//------------------------------// // Of Destiny and Fate // Story: The Pondolorian // by Prismfire Productions //------------------------------// Space. The Void The Cosmos Galaxies Far, Far Away The Endless Horizon The Final Frontier… Each culture had a different name associated with the vast expanse of the universe. From red dwarfs to flaming supernovae, nebulas to entire galaxies, black holes, wormholes, and everything in between all waiting to be studied and gain knowledge of their processes. Fusion, Fission, core-collapse, and gamma wave bursts all caught the scientific mind, but even before then all civilizations in their remote corners of the universe all looked up at their night skies and asked themselves the same question: Are we alone?... As technology advanced and civilizations came in contact with one another, more than just goods became exchanged. Knowledge, language, cultures, and more soon spread, bringing different societies closer together for the benefit of all planetary bodies involved. While there were a few instances of massive, system-wide wars breaking out, those were far and few between as most chose to live in peace and take technological advances to the next level by tapping into the universe itself. Ion drives, fusion engines, and warp speed soon became commonplace in a few universes, but the ability to see and harness the power of black holes remained elusive to all. In the furthest, darkest corner of the universe, a primordial black hole lurked completely invisible to all methods of detection. With no star clusters nearby to use the gravitational lens effect, the only way anyone would know it was there was to accidentally be too close to the event horizon of the beach ball-sized black hole. However, unlike the normal spaghettification that would take place at that point, whoever fell in would find themselves in a place that would be like an Appalachian log cabin. Varnished oak walls and flooring dominated the area, with vaulted ceilings engraved with different galaxies at a younger age, a snapshot into the past as hypernovae and feasting supermassive black holes carved the galaxies into their current shape. In one room, a being that resembled a human was hard at work at her station. With bright golden hair, fair skin, and a compass attached to her robe, she was the definition of a goddess to ancient civilizations. "Now for the finishing touch," The being said, rolling a tiny cone with some clay as she moved it towards the main clay figure's head. "All I need to do is attach it and-" "SISTER!" The shout from behind her caused her to drop the cone, her letting out a bitter grunt as it shattered on the floor and the intention where it was supposed to go smoothed over. Spinning in her seat towards the now-open door, she glared at the being that stood there. With almond hair and tan skin that had been just perfectly kissed by a star, her sister looked like a younger version of herself, except she had a miniature arrow in a shatter-proof case attached to her robe, the arrow itself splitting off into different directions. "Desti, how many times do I have to tell you not to bother me while I am working?" "Don't give me that crap Fate, especially using that stupid nickname!" Destiny said, glaring at her sister. "What gives you the right to interfere with my plans, again?! You better have a good reason this time, or so help me, I will make you regret it by annoying you." "You already are," Fate said, crossing her arms as she closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. "Look, I am not going to interfere with your plans for Din, because they are pretty concrete, but without a little influence, they would not have come to fruition. Consider it a minor setback on your timescale, but rest assured your plan for him will come to pass." "See, this is exactly my problem with you!" Destiny said, and even though she was still mad, Fate could see her posture slightly relax. "You always barge into my plans and change them to your vision. I never get to have my ideas happen, even with your stupid assurances. Remember Pompeii? I had that planned out to be the center of the known world. A vast empire that was rich in agriculture and arts, with a military that would ensure it lasted for millennia, yet you decided to literally blow it sky high!" "Which I did for good reason sister," Fate said, standing and moving to place a hand on Destiny's shoulder. "I saw in another timeline what would happen if that had worked out, and it was nothing less than horrific. That world's atmosphere would have become as thick and toxic as Venus' within 600 years, due to the Pompeiians harnessing the power of Vesuvius to tap into the planet's magma chamber. Every time a resistance formed, they would cause a volcano to build and erupt, leading to their own destruction by literally choking on the air they created. That isn't even mentioning the fact they drove the Pyroviles to extinction as a result." "You could have still told me first," Destiny said, not moving Fate's hand as she looked at her. "I went to sleep and everything was fine, I woke up and the city was buried. Besides, didn't the Pyroviles become extinct anyway from the force of the gases expanding in the eruption?" "For a short time," Fate said, removing her hand as she continued. "Once the eruption ended and the temperatures came back down as the pressures dropped, the dust they became was recondensed and they reformed. However, that is beside the point, have you ever thought about the things we carry on our robes?" "Huh?" Destiny said, looking down at the arrow in the case at her hip then at her sister's compass. "What about them?" "Our father created the universe in only seven days, but since then we both have had our tasks." Fate said, unclipping her compass to hold it in the palm of her hand. "There are only two guarantees in life, sister: birth, and death. Life may seem complicated and confusing, but in the end, it is a circle. You grow, you live, then you die. One's fate, my job, never changes; however, one's destiny can." "Is that why my arrows split from the original?" Destiny said, holding up her own symbol. "Because an individual can have many destinies that don't come to fruition?" "Precisely!" Fate said, giving her sister a hug. "It has another meaning too, just because it doesn't happen in this universe doesn't mean it won't happen in another. One's destiny can easily be altered by the choices the individual makes, both good and bad, but in the end, their fate remains the same. In that regard, you have a more important role than me because where I connect their circle of life together, you fill in what goes on that circle." "Wow, never thought of it that way before," Destiny said, smiling as Fate released the hug and followed her to her work station. "So what is it that you are working on that concerns Din? This base looks nothing like him." "For now sister, for now," Fate said, causing Destiny to give her a quizzical look. "That is what his form is going to end up being. He will keep the use of his hands and feet, and still fly, but this new form will be way more durable and have increased stamina." "Ok, that is all well and good," Destiny said, giving the figure a closer look and noting the armor that Fate envisioned seemed lighter than Din currently had. "But I still don't know why all this is necessary." "Know how that droid saved Din's life in that last fight he had?" Fate said, waiting for Destiny to nod before continuing. "Well, that healing it did was just a patch as it were, he would be dead in a few years before he had a chance to properly train The Child. This way, he gets a… 'fresh start' with a body that is in peak physical condition, giving him extra time before I have to step into my role with him. I also took the liberty of sending him to Eques for a reason, for where he'll train The Child in the ways of the Mandalorian… "There is another there on the planet to train The Child in the ways of the Jedi." "Curse this blasted itch!" Din grumbled, the sensation slowly grinding down his nerves as he and his companions arrived at the immense crystal palace. Where it had once been a minor inconvenience at the Razorcrest, it had grown into a problem he could not get rid of without risking someone seeing him without his helmet on as he turned his attention to the bouncing pink pony acting as his and The Child's 'escort'. "Say, do you know how long this might take? I got an itch that I need to take care of and it is starting to drive me nuts." "That depends really," Pinkie said, leading her company down the hall towards the throne room. "My friend Twilight is like a walking encyclopedia, wanting to learn as much information as possible so don't be surprised if she asks a lot of questions. Then there is Luna and Celestia, who probably want to know more about the place you came from since they tended to the skies for over 1000 years. Rainbow Dash will probably want to challenge you to a flying contest since you have that jetpack, Rarity will probably have a fashion attack, and Fluttershy will probably go gogo over the infant. As for Applejack, I have no clue how she will react, but probably will want to know your strength. Anywho, we're here!" Din could only watch as Pinkie opened the lavishly ornate doors to the throne room, and immediately nine sets of eyes were giving him a look over. He noticed three of the ponies had wings and horns, three had horns only, two had only wings, and one was like Pinkie by having neither. "Greetings," The lavender pony said, standing up and walking around the table, stopping in front of Din as Pinkie took her seat. "I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship and leader of Equestria. Allow me to introduce you to my friends Celestia, Luna, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Starlight, Sunset, and Rainbow Dash." "Just call me Mando," Din said, waiting until everyone had finished their introductions before he spoke. "So, where do you want to start?" "How about we start with a bit about yourself?" Twilight said, summoning some scrolls and an ink well, completely unaware at the disturbed look Din had under his helmet. "Like, maybe what you do, or what you are? Don't worry about us not understanding you, I already enchanted the room to fully communicate if you haven't realized that already." "My job," Din began, noticing everyone lean forward in their seats as he spoke. "My job is a bounty hunter. When a target is meant to be brought back alive, I ensure that they are. When a target is wanted dead, I make sure the job is done." "That sounds like a villain," Twilight said, pausing from her writing to look at the human. "Someone who follows orders with no heart or compassion for the families of those who you go after." "Sounds to me like you are quick to judge princess," Din said, making the group's jaws drop that he had talked to Twilight in such a manner. "As I was saying, I worked for years to show my worth, starting with some pretty nasty jobs in the grimmest places in the galaxy before working my way up to catching the big guns. "Outlaws, murderers, and criminals who were wanted in multiple star systems. Once I showed I was no weakling, I was called in to handle those kinds of bounties, all while keeping a low profile when I wasn't on a job. That is, until the leader of The Guild brought me on an assignment to capture something that was of great importance to him." "The toddler?" Fluttershy asked, Din turning his head to see The Child had got out of his carrier and was resting in her soft mane. "What is a baby that is so sweet and innocent looking worth to someone to get a bounty hunter? Was it a parent or something?" "No, it wasn't," Din didn't like the fact The Child was in the pony's mane, but since the baby seemed to trust her, he figured not to disturb the infant. "I delivered him as promised and got my reward, but something did not feel right about the whole situation. Long story short, I turned my back to The Guild, and the rest of my Mandalorian group gave me cover as me and The Child fled. That was weeks ago, and we have been on the run ever since." "That sounds rough," Sunset said, a sympathetic tone in her voice as her past actions surged to the surface of her memory. "I too know what it is like to flee from something, turning your back on everything that you grew up knowing and believing while running into the unknown. However, I don't have a baby to look after, so I can't imagine how much harder that makes things for you." "It is a challenge, but one I am willing to bare," Din said, smiling a bit as The Child peeked at him over Fluttershy's head. "I lost both my parents in an attack on my hometown when I was young, so it kind of was a soft spot for me." "Oh, you poor thing!" Rarity exclaimed, and before Din had the chance to react he found himself at the bottom of a pony huggle pile, each pony doing their best to comfort him before backing off and helping him back to his feet. "Sorry about that darling, but that is a burden nopony should ever go through." "I appreciate it, just let me know next time before doing something like that, alright?" Din was not angry at the ponies for doing what they did, and deep down he actually felt better after the hug, but he had to resist the instinct to shoot. "Funny enough, it was some Mandalorians who saved my life, and let me join their ranks as a youngling. After that, the rest is history. They trained me in their combat skills and I swore my oath to follow The Way; however, the last encounter I had with the Head Maiden had her make me and The Child a clan of two, so I am to pass down the same lessons to him that I was given." "Um, I-I hate to interrupt," Fluttershy said, feeling proud that she was speaking to the strange creature without hiding behind her mane. "But I am curious, what does the baby eat? I take care of a lot of forest animals at my cottage outside of town, so there might be something there that I can help feed him with." "Two things I know he eats are bone broth and live frogs," Din said, noticing everyone except Fluttershy turned a sickly green hue. "Now, since it is guaranteed that the frogs and animals here are different than he is used to, it might take some trial and error to see if he can stomach it or his body can't handle it. Another thing he likes is hot tea, so if you have that it will be great." "I am sure we can find something if his body can't process his normal meal," Fluttershy giggled, feeling The Child run his digits through her soft mane. "While a majority of the animals I see about are vegetarian, some of them eat meat so I know how to make bone broth since that is what I feed my pet bear when he gets sick. I myself eat a salmon patty with him on occasion just to give him company." "You have a pet… bear," Din could not believe what he had just heard, even as the pegasus nodded at him. "That I will have to see for myself, but are there any more questions for me before I excuse myself?" "If you need to use the 'facilities', there is a bathroom behind the first door on the right," Twilight said, pointing to a door on the opposite side of the room from where he had entered. "Feel free to take your time since it is not really designed for bipeds, and don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it." "Thanks," Din said, moving to the door and pausing only to look back at The Child, who slightly tilted his head. "Actually, Fluttershy is it? I want you to come stand outside the door. No offense, but I don't like him being too far away from me." "No worries Mando," Fluttershy said, happily following him out the door. "Just knock if you need me since you won't have much clearance from the top of your helmet to the ceiling." "I will," Din said, but he noticed that when Fluttershy shut the throne room door the conversation inside sounded like horse noises to him again. "So that room really is spelled, or enchanted, or whatever… seems I need to stick to using my hands to communicate for the time being." Pausing at the bathroom door and holding a single finger in Fluttershy's direction, Din opened to something that looked fitting for an Empress. Like everything else he had seen so far, the entire decor was made of the same multi-hued crystal that was the foundation of the castle itself. A large bathtub with a shower fixture took up the entire left side wall of the room, with a toilet and sink right beside it. On the right side of the room, the crystal seemed to change, becoming a clear reflection like a natural mirror. Bottles of various shapes and sizes lined a shelf above the sink, the content labels unreadable to his eyes. "That pony wasn't kidding, I don't have much clearance at all," Din thought, bending his knees to free his head from its metallic casing. Once free, and walking with his back bent forward to give him a little more head room, Din moved over to the mirror to inspect the beginnings of his beard but paused at what he saw. "What the?!" Due to not being able to shave as frequently since fleeing with The Child, he was getting used to having a short stubble that required a constant cutting every few days. Yet, the fuzz he saw growing in was not completely black like his hair. Instead, mixed in were a few lighter and thicker hairs that had a more milky appearance. "I got to be seeing things," Din said, turning his head to look in the mirror from different angles, only to see the hairs did not change color. "Must be a trick of the light or something… or maybe this are the wizards the Head Maiden was warning me about." That last thought gave him pause as that scenario ran through his mind. Even in the short time he had been on the planet, he had seen wonders that seemed impossible. Crystal castles and talking horses were high on his list of 'unnatural', but a swift kick of awareness by remembering he was in an entirely different galaxy put things in perspective. "So, these aren't the wizards the Head Maiden was telling me about," Din thought, scratching the stubble on his chin as he racked his brain. "However, that doesn't mean that they aren't wizards of some sort. This will require more time before I can fully trust them, but The Child does seem to trust that yellow one so that makes things somewhat easier. That is for me to worry about later, for now I need to know if these ponies have methods of shaving." Doing a quick search of the cabinets turned up nothing, other than more weird looking tubes that looked like it was for sensitive areas. Frustrated, he scratched his chin fuzz once more, put his helmet back on, and opened the door to see The Child standing on the floor looking up at Fluttershy as she rubbed between his ears. "I know you can't understand me right now," Din said, Fluttershy slightly tilting her head as he spoke. "But I need something to help get the fuzz off my face, something in this manner." Getting down on one knee, Din took hold of Fluttershy's left front hoof and held it in his hands, causing the mare's eyes to widen and wings to go rigid. Paying no mind to her reaction, Din took off one of his gloves and started running his fingers down her leg in a simulated shaving motion, but could not help admire how soft the pony's fur was and understood why The Child had taken a short nap. However, the pony fainting with a thud, and the throne room door bursting open shortly after, made Din jump back from being startled. "Fluttershy!" Rainbow was at her friend's side in an instant, and after letting out a relieved sigh that she was fine, turned her attention to Din as she scowled. "What did you do to her tin can?!" "Nothing," Din said, putting his glove back on as he spoke. "All I did was held her hoof as I ran my fingers down her leg as I mimicked a razor motion. I have a bit of stubble forming on my face and it is starting to get on my nerves and was wondering if you had anything like that here." Din's words caused a range of reactions from the ponies. Twilight, Luna, and Celestia had their wings extended and bright blushes on their cheeks. Sunset and Starlight's mouths were hung open in shock. Pinkie shifted uncomfortably on her hooves as she looked away whistling. Applejack had her face hidden behind her hat, Rarity had a mischievous gleam in her eyes, and Rainbow was curled up in a ball laughing her head off. "Um, Mr. Din," Twilight said, managing to compose herself as her wings relaxed to her sides. "I know you just landed here and all, but what you did was the start of a pegasus mating ritual." "Of course it was, as if anything makes sense on this planet," Din said, no longer worried about why his beard fuzz looked different, but instead worried that he would not leave with his sanity intact. "All I wanted was to know if there was shaving equipment on this planet, nothing like what you described." "Then this is going to be awkward when she wakes up," Celestia said, levitating Fluttershy onto her back to get her off the ground. "Considering she is in a relationship with Discord, things might get a tad messy. Luckily for you, we can all agree that since you didn't know what you were doing, you weren't trying to steal his mare." "No offense, but no thank you," Din quickly raised his hand, keeping the others' objections at bay long enough to show he was not done explaining. "Considering where I come from you can be viewed as an exotic species, I'd rather not go down that rabbit hole of the complications that would arise out of that. Although, I noticed when the doors closed after Fluttershy came in here with me, I could not understand anything anyone was saying in the room." "I already told you why," Twilight said, ruffling her feathers in annoyance. "I had enchanted the room so we could understand each other, so any open space connected to the room was part of the area the spell was effective in. Once she shut the door, the spell was no longer in here, since it was cut off from the room by the closed doors." "Um, no, you didn't explain that part." Din said, glaring at the pony from under his helmet. "All you said was the room was enchanted, you didn't say anything about what would happen if I left the room." "He is right Twilight," Celestia said, adjusting her stance to distribute the weight of Fluttershy being on her back a little better as the purple alicorn's eyes widened. "You did not tell him the spell was only for the throne room, so if anything, you are just as much to be blamed for as Mando. Granted, he could have waited until he was back in the room so he could have asked all of us, but you still failed to give that warning." "Oops," Twilight said, lowering her head in shame before giving a slight bow to Din. "As the Princess of Friendship, I hereby apologize for my oversight. I should have warned you about all the areas the spell was in effect, and I hope you can forgive me for such a misunderstanding." "I do," Din said, making Twilight look up at him with a slight smile. "Now, do you have a solution to my shaving problem?" "I can help with that," Sunset said, reminding everyone that she was accounted for since she had stayed quiet since the introductions. "It will take me two days, but I think I can get what you need. Think you can manage that long?" "Two days huh?" Din was not happy about the fact he had to wait, which was evident by the fact the bacon-themed mare flunched, but after a deep breath he composed himself. "Well, I guess that is better than nothing, but why would it take two days?" "The portal that allows me to come between here and the world I live in," Sunset said, raising a hoof to prevent Twilight from interrupting. "It is a world almost identical to ours, except everyone on that side is the human version of the ponies that live here. Also, I can only use it once a day, so tomorrow I would have to go back and not return here until the following day. That isn't even including the fact that I don't even know how certain things would change between sides, because I can't even bring some advanced tech here without it turning into a book on binary, but I believe a razor and shaving cream shouldn't be an issue." "Hypothetically you mean," Din said, sighing when Sunset nodded in confirmation. "Which means that you are not entirely sure if it will work. So, considering this entire place is made from crystal, think a shaving blade could be made from it?" "I-I suppose," Twilight said, rubbing her chin in thought. "Would have to find a piece that isn't really needed, but I'm sure I could have one crafted by moonrise." "Splendid," Din said, feeling a bit relieved that issue had been dealt with, however, another wormed its way to the surface of his brain. "Say, you said that… spell, only works in open areas connected to the throne room, correct?" All the mares nodded, Twilight more than the others. "Now then," Din continued. "If the party is in town, how are they going to understand me?" "Crabapples!" Pinkie exclaimed, and before anyone could say a word a pink cloud shaped in her outline wasss all that was left where she was standing. "I got to warn the others!"