Darth Edris

by AntiBronyBenSwolo

The Defender

The dawn crawled over spawning a new day as Fluttershy made a couple of paper bags for the adventure ahead. Fluttershy took a deep breath to recollect her thoughts on what was about to happen. Starlight, Trixie, Thorax, and most importantly to Fluttershy, Discord was being rewarded the “Pink Heart of Courage” for rescuing the ponies from Chrysalis’ clutches. However, Fluttershy felt a great amount of guilt build up inside her. She had no plans to attend the ceremony, no matter how hard she wished the ceremony was more important. Instead, Fluttershy had a promise to keep and is tasked with finding a Jedi Ship, if she is to learn more about the Jedi and become one. But knowing she’s gonna have to turn her back on her friends in secret made poor Fluttershy wish she had no Jedi Force powers to master in the first place. The guilt momentarily subsided as a knock was heard on her door. The little pegasus opened the door to find Rainbow Dash in a stunning suit.

“I must say, Darling, I think we might be late for the ceremony,” Rainbow Dash said, sounding an awful lot like Rarity. Fluttershy chuckled as she let Rainbow Dash in.

“I think you got the two of them mixed up, Roach,” Fluttershy laughed as the changeling reverted to his newfound orange, green, and blue form.

“Am I really that easy to see through, Master Jedi?” Roach asked as Fluttershy handed him one of the bagged lunches.

“You weren’t even trying to hide. That’s the thing. And besides, I’m no Jedi yet,” Fluttershy remarked as she grabbed her saddlebags full of camping equipment. Fluttershy and Roach headed out the back door as to not be spotted by anything, pony or changeling alike, as they headed for their destination.

“So, are you sure my decoy has gotten me covered? I don’t want anypony to realize I’m gone,” Fluttershy asked.

“Relax. She owed me a huge favor back during Chrysalis’ reign. Nopony’s gonna notice a thing,” Roach assured as he followed Fluttershy into the Everfree forest, pointing out clues and indicators he had made to remind himself of the Ship’s location. The journey was long and hard.

“So, let me get this straight! You’re telling me you actually spoke to a Jedi?” Roach asked to pass the time on the journey as Fluttershy moved a bunch of trees and vines out of the way.

“Yeah. I think you cocooning me actually put me into a meditative state. It helped me understand the Force more!” Fluttershy explained. Roach took the opportunity to learn what Fluttershy learned.

“What was it you found out?” Roach asked, climbing over an ant-infested log.

“So, basically, the Jedi are supposed to be peacekeepers. They use the Force to help and protect people, basically,” Fluttershy recapped as Roach pointed out another hidden indicator, helping the two find their way.

“That much I knew already, to be honest. But nothing outside of that, unfortunately,” Roach asked as Fluttershy led the way up to the base of a large mountain and began climbing the giant formation.

“To be honest, I’m not sure how I would be able to explain all of this to myself. It’s just too convoluted, I can’t...quite grasp it,” Fluttershy said, sitting down upon a firm stone. Roach sat down along with her and tried to help her figure out their situation.

“Hey, I’m not sure if I’m the best pony to explain this to you, but if I were in your horseshoes, trying to figure out a power I don’t understand, then...maybe that’s why there’s training for it. To help you understand. It’s the ‘keeping it a secret’ part I don’t get, honestly. Don’t get me wrong, because I’ll gladly keep this a secret between the both of us. It’s just that if I were you, then I would ask only my friends to help me figure this out. And since you already got to that part with me, you’re already well on your way to becoming Jedi,” Roach advised as Fluttershy looked up at him with a smile.

“Thank you, Roach. I really needed that,” Fluttershy said as the two got up from their rock seats and continued forward.

“No problem. Hey, I think I’m getting the hang of this ‘friendship’ thing,” Roach joked as Fluttershy snickered.

“You get used to it after a while. And this is coming from a pony who’d usually stay inside most of the time,” Fluttershy said, patting Roach on the back. Up the mountain, they climbed as the pony and changeling helped one another climb the stellar formation. That was until they ran into a literal roadblock. A large formation of stones and snow blocked Fluttershy and Roach’s path, directly in the way of their next indicator to the crashed starship.

“Oh no. No, no, no, no. This wasn’t here last time I ventured!” Roach pleaded as he tried to shapeshift into a snake to fit through, but the gaps were too tight.

“I don’t see what the problem is. It’s directly on the edge of the path, and we both have wings. So we’ll just fly around and--yipe!” Fluttershy squeaked as she looked down at how high the mountain was. Flying over or around the rubble clearly wasn’t an option either, because the height could have made even Rainbow Dash a tad bit dizzy.

“It’s no use. I’ve tried every small animal I can think of, but I can’t seem to budge in,” Roach said, lumping down right next to the rubble hopelessly as Fluttershy tried her best to think of some way around.

“We don’t stare at anything to make it do what we want. We let the Force flow through us. So let it flow through you,” Fluttershy reminded herself as if Qui-Gon were reminding her what to do. Suddenly, an urge of energy mustered at the center of Fluttershy’s core, flowing its way to her hoof tips. Fluttershy then realized what was going on. The Force was telling her what to do.

“Can you please move aside? I wanna try something out,” Fluttershy said, focusing the mustering Force energy on the large pile.

“You’re gonna blast it all away with the Force, aren’t you?” Roach asked as Fluttershy smirked.

“Can’t think of any other ideas, so what do you say?” Fluttershy asked as Roach ran behind Fluttershy.

“Worth a shot, ain’t it?” Roach asked as Fluttershy nodded. The energy swirled faster and faster like a raging hurricane in Fluttershy’s center. The young pegasus felt herself control the hurricane in her center, and release it at the large rubble as if throwing it at the boulders. Unfortunately, the shockwave only blasted the snow off of the boulders, which only shook a little.

“That...that’s it?” Roach asked as Fluttershy examined the rubble still blocking their path.

“I don’t understand. I was thinking it’d knock them all off or something,” Fluttershy said, disappointed by the result.

“I don’t get it either, Maybe we should try again? Hope for a different result?” Roach asked as Fluttershy noticed that one of the boulders, sticking out from the side, was starting to break loose.

“I think we should work smarter, rather than harder,” Fluttershy concluded as she returned to her position. She let the hurricane-like energy muster inside her once more and calmed her mind. She concentrated once more on the rubble. But instead of blowing the rubble out of the way, she focused on that one loose rock, breaking through. Her hoof extended slowly as she let the energy slip through it and surround the loose rock. The more Fluttershy concentrated on her connection to the Force surrounding the rock, the more the rock started to loosen even more until it finally broke loose, and the boulders slipped from their formation and down the mountain. Some of the boulders stayed where they stood, but they were not blocking their path as much anymore. Fluttershy took in a group of deep breaths to relax as she felt her forelegs tire and her heart race as if she was pulling the rock out with her own hooves.

“Woah. Fluttershy, that was--”

“Tiring. I know,” Fluttershy said, cutting off Roach and collapsing to the ground.

“I...I was gonna say ‘amazing’,” Roach said, helping lay Fluttershy down by the side of the mountain.

“Oh. Well...I’m glad you think so,” Fluttershy responded as she made herself comfortable, despite the fact she’s resting on stones.

“I think this is a good place to make camp, don’t you think?” Roach said, pulling out the paper bags Fluttershy had packed, and the two opened up their rather small lunches.

“I hope you don’t mind the sandwich. I didn’t know how to put actual love in a paper bag, so…” Fluttershy said, chuckling behind her mane.

“Oh, hey, don’t sweat it. Just because we eat love...well used to eat it, doesn’t mean our diets can’t consist of anything else. Besides, this sandwich is so good,” Roach informed as Fluttershy had a bite of her sandwich. As the two finished up their lunch bags and recovered from their exhaustion, Roach led Fluttershy to the top of the mountain, which featured a giant cavern entrance, and the last of Roach’s little clues.

“Well, this is it,” Roach said, pointing at the cave entrance. Fluttershy looked into the cave to see what was in there. Roach lit the cavern with his horn and revealed a dark seemingly bottomless pit rather than a usual cavern floor. Fluttershy backed away from the dark pit.

“I’m, uhhh...starting to get some second thoughts about this,” Fluttershy said, refusing to look down.

“Can’t be that far down. Watch this,” Roach said, picking up a pebble. Roach tossed the little rock down the chasm and waited for it to land.

...One…

...Two…

...Three…

...Four…

...Five…

Plop! Roach looked back at Fluttershy encouragingly, who felt a little better after finding out a body of water would be able to break her fall. But to truly convince her, Roach decided to leap into the cavern himself. Down, the changeling went, letting himself all for another five seconds, until another plop was heard. Fluttershy looked down the hole and saw Roach lighting up his horn.

“Are you okay down there?” Fluttershy asked, hoping Roach didn’t hurt himself.

“Come on in! The water’s great!” Roach called out, his voice echoing from the bottom of the chasm. Fluttershy took a deep breath and decided to take a few steps back. She took another deep long breath to prepare herself for the drop below as she entered the cavern and leaped in, letting herself fall for another five seconds before she let her wings open up and float herself to the ground. Her hooves and tail dipped into the chilled water as Fluttershy could barely see a thing, except for the light from the top of the cavern and the light from Roach’s horn. The damp, cold air filled Fluttershy’s senses as she shivered, using her wings to keep herself warm.

“Chilly down here, isn’t it?” Roach asked as Fluttershy’s wings struggled to keep her warm.

“J-j-just a l-l-l-little b-b-b-bit,” Fluttershy shivered as Roach led the way down the dark, damp, and musty cavern. Fluttershy looked around the stone walls of the cavern, despite there not being much to look at. All there was to see were rocks, stones, trickles of water, and some odious plant life, but the most unusual thing was that Roach was leading her to, what appeared to be, another cave entrance. The two followed the strange hidden cavern, and almost instantly, every mucky, cold feeling Fluttershy had since jumping into the cavern felt washed away as she laid her eyes on one of the most extraordinary prizes she could ever see.

“Well, Fluttershy? What did I tell you? A crashed Jedi ship!” Roach announced as the two feasted their eyes on a large, metal behemoth. It was crimson red and light grey in color with two large cylindrical engines on the back. The front of the ship resembled a large hammer and was clearly a product of its time, despite that time being long ago. The ship was torn and tattered like an old doll, and was covered in vines and plant life possibly as old as the ship itself. Roach led Fluttershy to the faulty entrance of the ship as the door grated open, much to the dismay of Fluttershy’s ears. The two entered the large cruiser to investigate the alien craft. It was dark and dusty in the shipwreck, with broken electrical parts hanging from the walls and ceilings of the ship. Fluttershy felt pretty unsafe in such an old, fragile thing.

“Hey, how often do you come here?” Fluttershy asked as Roach looked around to find anything of value the two could dissect.

“Every so often. I found this place when we tried to hijack Princess Cadence’s wedding, and I’ve been practically obsessed with the Jedi ever since, so I come back here to try and find out what little I can about them. And now that I’m working with a Jedi in Training, we can learn more together,” Roach explained as he shuffled around some dusty old metal parts.

“So...if nopony has ever heard of the Jedi, then how come you figured out this belonged to them?” Fluttershy asked as Roach’s ears perched up. He found an old rusty metal fragment that had just the answer she needed.

“See this, right here? It has a strange alien alphabet on there, but I’ve been able to notice a pattern in the lettering, and I used that to translate it back into Pony Basic,” Roach said, lending the large metal shard to Fluttershy, who noticed the strange alien language. At least, the only thing alien about it were the symbols. However, Fluttershy’s attention turned elsewhere, as if something called to her, somehow. The young pegasus looked down at a couple of large fragments of metal covered in dust and felt something...dark, something missing. Fluttershy brushed the dust off of the metal and found a sight she’d never forget in over a thousand years. A mummified skeleton, covered in tattered white and brown rags and holding a cylindrical object in its hoof. Fluttershy was horrified by the sight and backed away.

“Hey, Flutters! You found anything?” Roach asked as Fluttershy remained shocked and silent at the horrifying sight.

“I was wondering if you--Holy cow!” Roach said, hoping not to disturb Fluttershy’s little moment.

“How...how could this have happened?” Fluttershy begged as tears started trickling down her eyes. She pondered what could have caused this horrifying death, and Fluttershy’s sudden fear of the dead Jedi slowly turned into sympathy for what could have happened to them.

“I...I don’t know. If I were to guess, they must have died in the crash,” Roach theorized as Fluttershy noted the cylinder in their hoof. She picked up the object and brushed the dust off. It had a chrome color with tinges of orange rust on the base, and hints of dark grey on the base of the cylinder. Fluttershy noticed a small knob in the center and touched it slightly, suddenly springing to life a large white beam surrounded by a green aura. Fluttershy flourished the strange device some more, as if it almost came naturally to her, while Roach spectated in awe.

“...What happens now?” Roach asked as Fluttershy turned the device off and returned it to the dead warrior.

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, we found our Jedi ship, and now you need Jedi Training somehow. What’s our plan for that?” Roach asked as Fluttershy looked back at the skeleton. She had never been in a leadership position like this one before. That was usually Twilight’s job. And for good reason, too. Fluttershy couldn’t lead her way out of a dodgeball match. Even against her animal friends. And even with her Force abilities, Fluttershy felt like she was being put on the spot with her new leadership role, even if her new team consisted of herself and her kidnapper. Fluttershy took a deep breath and let the Force flow through her like it has for her to get here. And with the Force as her guide, Fluttershy could come up with a plan.

“So, first, we give this poor Jedi a funeral. Then we renovate this place to become a sanctuary. We’ll use this place as a secret hideout for my Jedi Training, and we’ll use anything outside of here to our advantage for everything we do inside of here. No word of this goes to anypony outside this cave,” Fluttershy instructed as Roach felt proud to follow her lead, even if leading wasn’t her strong suit.

“Shall we get started then?” Roach asked, as he carefully carried the Jedi Skeleton outside to be respectfully buried. As the body was buried and a makeshift grave planted on top, Fluttershy placed the cylinder device on top of the grave and paid her respects to the Jedi. Even if she didn’t know this Jedi in person, it was the kind thing to do to send them off properly.

“May the Force be with us,” Fluttershy wished upon herself and Roach as they set their plan in motion.

Comments

[Vigriff]

You can't stay on the sidelines forever, Fluttershy. By accepting the responsibility of the Jedi, you've placed yourself in the realm of leadership and it will not be easy.