Chapter 4: The Clone Wars (R)
The silence was practically deafening in the room, with both Strider and Fluttershy simply lost in their own shocked thoughts. Fluttershy struggling to cope with the fact that she had an actual alien in her cottage, a warrior alien no less. Whilst Strider was shocked that he'd found himself stranded on a backwater planet so out of touch with the galaxy, it didn't have any knowledge of the clone wars.
Eventually, Strider managed to pull his thoughts back in check, his gaze refocusing on the still stun locked pony sitting across from him.
"Fluttershy, ma'am? Fluttershy? Are you alright?" Strider inquired, his own worry beginning to grow at the lack of motion.
Upon hearing her name, the butter yellow pony seemed to snap out of her shocked state, if only enough that she'd been brought back to the land of the living. She stared at Strider, fear as clear as day in her eyes. She looked even more scared of him than she'd been back at the front door.
It didn't take a Jedi to inform him that she was probably terrified, so Strider made sure to relax his posture and try to look as unthreatening as possible for her. He also rose up his hands, trying to show her that she wasn't in any danger.
"Don't worry ma'am. I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise." Strider stated, trying to defuse the situation.
Fluttershy still didn't look convinced, her stare broken as her eyes began glancing around the room in short bursts. She was probably looking for some sort of escape route, which only meant that the trooper might've been on a time limit now. Luckily, it didn't take long for an idea to appear in his mind.
"Here, watch. Remember, I'm wearing armor. This, " Strider gestured to his helmet. "- is a helmet. I'll remove it slowly alright?"
Strider gently grabbed hold of his helmet and lifted it off his head, exposing his face to the solar light coming in from the window right next to them. Fluttershy watched as he set the helmet down on the table between them, each motion slowed and slightly exaggerated.
"This is my actual face. See, I'm flesh and blood, just like you. I promise, I have zero intents of hurting you ma'am." Strider proclaimed, locking eyes with the pony
His now clearly displayed brown irises seemed to reflect his sincerity, which seemed to finally get Fluttershy to calm down slightly. She still looked fearful, but her eyes had stopped frantically looking around every few seconds.
"S-Sorry... Strider." Fluttershy finally began, her words still trembling a bit.
"Hey, it's not your fault. You're just scared, that's all. Scared over something you don't need to be." Strider replied.
Fluttershy continued to look into the clone's eyes, calming down more and more upon seeing the lack of maliciousness within them. With a couple of deep breaths, Fluttershy seemed to finally relax again, albeit shakily.
"You ok now?" Strinder questioned again, earning a nod from the mare.
"Y-Yes. Sorry, Strider. It's j-just, I haven't met an alien before. I don't think anypony in Equestria has. And y-you look so- " Fluttershy cut herself off, her remaining words being clamped down on like a mechanical trap.
"Like what?" Strider prodded, raising an eyebrow.
"N-Nothing. Nothing Mr. Strider." Fluttershy replied, breaking eye-contact with him.
"Please, just call me Strider. And let me guess, you were gonna say 'dangerous'?" Strider inquired.
Another faint nod.
"Figured. I guess with all the armor on and the blaster didn't really help give off a good first impression." Strider stated, more to himself than to Fluttershy.
"Blaster?"
Strider gestured over towards the DC-15A, which was still resting atop the shelf he'd placed it on.
"That, do you not have blasters here either?"
"No. I don't even know what that could do." Fluttershy pointed out, before giving the blaster a fearful glance. "I don't think I wanna figure it out either."
No blasters, no space travel, no knowledge of other forms of life in the galaxy. This Equus was certainly ironing in the primitive technology aspect of itself.
"What weapons do you use to defend yourselves with then?" Strider asked.
"Oh, I don't fight. I know that the Royal Guard uses spears though, spears and shields. Sometimes swords, and lances, and... maces... and other, pointy objects." Fluttershy proclaimed, trailing off more and more as she imagined each weapon in her mind.
"Swords and shields!? Seriously? When I thought primitive, I didn't think that primitive!" Strider mentally shouted, adding another block to the wall that seemed to act as a seal on a possible way off this planet. Those were being added at an alarming rate...
That, and another question. A rather, important question involving those weapons.
"How do you hold them with hooves?" Strider wondered.
This time it was Fluttershy's turn to raise an eyebrow. Upon seeing that he was indeed serious, she looked down at the tea cup before her and reached for it.
"Um... like this?" Fluttershy stated, lifting the cup with a forehoof.
... how in the force was she doing that? It's, just floating in her hoof. Wait, is it actually the force?
"Are you telling me, that this 'Royal Guard' and yourself, are all force sensitive?" Strider questioned, still staring at the seemingly floating cup.
"The force?"
A pin dropped.
Silence, silence once again dragged its feet throughout the room. It wasn't unheard of for primitive planets, heck, advanced planets to not know of the force. But that just begged another question. How was she holding it then?
"... You know what, nevermind. I'm thinking too deeply into this. Let's backtrack a bit ma'am."
"Oh, you don't have to do that Strider. I.. um, you can just say... Fluttershy, if you want to that is. I don't really mind." Fluttershy claimed.
Shrugging, Strider continued;
"So, am I right in saying that you don't know what the Clone Wars are?" He inquired.
Fluttershy nodded.
"Alright, I'll start there then. When you break it down, it's basically a civil war on a galactic scale between the Galactic Republic and the C.I.S.. The Republic is led by the galactic Senate with the Jedi Council serving by its side, while the C.I.S., or Separatists, are led by corrupted business folk, twisted individuals, and unthinking or feeling battle machines." Strider exclaimed.
"What's a Jedi?" Fluttershy wondered out loud, not recognizing the word.
"A Jedi is a person who uses the force for peace and justice." Strider said, recalling the Jedi who'd led his battalion into battle. It was so satisfying to look over cover and see that green blade slicing through those B1 battle droids. He quickly shook the miniature daydream from his mind and continued; "The force is apparently a constant wave of energy that's created by all life and flows through it. Force sensitive folks like Jedi are able to harness this power and use it in battle."
"So this 'force' is everywhere?"
"As far as I know, that’s what all the Jedi generals tell us. But that’s the force, back to the war. The Clone Wars started when the Separatists created an army of battle droids to help them take control over the galaxy. The Galactic Republic countered this army with an army of us, clones of a bounty hunter called Jango Fett."
"You're a 'clone'?" Fluttershy questioned.
"Yep, just another soldier in a vast army, all sharing the same face." Strider replied, not really thinking much of it.
"So, there are other clones out there, who look just like you?"
"More like I look like them, but basically."
Fluttershy found herself scratching her head a bit, before motioning for him to continue. So he did;
"Us clones fight against these battle droids, blasting them to bits with our superior training. However, what they lack in training, they gain in numbers. Each droid you shoot down, five more take its place. And if you're overrun by them, then... " Strider trailed off upon noticing the wide eyed look of horror spreading across Fluttershy's face.
"D-Did those droids k-kill?" Fluttershy stammered, some of her original fear crawling back into her words.
"Yes, yes they did. They're cold heartless robots programmed to destroy the Galactic Republic and anyone who supported them or are against the Separatists." Strider explained, quickly realizing that this might not have been the best idea to talk about war with a pony who looked right out of an entertainment log for the younger side of the galaxy.
"W-What happened then?" Fluttershy asked, no longer in the mood for the tea she'd made.
"Us clones were trained from birth to fight against those droids, and die if necessary to protect the Republic and its citizens. My brothers and I spent almost every living day blasting those clankers back to the scrap yards that they crawled out of.” Strider stated proudly with a grin.
"So, you fought with other clones, who are all your 'brothers', across the galaxy against these... S-Separatists?" Fluttershy simplified. Strider nodded. "S-So, you saw your brothers… die… and kept going?"
Strider's grin vanished. "That's the cost of war." He said coldly.
"That sounds awful, seeing your brothers… and… " Fluttershy never finished, tears forming in her eyes.
Strider wanted to say something, but chose to keep his mouth shut. He was gonna have to be careful here with his words in order to help calm down the distressed pony. He'd done this before a few times when having to deal with the citizens of various towns he and his fellow clones had been deployed in. But it didn’t make the sight of them crying any better.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have brought this up. If you want I can leave and let you have some spa- " Strider's words were drowned out as a loud smashing sound emerged from outside the front of the house.
The clone and pegasus both shot their attention towards the front door and windows, which appeared to be where the sound had originated from. After a couple seconds of silence, Strider glanced back at Fluttershy;
"Stay here, I'll check it out." He exclaimed, setting his helmet back down over his head.
Strider stood up and effortlessly grabbed the blaster he'd set on the high bookshelf and primed it, before advancing towards the front door. After a few seconds passed and a quick mental countdown, the trooper opened the door and barreled his way out of the room and into the outdoors.
Strider executed a flawless combat roll out of the cottage, finishing the maneuver by stopping himself in a crouched position whilst still aiming straight ahead. It didn’t take him long to figure out what had happened, with the newly made crater in the front yard surrounded by a cloud of dust being quite a dead giveaway.
Strider kept the DC-15A aimed at the crater, waiting a few seconds for the dust to dissipate more and give him a better view. It didn't take long for the dust to start dispersing from the crater, and a voice quickly shattered the eerie silence that had overtaken the front yard.
"Ouch, I really need to stop doing that." Another feminine sounding voice muttered to themselves, before movement quickly shot past Strider’s field of vision.
Strider spotted what looked like cyan fur on another pony who was flapping her wings to get rid of the dust. She had an incredibly colorful mane and tail, along with another strange mark on her flank like Fluttershy. But this one showed a multi-colored bolt of lightning from a cloud rather than the three pink butterflies he'd seen before.
The pegasus didn't seem to notice him until the dust around them fully dissipated. Her magenta eyes widened as Strider's white armor came into view.
"Who in Equestria are you?!" She asked, before locking eyes with the blaster that was now pointing right between her eyes.
"Another one? Well, Fluttershy did say this planet was called Equus. Guess the main population is ponies." Strider stated, once again more to himself than to his audience. The pony's worried look vanished instantly at the mention of Fluttershy's name.
Strider didn't have time to react as the pegasus shot at him at lightning speeds, barreling into his chest with enough force to send him to the ground. The pony quickly landed on top of him, staring directly into his visor. He heard the clatter of his weapon hitting the ground next to him, most likely having been dislodged from his grip.
"You better not have done something to Fluttershy, or you're gonna be in a world of pain buster." The pony threatened.
Instead or replying with words, Strider slammed his helmet against the pony's face, knocking her off of him. He scrambled back to his feet, scanning the area for his weapon. The pony recovered from the headbutt much quicker than he had anticipated and charged him again. He rolled to the right, narrowly dodging the pony again. He quickly grabbed the pony's multicolored tail with his hands, cutting off her flight.
Strider pulled the pony towards him and locked her in a headlock, increasing pressure around her neck. The pony struggled hard, trying to break free. But Strider proved to be slightly stronger, keeping an iron lock on the pony. Before he could do anything, he heard a voice from the cottage.
Both Strider and the pony stopped fighting and looked up at the buildings' front door, where a worried looking Fluttershy could be clearly seen.
"Could you two please stop? You're scaring all the animals... and me." Fluttershy exclaimed.
Strider let the rainbow maned pony out of the headlock, before walking over to where his blaster had landed.
"Rainbow Dash, sorry about that. Um, what brings you here?" Fluttershy asked, trotting over to the cyan mare.
"Well, I was gonna remind you about that chorus of birds that you’re gonna be conducting for the Summer Sun Celebration wanted to do a little more practicing," Rainbow Dash said in an annoyed tone. "But that ‘thing’ decided to have a wrestling match instead." She finished, batting an angered eye at the trooper.
"I'm terribly sorry about that Rainbow, he's just not from around here and wanted to know a few things. Your um, landing probably startled him." Fluttershy explained. "...It certainly startled me at the very least."
"That, was no landing." Strider commented, checking the DC-15A over to see if it had been banged up by the fall.
"No offense Fluttershy, but you need to teach some of your animal friends manners." Rainbow stated distastefully.
Strider ignored the mare, his focus still on making sure the blaster was still in working order. The handle was a bit beat up but other than that, it seemed alright.
Fluttershy was about to comment, but Rainbow Dash had already taken off back into the sky and, sticking true to her name, dashed into the distance. The yellow mare sighed, before trotting over to Strider.
"Sorry about that, Rainbow can be a bit, short tempered at times. I'm sure she'll come around." Fluttershy assured.
Strider muttered something under his breath, before getting up and looking over in the direction Rainbow had flown off too. Beyond a set of hills sat what appeared to be a collection of buildings. These buildings grew in both size and shape the further along he looked, eventually becoming what looked like a decently sized town. How he failed to notice this town beforehand was a mystery.
Strider was so focused on the newly discovered town that he failed to notice Fluttershy tapping on his armor at first. When he did, he turned around and looked at the mare, his frown masked by his helmet.
"Um... did you say you came from the Everfree Forest?" Fluttershy asked.
Strider looked over to the forest he had come stumbling out of that night. "Crashed there, but I’m not going back in until I know what's lurking around those trees." Strider stated.
"Well, um, I'm not sure how Ponyville would react seeing you, but I need to practice with some of my animal friends for the celebration. You can stay here until I'm done, or you can come if you want." Fluttershy exclaimed. "B-But if you are gonna come with me, t-then could you please leave your, 'blaster thingy' here? It wouldn't sent great signals to anypony."
As much as Strider wanted to argue, he knew she had a point. If he showed up in the middle of a town where they didn't know what he was with a weapon, they would not exactly think nicely of him. The last thing he needed right now was the population of this planet be scared of him. However, it was also against everything he knew about being on an unknown planet to just leave his weapon.
After a very long and heated debate in his mind, Strider finally sighed and looked over at the cottage. He could defend himself even without the blaster.
"Fine." Strider said, switching the safety on and walking back into Fluttershy's cottage.
He set the blaster down atop a nearby table inside, before shutting the door behind him as he walked side by side with Fluttershy towards the town.
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Leave it to Rainbow Dash to make things awkward. I can only imagine how difficult Applejack will be.
Wait........ does the beginning take place BEFORE the start of the FiM?
Okay now this is an error. It is lead by the Senate, with the Jedi serving the Senate, the Senate being the Republic, not the jedi
9809617
Correcting that now, thanks for pointing it out!
9809652
As for this, i'll try to remember that. For some reason all I can remember from the Clone Wars was the clones themselves calling it the Republic. Guess it has been awhile since i've watched it.
One last thing, I am currently Rewriting Chapter 38: A Listening Ear due to it not really living up to what I originally meant for it to be which is a somewhat bonding time with Fluttershy and Strider. Not Strider just rambling on about things. So Chapter 41 will take a little longer until it is released, sorry!
Stridershy lol
9829452
Can't imagine this to be new.
Yesterday i found out there are a dozen Godzilla stories :I
How did he not hear the sound of his drill sergeant popping a blood vessel echo through the vacuum of space and time?
What kind of undisciplined trooper LEAVES HIS ONLY BLASTER ON A HOSTILE WORLD?!?
9832205
Oh my GOD. No way. Do you seriously mean what I think you mean?
...... he leaves his blaster and literally everything know to hit the blaster away so he can’t shoot them.... is this guy a shiny?
Okay now the rabbit is gonna play with it haha.
I have some thoughts, many of which appear to have been expressed here already.
1. gunships have a basic first aid set that includes bacta sprays, splints, styptic, painkillers, and diagnostic tools. These can be used in field treatments ranging from field amputations, broken bones, concussions, internal bleeding and headaches.
2. The gunship also has supplies onboard like rations, munitions and portable power cells for camp stoves and heater units.
3. No soldier would leave their weapon unattended. That is ingrained from the start of every professional military basic training. It is a dangerous thing for those who are unfamiliar with it. It is a dangerous thing to those who are familiar with it. The only way for a soldier to be truly sure his weapon is safe from others is if it is with them at all times.
9809652
I believe they call it The Grand Army of the Republic and shorten it to just The Republic when they don't want a mouthful.
I realise I'm late but I'm going to add to the GAR alternate list.
The Grand Republican Army
The Republican Army
The -an makes it an adjective (or genitive if you like those words). If I was under the Republic, I'd recognise the need for a shortening and "Republic Army" or similar just sounds grammatically wrong to me.