9: Welcome to Mustafar
Sunset Shimmer couldn’t breathe.
Every time she tried to take a breath, to allow her body it’s natural function her lungs felt like they were scorched by the very air she tried to give them.
Sunset Shimmer couldn’t move.
She had one arm and no legs, even with this handicap she tried desperately to crawl her way up to the beacon of light before her, the mentor that should save her, the teacher that betrayed her, the mother who maimed her.
Sunset Shimmer burned.
She burned not just because of the fire and ash that engulfed her body, charring her flesh and hair while her teacher watched, but she burned on the inside too. She burned with the fury and rage of a thousand suns as she glared up at the creature she once thought of as a mentor, a friend or even a mother.
Sunset Shimmer raged.
She screamed and yelled at the light with all her hatred. She desperately tried to crawl up to it, to grip it in her grasp and choke the life out of it, to make it suffer like she suffered.
Alas the light was forever out of reach.
Sunset came out of her meditation with a shout and began to probe her limbs and body to verify that everything was still in order.
Looking out the view port towards the planet she had just entered the orbit of, Sunset couldn’t help but wonder what the hell she had just seen, what she had just felt and experienced. Meditation was supposed to ward off the Dark, to help strengthen one’s mind and body against the Dark Side as a whole, but Sunset felt like she had been slammed into it at full speed.
Shaking it off she got off the floor of the shuttle and began preparing the ship to enter the planet’s atmosphere. Clicking everything she needed to click and typing in every code she needed too, Sunset slowly began her descent. She didn’t know why or how she knew how to pilot an imperial shuttle, but she chalked it up to the Force, thanked it and focused on the task at hand.
It had taken twenty-four hours to get from the Dagobah system to the Mustafar system, it was during that transitory time that Sunset had begun to both plan and freak out at how underprepared she was for the task she was running face first into.
While she was fiddling with Yoda’s saber…now her saber after she had extended the hilt, she realized that she had two live people in her cargo hold and she couldn’t do anything with them while she’s running around Mustafar looking for the Equestrian that called her to the planet.
Another problem she couldn’t fix at least while in hyperspace were the navigation logs in the shuttle’s computer. If she tried to purge the navigation computers logs while in Hyperspace, she’d delete the last coordinates she’d entered, that being Mustafar, and the ship would come out of hyperspace someplace in interstellar space between Dagobah and Mustafar.
To make matters worse, if she deleted the logs after landing, not only would it look suspicious to any imperials who may be on the planet who came across her shuttle, it would also hamper her return trip to Dagobah once she saved her wayward Equestrian.
Those problems were all minor though compared to the dragon in the room that was the Dark Side presence emanating off the planet. Normally, when a Jedi or a devotee of the Light Side meditates, they give themselves to the Light and let it rejuvenate them, focus them, as well as ward off the dark.
But this planet was so powerful in the Dark Side that just coming out of hyperspace near it had caused her to see things that weren’t real, to feel things that weren’t real, it was like being in the cave on Dagobah but multiplied by a factor of ten.
A beeping noise brought her out of her musings, and once more she drew upon knowledge that wasn’t her own to find the source of the noise. Pressing a few keys on the console, the ships radio buzzed to life and a sophisticated voice rang through its speakers.
“Unidentified Shuttle, you are entering the Private residence of Lord Vader, please send authorization codes and reason for being here or you will be shot down.”
Sonata stood next to her sisters and to the right of Darth Vader as they watched the surveillance officers work. She fiddled with her hands nervously, not looking at her sisters or the Sith Lord while they waited for the shuttle to respond.
In her head, Sonata knew what they were about to do to this intruder wasn’t fair. If she was being honest with herself, she would call what they had planned downright evil, but She needed to get her sisters and herself out from under Darth Vader’s grip, and this was the easiest way to do it.
Her musing was cut short however when the Comms officer removed his headset and looked in their direction “They have transmitted the codes, though it is… strange that this shuttle would even be here my Lord, it’s registered as a loan shuttle for a group of scientists.”
Darth Vader looked at the officer though his features were hidden by his mask and his voice altered by the voice modulator he couldn’t help but feel surprised, something that Sonata picked up on through the Force. “Scientists?”
The officer nodded “yes, sir, they apparently are on expedition, going to different planets across the outer rim and researching their biospheres.” The officer shifted uncomfortably “Because of its civilian nature, the group doesn’t make routine check ins with us, it’s last known location was Endor.”
Vader walked forward towards the Officer and leaned down to look at the data feed, after a moment of reading he stood straight and nodded “Let them land.”
The Officer couldn’t help but stare at the Sith Lord with shock in his eyes before sputtering out “I…Let them land sir?”
The Sith Lord didn’t even spare the man a glance, but the three Sirens felt his anger at being questioned ripple through the Force and he answered “Let. Them. Land.”
The officer, successfully cowed, nodded hastily and reached out for the intercom “Shuttle Craft S90 you are cleared for landing, proceed to Dock Three for inspection.” He didn’t dare look behind him for fear that Vader had glanced back his way and Sonata felt his relief flood through the Force when Vader gave a stiff nod and turned to leave.
Sonata felt the fear around her start to ebb as Vader left the command center and began to turn to leave herself when the loud thunder crack of anti-air turrets shook the room.
Sonata looked out the viewing port of the comms facility in shock as the Shuttle that contained her family’s ticket away from Vader began to spiral out of control towards the lava below.
In what seemed like an instant Vader had returned and grabbed the officer by his collar, lifting him off the ground with one arm.
“I told you to let them land, Commander.” The Sith Lord’s voice held barely restrained anger and Sonata knew He was moments away from ending the poor fool’s life.
“L…Lord Vader you heard me! I gave them permission to land; I didn’t order them shot down!” The man pleaded.
Vader looked into the man’s eyes before speaking “If not you, Commander, then who?” a growl could be heard even through his voice modulator.
The Commander stuttered for a few moments before slightly turning his head to one of his staff “Find out who is in charge of that Turret, I want them on screen now!” he yelled, trying to sound dignified in his vulnerable position.
Vader dropped the man and looked to the viewing screen, just as the face of an angry commander came into view.
“What the hell were you thinking Gerick?! Letting a ship with no prior warning or clearance to even be in this system get this close to Lord Vader’s palace is simply inexcusable why when Lord Vader hears about thi…” the commanders rant began to taper off, his eyes widening in fear at the sight of his Lord, arms crossed and finger tapping against his forearm.
Sonata felt sorry for the man, and with every move of Vader’s index finger she could see his throat give a little quiver, either out of fear or Darth Vader himself toying with the commander she didn’t know.
“Yes, Commander Roan, explain to me in great detail why you shot down a shuttle, given express permission by me to land, mind you,” Vader uncrossed his arms and began to slowly close his hand as if he was going to reach through the screen and manhandle the poor fool “And explain to me how you are going to remedy your…error in judgement?”
Roan instinctively reached for his throat but found that his air way had yet to be constricted by the Dark Lord’s invisible grip, with one last look of fear he turned to the nearest group of Stormtroopers, “Don’t just stand there looking like fools! We only hit it once and the shuttle should be able to withstand the heat long enough! Get a rescue crew out on a lava skiff immediately!”
He then turned back to Vader and spoke “I deeply apologize for this miscommunication Lord Vader, it won’t happen again, I promise you.”
Sonata flinched as the sound of Roan’s neck snapping echoed throughout the room, followed by Vader’s deep baritone.
“Your apology is accepted, and you were right, it won’t.” Vader looked at the comms commander on the floor, “Coordinate the rescue attempt, if you fail you will be next.” With that he made his way out of the room once more, followed by the Sirens.
Sunset Shimmer tried desperately to keep the ship stable as it spiraled closer towards the molten river below but to no avail. The ship crashed down hard onto the lava river’s surface and began drifting.
Heat warnings were blaring in Sunset’s ears as she stood, she needed a way out of the ship and back to safety. She ran towards the cargo hold where the stormtroopers were stowed to save them when her heart sank with realization.
She couldn’t take them with her, she only had two arms, no magic and no prior training in this situation, she couldn’t use the force to levitate them AND try and jump out, that would be nearly impossible for her even in a calmer mindset.
With a sigh, she ran into the cargo area where the two stormtroopers were awake, looking at her and terrified. Swallowing her fear, her worry and her doubt she looked them in the eyes one more time, and then unholstered the E-11 Blaster Rifle she had taken from them.
For a moment, Sunset just looked into their eyes, and on the inside a war raged, one side, her emotional side, her Equestrian side was screaming at her. Saying this wasn't her, this wasn't the Sunset that Celestia had basically raised, that this wasn't the student Yoda had trained for nearly three years! On another side though, something darker and more cynical whispered in her ear that a shot to the head, right between the eyes would be far more merciful than the molten rack and fire. That the vision she saw and the pain she felt in her vision would be felt by these stormtroopers ten fold before they finally died.
in the end and with a scream of rage, desperation and remorse she opened fire.
In any other situation, Sunset would have puked after taking another life, she would have curled into a ball and cried, screamed about how sorry she was, begged Celestia for forgiveness… but Celestia wasn’t there, and Sunset was on a timer.
Using the Force to calm herself, she crawled onto some spare boxes and pulled out Yoda’s…no her Lightsaber now and began cutting a hole through the roof.
Once that was done, she put the saber in the container normally used for thermal detonators and took one more calming breath before putting the stormtrooper helmet on. She then once more called upon the Force too help her, this time using it to assist her jump and leaping out onto the top of the ship.
The heat outside was nearly unbearable and the armor barely helped, but Sunset managed and squinted through the helmets poor visor to try and find an escape.
Luck was on her side, it would seem as in the distance two stormtroopers driving what looked to be a boat, came speeding down the rapids towards her ship, waving them down they nodded and increased their speed to get to her.
Once they were close enough, they slowly matched the speed her shuttle was drifting, and she dropped down onto the boat.
“Glad you guys got to me I’d be a goner without you.” Sunset spoke with faux cheer in her voice, glad the helmets awful voice modulator managed to hide how terrified she had been.
One of the troopers nodded and patted her on the back “yea that must have been rough, lucky you managed to get onto the roof though.” He looked at her “was anyone else in there with you? We were told that was a loaned vessel to some civi’s.”
Sunset shook her head, “Luckily no, I was doing a routine supply run for them, they’re back on Endor looking at dirt and collecting tree sap.” She lied easily, for once ashamed at how easy the lie came to her lips.
The driver snorted “Civilians…am I right? So, what’s your operating number? We can comm that we’ve picked you up and get you to Lord Vader before getting you back on your way.”
Sunset suppressed a shudder at hearing Vader’s name, she remembered what Yoda had told her, what She had found out through glimpses on the holonet, she wasn’t looking forward to THAT meeting.
Sunset didn’t know why she was receiving visions whenever she touched an object or was near a place of significance, though she assumed it was because of the Force. Either way she was thankful for it because without it she wouldn’t have even known what an operating number was, much less what the trooper assigned to this armor was supposed to be.
“ST-2156, though…my real name’s Cadence…” she lied once more.
“Well, real names are a bit out of protocol you know, but what the hell, I’m TI-452, though you can call me Randal in private,” he pointed at the stormtrooper next to her with his thumb as he drove “This tall one is KJ-3494, but he likes to go by Gus.”
“Nice to meet both of you.” She patted Gus on the shoulder “and again, thanks for the save.”
“No problem!” Gus gave her a thumbs up while Randal nodded “and hey maybe if Lord Vader likes you, you can transfer here! We can be squad mates.”
Sunset once more suppressed a shudder and gave a weak “yea…let’s hope…” before turning to look at the monolith of a fortress that they were making their way to, it’s darkness slowly reaching for her as if to snuff out her light before it even had a chance to fight back.
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What broke the suspension of disbelief was when she casually shot two helpless stormtroopers when she knew what she was doing was wrong. I'm not saying there was necessarily another path, but it's a flaw in a novice writer that it is assumed a person can kill casually, on their first attempt, with nothing more than a backward glance. Real people are more complex than that, and taking a life changes a person. I find it hard to believe anyone Yoda trained would so casually kill simply because it was the more convenient solution.
Yay! Bring Sonata to the Equestrian light!
10059738
It was that or let them burn to death, it was mercy. Also the planet is overflowing with the dark side.
10059759
10059738
I rewrote the scene to hopefully something better
10059738
You're correct, that scene was written in a bit of a rush, I went back and rewrote it to something I hope at least reads better
IT'S ALIVE!!!
10059764
After my comment?
10059773
I was rewriting it after he commented it you commented as i finished the rewritten scene
10059759
A fair point. A scene I was thinking of might be something like this:
Sunset picked up the blaster and advanced on the troopers. The cabin was heating dangerously fast. She couldn't jump AND save the troopers. She knew it, and as the gagged troopers looked around in fear, they knew it too.
Pointing the weapon, she felt her hand tremble. At her worst in Equestria, she'd never have done something like this, and a lifetime of Celestia's training about respect for life, coupled with Yoda's Force-centric training welled up in her. In her mind she could see mothers and fathers. Children. People she knew nothing about who would never get to see these people again.
A flare of pain echoed in the base of her skull as the nightmare she'd awoken from earlier pounded through her mind with all the subtlety of a wrecking ball. She felt the heat of Mustafar again. Smelled the sulfur and felt the rage. She felt the anger swell through her as she stood in the shuttle compartment, risking precious seconds debating about the lives of a pair of worthless troopers.
It's not like they were there when Obi-Wan betrayed her. Or stayed that betraying shaft of hot pain as it cut her legs off. Or helped her out of the burning magma as she slowly incinerated from the legs up. She raged against their worthless lives as she smelled the sickly sweet scent of charred flesh and the repetitive clicking sound of -
Sunset shook herself back to the here and now with start and a yelp of shock. The blaster in her hand clicked over and over as her finger squeezed the trigger on the empty weapon. The scent of burning flesh filled the cabin, as she stared in sick horror at what had just happened.
Both troopers were very dead, their bodies liberally covered in black blaster impacts. Their faces were filled with the terror of their last moments, eyes bulging out of their sockets in a silent, endless scream.
Sunset staggered back, gun clattering to the deck behind her as she staggered to a nearby crate. Bile exploded from her mouth in several long heaves, as her stomach rebelled against the horror of what she'd just done. Mouth still trailing long lines of spittle, she raised her head and looked around the room. She could feel the heat from the magma fields slowly cooking the shuttle. She didn't have much time.
Spitting a couple mouthfuls of bile out, Sunset staggered out of the room, not looking back at the horror of the atrocity she'd committed. She didn't know what it was about this place that caused her to do that, but it would be a long time before she forgot the twinned looks of pure horror on those dead soldiers, staring helplessly at her as she gunned them down while living someone else's pain.
Slapping the compartment control, she allowed herself a purely selfish moment of gratitude that incineration by magma would at least give them some pretense of a dignified death. Pulling in a shaky breath, she continued forward...
===
And it would plug into the story from there. I'm not saying it isn't necessary that she find some way off the shuttle, and that she has to save them. But if you're going to have her commit murder, it should leave a realistic impression in her. Especially if it's something she's never done before. Also, the presence of the massive Dark Side sinkhole around Mustafar provides a convenient plot hook explaining how it might happen that would also allow for her to have moments of doubt and introspection about later on. Moments like that tend to also form the basis of "I won't let this happen again," like when Peter Parker's Uncle Ben dies because he takes the easy way out, forming the basis of a lifelong drive to do better.
10059794
Again i rewrote the scene with the little time i had before work. It isn't nearly as good as the one you wrote but its better than it was.
I wonder how long it will take Vader to realize the true nature of "Cadance”? I hope Sunset and Sonata can make an esacape but will the other two want to leave or will they want to return to something more light? I hope Sonata is ready if the answer is no.
Really good chapter, and well worth the wait
It's interesting to see that Sunset perhaps has a version of her empathy power from the show augmented by the Force and that it's allowing her to get by (as well as have the visions of Anakin on Mustafar).
Can't wait to see what happens next (but of course I will as quality like this is worth time)
I love this story
Vader to Sonata: Are all from your world named for music?
Sonata: No, just a lot of us.
Poor Sonata...
Whatever bad things she's done, she doesn't deserve to be the servant of someone like Vader.
Ok sunset is undercover then will there be a rebel in this area
10060009
Not sure why you were given a downvote on your comment so I gave you an upvote as for the question probably not considering mustafar is the home base of Darth Vader
10060109
Dude chill why you be mean to me i mean wtf is wrong with you
10060112
Completely flabbergasted sorry I didn't mean to offend you
10060127
Yeah just don't be like this again
10060112
He wasn't being rude
10060112
He didn't downvote you i did calm you're attitude
10060192
pretty sure he was joking with the attitude lol
10060134
Too continue, The Rebellion wouldn't be on Mustafar, like at all. Any Rebels on Mustafar would have been uprooted and killed by Vader himself
Good to see a new chapter, here. Ah, Commander Roan. We hardly knew ye. :p
So worth the wait, you have nothing to apologize for!
Officer owned count: 1
media.tenor.com/images/93d86007b4eb6c7d85ae361794b8bb73/tenor.gif
If it makes you feel better Sunset always have a choice to not to gun down her involuntary passengers and just let them go.
Awww I was hoping for one of the storm troopers to live.
Little nitpick: as those Stormtroopers work directly for Vader, shouldn't they have Clone operating numbers? I mean, depending on who you ask Vader's personal legion was either the 501st, the unit that remained composed entirely of Clones for the longest time (it was only when even the youngest Clonetroopers started to grow too old that Vader started scouring the Corps to get the best of the best natural-borns), or the First Legion, that recruited entirely from the 501st, chance is that the IS numbers would still be CT ones.
And Vader wouldn't really care for the protocol-we don't even know the numbers of the named First Legion Stormtroopers, and the one Imperial-era 501st trooper that got identified was identified by his chosen name (as he was actually a Clonetrooper)...
Glad to see it's not dead, and here's hoping for more soon.
10063412
Real life got in the way but im hopping to have more chapters comming more consistently. If anything I'm going to aim for one/two a month
I’m calling it now. Either Sunset will fall to the dark side and Sonata will escape alone. (Since her sisters seem to enjoy the dark.)
Or Sunset will see what the true side of the dark side and will flee with or without Sonata at her side. If not, then Sonata will be sent after her to kill or capture.
Edit: I hope you don’t feel the need to change the story you intend to write just because I or someone else guesses right.
It's good to remind people that stortroopers are still people, but I doubt they would even remember their names as seen when Kyp Duron tried to rescue his brother.
10079271
I'm going with the interpretation of them being normal conscripted soldiers that are indoctrinated heavily into the imperial ideology and way of thinking, they still have individuality just not to the point of being a detriment to the Empire.
10061842
Yeah and I doubt they would even be given names, not to mention the dark side aura of the planet might effect them if they spend a long time on the planet.
10079279
Stormtrooper training includes wipping all sense of individuality including their own names, plus this is Vader so he would be using clones which aren't even give names at this point.
10079280
The Aura of the planet effects Sunset because she's an Empath, most Force Sensitives would notice the dark side emanating from Mustafar but not be nearly as effected by it as Sunset Is. Sonata and the Dazzlings have been on the planet for 3 years, so they're used to it and even then they're used to being around darker emotions because of what they are. Sunset is used to a small localised Dark Side anomoly like the Cave on Dagobah, she isn't used to a planet wide darkness, and most of that darkness is coming from Vader's presence on the world, not just the Sith temple and artifacts he built his castle on. Non Force users aren't going to notice anything too drastic, it's not like it's Malachor Five where non force users can literally feel the force screaming.
10061842
I'm going with the idea that Palpatine keeps Vader's palace staffed and that the 501rst doesn't have enough troops to keep the Palace protected AND mantain their marching orders as his main Legion. by this point the Cloning process on kamino has basically stopped, so no new 501rst clones, they ARE on Mustafar, that is their main home base, but they don't operate as the guards/rank and file of his Palace, that job is beneath them and they have to be ready to leave the planet should Vader leave.
If something were to happen, say Vader's palace be attacked by a superior force, my idea is that the normal rank and file stormtroopers in the Palace would defend to the best of their abilities until the 501rst and Vader come to relieve them.
Is it canon? no but this is fanfiction so i can kind of pull the strings a little bit if i want too.
10079286
Vaders clones still had names btw, it's shown in the Vader comic.
Your thinking of First Order Stormtroopers that are indoctrinated at a young age. The Empire's Stormtroopers were strictly trained but they still had their individuality, we see that in Battlefront 2 and other canon games that have you interact with stormtroopers, they still have names and individual goals, they're just heavily indoctrinated into the empire's ideals. Even Luke wanted to join the Imperial Starfighter Corps until his call to action.
10079305
Do you mean special forces because I don't remember any names in battlefront 2? Also all those cases were when Disney took over and I was referencing the Jedi academy books. When Kyp Duron's brother is asked his name he struggles to say it and barely remembers it. The best explination is that they are clones left over from the clone wars, but any new clones after that would only be given numbers. Also Luke hated the empire even before they killed his aunt and uncle, the academy was simply the only way off the planet.
And so we're on Mustafar, meeting with Vader will be Interesting
Whatever you do, please don't kill Randal and Gus. I'm beginning to like them.
Hope you're doing okay in these tough times. It was really fun to re-read what you got, and I can't wait to see what happens between Sunset, Sonata, and Vader!
I'm loving this story so much. I can't wait for the rest of the story to be shared
10188107 ...How have you kept that avatar on here? I'm honestly impressed.
10088793 Fluuuuuuff
Just found this story, enjoying it quite a bit. Love that artwork too, kind of reminds me of Mara Jade. Feel sorry for Sonata, well, maybe they can both get out of here but not really seeing how.
Hope on Mustafar AND where Vader currently is residing?! Not a chance!
Also, I noticed that the story plot showed Sunset putting her Lightsaber in the Thermal Detonator box, but is it still with her? Or lost to the lava?