In a universe far, far away... the Lunar Republic and the Celestial Jedi Order have fought for a century, and a new threat lurks in the space, in which must be destroyed at once. With Twilight, Sunset, and all other companions along, a new age rises.
In a universe far, far away...
After a century of war between the feuding Lunar Republic and the Celestial Jedi Order, a new threat is built in space, known as the Lunar Menace. The new journey of a young Jedi begins as she, her friend, and many other companions along the way fight to destroy the Lunar Menace, and defeat the dark lord behind it, Darth Obiareus. Could the young Twilight Sparkwalker and her companions be able to defeat the Lunar Republic's new station?
There was once an era of peace and harmony, through all types and kinds of races. Even with multiple planets and many ponies trotting the land, there was no war, but instead friendship and kindness. No disruptions seemed to brew any sort of conflict for about 1,000 years, and all lived happily... until a new nation rised. One that would make matters worse.
As a new political party was formed, a new nation appeared to come with it. The Lunar Republic was formed by powerful people, mostly known Jedi masters, and was ruled by the sister of Grand master Celestia of the Celestial Jedi Order. Only known as Luna Eclipse. When conflict arose when Luna tried to force the new political system in power, both sisters argued and fought, but in the meanwhile, the Lunar Republic grew. Only growing in mass numbers of not just politicians or citizens, but also soldiers. When it finally came to one final warning, the Lunar Republic led a terror attack on the capital, Canterlot.
Thus, the galactic war began. As there were now two sides fighting each other, many have lost lives in the process. Battle after battle, attack after attack, a new era has been created, in which warriors rose to join the fight of the force. Jedi and Lunar warriors have grown and become powerful, using the powerful substance inside them known as the force. And for years this has come, tearing the people apart.
Eventually, the once prideful and beautiful Luna Eclipse turned into the dark and dangerous Darth Moon, the first one of the four dark lords of the Lunar Republic, aka the Four Horsemen. The other soon-to-be dark lords being known as Darth Night, Darth Omen, and Darth Obiareus were a part of the fearful team, and as they worked together, it seemed that such power overran the Celestial Jedi Order.
But soon, lord behold, a new faithful hero would rise, along with new friends and companions along the way, would rise and prove with her own force and strength that she could stop the dark force, end the war, and bring peace once more. But every hero, even this one, starts from zero. Our faithful hero would be known as the Grand Master's faithful apprentice: Twilight Sparkwalker. The purple unicorn would show great levels or force, and would be taken under the wing of the great Celestia herself, and would run alongside with another faithful apprentice, otherwise known as Sunset Shimmer.
One hundred years have passed in the war, a treacherous century, and after news occurred of a new threat in space, particularly a new grand space station built by the Lunar Republic deemed by the name, Lunar Menace, Celestia formed a daunting plan for both of her apprentices to approach. With the help of a Jedi master, Kai Gon June, the two are sent to receive not just information on the devious structure, but also intel on the possible leader behind the joint, Darth Obiareus. If he was to rule it, it'd be a way to take down one of the Four Horsemen.
And so begins the journey of our hero, and her destiny to bring justice in the universe...
I Mares On A Mission
On the beautiful planet Equestria, there were two young mares who walked side-by-side. On the right was a purple unicorn wearing a blue/white uniform with dark violet hair with hot-pink highlights, and on the left was a tan unicorn, having fiery hair and was wearing a red/white uniform identical to the other unicorn's, except for the color. Sounds of metal and construction of weapons and ships circled around them, and filled the ground station on the bright, sunny day. "So, I suppose this is something new, isn't it?" the purple unicorn asked.
"Yes, Twilight. Definitely something new." said the tan mare, revealing the other unicorn as Twilight. "Can't believe Grand Master Celestia already puts up to the task. I mean, we've been under her wing for a long time, made the force strong within us, but... I don't know about this."
"Relax, Sunset," said Twilight, revealing the tan mare as Sunset. "Celestia knows we're ready, and if we just work together, we can do it. Plus, after all, she did give us a Jedi master to help us on the way. Matter of fact, one who's been fighting on the planet Lula for two years!"
"True." Sunset said, putting her hoof on her chin. "But even with Kai, I feel like something wrong is gonna happen." She looked at Twilight, who had a sure smile on her face. "Yet, if we do work together, we can do it." Both mares gave each other a hoof bump, before being confronted by a stallion whom had a circle beard, brown hair put in a ponytail, and light yellow skin. This could only be... "Master June." Sunset said, standing at full attention along with Twilight.
"Relax, at ease." Kai said with a slight chuckle. "No need to do that, but I respect the both of you for that, though." He wore brown robes, with a white shirt underneath, and had his lightsaber tucked in the side. "Grand Master Celestia has assigned the both of you with me for a reason. There is the new threat that is the Lunar Menace, which I'm sure Celestia has described for you." The two mares nodded. "Well, before we enter the belly of the beast, there is another little station we must enter." He pulled out a blueprint with force from his horn, and laid it on a table.
"Woah." the mares said at the same time, surprised to see a detailed blueprint of a station that was rather like a docking ship.
"This may look like those docking ship for those fighting ships," said Kai. "But trust me, this is something bigger. Inside this is an entire sector, where some soldiers train, where plans are put, etc. What we need is intel for the Lunar Menace, cause there is said to be certainly info on the station, being linked to the station and all." He looked back and pointed at a window, which showed manufacturers working on a small ship, looking identical to the ones the Lunar Republic has. "We are going to play a role as some sort of Lunar warriors sent to discuss plans with the captain. We got it all covered."
"So, we just go in, disguised as Lunar warriors, and get the intel while inside?" asked Twilight.
"Yes, but we must move quick. Certainly, they will realize the ship is fake when we land later on, and that we are in fact Jedi, so the station will be on full alert." He pointed his hoof on what seemed to be escape pods on the blueprints. "We escape via pods, and we crash land on the planet below, Rockuu. Got it?" The apprentices nodded, and Kai smiled. "Then this should go nice. I'll help lead you apprentices during the mission, and once we get out of there, I have contact with the Order, so we'll get a quick ride back to Equestria."
A worker passed the trio. "It seems like the ship will be in shape around ten minutes, not a second more." he said. "Good luck on your mission, Jedi." He gave them a quick salute.
"No need, sir." Twilight said with a little giggle. "But, we at least respect it." This made Kai smile a bit before the worker left.
"And who knows, maybe we might be able to cross paths with Darth Obiareus." Kai said, making the two raise a brow.
"Master... I beg your pardon?" Sunset asks.
"Oh," Kai looked at them and forgot to tell them what might be able to happen, if they had the chance. "During this mission, we may find Obiareus, one of the-"
"Four Horsemen." Twilight interrupted. "How is it possible?"
"Well, Twilight, it is said that the leader behind this operation is Darth Obiareus himself. So, in that case, it may be possible that we may cross paths with him. He is deemed to be the least powerful of the four, but still, he is a major threat to the Jedi Order." He looked at the two in worry. "You two aren't afraid now, are you?" The mares shook their heads. He let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Jedi are never afraid, but if he may show, we might fight him."
"Darth Obiareus..." Sunset said. "A real dark lord... Is it true?"
"It is. He's behind the creation, and we believe he's got a real plan behind this. To prevent this, we must attack immediately. Perhaps he has an attack on the planet below. Yet, he may be smart and could be elsewhere away from the Lunar Menace. But, only time will tell." The two mares nodded once more.
"Come, we must get ready. This is gonna be a big mission, so we must prepare." said Kai. The three Jedi then prepared their lightsabers and gear, then heading to the ship. After a couple of minutes, the ship was in top shape, and Kai hit the pilot's seat. "Get ready, my little Jedi." he said with a chuckle while the mares took a seat.
"Before we go," said Twilight. "How dangerous is Rockuu? I've heard it isn't the safest planet."
Kai sighed. "Honestly, not that bad, but there are some vicious creatures in that planet. But trust me, dear Twilight, we'll do just fine down there." With that said, Kai piloted the ship off the platform, and flew out into the skies, soon into space. The mission was set, and it was on go now.
After a long journey through space, Kai flew the ship directly towards the visible station, preparing his black hood. "Get ready, apprentices." he said, warning the mares that the plan was about to commence. Lunar soldiers wearing space helmets noticed the ship and identified it as one of theirs.
"Guard to gate." a soldier called into his portable radio. "I repeat, guard to gate."
"Yes?" an old voice asked from the radio.
"There's a ship incoming. Prepare for docking."
"Of course." Before the soldiers continued doing there job, the soldier called back.
"Wait, before you let them pass, check the ship. You don't know if it could be a fake." he said, making sure the others knew.
"Alright, we'll check." The small ship soon came into clear view and the force gate that was once hard to go through turned light for the ship to go through. The ship slowly docked inside the station.
"Keep calm and don't say a word." Kai said when soldiers huddled around the ship. The door opened and Kai stepped out with the apprentices behind him.
"State your business." an old officer said, wearing a grey uniform with a moon insignia on it.
"Lunar warriors, we are here for a secret conference to discuss matters and plans." Kai said.
The officer raised a brow while he directed two moontroopers to go inside the ship. "Plans? Conference? We never heard of a conference to happen this evening."
"That's why it's secret." Kai answered. "We are Lunar warriors that came from planet Darmon, sir." The officer narrowed his eyes while the two troopers inspected the insides of the ship.
The troopers came out. "They're clear, sir." one said.
The officer pointed towards a hallway with lights around. "Down that way." he said. "Whatever business you have must not be as crucial for the captain..."
Kai hid his face in his hood, but smirked. Twilight and Sunset on the other side acted normal and didn't look suspicious. "It'll be noticed in a while, we must hurry." Kai whispered, in which the three Jedi paced faster.
Down the hallway, they saw a room where a large metal door was the only way in, and had a window on each side of the door. It was the room, and it had papers scattered on the table. Kai walked up to it. "I have it, sir." Sunset said, carefully pulling out a lockpick and picking at the pad next to the door. After a quick twitch, the pad that opened the door with only a guard's ID was activated, and unlocked the door. Thankfully, there were no cameras.
"Come on, quick!" Kai whispered. They bolted into the room, looking for some sort of information on the Lunar Menace. "Come on... Keep keen eyes on-"
"Got it!" Twilight said, pulling out a file containing papers on the Lunar Menace. "Let's see..." She opened the file and immediately, a picture of Darth Obi was shown. He had a half-mask on the left side of his face, the mask containing nothing but the color of black, and his skin was dark blue. His mane was long and light blue, and wore black robes with a white moon insignia on the chest. He was huge, hence the name meaning 'titan', and held his large lightsaber.
"Well, there's the dark lord." said Sunset.
"And there's the interior." the purple unicorn said, pulling out blueprints of the Lunar Menace from the file. It showed the outside, the inside, and even plans that didn't seem like the Lunar Menace at all. More like... battle plans... "Master Kai." Twilight said, showing Kai the paper.
"Well, I'll be damned." Kai said. "They are planning something for the planet below. An invasion against the poor bastards below, the Pietes." He chuckled a bit. "By the looks of this, it's a huge force, straight out of the Lunar Menace." He examined it more, wondering if there was more to it. Other than just arrows and a map of where they were striking, which was a large, open valley, nothing else was added that was very useful or specific.
Twilight opened her mouth to speak. "Well, at least we know what they-"
EEEOOOEEEOOO
"Attention all troops, I repeat, attention all troops, dammit!" said a voice through the speakers which was the officer from earlier. "The ship is a fake! I repeat, the ship is fake! Find the Jedi!"
"They found the material difference." Kai said. "While yet they are identical, they build their stuff only out of different metal on a planet they own. Hurry!" Twilight tucked the file in her robes, and set off.
The Jedi rush, only to be confronted by a whole squad of moontroopers. "Well, well, put your hooves up." said the lead trooper.
Kai quickly ignited his lightsaber, which showed a green color, and soon the other apprentices react by igniting theirs. Sunset's being orange and Twilight being purple. The troops opened fire, but were only blocked by the saber. As lasers were reflected, they came back to the troops, killing them. The white-armored soldiers were on the ground. "The pods are that way!" Twilight yelled as she remembered the map.
"Go! Go! Go!" Kai yelled, as more troops came from behind, which Kai pushed them back with a strong push with his force. They galloped as quick as they can, passing by surprised troops, some who weren't even geared. Shots still fired, but the Jedi defended themselves. The door at the end of the hallway closed up and was locked, eventually hitting a dead end. "Open it, Twilight!"
"On it!" While Kai and Sunset fought off the troops who approached, Twilight stabbed her lightsaber on the edge of the door and dragged it around the outline, cutting the door. Once she circled the entire door, she pushed it open with the force, eventually hitting the troops in front of it, whom were waiting to fire at the Jedi. "Come on!"
The Jedi walked over what was left of the door and proceeded to the escape pods. The Jedi were in a very large and open place, in which they sprawled out and attacked the troops following them. After some slices and hits, the troops fell down in their numbers. Sunset noticed the escape pods. "There they-"
A laser quickly shot Sunset in the shoulder. "AAGH!" she yelled out in pain, and dropped her lightsaber, which turned off. She turned to see the old officer once more, now with robot soldiers behind him. The robots were simply silver and had white light coming from the eyes.
The shots stopped and the officer smirked while he held his gun in his hooves. "Close, but no cigar." the officer said. "Give up, and we'll let you live. Or unless you wanna die as failures to your so-called order, be my guest."
Kai and Twilight had their lightsabers ignited while Sunset's was down on the ground after she was hit. The droids aimed their rifles at the Jedi, who looked at the pods, which were just 20 feet away from them, and back at the droids. The officer whistled while he waited for an answer. The stallion though didn't keep an eye on Sunset, as she quickly picked up her lightsaber with her force, and swung it quickly across the officer's throat, which took him out as he fell on the floor.
The Jedi made a break for it, as the droids opened fire. Fortunately, they weren't programmed for accuracy, and failed to hit any of the Jedi. Sunset quickly opened up one of the pods, which was big enough for all three of them. She blocked a laser heading for Kai with her lightsaber. "Get in, guys! Come on!"
They quickly jumped inside and closed the door. The droids surrounded the door, bashing their metal hooves against it, trying to break it. Sunset worked with the pad, and instantly, they were blasted off from the station. Sunset fell back into Twilight, in which her shoulder hit hard. "Ow!" she yelped.
"Let me check it." Kai said, asking for Sunset to come close. She held back tears as Kai examined the shoulder. Her dark robes that were meant for disguise was showing skin around the shoulder, and the orange fur was a bit red and smelled like burnt fur. Luckily, Kai brought a small sample of healing cream with him. "Hold still." With his force, he gently applied the cream on the wound, which made Sunset flinch, but soon calm afterwards.
"Thank you, Master Kai." she said.
"No problem, youngling." he said, putting the small sample back into his robe. "Twilight, the file?"
"Here." She pulled out the file, and handed it to Kai, who looked through more of it. He stood still, staring at just one single paper. "Master?" Twilight said worriedly.
"Tomorrow." Kai said. "The invasion is supposed to start tomorrow. And right near the capital of Crystal... Crystal?"
"Didn't you know Crystal was on that planet?" Sunset asked. Kai found himself dumbfounded.
"No. That must mean the Princess could be under attack!" He looked down at the planet below through the window of the pod. "And by the looks of it, I don't think we'll be landing near the city." The pod went by faster and faster, soon they entered the planet, and saw all the ground below. And all it was they were gonna land on was ground. A forest. And soon enough-
Twilight opened the pod and crawled out carefully. It was a rough landing into the ground, and she felt dizzy. Luckily, no injuries to any of the Jedi. She looked at Sunset and Kai and pulled them out. As they touched the ground, the looked around, noticing the strange area around them. Grey rocky terrain, yet trees were around and so were plants. They were a little surprised how they never noticed the terrain like this.
"Where are we?" Twilight asked out loud. "I mean, look at this place, it looks-"
"Deserted?" asked a female voice.
"Yeah. Just like that, Sunset." Twilight said, scratching her chin with her hoof.
"Uh... I didn't say anything." Sunset said. "That didn't even sound like me." After Twilight stared at Sunset, she quickly turned on her lightsaber, and so did the others. They looked around.
"Who said that?" Twilight said out loud. She was very sure that whoever spoke was still around. "Show yourself!"
Suddenly, a figure emerged from behind the pod. "Here!" Twilight quickly turned around in reaction and threw her lightsaber like a boomerang, and it went towards the figure, which ducked under the lightsaber. It returned to Twilight, and she held her lightsaber in defense. The figure slowly peaked her head. "Jedi no like me?" she asked.
Twilight's eyes widened. "Who are you?" The figure climbed up the pod and showed herself. She was pink, had poofy, pink hair, and wore a blue outfit with a black sash on it.
"Me Pie Pie Pinks!" she said with a large smile.
Kai raised a brow. "Say again?" he said, slightly annoyed already. Her voice was very high-pitched, and he couldn't stand voices like that.
"Name is Pie Pie Pinks! Who are you three goonies?"
Kai widened his eyes in shock. "Goonies?!" he said. "No, no, no. We are-"
"Jedi. I know." said Pinks. "Just teasing ya." She giggled, but only got a glare from Kai. "Jeez, harsh crowd." She got down from the pod. "I suppose you came from an evil ship in this pod and crash landed after one of you got shot by some laser, yes?" she asked.
"How'd you know?" Sunset asked, very surprised, yet scared, also.
"Lucky guess? Or it could be my little Pinkie sense." she answered.
"Pinkie se-" Kai stopped himself. "You know, never mind."
"Where'd you come from?" Sunset asked. "Do you live here in this... forest?"
"No, silly!" she responded. "I live in the city of Rockaud!"
"Rockaud? It's near?" Twilight asked, remembering hearing of such a city. It was a large city owned by the large tribe of Pietes, and it was all made of rocks. Not normal kind, though, since the planet had special kinds of rock, and so they created durable and strong walls and buildings. Even armor!
"Yes! But it is a loooong walk." the pink mare answered.
"Twilight, do remember that I can contact Celestia." Kai said, reminding Twilight. Twilight had a sheepish smile, while Kai pulled out a small device. Or the remains of it. "What?! Oh, bloody hell!"
"It's destroyed?" Sunset asked.
"Yeah... not so good..." Kai looked at the device, their only way of communicating and calling for a ride, done for. Pinks looked at the device and observed it closely. Literally, her eye was a centimeter away from the device as she observed.
"No problem." Pinks said.
"Huh?" the three ask.
"Back at Rockaud, we have great builders! And although we have rocks and don't have technology like... whatever this is, we do actually have a Crystal guy who is GREAT at fixing things! Even this thing-a-mobbaber!"
"Really?" Twilight asks, bringing hopes up for the Jedi. Pinks nodded. "Lead the way, Pie Pie."
"Please, you can call me- SUGAR HONEY ICED TEA!!!" Pinks then ducked behind the pod.
"Sugar honey iced tea?" Twilight questioned, soon hearing a vicious and loud roar. She looked behind, only to see a large bear-like creature with large horns and black fur, including long claws. This was a beorn. Clearly, this thing wanted to feast on it's prey, which were clearly in front of him. "Look out!" she yelled, as the bear lurched forward towards Kai.
Kai dodged, but his lightsaber that he had in mid-air didn't. It was smacked into the bushes, and Kai lost it, which wasn't really good. Sunset struck the beorn in the sides, making it roar in pain, but still stood. She struck it three more times, not getting much out of it. Even with some slash marks shown on his black fur, red and burning, it acted like it felt no pain, and probably wasn't affected much by it. "Thing has durability." Sunset said. "Try to stab- Agh!"
Sunset was hit by a large paw, and was thrown into the tree. She wasn't sliced or scarred, thankfully, but was hit pretty hard. She stayed down for a while, and lost her lightsaber as well. Meanwhile, Twilight jabbed at it, and though she made contact, she couldn't really sink it in due to the tough hide. Soon enough, the beorn swung a hit, which Twilight backflipped and backed up to the pod, which Pinks was still behind. Kai used his force and tried pushing the beorn, but did no good. Fact, it got the creature's attention towards him. It swung, and luckily missed horribly.
Kai hid in the bushes while the beorn looked at Twilight, and quickly searched for his lightsaber. He found it in thorns, and tried to yank it out. Twilight hit the beorn some more, but it still stood, no matter what. It was like it was unstoppable, and what could end this thing? The beorn lurched forward and pinned down Twilight, then roaring in her face. Suddeny, Pinks emerged from behind with a spear with a stone tip that she made.
"Nobody hurts my friends! YAGH!" She lunged and stabbed the beorn on the head, which got stuck in real good. "HAHA!" A little too good, as Pinks can't get it out. She jumped off the beorn, and stepped back. "Uh..." She started panicking, but luckily, Twilight, Kai, and Sunset got their lightsabers. Soon, they ignited it at the same time.
The beorn didn't notice the three, and only focused on Pinks. It slowly creeped up towards her, a malicious grin from cheek-to-cheek on it's face. "YAR!" the three yelled out, releasing a battle cry as they ran towards it, in which the beorn lurched forward... at Pinks. Pinks did nothing but stand there, have a scared expression, and push her hooves out to keep him away. What happened was something not so natural. Randomly, the beorn was pushed back. Fast and hard.
The beorn let out a yell, and hit it's head on the pod, knocking it out. Soon, the three, who were running towards the beorn, stopped and looked at it. It was... pushed... by force. "Did that thing just get pushed by force?" Kai said.
"Force?" Pinks questioned. "What force?"
"Jedi force." Twilight said. "And I read up on your kind, and in the books, it said that... it's impossible to have the force as a Piete."
"What?!" Pie said, as she stared at her hooves. She did do a little pushing motion before the beorn would claw her to death, so... "Quick, give me something to push!"
"How about hold?" Kai said, making Pie tilt her head. "Here." He placed a large branch on the ground. "Try to levitate it."
"Um... okay..." Pinks looked at it, and tried to focus on it as hard as possible. She supposed that's how Jedi do their... thing. After a minute passes, Pinks just felt weird for staring at nothing but a branch. "I dunno." Pinkie said, shrugging and moving her hooves up... with the branch levitating.
"Dear Celestia, he really can." Kai said, not believing one thing about this. "You really have the force!"
Pinkie looked at the branch, which had a green aura around it. She flinched and the branch fell. "Wha... Wha... What?!" she said, starting to panic more. "Is that bad?"
"Uh... No, having the force is good, but... it's impossible to have the force as a Piete, like I explained." Twilight said. "Uh... Are you born like everyone else?"
"Yup. My mom and dad were just like Pietes, and I don't have anything different from the others, really. Well, except for this, but still!"
"Calm down, Pie Pie." Kai said. "We'll just... solve this situation. Once you take us to Rockaud, we can get our thing fixed, and we'll have the Order pick you up and see if we can either find out why you have the force, or if the force really is in you. In that case, we might train you to become... a Jedi."
"Oh boy!" Pinks said, feeling a little better now. She jumped in the air and punched air, smiling with joy, while a force pushed towards a tree, almost knocking it over. Everyone had their jaws dropped. "Oopsie."
"You seem a little out of control with it." Sunset said. "You might want to be careful."
"Yes. It might be best to do so anyways. Just lead us to Rockaud, and we can settle this problem, okay?" Kai said, making sure Pie knew.
"Okie-dokie-loki!" she said, while spreading her arms out and a push of the force went towards the sky, thankfully not destroying or harming anything. Kai turned around and facehoofed.
The four took a long walk towards the rock city of Rockaud, and all the meanwhile, everything seemed nice. Though yes the ground was rocky and hard, everything seemed nice. There were lakes, canyons, mountains, more forests, and all seemed nice and calm. Though, Pinks sung on their way there, annoying the three of them. Kai decided to speak, rather than listen to such... singing. "Never been here before, but you have a nice home I could possibly spend a vacation in." Kai said.
"Oh, yes. This planet is full of all sorts of wonders! Even our city!" said Pinks.
"And the Crystal Empire!" Sunset said.
"Oh yeah, that, too." She softly giggled, springing on her way to Rockaud.
"Uh, sorry to annoy you, but how far are we?" Twilight asked. "I mean, we are kinda in a rush."
"Oh, not that far." Kai took a sigh of relief. "Only twenty more minutes." she said. Kai groaned. Then, Pinks sang again. During the walk, Kai took the time to look at the plans even more. They seemed very well-put, and may be able to put down a great part of the Crystal Empire. All the meanwhile, he wondered about how they could not just stop the Lunar Menace, but also the invasion force, too. The Crystal Empire were strong, but with the new and improved droid prototype being used, the ones that assaulted them earlier, it might be a little too much for the soldiers to handle.
Twilight looked over his shoulder, along with Sunset. "You think we might have them on that one?" she asked.
Kai looked at it once more. "I don't know. I've seen great battle plans, especially on my years on Lula, and by the looks of this, it doesn't look weak. I mean, look." He showed Twilight and Sunset a paper with the droid they fought against earlier. "Those things are gonna be on the battlefield. We must contact not just the Crystal Empire, but also the Order as well."
"And what about the Lunar Menace? Do you think there's more to it? Like right now?" Twilight asked. Kai looked down and scratched his chin with his hoof.
"I just don't-"
BAM!
Kai fell on the ground after trotting into a large, rock wall. "We're here!" Pie yelled. Kai groaned as he got up, and shot a glare at Pinks.
Pinks approached the gate until- "HALT!" shouted a female voice. From above, a guard dropped, and she wore armor made out of rock. Her helmet, her chestplate, her hoof guards, everything. "Who stands here?" The guard stared at the pink Piete who was sticking her tongue out. "Oh... it's just you, Pinks."
"Yeah, you know me, sis!" Pinks said, wrapping her arm around the guard and hugged her. The guard pushed her lightly off and took off her helmet. She had bluish-gray fur, and opalish-gray hair. It was down and flat, and she gave a stare at the Jedi.
"I don't know them!" she said, pointing her spear at them.
Pinks shook her head rapidly. "Nonononononono, these are good friends! They are Jedi!"
"What?" her sister said, surprised.
"Yeah. They came from above, and they need help from Gidget." Pinks explained. The guard sighed.
"Let them in!" she yelled, which the large rock gate in front of them opened. The Jedi, along with Pinks and the guard, went inside.
"What's your name?" Twilight asked.
"Limonie Pie. Just call me Lime." she said, annoyed.
"Okay..." Twilight said, a little surprised from her response. They continued walking and admired the rock city. All of its building looked strong and amazing, despite being rocks, and the people seemed happy enough. "This looks like a great place."
"It is." Lime said blankly. "Just a big city made out of strong materials. Feels very safe to be here, but we always keep full alert."
Soon enough, Kai spoke up. "So, about this Crystal pony you have here... Gidget, if I remember?" Lime nodded. "Where'd he come from?"
"Oh, him?" she asked. "He was a pony sent from the Crystal Empire."
"You and the Crystal Empire are allies?" he questioned.
"Yes. Got a problem?" she asked, annoyed. "They became great allies with us last year."
"Well, I was on the battlefield and focused strictly on the planet Lula, so I'm sorry." he said bluntly, getting tired of Lime. "It's been a tough time, and all we're trying to do is contact the Order and find a way to destroy the Lunar Menace."
They stood in front of a building which had a sign of a crystal pony, but before they entered, Lime turned around. "Lunar Menace?" she said. "What is that?"
Kai looked at her and showed her the file. Soon, he showed her blueprint of the station. "This." he said, pointing his hoof on it. "This thing is gonna be a huge threat to this planet. It's right above your planet, and they are going to invade it." Lime raised a brow.
"Yeah... good luck on that. They won't be able to get past the Crystal Empire." she said. "I haven't been there, but I've seen there soldiers. And with us, I think we can bury them in the rocks."
Kai shook his head. "This place is developing strong droids, they're planning to go head straight into the Crystal Empire, and who knows? Maybe they could win." he said. "And me being on the Order saying that isn't easy."
Lime rolled her eyes while Pinks sprung in front of the door. "Just get in there. He's waiting in there." she said, very annoyed and tired of seeing the Jedi.
The Jedi entered the building, and noticed the room had wooden walls and a bunch of tools around. Kai looked at Pinks. "She sure doesn't seem too friendly." Pinks frowned.
"Yeah... but she really is a great person, believe me! She's just usually angry and stuff." She looked at the small device in Kai's pocket. "So, should we help fix this thing?"
"Gladly." said a voice, which came from upstairs. A Crystal pony came down, and he had green, shiny fur, blue, loose mane, and a leather jacket. He coughed. "I'm Gidget, the Rockaud tinker! May I help you?" He had a hearty smile with his eyes closed, but when he opened, he was surprised to see Jedi in robes. "Oh. Who are you three Jedi?"
"He's Master Kai, she's Sunset, and I'm Twilight." answered the purple Jedi. "We kinda crashed here and need something fixed."
Pinks gave him the device, all obliterated. Even with something that looks impossible to fix, Gidget smiled. "Ah, I see. Completely smashed. Well, no worries, I'll be able to fix it in a bit."
"Really?" Sunset said.
"Yes. I am a master at fixing things!" he said. "I'm just an average-looking being, but trust me, I have more in the inside." He looked at the clock. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind waiting twenty minutes, yes?" he asked. The Jedi shook their heads. "Perfect. Just hang around the Rockaud and admire stuff, while I, Gidget, work on your communicator."
"Alright." Kai said. "And many thanks, Gidget."
"No problem." he said back, already grabbing a tool. Before Kai left however, he realized something.
"Oh! Almost forgot!" Kai said.
"No need." Gidget said before Kai spoke again. "Money is gracious, but trust me, there is no need to pay Gidget."
"Okay." Kai said, smiling. "Thanks, again." Soon, he left the building with the Jedi, Pinks, and... Lime.
"Well, I guess you're gonna be stuck here for a while." she said with a smirk.
"Only twenty minutes, Limey." said Pinks.
"Please don't call me that." she said back.
"Okay..."
They walked around the city, taking a quick scenic route to see the beauty of a city just made out of rocks. Rocks! Twilight seemed to know some of the structures, reading on planet and race history, and named off some of them. Lime acted like she was impressed while Kai smiled to see such a smart Jedi. Sunset couldn't also help but take a look at... families...
The city was apparently filled with families with young children and parents. Parents could be between eighteen and thirty, and children being four to ten. It was a plain sight to see, and made Sunset think a bit of her family. Though, wasn't the brightest thought. She could remember a nice, warm home, and a happy mother and father being together. Of course, they loved Sunset and each other, like a family should, but then something tore apart...
Little during the meantime would she learn that her father was not just a mechanic, but secretly an agent. Not for the Order, though. He has been an agent for the Lunar Republic ever since, and has stolen info for the Republic. Hell, he even killed people of the Order. It all spoiled one night when Sunset's mother saw paperwork that had the Lunar Republic's insignia on it, and started to get into a horrifying fight between her and her husband.
Sunset could remember hearing the shouts of her father, and the scared screams of her mother like she was cornered and about to get killed. She never went up to the room, fearing something bad might happen to her, and all hell broke loose when she heard the words she would never forget from her mother...
"RUN, SUNSET, RUN!"
That was all until a single laser shot was heard, and Sunset knew very well what that shot came from. She bolted out of her house, lucky to run into a patroling police vehicle, which soon protected her from the bastard that was her father. After he was shot from the police, she was turned to her new parents, whom adopted her. The father was a faithful Jedi and the mother was a medic. They cared for her during rough times, and has given her the love and appreciation she had back at... home...
Eventually, they saw how strong Sunset was with the force. And so she was shown to Celestia, who swore to train her to be a Jedi master, in which brought her here. Along with Twilight and Kai.
She couldn't help but have tears going down her face as she saw a family of just two parents and a small filly hug. Twilight walked next to the frozen Sunset. "You alright?" she asked, noticing that her friend was crying.
"Y-Yeah... I'm alright. How much time is left?" she asked.
"Ten." Twilight answered. She wrapped her hoof around Sunset's neck. "And don't worry, Sunset. If you have anything happening, even during a mission, just come to me."
Sunset sniffed and smiled. What made Twilight special to her was not just being a partner with her during Jedi practice, but also being like a sister she never had. Granted, Twilight wasn't older nor younger than Sunset, fact Twilight was a month older than her, but still, not that much. Still, she stops at times whenever Sunset feels lonely or hurt, whether it'd be at the park or even at the Jedi Academy, which had bullies, sadly. Sunset always looked at Twilight as a sister, and would never look at her the other way, ever.
"Alright, Twilight." she said, giving her a hug. "Thanks. I don't know where I'd be without you."
"Anytime, Sunset. But right now, we better just wait before Gidget fixes our communicator." Twilight said.
Sunset nodded, and they continued on.
Later, they circled back to Gidget's shop, where they saw a happy Gidget. He held out the device, good as new. "Well, I'll be damned." Kai said, chuckling as he looked at it. "You're amazing!"
"Oh, please." Gizmo said with a smile. "I can fix many things, like I said. Even things far in technology."
"Well, thank you, sir." Twilight said. Gizmo smiled at her.
"Anytime, young Jedi." He bowed to them, making Sunset and Twilight blush a little. "The Jedi are great people, even helping out our Crystal Empire!" He closed his eyes. "Ah, Crystal... how much I miss that city. I wonder how well it is doing at the moment." Kai rubbed the back of his neck with his hoof as he said that, his face turning into a look which worried Gidget. "Uh... It is alright, right?" he said as he lost his smile.
"Yes, it's just..." Gidget noticed blueprints sticking out of his pocket which he could see the words, 'Crystal Invasion Plans'. Gidget gasped and his eyes widened.
"Please tell me the Crystal Empire is being attacked by you!" he said, fearing the worst. The Jedi shook their head rapidly.
"No! Not at all!" Kai reacted. He looked at the plans. "This a plan on invading Crystal from the Lunar Republic. We came from one of their stations and crash landed here. We got some invasion plans while trying to find out how to destroy their new super-station, which is above you." Gidget scrunched up his face and looked like he was going to faint. "Don't worry, Gidget. We won't let the Crystal Empire get taken over."
"I dear hope so..." Kai turned around, about to leave, when suddenly, "Take me with you."
Kai turned around, surprised. "What?" Twilight and Sunset looked surprised as well.
"Take me with you." he said. "To the Order, or wherever you are going."
Twilight gave him an unsure look. "Gidget... Why do you want to come with?"
"Well, because... I just want to be with you guys. Maybe be taken to the city of Crystal and start doing some stuff there. I'm also a little weapons expert and crafter."
"Really?" Twilight asked.
"Si." he said. "I make blasters and even grenades. Again, I can make and fix anything!"
Twilight and Sunset looked at Kai. "Should we, master?" Sunset asked.
Kai scratched his chin with his hoof. "Fine." he said. "We are taking you to Crystal. Since that is what you wish."
"Yes. Many thanks, Jedi." he said, bowing at him multiple times. "I also kinda... miss my home, you know?"
"I can understand. I was in hell on a planet for two years and finally went back to see family and friends for a bit." Kai said, feeling the same for Gidget. "We'll bring you to Crystal."
Gidget smiled and walked aside him. "Believe me, it's my only request from you."
The group, including the Jedi, Pinks (who is holding the force pretty nicely at the moment), Lime, and Gidget, walked out of the building and looked around. Kai pulled out his fixed communicator, and contacted the Order.
After calling the Order for a pick-up on Rockaud, they rested near Gidget's shop. Kai was whistling a tune, Twilight and Sunset were laying back, Pinks was holding back the urge not to use force accidentally, and Gidget was staring at the sky. Eventually, around fifteen minutes, a large ship appeared.
"They're here." Kai said, telling everyone to get up. "Come on."
The ship parked outside, and Lime moved them outside the gate, where they were met with the large ship in front of them. "Gee..." Pinks said. "Meesa little afraid."
"Oh, don't be, Pinks." Twilight said. "It's just a Jedi ship full of our side. What's their to be afraid about?"
"Just... size." she answered.
Then, the door on the bottom opened up, smoking come out of it. Then rushed out soldiers who were getting in formation as if someone important was coming out. A figure emerged in the smoke, and it seemed like a very tall unicorn with wings, which were familiar to Sunset and Twilight. "Is that... Celestia?" Sunset asked.
Celestia walked down the ramp, and were meeted with the Jedi. "Grand Master Celestia?" Kai questioned. "You have come?"
"Yes, Master Kai." she answered. She was wearing white Jedi robes, and nothing really more. "I have come to see how you Jedi have done on your mission, especially my apprentices." Twilight and Sunset smiled. "And by the looks of it, it seems you have done well."
Twilight and Sunset nodded, while Kai brought out the file. "Indeed. Yet, this carries some frightful things." Kai showed Celestia the plans of the invasion, and the new droid prototype, and the interior of the Lunar Menace. Celestia had a look of concern.
"An invasion against the Crystal Empire?" she asked. "This doesn't seem too good."
"It isn't." Gidget said, stepping in.
"Yes. No good." Pinks also said, stepping in.
Celestia noticed the two. "Oh, and who are you two?" she asked.
"I'm Gidget, and I come from Crystal and fix things. Even create." he said, bowing to the grand master. "It is an honor to meet you."
"And I'm Pie Pie Pinks!" said Pinks, jumping in place. "And I am also glad to meet you!"
Kai looked at Celestia and explained. "Alright, so here's the thing: Gidget here wants a quick ride back to Crystal, in order to help with everything in preparation when this invasion happens, cause if you look, this takes place very near, so it will happen before we be able to assault the Lunar Menace."
Celestia nodded. "Okay... if that is what he wished. But..." She looked at Pinks. "What about her?"
Twilight gulped. "Well, Grand Master Celestia, it seems like this Piete may have... the force."
"The force?" Celestia questioned. "No Piete can have the force. Go on, Twilight."
"Well, when we crash landed, the communicator broke, we met Pie, and then we were attacked by a beorn. In the end, Pie Pie Pinks seemed to have pushed it with the force, which even confused us. And what's crazy is, she can take down such a large creature with the force, and plus, she can't seem to-" A rock soon flew towards a soldier's head as Pinks saluted to one of them. The soldier fell down and grunted, and Pinks blushed in embarrassment. "Control it."
"This is indeed strange." Celestia said, looking at Pinks. "Is she a little... different?"
"No. I was raised the same, was born the same, and basically, I'm just like the others."
"Hmm..." Celestia scratched her chin with her hoof. She looked closely at Pinks. "Come along. We may need to take a closer look at you. No Piete in the history of the universe ever held the force. You may be the first one." Pinks sprung onto the ship and disappeared in view. Celestia looked back at the Jedi. "I don't know whether I should be scared or happy about this, but she seems... rather odd."
"Tell me about it." Kai said, crossing his hooves. "But anyways, we need to alert Princess Cadenza."
"Right away, we will." Celestia ordered the troops to go back in the ship, and they all went inside. "By the way, I have seen some trouble around the planet. Some Lunar scouting ships flew around and we destroyed them. Seems like they are trying really hard for this planet."
"Indeed." a trooper added as he was getting back on the ship. "Almost got near a large shuttle, but it didn't seem to notice us. By now, the space is probably littered with the Lunar Republic."
Celestia nodded. "Please, come along."
Once they entered the ship, they flew towards the city of Crystal. While inside, they waited and chatted.
"This is a fine ship you got here." Gidget added. "Must say, you Jedi are far in technology."
"Yep." Sunset said. "Got some smart people back in our planet."
"Seriously." he said. "It's amazing to see all of these things that ponykind never saw coming. Equestria must be a great place."
"Now that it's all Jedi territory and hasn't been touched by the Republic for years... yeah."
He gave out a deep sigh. "You know, I'm a little afraid." Sunset looked at Gidget a little worried. "Just about what is going to happen to Crystal, that's all. I'm honestly a sensitive guy, and don't really like to see people die... the soldiers, the citizens, everything, y'know?"
Sunset frowned. "Yeah... I know what you mean..."
Meanwhile, Pinks was with Twilight and Kai. "Soooooo, how have ya been?" she asked. Kai was about to answer until being interrupted by Pinks. "OH! Can you tell some war tales? Something like Hell's Highway or something? That'd be really fun!"
"Story tales?" he asked.
Pinks nodded. "Yeah! Meesa wanna know what being a Jedi is REALLY like!"
"Only if you say please." Kai said with a grin.
"Please?" she asked with sad, puppy eyes.
Kai laid back and told a tale about his weary tales in the middle of his time on Lula, such as his close encounters with a ship crashing, and his ambush against a small base. But during the time... a dark lord would be given a message...
On a large shuttle having the Lunar Republic insignia on the top, there was a Horseman walking towards a dark room. He wore dark robes with a moon insignia, and hid his face with his hood. A captain wearing a grey outfit walked beside him.
"Sir, before you enter and do your business," he said. "I am giving you a quick heads-up that we are almost at our location."
"Perfect." the robed pony said in a deep and droning voice. He took off his hood and revealed his dark blue fur, bright blue mane, and yellow eyes. He also had half of his face shown, the other half being covered by black metal. It wasn't shattered or ruined, it was built and meant to look like that. "Right now, I am telling you to leave me alone at once."
The captain nodded. "Yes, Darth Obi." He let him be, and the robed pony entered the very dark room.
He sat in a chair in the middle of the room, and turned on his hologram. After waiting for some time, he was met with another dark lord, one whom had a dark helmet on with a black horn poking out. "Darth Obiareus." the muffled female voice said.
"Darth Moon." Obi said back. "I suppose you needed to tell me something?"
"Yes." Moon said. "I want YOU to know in advance that some... interference has entered your invasion plans."
"I beg your pardon?" Obi said, feeling a little angry.
"Jedi." she answered. "There are reports of Jedi warriors entering the planet, ones that have gotten plans of not just your invasion, but also your creation."
"Dammit..." Obi muttered under his breath. "Who are these Jedi?"
"Oh, some pitiful apprentices with their master." she said. "That's who managed to assault such a station!"
"Pitiful apprentices and a master... And how could this ruin an invasion of powerful droids?"
"Little do you know, these Jedi seem to be very powerful and smart. Do you KNOW how great that station was? Being filled with your 'amazing' droids and all of those troopers? They managed to get in and started to make the escape and go away with plans to help spoil your surprise attack. And not just that, but will probably make an invasion against your Lunar Menace."
Obi growled. "Moon, I am not to be destroyed just because of some mistakes made by weak and dishonorable weaklings!" he yelled. "You'll see! The whole planet is in the palm of my hoof, and you'll see exactly that everything will go according to plan! I'm doing this for you and the Lunar Republic!" He glared with his yellow eyes at Darth Moon. "Why must you doubt me?"
Darth Moon stood in silence, not saying a word, nor letting out a sound, even her breathing. "I dismiss you, Darth Obiareus. I only wish you come back alive, but also with Rockuu in control." she said. "I am counting on you."
"Yes, Darth Moon." he said. "I won't let you down, I swear to God."
With that, Darth Moon disappeared from the hologram, and Darth Obiareus sat there in his dark and empty room. "I'll show her... I'll show the whole damn Order and the Republic..."
Finally, after twenty minutes of flying, the shining city of Crystal was in view. "Crystal is up ahead, Grand Master." the pilot told Celestia, who was beside him.
"Great work, pilot." she said, then moving to the back. "Get ready. We're approaching Crystal. And when we get there, just try not to make a panic out of the situation."
Pinks gave a sure salute. "Ay-ay, Celestia." she said.
Kai shook his head at Pinks. "Yes, Grand Master."
Twilight and Sunset looked outside the window to see then giant crystals peering out of the ground, along with some bits and pieces there and there. "Well, this seems to just go by, doesn't it?" Twilight said.
"Yeah." Sunset agreed. "Oddly, I find this fun."
"I do appreciate this being fun, but we must keep serious and do our duties." said Celestia from behind. Sunset turned around to see her master. "I'm just saying, my little apprentices, that this is just the beginning. Heaven knows if there will be more chaos and even bigger threats coming towards our way, so we must be cautious. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Grand Master." said the apprentices at the same time.
Celestia smiled. "That's the attitude I want from my Jedi." The ship then started to slow down. "Let's warn Princess Cadenza before anything goes wrong."
After a quick landing and assemble of Crystal guards lining up in front of it, the ship opened, and Celestia appeared. The platform they landed on was right next to the castle above Crystal, which shined below with its buildings and ponies roaming freely.
"Grand Master Celestia!" said the guard in the middle, wearing blue-platinum armor which sparkled like the rest of the guards' crystal armor, but he also had the Crystal Empire insignia on the chestplate made out of crystal. He also had purple fur and orange-white hair in a mo-hawk. He approached the Grand Master. "It is an honor to have you here." he said, bowing. "I'm Captain Falin. What brings you here?"
"I just need a word with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, captain." she answered. The Jedi, Pinks, and Gidget came from behind. The guard nodded.
"Of course. Right this way." He walked towards a large door, in which the guards opened for him. The guards quickly saluted the captain, but he didn't salute back. "I'll lead you to her throne room." Celestia and the rest walked with Captain Falin, and made their way through the crystal hallway, featuring portraits of the princess and her husband, and also other heirs before them.
"Fancy hallways you have here." Pinks said.
"Welcome to Crystal Castle." said Falin. "This is all royalty to Crystal's finest! The princess and her prince rule our Empire, and we the royal people must keep the castle perfect for such rulers." He smiled. "Of course, why treat thy royal people that help keep us safe so dirty?"
"Agreed." said Gidget.
They took a turn to see a large two-side door with the Crystal insignia on each door. It showed their reflection clearly, which surprised the apprentices. "Is that the throne room?" Twilight asked.
"Ye." Falin answered. "In this room you shall meet the only the Princess, whom you need, yes?"
"Yes." Celestia answered. "But may I ask why specifically her in that room?"
"Prince Armor is out training the 101st army in the fields. Princess Cadenza is in here." he explained. He then approached the door, where two armored ponies with long spears were guarding. They stood at full attention and opened the door. "Thank you, men." he said to them.
They were then introduced to a large room with guards inside, large windows, and a princess sitting in her large throne. "Captain Falin." the princess who had pink fur and mane featuring violet, rose, and gold color said. She also wore a dress made out of both crystal and pink fabric, which she wore nicely. The royal princess noticed the beings behind him, but noticed one. "Grand Master Celestia!" she said with a smile.
"Cadenza." Celestia said with a smile.
"You know her?" Pinks asked.
"Well, of course. We are members of the Jedi Guild." Cadenza said, still smiling. She stepped off her throne and trotted towards Celestia. "It is great to see you once more. But, what brings you here?"
"We have some important... business to discuss." she answered. Cadenza looked at the others next to her.
"And who are they?" she asked.
Celestia answered, "These two are my apprentices, Twilight and Sunset," She pointed at Twilight and Sunset next to her. "Master Kai," She pointed at Kai, who slightly bowed. "This is... Pie Pie Pinks," She pointed at a springy Pinks. "And this is Gidget." She finally pointed at Gidget, who smiled and bowed.
"Ah. I see." the princess said. She looked to her left and right. "Follow me, and we can talk in private." She looked at the Jedi, Piete, and Gidget once more. "Are they coming?" she asked, which Celestia nodded. "Okay." She looked at a guard who was beside her, which none noticed except for Cadenza. "Flash Amidala."
Then, they saw a guard beside her wearing the same crystal armor that every other guard wore, and he had orange fur with sapphire blue hair. Though what was different from the others was the blue, shiny star on his chestplate. He looked at the princess. "Yes, your majesty?" he said.
"Come." She walked off the throne room into the hallway with Flash, Celestia, and the rest of the group. But meanwhile...
Back on the large ship that soared through space, the dark lord paced back and forth in his pitch-black room. "I won't let them down... Dammit, I won't!" he said to himself. "She trained me for moments... She trained me for this... She might as hell be trying to pass the torch to me!"
A knock was heard on the door, which alarmed Darth Obiareus. "My lord, are you alright?" a voice said from the other side.
"Yes, yes, why wouldn't I be?" Darth answered, walking out of the room. The captain was in front of him, backing up. "What is it?"
"Oh, w-well, sir, we've been here for... a while." he answered. Darth looked outside the window to see that they were inside of something, which was his creation.
"Ah, so we are." He started walking fast towards the exit and appeared in front of multiple droids and troopers all lined up. He walked down and troopers saluted while droids stood there with guns permanently in hoof. He admired the large space and construction of ships around him. "I am already liking this already..."
"Glad to see you are, sir." said the captain beside him. "It seems like everything is according to plan, yes, my lord?"
"Yes..." Obiareus said with a grin. "I do believe so..." He continued trotting along, where he would see everything he expected. Hard workers building ships and droids, training of troopers, everything seemed to go to plan. "How weak to think that the great Darth Moon would look down on me..."
"What was that, sire?" the captain asked, swearing that he heard something weird.
"Nothing." the dark lord answered, and he continued on. The Lunar Menace was truly armed to the core, with it's weapons and artillery on the top being in perfect form and shape, and the army being sent down was also in great form, with not just the stronger and better droids, but the tough stallions being trained strictly by their captains. Darth Obi smiled with malice dripping, and looked at the planet below through one of the few windows. "Rockuu... is ours..."
The Jedi continued following Princess Cadenza, through the hallways and down the castle. From the highest level where the landing platform and throne laid, down to the main floor, but it wasn't over still. Cadenza looked at a guard who was very different from the others. He had dark, shiny armor covering him whole, showing no skin at all. "Sir, open the door." she said.
The Jedi apprentices raised a brow, and so did Kai, Pinks, and Gidget. "Door?" they said in unison. The black-armored guard then pushed his hoof against some secret button on the wall, and suddenly, the normal wall made of crystal suddenly had a door spawn and open up.
Cadenza smiled. "Thank you, dear sir." she said, and she trotted inside with Flash by her side and the others behind. The door led to steps going down deeper and deeper, but it didn't take long to reach the bottom. The crystal was no more, and instead the walls were made of stone and had torches on the walls lit up. It was like some eerie dungeon of doom, but Cadenza opened a wooden door and entered yet ANOTHER room, which had a single table with multiple chairs.
"Well, talk about privacy." Kai commented as he sat on a seat with the others.
"Yeah. Same." Pinks agreed.
"Well, if Grand Master Celestia is coming, that certainly means something big." Cadenza explained, looking at Celestia. "What seems to be the problem? We didn't plan a visit here. Is there an emergency?"
"Yes." Celestia said, then looking at Kai. "Kai." The master handed Celestia the plans, and she displayed them on the table. "These are plans for an invasion. Against Crystal."
"Here?" Cadenza said, then feeling a little frightened. "Oh no. This isn't good. I'm going to need my husband back right away!"
"It seems that way." Celestia said, pointing at the paper that featured a droid. "This is their new and improved droid. The Jedi have already taken a look, and it already seems tough and deadly. They are making multiple now in this." She then pointed at the Lunar Menace. "This is a new structure created in space, or more specifically, on top of the planet. They are planning to invade soon. Around hours to go."
The princess looked closely at the papers. "I'll contact Shining Armore soon. Anything else you need to tell me?"
"Well, we are also planning to attack the Lunar Menace at the time during the invasion." she answered. "I have yet assigned these Jedi to go after it." She pointed at Sunset, Twilight, and Kai. "I'll be assisting you in battle, and so will Pinks and Gidget."
"I am?" Pinks questioned. Celestia looked at Pinks.
"Oh. Well, first we need to see the force issue here within you." she said. "But also, I fear you may have to take part of the battle, Pie."
"Okay." Pinks said, feeling a little afraid. "I understand fully, Grand Mastah Celestia." But then she smiled. "I actually do know a little fighting skill myself! Hiiii-" She was pretending to do a large jab, but Celestia feared she was going to let out the- "YA!"
Force pushed out of the hoof and pushed Kai against the wall as he was across from her. "Oof!" he grunted as he made contact.
"Oopsie..." she said, giving another sheepish smile.
"We definitely need to control the force inside you." Twilight said. "You seem very powerful."
"Well, that'll be dealt with soon." Celestia said. She looked back at Cadenza. "That is all. Hopefully, we should be ready."
"Alright, Celestia." Cadenza said, getting off her chair. "I suppose we have our ways in here from now on then?" Celestia nodded. "You are dismissed Flash. Shining isn't too far from here, so I'll get the best stallion we have here quickly and try to plan how to defend. We are gonna try to get away from the city."
"That is a smart decision to do." Celestia said, getting off the chair. "As for all of you," she said, looking at her group. "I want you Jedi to prepare your skills for when you depart to the Lunar Menace. Gidget, you can... I suppose see if you can build things or help out the army in weaponry. And Pinks..." She looked at Pinks, who was trying hard not to move. "You come with me. I'm going to see if I can help you use the force."
"Okie-dokie, Loki!" she said. Everypony left the room, and went back on the main floor, and did whatever they needed to do to get ready. Cause now... they have a threat to be aware of...
After being dismissed, the Jedi apprentices followed Kai Gon June from the little underground room to the main floor. Kai approached a guard with black fur and orange mane. "Say, is there any place where me and these Jedi apprentices can practice freely?"
"Yes. You can practice in the Crystal Garden. It's just out in the back." the guard answered.
"Thanks." Kai said. "Much appreciated." He made his way to a large door made of glass, which led to a large, outdoor area. The terrain was grassy, the area was shielded in a glass dome, and flowers were laid in sections, but the center was very open, leaving space for the Jedi to practice. "Here we go."
Kai ignited his lightsaber, and so did the apprentices. Kai smiled as he looked at his lightsaber. "Alright," he said. He approached Twilight. "It doesn't seem like we have training droids to practice our saber skills, so it seems that... we might have to spar. Sadly, no armor, either. Is that alright, Jedi?"
Twilight nodded. "Yes, Master Kai." she said.
Kai nodded. "Then let's begin. You and I for around fifteen minutes." He then raised his lightsaber. "Let's begin."
"Wait!" Twilight screamed, alarming the Jedi master. "What if I hurt you?"
Kai chuckled and responded, "Don't worry. I'll go easy on you, and if you go hard on me, I'll do fine." Twilight smiled, and he smiled back, in which they then went to a little sparring duel, while trying not to cut limbs off. They were doing well, and in the background, Sunset watched.
She sat on a stone bench, seeing Twilight block quick and evasive maneuvers. Kai swung high, but Twilight blocked it and went for a parry, which Kai ducked under. "Very well, Twilight!" he said in joy. Sunset smiled, then a hoof touched her.
"Hello- WOAH!" Sunset swung at the stallion who was touching her before he even spoke in a reaction, but then noticed who it was when he ducked the punch. It was Flash Amidala. "Nice swing." he said with a nervous chuckle. Sunset looked back, and thankfully, none of the Jedi noticed and were in an intense sparring duel.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Oh, just thought of taking a look and seeing what the Jedi do. Honestly, this looks awesome already." He stared at the little duel between the apprentice and master, noticing Twilight doing a backflip.
"Well, it ain't easy." Sunset said.
"Tell me about it. Looks way harder than this job." He whistled. "How long have you been doing this?"
"Ten years." she answered, making Flash open his eyes wide.
"Ten? Geeze. That's about the same length as my years as a guard!"
Sunset raised a brow at him. "So, you've been a guard since you were a filly?" she questioned. "If yes, then that's rather odd."
"Well, yes and no. I was a part of the Little Crystal Defense Academy, and started my training there. I've been with them for the rest of my childhood, then eventually became a guard, myself."
"Well," Sunset said, smirking. "Why don't you show me some moves? Surely it's not just swing a spear or sword around."
Flash shook his head. "We about have similar style as you Jedi, but you know, less jumpy and like that." He pointed at Twilight, who swerved under and over Kai's lightsaber, and blocking every hit he has swung, then slowly getting back at him. "Here, I'll show you." He took out his sword, which was made of iron, and backed up from Sunset. "Look out, I-I can be a little rusty."
Sunset giggled, which made Flash blush a little. "Go on." she said with a smile.
"Okay." he said with a sheepish smile. He held his sword, and spun it in his hoof a little. He then immediately leaped forward and spun the sword like a fan in front of him, then stepping back. With three swift moves in a swift two seconds, he jabbed his sword out, from high, to middle, to low. He held it out to block him, then spun around, swinging twice. This amused Sunset a little.
"Say, not bad." she commented. Flash then threw his sword in the air, which spun mid-air, then falling down. Once it was falling, Flash leaped and caught it, then stabbing in the ground while kneeling.
He looked up at Sunset. "Not so bad, huh?"
"Not bad." she answered, making Flash smile. "How heavy is the sword?"
"Here." Flash pulled it out of the ground and handed her the sword, in which Sunset almost dropped. "Woah!" he said, noticing she almost fell. Quickly, he caught her. "Easy there."
Sunset looked at him, noticing he is holding her. "O-Oh." she said, growing a light, pink blush. "Th-Thanks." She got up and held the sword high. "It ain't that bad, but it sure has weight to it."
"Yeah, the weight is a little too much, but that's what we royal guards carry with us at all times."
Sunset smiled, and handed the sword back. She ignited her lightsaber, and showed it to Flash. "Would you like to see a Jedi trick?"
"Sure!" Flash said. Sunset looked at her lightsaber.
"Here goes nothing." she said. "This is a little known trick that few Jedi can pull off. I'm one of those few." She gestured Flash to step back, which he did. She took a deep breath, then immediately swung her lightsaber in a circle in front of her. Slowly, the lightsaber's tracks left from the swing lighted up, eventually glowing like a ring. Once bright, Sunset stopped her circle, and swung diagonal, in which the circle gripped to the lightsaber, like it was now a whip. Once it hit ground, it made a whip sound with a robotic shake to it, and she whipped the ground at least three times.
To just have fun, she swirled it in the air, like it was a lasso. It eventually went back to its hoop again, and she brought it down, then hopping through it twice. Sunset happily giggled.
Meanwhile, Kai and Twilight were in the middle of their duel. Twilight was kicked back by Kai, and he used a force push quickly. Out of reaction, Twilight blocked it with a force shield she produced. "Very good, Twilight." he said, about to strike. That is, until he heard giggling. He looked to his left to see Sunset, playing with her lightsaber with the Flash guard from earlier spectating.
Kai squinted his eyes, then realized he was in a fighting stance, in Twilight took the chance to strike. She didn't know he wasn't battling until she swung hard on his arm. "GAH!" Kai yelled in pain, as he quickly held his wound. This caught the attention of everyone in the garden.
Twilight quickly came up to him. "Oh my gosh, Master Kai!" she said in shock. "A-Are you okay? I'm so sorry!"
Kai shook his head. "No. It's alright, Twi..." He winced in pain. "Twilight. Hey, get me the gel from my robe, please?"
Twilight nodded and dug in his robe pocket, pulling out the healing gel from earlier. She took it out, and looked at Kai's wound, which wasn't shown due to his hoof in the way. "Can I see the wound?" she asked. Kai nodded, and showed her a bloody, deep wound caused from the strike. Twilight felt very guilty, and carefully applied it to the wound.
Kai winced even more in pain, but all felt better a couple of seconds later. Once Twilight applied the gel, Kai looked at his wound, healing already. "Thank God for the gel." he said. He looked at Twilight. "Told you it would be needed." He looked at Sunset and Flash, who were to his left. He gave her a cold stare, in which she stepped back a bit, along with Flash. "Sunset." he said strictly. "What were you doing?"
Flash decided to answer for her. "Well, she was just-"
"I didn't ask you." Kai interrupted. He stared back at Sunset. "What. Were. You Doing?"
Sunset gulped. "I... I was just showing Flash some moves... Why?"
"Doing moves without order?" he asked. Sunset looked away and opened her mouth, but Kai spoke first. "Don't say a thing, Sunset. While you haven't technically destroyed anything, and I'm not accidentally dead, you're still in trouble."
"I'm sorry, Master Kai." she said, but Kai shook his head.
"We were here for a little practice round, but you decided to do moves without an order. As much of a skilled apprentice you are, at no time whatsoever must you unleash your lightsaber and do any sort of move."
Sunset's ears dropped. "Yes, Master Kai..."
"You are dismissed." he said. He turned to Twilight. "You can come with me. Perhaps a little more training without the risk of me getting injured again, hmm?"
Twilight nodded. "Yes, Master Kai." Sunset trotted away, while Twilight trotted along with Kai. Flash stared as Sunset moped her way in shame to somewhere off, and decided to come with. He felt like coming with her... for some reason...
Twilight looked at Kai on there way to the ship, where training droids may be available. "Hey, is it alright if I speak, sir?" she asked.
Kai looked at her and nodded. "Yes, Twilight?"
She cocked her head a bit. "Don't you think you went a little... too far on her?"
Kai shook his head slowly. "No, Twilight. You know the Jedi Code of Apprenticeship: No bearing lightsaber without order or reason. She didn't do it with me allowing her, and she did it for no reason other to just simply show off to that guard."
Twilight felt pretty bad for her friend, and thought that Kai took that situation a little too far, but then again, she thought that maybe it was the right thing. She didn't know, but what she did know was that soon enough, she was going to train even further for the battle against the Lunar Republic, and one-fourth of the Four Horsemen...
