//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Star Wars: Revenge of the Harmony // by Thebronywithin //------------------------------// "Now, let's take this Separatist to the princess that you mentioned..." James says to twilight, as he lifts him up with the force in order to prevent him from escaping. "R-right, of corse, I'll take you to her. Wait a minute, there isn't another train until morning!" Twilight exclaims, complains, and scoffs all in one statement, with a clear look of displeasure on her face. "That's no good, we need to get there NOW!" James says as he brings his hand up to his face and rubs his chin, trying to figure out a solution. “I suppose I could call a transport, but then he’d be considered a military prisoner, and taken back to the Republic for trial, so thats not a viable option.” As Twilight was about to say something, the Separatist Commander blatantly interrupts their conversation. "You Jedi SCUM will be purged from the galaxy, one way or another!" He pulls out a blaster pistol that must have been inside of his overcoat, and aims and fires it right at James, who quickly ignites his lightsaber and deflects the shot back, hitting the Commander right in the head. "Well, so much for that." James mutters as he shuts off and mounts his lightsaber on his belt. James lowers his arm, and opens his hand to let go of his telekinetic grip of the now dead commander. "Well, now what?" Twilight says to James, hoping for answers regarding the current situation. "Now, I suggest we search surrounding areas for droids or casualties, I suggest we start with that forest over there." James says, pointing to a forest that seems to be darker than the rest of the planet. "th-th-the forest?" a soft, and gentle voice says, the owner of the voice comes out from behind twilight. "but, it's so, scary, and d-d-dangerous!" James decides it would be in his best interest to obtain information regarding the identities of his acquaintances before proceeding, he needs to know if he can trust them, and knowing their names would help too. "I think it's best we introduce ourselves to each other first then. I’ll go first, my name is James Malek, I am a member of the Jedi order, my rank is Jedi Master, and am currently fighting for the Republic in the Clone Wars, in an effort to restore peace to the galaxy." James remarks, nodding to Twilight. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, but you can call me Twilight, I am a student under our ruler, Princess Celestia, and am currently studying friendship in Ponyville, that’s where you are now." Twilight replies, turning to a brownish-orange figure with blond hair, and matching tail. "Mah' name's Applejack, I work a Sweet Apple Acres, and considered to be Ponyville's greatest athlete, and well, that's me in short." Applejack adds, she then turns to the yellow figure with a pink tail, and matching color hair who spoke out about the forest earlier. "um, hi, um, I'm, Fluttershy. *squeek*" Fluttershy mutters, seeming as though she’s intimidated by, something. "HI, I'M PINKIE PIE! AND I LOVE TO THROW PARTIES, HEY! YOU’RE NEW HERE, WE SHOULD THROW YOU A PARTY!" The pink blur apparently named Pinkie Pie adds. "Hello darling, my name is Rarity, and I work at Carousel Boutique here in Ponyville, and might I say, your style is, unique to say the least!" Rarity chimes in, apparently impressed by James' Jedi robes. “you look quite handsome I must say.” "Well thank you for the compliment, but these are traditional Jedi robes, most Jedi wear them, hence the term, ‘Traditional’." James replies. "‘Sup, the names Rainbow Dash, and i'm the fastest flier in all of equestria." Rainbow Dash comments, clearly boasting about her abilities. "It's very nice to meet all of you, and, under better circumstances, I would have loved a party, I’m a sucker for them actually, however, I must make the most of my time, sorry Pinkie, I'm sure it would've been a top notch party, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline." James says, being very apologetic in his tone towards Pinkie. "You don’t want a party?" a now sad, slightly less poofy maned Pinkie says. "It’s not that, I do want one, I just don’t have the time right now. I'm sorry, but I feel the safety of the planet is a bit more important right now." James says, trying to reassure Pinkie Pie."now, I'd very much like to get going, anyone coming?" Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and eventually Fluttershy, agree to come along. As James , Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash make their way to The forest, Twilight asks James a question. "So, that, person, back there, he-he said that the galaxy has been at war for four years, is that true?" Twilight says to James, curious to know if he was telling the truth. James stares foreword, trying to avoid the question, but he gives up, and with a deep sigh, he answers."I'm afraid it is true, it WAS my job to make sure you didn't have any droids on the surface of this planet, you can see how well that went over." James says, pointing to his ship as they pass it."  now it's my job to get rid of them from the planet, before they can take Control of it." James says, looking down, implying that even though he is part of the fighting, he does not like it. "An entire galaxy at war, I can't even begin to comprehend that!" Twilight says, overwhelmed by the sudden confirmation that the galaxy around them is in such a severe state of Disharmony. "I have a question for you." Rainbow Dash says." how can you do magic without a unicorn horn?" "Yeah, how do you do that?" Pinkie Pie asks, siding with Rainbow Dash. "Magic? I'm not sure I follow." James says, confused by the question. "You know, lifting stuff up without touching it, that's what I mean!" Rainbow dash responds. "Ah, you see, it's not magic, but rather, the force, it is the force that grants me those abilities." James answers, adjusting his outfit so it doesn't fall off. "What's the force?" Applejack inquires. "The force is what gives a Jedi his power, the force, can be a gift or a curse, it's how you use it, that determines that." James says, clearly reciting one of the records in the Jedi archives. "Ah still don't understand what "the force" is." Applejack states, not satisfied with James answer. "Describing the force is like describing why oxygen from a planet doesn't just fly away into space, it's very complicated." James says, not fully understanding the force himself. "well, we're here!" Twilight exclaims as they reach the edge of the everfree forest. "*gulp* are you sure we need to go in there?" Rainbow Dash says, in a disterbing out of character mannerism. "What, don't tell me your afraid of the creatures in there!" James says, partially mocking the cyan Pegasus. "It's not just that, but in there, the animals, they take care of them selfs, the plants and trees grow, and worst of all, the clouds move, ALL BY THEMSELVES!" Rainbow Dash responds. "Really? you would not last one day on another planet!" James says, openly mocking the pegasus. "Why not?" all six of them say in an eerie Unison. "Hate to brake it too you, but that's the way, about, 100% of the other planets work!" James says, revealing a 'freighting fact' to all of them. "You mean we, wow, we are such a minority here!" Rainbow Dash says. "Hey author, stop giving Rainbow Dash all the lines!" pinkie pie says. "Well excuse me, but would you like to write this story?" a voice from nowhere says. "Previous comment retracted." pinkie pie says. "What, just happened?" James says, very confused by what just transpired. "oh, don't mind that, it's just Pinkie being Pinkie!" Twilight says. "well, this forest isn't going to search its self, let's go!" James says as he walks casually into the forest, with the six ponies following close behind him. -- “Chuck, get over here” Says a rough voice. “Coming boss” A voice that must belong to ‘chuck’ says “It’s been two days, no food, no gems, I need you to go into the everfree forest to look for at least one of these!” The same rough voice from earlier says, with a hint of irritation and hunger in his voice. “Yes Sir, Right away!” Chuck says. “Chuck, there can be no mistakes this time, remember, our leader is getting impatient!” Another rough voice says. “Understood, Peter, Captain Iron, I’ll be on my way.” chuck says as he leaves. “You think we can trust him?” Peter says. “No, I’ve sent him to his death, he’s screwed so often, he won’t last a minute in there.” Captain Iron says. “We are Diamond Dogs, we are tough, we are fierce, but we need to make up for that ‘incident’, that pony cost us half our gems, send another out who can actually scout, I’m hungry. let’s hope we never see that pony again, but if we do, we use her as a meal, not as a gem finder.” Peter replies. “Agreed” -- “I will not fail as I have before, I will get us food, or, no, AND gems, or I will end my life attempting.” Chuck says, stoping for a second. “Wait, did I say that right? Whatever, gotta find food!” -- “Uh, James, do y’all know where you’re headed?” Applejack asks, feeling slightly lost. “No Idea in the slightest, my following my instincts, trusting my feelings.” James replies. “That doesn’t sound to promising” Rainbow Dash says, a bit irritated by James response. “All Jedi must learn to trust their instincts, the force is what guides us, and it uses our instincts to do so.” James says, trying to explain what he meant. “I hate to say it, but I agree with Rainbow Dash, even magic can’t ‘Guide’ Ponies to where they should go!” Twilight Interjects, clearly no satisfied with James explanation. “Let’s just keep moving, I’m sure we’ll find something sooner or later” Fluttershy chimes in. “Agreed!” Pinkie Pie states. however, not far away, ‘Chuck’ is scouting for food and gems. “I hear something!” Chuck mutters to himself as he quickly ducks down to avoid being seen. “Ponies, six of them, they would make great food for our people, wait, what’s that thing, it walks on two legs, but it does not slouch, Bah, he must have terrible balance, I’ll knock him over then take the ponies.” “Wait, I sense something.” James says, looking around. “What i-is it?” Fluttershy squeaks. “I’m not sure, but I think it’s over there!” James says, pointing to the bushes. “I’ll check it out, you six, stay behind me!” James says with a commanding tone. ‘He’s found me, what do I do?’ Chuck thinks to himself. ‘wait, when he get’s close, I’ll jump him, just as I planed!’ James walks over to the bushes and starts pushing branches out of the way, then, out of nowhere, chuck jumps him, knocking him on his back. Twilight was about to cast a spell to fend off the Diamond Dog, but was quickly knocked down by a swift swing of his paw. James was just getting up at this point, but Twilights friends were trying to fend off the Diamond Dog, not doing as well as they’d hoped. “This isn’t working, I don’t know why, but I can’t hit him!” Rainbow Dash says, trying to knock the dog over, just as it rolls to the side, avoiding her. “get back here you.” The dog continues to evade Rainbow Dash, while attempting to attack one of the others in the group, he tries to jump one of the ponies, his mistake, the one he decided to attack. Shortly after he jumped, he was met with two orange hooves to the face followed by being tackled by a rainbow blur. The dog struggles as Rainbow Dash and Applejack pin him down, Rainbow brings a hoof up, in order to knock him out, but James intervenes. “Wait, let me try something.” “Oh, you did not just stop me.” “Frankly, I did, now sit down, and for once, shut up.” James breaths a heavy sigh, and walks over to the Diamond Dog, and waves his hand in front of his face.“You don’t want to fight us, you want to run away!” “I don’t want to fight you, I want to run away!” Chuck says shortly before shaking his head, and running off into the woods. “How did, you just, I mean he- what?” Rainbow Dash stares in confusion at what she just witnessed. “The force can have a very strong influence on the weak minded, and judging by the fact that he attacked a group of seven on his own, calling him weak minded would most likely be an understatement.” James responds, brushing off his cloak as he coaxes Fluttershy out of hiding. “I agree, those ruffians aren’t very bright. I should know, I’ve dealt them before.” Rarity Chimes in. “Well, judging by the fact that we’ve only been attacked by a local, I think it’s safe to say that there isn’t anything here, so we can head back now. Plus any droids would get stuck or lost in these woods.” James says as he activates his communicator. “Captain Fox, find anything?” “Negative sir, the Re-enforcements must’ve taken care of the ship’s we missed.” A somewhat scratchy version of Captain Fox’s voice responds. “Fox, patch me through to the commanding ship of our re-enforcements, I would like to know who I owe my life to this time.” James chuckles as he awaits a response. “Yes sir” Fox replies. “I thought I told you NOT to destroy too many of our own ships” A voice from the communicator says. “Nice to see you to Jaden!” James says sarcastically. “Yah, Yah, whatever, you still managed to destroy another Acclamator class!” Jaden mocks back. “hey, we were ambushed upon arrival, had my elite squad of pilots taken care of a few of those frigates, we’d be out more than just a few ships and a star cruiser.” James barks back, though he seems to be in a good mood, as he is smiling as he says it. “No need to shout, just pointing out a fact.” Jaden responds. “Just be ready to extract me when I get to the edge of this forest.” James says, clearly finished with the conversation, and shuts off his communicator. As James and the six ponies make their way out of the forest, Twilight decides to comment on what she just heard. “That didn’t sound like a very peaceful conversation.” “What’s an occasional argument between friends, besides, I bet you’re not perfect either” James responds, as Rainbow Dash and Applejack shy away. Before too long, they reach the edge of the forest, and a shuttle is there waiting to take James back for debriefing, his downed starfighter has been removed, likely for spare parts. “well, I guess this is goodbye, It’s been nice to know all of you” James says somewhat sad. “Goodbye, ah wish ah could’ve shown you our orchard, it’s mighty big.” Applejack chimes. “I’m sorry you couldn't have a party, it would've been HUGE!” Pinkie Pie says while bouncing slightly off the ground. “I wish I could’ve had time to look over your outfit, I could’ve made it Fabulous!” Rarity says, being the ‘Fashion fanatic’ that she is. “Um, it’s been nice knowing you, and um, I hope you come again, u-under better circumstances of course.” Fluttershy says quietly. “If you were here for longer, I could’ve had time to study you, learn more about you, I’m sure Lyra would’ve loved to have a chat with you, but I Digest, oh wait, it’s digress isn’t it…” Twilight says, trailing off into thought. “Bah, to heck with it, goodbye, my friend.” After Twilight had finished, she and her five friends trotted of into ponyville. “Sir, are you coming?” A clone trooper asks from inside the shuttle. “Yes, I just need to do something first, for their safety” James replies, breathing another heavy sigh. “This may take all my energy, be prepared to grab my if I faint” As James finishes speaking, he raises his arms and lift’s his hand’s and begins to focus harder than he’s ever had to. ‘I wish it didn’t have to be this way, I wish that you could all remember me, but I must remove myself from your world, completely, otherwise it may have terrible consequences’ James thinks to himself, doing his best to erase the events of the day and replace them with meaningless, everyday activities, from all the minds in ponyville. James believes he finished erasing his existence, but to check would undo it, one glimpse of his face, and the memories would come back like water from a broken dam. As James lowers his arms, he falters a bit, losing his balance form overexertion of his force abilities, and as he told the clones to do, they come and carry his body onto the shuttle, as it leaves, James says something only the two troopers holing him up could hear. “Keep...Safe...No contact.” and with these words, he falls asleep, never to return to Equestria, or so James thought.