//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Weapon stories/New Apprentices // Story: Jedi Knight In Equestria // by Thomlight Sparkle 1 //------------------------------// After school had ended for the Fillies and Colts, they all left the schoolhouse as Cheerilee spook with Sturider. “I must say, Mr. Thom. That was quite a lecture you gave, you have a lot of talent of being a fine teacher.” Said, Cheerilee. “Well, we Jedi often do gave a lot of teachings here and there. But I think I’ll stick to being a Jedi Master.” Replied Sturider. “Well, that’s fine too. Have a nice day!” said, Cheerilee as she left. As Sturider began to walk off, the Crusaders raced up to him. “That was quite amazing hearin’ about all yer’ adventures ya’ had Stu!” exclaimed, Apple Bloom. “Yeah, I had no idea that there were so many planets in space!” said, Scootaloo flapping her wings in excitement. “Plus, I’m amazed about all the different foes you faced in each of them!” “And that trick you did with your sabers and laser gun was cool too!” exclaimed, Sweetie Belle with a squeak in her voice. “Thank you, young ones. But, while I can do fancy tricks with my weapons, Jedi do not use their sabers for such activities. We are a civilized group, fighting for peace in the galaxy.” Said Sturider. “So, why would a Jedi end up here or all places? Were you on a recon mission?” asked, Sweetie Belle. Sturider got a little nervous about that question, as he thought about the reason for why he left Courasant in the first place. He didn’t really wanna share the tragedy to 3 young fillies. But he knew their curiosity would eventually weed it out of him. While he wanted to lie about it, he couldn’t use dishonesty, for it was against the Jedi’s code. “No, I’m not a recon mission. I didn’t even know this place existed. I only ended up here as a fluke.” Answered Sturider. “Okay. Say, I was wondering something. What would it take for someone like us to become Jedi?” asked Scootaloo. “Well, it would depend if you’re Force Sensitive, and then you would need some training with Force Skills and Lightsaber combat. And surely, you could soon become Jedi.” Answered Sturider. “So, how would ya’ find out if someone is Force Sensitive?” asked Apple Bloom. “I would have to test a sample of your blood to find that out.” Answered Sturider. “B..blood sample?” asked Sweetie Belle, slightly trembling. “Does it hurt?” “It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt that bad. It’s just a small prick.” Answered Sturider. “So, just asking, do you think you could test us?” asked Scootaloo twiddling her finger, hoping Sturider would say “yes”. “I don’t see why not, infact, I’m rather curious myself. Once we get back to my shuttle, I can give a test for you 3.” Said Sturider. “Alright!” said Scootaloo, jumping in the air with a fist pump as her wings buzzed. “Calm yourself, young one. I wouldn’t be so hopeful on the matter, Force Users are born, not made. You either have or you don’t. Only the test will determine it.” Said Sturider. “Say Stu, I’d like ta’ know more about yer’ shuttle. Ah’m rather curious about it.” Asked Apple Bloom. “Sure thing, Bloom. I can tell you about my ship.” Said Sturider. “Well, while we’re talking about your equipment, I’d like to know about your laser gun, it’s a lot different from the ones I’ve seen in comic books.” Said, Scootaloo. “And I’d like to know about your Lightsabers, namely why they’re different styles.” Said Sweetie Belle. “Sure, I can tell you three all you want to know about them once we get back to my shuttle and give the test.” Said Sturider. The four continued on and soon were back at the farm, and Sturider lead the 3 fillies into his ship and began to process for the Force tests for them. “So, what should I start with?” asked Sturider, as he took Apple Bloom’s arm rubbed a spot with an alcohol patch. “How about the laser gun?” suggested, Scootaloo. “Sure. But before I get into detail about it, I will say that I or others where I come from would actually call this type of laser gun a “blaster”. said, Sturider as he then drew his blaster from the holster and put in on the table. “This is a BlasTech DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol. It is a powerful Blaster that packs a heavy punch and quite accurate. While it is preferred to be used by smugglers and bounty hunters, I’m one of few Jedi to use such a weapon. Let alone, one of the only Jedi to use a Blaster.” “Why? Don’t other Jedi use Blasters?” asked Sweetie Belle. “No, most Jedi only use Lightsabers as their weapons, and while some do use a blaster, they don’t use one as a main weapon. I’ve heard of Master Obi-Wan Kenobi using a blaster to defeat General Grievous and fight against evil Mandalorians. Plus, Blasters aren’t really an effective weapon against Lightsabers.” Explained Sturider as he took a syringe and gently stuck it into Apple Bloom’s arm and drew out some blood before pulling it out and using the Force to seal the pricked flesh. “Why is that?” asked Apple Bloom, looking at her arm, surprised that there was no mark of a needle on her arm. “Because, Jedi deflect the laser beams that Blasters shoot with their sabers, no matter how many times you shoot at a Jedi, they will only deflect each shot with their Lightsaber.” Said, Sturider as he then took Sweetie Belle’s arm. “The only way you can kill a Jedi with a blaster is either overwhelm them with several beings using Blasters, or take them by surprise.” Explained Sturider. “So, why you use one?” asked Scootaloo, eyeing the blaster with curiosity. “Well, before I joined the Jedi, I was skilled with a Blaster. Then after becoming a Jedi Master, I was assisting some of my comrades on a mission against Separatists, but at one point, I lost my sabers, because a bounty hunter working for them, took me by surprise and stole them from me, so I grabbed the Blaster pistol I use now and shot at him and all the droids that came in. Plus, I did something quite unique since I gotten better with the Force by then. Most laser beams that I fired deflected the Droids’ own laser beams back at them!” said Sturider as he smiled thinking about the mission he was talking about. As he took a blood sample from Sweetie Belle. “You deflected laser beams with lasers beams from the Blaster you wer’ usin’?! Exclaimed, Apple Bloom. “Yeah, even I was surprised. But soon using the Blaster pistol as my main weapon I managed to beat 2/5 of the droid army and got my sabers back. After getting back to the Temple, I told the other Jedi about what happened, and requested to take the blaster as a secondary weapon next to my sabers. While some were uneasy about it, they accepted it. Since then I used Blaster in many of my fights, but not as much as my sabers. But soon I created a new kind of technique for Lightsaber combat.” Said Sturider as he took Scootaloo’s arm next. “And that was?” asked Scootaloo, still eyeing the weapon. “Well, when I had to engage Sith Lords in a duel, I would fire my Blaster at them. Forcing them to deflect the laser beams. But as they’re deflecting the lasers beams, I race in and draw one of my sabers and clash against their blade. Then I’d jump back and continue to draw fire at them and then when they least expect it, I strike with my sabers, and eventually incapacitate them, forcing them to surrender or retreat. I call it, “The Misdirection Technique”. Continued Sturider, as he took the next blood sample from Scootaloo’s arm. “I get it! You misdirect the opponent’s attention by firing your blaster at them, and they’re so concentrated on deflecting the laser beams that they don’t see you strike them with your sabers!” said, Sweetie Belle. “Precisely, young one. After making that technique, the other Jedi were quite impressed by it, and I continued to use it in my battles. While it worked for most beings, it wasn’t that much effective against Count Dooku.” Said Sturider as he put each blood sample into an odd machine. “Wasn’t there any way ta’ beat that Count Dooku guy?!” exclaimed Apple Bloom, tugging on her bow. “Yes, while Dooku was a skilled man, one Jedi, Anakin Skywalker overwhelmed him with his own saber skills and disarmed him, literally.” said, Sturider. “Ooh, that’s gotta hurt.” Winced, Scootaloo. “Yes. To describe a Lightsaber wound like that, it’s like being cut with a knife and burnt at the same time.” Explained Sturider. “Ouch.” Said Apple Bloom. “ I once burned myself on our stove when I was younger, but I can’t imagine the pain of bein’ cut at the same time of bein’ burnt.” “No, the only way to know what it feels like is to experience it yourself.” Explained Sturider. “Unfortunately, it happened to some of my Jedi comrades. Some lose a hand, and some lost a leg.” “Oh my. So they were left crippled for the rest of their lives?!” shouted Sweetie Belle, with a squeal in her voice. "Don’t worry, one good thing about Medics involving Jedi, they can get it replaced with a cybernetic limb.” Said Sturider. “Cybernetic? You mean like a robotic one?” asked Scootaloo. “Yes. But when Jedi train with their sabers they learn how to block other sabers to avoid losing a limb.” Explained Sturider. “Okay, now that wer’ on the subject of Lightsabers, let’s hear about yer’s.” suggested Apple Bloom. “Sure.” Said Sturider as he unclipped his Graflex Lightsaber. “This is the first saber I constructed for myself when I became a Padawan. Each Lightsaber that’s every made has the same basic components: handgrip, emitter matrix, lens assembly, power cell, and focusing crystal. This saber has a solid, heavy-duty hilt that favored maximum strength. And then I added ridged handgrips for easy grip. Then put a d-ring on the bottom to carry it on my belt.” “So, what makes the blade?” asked Scootaloo. “A Kyber Crystal. A special crystal that gives the Lightsaber its main blade power. When Jedi Padawans go to find their crystals, the Force helps them guide them to the one crystal that is chosen for their saber. Most Jedi use Blue and green, but there are a few use yellow, orange, silver, purple, pink and other colors. But the Sith use Synthetic crystals for their sabers, and their sabers emit a red blade.” Explained Sturider. “So the blades are made by crystals? Rarity would be interested to hear that.” Said Sweetie Belle. “Yes, it is fascinating. So moving onto my second saber.” Said Sturider as he then unclipped his curved hilted Lightsaber. “I built this one after a few years of being a Jedi Knight. I used a unique metal for this hilt, hence why it’s colored blue. But to make it easy to use 2 Lightsabers in combat, I gave this saber a curved hilt. Then for a unique touch for the emitter, I put 3 claws on it.” “Awesome! Have you ever seen any one-of-a-kind Lightsabers?” asked Scootaloo. “Well… I did find this one unique Lightsaber once, but it’s very different. Heck, even I don’t know much about it.” Said, Sturider as he walked up to a crate and then took out a case and put it on the table. “This one is like no other Lightsaber, I’ve even seen in years.” Explained Sturider as he opened the case. And inside was a sword-like hilt colored gray. “You’re right. It is different.” Said Sweetie Belle. “It kinda looks like a regular sword.” Said Apple Bloom. “You’re not far off.” Said Sturider as he took the hilt from the case. “I found this in an old Jedi Temple on another planet I was on. Actually, it called out to me via the Force.” “So, what kind of blade does this one feature?” asked Scootaloo. “You’ll see.” Said Sturider as he ignited the blade, but this one made a high-pinched screech, as a sword-shaped black blade emitted from it. “Wow! It has a black blade!” shouted Apple Bloom in shock. “And its blade looks just lie a sword’s!” exclaimed, Scootaloo. "Yeah. I’ve looked in many archives to try and learn more about this saber, but only found out so much. But I did learn that another one of these sabers was made by someone named, Tarre Vizsla. But I didn’t found out who made this one.” Said, Sturider as he extinguished the blade and put it back in the case. “Okay, so now we know about your weapons, now how about your ship?” said, Sweetie Belle. “Well, it’s a long story for this old boy. But I’ll put it in short story version. My ship, which I’ve named: ‘The Galaxy Savior’ is a custom Starfighter I’ve created. With help from one other Jedi Knight.” Said, Sturider. “Well, what kind of ship did this thing start out as?” asked Scootaloo. “Originally, this was a Delta-7 Jedi Starfighter. But then I upgraded it.” Answered Sturider. “Before y’all continue. Who was the other Jedi who helped ya’ build this ship?” asked Apple Bloom. “Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. He had knack for building and customizing ships. He had several customized ships during the Clone Wars.” Answered Sturider. “So, what was added to this ship that makes it different from other Jedi Knights’ ships?” asked Sweetie Belle. “Well, it started out with the standard ship, then we expanded the fuselage to add more compartments onto the ship. 2 infact, one is for a sleeping quarters, the other; which is where we’re inside of, the main work room. This is where I make repairs to droids, or even perform medical operations.” Explained Sturider. “And sometimes, when I’m not doing any mission, I offer tinker with a few mechanics or leather workings. Plus, when I have to go into hyperspace jumps, the ship has bigger wings on the expanded fuselage that deploy to help stabilize it while going through hyperspace.” “Huh. Most of the spaceships, I’ve seen in my comics have something like that, but they’re much bigger than this one.” Said, Scootaloo. “What’s the maximum amount of passengers can you take in this vessel?” “Myself included, 10.” Answered, Sturider. “I fly the ship, while others ride in the back of here. And of course my droid helps me fly.” “Droid? You mean you have your own personal droid?!” asked, Scootaloo. “Yes, I do.” Answered Sturider. “Can we see it?! Can we?! Can We?! CAN WE?!” asked Sweetie Belle, getting louder and louder with each time she asked, even adding a high pitched squeal to each one. “Easy, easy, young one. No need to get overexcited.” Said, Sturider. “But, I can’t show you my droid.” Replied Sturider, as all 3 fillies’ ears drooped in disappointed. “Aww. Why not?” asked Apple Bloom, sadly. “See for yourself.” Said, Sturider, pointing to the other side of the room. The fillies looked over to where they did infact see Sturider’s droid. But, the droid was in terrible condition. It was badly damaged. With scorch marks on its body. With a few dents, chips, ever one of its arms was broken off. “What happened to it?” asked Scootaloo. “He was heavily damaged before I left Courasant. First he was shot several times with blasters. And then right before he got to my ship, a bomb went off near some crates just a few feet from my ship and the explosion is what really got him.” Explained Sturider, as he recalled what happened to his droid. “So, is he dead for good then?” asked Apple Bloom. “Only for now. I can try to fix him and get him working again.” Answered Sturider. “It would be awesome if you did. I always wanted to see a real live robot in action.” Said Scootaloo. “Well, I’ll see what I can do for him.” Said, Sturider. “So, what’s the droid’s name?” asked Sweetie Belle. “His name is R3-X3. But I often call him Rax.” Replied, Sturider. “He’s always been there for me during the Clone Wars.” “So, what do droids like Rax do?” asked Scootaloo. “They often help with flying our ships, and calculate hyperspace jumps and perform simple repairs if our ships get damaged.” Explained Sturider. “You said that this ship can jump into hyperspace. What’s this thing’s top speed?” asked Scootaloo. “1,260 kph” answered Sturider. “How badly damaged is your ship?” asked Apple Bloom. “Majorly damaged.” Answered Sturider. “But when I get it fixed, I can show you 3 how this ship really works.” “We’d love to see how it works!” squealed Sweetie Belle with glee. “Say, did the results for your test of us being Force Sensitive come in?” asked, Scootaloo. “Let’s take a look.” Said, Sturider. The four went over to the machine and Sturider took a look at the screens, and inspected the results. “Well, what does it say?” asked Apple Bloom, peering over Sturider’s shoulder. “Well Crusaders, after looking at the results.” Said Sturider, pausing for effect. “You three are indeed sensitive to the Force.” “WE ARE?!” shouted the Crusaders. “Yes, you are.” Answered, Sturider. As the Crusaders all cheered with glee. “So we can be Jedi like you?!” asked Sweetie Belle. “Not right away. But with a bit of training you can.” Answered Sturider. “Infact, I’m willing to train you 3 myself.” “REALLY?!” asked Scootaloo, with her eyes twinkling in delight. “Yes.” Answered Sturider. “But, I wanna bring this up to your older siblings first. Just for the sack of safety.” “Well, let’s go!” said Sweetie Belle, as all three of the fillies all skipped out of the ship with glee as Sturider watched. “Those 3 are indeed quite the feisty ones. But, I’m sure with my guidance, they’ll make great Jedi Knights.” Said, Sturider. As he then walked out of his ship and followed the Crusaders. However, unknown to the Crusaders and Sturider, they were being eavesdropped on. As 2 figures then walked into Sturider’s ship up to where the case containing the Darksaber stood. As a shadow appeared over it. And a sinister chuckling was heard. “With this thing, we’ll be even more popular.”