Chapter XXIII: Power and Responsibility

Fluttershy grabbed me by the neck with great strength and somehow, she's stronger than me! I can't even break free of her grip. I struggled even more but to no use, I look into her eyes and all I see was hatred… pure hatred.

My God… What did she done to her?

Dark used her magic to encase every one of my friends in a cage made of dark magic. I tried my effort to speak to her, "F…Flut… Fluttershy… Ack! Stop!"

"You… YOU MONSTER!" She threw me into the throne room. I grunted, I looked up to see Dark… grinning smugly. And then I noticed something at the center of the throne room. A black orb that's been giving black aura into the sky up above. It's what's been supplying the portal with energy to keep it open!

"*cough!* Agh…" I stood up but suddenly, I took a blow to the face. I tried to get my ring to work but somehow, it can't.

She charged at me again, but I avoided it. "Fluttershy, I don't want to hurt you!"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT BEFORE YOU DID!"

Twilight's right, she did hypnotize her. But how can I undo that without hurting her. I tried to make a light construct but Dark saw this and disabled my ring. Well, that taught me a lesson never to use the same powers at the same time.

"HAH! You think that your ring could save you from her? You imbecile fool!

"Damn it! I know what Dark said about me but she's hypnotizing you!"

"SHUT UP!"

She shot me with an energy beam near me. I ran towards her dodging every blast and pinned her to the ground. "Listen to me! Remember the time when I said I'll still love you no matter what happens? Whatever Dark said, it's all lies! I would never leave you! I love you Fluttershy, I will always do!"

I think my confession to her was working, she started to calm down. "Fluttershy, you have to fight it. Don't give in to the dark energy!"

"NO!"

I was knocked back into the wall. "Come on, ring… *cough* Do something!"

*WHOOSH!*

"Gah!"

"ENOUGH!" She shouted. I felt her energy becoming more and more stronger. She lunged at me and then her punch hit me like a 6-ton truck.

I tried to fight back but I can't. I defended myself from her, every hit and strike but she was stronger. If there's one pony out there that actually is there for me and gave a spark inside my heart, it's her. Life just keeps throwing these decisions, and then suddenly, comes a point where I suddenly give up everything. No more…

Like all the bad things in my life, I can't get everything to be right and in order. I'm just an average teenager, who wishes to be a part of something extraordinarily bizarre. But who was I to talk, a teen just one step closer to being a hero, ultimately fails because he unsuccessfully can't fight his beloved one.

This is what I see when I look back. These moments, blinding as snow, they kill you, change you. You die and live again, remade.

"ACK!"

I am weak…

"OOF!"

I failed everyone…

"AGH!"

But I still love her no matter what…

I love you…

"*SKLOORP!* AGHHCKKK…."

I looked at her, anger still in her eyes…

She was so beautiful…

"RYAN! NOOOOO!" Twilight shouted. Crimson red blood dropping through my stomach, her fist went through my stomach…

"Finally…" She whispered.

"Ryan's… dead…" Ray uttered.

Dark laughed, she finally got what she wanted. My DEATH. My blood on her floor… my corpse in front of her…

All I had was my ring…

"Now die in hell…"

I used my best to speak, "Fluttershy… No matter what happens… I… still love you…"

"Huh? Ryan?"

*Thump!*

My corpse lay down on the floor, cold and lifeless. Dark clapped slowly, "Hahahaha! Congratulations, my servant. You have done well!"

Upon hearing those words that I said, she let out one tear… and then she tried to break free of the spell. "NO! Please! AH!"

"You know that I still love you right?"

"NO!"

"I'll never leave you…"

"I…"

"Will you still love me in the morning?"

"Ryan…I… love you too…"

*FLASH!*

My ring suddenly flashed in green light. The green light turned into an aura and engulfed Fluttershy, it covered her and suddenly; the green aura broke her free of the spell. Then the green aura went back into my ring, finally ending…

She looked at her surroundings and then looked at me and gasped. "RYAN!" She galloped towards me and hugged my body tight.

"Ryan, I heard your words… I heard you said that you will always love no matter what happens. I'm sorry… I am so sorry… I love you too… Please don't leave me!"

She cried and sobbed. She looked at me and gave me one last a kiss…

*BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!*

The ring beeped. Unexpectedly, the green aura lifted me up into the air. It covered my entire body, completely healing my wounds and any major and minor wounds. And then I began reciting the oath of the Green Lanterns:

"In brightest day, In blackest night,

No evil shall escape my sight.

Let those who worship evil's might,

Beware my power,— Green Lantern's LIGHT!"

In the end, it created a shock wave. The ring itself, resurrected me from my death… Almost unbelievable.

It lifted me down back to the ground. "Whoa… That was awesome!"

"Ryan!" Fluttershy shouted in a quiet voice and hugged me.

"Ryan! Help us!" Rarity and the others shouted.

I saw the others trapped in some kind of bubble cage. "GAH! You failed me once again! No matter… GUARDS! SEIZE THEM!"

"Oh no you don't!"

I used my ring to break the others free of the bubble, "Ryan, we'll take care of the guards. You go after Dark."

I nodded. Suddenly, the ring vibrated uncontrollably. I looked at it to see the final part is finished, it started to vibrate even more. Then, the ring shined brightly in white;

"This is it…"

The light blinded everyone. The light covered my body again, this time…the ring started talking. The voice sounded familiar, until I recognized who it is.

"Congratulations, you have completed the Ring of The White Lantern."

"Max?"

The ring started to change color, First is Red,

"You have great rage in your heart."

Orange, "You want it all…"

Yellow, "You have the ability to instill great fear to others."

Green, "You have the ability to overcome great fear."

Blue, "You have the ability to instill great hope."

Indigo, "You have the ability to feel great compassion."

Violet, "You have great love in your heart."

Black, "You have the ability to shower death upon others."

"Yet there is one left. Go for it, Ryan."

That was the time the final battle of all began; a war between the forces good and evil, the battle between us and Dark, light versus darkness. Is this what I'm here for?

"YOU'LL NEVER WIN, RYAN! I WILL CONQUER EARTH!"

"We'll see about that!"

Was I sent here to protect everypony and everyone? Is this my destiny? It sounds crazy enough for some fellow human to believe. Believe it or not, this happened. It wasn't a dream or a hallucination, but fate.

The orb is starting to open the portal to Earth, we were running out of time. The others were still busy fighting an army of guard ponies. I was still fighting Dark, she was stronger. I have to say, we were almost evenly matched.

ALMOST…

"DARK! Stop this! You're trying to make 7 billion human beings as slaves, they have a life to live and you can't just take it away from them!"

"HA! What do I care about them and what do you care?! HAHAHAHA!"

"I care because I am responsible for all of this! I started all of this and if I fail, I'll be blamed for everything! I remember a saying at my place, 'With great power comes great responsibility.' And I will stop you from enslaving us all!"

Just when you thought you had reached the deepest depths of horror, it suddenly got worse. How to turn off that small voice inside your head that started to whisper that you should be glad … that now, if not before, your actions was justifiable on any conceivable moral scale. That small voice proved, beyond any doubt, that I was damned.

But not yet…

"YOU CAN'T WIN THIS ONE, RYAN!"

"Maybe, but I can make damn sure none of you do either!"

I wanted all of this to end, but it was only just the beginning. Since I have my friends, I'll be a man with nothing to lose.

My eyes glowed in a white color, I shouted, "ENOUGH!" I created a shockwave powerful enough to knock Dark unconscious for a while.

"Stay down."

I turned around to see the others already done. The orb became more stronger and stronger and slowly opening the portal to Earth. I looked at Penumbra and shouted,

"PENUMBRA! How do I stop this?!"

She galloped towards me, "There was a legend that four chosen ones can only stop the orb with the use of their choice of weapons."

"Who are the chosen ones?"

"I don't know! That's all I know!"

I quickly ruminated on this, and then suddenly I got an idea. "Ray, Michael, Razor! Get over here, quick!"

"What is it?" Ray asked.

"I need you to grab your chosen weapons and jam it into the orb."

Michael concentrated on his demon powers and summoned a sword, "Nice, I got this. It was my only 'friend' when I tried to escape the government."

Razor pulled out his combat knife, "This was given to me by… someone really close to me."

"Ray? What about you?" I asked.

Ray looked around the room and set his eyes on something, "This spear is wicked! I'll use this."

And finally, I grabbed my axe, "OKAY! Everybody on three, jam your weapons into the orb."

1!

2!

AND 3!

*WHAKOOSH!*

The orb sent us back flying into the wall, as soon as I hit the wall… I blacked out.

I opened my eyes to see that I was at another place, some kind of white room with black dots in it. I walked around the room and saw Michael at a distance; I tried calling his attention and noticed me and ran towards me.

"Dude! Where are we?" He asked.

"I don't know. Let's find the others and—"

I saw a figure walking towards us with Ray and Razor, I had a big feeling it was Max.

"There is no need, Ryan. I have them here." He spoke.

"Max! Thank God, can you explain why we're here?" I asked.

"Congratulations Ryan, you did it. You saved the Earth and Equestria."

"Huh? How?"

"You destroyed the orb. And you stopped Dark, but there is something that you should know."

We all asked what is it, Max explained, "While I was watching all of you, I saw something on all of you that struck me. In all of your adventures and doings, you ignited the long lost elements of Equestria. The Elements of Heroes. These Elements are created by Celestia and Luna, long before the Nightmare Moon incident, for those who showed true heroism; either the chosen ones are ponies or outsiders. But no-one has ever did showed true heroism, you 4 are the only ones the showed what heroism is all about."

Max began to walk towards each one of us, "The four of you showed what it means to be a true hero. First, Michael, who showed great Leadership and Excellence. When you got your team to safety after grabbing Ryan's power battery and helped everyone to get in the castle to face Dark, you showed that a great leader has its own benefits and downfalls, but never let anything get the best of you. You are an intelligent man, Michael. Keep it that way.

"Ray, who showed great Courage and Determination. When you were held prisoner, you never gave up and escaped the dungeon. You have the guts of steel whenever you get stuck between two big stones, and you showed that let not those two stones over-whelm you. Never give up, Ray. That is the important of all. Don't be afraid of fear; let fear be afraid of you."

"Razor, who showed Integrity and Kindness. When you tried to save that nightmare pony, you didn't hesitate to either help her or not. You have a strong moral, which is to save everyone who is in need. You have a heart of gold, Razor. As long as there is evil, nothing will stop you from stopping evil."

"And finally, Ryan who showed the most greatest of all, Power and Responsibility. You said to Dark earlier that you would take responsibility for everything, and no matter what happens, you still have a job to do. You showed that with the greatest power comes with the greatest responsibility of all, you are the one that ignited this element. These responsibilities may burden you, but remember this… You are doing this for all man and ponykind. Great power equals great responsibility."

"You are the wielders of the Elements of Heroes."

"Does that mean we get to go home?" Michael asked.

"No. You still have a lot to learn and a world to save. As long as there is good, there is evil. Your journey doesn't end here."

"What about my family? When can I see them again?" I asked.

"All in good times, Ryan."

"And what about the power of the White Lantern? Did I unlock all of them?"

Max smiled and walked towards me, "Congratulations Ryan Wilson of Earth. You are now a White Lantern."

Meanwhile…

"Ryan! Razor! Michael! Ray! Wake up!" Twilight shouted.

"What're we gon' do? They aren't wakin' up!" Applejack panicked.

Suddenly, they noticed that my ring is beeping in white color and then it flashed. The sudden action shocked the Mane 6 and the Night 6 and backed away. The light covered me and the other humans and lifted us up in the air. The light changed our appearance, all of us in white clothing but for me in long extended leather jacket that reaches down to the ankles and is buttoned, white pants and a large White Lantern insignia on the chest, and then a mask with Spidey eyes.

One thing I noticed is I'm covered in white light; even my skin is pure white. Suddenly, I saw Dark standing up,

"UGH! YOU FOILED MY PLAN ONCE AGAIN! But it doesn't mean that I can't stop you again!"

Dark shot me a powerful blast and left a big hole inside my stomach when suddenly, it healed. I think because of me unlocking all lanterns, it granted me a powerful form… The Light.

I remembered Max's words before we left,

"The Light cannot be defeated, it is a powerful form that I made specifically for events that renders you hopeless. It is immortal and powerful beyond the power of gods. But it has a small disadvantage; It lasts after the ring senses no more threat and you can't use it anymore unless you really need it. So, use it wisely."

"W-What? This can't be possible!" Dark shot me another blast but this time I returned it to her.

*BOOM!*

"GAH! ENOUGH! I WILL BE NOT DEFEATED BY A PESKY HUMAN! Guards!"

More guards appeared before us. I then raised my hand and then suddenly, they all fainted. The others were shocked at how powerful I was. Dark was the last one standing, she cowered in fear as I walked towards while she backed away, "Stop! I'm warning you! I AM PRINCESS DARK FUSION AND I WILL—"

I quickly disabled her horn and she was rendered useless.

"Don't even think about it. Face it Dark, I won and you lose. Surrender."

"ME? SURRENDER? HA! NEVER! I WILL DESTROY EARTH AND EQUESTRIA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I WILL! HAHAHA AND NO ONE WILL STOP ME! NOT EVEN YOU!"

I placed my hand on Dark's head and closed my eyes, then began reciting the oath of the White Lanterns,

"In peaceful day, in dreadful night,

The light of Life shall be our might,

When there is darkness, feel no fright,

WE have the light of life DIVINE!"

The light covered her and then suddenly the light retreated. Then, Dark was nowhere to be found.

Fluttershy and the others walked towards me. Out of nowhere, I was reverted back to my normal form, finally resting The Light inside the ring.

Rainbow Dash asked, "Where's Dark, Ryan? What did you do to her?"

"I sent her to Tartarus. Imprison her there. That way she'll rot like the others. Come on, let's go home."

"What about the throne? Who will take the title of new Princess?" Razor Dash asked.

I looked at the Night 6, and pointed at Penumbra, "Her."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. You can manage this kingdom, I know. And you even got your friends to help you."

"Really? Wow, thanks! Thank you very much!"

"Anytime. But how do we get home?" I asked.

"Oh! I know a book with that spell. Come on, follow me."

We followed Penumbra to the Night Forge Castle library and searched for the book. After a solid 30 minutes, we found it. Penumbra then casted the spell,

"Hey, Night 6. Thanks for your help fighting Dark, I couldn't done it without you."

"No, Ryan. Thank you for helping us live a better life. Thank you for teaching me to overcome my fears." Penumbra thanked.

"And teaching me to feel sorry for my fellow ponies." Helena said next.

Dahlia, "And teaching me to be happy than to be sad."

Ripperjack, "And teaching me that life is better than in death."

Razor Dash, "And showing me peace and calm is more better than anger and violence."

And Lovelyshy, "And teaching me the love is more important than just plain sex."

"Thank you very much, Ryan Wilson!" They spoke altogether.

"You're welcome. Goodbye!" I waved. They waved back, seeing those smile on their face made me feel good. And I am surely going to go miss those guys.

We were teleported back home finally. The Mane 6 said their goodbyes as they went back to their own business. Until Twilight ran back towards us,

"Oh hey, I forgot; You should make a journal, write whatever you learned while you're here! Pretty sure, Princess Celestia would like that."

"Sure thing! I'll get right on that."

"Wait, here's an empty book to start with and a quill with ink to go with it."

I took the book, "Leave the quill with ink. I have a ball pen."

"Okay… Whatever that is, you can use it. Good bye!" Then Twilight trotted away.

"Now that we're home. Now, where do I sleep?" Razor and Michael asked.

"We'll deal with that later. For now, let's enjoy ourselves here. Is that okay for you guys?"

"Hey! How about a visit at Sugarcube Corner! They make great pastries!" Ray suggested.

We agreed and walked to Sugarcube Corner. In the end, everything turned back to normal. No more Dark and we get the rest of our days off. We arrived at Sugarcube Corner, and ordered food because we haven't eaten some food in ages.

"Silver? Where are you going?" Ray asked.

"I'm going back to Canterlot by tomorrow, inform Celestia about everything. You all coming?"

"We'll be joining you. Also, Call the Mane 6 if they want to join." Silver nodded and went outside.

"So, you're going to write something in your journal?" Razor asked.

I nodded and opened the book and started writing,

"Being a hero never was an easy job. You have to know what the risks are because being a hero isn't all about the action, fame and stuff. It's all about the responsibilities that you will carry in your journey as a hero. With great power comes great responsibility, right? Once you get in the hero business, you can never go back. You have the power, and you have the responsibility.

Being a hero can be hard, but everyone can be a hero in their own ways. Help a poor old woman cross the street or help someone in need. You don't need to put on a costume and be someone that you are not. Be a hero in your simple way, that's all.

But a true hero has to have six personalities: Courage and Determination, Leadership and Excellence, Integrity and Kindness and Power and Responsibility. Those are the components in being a true hero. But did I mention that I am one? Yeah, I am a hero. Saved Earth and Equestria from Dark Fusion, a Nightmare Unicorn. I've been in a lot of events lately, it was exhausting. Who said being a hero was so easy?

I accepted myself as a hero. But I couldn't done it without my fellow supernatural human friends, they helped me in everything and without them, I wouldn't be even here writing this journal right now. Ray, Razor and Micheal. Ray, the guts of steel. Razor, the good guy. And Michael, the brain of the team. Me? I'm the heart and soul of the team. We are the wielders of The Elements of Heroes and whenever evil is there, we will stop it with all our might.

The Ring and I, we made a deal…

We heard a scream nearby, "AHHHH! HELP ME! HE STOLE MY COINS!"

I looked at them, "You ready?"

They nodded. We ran out of the restaurant and chased the robber.

As long as I keep them safe…"

The End.

Author's Notes:

Epilogue coming right up!