//------------------------------// // Duel & Closure // Story: The Dragon and the Force // by FenrisianBrony //------------------------------// It had been weeks since Spike had first been brought to the temple, and already, he could feel that he was stronger than he ever was in Equestria. His control of the force, while still rougher than the backside of a Diamond Dog, had grown exponentially, along with that of the other members of Nexu clan. No more was it an effort just to move the small boulders in the training room, and no more did Spike have to visualise a Unicorn’s magic to use the force, although when he did, he found it much easier. Now, he could lift multiple of the boulders at once, forming them into a rough proxy of the Coruscant system planets, all eleven of them, orbiting around Spike like he was Coruscant Prime. “When the drug Ryll was first created, the Neimoidians of Cato Neimoidia brought the near exclusive rights to distribute it. Soon afterwards, the Porporites, who had only recently been discovered, were exposed, and became addicted, to this drug. When under the influence of the drug, the Porporites entered a homicidal frenzied state.” Norik said, walking around the seated initiates, all of whom were making notes, some in basic, and some in their mother tongue. “The Republic and the Jedi attempted to stop the sale of this drug to the Porporites, as well as stopping the violence the Porporites were spreading, but the Neimoidians, scared at losing their best customers, hired several Gank bounty hunters. Unfortunately for the Neimoidians, the Ganks decided the best way to stop the Republic stopping them taking the drug, was to exterminate the Porporites. This, led to the Ganks declaring a full scale, but ill attempted war against the Republic, a war that they lost. Now, who can tell me what this war saw the production of?” “Sir.” Spike said in broken basic, sticking his hand up. “Introduction Juggernaut War Droid, and modern Lightsabers.” “Correct, and well done on learning basic.” Norik nodded, before walking on. “Now, who can tell me what this war teaches us?” “That challenging the Republic and the Jedi is impossible.” Tarhal roared, his translation droid buzzing as he did so. “True, but that is not what I was meaning.” Norik said, his eye twitching in what Spike and the others had equated to be his way of smiling with his ruined face. “No, the lesson to learn here, is that mercenaries and bounty hunters, should not be trusted completely, and to always expect the unexpected, no matter how terrible the unexpected may be. It is better to prepare for the worst, and receive the best, rather than prepare for the best, and receive the worst. Remember this lesson, and it shall serve you well.” Turning off the holo-projectors around the room, and the initiates stood up, placing their datapads away for the time being. Spike looked around at the others, once again admiring the simple, yet functional clothing that they had all been provided with. Twilight would have been proud of whoever had designed them. The human twins, Zule and Corinna were clad in identical short brown robes, placed over a baggy set of light beige trousers. Corinna had a single braid running partway down her back, taking advantage of her already long hair. Zule on the other hand, had a single extension placed in his cropped hair, until such a time as he could grown his hair to a long enough length to braid it. Asho on the other hand, had forgone the use of robes, instead following the tradition of her people, swapping out the baggy trousers for a much more formfitting version in the same dark brown as Zule and Corinna’s robes, and secured with a black leather belt. On her top half, she wore a simple half top that covered the top of her chest, and finishing off the outfit with a small waistcoat. Due to the lack of hair, she had been provided with a simple headdress, complete with a stand of beads that hung down the back of her head. (This, but younger, and without the Lightsaber, for obvious reasons.) Spike and Tarhal were attired differently again, their physiology making robes impractical, Spike’s tail and sharp scales ripping most fabric placed upon them, and the Wookie being to0 furry to really need them. However, they still needed something to both store equipment on, and to tie them into the Jedi order. To that end, they had both been given brown leather kama’s, complete with a bandoleer made of the same material, and going over their left shoulders, stretching down to their right hip on both their front and backs.The only difference between the two was their padawan braid. Tarhal, due to his furry nature, had found it easy to receive the braid like Corinna had, while Spike on the other hand was like Asho, and had been given a near identical headdress. It felt odd to wear anything, after so long of only wearing clothes for formal occasions, but Spike had to admit that it felt good. Turning to face the others, he watched in amusement as Tarhal once again practiced with the force, lifting up a series of rocks, and trying to keep each one steady. The rocks rose unsteadily from the floor, before one simply dropped back down. “Argggh!” Tarhal roared, the other rocks dropping to the floor with a loud ‘crack’. Out of all of them, Tarhal was still struggling with his control over the force. He had no problem with lifting a single, large object, but his control of multiple smaller objects was substandard by far. The failure was eating away at him, it was plain to see to everyone. “Hey, don’t worry big guy.” Spike said, slipping back into Draconian so as to better communicate his point. “You’re still stronger than the rest of us. I couldn’t pick up that boulder that you did.” “But I can’t even pick up four rocks at the same time.” Tarhal growled dejectedly. “You’ll get the hang of it eventually.” Asho smiled, walking over. “Asho is right.” Norik nodded, walking over and placing a hand on Tarhal’s shoulder. “The force is a difficult thing to master. Some Jedi practice for a lifetime, and still never achieve mastery over it. You cannot expect to become an expert in its usage overnight.” “Fives.” Spike said, turning to his translation droid. “Don’t translate this please.” Afterwards, he turned back to Tarhal, and switched into the third language he had been learning for a while. “Listen master Norik.” “You can speak Shyriiwook?” Tarhal asked in amazement. “Basic.” Spike nodded. “Language of friend. More interesting than basic.” “True.” Tarhal nodded. “I can help you if you want?” “Could use help.” Spike nodded. The pair smiled, while the others looked on in confusion, watching as Spike and Tarhal roared and growled at each other. From their faces, Spike realised that his command of Shyriiwook had surprised them as much as it had surprised Tarhal. “You managed to pick up Shyriiwook in four weeks?” Norik asked in amazement. “Bit.” Spike nodded, switching back into basic, before deciding if he wanted to have a proper conversation, he would have to use Devaronese and 5Q-X9. “So not only have you managed to learn basic basic, but also managed to make a start on learning Shyriiwook?” Zule asked. “Kinda. I can understand it well enough, just speaking it’s hard.” Spike nodded, as his droid buzzed back into life. “Thanks fives.” “Ok, next question…how?” Corinna asked. “Oh, when you live with a mare who for most of her life was an introvert who focused on learning more than anything else, then it’s not too hard to learn new stuff. I got my GCSE’s when I was six, straight A’s as well. Most ponies take them at fifteen.” Spike said nonchalantly. “So…you’re actually smart?” Asho asked with a slightly smirk. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Spike asked with an indignant tone, but a small grin. “Oh, nothing.” Asho said, looking around and whistling softly. “How about we settle this on the mats?” Spike grinned, glancing over to the series of mats that served as an area for physical exercise. “You’re on.” Asho grinned, before she suddenly stopped and looked at Norik. “That is if it’s ok with you, Master.” “It could serve as an interesting display of what you have learnt.” Norik nodded. “I had planned on doing something like this in the days to come, but I see no reason to postpone now that you have your blood up.” “It was master Norik. What did she expect?” Zule whispered to Spike, causing him to grin. Zule was right, Norik did like to put emphasis on physical training, more so than the other Jedi masters, or at least, that’s what they had gathered. Leading the group towards the training mats, Norik turned to face them again. "Right, this is how this shall work.” He said, looking at each of them in turn. “Two of you step into the ring. The first one to set foot outside of the ring, loses. Anything goes while in the ring, and you can use either your physical bulk, or your new knowledge of the force, to force your opponent out. Any questions?” “Is there a time limit?” Spike asked, stretching his arms out above his head, and arching his back. “When one of you leave, that’s the end. Not before.” Norik replied, before glancing around. “Now, Asho and Spike. I believe that the pair of you started this, so, take position.” Norik stood back, as Spike and Asho moved into the ring on the training mats, taking their position on opposite sides and turning to face each other. “Ready?” Spike growled in basic. “I am.” She nodded, flexing her hands. “You.” “Always.” “Begin.” Norik said with a slight smile. Instantly, Spike and Asho began to circle around each other, gauging the others movements before committing to an attack. Patience, as Norik had taught them, was a Jedi’s friend, and a powerful ally in both battle and negotiations. Suddenly, Asho sprung forward, diving towards Spike, and grabbing hold of both his arms, attempting to use her momentum to toss Spike from the arena. Spike barely moved as she did so, grinning, before flexing his arms, breaking her grip. Taking a step back, Spike thrust his hand towards Asho, and called upon the force. Asho was forced back by the blast, but it was not enough to force her from the ring, instead, just driving her to her knees. Without a sound, Spike dived forward, copying Asho’s first attack perfectly, and this time, the move worked perfectly. Grabbing his lighter, and weaker, opponent, Spike used his own forward momentum to spin her around, pulling her off the floor, before tossing her from the ring with ease. Asho sped towards the ground, before Norik lazily extended his own hand, and Asho suddenly stopped mid-air, before being lowered back to the ground. “Spike wins.” Norik said simply, before turning to the rest of them. “Zule, Corinna, let’s see what you’ve learnt.” Nodding, the twins took the same position as Spike and Asho had occupied just a moment before, and turning to face each other. Spike already could see that this fight was going to be different from his fight. The pair knew each other perfectly, and would be able to match the others moves blow for blow. All that would have changed between now and the constant fights that ended in draws aboard the ship, would be their command of the force. As expected, the two lunged at each other almost as soon as Norik had nodded for the fight to begin, clashing in the middle of the ring. Zule brought his hand whipping around, but Corinna knew what he would do, and rolled on the balls of her feet, avoiding the blow, before she lunged again, bringing her knee up into Zule’s chest. The brother grunted slightly, but had prepared for the blow, and rolled backwards, before jumping back at his sister. The pair seemed so opposed now that they had unlocked their true potential. One, Zule, used the power of the force to augment his own abilities, his speed, his strength, everything, while Corinna had focused on learning to channel the force. Conversely, she had almost no grasp over physical augmentation using the force, while her brother was almost as weak in the physical applications of the force. Zule once again swung his fist at his sister, moving faster than Spike had thought possible. Clearly Corinna had not expected it either, as the fist impacted with her jaw, and sent her flying, skidding to a halt just inside the arena. With a groan, she got to her feet, just as Zule sprang at her, jumping higher than he should have been able to. Throwing her right hand forward, Corinna scrunched up her face in concentration, before her brother was thrown backwards, crashing to the floor, just outside of the ring. “Corinna wins.” Master Norik said, looking impressed at the young Padawan. “Now, only Tarhal hasn’t had a chance to prove himself…” “Master, if I may.” Tarhal said, raising his hand. “What is it Padawan?” Norik asked, looking at the Wookie. “Can I prove myself against Spike?” Tarhal asked, turning to look at the purple dragon. “Spike?” Norik asked, turning to face the dragon. “What say you?” “Tarhal asked, and I’ll answer.” Spike grinned, looking at the Wookie. “Very well. Take position.” Norik said, standing aside. “You sure you’re up for this?” Tarhal asked in Shyriiwook. “Ready to beat you.” Spike grinned, speaking in disjointed Shyriiwook. “Begin!” Norik shouted, as the others crowded around the ring. Rushing forward, Tarhal swung his fist at Spike, only to find it blocked by Spike. Not giving the dragon a chance to react, Tarhal lashed out again, catching Spike on the back, grunting in pain as he hit the hard scales there. Taking advantage of his opponent’s momentary pain, Spike brought his head forward, smashing it into the bridge of Tarhal’s nose. The Wookie grunted in pain, but didn’t react any more than that, bringing his hands up to protect his face from the barrage of blows Spike was throwing at his friend. Spike realised he wasn’t getting through the Wookies solid defence, and changed his tactic, dropping low, and sweeping his leg around to try and trip Tarhal up. Tarhal saw the attack coming, and instead of facing it, jumped back, before raising his hands. Spike knew what was coming next, and instinctively raised his own hand, extending it palm forwards towards Tarhal’s palm. The two grunted in exertion, as each tried to push the other one away with the force, but being unable to find their way through the others use of the force. Growling, Tarhal extended his other hand towards Spike, and the dragon suddenly felt himself being forced backwards, having to step back to avoid being forced to the floor. Forcing his arm to move, he extended his hand towards Tarhal’s, managing to reduce the amount that Tarhal was pushing him back, but not stop it completely. With a sudden jolt of realisation, Spike realised that Tarhal was stronger than him, and that if he stayed like this, he would lose. Even if this was only a practice fight, Spike was not going to let Tarhal have an easy time of it. Diving forward, Spike managed to grab hold of Tarhal, knocking him to the floor, before rolling off him. As the Wookie got to his feet, Spike balled up his hands, before thrusting them towards Tarhal, catching him just as he started to get back to his feet. Tarhal was caught unaware, and was thrown from his feet, skidding across the floor, and stopping just before the edge of the ring. Not giving him a second, Spike ran over, and quickly rolled the dazed Wookie out of the arena. “Spike wins.” Norik smiled. “You did very well padawan.” “You throw one heck of a punch, you know that Spike.” Tarhal grunted, getting up and grinning at the dragon. “You thank.” Spike panted in Shyriiwook, before coughing, and switching back into Devaronese. “That was hard, Tarhal.” “Fun though.” The Wookie laughed, grabbing Spike and pulling him into a hug. “Now that that is all out of your system, I believe it is almost time for dinner.” Norik said, looking at a chronograph on the wall. “As soon as you have finished, we will meet back here for the final lessons of the day. I have a feeling you will find it…interesting.” With that, Norik turned and left the room, leaving the others to make their way towards the dining hall. *** Equestria *** Twilight stood in silence with the other princesses of Equestria and the elements of harmony. Behind her stood the rest of Twilight’s family, Shining Armour at the front, with her parents just beside him. Another few tears rolled down Twilight’s muzzle as she saw where Spike should have been standing, and for briefest of moments, Twilight thought she saw him, before the apparition faded, along with her horn. Turning around, Twilight looked on mournfully her surroundings, refusing to look directly in front of her. She was standing in the Ponyville library, the one she had renamed as Spike’s library, but the books had all been covered up with black fabric, interlaced with dark emeralds, courtesy of Rarity, who was also crying. In fact, now Twilight looked around, everypony had tears in their eyes, whether they were running down their muzzle or not. Finally, Twilight let her eyes fall on the, object just in front of her. It was a small brown casket, the wood inlaid with purple and green swirls. On top of the casket stood a photo of her pseudo-brother, and just the sight of it almost made Twilight burst into a full blown sobbing fest again. Stepping forward, Twilight turned to face the gathered ponies. There were not many at Twilight’s command. Spike would have preferred it that way. “Spike, was a friend to all.” She said, forcing herself not to sob or sniff as she did her number one assistant justice in his leaving the world. “Out of all of us, he was the only one who embodied five of our elements, and given the chance, I am sure he would have mastered mine as well. If you want to remember Spike in the years to come, remember this. Spike the dragon was unique amongst his species. He alone was loyal to anything other than his own desires, he was generous to a fault, and he laughed at others humour, not their pain. He was honest when it mattered, and he was beyond kind. Remember Spike as the dragon that all others should look to.” Standing back, Twilight glanced over at Celestia, Luna and Cadence, all of whom were silently crying. Nodding, each one of them illuminated their own horn, and surrounded the empty casket in their combined magic. Twilight gently levitated the picture off, and stood it beside some lit candles, before turning to face the casket and adding her magic to the other three Alicorns. Slowly, all four Alicorns marched out of the library, being met by a specifically organised deluge of rain, courtesy of Rainbow Dash and a letter of intervention from Celestia. Walking through the town, the ponies of Ponyville flocked onto the streets, wishing to pay their respects to the funeral procession. By the time they had reached the hill that they had decided upon, they had already amassed a large crowd, who followed the four princesses in silence. Stopping, Twilight looked down at the hole in the earth and sighed. This was going to be his final resting place. As the Alicorns began to lower the casket into the hole, Luna began to speak softly, yet somehow, could be heard clearly by everypony, even over the rain. I cannot say, and I will not say, that he is dead, he is just away. With a cheery smile, and a wave of hand, he has wandered into an unknown land, and left us dreaming, how very fair, its needs must be, since he lingers there. As Luna finished speaking, the Casket reached the bottom of the hole. As the other Alicorns stopped the glow around their horns, Twilight kept hers going, looking over at a large pile of dirt. Surrounding it in her magic, she quickly picked it up, before softly placing it atop the casket, smoothing it over, so that the bare earth and the grass were perfectly even. Casting a quick spell, Twilight assured that no grass would ever spread onto the graves, before nodding to Fluttershy. The timid butter yellow Pegasus moved forward, and slowly knelt down, scraping away a small patch of earth, and placing a single flower in the hole, before packing the earth back in around it. “Rest Spike.” She sobbed softly, before returning to the crowd. At this, Applejack and Rainbow moved forward, holding a large slab of polished obsidian between them. They were struggling and panting as they placed it at the head of the grave, but had refused to let Twilight take it from them, wanting to do their part for the funeral. Finally, Pinkie Pie moved forward, and untied the single black balloon from her hoof, reattaching it to the headstone, before moving back, tears in her eyes. Moving forward again, Twilight addressed the crowd. “Here lies Spike. A friend to all, a brother, and the best assistant a Unicorn could ask for.” As she spoke, the words were carved into the blank obsidian by Celestia, before the three princesses turned to face the new addition to their ranks. She would get through this, of that there was no doubt. What was unsure however, was the actual health of Twilight. In the weeks since Spike had disappeared, she had grown gaunt, and her eyes had slowly begun to take on a yellow pallor. Celestia was worried about Twilight, but attributed it towards the sudden ascension to Alicornhood, and the loss of someone close to her. She was sure that, given time, Twilight would return to her old self soon enough.