Chapter Ten: Named
Voices whispered around Rainbow Dash. Some calling her name, others having different conversations. She looked around before calling out. “Hello? Anakin?”
“There is no one here.” a voice responded causing Rainbow to turn around. There stood a very familiar masked figure. “Just us.”
“YOU!” she shouted trying to fly towards him but he vanished. “What did you do to me?”
“I saved you… at least I thought I did.” the being responded appearing behind her. “The other Sith would have used you against the Jedi. I chose those that didn’t feel the need to continue our reign across the galaxy and hid in the deepest recesses of your mind. I am Darth Imperius.”
Rainbow Dash frowned before looking around asking. “What is this place?”
“This is where your untapped powers lay. There are some who would use it for their own gain.” Imperius answered walking next to her, making her feel short. “Your abilities fascinate me, they are different from what we are used to. Yet they are used in the same way Sith use the Force. Through our emotions. While the Jedi practice control and patience, we use our emotions to heighten our abilities. Most use fear, anger, pride… I used love and the desire to protect others.”
“You don’t sound like a Sith.” Rainbow pointed out before frowning. “Not that I know much about them.”
“You will, in due time.” Imperius told her and Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “For now, I believe you have a very worried friend in the waking world.”
“Rainbow Dash!”
“I know you’re still in there.”
Rainbow reached out towards the voice, a strand floating towards her hand. She grasped onto it feeling herself get pulled forward quickly. Faces flashed before her vision as she saw the armored figure of Star Forge standing there. She glanced over her shoulder before turning around and swinging her sword.
“We can’t just leave her!” Anakin’s voice snapped through the darkness.
“Anakin, this is an order from the Council. This mission can turn the tides of the war if it fails.” Obi-Wan retorted and Rainbow felt a jolt rush through her body. “We can’t risk it.”
“I’m bringing my Padawan, Obi-Wan, isn’t that risky enough as it is?” Rainbow heard him begin to pace.
“Your Padawan isn’t in critical condition or shocking anyone who comes near her.” Rainbow’s eyes fluttered open seeing the two at the foot of her bed. “This isn’t anything we’ve experienced before. Though I agree that we can’t leave her here, Master Yoda has agreed to take her back to Coruscant.”
“You guys can always ask me.” Rainbow groaned, earning a surprised look from both of them. “I’m awake.”
“We can see that, I still don’t think we should be bringing you anywhere else until we can figure out what happened earlier.” Obi-Wan said, that was when Rainbow noticed a young alien woman by the door. She was wearing the robes of a Jedi and seemed to have a dejected look on her face.
“I think I should head back to Coruscant. But first, aren’t you going to introduce me?” Rainbow said and Anakin looked back at the girl. This earned a raised eyebrow from her before she called out. “Hey, kiddo. What’s your name?”
“Me? Oh, I’m Ahsoka, Ahsoka Tano, I’m Master Skywalker’s Padawan.” the alien said walking forward and Rainbow bit her lower lip hiding a snicker. “What… I mean, who are you?”
“Me, I’m Rainbow Dash, I’m an Equestrian. No, I normally don’t look like this.” Rainbow replied before feeling her head throb. “How long was I out?”
“Long enough that you missed our victory.” Obi-Wan told her before getting up. “We should finish the preparations for your transfer back to Coruscant.”
“Hey, can you get that team to escort me again? I think they still need some work… plus I still have a few names to give.” Rainbow called after them as they left, Ahsoka turning to follow. “Hey, Ahsoka, wait. I want to talk to you for a bit.”
Ahsoka winced before she turned around, Anakin looking back. Rainbow’s wing moved as if shooing him away. He rolled his eyes before following after Obi-Wan.
“I can tell that Anakin and you have had some issues. Look, I haven’t known him for long, but I can tell he’s pretty similar to me.” Rainbow said getting comfortable. “We’re pretty stubborn, have our own ways of doing things. I can tell you and him had a rough start, but trust me, you’ll be good friends.”
“How can you be so sure?” Ahsoka asked and Rainbow thought about Twilight, a sad chuckle escaping her lips. “I have some friends, we’re all different, but when it comes down to it, we all learn from each other. We respect and learn a lot from each other. Plus I also have a kid I’ve taken under my wing, just from this interaction I can see the similarities between her and you. Trust me, you have as much to teach him as he can teach you. If you find that you need to hide, I’ll be there to listen. It’s pretty much all I can do with how many injuries I’ve racked up.”
“Master Skywalker did say that you’ve done nothing but get yourself injured.” Ahsoka mused nodding her head, earning another raised eyebrow. “I probably shouldn’t have told you that one.”
“Did he now? Don’t worry about it, I’ve got my own ways of getting back at him.” Rainbow tried moving her wrists only to feel pain. “If I see Slick again, I’m going to punch him.”
“Hrrmmm. These words out of anger or irritation I wonder are?” A familiar voice spoke and Rainbow looked towards the door seeing Master Yoda standing there. A grin came to her face as Ahsoka left to get ready for their mission.
“Hey Master Yoda. I take it I’m not on Christophsis.” Rainbow greeted and the Jedi Master nodded his head as he walked over to her bed climbing onto the chair nearby. “I couldn’t feel the air move naturally.”
“Hrrmmm. Come to talk about what happened I have. Been discovered a new ability has. A dangerous new power.” Yoda’s green-gold eyes observed Rainbow who looked at her hands in silence. “Best to hear what happened from you it would be. We need to discover what caused this outburst. Hmm.”
“While… when Slick was holding me captive I saw someone there. It was an old man, he held himself with the stance of a ruler. Head held high, he had gray hair, and cold gray eyes. He was watching me before he spoke. He… he called me a disappointment. I felt angry, I’ve never been that angry before.” Rainbow felt a shiver crawl up her spine as she spoke. “Deep inside though, I was scared. Those eyes held nothing, not just empathy, there was no rage, no emotions at all.”
Yoda was silent as he contemplated her story, like he was searching his memories for a man like that.
“It wasn’t even the first time I saw that man, it was right after I had woken up after Slick’s capture. When Obi-Wan left, he was standing there in the room, but his eyes were going from an eternal black to the grey. It felt like I was drowning, I couldn’t even breathe. The longer I looked into them the deeper I sank.” Rainbow whispered her eyes glancing around the room as if searching for the man. “I should have never gone looking for that… the shard. What happened to the shard?”
“Contained it is, a great power indeed it holds. Connected perhaps this man and the shard are.” Yoda told her with a nod of his head. “Meditate on this I shall, revealed in due time all will be. Yes, hrrrm. For now, rest.”
“I’m getting kind of bored of resting.” Rainbow mumbled under her breath as she leaned her head back. “I feel like I’ve done nothing but rest.”
Yoda chuckled giving her a knowing look before hopping off the seat and heading towards the door. He offered her final words before leaving. “Much we can teach each other perhaps we have. Willing to learn if both sides are.”
“I’m willing, just not sure how awake I can be for a lecture. I’ll try.” Rainbow said hearing Yoda speak as he turned the corner. “Do or do not, there is no try.”
“I do not believe any of them will understand the true danger.” Rainbow stiffened as she heard Imperius’ voice as she looked around. “Be wary of all in the Republic and gather the shards of the shattered blade. From them, your own weapon shall be forged.”
“How do you know so much?” Rainbow mumbled seeing no figures standing in the room. That was when she heard the voice speak directly in her ear. “I have seen it.”
Rainbow felt two hands press against her skull as visions flashed through her mind.
I see her across the field, a figure in armor, two pale cerulean wings come from behind her. She lifts up her blade, cracks showing wear and tear yet they glowed a bright blue. As if it was a lightning bolt, how intriguing. Perhaps a creature the Jedi found. She seems formidable, I shall retreat into the shadows to study her. She seems to be close with the Hero of Tython. How fascinating.
Rainbow Dash gasped for air as the room came back into view. Her head was throbbing even more as her vision swam. The old man was standing there again just as a trooper came into the room passing through him. She looked at the trooper with bleary eyes asking. “Tank?”
The trooper seemed surprised as Rainbow’s vision cleared as he explained. “I wasn’t sure if you remembered the name you gave me. You were pretty out of it.”
“Tank is a much better name than Buddy.” Rainbow pointed out a grin on her face. “I take it you’ve got a question or two.”
“Why did you choose us again?” Tank asked looking at Rainbow Dash. “We should be on Christophsis, fighting, but General Kenobi told us to come along.”
“Like he knew I’d want you guys around, I do.” Rainbow said leaning her head back, observing Tank. “I know you guys are clones, and frankly, I don’t care. Where I am from you see a lot of ponies with the same face or even mane style. It doesn’t bother me, the reason why I want you guys around is to show that you guys are valued by at least one person: Me. Like I said before, I may not have known you guys for long but I’m already attached. There is so much more to you than just being a clone. Doc is good at medicine, Crossbones has a sense of humor, you are hardy, like a tank. Grimm and Grunt have a very bleak view on the world and the other doesn’t say much.”
“The others were wondering if you had already picked out names for them.” Tank said sitting down and glancing towards the door. Rainbow smirked as she thought. “Well since the heavy weapons expert isn’t loud or boisterous until the battle starts. He kind of reminds me of my friend… going on a rampage when it matters. I’ll call him Rampage. The sniper with good eyes has to be Ironsight since, you know, he doesn’t need one. We already have Grimm and Grunt. As for those “mechanical experts” the one with the unlucky sequence of numbers is Crash and the other is Tinker. I noticed Tinker is always trying to find ways to modify his shields.”
“Unlucky numbers?” Tank mumbled and Rainbow nodded saying. “I think it was 6660, it stood out so I noticed it.”
“What about squad leader?” Tank inquired as Rainbow Dash went silent thinking. She thought about how the leader was. Quiet, strong, always following orders, but lacked passion when he thought about himself as a person. It was like he had no spark; he was jaded.
“Ash.” she spoke quietly looking at Tank who tilted his head to the side. “It’s like he lost that spark and is like ash floating on the wind. I’m going to help reignite that spark.”
“Thanks.” Tank said before looking at the door. “We should be arriving at Coruscant soon.”
“Anakin and Obi-Wan already left?” Rainbow asked, swearing that time was getting away from her. “Thought they left a few minutes ago. Wow, I’m out of it.”
Rainbow palmed her forehead tiredly and Tank placed a hand on her shoulder. There was a red jolt causing him to pull his hand back. A look of worry flashed over her face as she asked. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah… just a shock.” Tank told her a reassuring smile on his face and her heart dropped. It was very similar to the one her pet would give her. That was when a trooper poked his head in asking. “Has she given them names yet?”
“Why don’t you all come in here and ask me.” Rainbow answered, grinning as the group walked in. The grin remained as she told them what names she had decided on.