Kneel Before The Dark Lord

by The Phantom Joker

The Offer

“My Lord, flight logs indicate that Lord Starkiller's ship did in fact plot a course for a star system beyond the outer rim. I've taken the liberty of preparing a ship to collect him." said the Admiral who’d brought news of Starkiller earlier. The Emperor sat in his chair, looking down once again on the construction droids placing the finishing touches on the second Death Star's Mass Particle Beam.

"Very good, Admiral. Make sure you find him, dead or alive. I want regular transmissions from the ship once you arrive." the dark lord said, not bothering to turn around. Nonetheless, the Admiral bowed in respect and turned to oversee the departure of the ship.

"Admiral." Sidious called out before the admiral left. The Admiral turned and awaited the Emperor's order. "Make sure you don't fail me." he said. The Admiral swallowed hard before bowing again and leaving for the second time.

"Maris, go with the Admiral, and make sure you are not noticed. I want Starkiller dead. Will you be able to do that this time around?" Sidious said to seemingly no one. However, it became obvious as to who he was speaking to when a grey skinned Zabrak landed behind him, kneeling down as an apprentice would their master.

"With your tutelage, recent as it has been, I am confident in my abilities, Master." she replied. This allowed for the dark lord to turn. As he faced her, Maris was hit with a rush of cold. His eyes often had that effect. She felt like a youngling Jedi staring into the eyes of a Tuk'ata for the first time.

"Pray you don't fail. If you return alive after doing so, you will not make it out of this room again. You have been warned." Sidious said, his voice echoing throughout the room. Despite the fear his voice transmitted to her, she kept her composure in front of him.

"I will leave at once, My master." she stated, before standing to leave. As the Zabrak walked away, The Emperor mused over her chances, as he had his doubts about Maris from the second he saw her. Yes, she had taken out all but one of the platoon sent to find her, yes, she showed promise as a Sith and her hatred for Starkiller would help elevate her power and, subsequently her chances of defeating him.

But Starkiller was trained by Darth Vader, who, despite being a mere shadow of what he could’ve become, was easily Sidious' greatest apprentice. Starkiller had such promise, had the potential to be his equal and even successor. Even when rebuilt as Vader had been, Starkiller did not lose a fraction of his potential, despite the Emperor's words. Maris Brood simply did not have that same potential.

Starkiller fell onto his hands and knees, completely out of breath from running as hard and fast as he had been, even with the aid of the Force enhancing his speed. The Sith Lord had well and truly gone beyond even those flying equine's distances. Crystals no longer lined his field of vision, and snow no longer froze his circuits and chilled what little flesh he had left. All he saw was mountain ranges and green grass, a rare sight for the eyes of the Sith Lord as he'd spent most of his time either in space or on barely habitable planets; most recently, Hoth. The thought of Skywalker escaping him infuriated him to no end, especially after he’d managed to get him to fall to the Dark Side. Though he’d initially planned on killing Skywalker, after seeing how surprisingly skilled he was with the Dark Side despite only tapping into it for the first time, he’d hoped to have made an apprentice out of the spawn of Vader, with which he could finally challenge the Emperor, as Vader had trained him to do so long ago, only for him to be pulled back into the light by his friends and, there was simply no other word to descripe the blue figure he had seen, the ghost of the real Obi-Wan Kenobi.

After another minute or so of catching his breath, Starkiller looked up at the mountains before focusing on a single mountain in particular. Something protruded out from the side of it. A refuge perhaps? he thought, pulling himself to his feet and moving toward it. It didn't take him long to stop to reconsider as he noted it was a very old style looking castle. Recalling the Princesses, he assumed that it belonged to one of them.

Almost an instant later, Starkiller felt the sudden appearance of a very strong connection to the Force. It was so sudden, and so powerful, it brought teleportation to Starkiller's mind. Even amongst the teachings of the Jedi and even the Sith, teleportation was unheard of. This attracted Starkiller like a moth to a flame. Whoever the user of that strong connection was, they had enormous potential. Enough potential to bring promise of a galaxy without the Emperor.

Almost seconds after it appeared, it disappeared again, reappearing just on the border of Starkiller's senses, causing his jaw to drop, a rare feat of itself. It truly was teleportation. That was the deciding factor in his cacophony of problems. Starkiller set out for the source of the Force sensitive. If it turned out to be one of the Princesses he'd met before, he may have to relinquish his lightsabers... well, most of them anyway.

"Girls! Thank goodness you're all here. We have a terrible situation that requires all of our help!" Twilight called out of breath to her friends, who just so happened to be having a picnic on the Apple Family Orchard.

"I'll say, your manners leave something to be desired if that's how you as a Princess would address your subjects." Rarity responded, seeming appalled.

"What?!" Twilight complained, annoyed at having been distracted from her initial task.

"Twilight, you are a Princess now. Certain rules need to be applied to everypony you see, your friends included. You were Princess Celestia's friend, but you also treated her with the utmost respect, respect that she reciprocated to you, if you recall." explained the white unicorn.

"No, that's not why I-."

"Yeah, Twi. I know we're your friends and all, and I am awesome beyond all imagination, but come on, act like a Princess,” Rainbow Dash, a blue pegasus, put in.

"It wouldn't hurt to act all formal, girl." Applejack, an orange earth pony, added. Pretty soon, all but Fluttershy began to talk over each other.

"EVERYPONY SHUT UP!!!" Twilight screamed, her voice amplified tenfold. Everypony including herself seemed stunned by the sudden outburst. “Oh, that's new." she commented, covering her mouth. She saw the shocked expressions on her friends' faces and took that opportunity to get to the point before they got all rowdy.

"Girls, there's a new threat to Equestria, maybe even the entire world, and the Elements of Harmony are required to put a stop to it," she said. Twilight watched as the cogs in their heads turned, some faster than others.

"Ooh, Ooh, is it Galactus, the world-eater?!" Pinkie Pie, a pink earth pony, asked, raising her hand like an excited student who knew the answer to a question.

"What? No! I hope not. Who's Galactus?" Twilight asked. Pinkie thought for a moment.

"Whoopsie! Sorry, Twilight, Wrong franchise. I forgot my test. I've gotta ask you a question." she said.

"Umm, can it wait, Pinkie? This is kinda important." Twilight said. Pinkie just held up her hand to shush her.

"Just answer quickly, chicken or beef?" Pinkie asked, looking dead serious.

"What?! What does that have to do with-."

"JUST ANSWER!!!" Pinkie screamed.

"CHICKEN!!!" Twilight replied, screaming out of frustration.

"Then it's STARKILLER!!!" she screamed the name. Twilight was both astounded and confused at the same time. She also thought that Pinkie sounded rather pleased by the answer, almost like a gushing school filly in love.

"I...what, how did you...HUH?!" Twilight was beyond confused as to how Pinkie knew his name. "How... could you possibly know that?!" she begged. Every time Pinkie said something random and came up with the correct answer made Twilight so furious. She’d always wanted to understand how Pinkie did it.

"Dunno, I just know this stuff." she replied, shrugging the whole thing off.

"So, who's this Starkiller guy? Is he a pony, dragon, what?" Dash asked, fired up at being able to deal with a new enemy of Equestria, and boost her fame in the process.

"Galactus is a giant planet eating alien that may look like a giant person in a weird helmet and suit, or a world-eating cloud!" Pinkie interjected before going back to her spaced-out look with her tongue sticking out. She looked like a pink version of Derpy Hooves with her current expression.

"I've got one word for you, Dash: aliens." Twilight replied. Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack leaped in the air with joy, taking Twilight by complete surprise. “How can you be so excited?! All of Equis could be in danger!”

“Oh, well, we’ve had a bet going on about what the next big threat to Equestria was going to be,” explained Rainbow.

“Yeah! And Dash and Applejack had bet against the rest of us that the next big threat to Equestria would be ‘totally out of this world’ and they were right,” said Pinkie, handing Rainbow a bag of bits.

"Pay up, Rarity!" Applejack said, holding out her hand with a smug look on her face. Rarity sighed with irritation and handed over a small bag of bits.

"Next one's a demon from the depths of Tartarus." Rarity said.

"Nah, Twilight's totally gonna turn evil next time," Dash interjected.

"Um, girls?" Fluttershy’s meek voice called out but was caught in the hustle and bustle between the two opposing outcomes.

"Ah'll take that bet! Twenty bits says Twilight does her own impression of Nightmare Moon! Probably calls ‘erself Midnight Sparkle or Darth Midnight or sumthin’ like that!" Applejack declared.

"Ooh, Ooh, Twilight's totally gonna turn evil! Probably because of something that happens to a romantic love interest!” Pinkie added, placing her bet.

"Um...girls?" Fluttershy spoke again, but went unheard once again.

"Are you guys seriously doing this now?!" Twilight asked, appalled and somewhat offended.

"Twilight... I think I see-."

"I guess if Pinkie says it's gonna happen, it's good enough for me,” Dash said, reaffirming her bet.

"GIRLS!" Twilight cried in both urgency and insult.

"TWILIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!" Fluttershy suddenly screamed, catching all ponies present off guard. She had their attention now.

"Sorry, Fluttershy, was something the matter?" Twilight asked, unable to place the importance of Equestria over Fluttershy's need to assert herself from time to time.

"Is this Starkiller alien tall, walks on two legs like us, and has a grey mask, razor sharp claws, dressed in black, and breathes like he’s using a broken snorkel?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight was again surprised by the accuracy of her friends' guess.

"Yes, how did you know that?" the Alicorn asked, looking worriedly at Fluttershy.

"Because he's standing right behind you." Fluttershy pointed towards a location just behind where the ponies had been facing. Each pony turned around slowly and cautiously. Rarity fainted upon seeing it, Applejack went wide-eyed, as did Pinkie, although Twilight felt Pinkie had reacted for a whole other reason to Applejack. Fluttershy was petrified after having pointed Starkiller out and Twilight just stared at the intruder who was breathing like he was trying to use a broken snorkel.

“I… finally… caught up with you!” said Starkiller, who sounded completely winded.

The ponies just stared at Starkiller as he looked upon the small group in return while trying to catch his breath. Having dealt with numerous alien species, the expressions on the ponies were as easy to interpret as if they were human. Twilight looked nervous. The light coloured winged one that had made them all aware of his presence seemed on the verge of a heart attack. The fancy looking one, easily the lightest coloured one there seemed appalled. The other winged one as well as the one with the hat seemed a cross between excited and unsure while the last among them seemed about ready to burst with excitement.

"Starkiller, please. What are your intentions here?" Twilight asked, shaking with fear at the Sith Lord's presence. That was a question which Starkiller had to consider. He knew that Twilight was a creature of the light side, and while there were those hiding in the shadows of the Dark Side, none were as powerful or had as much potential as the creature cowering before him. So he had a choice. He could try and turn Twilight and risk failure, or he could do what he managed to do once before and sway back to the light side, like he had for Juno and the others.

Starkiller certainly had no love for the Emperor, and realistically speaking, it would be easier for him to change than her, given what she had to live for, at least in his experience. For now, he would teach her how to better use the Force, how to utilize it in combat. The sway of the dark and light side would come later.

"I have no intentions here. However, perhaps you could help me?" Starkiller asked. The ponies were surprised to say the least by his sudden request for aid. All but two were further surprised by his understanding of their language.

"What do you need help with?" Twilight asked.

"My current master is the Emperor of the Galaxy. He obtained this title through... more than questionable means, going so far as to direct a war by tricking both sides. I won't bother explaining how it worked. My former master was his disciple before me. I was trained in order to help him defeat the Emperor and restore peace to the Galaxy, which has been suffering from his tyranny for far too long,” he said. The ponies were taking in every word, each and every fact that came out of Starkiller's mechanical mouth was like gold to them.

"So where does Twilight come into it?" the pink one asked.

"When my former master died, I was... caught in certain events that broke me. Now I serve the Emperor. But I can feel a power from you that has the potential to grow and rival my master. If you would be willing to learn, I could teach you what you need to know in order to defeat him," Starkiller replied.

"That's all well and good, dear, but I don't see what's in it for Twilight." the white one protested.

"My master's hunger for power is insatiable. To him, power comes in the forms of wealth, land and the Force. He will-."

"I'm sorry... the Force? What's that?" Twilight interrupted.

"You may call it something else. Witchcraft, telekinesis, magic. The point is, my master will venture further beyond in search of more worlds to conquer and I doubt this world we're on will be safe from him for much longer. If there's one thing the Emperor doesn't like, it's loose ends. And because I have gone missing, I may be considered a loose end." he replied.

The girls were unsure as to how to pursue this situation. "Could we take some time to consider your proposal?" Twilight asked.

Starkiller wasn't one for wasting time. He felt a disturbance in the Force and it was on its way here. He knew it wasn't his master, he'd felt this presence before, but it was now darker, more twisted. Still, he could deal with it should it arrive. If anything it could give him the opportunity to gain the trust of the inhabitants of this world.

"Very well. I shall be waiting on that tower with the bell. Speak with me when you have your answer. But I must ask that you be swift with your decision making. My master has already sent someone to either collect me, or kill me," Starkiller replied.

"How do you know?" Twilight asked.

"It matters not. Should you accept my proposal, I will teach you how I know. Until then, trust that I am telling you the truth. And as a sign of good faith, I offer you these." Starkiller said as he relinquished his lightsabers, save for his primary one, and handed them over to Twilight who looked at the collection in amazement. "I plan on teaching you how to wield them safely as well, so don't go playing around with them," he added. Twilight stared at the devices and examined each one with a keen eye. The others stood around them and looked out of curiosity. When Twilight looked back up to Starkiller, he was gone.

"Whaddya think, Twi?" Applejack asked as the six of them gathered around to discuss the situation. Twilight was at a loss for words. It was obvious to her that Starkiller was evil, given her first impression of him, not to mention his painful slaughtering of those five ponies in the examination room. She believed he had an ulterior motive hidden within. She expressed her uncertainty to the others.

"If you ask me, this guy has to be put down. The Elements of Harmony should be able to take care of that," Rainbow Dash declared, pounding her chest and flying a few meters into the air.

"No, if anything, now that I've had a chance to think things through... even if we did use the Elements, they might just barely scrape by in the struggle against Starkiller. Assuming his master is really on his way then the Elements might not be enough, in which case, Starkiller's training would be invaluable," she replied.

"Are you suggesting that we take advantage of his training and then defeat them both accordingly?" Rarity asked.

"We?" Twilight asked.

"Well, yes. No sense in just one of us learning from him. Of course, we all possess some inherent magical abilities. He never said that earth ponies or pegasi were unable to learn what he is offering to teach." The alabaster Unicorn replied.

"Wait, so you're saying I could use this Force that he mentioned to move stuff around like Twilight does? That'd be like becoming a false Alicorn. AWESOME!" Dash interjected, throwing her hands in the air.

"Think of what we could do with that power. Fluttershy could use it for the betterment of her animals, such as helping them out of trees and hidey holes, I could use it for my dress-making, Applejack could use it to help her with her applebucking and Pinkie Pie could use it for... baking?" Rarity suggested.

As she looked around, Twilight saw that the girls liked the sound of that. They were excited even. Suddenly, Twilight remembered seeing the lightning that had been used to torture and kill five innocent ponies. However, the Princess opted not to tell her friends about it, although she had a feeling that it was a decision she would regret.

"Alright then, it’s settled. Let's tell Starkiller our decision. We'll all learn how to use the Force like he does," said Twilight.

Starkiller sat on the peak of the bell tower. His eyes were closed and his mind lost in meditation. He'd only ever done this once before, but he felt that now might as well have been as good a time as any. His mind had expanded to allow him to view all of the town he currently resided in. Judging from what the ponies milling about on the street said, the name of the town seemed to be Ponyville. The different shapes and colors of the ponies intrigued the Sith Lord.

Starkiller felt the approaching presence of six ponies. The same six he'd come across before, including Twilight Sparkle. The force told him their decision before they could. It even told him their names. The first to appear was Rainbow Dash, easily the most energetic of the bunch. Twilight was next, using that strange teleportation power she possessed. Pinkie Pie was third. That one was... strange. The rest came in terms of alphabetical order, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity.

"We're ready to begin." Twilight stated.

Starkiller thought this through for a few moments. He’d only meant for Twilight to learn the ways of the Force. However, more students couldn't hurt. "Then we'll begin." he said, opening his eyes behind his mask. "First, however, it seems I will have to gain your trust. It comes in the form of that," Starkiller said, pointing towards the sky. The ponies all looked towards where he was pointing and gasped in shock at the strange wedge-shape object that was just about to block out the sun.