//------------------------------// // Attack on the Tantive IV!: A Desperate Escape // Story: STAR HORSE: A NEW HOPE // by TheBronywiththeBowTie //------------------------------// https://youtu.be/LQDYDpxL-KQ?t=1m34s All was quiet in the space above the desert planet of Tatooine.....nothing was making a sound. This peaceful tranquility of the cosmos was soon shattered, when a fleeing consular ship appeared above the planet. What it was fleeing from, was not to be trifled with. Chasing the small ship, and coming up fast, was an even larger ship. One of the spearheads of the Galactic Empire, an Imperial Star Destroyer, named so for the destructive capacity of its weapons. Despite it's attempts to flee, the poor little ship could not outrun the blaster fire of the Star Destroyer's weapons, causing the inner hull to shake with recoil. Meanwhile, inside of the ship, two droids were running as fast as they could to try and find a hiding spot before the boarding would begin. The taller droid of the two had silver plated armor, her flanks adorned with three diamonds, shining brightly due to interior lighting. The metal that made up her admittedly curly mane was tinted violet, the lighting behind her eyes making her irises shine blue. The shorter of the two droids was an astromech droid, it had a three-wheel design, it's main colors being white and pink. The droid had metal serving as her mane, much like her taller companion, however, it was slightly poofier, and slightly pinker. "Did you hear that?!" The taller droid said in a panic, after the ship was once again hit with a barrage of blaster fire. "Beep boop boop beep!" The shorter droid said in response. "Oh, will you please cut that out, R2-P2?!" The taller droid complained. "I know you can speak perfect english!" The shorter droid giggled slightly, looking up at her taller companion. "Sorry, R-3TY!" P2 chimed. "Just poking a little fun is all!" "And why do you think NOW would be the time for that?!" R-3 said to her shorter companion. "They've shut down the main reactor!!! We'll be destroyed for sure!!! Oh, of all of the worst, possible things that could have happened, this is THE, WORST, POSSIBLE, THI--AGH!!!" The droid screamed, as a Rebel Soldier pony pushed past her to make it to the aft end of the ship. The soldiers all wore the same uniform, a navy blue shirt with a black vest, white helmets with black visors. All of them were armed with standard issue blaster rifles, at least, the Earth and Pegasus Ponies were. The Unicorns used their own magic in combat situations. "Oh, we're doomed!!" R-3TY complained. "There won't be any escape for the Prince this time!" The sound of metal clanging began to echo through the hulls of the ship. The Rebel Soldiers stationed near the back end up the ship began looking around, wondering where the sound was coming from. Despite this, they never took their blasters away from the door, keeping their weapons primed and aimed. Little did they know that the source of the sound was coming from the Imperial Star Destroyer, trapping the ship within it's docking hangar and locking it in place. There would be no escape. The door the soldiers were aiming at sparked, then after two seconds, it exploded, causing a disorienting smoke screen to enter the ship. Emerging from the smoke were ponies clad in white armor, all toting blaster rifles. These were Stormtroopers, the Galactic Empire's main armed force. The fire fight began, both sides firing off blaster shots at each other. The Rebels were hopelessly outmatch, body after body falling to the ground from Stormtrooper fire. After a good half of their force was decimated, the remaining Rebels knew their only option was to retreat and attempt to regroup. They turned and ran back down the hall, straight past R-3TY and R2-P2, who were taking cover near the right side of the hall. The Imperial attack force followed, continuing to fire at the fleeing rebels. "C'mon, R-3!! We can't let em have all the fun!" P2 said with a giggle, beginning to roll across the hall into another room. "P-2!!! Don't you leave me here!!!" The Protocol Droid whined, following after her hyper-active friend. The Rebel defense force didn't last very long, the Imperial surprise attack catching them off guard, as displayed by the bodies strewn across the ship. The Stormtroopers closest to the door they entered from stood at attention, as they heard their leader begin to enter. This pony was taller than the rest, wearing black armor that shined like obsidian. She had a long, dark, flowing cloak, the holograph of a blue, flowing mane of stars being projected from her helmet. This was Nightmare Moon, the Empire's relentless enforcer, and Right Hand Mare to the Emperor himself. She looked around at the results of the attack, seeming rather unimpressed. She marched down the hall, the stormtroopers quickly following after. "P2?! P2?! R2-P2, where did you go!?" The Protocol Droid whined as she looked for her friend within the dark compartments of where they were hiding from the attack force. R-3TY hated when P2 did this. She always picked the absolute worst times to play "hide and seek"....the continuous games were annoying enough on their own, but during an attack!? This was the final straw. When R-3 would find P2, she would give her the scolding of a lifetime. "Hey! You found me!" She heard a voice say from behind her. The Droid quickly turned around, seeing P2, but also another figure. It was a stallion, dressed in white diplomatic clothing, hood up over his face. He was insirting what looked like a Data Card inside of P2's disk drive. Upon seeing R-3TY, he quickly ran away, hiding who knows where. R-3TY marched over to P2, not at all in a good mood. "Hide and Seek?! During an attack?!" She shrieked. "The stormtroopers are headed this way! Oh, they're probably going to smash us into tiny pieces!! I'm too fabulous to be destroyed!!" "No we won't!" P2 said with a giggle. "Here, let's play a game! TAG!" The droid said, bumping into R-3TY slightly. "You're it!" The droid then wheeled right around and sped off down the hall. "What?! Ta--oh no, P2!!! GET BACK HERE!" The Protocol Droid shrieked, chasing after her hyperactive counterpart. The Stormtroopers continued their search through the ship, some even taking live Rebel Prisoners with them. They all headed in the direction of the Ship's bridge, where it's captain, Flash Sentry, was in command. At least, he was. The bridge was now flooded with Storm Troopers, and the good Captain found his throat in the grasp of Nightmare Moon's dark magic, cutting him off from air. "Lady Moon.." The Stormtrooper said. "The Death Star plans are not in the main computer." "Where are those transmissions you intercepted?!" Nightmare Moon demanded, tightening her magical grip around Flash's throat. "What have you done with those plans?!" "W-We didn't get any transmissions!!!" The Captain choked out. "This is a consular ship!!! We're on a--dip--lomatic mission!!!" "Is that so?" Nightmare Moon remarked coyly. "Well then, if this is a consular ship, then where is the ambassador?" She tightened her grip even harder, crushing the poor stallion's throat, killing him instantly. She tossed his body aside, looking to the rest of her attack force. "Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found those plans! Bring me any passengers you find. I want them ALIVE!" Nightmare Moon shouted, leaving the bridge as the Stormtroopers scattered to fulfill her orders. Three troopers began searching the ship's inner crevices, looking for any passengers who may have been hiding during the attack. The White Robed stallion from before was hiding nearby, a blaster pistol armed and ready when he saw his pursuers. "There's one!" One of the trooper's said, causing The Stallion's heart to skip a beat. "Set for stun!" The trooper ordered, just before The Stallion made a preemptive strike, shooting that trooper in the chest. Another trooper stepped forward as the stallion turned and tried to run, only to be stopped by blaster fire. The shot wasn't lethal, all it did was temporarily knock him unconcious. Two troopers stepped forward to claim their prize. "He'll be alright." The commander assured. "Inform Lady Moon we have a prisoner!" Meanwhile, R-3TY was still chasing after P2, muttering to herself about how she should have gotten herself reassigned to another counterpart ages ago. Her cybernetic heart stopped when she saw P2 attempting to climb into one of the ship's escape pods. "P2!!" She called out, scurrying over. "What are you doing?! We aren't allowed in there!" "But I'm on a secret mission from the Prince, Silly!" P2 chirped. "We can finish our game of tag later! Remember, you're still it!" "Secret mission!?" R-3 asked in disbelief. "And I never agreed to that game....now come out of there at once!" "HEY! THERE'S ONE!" They heard a Stormtrooper shout, a blaster shot passing directly by R-3TY'S head. "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!!!" The Protocol droid shouted, scrambling to get inside the escape pod along with R2-P2. The escape pod launched immediately once the two droids were safely inside. Meanwhile, on the Imperial Star Destroyer, two officers were observing the space above Tatooine, they had been destroying any escape pods jettisoned from the ship, to make sure that no one would report this attack. "There goes another one!" One officer shouted. "Hold your fire." His partner assured. "There's no life forms. Must've short circuited." As the escape pod spun away from the scene, the two droids had a view of the Star Destroyer, and of their ill-fated ship, surely destined to be reduced to scrap metal. "Hm..." R-3 said in thought. "You know...the damage doesn't look as bad from out here...." She then looked to P2. "You're sure this thing is safe?" "Just do what I do, silly! Giggle at the ghosties and everything will be alright!" P2 said with a laugh. R-3 sighed. "Sometimes, I don't know how you do it, P2...." The Escape Pod kept to its flight, spinning at a moderate pace, as it slowly began to break the atmosphere of the desert planet below.... Shortly after his capture, Prince Soarin had awoken from his paralysis, and he was now being escorted through the halls of his now doomed ship by a platoon of Stormtroopers. He had kept a stoic expression the entire time, while in the back of his mind, he knew that he was most likely going to be tortured or killed for committing treason against the Empire. You see, as the Prince of his home planet, Soarin had a responsibility as a member of the Imperial Senate. For all the Emperor knew, he was just as loyal to the Empire as Darth Vader was. In reality, this was all a ruse. He was actually a member of the Rebel Alliance, who was using his political power to learn of the Empire's weaknesses and plans ahead of time, so that the Rebellion could counter-attack accordingly. Only this time, he didn't know how, but the Empire had somehow seen through his tricks, they knew that they weren't really on a diplomatic mission. They were transporting the Stolen Death Star plans to the Rebel Base, so they could plan an attack to destroy the vile weapon. Shortly after, Soarin was now in the presence of The Empire's enforcer. "Nightmare Moon." He muttered, sounding quite unimpressed. "Only you would be so bold. The Imperial Senate isn't gonna let you get away with this! We were on a diplomatic mission! When they hear that you've--" "Don't act so surprised, 'Your Highness." Nightmare Moon retorted, a mocking tone in her voice when she referred to him as "Your Highness." "I admire your bravery....lying right to my face even when your ruse has been ripped right out from under you. Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by Rebel Spies. I demand to know what happened to the plans they sent you!" "I don't know what you're talking about!" Soarin spat. "I'm a member of the Imperial Senate on a diplomatic mission to Cloudsdale!" "You are part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor!" Nightmare Moon shouted, angered by Soarin's continued attempts at lying to her. "Take him away!" The Stormtroopers quickly complied, escorting the Prince through the hall, past Nightmare Moon and the Imperial Officer next to her. "Lady Moon?" The Officer piped up, a bit nervous. Nightmare Moon was not one for listening to the opinions of her subordinates. "Speak." She stated simply. "Of course...." The Officer nodded, clearing his throat. "If I may....holding him is dangerous. If word of this gets out....it may generate sympathy for the Rebellion within the senate." "I have traced the spies to him." Nightmare Moon explained. "Now he is my only link to finding the Rebel Base." "He'll die before he'll tell you anything!" The Officer exclaimed. "You just leave that to me." Nightmare Moon said, a sinister calm in her voice. "I hear the Prince is quite fond of Apple Pie....perhaps if we starve him of it, that will get him to talk...." "Lady Moon?" Another Officer asked, approaching the two. "The Battle Station plans are not aboard this ship. And no transmissions were made." "And you thought to tell me this....why?" Nightmare Moon asked, clearly angered by this Officer's reports. "B-Because, Lady Moon..." The Officer stammered, obviously afraid of angering his Mistress. "A-An escape pod was jettisoned during the fighting! But no life forms were aboard..." Nightmare Moon was so close to killing this stallion where he stood, until she put two and two together, taking a few deep breaths, and calming down. "He must have hidden the plans in the escape pod....send an attachment down to retrieve them. See to it personally, Commander." She ordered the Officer. "There will be no one to stop us this time..." "Yes Milady!" The Officer confirmed, as he immediately trotted off to fulfill his orders. The Star Destroyer sped away from the planet space below them, completely unaware of the two droids that had escaped with the Death Star plans down on the surface below.....