//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Prelude // Story: Fallen Knight // by DanishDash //------------------------------// Years Before. The negotiations didn't go as planned, in fact, one might say they went horribly wrong. His master and he had finally, after one long grueling month, finally been able to set up talks with the local pirate gangs. The point was to hopefully get them to stop harassing Terilia and their farming villages, maybe even set up something like a trade agreement. Of course, they didn't bite, Revan never expected them to agree, but his master was determined to try the diplomatic way first. Well, they tried, and they failed. Revan followed his master, blocking each blaster bolt with his blue lightsaber. His master blocking them with her green double bladed lightsaber with such skill Revan did not even fear her hitting him by mistake. It made him wonder though, a lightsaber such as hers was a pretty aggressive one, but she choose to be a diplomat first and a warrior second. A green blaster bolt shot past his head, and he figured this might not be the best time to speculate about such matters! Revan cursed the flat landscape and the wide open fields, it meant they had no cover and with the pirates having the upper hand, it meant they had to flee with their speeders left broken and burning. Revan had to draw on the Force just to be able to keep up with his master, being still a child he was not a long distance runner. Glancing behind him he saw several speeders moving towards them, the pirates on top, shooting at him and Luxida. "Master! The pirates, they are gaining on us!" He called, ignoring the pain building in his lungs as he used the much needed air to call out to her. It was to late however, the speeders soon enough sped past them, starting to move around them like a pack of hungry Nexus. Revan and his master stood back to back, lightsabers raised and ready to defend themselves from any blaster bolts the pirates might dare to fire. None came. Finally the pirates stopped and dismounted the speeders, aiming their blasters at the two Jedi. Luxida gave her double bladed lightsaber a little twirl, moving her footing just a little order to protect herself and her Padawan if they fired. "Put down your laser swords, Jedi." A deep hoarse voice said. Both Revan and Luxida looked over and saw a, well, fat man, dressed in a simple shirt that didn't look like it had been washed for a VERY, long time. Some simple pants and black boots and a brown jacket. He was human, but he looked like a gamorrean, filthy, sweaty, pig like in the face and in smell. Though the thing that stood up sharply enough was his eyes, they sparkled with intelligence. A man such as him did not get to where he was by muscle or raw brutality, no, this was a man who knew how to use his intelligence to outwit and delegate, a man who would get others to do his dirty work for him. "I said put them down, don't want the kid to see any kind of nasty business now do we, eh?" Revan was just about to snarl at the man and tell him he was a Jedi and not just some simple kid. But, before he got the chance, he heard and saw his master's lightsaber switch off, the green blades of her lightsaber retracting back into the hilt. "You might be right." Luxida said and, was she, smiling?! "Though I would prefer it if you did at least let him go, this time around." "Hah! Nice try, Jedi. He'll just tell your little warship up above about this." The pirate leader smirked and looked at Revan. "Put, it, down." Revan looked at his master, who simply sent him a small nod. Sighing, he did as she instructed, he knew better than to argue with his master in this sort of situation. Two pirates came over and confiscated their lightsabers and whatever else they might have that could help them escape or call someone. When they took what they needed the pirate leader smiled satisfied. "Well now, shall we go back and finish our negotiations?" Luxida raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression the negotiations were over?" The man grinned. "Oh no, you are quite mistaken, the negotiations has only just begun." ~~~~~*SW*~~~~~ "Sir?" "Hm?" Revan slowly opened his eyes, his mind starting to bring him back to reality and the current situation. The small bumps of the road that shook the carriage a little was a reminder of the long road ahead, but thanks to the guards pulling it the time it would take them was nothing compared to if he had to walk. "Sir, are you awake?" He heard somepony call from outside. Revan pulled down his hood and looked outside. "Yes sergeant, forgive me I must have been more tired than I thought.." The white coated pony shook his head. "It's quite alright sir, we should be at the village soon enough." "Thank you." Revan looked up at the sky, seemed like night had arrived and that meant he had been asleep for longer than he would have liked. Honestly he felt a little bad that these ponies had been dragging the carriage and him for so many hours, but they seemed fine. He could not yet see the village they were going to, the landscape around them were pretty flat, mostly farmland, reminded him of.. Revan shook his head, this was not the time to be thinking about the past, he needed to focus on the present and focus on the mission. The faster he could solve this the faster he could return to his student and hopefully be there to help with security during the wedding. He did trust Rainbow Dash to be the loyal friend and protector, but he had been worried about her. This whole thing with Applejack had her distracted and he needed her mind to focus and be as sharp as ever. He had a little time to himself before they would arrive, and he would use that time to reflect on his life in this strange new dimension. Revan had been Equestria for about six months now, and so much had happened already. To be honest, it was a little frightening, he had rebuild a Jedi order consisting of himself and Rainbow Dash, not much of an order, but it would be a start. Celestia had pretty much implemented the privileges he had back in the Republic and put them to use in her own kingdom. Now, Revan was not a fool, and neither was Celestia. He knew she had not done this simply out of kindness, though not out of any sinister plot either. She saw this as a way to protect her kingdom and ponies, which was understandable, so he didn't mind the trade, in fact, that was how the Jedi got to work with the Republic in the first place. Revan knew he had to do better however. It was a massive task, he knew his new Jedi order would have to be more involved with the creatures of this world instead of closing themselves off. He needed to reform the code, the rules that made the Jedi blind to the betrayal that befell them. He simply needed to do better, not only for himself, but for his padawan and Equestria. Rebuilding the order would take time, and it would take more students. He needed to train Rainbow to help him, but he didn't want to rush her training. Though she was gifted indeed, she needed experience, she needed discipline, something she lacked at times. But, she had potential, great potential, and he could see a bright future for her as a Jedi. He just hoped he could nurture that potential correctly. That started with trust. Leaving her behind would show the great amount of trust he had in her, he hoped she could see that.. He also needed to find a better place for them to study and train. Canterlot palace was a fine place, a peaceful place, but it was too close to the power that ruled these lands. He did not want his Jedi order to become involved with that. Advising? Sure! But he did not want them to be a part of the governing part, no, they needed to be separate. His heart jumped a bit, he sighed, he knew why.. The long hours with the princess of the sun, Celestia.. She was the princess of Equestria, co ruler, one of the most powerful ponies, well Alicorns, in the land. Over these six months his affection for her had grown. She was wise, witty, kind and generous, beautiful. Revan was no stranger to love, but, he was a Jedi knight, a teacher of the Force, defender of peace. She was the ruler, the ward of the sun and light that had guided these ponies for centuries. Impressive titles for sure, but true. It meant they could not be together, they neither had the time and it would impact their duties. Fate could be cruel, but this was why he needed to distance himself from her, not to ignore her, but he needed to do this for them both. To keep their relationship to a simple friendship, to be able to stay distant and yet close. He had no idea what she felt for him, and he would not call his own feelings towards her love, but he knew the signs, which was why he needed to stop them, now. "Sir." The guard spoke up again, getting Revan out of his deep thoughts. "Yes?" "We are here sir, the village is just up ahead. "Good, then let us see what awaits us." ~~~~~*SW*~~~~~ By the Force this was so boring... Important! But boring.. Shining Armor had been on this briefing for HOURS, instructing about guard patrols, checkpoints, shield magic, the shift rotations and so on and so on. Rainbow was here to get a hang of it, to be the representative of the Jedi, her master and know how the security worked during the wedding. But it was so BOOOOORING! "Jedi Dash?" "Huh?!" Rainbow's ears shot up as she looked up to Shining Armor, then she noticed every officer in here was looking at her. "Uhm, yes?" "Would you care to give us your opinion?" Shining said, an eyebrow raised, clearly not impressed with her. She blushed a bit from embarrassment. 'Great work Rainbow, you managed to look like a complete idiot!' What would her master do in such a moment? Try the diplomatic answer? She cleared her throat, sat up a bit straighter. "Well, it's hard to sort of give you my exact opinion on this right now. I think, I should take your suggestions and... Review them?" There was a long silence, but finally Shining nodded. "That sounds like a good idea, I'll give you what I would want your opinion on right after we are done here." 'Oh thank Celestia, it worked.. WAIT THERES MORE?!' ~~~~~*SW*~~~~~ "Ergguhghhg..." Rainbow Dash groaned as she walked down one of the many palace hallways. She held the many papers under one wing, the meeting had taken almost four hours to get through and her head hurt from the amount of boredom she was exposed to. She thought since Shining was a guard then maybe he would be cool and exciting, but nope! He was just as boring as Twilight when it came to all that nerd stuff! Not that her master couldn't also be a massive nerd, as far as she had understood from Jester, her master wanted to be a Jedi historian and work in the Jedi archive. It was kind of hard to wrap her head around, HER master, a librarian? Why? Would he not rather go out, see the galaxy and go on adventures??! That sounded much more exciting! Then again, her master had seen action, maybe more that he should. R6 had shown her holovids of some of the battles, although it was hard to understand when just watching, she could at least see the dangers her master had faced. So yeah, he might be a nerd, but he had faced dangers Rainbow never would have thought possible, he was a warrior, and he was pretty awesome and cool. She hoped at least she could be something like him when she was a full blown knight! But that meant... She glanced down at the papers. "Erghh.." She needed to study, and she could not forget about that dark feeling she got from princess Cadance. Something was up with that mare and she needed to find out what. She hoped she was wrong, she hoped it was simply her being paranoid, but, at this point she was pretty sure she was right and something was deeply wrong. Like her master had told her, she needed to stay focused and so she needed to keep her mind open. That meant Rainbow should be ready to find out if she was right, or, hopefully, wrong. She walked to the big doors that let to the Jedi tower, opening it Rainbow was soon greeted by the robotic voice of Jester. "Ah, padawan Dash, how did the briefing go?" Rainbow closed the door, placed the papers on the floor and removed her robe. Jester was quick to take the robe and hang it away. "It was boring..." She mumbled. "Ah, well pardon me for saying padawan Dash, but you find everything boring that does not suit your interest." Jester said and walked over and picked up the papers to inspect them. "I will assume you did not listen at the briefing, and now I am left to pick up the slack." "H-hey! I did listen it was just... Erghhh.. Can you do anything to make this easier to understand?" Rainbow asked and followed the droid. "I can certainly try, or perhaps it would be better to say that I need to find a way. Otherwise you will as you say in Equestria, buck up." Rainbow smirked. "Did you just curse?" "I am still getting to know all of your terms, but I am dedicated to expand my memory banks in order to help my training programs." He replied. "Ah.." That actually made sense. Jester was one to use swears, to provoke and try to get a rise out of you doing sparring, it was a good way to practice control and focus, though sometimes he could really hit some sore spots, which meant she would loose the battle pretty quickly in order to get him back. "Well, I could also use some help spying on Cadance." The droid stopped looking over the papers and then turned his attention to Rainbow Dash. "I beg your pardon? Maybe I misunderstood you there master Dash, I am not familiar with 'pony humor'. Could you please elaborate?" Rainbow groaned, she really had a lot of explaining to do and not only that, but she had to read, spy and be ready to pick up her friends tomorrow. 'Master, come home soon, please...' ~~~~~*SW*~~~~~ It seemed like they had been at this for hours, Revan had tried to negotiate a peace between the two farming villages and hopefully focus efforts in finding the missing ponies. So far it had only ended in shouts, accusations and threats. Ponies were very kind, understanding and caring creatures, but Revan found they were also easily scared and were prone to stubbornness in certain scenarios. This would be a case of it, there was already bad blood between the villages, this just stoked the flames to whatever old feud there was. It ended with the meeting ending abruptly and the delegation from the other village left, leaving Revan stuck with an angry mayor and villagers that were still suspicious and paranoid. For now however, he needed air. Standing outside the near field he watched as Celestia sun was slowly moving down, giving him a sense of calm. "Sir?" Revan didn't look at him, he simply kept looking at the sun down, trying to make sense of all this. "Sergeant.. What do you think of all this?" The solar guard walked up beside Revan and sighed. "It's a real mess, sir. It is not often you see ponies that hostile towards one another." "Something is afoot. I can sense, something. Something that is yearning for, escape.." He did not know how else to describe the feeling, but that was what he felt. "Something is wrong, that's for sure.. Any sign of the missing villagers?" "No sir, and frankly, I doubt we will find anything. These ponies have lived out here for a long time, they know every rock and hill. If they have been searching too, then I think there is little chance we can find anything." The guard pony replied. "Hm, sometimes it just takes a fresh pair of eyes." Revan smiled a little. "I see what I can find out, in the meantime I would like you and your guards to make sure their feud does not escalate." "Sir-" Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by R6 that came rolling up to them, beeping and booping. "Ah, R6, good timing, let's try and call Rainbow Dash, I want to know how everything is going on her side." Revan smirked and turned to face the little droid, folding his arms within the sleeves of his brown Jedi robe. R6 gave a beep in confirmation and with one of the small projectors and a tiny antenna popping out of her round dome of a head, she started the call. It did not take long before a blue hologram image of Jester popped up, looking almost startled in his body language as he saw Revan. "Master! Uhm, what an unexpected pleasure." Revan cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. Jester had never greeted him like that before, normally he would give him some sort of sarcastic comment or a threat, never using the word pleasure without the word killing before. "Jester, is my padawan nearby, I wish to hear about how she has been holding up." Jester looked around. "She's not here right now master." He said, almost to stiffly for him. "Where is she then?" "Uhm, that is a little... Uhm, over the clouds.." What the buck was going on? Jester was never nervous and he most certainly never tried to hide anything, what did... Rainbow. Revan narrowed his eyes. "Jester, where is Rainbow Dash?" "Uhm.." "Oh for heavens sake, J-7-K!" Huyang's voice rang out and the old droid suddenly came into view, pushing Jester out of the way. "Huyang? What's going on?" Huyang let out what could be compared to a sigh. "I told them this was a bad idea, but padawan Dash insisted on her foolish plan." "What plan? Huyang, where is Rainbow?" ~~~~~*SW*~~~~~ 14 minutes earlier. "Padawan Dash, I really must protest, if master Revan was here then he would tell you no." Huyang said as he followed Rainbow downstairs into the sparring room of the Jedi Tower. "Well my master is not here, and if he was, he would sense it too." Rainbow said and moved over to one of the window, flapping her wings so she could fly up and unlock it. "But what if you're wrong? What then? What if you're discovered?" "But what if i'm right?" Rainbow countered. "What if she really is up to something, I have a bad feeling about this Huyang, and as a Jedi it's my duty to do something!" Huyang looked at her, somehow she felt the droid was making a face at her, if he would be able to. "You're a padawan.. Let us call master Revan, let us hear what he has to say." "Listen, little miss princess is eating with the.. Uhm, other princesses, along with Shining Armor, it's the perfect time to go in and snoop around in her room!" Rainbow Dash explained and finally got open the window, leaving Huyang wondering why she simply didn't use the balcony. "Don't worry, everything will be fine!" And with that she flew into the quickly darkening sky. "Oh dear.." ~~~~~*SW*~~~~~ The sun was going down, turning the orange sky darker and darker bu each second that passed. Rainbow knew she had to make good use of her time, Celestia had just lowered her sun, which meant the dinner was about to begin, she would at the very least have an hour to search her room. She flew along the palace walls, not bothering keeping herself hidden as she had an all access fly pass, perks of being a Jedi's apprentice. The guards for the most part gave her a nod of respect or simply ignored her, which was pretty great in a stealth mission such as this one. When she approached the balcony to Cadance's chambers, the sun was down and the moon rising, seems like the perfect time to do this. Moving closer, she carefully landed onto the balcony, being careful not to make a sound. Slowly Rainbow made her way to the window/door that led to her room, and thankfully there was nopony in sight. "Perhaps i'm lucky and she didn't-" Rattle rattle. "Lock it... Sith spit." Rainbow Dash then grinned, a simply lock such as this should be no problem for a Force user such as herself. Moving her hoof closer to the lock itself, using the Force, she guided it slowly out of it's spot and back to where it came from. Click. Success! Rainbow pushed the window/door open, stepping in like she was expecting a trap. Her eyes and ears all moved to see or hear if she could spot anything that might look like a trap. She held her breath, expecting to be ambushed, expecting something! Anything! Nothing... She sighed. "Dang it.. I hoped for something exciting at least.. Oh well.." Figuring she might as well start her search she turned on the lights and started to look around. The chambers were pretty big as expected, pretty spotless too, guess that came with being a princess. The search became pretty boring pretty fast as she didn't find any evidence at all, no clues no nothing! Rainbow Dash groaned, sitting down on the large bed, how could it be so clean? No dark magic books, no crystal skulls, no nothing, not at all like in the Daring Do books! This was just insane, scanning the room one more time with her eyes she let out another frustrated groan. Nothing at all! No scrolls, no dresses, no luggage, no... No... No luggage? She was not sure why, but, the room, it was insanely clean, like nopony was even living here. Sure she had been here, that much Rainbow knew, she could see it on the bed where she had been laying, sense it in the Force. Did she live in Shining Armor's chambers? No, that was forbidden until after the wedding! Maybe she lived, with another pony! Of course, that had to be it! She was having an affair, and... No, that sounded stupid.. Suddenly the door knob started to turn and brought her out of her train of thought. "Blasted." Rainbow cursed under her breath and hurried out the window/door, closing it carefully after her. She didn't fly away from the door however, she simply moved to the side so the stone wall would hide her presence. The door opened and right away she felt the dark energy of Cadance, it felt almost rotten to her by now. It only cemented her suspicions about her, but for now she would need evidence, and the strong kind before she went on and accused the princesses niece. Rainbow glanced inside, making sure to hide as much of her body as she could. Cadance looked smug, relaxed and overly confident. She was up to something, perhaps now she could see wha- "Hey! You!" Rainbow almost let out a yelp, but managed to hold it back. She turned and saw two Thestral guards, they used no light as their eyes were better for the darkness than the solar guards. "Halt, what are you doing there?" The other one said firmly. "Listen guys." She started and turned towards them. Both guards froze up and bowed their heads. "Jedi Dash, we're sorry, we thought you were an intruder." One of them replied. "Yeah, but, but what are you doing outside princess Cadance's apartment?" "I would like to know that too, Jedi.." A fourth voice joined their conversation and Rainbow felt her blood go cold for a moment. She turned her head, only to see princess Cadance herself, standing there with a raised eyebrow and almost a playful smirk on her face. "Uhm.." Rainbow ran through all possible explanations, thinking quickly she looked at the guards. "Good job guys, you did well." Both guards looked confused, glancing at one another and then looked back at her, waiting for her to go on. "Yeah, I mean, I was not sure if Shining Armor's plan would work, so I decided to test it out, to time how long it would take you to notice me! You did great!" Both Thestrals started to smile, happy to hear they had done well, even though they did not fully understand. "Well, thank you Padawan Dash." Cadance said, getting Rainbow's attention. "I feel much safer knowing you're on top of things, but I assure you. My darling Shining Armor already has everything under control, so if you don't mind, I would like to get some sleep before the wedding tomorrow." Rainbow cursed at herself, like she did not have enough to think about, now she was getting mocked. The two guard might not be able to sense it, but she could. That immense self confidence and smugness oozed of this mare, and Rainbow did not like it one bit. She however maintained her smile. "Of course, forgive me princess, I simply needed to make sure everything was alright. We wouldn't want anything to happen to the bride now, do we?" Cadance maintained her smiled. "No, we do not.. Goodnight, Jedi." Rainbow bowed her head and sighed. She sighed, but then noticed the guards looking confused, she simply said. "Relax, it's mare code." And with that, she left. ~~~~~*SW*~~~~~ Revan stared at the two droids, he was pretty sure by now they could both sense the disbelief in his gaze. "So what you're telling me is Rainbow has gone out to spy on princess Cadance?" "Yes master Revan." Huyang replied. "Well.." Revan trusted Rainbow, and he had told her to trust her feelings and the Force. He would not condemn her actions before he heard it straight from the pony's mouth. "Let's see what Rainbow has to say." Thankfully he did not have to wait for very long, from the window Rainbow entered and started to fly down towards the floor. Soon enough she spotted her master's hologram. "Master!" She smiled and quickly landed in front of the hologram and bowed her head. "Young one, I hear from Huyang you have been out on a spy mission. Care to elaborate?" Revan asked in an even tone, not hinting at disapproval or approval, he wanted to hear what she had to say first and foremost. Rainbow Dash nodded eagerly. "Yes master, it started with." She started to explain everything that had happened, from the moment she first laid eyes on Cadance to when she decided to check out her chambers. She hid nothing from her master, she had no reason to after all. When the explanation was over she took a deep breath, waiting for her master's responds. Revan looked thoughtful, but not dismissive of her feelings. "Rainbow, you've done well.." He finally said. "I trust your judgement, but without proof we can do very little. I want you to continue to watch her." "Yes master." Rainbow nodded firmly. "Twilight and your friends arrive tomorrow, maybe Twilight has some insight.. Trust in yourself, and be mindful of your emotions, make sure they don't cloud your judgement." Rainbow nodded again. "Yes master.." She knew he was worried about the whole Applejack situation, and frankly, she was pretty nervous too, but she needed to stay sharp. "I will finish this up hopefully by tomorrow, though I fear I might be late. If I cannot fix this in time I will arrive late afternoon, make sure you stay on top of things until then. May the Force be with you." "I will master, may the Force be with you too.." ~~~~~*SW*~~~~~ The transmission was shut off and Revan let out a sigh. "Thank you R6... Sorry for the long call." The droid beeped a few happy sounds and Revan smiled back at her. "Thanks." He looked to the guard. "Make sure your guards get some rest, they've earned it. I shall go for a walk and collect my thoughts." The sergeant nodded. "Very good sir, have a nice walk." "Thank you sergeant, come on R6." Beep beep, boop! Revan walked down one of the small dirt roads along the one of the many fields. R6 was silent, only the sound of her tiny wheels moving her forward could be heard, not that he minded, he was used to the sound of droids and he had learned a long time ago to simply filter the small mechanical sounds out. The moon was beautiful today, the start shined brightly as well, Luna had to be in a good mood this evening. This dimension.. It was still very foreign to him, creatures who controlled their own solar system, magic. He wondered if it was some sort of Force power the Jedi had yet to discover. Though strange, he liked this world, it was filled with wonder and though not entirely safe, it was much less chaotic and violent than his own dimension. Here he could rest, meditate, seek guidance from the Force. Still, there was so much he didn't understand.. The Force had put him on this path, but there was still so many unanswered questions. The portal that brought him here, who conjured it? Was it by chance? Or was it simply the will of the Force manifesting itself? He let out a sigh, not knowing where he should begin to look for answers, or even what to do with them once he had them. The only thing he felt sure about right now was to train a new generation of Jedi, to rebuild and reform the Jedi order. He held a hand to his heart, he could feel it, feel that it was his purpose here. Stopping by a small hill, he looked over the grass fields, watching the tall grass wave in the wind and being lit up by the moonlight. It was so relaxing, so peaceful, so- Revan. "Huh?" Revan turned around as he heard a voice whisper his name, but no one was there. What was stranger was it sounded like it came from a great distance. R6 looked at him, if she could she would probably tilt her head in confusion. "N-nothing R6, just thought I heard-" Revan. This time he knew he heard it, looking up he noticed a faint glow not far from him, it seemed it came from within the forest. It was very faint, and he had to strain himself to even notice it. "R6.. Stay here." Beep beep, bwoop? "No, it's okay, I'll be back, promise.." He headed inside the forest, following the lights, but it seemed the closer he got the farther they moved away. He quickened his pace, feeling somehow the forest changed, became darker the farther he went in. Revan.. The ghostly voice called again, Revan did not respond, but he started to run and run and- "Wha!" He fell and everything became dark around him. It felt like his body was falling, then almost hovering, suddenly however he opened his eyes, finding not the forest floor, but orange stone. "What..?" He groaned, but when he did he felt his voice sounded, strange. He slowly stood up and when he did and finally got a good look at his surroundings, his eyes widened. "This, cannot be.." It was a Jedi training hall, no, THE Jedi training hall, from the Jedi temple, but, how was that even possible? "Interesting.." A voice said from behind him, he quickly turned and his heart instantly felt like it went to his throat. "M-master?" Luxida stood there, looking around with calm eyes and yet with the same youthful air around her she always had. Finally, her eyes settled on him and she sent him a warm smile. Revan felt like he wanted to cry, he had not seen her since he left for Naboo before the purge. He never found out if she survived or not, and yet, here she was, smiling at him! She held up a hand to her mouth and giggled. "It's amusing to see you like this, again." "Again, what do you mea-" Revan stopped as he looked himself over. His hands, his robes, his... Braid.. This could not be, he was a child again, a padawan again, but, this was not possible. "Master.." Revan looked at her again. "What is going on?" "Hmmm.." She hummed and started to look around. "Seems like you've returned to the Jedi temple, or at least to the training hall.." That didn't answer anything and she seemed intend on teasing him, just like old times. "Am I dead?" Luxida frowned. "No? At least I would not think so, you simply tripped." "Simply tripped? I heard your voice, master, I followed you." "Did you?" She smirked and turned to him. "Or did you simply follow your inner self?" "Inner self master? Are you saying this is all in my head?" She let out a small giggle. "You've always been so.." Letting out a sigh, she sat down, crossed her legs. "Revan, you came to this place, this whole new world, free from the powers that now taints out own.. The Force is calling to you, do not turn away from it, listen to it, and trust in your inner self." That didn't make any sense, he was here to resolve a feud and find the missing ponies, what was all this? He needed answers. "Maste-" Before he managed to finish the first word, everything flashed white and he opened his eyes in the real world. His whole body felt sore. "Ah..." He slowly picked himself up, happy to feel he had not gotten himself hurt. More to the point, what did he just experience? A vision perhaps? More importantly, did he really just talk to his master? Impossible, for all of these months he had tried to contact anyone from his own dimension thought the Force, but he never felt anything.. Sighing a little he knew he had no time to dwell on what had just transpired, not here, not now. Dusting himself off he took a look at his surroundings and quickly found out why he had fallen. He had fallen into some kind of cave, though, it did not look natural, it seemed to have been dug. He looked into the cave, feeling a strong pull from the Force. Something was in here, something alive, no, not one, but multiple beings screaming to be set free. Without giving it a second thought, he started to walk deeper within the makeshift cave. At first the darkness around him swallowed him up, providing no light, but it was for less than 10 seconds when suddenly a sickly green glow could be seen farther ahead. Moving along he finally entered a cave chamber, and what he saw made his eyes go wide. Inside was massive green slimy cocoon like pods, giving off a sickly green glow, but what was even more horrible, inside was these cocoons was ponies! He moved up close, counting all of them, there was at least 12 of them down here, it was the missing farmers! The number matched and it seemed they were all here! Who could have done this however, and what for? Reaching down to his belt, he picked up a small communicator to call up R6, she would have to get the guards here, fast. Before he could push a single button however he heard several hissing sounds behind him. Quickly spinning around, unhooking his lightsaber he saw several glowing blue eyes in the darkness, all of them glaring at him. Blasted! He had been so focused on the cocoons he completely missed them sneaking up on him. Sighing to himself, he knew there was onyl one thing to do. "Well..." He ignited his lightsaber, the blue blade illuminating the tight space of the cave chamber. "Hello there.."