//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: The map of the Temple's trail 
// Story: A Jedi's Journey 
// by Postwarmonkey50 
//------------------------------//

A new day dawns as the sun slowly rises from the hills, thanks to Celestia’s magic. From within the castle’s guest room chambers, whilst Luke had managed to get some sleep, he chose to meditate as he sat down with his legs crossed and his hands placed on his knees. He continued to breathe, focusing, and concentrated by being mindful of the future.

‘I am with the Force, and the Force is with me. I am one with the Force, and it shall guide me.’ he kept saying to himself over and over.

As he continued his meditation, he felt a tremor in the Force, making him open his eyes slowly. He had a feeling that whatever he felt, he was right on track.

Artoo moved towards Luke and beeped a few times. ‘No Artoo,’ said Luke as he stood up ‘I can feel a tremor in the Force, but it is too faint for me to detect. If I am going to find what I’m looking for, I need to go to a place where the Force is at its strongest.’

Artoo beeped again, suggesting he’d go to where he first met them. ‘To the forest they mentioned?’

Luke was deep in thought, thinking about what Artoo had suggested. ‘Hmm, perhaps I could give it a try. Artoo, can you pass on the message to them?’

Artoo beeped, agreeing with Luke’s demands.

A few hours later, Twilight and the others arrived, wanting to get a head start before waking up the Young Six. Twilight knocked on the door with her hoof, trying to get Luke’s attention.

‘Excuse me, Luke?’ said Twilight, trying to be patient. ‘Are you awake?’

All of a sudden, the door opened, revealing Artoo coming out, as he beeped to them.

‘Oh, hello there Artoo.’ said Fluttershy ‘Do you know where Luke is?’

Artoo beeped again, whilst using his lens to create a hologram of Luke, much to their surprise.

‘Hello girls,’ said Luke as he greeted them whilst the message played. ‘Sorry I couldn’t be there to greet you, I decided to go out to take in the scenery. But do not worry, I am far from danger. I decided to go to the place where we first met. I will be back shortly.’

As the message ended, Twilight and the others however, didn’t show relief, but worry on their faces.

‘The Everfree Forest?!’ shouted the Mane Six when they realized where he was.

A minute later, Twilight teleported the Mane 6 to the Everfree forest, with them looking around. However, Fluttershy noticed what appeared to be a light, causing her to move towards it.

‘Alright,’ said Twilight as she instructed the others ‘We’ll have to split up from here. If you find him, call us, and we’ll rush right over.’

‘Um, Twilight.’ said Fluttershy, gaining the others’ attention. ‘That won’t be a problem.’

They saw that she was standing a few feet away from them, which made them go to her to see what she was seeing, not realizing that she had a look of awe on her face.

‘What?’ said Applejack ‘Did y’all found…him…?’

As the rest of the Mane 6 arrived, all of them were too in awe, when they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. From the forest, there was a large clearing. From the center of the clearing was a large rock. And on top of that rock, was none other than Luke.

He was on top of the rock, meditating, whilst floating at the same time. But he also glowed blue, sparking a much more powerful energy that none had ever seen. And all around Luke, were larger objects like rocks and boulders, all floating around as if they were being carried by a mysterious force.

Luke took a few breathers, until he hit the final one, and landed on the rock he was sitting on slowly, as well as the other rocks and boulders that were floating about. He slowly opened his eyes, and saw the Mane Six standing there, watching him in awe when they saw him did what they saw him do.

‘Oh, good morning.’ said Luke whilst standing up and jumped off the rock he was sitting on. ‘I did not expect to see all of you early, given what time it is.’

‘Well, we just wanted to get an early start before the others.’ said Rainbow Dash.

‘Until we saw you do that floaty thing whilst holding your eyes closed and made every rock and boulder all around you float as if they were being carried by invisible ghosts, and have you ever considered doing this at pony children parties?’ said Pinkie Pie as she jumped all around like a bouncy ball, then landed close to him with a smile.

‘My apologies.’ said Luke as he walked over to the Mane 6, then stopped near them. ‘I needed to focus on the spot where the Force was its most strongest.’

‘To do what exactly?’ asked Fluttershy ‘If you don’t mind me asking?’

‘If there is a temple here,’ said Luke as he had his arms crossed ‘Then I need to get a clearer picture of where I need to go. Or at least find a clue on where I should go.’

‘And did y’all find anything?’ asked Applejack.

‘Well,’ said Luke ‘I couldn’t make it out. But from what I could tell, it had to be a place where books are being stored. And from what I could sense, its guiding me to Canterlot.’

Twilight realized what he was talking about. ‘The Canterlot Library?’

‘You know that place?’ asked Luke.

‘Of course.’ said Twilight ‘When I was still Celestia’s student, I used to go to the Canterlot Library a lot to study. And I last time went there to help a friend of mine when her friends’ memories of her were erased.’

‘I see.’ said Luke. ‘Would you please escort me there?’

‘Of course.’ said Twilight as she sounded excited, for she would get a chance to show a newcomer the very source of Equestrian knowledge.

Within moments, Twilight teleported Luke and the rest towards the Canterlot Library. Luke’s eyes were widened, but also smiled. For in a way being teleported felt exhilarating.

‘That was pretty handy.’ said Luke as he looked at Twilight ‘Wished the past Jedi before me knew how to do that.’

‘Thanks.’ said Twilight with a smile.

‘Ahem.’ said a voice. When they looked, it revealed to be the Young Six, with Spike, Starlight and Sunburst in tow, all three of them feeling tired whilst still sipping on coffee they had to buy near a coffee shop, with Artoo among them as well.
‘You didn’t think we were gonna miss this out, do you?’ said Smolder with a smirk.

‘But how did y’all know we were going here?’ asked Applejack with a flexed eyebrow.

‘Trust me,’ said Spike after he took another sip from his coffee ‘They wouldn’t stop nagging us for hours about going with you or missing out an adventure.’

‘So what are we waiting for?’ said Sandbar ‘Are we going to do this, or what?’

‘Of course.’ said Luke ‘The more the merrier.’

All of them walked up the stairs of the Canterlot Library and walked through the doors. As they got inside, half of them were surprised to see so many books in one place. ‘Impressive collection.’ said Luke as he looked around ‘The Jedi knowledge keepers would certainly praise this world for preserving this much knowledge of Equestria.’

‘That is what we aimed for when we first opened this place.’ said a familiar voice. As they turned around, they saw Celestia, Luna and the Pillars.

‘Princess Celestia?’ said Sunburst, clearly surprised to see them ‘What are all of you doing here?’

‘Especially this early?’ said Rarity when she was just as surprised.

‘When Luke mentioned a Jedi Temple in Equestria,’ said Celestia ‘We decided to dig up whatever knowledge we could find here.’

‘But so far we couldn’t find anything.’ said Starswirl ‘Which is strange, if any historian from the past had seen a temple here, we would’ve known about it.’

‘Sometimes the things you may look for,’ said Luke whilst speaking to Starswirl ‘Can be right under the nose of any seeker. It was what Twilight and her friends went through when they tried to find the Tree of Harmony.’

Twilight and the others were surprised to learn about this, with Luke looking at her as he said ‘I did some reading and asked Celestia to enlighten me of this world.’

‘Oh, of course.’ said Twilight, clearly surprised by his resolve of learning.

Luke decided to try something. He slowly stood on his knees and started to meditate whilst keeping his eyes closed. The others, who saw what he was doing, wondered what he was up to.

‘Uh, what are you…?’ said Rainbow Dash before Pinkie placed her hoof over RD’s mouth.

Luke sat there with his eyes closed, concentrating and ignoring the sounds all around him. Sure enough, through deep meditating, Luke felt something. It was faint, but thanks to the meditation he did at the Everfree forest, he was able to clearly see where he wanted to go.

Luke slowly opened his eyes and looked at the others. ‘I know where we need to go.’

‘You do lad?’ said Rockhoof as he looked at Luke.

Luke slowly stood up and continued walking forward. Curiously of what he was up to, every creature followed him. Luke walked past the book shelves and tables, walking down a path that Celestia, Luna and Twilight knew all too well; the restricted section, the very same section that Twilight went when Sunset needed her help in restoring her friends’ memories of her.

They continued down the stone hallway beneath the library. Eventually, they stopped in front of a large door:
‘I have not seen this before.’ said Starswirl as he looked at the door.

‘After you disappeared and Luna was banished to the moon,’ said Celestia as she explained ‘I built this place underneath the library, to store even the most dangerous and well kept secret of Equestria’s history and spells so that nopony can use them for their own benefits.’

Luke looked at Celestia ‘You banished your sister to the moon?’ he asked. ‘Why?’

Luna felt it was time for her to speak, for even though she doesn’t like to talk about it, she still needed help to adjust herself, even if others have forgiven her. ‘When Celestia and myself took the throne, we both have the power to control both the day and the night. But overtime, ponies loved the day then they loved my night. I felt jealous and turned to darkness. My sister tried to use the elements to free me, but she couldn’t activate their full power since the elements were slowly being disconnected from us. So she had to banish me.’

‘I see.’ said Luke ‘May I speak my mind?’

Luna nodded, wondering what Luke had in mind.

Luke looked at her and spoke to her directly. ‘Though you wanted to be loved, there is no shame in that, but there are other ways to be loved, rather than resorting to darkness.’

‘But I tried…’ said Luna, until Luke raised his hand, cutting Luna off.

‘As my master once said,’ said Luke ‘ “Do or do not, there is no try”. For sometimes the choices we make, is a natural part of life. We choose what path we take for the greater good of others, wanting to help those in need. For wanting something, outweighing the responsibility you have been given, can lead to jealousy, which only happens by the shadow of greed itself. For look at me, many times there were those, both my father and the Emperor included, that tried to seduce me to the dark side. And have I given into it?’

Luna slightly diverted her eyes as she said ‘No.’ in a sorrowful tone, before she focused her eyes on Luke.

‘You tried to make up for your mistakes, and it is admirable.’ said Luke ‘But you should also realize that though there are those who are afraid of the night, they love the light that shines above it, admiring the beauty of it. Like the sun, it can give life to keep the world in balance, and powerful both the sun, and the moon are. And through them, along with the magic, it created the life that you see before you. Makes it grow into what all of you were meant to be. The magic, as well as the magic of both the sun and moon, surrounds all of you. And binds you. There is magic everywhere.’

Luke walked over as he placed his hand on her shoulder ‘You will always be loved. Not by your night, but for the pony you are. For even if there are those who do not care for the night, the ponies who do remember you, admired you because of what you represented. You care, you love, and you would shield them from anything that would harm them. And those are the traits that you should be proud of, not from not loving your night.’

Luke released her shoulder as he said ‘Trust in your heart. And trust those that you’ve made friends with that love you for who you are, not what you are.’

Luna couldn’t help but smile, admiring the words Luke had said. For what he said was more worth than anything she had been given a thousand years ago. ‘Truly you are wise beyond your years.’

‘I had great teachers who showed me the way.’ said Luke. ‘You could say, I was like Twilight once upon a time.’
Twilight was surprised from Luke’s words, whilst he walked towards the stone door.

‘Oh, do not worry,’ said Celestia as she took a step forward ‘My sister and I will…’

‘Beg your pardon your highness,’ said Luke ‘But that will not be necessary.’

Luke closed his eyes and raised his right hand towards the door. Using the Force as he slowly moved his right hand from left to right. Within mere moments, the large stone unlocked itself and slowly opened, much to the ponies and creature’s shock.

‘What…?’ said Twilight as she had a hard time comprehending what she had just witnessed. ‘How did you do that?’

‘When you are trained in the ways of the Force,’ said Luke as he looked at Twilight ‘There are many roads that are presentable to you. Like for one, opening doors that takes the concentration of the mind to help guide it.’

‘Incredible.’ said Luna ‘Truly the Jedi Order have made marvelous strides into achieving what others deemed impossible.’

‘Shall we?’ said Luke as he was the first to walk inside.

As they got in, everyone, except Celestia, Luna and Twilight, were surprised to see what it looks like. ‘Whoa, so this is the place you and Sunset went to help find a way to help your friends?’ said Spike

‘Sure is.’ said Twilight as she looked at the place with pride.

After Luke continued to ascending down the stairs, he carefully observed the place, trying to find what he is looking for.

‘I’m not sure you’ll be able to find it Luke,’ said Twilight ‘I looked through all of the books and I haven’t found a single mention about a Jedi Temple.’

‘Sometimes looks can be deceiving Twilight,’ said Luke as his attention was suddenly gained towards the ground. ‘Sometimes even the most obvious places…’

Luke bent over as he placed his right hand onto the ground ‘Can be right under our noses.’

Within moments, he closed his eyes, and a sudden rumble followed. Without warning, a large square between the stairs and the table of the restricted section slowly opened, gaining everypony and every creature’s attention as all of them looked in awe. Celestia and Luna flew over towards the entrance and stood next to Luke, whilst looking at the entrance.

‘But that’s impossible.’ said Celestia in shock ‘I’ve been in here plenty of times and have not found a single door here.’
‘Indeed.’ said Luna ‘This looks much…older.’

‘The first Jedi must have built this tunnel before Canterlot had been built over the entrance.’ said Luke as he observed the entrance himself.

‘But why keep this place a secret?’ said Starswirl as he looked at the hole.
‘Because there was also the first Sith that later existed.’ said Luke ‘Fearing that they would be wiped out and the galaxy would be doomed by the Sith’s wrath, they chose to built temples as a contingency plan to help guide and train those who are Force sensitive. The temples I visited was destroyed, so they must have chose to come here, where none of them would ever think to find it.’

‘But wait,’ said Pinkie ‘If the Emperor used the Temple as his own personal office and he had direct access to the Holocron vault, wouldn’t that mean that the Empire would’ve found their way to Equestria?’

‘If the Empire were to be brought here we would’ve known about it,’ said Luke as he looked at Pinkie ‘When the Rebellion began we managed to turn most of the Empire’s top agents into our spies, which made our jobs somewhat easier when we tried to take the fight to them.’

Fluttershy gulped, whilst she slowly looked at Luke. ‘Are we, um, going down there?’

‘If it would help me find the temple and restore the Order,’ said Luke as he stood up ‘Then that’s the only plan of action we can take.’

Luke was the first to climb down the stairs, making his way towards the darkness. Artoo tried to follow suit, but ended up losing his balance and fell over, rolling all the way down the stairs, even passed Luke, making him run after him. The others were stunned when they saw Artoo going all the way down.

‘Oh my goodness, oh my goodness.’ said Fluttershy frantically as she panicked and ran all the way down just to make sure Artoo was alright.

The others followed suit, wondering if their Astro Mech friend was alright. Finally, they were able to reach the bottom of the stairs, and thanks to the unicorns, they were able to lit up their horns and shone their light within the darkness.

‘Oh my,’ said Rarity ‘It’s really dark in here.’

‘No kidding,’ said Starlight as she tried to look around ‘I can’t see anything in here.’

Stygian then noticed something. ‘Wait, look.’ said Stygian as he pointed at the wall. ‘Those must be torches.’

‘Maybe we can lit them with fire to see where we can go.’ said Ocellus as she looked at it.

‘I got it.’ said Spike as he flew to the one on the left.

‘I got the one on the right.’ said Smolder as she flew to the right one.

At the same time, the two dragons used their dragon flame to set alight the torches. But within an instant, it allowed other torches to activate all over the hall. Once the hallway was not alight, they could see where they would be going. However, they saw there were many images all over the cave walls, what one would call cave paintings, except it had been edged in stone. The images were that of many strange looking being, on one side, looked like ponies with hoods on, with horns sticking out from under their hoods, whilst the other part were what appeared to be beings that stood on their feet instead on all fours.

Many were surprised to see what was before them. Celestia however, took a closer look to see what they looked like. Her face went from curiosity to shock, instantly recognizing them.

‘I…I know of this.’ said Celestia, taking the others by surprise.

‘Princess?’ asked Luke, with the Mane 6 curious about how she knew about them.

‘When my sister and I were fillies,’ said Celestia as she looked at them ‘Before Starswirl became our teacher, the ancient Unicorn Sages once told that they were visited by ancient beings among the stars.’

Starswirl was surprised, as he too remembered it. ‘Indeed. Shortly after Equestria was founded, the ancient beings had permitted them to explore our world and impart and leave behind knowledge that future generations would one day find and use to restore a balance that would soon be ruptured.’

‘And afterwards,’ said Luna as she looked at them ‘When they were done, they left much knowledge behind, saying that only the worthy would find it. Soon afterwards, they returned to the stars, never to return again.’

‘Well,’ said Spike as he looked at the hall ‘At least we know that we’re in the right direction.’

‘Then it would be best if we moved on,’ said Luke as he took a few steps forward ‘But we wary, if they left knowledge here, then it would most likely be a trap. We do not know what the first Jedi had left in their absence.’

All of them continued to walk down the hall, whilst some took a glance at the so called cave paintings, as it showed the images of the first Jedi, continuing to tell their story. Wanting to know more, Twilight was able to take pictures of the images and placed them in her folder, wanting to know more about the story of the first Jedi and why they left their secrets on their homeland.

But after another ten minutes, they were able to see light up ahead. As they arrived, they noticed it was another hall, but this one was different. It was much more wider. There were strange markings on both sides of the walls, which neither the ponies or Luke could depict what they are.

‘Looks harmless enough,’ said Gallus as he took a few steps forward. ‘Come on, let’s…’

When all of a sudden, Luke realized something as he shouted ‘Gallus, wait, don’t!!!’

All of a sudden, two massive blade like objects appeared from both sides of the wall, making Gallus jump forward, until fire burst itself from behind, burning his tushy as he yelped like a chicken, and darted back with the others. He sat down, with his butt burnt whilst twitching his left eye.

‘Wow,’ said Sandbar as he looked at Gallus ‘You almost look like a…’

Gallus suddenly placed his claw on top of Sandbar’s mouth, whilst looking at him with a stink eye as he said ‘I don’t wanna hear it man. Not, a word.’

Luke crouched and placed his hand on the floor, studying it as he kept a careful eye onto the ground. ‘Pressure pads,’ said Luke as he took a good look at it. ‘It seems that the first Jedi constructed these traps to ensure that no one would be able to cross them.’

‘So what,’ said Smolder ‘Can’t we just fly over there?’

‘That would not be wise.’ said Luke. He placed his hand under the light, causing spikes to appear from the air, nearly onto Spike’s level, which shocked the others whilst they saw the spike were being slowly raised in the air. ‘The light rays show that any who stand under them, would most likely be impaled.’

‘Wow,’ said Fluttershy as she took a good look at them ‘They must’ve thought everything through.’
‘We can try to cross this, if we’re fast enough.’ said Luke as he took another look.

Rainbow Dash’s ears perked when Luke mentioned about being “fast enough”, making her smirk as she hovered next to him. ‘Don’t worry Luke,’ said Rainbow Dash with a confident smile ‘I got this.’

Rainbow Dash stood firmly on the ground, preparing herself for both fast flying and fast running. ‘On your mark,’ she said as she got prepared. ‘Get set. Go!!’

Within a split second, Rainbow Dash flew and ran superfast from one spot to another, triggering every trap, whilst also avoiding them at the same time. After about a few feet of travel, she was finally able to make it.

‘Ha!!’ she boasted as she looked back ‘I’d like to see the Jedi try to beat my…’. However, her overconfidence made her paid little attention of the last trap behind her, which resulted her into triggering it, and blew fire behind her, burning her tushy as she yelped and neighed loudly like an ordinary horse.

‘Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.’ said Rainbow Dash as she tried to rub her tushy.

‘Can you see a lever over there?!’ shouted Luke, trying to get her attention.

She noticed a lever near her and winced whilst she was moving, considering her butt is still sore. She reached her hoof towards the lever and pulled it, allowing it to do something as the floors made strange noises.

Luke took a few steps forward. As he did, he realized that his hunch was right, whilst he sighed in relief, for the traps were now deactivated. ‘It’s all clear, it’s safe to move.’ he said as he turned to the others.

They sighed in relief too, allowing them to move forward to continue with their journey. They were able to make it to the other side, with Fluttershy going over to see if Rainbow Dash was alright.

‘Rainbow Dash, are you alright?’ said Fluttershy as she was concerned for her friend.

‘What, do you think.’ said Rainbow Dash as she pointed to her slightly burnt butt. She was able to turn around as she said ‘I won’t be able to sit for a week.’

‘Now don’t you worry there Rainbow,’ said Applejack as Rainbow walked alongside them ‘Ah got a remedy that’ll help with that uh, roasted rump.’

They continued with their journey for the next mile, until they were finally able to reach a nearby door. As they stopped, they inspected the door, until Luke grunted loudly whilst holding his head with his one hand, which was a sign, gaining the others’ attention as they looked at him.

‘Luke, are you well?’ said Luna when she noticed Luke felt something off.

‘I sense something. Something…dark.’ said Luke as he looked at the doors. ‘I have a feeling that there will be another test behind those doors.’

‘Hopefully something that doesn’t involve burning one’s butts off.’ said Rainbow Dash as she rubbed her tushy.

‘I’m with you there sister.’ said Gallus as he agreed with her.

Luke walked forward and placed his hands against the doors, pushing it with all his strength and was able to open it. As the doors were now wide open, Luke walked inside, looking around, trying to see if there were any more traps.

‘Hmm, no traps, no fire statues or funny looking blades,’ said Pinkie as she looked around ‘I guess it’s all…’

However, Luke signaled them to stay where they were, for things would become dangerous, if his senses are correct. He walked towards the center of the room. The moment he finished his next step, the ground suddenly shook, making Luke stand still, trying to determine what else this place had in store for him. From out of the ground, appeared six different statues, all who appear to be Jedi wearing robes, as well as weapons like Vyborg blades. Luke was curious about what the statues meant. That was, until the statues started to move on their own, picked up their swords and headed straight for Luke, much to the ponies and the Young Six’ surprise.

‘Whoa, moving statues?’ said Sandbar when he was surprised to see what he couldn’t believe ‘That’s something you don’t see every day.’

The statues slowly began to surround Luke, who stood there and did nothing, whilst he had his eyes closed. The others however, wanted to help.

‘Come on,’ said Rainbow Dash, who didn’t want to leave him hanging ‘We gotta help him before…’

And within a split second, Luke activated his Lightsaber and swung left and right, slicing the first two statues in half, then used Force Push to push the other two away, making them crash and shatter against the wall. Luke threw his Lightsaber as it twirled near the last two, slicing them in half as they collapsed. Luke then caught the Lightsaber the moment he raised his hand in the air, and shut his Lightsaber down. He lowered his right arm and turned around, leaving many in awe of what happened.

‘Uh, never mind.’ said Rainbow Dash as she slowly sat down.

‘Wow,’ said Rockhoof ‘The lad is stronger than he looks.’

‘I’ll say.’ said Ocellus after she too was surprised.

Luke managed a smile, until it instantly disappeared when he sensed something. The others wondered what was wrong and approached him. They stood near him for a few moments, as Twilight asked ‘Luke, what’s wrong?’

‘I sense, something dark.’ said Luke ‘Something…ancient.’

Luke slowly turned around as the others kept his eyes on him. His eyes widened, as he saw something. When the others watched what he was seeing, they too were surprised by what they were seeing. For at least at least ten feet away, a man wearing a dark black robe, slowly walking with his armored shin and black boots, black gloves, as well as grey wrist gauntlets, grey shoulder pads and a mask covering his mouth, whilst a hood shrouded his face, but not his deep dark yellow eyes as he looked at them. He stopped when he was at least three feet away from them.

Everyone was stunned at first, watching a mysterious figure, standing before them, whilst Twilight, Celestia, Luna and Starswirl sensed something wrong with it.

‘So much evil.’ said Starswirl as he couldn’t believe his eyes.

‘So much…Darkness.’ said Luna, as if she was feeling the Nightmare Moon madness.

‘What…is that?’ said Celestia, barely coping with such evil.

‘I…don’t know.’ said Twilight, who was feeling fear in her heart just by looking at it.

‘Everyone get back,’ said Luke as he signaled them ‘I will handle this.’

Luke slowly walked in a circle, trying to gain the being’s attention, with the being kept looking at Luke, as if he discovered something interesting about them.

‘Ah, I see now.’ said the being, his voice echoing as if it was darkness incarnated. ‘You are a Jedi? No doubt the last of its kind.’

‘What…are you?’ said Twilight, as if she was now afraid.

The being did not pay attention to Twilight, for he was still focused on Luke. ‘Do you know who I am?’ said the being, standing his ground.

‘Yes, stories from my childhood, told by my master.’ said Luke. ‘You’re Ajunta Pall. Once a powerful Jedi Master who served the Order with honor and strife, until you and those who trained and followed you were corrupted by the Dark Side, thus the Jedi Order had no choice but to banish you. Once you arrived at Korriban, you vowed vengeance against the galaxy, making yourself into the first Sith Lord, expanding your empire from there to other worlds who were seduced by the Dark Side, growing the Sith into an army.’

‘Indeed,’ said Ajunta Pall ‘We were going to be the greatest masters of the galaxy, until the Jedi and their light snuffed us out as they drove us back from the shadows. But just far beyond their galaxy, something far worse than I trained the next Sith, who vowed they would never stop until the galaxy was on their knees. And if they resisted, their planets would be devoured until they were an empty husk.’

‘Yes, but you ended up being betrayed.’ said Luke, now keeping his stance ‘The Sith always betray one another. Always.’

‘Oh?’ said Ajunta.

‘Yes,’ said Luke ‘Maybe you haven’t heard about Darth Bane. He was born a millennium after you were gone. After the last war against the Sith, they ended up slaughtering each other in droves, for all of them were victims of their own greed. He even created the Rule of Two, a Master and an Apprentice. When the Apprentice trains their own student, they kill the master. As it has always been for a thousand years.’

Ajunta was silent for a few moments, then he spoke again ‘You lie.’ he responded in anger ‘The Sith would never resort into hiding their numbers. We were a vast army that would strike fear throughout the galaxy.’

‘Then clearly you have missed out.’ said Luke as he smiled ‘The Sith are no more, and I will ensure that the Jedi will live once again.’

‘And I will ensure that the Jedi will be reduced to nothing but a memory.’ said Ajunta, with his yellow eyes glowing darker.’

‘We shall see.’ said Luke as his smiled faded away.

Luke pulled out and activated his green plasma blade Lightsaber as he uses his Form V, or simply known as the Djem So, the same as his father’s. Ajunta pulled out his two red plasma blades Lightsabers. The two of them continued to stare each other down, trying to determine their move. The ponies and the Young Six watched as they were somewhat surprised of the two warriors that were about to clash.

‘This is going to be awesome.’ squealed Rainbow Dash as she got super excited.

Luke stood his ground, holding his Lightsaber firmly. Within a split second, Ajunta attacked head on and jumped in the air and struck, with Luke blocking Ajunta’s attack. The Lightsabers cackled as they clashed together, with Luke pushing Ajunta away as he moved forward. Their Lightsabers continued to clash as they kept swinging, blocking, striking, both who were trying to outsmart the other. Luke was able to dodge left and right, whilst using Force Push to, well, push Ajunta a few feet back.

Ajunta leapt in the air and raised his Lightsabers in the air, trying to strike Luke down, but Luke’s reflexes made him duck out of the wait, jumped up in the air and returned the favor, with Ajunta blocking Luke’s Lightsaber, trying his hardest to press him down, but to no avail. Ajunta pushed Luke back, trying his best to strike him down, but Luke kept back flipping, trying his best to avoid Ajunta’s attacks, but Luke stood his ground again, trying to counterattack the Sith Lord.

Luke blocked left, right, then performed a swift kick from the side, which Ajunta blocked and pushed it away. Luke swung his Lightsaber around like his father did and Ajunta ended up blocking it and pushed him back. Luke attacked again as Ajunta blocked his attack three times. Luke swung his Lightsaber, but Ajunta ducked, then leaned, which gave Luke an opening as he kicked him far from him. Luke threw his Lightsaber as Ajunta jumped in the air, which was a mistake as Luke used Force Push to push Ajunta a few feet from him, but Ajunta was able to stand his ground the moment he landed.
As Ajunta stared down at Luke, still holding his twin Lightsabers, Luke kept his ground as he performed Form III, a favorite technique of Obi-Wan. The ponies who saw them were surprised to see how the two of them faced in combat.

‘So…awesome.’ squealed Rainbow Dash as she was excited to see how the fight turned out.

‘Incredible,’ said Rockhoof ‘If those two are like that in combat, I wonder how an entire army would look like?’

Luke and Ajunta charged towards one another once more, engaged in combat, trying to outmaneuver one another, which resulted Ajunta back handing Luke, as he countered Ajunta with a sweeping kick. The two continued to clash their blades from left, right, below, above, as well as twirling their Lightsabers and clashing them towards one another.

Ajunta kneed Luke in the gut and double fisted him as he landed on his one knee. He knocked Luke’s Lightsaber out of his hand, and with great force, tried to jab him. But to his surprise, Luke used the Force to block Ajunta’s Lightsaber. But before either of them could make a move, Ajunta was knocked back by magic. He was able to regain his composure, looking at who caused it. Standing in front of Luke to defend him, was none other than Twilight.

‘Stay away from him.’ said Twilight, staring daggers at him.

‘No, Twilight,’ said Luke ‘He’s too powerful for you to face.’

‘Foolish creature.’ said Ajunta, whilst he instantly aimed his left hand towards the rest of the ponies, instantly creating fire to block them and keep them from entering.

Ajunta then used Force Push to knock both Luke and Twilight back, with Luke crashing against the wall, and Twilight inches away from him.

‘I will show you, insolent creature,’ said Ajunta as he glared at Twilight ‘What happens when you interfere and attempt to stop, the Lord of the Sith!!’

Ajunta then used the Force to grab Twilight and flung her hard against one part of the wall, then flung her hard against another. He picked her up using Force Grip, making her choke, trying to breathe.

‘None, can match the power of the Dark Side.’ said Ajunta, as he flung her at least two feet from him.

‘Twilight!!!’ shouted the ponies, knowing that they had to do something.

‘Twilight.’ said Spike, wanting to move, to save his friend…save his mother.

When all of a sudden, within that mere moment, all fell silent around Spike, as if time had stood still. He could feel a heartbeat, not his own, or just another, but as if…as if it was the heartbeat of harmony itself.

‘Wish to save her, do you?’ said a voice, with Spike having a feeling it feels familiar.

‘I do…more than anything.’ said Spike to the voice as time was still.

‘Wish to protect by seeking glory, do you? Or to protect what your heart tells you?’

‘I…I want to protect Twilight.’ said Spike ‘She’s more than my friend, she’s family. I don’t want to lose her. When I’m beside her, helping others. They make me feel…’

‘Alive?’

Spike was silent for a few moments, as he lowered his head. ‘Yes.’

‘Good.’ said the voice as it chuckled a bit. ‘A good heart you have, learn the friendships of those around you, you have. A true protector of harmony, you may yet be.’

Spike closed his eyes, concentrating for some reason as he gripped his claws as it trembled. He slowly opened his eyes, now staring with determination.

Twilight continued to struggle to stand up, with Ajunta standing a few feet away from her, grasping his fists as they were now charged with electricity. ‘Let me show you,’ said Ajunta with a cackle ‘The true power of the Dark Side.’

And with great force, he shot Twilight with his Force Lightning, with her shielding her eyes as she screamed ‘No!!!’

‘Twilight!!’ the others called out.

Twilight thought that her life would end, but noticed, the electricity didn’t hit her. But as she slowly looked up, her eyes widened, not expecting to see who was helping her.

It was Spike of all dragons, blocking the Force Lightning with his bare hands. He kept grunting, trying his best to hold the lightning at bay and absorb them through his hands in order to contain the lightning, whilst everypony were in awe when they saw what was going on. Luke watched from the distance as he too was surprised to see what Spike was doing.

‘The Force is strong within him.’ he said as he watched from afar.

After Spike as able to absorb enough Force Lightning, Ajunta stopped, with Spike staring at him down, as he said ‘Stay, away from her.’

With a thrust from his hand, he used Force Push, pushing Ajunta a few feet away from his usual spot. Spike took a few steps forward, wanting to make sure that Ajunta would stay away from Twilight. Ajunta chuckled as he too could feel the Force being strong inside Spike.

‘So the little one knows how to fight,’ said Ajunta as he used his Force Pull to pull his Lightsaber from its hilt and activated it. ‘Let’s see your skills with a Lightsaber.’

Spike reached out his hand and used Force Pull to pull Ajunta’s second Lightsaber and activated, holding it with both hands as he activated it. ‘Bring it ugly.’ said Spike as he was staring at Ajunta down.

Ajunta charged and Spike flew towards him. But with great instinct, Spike flipped over Ajunta, landing behind him, with Ajunta turning around to strike, but Spike blocked it. Acting as fast as he could, Spike jumped from one spot to another, clashing his Lightsaber against Ajunta, as if he was Master Yoda. Spike continued to fight against Ajunta with great speed. Spike kept flying backwards, wanting to make sure that Ajunta wouldn’t touch him.

Ajunta and Spike were then standing at the center, one blocking the other as their sabers were sparking as if they were swords, but more advanced and made of lasers.

‘Most impressive,’ said Ajunta as he looked over Spike ‘But even though you are strong with the Force, you are not strong enough to face the horrors ahead.’

Spike then smiled as he looked at Ajunta. ‘Well, you may have the power of lightning, but I have fire on my side.’

Within a split second, Spike blew out his flame from his mouth, making Ajunta growl loudly as he was caught off guard. But after two feet, he used his arm to block the flames, trying to protect himself from the flame itself.

As Ajunta stood there, he went back to position, wanting another go. As Spike was prepared for another go, Luke stepped in, as he said ‘No, we need to end this, now.’

With one powerful Force Push, Luke pushed Ajunta so far, he crashed against the wall. As he was pinned against the wall, he slowly moved forward from it, trying his best, but the Force in Luke was stronger than he anticipated. Luke combined both his hands and summoned the Force. With one massive and combined push, Luke used the most powerful Force Push he could muster. So powerful in fact, that it ended up creating heavy cracks on the ground. As it made its way towards Ajunta, it was so powerful, that Ajunta crashed harder than a star fighter against the wall, making part of the wall collapse onto Ajunta.

Luke stood there for a few moments, panting, for using the Force nearly took out a lot in him. Many were surprised to see how strong Luke was with the Force. As he took another look, at that he saw was a massive rubble from the all, with Ajunta’s hand sticking out of it. But in moments, Ajunta’s hand turned to smoke, as it dissipated, no longer leaving a trace. Looking at the Lightsabers of the fallen Sith, he used the Force to pull them towards him, including the one Spike was holding. He looked at the two of them, whilst he also activated them, revealing their red blades. But within mere moments, they changed to different colors. One turned green and the other turned blue. Luke could sense that the Darkness was no longer within the sabers, making him sigh in relief.

‘Artoo.’ said Luke, gaining its attention whilst moving towards Luke. Eventually moved closer as Luke stood in eye level of the Astro mech. ‘Take these sabers and place them in a compartment back to the ship until I can deal with them.’

Artoo took the sabers Luke handed and placed it inside its compartment, turned around and headed straight for the exit. The ponies on the other hand were really amazed by what Luke had done.

‘That. Was. Awesome!!!’ Rainbow Dash shouted, for it was the best battle she had ever seen.

Luke then looked at Twilight, turned around and walked over towards her. He noticed that she struggled to get back up, but was able to lend a hand. ‘Are you alright?’ said Luke, showing concern for Twilight.

‘I’m fine.’ said Twilight as she was able to stand on her hooves ‘Sorry about getting myself hurt. I was…’

‘I know. You were just trying to protect your friends.’ said Luke as he managed a smile, with Twilight smiling back.

As Spike went over to Twilight, she then went over to him. ‘Spike, how did…’ she responded, trying to process over what she had just seen.

‘I can answer that.’ said Luke as he walked over to Spike, and stood near Twilight’s level, observing him at the same time. After a thorough look, Luke smiled as he said ‘He is Force Sensitive.’

‘Force sensitive?’ asked Made Meadowbrook when she got closer.

‘Remembered when I spoke about the Force?’ said Luke as he stood up and explained to them ‘Those who are Force sensitive from the ages of six with the blessed with the power of the Force. Their senses are sharpened and they can find those who they are looking for, however, both sides, Jedi and Sith, know how to use it, but through light and darker means.’

Spike was surprised to hear this ‘So…you’re saying that, because I’m blessed with the Force, I could go down to the path of light like a Jedi…’

Luke finished his sentence as he said ‘Or go down a dark path like a Sith, where you will experience pain, suffering and death first hand, like my father.’

Spike was terrified by the revelation, as he slowly sat down and held his head. ‘No…no, I don’t wanna fall to darkness.’
Luke walked over and stood on one knee whilst placing his hand on Spike’s right shoulder. ‘You do not have to be. I once thought, like the Jedi before me, that my attachments to my friends will lead me to darkness, but it’s because of my faith in them as well as the good we did together, It drove me not to darkness, but a vow to be better, and help bring balance to the force like my father did when he came to the light, not destroy it.’

Spike looked down a bit, until Twilight stood next to him as she smiled whilst saying ‘Luke’s right Spike. When you experience greed growth and began to hoard everything around you, you were reminded of the friends you have.’

‘Or Rarity.’ Rainbow Dash muttered as she chuckled, until Applejack whacked the back of her head with her tail, making her wince in pain.

‘My point is,’ said Twilight as she ignored Rainbow Dash ‘We’re all afraid to be consumed by our darkness. We know first hoof what it was like to be consumed by our opposites and darkness that nearly led us to ruin.’

Some remembered it well. Like the Mane 5, who became complete opposites of themselves when Discord lied to them and corrupted them, or like Starlight who enslaved an entire village to be rid of their special talents, traveled back in time and nearly destroyed Equestria, or like Stygian, who was corrupted with Darkness after the Pillars casted him out of their group.

‘But it’s also because of our friendship we were reminded of the good we did, as well as the good creatures we are. As long as we have faith in each other, we can overcome any obstacle that comes in our way.’ said Twilight, trying to reassure Spike.

Spike managed a smile and wiped a tear away as he said ‘Thanks Twilight.’

But within mere moments, they heard the sound of moving stones. When they looked, they saw a path had been revealed.
‘Are there going to be,’ said Fluttershy as she gulped ‘More of the darkness to arrive?’

‘No,’ said Luke as he stood up and looked at the path ‘We passed the test. So now we can enter to achieve what we’ve been looking for.’

As they continued, Rarity asked ‘Do you always go through such uncouth lengths to get what you’re looking for?’
‘Sometimes,’ said Luke ‘But they don’t always try to kill you.’

‘You’ve been through something like this before?’ asked Somnambula when she heard Luke’s voice of experience.

‘Once.’ said Luke ‘When I traveled to Dagobah and trained there, I stumbled upon a cave that was strong to the Force. When I saw my father and defeated it, it’s helmet exploded, revealing my face in it, which was a sign, saying that if I go down a dark path, I would share the same fate like my father did.’

They continued to make their way towards the passage entrance. As they walked inside, they noticed that there were a set of library shelves against the wall, all that are made of stone. They were surprised to see what was inside.

Rainbow Dash only replied by saying sarcastically ‘Great, a library, Woo-Hoo.’

‘For once I agree with Rainbow Dash.’ said Gallus as he made it inside.

‘Are, you, kidding me?’ said Twilight as she grabbed both their faces ‘Books left by an ancient civilization from another world? Do you have any idea how valuable that is?!!’

Luke walked past the bookshelves and observed each of the books. Just as the others were in and looking around, Luke said ‘This isn’t it.’

The others looked at him and said ‘Huh?’

Luke turned around as he looked at them ‘These don’t contain the knowledge of the Jedi.’

‘But then what are they?’ said Ocellus as she looked at the books.

‘They mostly contain knowledge about most of our core worlds and the worlds of the Mid Rim, but no book containing about the knowledge of the Jedi Order.’

‘Aw,’ said Pinkie Pie as she felt somewhat sad ‘So we came all the way here for nothing?’

Pinkie Pie sat her rump hard on the ground, unknowingly sat on a secret step made of stone. The ground in the center slowly opened, gaining everyone’s attention as they were surprised in awe. But from within the opened ground, rose what appeared to be a platform. On that very platform, was a large stone coffin, with the symbol of the Jedi carved on top of it.

‘How did…’ said Smolder as she was baffled by what she was seeing.

‘Uh, I think I know.’ said Silverstream as she lifted Pinkie’s rump and showed them the secret stone step.

‘Huh, guess her butt was good for something.’ said Rainbow Dash with a smirk.

‘Hey, I like by butt.’ said Pinkie Pie with a pouty face.

‘So do I.’ said Sandbar, surprising every creature as he looked at him with flexed eyebrows. ‘What?’ said Sandbar as he tried to defend himself. ‘Cant another Earth Pony admire the wonders of pony anatomy every now and then?’

Gallus walked over with a flexed eyebrow and unamused look as he said ‘Real smooth pal, real smooth.’

Luke, who didn’t listen to their conversation, opened the coffin using the Force. As he looked inside, he saw a mummified person, whom Luke guessed was one of the first Jedi that once walked among this world. He took out what appeared to be a Lightsaber, but it looked different. When Luke activated it, he realized that it was a blue cross guard Lightsaber, gaining the others’ attention.

‘Why does that Lightsaber look different than the one Luke has?’ said Flash Magnus as he looked at it.

‘When a Jedi designs their Lightsabers, they come in different shapes and sizes.’ said Luke as he looked at it ‘My guess is, this was the first Lightsaber designed by the First Jedi long before the Order started.’

Luke looked inside and noticed a metallic cylinder inside. When he took it out, he realized that it was what many had used to hide scrolls inside. He detached the cylinder that was bind together and opened it, reading the scroll as he looked through them. Thankfully, Master Yoda and Obi-Wan taught him the language of the first Jedi over the years. The others noticed that Luke had been holding on to a scroll.

‘Oooh,’ said Pinkie Pie as she zipped right over ‘What’s it say?’

‘A scroll, written by the First Jedi.’ said Luke as he looked through them.

‘They wrote and left behind scrolls?’ said Twilight with a flexed eyebrow.

‘When Master Yoda told me when he became the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, the Jedi had long feared that the Dark Side would grow stronger. Even though the Sith was gone after Darth Bane created the Rule of Two, they were afraid that they would wipe the Jedi out and in turn they would rule the galaxy, so the Jedi had contingency plans placed all around the Galaxy, so that if there was a Force Sensitive anywhere, they would eventually find them and learn the ways of the Jedi and restore the balance of the Force.’

‘But because of that there Empire,’ said Applejack as she pointed a hoof ‘They uncovered most of them and exploited it for their own use.’

‘But if the Empire found most of their contingency plans,’ said Fluttershy when she thought about something ‘Why didn’t they find the temple in Equestria?’

‘Master Yoda said that when he first started out as a Padawan,’ said Luke whilst continuing to read the scroll ‘He caught a Jedi erasing their archives about the First Jedi. He said that the First Jedi wanted to ensure that their greatest secret would remain, my guess is it was Equestria itself.’

‘Huh, that’s actually a smart move,’ said Spike ‘If the Empire had knowledge of Equestria, they would’ve destroyed it like they destroyed Alderaan.’

‘So, what does the scroll say Luke?’ said Celestia, wondering what he uncovered.

‘According to this scroll,’ said Luke as he looked at them ‘The First Jedi came here long ago, attempting to hide even their most sacred of texts, to ensure that if the Jedi would fall, they would leave behind instructions on how to master the ways of the Jedi, through both the Force and their Lightsaber skills. There are three groups of Jedi. The Jedi Guardian, who focuses on combat and Lightsaber mastery. Jedi Consular, who focuses their mastery of the Force. And Jedi Sentinel, those who are well balanced and posses many skills.’

‘Hmm, three groups of Jedi,’ said Starswirl as he pondered on it ‘It would make sense. Guardians trained for combat, Consular trained to carry on the knowledge of the force, and the Sentinel, who are the masters of both.’

‘The scroll also says,’ said Luke as he continued to read on ‘That during their visits, they made their journey through Equestria, and met with what they were known as the Sages. The Sages agreed to let them hide their knowledge and stated that only the worthy could find it. However, they did not want any kingdom to get their hands on the scrolls, so they allowed them to hid them in places called, the point where we once came from.’

Thinking about this for a moment, Twilight, Starlight and Sunburst gasped, and said out loudly ‘The original homes of the Pony Tribes.’

The creatures were surprised to hear what they said, with Luke flexing an eyebrow as he looked at them. ‘The original homes?’

‘Indeed,’ said Celestia as she told him the story ‘Long ago before Equestria was formed, the ponies of this world were separated from others. One was the Unicorn tribe of old Unicornia, led by Princess Platinum. One was the Pegasi tribe of old Pegasopolis, led by Commander Hurricane. And one was the Earth Pony tribe of old Dirtville. Back before Alicorns existed, they lived in separate kingdoms, having great distrust of one another.’

‘When the Windigos,’ said Luna she too wanted to tell the story ‘Ancient creatures that feed on hate and cast eternal winter came along, none could grow their crops and each tribe blamed one another, thinking that they were the ones who casted their spells. When they founded a new kingdom, they immediately drew the attention of the Windigos and imprisoned them in ice.’

‘But if it weren't for their second in commands,’ said Twilight ‘Clover the Clever, Princess Platinum’s advisor. Chancellor Pudding Head’s Secretary Smart Cookie and Commander Hurricane’s Private Pansy, they wouldn’t have realized that it was their friendship towards one another that saved their lives from a cold fate.’

‘So it was because of your friendships towards one another,’ said Luke as he looked at them ‘That you expelled the Darkness from within yourselves.’

Luke thought about it for a moment and said ‘All our lives, the Jedi code said that attachments were forbidden.’ He then looked at them and said with a smile ‘But all of you are living proof that your attachments to one another is what saved all of you from darkness. And if a world like this can learn that. Maybe I can too.’

The creatures in the room all smiled too, knowing that Luke had learnt of something important too. That was until Yona realized something. ‘Wait, if the First Jedi placed scrolls in Pony tribes’ kingdoms, then how come Yak and other kingdoms never heard of it?’

‘We do not know,’ said Luna ‘After Equestria was founded and many of the pony tribes moved there, knowledge of the Pony Tribes’ kingdoms were lost through the ages, forgotten even.’

‘The knowledge of the old pony tribes may have been gone in Equestria,’ said Luke as he showed them ‘But the First Jedi did not.’

He showed them a map of where the pony tribes’ kingdoms once were, which surprised them all. ‘Whoa, if they made a map of the old pony tribes’ homes…’ said Applejack.

‘Then maybe there’s a chance we can find all of them.’ said Rainbow Dash.

‘I don’t know.’ said Smolder ‘If I had to guess, all of you hadn’t been to your old home for centuries. It’ll be the first time any of you will set foot there.’

Twilight gasped as she realized that Smolder was right ‘You’re right. Then there’s much to do.’

‘I suggest we leave first thing in the morning.’ said Luke as he gestured them ‘We will need our strength once we’ve rested up.’

‘Whoa, no kidding,’ said Pinkie Pie as she looked at a pocket watch she pulled from out of nowhere ‘It’s nearly seven o clock.’

‘Seven o clock?!!’ shouted Luna ‘Oh no, I’m late!! So very late!!’.

She instantly teleported away in order to reach the castle surface. Ocellus yawned as she said ‘Yeah, you’re right. I could use some rest too.’

‘Very well,’ said Celestia ‘I suggest we all rest up for the night, and we’ll continue with our journey in the morning.’

And as such, all of them left the room, with Luke looking at the scroll, as he said ‘I’m so close. I can feel it.’ whilst he rolled it up, closed the coffin and returned to the surface, for tomorrow would be a new day, a day where their journey had only just begun.