Sunset Shimmer woke face down in the mud and muck of what she could only assume to be a bog. Struggling to lift herself onto all fours, she shook her mane, coughing and spitting as much gunk out of her mouth as she could. Sitting on her haunches and shaking off her hooves, she brought them to her face and rubbed the mud out of her eyes, opening them to test them and to make sure they hadn’t been damaged by the filth around her.
Blinking rapidly, Sunset at first assumed her eyes were indeed damaged, her hooves were curled up in front of her face and they looked different. For one they were black, but Sunset could feel fabric touching the fur and skin on her hooves, so that meant socks or stockings of some kind. Lifting the extremity closer to her face she turned her hoof over, noting the five bumps that extended off the edge of her hoof. She then experimentally tried to open those ridges, only for five extra limbs to spring off her hoof, surprising her and causing her to jump back a little.
If Sunset were any other pony she might have screamed, maybe even hyperventilated a little, but she wasn’t anypony, no! She was Sunset Shimmer and she was beyond such petty things, instead, she let her mind wander, turning her new body parts over and moving them in every possible angle that she could. She analyzed, hypothesized, and theorized.
The former student of Princess Celestia knew what hands were, after all, Minotaurs were incredibly proud of the hands they had. Sunset recognized them and after doing a quick check to make sure she hadn’t sprouted bull horns she finally allowed her mind to calm down for a second… until she realized her forehead was missing something.
‘My horn!’ she thought as she brought her… hands to where her horn used to be. She felt around her forehead hoping to find her horn right where it had been, she met nothing but smooth skin. This was when Sunset started hyperventilating. She had lived with magic all her life and not being able to access that well of power, in this Celestia-forsaken bog, was a nightmare come true for the young unicorn.
With this realization, and the rage she felt towards her old mentor, Sunset Shimmer raged.
She let loose a scream, a scream filled with her anguish that tore through everything in its path. Sunset didn’t notice that something akin to magic answered her call, it radiated around her and through her and shook the world around her. Trees were uprooted, the water around her parted and the ground beneath her began to concave as if a great weight was placed upon it. After what felt like ages Sunset stopped, her voice almost gone and with that, the power left her and she slumped to the ground in exhaustion.
It was only after taking deep breaths to refill her tired lungs that she noticed the water around her had begun to fill in the indent she had made, as well as the toppled trees that lay splintered around her. Sunset stood in the now waist-high water and was confused, no she was perplexed.
She shouldn’t be able to do magic, she had no horn, no focus, and no way to move the mana that made up a ponies living being out into the open world. Earth Ponies and Pegasi could use their hooves and wings to do something similar, but to cause a shockwave? One that blew away water, toppled stone, and lit trees aflame? Only a unicorn or Alicorn could do that, and again only with a horn.
Closing her eyes, Sunset took a calming breath and let her mind grow still, she reached deep within herself with her mind’s eye, looking for that glowing warmth that made up her magic. She knew she was close, she could feel it in her heart, looking within herself, she found it! The light that made up her hopes, dreams, and who she was. Reaching for it with her new-found hands she pointed toward a nearby tree and tried to cast a water spell.
Instead of creating water out of her fingertips like the spell was designed to do, she felt a pressure build up inside her mind, her magic faltered for but a moment and then was still once again. She could feel a weight on her shoulders but she attributed that to her fatigue from using such an advanced spell in an alien body, she opened her eyes only to find the tree she had aimed at was still aflame.
“Well, that didn’t work.” Sunset sighed sagging her shoulders slightly, it was then that she noticed something odd about the ground, she put a hand down onto the swampy floor beneath her and noticed it, the floor was dry. Looking around her, she noticed all the water that had surrounded her small muddy island was gone, the muddy island was gone, in its place was dry cracked earth.
“Did… did I do that?!” Sunset tried to stand but found that she couldn’t her body wasn’t used to this form yet, and her shoulders still felt heavy “But that was supposed to be a water-making spell! Not a drying spell!”
“Hmm, spell?” a raspy voice whispered from behind her, “No spell do I see here, only the workings of the Force, it is.”
This caused Sunset to jump and shout, crashing down onto the dusty floor and landing hard on her behind she cringed. “What the heck!?” She got to her knees and looked at where her resting spot had been “Who said that!?”
The weight on her shoulder shifted and a low laugh came from behind her. “Hehe, do not be afraid, my young friend!” The sound of light exertion could be heard and she felt the weight lift off her shoulders entirely. “No harm do I intend, surprised I am to find one such as you here.”
The voice had moved in front of her by now, and she didn’t know whether to scream or laugh at the creature that had managed to surprise her. Standing before her was what she could only describe as a troll, it was short, had pointed ears, and clawed three-fingered hands. It walked with a cane and had a very notable hunch, probably from age and living in such a desolate environment as the swamp.
Sunset opened her mouth to speak but found herself cut off by a thump to the head, “Ow! What in Equestria are you doing?!” she screamed, rubbing her brand-new bump.
“Troll, I am not, respect your elders you must, and keep your mouth shut when thinking, you should!” the little gremlin admonished. “Come to my home you do, make all this noise you do, and call me the troll? Ha!” With that, the troll turned and began hobbling away.“Follow, warm clothes and food do I have, tell your story you will.”
Sunset Shimmer growled a little and struggled to stand, taking her cue from the little troglodyte in front of her. She walked on her back feet and followed him deeper into the swamp, all the while rubbing her head, wondering if leaving her home was worth the hassle and danger she found herself in.
Yoda whose name she found out after they had arrived at his hut, had been out on a midnight stroll when he heard her scream. He thought it odd that someone would be screaming on Dagobah, as the world was uninhabited by intelligent life, excluding himself, but that was when he felt it, the power of her scream.
He walked up to her and handed her a small cup of liquid, she assumed it was tea, after pouring himself a glass he sat down across from her and began explaining. “That Scream, powerful it was, but steeped in the power of the Dark Side, it is.” He pointed his stick at her.
“What is this Dark Side? On Equestria we just have Magic, not dark or light just... magic,” Sunset hoarsely explained, sipping from her tea and rubbing her throat in pain.
“Hmm.” The troll rubbed his chin in thought “Let me start with the Force first, yes.” Yoda pointed his cane at the small table they sat at “Look to the pot, child.” He commanded softly, and Sunset Shimmer obeyed tactfully keeping her mouth shut about the child comment.
Yoda hummed and before Sunset could respond the tea kettle and cups began to float off the table on their own. Sunset normally wouldn’t be impressed by such basic displays of magic and was about to make a snarky comment when she noticed the subtle difference. There was no aura around the cups or kettle. When a magic-using species used magic on an object, an aura was shown around the foci that channeled the magic and the object in question. Scholars didn’t know why but they knew it was a universal constant among all magic-using species, from Unicorns to Draconequus. So why did this being in front of her not have one?
Noticing Sunset's perplexed look he set the objects down and began to explain. “The Force is everything,” he began “It surrounds us, it binds us, it holds the universe together.” He stood and walked around the table and poked her with his stick “The force is harmony, yes’” he smiled a little when she grunted at his jab “It is meant to guide, to teach, to help, and to nurture life, yes,”
He then turned away from her “A long time ago, there was a group like me that used the Force for great good across the galaxy.” he sighed “but those days are over, only a handful of us remain, the Jedi we were called, and bastions of the Light we were.” he turned back to her and she could see the sadness in his eyes even if he hid it well. “But the Empire rose, and when our brightest student gave himself to darkness, we fell with him.”
“What do you mean? Fell to darkness?” Sunset asked she barely understood what he was saying, Galaxy? Empire? Sunset knew about the stars and the sun and the moon and planets back home, but they were controlled by the Princess. How can there be more of them?
“Those who use the Force in anger, hatred, or fear use what is called the Dark Side of the Force” Yoda looked at her “What you used in the swamp though an accident was the Dark Side”
“The Force is life itself,” He continued “It should be used for safety and defense, never to attack, but the Dark Side is just that, using the Force and bending it to your will, the Dark Side makes you feel powerful, makes you feel stronger than you are, but it blinds you when the Force is supposed to naturally make you feel calm, at peace and more awake than you have ever been.” Yoda finished with a thump of his cane.
Sunset nodded her head slowly in some understanding “This Force, is very different from magic…” she began slowly chewing on her bottom lip before continuing “With magic, you can do almost anything, and certain emotions like anger can be useful in certain spells…”
Yoda just scoffed “Anger should never be used,” He looked at her “see what it did to the area around you did you not?”
Sunset said nothing and looked at him before nodding.
“That, is the Dark Side” his eyes gained a little bit of steel to them “It is powerful, but in return for that power it demands terrible prices, that is the nature of the dark, the nature of the Sith.”
Sunset's mind was brought back to her scream, and the destruction it had caused. She had to ask “Can anyone learn to harness the Force? To control it?”
The little green man turned away from her to stare into the fire while he contemplated her question. He paced the room, mumbling to himself, almost as if having a conversation before he finally returned to his spot in front of her at the table.
He nodded “Yes and no.” he hobbled over to her “A powerful ally, the Force is. Heed your call it will protect and guide you it will but it is never meant to be controlled, a will of its own the Force has, and follow its will, we should.”
Sunset looked perplexed at that wondering how a mystic energy field could have its own will, Opening her mouth the words slipped out before she could even think of them “Can you teach me?”
Yoda’s green eyes met her cyan and suddenly she felt like she was staring at her old mentor but in tiny green troll form, those wise eyes looked as if they were searching her very soul. “What would you do with this knowledge should I teach you”
Without hesitation, Sunset answered, “I’d find my way home.”
A small hum left Yoda’s mouth as he turned back to the fire “Very well,” he poked at the fire with his gimmer stick “Normally, I’d refuse to train you, you are too old, too world-weary and too angry though you try to hide it well.”
Sunset struggled to not snap a retort at him, and what did he mean by too old?
Before she could respond Yoda faced her, a small smile on his face “But that, I think, Is why you need me to teach you. I believe it is the Will of the Force that brought us together, so yes Sunset Shimmer I shall teach you.”