Star Wars, Episode Pony: Friendship is Magic

by Kendallonian

Chapter 7

The interior of the crawler was dimly lit, and stuffed with random chunks of scrap that Twilight could only guess at their respective origins. She postulated that maybe not all of them had been obtained through perfectly legal means, but Rarity had insisted that that was only a vicious stereotype.

In the end, the ride had only lasted an hour or two. Soon the deep rumbling of the engines beneath them ground to a halt, which was followed by the front hatch opening and letting in a shaft of early-morning light. Twilight’s eyes strained against the sunlight until she could make out a few tall, stone towers that were altogether too uniform to be natural like the surrounding peaks. After her eyes had more time to adjust, Twilight could see that the structure was still at least a mile away.

“Why have we stopped?” Twilight asked, mostly to herself.

Rarity was able to catch one of the hooded creatures coming down from one of the upper levels. After a bit of back and forth, Rarity turned to Twilight.

“He says that this is as far as they’re willing to go. According to them the temple is on top of an impassable plateau, and the only way in is through a system of caves with an entrance near the base.”

Another few sentences spilled from beneath the small, foreign creature’s hood.

Rarity hesitated before saying “Um, apparently they believe that the caves are cursed. That’s why they won’t get any closer.”

Twilight scrunched her muzzle. Cursed? What did that mean, exactly?

If there were further details, however, Rarity wasn’t able to get any. The small creature instead simply gestured out the door. it was time for them to part ways.

Twilight reluctantly gave a small bow before exiting the crawler, followed by the rest of the ponies and Spike. Soon afterward the ramp retracted back into the crawler, and the huge vehicle’s engines roared back to life, taking it back in the direction from whence it had come.

“Bye, friends!” Pinkie’s voice called out as the crawler retreated. One of her hooves was wagging in the air like the tail of a hyperactive puppy. Twilight had her doubts that the strangers they had met were looking back at the display.

“We’d better get going.” Twilight said after a few moments. She pointed herself towards the pony-made spires in the distance and began walking. As she did, she began to see more clearly the angular structures that held up said spires, and the gray plateau that held up said structures. Finally, Twilight was able to spot a small, black hole near the plateau’s base.

As the group approached the hole, Twilight began to feel that something wasn’t right. She began to feel cold, despite the strength of the sun at her back. From a brief look at Fluttershy, Twilight could see that something was bothering her, too. Or was she just scared of the dark?

Twilight stopped just before she crossed the threshold into the darkness before her. Her hooves wobbled slightly before she could steady herself. Twilight told herself that she had nothing to be scared about; it was just a hole, after all. The cavern before her replied with menace and foreboding; which, when accompanied with a general feeling of wrongness as it was, made for a compelling counterargument.

After a taking moment longer to steel herself, Twilight led the way into the darkness, drawing her lightsaber with her telekenisis to light the way with it’s acidic green aura. In her hoofsteps followed Rarity, who was in turn, shadowed a bit too closely by Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, dear; are you alright?” Rarity asked as the Pegasus’s body trembled against Rarity’s flank.

Fluttershy gingerly shook her head from side to side, keeping her eyes on the shadowed walls of the cave as they passed.

“Aw, come on, Fluttershy!” Rainbow said as she paraded herself into pole position. “It’s just dark!”

Fluttershy shook her head again, a dread certainty apparent in her features.

Rainbow rolled her eyes and pressed forward, out of Twilight’s sight. Twilight did her best to emulate Rainbow’s courage, but a similar certainty had gripped Twilight’s heart, and it was grasping tighter with every step she took. The most Twilight could manage at the moment was a slow, steady pace.

It didn’t help when they began to see the bodies.

It started with the occasional bone littering the ground; then pony skulls began to emerge from the darkness before them. The cave’s walls gradually became more refined and angular, and soon featured alcoves in which rested complete pony skeletons. That was wen they caught up to Rainbow Dash, who had been staring warily at one of the pony skulls like it might be about to wake and try to bite her own head off.

“We… ah, must be entering a crypt of some kind.” Twilight observed, somewhat shakily.

“Yeah.” Rainbow said. “I- uh.. Thought it might be best if I waited for you guys to catch up. I should be there, you know, for Fluttershy.”

Twilight didn't voice her doubts that this was the reason Dash had delayed going in further. She simply nodded and continued forward, letting the protective light of her saber chase back the darkness. The shadows of skeletons twitched and shifted behind their physical counterparts, writhing in anger at the intrusion of the green light.

Twilight heard a voice on the edge of her hearing. It was low, like a whisper, but extremely close, causing her to come to an abrupt halt.

“Twilight…”

“Uh, Fluttershy; did you just say something?” Twilight asked hopefully as she looked back at the yellow pegasus.

Fluttershy shook her head, trying very hard to hide behind Rarity.

Twilight chewed on the interior of her muzzle a bit before resuming her former pace. After a few more moments, Twilight heard the voice again, slightly louder.

“Twilight… what have you to say for yourself?”

“Who’s there?” Twilight said into the tunnel before her, coming to a halt once more. Nothing answered.

Rarity approached Twilight cautiously, here eyes flicking back and forth between the jedi padawan and the tunnel ahead.

“Is everything alright, darling?” Rarity asked, worry in her voice.

“Uh… yes.” Twilight said. “I just thought I heard… something.”

Soon after speaking, Twilight resumed walking, perhaps a bit slower than before.

The whispering voice came again, and Twilight began to realise that it was beginning to sound familiar.

“Twilight, what have you done?” Celestia’s voice said distantly. It sounded like she was being accused. This time, Twilight only missed a step before continuing.

“What- what have I done?” Twilight said to the darkness.

An instant later Celestia’s face appeared in front of Twilight, causing her to jump backward. Celestia was not quite as Twilight remembered her; Celestia’s fur, which was normally so white it seemed to glow, was now fading into gray. Her face was gaunt, like she hadn’t eaten in decades. Her breathing was labored, but an intense red fire glowed in her eyes, which were glaring in hatred; no, disappointment, at Twilight. That, most of all, was what made Twilight freeze in horror.

“Why, Twilight? Why have you forsaken the jedi?” Celestia heaved the words forth like her throat was full of tar.

“W-w-what? No! What did I do?” Twilight stammered.

Celestia’s almost zombified face shook back and forth, the rest of her shrunken body emerging slowly from the darkness as she coughed up black globs of phlegm. Twilight backed away from the creature before her as it approached.

“A Jedi is without emotion.” The spectre said; her voice sounding like rocks sliding across each other; “A Jedi is without passion. You have abandoned neither.”

“N-no!” Twilight said. “I- I’m doing my best! I-”

The spectre of Celestia charged forward to glare angrily into Twilight’s eyes. Twilight flinched away on instinct, but maintained eye contact.

“Your best is not enough!” Celestia roared, spitting out the words much like she had the black ichor moments before. “You are tainted, and therefore no longer worthy of the Jedi order.”

Twilight trembled in place, not daring to back up any further. “No… no… I-”

A touch from behind caught Twilight off-guard, and she sprang up against the cave wall, ready to attack whatever was sneaking up on her. Instead of some hideous creature, however, she saw Rarity’s concerned face.

“Darling, are you alright?” she asked.

Twilight was hyperventilating; she looked back into the tunnel where Celestia’s form had been, but saw only darkness. Her body was still coursing with adrenaline, causing the telekinetic grip on her lightsaber to flicker. For safety’s sake, Twilight gingerly placed to glowing blade onto the ground before resting against the cave wall and closing her eyes. She tried to take in a series of slow, deep breaths, which came out more as shudders.

No, I don’t think I am alright. Twilight thought. I’m not a jedi. I don’t know how to do this.. How am I supposed to figure out what we need to do? How do I fix any of this? I can’t, that’s how. There’s no telling if these so-called Elements of Harmony even really exist, let alone if they’ll help us.

Twilight felt tears begin to swell behind her eyelids, so she clenched them tighter to dam up the flow.

There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.

The code recited in her head didn’t help as much as Twilight had hoped; mostly because the whole thing felt like a gigantic lie. Twilight did have emotion, and she felt ignorant of so many things right now. Everything seemed ready to fall into chaos and when it did she and everypony with her were going to die.

Pinkie pie was suddenly there, wrapping her hooves around Twilight and gradually squeezing harder.

Twilight almost recoiled from Pinkie’s touch, as warm as it felt, it didn’t feel like she deserved it.

“Pinkie! W-what are you doing?” Twilight managed to croak out, still struggling to keep in her tears.

Another, smaller hug hit Twilight from the other side, and Twilight could feel Spike’s scales brushing up against her fur.

“I’m giving you a hug, silly.” Pinkie said, never releasing her grip.

Twilight stammered for a response. “B-but…”

“Because you look like you need it.” Pinkie said, anticipating Twilight’s question.

Twilight couldn’t keep in her tears after that. The dam broke, and she sobbed an ugly cry, simultaneously pulling Pinkie and Spike closer.

For a long time, Twilight let her understanding of the world retract, enclosing only her, Spike, and Pinkie. Over time, she sensed rather than felt another four ponies come in closer, forming a protective ring. A part of her cringed and wanted to pull away, but another part argued that this was exactly what she needed.

The time that passed in that way might have been hours or moments; Twilight could never be sure afterward. What she was aware of was her tear ducts gushing waterfalls until they ran dry, and an exhausted period afterward where Twilight thought she might faint. When she finally opened her eyes, Twilight was looking into the faces of five different mares.

“I’m sorry.” Twilight said softly, the words coming almost unbidden.

Applejack gave a genuine grin. “Ain’t nothin’ to be sorry about, sugarcube. I uh- can’t rightly say I understand what just happened here, but I think I can tell when a Mare needs a good cryin’.”

Twilight gave a short laugh, which was more to release tension than anything else.

“I must be the worst Jedi ever.” Twilight said. “We’re supposed to be the ones who keep everypony else calm.”

Applejack swished a hoof through the air dismissively. “Aw, come off of it. Nopony can be expected to be perfect all the time.”

Twilight gave a small smile before lunging forward to pull Applejack into a hug of her own. After a millisecond of initial shock, Applejack smiled back and allowed herself to be pulled in as well.

“Aww, yeah. Lemme get in on that action!” Rainbow said before ramming the group with her own ballistic hug. Soon afterward came Rarity, and then Fluttershy.

Twilight wasn’t sure why, but she felt a giggle escape her muzzle. Soon afterward Pinkie’s voice joined in, and then the rest of them erupted into a chorus of laughs that lasted for another perfect eternity. Twilight felt a few more tears somehow escape from her eyelids, which she thought must have been dry after her outburst earlier. These tears felt different, though; better; clearer, perhaps. When everypony had laughed themselves out, Twilight felt a glow in her belly, like she had just eaten a warm meal.

“Thank you, girls.” Twilight said softly. “Let’s go. Together.”

Twilight led the way deeper into the caves, this time flanked by a tight cluster of ponies that formed an impenetrable wall of defense against the darkness. The shadows of the walls no longer looked threatening as they had before, and even the skeletons of long-dead Jedi were made less threatening by the group’s newfound good mood. No more spectres leaped from the darkness to accost Twilight, or any of the others for that matter.