> Revan > by Perception Filter > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revan Chapter 1 Revan sat alone in the cockpit of his starship, the Ebon Hawk. He hadn’t always been alone. Once, a long time ago, he had enjoyed the company of several others, who aided him in his journeys. But, over the years they had all left him to pursue other interests, or had died in combat. So he was alone. To be frank, he actually enjoyed being alone sometimes. The quiet, the solitude. His ship drifted out here, in the blackness of space, in between stars. His reason for being here was a simple one; after he had defeated Malak, more of his memories returned and he saw a great threat in the unknown regions of space. The Sith. They lurked here, building a massive empire to strike back at the Jedi and Republic, who had grievously wounded them. Revan sensed that this issue was more one of pride than anything else. And who else but the Sith to be prideful? Why attack the Republic when they had their own empire here? That was something he intended to find out, when he found out where to go. But for now, he drifted in the darkness, travelling between star systems, refueling at some fringe planets, making small trips into the unknown, small bits a time. So, when he was done resting, he powered up his ship and entered the next set of coordinates, to the system of Xcorpon, a system that was briefly scanned and then left, because none of it’s planets had enough resources to qualify it for habitation by both the Republic, and Empire. The reason Revan was going there was because he had no other leads at the moment. Besides, there was always the slim chance that there might be something there. ~~~~~ High up on a mountain, there sat a city. Of this city, there was no equal, of splendor or prosperity. The shining city of Canterlot stood as a monument to all of pony-kind’s dedication; to their ability to conquer any odds. It was deep in the night, with Luna’s moon rising above the world, bathing it in an eerie light; which foals feared. In the royal gardens of Canterlot castle, Princess Luna wandered among the many statues, the light of her moon making their shadows dance and twirl. The sharpened stone edges of the statues seem to press in on her, another trick of the light, and their eyes seemed to follow her, yet she was not afraid. She liked it in fact, the darkness. She was often saddened and weighed down by the fact that others did not, and tonight was no different. She had nothing to do, unless she wanted to be cooped up in her room, reading or taking small naps so she couldn’t sleep during the day. And this also saddened her, that nopony shared the night with her. While everyone slept soundly, she was alone. Eventually, she spotted an empty bench, and took a seat. She sat there, and laid back, looking at her stars, and their positions in the sky. That is when she noticed that there was one that shouldn’t be there, right between Ursa Major and Equa Caballa. It didn’t shine nearly as bright as many of the other stars that populated the black night, but it was visible nonetheless. She brought her hoof to her chin and scratched it, wondering what this new star was. She didn’t put it there, and to her knowledge, neither did her sister, although she wouldn’t know why Celestia would do something like that. Of course, it might have been a natural occurrence. Although rare, stars did occur naturally, and if they were, they would be moved into new constellations, or to added to old ones, with the formal announcement of them, of course. But, still. It was an odd occurrence. Luna decided that she would ask Celestia about it, and then decide on what to do with the star. But in the meantime, it would have to be moved to a less noticeable location. Concentrating her magic, she channeled the power in her horn, and willed the star to move, but nothing happened. Blinking, she shook her head and tried again, only to be met with the same stubborn proneness. Luna frowned and hunched forward, biting her lip as she tried to move the star, concentrating with all her might, yet still nothing happened. Unable to contain her frustration, she cried out, and stood up abruptly. She seethed, and let loose all of her fury in the form of a glare at the star, but it paid her no notice. It was mocking her, Luna decided. After staring at the star for a few more moments, to no avail, she turned her nose up at it, and marched away. She would no longer dignify it with her mighty gaze. As she marched away, she heard a faint wind, and looked up to see Celestia descending from her balcony. She touched down on the grass softly and looked at her sister. “Is something wrong Luna?” she asked in a gentle voice. “Tis nothing sister, we are simply enjoying the night air,” she said, waving a hoof at the gardens. Celestia giggled a bit at her sisters old dialect, and smiled. “You know Luna, you never were very good at lying.” “W-what? We are not lying! Your accusation offends us!” Luna defended, stuttering incredulously. “Luna, you don’t have to lie to me. If something’s wrong, you can tell me,” Celestia said, putting a wing around Luna. She looked at Celestia for a moment, as if to contemplate if it was worth telling her, before lowering her head. “Tis me sister. Your little ponies do not like me, not as they like you. They do not trust me.” “Luna, you just have to give it time. They will not accept you right away, not after...” Celestia trailed off, realizing where she had driven the conversation. “After what, sister? After I nearly plunged the world into eternal night?!” Luna scowled as she said this, accusing her sister with her eyes. “That isn’t what I mean—” “Then what did you mean?” Luna snapped. “It already happened, and there’s nothing We can do to change it...” She sighed, then said, “We are a monster...” “Luna!” Celestia said in shock. “Why would you say that?” “Because it’s true!” Luna groaned, looking away from Celestia and gazing at the sky. “And not even the sky will listen to us anymore...” “What are you talking about Luna?” “The sky!” she cried. “Not even the stars of our own domain will obey us anymore. They refuse to obey our commands.” Celestia looked at her sister with concern, and spoke, “Show me what you mean.” Luna looked up and examined Celestia’s face for a moment, as if she wasn’t sure if she was genuinely concerned with her, then searched the sky for a moment, then pointed at the stubborn star she had encountered earlier. “Right there,” she said, pointing. “That star right there will not move, no matter what we do. Do you see it?” Celestia did indeed see the star Luna was talking about, and started tapping her chin thoughtfully. It wasn’t supposed to be there, and it could not be moved. As if to confirm what Luna said, her horn lit up and she tried herself to move the star, yet when it didn’t budge, she released her hold on her magic. “Luna, this is indeed odd. When did you discover this star?” she asked. “Just tonight, as we were walking around.” Luna then hung her head low and muttered something unintelligible. Celestia sighed and put a wing over her sister’s shoulder. “Luna, it’s okay. You just have to give our little ponies time to like you. As for the star,” her face scrunched up as she spoke. “I do not know why it is doing this, but there is nothing more you can do for tonight. You should head to bed; it’s almost time for me to raise the sun.” Luna looked up in surprise, and noticed the pre-dawn glow. She had been so wrapped up in brooding, she hadn’t noticed the time go past. She let out a small, humorless chuckle and pulled away from Celestia. “You are right, sister. We should not worry about such things.” Celestia smiled when she saw Luna perk up. “Farewell sister,” Luna cried as she took off, and flew away. “Have a good sleep, Luna,” Celestia said, more to herself than anyone else. ~~~~~ Revan flicked a few switches in the cockpit of the Ebon Hawk, and was gently pulled forward as the ship slowly came out of Hyperspace. The stars slowly came into focus, and he could see the planet below him. It was, for the most part, covered in green vegetation, and on the dark side of the planet, he could see lights of some sprawling cities. However, none of these details held his attention for more than a second, because, directly in front of him, was a large Sith cruiser, a fair distance away from their moon. Revan guessed that the Sith were here to do something with the planets inhabitants. Something sinister. What was more, was that Revan was actually surprised he had found anything here. The last time the system was scanned, nothing was there. Frowning beneath his mask, he pushed the throttle forward and gently approached the Sith cruiser. A brief thought flicked through his mind, something about a sleeping giant, but he paid it no mind; if he had to, he could always flee. The Ebon Hawk was the fastest ship in the galaxy, and Revan had no doubts that he could get away from the Sith cruiser. Slowly, ever so slowly, the Ebon hawk approached the cruiser. So far, it showed no signs of noticing him. In fact, if Revan hadn’t known better he would’ve sworn that the cruiser had just been abandoned. But the Empire wouldn’t do that, not with how much money it cost to build something this large. Suddenly, and without warning, the cruiser began to move, and the engines flared a bright blue as they tried to get the giant beast moving. Revan reacted instantly and jerked his ship around, trying to put as much space between himself and the ship’s guns as he could, but his efforts were in vain. Before he could even blink, the cruisers weapons powered up and began to fill the vacuum of space with red lasers, intent on destroying his ship. Within a second, the Ebon Hawk was hit, and as the ship lurched, he hit his head violently on the dashboard, and blacked out. ~~~~~ It was a fine day in Canterlot. After Celestia had raised her sun, ponies of all ages slowly woke up and started to go about their daily business in the magnificent city. Small colts and fillies went to school, much to their dismay, and the adults went to work, or started to go about daily errands. Above all, Celestia stood upon her balcony, observing everything from her perch, like an eagle. In a few hours, it would be time for Day Court, and she would have to sit through the tedious process of her ponies bringing their squabbles, petty or large, to her, to settle. She did not relish the idea, yet she knew it was necessary. Until then she waited, and watched over her domain. When she looked down towards Ponyville, she thought of Twilight and her adventures in friendship. The mere thought of her student, always faithful, made a smile come to her face. As if it had been waiting for a cue, a flash of green fire and smoke popped in front of her face, and a letter materialized. She broke the seal and unrolled it, then began to read. Dear Princess Celestia         It has come to my attention that there is a new star in the sky between Ursa Major and Equa Caballa. This star is not a scheduled appearance, and I wish to notify you, in case you have not noticed, which is less than likely. I was up at night stargazing, but Spike was asleep so I couldn’t send you a letter at night.         I hope that you take action to rectify this error, as several ponies must be severely burdened and inconvenienced by this issue. Your faithful student         Twilight Sparkle Celestia smiled again, and took out a blank paper and replied, reading aloud as she wrote. Dear Twilight Sparkle         I am glad to see that you remain vigilant in your studies outside of friendship, and Luna and I are already aware of the existence of the new star, and she and I are hard at work trying to fix it. I eagerly look forward to your next report on your studies.         Celestia With that, she rolled up the letter, slipped a royal seal on it, and sent it on it’s way with a flash of golden magic. She looked out over her city again, and walked back inside and was surprised to see her sister sitting on her bed, waiting patiently for her. Celestia frowned as she beheld the look upon Luna’s face. “Luna, are you okay?” For a moment, she didn’t respond, just staring at Celestia. “Sister, I think something is about to happen...” “Luna? What’s that supposed to mean?” Celestia asked in confusion “Sister... While we slept, we saw something. Something we did not understand,” Luna said, looking away from Celestia. “What is it?” she asked, walking closer to her sister. Once again, Luna did not respond immediately, and instead started to look all over the room, as if it had suddenly become more interesting. Finally, Luna looked at Celestia, and as they locked eyes, she spoke. “Sister, something is coming, and I fear it will bring more chaos than Discord could ever dream of.” ~~~~~ Twilight was sound asleep in her library tree-house. At the foot of her bed, lay Spike, snoring soundly. Throughout the house, all was silent, and almost nothing was moving. This was the case for most of Ponyville, with the exception of one mint-green mare, who went by the name of Lyra. She was walking along the empty streets, trying to clear her head. It had been a long day, and she needed the night to take a breather. Rent money was getting thin, and her friend and landlord, Bon-Bon, couldn’t let her keep her apartment much longer. She cringed at the thought of losing her lodging. Her job, which usually consisted of playing her lyre in the park, or playing small time concerts. It was usually enough to pay the bills with a little to save away, but as of lately, less and less people had been attending, and the implications were a bit hard to take. After wandering the town for a few hours, Lyra eventually made it to “her” park bench, the one she usually played on. She sighed mournfully and sat down to gaze at the night sky. ‘ ‘At least it’s pretty...’ she mused. And indeed, it truly was a beautiful night. As she gazed across the boundless reaches of space, she noticed a particularly bright star. Normally, Lyra didn’t consider herself an astronomer, but she knew a fair amount about the sky, and enough to know that the knew, brightly glowing star, was out of place. In fact, she thought, it seemed to be getting bigger... > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revan Chapter 2 High above the green planet, Lord Thass sat aboard his flagship, the Labyrinth, a ship modeled after the Leviathan, supposedly the only cruiser of its class to officially become space worthy. Thass was alone in his personal chambers, deep within the fortified hull of the ship, protection from any who might dare strike at him. Lord Thass' physique was nothing short of exemplary, years of physical training and conditioning had ensured that. In addition, his mastery over the dark side was nearly complete. He had come to this planet, with it's barely civilized inhabitants, not even normally worthy of note, to finish his ascendency. They were the final key to unlocking his true power. A knock at the door interrupted his musings, and his brow deepened in anger. "Enter..." he said, in a voice deep and charismatic, showing nothing of the anger his face betrayed within him. He heard the door click, and whoosh with a familiar sound before tentative footsteps approached him from behind. "My lord, we have identified the vessel that we shot down a few hours ago... It..." The voice paused, as if saying anything further would prompt the Sith Lord's wrath. Lord Thass stood up and turned around to face the man. He was dressed in a standard Sith officer uniform, and his skin was pale white. Lord Thass's own skin was dark black, and it gleamed like oil. "Speak, lieutenant," he spoke in his calm voice. As soon as he did, the other man seemed to calm for a moment. "It was the Ebon Hawk, sir... the one last piloted by... Revan." The man finished his sentence reluctantly, and looked away from his Lord. "You need not fear, Lieutenant. His arrival may indeed help my plans come to fruition." The officer looked up, and saw Lord Thass smiling, his teeth, gleaming white. ~~~ Twilight sparkle awoke to the feeling of pain... in her head, and her front foreleg and... everywhere, really. She groaned loudly and opened her eyes, and immediately closed them again as a blinding light seared her vision. Turning her head, she opened her eyes once more, and was successful. What she saw, her home, her library, destroyed. Half of the tree she called home was obliterated. Splinters of wood were everywhere, along with stray books, and pages flying through the air on currents of wind. Tentatively turning around, she saw the bright light again, but she saw past that as well. Beyond the hole in what used to be her house, she saw a giant heap of twisted metal, burning bright over a giant chunk of wood that used to be her tree. Shocked, Twilight stared at the burning wreckage of the... thing, and at her house in dismay. After a certain amount of time, Twilight could never remember how long, she felt someone touch her back, and she whipped her head back, and saw Spike, her assistant standing there beside her, holding his left arm limply. "T-Twilight, we have to get out of here..." he said, before breaking off, waving some drifting smoke away from his face. Twilight simply nodded a jerky nod, and stood up, and immediately screamed in pain as she put weight on her back right hoof and it collapsed underneath her. Spike immediately grabbed her and held her while she regained her composure. "C'mon Twilight, I can try and support your leg, but we need to go." "But Spike... your claw..." Twilight said, finally breaking her silence. Spike gave her a half-smile and waved off her concerns. "I'll be fine until we get outside, now come on." He grabbed Twilight's side to help support her, and hissed in through his teeth as his broken arm fell limp to his side. Twilight looked at him in concern, but did not press the matter, and they slowly worked their way from the top floor of their room to the main room. From there, they made their way outside, and they both fell onto the ground and began to hold their respective broken limbs. It was only a few moments more before ponies began to gather around them, asking what had happened, and trying to help tend to them. Within moments, Twilight began to cry. She felt ponies began to hug her, and try to console her. She thought she heard the voices of her friends clear a path and began to help her, but she did not care what they said; she simply allowed herself to cry, and cry until she fell asleep. ~~~ Heat... Heat and... smoke? Revan shook his head as he awoke and was greeted with the sight of a bulkhead a mere inch from his face. Scooting back, he found he was trapped in a small durasteel 'room', if one could call it that. Casting out his mind with the force, he felt a great fire eating away at the remains of his ship, and numerous life forms milling about in a panic. Bring him back to himself, he took a deep breath, and calmed his racing heartbeat. Slowly gathering his power, he put his hands on the bulkhead in front of him and pushed it with the Force. The giant sheet of thick metal screeched a terrible sound and moved a few inches before stopping. Persisting, Revan did not stop, and soon his efforts were rewarded as the durasteel collapsed over, revealing the cockpit to his ship. Slowly climbing out, he sucked in a breath when he felt pain tug at his side. Gently touching his torso, he flinched when he felt a sharp spike of agony lance through him. Broken ribs were never fun, but he would live. Taking his time, he climbed over the chunk of durasteel and saw a few feet down the hallway a gaping hole to the outside. Walking forward slowly, and looking further down the hall, he saw his ship twisted and crumpled like paper. Stepping outside, he was besieged by a great heat, and he quickly retreated from his ship before turning around. What he saw quickly confirmed his fears. There was no way the Ebon Hawk was going to be repaired, ever. What once remained of his great ship was now a jagged ball of metal, burning furiously. Calling upon the power of the Force once again, he sucked the air out of the area around his ship, and the flames guttered out and died almost instantaneously. Releasing his power, he looked around. He had crashed into a giant tree. Although, half of it was missing, probably taken by his crashing ship. Looking closer, he saw that the inside of the tree was hollow, and filled with books. Cringing, he realized he probably just demolished some primitive's library. Looking past the library-tree thing, he saw a group of... quadrupeds, some with wings and some with horns, all milling about in a panic. And although none looked at him, for he was concealed in the dark shade of a nearby building, and his ruined ship made a much more interesting spectacle. Revan took a moment to think. Obviously any noble person would approach forward and apologize for their actions, and attempt to seek medical care, but a thought nagged at him briefly that these creatures might display hostile intent towards him for destroying one of their buildings. He quickly dismissed it, and briefly checked for his lightsabers, and frowned beneath his mask when he saw one of them was gone. However, he did not draw his remaining one, as he hoped he would be able to solve this situation without violence. ~~~ Lyra was shocked at first when the brightly glowing, growing star turned out to be a giant meteor that flew past her head and cashed a few blocks away. Although it was unlike any meteor she had ever seen before. It seemed to be have some sort of metal casing, but she only saw it for the briefest of seconds, so she could not be sure. As soon as she saw the meteor, she jumped up from 'her' bench and began to race over to where it was headed, before there a tremor shook the ground forcing her to stop. Looking around, she saw some doors and windows opening and numerous ponies poking their heads out to look around. "There was a meteor that crashed over that ways!" she yelled to everypony around and started running again. In only a minute she arrived at Twilight's library, and saw half of the tree was gone, and she gasped. Rushing forward even faster, she saw Twilight on the ground a few feet, with Spike beside her. Spike was on the ground, clutching his arm, and Twilight was staring blankly past her house. Lyra took a few steps towards them, then saw ponies begin to gather around them, she decided that they didn't need her help, and she trotted a bit closer to the firey ball of metal. She made sure to keep her distance, but as she approached, her hoof hit something metal. Looking down, she saw a small cylindrical object. There were a few kinds of switches, and overall it was of a masterwork quality. Picking it up with her magic, she examined it for a few moments. 'This thing must be worth a few bits, maybe I can sell it...' Lyra thought as she looked it over. She was interrupted from her musings, as a terrible grinding and squealing noise assailed her ears. Covering her ears, she soon found out the noise was coming from the craft. She quickly began to run away from the scene, already thinking of a way to sell this precious new item. ~~~ As Revan approached the colorful creatures, he made sure to keep his hands at his sides, and not make any sudden movement. He had no idea how they would react, and he planned to keep things peaceful. None of them noticed him at first, but within seconds, the whole crowd was frozen and was looking at him with wide-eyed fear. Slowly, Revan raised his hands and spoke a few careful words. "Hello there." Something must have went wrong, however, as the entire crowd of creatures burst into screaming and they all ran away from him as fast as they could, and somehow, unfailingly, manage to not run over each other in the process. After a few brief moments, the crowd had dispersed, and the night was quiet again, and Revan saw before him five creatures who had not run away. The one that stuck out most to him was a light blue one with rainbow hair and wings. The reason why it stuck out to him was that it had flown up to him and was... yelling something at him, forcing him to take a step back. Revan could do nothing more than make a shrugging gesture and back away and hope the thing didn't become more hostile. Unfortunately, that only seemed to anger it even more, and it looked like it was winding up to punch him, and he was preparing to dodge away, when suddenly she was yanked to the ground by one of the other things, this one orange and wearing a hat. This one seemed to scold the blue one for a few moments before turning back to him and sticking out its hoof and saying something he still couldn't understand. The orange creature simply stood there looking at him with a nervous smile on its face, so Revan took a moment to examine the rest of the animals. There was the blue one with rainbow hair, sitting on the ground, with its arms crossed, looking away from him; a white one with stylized purple hair and a horn who seemed to regard him with a small amount of contempt; a yellow one who was attempting to hide from him behind it's pink hair, and lastly there was a pink one... who was all pink. It waved at him and gave him a smile as soon as he looked at it. He then redirected his gaze to the orange one, whose smile had waned, but not entirely disappeared, and it's arm was still up in the air. Revan slowly reached out with a gloved hand and grabbed the it, and shook it gently before dropping his arm. The small smile the orange one was bearing grew a little bit and it turned to the blue one and gave it what Revan could only describe as an 'I told you so' look. The rest of the group exchanged a few words in their own language and the orange one bent over and picked up a new purple creature which Revan had not seen behind the white, yellow and pink ones. It seemed to struggle briefly lifting the new creature off the ground, so Revan approached and held out his arms to offer to carry it. It was the least he could do, in his mind. As he approached, the group tensed up a little, and the blue one took flight again, and began to start yelling at him. Before he could so much as pull back his arms or step away, the white creature grabbed the blue one's tail and yanked it to the ground again before giving it some sort of lecture in a stern voice. He turned his attention once again to the orange one, who was looking at him warily. Revan moved his arms a little towards him, but still held them out. Just when he thought that it would reject his offer of help, it motioned for Revan to kneel down using it's head, and he did, before passing over the purple one to him. This set off a whole new string of words from the blue one, and the orange one made a snappy one or two word remark, and the group went quiet. The orange one then motioned the direction they would be walking, and the whole group began following, except for the blue one. Revan obviously had to follow them, seeing as he was carrying their... friend? When he looked over his shoulder, he saw the blue one begrudgingly flying after them at a slow pace, and she kept her eyes on Revan the entire time. > Chaper 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revan Chapter 3 Rainbow Dash didn't trust this weird alien. The way it had calmly approached them right after it had destroyed Twilight's library didn't stand right with her. Of course, she didn't know why her friends were being so nice to it, especially Applejack. She was letting the thing carry Twilight, for pony's sake! So, of course, like any logical pony would do, she kept her eyes on it and didn't let it do anything to her friend. Soon, it became apparent to her that they were walking to Applejack's farm, and Rainbow cautiously floated past the alien and up to the orange mare. "Applejack, are you sure you this is a good idea?" she whispered, a subtle hint of anger lacing her voice. "We have no idea who this alien is or where it came from!" "Dang it Rainbow, I can just tell, this thing doesn't mean us any harm. Look, it even offered to carry Twilight for us!" she replied. "Yeah, but it could just be trying to gain our trust! How do you even know what it wants, with that weird mask on?!" she complained, her voice rising in volume. "Rainbow, I said I just know! It came forward to us and didn't try to attack us or nothin'!" "Fine," Rainbow Dash said, determined to have the final word. "But I'm keeping my eye on it and you can't change my mind." There was a moment of silence before Applejack responded again. "I didn't say you shouldn't watch it, we don't know what it wants, but I don't think it wants to hurt us. Something tells me if it could get out of that wreck of... metal... it wouldn't..." her sentence drifted off, and she fell silent. ~~~ Revan could tell the two creatures in front of him were arguing over him. The way the blue one had reacted to him earlier, and now the way it spoke in hushed tones and kept glancing at him while it spoke with the orange one told him that easily. However, Revan decided to keep his mouth shut. He knew that they couldn't understand him, and it would just cause further confusion. After a few minutes of walking, they appeared on some sort of... well, Revan wasn't sure what to call it. There were trees that reached out over rolling hills as far as he could see, but they were heading towards a duo of buildings. One was red, with white stripes, and the other was orange-ish. One other thing Revan had noticed about this world, almost all of their buildings seemed to be made of stone, or wood! Obviously, he knew these things existed and that primitive cultures often used them for building materials, but it was a shock nonetheless. Revan's mind had already come up with a few questions to ask these creatures, but he had no way to learn their language besides... No, he wouldn't do that again. He wasn't like that anymore. Tearing the language from the mind of another race and giving them the knowledge of yours, while not harmful in the long-term, was excruciating for the second party involved. He was determined not to do that unless there was no other alternative. They carefully walked up to the orange, two-story building and the orange one opened the door, and they all filed in, but as Revan stepped forward to enter, he realized he was too tall. The rest of the creatures had moved into the house and to a room to the right except the blue one, who glared at him. He did a crouching motion and tried to move forward then shook his head and did another shrugging gesture, hoping that it would understand him. The blue one narrowed its eyes at him even more and moved off. Revan heard a few spoken words and it came back with the orange one, who motioned for him to crouch down. He did so and then offered out the purple one he was carrying, and they balanced it on both of their backs and moved into the house slowly. Revan then stood up and awkwardly waited for a few moments before the orange one trotted out and looked at him and frowned. It gave him a shrug and motioned him in. Although he disliked the prospect of crouching through the only a little bit small for him doorway, the only other option was to wait the night on the porch. So, he bent over and managed to duck his head under the door frame before finding himself in a house that he could actually stand up in, if not easily. The ceiling was about three inches above his head. The house was nice, although not by the standards he was used to. There was some sort of lamp, a desk and table, both made of wood, and a couch. The purple creature was lying on that comfy piece of furniture, the rest were sitting on the floor. The whole group was talking again, and he frowned. Not understanding what they were saying was pretty annoying. So, since he couldn't participate in the conversation, he sat down with legs crossed, and began to meditate. Breathe in, and out. Time each breath; keep your heartbeat steady. As he fell into his meditation, the gibberish that the creatures was speaking was drowned out, and before his closed eyes, he saw a vision. ~~~ The Sith ship flying above the planet came into view. For a few moments, he observed the ship and realized it was the same make as his Leviathan flagship from when he was a Sith Lord himself. Soon, his vision shifted him elswhere. He saw the inside of the ship, and in a windowless, near lightness room. There, he saw one of the creatures chained in the darkness. The door opened behind him, and the creature cried in what was undoubtedly fear. ~~~ Revan opened his eyes as his vision ended, and he saw all the creatures, including the purple one, who was now awake, staring at him. Some looks of fear, some of curiosity, and one, from the purple one, of amazement. He took a moment to move his head to show that he could see them now, and they all started to chat again, still looking at him. The purple one did say something, but he got the feeling that it was directed towards him instead of the others. Revan shrugged again, as was becoming a habit, and shook his head. The purple one frowned, and turned towards the orange one and started to talk to it. After a very brief conversation, the purple one got up and started walking before letting out a cry and collapsing on the ground after putting weight on it's back leg. Revan, reacting without thinking, jumped forward and barely caught it before it fell down completely. Looking back at it's leg, he quickly examined it, and the creature remained stock still while he did, as if any wrong move would anger him. 'Maybe that's what they were talking about...' he mused quietly in his mind. Soon, Revan found that the would was completely beneath the skin, and it seemed as if the bone had not pierced any muscle. Glancing up, he saw the entire room examining him carefully, and the blue one glaring at him again. Revan gently backed away from the pony and did a series of gesture that he hoped they would understand. First, he held his hands about a foot apart, about the length of the creatures leg, then knocked on the wood table, before doing it again. The creature's looks turned from caution to confusion. Revan sighed exasperatedly and looked around the room, looking for anything he could mime with. Seeing a book, he picked it up and glanced inside it. Complete gibberish to him, as he expected. Setting the book down, he tried to think of something else. Snapping his fingers, which caused everyone to half-jump in shock, he held out one hand and mimed wrapping something around it. The white one was the first to respond with what seemed to him as an "Ah-hah!" and it ran out of the room, coming back with a bed sheet which it was holding in the air with no apparent effort. Revan's eyes widened as he realized that this creature was using the Force. Quickly, and without thinking about it, he extended his senses to it, and as soon as he touched its mind, the creature flinched, froze, and dropped the bedsheets. For a moment, Revan didn't realize what had happened, before his head was assaulted by pain and he clutched his head and gasped. Though the top of his eye, even though he wasn't really paying attention at the time, he saw the creature clutch its head with both of it's legs and fall over whimpering. Then suddenly, he felt a word come to his mind. It wasn't a word of his language, but he said it out loud nonetheless, "Rarity?" The room gasped in shock, but before anyone could move, the white... pony... lifted its head and whispered, "Revan..." ~~~ Rarity was more shocked than any other of the group when the alien creature, this... Revan, spoke her name. What shocked her further is that the next words she spoke were in a different language, and although she did not recognize it all, she spoke fluently. "How did you...?" she whispered. To her astonishment, Revan responded, although in his own language. "I touched your mind with the Force. I saw that you were capable of handling it, and I thought to communicate with you through it. It seems I achieved my goal, albeit in a roundabout manner." He then bowed gently, then spoke again. "Although you already know my name Miss Rarity, I must introduce myself as Revan, a Gray Jedi. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The white pony paused for a moment before responding. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Revan. I'm glad to see you are a proper gentleman. Rainbow Dash was quite afraid you were up to something sinister..." "Ah, I must assume this 'Rainbow Dash' is your blue friend." After speaking, he turned towards Rainbow dash and held out his hand. "Would you be so kind, Rarity, as to tell her I mean no harm? Oh, and please ask her to accept my apology for crashing into your library. I sincerely did not wish that. I don't wish to leave a bad impression." Rarity turned towards Rainbow dash and repeated Revan's message in their own language, and Rainbow Dash lifted an eyebrow before spouting off a quick line. The human turned towards Rarity and waited for her to translate. "Well... she says that she shouldn't be the one you're apologizing too. I must find myself agreeing, as it was not a simple library you ruined, it was Twilight's house as well." She finished by pointing towards the purple pony. Revan looked towards the pony in question and saw her starting to tear up. Not only had he injured this pony, he had destroyed her home. Sitting down on his knees, he looked Twilight in the eye and gave the most simple apology he could think of. "I am sorry, truly, for what I have done to you. As I said, it was never my intention for any of this to happen. Could you find it in your heart to forgive me?" Even as Rarity finished repeating his last words, Twilight began to cry. Suddenly, Revan felt the intense need to comfort her, but he didn't know if she would appreciate the person who just destroyed her home comforting her. He looked towards Rarity, unsure of what to do. "You must forgive the poor dear," she said. "She's under a great deal of stress." Revan nodded, knowing that there wouldn't be much that he could do. "Will you ask her if she will allow me to try and heal her leg? Or, at the very least, splint it?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. "How would you heal it?" Confused at her response, Revan cocked his head at her. "With the Force, of course. I simply assumed you had not used it to heal her because you did not know how." Rarity's face scrunched up, and she responded, "I'll ask her for you, but I don't know what this "Force" is you're talking about darling." She turned towards Twilight and comforted her for a minute or two, during which Revan awkwardly waited, fidgeting. After the purple pony was done crying, Rarity whispered Revan's request into her ear, and Twilight looked up at him and said something. Rarity's translation as not long incoming. "She says you can splint it, if you know how." Revan nodded and began to list the things he would need, and Rarity gave those instructions to the other ponies and they ran off quickly, eager to help their friend. Even Rainbow Dash sped off enthusiastically. Soon, the ponies returned with the requested supplies, and Revan swiftly and cleanly splinted Twilight's leg. "Try not to walk on that too much until it heals. You might also want to get it looked at. It will only prevent you from bending your leg and making it worse." Revan shrugged as he finished speaking. "I'm sorry I can't do more." After Rarity translated, Twilight nodded to him and gave him a meager smile. ~~~ After Celestia had sent Luna back to bed, she began to prepare for her time in day court. When she finished her preparations, which involved little more than making sure the stenographer would be present, she knew she would have some time for a walk through the gardens. It was something she enjoyed doing, even more so with her sister Luna, but with their respective duties, it was not often permissible. Regardless, she set off, admiring the statues and the calmness of it all. Any ponies she came across were all napping or gently talking to each other and did not notice her presence. As she approached the edge of the garden overlook, she paused to glance over all she could see there. Ponyville was a prominent sight, yet from this distance it was little more than a brown cluster of barely recognizable buildings. After a few moments, Celestia felt something in her gut, and she tensed up. A moment passed... then another, and nothing happened. Just as she was about to relax and write off the feeling as nerves, there was a faint crack, and a flaming meteor came streaming through the sky, headed straight towards Ponyville. Immediately, Celestia directed her magic at the missile, but as fast as the Sun Princess was, the meteor was faster, and soon it landed with a small explosion in the very middle of town. Celestia immediately ran off into the castle, determined to find out what was going on. As it turned out, her day was going to be much more interesting than she thought. > Chapter 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revan Chapter 4 Twilight walked along the main road through Ponyville to the hospital, supported by Applejack. The alien, Revan, had done a good job splinting her leg, and although Twilight was a bit reluctant to accept his help, he was doing everything he could to make amends. Still, she couldn't help but be a little resentful towards him, as was only, she thought, fair; he did destroy her house and her library. At Twilight's insistence, he had agreed to stay at Applejack's farm until she could find Spike, and send a letter to Celestia and let her know what was going on. Applejack and the rest of the girls, except for Fluttershy, had emphasized how the town had reacted to seeing Revan, fleeing in only a matter of moments. Twilight wanted to call them silly and say they were overreacting, but there was something about him that seemed off. She felt a kind of odd feeling of fear and comfort at the same time, just looking at him. Just thinking about it made her shudder unconsciously. "Are you okay, sugarcube?" Applejack asked as she felt Twilight move. Twilight blinked and responded slowly, "I... I'm not sure." She paused before continuing. "He scares me Applejack. I'm not sure if it's because he's an alien, or if it was what he did, but he really scares me..." They walked in silence for a minute or so before Applejack responded in a quiet voice. "I know Twilight, he scares me a little bit too. That mask of his is too creepy." Twilight quickly nodded, as if agreeing. True, she felt that the mask didn't help, but it was something more than that she couldn't explain, and she didn't feel like trying. As they moved through town, they were greeted by a few ponies who gave their condolences to Twilight but ultimately moved about on their own business. Twilight mumbled some halfhearted thanks to each of them, but she didn't think any of them actually heard her. Soon, they reached the hospital and they entered to a tired-looking mare behind the front desk. She looked up at them drearily and blinked. "Hello? How can I help you?" she asked in a disinterested voice. Applejack responded first, cutting off Twilight, "We're here looking for a small dragon, purple and green? His name is Spike." The mare began to shuffle though several papers on her desk, forcing Twilight and Applejack to shift uncomfortably for a few seconds. Finally, she looked up at them again and said, "Are either of you his legal guardian? He can't leave until he's checked out." "He's with me," Twilight spoke up, motioning to Applejack to help her walk closer to the desk. "What do I need to sign?" In response the mare thrust a clipboard towards her along with a pen. Twilight quickly took it in her magic and signed it, then handed it back. The mare looked at it and nodded. She motioned her head towards a door behind her, saying, "Down the hall, take your first left. The room number is 15." After moving down the hall, they moved into said room, and immediately they saw Spike sitting on a bed, with his arm in a cast. As soon as he saw the pair of mares entering his room, he perked up. "Twilight! You're okay!" The purple pony in question smiled and rushed forward and pulled him into a gentle hug. "Yes, I'm okay Spike," she said, pulling back and looking him in the eyes. "I'm glad you're okay too." Spike nodded. "Did they find out what happened Twilight?" Twilight's smile faltered for just a moment before falling slightly. "Well... it's a bit complicated Spike..." "Is everything alright?" he asked, his voice betraying a deep worry he was doing his best to conceal. Twilight hesitated to respond for a moment before nodding slowly. "Everything is... stable, for now, but... we're going to have to make a trip to Canterlot soon." Her eyes fell to the floor. "Spike, I know you're hurt, but are you okay to send a letter to the Princess?" His reply still carrying a bit of his former distress, he said "Yeah, of course Twilight, I'm good to go... It was just my left arm that was broken." Glancing around the room, he saw a pencil and clipboard on the table, and as he grabbed them he motioned for Twilight to speak. "Dear Princess Celestia..." ~~~ Revan sat in front of the creatures, which he had learned by now were called 'ponies. All of them, using Rarity as a proxy, had told him their names, even Rainbow Dash introduced herself, but the Jedi still found himself catching glimpses of her eying him. So far, it had been fairly silent since Applejack had left with Twilight, and he had gladly used the quiet moments to meditate and keep himself calm. He broke out of his most recent trance when he heard Rarity calling his name. Turning his head to show he heard, Rarity gave him a look he couldn't place. "What?" he asked. "Is there something on my mask?" "What are you doing, darling?" she asked. "You keep going silent on us." "Meditating," he answered simply. "Helps me to focus, remain calm." Rarity quickly translated for the other ponies, then an awkward silence took hold. Rather than go back to meditating, Revan decided to seize the initiative, and try and learn more about these ponies. "So, Rarity," he began, "What is it that you do for a living?" Rarity's eyes lit up at the question, and words began to immediately pour forth from her. "Well, darling, I work at the Carousel Boutique, where I create fabulous clothing for the denizens of Ponyville, and anyone else who will ask!" She continued to speak rapidly, describing her profession in many ways he would not have thought possible. Revan, finding it impossible to get a word in edgewise for a question or interruption, leaned back and grimaced as he felt a twang in his chest by his broken ribs. "Darling, are you alright? You still aren't saying much." He shrugged. "I talk when it is necessary to do so. Was there something you wanted to talk about?" "Well, for starters, what is this "force" you keep talking about? You said you touched my mind with it, but that was just magic!" She grimaced slightly, remembering the pain. "Painful magic." "Ah, yes, my apologies for that as well. I should have been less hasty. To answer your question, the Force is..." He stopped for a moment to try and recall how it had been defined for him. "It is a 'force', if you will, that permeates the entire galaxy and every living being in it. It has myriad uses. I see now that you simply refer it is as magic on your planet." "Well, I guess it's not odd for us to have different words for it..." There was silence for a few moments. "Mister Revan, you introduced yourself as a... Jedi? I believe the term you used was." When he nodded, she continued. "What is it that you do as a Jedi." "I... believe the closest concept you would have for it would be a guard or peacekeeper. However, it is much more than that, it is a duty, an obligation to do the right thing, and to help those who need it. Does that answer your question?" "Oh yes it does, thank you very much." She began to talk to the other ponies. Another silence fell over the room. Revan's thoughts drifted to his lost lightsaber and he thought about how dangerous it would be for one of the ponies to find it. He cleared his throat, and they all looked at him. "It has just come to mind that I actually have something I need to be doing." He stood up as he spoke. "And what might that be, darling?" Rarity asked, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I lost an... instrument of mine. One that could pose some danger to your kind. I must retrieve it from my ship's wreckage before someone finds it." "Ah... I see. Perhaps we could help? Besides, I doubt Rainbow Dash over here would be very keen on you going off on your own." Revan shrugged, but nodded. "I see no objections. So long as you all follow my instructions around the ship." Rarity quickly said something to the other ponies and Rainbow flew up to him and did the pony equivalent of pointing her fingers at her eyes then at him. He nodded once at her. With her in the lead they all filed out, except the pink and yellow ones. "Are those two not coming?" he asked as he walked. "No, Pinkie and Fluttershy are going to wait here for Twilight and Applejack to get back." He nodded again. ~~~ Canterlot castle was abuzz with activity, even though it was evening, and most would normally be readying for bed. With the meteor crashing into Ponyville, Celestia was making preparations for transport down as soon as possible along with a guard contingent to help in a relief effort, if necessary. "Sister, we hardly believe this is so necessary that you must leave now of all times. At least wait until morn!" "I'm sorry Luna, but it cannot wait. I have received no letter from Twilight or her friends about this event, and I do not think that--" she was cut off as a burst of green flame colored the air in front of her and a scroll fell to the ground. "What was that you were saying, sister?" Luna said with a smug look. "Oh, quiet." She pulled up the scroll and opened it. Dear Princess Celestia As I am sure you have no doubt noticed, a meteor has crashed in Ponyville this past day. What you might not know is that it was not a meteor, but a space ship! And though me and everyone else are unharmed, it did cause the destruction of my home and the town library. What's more is that there is an alien here in Ponyville! His name is Revan and... I think you should come to meet him on your own. There's a few unique things about him. Rest assured that he does not pose a danger to us for now. Your faithful student Twilight Sparkle Celestia stared at the note, silent in contemplation. "What is it sister? What has befallen Ponyville?" "There is... an alien, evidently. It was a ship that crashed, not a meteor." "Well then you must leave at once! All the more reason to go and make a first impression to the first species to come from outside our world!" Celestia nodded without looking back. "Yes... Yes we must. This raises many questions. You will take care of things here, sister?" "Of course! We shall not let you down!" she said with an enthusiastic smile. Celestia smiled back and hugged her sister. "I shall keep you informed of anything and everything that happens." "Good. Now go! Go!" Without looking back, Celestia dashed out into the courtyard to find a few chariots waiting for her, complete with pegasi and her guards. "New information has come to light, my little ponies. I shall explain on the way, but we must make haste!" It was less than a minute later that the chariots were airborne and flying down the mountain at top speed. ~~~ Lyra knew she should head to bed. It was late, she was tired, and there was undoubtedly going to be much talking over everything that had occurred in the past day. But she just couldn't. She was jittery and couldn't sit still. She paced around her small room, thinking; occasionally she stopped and looked at the object she had found, sitting on her nightstand. She bit her lip in thought. Newer thoughts had surfaced over the object in her mind. Undoubtedly anyone who would be able to buy it from her would know of it's alien origin. If that was the case, perhaps she would be accredited as a thief. What was worse was that she didn't know what the object did. There was a switch on it, but she hadn't the nerve to activate it. The thought of it doing something to hurt somepony was almost too much to bear. Even provided it wasn't dangerous, provided she found a buyer and wasn't labeled a thief of some kind, how much would it even buy her? Alien artifacts were bound to be expensive, but anyone reputable buying them wouldn't be likely to pay for more than about a month's rent. "Grr, stupid thing!" she picked it up in her magic and threw it against the wall. As she did, it hit the switch on the side and out of it burst a beam of purple light which hummed abrasively. The beam pierced through the wall leading into the bathroom and cause the wood around it to begin to heat and smolder. Quickly, she flipped the switch back, making sure not to touch the light in the process. Without hesitation, she gingerly picked it up with her hooves and put it her nightstand drawer. No one could ever see this thing, and she knew that now. It was far too dangerous for anypony to have.