//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: The Zabrak and the Dragon // by DeltaXeno1138 //------------------------------// The disturbance he had sensed finally manifested in the form of a frantic unicorn guard, charging straight towards him after releasing an exclamation of fear. He sensed the incoming danger and got into a defensive stance. The guard skid to a halt, ignited his horn and released three blasts. Thankfully, his training in both combat and the Force had gifted him with enhanced perception and speed. He drew his darksaber, ignited it, deflected the blasts into the walls and floor, and lifted the guard with a Force choke. These actions only took him two seconds. While Rainbow was amazed by Maul's speed and weapon, much like everypony else, she was also angered by what he was doing to the guard. "Hey!" Rainbow exclaimed as she flew in front of Maul "Put him down right now!" "Be still my little pony" Celestia said in a calming tone as she and Luna approached. Rainbow hesitantly flew back down, joining her shocked companions. "I apologize for my guard's actions. He's new here and hasn't become accustomed to his new environment. I would appreciate if you released him. Rest assured that we mean you no harm." Maul's eyes shifted to the princess and back to the guard dangling in mid air, his forehooves pawing at his throat as strained chokes escaped his mouth. His face relaxed before he deactivated his darksaber and flexed his fingers, releasing the guard from his telekinetic grip. The guard fell to the floor, releasing a few strained coughs before taking deep breaths and looking up at Maul with terror in his eyes. "Private Oates, is it?" Celestia addressed the guard, causing him to stand and turn to her. "Yes Princess! Please forgive my actions. I overreacted and-" Celestia raised a hoof, cutting him off. "I am willing to overlook this, so long as you apologize to our guest." "Y-Yes Princess, of course" Oates said with a bow of his head before turning back to Maul "I apologize for my actions...Mr. Alien sir. This was all my fault. I was simply nervous of your arrival." Maul regarded the guard for a moment, not to contemplate his response, but just to make the guard nervous. Maintaining his steely demeanor, he nodded and said "Your apology is accepted." A minor disturbance such as this was not worth wasting further time on. Celestia dismissed Oates before addressing Maul again. "Now, I believe you wished to speak with my sister and I." "That is correct" Maul replied, placing his darksaber back in its place. He turned his head towards his companions, some of whom were still shook up by what had just happened. Rainbow looked as though she wanted to start a fight. Spike however seemed to be in awe of him, his eyes particularly being drawn to his darksaber, which had also caught Twilight's attention. He could tell they both wanted to inspect the weapon further. The former would get the most of that opportunity, in due time. "If you wouldn't mind, I wish to have our discussion in private." "Of course. Twilight, would you and your friends mind waiting outside?" "Are you su-?" "What?! Princess you can't be serious!" Rainbow exclaimed, cutting Twilight off. "I am, Rainbow Dash" Celestia said calmly "Now if you would please wait outside. And it would behoove you to mind your tone." "A-" Rainbow stopped herself, recognizing the trademark subtle intensity of the princess "Yes Princess." She and the others started walking to the entrance, but she gave Maul one last angry glare before Celestia used her magic to shut the doors. Maul found Rainbow amusing. He already guessed that she was a show off, and she was quick to anger, immediately untrustworthy of newcomers. He could imagine her as a young trainee at the Sith academies of old that predated the Rule of Two. Immersed in the dark side, she would've gladly cheated and used others to climb up the ranks. She would've no doubt been cut down in battle or in private by a fellow Sith who found her annoying or unworthy. "We should make proper introductions first" the princess said before gesturing to herself "I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria. I control the rising and setting of the sun. This is my sister." She gestured to her smaller, dark coated companion. "I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria. I control the rising and setting of the moon." The entire time, Luna had been eyeing Maul curiously, which was not lost on him. He had begun taking in the appearance of the two princesses when he first saw them. Their higher stature, their royal attire, their ethereal flowing manes. But all of that was insignificant next to the sheer amount of Force power emanating from them. He doubted they could actually move the sun and moon, unless their solar system was somehow affected by this strange Force energy. He imagined that they could give his former master a difficult challenge. That's not to say he thought they could win, but there was a possibility. He also found it odd that he hadn't been drawn to Luna, considering the amount of dark side energy in her, suppressed though it may be. It was possible that with Celestia's equal amount of light side energy, these two might've found their own form of independent balance. It wouldn't be in his best interest to make enemies of them. "I am called Maul. I am a warrior of the Nightbrothers and a practitioner of the Force." "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Maul" Celestia said with a slight bow, deciding to inquire about this Force afterward "Would you be so kind as to tell me your purpose in coming to our planet?" "I seek a temporary refuge to rest and replenish my strength." "Refuge from what exactly?" Luna asked. "An enemy of mine has come into great power. I was forced to retreat into the unknown regions to escape his tyranny. If he or his servants were to find me, it would mean my death. I humbly ask your permission to remain on your planet for a time. You have my word that once I am ready, I will depart." "Luna, a word" Celestia said after regarding Maul for a moment. They both turned away from Maul, leaning in to quietly converse. "I see no reason to turn him away sister. Twilight already informed us that he means no harm, and I didn't sense any dishonesty in his claim." "While that is true, I know he is holding information from us. I suggest we ask him some questions before anything else. And there's something about him that makes me uneasy. There's a darkness in him that's unsettlingly familiar. Though..." "You also felt the suffering in him, didn't you?" "....yes." "I think we should give him a chance. After all, we gave you one." "..........Very well Tia. Let us commence with the questions then." The two princesses turned back to Maul, who was patiently waiting with his hands behind his back. "Well, Sir Maul" Celestia began "My sister and I see no reason in denying your request. We would simply like to have some questions answered first, if you wouldn't mind." "Who am I to deny royalty?" Maul asked in a pleasant tone. While most of his time with Sidious was spent as a shadowy assassin, he had been taught how to converse with diplomats, royals, anyone in high power, should the need arise. They asked the same things Twilight had asked him, such as what he meant by the Force, his species etc., along with what he had learned from her. New inquiries included his weapon, what he could do with the Force, and a somewhat touchy subject. "Could you describe this enemy of yours?" Luna asked "What is the power he has come into?" He chose his next words carefully. "His name is Palpatine. He is the greatest evil in any galaxy, and he has become the emperor of the first Galactic Empire. You should consider yourselves fortunate if he never finds his way here." "A galactic empire?" Celestia said "Then you mean to say, he rules over multiple worlds?" "Yes, under the guise of a weak old man looking to improve the galaxy for everyone's benefit. But the only benefit is his." Both Celestia and Luna could hear the distain in his voice. This made the latter unsure whether to ask her next question, but her curiosity was too strong. "What exactly is your connection to this emperor? How are the two of you enemies?" Maul blinked before slightly turning his head, directing his eyes to the floor. Luna believed she may have pried too deeply. "I apologize. If you're uncom-" "He was my master." This time, the princesses blinked before their eyes went wide. At the same time, the three caught the sound of an exclamation. "WHA-?! mm!" "Ssssshhhhhh. Darn it Pinkie. Do you want them to know we're listening?" "Sorry Twilight" Maul's eyes briefly shifted to the doors behind him before settling back on the floor. His peripheral vision allowed him to see that the two sisters were still in shock. Not surprising. "I'm...I'm sorry, I'm not sure I heard you correctly" Celestia said. "He was my master. He stole me from my home when I was but a child. He trained me in the ways of the Force to be an assassin. Then I suffered my first real defeat, resulting in my...handicap" he said, quickly shifting his eyes down to his prosthetics "He believed me dead and replaced me. Once I was free, I realized I was nothing more than a weapon, an expendable weapon. "I was later found by my brother, who brought me back to my mother, who healed my body and mind. Once I reemerged, he saw me as rival and came to deal with me. He murdered my brother and one of his pawns killed my mother, in front of my own eyes. Once I learned of his new empire, I knew I had to run or join my family in death. Your planet is where I stopped running." During his monologue, both princesses took note of his hand slowly forming a fist, which seemed to be calling on the Force, as a subtle whoosh was heard and a nearby bust appeared to be put under stress until cracks were formed. Along with this, the deep yellow and red of his eyes seemed to intensify, further giving the impression that they contained fire within them. A deep feeling of sympathy suddenly entered into the everypony, including the group listening in, but none more so than Luna. She now felt a sort of kinship with the otherworldly being. Both of them had been slaves to an immense and dark power, though hers was completely from within. The eavesdroppers now had a better understanding of Maul's behavior when they first met. Even Rainbow felt a little bad for him. Anyone with that kind of tragic history was sure to be a bit grumpy in general. She still had her reservations about him though. So long as he didn't go too far, she could excuse his behavior. "Luna, another word" the two sisters quickly turned to each other again. After a short talk, they came to a final decision and turned back to their guest. "Maul. After hearing your story and your reason for coming here, we have decided to accept your request. We grant you our express permission to stay on Equis as long as you need to." "If there is anything we can provide, please do not hesitate to ask" Luna said in turn. "I thank you, Princess Celestia and Luna" Maul said with a humble bow "I have but a few requests. I am in need of a residence, preferably secluded, and some currency for essentials such as food and water." "Is that all you require?" Luna asked. "Yes. I have learned to live with very little. If I may, I noticed a large structure within the forest where I landed. I sensed no life forms. May I use it as my temporary abode?" "The Castle of the Two Sisters" Celestia said "It was our former home. It is currently abandoned, but I wouldn't recommend it. It's quite dilapidated and it resides just outside of a dangerous forest." "I held my own against three...what was it?....manticores, without the use of my lightsaber. I should be relatively safe. So long as it remains standing, the castle's state is of no concern to me. So I ask again, may I use your former abode as my own for the duration of my stay?" Celestia looked to her sister who gave her a slight nod in response. Celestia turned back to Maul and with a kind smile said "You may." With a pleasant look on his face that appeared unusual for some reason, Maul bowed as he said "You have my deepest thanks, princesses." "The chariot that brought you here will take you to the castle after dropping off my subjects" Celestia informed Maul, indicating to the closed doors "I will have the bits you require delivered to you soon after." Maul gave a simple nod of thanks before the princess looked to the doors. "Twilight, you and your friends can come in now." Celestia used her magic to open the doors immediately, causing everypony to fall into the throne room in a tangled heap. Once Twilight hastily stood back up, she bowed her head in embarrassment "I-I'm sorry Princess, we didn't- well we did mean to eavesdrop but-" "It's quite alright Twilight" Celestia chuckled "I don't blame any of you for your curiosity." "Yay! Maul gets to stay!" The aforementioned zabrak suddenly found his lower body being hugged by Pinkie. Maul held his arms out to the side with a grimace his face, doing his best to avoid any contact. "I'm so sorry this big meanie pants emperor took your family. It's no wonder you're moody all the time. I probably would be too." "Your sympathy is...appreciated...Pinkie" Maul said uncomfortably while lightly patting her mane, which allowed her to catch on to his demeanor. "Oops, sorry" she said as she removed herself and took a few steps back "Forgot about your personal space, hehe." "Hey Maul" everyone turned to the rainbow maned pegasus who had spoken and was looking slightly guilty "I uh...just wanted to...say I'm sorry for how I treated you before. Pinkie's right, it's not like it's your fault that you act the way you do, considering your past." "An apology isn't necessary" Maul interrupted in an assuring tone "Your behavior was understandable, if a little erratic. I hold no grudge against you." "Oh" Rainbow replied with wide eyes "Um...good to know." Everypony else voiced their own sympathies after as they began walking out of the throne room, though Fluttershy couldn't forgive his actions towards the manticore cub. Rainbow also couldn't help but feel that she should still keep an eye on Maul, she still found him a bit off putting. This was a feeling shared by the youngest royal sister. "You're still troubled by him" Celestia said once everyone left the throne room. "Yes, sister" Luna acknowledged "I do believe he means us no harm in his stay, but the darkness I felt in him is still present. I believe he may cause at least some trouble." "Hopefully he won't, but if the worst comes to happen, he shouldn't be too difficult to handle." Maul smiled smugly to himself as he and the others were making their way to the castle's main entrance. Having sensed that flattery would contribute very little, he knew that using the sympathy angle would further tips the scales in his favor, especially with these sympathetic and caring equines. He had however felt the small hints of doubt from them, particularly in the one known as Luna. She had clearly felt the dark side in him, something he could've masked more successfully if his initial training had continued. Thankfully he seemed to have gained their trust for the moment. And now, he was about to win some favor with the one who had drawn him to Equis. "You seem rather mesmerized by my weapon" Maul said, shifting his eyes to the startled dragon. "Oh! Sorry. I didn't mean to stare" Spike said sheepishly "It's just...I've never seen anything like it." "Would you like to take a closer look?" "What...what do you mean?" Spike asked. Maul stopped and turned to the dragon, using the Force to summon his darksaber until it was levitating in his upturned hand. Seeing him use the Force still fascinated everyone, none more so than Twilight and Spike. Maul lowered his hand, the darksaber following until it was right in front of Spike. "Go on, you have my permission" Maul said with a kind smile before pointing to a button just below the hand guard "This is the activator. Keep the emitter away from you and don't touch the blade. The injury would not be pleasant." Twilight was about to object to to her young assistant being allowed to handle an alien weapon, but he grabbed it before she could say anything. "Huh. It's heavier than I thought" Spike said as he weighed the hilt in his hand. He then thumbed the activator and looked up in awe as the blade that seemed to be made of the night sky ignited. Spike slowly swayed the darksaber back and forth while making a small exclamation of amazement. The weapon felt alive in his hand, like it was actually urging him use it further. "Um, Spike" Twilight said a little worriedly "Be careful with how you handle that thing." "Ah let him have some fun Twilight" Rainbow said "He should be fine as long as Maul's here. I bet your even jealous." "No I'm-! That's not relevant" Twilight grumbled, much to everypony's amusement. Spike started getting more confident, taking the hilt in both hands and making stronger swipes. The fun soon came to an end when he accidentally cut a pedestal in half, his smile disappearing and his eyes going wide. "Uh...oops?" Spike said before deactivating the darksaber and holding it out for Maul to take back "Maybe you should take this back." "It is only natural" Maul said as he used the Force to call his darksaber back "You should undergo some training before you handle a lightsaber." "Yeah, probably" Spike said bashfully as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, no harm no foul" Twilight said nervously as she eyed the sizzling pedestal halves "Princess Celestia can have that replaced easy peasy. We should probably go now." Everyone agreed and quickly started heading to the main entrance again. Maul had been watching the young drake intently as he swung the darksaber. His smile had grown as he observed him, his movements naturally being amateurish but surprisingly more controlled than he thought they would be. While on the carriage ride back to Twilight's castle, Twilight made sure to tell Spike to write the princess an apology letter for the pedestal. Everyone except Maul got off the chariot once they landed in front of the castle. Twilight stayed behind to ask Maul something before he left. "Um...Maul? I was just wondering..." Twilight said as her hoof scuffed the ground "If it wouldn't be too much trouble...since you let Spike take a look..." "You wish to inspect my lightsaber, particularly the inner workings considering your abundance of fascination towards my advanced technology." "Oh my gosh yes! Can I? Please?" Twilight practically begged with an eager smile. A smile that soon fell from disappointment. "Unfortunately I cannot allow that" Maul said "I inherited the weapon and it is an old design. I have not the knowledge to reconstruct it if it were taken apart. You can understand, can't you?" "Yes, I understand" Twilight said with a disappointed sigh "Thanks anyway. I hope you enjoy your temporary home." "I'm sure I will" Maul said with a smile. He turned back to a forward face before calling to the pegasus guards. "Gentlemen, if you would be so kind." The guards nodded and took off, pulling the chariot into the air. "Why is his smile so...unsettling?" Twilight said with a shudder. She shook off the feeling and turned to enter her castle. Once she reached the map room, she noticed Spike already composing his apology note. "You looked pretty impressive swinging that sword around, Spike" Starlight complimented the dragon after he sent away the note. "Yes, you looked quite courageous darling" Rarity basically gushed. "Ah, well" Spike said bashfully as he swatted the air "I do my best." Everypony chuckled before Rainbow chimed in "You actually did look pretty cool, little guy. You got experience with swords or something?" "No, but I do always use a lance in my dreeeeeee- I always used a lance whenever Shining Armor visited from the academy and showed me some moves. Yeah, that's what I was saying." "We all saw ya when we were in the dream world Spike" Applejack said "Remember when we had to fight that Tantabus thing?" "Darn Element of Honesty" Spike grumbled, much to everypony's amusement. "I still think you were impressive Spike" Starlight said as she came and rubbed the top of Spike's head. "As did I" Rarity quickly added as she stepped in to rub Spike's back. Spike's eyes shifted back and forth between the mares, perplexed at the sudden affection from both. I'm not complaining...but what just happened? "Well, Ah better be gettin' back to Sweet Apple Acres, I still got chores that need finishin'" Applejack said, turning to head out. She was soon followed by everypony else, save Twilight and Starlight of course. Rarity momentarily eyed Starlight as she was walking out, her eyes slightly narrowed. "And I've got some planning to do" Pinkie said as she hopped along. "Pinkie" Twilight said cautiously, halting the pink mare "You're not planning to throw Maul a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party are you? Because I don't think he's the type of individual who enjoys parties." "Of course not Twilight" Pinkie said with an amused groan "You worry too much." Twilight gave a sigh of relief as Pinkie continued hopping out of the map room, unaware of what the mare was thinking. I'm throwing him a 'Welcome to our planet' party! I know I can put a smile on Maul's face. Back inside, Spike and Starlight had gone off to their respective rooms, Twilight following soon after. Catching a glimpse of movement, Twilight backtracked to peer into Spike's room through the slightly ajar door. She suppressed a small laugh as she saw her assistant swinging a toy sword around, almost exactly the way he had with Maul's saber. While she was amused, Twilight did recall that she had seen her brother giving Spike a few demonstrations. This reminded her that she was considering having Spike take some self defense classes. She knew he had been wanting to learn this sort of thing in order to contribute more. Hopefully he can start learning in the near future. I just hope we can find a teacher willing to train a dragon. After departing, Maul asked the guards to drop him off at his ship rather than the castle so he could fly it over. They pointed out however that there was no room to land and the trees wouldn't allow them to fly low enough. "That is no issue" Maul said as they circled the area where his ship lay. The guards were suddenly shocked when Maul jumped off the chariot. They were about to call down to him and descend to try and catch him, until they saw him land on the ground as if he had glided down. When he looked up and saluted them, they looked to each other before shrugging their shoulders and heading back to Canterlot. "We're gonna tell the princesses we landed when we dropped him off, right?" "Well why wouldn't we? It is what happened after all." The two guards nodded to each other and refocused their flight path. Maul used the force to open the ramp to his ship, boarding it and preparing for takeoff. The flight to his new abode was relatively short, no more than a few minutes. He landed the ship in the brush behind the castle rather than in front. A habit of strategizing for an escape; landing the ship right in front would leave it exposed. While the castle was in a poor state, he was able to see that the ceiling had only a few holes in it, an easy problem to fix. After exiting the ship, Maul walked around the structure to reach the front door. Once entering, it was a short walk before he reached the rather spacious hall, two large banners hanging overhead, each depicting the two rulers. There was also a rather sizable hole above that drew his attention for some reason. The faint sound of a magic beam being fired made him flinch in confusion. It was followed by the sound of bricks crumbling. "precious light" Maul's attention was drawn to a hall on the right, from which the faint, familiar voice had emerged. Knitting his brow, he began walking down the hall, until he entered a large throne room. He saw two thrones beside each other, clearly Celestia and Luna's, each one with their own respective banner above. A louder crumbling sound drew his attention to another hole in the wall. He drew back when he suddenly saw a flash of something. He saw Luna in the air, her forelegs raised below the hole as the moon appeared to be blocking out the sun. And then he felt it. An echo of what he had felt within the younger princess. The darkness. It was suddenly clear to him. In this throne room, the darkness within the princess had emerged in full. It didn't matter that it was only an echo, he could feel the same power he had felt before. Only now, rather than a suppressed and balanced version, it felt pure and unchallenged. He wanted to see more. He shut his eyes and immersed himself in the Force, focusing on the dark side, on the power that Luna had unlocked. While peering into the past and future was more the Jedi's forte, it wasn't uncommon for the Sith to try their hand at it. Most of the time they merely found it unnecessary, believing they could achieve their goals without the use of the ability. After a moment, Maul was able to see everything unfold without having to open his eyes. He actually found himself amazed when he witnessed Luna become engulfed in pure dark side energy that was actually visible, no doubt it was from their use of magic. What emerged from the sphere, Maul could only think of one word to describe it. A word he had never used, and one he couldn't recall ever thinking of when beholding anything from a lush forest to even the stars in space. Beautiful. He didn't consider this being beautiful from her appearance. No, she was beautiful for what she was. She was a manifestation of the dark side in its rawest, purest form. Anger, aggression, fear, and power, power seeking to grow and dominate all. Feeling all this had caused an uncharacteristically large smile to slowly form, only for it to drop to a frown when he felt the darkness' current companion. "You must lower the moon!" Celestia. He had been so fascinated he hadn't noticed her entrance. They began arguing, a good amount was muffled, but he managed to catch the name of the dark entity, Nightmare Moon. It was still rather childish sounding, but it did seem to fit her rather well. And then their fight began. The two sisters took off, firing their magic blasts at one another. Thanks to the Force, he didn't need to venture outside to witness the battle. The scenery merely changed around him, following the two combatants. Now he understood where most of the castle's damage came from. Maul couldn't help but smile when he saw one of Nightmare Moon's blasts hit her, causing her to cry out in pain before she fell back down into the throne room. His smile disappeared again however, when the Force told him who the victor of this battle would be. Celestia summoned a rotating device that emerged from a compartment in the floor. There he saw the actual Elements of Harmony, gems from which large amounts of Force energy emanated. They had no real connection to the light side, they simply enhanced the power of Force sensitives, or at least these Force sensitives. If Nightmare Moon were to get ahold of them, there was no doubt her power would be enhanced. He watched in displeasure as Celestia used the empowering gems to overwhelm and banish her sister to the moon. Everything faded away, and Maul found himself back in the throne room in it's present state. Clearly there was more to the story, considering he saw Luna herself, not banished and not in her dark side form. The two sisters had most likely reconciled between then and now. He would inquire about it later, but he would have to be careful in how he asked. Recalling why he was in the castle, he exited the throne room and started looking for a way to a rear entrance. He was able to find a hidden passage that lead him outside, not too far off from where his ship was resting. He ventured to it to obtain the bare essentials, a speeder for more convenient transportation that he would keep within the castle, some water and rations, his robe and a sheet for the cold, and a medium case containing some parts and devices. He was able to find a room with an adequate bed that only needed some dust cleared off. Since it already had a blanket, he decided to use the sheet he brought to cover the speeder after hiding it behind a crevice in the main hallway. He knelt down on the floor and opened the case to double check its contents. A datapad, a few communicators, a device that could test the toxicity of water, a handful of ascension cables, two small vibroblades, and a few assorted replacement parts for each device. He had left tools for repairs aboard the ship, a few meant for the speeder resided in its compartments. There was a small box however within the case, which held something that was more important to keep at the moment. He had made sure to acquire the contents when he returned to Mandalore after his mother's death. He had placed the box in the case during his hasty departure. He knew the contents would be essential should the need for them would arise. The box held the necessary components to construct at least three new lightsabers. Truthfully he had acquired the components to make one lightsaber and maybe a shoto. Said components were rather difficult to come by, considering how careful the Jedi were in keeping lightsabers out of civilian hands. Thankfully, Maul had learned how to take apart devices and weapons to repurpose the parts, allowing him to make what would essentially be an impromptu lightsaber. The rest of the pieces he had, he came into in an unexpected way. In a brief moment of curiosity, Maul had searched through the former duchess Satine's hidden belongings, where he found the pieces that were now in his possession. While he didn't know why she would have them, he suspected they might've been left by his old foe, Obi-Wan Kenobi. His disgust at possibly having something of Obi-Wan's was suppressed by his amusement at the potential irony. Using the spare parts from a peace keeping Jedi to construct lightsabers that would be used for killing and maiming. He didn't intend on constructing a lightsaber at the moment, doubting that he would lose his darksaber or have it damaged beyond use or repair. Right now, the parts were intended for his imminent student, after he received proper weapons training. There was one setback however, a lack of crystals, synthetic or natural. It wasn't something to be concerned about, synthetic crystals could easily be made, though it was a long and arduous process. Thankfully, creating synthetic crystals was all part of the training. "Considering he's a dragon" Maul said to himself "He shouldn't mind the intense heat when the time comes for him to forge his crystal." Maul smiled to himself as he envisioned Spike, secluded in a room and sweating as he focused his anger into the crystal as it formed within a special furnace. "He should make a fine apprentice."