Chapter 21: Enlightenment
Kara opened her eyes,and found herself in a familiar setting. It was a spacious dojo with the emblem of the Jedi Order engraved on its walls. The dojo was filled with young adolescents, all lined up in four straight lines. They were jovially chatting with one another as they awaited for the ceremony to begin. Kara then found a familiar face in the third line, and it was no other than her younger self. The younger Kara was dressed in a typical Jedi attire, gray tunic pants and robes with an addition of a leather utility belt and boots. ‘This is a memory,’ She thought to herself. It was a moment that she remembered all too well: the day she became a Padawan. “ I can’t believe this day has finally arrived.” A girl with dark skin, blue-green eyes and sleek black hair that was of shoulder’s length turned behind and said to the younger Kara, who went by the name of Trilla Sunduri [1]. “Tell me about it,” Her younger self concurred with her friend, “ I can’t wait to see who I will be assigned to as Padawan. Hopefully someone who sees a lot of action and is always traveling across the galaxy to exotic worlds.” “ Well I, for one, prefer a master that is less interested in fighting and more into other stuff instead.” Trilla intoned in a jovial manner. “ Careful what you wish for, Trilla. You might just get partnered up with Master Jocasta Nur. That way, you'll be spending your entire apprenticeship as her assistant in the library.” Her younger self jokingly said to Trilla. The two friends then laughed together over what they had said to each other. The sense of excitement for this day had overwhelmed them. It was a feeling Kara couldn’t forget as much she wanted too.
Just then, the door ahead of them opened, allowing a flow of Jedi Knights and Masters to enter the dojo for a padawan to be assigned to them. The most notable being Cosian Jedi Master Tere Sinube, a familiar face given that they have, for most of their childhood till this moment , been trained under him, Master Obi Wan Kenobi and Kel Dor Master Plo Koon. “ What is Master Plo doing here ?” The Younger Kara asked, intrigued by the presence of two high ranking members of the Jedi Council, especially Master Plo given that Master Kenobi was meant to preside over the assigning process. “ Maybe he’s one of those Senior Council members who’s looking for an apprentice to take on .” Trilla theorised. Although rare but not uncommon, Kara has heard of senior Jedi who had taken on younger apprentices to train. It was considered a great privilege to be chosen and to serve under one. “ Settle down, younglings,” Master Sinube said to everyone present. As soon as the younglings present settled down as told, Master Kenobi took a step forward to address the group of graduating younglings. “ I know how anticipating this day is for most if not all of you present. You all have faced great trials to be here today and to move forward into your next step of your education. But let it be known from this moment onwards, a heavy burden is placed on your shoulders, both as a Padawan and as Jedi Commander. You will be challenged, but always keep your trust in the Force, and may it guide you to the right path in these challenging times. Remember at all times that with great power, comes great responsibility.”[2] “ As the ongoing conflict shows no end in sight, the Council would be assigning each of you to your master instead of the other way around.” Plo Koon further added.
The younglings waited with their breath held anxiously as Master Kenobi started reading out the names and the Jedi Master or Knight they would be assigned to as their Padawan. “ Kara Antra ?” Kenobi read out the first name on the list he held with his hands. “ Present, Master.” The Younger Kara raised her hand up and identified herself with her name called. Meanwhile, a sense of uneasiness started creeping in the older Kara. This was a memory she would rather not live through again, especially after that fateful day. Kenobi glanced at the younger Kara before looking back at the list to confirm the master she is to be partnered up with, “ You’ll be assigned to Master Plo Koon as his padawan.” He read out. There was a sense of awe amongst the young initiates with one of their own being made padawan to a senior Jedi Master like Plo Koon. As for Kara, she was speechless. Everything happened too fast for her to comprehend. Never had she expected to be apprenticed to someone of great stature. “Congratulations, Kara !! You’re finally got what you had wanted.” Her friend Trilla gave her a pat in the back. For a moment, she didn’t know what to do. Everyone’s eyes were looking at her direction, anticipating her next move. Despite having waited for this moment since she could remember, she still froze up, unsure of her next course of action. The younger Kara turned to face her new master. While the facial expressions of his face were concealed by his breathing apparatus, she could ‘see’ the understanding expression from him. He knew and understood how she felt at this moment, as if he had felt before in his formative years. “ Come along, my young padawan.” He called out to her, “ We have much to learn together.” Without hesitating, Kara reached out to the callings of her new master, as the two began their partnership as master and apprentice.
The older Kara however, had seen enough. “ This is an old memory ! Why show me this ??” She called out loudly to whatever that was showing her the vision. Reason or not, this moment only brought Kara pain and guilt. “Because it was at this moment we were first introduced to each other.” An unseen voice communed back at her question, much to her bewilderment. It was a deep voice that sounded like it came from a voice modulator but yet one filled with calmness and tranquility. It was a voice that Kara recognised all too well which mystified her even more. “ Master Plo ??!” Kara called to the voice she identified as her former master in a perplexed manner, “ How is this possible ??” She saw her master’s dead body with her own two eyes. It was impossible for her to be hearing his voice. The vision of her memory slowly started to fade away before Kara found herself in some sort of mystical plane surrounded with nothing but emptiness and distant stars. She could feel the Force surrounding her. “ Need not concern of how, know that I’m here because you are here,” The voice of Plo Koon, which seemed to come from all directions, intoned back in a calm manner. There was no exact point that Kara could point at. Her master’s voice came from around her, as if she was in a cosmic realm. “ You have grown older and wiser, my young Kara. You have changed.” The voice further added.
Hearing the voice of her former master after over 16 years brought great relief and happiness into Kara’s heart. “ I’ve taken on an apprentice, Master Plo.” Said Kara. There was a brief silence before Plo Koon spoke, “ I can see that,” He continued, “Tell me, why have you taken Sunset Shimmer as your padawan ?” It was a question that slightly baffled Kara, but she nevertheless answered her master, “ It’s because she’s strong with the Force. She can be the next generation of Jedi.” “Indeed she is strong with the Force. However, the Dark Side calls to her, and she has answered it before.” The voice of her master intoned. “ I know,” Kara admitted. From the moment she met Sunset, she could sense the Darkness that called to her and that she had given in to its temptations before. It was the unbecoming of a Jedi but nevertheless, she took her as her padawan mainly because she could be, despite the imbalances within her. She knew she could be better. “ But there is still good in her. I can feel it. She just needs proper guidance. I won’t give up on her because of her past mistakes,” she added. “Despite her badly checkered past and tendency to give to the temptations of the Dark Side, you would still train her in the ways of the Jedi ?” Plo Koon posed a question to her. “I believe in my apprentice Master, I hope you believe in yours.” Kara answered back. “I have always believed in you, my young apprentice. That has never changed, and never will.” The Voice of Plo Koon intoned in a soothing manner. While she wanted to thank her master for reaffirming his trust in her, Kara kept silent. In a way, her master had seeded some doubts in her head about her padawan’s training. She had done all of her best to train her padawan in the ways of the Jedi but what if her best wasn’t enough to keep the Dark Side at bay. Her own Jedi training was greatly limited after all. She would never forgive herself if she failed in helping Sunset Shimmer fulfill her potential.
“ I sense something is troubling you, my child.” Plo Koon said, sensing emotional conflict in his former padawan. “ Forgive me master, but I’m unsure if I’ve trained her as well as you did to me.” Kara resigned to admitting her troubling thoughts. “ And why would you think that ?” The voice further asked. “Because you were a great Jedi Master and a good mentor to me,” Kara continued speaking from her heart, “ I always looked up to you. You taught me what it truly takes to be a Jedi. I felt that by applying those teachings in training Sunset, I could make sure that she doesn’t lose her way like how I did for a long time. I’ve poured my best into training her, but her abilities are growing faster, and I don’t know if I have done enough to teach her, to do justice to your legacy.” “ You have no need to do justice to my legacy, padawan,” Plo Koon swiftly said in response. “ What do you mean, master ?” Kara queried.
“ My child, I once told you that you would learn that some things cannot be easily taught. Despite all the negativity surrounding her, you still took it upon yourself to train Ms Shimmer because of her spirit you saw in her, the desire to do good and for that I am very proud of you. You have displayed the qualities of a Jedi Knight in training Ms Shimmer despite your incomplete training. You are my legacy, Kara.” The Voice of Plo Koon reasoned to Kara. “ But master, how will I know if I trained her well ?” Kara further asked, still not convinced of whether she had taught Sunset well. She had lost her way for a long time, and hoped that she could change things with her young padawan. “ That’s a question only time will tell,” Plo Koon continued in his calm manner, “ My dear Kara, we are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of mastery.” [3] Plo Koon’s modulated voice slowly began to fade, so as the mystical realm her subconscious body was in. it was as if she was waking up from some long dream. The realm soon faded from view. Kara slowly awakened from her meditation and found herself back in the temple, with murmurs and a frustrated moan coming from Rainbow Dash. It was indeed a peculiar vision she had. Physically, she never moved an inch from the spot she sat in, but spiritually, that was the part she found hard to explain. Regardless, she felt a sense of tranquility within her, peace from coming to terms with her guilt.
Meanwhile,
Sunset entered the brightly lit doorway that was calling to her. The moment she passes through the doorway, and finds herself in some kind bright room of emptiness, surrounded with nothing. From the looks of it, she couldn’t tell how big the room was.the brightly lit room seemed to be endless as if it was infinite and the middle of it all, was a generic-looking bench, the same type found scattered along Canterlot City’s Public Park before it was destroyed. “That’s strange,” Sunset intoned at the peculiar sight of a common bench in the middle of emptiness. Nevertheless, she proceeded to sit at the easily noticeable bench. As soon as she sat, Sunset looked around the strange room she was in, finding nothing but emptiness in all sides. It was as if she was transported to the middle of nowhere. “ Where am I ?” She said out loud to herself. “ You’re still at the Temple as far as I know,” Came a calm voice that startled her. She turned to the source of the voice, finding a tall man with light skin and blue eyes. He had a beard and unusually(for a male) long brown hair that reached his shoulders. He was dressed in a gray robe, similar to the ones the Jedi in R5’s holographic recordings wore. “ Would you mind if I take a seat beside you ?” He asked again in a humbly calm manner, with a small smile appearing on his face.
Startled by his sudden appearance out of literally nowhere, Sunset quickly jumped out of the bench she was sitting on, putting some distance between the stanger and her. “ Who are you ??” She asked in a defensive manner as her hand moved to grab her lightsaber, just in case. Seeing that he may have alarmed her, The strange man proceeded to defuse the unnecessary tensions created, “ You don’t have to fear me. I mean you no harm.” He said, his tone indifferent to the tensions. “I don’t fear you, and you still didn’t answer my question.” Sunset said, unconvinced of his claim. “ My apologies for seeming like a stranger Ms Shimmer, My Name is Qui Gonn Jinn. Now would you mind if we both take a seat and let cooler heads prevail ?” The stranger who identified himself as Qui Gonn said. Sunset however, felt the exact opposite, especially how this stranger knew her name when she had told him. “How do you know my name ?” She queried. “ The temple told me so, in a way,” Qui Gonn continued as he sat on the bench, “When you first entered this Temple, it caused ripples throughout the Cosmic realm. Being a part of this realm, I was somehow drawn to the source of this ripple which is you. That’s how I’m here and how I know your name.” It was a confusing answer but Sunset nevertheless accepted it. Something within her told her that this stranger that calls himself Qui Gon Jinn was not a threat or in any way a danger to her but instead the opposite. He wanted to help her. “ Are you a Jedi ?” She asked as she took a seat right next to him. “ I was, a long time ago. But we’re not here to talk about me but rather about you.”
“ Me ???” Sunset intoned. “Yes indeed,” Qui Gonn said to her, “ Why do you become a Jedi ?” He asked. That was an easy question for Sunset to answer. “ Because my master Kara said she sees potential in me to become one.” Sunset answered albeit with a slight confusion in her tone, unsure about where this was going. “ She isn’t wrong,” Qui Gonn said as he stroked his beard before turning to her, “ but my question is, why do you want to become a Jedi ?” Sunset found it hard to answer the question directed at her. Despite it being a simple question about her view, it was one that she hadn’t exactly thought through before. Nobody had asked her this question before, not even Kara. It was as if everyone assumed she was in the same mind as them. They weren’t wrong, she did wanna become a Jedi but she found it difficult to reason about it. Qui Gonn just sat and stared at her, waiting for an answer, as if he knew she was struggling to come up with one. “ Well I guess it's because I’ll become stronger and more powerful to protect my friends and my people from the Empire.” Sunset answered as she fully gave in to her thoughts.
“ And you believe that by becoming a Jedi, you can achieve this ?” Qui Gonn further said in his usual calm voice. “ Yes. My friends are like family to me. I’ll do anything to protect them.” Sunset spoke with resoluteness. “ That’s very noble of you, Sunset.” Qui Gonn continued, “ But be mindful of your feelings, they could be used to serve the Dark Side.” “What do you mean ?” Sunset shot back, her tone slightly iced with emotions. Qui Gonn’s expression however, remained calm despite the creeping tensions. “ The strong bond you share with your friends is a form of attachment, one that you seem to holding on and let it influence your judgements.” Qui Gonn intoned. “ Is it wrong to have friends ? To care for their wellbeing ?’’ Sunset further asked hypothetically. From what Qu Gon was trying to imply, it seemed to be the case. “ Certainly not,” Qui Gonn instantly dispelled her question, “ It’s natural of us to have friends and care for them but we mustn’t let friendship turn into attachments. Once you’re attached to something, it will lead to selfishness and paranoia. Your compassion for them will turn into obsession and will drag both you and them down a dark path.” “But it’s my responsibility to protect them.” Sunset argued back. “ And by holding such attachments, it will only do more harm than good.” Qui Gonn said back to her. Sunset couldn’t argue back with him, as much as she wanted to but she couldn’t find the words to do it. She was speechless to his point. “ Despite your good intentions, by allowing your attachments to influence your decisions, it will lead you down a darker path.” Qui Gonn continued, “ You said earlier that by becoming a Jedi, you’ll become more powerful. Power corrupts, Ms Shimmer, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. You of all people should know that.” The last sentence hit her the most. “ I know what you mean,” Sunset muttered quietly to him. She knew all too well what greed and a thirst for power could do to a person. It was because of greed that caused her to turn on her former mentor before. “My master Kara told me about this.” She added. “ Then perhaps you should listen to her more often.” Qui Gonn retorted.
Sunset Shimmer just sat silently. However, she was conflicted within. Qui Gonn had a point about everything, how power could corrupt even the most purest of souls. “Let me tell you a story of a boy I once met in my travels,” Qui Gonn turned to face Sunset, “Like you, he too was strong in the Force and had high ambitions. But what stood out in him was his unwavering compassion to people close to him. He cared very deeply for them and would look out for them till the very end.” “ What happened to him ?” Sunset asked. “ Eventually, his compassion turned into obsession and soon enough, he started fearing having to let go of the ones he cared for. It caused him to go down a dark and sinister path which led to him losing everything and everyone he cared for so much. Not a day goes by where he suffers the consequences of his actions.” [4] Qui Gonn ended his narration. Sunset stayed silent for a moment as she took a moment to process the story. He was trying to warn her about her affection for the girls, and how it could be her undoing. She wanted to refute it as strongly as she could, to show him that their bond formed the all powerful Magic of Friendship that spread harmony in everything it touches but at the same time she knew the destructive nature of obsession and selfishness can do to a person.
“ So the moral of this story is to not let my attachments get the better of me ?” She inferred to him. “ You’re a quick learner, aren’t you,” Qui Gonn quipped. “ But how am I supposed to protect my people if I can’t get attached to them ?” Sunset asked in a confused manner. Qui Gonn had a small smile appear on his face, as if he found some humor in her question. He placed his arm over her before he spoke, “ Well that my friend, is our true burden as Jedi, to balance our personal attachments and our commitment to the Light Side.” Qui Gonn wisely intoned at Sunset. “That doesn’t exactly answer the question,” Sunset replied in a confused manner. “ That depends on how you look at it,” Qui Gonn said, much to Sunset’s confusion. Just then, the doorway which she had used to enter had reappeared, showing the temple atrium where Kara and the rest of the girls were. Something within her was telling that her time with Qui Gonn had come to an end, something which Qui Gonn also felt. Accepting their time is over, he pulled himself up from the bench and turned to Sunset, “ It appears the time has come for us to part, Ms Shimmer. I did enjoy our little talk while it happened,” He extended his hand over to Sunset. Sunset, still very much confused and puzzled over the nature of their conversation and everything else, got up and reciprocated his handshake as a gesture of respect. “Master Qui Gonn I must ask,” She asked him as she shaked his hand, “ is this all in my head ? Am I being delusional ?” Qui Gonn quipped, amused by the question before he answered, “ That depends on how you interpret it to be, Sunset. Till we meet again.” It didn’t quite answer her question but Sunset nevertheless accepted it. As soon as he let go of her hand, Sunset Shimmer headed back to the doorway. Before she stepped through it, she turned behind, finding Qui Gonn standing by the bench and smiling back with her in a somewhat serene manner. That was just something about him and this place, that Sunset just couldn’t quite grasp completely.
Meanwhile,
Arkuntal Temple Atrium
“ Urghh, she’s taking too long.” Rainbow Dash vexed out loudly, visibly frustrated over her friend's disappearance. “ Have a little patience will you ? “ Applejack reasoned with her short tempered friend, “ She hasn’t been gone for that long.” She further added. “ i Still don’t like this.” Rainbow made her point known, “ if she’s not back in another five minutes, I say we scour this entire place till we find her.” Applejack was about to protest further before she was interrupted by a familiar voice. “ You don’t have to do that,” Sunset Shimmer said to her impatient friend. The girls turned to find her standing at the exact spot where she had disappeared. Without giving a second thought, they rushed over to embrace their friend who had just somehow appeared as she vanished earlier. “ SUNSET SHIMMER !! YOU’RE ALIVE !!” Pinkie Pie said out loud as she and the others embraced her tightly by their arms, barely giving her any space to breathe. “ Yes.. I’m.. still alive,” Sunset struggled to gasp for air. It wasn’t long before her friends relaxed their clutches on her, finally giving her space to breathe. “ How did you just reappear out of thin air, defying the very laws of physics again ?” Twilight asked as she launched the first questions towards her. “ I don’t think we wanna know the answer to that.” Rainbow Dash said in response to her nerdy friend’s question to which Applejack concurred, “ Kinda have to agree with her on that. This place just gets weirder by the minute.” “ Most importantly, did you find what you’re looking for ?” Came Kara’s voice from where she sat. in the middle of the atrium. Sunset could sense that something was different in her master, as if there was a sense of tranquility within her, as if she had found peace with her past. She couldn’t tell why but she decided against further pursuing it. “ Well.. it's kinda complicated.” She said, knowing no better way to describe the conversation she had with Qui Gonn Jinn earlier. It was one she could not quite understand completely of its nature.
Before anyone could follow up on her however, they felt a slight sudden vibration coming from the ground and pillars of the temple, as if it was shifting ground. “What’s happening ??!” Fluttershy shrieked in terror. The ground soon stopped shaking after a couple of seconds. As soon as it ended, Sunset felt a new presence amongst them, something which Kara had also felt. Just then, Sunset heard the noise of a lightsaber being ignited coming from behind her. She turned to find a yellow plasma bladed lightsaber being shot out from the darkness the alleyway they came from. Wielding the blade was a figure that was only partially visible thanks to the light being emitted by the lightsaber. Sunset could barely make out his body outline but could tell he was at least 180 meters tall. The figure started walking forward towards them and stepped into the atrium, where the moonlight from the sky shed light on the mysterious figure. He was dressed with ancient robes that covered every part of his body from neck to toe and his face was fully concealed by a mask that was similar to the ones worn by the statues.“ Uhh, who’s this ?” Rarity asked nervously about their somewhat intimidating appearance. Sunset reached to her lightsaber to draw it out before Kara placed her hand on her wrist and stopped her. “ There’s no need for that. He means no harm to us.” said Kara as she held her padawan’s wrist before she let it go. “ Who is he ?” Sunset asked.
“ He’s a temple guard, and he’s here for a purpose.” Kara replied as she headed towards the temple guard, facing him. “ Kara, what are you doing ?” Sunset called out to her master, unsure of her move to approach the masked figure. Kara paid no heed to her padawan’s call as she approached the Temple guard. She soon came face to face with the guard, with Sunset anxious over what would happen next. “ Kara Antra, bow.” The guard said in a heavy deep voice that was modulated from his mask. “ I’m ready,” Kara muttered as she bowed to the guard with her head down. She was ready for the responsibilities that were to be shouldered by her. For too long, she had her grief hold her back. It was time for her to take a leap of faith. The Guard lifted his blade and for a moment Sunset thought that he was about to strike her, before he brought his blade down, placing it right above her shoulders as he recited a phrase, “ By the Right of the Council, By the will of the Force, Karasynthia Antra, Jedi Knight, you may now rise.” [5] “ She’s being knighted,” Twilight muttered to herself as Kara, now a fully fledged Knight of the Jedi Order, pulled herself up. Sunset felt nothing but pride for her master, once a fallen grieving padawan had grown to become a knight. Perhaps she too could one day grow and become one herself. With his job over, the Temple guard retreated back to the alleyway before vanishing into thin air instantly. “ What in the… ?” Rainbow Dash intoned in a confused manner, seeing the guard disappear, “ You know what, I’m not even gonna ask. Equestrian Magic is way less weirder than this.” She gave up in trying to make sense of it in a vexed manner.
“ So I guess you’re officially a Jedi now huh ?” Said Sunset as she approached her master. “ I thought I already was when I started training you,” Kara quipped back in a joking manner. “ I don’t get it,” Pinkie Pie intoned at her, confused over what she had quipped. “ Forget me, did you find what you came here for, Sunset ?” Kara asked her. Before Sunset could reply however, she was interrupted by a sound of an incoming droid noise coming from the alleyway. “Where’s that noise coming from ?” Applejack voiced out. The source of the peculiar sound soon revealed from the alleyway. It was a floating black spherical probe droid which was fitted with a single eye in its center, had a black carapace and an antenna rising out from its globe like body. The probe droid headed to scan the painting engraved on the walls surrounding the atrium. “What is that thing ?” Fluttershy yelped. After scanning the walls, the droid then proceeded to head to the center of the atrium where they were. With the moonlight shining onto it, Kara recognised the probe droid. “It’s an Imperial Reconnaissance Droid,” Kara said as her hand proceeded to draw out her blaster that rested on a holster to fire at it before Sunset grabbed her wrist, “ Wait, I don’t think it’s here for us.” She said to her master. The imperial droid turned its attention over to Sunset, its inbuilt camera focusing on her specifically before hovering towards her. The droid then stopped right in front of her and attempted to project a holographic image. “ It’s trying to broadcast something,” Twilight remarked. The Probe Droid then managed to project from its camera a full holographic recording of what appeared to be a normal sunny day by the Clover Beach prior to the Empire’s arrival, where everyone was enjoying the sunlight while her friends were playing volleyball. While everyone else was confused by the holographic recording, Sunset recognised it. “ I know this incident,” She muttered. It was one that was hard to forget, no matter how much she tried.
It was a normal sunny afternoon over at Clover Beach where the students of CHS were spending their weekend following the end of their final exams. The Rainbooms were no exception, who were playing volleyball on the beach except for Applejack and Twilight, who were sunning themselves nearby. Applejack was taking a break before rejoining the match while Twilight wasn’t exactly a sportsperson to begin with. She would rather stay by the side and cheer on. “It’s been a grueling afternoon, but here we are at the final match. The next point wins. A hush falls over a crowd of ten thousand friends. Rainbow Dash narrated in her best sportscaster voice as she prepared to serve the ball. “ Go Sports !” Twilight cheered from the sidelines. “ I’m not holding back this time !” Rainbow Dash warned the other team which consisted of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Fluttershy squealed as she covered her eyes. She knew all too well how competitive Rainbow Dash can get. “ Bring it on RAINBOW DASH !” Pinkie bellowed out loudly in a determined voice, “ You and Rarity just bought a one way ticket on the express train to you’re going down !!”
“Nice game face, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash, grinned, impressed by her friend’s determination and readiness. “Thanks, I’ve been practicing all day.” Pinkie giggled at Rainbow’s praise. She then turned towards the camera of Twilight’s selfie drone which was hovering above them and grabbed it, “ Isn’t that right, little baby camera ? You’re in my house now !” She intoned out loud at the camera before letting it go. The drone began beeping as if it was scared and whizzed out of view. Rainbow Dash served the volleyball. It arched over the net at top speed and Fluttershy, out of fear, shyly covered her head but Pinkie leaped up on top of her friend’s shoulders and spiked the ball back over the net. Rainbow Dash dove into the sand as she attempted to serve the ball back but she missed, giving the other team a point. The ball continued to roll until it hit the feet of a stranger, to which it came to a complete stop. Rainbow Dash pulled herself up, bruising the sand off her face to find that stranger to be Sunset Shimmer standing right in front of her.
“Great news guys !” Sunset announced happily, “I’ve figured it out, Someone has erased your memories with Equestrian Magic. You may not remember it, but we’re still friends !” Rainbow Dash spat out a grain of sand while Pinkie blinked in confusion. Nobody said anything. They were all indifferent to her claim. Sunset wasn’t going to give up. She pulled out a piece of parchment from her bag and showed it to them, “ This is the memory stone,” She described to them the image on it, “ Do you remember it ?” None of them moved or said anything. It was as if they were holding their breaths. “ Right, guess not but we’re still friends.” She said as she took out her phone and began swiping through photos of them together. The girls peered at the photos unconvincingly. They were sure beyond a doubt that she had faked them. “ Oh please,” Came Trixie Lulamoon’s voice from behind with a laugh, as Snips and Snails were packing up her beach bag for her. “ This is the same girl who made flawless fake photos of your friend trashing up the gym,” She reminded everyone present. Sunset couldn’t argue back.
Pinkie snatched Sunset’s phone and studied the photos. She was outraged to say the least. “ Yeah,” She concurred with Trixie, “ Is this supposed to be me making a ridiculous face ? I’d never make a face like that,” She declared out loud, only she was making the same exact face she was denying. “ Preposterous, Fake I say !” She exploded out loud. Trixie cackled happily, as if her mission was a success. “ My work here is done and don’t forget Rarity, you promised to put me in the yearbook !” Trixie reminded Rarity. “ Wait, you did what ?” Sunset confusingly intoned out loud. As far as she knew, she was still the editor-in-chief of the yearbook. No decisions could be made without her approval, or has that position been forgotten too ? She took a step backwards, planning to go after Trixie before she tripped on the volleyball and her foot came crashing down, right on top of Twilight’s selfie drone’s wings. The drone laid on the ground, broken and flightless. Twilight raced to check on her invention. She was upset. Sunset very quickly realized her mistake. “ It was an accident. I can help fix it !” She apologized to Twilight. But Twilight was in no mood to hear any apology from her, “I think you’ve done enough,” She fumed. Sunset felt lost. She had antagonized her friends even more. She saw the others on the beach glaring at her, but none more obvious than her friends. They were equally furious. “ I’d suggest you walk away from here, before we call for the beach guard,” Applejack sternly warned her. “ But..” “ No buts !” Sunset pleas were cut off by an angry Rainbow Dash, “ Just get out of here you she-demon !!” She fumed out loud. She, like everyone else, was in no mood to listen to her speak anymore…. [6]
Just then, the holographic recording came to an abrupt end as a blaster streak from Kara’s blaster to the Probe Droid sent it crashing onto the ground with a trail of smoke coming from the blaster impact spot. In other words, the Probe droid had been shot down by Kara. “ That’s enough of lies,” Intoned Kara as she put down her blaster. Sunset stood silent and emotionless. What was there to say, after she was reminded of how much her friends whom she cared for so much turned on her as easily as a snap. After everything she had ever done, the times she had saved them from magical catastrophe, the good times they had spent together, none of it ever mattered. In their eyes, she was the old Sunset Shimmer, despite everything she had done for them. It reminded her of the Anon-A-Miss incident some time back. She tried her best to push those thoughts away, but it still kept on invading her mind. “Sunset darling, are you okay ?” Rarity asked in a concerned manner, having noticed her clearly distrubed friend. Not a single response came from her. By now all of them had their attention turned towards their bacon haired friend but no one was feeling more guilty than Rainbow Dash. She has never felt more ashamed of her actions than ever. “Sunset Shimmer, I know what I said was unforgivable and hurtful but please, forgive me. I..I..wish I could take back those words. “ She stammered as she placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder seeking forgiveness. Nobody had ever seen Rainbow Dash this emotional and one could spot a single drop of tear running down her cheeks. Yet there was no response from Sunset who kept her head down. She didn’t even turn around to acknowledge her friends.
She wanted to turn and comfort Rainbow Dash and tell the rest of them that the memory fiasco wasn’t their fault but at the same time she felt that her old image as a manipulative school bully still existed in their minds, even after her reformation. Her mind was in a state of conflict. The Probe Droid had successfully planted the seeds of doubt within her. How long more before the people she was protecting turned on her again ? “ Sunset, please say something.” Twilight said, her voice sounding even more desperate than Rainbow Dash. “ How is she to say anything after being reminded of how those she cared about abandoned her when she needed them the most.” Came a deep raspy mechanical voice. It was a voice that sent chills down everyone’s spine, one that Sunset and Kara recognised. They both turned around to find Darth Vader standing in the alleyway with his red lightsaber fully ignited, with his chilly breathing sound echoing throughout the chamber.
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