//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: First day 
// Story: The Redemption Arc: Grievous Reborn 
// by Eternal Samson 
//------------------------------//

“Listen up everycreature!” Boomed Twilight’s canterlot voice. All the conversations in the hall stopped. Now that she had everycreates’s attention, Twilight spoke at a normal volume “You're probably wondering why I called an assembly this morning. You’re also probably wondering what happened after the thing fell from the sky yesterday at our school’s anniversary party. Well, I know it's shocking to say, but it was an alien.” 

There was an audible gasp from the crowd.

“Hold up, everycreature! Let me finish. The alien is not coming to invade. He is in fact currently stranded. He and his friends are coming here to learn the magic of friendship, since his culture doesn’t seem to have an equivalent, while the princess's work to get him home. I want you all to treat him like any other creature, and please do not pester him. He doesn’t like questions, and regardless he is our guest here at the school. That being said, he and his friends may look scary, but don’t be afraid of them. He is just another creature come to learn of friendship. If you have any concerns, please see our councilor Starlight Glimmer. And now here is our guest and newest student, Grievous and his droid friends!” She turned, gesturing behind her, as Grievous and his guards came out on the stage. 

There was another audible gasp from the assembled students.
“Please! Calm down everycreature! Thank you. Now with that matter taken care of, I would like to welcome you all to the start of another year of learning! Schedules are at the tables to the right, and classes will start in an hour. Don’t be late!” Twilight said, finishing her speech. The main 6 moved off to monitor the throng of students now going every which way, clambering excitedly over the news as the went to get their schedules. Starlight stayed behind with Grievous and his guards.

Grievous for his part was very unhappy. The day had already started terribly, between the attack, and his increasing memory issues. And now he was faced with humiliation. He looked at all the students, feeling demeaned simply by being in their presence. He wanted to hold onto his anger at being humiliated and forced to be here. But he knew as much as he hated it, his options were few. Well, the reasonable options that didn’t involve sneaking away and killing a few civilians pointlessly. He turned the emotions over and over again, struggling with the logical side of his mind. It took most of the students to clear to their classes for him to finally decide to accept his situation. He decided he would take it as a challenge. He would show Dooku he was more than a coughing, powerful, lightsaber wielding, ruthless general. He could adapt, be diplomatic, cunning and resourceful. He would show that he had learned from his many humiliating failures throughout the clone wars. He would show that he was worthy of the name Grievous, in that he could cause the enemy to grieve in his conquest of their people. And not just a conquest consisting purely of overwhelming force, which he did not currently  have, but a conquest using his words and mind as well. Something he knew Dooku would love to see in him. It didn’t matter that he was without an army, he would grow stronger every day. Strong enough to stand against the equines, even if by himself.

Now this was all a good pep talk, but he couldn’t forget that this self growth only need occur if he fails to contact support and leave this rock. Either way however, he wins.

Grievous smiled internally. As part of his newfound desire to be cunning,  He decided to send an order to the droids telling them they could answer any of the equines from yesterday, as long as they stayed within the parameters he set regarding what they could reveal. This increased cooperativity should give the equines an increased false security about his intentions without hurting his efforts. With a greatly improved mood he looked over to the six adult equines head off to their classrooms. Expect one. 

Applejack walked up to Grievous and his droids. “Hey there sugarcubes, y’all with me first period. Come on, I’ll lead y’all there.”

With Grievous improved mood, he felt no urge to growl as he followed after the orange equine, his guards following behind.



Grievous ignored the uncomfortable gazes of the assembled students as he and his entourage sauntered in. 

“Hey there mister aliens, come over and sit with us!” Came a bubbly voice from an equally bubbly certain hippogriff.

Grievous hesitated. Although he preferred standing at the back, his new found desire to be less angry and more cunning told him not to make a scene and take the offer. After all, it was just sitting. Sure he did not prefer it, but someone as powerful as him was more than capable of doing it. 

His mind made up he strode over and sat down, putting his hands together in front of him, mechanical elbows resting on the table, and two of his commandos standing behind him, the rest by the entrance to the barn/classroom cross they were in.

“Aren’t you guys gonna sit to?” Asked the non-equine yet equine shaped, clawed, bubbly creature, the only one not afraid enough to talk openly with the aliens out of all the students. 

The guards behind Grievous did not respond, so he answered for them. “They are my guards. They can participate just fine where they are.”

The hippogriff looked uncertain, and asked “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” He replied with a note of finality.

“Okay, if you say so…”

Grievous began to regret sitting down. Sure he sat across from other leaders, diplomats, or such before, if on very few occasions. But the students were seated around the table with him, creating a feel that he did not like. As if he was part of the table group, and not standing alone and above them at one end of the table. 

The orange equine… he stopped himself. He better start thinking of them by name, as it would increase successful communication necessary to implant any cunning plans he came up with that didn’t involve hacking and slicing.

Applejack began her lesson. His feeling of humiliation returned as she began to teach. These weren't some complex philosophical discussion on friendship, which would have been already very humiliating and beneath Grievous to ever attend. No, these lessons were about things mothers told their 3 year old children about being kind to others in the galaxy or some other unrealistic, fairy tale crap those weaklings told their young to make them feel better about the merciless galaxy they lived in. Grievous became absolutely furious. This is what they subject him too?! Utter humiliation and idealistic child like views?! Is this really what these force mutated creatures society was based off of? Grievous was disgusted. He was about to storm out right there when he noticed Applejack talking in his direction. He quickly refocused to pick out the words she was saying.

“...what would you do?”

Surprisingly his commando answered. “Question does not compute with programming”

Grievous realized Applejack had asked the commando the question.

Applejack tried again. “When somecreature asks a question, and you know the honest answer will hurt their feelings, how can you avoid telling a lie without crushing their feelings?

The commando stayed still for a moment. He forgot he had told them to respond to any of the equines he had met yesterday as long as the question did not reveal details he did not want known by them. Before he could tell the thing to shut up, it responded again. “Question exceeds battle programming parameters. Cannot compute.”

Grievous had enough. He rose, speaking to his droids.”Shut up and follow me.”
He then strode past them towards the exit. 

The hippogriff called after him “Mr.alien… I mean Grievous, are you okay? Come back!!”

“Grievous where in tarnation are ya going?” Applejack said. When he didn’t respond and walked right out, she quickly spoke to the students. “All ya’ll stay put now, you hear?” Then she ran out after him.



Grievous kept his quick pace to the school. He would have to pass through it to get to the front entrance, where he could then make it back to Twilight’s castle. He refused to waste anymore time on this school. He was going to go to the escape pod and figure out a way to contact someone or achieve orbit, and he wasn’t going to stop until he succeeded. Applejack quickly caught up, coming alongside Grievous. She kept trying to convince him to come back, kept asking where he was going, and what was wrong. He ignored her completely, continuing on. Applejack tried asking his droids, but he had rescinded the order to answer her he had naively gave in his positive moment earlier at the end of the morning assembly.

Applejack was getting pretty annoyed at the aliens and their behavior. Finally she decided she had enough, and went in with her trump card.

“If you aren’t gonna talk to me, I’m gonna have to tell the princesses about this.”

Grievous stopped. Applejack moved pass him to stand face to face. Her stare was fierce, but he was sure his was more so. He took a few steps forward until he was 15 centimeters away from her and stooped down, his face a few centimeters from hers and spoke with an eerily calm voice.

“Are you threatening me?” He asked.

“I’m trying to get you to talk to me so we can work this out.”

The audacity of this mutated equine force witch astounded Grievous. It took insane levels of self control to not grab her by the throat and crush it right then and there. 

“There is nothing to work out.”

“You know what, if you aren’t gonna talk to me, then you need to go see Starlight. Maybe a counselor will get your problem out of ya. And if you don’t, ma duty as a teacher calls that I report it to the headmare. And I have no doubt she’ll pass it up to the princesses.”

“I do not take kindly to blackmail, Applejack.” His use of her name surprised her. So much that she didn’t react as he gave out a cry of warrior rage in his native language and backhanded her with such force she flew into the wall with a loud smack. Applejack groaned in pain, conscious and bruised, unable to get to her feet, but otherwise fine. 

She let out a shaky weak breath. “Wha-a-t-t the hay was that for!” It barely came out as more than a whisper.

“Your lucky I am being so cooperative with you all. If talking to this Starlight is what you want, fine. But don’t expect me back at your pitiful excuse for an educational facility.” If it wasn’t for the childlike views taught, he would have thought it was brain  washing. Then again, he had yet to see any violence. Maybe their social system was so pacifist and backwards that child like views was a form of brainwashing for them.

With such thoughts, Grievous strode away, the droids following, leaving Applejack bruised and trying to recover the breath that had been knocked out of her. She had no idea how lucky see was, how so very close to killing her Grievous had been.



Grievous stalked through the hallways of the school until he found where he had started this morning. If he remembered correctly, after the assembly he saw Twilight head...this way. If he was lucky the councilor’s office was in this general direction as well. 

After a bit of wandering around the hallways, he finally found a room marked councilor on it. He raised his fist and pounded on the door



Starlight Glimmer had found herself again without any students in need of counselling. She decided that telling someone about the crazy day she had had with the new aliens would be much more interesting than trying to keep her plants alive, or mess around with the things in her office. And so, she invited Trixie over for a little mare time. 

While Trixie much preferred spending their time anywhere but a boring old school, it had been a week since they had spent some quality time. And while she would never admit it, she needed her best friend. Besides, Starlight had promised that she had some very interesting news to share. As such, she accepted Starlight’s invite and found herself sitting across from Starlight as she recounted the “intense standoff” with the alien this morning. Normally Trixie hated hearing anything about Twilight, but a standoff with a fearsome alien threatening her and not getting blasted by her power was quite satisfying to hear. It also stirred her ambition a bit. She had a chance to impress these aliens with her great and powerful magic tricks and hopefully gain a larger audience and fans that were somewhat cool. I mean everyone agreed that large, scary aliens were super cool, as long as they weren’t conquering ponies or kidnapping them. To have them in her audience would not doubt gain her great publicity in the eyes of Equestria. Maybe she would even gain the attention of Princess Celestia! Oh that would make Twilight soooo jealous. Well, maybe not jealous, as she was already super close to Celestia, but at least super annoyed that Celestia payed attention to Trixie at all.

These were the thoughts on her mind as Starlight finished with her story, when a very loud sound came from the door, causing her to jump several hoof lengths into the air with a very undignified, high pitched shriek of fear. 

Starlight herself had jerked backwards at such speeds it was if she had teleported to the back of her chair. That was how loud and sudden the sound came from the door.

“Open up!!!” Called a raspy voice.

Starlight recognizing the voice quickly responded. “Oh hello Grievous! The...uhh door is already unlocked so umm you can just come in.”

Trixie paled a bit at hearing Grievous’s name. She did her best to hide it however. The Great and Powerful Trixie refused to show fear in front of her best friend.

Grievous growled at being forced to open the door himself. Whether it was because it showed the primitiveness of the society that they didn't have self opening doors, or the further slight the natives showed by making him do it himself, he wasn’t quite sure. Not that it mattered. Either way he was angry with them, and that’s all that mattered. Those who concern themselves with words might have had the desire to figure out the exact reason for their anger, so that they could shape their words in a way that addressed and resolved the issue at hand rather than addressing a nonexistent issue by accident. For Grievous, he found that lightsabers often eliminated the need to pinpoint his reason for anger, and was much more efficient as a result.

With such thinking and desire to cut off limbs and heads he grabbed the handle and threw the door open, stomping inside the rather large room. He made for the desk at which sat Starlight, his long strides closing the distance quickly. Too quickly for Starlights taste as she saw the obvious bad mood Grievous was in.

Still, ruling a village taught one the skill and necessity of keeping one's composure in all situations. With such barley kept composure, Starlight asked very camly “What can I do for you Grievous?”

Most might have felt more at ease at hearing such a kind, controlled response. Not Grievous. He saw her reaction as resistance to the intimidation tactics he was purposefully employing. In the clone wars, those who often resisted him were usually the enemy. So suffice it to say her composure added to his anger and desire to start slaughtering scores of enemies. And with a seemingly lack of enemies, his desire morphed into a desire to slaughter scores of primitives that were conveniently on hand.

With more effort than he had ever had to exert in his life, he excruciatingly forced his hand centimeter by centimeter away from his waist were his lightsabers rested.

Starlight, like Applejack, was completely oblivious to the murderous thoughts running through Grievous’s head. Murder just wasn’t something ponies ever considered or thought about. Ever. Why that was, only Celestia knew.

Taking a good long while to collect himself before responding, he paused for a few seconds.

Starlight began to feel an increased anxiety as she waited for him to say something, anything, rather than continuing hovering intimidatingly above her.

Finally, choosing his words carefully, Grievous spoke. “I have an issue attending this institution.”

“What do you mean? Did you have trouble finding a class? Were the students mean or something?” Starlight asked.

“It is the curriculum.” Grievous responded, ignoring her questions and acting almost as if he had not paused and she had not responded, becoming slightly aggressive.“It is not educative, meer forcing of ignorant, childish beliefs on ignorant minds.”

“Friendship isn’t childish.” Starlight retorted.

Trixie cut in before Starlight could finish. “Once upon a time Trixie may have agreed with your view. But my great and powerful friend is right. Friendship is a special  power, one Trixie was lucky to discover. It may seem like it is nothing special, not important, or not worth it, but Trixie has learned otherwise.”

Starlight felt a surge of pride for her friend and the advancements she had made in the field of friendship. When they had met, neither one of them had really known anything about friendship. And now her she was a counselor at a friendship school, and Trixie was here telling a stranger the value of Friendship. 

Trixie was proud of herself too. She was not this open very often. And when she was, it was only around her. Being around Starlight, her best friend, really helped her feel safe, and allow her drop her arrogant act. Even she had to admit how completely life changing it was to have her as a friend.

Grievous of course was oblivious to all of this, and simply laughed a cynical laugh, smashing both the good and magical feelings the mares had developed speaking on the topic of friendship. 

“Your primitiveness shows in your lack of understanding of reality. The things I have seen would probably drive your weak minds insane. It is why I detest dealing with you. You are nothing to me.”

Starlight felt hurt at his words, and it was with a cold voice and expression that she responded. “And yet without us, you have no way home.”

Grievous growled at the reminder.

She continued in her assertive tone and words.“I’m sure the princesses sent you here to teach you that we, and everycreature else, is someone. Despite your view of us, it was us that saw through you, and your need to learn. I can understand that they way we teach my be different than your culture, and as such, I am willing to find alternate ways to teach. If you are open to us, we will be open with you, and you will see the strength we have and solutions to your problems. They only way we can help you is if you help us.” She felt uncomfortable using this tone with Grievous, as she hadn't used it since she had ruled over her village. She had created a dominating personality to cope with the loss of her friend, which led to how she treated her old village. It was still a part of her, but one she tried to move past. Realizing her mistakes, she had tried to make up and be the person she would have been had she not decided to harden her heart because of her pain.

Of course Grievous cared not for her words or reasons, and cared only that the primitive dared defy him. The amount of will he was able to exert to keep his blades from their necks honestly shocked him. He always believed he was strong willed, but this was far more. The very fact he could somehow contain the uncontainable rage and hate he felt worried him. Were his emotions being manipulated by these force witches? For a fraction of a second, he felt afraid, fear he thought had died with the rest of his body. Before he could even think about it, it was gone, and his mind was made up. 

He stooped down and threw his hand out to Starlight, his finger pointing inches from her head. “You better hope I don’t regret this.” As soon as he had a way off planet, he would make sure these creatures paid. In blood, spilt by his armies.



It wasn’t all that much longer after Grievous tramped out that Applejack burst through the doors, panting and wild looking. Before Starlight could ask what was wrong or before Trixie could make some questionable comment, Applejack spoke.
“Y’all seen Grievous?!” She asked with a wild look.

“Yeah, he was just here, why?”

“We got to find him! He just attacked me, who knows what he’ll do next!” She paused. “Wait, you said he was here?”

“Yeah, but wait, he attacked you?” Starlight asked incredulously.

“He was going on about how he didn’t like the school and I told him he could come here or talk to the princesses. Then he said I was blackmailing him and threw me across the hall!”

“Sounds to me he doesn't do well with authority, and he vented his frustration with at you, physically. Because he did still come here like you told him too.” Starlight reasoned.

“What if he vents on some other creature?!” Applejack exclaimed.

Starlight’s eyes widened. “That would be bad. I think we should give him his space, but we should also make sure that he doesn't get in others. Come on, let's go.” She jumped down from her chair and raced after Applejack, who had started running at go. Trixie whined as they left and reluctantly ran after them,”Why do we have to chase after him? Trixie doesn't like chases.” She was a bit to far behind for them to hear her, and they were busy trying to find Grievous anyway, so her complaining went ignored. She still felt a little better for saying it though.