Star Wars: The Great War

by ShootingStar25

Chapter 17: Securing the Goods

"You know her?" asked Storm.

"Yeah, I do. It's a long story," said Twilight.

"Twilight, mind explainin' who this pervert over here is?"

"What do you mean, pervert?!" shouted Storm.

"Don't deny it, ah felt you gropin' mah breasts!" said Aj.

"That was an accident. My hand slipped, honest!" said Storm waving his hands in front of him.

"Likely story!"

"Hey, guys! We got company!" said Rainbow from behind Twilight.

Some more droids appeared as they began to fire at the group. Rainbow ducked in time as she now took position behind a barrel and began to shoot back at the enemy. Twilight moved her head to avoid a blaster shot as she turned her lightsaber on and began to stand next to her friend as she deflected some shots. Storm was about to help the girls when he turned to look at the country gal.

"Keep your head down, it's not safe!" said Storm.

"Got any shootin' iron?" asked Applejack.

"I found these upstairs, here!" said Rainbow as she tossed a belt over to Storm as he caught it. He then handed it to the girl as on it were two pistols in their holsters.

"Bucky McGillicuddy and Kicks McGee, I missed you girls," said Aj as she grabbed the belt and wrapped it around her waist as it fit nicely. She then grabbed her duel pistols, and she spun them around in her hands for a few seconds. "Shootin' time!"

With that, both Storm and Applejack now emerged and began to help the girls. Storm turned on his lightsaber as he stood next to Twilight who was a few meters in front of Rainbow as the pair was deflecting blasts and taking came of any droids that got closer. Meanwhile, both Aj and Dash provided cover fire for the two Jedi as they were shooting rapid-fire at the enemy. Eventually, they moved up, as Aj was now moving about while firing as she ducked and spun around all while taking out the enemy. Twilight and Storm cut down the last foes as the pair turned off their lightsabers.

"Yee-haw, now that's more like it!" said Aj as she spun the pistol in her left hand before placing it in the hostler on her belt.

"I can't believe it's you, Applejack," said Twilight.

"I would say the same thing about you, Twi. You're a Jedi now," said Aj as she was amazed by the fighting skills that her friend just showed.

"Sparky? Mind explaining who she is?" asked Storm.

"This is Applejack. She's my childhood friend from back home." said the girl putting her head down.

"Hey,"

"Howdy," replied Aj with the tip of her hat, "So, who are you? What are you doin' with mah friend?" said the girl pointed her pistol at the boy.

"You really want to try to aim your blaster at me?" taunted Storm as he now pressed his chest against the barrel of the girl's gun. "Think you're fast enough to pull the trigger before I knock you out?"

"Alright, that's enough!" said Twilight as she now separated the two. "Storm, she's my friend. I'm sorry, Aj. This here is Storm, he's... he's... my... partner," said the girl as she had a difficult time saying that.

"Partner, huh?" said the country girl as she pulled back the blaster and began to scan the boy. She used her family trait to see if Twilight was telling the truth as she examined Storm. Safe to say, she was telling the truth.

"You never told me you got a partner, Twilight? I thought you said Jedi were forbidden from falling in love."

"OH HELL NO!!!" shouted both Storm and Twilight as they glanced at each other and then turned their heads. "WHAT WOULD I EVER SEE IN HER/HIM?!!!"

"Alright, sorry I asked," said Aj as she adjusted her hat. "So, you're Twilight's partner, huh?"

"Storm, Jedi Knight," said the boy as he extended his hand out.

"Applejack," said the girl as she now shook his hand.

"Damn, that's a strong grip," said Storm as he was surprised by how strong the girl was.

"You as well, sugar," winked Aj at Storm.

"Did you find the shipment?" asked Rainbow.

"Negative. I searched everywhere, but all I found was her," said Storm.

"If you're looking for the shipment, they moved it," said Aj. "When they tossed me into my cell, they took it. Heard that they were gonna transport it to their secret lair over yonder."

At that moment, an alarm when off as it got the attention of all four.

"Intruder alert! All forces report to the dungeon. Take at all cost, dead or alive!" said the guard over the speaker.

"Well, they found us!"

"No shit!" said Storm to Dash.

"I reckon we leave."

"We can't abandon the shipment, we to find the loading dock," stated Twilight.

"Lucky for y'all, I know where it is. Follow me," said Aj as she began to leave. She turned the corner as tons of blasters pointed and fired.

Storm acted on his instincts as he pulled Applejack around the corner and up against the wall as the shots were fired.

"Maybe let me lead the way, country gal," said Storm as he was close to Aj's face.

"Have at it, sugarcube," smiled Aj.

Storm then popped out and turned his lightsaber on as he began to deflect the shots back with his blade. Twilight soon joined her partner as the two were now working in sync as they were blocking the shots with ease. Both Rainbow and Aj peaked around the corner as they saw the two Jedi and were amazed at how fluent both of their movements were. They both ended taking out the remaining robots and then did a Force push together as they sent the last bits flying.

"Mighty impressive, sugar," said Aj as she addressed Storm, "You too, Twilight. You've grown since last time."

"So let's find this loading dock!" said Rainbow as everybody now climbed the stairs to get out of the dungeons.

The four of them had made it to the computer room as Twilight was able to use the system to locate where the goods she and Rainbow had managed to save. The loading dock was in the courtyard, which could only be accessed through a tunnel. So they all were making their way to the loading dock as they had to go through the giant field of enemies waiting for them. Storm and Twilight led the charge as they made sure to take care of the droids and heavy arterially while Rainbow and Applejack were providing backup as they shot any guards that they saw insight.

It took a while, but the four of them cleared out the remaining forces that were left to guard the castle. They found most of the goods as Rainbow went to fetch her ship and landed it right outside of the castle as all four began to load the stuff on the ship. While they were loading the last bit, Rainbow was contacting Spitfire.

"Crash, what's up?"

"We got your shipment."

"All of it?" asked Spitfire.

"Well, most of it. But... you can still make credits off of this amount, right?" said Rainbow as she rubbed her neck.

"The deal was, all or nothing! So you find that last shipment, Crash! Or you can kiss that free round of cider goodbye." demanded Spitfire as the transmission ended.

"Well, shit," said Rainbow as she looked back at the three, "So... looks like we do need to get that last shipment."

"You're kidding me!" said Twilight.

"Wish I was, but... Spitfire demands we get it all."

"Well, then let's get going," said Storm, "The longer we stand here, the more time we're losing. Rainbow, get ready to depart."

"And to where, exactly, sugar?" asked Aj.

"Where else? To the city that's nearby. If anything, I bet you that's where the smugglers might be taking the shipment. So we might have a chance to catch them," stated Storm. Rainbow then powered up her ship as they were now heading towards the nearby city.

---

As the ship was flying over the grasslands, Storm had some questions for Twilight.

"So, how do you know her?" asked the boy as he was address both his partner and Aj.

"As I said, we grew up together. Her family are farmers and my parents usually buy from them."

"Farmers? What do you grow?"

"Apples, sugarcube. Why else do you think I have my name?" stated Aj. "But we're also merchants, so whenever we need to travel across the galaxy to deliver shipments or make trades, I'm usually the one that handles that side of the family business."

"I can see why, you're a tough gal."

"Yer makin' me blush, city slicker," said Aj.

"So how did you get wrapped up in all this?" asked Rainbow as she put the ship on autopilot for a bit as she turned her chair around.

"Well, I was hired to deliver yer friend's shipment. Then as ah was passin' by a quiet system, mah ship was under attack. Before ah knew it, ah had been boarded. Course, I wasn't goin' without a fight. I showed them just how tough a girl can be, then ah got jumped and knocked out. When ah came to, I was bein' dragged and thrown into the holdin' cell you found me in." said Aj.

"And don't think I forgot Jedi. I know what you tried to pull a fast one in the dark!"

"I said, my hand slipped! Alright! It was dark, and I couldn't see anything, so how was I supposed to know that I accidentally touched your... your... your..." Storm was now rubbing his neck as he didn't want to sound like a pervert, "you know... your... bosom."

"Why do you have to word it like that? Why didn't you just say breasts? That's the technical term," said Twilight.

"I'm trying to be respectful to a girl after I made accidental contact, alright! Get off my case!!" shouted Storm as the girls let out small chuckles.

"So, Twilight? Have you... you know... told yer partner?" asked Aj in a whisper.

Aj's response got Twilight to stop chuckling altogether as she put her head down.

"Twilight?"

"No, I haven't. Besides, if he found out... then... well, I don't know what will happen. But, I can't tell him. Not right now, at least." said Twilight in a hushed tone.

"But Twilight..."

"Please, Applejack. Not a word to him, he's my partner."

"Alright then." said the country girl.

The rest of the flight was filled with Aj and Twilight catching up with each other. She told her bookworm friend how things were back home. That their farm had undergone some renovations. Her family was doing good as they were making enough money to keep it from shutting down. As for Twilight, she told Aj about how she had continued her Jedi training and gained the rank of Jedi Knight. Then she informed her about how Celestia had come up with a plan to pair her up with Storm who was Luna's student as a way for them to improve their training. Safe to say, Applejack was amazed by how strong of an influence Storm was already making in Twilight's life. From their crisis on Christophsis to rescuing Jabba's son, and their most recent adventure of having to take down a Separatist warship that terrorized space.

All in all, it seemed Twilight wasn't the same asocial girl she once was as Storm's persona seemed to be allowing the girl to get out of her comfort zone. And based on how the two were giving the other a hard time, Applejack could see that both were excellent partners. The Buccaneer Blaze soon arrived at the city as they were had caught the attention of many citizens who saw them flying overhead. They soon arrived at the palace of the city as Twilight did some research on the planet Natura and found out that the king was a supporter of the Republic. They all were pleased to see that the ship that was making such a ruckus were friends.

Twilight then began to use her diplomatic skills as she informed the king of the situation. The King stated that hadn't seen any smugglers enter their city as they would know based on how everything that entered the city was manually checked by tons of guards. He did get reports from his scouts that something was traveling through the grassland at high speeds as it seemed to be on its way towards the city.

What the scouts reported is that there was a train heading towards the city, as on it were the smugglers who had stolen the goods as they looked to get to their lair hidden deep within the city. They planned to get to their lair and leave the planet completely. However, while they may have bolted from the castle with the last load of supplies, they were still miles away from the city. But even so, they were getting closer and closer.

So the whole group was now coming up with a plan to not only stop that train and arrest the smugglers but get back the stolen goods. The King had allowed them to stay at his palace as guests. For the majority of the night, Twilight was using the scout's reports to come up with a plan to stop the bad guys. Storm saw the girl was hard at work, as he was going to suggest she get some sleep but decided against that. He'd figured he wouldn't interrupt the nerdy girl when she was in her thinking phase. He closed the door to the study quietly as he began to walk.

"You checkin' on Twilight?" said Applejack as she was leaning on a nearby window still while twirling her pistol.

"Nah, just wanted to see what she was doing," said Storm.

"Tell me something, sugar. Do you like having Twilight as yer partner?"

"Wha?" said Storm.

"I mean, do you find her tolerable? Cause when I saw you two actin', and the message I was gettin'. It seems like you're both close, even if you don't show it that much." said Applejack.

"I mean, she's a giant freaking nerd! How can you not find that at least the tiniest bit annoying? Especially when she blabs on and on, not to mention all the different ways she enjoys kissing her master's ass."

"I see," said Applejack as she listened to Storm and his words, "Tell me, Storm. Who are yer parents?"

"I don't got any. Well, what I mean to say is, I've never met them. See, Twilight may have told you, but I was abandoned when I was a baby. Left alone, crying nonstop, I was helpless. Then one day, she came. It was my master, she found me while on a mission. So she did her best trying to track down my folks, but to no avail, she didn't find them. In the end, she decided to take me in and care for me. The crying continued as Luna said it was the one thing that I did, constantly. As I got older, she began to see that was Force was strong with me. So, she made her student and I trained in the Jedi Arts under her, very rigorously. Hoping to someday become a powerful Jedi, maybe even stronger than Luna. Then when I became a teenager, Luna had me do the Trials and... I passed. Earning me the rank of Knight and getting one step closer to fulfilling my goal."

Storm then thought back to a memory.

(Memory)

"How do you feel?" asked Luna as she stood there with her arms behind her back.

"Tired, not gonna lie," said Storm as he was out of breath and had his hands on his knees.

He had just finished the Trials given to him by his master and the council. The boy wasn't alone as in front of him was Luna, and next to her was Master Yoda. The girl looked at her green friend as Yoda gave a nod. She then pulled out her lightsaber and approached the boy who was still hunched over.

"Padawan, kneel." spoke the Jedi Master.

"What?" said Storm.

He looked up to see Luna as she had a serious expression. Storm then shifted to Yoda as he gestured his head to listen to his master's order. With that, the boy now got down on one knee and put his head down. Luna then turned on her lightsaber making a blue light appear as she began to speak while touching the boy's shoulders.

"By the right of the Council, by the will of the Force, Storm. You have proven yourself. Rise,... Jedi Knight," said Luna as she had officially knighted the boy.

"Jedi Knight?!" said Storm in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing as it made his hands shake. The boy was in pure shock at what transpired, and that he was no longer a Padawan.

"You are ready," said Luna as she put her lightsaber on her side.

Storm couldn't control himself as he leaped forward and wrapped his arms around Luna. Now it was Luna's turn to be caught off-guard as she didn't expect this, especially given who Storm's personality was. She could feel the boy's tears as her clothes were getting a bit wet; Luna was about to embrace her student when she looked over to Master Yoda. The small Jedi Master was seeing this act of affection being put on display. He simply put his head and gave a small nod as he permitted Luna. Luna then put her arms around and returned the hug from her student.

"I'm so proud of you, my student," said Luna.

The pair pulled back as Luna kissed Storm's head. Yoda noticed this as he couldn't help but let out a sigh that meant he was concerned.

"So now that you're Jedi Knight. Perhaps it's time to upgrade your lightsaber?" asked Luna.

Storm looked at his weapon as he now held it. As a Padawan, he was tasked with building his lightsaber. Not to mention finding the kyber crystal that resonated with him. The boy then turned on his blade briefly as a yellow light appeared.

"I think I'm fine with this one, besides, how many Jedi have a yellow blade as their preferred weapon of choice," said Storm.

"It suits you," smiled Luna giving one more hug to her former Padawan as she was smiling at his new title. She then left with Yoda as Storm couldn't help but celebrate and shout at the top of his lungs.

"Remember, Luna. Show too much attachment to Storm and the Dark Side of the Force, stronger it will be."

"I understand, Master Yoda." said the girl as she knew what Yoda was trying to warn her about.

(End of Memory)

Storm now looked at his lightsaber in his hand.

"You and Twilight are similar, you're both gonna make fine Jedi Masters one day. That's the honest truth," said Applejack.

"I appreciate it," said the boy as he was about to leave, "Hey, I was wondering... since you know Twilight, do you... do you know any secret that she's hiding?"

"Sorry sugar, but I don't break my word with mah friends. She promised me that I wouldn't tell you."

"But what is she hiding? What secret is she trying to protect?!"

"Sugarcube, the less you know, the better," said Aj with some seriousness in her tone as she looked at the boy. "Besides, she's not the only one with a secret that she's tryin' to protect, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"I see it in yer eyes, city slicker. You got something you're protectin' as well. In fact, I dare say it's probably an even bigger secret than Twilight's."

"Well, that depends on the person's perspective, now doesn't it?" said Storm.

"Is that right?" asked Applejack with a raised eyebrow.

"Say you called me a fortune teller, I could lie and tell you that's what I am, when I'm actually a brilliant artist, or even a scholar. I could tell you that I dream of world peace, when I'm actually planning for its destruction. Hmm. The truth is what you see with your eyes, not with what you hear."

"You're smarter than I pegged you for. Seems Twilight is having an effect on you, just as you're doing to her." smiled Applejack. "Hey, don't got to worry about me tellin' her. I don't what yer secret is exactly, but mah lips are sealed. I never betray the trust of mah friends."

"We're friends, huh? Well, then, glad to have you onboard, country gal," said Storm as he extend his hand out.

"Much obliged, sugar," said Aj as she now shook Storm's hand while tipping her stetson hat. "Thanks for being there for Twilight, yer the right person to be her partner. I appreciate you lookin' out for mah friend." Applejack then did something that caught Storm off-guard as she planted a simple kiss on his cheek causing the boy to back up.

"What the hell?!!" said Storm as he put his hand up to his cheek. He was now touching the spot where she kissed him as if he had been exposed to something contagious.

"Relax, sugar. It's just me expressin' mah gratitude is all. Besides, it's not like a simple kiss is gonna hurt you," smiled Aj as she left.

"For a Jedi, a kiss might as well be death itself," said Storm to himself.

He was still touching the spot where the country girl had given him a peck. He'd only been kissed by Luna before, but that was in a motherly sense. This was the first time that a girl had done it as the boy didn't know how to react. After composing himself, Storm now made his way back to the study where Twilight was as he peeked in to see the girl still trying to come up with a plan. He couldn't help but smile as he just closed the door and retreated to his room.

The morning came as the sun rose. All night, Twilight had been coming up with a plan to get on board the train and stop the smugglers from getting to their hideout where they hoped to escape. Reports from the spies said that the train was now hours before it reached the city. Storm opened the study room to find that Twilight had fallen asleep as her head rested on her hands on the table. The boy nudged her as it worked as the girl was slowly stirring.

"Twilight, time to get up."

"Hmm, Storm?" said the girl as she let out a yawn. "What time is it?"

"Morning."

"Already!! I can't believe I fell asleep while I was trying to think of a plan!" said the girl in a panic as she began to gather her documents and papers.

"Twilight, calm down! Your body was tired since you stayed up all night. Besides, I have faith that you came up with a plan. I mean, come on, you're smart. Like nerd smart."

"You're right, sorry," said the girl embarrassingly as she rubbed her neck.

"Now then, what's the plan, Sparky?" asked the boy.

---

The train was now traveling as it raced past everything green. The whistle was blown as it could be heard for miles and miles. On top of the train was the person in charge as they shot their blaster in the air firing some shots to show their excitement. They were about to pass a ridge as on top of it were our heroes as they were waiting for the train to pass them. All of them crouched on the edge of the cliff as they waited. Rainbow looked through her binoculars as she could see the train in the distance as it was getting closer.

"Target's in sight," said the chromatic girl.

"Steady now, Dash. Don't need to screw up the plan," snickered Storm as Rainbow stuck her tongue out at the boy. She then began to prep her blaster as Aj was doing the same next to Twilight. She spun then around her fingers and then pointed both as she took a deep breath.

"It's almost time, Sparky."

"Great," said Twilight.

"Let's go over the plan one more time," stated Storm as he got Aj and Dash to kneel as well as they listen to Twilight's plan.

"Okay, eyes front, everyone," said the girl as she showed the blueprint of the train's layout.

"The clock's ticking on this one, so we don't have time to monkey around. The train is already rolling and it's near impossible to stop. Thankfully, the scouts were able to divert the train's route which gives us the chance we need to catch it. First, Applejack. You're going to shut down the accelerator that's giving the train its boost. It's positioned near the rear of the train acting, not unlike a booster rocket. It's going to take your considerable fighting skills just to reach it. The catch is that it's being secured with a set of special magnetic locks which can only be broken by someone of your immense strength. Once that's taken care of, that should help slow things down."

"Rainbow, you and I will tackle the next set of cars," said Twilight as she pointed to the midsection of the train, "I need you to use your peerless marksmanship and to cover me while we make our way forward. It won't be easy, the train is crawling with guards and they'll be gunning for both of us. Think you can handle that?"

"Just make sure you take care of any droids that might give us trouble," stated Rainbow.

"Deal. Our goal is to reach a computer terminal near the middle of the train. Where I'm going to do some hacking that might give us an edge. Not to mention to find where the last shipment is on the train."

"Storm, you're up next," said the girl looking at her partner, "You're going to confront the person in charge and take them down. But don't get ahead of yourself, expect some heavy resistance. Once each of us complete our mission, we'll catch up with you."

"Just don't take too long before I beat the guy," chuckled Storm.

"One more thing, we're a team. And that's the only way we're gonna be able to pull this off. Everyone needs to execute their part of the plan perfectly if we're going to get that shipment and stop these guys. Now let's move out!" said Twilight as everyone nodded.

At that moment, a train whistle was heard. The train was now moments away from passing them. They could see it going at fast speeds as they all approached the edge of the cliff. It then passed the cliff they were on as Storm jumped and landed on the roof of one of the carts as he held on. The next to jump was Rainbow and Twilight as they now landed near their section of the train. Applejack then jumped as the final person as she landed near the backend of the train. Each member held on for a few moments before they got up and began to do their part.

Applejack was making her way to the last cart as she went through the other ones. The girl pulled out both of her pistols and going guns blazing as took care of the enemy trying to kill her. It didn't take long as she was neared the last cart of the train and saw the thing that Twilight mentioned.

"Alright, Twilight, I'm here. What do I do to shut it down?" asked the cowgirl. At that moment, she heard blaster sounds as she took cover behind some boxes and began to fire back.

"Applejack!"

"I'm fine, Twilight. Just tell me how to shut the thing down?" asked the girl as she peaked out to shoot one of the enemies.

"There should be a button on the magnetic locks," said the girl.

Applejack had just finished taking out the last gunner as she now approached the device and saw the magnetic things as they were overflowing with electricity.

"I see them, but I don't I can turn them off without getting shocked myself,"

"I didn't expect that. Sorry, Aj. But you need to turn them off, and not just one. They need to be turned off, at the same time."

"Why?" asked Rainbow through her comlink as the sounds of blaster fire could be heard.

"It's a security measure, Dash. Did you expect this job to be easy?" said Storm as he was running and jumping from roof to roof.

"At the same time? Right, Twilight?"

"Yes, but you can't touch them without risking getting electrocuted. Plus, I don't see how you're gonna do it even if there was no security measure."

"Then I think I got a solution. Seems I'll have to pull out mah signature Crackshot technique!"

"What technique?!" said Storm.

"Aj, are you sure?" said Twilight as she knew what her friend was saying.

"Relax, Twilight. While you were gone trainin' to be a Jedi, I finally learned how to master the technique. Now I can do it with ease," said Applejack.

She then raised her right pistol and took a stance. The girl now saw each of the locks as they were all equally spaced in a circle. She used her eyes to look at each of them and took into account that she only had a very small window to hit the targets. The country girl could feel the wind blowing in her face as her hair fluttered to the side. She placed her finger on the trigger and said a few words to herself.

"Focus, focus," said the girl.

She now closed her eyes as she pictured the locks in front of her. She then opened them and began to pull the trigger. To put things into perspective, Applejack fired some blasts in rapid succession as they traveled in slow motion. But in real-time, the girl had managed to perfect a technique passed down through her ancestors when it came to wielding a blaster. It was a technique that only the best shooters in her family learned, and Aj was one of the lucky ones. It allowed her to fire multiple shots at once. So for the girl, the bullets hit within milliseconds of each other as all the locks were turned off. The drawback was that it overloaded the gun for a few moments as it needed to cool down.

"Yeehaw, I'm faster than a six-legged coyote!" exclaimed the cowgirl as the device had been shut off.

"Nice work, Aj!" said Twilight.

With the girl and Rainbow, the pair had landed as they were now passing through the many flat open platforms on the train. Rainbow put her shooting skills to the test as Twilight took care of the droids for them. Rainbow then grabbed a bomb from her belt and she turned it on.

"Special delivery!" shouted the girl as she tossed it.

It landed by the feet of the bad guys as a small explosion triggered the TNT barrels nearby as an even bigger blast went off. Causing the smugglers to go flying. Twilight managed to slice the head of the last robot as the pair now stepped over the unconscious bodies that groaned as they managed to find the terminal.

"Now to jack that terminal!" said Twilight.

She approached it and began to type in some commands.

"Twilight?"

"Just finished," smiled the girl as she now had the location of the last shipment. "We're not that far from it,"

"I'm headin' to meet up with you," said Applejack through her comlink.

"What about the other thing you had to do?" asked Rainbow.

"Already done, now come on!" said Twilight as she and Rainbow left to fetch the last time shipment.

As the girls were going to get the last bit of goods, Storm had his objective. After making it to the last cart, he was now at the front of the train. He landed on the platform below and was immediately met with tons of guns pointed at the teen boy. He lifted his head to see the many minions and at the top of the train's whistle was the one in charge.

"To think that a teenager and his girlfriends are the reason for all this trouble," said the one in charge which was a bulky man as his muscles were bulging.

Storm didn't waste any time as he fought back. With blasters being fired, he pulled out his lightsaber to defend himself. He was able to deflect some blasts at the sentry guns as they exploded. The boy then started to do some flips and used the Force as he managed to subdue the minions as they all laid on the ground.

"Why don't you get down here and take your whooping like a man, bitch!!" stated Storm.

"Jedi! I'm gonna lock you in the deepest darkest cell! And I'm gonna throw away the key!!" shouted the leader.

"Give it up, bud! The fat lady has sung, and you're done!!" shouted Storm.

With that comment, the leader now jumped down as he landed with a thud. He let out a growl as he prepared to deal with the teen boy himself. Storm put his lightsaber onto a nearby box as cracked his knuckles ready to fight. Both began to move in a circle as they soon charged forward. Being a tad bit smaller than his opponent, Storm was able to dodge the first few punches while getting his own in. He stepped back and rolled out of the way of the attacks he couldn't block.

The Jedi Knight then began to add some kicks in as he managed to take the leader down to one knee. He then began to punch the man in his face as he did some left and right strikes. The man soon caught one of Storm's punches as he then flung the boy over as he landed on his back. When Storm was getting to his feet, he was now charging towards the Jedi Knight as the two collided into some nearby crates. Pieces of wood were broken as the leader now stood up. Storm crawled out of the debris on his hands and knees. He felt some pain as he clutched his side as it felt like he'd been hit by a semi.

The man didn't give the teen any time to recover as he held his head and pushed it to the ground. Storm was about to use his Force powers when he received another shot to his side as he couldn't concentrate.

"Time to go asleep!" said the man.

He now wrapped his arms around Storms as he managed to get the boy into a full nelson wrestling hold as Storm could feel his limbs being stretched. Coupled with the pain he had already taken at the hands of the man who was ragging dolling him a bit, it was difficult to escape the hold. He tried to get his hands to connect so that he could potentially break it, but he was losing strength and he felt himself losing oxygen.

"Time to say night night, Jedi!" said the man as Storm fell to both knees as the man towered over him as he still held the hold.

He wrenched more pressure to the hold as Storm was fading and fading fast. The boy was feeling the effects as his arms were now failing about as his eyes slowly began to close. It would be but moments until the boy would be knocked out. Just as he was about to pass out, something occurred in the form of a loud sound.

WHISTLE!!!

"AHH!!" said the man as he heard the loud train whistles go off. It was so loud that not only did it hurt his ears, but it forced him to break the submissive hold on Storm as the boy fell and he stumbled back trying to drown the noise that ringed in his head.

"My ears! Who turned on them blasted whistles!!!!"

Storm was slowly gaining consciousness when he heard a voice.

"Storm!" shouted Twilight as she and the others all landed on the platform. She had rushed over and bent down to check on her partner. "Are you okay?"

"Am I glad to see you, Sparky," chuckled the boy as his vision was returning, "I'm guessing you had something to do with that?"

Twilight and Rainbow then put the boy's arms over them as they helped their friend up. The man had recovered his hearing as he decided to escape as our heroes were distracted.

"Oh no, you don't!" said Applejack as she saw him escaping.

She looked left and right until she found some rope nearby. She then grabbed and twirled it high in the air as she then tossed it. The rope was flying as it wrapped around the man's body and held him in place as Aj held the end of it.

"Get over here!" smiled the girl as she pulled the rope and yanked the man backward. He was sent into Aj's fist as she gave him a mean uppercut that caused him to fall to his back as he was down for the count.

"Sleep in the dirt," snickered Aj as she had her boot over the man's chest. She turned back to her friends and gave a thumbs-up as they did the same.

---

The four of them soon turned the smugglers in to let the king deal with them. They express gratitude for the group as they were glad they could be of assistance in helping to not only apprehend the thieves but return the cargo to Rainbow for her to deliver. They loaded the last bit of the supplies onto the chromatic girl's ship as they soon took off. They left the planet's atmosphere as they entered space and proceed into hyperdrive.

"That's all of it!" said Rainbow as she was talking with Spitfire as the other three were waiting by the ship.

"A deal's a deal," said Spitfire as she signed off on the papers. She then instructed her employees to give half of the supplies to Rainbow as they loaded up her ship. "Now, about that free round?"

"Make it four," smiled Rainbow as she looked at her friends as Spitfire got the message with a smile.

"You've changed, Crash. You usually only look out for yourself, what happened?" asked Spitfire.

"Guess... I found some people who I trust to watch my back," said the girl looking at the three teens as they were talking.

After they were given their free round of cider, the four now boarded the ship as they prepared to leave. The ship powered up and now left the merchant's guild as Spitfire smiled at seeing Rainbow find her band of misfits. The ship was traveling through space as they soon arrived at the planet Coruscant. The ship entered the planet's orbit as they saw the massive city as the sun was out. Rainbow then descended where she first picked up Storm and Twilight as the ramp extended allowing them to exit the ship.

"Another job is done, Jedi," said Rainbow as she leaned against the landing gear of her ship with her arms crossed.

"Couldn't have done it without you, Captain," smiled Storm.

"So, I guess this is it for now?" asked Twilight.

"Fraid so, I got mah pay for deliverin' the stuff and it's time I head home. Dash, mind givin me a lift?" asked the merchant/farmer girl.

"No prob, see ya Twilight, Storm. If you two go on another adventure, hit me up. I crave some excitement," said the chromatic girl as she began to walk up the ramp.

"I really wish we could catch up more, Aj. But I have some duties I need to attend to."

"I get it, Twilight. And don't worry, I'll tell yer folks you say hi," said the country gal as she gave a hug to the bookworm as the two gave a warm embrace.

"Hey, Storm. Nice to know that you can get down and dirty, I like that," winked the cowgirl to the boy.

"You're one tough son of bitch, I admire that," said Storm as he smiled at Applejack.

"Well, time I skedaddle, y'all," said the girl as she tipped her hat to both Jedi Knights and began to walk up the ramp. "Twilight, you're lucky to have Storm as yer partner," was the girl's last comment as the ramp closed.

The pair now watched the ship tuck in its landing gear and then zoomed off as they watched their friends leave. Both Jedi looked up as they knew they would see them again.

"Storm! There you are!" said Luna as she had appeared. She had returned from her mission just a few hours and was looking for her student. "Where were you?"

"I was just hanging out with friends, Luna."

"Right? And you weren't off doing something without my permission?"

"Would I lie to you, Luna?" asked Storm with a smile as Luna held a stern look.

"Twilight?" asked Luna hoping to get an honest answer from her sister's student.

"He's right. We were hanging out with friends," said Twilight as her response got Storm to be surprised. "Now if you'll excuse us, Master Luna. We got some studying to do," said Twilight as she grabbed Storm's hand and began to lead the boy away.

Once they entered the temple, Twilight let go of Storm's hand as they continued to walk with the girl having her hands behind her back.

"Thanks, I... thought for sure you would have told her."

"And risk me being in trouble. Nah," smiled the girl.

"Since when did you get so mischievous, Sparky?" asked Storm as Twilight stopped in front of him.

"Ever since I started hanging out with you. Plus, it seems I've had some influence on you as well," said Twilight as she leaned in with a wink and stuck her tongue out at her partner. She then continued walking while humming happily. Storm just let out a chuckle as he soon caught up with the girl.

Author's Note:

And so we finally have all our major players introduced. Now all that's left is for when they all meet each other.

Comments

[nightshroud96]

11065403
Ok then.
I wonder if anything major is in store for him?

I forgot to reply to this comment when I saw it a month ago.
Oops.

[ShootingStar25]

11124348
It's actually been two months ago when I posted that, but regardless.

[Postwarmonkey50]

Finally those two got along. And nice to see AJ isn't holding a grudge.
Great job. Looking forward to how everyone will meet someday.

[Darth_krayt]

What about Spike I wonder if the sunset will get jealous if she finds out about the kiss

[nightshroud96]

11124364
10 days till its two months actually now that I look at the date.

[nightshroud96]

11124891
Yeah.
I wonder if Spike will be a major player too or anything.