//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: Star Wars, Episode Pony: Friendship is Magic 
// by Kendallonian 
//------------------------------//

Applejack walked slowly through the halls of the ancient temple, inspecting rooms casually as she passed them. Eventually, she found Rarity sitting in a large room with one wall comprised entirely of a window that looked out upon the gray landscape of Everfree II. She didn’t stir from her viewing position even as Applejack entered.

“Rarity?” Appplejack said cautiously.

Rarity seemed to suddenly snap out of a trancelike state.

“Oh! Applejack! Oh, I’m sorry; I know I ought to be searching, but this view is oddly captivating.”

Applejack tilted her head to look past rarity and through the window on the far side of the room. The suns were currently setting behind a set of jagged peaks in the distance, casting a light that painted the ordinarily gray landscape in hues of orange and pink. In the shadows, mist was beginning to condense and pool in depressions and valleys, creating an effect that Applejack just knew would feel soft and cool after a long day of hard work.

“I s’pose.” Applejack said. “Ah reckon we could have a bit of time to spare anyways.”

The two mares stared at the sunset for only a few more seconds when the sound of rushed hoofsteps behind them wrenched their attention back towards the door.

In the doorway, panting heavily, was Fluttershy, Spike riding on her back, clenching her mane with a death grip.

“Fluttershy? What’s the matter?” Applejack immediately asked. It wasn’t often that Fluttershy was this… active.

  “I don’t know, but something is very, very  wrong.” Fluttershy said. “Have either of you seen Twilight around?”

“Nope!” Pinkie said as she appeared suddenly from behind the door frame. “And I’ve got a shudder coming up my mane that’s a doozy!”

“Calm down, girls.” Rarity said. “Wherever Twilight is, I’m sure she’s-”

Rarity was interrupted by the sound of thrusters blasting through the room, saturating the air momentarily until it began to fade.
“Look!” Applejack said, pointing a hoof toward the window, Where an angular, black-winged shuttle had come into view, flying up and away from the temple.

“That has to be one of the bad guys, right?” Pinkie said.

“But then why would they be flying away?” Rarity postulated.

Applejack’s eyes widened in realization. “Cuz… they must’ve already got what they came here for.”

Fluttershy put a hoof to her muzzle. “Oh, no… Twilight…”

Spike, meanwhile, had adopted a look of utter disbelief.

Pinkie immediately bolted back down the hall in the direction of the temple entrance.

“Pinkie’s got the right idea, everypony!” Applejack said as she followed. “We gotta find Rainbow and figure something out!”

Pinkie’s speed was like that of a landspeeder; soon taking her out of sight of the others, so Applejack led the rest of the way back to the temple entrance, where pinkie soon arrived from the other direction.

“Dashie’s not in the East wing!” Pinkie said.

“What? But where-”

Before Applejack could properly ask the question, she was interrupted by another, much closer roar of thrusters from outside. The ponies all ran out to see the source of the noise in time to see a polished, sleekly curved ship drift around the corner of the building and land, somewhat roughly, on the gravel outside. Soon afterward a boarding ramp extended from it’s belly, revealing a rainbow-maned blue pegasus at the top.

“Rainbow!” Applejack shouted. “What in the hay-”

“I found her in an old hangar in the upper floors.” Dash said quickly. “Figured she’d be our ticket off of this rock, so I made a few minor repairs.”

Pinkie spontaneously erupted next to Rainbow and gave her a squeeze. “Aww, Dashie! I knew you’d come through for us!”

Rainbow managed to pry Pikies hooves from her barrel just before surveying the group and asking; “Wait… where’s Twilight?”










Twilight stared glumly down at the ancient temple as it grew smaller and smaller in the distance. The pit in her stomach was alleviated only by her knowledge that the ponies inside were safe, for now.

Soon enough Twilight could no longer see the temple, and soon afterward the entirety of that planet’s surface was clouded over with the maroon mist of the stratosphere.

A door opened behind Twilight, so she turned her head to see who had come to her small cell. To only mild surprise, she saw that it was a pair of ponies clad within the now familiar chrome armor of Nightmare’s shock troopers.

“Come with us.” the first ordered while pushing a pair of hoofcuffs toward Twilight. “The lady Nightmare wishes you to witness something.”

Twilight hesitated slightly before donning the restraints and following the guards slowly out, taking special care not to trip over the chains that now bound her forelegs. Thankfully, it wasn’t a long walk, and soon they emerged onto the ship’s bridge.

The bridge was a room with a wide view of the ship’s current destination; a large, dark-gray sphere composed entirely of dull durasteel. Two more ponies in dark uniforms were seated directly behind the glass, managing their approach with cold precision. Darth nightmare was standing behind them, apparently just enjoying the view until Twilight had entered.

Darth Nightmare greeted Twilight with a smile that caused her massive discomfort.

“Ah, there you are, my new apprentice. I’m so glad you could join us. What do you think of my life’s work?”

Twilight squinted at the massive, moon-sized sphere before them. Seeing nothing impressive about it other than it’s size, she said; 

“Seems… wasteful.”

Rather than becoming frustrated, Nightmare seemed to gain amusement from Twilight’s response as a short cackle escaped her muzzle.

“Oh, of course you’d say that.” Nightmare said. “You Jedi have always been about the understatement, haven’t you? Well… that and you have yet to see it in action.”

Twilight scrunched her muzzle. There was something vaguely foreboding about the way the dark alicon had said that last sentence, but she pressed forward anyway.

“In… action?” Twilight asked. “What’s there to see? It’s just a giant space station.”

Nightmare gave off another cackle. “Oh, my dear apprentice; my nightmare moon is so much more than that. This fully operational battle station is now the most powerful weapon in the universe; and just to show it off, I figured I could arrange a bit of a demonstration.”

Then, Nightmare spoke to one of the troopers piloting the shuttle.

“Hold here, captain, and give me a view of the planet.”

The armored creature nodded and pulled back a few controls, bringing the ship to a complete stop. Then he used maneuvering thrusters to point the cockpit so that everyone within could see the Maroon clouds of Everfree II, now a small sphere far in the distance.

“What… no…” Twilight slowly began to piece together what the station must have been targeting. “We had a deal! You said they’d be safe!”

Nightmare peeled her eyes from the window long enough to give Twilight a small glare.

“I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”

Then, to the captain, she said; “Inform the commander that he may fire when ready.”

“No!” Twilight lunged for the dark alicorn only to be restrained by her guards. In the ensuing struggle, Twilight almost missed the moment that a massive laser blasted it’s way past the window, landing squarely in the middle of Everfree II. A millisecond later, there was a white flash and the entirety of the planet disappeared in a shower of rubble and sparks.

Twilight froze, her jaw hanging open, her mind a swirl of grief, horror, and amazement. She had been expecting a large explosion on the planet’s surface; maybe a global ecological disaster; but this was overkill. There was now nothing left of the planet Twilight’s friends had been standing on a moment ago; only a slowly expanding cluster of superheated rocks.

“Wha… why?” Was the only thing Twilight could think to say.

“Here is my new deal;” Nightmare said calmly. “You become my apprentice, do whatever I say, and I will not unleash my New Weapon upon Mos Poni.”

Twilight felt anger rising within her chest, of the kind that the Jedi of Canterscaunt had always warned her against. Mixed among it was a grief that was bringing hot tears to her eyes.

“Why?!” Twilight said again, shouting this time.

“Hmm.. it seems you’re rather emotional.” Nightmare said clinically. “Unexpected from Celestia’s prized pupil, but that will prove itself useful soon enough. For now, I think I’ll give you some time to think over my new proposal.”

Twilight ripped herself free of her guards and lunged for Nightmare’s smug grin, wanting to scrape it off with her bare hooves. The next thing she knew a hefty weight smacked into the side of her head, and her vision went dark.