(Courvin POV)
I slowly woke to the sounds of birds chirping from the outside. It seemed the other side of my head has been wrapped, so I can only see out of my left eye for now. I scanned the ceiling and part of the wall along with a fireplace and concluded I was in some kind of bedroom. I felt around for a bit and it seemed like the bed was too small for me and my lower legs were over the front of the bed and on a chest.
Well, whoever took me to a safe place while I was vulnerable, I need to thank them and be on my way. Then it hit me like the delayed pain in my forehead; my damn ship. I’m sure whoever took me in knew where it was. Of course, I could always ask Six, if he managed to fix his legs and followed us here. When I pushed myself up, I felt a familiar pair of metal arms pull me in and hug me tightly.
“MASTER! YOU’RE ALIVE!” he screamed gleefully.
“Of course I’m okay. What ensued while I was unconscious?” I asked, putting my shirt back on. Whoever checked me for injuries, must’ve known about my...arm.”
“Well, a couple of her friends went inside of the pod and got all of our tools out to fix me and you up.”
“Does our benefactors know about my arm?”
“No, I told them not to remove the sleeve; it’s up to you, as always if you want to show them.”
“Then they must be stark curious, by now. Where are they now?”
“One of them are outside, feeding her many pets.”
“Okay, that’s all I want to know,” I said, climbing out of the bed and rotating my right arm on the shoulder joint. It felt swollen and sore from the crash, but luckily it still functions. Skimming over the details in the house, I carefully sauntered down the steps to a double door. Ignoring its strange design, I went through the door into the...very colorful outdoors. Six pointed to a tree near the land bridge covered in birdhouses.
“She’s the one who watched over us overnight,” he explained, still pointing at a yellow furred, pink-maned, horse thing with wings and big blue eyes and a butterfly tattoo on her flank.
“Okay, am I dead? Because there is no way in Hell that those...things are actually living creatures in the galaxy.”
“We are not dead,” Six reassured me, “Yes, what you are looking at is no joke.”
“Does she speak Basic, at least?”
“Yes, but the natives here call the language, Equestrian.”
“You conversed with the natives here?” I asked, wide-eyed, “Then we know what system this is, then.”
“Well, the purple one told me that this country we’re in is called ‘Equestria’ and this planet is ‘Equis’.” I cringed and rubbed my eyes with my forefinger and thumb at the name of this system.
“Are you joking!? This whole world looks like it was manifested from a youngling’s imagination! All these bright colors are burning my damn retinas!”
The yellow horse-thing jumped at the loud noise of my complaint. I sensed its fear and knelt down at its level.
“Sorry; I didn’t mean to frighten you.” The native said nothing and looked away but didn’t try to run.
“My droid informed me that you watched over us while we were unable to move, is that correct?”
She slowly nodded.
“Can I know the name of my savior?”
“F-Fluttershy,” The creature quietly mumbled. I could barely make out what she said, so I asked her again,
“I’m sorry; can you tell me again?”
“M-my name is F-Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy...REALLY!? I really AM stuck in a little girl’s imagination-created world! I decided to be nice since she really didn’t have to help us and I commend that tremendously.
“It’s a cute name,” I complimented. She made an eep sound and tried to cover her blushing face with her long mane.
“Thank you for helping me and keeping me safe.”
“Y-your welcome.”
“Can you point us in the direction of the nearest town, Fluttershy?”
“I-its down the road, called ‘Ponyville’.”
I am really getting sick of the names here, but said nothing of the sort, in fear of upsetting my host.
“Thank you, I will be back in a little while to repay my debt to your service.”
“Wait!” she stopped us with a slightly louder voice. I listened and turned to her.
“What’s wrong?”
“What if the locals don’t take kindly to you? They might call the guard on you!”
At that moment, I realized I felt no weapons on me.
‘Ah, SHIT!’ I yelled in my head. I said nothing as it might get this pony suspicious.
“What can we do, then? Spend the rest of my days cooped up in a house? Then again, if they see me unarmed, that could quell suspicious for them, for the most part.”
I lied about the no weapons part since I keep a punching dagger made of vibro metal hidden in a secret fold of my right boot for last resorts and prison escapes. Luckily I only had to use that six times total in the Clone Wars. The Jedi always told me that it was a dishonorable thing to use while in a dual, but the Sith never used mercy, to begin with.
“Well, a few of my friends helped me carry you two here to my cottage,” she explained, “They are supposed to be here in an hour to check in you two and to ask questions.”
“Are they the Guard you mentioned earlier?”
“Oh, Celestia, no; they’re just my friends, but I would steer clear of your ship-thingy for a while.”
“Why?”
“The Guard is looking for whoever was on that ship.”
“They won’t be able to find anything; that whole thing must be FUBAR’d.”
“What will we be able to do in the meantime, master?” Six asked me.
“I’ll do what I always do while we’re waiting; I meditate until help arrives or something interesting comes along to keep me busy.”
“Okay; I’ll be playing Holo-Chess while we wait,” he mentioned, going back inside the cottage. I walked over to the center of the small land bridge and sat down, legs crossed with my arms at my sides.
“What are you doing?” Fluttershy asked me curiously.
“Meditating.”
“What for?”
“To help strengthen my concentration, to temporarily augment my channeling of the force.”
“What’s the force? Is it some kind of magic?”
“The force is an invisible energy. It is what gives beings like me my power. It is a field created by all living things like you, me and those birds in those little houses you made for them. It surrounds us and penetrates us, and it binds the galaxy together if they would so choose to feel it.”
“I don’t really understand.”
“It takes a user of the force like me many years before we are able to truly understand what the force is. What it does. What it is capable of. How to bend it. The great beauty created by it.”
“What do you mean by people like you? Are there more of you?”
I had to avoid telling her of past galaxy events in fear of rattling this planet. They must’ve not known about the Clone Wars or Order 66. I regret lying, but it is my only option in doing so before they are ready to hear of my grim reality.
“They are called the Jedi.”
“Jedi?”
“They use the force and keep the peace within the galaxy. Those who are adept in using the force can calm many hostile creatures into being friendly with only them.”
“They must be powerful with this ‘force’.”
“They are, indeed. I can use it too, but I am nowhere near powerful as them. On my own, it will take me a good few decades to understand the force a bit more than I already do. It’s complex like that.”
After an hour has passed of me calmly listening to the various noises around me and feeling the life force of all of the animals Fluttershy kept with her, I sensed two creatures like Fluttershy down the road.
They stopped and looked at me. I sensed their awe expressions.
“Hello?” one of them said.
I opened my eyes to look at the two. The one on the right was purple with matching eyes. Her mane and tail consisted of a darker violet color with a pink strip near the middle. She had no wings, but a horn. The one on the left had blue fur, magenta eyes with a rainbow mane and tail with wings like Fluttershy. The purple pony was levitating a notepad and a pencil with some kind of the force and a big smile was sprung across the rainbow-maned pony.
“I am pleased to meet you two,” I complimented.
“I’m happy to see that you’re okay,” the purple pony stated, relieved.
“I can’t believe aliens are real!” the rainbow pony exclaimed, happily, “This week just got 20% cooler!
“I’m flattered that my presence brings you both joy.”
“Allow us to introduce ourselves, my name is Twilight Sparkle and my friend over here is-”
“Rainbow Dash!” the rainbow pony butted in with a boastful tone, “The greatest flier in Equestria!”
“Allow me to introduce myself,” I said, standing up and bowing, “My name is Courvin Smiyh.”
“What a weird name,” Rainbow Dash commented, “But fitting for an alien.”
“I could say the same, Rainbow Dash.”
“With introductions out of the way, we would like to ask you a few questions.”
“So I heard. Of course; ask away.”
“What planet are you from?”
“I was born on a planet called Shogun. I was told that my parents left me with the military, so they can go out and fight their next war, but they never returned. I got left behind on Tatooine, but got taken to another planet by a Jedi where I traveled the stars ever since.”
Twilight covered her mouth with her hoof and Rainbow felt somewhat uneasy by my answer. They turned around and whispered to each other. They think I can’t hear them, but I can with the force. They then turned back to me to ask more questions.
“What is the force?” Rainbow asked, eyebrows arched, “It sounds like a type of magic.”
“As I’ve told Fluttershy, the force is an invisible field composed of the life force of all beings. Those like me who are sensitive to it can manipulate it to perform amazing feats or terrible destruction.”
“How do you use the force?” Twilight asked me sincerely, “I ask that because I don’t see a horn on you anywhere.”
“Look at those pile of rocks over there and you can see for yourself,” I gestured, slowly concentrating on the gravity of the rocks and they slowly lifted off the ground with a wave of my hand, stunning both of them on the spot.
“That’s impossible!” Twilight protested.
“I don’t give a damn if that’s possible, Twi,” Rainbow rebutted, “He’s an alien and he can use his mind to lift stuff. Ergo, he’s instantly cool in my book.”
I smiled and pressed the send button on my communicator.
“Six, can you get me my lightsaber?”
“Yes, Master.”
Twilight noticed me talking into my device and stood next to me, looking at it.
“What is that thing you were talking into?”
“It’s my communicator. It allows me to talk to my droids from a long distance using radio waves.”
“Interesting,” she said, jotting down more information on her notepad.
Six arrived behind me, handing me my lightsaber. It was a special custom-made prototype lightsaber. The hilt was a cross-shaped black with a silver power button. It had three emitters rather than one. The middle harnessed the real blade while the two sides housed tiny blades. The blade, of course, has a red color which is standard for Sith.
The design was codenamed “Renegade,” by Mace Windu who planned to modify his lightsaber but gave me the prototype by mistake. When I did try to return it to him, I discovered that Darth Vader already killed him and suggested I kept it and even gave me the Kyber Crystal for it.
“What is that?” Rainbow asked, cocking her head slightly to the left.
“This...is a lightsaber,” I explained, holding it out for them to see, “It is a weapon of the Jedi. Not as primitive as a sword or a spear; a fancy weapon from a once civilized generation.”
“That little thing is a weapon?” Rainbow smirked, “That looks like it can barely crack the skull of a snake.”
I smiled and pressed the button on the hilt, the blade crackled to life, humming in the breeze. Rainbow’s jaw looked like it hit the ground and Twilight’s eyes lit up, mesmerized by its color.
“I stand thoroughly corrected,” Rainbow realized. Twilight said nothing but later responded with a slightly off-topic question after writing a couple paragraphs.
“What are the Jedi?” Twilight asked, still writing frantically.
“The Jedi Knights were keepers of the peace and enforcers of justice for thousands of years...before the times of war...before the Empire.”
“What is the Empire?”
I hesitated a bit, realizing a made a mistake. At the right time when they’re with me and I speak to the leaders of the country before I inform them of the Empire outside of their system.
“I’ll tell you later, but first, can you accompany me through Ponyville?” I asked, switching my saber off and clipping it to my belt, “I don’t know my way around and it would be best so that ponies don't get spooked.”
“Sure, I’ll introduce you to my other friends.”
“But master?” Six butted in, “What about our gear?”
“Like I said, we go into town lightly equipped to avoid causing hysteria. The last thing I want is another planet’s military up my ass.”
“Then it’s settled,” Twilight placed her notebook in her saddle, “Fluttershy, you coming along?”
“Sorry, not right now; I still need to finish feeding the rest of the animals.”
I nodded in agreement. I would like to meet the rest of her friends. I have a feeling I’m going to be stuck here a long time and it will be a good idea if I get on this planet’s good side. We gathered up and set out for the town. I felt nervous at first, but safe, knowing that I am out of the Galactic Empire’s reach; a feat only the bold could accomplish.
But for now, I need to be cautious; even though they say that they're friendly, I fell to subsequent traps of the similar facade and I won’t fall for one this time. As I told Six before, this won’t be the first time I would have to improvise my situation and this one is indeed suspicious.
