Chapter 4: All We Need
Darth Karnis is on the move. His first foray into Ponyville was surprisingly anticlimactic, however, little more than a shopping trip. Twilight and her friends are stymied at the Sith Lord's behavior, it doesn't seem to match the initial encounters, in fact for the most part he seemed quite civil. Perhaps there is some hope after all.
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Fluttershy crept through the Everfree Forest. She had found the stranger's camp deserted and left another bag of supplies. After all, he did seem at least somewhat grateful for the first gift, perhaps a few more would sweeten his disposition.
It left one major problem, however. If the stranger wasn't home, then where was he? He didn't seem to take too kindly to intrusion so Fluttershy certainly didn't want to run into him on his way home. For now it was best to leave her gifts as anonymously as possible and get home before he ever knew she was there.
The yellow pegasus sniffed at the air, she could smell a strange scent, a combination of warm wood smoke and sharp ozone. There was supposed to be a storm in Ponyville sometime soon, she wondered if a bolt of lightning had struck nearby and started a fire. That couldn't be the case, she didn't see any animals fleeing like they would if there was a forest fire. There was no other trace of smoke either.
The shy mare could hear something as well, a strange sound like the buzz of a large insect. It echoed through the trees and lit her curiosity, guiding the pegasus toward the sound. Soon a strange crackling sound could be heard as well, but more concerning were the sounds that accompanied the hum. The sharp yelps and moaning howls of timber wolves.
Fluttershy ducked her head, this wasn't right! Timber wolves were nocturnal, they shouldn't be active during the day, unless something had wandered too close to their territory. But their hunting grounds were clearly marked, everypony knew to stay clear of them...
But what if it wasn't a pony?
With a soft cry, Fluttershy took off, running towards the sounds that echoed through the woods. She hoped she wouldn't be too late.
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The yellow mare finally found the source of the commotion. As she predicted the stranger stood, glowing blade in hand as a pack of timber wolves circled, waiting for an opening.
One of the wolves leapt toward the stranger, jaws snapping, but it was only met by the flashing blade which carved a smoldering line across the outstretched claws, leaving the rest of it's wooden body to scatter across the ground. Another took advantage of the distraction and jumped in as well, but this was met with an open palm. There was a silent roar and the timber wolf rebounded sharply as if it had rebounded against something solid, flying back to shatter against a stout tree. The stranger didn't wait for the other two, he closed the distance and brought his thrumming weapon down and across in two precise slashes, leaving the wolves tumbling apart.
The stranger closed down the weapon and turned toward Fluttershy, fully aware of her presence, "once more, Yellow One, you seem incapable of simply leaving me alone."
Fluttershy trembled, knowing what he didn't. She could already see the scattered bits of timber wolf pulling themselves back together into one big amalgamation. The pegasus could only stammer and point, trying desperately to warn him of the danger, but too shocked by the violence to form coherent words.
Some sixth sense seemed to warn the stranger of impending doom, he spun to face the giant timber wolf as it reared up. The heavy swipe of a wooden claw ripped the weapon from his hands and the stranger was knocked back and pinned. He was far from out of the fight however, with one last effort, the stranger reached out toward the descending jaws. Jagged bolts of blue lightning crackled from his finger tips, searing across the giant timber wolf.
Fluttershy hit the dirt and covered her head, squeezing her eyes shut against the blinding light and deafening crack of lightning. She couldn't tell if it was her, the timber wolf, or the stranger that was screaming the loudest.
The sound finally died after what seemed like an eternity. Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes and looked out over the aftermath. The air was thick with smoke and the timber wolf was little more than smoldering scraps wood and ash, down for good. The stranger, however, was also down. He lay still amid the wreckage, smoke drifting from his robes, his lightning had rebounded on him as it tried to find the ground.
Fluttershy cautiously made her way forward, nothing moved. She blanched, seeing glimpses of deep red through the rends in the stranger's clothes. The yellow mare did what she could, the stranger was still alive but he was in bad shape. His breathing was shallow and he seemed to twitch spasmodically, minor burns covered his hands and face.
He needed treatment, this being was sharp, violent, perhaps even cruel, but what kind of pony would Fluttershy be if she just left him here at the mercy of the elements? Carefully, she got herself under him and managed to lever him onto her back, carrying the stranger back the way she came toward his camp. He would be much safer there, but she needed to get help.
Fluttershy managed to get back to where he lived, laying him out on the dry mossy ground, hoping it would be good enough. Zecora was relatively nearby, but this didn't seem like it would be a normal injury, the pegasus was certain magic was involved which only left one option. She gulped, hoping Twilight wouldn't be too upset with her. She gave the comatose stranger one last glance, biting her lip as she took to the air, finding her way up through the canopy and winging her way back toward Ponyville.
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Twilight Sparkle checked over the prone figure. It had taken Fluttershy some time and considerable help from her animal friends to bring the stranger to the castle. Correspondence back and forth and some borrowed books had gotten her at least passing familiar with human physiology, but some things didn't add up. For one, the stranger's ears terminated in pronounced points that sloped down and back. Even more peculiar were his teeth, they were broad and flat, vaguely similar to pony teeth. Certainly the dental structure of a pure vegetarian, odd considering the stranger's disposition.
Fluttershy hovered nervously nearby, her eyes darting between the injured being and her own task. The claws of the timberwolves had slashed through the material of the stranger's robe. She had borrowed some thread and fabric to repair the garment. Fortunately, the being also wore a crimson vest made of a tough, flexible material that spared him from any deeper harm. In spite of that protection, his lightning had done enough. Burns covered his arms and face that Twilight spread a cooling salve on before wrapping with a soft bandage.
"Is.. he going to be okay?" Fluttershy's already soft voice was nearly lost in the expansive room that now doubled as an infirmary. Twilight hadn't been thrilled with the idea of her bringing food and supplies to such a dangerous being, but she hadn't really expected otherwise, and since he had proven to be at least civil on a couple of occasions, she had relaxed her opinion of him slightly.
The alicorn princess bit her lip, "I want to think so, but..." She shook her head, "I honestly don't know. I don't think he's actually human. I cross referenced a bunch of lightning spells and none of them are really great, but they're also nothing like what you described.
Twilight shuffled through the book on human anatomy she had borrowed, there was another snag that had revealed itself upon her first inspection. Electricity passing through the heart could still cause havoc even if it wasn't outright lethal. Twilight had detected some minor palpitations, but she also discovered a secondary rhythm. Whatever this person was, he had two hearts.
She finished tending to the stranger's wounds, "he's stable for now, but it might be some time before he wakes up. You did the right thing bringing him here, Fluttershy." She was rewarded with a small smile as the pegasus worried over her sewing.
The next thing Twilight wanted to inspect was the object that had been brought with the stranger. Violet magic carefully lifted the intricately crafted cylinder. It looked both incredibly modern, but at the same time, savagely tribal. The metal that could be seen had been precisely shaped, darkened and patinaed with age. The lower half was wrapped in a tough material that reminded Twilight sickeningly of Spike's scales. A string of small teeth was looped around one end while another strand of beads and a single large claw hung from the reverse. There was an inset button and a small dial. Holding the weapon slightly away and wincing a little, Twilight depressed the button.
Nothing happened.
Frowning, she tried again, but the handle remained inert. She looked it over and twisted the dial a little, but still there was nothing. Was it damaged in the fight? She couldn't imagine a weapon being very useful if it was so tricky to use. Her magic probed deeper, identifying the intricate wiring, several magnetic components, a compact yet extremely powerful power source, and a sturdy internal frame that held-
Twilight gasped and nearly dropped the device, "Sweet Celestia! I think there's something alive in there!"
"You're not entirely wrong."
The old Sith sat up with a groan, taking a moment to orient and get his bearings. He was inside what he assumed to be the tall crystalline structure with two of the colorful "ponies" one of whom held his weapon.
He reached out and an unseen force plucked the handle from Twilight's magic and brought it to his hand. The crimson blade hissed to life before settling into its menacing thrum, "you need to maintain physical pressure around the casing, most lightsabers have such a feature, dangerous as they are." His captors breathed an audible sigh as the blade vanished once again.
"What you felt was the Kyber crystal that focuses the blade. It is neither sentient, nor alive, but it is deeply infused with the Force. I imagine it didn't feel too friendly." He eyed the purple pony carefully, "but you already know this, don't you?"
Twilight slowly shook her head, "no, how could I? I haven't got a clue what half of any of that meant." She rubbed a hoof between her eyes, "maybe we should start at the beginning, with your name? I haven't been able to catch it."
The old Sith narrowed his eyes suspiciously, Jedi rarely resulted to trickery or subterfuge, but it was known to happen now and then. "Karnis," he answered, "Darth Karnis, if you prefer a title." This was no trick, from their expressions and through the echo in the Force, both these creatures held no recognition. He pressed deeper, "Your master's tutelage was lacking if you've not heard of the Sith."
Twilight bristled a little, "I was given the best education available, taught by Princess Celestia herself. I don't know what all that was about crystals and forces, but it's not for a lack of proper schooling. You're the first human to set foot in Equestria. It stands to reason that there are things that we don't know about each other."
It was Karnis's turn to sneer, "I am not a human, I am a Camaasi. In the Core we, and others like me, are referred to as near-human, which is just insulting enough to make me hate the Core worlds on general principle."
"Is the use of magic common among your people?" This was clearly going to be a delicate interview, she'd have to step carefully around the temperamental being, but if Pinkie could foster friendship with Yaks, then the least she could do was get some questions answered.
The old Sith watched her for a moment, obviously this pony was going to insist on playing dumb. He sighed, "no more than many other races out there. We are not as Forceful as the Iktochi or the Miraluka, but nor are we stunted such as the Hutts or Wookiees.." His scowl deepened, there was no recognition in the pony's expression and no guile in those freakishly large eyes, "you truly have no experience with the Force, do you?"
Twilight shook her head, "what you're describing it what we call magic here. The ephemeral forces that suffuse the world."
There was a difference and Karnis knew it. Use of the Force wasn't accompanied by the shimmering glow he saw from some of these "ponies," it wasn't the same, but it was of similar ilk. Humorously, he realized that these ridiculous creatures had more in common with the Nightsister covens of Dathomir than either Jedi or Sith. This was going to take a long time and a lot of discussion. Best taken in the short term. There was already much that he had to meditate on.
Hooking his lightsaber to his belt again, the old Sith gathered his robe. It was now going to need to purchase patches and thread to make repairs. He supposed good, functional zeyd-cloth was out of the question. Judging by the ponies around him even black might be a tall order. Bundling the garment, he prepared to take his leave without a further word.
The Sith Lord came up short as he came against a pair of soulful cyan eyes. The Yellow One hovered in front of him, "you're leaving? You can't go yet, you were very badly hurt! You need to rest and recover." She seemed so impossibly stern.
Twilight held her breath. Fluttershy had the preternatural ability to connect with some of the most fearsome creatures in Equestria. Even the hydra that laired in the local swamp knew to leave her in peace. Those were just simple animals, though, and Fluttershy still held a healthy respect for them and knew when to steer clear. This being was made from something else entirely.
The stranger waved slowly, a smooth gesture of his hand. Flutterhy's wings dropped out of time and she gasped as she was lowered to the floor out of the way. "Your aid is appreciated, but your concern is unfounded. Rest and recovery is something I intend to get. Back home in my own camp." He made for the door but paused for a long moment, turning back, "the last basket you brought contained a few small round vegetables with bright red skin and white flesh. I was rather fond of them." He was still a moment longer before slipping out and closing the door behind him.
Two very confused ponies remained behind staring at the door and trying to process everything that had gone one. Even Twilight Sparkle could come away with mere conjecture for much of the interaction. Well, there was one solid fact, "so... the spooky, dangerous newcomer... likes radishes?"
Fluttershy was content to look on the bright side of the situation, "at least I know what to do with leftover radishes now. Angel Bunny won't eat them."
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Darth Karnis made his way back through the strange little town. It had taken long enough to find the way out of that absurd crystal castle, startling another purple pony and a small purple reptile in the process. Now he was heading back toward the eaves of the woods and from there to home. Perhaps he could find the site of his battleground once more. The wooden canids were worthy foes, he might be able to gather a new trophy.
"Hey! New guy!"
Karnis sighed, he remembered that voice. Turning, he saw the violently colorful pony hovering a few paces away. She snorted and tossed that rainbow colored mane, smacking her forehooves together in a threatening gesture.
"I wanna rematch!"
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I want to like this story but it has one major problem many hie (even if Karnis isn't one) has. First impressions between the two don't go well and yet the human or non-pony is treated as the bad guy when both sides are at fault. Karnis wasn't really that rude to fluttershy and only asked her what she wanted and he simply instinctually defended himself because Rainbow in annoying Hie cliche fashion took things too far than they should have been. Yes, he did injure her, but she shouldn't have jumped to conclusions and be so reckless. The worst part is the ponies likely won't realized it and reflect that they are also to blame for this because they simply considered his actions to be worse than they actually were.
YO TIME LORD MOMENT XD
As I have said I very much do care for this story. For me I always love interactions with characters and I also like seeing interactions with characters of different universes with ponies. It may seem bland to you but what I see is you have captured well how the sith character you have created would act and how ponies could feasibly seen to react, and that ability to capture such a thing is not as common as you think and a sign of a good author with potential is such an ability
I really love reading Star wars mlp crossover stories, they are the ones I first read on the site, especially considering Star Wars is one of my favorite things, and many don’t have the best quality and so to find your gem of a story with admirable quality makes me all the more happier
10980093
Your assessment of behaviour is correct but consider it was intentional that the author wrote them this way because based on things we have seen in the show they do not always act as would be best. I’m fact while what you describe would be a better reaction it totally makes sense still with what we know or what the author believes about the nature personalities and flaws that they might react in the way that they did
It may follow some common tropes but I don’t think that is a skill issue per say and the author most likely aware of such tropes tries to add there own uniqueness as they can which is admirable and a quality I appreciate
10980165
ok but it doesn't change how annoying it is, especially since they are confused by him being "nicer" later and instead of understanding they may have been mistaken at first they remain baffled. It's like they are subconsciously refusing to even consider that they were at least partially in the wrong.
10980167
I may be annoying to some but it is in line with similar behaviour displayed in the show, some of which is very childlike and there mindset can be likened to such
Truly there is nothing wrong with including tropes and it is a personal taste I believe in this case that one may not like it rather than a reflection of skill especially considering it was probably intentional
10980171
The thing is in the show they end up learning that said questionable behavior isn't the way to go about it and the way it's written here makes it seem like they won't, though I guess we'll see.
10980175
Indeed
Also sometimes you need to be taught a lesson more than once as fluttershy demonstrated in the show, which is also not a bad thing
10980180
Yeah, I completely disagree. If you keep on having to learn something it shows you are incapable of learning which is actually very bad. Not only do you keep on making the same mistakes it also prevents you from learning other things since you keep on having to learn the same thing again and again.
10980183
Sometimes there are factors that can interfere with learning but a failure in one instant set of circumstances is not necessarily definitive of being incapable to learn something despite all circumstances. Usually learning something multiple times is the learning was incomplete the first time but not non existent and progress into eventually learning it in all its aspects is still possible.
10980186
fair enough, but my overall point that it's actually bad still stands.
10980188
A matter of opinion both are sides are
10980155
Star Wars gives us a range of bizarre aliens to play with, but the ones that always interested me the most were the "near-humans" outwardly they might look like any normal human, but there's something just a little different about them. I tried to take it a little further than others would.
Jump on Wookieepedia and look up "epicanthix." Yep, Those aren't Space Asians, they're aliens.
10980654
A unique take I very much like.
10980093
Those are valid points and I see where you're coming from. The goal of the story calls for trust and a little... maybe a lot of patience with how I write. It's a story of growth for both sides so they need somewhere to grow from.
Think, Fluttershy goes tear-assing out of the woods, spooked beyond belief, runs into Dash. Dash gets the story that, well, whatever it was is smart enough to talk, then it's smart enough to be taught a lesson. Rainbow Dash is very much the "Warrior" archetype, action first and foremost, there's no point in forethought. Something scared her best friend, that thing needs to be dealt with in kind.
Put that against a Sith Lord of advanced age. Also disposed toward action, but with a better head for the bigger picture. The best description comes from the book, Darth Plagueis, "You're response must be instantaneous and nothing less than lethal, for we are Sith and thus marked for death." Obviously, I'm not going to sear Rainbow Dash in half, but you get the idea. Two similar ideologies come together, but one is just better at it.
Given that it's Rainbow Dash, the story that got back to the others was probably spun up and embellished a little as well to seem more harrowing than the encounter really was.
Anyway, the pretentiousness of the writer defending the story. Thank you for reading what's there and I value the feedback.
10980666
Ok as long as you end up having the ponies learn and realize they are also to blame I have no complaints. Also I fail to see how it's pretentious for you to defend it when you have clearly thought about it and have a reason behind their actions. I don't know it would nice to see them start to actually think that maybe they were mistaken about him instead of continuing to be baffled by his behavior and maybe get his side. I also like how Twilight mentioned him ending up in a dungeon with it being implied it will happen without some kind of trial. I get the world's theme is more medieval than ours in some cases, but I like to think they have a modern judicial system, but no the non-pony doesn't seem to get a chance to defend himself and give his side. Something else to consider.