Capacity: One percent."
-
20.
"Come on, come on..."
-
21.
>The lake gets closer and closer to you as the glow of your personal shields flickers.
-
22.
>"Ring Capacity: .5 percent."
-
23.
>You can make it. You can make it. There is always ho-
-
24.
>Your personal shields drop and with it goes your ability to fly. Your stomach lurches and flips end over end as you drop from the sky.
-
25.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
-
26.
>You hit the water with a harsh splash and sink down underneath.
-
27.
-
28.
>Darkness surrounds you in the lake, a darkness so strong you couldn't see your own nose.
-
29.
>Until you looked up, that is.
-
30.
>Peeking through the murky surface of the water, you could see the sun shine through.
-
31.
>It filled your heart whenever you were on a planet and you looked to their sun. It was something that was different for each world, but still brought everyone in the universe together in having one.
-
32.
>Your direction assured, you swim to the light and surface, taking a deep breath of fresh air once you do.
-
33.
>"Ring Capacity: .1 percent. Shutting down all non-essential functions." your ring says.
-
34.
>"Non-essential functions" basically boiled down to the universal translator and that's it.
-
35.
>You sigh.
-
36.
"Ah well..."
-
37.
>Hopefully it could gather enough charge to get you home or send out a distress signal.
-
38.
>You swim to the shore as your clothes transform back to their original state before you put on your uniform, a side effect of the system shutdown.
-
39.
>As you haul yourself out of the water, your ears detect a sound.
-
40.
>It was far off, but it sounded like...someone walking, and they were grumbling to them self as they did.
-
41.
>An indigenous then, this was always an important part of first contact.
-
42.
>You fold your legs and sit yourself down on the ground, resting your hands and making sure to look as non-threatening as you possibly could.
-
43.
>If only your new guest were sticking to that.
-
44.
>He jumps out of the nearby bush shouting "HIYAAAH!" and brandishing what looks like a broken broom. He had pots, pans, cups, and plate tied to his body as makeshift armor. He was a little guy, reptilian in nature with purple scales and green spines.
-
45.
-
46.
>"Halt! Who goes there!?" he shouts at you.
-
47.
>From the sound of his voice, he was quiet young.
-
48.
"Hello there, my little friend. My name is...Anonymous. What's yours?"
-
49.
>It was -technically- a code-name, but it would do.
-
50.
>He falters a bit. "You speak Draconian...?" his boyish wonder coming through.
-
51.
>You can't help but chuckle.
-
52.
"Sort of. You see, my ring translates what I say into any language it knows."
-
53.
>You hold up your ring hand for him to see.
-
54.
>His eyes sparkle at the thing but he shakes his head and goes back to his fighting stance. "Yeah, well who are you!? Why are you at my lake?"
-
55.
"Is this your lake? I'm sorry for trespassing, I crashed here after my ring ran out of power."
-
56.
>He huffs. "Yeah right, does that thing let you fly too?"
-
57.
"Yes."
-
58.
>The wonder comes back. "...Really?"
-
59.
>You nod.
-
60.
"Now, I am Anonymous and you are...?"
-
61.
>He hardens his face again. "Spike. My name's Spike."
-
62.
>You nod and smile.
-
63.
"Hi Spike."
-
64.
-
65.
>You reach out and slowly lower the broom.
-
66.
"You can put that away, I mean you no harm."
-
67.
>"Oh yeah? Then what are you doing here?" he asks, eyes still hard but keeping the broom down.
-
68.
>You show your ring again.
-
69.
"I'm a Blue Lantern, Spike. We're an order of people from all over the universe dedicated to spreading the word of hope."
-
70.
>"Hope in what?" he asks.
-
71.
"Anything. Everything. Hope that tomorrow will be better than today or even just hope that we will see old friends again soon."
-
72.
>Spike goes "Tch." and turns to walk away, the broom resting on his shoulder. "Yeah well you're wasting your time. There's no hope in Equestria anymore."
-
73.
>That makes your smile falter, little boys shouldn't believe that.
-
74.
"What did you say?"
-
75.
>"I said there's no hope here, it went away a long time ago." he calls back over his shoulder.
-
76.
>That...couldn't be allowed to pass.
-
77.
"How did this happen?"
-
78.
>Spike stops and looks back at you, his eyebrow arching. "You really -are- from far away if you don't know abou-"
-
79.
>He pauses as the sun in the sky seems to rotate on an axis and immediately change to the moon, drowning the forest in darkness.
-
80.
>Spike hisses and jumps. "Look, I'll tell you about what happened, but you have to follow me, it's not safe at night!"
-
81.
>He takes off into the woods and you have no choice but to follow.
-
82.
-
83.
>Spike hurries you along through the forest and into a nearby cave. Inside sits a slowly going fire, a burlap sack used for what you assume is bedding, and some knickknacks laying around.
-
84.
"Is...this where you live, Spike?"
-
85.
>He looks out the cave entrance before slowly backing over to you. "Yeah, why?"
-
86.
"It's just that I saw a town on my way in, surely you could live there?"
-
87.
>The boy's face falls. "It wouldn't be the same..."
-
88.
>Looking at him, you could tell...he really was almost hopeless.
-
89.
>You sit down cross legged again on the cave floor.
-
90.
"Would you like to tell me what happened now, Spike? What you couldn't tell me out by the lake?"
-
91.
>Spike sighs and sits down. "Where do I even start...?"
-
92.
>"Do you know about Discord where you came from?"
-
93.
>You shake your head no.
-
94.
>Spike curls up a bit. "Yeah well...you're lucky. He's...he's the worst! He's an ancient spirit of disharmony and chaos. The Princesses turned him into a statue a long time ago but he got out a while back..."
-
95.
"And he made everything..."
-
96.
>You gesture outside to the sudden night where it's now raining chocolate.
-
97.
"Like this?"
-
98.
>Spike nods.
-
99.
"Did no one stand up and try to fight?"
-
100.
>He curls up a bit more. "Some did...my friends, but Discord did something to them and now they're...different."
-
101.
"Different how?"
-
102.
>"Different like they're not themselves anymore!" he exclaims, throwing his arms up into the air. "They're acting totally the opposite of how I knew them!"
-
103.
"And everything else...?"
-
104.
>Spike lets his arms fall to his side. "After they couldn't stop Discord, he took over and everything just...ended up like this."
-
105.
>You look out to the outdoors and the insanity it is.
-
106.
"So...everything is like this?"
-
107.
>Spike nods. "Yeah...nopony knows what to do, we can't stop it and every time we try, things change again."
-
108.
-
109.
>You look down at your ring.
-
110.
>The duty of the Blue Lantern Corps was to spread hope to the hopeless, to make the universe a better one person at a time if you had to.
-
111.
>And never in your life have you seen a place so in need of hope as this Equestria.
-
112.
"Ring, what are the mathematical odds that I will be able to stop this "Discord" and free Equestria?"
-
113.
>"Zero point zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero- five percent, Lantern Anonymous."
-
114.
"Well that's that, then."
-
115.
>You rise up to your feet and star to walk out of the cave.
-
116.
>"Whoa, wait a second!" Spike shouts behind you.
-
117.
>You pause and look back.
-
118.
>"Where are you -going-?" he asks.
-
119.
"To do what I can to stop Discord."
-
120.
>"And you -really- think you'll be able to?"
-
121.
>You simply smile.
-
122.
"I hope so."
-
123.
>"But you heard what your ring said!"
-
124.
>You look down at it, you had heard the odds.
-
125.
"To me, that's as good as a hundred percent. Hope makes anything possible, Spike. Hope and hard work."
-
126.
>"But...you might get hurt." he says quietly.
-
127.
"I might not."
-
128.
>Spike stars at the ground for a long time. "What if...I come with you? How much will that help?"
-
129.
>You hold your hand up.
-
130.
"Ring?"
-
131.
>"Odds rise to zero point zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero- six percent, Lantern Anonymous."
-
132.
>You smile down at Spike.
-
133.
"Every little bit helps."
-
134.
>Spike's face hardens and he grabs his broom, marching over to you.
-
135.
>"I'm ready...I have to try."
-
136.
>You place a hand on his head and smile, you surprisingly get one back.
-
137.
"Then let's go find your friends."
-
138.
>You leave the cave entrance and walk down the beaten path, Spike behind you.
-
139.
>You -would- save this world, you -would- save these people.
-
140.
>All -will- be well.
by Mandroid
by Mandroid
by Mandroid
by Mandroid
by Mandroid