A Piercing Light

by Eagle Heart


Coruscant

Thalos approached a building and motioned for Rainbow to follow. “We should be able to get one here.”

Rainbow nodded. “Alright, why don’t we get one from... What was it?... The Jedi Temple or something? I’unno.”

“We’re not going there.” Thalos said abruptly. It sounded like he really didn’t want to go there.

“But wouldn’t it be easier? I mean, I know we can just get one here, but wouldn’t it be a little bit uh... Hard on your budget?” Rainbow asked.

“This Rodian owes me a favor, I helped him escape from Dromund Kaas. Though, after I did so, the Jedi Council suspended me for going against direct orders. They said it would be suicide to go to the current homeworld of the Sith.” Thalos explained.

Rainbow nodded once again. “Oh... I guess that explains it...” she chuckled rather sheepishly.

“It’s alright, you couldn’t have known.” Thalos said as he approached the Rodian. The Rodian was currently working on a droid when they walked in. He noticed Thalos and, to Rainbow, began to speak in a strange language. Thalos seemed to understand it fully.

“Thalos! What brings you to my shop?” the Rodian said to him.

“I come, Gebo, because I need you to build a training saber.” Thalos said.

“I assume because of the robes, this is your new padawan?” Gebo looked at Rainbow Dash, not quite sure what she was. “What exactly is she?”

Rainbow had no idea what Gebo was saying. “Uhhh... I uh... Wha..?” she mumbled in confusion.

“He asked what you were Rainbow. Don’t worry, he understands Republic Standard.” Thalos said to Rainbow.

“Oh... Oh! S-sorry, I’m uh... I’m a pegasus.” Rainbow replied, now understanding that Gebo couldn’t speak Republic Standard. “Can’t really show you that I have wings, because of this robe here.” she gestured to the brown robe with a small sigh.

“It’s alright, I know.” the Rodian said to her. “So Thalos, I should be able to have the training saber ready in a couple of hours. Someone recently pawned a broken one to me and I need to repair it.” Gebo explained to Thalos.

“Very well, I’ll show Rainbow some of Coruscant until then. You have my number.” Thalos said and waved goodbye. He walked outside.

“Very well. See you then.” Gebo said.

“Sooo...” Rainbow began, walking beside Thalos. “I guess you’re gonna take me on a tour of Coruscant? Y’know, I could just go by the air and look around myself.” she said.

“Coruscant is a dangerous place. Many sectors are owned by different gangs. If they saw a strange creature flying around, not knowing where it was. They would shoot on sight.” Thalos said. “It’s best to stay on the ground here.”

Rainbow held back the aching urge to groan. “Alright...”

“It’s time to eat lunch anyways. I take us to a local cantina and see if I can get you something... vegetarian.” Thalos said as he started walking left.

Rainbow followed him closely. “Sounds cool...” she said, sounding quite bored.

“Something wrong?” Thalos asked. He could easily tell when someone was a bit off.

She looked over to him. “I just miss my friends; haven’t seen them in a while.” she let out a sigh of grief as she continued to walk.

“Do you know where they are?” Thalos asked.

“Uhhh... No.” she replied.

“Tell you what... After lunch, if we still have time. I’ll see if we can visit your friends.” Thalos told her.

The pegasus lit-up like a light, her wings clearly showing through the robes. She looked over to him. “Really?” she asked, sounding excited.

“Yes, I’m curious to see what they are like.” Thalos said. He approached the local cantina and walked inside.

The place was really crowded, aliens of all sorts that Rainbow had never seen filled the entire area. With it being lunch time, it’s no surprised it was this packed.

“See if you can find us a seat, I’m going to talk to the bartender.” Thalos said.

Rainbow nodded, and went off to find a seat in the cantina’s bar.

Thalos returned a couple minutes later. “Alright, I got you a basic salad, it was the only thing on the menu not containing meat.”

The pegasus had found a seat to the far right corner of the cantina. “That’s fine.” Rainbow said as a tiny smile grew on her face, watching Thalos as he approached.

“Thalos! Hey!” a patron said in the distance, shuffling their way through the crowd. They sounded angry. “You still owe me those damn credits!”

‘Not him...’ Thalos thought to himself. “I told you a thousand times Deren, I already payed you your debt two years ago.”

“You liar!” Deren said, as he stumbled over to the table. “You know what I think about liars?!” he said rhetorically.

“They are no good cheaters and should all be locked away.” Thalos said, he’d heard this a million times.

Rainbow glanced back and forth between Thalos and Deren. ‘This can’t be good...’ she thought to herself.

“Rainbow... do hurry and eat your salad please.” Thalos said, he put it on the table and returned his attention to the drunk.

“Oh! Look guys! We got ourselves a smarty pants!” Deren announced. A few of his drunken friends came over.

“Deren... don’t do this. It always ends in your face being swollen.” Thalos said.

Rainbow tried her best to ignore the situation at hoof, and began to eat her salad. Of course, she was still concerned, but she was just doing as she was told before.

“Well this time!-” he hiccuped “I’m going to kick! Your! Ass!” Deren yelled. He swung a lazy fist at Thalos.

Thalos moved his head to the side and sighed.

The fist slammed into the wall behind Thalos. Deren instantly yelled in pain and grabbed his hand. “OOOOWWWW!” he shouted.

The pegasus held back a laugh, but it was hard for her as she ate her salad, especially when Deren yelled out in pain.

“Rainbow, do hurry.” Thalos said.

“BOYS! GET HIM!” Deren yelled on the floor.

“Well Rainbow... now is a great time for a lesson. No matter how annoying someone is. Always be pessimistic in a situation. And whe-” Thalos couldn’t finish. He got up and leaned to the side to dodge a fist, he grabbed the drunkard by the back and slammed their face on the table, meanwhile he hopped and sent both his feet out to kick two back.

The drunkard on the table moaned and slid off the table. Meanwhile, the other two were standing up and rubbing their now hurting chests.

“As I was saying, when a situation gets violent, always disable your enemies...” Thalos continued.

Rainbow nodded, still trying to hold back laughter, but at the same time, refusing to let her jaw drop.

Deren got up and charged, he sent another lazy punch at Thalos’s face.

Thalos ducked and grabbed Deren with both hands, using the Force to assist him, he lifted the man up and used the momentum to slam him on the ground with a loud thud. At this point, everyone stopped doing what they were doing and watched.

Deren groaned and coughed a little. He was extremely shaken now.

The other two advanced at Thalos, looking quite angry.

Thalos jumped and barrel rolled in the air, he slammed his right knee into one of the drunks. Causing the man to abruptly fall to the ground. As Thalos landed, he spun and kicked the other in the back of the knee. Then he wrapped his arm over the man’s neck and yanked up. This caused the drunk to pass out.

“Come Rainbow, we need to leave.” Thalos said, he wiped a bit of blood off his robe, that hit with his knee really did a number on that guy.

Rainbow nodded. Fortunately, she finished her salad just as Thalos finished the fight. She got up, and trailed after Thalos.

Thalos left the cantina and checked the time. “Alright, we still have an hour. Where was the last place you remember your friends were at?”

“Ummm...” Rainbow thought hard. “... Uh...” she was having some trouble remembering. “Not... sure... I think they hang out at some cafe near a hotel, somewhere East of here... Not sure, though...” she said.

“Very well, we’ll check there. The Force will guide us.” Thalos said as he headed East.

After about ten minutes of walking, Thalos spotted the cafe. He pointed at it. “There.”

Rainbow seemed rather nervous, but she was also excited. She grinned happily as she approached the cafe.

Thalos pulled his hood over his head and headed inside. He noticed the five ponies at one of the booths. So he went and sat down in the one next to them. He picked up a menu and waited.

Rainbow clearly wanted to go over there and greet her friends, but she sat down next to Thalos. The five of them were deep in a conversation, so they didn’t really notice Rainbow enter, hence the fact that she was wearing a hood.

“Why don’t you talk to them?” Thalos asked her. He put the menu down and looked to her.

“I-I...” Rainbow sighed. “I’m just kinda nervous, but yeah... I’ll be back in a minute.” she got up, and walked over. Taking down her hood, she looked at her friends. “H-hey guys...” she smiled.

Everypony looked over at her, and gasped.

As soon as one of them, a pink mare, saw her...

... She tackle-hugged her. “RAINBOW DASH!!! OH MY GOSH I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!” she exclaimed excitedly. The only thing that was truly coherent was ‘Rainbow Dash’ in her sentence.

“Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow hugged her back, chuckling happily.

“Rainbow Dash, Ah thought you’d be gone for good!” an orange mare with a blonde mane spoke, smiling down at the two.

As she said this, Pinkie Pie began to squeeze the life out of Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow wheezily said, “Pinkie! I CAN’T... BREATHE...”

“Okay! I’m done!” Pinkie hopped off of her pegasus friend, bouncing over to her seat.

The pegasus let out a long exhale of relief, and stood back up on her hooves.

But oh no, the hug-fest was not over. As soon as she did, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane came up to her, teary-eyed, and hugged her.

“H-hey Fluttershy...” she hugged her friend back softly. Fluttershy closed her eyes, and began to softly weep, resting her head on Rainbow’s left shoulder.

“It’s good to see you again, Rainbow.” a lavender unicorn mare spoke, smiling at Rainbow as she hugged the crying pegasus.

“Yeah, I thought I’d never get to see you guys again...” Rainbow tried to hold back happy tears, but she failed. She sniffled, and rested her head on Fluttershy’s right shoulder. She silently let the tears flow down her face.

Meanwhile, Thalos was watching and listening, he knew they would be too caught up in seeing their friend again to notice him. So he observed. He’d not interacted with too many ponies and it was interesting to see what they were like.

One of them didn’t speak. She was a white unicorn mare, with a stylish purple mane. But, all six of them conjoined in a group hug with one another, after letting out an ‘Awww’ in unison. Happy tears were shed, by all six of them.

Meanwhile, Thalos was ordering a drink from the waiter. The waiter came back and gave him his drink. “Thank you.” he said to the waiter. He went back to watching and took occasional sips of his water.

After they were all done, the occasional sniffle was heard. All six were sitting around the table, having a conversation.

“Forty-five minutes.” Thalos announced to Rainbow.

Breaking apart from the conversation, Rainbow replied. “Okay!” she then returned to talking with her friends.

After a few minutes, Thalos decided to join them. he walked over and said “Well, now that you’ve all said your hellos, I thought I’d come over.”

The lavender unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, spoke. “Feel free to join us. We wouldn’t mind, right girls?” after she asked this, everypony said that they would not mind.

He sat down on the edge of the booth. “I’m Thalos, Rainbow’s master.”

“Master?” Twilight perked-up with curiosity. The others were off in their own conversation.

“I’m training her to be a Jedi. She is my padawan.” Thalos explained.

“Wow. I didn’t know ponies were able to become Jedi!” Twilight smiled. “Or is it just Rainbow?”

“So far, just her. She’s extremely Force sensitive, like a bomb just waiting to explode. So I’m teaching her how to use the Force. In just a little bit, I’m getting her her first training saber.”

Twilight smiled at him. “Well, I hope that goes well... How has it been going?” she asked.

“Extremely well, she’s been progressing really fast. She’s been able to accomplish what would take a normal padawan four years, in only about a year. This is also why she’s been gone. I’ve been training her on Alderaan, but I’m thinking of having us stay here for her training.” Thalos explained to Twilight.

The lavender unicorn’s smile widened. “That’s astonishing... But, I’d be glad to have Rainbow stay here, so she is close to us. We missed her a lot, afterall.”

“Even though she’d be staying here, she wouldn’t have much time to visit. There is a lot we have to do every day.” Thalos said.

“I’m fine with that, as long as we can see her occasionally, just to see how she’s doing. You know, friend stuff.” she chuckled, taking a sip of a glass of water that she got.

“I wouldn’t know.” Thalos said.

“Why is that?” Twilight raised a brow.

“Part of being a Jedi... means getting rid of attachments.” Thalos sighed. He was being hypocritical, but they didn’t know that.

“So, to be a Jedi, you have to... break bonds with friends?” she sounded a little bit hurt...

“This way, we have nothing to lose. We cannot love, for if a loved one were to die, a Jedi would be torn inside, and turn to the dark side... like Desius did.” Thalos said. He rubbed his face with his hand for a moment, it was a hard subject for him to talk about.

Twilight nodded.

Pinkie Pie, unfortunately, overheard this. Her eyes widened as she looked at Thalos. “What!? You’re not allowed to love, OR have friends!?” she gasped loudly. “That is RIDICULOUS!” she exclaimed.

“It’s for the good of the galaxy. It objected at first when I was a padawan, but I understood.” he said to Pinkie.

“Even if it’s for the good of the galaxy, or the WHOLE UNIVERSE, you shouldn’t have to not make friends!” Pinkie argued, obviously disagreeing with him.

“Tell me then, would you rather have friends die right before your eyes and feel remorse? Or feel nothing at all, and protect the innocent.” Thalos said.

“...” Pinkie Pie groaned, and slid back into her seat, not answering.

“We live by a code, one that guides us. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force. We live by this until our dying breath, and soon, Rainbow will have to learn to follow it too.” Thalos said to everyone.

Pinkie Pie, again, did not answer. Twilight did, though. “Rainbow has to... F-forget about us?” she sounded like her spirit was just crushed.

... Which it was.

“No, never forget the past, but never hold onto it either. But, she must break bonds, so if anything happens she may remain calm. I almost turned to the dark side because I had formed a bond with one of my former padawans, and I was nearly destroyed when I learned my brother had turned to the Sith.” Thalos said. Though with this, he seemed alright. It was different. “I had the chance to kill him, but if I did, I would’ve descended into darkness and turned into the very thing I fight against.”

Twilight nodded in understanding. “I see... It’s just that I don’t know what would happen if Rainbow were to break away from us... I think it would take an unhealthy toll on us.”

“That’s your fault then, I don’t mean to be mean, but if you can’t accept the inevitable you’ll never be able to forget the past.” Thalos said to her.

“B-but...” Fluttershy spoke up, now teary-eyed again. “I-I don’t want Rainbow Dash to g-g-go...” she sounded as though any more would break her.

“She won’t be for a while, she still has so much to learn.” Thalos said, but it was easy for Rainbow to take that the wrong way.

“What are you saying by that?” Rainbow raised a brow, obviously taking it the wrong way.

“Learning to be a Jedi isn’t just about using the Force and a lightsaber, it’s not all action. It’s also about how you live, and frankly, until you learn to keep your pride at a low, and humble yourself. You’ll remain a padawan.” Thalos told her.

Rainbow almost groaned, but she understood. “Alrighty then...”

“Alright, it is time to go get you your training saber.” Thalos said as he stood up from the booth.

“Awww...” all six of them groaned.

“Well,” Rainbow stood up from the table. “I guess I’ll see you guys later...” she looked slightly hurt, but she closed her eyes, and hugged Twilight one final time, before trotting over to the door.

“Bye!” all of the five called out to her.

“I-I’ll m-miss you...” Fluttershy said, though it came out as a mere whisper.

“...” Thalos sighed... “You all can come if you want...” he tells them.

“REALLY!??!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed... Before attempting jump-hug Thalos. Tightly. “YAY!!!”

Thalos held his hand out and Pinkie stopped in mid air. “I’m not one for hugs.” he said. He gently let her down.

“Awww...” she pouted, before walking over to Rainbow Dash.

The rest of the five followed, all of them eyeing Thalos curiously. Especially Twilight, who spoke, “Erm, Thalos..?”

“Yes?” he asked as he walked out the door and put his hood on.

“How exactly did you... Do that?” Twilight asked with a raised brow as her and her friends followed.

“Do what?” Thalos had been using the Force for so long, it’s more of a natural thing for him now. He’s not used to people who aren’t familiar with it.

“How did you stop me in midair, silly!” Pinkie said, now being in front of him... But wait, she was BEHIND him...

“Through the Force, Rainbow can do it too... with objects. Hmmm, she could probably do it to you too, most of those objects are about the size of a pony.” Thalos thought out loud.

“That’s super-dee-duper!” Pinkie hopped up and down energetically.

“Why don’t you try? It’s always nice to test yourself.” Thalos suggests to Rainbow.

Rainbow smiled. “Sure, I can try.” she stopped in place, and turned around. “Pinkie, if you please...” she said.

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie attempted to jump-hug her.

Using the Force, Rainbow strained and groaned as her friend hurled to a stop...

... 3 inches away from her.

Pinkie Pie fell down onto the ground, giggling. “That was FUN! Let’s do it again!”

“NO NO, PINKIE WAIT!-”

Pinkie was now hugging Rainbow Dash on the ground, giggling more. “I won, Dashie! I won!” she exclaimed, continuing to giggle.

Thalos held out his hand and easily pulled Pinkie off of Rainbow Dash using the Force. He placed Pinkie about a foot away; and at the same time, brought Rainbow to her hooves. “Well done, Rainbow.”

Rainbow sighed. “Thanks...” she said sheepishly.

Pinkie Pie hopped up and down in place. “That was sooo fun!”

“The Force is nothing to be played with. It can be dangerous in the wrong hands.” Thalos explained. He then started to walk west to the shop.

The six ponies followed. Pinkie Pie hopped along happily, while Rainbow walked alongside Thalos. The six of them were silent for the entire trip.

Thalos walked inside and told everyone, except Rainbow, to wait outside.

“You’re back!” Gebo said. He had the training saber in hand. “I’ve got it working, I even added set levels. Low, medium, and high.” he held it out for Thalos to take.

Thalos took it and turned it on, it had a light yellow glow around where the blade would be. He spun it around to test it. “Very good.” He turned it off and nodded to Gebo in goodbye.

He handed it to Rainbow as they left.

Rainbow took it into her maw, and nodded.

Pinkie began to giggle. “Dashie! You look so silly with that!” she smiled as she giggled at her. It was true, Rainbow did look quite ridiculous holding the saber in her mouth.

“That’s why I wanted Rainbow to test her ability with the Force on Pinkie. If she could stop something about her weight in mid-air... she should be able to support herself. Rainbow, I want you to stand on your hind-legs and use the Force to keep yourself balanced.” Thalos said.

Rainbow nodded, and said through the saber in her mouth, “Okay.” she then stood on her hind legs, and wobbled around a bit, before she began to stand up straight, occasionally needing to set her footing here and there, but she was able to do so.

Twilight and the others applauded her by lightly tapping their hooves on the ground.

“Now hold your training saber in your front hooves.” Thalos said.

Rainbow nodded, and took the saber into one hoof. It almost fell out of her grasp, but she caught it with the other, and held it with both. “Like this?”

“Yes. Now you should be able to properly wield a lightsaber, and fight like a Jedi. Much like I have to use the Force to see and move quickly.” Thalos explained.

“It’s uh... Kinda weird, though.” Rainbow said, obviously not used to it. She took it into one hoof, and bent it back. She was holding it with one hoof now.

“With practice, you’ll be able to wield a saber like any other Jedi would. Use the Force to guide your hooves, your movements, your senses, and your mind. This is why now, we are going to spar. I’ve taught you all I can with sticks, now you can feel what it’s like to hold a weapon. I want you to put all I’ve taught you to the test. Do not hold back, a training saber set on low cannot fatally damage someone. If you see an opening, go for it.” Thalos held out his hand and his saber floated to his hand. He pressed the button and it burst to life. It made the familiar powerful noise, it buzzed around as Thalos moved it through the air. He then motioned for the others to stand back and got into his Soresu stance.

The cerulean blue pegasus swung her saber around, and got into her simple Shii-Cho stance. “Alright...” she said as her friends moved back.

“Remember, let the Force guide your blade, not your hooves.” Thalos said.

Rainbow charged forward and swung her blade, it was well balanced for such a reckless attack.

Thalos deflected it and they traded blows for a while, strangely; Rainbow went into a kind of battle trance, going beyond what her training was.

Thalos wasn’t quite ready and almost made a mistake, but he recovered. He kicked it up a notch and they continued.

Just as Thalos sent his blade down, she deflected it and spun left, she sent a hoof out and a huge wave of Force smacked right into Thalos.

He wasn’t quite expecting it, and was sent flying back an incredible distance. He hit the ground, and slid about twenty-five feet and smacked into the wall of a building with a loud thud. He laid there, unmoving.

Rainbow fell down to her hooves, letting out a slight gasp. She had snapped out of her trance. “Thalos!” she dropped her saber, and rushed over to him. “A-are you alright?!”

“Argh...” he lightly let out. He moved a little and struggled to sit up, he was still a bit shaken. “How did you...?”

“I-I don’t know!... I just... I-it’s not a big deal! Just, are you okay!?” she demanded. Her friends stood beside her now.

“You’re wrong... this is a big deal. You’ve only been a padawan for a year, and you just sent me across the street. The Force is strong in you... immensely strong. This confirms my suspicions... you’re quite possibly the most Force sensitive being I’ve met in a long time.” Thalos said as he slowly stood up. His lightsaber was way off in the distance. “I’ve never been hit that hard by a padawan... or even a Jedi.” he said as he rubbed his dizzy head.

“But...” Rainbow sighed. “Are. You. O. Kay.” she demanded.

“My well-being doesn’t matter. What does matter, is how you did that. I couldn’t do that until I was a Jedi Knight. You just did that in your first year of being a padawan.” Thalos said. “I can tell the Force is strong in you... but I couldn’t tell it was that strong.”

Now, Rainbow Dash wanted to say something along the lines of how she was so awesome, but instead, she said, “I don’t know how I did it! I swear!... I just... It felt like I blacked-out... Kinda...” she said.

“Blacked out? But you seemed perfectly conscious.” Thalos said.

“Maybe she fell into a state of subconsciousness in which she was completely focused on the battle.” Twilight suggested.

“You mean a ‘trance’, ‘Twi?” Applejack asked.

Twilight nodded. “I guess you can call it that...” she sighed.

“We need to learn how to bring this trance into a more conscious one. So you can learn control it and remain in it.” Thalos said. He reached his arm out, and his lightsaber came flying to his hand. He put it on its latch.

“Sounds good... I think...” Rainbow said, not sure of her words.

“I’m afraid that now, plans have changed... we need to go to Tython...” Thalos said... so wishing that he didn’t.

“Tython?” Rainbow raised a brow.

“The home of the Jedi, it is also where the Jedi Temple is. Looks like I’m going to have to return to the Jedi Order in order to complete your training.” he sighed.

Rainbow smiled. “I’m in!”

“It’s not that easy.” Thalos retorted.

“Of course it isn’t...” she sighed.

“Because I’m an exile.” Thalos sighed again.

Pinkie Pie let out a loud gasp.

Rainbow looked at him. “Exile? What are you talking about?” she asked with a raised brow.

“When Desius turned to the dark side, I blamed myself. We were close friends, apprentice and teacher, after his family died... he joined the Sith, and it devastated me. I left the Jedi, knowing that my grief would only slowly turn me over to the dark side. So I went into self-exile and lived on Alderaan, a couple years later, I met you.” he explained. “Then I knew I had to put my grief aside so I could teach you to be a Jedi. It still haunts me today, but I try to keep it hidden until I can deal with it.”

“Ohhh...” Rainbow nodded, understanding... somewhat.

“I’ll give you some time with your friends... I need some time to meditate.” Thalos said. He put his hood back on and left, not even saying goodbye.

Rainbow and her friends looked at one another, confused, and unsure of what to say. They just sat in silence.

‘It is time... as much as I wish it wasn’t... I need to face Desius, and finish this.’ he thought to himself.