Chapter 7: The Force
Everfree Forest
The Next Day,
Sunset Shimmer slowly awakened to find herself still in the forest, with the tall trees, obstructing most of the midday sunlight from her face. Yet still small rays of light managed to get through, shining light onto her face. She slowly stretched her arms, giving a big yawn before pulling herself to a sitting position. She could feel her head aching as if she had fallen down head first or had hit it somewhere hard. But that was the least of her concern now. As she pulled herself up, Sunset found herself in some sort of makeshift camp. On her left view which was slightly blocked by medium sized crates was a large structure which she deduced to be a spaceship. She recognised it as likely the same one she had spotted earlier in the night sky. The ship appeared to have its boarding ramp down, giving her a small glimpse into its interior. Over at the ship’s front, she spotted a woman, who wore a pair of goggles to shield her eyes from sparks that were being shot out from the welding repairs she was doing. The very presence of her gave Sunset a rather strange feeling, one she couldn’t explain or felt before. There was something familiar about her. She recalled seeing her face the night earlier. In fact it was the last image she ever saw before passing out. That would mean that whatever Sunset had gone through in the Temple, that vision of her darker self, it was all real and it was all coming back to her.
“Beep Boop Beep '' a sound that sounded like Morse Code distracted her from her thoughts. She turned to the right of her to find the source of this new sound she was hearing. On her right were two more craters, with the smaller one sitting above the bigger one. Beside them was a strange looking android that would probably be the height of her waist. It was cylindrical in size with its dome being silver, its body plated with both red and yellow color, and it had two metal legs with wheels protruding out of it. It kinda looked like a miniature trash can on wheels. On its head, there were a bunch of different lights coming from different areas, and a small camera-like visor poking out of its head. On its body, there were a number of buttons and switches , and areas that looked like they could open up somehow. Somehow whatever this thing is, it was alive. “Beep Boop Beep '' came again. Sunset knew this beeping was directed towards her but she couldn’t understand what it meant. “ I see you’re awake.” came a male voice from behind her. She turned to find a man, with brown messy hair and fair skin. His voice too sounded familiar to her. He was holding what appeared to be a bottle of some kind on his right hand. “ Here, drink this, you’ll need it after what happened last night.” He said as he tossed the bottle over to Sunset. She catches it with her reflexes, despite having no intention to do so. For Sunset, it was a rather peculiar bottle in which she had never seen the likes of before.the bottle contained water, or at least what she thought to be water. The Cardinal rule is to not accept anything from strangers but Sunset’s throat was in flames, a symptom of severe dehydration and was certainly in no place to be choosy. She takes a big gulp from the bottle to quench her dying thirst. She had nearly choked on her own gulps. “ Guess that you might have been thirsty.” The man said, giving a little hurrah for himself for the correct guess.
“Looks like somebody is awake,” said the woman as she approached Sunset. She had her goggles out this time, revealing her similar brown coloured Iris as the man. She also had the same skin color as him which Sunset found strange. “Who are you people?” She asked. “ My name is Kara Antra, but you can call me Kara. “ She introduced herself, “ I see you’ve already met Karl and my droid R5.” “Droid ?” Sunset intoned out loud and then received her answer in the form of beeps and boops from the miniature trash who identified itself as R5. “ The other guy inside the ship preparing food is Zeko.” Kara added. “Karl, Kara and R5 ? I haven’t heard weird names like this before.” Sunset said in a mild tone. “It's your name that is weird. I mean, what kind of name is Sunset Shimmer? Who in the entire galaxy would name themselves after a literal Sunset ?” Karl shot back at her. “How do you know my name ?” She said, slightly uneased by the fact that they knew her name as she pulled herself up from the ground. Kara sensed the uneasiness in her. “ We’ll talk about that after you eat. You’ll need your energy after that ordeal you had last night.” She said in hopes of easing the tension within Sunset.“ Alright who’s up for some signature Ardennian roasted Mynocks ?” Zeko said out loud as he walked down from the ramp, with his four arms supporting four trays of roasted Mynock [1], a signature dish from Ardennia, his homeworld.
Sunset Shimmer has seen all kinds of weird and unexplained things in her life. But nothing beats seeing a four armed talking alien who could apparently cook well. “ Arghhhhh !!!” She screeched out loud and bounced backwards, startling everyone else, including the droid. Zeko was startled enough to let go of the trays dropping the juicy roasted Mynock onto the mud filled ground. “Great kid. Do you know how hard it was to make this thing ?” He exclaimed at her, clearly dismayed. “WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING !!! AND HOW IS IT TALKING TO ME ??!” Sunset screamed in confusion, her heart pounding more than ever. “ Calm down there. You’re not doing anyone a favour by freaking out.” Kara said in a calm voice hoping to calm her down. “ You’re acting like this is the first time you’ve seen a different species.” Karl concurred. “ That’s because it is. This is a primitive system Karl.The people here have probably not seen an off-worlder before.” Zeko pointed out. “ An offworlder ? You guys are from space ?” Sunset said as she pointed upwards to the sky. Karl answered Sunset’s question. “ In simpler terms, yes we are.” “So there is actually life out there ?” Sunset asked, slightly amazed. Zeko nodded at her question, “ Kid, you have no idea how much the galaxy is filled with life, both Sentient and non Sentient.” “Sunset, your planet is just one of countless star systems booming with life.” Kara concurred with Zeko. “ Well that’s an eye opener for me,” Sunset said before querying further, “ So what brings you guys to this world ?” “ You did,” Kara’s answer was short but couldn’t be clear enough. “Me ?” Sunset said in a confused tone. How is it that she, a nobody from like what the four armed being pointed out, a primitive system attracted the attention of space travellers. “ I think it's time we have that talk. Walk with me.” Kara said. Sunset nodded back, “Okay I guess.” “ Don’t take too long. The wildlife here is a real pain.” said Karl as Sunset and Kara take off to the words.
Sunset Shimmer didn’t know what got in her head when she agreed to go into the woods with a stranger from space. Her thoughts were raging with questions, mostly about why were they out in the woods alone, what was Kara going to do with her and how did she know about the visions she had back at the Temple. It made her very uncomfortable. They must have been walked a good distance from the campsite as the latter could not be seen from behind anymore. Kara could sense Sunset’s conflicted emotions, simply by reading her facial expressions. She was scared and unsure. “ You don’t have to be afraid.” Kara hoped to assure her. Sunset however, didn’t seem assured of this. “ What makes you think I’m afraid of you ?” She said with a slight tone of stubbornness, trying to seem brave and tough. “It’s written all over your face. But I’m referring to the visions you saw in the Temple last night. I can sense it in you.” Kara said. “What do you mean you can sense it in me ??” Sunset asked her in a more humble tone. Her gut feeling was telling her that Kara was not a threat but instead a friend, as if there was some sort of unseen connection between them both. “ I sensed it through the Force.” Before Sunset could query further they both came across a small cliff with a stunning view of Everfree forest, filled with peace and serenity. Down by the river bay was Camp Everfree, where Sunset noticed the courtyard filled with campers partaking in various camping activities. Parked close to the Camp’s arc were two buses Sunset identified to belong to Crystal Prep Academy, a one-off rival school. “ Let’s sit over here.” Kara said, pointing to a couple medium sized rocks behind them. “ You’ll need a peaceful environment to process things through.” She added. Sunset couldn’t argue with that.
“ What is the Force ?” Sunset asked as they sat on the rocks overlooking the scenic view. Somehow in a way that Sunset couldn’t explain, she felt that she had asked the right question. “ The Force is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us and binds us all together.”[2] Kara explained this ubiquitous power. Sunset was clearly puzzled by what Kara had said, “ I don’t get it.” She said in a confused tone. “ I don’t blame you. It’s something you must feel to understand.” Kara continued, “ Place your hand onto the ground.” She added. Sunset did as she was told, placing her hand onto the earth. “ Close your eyes and focus.” Kara instructed. Sunset closed her eyes, rendering her vision with complete darkness as she put her full focus to the dirt she could feel with her open palm. If Sunset hadn’t dealt with Equestrian Magic in the past, she wouldn’t have bought any of this superstitious ritual. She could see nothing but complete darkness, but yet, she could feel an energy flowing through her veins, touching every cell in her body. “ Feel the energy flowing through you, through every living thing present here.” Kara said as the Sunset connection to the Force gets deeper. She could feel a connection of some sort between her and the energy of this planet. Sunset had felt Magic flowing through her before, but nothing beats this. It was stronger, but yet peaceful. This energy came from every living thing present in the forest and the planet as a whole. She could feel nature itself flourishing under her palm.
“ I can.. feel it, Light, darkness, Growth..., death… cold and warmth…” She said as she got a clearer picture the energy flowing through. For the first time, Sunset felt as if this energy somehow connected with her, as if it had been waiting for her to answer all this while, “ And between it ?” Kara asked. Sunset could feel that in between everything that’s happening, there exists a delicate balance. This balance is what keeps the harmony, peace and serenity of the planet. “ A balance, I can feel it.” [3] She answered her. “ You can let go now.” Kara said to Sunset, who did so, with her heart and mind filled with tranquility more than ever thanks to her establishing a connection to the living Force for the first time. “ That balance you felt, that is the Force.” Kara said. “ So it’s like some kind spiritual magic.” Sunset intoned in a calm voice. “ It’s up to interpretation, but it all boils down to the same thing.” Kara concurred. “ What about my geode here ? It gives me the power to look into a person’s past by simply touching them. Is it connected to the Force?” Sunset asked as she directed attention to her geode necklace. “Everything supernatural is related to the Force, in a way.” Kara answered her, “ Your geode harnesses a certain aspect of the Force which grants you the ability of psychometry.” [4] In the past, Sunset had always referred to her geode powers as an empathy flash. She had never heard of the term psychometry before. “ Psychometry ?” She queried. “ It’s the ability to look into past events associated with a person. It’s a rare Jedi trait.” Kara described. “ Jedi?? What are they ??” Sunset further asked She had heard of the term before in her nightmares. “The Jedi Order was a group of Force Sensitive Beings that utilized the Light Side of the Force and were guardians of peace and justice for the galaxy.” “ Sounds Noble.” Sunset added before she asked Kara an important question,“ Are you a Jedi ?” “ Yes, I was an apprentice to a Jedi Master before they went extinct.” Kara said this time her tone wasn’t as calm as before, “ What happened ?” Sunset asked, intrigued.
Kara’s expression had turned sorrow almost instantly upon hearing Sunset’s query. She didn’t like to talk about it, the pain and despair she had gone through. Sunset could tell she had touched a raw nerve in her. “ An evil Galactic Organization called the Empire saw the Jedi as a threat to their power and destroyed them all. I barely survived the massacre.” She said, her voice filled with emotion and in a downhearted tone. “ I’m sorry.” Sunset said to her, sympathetic to her loss.It was a feeling she dreaded. Losing your own kind is not something one can endure. “ It was a long time ago. I don’t like to talk about it.” Kara murmured as she attempted to change the topic. There was still one thing that was bothering Sunset, the visions that have been tormenting her. “ What about the visions that I’ve been seeing ?”She asked “ The Force is strong with you Sunset. That’s why you’ve been seeing things.” Kara said to her. “ But why now ?? I’ve never had visions like this before.” She further queried. “ I don’t know why but what I do know is that these visions that are plaguing you stems from the Dark Side. It calls to you.” Kara said to her. Sunset felt goosebumps rising from her skin when she mentioned the Dark Side. She had always tried to distance herself from her past but yet it still calls to her. She didn’t know why, but what she does know is that she will resist it no matter what. “ I will not let it get hold of me..not again.” She said with resolve. But Kara knew better. She knew the Dark Side of the Force had ways of bringing beings into its folds, sometimes in ways that won’t reveal itself until it's too late. “ That’s good to know, but the Dark Side can be tempting and manipulative.” Kara said.
Kara noticed a blinking light on her commlink on her wrist. She answered it, who turned out to be R5 querying on when they will return to the campsite. “ We’re on our way,” She said before turning to Sunset. “ Let’s head back to camp.” She said to her. Sunset agreed with her and with that the two of them got up and started tracing their way back to the Gauntlet. As they walked through the woods, Kara felt that Sunset needed to know what was headed in her way with her extraordinary abilities. “ I’m gonna be honest with you, Sunset Shimmer. You’re gifted with great powers but there will be people, bad people who will intend to use your gifts to advance their own interest.” “What do you mean ?” Sunset asked, concerned by what Kara had meant.
“ There is an imbalance in you, I can sense it. They will use that to manipulate you to do things for their own gain.” Kara answered her. Her face was filled with concern. As for Sunset Shimmer however, she wasn’t the type to let people get in her head, “ I will not let them do that to me.” She said. Kara’s expression deepened further. Through Sunset’s eyes, she could see her younger more vibrant self full of determination, besieged by the daft belief that she could take on anything thrown at her. It was a naive thought of an adolescent girl who had not seen the galaxy as it truly is. “ They won’t give you that choice. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you and this world, but if I could find this planet, the Empire can find it easily given its vast resources.”
The remaining walk back to the Gauntlet was filled in silence and a little awkwardness for the both of them. Sunset was in her thoughts on what Kara said. She was implying something, and she didn’t like it. Back at the now former campsite, they found Zeko and Karl loading up the craters into the ship’s storage unit. Their return wasn’t noticed by them except for R5, who brings their attention to them with his beeps. “ Took you two long enough.” Karl quipped as he wiped his sweat off his forehead while stepping out of the ship. “ So what must I do now ?” Sunset asked, in a way that she already knew the answer to. As for Kara, there was only one way she could think of, but it wasn’t the way she wanted it to be. Sunset would have to leave everything, her friends and family behind to pursue a life of a Jedi. It was how the Order would normally induct members, taking them when they were very young to be raised behind the intimidating walls of the Jedi Temple, never to be seen again by their families. It was how she was introduced to the Jedi, taken from a family she would never know, all supposedly for the greater good. It was the one thing Kara strongly disagreed with and considered it a shortcoming of the Jedi. She felt that while the children should be trained to master their Force abilities, it shouldn’t be at the cost of separating them from their families and home. She hated to tell her this, but there was no other choice.
“ You’ll have to come with us, in which I’ll teach you the ways of the Jedi.” Kara said, with a sense of remorse in her. Remorse for giving her the only option of leaving behind everything she cared about. “ Wait, what's happening here ?” Came Zeko’s voice as he exited the ship and joined Karl, bewildered by Kara’s offer. Sunset somehow knew that she would say this but still dreaded it. “ But I can’t just leave my friends behind. They’ll be devastated.” She said, her voice filled with emotion. “ I wouldn’t be saying this if there was any other way. But it’s what is best for them, for the people of this world and for you. They’ll be safe from the clutches of the Empire.” Kara said in an understanding manner. She really wished there was another way. “ My friends are like family to me, I don’t know if I can make a difficult choice like this.” Sunset replied. She was conflicted within. On one hand, she wanted to keep her friends and the people of this world safe from this Empire, but on the other hand, she would shatter their hearts beyond repair if she were to just leave abruptly. “ Sunset Shimmer,” Kara intoned as she placed her hand on her shoulder to give emotional support. “ The hardest decisions require the strongest of wills, and you are a headstrong person. I know you will make the right decision.”
Sunset thought long and hard about her next course of action. It was perhaps the hardest decision she had to make in her life. It was between the greater good or the feelings of her close friends. “ If that’s what’s best for them, then okay , I’ll come with you and learn to become a Jedi.” She said with a heavy heart. It was the toughest choice she had ever made. “I understand how hard it was for you to make that decision.” Kara said. She hoped it didn’t have to be like this, she really did. Karl and Zeko however, were clueless as to what had just transpired in their eyes. “ So let me get this straight. She’s coming with us now ?” Karl asked. She turned her eyes on him and smirked. “ You got a problem with that ?” “ No problem or anything. Just a little heads up would have been better.” He shot back at her sarcastic remark. R5 on the other hand gladly welcomed Sunset into the crew. “ What about her people ?? Won’t they be looking for her ?” Zeko queried. “ I’ll handle them,” Sunset remarked, “ It’s the least I could do.” She added with a despondent tone. “ Very well, I’ll leave you to it.” Kara said. She heads back to the Gauntlet to where the others were waiting. Sunset pulls out her phone and clicked onto the Rainbooms chat group to inform them. She couldn’t bring herself to call them. Hearing their voices would crush her already broken heart. Sunset had considered herself a strong woman but only today she realized how wrong she was. She broke down into tears, being unable to say goodbye to the group she had become such close friends with. But she had to do it. It was for their own good, and there was no doubt they would have done the same too if placed in her shoes. With a heavy heart and weeping, she started typing.
“ Dear Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle, There’s something I should tell you, and it brings me no joy to say this. For some time now, I have been plagued by a series of terrible nightmares and visions and this was the cause for me fainting at the mall. I’m sorry that I lied to you guys earlier but I didn’t want to bring you girls into my personal problems. These visions and Nightmares were a part of something far bigger than anything else we could imagine and sadly not something that can be defeated by the Magic of Friendship as before. I’ll have to find another way to defeat this on my own and I can only do so by leaving Canterlot City, a choice I didn’t make, but presented. I can’t and won’t have you guys getting involved in this battle which I alone must face. You have been the greatest friends one could have in their teenage years and thanks to the six of you, I now value the Magic of Friendship and will always cherish the moments we have spent together these last few years close to my heart. I don’t know if I’ll ever return, but I sincerely hope we’ll be together again, like the best friends we are. I’ll miss every single one of you and the moments we spent together, and nothing can replace it. Yours truly, Sunset Shimmer. “
As she hits the ‘send’ button on her phone, releasing her lengthy and emotional message to their chat group, she immediately presses the button on the side of her cell phone, shutting down the phone. It wouldn’t be long before countless phone calls and voice messages from her friends would start flooding her phone, and it wasn’t something Sunset could bear to see or hear. Shutting down her phone would also prevent Twilight from tracing her cell phone location. She then proceeded to head up the boarding ramp of the ship, setting her foot on the place she called home for the last time. As she sets foot on the metallic floors of the spaceship, she could hear the ramp doors closing up behind her. Standing in front of her was Kara who seemed to understand what she was going through. “ I understand, more than you realize, how hard it is to say goodbye to someone you’re not ready to leave.” She said as she placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder. Sunset could only look down onto the ground, trying to hold any tear she had left in her tear glands. She was, after all, leaving behind her best friends whom she had considered as her family, forever. Sunset could then feel the ground she was standing on vibrating a little, causing her to nearly lose her balance, but she managed to hold steady. “ I see we have already taken off from the ground.” Kara said.
The two of them headed to the Cockpit, where Karl Zeko and R5 already are. Sunset was awestruck by the mere looks of it. It was nothing like how science fiction movies portray spaceship cockpits to be. There were a lot of screens with calculations on it while beeping noises came from every direction of the cockpit. Zeko, who was on his seat piloting the ship noticed Sunset’s curiously gazing around the cockpit. “ Welcome aboard the Gauntlet, kid.” He said but went unnoticed by her. Sunset instead had her eyes fixed on the window ahead, open mouthed. Infront of her, was the vastness of space, with millions or perhaps billions of tiny blinking stars occupying every part of the sky, which seemed to never end, perhaps even infinite. Sunset Shimmer had never been as amazed as this in her entire lifetime. “ It’s so beautiful.” She said, with her eyes filled with astonishment. Karl, who was seated next to Zeko and acted as his co-pilot, could see her face filled with wonder. It was quite obvious. “ First time in Space vibes I see.” He chuckled. She couldn’t agree more with him. R5 then beeped and booped to Karl who understood what the droid was trying to say. He then unstraps himself from the seat. “ Why are you getting up ? What did he say ?” Sunset aked, intrigued. “ He said strap in, You’re not gonna wanna to miss the view.” Karl answered . She strapped herself in the front seat Karl had earlier sat in with her eyes eagerly on Zeko as he worked on the controls on the control panel with his four long arms which was followed by several beeps and with the ship’s engines seemingly getting all prepped up for some kind of a big moment that is about to occur.” Making the jump into hyperspace now,” He then pulls the lever located on his right. She could then hear a noise which sounded like a computer start up before the view ahead of her quickly turned to blue lines as the Gauntlet jumped into the vortex of hyperspace. It was the most awestrucking thing that Sunset has ever seen.
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this is the first chapter where i actually have gripes with the story,
First off, sunset's reaction to Zeko, Sunset is literally the last person on the planet who would react that way, she's from equestrian a planet with Dozens of weird sentient beings, while most of the weirder ones are rare (Discord and ahuizotl}, things like changelings or Chimera are far freakier than a 4 armed monkey.
the following conversation is mostly fine though the fact that other things live in the universe is a bit weird seeing as she herself is an alien, though of a different sort.
then there's the force talk, in the first chapter you showed how Celestia is a powerful light side user and that the random guards that were assigned to the thrown room that day knew of the force, as they new what she meant by, "The dark side." so why wouldn't Sunset, who was her preanal student not now the first thing about it, or that it even existed. even if she known to be force sensitive at the time, being such a prevalent force of the universe you'd thing Celestia would mention it at least once.
and while this isn't really a problem with the story, but sunset not even wanting to bring anything with her is a bit weird, and her opting to tell her friends through text is just a major dick move, again not a problem with the story though.
But I'm still having fun reading it, and thus shall continue.