//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 // Story: Star Wars EQG: Episode 1, Harmony of the Force // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// On the barren planet of Yowtar, sixteen Jedi were hard at work trying to find a clue to the mysterious Sith group that had appeared in the galaxy. Currently, Flash and Shining were laying low in one of the towns. The spiky beetle crooks had taken over the tavern and were making their search rather difficult. "So you've never seen anyone like this?" Shining was showing a shop keep some images of Solara and the bug troopers. "Sorry," the store owner shook his head. "They're new to me. This planet is constantly swarming with individuals wanting to stay hidden. If these people haven't been caught already, it's because they know never to hang around one spot for too long." "Fair enough." Shining thanked the shop keep and headed out, Flash waiting outside keeping an eye out for the bug bikers. "Looks like this place was a wash. We'll have to try somewhere else." "Alright," Flash nodded. "Should I call Springer to come pick us up?" As he said that, the beetles crashed their way through the doors of the tavern, heading towards their speeders to fly off somewhere. "Better leave it until those guys are gone. Don't want them to see us leave and try to ambush us outside of town." Flash nodded and the pair prepared to wait. But it was at that moment, Shining's gauntlet began beeping. "Emergency contact?" Shining opened the voice speaker, as Twilight's voice called out to them. "Everyone. Help." She sounded weak, which worried them. "Twilight?" Rainbow's voice spoke through the group speak, "what's wrong." "Sith." That statement sent shock through the three other groups. They had only hoped to find info, but actually discovering the Sith on the planet was not something they had been expecting. "Two of them. They...they..." "Are you hurt?" Shining asked. "Stunned. Celestia...my fault. Stupid." Flash used his gauntlet to lock onto Twilight's location, finding it and Celestia were in the same place. "Just hang on," Shining told her. "We'll be there as soon as we can." Flash nodded and they closed the call, rushing towards the edge of town. But as they ran, the beetles seemed to notice them and raced over on their speeders. "Where you going?" One asked, the group beginning to circle the pair. "You got some booze hidden somewhere?" "What?" Flash asked, "no." "Don't hold out on us," another beetle cried. "You don't wanna make us mad." "We don't have time for this." Shining took out his Lightsaber. "Either get out of our way, or I'll make you wish you were never born." One of the beetles flew towards them, looking ready to ram them with the front of his bike. But before he could, Shining grabbed the speeder with The Force and pushed into it. The bike acted like it hit a brick wall, tossing the bug over the handlebars and slamming him into the ground. Flash pulled out his sword and the bug growled as he got up and charged, Shining swinging his Lightsaber as he attempted to stab his horn into them. In the blink of an eye, the pair were back to back and something had been launched into the air. The beetle's horn. The other bikers gasped, as the horn slammed into the ground in front of its owner. And when the beetle saw it, he gasped and clutched his now hornless head. "Next time, it won't be just your own. Leave. And don't mess with these towns again. You want booze, then get a job and buy some." The insects all looked terrified, that fear increasing when Flash ignited his blade. Clearly, they had never run into someone who could actually hurt them before. They all kicked their bikes into gear and raced off, the hornless member jumping on his and flying off with them. Once they were gone, the two extinguished their blades and headed to their meet up point. Flash had already sent a message to Springer, telling him to get the ship ready for launch. They needed to find Twilight and Celestial, before anything bad happened to them. On another part of the planet, three figures were waiting patiently. Inside a cave, Solara was sitting atop a large rock with her back to the wall. Chrysalis was pacing back and forth, her arms crossed as she clearly didn't like waiting. And then there was the last member of their group, a large centaur-like alien with red skin on his human half, black fur on his horse's body and a pair of large horns on his head. Around his horse midsection were two black belts, which were connecting two black double-edged Lightsabers to his upper side. Tirek was sitting on the ground, his eyes closed as he appeared to be in a meditative state. But that state was ruined, when Chrysalis let out a cry of frustration. "Where are they? I've got better things to do than stand around here, waiting for them to show up." "Armalum's probably gone to the wrong area," Solara sighed. "He can barely tell where he is on this planet, thanks to all the times we've had to delete his memory of it." "Still," Tirek spoke, "they should have been here by now. Something must have happened." "Master Sombra will be growing impatient," Chrysalis looked worried. "If we don't contact him soon." A beep caught her attention and she looked down at her gauntlet, smiling when she saw it was detecting something. "Two life forms. It's about-" She stopped and looked confused. "Two life forms? We shouldn't be detecting Armalum." The three shared a look and they all reached for their their Lightsabers. They stepped towards the exit of the cave and saw two figures marching towards them, one being humanoid whilst the others looked strange against the light of the sun. They were about to attack, but the pair drew close enough for them to see who it was. And when they saw what one of them was carrying, they gasped. "What the heck!?" Solara cries, as Doom and Armalum came to a stop in front of the cave. "What have you done?" "Is that who I think it is?" Tirek asked, as Doom dropped their captive down. "If you think it's Celestia, grandmaster of the Jedi Order, you'd be right." The three stared down at the unconscious woman, shock on all of their faces. As they took her inside the cave, Doom explained what happened. To say the three were surprised was an understatement. "Do you have any idea what this could mean?" Chrysalis asked. "She's the grandmaster. She didn't get that title because she was its oldest member." "I know that," Doom nodded. "Honestly, if her Padawan hadn't shown up and got in the way, we'd probably be dead or captured right now. But that's beside the point. We've captured her and as long as we're careful, she won't escape or cause problems." "Why did you bring her here?" Solara asked, putting on her helmet in case Celestia awakened. "Why not just kill her?" "The master will want to decide her fate," Armalum explained. "They have a history together." Solara looked confused by this, "we should contact him. He'll want to know about this right away." "You realise she probably isn't alone," Tirek pointed out. "If the Padawan is still alive, she'll likely call for help." "Maybe," Doom smirked, "but we made sure we couldn't be tracked. We removed her gauntlet and checked her for everything that could be used to track us." The three didn't look so sure. "But you're right. We can't hang around here too long. We should set up a communication device for the master and see what he wants with her. If he says kill her, we kill her. But I'd rather waste time with that than suffer his wrath if we do something without his say so." "Agreed," Chrysalis nodded. "Get started. In the meantime, the rest of us will do what we came here for. Exchange of information." They nodded and got to work, all the while Celestia remained out cold on the ground. Back at the rocks, Twilight continued to lay there. Her body was slowly starting to recover, but that stun blaster had really done a number on her. Her legs still felt numb and her fingers weren't probably responding. Hopefully, the others would arrive soon and have some way to help her. But she wasn't the one to be worried about. She thought back on the moment she had let her master down. If Twilight had just done what Celestia had said, she would have been fine against those two. Twilight should have stayed at the inn. And because she didn't, the Jedi Grandmaster might be lost forever. Before she could start feeling sorry for herself, something appeared above her in the sky. The Shooting Star, which flew down and opened up its runway before Flash and Shining leapt down. As the ship flew off, Flash and Shining rushed up to her with a case in hand. "Twilight," Shining knelt beside her, "are you okay?" "Stunned," she was able to get out. "Can't...move." "Not good," Flash gulped as Shining opened the case. As the knight got to work on whatever he was doing, Flash spotted a gauntlet and Lightsaber on the ground. "Are those Celestia's." He moved over to pick them up, activating Celestia's Lightsaber and marvelling at the yellow blade. "But where is she?" "They took her," Twilight started crying as Shining injected her with something. "It's all my fault. I got in her way and she was captured, because she was saving me." "It's gonna be okay," Shining told her. "We'll find her before anything happens." He helped her sit up, "how you feeling now?" They watched as Twilight's legs started moving, her fingers twitching. "I think it's gonna be a while before I can walk again." "You'll get there," Shining assured her. "Just don't push yourself. We're gonna need you at your best when we save Celestia." Twilight looked worried, as she glanced over at Flash holding Celestia's gauntlet. "How are we gonna find her? She doesn't have anything we can use to track her." Flash moved over and handed her the objects of her master, the Padawan holding them close before noticing Flash and Shining were both looking around. "What are you doing?" "What we're good at," Shining replied. "You think just because Celestia doesn't have a gauntlet, we can't figure out where she was taken?" Twilight nodded, "well you're wrong." He laughed. "Maybe you should spend some time learning in the Exploration Core." "Found something," Flash called out. Shining saw him crouching beside something embedded in the earth. "Tracks." Shining took a closer look, "fresh tracks. Only an hour or so old." "That's when they left," Twilight agreed. "But how can you be sure those tracks are the ones leading where they went? They were fighting all over the place." She looked around and sure enough, there were tracks all over the place. The wind was already blowing the dust around to cover them up. "These tracks are different." He walked over to Twilight and jumped up, stomping on the ground before moving to reveal his footprint. He then stepped aside and surprised Twilight by picking her up, the girl unable to stop him as she was lifted bridal style. Flash then repeated to stomp and stepped aside, letting her see the footprints. Twilight noticed the second set was deeper than the first, making her realise what Flash was getting at. "The deeper footprints from carrying Celestia." "Exactly." Shining followed the tracks and they led away from the battle ground, out of the rocks and into the open desert. "They headed in that direction." "Then that's where we'll head," Flash replied. "Shouldn't we wait for the others?" Twilight asked, but Shining shook his head. "We can't wait. If this path leads to a ship, then we need to get there before they take off. Once they're in space, we might never be able to find them." He turned to Flash and Twilight. "You two ready for this?" Flash nodded, but Twilight looked unsure. "I know you think you messed up, but doing nothing isn't gonna fix that." "You're right," Twilight agreed. "I have to try and save her, even if I fail." The boys nodded and headed off in the direction the tracks led. Hopefully, they led to Celestia and it wasn't too late. They had to save her. Celestia moaned, as she felt herself beginning to come around. Her body was just as numb as her student and when she opened her eyes, she saw nothing. She feared she had gone blind, but then realised she had been blindfolded. Her arms were still tied behind her back, her legs were tied together and her wings had ropes wrapped tight around them to prevent flight. She was trapped. "Signal's live," she suddenly heard Doom announce. She heard several more footsteps and static sounds, followed by another voice. "Why do you contact me?" The voice sounded familiar, but Celestia couldn't quite place it. "Master. We have someone here that you might want to see." She heard movement and was soon grabbed by the armpits, then dragged along the ground until she was in front of something. A light of some kind, was flowing through her blindfold. A hologram. "But that's...remove her blindfold." "Master?" A female voice asked. "Do it!" The next thing Celestia knew, her blindfold had been pulled off and she was able to see. Her vision was blurred for a moment, especially with the light of the hologram flowing into her eyes. But when her sight returned, she was able to look up at the hologram and gasped. "No...it can't be." The man in front of her, was someone she had not seen in over two centuries. "Sombra?" The horned humanoid, stared back at Celestia through the hologram. "Hello, Celestia. It's been a long time." Celestia looked around, seeing Doom, Armalum and three others that she realised were the Sith they had learned about. "You're the leader of this group. You're the Sith Lord?" "Indeed. And you've managed to acquire the rank of Grandmaster. Quite the achievement. But now you're here, captured and alone." "Sombra," Celestia looked worried, "don't do this. You were once a Jedi that people respected." "I was. But the Order was so strict, it was like I was being suffocated. And when I left to create my own order, I was labelled a terrorist and you Jedi did everything you could to try and stop me." "You were the one who tried to take our Order out by force," Celestia glared at him. "You started the war that almost destroyed all the Jedi. And now, you've gone so far into the darkness that you can't even see the light." "Enough of this," Sombra growled before turning to his minions. "You will bring her to me. I have been searching for somepony that can fit into our plans. She will be perfect." The minions nodded, as Celestia tried to fight against their hold on her. "I'll never help you!" "Maybe not willingly. But once we've completed our work, you will be just what we need for the final step." With that, Sombra disappeared and his underlings began their preparation to take Celestia with them. The Jedi Grandmaster kept trying to fight against Doom and Armalum's grasp, but her body was still feeling rather weak. "We should summon our ships to this location," Chrysalis told the others. "It'll give this place away to our troops, but it's safer than trying to carry her where anyone can see her." The others nodded and dropped Celestia on the ground, the lot of them heading out of the cave to summon said ships. All the while, Celestia was letting what she had just learned sink in. Sombra was alive, leading this Sith faction and now he had plans for her. She didn't know what he planned on doing, but he knew it couldn't be anything good. "I have to get out of here." Shining, Flash and Twilight continued to follow the tracks in the desert. Twilight's legs were now strong enough to carry herself, allowing her to follow as the boys tracked their targets. But it was slow going, especially since the wind was causing the footprints to become faded. "Over in that direction," Shining pointed. In the distance, a set of mountains could be seen. "If they're anywhere, it'll be there. Let's go." They nodded and headed in that direction, being careful to keep an eye out in case anyone was watching from afar. It took them a while, but they eventually reached an area near the base of the mountain. A bunch more rocks could be seen, sticking out of the ground around the mountain for them to use as cover. And as they crept around, they found that the tracks weren't as easy to find. The ground around the mountain was more rock-like, so there were few if any footprints in the area. "What do we do now?" Twilight asked, fearing they wouldn't be able to search the whole area before Celestia was lost. Shining thought, then smiled. "You said one of the Sith she was fighting was some kind of droid, right?" Twilight nodded. "A droid that strong has to have one heck of an internal power source." He opened up his gauntlet. "Let's see if I can't find that power source." He started scanning the area, the others waiting and hoping he found something. "I still don't get that." Flash turned to Twilight, "how can a droid be a Sith? I thought you needed to use The Force to be a Sith." "I don't know," Twilight shrugged. "Hopefully, we can find and capture him to find out. He's strong and dangerous. Getting rid of him is just as important as saving Celestia." "I think I've found something," Shining told them. "Energy signal, coming from a few miles around the base. Let's go. And be ready. There could be an ambush at any moment." They nodded and took out their Lightsabers, the three heading in the direction of the energy signal. Back in the cave, Celestia was still trapped. She tried to focus on undoing the ropes around her arms and legs, but even her control over The Force wouldn't allow her to undo them. The knots were so tight, one would need a blade or laser to cut through them. She looked around and noticed a part of the rock was jagged and might cut through the rope, so started rolling towards it. But before she could get close, Solara stepped into the cave and she had to remain still. "Struggling to escape. nice try. But it's not going to work." "Why are you doing this?" Celestia asked. "I can hear it in your voice. You're young. Why throw your life away, to join up with Sombra?" "I didn't join up with him," Solara told her. "I was born under his care." "What?" Celestia asked. "Sombra found me, as a child. Before I could even walk, I was strong with The Force. So Sombra raised me, protected me. And when the time came, he trained me to be a powerful warrior." "You were raised to be a Sith?" Celestia asked, with Solara nodding. "Then you have a choice. You don't have to be the monster Sombra raised you to be." She forced herself to sit up. "Help me escape this place and I'll take you to the Jedi Temple. You can learn to become a true Jedi." "Why would I want that?" Solara asked. "Sombra has always been there for me. He's taught me so much. Why would I want to throw my freedom away to join the Jedi?" "Throw your freedom away?" "Sombra told me all about his life in the Order. How he couldn't do anything he enjoyed doing. Was scolded whenever he tried to have fun or do anything that wasn't Jedi training. And how the Order kept him from being with the one he loved." Celestia's eyes widened, as Solara chuckled and knelt down to be eye to eye with her. "Oh yes. I know all about the two of you. How you chose to remain in the Order instead of being with him." Celestia looked down, "I didn't have a choice." "Yes you did," Solara stood up. "And now, you'll come to regret that decision." "No," Celestia told her, "it isn't like that any more. The Order's changed. I was able to change it, by staying in the Order. We don't deny ourselves love any more. Look at Doom. He was allowed to have a wife and child. His father was a member of our Order. Things are different now." "I think the term 'too little, too late' springs to mind." Solara stepped out of the cave, as Celestia sighed. When she got there, she noticed Armalum staring in a particular direction. "Problem?" "We've got company," he replied as Solara heard a zooming sound coming from him. "Three heat signatures, coming from the same direction Doom and I arrived in." "I see," Solara frowned. "You think they're Jedi?" Armalum nodded, as he stared at a rock. "Definitely. They're all holding something I'm certain is a Lightsaber." "How did they find us?" Doom asked, with the others turning to give him a look. "Don't look at me." "Doesn't matter how they found us," Tirek growled. "There's five of us and three of them. Let's destroy them." "We can't risk them getting too close to Celestia," Chrysalis pointed out. "And we can't all leave her unguarded." She turned to Solara, Doom and Armalum. "You three go. They should be no match for you. We'll keep Little Miss Grandmaster company until you get back." They nodded and rushed off towards the three. Celestia heard this and knew she couldn't let her Jedi fight those Sith. Shining Armor might stand a chance against one. But three were too much, even with two Padawans beside him. She started rubbing her binds against the sharp rock, hoping they would break soon enough. The three continued to follow the energy trace, ready for whatever came their way. As they did, Shining noticed the energy was moving towards them. "I think we've been spotted." He turned to Flash and Twilight. "Go hide. I'll keep them distracted and you can go save Celestia." "You can't beat them on your own," Twilight pointed out. "I don't need to. I've just gotta hold them off long enough for you to save Celestia." The signal was coming up fast and Shining pointed at some rocks. "Go!" Flash grabbed Twilight and pulled her behind some rocks, the pair disappearing as Shining ignited his Lightsaber. He kept an eye on his gauntlet and watched the signal getting closer, but then stop and stay put. "What?" He asked, waiting for the signal to move again. But it didn't. "Could they be onto us?" He was about to call out to the others, but suddenly felt something coming up fast. He looked up, just in time to see someone leap up onto a rock and then fly down towards him. He leapt back, seconds before the spot was impaled by a red Lightsaber. The hooded figure wearing it then quickly pulled the blade free and charged, Shining holding his sword defensively and letting it strike head on. The pair pushed against one another, Shining trying to get a look under the hood. "Who are you?" "The last Sith you'll ever meet." They pushed him back and Shining almost fell over, but managed to regain his footing and point his blade at his opponent. The pair then charged forward, Lightsaber meeting Lightsaber as the two closed against one another. Shining realised his friends were in trouble, especially when the energy source started moving again. Flash and Twilight kept running, Twilight not happy about leaving her brother. But as they ran around another boulder, Twilight was suddenly overwhelmed with a powerful wave of dark aura. And it was getting closer. "Get down!" She grabbed Flash and pulled him down, as something shot out towards them and stabbed into the rock next to them. That something was a red Lightsaber, which carved itself into the rock for several seconds before it was pulled out by an invisible hand and flew back the way it came. They followed it with their eyes and saw it land in the hand of the black droid. "That's him," Twilight stated. "He's the one Celestia fought." "Weren't there supposed to be two?" Flash asked, only to quickly realise what had happened. "He must be fighting Shining," he ignited his sword. "Go," he told Twilight. "Go save Celestia. I'll deal with him." Twilight looked worried, but could clearly see she wasn't going to be talking Flash out of this. "Be careful," she told him before running off. "Brave," the droid told Flash. "But also foolish." He stared at Flash, as the Jedi prepared to charge. "Perfect. My master will surely reward me, once I've defeated you." "Why would he reward you for beating me?" Flash asked, only for Armalum to fire his arm blaster. Flash leapt to the side and barely managed to avoid it, as the droid rushed forward and swung in for an attack. But Flash managed to block at the last moment, though the impact was like getting hit by a speeder. "My master has a special interest in you and your teacher. Once you're both out of the way, he won't have to worry about anything." "Why would he worry about me?" Flash asked, with Armalum remaining silent and instead pushing Flash backwards. He then charged and attempted to cut Flash down, but Flash was able to leap out of the way and get back to his feet. The pair stood opposite one another and waited for the other to make a move, Flash eventually ending the stand off and charging. The two locked blades several times, but Armalum's robotic strength overpowered Flash whenever they did. The Padawan quickly realised he wasn't gonna win a battle of strength. He needed to find another way to win, if there was one. Twilight kept running in the direction Shining had been leading them, keeping close to the mountain's base to search anything that might hide her master. But as she ran, she almost found herself running into a red energy blade. The equestrian barely managed to react in time, dropping to her knees and sliding under the blade, which had suddenly extended out from behind the rock. And as she slid along the ground, she ignited her own weapon and spun around. She came face to face with a masked individual, who resembled the description Flash and Shining had given of the Sith they had faced on the forest moon. "How many of you are there?" "Enough to make sure the Jedi are dealt with, once and for all." She charged and started slashing at her, but Twilight managed to block her attacks. But it was clear, Solara was much better at her with a blade. Whenever Twilight tried to land a hit on her, Solara easily stopped it and almost cut Twilight in half with her counter. The pair moved around the battlefield, Twilight barely able to keep up with the Sith's incredible blade skill. As they fought, Twilight realised Solara was likely just a distraction. She needed to find a way to escape, or lead the fight over to where Celestia was being held. But she didn't even know where that was. Back at the cave, Celestia continued to scratch her bound wrists against the rock. She could feel the rope fraying, but it was still strong enough to hold her. As she worked, she kept an eye on the cave wall in case the other two Sith appeared. And one did. Chrysalis stepped into the cave, looking worried as she stared at her gauntlet. "Where is that ship," she complained. "Armalum and the others will be done before it arrives." "I wouldn't be so sure of that." Chrysalis turned to her. "Don't underestimate my Padawan, or the other two Jedi. They're stronger than you think." Chrysalis clearly didn't believe that for a second and as Celestia stared at her, something clicked. "You look a lot like someone I know. A Padawan in my Order." "I doubt that," Chrysalis replied. "Same skin, same body proportions, same insectoid wings." Chrysalis gave her a quizzical look, "my order found him on his own when he was just a baby. A small escape pod, lost on a barren planet. Had a blanket wrapped around him with a name sown in. Thorax." Chrysalis' breath hitched at this, "you do know him." Chrysalis said nothing and left, but Celestia could sense a bunch of emotions coming off of her. The Jedi Grandmaster thought about Cadance's Padawan and the many mysteries that had surrounded him. It seemed one of those mysteries had been solved. Shining and Doom remained at a stand still. The hooded saber wielder was constantly on the attack, striking with his blade again and again. But Shining's defensive style of fighting was keeping up. The pair appeared at a dead even, with neither side leaving an opening for the other to exploit. "Raaaah!" Doom slashed at Shining's head, but the Jedi ducked under it and leapt back. As he did, Shining noticed a large rock atop another right next to Doom. He reached out and pulled, the rock coming loose atop the other and falling towards Doom. The hooded figure looked around and saw it coming, then slashed at the boulder to make it fall on either side of him. And Shining used this opening to charge forward and stab at the Sith, but Doom leapt out of the way and Shining stabbed the rock instead. Doom then raised his hands and the two rocks floated into the air around Shining. The Jedi saw them and realised what Doom was trying to do, so quickly leapt up before the rocks could crush him between them. He landed on the rock and Doom threw the rocks towards him, Shining leaping back so they flew overhead and missed him. As he landed, he leapt away from the rock and tried to sense where Doom was. Picking up a life sign coming from the left, he turned in that direction and Doom came charging at him. The pair were once again locked in a stalemate, slashing at each other and cutting through the rocks around them. Neither side gave an inch, as they fought with everything they had. "Augh!" Flash slammed into a rock, as Armalum rushed forward and tried to stab Flash in the chest. Flash rolled out of the way, Armalum stabbing into the rock but quickly swung his blade through it and sent molten rock flying in all directions. Flash staggered back to avoid the rock landing on him, as Armalum fired his stun blaster at him. Flash leapt straight up, doing several flips until he landed on a boulder. Armalum fired several more shots, but Flash deflected each and every one of them. "He can't keep this up," the Padawan told himself. "He's gotta run out of batteries soon." "Hardly," Armalum laughed. Flash was surprised, since he had practically whispered that. "My power is infinite." He fired several more rapid shots towards Flash, who barely managed to block them all. But the last one was so strong, Flash lost his footing and found himself falling backwards. He fell to the ground and groaned as his Lightsaber fell from his hands, the teen pushing himself up only for Armalum to arrive and shoot at him. He rolled out of his way and jumped back to his feet, his Lightsaber flying into his hand just in time to block a saber strike. "How can you have infinite power?" Flash groaned. "What the heck could be fuelling you?" "Too complicated to explain to a simpleton like you." Armalum pushed him back and pointed his sword at him. "I'm more than just your average droid. I'm the most powerful machine in the galaxy." Flash panted as he leaned against a rock, fearing Armalum might be telling the truth. But if he was that powerful, how the heck was Flash gonna stop him? Twilight cried out, as she was sent staggering away by another of Solara's attacks. Red and green connected and every time, the red blade overpowered the green one. "Give it up," Solara laughed. "You don't stand a chance against me." Twilight kept her blade raised. "Your friend didn't stand a chance against me when we battled before, so what hope do you have?" "What makes you think Flash is better than me?" Twilight asked. "My master told me all about how the Jedi work." She pointed at Twilight's Lightsaber. "Green Lightsabers are used by ones who are better at The Force than with a sword. That means in a fight, you're an easy opponent." She charged and slashed, with Twilight blocking her attack. "First off, that's just a speculation. Nobody's proved the colour of one's Lightsaber determines what kind of Jedi you are." She pushed back and Twilight took a defensive state. "And secondly, you're right." Solara tilted her head, as Twilight held out a hand. "My skills with my Lightsaber...is nothing compared to my control of The Force." She thrust her hand out and to Solara's shock, three large rocks were ripped out of the ground around her. She watched Twilight effortlessly held the three two ton boulders over their heads. And before Solara could stop her, she threw them down in her direction. The Sith was forced to leap out of the way, as the rocks slammed down around her. First one embedded itself into the ground, then the other two did the same and dug in deep. Solara looked up and sat the tops of the rocks lean on one another, with only a small gap formed between them that she couldn't get through. All the other gaps in the rock were also rather small, making it impossible for her to squeeze through. Solara looked through one of the rocks and saw Twilight running away, making her growl as she pushed her Lightsaber through the hole and started melting the rock around it. This would take a while. Dodging another blast, Flash staggered around a rock as Armalum gave chase. As he did, he heard the sounds of other swords clashing and moved towards it. And sure enough, there was Shining and Doom. The pair collided with one another and locked blades, both showing equal skill and precision. As they pushed against one another, Flash heard Armalum approaching and rushed in to join the fight. As Doom pushed Shining away, Flash slashed at him and the Sith dodged. Shining was surprised by Flash's sudden appearance, but quickly capitalised on it by attempting to strike Doom down. Doom blocked the attack and leapt up, as Flash and Shining stood side by side. Armalum arrived at this moment and the Jedi watched them both. "Be careful," Flash told Shining. "This one's strong." "So's the other," Shining agreed. "But I doubt they're in sync." Flash nodded as Armalum charged forward, Shining stepping forward and blocking with his Lightsaber. The pair were equal in strength and Shining was able to knock Armalum back, allowing Flash to attack whilst Shining turned his attention to Doom. The hooded Sith leapt down and attempted to cut Flash down, but Shining shielded his student and was able to push Doom off balance. At the same time, Armalum began his counter attack. But Flash and Shining swapped places, with Shining blocking this onslaught whilst Flash began to strike at the unbalanced Doom. And when Doom regained his composure, Shining pushed Armalum back and they switched again. They kept this up, Shining using his defensive style to block the incoming attacks and knocking their opponent back, with Flash going in to strike with the sharp edge of his blade. Had Doom and Armalum been in sync, they would have realised they could stop this by simply attacking together. But they didn't. Twilight ran as fast as she could away from Solara, eventually spotting something in the distance. The cave came into view and she gasped, praying she would find Celestia in there. She was so focused on saving her, she didn't think there might be others there. "Celestia!" She called out, hoping to hear her master call back. But she didn't say anything. Instead, she suddenly found herself being pushed backwards by The Force. She crashed into a rock, as Tirek and Chrysalis came out of hiding. "Too bad," Tirek laughed. "Those fools couldn't get the job done. Oh well." "Just kill her already," Chrysalis told him. But Tirek smiled. "Where's the fun in that?" He moved closer to Twilight, "I haven't had a good meal in a while. And I can feel her strength with The Force. She'll be delicious." Twilight looked terrified and tried to attack with her Lightsaber, but Tirek reached out and pulled her weapon from her grasp. "Now, now. Don't struggle. It'll only make it worse." Twilight and Tirek stared into one another's eyes, as his horns started sparking with red energy. And as the glow of his eyes intensified, Twilight could feel something inside her beginning to grow cold. "What...are you doing?" "Your powerful connection to The Force, makes you an all-you-can-eat buffet for me to drain." He got closer to her, as his mouth began to open. Twilight didn't know what he was going to do, but she knew she didn't want to experience it. And just as she was about to panic, she remembered something and reached behind her. Just as Tirek was about to do whatever he was about to do, Twilight took out Celestia's Lightsaber and ignited it. The blade's tip struck Tirek's side, burning the centaur and causing him to roar in pain. He dropped Twilight, who leapt a safe distance away and tried to get her Lightsaber. But before she could, she was slammed into by another Force push. "Nice try," Chrysalis smiled. Twilight pushed herself up and realised she had dropped Celestia's Lightsaber, the Padawan spotting it and reaching out to retrieve it. But Chrysalis also tried to grab it, the two feeling their hold on the weapon was equal. They kept pulling, as the weapon shook in place. And suddenly, Twilight felt a stronger pull and her grip was lost. The weapon flew towards Chrysalis, who smiled until she realised she wasn't the one summoning it. She leapt up, as the Lightsaber flew into the cave and disappeared. Moments later, the yellow blade extended and Celestia stepped out. "Master!" Twilight cried, as her teacher stepped forth. "Nobody hurts my student," she announced. Chrysalis and Tirek growled, as Twilight smiled and retrieved her own Lightsaber. Tirek then took out both his double-edged Lightsabers and charged at the Grandmaster, Celestia standing in a defensive stance as she began to defend. Tirek slashed at her, but she was able to block all four blades. As this was happening, Chrysalis turned to Twilight and ignited her own sword. Twilight looked worried, but raised her blade defensively. "This isn't going to be much of a challenge." "Hold it!" Another voice cried, making them look around and see Solara walking into the area. "She's mine!" She charged at Twilight, the Padawan blocking with her own blade as the Sith slashed at her. Chrysalis smiled and kept her attention on the two fights, waiting for an opening to strike one down. Celestia spread her wings and took to the air, flying out of Tirek's range before thrusting her hand out. Doing so sent a large rock flying at the centaur, who thrust his fist forward to destroy it. Celestia then dived down and swung her sword at him, Tirek raising his double-edged blade and blocking. But the impact sent him staggering. Celestia prepared to take this opening, but Chrysalis suddenly appeared and slashed at her. The Grandmaster blocked the attack and the pair glared into one another's eyes, as they appeared to be in a stalemate. "You can't win," the insectoid Sith announced. "There's three of us and two of you. What hope do you have?" Celestia frowned and pushed back, flying away and seeing Twilight was having trouble against the Sith named Solara. And with Tirek recovering from before, she realised she couldn't defeat these three and protect her pupil. However, she then spotted something that made her smile. "You might want to recount those odds in a moment." Chrysalis, who flew down and landed on a rock, frowned before following the Jedi's gaze. And there she saw the Shooting Star, flying towards them at high speed. And as it got closer, the loading ramp opened and four individuals leapt down towards them. Spitfire, Rainbow, Heather and Applejack flew down to the ground and at the last moment, they created a Force Cushion to slow their descent. And as they landed, they took out their weapons. Applejack's Light-axe sparked, which Rainbow twin shoto sabres ignited. Spitfire had a normal blue Lightsaber, whilst Heather's was green. The Sith were shocked by their sudden appearance, Rainbow turning to Solara and rushing forward with incredible speed. The rainbow haired girl swung her blades, around, Solara barely managing to block. The cow girl then charged and swung her axe at her, Solara leaping back to avoid it. Spitfire and Heather charged at Tirek, the centaur swinging his double-edges swords around to keep them at a safe distance. This freed Celestia up to attack Chrysalis, the two slender woman clashing blades. "I think those odds just turned in my favour." Chrysalis glared at her, whilst Tirek and Solara found themselves in trouble. As Solara blocked Twilight' attack, Rainbow rushed in and flourished her twin blades. As Solara blocked them, Rainbow was able to spin around and slam a foot into her chest to knock her flying back. "Augh!" "Ha!" Rainbow smirked, "you're not so tough!" Solara growled. "Face me on your own and say that." The three slowly stepped forward, as Solara saw Tirek also getting back into a corner by the two knights. But just as she was getting worried, she noticed something in the air. "Our rides here!" Chrysalis and Tirek looked up and spotted a bunch of ships, which flew around the mountain. The Shooting Star was still flying around and before the ship could react, the others fired at it and did some damage. A small explosion rocked the ship and forced it to fly away and land, allowing the ships to fly down. "Love to stay and chat." Solara Force Pushed the three Padawans back, "but I'd rather not get captured or killed." She leapt up onto a rock and took to the air, landing on the loading ramp of a ship. Tirek leapt up onto his back legs before slamming his front ones into the ground, causing it to shake and knock Spitfire and Heather off their feet. He then leapt up onto a rock and jumped up towards the ship, showing impressive jumping skill for someone of his size. Chrysalis pushed against Celestia and forced her back, but knew she likely couldn't escape the omni. She then spotted something and smirked, thrusting her hand out with Celestia expecting to be pushed back. But she wasn't and Chrysalis instead pulled, Celestia glancing behind her. It was then she spotted the Padawans, beneath a large boulder that was starting to tip over towards them. "Look out!" She cried, grabbing the rock with The Force. This allowed Chrysalis to fly up and into the ship, whilst Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow ran out from beneath the large rock. The ships then shot off, in the direction Flash and Shining were currently in. The two continued their fight against Armalum and Doom, constantly switching between who they were fighting to keep that opponent on edge. Doom and Armalum staggered back, as Flash and Shining stood back to back. The Jedi smirked as they waited for the pair to attack again, but Doom and Armalum had finally caught on to their scheme. They just couldn't figure out how to overcome it. In that moment, the ships flew around the mountain towards them. They heard said ships and looked up, as one of them started opening fire towards Flash and Shining. "Take cover!" Shining cried, the pair rushing behind a boulder. As they did, another ship lowered a pair of ropes. "So long," Doom smiled as he grabbed one. "It's been fun," Armalum agreed as he grabbed the other. They were both lifted into the air, flying off into the distance as the rope retracted. Flash and Shining came out from behind the rocks, watching as the ships shot into the sky and escaped the planet's orbit. They wanted to chase after them, but it was too late. By the time they all got onto the Shooting Star, even if it wasn't damaged, and flew up to space, they would already be in Hyperspace. "Ahhh!" Flash kicked a rock, "they got away." "We've got bigger issues," Shining told him. "Twilight and Celestia." He ran in the direction Twilight had gone, Flash following after him. They soon arrived at the area of the cave, where they found the others resting with Twilight kneeling in front of Celestia. "I'm sorry," she told her master. "I disobeyed orders and it got you captured. I'm so sorry." Celestia smiled at her and knelt down, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Twilight. I know you were worried about me. I should have known you would have followed me. And actually, you helped me." "Helped you?" Twilight looked confused, as the others stepped closer. They all saw Celestia looking rather concerned, as she stared up at the sky. "We now know the identities of not only the five Sith, but their Sith Master. And now that we know who they are, we can begin our counterattack." She turned to the others. "Our battle against the Sith begins. We very well may be at war." That statement worried them, but they knew Celestia wouldn't say it lightly. This situation was a heavy one to be sure. As their ship flew through Hyperspace, the five Sith stood in line as Sombra floated above them in hologram form. "YOU INCOMPETENT FOOLS!" He roared, the five all flinching at the outburst. "You allowed Celestia to escape!? You had one job. Bring her to me!" None of them had an excuse, knowing nothing would work. "Do you have any idea what this means?" "The Jedi now know of you," Solara realised. "Exactly," Sombra growled. "And that means they won't just be looking for us. They'll be actively hunting us. And we've lost our host. Celestia would have been perfect. Now we have to find someone else." Doom lowered his "We're sorry, master." "I don't want to hear your apologies. I want to hear what you plan on doing to fix this." None of them had an answer. "Of course. Our only hope now is to complete our plan before the Jedi can wage a counterattack. To heck with stealth. We're going all out until we've accomplished our goal. Is that understood?" "Yes master," they all nodded before Sombra's form vanished. When it did, Tirek smiled. "To heck with stealth? Good. I never enjoyed the stealthy approach. Now we can do whatever we want to accomplish our goal, even if it lets the Jedi know where we are." Chrysalis turned to the others. "You realise what this means, don't you?" Doom nodded. "We're at war." The others nodded, as Solara removed her helmet and made her way over to the ship's window. As she watched the lights of Hyperspace race pass the window, she couldn't help but remember her talk with Celestia. Remember what Celestia had told her about a better way. But she quickly shook her head. She was a Sith and she would always be a Sith. That was who she was. News of the recent mission spread like wildfire around Canterlot. As soon as they got back, which took a while due to the damage done to the ship, Celestia had called a meeting of the council and told them everything. To say the Masters were shocked about what had happened, was an understatement. The whole temple was now on alert. And the senate had also been informed, causing all of Canterlot to also be placed on alert. Now, Celestia was in the council chambers. She was alone, remembering what had happened during her capture. The doors of the room quickly opened, with Luna stepping inside and giving her sister a worried look. "You're worried about Sombra, aren't you?" Celestia nodded. "When he was in the Order, he was one of the strongest Knights we had. Those five were very powerful, no doubt trained by him. I fear this Sith group will not be easy to defeat. With Sombra leading them, there's no telling what they might try." Luna nodded, as she sat down beside her sister. "It's more than that, isn't it. I can feel it. You fear your past with him might affect how you decide to deal with him." "Yes," Celestia nodded. "Despite everything that happened between us, a spark of what I once felt for him still lingers. Centuries ago, those feelings led me to make many mistakes. I tried again and again to reason with him, because I couldn't bring myself to accept he would never stop. Not until it was almost too late." "And you fear the same thing might happen again." "No," Celestia stood up and looked out the window. "I won't allow what happened before to happen again. Our order barely survived because of the mistakes I made. I won't let the same thing happen. If I face Sombra, I'm going to stop him." "And you won't be alone," Luna promised. "I'll be there to help you. And so will everyone else. Together, we'll stop this new Sith uprising before it can start." "I hope so," Celestia nodded. "Sombra is planning something. He wanted to use me for something and was sure it would cause me to change to his side." "What was it?" Luna asked. "I don't know. But there are legends of Sith artefacts, capable of turning even the most righteous of Jedi to the Dark Side. If he has something like that, we could find ourselves dealing with a lot more than six Sith." "Then we'll stop him before that happens," Luna assured her. Celestia nodded as she stared down at the temple below the tower, where all her Jedi were. They all had a bright future, now endangered by Sombra's insane quest. She would not allow them to lose their future. No matter what, she would stop the Sith. A war had begun. A Star War.