> STAR HORSE: A NEW HOPE > by TheBronywiththeBowTie > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Attack on the Tantive IV!: A Desperate Escape > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://youtu.be/LQDYDpxL-KQ?t=1m34s All was quiet in the space above the desert planet of Tatooine.....nothing was making a sound. This peaceful tranquility of the cosmos was soon shattered, when a fleeing consular ship appeared above the planet. What it was fleeing from, was not to be trifled with. Chasing the small ship, and coming up fast, was an even larger ship. One of the spearheads of the Galactic Empire, an Imperial Star Destroyer, named so for the destructive capacity of its weapons. Despite it's attempts to flee, the poor little ship could not outrun the blaster fire of the Star Destroyer's weapons, causing the inner hull to shake with recoil. Meanwhile, inside of the ship, two droids were running as fast as they could to try and find a hiding spot before the boarding would begin. The taller droid of the two had silver plated armor, her flanks adorned with three diamonds, shining brightly due to interior lighting. The metal that made up her admittedly curly mane was tinted violet, the lighting behind her eyes making her irises shine blue. The shorter of the two droids was an astromech droid, it had a three-wheel design, it's main colors being white and pink. The droid had metal serving as her mane, much like her taller companion, however, it was slightly poofier, and slightly pinker. "Did you hear that?!" The taller droid said in a panic, after the ship was once again hit with a barrage of blaster fire. "Beep boop boop beep!" The shorter droid said in response. "Oh, will you please cut that out, R2-P2?!" The taller droid complained. "I know you can speak perfect english!" The shorter droid giggled slightly, looking up at her taller companion. "Sorry, R-3TY!" P2 chimed. "Just poking a little fun is all!" "And why do you think NOW would be the time for that?!" R-3 said to her shorter companion. "They've shut down the main reactor!!! We'll be destroyed for sure!!! Oh, of all of the worst, possible things that could have happened, this is THE, WORST, POSSIBLE, THI--AGH!!!" The droid screamed, as a Rebel Soldier pony pushed past her to make it to the aft end of the ship. The soldiers all wore the same uniform, a navy blue shirt with a black vest, white helmets with black visors. All of them were armed with standard issue blaster rifles, at least, the Earth and Pegasus Ponies were. The Unicorns used their own magic in combat situations. "Oh, we're doomed!!" R-3TY complained. "There won't be any escape for the Prince this time!" The sound of metal clanging began to echo through the hulls of the ship. The Rebel Soldiers stationed near the back end up the ship began looking around, wondering where the sound was coming from. Despite this, they never took their blasters away from the door, keeping their weapons primed and aimed. Little did they know that the source of the sound was coming from the Imperial Star Destroyer, trapping the ship within it's docking hangar and locking it in place. There would be no escape. The door the soldiers were aiming at sparked, then after two seconds, it exploded, causing a disorienting smoke screen to enter the ship. Emerging from the smoke were ponies clad in white armor, all toting blaster rifles. These were Stormtroopers, the Galactic Empire's main armed force. The fire fight began, both sides firing off blaster shots at each other. The Rebels were hopelessly outmatch, body after body falling to the ground from Stormtrooper fire. After a good half of their force was decimated, the remaining Rebels knew their only option was to retreat and attempt to regroup. They turned and ran back down the hall, straight past R-3TY and R2-P2, who were taking cover near the right side of the hall. The Imperial attack force followed, continuing to fire at the fleeing rebels. "C'mon, R-3!! We can't let em have all the fun!" P2 said with a giggle, beginning to roll across the hall into another room. "P-2!!! Don't you leave me here!!!" The Protocol Droid whined, following after her hyper-active friend. The Rebel defense force didn't last very long, the Imperial surprise attack catching them off guard, as displayed by the bodies strewn across the ship. The Stormtroopers closest to the door they entered from stood at attention, as they heard their leader begin to enter. This pony was taller than the rest, wearing black armor that shined like obsidian. She had a long, dark, flowing cloak, the holograph of a blue, flowing mane of stars being projected from her helmet. This was Nightmare Moon, the Empire's relentless enforcer, and Right Hand Mare to the Emperor himself. She looked around at the results of the attack, seeming rather unimpressed. She marched down the hall, the stormtroopers quickly following after. "P2?! P2?! R2-P2, where did you go!?" The Protocol Droid whined as she looked for her friend within the dark compartments of where they were hiding from the attack force. R-3TY hated when P2 did this. She always picked the absolute worst times to play "hide and seek"....the continuous games were annoying enough on their own, but during an attack!? This was the final straw. When R-3 would find P2, she would give her the scolding of a lifetime. "Hey! You found me!" She heard a voice say from behind her. The Droid quickly turned around, seeing P2, but also another figure. It was a stallion, dressed in white diplomatic clothing, hood up over his face. He was insirting what looked like a Data Card inside of P2's disk drive. Upon seeing R-3TY, he quickly ran away, hiding who knows where. R-3TY marched over to P2, not at all in a good mood. "Hide and Seek?! During an attack?!" She shrieked. "The stormtroopers are headed this way! Oh, they're probably going to smash us into tiny pieces!! I'm too fabulous to be destroyed!!" "No we won't!" P2 said with a giggle. "Here, let's play a game! TAG!" The droid said, bumping into R-3TY slightly. "You're it!" The droid then wheeled right around and sped off down the hall. "What?! Ta--oh no, P2!!! GET BACK HERE!" The Protocol Droid shrieked, chasing after her hyperactive counterpart. The Stormtroopers continued their search through the ship, some even taking live Rebel Prisoners with them. They all headed in the direction of the Ship's bridge, where it's captain, Flash Sentry, was in command. At least, he was. The bridge was now flooded with Storm Troopers, and the good Captain found his throat in the grasp of Nightmare Moon's dark magic, cutting him off from air. "Lady Moon.." The Stormtrooper said. "The Death Star plans are not in the main computer." "Where are those transmissions you intercepted?!" Nightmare Moon demanded, tightening her magical grip around Flash's throat. "What have you done with those plans?!" "W-We didn't get any transmissions!!!" The Captain choked out. "This is a consular ship!!! We're on a--dip--lomatic mission!!!" "Is that so?" Nightmare Moon remarked coyly. "Well then, if this is a consular ship, then where is the ambassador?" She tightened her grip even harder, crushing the poor stallion's throat, killing him instantly. She tossed his body aside, looking to the rest of her attack force. "Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found those plans! Bring me any passengers you find. I want them ALIVE!" Nightmare Moon shouted, leaving the bridge as the Stormtroopers scattered to fulfill her orders. Three troopers began searching the ship's inner crevices, looking for any passengers who may have been hiding during the attack. The White Robed stallion from before was hiding nearby, a blaster pistol armed and ready when he saw his pursuers. "There's one!" One of the trooper's said, causing The Stallion's heart to skip a beat. "Set for stun!" The trooper ordered, just before The Stallion made a preemptive strike, shooting that trooper in the chest. Another trooper stepped forward as the stallion turned and tried to run, only to be stopped by blaster fire. The shot wasn't lethal, all it did was temporarily knock him unconcious. Two troopers stepped forward to claim their prize. "He'll be alright." The commander assured. "Inform Lady Moon we have a prisoner!" Meanwhile, R-3TY was still chasing after P2, muttering to herself about how she should have gotten herself reassigned to another counterpart ages ago. Her cybernetic heart stopped when she saw P2 attempting to climb into one of the ship's escape pods. "P2!!" She called out, scurrying over. "What are you doing?! We aren't allowed in there!" "But I'm on a secret mission from the Prince, Silly!" P2 chirped. "We can finish our game of tag later! Remember, you're still it!" "Secret mission!?" R-3 asked in disbelief. "And I never agreed to that game....now come out of there at once!" "HEY! THERE'S ONE!" They heard a Stormtrooper shout, a blaster shot passing directly by R-3TY'S head. "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!!!" The Protocol droid shouted, scrambling to get inside the escape pod along with R2-P2. The escape pod launched immediately once the two droids were safely inside. Meanwhile, on the Imperial Star Destroyer, two officers were observing the space above Tatooine, they had been destroying any escape pods jettisoned from the ship, to make sure that no one would report this attack. "There goes another one!" One officer shouted. "Hold your fire." His partner assured. "There's no life forms. Must've short circuited." As the escape pod spun away from the scene, the two droids had a view of the Star Destroyer, and of their ill-fated ship, surely destined to be reduced to scrap metal. "Hm..." R-3 said in thought. "You know...the damage doesn't look as bad from out here...." She then looked to P2. "You're sure this thing is safe?" "Just do what I do, silly! Giggle at the ghosties and everything will be alright!" P2 said with a laugh. R-3 sighed. "Sometimes, I don't know how you do it, P2...." The Escape Pod kept to its flight, spinning at a moderate pace, as it slowly began to break the atmosphere of the desert planet below.... Shortly after his capture, Prince Soarin had awoken from his paralysis, and he was now being escorted through the halls of his now doomed ship by a platoon of Stormtroopers. He had kept a stoic expression the entire time, while in the back of his mind, he knew that he was most likely going to be tortured or killed for committing treason against the Empire. You see, as the Prince of his home planet, Soarin had a responsibility as a member of the Imperial Senate. For all the Emperor knew, he was just as loyal to the Empire as Darth Vader was. In reality, this was all a ruse. He was actually a member of the Rebel Alliance, who was using his political power to learn of the Empire's weaknesses and plans ahead of time, so that the Rebellion could counter-attack accordingly. Only this time, he didn't know how, but the Empire had somehow seen through his tricks, they knew that they weren't really on a diplomatic mission. They were transporting the Stolen Death Star plans to the Rebel Base, so they could plan an attack to destroy the vile weapon. Shortly after, Soarin was now in the presence of The Empire's enforcer. "Nightmare Moon." He muttered, sounding quite unimpressed. "Only you would be so bold. The Imperial Senate isn't gonna let you get away with this! We were on a diplomatic mission! When they hear that you've--" "Don't act so surprised, 'Your Highness." Nightmare Moon retorted, a mocking tone in her voice when she referred to him as "Your Highness." "I admire your bravery....lying right to my face even when your ruse has been ripped right out from under you. Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by Rebel Spies. I demand to know what happened to the plans they sent you!" "I don't know what you're talking about!" Soarin spat. "I'm a member of the Imperial Senate on a diplomatic mission to Cloudsdale!" "You are part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor!" Nightmare Moon shouted, angered by Soarin's continued attempts at lying to her. "Take him away!" The Stormtroopers quickly complied, escorting the Prince through the hall, past Nightmare Moon and the Imperial Officer next to her. "Lady Moon?" The Officer piped up, a bit nervous. Nightmare Moon was not one for listening to the opinions of her subordinates. "Speak." She stated simply. "Of course...." The Officer nodded, clearing his throat. "If I may....holding him is dangerous. If word of this gets out....it may generate sympathy for the Rebellion within the senate." "I have traced the spies to him." Nightmare Moon explained. "Now he is my only link to finding the Rebel Base." "He'll die before he'll tell you anything!" The Officer exclaimed. "You just leave that to me." Nightmare Moon said, a sinister calm in her voice. "I hear the Prince is quite fond of Apple Pie....perhaps if we starve him of it, that will get him to talk...." "Lady Moon?" Another Officer asked, approaching the two. "The Battle Station plans are not aboard this ship. And no transmissions were made." "And you thought to tell me this....why?" Nightmare Moon asked, clearly angered by this Officer's reports. "B-Because, Lady Moon..." The Officer stammered, obviously afraid of angering his Mistress. "A-An escape pod was jettisoned during the fighting! But no life forms were aboard..." Nightmare Moon was so close to killing this stallion where he stood, until she put two and two together, taking a few deep breaths, and calming down. "He must have hidden the plans in the escape pod....send an attachment down to retrieve them. See to it personally, Commander." She ordered the Officer. "There will be no one to stop us this time..." "Yes Milady!" The Officer confirmed, as he immediately trotted off to fulfill his orders. The Star Destroyer sped away from the planet space below them, completely unaware of the two droids that had escaped with the Death Star plans down on the surface below..... > Lost in the Desert: A New Hero is Discovered! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- R3-TY was thanking her lucky stars that she couldn't feel heat, being a droid. Otherwise, she would be absolutely suffering. Or rather, suffering a bit more than she currently was. Her silver plating would surely get caked with sand, and her shine would be reduced. If there was one thing she loved about being a Protocol Droid, it was the elegance of her design, but this trek in the desert was sure to reduce that! She was whining silently to herself about how many cleanings it would take to remove all the sand from her joints. However, the icing on he misery cake, was that she was stuck in this desolate wasteland....with P2-D2....ever since the escape pod landed...she would not....stop....talking. "Wow! I've never seen this much sand before! Have you seen this much sand before R3? Come to think of it, I've never even seen a DESERT before! Look at it! It's like snow! Except it's more tan and grainy than snow. Plus sand doesn't taste as good as snow when you try to eat it! Then again, we're both droids, so we can't really eat...but I can just tell what things taste like because of my built-in scanners! Before I was moved to The Prince's ship and re-fitted as an astromech droid, I was a baking droid! I helped out with all the cooking and everything! I do miss baking, but I like that being an astromech droid means I get to go on all sorts of adventures! Like this one with you! I'm having fun, R3! Are you having fun, R3? Huh? R3? Ya having fun? R3? R--" "AAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!" The Protocol Droid screamed. "ENOUGH!!! I CANNOT TAKE IT ANYMORE!!! I am sorry, P2, truly truly sorry, but will you please, BE SILENT FOR ONE MOMENT SO THAT I MAY COMPOSE MYSELF?!?!?!" P2 looked up at R3, a look of surprise, shock, and sadness on her face. "Hmph!" The Droid quickly rebutted with, turning in the opposite direction and rolling off that way. "P2? R2- P2, where do you think you are going?!" The Protocol Droid demanded, following after her saddened companion. "Away from you, you MEANIE!" P2 shouted, not looking at her, continuing on her way. "R2-P2, I'm sorry if I offended you..." R3 began. "But I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation! Our ship has been taken over by the empire! And the poor Prince is probably dead by now...." "Nuh uh!" P2 shouted back. "The Prince told me he was gonna be fine! I have a secret mission to do for him!" "What mission?!" R3 shot back. "That's ALL you were talking about back in the escape pod, and you still won't tell me what it is!" "That's because it's SECRET, you meanie mean pants!" P2 explained. "Ooooh, I've just about had ENOUGH of you!!!" Huffed the Protocol Droid. "Fine, go that way! I bet you'll be malfunctioning within a day, you Hyperactive Can of JUNK!!!" She then proceeded to kick her former counterpart, storming off in the opposite direction. P2 attempted to ignore this, continuing to roll off on her way....but then she turned back at R3-TY. Sure, she was mad at her....but she couldn't just let her go off on her own. A Fancy droid like her wouldn't make it out in an unforgiving wasteland like this. "R3?" She called out. "A-Are you sure you don't wanna come with me on my adventure?" "NO MORE ADVENTURES!!!" R3 shouted, not turning back to look at her. P2 didn't want to leave her alone....but at the same time she was still mad at her. "Fine! I didn't want you to come with me anyways! You're a meanie mean, super duper meanie mean MEAN PANTS anyway!" And with that oddly worded insult, the astromech droid rolled off. It had been about an hour since R3-TY had left R2-P2 to go alone on her so called "secret mission", and least, that was what she estimated. The sand damage she received from un-elegantly tripping over the dunes had caused her internal clock to malfunction. She was just thankful that nopony was around to see that. The Protocol Droid was not in a particularly bad mood, and it was all thanks to that Hyperactive little scrap heap. "Malfunctioning giddy little....UGH!" The droid muttered to herself. "This is all her fault! I'm hot....miserable.....covered in sand...and it's all because of her!!! I bet she TRICKED me into going this way...." She then chuckled a bit to herself. "I shouldn't be so upset....it's not like she's doing any better than me....she's probably broken down by now!" R3 laughed at her own thoughts as she continued walking aimlessly through he sun baked desert. "Hm? What's that?" R3 muttered to herself, as she saw the glint of some strange form miles away from where she was standing. It couldn't be a mirage...as a droid, she was incapable of having such tricks of vision occur to her, thanks to her specialized sight. "Oh! A transport!!! I'm saved!!!!" R3 sighed with relief, and stood up on her hind hooves, waving her front hooves frantically. "OVER HERE!!!" She shouted. "HELP!!! PLEASE!!! I'VE BEEN STRANDED OUT HERE!!!!!!" The sun had already begun to set as R2-P2 traversed her way through the canyons on her own. P2 had been on her own for what felt like hours, and that gave her a lot of time to think. She realized she wasn't mad at R3 anymore...she never was. She was just upset from R3 yelling at her. She didn't mean to annoy her...she was just trying to be friendly, and to keep her spirits up. She had decided once she was finished with her mission, she would return to where the Escape Pod landed, and she would search for her friend. She looked around the canyons, the shadows starting to cast over her. "I-It's alright....just remember what Granny P2 said...." The astromech droid muttered to herself. "Giggle at the ghosties...guffaw at the grossly....." she began singing to herself quietly. The feeling like she was being watched began to wash over her. "H-Hello?" She called out. "Is anypony there?" There was no answer. She assumed it was nothing, and continued on her way. However, after what felt like seconds, a hooded figure leaped out from the shadows, blasting the poor unsuspecting droid with an EMP. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWIE ZOWIE....MY BRAIN JUST....went......powie...." P2 giggled to herself, as all her systems immediately shut down. Once the electrical currents dispersed, she flopped over on her side, inactive. Three robed figures emerged from the shadow, one of them holding what looked like a crude EMP rifle. They approached the inactive droid, observing their handiwork. The first of them removed her hood, revealing an orange filly with a messy purple mane. "Applebloom!" She shouted. "What'd ya do that for?!" The figure she was referring to also removed her hood, revealing a yellow filly with a red mane, a bright pink bow tied in her hair. She quickly put down the EMP rifle she was carrying. "Ah'm sorry, Scootaloo! Ah thought it was gonna get away, an' ah panicked! Her systems ain't fried, are they?" The third filly removed her hood as well. Her mane was a light purple, and a light pink. She tapped P2's canister twice....and the droid began snoring, causing the filly to sigh in relief. "No.....she's just in sleep mode." "Ok...so this isn't a total bust." Scootaloo said. "Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, let's get her back to the Sand Crawler." The three then all surrounded the droid, each of them grabbing a hold of a different section of R2-P2. They each strained as they lifted the surprisingly heavy droid up on their backs. "Mmph, this thing ways a TON!" Sweetie Belle complained. "It'll be alright." Applebloom assured. "This'll all be worth it if we wanna earn our Cutie Marks in Droid Scavenging!" "She's right!" Scootaloo exclaimed, a smile on her face. "Ok....let's get her in the chute!" Once they had arrived at the Sand Crawler, they placed the droid beneath a chute that was apart of the large transport that was identified as a "Sand Crawler." The chute sucked P2 up like a vacuum, depositing her within the Droid Storage Area of the ship with a loud THUD, alerting the other droids being held captive. The sudden impact was enough to knock P2 out of sleep mode. "Wowie Zowie...huh? Where am I?" The Droid wondered out loud, looking around at all the other confused and scared droids. "Who's there?!" A familiar voice chimed in. "Huh?" P2 asked, looking around. "Is that....R3? Ya there?" "P2?!" The Protocol Droid immediately made her way over to her old friend. "R2-P2, it IS you!!!" She quickly wrapped her metallic hooves around the astromech in a tight embrace. "Oh, P2, I am so sorry...I didn't mean any of those things I said....it's just...a Lady tends to get stressed every now and again, Darling...and considering the circumstances...." P2 couldn't help but giggle. "It's alright, R3! We all get a little grumpy every now and again! But at least we're getting taken to who knows where together!" "Yes...." The R3 said, peering about the room nervously. "Wherever it is....I just hope it's safe.... The next morning, the area where the Droids' escape pod was landed had been discovered by Stormtroopers, no doubt sent there to search the area for the missing Death Star plans.... "Someone was in the pod..." The commander said to his other troops, pointing to hoof marks in the sand. "The tracks go off in this direction!" "Look sir! Droids!" Another trooper commented, holding up a discarded piece of metal, which had most likely fallen off one of our mechanical heroes.... The Empire now had a trail to follow it seemed..... Meanwhile, R-3TY and R2-P2 hadn't spent a minute in sleep mode....how could they? They were being held captive inside a Sand Crawler on a planet they knew nothing about.....their fears only increased once the Crawler stopped. "We've stopped..." R-3 muttered, looking to the hatch as it opened, and the three fillies walked into the storage area. "Alright y'all!" Applebloom called. "C'mon out! We're gonna be sellin' y'all today!" "Don't worry!" Sweetie Belle said shortly after. "We'll make sure you all get good homes!" "COME ON OUT, YA WALKING TIN CANS!!!" Scootaloo shouted. "C'mon now, Scootaloo! We don't wanna scare em!" Applebloom scolded. "Well, finding these things was a lot of work! Maybe I'm a bit grumpy...." The filly grumbled. "It's alright, Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle assured. "Remember, it's all worth it!" "Yeah yeah...." Scootaloo muttered, rolling her eyes as she and her two friends lined the droids up outside of the Sand Crawler, prepped and ready to be sold. Two ponies were walking toward the Sand Crawler, one Stallion, one Mare. The Stallion was Nightlight, a Moisture Farmer well known around the different colonies of Tatooine, and with him was his Niece, Twilight Sparkle. A studious Unicorn mare, who had dreams of one day leaving the farm behind, and joining her friends to enlist in the Rebel Alliance and fight the Empire. "Yer Mr. Nightlight, correct?" Applebloom asked, looking up at the unicorn Moisture Farmer. "Yeah, that's me. And you must be the Droid traders?" He asked. "Yup! That's us!" The filly answered with a smile. "Well, alright then. Let's see what you have." Nightlight said, as Applebloom guided the two Unicorns to the Sand Crawler. "TWILIGHT!" A female voice called out. Twilight recognized this voice as her Aunt, Twilight Velvet. She quickly turned around, running back to her family's desert homestead. They had had their home build within the walls of a crater in the ground. Twilight looked down at her Aunt, who was preparing their meal for the day. "Twilight?" Velvet asked. "Be sure to tell your Uncle that we need a translator droid that can speak Bachi! You know how forgetful he can be sometimes..." Twilight giggled at that. "Alright, Auntie Velvet! You don't have to worry!" She responded with a smile, before turning back and returning to where her Uncle and Applebloom were negotiating the sale. "Yeah, we'll take the red one." Nightlight said as Twilight got back. "Good choice sir!" Appleloom answered with a smile, walking down the row of droids. "Iffen' ya need another R2 Unit, ah got this pink one right here!" She pitched, gesturing to R2-P2. "Hi!" P2 chimed in, introducing herself to the two unicorns. "I'm R2-P2, and I have all SORTS of uses! I can bake, I can program and reprogram stuff, help you out with mechanics, and throw parties! I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE parties! Do you love parties? Because I--" "Nah, we're fine with just one." Nightlight interrupted, looking to Applebloom. "--Wha? Awwwwwwwwww!!!" P2 interjected, looking down slightly. "You!" Nightlight called out, looking to R-3TY. "I suppose you're programmed for Etiquette and Protocol?" "Oh indeed sir!" R-3 answered. "In fact, Protocol is my primary function, Darling!" "Well...I don't have any need for a protocol droid at the moment." Nightlight answered. "Oh...um...of course not sir!" R-3 quickly recovered with. "At least, not in a garish environment such as this...." "What I really need is a droid who can understand the binary language of Moisture Evaporators." Nightlight explained. "Evaporators?!" R-3 exclaimed in excitement. "Well, sir, my first assignment was programming Binary Loadlifters! Can't be any different from your evaporators...." Nightlight put a hoof to his chin in thought, considering what this droid had to offer. "Do you speak Bachi?" He asked. "Oh, of course Darling!" R-3 chimed. "It's like a second language to me!" Nightlight smiled, looking to the filly he was speaking with earlier. "We'll take this one as well." "Excellent choice, sir!" Applebloom said with a smile. "Twilight?" Nightlight called out. Twilight, who was examining the first droid her Uncle selected, quickly hurried over. "Twilight, take these two to the garage." Nightlight ordered. "I want them cleaned up before dinner." "B-But Uncle!" Twilight protested. "I was going to go to the archives and study my data holochrons! I'll be behind!" "You can continue your studies when your chores are done." Her Uncle assured. "Now come on, get to it." Twilight sighed, knowing there was no arguing with her uncle. "Alright...come on you two." She began walking back to her family's homestead, R-3 quickly following behind. "Hey! What about me?" P-2 called out. "R-3? You're not gonna leave me, are you!?" R-3 looked back at her friend, an uneasy look on her face. As much as P2 annoyed her...she couldn't just leave her behind after all they'd been through. "And the red one." Twilight said, looking back at the droid that had yet to begin following her. "Come on Red, let's go!" The Droid beeped a bit, and then staggered forward about three feet....before it exploded. Twilight quickly ran over to examine what exactly went wrong. From spending most of her days down in the archives studying, she was well versed in the programming of droids and how they worked. "Uncle Nightlight!" She called out. "Yeah?" Nightlight answered back. "This R2 Unit has a bad motivator! Look!" She gestured to a certain part of the droid that had blown right off of its body. "Hey, just what exactly are you trying to pull here?!" Nightlight questioned, looking to the three fillies, who all had nervous looks on their faces. "W-We're sorry sir..." Applebloom began. "Yeah...we had no idea that was gonna happen...we assure you, that droid was in prime condition!" Sweetie Belle chimed in. "We just find the tin cans, scruffy! We don't build em!" Scootaloo spat, rather rudely. "Scootaloo!" Applebloom quickly scolded. R-3 saw this as a chance. She lifted a metallic hoof, tapping Twilight on the shoulder. "Excuse me Miss...if I may....that R2 Unit is in prime condition!" She said, pointing to P2. "A real bargain." Twilight put a hoof to her chin, looking to R-3, then looking over at P2. "Hey, Uncle Nightlight?" "Yes Twilight?" Nightlight asked, looking back over. "What about that one?" She asked, pointing over at P2. "Who, me?" P2 giggled excitedly. "Hm....how about that Pink one? We'll take it." Nightlight said to the three fillies. "Excellent choice, sir!" Sweetie Belle chimed, relieved that he didn't appear to be angry over the malfunctioning droid anymore. "You won't regret this decision, Darling." R-3 said to Twilight, a smile on her face. "She really is in first class condition! I've worked with her before. Oh, here she comes!" Just as he had said, P2 was now excitedly rolling over to the two. "Hi! I just wanna thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much for buying me! I thought for a second you were just gonna leave me there, but I was also excited that you might change your mind and pick me as well! I was NERVOUSCITED!!!! I'm R2-P2, and I can't wait to be your BEST FRIEND!!!!!" Twilight couldn't help but giggle at that. "Well it's very nice to meet you. Both of you. Now come on, let's go get you two cleaned up.'" She said, beginning to walk back over the homestead, the two droids quickly following behind. "Don't you forget this..." R-3 muttered to her counterpart. "Why I should stick my neck out for you is a mystery to me..." "Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much, R-3!!!!" P2 exclaimed. Rarity couldn't help but smile a bit at that. "Well....Generosity is one of my primary functions, Darling...."