//------------------------------// // 6: Doppelgangers and Masters // Story: A Sunset Across the Galaxy // by Professor Donger //------------------------------// When Yoda had explained the Dark Side to Sunset, He had said that it was everything the Light wasn’t. He told her, in his toady voice and weird dictation, to think of the Force as an ocean. He explained that all living things were individual water droplets in the ocean, each drop flowing and ebbing with the currents that made up the Force.  If the Force was an ocean, and the “Light” was water, then “Dark” was oil. It would flow in whatever direction it wanted, it would corrupt the water around it, and it would dominate as much as it could. Yoda had told her that the Dark Side could and would change an individual if they gave themselves over to it. She hadn’t believed him when he had explained all these things to her, after all, hadn't she touched the darkness and remained perfectly fine? Before she had wandered into the cave, she resolved herself to master both the light and dark, to prove Yoda wrong and to show him, like she’d show Celestia that what they believed about her was wrong. Now though, dodging and deflecting her alter ego’s laser sword, she realized that Yoda may not have been exaggerating the effects of the Dark Side… Her doppelgänger’s attacks kept coming, each strike that she managed to block caused her arms to shake. When the false Sunset would bring her lightsaber down, Sunset would bring hers up to defend and each time she would feel her bones creak under the power of her darker self. “What’s the matter Sunny?” Her shadow spoke, her voice thick and nasally because of her bleeding nose. “Not gonna strike back? Where’s the fire? The anger!?” with that she kicked Sunset in the stomach, sending her crashing into the roots that made up the cave and instantly knocking the wind out of her. Her lightsaber dropped from her hands as she tried to catch her breath, but before she could,  her enemies red saber pierced the root next to her head. The hum of the blade filling her ears and the shadow of her opponent overtaking her.   Sunset didn’t know what to do, she looked up to her phantom and even though she tried to put on a brave face she felt tears begin to fall as her adrenaline dropped and fear replaced bravado. The shadow’s sneer turned into a small frown at the sight of those tears, instead of pulling out the saber and finishing her past self-off she bent down to eye level with her and used her hand to wipe away the tears causing Sunset to flinch at the unexpected touch.  “Shh, none of that now.” She spoke in a reassuring tone “I don’t want to kill you Sunny.” Sunset felt her eyes widen at that and she felt a little bit of hope rise within her chest. “You… you don’t?” Her shade shook her head, “No, I only wanted to… test you” she put a hand on her saber and deactivated it before standing to place it on her belt, “You are me after all, at least… a past version of me.” Sunset couldn’t stop her response before it was barked out “I will NEVER become you!” Where she thought her proclamation would cause her shade to once more begin its assault, she instead tossed her head back and laughed. Looking down at her younger self, Sunset let the smile her laughter had brought fall from her face, “You will become me, Sunset one way or another.” With that the dark sider lifted her right hand and sent a torrent of electricity towards her. Sunset’s screams filled the cave, fighting to be heard over the crackle of lightning and the mad laughter of her doppelgänger. Sunset Shimmer woke up with a gasp, her body numb and her mind in a haze. She looked around in surprise, after all she woke up to the murky swamps of Dagobah once more but hadn’t she died? ‘If so the Fields of Elysium look an awful lot like Dagobah’ Turning her head away from the swamps and towards the cave’s entrance that she had fallen asleep in front of she was surprised to see Yoda standing there, little clawed hands resting on his cane and a look on his face that she couldn’t discern. She couldn’t resist “And Faust looks a lot greener than the fairy tales…” Yoda didn’t get the reference to Equestrian folk tales, but he did understand the jab at him and in return smacked her upside the head lightly with his cane. “wander the swamps alone you did.” Sunset flinched at the hit but didn’t say anything in return, one of Yoda’s cardinal rules in the weeks that she had been training under him had been to never go out alone. Dagobah was a world with almost no sentient life outside of its two Jedi inhabitants and a group of scientists that never ventured far past their outpost near the equator. Traveling alone was dangerous and Sunset knew Yoda must have been worried. Instead of bringing attention to that, she looked to her side for the lightsaber she had found only to see it wasn’t next to her like she had hoped. “Lost something have you? Hmm?” Yoda prodded her with his stick “Sense in you much trouble, Sunset Shimmer, Yes.” He walked around her “much trouble, and much conflict, come tell Yoda what ails your mind.” With that he sat in front of her his legs crossed and his stick resting on his knees as he waited for her to begin. Sunset inhaled sharply through her nose, remembering the blood red blade, the amber colored eyes of her shade, the feel of the lightning as it crackled across her skin, the smell of her flesh as it cracked, burned and scarred. Her fingers twitched slightly, only for her to clench her hands closed and begin to explain to Yoda her experience in the cave. Yoda was silent throughout the explanation, not once interrupting or cutting her off. From what Sunset could tell he was calm throughout the explanation, but just like Celestia his face was impossible to read, and she wasn’t in the right mental state to even try to touch his mind through the force, though she doubted she could even glean anything from him. At last Yoda nodded and stood up before speaking “A strange dream indeed,” He rubbed his chin as if contemplating what he had told her “a strange dream, vision of the future, you believe this could be?” Sunset shook her head in disbelief, after explaining everything to him, from the lightsaber to the evil version of herself, the conclusion he had come too was that it was a dream?! Instead of voicing her rage though she clamped down on it, flashes of those sickly yellow eyes filled her vision before she once again tried to let that rage go, “Maybe…” Yoda nodded to her and smiled “Worry not, my young padawan.” He tapped her knees with his stick “Your first lesson for today, this is.” Pointing to the water that made up the swamp he continued “Always in motion the future is.” he nodded “Set in stone, this dream of yours is not.” Sunset didn’t say anything, instead she nodded her head and with that the “lesson” short as it was, was over and they started to make their way back to Yoda’s hut for breakfast. As she walked along side Yoda, she felt something warm drip down her nose, she reached up to wipe at it thinking maybe she had gotten some swamp mud on her face again, she pulled back her hand only to see blood coating her finger tips. She stopped for a moment in surprise, looking at her shaking, bloody hand and then to Yoda who had continued on his way. Sunset scowled and muttered "Only a dream my flank..." grunting in anger and with that all to familiar pang of betrayal in her heart, she clenched her fist and continued forward. Darth Vader walked into his communications room, took a knee on the pedestal and waited for his master’s form to appear before him. When Palpatine’s head appeared before Vader the Sith Emperor was surprised at his apprentice’s shape. His cape was nearly gone, singed from blaster fire or a saber blade Palpatine did not know. His left hand was gone, and his suit was covered in…something. Palpatine assumed it was gore or dirt, he didn’t care to ask which. “Lord Vader, was your mission a success?” The Sith Master asked his apprentice before probing into their connection for the truth. He doubted that Vader would lie to him, but one could never be too careful. “Yes Master, the Jedi and Colonists were eliminated as per your instructions.” Vader’s emotions never wavered, the truth was not embellished and Palpatine was greatly pleased or he would have been if not for the part about the slaughtered Colonists. “When, pray tell Lord Vader,” Palpatine felt his apprentice’s fear spike, good he still knew his place, “did I tell you to eliminate the Colonists?” Vader was silent for a moment before he finally spoke “They were harboring the Jedi, Master.” He bowed lower “they tried to pass off my visit as a routine check on the colony and denied any claim to putting out the call for aid that they had.” Sidious let his anger at his apprentice cool after Vader had said his piece. His apprentice had followed his orders and used his discretion to hand out punishment to traitors… this was good, very good, perhaps Vader wasn’t as hampered by his injuries as he had thought.  Leaning back in his chair Palpatine smiled “Very good my friend, your dedication to justice and purging these Jedi scum must be rewarded.” He nodded “Yes, perhaps some time to rest would do you well, you look worse for wear after all.” Palpatine felt a spike of pleasure shoot through their link, perhaps pleasure at being praised instead of punished? He didn’t dwell on it though instead focusing on Vader once more he gave his apprentice his orders. “Return to your palace on Mustafar and get repaired and rested. I have further holocrons and teachings waiting for you upon your arrival. You have greatly pleased me, Lord Vader.” Vader bowed his head “Thank you, Master” and with that Palpatine cut the transmission before turning back to his own personal holoprojector and his smile turned predatory. In front of him was a live feed from Vader’s ship, Palpatine could see everything that was going on inside the ship, hear everything and he knew that Vader had tried to trick him. Instead of anger though, Palpatine felt pride and a thrill he hadn’t felt since the night of the Jedi Purge. His apprentice could learn, he had tried to deceive his master and if it wasn’t for his pride, he could have pulled it off. Palpatine saw everything, he saw how Vader brought three unremarkable looking women onto his ship. He was watching when his apprentice offered Sonata their “deal” and he saw when Vader took his own saber and mutilated himself to make the ploy look authentic. Such dedication required a reward, and while Palpatine would enjoy crushing such amateurish schemes, it meant that his apprentice was a Sith, that he had ambitions that the lava on Mustafar hadn’t burnt away from him. Sitting at his desk re-watching the recording Palpatine let lose a mad cackle, he couldn’t wait to show Darth Vader his place once again. For now, though, he’d let his apprentice have his toy and play his games. After all, Palpatine had Maul when he was apprenticed to Plagueis, why couldn’t Vader have his own?