“Peace is a lie…..
There is only passion.
Through passion….
I gain strength.
Through strength….
I gain power.
Through power…..
I gain victory.
Through victory…..
My chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.”
-The Code of The Sith
Around four weeks ago…...
‘Finally, after all this time, my life has been building to this very moment,’ Sunset thought as she reached out to the glowing golden holocron, resting inches away from her fingers on the ancient pedestal. She could feel the power radiating from it, prickling at her fingertips.
‘No one can take this away from me, nobody.’ She thought as her heart raced, savoring this moment. ‘This is MY destiny, where I finally will do something great to change EVERYTHING. This is what I was meant to do, to be the greatest Master the Jedi had ever seen.’
She couldn’t help but let her lips curve into a twisted smile. They told her she was destined for something great, wasn’t she? SHE told her that she was destined for greatness, didn’t she?
Well, she was tired of waiting for “greatness” to fall in her lap, and she would take it here and now.
And this holocron…that ancient golden holocron…would make that dream a reality….
She closed her eyes and allowed the Force to creep into the holocron, willing it to open, willing it to reveal its secrets.
“It’s…mine.” She spoke softly.
But then, she sensed something. Her smile twisted into a snarled frown.
THEY were here, right behind her.
Turning around to the entrance of the chamber, she glared a gaze full of hate towards her would-be intruders: The Main Six of The Council of Harmony.
Applejack, the Element of Honesty.
Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty.
Rarity, the Element of Generosity.
Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter.
Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness.
And finally, Twilight Sparkle, the supposed Element of The Force (or as some may refer to it, the “Element of Magic”).
Sunset seethed with anger at their mere presence. Not only did they defile her by being here, but around each of their necks, they wore their respected “Elements”. Twilight’s Element angered Sunset most of all, which she wore as a tiara on her head like some makeshift crown, as if to mock Sunset.
Those Elements could’ve been rightfully hers if she was strong enough, especially the Element of Magic.
But no…apparently she wasn’t good enough to even claim ONE as her own, and the sight of them all clinging to their respective masters just made Sunset seethe with rage.
The presence of the Main Six, as well as them wearing their Elements, could only mean one thing: They intended to stop her…by any means necessary.
She had heard about the Elements, and what they could do to her if used...she couldn’t let them take everything that she worked so hard to build until now.
“So, are you all here to stop me?” Sunset growled as she shot them all a hateful glare through her now yellow-tinged eyes, “Here to stop me from claiming what is rightfully mine? What is my destiny?!”
The entire Main six stared back at her with pure determination, ready to ignite their respective lightsabers. But out of all of them, three held a look of regret as they stared back at her, from Fluttershy, Applejack, and most of all, Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight herself was the first to speak up to Sunset. “Sunset, you don’t have to do this. This isn’t the path you want to take.”
Sunset glared icily at Twilight Sparkle. Out of all the Main Six, Twilight was the one that Sunset held the most anger towards. That Twilight had accomplished so much in such a short amount of time vexed Sunset to no end.
“Who are YOU to tell me what path I can and cannot take, Twilight Sparkle?” Sunset spat her name, as though it were poison in her mouth. “You of all people, who had everything handed to her on a silver platter, tell ME how to live my life? How to choose MY destiny?
“I’ve been a Jedi longer than ANY of you have been in the Council of Harmony, and what do I have to show for it?! Me being just another nameless Jedi Knight, while the rest of you “Younglings” have the honor of being given the Elements of Harmony, and YOU-” she pointed an accusing finger at Twilight, “-already becoming a Jedi Master!”
She cast her gaze downwards, trying to hold back showing any visible weakness. The accusations only seemed to remind Sunset of how much she was failing herself. “I’m not just going to be cast aside and forgotten… not now.” She whispered under her breath.
“So, you’re willing to go to the Dark Side, just because you’re jealous of us?!” Blurted out Rainbow Dash.
“RAINBOW!” Twilight snapped at her, trying not to make the situation worse.
Sunset gritted her teeth at those words, her arms beginning to shake as she tried to hold back her rage to stop herself from outright attacking them then and there. ‘How DARE she try to trivialize everything I’ve struggled for!’ she thought angrily.
“Look, Sugarcube,” Applejack jumped in, trying to defuse the growing tension, “I know this seems like the only way to get stronger, but messin’ with the Dark Side isn’t gonna make things better for you.”
“Listen to Applejack, Sunset,” Rarity chimed in, “If you touch that Holocron, you’ll be going to a place where you won’t be coming back from! Darling, please, let’s talk calmly about this!”
“Why? So you can ‘generously’ offer me some useless advice that doesn’t mean an ounce to me? Like everything meaningless that you’ve said and done?” Sunset sneered.
“MEANIN-!? W-WELL I NEVER-“ Rarity stuttered, taken aback by her worlds. Luckily, Pinkie Pie stepped in before Rarity could utter a more “unsavory” retort.
“HEY, leave her alone Sunset! She’s only trying to help you! The Dark Side is NOOOO party that anyone should go to, and I’M all about parties! All that party is gonna do is turn you into a meanie-beanie Sunny!”
“Or, maybe it’ll actually open my eyes to something greater than anything the Elements or the Jedi could offer me!” Sunset yelled, before a smirked crept across her lips,”…..But you all are probably just as air-headed as Pinkie Pie to see that!”
Pinkie Pie’s jaw literally dropped, while the rest of the girls aside from Twilight (and surprisingly Fluttershy, who hid behind the rests of the girls) went into a torrent of retorts and comebacks to Sunset words, all of which only seemed to please Sunset.
Before the whole chamber was filled with the angered shouts of four angry Jedi, Twilight let a shrieking:
“GIRLS! STOP IT!”
That seemed to get all the girls to shut up, which they all followed with guilty and embarrassed expressions.
“This fighting isn’t helping anybody!” Twilight continued, as she turned towards Sunset. “Sunset, please listen! It’s not too late to walk away from this. We can help you.”
This only seemed to fuel Sunset’s anger even more. “The last thing I need is pity from the likes of YOU, ‘Sparkles’.” Sunset seethed through gritted teeth. “I’ve come too far to just give this up. What makes you think I can go back to that life with the Jedi? You think the Jedi Council would take me back after all that I’ve done? For even BEING here?!”
“We would.” A small voice squeaked from the back of the room.
Everyone turned to the source of the voice, which belonged to Fluttershy, probably the first time she had spoken ever since she had entered into the chamber. With a few timid, yet firm steps, she walked up next to Twilight.
“Sunset, you don’t have to do this to prove anything to us,” Fluttershy spoke in a meek, yet calming manner, “We all know how great of a Jedi you really are, and how much of a good person you are. You’re not a Sith, you’re not a bad person Sunset. You’re our friend.”
Sunset was briefly stunned that Fluttershy, of all of the Council of Harmony, known for her sheer timidity, was showing such bravery in facing Sunset. Even the other girls were briefly perplexed that Fluttershy would step out in such a confrontation. But those who knew her knew that she was the Element of Kindness after all.
Twilight herself placed a comforting hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder, offering a warm smile and “Thank You”, before returning back to Sunset. “We know that you’ve done some bad things Sunset, but we know that you’re a good person deep down.”
“Speak for yourself.” Rainbow Dash grumbled under her breath, before Twilight shot her another glare.
“Regardless what some of us may think,” Twilight added, shooting another quick look at Dash, “It isn’t too late for you to come back with us.”
Sunset could only glare at her. After all she had done to get here, Twilight was still trying to appease to her. “Why?” Sunset scowled.
Twilight took a step forward, placing her hand over her chest. “Because, we’re your friends.” Twilight outstretched hand towards her, beckoning Sunset to take it. “Please, come back.”
For what felt like an eternity to Sunset, she stared at Twilight’s hand, waiting for her to grasp it. For a brief moment, the idea of the old life, before coming to this forbidden planet crossed her mind. She remembered the days where she felt she was a great Jedi, where she felt on top of the world, where she felt powerful….where she felt needed.
But...with all of them here, they only reminded her of how far she had fallen, and how far she had come now. She couldn’t give this up, not now, not when she was so close she could taste it.
Sunset averted her gaze from Twilight’s hand, took a step back towards the holocron, and muttered under her breath, “….It’s too late.”
With her lightsaber clutched in her grasp, a dark, crimson beam erupted from its hilt and hummed deeply as it reached full length.
She had made sure her lightsaber crystal was replaced to reflect this very moment.
Stunned by Sunset igniting her lightsaber, all of the girls except Twilight each ignited their respective Lightsabers, filling the dark chamber with a plethora of light and color.
Twilight simply stared at Sunset through her glasses with eyes filled with remorse and regret. Taking in a slow sigh, Twilight too then ignited her lightsaber, her magenta blade humming too as it reached full length.
Each of the Main Six adopted their own respective stances, readying for when Sunset would lash out at them.
But, instead of attacking them on the spot, Sunset simply raised her lightsaber above her head.
“Sorry it had to come to this, ‘Princess’.”, Sunset sneered at Twilight.
And with one swift movement, Sunset channeled as much of the Force as she could into the tip of her lightsaber, and thrust it down upon the golden holocron. But instead of destroying it like a plate of durasteel, the holocron somehow seemed to absorb the lightsaber, all the way down to the hilt until there was nothing left of the crimson blade.
For a quiet tense moment, nothing had happened, until the holocron started glowing a faint gold. At the same time, the very pedestal upon which the holocron was perched upon began to emit a glow of its own, a deep crimson red, pulsating just as the holocron was. As pulse after pulse surged through the pedestal, the four forked spires surrounding the chamber began to activate, each with a ball of red light forming at their tips.
The entire chamber pulsed to life, the holocron glowing more and more brightly at its center, and each sphere of light growing even larger and larger. Each of the Main Six had to shield their eyes at the glowing brightness, but Sunset refused to look away from the holocron, despite how her eyes began to sting from its radiant light.
Soon, its knowledge would be hers.
And when the holocron’s brightness reached its peak, the spires shrieked as the spheres of energy at their tips shot blood-red streaks of lightning into Sunset, and she became enveloped in a storm of arcane Force energy.
“SUNSET!” Twilight cried out as she tried to reach out to her, but the intensity of the blast was too great for her to get close enough!
Sunset shrieked in pain as her body and mind were assaulted by the raw power of the Force. Knowledge unknown and secret to her penetrated her mind as muscle and sinew surged with energy that she had never felt before, nor knew had even existed. It almost was too much for her at first, overwhelming all her senses to the point where she almost couldn’t take it. But she held in the pain as hard as she could, forcing herself not to be weak with this much power and knowledge flowing into her.
The moment before she blacked out from the sheer magnitude of energy, she heard….a voice…a voice from within the holocron, speaking to her.
“…..Witness….the Truth of the Force…..”
The Main Six could only watch in horror as their former friend was assaulted by the dark energies of the Force. Normally, any one of them would’ve intervened with the Force in hand, but with such dark energies surging through Sunset, they would risk causing her even more harm if they did. All they could do was stare at what was happening to Sunset, and pray that she would be alright.
After enough energy from the holocron flew into Sunset, the entire chamber simultaneously dimmed in glow and life, until it looked as though nothing had even happened. The only item that continued to show any activity, was the lone holocron, radiating softly in the center of the room.
Each of the Main Six were tense and worried at what just happened. Sunset herself still continued to stand silently at the base of the pedestal, her back turned to all of them. She had no scars, no wounds, no burns of any kind along her body, hair, or clothes, which made each of the girls only more nervous.
“S-s-Sunset?” Applejack asked anxiously, “Are you alrigh’?”
Sunset didn’t answer, as she stood there, motionless.
But then again, she didn’t need to.
Her lightsaber ignited once more, shooting its crimson blade in the air, its humming echoing through the entire chamber. Each of the girls flinched and jumped back, readying their own lightsabers.
Sunset had never felt so ALIVE…..and POWERFUL. She could feel the Force surge through her very being, beckoning to her will. She felt as if she could do ANYTHING….and no one would be able to stop her.
…..She would make sure of that…..
Sunset eyed the one she considered the weakest of their members. The one who dared to question her resolve and feign an ounce of bravery to her.
With inhuman reflexes, Sunset literally tore through the girl’s ranks towards Fluttershy, her lightsaber arched to lop Fluttershy’s head off with one swift slice!
“KYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!”