//------------------------------// // 8: The Journey Begins. // Story: A Sunset Across the Galaxy // by Professor Donger //------------------------------// Sonata Dusk cradled her broken arm and tried to hold back her tears as her master stood over her. She couldn’t tell through his mask but if she could see through it, she was sure he was scowling at her for her weakness. Every test he had given her outside of torture and interrogation she had failed, and even those two skills caused to many casualties for Vader’s liking. She was sure he regretted having her as his apprentice instead of one of her sisters, but he couldn’t back down now, not without killing Sonata first. His anger made sense, even to the target of that anger. She had called out for help through the Force but that hadn’t been what had made her master rage at her, it was the fact that her call could have been heard by HIS master that caused him to lash out at his apprentice. It was this anger that bubbled to the surface when he asked her, “Did you receive a reply to your pitiful little call for aid?” Sonata still didn’t understand how he even knew what she had said through the Force, the call was in her native tongue not his. Seeing the look on his face he scoffed, or did whatever his respirator allowed as a scoff “Your meaning, while in a language I couldn’t understand was clear nonetheless, now tell me,” he took a step forward “Did you get your reply?” Before Sonata could answer the Sith Lord they both felt something hit them mentally through the Force. ‘I will’ came the reply they had both been dreading and hoping to hear. Vader couldn’t understand, it was once again a call in Sonata’s native language, but the meaning once again wasn’t lost to him and he felt slight relief that the reply wasn’t that of Palpatine’s cackling laughter or lightning. Sonata felt her hope swell though, even though it was most likely a pony coming to rescue her, she and her sisters would be rescued! Or at least she hoped they would be…she couldn’t tell from this distance, but the force presence felt warm to her, strong, hopefully stronger than even Vader’s. Vader looked at the pitiful creature beneath him before considering what he had felt, someone from her land obviously knew where she was now and would be coming to retrieve her. The Force, even from this had sung with powerful light, not strong enough to reach the Emperor's notice, at least, not from where it originated. He couldn’t pinpoint its origin, but he knew it was close, at least on the galactic scale of things, but it was still far enough from the capital that Palpatine wouldn’t see any reason to investigate personally, not like with Sonata’s original outburst, which started at a point of interest for Palpatine. The presence though was strong, at least as strong if not stronger than Sonata’s and her sisters, perhaps it was time to find a new apprentice and replace the faulty prototype… “I have a proposition for you, Sonata Dusk.” His voice echoed through the room, “How would you like to buy your freedom?” Sunset Shimmer came crashing through the wooden door with a shout of “Master Yoda!” only to find the Jedi Master already waiting for her on his bed. “Felt that disturbance in the Force, did you?” Yoda glanced at her but otherwise his face was set in an unreadable mask. “They were calling for help, how could I have not felt it?” Sunset sat down, the lightsaber hooked to her belt moved slightly but made no noise, but Yoda noticed it anyway. Once again if he had any reaction at seeing his old weapon, he didn’t outwardly express it, he just hummed and looked back at Sunset. “Already prepared to go, are you?” he asked already knowing the answer. Sunset didn’t know why, but that question caused her anger long forgotten in her conversation with Qui Gon Jinn to resurface once again “Of course I’m going to go!” she snarled “The call for help was in Equestrian, they might be one of my people!” Yoda merely raised an eyebrow at her but nodded “Hmm interesting, this is.” He stood and hobbled towards her once more, “You are set on this path?” Sunset only nodded, drifted to the lightsaber at her hip, almost daring Yoda to try and stop her but the Jedi master sighed and shook his head. “If you leave, you may not return to this place.” He said with finality “The Emperor will know where you are, he and his apprentice will hunt you down like every other Jedi…” Sunset stood  “Are you saying I should be afraid?!” she shouted, “that I should abandon one of my people out of fear?” Yoda chuckled “Remember my teachings young one, Fear is the path to the Dark Side.” He looked up at her once more “Why do you care for this person you have never met hm?” he questioned her poking her leg with his stick. “The Sunset Shimmer of three years past would have ignored this call, for it was not within her best interests.” Sunset was about to angrily shout back at him when she stopped to concede that he was correct… three years ago she would have ignored any one from back home calling for help, hell she would have ignored them back when she was home in the first place. Thinking back to all the times she challenged her inner darkness, to the inner reflection these encounters had caused, made her realize that she didn’t want to be that angry girl anymore, though she still struggled with her rage. She hadn’t forgiven Celestia or Cadence, she still couldn’t, but now she at least understood why they were princesses and she wasn’t, and so she took at least what she thought was the first step towards being a better pony with her determination to help the one voice that called out to her. Instead of articulating that though she looked at Yoda and said, “Because it’s the right thing to do, what kind of princess would I be if I let my people suffer?” Yoda croaked out a laugh at that, the first genuine one she had heard in a while from the small Jedi master, “Very well then Sunset Shimmer, go and may the Force be with you.” Sunset looked at him gobsmacked “That’s it? No argument, no give me back my lightsaber, no argument?” Yoda shrugged “Chose you, the saber did, I do not recall moving it from it’s space under my house, and I doubt you could have found it without the Force helping you.” Sitting on his bed he continued, “You are not a prisoner here, child, While I would like to complete your training, or at least attempt to, I can feel the Force calling you elsewhere.” For the first time in a long time the two had an understanding, she wasn’t the one he was destined to train, and he wasn’t the one to complete her training. With that she stood and walked over to the troll and enveloped him in a quick hug before turning and leaving the hut one last time towards her destiny. Hours away, at least on foot even for a trained Force user was an imperial research facility, it was understaffed, had maybe two stormtroopers for guards and only had one way off the planet, a small imperial shuttle that remained unused unless emergencies were declared. Sunset Shimmer surveyed the area through the tree’s noticing that the two stormtroopers weren’t even bothering with patrols, they just sat in front of the small facility, more a bunker really, helmets off, blasters to the side and playing cards in hand. From what she had managed to discern from both her datapad’s access to the holonet and Yoda’s own lectures, this station hadn’t been used for a year and a half, with the researchers heading back to the Capital to change shifts as it were, and catalog they’re findings. This left the two lone stormtroopers to keep the little science station running on their own, and make sure no critters made their way into the base. Unluckily for them Sunset was more fearsome than any critter. Outside of the building on a makeshift landing pad was the shuttle she needed, she didn’t doubt that she’d be able to fly it or at least make one of the troopers fly it for her. First though she had to get to the shuttle. “Oh, poor baby Sunset, can’t figure out how to get off this mudball?” the dreaded voice of her shadow whispered in her ear. Turning around Sunset came face to face once more with her doppelganger and scowled “I don’t have time for you!” she whispered “Oh, I know that Sunny, your off to go play hero and save the day!” Sunset’s sith red eyes narrowed “no more time to play with little ol me anymore, you’re moving to the big leagues!” Sunset met her shades red eyes and growled out “What. Do. You. Want?” The shade just laughed at her younger self’s anger, “Oh nothing, just here to warn you is all.” The shade stood and began to walk backwards to the forest “leave if you want, Sunset Shimmer, but there are worse shadows than I am waiting for you.” With that the shadow disappeared, and Sunset was again left alone to ponder her current dilemma. Shaking her head the Equestrian turned back to the problem at hand, she could use force or even THE Force to get what she wanted, but she wasn’t as skilled in the mind arts as she wanted to be and while she was confident with a lightsaber she didn’t want to just kill the stormtroopers, that would cause problems for Yoda in the long run, unless she could make it look like an accident… With her path set she used the force to enhance her speed, sprinting around the perimeter of the facility, fast enough to cause a disturbance around the stormtroopers that caused them to look up from their game, but return to it shortly after assuming the shift in the wind was just an animal or the weather. The one closest to the forest was about to continue their conversation about how shitty the job they had been stuck with was, when something orange caught his and his partners eyes. Looking over they saw Sunset Shimmer waving at them, and instantly stood to get their blasters and threaten this unknown intruder, before they were slammed into the side of the building with a force push knocking them both out cold. Dusting her hands off and smiling Sunset used the force to pick up the storm troopers and place them inside the shuttle, but not before stripping one of them down and putting his armor on herself and tying them both together with some rope she had found lying around. Sitting down in the pilot’s chair, Sunset exhaled through her nose, and touched the controls only for her mind to once more be assaulted by visions like it had when she had found Yoda’s lightsaber. ‘delta 32 this is Shuttle S90 coming in, transmitting codes’   ‘just take her in slowly’   ‘I can’t believe we were stuck on swamp duty…’   Shaking her head, Sunset began pressing buttons like a girl possessed, using the navi computer she searched for the star system that she felt the disturbance originate from while the ship went through its automated preflight checklist. Looking at it one name stuck out to her, and she set the computers course to it, not even realizing or caring that she had found it completely by chance. The ship lifted out of the swamp and proceeded to leave Dagobah’s atmosphere. Sunset placed the stormtrooper helmet in the copilot’s seat and once she was safely out of Dagobah’s gravity well, began the transition into hyperspace. Her course set for Mustafar.