2: A New Recruit
The sun outside the window was shining brightly on Los Pegasus, bathing the desert city in gentle morning light. Birds were chirping, bees were buzzing, and the greatly-enlarged population of Equestria’s new capital was just recovering from its still-wild nightlife. Ponies were crawling out of bed and out the door to early work, or perhaps simply taking a light jog to start the day. Overhead, teams of pegasi were already in the midst of setting up a light cloud cover that would stave off the worst of the afternoon heat when it came. Throughout the city, millions of ponies of every type were on the move.
Princess Luna could see all of this from her window, but chose to ignore it. Hustle and bustle had never exactly been her forte at the best of times, and now was not that. Los Pegasus had a much larger population than Canterlot, not suffering from the limitations of being built on an outcropping of a mountain side. Consequently, the dark alicorn found that the sheer number of petitioners who now personally came to see her each day had grown tremendously, leaving her feeling somewhat overwhelmed by it all.
Luna sat behind a desk in the office she used for an improvised throne room, this city having no proper castle and no budget to build one. It was a comfortable seat featuring numerous automated amenities, gifted to her by the Empire when it had constructed the large grey building that now served as the focal point of Imperial operations of Equus: the Imperial Hub, as it was known locally. The night princes liked neither the look nor the design of this place, it obviously having been built more with humans in mind than ponies. The villa where the royalty continued to live and where her study was based was much more aesthetically pleasing. Nonetheless, Luna had to admit that the Imperial hub was very useful, receiving transmitions and collecting data from across the planet via a network of orbiting satellites. It enabled instantaneous holographic communication to a number of sites on both on Equus and in orbit, easily trumping the old courier system or even magical dragonfire. Further, it contained a large set of databanks full of information on the wider galaxy – from an Imperial perspective, of course.
The holoprojector built into the alicorn’s shining metallic desk was active, showing an image of an earth pony in Equestrian Army armor. Far superior to the older models that had been forged from metal and left large gaps, this new plating was grey-colored plasteel plates and a rubbery bodyglove underneath. The pony’s rank insignia was that of a lieutenant, and his salute was crisp and sharp.
“Ma’am,” he was saying. “Our base has been repeatedly besieged by mobs of angry civilians. We are unable to reach the designated supply drop points. Our supply officer reports that our food stores will last another week. And just last night another of our men was ambushed by locals while on patrol and badly beaten. Three of his legs are broken, along with five ribs and a wing. One of his eyes has been rendered nonfunctional. Requesting medical evacuation.”
“Granted,” Luna said. “We will signal for a medical shuttle to descend on thy location forthwith.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” he sounded slightly relieved. “What are we to do about the greater situation, though? The locals don’t want us here, and they aren’t showing any signs of calming down,” he looked behind him to something outside of his holocam’s view. “There’s a crowd growing outside, and I don’t like it. Recipe for a flash mob.”
“Do not fire on civilians under any circumstances but those of life and death,” Luna commanded him.
“Acknowledged, ma’am, but… what do we do?”
Luna gritted her teeth. It was a cruel dilemma. On the one hoof, if she gave the order to pursue a more aggressive policy against the griffons that now protested foreign troops in their city, innocents would die for certain and the populace would likely as not only become more enflamed against them. On the other, if she ordered a withdrawal, the griffons might take it the wrong way and begin a large-scale revolt. If that happened, it would no doubt attract the attention of military forces with far fewer qualms about killing civilians, and her own people would suffer for the loss of the Empire’s aid.
And it wasn’t as though the alicorn had wanted to station troops in foreign lands in the first place! Foreign countries should maintain their own armies and handle their own affairs. The soldiers of Equestrian Army belonged at home, either guarding the nation or demobilized and helping the slow reconstruction. They did not exist to collect tribute for the Galactic Empire!
But if they didn’t, then the quotas would either have to be met entirely by Equestria itself – which it could not possibly accomplish with its ravaged infrastructure – or else they would suffer the retribution of the aliens. And judging from the Imperial Army’s own after-action-reports on the brief campaigns elsewhere in the world, they would not be any more merciful than the Separatists had been. So it was that the rebuilt armed might of Equestria was spread out to ensure that they were able to pay the Empire on time for the “privilege” of membership and the “protection” they were provided. With the dissolution of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Imperial subjugation of most of the known galaxy, the latter was little more than a cruel joke at their expense.
At last, Luna sighed. “Prepare all troops in the city for a general withdrawal,” she commanded. “We are not going to shoot down civilians for the Empire’s sake.”
The officer saluted. “Yes ma’am.”
Luna nodded wearily. “Dismissed.”
The hologram faded away, leaving the miserable-looking dark alicorn alone in her officer once more. She sighed again, wondering if she had done the right thing. For now what was she to do? The goods and precious metals that would have been collected to deliver to the Empire would have to come from somewhere, or else. They would have to be found. Elsewise, they all would suffer.
It was as Luna was beginning to conduct a review of the planet’s finances of a custom-made datapad just for her own hooves that her desk holoprojector lit up once more. This time, it showed an image of a middle-aged human male – Colonel Ferrus of the Imperial Army, the leading off-world military officer on the planet. He was, as far as they went, not so bad, being mostly professional and leaving the running of the planet to its natives.
“Princess Luna,” he said politely in his heavy Core Worlds accent. “I hate to interrupt, but a Star Destroyer has made translation from hyperspace and is demanding to speak to the planetary leadership immediately.”
“Then wouldst that not be mine sister?” Luna replied with an undertone of bitterness.
“It would, if Governor Celestia were not presently engaged elsewhere,” he said. “As she is presently occupied, it falls to you as her deputy to answer.”
“Then put them through, Colonel,” she answered. “And let us see what they want.”
The hologram of the uniformed human flickered and died away. Moments later, another figure took his place. Surprisingly, it was not that of a human, though it was humanoid. Clearly female, it was dressed in a black tunic, trousers, and jackboots, with some armor plates bearing the Empire’s insignia over her shoulders and chest. Luna vaguely recognized the figure from its blue skin and red eyes as belonging to a species the Imperial archives named as the Chiss. They were unknown and reclusive inhabitants of the Unknown Regions, and not widely associated with the human-dominated Empire. Luna wondered briefly what had drawn this one into Imperial service.
“You are Governor Celestia?” the Chiss asked immediately.
“Nay, we are her sister, Princess Luna of Equestria,” she answered.
The woman’s brow creased slightly. “Go and get her then,” she ordered, waving a hand. “I don’t deal with lackeys.”
“We are no lackey!” Luna snapped angrily. “We are every bit our sister’s equal and thou shalt deal with us!”
The Chiss paused, raising an eyebrow and considering. At last, she nodded.
“Very well. I am Inquisitor Cia of the Galactic Empire. In the name of state security I demand that you assemble your most talented magicians for immediate inspection.”
“What?” Luna’s mental alarm bells were going off. Inquisitor? She didn’t know much about them – not high-ranking enough – but what she did didn’t bode well.
“You heard me,” the Inquisitor replied. “I will be down in one hour. I expect to be greeted properly.”
The hologram vanished. Luna gritted her teeth.
Precisely one hour later, a Lambda-class shuttle, escorted by no less than six TIE fighters soared down through the planetary atmosphere of Equus. The twin ion engines for which the fighters were named were loud enough to be heard over even the hustle and bustle of the big city as the shuttle touched down on the landing pad of the planet’s small spaceport, the fighters continuing to circle high overhead.
As per the Inquisitor’s instructions, Princess Luna was there to meet the Imperial official in person. As always, it galled her to be on call like a dog on a leash, but then what didn’t these days? She simply had to grimace and bear it as the shuttle’s ramp began to open. Around her, soldiers of the Equestrian Army snapped to a salute in perfect parade-ground style. Down the shuttle’s landing ramp filed out twenty white-armored Stormtroopers in perfect unison, snapping to attention at the side and waiting.
The blue-skinned woman Luna had seen in the hologram walked rather briskly down the landing ramp, hands folded behind her back, polished jackboots barely making a sound as she descended. Without noticeable irises or pupils, it was difficult to tell where her luminescent red eyes were looking, but she did not turn her head in the slightest. The expression on her face, to the extent that there was one, suggested mild distaste. What Luna recognized as a curved-hilted lightsaber hung from a utility belt on her waist, instantly bringing to mind her sister’s descriptions of Count Dooku.
She did not like the comparison.
“Inquisitor,” Luna said, unlike her sister refusing to bow to an alien guest. “Welcome to Equestria. We-”
“Spare me the pleasantries,” Cia cut her off. “And show me what I came to see. I am a busy woman.”
Irked at being interrupted, but yet again having no real say in the matter, Luna pointed towards the Imperial Hub with her false horn.
“They are there, Inquisitor-”
And then the Chiss brushed right past her.
“Tell me,” said Inquisitor Cia, on one knee to allow her thin fingers to grip the edge of a nervous stallion’s chin. “Is this truly all you have?” Though her red eyes bored into the stallion’s blue, her question was directed to the princess standing behind her. “Because I find your lineup thoroughly lacking in exceptional talent.”
Luna once again grimaced as Cia released the pony and resumed her full height. She had, in the space of a very short amount of time, assembled those court magicians that were currently occupying Los Pegasus. Around thirty of the land’s most-trained adepts in the magical arts stood in an orderly row to meet the Chiss. None of them had the potential Princess Twilight had shown, of course, but they were far from weak. More than one of them had been involved in shielding of Equestria's cities from orbital bombardment all those years ago. The Inquisitor had inspected them all for varying lengths of time, though never actually asked them to perform anything.
“We brought them together on very short notice, Inquisitor,” Luna replied, barley refraining from throwing in an insult.
“So I see,” Cia said, turning her head towards a Stormtrooper wearing a captain’s insignia. “Ah well, take them all.”
“WHAT?!”
“Yes ma’am!” the white-armored trooper saluted, his fellow soldiers already beginning to round up the assembled stallions and mares. They all looked afraid of the armored Imperial troopers, beginning to instinctively herd amongst themselves.
The Inquisitor folded her hands behind her back and walked straight out of the room where they had been meeting, ignoring the dark alicorn’s sputtering cries of protest. Luna, teeth gritted and ears folded back in anger, stormed after the Chiss without pause. She had though that they would want to study their magicians, perhaps learn their arts, not steal them away! Equestria had given up many things to the Empire in exchange for its aid, but its subjects? That was a step too far! She would not stand for this!
“Inquisitor!” she shouted after the alien woman. “Thou hast no right to take our-”
“They are citizens of the Galactic Empire,” interrupted Cia, not bothering to look back. “And as such are fully subject to all the laws and regulations thereof, including conscription into the Imperial military.”
“That was never a condition of our aid arrangement! Nor did we ever agree to such terms in our entry into your state!”
“I am altering our arrangement. Pray I do not alter it any further.”
“Thou dost not have the authority to- ghck!”
The fingers of the Inquisitor’s right hand came together into a fist. Luna’s throat was abruptly clamped by an invisible vice, and she found that her windpipe had closed.
“I find your protests as tiresome as your existence,” said Cia, having ceased to walk but still not bothering to look behind her. Luna doubled over, front hooves pawing at her own throat as she struggled to force air down it. “I need no permission from a crippled alien wretch to tell me what I can and cannot do.”
The lunar alicorn sputtered and gasped for air as the pressure about her throat intensified, but to no avail. Slowly, Luna began to see spots as the oxygen in her blood ran low, the edges of hear vision beginning to go black on her. Her head swum and her hearing became distorted, the world around her becoming less and less clear with each passing second.
Inside, beneath the primal terror of her survival instincts, Luna seethed. She had lost everything – her magic, her kingdom, and even her planet – to these filthy aliens from the stars, and now she was going to lose her life as well! And not even a gallant death in battle, an enduring example of heroism to pass on to the next generations and remember her for all time. No, she was being executed like a lowly slave for speaking against her mistress! It was a miserable way to die, one of the lowliest that she could think of. Her mind raged with the helplessness and indignity of it all.
And, just as her vision was about to go entirely dark, Princess Luna embraced that rage.
“RARGH!”
Luna’s supernatural scream impossibly burst forth from empty, straining lungs, shredding and twisting the metal Imperial hallway before it. Inquisitor Cia, caught completely by surprise, was tossed off of her feet and thrown a considerable distance down the hall, impacting with a painful thud against a durasteel outcropping. Though she raised a hand and called on the Force to protect herself, small pieces of shrapnel cut into her blue skin, drawing faint drops of crimson blood.
Luna, at last freed from the vice clamped about her throat, gasped desperately for air, drawing in several large mouthfuls in so many seconds. The alicorn’s vision began to return to her as her bloodstream filled once more with fresh oxygen.
And then Cia made a one-handed gesture, and Luna’s head slammed into the ceiling.
The pain was intense and all-encompassing as the Chiss woman jerked two fingers around erratically, ramming the alicorn’s head repeatedly against the metal surfaces around her, giving Luna absolutely no time to recover. Badly dazed and feeling like her head was on fire, she was in no position to respond when the clamps reaffixed themselves to her throat with double the vigor. She struggled and squirmed, her hooves again flying to her throat as though the Force were a physical object that could be pulled off. Luna hung in the air for almost half a minute before at last her body could take no more, and her head slumped back.
Inquisitor Cia released her invisible grip, letting the alicorn’s unconscious form tumble roughly to the ground below. The Chiss female rubbed the aching spot on her back that had impacted on the wall, noticing when she did that her fingers came back coated in blood. She stared at it speculatively as several of her Stormtroopers rounded the corner of the hall, rushing to the source of the disturbance.
“It’s alright,” she raised her hand. “No serious injuries.”
“Ma’am,” their leader acknowledged, before looking down at the limp body of Luna. “What should we do with this one?”
Cia considered. “Take her as well,” she commanded at length. “This one has potential.”
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Welp.
Only three chapters in and everything already looks like its in deep shit.
And the CIS remnants came along to fuck up the Empire's day.
Oh boy.
Oh dear, Vader is going to break Luna like a wild mustang. Maybe even make her his apprentice, assuming that Starkiller isn't in this story.
And thus, Equestria was screwed from this day forth. Something tells me our old friend, the Nightmare, might be making a comeback.
5629430 *Alondro walks in, shoot Vader and the Emperor in the face with a Caster Gun loaded with a #4 shell, then walks out*
Once again, power-gaming solves all my problems!
5629542 Well...ok then. Have fun with your role-playing.
5629547 Hey, if one weird impossible crossover is acceptable, then MORE weird impossible crossovers are even MORE acceptable!
Now we need a story that is a crossover of everything....
(The story somehow ends up being the Beatles movie "Help")
Huh... who'd a thunk it...
This one has potential indeed. Celestia isn't going to appreciate the disappearance, even if she's informed of the recruitment of her sister and ponies (it seems unlikely though). But I wonder why Luna didn't fetch Twilight for what she thought to be an inspection. Was it because she's a princess? Or just because Luna wanted to preserve the lavender mare?
This chapter pleases me.
I am loving this story so far. Friendship Is Grievous was fantastic - even if it got a whole lot darker than I expected, which ended up being a plus in the end - but this has already surpassed it.
Perhaps I'm a little biased towards the original trilogy setting, but seeing Equus having to deal with life under the Galactic Empire makes for some fascinating reading.
As for Luna's developing Force ability, I see great potential for her part in all this, be it as a soldier either for the Empire or the rebellion, apprentice of Sidious or Vader, or something else entirely.
Really looking forward to the next part, and you have my thanks for continuing the series where some authors would have set it aside as finished.
MONSTERS!!!
Ah, the plot hook finally returns
The Chiss are not to be fucked with. There's been a number of them in Star Wars lore that were total badasses.
It's a good thing Luna didn't say "This deal is getting worse all the time."
5629682 Highly unlikely she would be an apprentice of Sideous, Vader or any Inquisitor or Dark Jedi. Why, cause she isn't ruthless enough. Unless she kills all the important MLP characters through hours of agonizing torture she ain't dark side material!
5629356 Rebellion doesn't occur 'till 17 years later! In fact, if the Post-Endor Warlords united to defeated the Rebels/New Republic, Luke and company wouldn't last a year. Isard and Zsinj combined would have destroyed the Rebels!
This fic is epic
the references are strong with this one.
5630643 Zecora probably ran off with the ponyville populace or did some voodoo shit to escape
>posts sequel in 4 days with 3 chapters
Not that its bad or anything
5629356 This is well before the start of the rebellion, before any rebel groups started up in high numbers
Interesting btw you should Star Wars: Tarkin and the star wars Marvel (2015) comic. there pretty awesome.
You certainly did not waste any time getting this sequel out.
Unexpected, this is... but complaining, I am not.
Horesapples... only three chapters in, and things are already grim for Equestria. Now, Luna's been... "drafted" by Inquisitor Cia. While this is troubling, I'm looking forward to seeing Luna further develop her Force abilities and where she goes from there.
You're off to a good start, Snake Staff. Looking forward to the next few chapters.
It would not surprise me in the least if Twilight was one of the founding leaders of the Rebel Alliance with Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Garm Bel-Iblis
It would be a odd twist is Luna replaced vader
>.< Luna had better murder the living shit out of that chiss bitch when she gets the chance
5630955 How about Trixie?
5631476 Unless she does something very horrible, such as killing her own sister or ordering a planet to be cleanse of life, she has no chance!
Soon, Darth Noctis shall rule the galaxy with an iron hoof! Ave Dominus Nox!
'Kill her. Kill her now'.
And they say that the sequel is never as good as the original, I think this break that theory. This is great, I can only imagine the bitterness Luna is filing over this. force to be a executor to the will a foreign super power, force to subjugate other countries and be blame for it, seeing your best and brightest ship-off without your consent, and yourself adducted, to become the very thing you despises. This is probable the first time I see Luna set on an adventure on her own, without Celestia there to guide her, en other element bearer. This has a lot of potential, all doe I thing it mite start looking like force unleash, the stakes are deferent but still I hope this it wont start looking like that. Luna is already very biter and she is going to be grinding into the Imperial machine along with her subjects into inquisitor, I can imagine how wost things are going to be for her before they get better. Will she comply or resist it. I suppose that unicorns can create a fear ora, witch would help in there job, but ponies hare herd creature, and I don't think that they would work well lone operatives on some distant planet, even with acolyte. I am wondering how she is going to free herself and what she is going to do ones that happen, I suppose she is going to stat gallivanting the galaxy to learn more. I wander she is going to met Yoda( is he too young for her?).
5631722 The last appearance of trixie in any canon material placed her in manehattan, so survival unknown. She was going legit and doing a magic show in one of the main comic series.
However she could easily be written as having traveled elsewhere for a show and her status wouldn't really be hard to handwave.
5631885 She barely beaten Grievous. She wouldn't hold to Starkiller, Sedriss QL and other hard hitters BELOW Vader and Sideous!
She just lost to someone that Dooku would chew up and spit out. She's got a ways to go before she's any good for the big leagues.
5629559 Search MLP Loops on fanfiction. That is a story that is the closest to a crossover of everything you will find.
In her officer? Kinky.
She just quoted Vader
cool story dude. I just finished reading the first story (I cried because of the destruction and loss of lunas horn) I enjoyed reading as I know I shall enjoy future chapters! Anyway thanks for commenting on my user page and I hope to hear from you soon!
P.s. im using a phone so it might not show derpy (Ditzy Doo)!
I KNEW IT! Potential eh? Hmm...
I KNEW IT! Potential eh? Hmm...
Oh my, Luna, how devious of you to do such a thing whilst on business~ //waggles eyebrows
Nice chapter once more!
LUNA! Become one wit hthe force, and kill this bitch. I don't like her already //grumbles
Oh my, Luna, how devious of you to do such a thing whilst on business~ //waggles eyebrows
Nice chapter once more!
LUNA! Become one wit hthe force, and kill this bitch. I don't like her already //grumbles
Transition?
Although I usually see it as "has come out of hyperspace"
And oh no, unicorns and even Woona are leaving Equus! No good!
I wonder if Pinkie Pie has thrown any parties for the Stormtroopers/Imperials... would be hilarious if she had.
She had though that they would want to study
1. Thought.
Is this even legal for the Empire? Can you conscript Govt. Officials?
This seems very not legal.
8651116
its the empire! they take what they want and obliterate those the stand in their way.....
I Admire them