//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Star Wars: Apprentice Displaced // by Fullmetal_Pony //------------------------------// Santhal was piloting his Fury-class Imperial Interceptor with his co-pilot Salk traveling through hyperspace toward the unknown. “We’re almost there, coming out of hyperspace in a few moments,” said Santhal. “What do you think we might find?” “Could be anything. This system could contain nothing but wasteland worlds or highly advanced civilizations…we’re here coming out of hyperspace in three, two, one.” His ship came out of hyperspace and was heading straight toward a large, “Asteroid!” “I see it taking evasive maneuvers!” They managed to dodge it but then they found themselves entering an asteroid field. They navigated through the asteroid field having a few close calls along the way. Just before they cleared it they were struck by one of the asteroids. The lights and sirens in the cockpit were set off. “Damage report!” “Unknown, the controls are going haywire so I’d say pretty bad!” “Damn, that’s just great! We’re lightyears away from a civilized system!” “Look, are only hope is to head for that nearby planet!” “Doesn’t look like we much choice, let’s just hope it’s habitable.” Santhal did his best to steer the ship in the direction of the planet. Moments later they entered the atmosphere. It was a warm sunny day in Ponyville. Princess Twilight sat on her castle’s balcony reading a book. She looked up momentarily to take in her surroundings. She saw there wasn’t a cloud in the sky but she did see something. She looked through her telescope to get a closer look and saw something she had never seen before. It looked like some kind of metal contraption falling out of the sky. Then she realized it was heading straight for her. “SPIKE!” Twilight ran inside to find Spike and hopefully get them both out of harm’s way before whatever it was impacted. As it got closer the residents of Ponyville took notice of it too and panic began to spread through the streets. “We’re coming in too hot! Extend the flaps and drag fins!” “The controls aren’t responding!” Then a town came into view and it looked like they were heading straight for some kind of crystalline structure. “Brace for impact!” Santhal tried to pull up as much as he could and just managed to clear the castle before impacting on the ground skidding a few yards and coming to rest a little ways away from the castle. (Moments earlier) Twilight franticly searched the castle for Spike teleporting from room to room. She checked the throne room, the library, the kitchen, and finally (the first palace she should have looked) her bedroom. Sure enough she found him napping. “Spike! Wake up!” she said while shaking him. “Who, what, where. Twilight what’s going on?” “No time to explain, we have to get out of here before-” *BOOM* Just then a shockwave shook the castle. “Twilight what was that?” “We have to get outside.” She then teleported them in front of the castle and they saw the wrecked spacecraft off to the right. A crowd of ponies where staring to make their way over to it. “Spike go back inside and send a letter to Celestia. Tell her that she needs to come to ponyville immediately.” “Right.” The crowd stopped a short ways away from the wreck, too afraid to get any closer. Twilight flew to the front of the crowd and wondered what to do next. Santhal briefly blacked out but then began to stir. He was in a great amount of pain with some bumps and bruises, and he figured there had to be some internal injuries as well. He took out a medpac and injected himself to start the healing process. Santhal then did his best to get up and checked on Salk. No pulse. Santhal didn’t have time to worry about that right now. He had to get off his ship and hopefully find help. It hurt just to move as he made his way through the ship. He reached the exit and tried to open the hatch but nothing happened. He then hit the controls with his fist, the hatch opened and the ramp lowered. He stumbled off the ship and fell forward to the ground. Looking up his vision was starting to blur but he could make out what he believed to be lifeforms all around him, then he blacked out. Santhal awoke with a start and took a few deep breaths. He then took in his surroundings and noticed the walls and ceiling were made of some kind of crystal, then noticed he was almost completely naked with bandages on various parts of his body, and that he wasn’t alone. “Where am I? And who and what are you?” “Hello, my name is Dr. Hooves. I am a pony and this is Princess Twilight’s Castle in the town of Ponyville. We didn’t know the extent of your injuries so we thought it best not to move you very far and the hospital is on the other side of town. You’ve been out for almost a day.” “And where are my robes and belongings?” The doctor pointed to the corner of the room and indeed there were his robes, armor, and other effects. Santhal began to get up but he was still a bit sore. “You shouldn’t be moving in your condition.” “I’m fine and I’ll be even better in a moment.” Santhal went over to his belongings and injected himself with another medpac. “There I should be good as new in no time.” He then dressed himself and gathered his things. “The princess wanted to meet with you once you were up and about.” “I take it they are the rulers of this world.” “They are the rulers of the nation of Equestria.” Interesting, this world has more than one governing body. This must be a primitive world indeed. This is not good. “Very well I will meet them.” “They’re waiting for you in the dining hall. Right this way.” They made their way through the halls of the castle. Santhal was amazed at the crystal architecture all around him. It looked like it was made out of a solid piece of crystal. He couldn’t imagine how they pulled off such a feat. When they arrived there were two guards at the doors to the dining hall. Dr. Hooves took his leave and the guards let Santhal pass. He pushed the doors open and the guards followed behind him. He saw some more of these pony creatures and some other creature sitting at a long table in the center of the room. They were a variety of colors. Some had horns, some had wings, some had none, and some had both. All eyes turned to him and he approached the end of the table and introduced himself. “Greetings, my name is Santhal and I am human.” “Hello Santhal, my name is Princess Celestia and I am a pony. This is my sister Princess Luna. My niece Princess Cadence and her husband Shining Armor. My former student Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Spike the dragon.” “Now that introductions are out of the way we can get down to business. I take it I’m the first being you’ve encountered from beyond this world.” “That is correct and we have a great many questions for you.” “As do I and I’ll be happy to answer them so long as you are willing to answer mine.” “Sounds fair.” Twilight levitated a scroll out of the bag next to her seat. “I took the liberty of writing up a few questions ahead of time.” She then looked over and saw Santhal staring at her. “You alright?” He blinked a few times and everted his eyes. “Forgive me I don’t mean to stare it’s just I’ve never seen the Force manifest itself in such a way.” “The Force, you mean my magic.” “What you call magic I call the Force.” “What is this Force you speak of?” “The Force is everywhere. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It’s what binds all living things in the galaxy together. Those who are Force sensitive can wield its power and bend it to their will. Allow me to demonstrate.” Santhal closed his eyes and concentrated. Then the two guards and the long table began to rise into the air. There was no aura, no nothing. After a moment he lowered them back to the ground. “Impressive.” “That was nothing compared to the true power I can wield. Now you may be ponies but do you have different classifications for those that have horns, wings, etc.” “Yes, I am an alicorn. Rarity is a unicorn, Rainbow Dash is a pegasus, and Applejack is an earth pony,” said Celestia. “Good to know.” “I’ve been wondering, what are those?” said Twilight while pointing at his waist. “You mean my lightsabers. They are my weapons.” “They don’t look like weapons.” Santhal drew one of his sabers and activated it. “A lightsaber projects a beam of energy that can cut through just about anything.” He then spun around and cut the tops off the guard’s spears leaving nothing but smoldering tips behind, then put it away leaving everypony surprised at just how effortlessly it cut through them. “It is the weapon of choice among Sith and Jedi alike.” “What are Sith and Jedi.” “It’s apparent that we’re going to be here a while so I might as well have a seat.” He then sat at the end of the table. “To begin with the galaxy is divided into two entities, The Republic and The Sith Empire.” “The whole galaxy!” “Well most of it anyway. The Jedi serve The Republic and The Sith the Empire. I am Sith, a Sith Warrior to be exact. We Sith draw our power from our passions, our emotions. Emotions such as fear, anger, and hatred.” “That’s dark magic.” “Well it is called the Dark Side of the Force. I take it you know of such a power.” “Yes but the practice is forbidden.” said Celestia. Rainbow Dash decided to get up and hoover in front of him. “So I take it you’re some kind bad guy then.” “What makes you say that?” “Only evil dudes use dark powers.” “Is that so.” “Yeah and we’ve dealt with plenty of them in the past so don’t think we can’t beat you too.” Santhal crossed his arms and stared her down. “Are you threating me? Be careful Rainbow Dash, you know not the true power the dark side offers. I can strike you down with a single blow.” “Try it,” she said inches away from his face. “Rainbow!” said Twilight while gripping Rainbow in her magic. Twilight then pulled Rainbow over to her. “The last thing we need right now is you stirring up trouble, now take your seat.” “Fine.” She then sat back down in her seat. “I apologize for my friend’s behavior, please continue.” “As I was saying the galaxy is divided in two at the moment, I’ll start with The Republic. The Republic was born over 20,000 years ago and has continued to expand and stretch its influence until it become the dominate power in the galaxy. It has stayed that way for millennia. The Jedi have been around even longer and have been the so-called peacekeepers of The Republic almost since its founding. Then a few thousand years ago (7003 BBY) a group of fallen Jedi were banished by their order from known space. But these fallen Jedi discovered Korriban home world of the Sith people who were unusually Force sensitive. Eventually Sith become the term or anyone who used the Dark Side of the Force and The Sith Empire was born. The Empire developed and expanded in complete isolation for two millennia until it rediscovered the Republic and sparked The Great Hyperspace War (5,000 BBY). The war ended with The Sith Empire defeated and what remained fled to the unknown regions. There a new Sith Empire was established on Dromund Kaas the new capital of The Empire. After over a thousand years The Empire was ready to invade The Republic staring with the retaking of Korriban. It came to be known as The Great Galactic War (3681-3653 BBY). It lasted twenty eight years until a treaty was signed which made The Republic recognize The Empire as the legitimate ruler of half the galaxy. The Empire is at an uneasy pace with The Republic now but it’s only a matter of time in my opinion before war sparks again and when that happens The Republic will be crushed once and for all and The Empire will rule the whole galaxy.” “That’s incredible!” said Cadence. “I know. I never imagined that such large scale conflicts were even possible. How do you manage to travel through the galaxy?” said Twilight. “Most ships are equipped with hyperdrives which allow them to travel at the speed of light.” “The speed of…that’s impossible.” “Oh it’s possible alright.” “So tell us more about these Jedi,” said Luna. “As I said they claim to be the guardians of peace and justice but they are nothing more than dogs of The Republic. At the beck and call of a corrupt institution to do their dirty work. We Sith are the bringers of order to a galaxy gripped in chaos. Those that do not join us are conquered, destroyed, or enslaved.” “So I take it your people use fear and intimidation to get their way,” said Celestia with a disapproving look. “More often than I care to emit, but I personally prefer to take a more diplomatic approach first.” “And you have slavery where you come from.” “Yes we do but I never fully agreed with it. To be honest I never fully embraced the Sith’s philosophy either. I was always more interested in tinkering with technology then becoming a better Sith.” “So why join them in the first place?” said Applejack. “I never had a choice in the matter. When someone is determined to be Force sensitive they are taken at a very young age away from their family and trained to be a Sith or Jedi.” “That’s not very nice,” said Fluttershy. “No it’s not. But at least we are better than our Jedi counterparts. For we embrace our passions and emotions where they try to devoid themselves of such things. They believe that even positive emotions such as love can lead them down a darker path. Romance and attachments are forbidden for a Jedi less they be expelled from their order.” “Hmmm so Santhal what brings you to Equestria?” said Celestia. “I was sent on a mission to explore this uncharted region of space. When I arrived I flew into an asteroid field. My ship was hit and I was forced to make a crash landing on this planet. Wait my ship, damn I completely forgot about it. I need to assess the damage and see if it’s salvageable, and also see to my companion.” “Your companion?” said Twilight. “Yes, my friend died in the crash. I will see to it he receives a proper funeral. Has no one been inside my ship?” “We thought it best to not let anypony go near it for their own safety,” said Celestia. “Very good.” Santhal then got up and started to leave. “Anything we can do to help?” “If you really want to help you can start gathering wood. I shall build a funeral pyre.”