“Bring… bring it in,” said Celestia, wiping away yet another tear. “We mustn’t be… rude.”
The stallion bowed his head and retreated from sight, allowing the princess a moment to collect herself. The tears still dribbled down her cheeks, but now she was at least striving to blink them away and clear her watery eyes. She was drained and weary, in far more ways than one, but she did feel obliged to at least try and pull herself together to receive this gift with all due courtesy. Palpatine had been the only one to show her a hint of sympathy or kindness this whole time, she surely owed him that much.
As she waited, Celestia began to think a little. What was she to do now? The Emperor had honored his end of the agreement – it wasn’t his fault Vader had driven her sister insane – so obviously it was incumbent on her to do the same. But she doubted the droids and doctors would find anything they could use, and it wouldn’t be long before they ran out of places to poke her with sensors. Perhaps a few more months, a year at most. What would she do then?
Go home, obviously. Equestria needed her. Her subjects, her niece, her star all needed her. But what about her sister? Would she ever even see Lulu again? And what about Twilight? She hadn’t been able to write her former student in months, how was she faring? Should she ask the young princess to return home as well? Or to break off from any militant efforts and simply seek diplomatic and trade ties with other worlds? So many questions, and she didn’t yet have any good answers.
A moment passed, and Stormy Skies returned with a simple grey metal box encased in a magical glow. The princess took it off him with her own magic, then nodded. He bowed his head and left the room, door shutting behind him. She sat the package down atop a nearby table.
Celestia took a look at the container, drying the last of her tears with her feathers. It was a simple thing, grey and sharply-jointed, unadorned save for a simple red button located conveniently on the very top. Without much else to do, she reached up and gently pressed it. Immediately, the grey metal split and fell away, clattering onto the table to reveal the contents.
Inside was a simple statue, perhaps two feet high and made of what looked to be bronzium. A hood, humanoid figure clutched a heavy-looking tome up to his chest, peering eagerly over it with a craned neck. The book had no words on the open pages, yet seemed… profound simply to look at. The humanoid wore a decorative frame about his jaw and a dangling gold circlet on his head. His face was framed by shadows from the hood, but what she could see bore the mark of a man both afraid and yet hungry for more.
“I hope this gift finds you well. It is called Ruin’s Enlightenment,” said a small device at the base of the statue, in Palpatine’s voice. “The artist’s name has been lost to time, but message has not. This statue represents that knowledge and growth that can sometimes arise from periods of profound crisis, in ways that we could never expect. When I thought of what happened between you and your sister, it seemed like a most fitting message. It has been among my personal collection for many years, but after what you gave up for the Empire today I felt it would only be appropriate to present you with some small token of thanks. I know that it will not replace your sister, but it is my hope that you might find some small place for all the same. I wish you well.”
The recording died away, leaving the apartment in near-total silence. Celestia stared at the statue and felt her heart speed up, though she didn’t quite know why.
“What did he tell you?” demanded the towering hologram of Darth Vader. “And what did you tell him?”
“He told me little, save only that my sister had made some manner of deal with him to assure my return to our homeworld,” said Luna from where she knelt. “And asked me nothing at all. I told him that I would rather remain in Imperial service, that is all.”
“The Emperor does not honor agreements without reason.” Vader folded his arms. “What manner of arrangement did he make with her?”
“Insofar as I was able to determine, simply permission to perform medical studies on her in return for my release from the Inquisitorius.”
“He asked… permission?” Vader repeated.
Luna grimaced a bit beneath her mask. “Yes, Lord Vader. My species is believed to be clinically immortal. I assume that is the secret he searches for.”
“Believed to be? How old are you?”
“Tens of thousands of years old. To be entirely honest I stopped counting my birthdays after the first few millennia, so I do not know my exact age.”
“And yet you never so much as developed powered spaceflight in all that time. Your kind has much to learn.”
“Regardless…” Luna choked down a retort. “I doubt he shall find the secret, for I do not believe it lies in any measurable biological cause. Many have tried to replicate it, and all have failed.”
“You underestimate the threat of the Emperor at your peril,” said Vader. “With Darth Sidious, nothing is ever as it seems, and it is when you believe things to be most straightforward that his manipulations have entangled you the most of all. This you must always understand. My master always has a hidden agenda. Keep your eyes out for it at all times.”
“Your wisdom is impeccable, Lord Vader,” she bowed her head.
“Describe what took place.”
“I landed near the palace, was escorted to the Emperor, only to find my sister there as well. He announced that in accordance with his arrangement with her I was free to leave and return to our home. That would mean abandoning my studies of the dark side. Abandoning you, my master.” Luna paused but the cyborg did not respond. “My sister wished to speak with me in private, so we were allowed a small side chamber to converse in.”
“It was undoubtedly under surveillance the entire time,” he declared. “You refrained from incriminating statements, correct?”
“Yes,” Luna lied slightly, remembering how heated she’d gotten and her declaration that she’d be the most powerful being in the galaxy. “Nothing about the Sith, or your name, came from my lips. An observer would simply believe myself to be completely addicted to the power of the dark side and reluctant to leave because of that, just as the Emperor would want.”
“Continue.”
“After my sister failed to persuade me to return home, we reentered the Emperor’s audience chambers and I told him as much. He then dismissed us both, and I left the planet without delay.”
“And your sister?”
“Returned to her quarters in a despondent state of mind.”
“Then likely that was his goal all along, although why I do not know. It is possible that is related to this quest for eternal life, or perhaps he seeks to break her mind altogether.” Vader paused. “Regardless, the war on Kashyyyk is won. Kento Marek is dead. You are no longer needed here. And we cannot be seen together too often. Tutoring promising Inquisitors personally is excusable, training an apprentice is not. Therefore, it is time I sent you on another mission. Be warned that while I gave you some leniency considering the circumstances of your first trial, I will not do so again.”
“I understand, my lord. What am I to do?”
“What you trained for, Inquisitor. You are to hunt Jedi.”