Jedi Knight In Equestria

by Thomlight Sparkle 1

First published 2nd of December, 2016

After escaping Courasant after The Great Jedi Purge, a Lone Jedi Knight crash lands in Equestria

After escaping Courasant after The Great Jedi Purge, A lone Human Jedi Knight, Sturider Thom spends 10 years floating in space until his Shuttle crash lands in Equestria. Where he befriends the equines. And later discovers there are a few Force Sensitive beings on Equestria, which may come in handy as The Galactic Empire may or may not find him.

Prologue

A Shuttle slowly flew through space, to locations untold as it left Courasant's atmosphere.

"Jedi log, I have just flown out of Coruscant on my way into hiding from the Empire. As the Republic has been shattered and my fellow Jedi have been vanquished by the Sith. I don't know where I will go to be safe, but all I know is that I must avoid heading somewhere that the Empire will find me. But soon, I will go into hyper sleep as my cruiser flies on, and hopefully, I will return to help fight the Empire and bring back what was once the Jedi and Republic's." Said a human Jedi Knight as he then placed himself into a Hyper sleep tube and the door shut as his shuttle went on.

But, little did he know, this would be the beginning of a new adventure for him.

Chapter 1: Crash Landing/ Intro

Down in Equestria, many of the ponies of Ponyville were off on their own business doing what they do best, as in an apple orchard known as "Sweet Apple Acres" 3 young fillies were at their clubhouse. A yellow earth pony with red hair, blue overalls, a white t-shirt, and big magenta bow named, Apple Bloom. A white unicorn with pink and purple curly hair, a pink dress with a purple sash named, Sweetie Belle. And a tomboyish, orange pegasus with purple hair, a tan t-shirt, grey hoodie, and puce shorts named Scootaloo.

"So, what do you think we should do today?" asked, Scootaloo.

"Ah don't know, Ah'm plum run outta ideas for anythin' we could do to try and earn our cutie marks" replied, Apple Bloom.

"Urgh! I'm so bored! I wish we could come up with a idea for something we could do!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle with a flustered attitude.

"Well, it's not like a something's gonna come falling out of the sky, that could give use something to do." said Scootaloo. But as she she did a blue and white object flew pass the window.

CRASH!!! The Crusaders jumped as a loud crash came from outside their clubhouse, followed by a scraping dirt sound.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" yelled, Sweetie Belle.

"It came from outside!" shouted, Apple Bloom.

The 3 then races out their clubhouse to where the crash came from, and then peered over a rock and saw a huge metal object in a pile of dirt on the field in front of them.

"What is that thing?" asked Apple Bloom, slightly afraid.

"It looks like... a spaceship." said, Scootaloo.

"Go touch it." said Sweetie Belle to Scootaloo, as Scootaloo crept slowly up to the strange object and touched it with one finger.

"It is a spaceship, guys!" Scootaloo then exclaimed excitedly. "It's just like the ones from the comics I've read! Let's check it out the inside of it!"

"Hold it! Scoots, we can't just go inta' that ship, we don't know what's inside it!" shouted, Apple Bloom.

"Yeah, it could be an alien, an evil cyborg, or even some sort of dangerous creature!" said, Sweetie Belle. "I think we said get Twilight to take a look at it first."

Scootaloo groaned as she walked over. "Fine, but only because I don't wanna get blasted by an alien."

But after the Crusaders left the ship, the hatch then opened and a tube-shaped object flew out of the ship and landed in the dirt. Then the tube opened, as a male human then rose from it and got out.

"[groans] Man, what happened?" said the human as he took in the land around him. "Hmm, I've landed. But where did I land?" But then he looked back and gasped. "My ship!" he shouted as he raced over to it and inspected the damage. "Cripes, this'll take a month to repair! How long have I've been cruising?" The human then took a look at his wrist-com, and took in the date. "I've been in space for ten years?! Man, this is really quite the trip." He then activated his recording device. "Jedi Log, it's been 10 years since I left Courasant. And now, I've crash landed onto an unusual place. So for, from what I can tell this planet has a resemblance to Alderaan and Naboo. I may even be on a planet that hasn't been discovered by the Jedi or the Sith, which is good news for now. However, I can sense several disturbances in the Force, which I' will soon investigate. But with the time I've been on here, I haven't seen any sign of...."

"Any sign of what?" said a female voice from behind the human, as he then quickly turned around, and drew his Blaster pistol, and came to face the Crusaders, along with 6 older mares. As a yellow pegasus yelped at the sight of his Blaster pistol and hid behind an orange earth pony and white unicorn.

"Any sign of dominant life forms." said the human.

"Please put down your weapon, we mean you no harm!" shouted the yellow pegasus.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, you lot kinda startled me." replied the human as he spun his pistol back into his holster.

"That's okay. Say, who were you talking to?" said, the purple unicorn.

"Oh, that? I was just recording some stats into my Jedi logs. Um, where I am?" asked the human.

"You're in Ponyville, sir. In Equestria. What's your name?" said, the white unicorn.

"I'm Sturider Thom, and I am a Jedi Knight." replied the Human.

"A Jedi Knight? What's that?" asked a rainbow haired pegasus. "And are you a friend or foe?"

"Firstly, I'm a friend. Secondly, a Jedi Knight is a Force-sensitive being that protects the galaxy from the Sith, and any threat from evil beings." replied Sturider.

"So you're like a super hero?! Can you fly, shoot lasers from your eyes, or even..." said the pink earth pony at a high speed, until the Rainbow-haired pegasus covered her mouth.

"No, I'm not a super, nor do I fly or have laser vision." said Sturider. "So, may I know who I'm talking to?

"Oh, how rude of us. I'm Twilight Sparkle." said the purple Unicorn.

"Ah'm Applejack, and this her' is mah' little sister, Apple Bloom." said the orange earth pony as she put her hand on the yellow earth pony's shoulder.

"I am Rarity. And this is my younger sister, Sweetie Belle." said the white unicorn as she introduced herself and smaller white unicorn.

"Um... My name's F-f-f-Fluttershy." said, the timid yellow pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash." said, the rainbow haired pegasus.

"Name's Scootaloo." said, the orange Pegasus.

"I'm Pinkie Pie! And I'm pleased to meet you, and do you like parties? Because I'm ready tothrowyouawelcomepartyifyouwantoneandintroduceyoutoeveryoneinPonyvillesoyoucanmakenewfriends!" said the pink pony.

"Pinkie! Please, clam down!" said Rarity. " My apologies, sir. Pinkie Pie is always like that for new comers."

"Don't worry about it, I've seen plenty of unusual things across the galaxy before." said Sturider.

"So, what's the deal with your spaceship? We heard you crash land earlier." asked Sweetie Belle.

"I don't know. it could be anything. But it'll take me a month to repair it if I want it to fly again. But other then that, it should be okay." said Sturider.

"Do you want help gettin' it outta the dirt?" asked Applejack.

"No, I'll get it." said Sturider, as he then rose his hands towards his ship and he slowly began to concentrate the Force on it. slowly the ship began to shift and then it began to come loose till finally it was pulled out of the dirt and then placed gently on the ground. As the group of equines stood flabbergasted.

"How did you do that?" asked Twilight. "I've never seen magic like that before."

"It's not magic, it's the Force." said Sturider.

"What is this so called: "Force"? asked Rainbow.

"The Force is an energy field created by all living things, it surrounds us, it penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together. Some beings, known as Force Sensitives can tap into the energy field and use it to perform amazing feats of power, such as levitation, foreseeing the future, and commanding the very forces of nature. Like everything else, it's divide into good and evil, though we refer them as the Light Side, which myself and all others adhere to the Jedi path follow, and the Dark Side, which they join follow... the Dark Side is an awful place of Hatred and Fear.." said Sturider.

"Oh my." said, Fluttershy.

"So, we already know you have a laser gun, but what are those stick things hanging from your belt?" asked Scootaloo, pointing to Sturider's 2 lightsabers on his belt.

"These are Lightsabers, commonly known as "laser swords" they're the weapon of a Jedi Knight." said, Sturider and he unclipped his 2 Lightsabers from his belt. "They're ancient weapons that make Jedi what they are. While in training we build them ourselves, in any shape or form. Even Blade colors." Then, with a loud "Floosh!" the 2 sabers ignited a blue Blade.

"Awesome!" said Rainbow.

"It's so beautiful! It's like a diamond!" squealed Rarity as she went to touch one of the blades.

"HOLD IT!! Don't touch the blade. It's super hot, hotter than the sun and it will cut through anything; metal, rock, wood, and even flesh and bone." said Sturider, as Rarity nervously took her hand away from the blades. "Allow me to demonstrate." Sturider then used the Force to grab a huge apple from one of the apple tree, and then it came to him, he then swung the blade and cut it in half. As he then extinguished the blades, and put his sabers back on his belt.

"Can you tell us more about this?" asked Twilight.

"If you can direct me to a place I can get something to eat, I'll explain as I go." replied, Sturider.

"Follow me, we'll take you to Sugarcube Corner!" said, Pinkie as she leaped away, as the other followed.

"I could begin to like this place." said Sturider in his mind as he walked with his new friends.

Author's Notes:

Note these antro ponies are Semi-anthro/bipedal pony: Pony body with a straighten spine that allows more upright, bipedal poses. With with human upper arms and thighs, and four-fingered hands on the ends of their arms.
And there won't be anything sexual in this story, period.

Chapter 2: Settling In

Later on, at Sugarcube Corner, Sturider was munching on a Jelly doughnut, as Twilight explained about Equestria.

"So, from my understanding, all inhabitants here are different species of equines, with dragons, griffins, and other unique creatures?" asked, Sturider.

"Correct." replied, Twilight.

"Interesting. My friends would be astonished to see this place. I've seen many unique species, but never have I've seen anything like this before." said, Sturider.

"Well, if you want, I could try to arrange to have you speak with our Princess." said, Twilight.

"I'd be honored to meet your leader. But for now I'd like to settle in here, is there anywhere I can put my cruiser so I can make repairs to it?" said, Sturider.

"Yer' glad to use mah' barn if ya' want." replied Applejack. "We'd even let ya stay with us too, if ya' want."

"Sure, why not?" replied Sturider.

"But before you settle in, I must say you really should let me help you with your outfit, it's just not fit to be seen on you!" said Rarity.

"I'd really appreciate it. And with the situation I'm in, I could use a different outfit than my Jedi robes." said, Sturider, looking down at his tattered and torn up Jedi robes.

"What situation?" asked Rainbow, suspiciously.

"I don't really wanna talk about it right now, but I'll share it later." replied Sturider.

"Okay then." said, Rainbow.

Soon, Rarity brought Sturider to her Boutique, after 2 hours, Rarity made Sturider a new outfit.

"So, how does it look, darling?" asked Rarity.

Sturider observed his new outfit, which had a dark blue shirt, a brown leather vest, and light grey pants. "This looks great, I really like this outfit." said Sturider.

"Thank you, Darling. It is my special talent after all." said Rarity, as she then showed her Cutie Mark to Sturider.

"That's quite the story there." asked Sturider, as he observed the 3 blue diamonds. "Well, I better get my shttle into the barn before dark, I don't want someone looting it." said Sturider, as he put his utility belt back on.

"Oh? Do you have expensive valuables in your ship?" asked, Rarity.

"Yeah, many beings in the galaxy will do anything to get belonging of a Jedi. And there's even some few who try to steal Lightsabers too." said, Sturider.

"Oh my." gasped Rarity.

"I know. Well, I'll be off then. Thanks, again Rarity." said Sturider as he left.

"That gentleman is quite the interesting one." said Rarity.

Soon, enough with help from Applejack, Sturider had gotten his shuttle into her barn and then as the Moon appeared, he then settled in his sleeping quarters in his ship.

"If only the Jedi Council could see all this now." said Sturider as he fell into a deep sleep.

Author's Notes:

I apologize that chapter was short but the next chapter will be much longer.

Chapter 3: Acquainting with the town

The Sun Rose as a Rooster crow was heard throughout the place, and Sturider then awoke.

“Interesting, never thought I’d be awaken by something other than my own watch.” Said Sturider as he got out of his sleeping quarters. “Hmm, I suppose it would be a good time to check out this town.”

Sturider then walked out of his Shuttle and out of the barn, as he paused to look in his surroundings.

“Marvelous, you don’t always get views like this” said Sturider.

He then started walking out to the main gate but as he approached it, a yellow blur flew past him, causing him to spin around in a circle for moment.

“Whoa! What in the…” asked Sturider as he dizzily got back to his feet.

“Oh! Sorry about that, Sturider!” said Apple Bloom, stopping in her tracks and looking back at the Jedi. “Ah’m in a bit of a hurry. Ah’ need ta’ get to school!”

“No harm done, little one.” Replied Sturider as he walked up to young filly. “I was just on my way to look around the town.”

“Alright! Ah’ll see ya’ later!” said, Apple Bloom as she took running again, but Sturider just stood in one place looking at where the young filly stood.

“This young filly is interesting, as well as her 2 friends. I’ll have to keep an eye on those 3.” Said Sturider, as he began walking again, and after a short time he came into the town, when his stomach growled. “Hmm, better get something to munch” He then looked around and saw a market place to his left. “Perfect.” He started walking there as he thought: “I hope Republic Credits are good here.”

As Sturider walked through the small market, browsing at the many stalls, as many of the locals looked at him, and began murmuring to themselves, while some looked interested at him. But then he stopped as he heard something.

“But these were only 1 bit yesterday.”

“Well that was yesterday, today tomatoes cost 3 bits.”

Sturider looked to his side and saw Fluttershy at one of the stalls, arguing with an older mare manning the stall. He then walked over to see if he could help.

“But tomatoes only cost 1 bit.” Said Fluttershy.

“Well today, they don’t. 3 bits!” snapped the stall merchant.

Sturdier couldn’t just stand by and watch this price-gouging go on any more.

“What seems to be the trouble here?” asked Sturider as he walked up to the stall.

“Well, I need to get some tomatoes but she wants 3 bits for them, yet they cost only 1 bit yesterday.” Replied Fluttershy.

“Yeah, so if you want tomatoes, then you need to pay 3 bits!” snapped the stall merchant, starting to lose her patience.

“1 Bit will do just fine.” Said Sturider as he waved his hand in front of the stall Merchant.

“1 Bit will do just fine.” replied the stall merchant in monotone, which Fluttershy’s jaw dropped in awe as she hesitantly put one bit on the counter and took the tomatoes.

“You may continue on with your day.” said Sturider waving his hand again.

“You may continue on with your day.” Replied the stall merchant in monotone. As Sturdier and Fluttershy left the stall.

“How did you that?” asked Fluttershy a little bit louder than her normal voice.

“Jedi Mind Trick.” Replied Sturider. “A handy trick we Jedi use on the weak minded.”

“Oh. So you use that all the time on anyone you meet?” asked Fluttershy.

“No, Jedi only use it when they need to. And that little quarrel you were in was one of those times.” Replied Sturider.

“Well, thank you.” Said Fluttershy.

“So, what do you for a living Fluttershy?” asked Sturider.

“Oh, I love working with animals. I take really good care of them, small or big.” Replied, Fluttershy.

“Interesting. Most Jedi often use the Force to communicate with animals in case they need help from one.” Said Sturider.

“What kind of animals have you seen?” asked Fluttershy.

“Well I've seen many different species but none that you are familiar with.” Replied Sturider.

“Oh… It would be nice to see them. But I understand. Well I have to off now.” Said Fluttershy.

“Okay, see you later.” Said, Sturider as the 2 took their separate ways. As he then walked through the town once more until he come across a giant tree. Which seemed to have with windows, doors, a balcony and other household items. “Wow. I never seen such a magnification treehouse.” Said Sturider as he stared at the majestic tree.

"It's a library actually." Said a familiar voice. Sturider then looked back and saw Twilight standing beside him. “How’s your morning, Sturider?”

“It’s going well.” Replied Sturider. “Do you live in this library?”

“Yes I do.” Said Twilight, as she opened the door, and beckoned Sturider to come inside. Sturider followed inside as he then looked all around the room, taking note how beautiful the tree was decorated inside. The walls were smooth and elegant, the book shelves were beautifully carved and a carving of a horse head sat in the middle of a table.

“This is amazing. I never seen anything like this before.” Said Sturider.

“Do the Jedi have libraries too?” Asked, Twilight.

“Yes, the Jedi Temple has a huge library, but it has no books in it, everything comes in electronic files. But I always wanted to see an old-fashioned library.” Said Sturider.

“Electronic files? You mean the libraries where you come from don’t have regular books?” asked Twilight, surprised.

“Not really, but there are still a few regular books in many places.” Said Sturider. “Say, Twilight. Could you tell me more about Cutie Marks?”

"It's a symbol that appears on everyponys’ hips once they find out what their special talents are." Replied, Twilight as she lifted part of her miniskirt to show Sturider her’s. Which was a magenta star with a few smaller white stars around it.

“So I take it that your talent is being a librarian?” asked Sturider.

“Yes, but it’s also high skills in magic.” Said Twilight as she put her miniskirt back down. “Does your kind and other Jedi get Cutie Marks?”

“No, my kind and Jedi don't get these “Cutie Marks” our skin pretty much stays blank. But there are some who get tattoo put on their skin.” Replied Sturider.

"Fascinating. Your kind isn't restricted to one thing. They can do whatever they want.” Said Twilight.

“Yes, however it’s not always the case for the enemy of the Jedi.” Said Sturider with a dark tone.

“The Enemy?” asked Twilight.

“The Sith.” Hissed Sturider. “Like Jedi, they’re Force users too, but they use the Force for control, and evil. And they use anger and hatred to fuel their skills. And they kill innocent beings and show no mercy.” Explained Sturider as Twilight covered her mouth in shock. “And unlike Jedi like me, Sith use red colored Lightsabers.”

“Red?” asked Twilight.

“Yeah, while many Jedi’s Lightsabers come in Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Purple, White, and other colors.” Said Sturider.

“You’ll have to show me the inter working of these Lightsabers someday.” Said Twilight. “But right now, I have some studying to do.”

“Well, I’ll you get to your studies then. Good bye.” Said Sturider as he left the Library.

Sturider continued on his way through the town, as he looked at his wrist-com.

"11:30 already? I must of been out here longer than I thought. But I think it would be a good time to break for lunch." Said, Sturider as he then saw Sugarcube Corner over to his right. Which he started walking over to. He soon walked inside and began browsing the many goods on the shelves, as he then saw some banana nut muffins.

"Hello, there." said the mare at the counter. " What can I do for you?"

"Could I have 3 of those muffins?" asked Sturider pointing to the banana-nut muffins.

"Sure thing, sir." said the Mare as she picked up 3 muffins with a pair of tongs.

"How much do I owe you?" asked Sturider.

"About 3 bits." said the mare.

"Uh... about that. I don't think I have any bits..." said Sturider slightly, hesitantly.

"Don't worry, about that Stuie! I'll take care of that!" said Pinkie popping out of nowhere, which made Sturider jump.

"(stutters) Thanks, Pinkie." said Sturider as he grabbed his muffins and sat down at a table. Which Pinkie take a seat in too.

"So. what brings you to Sugarcube Corner?" asked Pinkie.

"Just stopping to get a bit of lunch that's all." said Sturider as he began to eat his muffins. "Pinkie, you wouldn't happen to explain to me about bits would you? "

"Sure! Bits are the currency we use in Equestria!" said Pinkie as she put a bunch of coins on the table.

Sturider then picked up a few of the coins and took a look at them. "This is your currency? A bunch gold coins?" asked Sturider. " You could get a lot of things back where I come from with these."

"Well, what do Jedi like you use?" asked Pinkie.

"We often use Republic Credits. Like these." said Sturider as he took out a few Republic Credit ingots and set them on the table.

"Ooh! These are cool!" said Pinkie as she picked up a few oh the ingots. "These would work as well as bits do!"

"You really think so?" asked, Sturider.

"Yes sirree bob! " said Pinkie bobbing her head.

"Oh good, I wouldn't want to impose or cause trouble." said Sturider.

"Anyway, I must get back to work. Thanks for stopping by!" said Pinkie as she raced out of her seat after picking up her bits.

"That mare certainly is unpredictable." said Sturider.

After Sturider finished he left Sugarcube Corner and continued to walk through town as he passed Carousel Boutique.

"This town is really unique compared to the many places I've been through in the galaxy. If only my fellow Jedi could see this." said Sturider as he began to think about his fellow Jedi, but his thoughts were rudely interrupted.

"We're telling you! He really is real!"

Sturider paused on his tracks as he heard yet another familiar voice. He then looked around and soon saw a red school house to his left, and in the playground were a bunch of fillies and colts, which some happened to be Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Who were currently face-to-face with 2 other fillies, both earth ponies.

The one on the left was pink, with a purple and white mane, who wore a very expensive looking blue dress and a silver tiara upon her head. Whole the filly next to her was grey with a light silver and blue-gray mane done in a braid. Who wore a pearl necklace, blue glasses, a purple blouse and sky blue, pleated skirt.

"You really expect us to believe, a space ship crashed in the farm, and inside was a Jedi Knight type guy with glowing blue light swords and a laser gun?" said the pink mare.

"Yeah! We saw him ourselves outside our clubhouse!" snapped Apple Bloom.

"Phft. There's no way a space ship would crash land here in Equestria! And Light swords? Pleease! Who ever heard of such thing? You can't make a sword with blue light!" stated the silver mare.

"Well, we're telling you the truth!" snapped Scootaloo stomping her hoof. "Why won't you believe us?!"

"You blank flanks been looking through too many space comics. You lack knowledge as much as you lack your Cutie Marks." said the pink mare rudely, as she and the silver mare laughed.

Sturider stood in place as he watched the conversation, but then he felt a little concerned, as he felt something he didn't want to. But he brushed it off, as he decided to help out the 3 young fillies. As he walked up to the fence surrounding the playground.

"Hello, again." said Sturider.

"Sturider! Thank goodness, you're here!" shouted Sweetie Belle with a slight squeak as she raced over to the fence. “Now you can prove to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon that we're being truthful!"

"So you were telling your school friends about me?" asked Sturider.

"Yeah! We sure were!" said Scootaloo as she raced over. "But these two don't believe any of it!" snapped Scootaloo as she pointed to the 2 fillies.

"So, you're this so-called: "Jedi Knight" the blank flanks are talking about?" asked Diamond Tiara smugly.

"Yes, I am a Jedi Knight." said Sturider. "And every these 3 have told you is true."

"Oh really? I can see they were right about the laser gun, but what about those "light-swords" I don't see you with any light sword." said Silver Spoon.

"Yeah, if you really are a Jedi, then let's see your Light swords." said Diamond Tiara.

"Yeah. Show them, your Lightsabers!" said Apple Bloom.

"I don't really feel okay with have my Lightsabers drawn in front of younglings. Lightsabers are for defense, not play time!" said Sturider.

"Come on! Show them your Lightsabers!" Begged Scootaloo.

"Please, Sturider?" asked Sweetie Belle, giving Sturider a sad puppy-dog eyed look.

Sturider cringed at the sight of Sweetie Belle's sad-puppy dog eyed face. It was just too cute, but he stayed firm.

"No. Unless I have good reason to, I am not draw my sabers near a school house with younglings present." said Sturider, crossing his arms.

"Heads up!" one of the other colts shouted as a beach ball came flying in and it was heading for Sturider.

"Whoa!" shouted Sturider as he threw his hands up and caught the ball midair with the Force just as it was about to hit him.

Everyone in the playground then stopped what they were doing and looked at Sturider in shock, even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were in shock.

"Did you see that?!" shouted a pegasus filly.

"That guy caught that ball without even touching it!" shouted a colt.

“And it's floating in midair!" shouted a unicorn filly.

"Wha.. Wha.. Wha.. How is he doing that?!" shouted Diamond Tiara in shock.

"You see? We were telling you the truth." said Scootaloo with a smirk.

The other fillies and colts all came over to Sturider and all looked in awe as the ball continued to float in his hands.

"Kids? What's going on?" said a voiced as a magenta earth pony wearing a school teacher's outfit came walking out of the school, as she then noticed Sturider holding the beach ball with the Force. "Huh?" She then walked over to him and looked closely at him. "He is holding that ball without using his hands?"

"He's using the Force, Miss Cheerilee." said Sweetie Belle.

"Uh, Stu?" asked Apple Bloom.

"What?" replied Sturider, as he opened his eyes and saw the crowd staring at him, as he noticed he was still holding the beach ball up with the Force, which he quickly retracted his hands and the ball fell to the ground.

"Hello there, are you new here?" asked Cheerilee.

"Yes, m'am." said Sturider.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but how were you holding that ball without using your hands?" asked Cheerilee.

"I was using the Force, M'am." replied Sturider, as he blushed.

"He's that Jedi Knight we were telling everyone about, Miss Cheerilee!" said Scootaloo.

"Yeah, the one who crashed landed her' in his spaceship, and who is carryin' a laser gun and light swords!" said Apple Bloom.

"Are you really the Jedi Knight, these 3 were talking about?" asked Cheerilee.

"Y.. Yes." said Sturider.

"Impressive!" said Cheerilee. "Would you care to show use your Light swords then? I myself am curious to see them too."

"Well, if you're the school teacher, than I don't see why not. But I don't want any of the younglings getting too close to me. I don't want anyone to get hurt." said Sturider as he walked into the playground, unclipping his Lightsabers while doing so. "Alright, these are my Light swords."

"Hah! You call those swords?!" said Diamond Tiara.

"They're just metal sticks!" said Silver Spoon.

"Oh yeah?" asked Sturider. Then with a loud floosh, he ignited the blades of his sabers as the fillies and colts oohed and awed. While Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's jaws dropped.

“They’re really cool!” exclaimed a unicorn filly.

“They’re almost like a glow stick!” said an earth colt.

“In all my years, I never seen such a unique sword.” Said Cheerilee.

“Well, what can you cut through with swords like those?” asked a white and brown colt.

“Almost anything.” Answered Sturider.

“Even metal?” asked an earth filly.

“Even metal.” Answered Sturider. As he picked up a metal pole from the playground and then sliced through it like butter, leaving scorched ends on it.

“Can you do tricks with them?” asked a light grey pegasus colt.

"Well, we don't normally do fancy tricks with our sabers. But there is a cool thing I can do." replied Sturider as he extinguished the blade of his Graflex saber and clipped it back on his belt, as he then threw his curved-hilted saber at one of the trees which cut several branches off the tree. And then Sturider drew his Blaster and shot the falling branches. Which then split into pieces and then they built themselves into a tiny wooden, model log cable, as Sturider caught his curved-hilted Lightsaber. He then extinguished its blade and clipped it back on his belt.

"That was amazing!" shouted a pegasus filly.

"It was like something out of a video game!" shouted a brown earth colt.

"And you thought we wer' tellin' lies." smirked Apple Bloom to Diamond Tiara as she growled.

"Impressive, one mister." said Cheerilee. "I've seen many unusual things here in Ponyville, but what you did takes the cake."

"I can imagine." said, Sturider. "And I've been to many other planets in the Galaxy but this one is one I've never been to."

"You've been to other Planets in the galaxy?!" asked a pink earth filly.

"Indeed." replied Sturider.

"Would you care to tell us a bit about your adventures?" asked Cheerilee.

"Would that alright?" asked Sturider.

"Sure, it would." replied Cheerilee.

So then Sturider told them all about the many planets and adventures he had been on and seen, but as he went on, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon could only scowl at the Jedi.

Author's Notes:

So Sturider's gaining some popularity from everyone (except for Diamond and Silver.) The next chapter will cover more about Sturider's weapons, and his starship. And we'll probably see someone else showing a sense of the Force.

Chapter 4: Weapon stories/New Apprentices

After school had ended for the Fillies and Colts, they all left the schoolhouse as Cheerilee spook with Sturider.

“I must say, Mr. Thom. That was quite a lecture you gave, you have a lot of talent of being a fine teacher.” Said, Cheerilee.

“Well, we Jedi often do gave a lot of teachings here and there. But I think I’ll stick to being a Jedi Master.” Replied Sturider.

“Well, that’s fine too. Have a nice day!” said, Cheerilee as she left.

As Sturider began to walk off, the Crusaders raced up to him.

“That was quite amazing hearin’ about all yer’ adventures ya’ had Stu!” exclaimed, Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, I had no idea that there were so many planets in space!” said, Scootaloo flapping her wings in excitement. “Plus, I’m amazed about all the different foes you faced in each of them!”

“And that trick you did with your sabers and laser gun was cool too!” exclaimed, Sweetie Belle with a squeak in her voice.

“Thank you, young ones. But, while I can do fancy tricks with my weapons, Jedi do not use their sabers for such activities. We are a civilized group, fighting for peace in the galaxy.” Said Sturider.

“So, why would a Jedi end up here or all places? Were you on a recon mission?” asked, Sweetie Belle.

Sturider got a little nervous about that question, as he thought about the reason for why he left Courasant in the first place. He didn’t really wanna share the tragedy to 3 young fillies. But he knew their curiosity would eventually weed it out of him. While he wanted to lie about it, he couldn’t use dishonesty, for it was against the Jedi’s code.

“No, I’m not a recon mission. I didn’t even know this place existed. I only ended up here as a fluke.” Answered Sturider.

“Okay. Say, I was wondering something. What would it take for someone like us to become Jedi?” asked Scootaloo.

“Well, it would depend if you’re Force Sensitive, and then you would need some training with Force Skills and Lightsaber combat. And surely, you could soon become Jedi.” Answered Sturider.

“So, how would ya’ find out if someone is Force Sensitive?” asked Apple Bloom.

“I would have to test a sample of your blood to find that out.” Answered Sturider.

“B..blood sample?” asked Sweetie Belle, slightly trembling. “Does it hurt?”

“It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt that bad. It’s just a small prick.” Answered Sturider.

“So, just asking, do you think you could test us?” asked Scootaloo twiddling her finger, hoping Sturider would say “yes”.

“I don’t see why not, infact, I’m rather curious myself. Once we get back to my shuttle, I can give a test for you 3.” Said Sturider.

“Alright!” said Scootaloo, jumping in the air with a fist pump as her wings buzzed.

“Calm yourself, young one. I wouldn’t be so hopeful on the matter, Force Users are born, not made. You either have or you don’t. Only the test will determine it.” Said Sturider.

“Say Stu, I’d like ta’ know more about yer’ shuttle. Ah’m rather curious about it.” Asked Apple Bloom.

“Sure thing, Bloom. I can tell you about my ship.” Said Sturider.

“Well, while we’re talking about your equipment, I’d like to know about your laser gun, it’s a lot different from the ones I’ve seen in comic books.” Said, Scootaloo.

“And I’d like to know about your Lightsabers, namely why they’re different styles.” Said Sweetie Belle.

“Sure, I can tell you three all you want to know about them once we get back to my shuttle and give the test.” Said Sturider.

The four continued on and soon were back at the farm, and Sturider lead the 3 fillies into his ship and began to process for the Force tests for them.

“So, what should I start with?” asked Sturider, as he took Apple Bloom’s arm rubbed a spot with an alcohol patch.

“How about the laser gun?” suggested, Scootaloo.

“Sure. But before I get into detail about it, I will say that I or others where I come from would actually call this type of laser gun a “blaster”. said, Sturider as he then drew his blaster from the holster and put in on the table. “This is a BlasTech DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol. It is a powerful Blaster that packs a heavy punch and quite accurate. While it is preferred to be used by smugglers and bounty hunters, I’m one of few Jedi to use such a weapon. Let alone, one of the only Jedi to use a Blaster.”

“Why? Don’t other Jedi use Blasters?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“No, most Jedi only use Lightsabers as their weapons, and while some do use a blaster, they don’t use one as a main weapon. I’ve heard of Master Obi-Wan Kenobi using a blaster to defeat General Grievous and fight against evil Mandalorians. Plus, Blasters aren’t really an effective weapon against Lightsabers.” Explained Sturider as he took a syringe and gently stuck it into Apple Bloom’s arm and drew out some blood before pulling it out and using the Force to seal the pricked flesh.

“Why is that?” asked Apple Bloom, looking at her arm, surprised that there was no mark of a needle on her arm.

“Because, Jedi deflect the laser beams that Blasters shoot with their sabers, no matter how many times you shoot at a Jedi, they will only deflect each shot with their Lightsaber.” Said, Sturider as he then took Sweetie Belle’s arm. “The only way you can kill a Jedi with a blaster is either overwhelm them with several beings using Blasters, or take them by surprise.” Explained Sturider.

“So, why you use one?” asked Scootaloo, eyeing the blaster with curiosity.

“Well, before I joined the Jedi, I was skilled with a Blaster. Then after becoming a Jedi Master, I was assisting some of my comrades on a mission against Separatists, but at one point, I lost my sabers, because a bounty hunter working for them, took me by surprise and stole them from me, so I grabbed the Blaster pistol I use now and shot at him and all the droids that came in. Plus, I did something quite unique since I gotten better with the Force by then. Most laser beams that I fired deflected the Droids’ own laser beams back at them!” said Sturider as he smiled thinking about the mission he was talking about. As he took a blood sample from Sweetie Belle.

“You deflected laser beams with lasers beams from the Blaster you wer’ usin’?! Exclaimed, Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, even I was surprised. But soon using the Blaster pistol as my main weapon I managed to beat 2/5 of the droid army and got my sabers back. After getting back to the Temple, I told the other Jedi about what happened, and requested to take the blaster as a secondary weapon next to my sabers. While some were uneasy about it, they accepted it. Since then I used Blaster in many of my fights, but not as much as my sabers. But soon I created a new kind of technique for Lightsaber combat.” Said Sturider as he took Scootaloo’s arm next.

“And that was?” asked Scootaloo, still eyeing the weapon.

“Well, when I had to engage Sith Lords in a duel, I would fire my Blaster at them. Forcing them to deflect the laser beams. But as they’re deflecting the lasers beams, I race in and draw one of my sabers and clash against their blade. Then I’d jump back and continue to draw fire at them and then when they least expect it, I strike with my sabers, and eventually incapacitate them, forcing them to surrender or retreat. I call it, “The Misdirection Technique”. Continued Sturider, as he took the next blood sample from Scootaloo’s arm.

“I get it! You misdirect the opponent’s attention by firing your blaster at them, and they’re so concentrated on deflecting the laser beams that they don’t see you strike them with your sabers!” said, Sweetie Belle.

“Precisely, young one. After making that technique, the other Jedi were quite impressed by it, and I continued to use it in my battles. While it worked for most beings, it wasn’t that much effective against Count Dooku.” Said Sturider as he put each blood sample into an odd machine.

“Wasn’t there any way ta’ beat that Count Dooku guy?!” exclaimed Apple Bloom, tugging on her bow.

“Yes, while Dooku was a skilled man, one Jedi, Anakin Skywalker overwhelmed him with his own saber skills and disarmed him, literally.” said, Sturider.

“Ooh, that’s gotta hurt.” Winced, Scootaloo.

“Yes. To describe a Lightsaber wound like that, it’s like being cut with a knife and burnt at the same time.” Explained Sturider.

“Ouch.” Said Apple Bloom. “ I once burned myself on our stove when I was younger, but I can’t imagine the pain of bein’ cut at the same time of bein’ burnt.”

“No, the only way to know what it feels like is to experience it yourself.” Explained Sturider. “Unfortunately, it happened to some of my Jedi comrades. Some lose a hand, and some lost a leg.”

“Oh my. So they were left crippled for the rest of their lives?!” shouted Sweetie Belle, with a squeal in her voice.

"Don’t worry, one good thing about Medics involving Jedi, they can get it replaced with a cybernetic limb.” Said Sturider.

“Cybernetic? You mean like a robotic one?” asked Scootaloo.

“Yes. But when Jedi train with their sabers they learn how to block other sabers to avoid losing a limb.” Explained Sturider.

“Okay, now that wer’ on the subject of Lightsabers, let’s hear about yer’s.” suggested Apple Bloom.

“Sure.” Said Sturider as he unclipped his Graflex Lightsaber. “This is the first saber I constructed for myself when I became a Padawan. Each Lightsaber that’s every made has the same basic components: handgrip, emitter matrix, lens assembly, power cell, and focusing crystal. This saber has a solid, heavy-duty hilt that favored maximum strength. And then I added ridged handgrips for easy grip. Then put a d-ring on the bottom to carry it on my belt.”

“So, what makes the blade?” asked Scootaloo.

“A Kyber Crystal. A special crystal that gives the Lightsaber its main blade power. When Jedi Padawans go to find their crystals, the Force helps them guide them to the one crystal that is chosen for their saber. Most Jedi use Blue and green, but there are a few use yellow, orange, silver, purple, pink and other colors. But the Sith use Synthetic crystals for their sabers, and their sabers emit a red blade.” Explained Sturider.

“So the blades are made by crystals? Rarity would be interested to hear that.” Said Sweetie Belle.

“Yes, it is fascinating. So moving onto my second saber.” Said Sturider as he then unclipped his curved hilted Lightsaber. “I built this one after a few years of being a Jedi Knight. I used a unique metal for this hilt, hence why it’s colored blue. But to make it easy to use 2 Lightsabers in combat, I gave this saber a curved hilt. Then for a unique touch for the emitter, I put 3 claws on it.”

“Awesome! Have you ever seen any one-of-a-kind Lightsabers?” asked Scootaloo.

“Well… I did find this one unique Lightsaber once, but it’s very different. Heck, even I don’t know much about it.” Said, Sturider as he walked up to a crate and then took out a case and put it on the table. “This one is like no other Lightsaber, I’ve even seen in years.” Explained Sturider as he opened the case. And inside was a sword-like hilt colored gray.

“You’re right. It is different.” Said Sweetie Belle.

“It kinda looks like a regular sword.” Said Apple Bloom.

“You’re not far off.” Said Sturider as he took the hilt from the case. “I found this in an old Jedi Temple on another planet I was on. Actually, it called out to me via the Force.”

“So, what kind of blade does this one feature?” asked Scootaloo.

“You’ll see.” Said Sturider as he ignited the blade, but this one made a high-pinched screech, as a sword-shaped black blade emitted from it.

“Wow! It has a black blade!” shouted Apple Bloom in shock.

“And its blade looks just lie a sword’s!” exclaimed, Scootaloo.

"Yeah. I’ve looked in many archives to try and learn more about this saber, but only found out so much. But I did learn that another one of these sabers was made by someone named, Tarre Vizsla. But I didn’t found out who made this one.” Said, Sturider as he extinguished the blade and put it back in the case.

“Okay, so now we know about your weapons, now how about your ship?” said, Sweetie Belle.

“Well, it’s a long story for this old boy. But I’ll put it in short story version. My ship, which I’ve named: ‘The Galaxy Savior’ is a custom Starfighter I’ve created. With help from one other Jedi Knight.” Said, Sturider.

“Well, what kind of ship did this thing start out as?” asked Scootaloo.

“Originally, this was a Delta-7 Jedi Starfighter. But then I upgraded it.” Answered Sturider.

“Before y’all continue. Who was the other Jedi who helped ya’ build this ship?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. He had knack for building and customizing ships. He had several customized ships during the Clone Wars.” Answered Sturider.

“So, what was added to this ship that makes it different from other Jedi Knights’ ships?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Well, it started out with the standard ship, then we expanded the fuselage to add more compartments onto the ship. 2 infact, one is for a sleeping quarters, the other; which is where we’re inside of, the main work room. This is where I make repairs to droids, or even perform medical operations.” Explained Sturider. “And sometimes, when I’m not doing any mission, I offer tinker with a few mechanics or leather workings. Plus, when I have to go into hyperspace jumps, the ship has bigger wings on the expanded fuselage that deploy to help stabilize it while going through hyperspace.”

“Huh. Most of the spaceships, I’ve seen in my comics have something like that, but they’re much bigger than this one.” Said, Scootaloo. “What’s the maximum amount of passengers can you take in this vessel?”

“Myself included, 10.” Answered, Sturider. “I fly the ship, while others ride in the back of here. And of course my droid helps me fly.”

“Droid? You mean you have your own personal droid?!” asked, Scootaloo.

“Yes, I do.” Answered Sturider.

“Can we see it?! Can we?! Can We?! CAN WE?!” asked Sweetie Belle, getting louder and louder with each time she asked, even adding a high pitched squeal to each one.

“Easy, easy, young one. No need to get overexcited.” Said, Sturider. “But, I can’t show you my droid.” Replied Sturider, as all 3 fillies’ ears drooped in disappointed.

“Aww. Why not?” asked Apple Bloom, sadly.

“See for yourself.” Said, Sturider, pointing to the other side of the room. The fillies looked over to where they did infact see Sturider’s droid. But, the droid was in terrible condition. It was badly damaged. With scorch marks on its body. With a few dents, chips, ever one of its arms was broken off.

“What happened to it?” asked Scootaloo.

“He was heavily damaged before I left Courasant. First he was shot several times with blasters. And then right before he got to my ship, a bomb went off near some crates just a few feet from my ship and the explosion is what really got him.” Explained Sturider, as he recalled what happened to his droid.

“So, is he dead for good then?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Only for now. I can try to fix him and get him working again.” Answered Sturider.

“It would be awesome if you did. I always wanted to see a real live robot in action.” Said Scootaloo.

“Well, I’ll see what I can do for him.” Said, Sturider.

“So, what’s the droid’s name?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“His name is R3-X3. But I often call him Rax.” Replied, Sturider. “He’s always been there for me during the Clone Wars.”

“So, what do droids like Rax do?” asked Scootaloo.

“They often help with flying our ships, and calculate hyperspace jumps and perform simple repairs if our ships get damaged.” Explained Sturider.

“You said that this ship can jump into hyperspace. What’s this thing’s top speed?” asked Scootaloo.

“1,260 kph” answered Sturider.

“How badly damaged is your ship?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Majorly damaged.” Answered Sturider. “But when I get it fixed, I can show you 3 how this ship really works.”

“We’d love to see how it works!” squealed Sweetie Belle with glee.

“Say, did the results for your test of us being Force Sensitive come in?” asked, Scootaloo.

“Let’s take a look.” Said, Sturider.

The four went over to the machine and Sturider took a look at the screens, and inspected the results.

“Well, what does it say?” asked Apple Bloom, peering over Sturider’s shoulder.

“Well Crusaders, after looking at the results.” Said Sturider, pausing for effect. “You three are indeed sensitive to the Force.”

“WE ARE?!” shouted the Crusaders.

“Yes, you are.” Answered, Sturider. As the Crusaders all cheered with glee.

“So we can be Jedi like you?!” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Not right away. But with a bit of training you can.” Answered Sturider. “Infact, I’m willing to train you 3 myself.”

“REALLY?!” asked Scootaloo, with her eyes twinkling in delight.

“Yes.” Answered Sturider. “But, I wanna bring this up to your older siblings first. Just for the sack of safety.”

“Well, let’s go!” said Sweetie Belle, as all three of the fillies all skipped out of the ship with glee as Sturider watched.

“Those 3 are indeed quite the feisty ones. But, I’m sure with my guidance, they’ll make great Jedi Knights.” Said, Sturider. As he then walked out of his ship and followed the Crusaders. However, unknown to the Crusaders and Sturider, they were being eavesdropped on. As 2 figures then walked into Sturider’s ship up to where the case containing the Darksaber stood. As a shadow appeared over it. And a sinister chuckling was heard.

“With this thing, we’ll be even more popular.”

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, it took me a while to figure out how it should go.
But it seems like The Crusaders are infact Force Sensitive, but will they be allowed to be Trained by Sturider? We'll see in the next chapter.
And before you say anything, yes I know there's only one Darksaber in the franchise. But the Darksaber in this story plays an important role later on in the story.

Chapter 5: Cutie Mark Crusaders Padawan Learners

Later, Sturider and the Crusaders were with the Mane 6 in Twilight’s Library, as Sturider explained his plans to train the Crusaders.

“And so, if you’re approvals I wanna take the Crusaders in as my trainees.” Said Sturider.

“Well, normally, Ah’ ain’t comfy with my little sis’ doin’ something risky, but after seein’ y’all lift that ship of yers’ with that Force stuff. Ah’ give you mah’ approval for trainin’ Apple Bloom. Said Applejack. “But, if it’s alright with you, Ah’d like to try out that laser gun of yers’ sometime in the future.”

“Sure. I’d be glad to.” Said, Sturider.

“Well, you’ve got my approval.” Said, Twilight. “I wanna see how your training works.”

“That can be arranged.” Said, Sturider.

“Um... Well, I know the Crusaders once did some dangerous things, but if you’re training them. Then I’d be okay with it. If you don’t mind that is.” Said, Fluttershy.

“Yes, Yes, Yes! You should train them! Then they can be as cool as you are!” shouted Pinkie Pie hopping with Joy.

“Well, Scoots is trying to be as awesome as I am.” Stated Rainbow as she hovered over the group. “And if you ask me, making her a Jedi Knight would make her just as cool as me! So I say, go on ahead with training her!”

“Well… I don’t know.” Said Rarity. “I mean, you did tell me that your Lightsabers do cut anything. And I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to Sweetie Belle.”

“I can assure you, Miss Rarity. I will make sure that doesn’t happen to Sweetie Belle. Besides, I’m sure I can help Sweetie Belle have a calmer way of doing things with my training. I’ve noticed that she tends to be quite highly strung.”

Rarity pondered. While she wasn’t comfy with her little sister using advanced weapons by herself, there was a kind-hearted gentleman who was willing to help teach her sister how to quite behave. And after seeing how polite Sturider was, and after Fluttershy told her how he helped her in the market, she could trust Sturider. “Well, alright. You have my approval, but if anything happens to Sweetie Belle, you’ll regret it. Big time!”

“I’ll keep that in mind, ma’am.” Said Sturider. He then turned to the Crusaders. “Well you 3, it looks like I’ll be training you to become Jedi after all.”

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER JEDI KNIGHTS!!!” shouted the Crusaders.

“Alright, before we get started. There are a few things you must know. Firstly, in The Jedi Order it is customary to call your teacher “Master” and for the teacher to call his students “Padawans”. Understood?” said, Sturider.

“We understand… Master.” Said, Scootaloo.

“Good, now let’s head back to my ship and we can begin training.” Said, Sturider.

---

As the four made it back to Sturider’s ship, he explained about the training.

“Lucky for you 3, I managed to grab a few Lightsabers from the Jedi Temple before I left Courasant. So you’ll be able to use Lightsabers of your own.” Explained, Sturider.

“I know I’d like to use that Darksaber.” Said Scootaloo.

“Darksaber?” asked Sturider, he wasn’t sure what Scootaloo meant.

“That black Lightsaber.” Explained Scootaloo. “You said Lightsabers come in different colors, right? Well, since Black is a dark color, and then it makes sense to call that Black Lightsaber a ‘Darksaber’”.

“That makes sense.” Said, Sturider. “Then ‘Darksaber’ it shall be called.” Soon, they were approaching Sturider’s ship. Although, the Lightsabers I grabbed have different colored blades, so I can show you them all and you can decide which ones you want to use.” Said, Sturider, as Scootaloo looked at him with hopeful eyes. “And yes, including the Darksaber.”

The four were soon inside Sturider’s ship and Sturider began to head for the crate where he took out the Darksaber.

“Now then, Let me show you the Lightsabers, I’ve…..” Sturider started, when he noticed something odd, or infact, something missing. As he gasped in horror. “OH NO!!!” He shouted in shock as he raced over to the table.

“What? What’s wrong?” asked Apple Bloom, concerned for Sturider’s sudden change of attitude.

“The Darksaber! It’s gone!” shouted, Sturider as he showed the Crusaders the case that the Darksaber was in. But only this time, there was nothing inside it.

“WHAT?!” shouted Scootaloo, as she took the case and shook it. “HOW IS IT GONE?! IT WAS IN THE CASE WHEN WE LEFT!!! I WANTED TO USE THAT AWESOME SABER!!!”

“Somepony must’ve stolen it while we were at the Library!” said Sweetie Belle.

“But we wer’ the only ones who wer’ in this ship when Sturider showed it to us.” Said, Apple Bloom.

“Or maybe, we thought we were the only ones who were here.” Said, Scootaloo clenching her fists and she looked around the ship. “I bet someone was eavesdropping on us when Sturider showed us that Darksaber. And then when we left, they snuck in the ship and stole it.”

“That sounds very likely my young friend.” Said Sturider. “But we can’t go around asking random citizens about it. You 3 are the only ponies in this village who’ve seen the Darksaber. So no one will know what it looks like.”

“But how we will find it?!” asked Scootaloo.

“All we can do is trust in the Force. As I said, it called to me when I found it, so it calls to me or one of you three, if it’s near.” Said, Sturider.

“Sounds good.” Said Sweetie Belle. “But, let’s see those other Lightsabers you have.”

“Certainly.” Said, Sturider as took a bigger case out from the crate and placed it on the table, and opened it. And inside the case were 9 different styled Lightsabers.

“Now, this is a good opportunity for you three to begin training.” Said, Sturider. “This will also help you receive the Sabers that will soon belong to you.”

“How will it work?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Well, since the Darksaber called to me, then the Force will guide you to a certain Lightsaber that will fit you.” Explained Sturider. “First get on your knees and close your eyes.”

“Huh? How will closing our eyes help?” asked Scootaloo.

“If you focus on using your other senses, then you can’t focus on using the Force. Your other senses can deceive you in many cases.” Explained Sturider.

“Alright, I’ll play along.” Said Scootaloo, still confused. As she and the other 2 fillies got on their knees and closed their eyes.

“Now, just slowly breath in, and out as you sit.” Said, Sturider.

“What?” asked Scootaloo, even more confused.

“Just do as I say.” Said, Sturider.

So the Crusaders did as they were told and slowly, they began to feel the Force within them. And then they had a strange sense, as a humming sound was heard in their minds.

“What do you feel?” asked, Sturider, starting to sense the humming himself.

“I feel a tingling sensation.” Said, Sweetie Belle.

“So do Ah.” Said Apple Bloom.

“Even Me.” Added Scootaloo.

“That’s the Force flowing through your bodies. Now lift your right hand and let the Force do its work.” Said, Sturider.
The Crusaders did as they were told and as they held up their hands, they began to feel the Force getting stronger, and then from the case, 3 Lightsabers rose.

“Ah’ think Ah’m startin’ to sense a Lightsaber fer’ me,” said Apple Bloom.

"Do you 2 feel it too?” Sturider asked Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who nodded their heads. “Good, now use the Force to bring your Sabers into your hands. And don’t open your eyes until you feel them in your grasp.”

The Crusaders then started to pull with the Force as they felt it going through their hands and then the Sabers slowly floated from the case and then slowly each one floated into each of the Crusaders’ hands until they were in their grasp.

“Alright, now open your eyes.” Said Sturider.

The Crusaders did so and looked at the sabers that were in their hands.

“We did it! We did it!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle with a squeal.

“Alright, now stand up and each one of you ignite your saber one-by-one and you’ll see your given blade colors.” Said Sturider.

The Crusaders nodded their heads, as Apple Bloom ignited her saber, with emitted an orange blade. Then Sweetie Belle ignited hers, which emitted a sky blue blade. Finally, Scootaloo ignited hers, which emitted a purple blade.

“Hmm, it may not be sword-like. Or black, but this saber’s awesome too!” said Scootaloo as she inspected her new saber with awe. As they extinguished the blades after a minute or 2 of observing their sabers’ blade colors.

“So, now what?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Before we continue, I need to measure you 3.” Said, Sturider as he took out some measuring tape and measured the circumference of the Crusaders’ waists.

“You’re not gonna make us dresses are you?” asked Scootaloo. “I’m not one for wearing girly outfits, as she pointed inside her mouth in a gagging fashion.

“No, this is for your utility belts.” Explained Sturider as he took each measurement.

“Utility belts?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Yes, how else are you gonna carry your sabers?” said, Sturider. “Alright, until I complete your belts, we’ll postpone Lightsaber combat training, and concentrate on Force skills.”

“What? But I wanna learn how to use a Lightsaber, now!” whined Scootaloo.

“First, you 3 must learn to use the Force under your control. And once you are skilled enough with the Force, then we’ll move to Lightsaber combat.” Said, Sturider.

“So, what are we suppose ta’ do with our sabers?” asked Apple Bloom.

“For now, I’ll hang on to them, we can’t risk them being stolen like the Darksaber.” Said, Sturider.

“Okay. I guess that would be okay. I don’t wanna lose this saber.” Said Scootaloo as the Crusaders handed Sturider their sabers.

“Alright, tomorrow after school, come here and our training will continue.” Said Sturider as he put the crusaders’ sabers in a different. “For now, it’s getting late. And we will stop here.”

“Sounds fine, besides, it’s almost time fer’ me ta’ have dinner anyway.” Said, Apple Bloom, as she left.

“I just hope we’ll find the Darksaber. I know I have my own Lightsaber now, But I still wanna try it out.” Said Scootaloo.

“Trust the Force, young one. We will find it.” Said, Sturider. But deep down, he wasn’t so sure if they would find the Darksaber at all. But he wanted to have a positive attitude. For now, he was training 3 young fillies, and that came first.

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the long wait.
Well, now the Crusaders are to be trained in The Force by Sturider. Will they prove to be good trainees? Or will it prove to be a handful? And now Sturider and the Crusaders are now aware of the Darksaber being stolen, who has stolen it? We'll have to find out later.

Chapter 6: There is no "Try"/Patience

The next day as the Sun rose, Sturider stepped out from his shuttle as he gazed up at the sun thinking of what was to come.

"Today comes the day when I train my new Padawans. Master Yoda, wherever you are, I hope to have your guidance through the Force as I do. May the Force be with me." said Sturider more to himself than anyone in particular.

"May the Force be With You, Master Sturider Thom." said, a voice. Sturider stopped. As he turned around and looked all around. For a moment, he thought he just heard the voice of his old Master. But he wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Hmm. That's strange. Oh, well, I better get ready." said Sturider as he then walked into his shuttle and into the tinkering room where 3 brand new belts lay on the table. Which he had created last night, and to add a bit of a uniqueness to tell which belonged to whom, Sturider had put the Crusader's initials on the buckets of the belts. "These belts turned out a lot better than I thought they would. I'm sure the Crusaders are gonna love them."

Sturider then picked up the belts and then placed them into the table where he kept the Crusader's Lightsabers which he had repainted, so encase if they were stolen, they could be found easily. Apple Bloom's was painted yellow with parts of it painted Red and Magenta. Sweetie Belle's was painted white, with pink and purple stripes. While Scootaloo's was painted orange with the grips and a few other spots on it was painted purple. As he looked at the 3 sabers, Sturider couldn't help but think about how disappointed Scootaloo was when they found out the only Darksaber he had was stolen. For, last night he swore to himself to find it and let Scootaloo have a chance to use it as she wanted. "I can't let Scoots down. As well as myself, if this happened back in Coruscant, the other Jedi wouldn't let me hear the end of it. And now, to take care of something else" said, Sturider as he walked over to his bunk where the Jedi Robes and tunic lay, still a bit torn up and tattered. While his new outfit was okay, he wanted to have his proper outfit while training the Crusaders. It was time to visit Rarity again.

---

Rarity wasn't very busy at the moment, as she finished up an order for a fancy dress that Fancy Pants had requested her to make in time for Fleur de Lis' birthday. Rarity could only stare deeply at the fascinating dress, which she had made out of pink silk with lines of rubies trailing down it. While it also had a few Phoenix feathers at the ends of the sleeves and on the bottom of it. (which she had to ask Princess Celestia for the feathers, who was more than willing to lend her a few of Philomena's Feathers she had saved.) And now, Rarity was just taking a moment to rest as she was enjoying a fine cup of tea. Then when she was about to take another sip, there was a knock at the door.

"I wonder who could be knocking this early?" Rarity asked herself as she set her teacup down and got up from her chair. "Coming!" she said in a sing-songy voice as she answered the door. "Welcome to Carousal Boutique, where ever garment is clique, unique, and magnifique. How can I help you?"

"Good day, Miss Rarity. I hope I'm interrupting you." said, Sturider.

"Oh, Sturider! What a pleasant surprise. You're not interrupting anything, come on in." said Rarity as she stood aside and gestured for Sturider to come in. In which he walked inside and then set his robes and tunic on a table. "What can I do for you, darling? If you're here for Sweetie Belle, I'm afraid she isn't here. She's at school."

"No, I'm not here for your sister. M'am. I'm in need of an outfit for myself." said Sturider.

"But I thought I already made you one?" asked Rarity as she walked over. "Do you not like it? Did I use the wrong fabric? I knew I should've used silk for it! Oh my, this is the first outfit I've created for an outsider and I've messed up on it! Of all the worst things that could happen, this is the... worst... possible.... th..." Before she could continue the last word, Sturider rose his hand, and instantly, Rarity stopped with her drama queen panic.

"Miss Rarity. Let me inform you that this outfit you gave me has nothing wrong with it. Infact it really is a nice outfit you made me. But this outfit I want you to make is not just because it is for a reason." Sturider calmly said.

"Oh? A reason you say? Whatever for?" asked Rarity.

"Well, in the lines of Jedi training their own apprentices, it is a recommendation to wear the robes and tunics that I was wearing when I first arrived here," explained Sturider. "Even if, I'm on a different planet, I'd like to keep to the guidelines."

"Oh, I understand. I apologize for my unladylike response." said, Rarity.

"It's all fine. Anyway, I've come here to ask you to make me some new robes and tunic using my old ones as a base. And I'd like them colored dark blue. Can you do that?" said Sturider.

"Of course, I can!" said Rarity as she then put on her glasses and took a close look at the robes and tunic, thinking of how to do so. "IDEA!!!" And then Rarity took the robes and tunic in her magical grip. "Take a stand at the mirrors, please. I just need some measurements," said Rarity, as she then took out her measuring tape and she put Sturider's old robes and tunic on one of the Pony dress dummies she had in the room. When she did, she then took a real good look at the robes, where she really saw how bad they were, and now that she was wearing her glasses she can now see some burn marks on his robes. "My goodness! Look at these burns! I have never seen anything like this before! I'd think that such a gentleman such as yourself would avoid this from happening!" she exclaimed.

"Well, it's not easy to do that when you have at least 30 troopers shooting at you with blasters," stated Sturider.

"Oh my! That must of been a real event for you! If I were in your shoes, I don't think I'd keep calm enough." said Rarity.

"Well, when you've had years of training with the Force, you can learn how to keep come calm in situations like that," explained Sturider as he stood at the stand.

"I see. Now, let's get to business." said, Rarity as she took out her measuring tape and begun to measure Sturider's arms. As Rarity worked, Sturider could only wonder what the Crusaders were doing.

-----------------

At the Ponyville Schoolhouse, the Crusaders couldn't contain their excitement for what was to come.

"Our first day of trainin'! Ah'm really lookin' forward to this!" exclaimed Apple Bloom.

"And maybe we'll get our Cutie Marks for being Jedi!" squealed, Sweetie Belle.

"And on top of that, we'll finally have something to be awesome as Rainbow Dash!" shouted Scootaloo.

"Girls, I hate to interrupt your conversation. But could you please now shout so much, I'm about to give a very important lecture," said Cheerliee.

"Sorry, Miss Cheerliee." said the Crusaders in unison, while a few of the other classmates snicked at this, while 2 certain fillies were watching them in confusion.

Later, the foals were at lunchtime, as the Crusaders sat together at a table. As they continued eating their conversation about their Jedi training.

"Alright, I know that we're excited about Sturider training us, but I don't think we should tell anyone else." said, Sweetie Belle.

"I agree, while I wanna rub this in Diamond Jerk and Silver Snob's faces. I don't wanna risk having my Lightsaber stolen like how the Darksaber was," said Scootaloo, gritting her teeth, still angry that such an awesome black-bladed Lightsaber she wanted to use was stolen.

"Fer' goodness sakes, Scoots. It's that all you can think about?" asked Apple Bloom as she took a bite from an apple. "Ah' know you wanted to use that Darksaber, but you don't have to rub it in. And as Sturider said, we'll find it! But could you not talk about it here? The thief might be here right now! We can't let him or her know we're onto them."

"Good point," said Scootaloo. "Say, you don't suppose Button Mash may have taken it?"

"WHAT?!" squealed Sweetie Belle as she dropped a plastic fork with a bit of lettuce in it. "Why would Button Mash steal it?!"

"Well, he always takes about that energy sword from his Halo games. And he's even mentioned that he'd like to own one. I'm just thinking." said Scootaloo.

"There's no way Button Mash could've done it!" snapped Sweetie Belle as she bopped her nose into Scootaloo's own. "Besides, even if he did wanna take something from Sturider, it would be his Blaster!"

"Sweetie Belle has a point, Scoots. Button Mash does sound like a good suspect, but we all know he's more interested into fancy guns," said Apple Bloom.

"Alright, alright. No need to get your undies in a bunch, girls," said Scootaloo. As she took a drink from her chocolate milk. "Besides, we all know that you're just defending your coltfriend, Sweetie."

"He's not my coltfriend!" snapped Sweetie Belle with a blush as she slammed her hands on the table. "He's not! We're just really good friends! Why do you keep saying that?!"

"Can we just stop it already?! This ain't gettin' us nowhere. said Apple Bloom, sounding very annoyed. "Besides, it's just a Lightsaber!"

"Just a Lightsaber?! JUST A LIGHTSABER?!" exclaimed Scootaloo. "It was an awesome Lightsaber with a black blade!" she then took a really, deep breath before shouting right in Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's faces, "AND I WON'T CALM DOWN UNTIL WE FIND IT!!!!" She shouted so loud that everyone else stopped what they were doing and all turned to look at Scootaloo, who noticed the on looking as she blushed a deep red and sat back down. "Sorry."

"It's alright. But I think we should stay more focused on the actual training. Sturider did say, we have to learn to control the Force before we can use Lightsabers." Said, Sweetie Belle as she fixed her hair, which had gotten messed up from Scootaloo's outburst. As a burst of rude laughter was heard.

"Man, Scootaloud. There's no need to shout. Some would think you were part megaphone or something." said Diamond Tiara rudely. "What's got you lame blank flanks so excited anyway?"

"That is none of yer' business," said Apple Bloom.

"If it involves the chicken yelling in the whole lunchroom, then it is our business." said, Silver Spoon.

"No one asked you!" snapped Scootaloo. "And if you wanna know, I'll just say, that we're going to join Sturider in something after school. Nothing more."

"Really?" said, Diamond Tiara as she put her arms on the table with a smug expression on her face. "If anything, you 3 idiots don't deserve to work alongside some random outsider who uses fancy light swords and a laser gun. As well as having some weird telekinetic powers. If anyone should hang with him it is more important ponies like me and Silver."

"Who says?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"We say," said Silver Spoon as she walked behind Sweetie Belle. "What makes you think you 3 are worthy to be hanging with a Jedi?"

"Because Stu knows who's good enough to trust and who ain't." said, Apple Bloom.

"Well, he obviously needs himself a pair of glasses," said Diamond Tiara. "Besides, I bet me and silver could use one of those fancy light swords better than he could!"

"Yeah, and be better at cutting off your own hands with them!" said Scootaloo, as she snicked at her own joke.

"Humph! You blank flanks, just don't get it. No matter what you do or try, you'll never be better than us. You'll always be lame, losers with no Cutie Marks." said Silver Spoon, laughing rudely.

"Now, we don't have time to talk to losers like you. Me and Silver have more important things to do," said Diamond Tiara. And she and Silver Spoon walked away.

"Those stupid, stuck-up, selfish brats!" snapped Scootaloo, tugging at her hair. "Why can't they just leave us alone?!"

"Well, once Sturider trains us to be Jedi, Ah'm sure those 2 will stop botherin' us," said Apple Bloom.

"I hope so," said Sweetie Belle. "My flank still stings from the times they wedgied us."

"Don't even think about bringing that up." said, Scootaloo as she reached into her lunch bin but she couldn't feel anything and she looked inside. "HEY!! They took my chocolate bar!"

"They took my fritter!", exclaimed Apple Bloom, looking in her bag.

"And my cookies!" exclaimed, Sweetie Belle as she was looking in her own bag.

"ARGH!!! How do they do that without us noticing!?" shouted Scootaloo, slamming her head on the table.

"Ah' hope Sturider's havin' a better time than we are." said, Apple Bloom.

------------

Back at the Boutique, Rarity was making a few final adjustments to Sturider's new robes as she stitched the final parts to the main robe. "And.... there. Finished!" said Rarity as she removed the needle from the fabric. "So, how does it look?"

Sturider then looked at himself in a mirror where he was impressed deeply. Rarity had made the robes with such precision that it was almost like his original robes were never ruined at all. As he then examined them closely finding every bit of them perfectly accurate to his old ones. "This. This... This is outstanding! They're perfect! They like exactly like my old ones. I'm impressed deeply. I love them, Miss Rarity!"

"Thank you, darling. I'm glad I was able to make them just to your liking. This is actually the first time I've ever created anything like this." said, Rarity.

"Really? Wow, you're a real whiz to fashion designing," said Sturider as he got down from the stand. "So how much do I owe you?' asked, Sturider as he then began to put his own utility belt back on.

"Oh, you don't have to pay me, it's on the house." said, Rarity.

"You sure about that? I don't wanna impose." said, Sturider as he then clipped his belt back and then clipped the holster's leg strap.

"I insist, dear. Besides, it's almost time for Sweetie Belle and her friends to leave school. I'd suggest you'd get going there at once." said Rarity.

"Alright. And thank you again for doing this ma'am," said Sturider. As he walked out the door to head for the schoolhouse.

-----------------

Sturider walked on through the small town as many of the locals turned towards him and admired his presence but mostly for his newly made Jedi robes. Sturider was quite impressed with how nicely Ponyville had taken him in. Normally, many familiar locations he often went to during the Clone Wars weren't too happy about seeing a Jedi. Even more so now that the Republic was taken down. But the mere thought of how the Republic fell was enough to make the Jedi have one terrible thought; what if they tracked him down into Equestria? If so, they would easily slaughter all these kind-hearted ponies in no time at all, or even take many foals prisoners and force them to join their side. But Sturider brushed it off and knew even if a dark lord were to find him, he'd do his best to protect all these equines, especially the Crusaders now that he was training them to be Jedi. Thinking back about the Crusaders, he began to think about something that he took note of involving said fillies. Sometime after watching them in their argument with those 2 rude fillies he could sense pain and suffering within the Crusaders' minds and that worried him. If the Crusaders kept that pain and suffering to themselves, there was no doubt that they could possibly end falling the Dark Side. But he couldn't, wouldn't let that happen. Sometime during their training, he intended to talk to the Crusaders and try to help them.

Speaking of which, Sturider then noticed he was now at the Ponyville Schoolhouse at the time where the bell rang and all foals came walking out of the schoolhouse, as the Jedi watched each of them until he spotted the Crusaders happily skipping out of the schoolhouse as they noticed him and smiled big grins.

"Hello again, young ones." greeted Sturider with a smile of his own.

"Howdy, Master Thom!" said Apple Bloom.

"So what are doing in our training?" asked Scootaloo.

"Today, I will teach you how to use the Force and controlling it," said Sturider. "A few simple tricks any Jedi can do. That's all."

"Say, did you get some new outfit?" asked Sweetie Belle, squinting her eyes.

"Yes, I went over to your sister's and she made me some new Jedi Robes," replied Sturider.

"You couldn't ask her for something more fashionable?" asked Diamond Tiara, as she and Silver Spoon walked over.

"Yeah, robes like those are so lame. I mean they look so bland, and that color? Not the one I'd go for." said Silver Spoon.

"Well I hate to disappoint you 2, but there is no "fashion details" or fancy works in the Jedi Order. These robes are recommendation to wear." said, Sturider. "You could say, it's our uniform." This response had the 2 rich fillies stunned in silence. "I'd love to stay and chat but me and the Crusaders have plans, so I bid you 2, good day." said, Sturider as he and the Crusaders left the 2.

A Minute passed by, and the 2 looked to where the Crusaders and the Jedi had walked off.

"Why would that man wanna do stuff with those losers when he could be hanging with real fillies like us?" asked Silver Spoon as she adjusted her glasses.

"Don't think about it too much now Silvy. We'll soon show we can be better than those blank flanks and Jedi alike. Just give it time, and at the right time ready." said Diamond Tiara with a devious look on her face as she patted a certain spot on her small purse.

---

Sturider and the Crusaders were back at Sturider's shuttle as they walked inside.

"Master, I just have to say, the way you responded to Diamond Jerk and Silver Snub was sweet!" said Scootaloo.

"Thank you. If there's one thing I learned as a Padawan Learner, it's how to not let insults get to your heads," said Sturider.

"You mentioned you wer' makin' utility belts fer' us, right? Did ya' manage to finish them?" asked Apple Bloom.

"As a matter of fact I did," answered Sturider as he picked up the belts. "I finished them last night. Why don't you give them a try on?" asked Sturider as he handed the Crusaders their own belts.

As the crusaders clipped on their belts, they took a quick moment to look at them. And after a minute they turned to look at the Jedi.

"I really like this belt! I even like how you put our name initials on them!" said Sweetie Belle as she then took another look at her belt's buckle.

"Thank you, young one. Also, I made a slight modification to your Lightsabers, so if anyone tries to steal them, we'll be able to find them easily," said Sturider as he picked up the sabers and brought them over.

"Wow! You painted em!" exclaimed, Apple Bloom. As she and the other 2 took their sabers and admired the paintwork on them.

"Alright! Now my Lightsaber looks 20% cooler!" exclaimed Scootaloo, buzzing her wings in glee. "Now I can be sure that no one will try to steal it!" Scootaloo then remembered something on her mind when she said that. "Say, did you found the Darksaber yet?" she asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"I'm afraid not. I haven't found it yet," said Sturider.

"Darn it!" snapped Scootaloo as she stomped her hoof.

"Calm yourself, young one. Don't let your frustration cloud your feelings. If you do, you will not be able to get the full concentration of the Force when you really need it. When it comes to Jedi, one must have a calm mind in order to gain control of the Force. And once you do, you will soon be on the path to becoming Jedi." said Sturider.

"Yes, Master," said Scootaloo.

"Alright, now follow me to the field and the training shall begin," said Sturider, as he started walking to the field with the Crusaders following closely behind. He soon brought them to a spot in the field where several rocks of different sizes and logs set up like a balance beam stood.

"What's all this?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"This is what we'll use for training," explained Sturider as he walked over to the rocks. "First, you must learn how to use the Force to manipulate matter. these rocks make a perfect starter. Just watch how I do it." Sturider then held out his hand as a small rock slowly lifted upward and then he gently put it back down about 12 feet away from where it originally stood. "Now, you there give it a go, you may not succeed at first but if you manage to wiggle it a bit, it will show you're being successful."

The Crusaders then held out their own hands and tried to move them, but the rocks barely budged.

"How the hay do you do this so easy?" asked, Apple Bloom.

"You simply concentrate on the energy from all living things and stretch out your feelings. Imagine the rocks are moving, and do your best to make the image in your mind a reality. Just focus." explained Sturider.

The Crusaders nodded their heads as they held out their hands and began to try to imagine the rocks moving. Soon the rocks began to wiggle a little, and soon the Crusaders tightened their hands as the rocks, very shakily started to raise. But soon they began to get a little exhausted, so Sturider clapped his hands and the three dropped the rocks back down.

"Well done, Crusaders. It seems the Force is very strong with you three. You three are making good progress." said Sturider.

"Alright! This is getting better and better!" said Scootaloo as she buzzed her wings in excitement.

"Now, we'll come to the next part of training," said Sturider as he walked over the log.

"Uh, what exactly is this log for?" asked Apple Bloom.

"This helps you three learn to use the Force for physical strength and coordination. For this one, you three must get on top of this log and do a handstand. then you must concentrate on the Force and manage to do a one-hand stand." explained Sturider.

"Hmm, this may be a bit tough. Even for someone like me," said Scootaloo as she looked at the log, while Sweetie Belle's gazed went down to her dress as she then blushed a deep red.

"Is something the matter, Sweets?" asked Sturider.

"I can't do this one! I'm wearing a dress!" stated Sweetie Belle as she ran her hands down her dress to the skirt. "If I try to stand on my hands then my dress will just fall!" Sweetie Belle added as she tugged down on her dress still blushing red.

Sturider looked over Sweetie Belle as he realized she was right about the matter. "Hmm, you got a good point there, young one. We can't have that happening during training."

"Hold on! Ah' have an idea!" said Apple Bloom as she reached into her front Overalls pocket and pulled out a long handkerchief. "Here, Sweetie Belle, tie this around the helm of yer' dress."

Sweetie Belle take the handkerchief and tied it around the helm of her dress. "Yeah, this is work," said Sweetie Belle as she did a quick cartwheel to test it.

"Alright, now that's taken care of, we shall do the next part of our training. Step onto the log, Crusaders," said Sturider. the Crusaders then climbed onto the log as they almost ell off it as they then went to get up on their hands, at first it wasn't easy but soon they were on their hands.

"Now focus. and soon you'll be able to stand on one hand," said Sturider.

The Crusaders then tried to but it was proving to be more difficult than they thought, as they struggled to keep their balance.

"Just, focus. You can do it," said Sturider.

"I don't think we can. And Ah'm the strongest of the 3 of us! This should be easy for me!" said Apple Bloom as she strained to do a one-hand stand.

"You just need to focus on letting go," said Sturider.

"Let go? I'd rather hang on!" said Scootaloo.

"It's not that hard, you just need to keep your focus steady," said Sturider.

"We're trying!" stated Sweetie Belle.

"In the Jedi Order, we don't try. Do, or do not. There is no try." said Sturider.

"What? That doesn't make any sense," said Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah, how can you do something if you don't try to do it? asked Scootaloo as she almost fell off the log.

"It may seem confusing to you three, but it makes perfect sense to some," said Sturider. "But to answer your question, when you try to do something, you don't fully believe you can do it. But when you do, something, you have full belief in yourself that you can succeed in your personal goals."

"Oh, that makes sense," said Scootaloo.

"Precisely. Now, focus deeply into your minds and you can do it." said, Sturider.

The Crusaders then shut their eyes as they began to imagine themselves balancing on one hand, as they began to slowly get onto one hand, and soon they were standing on one hand. as Sturider grinned as he watched his Padawans do their training. He then began to think about the other matter on his mind, but he had to wait for the right moment to bring it. "You're doing good, my Padawans," he said.

The Crusaders then opened their eyes and were impressed that they were now standing on one hand.

"Hey, we're doing it!" exclaimed Scootaloo as she buzzed her wings again but had to catch herself from falling again.

"Alright, you can come done from the log now," said Sturider. As the Crusaders then stepped down from the log.

"Well, that was indeed difficult. And I thought getting our Cutie Marks was hard," said Sweetie Belle.

"No kiddin'. How long does it normally take for someone to become a true Jedi? said Scootaloo.

"Oh it takes a while for that to happen young one, sometimes even a few years," answered Sturider.

"A FEW YEARS?!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"Oh great! As if getting our Cutie Marks wasn't hard enough!" snapped Scootaloo as she stamped her hooves.

Sturider was surprised to see Scootaloo take on an aggressive state. But he just couldn't understand why the Crusaders were so obsessed with getting their Cutie Marks. They didn't seem like a big deal to him.

"Crusaders, I'm must note I'm curious. What is so important about these Cutie Marks to you 3?" asked Sturider.

"Well, it's just that... Everyone else in our class has them and we ain't got our's!" said Apple Bloom.

"And we've tried everything! But we still have blank flanks!" snapped Scootaloo as she pulled down part of her pants to show her flank, which had nothing on it.

"Well they don't seem to be that big of a deal to me," said Sturider.

"Well, they are to us! We want them so badly, but it seems like we'll never ever get them!" stated Sweetie Belle.

"But why do you want to get them so quickly? I'm sure that you'll get them someday at your own pace.' said Sturider.

"BUT WE WANT THEM NOW!!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"We just wanna try and get them in a quick pace!' snapped Scootaloo as she crossed her arms and looked away.

At this point, Sturider took a stern look on his face. "You three are not telling me the whole story about this Cutie Mark business."

"Yes, we are!' snapped Apple Bloom.

"No, you're not. there's more to your reasoning," said Sturider.

"No, there isn't! We already told you everything about it!" snapped Scootaloo, scrunching her muzzle as she gritted her teeth.

"You are not being truthful to me about it. I can sense a deeper reason within your minds," said Sturider. "Infact, the day when I first met those 2 other fillies you were arguing with, I could sense pain in your minds too. This Cutie Mark thing has something far deeper than what you're telling me now."

"Okay, maybe there is something," admitted Sweetie Belle. "But we don't really wanna talk about it."

"It would be better if you talked about it. Talking about it can be helpful. If you keep it bottled up in your minds, it will only take control of you." said Sturider. "Besides, a few of my Jedi comrades often had deep issues but when they didn't talk about it, it made them even worse than they were before. it gave them fear. And in the Jedi, Fear is an enemy."

"Why?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Because Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hatred, and then finally, hatred leads to suffering. And that's how you end up on the path to the Dark Side of the Force." explained Sturider. "And believe me, it happened to a few of my Jedi comrades. And when it did, they became dangerous threats. And some became Sith Lords, like what Count Dooku was."

The Crusaders were shocked to hear about this. It was clear to them that the Force was no joke and they certainly didn't want to fall to the Dark Side. And the many times they had troubles with their Cutie Marks, no one could really help them out with it. But after hearing what Sturider said, it was clear that no one else would help because they weren't being clear about why they wanted to get their Cutie Marks so badly. But here was a guy that was willing to help them out, and was currently training to become something so amazing. After a moment of thinking, Apple Bloom spoke.

"Alright. You got us. There is more to our Cutie Mark problems. The truth is, the reason we want our Cutie Marks so badly is because of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon."

"Really?" asked Sturider. "Do you wanna talk about It? I promise you it will make you feel better."

"Well, sometime before I knew Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon would make fun of me. Just because I didn't have a Cutie Mark. And then Diamond Tiara invited me to a Cute-ceañera, a party celebratin' a foal gettin' their cutie mark, for herself. But only to brag about her own Cutie Mark, so I tried to get mine soon but I didn't then when I came to the cute-ceañera, Sweetie Belle and Scoots revealed themselves and stood up fer' me. And then the Cutie Mark Crusaders were born." Apple Bloom started to explain.

"But it didn't stop there. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon continued to insult us, Calling us: "losers" and "blank flanks" day in and day out. But things began to get worse." said Sweetie Belle as her eyes started to tear up. "They began to publicly humiliate us in front of our class. From shoving us in mud puddles, depantsing us, and wedgying us! But no matter how many times Miss Cheerilee told them off, they continued their bullying." continued Sweetie Belle as she covered her face as she started to shed a few tears.

"Then one day, we joined our school newspaper crew. And Diamond tiara was in charge of it, and we began writing gossip stories, that got so funny other ponies in the town started reading them, but soon the gossip started hurting their feelings. And when we tried to drop out Diamond Tiara blackmailed us with embarrassing photos to continue writing more gossip but then, everyone in town started treating us like garbage even Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash! And we were lucky to sneak an apology story in the next newspaper before Diamond Tiara could put the embarrassing photos of us in it. But they still continue their bullying on us! We can't have one day of peace at school without those 2 jerks bullying us in any format!" said Scootaloo as she fell to the ground covering her face as tears of her began to stream down her cheeks.

"Yeah! We only want our Cutie Marks so badly just to get them to stop bullyin' us! But no matter what we do or try, we can't seem to get them!" said Apple Bloom as her eyes welled up in tears too.

Then the Crusaders then broke out in tears and begun to sob on the spot, as Sturider stood in place. Shocked. This rivalry The Crusaders had with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon was more serious than he thought. It seemed that Diamond Tiara and Silver Soon seemed to enjoy their bullying on the Crusaders specifically. He certainly knew there were others on the other planets that let riches and popularity get to their heads so much it turned them into jerks. But this was too far. Insults were one thing, but psychically humiliating and blackmailing were another. The Crusaders were treated so badly by those 2, they were desperate to do anything to try and get them to stop. As the Crusaders continued to sob, Sturider got onto his knees and pulled the three fillies into a hug. As they sobbed into his chest, he rubbed their backs, trying to soothe them. A few minutes passed as the Crusaders were soon done sobbing as they wiped their tears away with another handkerchief Apple Bloom had in her pocket.

"Oh, girls. I'm so sorry. I had no idea how much this affected you." said Sturider.

"Yeah. I bet you think we're pathetic for being this way," said Scootaloo.

"No, not at all. This is natural to feel this way when someone treats you so badly," said Sturider. "But I don't think getting your cutie Marks will solve this problem."

"What do you mean?" asked Apple Bloom.

"From what I heard from you three. It seems that riches, popularity, and their positions have taken control of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's minds. And I've encountered many beings who act like them, but oftentimes they still continue to act the same way, regardless if someone isn't bothered by them." said Sturider. "Besides, when I was telling you and the others at your school about my time in the Clone Wars, they seemed to get quite jealous of me."

'I don't blame them. I mean you can use The Force, you have fancy laser swords and a laser gun. And you were all over the galaxy." said Sweetie Belle. "How could they not be jealous?"

"Quite true, young one," said Sturider. "But back to your Cuties Marks, I think the way you three are trying to get them is foolish."

"Huh? Why?" asked Scootaloo, slightly offended.

"When you really want something you don't get it by trying to find it yourself, you get it by letting it find you. And gallivanting off on a whole bunch of random things is not the way to do it," explained Sturider. "You trying to get your Cutie Marks is kinda like how training to be a Jedi works. Most younglings I've meet often get too impatient about becoming Jedi that they try to find easy paths to becoming stronger with the Force. But when this happens, they often get seduced to the Dark Side of the Force. Or in most cases, they'll get expelled from the Order. Patience is an important factor in the Jedi. If you are patient, then you will soon become stronger with the Force and eventually become Jedi. And when you're patient, you can think calmly through things easier."

"I think Ah' know what yer' talkin' about," said Apple Bloom.

"Yeah, we're so busy trying to get our Cutie Marks sooner, that we end up making it harder for ourselves," added Scootaloo.

"Precisely. But if you 3 are to become Jedi Knights, you must have patience and calmness. And with my help, I can help you three with that." said Sturider as he stood up. "so, instead of concentrating on your Cutie Marks. I think you should concentrate on me training you to be Jedi. So, what do you three say?"

"Yeah, we can do that!" said Scootaloo.

"Just tell us what to do and we'll do it," said Sweetie Belle.

"And we'll be sure ta' follow all of yer' teachings, Master," said Apple Bloom.

"Good, now let's practice some more levitating." said, Sturider as he and the Crusaders went back to the rock pile so the three fillies could continue practicing their Force control.

Author's Notes:

Phew! This is the longest chapter I wrote! But now that the Crusaders are learning more about the Force from Sturider. And even learning the importance of Patience in the Jedi Order. But what else could be in store for the Crusaders and the Jedi? And what could Diamond Tiara be planning?
We'll have to wait and see!

Chapter 7: Lightsaber Combat training

3 days had passed since Sturider began to train the Crusaders, and the three fillies were already better in the Force, as they could now levitate Rocks easy and balance on one hand like it was no trouble. Soon, Sturider figured it was time to teach the Crusaders Lightsaber Combat. As Sturider sat in his shuttle pondering about what was to come, he then figured something.

"Hmmm. I'm gonna need some help for training the Crusaders about Lightsaber combat. Especially teaching them to deflect blaster bolts." he said to himself. He then looked at Rax, still sitting where he was, still broken up. "And I think I know someone who can" Sturider then grabbed some tools from a drawer and then walked over to his droid. "Let's see if I can get you running again old buddy." He said to himself as he began to try and fix the broken-up Astrotech Droid.

---

The sun had risen the next day as out from a tiny treehouse in the Apple orchid 3 fillies walked out, wearing their utility belts with their Lightsabers clipped onto them. Today was a Saturday and that meant the Crusaders didn't have to go to school and they could now go straight to training.

"I'm super excited, girls! Today's our first day of Lightsaber combat!" exclaimed Scootaloo as she hopped up and down in excitement.

"Yeah, Ah've been waitin' fer' this since our first day of trainin'!" exclaimed Apple Bloom.

"I wonder what kind of tricks Sturider will teach us this time?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Well, let's get to Sturider so we can find out!" said Scootaloo. As the three took off running for Sturider's shuttle.

----------------

The Crusaders were soon as Sturider's shuttle as they ran up to the door and knocked on the metal side.

"Hey, Stu! Ya' in ther'?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Yes, young one. I am here," replied Sturider as he walked out of the ship. "I can tell that you 3 are looking forward to this portion of the training."

"You bet we are!" shouted Scootaloo as she leaped up and buzzed her wings. "I waited so much for this! We finally get to learn Lightsaber combat!"

"I felt the same way when I first came to learning Lightsaber combat," said Sturider. "But in the lines of safety, the first portion of it will not involve our Lightsabers."

"Huh? Why not?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Because it's not safe to start Lightsaber training with a regular Lightsaber. Unless you want to lose a limb," explained Sturider as the Crusaders cringed in fear as they held their right hands, imagining losing it. "But we will move to use your Lightsabers but not for combat itself, something else. For now, I will teach the main Lightsaber combat forms. Do you 3 have any foam swords we can use?"

"Yeah, we do," replied Apple Bloom. "We keep in the clubhouse so when we wanna play pirates! Ah'll go an' get em!" said, Apple Bloom as she ran off for the Clubhouse. After a few minutes, she came back with 4 foam swords. "Here you are!"

"Thank you, Bloom. Now, let's head to the open section for this. And we will be having someone else joining us." said Sturider.

"We will?!" exclaimed Scootaloo in shock. "It isn't Diamond and Silver is it?!"

"No, it is not those 2," said Struider. "It's someone else," Sturider replied as an electronic sound was heard, and then out from his ship, rolling down the ramp was none other than Sturider's droid R3-X3.

"Hey, you fixed your droid!" squealed Sweetie Belle in awe.

"Yes, it wasn't easy, but I managed," said Sturider as the droid rolled over to him, as he turned his head to look at the Crusaders and then back at his master. "Rax, meet my new Padawans, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo."

"And we are the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" all three fillies said in unison, as Rax bleeped and whistled, causing the Crusaders to arch an eyebrow.

"Uh, Stu? I think your droid is still a bit broken," said Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah, he can't talk that well," said Scootlaoo, which Rax beeped in offense.

"Actually, droids like Rax don't speak English. They only speak in binary. Or to put it simply; clicks, bleeps, and whistles." said Sturider.

"How are ya' suppose ta' know what he's sayin'?! He ain't usin' real words!" exclaimed, Apple Bloom.

"Well, I've had many years to learn how to communicate with Astromech Droids." explained, Sturider. "But I assure you will soon learn how to talk with Rax."

"Okay. But It'll take me a while to get used to listening to sound effects coming out of him," said Scootaloo. "So, are we gonna get to Lightsaber training?"

"Yes, we are. Let's get to it." said, Sturider.

---

The Jedi Master, 3 fillies, and droid were now in the middle of the open field just outside the barn. As Sturider stood in one spot with one of the foam swords in his grip as the 3 fillies held their own.

"Now, I want you 3 to listen very closely as I teach you this part." said, Sturider.

"Yes, Master." said the 3 fillies simultaneously.

"There are seven different Lightsaber combat forms. But only those highly trained ones can master all seven. So I will be teaching you 3 certain forms that suit you." said Sturider. "I want you 3 to engage me with your foam swords, so I can determine which forms suit you."

"You want us, to engage you?" asked Scootaloo. "As in, attack you?"

"Yes, but it's only so I can determine where your strength lies" answered Sturider, as the 3 fillies shrugged and they then engaged Sturider in a brief duel, where he easily disarmed them, as they were left on their flanks. "Well, I must say you 3 fared well," said Sturider as he helped them to their feet. "Anyway, Apple Bloom, from what I noticed you have a lot of energy, and you can keep that energy going for a long period. I will teach you Form IV: Ataru, the Way of the Hawk-Bat. It is an acrobatic combat style, which can be used to defend against incoming projectiles, best suited for open spaces. Its design is based on high-energy attacks and defenses. And you have enough energy to use it."

"Sounds good ta' me!" said Apple Bloom.

"Sturider then turned to Sweetie Belle. "Sweets, from what I observed from you, you block most of my attacks to insure I don't strike you down. And you look out for your friends and yourself as you try to avoid getting in danger. It is a strong trait in the Jedi Order. You will be taught Form III: Sorensu, the Way of the Mynock. It is a Lightsaber combat form based on defense from other Lightsaber strikes and blaster deflection. And it comes in handy for close-quarter fighting."

"Ooh! I like the sound of this combat form!" said Sweetie Belle with a squeal in her voice.

"Scootaloo, while you may be a bit aggressive at times, you stand in front in a daring stance. Ready to take on any challenge thrown at you. And you are quite athletic for a young pegasus. I will teach you Form V: Djem So/Shien, The Way of the Krayt Dragon. This combat form, allows a Jedi to deflect blaster fire back at an opponent, turning the Jedi's defense into offensive action. The Djem So variant of Form V is also based on defending with solid blocks and parries, then immediately countering with strong, and overwhelming, counterattacks and ripostes, and is geared toward, and created for the lightsaber to lightsaber combat, but also still reasonably useful for blast deflection. " said Sturider.

"Awesome! That sounds like an awesome form to use!" said Scootaloo.

"But, there is one other form I shall teach all 3 of you. Form I: Shi-Cho, The Way of the Sarlacc. This is the simplest Lightsaber combat form of them all. All Jedi are required to learn this form when learning Lightsaber combat. While this may not be the strongest form, it comes in handy when all else fails." said, Sturider.

"Okay, that makes sense." said, Sweetie Belle.

"Say, what Lightsaber combat forms do you use?" asked, Scootaloo.

"Well, the forms I use are Form III, Form V, Form II: Makashi, The Way of the Ysalamir Form VII: Jyro/Vapaad, the Way of the Vornskr. In a Jar'Kai style," said Sturider.

"Vapaad?" said Scootaloo.

"Jar-what now?" added Apple Bloom.

"Makashi? What kind of Forms are those?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Jar'Kai is a combat form where you use 2 Lightsabers in combat. Jedi who uses this technique can maintain a strong offense, as the speed of attack that two blades allowed would overwhelm most opponents. A typical maneuver was to continually attack with one blade while relying on the other for defensive coverage, ensuring that the duelist could keep up his guard even as he attacked. However, it was common that both blades be used for offensive purposes, keeping up a continuous wave-front assault. Another advantage of Jar'Kai was that the two blades made it easier to hold off multiple opponents, as one simply had more blades to parry with." said Sturider as he explained the meaning of Jar'Kai.

"So, you could say that Jar'Kai is a fancy term for dual-wielding?" asked Scootaloo.

"Exactly. Makashi is a graceful combat style, it became a specialist form for duels with opponents belonging to the Sith Order. Its design is based on Lightsaber vs. Lightsaber Combat. Kinda like Fencing in a way. Count Dooku was a master of this form. As for Vapaad or Jyro, as it's commonly called, it is a combat form that is considered the most aggressive and unpredictable form. Its design is based on Pure Attack, No Defense. And most of the time, it is used to channel inner darkness and anger into the duel and accept the fury of the opponent. But only certain Jedi can master this form, as for some you try to master it, they could end up turning to the Darkside. I will not be teaching you this form." said Sturider.

"Oh my. I don't think I like the sound of that form" said Sweetie Belle.

"Well, I admit I'd like to try this form, but since I don't wanna turn to the Darkside, I will respect your reasoning, Sturider," said Scootaloo.

"Thank you, young one. Now, for teaching you 3 Shi-Cho, I will begin with Blaster deflect but since I don't wanna get you hurt with live laser bolts, we shall be using Apples instead," said Sturider. "Now stand 2 feet from me and ignite your sabers. And space yourselves from each other, we don't want you catching each other with your sabers."

The 3 then walked back and ignited their Lightsabers holding the blades up. As Rax rolled over next to Sturider as he picked up a few apples.

"Okay, Rax will launch these apples at you, and all you have to do and is use your saber to cut them to avoid them hitting you," said Sturider as he then handed one apple to Rax who then spin it and threw it. Which Apple Bloom managed to cut it. Then another apple was launched as Sweetie Belle successfully cut it. But when a third apple was launched, it hit Scootaloo in the abdomen.

"Ow!" exclaimed Scootaloo. Then she tried to get the next one, but she swung too soon and missed it as it hit her in the left shoulder, as another one hit her on her right leg. "Darn it! I keep missing them!" she then snapped.

"Don't quit, young one. Try looking at it another way," said Sturider. As he handed another apple to Rax. As Scootaloo then thought hard of how to hit this apple, then she decided to imagine it like playing baseball, and she was the batter. So, she then stood in a form imitating a batsman. And this time, when the apple came flying towards her, she managed to score a hit on it!

"Yes, I got it!" said Scootaloo in success.

"Good job, now we shall practice this again but this time..." started Sturider as he then walked over to them and then put some blindfolds on the Crusaders. "Let go of your conscious self and act on instinct. "

"Huh? How do ya' expect us to do that if we can't see a thing?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Most of the time, your eyes can deceive you. And they will be many cases where you won't be able to see what's in front of you. So you must focus on using your other senses, and let the Force be your guide." explained, Sturider.

"Okay, but I don't think this is gonna work," said Sweetie Belle.

"All you have to do is stretch your feelings." said, Sturider as he walked back over to Rax and picked up some more apples, and handed them to his droid. As Rax threw each one, but the Crusaders didn't exactly score as successful hits as they got hit by a few apples but soon they were easily hitting each apple that flew at them. That was until something threw them. Or more appropriately, someone.

"Hey losers!" said a familiar voice, which made the Crusaders lose focus as the apples then hit them causing them to trip over their hooves and fall to the ground with a thud. As very rude laughter soon was heard, the Crusaders then removed their blindfolds to find none other than Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon standing by with smug looks on their faces.

"So this is what you blank flanks are doing, huh?" said Diamond Tiara. "Did you 3 honestly think you could be Jedi?"

"Yeah, you can't even avoid being hit with an apple!" Silver Spoon said rudely, as Scootaloo growled in frustration.

"Only because you jerks threw us off focus!" snapped Scootaloo as she stood up, staring the 2 rude fillies down. "What are you even doing here?! Don't you 2 have better things to do?!"

"Oh, we decided to see what exactly you 3 talent-less fools were doing with Mr. Jedi. And so far, we have never seen such ridiculous stuff before! Especially with how he beat you 3 in a duel!" said Diamond Tiara.

"Hey! That wasn't a real duel! That was just Stu testin' us to see which combat forms fit us!" stated Apple Bloom.

"Oh please! Those forms he gave you 3 are so lame. I mean, defense, acrobatics, and counteracts? Those are for babies! I bet Diamond and I could easily do that Vapaad form Stu mentioned! And do it way better than him!" said Silver Spoon.

"No, you couldn't," said Sturider as he walked over to the arguing party. "Vapaad is the most difficult form to master. Especially for Jedi. The only way who even mastered this form at all was the creator of it, Mace Windu. And several of his apprentices turned to the dark side when they tried to use it. And believe me, if you saw Master Windu's skill, you would be speechless."

"Ha! That would be the day!" said Diamond Tiara with a hint of pride. "I bet we can prove we're just as good as you! Just hand us a Lightsaber and let us show you."

"No." said, Sturider with a calm, stern voice.

"What?! What do you mean: "No"?!" snapped Diamond Tiara.

"On the contrary, you do not deserve to even handle a Lightsaber," said Sturider.

"What?! But we're better than those 3 blank flanks!" snapped Silver Spoon. " What makes it okay for you to train them and not real ponies like us?!"

"Because, you 2 are conceited, selfish, attention seekers. And the way you belittle beings like the Crusaders is not something we do in the Jedi order. Jedi do not use their advantages against others for their own selfish reasons, we use them to keep peace and defend the galaxy. And you 2 are nothing more than spoiled children with pridefulness, selfishness, immaturity, disrespect, and arrogance. And those are traits that we don't allow in the Jedi Order. If you 2 came to the council, no one would allow you to be trained in the Force. And what's more, you physically harm and humiliate the Crusaders constantly, and I do not train beings who are bullies. So if you think you can order me to let you use a Lightsaber or train you in the Force, you thought wrong. And you can't bribe me with money or anything fancy, nor will begging your parents to force me to train you to work either. So, please leave us." said Sturider in a low, stern voice. as the 2 bullies growled in anger.

"No one speaks to us like that!" snapped Diamond Tiara. "And don't think we're giving this up! You'll be sorry!" As the 2 then angrily walked away, grumbling to themselves.

"That awesome how you told off those 2 Sturider!" exclaimed Scootaloo.

"Thank you, young one," said Sturider.

"But aren't you concerned those 2 may do something bad to you? Or even Us?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Diamond and Silver tend to get serious when they tell someone they'll be sorry. I mean, the next thing we'll know, they could have the 3 of us hanging from a flagpole by our panties!"

"Don't fret, young Sweetie," said Sturider as he laid an assuring hand on her shoulder. "I've had worse threats thrown to me before. But don't let them worry you too much. I assure you, I will not allow such immature things to be done to you."

"So you have a plan then?" asked Apple Bloom.

" I do. But I'll explain it later. For now, let's focus on more training." said Sturider.

"Yes, Master." the Crusaders said in unison as they walked back to their spots and put their blindfolds back on as they ignited their Lightsabers. As Sturider got back to the apple launching.

---

Meanwhile, at a mansion, in a fancy princess-like bedroom, Diamond Tiara and Silver spoon sat on Diamond's bed painting their fingernails as they thought over what Sturider said.

"I can't believe he dared to speak to us like that!" snapped Diamond Tiara. "Who does he think he is, talking to ponies like us like that?!'

"I don't know. But what really upsets me is the fact that he's training those losers to use that Force and wield Laser swords! That should be us!" said Silver Spoon, nearly causing her glasses to fall from her face.

"Well, those blanks flanks are in for it this time!" said Diamond Tiara. "I'll show them!"

"So, what are we gonna do this time?" asked Silver Spoon. "Pants them in the lunchroom, hang them by their panties on the monkey bars, or give them atomic mud wedgies?"

"No, I got something else in mind," said Diamond Tiara with an evil grin.

Author's Notes:

So, after along wait, comes the next chapter for the story!
Well, now the Crusaders are now learning to use the weapon of a Jedi Knight now! And comes a new addition to the story, Sturider's droid, R3-X3!
But it seems like Diamond and Silver are not enjoying being apart of this.
What do you think Diamond Tiara may be planning to do? Whatever it is, it may not be good.
But that's another chapter.

Chapter 8: Conflict in the Schoolgrounds

Sunday had passed by, and the Crusaders were improving brightly on Lightsaber combat, as they were scoring many hits at apples thrown at them. And what was more, Sturider then got to show each crusader the Lightsaber combat forms he chosen for them. Apple Bloom was a true natural for Ataru, as Sweetie Belle became so skilled in Soresu it was like she knew it before she was taught it. Scootaloo on the other hand had a bit of trouble getting the lingo of Djem So/Shien. She had the Shien variant figured out by Djem So was a little harder than she realized. But while she wanted to give up, she refused to and just keep going.

The four had paused in their training when Twilight showed and brought Sturider a letter from the Princess requesting him to accompany her to Canterlot in a few days so they could meet. And what was more, the Crusaders were allowed to join him, which the 3 fillies were happily leaping to that. Twilight then stayed to watch how the training worked, as she took notes. To say the least, Twilight was more than impressed with how the training worked, it brought back memories of where the Princess taught her many magic skills. But this was more advanced since there were Laser Swords involved in it of course. And she took a real liking to R3-X3, never in her life had she seen someone quite impressive before. As she decided to try and study his Binary language so she could better understand him.

Then when Monday rolled in, Sturider tagged along with the Crusaders to the school which he was greeted warmly by the other fillies and colts, as well as Cheerilee (except Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon). As they all took a fascination to his droid. Just before the bell rang, Sturider spoke to Cheerilee about the threat Diamond and Silver had thrown to him and the Crusaders and he request for Rax to sit in the shadows to keep watch. After being introduced to him, Cheerliee allowed Rax to stay, as long as he didn't interrupt the class, which the Droid assured her he wouldn't. As the school time went by, Rax watched over the Crusaders and the 2 bullies, just waiting for something to happen. Luckily, nothing did happen, and nothing had happened at recess or lunch either.

However, what the Crusaders or anyone else didn't know was Sturider had given the Crusaders' Lightsabers to Rax, who had hidden them in a compartment in his head. To be honest, Sturider had a feeling the Crusaders would need their Lightsabers at some point, which is why he hid them in Rax. But Tuesday rolled by, followed by Wednesday, and still, nothing happened. The Crusaders figured that Diamond and Silver just gave up, but Sturider wasn't convinced.

As Sturider stayed in his shuttle often tinkering with various things or cleaning his Blaster. And even surveyed the damage on his ship as he took notes of how he would fix it. Then a little later in the afternoon, he went to his quarters on the shuttle and began to meditate, as he did he slowly began to get a thought in his head.

---

In the thought, Stu was viewing the Crusaders in their school playground, walking towards the table while chatting to themselves when they were tripped by Diamond Tiara. But then the thought moved forward ahead where he saw Scootaloo dueling against someone. But what stood out in the duel was a black-bladed Lightsaber. It was his Darksaber!

---

Sturider's eyes shot open as he snapped out of his meditation. He then rethought what he saw, someone at the Ponyville School was gonna duel the Crusaders with his Darksaber! But who was it? Why did they take it? He had a lot of questions roll through his head but then he calmed down and then got up.

"Well, I may now know that my Darksaber will be at the schoolhouse. But I must try and figure out who has it. For the Crusaders' good. I better contact Rax and let him know about it." Sturider said to himself as he went to his work table to grab his comlink.

---

Rax was rolling along the lunchroom watching all the fillies and colts eating their lunches, as he constantly looked to and fro at the Crusaders sitting at one table while the 2 bullies sat at an other, talking to themselves as Diamond looked to have a devious smirk on her face. That didn't look like a good sign. But as he turned back towards the Crusaders, he then notice one of the Colts looking at them, but it seemed he was looking at Sweetie Belle the most. Rax then stopped as he took a good look at the colt. He had a brown coat, with dark orange and tan hair. He had some red-yellow amber eyes. And he wore a shirt with a picture of some odd-looking, blocky figure on it, colored green. But what was really odd was the colt's beanie hat. It had a propeller-thing on the top that continued spinning as if it was motorized or something. Rax had seen some strange outfits and accessories in his time with his master, but this took the cake. But as he inspected the colt, he then noticed that the colt was looking towards Sweetie Belle with a look that almost looked like the same kind of look that Master Skywalker gave to Senator Amidala. He didn't know the look's full meaning but it seemed to be a look of affection, but he couldn't really tell, since he was droid. He would have to bring it up to his Master some time.

"Rax! Come in." Said, Sturider on the droid's own com. Rax then beeped in response. "I just had a vision. And it showed the Crusaders dueling against someone with my Darksaber." Rax then whistled in alarm. "I'm not sure if this is likely true, but keep a sharp eye out. And report to me if anything goes on." Rax then beeped and whistled in agreement as he continue to roll around the lunchroom watching for anything out of the ordinary.

---

Later after lunch, Rax rolled out of the schoolhouse as the foals were later all coming out of the building. But as Rax was rolling towards the fence, he stopped as he heard someone fall to the ground. As he then turned his head back and saw the Crusaders piled up on each other as the 2 bullies then walked out the door laughing rudely.

"Still tripping over yourselves, blank flanks?" said Silver Spoon smugly.

"Only when you 2 jerks make us!" snapped Scootaloo as she eyed the 2 bullies with venom in her eyes. "So, what are you planning this time? If it involves wedgies or depantsing us, I swear you'll pay for it!" Scootaloo added as she rubbed her fists.

"No, I have a different idea of how to put you losers in your place," said Diamond Tiara as she then reached into her purse and then to the Crusaders' shock as well as Rax's own; she then pulled out Sturider's Darksaber! As she then felt it, trying to find the igniter switch. "Where's the "on" button on this thing?"

"Hey! It's Sturider's Darksaber!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle with a slight squeal in her voice.

"You?! You 2 dumb jerks were the ones who stole Stu's Darksaber?!" exclaimed Scootaloo in shock and anger.

"Oh, that's what it's called?" said Diamond Tiara slightly surprised. "I just thought it was just another laser sword, but black colored. Oh well, I was intending to use it prove to everyone that I was better than that Jedi since this "Darksaber" had a black blade, but I can use it to put you losers in your place! By proving I'm better at using a Laser sword than you!"

"Oh, and to use it make your pants and skirts drop to add a cherry on top," added Silver Spoon.

"Are ya' crazy?! Yer' gonna hurt somepony! That ain't no metal sword yer' usin'! stated Apple Bloom.

"Oh can it, Apple Blank! I'm putting you 3 in your places right now!" snapped Diamond Tiara with deep hatred in her voice as she then put both her hands on the saber's hilt, feeling it until she finally hit the ignite switch, which the Darksaber then screeched as it's blade come outward. "Ah-ha! That's it!" Diamond then charges the Crusaders and swung at them, intend to strike on their skirt, shorts, and overall straps.

"Watch out!" shouted Sweetie Belle as she shoved her friends to the side just missing the blade as it cut off a small part of the bottom of her dress just at the bottom helm, just missing her tail. Rax then quickly turned his whole body to face the Crusaders as an opening in his head then opened up as the hilt of Scootaloo's Lightsaber then slowly stuck out. As he whistled to the Crusaders. When the 3 looked towards the droid, Rax then launched their Lightsabers right out of his head, as the hilts flew in the air, the Crusaders each extended a hand and caught their respective saber, and just as Diamond charged towards them again, the 3 ignited their sabers at the last second as Sweetie Belle then blocked the next swing from Diamond Tiara with her own saber.

"At last, something I think I'm gonna enjoy doing with you," said Diamond Tiara with a devious smirk as she held the Darksaber upward, as the Crusaders then stood in their opening stances of each respective Lightsaber combat form. Apple Bloom stood with a balanced two-handed guard: holding her lightsaber vertically with both palms, on the right side. Sweetie Belle stood back on her left hoof, and held the blade back in a one-handed grip, angled forwards with the blade arm held parallel, her off-hand held up in a challenge. Scootaloo held her lightsaber above her head, angled back and down at an approximately forty-five-degree angle. "Really? You're start a duel with some weird stances? Lameo!"

Diamond then charged again swinging the Darksaber at the 3 as Sweetie Belle blocked the shot, as Apple Bloom then started delivering fast strikes with her own saber as Diamond struggled to block each one., Before she kicked Apple Bloom in the shin, but then Scootaloo blocked the next shot Diamond started to throw at Apple Bloom as they held in a blade lock, as the 2 sabers crackled and screeched against each other. Rax couldn't stand to let his Master's Padawans end up being taken down as he then activated his internal com, trying to contact his master.

---

Stuirder was currently in the field on Sweet Apple Acres, meditating as several rocks, a few sticks, and even some old, bruised apples were floating around him. But then they all dropped as Sturider's eyes shot open to the sound of his com-link going off.

"Sturider here. What's up, Rax?" said Sturider as he turned on the com to talk into. As Rax then beeped and whistled frantically on the other end. "Whoa there, calm down. Just take a moment to relax, and tell me what is going on." Rax then slowly beeped and whistled. "What? The Bullies? Engaged the Crusaders in the playground? With my Darksaber?! Oh man, I'm on my way!" exclaimed Sturider as he then got to his feet and raced for his shuttle. As he ran inside he hit a switch as another door on the floor opened up, and then on a small hydraulic lift came a Undicur-class jumpspeeder, which he wasted no time hopping onto, as he then got it started. "Don't worry, girls!" Sturider said as he then took off out of his shuttle and sped towards the direction of the town. "I'm on my way!"

---

Back at the school the Crusaders were still dueling Diamond Tiara as Sweetie Belle continue to block each shot she tried to hit her with. As the other foals in the playground were now watching the duel going on, but they stood at a safe distance to avoid getting hit by one of the sabers. As Diamond then was about to deliver another swing at Sweetie Belle, she then pushed Diamond back with a Force push. Which gave Apple Bloom the chance to race in and start delivering her own saber strikes at Diamond, as said filly managed to block each shot thrown at her, but was starting to get overwhelmed at the fast moves and strikes. As she then tripped over a rock, but as Apple Bloom paused briefly, Diamond scooped up some dirt and threw it into Apple Bloom's face, blinding her. And as Diamond then got up and swung the saber towards Bloom's overall straps, Scootaloo jumped in and kicked Diamond down.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that, you flightless do-do!" snarled Diamond Tiara as she got back up, but Scootaloo then raced in and start delivering fast Lightsaber strikes and swings of her at Diamond, as Diamond struggled to block them as she then slipped under one saber swing as she threw her own. As the 2 then paused as a small bit of Diamond's mane then fell off, as a small piece of hair fell from Scootaloo's own. Diamond Tiara stood surprised for a moment before she looked back at Scootaloo with fury in her eyes. "YOU RUINED MY PERFECTLY, GROOMED MANE!! NOW I'M REALLY MAD!!" she shouted as Diamond Tiara then charged again as Scootaloo spun her Lightsaber and let out a battle cry as she then leaped forward and clashed her saber with the Darksaber again as Diamond Tiara snarled. But then Scootaloo looked down at Diamond's legs and found an opening to strike. As she then lifted her right hoof and delivered a strong kick to Diamond Tiara's right shin, as the said filly yelled in pain before Scootaloo then gave a Force Push, which sent Tiara sliding back a few inches away.

"Come on! We need to do this together!" stated Sweetie Belle as she and Apple Bloom rushed to Scoots' sides and then they all gave a Force Push together which was strong enough to send Diamond Tiara flying back, as she flew into the same tree Sturider shot at the other day, as she slammed into the trunk. She then landed on her flank as the Darksaber fell from her grip, blade extinguishing. As it landed a few inches from Diamond Tiara's side.

"Diamond, Ah' always knew you wer' a true bully. But this is a new low fer' you! Ah' mean stealin' a Lightsaber from a Jedi we just meet?! And then tryin' to strike us with it?! Don't ya' care about anyone but yourself?!" exclaimed Apple Bloom as the Crusaders extinguished their Lightsabers.

"You had no right to take Sturider's Darksaber! It does not belong to you!" stated Sweetie Belle, as she had a squeal at the last part of her sentence.

"Yeah! I wanted to use it and thanks to you, I lost my chance! I really wanna strike you down right now! But I will not, since I'm learning to be a Jedi. But I swear you'll pay the next time you try this again!" snapped Scootaloo with a stamp of her hoof.

"Oh come on, you 3 losers don't deserve to be Jedi! Me and Silver should be the ones being trained, not you! We're both a lot better than you 3 combined! And this Darksaber is mine now!" snapped Diamond as she then went to grab the said saber but then it went flying off the ground and into the hand of a very upset Struider.

"Actually, it belongs to me, young one," said Sturider with a calm, stern voice as he stood next to the fence. As Diamond Tiara then gulped just as Cheerliee walked outside.

"What's going on here?" Asked Cheerliee with crossed arms. Looking at her students who said nothing. "Well? Is anyone going to explain the situation here?"

"Miss Cheerilee, the Crusaders attacked me with their Lightsabers!" stated Diamond as she pointed to the 3 fillies, still holding their Lightsabers.

"What?! No, we didn't!" snapped Sweetie Belle with a squeal.

"Diamond Tiara attacked us!" snapped Scootaloo. "And she did by using Stu's Darksaber she stole from him!"

"Don't be silly! Tiara didn't steal anything from Sturider!" said, Silver Spoon.

"Then where did she get the Black Lightsaber from then?" asked the brown colt with the propeller beanie.

"Black Lightsaber?" asked Cheerilee. "What Black Lightsaber?"

"We didn't really see what happened in the start, but we were watching the Crusaders fighting Diamond Tiara, and she was using a Black Lightsaber." explained a light grey unicorn filly with a blonde mane.

"Miss Cheerille, you gotta believe us, we didn't attack Diamond!" stated Apple Bloom. "She attacked us, usin' Stu's Darksaber! We wer' only defendin' ourselves!"

Cheerliee stood in place as she looked at Diamond and Silver and then to the Crusaders as she put a hand to her chin. "This is a serious accusation girls. And I'm not sure what to believe unless you can somehow prove this." And with that said, Rax then beeped and whistled as he then turned on a holograph showing who started the fight.

"I just thought it was just another laser sword, but black colored. Oh well, I was intending to use it prove to everyone that I was better than that Jedi since this "Darksaber" had a black blade, but I can use it to put you losers in your place! By proving I'm better at using a Laser sword than you!" said Diamond Tiara in the hologram

"Oh, and to use it make your pants and skirts drop to add a cherry on top." added the holographic Silver Spoon.

"Are ya' crazy?! Yer' gonna hurt somepony! That ain't no metal sword yer' usin'! stated the holographic Apple Bloom.

"Oh can it, Apple Blank! I'm putting you 3 in your places right now!" snapped the holographic Diamond Tiara as she then ignited the Darksaber and charged.

"Watch out!" shouted the holographic Sweetie Belle as she shoved her friends to the side as the Holograph then switched off. As Cheerliee stood shocked at this while Diamond and Silver could only look in dumbfounded faces and then began to sweat in fear as Cheerliee turned to them with an upset look on her face.

"Girls, I am very disappointed in you! It's bad enough with all those times you bullied the Crusaders and other fillies and colts in this school. But I will not tolerate any student in my school attacking others with a dangerous weapon!" snapped Cheerilee. "You could've gotten somepony killed with that stunt! And on top of that, we welcome Mr. Thom here into our community and this is how you respond? With thievery and defiance!?" added Cheerliee as Diamond and Silver could only stand in fear at their teacher. "You 2 are banned from recess and on detention for a week! March into the classroom!" said, Cheerliee as Diamond and Silver looked at the Crusaders with a look of hate before they walked into the schoolhouse. "And I'm going to have to call your parents about this!" added Cheerliee as the 2 bullies then gulped in fear. As Cheerliee turned to the Crusaders, "Well girls, while I don't allow such things like this in my school you 3 are off the hook this time since you were only defending yourselves. But I'm going to need you 3 to stay after school so you can help explain your side of the story".

"Yes, Miss Cheerliee." said the Crusaders in unison.

Then Cheerliee walked over to Sturider with an apologetic look. "Mr. Thom, I apologize for this trouble."

"No need to apologize, M'am. I can totally understand the situation." said Sturider with a understanding look. "and if you need me to stick around after school, I'd be fine with that."

"Thank you, Mr. Thom. And now if you'll excuse me. I have some phonecalls to make." said Cheerliee as she walked back into the Schoolhouse as Sturider then put his Darksaber onto his belt in the special leather loop he made for it. Just as the Crusaders walked up to him. "So, how was your first duel girls?"

"It was kinda fun!" said Scootaloo. "But I'm glad it wasn't a serious duel."

"Yeah! But I'm rather curious, how did you get here so fast?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"I used my speeder to get here," answered Sturider as he then turned to let the Crusaders look at his speeder.

"Wow! That is some fancy ride ya' got ther'!" said Apple Bloom with her eyes wide open in awe.

"It kinda resembles my scooter!" said Scootaloo. "Except without wheels."

'It is kinda like a scooter, but it hovers instead of using wheels. Which allows it to go really fast." explained Sturider.

"That sounds really cool!" exclaimed Scootaloo. "Can we see how fast it goes?!"

"We can do that after we resolve the conflict, for now we must concentrate on the task at hand," said Sturider.

"Yes, Master." said the Crusaders in unison.

---

Shortly after school had finished, Sturider and the Crusaders were currently in the schoolhouse along with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, along with 4 older equines. The First couple consisted of a Male Earth Pony stallion with a tan coat and a slicked back, black mane, whom wore a business suit with a dark red necktie that had a dollar symbol on it. This was Filthy Rich, father of Diamond Tiara. And seated next to him was a female earth pony mare, whom had a pink coat and purple mane. Who was wearing a golden necklace on her neck along with a fancy, blue dress and golden belt. This was Spoiled Rich, Diamond Tiara's mother. And the other couple consisted of a male Earth pony stallion with a dark gray coat and light blue mane styled with gel, whom wore a business suit of his own and a blue bow tie, and was even donning a black, bowler hat. This was Bowler Top, Silver Spoon's father. While seating next to him was an Earth Pony Mare, with a platinum coat and a silver mane, whom was wearing a golden and bronze-colored dress, as well as a pearl necklace and small, blue cobalt glasses resting on her muzzle. This was Golden Jeweler, Silver Spoon's mother. As the four older ponies sat down as listened to Cheerliee explaining the situation, Diamond and Silver could only seat while sweating nervously as the Crusaders were a little worried themselves (even after they gave their side of the story) while Sturider sat with an emotionless expression on his face and Rax sat next to his Master.

"So, you're saying that our daughter was trying to strike the Crusaders with a black-colored laser sword she stole from this man in the room?" asked Spoiled Rich with a confused look on her face as she indicated Sturider.

"Believe me, I know it sounds ridiculous but this man can prove it," said Cheerliee.

"Not to be rude, Miss Cheerilee, but I kinda find this hard to believe," said Filthy Rich. " I know you've told us about how my daughter has caused Trouble to the Crusaders before but this is completely unusual."

"I have to agree with Rich on this one. I mean "Laser-swords?" "Black colored light"? added Golden Jeweler. "I've seen many unique things in my whole life but those 2 things don't sound like a real thing if you ask me. Plus, the only color that light cannot shine is black, everypony knows that."

"Well, Mr. Thom can show you his laser-swords if you want," said Cheerliee, to which all four nodded, as Cheerliee turned to Sturider whom got off his seat and walked over.

"I can tell you Miss Cheerilee is telling the truth," said Sturider as he unclipped his 2 main Lightsabers and ignited them, as the four older ponies eyes grew wide with wonder.

"Bless me! I've never seen anything like this before!" exclaimed Bowler Top. "And I thought what that crazy Discord did to our town was unusual, but this takes the cake here!"

"Hmph, I can now understand this whole Laser-sword business, but 2 blue Laser-swords are not enough to prove the actions of my daughter," stated Spoiled Rich. "I mean, do you have this "Black one" on you now?"

"I do ma'am," said Sturider as he extinguished his main Lightsabers and then he drew his Darksaber and ignited it, which surprised the 4 older ponies so much that Spoiled Rich and Golden Jeweler nearly fell from their chairs in surprise. "And my droid can prove that your daughter was using it to try and strike the Crusaders." Added, Sturider as Rax rolled over to his side as he extinguished the Darksaber's blade.

"Oh please! How do you expect that rolling trashcan to prove our daughter was using that black laser sword?" asked Spoiled Rich with a scoff. Which Rax bleeped in angry offense as he turned on the holographic clip of Diamond Tiara trying to strike the Crusaders. When the clip ended, the 4 older ponies looked to their daughters with a disappointed scowl.

"Diamond Dazzle Tiara, I am very disappointed in you!" stated Filthy Rich as he walked over to his daughter who only could look up in fear. "It was bad enough with how you treated Apple Bloom and her friends the previous times, but this is not gonna to be put off lightly!"

"I should say so!" stated Spoiled Rich as she stomped over. "You know the rules of School! No dangerous weapons are allowed on school grounds! Do you realize what this means for me since you defied that rule?! I may have to pay a fine to the school board for this!"

"But... But mommy, you're always telling me to try and show how important I can be to everypony else!" stated Diamond Tiara trying to defend herself.

"Yes, but using a laser-sword on school grounds and trying to strike your classmates with it is not what I had in mind!" stated Spoiled Rich. "And what's worse, you stole it from an individual who just arrived here! No one, and I mean no one steals anything from anypony in our family!"

"I thought we had raised you better than this!" stated Filthy Rich. "What were you thinking?!"

"But daddy, that Jedi wouldn't train us to be Jedi! And he's training those blank flanks to be Jedi! That should be me and Silver Spoon being trained, not them!" snapped Diamond Tiara.

"That Jedi probably had a very good reason to decline training you, and further more. You should've come to us and asked us before you decided to ask him to train you," said Spoiled Rich. "And after this stunt you pulled, you can forget about us allowing you to be trained by him! I will not allow any daughter of mine to even handle a laser-sword no matter what color it is!"

"Young lady, for this action at school today and for stealing a weapon from this individual, you're grounded for a month!" stated Filthy Rich.

"Yes, Daddy," said Diamond Tiara in defeat.

"As for you, young lady. You are just as guilty as Diamond is!" stated Golden Jeweler to Silver Spoon.

"Yes, even if you didn't use that laser-sword to try and strike the Crusaders, can't you see how being in this whole scheme only made it worse?" said Bowler Top.

"Yes, Daddy," said Silver Spoon.

"And further more, even if you had come to talk to me and daddy about training with this Jedi, we would not allow it!" stated Golden Jeweler. "It's clear these laser-swords he uses are only to be handled by individuals that can use them responsibly. And after pulling this stunt with Diamond, it's clear you are not responsible enough!"

"Silver Spoon, you're grounded for a month, young lady," stated Bowler Top.

"And I'll be giving you plenty of chores around the house to do while you're grounded," added Golden Jeweler.

"Yes, Mommy. Yes, Daddy," said Silver Spoon in defeat as well.

"Now, you 2 march yourselves to the door and wait for us!" stated Filthy Rich as said fillies walked out of the room, but not before giving Sturider and the Crusaders a sharp glare as they walked out, as Filthy Rich then come up to Sturider. "Sir, I gravely apologize for my daughter's behavior to you."

"As do I." added Spoiled Rich. "I know I can be a little too stern with my daughter when I want her to prove she is important as us, but I never would've thought she stoop to stealing a weapon from an individual who just came to Ponyville and using it to strike down her classmates."

"And I speak for both me and my husband, on this matter," said Golden Jeweler. "I will speak to my daughter about this matter when we get back home. but I apologize for the trouble my daughter has given you and the Crusaders, sir."

"Not to worry there," said Sturider with an understanding grin. "The important thing is, no one got hurt in the end," Sturider added as all four ponies nodded.

"Also, I welcome you to Ponyville, sir. I hope things will be just fine for you here," said Bowler Top, shaking Sturider's hand.

"And if our daughters do cause anymore grief to you, don't hesitate to let us know," said Spoiled Rich.

"Of course, ma'am. But now I bid thee, "good day to you", said Sturider with a slight bow as he, the Crusaders, and Rax left the building.

-----------

"Boy, Ah'm glad we got outta ther' with no trouble!" said Apple Bloom.

"Yeah, I was worried we'd get in trouble for this!" said Sweetie Belle.

"Well it seems the Force was on your side today, girls," said Sturider.

"So, now that this is over with, can you show us how fast your speeder goes now?" asked Scootaloo with a gleam in her eye.

"I don't see why not," said Sturider, as they walked over to his speeder as Rax hopped into his spot on the speeder. As Scootaloo then rolled over her scooter and wagon and hooked it onto the back of the speeder. "Ready girls?" asked Sturider as he stepped onto his speeder and looked back to the Crusaders were had already hopped onto Scootaloo's scooter and wagon, now wearing their helmets.

"Ready!" said the Crusaders in unison. As Sturider then revved up his speeder and then with a whoosh they were off. As the speeder sped onward through the town, the Crusaders all whopped and cheered in glee.

"This is awesome!" shouted Scootaloo. "This is a lot faster than moving under my own power!"

Sturider could only grin widely as he listened to the Crusaders enjoying the ride, and now that he had his Darksaber back, he could let Scootaloo use it like she wanted to. But deep down he felt a little sorry for Diamond and Silver, but he assured himself that maybe they would see the light at some point.

Author's Notes:

Ooh, doggy! I apologize for the long wait but thanks to Bronycommander I now have the next chapter up! So now Sturider has his Darksaber back, and Diamond and Silver are not gonna be a bother to him or the Crusaders for a while. But what's in store for our troop next? Find out in the next chapter!

Chapter 9: Meeting Royalty

Author's Notes:

Hello, my friends! I have finally made the next chapter where Sturider finally meets the Princesses!
But prepare yourselves for a tear-jerker, cause there will be a sad moment here. So you have been warned. But the next chapter will be much better.
But enjoy the next chapter!

The weekend had finally rolled in for our heroes, as the Equestria Express moved along the rails as the engine huffed and chuffed. And inside the third coach from the tender, was Sturider, Rax, and The Crusaders were seated on one seat as Twilight Sparkle and her dragon assistant, Spike. Whom of which got acquainted with Sturider the other day, and was more than impressed by him. As the train rolled on, Sturider watched the landscape moving along through the window as he looked towards the front where the engine continued chugging along.

"I must say that the landscape of Equestria is very fascinating. It reminds me of a lot of many planets I visited during my time. And the trains here are very unique." said Sturider.

"Why? Don't you have trains where you come from?" asked Spike.

"Well, yes we do. But the trains from where I come from don't run on steam. They run on electricity or other types of fuels." said Sturider.

"Oh, that's interesting, I've only seen trains like those in my comic books," Spike said in response. "Are there any other transports you have in your home?"

"Oh, many types. From speeders, shuttles, cruisers, etc," replied Sturider. "And of course we do have animal transports too on most systems."

"Animal transports you say?" asked Twilight. "Like what?"

"Well, on Tatooine, they have large, four-legged, omnivorous, cold-blooded reptiles called Dewbacks. Most people use them for transport across the big desert plains on Tatooine," said Sturider.

"Interesting, we normally pull our weight in most cases but for farther travels, we use trains, boats, Zeppelins, and Hot-air balloons," said Twilight.

"Hmm I'd take any one of those transports myself, except the hot-air balloon of course," said Sturider.

"Why? You aren't afraid of heights are you?" asked Scootaloo.

"No, I'm not afraid of heights. I'm just not comfortable with using a floating basket attached to a balloon that has no preposition system as transport," explained Sturider. "Besides, it would be dangerous if it got into a strong wind current or even a cyclone, the ropes holding the basket might break from the high speeds."

"Hmm, I can see your point on that one," said Twilight.

"Anyway, moving on, could you tell a bit about the Princesses so I know what to expect?" asked Sturider.

"Of course," said Twilight. "Starting with Princess Celestia, she and her younger sister are the rulers of Equestria. She controls the sun, her sister the Moon. They both are over 1000 years old and are Alicorns."

"1000 years old?" asked Sturider with fascination. "That's very impressive. They're almost as old as Master Yoda."

"Really?" asked Spike with an arched eyebrow. "And how old is this: "Master Yoda"?"

"As of now, I say he'd be 887 years old by now," replied Sturider.

"887 YEARS OLD?!" shouted the Crusaders in unison with awe.

"Oh yes, Master Yoda is the oldest living Jedi in the Jedi Order to this day," added Sturider.

"Wow, I'm sure that if your Master Yoda ever were to come here, I'm sure he and the Princesses could get along just fine," said Twilight.

"I bet they could. But back to the Princesses, you said both were Alicorns." said Sturider, "But you didn't tell about that kind of species when I first arrived. What are Alicorns?"

"Alicorns, are kinda like Flying Unicorns, but they're a mixture of all of the pony races here. They have the magic powers of unicorns, with the flight of a pegasus, and the strength of an Earth Pony," explained Twilight. "And they are very powerful in magic capabilities."

"I see," said Sturider. "Well, I'm not sure of how much power their magic would have, but I have to believe that Master Yoda's mastery of the Force would probably give them a run for their money."

"Hey, are you saying Master Yoda is more powerful than the princesses?" asked Spike, eyeing Sturider with suspicion.

"Spike! " chided Twilight.

"No, I am not," said Sturider. " I do not know the capabilities of your Princesses' magic, so I couldn't say if Yoda is more powerful than them or not."

"Oh, sorry," said Spike with an apologetic look.

"It's fine. But I will note that Master Yoda is quite an outstanding warrior. During the Clone Wars, he took out an army of 10,000 Battle Droids, on his own." said Sturider.

"Whoa!" said the Crusaders in unison.

"Oh yes, many think that because of his age, Master Yoda is too crippled and infirm to fight, but Yoda is not to be underestimated. That's why he's the Grand Jedi Master." said, Sturider.

"Say, I was wondering, from some of the Jedi you mentioned to us, I could imagine there being quite a few of them. How is it that you can rank each Jedi in your whole Jedi Order?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Excellent question, young one. Well, to start, we have a Jedi Council. They're the main Jedi in charge of the whole Order, where 12 Jedi masters oversaw and governed the whole Order. Many of the Best Jedi Masters were among." replied Sturider.

"12 Jedi Masters?" asked Spike. "Geez, and we just have 2 Main Princesses overseeing Equestria, with other delegates in their respective homelands."

"The Same thing can be said the Republic Senate, each star system would have a Senator from their respective homeworld in the Senate. But I don't know all that much about it, I'm not really into Politicians. I'm just fine with being Jedi Master." said Sturider.

"Were you a member of the Jedi Council?" asked Apple Bloom.

"No. Well, they did offer me a spot once before, but I turned them down. I wasn't ready to take that responsibility, even if I was one of the few Jedi to wield a Blaster. But I admit, even after getting their approval on it, most of the Jedi Masters were distasted that I carried a Blaster." said Sturider.

"Even Master Yoda?" asked Scootaloo.

"Well... at first, but then after seeing my fighting style in one battle, he was very impressed. And since then the Council often assigned me on some pretty unique missions. But, there was a time I was enraged at the Council." Sturider said and then practically snarled when he finished the last sentence.

"Why? What did they do?" asked Twilight.

"Well, just before we begin to really get a winning strike in the Clone Wars, there was a bombing at the Jedi Temple. And then Anakin Skywalker's Padawan, Ahsoka Tano seemed to be the culprit." started, Struider, as The CMC gasped while Twilight covered her mouth in shock. "The Council expelled her from the Order and put her on trial, and she was sentenced to death. But then, Anakin exposed the real criminal, it was none other than Padawan Learner Barriss Offee."

"But why would Barriss bomb her own colleagues?" asked Scootaloo.

"From what she said, she believed the Jedi Council believed in violence and were responsible for the war. But regardless of Barriss being revealed as the traitor, Ahsoka left the Jedi Order completely because of it," added Sturider as a tear came to his eye. "I hated the Council for that. Ahsoka needed them, and they turned their backs on her! Even Master Plo Koon! The very one who brought Ahsoka to the Jedi Order in the first place!" snapped Sturider as he slammed his fist on the table. Before taking a few breaths. "Barriss may have betrayed the Jedi Order, but in a way, she was right. But, to my POV; the war had caused the majority of the Jedi Order to take darker turns, even try to use their own power against others. I began seeing it too. So, in my downtime, I would train myself to control my emotions and anger and only rely on them when I needed to. Especially since I was using Vappad as one of my combat forms."

"So, what happened to Ahsoka?" asked Twilight.

'I don't know, I never saw her again. Well, I did hear stories she helped out in more of the war, but since I wasn't as present in the Jedi Temple as much, I was inclined to believe those stories weren't real." said Sturider.

"You must really miss Ahsoka, don't you?" asked Sweetie Belle, resting a hand on Sturider's own.

"I do. I really do. Honestly, I even had feelings for her." said Sturider. "But I was always too shy of admitting it. So I kept it to myself."

"I'm sure you 2 may meet up again someday," said Twilight Confidential.

"Maybe, I'm not sure how. The only way we could meet is if I can fix my shuttle and fly out into the Galaxy again." said Sturider, "But I'll worry about that later. It's better if I take things slowly at the time being."

"I couldn't agree more," said Twilight.

"Says the mare who constantly stays awake 3 days in a row when she's in a deep, deep study session," said Spike, smugly as Twilight sheepishly blushed.

---

Soon, after 30 minutes, the train pulled into Canterlot station. As everyone departed the train, Sturider stood in awe at the majestic city before him.

"Enjoying the view?" asked Twilight.

"Totally. This city is just as magnificent as Coruscant but on a higher level," said Sturider, as Rax rolled up alongside him, constantly turning his head to look at the views and sights.

"Well, wait till we get to the castle," said Twilight as she started walking out of the station, as Sturider, Rax, Spike, and the CMC trailed behind.

As they walked through the city, Sturider was observing many of the locals, as he then noticed the majority of them were dressing in very formal outfits, from fancy suits, high-class dresses, and even lined with expensive jewelry. As he looked about, many of the locals looked towards the group, while some were a little interested in Sturider's unique species, and his wardrobe. They snuffed at the sight of Rax, rolling along with the group. As some of them turned their heads away and held their snouts high in a snotty pose. And Sturider could even hear some comments.

"Well, that is a very interesting species walking with the Princess' pupil."

"I say, I've never seen a unique style of an outfit with those shades of blue before."

"Whatever is that rolling mechanical bucket of bolts? He's a clash to this fine city."

"Why is the Princess' Pupil hanging around with nosey children and an odd-looking creature of that class? So undignified."

But then, his thoughts were rudely interrupted when 2 high-class mares stepped up to him and tapped his shoulder. As he then looked to his left, he could tell these mares were high class, judging by the various jewels they wore on their wrists, necks, and even ears. And they both wore expensive-looking dresses, and even their sunhats looked expensive.

"Pardon me, sir. But what is a fellow of your class doing here in the City of Canterlot?" said the first mare.

"Yes, judging by your outfit, and those odd-looking accessories hanging from your belt, including that pistol upon your right leg, I can say you're a foreigner from somewhere in the lower class of things." said the second mare.

"Well, I am a Foreigner. But I come from somewhere far, far away. So far, that not a lot of individuals know of it." said Sturider.

"Hmm, try me. I've heard of interesting named places before." said the first mare.

"Well, if you insist. I dwell from the City of Coruscant," said Sturider.

The 2 mares were about to say something but nothing came to their mouths as they both looked at each other and arched an eyebrow before they looked back at Sturider. "Coruscant? That doesn't sound like a real city. But regardless, with the way you're dressed, you seem like you could be a monk."

Sturider was a little impressed as not most addressed a Jedi as a monk before. But that wasn't what he was. "Well, I may look like a monk, but I'm not a monk. Monks are a completely different individual than I am. But they do sorta wear robes like mine. But I'm from a different group." Sturider then explained.

"I see. Well, we'd love to ask you more about your culture but we must be off for a music show. So we bid you; Good day." said the second mare before they then turned away and walked in a different direction.

"Twilight, are most citizens in Canterlot like that?" asked Sturider.

"Well most of them, but there are some who are a little bit too snotty for their taste. I'm surprised that those 2 mares didn't even utter an insult," answered Twilight.

"Say, you didn't feel insulted for being called a monk, do you?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"No, not at all. Like I've told you before, I've had worse thrown at me. If I were in Mos Eisley, it would be a different story. There's no bigger place of crooks, brutes, and thugs than that town." said Sturider.

"Sounds like the lower parts of Canterlot and the Badlands," said Spike. "They have the same kind of folk in those places."

"Well, good thing we aren't heading in that area," said Twilight.

After a little bit, the group soon came to the Castle Grounds, which Sturider was even more in awe at the sight of the castle, just the sight of it alone made the Jedi Temple and other Royal Palace he'd seen look like minor buildings. The way the castle was built looked so majestic, and the many green gardens surrounding it were a sight to behold. "Now, this is really a magnificent sight to behold. I have never seen anything so beautiful built-in my whole life. Not even the palace of Naboo has anything on this." said Sturider in awe.

"Oh yes, I used to live in this palace myself. And there's a lot more to see inside it," said Twilight. As she leads them to the main gates where 2 armored guards stood.

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle. The Princess is expecting you." said the first guard.

"Hmm, who do we have here?" asked the second guard as he eyed Sturider, resting his hand on his sword. "What's your business here, sir?"

"It's alright, he's with me. The Princess requested I bring him to introduce him," explained Twilight.

"Alright, you may pass, but if you try another on the Princesses, you'll regret it." said the first guard as they both opened the gates.

"I understand, good sirs. Good day to you," said Sturider but as they started walking in, the second guard noticed Rax and drew his sword and then blocked Rax with it.

"Hold on, a minute! What is this contraption? Is this a secret weapon?!" stated the Guard.

"No, that is no weapon, it is an astromech Droid. And he's my assistant, and before you ask, he is not carrying anything lethal. If he was, he wouldn't be accompanying us." said Sturider.

The guard looked at Sturider and then to Rax, who only beeped as he turned his head to the guard, who then put his sword back into his scabbard. "Alright, but no funny stuff!"

"Thank you, sir," said Sturider. As the group then ascended the short staircase, as the guards at the doors, opened them and saluted, as they walked down the hall, the many guards saluted them, as Sturider observed the fancy works the castle had to offer, as they passed some through another set of doors, where they came to what seemed like the Throne room. As Sturider then looked forward and saw 2 tall figures. The tallest was a mare, but she stood at least a head taller than Sturider was, as she had a white coat, a longhorn, and huge majestic wings. And she was dressed up in a fancy white dress with golden accents, and a royal golden necklace with a single purple gem in the middle of it. And she also had golden cuffs on her wrists. And she had a golden Crown which looked more like a tiara on her head, but her mane and tail were another stories, they were colored, pink, light blue, and teal green and they flowed like the wind but it did it on its own. While the mare wore a warm smile as she looked upon Sturider with interest with her purple eyes.

As the shorter mare looked to be as tall as Sturider himself. As she had a midnight blue coat, a just as longhorn, and medium-sized wings. Her outfit consisted of a dark blue dress with navy blue accents. While her own necklace was black with a white crescent moon on the center of it. She also wore a crown, but it was much smaller than the older sister's. Like her sister, her mane and tail also flowed, but they were colored more like a majestic night sky, they even had twinkling stars included. She too looked upon Sturider with her teal eyes.

"Twilight Sparkle, so nice to see you again." said the taller mare.

"It is a pleasure, Princess," said Twilight in return.

"And you must be the Jedi Knight, my student has told me about." said the mare, addressing Sturider.

"As I am, your grand royal highness. It is a grand pleasure to meet you at long last," said Sturider as he got down on one knee and bowed to the Princesses.

"We are very pleased to meet thee, Master Jedi." said the smaller mare, speaking with an older royal vocabulary.

"Thank you, your majesties," replied Sturider as he stood back up.

"Anyway, I am Princess Celestia, Princess of the day." said the taller mare.

"And We are Princess Luna, Princess of the Night." said the shorter mare.

"I am Jedi Master Sturider Thom, Jedi Knight of the Jedi Order from the City of Coruscant," said Sturider.

"Crusaders, nice see you 3 again," said Princess Celestia addressing the Crusaders. "You 3 staying out of trouble?"

"Yes, princess." The Crusaders said in unison as golden halos appeared over their heads. As Rax beeped and whistled, catching the attention of the 2 Alicorns.

"Oh, and what might this unique individual be?" asked Celestia.

"This is R3-X3 or Rax. My astromech droid," answered Sturider as he patted Rax's head. "He's my assistant."

"How interesting, a sentient machine as an assistant? This is very unique," said Luna, kneeling to examine Rax. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Rax," said Luna as Rax beeped and whistled, as Luna arched an eyebrow. "Pray tell, what language is this? No one here even speaks in beeps and whistles."

"Well, Rax, as well as astromech droid, speak in binary. Which consists of beeps and whistles," answered Sturider. "It may not be easy to understand at first, but when you work with Rax as long as I have, you start to understand him."

"Hmm, we should learn this language ourselves. That way we can commune with other beings who speak in binary," said Celestia. "What other languages do you know?"

"I know, some other unique languages, such as Twi'Leki, Wookiee tongue, and some other ones. But they're exclusive to other species out in the galaxy," said Sturider.

"Impressive, you should share these languages when you can," said Celestia. "Anyway, why don't we show you around the castle?"

"Charmed, lead on," said Sturider. As the Princesses lead the group through the hall and out the doors.

---

As the group walked through the castle, as Celestia and Luna explained various things to Sturider, he could only listen in awe, the Jedi Temple was quite fancy but this castle was something else. Not even the Palace of Naboo could shape up to it. As they walked through one hallway, Sturider noticed there were huge stained glass windows in this hallway.

"Wow! These stained glass windows are amazing!" exclaimed Sturider.

"Thank you," said Celestia. "This is one of our memorable locations in the castle, as these windows depict events that happened in our kingdom."

"What kind of events?" asked Sturider.

"Well, mostly ones where several threats were vanquished," answered Luna. "Like this one here," she added as she indicated one window that had a large mare in the middle, and surrounded by the mane six. But there had colored jewels on golden necklaces and a tiara. There was an orange apple, a pink butterfly, a red lightning bolt, a purple diamond, a blue balloon, and a magenta six-pronged star, like what Twilight's cutie mark was.

"What are those necklaces and tiara Twilight and her friends are wearing?" asked Sturider.

"Those, are the Elements of Harmony," answered Celestia. "They are powerful reelects that we use to fight against evil beings. They each resemble a trait of friendship. Honesty, Kindness, Loyalty, Generosity, and Laughter. And they are all lead by the element of magic, the most powerful of all."

"Hmm, interesting. We don't have anything like that, we Jedi just use the Force and our Lightsabers. But whose that large mare in the middle?" asked Sturider as he pointed to the mare in question. Luna's ears drooped as she got a look of sorrow.

"That mare.... was me," said Luna, sadly.

"YOU?!" shouted Sturider, completely shocked. "It can't be!"

"As much as I wish it wasn't, it was me," said Luna. "But that was years ago."

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly do you mean?" asked Sturider.

"Do you want me to tell him, Lulu?" asked Celestia looking at her sister.

"No, I should. It's my story," said Luna. "Years ago, before Twilight Sparkle even existed. My sister and I ruled over Equestria. Tia ruled in the day, and I ruled at night. But, while all of the citizens worked and played in the day, they hardly had activity at night. I felt underappreciated and jealous. My loneliness leads to my growing hatred, then one day. My hatred and anger grew to dangerous levels when I transformed into Nightmare Moon. And I planned to overthrow my sister and make an eternal night, where no sun would shine anymore. So, then Celestia had no choice but to use the elements to incapacitate me. By banishing me to the Moon for a millennium." explained Luna as tears came to her eyes.

"Banished to the moon?!" said Sturider, shocked. "That's awful. You got seduced to the Dark Side of the Force. You even had the same levels that lead to it."

"What do you mean?" asked Luna.

"Your loneliness led to anger, then your anger grew to hatred. Till finally, you got to suffering. 1,000 years on the moon on your own, that would lead me to suffer. said Sturider. "So, how did you get free?"

"When the time came where I was freed from the moon. I tried again to make an eternal night, and at the same time, Twilight had been studying the elements, which were located in our old castle. When she found them she realized that the elements needed bearers to be used. Which in turn would be her friends, and then they used the elements to remove all darkness from me. And now, I'm back to ruling the night. But I do have lots of admirers now."

"Wow, if only that power was used on Count Dooku, I bet if he had been opened up to such power of friendship, he may have seen a new light. But, he sealed his fate when he murdered several Jedi. But, compared to Darth Sidious and Darth Maul, Dooku was more civilized." said Sturider.

"My word and all I planned on doing was making an eternal night, I never murdered anyone," said Luna. "But how worse were this Sidious and Maul?"

"I'll explain later. Anyway, I got a question on this window," said Sturider as he walked over to another window with the mane 6 on it, but this one had the weirdest creature he ever saw. He had the head of a goat, with a deer's antler, a curvy horn, a lion arm, a clawed arm, an alligator leg, an equine's foot. While he had a dragon's tail, a pegasus wing, and a dragon wing. "What, in all of the Force, is that thing?" asked Sturider pointing to the creature. "I've seen pretty ugly-looking creatures, but this guy, I have no comment."

"That is Discord. The Spirit of Chaos," said Celestia as she walked over. "He was another threat to Equestria."

"What did he do?" asked Sturider.

"He uses his magical skills to create chaos and disharmony. When he was around, he threw things out of balance in the land."

"Oooh, upsetting the balance of nature is never a good thing, it can lead to serious consequences," said Sturider.

"That's not all, he can corrupt other beings through hypnosis, that turns to turn the opposite of who they are," added Twilight.

"Oh my. Well, what happened to him? Was he banished to the Moon too?" asked Sturider.

"No, in fact, he's here in Canterlot now," said Luna.

"What? How can a villain be in a place and not be causing trouble?" asked Sturider.

"I think it's better to show than tell," said Celestia, starting to walk again. As Sturider and Rax followed the group, they walked for a bit before coming to the main castle gardens, where they came to one section that had several statues in it. And then they came to one that looked like Discord, but he looked like he was in horror, as if a squad of battle droids was about to open fire on him.

"You turned him into a statue?" asked Sturider as he walked up to the statue and gently knocked on one of the legs. "Well, this is a unique way of defeating an evil threat."

"Yes, and it's better than being banished," said Luna.

"I conquer," said Sturider as he turned and went to rejoin the group as they started walking out of the gardens. "Have you ever encountered threats that are extremely dangerous before?"

"Well, just recently, we had to fight the evil King Sombra," said Twilight. "He is an evil unicorn that has a huge amount of dark magic that allowed him to enslave the Crystal Empire. And he can also strike fear into others."

"Kriffin' heck, I bet Darth Sidious and him would get along just fine if they met, Sidious is kinda the same way," said Sturider. "Where is he now?"

"He's gone," said Celestia.

"Gone, as in banished or imprisoned?" asked Sturider.

"No, gone as in," said Luna as she then did a slitting motion over her throat, meaning Sombra was slain.

"Oh, that gone. Personally, I think it's better that way, if he were imprisoned, I could imagine he could escape."

"Yes. It sounds very likely," said Celestia. "But he's not as dangerous as Tirek."

"Tirek?" asked Sturider.

"Yes. Tirek is one of the most dangerous threats we've had to face," said Luna.

"What makes him so dangerous?" asked Sturider.

"Unlike all other threats he has the ability to suck the magic out of ponies," explained Celestia.

"Even pegasi and earth ponies?" asked Sturider, as the 2 alicorns nodded. " How is that even possible? I mean, not only in lines of being able to suck the magic out of beings, but I thought unicorns could only conjure magic."

"Nobody knows how Tirek has this ability, especially since centaurs are not common individuals to conjure or wield magic," said Celestia.

"As for earth ponies and pegasi having magic, the earth ponies have some magic in them, which is how they get their cutie marks. While pegasi use magic for helping them walk on clouds," added Luna.

"Oh, that makes sense. And I'm guessing the more magic Tirek steals, the stronger his own gets?" asked Sturider.

"That is correct. And he also grows bigger with each amount he obtains," answered Celestia.

"Well, to you all that does sound threatening, but to a Jedi Knight like me; it doesn't compare," said Sturider.

"What? What do you mean?" asked Luna, sounding offended.

"Hold on, I didn't mean it like that!" exclaimed Sturider waving his hands defensively. "I mean, compared to what the Force can allow a Jedi and Sith do, Tirek would be given a run for his money."

"How so?" asked Scootaloo.

"I agree with young Scootaloo," said Luna. "From what Twilight told us about some of the things you can do with the Force, it pretty much could also be done by Tirek using magic."

"Well, can Tirek shoot Lightning out of his hands with magic?" asked Sturider smugly.

"No, he cannot," said Celestia, sounding surprised at such a statement.

"Or, can he mind control others with magic from the equines here?" added Sturider.

"Well, no unicorn has ever been able to do that but Sombra, so no," said Luna.

"How about mind probe other individuals?" said Sturider.

"Well, he kinda could, be only remotely," said Twilight.

"Well, there you have it," said Sturider. "The Force can allow Jedi or Sith to do such tricks, while Magic can't."

"How exactly does one know if they are one with the Force?" asked Luna.

"Well, Stu said that it depends on if it's in your blood," said Sweetie Belle.

"Precisely, Sweets. But there's more to it than that. It mostly depends on the Midi-chlorians count in your blood." said Sturider.

"What are Midi-chlorians?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Midi-chlorians are a microscopic life-from that resides within all living cells," said Sturider.

"Even us?" asked Spike.

"Yes, they live in your cells. And we are symbionts with them," added Sturider.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Scootaloo.

"Life-forms living together for mutual advantage. Without the midi-chlorians, life could not exist and we would not know about the Force. They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force. When you learn to quiet your minds, you'll hear them speaking to you." answered Sturider.

"My word, there is a lot to the Force, isn't there?" said Celestia. The group was now walking back into the castle. "All of this would make a fine book for our castle's library."

"I'm sure it would. Maybe if I have the time, I could help you write one," said Sturider.

"That would be splendid," said Luna.

As the group walked down the hall of the castle, they were now heading towards the library part of the castle, but as they approached, Sturider saw something interesting inside. Or more appropriately, someone.

"Hey Twilight, you didn't tell me there was a third alicorn here," said Sturider.

"Huh?" asked Twilight, as she looked where he was, as Celestia and Luna eyed each other knowingly. As Twilight gasped in happiness. In the library, sitting at 2 of the many chairs in the room was, in fact, another alicorn. But this one had a light pink colored coat. While she had a long, curly mane, colored pink, purple, and yellow. And like Celestia, she had purple eyes. But she wore a small crown with purple jewels on it, with a golden necklace. And also had a majestic crystal blue colored dress. And seated next to her was a unicorn stallion, who looked quite muscular. He had a white coat, with his mane cut short, colored three shades of blue. And he also had blue eyes. While he was wearing what looked like a soldier's uniform. With a straight red jacket, blue pants, and a white-colored belt that had a sword hanging from it. As the 2 started to take notice of the group, the alicorn got up and walked over as Twilight rushed over to her.

"Sunshine, Sunshine. Ladybugs, awake. Clap your hands, and do a little shake!" recited Twilight and the alicorn in unison, doing a little hop, then covering their eyes, and peeking out, then clapping their hands, and giving their hips a shake. Before they embraced each other. Before the stallion walked over as Twilight then hugged him, as he ruffled her hair.

"Hey kiddo, surprised to see us?" asked the stallion.

"Are you kidding?!" stated Twilight. "I wasn't expecting you 2 to be here!"

"Well, Auntie Celestia told us about an outsider visiting the castle, so she invited us over to meet him." said the pink alicorn. "Plus, she wanted to surprise you."

"Well, I am surprised!" said Twilight as she then leads the 2 over to the group as Sturider stepped forward.

"Hello, there. I am Jedi Master Sturider Thom, Jedi Knight of the Jedi Order from the City of Coruscant," said Sturider to the two.

"Pleased to meet you." said the stallion as he shook Sturider's hand. "I am Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire."

"And I, am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. But, you can call me "Cadance". said the pink alicorn, shaking Sturider's hand.

"Very pleased to meet you. And this guy here is my Astromech Droid. R3-X3 or "Rax". said Sturider indicating Rax as the droid rolled over, as he bleeped.

"Wow, this is a very interesting individual," said Shining Armor as he examined Rax. "I never thought the day to see a sentient machine."

"Well, I'm pleased to hear that. And what is your position here?" asked Sturider, as he examined Shining Armor. "You look like a soldier. Are you a commander?"

"Well, I am a soldier, but I'm not a commander. I'm Captain of the Royal Guard," answered Shining Armor.

"As for me, I am the harbinger of affection. I'm the Princess of Love," said Cadance.

"Princess of love?" question Sturider. "What kind of princess is that? What do you do, exactly?"

"I spread love to other ponies and individuals," said Cadance. "And I can also free individuals from dark magic and end arguments between loved ones."

"Wow, that is very unique," said Sturider. "So how is it you two are acquainted with Twilight?"

"She's my sister," replied Shining Armor.

"While I use to foalsit her when she was living in the castle, studying under Celestia's wing," said Cadance. "But now, she's my family too. As I'm now with the love of my life," added Cadance as she and Armor held up their hands to show wedding rings on them.

"You're married!" exclaimed Sturider.

"Correct," said Shining Armor. "She and I have been together for years."

"And Cadance is our niece," said Celestia as she and Luna walked over, with Spike, and the crusaders following behind.

"The whole family," said Sturider, as he then looked around the castle. "But, I'm curious. If you, Luna, and Cadance are princesses; where are the King and Queen?"

This question caught Celestia and Luna off-guard, but then they bowed their heads down. "Sadly, our mother and father, have gone missing when we were only fillies," said Celestia. "We got separated from them during a major war, and when the war was over, we were long lost. We haven't seen them for a long time."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring some painful moments," said Sturider.

"No, no, it's okay," said Luna. "The important thing is, is that our parents are still out there, we just haven't located them yet."

"Well, my own parents are gone too," said Sturider. "I lost them both when I was first brought into the Jedi Order."

"That's so sad," said Apple Bloom.

"Indeed it is. But I haven't let it get me down," said Sturider.

"That's good," said Luna.

---

After conversing for some time, Twilight, Spike, and the Crusaders had stepped out for a moment. Sturider explained to the Princesses all about the Jedi Order and how it worked in their training.

"My word, your training almost sounds close enough to how I was training Twilight in magic skills when she was a filly," said Celestia.

"Well, I bet if you were Jedi Master in the Order, you could be a good teacher to many of the younglings, princess," said Sturider, leading Celestia to chuckle warmly at this.

"Say, Thom. When you asking me if I was a commander, does it have something to do with any military you had in Courascant?" asked Shining Armor. This question sparked a tug at Sturider's mind but he was still willing to answer the question.

"Well, yes it kinda does. But our military was very different," answered Sturider.

"How Different?" asked Cadance.

"This one was a massive army of Clone Troopers. Soldiers cloned from a Bounty Hunter by the name of Jango Fett, breed to fight for the Republic, during The Clone Wars," added Sturider.

"Wait, you can clone living organisms?" asked Luna.

"Well, the scientists of Kamino can. Why do you ask?" said Sturider.

"It's because one of our close friends who were hermit tried that, but it failed. He tried to clone a sheep once. Unfortunately, it had a short life span and died after spending 3 weeks being born." explained Luna.

"Wow. I'm afraid I can't explain how the cloning on Kamino works. I was never interested in it." said Sturider. "Plus, I was a little unsure of these Clones."

"Why's that?" asked Celestia. "They were bred to fight for the Republic, were they not?"

"They were, but the commission to make the army was done by Jedi Master Sifo-Dyos, but, he died before the army was complete," explained Sturider. "When I first heard about this army, I was impressed with this. But, I still think the Kaminoes should've at least kept in contact with Sifo-Dyos. But I don't know much on the matter, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker did more background research on this than I did. And I was on a solo mission when they doing it. But deep down, I felt like something was off about them."

"I'm guessing you were not too fond of having Clone Troopers serve you, I bet," asked Shining Armor.

"I was, but I did make some friendships with some in particular. Like, Captain Rex, Fives, Echo, Commander Wolfe. As well as a few from my own squadron, like Captain Takson, Tep, and Uno." said Sturider.

"Hmm, so many of you Jedi Knights had all their own squadron of these Clone Troopers?" asked Shining Armor.

"More than just Squadrons, there were also Battalion Legions, Platoons, etc.," said Sturider.

"My word. That sounds like quite the amount of soldiers," said Luna.

"Indeed. There was quite an amount of them and more and more were being made as the War went on," added Sturider.

"What kind of assignments did you and your Clone Battalion get assigned to?" asked Shining Armor.

"We were often tasked to reinforce other battalions. I was often stationed with the 501st and 212th at times with Anakin and Obi-Wan. Even Anakin's padawan, Ahsoka Tano. And then I was with Master Kit Fisto once. But other times I was sent on solo missions." answered Sturider.

"Then does that mean you came to our kingdom on a mission to discover new locations?" asked Celestia.

"No. I'm not here on a mission. In fact, the Republic, Senate, or Jedi Order even knew this place existed. I am the first and only Jedi to discover it." explained Sturider.

"Really?" asked Cadance. "If no one knew of Equestria, then how is it you came to be here?"

"I wasn't really going anywhere in particular. I ended up here out of nowhere," said Stuirder.

"Well, if you aren't here on a mission, and no one in Coruscant knows about this place; then why were you flying in space in the first place?" asked Shining Armor.

This question hit Sturider like a blaster bolt, he knew why he left. But could he share it with individuals of this land? What would they think then? Sturider was unsure but he knew in his heart that if he didn't share. Then the princesses and captain would only pursue the question harder. So Sturider made his decision.

"Truthfully, I had to escape with my life," answered Sturider, leading the group to gasp.

"WHAT?!" asked Celestia.

"What do you mean?" Asked Luna.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a8u-4Yfdrg

With a sigh of sadness, Sturider began, "It was at the end, the end of the War. We had just gotten word Obi-Wan had slain General Grevious. I was flying back to Courscant in my shuttle after finishing a mission. Then suddenly, I started feeling pain, suffering, and death from my Jedi brethren. Then I found out the truth when I made it back to Coruscant, our fellow soldiers; the Clones. The ones we Jedi fought side-by-side with, suddenly turned and backstabbed us. With no question, they gunned down their Jedi Generals in a second!" as Sturider was sharing this heartbreaking story, Twilight, Spike, and the Crusaders stepped back into the library and listened in, shocked upon hearing this. But Sturider still had more to tell. "I was confused, about why the Clones would do this. So I went back to the temple on foot to get some answers and what I saw was much worse."

"What?" asked Shining Armor.

"In the temple, all Soldiers of the 501st Legion were murdering all of the Jedi Masters. But not just the men. The Women, Children, and Younglings too." added Sturider, Cadance gasping in horror at the mention of children and younglings.

"I couldn't move or do anything. I just watched," said Sturider. "Then sneaking out of the temple, I went to the Senate House where on the ground I found Mace Windu's Lightsaber. As I raced in, avoiding the Coruscant Clones, I saw the bodies of Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Sasee Tiin. As I could sense the Dark Side of the Force in the room. But then I managed to sneak to the Senate room to see if I could find Senator Amidala. When I witnessed one of the most tragic things. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine claimed the Jedi had betrayed and tried to murder him. Then upon a closer look, I saw the unmistakable Sith Yellow Eyes on his face. It was then I knew, we were deceived. Palpatine was really the Sith Lord we were searching for all this time. He had fabricated the whole war and the Clones. And now he had obtained the ultimate power of the whole Galaxy. As the Republic became the Galactic Empire."

"That's beyond awful," said Celestia. "No words can describe how I feel about this."

"That's even worse than all the crimes I committed when I became Nightmare Moon," said Luna, a small tear came to her eye. "Compared to what that Sith Lord did, it makes my actions look like child's play."

"So, how did you escape?" asked Shining Armor.

"Upon learning this truth, I snuck back to the temple, gathering what I could from Holocrons, Lightsabers, even a few blasters," said Sturider. "Then I went to my quarters to get some of my items. However, by the time I was ready to leave the Coruscant Clones had found me. I demanded to know why the other armies murdered my Jedi Brethern. They said they had chips implanted in their heads which made them do it and had no choice. But I wasn't going down without a fight."

"What happened?" asked Cadence.

"I gave a Force push to the group, knocking them down. Then I drew both my blaster and one of my Lightsabers. As they opened fire, I returned Fire and deflected blaster bolts as I ran. But when I was reaching my shuttle one Clone threw a grenade at me. Rax had seen it, and without hesitation, he shoved me forward as it went off. The Explosion killed most of the clones and critically damaged Rax. But the Commander remained, as he raised his blaster pistols at me, I then Force pulled him in. Then used my blaster to pistol-whip him. Before I jammed my Lightsaber blade into his chest and fired a single shot to the head. Once he fell I picked up Rax and flew away." said Sturider. "Then I ended up here. I just pray that the Empire will not find this land of Peace and harmony. Your kind doesn't deserve to suffer the same fate as I did." he finished as tears came to his eyes before he collapsed on the ground and hugging himself, he began to cry.

Neither Celestia nor Luna could find words in their mouths, hearing such a tragedy was too much for them as tears were now streaming down their cheeks. Shining Armor was trying hard not to cry, but hearing how loyal soldiers were forced to murder their Generals was making it hard for him. Cadance was beyond shocked, she was in deep sorrow. It was one thing to have close friends murdered, but children? That was going too far. With tears streaming down her face she crouched down and pulled Sturider into a hug, rubbing his back, trying to soothe the heartbroken Jedi. As she then let out her own tears. Twilight, Spike, and the Crusaders were emotionally hit by this. Spike was hugging Twilight as she rubbed his back, letting tears fall from her face. Sweetie Belle had fallen to the floor and started crying, forming a small puddle on the floor. Apple Bloom sniffed as she pulled out another handkerchief and blew her nose before crying into it. Scootaloo was trying hard not to cry but couldn't hold in as she fell to her knees and covered her face, letting out quiet sobs.

The room was now filled with nothing but weeping and crying as no one could find words to hearing this sad story. But no one cared, they needed to let emotions out now.