//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Homecoming // Story: Star Wars: Ponies of the Old Republic // by BlueSun52 //------------------------------// CHAPTER 11 HOMECOMING "Hey there everypony! It's me Pinkie Pie. I wanted to give you all a recap of what happened so far." "Umm Pinkie, I don't think giving a recap on a written story is such a good idea. Besides everyone here wants to know what happens next with the whole gang meeting Celestia for the first time." "Oh please let me do this. Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Plea-" "Okay! Okay! Just make it short." "WOOHOO!" Pinkie then cleared out her throat, put on some glasses, and started reading from a piece of paper. "Last episode, our heroes escaped from a ravaged space battle with the Imperial fleet and had to hide on the planet Hoovris. In a series of long conversations and battles, Garret and Applejack gathered a team to rescue Twilight Shan Sparkle from the evil talons of the Griffons and their leader, Gilda and avoided detection from the Luna Empire and their master, Nightmare Moonlight, who, In case you didn't know, was Darth Malak in the game. They succeeded and after more long conversations, battles, and some romantic moments-" "I'll admit I'd put in some heartfelt moments in there, but I don't think they really count as-" "They count. Anyways after some romantic moments, they sent T3 to get the codes and he did. Later on we found out that Garret is now a unicorn and has the potential of becoming a solar knight and being a member of the Unicorn Order (We also found out his real name is Solar Recon!). He and the rest of the gang stole Blueblood's ship, the Golden Phoenix, rescued Rainbow Dash, and escaped Hoovris. We’re now on the planet White Tails and have just met Celestia for the first time." "Well there you have it folks. Hope you guys enjoy the rest of the story." "Welcome, my little ponies, I am Grandmaster Celestia. It is good to see you again Twilight, my faithful student," said the Grandmaster with a joyful, motherly smile. "Master!" Twilight shouted joyfully and ran towards Celestia giving her a hug. Celestia returned the hug back and said, "It has been too long, Twilight. When I heard that the fleet at Hoovris was destroyed. I feared the worst." "Things were bad for a while, but it's thanks to these ponies that I it made back here safely," Twilight said, looking back at the group. "So I see. I would like to know the ones that helped you through your journey, but I believe for now that they deserve some rest after everything they have done," Celestia said and turned to one of her guards standing next to her." Dawning Sun, would you please escort our guests to their room?" "At once, Mistress." "Twilight, would you tell me everything that has happened during your time on Hoovris? The council and I are very eager to hear what you have to say," Celestia said smiling at her apprentice. "Of course master, there are things that I needed to talk to you about," Twilight replied and she turned her attention to Garret. "Can Garret here join us? He's part of the reason why I escaped Hoovris and as you can see, I believe he has great potential of becoming a member of the order." Celestia looked over to Garret for a moment. She smiled and said, "Of course, Twilight." Celestia walked up to Garret and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Solar Recon." "Wait, how did you know my real name?" Garret asked, surprised by Celestia's knowledge of his name. "I was the one that recommended you to Twilight while she was serving on the Solar Spire," Celestia answered. Garret raised an eyebrow at Celestia's answer. She then started leading Twilight and Garret somewhere, while the others were being escorted by the guard to their rooms. Celestia, Twilight and Garret were walking along and entered in an open area that had a large tree in the middle. They moved past it and went through another doorway. Finally they came upon a large door that had the symbol of the sun on it. Celestia stopped and said to Garret, "Would you mind waiting here for a moment? The council and I would like to hear what Twilight has to say. It shouldn't take too long." "Don't worry, I don't mind," Garret replied. Celestia smiled and opened the door with her magic. She and Twilight entered the room and after that, the door immediately closed. Some time had passed and Garret was walking back and forth, until he heard a voice calling out, "TWILIGHT!?" He looked around to see who was saying that and from around a corner a small purple dragon that was much shorter than him came running towards him. He had green reptilian eyes and had round spikes from the top of his head all the way to the end of his stubby tail, as well as green fins for ears. The little dragon stopped for a moment to catch his breath. "Hey have you seen a purple pony with dark blue mane and a cutie mark with a pink star on it? She goes by the name of Twilight." "Umm, yes, she's in there right now with Celestia, but I think they're in the middle of something right now," Garret replied confused on what the little dragon wanted. "Oh thank harmony that she's okay. I heard rumors that she was here, but I just thought they weren't true." "No they’re true alright. By the way, what business do you have with her anyway?" "No business. I just haven't seen her in a long time. The name's Spike and I'm her number one assistant," The dragon said proudly. "Ah that would explain some things. Name's Garret." "A pleasure to meet you, Garret. I haven't seen you around here before. Are you new or something?" Spike asked. "Yes, Twilight brought me here to see if I can become a member." "Wait! Twilight brought you here? That means you were with her at Hoovris right?" "Yeah" "What happened there? I asked everypony here, including Celestia, but no pony would tell." "Sure, I'll tell you." Garret sat down on the floor and got comfortable. "It's a long story, so you might want to sit down for this." Spike sat down eager to hear what Garret had to say. "I guess it all started when we were on the Solar Spire-" The others were now in their rooms respectfully. Scootaloo was with Rainbow Dash, Pinkie was with Fluttershy and T3, Applejack, Zaalbar, and Canderous had their own rooms, since they had their own reason for why. Everypony was getting comfortable, except Applejack. Applejack was lying on her back looking up at the ceiling. She never felt comfortable being in a quiet place for so long and it always made her remember things that she didn't want to. Silence had always been her enemy in the past since she lived a long life in the military, especially after....what he did. She would always hear the sounds of battle from a distance when she slept or hear one of the crewmen working outside her door as they kept the ship maintained or transported crates around. She was feeling nervous and she couldn't take it anymore. She sat up and placed her stetson on her head. She then decided to find Garret to see if he was alright. She opened the door and went off. Applejack went around the enclave looking at every place she could think of. She was careful around the guards and knights that were all over the place. For a moment she thought she was clear when she turned around a corner, until she accidentally bumped into a pony and dropped her hat. The two ponies fell on their backs and were aching mildly from the pain. Applejack got back up and said, "Sorry about that. Ah didn't mean to walk into ya like that." "It's quite alright, dear. Accidents do happen all the time." said the pony that Applejack ran into. The pony was a white coated unicorn with stylish indigo mane and tail which were curled up, as well as brilliant azure eyes with a pale blue eye shadow. She was wearing a grey robe and had a lightsaber attached to her belt. The unicorn looked at Applejack carefully and asked, "Are you one of them that helped Twilight escape Hoovris?" "Well Ah'm one of the ones that helped her, twice if ya counting but yes Ah am," Applejack replied staying true to her honesty. "Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Rarity and I'm the solar designer here," Rarity said introducing herself. "The name's Applejack. Ah didn't know that a unicorn could be a designer here," Applejack said. "Well you can't go out fighting evil without looking marvelous before it," Rarity said waving her mane back and forth. "Of course from time to time, Celestia or a member of the council send me out to the farmlands to deal with any squabbling among the farmers. I suppose that's the cost of becoming a solar knight when one has decent fashion tastes." "Speaking of Celestia, do you know where she might be? I was hoping my friend would be near her," Applejack asked. "She'll more than likely be in the chamber of the council. I'll lead the way if you want," Rarity offered. "That would be mighty kind of ya," Applejack said, glad that she was picking up the pace to find Garret. Rarity and Applejack were walking together with Rarity leading the way. As they were walking, Rarity then asked Applejack, "Would you mind telling me who you're trying to find?" "A friend of mine that helped Twilight as well," Applejack replied. "Oh I see. Is this pony a she or a he? Or is it a pony at all?" Rarity asked. "He's a he and he's a pony as well," Applejack replied. "A stallion huh? What does he look like?" "He's a light brown pony with brown hair." "Hmm, brown is a simple color for a pony. Is there anything unique about his appearance?" “Ah guess it would be his eyes,” Applejack replied. “Oh, what about them?” "They’re like a light green color, Ah guess turquoise. But every time Ah see them, Ah can't help but stare at them all the time." "Oh~," Rarity said with a sly smile. "What?" "I think somepony found their special somepony." Applejack blushed violently and replied, "NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT AH MEANT! Ah meant that..... you don't see those kind of eyes on anypony. Especially on a stallion." "Sure you did," Rarity said and gave Applejack a wink. Applejack kept quiet and pulled down her stetson over her blushing face. Rarity giggled to herself. When they both turned around a corner, Rarity wasn't paying attention and accidentally walked into somepony. She back up a bit to apologize, but when she looked up to see who it was, her heart sped up as she was looking at the stallion of her dreams. "There ya are Garret. Ah was looking all over for you," Applejack said to Garret. "Applejack? What are you doing here?" Garret asked. "Ah was getting antsy staying in one spot for too long and just wanted to see how y'all were doing," Applejack answered. "I see we still have some trust issues," Garret commented. "Well y'all should learn by now that Ah don't like staying in the' dark all the' time," Applejack pointed out. "Point taken. Who's your friend here? Garret asked looking at Rarity. "Oh this here is-" "My name is Rarity," Rarity quickly spoke up. "It's a pleasure to meet such a handsome stallion such as yourself here," she said getting closer to Garret. "So you're the one that saved Twilight am I correct?" Applejack rolled her eyes. "Well yes, but I didn't do it alone. I had help from my friends," Garret replied. "He's just being noble. He won the swoop race there to save Twilight," Applejack interjected. "Oh that sounds exciting. You have to tell me everything about it," Rarity insisted. "Well it's funny because I just told this guy here everything," Garret said and point at Spike. "Spike darling, it's good to see you," Rarity said to Spike. "H-Hey Rarity. It's nice to see you too," Spike said weakly as he blushed. "Would you mind telling the story again? I would really love to hear it," Rarity asked Garret. "Well sure no problem." Garret cleared his throat. "It started on the-" Before he could say anything, the door behind them opened and a couple guards came out. "The council would like to see you now," one of the guards said. Garret simply nodded. "You as well, Miss Applejack." Applejack gulped at the mention of her name. She went along with it and went in with Garret on her side. They both went in and saw the room that they were in. It was a large round room with several seats against the wall. Almost each seat had a unicorn wearing a hood to cover their faces. The one seat in the center of all the others was being used by Celestia herself with Twilight by her side. Celestia gave out a warm smile and said, "Welcome Solar Recon and Applejack Onasi. I wanted to say thank you again for rescuing Twilight and risking your lives to do so." "We wouldn't leave anypony behind, Grandmaster," Garret replied. "Well still, thank you so much for doing so. And now for the matter at hoof. Twilight told me that you've recently became an unicorn and bonded with her, but before that you had visions of both her and Eclipse, correct?" "Yes." "Twilight has described the dreams you've had and I believe that the Will of Harmony have something planned for you. I'm not sure what it is, but I believe that becoming a solar knight and mastering the way of light is the first step you must take in order to find out what you are meant to do." "So wait, you don't know why I've been bonded with Twilight?" "Even I don't know everything about magic itself. I have only gained a vast knowledge of it but I still have much to learn about it myself." "Do ya have at least an idea why?" Applejack asked. "All I can say is that Solar Recon is bonded with Twilight for a reason and him learning how to use magic properly might give us an idea why." Celestia replied. "Now hold on for a moment," one of the unicorn masters announced getting out of his seat. He was a unicorn stallion that had white fur with black hair on the back of his head and was wearing a pale, grey robes. "We haven't decided whether or not we should train this one. From what I understand he's rash, stubborn, and has the contingency of getting into more trouble than he should." "Maybe so, Master Morning Right, but years of training can change that. Besides, we've already lost many knights to Moonlight and his forces. Whether they had killed them or turned them against us." one of the other unicorn masters said. "Lyra is right. We can't turn away help while there are so few of us," another unicorn master said. "But how do we know if we can train this one? Training a young one is easier to train than a full grown adult," Master Morning Right said. "It's true that we have mostly trained young ponies to use magic, but there have been exceptions in the order in the past and I believe Garret here may just be another one," Lyra said. "I think we should discuss this further in private," said one of the masters. "Agreed," Celestia said. She turned her attention towards Garret and Applejack. "I must ask that you two to leave please, we have matters to discuss." Garret bowed slightly and Applejack nodded. They soon left the room and the doors behind them closed. After that, Rarity and Spike soon walked up to them. "So, have they made you a member yet?" Spike asked. "No, they haven't," Garret replied. "They're still deciding on it right now. They were just wanting to thank me for helping Twilight." "Well there's no point in talking about it right now," Rarity said and used her magic to pull out a measuring tape from her robes. "I have no doubt that you're going to join the order and thus must have an outfit that suits you best." Rarity used her measuring tape on Garret to get his size and inspected every inch of his body as possible to figure out what style to use. And was enjoying it nonetheless. "Alright darling, I should have your suit ready in no time. Spike deary, can you come with me and help out?" "Sure Rarity, anything for you" Spike said blushing and followed Rarity. After Rarity left, Applejack and Garret were waiting on the council to make their decision. As they were waiting, Applejack spoke up and said, "Hey Garret." "Yeah?" Garret replied. "Ah was thinking and Ah wanted to know something about ya," Applejack said. "Yeah what is it?" "Remember when we asked about your name and ya mentioned your parents? Well, Ah wanted to know them a little bit more." "Well what do you want to know?" "Who were they?" "My dad's name is Divine Right and my mother's is Sunlit Justice. Like I said before, they both served in the Equestrian military. They both were the kindest ponies the galaxy had ever seen. They were selfless, brave, and knew everything from right and wrong and taught me everything they knew." "So where are they right now?" "They're......gone." "As in-" Garret nodded. "Ah'm sorry to hear that." "It's okay. At least I was able to know them before then." "Do ya mind telling me what happened to them?" "Sure, they died during the early days of the diamond dog wars. I'm not sure on the details, but all I know is that they died bravely during that time." "Ah'm sorry that ya lost them so soon." "Don't worry about it. It's fine." After that, the doors to the chamber opened once more, but this time Celestia herself came out. She walked towards Garret and Applejack and said to them, "The council has made a decision. You are allowed to join the order if you choose to do so." "I proudly and humbly accept, Grandmaster," Garret said. "I'm glad to hear it. You will begin training tomorrow morning. Come to where the grand oak tree is. It is the tree that you have passed by on the way here. Master Lyra will be your instructor and she is most eager to train you, for you will be her first apprentice," Celestia said smiling. "I will be happy to accept her teachings," Garret replied. "I'm sure you will and that she will be happy to have you as an apprentice as well," Celestia said. Garret and Applejack then excused themselves from Celestia and made their way to their rooms. It was early in the morning and Garret was making his way to the grand oak tree. When he got there, he saw a bright, teal unicorn mare with golden eye colors and her mane was a grayish cyan color with white highlights. She was wearing a dark teal colored robe. She looked over to Garret and walked up to him. "Hello, you must be Solar Recon. My name is Lyra Heartstrings and I will be your instructor." "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lyra. Would you mind though to just call me Garret? I usually go by that name," Garret said. "Sure, I have no problem with that. So Garret, are you excited about learning magic?" Lyra asked. "I am. I can't wait to get started," Garret replied. "Glad to hear it. Now let me tell you what we're going to be doing. First, I'll teach you how to use magic in basic skills. Second, I'll then start teaching some more advanced magic. Third, and my favorite one is that I'll teach you everything about humans." Garret took a moment to understand what Lyra said about that last part. "Wait, did you say humans?" he asked. "Yes, that's right," Lyra replied. "As in humans in those old fairy tales?" "They're not fairy tales. They're real and I'll find proof that they exist someday," Lyra said with confidence. "Ooooo'kay," Garret said awkwardly. "And finally, I will teach you how to make your own lightsaber and how to use it." "Sounds cool. When do we begin?" "Right now. From here on out, you're going to learn everything that I know," Lyra said. "So get ready. These trainings take months, maybe even years for even the most gifted of all unicorns." "Don't worry, I'll do my best." In the dark regions of space, the capital ship of the Lunar Empire known as The Dark Horse was floating around in the darkness of space between stars. On the bridge of the ship was Admiral Soul, who was overseeing all that was going on in the fleet. Nightmare Moonlight and his apprentice, Sunset came behind the admiral. "You said you had news as to how Twilight escaped the planet?" Moonlight asked Soul. "Yes my lord, she somehow obtain the codes to the blockade and used a ship called The Golden Phoenix to escape the planet during the bombardment," Soul replied. "Interesting, how did she acquire the codes?" Moonlight asked who was curious. "I'm not sure my lord, but the codes that were sent were from where Sunset was," Soul replied giving a smirk smile at Sunset. Moonlight looked over to his apprentice and asked, "Did anything happen during your time on the planet?" Sunset remembered how the codes were stolen and how the little blue droid was able to escape from her twice and that she was humiliated by it. She kept quiet about it and told nopony about it either. She even had to shut Snip and Snails up about everything that happened there. "No, my master, everything was fine when I left." Moonlight, though, sensed that his apprentice wasn't telling him the truth, but despite it all it means that he may have a second chance at turning Twilight to the dark side by further replacing Sunset. "Very well then, if you say so." Sunset let out a sigh without him knowing. "Admiral, how did you get this information?" "Let's just say there was a witness there," the admiral replied. On cue, the doorway to the bridge opened and coming through it was Calo Ford. Calo walked up next to admiral and just stood silent. "Calo Ford was there when Twilight took the ship. Apparently, she was accompanied by others, including an old friend of mine," Soul explained. "Who is this friend of yours? A traitor to the empire?" Sunset asked. "No my lady, her name is Applejack. She is..or was in charge of the fleet that we destroyed over Hoovris. Somehow she survived and rescued Twilight from a bunch of slavers," Soul replied. "I will give you a full report of her, if you want me to my lord," Soul said to Moonlight. "Yes, I would need to know everything about her and the other companions that were with her," Moonlight commanded. "Right away my lord. I also have a recommendation to make to you," Soul said. "What is it?" "Calo Ford here is a bounty hunter and he is willing to capture Twilight alive, if we pay the right amount of course. But I assure you his worth every bit. His reputation as a bounty hunter is most impressive," Soul replied. "Very well then. You are charged with finding and capturing Twilight, if possible. You may dispose of whoever stands in your way," Moonlight said and turned to his apprentice. "And you may take my apprentice as well." "WHAT?!?" Sunset shouted. "Calo maybe the best bounty hunter, but even he would have trouble capturing a fully train solar knight. He will need your skills to capture Twilight and ensure he doesn't try anything. Besides, this maybe your chance to prove yourself to see who is the better warrior," Moonlight explained. After hearing that, Sunset put on a wicked smile and said, "Yes, master. I will go." "Good. Now leave and prepare yourself. Calo, I'll leave the rest to you." "It will be done," Calo replied. Calo and Sunset soon left the bridge. Moonlight was about to leave himself, until Soul said to him, "Lord there is one more thing I need to mention, but we should keep this private." "I hope you're not wasting my time Admiral," Moonlight replied. "I think you would be way more interested in what I have to tell you, my lord." END OF CHAPTER