//------------------------------//
// The Early Years 
// Story: The Mandalorian of Equestria 
// by Arceaion 
//------------------------------//




 The Code of the Mando'a
Strength is Life,
for the strong have the right to rule
Honor is Life, 
for with no honor, one may as well be dead
Loyalty is Life,
for without one's clan one has no purpose
Death is Life,
one should die as they have lived








It's been about four years now since I came to this world. I've spent most of the time here teaching the two Alicorns about the Mando'ade. Echo, my AI, has been very helpful in ways I never thought; he has a lot of skill and functions and since we're essentially living on another world that is nowhere close to being technologically capable for a few more millennia at best he's shown me a lot of things. From maintenance to even simple advice, Echo has proved to be a perfect assistant in almost every way. 

'I do believe you mean in every way.'

Yes Echo, in every way. Now most people would expect some big story of me training Celestia and Luna for their upcoming destiny of being princesses and ruling a kingdom but to be honest that's the farthest thing from the truth. 

For those who don't know, we Mandalorians don't really like rulers and unless you're a Clan Leader or Mand'alor themself we normally tell authority where they can stick it pretty fast. Trust me when I say herding cats is an easier job than leading Mandalorians; we're not diplomatic, unless you count blasters as diplomacy, and we don't even have a very structured society to begin with. We Mandalorians only really follow two things, a warrior’s code and the Resol'nare. Both of these are integral parts of Mando'ade culture and beliefs. 

So me preparing them for becoming Princesses and leading Equestria in the future is about as likely to happen as Mand'alor the First's spirit appearing before me and handing me his mask deeming me the new Mand'alor. Anyway I think that's enough about me and my grievances to authority and politics as a whole. 

Celestia recently turned fourteen and Luna's seven with a mouth that could make a smuggler blush. Since some of you reading this probably don't know what Tah'da means in Mando'a it means fuck. Just so happens that's what Luna's first word was, father of the year right here folks... I keep forgetting sarcasm doesn't translate well to in recordings; I really need to get the holocams up and running properly.

Anyway, with Celestia finally getting a grasp on our language to a point I can hold full conversations with her I think it's time to finally start spending more time on the surface rather than in orbit around the planet. We recently landed a few miles away from where I faced that dragon and buried Faust. Celestia and Luna have been training in hand to hand combat and I'm planning to send them out for some survival training. Celestia is already using magic however it's just some basic spells, I need to pick up some books on magic and what not from a village so she and Luna can learn more. Speaking of Luna, her horn sometimes sparks and gives off light but that was about all she can do right now. 

Also on a related note it appears that when Faust giving me her Immortality she also gave me her Magic. Honestly it's pretty easy to understand and use but I've mostly been pulling a few Jedi and Sith tricks and skills. I do however know my magic works differently from Celestia and Lunas so I'm on my own in figure it out. 

Well that's all I have to say for now so I'll wrap up this entry. Celestia and Luna are sparing outside so I probably should go and keep an eye on them.



 

Nebula sighed as he finished the entry on the data pad and stood up before stretching with a groan. Once he was done he exited his quarters and walked down the stairs and left his ship. As he exited the ship he frowned and squinted as the light hit him. After a moment to let his eyes adjust he saw Celestia and Luna always away sparing. Nebula chuckled and leaned against the bulkhead of the ship in a semi-relaxed position as he watched the two Alicorns spar. 

Celestia used her wings to leap into the air dodging a roundhouse kick from Luna before diving down and delivering a quick ax kick to her sister who leaned back, barely dodging the blow to her head before screaming and tackled Celestia. The two were sent rolling and quickly fell down a small hill. Nebula sighed and walked to where the two sisters were still fighting trying to pin the other. "Enough!" He yelled in a tired voice and the two Alicorns froze. "Celestia, you need to work on spatial awareness more." He said as he walked down the hill.

Luna laughed at her sisters scolding till Nebula turned on her to. "As for you Luna, control your temper." He said as he sat down. "Trust me it will save you trouble in the future."

Luna frowned. "I can control it just fine!" She yelled back.

Nebula sighed. "Luna, take it from me loosing ones temper in battle will only get you killed." He said his voice darkening. "I won't always be here to help and unlike me you might not have a skilled crew to pull you out when the fire starts or to snap you back when you break."

Celestia smiled. "Sounds like you have a story there." She said with a smile. 

Nebula nodded. "I do but you're both too young for this one."

Luna groaned. "You say that about a lot of your stories!" She grumbled. "When will we be old enough?"

Nebula smiled. "Sooner than you think but longer than you like." He said as he stood back up and pulled out his Holo communicator. "Have you finished your sparing for the day?" he asked receiving a nod from the two Alicorns.

"Yeah, I think we managed to do an hour today." Luna said. 

Celestia nodded. "Yeah, why do you ask?" She asked.

"A village recently was set up near the area." Nebula said as he activated the communicator and projected a map of the area, a small town appeared on it glowing red. "Since we'll be spending our time on the surface now it would be best we start making a name for ourselves as bounty hunters."

Celestia frowned. "But what will we be doing, also wouldn't Luna and I stand out since we're the same race as Mom?" She asked.

Luna nodded. "Also wouldn't you stand out since you’re not exactly a pony?"

Nebula smiled. "Good to see I at least taught you caution." He said with a chuckle. "I'll be fine and as long as we cover either you wings or horn you'll be fine." He replied. 

Celestia frowned. "Right, so it's that easy?" She asked sarcastically. "We just cover ourselves and they'll believe it?"

Nebula smiled. "You'd be surprised how easy it is to fool someone and the best ways are often the simplest or hiding in plain sight." He said as he deactivated the holoprojector. "Now, we'll be posing as simple mercenaries so gather your gear and grab some cloaks." The two sisters nodded and entered the ship, as they left two droids walked out of the foliage of the forest. The first was a D-R3D Defense Droid while the second was a QO-77 Assassin Droid. 

"What do you have to report?" I asked without turning to them.

"It's as you believed, the Village is relatively new." D-R3D said calmly. "They are searching for anyone willing to fight monsters for them."

"Scouting showed that the village is dominantly Unicorn and as you assumed they have extreme prejudice against all other races." QO-77 said. "Located a guild hall that is sending adventurers out on missions."

Nebula nodded. "Did you sight any of your targets?" He asked.

QO-77 shook it's head. "Negative, no targets sighted." 

Nebula sighed. "Great, did you manage to identify the leader of the town?" He asked.

QO-77 pulled a holoprojector off the belt he wore and activated it showing a very fat unicorn stallion. "The Lords name is Silver Pureblood." D-R3D Said calmly. "Served five years in the Unicorn Mage Guard before becoming head of the Pureblood House and retiring to live off his newly acquired fortune." 

Nebula looked at the Lord with distaste. "A pig in pony clothes." He said with disgust. "You did well, both of you." He said calmly. "QO-77, you're free to do as you please for now. D-R3D, secure the perimeter and then remain on guard while we're gone, I want you to be in rotation with T4-1D and C8-SC3."

"Yes sir." The two droids said as QO-77 left to rest and D-R3D left to carry out his orders. As they left Celestia and Luna exited the ship wearing a set of light armor and cloaks. 

Nebula smiled. "That armor will do... for now." He said with a nod as he looked them over.

"Oh, come on!" Luna yelled angrily. "It’s not like we have beskar armor like you!" 

Nebula nodded. "That's why I said it will do for now." He said as he glared at her. "You're still a long way to go before you're ready for the honor of beskar armor."

Celestia frowned. "And what must we do buir, you've taught us the traditions of Mando'ade, how to speak Mando'a and how to fight; what more must we do to prove we're worthy?" She asked.

Nebula smiled. "Remember Celestia, even for those born into the Clan life, one is not true Mando'ade till they complete the Cuir Malhr." He said as his smile faded. "For those like me or you two; becoming Mando'ade is even harder. I proved myself in the Great Hunt decades ago, that made me eligible to wear the armor and in training you two I now fulfill the obligations of the Bar'gyam Malhr and become true Mando'ade."

"Wait you mentioned the Cuir Malhr before, back when you first adopted us, what is it?"

Nebula smiled. "I'll explain but we need to get moving to the town so I'll explain on the way." He said as he opened his inventory and pulled out several weapons. "I want you to choose which you want." He said as he laid them on the ground. 

Luna and Celestia quickly ran over and examined them before frowning. "Why do you get blasters and we get swords?" Celestia asked.

Nebula smiled. "This is only for going to the Village, plus I won't be using my blasters for this trip." He said with a smile as he pulled two blades and strapped them to his back before pulling out a third and strapping it to his belt. "These swords are called Vibroblades, they are designed so that when they activate they vibrate at high speeds enabling it cut through almost anything. The exceptions to this are very dense metals such as beskar."

Luna smiled as she grabbed one of the weapons that was shaped as a Cutlass. "This one's mine." She said with a smile.

Celestia shook her head as she reached for the one next to her sisters only for it to extend outward and form a staff. "Interesting... I guess I'll use this one." She said calmly.

Nebula smiled. "Looks like you two got the same taste in weapons as me." he said with a chuckle as the two looked at him confused. "Those are the Beryar's MK-3 Electrostaff and Electroblade." He said with a smile.

"Electroblade, I thought these were Vobroblades?" Luna asked.

Nebula nodded. "There similar but an Electroblade can also electrocute its target while the vibroblade only uses vibration. Honestly there both effective tools of death with the only major difference being one uses electricity for extra damage and cauterizes the wound while the other doesn't." Nebula shrugged. "I always liked the Beryar Series weapons though, there simple and effective." He said as he raised his blaster. "They're the company that made my Basters." He said with a smile.

Celestia nodded as she spun the staff. "Feels right." She said with a faint smile.

Luna gave an experimental swing of the sword. "Mine is alright but feels off when I swing." She said.

Nebula frowned as he looked at the blade before reaching down and grabbing another blade that he handed to Luna. "Try this." He said as he handed it to her. 

As Luna held the blade it activated and the edge glowed as a sword appeared around it. Luna gave several swings and nodded. "Feels better."

Nebula nodded. "The Beryar was designed after a cutlass which is more for fencing, not your style of battle which is more of a swordsman style." He explained. "That's the Tribal Champions Blade, old and reliable it's edge has an energy blade designed to cut through almost anything."

Luna smiled. "I like this blade." She said with a smile.

Nebula chuckled as he picked up the other weapons and returned them to his storage. "Come on, we're burning daylight." He said as he turned and walked in the direction of the village.

"So you were going to explain the Cuir Malhr?" Celestia asked as she and Luna followed.

Nebula smiled and nodded. "The Cuir Malhr, or as it's known in basic the four tasks are the four tasks that prove one worthy of being Mando'ade. The first is the study of Mando'ade culture, ideology and language. This is a task that takes years and in doing so one becomes Mandalorian in Mind. Thankfully you're quick learners, even if it took you a few years to learn Mando'a Celestia."

"It didn't take that long!" Celestia exclaimed. "So we've completed the first task, what comes next?"

Nebula frowned. "The next task is always the hardest, proving yourself in combat. For one seeking to join the ranks of the Mandalorians they must prove themselves a warrior of the highest caliber, as such there is what's known as the Ritual Blooding. The Ritual blooding consists of facing a powerful foe or beast and besting them, once done the warrior marks their armor with its blood. In this act one become Mandalorian in Soul."

Luna frowned. "If we've passed the first trial then why have you not sent us to perform the second?" She asked.

Nebula sighed. "Because this world has few creatures that are worthy opponents or beast that meet the criteria for a Ritual Blooding." He said tiredly. "I've searched for a worthy foe and aside from a few dragons there are honestly no worthy opponents I can find." He explained.

Luna frowned. "What was your Ritual Blooding like?" She asked.

Nebula laughed. “It was quite a battle!" He exclaimed happily before sighing. "Ah, those were the days." he said reminiscing. "Facing worthy foes almost on a daily basis, only my wit and skills with my crew at my side." Celestia and Luna looked at each other confused as Nebula continued. "The first part of my Blooding was the Great Hunt, the thrill that came from it was exhilarating, Mako was with me from the beginning and boy did she have a fire, I swear she could flip the entire galaxy upside down if she ever wanted to." 

Nebula's smile faded as he remembered something. "Course it wasn't always sun shine and rainbows, we had our share of suffering and pain we had to endure. Braden, the man you could call my mentor in a sense was killed by a rival in the great hunt and I lost a few good friends along the way."


Celestia tilted her head. "What happened to your crew, you've mentioned them before but never who they were exactly or what happened to them."

Nebula nodded. "Yeah, I never have told you about them have I?" He asked with a smile. "Well first off there was Mako, she was an extremely skilled slicer that would eventually become like a sister to me; was there when I became Mando'ade and everything. She disappeared for a while after some stuff happened but I founder her years later during a big war. She and I joined back up and kicked some ass before I was brought here to this world."

"Did you win?" Luna asked.

"Huh?" Nebula asked her confused.

"The war, did you win?" She asked.

Nebula nodded as he looked off in the distance. "Yeah, we won." He said with a sad smile. "It was costly and some good friends died along the way but we won." He said before he shook his head. "An way the second to join my little crew of misfits was Tyresius Lokai, or as we knew him Gault Rennow. Gault was a notorious smuggler and con man that stole from almost every gang in the known galaxy, even the Hutts. He was one of my targets but I let him off the hook if he joined up with me." Nebula laughed. "Together we scammed even the Hutts more than once and every time the payout was so big that you couldn't even count the zeroes on the pay check." He said with a smile.

"Sounds mean." Celestia said.

Nebula smiled. "Maybe but we stole from people who got their money through worse means." He said with a shrug. "Still, he was one hell of a Sabacc player. Beat everyone though I never could figure if he was cheating or not... probably cheating." Nebula shrugged. "Anyway the next crew mate was a Jawa named Blizz. He started out as a scavenger but he had a talent for creating incredible machines. Next up was perhaps one of my closest friends, Torian Cadera; he was the last of Clan Cadera. When I found him he was considered a traitor due to his father’s actions but through hard work he earned his place back with the Mando'ade. Once he did he left with me to better hone his skills and we became brothers in arms for years. When the incident that cause my crew to disperse happened he joined the Mand'alor of the time, Artus Lok, Mand'alore the Vindicated; when Artus Lok fell in battle he traveled for a time till he answered the call of Artus Loks' successor."

"The next Mand'alore was an old friend of ours Shae Vizla and she took the title of Mandalore the Avenger. When Shae Vizla united the Clans and joined us in the war Torian and I met once again." Nexus sighed as he looked to the sky. "Sometimes I wonder where he is at this moment.

"Maybe he's out there searching for you." Celestia replied and Nexus chuckled. 

"Maybe but I doubt he'll ever find me again, at least in this life." He said sadly. "Anyway the last to join my merry crew was this big tub of lard named Skadge.

Luna giggled. "You sound like you didn't like him."

Nexus frowned. "I hated him and he hated me; Skadge was a career gangster and a psychopath, he had no honor but in the end I guess sometimes that came in handy." Nexus shook his head. "In any case we may have hated each other but we did hold respect for one another. In a sense we were two sided of the same coin. I was a hardened warrior with pride and honor, while he was a hardened criminal with no regrets but in the end we became what we were for the same reasons. We both did what we did for glory and revenge on those who put us through hell. Had he been in my place we may very well have followed the same path."

"What happened to him?" Luna asked curiously. 

Nebula sighed. "He was fatally injured in the final battle of the war, passed away surrounded by friends and allies who respected him. In the end he got what he wanted and died leaving a legacy to be proud of, he crawled through the fire and brimstone of hell and his reward was a legend to be passed down and told by friends and allies a like."