Maul-verse

by AntiBronyBenSwolo

Crash Landing

The Everfree Forest is a dangerous place where no normal pony should ever be. But Maul was no normal pony. On the contrary, Maul will soon learn he would be welcomed by the dangers of the strange forest. But, before he set forth to begin his journey to capture the Elements and return home, he was confronted once more by Nightmare Moon, this time in the flesh. The dark alicorn once again towering above Maul to finish their previous telepathic mission briefing.

"Ah, Ms. Moon. So glad to meet you in person finally," Maul snarled. Nightmare Moon was honestly impressed with his attempts to intimidate him, even if they did fail.

"The honor is all mine. I have some news about your objective," Nightmare Moon informed the former apprentice, as the two glared each other with the evil gleams in their eyes.

"Let me guess; I have some competition?" Maul took a guess. And by the look on Nightmare Moon's face, he was right.

"Yes. Apparently, my sister's student has tasked herself with retrieving the elements," Nightmare Moon said, lowering her head to meet Maul's. Maul seized his glare at becoming puzzled by his new accomplice's choice of words.

"You failed to inform me you had a sister," Maul said, threatening to choke Nightmare Moon with the Force again.

"There are a lot of things WE don't know about each other!" Nightmare Moon pointed out, lighting up her horn, as if ready to fight back this time. Maul stood down, not out of fear, but respect for the remark.

"Anyways, what I'm getting from all of this is you want me to retrieve the Elements, and stop your sister's student in the process?" Maul further questioned her. Nightmare Moon nodded in response

"Very well then. I'll be on my way, but I need something from you first." Maul pointed out to Nightmare Moon, believing that she could provide whatever it was with what power she believed she had.

"Okay then Maul, what is it?" Nightmare asked, causing a smirk on Maul's face.

"I need a weapon. Specifically a staff." Maul ordered as he sat down, waiting for a new weapon. With but a raise of an eyebrow, Nightmare Moon summoned a large thick branch and enchanted it with her magic. The magic removed the leaves and smoothed the branch. Maul watched in awe as the branch slowly transformed into a staff. Nightmare Moon's magic then summoned some nearby cloth, the same kind Maul used to fix himself and tie it around the middle of the staff as a handle. The staff slowly levitated towards Maul as he reached out with his front leg, standing on his wooden legs as if he were still humanoid, and casting a firm grip on the new weapon.

Maul saw no hesitation in giving his weapon a test. Soon enough, he saw himself spinning the staff as if it was his old lightsaber. Maul leaped up and fell right through the trees, using his staff to break the branches. Once he landed, the wooden legs started cracking, and Maul felt they might break any second. He thought none of it at the moment, however, as he had to start his task. Soon enough, Maul leaped into the shadows and became like them.

---

Screams soared from the side of a cliff, as a lavender and violet unicorn was holding onto dear life thanks to an orange earth pony. The orange pony had the strength to hold onto her, but not enough to hoist her up. Around the cliff, a pair of pegasus mares are getting ready to catch her, unbeknownst to the unicorn.

"Applejack! What do I do?" the unicorn asked. Applejack then gave her friend a look of concern.

"You're gonna have to let go, Twilight." Applejack instructed. Twilight's eyes shot out with fear, as two other ponies from below the cliff, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, were watching.

"Are you crazy?" Twilight yelled at the cowgirl. She thought this was just plain suicide. While Twilight was hanging on for dear life, a third spectator watched with fiery yellow and red eyes. Maul had just found his prey.

"No, I ain't. And I promise you'll be safe." Applejack said, calming her new unicorn friend. As Maul spectated, he sensed 2 other ponies, this time with wings, one blue and the other yellow, flying in. Maul's eyes lit up with rage. He knew what Applejack was talking about. Just then, Maul's rage was replaced with a smirk as he stared at his hand-turned-hoof.

"Well then, you'll have to learn how to live with yourself when you break a promise," Maul muttered, keeping himself hidden. Just then, Twilight let go and fell, with the 2 flying ponies racing in to catch her. Maul extended his hoof and focused heavily on the Force. Just then, the yellow pony started hurting.

"Rainbow Dash?" the yellow one asked, struggling with her flight pattern.

"Not now Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash yelled, more focused on catching Twilight than anything else.

"But I'm losing..." Fluttershy stuttered as she completely lost control of her wings. Suddenly, Fluttershy jolted off course, ramming herself into Rainbow Dash, and the two of them into the ground. Twilight continued to scream as she descended to the ground along with them until she landed on some very hard ground. Twilight struggled to get up, screaming in pain. Her front left leg was hurting terribly. Without hesitation, Pinkie ran up to help Twilight up.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Pinkie asked, with more concern in her tone than what she usually has.

"Pinkie, I think I broke my leg." Twilight cringed and in pain, as she got up and limped to see Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash in similar pain.

"Rarity, how are Rainbow and Flutters?" Pinkie exclaimed to her fellow spectator, as Rarity had also run up to help her friends.

"Not too good Darling. Fluttershy's right-wing, her back left leg, and both of Rainbow Dash's wings broken." Rarity explained to Pinkie. As the three crash survivors are comforting their broken limbs, Applejack came to join the 5 of her friends to check upon them. The 6 friends set up a camp to comfort each other in the long night.

"I'm sorry that I caused your leg to break," Applejack said, with tears in her eyes. "It's not that I was lying, it's that..." Applejack tried to explain when suddenly...

"I forgive you," Twilight said. She had resented no anger towards Applejack. Applejack just looked back, confused, but smiling at such good news in desperate times.

"It's not that you meant to have me crash, and I think I now know what your plan was, so I don't see any reason to get mad at you," Twilight explained to Applejack, whose eyes were shedding tears.

"Thanks, Twilight. It means a lot from you." Applejack said, almost starting to cry, but stopped to keep her tough girl appearance.

"If anyone should be sorry, it should be me," Fluttershy said, shying her face from the staring and judging faces of her friends.

"It's just that I think I felt something grab hold of me. I just dunno what." Fluttershy said, starting to sob, not at her admitting guilt, but at fear at what caused it. Everyone took this into consideration and tried to figure it out.

"It must be Nightmare Moon," Twilight assumed in front of her friends.

"If it was Nightmare Moon, we would have seen some magic," Pinkie Pie mentioned, causing everyone to freeze. How did she notice such a minor detail?

"Pinkie does have a point," Twilight agrees "So if it wasn't her, then who was it?" Applejack asks. While they were discussing this, they were still stalked in the bushes. Maul continued monitoring their progress, snarling at them if he could, but had to keep quiet. Maul set up his own camp and ate some food to himself when Nightmare Moon decided to check on his progress.

"How is your mission going?" Nightmare asked her accomplice.

"Not bad, though I do have some thoughts," Maul said, concerning Nightmare Moon.

"If, I'm not saying when, but if we get these elements, then you rule the land, and I go home," Maul explained. Nightmare Moon just looked at him with disgust.

"What is your point?" Nightmare Moon asked Maul as if he were dragging a boring presentation.

"But, if they get the elements, and you lose, this land, and everything in it, will have to face a power much greater and more threatening than you," Maul explained, angering Nightmare Moon. The alicorn lit up her horn.

"You dare!?" Nightmare Moon yelled, ready to attack, but was immediately halted by Maul's darkened choke. It was here where Nightmare had felt something she had not felt in a long time: fear. Fear of what Maul can do.

"You forget this is how we first met?" Maul taunts, snickering with a sinister tone, as Nightmare had now realized the dark truth: She is now the minion of Darth Maul.

Comments

[Bumblebee16]

Awesome!