Welcome To Exegol
The Sweetie Drop finally jumped out of hyperspace, orbiting the dark and cloudy atmosphere that surrounded the Imperial occupied planet of Exegol. In legends, it was said the world was uninhabitable, storms and massive lightning strikes hailing at a constant, never stopping. For many Sith Lords in the past, it served as their capital, far from the eyes of the common man. In the Clone Wars, the only thing anyone knew was that the world was a graveyard for thrill-seekers, people believing that there was more, only to become destroyed in the storms above.
And now, the family owned ship was on its way down to the planet.
"Adagio, are you sure this planet is the place?" Flurry asked, glaring at her.
"One hundred percent," Adagio confirmed, guiding them through. "If Midnight is going to live anywhere, it will be here."
As expected, there were a few flashes of lightning in the clouds, accompanied by booming thunder. But as the lightning flashes came, some sights were made a little clear to the eyes of the two girls. Standing in place while the clouds moved around was a single Star Destroyer, just sitting there. And when they leaned in for a better view, they saw another. And another. And another. An entire fleet of Star Destroyers was right before their eyes.
“Whoa…” Flurry gasped. “That’s a lot of Star Destroyers.”
“Defensive. It would appear as if she was waiting for us... or maybe she's protecting her house."
Flurry gave Adagio a deadpan expression. “You’re not being helpful.”
Their eyes kept moving around, looking at all of the ships that were floating there. They couldn’t see how many were in the clouds, but so far they counted seven of them. Although they had a feeling that there was definitely more of them; and oddly they were spaced out as opposed to being smack-dab close to each other.
“Why aren’t they attacking us?” Flurry asked.
"Unidentified freighter, you are in unauthorized airspace, state your business immediately, over," the admiral said over the comms.
--
One of the captains pressed a button to speak through the channels, closed off to one figure in particular.
“Lady Midnight. There is an unknown freighter descending towards the platforms. Its markings look like the same freighter that escaped Agamar. Should we open fire?”
“No. Let them come through… I know who is on board that vessel. Let them come down. I want to see them personally.”
“Yes Lord Midnight,” the admiral understood. “All Star Destroyer crew, do not open fire. Allow the ship to pass through us, Lord Midnight’s orders.”
“Unidentified crew members, you are clear to land at the outside perimeter of the facility,” a voice said through the coms.
Flurry cleared her throat and spoke with the most masculine voice she could muster, “Uh, yes sir, thank you sir, appreciated.”
As the lightning and thunder continued to rattle the ship, the Sweetie Drop made its descent towards the ground, finding a space on the barren land far enough from the castle on the surface. Once it had parked, Flurry quickly grabbed a backpack, filling it with a few weapons, including some droid poppers to stun any individuals that would come their way.
"Adagio, come on, we gotta get moving, they're going to come looking for us," Flurry advised.
Flurry waited for a response. None. Looking up, she paced down the hallway, listening for her. But then she heard an audible--
THUD.
She raced around the corner, only for Adagio to step out of another room, seemingly adjusting her jacket.
"Sorry, just making sure I was ready," Adagio reassured. "I grabbed a blaster or two from the rack, it won't be much, but it's better than just using my knives."
"Well... alright then, come on," Flurry nodded.
"Shouldn't we bring any droids with us?" Adagio asked.
Flurry stopped and groaned as she scrunched her face. "... The droids are back home, aghhh! The only ones we got are K2, and she's not really going to be helpful, she's not made for battle. Commando droids are totalled, and... wait," she paused. She tapped the button on the side. "Bee, you still around?"
The two of them waited for a sound, hearing chittering of little claws scurrying across the ceiling. And looking up, Flurry saw the old buzz droid climb down onto her backpack, and moving to her shoulder to nuzzle her.
"Hey buddy," Flurry giggled. "You feel ready for a little patrolling?"
"Brrrtt," the droid chirped.
"Okay, let's go," Flurry led the way, with Adagio close behind her.
The hatch lowered, and so the two of them went forward, leaving the vessel, and then closed it behind them. Unbeknownst to Flurry, deeper in the ship, the loud thud came from another passenger on board. A droid, who had been trying to do maintenance while she was engaging in conversation with Sunset, had accidentally been taken along for the ride. Now, he remained subdued and knocked offline, on the ground with his two hands twitching from the surge of electricity to shut him down. Flat on his back, the purple and green droid had no idea who his attacker was... or where she was going.
--
Walking across the wasteland, the wind blew their hair in all directions as they came closer to the castle. Not as tall as the Temple, reigning in at possibly twelve to twenty stories high by estimation. Shaped like an upside down trapezoid, covered in metal, brick, and multiple coils that were fed power by multiple generators and towers in the surrounding vicinity.
Adagio's eyes closed for a moment, feeling the energy from this world resonating with her as she continued.
"Ancient evil lived here once. Now the current model has taken residence," she informed, looking around the land.
Looking forward, they could see a courtyard surrounded by a gate, locked behind giant metal doors. Keypad would no doubt be guarded by a clearance code which they did not have, guards would be inside the courtyard which would overpower the two of them, and they would need a lot of firepower just to bring the doors down.
"How do we slip past them?" Flurry asked.
Adagio's eyes darted around, looking for alternative routes, there had to be something. Ladders? Negative, no sense in climbing. Grappling hooks and steel cables, no. The walls were covered in electro mines, no sense in setting them off, or risking their lives. But when she looked to her right, she did see a grate, unprotected by any prying eyes.
"Here," Adagio led.
Dashing to the wall, Adagio yanked the grate off, and climbed inside first, with Bee scurrying behind her, and then Flurry crawling in after her.
All three bodies moved carefully through the vents, climbing up for a few seconds before moving normally once again. Adagio stopped moving, looking down, seeing a few guards in the hallway below them, listening to their conversation.
"Are we expecting guests?" The first officer asked.
"Supposedly. That freighter that escaped in the Agamar raid just showed up; rather unwise."
"Arriving here, or helping the Seppies?" The officer asked.
"Both. Separatists, they're simple... they breed sad combinations of traits that make them vulnerable to overpowering," the other officer bemused. "The Rebels must be out of options if they are resorting to recruiting remnants from the old Clone Wars."
Adagio looked back to Flurry, silently nodding for them to keep going, trying their hardest to not make a lot of sound as they crawled through the vents. Not surprisingly, the officers below looked up, hearing the sound. Raising a hand up, the two of them stopped, with Flurry cupping her mouth and shaking, trying not to make a sound.
"We got rats again," the first officer growled. "How do we even have them, this planet is desolate."
"There's much more to this planet than we realize," the second one shook her head. "Come, we must contact sanitation, tell them we have infestations."
Once they were gone, both intruders moved again, crawling to the right and finding another room to crawl inside. Lifting the grate off, Adagio hung to the sides as she lowered her head down, her hair flailing out as she looked with upside down eyes, to observe the surroundings. No guards, no droids, no officers. The entire room was stacked with crates of unknown materials. It was perfect for a temporary safe room.
Lowering down, the two of them (including Bee) dropped down. For a moment, the team looked around, seeing the various crates and shipments that were neatly spaced into their own categories. Out of curiosity, Flurry red the label of one of them to see--
"--Frozen meats and poultry," she read. "Okay, neat."
"Let's move," Adagio instructed.
The doors opened, and the two of them checked around a corner for any guards or wandering patrols. They quickly snuck down the hallway, before throwing themselves against a wall, hearing the opening of a door, and watching as two officers went down the adjacent hall, completely avoiding the two of them.
Taking their chance, the duo moved again, and froze on the spot. Multiple boots echoed down the hallway, and they were far ahead. Running quickly, they threw themselves behind a set of doors, shrouded with a dark hallway.
"Whew, that was close!" Flurry sighed. "Adagio, are you sure you know where we're going?"
There was no reply.
"Adagio, come on, I'm not fooling around, what's gotten you..." Flurry trailed off, as she looked. Adagio was standing, frozen in place, gasping, shaking, staring in horror at the hallway around them. Narrow and long, with the only sources of light being the red lights built into the floors, and the glowing orange amber blocks that were in the walls. But when Adagio looked to where Adagio stood, she quickly understood why.
She was looking at two bodies encased in the amber, two faces only she would recognize. Two women, one with pig-tailed hairs, the other with a curly ponytail, permanently facing forward in horror at the fate that would behold them. Adagio's hands cupped her jaw as she tried not to break down, either screaming or crying. Her heart rate increased, and when Flurry looked around, she felt just as much fear. In one of the amber blocks was a Togruta in her mid-forties, with red skin and white circular tattoos, reaching with a hand out in useless protest. Flurry shuddered in fear as she looked at the next one, an Equestrian man with pale green skin and tree-green hair and a hat, locked in place as he just gazed forward with terror in his eyes and jaw.
"H... H-How many do you think there are?" Flurry tried to speak, looking to a child in Jedi robes, scared for his life as he was kept in place.
"..."
Adagio tried to keep herself together, hands shaking at her side as she regained composure.
"Almost all of them. If she had started this after the Republic had fallen..." Adagio's eyes gazed to a Mirilian young-adult with yellow skin and blue eyes, expression permanently locked into anger and hate. "I don't want to stay here. We have a mission to do."
"R-Right, yeah," Flurry nodded. "L-Let's go," she guided them out of the hall back to the door. "And Adagio?"
"Yes."
"... I'm sorry," she quietly said, seeing the two women that Adagio was locked onto. No more words were said as they left the morgue, they had work to do.
Flurry and Adagio tiptoed past some guards, checking for all sections of the hallway to make sure there wasn’t anyone watching. Together the two slammed their backs against one of the walls, hoping to use some of the edges to hide their bodies.
“I’ve been standing guard all day, I need my shift change right now,” a Midnight trooper said, standing at a corner of the open corridor.
“Your replacement will be here in half an hour, just wait,” the other trooper replied.
“I hope so. I haven’t eaten in the past six hours, I’m feeling a little off…”
With their attention drawn to the hallway across from them, Flurry and Adagio sneaked off right past them without getting caught. They didn’t even hear them dash behind them. But then the two Force-users had to hide again, this time from some troopers who were walking by. Luckily the cover of some unmoved cargo crates provided them a spot to hide.
“You heard about any planet locations Midnight has plans for?”
“I heard she wants to go down to Dathomir. Though I don’t think I can stand that place, it’s too thick to see down there.”
“And those nasty witches… ugh,” the trooper shivered in fear. “Just hope no one is down there.”
And once again, their attention was drawn elsewhere, giving plenty of time for the two to sneak on by.
The two of them looked to another set of doors, one that gave both Force-users a sense of raw energy. Dark energy at that. Nodding to each other, they got ready. She was here. The time was now.
The doors slid open, and the two Midnight troopers primed their blasters at the two girls. Adagio, not hesitating, Force-pushed both troopers out of the way. One slammed against a wall, and the other one went towards a pedestal with a small trophy, shattering the glass.
The dark figure standing at the top of the steps didn’t change her position, she knew they would come. Flurry glared up at the steps to the big window, flashing lighting outside casting a shadow for a brief moment. Heads of various divisions were there as well: Captain Phasma who primed her blaster. Nightbird and the Second Sister, igniting their dark sabers into position. Terrorcolt, arms raised up to fire.
Midnight was quiet, and she raised a hand up to them all, telling them to back off. Following orders, they lowered their weapons.
“So you’re the one who destroyed the factory,” Midnight started, still staring out the window. “I must admit, I was rather surprised to hear it coming from a teenager of all people, but… I am also very impressed with your skill.” She turned around, her scary black and purple mask staring down at Flurry Heart and Adagio Dazzle.
“You’re quite an agile fighter. Especially when it came to fighting my forces on Agamar and Scarif.”
Flurry continued to glare at her angrily, ready to attack her right here and now.
“I can feel your anger. It’s… powerful.”
“Enough!” Flurry yelled, pulling out her lightsaber, holding it down ready to swing. And Adagio managed to Force-yank the lightsaber from the Second Sister’s holster, clutching it in her arms. The Sister wanted to grab it back, but Midnight again, held her back, ordering her not to attack.
“You know something, little one. I can feel your hesitation, your unease. You’ve come all this way to find me, looking for the answer to a question that you believe was never honestly given.”
Adagio ignited the blade, ready to attack as well, letting the double blades spin around like a saw. “Flurry, give me the word, and we attack—”
Midnight didn’t let her finish. With a single, sharp gesture, she used the Force and threw Adagio across the room and against the wall, pinning her to the door.
“Don't interrupt." She said coolly, as if Adagio had merely spoken out of turn at a dinner conversation.
“Just stop it! Just tell me the truth!" Flurry shouted angrily, brandishing her lightsaber at the dark lady before her. "Are you or are you not related to me?!”
Darth Midnight was quiet for a moment. Then, she spoke, and her voice was eerily calm. Flurry had the sudden, awful feeling that, despite the break-in to her own fortress and challenge made to her life, that the Sith was the only one here truly in control of the situation. “Before you try to kill me, there is something you must know first.”
Flurry Heart swallowed, and she held her lightsaber back up in a proper fighting stance, working to remember what her mother had taught her. “What?” She spat, trying to keep her voice level.
“Your mother and father truly are dead," Midnight stated simply. "And, assuming that the rebels told you that your aunt Twilight died because of me… they were telling the truth. Twilight Sparkle did die a long time ago, and with her, the rest of the Republic and the Jedi Order."
Darth Midnight paused for an instant, a brief but all too agonizing instant, before she said the words that put a chill into Flurry's bones, and opened a gaping, screaming hole in the pit of her stomach.
"Flurry Heart. I am your aunt.”
Flurry’s heart started racing. It had been the moment she broke into the room, but the beating was increasing erratically. The truth she was so worried to learn, the one thing she hoped wouldn’t be true, was reality.
“No… no…” Flurry stammered. “You can’t be… that’s impossible!”
“Impossible or not, it is true,” Darth Midnight said.
Flurry grunted and yelled as she ran forward, running up the stairs to strike, but Midnight didn’t flinch. She lifted her hand, lightly pushing Flurry back from her, and sending her flying right back on the bottom of the steps leading to her throne. Luckily she didn’t fall, and used her feet to keep herself from falling on her back.
Flurry ran back up again, and Midnight locked her in place before lifting her up in the air.
"You charge without a change in direction or strategy; impulsive," Midnight summarized, pushing her back down the steps. "That's not the fighter I know who used our own ships against us."
Flurry was sent flying down the stairs again, this time without saving a landing. Pulling back up on her feet she growled at the top of the steps, subtly looking around for something to use to throw at Midnight, there had to be something. And thankfully, she did. A metal container just resting idly by the throne, opened up with a few contents was perfect.
Locking on target she lifted a hand up and pulled it forward, sending it flying towards Midnight. The Imperial leader was ready, and moved out of the way in time, letting the contents fall down the steps, just in time for Flurry to almost get a strike on her. Midnight still did not dare pull out her saber, nor did any of the other leaders around her make a move.
"Do we kill her?" Phasma questioned.
"No. This is fight is not ours," Terrorcolt calculated.
Flurry tried to strike her, moving fast as she could, but Midnight was moving too quick for her. She couldn't land a single touch on her, it was impossible! Midnight waited for Flurry to attack again, and caught her when she had flailed her arms forward, locking it in place. Throwing her back she slammed her against a wall, not too hard, but enough to make her feel pinned.
Midnight kept her hand up, holding her there before speaking.
"You learned to change the strategy... and fell back towards a tactic that failed. The Rebels must not be training you well enough to understand that you do not go rushing, looking for a fight."
Flurry struggled to break free of her control but it was useless. Midnight had more power over her, she was unstoppable! Moving her away from the wall, she sent her flying down the stairs again, letting her roll on the floor. The teen got up, she had one more ounce of energy left in her, she had to do something, even if it was one small touch against her.
Looking forward, she looked around again for something to attack, as Midnight waited for her. She yanked two more crates, sending them flying from two different directions this time. Midnight avoided the first one again, but she wasn't ready as a second one came slamming at her back, giving Flurry the moment she needed. She charged forward and stabbed forward, but went too high, her blade cutting into the upper shoulder of Midnight; the dark lady let out a cry of pain and anger at the unexpected injury.
A piece of her shoulder fell to the floor, which made Flurry freeze, did she really get some damage inflicted upon her? Midnight was frozen, not moving a muscle, and the rest of the high command didn't know what to do. Phasma and Terrorcolt primed their blasters at her again, and Nightbird was ready to pull out her blade, but one hand went up, once again, telling them not to move. Midnight slowly looked up at her niece, her face still unreadable under the mask.
Without warning, the click of Midnight's lightsaber activated and swung forward. Flurry jumped back before it could slash her, only for her lightsaber to suddenly surge with electricity and completely die on her. She looked down, finding the hilt of the blade completely severed, making her gasp. Midnight had stood back up, despite the severity of the injury to her shoulder, and sent Flurry flying down the stairs. The fall and tumble were hard enough for the wind to be knocked out of Flurry, breaking her balance. The dark lady's breathing was steady, but pained as she got up, gazing at her exhausted niece.
Struggling to get up, Flurry froze when she saw a pair of boots in front of her.
“Enough games, Flurry Heart,” Midnight declared.
Four Midnight Troopers walked into the room with their weapons locked and loaded, ready to shoot when ordered.
“You called for us, milady?” One of the troopers asked.
Midnight nodded, gesturing to Flurry on the ground. Two of them moved towards her, grabbing her by her arms and yanking her back on her feet. Their grip was too strong for Flurry to resist, added on top of her being exhausted from constantly being tossed back and never getting a single hit on her aunt. Her arms were locked behind her back by their vice-grips, and it only got worse when they slapped a pair of electrocuffs on her wrists.
“Coming here with this Siren was a mistake,” Midnight said, looking her right in the eye. “Adagio Dazzle is a war criminal. Harsh as I am, I know she isn’t here for your benefit. She only looks out for herself,” she looked at Adagio who was now being grabbed by the two troopers, also given a pair of electrocuffs. “Shame she has manipulated you so easily. But this won’t be a problem for much longer… terminate her.”
“No, wait! Please! Don’t kill her!” Flurry begged.
The troopers were going to ignore her until they saw Midnight hold a hand up, telling them to wait.
“You’re defending her. Why?”
“I’m the one you want, right? You sent out a bounty hunter to find me on Ajan, and he wouldn’t kill me no matter how much he got close to me. And every time I keep jumping at you, you don’t even try and kill me. So leave her alone, just take me instead!”
Midnight was silently thinking. Either Adagio Dazzle had manipulated her so much, or maybe… just maybe this was something else. She thought things over some more in her head; her own niece, the last remaining bloodline of her family was here. She couldn’t kill her, she wouldn’t dare to. And this was the same girl who destroyed one of their most valuable factories. Maybe she could have been useful… maybe it would be better to have her around.
“Very well. I won’t kill her. But that doesn’t mean she leaves.” Midnight looked to the two troopers who were keeping her still. “Guards. Silence her for me. She’s a Siren, I do not need her mind-controlling any of you.”
Adagio didn’t get a chance to talk, thanks to one of the guards wrapping a gag over her mouth to silence her. And without any words to be said, they forced her to walk as they took her away, leaving the room. And as for poor Flurry, she looked up at Midnight with a fearful look.
“As for you, Flurry Heart… I think you will be staying here for quite a while,” Midnight said, this time rather softly. "Oh, but before you're escorted..."
Midnight's hand reached out to the side, raising the buzz droid that had tried to scamper off during Flurry's attempted attack, levitated in the air before her. Flurry looked up at it, her levels of fear raising even more.
"Bee, no...."
"I have grown tiresome of little things getting in my way," Midnight seethed with anger as she clamped her hand into a fist motion, watching as the droid's metal plating and inner workings started to crush from within, forcefully pressing against itself as if it was being compacted by an invisible machine before dropping it to the ground with a thud.
"NO!!!" Flurry screamed. She tried to fight the restraints, but couldn't. Midnight however just stepped forward and lightly pressed her palm against Flurry's head.
"DON'T TOUCH ME YOU MONSTER!!! HOW COULD YOU... how... h... how c..."
A soft wave of energy was flowing through her which quieted her anger, before she was rendered unconscious, accompanied by her head drooping.
“Captain. Take Flurry to a cell. But if she tries to escape, do not harm her. And if I find out you do… you wouldn’t want to know what would happen if you fail me.”
Phasma didn’t change her posture. “Yes, mistress. Come!”
Midnight looked down on the ground, and Force-pulled Flurry’s lightsaber to her palm, gripping it tightly. She looked at it, analyzing the bizarre appearance.
“Constructed out of spare parts, forging it with a simple blaster… and yet,” Midnight examined further, "it worked. She has quite the intellect. Rather useful, I might say.”
“Is that girl really your niece?” the Second Sister asked.
“Yes… she is. However, Sister, I am informing you now, and I will inform Commander Dust and Phasma of this later. No one, under any circumstance, is to know of her relationship to me. To the Empire, she is just another Rebel having been captured. Understand?”
“Yes, Lord Midnight,” the Second Sister agreed.
"What if she's bugged? The Rebels could track her to your base," Nightbird pointed out.
"If she is, the storms are too heavy for a signal from her ship to reach out. But..." she picked up the buzz droid by the leg, watching it's crushed body hanging by a thread. "If one of her pets is here, the rest of them will be as well. Send officers to check the ship for any others, do a full sensor sweep."
"Understood," the Grand Inquisitor nodded, leaving her be.
"What if there's a chance of a signal being sent? Without knowing the exact number of online droids within the vessel, the chances of them dispatching a signal successfully are 742 to 1."
"I know she'll find a way to send a call, either her, or the family's pets," Midnight calmly, but sternly answered. "And if they do, the fleet will take care of them before they touch the ground. Now, I have an important call to make, and I require isolation."
"As you command," the Dark Trooper responded, marching away, leaving Midnight alone to the projector table.
"Oh God, oh God, oh God... OH GOD!!!"
Bon Bon ran right back into the briefing room where Sunset and the Jedi had gathered. Everyone had been working for the past few hours trying to track Flurry and the ship, but to no avail. The ship's tracker was lost, making searching a complete nightmare.
“Ugh, where could she have gone!?” Bon Bon ranted, pacing back and forth. “I should have stayed with her, should have watched her, I… why did she even run off like that?”
The Mandalorian slammed her back into the wall and threw her head back. She slid against the wall again, slumping onto her butt when she hit the floor. Fluttershy frowned softly, squatting down to be at her level, next to Rarity and Rainbow.
“… What kind of mother am I?” Bon Bon whispered, trying not to croak again.
“Now you listen right now, this is not your fault,” Rarity sternly said, interrupting any other thought that could come into Bon Bon’s mind. “But you need to stay calm, we will find her. Is there any place in the galaxy that Flurry likes to go clear her head?”
“Any fun hotspots, vacation places, barren lands to take out anger…?” Rainbow continued to press.
“No, if she was mad, she'd punch holes in the walls, or take it out on Tatooine’s sand dunes,” Bon Bon answered. “I just don’t understand, I know she’s full of grief, but she wouldn’t just leave like that… would she?”
“Grief does a lot of horrible things to people, I’m afraid,” Fluttershy frowned. “… That’s not helpful, is it?”
“I just… what was the last thing she was doing before she left, did any of you see her before she suddenly escaped with my house?” Bon Bon asked.
Sunset who had been quiet the entire time froze in place, not turning around and nervously facing the projector table with guilt.
“Pinkie, what about you?”
“Nope. I tried to invite her to sit so she can have someone to scream at, but she just went to go talk to Sunset,” Pinkie answered.
Now Sunset flinched in place. She grit her teeth, trying not to get mad, on top of everything else that was starting to pile.
“Sunset, what did you say to her?” Rainbow asked.
“…”
“Sunset?” Applejack pressed, raising a brow.
“I… didn’t tell her anything,” Sunset replied. She turned around, trying to maintain a neutral face, but it was getting increasingly difficult.
“Sunset…” Bon Bon’s voice got lower, especially as she stood up to look her in the eye. “Do not lie to me. Flurry saw you, and she got angry. What did you two talk about?”
Sunset took a deep breath and sighed. “Flurry wanted to speak to me about her night terrors, which quickly derailed into a conversation about dealing with death during the Clone Wars. I told her it wasn’t easy, but she kept asking more questions I wasn’t prepared for.”
“About what?” Bon Bon pressed, folding her arms.
“… She asked about Twilight,” Sunset defeatedly answered. There was no dancing around this now, this situation was beyond salvation now.
“… Oh kriff,” Bon Bon realized. “Kriff, KRIFF, KRIFF, KRIFF, HOW!?”
“I don’t know! She figured it out, or something, she put it together on her own! I tried to stop her, but she left before I could stop her!”
Pinkie was about to step in until she saw a red flashing chirp coming from the projector table she was in front of. A message was coming in with no coordinates displaying the origin.
“Oh that’s just wonderful, Sunset! Really, reaaallly wonderful! Glad to know I can count on you and the rest of you idiots to keep my child safe!” Bon Bon growled to everyone.
“Hey, don’t get mad at us, we’re not the ones who insisted on keeping this a secret!” Rainbow argued.
“Maybe if we had been honest with her from the start—”
“Um, girls?” Pinkie tried to interrupt. “We have a call coming in, we reaaaally need to answer it—”
“—NO!” Everyone shouted.
“Bon Bon, it doesn’t matter anymore, what matters is that we find her, and get her home,” Sunset spun. “I’m sorry we weren’t honest with her, but she didn’t give us a warning that she was going to just up and vanish.”
“… I think we all are to blame right now,” Fluttershy admitted.
“Okay, we really need to answer this call now!” Pinkie snapped.
“I don’t want to hear it right now,” Sunset held a hand up. “Look, Bon Bon, we can just—"
“—Is something wrong, Sunset?” That voice sent chills down Sunset’s spine, along with everyone else in the room. Slowly they all turned around to look at the projector, gasping and freezing up at the person who was talking to them. “You have prided yourself on not letting me gain victory; and yet I find your efforts to fight the Galactic Empire to be anything but successful.”
All eyes turned around to the massive holoprojector. The bust of Midnight Sparkle flickered on the projection, camera kept only to her shoulders and up as she faced them. Her breathing echoed in the room, sending chills down everyone’s spine.
“Midnight,” Sunset hissed.
“I congratulate you and your team for finding the Separatists. It was becoming too easy to hunt them down… I appreciate your Rebels for giving me a challenge.”
“Where is Flurry Heart?” Fluttershy glared.
“She is safe in my care. Lyra and her Mandalorian spouse have done their job; in fact, I appreciate all they have done for her. But now it is my responsibility to care for her.”
“You wouldn’t know the first thing about caring for an individual’s well being!” Rarity spat. “If you put one finger on her—”
“—Flurry is all I have left to my family,” Midnight interrupted, coldly. “The last thing I intend to do is harm her. There will be no modifications or upgrades to her, unlike my Inquisitorus. In fact, I intend to finish her training, to give her the skills that she lacked from the Jedi way.”
“You wouldn’t dare…”
“I will be taking care of her like I should have done a long time ago. I will raise her to be a proper adult, and give her everything your Rebellion couldn’t afford to give her. A child needs to grow up in an environment where she can be cared for, and given the proper nurture and development. If you care for her, you will not find me. You will not rescue her.”
“You realize we aren’t going to just sit here and stew, right?” Rainbow growled.
“I am fully aware. But heed my warning, if you come here to rescue her… you will all die. It would be a shame for the great Jedi Masters to meet their demise after being in hiding for so long. If you care for Flurry Heart you will let her go. She’s in my care now. You have done your job. And to Bon Bon Heartstrings?”
The Mandalorian glared at her under the helmet.
“What?”
“You are forever in my debt for protecting my niece for so long. Should we meet in battle; you will be left alone. But your job is done.”
“She is my daughter!” Bon Bon roared, slamming her fist into a bare spot on the table. “She doesn’t belong to you.”
“She is family,” Midnight repeated. “And I grow tiresome of little things getting in my way.” She stopped for a second to look at her. “Take solace in this. You will not be replaced. As of this afternoon, Flurry Heart will be a new protégé and my successor in ruling the Galactic Empire."
Just like that, the transmission cut off, leaving a stunned silence from everyone. Shaking whispers and racing hearts came from everyone, finally realizing the severity of the situation.
"We're not just going to stand here, are we? We gotta find her, is there any way we can track where that signal came from?" Rainbow looked.
"Ugh, I tried!" Pinkie whinned. "She made the signal close-circuited, I can't track the source! I'm so useless!"
"You at least tried," Fluttershy sympathized. "We just need to find another way to look for her, I'm sure if we all put our heads together, we can find her, right?"
Sunset was frozen stiff, leaning against the table. Her heart beat faster, ringing hit her ears, breath starting to shake.
"Sunset? Sunset are you okay?"
"I... I need a minute. M-Maybe an hour..." Sunset paused. The general straightened her pose before looking to the girls. "Search for Midnight's location, flood it on every channel, I don't care. Getting her back is our priority."
"Sunset, this could take days--"
"--Do you think I don't know that?" Sunset's voice lowered. Now everyone was scared. Whenever her voice got quiet, it meant she was going to get angry. "Do you think I have zero idea of how long this is going to be? For all I know, she could be dead, and Midnight is toying with us," Sunset growled, her fists shaking. "If she kills Flurry Heart..."
Sunset's head raised up, and almost robotically, she walked away from her friends, leaving the room and leaving the adults bewildered. Fluttershy and Rarity looked to each other, Pinkie and Rainbow's jaws were slightly agape, worried sick about Sunset sounded ready to scream at them. Bon Bon was too focused on working on the projector table to listen to anyone. Applejack just stared at the open hallway, where Sunset didn't even bother to close the door behind her.
"Girls... we put it off for too long. I think it's time," Applejack prompted with worry. "She needs an intervention, now."
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If those 2 are who I think they are, are they actually dead?
I need a quick reminder as my Star Wars knowledge is a bit fuzzy as I can’t remember or recall if someone frozen in Amber is considered alive or not (like i vaguely remember in the movies that happening
If I’m remembering something wrong and being a bit dumb right now, please let me know as I will feel a bit stupid for remembering things wrong or thinking about something else
11873092
It's okay. ^^
Admittedly the amber tomb is a relatively new thing, it was introduced in the Obi-Wan series, it essentially keeps corpses locked in place.
11873100
Ah, I see. That explains it. Thank you for explaining
Also, I feel really bad for Adagio, as I was wondering IF you would show those 2, as I didn’t remember seeing them being mentioned or talked about.
But this, this confirms where they were at 😢
11873106
I figured the implication would be enough, but I could give more detail on that much later. ^^
11873109
Oo~ more detail would be nice, it would give us a idea on why they are separated and not together all this time
This was a pretty intense chapter! Flurry and Adagio made it to the homeworld of the Sith... Adagio discovered the grim fate of her two sisters
... and now Flurry is a "guest" of the Dark Lady of the Empire herself, Midnight Sparkle. Bet she's really regretting charging off now...
And then on the Rebel side of things, yeah... the girls really need to step in. Sunset is not in a good place at all. She needs help, just as much as poor Bon-Bon does.
As always, looking forward to seeing where things go from here!