Star Crossed Ponies

by MillenniumFalsehood

A New Path

Chapter 31

“I have been a student of Princess Celestia for many, many years. I say this not to boast - though I also recognize the high honor it is to be her student - but as a preface to say that her influence on me over the years has given me a great appreciation for how eloquent and wise she is. I’ve been lucky enough to witness her giving addresses before diplomats and dignitaries, as well as giving counsel to distressed ponies, including myself. She seems to have a real knack for knowing just what to say to diffuse negativity, no matter the situation.”

-Twilight Sparkle, On Extra-Galactic Voyages, p. 455

Hissing and whirring from the infusion machines that were hooked up to Twilight Sparkle’s legs and torso invaded her thoughts and created a sense of uneasiness. Clear tubes twisted and wound their way from the white, boxy unit and delivered a chemical that Twilight couldn’t remember the name of from a set of chrome cylinders directly into her skeletal system. She grimaced and then shifted around in her medbed, trying to find a comfortable position to lay in as she waited for the treatment to be concluded, but the needles stabbing into her bones were interfering with that somewhat.

“Miss Sparkle, please try to relax,” intoned the silvery blue medical droid next to her.

“Sorry,” replied Twilight. “Are you sure this will work?”

“As your condition does not match any of the seven million diseases, infirmities, and injuries stored in my databank, I am forced to try unorthodox treatments. I predict with a confidence of 82.385% that this treatment will improve your homeostatic condition, and a confidence of 21.741% that it will eliminate your symptoms entirely.” The machine turned away from her for a moment to look at the control panel on the side of the infuser, then it turned back toward her and said, “It will only be a few more minutes till the drug has been fully administered. Do you require anything at the moment?”

“No, thank you.”

“Very well,” replied the droid. It extended its manipulators and grasped the side of the cart full of strange metallic tools, then it clunked off to check on the next patient and left Twilight alone with her thoughts.

A horrible cackling rang out in her head, a memory of the Emperor assaulting her with Force lightning. She flinched involuntarily, and despite her efforts to will those thoughts to go away, they persisted in her subconscious and brought back the memory of her muscles contracting violently and the feeling of her bones being cooked inside her body. A whimper escaped her lips.

She wished her friends were here. She wished Princess Celestia was here.

She wished Spike was here.

Taking in a deep breath, she let it out slowly to try and drive off the anxiety she felt. She cast her thoughts far away, back to her lessons on the Force from Luke, but her mind still clung to the realm of evil. She found herself trying to recall anything about the Dark Side and its nature. From what she could remember, it was the result of turning inward and allowing selfish desires to turn into obsession, and by doing so feeding the monstrous forces within till it grew out of control and consumed the wielder. But what if there was more to it than that? What if it was something bigger than mere selfishness?

Did the Emperor’s evil have something to do with his desire to rule over the galaxy? She thought about it and tried to answer the question of why anyone would desire to take control of a population that numbered in the trillions. The Emperor didn’t seem interested in money or territory except for what was necessary to achieve his ends. No, first and foremost, he wanted power over the population. But power for power’s sake is merely a means to an end, so what end was he seeking out for himself? Could he have derived his dark energies from the very people he ruled over? It certainly would explain why there was so much criminal activity and why he allowed the Hutts to reign over their territory, not to mention why he encouraged the cruelest of officers by granting them higher and higher ranks in his military. Perhaps this evil truly was a miasma, a cloud of dark energy generated by hatred and suffering that transcended the physical plane. That being the case, it might have been something he could siphon to sate his thirst for control over the Dark Side, and if it really was some kind of miasma, perhaps it might even be something that he could transfer through violent, evil acts. Maybe it even explained why the effects of being assaulted by the Emperor and blasted with lightning were so persistent.

Maybe it… infected her somehow.

A shudder passed through her body at that thought. She sighed deeply and relaxed the muscles in her back that had tensed up, and then she slowly allowed herself to sink back into the soft mattress on the medbed. It was hard to make any sort of concrete inference without more information to go off of.

Regardless of the nature of the Emperor’s evil, the fact remained that she needed to get over whatever residual energies were still trapped in her body. Taking a deep breath, holding it, and then letting it out slowly, she returned to laying on her back and tried to get in a quick nap while she waited for the machine to finish its infusion process.

-----

Deep in the hull of Home One resided the conference chamber, a round room thirty meters in diameter that had several rows of benches which surrounded a central holoprojector. Currently the benches were full of military and political leaders, as well as Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and her withers twitched from how many times she’d bumped up against someone’s shoulder. Her attention was drawn to a door on the other side of the chamber which opened to admit Mon Mothma, the top leader of the Rebel Alliance. She walked up to the holoprojector and met everyone’s gaze, then she said, “I now call the meeting to discuss the treatment of the political prisoner, Darth Vader, to order.”

Twilight sighed as the entire room erupted in shouting the moment the words left Mon Mothma’s lips. She couldn’t hear herself think, and she struggled to make out at least one individual voice in the maddening crowd of aliens. Even steering her ears directly at one individual or another didn’t seem to help matters.

“It would seem that this could get rather heated,” commented Celestia rather dryly as she sat next to Twilight.

When it became clear that the crowd of politicians and leaders had no intention of calming themselves, Admiral Ackbar shouted, “Order! We will have order in this meeting!”

A few moments of shouting followed his call to order, but the crowd soon began to quiet themselves. The silence didn’t last long. “I say we take him to Coruscant right now and execute him ourselves from the tallest public square on the planet!” shouted someone who Twilight didn’t recognize.

“But we would lose a vital intelligence opportunity if we simply killed him!” said someone else, a furry alien with a long face, who slammed his hands on the top of the thick railing in front of him. “The Imperial fleet is scattering as we speak, and he holds vital information that could allow us to round up the remaining Imperial military leadership before they disappear into deep space forever!”

Next to where the ponies were seated, a Mon Calamari interjected. “Blast intelligence! We need justice, not data!”

This seemed to spark even more debate with the people present, and Mon Monthma and Admiral Ackbar found themselves once again struggling to calm down the crowd.

When the hollering finally calmed to a low murmur, Twilight spoke up. “I would like to say something.” Any remaining voices of dissent quickly quieted themselves as one of the heroes of the Rebellion commanded attention. After a moment of gathering her thoughts, she continued. “Princess Celestia and I were on the Death Star with An- er, Darth Vader, and we both bore witness to his actions. He allied himself with us against his master, and in the end it was his weapon that dealt the killing blow and ended Palpatine’s tyrannical reign!”

“Indeed,” added Princess Celestia. “My student is correct. Darth Vader has done many horrible things, and he should face justice, but we both ask that he not be executed for his crimes. He recognizes his evil, and regrets all of his actions since the formation of the Galactic Empire. Perhaps we should put aside our desire for vengeance, for the moment, and recognize the value of allowing him to live.” A few members of the crowd added quick notes of assent to what Celestia had said. Twilight noted, however, that she deliberately left out his death wish. She was grateful for this, as it might add fuel to the argument for simple execution.

“Princess Celestia,” gurgled Admiral Ackbar, giving the princess a walleyed stare, “we are all very grateful for the many exploits of you and your subjects. Your own Rainbow Dash is one of the best pilots in our fleet, and we have not forgotten your contributions at the Battle of Bestine. But by the same token, I must remind everyone present that my own people were subjugated by Darth Vader and his henchmen. He, his Emperor, and his minions forced my species into slavery to build their war machines and starships, including the Death Star.”

Princess Leia raised her hand and interjected, “And speaking of that horrible weapon, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention what the first Death Star did to my world. Alderaan was a center of learning, peace, and culture. It was a shining jewel of the galaxy and a place where democracy was considered a treasure that must be guarded from attack without and within. Darth Vader sank his claws into my shoulder and held me fast as he forced me to watch the Death Star’s superlaser obliterate my world and my family.” She faltered a bit at the words ‘world’ and ‘family’, but quickly regained composure. “I am fortunate that I discovered a brother I never knew I had in spite of that tragedy, but Darth Vader is responsible for scarring me with a memory that I can never be rid of, nor would I want to. I cannot allow this meeting to conclude without speaking on behalf of the Alderaanians who can no longer speak for themselves because of that monster.”

Reaching out and taking his lover’s hand, Han Solo leaned forward in his seat and pointed a finger at Mon Mothma. “Yeah. That scum-sucking sonuvabitch froze me in carbonite just to get Luke to come and listen to his spiel about ruling the galaxy and whatnot. Anyone who’s ever been frozen never forgets it, and I was already the kinda guy who held grudges.” His other hand instinctively went to the blaster on his hip, but he stopped short of unsnapping the retainer.

“Now wait a minute!” Rainbow Dash flapped into the air, ignoring Twilight’s hoof tugging on her tail to get her to sit back down. “I know this Vader dude is a bad guy. Believe me, I wanna kick his teeth in as much as the next pegasus. But I’ve known Twilight a lot longer than I’ve known Darth Vader, and I know she’s not a liar. If she says that he’s changed, then he’s changed. End of story!” She plopped back down, looking grimly satisfied with what she said.

“Yeah!” said Applejack, in a more measured but still adamant tone of voice. “Twilight is one of the most honest and trustworthy ponies I know! She’s not just a hero in this galaxy. She’s a hero back home in Equestria, too! She used the Elements of Harmony to transform a wicked mare named Nightmare Moon from a monster who wanted to create a world of eternal night into the co-ruler of Equestria, Princess Luna, not to mention defeating the Spirit of Chaos himself, Discord. She’s told me and the others, as well as all of you, that Darth Vader helped her escape the Death Star. He also assisted your own hero, Luke Skywalker, in escaping that station, iffin’ you recall. If that don’t tell ya he’s turned over a new leaf, then nothin’ will!”

Admiral Ackbar drew in a wet-sounding breath, then said, “We only have your word that this happened the way you said it did.”

Applejack’s eyes went wide, then narrowed as she said, “Are you callin’ my friend a liar?!”

The small display of aggression seemed to trigger the debate from everyone at once all over again. Twilight attempted to interject numerous times, but found herself drowned out each time from the cacophony of voices. She slumped back into her seat and sighed, musing to herself that this must be what Fluttershy feels like whenever she tries to speak up.

Eventually Mon Monthma held up her hands and again called for silence. “As much as I sympathize with Admiral Ackbar and our esteemed Princess Leia, I’m afraid I must agree with others in this meeting that Darth Vader serves our purposes better alive than dead. While execution is an appealing punishment for his crimes, I cannot ignore the fact that he would be a very valuable political tool for the Alliance. Many Imperial sector fleets and planets still exist which pose a danger to our efforts to restore the Republic. They will not simply lay down arms just because the Emperor has been killed, and indeed many might not even believe that he is truly dead. They may argue that it’s a trick on our part to get them to surrender. However, if what these ponies say is true, then Darth Vader may be willing to speak on our behalf. If he personally addresses these governors and military commanders, he stands a good chance of convincing them to lay down their arms without further bloodshed, being one of the highest ranking military leaders in the Imperial forces. We should speak to him when he is willing to talk to us, and then ask him to call for peace from the remaining Imperial loyalists.”

A murmur of unrest ebbed and flowed through the crowd, but Mon Mothma’s status as supreme leader of the Rebel Alliance didn’t allow for much more opposition to her declaration than that. However, Princess Leia spoke up. “I will acquiesce to your decision, madam. But I fear that the galaxy won’t rest until they see Darth Vader hang publicly for his crimes.”

-----

As the snarling, twisted form of Spike gnashed his teeth at her from inside his cage, Twilight wondered why she was subjecting herself to this torture. It was different from visiting a relative in the hospital or checking on a sick friend during a period of bedrest. Spike was… wrong. He was barely in a form that she could even still call him Spike, and the longer she sat there, flinching from his aggressive snapping, the harder she found it to continue having faith.

She still felt that there was a way to help him, but she couldn’t think of what it might be and it made it difficult for her to keep telling herself that she would be able to pull him out of this predicament. She felt a hoof on her shoulder from Princess Celestia, who sat next to her and stared into Luna’s cage.

Twilight looked up at the princess, and could see the worry and pain on her teacher’s face. A pulse of anxiety burst into her chest at seeing her like that, and she quickly pushed it aside as Celestia said almost inaudibly, “It will be okay, my faithful student. We can handle this.”

Doubt came at that moment into Twilight’s mind. “How do you know?” she said, her brow creasing.

“I don’t,” said Celestia. “But I know that you and I and your friends are resilient. We’re unbreakable in the face of the unknown. No matter what happens, we will learn all we can about the Emperor’s magic and find a way to help Luna and Spike.”

With a subtle shake of her head, Twilight replied, “I dunno, Princess. It’s one thing to believe that when it’s more nebulous, but when I look right at Spike and Luna, it seems next to hopeless that we’ll be able to save them. I’ve studied magic under you for years. I’ve dedicated my life to it. But nothing in my studies has given me a clue as to where to even begin to help them.”

“My dearest student,” said Celestia, kindness slipping back into her voice, “I have been alive for many centuries. There are many aspects to magic that you are still unaware of. I promise, we will not return home until we find a way to restore our friends.”

Twilight sighed and felt energy drain from her as she slowly lowered herself to the deck below her. Celestia followed suit and laid down next to Twilight, then draped a wing over her. This was of little comfort to the small unicorn next to her, however.

Quiet footsteps approached them in the dim cargo bay. “I’m sorry you’ve been so badly affected by the Emperor’s evil,” said Luke as he walked up beside them and sat down cross-legged on the deck next to Twilight. He put a hand on her withers and squeezed her gently.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. Then she looked up at him and said, “You’ve been through Jedi training. Did any of it give you insight as to how to restore Spike and Luna?”

He frowned and said, “Unfortunately, no.”

Twilight didn’t respond. She just turned her head back toward the force cages and sighed with a shudder.

Luke continued, “But I do know of rumors that the Emperor had vast storehouses scattered across the galaxy. They stored his personal collection of plundered Jedi trophies that he stole from their temples. If we looked through the stolen manuscripts, I’m sure one of them will reveal the information you need.”

The suggestion of research piqued Twilight’s interest, and she suddenly felt an infusion of energy. Immediately she bolted up off the ground, her ears pointed straight up and her determined gaze locked with his. “Well then, let’s go! There’s no time to lose!”

“That’s the down side,” said Luke from where he sat. “We have no idea where the storehouses are located. The Emperor didn’t exactly want the galaxy to find out where he kept all his Jedi artifacts.”

“Then we’ll just have to ask someone who would know,” she said with a grin.

Celestia stood up next to Twilight and said, “I think I know who might be in possession of the information we seek.”

-----

Anakin Skywalker sat on his cot, not bothering to look up at Luke, Twilight, and Celestia as they stood in front of him. Twilight couldn’t help but hear the slight rasping in his mechanical breather unit, likely residual damage from the Emperor’s attack. Luke said, “Are you alright, father?”

Anakin shrugged. “It isn’t quite as rigorous as Sith training, so I am not bothered. The quiet allows for rather deep meditation.”

Luke smiled at this, then Twilight said, “Anakin, do you know of any way we can turn Spike and Luna from technobeasts back into their original forms?”

The sound of Anakin’s breather slowed its cadence, seemingly imitating a deep sigh. “I know of no way to restore a technobeast once it has been converted wholly into its beast form. The technobeast was meant to serve as a war machine for the ancient Sith, and my former master used the technique to punish certain enemies of the Empire.” He paused a moment, then said, “This must be why they were not fully transformed. Palpatine thought they deserved punishment for their defiance of his will and cursed them with a half-life as machines.”

“But we know that Spike and Luna’s minds are still in there, somewhere,” said Twilight. “It must be possible to restore them!”

“The alchemy used in their creation is infused with the Dark Side of the Force,” replied Anakin. “Attempting to separate the technology and its influence from their bodies will have dire consequences for them. It was meant to be a punishment for the victim, and as such the ancient Sith Empire created it with a failsafe to keep Jedi from restoring them.”

“Well, maybe we can use the Emperor’s own alchemy against him,” said Twilight. Her chest swelled as she began to allow herself to be hopeful again. “He was so powerful, he must have had a spell or incantation or something that we could use to restore our friends!”

A low growl suddenly came from Vader, and he muttered, “I tried using Sith teachings to prevent the death of my wife. The ways of the Sith will help no one but those who follow the path of the Dark Side. And even if I thought they would help, I was not entrusted with the knowledge of the locations of the Emperor’s storehouses.”

The feeling of hope that had filled Twilight began to deflate at this. She sighed in disappointment and hung her head. If Anakin Skywalker, one of the most talented and powerful Jedi who ever lived, couldn’t use the powers of the Sith to save the one he loved, what chance did she and Celestia have of restoring their friends with the same magic? He didn’t even know where to look!

“However,” said Anakin, “I will do all in my power to help you. It is a fool’s errand, but I will not simply allow your friends to slip into oblivion without at least trying to help you save them.”

Twilight smiled at him as Celestia said, “Thank you, Anakin. We will be grateful for whatever assistance you can give us.”

-----

The hangars of Home One were mostly empty as the majority of fighters that had participated in the Battle of Endor had returned to their home bases and ships. A few of them remained, attached to Home One’s own fighter wing, but were moved off to the side as the main landing zone was occupied by a certain Corellian YT-1300f/p. The Millennium Falcon sat with many of its armor panels pulled off so repairs could be made to the systems underneath. An assortment of tables piled with starship components and manned by technicians surrounded the ship as the landing area it occupied had been transformed into a makeshift repair bay. Chewbacca was moving from table to table, occasionally roaring at a tech who didn’t seem to respect his status as the ship’s first mate or his ability to keep the ship in working order. An overhead crane was lifting the remains of the main sensor rectenna from the rotational base, but the crews handling that repair job were having trouble freeing it from the bent planetary ring gear assembly. On the overhead gantry, Han Solo’s face seemed to be made of case-hardened durasteel. He slowly turned his head and glared at Lando.

“I know, I know…” Lando said, putting up his hands. “It’s more than a scratch.”

Han opened his mouth to speak, but his words came through gritted teeth. “Lando, do you have any idea how long it took me to get that dish?” He felt like reaching up and throttling his friend. That dish had been an extremely lucky find, and he remembered all the times it saved his bacon as he made smuggling runs to Imperial worlds.

Lando cringed. “Look, I know, old buddy. I’m sorry! I’ll send you some cash to cover the repairs as soon as I’m able to access my funds again.”

Pointing a finger at Lando’s face, Han said, “You’re going to pay me every decicred it costs to get her back in working order! Not a single panel out of place, not even a single broke wire! Understand?”

Laughing and adopting his most charming tone of voice, Lando said, “Don’t worry, you know I’m good for it! I have plenty of money the Empire had no idea I had. You’ll get paid what I owe, I assure you.”

Han sighed and lowered his finger, then went back to leaning on the guardrail surrounding the catwalk. “Y’know, the stabilizer’s been acting funny ever since you brought it back.”

Raising an eyebrow, Lando maintained eye contact with Han as he pointed at the partially disassembled light freighter. “I happen to know that this ship hasn’t left the deck since I touched down except to move it to the repair area.”

“Well, it looks like it’ll act funny if I try to fly her anywhere,” grumbled Han. “I’m still not sure this isn’t part of some scheme to make off with the ship. I know you still love her as much as I do.”

“True, I do love that ship,” said Lando, his face adopting a more wistful expression. “But believe me, there were plenty of opportunities to make off with her. If I wanted to, I could have left any time during the battle, jumped for the Colonies, and never looked back. But I know how much she means to you, Han. She’s your ship, fair and square.”

“Fair and square,” repeated Han.

“Are you two finished acting like children over that junk pile down there yet?” Leia walked down the gantry, a smile on her face as she approached the two men.

Han cocked his lips into a wry grin. “It’s fun to act like children occasionally, sweetheart.”

“I suppose it comes more easily to some than others, flyboy,” she said. Sidling up to Han, she rested her arms on the railing and looked down at the partially disassembled Millennium Falcon. “It really was a lucky break that you made it out of there alive, Lando. Wedge told me what it was like trying to navigate his X-wing into that station, and the Falcon is a tad bigger than a snubfighter. I’m glad you got out of there. It’s just too bad not everyone escaped the station unscathed.”

Han looked at her, puzzled. “What are you talking about, Leia?”

“Spike and Luna,” she replied. “Oh, you don’t know who they are. They’re friends of the creatures that helped us defeat the Empire. They had been captured and held by Palpatine aboard the Death Star, and he’d done terrible things to them. They had been transformed by him into hideous monsters.”

Grimacing, Han said, “I’m glad that bastard’s dead. Nobody should suffer the way he made people suffer. Are those horses gonna be able to turn them back to the way they were?”

Leia looked back at the Falcon and said, “I don’t know. Luke thinks they might be able to. He says that if they can manage to find one of the Emperor’s storehouses, it could hold the information they need to reverse the damage.” She shook her head. “But nobody I know from the government has any idea that the Emperor even had storehouses, much less where they are. You’d think official government channels would have something, but every avenue I’ve tried has yielded zip. No senator, representative, or secretary had any idea what I was talking about.”

With a chuckle and a cocked eyebrow, Lando folded his arms and said, “You shoulda tried the less official channels.”

She leaned past Han to look at Lando and said, “What are you talking about, Lando?”

“Well, you didn’t hear it from me,” he said, lowering his voice and grinning rakishly, “but I may know someone who can help us locate the Emperor’s storehouse. He’s a bit of a rogue-”

This caused Leia to snort.

“-but,” continued Lando as though she hadn’t said a thing, “he is one of the best information brokers in the galaxy. The man is a legend in smuggler circles. I’ll put out some feelers and see if I can get him to allow us an audience with him. If you’ll excuse me, Princess. Han.” With that, he turned around and walked off, his blue and gold cape waving in his wake.

-----

The force field lowered and Princess Celestia walked into the small cell where Anakin still sat. He sighed quietly, wondering what this pony wanted. Wasn’t it enough that he was helping them? He preferred to spend his time meditating on his sins, not debating whether he should be accepting some horse’s opinions on them, or his son’s for that matter. He couldn’t make peace with what he’d done if they kept annoyingly interrupting his thoughts. On the other hand, he couldn’t really object, since prisoners didn’t get to lock their doors to prevent someone from just walking into their presence. He looked up at Celestia and said, “Have you come to deliver news of my imminent execution, Princess?”

“Oh, yes, I was hoping we could get right to the point,” said Celestia. She maintained her placid expression, then said, “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’m supposed to drive my horn straight through your stomach in front of a roaring crowd on Coruscant, then before you perish from shock and blood loss, I am to toss you into a pit of ravenous lions.” She put her hoof to her mouth and looked up at the ceiling, seemingly to consider a thought that occurred to her. “I do believe lots will be drawn for your helmet.”

He couldn’t help but allow himself a laugh at this, an action which caused the uncomfortable metal interface sockets all along the interior of his suit to pull painfully. He stifled his laughter, allowing the pain to renew his sense of self-loathing. “I suppose you think I should reconsider my desire to die.”

She sat down next to him and said, “I had hoped to help you realize your own self-worth and reconsider that, yes.”

He sighed again, looking away from her. The presumption of these ponies was beyond him. What could they possibly see in him? He’d killed billions. He murdered the Jedi and their younglings. He’d also seen to punishment carried out on a planetary scale and become the most feared man in the galaxy. Even the Hutts, corpulent and greedy as they were, knew better than to cross him in spite of all their power. So how could they just ignore all that and forgive him, as though he’d done nothing more criminal than stealing a fruit from a stand?

“Do you often engage in chasing after lost causes, or am I just a special case?”

She chuckled at that, then said, “As a monarch who has ruled my country for over a thousand years, I think I’m entitled to chase the occasional rabbit now and again, yes.”

This caught his attention. He turned his head back toward her, then looked her up and down. She didn’t look any older than a few decades at most. Yet, she claims to have ruled her country for over a thousand years? “Well,” he said, shifting focus back to his own situation, “you’re more foolish than I thought.”

“Perhaps,” she said. “But I still think there is more to you than being a mere puppet of Emperor Palpatine.”

He opened his mouth, preparing to disagree with her, but the words died on his tongue before he could object.

“Y’know,” she continued, “I think that my sister would understand your position more than anypony I know.”

He rolled his eyes, not that she could see it under his helmet. “How could anyone possibly understand, much less your sister? Has she destroyed whole planets? Has she crushed the windpipe of her enemy as they begged her for mercy?” He grew more quiet. “Has she failed to save the ones she loved because she trusted a monster to help her?”

Princess Celestia remained pensive for a moment. Her mane flowed next to them, framing her face as she stayed quiet. Then she said, “My younger sister was once co-ruler with me. She was a very good ruler, and gave every consideration to our subjects just like me. And like me, she was entrusted with half of the day/night cycle. I oversaw the raising of the sun every day and managed all of the daytime activities, and she oversaw the raising of the moon and stars, as well as night court.

“I didn’t know what was really happening with her, though. She felt that the ponies of our land didn’t appreciate all her hard work. No matter how hard I tried to get her to understand that her subjects loved her, she didn’t see the truth in my words, and before long she had turned into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon.

“One day, she refused to lower the moon, threatening to plunge the whole country into eternal darkness unless it were lowered. But she wasn’t interested in listening to me. I knew that my subjects couldn’t survive unless they had the sun to grow their plants and keep them warm.

“I tried reasoning with her. I pleaded with her to accept her duty as a princess of Equestria. I couldn’t get her to listen to me, however. She transformed before my eyes, and then we had a battle where I was grievously wounded.

“I did the only thing I could. I called upon the magic of the Elements of Harmony, a group of artifacts that gives the wielder incredible power. Using this power, I…”

Her voice trailed off, and he allowed her time to gather the will to finish her thought.

“I banished her to the moon for a thousand years. A thousand years of loneliness for both of us. I had a difficult time ruling the kingdom by myself with all those regrets I felt. But eventually, the stars aided in her escape and she was able to return. This time, Twilight Sparkle and her friends were able to use the elements to restore her to her former self, an action I wish I’d been able to do myself.

“Eventually Luna began to recover. She ended up returning to the form I knew her to have, and she regained her majestic full power. However, I noticed that she still wasn’t happy. She still experiences self-loathing, but she understands now that she is surrounded by ponies that love her and want her to be happy, and it gives her the confidence to begin accepting her wrongdoing and move past it. She knows that what she did to Equestria and to me was horrible, but now she can accept it and embrace her future. Do you find any wisdom in this?”

He turned his head away for a moment, thinking about his own actions. They were unforgivable, but he also knew that he loved his son and wanted him to be happy. Could he allow someone to redeem him, even after all that, and continue living? He looked up at her and said, “You’ve given me a lot to consider during my meditation, Princess Celestia.”

She smiled and then reached up to hug him. “I’m glad we could have a productive talk.” Then she released him and stood with all four legs under her and smiled at him. “Farewell, Anakin Skywalker.” With that, she turned around and walked off into the corridor, activating the forcefield with her magic as she passed it.

Anakin sat back against the cell wall. Princess Luna’s actions certainly paled in comparison to his own. The threat of planetary ecosystem collapse versus the destruction of Alderaan was, by itself, a terribly mismatched pair. Throw in the oceans of Gholondrein-B, the poisoning of the Falleen homeworld, and countless other heinous acts and it might as well have been a simple sibling quarrel.

And yet, he could see her point. To her, it wasn’t about the act. It was about the declaration of sincerity and the love they shared. No matter what Luna did, she was redeemed in the eyes of her sister. Even if the ponies of Equestria hated her, Celestia would always be there for her. He leaned back against the wall and pondered this, the difference between forgiveness and redemption. Something about this thought sparked a realization in him.

“Maybe there is hope for me after all.”

And for the first time in years, Anakin Skywalker smiled.

Comments

[MarioBrony]

Finally! Anakin realizes the hope and redemption our heroes see in him!
I only hope that info broker that Han and Lando mentioned is good on his word.
Spike and Luna, you will be with us again soon!!

[JediAlexColbent]

Leia should be careful about how she deals out justice, lest she becomes just like her estranged father. She may have inherited Padmé’s looks and her skills at politics, but all that anger and vindication, that’s straight from Anakin.

Also, Anakin should be the one to restore Spike and Luna. That would go a long way towards amending some of his sins. Not all of them, but it’s a start.