Anthology of Everything

by SwordTune

Star Wars: The Pony Republic -- Chapter 1

Author's Note:

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

It is a period of new civil stability in the galaxy. Once controlled by the Shadow Empire, the victor of a nearly forgotten galactic conflict, the galaxy now has a new interstellar power in place: the Pony Republic of Equestrian Systems. Built from the star systems who rejected the rule of the Empire and its Dark Lord, Grogar, the Republic now works to unite the remaining systems who are hesitant to join what they see as a mere replacement for the Empire.

Done with helping the Republic overthrow the Empire, Magi Knight Twilight Sparkle reunites with her long lost mentor, Celestia. Suffering from the corruption of Grogar, and from the guilt of serving the Empire as the Dark Lord known as Dawnbreaker, Celestia continues the remainder of her life in penance, refusing to leave the last remaining Magi sanctuary. Now, with only a few words of wisdom from her recovering mentor, Twilight trains a new generation of Magi novitiates to hunt down the remains of the Empire. In the far reaches of the galaxy, one such remnant has been spotted: an imperial bomber carrier. With an arsenal large enough to level half a planet, only the best novitiates can be trusted to remove any imperial threats. But, an even more insidious threat remains at large. Could this remaining stronghold of the Empire hold more Kithe acolytes, enforcers and apprentices to the Dark Lord himself?

---

The novitiates’ tiny transporter pulled in closer and closer to the hull of the imperial bomber carrier. The largest class out of all of the Empire’s ships, it was not a surprise that it was still floating around. They were more like citadels than ships. Each carried a thousand bombers armed with high-yield explosives, plus some of the best pilots in the galaxy.

The two novitiates were only children during the height of the Empire’s power. Then, they had only heard myths about Twilight Sparkle, the paragon of the rebel insurgency that sought to establish a better republic for the galaxy. Yet, while their mentor was once a story, both Gallus and Silverstream knew full well what the Empire could do to its subordinate star systems.

“Their defences aren’t working,” Gallus noticed as their locked onto the hull.

Though not as well equipped for boarding or long-range engagements with other vessels, a single carrier like this still had a generous amount of turrets and short-range missiles. Such weapons were the kind used to eliminate the griffon resistance on Griffonstone, Gallus’s home planet.

Silverstream gave a snarky grin at him. “I think we would have been knocked out of flight if they had working turrets.”

“Think the inside will be as easy?”

She shrugged. “I hope. Mentor Twilight said these ships had thousands of ponies running it. I don’t want to have to sneak past that many ponies.”

Despite being griffon and hippogriff, the two novitiates were among the best at the Magi sanctuary. Gallus double-checked their mag-locks, making sure their ships would stay put even if the carrier jumped into portal-space for an interstellar route.

“Let’s get this over with,” he said, calling his spellsaber to his belt. The metal handle flew off the weapon rack and tuck itself away beneath the griffon’s novitiate robe. Though unicorns were naturally gifted in magic, the Magi had learned to teach those natural talents to other ponies and creatures. Higher-level uses of magic would be even harder, but with enough focus, basic telekinesis was not impossible for a griffon.

“Ooh! Can I destabilize the reactor this time? Imperial engines have so many moving parts, it’s always fun to watch.”

“We’ll see when we get there.”

The novitiates opened a hatch where their ship connected to the carrier. And energy barrier sealed the space between them, forming a short bridge across. Each armed with a blade of pure magic, they ignited the blades of their spellsabers and cut into the carrier’s hull.

Clank clunk. The chunk of metal they cut collapsed down. They leapt down into the maintenance duct quickly, before the ship’s defences put up energy barriers to seal the puncture.

“No alarms?” Silverstream looked around. “Yeah, that’s pretty weird.”

“First we need to find the ship manifest, find of if there are any acolytes of the Dark Lord commanding the ship.” Gallus peeked his head around the corner of the duct. The way seemed clear.

The imperial carrier was a threat, but as Magi, their main concern was the possibility of Dark acolytes. Like Magi, it was possible for non-ponies to become apprentices to Grogar. He had the power pass on dark magic to other creatures, fueling them with a thirst for power in the process.

As such, they lacked the discipline of Magi novitiates, who earned their gifts through patience and training.

The two stopped when they finally began to hear voices through some vents. Imperial shock troopers, by the sound of it. Their voices were slightly muffled by their helmets.

“How long are we going to wait out here? I heard our rations are getting low.”

“You know the Republic is looking ships like this. The commander says we’ll just have to hold out a little longer.”

“Yeah, just wish she’d just a few bots or something to secure more supplies.”

Silverstream and Gallus traded glances. That explained why they weren’t detected on entry. This crew was playing the long game. But in return, it was like operating a skeleton crew.

“Should we just head for the reactor?” Gallus asked. “A dark acolyte wouldn’t have the patience to wait.”

“Mentor Twilight says the path to peace requires vigilance against deception,” Silverstream whispered back. “The manifest should be on the way to the reactor. We might as well double-check.”

They hurried as quickly as they could to the carrier’s main computer. Even if the crew was at their worst, it wasn’t a good idea to leave their ship lying around to get spotted. Inside the data room, the control console formed a semi-circle in front of an array of screens.

Gallus pulled a hacking drive from his belt and stuck it into the console. The rod-like device was not a Magi tool, not like the lightsaber, but it was a handy gift from the Republic. It had known security codes from the Empire, meaning it could pass nearly any Empire computer system by logging in as imperial personnel.

Nearly any. The hacking drive ejected itself when it was finished, but the console had not been unlocked. Gallus tried clicking a few buttons on and off at random, but there was no response.

“That’s weird,” he said. “They weren’t using the same codes as the rest of the Empire.”

“Or changed them,” Silverstream suggested. “Still, if we can’t access the data, we should at least destroy the computers. That should shut off the rest of the security and buy us some time.”

Gallus walked over and tested the energy barriers that shielded the computers. His lightsaber deflected off the shields, but there was no damage. “Sure, if we had blasting crystals. Our lightsabers can’t cut through these barriers.”

Before they could figure out what to do, they heard hooves coming closer to the door. Shock troopers. A lot of them. Silverstream immediately positioned herself by the door. Her sabre was double-bladed, giving better odds of deflecting incoming blaster fire.

“So much for stealth,” Gallus said. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, focusing on the sensation of the magical energy around him. The instant the troopers got the door open, he sent a magic push down the hallway.

The white-clad troopers up in front fell back onto their comrades. “Intruders!” Those at the back of the hallway caught them and did not hesitate to fire back.

Silverstream spun her blade, knocking back the first volley of bolts before cutting through the blasters of the troopers shooting at her. Gallus followed behind, disarming the troopers still trying to get up from the force of his push.

Magi were not, in most cases, supposed to hurt others. It was not their way. The novitiates learned more than discipline and restraint from their mentor, they learned of the power that harmony and friendship with all living creatures could have.

“Hey, you guys know how to access the ship records?” Gallus asked the downed troopers before pushing them into the computer room. “See if you can log in for me.” He clenched his talon and crushed the door controls in a field of magic.

“Uh, they’re not stopping,” Silverstream said. She had withdrawn one of her blades, a single-bladed lightsaber being much easier to manipulate in the tight corners of the hallway. She cut down the remaining blasters and hurled the troopers back with a magic-imbued wing flap.

“The engine deck’s lower, right?” Gallus asked.

“That’s what the schematic said,” Silverstream said anxiously, already having to deflect blaster fire from reinforcing troopers.

Gallus pointed his blade down and cut through the metal floor panels. “Then down we go.” He cut a circle through the floor and jumped, followed shortly by Silverstream.

---

They crawled. The space below the floor was narrow, only designed for power cables and repair drones. The panels above them were sturdy but barely blaster resistant. They could already see holes forming as the troopers blindly fired down at them.

“We gotta find an exit,” Gallus said. “Small spaces don’t like me very much.”

“You got us here,” Silverstream reminded him.

The power lines beneath the floor connected to everything that demanded power, including the air purifiers. The novitiates went as far as they could, cutting their way down into the main air ducts. At the centre, the ducts were massive, like the main artery of a heart. It connected and distributed air to the rest of the ship, and thus needed the size and volume to keep the pressure manageable.

“We could get anywhere from here,” Silverstream said, tightening up her robes against the cold gust of air.

“Let’s hope the troopers don’t catch on. The whole crew is probably on alert right now. What was with that computer?”

“The hacking drive must’ve triggered a silent alarm when it didn’t work,” Silverstream guessed. “That’s the only way they could’ve known we were there.”

“I’ve never heard of an imperial ship not using the standard passcodes, though. Think that means there are acolytes on board?”

“Well, we won’t know until we come across them now,” Silverstream said. “Come on, we should be close to the reactors by now.”

Sure enough, they simply followed the ever-growing sound of a massive, mechanical, thumping heart.

The single Dwarf Reactor hummed silently in the heart of the carrier. So named because the focusing crystals used in the reactor were made from shattered pieces of white dwarf stars. Lasers focused by pieces of dwarf star diamonds were used to superheat hydrogen gas, recreating the fusion reaction of the stars.

The space of the reactor core was massive. Gas ducts above them pumped hydrogen to fuel the fusion reaction, while coolant pipes pumped Zerofluid, a synthetic oily fluid used in all imperial ship systems. Despite being deep within the ship, the reactor core had a direct path to open space. Massive blast doors could open and release the reactor in the event of a meltdown.

“I’ll keep watch,” Gallus said, moving away from the reactor. “You remember what Twilight said about these things?”

“Double the output to strain the containment fields,” she recited as she fiddled with the controls. All the details of how to operate the rector were lost on Silverstream, but she grasped the basics, enough to make it break down, at least.

“After you shut off the emergency jettison,” he reminded her.

Silverstream shrugged. “Of course, I remember.”

But before she could initiate the reactor’s power climb, the two novitiates paused. Sensing magic was the first basic skill taught to novitiates, and any creature could do it well with enough focus and training. And from the perked-up feathers on each other’s wings, each novitiate knew the other felt the same thing. The cold of dark magic. The aura of an acolyte of Grogar.

---

Gallus ignited his blade almost moments too late. The acolyte’s own lightsaber slashed through the main door of the reactor core.

“What a surprise!” the unicorn hissed through her mask. “I didn’t know we had guests!” The dark red blade of the acolyte’s sabre hacked through the railings. The metal walkways around the reactor itself were suspended over the coolant pipes and emergency jettison doors.

Gallus tried pushing the unicorn back with magic, but she simply directed his force to a bundle of hydrogen pipes, snapping the rubbery ducts from their wall.

“And they’re Magi novitiate no less, I should feel honoured. Tell me, how is your master doing? Killed any other Dark Lords, lately?”

“Twilight is a mentor, not a master!” Gallus lashed out, picking his targets carefully. Against the acolyte’s wild and erratic swings, he could only hold her back with precise thrusts.

“Silverstream! The reactor, now!”

The ignition of lightsabers could be heard from the other entrance. “It’s a little busy here too,” she answered back.

Silverstream whirled her double blades and beat back the second acolyte. He was a hulking nirik in a black-painted suit of shock trooper armour, and he laughed as he took the full brunt of her attacks directly against his fiery orange sabre.

Silverstream channelled magic, lifting floor panels off the walkway to knock back the nirik and create a gap between them. But despite his size, he simply vaulted up, propelling himself with magic and landing behind the young Magi.

“Wanna switch?” Silverstream yelled out as she locked blades with the brute.

Gallus tried flying out of the unicorn acolyte’s reach, but she snagged his wing with a tight telekinetic grip and slammed him back down to the platform. He cried out, feeling something snap, but got to his feet immediately.

“You don’t want her, trust me.” He traded blows with her, picking his steps carefully to avoid the unicorn’s whirling weapon. The single-bladed sabre might as well have been four. The unicorn had no trouble using telekinesis at close range to control her weapon, tightening and extending her reach as effortlessly as thinking.

But there was a limit. Even telekinesis needed focus, as simple as it was. In the fury of battle, it wasn’t as if she could send the blade wherever she wanted it to go. Gallus simply needed to learn how far to step away.

Silverstream played the same dance, testing the other acolyte’s range. Niriks were kirins who gave in to their negative emotions, but they still had similar talents to unicorns when it came to magic. Their horns used telekinesis as easily as a hippogriff could use their talons. But unicorn or kirin, whoever they were, they still needed to focus to use magic. With two blades, Silverstream’s energetic lightsaber form pressured the brute’s range to a shorter, more manageable distance.

But niriks had one other trick to be wary of. The acolyte reached out his hoof and spouted a jet of flame at Silverstream. It was said that a nirik burned as hot as their rage. Hot enough to turn the metal railings molten red, it seemed.

She sidestepped. At that moment he was focused on his magic and Silverstream found an opening in the acolyte’s defence, cutting at his hoof while she avoided the fire. His black-painted armour was not too different from standard shock trooper gear. The soft and flexible polyblast fibre was good enough for absorbing blaster shots, but against a lightsaber, it melted like cheap scrap metal.

The nirik acolyte cried out. “Rahrg!” Swinging his sabre wildly, he swung too wide and hit the reactor’s control console.

“That didn’t sound good,” Gallus grunted, forcing back the unicorn acolyte with a basic series of thrusts. Immediately, the doors below them started to open as the fusion containment casing was unlocked and jettisoned from the reactor.

“It’ll have to do.” Flanked on both sides by dark acolytes, she saw only one way out. It was a good thing they had the auto-pilot installed on their ship. She jumped over the nirik’s final swing before she spread her wings and dove down the jettison door.

Gallus lifted a panel from the floor and pinned it to the unicorn’s face. “So it’s like that, today, huh?”

“Don’t think we’ll let you get away, novitiate,” the unicorn hissed, slashing apart the metal panel into scraps.

“No hard feelings, I’m sure we would be great friends in another life.” He lowered his lightsaber and casually cut a circle around himself. “But, I have friends in this life waiting for me.” The floor beneath him gave way, and he plummeted down behind Silverstream as the vacuum of space began to vent hazards out of the reactor core.

Both acolytes held on tight, pulling their way back through the entrances.

“What are we going to do?” growled the nirik, clutching his severed hoof. She didn’t respond at first, only snarling down at the two novitiates who escaped. “Sister Starlight!” The nirik forced her attention. “Sister Nightma-”

“I know what she said!” Starlight hissed at him. “But she’s not our master. Grogar is dead and we acolytes must rely on each other. His Rule of One no longer applies.”

“Right, of course,” he breathed a sigh of relief. “The Kithe Order survives by the Rule of None.”