//------------------------------// // Prologue: The Amulet // Story: A Piercing Light // by Eagle Heart //------------------------------// He slowly made his way through the cave, his blue lightsaber was his only source of light in the immense darkness. Dead silence was all he could hear. A couple times a rock tumbling would startle him, he had to be ready. He was in the cave home to many Rakghouls. For if he makes a single mistake, it could mean sudden death. Though he was not afraid, the Force was with him. He was a Jedi master and knew better. He hears the sound of a quick growl come from behind him, he spins around to face it, but he didn't see anything so he continued on. He headed deeper into the cave to find a large opening, there was a hole at the top leading to the surface that kept the chamber dim lighted. This is strange though, there were constructs along the wall recent ones. Had the rakghouls begun learning how to build? This is not good. This only gives him more of a reason to complete his mission for the good of Taris. Or else the entire planet could get infected with the Rakghoul plague, and that would be the end of all the people on this planet. Also, the republic would lose control of a good strategic area. He saw nothing in the chamber though, except for an odd chest in the back of it. He jogged his way through the large chamber, making sure to keep his senses alert. He approached the chest and deactivated his lightsaber. He connected it to the latch on his leather belt and went to open the chest. He cracked the chest open, but before he could see anything inside, he felt a disturbance in the force. A few seconds later, a large Rakghoul howled and leapt at him from behind. He spun around and sent his right hand forward using the Force to send the beast flying back. He held his hand out and his lightsaber flew into his hand. He ignited the blade and swung to the right, cutting an oncoming Rakghoul in half. He spun his saber around and stabbed another in the back. The beasts began to gather in numbers. All he could do was wait for another attack. He prepared himself and moved into the Soresu stance. It was a defensive stance, able to give him the edge he needed to keep himself from being infected. One charged and another along with it. He spun and cut off the head of the first one, he continued with his momentum and shot his left arm out, the other stopped in its tracks and began to float into the air. He sent it flying into the group, wounding or knocking down a good deal of them. He looked at his surroundings; this was going to take to long. He noticed one of the structures was fairly near by. He just needed to get to it without being overrun. The Rakghouls roared in unison and began to attack. The Jedi looked around and noticed a large boulder, he reached out with the Force and rolled it through the group to slow them down.It crashed through them and even sent some flying. He ran toward the structure as fast as his legs would allow, using the Force to give him an extra push. As one of the beasts caught up, the Jedi leapt high into the air and turned around mid leap, using the force to give him a boost. He threw his saber at the beast and it flew out like a boomerang. It sliced through like butter and came back to the Jedi just as he landed. He continued running and reached the base of the structure. It was like a large pillar made of scrap metal, weak, but heavy enough to get the job done. He reached out with his left hand and focused on the structure. The Force was on his side. The base began to crumble and condense until it finally broke off, the Jedi led it through the air and aimed it at the Rakghouls. As soon as they got close enough, he threw it. The makeshift pillar crashed into the group, and annihilated it. The Jedi let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the rakghouls aren't very smart and tend to send everything the first try. He deactivated his lightsaber and put it back onto its latch. He made his way back to the chest, thanking the force he's still alive. Moving that structure took quite a bit out of him. He couldn't wait to get back to his ship and rest. The Jedi approached the chest and opened it, he found nothing inside but a strange gold amulet, none like he'd ever seen before. He reached out to grab it. The instant his fingers came in contact and it entered his hand, his head began to throb. He put his hand on it and began to feel dizzy, he yelled in pain as the vision began. So much information being put into his mind. He fell back onto the stone floor and could do nothing but writhe. He saw images of a world at war, countless death and destruction bringing it to be a wasteland full of nothing. He saw strange creatures, ones that appeared of colored equines. He'd never seen or heard of a race like this before. He'd studied the Jedi archives his entire life, and never once seen or heard of these. He saw many battles and the owner of the necklace. It was one of those equines, but larger than the rest. It was white and had multicolored hair. He wasn't sure what all this meant. The vision ended and the pain stopped. "Argh... what was that?..." He questioned to himself. He slowly got up, legs slightly shaky from what just happened, but that was a normal side effect. He recovered his lightsaber that had fallen off his belt when he fell. He sighed and made his way out of the cave. Once he was out, he was glad to see the light of day again. The smell was at least slightly better than the cave too. A couple hours later he made it back to his defender class ship and went inside. He had to tell the council of his findings, and that he completed his mission. He set a course for Coruscant and went to his quarters. He sat down in a chair and removed his hood, revealing his graying hair and beard. His blindfold had gotten some rakghoul blood on it, nothing he couldn't wash out. He sat the amulet down on the desk beside him and began to meditate on this. Enjoying his short time for rest before he makes it to Coruscant. After a while he had to stop and go to the captain's seat so he could land the ship. After he did so, he walked out and headed straight for the Jedi Temple to speak with the council. After much debate, they finally allowed him to pursue this interest of his and search for this place. They said their goodbyes and he quickly went to the Jedi Archives to figure out the coordinates of the planet. From his vision, he learned it was in between two stars and is somewhere inside Wild Space. A week had gone by, doing nothing but research and meditation. Still he barely got any more information than what he started with. After much though he then realized. "Of course! If I calculate the gravity of the two stars, I can figure out and estimated orbit of the planet. Whichever star has the higher gravitational pull, will be the one that it is orbiting." He went to work and finally got a good estimate of where it was, he set up some approximate coordinates. he went to his room at the temple and got what supplies he needed. Like his tracker, canteen, and a silver necklace given to him by his late friend Amadal. He immediately went off to return to his ship, eager to find out what the Force was trying to tell him. He entered his ship and told his T7-08 astromech droid to set the coordinates. It made it's little beeping sounds and went to work. He got into his captain's char and flew off planet. As soon as he was clear, he went into light-speed and the usual amount of force pushed him back in his seat, before he became accustomed to it. As the ship flew on autopilot, he pulled the amulet from the pocket of his robe and removed his brown hood. He examined it thoroughly, noting the symbol of two horse heads in a circle. It seemed like a symbol of harmony... perhaps this race was a peaceful one. He'd find out soon enough. He arrived at the coordinates. He jumped in his seat and took the controls, it brought him straight into an asteroid field. He took evasive maneuvers and dodged them as best they could. He saw the planet way in the distance... on the other side of the field. "This is why I hate flying..." he commented. As any Jedi would, he used the Force to tell him where the asteroids were. Giving him the ability to dodge them more efficiently and effectively than a normal pilot. Though, he was at the homestretch, but he lost his concentration and an asteroid smashed into the back of his ship. Sending him spiraling out of control. "Blast it! T7! Divert all power toward shields!" he yelled over the ship's intercom. The droid did as it was commanded. All he could do now, was keep it as steady as possible, and let the Force take care of the rest. He crash landed into the planet, the ship taking a massive beating. In the cockpit, he was being shaken around like in an earthquake simulator. By the time the ship stopped moving, it had been flipped onto its side and now a complete wreck. He pressed the button to open the door to exit his ship, but the door was broken and could not move. He sighed and took out his lightsaber, with it, he cut a hole in the thick glass of the cockpit and leapt out from there. What he saw, wasn't pretty. He saw no green, no life. All it was, was dirt and ash. He looked around for any sort of civilization and saw nothing. He was trapped on a wasteland, with nothing but some water and his lightsaber. He crawled back into his ship and looked around for any food he could carry with him. He checked the meeting area first, nothing. Then his quarters, nothing. Then the com room, nothing. No food. He went to the engine room to see how much damage it had taken. One engine was completely destroyed, while the other was in tact. Perhaps he could repair the other if he had the parts. He decided to rest before going off and looking for anyone. After a few hours, he heard the sounds of thumping on the top of his ship. He instantly got up and followed it with his eyes. Until it stopped. He heard nothing until whatever was on the ship, was now in the cockpit. He went to go inspect. As soon as he reach the door he heard a hissing noised and jumped back. Something jumped out, it was black with holes in its feet, fangs in its mouth and wings on its back. It also had a jagged horn on its forehead. What was this thing? Then it did something completely unexpected, it flashed a bright green. Causing the Jedi to cover where his eyes were. When he looked, he was quite shocked. The being had took on the exact shape of him. It had an evil smile on its face. What was it planning? Then the Jedi had to take a double take on this. The beast pulled out a lightsaber, one exactly like his. As it did this it lunged forward and swung the blade. The Jedi ducked under and spun at the same time, moving to the left. He rose up and leaned back to dodge another swing. He jumped back and used the force the send the being flying back into the metal wall of the ship. Using the time he was given, the Jedi took out his lightsaber and got into the Shii-cho stance, one of balance. The beast got up and lunged with the blade. The Jedi blocked the blow, the lightsabers letting out the familiar metallic burning sound when clashed together. They traded blows, both of them dueling with equal skill with a lightsaber. He deflected a swing of the blade from the beast and leapt over it. He tried to stab it in the back, but it shuffled to the side and spun. It kicked him in the gut and knocked him back. Then it lunged forward and punched him in the face. It swung its lightsaber down at him, but he blocked it with his own, and held them there. Then he caught the incoming fist from the beast with his other hand. He had no choice to do this but... he head butted the thing. It fell back onto the ground. The Jedi's head throbbed quite a bit now, making him a bit dizzy. He regained his composure and attempted to stab the beast while it was down, but it managed to kick him back. It leapt back up its feet and began to use the Shii-Cho stance. They fought for at least eight minutes before the Jedi realized... This thing can't use the force... The Jedi spun to the right and ducked under a swing from the beast, he kicked it with his shin right in its stomach. Then he sent his left hand forward and a blast of Force energy went from his hand, straight to the creature's head. It smashed into the floor, leaving a large spot of blood. After it hit the floor, it side flipped and crashed into the wall. Dead. It returned to its natural form and laid there, unmoving. The Jedi wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead and deactivated his lightsaber. He put it onto its latch and decided... time to move. He climbed out of the cockpit and looked around, it was just reaching morning time apparently and the sun was coming up. As it was, he noticed something in the distance... was that smoke? He hopped off the ship and began to head in that direction. As he got closer, he confirmed that it was. Finally... civilization. Hours had passed as he travelled, he was getting tired and hungry from all this walking. He expected it to be at least a small down. To his disappointment... it was just a large camp. At least it was something though... He walked to the entrance and was immediately stopped by what only could be guards... wearing armor made of basic metal?... what? "Halt strange one!" one of them said. Their horns glowing and causing swords to have a strange blue aura around them and float. Could they use the force? "I assure you, I come in peace." The Jedi said, keeping his hands where the guards could see them. They were a little surprised that I could talk apparently, they must not have even heard of space travel. "S-state your business!" the other one commanded, sounding slightly nervous. Mainly because they didn't know what he was. "I come for shelter, along with questions about this..." He pulled the amulet from his pocket and showed it to them. They instantly went wide eyed, recognizing the symbol on it, and moved out of the way. "Go right in! The princess is at the command center toward the back of the camp." The Jedi nodded and went into the camp. The instant he entered he got many awkward stares from the equines. He payed no attention to them and searched for the command center he was told about. He found the large tent after a few minutes of searching and walks inside. He saw the one from his vision, talking to what appears to be a couple officials over a map... made of paper? He cleared his throat to get their attention. They all looked up at him and stared blankly. The one from his vision spoke up first. "Who are you and how did you get in here?" Her voice was calm, but commanding at the same time. "My name is Thalos Rigalan, I am a Jedi. As for how I am here, after your guards saw this amulet..." he removed the amulet from his pocket and the, what Thalos assumed was the princess, went wide eyed. "Where did you get that?" she asked while she approached him. "I came across it while exploring a cave on the planet Taris, it was in the middle of a Rakghoul lair." Thalos explained. "I don't know what any of those are, but thank you for returning it to me. I lost it over a thousand years ago, it was my mother's before she gave it to me." the princess explained. "Forgive me, in these times, I can be forgetful. I am Princess Celestia, ruler of what is left of Equestria." Thalos held out the amulet and she took it with her magic. She placed it around her neck. "The Force gave me a vision the instant I touched your amulet, it showed me of what was happening now and in the past on this world. I feel it to be my duty and obligation to help... for it seems no one will." Thalos said to Celestia. "I thank you for your offer, but this is a war, I do not want someone else getting involved and hurt." Celestia said to Thalos, she sounded like this had happened before. "I know what's out there, I faced one of those... things. It took on my form and fought me with my own weapon." Thalos explained. "Where is your weapon? I do not see it on your person." Celestia asked. Thalos reached to his lightsaber and held it in his hand, showing her the hilt. "But where is the blade?" Celestia asked. Thalos ignited his lightsaber and it flashed to life, it made the familiar metallic laser sound, the sound of power. "Amazing." That was all Celestia could say about the weapon. "It is weightless, and it can cut through anything it touches, unless it is another lightsaber." Thalos explained to her. Before they could continue, a guard rushed into the tent. "Princess! A group of changeling raiders are attacking the camp!" Celestia sighed. "Stay here." she said to Thalos. "Please, allow me to assist." Thalos pleaded sincerely, but calmly. Celestia paused to think about it and finally nodded. "May the Force be with us..." he said. They both left the tent and went to the perimeter where the fighting was. It wasn't a large group of the things, but it wasn't a large group of resistance either. Celestia went to the line so she could command her troops. Thalos run forward and leapt over the line of guards, using the Force to increase the height of his jump so he could do so. This time, he knew what he was up against. He charged into the battle and began cutting the changelings down. One leapt at him from behind, but he swung around and caught it with the force, he sent it flying into three others. He cut down any changelings before they had the chance to change into him. Even with his knowledge of the force, that would be too many lightsabers in one place. The equines were fighting with their own version of the Force, at least that's what it seemed like to Thalos. Sending beams of energy at the beings and blasting away with the horns on their heads. Some could fly, others were stuck on the ground with no wings, or horn. So they fought with special kinds of swords, the handle being made to fit in the mouth. The changelings shot their own bolts of energy, but they were just like blaster shots. Thalos used the Force to guide his lightsaber in defending himself from the shots. Like any Jedi would. He stayed in the middle of the fray, just when he noticed that the changelings found a weak spot in the defense. He leapt and fought he way over to the line of guards. Just before Celestia was going to yell "Take cover!" Thalos just barely got in front and reached his arms out and stopped the barrage of energy bolts that was about to hit the line. Thank the Force Thalos was able to get there in time. Or the camp would've been lost. Celestia could only keep a shocked look on her face, she'd never seen anything like that... a being that could use magic without a horn? Unheard of! Thalos threw the bolts back at the changelings, getting most of them, they were forced to retreat. The guards cheered for their victory, and for Thalos saving the camp. Thalos disliked being the center of attention, but it comes with being a defender of good. He walked back into the camp to meet up with Celestia. "I suppose I was wrong." Celestia admitted. "We all make mistakes, I was just lucky there weren't very many of those things... or else we would've had to retreat." Thalos said. "Yes. Thank you for saving the last defense of Equestria. All may have been lost if this camp were to be destroyed." Celestia said, both happy about the camp being safe, and sad since so many lives have been lost. "This is the last of your people?" Thalos asked, deactivating his lightsaber and putting it back onto his latch. "Regrettably... yes." She hung her head and they began to return to the command center. "I fear if this continues on in its current state, you will only be able to hold out for so long." Thalos said. "We can only hope." Celestia said, regaining her composure. It was clear that this war, was really getting to her. "Maybe... if I can get my ship working again... I may be able to get everyone off planet." Thalos suggested. "That's impossible. Even if we improved our knowledge of magic by a thousand years in one day. It still would be." Celestia said. "Where I'm from, planet travel is like taking a walk." Thalos said as they entered the tent. "Really?" Celestia asked in disbelief. "Yes. But I need the correct parts to repair the left engine. It was destroyed when I crashed here." Thalos explained. "But perhaps with some basic metals, I could patch it up and get it working again." "This is a big risk. We need those metals for weapons and armor. if we give you what we have, we wouldn't have any left to protect ourselves. But if what you say is true, you could save us all." Celestia pondered. "If you stay on this planet, it will be the end anyways. If what I'm saying, I cannot do, then it would only bring the inevitable faster." Thalos retorted. "I supposed you're right. Go then, take what you need. You're our only hope for survival." Celestia said. "I'll begin as soon as I can." Thalos said. With that, he left the command center to go find some food and rest. In the coming weeks, Thalos had worked on repairing his ship with the materials that were given. Along with protecting the camp when it needed it. By the time Thalos was finished, the ship could barely run, but it worked. He wasn't even sure if the ship could make it back to Coruscant. He said his goodbyes to the princess and returned to his barely working ship. It turned on and floated up. It had to give a little extra juice to get dislodged from the ground. But it did it. He flew off and set a course for Coruscant. After a couple hours of flying and meditating. He made it back to the temple. He instantly went and requested and audience with the Jedi council. Saying it was urgent. So they all stopped what they were doing and allowed the hearing. "Fellow masters. A race is at the brink of distinction, and there is something we can do about it. There is a small amount of them, so I believe that we can take them off their planet and migrate them here. So that they may survive and continue their survival. They do not have long before they will be completely extinct and they acknowledge this. They are open to this idea and we are their only hope for survival." Thalos explained to the five masters. "Exactly how many are we talking about?" One of them asked. "Approximately two-hundred and fifty remain." Thalos said. "Troubling... We had all experienced a disturbance in the Force, but none of us could deduce why." The grandmaster said. They talked amongst themselves for a few minutes, discussing the pros and cons. Then the grandmaster said "Now we know what that disturbance was. We will help them and will send shuttles to retrieve them. We trust your judgement and opinion on them, for if they were not a peaceful race, you would not have come to us in this manner." Thalos nodded. Almost relieved they trust him, but he needed no confirmation that they did. "We would like you to personally oversee this with full command over the shuttles." the grandmaster said. "It will be done." Thalos said while bowing. "The shuttles leave tomorrow. May the Force be with you." The grandmaster said. "To you as well." Thalos said. He left the meeting room and went to his quarters to get some sleep. The next day, Thalos had been waiting at the shuttle bay while everyone got prepared. He was contemplating many things. "Why has the Force brought me to do this? Why now?" he thought to himself outloud. Before he could continue he was interrupted by one of the captains. They saluted him and said. "Sir, we are ready for departure to pick up the equine race." "Very well." Thalos said. He stood up and entered the lead shuttle. They flew off back to the planet, during this time, Thalos kept to himself through most of it, not talking to anyone. They didn't mind, it was just another mysterious thing a Jedi does to the soldiers. They landed near the camp. Thalos ordered them to wait and headed down to the command center. There he met Celestia again. "It is time to leave." "You actually came..." Celestia said. The amount of relief in her voice couldn't be any more obvious to Thalos. "Of course I did." Thalos said calmly. "Thank you for all you've done, you've saved my people and given them a chance to start anew." Celestia said, a tear coming to her eye. "There are shuttles waiting at the west side of the camp, let's get your people on so we can head to Coruscant, On the way I can answer any questions you may have. I anticipate many." Thalos said. He then left the tent to go tell the troops the ponies are on their way. They loaded up the ponies onto the shuttles and Celestia got into the one Thalos was in. When the ship lifted off, she stumbled around a little, not used to flying spaceships. "You'll get used to it." He said. "It's just... perplexing how these things work." Celestia said while sitting down so she could hold her ground. "So first off, what is Coruscant like?" she asked. "Coruscant is a city planet, not much flora, but plenty of sights to see. Unless you go to the sectors owned by the gangs. Avoid those and I'm sure life will be happy." Thalos said. "You mean your entire planet is a city?" she asked. "Yes, not all of them are, Coruscant is just one of them." Thalos explained. "What are the people like?" she asked. "Well on Coruscant, there are lots of different people, from many different places. Judging from how in the dark you were here, you're going to learn more in a month than you have in your lifetime." Thalos said. "Amazing..." was all she could say. For the entire flight she continued to ask him questions about the society and what things were like there. Thalos answered quite thoroughly each time. Though he did have questions of his own about her race, he held them until she got all she wanted to hear. "What is a Jedi" she finally asked. Thalos kept talking about them, but she never asked until now. "Jedi are the guardians of peace in the galaxy. Jedi use their powers to defend and to protect. Jedi respect all life, in any form. Jedi serve others rather than ruling over them, for the good of the galaxy. Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training." Thalos said, summing up the Jedi in a pretty detailed way. "What is this Force you've been talking about?" she asked next. "The Force is what guides the universe, it is the universe. Us Jedi learn to use it for the good of the galaxy, while the Sith use it to control and destroy. Jedi use the light side. Sith use the dark side." Thalos explained. "What is the difference between the two?" She asked. "The dark side focuses on negative emotions, fear, anger, hatred, passion. They all lead to corruption. The light side is the opposite. Peace and serenity within oneself." Thalos explained to her, just as they arrived at the spaceport. "We're here." "It's quite unnerving to think of what's beyond the door." Celestia said while standing up. "No need to be afraid." Thalos said as the door opened. They both walked out and they left the spaceport. As soon as they went outside, Celestia's mouth went agape. "Welcome to Coruscant." Thalos said while smiling under his hood.